Empirical analysis of reward to return: based on case studies of lunch boxes in Japan

Multi-indicators environmental impact analysis of takeaway lunch boxes based on life cycle assessment

Prescription drug collection boxes have been deployed in many communities to collect unused prescription opioids and other medications to prevent misuse. However, their current ad hoc placement leaves some communities without nearby disposal options. This paper addresses this issue by exploring how to evaluate the performance of a network of prescription collection boxes and how to locate new collection boxes. To do so, we introduce performance measures based on the set cover problem to identify areas lacking access to prescription collection boxes, termed “deserts.” We then formulate the Collection Box Location Problem, an integer programming model based on the maximal covering with mandatory closeness problem, to strategically identify sites for new prescription collection boxes. We present practical model variants that incorporate restrictions on placing boxes only at non-law enforcement facilities, relocation of existing boxes under a budget constraint, and penalties for leaving regions without nearby access. A case study using data from Wisconsin illustrates the applicability of our methodology.

Evaluation of measures for promoting the collection of used lunch boxes - from the viewpoint of collection rate

Nutritional problems become a complex problem for children. This study aims to provide an in-depth description and analysis of parents' understanding of fulfilling balanced nutrition through preparing lunch boxes for group B children. This type of research is a case study qualitative research. The subjects in this study were the school principal, homeroom teacher in class B-1, homeroom teacher in class B-2, and parents. Data collection in this study was carried out through observation, interviews, and documentation. Data analysis techniques use data triangulation techniques. Based on the results of data analysis, several findings were obtained in this study. First, the contents of the children's lunch box used healthy and nutritious food, but different from the balanced nutritional standards needed by children. Both parents' understanding of balanced nutrition is quite good. It can be seen in parents’ awareness of preparing their children's lunch. Third, the role of schools is very good in supporting the development and introduction of nutrition for parents and children. From these three findings, it can be concluded that children's lunch boxes contain healthy and nutritious food. It is related to the level of parents’ understanding and good support from schools regarding the development and introduction of nutrition for children.

Pricing curb parking: Differentiated parking fees or cash rewards?

Optimal pricing for a multi-echelon closed loop supply chain with different power structures and product dual differences

In France is estimated a generation of about 17 and 23 kg per year of WEEE per inhabitant. However, in 2014, the return rate for household WEEE reached only 38% of the total market input. The French regulation targets higher collection rates for the next years: 45% between 2016 and 2019, and 65% after 2019 of the total market input. The aim of this work was to quantify the real environmental benefits of improving the collection and treatment of WEEE in France by the life cycle assessment methodology. A mobile phone charger was selected as a case study, and three scenarios were assessed based on the actual collection rate and the future collection and recycling targets. For most impact categories, mainly due to the intensification on energy consumption and transport activities related to the recycling processes, the growth in collection rate leads to higher environmental impacts. However, when comparing the impact of end-of-life with the production of virgin materials, the benefits of increasing collection rates and recycling are evident.

