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How is the Use of AI in Social Media Accepted by Users and Impacting Human – Computer Interfacing in That Area?
Get PDFData Availability: The data used for this research is readily available in the public domain from gov.uk, [31], cybercrew.co.uk, [36], and Statista,.[34]. Data from Dixon, [33], however, whilst it supports the other sources, is not licensed for reproduction here and must be examined on the Statista website. The data has been extracted from these sources and is not presented here in the original format.The study examines current international growth in the use of social media which uses AI extensively and asks whether the unconscious acceptance of AI by social media users is having any impact on human – computer interfacing (HCI) research for the purpose of AI use in social media. It also asks whether the public acceptance of AI-based social media is based on trust in the technology or simply due to there being no real alternative. The study combines a systematic review of the current literature related to the subject under investigation with an analysis of secondary data from statistics, government surveys, and trade sources. The major finding related to whether the public trust the use of AI and technology is that the more of it that is available in a society, the less it appears to be trusted – Western advanced societies have a markedly lower level of trust in technology and AI than developing nations. However, it is observed that the lack of trust does not equate to a lack of use, since the countries where the trust is lowest are also the countries experiencing the fastest growth in the use of bot AI and social media. It is clear that further research is needed because this study cannot be wide enough in its scope to understand the apparent contradictions in the data. This is original research based on secondary data in an area where growth and change are rapid but is based on the most up to date material available.The research for this article received no external funding
Optimising clinical trial methods for complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS): a methodological framework (OptiMeth-CRPS)
Get PDFSupplemental digital content:
Supplemental digital content associated with this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/894MQ .A preprint version of the article, 'OptiMeth-CRPS: A Methodological Framework for Optimising Clinical Trial Methods for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)', is available at OSF Preprints: https://osf.io/preprints/osf/x5zsy_v1 . It has not been certified by peer review.Introduction:
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a rare, disabling pain disorder. Systematic reviews have identified a critical lack of high-quality clinical trial evidence to inform the management of CRPS. There is an urgent need to find solutions to the methodological challenges of undertaking clinical trials in CRPS. The aim of this project was to develop a methodological framework for optimising future clinical trials in CRPS (OptiMeth-CRPS).
Methods:
An international network with expertise in the lived experience of CRPS, CRPS trials and evidence synthesis, and rare disease trial methods developed the framework using an “Experience and expertise” approach through an iterative process of (1) online and face-to-face meetings, (2) reviewing and approving meeting notes, and (3) revising draft manuscripts to develop the framework.
Results:
The OptiMeth-CRPS methodological framework presents 9 key optimisation strategies for improving the methodological quality of CRPS trials. These include strategies for optimising (1) the trial team, (2) research questions, (3) trial governance and management, (4) trial design, (5) the trial population, (6) intervention and comparator groups, (7) trial outcomes, (8) data analysis, and (9) openness, transparency, and reporting. We highlight those optimisation strategies that specifically address the challenges of undertaking clinical trials in people with CRPS.
Conclusion:
A methodological framework for optimising clinical trials in CRPS has been developed. The OptiMeth-CRPS methodological framework may support the CRPS research community to undertake high-quality clinical trials and improve the quality of the evidence on which clinical decisions and guidelines for the management of CRPS are based.This project was funded through an ERA-NET NEURON Joint Transnational Networking Group Call “Networking Groups on Chronic Pain” (Reference: ERA NET NEURON-NG-2022-1). DJK is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Exeter Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. RDH’s contribution to the paper is funded as part of WP20 through the European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant This project was funded through an ERA-NET NEURON Joint Transnational Networking Group Call “Networking Groups on Chronic Pain” (Reference: ERA NET NEURON-NG-2022-1). KMS was the project lead and is the guarantor, he conceived and designed the project, was awarded the funding and drafted the manuscript. All named authors attended meetings, provided project-related content, and edited the manuscript. All authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript. DJK is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Exeter Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. RDH's contribution to the paper is funded as part of WP20 through the European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant Agreement Number 825575) and as part of ERICA (under Grant Agreement No. 964908). RDH is also coordinator and FK member of RealiseD which is supported by the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU) under Grant Agreement No 101165912. The JU receives support from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and COCIR, EFPIA, Europa Bío, MedTech Europe, and Vaccines Europe
Fuzzy Domain Adaptation via Variational Inference for Evolving Concept Drift
