Search Results (1,055)

This study presents a high-fidelity digital twin (DT) framework designed to evaluate and improve vertiport operations for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). By integrating Unreal Engine, AirSim, and Cesium, the framework enables real-time simulation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), including unmanned electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) operations under nominal and disrupted conditions, such as adverse weather and engine failures. The DT supports interactive visualisation and risk-free analysis of decision-making protocols, vertiport layouts, and UAV handling strategies across multi-scenarios. To validate system realism, mixed-reality experiments involving physical UAVs, acting as surrogates for eVTOL platforms, demonstrate consistency between simulations and real-world flight behaviours. These UAV-based tests confirm the applicability of the DT environment to AAM. Intelligent algorithms detect Final Approach and Take-Off (FATO) areas and adjust flight paths for seamless take-off and landing. Live environmental data are incorporated for dynamic risk assessment and operational adjustment. A structured capacity evaluation method is proposed, modelling constraints including turnaround time, infrastructure limits, charging requirements, and emergency delays. Mitigation strategies, such as ultra-fast charging and reconfiguring the layout, are introduced to restore throughput. This DT provides a scalable, drone-integrated, and data-driven foundation for vertiport optimisation and regulatory planning, supporting safe and resilient integration into the AAM ecosystem. Full article

Understanding visitors’ motivations is essential for enhancing the perceived well-being of urban residents and promoting overall human welfare. Grounded in an integrated framework combining Self-Determination Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, this study investigates how different types of motivation, i.e., amotivation, extrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation, influence visitors’ subjective well-being through the mediating role of behavioral intention. The theoretical model was tested using primary data collected via structured questionnaires from three urban forest parks in Fuzhou, China. Exploratory factor analysis identified latent constructs, and confirmatory factor analysis validated the measurement model. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. The results reveal that intrinsic motivation significantly enhances behavioral intention, whereas extrinsic motivation and amotivation have a negative association. Behavioral intention has a strong and positive influence on subjective well-being. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations indirectly affect well-being through the complete mediation of behavioral intention. In contrast, amotivation follows a dual pathway: it negatively influences well-being through partial mediation and also exerts a direct positive association. These findings underscore the central mediating role of behavioral intention in connecting motivation and well-being outcomes in urban forest park visitation. The study highlights the importance for policymakers and managers of considering how different forms of motivation affect the attainment of subjective well-being, and of incorporating these factors into future decisions concerning urban forest park so as to facilitate comparable findings and support further generalizations. Full article

Background: This study explores how consumer behaviour influences household food waste and its ripple effects on the efficiency of the agri-food supply chain. Methods: Using survey data, we applied regression analysis to analyse the links between shopping habits, household demographics, waste reduction goals, and disposal practices. Results: Results show that purchasing driven by promotions significantly boosts household waste, while waste reduction goals strongly reduce disposal behaviours. These results illustrate how irregular consumer purchasing patterns create upstream demand fluctuations, making inventory management and production planning more complex. The findings highlight opportunities for logistics improvements, such as demand-based inventory systems, optimised purchasing routines, adjusted promotional strategies, and consumer-involved forecasting models to cut waste and promote resource sustainability. Conclusions: This research connects consumer behaviour with supply chain management, offering practical insights for building more sustainable and efficient food supply chains through targeted logistics actions. Full article

The significant rise of electric vehicles in urban areas calls for research on smart charging to promote electric mobility. Existing research is fragmented, with inconsistent findings, focusing on single aspects of smart charging, such as challenges, charging technologies, and sustainability concerns. Thus, a bibliometric analysis was conducted to identify the key themes and propose future research agendas on smart charging for electric mobility in urban areas, to guide policy formulation and promote widespread uptake of electric vehicles. A total of 201 publications covering the period 2005 to 2025 were extracted from the Scopus database; the first was published in 2011 and numbers peaked in 2024, with 39 publications. The topic is young, with an average age per publication of 4.17 years, with China as the top-ranked country, with 97 publications. Research on smart charging for e-mobility in urban areas focuses on four key themes: smart charging technologies and optimisation strategies, grid integration and vehicle-to-grid systems, renewable energy and environmental sustainability, and urban mobility systems and infrastructure development. Despite their importance, real-world testing and smarter integration with cities and grids remain largely underexplored, especially in developing countries. Future research should focus on large-scale vehicle-to-grid integration, user behaviour analysis, and coordinated planning of smart charging with urban transport and policy frameworks. Full article

