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Young people responding to multiple "crises": intersecting precarities and everyday life in an informal settlement in Kenya.
Get PDFInformal settlements, while being home to about 1 in 8 people worldwide, face many interconnected challenges relating to housing, services, health, employment, ecological vulnerabilities and legal marginalisation. Young people living in informal contexts are particularly vulnerable to crises and challenges due to their restricted access to power, finance and forms of social capital. At the same time, informal settlements are often said to be spaces of creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation and resilience. This chapter presents the findings of qualitative fieldwork in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, since 2020, particularly exploring the activities of a group of young environmentalists and their strategies to cope with diverse and interlinked acute and structural challenges. Residents of the informal settlement face many challenges and chronic stresses, including high levels of pollution, crime and violence, unemployment, and the conditions commonly associated with informality, such as no or little access to water, sanitation and essential public services and infrastructure. In addition to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change have also been increasingly felt. For example, in March 2024, some areas in Nairobi, including that in which this research has been conducted, were severely flooded, killing people and forcing residents out of their homes
Sustainable energy production from waste: a review of hybrid approaches combining anaerobic digestion and gasification.
Get PDFThis paper provides a comprehensive review of hybrid waste-to-energy (WTE) systems that integrate anaerobic digestion (AD) and biomass gasification, emphasizing their synergistic benefits in sustainable energy production and waste management. By combining biochemical and thermochemical processes, these hybrid systems maximize energy recovery, optimize resource utilization, and significantly mitigate environmental impacts. The study highlights the principles and operational dynamics of standalone AD and gasification technologies, showcasing how their integration addresses limitations such as incomplete biomass conversion and excessive digestate production. Hybrid systems demonstrate superior performance in converting diverse biomass feedstocks, including municipal solid waste (MSW), agricultural residues, and food waste, into renewable energy and valuable by-products. Advancements in reactor designs, pretreatment techniques, and system configurations are discussed, with a focus on enhancing energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Pretreatment methods such as AD pretreatment and advanced sorting mechanisms are explored to address feedstock variability and improve process stability. Key synergies, such as utilizing waste heat from gasification to dry AD residues, further boost overall system efficiency. The paper identifies critical operational parameters such as feedstock composition and reactor conditions that influence system performance and explores emerging solutions. Economic and environmental benefits, such as improved energy yields and cost efficiency, demonstrate the potential of hybrid AD–gasification systems. Despite the advantages, challenges persist, particularly in scaling hybrid systems and managing feedstock variability. Infrastructural limitations and the complexity of balancing AD and gasification processes remain significant barriers to widespread adoption. By reviewing existing research and case studies, this paper underscores the critical role of hybrid systems in achieving global renewable energy goals and sustainable waste management practices. Ultimately, hybrid AD–gasification systems offer a promising pathway for transitioning to cleaner energy systems, maximizing waste valorization, and supporting the global shift toward a circular economy
A hybrid squeeze excitation gate recurrent unit-autoregressive integrated moving average model for long-term state of health estimation of lithium-ion batteries with adaptive enhancement ability.
No full textThe accurate estimation of the state of health (SOH) of lithium-ion batteries is crucial for ensuring their safe operation and effective management. Since the data acquired from the lithium-ion battery aging experiment is abundant in electrochemical and dynamic information, helpful health indicators can be extracted for SOH predictions through machine learning. This paper proposes an innovative squeeze excitation gate recurrent unit-autoregressive integrated moving average (SEGRU-ARIMA) composite model designed explicitly for high-precision SOH estimation of lithium-ion batteries. The model employs SENet to extract essential features from charging and discharging data, while the GRU network adeptly processes time-series data to provide an initial SOH estimate. Furthermore, the ARIMA model is utilized to predict the discrepancy between the estimated and actual SOH values, with the final SOH result refined through linear weighting. The results demonstrate that, compared with other models, the SEGRU-ARIMA model exhibits superior estimation performance, with the absolute error range consistently remaining within 2.5 %. The mean absolute error (MAE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and root mean square error (RMSE) were all <0.738 %, 1.018 %, and 0.899 %, respectively
Resistance training for people with stroke.