Get PDFThe concept of fuzzy domain adaptation (FDA) is focused on transferring a model trained in a source domain to a target domain, where intrinsic distribution discrepancies exist in non-stationary and non-deterministic environments. In this paper, a novel drift decoupling-based variational adaptation network (DD-VAN) is proposed for FDA, allowing for the learning of intra-domain evolutionary patterns and inter-domain uncertainties. The DD-VAN algorithm is implemented in three main steps: (1) an intra-domain evolutionary trend modeling module is first employed to capture unknown temporal variations through an autoencoder architecture with variational inference; (2) a prototype-assisted fuzzy clustering module is used to estimate the membership degree of the target data, characterizing the inherent uncertainty and imprecision present in real-world distributions; and (3) a membership-aware domain fuzzy matching module is utilized to learn the gradual transitions between category-related data pairs in the source and target domains by introducing uncertainties. Furthermore, it is theoretically demonstrated that the inferred posterior distributions of latent codes can be optimized to align with the corresponding prior distributions by minimizing the Kullback-Leibler divergence. Extensive experiments are conducted on cross-domain tasks involving both synthetic and realworld datasets, and the experimental results suggest that the DDVAN algorithm outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods.10.13039/501100001809-National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number: 62403119 and U21A2019);
Hainan Province Science and Technology Special Fund of China (Grant Number: ZDYF2022SHFZ105);
Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant Number: GZB20240136);
10.13039/501100002858-China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant Number: 2024MD753911);
Heilongjiang Provincial Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (Grant Number: LBH-TZ2405);
10.13039/501100000266-Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council;
Royal Society of the U.K.;
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany
The need for incorporating user perception into the repairability indices: Insights from an observational study on small electrical devices
Get PDFSupplementary data are available online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352550925001228?via%3Dihub#s0100 .Repair is a key strategy in advancing a circular economy, as it extends product lifespan and reduces electronic waste. Existing Repairability Indeces assess the potential for repair, although they often focus on professional repairs, often overlooking end-user repair activities. This creates a research gap in understanding how non-professional users experience and perceive repairability. Small household electrical appliances, due to their relatively simple architecture, are sometimes repaired by users themselves rather than taken to a professional repair service. This study contributes to closing this gap by exploring users' perceptions of repairability in small electrical and electronic equipment and examining their alignment with calculated repairability indices. A user observation study (n = 26) was conducted to evaluate three critical stages of the repair process: (1) initial interaction with the fully assembled appliance, (2) the opening process, and (3) interaction with internal components once accessed. The observational study design included a protocol designed to standardise procedures across participants, and structured rubrics to ensure consistency in response interpretation. This rigorous methodological approach ensured reproducibility and enabled a detailed exploration of user behaviour. The results reveal a misalignment between users' perceptions and repairability indices, with perceived repairability scores decreasing by around 35.9 % and 58.8 % compared to the calculated ones, for two specific appliances. In addition, during the observational study, the following key barriers were identified: limited accessibility to internal components, particularly the difficulty of opening the product, and the complexity of fault identification. These findings highlight how user-centered barriers, such as design-related challenges (i.e. opening the appliance) and perceived complexity, differ significantly from the criteria considered in current repairability indices. Furthermore, findings emphasise the need to address user-centred repair challenges through design improvements that enhance accessibility and simplify disassembly, ultimately fostering greater consumer engagement in repair activities.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Generalitat Valenciana (CIACIF/2021/106 and CIBEFP/2023/136) for the development of this study
Investigating community entrepreneurship from the lens of performativity
No full textThis thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonThis thesis explores the process of enhancing Community Entrepreneurship (CE) in rural areas through the lens of performativity. CE plays a critical role in supporting community welfare and economic growth (Langevang and Namatovu, 2019), particularly in rural environments where entrepreneurs deeply integrated into their communities tend to create more opportunities and values. By understanding entrepreneurship as a social process influenced by community dynamics, this study explores how local entrepreneurs build support and navigate their social and economic environments.
Using semi-structured interviews with 40 participants and employing thematic analysis (TA) alongside Gioia's methodology for data analysis, this research uncovers key constructs that influence CE. These include entrepreneurial legacy, social networks, place identity, performative actions (enablers and hindrances), civic wealth, and cultural identity, among others. The study reveals that CE is not merely about "doing" entrepreneurship, but about "performing" it through actions, language, and behaviours.
