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Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: Victim assistance and environmental remediation in the Pacific
No full textYesThis report provides insight into the benefits and challenges pertaining to victim assistance and environmental remediation in the wake of nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific. Nuclear weapons were tested by the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), and France across historical colonial and occupied commonwealth lands in the Pacific Ocean from 1946 until 1996.1 Australia, Republic of Kiribati, Marshall Islands, and French Polynesia were directly affected and experienced significant humanitarian and environmental consequences. Other nearby Pacific Island states, including Cook Islands, Fiji, and Solomon Islands were also impacted by the tests. While evidence of environmental and health effects exists, the total long-term consequences remain unknown. Nuclear weapons possessor states are reluctant to accept responsibility for harms and are unwilling to provide transparency around historical nuclear military activity. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) offers a path forward to understand the impacts of Pacific nuclear weapons testing and to support nation-states affected by these activities. Articles 6 and 7 of the Treaty provide a framework for addressing the humanitarian and environmental consequences and an avenue for international collaboration towards these ends. This report highlights the potential local and grassroots benefits of the Treaty to Pacific nations and recommends that Pasifika people are supported to engage with the decision-making process at every stage of its development and implementation. We recommend that mechanisms and safeguards are in place, including long-term support, monitoring, auditing, and education, to ensure access to support is equitable and fair. We recommend that Articles 6 and 7 are implemented through a lens of epistemic justice, which is justice of knowledge, and frameworks must be established to ensure parity of understanding among relevant Pacific communities, through translation of key materials into noncolonial languages and establishing community networks and mentors.This publication was made possible by a grant from Ploughshares Fund
Towards a sustainable solution: The barriers and enablers in adopting circular economy principles for medicines waste management in UK and Kuwaiti hospitals
No full textYesThe significance of medicines lies not only in their medicinal value but also in their cost, emphasizing the importance of proper utilisation to reduce waste and optimise resource allocation. The transition to a circular economy, which entails shifting from the current ‘take-use-dispose’ model to a closed-loop system, emerges as a pragmatic approach to curbing waste generation. This study therefore aims to identify the enablers and barriers associated with adopting circular economy practices in the management of medicines waste within hospital pharmacies, examining practices in both the United Kingdom and Kuwait. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this research is validated using empirical data gathered through qualitative interviews (Phase one, n = 29) and quantitative questionnaires (Phase two, n = 86). Key themes were identified in the qualitative data and supported by quantitative results, these were: Barriers and Enablers (Cognitive, Structural and Cultural) and CE Practices (Circulation of products and Eliminating waste and pollution). 89% of the total sample confirmed that legislation was a key barrier to CE adoption. Sustainable design of products and packaging was considered a priority by a large proportion of the respondent sample (89%), but technology was seen to be unsupportive in advancing CE agendas (90% confirmation across both samples). The sharing of medication with other hospital pharmacies was deemed a sensible approach with 75% of the Kuwait sample favouring this. Sharing stock within UK NHS Trusts was practiced but not between Trusts. To maximise the use of products in circulation nearly half of UK participants said they repackaged medications to reduce wastage. Embracing circular economy principles in hospitals’ management of medicines waste presents a promising strategy that can not only enhance national eco-friendly supply chain management practices but also mitigate medicines waste, bolster sustainability efforts, and alleviate disposal costs. Frameworks are proposed to overcome barriers to CE and support pharmacy operational activity promoting higher levels of circular practice
Reflexive Sensemaking and Sensegiving: An Exploratory Study of Human Resources Analytics Practitioners
Get PDFWhile the literature identifies the integral role of human resources analytics practitioners and their capabilities as the defining criteria in extracting the true value of human resources analytics, limited attention has been paid to exploring how the role is executed in practice, nor is much understood from a required capabilities perspective. Accordingly, this research seeks to explore the emerging role of human resource analytics practitioners through the theoretical lens of sensemaking and sensegiving. The study adopts a qualitative research design to collect data from 30 human resources analytics practitioners in the United Arab Emirates through the extended semi-structured narrative of practice interviews and document analysis. The study develops a repertoire of sensemaking and sensegiving practices and their underlying activities to explain how practitioners, while drawing on contextual knowledge, reflexively enact cognitive-discursive and material practices of 'pursuing coherence', 'setting up and delivering conversations', ‘sensible enactment through material support’ and ‘navigating paradoxes’. It shows how practitioners knowledgeably enact these four sets of practices and their underlying activities through 'performing reflexive conversations, underpinning their sensemaking and sensegiving as they perform their analytical work. The research offers insight into how ‘reflexive sensemaking and sensegiving are enacted to support each other through the interplay between cognitive-discursive and material practices. From a practical perspective, the study provides practical insights into how practitioners' capabilities can be built to operate skillfully in their boundary-spanning role through five interlinked situated cognitive-discursive practices with material support
Dementia education for Diagnostic Radiography students: Impact on confidence, knowledge, and attitudes towards dementia
No full textYesIntroduction
Diagnostic radiographers play a key role in the healthcare of people living with dementia, capturing and producing diagnostic images in a range of settings. Diagnostic radiographers often lack the confidence and skills to assess people with dementia appropriately, and people with dementia often report negative experiences within imaging departments. There is a lack of radiography-specific dementia education within pre-registration programmes in the UK so newly qualified radiographers enter the workforce unprepared. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a co-produced dementia education programme on student radiographers’ preparedness to care, knowledge, confidence and attitudes towards dementia.