Introduction Where children’s television once ruled supreme as a vehicle for sales of kids’ brands, the marketing of children’s toys now often hinges on having the right social media influencer, many of them children themselves (Verdon). As Forbes reported in 2021, the pandemic saw an increase in children spending more time online, many following their favourite influencers on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. The importance of tapping into partnering with the right influencer grew, as did sales in toys for children isolated at home. We detail, through a case study approach and visual narrative analysis of two Australian influencer siblings’ Instagram accounts, the nature of toy marketing to children in 2023. Findings point to the continued gendered nature of toys and the concurrent promotion of aspirational adult ‘toys’ (for example, cars, high-end cosmetics) and leisure pursuits that blur the line between what we considered to be children’s playthings and adult objects of desire. To Market, to Market Toys are a huge business worldwide. In 2021, the global toys market was projected to grow from $141.08 billion to $230.64 billion by 2028. During COVID-19, toy sales increased (Fortune Business Insights). The rise of the Internet alongside media and digital technologies has given toy marketers new opportunities to reach children directly, as well as producing new forms of digitally enabled play, with marketers potentially having access to children 24/7, way beyond the previous limits of children’s programming on television (Hains and Jennings). Children’s digital content has also extended to digital games alongside digital devices and Internet-connected toys. Children’s personal tablet ownership rose from less than 1 per cent in 2011 to 42 per cent in 2017 (Rideout), and continues to grow. Children’s value for brands and marketers has increased over time (Cunningham). The nexus between physical toys and the entertainment industry has grown stronger, first with the Disney company and then with the stand-out success of the Star Wars franchise (now owned by Disney) from the late 1970s (Hains and Jennings). The concept of transmedia storytelling and selling, with toys as the vehicle for children to play out the stories they saw on television, in comics, books, movies, and online, proved to be a lucrative one for the entertainment company franchises and the toy manufacturers (Bainbridge). All major toy brands now recognise the power of linking toy brands and entertaining transmedia children’s texts, including online content, with Disney, LEGO and Barbie being obvious examples. Gender and Toys: Boys and Girls Come Out to Play Alongside the growth of the children’s market, the gendering of children’s toys has also continued and increased, with concerns that traditional gender roles are still strongly promoted via children’s toys (Fine and Rush). Research shows that girls’ toys are socialising them for caring roles, shopping, and concern with beauty, while toys aimed at boys (including transportation and construction toys, action figures, and weapons) may promote physicality, aggression, construction, and action (Fine and Rush). As Blakemore and Center (632) suggested, then, if children learn from toy-play “by playing with strongly stereotyped toys, girls can be expected to learn that appearance and attractiveness are central to their worth, and that nurturance and domestic skills are important to be developed. Boys can be expected to learn that aggression, violence, and competition are fun, and that their toys are exciting and risky”. Recently there has been some pushback by consumers, and some toy brands have responded, with LEGO committing to less gendered toy marketing (Russell). YouTube: The World’s Most Popular Babysitter? One business executive has described YouTube as the most popular babysitter in the world (Capitalism.com). The use of children as influencers on YouTube to market toys through toy review videos is now a common practice (Feller and Burroughs; De Veirman et al.). These ‘reviews’ are not critical in the traditional sense of reviews in an institutional or legacy media context. Instead, the genre is a mash-up, which blurs the lines between three major genres: review, branded content, and entertainment (Jaakkola). Concerns have been raised about advertising disguised as entertainment for children, and calls have been made for nuanced regulatory approaches (Craig and Cunningham). The most popular toy review channels have millions of subscribers, and their hosts constitute some of YouTube’s top earners (Hunting). Toy review videos have become an important force in children’s media – in terms of economics, culture, and for brands (Hunting). Concurrently, surprise toys have risen as a popular type of toy, thanks in part to the popularity of the unboxing toy review genre (Nicoll and Nansen). Ryan’s World is probably the best-known in this genre, with conservative estimates putting 10-year-old Ryan Kanji’s family earnings at $25 million annually (Kang). Ryan’s World, formerly Ryan’s Toy Review, now has 10 YouTube channels and the star has his own show on Nic Junior as well as across other media, including books and video games (Capitalism.com). Marsh, through her case study of one child, showed the way children interact with online content, including unboxing videos, as ‘cyberflaneurs’. YouTube is the medium of choice for most children (now more so than television; Auxier et al.). However, Instagram is also a site where a significant number of children and teens spend time. Australian data from the e-Safety Commission in 2018 showed that while YouTube was the most popular platform, with 80 per cent of children 8-12 and 86 per cent of teens using the site, 24 per cent of children used Instagram, and 70 per cent of teens 13-17 (e-Safety Commissioner). Given the rise in social media, phone, and tablet use in the last five years, including among younger children, these statistics are now likely to be higher. A report from US-based Business Insider in 2021 stated that 40 per cent of children under 13 already use Instagram (Canales). This is despite the platform ostensibly only being for people aged 13 and over. Ofcom (the UK’s regulator for communications services) has discussed the rise of ‘Tik-Tots’ – young children defying age restrictions to be on social media – and the increase of young people consuming rather than sharing on social media (Ofcom). Insta-Kidfluencers on the Rise Marketers are now tapping into the selling power of children as social media influencers (or kidfluencers) to promote children’s toys, and in some cases, parents are happy to act as their children’s agents and managers for these pint-size prosumers. Abidin ("Micromicrocelebrity") was the first to discuss what she termed ‘micro-microcelebrities’, children of social media influencers (usually mothers) who have become, through their parents’ mediation, paid social media influencers themselves, often through Instagram. As Abidin noted: “their digital presence is deliberately commercial, framed and staged by Influencer mothers in order to maximize their advertorial potential, and are often postured to market even non-baby/parenting products such as fast food and vehicles”. Since that time, and with children now a growing audience on Instagram, some micro-microcelebrities have begun to promote toys alongside other brands which appeal to both children and adults. While initially these human ‘brand extensions’ of their mothers (Archer) appealed to adults, their sponsored content has evolved as they have aged, and their audience has grown and broadened to include children. Given the rise of Instagram as a site for the marketing of toys to children, through children themselves as social media influencers, and the lack of academic research on this phenomenon, our research looks at a case study of prominent child social media influencers on Instagram in Australia, who are managed by their mother, and who regularly promote toys. Within the case study, visual narrative analysis is used, to analyse the Instagram accounts of two high-profile child social media influencers, eleven-year-old Australian Pixie Curtis and her eight-year-old brother, Hunter Curtis, both of whom are managed by their entrepreneur and ‘PR queen’ mother, Roxy Jacenko. We analysed the posts from each child from March to July 2022 inclusive. Posts were recorded in a spreadsheet, with the content described, hashtags or handles recorded, and any brand or toy mentions noted. We used related media reports to supplement the analysis. We have considered ethical implications of our research and have made the decision to identify both children, as their accounts are public, with large follower numbers, promote commercial interests, and have the blue Instagram ‘tick’ that identifies their accounts as verified and ‘celebrity’ or brand accounts, and the children are regularly featured in mainstream media. The children’s mother, Jacenko, often discusses the children on television and has discussed using Pixie’s parties as events to gain publicity for the toy business. We have followed the lead of Abidin and Leaver, considered experts in the field, who have identified children and families in ethnographic research when the children or families have large numbers of followers (see Abidin, "#Familygoals"; Leaver and Abidin). We do acknowledge that other researchers have chosen not to identify influencer children (e.g., Ågren) with smaller numbers of followers. The research questions are as follows: RQ1: What are the toys featured on the two social media influencer children’s sites? RQ2: Are the toys traditionally gendered and if so, what are the main gender-based toys? RQ3: Do the children promote products that are traditionally aimed at adults? If so, how are these ‘toys’ presented, and what are they? Analysis The two child influencers and toy promoters, sister and brother Pixie (11) a

