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The vibration of the rails is a significant source of railway rolling noise, often forming the dominant component of noise in the important frequency region between 400 and 2000 Hz. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the influence of the ground profile and the presence of the train body on the sound radiation from the rail.

Two-dimensional boundary element calculations are used, in which the rail vibration is the source. The ground profile and various different shapes of train body are introduced in the model, and results are observed in terms of sound power and sound pressure. Comparisons are also made with vibro-acoustic measurements performed with and without a train present.

The sound radiated by the rail in the absence of the train body is strongly attenuated by shielding due to the ballast shoulder. When the train body is present, the sound from the vertical rail motion is reflected back down toward the track where it is partly absorbed by the ballast. Nevertheless, the sound pressure at the trackside is increased by typically 0–5 dB. For the lateral vibration of the rail, the effects are much smaller. Once the sound power is known, the sound pressure with the train present can be approximated reasonably well with simple line source directivities.

Numerical models used to predict the sound radiation from railway rails have generally neglected the influence of the ground profile and reflections from the underside of the train body on the sound power and directivity of the rail. These effects are studied in a systematic way including comparisons with measurements.

Background/Objectives: Protein-based meal replacements (MR) with viscous soluble fibre are known aids for weight loss. This study aims to compare the effects of new whey and vegan MR containing different amounts of PGX (PolyGlycopleX) on weight loss over 12 weeks, along with a calorie-restricted diet.

Subjects/Methods: Sixty-eight healthy adults of both sexes (53 women; 15 men; average age 47.1 years; BMI 31 ± 7.1 kg/m² and weight 85.05 ± 23.3 kg) were recruited. Participants consumed a whey or vegan MR twice/d (5–10 g/day PGX) with a low-energy diet (1,200 kcal/day), over 12 weeks. Weight, height, waist and hip circumference were recorded (four time periods).

Results: Forty-four participants completed the study. Results showed significant reductions in average body weight and at week 12, whey group was [−7.7 kg ± 0.9 (8.3%), p < 0.001] and vegan group was [−4.5 kg ± 0.8 (6.2%), p < 0.001)]. All participants (n = 44; BMI 27 to 33 kg/m²) achieved significant reductions in body measurements from baseline to week 12; p < 0.001. Conclusions: Supplementation of protein-based MR with PGX and a balanced, low-energy diet, appears to be an effective approach for short-term weight loss.

As the authors were evaluating if the MR as a whole (i.e. with PGX) caused weight loss from baseline over the 12 weeks, no comparators, i.e. just the MR without PGX, were used. Formulation of these new MRs resulted in a whey product with 5 g PGX and a vegan product with 2.5 g PGX. Only 2.5 g PGX could be formulated with the vegan protein due to taste and viscosity limitations. Study participants were not randomized and no control groups (e.g. no MR or MR without PGX but with energy restricted diet) were used. Furthermore, it is not clear whether the sort of protein alone or the combination with a higher amount of PGX (whey with 5 g PGX/serving vs vegan with 2.5 g PGX/serving) has contributed to these significant greater weight-loss effects. This was something the authors were testing, i.e. could only 2.5 g PGX/serving have an effect on weight loss for a vegan MR. These limitations would be somethings to evaluate in a subsequent randomized controlled study. Hence, the results of this study may serve as a good starting point for further sophisticated randomized controlled trials that can demonstrate causality – which the authors acknowledge as one of the fundamental limitations of an observational study design. Participants tracked their calories but adherence and compliance were self-assessed and they were encouraged to keep their exercise routine consistent throughout the study. Hence, these are further limitations. No control group was used in this study to observe the effect of the dietary intervention and/or physical activity on weight loss alone. However, a goal of the authors was to keep this study as close to a real-life situation as possible, where people would not be doing any of these measurements, to see if with minimal supervision or intervention, people can still lose weight and alter their body composition. Furthermore, differences in gender and the corresponding weight loss effects in response to MR-protein-based treatments could be evaluated in follow-up studies.

This study indicates that the consumption of protein-based (animal, whey or plant, pea protein) MR incorporating the highly soluble viscous PGX is beneficial for weight loss when combined with a healthy-balanced, calorie-restricted diet. MRs at either 2.5 g or 5 g per serving (RealEasy^TM with PGX) proved to be a highly effective as a short-term solution for weight loss. The observed results are encouraging, however, further long-term studies (i.e. randomized clinical trials RCT) are needed to confirm the clinical relevance. RCTs should focus on the individual effects of PGX and/or the different protein sources used in MRs, on weight loss and the maintenance of the reduced body weight, and should measure detailed blood parameters (lipid profiles, glucose etc.) as well as collect detailed exercise and food consumption diaries.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study comparing a whey versus vegan, (as pea) protein-based MR that is supplemented with fibre PGX; thus, this work adds information to the already existing literature on fibre (such as PGX) and MRs regarding their combined weight loss effects. The purpose of this study was to observe if the novel protein-based (either whey or vegan versions) MR RealEasy^TM with PGX at 2.5 or 5 g in addition to a calorie-restricted diet (total of 1,200 kcal/day) would aid in weight loss in individuals over a 12-weeks period. Adding increasing amounts of whey protein and soluble fibre can help reduce subsequent ad libitum energy intake which could help adherence to energy restricted diets, but whether similar effects are seen with vegan protein is unclear – this study does aim to address this.

