6,746 research outputs found

    Evaluating the sustainability and resiliency of local food systems

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    With an ever-rising global population and looming environmental challenges such as climate change and soil degradation, it is imperative to increase the sustainability of food production. The drastic rise in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic has further shown a pressing need to increase the resiliency of food systems. One strategy to reduce the dependence on complex, vulnerable global supply chains is to strengthen local food systems, such as by producing more food in cities. This thesis uses an interdisciplinary, food systems approach to explore aspects of sustainability and resiliency within local food systems. Lifecycle assessment (LCA) was used to evaluate how farm scale, distance to consumer, and management practices influence environmental impacts for different local agriculture models in two case study locations: Georgia, USA and England, UK. Farms were grouped based on urbanisation level and management practices, including: urban organic, peri-urban organic, rural organic, and rural conventional. A total of 25 farms and 40 crop lifecycles were evaluated, focusing on two crops (kale and tomatoes) and including impacts from seedling production through final distribution to the point of sale. Results were extremely sensitive to the allocation of composting burdens (decomposition emissions), with impact variation between organic farms driven mainly by levels of compost use. When composting burdens were attributed to compost inputs, the rural conventional category in the U.S. and the rural organic category in the UK had the lowest average impacts per kg sellable crop produced, including the lowest global warming potential (GWP). However, when subtracting avoided burdens from the municipal waste stream from compost inputs, trends reversed entirely, with urban or peri-urban farm categories having the lowest impacts (often negative) for GWP and marine eutrophication. Overall, farm management practices were the most important factor driving environmental impacts from local food supply chains. A soil health assessment was then performed on a subset of the UK farms to provide insight to ecosystem services that are not captured within LCA frameworks. Better soil health was observed in organically-farmed and uncultivated soils compared to conventionally farmed soils, suggesting higher ecosystem service provisioning as related to improved soil structure, flood mitigation, erosion control, and carbon storage. However, relatively high heavy metal concentrations were seen on urban and peri-urban farms, as well as those located in areas with previous mining activity. This implies that there are important services and disservices on farms that are not captured by LCAs. Zooming out from a focus on food production, a qualitative methodology was used to explore experiences of food insecurity and related health and social challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourteen individuals receiving emergency food parcels from a community food project in Sheffield, UK were interviewed. Results showed that maintaining food security in times of crisis requires a diverse set of individual, household, social, and place-based resources, which were largely diminished or strained during the pandemic. Drawing upon social capital and community support was essential to cope with a multiplicity of hardship, highlighting a need to develop community food infrastructure that supports ideals of mutual aid and builds connections throughout the food supply chain. Overall, this thesis shows that a range of context-specific solutions are required to build sustainable and resilient food systems. This can be supported by increasing local control of food systems and designing strategies to meet specific community needs, whilst still acknowledging a shared global responsibility to protect ecosystem, human, and planetary health

    Research of Business Information Solution Vendors for Company Digital Transformation

