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Rurality and intersectionality: a literature review
No full textPurpose
The paper presents a literature review conducted to consider the range and focus of papers applying a stated intersectional framework to rural contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
With a specific interest in intersectionality studies that were connected to rural areas, a number of databases were searched for the term “intersectionality”, and from 492 identified papers, 21 papers met the criteria for review. Thematic analysis captured the range of themes within and across each paper.
Findings
Although all papers considered gender, race and their relation to identity, the strongest theme throughout was the concept of place. Place was often related to how identity is shaped within place. Multiple inequalities and intersecting identities related to race, ethnicity, class, sex and place, and their impacts were documented. The extent to which intersectionality was able to be employed in analysis and discussion is highlighted. The papers sought to acknowledge the complexity in these domains with some providing in-depth analysis of experiences in a number of domains and examining norms, values, power structures and the discourses and narratives that support these.
Research limitations/implications
This literature review discussed papers from the Global North. It was imperative to consider nations with similar systems and governance sophistication to undertake meaningful analysis. Future research could encompass articles from across the globe (specifically, from areas and regions of the Global South) to compare and contrast applications and interpretations of intersectional research and practice in more varied contexts. There could also be a greater focus on historical debates that have influenced the interaction of intersectionality and rurality such as feminist approaches as well as more focus on confronting privilege and how that frames analyses.
Practical implications
Intersectionality requires application as a complete framework to research and practice so as to better hear the voices expressing lived experiences of individuals, groups and communities within all social identifiers of which place is a vital component. This is further compounded when considering the impact of interpretations of rurality. The authors of this literature review acknowledge a need to de-whiten and decolonialise experiences encapsulated in the notions, concepts and application of intersectionality and rurality. Capturing the complexity that emerges in intersectional analysis is a challenge that has been embraced to varying degrees within the papers reviewed.
Social implications
Appreciation of the complex array of factors that contribute to rural contexts needs to be embraced in research through intersectional analysis. What is absent from some of the papers, is an explanation or need to challenge the urban-centric and white-dominated views of intersectionality and the application of intersectionality excluding other social indicators such as the impact of place. The notion of place within itself incorporates the social and without the social, then place would become merely space (Johnston, 2018).
Originality/value
The papers chosen presented a range of applications of intersectionality that allow us to consider an intersectional lens with a strong application indicating the use of interrelated themes throughout such as race and gender in relation to place and power structures
The Development, Delivery, Content, and Impact of Nutrition Education in Prisons: A Systematic Review
No full textPeople in prison are at an increased risk of long-term conditions that have been associated with poor nutrition intake, low levels of physical activity, and obesity. We aim to identify the necessary components of nutrition education to impact the health and health behaviors of people in prison. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines informed the structure of this article. Our protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022353925). Electronic databases were searched for relevant studies published in the English language from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2023. Data were extracted and narrative synthesis completed. The search identified 394 studies, of which 10 studies included nutrition education delivered to and with people in prison. In most cases, nutrition was one element of a complex intervention, with the inclusion of physical activity and/or a focus on health. The outcomes measured varied considerably across studies; therefore, our narrative synthesis explored the (1) development and delivery, (2) content, and (3) impact of nutrition education delivered for people in prison. There remains a need for nutrition education for people in prison, developed through coproduction, that encompasses their individual needs, with quantifiable outcome measures through validated tools and/or physiological measures
Childhood obesity prevention inequality: the dichotomy between health authorities’ provision and minority ethnicities’ perspectives
No full textInvestigation of Hybrid Battery Thermal Management Systems incorporating Internal-External Fins and Phase Change Materials
No full textThe thermal management of lithium-ion batteries is critical for ensuring their safety, longevity, and performance, especially to prevent thermal runaway during high-temperature conditions and continuous cycling. This study introduces a hybrid phase change material (PCM)-liquid battery thermal management system (BTMS), which integrates cylindrical and longitudinal internal-external fins into PCM-based BTMSs. These innovative fin designs for cylindrical lithium-ion batteries simultaneously enhanced conduction and convection heat transfer within PCM while addressing temperature uniformity around the circular perimeter and along the height of batteries. The hybrid BTMS combined PCM latent heat utilisation with liquid cooling to improve energy efficiency, recover PCM latent heat, and enhance natural convection through a metal casing and strategically designed fins.
