UKCES: Understanding Human Centred Management

The Understanding Human Centred Management Project is a research project funded by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills to investigate the effectiveness of a behavioural framework on the communication and decision making of supply chains.The Human Centred Management project was required to solve the problem of supply chain inefficiencies brought about by unproductive human behaviours. Specifically, the project sought to used Behavioural Economics to improve the decisions made by making people aware of their illogical ‘Biases’ and ‘Heuristics’. Use of Transactional Analysis to make people more aware of their impressions and their audience to reduce antagonism in communication. Combine these methods using Behavioural Management Theory to create one unified approach which will create a 21st century solution to behavioural inefficiencies. The project primarily targeted two supply chains, led by two larger or ‘Prime’ organisations that had SME’s feeding the production process. The two supply chains underwent a number of interventions in the form of one-to-one sessions, workshops, master classes and simulations, in order to understand and influence the behavioural inefficiencies they were suffering. An Action Research methodology was used to both provide a flexible approach and also generate qualitative data. Before each intervention, questionnaire data and in some cases a behavioural health check was carried out in order to gain baseline data. Once complete the same questionnaires were completed and interviews with key participants were carried out. The interventions were a success producing a large amount of positive change and behavioural insights for analysis. Such improvements included dramatically improving the supply chain communication leading to claims of improved supply chain effectiveness over all, development of closer ties between supply chains in a geographically separated area and improved logical decision making where managers are aware of their biases and take the time to reflect on all the options. The three areas of psychology introduced proved to combine extremely well, complimenting one another’s weaker areas in order to produce the unified approach envisaged. Behavioural Economics was found to be an excellent analytical tool capable of deconstructing the root causes of behaviours. Transactional Analysis provided a suite of easily implementable and practical techniques for improving communication. Behavioural Management Theory provided a flexible approach to implementing the changes required. From the experience of the project and analysis of the data a Behavioural Framework was generated in order to allow other supply chains to benefit from this effective 21st century solution to behavioural inefficiencies.UK Commission for Employment and Skill

The role of anaerobic digestion in achieving soil conservation and sustainable agricultural development in the UK.

Anaerobic digestion represents one form of renewable energy technology but has many wider benefits. This paper reviews the processes involved in anaerobic digestion, the type of systems in place and the use of digestate to improve soil quality. A case is made for the technology in the UK in the context of soil conservation and sustainable agricultural production. Its broader contribution to sustainable development in the United Kingdom is also considered. Low levels of awareness of the benefits of anaerobic digestion, poor access to funds, inadequate incentives, an unfavourable legislative and policy framework for the technology, limited application of digestate for agricultural purposes and the need for further research on digestate use are identified as key factors hindering uptake of the technology. Anaerobic digestion is presented as a technology that can support soil conservation and sustainable agricultural development while also generating both energy and income, enhancing waste and nutrient recycling and promoting environmental protection

Raising awareness of anaerobic digestion in the UK - Views of key stakeholders

This is the open access PDF version of an article published in Journal of Environmental and Ecology© 2014.Meeting rising energy demand and sustainable development goals at the same time is a major challenge for policy makers in the 21st century. The situation is further stressed by a rising world population, climate change, natural disasters and food security concerns. Renewable energy technologies such as anaerobic digestion (AD) proffer one solution for policy makers to overcome some of the challenges to sustainable development. The technology has been widely adopted in some parts of Europe (e.g. Germany, Denmark, Austria and Sweden), the United States and also parts of Asia and Africa. However in the United Kingdom (UK), the technology is under-developed, as was recognised in its anaerobic digestion strategy and action plan of 2011. This study focused on identifying options for raising awareness of AD technology in the UK. 21 key stakeholders divided into groups according to their expertise, were interviewed to explore their views on the areas of focus in the UK strategy and action plan regarding raising awareness of the technology. The results revealed that aligning AD with sustainable development goals, community AD and localism, small AD plants, provision of an available market for AD products, building UK skills and diversifying biogas use from AD are positive options for raising awareness of AD in the UK. Challenges to these options and possible solutions to the challenges were also identified and discussed

Farmers’ perception of soil: Implications for soil conservation and sustainable agriculture in the UK

