Birmingham City University Open Access Repository
Not a member yet
8823 research outputs found
Sort by
A Longitudinal Investigation of the Prevalence and Incidence of Self-Reported COVID-19 Disease and the Pandemic’s Impact Among Seventh-day Adventist and Non-Adventists Living in the UK
No full textThis research investigated the prevalence and incidence of COVID-19 infection among Seventh-day Adventist Christians in the UK compared to non-Adventists and assessed the pandemic’s impact on their health and dietary intake. Seventh-day Adventists and non-Adventists in the UK completed an online survey, including a Food Frequency Questionnaire, a 24-h dietary recall, and health and lifestyle questions. Participants were followed for 2 years to determine COVID-19 incidence rates. The baseline survey was completed by 170 people, 86 of whom were Adventists. The follow-up at 2 years showed a significantly lower self-reported COVID-19 incidence among Adventists (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.2, 1.0, p = 0.05). The incidence rate among Adventists was 65.48 per 1000 person-years versus 121.79 per 1000 person-years among non-Adventists. Adventists were less likely to experience long COVID (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.12, 0.78, p = 0.01). Despite being older, Adventists had a significantly lower COVID-19 incidence rate. The Adventist lifestyle, including healthy eating habits, fasting, a plant-based diet, and abstaining from alcohol and coffee, was prevalent in this sample. More research is needed to explore the association between the Adventist lifestyle and infectious disease
A systematic review of stress concentration factors (SCFs) in composite reinforced circular hollow section (CHS) joints
No full text"Composites are an emerging choice for strengthening and repairing compromised structures due to their attractive mechanical properties, environmental durability, and ease of application. After decades of successful use as environmental coatings and for strengthening secondary load members, and with advancements in materials and application techniques, composites are increasingly being used for primary load-bearing components, such as the joints of circular hollow section (CHS) members. The structural stress approach is widely used for the fatigue analysis of CHS joints. This approach utilises stress concentration factors (SCFs) in the joint to determine hot-spot stress, which is then used in conjunction with the respective S-N curve for fatigue life estimation. Composite reinforcement of CHS joints is increasingly being investigated to enhance fatigue life. Various studies have reported a positive impact of composite reinforcement on fatigue strength, either directly or by reducing SCFs in CHS joints. However, certain aspects remain unexplored, while others are frequently revisited. The use of composites for reinforcing tubular joints is systematically reviewed following PRISMA guidelines. Twenty-four articles were selected for detailed study after applying various exclusion and inclusion criteria and removing duplicate records, with eleven, five, three, four, and one articles on T/Y, K, KT, X, and TT-joints, respectively. A critical review of these articles shaped the current understanding of the capabilities of composite reinforcement in CHS joints for enhancing fatigue life and identified areas for future research. These gaps include the investigation of composite reinforcement for joints under combined loads, the optimisation of reinforcement layup, and the development of empirical equations for determining SCFs in various joints under different load configurations.
‘Athletes’, ‘Talents’, and ‘Players’: Conceptual Distinctions and Considerations for Researchers and Practitioners
No full textA clearer understanding of, and tighter boundaries between, terms are important for researchers designing studies as well as for other sport stakeholders creating evidence-informed policies. This article considers the terms ‘athlete’, ‘talent’, and ‘player’ from psychological and sociocultural perspectives and in different sporting communities to highlight the importance of terminological clarity in sport research. We present considerations to clarify the use of these terms within different contexts and how the use of specific terms may affect knowledge mobilization in diverse sporting populations. A conceptual discussion is provided to help operationalize development-related terminology and its associated stages, to better reflect contemporary academic thought, and enhance practical interpretations. Importantly, we also call for greater transparency from researchers when presenting findings and encourage practitioners to clearly define key terms when working in sport. Our intention in this paper is to energize readers to consider how we use language in athlete identification and development contexts, to stimulate deeper thought and discourse around the possible implications these terms may have at any point of an individual’s development in sport. Greater deliberation, identification, and acknowledgment of the drawbacks accompanying these terms will be needed before more confident assertions can be made on how researchers and practitioners could (or even should) implement certain terminology across youth sport contexts moving forward. This paper adds to a growing literature on the importance of clarity in terminology and acts as an impetus for those working in specific sports to co-design key terms used by researchers, practitioners, and policy makers
