58622 research outputs found
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Research methods and generative artificial intelligence in applied linguistics
Get PDFSince the release of ChatGPT, there has been an explosion of interest in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and a desire to understand how these tools can be utilised in almost every domain of human activity. Never before in human history have we had a tool that could simulate so many human capabilities. Yet, just as with humans, these tools have been found to have substantial limitations. These limitations have led us to question the roles they can play in high-stakes tasks, such as research. At the same time, they have challenged our current conventions and norms of authorship, transparency, and accountability, thus forcing us to consider:•What tasks should be left to humans exclusively?•What tasks can AI do alone?•What tasks can/should AI and humans do together?For some scholars, clear red lines have been drawn. For example, 416 experienced qualitative researchers from 38 countries wrote a commentary rejecting the use of GenAI for reflexive qualitative research (Jowsey, Braun, Clark et al., 2025). They provided three legitimate reasons for their rejection: (1) GenAI as simulated intelligence is incapable of meaning-making; (2) Qualitative research should remain a distinctly human practice; (3) the established harms of GenAI, especially to the environment and workers in the Global South. Nguyen and Welch (2025) have similar concerns and arguments against the use of GenAI in qualitative research. For other scholars, GenAI offers significant potential to reshape “the academic research lifecycle—from ideation and literature discovery to hypothesis formation, methodological planning, and data acquisition” (Haber et al., 2025, p. 27). Meanwhile, other scholars, including us, take a pragmatic stance, trying to balance the potential of these tools with the explicit threats they pose to our epistemologies, methodological rigor, integrity, and ethics (Roe, 2025; Moorhouse, Nejadghanbar & Yeo, 2025; Moorhouse, Consoli & Curle, 2025)
Performance-based reliability assessment of quay walls
Get PDFFunctional demands on quay walls are steadily rising with increases in both ship size and the frequency of port calls, requiring robust safety and performance assessment frameworks. Most existing studies on quay walls remain constrained by simplified analytical or numerical models, limited consideration of failure modes, insufficient model validation, and the absence of site-specific soil correlation, making it difficult to assess real structures under realistic loading conditions. This study presents a novel Cone Penetration Tests (CPT)-driven, performance-based reliability framework that samples directly from measured CPT distributions to preserve field consistent parameter relationships without requiring site-specific covariance matrices. The framework is demonstrated on a recently constructed, full-scale instrumented quay wall in the Port of Rotterdam. A two-dimensional finite element model with the Hardening Soil Small-strain (HSS) formulation is calibrated against construction-stage monitoring (wall deformations and anchor forces) and coupled to a probabilistic engine to evaluate multiple ultimate and serviceability limit states through an explicit failure tree. Results indicate that the structural failure of the wall governs the overall reliability of the quay wall, while wall deformation is the most variable response requiring close monitoring. Sensitivity analyses reveal that deeper dredging and higher surcharge loads markedly reduce reliability with wall structural failure governing and serviceability limit states showing the highest sensitivity to these hypothetical changes. The proposed approach provides a generalisable CPT-based methodology for reliability assessment of geotechnical structures based on site investigation data and monitoring data, supporting more informed, data-driven decision-making in design, and life-cycle management.</p
The case against duty free tobacco sales:An analysis from Aotearoa (New Zealand)
Get PDFIntroduction: Duty-free sales of tobacco reduce the impact of excise tax increases, a measure many governments have introduced to reduce tobacco consumption and smoking prevalence. We investigated the excise tax revenue foregone in Aotearoa (New Zealand), a country once regarded as having progressive tobacco control policies.Methods: Using data tobacco companies are required to supply to the NZ Ministry of Health, we estimated the revenue from excise tax and the Goods and Services sales tax (GST) forgone by sales of duty-free tobacco since 2014, when duty-free allowances were reduced.Results: The number of cigarettes and volume of roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco released for sale decreased following changes to the duty-free allowance and declined sharply in 2020 and 2021, when the international border was closed as a Covid-19 pandemic measure. Since 2022, forgone excise revenue has risen steadily and, in 2024, had nearly reached pre-pandemic levels. In total, foregone revenue amounted to between NZ96 million between 2015 and 2024.Conclusion: Duty-free sales of tobacco products represent a government-sanctioned price discount that undermines Aotearoa’s Smokefree 2025 goal and its obligations as a Party to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
Firm Positionality and Strategic Communication:Analyzing the Value of Informativeness for Managers
Get PDFThis study explored the moderating effects of price informativeness on the relationship between brand value and firm positionality. We argued that major effects for price informativeness are not confined to its direct effects on a firm’s market position or value, but in its moderating effects on brand-firm relationship. At the same time, the analysis confirmed that price informativeness can negatively moderate brand value’s influence on firm positionality. This study has significant implications for firms to strategically position and implement their communication strategies in a better way as to rapidly respond to fluctuations in the firm’s positionality