Conflict and violence are the main drivers of globally escalating humanitarian needs. Local grassroots initiatives are pivotal in distributing humanitarian supplies in the acute response phase until more established humanitarian aid organizations can enter. Nevertheless, scant research exists regarding the role of grassroots associations in providing humanitarian assistance during a military conflict. The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of grassroots associations and identify important themes for effective operations.

This paper adopts a case-study approach of three Ukrainian grassroots associations that began operating in the immediate days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The findings are based on analyzing primary sources, including interviews with Ukrainian volunteers, and are supported by secondary sources.

Grassroots associations have local contacts and a contextual understanding of population needs and can respond more rapidly and effectively than large intergovernmental agencies. Four critical themes regarding the operations of grassroots associations emerged: information management, inventory management, coordination and performance measurement. Grassroots humanitarian response operations during conflict are challenged by personal security risks, the unpredictability of unsolicited supplies, emerging volunteer roles, dynamic transportation routes and shifting demands.

Grassroots responses are central to humanitarian responses during the acute phase of a military conflict. By examining the operations of grassroots associations in the early months of the 2022 war in Ukraine, the authors provide a unique perspective on humanitarian logistics. Nonetheless, more inclusive models of humanitarian responses are needed to harness the capacities and resilience of grassroots operations in practice.

Sources highlight that insufficient skills of site supervisors considerably influence the progress of many construction projects in numerous countries. This study intends to identify the crucial supervisory competencies that influence the effectiveness of building project operations in the context of developing countries.

The crucial construction site supervisory competencies were qualitatively identified through a comprehensive literature survey and a series of expert interviews with the use of thematic analysis approaches. A questionnaire survey was then carried out among 154 building project firms to quantify the impacts of the competencies on the effectiveness of project tasks with the use of the relative importance index approach. Additionally, industry-consultative meetings were held using problem-focused communication strategies to scrutinise the necessary actions.

Overall, 22 cognitive elements and 24 skills/abilities of supervisors were determined as being critical according to their impact values, where the site supervisors cognitive domains in construction planning and construction materials were determined as the top-ranking competencies in the list, with their manual skills/abilities in labour management and labour performance evaluation. Accordingly, a group of key competency outcomes were produced for the considerations in developing new site supervisory training components. Relevant statistical analysis results and the industry consultative outcomes substantiated the validity and dependability of the overall results.

Although the study's focus was to site supervision procedures used in Sri Lankan building construction projects, the overall findings/outcomes might be put to the test in related situations in other emerging industries in other countries.

The study has constructed a base that shows how the significant site supervisory competencies influence the effectiveness of building construction operations, contributing to making a big difference in the methods of reskilling/upskilling in the industry associated with construction labour, supervision, efficiency management and productivity enhancement.

This paper investigates the consequences of job insecurity among hotel employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data were obtained from the employees of two five-star chain hotels in Turkey. The study hypotheses were tested via structural equation modeling.

The research findings demonstrate that job insecurity exacerbates job tension. Job tension erodes employees’ trust in organization and aggravates their propensity to leave work early and be late for work. As hypothesized, job tension mediates the effect of job insecurity on organizational trust and the abovementioned outcomes.

This study adds to the hospitality literature by assessing the interrelationships of job insecurity, job tension, organizational trust and nonattendance intentions.

The purpose of this paper is to examine FaceReader as a tool to compare the olfactory preferences of two selected countries. This paper examines the olfactory preferences of customers in the bakery department of a grocery store in the Slovak and the Spanish market.

The aim of this study is to examine subconscious/unconscious preferences in the selection of aromas suitable for the bakery department in the Slovak and the Spanish market. In this case, it is not a classical qualitative sensory testing of the perception of fragrances. The aim is to identify the associations of scents related to the selected sales department through images of the selected aromas. A special platform is used to obtain subconscious/unconscious feedback, which allows online collection of implicit feedback using the software FaceReader 7.

