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Can industry 5.0 technologies overcome supply chain disruptions? A perspective study on pandemics, war, and climate change issues
Get PDFIndustry 5.0 (I5.0) is the next industrial revolution that will leverage human intervention in collaboration with intelligent, logical, and smart machines to attain even more user-preferred and resource-efficient manufacturing and supply chain solutions. The main aim of this article is to study I5.0 technologies in supply chains when these are affected by disruptive phenomena such as those created by wars, climate change or pandemics. A systematic literature review methodology was conducted to understand the present knowledge connected with this theme. This study summarises 194 research articles from the period 2009 to 2022 to understand the present knowledge connected with this theme. The research findings show a significant gap related to the adoption of I5.0 technologies to prevent or overcome supply chain disruptions. 194 articles, including journal and review articles, were identified in the literature. The study provides a novel and insightful concept related to I5.0 within the context of supply chain disruptions. The potential applications of I5.0 and Industry 4.0 are elaborately discussed in three areas, namely: (1) disruptions in supply chains due to pandemics; (2) disruptions in supply chains due to war; and (3) disruptions in supply chains due to climate change. Finally, this study highlights research implications and proposes future research avenues that will contribute to further exploring the adoption of I5.0 technologies to prevent, manage and overcome disruptions in supply chains
Book review : Africa's urban youth: challenging marginalization, claiming citizenship by Amy S. Patterson, Tracy Kuperus, and Megan Hershey
No full textAfrica's youth (18–35 years old) comprise 65 percent of Africa's population. They play key political and societal roles, typically inhabiting environments characterized by swift urbanization, high unemployment rates, and inadequate state services. They are, it is often said, Africa's future, the potential dynamo to drive Africa's development.
The focus is on three former British colonies: Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda. Ghana is in West Africa and the latter two are in East Africa. Ghana is a liberal democracy, and Tanzania and Uganda have authoritarian governments. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in the three countries, the authors examine what urban youth understand by “citizenship” and what it means to be a good citizen.
Based on extensive interviews and focus group discussions with young urban Africans, including advocates, activists, and community leaders, both secular and religious, the book explains how income, religion, and gender influence young urban Africans' sense of citizenship
Building a big data platform using software without licence costs
Get PDFThis chapter presents the experience in developing and utilizing Big Data platforms using software without license costs, acquired while working on several projects at two research institutions – the Cyber Security Research Centre of London Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom and the GATE Institute of Sofia University in Bulgaria. Unlike the universal computational infrastructures available from large cloud service providers such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and others, which provide only a wide range of universal tools, we implemented a more specialized solution for Big Data processing on a private cloud, tailored to the needs of academic institutions, public organizations and smaller enterprises which cannot afford high running costs, or do significant in-house development. Since most of the currently available commercial platforms for Big Data are based on open-source software, such a solution is fully compatible with enterprise solutions from leading vendors like Cloudera, HP, IBM, Oracle and others. Although such an approach may be considered less reliable due to the limited support, it also has many advantages, making it attractive for small institutions with limited budgets, research institutions working on innovative solutions and software houses developing new platforms and applications. It can be implemented entirely on the premises, avoiding cloud service costs and can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the organizations. At the same time, it retains the opportunity for scaling up and migrating the developed solutions as the situations evolve
Addressing the biological security educational gap
Get PDFAddressing the gap in dual-use research within the framework of responsible research under the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) presents a significant challenge for all stakeholders, particularly within life science communities. While biosecurity education has long been recognized as a key strategy to address this issue, its effective implementation remains crucial. In this contribution, the authors provide an overview of the recently edited volume Essentials of Biological Security: A Global Perspective, describing its potential as a pivotal tool in addressing this gap. The book begins by underscoring the importance of enhancing biological security, particularly in the post-pandemic era, and defines biological security as the prevention of natural, accidental, and deliberate disease in humans, animals, and plants. While stressing the interrelated and critical nature of these aspects, the book primarily focus on the prevention of deliberate disease within the life sciences. In this context, the authors underscore and address the crucial role of scientists and their institutions, as highlighted by the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Global Guidance Framework for the Responsible Use of the Life Sciences. In addition to delineating the structure and content of the book, its timeliness, significance, overarching objectives, and scope, this commentary proposes that, in the longer term, an International Biological Security Education Network (IBSEN), akin to the successful model of the International Nuclear Security Education Network (INSEN) managed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), would be essential in effectively improving biosecurity
Unravelling the economic impact of climate change in Vietnam's Mekong River Delta and Southeast region
Get PDFVietnam faces a heightened susceptibility to natural disasters stemming from climate change, yet the impact of these disasters varies markedly across its regions. Consequently, it is imperative to scrutinize the climatic factors affecting the regional economy, with a particular dearth of research addressing the nexus between natural threats and the economies of the Mekong River Delta and the Southeast region of Vietnam. The primary objective is to investigate how temperature fluctuations, rising sea levels, storms, and forest fires can detrimentally affect agriculture, forestry, and infrastructure in these regions. The present research uses the secondary data from Vietnam's General Statistics Office and the German Agency for International Cooperation. Employing quantitative analysis, the study endeavours to assess and compare the influence of climate change elements on the economic trajectories of the Mekong River Delta and the Southeast region. The findings reveal that the Mekong River Delta is disproportionately impacted by economic losses attributed to rising sea levels when juxtaposed with other regions in Vietnam. Firstly, the escalating sea levels significantly jeopardize residential and agricultural land in the Mekong River Delta (1). Secondly, while wildfires inflict damage on forestry in both the Mekong River Delta and the Southeast area, their overall impact is deemed negligible (2). Thirdly, the study ascertains that houses in the Mekong River Delta and the Southeast region remain relatively unscathed by storms (3). However, it is noted that specific storms have inflicted substantial damage on both regions (4). In light of these findings, future research should delve deeper into the analysis of storm risks in the Mekong River Delta and the Southeast region. Such insights are crucial for enhancing our understanding of the vulnerabilities and devising effective strategies to mitigate the economic repercussions of climate change in these pivotal areas
The relationship between the moderate–heavy boundary and critical speed in running
Get PDFPurpose:
Training characteristics such as duration, frequency, and intensity can be manipulated to optimize endurance performance, with an enduring interest in the role of training-intensity distribution to enhance training adaptations. Training intensity is typically separated into 3 zones, which align with the moderate-, heavy-, and severe-intensity domains. While estimates of the heavy- and severe-intensity boundary, that is, the critical speed (CS), can be derived from habitual training, determining the moderate–heavy boundary or first threshold (T1) requires testing, which can be costly and time-consuming. Therefore, the aim of this review was to examine the percentage at which T1 occurs relative to CS.
