Thesis and Research Data Repository Leeds Beckett University
Not a member yet
631 research outputs found
Sort by
How can the selection of local materials in architectural design enhance cultural identity, environmental resilience and help with climate challenges in a region?
No full textThe aim of the research paper is to investigate the importance of local materials across architectural design, it emphasizes the environmental benefits, cultural significance, and their potential for climate adaptation. The assessment goes into detail regarding the involvement of indigenous materials, reinforcing and embodying the cultural identity and heritage of communities, showcasing good craftsmanship as well as building techniques that have been passed down through different generations. By incorporating local resources, architects can create structures that will not only personify the unique properties of their surroundings but also harness a feeling of belonging and stability within the community.Additionally, the research paper assesses the environmental resilience offered through local materials, focusing on their suitability for certain climates. It evaluates the impact of these materials in promoting sustainable architectural practices and energy efficiency. The study is grounded in a combination of two main worldviews, including transformative and constructivism, and follows a mixed method approach by employing a questionnaire including open-ended, close-ended ended and Likert scale styled questions.In order to improve buildings' resilience and adaptability to various climate challenges, the study also finds and supports creative design approaches that incorporate regional materials. Increasing temperatures, severe weather, and shifting precipitation patterns are some of these difficulties. Local materials can be used in architectural design to create structures that are not only environmentally friendly but also able to withstand the effects of climate change.In order to improve cultural continuity, environmental sustainability, and resilience in the face of climate challenges, the findings emphasise the significance of integrating local resources into architectural design. The use of local materials is emphasised in this research paper, which, taken as a whole, helps architects, legislators, and builders develop a cordial relationship with the built environment and the ecological and cultural contexts in which they are valued. Using this approach, it is believed a way can be paved to a more culturally included and sustainable future in architecture.</p
It’s not that simple: a strategy as practice journey toward net zero
No full textStakeholders engaging with the built environment primarily for investment are challenged by the contested narratives of how best to transition toward Net Zero. The Net Zero discourse is becoming a core priority for such firms when seeking to futureproof their investments. The research explores how a consultant works with investor-side stakeholders to develop suitable retrofit strategies which target net zero. Attention focusses on both parties working together to strategically enact net zero through collaboration. The research mobilises the strategy literature, with a focus on strategy as practice. Methodologically, primary data is generated around two case projects through semi-structured interviews with key decision makers within a leading global built environment sustainability consultancy. As the empirical research unfolded, the focus became how a commercial six-stage process had emerged through strategic practice between the built environment sustainability consultant and their investor-side clients. Using open coding we explore key moments in the strategic co- creation of this six-stage process, to translate the language of engineering retrofit requirements into terms understood and adopted by investor-side stakeholders. Findings resonate with the strategy as practice themes of practitioners, practices and praxis and are thus tensioned against notions of objective rationale choices and acontextual solutions to meet often ill-conceived targets and KPIs. Tensions arise around the need for rolling cohesive programmes of retrofit and annual budgeting norms. The research illustrates further work is needed to understand the challenge organisations face in navigating the retrofit for net zero agenda and creating appropriate solutions.</p
Overcoming the Long-Term Barriers to Digital Twinning Usage in the UK Construction Industry
No full textAdopting Digital Twinning (DT) technology will help the construction industry unlock a wealth of economical, environmental, and societal benefits. These have been outlined in the extant literature, but all largely focus on the immediate benefits attributable to current ways of working, and the immediate barriers the industry faces. Whilst these are key to understand and overcome, an awareness of longer term benefits and barriers is also required. There is a clear gap in current understanding around future potential use and requirements of DT technology, and the resulting barriers DT will bring. The aim of this research is to identify what the future of DT will look like, so that the barriers to any required progress can be identified. Ultimately this will allow strategies to be developed to help overcome such barriers. In-depth interviews with ten leading DT professionals representing a variety of sectors were undertaken to addresses this current knowledge gap. Analysis of the findings reveals several long term projections around data sharing, security, data sets, and hardware components. Awareness of such long term DT projections allows the identification of current barriers, which in turn, allows a greater understanding of how such barriers can be overcome. This research contributes to the current gap in knowledge around the future of DT, and helps identify current requirements that the industry needs to address to ensure the potential of DT is maximised in future.</p
Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks for Enhanced Aerial Forest Image Segmentation
