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Optimization of Production Process of Agro-Based Activated Carbon for Sustainable Cooling
No full textThis study investigates the experimental production and multi-objective optimization of the production process of microporous activated carbon (AC) derived from Raphia nut endocarp (RNE) for solid adsorption refrigerators (SAR) and related systems. Using phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) and calcium chloride (CaCl₂) as activating agents, a comprehensive optimization technique integrating genetic algorithms (GA), Pareto optimality (PO), min-max normalization (MMN), and machine learning (ML) was applied to determine the optimal RNE-derived AC (RNEAC) properties, including surface area, carbon yield, and ash content. Linear regression was used as the ML algorithm to analyze the relationship between the production variables of the RNEAC. The experimental design varied parameters such as carbonization temperature, residence time, activating agent concentration, and impregnation ratio, to statistically evaluate their impacts. Results revealed that temperature and residence time significantly influence ash content, while impregnation ratio, temperature, and residence time optimize surface area. Similarly, carbon yield was affected by temperature, residence time, and impregnation ratio. The optimized RNEAC exhibits properties that include a high surface area, low ash content, and a promising methanol adsorption capacity, highlighting its suitability for application in SAR systems. This study will contribute to achieving a greener environment and the development of high-efficiency and sustainable adsorption cooling technologies for rural communities by valorizing agricultural wastes and turning them into excellent low-cost adsorbents for the next generation of SAR
Sentiment Analysis on Gender Pay Gap from Twitter (Renamed ‘X’): Using Artificial Neural Network Approach
No full textThis study introduces a targeted approach to sentiment analysis, focusing on people's views and emotions on the persistent problem of the gender pay gap. Employing an Artificial Neural Network as a supervised machine learning technique, we examine the unique linguistic characteristics of Twitter (Renamed ‘X’), discourse and the sentiments expressed on the gender pay gap at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
We show that disclosure of the gender pay gap triggers discussion on other gender-related issues, including gender stereotypes, gender inequality, gender imbalance, gender parity and gender diversity. We suggest that the salience attributed to these other gender-related issues by the public could eclipse the significance of reducing the gender pay differential. We also show that gender stereotype was found to contribute significantly to public sentiment on the gender pay gap. Furthermore, we argue that it is important to consider a broad range of gender-related concerns when crafting policies aimed at reducing the gender pay gap, to ensure resolution of one does not inadvertently worsen other related issues of importance to stakeholders. Additionally, we contend that an integrative approach between stakeholder theory and institutional theory should be adopted when investigating/discussing the effects of the relationship between stakeholders and organisations
Reconstructing Historical Atmospheres: Creating Sensory Trails for Heritage Sites
No full textTrails in heritage sites are useful ways to engage visitors with the place. Sensory trails proposed in this paper, engaged with the sensory walking method, are designed purposefully to engage the multi-sensory features onsite with prompts to link to the historic sensory elements that have historic and cultural meanings to the heritage sites. Two questions are asked: (1) What process can we follow to design sensory heritage trails? (2) What criteria can be used to evaluate and guide the sensory features on site and from historic documentations? Taking design research as the overarching methodology, this paper reflects on the creation of two sensory trails, Sensing Beyond the Roundhouse and Sensing Around the Anglesey Column, following the Double Diamond framework developed by UK Design Council. An iterative design framework was developed, beginning with the identification of constraints and sensory opportunities through site observations, document analysis, and stakeholder interviews, which leads to interpretations of sensory features to shape storylines and route planning informed by user analysis. It is followed by representing the trails through sensory maps and other low-cost creative formats and then validating proposed trails with communities and stakeholders via pilot walks and feedback sessions. Four criteria are generated to assess sensory features based on engagement and authenticity: their contribution to the authentic historic atmosphere of the site; their ability to trigger imagination and evoke nostalgia; their distinctiveness and relevance to the site’s heritage narratives; and their capacity to encourage physical interaction and embodied engagement. The discussion part argues that sensory trails can be used as place-based strategies to inform urban planning and development around the heritage site through three pathways: catalyst for improvements and developments, connect isolated heritage sites, generate place-based knowledge
The evolution of religious education: A reflective analysis of the latest Curriculum and Assessment Review
No full textThe last time the national curriculum (NC) in England underwent a review was in 2011. It is now over a decade, and so the government in England decided that a comprehensive review of it was due to ensure it remained innovative and effective. Thus, in July 2024, the government commissioned Professor Becky Francis CBE to convene and chair a Panel of experts to conduct the Curriculum and Assessment Review.