No full textStroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted, and this leads to damage in some areas of the brain. The impact of stroke can be life-changing and vary depending on the severity of damage and where this occurs in the brain. The impacts of stroke can be both physical and psychological, not only affecting the ability to move, but also the way someone thinks, behaves, and feels. These impacts can persist throughout life after stroke. One physical impact of stroke is that aerobic fitness and muscle strength can be low; this makes physical movement more difficult, and this may restrict a return to meaningful everyday activities. What happens during rehabilitation after stroke? After a stroke, many patients will receive rehabilitation, for example, from a physiotherapist or other health professional to help overcome physical problems with everyday activities. This therapy may involve different types of exercise and these may include strength training. This type of exercise, which is also called 'resistance training', can involve lifting weights or pulling against elastic resistance. Strength training can improve fitness by strengthening muscles important for activities like lifting objects, standing up, or walking. Patients may also be advised to do exercises at home. Therefore, the normal process of rehabilitation after a stroke may include elements of muscle strength training. What did we want to find out? Since muscle strength is often low after a stroke, strength training can improve fitness and reduce the impact of the post-stroke physical problems arising from this. We wanted to find out whether muscle strength training is beneficial at any time after a stroke – whether earlier on, in hospital or later, after going home. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether strength training after stroke is safe, whether it improves muscle strength, improves movement (including walking and balance), changes the way people feel (including depression, quality of life) and whether it reduces the chance of having another stroke. What did we do? We searched for studies that tested strength training exercise in people after stroke. We only included studies if the exercise programme involved was based only on muscle strength training; we excluded studies if they involved any other types of exercise such as aerobic (exercise needing air) training. We compared and summarised the results of the studies and rated our confidence in the evidence, based on factors such as study methods and number of people included. What did we find? We found 27 studies that involved 1004 people with stroke, most of whom were able to walk independently. Most of the strength training programmes commenced more than six months after stroke, and most were short (less than 12 weeks). The strength training programmes could be successfully completed by most people; these programmes used different types of exercise equipment, such as exercise machines, elastic bands or simply bodyweight to provide resistance. Participants could take part in strength training exercise programmes without this increasing the chance of injuries or health problems. We do not know whether strength training exercise protects against the chance of death or another stroke happening in the short or longer term. Strength training clearly improved muscle strength in the legs and arms. Strength training can improve balance. This may be important as it is known to reduce the chance of falls in people with stroke. There was little or no effect on the preferred, comfortable walking speed, possibly because, although the exercises might strengthen the legs, they do not involve the act of walking. We could not draw conclusions about the effects of strength training on overall measures of disability (how we complete activities of daily living). Little is known about the psychological benefits despite these being important to people with stroke. However, our data do hint that strength training might reduce depression. What are the limitations of the evidence? Most studies involved people who could walk. This means little is known about many people with stroke who have more limited mobility. Most studies took place in high-income, industrialised countries. This means little is known about other regions of the world. There are lots of uncertainties and not enough evidence about the effects of strength training. How up-to-date is this evidence? This review updates evidence from a previous version of this review (which was in a different format combining three separate programmes). The evidence is up-to-date to January 2024
Application of machine learning in the determination of rock brittleness for CO2 geosequestration.
Get PDFThe underground storage of carbon dioxide (CO2), also called CO2 geosequestration, represents one of the most promising options for reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, fluid-rock interactions in reservoir and cap rocks before and during CO2 geosequestration alter their mineralogical composition, and consequently, their brittleness index which is paramount in determining the suitability of formations for CO2 geosequestration. Therefore, it is important to monitor the brittleness of reservoir and cap rocks, to ascertain their integrity for CO2 storage. In this study, an algorithm was developed to generate numerical simulation datasets for a more reliable machine learning model development, and an artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed to evaluate the brittleness index of rocks using data from numerical simulations of CO2 geosequestration in sandstone and carbonate reservoirs, overlain by shale caprock. The model was developed using Python programming language. The model developed in this study predicted the brittleness index of rocks with an R2 value greater than 99%, and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) less than 0.6% on the training, validation, and testing datasets. Hence, the model predicts the brittleness index of rocks with high accuracy. The findings of the study revealed that the geochemical composition of formation fluids impacts the brittleness index of rocks. In terms of feature importance in predicting the brittleness index of rocks, the concentrations of SiO2 (aq), SO42, K+, Ca2+, and O2 (aq) have a stronger impact on the brittleness of rocks considered in this study
Project-based enactment of circular economy (CE) business models: a systematic literature review of the CE–project research nexus.
No full textProjects are platforms for circular economy (CE) experimentation and innovation on the one hand, and CE can be integrated into projects to improve their sustainability performance on the other hand. This CE–project nexus is useful for scholars and practitioners to understand how projects can drive CE transition. However, research in the CE–project nexus is dispersed, and it is unclear how the CE–project research intersections are conceptualised in the literature. In this paper, we address this gap using a systematic literature review (SLR). We provide an analysis of the theoretical lenses useful in investigating the CE-project nexus. We find four forms of CE–project nexuses, namely, CE in projects, CE by projects, CE for projects and CE through projects. We further present a framework for project-based enactment of circular business models (CBMs) across micro, meso and macro CE levels and discuss the critical role of project professionals in overcoming CE implementation barriers. Theoretically, our work contributes to literature by presenting how scholars can theorise research in this domain to bridge the gap between the temporary, goal-specific nature of projects and the systemic transformations required for CE
Corporate governance and bank performance in the sub-Saharan African emerging economy.
