Thesis and Research Data Repository Leeds Beckett University
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Exploration of Healthy Building Concepts within Green and Sustainable Building Practises
No full textThe overall influence of building on its occupants and environment is immeasurable and as such has been a major point of revolution throughout human history. Within the built environment sector, the design and construction of buildings are constantly evolving and in recent times have led to the emergence of terminologies such as Green, Healthy and Sustainable building practises. These terminologies are used interchangeably by researchers and practitioners within the built environment even though, they are technically different. As such, this study presents an exploratory literature review of the three terminologies to identify the similarities and differences between them.The result of the analysis shows that Green, Healthy, and Sustainable building concepts are the same in their approach to materials selection, with all three prioritising the adoption of materials with low embodied energy, consumed less energy and have fewer negative impacts on the environment and human health. Meanwhile, the distinct features are in their focus, metric tools, and philosophy. Green building is solely about the environment while Healthy building is about occupants’ well-being and health. Sustainable building is more holistic comprising green building and part of healthy building concepts in addition to other social and economic responsibilities. This study has contributed to the wider discussion of these three key concepts and will enable key stakeholders in the academia and construction sector to understand properly the main features of Green, Healthy and Sustainable Building practises. This will facilitate proper adoption of the strategies to provide the needed sustainable healthy built environment.</p
A Community-Scale Framework for Evaluating Flood Resilience Across Socially Diverse Communities
No full textClimate change and rapid urbanization have increased the risk of flooding in many parts of the world and consequently, flooding has become the most frequent natural disaster with major impacts on communities, causing physical and intangible damages. As the risk of flooding continues to increase, integrated approaches to Flood Risk Management (FRM) have emerged placing greater emphasis on routes to adaptation and resilience. Community flood resilience is a multidimensional concept which focuses on keeping communities functioning before, during, and after the occurrence of flood events. Despite many attempts to quantify community flood resilience, there lacks a consensus among researchers and professional stakeholders due to diverse perspectives and cultural considerations. This research presents a critical review of the existing literature on community flood resilience, through a synthesis of previous studies, to present the case for a new community-scale framework for quantifying and evaluating flood resilience. This framework is designed to help multisectoral stakeholders including local authorities, flood risk managers, engineers, surveyors, and property owners to make more informed decisions on how to improve the resilience of their communities to the risk of flooding. Significantly, this new practicable framework argues the need for a deeper understanding of the role of social considerations in overall community flood resilience thereby enabling cross-comparisons across socially diverse communities.</p
Utopianism and Social Reproduction in Contemporary South Asian and Caribbean Literature
No full textThis study examines the role of social reproductive labour in structuring utopianism in select contemporary South Asian and Caribbean novels. Research on postcolonial utopianism has not addressed how social reproductive labour, including biological reproduction, the labour of nurturing, cooking, cleaning and rejuvenating the labourer/utopian subject, is integral. Hence, I investigate the importance of labour in social reproductive spaces such as households, schools, hospitals, and gardens in structuring utopian/dystopian conditions, rejuvenating the utopian/subject and maintaining hope as seen in the select texts. My research is original because it analyses utopianism in select texts that address reproductive labour and social reproduction from specific postcolonial nation-states in South Asia and the Caribbean and is original in its approach and scope.I begin by considering Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s ‘Sultana’s Dream’ (1905) and Padmarag (1924) moving on to Mahasweta Devi’s short story ‘Breast-Giver’ and dystopian novels by Bina Shah, Prayaag Akbar and Manjula Padmanabhan. I juxtapose the utopian novella Herland (1915) and dystopian narrative The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) with Hossain’s and Devi’s short stories to discuss how feminist utopianism and social reproductive labour are portrayed. I study the Caribbean texts Midnight Robber (2000) by Nalo Hopkinson, The Marvellous Equations of the Dread (2018) by Marcia Douglas and Hardears (2021) edited by Matthew Clarke and Michael Lynch along with Woman World (2018) by Aminder Dhaliwal to discuss utopianism in contemporary narratives.To analyse these texts, I use social reproduction theory which discusses the relationship between the sphere of capitalist production and the sphere of social reproduction, i.e., the indispensable role of reproducing and rejuvenating the labourer in the capitalist system. In these texts, social reproductive labour variously manifests across utopian social institutions, authoritarian nations, kinship networks, cyborg landscapes, and post-apocalyptic imaginaries playing a crucial role in structuring utopian/dystopian conditions. Eliciting forced reproductive labour can lead to exploitative and dystopian conditions, while social reproductive labour can also rejuvenate the utopian subject or the labourer at other times. Survival and rejuvenation of society after interrelated crises often necessitate envisioning utopian ideals that inspire collective models of social reproductive labour. Quotidian forms of social reproductive labour keep society functioning after cataclysmic events.</p
The lived educational experiences of Zimbabwean males who transition into English schools.
