Thesis and Research Data Repository Leeds Beckett University
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Data from 'Youth motor competence across stages of maturity: Perceptions of physical education teachers and strength and conditioning coaches.'
No full textThe dataset represents questionnaire responses evaluating UK-based Strength and Conditioning coaches and Physical education teachers perceptions of motor competence importance. The data was collected in April 2021. </p
The Craft Club: Surveillance and Risk Within the OnlyFans Community
No full textOnlyFans is a site which individuals can post content, which is generally sexual and revealing, in order to gain monthly subscribers. Anyone over the age of eighteen can create an account, however those who have a larger social media following on other platforms (such as Instagram influencers or celebrities) are more likely to gain subscribers due to their ability to utilize their fanbase to advertise their OnlyFans profile (Boseley, 2020). Contemporary society has adapted to living in an attention society in which receiving attention is a form of capital (Davenport and Beck, 2001).</p
Post-Industrial and Work Class? Young People’s Inequalities in Higher Education
No full textLiving in a post-industrial society brings new challenges and risks for individuals in terms of opportunity and being faced with a newly devised economy and work environment. Post-industrial society is a radical break from what was known before, with a massive shift from manual work to a heavy employment within the service sector. Alongside this is the increased need for knowledge and the expansion of Higher Education.This contribution looks into youth transition and the inequalities that young people may face when it comes to higher education, arguing that whilst there are more opportunities to pursue Higher Education for working class people, this also creates more risk for them than it would for middle class students. I will explore this deploying theories such as knowledge society, neoliberalism and risk society in order to highlight the inequalities reproduced within higher education in the current social climate.</p
Evaluating the Urban Heat Island Mitigation Potential in the foothills of Uttarakhand, India through Green Roofing Systems
No full textGlobalization has accelerated the rate of urbanisation at the cost of environmental degradation and making cities vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Increased urbanization has contributed to the Urban Heat Island Effect and it is important for the sustainable urban development to mitigate UHI, especially among the nations of growing economies i.e. India. Additionally the commercial, industrial, transportation and building sectors emit a large quantity of global house gases in the environment adding to UHI in the urban areas. Of all these sectors, the building is one of the largest contributors mainly due to carbon emissions, reduced natural landscapes and long wave solar radiation reflecting back from hard roof surfaces. Therefore mitigating UHI caused by the building sector is imperative with green roofs having been identified as one of the best practices. In northern India the Himalayan belt is experiencing tremendous urban growth for various reasons from religious destinations to natural forest cover for tourism . Both land use and land cover of the Himalayan foothills are changing rapidly from being green (vegetation) to grey (concrete roofs) and thus increasing the Urban heat island intensity. This meta study examines the Urban Heat Island phenomenon in Dehradun based on LANDSAT data of the last decade. The study identifies hot spots and evaluates the potential of installing a green roofing system on existing roofs.. The results of this study may be recognised as best practices to be carried forward for other similar regions in the Himalayas.</p
Analysis of Modular Construction adoption in the UK housing sector
No full textThe aim of the research was to analyse the development and adoption of modular construction within the UK housing sector. This was achieved through primary and secondary research. The primary research adopted quantitative and qualitative measures through a questionnaire survey of fifty-eight housebuilding professionals, as well as interviews with five industry professionals. The key findings of this data found that the perception of the public and those working within industry needs to improve in order for modular construction to be widely adopted on a mass scale in this sector. Topics such as the skills shortage were researched and found to be an issue, but the requirement for a large labour force is apparently reduced with the adoption of factory produced modular units. A modern method of construction (MMC) target of one in four publicly funded units was introduced by the government in 2004. This was addressed within this study, but the data collected suggests this has not been achieved. While there are still some reservations regarding the uptake of modular housing construction, there are also various positives highlighted within this study. These include increased energy efficiency and sustainability, agreed by the majority of the respondents as major drivers, alongside the increased speed of build and quality improvement compared to the traditional method. Overall, this study provides a good insight into the current state of attitudes and perceptions within the industry regarding modular construction and analysis of quantities of modular dwellings being built in the UK. As a result of the analysis of the development and adoption of modular construction, the author recommends the introduction of more specific training, financial incentives, and improved communication regarding the benefits of modular built homes to attract more house buyers.</p
