Search results for: feeling/emotion of consumer feedback

Authors: Bahman Ghorashi

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The immense awareness of the global climate change has compelled traditional fossil fuel companies to develop strategies to reduce their carbon footprint and simultaneously consider the production of various sources of clean energy in order to mitigate the environmental impact of their operations. Similarly, supply chain issues, the scarcity of certain raw materials, energy costs as well as market needs, and changing consumer expectations have forced the traditional chemical industry to reexamine their time-honored modes of operation. This study examines how such transformative change might occur through the applications of agile principles as well as industry 4.0 technologies. Clearly, such a transformation is complex, costly, and requires a total commitment on the part of the top leadership and the entire management structure. Factors that need to be considered include organizational speed of change, a restructuring that would lend itself toward collaboration and the selling of solutions to customers’ problems, rather than just products, integrating ‘along’ as well as ‘across’ value chains, mastering change and uncertainty as well as a recognition of the importance of concept-to-cash time, i.e., the velocity of introducing new products to market, and the leveraging of people and information. At the same time, parallel to implementing such major shifts in the ethos, and the fabric of the organization, the change leaders should remain mindful of the companies’ DNA while incorporating the necessary DNA defying shifts. Furthermore, such strategic maneuvers should inevitably incorporate the managing of the upstream and downstream operations, harnessing future opportunities, preparing and training the workforce, implementing faster decision making and quick adaptation to change, managing accelerated response times, as well as forming autonomous and cross-functional teams. Moreover, the leaders should establish the balance between high-value solutions versus high-margin products, fully implement digitization of operations and, when appropriate, incorporate the latest relevant technologies, such as: AI, IIoT, ML, and immersive technologies. This study presents a summary of the agile principles and the relevant technologies and draws lessons from some of the best practices that are already implemented within the chemical industry in order to establish a roadmap to agility. Finally, the critical role of educational institutions in preparing the future workforce for Industry 4.0 is addressed.

Keywords: agile principles, immersive technologies, industry 4.0, workforce preparation

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Authors: Ahmed Al Ansari, Khalid Al Khalifa

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Objective: Multisource feedback (MSF), also called the 360-Degree evaluation is an evaluation process by which questionnaires are distributed amongst medical peers and colleagues to assess physician performance from different sources other than the attending or the supervising physicians. The aim of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate a 360-Degree process in assessing emergency physicians trainee in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Method: The study was undertaken in Bahrain Defense Force Hospital which is a military teaching hospital in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Thirty emergency physicians (who represent the total population of the emergency physicians in our hospital) were assessed in this study. We developed an instrument modified from the Physician achievement review instrument PAR which was used to assess Physician in Alberta. We focused in our instrument to assess professionalism, communication skills and collaboration only. To achieve face and content validity, table of specification was constructed and a working group was involved in constructing the instrument. Expert opinion was considered as well. The instrument consisted of 39 items; were 15 items to assess professionalism, 13 items to assess communication skills, and 11 items to assess collaboration. Each emergency physicians was evaluated with 3 groups of raters, 4 Medical colleague emergency physicians, 4 medical colleague who are considered referral physicians from different departments, and 4 Coworkers from the emergency department. Independent administrative team was formed to carry on the responsibility of distributing the instruments and collecting them in closed envelopes. Each envelope was consisted of that instrument and a guide for the implementation of the MSF and the purpose of the study. Results: A total of 30 emergency physicians 16 males and 14 females who represent the total number of the emergency physicians in our hospital were assessed. The total collected forms is 269, were 105 surveys from coworkers working in emergency department, 93 surveys from medical colleague emergency physicians, and 116 surveys from referral physicians from different departments. The total mean response rates were 71.2%. The whole instrument was found to be suitable for factor analysis (KMO = 0.967; Bartlett test significant, p<0.00). Factor analysis showed that the data on the questionnaire decomposed into three factors which counted for 72.6% of the total variance: professionalism, collaboration, and communication. Reliability analysis indicated that the instrument full scale had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α 0.98). The generalizability coefficients (Ep2) were 0.71 for the surveys. Conclusions: Based on the present results, the current instruments and procedures have high reliability, validity, and feasibility in assessing emergency physicians trainee in the emergency room.

Keywords: MSF system, emergency, validity, generalizability

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Authors: Sau Kam Adeline Chan

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World Health Organization had listed ‘Communication during Patient Care Handovers’ as one of its highest 5 patient safety initiatives. Clinical handover means transfer of accountability and responsibility of clinical information from one health professional to another. The main goal of clinical handover is to convey patient’s current condition and treatment plan accurately. Ineffective communication at point of care is globally regarded as the main cause of the sentinel event. Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation (SBAR), a communication tool, is extensively regarded as an effective communication tool in healthcare setting. Nonetheless, just by scenario-based program in nursing school or attending workshops on SBAR would not be enough for freshly graduated nurses to apply it competently in a complex clinical practice. To what extend and in-depth of information should be conveyed during handover process is not easy to learn. As such, on-site coaching is essential to upgrade their expertise on the usage of SBAR and ultimately to avoid any clinical error. On-site coaching for all freshly graduated nurses on the usage of SBAR in clinical handover was commenced in August 2014. During the preceptorship period, freshly graduated nurses were coached by the preceptor. After that, they were gradually assigned to take care of a group of patients independently. Nurse leaders would join in their shift handover process at patient’s bedside. Feedback and support were given to them accordingly. Discrepancies on their clinical handover process were shared with them and documented for further improvement work. Owing to the constraint of manpower in nurse leader, about coaching for 30 times were provided to a nurse in a year. Staff satisfaction survey was conducted to gauge their feelings about the coaching and look into areas for further improvement. Number of clinical error avoided was documented as well. The nurses reported that there was a significant improvement particularly in their confidence and knowledge in clinical handover process. In addition, the sense of empowerment was developed when liaising with senior and experienced nurses. Their proficiency in applying SBAR was enhanced and they become more alert to the critical criteria of an effective clinical handover. Most importantly, accuracy of transferring patient’s condition was improved and repetition of information was avoided. Clinical errors were prevented and quality patient care was ensured. Using SBAR as a communication tool looks simple. The tool only provides a framework to guide the handover process. Nevertheless, without on-site training, loophole on clinical handover still exists, patient’s safety will be affected and clinical error still happens.

Keywords: freshly graduated nurse, competency of clinical handover, quality, clinical error

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Authors: Tammy Wee, Detlev Remy, Arif Perdana

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In the recent years, data analytics has become the buzzword in the hospitality industry. The hospitality industry is another example of a data-rich industry that has yet fully benefited from the insights of data analytics. Effective use of data analytics can change how hotels operate, market and position themselves competitively in the hospitality industry. However, at the moment, the data obtained by individual hotels remain under-utilized. This research is a preliminary research on data analytics in the hospitality industry, using an in-depth face-to-face interview on one hotel as a start to a multi-level research. The main case study of this research, hotel A, is a chain brand of international hotel that has been systematically gathering and collecting data on its own customer for the past five years. The data collection points begin from the moment a guest book a room until the guest leave the hotel premises, which includes room reservation, spa booking, and catering. Although hotel A has been gathering data intelligence on its customer for some time, they have yet utilized the data to its fullest potential, and they are aware of their limitation as well as the potential of data analytics. Currently, the utilization of data analytics in hotel A is limited in the area of customer service improvement, namely to enhance the personalization of service for each individual customer. Hotel A is able to utilize the data to improve and enhance their service which in turn, encourage repeated customers. According to hotel A, 50% of their guests returned to their hotel, and 70% extended nights because of the personalized service. Apart from using the data analytics for enhancing customer service, hotel A also uses the data in marketing. Hotel A uses the data analytics to predict or forecast the change in consumer behavior and demand, by tracking their guest’s booking preference, payment preference and demand shift between properties. However, hotel A admitted that the data they have been collecting was not fully utilized due to two challenges. The first challenge of using data analytics in hotel A is the data is not clean. At the moment, the data collection of one guest profile is meaningful only for one department in the hotel but meaningless for another department. Cleaning up the data and getting standards correctly for usage by different departments are some of the main concerns of hotel A. The second challenge of using data analytics in hotel A is the non-integral internal system. At the moment, the internal system used by hotel A do not integrate with each other well, limiting the ability to collect data systematically. Hotel A is considering another system to replace the current one for more comprehensive data collection. Hotel proprietors recognized the potential of data analytics as reported in this research, however, the current challenges of implementing a system to collect data come with a cost. This research has identified the current utilization of data analytics and the challenges faced when it comes to implementing data analytics.

