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Article
Publication date: 4 January 2013

W.X. Yan, Z. Fu and Y.Z. Zhao

The purpose of this paper is to study the realization of turn‐over‐wok movement for a cooking robot.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the realization of turn‐over‐wok movement for a cooking robot.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the authors introduce the cooking robot's movement mechanism and its realization methods and then analyze the movement geometric of the movement mechanism. The authors conduct the force analysis of the material in the wok motion and suppose the moving situation of mass point m when turning over the wok and shaking the wok.

Findings

The problem of the cooking robot simulating the special cooking motion made by a chef is solved.

Practical implications

The robot is applicable to being a cooking robot for Chinese dishes.

Originality/value

The paper shows how to optimize the effect of material moving track and satisfies the requirements of wok motion of cooking robot.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 40 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2023

Sukhvinder Angoori and Sanjeev Kumar

This paper examine beneficiary women's awareness of the harmful effects of traditional cooking fuels and the benefits of cleaner cooking fuel (LPG) in the Indian state of Haryana…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper examine beneficiary women's awareness of the harmful effects of traditional cooking fuels and the benefits of cleaner cooking fuel (LPG) in the Indian state of Haryana after the inception of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.

Design/methodology/approach

Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis H test were used for the data analysis.

Findings

The paper finds that the women of the scheduled caste were highly aware of the hazards of traditional cooking fuel. They perceived that the usage of LPG led to significant health and environmental improvements. However, the refilling was low among the respondents. So, the only low awareness was not the cause of the low refilling of LPG among Ujjwala beneficiaries.

Research limitations/implications

Technological advancement, accessibility and successful adoption require convergence with socio-economic and institutional aspects. It was evident that focus on technology might not necessarily serve developmental purposes if it is not integrated correctly with socio-economic and institutional factors. These should have conversed with the household's needs, preferences, affordability, social structures, policy support and delivery mechanism, as it was observed that, in different cases, high-end technologies have limited access.

Originality/value

This study shows that the low awareness is not the barrier to the adoption of cleaner cooking technologies in India. So, the policymakers have to revive and further investigate the real cause of the low adoption of cleaner cooking technologies in India.

Details

Technological Sustainability, vol. 2 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-1312

Keywords

Content available

Abstract

Details

SDG7 – Ensure Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-802-5

Article
Publication date: 4 January 2016

Andy Gatley

The purpose of this paper is to explore the routine, everyday experiences and attitudes people bring to cooking and eating and aims to compare the significance of such culinary…

1188

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the routine, everyday experiences and attitudes people bring to cooking and eating and aims to compare the significance of such culinary cultures to diets in France and Britain.

Design/methodology/approach

The initial phase of this qualitative, comparative research involved in-depth interviews with 13 French and 14 British citizens who were each asked to reflect upon foods eaten in the home, preparation methods and issues surrounding dietary practices and culinary cultures. The next phase of the research asked “experts” working within the field to reflect and elaborate upon the initial findings and in total ten French and nine British “experts” were interviewed.

Findings

The results reveal how to a greater extent French respondents relied upon raw ingredients from which they more regularly prepared “traditional”, structured and commensal meal occasions. Such a food model remains a significant part of everyday life and culinary cultures in France support the consumption of a relatively healthy diet unlike in Britain.

Research limitations/implications

This is a small exploratory study based on a limited number of respondents. Further research would benefit from observing what people actually do rather than relying on what people say they do.

Practical implications

Those responsible for promoting healthier diets need to further prioritise the significance of culinary cultures to cooking practices and diet.

