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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Item Assessing data governance models for smart cities: Benchmarking data governance models on the basis of European urban requirements(Elsevier, 2025-06-08)Smart cities aim to improve residents’ quality of life by implementing effective services, infrastructure, and processes through information and communication technologies. However, without robust smart city data governance, much of the urban data potential remains underexploited, resulting in inefficiencies and missed opportunities for city administrations. This study addresses these challenges by establishing specific, actionable requirements for smart city data governance models, derived from expert interviews with representatives of 27 European cities. From these interviews, recurring themes emerged, such as the need for standardized data formats, clear data access guidelines, and stronger cross-departmental collaboration mechanisms. These requirements emphasize technology independence, flexibility to adapt across different urban contexts, and promoting a data-driven culture. By benchmarking existing data governance models against these newly established urban requirements, the study uncovers significant variations in their ability to address the complex, dynamic nature of smart city data systems. This study thus enhances the theoretical understanding of data governance in smart cities and provides municipal decision-makers with actionable insights for improving data governance strategies. In doing so, it directly supports the broader goals of sustainable urban development by helping improve the efficiency and effectiveness of smart city initiatives.Item How much are LLMs changing the language of academic papers?(International Society for Informetrics and Scientometrics, 2025-12-31)This study investigates the influence of Large Language Models (LLMs) on academic publishing with a term frequency analysis of 12 LLM-associated terms in six major scholarly databases (Scopus, WoS, PubMed, Dimensions, OpenAlex, and PMC) from 2015 to 2024. From the proportion of articles containing them, all 12 LLM-associated terms had small increases in 2023 and large increases in 2024. For example, in 2024, underscore[s/d/ing] appeared in 20% of PMC open access publications, a fivefold increase from 4% in 2022, suggesting that LLMs had influenced the language of at least 16% of PMC documents in 2024. LLM-friendly terms like delve[s/d/ing] and underscore[s/d/ing] seem to have grown partly at the expense of equivalent more traditionally academic terms like investigate[s/d/ing] and highlight[s/ed/ing]. There were disciplinary differences between the 27 Scopus broad subject categories, with underscore[s/d/ing] being more common in Environmental Science and "delve" more frequently used in Business and Humanities. There were also differences in the terms found in different parts of papers. For example, unveil[s/ed/ing] was used particularly more frequently in titles in 2024 than 2022 (0.26% vs. 0.04%), whilst underscore[s/d/ing] was more prominent in abstracts (2.5% vs. 0.21%) in Scopus. The increases may be due mainly to the use of LLMs for translation and proof reading, but imitation by researchers may result in LLM-associated terms becoming a more organic part of future academic writing, unless there is a reaction against them. Finally, since 70% of Scopus papers acknowledging ChatGPT did not use any of the 12 terms in their titles or abstracts, the influence of LLMs is probably much wider.Item Technical and environmental feasibility of using CFRP textile as stay in-place participating formwork for shape optimised concrete beams(IABSE, 2025-05-21)Shape optimisation of concrete elements will reduce concrete consumption and hence embodied carbon. However, providing both formwork and reinforcement for shape optimised concrete elements is challenging due to their curved geometries. This paper explores a novel design and construction method for shape optimised concrete beams where flexible CFRP textile is used as a stay-in-place participating formwork, i.e. serving as both the formwork and reinforcement. The technical feasibility of the system was assessed by generating a series of beam designs to discuss the scale of the CFRP textiles required. Environmental feasibility was also assessed by estimating the embodied carbon of several designs against conventional beam designs. Due to the lack of readily available options in the present market, further studies are needed to assess the technical feasibility of using CFRP textiles up to 2 mm thick as participating formwork to reinforce beam designs required in practice. Shape optimisation can reduce concrete volume by up to 36% compared to equivalent prismatic beam designs with similar midspan depths. The midspan depth of the design with minimum embodied carbon for a given design criteria may not coincide with the depth of a conventional prismatic beam design, yet embodied carbon reductions up to 33% are possible.Item Effect of poly-γ-glutamic acid molecular weight on the properties of whey protein isolate hydrogels(MDPI, 2025-06-09)Whey protein isolate (WPI) hydrogel is a promising candidate as a biomaterial for tissue engineering. Previously, WPI hydrogels containing poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) with a molecular weight (MW) of 440 kDa demonstrated potential as scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Here, the study compares different γ-PGA preparations of differing MW. WPI-γ-PGA hydrogels containing 40% WPI and 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10% γ-PGA were synthesised. Three γ-PGA MWs were compared, namely 10 kDa, 700 kDa, and 1100 kDa. Evidence of successful γ-PGA incorporation was demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Increasing γ-PGA concentration significantly improved the swelling potential of the hydrogels, as demonstrated by ratio mass increases of between 85 and 90% for each 10% variable group. Results suggested that γ-PGA delayed enzymatic proteolysis, potentially decreasing the rate of degradation. The addition of γ-PGA significantly decreased the Young’s modulus and compressive strength of hydrogels. Dental pulp mesenchymal stem cells proliferated on all hydrogels. The highest cellular growth was observed for the WPI-700 kDa γ-PGA group. Additionally, superior cell attachment was observed on all WPI hydrogels containing γ-PGA compared to the WPI control. These results further suggest the potential of WPI hydrogels containing γ-PGA as biomaterials for bone tissue engineering.Item Investigating advanced practice for people with intellectual disability and autism: a mixed methods study(Wiley, 2025-06-05)Introduction Little is known about the advanced practice contribution health professionals make when working with People with Intellectual Disability and Autism. This paper shares the findings from a study investigating the delivery and impact of two university-led online postgraduate certificates. These programmes specifically focused on preparing health professionals to practice at an advanced level, with people with intellectual disability and autism across the lifespan. Aims The aim was to evaluate the opportunities and challenges the programmes provided, reviewing the online delivery capacity and its usefulness for preparing this group of health professionals at an advanced level across two cohorts of learners. Methods A concurrent mixed methods approach was adopted, collating descriptive and qualitative data virtually between February 2023 and January 2024. Adults with intellectual disability and autism were involved in the panel deciding the outcome of the research tender, as steering group members and as members of a national workforce advisory panel. No computerised software was used for the data analysis. Results Observations from minimal descriptive data, virtual focus group, nine one-to-one interviews, text-based and a jam-board data revealed online pedagogical decisions through multi-professional action learning sets. This supported enhanced practice confidence, enquiry-based practice and inter-professional capability. Conclusions Policy and decision makers should invest in more advanced practice programmes in this field, as they strengthen the care contribution for people with intellectual disabilities and autism. Implications for Practice Advanced practice learning can raise both practice confidence levels and improve opportunities for evidence-based service change for a group of people with complex needs. Reporting Method Mixed Methods Reporting in Rehabilitation Health Science.
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