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Impact of ethics training and audits on the relationship quality of business-to-business partners in sharing economy
Get PDFYesSharing economy is flourishing and increasingly customers are shifting towards “using instead of owning” products and services. The objective of our research is to empirically prove that low organizational trust can trigger strict organizational practices such as ethics training and audits but excessive use of both of these practices can negatively impact the relationship quality in sharing economy. In doing so, it has detrimental effects on co-creation and co-innovation particularly when the goals are related to emotional cognitive, material support and relationship building. This study, therefore, targets to scrutinize the dark side of B2B sharing economy platforms using the ethical theory of organizing. The unique contribution of this study is first, showcasing the relationships between ethical climate, ethical practices and consequences. Second, it highlights that B2B alliances that perceive strictness in ethics audits have a low level of willingness to enhance relationship quality. However, the effect of strictness in ethics training does not lead to the development of a low level of willingness to enhance relationship quality. This is an interesting finding and generates a theoretical debate. The findings of the study will promote the development of an ethical model that addresses the negative aspects of the B2B sharing economy
Digital refit analysis of anthropogenically fragmented equine bone from the Schoningen 13 II-4 Deposits, Germany
No full textNoExcavation of the Schöningen lignite mine in Germany produced the earliest examples of hunting spears to date, and a large assemblage of anthropogenically fragmented faunal remains deposited in anaerobic lacustrine silt sediments during the Middle Pleistocene. The exceptional preservation of the assemblage makes the site of prime importance to our understanding of the behavioural, social and economic patterns of hominins in the Lower Palaeolithic of the Middle Pleistocene in Europe. This chapter describes the digital refitting analysis, part of the AHRC-funded Fragmented Heritage project, undertaken to address the logistical challenge posed by manually comparing individual bone fragments within the assemblage to identify refitting sequences. This logistical refit challenge uses the Schöningen assemblage to investigate the effectiveness of a digital refit approach to the analysis of large faunal assemblages. We describe the process from digitisation of the bone fragments by macro structured light scanning, digital segmentation of refitting surfaces, and digital comparison of the refitting and non-refitting surfaces to produce statistical matches. We discuss how taphonomic data can be visualised from the analysis and can be used to inform interpretation of the taphonomic histories of these faunal remains and the human behaviours associated with the formation of this unique assemblage.The research was funded through an AHRC doctoral award as part of the AHRC Digital Transformations funded Theme Large Grant Fragmented Heritage (AH/L00688X/1) and through in-kind contributions from MONREPOS
Manual/digital interactions in 'Project code-named Humpty'
No full textNo‘Project code-named Humpty' is a performative art piece involving the creation, fragmentation, and reconstruction of a 2.7 m high classically inspired sculpture. It was conceived to complement an archaeological science research project setting out to explore the use of digital scanning technologies in artefact reconstruction. The statue's form was free sculpted in clay over a period of four years. It was cast in a self-supporting cementitious material specifically for the purpose of ceremonial fragmentation and subsequent reconstruction by archaeologists. In this chapter, we explore the project's human/machine intentions, interactions, development processes and their wider implications leading to fragmentation. We explore how 3D terrestrial laser scanning with photogrammetry was used to chart the creation of the sculptural form and how scans informed finite element analysis, essential for safe casting and fragmentation. We show how structured light scanning was essential to create a digital backup of the mould and how drone imagery documented fragmentation tests and 360° imaging recorded studio and quarry activity.AHRC, the Arts and Humani[es Research Council who in 2017 awarded follow-on funding to support ‘Project code-named Humpty' (AH/R004846/1), linked to the AHRC Digital Transformations Theme Large Grant ‘Fragmented Heritage' (AH/L00688X/1). Highlight Digital Transformations, linked to the ‘Fragmented Heritage' Project, funded under the Arts and Humanities Research Council's Digital Transformations Theme Large Grant
The face of Stonehenge: 3D surface scanning, 3D printing and facial reconstruction of the Winterbourne Stoke cranium
No full textNoStonehenge is one of the world’s most iconic archaeological sites and yet we know relatively little about the people that created this important prehistoric monument. This chapter contributes to this narrative by reconstructing the face of a high-status male who was recovered during nineteenth-century excavation of a Neolithic Long Barrow. Situated in the barrow cemetery at Winterbourne Stoke, this site is important to the contextual setting and contemporary development of Stonehenge as a ceremonial and ritual centre. The chapter reports on the combination of digital bioarchaeology and visual heritage methods, together with forensic reconstruction, that transformed the physical remains of the individual into digital data that was manipulated for 3D printing; and subsequent anatomical and visual art interpretation to yield physical life-like characteristics. His facial features have been rebuilt on the 3D printed skull, muscle by muscle, to create a highly realistic face from the era. The aim of this project was to provide a tangible connection to the archaeology of the Stonehenge landscape and to the people that developed its ceremonial and ritual significance—narrowing the temporal distance through the emotional experience it means to gaze into the eyes of a Neolithic individual
Performance of a bidirectional horizontal-axis tidal turbine with passive flow control devices
No full textNoHorizontal-axis tidal turbines (HATTs) have the acknowledged potential to extract a large amount of green renewable energy from ocean tides. Among these, bidirectional HATTs (BHATTs) with centrosymmetric hydrofoils have advantages in terms of reliability and maintenance cost. To improve the performance of BHATTs, this paper investigates the influence of different passive flow control devices (PFCDs), such as wing fences, winglets, and squealers, on the performance of the BHATT. To the end, a three-dimensional (3D) numerical model with a k-ω SST model and a sliding mesh method was applied to simulate a 18 m diameter BHATT. The numerical framework was validated using two experiments. The mesh convergence was tested. The results show that the wing fences can effectively suppress the spanwise flow above the suction surface of blades, although they cannot improve the BHATT performance. To inhibit the wingtip vortices and enhance the torque of the rotor, a series of centrosymmetric winglets are designed and optimized. The optimal BHATT can produce up to 2.3% more energy at design tip speed ratio (TSR)
Green Public Procurement and the circularity of the built environment
Get PDFYesThe case study presented in this paper is a demonstration of the success of a green public procurement (GPP) model that allows to build buildings in accordance with the principles of the circularity by ensuring sustainable consumption and production.
