What value do consumers really expect from Product Service Systems? : Reflections on how a different conception of value could facilitate the implementation of PSS in consumer markets

Purpose – This paper explores how PSS may create value in consumer markets in urban environment and how consumers value PSS beyond a narrow focus on functionality. Design/ methodology/approach – Within a case study of a use orientated PSS based on baby products, we conducted ten ethnographic interviews of current users of the scheme. Findings – Our data gives evidence that some of these products are important possessions for consumers’ identity construction. In contrast with highly visible products such as push-chairs, however, baby cots and car seats are seen by consumers from a more utilitarian perspective. Practical implications – The design of a PSS provision around products which are highly symbolic is problematic because of a need to fully understand the complex symbolism and hedonic value consumers attribute to these products. Originality /value – We fill a gap in PSS research by adopting a constructivist perspective to explore the multidimensional value consumers co-create around a baby products PSS.Non peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Assurance of quality and the accessibility of public spaces under current legislation

This paper focuses on the issue of accessibility and the quality of public space, particularly its barrier - free use and relation to current Czech legislation. The legislative framework should help reshape theoretical knowledge and contemplations of this issue into live practice, which is met with varying success. Important factors in this field include the continuity of the legislative environment and specifics for the given region (primarily in the border regions where there is a collision of the "domestic" and "foreign" legal environments)

Experiencing mobility in underground transport systems.

A liveable city requires accessible transport systems to serve a diverse range of people; otherwise, citizens may find parts of the city inaccessible. Socio-economic consequences of severance are well known, however the impact of what the author names as ‘vertical severance’ (VS) appears less understood, owing to the relatively recent introduction of step-free underground stations. This paper explains What attitudes and issues caused VS. So What were the implications and actionable insights of VS within the context of liveability within cities, and What Next. To serve a diverse population recommendations include incorporating new design procedures, and new design ideas for existing and new stations. Furthermore, VS could become a measure that describes the how liveable a city is for people of all ages and abilities. In conclusion, a sustainable vision for People Centred Mobility in Liveable Cities requires zero VS within stations and other transport systems

Why do Women Choose to Bed-Share With Their Infants?

In the early 1990s, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) initiated Back to Sleep to decrease infant mortality from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). A decline in SIDS followed; however, accidental deaths from asphyxiation, overlaying, falls, and suffocation increased. Classified as Sudden Unexplained Infant Deaths (SUID), these deaths occurred more frequently in infants who bed-shared. To minimize the risk of SUID, the AAP released guidelines in 2011 advising against bed-sharing. However, despite the new guidelines, bedsharing rates remain near 50%. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to examine why women bed-share. The author found better sleep, breastfeeding, closeness, convenience, and safety as frequent reasons for bed-sharing. Less commonly found were culture and financial limitations. A greater understanding of the reasons women bed-share can help providers discuss this issue with parents, guide interventions to reduce bed-sharing, and improve compliance with AAP guidelines

EFFECTS OF FOOD ASSISTANCE AND NUTRITION PROGRAMS ON NUTRITION AND HEALTH, VOLUME 2, DATA SOURCES

This is the second of four reports completed by Abt Associates Inc., under the contract "The Nutrition and Health Outcome Study." This report is an evaluation of various data sources for their potential for analyzing the impacts of USDA's food assistance and nutrition programs (FANPs). Data sources are evaluated against three criteria: coverage of both program participants and nonparticipants; identification of participants and determination of eligibility among nonparticipants; and availability of impact measures. Each data source is classified into one of four categories: principal, potential, recognized, and insufficient. Principal and potential sources are discussed and profiled in this report.USDA Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs, data sources, program participation, nutrition outcomes, health outcomes, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty,

Cultural accessible pedestrian ways. The case of Faro historic centre

In a historic city the existence of accessible pedestrian routes constitutes an essential feature to a true access to culture heritage, contributing for processes of social inclusion. It is necessary to create accessible pedestrian infrastructures network to hold a set of attributes that guarantee usability for all citizens. The creation and design of an accessible physical environment should be considered as a criterion of urban quality, which will make walking more pleasant not only for the elderly and people with disabilities but, also, for the entire resident population and tourists. In this case study it is ascertainable whether the physical characteristics of pedestrian infrastructures of cultural interest, located in the Historical Centre of Faro (Portugal), comply with the requirements of the National Law of Accessibility. There has, therefore, been created a methodology for evaluating the accessibility of pedestrian infrastructure through the construction of performance indicators. The analysis is achieved through a model of evaluation of the degree of conformity of the spaces, and presented, spatially, with appeal to a Geographical Information System, which is a tool to support the decision taking in the processes of urban rehabilitation, thus contributing to the choice of priority areas of intervention in the field of accessibility. The diagnosis confirms the existence of inaccessible pedestrian infrastructure and concludes the need to trigger processes of urban renovation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An evaluation of the Sure Start Widnes Trailblazer pampering group

