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An empirical investigation of UK fiscal policy
Full text linkThis thesis comprises three empirical studies that investigate the effects of UK fiscal spending policy on aggregate demand and household consumption. In the first study, I introduce a newly constructed dataset of fiscal forecasts from the National Institute Economic Review (NIER) dating back to 1964. The dataset fills a gap in the availability of UK government spending data, enabling analyses into the conditional factors driving variations in the effectiveness of UK fiscal spending policy over time and by spending policy tool. Accordingly, in the second study I explore the effects of government consumption and investment shocks on economic activity in recessionary and non-recessionary periods. Existing evidence on state-dependent fiscal spending multipliers is mixed, and few studies analyse the effects of government investment. I document significant variations in UK fiscal multipliers across states, but only for government investment shocks. This is driven by higher private investment, which increases substantially in response to an improvement in business confidence in recessions. In the final study, administrative data are used alongside the spending shocks to examine the role of liquidity constraints in the responses of household consumption to government final consumption expenditure changes. Consistent with the notion that marginal propensities to consume out of transitory income shocks differ systematically across households based on their housing tenure status, I find that the non-durable and durable consumption responses of mortgagors are greater than outright owners. However, it is low-income, not high-income, mortgagors who respond significantly to a government spending shock. Alongside evidence that the consumption responses of mortgagors are greater when mortgage rates are higher and when faced with unexpectedly low government spending, the results suggest that UK government spending policy transmits through the economy by alleviating the financial constraints of households
Exploring employability of the newly qualified pharmacist: supporting the transition to registration
Full text linkEmployability relates to the journey of an individual from education to employment and their ongoing career journey. Within Higher Education, embedding employability within undergraduate curricula is a key priority area, ensuring graduates are workforce ready. However, there are a range of stakeholders with a vested interest in employability, resulting in varying definitions, perspectives and measures of employability. A scoping review was conducted to describe the current literature about employability in pharmacy at the point of registration and to highlight gaps in knowledge in this area. The scoping review found scarce literature related to employability at the newly qualified pharmacist (NQP) stage. Transitions and terms linked with practice appeared to resonate greater with the pharmacy profession compared to employability potentially due to their meaning and importance.
This study aimed to explore the concept of employability for NQPs, to determine the employability characteristics (knowledge, skills and attributes) for newly qualified pharmacists to be work-ready upon registration. This enabled recommendations to be made for pharmacist education and training and to inform workforce planning developments for the pharmacy profession in the UK.
An exploratory study design was employed to gather qualitative data using semi-structured interviews. A total of 39 interviews were undertaken with NQPs, employers of NQPs, and other stakeholders. The interviews explored participant views on NQPs’ employability and the associated knowledge, skill and attribute requirements, pharmacy education and training, and recruitment and selection processes. Data were reflexively thematically analysed. The results from the thematic analysis highlighted the importance of employability for the profession, potential implications for education and training, and the necessary employability characteristics. The analysis also highlighted the relationship between recruitment and selection processes and employability.
Drawing together the participant views of employability and the literature, a definition of employability at the NQP stage is proposed: the building and use of career management skills for job application, possession and use of human capital for job acquisition, and the sustaining of work through fulfilling the requirements of the job and adoption of a reflective identity. Employability is an important concept that must be understood and embedded in the profession. The findings from the study call for a collaborative and profession-wide approach to address employability as part of workforce policy.
Essential to prepare and support NQPs for the world of work, employability must be embedded throughout education and training. Employability should be explicitly included in the GPhC standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists. The profession must ensure that newly qualified pharmacists are effectively trained and recruited from the point of entry onto the programme through to registration as a pharmacist.
Employability characteristics for a NQP can be understood as knowledge, skills, attributes and reflective practices, examples of which were described by participants and appear in the literature. These examples can be used practically as indicators for the purposes of teaching, learning, assessment, development and recruitment. Embedding of employability within the MPharm requires greater focus on learning how to learn, than possession of knowledge, particularly to support the idea of ongoing personal development. Foundation training providers must recognise their role in enabling independent practice. This will enhance the training experience and enable the NQP to practise safely and independently on registration.
