Thesis and Research Data Repository Leeds Beckett University
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The Impact of Haptics Upon the Consumption of Journalistic Content
No full textLiterature has examined the practice of journalism from a ‘content creation’ perspective: namely, the creation of articles and news that utilise the multiplatforms of print and online, whilst maintaining robust revenue streams. However, this thesis argues that the focus on content creation has been to the industry’s detriment, because it fails to account for the significance of the experience of content consumption. This research focuses on the print and digital publications of journalistic content, most notably magazines. There is discussion with regards the multisensory aspect of journalistic-content consumption, with a particular focus on our sense of touch, and how this may affect our interpretation of what we have read. I deploy a phenomenological methodology to explore the interpretation of the lived experience of consuming journalistic content. Primary research is conducted to ascertain the impact of haptics in the consumption of journalistic content, specifically content that is printed onto different qualities of paper. Interviews, focus groups and quantitative data gathered from a biometric-tracking device are key elements of the methodology, with collected data providing an insight into the degree to which haptics impacts upon our lived experience of consuming journalistic content. Rather than content being ‘king’, this thesis asserts that it is the consumption of the content that is supreme in the phenomena of journalism and its related artefacts. Consequently, the research is underpinned by phenomenology but also questions the physiological impact that the haptics of a journalistic brand has on the lived experience. The lived experience is shaped by sensory stimuli and this thesis focuses on the stimuli of our sense of touch and how it impacts upon the reader’s perception of the content they are reading and the brand within which it is published. We are experiencing a ‘haptic moment’ (Parisi et al, 2017) within media technologies, a moment wherein the importance of a stimulus to our sense of touch within our consumption of media content is more thoroughly appreciated. This thesis contributes to the debate with qualitative data relating to the lived experience that suggests haptics can impact upon the consumption of journalistic content. It also complements existing studies that explore a lived experience from a quantitative perspective: it takes preliminary steps down an avenue that may give an insight into the physiological impact that haptics can have in the lived experience of journalistic-content consumption. Ultimately, a deeper understanding of the phenomena of journalistic-content consumption may assist in the repositioning of business models to ensure a firmer foothold on the digital landscape.</p
Autism and Understanding Social Romantic Boundaries- Is it different for women?
No full textIn 2007 Mark Stokes et al., conducted research into the understanding of stalking and social and romantic functioning, of 25 autism spectrum disorder (ASD) adolescents and adults, in comparison to 38 typically developing (TD) adolescents and adults. Overall findings were that those with ASD did differ from their TD counterparts in both the sources of their learning, and their levels, of social and romantic functioning. ASD individuals were more likely to display inappropriate and intrusive behaviour with a propensity to exhibit stalking behaviours, towards all targets of interest. Subsequent research had similar results, although many participants and case study subjects were ASD males.
This thesis examines the understanding ASD females have of social and romantic boundaries in comparison to ASD males by replicating the 2007 Stokes et al., study. To my knowledge this is the first study to compare levels of understanding in this area by gender, with a focus on female gender, using only ASD diagnosed participants.
Findings of this study had similarities to the original. For example, lack of understanding by ASD participants in navigating the boundaries and social nuances wrapped up with dating and forming relationships. What was also discovered within analysis was that in many areas, such as length of pursuit of a romantic interest, ASD females were found to give higher response numbers than their ASD male counterparts. ASD females would pursue their target for longer than ASD males. In some cases, even with a negative response from that target of interest.
Previous research has highlighted the numbers of autistic men who have found themselves the subject of warnings from police to refrain from certain inappropriate behaviours, yet many have expressed not understanding why. The implications of findings within this study suggest that there may be numbers of autistic women suffering the same confusion regarding their behaviours who simply have not yet been identified. Further research is needed in this area to discover a truer picture of the numbers of ASD individuals, particularly female, impacted, and importantly to discover what those individuals feel would help them avoid future warnings or criminal justice involvement.</p
Can bamboo become a sustainable building material in Australia?
