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Article
Publication date: 27 October 2022

Sidney Newton

The purpose of this study is to highlight and demonstrate how the study of stress and related responses in construction can best be measured and benchmarked effectively.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to highlight and demonstrate how the study of stress and related responses in construction can best be measured and benchmarked effectively.

Design/methodology/approach

A range of perceptual and physiological measures are obtained across different time periods and during different activities in a fieldwork setting. Differences in the empirical results are analysed and implications for future studies of stress discussed.

Findings

The results of this study strongly support the use of multiple psychometrics and biosensors whenever biometrics are included in the study of stress. Perceptual, physiological and environmental factors are all shown to act in concert to impact stress. Strong conclusions on the potential drivers of stress should then only be considered when consistent results apply across multiple metrics, time periods and activities.

Research limitations/implications

Stress is an incredibly complex condition. This study demonstrates why many current applications of biosensors to study stress in construction are not up to the task and provides empirical evidence on how future studies can be significantly improved.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to focus explicitly on demonstrating the need for multiple research instruments and settings when studying stress or related conditions in construction.

Details

Construction Innovation , vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 April 2024

Zhenbao Wang, Zhen Yang, Mengyu Liu, Ziqin Meng, Xuecheng Sun, Huang Yong, Xun Sun and Xiang Lv

Microribbon with meander type based on giant magnetoimpedance (GMI) effect has become a research hot spot due to their higher sensitivity and spatial resolution. The purpose of…

Abstract

Purpose

Microribbon with meander type based on giant magnetoimpedance (GMI) effect has become a research hot spot due to their higher sensitivity and spatial resolution. The purpose of this paper is to further optimize the line spacing to improve the performance of meanders for sensor application.

Design/methodology/approach

The model of GMI effect of microribbon with meander type is established. The effect of line spacing (Ls) on GMI behavior in meanders is analyzed systematically.

Findings

Comparison of theory and experiment indicates that decreasing the line spacing increases the negative mutual inductance and a consequent increase in the GMI effect. The maximum value of the GMI ratio increases from 69% to 91.8% (simulation results) and 16.9% to 51.4% (experimental results) when the line spacing is reduced from 400 to 50 µm. The contribution of line spacing versus line width to the GMI ratio of microribbon with meander type was contrasted. This behavior of the GMI ratio is dominated by the overall negative contribution of the mutual inductance.

Originality/value

This paper explores the effect of line spacing on the GMI ratio of meander type by comparing the simulation results with the experimental results. The superior line spacing is found in the identical sensing area. The findings will contribute to the design of high-performance micropatterned ribbon with meander-type GMI sensors and the establishment of a ribbon-based magnetic-sensitive biosensing system.

Details

Sensor Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0260-2288

Keywords

Abstract

Details

The Positive Psychology of Laughter and Humour
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-835-5

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 May 2023

Jiwan S. Sidhu, Tasleem Zafar, Abdulwahab Almusallam, Muslim Ali and Amani Al-Othman

The major objective of this research work was to evaluate various physico-chemical characteristics, such as, chemical composition, antioxidant capacity, objective color and…

1047

Abstract

Purpose

The major objective of this research work was to evaluate various physico-chemical characteristics, such as, chemical composition, antioxidant capacity, objective color and texture profile analysis (TPA) of the wheat flour/chickpea flour (CF) blends, so that nutritious baked products could be consumed by the type-2 diabetic persons.

Design/methodology/approach

Wholegrain wheat flour (WGF) and white wheat flour (WWF) were substituted with CF at 0 to 40% levels. These wheat flour/CF blends were analyzed for proximate composition, the prepared dough and baked breads were tested for objective color, antioxidant capacity as trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), malondialdehyde (MDA) and total phenolic content (TPC) and TPA.

Findings

WGF had the highest TEAC (117.42 mM/100g) value, followed by WWF (73.98 mM/100g) and CF (60.67 mM/100g). TEAC, MDA and TPC values varied significantly among all the three flour samples.

