2,583 research outputs found

    Developing A Road Freight Transport Performance Measurement System To Drive Sustainability:An Empirical Study Of Egyptian Road Freight Transport Companies

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    While several road freight performance measurement systems have been developed, only a limited number of quantified performance measurement frameworks encompassing diverse sets of performance metrics from multiple sustainable perspectives are available on a technological platform. These sets of metrics could be integrated as crucial performance indicators for assessing the operational performance of various road freight transport companies. These indicators include fuel efficiency, trip duration, vehicle loading, and cargo capacity. The objective of this research is to construct a conceptual road freight performance measurement framework that comprehensively incorporates performance elements from sustainable viewpoints (economic, environmental, and social), leveraging technology to measure the performance of road freight transport companies. This proposed framework aims to aid these companies in gauging their performance using technology, thus enhancing their operations towards sustainability.Within the road freight transport sector, several challenges exist, with congestion, road infrastructure maintenance, and driver training and qualifications being particularly pressing issues. The developed performance measurement framework offers the means for companies to evaluate the effects of technology integration on vehicles and overall performance. This allows companies to measure their performance from an operational standpoint rather than solely a strategic one, thereby identifying areas requiring improvement. Egypt was chosen as the empirical study location due to its relatively low level of technological integration within its road freight sector.This thesis employs an explanatory mixed methods approach, encompassing four distinct phases. The first phase entails a review to formulate the proposed theoretical performance measurement framework. Subsequently, the second phase involves conducting semi-structured interviews using a Delphi method to both develop a conceptual performance measurement framework and explore the present state of Egypt's road freight transport sector. Following this, the third phase encompasses surveys based on the results derived from Delphi analysis, involving diverse participants from the road freight transport industry. The aim is to validate the developed performance measurement framework through an empirical study conducted in Egypt. Lastly, the fourth phase centres around organizing focus groups involving stakeholders within road freight transport companies. The goal here is to propose a roadmap for implementing the developed road freight transport performance measurement framework within the Egyptian context.The primary theoretical contribution of this research is the development of a road freight transport performance measurement framework that integrates the three sustainability dimensions with technology. Additionally, this study offers practical guidance for the application of the developed framework in various countries and contexts. From a practical standpoint, this research aids road freight transport managers in evaluating their operational performance, thereby identifying challenges, devising action plans, and making informed decisions to mitigate these issues and enhance sustainability-oriented performance. Ultimately, the developed road freight transport performance measurement framework is poised to promote performance measurement aligned with technology, fostering progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals by 2030

    1st Design Factory Global Network Research Conference ‘Designing the Future’ 5-6 October 2022

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    DFGN.R 2022 -Designing the Future - is the first research conference organised by the Design Factory Global Network. The open event offers the opportunity for all like-minded educators, designers and researchers to share their insights and inspire others on education, methods, practices and ecosystems of co-creation and innovation. The DFGN.R conference is a two-day event hosted on-site in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. The conference is organized alongside International Design Factory Week 2022, the annual gathering of DFGN members. This year's conference is organized in collaboration with Aalto University from Helsinki Finland and hosted by the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences

    Management strategies and contributory factors for resistance exercise-induced muscle damage: an exploration of dietary protein, exercise load, and sex