The fin-enhanced PCM-based BTMS effectively maintained battery surface temperatures below the optimal threshold of 318.15 K for safety and lifespan, even under high current rates and elevated ambient temperatures. Additionally, the PCM-based BTMS with 1 cylindrical and 4 longitudinal internal-external fins provided the highest fin efficiency compared to the PCM-based BTMSs with higher fin quantities and extended the total PCM melting period by up to 37.76% while reducing the total PCM solidification period by up to 37.56% compared to the PCM-based BTMS without fins. This maintained battery temperatures within the optimal range for a longer period and enhanced BTMS recovery.
The role of convection during PCM melting was highlighted, with a generalisation of PCM liquid fraction and Nusselt number in terms of Fourier number, modified Stefan number, Rayleigh number, and fin quantity. Sensitivity analyses identified optimal PCM thickness, fin size, and material selection. Statistical analysis revealed that ambient temperature and liquid coolant temperature were the most influential factors on the maximum battery surface temperature in the hybrid PCM-liquid BTMS, whereas PCM material and PCM thickness had the least impact.
The proposed BTMS designs, with their ease of manufacturing, can reduce maintenance costs by providing temperature uniformity within the module, benefiting sectors such as automotive, light and compact electronics, and renewable energy. This study provides a strong foundation for further exploration of BTMS designs, emphasising the need for balanced designs to achieve efficient thermal management without compromising energy density or excessively increasing power consumption. Future work should focus on investigating the performance of these BTMSs through experimental testing under real-world conditions to advance their adoption in energy storage technologies
A Modified Parallel NET (MPNET)-Based Deep Learning Technique for the Segmentation of Visceral and Superficial Adipose Tissues Quantification of CT Scans
No full textThis study introduces a modified parallel net (MPNET), a novel deep learning model designed for accurate segmentation and quantification of visceral and superficial adipose tissues. This was used to quantify the visceral and superficial adipose tissues found at the L3 levels of vertebra in CT scans. This will be used to predict the likelihood of the patient developing diabetes or cardiovascular diseases from existing CT scan data. MPNET was compared with state-of-the-art models like UNET, R2UNET, UNET++, and nnUNET. This approach advances the accuracy and efficiency of image segmentation demonstrating a faster learning curve and lower losses at early epochs than traditional models., We developed and validated using a limited dataset of 14 single-slice DICOM files for each patient extracted from the National Health Service UK. The outputs from MPNET not only matched but often exceeded traditional metrics such as the Dice coefficient and IoU in nuanced anatomical delineation, providing greater clinical realism and applicability in segmentation results. As a pilot study, this research paves the way for a forthcoming validation study on a larger and more ethnically diverse dataset
Enhancement of LLMs-based Translation by Agentic Machine Translation in Thai Language
No full textThis experiment has a focus on the enhancement capability of large language models (LLMs) for translation in low-resource languages, specifically Thai. Moreover, the experiment of translation by selected different LLMs, such as GPT-3.5 Turbo, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, SeaLLMs, and Typhoon, translating from English to Thai in general text, found that translation by specific lan-guages pre-trained LLMs such as Typhoon has more accuracy than multilin-gual pre-trained LLMs such as GPT-3.5 Turbo. Furthermore, attempt to im-plement Agentic Machine Translate to enhance translation, which is a pro-cess that uses 2 LLMs; first assign as translator and second assign as reflec-tor. This experiment has 2 methods, first using the same LLMs as translation and reflection, and second methods using different LLMs. Additionally, the results before and after translation by reflection were assessed by BERTScore, COMET, METEOR, and BLEU. By using different LLMs, the quality of translation increases with Typhoon as translator and Claude as re-flector. As a result, the efficiency of translation by agentic flow depends on the generated reflection prompt and pre-trained language. Although this ex-periment was not to confirm that agentic machine translation can enhance LLMs-based translation accuracy, it showed there is a challenge in leveraging LLMs-based translation instead of machine translation to improve translation in low-resource languages
Low carbon heating transitions and Actor Network Theory: Entanglements with the fireside
