Physical Place Research Articles

Integration of Sustainability in Logistical Approaches A Key Element in Designing University-wide Green Logistics Program

The present study aimed to investigate the integration of sustainability in logistical approaches within schools or universities, focusing on the development of a university-wide green logistics program. The study seeks to address the following research questions such as the profiles of the respondents in terms of age, gender, position classification, and years of employment. Furthermore, to what extent does the university integrate sustainability measures in logistic-related approaches, considering principles such as purpose, values, method, research, partnership, and dialogue and how do university members assess the impact of green logistics on cultivating a culture of sustainability, particularly in terms of trust, satisfaction, and commitment. Furthermore, the level of commitment among respondents towards adopting green logistics, specifically in the physical place, educational program, and organizational culture. Finally, based on the study results, the research aims to identify and propose sustainability measures that can be integrated into the design of a university-wide green logistics program. The study recommends to compare the level of integration and implementation of sustainability in green logistical approaches in secondary education with the leadership styles of school administrators who share similar profiles with the respondents, while also considering the academic performance of students. Additionally, conducting a study to examine the impact of different leadership styles on the integration of sustainability measures in logistic-related activities, with a focus on the principles for responsible management education, is recommended. Moreover, developing a series of faculty-student training and development programs on green logistics is essential to address physical, organizational, and cultural concerns within the institution. Furthermore, conducting capability training programs for school leaders and administrators to ensure proper implementation of sustainable measures and adopting a culture of green logistics practices is crucial. Regular satisfaction evaluations should be conducted to identify areas for improvement and necessary actions. Additionally, considering the strong positive correlation between the integration of sustainability measures and its influence on green logistics, the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive green logistics manual is recommended. Regular reviews of the manual should be conducted to ensure its effectiveness and relevance. Lastly, universities should revisit, review, and revise their existing sustainability measures and guidelines for green logistics implementation. An ongoing process of enhancing guidelines and conducting regular evaluations should be established. Furthermore, the proposed sustainable university-wide green logistics program should be considered as a guide for universities to develop and implement their own comprehensive and sustainable green logistics initiatives, taking into account the specific needs and context of each institution.

Facilities management and clients satisfaction nexus in hotels in secondary cities in Ghana: A study of selected hotels in Wa

PurposeThis study aims to assess how the provision of facilities management (FM) services influences customer satisfaction in hotels in secondary cities. This study focussed on customer satisfaction in relation to specific FM services such as cleaning, maintenance, security, internet/information technology and air conditioner servicing.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a case study design. Simple random and purposive sampling methods were used to select the hotels and the respondents. The study used a survey based on the SERVQUAL model to collect data from 136 respondents. Six hotel managers were also interviewed.FindingsThere were disparities in customer satisfaction across the various hotel categories based on the assessment indicators used. Thus, customer satisfaction with FM services was not influenced by hotel ratings. On the calibre of staff handling FM activities, none of the hotels had a professional facilities manager. The hotel managers were in charge of FM activities, which affected the provision of FM services. Generally, customers in all the selected hotels were not satisfied with the quality of FM services. Specifically, the overall mean gap score was very low (−3.20), which meant that customers’ expectations far exceeded their perceptions, hence, their dissatisfaction. Tangible(s) of services were customers’ least appreciated (−1.04) dimension. This meant that hotels did not pay much attention to the physical (place) aspect of their FM activities. This should engage the attention of hospitality industry regulators and policymakers, given the current global health crisis caused by Covid-19 and its variance.Originality/valueThe study demonstrates customer satisfaction with FM services in hotels in secondary cities. Practically, hotels can become very competitive if they consider the findings of the study to provide effective customer-oriented FM services.