On Tuesday 18 March 2025 the curriculum and assessment review interim report, was published (DfE, 2025). The Review was informed by research evidence, data, a wealth of perspectives from experts, stakeholders and the public, including over 7,000 responses to their Call for Evidence and a range of research and polling. This gives it much credibility and seems to have been welcomed in many quarters. The Interim Report presents their initial findings and insights.
In this article, I reflect on and critically analyse some key messages presented in the report, within the wider context of religious education (RE). The reflection considers RE as it was excluded from the previous review (DfE, 2013) and welcomes RE into the future framework
When Is a Boundary Not a Boundary? Exploring the Tensions and Potentialities of Creative Practice in Doctoral Research in Art and Design Education
No full textAlongside their continuing growth in the popularity, both practice research in creative disciplines and arts‐based methods in research in the social sciences have histories now spanning several decades. In doctoral education, art and design education research sits within and across two distinct fields – the art and design doctorate and the education doctorate – each field with their own disciplinary traditions and conventions and expectations of doctorateness. For postgraduate researchers and supervisors alike, this brings challenges and barriers that are often perceived as hierarchical and othering. Reflecting on my attempts to locate in an existing global dataset those art and design education doctorates in which practice research and/or creative methods feature, I expose the complexities of the terrain. This paper reveals tensions and acknowledges where boundaries between disciplinary approaches may be artificial, porous or invisible to those interloping. It is imperative that postgraduate researchers and their supervisors acknowledge the complexity, slipperiness, and fluidity of distinctions between practice research in art and design, and creative methods in education research. I argue for the need for confidence in holding space for this uncertainty whilst seeing lineages of precedence that open up possibilities for future research
Carbonated Aggregates and Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Polymers: Advancing Sustainable Concrete for Structural Use
No full textIn the transition towards a circular economy, redesigning construction materials for enhanced sustainability becomes crucial. To contribute to this goal, this paper investigates the integration of carbonated aggregates (CAs) and basalt fibre-reinforced polymers (BFRPs) in concrete infrastructures as an alternative to natural sand (NS) and steel reinforcement. CA is manufactured using accelerated carbonation that utilizes CO2 to turn industrial byproducts into mineralised products. The structural performance of CA and BFRP-reinforced concrete simply supported slab was investigated through conducting a series of experimental tests to assess the key structural parameters, including bond strength, bearing capacity, failure behavior, and cracking bbehaviour. Carbon footprint analysis (CFA) was conducted to understand the environmental impact of incorporating BFRP and CA. The results indicate that CA exhibits a higher water absorption rate compared to NS. As the CA ratio increased, the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), compressive, tensile, and flexural strength decreased, and the absorption capacity of concrete increased. Furthermore, incorporating 25% CA in concrete has no significant effect on the bond strength of BFRP. However, the load capacity decreased with an increasing CA replacement ratio. Finally, integrating BFRP and 50% of CA into concrete slabs reduced the slab’s CFA by 9.7% when compared with steel-reinforced concrete (RC) slabs
Quantifying Belonging and Mattering: The Experience of Allied Health Undergraduate Students in University and on Clinical Placement
No full textStudent belonging is well-researched, with links identified between a sense of belonging in students, and student experience, satisfaction, and student persistence. Mattering is a lesser researched area and is the individual student’s perception that they are noticed and valued. This research aims to determine levels of belonging and mattering across the academic and the clinical environment in undergraduate allied health professional students. This research explores how these levels of belonging and mattering vary across student demographics and correlate with grade outcome.
A non-experimental, correlational, quantitative study was undertaken, using a cross-sectional survey and student academic records. Quantitative questionnaires were distributed to undergraduate students enrolled on allied health programmes at one UK university. The questionnaires included questions relating to student demographics and utilised four previously validated Likert scales measuring feelings of mattering in the university environment (Elliott et al., 2004); feelings of mattering in the clinical placement environment (Elliott et al., 2004); feelings of belonging in the university environment (Yorke, 2016) and feelings of belonging in the clinical placement environment using the Belongingness Scale –Clinical Placement Experience (BS-CPE) (Levett-Jones et al., 2009a). Participants were also asked for their student identification number to obtain their academic attainment for the year.
