Search results

Clothing fit, including garment ease and drape, impacts the volume of air between clothing layers and the body, directly affecting the amount of heat that can be transferred through a multi-layer clothing system. As most acute firefighting fatalities are caused by overexertion and heat strain, the purpose of this research was to determine the impact of ease allowances on air gaps in structural firefighting turnout suits and their subsequent effect on total heat loss (THL) when worn on a three-dimensional form.

Four turnout suits with chest ease allowances of 6″, 8″, 10″ and 12″ were evaluated using an ANDI dynamic sweating thermal manikin. The average predicted manikin THL of each ensemble was calculated from the thermal and evaporative resistance measurements. A three-dimensional (3D) body scanner was utilized to calculate the distance and volume of clothing air gaps between the base layer and each turnout suit.

Results demonstrate that reductions in upper body ease measurements trend towards statistically significant increases in THL, to a point, with fit limitations being reached before benefits can be significantly realized. An increase in standard chest ease measurements significantly decreased heat loss, even when forced convection from movement was considered.

This is the first article of its kind to explore the relationship between garment ease and predicted manikin THL, especially for fire service protective clothing. Findings indicate a valid recommendation for turnout gear designers and manufacturers to optimize clothing fit to improve breathability and potentially reduce incidents of heat strain in the fire service.

Firefighter Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is the only barrier between the firefighter and hazardous environment. Gloves are a crucial component of the multi-component PPE. Over time the gloves have reduced the intensity of hand injuries, yet further improvement in terms of material selection and glove design is required to strike the balance between protection and comfort. Focusing on the material aspect, the purpose of this study is to present literature analysis on material selection and testing for firefighter gloves.

The study conducted a literature analysis on material selection and characterization of firefighter PPE. The review summarizes and evaluates past work addressing the characterization of firefighter gloves in accordance with NFPA 1971 requirements and points out found research gaps to aid with foundation of future research.

The study summarizes several research works to inform readers about the material selection and characterization of firefighter gloves. Based on the analyzed literature, the study resulted in material specification sheets for firefighter gloves. The developed material specification sheets provide information in terms of crucial material properties to be incorporated for accurate functioning of firefighter gloves, testing methods to validate those material properties and materials from analyzed literature exhibiting desired properties.

With large research addressing firefighter PPE, only limited studies focus specifically on gloves. Thus, this study provides a literature analysis covering material selection and testing for gloves. A consolidated firefighter gloves material specification document, which does not appear to be available in the literature, will provide a foundation for the development and characterization of firefighter gloves to better serve the functions along with ensuring user comfort.

The purpose of this study is to predict the thermal protective performance (TPP) of flame-retardant fabric more economically using machine learning and analyze the factors affecting the TPP using model visualization.

A total of 13 machine learning models were trained by collecting 414 datasets of typical flame-retardant fabric from current literature. The optimal performance model was used for feature importance ranking and correlation variable analysis through model visualization.

Five models with better performance were screened, all of which showed R2 greater than 0.96 and root mean squared error less than 3.0. Heat map results revealed that the TPP of fabrics differed significantly under different types of thermal exposure. The effect of fabric weight was more apparent in the flame or low thermal radiation environment. The increase in fabric weight, fabric thickness, air gap width and relative humidity of the air gap improved the TPP of the fabric.

The findings suggested that the visual analysis method of machine learning can intuitively understand the change trend and range of second-degree burn time under the influence of multiple variables. The established models can be used to predict the TPP of fabrics, providing a reference for researchers to carry out relevant research.

The findings of this study contribute directional insights for optimizing the structure of thermal protective clothing, and introduce innovative perspectives and methodologies for advancing heat transfer modeling in thermal protective clothing.

The resource crisis in healthcare can be alleviated by engaging external stakeholders and resources in healthcare delivery. The authors use value and open innovation concepts to understand what motivates the stakeholders to join the healthcare innovation ecosystem and what value such an ecosystem brings to healthcare.

A systematic literature review following the PRISMA framework method was applied to reach the research objective. Out of a total of 509 identified articles published till 2021, 25 were selected as relevant for this review.

Six categories of actors were identified, including innovation intermediaries, which were so far neglected in the healthcare innovation literature. Furthermore, patients, healthcare providers, innovation suppliers, investors and influencers were described. The authors also distinguished internal and external stakeholders. The authors show why and how open innovation projects contribute to involving external stakeholders and resources in healthcare delivery by contributing to patient autonomy, relationship building, knowledge transfer, improving collaborative mindset and culture, advancing know-how and bringing additional finances.