No full textThis paper sets out early findings from the UK component of a European project seeking to establish a social and cultural history of home heating, in order to distil lessons for a more socially conscious shift from fossil fuelled to low carbon heating systems. Here we share findings from 30 oral histories of home heating (from 1945 to present day) gathered in the former coal mining town of Rotherham in the North of England. By analysing the findings through the lens of Actor Network Theory (ANT), we reveal the coal fire (or coal fired range) as a powerful actant shaping domestic life in the decades following the end of the second world war. We argue that relational-material entanglements with the fireside endure, despite many decades of gas central heating in the UK, and have implications for current policy efforts to transition to more abstracted and technological low carbon heating systems, such as heat pumps. These entanglements with the fireside hold important implications for the sensitive handling of the current heating transition
Asleep at the Virtual Wheel: The Increasing Inaccessibility of Virtual Reality Applications
No full textPrior research has highlighted numerous accessibility barriers within virtual reality software, with guidelines emerging to address the requirements of diverse audiences. However, an empirical understanding of industry practitioner implementation of accessible guidelines within mainstream commercial applications is currently lacking. This review addresses this gap by categorising all accessibility features presented at a software-level in 330 of the most used virtual reality applications released between 2016 to 2023 on the Steam, Meta, Oculus, Viveport, and SideQuest platforms. Results suggest a growing lack of interaction customisation, with the number of applications allowing for alternative inputs and physical posture flexibility decreasing. Meanwhile, display output settings, such as text font resizing and colourblind alterations, are almost completely absent. Our findings highlight the evolution in the implementation of accessible features in virtual reality software, contributing to a representative overview of practitioner decisions, and acting as a catalyst towards the establishment of industry-wide guidelines
The Alchemy of Multibagger Stocks: An empirical investigation of factors that drive outperformance in the stock market
No full textHot growth stocks attract substantial interest from investors; however, future stock market winners are difficult to identify using traditional metrics of fundamental analysis (such as cash flow, profitability or earnings per share). This study investigates the characteristics of “multibagger stocks” – stocks that increase in value several times the original investment – and detects key drivers of their abnormal investment returns. An empirical analysis of 464 multibagger stocks listed on major American stock exchanges, each increasing in value by at least tenfold during 2009-2024, was conducted. A dynamic panel data model was developed to explain the sources of their outperformance and to predict future returns. The findings indicate that several traditional Fama-French factors, including size, value and profitability, remain significant predictors of future multibagger returns: small-cap high-value high-profitability stocks outperform. Additionally, the analysis identifies further important drivers of multibagger stock outperformance. These include fundamental, technical, and macroeconomic variables, such as high free cash flow yield, distinctive investment patterns linked to EBITDA growth, complex momentum effects with quick trend reversals that limit optimal entry points, and specific interest rate environment.
This study advances asset pricing research by developing a novel, empirically validated model to explain the multibagger phenomenon. It offers valuable practical insights for investors and asset managers and provides a robust theoretical foundation for future stock screening strategies aimed at identifying potential multibaggers and maximising capital gains
Changing urban identity and character in Libyan historical cities: a case study of Tripoli
No full textThis thesis examines the dynamic transformation of traditional Arabic-Islamic cities' identity, with a focus on Tripoli, Libya. Since the mid-twentieth century, globalisation's influence on urban form and function has yielded both advancements and disruptions that reshape culture, identity, and human activity. Increased urban migration has brought significant social, economic, and cultural changes in cities, often leading to urban decay due to the degradation of the built environment and urban fabric.
This thesis offers a holistic framework to better understand the factors impacting the identity of traditional Arabic-Islamic cities through the case of Tripoli. It employs policy analysis, expert interviews, resident input, and observations to identify key contributors to the evolution of urban form and identity in historic Tripoli. These factors include socio-cultural influences, the built environment, economy, law, and decision-making processes. Most notably, migration-induced social changes and specific property-related legislation have shifted urban identity, leading to urban decay.
This study has produced, first, a theoretical contribution that extends conceptual understandings of urban decay in contexts of Arabic-Islamic cities. The largely Western-dominated literature often cites economic factors as the driving force behind urban decay; however, this study reveals that urban decay also stems from a range of other factors, including the law and decision-making. Secondly, this work offers practical insights for academics, university students, planners, architects, and urban designers working on urban development projects and urban regeneration