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Collaborating With Schools for Public Health Research in England: Lessons Learned for Successful Partnerships
No full textCarrying out health research with schools can be both challenging and highly rewarding. Here we describe lessons learned from a research partnership lasting over 5 years, initially with 84 primary schools in London and Luton, and extended to 35 secondary schools, during our children health cohort study. This period included school closures and societal disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating additional challenges to ongoing school participation. Our study involved annual health assessment visits to schools to test over 3000 participants and parental self-report questionnaires, to assess the potential benefits of air quality improvements arising from London Ultra Low Emission Zone (introduced in April 2019) on children’s lung development and health. Measures included height, weight, pre- and post- bronchodilator spirometry, physical activity monitoring, cognitive assessment, epigenetic markers of disease risk, SARS-CoV-2 IgE and IgM antibody testing, and heavy metals testing. The average annual participant attrition for our study was 11.6%. The acceptable threshold outlined in the initial protocol was 20%. All schools continued to participate in the study for 5 years. Central to the study success have been: shared agreement on the importance of the research topic; early preparatory work with stakeholders, a parallel engaging and innovative air pollution learning and outreach programme, incentivising school/teacher co-operation and parental questionnaire completion to boost response rates and mitigate non-response bias; and continuity of contact with the accessible and flexible research team. These successes form a template for other health research studies planning long-term engagement with schools
Supplementary Materials referenced in the 'Playful Citizen Discussion Space to Help Steer Society Towards Water Security' paper
No full textThis file contains the supplementary material referenced in the 'Playful Citizen Discussion Space to Help Steer Society Towards Water Security' paper. It contains further details on water use survey design, calculations used to define water use, graphs presented for data exploration survey, screenshots and information of the playful dilemma: Save the City, reflective survey questions, and additional follow up questions
A novel unsupervised ensemble framework using concept-based linguistic methods and machine learning for Twitter sentiment analysis
No full textConcept-based sentiment analysis (CBSA) methods have gained prominence in natural language processing in recent years. These methods consider the underlying semantic meanings of text to perform different tasks such as Twitter sentiment analysis (assigning positive, negative, or neutral sentiment to Tweets). CBSA is superior to traditional statistical methods for accurately discovering sentiment labels. Due to a limited knowledge base, these methods are unable to identify the sentiment polarity of all kinds of text. Therefore, supervised learning techniques are mostly ensembled with CBSA methods to classify whole text. These techniques require labeled data. It is a tedious and time consuming task due to the manually labeling of large datasets (Such as Twitter datasets). Therefore, an unsupervised learning mechanism can be a better alternative to solve this problem. In this paper, a novel unsupervised learning framework based on Concept-based and hierarchical clustering is proposed for Twitter sentiment analysis. Popular hierarchical clustering methods including single linkage, complete linkage, and average linkage algorithms are ensembled serially. Two different feature representation methods including Boolean and Term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) are investigated. We have also experimented with Well-known classifiers (Naïve Bayes, Neural Network) for a fair comparison. Accuracy measure (proportion of correct predictions) is used to evaluate the performance of understudied techniques. It is empirically shown that the performance of unsupervised learning techniques is comparable with supervised learning techniques
Dynamic Mechanical Analysis of Borassus Husk Fiber Reinforced Epoxy: Evaluating Suitability for Advanced Aerospace and Automotive Applications
No full textThis study investigates the effect of elevated temperatures on the mechanical properties of Borassus husk fiber‐reinforced epoxy composites, focusing on their potential for aerospace internal structural components. Composites were fabricated using Borassus husk fibers incorporated with epoxy resin, including 5% alkali‐treated fibers (treated for varying durations) to improve adhesion. Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) was performed according to ASTM D5418‐01 standards. Results revealed that both untreated and alkali‐treated fibers enhanced the storage modulus of the composites. The highest loss modulus was observed for the composite with 1‐h treated fibers. The glass transition temperature ( T g ), determined from the peak loss modulus, was significantly higher (84°C–89°C) for treated Borassus husk fiber/epoxy composites compared to neat epoxy and composites reinforced with other natural fibers, such as flax, jute, palm sprout, date palm, sisal, and kenaf. Alkali treatment also notably increased the tan δ (damping factor), with the highest value (1.2) for the 0.75‐h treated fiber composite, outperforming several other natural fiber‐epoxy composites. Cole–Cole plots indicated improved resin‐fiber adhesion for composites containing 0.75‐ and 1‐h treated husk fibers. Phase angle data confirmed enhanced energy dissipation and viscoelastic behavior. Thermo‐mechanical stability improved, with the 0.75‐h treated fiber composite showing the lowest total mass loss (0.4%). Overall, alkali‐treated Borassus husk fiber composites exhibited superior mechanical stiffness, damping capacity, and thermal stability, making them ideal for aerospace and automotive applications requiring strength, impact resistance, and sustainability. It will also contribute to achieving the “net‐zero” target established in the 2015 Paris Agreement
"It was like learning for life" women's historical experiences of vocational education in the British coal industry
No full textThis paper deals with the historical experiences of women once employed in the British coal industry, a set of workers whose experiences are greatly under-researched and under-reported in both academic and policy literature on vocational education and training. Using the methods of oral history, it focuses on a particular set of women, all of whom undertook significant programmes of vocational education whilst employed at 'Carr House', a regional headquarters for the National Coal Board (NCB) in the north of England. On one hand, the data presented show their experiences were generally more positive in retrospect than as young workers attending college on a 'day-release' basis. But it also suggests that the women's experiences of vocational education provided them with a range of social and cultural benefits as well as career progression, both whilst working for the NCB and after leaving the coal industry. Whilst participants' words suggest that individual motivation and personal goals are important, the data also shows how learning is socially situated and developed via interdependent social relations in terms, for example, of connections with staff and students, via exposure to different forms of pedagogy, and through the provision of meaningful opportunities for career progression