Keywords: data analytics, hospitality industry, customer relationship management, hotel marketing

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Authors: S. Z. A. Zaidi, A. Crosky

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Biocomposites is a field that has gained much scientific attention due to the current substantial consumption of non-renewable resources and the environmentally harmful disposal methods required for traditional polymer composites. Research on natural fiber reinforced polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) has gained considerable momentum over the past decade. There is little work on PHAs reinforced with unidirectional (UD) natural fibers and little work on using epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) as a toughening agent for PHA-based biocomposites. In this work, we prepared polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV) biocomposites reinforced with UD 30 wt.% flax fibers and evaluated the use of ENR with 50% epoxidation (ENR50) as a toughening agent for PHBV biocomposites. Quasi-unidirectional flax/PHBV composites were prepared by hand layup, powder impregnation followed by compression molding.  Toughening agents – polybutylene adiphate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) and ENR50 – were cryogenically ground into powder and mechanically mixed with main matrix PHBV to maintain the powder impregnation process. The tensile, flexural and impact properties of the biocomposites were measured and morphology of the composites examined using optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The UD biocomposites showed exceptionally high mechanical properties as compared to the results obtained previously where only short fibers have been used. The improved tensile and flexural properties were attributed to the continuous nature of the fiber reinforcement and the increased proportion of fibers in the loading direction. The improved impact properties were attributed to a larger surface area for fiber-matrix debonding and for subsequent sliding and fiber pull-out mechanisms to act on, allowing more energy to be absorbed. Coating cryogenically ground ENR50 particles with PHBV powder successfully inhibits the self-healing nature of ENR-50, preventing particles from coalescing and overcoming problems in mechanical mixing, compounding and molding. Cryogenic grinding, followed by powder impregnation and subsequent compression molding is an effective route to the production of high-mechanical-property biocomposites based on renewable resources for high-obsolescence applications such as plastic casings for consumer electronics.

Keywords: natural fibers, natural rubber, polyhydroxyalkanoates, unidirectional

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Authors: Brock Liden, Eric Janowitz

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Introduction: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) affects 70% of individuals with diabetes1. DPN causes a loss of protective sensation, which can lead to tissue damage and diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) formation2. These ulcers can result in infections and lower-extremity amputations of toes, the entire foot, and the lower leg. Even after a DFU is healed, recurrence is common, with 49% of DFU patients developing another ulcer within a year and 68% within 5 years3. This case series examines the use of sensory insoles and newly available plantar data (pressure, temperature, step count, adherence) and remote patient monitoring in patients at risk of DFU. Methods: Participants were provided with custom-made sensory insoles to monitor plantar pressure, temperature, step count, and daily use and were provided with real-time cues for pressure offloading as they went about their daily activities. The sensory insoles were used to track subject compliance, ulceration, and response to feedback from real-time alerts. Patients were remotely monitored by a qualified healthcare professional and were contacted when areas of concern were seen and provided coaching on reducing risk factors and overall support to improve foot health. Results: Of the 40 participants provided with the sensory insole system, 4 presented with a DFU. Based on flags generated from the available plantar data, patients were contacted by the remote monitor to address potential concerns. A standard clinical escalation protocol detailed when and how concerns should be escalated to the provider by the remote monitor. Upon escalation to the provider, patients were brought into the clinic as needed, allowing for any issues to be addressed before more serious complications might arise. Conclusion: This case series explores the use of innovative sensory technology to collect plantar data (pressure, temperature, step count, and adherence) for DFU detection and early intervention. The results from this case series suggest the importance of sensory technology and remote patient monitoring in providing proactive, preventative care for patients at risk of DFU. This robust plantar data, with the addition of remote patient monitoring, allow for patients to be seen in the clinic when concerns arise, giving providers the opportunity to intervene early and prevent more serious complications, such as wounds, from occurring.

Keywords: diabetic foot ulcer, DFU prevention, digital therapeutics, remote patient monitoring

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Authors: Pamela K. Coke, Heidi Frederiksen, Ann Sebald

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Over the past three years, the researchers have been tracking a rise in the number of teacher education candidates leaving the field before completing their university’s educator preparation program. At their institution, this rise is most pronounced in English Education. The purpose of this qualitative research study is to understand English Education teacher candidates' expectations in becoming prepared educators at each phase of their four phase teacher education program at one institution of higher education in the United States. Research questions include: To what extent do we find differences in teacher candidates' expectations of their teacher training program and student teaching experiences based upon undergraduate and graduate programs? Why do (or do not) teacher candidates persist in their teacher training program and student teaching experiences? How do dispositions develop through the course of the teacher training program? What supports do teacher candidates self-identify as needing at each phase of the teacher training program? Based upon participant interviews at each phase of the teacher education program, the researchers, all teacher educators, examine the extent to which English Education students feel prepared to student teach, focusing on preparation, persistence, and dispositions. The Colorado State University Center for Educator Preparation (CEP) provides students with information about teaching dispositions, or desired professional behaviors, throughout their education program. CEP focuses these dispositions around nine categories: Professional Behaviors, Initiative and Dependability, Tact and Judgment, Ethical Behavior and Integrity, Collegiality and Responsiveness, Effective Communicator, Desire to Improve Own Performance, Culturally Responsive, and Commitment to the Profession. Currently, in the first phase of a four phase study, initial results indicate participants expect their greatest joys will be working with and learning from students. They anticipate their greatest challenges will involve discipline and confidence. They predict they will persist in their program because they believe the country needs well-prepared teachers and they have a commitment to their professional growth. None of the participants thus far could imagine why they would leave the program. With regard to strongest and weakest dispositions, results are mixed. Some participants see Tact and Judgment as their strongest disposition; others see it as their weakest. All participants stated mentoring is a necessary support at every phase of the teacher preparation process. This study informs the way teacher educators train and evaluate teacher candidates, and has implications for the frequency and types of feedback students receive from mentors and supervisors. This research contributes to existing work on teacher retention, candidate persistence, and dispositional development.

Keywords: English education, dispositions, persistence, teacher preparation

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Authors: Jonathan Turner, Julie Doyle, Laura O’Philbin, Dympna O’Sullivan

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People living with dementia should be at the centre of decision-making regarding goals for daily living. These goals include basic activities (dressing, hygiene, and mobility), advanced activities (finances, transportation, and shopping), and meaningful activities that promote well-being (pastimes and intellectual pursuits). However, there is limited involvement of people living with dementia in the design of technology to support their goals. A project is described that is co-designing intelligent computer-based support for, and with, people affected by dementia and their carers. The technology will support self-management, empower participation in shared decision-making with carers and help people living with dementia remain healthy and independent in their homes for longer. It includes information from the patient’s care plan, which documents medications, contacts, and the patient's wishes on end-of-life care. Importantly for this work, the plan can outline activities that should be maintained or worked towards, such as exercise or social contact. The authors discuss how to integrate care goal information from such a care plan with data collected from passive sensors in the patient’s home in order to deliver individualized planning and interventions for persons with dementia. A number of scientific challenges are addressed: First, to co-design with dementia patients and their carers computerized support for shared decision-making about their care while allowing the patient to share the care plan. Second, to develop a new and open monitoring framework with which to configure sensor technologies to collect data about whether goals and actions specified for a person in their care plan are being achieved. This is developed top-down by associating care quality types and metrics elicited from the co-design activities with types of data that can be collected within the home, from passive and active sensors, and from the patient’s feedback collected through a simple co-designed interface. These activities and data will be mapped to appropriate sensors and technological infrastructure with which to collect the data. Third, the application of machine learning models to analyze data collected via the sensing devices in order to investigate whether and to what extent activities outlined via the care plan are being achieved. The models will capture longitudinal data to track disease progression over time; as the disease progresses and captured data show that activities outlined in the care plan are not being achieved, the care plan may recommend alternative activities. Disease progression may also require care changes, and a data-driven approach can capture changes in a condition more quickly and allow care plans to evolve and be updated.

