Julia Kaufhold, Johannes Kohl, Venkatesh Naidu Nerella, Christof Schroefl, Christoph Wenderdel, Paul Blankenstein and Viktor Mechtcherine
Extrusion-based digital construction (DC) approaches make it feasible to overcome constraints of conventional construction, namely, high formwork costs, long total construction…
Abstract
Purpose
Extrusion-based digital construction (DC) approaches make it feasible to overcome constraints of conventional construction, namely, high formwork costs, long total construction times, low productivity and geometrical inflexibility. However, to date, no satisfactory solutions for extruding strongly inclined and horizontal elements are available. A wood-starch-composite has been systematically developed as a sustainable support material (SM) for extrusion-based DC.
Design/methodology/approach
Material and process-specific requirements were identified for this purpose, and a feasible process chain was developed. A parametric study was conducted to determine the influence of SM composition on its extrusion feasibility and compressive strength. Various compositions with two starch types and two wood particle shapes were tested. New, specific testing methods were developed. Selected compositions were tested using a 3D-printing device to verify extrudability and form stability.
Findings
Relationships between material compositions of SM and its rheological and mechanical properties were identified. All mixtures showed sufficient compressive strength in respect of the loading conditions analysed. However, their flow properties varied significantly. A mixture of native maize starch and wood floor was identified as the best variant (compressive strength 2.3 MPa).
Research limitations/implications
Comprehensive investigations of possible process chains, as well as full-scale demonstration and optimisation of the process parameters, were not in the scope of this paper. Such investigations are intended in further studies.
Practical implications
The general applicability of wood-based SM for DC with cement-based construction materials was proved.
Originality/value
The findings offer a novel and promising solution for 3D-printing of non-vertical concrete elements. Experimental setup and material compositions are detailed to ensure reproducibility.
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Markus Kohl, Andreas Habl, Khalil Kallali, Jakob Puff, Johannes Fottner, Raphaël Oger, Matthieu Lauras and Jiayao Li
The Covid-19 pandemic has created an environment of high uncertainty and caused major disruptions in supply chains. The new normal that has emerged during the pandemic is leading…
Abstract
Purpose
The Covid-19 pandemic has created an environment of high uncertainty and caused major disruptions in supply chains. The new normal that has emerged during the pandemic is leading to a need to identify new solutions to improve supply chain crisis management in the future. Practitioners require adapted recommendations for solutions to implement. These recommendations are laid out in this paper.
Design/methodology/approach
A combination of a systematic literature review (SLR), qualitative semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey of supply chain practitioners is applied. The interviews provide insights into supply chain practitioners' views of their approaches and, together with the solutions proposed in the literature, provide future recommendations for action for supply chain managers.
Findings
During the pandemic, companies experienced disruptions in supply, production and demand, as well as interruptions in transportation and distribution. The majority of the solutions proposed in the literature, coincide with the opinions of practitioners. These include collaborative risk management, real-time monitoring and information sharing, supply network management, scenario planning and “what-if” simulations.
Research limitations/implications
Although the number of interviews conducted and questionnaires completed is limited, they still serve to supplement the SLR with important practical insights and recommendations.
Originality/value
This paper presents a review of recent academic literature focusing on the impact of Covid-19 on supply chains and the existing solutions to mitigate that impact and manage future crises. It has been expanded to include industry perspectives and experiences. The findings of this study present recommended practices and strategies for better managing supply chains during a crisis.
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Stef P.J. Kremers, Marieke A.M. Dijkman, Judith S.B. de Meij, Merlin E. Jurg and Johannes Brug
The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the extent to which Dutch children are aware of their own physical activity level, and to what extent children's physical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the extent to which Dutch children are aware of their own physical activity level, and to what extent children's physical activity is habitual. Special attention was paid to the potential moderating effect of “awareness” and “habit strength” on the association between psychosocial factors and exercise behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered on 419 Dutch children, aged eight to 13 years, with self‐administered questionnaires in which demographic variables, reported physical activity levels, psychosocial factors and levels of awareness and habit strength were assessed.
