Wolverhampton Intellectual Repository and E-Theses
WIRE is the open access repository for research publications and outputs by researchers based at the University of Wolverhampton.
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Recent Submissions
Item Unified mobility model for grain‑boundary‑limited transport in polycrystalline thermoelectric materials(Elsevier, 2025-09-12)Grain-boundary-limited charge transport is a fundamental bottleneck in polycrystalline thermoelectric materials, where reduced carrier mobility degrades electrical conductivity and suppresses power factors. This degradation arises from the interplay of scattering mechanisms: grain-boundary barriers dominate at low temperatures; thermionic activation enables partial barrier crossing at intermediate temperatures; and phonon scattering limits the mean free path at high temperatures. Hence, there remains a need for a physically transparent framework to quantitatively extract these microstructural parameters. In this study, a semi-empirical mobility model that explicitly integrates these grain-boundary mechanisms was developed and validated, expressed as: μeff(T)=μwexp(−[Formula presented] where μw is the weighted mobility, ΦGB is the grain‑boundary barrier height, kB is Boltzmann's constant, T is temperature, l(T) is the bulk mean free path and wGB is the boundary width. This model was validated for oxide semiconductor, intermetallic, chalcogenide and heuslers polycrystalline materials, achieving excellent agreement with experimental data (R2= 0.97–0.99) and yielding physically consistent parameters: ΦGB ≈ 0–0.056 eV and l300 ≈ 6–368 nm. A case study for Ta doped ZnO thermoelectric material shows that barrier passivation (reduction of ΦGB from 0.056 eV to 0.03 eV) combined with modest grain-interior improvement (l300→60 nm) can significantly enhance carrier mobility across the entire temperature range. The analysis predicts that, at ∼1000 K, grain engineering could nearly double mobility and electrical conductivity. Consequently, tailoring microstructural features enable a power factor approximately of 7.64x10−4Wm−1K−2 at 1000 K, compared with the reported value of 4x10−4Wm−1K−2. This framework provides concrete, process-addressable targets for grain-boundary engineering and mobility-driven performance gains.Item Post traumatic signs of FGM and impacts on productivity in the workplace(Global Scientific Journal, 2025-08-08)This study examines the post-traumatic signs of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and their impacts on workplace productivity among women in Nigeria. It highlights the psychological and socio-economic ramifications of FGM, exploring how these experiences affect women's roles in the workforce. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a traditional practice entrenched in various cultures, impacting millions of women globally, especially in Nigeria. The psychological repercussions, such as trauma, anxiety, and depression, can severely diminish survivors' overall quality of life. These mental health challenges often impede their capacity to succeed and thrive in professional environments. A mixed-methods approach will be employed, combining qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with FGM survivors, community leaders, and healthcare professionals, and quantitative data from a structured survey of women in affected communities. A purposive sampling technique was used for the qualitative phase, selecting 10 participants, while a convenience sampling method targeted approximately 30 women for the quantitative phase. The study revealed that psychological issues such as anxiety and depression, low self-esteem and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are the impact of FGM negatively affecting the performance of female employees in working places and emotional distress, withdrawal from team activities and networking opportunities and stigma are ways FGM affect employee engagement levels among female employees. It was recommended that organizations should develop comprehensive support programs specifically tailored for FGM survivors and regular training sessions should be mandatory for all staff, especially managers, to raise awareness about FGM and its psychological impacts amongst others.Item The lived experiences of Turkish-speaking immigrant mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder in the UK(University of Wolverhampton, 2025)Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) presents unique challenges for caregivers, particularly within immigrant communities where cultural, linguistic, and systemic barriers can significantly impact how they navigate care and access services. First-generation Turkish-speaking immigrant mothers in the United Kingdom (UK) represent a distinct demographic whose experiences in navigating ASD caregiving remain understudied, with these challenges further intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. While existing research has explored immigrant experiences with developmental disabilities, there is a notable gap in understanding the specific challenges faced by Turkish-speaking