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    Znanstvena monografija Raziskava ponudnikov poslovnih informacijskih rešitev za digitalno transformacijo podjetij obravnava področje trajnostne digitalne preozbrazbe, na katero vpliva tako izbira tehnološke platforme kot tudi informacijska arhitektura digitaliziranih organizacij. Evropska unija (EU) je opredelila digitalno preobrazbo kot eno od ključnih področij razvoja. Evropska komisija je oblikovala in objavila vizijo in smernice za digitalno preobrazbo, ki vključujejo tudi cilje EU na področju digitalne preobrazbe. EU se tudi zaveda izzivov, povezanih z onesnaževanjem in podnebnimi spremembami, ki jih onesnaževanje povzroča, ter njihove povezanosti z digitalno preobrazbo. EU je objavila “European Green Deal”, ki temelji na konceptih trajnostnega razvoja Združenih narodov. Celovita trajnostno usmerjena obravnava digitalne preobrazbe tako vključuje združitev poslovnih procesov in digitalnih tehnologij v digitalizirano poslovanje. Zato je v prvem delu znanstvene monografije poudarek na digitalni preobrazbi in odgovorih na vprašanje, kako lahko informacijske tehnologije in informacijske rešitve vplivajo na trajnostni razvoj podjetij in družbe. V drugem delu znanstvene monografije je opredeljen sodoben koncept informacijske arhitekture digitaliziranih organizacij. Pomembno vlogo pri digitalni preobrazbi organizacij imajo poslovne informacijske rešitve, ki jih organizacije uporabljajo za informacijsko podporo svojih poslovnih procesov in delovnih tokov. Najpomembnejši predstavnik poslovnih informacijskih rešitev so celovite informacijske rešitve (rešitve ERP). Poleg teh pa v skupino poslovnih informacijskih rešitev uvrščamo tudi rešitve za upravljanje odnosov s strankami (rešitve CRM), rešitve za upravljanje dokumentnih sistemov (rešitve DMS), rešitve digitalnega marketinga ter mnoge druge. Za omenjene poslovne informacijske rešitve so v drugem delu znanstvene monografije opisane opredelitve in njihove značilnosti, ponudniki teh poslovnih informacijskih rešitev in podrobnejši opis posameznih poslovnih informacijskih rešitev, prisotnih na slovenskem trgu. Tako si lahko bralec za vsak sklop raziskanih informacijskih rešitev ustvari začetni vtis o uporabnosti posameznih rešitev za posamezno podjetje oz. organizacijo.The scientific monograph "A Study of Business Information Solutions Providers for Digital Transformation of Companies" addresses sustainable digital transformation, which is influenced by both the choice of technological platforms and the information architecture of digitized organizations. The European Union (EU) has identified digital transformation as one of the key areas of development. The European Commission has formulated and published a vision and guidelines for digital transformation, including EU goals in the field of digital transformation. The EU is also aware of the challenges related to pollution and climate change caused by pollution and their connection to digital transformation. The EU has published the "European Green Deal," which is based on the concepts of sustainable development of the United Nations (European Commission, 2021b). A comprehensive sustainability-oriented approach to digital transformation thus involves integrating business processes and digital technologies into digitized business operations. Therefore, the first part of the scientific monograph focuses on digital transformation and addresses how information technologies and solutions can impact the sustainable development of companies and society. In the second part of the scientific monograph, the modern concept of information architecture of digitized organizations is defined. Business information solutions play an important role in the digital transformation of organizations, as organizations use them for information support of their business processes and workflows. The most important representative of business information solutions is the comprehensive information solution (ERP solution). In addition, solutions for customer relationship management (CRM solutions), document management system solutions (DMS solutions), digital marketing solutions, and many others are classified as business information solutions. The second part of the scientific monograph describes the definitions and characteristics of these business information solutions and the providers of these solutions. It provides a detailed description of individual business information solutions available in the Slovenian market. Thus, the reader can gain an initial impression of the usefulness of individual solutions for a particular company or organization for each group of researched information solutions

    Ethnographies of Collaborative Economies across Europe: Understanding Sharing and Caring

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    "Sharing economy" and "collaborative economy" refer to a proliferation of initiatives, business models, digital platforms and forms of work that characterise contemporary life: from community-led initiatives and activist campaigns, to the impact of global sharing platforms in contexts such as network hospitality, transportation, etc. Sharing the common lens of ethnographic methods, this book presents in-depth examinations of collaborative economy phenomena. The book combines qualitative research and ethnographic methodology with a range of different collaborative economy case studies and topics across Europe. It uniquely offers a truly interdisciplinary approach. It emerges from a unique, long-term, multinational, cross-European collaboration between researchers from various disciplines (e.g., sociology, anthropology, geography, business studies, law, computing, information systems), career stages, and epistemological backgrounds, brought together by a shared research interest in the collaborative economy. This book is a further contribution to the in-depth qualitative understanding of the complexities of the collaborative economy phenomenon. These rich accounts contribute to the painting of a complex landscape that spans several countries and regions, and diverse political, cultural, and organisational backdrops. This book also offers important reflections on the role of ethnographic researchers, and on their stance and outlook, that are of paramount interest across the disciplines involved in collaborative economy research