Methods
A 3-hour co-produced dementia education was delivered and evaluated using a pre-test-post-test design. A single self-administered questionnaire, comprising validated instruments, was used to assess second-year radiography students' knowledge, confidence and attitudes towards dementia. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare scale scores before and after the education.
Results
Participants knowledge, confidence and preparedness to care for people with dementia significantly increased following the intervention. Attitudes were also more positive post-intervention. Participants reported that they found the education valuable.
Conclusions
Dementia education comprising of taught theory and simulation-based education, co-produced with experts by experience, effectively improves diagnostic radiography students’ knowledge, confidence and attitudes in caring for people living with dementia.
Implications for practice
Combined theory and practice-based dementia education should be included in undergraduate diagnostic radiography curriculums
Numerical Modelling and Analysis on Structural Behaviour of Composite Slim-Floor Beams
Get PDFThis thesis aims to investigate the behaviour of composite slim-floor beams based on numerical modeling and analysis. This dissertation summaries the developments and prospects of composite floor beams, includes investigation of push-out tests, shear beam tests, flexural beam tests. The most important result in this research includes two main parts. Part 1: Based on push out tests of shear connectors, FE model developed and validated, parameter study conducted, and a simple design calculation method (the Correlation Strain Method and the Direct Stress Method) is proposed to predict the load bearing capacity of concrete dowel shear connector. Part 2: Based on test results of shear beams and flexural beams, FE models developed and validated, and parametric studies were carried out. According to FE results, the shear (in a weak cross-section) and bending resistance prediction methods (stress block method) with related classifications and limitations were proposed. The validity and accuracy of both the finite element (FE) models and simple predictive methods were verified. In both shear connector and beam studies, the mechanical behaviour and effective parameters of composite beam were explained in detail based on the FE
parametric studies, that cover concrete strength, diameter of concrete dowel, diameter of reinforcement rebar passing through the concrete dowel, and even the shear connection degree in the flexural beam
Barriers and facilitators of implementing proactive deprescribing within primary care: a systematic review
Get PDFYesProactive deprescribing - identifying and discontinuing medicines where harms outweigh benefits - can minimise problematic polypharmacy, but has yet to be implemented into routine practice. Normalisation process theory (NPT) can provide a theory-informed understanding of the evidence base on what impedes or facilitates the normalisation of routine and safe deprescribing in primary care. This study systematically reviews the literature to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing routine safe deprescribing in primary care and their effect on normalisation potential using NPT.PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, CINAHL, PsycINFO and The Cochrane Library were searched (1996-2022). Studies of any design investigating the implementation of deprescribing in primary care were included. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and the Quality Improvement Minimum Quality Criteria Set were used to appraise quality. Barriers and facilitators from included studies were extracted and mapped to the constructs of NPT.
A total of 12,027 articles were identified, 56 articles included. In total, 178 barriers and 178 facilitators were extracted and condensed into 14 barriers and 16 facilitators. Common barriers were negative deprescribing perceptions and suboptimal deprescribing environments, while common facilitators were structured education and training on proactive deprescribing and utilising patient-centred approaches. Very few barriers and facilitators were associated with reflexive monitoring, highlighting a paucity of evidence on how deprescribing interventions are appraised.