This study explores the factors influencing the willingness of Cashew Feni producers to adopt GI certifications, delving deeper into the behavioural factors. This study is guided by the extended Theory of Planned Behaviour. This study was conducted in Goa, India, from June 2024 to January 2025 using a quantitative approach. Face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires were conducted with Cashew Feni producers actively producing, processing, and distributing Feni in the key production regions. A total of 200 producers were approached, and after validation, 148 responses were considered valid for analysis. The respondents were chosen using a stratified random sampling method. This study employed Partial Least Squares-based Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) in the SmartPLS 4 software to analyse the data. This study found that attitude is a strong predictor significantly driving adoption. Perceived economic benefits also impact attitudes and directly affect the willingness to adopt GIs, emphasising the role of economic factors. Additionally, awareness influences attitudes and subjective norms, indicating that informed producers are likelier to have a positive attitude towards GI adoption. This study also found a significant impact of subjective norms on attitudes and perceived behavioural control. These insights can assist policy formulation and boost sustainable growth and cultural preservation. Full article

Within transport systems, train stations cover a primary role as places where access to different modes of transport must be realised effectively, providing a valuable opportunity to make rail services, public transport, and soft mobility more attractive. This research seeks to shed some light on how Italian travellers perceive the quality of train stations, and to identify priorities for action in relation to design, building, and operation that might help revitalise their attractiveness. The methodology involved designing a questionnaire capable of identifying significant correlations between attitudinal and behavioural variables via an exploratory factor analysis, reaching around 400 respondents through a snowball sampling plan. The factor “sociality and daily life” showed the importance that people place on the vitality of urban places. Travellers also consider other factors, like the overall service quality, the cleanliness and safety of a train station, the walkability of connections within the node, and the possibility of reaching the station by bicycle. The profiling of respondents using a cluster analysis based on latent factors points to specific policies, showing how actions targeting stations can have positive effects on the use of rail transport and on the propensity towards intermodality and sustainable mobility. A safe, “living” place can mitigate the risk of social degradation, while promoting walking and cycling. Full article

This paper investigates the associations between urban form, neighbourhood characteristics, socioeconomic factors and commuting mode choice and neighbourhood-level active travel (walking and cycling) in Windhoek, Namibia. Despite growing interest in sustainable mobility, limited research has examined these relationships in medium-sized African cities, particularly in distinguishing between commuting and neighbourhood travel behaviour. To address this gap, the study explores three interrelated research questions: (1) In what ways are urban form, accessibility, and socioeconomic factors associated with residents’ choices between motorised and non-motorised commuting modes? (2) What factors determine the propensity of cycling within neighbourhoods? (3) How are similar factors associated with walking propensity at the neighbourhood level? Using survey data from 1000 residents across nine constituencies and spatial analysis through GIS, the study applies binary logistic and multiple linear regression models to analyse commuting and local travel patterns. The findings show that commuting mode choice is significantly associated with socioeconomic status, car ownership, commuting time, and urban sprawl around homes, all of which reduce the likelihood of walking or cycling. Neighbourhood walking, in contrast, is largely driven by necessity in underserved, high-density areas and is positively associated with population density, perceived safety, and community belonging but constrained by inadequate infrastructure and car access. Cycling, though less frequent, is associated with perceived security, access to local amenities, and cycling competence, while negatively constrained by inexperience and cultural norms. The study concludes that fragmented urban form and socioeconomic disparities reinforce mobility exclusion and calls for equity-oriented transport planning that integrates infrastructure and behavioural change. Full article

Pastoral livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa are under an increasing threat from climate change with arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) being especially vulnerable. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is widely promoted as a strategy for enhancing resilience among smallholder livestock farmers by improving productivity, increasing farmers’ incomes and strengthening adaptive capacity. However, CSA adoption rates among pastoralists remains low. While existing studies emphasise socio-economic and institutional factors, this study explores the often-overlooked behavioural dimensions, attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions, which critically influence adaptation decisions. Guided by the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this study investigates the behavioural drivers of CSA adoption among 737 livestock farmers in Kenya’s ASALs. Using ordered probit regression and structural equation modelling–confirmatory factor analysis (SEM-CFA), the results reveal that attitudes and perceived behavioural control are significant predictors of farmer intention to adopt CSA practices, with perceived behavioural control being the most influential predictor. Farmers with a positive attitude and confidence in their ability to implement CSA practices are more likely to adopt them. The study findings suggest that efforts to promote CSA adoption should prioritise transforming attitudes and building practical confidence by increasing exposure to demonstration farms and implementing awareness-raising initiatives within pastoral communities. Full article

