Status of Eco-Design in Thai Furniture Industry

2009 ◽  
Vol 419-420 ◽  
pp. 769-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nongnuch Klinpikul ◽  
Panya Srichandr

Furniture manufacturing is known to have considerable impacts on the environment and there is a definite trend towards environmental-friendly product designs in the industry worldwide. This paper reports the results of an exploratory research on the status of eco-design in the Thai furniture industry. Two basic research questions are addressed; 1) are there any eco-design activities and, if so, to what extent and 2) what are the driving forces that drive or hinder eco-design activities. A combination of research methodologies were employed; interviewing, survey, and actually examining selected products in the market. The results show that key personnel know very little about eco-design, but they have implemented a number of eco-design methods in their products and processes in practice. The driving force for such progress seems to be not from the environmental consciousness per se but rather the demands and requirements from the customers and the markets. The legal and supporting infrastructure to promote and move eco-design forward is just emerging and still rather weak. There are, however, considerable implementation problems and obstacles due to lack of technical know-how on the part of the personnel involved. It is concluded that the Thai furniture industry is implementing number of eco-design activities without knowing much about eco-design principles and the underlying philosophy. Public awareness and consequently the market force is key to moving eco-design forward. Effective campaigns and better education on sustainable development and eco-design, together with stronger legal and supporting infrastructure, would certainly help increase eco-design activities.

2015 ◽  
Vol 727-728 ◽  
pp. 197-200
Author(s):  
Ming Gang Wang ◽  
Yue Tian

Today, we attach great importance to environmental protection, emphasizing green materials. Extensive long-term changes in the furniture industry production mode, and create green furniture industry, the most important is the use of environmentally friendly materials. This paper makes a brief introduction to the status of raw materials of traditional furniture manufacturing, and then discusses the environmental protection materials for furniture made ​​systematic.


Author(s):  
Chinwe Catherine Okpoko ◽  
Elias Chikee Aniwada

Background: Communication methods are used to create and increase public awareness of a disease; its causes and treatment; change a person’s or group’s attitudes about a disease; advocate for policy changes in favor of prevention and control, and create social norms that favor healthful living. Objectives: This study sought to examine the health communication interventions so far used on HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB in Nigeria, find out what has been achieved in the process and suggest how the status quocan be improved. Methods: A total of 390 respondents comprising healthcare providers, patients and the general public in the selected states; Enugu (Southeast), Kaduna (Northwest) and Oyo (Southwest) states in Nigeria were sampled using questionnaire. It was a Cross-sectional study. Results: Health communication interventions on HIV/AIDS are majorly received through radio (34.7%), friends (30.1%) and television (18.85%). For malaria, television and radio predominate (31.9%) and (26.7%) respectively, then newspaper (13.1%). However, TB was chiefly through health facilities (30.1%) then television (20.1%) and newspaper, (12.9%). Major types of intervention messages on the illnesses include HIV/AIDS Preventive (76.6%), Malaria Drug use (37.3%) and Tuberculosis control (38.8%). Lack of knowledge of available media was the major factor identified as hindering communication interventions for the 3 diseases. (HIV/AIDS 29.8%, Malaria 32.6% and TB 35.7%). Conclusion: There is a need for attitudinal change by all to ensure that the level of awareness is matched with action and subsequently influence the adoption of intervention measures to improve management of these diseases.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Rehman ◽  
Muhammad Farooq ◽  
Aman Ullah ◽  
Faisal Nadeem ◽  
Seon Young Im ◽  
...  

