Investigating last food mile deliveries: A case study approach to identify needs of food delivery demand

© 2017 Drawing on the results of a survey carried out in Cagliari (Italy), the paper provides an analysis of the characteristics of food deliveries in urban areas aimed at understanding the needs and expectations of receivers of last mile deliveries of fresh products. In fact, exploring the needs of potential users - who are directly responsible for the success of the scheme - and the characteristics of logistics flows they generate/attract in the city centre is a necessary prerequisite for implementing city logistics measures. The study considers independent retailers within the hotel, restaurants and catering (Ho.Re.Ca.) sector. Based on the delivery characteristics, a classification of commercial activities related to the food chain is provided. The analysis has been developed by means of Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) and Cluster analysis. The suitability of city logistics measures to the last food mile is also discussed

About the Efficacy of Virtual and Remote Laboratories in STEM Education in Secondary School: A Second-Order Systematic Review

Online laboratories brought new opportunities for instruction. In this work, a secondorder systematic review about the efficacy of virtual and remote labs on learning in high school STEM education is presented. Nine systematic review and a meta-analysis were included. A descriptive summary (qualitative and quantitative) of their findings is provided. On average, online laboratories support learning to an extent comparable to that observed in real labs; their effect is even more positive when they are integrated into more traditional teaching practice (e.g., as pre-lab practice sessions before the hands-on experiments) and when they are supported by adequate teacher feedback. Content knowledge is the learning outcome most often assessed; while practical and inquiry skills related to scientific reasoning are investigated less frequently. The results are promising for instructional design and for the future research, despite the data variability and some methodological limitations of individual studies (lack of relevant quantitative data, such as effect sizes and moderator analysis). Further experimental research is required to estimate the effect of online labs on different learning outcomes and to better understand the moderating role of some variables related to interventions and students

When gravity meets philosophy again: the Gravitas project

Gravity is, by far, one of the scientific themes that have most piqued the curiosity of scientists and philosophers over the centuries. The history of science tells us that when the creative effort of physicists and philosophers to solve the main puzzles of the understanding of our universe met, a new conceptual revolution has started. However, since Einstein's relativistic theories and the subsequent advent of quantum mechanics, physicists and philosophers have taken different paths, both kidnapped by the intrinsic conceptual and mathematical difficulties inherited by their studies. Is it possible to restore a unitary vision of knowledge, overcoming the scientific-humanistic dichotomy that has established itself over time? The answer is certainly not trivial, but we can start from school to experience a new vision of a unified knowledge. From this need, the Gravitas project has born. Gravitas is a multidisciplinary outreach and educational program devoted to high school students (17-19 years old) that mixes contemporary physics and the philosophy of science. Coordinated by the Cagliari Section of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics, in Italy, Gravitas has started on December 2021 with an unconventional online format: two researchers coming from different fields of research meet a moderator and informally discuss about gravity and related phenomena. The public can chat and indirectly interact with them during the YouTube live. The project involved about 250 students from 16 high schools in Sardinia, Italy. Students should also create posts thought for social media whose content is based on the seminars they attended during the project. We present the project and discuss its possible outcomings concerning the introduction of a multidisciplinary approach in teaching physics, philosophy, and the history of contemporary physics in high schools.Comment: To appear in Proceedings of ICHEP 2022 Conference, 6 pages, 8 figures. An extended version of the abstract appears in the pape

