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To evaluate the temperature-dependency of the Young’s and shear moduli of concrete after exposure to moderately elevated temperatures using the non-destructive impulse excitation technique (IET).

The study involved heating the concrete up to 225 °C and measuring the dynamic Young’s and shear moduli using the non-destructive technique of impulse excitation, which measures the natural vibration frequency from a mechanical impulse received by an acoustic sensor. The effects of temperature on the dynamic Young’s and shear moduli were analysed and the importance of the spatial variability of the measured values was also verified.

The study found that even moderately elevated temperatures (below 225 °C) resulted in a significant permanent reduction in the Young’s modulus of concrete (reduction in the range of 23%–36% for the maximum temperature considered in this research) as well as a modest and permanent reduction in the shear modulus of around 6%. It was also observed that spatial variability of the mechanical properties of concrete plays an important role in the measured values; higher dispersion of the results was found for the values of the Young’s and shear moduli of concrete measured along the height of the beam. The non-destructive test method used in this study was found to be extremely useful in the investigation of heat-related damage in concrete structures for its ease of use, low time consumption and accuracy. The results were consistent with the published literature.

This study provides important insights into the temperature-dependent behaviour of the dynamic Young’s and shear moduli of concrete and highlights the significance of proper consideration of the spatial variability of the measured values. The use of a non-destructive test method for continuous acoustic testing during heating and cooling proved to be effective, and the findings contribute to the fields of materials science and civil engineering in understanding the effects of elevated temperatures on concrete properties. The findings confirm that IET can be easily used to gather important information in the condition assessment and rehabilitation of concrete structures after a fire event. Further studies to foster the application of this technique to real structures are suggested.

After the launch of Fridays for Future (FFF) and then Extinction Rebellion (XR) in 2018, young people's climate and environmental activism grew significantly. Several years on, these two global movements are still campaigning, while many youth-led environmental networks and groups have been reinvigorated or created around the world. Much of the work these young climate and environmental activists are doing is around obtaining commitments and concrete actions from powerholders regarding the climate crisis and environmental degradation. This chapter discusses the experiences of young activists within climate and environmental movements in Britain between 2018 and 2023. Drawing on the authors' extensive fieldwork involving interviews with young protesters, this chapter focuses on an in-depth interview with two young, very committed, non-stereotypical activists. They provide insights regarding the ‘do-ability’ of activism in different places and spaces, as well as positive and negative outcomes of activism for young activists experiencing intersectional inequalities (age, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, gender) within a ‘progressive’ global social movement and prefigurative politics. Three important characteristics of youth-led environmental activism are identified and analysed: cooperation, confrontation and fragmentation. In this way, the chapter explores young people's climate and environmental activism beyond more affluent white communities.

The swift development of digital platforms and the intricate nature of socialization processes have greatly impacted how young people perceive the legitimacy of the police. This study investigates the influence of different media platforms and methods of socialization in emergencies on the attitudes and beliefs about law enforcement among young individuals. The aim of this review paper is to consolidate existing literature on the influence of various forms of media and social contacts shaping youth attitudes towards the legitimacy of the police, within distinct social and cultural contexts.

The literature was reviewed narratively, with a focus on major digital bibliographic databases for the purpose of selecting studies. This approach facilitated the examination of overarching concepts across several fields of study in order to develop a thorough comprehension of how media and socialization in emergencies influence young people’s perceptions of the legitimacy of the police. Three major themes were discovered, encompassing the connection of three different theories with the youth perceptions of police legitimacy, impacts from different media sources like news, entertainment and social media and the influence of important socialization agents like family, peers and community.

The review confirms that the media, regardless of whether it presents good or bad images, has a major impact on the views of youngsters towards the police. It influences their opinions of how trustworthy and legitimate the police are. Modeling and reinforcement, which are key components of social learning, play a crucial role in influencing the impact of media on young people. Community and family connections have significant influence, either strengthening or lessening the effects of media depictions. Although media has the ability to promote understanding and regard for law enforcement, it was also observed that there are challenges associated with the reinforcement of preconceptions and biases.

This research offers fundamental ideas for creating educational and community initiatives that improve positive media depictions of law enforcement and bolster community–police interactions. Additionally, it provides a framework for future studies on media approaches that could facilitate the development of a well-rounded understanding of the legitimacy of law enforcement among young people.