Through NPT, multiple barriers and facilitators were identified that impede or facilitate the implementation and normalisation of deprescribing in primary care. However, more research is needed into the appraisal of deprescribing post-implementation.This research was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Yorkshire and Humber Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (NIHR Yorkshire and Humber PSTRC)
From Interaction to Immersion: Exploring AR and VR's Transformative Role in Consumer Engagement
No full textNoIn recent times, marketers have started using augmented and virtual reality (AR-VR) to offer unique customer experiences and enhance engagement. While the use of AR-VR in marketing has become the ‘new normal', businesses are still struggling to use these tools to effectively attract and retain customers. Building on the existing literature, this chapter argues that overcoming these challenges requires understanding how to seamlessly integrate these tools throughout the customer journey. This will help businesses in curating AR-VR-enabled spaces that are aligned with customers' experiential preferences at different stages. In this chapter, the authors first summarize the impact of AR-VR technologies on customer engagement. Secondly, the challenges related to integrating these immersive technologies are highlighted. The authors then integrate the literature on AR-VR technologies and the customer journey and propose a framework and encourage academicians and practitioners to focus more on the different stages of the customer journey while designing AR-VR enabled marketing strategies
Evaluation and improvement of a plastic production system using integrated OEE methodology: A case study
Get PDFYesOverall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is a key indicator to measure the effectiveness of production systems. This paper aims to evaluate and improve a plastic production line based on OEE evaluation. An integrated framework is proposed to enhance the production system efficiency. This paper presents the data for a Plastic production line in Jordan under real working conditions. The data covers three months. A framework process to improve the OEE of the Plastic production system was proposed. Six major stoppage losses were inspected with the help of Pareto analysis. Furthermore, the actual availability, efficiency, and quality rate measures, together with the whole OEE for each working day, week, and month of the production line were shown. The methodology is based on determining the OEE of a Plastic production line after determining the causes of failures. The fishbone diagram tool is used to determine the root causes of failures. To improve the OEE measure, several losses are identified. The results reveal that the company should improve its policy to improve the production line’s performance and reduce losses. Top management should also pay attention to reducing the speed losses, which consist of 58.1%, and eliminate the planned and unscheduled disruptions covering 12.73% of all losses. This can be achieved by establishing a proper operation management procedure and strategy. This, in turn, optimized the equipment’s effectiveness. The quality procedure should include the changeover program that may be executed every day. Similarly, all preventive maintenance procedures for the six machines should be properly executed in predetermined intervals. There are several limitations in the research. Firstly, the research case study is only the plastic production system. Secondly, the research is related to the downtime or stoppage by analyzing it using fishbone diagram. Further, supported by other techniques such as the Pareto chart, six big losses analyses and CED. This research conducted on a Plastic industry. However, similar studies can be carried out in future in other manufacturing industries like electronic, pharmaceutical, textile industries, etc., and service industry. However, as future research work the contributions of this paper with other lean manufacturing concept like six sigma, quality function deployment, TQM, and just-in-time manu-facturing, can also be conducting to assess the overall production line efficiency. On the other hand, several statistical tests can be implemented based on data collected of TPM performance indicators. The proposed method supports policymakers in their decision-making process on the operations management line. Further-more, it improves the production systems’ productivity quality, and performance, reducing unplanned stop-pages and breakdowns, and reducing maintenance costs
Hybrid entrepreneurship in just transitions: Dealing with dilemmas facing ‘the other’
Get PDFYesThe aim of the paper is to investigate the role of hybrid entrepreneurship in developing justice and diversity responses to sustainability transitions that are complicated by contexts of ambiguous socio-technological shifts and manifested in material and ethical dilemmas for ‘the other’, i.e., those deemed different. Based on analysis of two original case studies featuring the other—the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation indigenous community in Canada and the Karachi Down Syndrome Program in Pakistan—we identify the conditions for engaging minority communities in strong collaborative and participatory cross-stakeholder processes to deal with dilemmas posed by sustainability transitions. We centre on issues of social inclusion and social equity. We illuminate how hybrid entrepreneurship practices enable, structure and manage collective learning within and outside hybrid ventures to facilitate equitable transitions. Finally, we propose how to co-create actions that amplify marginalized voices to influence institutions
Workplace innovation and work value ethics: The mediating role of leadership in Asian SMEs
Get PDFYesResearch on the correlations between design leadership, work values and ethics, and workplace innovation is lacking, especially in non-Western regions. This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of design leadership in the relationship of work values and ethics with workplace innovation in Asian small- and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs). Five hypotheses were established to explore the proposed model. Data were obtained from 995 SMEs in Japan, Thailand, China, and Vietnam and were examined using partial least squares analysis. The findings indicated a correlation between work values and ethics and design leadership, with the latter influencing workplace innovation across its four dimensions. This demonstrated the significant association between work values and ethics and workplace innovation. Design leadership was also shown to fully mediate the relationship between work values and ethics and workplace innovation in Asian SMEs. This study provides a deeper understanding of the emerging literature on the associations of design leadership, work values and ethics, and workplace innovation. It emphasizes the importance of design leadership and its correlations with various aspects of workplace innovation and work values and ethics, which have not received adequate attention in the existing literature. Asian SME entrepreneurs can improve the innovation capabilities of their organizations by focusing on and implementing design leadership behaviors, which may thereby help their organizations establish a competitive advantage and promote long-term sustainability