‘If you destroy our children, I will kill you’: biopolitical childhood in Southeast Asia’s war on drugs
No full textThis article explores how the war on drugs in Southeast Asia upholds the protection of the young as a key justification for extrajudicial killings carried out by the state. As many as 30,000 extrajudicial killings took place during Philippine former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs between 2016 and 2022, echoing a similar anti-drugs campaign in Thailand in 2003, which saw around 3,000 people murdered. Drawing on political speeches, this article argues that Duterte and Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra deployed biopolitical patterns of discourse to legitimise the murder of those associated with the drug trade. Both leaders framed the threat of drugs to children through the biopolitical lens of the integrity of the family, national health, and therefore the future of the nation. Further than this however, this article demonstrates how in the Philippines drug war, children were effectively denied their childhood status and presented as ‘dangerous becomings’. This reveals the contingent nature of childhood, as biopolitical criteria were also used to establish which children were perceived to be dangerous in the context of the drug war. In doing so, this paper serves to nuance and problematise how children are depicted in Security Studies, and International Relations more broadly
Family Witnessed Resuscitation in the Emergency Department in a Low-Income Country
No full textCardiac arrest is often a sudden and traumatic event. Family witnessed resuscitation was first recommended by the American Heart Association over two decades ago, since then several global professional bodies have identified a range of potential benefits for relatives, however, it remains contentious. For nurses working in Emergency Departments (ED) in low-income countries, the evidence and experience of family witnessed resuscitation is limited.
This article critically appraises the literature relating to the perceptions of medical professionals and critically ill patients with their families about communication, family presence and their involvement during resuscitation in the ED. Three themes relating to family witnessed resuscitation in the ED were identified by a focused literature search, these were: leadership and communication, limitation of policies and guidelines and relatives’ views. The recommendations from this review will be used to develop emergency and trauma nursing practice guidelines in Zambia, a low-income country in sub-Saharan Africa
The Syrian Archive Digital Memory Project: Archiving as Testimony, as Evidence, as Creative Practice
No full textFounded in 2014, the Syrian Archive is a collective of human rights activists dedicated to curating visual documentation of human rights violations and other crimes committed during the conflict in Syria.
Working within the context of the Syrian Archive Digital Memory Project and building on a series of interviews which took place between 2018 and 2022 with 40 photographers and videographers based in Syria and in the diaspora, this article explores the main motivations behind Syrians’ documentation of the uprising-war since 2011. It articulates the potential of this crowd-sourced archive of the uprising-war across three main spaces: its testimonial and
historical, its evidentiary and its creative value. Across all three spaces, the Digital Memory Project, and by extension this article, advocate for the creation of a space where reflections on the value of crowd-sourced archives can happen in their authors’ own voices, rather than on their behalf
Is Geopolitical Risk a Reason or Excuse for Bigger Military Expenditures?
No full textThis study aims to investigate the relationship between military expenditures and geopolitical risk using the Panel Fourier Toda-Yamamoto Causality test over the 1993–2020 period. Considering structural changes, the findings reveal that geopolitical risk fluctuations in Colombia, India, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the USA affect military expenditures. Conversely, the results point out that for Chile, Israel, Russia, Taiwan, and the UK, military expenditures appear to cause geopolitical risk. This highlights that changes in military spending across nations trigger an arms race due to the perception of increased threat by neighbours and/or interest groups. In a nutshell, the results show a complex interplay between military expenditures and geopolitical risk, where changes in one can affect the other. Based upon this, policymakers must prioritize diplomacy, utilize international mediation/peacekeeping initiatives, develop military alliances, and commit to non-threatening military expenditures for regional stability
Stakeholder perceptions of physical literacy: results from a national consultation in England
No full textBackground
There is a lack of evidence of stakeholder perspective and understanding of physical literacy among relevant stakeholders from England. As part of research commissioned by Sport England to develop a physical literacy consensus statement for England, this study presents findings from the first national consultation with stakeholders in England.