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a published work that appeared in final form in Global Journal of Agricultural Research. To access the final edited and published work see http://www.eajournals.org/journals/global-journal-of-agricultural-research-gjar/We identify UK farmers' perception of soil, awareness of soil in terms of how they describe it, their awareness of its benefits other than for crop production,their familiarity with soil conservation and their opinions on soil protection and the value of organic fertilizers. Data were collected with the aid of social media using both Twitter and electronic mail to deistribute a survey link to farmers,UK yellow pages, Natural England directory and Twitter were used to search for farms. Data were analysed using SPSS and Wordle. Results showed that farmers' describe soils in abstract, scientific, physical attribute and functional terms. Awareness of soil benefits other than crop production was significantly related to age, and farm ownership. Educational level was significantly related to familiarity with soil conservation and opinion on whether soil should be protected like other natural resources. The implications of these results for soil conservation and sustainable agriculture are discussed and used as the basis for policy recommendations

Farmers’ Interest in Agricultural Technology and Organic Farming: Implications for AD Adoption and Sustainable Agriculture in the UK

We identify the factors that attract UK farmers towards a given technology, their interest in agricultural technology and their practice of organic farming. The implications of this on the adoption of anaerobic digestion (AD) in the UK and sustainable agriculture are also discussed. Farmers were contacted by means of online survey, aided by yellow pages directory, Natural England directory, Twitter and electronic mail. A total of 283 farmers participated in the survey. The Chi square test was used to check for relationships between the variables measured at 95% confidence level (p<.05). Relationship strength was measured by means of Cramer’s V and Phi values. The results showed several significant relationships among variables, including relationship between interests in agricultural technology and gender, level of education, and farm size; between knowledge of what AD is and gender, level of education and farm size; between interest in AD and age; between willingness to invest in AD if it improved soil properties and farm ownership; and between organic farming practice and age, farm type and farm size. Results also showed a significant presence of female farmers, young farmers (< 30 years old), high level of education among UK farmers, and low level of organic farming practice. Areas for future research and recommendations based on the results are presented in the conclusion

Optimal omegas – barriers and novel methods to narrow omega-3 gaps. A narrative review

Copyright © 2024 Derbyshire, Birch, Bonwick, English, Metcalfe and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Dietary intakes of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (O3LC-PUFAs) such as eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid are central to development and health across the life course. O3LC-PUFAs have been linked to neurological development, maternal and child health and the etiology of certain non-communicable diseases including age-related cognitive decline, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. However, dietary inadequacies exist in the United Kingdom and on a wider global scale. One predominant dietary source of O3LC-PUFAs is fish and fish oils. However, growing concerns about overfishing, oceanic contaminants such as dioxins and microplastics and the trend towards plant-based diets appear to be acting as cumulative barriers to O3LC-PUFAs from these food sources. Microalgae are an alternative provider of O3LC-PUFA-rich oils. The delivery of these into food systems is gaining interest. The present narrative review aims to discuss the present barriers to obtaining suitable levels of O3LC-PUFAs for health and wellbeing. It then discusses potential ways forward focusing on innovative delivery methods to utilize O3LC-PUFA-rich oils including the use of fortification strategies, bioengineered plants, microencapsulation, and microalgae

Evaluation of heat shock protein 70 as a biomarker of environmental stress in Fucus serratus and Lemna minor

This article is not available through ChesterRep.Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are known to be induced in response to short-term stress. The present study aimed to evaluate the potential of Hsp70 as a biomarker of stress produced by increased temperature, osmotic pressure, and exposure to cadmium and sodium chloride in marine macroalgae and fresh water plant species. An indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (IC-ELISA) was developed with a working range of 0.025-10 μg ml-1 using a monoclonal antibody raised against purified Hsp70 of Phaseolus aureus (mung bean). Fucus serratus (toothed wrack), Chondrus crispus (Stackhouse or Carrageen moss), Ulva lactuca (sea lettuce) and Lemna minor (common duckweed) sample extracts were stressed for up to 24 h and then tested in the IC-ELISA. The presence of Hsp70 and cross-reactivity of the monoclonal antibody was confirmed by Western blot. The heat shock response was confirmed in each species using a 2-h 42°C treatment. Following heat shock, Hsp70 concentrations increased to a peak at 2 h (F. serratus) or 4 h (L. minor), after which concentrations decreased. Osmotic and cadmium stresses also resulted in elevated Hsp70 concentrations in samples of F. serratus and L. minor when compared with unstressed controls. In both, osmotic and metal stress, the production of Hsp70 increased to a maximum and subsequently decreased as the stressor levels increased. Results suggest that Hsp70 IC-ELISA could potentially be applied to the detection of stress in these aquatic species, although it would probably be most effective when used in conjunction with other measurements to provide a stressor-specific biomarker profile or fingerprint.This article was submitted to the RAE2008 for the University of Chester - Allied Health Professions and Studies