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A public transport based crowdshipping concept: Results of a field test in Denmark
Full text linkIncreasing e-commerce and accompanying last mile delivery traffic challenges cities worldwide in terms of congestion, emissions, and road safety. This paper presents the main results of a full-scale field test of a public transport based crowdshipping concept aiming to address these challenges, by utilizing passenger flow to reduce the amount of delivery vehicles entering central city districts. The aim of this work was to assess adoption potential as well as the practical and conceptual aspects that may affect this.
The test took place in Denmark's capital region and northern Jutland over a two-month period, in which 28 automated parcel lockers (APLs) were placed at public transport stations/stops. Passengers were rewarded for bringing along empty test parcels on their trips, from APL to APL via an app developed for the purpose. Along with the app data, pre- and post-survey data was captured.
The practical viability of the concept was validated from a user perspective, with a high degree of post-measure acceptance. Regression results show that ease of interacting with the service affected acceptance of the tested concept, but not the intention to participate in a future realized concept. Perceived behavioural control was the most important predictor of intention, acceptance and behaviour during the trial. Our results highlight the relevancy of contextualizing and supplementing intention as a practice-based measure for adoption propensity
The causal relationship between green finance and geopolitical risk: Implications for environmental management
Full text linkThis study investigates the time-varying causal relationship between geopolitical risk and green finance during the period of 1 March 2012–February 16, 2022. By using the novel time-varying causality testing framework, our findings shed light on the nexus between geopolitical risk and green finance in informing environmental management decisions. First, we find that time heterogeneity does exist in the causal relations between geopolitical risk and green finance. Second, geopolitical risk has a more prolonged impact on the volatility of green bonds and renewable energy than the return. Yet, geopolitical risk tends to influence the return of clean energy more persistently than volatility. Third, we observe that geopolitical risk has a more sustained impact on the return and volatility of renewable energy than clean energy. This might be due to the distinct nature of the production of clean energy and renewable energy, thereby providing implications for effective environmental management. Lastly, this paper demonstrates that the impact of geopolitical risk on the return of European clean energy has diminished since the onset of 2015. The volatility of the European clean energy sector is not affected by global geopolitical risk, underscoring the necessity of promoting the development of this sector to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and enhance energy independence
Leading co-production in five UK collaborative research partnerships (2008-2018): responses to four tensions from senior leaders using auto-ethnography
Full text linkBackgroundDespite growing enthusiasm for co-production in healthcare services and research, research on co-production practices is lacking. Multiple frameworks, guidelines and principles are available but little empirical research is conducted on ‘how to do’ co-production of research to improve healthcare services. This paper brings together insights from UK-based collaborative research partnerships on leading co-production. Its aim is to inform practical guidance for new partnerships planning to facilitate the co-production of applied health research in the future. MethodsUsing an auto-ethnographic approach, experiential evidence was elicited through collective sense making from recorded conversations between the research team and senior leaders of five UK-based collaborative research partnerships. This approach applies a cultural analysis and interpretation of the leaders’ behaviours, thoughts, and experiences of co-production taking place in 2008-2018 and involving academics, health practitioners, policy makers, and representatives of third sector organisations. ResultsThe findings highlight a variety of practices across CLAHRCs, whereby the intersection between the senior leaders’ vision and local organisational context in which co-production occurs largely determines the nature of co-production process and outcomes. We identified four tensions in doing co-production: 1) idealistic, tokenistic vs realistic narratives, 2) power differences and (lack of) reciprocity, 3) excluding vs including language and communication, 4) individual motivation vs structural issues.ConclusionsThe tensions were productive in helping collaborative research partnerships to tailor co-production practices to their local needs and opportunities. Resulting variation in co-production practices across partnerships can therefore be seen as highly advantageous creative adaptation, which makes us question the utility of seeking a unified ‘gold standard’ of co-production. Strategic leadership is an important starting point for finding context-tailored solutions; however, development of more distributed forms of leadership over time is needed to facilitate co-production practices between partners. Facilitating structures for co-production can enable power sharing and boost capacity and capability building, resulting in more inclusive language and communication and, ultimately, more credible practices of co-production in research. We provide recommendations for creating more realistic narratives around co-production and facilitating power sharing between partners
Biofilm inspired fabrication of functional bacterial cellulose through ex-situ and in-situ approaches
Full text linkBacterial cellulose (BC) has been explored for use in a range of applications including tissue engineering and textiles. BC can be produced from waste streams, but sustainable approaches are needed for functionalisation. To this end, BslA, a B. subtilis biofilm protein was produced recombinantly with and without a cellulose binding module (CBM) and the cell free extract was used to treat BC either ex-situ, through drip coating or in-situ, by incorporating during fermentation. The results showed that ex-situ modified BC increased the hydrophobicity and water contact angle reached 120°. In-situ experiments led to a BC film morphological change and mechanical testing demonstrated that addition of BslA with CBM resulted in a stronger, more elastic material. This study presents a nature inspired approach to functionalise BC using a biofilm hydrophobin, and we demonstrate that recombinant proteins could be effective and sustainable molecules for functionalisation of BC materials
Beyond the genitalia: What is a hu-WO-man?
