Child Domestic Work, Violence, and Health Outcomes: A Rapid Systematic Review

This rapid systematic review describes violence and health outcomes among child domestic workers (CDWs) taken from 17 studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries. Our analysis estimated the median reported rates of violence in CDWs aged 5–17-year-olds to be 56.2% (emotional; range: 13–92%), 18.9% (physical; range: 1.7–71.4%), and 2.2% (sexual; range: 0–62%). Both boys and girls reported emotional abuse and sexual violence with emotional abuse being the most common. In Ethiopia and India, violence was associated with severe physical injuries and sexual insecurity among a third to half of CDWs. CDWs in India and Togo reported lower levels of psycho-social well-being than controls. In India, physical punishment was correlated with poor psycho-social well-being of CDWs [OR: 3.6; 95% CI: 3.2–4; p < 0.0001]. Across the studies, between 7% and 68% of CDWs reported work-related illness and injuries, and one third to half had received no medical treatment. On average, children worked between 9 and 15 h per day with no rest days. Findings highlight that many CDWs are exposed to abuse and other health hazards but that conditions vary substantially by context. Because of the often-hidden nature of child domestic work, future initiatives will need to be specifically designed to reach children in private households. Young workers will also benefit from strategies to change social norms around the value and vulnerability of children in domestic work and the long-term implications of harm during childhood.

Voice assistants in hospitality: using artificial intelligence for customer service

Purpose Voice assistants (VAs) empower human–computer interactions by recognising human speech and implementing commands pronounced by users. This paper aims to investigate VA-enabled interactions between hotels and guests in the hospitality context. The research positions VAs within the artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) context, disrupting old practices and processes. Smart hospitality uses VAs to support effortless value cocreation for guests cost-effectively. The research examines consumer perceptions and expectations of hospitality VAs and explores VA capabilities through expert technology providers. Design/methodology/approach This empirical paper investigates the current use and future implications of VAs for hotel environments. It uses qualitative, semi-structured in-depth interviews with 7 expert hospitality VA technology providers and 21 hotel guests who have VA experience. The research adopts a demand and supply approach, addressing the VAs in hospitality holistically. Findings The findings illustrate the requirements from both end-users’ sides, hotels and guests, exploring VA advantages and challenges. The analysis demonstrates that VAs increasingly become digital assistants. VA technology helps hotels to improve customer service, expand operational capability and reduce costs. Although in its infancy, VA technology has made progress towards optimising hotel operations and upgrading customer service. The study proposes a speech-enabled interactions model. Research limitations/implications This research stimulates the transformation of hospitality services by using VAs and the development of smart hospitality and tourism ecosystems. The study can benefit from further research with hotel managers, to reflect hoteliers’ points of view and investigate their perception of VAs. Further research can also explore different aspects of consumer–VA interaction in different contexts. Practical implications The paper makes a significant contribution to hospitality management and human–computer interaction best practices. It supports technology providers to reconsider how to develop suitable technology solutions towards improving their strategic competitiveness. It also explains how to use VAs cost-effectively and profitably while adding value to travellers’ experience. Originality/value VA studies are often focussed on the technology in private households, rather than in commercial or hotel spaces. This paper contributes to the emerging literature on AI and IoT in smart hospitality and explores the acceptance and operationalisation of VAs. The research contributes to the conceptualisation of VA-enabled hotel services and explores positive and negative features, as well as future prospects.

Morphological content and recyclability of separate collected packages: a case study for Kaunas, Lithuania**

Packaging materials can arise from a wide range of sources and are commonly used for food, medicine, household appliances, and items to enclose or protect products during distribution, storage, sale, delivery, and use. The choice of material (paper, plastic, glass, wood, metal, multi-layer or other packaging) to be used depends on the type and properties of product, the purpose of packaging, and the price. The aim of the investigation is to analyse the morphological composition of packaging waste collected separately in Kaunas (Lithuanian) private households and to evaluate its recycling possibilities. The mixture of paper, plastic, and metal packaging waste was analyzed in the winter and spring (one time per month) in the waste management company JSC "Kauno švara".

