Entrepreneurship in the Arab world.

Entrepreneurship in the Arab World is a pioneering academic reader and research companion offering an in-depth exploration of entrepreneurship in the Arab world. Edited by leading scholars with deep regional expertise, the book addresses the cultural, institutional, religious and socio-economic dynamics shaping entrepreneurial activity in Arab countries. With contributions from local and international experts, the book provides a rich, contextualized analysis across a broad spectrum of topics, including women's entrepreneurship, youth entrepreneurship, social innovation, family enterprises, digital entrepreneurship, green entrepreneurship, Islam and entrepreneurship and more. This book is designed for university students, educators, researchers, business support agencies, international aid agencies, and policy-makers working in or focused on supporting entrepreneurship in the Arab world. Its structured chapters include case studies, key learning points, and discussion questions to enhance teaching and learning. The book fills a critical gap in contextualized entrepreneurship education resources by offering a tailored, region-specific deep dive. It promotes culturally relevant learning, provides practical insights for students and practitioners and offers policy recommendations for fostering inclusive and sustainable entrepreneurship. This essential text will support the growing regional movement towards economic diversification and youth empowerment and serve as a benchmark for future research and pedagogy in Arab entrepreneurship studies

GASSM: global attention and state space model based end-to-end hyperspectral change detection.

As an essential task to identify anomalies and monitor changes over time, change detection enables detailed earth observation in remote sensing. By combining both the rich spectral information and spatial image, hyperspectral images (HSI) have offered unique and significant advantages for change detection. However, traditional hyperspectral change detection (HCD) methods, predominantly based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs), struggle with capturing long-range spatial-spectral dependencies due to their limited receptive fields. Whilst transformers based HCD methods are capable of modeling such dependencies, they often suffer from quadratic growth of the computational complexity. Considering the unique capabilities in offering robust long-range sequence modeling yet with linear computational complexity, the emerging Mamba model has provided a promising alternative. Accordingly, we propose a novel approach that integrates the global attention (GA) and state space model (SSM) to form our GASSM network for HCD. The SSM based Mamba block has been introduced to model global spatial-spectral features, followed by a fully connected layer to perform binary classification of detected changes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first to explore using the Mamba and SSM for HCD. Comprehensive experiments on two publicly available datasets, compared with eight state-of-the-art benchmarks, have validated the efficacy and efficiency of our GASSM model, demonstrating its superiority of high accuracy and stability in HCD

Media narratives and Scottish fashion.

Scotland has a vast iconography that is recognised globally. However, it is argued that many of these symbols and stereotypes are outdated and not always reflective of a modern Scotland. This paper is part of a wider project exploring Scottish fashion outside of its traditional tropes and that seeks to uncover a contemporary and forward-looking vision for the sector. The paper begins by exploring the Highland vision of Scotland, which dates back to the 18th century, and analyses how this aesthetic is sustained and represented by the fashion media today. Established publications like Vogue and luxury brands like Chanel have a long-standing influence on global fashion, which has continued into the digital era where content is produced and then reproduced, reaching mainstream fashion audiences. At the same time, new influential actors like bloggers and content creators are recognised for their contribution towards a more democratic fashion system and arguably also play a role as contemporary cultural icons who reimagine fashion in particular geographic contexts. Through an analysis of fashion media output, this paper considers some of the tensions surrounding the traditional view of Scottish fashion and more contemporary outlooks. Conclusions are drawn around how traditional fashion media and influential new voices are shaping fashion narratives and feeding into contemporary perceptions of national and cultural identity. The research contributes to the fields of Scottish studies, national identity and cultural studies and the evolving field of fashion studies, where sense of place is a significant theme

Why is the United Kingdom fuel poor?