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    The World Health Organisation recommends that resistance exercise be performed at least twice per week to benefit general health and wellbeing. However, resistance exercise is associated with acute muscle damage that potentially can dampen muscle adaptations promoted by chronic resistance training. The extent to which muscle is damaged by exercise is influenced by various factors, including age, training status, exercise type, and – notable to this thesis – sex. To this end, establishing sex-specific management strategies for exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) is important to optimise the benefits of exercise. Two EIMD management strategies were focussed on in this thesis: dietary protein supplementation and exercise load manipulation. It was identified in this thesis that research into the impact both of protein supplementation and exercise load on EIMD heavily underrepresent female populations (chapters 3 and 5), despite well-documented sex differences in EIMD responses. Therefore, future research priority should be placed on bridging the sex data gap by conducting high-quality studies centralising around female-focussed and sex-comparative methodological designs. Both peri-exercise protein supplementation and exercise load manipulation in favour of lighter loads were revealed to be effective management strategies for resistance EIMD in males through systematic and scoping review of the current literature (chapters 3 and 5, respectively). Due to a lack of data from females, it is only appropriate for these strategies to be recommended for males at present. To decipher whether protein supplementation and lower exercise loads are beneficial for managing EIMD in females, a randomised controlled trial (RCT) (chapter 4) and a protocol for an RCT (chapter 6) involving male and female participants are presented in this thesis. The incorporation of ecologically-valid resistance exercise in the RCT in chapter 4 highlighted that even mild muscle damage is attenuated in females, reflected in diminished increases in post-exercise creatine kinase concentration and muscle soreness compared with males; however, the reason for this difference requires further investigation. This study, while supporting sex differences, contrasted previous studies, as neither males nor females experienced an attenuation of EIMD during milk protein supplementation. This difference likely owed to the lower severity of muscle damage induced in the current study relative to previous studies, and accordingly, future research should seek to discover alternative management strategies for mild EIMD. A protocol for an RCT examining the impact of exercise load on EIMD in untrained males and females is described in Chapter 6 of this thesis and may be used as guidance for researchers developing similar, sex-comparative studies. It was hypothesised that females will experience attenuated muscle damage relative to males and low-load exercise will induce less muscle damage than high-load exercise in both sexes. A lack of methodological consistency among EIMD studies was a recurring finding throughout this thesis, which posed an issue when attempting to compare between-study outcomes and reach a consensus. Achieving greater uniformity in study designs by adopting comparable methods relating to EIMD markers and time-points of assessment would help improve understanding of the factors influencing the magnitude of EIMD and effective management strategies. While there are limitations with several EIMD markers – for example the variability of biomarkers and subjectivity of perceptual assessments – once the optimal markers are determined, these should be consistently used moving forward. Overall, this thesis has contributed to the current body of knowledge by demonstrating that milk protein ingestion is not an effective management strategy for muscle damage following ecologically-valid resistance exercise; therefore, alternative strategies to mitigate mild muscle damage should be investigated. Further, this work supported previous reports of sex differences in EIMD and indicated that the attenuation of EIMD in females relative to males was not attributed to sex differences in body composition; thus, the aetiology of such differences necessitates further exploration by means of high-quality sex comparative research. Finally, this thesis reached the consensus recommendation that lower exercise loads can be utilised to reduce muscle damage in males; nonetheless, supporting evidence for the application of this recommendation to females is required

    Innovation in Energy Security and Long-Term Energy Efficiency Ⅱ

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    The sustainable development of our planet depends on the use of energy. The increasing world population inevitably causes an increase in the demand for energy, which, on the one hand, threatens us with the potential to encounter a shortage of energy supply, and, on the other hand, causes the deterioration of the environment. Therefore, our task is to reduce this demand through different innovative solutions (i.e., both technological and social). Social marketing and economic policies can also play their role by affecting the behavior of households and companies and by causing behavioral change oriented to energy stewardship, with an overall switch to renewable energy resources. This reprint provides a platform for the exchange of a wide range of ideas, which, ultimately, would facilitate driving societies toward long-term energy efficiency

    Ergonomics in laparoscopic surgery: a work system analysis to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders across surgeons in Peruvian hospitals