There must be increased careers support to scaffold the development of the student pharmacist to NQP and beyond, enabling them to meet their career aspirations. Employer requirements must align with careers support, and recruitment and selection processes, so that prospective employees are clear in their expectations.
This study has highlighted key recommendations for the profession. Firstly, employability must be part of workforce planning discussions. This should be in the form of a profession wide roundtable event that discusses employability based on the findings of this study, and goals set out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. Secondly, as employability development must be part of pharmacy education, the AdvanceHE framework for Embedding Employability should be used as the basis for reviewing pharmacy education. Employability also needs to be situated within the outcomes. This will inform curriculum design, policy and practice as well as student support
Adolescent mothers’ experiences, perceptions, and decision-making regarding subdermal implants and injectables in Northern Thailand:a qualitative grounded theory study
Full text linkBackground: Adolescent repeat pregnancies remain a significant public health concern in low- and middle-income countries. In Thailand, only 37.6% of postnatal adolescents use modern contraception following childbirth or abortion (Health Data Centre, 2025). While national policies promote subdermal implants and injectables before hospital discharge, uptake remains limited. The reasons for non-use and early discontinuation—particularly within Thai sociocultural contexts—are underexplored. Although global research on postpartum contraceptive use is extensive, few studies have focused on Asian settings, which limits contextual relevance of international findings for the Thai setting.
Aims and objectives: This study explored the factors influencing postpartum contraceptive decision-making among adolescents in Northern Thailand, with specific attention to subdermal implants and injectables.
Method: A constructivist grounded theory approach was employed to explore the contraceptive experiences of postpartum adolescents aged 15–19. Data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with participants who had attended a postpartum appointment within one year of giving birth. The study was conducted in two hospitals offering free subdermal implants and injectables. Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Nottingham, Chiang Mai University, and the Health Promotion Centre Region 1. Data collection and analysis followed an iterative, comparative process consistent with grounded theory. Interview transcripts and field notes were analysed concurrently to develop a conceptual model of adolescent contraceptive decision-making.
Findings: Twenty-five adolescent mothers were interviewed between August 2020 and February 2021. Nineteen interviews were conducted in person, and six online due to COVID-19 restrictions. A core category was identified “Maintaining Social and Bodily Integrity: An Iterative Process of Responding to Situational Dynamics.” Contraceptive decision-making was conceptualised as a fluid, non-linear process shaped by personal priorities, interpersonal relationships, institutional constraints, and sociocultural norms. Four analytical categories underpinned the conceptual model: (1) Navigating and Interpreting Contraceptive Knowledge; (2) Seeking Balance between Competing Priorities; (3) Contraceptive Care Pathways within the Healthcare System; and (4) Relational and Cultural Influences on Contraceptive Decision-Making.
Adolescents demonstrated individual agency—defined as the capacity to act, decide, and adapt—through three intersecting and socially embedded pathways. Agency was enacted in ways that reflected autonomy and constraint, shaped by structural and interpersonal dynamics: (1) Proactive (individually initiated), (2) Service-oriented (institutionally shaped), and (3) Relationally mediated (influenced by family and community interactions).
Implications: This study presents a culturally grounded, youth-centred model that emphasises integrated care pathways, continuity of care, shared counselling, and family engagement, while foregrounding adolescents’ reproductive autonomy. By theorising agency as dynamic and multi-layered—across individual, institutional, and relational domains—the model offers a transferable framework for understanding adolescent reproductive decision-making. While context-specific, the model remains relevant for similar Southeast Asian settings and advances reproductive agency as a multi-level and context-sensitive process
Multi-disciplinary workshops and owner questionnaire to develop guidelines to aid owner management of equine wounds
Full text linkThe impact of input modality on metonymic word learning: exploring incidental and intentional learning in native and non-native English speakers
No full textThe acquisition of metonymic words in second language contexts has received limited attention in vocabulary research, despite their importance for effective language comprehension and communication (Littlemore, 2015). This thesis addresses this gap through a series of studies exploring how native and non-native English speakers acquire metonymic words under various input conditions. By examining both incidental and intentional learning across diverse input modalities and three metonymic patterns, ‘object for color’, ‘product for producer’, and ‘object used for user’, the research provides critical insights into how learners integrate novel meanings into their existing lexicons, as well as the interplay between instructional design, proficiency levels, and metonymic word learning.
