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Micromanipulation has enabled numerous technological breakthroughs in recent years, from advances in biotechnology to microcomponent assembly. Micromotion devices commonly use piezoelectric actuators (PZT) together with compliant mechanisms to provide fine motions with position resolution in the nanometre or even sub‐nanometre range. Many multiple degree of freedom (DOF) micromotion stages have parallel structures due to better stiffness and accuracy than serial structures. This paper presents the development of a three‐DOF compliant micromotion stage with flexure hinges and parallel structure for applications requiring motions in micrometres. The derivation of a simple linear kinematic model of the compliant mechanism is presented and simulation results before and after calibration are compared with results from finite element (FE) modeling and experiments. The position control system, which uses an experimentally determined constant‐Jacobian, and its performance are also presented and discussed.

Neighbourhood environmental factors are associated with active lifestyle. Despite the considerable research that examined their relationship with elderly active lifestyle, the measures' reliability and validity attracted less attention. This pilot study aimed at examining the reliability and validity of eleven neighbourhood environmental factors hypothesized to promote active lifestyle among the elderly. The neighbourhood environmental factors ratings were compared from previous studies scale and the NEWS scale among young elderly residing in two cities in Malaysia. The identified items were further examined to identify their potential association with elderly active lifestyle. All the measures showed valid values except for convenience in both neighbourhoods and accessibility in Taman Meru. All items showed good-excellent reliability except for convenience in Taman Meru. All factors showed moderate-good correlations with active lifestyle except for walkability and convenience in Taman Meru, maintenance and safety in TTDI. The neighbourhood environmental factors can be used in neighbourhood and relevant surveys.

This research aims to determine the relationship between the consumption of animal products and attitudes towards animals among university students in Eurasia.

A survey was conducted with collaborators in each country who supervised volunteers to personally invite 16,777 students to take part. The sample was composed of 3,433 students from 103 universities in 11 Eurasian countries. ANOVA was used to compare the responses. All analyses were conducted using the statistical packages Minitab 15 and SPSS 15.

A total of 47 per cent of university students avoided some meat products, 4 per cent were vegetarians and 0.4 per cent vegans. Students avoiding some meat did so principally for environmental and health reasons, and beef and lamb were the meats most likely to be avoided. Vegetarians avoided meat mainly for health reasons. Vegans had greater concern about humans using animals than vegetarians, who in turn had greater concerns than those avoiding some meat.

Avoidance of animal products was related to an increased level of concern for animal rights, animal experimentation and wildlife, with vegans demonstrating the greatest concern. This implied that students' attitudes to animal welfare and rights can affect animal product‐eating behaviours.

This study conflicts with previous studies by demonstrating that health rather than environment was a major reason for vegetarianism. The study highlights the importance of environmental, health and welfare concerns but not religion in avoidance of animal products.

Studies conducted on association between diet and cataract, found conflicting results. This paper aims to investigate the association between healthy eating index (HEI) and serum antioxidant and oxidant indices in patients with different degrees of cataract compared to the healthy subjects.

Ninety volunteers (aged > 50 years) were divided into the cataract (n = 45) and healthy control (n = 45) groups in this case-control study. Anthropometric variables, HEI score, serum total oxidant capacity (TOC) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), blood pressure, physical activity and stress measurements were done for all participants.

There was a significant difference in stress level between subgroup of first-degree cataract and healthy controls (16.6 ± 2.3 vs 42.5 ± 29.0, p < 0.001) as well as third-degree cataract (16.6 ± 2.3 vs 75.2 ± 22.6, p < 0.001). Serum TAC was significantly higher in healthy people compared to the first-degree (1.2 ± 0.2 vs 1 ± 0.2, p = 0.002) and third-degree cataract patients (1.2 ± 0.2 vs 1.0 ± 0.2, p = 0.013). Also, serum TOC was significantly lower in healthy controls compared to the first-degree (8.2 ± 1.1 vs 9.2 ± 1.0, p = 0.006) and third-degree cataract patients (8.2 ± 1.1 vs 9.1 ± 1.2, p = 0.015). There was a significant direct correlation between moderation (r = 0.61, p = 0.019) and total score of HEI (r = 0.57, p = 0.031) with serum TAC only in the first-degree cataract patients. Also there was a significant negative correlation between moderation score of HEI with serum TOC in the first-degree cataract patients (r = −0.60, p = 0.025), and there was a significant negative correlation between moderation (r = −0.36, p = 0.017) and total score (r=−0.35, p = 0.021) of HEI and TOC in the total cataract patients.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on the assessment of the relationship between components of HEI and serum antioxidant indicators in different types of cataract compared to healthy individuals. It could be a start point for more detailed and large-scaled studies, even intervention studies, in this field.