The relevance of green procurement has lately become a focus of research because of public institutions' growing interest in circularity for built environment investment. The case study of a school gym presented in this paper is emphasising the role the public authorities are playing in promoting the transition to the circularity of the built environment through sustainable procurement. Despite being a voluntary instrument, GPP also plays a significant part in the global efforts to develop a more resource-efficient economy. It can help to develop a critical mass of demand for more sustainable buildings that would be difficult to bring to the market otherwise.
The challenge of convincing public-sector institutions to use GPP across nations, to become 'normal practice' continues and will drive the market for environmentally friendly buildings. The case study presented demonstrate that the GPP model is widely replicable and leads to positive outcomes. It has already been applied for the Brancati secondary and high school project built in Pesaro, Italy, that has been awarded by the International Jury of the Green Solutions Awards 2020-21, Construction 21, the Prize for the Energy for the Temperate Climate International Platform category
Using routine healthcare data to evaluate the impact of the Medicines at Transitions Intervention (MaTI) on clinical outcomes of patients hospitalised with heart failure: protocol for the Improving the Safety and Continuity Of Medicines management at Transitions of care (ISCOMAT) cluster randomised controlled trial with embedded process evaluation, health economics evaluation and internal pilot
No full textYesIntroduction Heart failure affects 26 million people globally, approximately 900 thousand people in the UK, and is increasing in incidence. Appropriate management of medicines for heart failure at the time of hospital discharge reduces readmissions, improves quality of life and increases survival. The Improving the Safety and Continuity Of Medicines management at Transitions (ISCOMAT) trial tests the effectiveness of the Medicines at Transition Intervention (MaTI), which aims to enhance self-care and increase community pharmacy involvement in the medicines management of heart failure patients.
Methods and analysis ISCOMAT is a parallel-group cluster randomised controlled trial, randomising 42 National Health Service trusts with cardiology wards in England on a 1:1 basis to implement the MaTI or treatment as usual. Around 2100 patients over the age of 18 admitted to hospital with heart failure with at least moderate left ventricular systolic dysfunction within the last 5 years, and planned discharge to the geographical area of the cluster will be recruited. The MaTI consists of training for staff, a toolkit for participants, transfer of discharge information to community pharmacies and a medicines reconciliation/review. Treatment as usual is determined by local policy and practices. The primary outcome is a composite of all-cause mortality and heart failure-related hospitalisation at 12 months postregistration obtained from national electronic health records. The key secondary outcome is continued prescription of guideline-indicated therapies at 12 months measured via patient-reported data and Hospital Episode Statistics. The trial contains a parallel mixed-methods process evaluation and an embedded health economics study.National Institute for Health Research Programme Grant for Applied Research (RP-PG-0514-20009)
Review of Immunotherapy Classification: Application Domains, Datasets, Algorithms and Software Tools from Machine Learning Perspective
No full textYesImmunotherapy treatments can be essential sometimes and a waste of valuable resources in other cases, depending on the diagnosis results. Therefore, researchers in
immunotherapy need to be updated on the current status of research by exploring: application domains e.g. warts, datasets e.g. immunotherapy, classifiers or algorithms e.g. kNN and software tools. The research objectives were: 1) to study the immunotherapy-related published literature from a supervised machine learning perspective. In addition, to reproduce immunotherapy classifiers reported in research papers. 2) To find gaps and challenges both in publications and practical work, which may be the basis for further research. Immunotherapy, diabetes, cryotherapy, exasens data and ”one unbalanced dataset” are explored. The results are compared with published literature.
To address the found gaps in further research: novel experiments, unbalanced studies, focus on effectiveness and a new classifier algorithm are suggested
Nano TiO2-engineered anti-corrosion concrete for sewage system
Get PDFYesIn this study, anti-corrosion concrete for sewage system was developed with nano TiO2 (NT) and reactive powder concrete (RPC). The corrosion resistances of NT modified RPC (NTMRPC) in high concentration enhanced sewage were investigated from the perspectives of biological, physical and chemical corrosion resistances, respectively. In addition, mechanical properties of NTMRPC after sewage corrosion were also studied. Research results indicated that NT can endow RPC with antimicrobial property through their microorganism biodegradation properties. The inhibition and elimination rates of NTMRPC to its surface microorganisms were 37.35% and 80.93%, respectively. After sewage corrosion, the surface roughness, mass loss and deterioration depth of RPC were decreased by 62.57%, 15.48% and 18.44% due to the NT inclusion, respectively. In addition, the pH values of RPC in the deterioration depth ranges of 0-3 mm and 3-6 mm were increased by 11.45% and 23.62%, respectively. NT can restrain the strength deterioration of RPC in high concentration enhanced sewage. This may be due to the improved sewage biological anti-corrosion performances of RPC by inhibiting/eliminating the microorganisms on the surface of RPC as well as the enhanced sewage physical/chemical anti-corrosion performances of RPC by improving the compactness of RPC.The authors thank the funding provided by the National Science Foundation of China 513 (51978127 and 51908103), and National Key Research and Development Program of China 514 (2018YFC070560 and 2017YFC0703410)