In the research, word knowledge acquisition was assessed through form and meaning recall and recognition tests conducted immediately after learning. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 focus on incidental learning, examining three different input modalities. Chapter 4 evaluates the effectiveness of audio-visual input compared to control groups with no input. The results demonstrate that audio-visual input facilitates metonymic word learning for both native and non-native speakers. Chapter 5 investigates the impact of integrating written input with audio-visual stimuli, comparing it to audio-visual input alone. Findings reveal that adding written input significantly enhances metonymic word acquisition. For native speakers, it improves their receptive knowledge of word forms and meanings. For non-native speakers, it boosts both their receptive and productive knowledge of word forms. However, the inclusion of written input also results in a decrease in non-native learners’ receptive knowledge of word meanings, highlighting both the advantages and challenges associated with this input modality. Chapter 6 explores the effects of textual input enhancement in written input combined with audio-visual stimuli, comparing it to an unenhanced condition. Enhanced input benefits non-native speakers, particularly by improving their receptive knowledge of word forms and meanings. Conversely, for native speakers, the enhancement fails to improve productive or receptive knowledge of word meanings and forms; in fact, it diminishes their receptive knowledge of word forms compared to the unenhanced condition. These findings underscore the differential impact of textual input enhancement on native and non-native learners.
Chapter 7 shifts focus to intentional learning, comparing three input modes: providing meanings only, combining meanings with audio-visual input, and supplementing audio-visual input with metonymic pattern labels. Findings show that all intentional input modes significantly improve metonymic word acquisition, though their effectiveness varies based on the specific aspect of word knowledge being tested and learner proficiency.
The studies collectively underscore the pivotal role of proficiency (i.e., native speaker vs. non-native speaker performance) in metonymic word acquisition. Native speakers consistently outperform non-native learners, emphasizing the impact of proficiency on learning outcomes. Additionally, incidental learning conditions reveal variations in the acquisition of different metonymic patterns among the two groups. However, under intentional learning conditions, native speakers achieve consistent success across metonymic patterns, whereas non-native learners continue to exhibit disparities.
In sum, this thesis advances our understanding of metonymic word learning by demonstrating how modality, proficiency, and metonymic patterns shape learning outcomes. It provides empirically grounded recommendations for instructional practices, emphasizing the need to tailor input modalities to learner proficiency and instructional goals. The findings present practical implications for designing effective multimodal instructional materials and contributes to theoretical perspectives on second language vocabulary acquisition
Development and Encapsulation of Affibody-Apoferritin Biologics for the Targeted Treatment of Breast Cancer
No full textTargeted cancer therapies produce more favourable clinical outcomes for cancer patients compared to unselective small-molecule cytotoxic chemotherapeutics. Currently, the most widely available targeted anti-cancer therapies are antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) with an example being tratuzumab-DM1 (Kadcyla®) which is a first line treatment for human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2, ErbB-2) positive breast cancer. To develop a new improved biological anti-cancer therapy and drug delivery system, a fusion protein has been constructed, composed of a small 5 kDa affibody targeted towards an ErbB receptor: EGFR (ErbB-1), HER2 (ErbB-2) or HER3 (ErbB-3) and attached via a flexible glycine-serine linker at the N-terminus of a subunit of human heavy chain apoferritin. This creates a hollow spherical affibody-apoferritin nanocage (8 nm internal diameter) with 24 targeting affibodies displayed in an ordered pattern on the cage surface (14 -15 nm external diameter).