The authors noticed the different moods of the two groups of respondents when they answered the question about what they associate with the smell of bakery products. The Spanish respondents were slightly pleasantly disposed, while the Slovak respondents were slightly unpleasantly disposed. The smell of bakery products evoked more memories and emotions in the Spanish respondents than in the Slovak respondents, which can be explained by the higher pleasant mood. The main contribution of this work lies in the new opportunities to obtain feedback that can be used in marketing research and that rely not only on explicit but also implicit data. The extension of the methodological apparatus to implicit feedback presupposes some form of control of the data collected by the questionnaire. The use of biometric tools can represent an efficient alternative in terms of time and money to the use of neuroimaging tools in the selection/research of aromas for specific stores/departments.

It must be noted that the sample is small, and adequate conclusions cannot be made about entire population. Based on empirical findings and pandemic-related limitations, the authors plan to conduct similar research with real aroma samples and with even larger sample of tested respondents, considering weather, season, olfactory sensitivity (anosmia, hyposmia and normosmia) and participant fatigue (beginning and end of the week).

Today, marketers are facing the greatest challenge of how to attract consumers’ attention. Every individual has a different perception of the shopping environment based on his own experience, beliefs and attitudes. This is why new marketing techniques and approaches are becoming increasingly popular in the marketing environment.

El objetivo de esta investigación es examinar FaceReader como una herramienta para comparar las preferencias olfativas entre dos países. Concretamente, examinamos las preferencias olfativas de los clientes en el departamento de panadería de un supermercado en el mercado eslovaco y español.

El objetivo de este estudio es examinar las preferencias subconscientes/inconscientes en la selección de aromas adecuados para el departamento de panadería en el mercado eslovaco y español. En este caso, no se trata de una prueba sensorial cualitativa clásica de la percepción de fragancias. El objetivo es identificar las asociaciones de olores relacionados con el departamento de ventas seleccionado a través de imágenes de los aromas seleccionados. Se utiliza una plataforma especial para obtener comentarios subconscientes/inconscientes, que permite la recopilación en línea de comentarios implícitos utilizando el software FaceReader 7.

Observamos diferentes estados de ánimo de los dos grupos de encuestados cuando respondieron a la pregunta sobre qué asociaban con el olor de los productos de panadería. Los encuestados españoles estaban ligeramente más predispuestos hacia aromas más agradables, mientras que los encuestados eslovacos estaban ligeramente más predispuestos hacia aromas menos agradables. El olor de los productos de panadería evocó más recuerdos y emociones en los encuestados españoles que en los eslovacos, lo que puede explicarse por el estado de ánimo. La principal contribución de este trabajo radica en las nuevas oportunidades para obtener comentarios que pueden ser utilizados en investigaciones de marketing y que no solo se basan en datos explícitos, sino también implícitos. La ampliación del aparato metodológico para obtener comentarios implícitos presupone algún tipo de control de los datos recopilados mediante el cuestionario. El uso de herramientas biométricas puede representar una alternativa eficiente en términos de tiempo y dinero al uso de herramientas de neuroimagen en la selección/investigación de aromas para tiendas/departamentos específicos.

Debe tenerse en cuenta que la muestra utilizada es pequeña y no se pueden extrapolar conclusiones para toda la población. Basándonos en los resultados empíricos y con las limitaciones relacionadas con la pandemia, planeamos realizar una investigación similar con muestras de aroma reales y con una muestra aún más grande de encuestados, considerando el clima, la temporada, la sensibilidad olfativa (anosmia, hiposmia, normosmia) y la fatiga de los participantes (inicio y fin de semana).

Hoy en día, los profesionales del marketing se enfrentan al gran desafío de cómo atraer la atención de los consumidores. Cada individuo tiene una percepción diferente del entorno de compra basada en su propia experiencia, creencias y actitudes. Es por eso que las nuevas técnicas y enfoques de marketing se están volviendo cada vez más populares en el entorno del marketing.

本文旨在探讨FaceReader在比较斯洛伐克和西班牙两个国家的顾客嗅觉偏好方面的效用。我们以斯洛伐克和西班牙市场一家食品杂货店的面点部门顾客为研究对象, 考察其嗅觉偏好。

本研究的目标是探讨在斯洛伐克和西班牙市场选择适合面点部门的香气时潜在的/无意识的偏好。与传统的定性感官测试不同, 我们旨在通过选定香气的图像识别与选定销售部门相关的气味的联想, 并通过FaceReader 7软件在线收集隐性反馈。

我们观察到两组受访者在回答关于面点产品气味联想时的心境差异。西班牙受访者略带愉悦, 而斯洛伐克受访者略带不悦。西班牙受访者对面点产品的气味引起的记忆和情感更为丰富, 这可能是由更高愉悦心境所解释的。该研究的主要贡献在于提供了在营销研究中利用反馈的新机会, 该反馈不仅依赖于明确的数据, 还依赖于隐性数据。将方法学工具扩展到隐性反馈的前提是以某种形式对问卷收集的数据进行控制。在为特定商店/部门选择/研究香气方面, 相对于使用神经影像工具在时间和金钱方面的花费, 生物测定工具的使用可以作为高效替代。