Understanding the Benefits of Immersive Technology Use in the Furniture Fixture and Equipment Sector: A Systematic Review
No full textLike other sectors of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, immersive technology (ImT) has proven to be an effective tool in the Furniture Fixture and Equipment Sector (FFE), which recently attracted a lot of attention from researchers. Despite the increasing scholarly attention being given to ImT applications in the FFE sector, very few studies have explored the key benefits associated with the application of ImT in this sector, with no aggregation of findings and knowledge. To bridge this gap and to gain a better understanding of the state-of-the-art ImT application in the FFE sector, this study reviews and synthesis the existing research evidence through a systematic review. The relevance of this study cannot be overemphasised, given the vast number of published works albeit a lack of aggregation of the findings and knowledge. After a thorough search of key academic databases, a full range of journal articles and conference papers published between 2010 and 2022 (inclusive) that address the application of ImT in the FFE sector was systematically assessed. Built upon rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria, 24 eligible articles were identified and reviewed. Predicted on a wide range of scholarly literature, this study identifies 20 critical benefits associated with the application of ImT in the FFE sector. This study provides an opportunity for the FFE sector to understand the benefits associated with the adoption of ImT that will encourage the adoption of ImT in the FFE sector which is in the process of digitisation.</p
The Effect of Mergers and Acquisitions on the Management of Intellectual Property: A case of the European Chemical Industry
No full textMergers and acquisitions (M&A) have become an essential business tool in a global marketplace characterised by the increasing importance of intellectual property (IP) assets. Due to modern innovative techniques and recent technological advancements, IP now forms a significant proportion of a company's assets. Compared to other industries, firms in the chemical industry constantly generate IP assets, making IP the driving force for creating value within the industry. With the significant expansion of M&A activity ongoing within the industry, IP continues to drive the industry for growth, strategic change, and consolidation. Besides the increasing M&A activity, a more complicated set of dynamics of high M&A failure rate is at work, particularly within the European Union (EU) chemical industry, where the average failure rate sits at 70-90%. Drawing on practice based theory and insights from studies on IP and its management, this study investigates the pre and post- M&A IP management practices of merged chemical firms in the EU to understand the effect of M&A on IP management practices and its implication for M&A success. Thirty-four semi-structured interviews with seven European chemical firms were conducted using a mixed-methods approach. Two face-to-face and three telephone interviews and twenty-nine written responses to the interview questionnaire. Through mainly qualitative data analysis methods of elicitation, observations, document review, and consideration of events surrounding the effect of M&A on IP management practices, the effect of M&A on IP management practices was investigated. Pre- and post- M&A intellectual property management practices of the chemical firms were identified and reviewed, following a developed intellectual property management development process (IPMDP) and an intellectual property management practice (IPMP) model. This study finds that having an intellectual property plan and model is critical to improving due diligence in M&A transactions. It finds that employing and involving IP management experts and including a communication and employee training and development strategy in M&A processes can increase the success of M&A transactions. Based on interpretivists’ objective of gaining understanding, this study contributes to a practice-based view on IP management that the most critical M&A success solution involves firms understanding their IP management practice requirements in M&A
Coach Education and Assessment in Football: A Critical Realist Informed Evaluation
No full textOver the course of the last two decades, coach education programmes have become a globally recognised mechanism for improving the quality of coaching practice (International Council for Coaching Excellence, 2013). As a result, they have attracted attention from sport coaching researchers who have examined different aspects of coach education programmes, in different ways (Gilbert & Trudel, 2004; Rangeon et al., 2012). However, it is argued that there has been a failure to adequately consider two important issues. First, assessment as a feature of coach education programmes has been overlooked in the peer-reviewed literature (Hay et al., 2012; McCarthy et al., 2021). Second, despite the well-resourced (relative to sport coaching more generally) nature of coach education programmes (and the systems within which they function) they are often subject to little meaningful evaluation.