I laboratori online per l’apprendimento scientifico: sintesi delle evidenze

In this study, the results of a second-order systematic review concerning the impact of online (virtual and remote) laboratories on learning in STEM education for secondary school students are discussed. After the selection phase, based on eligibility criteria, ten systematic reviews and meta-analyses were included. The comparative analysis of data provides useful information for the instructional design of laboratory activities mediated by technologies and for the future research. In particular, results showed that online laboratories generally support learning outcomes comparable to those in traditional laboratories; and they suggest that some factors (e.g. teacher training; coherence of goals, laboratory activities, assessment; teacher feedback; integration of online-traditional laboratory activities) can maximize their efficacy. In addition, methodological limitations of current literature suggest the need for further primary studies with a more rigorous design.In questo lavoro, si presentano e discutono i risultati di una revisione sistematica di secondo ordine sull’efficacia dei laboratori online (virtuali e remoti) per il miglioramento degli apprendimenti nell’educazione STEM, in contesti di scuola secondaria. Al termine della fase di selezione, sulla base dei criteri di eleggibilità adottati, sono stati inclusi dieci studi secondari (revisioni sistematiche e meta-analisi). L’analisi comparativa di questi ultimi fornisce indicazioni utili per la progettazione didattica di attività laboratoriali mediate da tecnologie e per gli sviluppi futuri della ricerca. I risultati consentono di affermare che tendenzialmente i laboratori online permettono agli studenti di raggiungere risultati di apprendimento comparabili a quelli dei laboratori tradizionali e suggeriscono la rilevanza di determinati fattori (tra cui, la formazione degli insegnanti; la coerenza tra obiettivi, strategia laboratoriale e valutazione; il feedback dell’insegnante; l’integrazione tra attività laboratoriali online e in presenza) al fine di massimizzarne l’efficacia. Allo stesso tempo, si rilevano alcuni limiti metodologici della letteratura esistente, tali per cui ulteriori studi e un maggior rigore nel design di questi appaiono auspicabili

Multi-stakeholder collaboration in urban freight consolidation schemes: Drivers and barriers to implementation

© 2018 The Author(s). Published by VGTU Press. Due to the motivations of climate change, the health impacts of poor air quality, and the importance of cities for economic growth, transport policy at all levels of governance places emphasis on reducing and managing urban traffic and congestion. Whilst the majority of urban traffic is created by personal travel, freight vehicles make a relatively large contribution per vehicle to congestion, pollution and severe accidents. The European Commission (EC 2011) estimates that 6% of all EU transport carbon emissions are from urban freight. For these reasons, a well-structured portfolio of measures and policies oriented towards more sustainable and efficient management of supply chain activities carried out in urban areas is needed, in order to reduce negative externalities related to urban mobility and improve economic performance. In recent years, there has been enthusiasm amongst commentators that shared-resource economic models can both create new commercial opportunities and address policy problems, including in the transport sector. Within the city logistics subsector, this new model is exemplified by the emergence of Urban freight Consolidation Centres (UCCs). UCCs replace multiple ‘last-mile’ delivery movements, many of which involving small consignments, by a common receiving point (the consolidation centre), normally on the periphery of a city, with the final part of the delivery being shared by the consignments in a small freight vehicle. Such arrangements can represent a good compromise between the needs of city centre businesses and their customers on the one hand (i.e. high availability of a range of goods) and local and global sustainability objectives on the other. At the same time, by sharing logistics facilities and delivery vehicles, UCCs offer added-value services to both urban economic actors, such as retailers, and network logistics providers. However, UCCs add to the complexity of logistics chains, requiring additional contracts, communications and movement stages. These arrangements also introduce additional actors within the supply of delivery services, notably local authorities present as promoters and funders, rather than simply as regulators, companies specialised in the UCC operation, and companies, which provide specialist technologies, such as electric delivery vehicles. UCCs therefore also represent an example of multi-stakeholder collaboration. Drawing on the results of a 2013 survey in Bristol (United Kingdom) and a further survey carried out in 2015 in Cagliari (Italy), the present paper will provide an in-depth comparison of the differences in the perceptions of urban freight users and stakeholders towards UCCs. Retailers involved in the survey carried out in Bristol showed high satisfaction with the delivery service provided by the UCC. Different topic areas (e.g. timeliness, reliability, safety) are examined through analyses of both qualitative and quantitative data. The survey carried out in Cagliari investigated the inclination of potential users to join a UCC scheme. The comparison between the two cities considers factors such as the nature of business holding (e.g. SME versus multiple retailers), operational practices (e.g. pattern of deliveries) and operating subsector (e.g. food versus no food). An analysis on the barriers to the implementation of UCCs in Bristol and in Cagliari is provided at the end of the paper

