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Gentrification and African Presence in Peckham (GAPP) walking tour: Black urban removal
Full text linkI founded the Gentrification and African Presence in Peckham (GAPP) walking tour to promote historical spaces occupied by the Black community between 1960 and 1990. In 2023, walking tours supported the Rights in Focus conference[1]; the National Youth Theatre play Gone Too Far[2] and the University of the Arts London Portraits of Peckham exhibition[3]. Each historical space presents the Caribbean community as pioneers and trailblazers. The skills and knowledge which they brought to the UK as immigrants from the Windrush generation, leaves the community with an impactful heritage and legacy. Participatory research[4] shaped these walking tours. One of the most prominent methods for data collection is the Caribbean oral history tradition. The pinnacle of the walking tour is identifying some of the educational, recreational, and cultural spaces which have shaped social and cultural capital[5] over a defined period of Peckham’s history. These are spaces familiar to the researcher (a Peckham resident) and informed by the narratives exchanged with participants during these research walks. The Livingmaps More-than-human Mappings conference walk provided additional context about the Caribbean community and their cultural practices established in Peckham
Integrating trustworthy Artificial Intelligence with energy-efficient robotic arms for waste sorting
No full textThis paper presents a novel methodology that integrates trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) with an energy-efficient robotic arm for intelligent waste classification and sorting. By utilizing a convolutional neural network (CNN) enhanced through transfer learning with MobileNetV2, the system accurately classifies waste into six categories: plastic, glass, metal, paper, cardboard, and trash. The model achieved a high training accuracy of 99.8% and a validation accuracy of 80.5%, demonstrating strong learning and generalization. A robotic arm simulator is implemented to perform virtual sorting, calculating the energy cost for each action using Euclidean distance to ensure optimal and efficient movement. The framework incorporates key elements of trustworthy AI, such as transparency, robustness, fairness, and safety, making it a reliable and scalable solution for smart waste management systems in urban settings
Process Automation Architecture using RFID for transparent voting systems
No full textThis paper presents the development of a process automation architecture leveraging Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for secure, transparent and efficient voting systems. The proposed architecture automates the voting workflow through RFID-enabled voter identification, encrypted vote casting, and secure data transmission. Each eligible voter receives a smart RFID card containing a uniquely encrypted identifier, which is verified using an RC522 reader interfaced with a microcontroller. Upon successful verification, the voter interacts with a touchscreen interface to cast a vote, which is then encrypted using AES-128 and securely stored on a local SD card or transmitted via GSM to a central server. A tamper-proof monitoring mechanism records each session with time-stamped digital signatures, ensuring auditability and data integrity. The architecture is designed to function in both online and offline modes, with an automated batch synchronization mechanism that updates vote records once network connectivity is restored. System testing in simulated environments confirmed 100% voter authentication accuracy, minimized latency (average voting time of 11.5 seconds), and robustness against cloning, double voting, and data interception. The integration of real-time monitoring and secure process control modules enables electoral authorities to automate data logging, detect anomalies, and validate system integrity dynamically. This work demonstrates a scalable, automation-driven solution for voting infrastructure, offering enhanced transparency, resilience, and deployment flexibility, especially in environments where digital transformation of electoral processes is critically needed
Speech rate and associations in predictive sentence processing
Full text linkDo comprehenders predict (i.e., what will come next) when hearing rapid speech? Two mouse cursor tracking experiments investigated association-based predictions, which may be suited to speeded processing. Participants heard predictive sentences (e.g., “What the pilot will fly, which is shown here, is the…”) while viewing visual arrays with predictable objects (e.g., helicopter) and unpredictable but verb-associated objects (e.g., kite) or unrelated objects (e.g., book). Experiment 1 compared predictive and non-predictive (e.g., “What everyone will discuss, which is shown here, is the…”) sentences at a normal speech rate, and Experiment 2 compared predictive sentences at a normal and fast speech rate (e.g., averaging ~4 and 9 syllables per second). In addition to making mouse cursor movements to predictable objects before hearing predictable words (e.g., “helicopter”), participants’ mouse cursor movements at both speech rates were attracted to unpredictable but verb-associated objects, providing evidence of association-based prediction. These results suggest that when hearing rapid speech, associations support but do not dominate comprehenders’ predictions
Dark events and media controversies: Remembrance Sunday in the United Kingdom
No full textDark commemorative events often have a dual role as memorials for wars and conflicts and as national days that are a focal point for celebrations of national identity. Because of this, the significance and contemporary meanings of these events are contested, and previous research has suggested that how they are designed and managed can, at times, undermine collective identities. This chapter provides a case study of one dark commemorative event, Remembrance Sunday in the United Kingdom. This national memorial event for the dead of all wars has a specific heritage associated with World War One and World War Two and has seen many controversies since its inception. This study accessed newspaper articles that report on these controversies using the Nexus Advanced UK database for the period 1985 to 2025. Using the news media as a lens, this study analysed and categorised relevant controversies to help understand the changing nature and meaning of this dark event. At the end of the chapter, a model of media controversies for dark commemorative events is presented, identifying one set of issues that may be associated with all events of this nature, and two more that are specific to Remembrance Sunday in the United Kingdom
Auctions and the Consumption of Second-Hand Goods in Georgian England