This literature review combines social learning and cognitive theories with empirical research on media to examine the complex and varied effects of media and socialization on how young people perceive the legitimacy of the police. It emphasizes the necessity for a sophisticated comprehension of these connections within the framework of current social dynamics and advancements in technology.

The purpose of the study is to analyze how the popular comic book series DC Graphic Novel for Young Adults depicts superhero, civilian and villains of color in the titles and address how the collection engages in or avoids discussions of racism.

This study uses a critical race content analysis to analyze how characters of color are represented in the DC Graphic Novel for Young Adults collection.

The findings demonstrate the series’ uneven attempts at writing about race and racism. The DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults illustrates more radical politics in some titles but reifies dominant beliefs in others. The analysis also shows how many titles approach discussions of oppression from a single axis approach rather than an intersectional one. The series strives for racial diversity and justice; sometimes achieving the goal, but not always.

The study demonstrates how the DC Graphic Novel for Young Adults constructs hegemonic ideas of “appropriateness” about race, racism and readership in some titles while offering explicit discussions about race and racism in others.

The authors outline potential ways English teachers can position titles in the DC Graphic Novel for Young Adults in English classrooms to develop students’ racial literacies.

This paper provides an analysis of superhero comics produced specifically for adolescent readers and written by an intentional racially diverse cohort of authors. The methodology can inform future studies of graphic novels for adolescent readers.

This paper aims to shed light on the threats that young people living in refugee camps face in their use of Facebook. While social media enable a participatory process of communication (Russo et al., 2008), which is based on the agency of the communicator and defined by their own cultural and moral goals (Lee et al., 2023), these platforms can at times be inappropriately pursued if the communicator lacks relevant skills. The outcome of such a pursuit can also inadvertently damage social cohesion in the camp and lead to conflict.

A total of 17 semi-structured interviews were carried out in 2023 with young people between the ages of 20 and 29 living in Kakuma refugee camp. The young refugees were asked questions related to their own behaviour and practices on Facebook and to those of their peers. The focus was specifically on the context of the interactions with other youth in Kakuma and on the camp’s Facebook groups or pages.

Findings reveal that limited knowledge, understanding and awareness of the functioning and affordances of social media platforms such as Facebook are leading young refugees towards multiple risks involved in public online interactions. This has significant negative impacts not only on the lives of the youth who are active on social media in the camp but also on the relationships with their peers and overall community harmony.

A number of studies have identified some of the dangers arising for refugees operating in online spaces, and particularly on social media platforms (see, for example, Tech Transparency Project, 2022; Dekker et al., 2018). Yet, there is a lack of research on the outcomes that young refugees face in their immediate virtual and physical environment as a result of their online behaviour. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to bring to light the nature of the interactions and the dynamics that young, encamped refugees engage in on Facebook and to offer useful reflections that can inform digital literacy efforts carried out by development agencies.

Coastal and marine tourism (CMT) is facing environmental challenges that may prove critical in the near future. A shift towards sustainable approaches is required. Investigating the approach of today’s youth, who represent an important segment of the general and tourist populations, can foster this change. The aim of this study is to investigate the knowledge, opinions, attitudes and behaviour among the Italian Gen Z in relation to coastal and marine environments and the sustainability of CMT and to perform a segmentation of young people’s profiles.

A survey of 778 students was performed. Descriptive statistics, tests and cluster analyses were applied.

Two-thirds of the participants are convinced that tourism activities may interfere with the protection of marine and coastal environments. Likewise, they are largely convinced that the quality of these environments could affect tourism. The respondents’ environmental behaviour is mainly related to the issues of litter and single-use plastics. Gender and area of residence significantly affect the respondents’ knowledge of marine sustainability topics, some of their behavioural attitudes and their future perspectives. The educational field is significant for many phenomena. The cluster analysis detected five groups, ranging from a distant profile to one more interested in sustainable marine tourism whose members are involved and have a strong environmental attitude.

The study gives an original contribution to the literature on generational cohorts and young people’s perspectives on future scenarios of sustainable coastal and marine tourism.

Food waste among young consumers is a significant concern that threatens food sustainability due to consumption behaviour. This study has integrated the Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour to extend the Theory of Planned Behaviour to measure young consumer’s intention to reduce food waste in a developing country context. Bringing in emotion, habits, and facilitating conditions to predict the consumers' attitudes, this study assesses the intention to reduce food waste for corporate sustainability from the perspective of consumption.