immigrant mothers caring for children with ASD in the UK. This study addresses this gap by examining their lived experiences, service engagement patterns, and transnational practices, particularly during the unprecedented circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study employs a qualitative methodology, collecting data during in-depth face-to-face semi structured interviews with first-generation Turkish-speaking immigrant mothers of children with ASD. Data was analysed using reflective thematic analysis (RTA), allowing for detailed exploration of participants' experiences across multiple timepoints. This research offers several valuable contributions to understanding of Turkish-speaking immigrant families with children with disabilities in the UK. The findings revealed four key dimensions of the mothers' experiences: cultural navigation of ASD caregiving, complex interactions with UK services, the role of transnational practices in seeking additional support, and the profound impact of COVID-19 on caregiving routines and access to services. The study highlights how these mothers actively construct hybrid caregiving approaches that blend Turkish cultural practices with UK healthcare systems, while adapting to pandemic-related disruptions.Item The children may not be the problem: evidence of acceptance and enjoyment of higher fibre breads from choice architecture studies in school breakfast clubs(The Royal Society, 2025-09-18)Low fibre consumption is endemic in the United Kingdom (UK). Replacing refined staples with wholegrain starchy staples could increase fibre consumption. School food contributes to children's nutrition and establishes eating norms, presenting both a public health opportunity and challenge. It could be a policy lever to effect generational dietary change and influence health outcomes, and goal-strategic public sector procurement. However, this policy lever is under-exploited. Despite efforts by non-governmental organizations and individual schools, school food has not been conferred high value or status in national food policy and often does not provide children with a diet rich in healthy, high-fibre foods. In the H3 project, we trialled interventions to increase the fibre content of school breakfast, with particular focus on replacing white bread - a UK breakfast staple - with higher fibre breads. Here we review this work, providing insights from the food industry and children's perspectives. A key outcome was that child preferences were not a major barrier. When provided with higher fibre foods, children ate and enjoyed them. This suggests that simple food policy levers could significantly reduce the approximately 6 g average 'fibre gap' in UK school children's intake, for example by mandating that all bread served in schools be at least a 'source of fibre'. Larger scale trials should be conducted, ideally as part of universal school breakfast pilots. This article is part of the theme issue 'Transforming terrestrial food systems for human and planetary health'.Item Music of living: an autoethnographic study of Sikhi through Gurbani Kirtan(University of Wolverhampton, 2024)Gurbani kirtan is a musical and singing form of devotional worship in the Sikh faith. Gurmat sangit is a term used to describe gurbani kirtan performed on traditional stringed instruments that were customary during the Sikh Guru period (late 15th – 17th century). In seeking authenticity and a closer connection to the Sikh heritage there has been an increased interest in kirtan performed on traditional stringed instruments within the British Sikh diaspora. This research uses autoethnography under the umbrella of integrated crystallization to explore the practice of kirtan as a method for cultivating Sikhi, the living of the Sikh teachings, through a relationship with its music. Crystallization is a methodology that combines multiple methods (journaling, interview, questionnaire, reflection on kirtan practice etc.) and genres (storytelling, audio sounds, imagery) into a single output (thesis), In choosing autoethnography within crystallization to highlight the researchers' positionality is intentional to decentre the ego’s need to create absolutes and equally important as the content. Approaching kirtan as a feature of lived religion this research combines theory (ethnographic, historical, and textual sources), praxis (reflections on learning and playing kirtan) and gurbani (wisdom of the Sikh Gurus) to create rich and deliberately partial narratives. The research contributes multiple perspectives on the subject of kirtan by an exploration of the places where gurbani kirtan is passively encountered, actively engaged, and uniquely lived and understood through the eyes of the author. The vision is to motivate readers to ‘not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise; [but to] seek what they sought’ by reflecting on their own experiences and recontextualising their understanding of those experiences from an encounter with my shared narrative to discover coherence in the embodiment of realisation.
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