Keywords: care goals, decision-making, dementia, self-care, sensors

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Authors: Bojana Ž. Bajić, Siniša N. Dodić, Vladimir S. Puškaš, Jelena M. Dodić

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Increasing industrialization as a response to the demands of the consumer society greatly exploits resources and generates large amounts of waste effluents in addition to the desired product. This means it is a priority to implement technologies with the maximum utilization of raw materials and energy, minimum generation of waste effluents and/or their recycling (secondary use). Considering the process conditions and the nature of the raw materials used by the vegetable oil industry, its wastewaters can be used as substrates for the biotechnological production which requires large amounts of water. This way the waste effluents of one branch of industry become raw materials for another branch which produces a new product while reducing wastewater pollution and thereby reducing negative environmental impacts. Vegetable oil production generates wastewaters during the process of rinsing oils and fats which contain mainly fatty acid pollutants. The vegetable oil industry generates large amounts of waste effluents, especially in the processes of degumming, deacidification, deodorization and neutralization. Wastewaters from the vegetable oil industry are generated during the whole year in significant amounts, based on the capacity of the vegetable oil production. There are no known alternative applications for these wastewaters as raw materials for the production of marketable products. Since the literature has no data on the potential negative impact of fatty acids on the metabolism of the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris, these wastewaters were considered as potential raw materials for the biotechnological production of xanthan. In this research, vegetable oil industry wastewaters were used as the basis for the cultivation media for xanthan production with Xanthomonas campestris ATCC 13951. Examining the process of biosynthesis of xanthan on vegetable oil industry wastewaters as the basis for the cultivation media was performed to obtain insight into the possibility of its use in the aforementioned biotechnological process. Additionally, it was important to experimentally determine the absence of substances that have an inhibitory effect on the metabolism of the production microorganism. Xanthan content, rheological parameters of the cultivation media, carbon conversion into xanthan and conversions of the most significant nutrients for biosynthesis (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus sources) were determined as indicators of the success of biosynthesis. The obtained results show that biotechnological production of the biopolymer xanthan by bacterium Xanthomonas campestris on vegetable oil industry wastewaters based cultivation media simultaneously provides preservation of the environment and economic benefits which is a sustainable solution to the problem of wastewater treatment.

Keywords: biotechnology, sustainable bioprocess, vegetable oil industry wastewaters, Xanthomonas campestris

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Authors: Carlos M. Goncalves, Luisa Duarte, Teresa Cartaxo

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The aim of this work was to understand the reasons behind the underutilization of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the younger population and raise possible solutions. We conducted a non-systematic review of literature throughout a search on PubMed, using the terms ‘children’, ‘adolescents’ and ‘electroconvulsive’, ‘therapy’. Candidate articles written in languages other than English were excluded. Articles were selected according to title and/or abstract’s content relevance, resulting in a total of 5 articles. ECT is a recognized effective treatment in adults for several psychiatric conditions. As in adults, ECT in children and adolescents is proven most beneficial in the treatment of severe mood disorders, catatonia, and, to a lesser extent, schizophrenia. ECT in adults has also been used to treat autism’s self-injurious behaviours, Tourette’s syndrome and resistant first-episode schizophrenia disorder. Despite growing evidence on its safety and effectiveness in children and adolescents, like those found in adults, ECT remains a controversial and underused treatment in patients this age, even when it is clearly indicated. There are various possible reasons to this; limited awareness among professionals (lack of knowledge and experience among child psychiatrists), stigmatic public opinion (despite positive feedback from patients and families, there is an unfavourable and inaccurate representation in the media, contributing to a negative public opinion), legal restrictions and ethical controversies (restrictive regulations such as a minimum age for administration), lack of randomized trials (the currently available studies are retrospective, with small size samples, and most of the publications are either case reports or case series). This shows the need to raise awareness and knowledge, not only for mental health professionals, but also to the general population, through the media, regarding indications, methods and safety of ECT in order to provide reliable information to the patient and families. Large-scale longitudinal studies are also useful to further demonstrate the efficacy and safety of ECT and can aid in the formulation of algorithms and guidelines as without these changes, the availability of ECT to the younger population will remain restricted by regulations and social stigma. In conclusion, these results highlight that lack of adequate knowledge and accurate information are the most important factors behind the underutilization of ECT in younger population. Mental healthcare professionals occupy a cornerstone position; if data is given by a well-informed healthcare professional instead of the media, general population (including patients and their families) will probably regard the procedure in a more favourable way. So, the starting point should be to improve health care professional’s knowledge and experience on this choice of treatment.

Keywords: adolescents, children, electroconvulsive, therapy

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Authors: David Sinfield, Thomas Cochrane, Marcos Steagall

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While there is much hype around the potential and development of mobile virtual reality (VR), the two key critical success factors are the ease of user experience and the development of a simple user-generated content ecosystem. Educational technology history is littered with the debris of over-hyped revolutionary new technologies that failed to gain mainstream adoption or were quickly superseded. Examples include 3D television, interactive CDROMs, Second Life, and Google Glasses. However, we argue that this is the result of curriculum design that substitutes new technologies into pre-existing pedagogical strategies that are focused upon teacher-delivered content rather than exploring new pedagogical strategies that enable student-determined learning or heutagogy. Visual Communication design based learning such as Graphic Design, Illustration, Photography and Design process is heavily based on the traditional forms of the classroom environment whereby student interaction takes place both at peer level and indeed teacher based feedback. In doing so, this makes for a healthy creative learning environment, but does raise other issue in terms of student to teacher learning ratios and reduced contact time. Such issues arise when students are away from the classroom and cannot interact with their peers and teachers and thus we see a decline in creative work from the student. Using AR and VR as a means of stimulating the students and to think beyond the limitation of the studio based classroom this paper will discuss the outcomes of a student project considering the virtual classroom and the techniques involved. The Atelier learning environment is especially suited to the Visual Communication model as it deals with the creative processing of ideas that needs to be shared in a collaborative manner. This has proven to have been a successful model over the years, in the traditional form of design education, but has more recently seen a shift in thinking as we move into a more digital model of learning and indeed away from the classical classroom structure. This study focuses on the outcomes of a student design project that employed Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technologies in order to expand the dimensions of the classroom beyond its physical limits. Augmented Reality when integrated into the learning experience can improve the learning motivation and engagement of students. This paper will outline some of the processes used and the findings from the semester-long project that took place.

Keywords: augmented reality, blogging, design in community, enhanced learning and teaching, graphic design, new technologies, virtual reality, visual communications

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Authors: Sarah M. Schoellhammer, Stephen Gibb