Using a quantitative approach and purposive sampling, 205 samples were collected from the young generation aged 18 to 30, who frequently have meals at home. The PLS-SEM technique was employed to examine the hypothesised model.

The findings supported all the hypotheses mentioned where attitudes, subjective norms (SN) and perceived behavioural control (PBC) affect the intention to reduce food waste among young consumers. Furthermore, the other variables, namely, habits, emotions and facilitating conditions, also significantly impact the attitudes of the young generation.

Understanding young consumers' food waste behaviour is vital from the social, economic, and environmental perspectives. This study showcases a comprehensive food waste behaviour model among young consumers by integrating the Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour and the Theory of Planned Behaviour to examine the intention to minimise food waste. Practically, this study offers insights to business practitioners and communities in managing food waste from the young consumer perspective. Socially, this study supports the United Nations' (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 12 by contributing to global food waste reduction efforts.

This exploratory pilot study investigated the experiences and perceptions of young people who use N₂O recreationally. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first qualitative research conducted in Australia with young people investigating this topic in detail. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore young people’s perceptions, motives and experiences of N₂O use by exploring the positive and negative effects of N₂O, motives for use, practices and methods and suggested advice to help define targeted harm reduction messages.

Participants were recruited via hard copy posters, social media advertisements and snowball sampling. Seven in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people aged between 18 and 25 years who had used N₂O on at least ten occasions. The interview transcripts were analysed thematically. The study was completed in accordance with COREQ for qualitative research.

The findings identified four overarching themes about N₂O use: the nature of N₂O use; the appeal of N₂O; influences on N₂O use; and perception of risk and harms of N₂O use.

Young people in the study described their experiences as being largely pleasurable. However, several identified negative impacts, although harms, were primarily disregarded. Exploration of N₂O effects alongside other substance use highlighted how N₂O is a unique substance and should be considered as such when developing harm reduction strategies.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced at a rapid pace in the 21st century, and this has had a profound impact on many facets of human behavior, most notably the attitudes toward sustainable consumption and the lifestyles of consumers. Young consumers are at the forefront of AI technology adoption due to their upbringing in an era dominated by technological advancements, and these technologies are changing the way they engage with brands, make purchases and practice sustainability. This research paper aims to investigate the influence of AI on sustainable consumption behavior and lifestyle choices among young consumers.

This research study examines the complex effects of AI on young consumers using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 model. This study addresses the intricacies and issues related to AI, such as the risk of overconsumption and the environmental impact of AI technologies, while also examining how AI-driven tailored experiences improve consumer engagement and promote sustainability. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate the hypotheses and produce solid insights into the connections between consumer behavior, sustainable consumption and the adoption of AI.

The results highlight the necessity of adopting AI in a balanced manner and stress the significance of coordinating AI advancements with sustainability goals.

This study offers a significant contribution to the body of knowledge by examining the relationships between the adoption of AI, environmental consciousness and sustainable consumption. It also offers practical suggestions for encouraging consumers to engage in eco-friendly activities and responsible consumption.

This paper aims to critically review the intersection of searching and learning among children in the context of voice-based conversational agents (VCAs). This study presents the opportunities and challenges around reconfiguring current VCAs for children to facilitate human learning, generate diverse data to empower VCAs, and assess children’s learning from voice search interactions.

The scope of this paper includes children’s use of VCAs for learning purposes with an emphasis on conceptualizing their VCA use from search as learning perspectives. This study selects representative works from three areas of literature: children’s perceptions of digital devices, children’s learning and searching, and children’s search as learning. This study also includes conceptual papers and empirical studies focusing on children from 3 to 11 because this age spectrum covers a vital transitional phase in children’s ability to understand and use VCAs.

This study proposes the concept of child-centered voice search systems and provides design recommendations for imbuing contextual information, providing communication breakdown repair strategies, scaffolding information interactions, integrating emotional intelligence, and providing explicit feedback. This study presents future research directions for longitudinal and observational studies with more culturally diverse child participants.

This paper makes important contributions to the field of information and learning sciences and children’s searching as learning by proposing a new perspective where current VCAs are reconfigured as conversational voice search systems to enhance children’s learning.