30793 research outputs found
Sort by
Beyond the Human: Emergent Theories of Synthetics in Art Psychotherapy Research Pedagogies
Full text linkThe authors would like to thank students on the MA Art Psychotherapy at Brunel University for their participation in the workshops and all their dedication, enthusiasm and innovative ideas, which continue to inspire the development of our teaching practices in arts and health research methodologies.Art psychotherapy training programmes traditionally emphasise evidence-based practices focused
on interpersonal and psychological change, often sidelining socio-political dimensions and critical
research pedagogies. To address this gap, this paper presents a posthuman feminist approach
to research pedagogies in art psychotherapy. This approach leverages arts-based practices and
digital technologies as critical tools for examining complex entanglements between human, nature,
and technology (techne) rendering insights into data collection and analysis beyond conventional
paradigms.
This pedagogical theorisation draws on examples from collective arts-based workshops rendering
posthuman theoretical concepts into practical, tangible learning experiences. The workshops
presented in this paper utilise artistic processes as both methodological and critical vehicles, inviting
students to explore a research workshop through the lens of two Deleuzian concepts, those being
the situated material assemblage and the Body Without Organs (BWO). The key rationale is to
develop critical reflexivity through using conceptual tools that that disrupt normative hegemonies in
art psychotherapy data analysis by positioning data as a co-constructed material-semiotic inscription
shaped by intersecting human and non-human forces.
The outcomes of this posthuman pedagogical framework, employing digital and arts-based
diffractive methodologies and ethological assemblage in enacted data analyses, were a facilitated
non-hierarchical synthesis in data relations between human, nonhuman and digital bodies and the
stimulation of a more inclusive transdisciplinary inquiry, generating insights into systemic issues in
healthcare beyond a patriarchal logic and purely anthropocentric reach. The approach positions
students as active agents in co-producing knowledge that challenges dominant socio-economic
structures in health research
AI can boost economic growth, but it needs to be managed incredibly carefull
Full text linkThe UK government’s efforts to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into public services and stimulate economic growth represents a pivotal step in the roll out of the technology in this country.
AI offers the promise of improving public services by enabling faster, more efficient processes, personalising provision of those services for the public and optimising decision-making. However, the adoption of this technology in public systems brings inherent risks, particularly in an environment characterised by rapid technological developments.Brunel University of London provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK
Enhanced CO₂ Capture Performance of Mesoporous Silica Materials with TEPA Amine-Based Deep Eutectic Solvent: Kinetics and Mechanism
No full textData availability:
The data supporting this article have been included as part of the Supplementary Information.Conventional amine-based sorbents exhibit two major drawbacks: progressive structural deterioration under repetitive CO2 adsorption-desorption cycling and diminished gas capture efficiency with extended cycle iterations. To mitigate these issues, a new amine-based deep eutectic solvent (DES) containing tromethamine (TrMA) salt as a sterically hindered amine and tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) was prepared and incorporated on several mesoporous silica materials for CO2 capture, including SBA-15, SBA-16, MCM-41, and KIT-6. In comparison to SBA-16 and MCM-41 materials, SBA-15 and KIT-6 could maintain their mesoporous structure after incorporation of 50% DES, as revealed by the N2 sorption analysis. According to the findings, (50%) TrMA-TEAP (1:2)/SBA-15 had higher CO2 adsorption of 120.8 (mg g-1) than (50%) pure TEAP (1:2)/SBA-15 and higher than other hybrid amine-based DES/mesoporous silica materials at 75 °C under 15% CO2 balanced N2. Furthermore, the adsorption index values for (50%) TrMA-TEAP (1:2)/SBA-15 and (50%) pure TEAP (1:2)/SBA-15 were 94.9% and 92.5%, respectively, demonstrating that amine-based DES had superior cycle performance, albeit (50%) TrMA-TEAP (1:2)/KIT-6 had an excellent cyclic performance by maintaining the original CO2 adsorption capacity of 97.3%, amongst other sorbents. Pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, Vermeulen, Avrami, and fractal-like exponential kinetic models were used to investigate the kinetic adsorption of hybrid sorbents, with the last kinetic model offering the best fitting. The DFT analysis demonstrated that the primary amine site on hydrogen bond donor acceptor is a more active site in DES, while the hydrogen bond donor plays a dominant role in CO2 adsorption due to possessing more amine active sites, particularly primary amine sites.This work was supported by the Beijing Laboratory of Environmental Frontier Technologies， Beijing Municipal Education Commission
The varieties of nonreligious experience: meaning in life among believers, non-believers, and the spiritual but not religious
No full textSupplemental material is available online at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2153599X.2025.2546324# .The Spiritual But Not Religious (SBNR) have grown rapidly in developed, secularizing societies. We hypothesize that one reason for the proliferation of the SBNR is that spiritual beliefs, distinct from religiosity, afford some degree of meaning in life to people leaving religion. In two pre-registered studies (USn = 917; UKn = 1,289), we compared meaning in life among religious believers, SBNRs, and non-believers. Religious believers reported the most meaning, followed by SBNRs, and then non-believers, who reported the least meaning. Further analyses revealed that the differences between SBNRs and non-believers are largely mediated by differences in their degree of spiritual beliefs, whereas the differences between SBNRs and religious believers are largely mediated by differences in their degree of social connection. We conclude that spiritual beliefs and social connection play distinct roles in the creation of existential meaning in life, which may partly explain the popularity of SBNRs in secularizing societies.This work was supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [grant number 435-2019-0480.]
