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Dorothy A. Yen, Benedetta Cappellini and Terry Dovey
This paper seeks to understand children’s responses to food waste in school by exploring children’s views on food waste and empowering them to discuss and develop their own…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to understand children’s responses to food waste in school by exploring children’s views on food waste and empowering them to discuss and develop their own solutions.
Design/methodology/approach
Using creative problem-solving approach and photovoice technique, the authors conducted focus group discussions with 28 primary school children in the UK.
Findings
Children have a clear understanding of the consequences of food waste for individuals, society and the environment. They displayed negative emotions concerning food waste and responded positively to the possibility of food recycling. Their solutions to reduce food waste will require multiple stakeholder engagement, including self-regulation, peer-monitoring, teacher supervision and family support. However, rather than relying on intervention schemes that require significant adult involvement, children placed a heavy emphasis on self-regulation, playing an active role in addressing food waste in school.
Originality/value
This research extends previous understanding, by showing children as agentic consumers who can shape food waste solutions in school. These findings are of use to primary teachers and local education authorities, to aid children in developing their own solutions to reduce food waste in their own schools.
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Kailun Feng, Shiwei Chen, Weizhuo Lu, Shuo Wang, Bin Yang, Chengshuang Sun and Yaowu Wang
Simulation-based optimisation (SO) is a popular optimisation approach for building and civil engineering construction planning. However, in the framework of SO, the simulation is…
Abstract
Purpose
Simulation-based optimisation (SO) is a popular optimisation approach for building and civil engineering construction planning. However, in the framework of SO, the simulation is continuously invoked during the optimisation trajectory, which increases the computational loads to levels unrealistic for timely construction decisions. Modification on the optimisation settings such as reducing searching ability is a popular method to address this challenge, but the quality measurement of the obtained optimal decisions, also termed as optimisation quality, is also reduced by this setting. Therefore, this study aims to develop an optimisation approach for construction planning that reduces the high computational loads of SO and provides reliable optimisation quality simultaneously.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes the optimisation approach by modifying the SO framework through establishing an embedded connection between simulation and optimisation technologies. This approach reduces the computational loads and ensures the optimisation quality associated with the conventional SO approach by accurately learning the knowledge from construction simulations using embedded ensemble learning algorithms, which automatically provides efficient and reliable fitness evaluations for optimisation iterations.
Findings
A large-scale project application shows that the proposed approach was able to reduce computational loads of SO by approximately 90%. Meanwhile, the proposed approach outperformed SO in terms of optimisation quality when the optimisation has limited searching ability.
Originality/value
The core contribution of this research is to provide an innovative method that improves efficiency and ensures effectiveness, simultaneously, of the well-known SO approach in construction applications. The proposed method is an alternative approach to SO that can run on standard computing platforms and support nearly real-time construction on-site decision-making.
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Service robotics, a branch of robotics that entails the development of robots able to assist humans in their environment, is of growing interest in the hospitality industry…
Abstract
Purpose
Service robotics, a branch of robotics that entails the development of robots able to assist humans in their environment, is of growing interest in the hospitality industry. Designing effective autonomous service robots, however, requires an understanding of Human–Robot Interaction (HRI), a relatively young discipline dedicated to understanding, designing, and evaluating robotic systems for use by or with humans. HRI has not yet received sufficient attention in hospitality robotic design, much like Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) in property management system design in the 1980s. This article proposes a set of introductory HRI guidelines with implementation standards for autonomous hospitality service robots.
Design/methodology/approach
A set of key user-centered HRI guidelines for hospitality service robots were extracted from 52 research articles. These are organized into service performance categories to provide more context for their application in hospitality settings.
Findings
Based on an extensive literature review, this article presents some HRI guidelines that may drive higher levels of acceptance of service robots in customer-facing situations. Deriving meaningful HRI guidelines requires an understanding of how customers evaluate service interactions with humans in hospitality settings and to what degree those will differ with service robots.
Originality/value
Robots are challenging assumptions on how hospitality businesses operate. They are being increasingly deployed by hotels and restaurants to boost productivity and maintain service levels. Effective HRI guidelines incorporate user requirements and expectations in the design specifications. Compilation of such information for designers of hospitality service robots will offer a clearer roadmap for them to follow.