Tackling fuel poverty and decarbonising heating are two of the biggest challenges before the UK economy. Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) this research evaluates the main causes of fuel poverty within the UK, drawing parameters from various definitions and it assesses the immediate impacts of fuel poverty. A series of fuel poverty determinants have been drawn from the literature to develop a SEM model, using fuel poverty as a latent construct. Fuel Poverty has then been divided further into three latent factors, Household, Macroeconomic factors and Renewable energy. A time series data of 13 years (2010–2022) has been collated from a variety of published databases to arrive at the most significant indicators of the latent constructs. The paper also evaluates if the decarbonisation target can be achieved along with reducing the fuel poverty by including the indicators of renewable energy. A robust interrogation has been done of the most recent policy measures and its relevance based on the results obtained by the longitudinal data analysis. The research presents strong evidence that there has been limited investments in housing efficiency and green energy projects, there is an immediate need to control inflation and household incomes. Additionally, policies related to the dependence on oil and gas as primary energy source, winter fuel payments and gas and electricity disconnections need attention

Hydrogen at RGU: expertise, projects and facilities.

In this presentation Professor Nadimul Faisal highlights some of the hydrogen research projects being undertaken at Robert Gordon University to support the development of renewable hydrogen technologies needed to support the Scottish Government's ambition of 5GW installed hydrogen production capacity by 2030. The testing facility, Hy-One, which will be established at the NSC, is a comprehensive one-stop hydrogen storage testing facility, providing plug-and-play testing and demonstrations for hydrogen storage systems and prototypes. Scalable metamaterial thermally sprayed catalyst coatings for nuclear reactor based high temperature solid oxide water electrolysis (METASIS), aims to design, fabricate, and test thermally sprayed novel large-scale and large-length scale meta-surface area coatings for anode supported solid oxide water electrolysis (SOWE) cell in the steam electrolysis mode for hydrogen production over a temperature range of 800 °C to 900 °C. Thermally sprayed coatings for thermochemical electrolysis at nuclear reactors (THERMOSIS) project aims to develop solution for zero emission hydrogen production by designing, fabricating, and testing thermally sprayed novel large metasurface area coatings for anode supported solid oxide steam electrolysis (SOSE). This will be an innovative electrolyser catalyst and cell design that will warrant efficient hydrogen production with stable structure for high temperature operation at nuclear reactor. H2Gen Hydrogen Fuel Cell UPS (EETF) is to develop a novel, scalable Hydrogen-cell based modular Energy Storage System (H2GEN) to eliminate the usage of Lead-Acid battery in UPS in public buildings, mitigated power supply interruptions, and provide storage for excess renewable generated energy to be used or sold to grid during peak demand

Gender-competent legal education.

Gender-Competent Legal Education, edited by Dragica Vujadinović, Mareike Fröhlich and Thomas Giegerich, is a remarkable and timely contribution that addresses the need to make legal education sensitive to systemic gender inequalities. This book offers an extensive examination of law from a gender perspective, drawing on expertise from contributors from different universities with different expertise. It aims to provide an informed approach to enhancing legal curricula worldwide (particularly Europe), and to promote gender equality in legal understanding and practice. The book has been funded with support from the European Commission. It belongs to a tradition of scholarship that recognises how law, in both theory and application, can function as a mechanism of domination when it does not confront patriarchy. Through its many chapters, the book proposes to shift legal education away from a male-dominated mainstream and towards a gender-competent paradigm

Ground floor right (end of part II). [Oil and encaustic on steel]

In this work I attempt to explore a dialogue between drawing and painting, through the consideration of the home as a compression chamber for inhabitants' individual and shared dynamic. The work builds on ideas of psychological transitioning, through the flattening of form and figurative representation. "End of Part II" is the second version of a painting that I made in 2018. It was a first attempt to push beyond the rectangular frame by inviting the wall to hold a more active and visual role within the composition, as opposed to the wall having the sole function of hanging and displaying the work. This work was produced for the exhibition "Flat Volume", held 23 October - 9 November 2025 at the APT Gallery, London, curated by Sarah Longworth-West

A 10-year review of periconceptual folic acid supplementation in women with epilepsy taking antiseizure medications.