Findings
Children with high awareness of personal behaviour and high habit strength were reported to be more physically active. Furthermore, psychosocial factors were less associated with physical activity in children with low awareness of their personal physical activity levels and in children for whom physical activity was strongly habitual than in children with high awareness or with low habit strength concerning physical activity.
Research limitations/implications
The paper uses self‐reports to measure physical activity, which gives less accurate information on physical activity behaviour than objective measures. Furthermore, the cross‐sectional nature of this study design precludes the authors from inferring causal relationships between psychosocial factors and physical activity behaviour.
Practical implications
For promoting physical activity in children to be successful, it is important that education is first aimed at raising awareness levels. Besides, strengthening the habitual nature of physical activity in children might help to establish higher levels of physical activity.
Originality/value
The study indicates the importance of the concepts “awareness” and “habit strength” in physical activity behaviour. It offers useful information for designers of interventions to improve physical activity in children.
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In The Great Derangement, the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh examines the present inability to understand and represent the scale and violence of the environmental crisis. The book is…
Abstract
In The Great Derangement, the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh examines the present inability to understand and represent the scale and violence of the environmental crisis. The book is a passionate awakening call for collective action to drive change, with Ghosh clearly identifying the limits of the present framework of values, which inhibits politicians, industrialists and economists from moving towards a truly sustainable civilization. In the Anthropocene, non-human and post-human factors are raising questions about the concept of a silent Nature that can be domesticated for human advantage and the perspective of continuous progress – both of which have dominated the modern age. Nevertheless, the detailed scientific analysis of the violation of the planet’s limited capacities continues to be refuted, triggering irrational, short-term utilitarian behaviours which are preventing the fundamental changes required for the transition to sustainable development. Artists, philosophers and writers can play an invaluable role in reframing our ways of thinking, filling the gap between scientific knowledge and emotional perception. Pioneering artistic experiments are appearing all over the world, from both well-established and emerging artists, and through collective processes, and this cultural movement is setting the scene for a new wave of eco-entrepreneurs driven by the altruistic mission of saving the planet. As has happened in many previous crises, it is again in the hands of artists to redefine how we perceive ourselves and so to support the emergence of new ideas, new learning, and finally to shape society and the economy around a renewed sense of the future for humankind on Earth.
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Nurul Nadiah Zainol, Nur Aqlima Ramli, Izran Sarrazin Mohammad, Anis Syazwani Sukereman and Muhammad Azwan Sulaiman
This paper aims to assess a measurement model of green cleaning for green buildings in Malaysia. Being one of the contributors to the indoor environmental quality performance…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess a measurement model of green cleaning for green buildings in Malaysia. Being one of the contributors to the indoor environmental quality performance, green cleaning has become one of the significant aspects that need to be considered for the well-being and performance of a building, particularly in a green building's operations and maintenance performance. Green buildings without green cleaning practices would hinder the benefits that should be rendered economically, socially and environmentally. However, the absence of clear green cleaning components and requirements in Malaysia has become a motivation to undertake this research.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey involving cleaning service providers and green building index (GBI) facilitators was carried out, and the data was then analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. However, this paper will only be focusing on the measurement model assessment.
Findings
Most of the green cleaning components and requirements are acceptable in the model except integrated pest management (in the cleaning procedure component) and hand soaps (in the product and materials component) due to lower factor loadings. Therefore, these two requirements were removed from the measurement model.
Research limitations/implications
Due to a paucity of professionals in the field of green cleaning, the researchers have selected GBI facilitators and cleaning service providers as respondents for this research. The researchers assumed that GBI facilitators are aware of acceptable products and materials for green buildings; meanwhile, cleaning service providers know what is the best cleaning technique and process that helps in achieving cost and resource efficiency. This research also assumed that the green cleaning components identified can be applied to any type of green building, regardless of the differences in needs in each type of building.
Practical implications
This discovery will give the industry, particularly cleaning service providers and green building management teams, a first look at the green cleaning components and requirements.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills the need to study how green cleaning helps in achieving the benefits rendered by green buildings.