Get PDFRegulatory bodies impact corporate governance in the banking sector, with directors making critical strategic decisions. The effectiveness of these regulations and corporate governance has a substantial impact on the performance of banks. Furthermore, corporate governance standards are critical in establishing and sustaining public trust in the banking sector, as poor governance can have serious negative macroeconomic effects. This study adds to the ongoing discussion by investigating the association between board governance and bank financial performance for a sample of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) banks. It also investigates the moderation effect of regulatory quality on such associations. Adopting panel data techniques, the study analyses balanced panel data from sixty banks in ten chosen Sub-Saharan African countries covering 15 years. The selected corporate governance measures include board size, board gender diversity, board independence, number of audit committee meetings and the proportion of foreign members on the board. Meanwhile, return on assets (ROA) and composite CAMELS indices were selected/created to measure bank financial performance respectively. Common-effect (CE) estimator, fixed-effect estimator (FE) and random-effect estimator (RE) were employed for the empirical analysis. The study reveals that board size and gender diversity are adverse determinants of return on assets in selected SSA banks, while audit committee meetings improve financial performance. The inclusion of foreign members on the board has no significant impact. Board independence had the highest positive impact count, while board size had the highest negative count. Country-level governance plays no significant role in the overall banking system, but interaction with corporate governance measures significantly impacts return on assets. Zambia had the largest number of significant corporate governance measures, while Tanzania had the least. Zimbabwe had the highest number of significant relationships between country-level governance and corporate governance, while Nigeria and Mauritius had no significant effects. Zambia, Tanzania, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda had few causal effects. Corporate governance and bank performance; moderation effect of regulatory quality on corporate governance and bank performance topics are well grounded in literature with evidence from developed countries. However, research in developing countries is relatively limited, particularly in the SSA region. This study adds to the literature by presenting multi-country empirical evidence within the SSAs. Balanced (without missing data) data from 2008 to 2022 has been collected/analysed, which covers the latest data in SSAs. In addition, no prior research has examined the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on bank performance in the SSA region using the innovatively created CAMELS Index. To the best of the author's knowledge, the research is the first study to apply this approach to multi-country samples
Lo sguardo sospeso.
Get PDFWhat is video art today? Since its inception, video has been a key medium for artistic experimentation. With constant technological advances, it has evolved into an increasingly flexible and open platform, exploring varied technologies, languages, and artistic forms, including sound, music, and dance. This selection, without any ambition to be exhaustive, stems from the intention to showcase diverse approaches, themes, technologies, and styles from artists active in the UK or collaborating with UK-based practitioners, highlighting current trends and discussions in this field. Decolonial perspectives, engagement with Nature and technology, traditional culture, inspiration from vintage moving images, feminism, mental health - these are some of the present-day trajectories represented in this curated selection
Embedding study skills in higher education.
Get PDFAcademics and practitioners in sport and exercise science higher education face challenges in producing graduates proficient in real-world employment skills and ensuring students have the necessary academic and scientific rigor. With a broader range of qualifications entering university courses, universities must ensure continuity and address students lacking study skills, which negatively impact their learning potential
Dynamic mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of epoxy coatings enhanced with MXene and diverse nano-fillers.
Get PDFThis comparative study explored the dynamic mechanical characteristics and resistance to corrosion of four distinct nanofillers; MXenes, Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs), Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs), and Halloysite Nanotubes (HNTs) within epoxy composites at low loading concentrations (0.1 wt.%). The study assessed the influence of nanofiller on dynamic mechanical properties, while Open Circuit Potential (OCP) and Tafel analyses were used to evaluate corrosion resistance of the coated samples. The dispersion analysis was carried out using both UV-Vis spectrophotometry and scanning electron microscope Scanning electron Microscopy (SEM) technique. It was observed, there is notable decrease in storage modulus arises from poor nanofiller dispersion within the matrix and limited interaction between nanofillers and polymer chains. The incorporation of nanofillers typically leads to an increase in Tg, as observed with the highest Tg value (83.79 °C) in the GNPs sample, indicating restricted molecular motion and reduced free volume due to filler dispersion, resulting in enhanced crosslinking and significant changes in polymer chain dynamics. The OCP curve significantly decreased for the MXenes/epoxy coating (from 0.1827 V to 0.0454 V), indicating increased coating stability and better corrosion resistance behaviour. However, further processing improvement is needed to enhance the dispersibility of MXenes in the polymer matrix, as shown by SEM images showing agglomerates within the nanocomposite sample
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