Responding to both issues, the present study represents a critical realist informed evaluation of project-based assessment as a feature of the FA Level 3 (UEFA B) in coaching football programme. Drawing on realist evaluation (Pawson & Tilley, 1997), the ERE model (North, 2017), and adaptive theory (Layder, 1998) to form a hybrid research methodology, the study was undertaken in two phases. First, theories were generated to establish the intentions of project-based assessment; this involved a review of appropriate grey literature, a series of realist interviews with individuals who had influence on and/or designed the programme, and a review of the academic literature. Second, the resultant theories were explored in the field over nine months, across three programme delivery sites, working with 16 stakeholders (full-time coaching leads, coach educators, and coaches). Three findings are discussed, which each partially explain how and why projectbased assessment as a feature of the FA Level 3 (UEFA B) in coaching football 3 programme worked for specific coaches in certain circumstances. These include: the importance of establishing what is required and what ‘good’ looks like, the role of metacognitive skills, and access to networks of support. These are presented as an integrative framework for assessment in coach education which offers some important principles to be considered when designing and implementing assessment in coach education. </p
Solid Waste Management Practice an Empirical Study in Nigeria
No full textThis thesis focuses on practices of public awareness and identifies people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour toward solid waste management in Nigeria. An evaluation of the country's common solid waste management practices and the available strategies that could promote sustainable waste management programs were explored. Other purposes of this paper are to highlight the problems related to solid waste management and important issues that must be addressed to eliminate the poor environmental practices in Nigeria and to underpin facts that the primary concern of solid waste management in Nigeria is the lack of enabling legislation or lack of adequate policies, as well as the lack of an environmentally sensitive and unenlightened public culminated in this research. Using a mixed method approach, the study evaluates the factors responsible for poor solid waste management and how effective the waste management implementation policies are, whilst the theoretical framework was used to provide a general overview of the relationship between different elements of human behaviours. The research provided an avenue for testing two theoretical constructs, solid waste and public awareness since they had not been previously tested and was achieved by measuring the degree to which the two variables mediated the relationship between the two constructs and examining the effects of variables on the nature of the relationship between the two constructs are novelty contribution. The findings are that there is a lack of environmental consideration in Nigeria's attitudes and practices towards sustainable waste management. The study concludes that governments at all levels must implement effective strategies, public enlightenment programmes, and campaigns to ensure public awareness of the danger of poor waste management to human health and social developmental activities to enhance the United Nations Development Sustainable Goals. Recommendations are that the government should promulgate, enforce and implement new laws that could promote environmental management compliance in addition to existing laws. Proper environmental management practices should also be embedded into the institutional curriculum, public training, enlightenment, and awareness to promote people’s consciousness of reducing, reusing, and recycling solid waste. This will help in the pathway to attaining the nation's sustainable development goals.</p
Can mycelium shape the future of architecture?
No full textAs the construction industry struggles to deal with its impact on the climate, researchers are looking for alternative materials to build with. A material that is the subject of recent research in the field of construction is Mycelium. Mycelium - the fibrous network that exists underneath a fungus - is a natural material with a zero-carbon footprint, is biodegradable and compostable. Already being used as a substitute for leather or as packaging material, Mycelium is making its way in construction also. Combined with a substrate made of waste sources that are cellulose-rich (like sawdust, ground wood, straw, and various agricultural residues), it can be moulded to produce various products. When dry, it becomes very durable and resistant to water, mould and fire. In brick form, it is one of the most promising new materials currently being researched. It can also be used as a “living material”. Researchers are currently exploring the idea of a smart material by adding nanoparticles and polymers to the substrate, obtaining a material that is able to self-grow, build and repair itself. Through bibliographic research and comparative analysis, we will find out the current state of the research of this material and maybe find new possibilities to use it in architecture. The goal of this article is to explore the potential of this new material to help reduce carbon footprint, as well as the impact of its use on architecture. Can the Mycelium change the “modus operandi” of building materials, especially ecological materials?</p