Effects of Metabolic Syndrome on Cognitive Performance of Adults During Exercise

The metabolic syndrome (MS) has been associated with poor performances in multiple cognitive domains, as processing speed, visuo-spatial abilities, and executive functioning. Exercise is a critical factor for MS people’s vulnerability to cognitive dysfunction, because this may be beneficial to reduce cognitive impairment, but limited physical activity and impaired cerebral blood flow in response to exercise have been reported by individuals suffering from MS. Using an attentional interference test, the Bivalent Shape Task (BST), and metaboreflex, we analyzed cognitive performance and cerebral oxygenation (COX) in 13 MS people (five women), and 14 normal age-matched control (CTL, six women). Five different sessions were administered to all participants, each lasting 12 min: control exercise recovery (CER), post-exercise muscle ischemia (PEMI) to activate the metaboreflex, CER + BST, PEMI + BST, and BST alone. During each session, cognitive performance was assessed by means of response times and response accuracy with which participants make the decision and COX was evaluated by near infrared spectroscopy with sensors applied in the forehead. Compared to CTL, MS group performed significantly worse in all sessions (F = 4.18; p = 0.05; ES = 0.13): their poorest performance was observed in the BST alone session. Moreover, when BST was added to PEMI, individuals of the CTL group significantly increased their COX compared to baseline (103.46 ± 3.14%), whereas this capacity was impaired in MS people (102.37 ± 2.46%). It was concluded that: (1) MS affects cognitive performance; (2) people with MS were able to enhance COX during exercise, but they impair their COX when an attentional interference task was added

Affective variables and cognitive performances during exercise in a group of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Previous research has documented that type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with cognitive impairment. Psychological variables were repeatedly investigated to understand why T2DM patients are poorly active, despite standards of medical care recommends performing aerobic and resistance exercise regularly and reducing the amount of time spent sitting. This exploratory study aims to investigate how affective variables as thoughts, feelings, and individuals’ stage of exercise adoption can modulate low cognitive performances during an experimental procedure based on exercise. The Exercise Thoughts Questionnaire (ETQ), Exercise-Induced Feeling Scale (EFI), and Physical Activity Stage of Change were administered to a sample of 12 T2DM patients. The Bivalent Shape Task (BST) alone (BST), BST with exercise [control exercise recovery (CER) + BST], and BST with metaboreflex [post-exercise muscle ischemia (PEMI) + BST] were used as mental task, and response time to congruent, incongruent, and neutral stimuli was recorded. Concomitant cerebral oxygenation (COX) was evaluated by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). As expected, T2DM patients performed significantly better when the stimulus was presented in congruent trials (followed by neutral and incongruent). In the CER + BST session, T2DM patients showed longer reaction time to incongruent trials than in the PEMI + BST and BST alone sessions. Positive feelings toward exercise seem to modulate cognitive performances in high challenging task only if T2DM patients were conscious to play exercise. These results could provide some insights for health intervention targeting exercise for patients with T2DM in order to enhance cognitive performances

Specific immunoassays confirm association of <i>Mycobacterium avium</i> subsp. <i>paratuberculosis</i> with type-1 but not type-2 diabetes mellitus

Background Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) is a versatile pathogen with a broad host range. Its association with type-1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has been recently proposed. Rapid identification of infectious agents such as MAP in diabetic patients at the level of clinics might be helpful in deciphering the role of chronic bacterial infection in the development of autoimmune diseases such as T1DM. Methodology/Principal Findings We describe use of an ELISA method to identify live circulating MAP through the detection of a cell envelope protein, MptD by a specific M13 phage – fMptD. We also used another ELISA format to detect immune response to MptD peptide. Both the methods were tested with blood plasma obtained from T1DM, type-2 diabetes (T2DM) patients and non-diabetic controls. Our results demonstrate MptD and fMptD ELISA assays to be accurate and sensitive to detect MAP bacilli in a large fraction (47.3%) of T1DM patients as compared to non-diabetic controls (12.6%) and those with confirmed T2DM (7.7%). Comparative analysis of ELISA assays performed here with 3 other MAP antigen preparations, namely HbHA, Gsd and whole cell MAP lysates confirmed comparable sensitivity of the MptD peptide and the fMptD based ELISA assays. Moreover, we were successful in demonstrating positive bacterial culture in two of the clinical specimen derived from T1DM patients. Conclusions and Significance The MptD peptide/fMptD based ELISA or similar tests could be suggested as rapid and specific field level diagnostic tests for the identification of MAP in diabetic patients and for finding the explanations towards the occurrence of type-1 or type-2 diabetes in the light of an active infectious trigger

