8251 research outputs found
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A carbon-neutral energy platform: integration of solid oxide fuel cell and ammonia synthesis for power and clean fuel
No full textThis is an author's accepted manuscript of an article published by Elsevier on 13/11/2025, available online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2025.120756
The accepted manuscript may differ from the final published version.In response to the global transition toward carbon–neutral energy systems, we present an integrated high-efficiency platform that couples solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with continuous green ammonia synthesis and power generation. The system combines a SOFC with a supercritical CO₂ (sCO₂) Brayton cycle, a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer (PEME), an ammonia synthesis reactor (ASR), and a refrigeration unit. Hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water contained in the SOFC exhaust, while nitrogen is recovered from the N₂-enriched flue gas stream. These reactants are subsequently synthesized into ammonia, which functions as both a clean fuel and an efficient hydrogen carrier, that circumvents the storage and transport limitations of hydrogen itself. Under steady-state operation, ammonia is the sole external fuel input, and all intermediate species including water and nitrogen are internally regenerated and recycled. Waste heat recovered through the sCO₂ Brayton cycle increases total power output, yielding a net electrical generation of 19.3 MW (excluding electrolysis power consumption), The refrigeration cycle maintains the thermodynamic conditions required for efficient ammonia synthesis and separation, supporting stable operation and high conversion efficiency. System performance was evaluated through from energy, exergy, environmental, and exergoeconomic analyses, indicating overall energy and exergy efficiencies of 85.92 % and 79.64 % respectively, with a Sum Unit Cost of Products (SUCP) of 131.6 $/GJ, which reflects the integrated production cost associated with the simultaneous generation of electricity and ammonia. Relative to conventional natural gas-based power plants, the system reduces CO₂ emissions by more than 6.3 tons per hour. By linking electrochemical and thermochemical processes within a single energy platform, this design offers an efficient and scalable approach for carbon–neutral power and fuel production.Published versio
Artists care: how to structure care and supervision for community musicians working in challenging and complex settings
No full textThis is an author's accepted manuscript of an article that has been published by Intellect on [date TBC] available online: [link TBC].
The accepted manuscript may differ from the final published version.Community music encompasses a variety of different practices with practitioners working in myriad settings. For musicians who work in the domain of socially engaged practice, practitioner identity is critical in understanding and differentiating between the approaches of musicians who identify themselves as activists, with activism a driving force of their work, and that of other music educators (Hess, 2019). Socially engaged arts practitioners require a wide skills set, with competencies nested within artistic, social, pedagogical, ethical, research, development, entrepreneurial and contextual domains (Lehikoinen & Siljamäki 2023). The work of community musicians is then both holistic and multidimensional. Many freelance community musicians in the UK lean toward an identity as artist rather than musician. There are many reasons for this, some pragmatic as they are multi-artists, and others lie deeply within the notion of socially engaged arts as a reaction against the formal educational structures of music. Explorations of the relationship between community music and music-making in prisons have shown both parallels and contrasts between the two areas of practice, however they are intimately entwined by their focus on seeking to support the personal growth and social strengths of participants (Cohen & Henley 2017). Therefore, given the complexity around community musicians’ identity (Phelan 2008), and the focus on socially engaged arts as a field of praxis with many dimensions, we use the terminology of the three community music organisations that we work with and refer to community musicians as artists throughout the paper
Gendered music institutions: a feminist critique of contractual levers of power
No full text© in press The author. Published by Frontiers Media. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence.
The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: [TBC]In this contribution I focus on the gendered character of UK music organisations and the origins of their overwhelming power in the system. In the UK, the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) found, in their 2024 report on “Misogyny in Music” that gender discrimination in the music industries is endemic, and systemic. Recognising that women do not have access to the same opportunities, and for those that do get to enter the sector, we see their experience is laced with discrimination and sexism, WEC looked at, among other things, at the practice of Non-Disclosure-Agreements (NDAs) to create a culture of silence. WEC did not recommend an all-out ban on NDAs, accepting the claim that there might be some legitimate use of NDAs, to protect commercially sensitive information, including copyright. The F-List for Music CIC, where I sit on the Board, and its sister organisations, have on 30 January 2025, asked the WEC to investigate the role of copyright and music contracts in the creating, or maintaining the intersectional discrimination in the sector. In this contribution, I draw on my new, interdisciplinary framework FIPS (Feminist Intellectual Property Studies) and the lived experience of women (twenty-six interviews) to evaluate the effects of music contracts on women and gender-diverse people’s autonomy, creativity and well-being when making music. I argue that music contracts are used to control women and gender-diverse artists, by placing them in commercially tailored boxes (i.e. pigeonholing). Moreover, I argue that the commercial fixation of copyright rules creates gendered bias in the system, resulting in gendered institutions. At present evidence shows that music organisations, such as record labels and music publishers are dominated by men. These organisations accumulate power, because of the copyright rules that allow for transfer of copyright in original works and acquisition of sound recording copyright, when statutory conditions are met. In addition, rules on commercial exploitation, licensing and participation in collecting management organisations, such as the PRS for Music are built to favour the men in the system, who earn more money from music, than women
Feminist critique of copyright in music: mapping the intersectional gender hardships
No full textThis is an author's accepted manuscript of a chapter due to be published by Edward Elgar in the Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Social Justice edited by Gibson, J. and Johnson, P. The accepted manuscript may differ from the final published version. For re-use please see the publisher's terms and conditions
Beyond the intervention: how physical, social, and organisational contexts trigger wellbeing for minority ethnic residents with dementia: a realist synthesis
Full text link© 2026 The authors. Published by OUP. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence.