    A two-step methodology for product platform design and assessment in high-variety manufacturing

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    The delayed product differentiation (DPD) recently rose as a hybrid production strategy able to overcome the main limits of make to stock (MTS) and make to order (MTO), guaranteeing the management of high variety and keeping low storage cost and quick response time by using the so-called product platforms. These platforms are a set of sub-systems forming a common structure from which a set of derivative variants can be efficiently produced. Platforms are manufactured and stocked following an MTS strategy. Then, they are customized into different variants, following an MTO strategy. Current literature proposes methods for platform design mainly using optimization techniques, which usually have a high computational complexity for efficiently managing real-size industrial instances in the modern mass customization era. Hence, efficient algorithms need to be developed to manage the product platforms design for such instances. To fill this gap, this paper proposes a two-step methodology for product platforms design and assessment in high-variety manufacturing. The design step involves the use of a novel modified algorithm for solving the longest common subsequence (LCS) problem and of the k-medoids clustering for the identification of the platform structure and the assignment of the variants to the platforms. The platforms are then assessed against a set of industrial and market metrics, i.e. the MTS cost, the variety, the customer responsiveness, and the variants production cost. The evaluation of the platform set against such a combined set of drivers enhancing both company and market perspectives is missing in the literature. A real case study dealing with the manufacturing of a family of valves exemplifies the efficiency of the methodology in supporting companies in managing high-variety to best balance the proposed metrics

    Green hydrogen production site validation and supply chain simulation and analysis: a case study of Lough Ree power plant

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    Green hydrogen is generated from electrolyzing water with electricity from renewable sources. Thus, green hydrogen production has no carbon emissions and it releases oxygen and water into the environment. It can be a replacement for fossil fuels and mitigates the energy demand. Although green hydrogen technology is still on a small scale or in the pilot phase, the demand for green hydrogen has grown in recent years. This thesis study will be conducted on a closed coal power plant that is proposed for transformation into a green hydrogen production site to mitigate the hydrogen demand in Ireland. One of the aims of the study is production site validation by comparing selected sites with an Ideal production site model. The ideal site model has been developed from literature and comparison has been performed under location, social, and technical criteria. The result shows that discussed site is valid as a production site except it is far from wind firm, gas, and rail networks. Another aim is to develop various supply chain scenarios and simulate them to measure the performance metric which will help to select the best scenario. The discrete event simulation approach has been used to simulate the scenarios in Anylogistix software. The basic model has one supplier, one producer, five distribution centers, and twenty-six counties as customers. The different scenarios have been generated by varying the distribution centers. The selected performance metric is ELT service level by orders which is measured for high, moderate, and low levels of safety stock. The model is sensitive to demand variation. However, the simulation result shows that the production site is capable to satisfy the demand of midland customers and west-side customers of Ireland. That scenario has performed over 90% of ELT service level by orders for every level of safety stock. Also, they performed well for long-term (3 years) simulation and it is more economical than other scenarios. Overall, the Lough Ree power plant can supply green hydrogen with acceptable ELT service level by orders to the customers of Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Longford, Monaghan, Roscommon, Westmeath, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Offaly, and Sligo counties

    “An interval of comfort”: postamputation pain & long-term consequences of amputation in British First World War veterans, 1914-1985

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    The First World War resulted in the largest amputee cohort in history, with 41,208 amputees in the UK alone; the majority injured as young men and surviving into the late 20th century. Recent studies have estimated that significant residual limb pain affects up to 85% of military amputees: applying this figure to the First World War amputee cohort raises the possibility that up to 35,000 British veterans may have experienced chronic postamputation pain. Despite this and the fact that 13% of injuries in this conflict resulted in amputation, there has been little research into the long-term impact on veterans’ health and quality of life. Recently catalogued historical medical and pension files held at The National Archives offer the opportunity to follow up this type of injury in a large group of veterans for the first time. This thesis will use these files to document and explore long-term outcomes of amputation and chronic postamputation pain, developments made in the treatment of this condition, the impact of aging on amputee veterans and their likelihood of developing a concomitant condition from 1914 to 1985. It will examine these issues from three perspectives: that of the injured servicemen, the civil servants attempting to value and compensate those injuries, and from the clinicians’ responsible for the veterans’ medical care and rehabilitation. This research has been based on a unique model of interdisciplinary collaboration, incorporating research methods from history and clinical medicine, and will present its findings from historical material with recommendations for current practice. Given the similarities in injury patterns and prevalence of chronic residual limb, phantom and neuropathic pain between the First World War cohort and contemporary casualties, it is anticipated that the findings of the project will assist in the strategic assessment and planning for long-term pain conditions by medical staff and care providers for today’s and future blast injury amputee cohorts.Open Acces