Epidemiological studies have reported that women with epilepsy who are taking antiseizure medications have an increased risk of Neural Tube Defects. Periconceptual folic acid supplementation potentially prevents two-thirds of cases. International guidelines recommend that women at increased risk of a pregnancy complicated by a Neural Tube Defect who could become pregnant should start high-dose (5 mg daily) oral folic acid at least three months before conceiving. The purpose of the study was to examine supplementation in women taking antiseizure medications who delivered a baby weighing >499 g during the ten years 2013–2022 in a large maternity hospital. The hospital's computerized database contains standardized maternal clinical and sociodemographic details which were entered at the first antenatal visit in the obstetric records. The data on all women with epilepsy taking antiseizure medications was anonymized before coding. In the ten years, 75,869 women delivered a baby weighing >499 g. Of the deliveries, 632 (0.83%) were to women with epilepsy. Of these, 250 (0.33%) were taking antiseizure medications when they presented for antenatal care. The most frequently prescribed medications were lamotrigine n = 98 (33.8%) and levetiracetam n = 89 (30.7%). Monotherapy was prescribed in 211 (84.4%) women and polytherapy in 39 (15.6%). Three (1.2%) women took no folic acid before or after conception and 59 (23.6%) only took it after conception. Of the 188 (75.2%) who took folic acid before conception, 164 (65.6%) took high-dose 5 mg and 24 (9.6%) took low-dose 0.4 mg. No maternal characteristics were associated with taking high-dose folic acid before conception. Compliance with the national guidelines in the 16 women taking valproate was 30.8% compared with 76.0% for the other 234 women taking medications (p < 0.03). Compliance in the 211 women receiving monotherapy was 72.5% compared with 25.6% in the 39 women receiving polytherapy (p < 0.03). Two-thirds of women taking antiseizure medications complied with national guidelines on high-dose periconceptual folic acid supplementation. A particular concern is the suboptimal compliance in women prescribed valproate and polytherapy, which are two cohorts at higher risk of a neural tube defect. These findings need to be communicated to women with epilepsy in their reproductive years and their doctors. Of 75,869 women delivered over 10 years, 250 (0.33%) were on medications for epilepsy at presentation 34.4% of women taking medications did not start high dose folic acid before conception 23.6% of women did not start folic acid until after conception Compliance with recommendations was lowest in women prescribed valproate or polytherapy No maternal characteristics were identified which were associated with suboptimal compliance

Threat detection in smart homes: a sociotechnical multimodal conversational approach for improved cyber situational awareness. [Dataset]

Smart homes are becoming increasingly more complex and difficult to defend. Expanding Internet of Things (IoT) devices has reshaped socio-technical interactions within smart homes, yet security remains a secondary concern. In addition, users have been shown to lack awareness of potential vulnerabilities, leaving smart homes susceptible to attacks. The file associated with this output contains supplementary images, text, TEX, BST, CLO and PDF files

DroidKey: a practical framework and analysis tool for API key security in Android applications.

The reliance on mobile applications has amplified concerns about Application Programming Interface (API) key security in Android platforms. Serving as essential authentication mechanisms, API keys ensure secure communication with external services. However, insecure practices like hardcoding expose keys to reverse engineering and unauthorized use. This research introduces the DroidKey Analysis Tool, designed to evaluate vulnerabilities and guide developers toward secure practices. The tool integrates a comprehensive framework encompassing six security domains. The methodology combines a systematic literature review, expert feedback, and validation through controlled experiments and real-world app evaluations. Results highlight the effectiveness of DroidKey, with secure implementations, such as those of the "Sample Mobile App," achieving significantly higher security scores than their insecure counterparts. Assessments of 10 real-world banking apps further reveal widespread vulnerabilities, underscoring the tool's utility in addressing hardcoded keys and weak encryption. By leveraging industry-standard tools, the DroidKey Analysis Tool offers actionable insights to improve app security. Future enhancements, including real- time monitoring and expanded API key detection, are proposed to strengthen its functionality further. This research bridges the gap between theoretical security frameworks and practical applications, contributing to the advancement of Android app security