Search Results (177)

This paper presents a novel interface that leverages a smartwatch for controlling industrial robotic arms. By harnessing the gyroscope and advanced gesture recognition capabilities of the smartwatch, our solution facilitates intuitive, real-time manipulation that caters to users ranging from novices to seasoned professionals. A dedicated application is implemented to aggregate sensor data via an open-source library, providing a streamlined alternative to conventional control systems. The experimental setup consists of a smartwatch equipped with a data collection application, a robotic arm, and a communication module programmed in Python. Our aim is to evaluate the practicality and effectiveness of smartwatch-based control in a real-world industrial context. The experimental results indicate that this approach significantly enhances accessibility while concurrently minimizing the complexity typically associated with automation systems. Full article

China’s rapid urbanization has given rise to the phenomenon of “urban villages”, which are often regarded as chaotic fringe areas in traditional studies. With the rise of the concept of resilient cities, the value of urban villages as potential carriers of sustainable development has been re-examined. This study adopted research methods such as field investigations, in-depth interviews, and conceptual sampling. By analyzing the interlinked governance relationship between Xiamen City and the urban villages in the Bay Area, aspects such as rural housing improvement, environmental governance, residents’ feedback, geographical pattern, and spatial production were evaluated. A field investigation was conducted in six urban villages within the four bays of Xiamen. A total of 45 people in the urban villages were interviewed, and the spatial status of the urban villages was recorded. This research found that following: (1) Different types of urban villages have formed significantly differentiated role positionings under the framework of regional governance. Residential community types XA and WL provide long-term and stable living spaces for migrant workers in Xiamen; tourism development types DS, HX, BZ, and HT allow the undertaking of short-term stay tourists and provide tourism services. (2) These urban villages achieve the construction of their resilience through resisting risks, absorbing policy resources, catering to the expansion of urban needs, and co-construction in coordination with planning. The multi-cultural inclusiveness of urban villages and their transformation led by cultural shifts have become the driving force for their sustainable development. Through the above mechanisms, urban villages have become the source of resilience and sustainability of healthy cities and provide a model reference for high-density urban construction. Full article

The arts can support well-being and provide culturally affirming developmental opportunities for youth of color. Despite what we know about the power of arts, youth of color are less likely to have access to arts in their schools. Culture-centered community-based youth arts (CCYA) programs may provide vital settings to support well-being, particularly for youth of color. We define CCYA in three parts: They are community-based youth development programs that offer high-quality arts learning and center the racial/ethnic cultures of youth-of-color participants. This conceptual paper describes the three components and the significance of CCYA programs in communities of color. We suggest areas for future research that support the deepening of this conceptualization and provide insights for arts programs that cater to the specific developmental needs of arts-interested youth in marginalized communities. Full article

High-density cities have obvious characteristics of compact urban spatial form and intensive land use in terms of spatial environment, and have always been a topic of academic focus. As a typical coastal historical district, the Macau Peninsula pier district (mainly the Macau Inner Harbour) has a high building density and a low average street width, forming a vertical coastline development model that directly converses with the ocean. This area is adjacent to Macau’s World Heritage Site and directly related to the Marine trade functions. The distribution pattern of cultural heritage linked by the ocean has strengthened Macau’s unique positioning as a node city on the Maritime Silk Road. This text is based on the theory of urban development, integrates spatial syntax and POI analysis techniques, and combines the theories of waterfront regeneration, high-density urban form and post-industrial urbanism to integrate and deepen the theoretical framework, and conduct a systematic study on the urban spatial characteristics of the coastal area of the Macau Peninsula. This study found that (1) Catering and shopping facilities present a dual agglomeration mechanism of “tourism-driven + commercial core”, with Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro as the main axis and radiating to the Ruins of St. Paul’s and Praça de Ponte e Horta, respectively. Historical blocks and tourist hotspots clearly guide the spatial center of gravity. (2) Residential and life service facilities are highly coupled, reflecting the spatial logic of “work-residence integration-service coordination”. The distribution of life service facilities basically overlaps with the high-density residential area, forming an obvious “living circle + community unit” structure with clear spatial boundaries. (3) Commercial and transportation facilities form a “functional axis belt” organizational structure along the main road, with the Rua das Lorchas—Rua do Almirante Sérgio axis as the skeleton, constructing a “functional transmission chain”. (4) The spatial system of the Macau Peninsula pier district has transformed from a single center to a multi-node, network-linked structure. Its internal spatial differentiation is not only constrained by traditional land use functions but is also driven by complex factors such as tourism economy, residential migration, historical protection, and infrastructure accessibility. (5) Through the analysis of space syntax, it is found that the core integration of the Macau Peninsula pier district is concentrated near Pier 16 and the northern area. The two main roads have good accessibility for motor vehicle travel, and the northern area of the Macau Peninsula pier district has good accessibility for long and short-distance walking. Full article