In recent years, the application of eye-tracking technology in urban studies has garnered increasing attention from researchers across various disciplines. This study aims to provide a comprehensive review of the current applications of eye-tracking technology in these urban environments through a systematic literature analysis. Our findings indicate that eye-tracking technology has played a significant role in exploring visual preferences and the restorative effects of urban streets, as well as the visual preferences and restorative potential of urban landscapes. Certain visual elements in streets and parks, such as artificial and natural elements, can elicit different psychological and visual responses from people. This is of great reference value for understanding how urban street and park design can better meet people’s visual preferences and exert the therapeutic effects of urban streets and parks. Moreover, characterised by its portability and reliability, eye-tracking technology has significant advantages in capturing real-time visual behaviour and cognitive responses in natural urban settings and can become a powerful tool for future research. Furthermore, eye-tracking technology holds great potential for extending its applications to other urban public spaces, such as plazas, waterfront areas, and urban greenways. This expansion can provide deeper insights into how people interact with and perceive various urban environments, ultimately contributing to more effective urban planning and design strategies. Full article

Food tourism is growing in travel experiences, with tourists increasingly drawn to culturally authentic and aesthetically engaging food. Understanding the psychological and experiential factors shaping these preferences is crucial for enhancing tourist visit intentions. Therefore, this study examines the factors such as attitudes (ATT), subjective norms (SN), perceived behavioural control (PBC), and food aesthetic experience (FAE) that influence tourists’ behavioural intentions towards food preferences (BIFP) in Goa, India. The research extends the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) by incorporating food aesthetic experiences as a mediating factor. A quantitative approach was employed, involving a structured questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale, administered to 217 tourists visiting Goa, India, who were selected through a random sampling method. Data were analysed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) through SmartPLS 4.0. Results show that attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and food aesthetic experience significantly influence tourists’ behavioural intentions towards food preferences. Food aesthetic experience emerged as a strong mediator, particularly between attitudes, perceived behavioural control, and tourists’ behavioural intentions towards food preferences. These findings highlight the role of sensory appeal in shaping culinary choices. The study concludes that a holistic approach, supported by cultural education and stakeholder collaboration, can enrich tourist experiences and support food tourism development. Full article

With the rapid development of technology, an increasingly competitive environment, and evolving consumer behaviour, the use of modern marketing tools has become a key challenge for companies of various types (manufacturing, providing services, sports organizations, universities, etc.). Although sustainable digital communication methods are gaining prominence, existing research often focuses merely on describing communication trends without providing decision-making frameworks for strategy optimisation. This paper addresses this gap by mapping the current state of marketing communication strategies among large telecommunication companies in Slovakia and assessing their impact on customer behaviour and market position. Data were analysed through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, including document analysis, annual reports, surveys, and personal observations. One enterprise was selected for detailed data analysis. The results confirm a significant relationship between the use of communication channels and the company’s market position, brand popularity, and the strong influence of employee recommendations. Unlike previous studies, which predominantly describe marketing communication trends and tools, this research integrates the evaluation of communication strategy effectiveness with a systematic management decision-making model based on the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) continuous improvement cycle. This approach enables continuous optimisation of sustainable communication strategies and provides actionable managerial guidance for improving resource allocation, market position, and organisational adaptability in dynamic market environments. Full article

Background: GSK3β is an intracellular regulatory kinase that is dysregulated in multiple tissues in Type 1 myotonic dystrophy (DM-1). Tideglusib inhibits GSK3β activity in preclinical models of DM-1 and promotes cellular maturation, normalising aberrant molecular and behavioural phenotypes. It is currently in clinical development for the treatment of paediatric and adult patients affected by congenital and juvenile-onset DM-1. Here, we summarise the development of a population pharmacokinetic model and subsequent characterisation of influential demographic and clinical factors on the systemic exposure to tideglusib. The availability of a population PK model will allow further evaluation of age-and weight-related changes in drug disposition, supporting the dose rationale and implementation of a paediatric extrapolation plan. Methods: Given the sparse pharmacokinetic sampling scheme in patients receiving tideglusib, model development was implemented in two steps. First, data from Phase I studies in healthy elderly subjects (i.e., 1832 plasma samples, n = 54) were used to describe the population pharmacokinetics of tideglusib in adults. Then, pharmacokinetic model parameter estimates obtained from healthy subjects were used as priors for the evaluation of the disposition of tideglusib in adolescent and adult DM-1 patients (51 plasma samples, n = 16), taking into account demographic and clinical baseline characteristics, as well as food intake. Secondary pharmacokinetic parameters (AUC, C_max and T_max) were derived and summarised by descriptive statistics. Results: Tideglusib pharmacokinetics was described by a two-compartment model with first-order elimination and dose-dependent bioavailability. There were no significant differences in disposition parameters between healthy subjects and DM-1 patients. Body weight was a significant covariate on clearance and volume of distribution. Median AUC_(0–12) and C_max were 1218.1 vs. 3145.7 ng/mL∙h and 513.5 vs. 1170.9 ng/mL, following once daily doses of 400 and 1000 mg tideglusib, respectively. In addition, the time of food intake post-dose or the type of meal appeared to affect the overall exposure to tideglusib. No accumulation, metabolic inhibition, or induction was observed during the treatment period. Conclusions: Even though clearance was constant over the dose range between 400 and 1000 mg, a less than proportional increase in systemic exposure appears to be caused by the dose-dependent bioavailability, which reflects the solubility properties of tideglusib. Despite large interindividual variability in the tideglusib concentration vs. time profiles, body weight was the only explanatory covariate for the observed differences. This finding suggests that the use of weight-banded or weight-normalised doses should be considered to ensure comparable exposure across the paediatric population, regardless of age or body weight. Full article