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Vera Amicarelli and Christian Bux
Given the importance of food waste in the economic, social, health and environmental dimensions, the purpose of this work is to detect, through a systematic and configurative…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the importance of food waste in the economic, social, health and environmental dimensions, the purpose of this work is to detect, through a systematic and configurative literature review on food-waste-measurement methodologies, the global approaches, characteristics, limitations, opportunities and results applied within the literature. The analysis of these papers provides useful information about how far we are from international action plans and, therefore, how we need to direct programs and policies to measure and reduce food waste and ensure food security and food safety.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have conducted a systematic, configurative literature review on food waste measurement methodologies applied only within empirical studies published in academic peer-reviewed scientific journals. Based on the Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2019/1597 of May 3, 2019 (OJEU, 2019) regarding common methodologies and minimum quality requirements for the homogeneous assessment of food waste quantities and composition, the authors investigated the issue on Web of Science Core Collection (WoS) from June 2000 to June 2020. The authors researched keywords within article titles, abstracts and author keywords by utilizing 34 different research strings.
Findings
The proposed review particularly refers to following topics: measurement methodologies applied according to the Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2019/1597; editorial placement and publication timeline; geographical area; food supply-chain stage and publication journals; and the main features, limitations, opportunities and results for each measurement methodology as presented by authors. Among the first 48,000 results, only 58 academic articles are perfectly in line with the aim of the review, highlighting the lack of standardized methodologies, the limits of those proposed and the deficiency of comparable results to achieve sustainable international goals.
Originality/value
The proposed review is one of the few concerning food waste measurement methodologies. Food waste measurement is essential to rebalance the actual inadequate food system and to switch it toward a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly one, thereby (1) managing the human nutrition system paradox of hungry, undernourished and over-weight people; (2) reducing food insecurity; (3) ensuring each living being's access to healthy, nutritious and sustainable food; and (4) reducing environmental impacts (neutral or positive impact) and the loss of biodiversity and mitigating climate change.
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Jan-Halvard Bergquist, Samantha Tinet and Shang Gao
The purpose of this study is to create an information classification model that is tailored to suit the specific needs of public sector organizations in Sweden.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to create an information classification model that is tailored to suit the specific needs of public sector organizations in Sweden.
Design/methodology/approach
To address the purpose of this research, a case study in a Swedish municipality was conducted. Data was collected through a mixture of techniques such as literature, document and website review. Empirical data was collected through interviews with 11 employees working within 7 different sections of the municipality.
Findings
This study resulted in an information classification model that is tailored to the specific needs of Swedish municipalities. In addition, a set of steps for tailoring an information classification model to suit a specific public organization are recommended. The findings also indicate that for a successful information classification it is necessary to educate the employees about the basics of information security and classification and create an understandable and unified information security language.
Practical implications
This study also highlights that to have a tailored information classification model, it is imperative to understand the value of information and what kind of consequences a violation of established information security principles could have through the perspectives of the employees.
Originality/value
It is the first of its kind in tailoring an information classification model to the specific needs of a Swedish municipality. The model provided by this study can be used as a tool to facilitate a common ground for classifying information within all Swedish municipalities, thereby contributing the first step toward a Swedish municipal model for information classification.
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Matti Haverila, Kai Christian Haverila and Caitlin McLaughlin
Against the backdrop of dynamic capabilities theory, this research examines the relationship between knowledge and marketing agility in the context of big data marketing analytics…
Abstract
Purpose
Against the backdrop of dynamic capabilities theory, this research examines the relationship between knowledge and marketing agility in the context of big data marketing analytics (BDMA). The relevant knowledge constructs under investigation are business/marketing, relational, technological and technology management. The level of BDMA deployment is also examined to determine its impact on these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was used to gather data from marketing professionals working in firms with at least limited experience in big data (BD) deployment in the United States and Canada. The results were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with a sample of 236 responses.
Findings
The results indicate that marketing professionals perceived the knowledge and marketing agility constructs differently than the previous research on IT professionals. The knowledge construct was perceived as a two-dimensional construct consisting of broad knowledge skills and specific technical knowledge skills. Only the broad knowledge skills construct was significantly related to the marketing agility construct, with progressively high predictive validity and relevance when the deployment of BDMA progresses.
Originality/value
The paper's originality stems from the different conceptualizations of the knowledge and marketing agility constructs due to the use of a novel sample of marketing professionals in this study. The research also contributes to the dynamic capabilities theory by emphasizing the critical role of vital knowledge when aiming to enhance marketing agility.
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