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Bureaucracy, in particular, its core element, a formal and stable hierarchy of authority, is proving less and less appropriate under the conditions of today’s knowledge economy. Centralization and formalization were consistently found to hinder innovation, undermining cross-functional collaboration, personal responsibility, and flexibility. With its focus on systematical planning, controlling and monitoring the development of new or improved solutions for customers, even innovation management as a discipline is to a significant extent based on a mechanistic understanding of organizations. The most important drivers of innovation, human creativity, and initiative, however, can be more hindered than supported by central elements of classic innovation management, such as predefined innovation strategies, rigid stage gate processes, and decisions made in management gate meetings. Heterarchy, as an alternative network form of organization, is essentially characterized by its dynamic influence structures, whereby the biggest influence is allocated by the collective to the persons perceived the most competent in a certain issue. Theoretical arguments that the non-hierarchical concept better supports innovation than bureaucracy have been supported by empirical research. These prior studies either focus on the structure and general functioning of non-hierarchical organizations or on their innovativeness, that means innovation as an outcome. Complementing classic innovation management approaches, this work aims to shed light on how innovations are initiated and realized in heterarchies in order to identify alternative solutions practiced under conditions of the post-bureaucratic organization. Through an initial individual case study, which is part of a multiple-case project, the innovation practices of an innovative and highly heterarchical medium-sized company in the German fire engineering industry are investigated. In a pragmatic mixed methods approach media resonance, company documents, and workspace architecture are analyzed, in addition to qualitative interviews with the CEO and employees of the case company, as well as a quantitative survey aiming to characterize the company along five scaled dimensions of a heterarchy spectrum. The analysis reveals some similarities and striking differences to approaches suggested by classic innovation management. The studied heterarchy has no predefined innovation strategy guiding new product and service development. Instead, strategic direction is provided by the CEO, described as visionary and creative. Procedures for innovation are hardly formalized, with new product ideas being evaluated on the basis of gut feeling and flexible, rather general criteria. Employees still being hesitant to take responsibility and make decisions, hierarchical influence is still prominent. Described as open-minded and collaborative, culture and leadership were found largely congruent with definitions of innovation culture. Overall, innovation efforts at the case company tend to be coordinated more through cultural than through formal organizational mechanisms. To better enable innovation in mainstream organizations, responsible practitioners are recommended not to limit changes to reducing the central elements of the bureaucratic organization, formalization, and centralization. The freedoms this entails need to be sustained through cultural coordination mechanisms, with personal initiative and responsibility by employees as well as common innovation-supportive norms and values. These allow to integrate diverse competencies, opinions, and activities and, thus, to guide innovation efforts.

Keywords: bureaucracy, heterarchy, innovation management, values

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Authors: Agnieszka Zalejska-Jonsson

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The Swedish Green Building Council (SGBC) was established in 2009. Since then, over 1000 buildings have been certified, of which approximately 600 are newly produced and 340 are residential buildings. During that time, approximately 2000 apartment buildings have been built in Sweden. This means that over a five- year period 17% of residential buildings have been certified according to the environmental building scheme. The certification of the building is not a guarantee of environmental progress but it gives us an indication of the extent of the progress. The overarching aim of this study is to investigate the factors behind the relatively slow evolution of the green residential housing market in Sweden. The intention is to examine stated willingness to pay (WTP) for green and low energy apartments, and to explore which factors have a significant effect on stated WTP among apartment owners. A green building was defined as a building certified according to the environmental scheme and a low energy building as a building designed and constructed with high energy efficiency goals. Data for this study were collected through a survey conducted among occupants of comparable apartment buildings: two green and one conventional. The total number of received responses was 429: green A (N=160), response rate 42%; green B (N=138) response rate 35%, and conventional (N=131) response rate 43%. The study applied a quasi-experimental method. Survey responses regarding factors affecting purchase of apartment, stated WTP and environmental literacy have been analysed using descriptive statistics, the Mann–Whitney (rank sum) test and logistic models. Comments received from respondents have been used for further interpretation of results. Results indicate that environmental education has a significant effect on stated WTP. Occupants who declared higher WTP showed a higher level of environmental literacy and indicated that energy efficiency was one of the important factors that affected their decision to buy an apartment. Generally, the respondents were more likely to pay more for low energy buildings than for green buildings. This is to a great extent a consequence of rational customer behaviour and difficulty in apprehending the meaning of green building certification. The analysis shows that people living in green buildings indicate higher WTP for both green and low energy buildings, the difference being statistically significant. It is concluded that growth in the green housing market in Sweden might be achieved if policymakers and developers engage in active education in the environmental labelling system. The demand for green buildings is more likely to increase when the difference between green and conventional buildings is easily understood and information is not only delivered by the estate agent, but is part of an environmental education programme.

Keywords: consumer, environmental education, housing market, stated WTP, Sweden

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Authors: Muhammad Farhan Saeed, Waheed Aslam Khan, Muhammad Nadeem, Iftikhar Ahmad, Zakir Ali

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Milk is an important and fundamental nutrition source of human diet. In Pakistan, the milk used by the consumer is of low quality and is often contaminated due to the lack of quality controls. Mycotoxins produced from molds which contaminate the agriculture commodities of animal feed. Mycotoxins are poisons which affect the animals when they consume contaminated feeds. Aflatoxin AFM1 is naturally occurring form of mycotoxins in milk which is carcinogenic. To assess public awareness regarding milk Aflatoxin contamination, a population-based survey using a questionnaire was carried out from general public and from farmers of both rural and urban areas. It was revealed from the data that people of rural area were more satisfied about quality of available milk but the awareness level about milk contamination was found lower in both areas. Total 297 samples of milk were collected from rural (n=156) and urban (n=141) areas of district Vehari during June-July 2015. Milk samples were collected from three different point sources; farmer, milkman and milkshop. These point sources had three types of dairy milk including cow milk, buffalo milk and mixed milk. After performing ELISA test 18 samples with positive ELISA results were maintain per source for further analysis for aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Higher percentages of samples were found exceeding the permissible limit for urban area. In rural area about 15% samples and from urban area about 35% samples were exceeded the permissible limit of AFM1 with 0.05µg/kg set by European Union. From urban areas about 55% of buffalo, 33% of cows and 17% of mixed milk samples were exceeded the permissible AFM1 level as compared with 17%, 11% and 17% for milk samples from rural areas respectively. Samples from urban areas 33%, 44% and 28% were exceeded the permissible AFM1 level for farmer, milkman and of milk shop respectively as compared with 28% and 17% of farmer and milkman’s samples from rural areas respectively. The presence of AFM1 in milk samples demands the implementation of strict regulations and also urges the need for continuous monitoring of milk and milk products in order to minimize the health hazards. Regulations regarding aflatoxins contamination and adulteration should be strictly imposed to prevent health problems related to milk quality. Permissible limits for aflatoxin should be enforced strongly in Pakistan so that economic loss due to aflatoxin contamination can be reduced.

Keywords: Vehari, aflatoxins AFM1, milk, HPLC

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Authors: Babulayi B. Wilson

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Unsatisfactory performance of construction projects in both the industrialised and developing countries indicate that there could be several defects in construction projects phases. Notwithstanding the fact that some project defects are often conceived at the initiation phase of construction projects, insufficient knowledge of contract procedures has been identified as one of the major sources of construction disputes. Contract procedures are a set of rules that outlines the primary obligations and liabilities of parties involved in the implementation of a construction project. Engineering professional bodies often codify contract procedures into standard forms of contract such as the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE, UK) and Association of Consulting Engineers (ACE, UK) and keep them under constant review by updating any clause to reflect any change in case law or relevant piece of legislation. Even so, it is the responsibility of a professional body or conditions of contract draftsperson to introduce contract-specific clauses that may be necessary for business efficacy but not covered in the chosen standard conditions of contract. In Botswana, the use of clients’ drafted and/or un-adapted for environment of use international forms of contract in conjunction with client-drafted pricing schedules is common. The product of the latter often impact negatively upon contractors’ claims and payments, in that, tender rates and prices can only be deemed to be sufficient if the chosen conditions of contract compliment the pricing schedule (use of standardised procurement documents). In addition, client drafted and the use of borrowed forms of contract such as FIDIC often conflict with domicile law resulting in costly disputes on the part of the client. It is upon the preceding text that the object of the research is to measure the level of knowledge of contract procedures amongst key stakeholders in the Botswana construction industry by requesting a representative sample from the industry and academia to respond to tutorial questions prepared from two commonly used forms of contract for civil works, that is, FIDIC (International Form of Contract) and ICE (UK). The questions were prepared under the following captions: (a) preparation of tender documents (b) obligations of the parties (c) contract administration; and (d) claims, variations, and valuation of variations. After ascertaining that the level of knowledge of contract procedures is insufficient among most practitioners in the Botswana construction industry, major procurement entities, and engineering institutions of learning; a guide to drafting a condition of a construction contract was developed and then validated through seminars and workshops. In the present, the effectiveness of the guide is not yet measured but feedback from seminars and workshops conducted indicates an appreciation of the guide by the majority of major construction industry stakeholders.