O.2.2-10 Preventing and managing injuries in social sport programs

Abstract Purpose Safety is critical to participant recruitment and retention in social sport programs targeting insufficiently active (IA) people as their lack of fitness and limited previous exposure to physical activity likely places them at a higher risk of injury. This study sought to understand the injury prevention/management qualifications, knowledge, confidence and practices of program deliverers (coaches or instructors) across four social sport/active recreation programs targeting insufficiently active women. Methods Between 2021 and 2022, we sent an online survey via text message to 83 program deliverers in Victoria, Australia after they had delivered their social sport/active recreation programs to 1674 insufficiently active women. Delivers were asked their: age and gender; years delivering sport/physical activity programs targeting insufficiently active adults; injury prevention/management qualifications; and what injury prevention/management measures they undertook during programs. They also rated their knowledge of injury prevention/management measures (0 = none; 10 = comprehensive); and their confidence incorporating such measures into a program (0 = none; 10 = extremely). We analysed data using descriptive statistics. Results Sixty-eight program deliverers (response rate 82%) completed the deliverer survey. Their experience in delivering programs to insufficiently active participants was limited (62% < two years) but nearly all (90%) reported providing some form of injury prevention/management advice to program participants — warm up or cool down, activity recovery, skill or technique, and/or corrective footwear were most common, but the type of advice provided differed across the programs. Forty percent reported no formal injury prevention/management qualifications. Their mean self-rated knowledge of injury prevention/management measures was 5.7 out of 10 and their mean confidence rating for incorporating such measures into programs was 6.0. Nearly half (46%) reported low confidence (≤5 out of 10;). Conclusions While most program deliverers lacked formal qualifications, had limited injury prevention/management knowledge and/or low confidence, they provided some form of injury prevention/management advice to participants. Program delivers would benefit from increased injury prevention/management knowledge, capacity and/or capability to assist with the program experience, reduce injury risk for IA participants, and hopefully improve deliverer confidence. Advice given by deliverers with limited knowledge and experience should be monitored. Support/Funding Source Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth).

Place building: The contribution of art and artistic entrepreneurship

Art is everywhere; we see it every day. Whilst much of it is created by artists and designers, some is natural. It might be art in a building, street art, sculptures or monuments, flowers in a garden or public landscaped space. These are often simply ‘there’ and free to see; but some people will pass by without really ‘seeing.’ Others might choose to visit a gallery or national park, knowing there is a charge. These encounters affect both their mood and feelings about that physical place. Because art adds value – economic, cultural (artistic and aesthetic), social, and enjoyment – it plays an important role in place attractiveness and place building. Art, though, can have both positive and negative influences; it can enhance a place and encourage visitors, whilst for others reducing the attractiveness. Some collectors pay significant sums for an original Banksy piece; others dismiss it as undesirable graffiti. Here: a taxonomy evaluating the contribution of art and value-creating artistic entrepreneurs in place building is offered and relevant themes are contextualised by 10 vignettes, two conceptual frameworks of the value-creation processes are presented; and opportunities available to those concerned with place building and place management are discussed.

No-Go Theorems on Machine Consciousness

Creating machines that are conscious is a long-term objective of research in artificial intelligence. This paper looks at this idea with new arguments from physics and logic. Observers have no place in classical physics, and although they play a role in measurement in quantum physics there is no explanation for their emergence within the framework. There is a suggestion that consciousness, which is implicitly a property of the observer, is a consequence of the complexity of specific brain structures, but this is problematic because one associates free will with consciousness, which goes counter to the causal closure of physics. Considering a nested physical system, we argue that even if the system were assumed to have agency, observers cannot exist within it. Since complex systems can be viewed in nested hierarchies, this constitutes a proof against consciousness as a product of complexity, for then we will have nested system of conscious agents. As the existence of consciousness in cognitive agents cannot be denied, the implication is that consciousness belongs to a dimension that is not physical and machine consciousness is unattainable. These ideas are used to take a fresh look at two well-known paradoxes of quantum theory that are important in quantum information theory.

‘Institutions of governance are all corrupted’: anti-political collective identity of anti-lockdown protesters in digital and physical spaces

ABSTRACT During the COVID-19 pandemic, loosely affiliated protesters came together around the slogan ‘freedom’ in the online and physical places of anti-lockdown protests. These protesters held shared grievances against official health advice and social distancing measures. Although the slogan freedom emotionally validated protesters, they articulated a diverse set of interrelated motivations, identifications, and beliefs with this slogan. This paper studies the ways the collective identity of the anti-lockdown protests in the UK was formed, relying on 33 go-along interviews and ethnographic observations in London anti-lockdown protests. The findings, first, show that protesters came together around an anti-political identity, which reflected a larger political alienation from the political system. Their strong emotions of anger and ressentiment towards official health advice and social distancing measures and their distrust towards elites, political institutions, and mainstream media created a shared sense of ‘we-ness’. Second, the paper uncovers how the feeling of solidarity amongst protesters in London did not only originate from online platforms despite the increase in Internet use during the pandemic, but it was also materialized in local neighbourhoods, which fed larger anti-lockdown protests in physical spaces and online publics.

