Virtual Football Violence:Exploring the Resurgence of Football’s Deviant Leisure Cultures in England

This paper examines the resurgence of deviant leisure cultures in football, with a focus on virtual football violence. Despite advancements in curbing violence in UK football stadiums, new challenges emerge online. By analysing social media discourse from three English Premier League matches in 2022, the study reveals the prevalence of several forms of virtual violence, including threats of physical and sexual violence, emotional violence, and discriminatory violence. The research highlights the resurgence of 'traditional' norms of masculinity, aggression, and misogyny facilitated by anonymity in online spaces. Paradoxically, the results show that fans engage in derogatory language while simultaneously condemning similar actions by others. This phenomenon is particularly evident in the category of discriminatory violence, where comments are frequently challenged, indicating a 'raising of consciousness' and a growing intolerance to certain forms of discriminatory language. However, despite some evidence of social consciousness and pushback against discriminatory language, the prevalence of virtual violence remains concerning on multiple levels. This underscores the need for continued efforts to promote respectful discourse and foster inclusive environments online

An Explainable AI Tool for Operational Risks Evaluation of AI Systems for SMEs

This research addresses the challenges faced by SMEs in deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems ethically and securely. Engaging with twenty SMEs through workshops and surveys, we developed an evaluation tool utilizing explainable AI. This tool examines AI systems' robustness, biases, and vulnerabilities, ensuring ethical usage and legal compliance. By conducting a pilot study on AI-driven language models, we demonstrate the tool's ability to assess risks across various domains, fostering trust and accountability in AI integration for SMEs

Unpacking the Concept of Sportswashing in Elite Men's Professional Football in England

As a concept, ‘sportswashing’ is one of the most recent concepts to abruptly enter the political, media, and popular lexicon, similar to ‘social capital’ and ‘soft power’ before it. As a result, in many ways, it is nothing new. Sportswashing is just a rebrand of a concept that has been around for centuries. The term also has geographical resonance, mostly being reserved for use in narrative relating to influence in sport from outside the Western World. One of the highest profile examples of this is the takeover of Newcastle United Football Club by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) in 2021. In this chapter, we explore the concept of ‘sportswashing’ in relation to elite men's professional football in England. In doing so, we put forward an argument of nuance in the concept, further supporting our point that it is nothing new. It is also never just one thing in isolation. To understand the concept of ‘sportswashing’ and its relevance in elite men's professional football in England, we must also consider the wider landscape of the sport and beyond, including financial incentives, ownership motives, global exposure, and the leveraging opportunity. Any concept of ‘sportswashing’ is often bigger than the sport itself and we must be aware of the bigger picture story at play. We will return to this later in the chapter, citing examples throughout history to support our case: but first we must attempt to understand the terminology in more detail

Sustainable Design of Zwitterionic Polyurethane Acrylate Emulsions for Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive Packaging

Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives (PSAs) are widely used in flexible packaging due to their rapid adhesion, excellent transparency, and mechanical flexibility. However, traditional solvent-based PSAs pose environmental hazards; although waterborne alternatives are more eco-friendly, they often suffer from limited adhesion, poor wetting on low-energy surfaces, low mechanical strength, and inadequate microbial resistance without additional additives. To overcome these challenges, two hybrid polyurethane acrylate (PUA) systems were synthesized: a conventional PUA (prepolymer-01) and a zwitterionic-based PUA (ZPUA, prepolymer-02). From these prepolymers, five PSA emulsions were formulated: one from acrylic monomers (PSA-01), one from PUA (PSA-02), and three from ZPUA (PSA-03, PSA-04, PSA-05). The incorporation of zwitterionic segments into the PUA backbone was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrated the superior thermal stability of ZPUA over its non-zwitterionic counterpart. ZPUA-based emulsions exhibited excellent wettability on low-energy surfaces, a key advantage for packaging applications. Moreover, tensile testing showed that zwitterionic PSA films (PSA-03 to PSA-05) outperformed their non-zwitterionic counterparts (PSA-01, PSA-02) in both tensile strength and elongation at break. Improved adhesion was also observed on difficult-to-bond surfaces, confirming the benefit of zwitterion integration. Importantly, the ZPUA emulsions displayed intrinsic antimicrobial activity, potentially eliminating the need for formalin as a preservative

From investment to impact:Exploring socio-economic prospect of hydrogen investment in Tees Valley, UK

Financial viability is fundamental for investment success, however, long run sustainable investment relies on delivering tangible socio-economic benefits that foster societal acceptance, enhancing community welfare and well-being. This study developed a quantitative model to evaluate the socio-economic impact of a proposed 1 GW green and 2 GW blue hydrogen investment in Tees Valley, UK, from 2027 to 2035. We introduced the socio-economic impact (SEI) ratio, defined as the ratio of socio-economic impact to the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH), to illustrate the significance of socio-economic impact beyond financial returns.Findings indicate that the cumulative environmental and economic impact of green hydrogen amounted to £1.5 ± 0.5 bn, and £1.35 ± 0.27 bn, respectively, with an employment impact of £269 ± 28 mn. In contrast, the proposed blue hydrogen investment is expected to deliver £2.9 ± 0.9 bn environmental impact, £1.84 ± 0.37 bn economic impact, and £212 ± 26 mn employment social impact. The SEI ratio of green hydrogen was found to range between 48 % and 62 %, and 60 %–79 % for blue hydrogen, suggesting overall SEI ratio of approximately 60 % for combined green and blue investment. Sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulation revealed that the results are particularly sensitive to the Gross Value Added (GVA), emission, and employment factors. These findings highlight the importance of integrating socio-economic considerations into hydrogen planning, investment strategies, and decision-making to optimise environmental, societal, and economic outcomes