Full text linkReview of: What Is a Woman? (2022, documentary), presented by Matt Walsh, directed by Justin Folk, and produced by The Daily Wire
Developing a virtual laboratory module for forensic science degree programmes
Full text linkLaboratory work is essential in forensic science degree courses. They provide students an opportunity to put theory into practice, as well as developing relevant professional laboratory skills through a case-based learning framework. Traditional laboratory instruction involves the use of a written laboratory script or manual that details the laboratory procedures and techniques for an experiment. Occasionally, instructors may provide a brief in-person demonstration of a critical aspect of the experimental procedure during the session. Since the coronavirus pandemic, the use of virtual laboratory (vLab) resources, such as video demonstrations, in teaching science practical skills has increased. These resources may be used alone or in combination with in-person laboratory sessions in a flipped learning model. Previous research has shown that vLab resources could enhance students’ knowledge, confidence, and experience inside the laboratory. This study aimed to explore the perceptions and attitudes of forensic science students towards the use of a vLab module. Three videos were created in which procedures for carrying out presumptive tests, screening exhibits and recording examinations were demonstrated. Seven undergraduate students enrolled at different stages of a forensic science degree programme were introduced to the vLab module and interviewed using a semi-structured interview approach. Through a thematic synthesis of the interview transcripts, we found that the implementation of an inclusive vLab module could enhance students’ knowledge, confidence, and independence in carrying out forensic science laboratory procedures
Adapted Suicide Safety Plans to Address Self-Harm, Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Behaviours in Autistic Adults: Protocol for a Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial
Full text linkBackgroundSuicide prevention is a national priority for the UK government. Autistic people are at greater risk of experiencing self-harm and suicidal thoughts and behaviours than the general population. Safety plans are widely used in suicide prevention but have not yet been designed with and for autistic people. We developed the first safety plan specifically targeting suicidality in autistic adults: the Autism Adapted Safety Plan (AASP). It consists of a prioritised list of hierarchical steps that can be used prior to or during a crisis to mitigate risk of self-harm and suicidal behaviour. This is a pilot study that aims to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the AASPs and the research processes, including the response rates, potential barriers and reach of AASPs, methods of recruitment, what comprises usual care, and economic evaluation methods/tools.MethodsThis is an external pilot randomised controlled trial of a suicide prevention tool aimed at mitigating the risk of self-harm and suicidal behaviour in autistic adults: AASPs. Participants will be assessed at baseline and followed up 1 month and 6 months later. Assessments include questions about self-harm, suicidality, service use, and their experience of the AASP/taking part in the study. Autistic adults who have a clinical autism diagnosis and self-reported history of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, or suicidal behaviours within the last 6 months will be invited to take part in the study. Informed consent will be obtained. Participants will be recruited via community and third sector services (including community settings, autism charities, and mental health charities). They may also “self-refer” into the study through social media recruitment and word of mouth. Ninety participants will be randomised to either develop an AASP or receive their usual care in a 1:1 ratio.DiscussionThe present study will provide an evaluation of the suitability of the processes that would be undertaken in a larger definitive study, including recruitment, randomisation, methods, questionnaires, outcome measures, treatment, and follow-up assessments.Trial registrationISRCTN70594445, Protocol v4: 8/2/22
‘It’s the girl!’: Comics, Professional Identity, Affection, Nostalgia and Embarrassment
Full text linkThis chapter explores relationships between gender, professional identity, and personal history in relation to the comic strip medium. I take an autoethnographic approach to this topic, outlining my identity as a female British library professional intensely engaged with graphic novels in the 1990s, a contemporary development in the medium at that point, and that of being a girlhood comics reader from the 1960s onwards. The chapter goes on to locate the tensions I experienced around gender and comics in a wider context in which I played a significant role, that being the development and promotion of graphic novel collections in British public libraries during 1990s and into the twenty-first century
Reframing commitment in authentic leadership: Untangling relationship–outcome processes
Full text linkAffective organizational commitment is theorized and empirically tested as a key mediator between authentic leadership and desirable employee outcomes. The results of a two-wave survey of 830 business people in Australia support a serial mediation model of authentic leadership efficacy. Followers' perceptions of authentic leadership behavior influence their personal identification and affect-based trust in the leader, which in turn are mediated by affective organizational commitment to positively influence their work engagement and job satisfaction. These findings reinforce previous work that positions personal identification and affect-based trust as the two primary mediating mechanisms of authentic leadership. This paper extends prior research by demonstrating the important role of followers' affective bonds with their organization in the operation of authentic leadership, moving beyond the dyad in our understanding of follower outcomes
Futures of Fracking and the Everyday: Hydrocarbon Infrastructures, Unruly Materialities and Conspiracies
Full text linkDrawing on ethnographic research in two locations facing the prospect of shale gas exploration in Poland and the UK, I analyse how the future can be simultaneously predetermined and undetermined. Local actors handle this complex experience by relating to fracking infrastructures, fixing the materialities of shale gas as well as cultivating an air of conspiracy around the intricacies of gas developments. I focus on the everyday to broaden the scope of recent scholarly writing on resource indeterminacy that explores how corporate strategies create the futures of resource extraction. The contradictory temporalities that these strategies generate have to be reconciled at the sites of extraction. I call for opening our theorisations up to how resource indeterminacy and assertions of predetermined futures are mediated in the everyday contexts of noncorporate actors. By considering these daily forms of engagement with resource exploration, we gain a more realistic perspective on the potentialities of extraction