The Evolution of Phishing and Future Directions: A Review
No full textPhishing has emerged as one of the most persistent and evolving threats in cybersecurity. Its development from simple email scams to highly sophisticated and targeted attacks has been driven by technological advancements, the rise of social media, and the increasing availability of personal data online. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the evolution of phishing, examining key milestones in its history, current trends, and future directions. Emphasis is placed on the integration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the role of phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platforms, and the challenges posed by deepfake phishing and the Internet of Things (IoT). The paper concludes by discussing potential strategies for combating these evolving threats and proposes future research directions to enhance phishing detection and prevention mechanisms. Additionally, the study examines the growing intersection between phishing attacks and state-sponsored cyber operations, highlighting the increasing sophistication of threat actors and their exploitation of geopolitical events for targeted campaigns. The research also addresses the critical need for adaptive defense mechanisms that can respond to the rapid evolution of attack vectors while maintaining usability for legitimate users
Rethinking Leadership and Leadership Development Critical Perspectives and Contemporary Approaches
No full textThis chapter provides an essential foundation for the volume. It introduces the overarching themes and constituent chapters, outlining the diverse methodological approaches used within the book. This chapter situates leadership development within the evolving field, examining its current challenges and the state of scholarship and practice today.It offers a critical overview and outlook for future studies in leadership and leadership development, identifying emerging questions and research opportunities. This forward-looking perspective sets the stage for the volume's exploration of leadership as a dynamic and multifaceted field. It encourages readers to consider leadership development from critical perspectives that challenge traditional norms, inviting them to engage with new models and approaches to meet the demands of today's complex, diverse, and changing environment
Distributed leadership a systematic literature review
No full textPurpose -This paper critically examines the distributed leadership literature, identifying its conceptual foundations, thematic developments, and research gaps. Synthesizing existing studies aims to advance theoretical and practical understandings of distributed leadership across diverse contexts.Design/methodology/approach -A rigorous three-step systematic literature review (SLR) process was employed to analyze 111 peer-reviewed studies published between 2002 and 2022. This approach integrates descriptive and thematic analyses to address key research questions on distributed leadership's conceptualization, thematic trends, and research gaps.Findings -The review highlights distributed leadership as a dynamic and context-dependent concept, emphasizing its social, collaborative, and performance-driven dimensions. Three primary themes emerged: behavioral perspectives, contextual influences, and performance implications. Gaps were identified in empirical, theoretical, population, and methodological domains. These include insufficient research in noneducational sectors, limited exploration of distributed leadership's applicability in developing nations, and the need for empirically validated frameworks and qualitative methodologies.Originality/value -This review is among the first to systematically map distributed leadership's evolution across multiple contexts using an SLR approach. It provides a robust synthesis of the field, offering a validated baseline for future research. The study's methodological rigor and its focus on underexplored areas contribute significantly to advancing the discourse on distributed leadership
Letting nothing do itself
No full textWestern thought emphasizes rival philosophical schools, engaged in winning or losing debates. Canonical references to thinkers as midwives, nurses, or mothers of ideas are rare. Such metaphors would imply not an enemy but rather a co-creator, and an intimate co-operation. Attempts to vanquish the canonical masculine-dominator style of thought with some version of a non-wounding, compassionate mode of thinking readily mimic the power-structures and gender-binaries they seek to oppose. Such is the problem this chapter addressed. During the last three years, the authors have collaboratively explored philosophical, theological, and aesthetic issues via a praxis-led ornamentation method. Starting from NOTHING, they allow elements which seem meaningless in themselves to entangle through intra-action. Neither author has any territory or position to attack, judge, or defend. The chapter is not a dialogue, not a dialectic, nor even two-persons-making-something-together. It is a trans-human performance that allows the space and material between the contributors to become a/live environment—an ecology in which the world can create itself
Re-appraisal of legal systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: questioning the legal pluralism paradigm
No full textThe notion that multiple legal systems autonomously coexist in independent states in sub-Saharan Africa due to the interaction of the continent with foreign legal systems is theoretically flawed, misleading and an incorrect application of the concept of legal pluralism. This article examines the nature of legal pluralism in the context of transitioning independent nation-states. It contends that these nation-states, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, do not operate legally pluralistic legal systems, as often presented in scholastic works. Using system and lifecycle theories, this article argues against the prevailing conceptualization of legal pluralism in African legal systems. We argue that the prevailing conceptualization of pluralistic legal systems in sub-Saharan Africa is based on the fallacy of the undistributed middle, leading to flawed conclusions and disastrous governance outcomes. This widespread orthodoxy in legal and sociopolitical scholarship heightens perceived conflicts between imperial universalism and cultural existentialism, which has been the epicenter of legal discussion in Africa’s transitioning nations