Keywords: contract procedures, conditions of contract, professional practice, construction law, forms of contract

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Authors: Pauliina Haustein

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Improvisation was part of Western classical concert culture and performers’ skill sets until early 20th century. Historical accounts, as well as recent studies, indicate that improvisatory elements in the programme may contribute specifically towards the audiences’ experience of enhanced emotional engagement during the concert. This paper presents findings from the author’s artistic practice research, which explored re-introducing improvisation to Western classical performance practice as a musician (cellist and ensemble partner/leader). In an investigation of four concert cycles, the performer-researcher sought to gain solo and chamber music improvisation techniques (both related to and independent of repertoire), conduct ensemble improvisation rehearsals, design concerts with an improvisatory approach, and reflect on interactions with audiences after each concert. Data was collected through use of reflective diary, video recordings, measurement of sound parameters, questionnaires, a focus group, and interviews. The performer’s empirical experiences and findings from audience research components were juxtaposed and interrogated to better understand the (1) rehearsal and planning processes that enable improvisatory elements to return to Western classical concert experience and (2) the emotional experience and type of engagement that occur throughout the concert experience for both performer and audience members. This informed the development of a concert model, in which a programme of solo and chamber music repertoire and improvisations were combined according to historically evidenced performance practice (including free formal solo and ensemble improvisations based on audience suggestions). Inspired by historical concert culture, where elements of risk-taking, spontaneity, and audience involvement (such as proposing themes for fantasies) were customary, this concert model invited musicians to contribute to the process personally and creatively at all stages, from programme planning, and throughout the live concert. The type of democratic, personal, creative, and empathetic collaboration that emerged, as a result, appears unique in Western classical contexts, rather finding resonance in jazz ensemble, drama, or interdisciplinary settings. The research identified features of ensemble improvisation, such as empathy, emergence, mutual engagement, and collaborative creativity, that became mirrored in audience’s responses, generating higher levels of emotional engagement, empathy, inclusivity, and a participatory, co-creative experience. It appears that duringimprovisatory moments in the concert programme, audience members started feeling more like active participants in za\\a creative, collaborative exchange and became stakeholders in a deeper phenomenon of meaning-making and narrativization. Examining interactions between all involved during the concert revealed that performer-audience impulse exchange occurred on multiple levels of awareness and seemed to build upon each other, resulting in particularly strong experiences of both performer and audience’s engagement. This impact appeared especially meaningful for audience members who were seldom concertgoers and reported little familiarity with classical music. The study found that re-introducing improvisatory elements to Western classical concert programmes has strong potential in increasing audience’s emotional engagement with the musical performance, enabling audience members to connect more personally with the individual performers, and in reaching new-to-classical-music audiences.

Keywords: artistic research, audience engagement, audience experience, classical improvisation, ensemble improvisation, emotional engagement, improvisation, improvisatory approach, musical performance, practice research

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Authors: Vanessa Castro, Liria H. Okuda, Daniela P. Chiebao, Adriana H. C. N. Romaldini, Harumi Hojo, Marina Grandi, Joao Paulo A. Silva, Alessandra F. C. Nassar

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The Biological Institute of Sao Paulo, in partnership with a private company, develops an Animal Health Family Farming Program (Prosaf) to enable communication among smallholder farmers and scientists, on-farm consulting and lectures, solving health questions that will benefit agricultural productivity. In Vale do Paraiba region, a dairy region of Sao Paulo State, southern Brazil, many of these types of farms are found with several milk quality problems. Most of these farms are profit-based business; however, with non-technified cattle rearing systems and uncertain veterinary assistance. Feedback from Prosaf showed that the biggest complaints from farmers were low milk production, sick animals and, mainly, loss of selling price due to a high somatic cell count (SCC) and a total bacterial count (TBC). The aims of this study were to improve milk quality, animal hygiene and herd health status by adjustments into general management practices and introducing techniques of sanitary control and milk monitoring in five dairy farms from Sao Jose do Barreiro municipality, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, to increase their profits. A total of 119 milk samples from 56 animals positive for California Mastitis Test (CMT) were collected. The positive CMT indicates subclinical mastitis, therefore laboratorial exams were performed in the milk (microbiological, biochemical and antibiogram test) detect the presence of Staphylococcus aureus (41.8%), Bacillus sp. (11.8%), Streptococcus sp. (2.1%), nonfermenting, motile and oxidase-negative Gram-negative Bacilli (2.1%) and Enterobacter (2.1%). Antibiograms revealed high resistance to gentamicin and streptomycin, probably due to indiscriminate use of antibiotics without veterinarian prescription. We suggested the improvement of hygiene management in the complete milking and cooling tanks system. Using the results of the laboratory tests, animals were properly treated, and the effects observed were better CMT outcomes, lower SCCs, and TBCs leading to an increase in milk pricing. This study will have a positive impact on the family farmers from Sao Paulo State dairy region by improving their market milk competitiveness.

Keywords: milk, family farming, food quality, antibiogram, profitability

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Authors: Katsue Edo, Yu Hiroi

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T Increasing attention has been paid to using pictures and photographs in research since the beginning of the 21th century in social sciences. Meanwhile we have been studying the usefulness of Picture mining, which is one of the new ways for a these picture using researches. Picture Mining is an explorative research analysis method that takes useful information from pictures, photographs and static or moving images. It is often compared with the methods of text mining. The Picture Mining concept includes observational research in the broad sense, because it also aims to analyze moving images (Ochihara and Edo 2013). In the recent literature, studies and reports using pictures are increasing due to the environmental changes. These are identified as technological and social changes (Edo et.al. 2013). Low price digital cameras and i-phones, high information transmission speed, low costs for information transferring and high performance and resolution of the cameras of mobile phones have changed the photographing behavior of people. Consequently, there is less resistance in taking and processing photographs for most of the people in the developing countries. In these studies, this method of collecting data from respondents is often called as ‘participant-generated photography’ or ‘respondent-generated visual imagery’, which focuses on the collection of data and its analysis (Pauwels 2011, Snyder 2012). But there are few systematical and conceptual studies that supports it significance of these methods. We have discussed in the recent years to conceptualize these picture using research methods and formalize theoretical findings (Edo et. al. 2014). We have identified the most efficient fields of Picture mining in the following areas inductively and in case studies; 1) Research in Consumer and Customer Lifestyles. 2) New Product Development. 3) Research in Fashion and Design. Though we have found that it will be useful in these fields and areas, we must verify these assumptions. In this study we will focus on the field of fashion and design, to determine whether picture mining methods are really reliable in this area. In order to do so we have conducted an empirical research of the respondents’ attitudes and behavior concerning pictures and photographs. We compared the attitudes and behavior of pictures toward fashion to meals, and found out that taking pictures of fashion is not as easy as taking meals and food. Respondents do not often take pictures of fashion and upload their pictures online, such as Facebook and Instagram, compared to meals and food because of the difficulty of taking them. We concluded that we should be more careful in analyzing pictures in the fashion area for there still might be some kind of bias existing even if the environment of pictures have drastically changed in these years.

