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Can the βdownward spiralβ of material conditions, mental health and faith in government be stopped? Evidence from surveys in βred wallβ constituencies
Get PDFIf policy preferences follow material interests, the experience of socioeconomic disadvantage ought to increase support for redistributive policies. However, experiencing disadvantage might also reduce faith in governmentβs ability to make things better, indirectly reducing support for redistributive action, and leading to a spiral of widening disadvantage and increasing political disengagement. Indeed, disadvantaged communities sometimes favour right-wing platforms over those offering redistribution, as in the taking of βred wallβ constituencies in the North and Midlands of England by the UK Conservative party in 2019. This article uses quantitative data from a survey of βred wallβ voters (n=805) to examine the bases of peopleβs perceptions of redistributive policies. We find that even a radical redistributive policy, Universal Basic Income (UBI), receives consistently high levels of support (69.45 s.d. 27.24). Lower socioeconomic status, greater financial distress and greater risk of destitution all increase support. These effects are partly mediated by mental distress, which is markedly higher among the less well off. However, the same socioeconomic factors also reduce faith in government, which in turn is associated with lower support. Thus, those who stand to benefit most from redistribution are aware of their material interests, but are also the least confident in the ability of government to improve their lives. As such, there is a clear political challenge for progressive politicians: those whose support they depend upon require a significant redistributive offer, but also need to be persuaded of the viability of reform to support progressive change
TOPSIS analysis for sustainable redevelopment potential of abandoned infrastructure in Nigeria
Get PDFPurpose: Abandonment poses a range of effects detrimental to the development of a country such as Nigeria. Restoring such infrastructure in a sustainable manner is a challenge identified in the literature. The aim of this study is to evaluate a novel approach β the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) to identify the sustainability criteria for the redevelopment of abandoned infrastructure in Nigeria. The literature evidences use of TOPSIS in various development contexts, but not in the context of redevelopment of abandoned infrastructure. Design/methodology/approach: This study explores the potential of TOPSIS in the sustainable redevelopment of abandoned infrastructure in Nigeria through a combination of a quantitative method of data collection β questionnaire β and a case study. The case study focuses on the abandoned Federal Government Secretariat in Lagos. One hundred and sixty-one (161) participants responded to the questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using TOPSIS analytical technique. Findings: Refurbishment is considered as the most sustainable alternative for the redevelopment of abandoned infrastructure. For criteria consideration, structural integrity and foundation categorized under the technological attributes ranked highest for refurbishment and conversion alternatives. Waste generation and prevention and profitability top the list for demolition and procurement respectively. Social implications: The social benefit of this study is to bring building considered to be an eyesore back into use. Originality/value: The findings from the analysis orchestrates the importance of the built environment research concentrating on innovative frameworks for sustainable redevelopment of abandoned structures in the construction industry
Industry 4.0 and Lean Six Sigma integration in manufacturing: A literature review, an integrated framework and proposed research perspectives
Get PDFThis article explores the literature on lean management (LM), Six Sigma (SS), Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and their relationship. A systematic literature review (SLR) combined with bibliometric analysis was conducted to identify, select and evaluate articles and was supported by content analysis to classify papers into group-discussed clusters. A total of 134 articles were retrieved from relevant databases and publisher engines between 2011 and June 2022. The analysis of these articles enabled us to identify the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on Lean SS; the relationship between LM, SS and Industry 4.0 and the implications of their combination on operational excellence. The results show that while a majority of researchers consider Industry 4.0 to be a driver of LSS and a prerequisite for helping companies access the data and analytics needed, others find them to be complementary and synergistic. Similarly, various authors support the idea that LSS could be a facilitator of Industry 4.0. This study provides an overview of the main research streams in this field and its shortcomings and presents an LSS4.0 framework integrating Lean SS and Industry 4 which will be of great value to academics and practitioners working in this area
Exercise as airway clearance therapy (ExACT) in cystic fibrosis: a UK-based e-Delphi survey of patients, caregivers and health professionals
Get PDFReplacing traditional airway clearance therapy (tACT) with exercise (ExACT) in people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF) is a top research priority. A UK-based e-Delphi consensus was performed to inform the type(s), duration and intensity of ExACT. The expert panel comprised CF physiotherapists, doctors, pwCF and parents/partners. Exercise ACT was considered to be aerobic activity, of at least 20βmin duration and intense enough to elicit deep breathing. Consensus was reached that assessment breaths, coughs and huffs should accompany exercise to remove loose secretions, with support for trials to investigate ExACT versus tACT during times of stable disease but not pulmonary exacerbations
Healthcare professionalsβ digital health competence and its core factors; development and psychometric testing of two instruments
Get PDFBackground
Healthcare professionalsβ digital health competence is an important phenomenon to study as healthcare practices are changing globally. Recent research aimed to define this complex phenomenon and identify the current state of healthcare professionalsβ competence in digitalisation but did not include an overarching outlook when measuring digital health competence of healthcare professionals.