264 completed questionnaires were analysed, with 256 participants providing access to their academic records. Analysis showed a positive correlation between belonging and mattering in both the university and clinical placement environments. Students who had seriously considered dropping out had significantly lower scores for all four scales, and there was a statistically significant relationship between the ethnicity of the student and feelings of mattering and belonging in the clinical environment. There was a small but statistically significant correlation between the student’s perception of mattering at university and their average grade achieved for the year. The Spearman correlation coefficient = 0.141, p<0.025. This was the only scale that had a statistically significant relationship with grade outcome.
This research demonstrates a relationship between feelings of student mattering and grade outcome, and feelings of belonging and mattering may impact on the student’s intention to persist. For students attending clinical placement as part of their studies, attention needs to be given to supporting students to feel that they belong in the clinical placement environment and that they matter to clinical staff and their peers during placements. Interventions at an individual level to increase a student’s sense of mattering may positively impact their academic grades
Determinants of export diversification in resource-dependent economies: The role of product relatedness and macroeconomic conditions
No full textExport diversification is crucial for economic development, yet many resource-rich countries have struggled to achieve significant progress in expanding their export structure beyond extractive products. While the lack of capabilities is often highlighted as a primary barrier to diversification, the literature frequently underestimates the significant impact of macroeconomic conditions on export diversification potential. This study seeks to bridge the gap between the capabilities literature and macroeconomic factors, particularly in economies heavily dependent on extractive industries. In order to address our question, we initially introduce a novel measure of product relatedness, expanding on the framework developed by Nomaler and Verspagen (2022), and econometrically estimate its relationship with key macroeconomic variables such as international prices, exchange rates, energy and mineral dependency, and GDP per capita. The analysis spans over 5000 products across multiple countries from 1995 to 2019, with the objective of determining the relative significance of these factors in predicting diversification patterns and assessing how macroeconomic conditions either facilitate or impede diversification, particularly in non-extractive sectors. Our results indicate that while product relatedness is a strong predictor of diversification, particularly in extractive industries where path dependence is highly pronounced, macroeconomic factors play an even more decisive role. These factors not only determine the feasibility of diversification but also shape the conditions under which industries expand and evolve. Depending on their dynamics, macroeconomic variables can either reinforce existing patterns of specialisation or create new opportunities for diversification
Factional Journalism in South Africa's Privately Owned Print Media: An Exploration
No full textThis paper theorized the concept of “factional journalism” and media capture within South Africa's privately owned print media landscape. This theorization attemps to understand media capture along partisan and factional cleavages in the post democractic dispensation. To understand the factional journalism phenomena in South Africa, we employ a case study design that relies on interviews with Media24 and Independent News and Media (also known as Independent Media) aligned political editors and journalists who have covered the Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa's presidencies. Theoretically, we rely on the political economy framework of the media. For this investigation, we wanted to understand how, if at all, media ownership structures and political-economic interests influence journalistic bias in how the Zuma and Ramaphosa presidencies are/have been represented. Findings from this study confirmed the enduring political and business pressures exerted on journalists when covering political elites. While our study observed few cases of outliers, the general trend confirms the continued relevance of the political economy framework as a viable model when seeking to understand editorial bias when covering political elites
Ubuntu Tensions in Migrant Remittance Behavior: The Case of African Migrants’ Lived Experiences
No full textThis study, based on in-depth interviews with 50 African migrants living in the United Kingdom, argues for a more nuanced approach to studying their remittance behavior. Drawing from the tension-centered approach, we posit that African migrants derived their remittance behavior in tensional ways based on the philosophy of Ubuntu, which is both enabling and constraining, stemming from the social context of the home and host countries. This occurs through ongoing negotiation with allegiance to Ubuntu from their home African country, their acculturation to the host country, and migrants scaling back from remitting due to ongoing experiences. In addition to examining migrant remittance behavior as a dynamic and contested negotiation, the sociocultural implications of such remittance behavior patterns are identified. We conclude by discussing some implications for future research on remittance behavior. Our research thus contributes to a more fine-grained understanding of the remittance behavior of African migrants