No full textForest ecosystems have long been one of the most important environments for our planet, providing key resources, promoting biodiversity, and fighting against global climate change. In order to facilitate effective forest monitoring and management, artificial intelligence can be used to address the need for data processing for real-time forest supervision systems. In this paper, conditional generative adversarial networks (CGANs) have been explored to synthesize accurate image segmentations of forest aerial images, mapping forested against non-forested areas. With 1000 training, 200 validation, and 100 test images subsetted from Kaggle’s Forest Aerial Images for Segmentation dataset, three CGANs of varying parameter number and upsampling and downsampling layers have been trained and evaluated. The results of training show that the smallest CGAN, with 37x less generator and 4x less discriminator parameters than the biggest CGAN, performed the best with an IoU of 0.701, Dice coefficient of 0.778, pixel accuracy of 0.781, recall of 0.919, and precision of 0.734 in the test set. Using a weighted scoring algorithm comparing inference time in addition to the five aforementioned metrics, the medium CGAN was determined to be the best, with a weighted score of 0.861 closely followed by the small CGAN’s 0.783 score for the dataset. These outputs signify the need for model complexity and dataset size compatibility, the importance quality labelled annotations for GAN conditioning, and most importantly, the potential of CGANs for accurate, automated, and effective segmentation of aerial forest images.</p
A structural game-state analysis of narrative co-authorship in volumetric video games and VR journalism
No full textVirtual Reality (VR) or “immersive” journalism is an emerging technological approach to journalism production that enables players to experience reconstructed news events in computer-generated 3D or 360-degree filmed environments. Mirroring the dominant characteristics of the medium at this early stage, much of the current research into immersive journalism has focused on place illusion, presence, embodiment and empathy. This study takes that further, examining and foregrounding interactivity, players' agency, and their potential role in storytelling. As the medium develops, there will be a challenge to establish a set of viable and effective production practices, with a need to retain professionalism, credibility, and ethical rigour while also using the full capabilities of VR as a platform. A range of constraints and influences affect both journalism production and VR. I argue, from a practitioner-academic perspective, that an approach informed by the professional practices of journalists and narrative design in volumetric video games is essential for the medium to achieve its full potential. The study considers the unique challenges and benefits that immersive journalism may offer players as well as practitioners, as an interactive medium where there is potential for shared authorship and where accuracy of representation is essential. The result is a unique blend of praxis-informed research and a comparative, critical assessment of immersive journalism’s current state. It thoroughly examines immersive journalism's strengths and weaknesses, its claims and untapped potential, the issues in journalism that VR may address or exacerbate and that mechanistic storytelling approaches from video games may improve. The key product of the research is a synthesis of the competing and disjunctive disciplines of ludology and narratology, creating a ludospatial framework and a structural game-state analysis technique and methodology. I systematically and creatively unite these disciplines to identify a subset of game mechanics and spatial design elements in volumetric video games and VR that contribute to the experience of narrative, determining the next steps in the construction of an interactive immersive journalism, and offering solutions to its current limitations. The outcome of this is a hypothetical “cool immersive journalism”; a type of non-fiction, immersive artefact and approach that enables narrative co-authorship while preserving factual veracity
Impact of 19th Century Gothic Revival and the Garden City Movement on Modern Design and Biophilic Philosophy
No full textThe Garden City movement and Gothic Revival, two revolutionary architectural movements of the 19th century, attempted to correct the social and environmental issues of the time. Gothic Revival attempted to connect architecture to culture and nature through traditional forms and methods of building. Whereas the Garden City movement attempted to envision a tranquil bond between urban life and the natural environment that would promote health and happiness. This research paper analyses the lasting effect of these movements on design practise in the contemporary world, particularly in biophilic design.This study adopts a constructivist approach, helping to understand how the British public perceive the integration of nature and architectural heritage into modern spaces. Furthermore, the paper explores the social, economic, and historical environment in which the Gothic Revival and Garden City movements developed and examine their ongoing impact on modern architectural principles.This research identifies key elements of these movements that shape biophilic design such as natural material usage, vegetation, and aesthetics as a whole. Taking a mixed-method approach, this research paper integrates both qualitative and quantitative data collected using questionnaires administered to a mixed sample of 33 respondents. The questionnaire includes close-ended, open-ended, and Likert scale questions to achieve a more in-depth understanding of the perceptions of participants on these movements and their application in modern-day design.The findings from this research will help illustrate how the philosophies of architecture in the past influence contemporary design practice, particularly the formation of sustainable and health-promoting urban environments. How biophilic design elevates aesthetic merit and quality of life in the city of today will also be underscored within this paper. Quantitative data will be processed using Excel, while qualitative information will be understood through thematic analysis, giving an overall picture of the applicability of the movements to contemporary architecture.</p
Running-Related Injuries and Neuromuscular Adaptation in Barefoot Running: An Epidemiological Survey and Intervention Study of Grass-Based Running
No full textInterest in barefoot running has grown, driven by suggestions of injury reduction and strength improvements. This PhD project investigated the epidemiology of running-related injuries and neuromuscular adaptations to extended periods of barefoot running on grass.
A rapid review of the literature (Chapter 2) revealed limited evidence of strength improvements, though some studies suggested increased cross-sectional area and volume of foot intrinsic and anterior leg muscles with prolonged barefoot running. However, no studies had specifically examined muscular adaptation to grass-based barefoot running.
