Consumer Preferences for Less Packaging: A Stated Preference Study

This study estimates the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for packaging with less material by using contingent valuation. We found that people who care about the environmental friendliness of a product, who have a positive perception of less packaging, and who live in a municipality implementing unit-based pricing of waste have a higher WTP. Use of economic instruments potentially affects the purchase of products with reduced packaging. However, when unit-based pricing is combined with plastic separation for recycling, it reduces the WTP. This suggests the possibility that the effect of economic instruments on source reduction of waste is weakened by the recycling policy.Less packaging, Contingent valuation, Unit-based pricing

Are SRI Funds More Resilient towards the Global Financial Crisis?

This paper compares the resilience of Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) funds with that of conventional funds towards the global financial crisis by using an event study methodology. Taking the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers as the particular event, we estimated the average cumulative abnormal returns of both SRI funds and conventional funds. Our results show that SRI funds are more resilient to such a shock. Similar results are obtained by an estimation with a market model that accounts for ARCH effects.SRI, Event study, Financial crisis

Heat transfer on accreting ice surfaces

Based on previous observations of glaze ice accretion on aircraft surfaces, a multizone model with distinct zones of different surface roughness is demonstrated. The use of surface roughness in the LEWICE ice accretion prediction code is examined. It was found that roughness is used in two ways: (1) to determine the laminar to turbulent boundary-layer transition location; and (2) to calculate the convective turbulent heat-transfer coefficient. A two-zone version of the multizone model is implemented in the LEWICE code, and compared with experimental convective heat-transfer coefficient and ice accretion results. The analysis of the boundary-layer transition, surface roughness, and viscous flowfield effects significantly increased the accuracy in predicting heat-transfer coefficients. The multizone model was found to significantly improve the ice accretion prediction for the cases compared

Modeling of surface roughness effects on glaze ice accretion

A series of experimental investigations focused on studying the cause and effect of roughness on accreting glaze ice surfaces were conducted. Detailed microvideo observations were made of glaze ice accretions on 1 to 4 inch diameter cylinders in three icing wind tunnels (the Data Products of New England six inch test facility, the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel, and the B. F. Goodrich Ice Protection Research Facility). Infrared thermal video recordings were made of accreting ice surfaces in the Goodrich facility. Distinct zones of surface water behavior were observed; a smooth wet zone in the stagnation region with a uniform water film; a rough zone where surface tension effects caused coalescence of surface water into stationary beads; a horn zone where roughness elements grow into horn shapes; a runback zone where surface water ran back as rivulets; and a dry zone where rime feathers formed. The location of the transition from the smooth to the rough zone was found to migrate with time towards the stagnation point. The behavior of the transition appeared to be controlled by boundary layer transition and bead formation mechanisms at the interface between the smooth and rough zones. Regions of wet ice growth and enhanced heat transfer were clearly visible in the infrared video recordings of glaze ice surfaces. A simple multi-zone modification to the current glaze ice accretion model was proposed to include spatial variability in surface roughness

A Novel Approach to Analyze Fashion Digital Archive from Humanities

Fashion styles adopted every day are an important aspect of culture, and style trend analysis helps provide a deeper understanding of our societies and cultures. To analyze everyday fashion trends from the humanities perspective, we need a digital archive that includes images of what people wore in their daily lives over an extended period. In fashion research, building digital fashion image archives has attracted significant attention. However, the existing archives are not suitable for retrieving everyday fashion trends. In addition, to interpret how the trends emerge, we need non-fashion data sources relevant to why and how people choose fashion. In this study, we created a new fashion image archive called Chronicle Archive of Tokyo Street Fashion (CAT STREET) based on a review of the limitations in the existing digital fashion archives. CAT STREET includes images showing the clothing people wore in their daily lives during the period 1970--2017, which contain timestamps and street location annotations. We applied machine learning to CAT STREET and found two types of fashion trend patterns. Then, we demonstrated how magazine archives help us interpret how trend patterns emerge. These empirical analyses show our approach's potential to discover new perspectives to promote an understanding of our societies and cultures through fashion embedded in consumers' daily lives.Comment: In Proceedings of 'The 23rd International Conference on Asia-Pacific Digital Libraries' 17 pages, 8 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2009.1339

