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Understanding the Rights of Nature: working together across and beyond disciplines
Get PDFRecognising the rights of nature is seen by many as the paradigm shift needed to truly embed ecology and the environment into nature-based policy and management solutions to address biodiversity loss, climate change, and sustainable development. However, despite its potential, research across and beyond disciplinary boundaries remains very limited, with most located in the humanities and social sciences and often lacking connection with environmental sciences. Based on a multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary project, we identify some critical common themes among the humanities, social sciences, and environmental sciences to support future research on the potential of the rights of nature to address contemporary social-environmental challenges. We argue that future research needs to be not only interdisciplinary but also transdisciplinary since the movement of rights of nature is often driven by and based on knowledge emerging outside of academic disciplines.Human Ecolog
Lactic acid and biomethane production from bread waste: a techno-economic and profitability analysis using pinch technology
No full textLactic acid (LA) is a vital platform chemical with diverse applications, especially for biodegradable polylactic acid. Bread waste (BW) is sugar-rich waste biomass generated in large quantities in residential and commercial operations. Recently, we evaluated the potential of BW for LA production by Bacillus coagulans under non-sterile conditions. This work presents a techno-economic and profitability analysis for valorizing 100 metric tons of BW per day to alleviate environmental pollution with concurrent production of LA and biomethane. We compared two fermentation approaches: acid-neutral (Scenario I) and low pH (Scenario II). Traditional esterification with methanol, followed by hydrolysis of methyl lactate, was employed for downstream separation to obtain polymer-grade LA. High-pressure steam was generated from solid debris via anaerobic digestion to complement energy demands partly. Energy consumption was further attenuated by process integration using pinch technology, with around 15% and 11% utility cost savings for Scenario I and II, respectively. These processes were capital-intensive, with 42–46% of LA production cost stemming from direct and indirect costs. Utilities were the major cost-contributing factor (19–21%) due to energy-intensive water evaporation from dilute fermentation broth. Due to additional processing steps, capital investment and operating costs were slightly higher in Scenario I than in Scenario II. LA manufacturing cost was thus more for Scenario I (1.82 per kg). The minimum LA selling price for Scenario I and II were 3.22 per kg, respectively, with five-year payback periods and 8.5% internal rates of return. LA was slightly more expensive for decentralized BW processing than the market price.Sustainable Energy and Fuel
Comparison of direct and indirect ballistic trauma to porcine femora: A contribution to the interpretation of patterns of skeletal trauma in conflict casualties
No full textMany types of skeletal trauma can be examined and identified on remains (blunt force, sharp force, ballistic, low-velocity projectile, sharp-blunt, thermal) and, due to the elastic and hardness properties of bone, each will present differently. Within ballistic trauma, there are further factors that will affect the visible patterns of trauma including the bone type, impact location and angle, and the shot distance. During humanitarian investigations, such as those carried out on casualties of the Spanish civil war, identification of the mechanism of trauma is essential when determining the manner and context of death for the individual. In order to do this studies must be conducted to provide comparison data for all factors affecting trauma. This study aims to contribute to the comparison data by examining the fracture and fragmentation patterns caused by the Mauser rifle by looking at direct and indirect impacts at varying shot distances. Twelve porcine femora were embedded in 20% ballistic gelatine and shot for direct and indirect impacts using 7.92mm Mauser ammunition at 10m and 20m distances. Once removed from the gelatine the size, shape, and edge characteristics of fragments were documented before reconstruction. The direct impacts presented with the (false) butterfly and double butterfly fracture patterns commonly seen in this type of trauma. Fragments from these bones showed semi-circular defects attributed to the entrance wound and edges consistent with peri-mortem trauma. Skimming impacts to the edge of the bone created elongated rectangular defects with fragments showing identifiable transverse edges. Indirect impacts showed simple fracture lines with no fragments but showed evidence of microfractures upon micro-CT scanning. Fragment analysis can be used to identify the mechanism of trauma in highly fragmented remains of humanitarian investigations; however, more research is needed to aid the identification of indirect ballistic trauma.MSc in Forensic Archaeology and Anthropolog
Drifting away of actions from prescribed procedures
Get PDFPilbeam, Colin - Associate SupervisorThis research examines a particular kind of routine change where a decoupling
of actions from the prescribed procedures is consciously and mindfully introduced
to benefit the organisation and to make work easier, locally efficient, and more
effective. I draw on Snook’s (2002) conceptualisation of practical drift to define
my phenomenon. When procedural demands do not fit the practical or situational
demands, people adjust or alter the recommended procedures, routines, and
workflows to better fit the local needs.