No full textThis study investigates the educational experiences of African Zimbabwean males as they moved to England, shedding light on a previously understudied aspect of educational migration during 2000-2020. At this time, many Zimbabwean males transitioned into English schools and experienced the changing dynamics from majority to minority. Understanding the significance of prior education becomes crucial. However, little attention has been devoted to the lived experiences of African Zimbabwean males within these two educational systems.
Employing the counter-storytelling research design of Critical Race Theory, this study investigates the lived educational experiences of seven African Zimbabwean males selected through purposive sampling. The data collection process involved audio-recorded semi-structured interviews conducted between December 2019 and February 2020. The narrative analysis revealed these individuals' challenges in navigating academic expectations and social and cultural shifts upon their transition to English schools.
The study emphasises the need to address educational disparities affecting racialised migrant students transitioning into English schools, especially from marginalised communities. This study fills a significant gap in the research by examining African Zimbabwean students' practical challenges and academic achievements within the English education system. The participants' stories reveal African Zimbabwean males' unique linguistic and academic identities, often overlooked within broader Black African classifications. The study also highlights how racial biases in England affect the educational potential of African Zimbabwean males.
The research emphasises how race, class, and gender intersect to shape the educational path of African Zimbabwean males. It also highlights the challenges faced by immigrants from a colonised nation in the immigration process and the English education system. This emphasises the need for policy interventions to promote inclusivity and equal opportunities for all students, regardless of their background or migration status.</p
Establishing the impact of orientation on the thermal transmission values of solid wall properties in a coastal situation.
No full textThis research aims to assess whether that the orientation of a building can significantly affect it’s thermal performance, in regard to the building’s envelope. This research has been completed from an experiment, focused on two buildings constructed with solid monolithic stone, both of which are in a coastal town in Cornwall. Data logging equipment and thermal sensors were utilised alongside a newly developed climate chamber to collect data based on the above research. The conclusion was that the orientation has a noticeable influence on the thermal performance of the envelope of the building. Thus, further exploration is required into better understanding how to achieve thermal optimisation within the Built Environment for buildings.</p
How architectural designs have been altered to accommodate global warming and the ever-changing environment.
No full textCurrently, our environment has been shaped in large by human activity (National Geographic Society, 2023). Following the industrial revolution's technological advancements, pollution introduced by those advancements has already caused a significant negative impact. The construction industry currently contributes to 38% of all greenhouse gasses (World Business Council for Sustainability Development). While there are measures in place to lessen greenhouse gas emissions and become more sustainable, are designs evolving so they can appropriately react to this ever-changing environment? This issue is relevant because designers impact construction projects. Therefore, it is the duty of designers to modify standards, influence projects and adjust the construction sector. While new laws and regulations are being implemented to promote sustainability, what steps are designers adopting to address the harm that has occurred? The purpose of this paper is to determine if construction designers are adapting plans to account for the extremes that are happening now and will happen in the future. The research papers main aim is to gather information and viewpoints from industry professionals to determine whether they comprehend the effects of global warming, whether the extremes that will occur are considered throughout the design stage, and whether this research paper will persuade other designers in the construction industry to take these issues into consideration. To gather information and opinions from those in the construction industry, a mixed methods approach and the constructive worldview has been employed. Surveys, case studies, and interviews has been used to collect data to gather professional’s opinions and whether the construction industry are aware and accommodating extremities in their designs. In conclusion, designers are aware of the effects caused by the ever-changing environment but don’t design to accommodate them. An increase in education based on the matter would be beneficial as well as developing standardised designs to accommodate the extremities.</p
The Impact of Varying Future Weather Condition on the Energy Consumption within Leeds City Centre with Reference to the Urban Heat Island Effect