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The objective of this paper is to demonstrate basic economic principles underlying the use of inspection systems and to derive a basis for comparing inspection costs with the…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to demonstrate basic economic principles underlying the use of inspection systems and to derive a basis for comparing inspection costs with the alternative costs of quality improvement.
Design/methodology/approach
For this purpose, the impact of final, rectifying and sequential inspection on unit production costs is assessed using a production process model with uniform defect propensity in the single process steps. Based on this model, an objective function with the objective of minimizing unit production costs including inspection costs is formulated and a genetic algorithm method used to optimize it.
Findings
Two distinct patterns of optimal inspection allocation could be detected for changing defect rate, processed volume, fixed inspection costs and variable input costs. These allocation patterns highlight the basic economic relations of an inspection approach and verify the assumption that sequential inspection schemes are cost‐optimal. However, the benefits of quality improvement are found to be superior to any inspection scheme for a majority of cases.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are derived from a theoretical examination. Further limitations stem from the cost‐centred approach which only covers the internal component of an economic assessment of quality. However, the economic perspective advanced in this paper can in future be subjected to empirical testing and be elaborated by subsequent research.
Practical implications
Although built on simplifying assumptions, the process model can provide important insights into basic economic relations and demonstrate that inspection is an inferior way of dealing with quality problems. It can thereby help to promote a better economic understanding of quality.
Originality/value
This paper provides an economic assessment of an important aspect of quality management, which has so far not been advanced.
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Proximity, historic ties, government support, and far‐sighted strategy put German business ahead of the pack in Eastern Europe.
Emma Kaminskiy, Simon Senner and Johannes Hamann
Shared decision making (SDM) prioritises joint deliberation between practitioner and service user, and a respect for service-users’ experiential knowledge, values and preferences…
Abstract
Purpose
Shared decision making (SDM) prioritises joint deliberation between practitioner and service user, and a respect for service-users’ experiential knowledge, values and preferences. The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature pertaining to key stakeholders’ attitudes towards SDM in mental health. It examines whether perceived barriers and facilitators differ by group (e.g. service user, psychiatrist, nurse and social worker) and includes views of what facilitates and hinders the process for service users and practitioners.
Design/methodology/approach
This review adopts the principles of a qualitative research synthesis. A key word search of research published between 1990 and 2016 was undertaken. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies were included.
Findings
In total, 43 papers were included and several themes identified for service user and practitioner perspectives. Both practitioners and service users see SDM as an ethical imperative, and both groups highlight the need to be flexible in implementing SDM, suggesting it is context dependent. A range of challenges and barriers are presented by both practitioners and service users reflecting complex contextual and cultural features within which interactions in mental health take place. There were qualitative differences in what service users and practitioners describe as preventing or enabling SDM. The differences highlighted point towards different challenges and priorities in SDM for service users and practitioners.
Originality/value
The presentation of nuanced views and attitudes that practitioners and service users hold represent an important and under reported area and offer insight into the reasons for the gap between idealised policy and actual practice of SDM in mental health settings.
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Abstract
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Avant‐propos sous les auspices de l'Institut international de Coopération intellectuelle, paraissait en 1934 le t. I, consacré à l'Europe, du Guide international des Archives. Le…
Abstract
Avant‐propos sous les auspices de l'Institut international de Coopération intellectuelle, paraissait en 1934 le t. I, consacré à l'Europe, du Guide international des Archives. Le questionnaire envoyé à tous les États européens comportait sous les points 4 et 6 les questions suivantes: ‘Existe‐t‐il un guide général pour les diverses catégories d'Archives ou des guides particuliers pour l'une ou l'autre d'entre elles?’ et ‘Existe‐t‐il des catalogues imprimés, des publications tant officielles que privées, susceptibles de constituer un instrument complet de référence pour tout ou partie importante des fonds d'archives?’ Les réponses des divers pays à ces questions, malgré leur caractère très inégal, ont fait du Guide international un bon instrument d'information générale sur les Archives. Malheureusement les circonstances ont empêché la publication du volume consacré aux États non européens, tandis que le temps qui s'écoulait tendait à rendre périmés les renseignements fournis sur les Archives européennes.