The digital economy is fundamentally transforming urban landscapes by disrupting traditional relationships between land use and land value. This scoping review aims to examine how digital transformations alter urban activities, human behaviours, and mobility patterns, and to assess the subsequent impacts on land use planning and land valuation frameworks. Following PRISMA guidelines, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ProQuest databases were systematically searched for peer-reviewed articles published between 2019 and 2024. Inclusion criteria comprised empirical studies, theoretical papers, and case studies examining digital economy impacts on urban land use or land value. Grey literature, non-English publications, and studies without clear urban spatial implications were excluded. The data were synthesised using bibliometric analysis and thematic analysis to identify patterns of disruption across three domains: urban activities, behaviours, and mobility. Of the 512 initially identified articles, 66 studies met the inclusion criteria. The evidence demonstrates significant geographic bias and methodological limitations, including the scarcity of longitudinal studies tracking actual land value changes and inconsistent metrics for measuring disruption intensity. Despite these limitations, findings indicate that the digital economy is decoupling land value from traditional determinants, such as physical proximity to services and employment centres. These transformations necessitate fundamental revisions to urban planning frameworks, land valuation models, and regulatory approaches to ensure equitable and sustainable urban development in the digital age. Full article

Objective measurement of community participation is essential for evaluating functional recovery and intervention outcomes in clinical populations, yet current methods rely heavily on subjective self-report measures. This study developed and validated a classification model to distinguish between home- and community-based activities using stepping and lying data from activPAL devices. Twenty-four healthy participants wore activPAL 4+ monitors continuously while completing activity diaries over 7 days. A grid search optimisation approach tested threshold combinations for two stepping parameters: straight-line stepping time (SLS) and continuous stepping duration (CSD). The optimal model achieved 93.7% accuracy across 24-h periods using an SLS threshold of 26 s. The model demonstrated high precision with a median difference of just 7 min between the predicted and reported community participation time. Individual variation in model performance highlights the need for validation in diverse clinical cohorts. This represents a methodological advance in objective physical behaviour monitoring, enabling accurate classification of home and community activity from posture data. By identifying not just how much people move but where they move, the model supports more meaningful assessment of functional mobility and community participation. This can enhance clinical decision making, rehabilitation planning, and intervention evaluation. With potential for adoption in clinical pathways and public health policy, this approach addresses a key gap in measuring real-world recovery and independence. Full article

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the leading cause of cervical cancer, which presents a significant health burden in low- and middle-income settings such as Kosovo^†, where it is the second leading cause of death among women. HPV vaccines are highly effective and integral to global cervical cancer elimination efforts. In 2024, Kosovo^† introduced the HPV vaccine into its immunisation schedule via a school-based program targeting sixth-grade girls. Rapid, theory-based insights supported development of a tailored communication and intervention plan ahead of the introduction. Methods: Over a two-week period, qualitative research was conducted with 102 participants, including healthcare professionals, parents, girls in the target age group, school staff, and community influencers. Data collection, analysis, and intervention development were carried out using the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) model, underpinned by the Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation for Behaviour change (COM-B) theoretical framework. Results: Trust in school-based immunisation and healthcare professionals emerged as key drivers, while a predominance of capability- and physical-opportunity-related barriers across target groups underscored the need for targeted communication and capacity-building efforts for all stakeholders. Using the BCW model, communication and intervention activities were developed for implementation by partners. Conclusions: Using rapid insight research grounded in the BCW model enabled the timely identification of behavioural drivers and barriers to HPV vaccine acceptance and supported development of a targeted intervention plan. The findings echoed global research on HPV vaccine introduction, highlighting context-specific needs and enablers and contributing to a successful rollout marked by high uptake within the first six months. Full article