Cross-platform mobile application development has gained significant traction in recent years, driven by the growing demand for efficient, cost-effective solutions that cater to both iOS and Android platforms. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of cross-platform mobile application development, emphasizing the industry trends, framework popularity, and adoption in the job market. By analyzing developer preferences, community engagement, and market demand, this study provides a comprehensive overview of how cross-platform mobile development frameworks shape the mobile development landscape. The research employs a data-driven methodology, drawing insights from three key categories: Developer Sentiment and Survey Data, Community Engagement and Usage Data, and Market Adoption and Job Market Data. By analyzing these factors, the study identifies the key challenges and emerging trends shaping cross-platform mobile application development. It assesses the most widely used frameworks, comparing their strengths and weaknesses in real-world applications. Furthermore, the research examines the industry adoption patterns and the presence of these frameworks in job market trends. Unlike earlier research, which included now-obsolete platforms like Windows Phone and frameworks such as Xamarin, this study is tailored to the current cross-platform mobile application development market landscape. The conclusions offer actionable insights for developers and researchers, equipping them with the knowledge needed to navigate the evolving cross-platform mobile application development ecosystem effectively. Full article

Nitrogen pollution in urban rivers, exacerbated by rapid urbanization, poses a growing threat to water quality. Microbial communities are essential in mediating nitrogen cycling and mitigating pollution in these ecosystems. This study integrated three-year (2021–2023) water quality monitoring with metagenomic sequencing to investigate microbial community dynamics, nitrogen cycling processes, and their responses to nitrogen pollution in the Shi River, Qinhuangdao, China. Nitrogen pollution was predominantly derived from industrial discharges from enterprises in the Shi River Reservoir upstream (e.g., coolant and chemical effluents), agricultural runoff, untreated domestic sewage (particularly from catering and waste in Pantao Valley), and livestock farming effluents. Total nitrogen (TN) concentrations ranged from 2.22 to 6.44 mg/L, exceeding China’s Class V water standard (2.0 mg/L, GB 3838-2002), with the highest level at the urbanized W4 site (6.44 mg/L). Nitrate nitrogen (NO₃-N) accounted for 60–80% of TN. Metagenomic analysis revealed Fragilaria, Microcystis, and Flavobacterium thriving (up to 15% relative abundance) under nitrogen stress, with nitrogen metabolism genes (narG, nifH, nirK) enriched at polluted sites (W2, W4), narG reaching 26% at W1. Dissolved oxygen positively correlated with nitrate reductase gene abundance, while ammonia nitrogen inhibited it. Burkholderiales and Limnohabitans dominated denitrification, offering insights into sustainable urban river management. Full article

With some exceptions, the nexus between diverse ecologies of participation and unwaged labour in circular transitions has not been fully investigated. Additionally, while research on labour and the circular economy has begun to acknowledge the informal unpaid work that is indispensable to closing circularity loops in the household and community, its relational aspects are still discounted in the literature. We seek to address these gaps through our case study on emerging community food rescue/redistribution initiatives in Singapore. Increasingly, these initiatives are gaining success in garnering volunteer labour involving care/relational work through their diverse models of engagement, which cater to a range of preferences. We offer a perspective suggesting that volunteers are often able to find rich regimes of value in the work that they do despite being unpaid. Future research can perhaps explore the ethics of exploiting one’s care for the environment and community in order to extract this unwaged labour. Full article