Micronutrient malnutrition (e.g., zinc) is one of the major causes of human disease burden in the developing world. Zinc (Zn) deficiency is highly prevalent in the Pakistani population (22.1%), particularly in women and children (under 5 years) due to low dietary Zn intake. In Pakistan, wheat is the primary staple food and is poor in bioavailable Zn. However, the number of malnourished populations has decreased over the last decade due to multiplied public awareness, accelerated use of Zn fertilizers (particularly in wheat and rice), initiation of several national/international research initiatives focusing on Zn biofortification in staple crops and availability of supplements and Zn fortified meals merchandise, nonetheless a large number of people are facing Zn or other micronutrient deficiencies in the country. There are few reports highlighting the significant increase in daily dietary Zn uptake in population consuming biofortified wheat (Zincol-2016) flour; indicating the positive prospect of biofortification interventions up scaling in lowering the risk of dietary Zn deficiency in rural and marginalized communities. Zinc fertilizer strategy has not only helped in enhancing the grain Zn concentration, but it also helped in improving crop yield with high economic return. In addition, Zn biofortified seeds have exhibited strong inherent ability to withstand abiotic stresses and produce higher grain yield under diverse climatic conditions. However, there are many constraints (soil, environment, genetic diversity, antinutrients concentration, socioeconomic factors etc.) that hinder the success of biofortification interventions. This review highlights the status of Zn deficiency in Pakistan, the success of agronomic and genetic biofortification interventions. It also discusses the economics of agronomic biofortification and cost effectiveness of Zn fertilization in field conditions in Pakistan and the potential of Zn biofortified seeds against abiotic stresses. Furthermore, it also highlights the constraints which limit the sustainability of biofortification interventions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-41
Author(s):  
Bikram Sapkota ◽  
Roshan Babu Adhikari ◽  
Ganga Ram Regmi ◽  
Bishnu Prasad Bhattarai ◽  
Tirth Raj Ghimire

Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) are commonly found to inhabit various religious sites and cities in Nepal. Similar to other nonhuman primates, they are also the natural or reservoir host of several gut parasites. However, the status of gut parasitism, particularly in the urban dweller macaques, remains largely unexplored in the country. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and diversity of gut parasites in the monkeys inhabiting Bajrabarahee, an urban temple area in Lalitpur District, Nepal. A total of 42 fresh fecal samples of macaques belonging to five different troops, were collected and preserved in 2.5% (w/v) potassium dichromate solution. The fecal samples were processed by direct wet mount, concentration, and acid-fast techniques and examined under an optical microscope. All the fecal samples were positive with gut parasites. The parasites detected were Ascarid spp., Balantidium coli, Cryptosporidium sp., Eimeria sp., Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba spp., Giardia sp., hookworm, Strongyloides sp., Strongylid spp., Trichomonas sp., and Trichuris sp. Cent percent prevalence rate and high species richness with 12 parasites may indicate that they have impact on the gut health of these monkeys. This suggests the need of deworming the macaque population and enhancing public awareness for pro-active control of parasitic infection as well as of adopting the preventive measures to lessen the zoonotic transmission of the pathogenic parasites.


Author(s):  
Sunil Chaudhary ◽  
Eleni Berki ◽  
Linfeng Li ◽  
Juri Valtanen

Public awareness is a significant factor in the battle against online identity theft (phishing). Advancing public readiness can be a strategic protection mechanism for citizens' vulnerability and privacy. Further, an effective research strategy against phishing is the combination of increased social awareness with software quality and social computing. The latter will decrease phishing victims and will improve information systems quality. First, the authors discuss recent research results on software quality criteria used for the design of anti-phishing technologies. Second, it is argued that the dynamics of social surroundings affect citizens' trust and can compromise social security. Third, the authors outline basic research needs and strategic steps to be taken for timely citizens' protection. Last, the authors propose strategic research directions for improving information systems total quality management through international collaborative research and by focusing on: i) increasing social awareness; ii) predicting information phishing attempts; iii) adopting social computing approaches.


As the need for breeder technology in the United States has receded into the more distant future, it has become clear that an alternative justification must be found for continued priority development of sodium-cooled fast-reactor technology. Both the modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor and the liquid-metal-cooled reactor (LMR) have technical attributes that provide more simple and transparent solutions to some of the problems confronting the nuclear enterprise, in addition to their potential for greater market penetration, resource extension, and waste management improvements. For the past five years, the LMR development programme in the United States has attempted to use these technical attributes in more innovative ways to provide more elegant solutions for the practical commercial application of nuclear energy. This paper discusses the reasons and status of the technological approaches that have evolved to support these policy considerations. For the LMR, efforts are focused on four interrelated development thrusts: (1) increased use of standardization; (2) passive safety approaches; (3) modularity; and (4) improved fuel cycle approaches. The paper also discusses the status of related design activities being conducted by the General Electric Company and a team of U. S. vendors.


