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Developing a questionnaire to assess the usefulness of financial disclosure in an emerging market: a case study from Egypt. [Case study]
No full textThis case study reflects on the methodological and ethical considerations involved in using a questionnaire to explore the perceived usefulness of financial disclosure among financial analysts in the Egyptian capital market. The research initially adopted a structured, mail-based questionnaire design informed by empirical literature. Rather than using a sampling technique, the study aimed to reach the full population of 200 identified analysts to get an adequate number of responses. However, I only received eight responses by post due to outdated contact information, limited postal infrastructure, and the political sensitivity surrounding corporate transparency, so the study required significant adaptation. Hence, the questionnaire was administered in person as a structured interview where fifteen more responses were collected. The case outlines key stages in questionnaire development— including item construction, translation, piloting, and ethical reflection—and discusses how ethical concerns were navigated in the absence of a formal review process. Drawing from this experience, the case highlights the importance of flexibility, risk assessment, contingency planning, and contextual sensitivity when conducting field-based research in emerging markets. It offers practical advice to future researchers who may face similar constraints and decisions
NeuReg: neuro-symbolic QA generation from regulatory compliance. [Dataset]
No full textNeuReg is a neuro-symbolic QA generation framework that transforms complex regulatory documents into intelligent and explainable question–answering systems. It seamlessly integrates ontology-guided knowledge graphs (KGs) and regulatory text chunks to generate high-quality, semantically grounded QA pairs. By combining structured symbolic knowledge from domain ontologies with the contextual richness of unstructured policy text, NeuReg enables accurate, diverse, and interpretable QA generation using large language models (LLMs)
Acoustic propagation studies across seasons for wireless underwater seismological sensor networks in the Sea of Marmara.
Get PDFThis study investigates the impact of seasonal environmental variations and tsunami-induced surface dynamics on acoustic transmission loss in the Sea of Marmara to support the development of reliable Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) for seismic monitoring. Employing the BELLHOP raytracing simulator, we modelled sound speed profiles using temperature, salinity, and bathymetry data to assess acoustic link performance under normal and extreme conditions. Seasonal changes minimally affect upward links from seafloor nodes to surface buoys but significantly alter downward links, creating dynamic shadow zones that degrade network reliability. Tsunami induced 8 m surface waves introduce complex interference patterns and elevated ambient noise, leading to packet loss rates of 20−100% in sub optimally placed nodes or Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). These findings highlight the critical role of precise environmental measurements in optimizing node placement and adaptive protocols for robust UWSNs, enhancing real-time seismic data transmission for earthquake preparedness in the Sea of Marmara
Life cycle assessment of smart self-healing materials for hydrogen sensing: a comparative evaluation of Pd-CNT coatings and Pd-WO3 polymeric tapes.
Get PDFThe safe and efficient use of hydrogen as a clean energy vector requires innovative sensing technologies with enhanced durability, responsiveness, and adaptability. This study presents a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of two emerging smart materials for hydrogen applications: (I) self-healing superhydrophobic conductive coatings composed of palladium-decorated carbon nanotubes (Pd-CNTs), polydimethylsiloxane, and fluorosilane, and (II) a stretchable, self-healing,and self-adhesive chemochromic hydrogen sensing tape based on Pd-WO₃ nanocomposites embedded in a PBS-Ecoflex hybrid polymer. The LCA follows a cradle-to-grave approach, evaluating environmental impacts across the value chain. The ReCipe impact category is used which includes CO2 emissions, energy demand, human/ecotoxicity, etc. While Pd-CNT-based coatings exhibit superior electronic sensitivity, their potential results suggest higher CO2 emissions, the Pd-WO₃ tape potentially demonstrates lower energy demand and offers improved reusability, but faces challenges related to WO₃ recycling. The analysis underscores the importance of material choice in balancing performance and sustainability
From Gibb to Gucci: how folklore fashions comfort in turbulent times.