Research limitations/implications

Inclusion of whole chickpea (without dehulling) flour in such type of blends would be another interesting investigation during the future research studies.

Practical implications

These research findings have a great potential for the production of these baked products for human consumption on an industrial scale.

Social implications

Production of breads using wheat flour and CF blends would benefits the consumers.

Originality/value

Production of Arabic and pan breads using wheat flour and CF blends would, therefore, combine the benefits of both the needed proteins of plant origin and the health-promoting bioactive compounds, in a most sustainable way for the consumers.

Details

Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, vol. 42 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-9899

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 March 2022

Elavaar Kuzhali S. and Pushpa M.K.

COVID-19 has occurred in more than 150 countries and causes a huge impact on the health of many people. The main purpose of this work is, COVID-19 has occurred in more than 150…

Abstract

Purpose

COVID-19 has occurred in more than 150 countries and causes a huge impact on the health of many people. The main purpose of this work is, COVID-19 has occurred in more than 150 countries and causes a huge impact on the health of many people. The COVID-19 diagnosis is required to detect at the beginning stage and special attention should be given to them. The fastest way to detect the COVID-19 infected patients is detecting through radiology and radiography images. The few early studies describe the particular abnormalities of the infected patients in the chest radiograms. Even though some of the challenges occur in concluding the viral infection traces in X-ray images, the convolutional neural network (CNN) can determine the patterns of data between the normal and infected X-rays that increase the detection rate. Therefore, the researchers are focusing on developing a deep learning-based detection model.

Design/methodology/approach

The main intention of this proposal is to develop the enhanced lung segmentation and classification of diagnosing the COVID-19. The main processes of the proposed model are image pre-processing, lung segmentation and deep classification. Initially, the image enhancement is performed by contrast enhancement and filtering approaches. Once the image is pre-processed, the optimal lung segmentation is done by the adaptive fuzzy-based region growing (AFRG) technique, in which the constant function for fusion is optimized by the modified deer hunting optimization algorithm (M-DHOA). Further, a well-performing deep learning algorithm termed adaptive CNN (A-CNN) is adopted for performing the classification, in which the hidden neurons are tuned by the proposed DHOA to enhance the detection accuracy. The simulation results illustrate that the proposed model has more possibilities to increase the COVID-19 testing methods on the publicly available data sets.

Findings

From the experimental analysis, the accuracy of the proposed M-DHOA–CNN was 5.84%, 5.23%, 6.25% and 8.33% superior to recurrent neural network, neural networks, support vector machine and K-nearest neighbor, respectively. Thus, the segmentation and classification performance of the developed COVID-19 diagnosis by AFRG and A-CNN has outperformed the existing techniques.

Originality/value

This paper adopts the latest optimization algorithm called M-DHOA to improve the performance of lung segmentation and classification in COVID-19 diagnosis using adaptive K-means with region growing fusion and A-CNN. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first work that uses M-DHOA for improved segmentation and classification steps for increasing the convergence rate of diagnosis.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology , vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 April 2024

Benedicta Twum - Dei, Richmond Aryeetey and Linda Nana Esi Aduku

This study aims to assess dietary choices of pregnant women and its relationship with their anaemia status.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to assess dietary choices of pregnant women and its relationship with their anaemia status.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-method study comprising a survey and three focus group discussions (FGDs). The survey included 380 adult pregnant women with data collected on food choices, preferences and haemoglobin (Hb) status.

Findings

More than 50% of women in the study had Hb concentration < 11.0 g/dl; mean Hb was 10.24 g/dl (SD = 1.59). Univariate analysis was used to generate descriptive tabulations for socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, dietary choices for women and anaemia status. T-test and bivariate analysis between dietary diversity score of the women among the food groups consumed as well as their anaemia (Hb) status. This showed that women with high dietary diversity score had improved Hb status (P = 0.003), and those who consumed meat and fish as well as dark leafy vegetables had significantly high diversity scores (P = 0.031 and P = 0.049). Thematic analysis was used for analysing qualitative data.