A retrospective injury survey (Chapter 3) captured self-reported data on injury location and prevalence among barefoot and shod runners. Injury prevalence did not significantly differ between groups (p = 0.112), though a near-significant increase in Achilles and shin injuries was found in barefoot runners (p = 0.06). Barefoot running did not significantly alter the odds of injury (OR = 0.886, 95% CI [0.749–1.048]). A pilot study (Chapter 4) evaluated muscle contractile properties using tensiomyography following a six-week treadmill running intervention. No consistent changes were detected across participants, regardless of footwear, indicating that tensiomyography was unsuitable for assessing neuromuscular adaptation. Electromyography was selected for the grass-based study to allow real-time measurement of muscle activity during running. A grass-based study (Chapter 5) examined differences in muscle activity using electromyography between barefoot and shod runners following a six-week grass running intervention and also explored participant experiences via semi-structured interviews. A two-way mixed ANOVA showed no significant interaction effects on rectus femoris (p = 0.125), biceps femoris (p = 0.980), or gastrocnemius medialis (p = 0.619). The relatively low training volume, combined with participants’ ongoing running routines, may have reduced the likelihood of observing meaningful neuromuscular adaptations. However, individual variability in muscle activation, particularly in rectus femoris and biceps femoris, highlights the importance of examining personalised responses to surface-based interventions. Interviews revealed that participants enjoyed the novelty of barefoot running on grass but noted barriers such as environmental conditions, surface safety, and temperature challenges.
In conclusion, while the study aimed to explore neuromuscular adaptations to barefoot running on grass, changes in muscle activity were observed in some individuals across both barefoot and shod groups, suggesting that surface compliance may influence adaptation alongside footwear. These highly individual responses may have been shaped by prior experience, biomechanical variations and transition duration. The absence of clear group-level trends may reflect limited training volume or study power, underscoring the need for larger trials. A key takeaway from this research is the importance of recognising and interpreting individual responses, rather than relying solely on group averages
Locomotor and Collision Characteristics of Rugby League Match-Play: Analysis of League-Wide Player Tracking and Event Data to Evaluate Longitudinal Changes
No full textThis thesis examines the longitudinal evolution of match-play characteristics in senior male professional rugby league at both domestic and international levels, with a particular focus on the impact of rule changes within the sport. The experimental chapters analyse whole-match, ball-in-play, and peak characteristics, and evaluate the variability of these segments using player locomotion and match-event data collected during the Rugby League World Cup and from domestic Super League competition. Throughout the thesis, the implications of rule changes within rugby league are discussed. Chapter 3 presents a systematic review of the literature as it relates to the effect of rule changes within football-code team sports and provides insights into how rule changes effect physical performance and technical-tactical events, injury incidence and prevention, match scoring or points awarded, and player development opportunities. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in 2019 identified a scarcity of research investigating the characteristics of international rugby league matches. The first published study in this thesis (Chapter 4) addresses this gap by analysing data from the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, thereby advancing the knowledge base of international match-play characteristics. Chapter 4 found that international-level rugby league competition exposes forwards to higher collision rates during defensive phases of play, while backs experience higher collision rates during attacking phases, which has implications for training drill design. Chapter 4 also presents a practical method for estimating peak average speed and collision frequency using slope and intercept values derived from international rugby league matches, which may assist coaches in the planning of technical-tactical training. The 2019 systematic review and meta-analysis also noted a bias, with significantly more published studies from the southern hemisphere (n = 27) than from the northern hemisphere (n = 3). The second and third published studies (Chapters 5 and 6, respectively) therefore analysed data collected from the highest level of northern hemisphere competition, the Super League. Chapter 5 analysed player locomotion and match-event data collected across three years of Super League competition and revealed changes in match duration and ball-in-play duration, particularly in response to rule changes implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Season 2020, divided into pre- and post-pandemic interruption, showed reduced average speeds and increased collision rates upon the return to competitive matches. Chapter 6 analysed match-event data collected from seven seasons of Super League competition, including over 1,000,000 tackle events, and for the first time demonstrated significant positional variability in collision-based events. These findings suggest that training approaches tailored to specific playing positions would be beneficial.</p
From Object to Icon: The Paradox of Objectification & Empowerment in Female Hip Hop
No full textThis critical reflection will focus on popular Black Female artists such as Onika Maraj-Petty, known as ‘Nicki Minaj’, Megan Pete, known as ‘Megan Thee Stallion’, and Isis Gaston, also known as ‘Ice Spice’. The essay will achieve this through examining neoliberal culture and the impact of sexual commodification in a postfeminist era. Firstly, this project briefly touches on the new globalised nature of sexual capital before outlining the hyper sexualisation of female rappers and how this exists in a neoliberal, feminist format. Lastly, drawing on scholars’ opinions on sexual liberation and the underlying powers of the patriarchy, the commonalities of the female artists mentioned above will be discussed.</p
Running Greatest Of All Time - dataset
No full textThis dataset includes results of performances by athletes competing in global competitions since 1896 (1267 men and 803 women). All had won at least one medal at a major global championships or set a World Record (WR) ratified by World Athletics as of March 1st, 2025. World Best marathon times from before 2004 were considered WRs provided they were accepted by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Analysed athletes competed in sprint, distance, and hurdling events.</p