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    Laparoscopic surgery, also called minimally invasive surgery, is a type of surgery in which the surgeon operates by viewing the surgery on a screen that projects images from a camera inserted into the patient's abdomen. Laparoscopic tools are long (usually up to 35 cm) and require fine motor skills and visual perception for manipulation, restricting the degrees of freedom to move within the patient. This restriction causes surgeons to operate with limited vision and restricted movement and force them to work with assistants who assist in conducting the cameras, acting as "the surgeons' eyes". Because of its minimally invasive nature, laparoscopic surgery is well accepted by patients but is challenging and complex for the surgeon. This is due to the restriction of movement and perception that forces surgeons to adopt awkward postures with high exposition, which increases the likelihood of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSD). WRMSDs are detrimental to surgeons' health and potentially may impact patient safety. Studies often highlight the problems of surgeons in high-income countries, whose solutions and clinical guides often cannot be applied to countries like Peru, which have severe deficiencies in its healthcare system. For this reason, the thesis proposes a contextualised investigation of the Peruvian surgical work system to investigate the main factors contributing to the development of WRMSD in laparoscopic surgeons, which may affect patient safety. The analysis aimed to propose possible recommendations to support redesigning the laparoscopic surgery work system in Peruvian hospitals. Five studies were developed to achieve the aims based on the Systems Engineering Initiative for patient safety model, an ergonomics model for healthcare systems analysis. The first three studies were developed parallel with a mixed convergent design approach concluding in an integrating study. The last two studies (study four and five) had a quantitative approach. The first study used a qualitative approach by collecting information through interviews with laparoscopic surgeons and observing their work in real surgeries. The second study adopted a quantitative approach through a questionnaire-based survey applied to 140 surgeons in Peru. The third study analysed the extent to which the postures adopted by surgeons in real surgeries increase the risk of WRMSD and their association with factors in the work system using the RULA method. The results of the three studies were integrated into an integrative study, concluding that the raised height of the operating table and other system factors related to tasks, person and technology raises the risk of WRMSD. Based on these results, the fourth study analysed the relationship between surgeons and operating tables to understand how many surgeons could reach suitable working heights. The study concluded that no operating table available in Peruvian hospitals nor in the market would be suitable for 90% of Peruvian surgeons. The tables were too high to accommodate surgeons with optimal working surface height to perform laparoscopic surgery. Then, a fifth study was conducted to determine an acceptable working height based on surgeon preferences and system factors and concluded that surgeons would accept a working height between 49 cm to 70 cm in height, which is lower than current operating tables. The lowest height was reached when surgeons had to operate on obese patients and perform intracorporeal suturing tasks. Finally, the thesis concludes with recommendations for redesigning working heights for 90% of the Peruvian medical population, considering work system elements of the Peruvian context

    Summer/Fall 2023

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    Modern meat: the next generation of meat from cells

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    Modern Meat is the first textbook on cultivated meat, with contributions from over 100 experts within the cultivated meat community. The Sections of Modern Meat comprise 5 broad categories of cultivated meat: Context, Impact, Science, Society, and World. The 19 chapters of Modern Meat, spread across these 5 sections, provide detailed entries on cultivated meat. They extensively tour a range of topics including the impact of cultivated meat on humans and animals, the bioprocess of cultivated meat production, how cultivated meat may become a food option in Space and on Mars, and how cultivated meat may impact the economy, culture, and tradition of Asia

    Grounds for a Third Place : The Starbucks Experience, Sirens, and Space

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    My goal in this dissertation is to help demystify or “filter” the “Starbucks Experience” for a post-pandemic world, taking stock of how a multi-national company has long outgrown its humble beginnings as a wholesale coffee bean supplier to become a digitally-integrated and hypermodern café. I look at the role Starbucks plays within the larger cultural history of the coffee house and also consider how Starbucks has been idyllically described in corporate discourse as a comfortable and discursive “third place” for informal gathering, a term that also prescribes its own radical ethos as a globally recognized customer service platform. Attempting to square Starbucks’ iconography and rhetoric with a new critical methodology, in a series of interdisciplinary case studies, I examine the role Starbucks’ “third place” philosophy plays within larger conversations about urban space and commodity culture, analyze Starbucks advertising, architecture and art, and trace the mythical rise of the Starbucks Siren (and the reiterations and re-imaginings of the Starbucks Siren in art and media). While in corporate rhetoric Starbucks’ “third place” is depicted as an enthralling adventure, full of play, discovery, authenticity, or “romance,” I draw on critical theory to discuss how it operates today as a space of distraction, isolation, and loss

    Energy Supplies in the Countries from the Visegrad Group

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    The purpose of this Special Issue was to collect and present research results and experiences on energy supply in the Visegrad Group countries. This research considers both macroeconomic and microeconomic aspects. It was important to determine how the V4 countries deal with energy management, how they have undergone or are undergoing energy transformation and in what direction they are heading. The articles concerned aspects of the energy balance in the V4 countries compared to the EU, including the production of renewable energy, as well as changes in its individual sectors (transport and food production). The energy efficiency of low-emission vehicles in public transport and goods deliveries are also discussed, as well as the energy efficiency of farms and energy storage facilities and the impact of the energy sector on the quality of the environment
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