A History of Tests of Infant Development and their Applications to Childcare

本研究は、発達検査が保育場面での子ども理解の手だてとなり得ることを明らかにするものである。発達検査を行う一つの効果は、対象となる子どもの発達状況を把握できるという点にある。その上で、子どもの状態をとらえながら、指導に必要な観点を予測することこそが発達検査の意義であるといえる。今日用いられている子どもの発達検査は、ビネー式知能検査を原型として発展してきた。その発達検査の歴史的な変遷について概観し、日本で用いられている発達検査がどう位置づけられているのかを整理し、保育場面での活用の可能性を検討した。This study will examine whether the tests of infant development are useful to childcare teachers in understanding children in childcare environments. Tests of development are important because they will reveal the present developmental stages of the children concerned. The purpose of the tests lies in predicting the viewpoints which are needed for guidance while understanding the developmental stages of the children. The tests of development, which started with Binet-test as the prototype, will be reviwed along with the examination of the other tests in Japan. The purpose of this paper is to show their applicability in childcare environments

Education in the Transit: Analysis of Economic-Driving Program Implemented in a Public Transport Bus Company

The growing number of motor vehicles in urban areas has generated negative impacts on costs for users and bus operators due to congestion and the increase in travel time. Furthermore, transport sector is a significant user of energy, especially fuel, and a great responsible for greenhouse emissions. In order to mitigate these externalities, transport companies try to incorporate into their processes innovative tools and best practices in management, like the so-called economic-driving. The economic-driving seeks to reduce fuel consumption, greenhouse emissions and operational costs. This paper aims to present the results of an economic-driving program implemented in a public transport bus company in Brazil, in the period of 2010-2016. The methodologies used were exploratory, descriptive and case study. The results showed a reduction of fuel consumption by 786.336 liters. The analysis of the consumption of brake linings in eleven buses, running the same itineraries by the same drivers, decreased 47.46%. Based on the Embrapa’s methodology for the calculation of greenhouse emissions the company stopped emitting 86,757.36 kilo grams of CO₂ in the atmosphere. In conclusion, the case study confirmed the feasibility of applying economic-driving strategies and the economic and social advantages with the program for the company

ESTRATÉGIA DE CROWDSOURCING PARA A INOVAÇÃO E SUSTENTABILIDADE: ESTUDO DE CASO EM EMPRESA VAREJISTA

Na sociedade do conhecimento, em que a competitividade entre as pessoas e as organizações aumenta de forma significativa e a informação e o conhecimento são recursos-chaves, a cooperação representa um diferencial competitivo para os atores sociais (MORAIS; LUZ, 2010). No Brasil, os estudos sobre crowdsourcing (cocriação),  ainda estão em fase inicial e poucas empresas estão operando de fato na perspectiva da cocriação. O tema crowdsourcing ainda é recente, mas os estudos a seu respeito ganham força à medida que se evolui para o estabelecimento de uma sociedade em rede, por meio de mídias sociais. A participação ativa do consumidor (shopper) se torna uma forma de diferenciação da empresa perante os concorrentes (PRAHALAD E RAMASWAMY, 2004). Sendo que estamos vivenciando um período de profundas transformações nas relações e transações comerciais entre as empresas e seus respectivos clientes. Muitas destas transformações, impactadas pela tecnologia da informação, por meio da internet, mídias sociais, e-business e e-commerce. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho busca compreender as interações, as intenções, os sentidos, as estruturas e as regras de funcionamento do crowdsourcing, suas ferramentas e técnicas utilizadas para envolver os stakeholders na cocriação e gerar inovação incremental, sustentabilidade e resultados nas organizações. Este estudo busca compreender as estratégias de crowdsourcing, por meio de uma revisão bibliográfica e um estudo de caso em uma empresa varejista supermercadista de Criciúma - SC. O estudo de caso, será realizado por meio da ouvidoria e mídias sociais da empresa, possibilita uma visão teórica e prática de como aproveitar os insights dos clientes, fornecedores e colaboradores (stakeholders) e transformá-los em inovação incremental para a empresa por meio de novos processos, produtos, serviços, layout. A natureza da pesquisa é aplicada e o método é dedutivo (CRESWELL, 2007). A Abordagem da pesquisa é qualitativa e em relação aos objetivos é descritiva e exploratória (POUPART, 2008). A estratégia de pesquisa adotada foi o estudo de caso (DENZIN; LINCOLN, 2006). Em relação a técnicas de pesquisa adotada, foi à análise documental com base dados secundários obtidos pela área de ouvidoria da empresa e por meio da observação participante do pesquisador. (CRESWELL, 2007). A interdisciplinaridade do trabalho estará presente por meio da integração do crowdsourcing, da gestão mercadológica, da inovação e do conhecimento.  Palavras-chave: Estratégia Crowdsourcing; Inovação; Sustentabilidade