Despite the growing popularity of digital artworks that use nonfungible tokens (NFTs), systematic frameworks for analyzing the content characteristics driving NFT artworks’ creation, sale, and collection remain underdeveloped. Drawing on key insights from a diffusion of innovations, social identity, and value-based adoption theories, this study constructed a conceptual model that identified six key factors: uniqueness, profitability, prestige, community engagement, collectability, and compatibility. These factors’ effects on consumer purchasing behavior were investigated using perceived value as a mediator. Empirical data were collected from 300 Chinese participants and analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The significant direct effects of profitability, community engagement, collectability, and compatibility on purchasing behavior were identified. Uniqueness and prestige were found to exert indirect effects mediated by perceived value. Furthermore, a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis uncovered configurations of content characteristics sufficient for driving high purchasing behavior. It highlighted low community engagement as a necessary condition for low purchasing behavior and underscored multiple attributes’ synergistic interplay in shaping consumer decisions. By integrating these attributes into the conceptualization of NFT content characteristics and synthesizing theoretical insights, this study enhances the understanding of consumer behavior. Recommendations are provided for NFT creators and platforms to improve content quality, cater to diverse preferences, and enhance user experiences, thereby promoting adoption and sustainable growth. Full article

The scientific literature is expanding at an unprecedented pace, making it increasingly difficult for researchers, students, and professionals to extract relevant insights efficiently. Traditional academic publishing offers static, one-size-fits-all content that does not cater to the diverse backgrounds, expertise levels, and interests of readers. This paper explores how generative AI can dynamically personalize scholarly content by tailoring summaries and key takeaways to individual user profiles. Nine scientific articles from a single journal issue were used to create the dataset, and prompt engineering was applied to generate tailored insights for exemplary personas: a digital humanities and open science researcher, and a mining and raw materials industry specialist. The effectiveness of AI-generated content modifications in enhancing readability, comprehension, and relevance was evaluated. The results indicate that generative AI can successfully emphasize different aspects of an article, making it more accessible and engaging to specific audiences. However, challenges such as content oversimplification, potential biases, and ethical considerations remain. The implications of AI-powered personalization in scholarly communication are discussed, and future research directions are proposed to refine and optimize AI-driven adaptive reading experiences. Full article

Background: Many schools are committed to the “Five Steps to a Health Promoting School guide” created by the Schools for Health in Europe (SHE) network to avoid chronic disease and promote healthy environments. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate schools’ health promotion policies and practices via the SHE rapid assessment tool. Methods: From February 2019 to June 2019, a cross-sectional survey based on this tool was conducted in nine international schools that are part of a private network operating in multiple countries. The entire school community was offered the opportunity to participate. The survey consisted of 37 questions aligned with the whole-school approach to health promotion and addressed orientation, healthy school policy, the physical and social environment, health skills, community links, and staff well-being using a three-point scale. A univariate analysis was subsequently performed. Results: A total of 929 people responded, 59.7% of whom were women, representing 74 different nationalities (82.5% Europeans). The average age was 25.9 years, ranging from 7 to 77 years. The participants included 57.2% students, 21.3% teachers, 15.3% families, 3.2% management teams, 1% counsellors/psychologists, 1% administrative/service staff, 0.5% catering staff, 0.3% nursing/medical staff, and 0.2% maintenance staff. The findings revealed that 80% of the respondents felt that most of these health promotion needs were being partially or fully addressed, predominantly with medium or high priority. However, 30% of the respondents indicated that the school had not yet assessed the students’ and employees’ health and well-being needs or fully promoted a healthy work-life. Conclusions: The SHE rapid assessment tool serves as an effective initial step in identifying key indicators within the school community, offering insights for future action towards becoming a health-promoting school. These results underscore the importance of addressing social and behavioural determinants of health within different international educational settings to promote positive sociorelational well-being and youth development. By fostering the well-being of children, adolescents, and the educational community, schools play a pivotal role in reducing the risk factors for chronic diseases and supporting psychosocial adaptation. Full article

Hybrid gels combining chicken and mushroom offer innovative functional food choices, catering to the growing demand for flexitarian-friendly products. These gels reduce meat content while enhancing dietary fiber, bioactive compounds, and sustainability. This study examined the effects of split gill mushroom (Schizophyllum commune) powder (SGM) substitution (0%, 25%, 50%, and 75%, w/w) for Ligor chicken meat in hybrid gels, focusing on rheological and gelling properties. The 25% SGM gel demonstrated optimal performance in terms of rheology, texture, microstructure, pH, water-holding capacity, and color. At this level, hybrid gels exhibited superior gelation properties, demonstrating elasticity dominance, as indicated by a higher storage modulus (G′) than loss modulus (G″), along with stable cohesiveness and unaffected springiness (p > 0.05). However, hardness, gumminess, and chewiness were significantly lower than the control (p < 0.05). Higher SGM levels (50–75%) markedly weakened the gels, reducing viscoelasticity, increasing porosity and water release, and causing discoloration. These findings highlight 25% SGM as an optimal level for hybrid meat gels, maintaining product quality while promoting sustainability in the meat industry. Full article