Mobility-on-demand pricing versus private vehicle TCO: how cost structures hinder the dethroning of the car

This study uses a unique dataset on the cost of motoring in Germany to analyse cost competitiveness of emerging mobility-on-demand (MOD) services. Previous studies have focused on comparing current and projected MOD prices with the average cost of private motoring. This study quantifies which proportion of private car travel would actually turn out to be costlier than MOD given that MOD costs drop below certain levels relative to the cost of private motoring. In this context, not the average but the distribution of the costs of motoring are the key issue. These costs are strongly skewed across the cars in private households when including new and old vehicles: a large proportion of private car kilometres are driven at relatively low cost. The study uses simplified scenario settings with MOD price levels ranging from 0.1 €/km to 1.5 €/km to make predictions of hypothetical modal shifts under the assumption that car user switch to the most economic mode of travel. These modal shifts serve as an indicator of MOD cost competitiveness. The results indicate that MOD prices would have to drop to 0.5 €/km or lower to have a notable impact on use of the private car if cost was the key mode choice criterion. Only if MOD prices drop down to a level of about 0.3 €/km—quite possibly a lower boundary for automated MOD—MOD-enabled mobility packages would be the less costly alternative to the private car for a substantial proportion of mileage. However, even at that MOD price level, the private car would still be the most economic option for the majority of today’s car user kilometres. Our findings illustrate that the skewed distribution of the cost of owning and running private cars—where many of those who drive much drive inexpensively—substantially dampens the disruptive potential of MOD. While we use data from Germany to illustrate this, many of our findings are more widely applicable.

Care-Arbeit und Care-Berufe

Care work can be provided in various forms and in differing institutional settings, ranging from private households over social networks and charitable organizations to public or private entities employing professional care persons. All these forms of care work create a value-added, but are subject to very different economic conditions. Focusing on professional care and building on German micro-data, the article shows preliminary evidence that there might be a »care wage-gap«, i.e., a systematic disadvantage of care workers compared to other professions in terms of their remuneration. It points out how this presumption could be thoroughly scrutinized and suggests possible reasons - among other things, the existence of informal care - that could be tested in subsequent steps.

Direct Care Workers Employed as Medical Aides: Home Health Aides, Nursing Assistants, and Orderlies

Purpose This study describes the differences among direct workers (DCWs) employed as medical aides in three occupations: home health aides, nursing assistants, and orderlies. Design and Methods Data were from the 1% Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) of the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS). Logistic regression was used to compare demographic and employment characteristics of DCWs employed as medical aides in three occupations: home health aides, nursing assistants and orderlies. Results Compared to orderlies and psychiatric aides, home health aides are more likely to be foreign born, more likely to be female, less likely to work in institutional settings, less likely to be under age 25, less likely to work year-round full-time, less likely to have more education, and less likely to receive insurance from their employers. Implications: Since 2018, the PUMS of the ACS separates nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides (previously one occupational category) into three: home health aides, nursing assistants, and orderlies. This affords researchers a more precise understanding of this part of the direct care workforce. Home health aides represented more than 2/3 of DCWs employed as medical aides in 2019. Further, these workers are distinct among medical aides. More than nursing assistants and orderlies, home health aides are older, female, underinsured, foreign-born, and with limited education. This reflects both the barriers home health aides face to other occupations and also the preferences of their employers (which include private households). These findings have implications for the recruitment and retention of medical aides across all three occupations.

Selection of a heating system based on climatic conditions of Uzbekistan and on calculations of the technical and economic indicators of alternative systems: A case study of the solar greenhouse with a transformable building

This paper presents studies on the choice of a heating system based on calculations of economic efficiency and payback periods for alternative systems, a solar greenhouse with a transformable body. The purpose of the work is to carry out calculations to determine the consumption of fuel resources necessary to ensure the required amount of energy for the heating season: consumption of natural gas, solid fuel (coal) and electricity for heating a greenhouse with a transformable (adjustable) body. Analytical methods were used to determine the cost of materials and the main units of a greenhouse with a transformable (adjustable) body. Depending on the shape of the greenhouse, the total costs, economic efficiency and payback periods are determined. The research work carried out shows that, in terms of the cost of construction and consumption of materials, the developed greenhouse with transformable (adjustable) body are quite acceptable for its successful use among farmers and private households in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Calculation of economic efficiency and payback periods for greenhouses with a transformable housing allows you to choose the most acceptable heating system and technical characteristics of alternative systems acceptable for the climatic conditions of Uzbekistan.

