Does the availability of snack foods in supermarkets vary internationally?

BackgroundCross-country differences in dietary behaviours and obesity rates have been previously reported. Consumption of energy-dense snack foods and soft drinks are implicated as contributing to weight gain, however little is known about how the availability of these items within supermarkets varies internationally. This study assessed variations in the display of snack foods and soft drinks within a sample of supermarkets across eight countries.MethodsWithin-store audits were used to evaluate and compare the availability of potato chips (crisps), chocolate, confectionery and soft drinks. Displays measured included shelf length and the proportion of checkouts and end-of-aisle displays containing these products. Audits were conducted in a convenience sample of 170 supermarkets across eight developed nations (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom (UK), and United States of America (US)).ResultsThe mean total aisle length of snack foods (adjusted for store size) was greatest in supermarkets from the UK (56.4 m) and lowest in New Zealand (21.7 m). When assessed by individual item, the greatest aisle length devoted to chips, chocolate and confectionery was found in UK supermarkets while the greatest aisle length dedicated to soft drinks was in Australian supermarkets. Only stores from the Netherlands (41%) had less than 70% of checkouts featuring displays of snack foods or soft drinks.ConclusionWhilst between-country variations were observed, overall results indicate high levels of snack food and soft drinks displays within supermarkets across the eight countries. Exposure to snack foods is largely unavoidable within supermarkets, increasing the likelihood of purchases and particularly those made impulsively.<br /

Simulation modeling for End-of-Aisle automated storage and retrieval system

This paper presents a simulation study of an End-of-Aisle automated storage and retrieval system. Various elements of AS/RS control policies are combined to compare and analyze the performance of an End-of-Aisle automated storage and retrieval system. The extensive simulation study shows the isolated effects of various policies, as well as compares several combinations of policies and rules. This comparison provides a base for selecting the most suitable policy in the evaluated system

Determining Warehouse Storage Location Assignments Using Clustering Analysis

The methodology used to assign products to a storage location in a warehouse can have a significant impact on the amount of time required to retrieve all of the items needed to fill an order. This paper describes a methodology that uses a clustering approach to determine storage assignments, where the metric of the strength of the relationship between two stock-keeping units (SKUs) is the number of times that the SKUs appear in the same order. Clustering is performed to maximize the frequency with which SKUs in the same cluster are ordered together. In testing, the clustering assignments were compared to a demand-based assignment strategy and showed a reduction of 20-30% in the number of aisles visited to retrieve orders

Principles for Designing Teaching and Learning Spaces

"The Principles for Designing Teaching and Learning Spaces consider the classroom environment within the context of what is known about students’ learning. These Principles are then translated into specific design features to guide design decisions, such that learning spaces become a physical manifestation of the university’s teaching and learning vision.

Research-Informed Principles for (Re)designing Teaching and Learning Spaces

Designing physical learning environments that connect to indicators of effective educational practice reflects a university’s pedagogical commitment to student success. This article describes an approach to teaching and learning space design based on research-informed pedagogical principles implemented successfully at our university. It then articulates how those principles can be translated into classroom design features, with examples. These principles have had an operational and conceptual impact on campus, providing a framework for diverse audiences to think about spaces in a way that reflects shared goals, language and values

Development of a Heuristics for a Criteria Based Planning of Pallet Storage Systems

Reproducible and quantitative reasoning as the foundation for high-quality planning processes evolves to be key to achieve high quality of speed for logistical processes. This article strives to fulfill this demand by developing a coherent heuristics for the planning of pallet storage systems. The heuristics uses quantitative approaches provided by the available literature. In case of nonexistent sources, the missing components are developed and integrated. To be applicable in an industrial environment, the comparison and assessment of the created implementation alternatives is mainly monetary based. The heuristics follows a modular structure to achieve adaptability and extensibility. It explicitly does not intend to replace a human designer but to support him during the creation and assessment of high-quality design alternatives. A concluding case study evaluates the practical applicability of the heuristics and its created solutions. The review of the heuristics turns out to be positive. As a consequence, extension and improvement tasks are proposed

Framing God’s House: The timber-framing practices of the Carolina Lowcountry’s Anglican Parish Churches and Chapels of Ease

Houses of worship formed the backbone of colonial society in the New World. They functioned both as sites of religious devotion as well as spaces of social interactions–merging the sacred and secular. The Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia retains one of the best assemblages of colonial Anglican architecture from the 18th and 19th centuries. While these structures are monuments to Anglican (and later Episcopal) religiosity they also articulate the broader rhythms of the Lowcountry’s vernacular timber-framing tradition. This paper brings together framing data from ten Anglican Parish Churches, and Chapels of Ease from both Charleston’s urban context and the parishes of the Lowcounty recorded using both traditional hand measurements as well as 3D point cloud data. In doing so, it interprets the framing solutions that Lowcountry builders devised on how to best enclose their colonial sacred spaces in both city and country and how those choices changed over time. More broadly this work further explores the emergence of the region’s vernacular traditions within the context of Early Modern English Atlantic building practices as it relates to the period’s notions of Anglican practices and beliefs

An Integrated Network Modeling Framework for Analysis of Multi-line Order Pick Systems

Due to demanding service levels in E-commerce order fulfillment, modeling and analysis of order picking processes in warehouses deserve special attention. With a particular focus on multi-line E-commerce orders, we develop modeling tools that are necessary to analyze the order consolidation delays in the downstream pick stations. We develop a queuing network modeling framework for integrated analysis of upstream (storage system) and downstream (pick system). We apply our modeling approach to an integrated order-pick system that includes a shuttle-based storage and retrieval system, and a single pick station. Using simulations, we test the effect of the storage system configuration on the order throughput time

Control Policies for a Dynamic Storage System With Multiple Lifts and Shuttles

New types of Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems, able to achieve high throughput levels, are continuously being developed and require new control polices to take full advantage of the developed system. In this paper we study a dynamic storage system as developed by Vanderlande Industries consisting of a conveyor, two lifts, multiple transfer shuttles, and a storage rack. One of the decision problems for this system is the scheduling problem of the two lifts. In other words, which lift is going to handle which request and in which order. In this paper, we derive an integrated look-ahead heuristic based on enumeration to simultaneously assign a set of pre-defined requests to the lifts and to schedule the lifts. As main performance measure we use the total time required to serve all requests