The Vital Breath of Business Administration

Strano destino quello di chi si occupa di economia aziendale e di ragioneria in particolare. Sembra che, a fronte di radici profonde e grande rilevanza operativa, le discipline e chi se ne occupa non godano di apprezzamento sociale. Film come The Untouchables, del 1987 e The accountant, del 2016, per esempio, raffigurano una professione autoreferenziale al servizio di interessi criminali. Il Caravaggio, per contro, ci mostra il “contabile” Matteo mentre viene chiamato alla suprema missione divina – Roma, San Luigi dei Francesi, Cappella Contarelli. Il presente lavoro si propone allora di indagare la natura più intima della disciplina e in particolare la sua dimensione etica. Per fare questo occorre partire da lontano per chiedersi se, alla scala macro, vi sia coincidenza tra benessere delle persone e loro ricchezza e se sia auspicabile un’economia del sempre più piuttosto che un’economia del sufficiente. Alla scala micro, peraltro, rilevano la gerarchia dei bisogni da soddisfare e degli interessi da privilegiare, nonché l’efficienza nell’uso delle risorse. Detta problematica può essere indagata con riferimento al mondo della sanità, dove vita, salute e sofferenza rendono ogni scelta particolarmente significativa. Da un lato si pone il criterio di scelta sulla destinazione delle risorse scarse: è legittimo ragionare in termini di aspettativa di vita dei soggetti beneficiari delle decisioni di spesa? Dall’altro lato l’efficienza emerge come principio etico, prima ancora che economico, se solo si pensi che il suo contrario, lo spreco, vuol dire sofferenze non evitate e vite non salvate. Le radici delle odierne discipline aziendali possono farsi risalire, convenzionalmente, al Liber Abbaci, di Leonardo Pisano – il Fibonacci, anno 1202 – dal quale emerge la rilevanza del calcolo commerciale per gli sviluppi delle moderne aritmetica, algebra ecc. Il libro “Della mercatura et del mercante perfetto” di Benedetto Cotrugli, anno 1458, propone una correlazione diretta tra strumenti aziendali e dimensione etica e professionale dell’operatore economico. Non è qui irrilevante osservare che i principali trattati italiani di ragioneria dei secoli dal quindicesimo al diciassettesimo sono opera di religiosi che, evidentemente, trovavano il rigore dei conti del monastero coerente con la loro vocazione – Luca Pacioli, francescano1494, Angelo Pietra, benedettino 1586, Lodovico Flori, gesuita1636. Interessante è inoltre la tesi sostenuta da Jacob Soll in The Reckoning, anno 2014, che sostiene una correlazione storica diretta tra sviluppo economico e cultura contabile. Nell’ambito stretto dell’economia aziendale la “teoria dei massimi simultanei” di Pietro Onida, anno 1960, anticipa quella degli stakeholder, anno 1984, di R. Edward Freeman. La prima può essere qui riassunta nell’espressione “la ricchezza si incrementa diffondendola e non difendendola”. la seconda ha, dichiaratamente, natura tanto positiva quanto normativa. Posto che la ricerca empirica non è mai riuscita a dimostrare la correlazione diretta tra scelte morali e successo aziendale, la dimensione normativa finisce per prevalere e costituisce la base della successiva responsabilità sociale dell’impresa e dell’attualissima attenzione ai temi ESG. Dunque teorie aziendali e pratica aziendale. In tale ultima dimensione si colloca il Sistema di Controllo Interno – SCI – -che trova la sua dimensione operativa nel cosiddetto CoSo I, anno 1992 e successivi. Tale documento propone alle aziende di ogni tipo strumenti per il contrasto a fenomeni di cattiva amministrazione e corruzione. È utile soffermarsi qui sulla versione dello SCI riarticolata per le pubbliche amministrazioni dall'International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions – INTOSAI. In essa sono indicati, fra l’altro, gli obiettivi gestionali in termini di “esecuzione delle operazioni in modo ordinato, conforme ai principi etici, di economicità, efficienza ed efficacia”. Lo SCI si compone, inoltre e prima di tutto, di un ambiente di controllo che deve essere caratterizzato in termini di “valori etici condivisi” e di “esempio dei capi” – il “tono al vertice” –, da competenza professionale, da adeguatezza dell’organizzazione, da incentivazione del personale. Le considerazioni che precedono sembrano sufficienti a concludere che tanto l’economia aziendale in senso ampio quanto la sua dimensione di ragioneria sono fondate sulla centralità dell’essere umano, sul suo comportamento morale, sulla sua motivazione e professionalità, laddove i numeri