The findings address three research questions: 1) What is CE, and how does it come to be identified in rural areas? 2) What performative actions enable or hinder CE? 3) What is the process involved in enhancing CE in rural areas? The study introduces three models; the performativity ladder, the CBBE resonance model, and a comprehensive theoretical framework that showcase the process of enhancing CE. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of how rural CE is shaped by its surrounding place and community identity, offering practical frameworks for fostering CE in similar contexts
Urban Transitions
Get PDFEditorial. This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.Cities are constantly changing, often attempting to reach environmental and health goals, such as Net Zero for carbon neutrality, Zero Waste cities for embracing circularity, Vision Zero to eliminate traffic deaths, or City Cancer Challenge to improve access to cancer care. While various policy options are usually available, sector-specific initiatives that target each goal separately are typically favoured, while multi-level approaches that concurrently address cross-sectoral needs are often overlooked. In fact, despite mounting evidence and growing urgency for cities to transition towards healthier and more sustainable urban environments, progress remains slow. This may be due in part to single-policy targets that enable relatively simple solutions to be implemented, but miss out on the opportunity to engage cities in more transformative solutions. Urban transitions involve policy shifts alongside structural, cultural, and institutional changes that unfold over time. They depend on a range of factors such as existing infrastructure, institutional inertia, and coordination among multiple stakeholders. The systems thinking approaches that are required to develop solutions that consider multiple benefits and tradeoffs, however, are complex to develop and to implement
EEGUnity: Open-Source Tool in Facilitating Unified EEG Datasets Toward Large-Scale EEG Model
Get PDFThe increasing number of dispersed EEG dataset publications and the advancement of large-scale Electroencephalogram (EEG) models have increased the demand for practical tools to manage diverse EEG datasets. However, the inherent complexity of EEG data, characterized by variability in content data, metadata, and data formats, poses challenges for integrating multiple datasets and conducting large-scale EEG model research. To tackle the challenges, this paper introduces EEGUnity, an open-source tool that incorporates modules of "EEG Parser", "Correction", "Batch Processing", and "Large Language Model Boost". Leveraging the functionality of such modules, EEGUnity facilitates the efficient management of multiple EEG datasets, such as intelligent data structure inference, data cleaning, and data unification. In addition, the capabilities of EEGUnity ensure high data quality and consistency, providing a reliable foundation for large-scale EEG data research. EEGUnity is evaluated across 25 EEG datasets from different sources, offering several typical batch processing workflows. The results demonstrate the high performance and flexibility of EEGUnity in parsing and data processing. The project code is publicly available at github.com/Baizhige/EEGUnity.University Ethics Committee of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) on March 31 2020 (Grant Number: EXT20-01-07);
National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number: 72401233);
Jiangsu Provincial Qinglan Project, Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China (Grant Number: 23KJB520038);
Research Enhancement Fund of XJTLU (Grant Number: REF-23-01-008)
Life cycle assessment of glass fibre recovery from waste composites using pressolysis
No full textData Availability:
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.A preprint version of the article is available at: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6955499/v1 .This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. It has not been certified by peer review.The increasing demand for sustainable solutions in composite recycling has driven the development of novel methodologies to minimise environmental impact. This study evaluates the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the pressolysis process for recycling glass fibres from waste composites, particularly from wind turbine blades. The pressolysis process called DEECOM®, initially developed for polymer filter cleaning, utilises repeated cycles of compression and decompression to separate fibres from polymer matrices.
Three scenarios are assessed: a batch process, an improved semi-continuous process with heat recovery, and a scaled-up semi-continuous process, targeting different schemes of scale-up. Results indicate that scaling up the pressolysis process significantly reduces environmental impact, with Global Warming Potential (GWP) dropping from 95 kg CO₂ eq/kg recovered fibre in the baseline laboratory scale batch process to 2 kg CO₂ eq/kg recovered fibre in the scaled-up scenario where component capacities are increased. This represents an approximate 98% reduction per kg fibre recovered in the scaled-up scenario compared to the baseline, with the most substantial improvement achieved by increasing equipment capacity rather than the number of runs or components. The environmental impact per kilogram of recovered fibre in the best scaled-up scenario studied (2.07 kg CO₂ eq/kg) approaches that of virgin glass fibre production and landfilling (1.72 kg CO₂ eq/kg), pyrolysis (1.52 kg CO₂ eq/kg) and solvolysis (1.92 kg CO₂ eq/kg), highlighting pressolysis as a promising recycling solution.
This study demonstrates the viability of pressolysis in facilitating a circular economy by reducing reliance on landfilling and virgin raw materials, contributing to a more sustainable composite material lifecycle.This work was supported by Innovate UK under the EMPHASIZING project (Grant number 10035094)
Federated Learning Assisted Edge Caching Scheme Based on Lightweight Architecture DDPM
Get PDFEdge caching is an emerging technology that empowers caching units at edge nodes, allowing users to fetch contents of interest that have been pre-cached at the edge nodes. The key to pre-caching is to maximize the cache hit percentage for cached content without compromising users’ privacy. In this letter, we propose a federated learning (FL) assisted edge caching scheme based on lightweight architecture denoising diffusion probabilistic model (LDPM). Our simulation results verify that our proposed scheme achieves a higher cache hit percentage compared to existing FL-based methods and baseline methods.10.13039/501100001809-National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number: 61701197)
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