These protein nanocages display high levels of selective cytotoxic activity, producing IC50 values of: 13 pM for ZEGFR-apoferritin against MDA-MB-468 (a high EGFR expression breast cancer); 190 pM for ZHER2-apoferritin against SKBR3 (a high HER2 expression breast cancer) and 18 pM for ZHER3-apoferritin against T47D (a high HER3 expression breast cancer). In this research, the affibody-apoferritin cages were also used for encapsulation via reassembly; resulting in apoferritin cages with multiple different types of targeting affibodies displayed on the surface and small molecular dyes or anti-cancer therapeutics encapsulated. To aid this functionality, a new method of encapsulation was developed, ‘nanotitration’ (NTC), which qualitatively improves the number of small molecules that can be encapsulated. This encapsulation method also increased cell inhibition as measured by MTT and luciferase assays. The affibody-apoferritin fusion protein has been shown to outperform current anti-HER2 agent, trastuzumab in vitro and has even greater efficacy against EGFR and HER3 positive cell lines, overall evidencing affibody-apoferritins to be selective and highly potent experimental anti-tumour agents
Self-checkout accessibility: investigating usability barriers and ease of use for mature customers in grocery stores
No full textSelf-checkout systems (SCSs) have increasingly become an inevitable feature in grocery retail environments as part of a broader shift towards technological innovation. However, little is known about how mature customers navigate these systems and how their experiences are shaped by the specific usability barriers they encounter. This research project aims to fill this gap by investigating the specific challenges older adults face when using SCSs and understanding how these barriers affect their overall shopping experience and satisfaction. The objective is to provide key insights that will enable retailers and developers of self-checkout technologies (SCTs) to create more user-friendly systems, particularly for mature customers who may find SCSs less intuitive than younger generations. Through a focus on inclusive design, grocery retailers can tap into the "Silver Economy," a growing demographic with significant spending power, and improve accessibility and satisfaction among older users.
The research addresses two main questions: 1) What are the specific usability issues that mature customers encounter with SCSs? 2) How do these usability barriers affect their grocery shopping experience and overall satisfaction? To answer these questions, the project uses qualitative data to capture in-depth perspectives and provide practical recommendations for optimising SCSs. Findings will contribute to a better understanding of how retailers can make these systems more user-friendly to mature customers
Fabrication of polyurethane composites via reactive binder jetting (RBJ) using a dual-ink binding system
Full text linkThe high processing temperatures traditionally required for Additive Manufacturing
(AM) often degrade polymer powders, limiting part performance and recyclability. Reactive
Binder Jetting (RBJ), a novel AM process, addresses these challenges by utilizing
a dual-ink binding system that facilitates powder consolidation at ambient temperatures.
This eliminates the need for energy-intensive equipment, such as lasers or heaters,
enabling sustainable manufacturing of complex, functional parts.
This research focuses on the fabrication of polyurethane (PU) components using RBJ.
PU is highly versatile due to its tunable co-polymer structure, making it a valuable
material for applications ranging from insulation foams to biomedical implants. RBJ
challenges addressed in thesis include reliable ink jetting, maintaining stoichiometry and
achieving optimal saturation levels for part consolidation. To address these challenges,
all materials were characterised, inkjet printing parameters were optimised, and fully
consolidated, three-dimensional (3D) 'green' part tested.
The �ndings demonstrate RBJ printing is capable of forming robust polymer 'green'
parts, introducing potential applications within the biomedical or sports industries.
Through characterisation of reactive inks, control of droplet deposition strategies, and
validation via mechanical testing, this work establishes RBJ as a sustainable alternative
for polymer AM. The research highlights opportunities for future innovations, such as
expanding the range of printable materials, including sustainable inks and reactive
powders, improving RBJ printing process scalability, and developing multifunctional
components with gradient properties
A business plan for the start up of a sustainable phone case business with Nusantara inspired designs in Malaysia
No full textNusaCraft Design is a pioneering Malaysian company dedicated to manufacturing and retailing premium phone cases that seamlessly blend of sustainability with cultural heritage. Our products are crafted using injection moulding technology and recyclable plastics, ensuring minimal environmental impact while incorporating traditional Nusantara designs inspired by the rich cultural legacy of Southeast Asia. NusaCraft Design targets eco-conscious consumers and those with an appreciation for heritage aesthetics, offering a unique value proposition in the tech accessories market. Our competitive advantage lies in our commitment to sustainable production, the infusion of cultural artistry, and an affordable pricing strategy that appeals to a broad demographic.