This paper considers a monopolistic producer who produces new product in the first period and provides manufactured and remanufactured products in the second period. A return policy in the first period and the competition between the manufactured and the remanufactured products in the second period are jointly considered to develop the optimal production quantity strategies analytically and numerically. We find that if the two products are substitutable, the quantities of the new products manufactured in the first period and the remanufactured products produced in the second period are non-decreasing in the return policy, but the quantity of the manufactured products in the second period is decreasing in the return policy. In this case, the return rate determines the profit level, but the collection rate has little impact on the profit. If the two products are complementary, there is a critical value of the collection rate. When the collection rate is smaller than this value, the production quantities increase in the return policy; otherwise, they decrease in the return policy. In this scenario, the return policy and the collection rate mutually make a positive impact on the profit. Additionally, although a generous return policy is always profitable, it may lead to less production of manufactured and remanufactured products, especially when they are complementary.

A model using home appliance ownership data to evaluate recycling policy performance

Replacing Traditional Plastics with Biodegradable Plastics: Impact on Carbon Emissions

This case study is undertaken to assess the impact of employee motivation on productivity in commercial bank of Ethiopia Huluka Branch. A qualitative research method was employed for this study. Primary data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire distributed to all employees the branch. The result from the study revealed that the bank uses both monetary as well as non-monetary types of employee motivation schemes. Cash rewards, increment of salary within stipulated period of time and provision of loan for house construction or purchase are monetary motivation schemes provided to employee. Non-monetary mechanisms are like flexible scheduling, knowledge development schemes through short and long term training and education, promotion, appreciation for the best work performance and others. Furthermore, holding other confiding factors motivation has a positive effect in boosting the productivity. Though the bank uses monetary and non-monetary strategies to provoke the employees to kick it forward it is not up to expected and advised to do more for a better effect.