Coatings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianqing Xiong ◽  
Yiting Niu ◽  
Yingying Yuan ◽  
Liangting Zhang

As an important industry of the national economy, the development of furniture manufacturing industry is very rapid. In particular, with the development of panel furniture industry, wood-based panels have become a necessary choice for furniture material for modern families in recent years. As a new particleboard material, in order to be more widely used in the furniture industry, it is not enough to have the characteristics of environmental protection. The material should also have excellent appearance and dimensional stability, so as to change people’s dependence on traditional wood-based panels. In this study, the rice straw particleboard (RSP) substrate was veneered by Betula sp. and Cyclobalanopsis glauca. In the process of veneering, different RSP specimens were treated by different sanding thicknesses and moisture contents of the RSP substrate, glue spread, species and thickness of veneer. The dimensional stability of different RSP specimens after veneering was analyzed. Based on the same variables, the change in the panel dimension and warp degree of the specimens of RSP which the sanding thickness was 0.2 mm were higher than the specimens with a sanding thickness of 0.6 mm. The dimensional stability of specimens of Cyclobalanopsis glauca veneer was better than that of Betula sp. veneer. A certain degree of change within the appropriate moisture content had a little effect on dimensional stability of veneered RSP. The greater of the amount of glue, the worse the dimensional stability of veneered RSP. The thinner the veneer, the worse was the dimensional stability of the veneered RSP.


1988 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-107
Author(s):  
William G. Luppold

Abstract Furniture manufacturers in the United States are major users of a variety of wood products. In the last two decades, traditional wood products, such as hardwood lumber, veneer, and plywood have been, in part, replaced by composite panel products, such as particleboard, hardboard, and medium-density fiberboard. This paper examines the uses of traditional and composite wood products by the wood household, upholstered household, and commercial furniture industries in descriptive and numerical terms. The analysis indicates that the substitution of composite products for traditional hardwood products has subsided in recent years in the household wood furniture industry but has continued in the commercial furniture industry. Strong growth in softwood lumber use has occurred in the household wood industry and the household upholstered furniture industry but not in the commercial furniture industry. Although hardwood lumber has been displaced by softwood-based composite panel products, greater relative decreases have occurred in hardwood veneer and veneer core plywood use because of composite panel substitution. Most recent market activities, however, indicate increased use of hardwood lumber in furniture production in the 1980s. South. J. Appl. For. 12(2):102-107.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isuri Anuradha Amarasinghe ◽  
Dumindu Soorige ◽  
Devindi Geekiyanage

PurposeLife cycle assessment (LCA) has considerably contributed to increasing the environmental friendliness of buildings in developed countries. However, it is hard to find evidence on the application of LCA for buildings in developing countries; particularly, Sri Lanka. There is a lack of research to compare the status of LCA of buildings in developed countries vs developing countries. In this context, the purpose of this study aims to examine the status of LCA implementation for buildings between developed countries and Sri Lanka, a developing country.Design/methodology/approachThe exploratory research was adapted, and in-depth interviews were held with LCA professionals from Sri Lanka and developed countries, respectively.FindingsRelatively less attention has been paid to the implementation of LCA for buildings in Sri Lanka compared to the developed countries due to the time and effort required to collect life cycle inventory data and limited stakeholder understanding of the LCA. Hence, this study proposed improvements, including the development of LCA databases containing region-specific data and conducting programmes to raise stakeholders' awareness to address the gaps in Sri Lanka.Research limitations/implicationsThe identified LCA implementation process for buildings could be used as a guide for first-time LCA users, and it equally makes a valued reference for experienced practitioners.Originality/valueA limited number of the studies formulate a comparison between the LCA for building in developed countries and developing countries. This research attempts to address this knowledge gap.


Author(s):  
Serge M. Garcia ◽  
Richard J. R. Grainger

Predicting global fisheries is a high–order challenge but predictions have been made and updates are needed. Past forecasts, present trends and perspectives of key parameters of the fisheries—including potential harvest, state of stocks, supply and demand, trade, fishing technology and governance—are reviewed in detail, as the basis for new forecasts and forecasting performance assessment. The future of marine capture fisheries will be conditioned by the political, social and economic evolution of the world within which they operate. Consequently, recent global scenarios for the future world are reviewed, with the emphasis on fisheries. The main driving forces (e.g. global economic development, demography, environment, public awareness, information technology, energy, ethics) including aquaculture are described. Outlooks are provided for each aspect of the fishery sector. The conclusion puts these elements in perspective and offers the authors' personal interpretation of the possible future pathway of fisheries, the uncertainty about it and the still unanswered questions of direct relevance in shaping that future.


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