No full textClimate change is having an exponential impact on global temperatures causing temperature increases and variations. Consequently, selecting appropriate weather data for building simulation is crucial for predicting future energy consumption. This paper numerically investigates the impact of future weather data from urbanised areas has on the simulated energy consumption of a city centre office building in Leeds, UK. The results intend to aid building and construction professionals to accurately determine the optimum passive characteristics of buildings to reduce energy consumption as a result of the changing weather conditions. Specifically, the proposed study uses the UK Climate Projections 2018 (UKCP18) future weather data to simulate both the present and future years for 2020, 2050 and 2080. Basically, the future weather data shows an increase in maximum mean air temperatures in summer which will result in an increase of cooling demand for the office building. However, minimum mean air temperatures in winter are not increasing to caveat maximums and are remaining constant. Therefore, the temperature range for the future weather conditions is increasingly adding more passive design considerations for building and construction professionals. Moreover, it is found that the heating load of the building remains constant, while the cooling load steadily increases. Overall, the energy consumption of the office building sees an exponential increase in the future years.</p
Nancun water map
No full textThe Nancun water map' version 1 was produced in collaboration between Leeds Beckett University, UK and South China University of Technology in Guangzhou, China. It depicts 'bodies of water' including ponds, rivers and streams and public wells as well as water related services such as water sellers, public toilets, public wash basins, laundrettes, dry and dragon boat river docks. The map is published under the Creative Commons license BY-NC-SA 4.0 which can be accessed here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/</p
Yorkshire Über Alles: An Ethnography of identity, class, and myth among first-wave Post-Punks
No full textThis thesis examines ideas of ‘Yorkshireness’ and how Yorkshire identity is constructed and negotiated for post-punks, with a specific focus on the Bradford group 1919 – the group that the researcher has been the vocalist for since their reformation began in 2014 – and from there a spiralling outward of other musicians of the post-punk era, which is usually considered to be between 1979 and 1984. In taking this approach, the thesis prioritises the voices of artists and groups with mostly limited commercial success and that, while important, have until this point escaped critical attention. Fundamentally, through the lenses of class and post-punk (sub)cultural memory, myth, and music, this research seeks to identify and unpack essential myths of Yorkshireness in constructed notions of self, place, and of individual and communitarian responses to the fundamentally inauthentic environment of the culture industry.
Much of the history of post-punk, either from a broad historical perspective or a specifically regional one, is usually written in terms of a specific group of stakeholders. Where the cultural output of the “north” is discussed, it has tended to be centred on Manchester and Liverpool: in Yorkshire’s neighbouring – and historically rival – county of Lancashire. In the post-punk era, where Yorkshire has had critical attention, it has tended to focus either on Leeds’ art-school groups or the electro-industrial acts of Hull and Sheffield. This leaves a substantial gap in knowledge of groups that are resolutely working-class, Yorkshire, and post-punk. Therefore, this thesis takes an ethnographic approach that prioritises the co-production of knowledge with working-class musicians, recorded as accurately as possible in spoken dialect, while autoethnographic field notes document the researcher’s accounts of Yorkshireness in the international post-punk community. This work demonstrates the subcultural characteristics of Yorkshire identity, challenges the hegemony of larger metropoles in musical heritage, and elevates working-class contributions to post-punk discourse, while the ongoing negotiation of the mythologising tendencies of working as a musician provide a key original insight
Assessing and Mitigating Building Defects in the UK Construction Industry: Trends, Causes, and Sustainable Solutions
No full textDefects in new homes have become an issue of a significant concern, which highlights the need for an urgent review of quality control processes within the UK construction industry. Improving the industry's performance requires a thorough understanding of construction defect trends, causes, and viable solutions. Despite a broad range of research in this area, a detailed review of building defects in the UK construction industry, using bibliometric methods, is lacking. By analysing the current literature quantitatively and qualitatively, this study aims to fill the gap. Using Bibliometric analysis, the study analysed scholarly publications, identified research trends, and highlighted significant authors, journals, and countries using mathematical, statistical, and graphical methods. The study highlights the main causes as low-quality materials used to minimise costs, skilled labour shortages and fast-tracked construction timeframes resulting in substandard work, all of which could be addressed through enhanced quality control, advanced technology, thorough inspections and quality audits, stakeholder collaboration, and sustainable construction. The study established the need for further research into defect prevention frameworks, economic and environmental implications of building defects, and the need for application of emerging technologies (e.g., Building Information Modelling, Internet of Things) to defect mitigation. Comparative research across regions or countries may reveal best practices and creative ways to construction building defects management.</p