The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afag035Background
As populations age and diversify, the need for culturally responsive dementia care in residential settings is urgent. Minority ethnic (ME) residents often face barriers to equitable care, and a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach risks overlooking what matters most for their wellbeing. This review investigates how culturally tailored interventions improve wellbeing for ME residents with dementia.
Methods
A realist synthesis was conducted to explain how, why, and under what conditions interventions work. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42024581293). Six databases were searched for studies published between 2013 and 2024. Using the Integrated Model of Place as a framework, data were analysed to develop Context-Mechanism-Outcome configurations (CMOCs). Findings were validated with stakeholders from 10 care homes.
Results
Seven studies were included. Analysis revealed that effective interventions are those aligned across three contextual domains/environments: the physical (culturally familiar sensory cues), the social (native-language communication, shared activities), and the organisational (supportive leadership, staff training, structured routines). When aligned, these contexts trigger mechanisms of familiarity, emotional memory, trust, and identity affirmation. This leads to outcomes of reduced agitation, improved mood, enhanced communication, and stronger family-staff relationships. On the other hand, interventions lacking this integration, such as those without language support, failed to engage residents and families.
Conclusion
Wellbeing for ME residents is not achieved by interventions alone but through care environments that are holistically culturally responsive. Culturally attuned physical, social, and organisational contexts must be synergistically aligned to activate essential wellbeing mechanisms. This synthesis provides a practical framework for designing and implementing inclusive dementia care.This study was funded by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2023–00171 and the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, Quality Research funding.Published versio
A critical review of modeling hydrogen production using water electrolyzer
No full text© 2026 The authors. Published by De Gruyter. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence.
The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1515/revce-2025-0049The quest for effective hydrogen production through water electrolysis depends on the performance. Yet, making good models for performance improvement is naturally difficult because operation of an electrolyzer is both a multi-physics and multi-scale problem. Interaction of such complex phenomena across disparate spatial and temporal scales makes system design and optimization an extremely difficult task that indeed calls for advanced computational approaches. This review explores the application of recently developed computational methods to address such problems. Key methods examined include the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), response surface methodology (RSM), and artificial intelligence (AI) methods. Water electrolyzer simulations are dominated by two-phase liquid-gas models; the LBM is particularly effective for microscale flows and interfacial phenomena where surface effects are important, while Eulerian volume of fluid approaches are the most effective for treating bubble behavior. Briefly, optimal surrogate models for integrated systems are provided by empirical correlations and experiment design techniques (such as RSM). AI and hybrid AI-CFD techniques are making modeling and optimization easier and faster. For instance, DeepONet has predicted current density, oxygen mole fraction, and cell temperature with a root-mean-squared error of less than 1%. This review concludes that LBM is a valuable tool for microscale multiphase dynamics and that AI-augmented CFD has proven capable of supplementing, and in certain situations, even replace conventional CFD workflows for the design and optimization of electrolyzers.Published versio
Sustainable conversion of wet biomass, algae, and food waste to fuels in hot compressed water: multi-scale analysis
Full text link© 2025 The authors. Published by Elsevier. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence.
The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecs.2025.101264Wet biomass conversion in hot compressed water (HCW) processes operating at temperatures above 250 °C and pressures above 4 MPa offer a promising pathway towards sustainable production of biofuels. This paper provides a multiscale view of HCW, spanning from molecular-level mechanisms to commercialisation and scale-up challenges of related technologies, emphasising the need for scientific and technological innovations, policy support, and market incentives. Key aspects such as sustainability, environmental impact and economic feasibility are critically discussed. Key deployment challenges include catalyst selection, deactivation, reactor design, and process optimisation. Integration with renewable energy systems, such as solar and geothermal, and carbon capture and utilisation technologies is proposed to tackle the high energy requirements and environmental impact of HCW processes. Current developments in data-driven modelling and mechanistic simulations as useful tools that facilitate process analysis and optimisation are also reviewed. Compact, integrated and intensified HCW processes with energy recovery are central to advancing the bioeconomy. This study aims to advance the current state of HCW technologies and outlines a roadmap for future research and technological development integrated with renewable energy systems in more sustainable ways. In summary, this paper is expected to serve as a reference for researchers and industry professionals, providing a guide for addressing real-world deployment issues in HCW integrated technologies and fostering further progress in a field that often focuses more on fundamental chemistry.Published versio
Basic Instinct revisited: the critical trajectory of a cult phenomenon
No full textThis is an author's accepted manuscript of a chapter due to be published by Liverpool University Press in Abrams, N. & Miller, E. (eds.) Paul Verhoeven: Critical Perspectives, available online: [link tbc]
Benchmarking mobilization practice and functional outcomes in traumatic brain injury patients admitted to the intensive care unit: a three-year service evaluation
Full text link© 2026 The Authors. Published by Frontiers Media. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence.