Assessment is an integral core component of the educational process (learning–teaching–assessment), influencing learning and teaching. Its impact extends beyond these core elements, shaping decisions that affect students, teachers, administrators, policymakers, and the wider community. Recognizing the critical role and broad impact of assessment on educational practices, we must leverage its power to foster better education that caters to diverse multicultural learners and promotes a more equitable society. In this theoretical paper, we comprehensively explore the transformative potential of assessment focusing on culturally responsive assessment, on both teaching and learning practices, emphasizing the needs of diverse learners. We discuss possible solutions to enhance educational outcomes through assessment redesign, critically examine the barriers to implementing these solutions, and propose viable strategies to mitigate these challenges, ensuring all learners reach their full potential. Full article

Communication for development and social change is an evolving field both in research and practice, transcending paradigms of conventional communication towards engaging and somewhat exposing some of the real-life communicative disorders experienced by communities. While public health and communication for development and social change operate from diverse paradigmatic thinking and are applied quite independently as disciplinary fields of study, health communication converges these fields in research and practice. In this paper, I discuss these interdisciplinary perspectives that draw from communication for development and social change principles and public health through a process of divergence and convergence towards new ways of thinking about decision making. Much of this discourse stems from understanding many health problems as a development problem first, one that recognises the role of community responses during pandemics yet at the same time places the agency back with individuals to make informed choices. Communicating for health decision making from this perspective is what I call Communicating for Health-as-Development (C4HD). C4HD foregrounds health as development, which caters to the messy, unidirectional, non-process-orientated, non-measurable and often non-data-driven approaches to health outcomes. It is in these messy health communication efforts that real development takes place. This paper, using examples from HIV and COVID-19, discusses these ongoing developments in the field and the convergence of public health and communication for development and social change from an interdisciplinary perspective, by exploring three key concepts: community engagement to influence decision making, community agency and ownership, and context and collaboration, which contribute to understanding communication for health-as-development. Full article

Urban parks play a pivotal role in fostering ecologically advanced cities in China, contributing significantly to enhancing urban environments and the overall quality of life for residents. However, their value is often hard to quantify by urban planners due to the absence of a clear market price. Using the hedonic price method, this study delves into the distinct impacts of different types of urban parks (community parks, city parks, country parks) on housing prices under the three-level park system in Shenzhen. The outcomes reveal that owning a view of both city parks and country parks from the apartment has significant positive influence on housing prices, with a premium of 14.8916% (RMB 920,396.73) and 30.7299% (RMB 1,899,309.15), respectively. Regarding accessibility, shortening walking distance by 100 m to the nearest community park and city park can attach a premium to the housing price by 0.3269% (RMB 20,203.55) and 0.6130% value gain (RMB 37,889.53), respectively. The results drawn from distinctive park types are expected to give insights to urban planners in formulating strategies for ecological civilization construction, with an emphasis on prioritizing visible and accessible greenspaces to cater to citizens’ preferences and foster sustainable urban growth. Full article

Diets will likely play a crucial role in the Anthropocene to support the population’s health and safeguard environmental sustainability for future generations. Based on a cross-sectional–observational–descriptive design for evaluating an entire menu proposal, data on the type and composition of the menus offered by a university catering service during an academic year were collected. Each day during the meal service, 10 plates of the same option offered were weighed, and 10 photographs were taken. With these data, the nutritional value and carbon footprint were evaluated for all possible combinations of first and second courses, while including the average values of other components of the menu (garnishes, bread, desserts, and beverages). The annual menu proposal resulted in 6478 combinations of first and second courses plus the other components. The average caloric intake was 1194 kcal/menu with high consumption of proteins and lipids, and the average carbon footprint was 1.86 kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂eq)/menu, with the second course being the major contributor. Creating menus that consider these two essential parameters is the task of specialists. Achieving food consumption that balances nutrition and environmental sustainability is another issue of education and communication. Full article