9627 research outputs found
Sort by
Digital Transformation for Sustainable Transportation: Leveraging Industry 4.0 Technologies to Optimize Efficiency and Reduce Emissions
Get PDFThis study investigates how Industry 4.0 technologies can optimize transportation efficiency and contribute to global sustainability goals by reducing CO2 emissions. In response to the pressing climate emergency, the research examines the role of the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and predictive analytics in enhancing operational performance and aligning transportation systems with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 13 (climate action) and Goal 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure). Using a qualitative research approach, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with industry experts, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis and qualitative network mapping in NVivo software. The findings reveal that IoT enhances real-time monitoring, AI enables dynamic route optimization, and predictive analytics supports proactive maintenance, collectively achieving an average emission reductions of 30%. However, adoption is hindered by infrastructure gaps, high implementation costs, skill shortages, and fragmented regulatory frameworks. This study integrates the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework and Sustainable Corporate Theory to provide a structured analysis of digital transformation in transportation. The findings offer strategic insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders, highlighting the need for stronger regulatory support, targeted incentives, and digital infrastructure investments
SPARK and SAD: Leading-edge deep learning frameworks for robust and effective intrusion detection in SCADA systems
Get PDFConsidering SCADA systems operate and manage critical infrastructure and industrial processes, the need for robust intrusion detection systems-IDSs cannot be overemphasized. The complexity of these systems, added to their increased exposure to more sophisticated cyber-attacks, creates significant challenges for continuous, secure operations. Traditional approaches to intrusion detection usually fail to cope, scale, or be as accurate as is necessary when dealing with the modern, multi-faceted problem of an attack vector against SCADA networks and IIoT environments. Past works have generally proposed the use of different machine learning and deep learning anomaly detection strategies to find possible intrusions. While these methods have, in fact, been promising, their effects are not without their own set of problems, including high false positives, poor generalization to new types of attacks, and performance inefficiencies in large-scale data environments. In this work, against this background, two novel IDS models are put forward: SPARK (Scalable Predictive Anomaly Response Kernel) and SAD (Scented Alpine Descent), to further improve the security landscape in SCADA systems. SPARK enables an ensemble-based deep learning framework combining strategic feature extraction with adaptive learning mechanisms for volume data processing at high accuracy and efficiency. This architecture has stringent anomaly detection through a multi-layered deep network adapting to ever-evolving contexts in operational environments, allowing for low latency and high precision in the detections. The SAD model works in concert with SPARK by adopting a synergistic approach that embeds deep learning into anomaly scoring algorithms, enabled to detect subtle attack patterns and further reduce false-positive rates
How Construction can deliver innovation faster
No full textThis was a Q&A event with the CIOB magazine Construction Managemen
Sustainable Construction Practices: Challenges of Implementation in Building Infrastructure Projects in Malawi
Get PDFThe implementation of sustainable construction practices (SCPs) is recognised as a significant approach to enhancing the sustainability performance of infrastructure projects globally. However, the adoption and implementation of SCPs in low-income countries like Malawi remain in its early stages due to several challenges. This study provides an empirical analysis of the challenges hindering the implementation of SCPs in building infrastructure projects in Malawi. The study employed a systematic review and a quantitative method with a questionnaire survey among 193 construction professionals within the Malawian construction industry. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, one-sample t-tests, and exploratory factor analysis. The results revealed that higher costs of sustainable building processes, lack of information on sustainable building products, and higher costs of sustainable building materials are the major challenges for SCPs implementation in Malawi. The factor analysis further revealed that institutional limitations were the most critical, followed by inadequate technical experience, while financial constraints were the least significant challenge. These findings emphasise the urgent need to provide financial incentives, capacity-building programs for industry professionals, and supportive regulatory frameworks to facilitate the implementation of SCPs. This study provides practical insights for policymakers and stakeholders to enhance the sustainability of infrastructure projects in the construction sector
Climate change and investors’ behaviour: Assessing a new type of systematic risk
Get PDFThis study explores how temperature anomalies, a novel form of systematic risk, affect financial markets, expanding the traditional understanding of market‐wide risks. While climate change is becoming an important consideration, the extent to which temperature anomalies disrupt economic activities and influence stock returns is urgently needed to assess. Using data from 479 Thai companies (2010–2023), we apply linear and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) models to examine the impact of temperature anomalies and investor sentiment on stock returns. Our findings reveal that (1) temperature anomalies significantly affect short‐term stock returns, especially when prioritising sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors; (2) public awareness, measured by Google Search Volume Index (GSVI), has a complex, nonlinear impact on the stock market; (3) temperature anomalies act like traditional risk measures, influencing stock returns similarly to market volatility. The study highlights the growing importance of climate change in financial decision‐making and offers insights into investor reactions to climate risks and economic sentiment. It emphasises the need to consider short‐term market reactions to climate‐related news and suggests that temperature anomalies could be viewed as a systematic risk in financial markets
Influence of Military Preventive Policy for ReCruit Training on COVID-19 seroconversion: the IMPACT-COVID-19 study
Get PDFIntroduction
Recruitment and training is vital to maintaining the size, deployability and effectiveness of armed forces, but was threatened early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports suggested asymptomatic seroconversion driving SARS-CoV-2 transmission in young adults. Potential association between lower vitamin D status and increased infection risk was also highlighted. We aimed to prospectively determine seroconversion and test the hypothesis that this would vary with vitamin D supplementation in representative populations.