(Re)making ‘third places’ in precarious times: Conceptual, empirical, and practical opportunities for occupational science

ABSTRACT Background: Occupational science scholarship has long recognized the relationship of person, occupation, and context, with less focus on the role of occupation in placemaking. Inquiries about ‘third places’ beyond home and work can develop knowledge about how occupations help (re)create and maintain places; such knowledge is especially relevant for understanding how people navigate precarious social and economic conditions. Methods: Through a 5-step scoping review, we surveyed the state of knowledge about ‘third places’ and the roles they play in the lives of precariously employed individuals. Our review covered English-language literature published between 2012 and 2022 that was indexed in eight academic journal databases. We descriptively and thematically analyzed 24 multidisciplinary articles. Findings: Included articles were concentrated among relatively few disciplinary, geographical, and methodological bases. Within these studies, situations of financial precarity and social exclusion prompted precarious workers to access and create alternative physical and virtual third places; these third places were characterized by having low barriers to entry, affording diverse forms of participation, and engendering few obligations or commitments. Occupations occurring through these places played a central role in placemaking and reflected the multifaceted purposes of third places and the diverse needs experienced within precarious lives. Implications: These findings support the need to reconceptualize ‘third places’ in ways that attend to occupation and foreground inclusionary and exclusionary potentials. Further research on third places can extend occupational science theorization of dynamic person-occupation-place relationships and advance interdisciplinary social transformation efforts through occupation-based community development work.

Kirjanik Valev Uibopuu perekondlik kirjavahetus eksiilis: ühise kirjade ruumi loomine distantsi lühendamise abi

Writer Valev Uibopuu (1913–1997) lived in exile from 1943 to 1991. During the whole exile period he carried on an active correspondence. Especially important was the correspondence with his first wife, journalist and writer Tuuli Reijonen, which started in 1943, and the correspondence with his family members who lived in Estonia, which started in 1953. These two family correspondences lay the foundation for this article. I try to find out how was it possible to cross – or at least shorten – the physical and temporal distance between the writer and the reader and to create a common space of communication at the same time. The hermeneutic and empathetic approach has helped me to examine the letters. I approach letters as a communicative, social, and textual space which is created in the writer’s and reader’s dialogue, and which also creates their relationship. At least two worlds meet in this space of letters: the writer’s and reader’s physical and temporal places; in the case of a refugee it also means an encounter between a new and an old place. I found at least four different ways how to cross the distance in Uibopuu’s family correspondence: creating a common moment of communication, creating a feeling of mental and physical closeness, expressing the writer’s and reader’s own places, and remembering the lost home together. The writer could create the common moment of communication by using the present tense, “talking” to the reader, using forms of addressing, and guessing the place and time of reading the letter. The writer could also demonstrate the feeling of mental and physical closeness by expressing textually touching, proximity and active thinking of the other party. The reader, in turn, could move in thoughts to the writer’s place by reading the writer’s expressions of her/his own place, like the weather and the atmosphere. And by remembering the common lost home, the writer and reader together could move in thoughts to the common place of the past. With these means of crossing the distance penfriends had a chance to create a common communicative, social, and transnational space of letters.

Newsrooms as Sites of Community and Identity: Exploring the Importance of Material Place for Journalistic Work

ABSTRACT Recent research has examined the sociomaterial contexts that shape journalistic practice within and beyond the newsroom, considering relationships between humans, and between humans and (non)physical artifacts like desks, computers, or software. While much of that research has focused on the use and role of technology, recent research also suggests an affective dimension of materiality like the sense of stability provided by physical news spaces. The newsroom as a material and lived place and place of power relations can greatly shape journalists’ work practices and identity. However, the relevance of the newsroom as a physical place for journalistic practice has so far been taken for granted. This study investigates the role of the newsroom as a physical, material place for journalistic practice and how it contributes to journalists’ sense of belonging and identity. Drawing on interviews with 18 Austrian journalists, we find that newsrooms as sociomaterial places facilitate proximity and serendipity which is perceived as relevant for creative and effective work, as well as a visible manifestation of in-group belonging. As such this study contributes to a better understanding of the meaning and relevance of newsrooms as material places for journalistic work.