Effect of the [Fe(salen)]<sub>2</sub>-μ-oxo Catalyst Electronic Structure on Reductive Hydroamination
Get PDFSalen ligands are privileged scaffolds in transition metal catalysis due to their electronic tunability and capacity to stabilize diverse oxidation states. Herein, we report the synthesis and comparative study of three electronically differentiated [Fe(salen)]2(μ-oxo) complexes and their application in catalytic reductive hydroamination (HA) of nitroarenes with alkenes. A mechanistic framework involving iron-hydride intermediates and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) was developed, revealing that modulation of the salen ligand electronics significantly impacts product distribution and catalytic efficiency. Systematic investigation of substrate LUMO energies and precatalyst UV–vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, along with DFT calculations on the key HAT step, was undertaken. Notably, the complex bearing para-CF3 substituents outperformed its analogues across a range of olefin partners. These findings underscore the critical role of ligand electronics in tuning HAT-based catalysis.</p
<i>Meta</i>-amino substituted naphthalimides exhibit large charge transfer and strong N-H vibrations enabling use as ratiometric fluorescent probe
Get PDFFluorescent probes based on intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) have obvious advantages for accurate quantitative analysis. To obtain high-performance ratiometric probes requires distinct photophysical properties during recognition reaction process, which is closely related to their ICT characteristics. 1,8-Naphthalimide is known as a typical fluorophore with desirable ICT property when functionalized with an electron-donating moiety at the para-position of the naphthalene chromophore. Although the photophysical properties of para-substituted 1,8-naphthalimide have been well studied, its meta-substituted counterpart has not been fully evaluated since the meta-position is conventionally thought to be weakly conjugated. Herein, combined experimental and theoretical studies are performed which consistently indicate that stronger charge transfer (CT) is exhibited by the meta-amino substituted 1,8-naphthalimide (m-NH2) compared to the para-amino substituted one (p-NH2). The ratiometric response of fluorescence with significant changes in wavelength and intensity upon acetylation (m-NAc and p-NAc) can be attributed to the larger ICT and stronger -NH2 vibrations. This observation is further demonstrated by deuterium oxide experiments, viscosity experiments and quantum chemical calculations. The practical application of meta-amino-1,8-naphthalimide ICT-based probes is also confirmed. This research is expected to bring an in-depth understanding of π-conjugated systems with ICT characteristics, and facilitates the design of sensitive ICT fluorescent probes with meta-amino substitution.</p
Pioneering Net Zero Carbon Construction Policy in Bath & North East Somerset:Evaluating the effectiveness of novel planning policies over time
No full textIn January 2023, Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES) introduced the UK’s first planning policies requiring all new buildings to have net zero operational emissions and limiting embodied emissions for larger developments. Coinciding with this, a collaboration was formed between University of Bath academics, planning and climate officers at B&NES, and other local organisations, which studied the impacts of, and reception to, these pioneering policies in the first six months following their introduction [1]. This 2023 pilot study was published in a previous report [2], and the current publication builds on the findings of the first. This project evaluates the success of the policies two years on, establishing long-term trends, opportunities for refinement, and the national policy implications of this unique policy case study. This report provides the outcomes of this follow-on project, aiming to:• Understand the effectiveness and experiences with the policy, with a comparison to the initial pilot study. • Investigate how projects perform compared to their initial planning applications.• Gather in-depth insights from a variety of applicants and stakeholders.Incoming planning applications received over a 12-month period were analysed, and a questionnaire was sent to applicants to understand their views on the policy two years after its adoption. In total, 59 planning applications were reviewed, with 56 out of 59 submissions for minor residential buildings, meaning the homes need to be net-zero operationally. Only five responses to the questionnaire were received, representing a significantly lower response rate compared to the 2023 pilot study. Additionally, four interviews were conducted with participants from the 2023 study to capture, in more detail, the experiences of applicants working with the B&NES policy.The rate of compliance and key design parameters, such as thermal performance and air tightness, were compared for the 2023 and 2025 studies to see if there have been any noticeable changes in submissions and the reasons for non-compliance. This study has highlighted the need to follow projects through to completion after they receive planning to track the performance of real-world as-built thermal performance, air tightness and resulting energy use of new residential buildings in the region. Additionally, we make recommendations for clearer policy communication to applicants, refinement of the energy policy and an increase in ambition for the embodied carbon target values. <br/
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