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 Evaluating the perceptions of UK construction professionals on the adoption and implementation of lean construction(International Group for Lean Construction, 2025-05-30)This study explores barriers to adopting Lean Construction (LC) principles within the UK construction industry, with particular focus on how these barriers are perceived across various job roles. The study utilises a quantitative survey of 116 professionals, including project managers, contractors, engineers, architects, and support staff. The study revealed that financial constraints, organisational culture, and regulatory requirements are perceived to be important barriers to LC implementation across all job roles. Leadership roles (e.g. project managers) and technical roles (e.g. Engineers, architects) place more importance on barriers, perhaps due to their project direction and resource allocation responsibilities. In contrast, labourers and admin staff viewed barriers as less important. Future intentions to adopt LC principles vary, with technical, administrative/support roles and leadership roles expressing a stronger willingness to adopt LC in comparison to labour roles. This research fills a gap in LC literature by examining the role-specific perceptions of barriers, providing a foundation for tailored frameworks to support LC adoption across the construction sector.Item Preparation and characterization of triglycine-containing 3D-printed PBAT/PLA specimens(American Chemical Society, 2025-05-26)This study explores a novel additive─0.2 wt % monodisperzed H-Gly-Gly-Gly-OH (triglycine)─to poly(1,4-butylene adipate-co-1,4-butylene terephthalate)/polylactide (PBAT/PLA) blend. The triglycine-containing PBAT/PLA was extruded into uniform filaments with a diameter of 1.74 ± 0.02 mm by using a single-screw extruder, which was subsequently employed to fabricate specimens via material extrusion (MEX) technology at nozzle temperatures (T) of 155 and 190 °C. In the present study, the fabrication of triglycine-containing specimens was investigated with a focus on elucidating their thermal behavior and mechanical properties. The influence of print temperature on these properties was also evaluated to establish correlations between processing conditions and material performance. Results indicated that all specimens could be printed smoothly at 155 and 190 °C, regardless of triglycine presence. The addition of triglycine did not significantly affect the melting temperature of the specimens, but it did reduce the difference in glass transition temperature between PLA and PBAT. SEM analysis did not display any significant differences between the specimens across all nozzle temperatures. Specimens without triglycine displayed consistent mechanical properties across temperatures, achieving a high tensile modulus (E) of 261.5 MPa for specimens printed at T = 190 °C. Conversely, triglycine-containing specimens printed at the same temperature exhibited a significantly lower tensile modulus (E = 159.5 MPa). However, the triglycine inclusion enhanced the ultimate tensile strength at lower print temperatures, with values of 15.03 ± 0.11 MPa for specimens printed at T = 155 °C compared to 10.16 ± 1.65 MPa for specimens printed at T = 190 °C.Item Developing culturally appropriate dementia interventions for people from culturally diverse backgrounds(Routledge, 2024-07-22)This chapter provides an overview of the current range of strategies used to implement culturally appropriate interventions to address dementia disparities faced by the culturally diverse populations. In doing so, five principles of cultural tailoring/adaptation are presented and used to guide an umbrella review to synthesise evidence from five existing systematic reviews. This chapter begins by presenting evidence of dementia in the culturally diverse populations in the UK and goes on to describe the terminologies related to cultural adaptation. A discussion of the five principles guiding cultural adaptation of inter Documentation of development and implementation process) forms the third part in this chapter. In the fourth part, the ‘state of the art’ of culturally appropriate interventions in dementia for people with culturally diverse backgrounds in Western countries is presented and discussed. The final part is a discussion of the gaps in the literature on culturally appropriate interventions for dementia and ends with recommendations.Item Consumer credit in the clothing and textile retail trade: A study of two English provincial retailers, 1878-1914(University of Wolverhampton, 2025)This thesis explores, and compares, how two retailers of clothing and fabrics and their customers used credit in the decades leading up to the First World War: Hall and Spindler, a bespoke tailoring and outfitting firm in Leamington Spa, and William Heddle, a credit draper in Southend-on-Sea. Between them, they dealt with men and women from a wide spectrum of society. The thesis contributes to the historiography on credit, retailing and consumption, by shedding light on how credit was used in practice. The principal sources are the two retailers’ business