sono solo strumenti per controllare e rappresentare gli accadimenti, misurare le prestazioni e incentivare comportamenti virtuosi.A strange fate befalls those involved in business administration and accounting in particular. It seems that, in the face of deep roots and great operational relevance, the disciplines and those who deal with them do not enjoy social appreciation. Films such as 1987's The Untouchables and 2016's The Accountant, for example, depict a self-referential profession serving criminal interests. Caravaggio, by contrast, shows us the “accountant” Matthew as he is called to the supreme divine mission – Rome, San Luigi dei Francesi, Contarelli Chapel. The present work then sets out to investigate the more intimate nature of the discipline and in particular its ethical dimension. To do this, it is necessary to start from afar to ask whether, at the macro scale, there is a coincidence between people’s well-being and their wealth and whether an economy of more and more rather than an economy of enough is desirable. At the micro-scale, moreover, the hierarchy of needs to be met and interests to be prioritized, as well as efficiency in the use of resources, are relevant. Said issue can be investigated concerning the world of health care, where life, health, and suffering make every choice particularly significant. On the one hand, the criterion of choice about the allocation of scarce resources arises: is it legitimate to reason in terms of the life expectancy of the subjects benefiting from spending decisions? On the other hand, efficiency emerges as an ethical principle, even before it is an economic one if we only consider that its opposite, waste, means suffering is not avoided and lives are not saved. The roots of today's business disciplines can be traced, conventionally, to the Liber Abbaci, by Leonardo Pisano – the Fibonacci, year 1202 – from which emerges the relevance of business calculus for the developments of modern arithmetic, algebra, etc. The book “Della mercatura et del mercante perfetto” by Benedetto Cotrugli, year 1458, proposes a direct correlation between business tools and the ethical and professional dimension of the economic operator. It is not irrelevant here to note that the main Italian treatises on accountancy from the 15th to 17th centuries are the work of religious men who found the rigor of monastery accounts consistent with their vocation – Luca Pacioli, Franciscan1494, Angelo Pietra, Benedictine 1586, Lodovico Flori, Jesuit1636. Also interesting is the thesis advanced by Jacob Soll in The Reckoning, the year 2014, which argues for a direct historical correlation between economic development and accounting culture. In the narrow field of business administration, Pietro Onida’s “theory of simultaneous maxima”, year 1960, anticipates R. Edward Freeman's “stakeholder theory”, year 1984. The former can be summarized here in the expression “wealth is increased by spreading it, not by defending it”, the latter is, avowedly, as positive as it is normative. Given that empirical research has never been able to demonstrate the direct correlation between moral choices and corporate success, the normative dimension eventually prevails and forms the basis of subsequent corporate social responsibility and the very current focus on ESG issues. So, business theories and business practice. In the latter dimension is the Internal Control System – ICS – which finds its operational dimension in the so-called CoSo I, year 1992 and later. That document proposes tools for companies of all kinds to counter maladministration and corruption. It is useful to dwell here on the version of the ICS rearticulated for public administrations by the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions – INTOSAI. It sets out, among other things, management objectives in terms of “carrying out operations in an orderly manner, by the principles of ethics, economy, efficiency, and effectiveness”. The ICS consists, further and first of all, of a controlled environment that must be characterized in terms of “shared ethical values” and the “example of leaders” – the “tone at the top” – professional competence, organizational adequacy, and staff incentive. The above considerations seem sufficient to conclude that both business administration and its accounting dimension are founded on the centrality of human beings, their moral behavior, motivation, and professionalism, where numbers are merely tools to control and represent happenings, measure performance, and incentivize virtuous behavior