Research Presentations

The purpose of this research is to contribute to existing knowledge on how major MNCs in the Nigeria's Crude -oil producing Niger-delta region can effectively make oil production in the region more profitable and wellbeing goals more sustainable through Stakeholders involvement, particularly their Host communities. This research assessed past Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) used by MNCs to engage Host communities in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, how effective it has been and the setbacks. 

The study further demonstrates that looking beyond the philanthropy structure of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to a more inclusive and sustainable framework of giving back called Community engagement can drive development goals and promote the business of peace in the region. Community engagement emphasises sustainable goals MNCs should operate and give back in such a manner as to ensure the Host community's inclusion in growth activities and wellbeing goals. The study also identified, researched, and criticized existing Models in Community Engagement; presenting ways to improve on these models which would effectively impact on MNCs commitment to profit, sustainability and   conflict reduction with the Host communities in this crude-oil producing region. 

Our aim for this study was to understand how coaches and players experience their interactions with each other and how these experiences differ and align across coach-player collectives. Studies on coaching provide extensive evidence on the important role that coaches play in shaping athletes’ experiences of their sport (e.g., Carpentier & Mageau, 2016). Recent research has focussed on the relational dynamics between coaches and athletes (e.g., relationship quality; Jowett et al. 2017), with findings suggesting that athletes also shape coaches’ experiences and behaviours.

Six coach interviews and six focus groups (35 players) were conducted with teams competing in various team sports (e.g., basketball) and levels of play (e.g., academy). Transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021), first within each team (i.e., coach-player collectives) and then across teams. This allowed for the identification of themes that are subsequently used to create evocative recounts using creative non-fiction practices.

The terminologies and concepts associated with Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) are diverse, reflecting the multifaceted nature of the problem. As researchers and interventionists employ these various terms, there is the danger of incorrect usage, making it crucial to clarify their meanings and applications. Common terms existing in the literature include Gender-based Violence (GBV), Sexual & Gender-based Violence (SGBV), Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (SEAH), Sexual Abuse (SA), Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), Non-partner Sexual Violence (NPSV), and Domestic Abuse (DA). These terms are frequently used interchangeably to describe similar issues, but they refer to slightly different phenomena. This can be confusing for those not deeply familiar with the field or attempting to navigate the literature on a specific violence issue on the topic. The interchangeable use of these terms necessitates caution when interpreting information from various sources, as it can lead to misquotations and misinterpretations. Understanding the precise meanings and contexts of these terms is vital for accurately addressing and combating VAWG.

Enthesis calcified fibrocartilage (CFC) has a highly specialized 3D structure due to the complex blend of mineralized matrix, chondrocytes, and fibrous tissue. Despite its crucial role in transmitting forces and anchoring soft tissues to bone, the mechanical properties and structural significance of CFC remain incompletely understood. Fibro chondrocyte lacunae and their resident chondrocytes play a vital role in withstanding mechanical loads and maintaining the overall structural and mechanical integrity of CFC. Understanding the CFC microstructure–mechanics relationship holds significant potential for developing biomaterial designs for regenerative therapies. In this research, an in-depth full field 3D local analysis of structure-mechanics was identified using in-situ tensile micro computed tomography testing combine with digital volume correlation (DVC) and morphometric analysis.

Femtosecond Laser Ablation Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LA-LIBS) is being used to detect, characterize, and quantify elemental composition of minerals such as lithium, Co-V-REE (Rare Earth Elements) in battery metal lifecycle. The femtosecond LA-LIBS technology deploys ultrashort laser ablation real-time in situ microanalysis of samples at appropriate fluences. This is nearly an athermal process, minimizing matrix effects. LA-LIBS has better detection limit especially in charactarisation of  low mass element such as Lithium because of its physical enhancement detection. This explains the detectors’ ability to separate spectral wavelengths distinctively well. A fluence test (4-10 J/cm2) was conducted on reference materials (NIST 612, NIST 610, BRG-2G), and Lithium-bearing micas (Muscovite and Spodumene) samples with laser and spectrometer conditions of 30um spot size, 0.11 µs gate delay, 3.0 µs gate width. Approximately 8 J/cm2 fluence, was selected to run a 3 spots experimental test on each specimen with the same sensitivity variables. Furthermore, data manipulation and visualization would to be analyse - plotting intensity against concentration to calibrate a univariate Li curve at 610 nm.

The presentation aims to give a brief overview of where my first-year PhD research is positioned, shedding light on the context of the relationship between the place and the community when talking about citny-ness and lost-ness of company towns. One first has to unfold the ambivalence of using these two words adjacent to each other, thus, two main questions arise. The first question will be: how can two almost contradictory words be juxtaposed? One word refers to city-ness, indicating an appearance of vibrant multi-layered socio-spatial and temporal dynamics activating urban forms, and the other to lost-ness, singling the disappearance of life. The second question regards the relationship between places and communities. It asks whether city-ness can be completely lost, or can one read it as a salient state between periodic reincarnations? 

The current global tendency is to ""normalise"" mining towns previously under companies' control. The literature tends to take a negative view of company control of a town, seeing it as socially damaging and addressing how normalisation, a neoliberal approach, is the guardian. However, a clear gap in the literature remains in the social implications of the lost mining towns following the normalisation process. 

Therefore, the research suggests that understanding company mining towns as a contemporary relationship between the discourses of power, people, and palimpsest would contribute to drawing on multidisciplinary research to inform a context-sensitive and socially-inclusive series of recommendations for communities and authorities dealing with change. "

The rapid accumulation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste in the environment has become a pressing global concern, necessitating the development of efficient recycling strategies. The enzymatic degradation of plastic offers a promising approach, however the technology needs optimisation and process development for commercial applications.

Scaling up the technology in research laboratories can utilise bioreactors for large scale protein production via the fermentation of yeast and large scale PET depolymerisation reactions. For the technology to be circular, it is important for the monomers of the hydrolysis reaction to be recovered and characterised. These enzyme derived monomers and process byproducts can be analysed using various techniques such as NMR, ATR-IR, XRD and GC-MS. They can be used for various downstream processes including PET synthesis, producing a polyester of equal strength and integrity to the starting virgin material. 

The discovery and engineering of plastic degrading enzymes will always be imperative, however there is a key focus now on completing the technology's circular loop.

Can we make PET from enzyme derived monomers recovered from a polyester degradation? How many times can we repeat the cycle of degradation and synthesis? Is enzymatic recycling the future for plastic waste management?