“As much as I belong”: Space, Affect, and Identity in Isabella Hammad’s The Parisian

Atmosphere, as theorized by Gernot Böhme (1993), has both mental and physical connotations, connecting people and places in mutually constitutive and transformative relations. Investigated from the aspect of emotional geography’s concern with the spatiality of emotions (Davidson et al. 2007), the atmosphere of places and spaces may be inextricably linked to bodily experience, affect, and affective human relationships, and may play a vital part in one’s sense of belonging and self. With a specific focus on these interconnections, my paper offers a close reading of Isabella Hammad’s debut novel, The Parisian or Al-Barisi: A Novel (2019), mapping the protagonist, Midhat Kamal’s emotional geographies through his physical journey from Nablus to Montpellier, Paris, and back, as well as his concomitant journey of the self from immigrant to flâneur, tourist to “the Parisian.” I shall argue that the protagonist’s bodily and lived experience and the atmosphere of the places/spaces he inhabits greatly determine his affective relationships, as well as his sense of home, belonging, and self, contributing to his identity (re-)construction as a transnational subject and creating the emotional geographies of his life.

Cross kit reconfiguration algorithm for enhanced output power of PV array during shading mismatch conditions

Maintaining the uniform irradiance in an extensive photovoltaic (PV) system is almost impossible. The mismatch between panels of a PV array results in substantial power loss. The PV panels in an array are reconfigured by the proposed Cross-Kit (CK) technique to obtain optimal power output for different partial shade situations (PSS). The suggested approach allows the structure to balance the shade effect across the entire PV array with different physical places of panels. The PV modules are linked using the Total Cross Tied (TCT) configuration, and the CK technique decides the physical placement of modules within the array. The electrical connections of the TCT-linked PV array are unaffected by the CK panel configurations. The PV array’s output arranged with the suggested CK method is assessed and contrasted with TCT and Odd-Even (OE) reconfiguration for mathematical and experimental validation. Four different PSS are taken into consideration. The percentage instantaneous maximum power improvement compared to TCT and OE ranges from 5.49% to 26.73%. The benefits of the suggested approach include straightforward guidelines for implementation, explanation of the P-V plots, and a reduced charge of maximum power point tracking.

The pandemic booth: How spatial reconfigurations during the pandemic influence cooperation and communication among conference interpreters

This article sheds light on how conference interpreting practice has changed since the beginning of the pandemic in Austria by drawing on the sociological concepts “body” and “space” as analytical and conceptual categories, among others shaped by Lindemann and Lindemann and Schünemann. The results of this study yield insights into the different modes of spatial organisation for conference interpreting during the pandemic; the ways these different organisational settings impacted cooperation among interpreters; and the interpreters’ perceptions of these reconfigurations in space and bodily presence. The data, obtained through an online survey and interviews with in total nine conference interpreters in Austria, show that a range of organisational settings is possible when working (completely or partly) remote, all entailing their individual particularities. Among the observed settings were conferences held on-site with strict anti-COVID measures; “hybrid” settings where interpreters worked on-site with speakers joining online or vice versa; and remote interpreting assignments. In remote assignments, more communication was necessary before the conference, for example, to discuss handovers. Additional communication tools were resorted to, and interpreters preferred working together in one physical place, for example, to facilitate cooperation. However, they also saw advantages in remote assignments.

PHYSICAL EXAMPLES OF NONLINEAR DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS

In this study, some important physical systems, which are examples of dynamic systems that exhibit chaotic behavior, are given. These are field models with spinor fields, which are especially important in particle physics. In this study, Duffing, Thirring and Dirac-Gursey systems will be discussed. The Duffing equation is a famous nonlinear differential equation that exemplifies a dynamical system that exhibits chaotic behavior. Various forms of the Duffing equation are used to describe many nonlinear systems. The Duffing equation serves as a test model for us to understand the dynamics of the nonlinear spinor field models we are working on. Thirring system is a relativistic field theory for the interaction of fermions. It is two-dimensional massless system. Since the Thirring system is the simplest nonlinear spinor system, it has an important place in particle physics as a toy model. The Dirac-Gursey system was proposed in 1956 to realize the dream of Heisenberg and his friends. It is the first nonlinear spinor wave equation with four dimensions and conformal invariance. Due to these properties, it has a wider symmetry than the Dirac equation and the equations proposed by Heisenberg et al. Gursey became the first physicist to test conformal invariance in spinor field theories with this system he proposed in 1956.