Keywords: empirical research, fashion and design, Picture Mining, qualitative research

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Authors: Desjardin, Michaels, Martinez, Ulmann

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Copper IUD is one of the most efficient and cost-effective contraception. However, pain at insertion hampers the use of this method. This is especially unfortunate in nulliparous women, often younger, who are excellent candidates for this contraception, including Emergency Contraception. Standard insertion procedure of a copper IUD usually involves measurement of uterine cavity with an hysterometer and the use of a tenaculum in order to facilitate device insertion. Both procedures lead to patient pain which often constitutes a limitation of the method. To overcome these issues, we have developed a modified insertor combined with a copper IUD. The singular design of the inserter includes a flexible inflatable membrane technology allowing an easy access to the uterine cavity even in case of abnormal uterine positions or narrow cervical canal. Moreover, this inserter makes possible a direct IUD insertion with no hysterometry and no need for tenaculum. To assess device effectiveness and patient-reported pain, a study was conducted at two clinics in Fance with 31 individuals who wanted to use a copper IUD as contraceptive method. IUD insertions have been performed by four healthcare providers. Operators completed questionnaire and evaluated effectiveness of the procedure (including IUD correct fundal placement and other usability questions) as their satisfaction. Patient also completed questionnaire and pain during procedure was measured on a 10-cm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Analysis of the questionnaires indicates that correct IUD placement took place in more than 93% of women, which is a standard efficacy rate. It also demonstrates that IUD insertion resulted in no, light or moderate pain predominantly in nulliparous women. No insertion resulted in severe pain (none above 6cm on a 10-cm VAS). This translated by a high level of satisfaction from both patients and practitioners. In addition, this modified inserter allowed a simplification of the insertion procedure: correct fundal placement was ensured with no need for hysterometry (100%) prior to insertion nor for cervical tenaculum to pull on the cervix (90%). Avoidance of both procedures contributed to the decrease in pain during insertion. Taken together, the results of the study demonstrate that this device constitutes a significant advance in the use of copper IUDs for any woman. It allows a simplification of the insertion procedure: there is no need for pre-insertion hysterometry and no need for traction on the cervix with tenaculum. Increased comfort during insertion should allow a wider use of the method for nulliparous women and for emergency contraception. In addition, pain is often underestimated by practitioners, but fear of pain is obviously one of the blocking factors as indicated by the analysis of the questionnaire. This evaluation brings interesting information on the use of this modified inserter for standard copper IUD and promising perspectives to set up a changement in the standard of IUD insertion procedure.

Keywords: contraceptio, IUD, innovation, pain

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Authors: Sibongile Masemola

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In 2018, South Africa decriminalised recreational cannabis use and private cultivation, since then, cannabis businesses have been established to meet the demand. However, marketing activities remain limited in this industry, and businesses are unable to disseminate promotional messages, however, as a solution, firms can promote their brands and positioning instead of the actual product (Bick, 2015). Branding is essential to create differences among cannabis firms and to attract and keep customers (Abrahamsson, 2014). Building cannabis firms into brands can better position them in the mind of the consumer so that they become and remain competitive. The aim of this study was to explore how South African cannabis retailers can build brand equity in a stigmatised market, despite significant restrictions on marketing efforts. Keller’s (2001) customer-based brand equity (CBBE) model was used as the as the theoretical framework and explored how cannabis firms build their businesses into brands through developing their brand identity, meaning, performance, and relationships, and ultimately creating brand equity. The study employed a qualitative research method, using semi-structured in-depth interviews among 17 participants to gain insights from cannabis owners and marketers in the recreational cannabis environment. Most findings were presented according to the blocks of CBBE model. Furthermore, a conceptual framework named the stigma-based brand equity (SBBE) model was adapted from Keller’s CBBE model to include an additional building block that accounts for industry-specific characteristics unique to stigmatised markets. Findings revealed the pervasiveness of education and its significance to brand building in a stigmatised industry. Results also demonstrated the overall effect stigma has on businesses and their consumers due to the longstanding negative evaluations of cannabis. Hence, through stigma-bonding, brands can develop deep identity-related psychological bonds with their consumers that will potentially lead to strong brand resonance. This study aims to contribute business-relevant knowledge for firms operating in core-stigmatised markets under controlled marketing regulations by exploring how cannabis firms can build brand equity. Practically, this study presents recommendations for retailers in stigmatised markets on how to destigmatise, build brand identity, create brand meaning, elicit desired brand responses, and develop brand relationships – ultimately building brand equity.

Keywords: branding, brand equity, cannabis, organisational stigma

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Mari Murakami, Hiromi Kawasaki, Saori Fujimoto, Yoko Ueno

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Background: In Japan, one of the goals of midwifery education is the development of one’s ability to comprehensively support the child-rearing generation in collaboration with professionals from other disciplines. However, in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19, it has become extremely difficult to provide face-to-face support for mothers and children. Early on in the pandemic, we sought help from three parenting midwives as an alternative and attempted an online visit. Since midwives who are raising children respond to the training as both mothers who are care recipients and midwives as care providers. Therefore, we attempted to verify the usefulness of midwives experiencing training as mothers by clarifying the effects on those midwives who are raising children and who have experienced online visit training by students. Methods: The online visitations were conducted in June 2020. The collaborators were three midwives who were devoted to childcare. During the online visit training, we used the feedback records of their questions given by the collaborators (with their permission) to the students. The verbatim record was created from the records. Qualitative descriptive analysis was used, and subcategories and categories were extracted. This study was approved by the Ethical Committee for Epidemiology of Hiroshima University. Results: The average age of the three midwives was 36.3 years, with an average of 12.3 years of experience after graduation. They were each raising multiple children (ranging between a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 children). Their youngest infants were 6.7 months old on average for all. Five categories that emerged were: contributing to the development of midwifery students as a senior; the joy of accepting the efforts of a mother while raising children; recalling the humility of beginners through the integrity of midwifery students; learning opportunities about the benefits of online visits; and suggesting further challenges for online visits. Conclusion: The online visit training was an opportunity for midwives who are raising their own children to reinforce an honest and humble approach based on the attitude of the students, for self-improvement, and to reflect on the practice of midwifery from another person’s viewpoint. It was also noted that the midwives contributed to the education of midwifery students. Furthermore, they also agreed with the use of online visitations and considered the advantages and disadvantages of its use from the perspective of mothers and midwives. Online visits were seen to empower midwives on childcare leave, as their child-rearing was accepted and admired. Online visits by students were considered to be an opportunity to not only provide a sense of fulfillment as a recipient of care but also to think concretely about career advancement, during childcare leave, regarding the ideal way for midwifery training and teaching.

Keywords: child-rearing midwife, COVID-19 pandemic, online visit practice, qualitive descriptive study

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Kersch-Counet C., Fransen K. H. S., Broyd M., Nyakayiru J. D. O. A., Schoemaker M. H., Mallee L. F., Bovee-Oudenhoven I. M. J.

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Background: Around one third of people, including athletes, suffer from feelings of gut discomfort. Fermentation of dairy is a process that has been associated with products that can improve gut health. However, insight in (potential) health benefits of most fermented foods is limited to chemical analyses and in-vitro models. Objective: The aim of this open-label, single-arm explorative trial was to investigate in a real life setting the effect of consumption of a fermented whey product for 3 weeks on self-perceived physical and mental wellbeing and digestive issues in 150 US recreational athletes (20-50 years of age) with self-reported gut complaints at enrolment. Methods: Participants living at the West-Coast of the US received for 3 weeks a daily powder of 15 g of BiotisTM Fermentis to be mixed in water using a supplied shaker. Weekly questionnaires were conducted by MMR research to study the effect on physical/mental health issues and self-perceived gut complaints. Non-parametric tests (e.g., Friedman test) were used to assess statistical differences over time while the Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used for sub-groups analysis. Results: Bloating, stress and anxiety were the top 3 issues of the US recreational athletes. Satisfaction of physical wellbeing increased significantly throughout the 3-weeks of fermented whey product consumption (p<0.0005). Combined digestive issues decreased significantly after 2- and 3-weeks of product consumption, with bloating showing a significant reduction (p<0.05). There was a trend that self-reported stress levels reduced after 3 weeks and participants said to significantly feel more active, energetic, and vital (p<0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that gender and habitual protein supplement consumption were associated with specific health issues and modulated the response to the fermented dairy product. Conclusion: Daily consumption of the fermented BiotisTM Fermentis product is associated with a reduction in self-perceived gastrointestinal symptoms and improved overall wellbeing and mood state in US recreational athletes. This large nutrition and health consumer study brings valuable insights in self-reported gut complaints of recreational athletes in the US and their response to a fermented dairy product. A controlled clinical trial in a targeted population is recommended to scientifically substantiate the product effect as observed in this explorative study.