This research uses a case-based inquiry to examine 197 cases of drift happening
within large multinational organisations from the Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, and
Aerospace sectors to theories of why ‘Practical drift’ happens and what the impact
of this on safety. Using a mixed-method data collection technique of Repertory
Grids (RepGrid), 31 middle and senior managers were interviewed. It resulted in
262 RepGrid ‘Constructs’ related to the events of drift.
The data was firstly analysed qualitatively using a bootstrapping generic content
analysis technique that pools construct into meaningful higher-order categories.
Two quantitative analyses followed this: a RepGrid-specific statistical analysis,
called the Average Normalised Variance (ANV), to identify key constructs and a
Boolean minimisation-based Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to identify
factor combinations associated with safety negative outcomes. This research
finds that drifted actions happen because actors have an operational objective or
‘Purpose’ that triggers drift. Secondly, there exist some contextual conditions that
facilitate replacing a recommended procedure with an alternate action. Safety
findings reveal that some factors like ‘Risk awareness’ and ‘Local decision
flexibility’ are more likely to deliver safety negative outcomes. In contrast, the
factor ‘save time’ was found to be correlated to safety positive outcomes.
Building on these findings, I propose three theoretical models. First is a factor
model that identifies a set of factors causing drift. These factors are ordered by
their relative influence, extending our understanding of the purpose and
contextual conditions associated with drift. The second and third models link
factors from the first model to different safety outcomes. These models add to the
extant literature on practical drift and routine change by identifying (i) factors that
link to safety positive, neutral and negative outcomes and (ii) the combination of
key factors having more potency to deliver safety negative outcomes. The
relevance of these findings for practice is that the research raises the issue of
drift being an operational reality and motivates the organisations to address the
drift causing factors. Furthermore, this study paves the pathway for future studies
to establish causal relationships among the configuration of constructs
discovered in this research.PhD in Leadership and Managemen
Mobile robot automation in warehouses.
Get PDFMobile robot systems are an automation solution in warehouses that make order fulfilment agile, flexible, and scalable to cope with customer orders' increasing volumes and complexities. Compared with manual operations, they combine higher productivity and throughput with lower operating costs. As the practical use of mobile robot systems increases, decision-makers are confronted with a plethora of decisions, but research is lagging in providing the needed academic insights and managerial guidance on the adoption and deployment of this novel technology. This PhD thesis aims to explain the mobile robot system implementation journey by conducting a mixed methods approach through three independent but interconnected papers. Paper 1 is based on a systematic literature review involving 107 papers from the literature. Paper 2 is a continuation of the systematic literature review to identify and evaluate available mobile robot systems in the market. It also offers mobile robot system selection approaches
using the insights of five supply chain experts. Paper 3 is a multiple-case study involving four logistics functions from different countries.
This thesis lists the potential motivations to adopt mobile robot systems. It offers multiple approaches to selecting an appropriate mobile robot system. It also provides a comprehensive adoption framework that elaborates on innovation diffusion theory and explains the entire mobile robot system adoption journey. Devising the phases of the mobile robot system adoption journey and categorising thirteen managerial decisions and nineteen contextual factors, this study offers guidance to supply chain managers and decision-makers.PhD in Leadership and Managemen
Exploration of organizational practices that foster experiences of inclusion
Get PDFAnderson, Deirdre - Associate SupervisorThe literature on inclusion is growing, yet there remains a lack of clarity about
how to foster an inclusive organization, with little attention paid to organizational
inclusion practices or how inclusion is experienced. This thesis addresses these
shortcomings through three studies. First, a systematic literature review reveals
the inclusive organization tends to be studied through leadership, climate,
workgroups, perceptions and practices; these elements may act generatively and
interact to foster inclusion. Inclusion, conceptualised as treatment that satisfies
needs for belongingness and uniqueness, but with less exploration of individual
experiences of inclusion. Also, inclusion practices, although recognised as
important in fostering an inclusive organization, lack empirical exploration. The
second paper addresses this shortcoming; an empirical study with 15 Diversity
and Inclusion Directors/Leads, using semi-structured interviews and thematic
analysis. Findings indicate that practices may facilitate belonging and value
uniqueness but organizations tend to prioritise practices which promote
belonging. Practices that promote well-being and career development foster
inclusion but are dependent upon the leaders involved. The third study is an
empirical investigation of individual experiences of inclusion, with semi-structured
interviews with 36 junior women. The study finds that employees prioritise being
valued for their professional expertise and when treated as an individual, through
well-being and career development practices. Interactions with line managers are
the primary context for inclusion, although experiences of inclusion are complex