A one decade survey of autonomous mobile robot systems

<span lang="EN-US">Recently, autonomous mobile robots have gained popularity in the modern world due to their relevance technology and application in real world situations. The global market for mobile robots will grow significantly over the next 20 years. Autonomous mobile robots are found in many fields including institutions, industry, business, hospitals, agriculture as well as private households for the purpose of improving day-to-day activities and services. The development of technology has increased in the requirements for mobile robots because of the services and tasks provided by them, like rescue and research operations, surveillance, carry heavy objects and so on. Researchers have conducted many works on the importance of robots, their uses, and problems. This article aims to analyze the control system of mobile robots and the way robots have the ability of moving in real-world to achieve their goals. It should be noted that there are several technological directions in a mobile robot industry. It must be observed and integrated so that the robot functions properly: Navigation systems, localization systems, detection systems (sensors) along with motion and kinematics and dynamics systems. All such systems should be united through a control unit; thus, the mission or work of mobile robots are conducted with reliability.</span>

The association between falls and autonomy in older adults is mediated by self-efficacy

Objective Falling has various physical and psychological consequences in older adults. We aimed at replicating previous findings that reported autonomy is associated with a history of falls and that this association is moderated by self-efficacy. We further assumed that cognitive function would moderate this relationship. Method We analyzed data from the German Ageing Survey (“Deutscher Alterssurvey,” DEAS, year 2017, n = 6626), a longitudinal cohort-based survey of individuals living in private households aged 40 and over in Germany. Results Linear regression confirmed that perceived autonomy was negatively associated with a history of falls. With higher self-efficacy, the association between falls and autonomy was less substantial. Further, we extend previous findings in that self-efficacy also mediated the effect of falls on perceived autonomy. Against our assumptions, cognition as measured with the digit-symbol substitution test predicted perceived autonomy but did not moderator this association. Discussion We conclude that interventions facilitating self-efficacy might ameliorate negative effects of falling on autonomy of older adults.

DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITIES OF TRADERS AND PRIVATE HOUSEHOLDS IN REALIZING INDEPENDENT WELFARE THROUGH THE MOVEMENT OF LOVE TO SAVING SHARE (GERMAS) IN GAMPONG BLANG PULO AS A EXAMPLE OF GAMPONG INVESTMENT

In the industrial era 4.0 technology has emerged and people's thoughts are increasingly democratic. Nowadays, we see a lot of phenomena in coffee shops where young people with their laptops can buy company shares through investment and get dividends. This investment activity will encourage a country's economy, absorb labor, increase output resulting in foreign exchange savings or even increase foreign exchange. Investment aims to get a fixed income in each period, meet future needs and so on. Thus, the increase in the value of this investment is expected to help economic growth for the welfare of the community. (www.idx.co.id) The condition of the community in Blang Pulo Village is in a position that is still in the lower middle-class community where most people earn from farming and trading. Almost the average community does not have savings prepared for the future. Others are in a weak economic position where their income is only enough for their daily meals. With the investment village, it is hoped that the trading community in Gampong Blang Pulo will be willing to follow directions to save shares every month on a regular basis to get the maximum profit possible. (https://kampungkb.bkkbn.go.id) An investment village is an activity to introduce investment to the community and invite people to save shares. As well as providing guidance on how to invest properly and correctly that can generate future returns without any element of usury. With the investment village program, it is expected to be able to develop the potential that has been pioneered by the community to be more developed. The investment village will be held in Gampong Blang Pulo and will be assisted by local village officials in its implementation. The Investment Village Extension activity began with recording and visiting people's homes and then making friendly gatherings to increase friendship. After that, conducting counseling to invite people to save shares regularly every month and provide guidance on the capital market and conduct socialization in Gampong Blang Pulo to make the investment village program a success.