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The purpose of this study is to explore rural children’s own perspectives on health, well-being, and nutrition to better understand how they approach, navigate, and make sense of these topics.

This study uses a qualitative ethnographic research design theoretically informed by the “new” Sociology of Childhood and methodologically informed by constructivist grounded theory. This ongoing study with fifth-grade students in an elementary school in a small rural school district in central Illinois consists of ethnographic observations conducted at the school, in-depth interviews with students, and participatory tools that seek to involve students more fully in the process of data collection.

Preliminary findings of this pilot study suggest that many aspects often discussed in the context of childhood obesity, especially in rural settings, including knowledge or education about healthy eating, increasing physical activity levels, or access to healthy foods, are complex and multifaceted and do not easily lend themselves to standard interventions. Findings also indicate that children’s ideas about healthy eating deviate from their own eating practices.

Conceptualized as a grounded theory study, the research is not intended to be generalizable or reproducible. Instead, the study seeks to develop hypotheses directly from the field and study participants’ views and voices. These perspectives will inform a more in-depth study of childhood obesity in rural settings planned for 2019.

Findings from this pilot study will inform innovative, informed interventions that are guided by children’s own experiences and perspectives. Study findings will also be of benefit to practicing pediatricians and other child health professionals as they understand how to better think about and address challenges of health and weight management of patients and their families.

Sustainable development calls for a larger share of intermittent renewable energy. To mitigate this intermittency, Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) technology was introduced. This technology can be made more sustainable by recovering the heat of the compression phase and reusing it during the discharge phase, resulting in an adiabatic CAES without the need for burning of fossil fuels. The key process parameters of CAES are temperature, pressure ratios, and the mass flow rates of air and thermal fluids. The variation in these parameters during the charge and discharge phases significantly influences the performance of CAES plants. In this chapter, the transient thermodynamic behavior of the system under various operating conditions is analyzed and the impact of heat recovery on the discharge phase energy efficiency, power generation, and CO₂ emissions is studied. Simulations are carried out over the air pressure range from 2,500 to 7,000 kPa for a 65 MW system over a five-hour discharge duration. It is also assumed that the heat loss in the air storage and the hot thermal fluid tank is insignificant and standby duration does not impact the status of the system. This result shows that the system exergy and the generated power are more sensitive to pressure change at higher pressures. This work also reveals that every 10°C increase on the temperature of the stored air can lead to a 0.83% improvement in the energy efficiency. The result of the transient thermodynamic model is used to estimate the reduction in CO₂ emissions in CAES systems. According to the obtained result, a 65 MW ACAES plant can reduce about 17,794 tons of CO₂ emission per year compared to a traditional CAES system with the same capacity.

Mayan towns in the Guatemalan highlands hold periodic markets on specific days of the week. A market is attended by local townspeople, by peasants residing in the town’s hinterland, and by vendors bringing wares from other towns. This study aims to determine the effects of physical, environmental, and cultural differences on the number of vendors that are sent from one Guatemalan town to a periodic market in another.

To understand how these markets are integrated, a gravity model is developed, examining the flow of vendors from 85 towns of residence to 15 market towns. In this model, the flow of vendors from one town to another is a function not only of physical distance, but of ecological complementarities, of linguistic differences, of road access, and of demographic endowments.

Results show that traveling vendors in these periodic markets do indeed integrate Guatemala both ethnically and ecologically, serving as a place in which different ethnic groups meet and bring in products that cannot be produced locally. Results also suggest that participation in markets is part of a diversified set of activities used by rural peasants to support their households.

In this chapter, the authors investigate the experiences of air passengers in the airside setting of commercial airports. Whilst the concept of liminality has found increased interest in tourism studies, only few studies have contextualized the airside experience as a liminal one. We investigate the role of food and beverage (F&B) consumption in this context as well as factors influencing F&B outlet patronage intentions. Using a European non-hub commercial airport as practical unit, we applied a mixed methods single case-study methodology to investigate F&B outlet choice in the airside setting. It becomes evident that perceptions of liminality play an important role in this context. Findings support the claim that the airport environment constitutes a special context, an encapsuled or protected space; not only for passengers, but also for employees alike. Whilst airports have a certain uniformity to regular travelers, infrequent travelers perceive air travel as an extraordinary activity, often paired with a certain uncertainty about related procedures. Evidence suggests that passengers’ emotional states play a key role in consumption decisions. Depending on travel purpose and direction, passengers showed differing consumption behaviors.

Understanding the airport airside area as a liminoid space and using the concept of boundary work for the transition between home and work realms (and back again) thus serves as a suitable frame of reference to help understand the phenomena that were observed and analyzed in this study. F&B consumption can then be understood to support the mental transition between home and work realms. Our findings thus allow linking the passenger clusters’ different consumption behavior to prevailing emotional states in their transgressions between work and home realm in the liminoid airside context.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the recent changes in the role played by Africa as a traditional natural resources supplier for the world economy in a multipolar context. We highlight, on the one hand, how Africa remains a prominent supplier of critical minerals needed for information and communication technologies (ICT), including platinum, vanadium, coltan, chromium, manganese, zirconium, etc., and how the boomerang effect results in Africa also importing electronic waste. On the other hand, we show how the BRICS’ growth model, based on a very intensive use of natural resources acquired through international trade, is now being fuelled by Africa too. BRICS countries (especially China and India) are making foreign direct investments in Africa using their state companies to ensure the supply of natural resources under favourable economic terms. Thus, Africa appears as a disputed territory between the old domination of the advanced capitalist countries and emerging powers like the BRICS. However, this should not mask the fact that the European Union and North America are still the dominant foreign powers in the continent. Finally, we discuss which scenarios are open to further this multipolar moment, particularly in the wake of the great crisis.

A new era of M&A is emerging, characterized by new wave of strategic investment decision-making practices (SIDMP) toward Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies and circular economy. The digital technologies play a significant role in circular economy transitions and companies’ performance This includes investment in capability development, vertical and horizontal integration, effective procurement practices, and effective strategic control mechanisms. The circular economy strategy is more than just recycling and environmental concerns. It unlocks new strategies and new ways of strategic thinking. Its rapid expansion, as a new norm for companies, has characteristics of a fast-expanding market, given its exponential growth. Yet, there is a need to boardrooms commitment and responsibilities including oversight and support and a full-integrated organizational structure, sales, logistics, marketing, production, development, design, supply management, finance, human resources, and legal. To achieve successful implementation of SIDMP and M&A, companies should gather information on environmental, social, and governance issues. Therefore, it is critical to prioritize their strategies and identify areas that present the greatest risk on environmental and social issues including human rights, labor, and ethical issues in the companies supply chain. By creating shared values between society and shareholders, companies can maintain long-term success, legitimacy, and credibility. This chapter offers debate on recent developments in research and practice regarding SIDMP and synergy between I4.0 and circular economy.

COVID-19’s influence on the teaching profession will be felt for many years as teachers faced experiences that they have never encountered. The pandemic forced already taxed teachers to assume additional responsibilities, many of which they were not prepared to deal with. The result was an exodus of teachers from the profession, and those who remained reported challenges that impacted their personal and professional lives. The authors describe the effects on teachers and the impact that this had on them, including reasons why many departed from teaching. In closing, the authors offer recommendations to teacher preparation programs, districts, and schools.