The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2026.1694393Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. Mobilization is defined as the application of assisted movement and physical therapy to hospitalized patients, including progressive exercise and ambulation programs. While early mobilization in the intensive care unit (ICU) has been shown to be a safe and effective intervention to improve patient outcomes in the general ICU cohort, there is currently limited evidence specific to patients with acute TBI. The aim of this service evaluation was to identify current mobilization activity and functional outcomes in patients admitted to the ICU at our institution following an acute TBI. Methods: A single-center retrospective service evaluation was performed for all patients, over 16 years-old, admitted to the ICU at our institution (a Level 1 major trauma center) with an acute TBI between January 2022 and November 2024. Patient demographics, ICU admission details, TBI severity (based on the Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS]) and functional outcomes were extracted. Mobilization outcomes included the timing of the commencement of mobilization (defined as sitting on the edge of the bed or better) and mobilization status, defined using the Manchester Mobility Scale (MMS). Results: The service evaluation included 353 patients, of whom 56.0% had severe TBI (GCS: 3–7). Mobilization was achieved in ICU for 53.0% of patients, with a further 18.1% first mobilized on a hospital ward post-ICU discharge. The first mobilization occurred at a median of 11 days (interquartile range: 6–18) after ICU admission. In patients surviving to ICU discharge, 28.9% had an MMS of 1 (bed-based exercises) at this time, with only 9.1% achieving an MMS of 7 (mobilizing 30 meters or more). Analysis by TBI severity found a significant decline in in-hospital mobilization rates with increasing TBI severity (90.7% vs. 58.4% for mild vs. severe TBI; p < 0.001), with a corresponding increase in the time to the first mobilization (median: 6 vs. 13 days for mild vs. severe TBI; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Acute TBI patients admitted to the ICU at our institution had low rates of mobilization and achieved low levels of mobility at ICU discharge. This service evaluation highlights the need for prospective studies into early mobilization practices in the neurotrauma ICU.Published versio
A study of disputes and their resolution in public private partnership (PPP) projects in Nigeria
No full textA thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.The Construction industry is the largest contributor to the world economy given the GDP ratio. But infrastructure construction is a complex process, requires coordinated efforts of a temporarily assembled multiple-member organisation of many discrete groups, each having different goals and needs, and each expecting to maximise its own benefits.
Nigeria shifted the burden of new infrastructure development and investment to the private sector as part of the Public Partnership (PPP) policy, as an effort to fill the gap in infrastructure developments and to achieve its vision 20:2020
The study, therefore, investigated disputes, dispute resolution methods and the procedures parties to PPP infrastructure construction disputes employed to address such disputes. The study adopted a systematic review process as a methodological approach to review the existing literature on construction disputes and their resolution methods. The study also carried out a literature review of Nigeria’s major construction projects and related disputes and their resolution methods with a view to developing strategies for the efficient and effective dispute resolution methods.
Adopting a non-probability with purposive sampling and snowballing strategy, the research draws on in-depth semi-structured interviews with PPP construction professionals, government officials, private concessionaires, and ADR practitioners. The qualitative design enables an interpretive exploration of lived experiences, practitioner narratives, and the contextual factors influencing dispute trajectories.
Findings reveal that disputes in Nigerian PPPs primarily arise from unclear initial specifications and frequent design modifications, ambiguous risk allocation, inconsistent government commitments, financial uncertainties resulting in time and payment delays, political interference. The study also revealed from participants’ emphasises that despite the presence of formal tiered dispute resolution clauses, early ADR mechanisms such as negotiation and mediation are often underutilised due to mistrust, power asymmetries, and unclear triggers for when a dispute is deemed to have formally crystallised. These gaps contribute to premature escalation to arbitration or litigation, increasing costs and delaying project delivery.
The study has contributed to theory by advancing that dispute behaviour in PPP projects in Nigeria is shaped by the interaction of contractual incompleteness and political interference complexity, factors not fully accounted for in existing PPP or dispute-systems theories.
To deal with the challenges and achieve efficient and effective dispute resolutions processes in PPP projects in Nigeria, three sets of remedial strategies were proposed. But a set aligns with underlying philosophy of ‘prevention is better than cure’ and was integrated into a single framework called Remedial Strategy Pathways
The research findings have policy, legal and geographical implications. The finding called for policy changes to focus more on ensuring widely used standard form of contract contains provision for on-site prevention and avoidance strategies. On legal implication, the finding imply a need for reforms in areas of improved education, training and enforcement of contract requirements. The findings have implications for other developing countries. The dispute resolution methods of ADR should encompass only non-binding processes where parties retain ultimate control over the resolution process and outcome of their disputes