Objectives
The purpose of this study was to develop and psychometrically validate two self-assessed instruments measuring digital health competence and factors associating with it.
Methods
The study followed three phases of instrument development and validation: 1) conceptualisation and item pool generation; 2) content validity testing and pilot study; and 3) construct validity and reliability testing. The conceptual background of the instruments was based on individual interviews conducted with healthcare professionals (n = 20) and previous systematic reviews. A total of 17 experts assessed the instrumentβs content validity. Face validity was evaluated by a group of healthcare professionals (n = 20). Data collection from 817 professionals took place in spring-summer 2022 in nine organisations. Construct validity was confirmed with exploratory factor analysis. Cronbachβs alpha was used to assess the internal consistency of the instruments.
Results
The instrument development and validation process resulted in two instruments: DigiHealthCom and DigiComInf. DigiHealthCom included 42 items in 5 factors related to digital health competence, and DigiComInf included 15 items in 3 factors related to educational and organisational factors associated with digital health competence. The DigiHealthCom instrument explained 68.9 % of the total variance and the factorsβ Cronbach alpha values varied between 0.91 and 0.97. The DigiComInf instrument explained 59.6 % of the total variance and the factorsβ Cronbach alpha values varied between 0.76 and 0.88.
Conclusions
The two instruments gave valid and reliable results in psychometric testing. The instruments could be used to evaluate healthcare professionalsβ digital health competence and associated factors
A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of the Urban Fabric of Nuremberg From the 1940s Onwards Using Historical Maps
Get PDFAs one of the most heavily bomb-damaged cities in Germany, with around 90 of its historic city centre destroyed, Nuremberg (NΓΌrnberg) provides an excellent example to investigate the urban transformation of a postwar city. In this article, we bring together heterogeneous and under-researched data sets and archival material from the postwar period and convert urban features depicted in historic maps and scanned documents into digital geospatial data that is analyzed with a geographical information system. We combine morphological variables of townscape analysis to present three different transformations over time. First, using a damage map of Nuremberg from the Second World War, we examine the varying extent of bomb damage across the city at the detailed district level. Secondly, we focus on land-use units, comparing the prewar spatial land-use distribution from 1940 with historical maps of land use/cover from 1956 and more recent land uses in 1969. Finally, using selected characteristics of urban form, we categorize prewar and present-day urban block typologies to examine urban morphological change. In doing so, we contribute methodologically and substantively towards a new framework for the analysis of postwar cities. We demonstrate how geographical information systems can be utilized for historical research and the study of change in urban environments, presenting a map-based interpretation of the planning strategies to have guided postwar urban development in Nuremberg. Providing an alternative appraisal of postwar city transformation, our diachronic research offers insight into Nurembergβs under-researched past, which is also of interest to planners and policymakers seeking to improve future cities
Substituting meat for mycoprotein reduces genotoxicity and increases the abundance of beneficial microbes in the gut: Mycomeat, a randomised crossover control trial
Get PDFPurpose
The high-meat, low-fibre Western diet is strongly associated with colorectal cancer risk. Mycoprotein, produced from Fusarium venanatum, has been sold as a high-fibre alternative to meat for decades. Hitherto, the effects of mycoprotein in the human bowel have not been well considered. Here, we explored the effects of replacing a high red and processed meat intake with mycoprotein on markers of intestinal genotoxicity and gut health.
Methods
Mycomeat (clinicaltrials.gov NCT03944421) was an investigator-blind, randomised, crossover dietary intervention trial. Twenty healthy male adults were randomised to consume 240 g dayβ1 red and processed meat for 2 weeks, with crossover to 2 weeks 240 g dayβ1 mycoprotein, separated by a 4-week washout period. Primary end points were faecal genotoxicity and genotoxins, while secondary end points comprised changes in gut microbiome composition and activity.