Black women's placemaking in undergraduate engineering

AbstractBackgroundBlack women students in engineering higher education are underrepresented and often face barriers at the nexus of race, gender, and engineering. When seeking to improve student outcomes, universities often prioritize academic success and neglect psychological, social, and emotional well‐being. Little is known about why and how Black women in engineering engage in Black placemaking as they maneuver around barriers.PurposeThe purpose of this study is to establish an empirical understanding of the experiences of Black women in engineering. Our work is guided by the following research questions: (1) Why do Black women in engineering seek out campus spaces specifically designated for them? What unique structural issues necessitate such spaces? (2) For what purposes do Black women in engineering use those distinct spaces? (3) How are Black women in engineering responding to the challenges and structural conditions?Design/MethodWe use Black placemaking theory to guide our qualitative in‐depth interviews of 45 purposefully selected students. The data were analyzed via theory‐informed themes.ResultsMajor structural conditions necessitate specific Black spaces, including the absence of physical places, failure to understand intersectionality, failure to respond to safety, and cultural stereotypes about Black women in engineering. In response to such barriers, Black women in engineering engage in multiple placemaking activities, thereby seeking out safe and responsive spaces and transforming existing ones to serve multiple functions.ConclusionsWhatever difficulties Black women face in academia, they are intensified in engineering. To confront such barriers, Black women engage with Black placemaking, creatively transforming existing places or co‐creating distinct places for themselves. These actions can inform how engineering departments support spaces for minoritized student development.

Guiding the design and implementation of interactive public displays in educational settings

Interactive Public Displays (IPD) enable new ways of interaction as well as communication channels, extending online communities into physical places and supporting a culture of participation. While educational environments have seen how new digital technologies can enhance learning activities beyond the traditional classroom context, the use of IPDs is still an area insufficiently explored. This paper proposes a set of design goals for the implementation and deployment of engaging interactive public display applications in educational settings. Based on findings from a series of design workshops and two deployment studies in authentic settings, seven design goals were identified and defined. The design goals provide clear guidelines for the design of IPDs for schools by making design teams and stakeholders focus on factors fostering user adoption, social interactions and collaboration. The design goals also opened up paths for further explorations regarding display awareness, level of commitment in interactions, the displays’ integration into structured activities, and display management at the educational institutions.

An analysis of risk factors for ENT diseases: A case study of D. G. Khan and Rajanpur Districts, Punjab, Pakistan.

Objective: To determine the core risk factors of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) diseases at D. G. Khan and Rajanpur districts of Punjab, Pakistan. Study Design: Cross Sectional Case Control study. Setting: A sample of 1553 individuals including two categories, ENT Diseased (Case) and ENT diseased free (Control) respondents including both males and females was collected from different hospitals of D. G Khan and Rajanpur Districts. Period: June 2021 to June 2022. Material & Methods: Data for this study have been collected by formulating a questionnaire. That questionnaire was then completed by face to face interviewing. Chi-squared test is used to check the association between the assumed risk factors and ENT diseases. Odds ratios are calculated to measure the strength of association between assumed risk factors and ENT diseases. Looking at the dichotomous nature of the response variable, a binary logistic regression model is also applied to assess the overall influence of potential risk factors on developing the ENT diseases. Results: In our sample of 1553 respondents, 41.47% are females and 58.53% are males. The percentage of clinically diagnosed ENT diseased patients is 54.92% and those of controlled ones is 45.08%. Among the diseased respondents, 57% have ear disease, 19.2% have nose disease and 23.8% have throat disease. Age, education, family status, family system, marital status, slow physical activity, smoking, Naswar, Paan, family history, occupation, work place, water, ventilation, nutrition and tea are found to be the most significant risk factors of developing the ENT diseases. Conclusions: The occurrence of ENT diseases can be reduced by giving the awareness to the people about its risk factors.