No full textBamboo grows rapidly, maturing within 5 to 9 years to a hard, timber-like material that can regenerate within the lifespan of most building products. It therefore has the potential to be a renewable resource for use in the construction industry. This paper discusses the benefits of bamboo in construction and land restoration, its role in the circular economy, and its contribution in carbon reduction. There is an International Organisation of Standardisation Standard for the design of bamboo structures made from natural round-form bamboo, which is supported by other standards in the grading and test methods for bamboo. A number of countries, including Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru have also included the natural-round form bamboo in their Building Codes. In addition, China and India have developed codes and standards for natural roundform and engineered bamboo, and ASTM International have now added laminated veneer bamboo to their specification for the evaluation of structural composite lumber products. Those countries that have used bamboo for structural purposes have developed suitable trade skills and construction methodologies. At the same time, the use of bamboo for construction use is not well known in Australia. This paper identifies the underlying factors with respect to why bamboo is not often considered as a building material suitable for permanent structures. It is based on a literature review and research of the bamboo industry in Australia. Based on the research, it can be concluded that using bamboo as a building material is mainly dependent on a number of factors, such as the experience of previous generations, evaluation of its performance during disasters, intuition of builders, and from the practices use its treatment and preservation. This paper also outlines a strategy and further research required to better establish bamboo as a viable design and construction material for permanent structures.</p
Heat pumps and the UK’s heat decarbonisation: Lessons from an Ofgem dataset of more than 2,000 domestic installations
No full textThe decarbonisation of heat in the UK represents an urgent and colossal challenge. Heat pumps are cited as a crucial tool to lower CO2e emissions, and the UK Government plans to boost installation rates from 30,000 per year to 600,000 by 2028. UK heat pump field trials completed in 2010 and 2015, however, reported disappointing results with many installations failing to deliver benchmark efficiencies. There is no evidence from more recent UK studies to show that performance has improved significantly. To investigate actual heat pump performance, a dataset was obtained from the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) for a sub-set of installations that are subject to strict monitoring under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). A spreadsheet methodology was developed to interrogate the dataset and calculate the in-situ heat pump efficiencies and those actual results were compared to the installer forecast efficiencies that were included in the dataset. The analysis found that more than one quarter of the main sample and 28% of Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) were performing with an efficiency below the Seasonal Performance Factor (SPF) benchmark of 2.5. No correlation between the installer performance forecasts and the actual SPF results was found in the main samples examined. Additionally, the analysis found no improvement in performance after the UK installation standard was overhauled in 2017. Overall, these results raise significant questions about installation design and execution and about the methodology used for consumer performance forecasts. It is concluded that information asymmetries may damage consumer confidence in heat pumps and that this may limit market growth.</p
Design Lessons from Plants for Adaptive Solar Skins
No full textSeveral systems have been developed to enhance buildings’ environmental performance towards reducing their operational energy demand. However, there is still potential for improving methods for responsively controlling daylight and solar gain while facilitating renewable energy generation. Adaptation is a key aspect of the building envelope’s design. Thus, looking at plants as natural organisms that adapt to different environmental conditions can be a reliable source of inspiration. In this paper, we present a review of climate-specific adaptation strategies found in plants and discuss their potential for application in the design of building skin systems with shading and energy generation functions. Building on field study observations, the work reviews the features and principles of selected plants in response to different climatic conditions to establish a systematic logic of light management strategies with potential for design applications. The paper proposes the groundwork towards establishing a more comprehensive framework of biomimetic strategies inspired by plants, towards facilitating the design of adaptive architectural skins that can manage light more efficiently and potentially generate energy from solar radiation.</p
Nexus of Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Infrastructure Development towards a resilient A.E.C.: A review
No full textIn sustainable infrastructure development, comprehensive planning is required to build more resilient societies and improve human wellbeing. The adoption of Artificial Intelligence plays a significant role in the A.E.C. delivering sustainable infrastructure development through machine learning knowledgebased systems. Moreover, digitalisation of sustainable infrastructure development through Artificial Intelligence provides enhanced efficiency and improved infrastructure management, better serving the end-user. However, with the opportunities it brings for the A.E.C. industry, the threats are as equal, compromising the industry's resilience to be better equipped for the new changes. This article aims to provide a two-phase bibliometric and systematic literature review on the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analyses of artificial intelligence-driven technologies as a response to the resilience of the A.E.C. industry in sustainable infrastructure development. The analyses' findings will provide a more comprehensive picture of the efforts to use A.I. technology for Sustainable Infrastructure Development. In addition, the article will provide an opportunity for the A.E.C. to be more resilient going forward with the changes that come with the use of A.I. Finally, a discussion of the prospects, key guidelines, and lessons learned should be implemented to ensure a favourable change in A.I. advancements and applications toward completely supporting Sustainable Infrastructure Development. The article is expected to contribute to Artificial Intelligence's knowledge in sustainable infrastructure development for a more resilient A.E.C. industry. It will also address the gap in sustainable infrastructure development by using Artificial intelligence as an innovative way to design, construct, operate and maintain infrastructure by better understanding current and future needs and the relationship between A.I. and sustainability.</p
The Influence of End User Requirements to Inform Built Asset Design
No full textConstruction developments may be defined as temporary project coalitions in which participants form a network of communication and collaboration for the exchange of information and knowledge. Aligned to this, there is increasing recognition of the value of broadening consultation in the briefing and design stages of projects to obtain input from a more expansive and inclusive population of those that will operate and use facilities, which has hitherto been an all too frequent omission.