Methods
One hundred and ninety-three individual stakeholders (50.3%) from education, community sport, national governing bodies of sport, physical activity and sport coaching sectors completed an online survey consisting of fixed item and open ended questions designed to examine their knowledge, understanding, perceptions and practices relating to physical literacy.
Results
Responses from stakeholders suggested there was confusion in use of the term physical literacy in practice and confusion regarding the definition of physical literacy. Most respondents suggested they were involved in physical literacy related activity and understood the term. However, when probed the physical literacy related activity they referred to was likely not actually physical literacy related. Understanding of the term physical literacy was inconsistent in general. Stakeholders considered the affective, social, physical and cognitive areas (domains) of learning to be most important for developing a positive relationship with movement, sport and physical activity for life.
Conclusions
While stakeholders are aware of the term “physical literacy” and hold value of it within their practice, there remain key misconceptions relating to what physical literacy is, and debate as to whether any existing definitions truly capture the construct of physical literacy
Performance Analysis of FFF-Printed Carbon Fiber Composites Subjected to Different Annealing Methods
No full textAnnealing is a popular post-process used to enhance the performance of parts made by fused filament fabrication. In this work, four different carbon-fiber-based composites were subjected to two different annealing methods to compare their effectiveness in terms of dimensional stability, surface roughness, tensile strength, hardness, and flexural strength. The four materials include PLA-CF, PAHT-CF, PETG-CF, and ABS-CF. The annealing methods involved heating the printed composites inside an oven in two different ways: placed on a tray and fluidized bed annealing with sharp sand. Annealing was conducted for a one-hour time interval at different annealing temperatures selected as per the glass transition temperatures of the four materials. The results showed that oven annealing provides better results under all scenarios except dimensional stability. PETG-CF and ABS-CF composites were significantly affected by oven annealing with expansion along the z-axis as high 8.42% and 18% being observed for PETG-CF and ABS-CF, respectively. Oven annealing showed better surface finish due to controlled and uniform heating, whereas the abrasive nature of sand and contact with sand grains caused inconsistencies on the surface of the composites. Sand annealing showed comparable hardness values to oven annealing. For tensile and flexural testing, sand annealing showed consistent values for all cases but lower than those obtained by oven annealing. However, oven annealing values started to decrease at elevated temperatures for PETG-CF and ABS-CF. This work offers a valuable comparison by highlighting the limitations of conventional oven annealing in achieving dimensional stability. It provides insights that can be leveraged to fine-tune designs for optimal results when working with different FFF-printed carbon-fiber-based composites, ensuring better accuracy and performance across various applications
Deconstructing Efficiency of Mechanical Design in Bespoke Engineering
No full textThis research investigates production efficiency improvements in the design phase of High-Value, Low-Volume, High-Variety (HVLVHV) machinery products rather than conventional mass-produced products with a low degree of variety. Achieving efficiency improvements in HVLVHV machinery products is challenging due to these products being labour-intensive and, as a generalisation, being designed or customised specifically for each customer.
The methodological choice for this research is concurrent mixed-method research, which utilises both quantitative and qualitative methods. This research comprises two distinct yet complimentary research strategies. The first strategy is action research, and this is implemented in a single case study company. The action research strategy is chosen because the research took place in the organisation within which the researcher works.
The key findings from this research are that the framework developed from this research has proven effective in improving production efficiency in the mechanical design phase of HVLVHV machinery products. This is attributed to the following efficiency improvement propositions being incorporated into the framework: These include adopting lean design principles, standardising the mechanical design process, utilising a modular design approach, fostering collaboration, and using design automation tools. It was not viable to incorporate embedding continuous improvement in the organisational culture into the framework as this needs to be driven by senior management.
This research has extended the application of Modularisation by applying Modularisation theory to improve production efficiencies in the mechanical design phase of the product lifecycle of HVLVHV machinery products. This research has highlighted the value of Modularisation when implemented into lower volume production during the design phase and, therefore, has extended the theory on this efficiency improvement tool. The main contribution to practice is the sharing of a fit-for-purpose Strategic Design Management framework integrated into the business management system. The framework operates at a level equivalent to achieving ISO 9001 certification and the results indicate the framework is effective in improving production efficiencies in terms of time, cost, and quality during the mechanical design phase of HVLVHV machinery products