The growth in ageing population globally has led to the increase in demand for retirement or aged care homes. Adopting public–private partnership (PPP) in the global retirement village market has become the new approach to address some of the emerging challenges. This paper aims to explore and analyse the critical success factors (CSFs) for the adoption of PPP in the global retirement village market.

An empirical questionnaire survey was conducted with experienced practitioners in the global PPP and retirement village markets. Mean score analysis, normalization range method, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance and factor analysis were used for analysis.

Results show that out of the 27 CSFs identified, the most significant ones in developing PPP retirement village projects are “the age-friendly design of villages”, “appropriate location of PPP retirement village”, “reliable and accessible health and physical facilities” and “effective social inclusion and integration in villages”. Further analysis shows that the 27 CSFs can be grouped into 7 major factor groupings, namely, “effective project monitoring”, “financial support”, “social integration”, “effective contractual arrangement between parties”, “government commitment and support”, “sustainable design of village” and “effective payment structure”.

The outputs of this study will adequately inform retirement village developers, retirement village stakeholders and local government authorities of the best practices they should put in place to ensure the sustainable growth of the global retirement village market.

The paper aims to describe a novel framework for service design to achieve the overall goal of sustainability and to characterize it while exploring the benefit of doing so for both sustainability and service. This novel framework also proposes new opportunities for sustainability-oriented innovation.

The paper presents a novel approach to design and implement services that will lead to a reduction in the production of goods and will offer alternatives that will reduce whatever production process is involved in its creation, i.e. clean service – CleanServ.

The authors’ findings suggest that a CleanServ is a service that is competitive with, if not superior to, its conventional tangible or intangible counterparts and one that reduces the use of natural resources and cuts or eliminates emissions and wastes. CleanServs can be categorized into five different groups based on their fundamental contribution to sustainability: prevention, reduction, replacement, efficiency and offset. While the service sector continuous to grow in size and importance, CleanServs will play a key role in improving the sustainability of our society and in preserving the environment.

The CleanServ concept offers a new framework and novel opportunities for sustainability-oriented innovation in the service sector. Implementing CleanServs will enable services to be imbued with sustainability and will promote the exchange of the production of goods with the delivery of services that will supply the same solution more sustainably.

CleanServs are expected to change how we consume both products and services and will, therefore, promote a more rational use of natural resources and will reduce the discharge of pollution to the environment. Implementation of the CleanServ concept will, thus, advance the current state of the art in sustainable development and improve quality of life on a global scale.

This paper presents a novel approach and a framework that conceptualizes clean services, which we term CleanServs, while exploring the benefit of doing so, both for sustainability and for service science.

A Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and or High Dependency Unit (HDU) is a locked, intensive treatment facility available to people experiencing acute psychiatric distress. For many people who access public mental health services in Australia, the PICU/HDU is the primary point of admission, and should represent and facilitate timely assessment and an optimum treatment plan under a recovery framework. Nurses are the largest health discipline working in this specialty area of care. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A qualitative study aimed to investigate the skills, experience, and practice, of nurses working in the PICU/HDU in relation to a recovery model of care. Identifying how nurses provide care in the PICU/HDU will inform a clinical practice guideline to further support this specialty area of care. Four focus groups were facilitated with 52 registered nurses attending.

The nurse participants identified specific skills under four distinct themes; Storytelling, Treatment and recovery, Taking responsibility, and Safeguarding. The skills highlight the expertise and clinical standard required to support a recovery model of care in the PICU.

The research findings highlight urgency for a National PICU/HDU clinical practice guideline.

A PICU/HDU practice guideline will promote the standard of nursing care required in the PICU/HDU. The PICU/HDU needs to be recognised as a patient centred, therapeutic opportunity as opposed to a restrictive and custodial clinical area.

Providing transparency of practice in the PICU/HDU and educating nurses to this specialty area of care will improve client outcome and recovery.

Very few studies have explored the skills, experience, and practice, of nurses working in the PICU/HDU in relation to a recovery model of care. A dearth of research exists on what is required to work in this specialty area of care.