records, which are held in county archives. These contain descriptions of the items that they sold, the credit they gave and how it was repaid by customers, many of whom have been traced in the decennial censuses, thus revealing their stated occupations, ages, marital status and the composition of their households. The thesis explores the trading practices of the firms in the context of what is known about tailors and drapers in late-Victorian and Edwardian England, and of the economic and retail environments of the towns in which they were located. It examines the firms’ management of credit and the economic, social and cultural aspects of their credit relations. From the perspective of their customers, it explores the access that they had to different forms of credit and types of clothing, as well as the use they made of the credit they received, paying attention to their social status, gender, age and economic dependence. The thesis draws conclusions about how the two retailers managed the risks that credit involved, and how their retail practices compared with contemporary depictions of their trades. It finds that credit trading was problematic for both of them but that, in different ways, they harnessed it to sustain their businesses. In both cases, customer loyalty emerges as key to the maintenance of trust, itself an essential part of credit relations. Hall and Spindler focused on particular classes of customer, especially those who were most loyal, and social connections seem to have played a part in fostering long-term associations with the firm. Heddle, on the other hand, relied mainly on his personal knowledge of customers, and on economic power to secure their loyalty. From the perspective of consumers’ access to different forms of credit and types of clothing, the thesis finds that class boundaries were less rigid than some historians have suggested. It also uncovers significant differences in the gendered use of credit that challenge contemporary portrayals of working-class women, and also reveal the lengths to which many men were prepared to go to be well turned out. The thesis also reveals age-related differences in the use of credit, which suggest that new clothes became less of a priority for men in middle age and, for many men and women from the working classes, far less affordable. It also finds that the reckless use of credit by some young men was related to their economic dependence, adding to findings by historians who have associated such use solely with an elite social background. By focusing on the practical workings of credit, the thesis seeks to provide a nuanced and detailed study of its nature and use by retailers and their customers in late-Victorian and Edwardian provincial England.Item How can a continuing professional development programme cultivate a community of sustainability informed early childhood education and care (ECEC) teacher/educators?(University of Wolverhampton, 2025)The study examines how to introduce the concept of sustainability into Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in England, a critical challenge given the climate crisis impacting young children (Louv, 2012). The literature review revealed limited research in this area, with UNESCO (2023) reporting insufficient progress toward achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Elfert, 2019). To accelerate change, the research explored how ECEC teacher/educators attending a sustainability-focused CPD programme could transfer their learning into their settings, influencing colleagues and anchoring sustainability practices. The research aimed to build a sustainability-informed ECEC community, guided by the question: How can a Continuing Professional Development Programme cultivate a community of sustainability-informed ECEC teacher/educators? Situated in England, the study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and action research methodology filtered through an ethically attuned praxeological lens. A CPD sustainability programme provided the bounded case study space. Perspectives from 20 participants who attended the programme were gathered through interviews and focus groups, analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2022) thematic analysis approach. Findings revealed strong emotional responses to sustainability. Participants highlighted compassion as a driver for making sustainability-informed decisions personally and professionally, influencing colleagues, and fostering a sustainable future for children (Rawls, 1971). Compassion was pivotal to embedding an ethic of sustainability and cultivating a workplace culture committed to sustainability. Four key actions emerged for CPD design: credible cognition, compassionate conversations, compassionate coaching, and a community of practice. These elements coalesce into the ACT model, a framework with transferable benefits for CPD in other emotionally charged ECEC subjects, such as physical development. This research underscores the potential of targeted CPD to anchor sustainability in ECEC, leveraging compassion and collaboration to drive systemic change.
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