Welcome to WIRE
(Wolverhampton Intellectual Repository and E-Theses)
WIRE is an open access repository for the research publications and other outputs from postgraduate students and staff at the University of Wolverhampton.
Wolverhampton staff: to deposit your publication to WIRE, go to: https://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/research/wire/
Use the search box above or the browse function on the left to discover publications from the research community at the University of Wolverhampton.
University students and staff can also search WIRE using LibrarySearch
For further information or help, contact the Scholarly Communications Team at wire@wlv.ac.uk
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Model for products positioning in emerging markets: a case of resources seeking Chinese firms in NigeriaThe Go Global initiatives of the Chinese government to encourage Chinese firms to be strategic players in the global business environment have attracted scholarship interest over the years. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of studies focusing specifically on the positioning strategies of Chinese firms in emerging markets. Hence, this study explores this research gap using the Nigerian Business environment as the contextual platform. It uses data from complementary sources of case study and in-depth interviews conducted with some of the key stakeholders such as respondents from resource-seeking Chinese firms, top management personnel of Chinese firms in Lagos and Beijing, government officials and some participants from non-Chinese firms in Nigeria. Findings show that Chinese products in Nigeria are positioned through four key factors which are affordability, availability, maintainability, and unavoidability. Accordingly, the focus of the firms in emerging countries as evident in the Nigerian case is to make the products affordable, easily maintainable, and widely available to consumers such that they consider it unavoidable. The data revealed that BTA provisions between the countries facilitated these key themes. The paper provides a valuable framework that unpacks the positioning strategy of Chinese market offerings in emerging markets.
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The role of depressive symptoms and social support in the association of internet addiction with non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents: a cohort study in ChinaBackground: Both internet addiction (IA) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) are major public health concerns among adolescents, however, the association between IA and NSSI was not well understood. We aimed to investigate the association between IA and NSSI within a cohort study, and explore the mediated effect of depressive symptoms and the moderating effect of social support in the association. Methods: A total of 1530 adolescents aged 11–14 years who completed both the baseline (T1) and 14-month follow-up (T2) survey of the Chinese Adolescent Health Growth Cohort were included for the current analysis. IA, NSSI, depressive symptoms and social support were measured at T1; depressive symptoms and NSSI were measured again at T2. Structural equation models were employed to estimate the mediated effect of depressive symptoms and the moderating effect of social support in the association between IA and NSSI at T2. Results: IA was independently associated with an increased risk of NSSI at T2, with the total effect of 0.113 (95%CI 0.055–0.174). Depressive symptoms mediated the association between IA and NSSI at T2, and social support moderated the indirect but not the direct effect of IA on NSSI at T2. Sex differences were found on the mediated effect of depressive symptoms and the moderated mediation effect of social support. Conclusions: Interventions that target adolescents’ NSSI who also struggle with IA may need to focus on reducing depressive symptoms and elevating social support.
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Impact of PM2.5 exposure in old age and its interactive effect with smoking on incidence of diabetesPurpose: To determine the impact of PM2.5 exposure in old age and its interactive effect with smoking on incident diabetes. Methods: A total of 2766 participants aged ≥60 years in China were interviewed at baseline for disease risk factors in 2001–03 and were then followed up for 10 years to document incident diabetes. They were assessed for daily PM2.5 exposure in 2005. Multivariate Cox regression models were used to examine the association of PM2.5 exposure with incident diabetes and interactive effect between PM2.5 and smoking on incident diabetes. Results: During the cohort follow-up, 176 participants developed diabetes. The incidence of diabetes increased with PM2.5 exposure; the multiple-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of diabetes was 2.27 (95 % CI 1.36–3.77) in participants with PM2.5 at ≥62.0 μg/m3 compared to those at <62.0 μg/m3. There was a significant interaction effect of PM2.5 with smoking on increased risk of diabetes. The adjusted HR for participants exposed to PM2.5 levels ≥62.0 μg/m3 who smoked was 4.39 (95 % CI 1.72–11.21), while for non-smokers it was 1.65 (95 % CI 0.88–3.09), compared to those at <62.0 μg/m3. Conclusions: Exposure to PM2.5 in old age was associated with an increased incidence of diabetes and smoking enhanced the impact of PM2.5 on diabetic risk. These findings underscore the urgent need for air quality improvement measures and smoking cessation programs to mitigate the risk of diabetes in aging populations.
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Association of social capital with self-perceived eHealth literacy among community-dwelling older people: Age and gender differencesBackground: Studies have confirmed that social factors, including social capital and eHealth literacy, are important in later life. Currently, few studies are available for determining the relationship between social capital and eHealth literacy, and whether such a relationship exists among older people and there are age and gender differences in the relationship remain unclear. Consequently, this study aimed to investigate the association between social capital and eHealth literacy, specifically examing its variations in age and gender. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 4,257 residents aged ≥ 60 years and dwelling in the community was conducted across four cities in China. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on general characteristics, socioeconomic status, social capital, and eHealth literacy. Generalized linear models were employed to assess these associations. Results: There were 4,218 respondents (age 71.9 ± 7.2 years; 64.8% women). Overall, social participation, social connection, trust, cohesion, and reciprocity were all statistically associated with eHealth literacy (p < 0.05), while such an association was not observed for social support (p > 0.05). Specifically, a higher level of social participation was associated with better eHealth literacy scores among participants aged 70–79 years (p < 0.001), and a higher level of social connection was associated with better eHealth literacy scores for those aged 60–69 and 70–79 years (p < 0.001). Meanwhile, no gender differences in the associations were found. Conclusion: There is an association between social capital and eHealth literacy in older men and women. The association varis with age. The findings provide a reference for developing targeted measures to improve self-perceived eHealth literacy among older people. It is essential for achieving active and healthy aging and developing the knowledge and understanding of relevant theories, concepts, and evidence within the field of health and social capital.