CONSUMER SHIFT: EXAMINING FEMALE GENERATION Y CONSUMERS’ ACTIVEWEAR CONSUMPTION

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a change to standard consumption patterns as consumers began prioritizing health and wellness, working remotely, and made a switch from material-based consumption practices to an experiential-value-based consumption mindset. Additionally, Covid-19 brought economic downturns, loss of jobs, and supply chain issues. Consequently, the activewear market demonstrated unclear results making it necessary to understand trends within the activewear market while also understanding consumer motivations to wear or not to wear activewear during these societal shifts. This research paper aims it’s focus on female members of Generation Y, a popular and growing market for activewear. In understanding these societal shifts within Generation Y females, the research paper used the Means End Chain (MEC) model, which uses a qualitative soft-laddering interview approach. It was found the top two concrete attributes were stretchability and shaping/supportive properties. The top two abstract attributes were quality fabric and style. Four top functional consequences were identified: task facilitation, ease of use/transitional, physical comfort and physical appearance. The top two psycho-social consequences were feeling motivated and social relationship. And the top value was empowerment. These findings were then applied to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It was found identified attributes, consequences, and values are directly applicable to every hierarchical level (physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization) demonstrated within Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. We can conclude the consumption and wearing of activewear will continue to be a constant trend within our society as consumers are able to meet every hierarchical level through the consumption of activewear

ICS Materials

This present book covers a series of outstanding reputation researchers’ contributions on the topic of ICS Materials: a new class of emerging materials with properties and qualities concerning interactivity, connectivity and intelligence. In the general framework of ICS Materials’ domain, each chapter deals with a specific aspect following the characteristic perspective of each researcher. As result, methods, tools, guidelines emerged that are relevant and applicable to several contexts such as product, interaction design, materials science and many more

Risk Exposure to Particles – including Legionella pneumophila – emitted during Showering with Water-Saving Showers

The increase in legionellosis incidence in the general population in recent years calls for a better characterization of the sources of infection, such as showering. Water-efficient shower systems that use water atomization technology may emit slightly more inhalable bacteria-sized particles than traditional systems, which may increase the risk of users inhaling contaminants associated with these water droplets. To evaluate the risk, the number and mass of inhalable water droplets emitted by twelve showerheads—eight using water-atomization technology and four using continuous-flow technology— were monitored in a shower stall. The water-atomizing showers tested not only had lower flow rates, but also larger spray angles, less nozzles, and larger nozzle diameters than those of the continuous-flow showerheads. A difference in the behavior of inhalable water droplets between the two technologies was observed, both unobstructed or in the presence of a mannequin. The evaporation of inhalable water droplets emitted by the water-atomization showers favored a homogenous distribution in the shower stall. In the presence of the mannequin, the number and mass of inhalable droplets increased for the continuous-flow showerheads and decreased for the water-atomization showerheads. The water-atomization showerheads emitted less inhalable water mass than the continuous-flow showerheads did per unit of time; however, they generally emitted a slightly higher number of inhalable droplets—only one model performed as well as the continuous-flow showerheads in this regard. To specifically assess the aerosolisation rate of bacteria, in particular of the opportunistic water pathogen Legionella pneumophila, during showering controlled experiments were run with one atomization showerhead and one continuous-flow, first inside a glove box, second inside a shower stall. The bioaerosols were sampled with a Coriolis® air sampler and the total number of viable (cultivable and noncultivable) bacteria was determined by flow cytometry and culture. We found that the rate of viable and cultivable Legionella aerosolized from the water jet was similar between the two showerheads: the viable fraction represents 0.02% of the overall bacteria present in water, while the cultivable fraction corresponds to only 0.0005%. The two showerhead models emitted a similar ratio of airborne Legionella viable and cultivable per volume of water used. Similar results were obtained with naturally contaminated hoses tested in shower stall. Therefore, the risk of exposure to Legionella is not expected to increase significantly with the new generation of water-efficient showerheads