No full textFolkloric influences in fashion are posited as an antidote to homogenous designs driven by artificial intelligence algorithms. Folklore-inspired fashion design is described as 'real', linked with the reinvention of societies and identities across time. At a time when the very concept of society is struggling, individual identities are challenged and the fashion industry is under scrutiny for fast, disposable fashion, Bill Gibb's statement that, 'Clothes have to go on living for a very long time; they must be worth keeping' brings currency to clothing styles that embrace meaning, belonging, history and longevity. This chapter explores folkloric themes within Bill Gibb's and Gucci's fashion collections. In exploring the influence of folk dress fifty years on from Gibb's sartorial success, continued relevance to contemporary challenges facing the fashion industry is explored, arguing that folklore-inspired fashion affords the opportunity to gain eudaimonic well-being, or psychological comfort, from clothes imbued with meaning and cherished
The application of antimicrobial stewardship knowledge to nursing practice: a national survey of United Kingdom pre‐registration nursing students.
Get PDFTo assess student nurses understanding and skills in the application of antimicrobial stewardship knowledge to practice. Five hundred and twenty three student nurses responded across 23 UK universities. Although students felt prepared in competencies in infection prevention and control, patient-centred care and interprofessional collaborative practice, they felt less prepared in competencies in which microbiological knowledge, prescribing and its effect on antimicrobial stewardship is required. Problem-based learning, activities in the clinical setting and face-to-face teaching were identified as the preferred modes of education delivery. Those who had shared antimicrobial stewardship teaching with students from other professions reported the benefits to include a broader understanding of antimicrobial stewardship, an understanding of the roles of others in antimicrobial stewardship and improved interprofessional working. There are gaps in student nurses' knowledge of the basic sciences associated with the antimicrobial stewardship activities in which nurses are involved, and a need to strengthen knowledge in pre-registration nurse education programmes pertaining to antimicrobial management, specifically microbiology and antimicrobial regimes and effects on antimicrobial stewardship. Infection prevention and control, patient-centred care and interprofessional collaborative practice are areas of antimicrobial stewardship in which student nurses feel prepared. Interprofessional education would help nurses and other members of the antimicrobial stewardship team clarify the role nurses can play in antimicrobial stewardship and therefore maximize their contribution to antimicrobial stewardship and antimicrobial management. There is a need to strengthen knowledge from the basic sciences, specifically pertaining to antimicrobial management, in pre-registration nurse education programmes. What Problem Did the Study Address?: Nurses must protect health through understanding and applying antimicrobial stewardship knowledge and skills (Nursing and Midwifery Council 2018); however, there is no research available that has investigated nurses understanding and skills of the basic sciences associated with the antimicrobial stewardship activities in which they are involved. What Were the Main Findings?: There are gaps in student nurses' knowledge of the basic sciences (specifically microbiology and prescribing) associated with the antimicrobial stewardship activities in which nurses are involved. Problem-based learning, and activities in the clinical setting, were reported as useful teaching methods, whereas online learning, was seen as less useful. Where and on Whom Will the Research Have an Impact?: Pre-registration nurse education programmes
A containment zone or a place of surveillance? Liminal spaces on Mumsnet during COVID-19.
Get PDFThis article makes use of discussions on the UK parenting site Mumsnet during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK between March and May 2020 to investigate the ways in which users wrote about liminal sites such as front porches, windows, and front and back doors. We argue that such spaces played a number of different roles for families during lockdown: as containment zones, barriers, safe spaces of interaction, and places of performance and surveillance. These spaces bridged public and private life during lockdown by providing a perspective of the world from within the boundaries of the lockdown home. Such spaces could be perceived as both safe and unsafe – places of relocation and dislocation within which movement between the two worlds occurred and containment and disinfection strategies were performed. We also suggest that Mumsnet itself can be considered a virtual liminal space for its users, where they were able to safely access the public sphere from the comparative safety of their own homes during the pandemic and form a community with like-minded others. We thus position Mumsnet as: a liminal space in its own right, which afforded a safe place for users to be themselves, share anxieties and advice, and find friendship and companionship; a virtual third space for the discussion of politics and news; and, on occasion, a subaltern counter-public where women could formulate and circulate alternative interpretations of events counter to the frames of the mainstream media
Enhanced transformer encoder long short-term memory hybrid neural network for multiple temperature state of charge estimation of lithium-ion batteries.