    Practical English Course for Digital Economy

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    Пособие включает шесть тематических разделов: Economics Concepts (Основы экономики), Technology in Market Economy (Технологии в рыночной экономике), E-Business (Электронный бизнес), Digital Marketing (Цифровой маркетинг), Digital Business (Цифровой бизнес), The Future of Business (Бизнес будущего), нацеленных на совершенствование у студентов иноязычной коммуникативной компетенции в сфере профессионального общения, использование ими специфических знаний иностранного языка с учетом профессионального отраслевого дискурса. Содержит систематизированный по блокам глоссарий, ссылки на используемые аудио- и видеоматериалы, список используемых источников

    Supply chain responsibility reporting in the retail industry

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    Vastuullisen liiketoiminnan ja vastuullisuusraportoinnin merkitys on kasvanut nopeasti viime vuosikymmeninä. Tämä korostuu erityisesti vähittäiskaupan toimialalla missä kuluttajan rooli osana toimitusketjua on entistä tärkeämpi ja yhä useampi kuluttaja tekee valintansa tuotteen ja palvelun tuottajan vastuullisuuden perusteella. Vastuullisuusraportointi on tapa jolla yritykset viestivät vastuullisuudestaan. Tässä tutkielmassa tarkastellaan sitä, millainen kuva vähittäiskauppayritysten toimitusketjujen vastuullisuudesta syntyy niiden julkaisemien vastuullisuusraporttien välityksellä. Tutkimus toteutettiin tarkastelemalla viiden suomalaisen ja viiden ruotsalaisen vähittäiskaupan toimialalla toimivan listatun yrityksen vastuullisuusraportteja vuosilta 2017 ja 2021. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin sitä, miten tutkielman teoriaosassa rakennetun teoreettisen, vastuullisia toimitusketjuja kuvaavan mallin teemat ilmenevät yritysten vastuullisuusraporteissa. Tutkimus toteutettiin laadullisena tutkimuksena, käyttäen sisältöanalyysiä tutkimusmenetelmänä. Empiirinen analyysi toteutettiin hyödyntämällä Leximancer ohjelmistoa. Kun sisältöanalyysin tuloksia vertailtiin vastuullista toimitusketjua kuvaavaan teoreettiseen viitekehykseen, havaittiin että tärkeimmäksi konseptiksi nousi hankinta ja että tähän liittyviä keskeisimpiä teemoja olivat raaka-aineet, tuotteen alkuperä ja työvoimaa koskevat käytänteet. Toisaalta, tuotanto ja kiertotalous eivät nousseet merkittäviksi konseptekisi vähittäiskaupan yritysten vastuullisuusraporteissa, vaikka ne muuten ovat keskeinen osa vastuullista toimitusketjua. Kun tuloksia tarkastellaan kokonaisuutena, vaikuttaa siltä että vähittäiskaupan yritysten toimitusketjuja ei hallinnoida yhtenäisenä ketjuna. Sen sijaan joitain osa-alueita painotetaan huomattavasti enemmän kuin toisia. Tämä on vastoin yleistä kirjallisuudessa esitettyä näkemystä, jonka mukaan toimitusketjuja pitäisi optimoida kokonaisuutena. Tutkielman tulosten perusteella voisikin suositella, että vähittäiskaupan alan yritykset painottaisivat raporteissaan enemmän esimerkiksi kiertotalouden ja tuotannon vastuullisuuden tärkeyttä
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