Methods
Two cohorts were recruited from Yorkshire, Northern England. Infantry recruits received daily oral vitamin D (1000 IU for four weeks, followed by 400 IU for the remaining 22 weeks of training) in institutional countermeasures to facilitate ongoing training/co-habitation. Controls were recruited from an un-supplemented University population, subject to social distancing and household restrictions. Venous blood samples (baseline and Week 16) were assayed for vitamin D and anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein antibodies, with additional serology (weeks 4, 9, 12) by dried blood spot. Impact of supplementation was analysed on an intention-to-treat basis in volunteers completing testing at all timepoints and remaining unvaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. Variation in seroconversion with vitamin D change was explored across, and modelled within, each population.
Results
In the military (n=333) and University (n=222) cohorts, seroconversion rates were 44.4% vs 25.7% (P=0.003). At week 16, military recruits showed higher vitamin D (60.5 ± 19.5 mmol.L-1 vs. 53.5 ± 22.4 mmol.L-1, p < 0.001), despite <50% supplementation adherence. A statistically significant (p=0.005) effect of negative change in vitamin D (%) on seroconversion in recruits (OR of 0.991 and 95% CI of 0.984-0.997) was not evidenced in the University cohort.
Conclusion
Among unvaccinated populations, SARS-CoV-2 infection of infantry recruits was not reduced by institutional countermeasures, versus civilians subject to national restrictions. Vitamin D supplementation improved serum levels, but implementation did not have a clinically meaningful impact on seroconversion during military training
Creare e rifare i ricordi: l’impatto duraturo delle esperienze nei festival [Making and Remaking Memories: The Long-Lasting Impact of Festival Experiences]
Get PDFFestival experiences extend far beyond the event itself. This chapter emphasizes the importance of considering not just the festival's design but also the pre- and post-event experience. Fostering post-festival memory sharing can significantly enhance customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth promotion, and future attendance. Key objectives include understanding:
• The value of memories over experiences.
• The unique significance of shared collective memories.
• Festivals as powerful memory creators.
• The connection between memory sharing, well-being, and festival value.
• Strategies for encouraging memory sharing to shape positive attitudes and future behaviours
‘We need to give it more attention’. Educators’, students’, and social work apprentices’ experiences of teaching and learning child-centred recordkeeping
No full textMaintaining records about children and families who are the subject of social work intervention is a routinized aspect of everyday practice and has been recognized as vital in protecting children
from harm and promoting their wellbeing. There is evidence that
the fast-paced nature of statutory social work, as well as bureau cratic demands and difficulties with writing, can inhibit workers’
capacity to keep child-centered records, with inadequate record keeping having serious implications for protecting children from
harm in the present and meeting their potential memory and identity needs in the future. This paper presents evidence from social work educators, as well as undergraduate, postgraduate,
and apprentice social work students about their experiences of teaching and learning skills for child-centered case recording while at university and on placement. We highlight the interaction of university and practice learning, identifying key barriers to the
complex task of maintaining child-centered records and outlining evidence from learners that there is a case for the prioritization of teaching skills for writing for practice within the university environment. We conclude by making recommendations as to how skills
for child-centered recordkeeping could be more effectively taught, assessed, and embedded in pre-qualifying social work education
Movement For Sport Playkit RCT
Get PDFPROJECT OVERVIEW
Recent evidence shows today’s children are the least active generation in history.
Only 20% of children reach the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of 60 minutes physical activity a day.
Moreover, children are not achieving average levels of movement competence and are dropping out of organised sport at an increasing rate, globally.
The reasons for this dropout include:
1. Loss of focus on fun
2. Overly competitive structure of sport
3. Overemphasis on technical and tactical aspects of the game
To address these problems:
- The Moverment for Sport Playkit (MSPK) was designed for coaches and teachers to develop children’s movement competence.
- This project was undertaken to measure the imact that the MSPK had on children when delivered in PE lessons.
WHAT IS THE MOVEMENT FOR SPORT PLAYKIT?
The MSPK is a collection of 14 innovative, dynamic and fun games that are non-sport specific.
These are presented as three distinct phases, increasing in task complexity, perceptual-cognitive skill demand, decision making and interaction with others.
The MSPK resource cards illustrate how to deliver and play the game and provide an assessment framework for the practitioner to score the child’s performance
Spot the Difference? Contact Event Frequency During > 30,000 Women’s and Men’s Rugby Union Player Matches Across Top Domestic and International Competitions
Get PDFThis study aimed to quantify the frequency of individual and team contact events during rugby union match play in top domestic and international men’s and women’s competitions. Analyst‐coded player individual and team contact event types (tackles, carries, attacking rucks and defensive rucks, lineouts, scrums and mauls) from the 2022/2023 rugby union season were analysed from top domestic and international competitions across the world using generalised linear mixed models. For both women’s and men’s rugby, competitions generally had similar numbers of contact events per playing position. Where differences were observed, most ranged between 0.5 and six per contact event per full game equivalent (FGE). Similar trends were observed when comparing women’s to men’s rugby. However, within‐game accumulation of these different contact events for certain positional groups may have a significant impact (e.g., a front five player called up from a Farah Palmer Cup team to play in WXV1 could be involved in as much as 6 more attacking rucks, 3 more tackles and 5 more mauls per game on average). Furthermore, the small differences between competitions per FGE may accrue across matches and thus result in far greater exposures across a season (e.g., a front five player in Premiership Rugby may make 48 more tackles over 20 matches than in Top 14 on average). Although a high proportion of contact events per FGE were similar between competitions and sexes per playing position, differences that were observed may have important implications for players transitioning between competitions and the long‐term exposure of players to higher‐risk contact events
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Leeds Beckett Repository? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!