Keywords: real-life study, digestive health, fermented whey, sports

Procedia PDF Downloads 220

Authors: Asma Omri, Noureddine Benothman, Sofiane Sayahi, Fethi Tlili, Hichem Besbes

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Cycling, a popular mode of transportation, can also be perilous due to cyclists' vulnerability to collisions with vehicles and obstacles. This paper presents an innovative cyclist safety system based on radar technology designed to offer real-time collision risk warnings to cyclists. The system incorporates a low-power radar sensor affixed to the bicycle and connected to a microcontroller. It leverages radar point cloud detections, a clustering algorithm, and a supervised classifier. These algorithms are optimized for efficiency to run on the TI’s AWR 1843 BOOST radar, utilizing a coarse classification approach distinguishing between cars, trucks, two-wheeled vehicles, and other objects. To enhance the performance of clustering techniques, we propose a 2-Level clustering approach. This approach builds on the state-of-the-art Density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN). The objective is to first cluster objects based on their velocity, then refine the analysis by clustering based on position. The initial level identifies groups of objects with similar velocities and movement patterns. The subsequent level refines the analysis by considering the spatial distribution of these objects. The clusters obtained from the first level serve as input for the second level of clustering. Our proposed technique surpasses the classical DBSCAN algorithm in terms of geometrical metrics, including homogeneity, completeness, and V-score. Relevant cluster features are extracted and utilized to classify objects using an SVM classifier. Potential obstacles are identified based on their velocity and proximity to the cyclist. To optimize the system, we used the View of Delft dataset for hyperparameter selection and SVM classifier training. The system's performance was assessed using our collected dataset of radar point clouds synchronized with a camera on an Nvidia Jetson Nano board. The radar-based cyclist safety system is a practical solution that can be easily installed on any bicycle and connected to smartphones or other devices, offering real-time feedback and navigation assistance to cyclists. We conducted experiments to validate the system's feasibility, achieving an impressive 85% accuracy in the classification task. This system has the potential to significantly reduce the number of accidents involving cyclists and enhance their safety on the road.

Keywords: 2-level clustering, coarse classification, cyclist safety, warning system based on radar technology

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Authors: Dosun Shin, Assegid Kidane, Pavan Turaga

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According to the National Institute of Health, living a sedentary lifestyle leads to a number of health issues, including increased risk of cardiovascular dis-ease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and certain types of cancers. This project brings together experts in multiple disciplines to bring product design, sensor design, algorithms, and health intervention studies to develop a product and system that helps reduce the amount of time sitting at the workplace. This paper illustrates ongoing improvements to prototypes the research team developed in initial research; including working prototypes with a software application, which were developed and demonstrated for users. Additional modifications were made to improve functionality, aesthetics, and ease of use, which will be discussed in this paper. Extending on the foundations created in the initial phase, our approach sought to further improve the product by conducting additional human factor research, studying deficiencies in competitive products, testing various materials/forms, developing working prototypes, and obtaining feedback from additional potential users. The solution consisted of an aesthetically pleasing seat cover cushion that easily attaches to common office chairs found in most workplaces, ensuring a wide variety of people can use the product. The product discreetly contains sensors that track when the user sits on their chair, sending information to a phone app that triggers reminders for users to stand up and move around after sitting for a set amount of time. This paper also presents the analyzed typical office aesthetics and selected materials, colors, and forms that complimented the working environment. Comfort and ease of use remained a high priority as the design team sought to provide a product and system that integrated into the workplace. As the research team continues to test, improve, and implement this solution for the sedentary workplace, the team seeks to create a viable product that acts as an impetus for a more active workday and lifestyle, further decreasing the proliferation of chronic disease and health issues for sedentary working people. This paper illustrates in detail the processes of engineering, product design, methodology, and testing results.

Keywords: anti-sedentary work behavior, new product development, sensor design, health intervention studies

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Jose A. Diaz-Olivares, Nafise Mahdavian, Farhad Abtahi, Kaj Lindecrantz, Abdelakram Hafid, Fernando Seoane

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Despite new recommendations and guidelines for the evaluation of occupational risk assessments and their prevention, work-related musculoskeletal disorders are still one of the biggest causes of work activity disruption, productivity loss, sick leave and chronic work disability. It affects millions of workers throughout Europe, with a large-scale economic and social burden. These specific efforts have failed to produce significant results yet, probably due to the limited availability and high costs of occupational risk assessment at work, especially when the methods are complex, consume excessive resources or depend on self-evaluations and observations of poor accuracy. To overcome these limitations, a pervasive system of risk assessment tools in real time has been developed, which has the characteristics of a systematic approach, with good precision, usability and resource efficiency, essential to facilitate the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders in the long term. The system allows the combination of different wearable sensors, placed on different limbs, to be used for data collection and evaluation by a software solution, according to the needs and requirements in each individual working environment. This is done in a non-disruptive manner for both the occupational health expert and the workers. The creation of this solution allows us to attend different research activities that require, as an essential starting point, the recording of data with ergonomic value of very diverse origin, especially in real work environments. The software platform is here presented with a complimentary smart clothing system for data acquisition, comprised of a T-shirt containing inertial measurement units (IMU), a vest sensorized with textile electronics, a wireless electrocardiogram (ECG) and thoracic electrical bio-impedance (TEB) recorder and a glove sensorized with variable resistors, dependent on the angular position of the wrist. The collected data is processed in real-time through a mobile application software solution, implemented in commercially available Android-based smartphones and tablet platforms. Based on the collection of this information and its analysis, real-time risk assessment and feedback about postural improvement is possible, adapted to different contexts. The result is a tool which provides added value to ergonomists and occupational health agents, as in situ analysis of postural behavior can assist in a quantitative manner in the evaluation of work techniques and the occupational environment.

Keywords: ergonomics, mobile technologies, risk assessment, smart textiles

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Authors: Amarachi Delight Onyemachi, Gregory Ikechukwu Onwuka

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The growing consumer trend for natural ingredients, functional foods with health benefits and the perceived risk of carcinogenesis associated with synthetic antioxidants have forced food manufacturers to look for alternatives for producing healthy and safe food. Herbs and spices are cheap, natural and harmless sources of antioxidants which can delay and prevent lipid oxidation of food products and also confer its unique organoleptic properties and health benefits to food products. The Nigerian climate has been proven to be conducive for the production of spices and herbs and is blessed bountifully with a wide range of them. Five selected Nigerian herbs and spices Piper guieense, Xylopia aethopica, Gongronema latifolium and Ocimum gratissimum were evaluated for their ability to act as radical scavengers. The spices were extracted with 80% ethanol and evaluated using total phenolic capacity (TPC), DPPH (1,1-diph diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical) ABTS (2,2’azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), reducing power (RP) assays. The TPC ranged from 5.33 µg GAE/mg (in Gongronema latifolium) to 15.55 µg GAE/mg (in Ocimum gratissimum). The DPPH and ABTS scavenging activity of the extracts ranged from 0.23-0.36 IC50 mg/ml and 2.32-7.25 Trolox equivalent % respectively. The TAC and RP of the extract ranged from 6.73-10.64 µg AAE/mg and 3.52-10.19 µg AAE/mg. The result of percentage yield of the extract ranged from as low as 9.94% in Gongronema latifolium and to as high as 23.85% in Xylopia aethopica. A very strong positive relationship existed between the total antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content of the tested herbs and spices (R2=0.96). All of the extracts exhibited different extent of strong antioxidant activity, high antioxidant activity was found in Ocimum gratissimum and Gongronema latifolium with the least. However, Gongronema latifolium possessed the highest total antioxidant capacity. These data confirm the appreciable antioxidant potentials and high phenolic content of Nigerian herbs and spices, thereby providing justification for their use in dishes and functional foods, prevention of cellular damage caused by free radicals and use as natural antioxidants in the food industry for prevention of lipid oxidation in food products. However, to utilize these natural antioxidants in food products, further analysis and studies of their behaviour in food systems at varying temperature, pH conditions and ionic concentrations should be carried out to displace the use of synthetic antioxidants like BHT and BHA.