Finding Home: The Experience of Home on Journeys Away from Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract Violence in the intimate sphere can send women and children out of their homes and onto journeys over vast geographical distances and into various forms of temporary accommodation. When women and children are displaced like this, they have to settle and re-settle on their complex journeys away from intimate partner violence. This article shows that not all these places will be or become home and that the absence of home can entail different forms of distress, such as fear, alienation and despondency. The concept of home is (re)emerging in social work. By employing a threefold understanding of home as a physical place, a feeling and a practice, this article offers new insights into the role of home in the recovery process of women and children subjected to violence. Home is an essential place for adults and children. Therefore, this article argues that home is an important concept for social workers working with families subjected to violence, as finding home can be a central part of the recovery process. This article is based on data from two studies on families experiencing intimate partner violence, drawing on fieldwork at a women’s shelter and on semi-structured interviews with women and children.

Insights on the Film Tourism and Archéocinema for the Promotion of Heritage Tourism: A Critical Review

The link between Cultural Heritage (CH), media, and film tourism has gained increasing attention in the literature over the last two decades. The 21st-century film tourism industry edutainment must reflect the experiences of 21st-century digital/virtual requirements. Film tourism is often considered a potential marketing channel for World Heritage Sites (WHS) and CH tourism. Limited research addresses how heritage film tourism providers employ and deal with the film industry and Archéocinema media for marketing communication. This paper attempts to discuss the relationship between the capability of heritage film tourism as a promotional tool combined with Archéocinema in constructing the optimistic destination image of heritage tourism and experience as it flows in both physical places and virtual environments. It argues that both environments, as dynamic and generate meanings, merge, and embody subjectivity and objectivity now in one process. This process suggests building a critical, informative, and promotional purpose by engaging in storyline and storytelling, learning about what and how film tourism and Archéocinema can offer and representing it in a modern key within and beyond the physical dimensions of place in an ethical and transparent approach according to the London Charter and the Seville Principles.

Lifelong Fitness in Ambulatory Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy II: Influencing the Trajectory.

Physical activity of at least moderate intensity in all children contributes to higher levels of physical and psychological health. While essential, children with cerebral palsy (CP) often lack the physical capacity, resources, and knowledge to engage in physical activity at a sufficient intensity to optimize health and well-being. Low levels of physical activity place them at risk for declining fitness and health, contributing to a sedentary lifestyle. From this perspective, we describe a framework to foster a lifelong trajectory of fitness in ambulatory children with CP (GMFCS I-III) as they progress into adolescence and adulthood, implemented in conjunction with a training program to augment bone and muscle health. First, we recommend that altering the fitness trajectory of children with CP will require the use of methods to drive behavioral change prior to adolescence. Second, to promote behavior change, we suggest embedding lifestyle intervention into fitness programming while including meaningful activities and peer socialization to foster self-directed habit formation. If the inclusion of lifestyle intervention to drive behavior change is embedded into fitness programs and found to be effective, it may guide the delivery of targeted programming and community implementation. Participation in comprehensive programming could alter the long-term trajectory of musculoskeletal health while fostering strong self-efficacy in persons with CP.

Online Adult Education for Sustainable Development: The Analysis of the Consequences of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Latvia

Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic has left significant consequences at every level of education, including adult education. In order to adapt to the restriction caused by the pandemic, adult education institutions all around the world were forced to transform the way how the educational process was being organized. By introducing various web-related technologies, the physical place of teaching and learning processes has become a less significant factor, thereby, potentially, contributing to the inclusiveness of education and, as a result, to sustainable development. The paper aims to analyze how the recent transformation of adult education caused by the pandemic between 2020 and 2022 contributed to the sustainable development of Latvia. To achieve the aim, the following research methods are used: a scientific literature review to investigate the concepts of sustainable development and online adult education as well as their potential correlation, a survey of adult education institutions in Latvia, as well as statistical data analysis of adult education indicators. The main findings of the article: during the pandemic when the in-person teaching process was restricted, the Latvian adult education sector experienced unprecedented digital transformation. The transformation positively contributed to the improvement of not only the digital skills of teachers and learners but also to the sustainable development of Latvia by facilitating access to potential learners living in rural areas and regions.