Results
The meat diet increased faecal genotoxicity and nitroso compound excretion, whereas the weight-matched consumption of mycoprotein decreased faecal genotoxicity and nitroso compounds. In addition, meat intake increased the abundance of Oscillobacter and Alistipes, whereas mycoprotein consumption increased Lactobacilli, Roseburia and Akkermansia, as well as the excretion of short chain fatty acids.
Conclusion
Replacing red and processed meat with the Fusarium-based meat alternative, mycoprotein, significantly reduces faecal genotoxicity and genotoxin excretion and increases the abundance of microbial genera with putative health benefits in the gut. This work demonstrates that mycoprotein may be a beneficial alternative to meat within the context of gut health and colorectal cancer prevention
The geographical ontology challenge in attending to anthropogenic climate change: regional geography revisited
Get PDFAnthropogenic climate change is a complex process that does not respect political boundaries. Thus it is argued states are problematic agencies for tackling the global climate emergency. But it is the world political map that provides the geographical ontology foundation of the massive efforts of climate policy development. Geography's long tradition of regional study is suggested as a means of countering focus on states for policy development. Ontological inventions are proposed that transcend states. These take the form of experimenting with geographical regions encompassing human-environmental interactions as alternative spatial policy framings to the world political map. Three examples are presented: intergovernmental resilient regions for mitigation; localization through urban sustainable regions; and regions for planetary stewardship of humans-in-nature. None of these are βsolutionsβ, rather they are illustrations of possible future regional geographies intended to stimulate current cohorts of geographers to contribute necessary regional thinking to the scholarship unpinning climate change policymaking
Early Years Physical Activity and Motor Skills InterventionβA Feasibility Study to Evaluate an Existing Training Programme for Early Years Educators
Get PDFA lack of fundamental motor skills (FMS) in the early years can lead to lower engagement with physical activity (PA), and track into adulthood. This study aimed to test the feasibility of an existing intervention for Early Years Educators (βEducatorsβ) designed to increase knowledge, confidence and the ability to increase PA and FMS of children in a deprived area of England. Non-randomised design with wait-list control. Sixty-seven settings in Middlesbrough, North East England were invited. Recruitment target: 10 settings, 2 Educators per setting, four children per Educator. Intervention: one-day training course βPhysical Literacy in the Early Yearsβ, an age-appropriate theoretical and practical training course to support the development of physical literacy. Primary outcomes: recruitment, retention, acceptability of intervention and outcome measures. Secondary outcomes: change in Educatorsβ knowledge, intentions and behaviour, and change in childrenβs BMI z-score, PA and FMS. Eight settings were recruited; all Intervention Educators completed the training. Six settings participated at follow-up (four Intervention, two Control). The target for Educator recruitment was met (two per setting, total n = 16). Questionnaires were completed by 80% of Intervention Educators at baseline, 20% at follow-up. Control Educators completed zero questionnaires. No Educators took part in a process evaluation interview. Forty-eight children participated at baseline, 28 at follow-up. The intervention was deemed acceptable. The recruitment, retention and acceptability of measurements were insufficient to recommend proceeding. Additional qualitative work is needed to understand and surmount the challenges posed by the implementation of the trial
Multi-Objective Stochastic Techno-Economic-Environmental Optimization of Distribution Networks with G2V and V2G Systems
Get PDFPlug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are one of the most promising technologies for decarbonizing the transportation sector towards the global Net-zero target. However, charging/discharging of PEVs impacts the electricity network's stability, increases the operating costs, and affects the voltage profile. This paper proposes a flexible multi-objective optimization approach to evaluate and deploy vehicle-to-grid and grid-to-vehicle technologies considering techno-economical and environmental factors. Furthermore, life cycle of PEV batteries, charging/discharging pattern, and driving behaviours of the PEV owners are considered. The simulations are run over a modified IEEE 69-bus radial distribution test system to minimize two objective functions including the operating costs and CO 2 emissions using the heuristic-based Firefly Algorithm in a stochastic optimization framework considering renewable generations, load consumption, and charging/discharging timing of PEVs as the uncertain parameters. The results demonstrate significant reductions in the operating costs and CO 2 emissions, and the voltage profile of the network is improved properly. Besides, by implementing the discharging facility of PEVs in the network, the PEV owners save a considerable amount in operating costs