Keywords: Antioxidant, free radicals, herbs, phenolic, spices

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Authors: Muhammad Awais Kiani

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The field of electronics engineering plays a vital role in the marketing of smart materials. Smart materials are innovative, adaptive materials that can respond to external stimuli, such as temperature, light, or pressure, in order to enhance performance or functionality. As the demand for smart materials continues to grow, it is crucial to understand how electronics engineering can contribute to their marketing strategies. This abstract presents an overview of the role of electronics engineering in the marketing of smart materials. It explores the various ways in which electronics engineering enables the development and integration of smart features within materials, enhancing their marketability. Firstly, electronics engineering facilitates the design and development of sensing and actuating systems for smart materials. These systems enable the detection and response to external stimuli, providing valuable data and feedback to users. By integrating sensors and actuators into materials, their functionality and performance can be significantly enhanced, making them more appealing to potential customers. Secondly, electronics engineering enables the creation of smart materials with wireless communication capabilities. By incorporating wireless technologies such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, smart materials can seamlessly interact with other devices, providing real-time data and enabling remote control and monitoring. This connectivity enhances the marketability of smart materials by offering convenience, efficiency, and improved user experience. Furthermore, electronics engineering plays a crucial role in power management for smart materials. Implementing energy-efficient systems and power harvesting techniques ensures that smart materials can operate autonomously for extended periods. This aspect not only increases their market appeal but also reduces the need for constant maintenance or battery replacements, thus enhancing customer satisfaction. Lastly, electronics engineering contributes to the marketing of smart materials through innovative user interfaces and intuitive control mechanisms. By designing user-friendly interfaces and integrating advanced control systems, smart materials become more accessible to a broader range of users. Clear and intuitive controls enhance the user experience and encourage wider adoption of smart materials in various industries. In conclusion, electronics engineering significantly influences the marketing of smart materials by enabling the design of sensing and actuating systems, wireless connectivity, efficient power management, and user-friendly interfaces. The integration of electronics engineering principles enhances the functionality, performance, and marketability of smart materials, making them more adaptable to the growing demand for innovative and connected materials in diverse industries.

Keywords: electronics engineering, smart materials, marketing, power management

Procedia PDF Downloads 36

Authors: K. C. M. Wong, C. P. Y. Cheng, K. Y. Chan, G. S. C. Fung, T. F. O. Lau, K. F. C. Leung, J. P. C. Fok

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Hospital Authority (HA) is the statutory body to manage all public hospitals in Hong Kong. Occupational Care Medicine Service (OMCS) is an in-house multi-disciplinary team responsible for injury management in HA. Hospital administrative services (AS) provides essential support in hospital daily operation to facilitate the provision of quality healthcare services. An occupational health enhancement program in Tai Po Hospital (TPH) domestic service supporting unit (DSSU) was piloted in 2013 with satisfactory outcome, the keys to success were staff engagement and management support. Riding on the success, the program was rolled out to another 5 AS departments of Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital (AHNH) and TPH in 2015. This paper highlights the indispensable components of disability management and occupational health enhancement program in hospital settings. Objectives: 1) Facilitate workplace to support staff with health affecting work problem, 2) Enhance staff’s occupational health. Methodology: Hospital Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) team and AS departments (catering, linen services, and DSSU) of AHNH and TPH worked closely with OMCS. Focus group meetings and worksite visits were conducted with frontline staff engagement. OSH hazards were identified with corresponding OSH improvement measures introduced, e.g., invention of high dusting device to minimize working at height; tailor-made linen cart to minimize back bending at work, etc. Specific MHO trainings were offered to each AS department. A disability management workshop was provided to supervisors in order to enhance their knowledge and skills in return-to-work (RTW) facilitation. Based on injured staff's health condition, OMCS would provide work recommendation, and RTW plan was formulated with engagement of staff and their supervisors. Genuine communication among stakeholders with expectation management paved the way for realistic goals setting and success in our program. Outcome: After implementation of the program, a significant drop of 26% in musculoskeletal disorders related sickness absence day was noted in 2016 as compared to the average of 2013-2015. The improvement was postulated by innovative OSH improvement measures, teamwork, staff engagement and management support. Staff and supervisors’ feedback were very encouraging that 90% respondents rated very satisfactory in program evaluation. This program exemplified good work sharing among departments to support staff in need.

Keywords: disability management, occupational health, return to work, occupational medicine

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Authors: Cherry Yieng Siang Ling, Joong Hee Lee, Myung Hwan Yun

Abstract:

The quality of a product to be usable has become the basic requirement in consumer’s perspective while failing the requirement ends up the customer from not using the product. Identifying usability issues from analyzing quantitative and qualitative data collected from usability testing and evaluation activities aids in the process of product design, yet the lack of studies and researches regarding analysis methodologies in qualitative text data of usability field inhibits the potential of these data for more useful applications. While the possibility of analyzing qualitative text data found with the rapid development of data analysis studies such as natural language processing field in understanding human language in computer, and machine learning field in providing predictive model and clustering tool. Therefore, this research aims to study the application capability of text processing algorithm in analysis of qualitative text data collected from usability activities. This research utilized datasets collected from LG neckband headset usability experiment in which the datasets consist of headset survey text data, subject’s data and product physical data. In the analysis procedure, which integrated with the text-processing algorithm, the process includes training of comments onto vector space, labeling them with the subject and product physical feature data, and clustering to validate the result of comment vector clustering. The result shows 'volume and music control button' as the usability feature that matches best with the cluster of comment vectors where centroid comments of a cluster emphasized more on button positions, while centroid comments of the other cluster emphasized more on button interface issues. When volume and music control buttons are designed separately, the participant experienced less confusion, and thus, the comments mentioned only about the buttons' positions. While in the situation where the volume and music control buttons are designed as a single button, the participants experienced interface issues regarding the buttons such as operating methods of functions and confusion of functions' buttons. The relevance of the cluster centroid comments with the extracted feature explained the capability of text processing algorithms in analyzing qualitative text data from usability testing and evaluations.

Keywords: usability, qualitative data, text-processing algorithm, natural language processing

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Authors: Miguel Llorens-Marin, Adolfo Hernandez, Maria Puelles-Gallo

Abstract:

The increasing influence of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) on hotel bookings and the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) contained in them has been featured by many scientific studies as a major factor in the booking decision. The main reason is that nowadays, in the hotel sector, consumers first come into contact with the offer through the web and the online environment. Due to the nature of the hotel product and the fact that it is booked in advance to actually seeing it, there is a lack of knowledge about its actual features. This makes eWOM a major channel to help consumers to reduce their perception of risk when making their booking decisions. This research studies the relationship between aspects of customer influenceability by reading eWOM communications, at the time of booking a hotel, with the propensity to write a review. In other words, to test relationships between the reading and the writing of eWOM. Also investigates the importance of different underlying motivations for writing eWOM. Online surveys were used to obtain the data from a sample of hotel customers, with 739 valid questionnaires. A measurement model and Path analysis were carried out to analyze the chain of relationships among the independent variable (influenceability from reading reviews) and the dependent variable (propensity to write a review) with the mediating effects of additional variables, which help to explain the relationship. The authors also tested the moderating effects of age and gender in the model. The study considered three different underlying motivations for writing a review on a hotel experience, namely hedonic, altruistic and conflicted. Results indicate that the level of influenceability by reading reviews has a positive effect on the propensity to write reviews; therefore, we manage to link the reading and the writing of reviews. Authors also discover that the main underlying motivation to write a hotel review is the altruistic motivation, being the one with the higher Standard regression coefficient above the hedonic motivation. The authors suggest that the propensity to write reviews is not related to sociodemographic factors (age and gender) but to attitudinal factors such as ‘the most influential factor when reading’ and ‘underlying motivations to write. This gives light on the customer engagement motivations to write reviews. The implications are that managers should encourage their customers to write eWOM reviews on altruistic grounds to help other customers to make a decision. The most important contribution of this work is to link the effect of reading hotel reviews with the propensity to write reviews.

Keywords: hotel reviews, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), online consumer reviews, digital marketing, social media

Procedia PDF Downloads 72