Unequal impacts of future droughts on global croplands: contributions of climate and land-use changes across different income groups
Full text linkData availability:
The CMIP6 simulated data used in the study are available from the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) Archive, https://esgf.llnl.gov/. The potential evapotranspiration data derived from CMIP6 projections are available at https://zenodo.org/records/7789759. The monthly observation data are obtained from Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at https://crudata.uea.ac.uk/cru/data/hrg/cru_ts_4.07/.Code availability:
Code used for the analysis is available upon reasonable request.Supplementary information: Supplementary Materials are available online at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44304-025-00144-w#Sec15.This study presents a global assessment of future cropland exposure to drought risks under climate change, accounting for both climate variability and land-use changes across income groups. We used SPI and SPEI to assess concurrent 3- and 6-month drought risks during major crop-growing periods, applying a copula-based method to capture joint and transitional drought events. Exposure disparities and dominant drivers were evaluated using high-resolution global cropland projections under SSP245 and SSP585 scenarios. Results show modest increases in SPI-based severe drought concurrence but substantial increases in extreme droughts, particularly under SSP585. SPEI-based projections reveal even greater risks due to temperature-driven evapotranspiration, with some exposure increases exceeding 4000%. Transitional drought risks further intensify vulnerabilities, especially in lower-middle-income countries. Climate change emerges as the dominant driver of exposure increases, while the role of land-use change diminishes. These findings underscore the urgent need for climate mitigation and targeted adaptation to safeguard global food security.This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 62073134)
Model input verification of large scale simulations
Full text linkCode and Data Availability: the code and the supplementary material (benchmarks) are available as the FabGuard artefact on Zenodo:
https://zenodo.org/records/14510915 .Reliable simulations require accurate input data. Invalid values, missing data, and format inconsistencies can cause crashes or result distortions, compromising the findings. This paper presents a methodology for verifying the validity of input data in simulations, a process we term model input verification (MIV). We implement this approach in FabGuard, a toolset that uses established data schema and validation tools for simulation modelling. We formalize MIV patterns and create a verification pipeline for existing workflows. FabGuard’s applicability is demonstrated across three domains: conflict-driven migration, disaster evacuation, and disease spread models. We also explore Large Language Models (LLMs) for automating constraint generation. In a migration simulation case study, LLMs correctly inferred 22/23 developer-defined constraints, identified errors in existing constraints, and proposed new, valid ones. Our evaluation demonstrates that MIV is feasible on large datasets, with FabGuard processing 300 input files in 140 seconds and maintaining consistent performance across file sizes.The work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EP/W007762/1]; the SEAVEA ExCALIBUR project, which has received funding from EPSRC under grant agreement EP/W00771/1
Machine learning and Big Data in deep underground engineering
Full text linkThis special issue of Deep Underground Science and Engineering (DUSE) showcases pioneering research on the transformative role of machine learning (ML) and Big Data in deep underground engineering. Edited by guest editors Prof. Asoke Nandi (Brunel University of London, UK), Prof. Ru Zhang (Sichuan University, China), Prof. Tao Zhao (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China), and Prof. Tao Lei (Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, China), this issue highlights the innovative applications of ML technique in reshaping structural safety, tunneling operations, and geotechnical investigations
Post-politics and the Anthropocene: towards a post-foundational environmental political theory
No full textThe concept of post-politics has played a key role in diagnosing Anthropocene discourse and showing how it has reinforced the managerial, technocratic, and market logics of much environmental politics. From the homogenising and naturalising discourse of humankind as a destructive species to the fetishisation of CO2 in carbon offsetting projects and the strategic mobilisation of emergency narratives: all partake in the depoliticisation of the environmental debate. Yet, the diagnosis has also been criticised for not giving enough leverage to alternative voices and for restricting the scope of what ‘proper’ political action can consist of. In this chapter, I show how a re-engagement with the sophisticated theoretical underpinnings of post-foundational political theory can provide us with the tools to move beyond these controversies. While defending the post-political thesis, I argue that a genuine post-foundational engagement with the Anthropocene should also recognise the altered, much more politicised historical conjuncture in which we live today
Applications of argumentation-based dialogues
Full text linkThis article reviews work on applications of argumentation-based dialogue. It takes both a broad view of dialogue and a broad view of what constitutes an application. It considers the full range of software tools that would be needed in constructing a software system that is capable of engaging in argumentationbased dialogue, along with complete applications, and includes both work that builds on formal models of dialogue, and that is more inspired by recent work on chatbots from natural language processing.This work was partially supported by the UK Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grant #EP/P010105/1, and by a grant from the University of Lincol
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Research Online? Become a CORE Member to access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard! 👇