This project report discusses an evaluation of the pampering group of the Widnes Sure Start Widnes Trailblazer programme. The pampering group is a weekly service of health and beauty tratments to parents and parents-to-be, as well as informal advice from other parents and professionals about childbirth and child rearing in order to support parents during pregnancy and a baby's first year.The report was comissioned by Sure start Widnes Trailblazer and funded by Halton Borough Council

Journeys in the City: Empathising With the Users of Transport Buildings

Accessibility is a considerable and growing issue in the design of many public buildings including vital high use buildings such as train stations. Yet research methods for these buildings are poor. This paper suggests that one new approach to design is to use immersive, auto-ethnographic methods to achieve an empathetic understanding of design needs. The paper asks: what can we learn about the mobility requirements of station users when we are immersed in a train station environment, and what mobile research methods can we use to begin to explore this? The paper reports on a study that used video diaries to explore Canary Wharf Station in a November evening rush hour in dry conditions, and specifically to study passenger behaviours on an island platform within the station. The analysis focused on how to improve mobility in the station from a user’s perspective. This use of auto-ethnography is discussed as part of a broader methodological debate about how to explore universal design issues from a user’s perspective, and in the context of empathetic desig

Symptoms of Maternal Depression: Results from the Alaska PRAMS 2012-2014 and its Three-year Follow-up Survey, CUBS 2015-2017, and Implications for Policy Design

This dissertation is an in-depth analysis of the prevalence and risk factors of maternal depression in Alaska. I study a cohort of women who gave birth in Alaska between 2012 and 2014, using statewide population-based survey data collected shortly after birth and three years after birth. Multiple regression analyses confirm previous studies’ findings that history of depression, stressful life events, and lack of social support are strong risk factors for symptoms of maternal depression (SMD). In addition, after controlling for sociodemographic, perinatal health, and psychosocial variables, first-time mothers had greater odds of reporting SMD. Age was also a significant predictor of SMD. In contrast to the U-shaped relationship between age and maternal depression shown in other studies, I observe an inverted U-shaped curve: the odds of reporting SMD are lowest for women 19 and under, increases for those 20–34, and decreases slightly for women age 35 and older. Surprisingly, teenage moms 19 years and under had the lowest odds of reporting SMD. Asian/Pacific Islander women have significantly higher odds of reporting SMD, including persistent and possibly overlooked and untreated depression three years after giving birth. Findings from this study can be used to design policy and create systems change to improve the health and well-being of mothers and families. Any strategy addressing maternal depression would require a two-pronged screening approach: (1) screening to identify women at risk of developing depression, and (2) screening for maternal depression symptoms. Further, expanding Medicaid coverage for mothers from 60 days postpartum to at least 1 year postpartum, preferably 2 years, is one strategy that may help increase opportunities for healthcare providers to treat women with maternal depression

Motherhood, mobility and materiality: Material entanglements, journey-making and the process of 'becoming mother

This paper is about the entanglements or mutually affecting engagements with the material world that occur in the course of trying to becoming mobile with a small baby. Drawing on a rigorous empirical base of 37 interviews with 20 families in East London, we analyse the relationships between discourses of parenting and the material practices of journey-making. Bringing together conceptual work on the new materialism and mobility studies, we advance the concept of mother–baby assemblages as a way to understand mobile motherhood, and consider the emotional and affective dimensions of parenting in public that emerge through journey-making. We argue that the transition to motherhood occurs in part through entanglements with the more than human in the course of becoming mobile (including matter, affects, policies and built form). We further argue that approaching motherhood from the perspective of material entanglements advances geographical scholarship by deepening our understanding of mobility as a relational practice. Finally, we extend conceptual work in Geography as a whole by showing the utility of new materialist philosophy as a means for theorising identit