This article is the first one to systematically describe the value of open innovation in healthcare. The authors challenge the positivist approach in value presented by value-based healthcare. The authors show how openness contributes to addressing the resource crisis by involving new stakeholders and resources in the care delivery process.

Effective use of data across public health organisations (PHOs) is essential for the provision of health services. While health technology and data use in clinical practice have been investigated, interactions with data in non-clinical practice have been largely neglected. The purpose of this paper is to consider what constitutes data, and how people in non-clinical roles in a PHO interact with data in their practice.

This mixed methods study involved a qualitative exploration of how employees of a large PHO interact with data in their non-clinical work roles. A quantitative survey was administered to complement insights gained through qualitative investigation.

Organisational boundaries emerged as a defining issue in interactions with data. The results explain how data work happens through observing, spanning and shifting of boundaries. The paper identifies five key issues that shape data work in relation to boundaries. Boundary objects and processes are considered, as well as the roles of boundary spanners and shifters.

The study was conducted in a large Australian PHO, which is not completely representative of the unique contexts of similar organisations. The study has implications for research in information and organisational studies, opening fields of inquiry for further investigation.

Effective systems-wide data use can improve health service efficiencies and outcomes. There are also implications for the provision of services by other health and public sectors.

The study contributes to closing a significant research gap in understanding interactions with data in the workplace, particularly in non-clinical roles in health. Research analysis connects concepts of knowledge boundaries, boundary spanning and boundary objects with insights into information behaviours in the health workplace. Boundary processes emerge as an important concept to understand interactions with data. The result is a novel typology of interactions with data in relation to organisational boundaries.

This study empirically examines the impact of climate change and agricultural research and development (R&D) as well as their interaction on agricultural productivity in 12 selected Asian and Pacific countries over the period of 1990–2018.

Various estimation methods for panel data, including Fixed Effects (FE), the Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) and two-step System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) were used.

Results show that both proxies of climate change – temperature and precipitation – have negative impacts on agricultural productivity. Notably, agricultural R&D investments not only increase agricultural productivity but also mitigate the detrimental impact of climate change proxied by temperature on agricultural productivity. Interestingly, climate change proxied by precipitation initially reduces agricultural productivity until a threshold of agricultural R&D beyond which precipitation increases agricultural productivity.

The findings imply useful policies to boost agricultural productivity by using R&D in the context of rising climate change in the vulnerable continent.

This study contributes to the literature in two ways. First, this study examines how climate change affects agricultural productivity in Asian and Pacific countries – those are most vulnerable to climate change. Second, this study assesses the role of R&D in improving agricultural productivity as well as its moderating effect in reducing the harmful impact of climate change on agricultural productivity.

Racism occurs in many ways and varies across countries, evolving and adapting to sociocultural history, as well as contemporary economic, political and technological changes. This chapter discusses the multilevel dimensions of racism and its diverse manifestations across multiracial societies. It examines how different aspects of racism are mediated interpersonally, and embedded in institutions, social structures and processes, that produce and sustain racial inequities in power, resources and lived experiences. Furthermore, this chapter explores the direct and indirect ways racism is expressed in online and offline platforms and details its impacts on various groups based on their intersecting social and cultural identities. Targets of racism are those who primarily bear the adverse effects. However, racism also affects its perpetrators in many ways, including by limiting their social relations and attachments, and by imposing social and economic costs. This chapter thus analyses the many aspects of racism both from targets and perpetrators' perspectives.

Owing to the significance of a healthy lifestyle, we investigate the antecedents of the healthy lifestyle of young consumers in Sri Lanka. 658 structured questionnaires were collected from young consumers in Sri Lanka as part of the survey procedure. The judgmental sampling method is used to choose the respondents. The analysis makes use of both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings disclose a high degree of healthy lifestyle among young consumers in Sri Lanka. Further findings revealed that health consciousness, collective esteem, and neighborhood environment are the antecedents for a healthy lifestyle. As young consumers are more concerned about a healthy lifestyle, managers in certain industries such as food and beverages, hotels, and restaurants should adopt their products and services in line with a healthy lifestyle.