Originality/value

While the influence of domestic cooking practices on food intake has received some scholarly attention, this paper presents a more holistic insight into how culinary cultures can play a significant mediating role on diets more generally.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 118 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 1996

Sean Stitt

The imposition of the National Curriculum on schools in England and Wales took place without any substantive consultation with professional practitioners in education and other…

4450

Abstract

The imposition of the National Curriculum on schools in England and Wales took place without any substantive consultation with professional practitioners in education and other intersectoral groups. One of the consequences of this imposition has been the “optionalization” of food skills in the curriculum. The result, it is feared, will be an even greater reliance on precooked, convenience foods which are, in general, nutritionally inferior to home‐cooked meals ‐ and generally much more expensive, a major consideration for low income families. Therefore the concern is that the nation’s diet will be adversely affected which, in turn, will have a detrimental influence on the nation’s health. Looks at the validity of these concerns in Britain but also calls on material gathered in consultations with health and education professionals in other countries. Aims to strengthen the argument for prioritizing food cookery skills in schools as one of the most effective health promotion strategies in protecting the means which families and individuals have to determine what they eat, rather than forfeiting this to the mass processed food industries.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 98 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 December 2023

Jennifer Nabaweesi, Twaha Kigongo Kaawaase, Faisal Buyinza, Muyiwa Samuel Adaramola, Sheila Namagembe and Isaac Nabeta Nkote

Modern renewable energy is crucial for environmental conservation, sustainable economic growth and energy security, especially in developing East African nations that heavily use…

Abstract

Purpose

Modern renewable energy is crucial for environmental conservation, sustainable economic growth and energy security, especially in developing East African nations that heavily use traditional biomass. Thus, this study aims to examine urbanization and modern renewable energy consumption (MREC) in East African community (EAC) while controlling for gross domestic product (GDP), population growth, foreign direct investment (FDI), industrialization and trade openness (TOP).

Design/methodology/approach

This study considers a balanced panel of five EAC countries from 1996 to 2019. Long-run dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) and fully modified ordinary least squares estimations were used to ascertain the relationships while the vector error-correction model was used to ascertain the causal relationship.

Findings

Results show that urbanization, FDI, industrialization and TOP positively affect MREC. Whereas population growth and GDP reduce MREC, the effect for GDP is not that significant. The study also found a bidirectional causality between urbanization, FDI, TOP and MREC in the long run.

Practical implications

Investing in modern renewable energy facilities should be a top priority, particularly in cities with expanding populations. The governments of the EAC should endeavor to make MREC affordable among the urban population by creating income-generating activities in the urban centers and sensitizing the urban population to the benefits of using MREC. Also, the government may come up with policies that enhance the establishment of lower prices for modern renewable energy commodities so as to increase their affordability.

Originality/value

MREC is a new concept in the energy consumption literature. Much of the research focuses on renewable energy consumption including the use of traditional biomass which contributes to climate change negatively. Besides, the influence of factors such as urbanization has not been given significant attention. Yet urbanization is identified as a catalyst for MREC.

Details

International Journal of Energy Sector Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6220

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 March 2021

Paul Adjei Kwakwa

Attaining higher economic growth and development is among the topmost agenda for many countries. However, the process to attain such growth and development involves higher level…

Abstract

Purpose

Attaining higher economic growth and development is among the topmost agenda for many countries. However, the process to attain such growth and development involves higher level of energy consumption and that may not spare the quality of the environment. A similar concern has been raised for Ghana as it aims to attain an upper middle-income status in the near future. The country's energy sector has however not been robust in meeting the electricity demand, leading to a recurrent power crisis. The study seeks to analyze the effect of income growth, electricity consumption and power crisis on Ghana's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper relies on annual time series data from the World Bank (2020) and employs the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) estimation techniques for regression analysis.

Findings

The results showed that the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis is valid for Ghana in the case of carbon emissions. Also, while electricity consumption has an insignificant effect on carbon emissions, electricity power crisis exerts a positive effect on emission of CO2. It was also noted that industrialization and financial development increase CO2 emissions.

Research limitations/implications

Policy implications from the study include the EKC hypothesis can be a sound basis for environmental policy in Ghana. Other recommendations and areas for future research have been provided.