NusaCraft Design projects initial sales of MYR 1.5 million in the first fiscal year, with a 20% annual growth rate driven by increasing consumer demand for eco-friendly products. Expected profit margins are 25%, with positive cash flows projected by the second year of operation. Startup capital of MYR 750,000 is required to establish production facilities, source materials, and execute marketing campaigns. Key costs include the procurement of recyclable plastics, manufacturing technology, and operational expenses. Return on investment is forecasted at 35% within three years, supported by robust cost management and market penetration strategies.
NusaCraft Design operates as a private limited company established in 2024, headquartered in Malaysia. The company’s founders are seasoned professionals with expertise in sustainable business development, cultural preservation, and operational excellence. The team includes an design director with extensive experience in integrating traditional artistry with modern aesthetics drive the company’s vision of defining eco-conscious tech accessories.
Key milestones include:
• Development of a proprietary design process that integrates traditional Nusantara motifs
with modern sustainable manufacturing techniques.
• Strategic partnerships with local SMEs and artisans to ensure the authenticity of cultural
designs.
• Recognition in the regional start-up ecosystem for innovative sustainability practices,
positioning NusaCraft Design as a leader in the eco-tech space.
• Completion of the prototype phase and successful pre-market testing, validating product
demand and functionality.
NusaCraft Design is poised to make a significant impact in the growing sustainable tech accessories market, delivering value to customers, preserving cultural heritage, and contributing to a greener planet
Analysis of potential target genes to deliver plant abiotic stress tolerance
Full text linkWith ongoing climate change, the need for crops to grow with yield stability in a range of stressful environments is increasingly challenging. Improvement needs to be made to the abiotic stress tolerance of crop plants in order to meet the food demands of an increasing population. Heat has particularly negative effects on reduced photosynthetic efficiency, enzyme activity, and changes in metabolic processes, while drought and waterlogging stress cause stomatal closure, reduced photosynthesis, disrupted nutrient uptake, and cellular damage, ultimately hindering growth and development.
One method of increasing plants tolerance to abiotic stress is through targeted mutagenesis. In this study, several genes were selected from a previously published Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) (Robson et al., 2023) as candidate genes linked to photosynthetic heat stress tolerance in Rice. In A. thaliana, T-DNA insertion mutations in putative orthologue genes to those selected in rice were grown under normal conditions and high temperature stress (22°C and 32°C). Chlorophyll fluorescence was used to characterise mutant lines for photosynthetic heat stress tolerance, fertility, and root architecture. T-DNA insertion lines carrying mutations in ATP BINDING CASSETTE F 5(ABCF5), ZINC NUTRIENT ESSENTIAL1 (ZNE1), and the relatively uncharacterised gene, T8P21, all showed positive photosynthetic traits after five days of heat stress, while mutants in CALLOSE SYNTHASE 1 (CALS1), SYNAPTOTAGMIN 2 (SYTB) and ALBINO OR PALE GREEN 3 (APG3) showed increased sensitivity to heat stress.
Alongside the identification of genes associated with photosynthetic heat stress tolerance, Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes (TILLING) mutations in Hordeum vulgare in pathways associated with abiotic stress tolerance in the field were explored. TILLING lines in two components of the Arg/N-degron pathway, which is a conserved pathway associated with abiotic stress tolerance were assessed. TILLING mutations targeting genes in this pathway: PROTEOLYSIS 6 (PRT6) and Gln-specific N-terminal amidase (NTAQ), were tested in the field. Alongside these TILLING mutants, ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE 5(ABI5) mutants were also tested in the field in Hordeum vulgare.
Overall, this study has conducted an analysis to identify candidate genes for targeted mutagenesis to overcome abiotic stress in crops at different points in crop development, including both identifying target genes, and testing on the field
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