No full textSecond-hand goods have long been marginalised in histories of consumption. Novelty and new forms of material culture are lauded as the drivers to wider economic change in eighteenth-century Britain, leaving second-hand exchange as outmoded and in decline. This book offers an innovative corrective to this view by providing the first comprehensive and coherent examination of the sale and purchase of used goods through household auctions in the long eighteenth century in England. It tells the stories of the people and things as well as the broader processes, practices and attitudes that were bound up in the commercial recirculation of used goods through auctions. In doing this, it challenges four key problems in the historiography of second-hand exchange. First, by offering a coherent history of the re-circulation of all household goods, it addresses the tendency to fragment second-hand exchange into studies of clothing, books, art or antiques. Second, by detailing the involvement of middling and elite consumers in second-hand exchange, it debunks the idea that used goods were the last resort of those too poor to buy new goods. Third, it shows that demand for second-hand goods remained buoyant throughout the Georgian era and beyond: auctions remained an important venue for recirculating the household possessions of rich and poor alike. Fourth, these consumers were not only motivated by financial necessity, but by a range of other imperatives, from social distinction to thrift to utility. Used as well as new goods were often acquired for what they did rather than what they meant
Functional foods in health promotion and disease prevention: innovations, evidence and challenges
Full text linkFunctional foods have attracted increasing scientific and commercial interest due to their potential roles in health promotion and the prevention of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. In this review, we will critically examine the current evidence on functional foods by focusing on their classification, bioactive components, biological mechanisms, consumer acceptance and regulatory frameworks. Bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, dietary fibre and probiotics, from both plant- and animal-origin functional foods, have also been examined in this review. Despite substantial experimental and epidemiological evidence, the translation of functional foods into consistent health benefits remains challenged by variability in bioavailability, food matrix effects, processing conditions and interindividual differences in genetics and gut microbiota. Key mechanistic determinants of bioefficacy, including intestinal transport processes, molecular structure, stereochemistry, and food–drug interactions, are discussed. Consumers’ perception and purchasing behaviour are examined, identifying the influence of product format, socio-demographic characteristics, information sources, health motivation and price sensitivity. Our review also compares the regulatory approaches in the United States, European Union, Japan and China, highlighting the heterogeneity in definitions and health claim substantiation requirements. Finally, emerging opportunities such as metabolic profiling technologies and personalised nutrition are highlighted as future directions to support evidence-based, effective and equitable functional food development
An economic evaluation of the LINKEDin study: an intervention to reduce initial loss to follow-up among tuberculosis patients in South Africa
Full text linkTuberculosis (TB) patients who are diagnosed but not registered and initiated on TB treatment are categorised as initial loss to follow-up (ILTFU). ILTFU is a key driver of morbidity and mortality associated with TB and is a contributing factor to high TB transmission rates. LINKEDin was a quasi-experimental study which evaluated two specific interventions for reducing ILTFU in three high-TB burden provinces in South Africa, conducted from October 2018 to December 2020. As part of LINKEDin, we undertook a micro-costing from the healthcare provider perspective using an activity-based costing approach. Cost estimates included the cost of the operation of an integrated provincial health data centre in the Western Cape, apportioned to the TB activities it supported in the province. Cost estimates were linked to intervention outcomes to understand the incremental cost of the intervention per additional patient linked to care compared to rates of ILTFU in the absence of the interventions. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to account for uncertainty in the intervention outcomes, and for periods where the implementation of the intervention was interrupted due to COVID-19 related disruptions. Costing data were collected between August 2020 and March 2021. The total cost of implementing the LINKEDin intervention in the WC and KZN was 377.28 per additional person linked to care, and $243.62 in the WC, per additional person linked to care. In the Western Cape, systematically tracking persons with TB using an automated system proved highly cost efficient compared to the more labour intense approach adopted in KwaZulu-Natal. Optimising the curation and management of data and increasing the effectiveness of tracing systems and processes can result in cost-savings
Lumped thermal model for magnetic components in an interleaved DC–DC converter
Full text linkMagnetic component design is one of the key challenges for high-frequency DC-DC converters. Simple loss-based thermal analysis can be an alternative to achieving an effective electrothermal design for magnetics at the initial design stage, before the real prototype design, which can save cost and time. In this paper, a lumped thermal equivalent circuit (LTEC) model is developed to guide the thermal design of magnetic components. LTEC models are compared with finite element analysis (FEA) and experimental results. To capitalise on the amorphous core in designing high-current/high-frequency magnetic components, a physics-based analytical thermal model can be used to identify temperatures at specific nodes or points of interest. This lumped parameter-based method can be used for quick analysis and design optimisation, whereas FEA is better for identifying accurate temperature distribution and hot-spot temperatures and to guide the designers to achieve effective thermal design by adopting appropriate strategies such as potting or liquid cooling. This paper investigates two magnetic components in a high-frequency, interleaved DC-DC converter: one is the high current filter inductor, and the other is the interphase transformer (IPT). Both LTEC and FEA models are validated using experimental measurements from a 1.5 kW interleaved DC-DC converter prototype. The proposed LTEC results are comparable to both experimental and FEA results, and for the inductor, the average error is limited to 7.4% while for the IPT transformer average error is up to 5.7%
The Elgar Companion to Food System Transformation for Sustainable Development
Full text linkThis expansive Companion examines the relationship between food systems and sustainability, exploring why transforming the food system is a vital step in achieving sustainability that extends beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Combining theoretical insights with practical applications, this Companion presents regional case studies spanning every continent to identify both current challenges and future prospects for sustainable food system development. Contributors interrogate the synergies and trade-offs between the SDGs and how they relate to nexus thinking, including the water-energy-food nexus and its recent variations. Examining governance from state, market, and voluntary sector perspectives, contributing authors argue that governance by goals, such as the SDGs, is an insufficient way to adequately reshape food systems in order to be more sustainable. The Elgar Companion to Food System Transformation for Sustainable Development is a crucial resource for students and scholars of human geography, agronomy, agroecology, political ecology, climate science, and environmental studies. Policymakers, advocacy groups and civil society actors will also benefit from the book’s forward-thinking strategies and policy recommendations
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