No full textAccurate state of charge (SOC) estimation for lithium-ion batteries remains a critical challenge in battery management systems. Existing methods based on machine learning may cause data leakage and inaccuracy during neural network training. Here, this paper proposed a novel sequence-to-point historical data augmentation method that enhances SOC estimation by leveraging only past data, eliminating interference from data leakage. This approach integrates a neural network architecture, combining Transformer Encoder and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models, to predict SOC with high precision. An ensemble learning strategy is employed, where multiple cross-validated models act as weak learners, and their weighted predictions improve generalization and accuracy. Experimental validation across varying temperatures and working conditions demonstrates a mean absolute error (MAE) of less than 0.75%, a root mean square error (RMSE) below 0.93%, and an R-Square (R2) exceeding 0.9988, significantly outperforming baseline models. Our method offers a robust and reliable solution for SOC estimation, with applications in electric vehicles, portable electronics, and energy storage systems
Binary quantization vision transformer for effective segmentation of red tide in multi-spectral remote sensing imagery.
Get PDFAs a global marine disaster, red tides pose serious threats to marine ecology and the blue economy, making their monitoring crucial for preventing harmful algal blooms and protecting the marine environment. In this study, satellite remote sensing was utilized to provide timely, large-scale, and continuous observation capabilities, overcoming the high cost and spatial and temporal limitations of in-situ monitoring. However, existing remote sensing-based methods often exhibit coarse segmentation granularity and suffer from high computational complexity. To overcome these challenges, we propose a novel bi-modal multispectral dynamic offset binary quantization visual transformer (DoBi-SWiP-ViT) that utilizes the ViT for global feature aggregation and parameter quantization for efficient segmentation. With the Bi-modal Swin-ViT with Unified Perceptual Parsing architecture, our model integrates data from multiple spectral bands to achieve fine-grained segmentation of large-scale remote sensing images. Additionally, we introduce a dynamic magnitude offset binary quantization ViT block to reduce the parameter redundancy and improve the computational efficiency. In addition, we validated the performance of our model through extensive comparative experiments on high-resolution imagery datasets of sea surface red tides collected from different satellite platforms. The results show that our proposed DoBi-SWiP-ViT has significantly improved the mean accuracy (mAcc) of the segmentation results. For the two test areas acquired from different satellite platforms, the improvements are 8.78% and 10.18%, respectively. This has demonstrated the superior performance of our model in detecting the red tides from high-resolution visible images, highlighting its effectiveness in capturing complex patterns and subtle features in multi-spectral imagery
Motivations for investing in flood risk environments: an agreement analysis between property investors and estate agents.
Get PDFLanded property often exhibits scarcity and strong demand, especially in the most sought-after places. Therefore, real estate investors may be attracted to locations such as flood-risk areas that may pose a substantial threat to human life and property. Furthermore, some environments may not have experienced floods in the past but are nonetheless susceptible to future occurrences. Flood occurrences are progressively more frequent because of several natural and anthropogenic factors, including urban sprawl. Nevertheless, construction projects and real estate investments in flood-prone areas persist globally. The objective of this study is to examine and comprehend the process by which perceptions of flood risk are shaped and how they, together with other variables, might impact investment choices in Lagos, Nigeria. The selection of the study locations (Ibeju-Lekki and Ikorodu) was based on their well-documented flood risk features, the hydrological estimates made by the Nigerian meteorological agency, and their high population density. An inquiry was conducted by administering questionnaires to property investors and estate agents within the study location. The findings highlight a clear stratification of motivations for real estate investment in flood-risk areas, with some factors emerging as the most significant drivers of decision-making. Results also suggest that investors place high importance on key considerations, potentially related to economic incentives or market opportunities, while other factors are perceived as less critical or more subjective. Understanding these motivations can help policymakers and real estate professionals better address concerns and develop strategies that balance risk and reward in these challenging environments
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