由于本研究的样本量较小, 因此不能对整个人口做出充分的结论。基于经验发现和受到大流行病限制, 我们计划进行类似研究, 使用真实的香气样本, 并考虑更大规模的受试者样本, 同时考虑到天气、季节、嗅觉敏感度（嗅觉缺失、嗅觉减退、正常嗅觉）和参与者疲劳程度（周初和周末）对受试者的影响。

当今, 营销人员面临着吸引消费者注意的最大挑战。每个个体根据其自身经验、信仰和态度对购物环境有着不同的感知。因此, 在营销环境中, 新的营销技术和方法变得越来越受欢迎。

To examine the effects of the metaverse on firms’ marketing activities.

A conceptual paper.

It provides evidence of the growing importance of different value capture mechanisms in the metaverse.

Among the first articles on this topic.

The purpose of this study is to describe the design and validation of a three-dimensional (3D)-printed phantom of a uterus to support the development of uterine balloon tamponade devices conceived to stop post-partum haemorrhages (PPHs).

The phantom 3D model is generated by analysing the main requirements for validating uterine balloon tamponade devices. A modular approach is implemented to guarantee that the phantom allows testing these devices under multiple working conditions. Once finalised the design, the phantom effectiveness is validated experimentally.

The modular phantom allows performing the required measurements for testing the performance of devices designed to stop PPH.

PPH is the leading obstetric cause of maternal death worldwide, mainly in low- and middle-income countries. The proposed phantom could speed up and optimise the design and validation of devices for PPH treatment, reducing the maternal mortality ratio.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the 3D-printed phantom represents the first example of a modular, flexible and transparent uterus model. It can be used to validate and perform usability tests of medical devices.

After the effective date of International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 15, the accounting treatment of credit card rewards programmes (CCRPs) is no longer explicitly prescribed. Uncertainty regarding what constitutes faithful representation, and the inconsistent accounting practices observed, has created a need for guidance on the appropriate accounting treatment of CCRP transactions. Accounting theory has the potential to provide the foundation for this guidance. As a result, the objective of this study was to develop a theoretical model for the accounting treatment of CCRP transactions using accounting theory.

This non-empirical qualitative conceptual study utilised document analysis, focussing specifically on accounting theory, to construct an accounting treatment model.

Applying the relevant accounting theory (International Accounting Standards Board's (IASB's) Conceptual Framework), a theoretical model for the accounting treatment of CCRP transactions was developed, which emphasises the importance of understanding the economic phenomenon (the CCRP transaction) and determining how management views the transaction (in isolation as marketing or as an integral part of the credit card transaction).

Addressing the problem of accounting for CCRP transactions with reference to accounting theory (which is the main element of scholarly activity in accounting) distinguishes this study from previous research on the topic. The CCRP accounting treatment theoretical model could assist CCRP management in faithfully accounting for a CCRP transaction and reduce uncertainty and inconsistency in practice. Moreover, this study identified the procedures to be employed when using accounting theory to determine the appropriate accounting treatment of business transactions. These procedures could be employed by accountants when faced with other transactions not covered by specific accounting standards.

The quest for improved facilities management (FM) delivery is receiving immense focus through the incorporation of innovative technologies such as cyber-physical systems (CPS). The system’s high computational capabilities can aid in the abatement of some of the challenges plaguing FM functions. However, the requisite ingredients for the uptake of the system for FM have still not gained scholarly attention. Because performance measurement is a vital index in determining the outcome of FM methods, this study aims to investigate the influence of performance measurement indicators that are influential to the uptake of CPS for delivering FM functions.

A qualitative technique was adopted using the Delphi technique. The panel of experts for the study was selected through a well-defined process based on stipulated criteria. The experts gave their opinions in two rounds before consensus was attained on the identified performance measurement indicators, whereas methods of data analysis were measures of central tendency, inter-quartile deviation and Mann–Whitney U test.

Results from this study showed that 11 of the performance indicators were of very high significance in the determination of the uptake of CPS for FM functions, whereas 5 of the indicators were proven to be of high significance. Furthermore, there was no statistical difference in the opinions of the experts based on their affiliation with academic institutions and professional practice.

The findings of this study contribute practically by aiding policymakers, facility managers and relevant stakeholders with the vital knowledge of delivery mandates for efficient FM services that can spur the uptake of digital technologies such as CPS.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge as it unveils a roadmap of the expected performance output and its accompanying evaluation that would drive the adoption of a promising technology such as CPS in the delivery of FM tasks.