Factors influencing green sourcing in food retailing - Case study: Finnish food retailers

This study takes a look at factors that have influence on Green Sourcing in food retailing. More importantly, it focuses on factors with the positive impacts that direct retailers’ strategy in Sourcing and other Supply chain processes forward Green management. Influencing factors are studied based on three main levels: internal level (company level), industry level and national level. The theoretical part of the study not only presents theories on Green Sourcing and factors influencing Green Sourcing, but also takes a look on drivers for Green action in Sourcing and benefits of Green sourcing. Based on theory, a framework is developed which presents the impact of typical factors on three levels of management on Green Sourcing process. Theories of Supply chain management and Procurement process are presented in order to identify the different dimensions of the study. The study is qualitative in its nature and case study is used as the main source of data. Based on the discussion a framework, the case study of two food retailers in Finland – Kesko group and S group is analyzed. The theoretical frameworks of real factors with real impact form the basis of the empirical part of the study. Interviews are conducted to get their answers to see the differences in responses. With comparative research, the findings of this study show that major factors having influence on the Green Sourcing implementation include internal factors, industry factors and national factors. Most of them have positive impact and just a few of them have negative impact. The Green Sourcing is mainly driven by potential cost savings, green consumers or regulatory requirements in place. The rest factors which have indirect impact address to a much less degree on both negative and positive impact, although they often represent a more profound environmental threat and consequent challenge of addressing them. This study also demonstrates that most Finnish food retailers have started to systematically work with sustainability issues. However, the study is involved with two large food retailers who have a significant market share, there are still many more medium and small-size retailers that further researches on them are required.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Detection and estimation of moving obstacles for a UAV

In recent years, research interest in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has been grown rapidly because of their potential use for a wide range of applications. In this paper, we proposed a vision-based detection and position/velocity estimation of moving obstacle for a UAV. The knowledge of a moving obstacle's state, i.e., position, velocity, is essential to achieve better performance for an intelligent UAV system specially in autonomous navigation and landing tasks. The novelties are: (1) the design and implementation of a localization method using sensor fusion methodology which fuses Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) signals and Pozyx signals; (2) The development of detection and estimation of moving obstacles method based on on-board vision system. Experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. (C) 2019, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

THE IMPACT OF FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND RELIGION IN PURPLE HIBISCUS AND BELOVED

This study explores the repercussions of slavery-induced dehumanization and trauma depicted in Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and explores Kambili’s stifling home life characterized by her father’s rigid Catholicism in Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Morrison’s Beloved emphasizes the importance of personal engagement with the history of slavery so as to fully comprehend its horrors and overcome them. In Purple Hibiscus, the paper investigates the role religion plays in causing trauma, as Eugene’s strict adherence to Catholicism and dismissal of traditional rituals inflict both physical and psychological pain on his family. The complex and multifaceted depiction of religion in these novels exposes them as powerful, yet often contradictory, forces in the characters’ lives. This thesis delves into the influence of family environment and religion on character development, focusing on the traumatic effects of domestic abuse and slavery in Purple Hibiscus and Beloved. Morrison and Adichie demonstrate how religion can be both traumatic and healing for their characters, and how the family context shapes an individual’s religious beliefs and actions. By examining Kambili’s and Sethe’s experiences, this study analyzes their struggle to overcome past trauma and the significant role of religion in their journeys towards healing and finding purpose in their lives

Design and implementation of a real-time autonomous navigation system applied to lego robots

Teaching theoretical concepts of a real-time autonomous robot system may be a challenging task without real hardware support. The paper discusses the application of the Lego Robot for teaching multi interdisciplinary subjects to Mechatronics students. A real-time mobile robot system with perception using sensors, path planning algorithm, PID controller is used as the case to demonstrate the teaching methodology. The novelties are introduced compared to classical robotic classes: (i) the adoption of a project-based learning approach as teaching methodology; (ii) an effective real-time autonomous navigation approach for the mobile robot. However, the extendibility and applicability of the presented approach are not limited to only the educational purpose

Factors affecting user’s risk perception and precautionary behavior when using Fintech: a comparison of Norway-a developed country, and Vietnam- a developing country.

Financial technology (known as Fintech) is one of the most prominent trends in the global industrial revolution 4.0. It refers to innovative technology that aims to enhance and automate the delivery and usage of financial services. As a result of the effects of the covid 19 epidemic, particularly the social distancing policy and the demand for digital connectedness, the formation of fintech firms providing various types of services has expanded rapidly (Feyen et al., 2021). This financial industry innovation provides numerous positive effects, but it also contains considerable risks for customers, suppliers, and intermediaries, especially cyber security risks. Based on prior research subjects such as perceived risk variables influencing intention to use Fintech (Tang et al., 2020) and the connection between risk perception and preventative behavior (Alqahtani et al., 2021; van Schaik et al., 2017), this study will focus on two main goals. The first objective is to discover and recognize factors that influence consumers' perceptions of possible hazards when using fintech. Then, we will examine the effect of risk perception on consumer precautionary behavior regarding information security. Therefore, investors and founders of Fintech software may better understand their customers' requirements and develop more security solutions. The findings indicate that knowledge, affect, and trust are the primary determinants influencing the risk perception of Fintech consumers in Vietnam and Norway. Nevertheless, there exists a disparity in the level of their impact when contrasting the two nations. Furthermore, it was observed that risk perception served as a predictor of Fintech users’ precautionary behavior. The research model's reliability and validity are ensured through the utilization of SmartPLS software for the analysis of survey data

Problems of ensuring democracy under one-party rule in modern Vietnam

In modern politics, democracy is always an important topic that is frequently mentioned in the development strategies of each country as well as in intergovernmental relations programs. Democracy has become a global issue, and building democracy is a goal pursued by most countries worldwide. However, in an increasingly diverse world, there exist different perspectives, approaches, and positions regarding democracy. Each country has its own direction for building its democratic system and will inevitably face certain difficulties and challenges during the implementation process. In this article, the author focuses on analyzing the issues related to building democracy in Vietnam, a developing country in Asia with a single-party political regime