Research limitations/implications

The sample used in the study is unlikely to be fully representative of pregnant women in the Accra Metropolis. In addition, this study used a cross-sectional study design, making it difficult to establish causal associations between nutritional status and food choice of pregnant women. It does not also show variation in dietary practices by seasons of the year. The scope of the study did not allow for a detailed analysis, and this should be considered in future studies. Also, the study did not explore an obstetric factor like past bleeding history as well as the menstrual cycle of these pregnant women, as these factors are likely to interfere with the anaemia status of the pregnant women.

Originality/value

This paper contributes significant value by specifically focusing on and clarifying the complex relationship between dietary choices and aneamia among pregnant women. It also provides insights into the distinct dietary patterns and preferences of pregnant women, which may be contributing to the high prevalence of aneamia. The results of the study can inform the development of localized, evidence-based interventions to address this critical public health concern, ultimately leading to improved maternal and foetal health outcomes.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2024

Casper Hendrik Claassen, Eric Bidet, Junki Kim and Yeanhee Choi

This study aims to assess the alignment of South Korea’s government-certified social enterprises (GCSEs) with prevailing social enterprise (SE) models, notably the entrepreneurial…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to assess the alignment of South Korea’s government-certified social enterprises (GCSEs) with prevailing social enterprise (SE) models, notably the entrepreneurial nonprofit, social cooperative and social business models delineated in the “Emergence of Social Enterprises in Europe” (Defourny and Nyssens, 2012, 2017a, 2017b) and the “principle of interest” frameworks (Defourny et al., 2021). Thereby, it seeks to situate these enterprises within recognized frameworks and elucidate their hybrid identities.

Design/methodology/approach

Analyzing panel data from 2016 to 2020 for 259 GCSEs, this study uses tslearn for k-means clustering with dynamic time warping to assess their developmental trajectories and alignment with established SE models, which echoes the approach of Defourny et al. (2021). We probe the “fluid” identities of semi-public sector SEs, integrating Gordon’s (2013) notion that they tend to blend various SE traditions as opposed to existing in isolation.

Findings

Results indicate that GCSEs do align with prevalent SE frameworks. Furthermore, they represent a spectrum of SE models, suggesting the versatility of the public sector in fostering diverse types of SEs.

Originality/value

The concept of a semi-public sector SE model has been relatively uncharted, even though it holds significance for research on SE typologies and public sector entrepreneurship literature. This study bridges this gap by presenting empirical evidence of semi-public SEs and delineating the potential paths these enterprises might take as they amalgamate various SE traditions.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 20 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 February 2024

Duc Tran, Hans De Steur, Xavier Gellynck, Andreas Papadakis and Joachim J. Schouteten

This study aims to investigate the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on consumers' evaluation of blockchain-based traceability information. It also examined how the use of quick…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on consumers' evaluation of blockchain-based traceability information. It also examined how the use of quick response (QR) codes for traceability affects consumers' evaluation of traceable food products.

Design/methodology/approach

An online choice experiment was conducted to determine consumers' evaluation of the blockchain-based traceability of Feta cheese with a quota sample of 715 Greek consumers. Pearson bivariate correlation and mean comparison were used to examine the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and QR use behaviour. Random parameter logit models were employed to examine consumers’ valuation of the examined attributes and interaction terms.

Findings

The results show that ethnocentric consumers are willing to pay more for blockchain-based traceability information. Ethnocentric consumers tend to scan QR codes with traceability information. Spending more time reading traceability information embedded in QR codes does not lead to a higher willingness-to-pay (WTP) for traceable food products.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that patriotic marketing messages can draw consumers' attention to blockchain-based traceability information. The modest WTP for and low familiarity with blockchain-based traceability systems raise the need for educating consumers regarding the benefits of blockchain in traceability systems.

Originality/value

This is the first study to provide timely empirical evidence of a positive WTP for blockchain-based traceability information for a processed dairy product. This study is the first to attempt to distinguish the effects of the intention to scan QR codes and reading information embedded in QR codes on consumers’ valuation of food attributes.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 126 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

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