Originality/value

The study empirically estimates the effect of electricity crisis on CO2 emissions.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 February 2018

Dirk HR Spennemann

This paper aims to describe the nature and significance of Sorel’s cooking appliance and to examine the promotion and marketing options used by Sorel to make it an appliance that…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the nature and significance of Sorel’s cooking appliance and to examine the promotion and marketing options used by Sorel to make it an appliance that was “widely used in private residences and by small eating houses.” It will highlight the role of the individual and will demonstrate that marketing and promotion strategies that are modulated by the social ambitions of the manufacturer.

Design/methodology/approach

The basis of this research is extensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of primary sources, mainly the advertisements placed by Sorel, supported by information in contemporary newspapers and journals.

Findings

Stanislas Sorel’s invention of an early form of thermostat allowed him to develop a stove that could cook a four-course family dinner largely unsupervised, an invention which was poised to revolutionise the lives of many households. Sorel was primarily an inventor striving for acceptance in the scientific world, with limited skills in the commercialisation of his inventions. His promotion and marketing efforts reflect both the social realities of the time and his own ambitions.

Originality/value

There has been very little research into the way small French inventors and manufacturers approached the marketing of their products. The paper provides a unique insight into the promotion techniques of a mid-nineteenth-century French inventor-cum-entrepreneur and highlights the role of the individual and how actions are constrained by ambition and opportunity. The paper provides an example of how research into how specific individuals can inform the larger history of marketing.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 1930

The purpose of this important Act—the short title of which heads this article—is to consolidate and amend the laws for regulating the labelling and preventing the importation or…