Results:
A systematic literature search yielded 26 studies with 527 participants, grouped by mean CS into low (11.5 km·h−1; 95% CI, 11.2–11.8), medium (13.4 km·h−1; 95% CI, 11.2–11.8), and high (16.0 km·h−1; 95% CI, 15.7–16.3) groups. Across all studies, T1 occurred at 82.3% of CS (95% CI, 81.1–83.6). In the medium- and high-CS groups, T1 occurred at a higher fraction of CS (83.2% CS, 95% CI, 81.3–85.1, and 84.2% CS, 95% CI, 82.3–86.1, respectively) relative to the low-CS group (80.6% CS, 95% CI, 78.0–83.2).
Conclusions:
The study highlights some uncertainty in the fraction of T1 relative to CS, influenced by inconsistent approaches in determining both boundaries. However, our findings serve as a foundation for remote analysis and prescription of exercise intensity, although testing is recommended for more precise applications
Czy Bóg to Gadzio? Religijność i konwersje polskich Romów w perspektywie elastycznych epistemologii romskości
Get PDFThe article is an anthropological analysis of religious conversions among Polish Roma. Through pioneering ethnographic work among transnational Roma communities, the article takes a critical approach to contemporary analysis of religious lives of Roma in Polish scholarship. Following the relational approach of Frederik Barth, Michael Stewart and participatory ethnography of Paloma Gay y Blasco, the article proposes an ethnographically grounded interpretation of new forms of religiosity among Polish Roma emphasizing individual agency, creativity and the so called by Marco Solimene and Stefanii Pontrandolfo flexible epistemologies, through which we can better grasp overall social changes in Poland.
English language title: Is God a gadjo? Religion and conversions among Polish Roma through flexible epistemologies of Rom
An exploration of clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes associated with dietetic intervention in adolescent anorexia nervosa
Get PDFBackground:
Although dietitians possess expert knowledge on the interplay between nutrition and health, their specific role in family therapy for anorexia nervosa (FT-AN) remains a topic of debate. Some of the literature indicates insufficient evidence to affirm the impact of dietetic interventions, emphasising variability in outcomes and a need for standardised research. This study aimed to identify the clinical characteristics of adolescents requiring dietetic intervention during FT-AN and to assess differences in clinical outcomes between those receiving dietetic support and those who did not.
Methods:
A retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Maudsley Centre for Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders in London. Patients were selected from electronic records. Inclusion criteria were ICD-10 diagnosis of AN and completion of FT-AN treatment between January 2020 and December 2022. Collected data included weight (kg and %mBMI), eating disorder symptom severity, pre-assessment anxiety (patient and parent), and details of FT-AN sessions (i.e., frequency and amount). The sample was divided into two groups: those who received dietetic input and those who did not. Statistical analyses included Mann–Whitney U tests, χ2 tests, independent t-tests, and a logistic regression to examine differences at baseline, 4–6 weeks post-assessment, and discharge.
Results:
The study included 92 participants (dietetic group = 33 participants; non-dietetic group = 59 participants). Baseline characteristics were comparable between groups. The logistic regression showed no significant predictors for dietetic input. At 4–6 weeks, those requiring dietetic input exhibited lower %mBMI (83.3% vs. 87.3%, p = 0.027) and poorer weight gain (+2.3 kg vs. +3.1 kg, p = 0.04). By discharge, weight restoration was similar (92% vs. 93% mBMI, p = 0.64), although the dietetic group had more therapeutic treatment sessions (24 vs. 19, p = 0.04).
Discussion:
This study found no specific predictors for prioritising dietetic input in young people during FT-AN treatment. While those receiving dietetic support struggled with weight gain early and attended more sessions, both groups achieved similar weight outcomes by the end of treatment. Future research should focus on the timing and content of dietetic interventions, as well as perspectives from patients and caregivers, to better understand their role and impact on cognitive and emotional recovery aspects
Diasporic visions: colonialism, nostalgia and the empire in Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House
No full textReleased on the 70th anniversary of Partition, Gurinder Chadha’s film Viceroy’s House (2017), which is narratively and stylistically constructed in the fashion of heritage cinema, is said to provide a “British Asian perspective” on Partition. This article addresses the debate over British Asian narratives of the empire triggered by the release of the film and, in particular, the analysis focuses on the interplay between Partition, diaspora, and representations of the imperial past. Through the analysis of the film’s structure and narrative, the article discusses its representation of British India and argues that, notwithstanding its potential to unsettle traditional representations of the empire of period dramas, the film’s glamorous depiction of the British rulers ultimately feeds into the contemporary wave of colonial nostalgia (Davis 2018)
Is there asbestos in your make-up? Why women with cancer are suing big beauty brands
No full textThis is an investigative feature on the existence of asbestos in make-up and its health effects