and changeable. Overall theoretical contributions are that inclusion practices are
inexact, practices may promote either belonging, or being valued, or both. Well-
being and career development practices are re-positioned in the inclusive
workplace model as inputs of inclusion. The study provides empirical evidence
that employees prioritise task-related inclusion, with line managers as the primary
context for inclusion, within day-to-day interactions.PhD in Leadership and Managemen
Three-stage feature selection approach for deep learning-based RUL prediction methods
Get PDFThe remaining useful life (RUL) prediction plays an increasingly important role in predictive maintenance. With the development of big data and the Internet-of-Things (IoT), deep learning (DL) techniques have been widely adopted for RUL prediction. Addressing the limitation of the current methods for data under multiple operating conditions, this paper proposes a three-stage feature selection approach for DL-based RUL prediction models. The k-medoids cluster is initially used to sort raw data based on different operating conditions. In the first stage of feature selection, an operational-based normalisation approach is applied to reconstruct the data. Afterwards, Spearman's rank and pair-wise Pearson correlation coefficients are used to eliminate irrelevant and redundant features in the second and third stages, respectively. A case study using NASA's Commercial Modular Aero-Propulsion System Simulation (C-MAPSS) dataset is presented to quantitatively evaluate the influence of the proposed feature selection method using the Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) and its’ variants, enhanced by an optimised activation function and optimiser. The results confirm that the proposed method can improve the stability of DL models and achieve about a 7.3% average improvement in the RUL prediction for popular and state-of-the-art DL models.Quality and Reliability Engineering Internationa
Validation case studies of a numerical approach towards optimization of novel fuselage geometries
Get PDFOptimization studies for improved fuselage designs primarily focus on drag reduction. However, when considering an alternative configuration where the stability requirements are assumed to be fulfilled by the main wing, eliminating the need for a tailplane, the fuselage design requirements are reconsidered. This work considers not only the reduction of drag but ensuring a component of lift as well as considering energy recovery potential for propulsion integration. The numerical modelling approach (turbulence model selection, optimization strategy and application of the Power Balance Method) is evaluated through a series of validation cases to determine a level of robustness and certainty. Three cases studies are completed: a 2D, compressible transonic RAE2282 airfoil, a 3D, incompressible low-drag body F-57 and a 3D, compressible body MBB3. The final approach includes a polyhedral mesh and SST k-ω turbulence model combined with multi-objective tradeoff optimization. Application of the Power Balance Method was validated within 1% for incompressible cases, however for the compressible cases the drag coefficient showed increasing deviation (1.3%) due to residual dissipative quantities.AIAA SciTech Forum 202
Chapter 7: Ethnographic approaches in terrorism studies and research
No full textEthnographic approaches have played a significant part in terrorism research. This chapter examines the strengths and challenges of the ethnographic approach. The chapter draws on the author’s fieldwork experiences investigating violent ethnonational conflicts, predominantly from the cases of Spain/Basque country, France/Corsica, UK/Ireland, and Israel/Palestine. It is argued that ethnographic approaches can provide a very useful umbrella research method for terrorism studies, with the capacity to deal with a range of critical themes. A key recommendation is the importance and utility of a pragmatic empathetic ethnographic approach in researching terrorism and political violence
‘I think this is where this lovely word “sustainability” comes in’: Fruit and vegetable growers' narratives concerning the regulation of environmental water use for food production
Get PDFSpecial Issue: Multiple Dimensions of Sustainability: Towards New Rural Futures in EuropeThis article concerns UK commercial fruit and vegetable growers’ narratives regarding the sustainability of water use for food production. In it we explore their perspectives on efforts by regulators to limit agricultural withdrawals of water from the natural environment in line with EU Water Framework Directive objectives, alongside their views on retailer sustainability commitments. Discourse analysis is used to investigate how the growers contested restrictive regulation, constructed their identities, portrayed other supply chain stakeholders, and conveyed their social relations with them. Using Erving Goffman's theory of frontstage and backstage performances, the implications for the growers’ water management decisions and their internalisation of sustainability agendas for water are examined. Whilst the growers gave accounts of purposely misrepresenting their water withdrawal practices and their discourse illustrated significant polarisation between environmental and agricultural interests, their underlying commitment to environmental sustainability was ambivalent, with both anti and pro-environmental attitudes expressed. The growers also frequently gave critiques of superficial sustainability in fresh produce supply chains. We argue that, given contemporary shifting definitions of agricultural identities, settings in which their construction is negotiated can provide windows of opportunity for conventional growers to engage in genuine pro-environmental performances that may deepen their assimilation of environmental goals and commitment to sustainable water use.Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC): BB/N020499/1.
ESRC; NERC; Scottish GovernmentSociologia Rurali