Abstract

The purpose of this important Act—the short title of which heads this article—is to consolidate and amend the laws for regulating the labelling and preventing the importation or sale of food and drugs which are unwholesome or adulterated or incorrectly or falsely described, and for regulating the labelling and preventing the importation or sale of disinfectants which are incorrectly or falsely described. The Act which was very badly needed and in the words of the Minister who introduced it “long overdue” came into force on the 1st January, 1930. It completely replaces five previous Acts which had been in existence for many years, were only operative in their respective provinces, and were unsatisfactory in other respects. So inadequate indeed were they that they may almost be said to have hindered rather than helped the Department whose business it was to administer them. Moreover, if further justification were needed, and for the moment ignoring the interests of the other units of population, it may be pointed out that the present population of European descent in the Union of South Africa is nearly equal to that of twice the population of the city of Glasgow; and that in it is to be found all the administrative knowledge and technical skill on which the future prosperity of the country must depend. The Acts repealed were the Sale of Food and Drugs and Seeds Act of the Cape of Good Hope Province No. 5, 1890; the Adulteration of Food Act, Natal No. 45, 1901; the Sale of Food and Drugs Ordinance, Orange Free State, No. 32, 1906; and two acts of the Transvaal, the Sale of Adulterated and Tainted Foodstuffs, Liquors, and Medicines, Law 29, 1896, and the Storage and Adulteration of Food Stuffs, Law 6, 1898. The last Report of the Department of Public Health issued under the old conditions was for the year ended 30th June, 1929. This states that the Acts which have been repealed were so inadequate and ineffective and contained so many loopholes and ambiguities that efficient administration was in many cases impossible and adulteration even of essential foodstuffs was rife. No power existed whereby standards could be laid down, or false description, or false labelling prevented. For example the Natal Act, which was modelled on 38 and 39 Vic. c. 68 and the Margarine Act, 1897, made no provision for prosecuting the importer of adulterated or unwholesome food stuffs and legal action was only possible if the goods were being sold, and then only the actual vendor could be proceeded against. Under the Cape Province law if an imported food stuff was suspect the consignment could be detained by order of the Department at the port of entry pending analysis or further examination. In the event of the consignment being reported against as unwholeso it might be destroyed. In no case was it allowed go into commerce. In Natal, however, no powe sted in law to detain at the port materials of doubtful purity. ’Up country they went. If the examination or analysis showed that they were unfit for consumption a sort of chase ensued along the railway line after perhaps a delay of a week or more, with, of course, a correspondingly lessened chance of tracing the offending material. The Natal and Cape Province Acts were both administered from Cape Town. Thus it has happened that a firm of importers has consigned one lot of the same kind of goods to a Cape Province port, the other to a Natal port. The reason for the detention of one lot and not the other was not understood, the administration was brought into discredit while public time and money were wasted, and public health perhaps endangered. The Transvaal Act was so generally worded that it gave no protection to the consumer, while that part of Law No. 6, which it embodied, stated that foods for sale must be kept in a special compartment—clean, well ventilated and not connected with a sleeping room or stable (italics ours). It may be remarked that the Transvaal, in which province of the Union this entirely inadequate law was in operation up to the end of last year, includes the Witwatersrand district and the city of Johannesburg with a population of 350,000, the third largest city in the African continent, and the second in importance in the Union. The administration of a code of public health laws in such relatively small and densely populated countries as England, France, or Germany presents in its details the strongest possible contrast to the administration of a similar code in such a country as the Union of South Africa. The former countries are inhabited by people of the same race and language, having the same traditions, mode of life, and standards of culture. They have been long settled. They are amply provided with every means for rapid transport and communication. The existence of large commercial and industrial populations in densely peopled areas has long ago forced on public attention the needs of public health. An enlightened public opinion can readily make itself heard and felt, and in general such opinion is in hearty agreement with authority when such authority enforces the law. But in the case of South Africa and in two out of the three other Dominions, we have to consider at the outset countries of continental dimensions, and in the particular case of South Africa of a continental character if regard be paid to the variety and different levels of culture exhibited by its inhabitants. The area of the Union of South Africa is in round figures nearly half a million square miles—approximately equal to the united areas of Great Britain, France, and Germany. The population is under eight millions, let us say equal to that of Greater London! Administrative difficulties are increased by the mere physical fact of distance and sparse population. It is on record that in some up country districts which are difficult of access supplies of the more grossly adulterated—and this is saying a good deal—or more improperly described articles of food have been sent, and as the officers of the Public Health Department cannot be everywhere at the same time the sale of such things can be effected with little risk of detection. But this by no means exhausts the difficulties that have to be overcome. Out of the total population only about 1,700,000, or roughly 20 per cent. are of pure European descent. About 70 per cent. are negroes, who at the time of settlement were in a state of neolithic culture. Nor are they capable of conforming to the standard of living of the European population. They would, one and all, undoubtedly revert to their primitive condition if the influence of Europeans was, conceivably, withdrawn; about 2½ per cent. are Asiatics; the rest are described as “mixed and other coloured.” Evidently the people of European descent are the only ones who are able properly to appreciate the importance of health laws, but some of them are the very people who, by their misdoings, give the most trouble to the health authorities. Perhaps no country in the world has made so rapid a material advance or altered so profoundly as South Africa has within living memory. It is common