Traceability in food supply chains: a systematic literature review and future research directions

The food traceability system (TS) provides visual services for consumers by recording every operation procedure of food supply, processing, marketing as well as distribution throughout the supply chain. This study aims to review the academic papers which are related to food supply chain traceability (FSCT) and proposes a framework for future research. To do this, we carry out a systematic literature review of 278 peer-reviewed scientific literature published between 1994 and September 2019. By classifying the FSCT into pre-study and post-study of TS implementation, this study reveals a number of future research directions of FSCT based on thematic findings and points out that the focus on such issues has shifted to the post-adoption study of TSs. This study further categorizes nine specific research topics from past literature and identifies specific opportunities of each theme for future research.

Do I Look Gawky? The Association between Pubertal Asynchrony and Peer Victimization

Pubertal synchrony is defined as the degree of coherence to which puberty-related body changes (e.g., breast development, growth spurt, voice change, underarm hair growth) are coordinated. During the pubertal transition, youth’s body parts grow asynchronously, making each youth’s physical appearance unique. Physical appearance is a known correlate of youth’s psychosocial functioning during adolescence, but we know little about how pubertal asynchrony plays a role in their peer relationships. Using data from an adoption study (the Early Growth and Development Study; n = 413; 237 boys, 176 girls), this study examined the effect of pubertal asynchrony on peer victimization. Results revealed sex-specific effects of pubertal asynchrony; pubertal asynchrony was associated with a higher risk of peer victimization for girls but a lower risk for boys. Findings highlight the intersection of physical development and social context in understanding youth’s experiences of puberty.

Conceptual Framework: The Determinant Factors of Intention to Use Interactive Kiosk Technology in The Museum

Interactive kiosk technology (IKT) has become one of the most popular learning tools in the museum sectors because of the effectiveness to increase the level of experience and cognitive engagement among the visitors. However, not all the visitors are interested to use the IKT provided caused by several factors that have been revealed by the previous studies. Based on the content analysis from an extensive literature review of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) studies, this paper proposes a conceptual framework with highlighting the relationship between the belief factors (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use) and design factors (system support, user interface design, navigation, accessibility, and comfortability) towards the intention to use the IKT in the museum. Theoretically, this paper contributes to the new perspective and understanding of the technology adoption study in the museum setting for further research.

Musical Instrument Engagement in Adolescence Predicts Verbal Ability Four Years Later: A Twin and Adoption Study

Individual differences in music traits are heritable and correlated with the development of cognitive and communication skills, but little is known about whether diverse modes of music engagement (e.g., playing instruments vs. singing) reflect similar underlying genetic/environmental influences. Moreover, the biological etiology underlying the relationship between musicality and childhood language development is poorly understood. Here we explored genetic and environmental associations between music engagement and verbal ability in the Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development and cognitive aging (CATSLife) project. N=1684 adolescents completed measures of music engagement and intelligence at approximately age 12 and/or multiple tests of verbal ability at age 16. Structural equation models revealed that instrument engagement was highly heritable (a2=.78), with moderate heritabilities for singing (a2=.43) and dance engagement (a2=.66). Adolescent self-perceived instrument engagement (but not singing or dance engagement) was genetically correlated with age 12 verbal intelligence, and still was associated with age 16 verbal ability even when controlling for age 12 full-scale intelligence, providing evidence for a longitudinal relationship between music engagement and language beyond shared general cognitive processes. Together, these novel findings suggest that shared genetic influences in part accounts for phenotypic associations between music engagement and language, but there may also be some (weak) direct benefits of music engagement on later language abilities.