The Health and Social Care sector in England has placed emphasis on developing its estates strategies with stakeholders in attempts to inject innovation to how services are delivered. In unison with these aspirations, the Construction Industry Council has worked with NHS England in the development a construction quality control mechanism, the Desiqn Quality Indicator for Health (DQIfH). The research gap identified for this study is in how communication and collaboration processes with stakeholders can be given precedence to ensure that end user requirements are identified in the consultation stages of projects. This research provides analysis of how effective the DQIfH processes have been in capturing user requirements in a healthcare construction project. Social Network Analysis (SNA) was used as a method of quantifying and conceptualising levels of communication and collaboration between stakeholders. This was enabled through semi structured interviews with key stakeholders to provide qualitative participant interaction information as well as quantitative data for analysis.
The research findings present novel insights into how quality control mechanisms can provide structure for communication mechanisms to flourish. Stages of maturity are identified where advanced levels of knowledge are made possible through the pooling of resources of formal and informal stakeholders working together to foster collective social capital, both structural and relational. The implications of such collaborative practices are identified for the attributes that the formation of close and trusting relationships between participants can provide, such as shared values, trust, and the development of group knowledge to better understanding the needs of the community. The research provides new knowledge on how social network analysis can overlay design quality mechanisms to gain understanding of contemporary working practices through the conceptualisation of communication and collaboration between stakeholders. It is recommended that this research is extended to allow researchers the opportunity to observe interactions directly in an expanded range of present-day projects. </p
The Development of Non-Hegemonic Masculine Ideologies: A Biographical Narrative Study
No full textHegemonic / Traditional western masculinity is understood to be predicated through the oppression of women through various forms of misogyny and violence and the suppression, subordination and marginalisation of men, particularly through homophobia, to police deviations from hegemonic ideals. A sample of 13 heterosexual men were recruited, aged between 19 and 56 years, sourced from initiatives involved in challenging problematic western masculinity norms and the unfair societal structures that these norms reinforce. In Study One (Part One), Biographical Narrative Interpretive Methods were employed, producing a Collective Narrative which illustrated the commonalities in the men’s lives and their trajectories to becoming adults and allies. In Study One (Part Two), a Critical Narrative Analysis considered what ideological components may be discernible in the participants’ telling of their narratives. The theories that were considered most representative of the told narratives were (highly prosocial) Hybrid Masculinities and Critical Positive Masculinities, both of which incorporate to differing degrees non-traditional components, conducive to the wellbeing of the individual and those around them. A second complimentary study was conducted involving a smaller sample of returning participants’, who’s texts were found to align most with Critical Positive Masculinities. Semi-Structured interviews and Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis illustrated a cyclical process of meaning making, in which the men’s subscriptions to masculinities were found to be largely performative, motivated by a concern with being perceived of as appealing to potential partners; i.e., heteromasculinities. Counter to this, the men masculinised the practice of critical reflexivity; perceiving self-reflection and accountability as a component of their gender constructs. Ultimately, this research contributes much needed data on non-traditional masculinities and showcases a range of wellbeing-enhancing ideologies and practices for men and boys
The Field and Resistance Training Loads of Academy Rugby League Players during a Pre-Season
No full textNo description supplie
Once Upon a Time a Trump Was Just a Bad Smell
No full textIt’s 2016, Donald Trump has just become President-elect of the United States. The political direction underpinned by a resounding, and often Manichean, rejection of the ‘ruling elite’ in favour of what was presented as the will of the people, commonly known as populism (Kinnvall 2018; Norris, 2020).Trump’s campaign was fuelled by vitriol and hyperbole, hooking its claws into enough Americans to mark a significant shift to the right (Kellner, 2017). The simple and sinister way Trump’s campaign triumphed was through taking advantage of ontological insecurities that are common in a postmodern world (Bauman and Donskis, 2016; Kinnvall, 2018) and presenting an alternative set of ‘truths’; rejecting the mainstream information channels and institutions that have traditionally presented what Lyotard (1979) would describe as ‘grand narratives’. Therefore, it’s no surprise that 2016 was the year that ‘post-truth’ was named the word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries (Flood, 2016; Kinnvall 2018).</p