Data-driven inverse design framework for broadband mode-selective elastic metasurfaces

Elastic waves in structural materials typically propagate as a combination of multiple coupled modes, each exhibiting complex frequency-dependent behaviour. This inherent multimodal nature poses a major challenge for precise wave manipulation. While as a subwavelength artificial interface, metasurfaces have shown strong potential in controlling elastic waves, most existing approaches are limited to single-mode or single-frequency operation, constraining their effectiveness in more realistic, multimodal scenarios. Moreover, conventional metasurface design methods based on sophisticated theories, strict phase constraints, along with complex topology optimization are computationally demanding and time-intensive. Here, we propose a data-driven inverse design framework for broadband mode-selective elastic metasurfaces, integrating the strengths of artificial intelligence. A Physics-Informed-Embedded Multi-Branch Convolutional Neural Network (PIMB-CNN) is developed to rapidly and accurately predict the transmission coefficients of both A0 and S0 modes across a broad frequency range. This surrogate framework is integrated with the Sparrow Search Algorithm (SSA) to enable an efficient inverse design workflow, capable of generating optimal metasurfaces to achieve customized elastic-wave mode in under a couple of minutes. Numerical simulations and experimental validations confirm that the designed metasurfaces can effectively suppress undesired modes within a broadband range while enabling the transmission of target modes with minimal loss. This work offers a rapid, artificial-intelligence-assisted (AI-assisted) design paradigm for elastic metasurfaces of customized mode-selection, highlighting a promising route toward intelligent wave control in complex multimodal physical scenarios.<br/

Vaccine Acceptance in Africa during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This chapter provides a strategic overview of the impact of COVID-19 on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), exploring barriers and facilitators to vaccine uptake. An academic debate is presented for the need to apply socio-epidemiological concepts to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in SSA, considering the complex social factors governing vaccine uptake in the region. The chapter provides an insight into the complex nature of vaccine acceptance and uptake, coupled with the unique challenges SSA has faced as part of the COVID-19 pandemic, and recognises the necessity for creative, multifaceted approaches to address this problem. The chapter discusses the unprecedented challenges that the pandemic presented, with specific reference to the fundamentally unique challenges it imposed on SSA. It explores the vaccination roll-out across the region and the core barriers to and facilitators of vaccine uptake. An overview of research evidence on SSA on vaccine hesitancy is also provided. The final parts of the chapter provide an examination of how social epidemiology can be used to explain and address COVID-19 vaccine uptake and an exploration of how potential future directions in vaccine acceptance and uptake across this distinct geographical region can be made beyond the context of COVID-19.<br/

Network reciprocity turns cheap talk into a force for cooperation

Non-binding communication is common in daily life and crucial for fostering cooperation, even though it has no direct payoff consequences. However, despite robust empirical evidence, its evolutionary basis remains poorly understood. Here, we develop a game-theoretic model in which individuals can signal an intention to cooperate before playing a Donation game. Strategies differ in how they respond to these signals, ranging from unconditional to conditional types, with the latter incurring a cognitive cost for deliberation. Through evolutionary analysis, we show that non-binding communication alone cannot sustain cooperation in well-mixed, anonymous populations, consistent with empirical observations. In contrast, structured populations support the emergence of cooperation, with conditional cooperators acting as catalysts that protect unconditional cooperators through context-dependent patterns of cyclic dominance. These findings offer an evolutionary explanation for how non-binding communication promotes cooperation and provide a modelling framework for exploring its effects in diverse social settings.</p

Development of Stress Concentration Factor (K_TG) Chart for Finite Length of Bar with Longitudinal Varying Circular Hole Position in Uniaxial Tension

Existing chart of gross stress concentration factor (Ktg) has been adequate but the ever-increasing complexity in the design of steel structures is challenging its continued deployment in eccentric applications. This research develops new chart of Ktg for eccentricity ratio e/c of 3 for several longitudinal hole positions in a finite length of flat bar in tension. Employing finite element analysis (FEA), analytical and experimental methods, the study investigates 60 design points. Test vehicles (TVs) are steel plates measuring 200 mm long, 40 mm wide (b), and 4 mm thick. ANSYS mechanical package is used to simulate the response of computer-aided-design models of the TVs to an applied uniaxial tensile load of 5.0 kN. Implementation of the developed Ktg chart in computation of maximum stress in a flat plate with hole produces stress results which are circa 98.97% identical with that generated from FEA simulation. Specifically, at critical hole position of 0.15b measured from load point at bar end, developed chart application demonstrates improvements of circa 55.6 and 65.0% from stress values computed using existing charts of Ktg and nominal stress concentration factor for centre hole in plate (Ktn), respectively. Developed ktg chart adoption will deliver highly reliable steel product designs.</p