knowledge that the gold mining industry is primarily the cause of this. It has attracted a large white population, and negroes come in large numbers to do manual work of a simple kind for a term under contract. The fact that they are under contract brings them in a special way under the protection of the law. Held as they are by the terms of the contract to reside in the district where the work which they have contracted to do lies, far removed from their natural surroundings, and having the minds of children they present a problem of special anxiety to the authorities. They have to be controlled, but their physical welfare has also to be looked to. Their exploitation by a certain class of whites has to be prevented. The last report of the Department of Public Health for the year ending 30th June, 1929, states that while the conditions of the negroes working in the gold mines is on the whole satisfactory, in certain mines it is far from being so. Thus (p. 21) it is stated that the regulations regarding rations issued to the negroes were being “deliberately evaded or not properly carried out.” The anti‐scorbutic ration of germinated beans was found not to have been issued. The bread contained less than the 64 per cent. of wheaten flour, and more than the 36 per cent. of mealie meal as laid down by regulation, and this malpractice was of course difficult, if not almost impossible, to detect after the completion of the baking process. Moreover, such bread was to sight and taste grossly inferior. As bread is an essential food stuff, and as mealie meal is cheaper than wheat flour, this is as good an instance of the kind of adulteration referred to above as could be wished for. Moreover, it is of the meanest possible description. To cheat a negro working for a shilling a day out of his bread ! It is not surprising to learn that overcrowding in quarters which are verminous and in other respects insanitary is a concomitant, that typhoid fever is prevalent to “an excessive extent” in such mines, and that “definite action and improvement are called for.” It is, however, not only the negro working in the mines who is liable to have his inability to protect himself or his ignorance exploited to his own undoing. The negro living far away from these centres of “civilization” is liable to suffer. Thus, in the early part of last year complaints from Rhodesia and subsequent investigation by the Union police authorities showed that “several registered chemists and druggists most of them having businesses in Natal” were selling in the Union and exporting to Rhodesia various nostrums specially intended for the natives (p. 59). Prosecutions were instituted under the Public Health Act, 1919, and the South African Pharmacy Board is actively co‐operating with the authorities to suppress “these disgraceful practices.” These facts well illustrate the special difficulties that arise in the process of administering a public health act when degenerate whites exploit ignorant negroes. The Asiatics are on an admittedly higher intellectual level than the negroes, but their conception of what is right and fit from a sanitary standpoint are on a level with those that we generally associate with the Orient, and as they are apparently in full agreement with that eminent exponent of the principles of the Manchester School in this country who regarded adulteration as a mere form of trade competition, they are no better than some of their European competitors when they see a chance of making money, though swindling their neighbours may be an inseparable accident of the process. It will be readily understood that in such a vast and sparsely populated region with inhabitants having widely separated standards of culture, differences of tradition, requirements and rules of life administrative difficulties must be very great. Thus the last report states that eleven medical officers travelled—during the year the report refers to—over a distance of 77 thousand miles—52 thousand by rail, the rest by road. Four out of the eleven travelled a distance of about ten thousand miles each. Their duties included the systematic general inspection of local authority areas; mines, factories and works inspection—so far as health conditions were concerned; water supply; drainage; housing, including industrial housing; overcrowding and insanitary conditions. These duties, together with others not here specified, indicate the vast economic changes that have taken place in South Africa during the last forty years. These changes are largely in the direction of industrialization and that imposes heavier duties on the officials of the Health Department and still greater vigilance in applying regulations which while up to the level of the best European standard have to be applied in the interests of the mixed community we have described. Within living memory South Africa exported only the raw products of the farm; imported manufactured stuff was consumed for the most part by the white population of the coast towns; while its manufactures were such that “a manufactured article of local origin was a rarity that excited public comment.” The Witwatersrand started on its career in 1886, and under this impulse the country began to be rapidly opened up. The war of 1899–1902 resulted in the Act of Union in 1910 The Great War did the rest. In 1917 the Department of Public Health was formed. For two years it existed as a sub‐Department of the Department of the Interior. In 1919 the importance of its work was recognised and it was made a separate Department under its own Minister—the Minister for Public Health. Under the Minister is the Secretary for Public Health on whom falls the duty of administration. The work of the Department is, as would be expected, most varied Brief reference has already been made to this. It is in contact at many points with national life. Its activities are educational, medical and sanitary.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 32 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2004

Martin Caraher, Heidi Baker and Maureen Burns

A series of consultations with eight‐ and nine‐year‐old children in three schools in England and Wales are set out. The aim of the consultation was to determine how children view…

4232

Abstract

A series of consultations with eight‐ and nine‐year‐old children in three schools in England and Wales are set out. The aim of the consultation was to determine how children view the world of cooking and food. A technique called draw and write was used to ascertain the views of the young people. The reports from the children in this survey display a disparate food culture. The Wales and Herefordshire schools showed a greater propensity for chips and fried foods as the mainstay of many meals, but this inclination was less evident in the London school. Overall the research suggests a lot of commonality, but also differences between the schools in terms of how food culture is interpreted geographically.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 106 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 1000