This paper addresses the practically important challenge of devising efficient and politically feasible congestion pricing policies in the context of metropolitan highways. Congestion on metropolitan highways continues to grow while governments struggle to fund alternative modes of travel. The purpose of this paper is to explore the viability of a new approach to address highway congestion while also accommodating the mobility needs of those who don’t drive. It involves creating congestion-priced lanes on limited access highways without adding new lanes. The lanes would be taken from general use and reserved for high-occupancy vehicles (HOV), transit vehicles and toll-payers, with cash rewards paid to HOV and transit users to attract solo drivers to shared travel. Variable tolls charged to lower-occupancy vehicles on the dedicated lanes would limit traffic demand on the lanes, keep traffic flowing, and fund the cash rewards. Rewards would be high enough to attract a sufficient number of drivers to ride as passengers instead so that congestion would be eliminated on the toll lanes and reduced on the remaining toll-free lanes through mode shifts. The policy-level analysis using a real-world case study of a radial highway segment with directional peaking suggests that this congestion pricing/cash rewards strategy could generate surplus revenues and provide financial support for bus rapid transit operating on the congestion-free lanes.

The amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) has been increasing rapidly in the urban centres of developing countries during the last few decades; however, municipal solid waste management (MSWM) remains inadequate. One of the largest aspects of cost of the MSWM system is the collection of waste. This paper describes a methodology that combines geographic information systems (GIS), hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set (HFLTS), and the full multiplicative form of multi-objective optimization by ratio analysis (MULTIMOORA), to determine suitable locations for waste collection boxes (named AYPIKUT), which have been designed specifically for collection of domestic waste vegetable oil and waste batteries. It takes as case study, Atakum, a district of Samsun city, Turkey. As a solution to the problem, first, a total of 88 items have been identified for consideration by seven criteria elicited from the insights of experts, and spatial analyses were performed. Multi-criteria HFLTS was then used to determine weights of the criteria. Population density was the most significant criterion affecting the selection process, and proximity to housing complexes with more than 150 dwellings was the least important. According to the weights of the seven criteria, and three rules determined by the experts, 15 AYPIKUT locations were identified using GIS. As a final step, the alternative locations (A1-A15) were ranked with the MULTIMOORA method. A5 was the most suitable site, and A6 was the least suitable site for an AYPIKUT. The results indicated the ability of the proposed model to select the suitable locations for waste collection box.

The study aims to analyze the feasibility of implementing a dry weather collection system as a technical solution to the challenges related to sewage collection and treatment in unitary systems in Brazil. The proposal seeks to minimize the impacts on Effluent Treatment Plants and protect water bodies, contributing to the fulfillment of the goals of the legal framework for basic sanitation and the Sustainable Development Goals. The methodology adopted involved a literature review, document analysis and a case study. The data were collected from scientific databases, such as Scielo and Scopus, and from official sources. The information was critically analyzed regarding the technical feasibility of capturing in dry weather, and sizing calculations were performed in Excel spreadsheets to simulate the operation of the system in different scenarios. The proposed model considered parameters such as sewage flow, rainfall intensity and operational capacity of the Effluent Treatment Plants. The results of the study included the development of a conceptual design for the dry weather catchment system, with detailed calculations of pure and combined sewage flow. Specific interception points and sizing were defined, such as collection boxes, pumps and operational configurations based on a set point of 190 mg/L of Chemical Oxygen Demand - COD. The system had the potential to reduce the overload in the Effluent Treatment Plants, ensuring a maximum flow of 5452 m³/day and compliance with the parameters of the Resolution of the National Council for the Environment - CONAMA and environmental standards. The study points out that the dry weather collection system is a viable technical solution to improve the efficiency of biological treatment and reduce environmental impacts from the discharge of untreated sewage. However, it is recommended that future research be carried out to prepare a detailed executive project and evaluate the technical, economic and socio-environmental feasibility of the proposed model.