Healthcare status and behavior monitoring based on smart tailored environments

With the increase in the ageing rate in Europe, strategies have been adopted to help this demographic, aiming to enhance their quality of life while helping the optimization of healthcare associated costs. These strategies are based on the implementation of sophisticated systems, namely Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) systems. Ambient Assisted Living is expressed by a type of smart tailored environments that help to assure personal healthcare to any individual by monitoring their daily habits, health status, and well-being in a non-intrusive way, while living independently in a preferred environment, such as home. Such monitoring system is meant to support the elderly population, that with the increasing of life expectancy may develop mental and physical illnesses. Moreover, during COVID-19 pandemic, strict containment measures were adopted by most countries, including the need of self-isolation in the home environment. Older adults and individuals with certain underlying medical conditions were particularly affected by COVID-19, and therefore, the implementation of effective health monitoring technologies and assistive tools were of extreme relevance. An innovative AAL solution is proposed in this thesis, based on the development of smart sensor nodes and algorithms that enable a non-intrusive analysis of vital signs, recognition of daily life activities, and environmental quality monitoring. Physiological data was acquired by smart biomedical sensors expressed by wearable and non-obtrusive devices. Physical and cognitive health conditions were evaluated by monitoring the basic activities of daily living (ADL) through the implementation of indoor localization technologies. The proposed system also integrated indoor environmental quality (IEQ) monitoring solutions, particularly indoor air quality (IAQ), which play major roles in human health and well-being. Furthermore, this thesis research work focused on evaluating the impact of virtual reality serious games on the autonomic nervous system, aiming to identify the feasibility of integrating these virtual systems into an AAL system to stimulate both physical and cognitive state. Finally, artificial intelligence classifiers were integrated in this AAL solution, playing a major role on classifying daily life activities and human behavior, detecting stress levels, and estimating human thermal comfort based on the information provided by the developed sensor nodes. The final purpose of this system was to allow the creation of an AAL solution that integrates a variety of monitoring systems that are essential to human well-being and quality of life. Key elements of this solution include the adaptation of the smart environment to the specific needs of individuals, guaranteeing personalized healthcare within their preferred living environments.Com o aumento da taxa de envelhecimento na Europa, têm sido adotadas estratégias que procuram prestar auxílio a esta faixa etária, tal como a melhoraria da sua qualidade de vida e otimização dos custos associados à saúde. Tais estratégias são baseadas na implementação de sistemas inteligentes, nomeadamente ambientes de vida assistida (AVA). Estes são um tipo de ambientes inteligentes adaptáveis que permitem prestar cuidados de saúde pessoais a qualquer indivíduo, monitorizando os seus hábitos diários, o seu estado de saúde e bem-estar, enquanto vive de forma independente no seu ambiente familiar, como a sua casa. Este sistema de monitorização destina-se a apoiar a população idosa, que, com o aumento da esperança média de vida, poderá desenvolver doenças mentais e físicas. Além disso, durante a pandemia de COVID-19, a maioria dos países adotou medidas de confinamento rigorosas, incluindo a necessidade de autoisolamento no ambiente doméstico. Idosos e indivíduos com determinadas condições médicas subjacentes foram particularmente afetados pela COVID-19, pelo que a implementação de tecnologias eficazes de monitorização da saúde e de ferramentas de assistência foi de extrema relevância. Nesta tese, é proposta uma solução AVA inovadora, baseada no desenvolvimento de nós de sensores inteligentes e algoritmos que permitem a análise não intrusiva de sinais vitais, do reconhecimento das atividades da vida diária e da monitorização da qualidade ambiental. Os dados fisiológicos foram adquiridos por sensores biomédicos inteligentes caracterizados por dispositivos "wearable" e não intrusivos. As condições de saúde física e cognitiva foram avaliadas através da monitorização das atividades básicas da vida diária através da implementação de tecnologias de localização "indoor". O sistema proposto integra também soluções de monitorização da qualidade ambiental interior, que desempenha um papel importante na saúde e no bem-estar. Além disso, a investigação desta tese centrou-se na avaliação do impacto dos jogos sérios de realidade virtual no sistema nervoso autónomo, com o objetivo de identificar a viabilidade de integração destes sistemas virtuais num sistema AVA para estimular o estado físico e cognitivo. Por fim, foram integrados classificadores automáticos baseados em inteligência artificial nesta solução AVA, desempenhando um papel importante na classificação das atividades da vida diária e do comportamento humano, na deteção de níveis de stress e na estimativa do conforto térmico humano. O objetivo final deste sistema foi permitir a criação de uma solução AVA que integra uma variedade de sistemas de monitorização essenciais para o bem-estar e qualidade de vida. Os elementos-chave desta solução incluem a adaptação do ambiente inteligente às necessidades específicas dos indivíduos, garantindo cuidados de saúde personalizados nos seus ambientes de vida preferidos

ICS Materials

This present book covers a series of outstanding reputation researchers’ contributions on the topic of ICS Materials: a new class of emerging materials with properties and qualities concerning interactivity, connectivity and intelligence. In the general framework of ICS Materials’ domain, each chapter deals with a specific aspect following the characteristic perspective of each researcher. As result, methods, tools, guidelines emerged that are relevant and applicable to several contexts such as product, interaction design, materials science and many more

Thermal protection properties of aerogel-coated Kevlar woven fabrics

This paper investigated the thermal properties of aerogel-coated Kevlar fabrics under both the ambient temperature and high temperature with laser radiation. It is found that the aerogels combined with a Kevlar fabric contribute to a higher thermal insulation value. Under laser radiation with high temperature, the aerogel content plays a vital role on the surface temperature of the fabrics. At laser radiations with pixel time 330 μs, the surface temperatures of the aerogel coated Kevlar fabrics are 400-440°C lower than that of the uncoated fabric. Results also show that the fabric temperature is directly proportional to pixel time. It can be concluded that the Kevlar fabrics coated with silica aerogel provides better thermal protection under high temperature

KEER2022

Avanttítol: KEER2022. DiversitiesDescripció del recurs: 25 juliol 202