How design for Wellbeing can affect the Vasomotor symptoms of Menopausal Women through the use of Biofeedback Technology

Research addressing therapeutic interventions for menopausal vasomotor symptoms has received comparatively less attention than other medical domains, resulting in limited successful outcomes and potential side effects. This study explored the impact of well-being-oriented design, employing biofeedback technology on menopausal vasomotor symptoms. Menopause constitutes a critical phase in a woman's life, often accompanied by vasomotor symptoms that adversely affect well-being. This investigation aimed to assess the viability of utilising biofeedback technology to modulate body temperature, employing a novel framework, thereby enhancing well-being among menopausal women. Through co-creation workshops, an alternative design approach was developed and subsequently tested to ascertain its potential for improving well-being in menopausal women. The outcomes of these tests were comprehensively evaluated to discern the implications and significance of the results. This research culminated in an examination of whether biofeedback technology could effectively mitigate vasomotor symptoms and consequently enhance the well-being of menopausal women. Key investigations revolved around refining the utilisation and triggers of biofeedback to alleviate vasomotor symptoms. A connection was established between increased heart rate and impending hot flushes. A novel wearable design, located on the dorsal side of the wrist, was developed to monitor heart rate and initiate cooling, thereby reducing both heart rate and body temperature. Furthermore, the adaptability of this design for nocturnal symptom alleviation was explored, revealing its efficacy in mitigating vasomotor symptoms during both day and night through localised cooling. This study's contribution to knowledge encompasses the development of a novel methodology that integrates Software Development and Information Design processes to 3 devise an innovative wearable product. The ID-Agile method, born from a rigorous 4-stage design and evaluation process, yielded a refined conceptual framework that demonstrated the feasibility of localised cooling pre-emptively minimising vasomotor symptoms. The outcome manifested as reductions in both perceived and actual body temperatures, supported by empirical evidence in both physiological and cognitive data. Ultimately, this research underscores the pivotal role of biofeedback in diminishing vasomotor symptoms and fostering enhanced well-being during the menopausal transition. The implications of this study extend towards ameliorating the quality of life for women throughout the menopausal and post-menopausal phases. The design approach outlined herein holds the potential to redefine wearable technology development and significantly impact women's health during this crucial life stage

Food industry digitalization: from challenges and trends to opportunities and solutions

Over the last years, manufacturing companies have to face several challenges, mainly related to the volatility of the demand and to the continuously changing requirements, both from the customers and suppliers. In the meantime, new technological roadmaps and suggested interventions in manufacturing systems have been implemented. These solutions aim to exploit the high innovation and economic potential resulting from the continuing impact of rapidly advancing information and communication technology (ICT) in industry. This paper explores these topics focusing on the food sector. Indeed, companies belonging to this industry are facing global challenges, which can be met with the support of the information technologies (IT). The overall goal of this study is to help food companies toward digitalization, with a particular focus on the design and manufacturing processes. From the methodological point of view, Case Study has been used as research method. Furthermore, a questionnaire characterized by the different elements of the Manufacturing Value Modelling Methodology (MVMM) has been developed and used to gather information from companies. A framework for the digitalization process in the food industry has been developed basing on the results of a preliminary literature review and of different focus groups. On completion of the aforementioned framework, a list of enabling technologies has been discussed. These represent the technological solutions for the specific food issues highlighted by the framework. Finally, a case study has been accomplished in order to test and validate the contents\u2019 framework

Food industry digitalization: from challenges and trends to opportunities and solutions

Over the last years, manufacturing companies have to face several challenges, mainly related to the volatility of the demand and to the continuously changing requirements, both from the customers and suppliers. In the meantime, new technological roadmaps and suggested interventions in manufacturing systems have been implemented. These solutions aim to exploit the high innovation and economic potential resulting from the continuing impact of rapidly advancing information and communication technology (ICT) in industry. This paper explores these topics focusing on the food sector. Indeed, companies belonging to this industry are facing global challenges, which can be met with the support of the information technologies (IT). The overall goal of this study is to help food companies toward digitalization, with a particular focus on the design and manufacturing processes. From the methodological point of view, Case Study has been used as research method. Furthermore, a questionnaire characterized by the different elements of the Manufacturing Value Modelling Methodology (MVMM) has been developed and used to gather information from companies. A framework for the digitalization process in the food industry has been developed basing on the results of a preliminary literature review and of different focus groups. On completion of the aforementioned framework, a list of enabling technologies has been discussed. These represent the technological solutions for the specific food issues highlighted by the framework. Finally, a case study has been accomplished in order to test and validate the contents' framework. (C) 2018, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Determining supply chain practices and strategies of light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa

This study determined whether local manufacturers of light vehicles in South Africa employ supply chain best practices and strategies. The research design employed was a combination of exploratory and descriptive research design using qualitative and quantitative approaches based on a survey of light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa. A face-to–face, semi-structured interview questionnaire was used, based on purposive sampling. Descriptive statistics using SPSS software were used for the data analysis and interpretation. The findings of the study revealed that across the supply chain, best practices were implemented to a large extent by all manufacturers. Light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa, however face supply chain challenges, which include technological, infrastructural, cost, market/service and production/skills challenges. The most important supply chain performance indicator that contributes to optimisation of performance is quality, followed by final product delivery reliability, and then cost and supplier reliability. All the manufacturers followed a lean strategy for their inbound supply chain and some had a lean supply chain strategy for their outbound supply chain. A number of them also had an agile supply chain strategy in the outbound supply chain which suggests a leagile supply chain strategy. It was also found that in some instances there was a mismatch between strategies and practices in the area of product characteristics, manufacturing characteristics and the decision drivers of supply chain. One of the conclusions of the study was that local manufacturers of light vehicles do not always make decisions and implement practices in line with their chosen supply chain strategies. The study concluded by developing a framework for determining supply chain best practices in line with a chosen strategy that could guide supply chain managers (in locally manufactured light vehicles) in the automotive in South Africa in their decision making.Business ManagementD. Com. (Business Management

Governing data and digital platforms: regulations, competition and industrial policies, with sectoral case studies from South Africa

This paper addresses the implications of digital platforms for middle-income countries seeking to build advanced productive capabilities. To do so it develops a new ‘Digital Platform Dynamics’ framework to consider platform functions and platform power in value creation and value extraction along with the potential roles for regulation, competition and industrial policies. The highly heterogeneous nature of digital platforms is considered along with the ways in which value is created and extracted, drawing from international competition cases and inquiries. The framework is developed from a review of the economics of digital platforms and the key development challenges facing countries in overcoming a ‘middle-income technology trap’. To build on local productive capabilities, countries have to link into global value chains, where digital platforms are increasingly important in keeping pace with technological developments, while linking back to local production systems to ensure that dynamic efficiencies are realised. We argue that this requires an ‘entrepreneurial-regulatory state’ to engage with the power and potential of the global digital platforms. The issues identified are considered in the case of South Africa drawing on an established research base on the effects of digitalisation and the importance of platforms in different sectors. We find that South Africa has established competition authorities and industrial capabilities, along with local digital platforms, however, it is grappling with an integrated strategy which aligns competition, regulation and industrial policies for value creation and capture in support of local economic activity. The South Africa sectoral cases highlight the relevance of the Digital Platform Dynamics framework in governing and capturing opportunities from digital platforms in processes of digital industrial development

A Study of Sustainability in the Oil and Gas Supply Chain

There is a general consensus that human activity has significant impact on global climate change with significant consequences to the environment. Although there has been relatively limited research on the relationship between corporate environmental performance and corporate financial performance, empirical of the relationship between proactive corporate climate change strategies and economic performance is still in need of clear delineation. It is in light of this hat this research examines the impacts of sustainability adoption on competitive performance of oil and gas companies. The research explores the notion of market driven sustainability by establishing an empirical link between sustainable supply chains characteristics and organisational competitiveness. The overall aim is to develop an empirical model of sustainable supply chain characteristics that improves resource utilisation, profit maximization and competitiveness in the oil and gas industry. The research reviews existing literature on supply chain management, sustainability and competitive objectives in order to generate an appropriate and adequate context for relevant analytical investigations. Primary data on sustainability and its impacts on organisational performance were collected from UK and gas industry through survey by questionnaire. The results show that the most significant drivers of sustainability are the desire to conserve energy, increase market share and improve competiveness. However, legal and regulatory pressure, in contrast to common perspectives in the literature, was not seen as strong drivers of sustainability. The most significant inhibitors of sustainability are inappropriate infrastructural facilities, higher take-up costs, shortage of information on sustainability and employees lack of environmental awareness. The results further indicate that, though sustainability strategies implemented by the respondent firms varied in scopes, these strategies were being extensively and successfully implemented. Generally, the adoption of sustainability in oil and gas supply chain leads to improved economic performance and environmental performance, which, in turn, positively impact organisational competitiveness. These results are of particular importance to managers, government policy makers environmentalists and researchers

Designing Behaviours For Well-Being Spaces

Spaces and their views are changing. The perception of physical and mental well-being is also shifting, especially because of the pandemic. We are experiencing a transitional time where new needs and requirements emerge, affecting human behaviour and the space definition at macro and micro level. New dynamics and perceptions are recognized, leading architects and designers to focus on studying and applying innovative methods. The book explores the radical transformation of living and working spaces, in which the hybridization of interior and exterior requires a new vision able to interpreter renewed people’s behaviours and needs, a challenging issue for the design discipline that has a multidisciplinary nature as well as a multiscale approach for both research and practice. Many examples today demonstrate the importance of the therapeutic contribution of architecture and design, to redevelop places of hospitality and care, and create environments in which there is a deep harmony of space, light, and beauty. The interest in research concerning the quality of life has also increased a lot of studies on the complex question of the environmental perception and the importance of natural stimuli for health in interiors, in which the physiological effects of light and colour are fundamental to balance the of human beings’ equilibrium. In the book we present testimonies of international researchers and designers who propose disruptive scenarios and methodologies to improve wellbeing and mental health conditions overall life quality at urban and personal living level through several examples: the city and the relations with the environment, commercial and hospitality areas, personal spaces, as well as outer space, in microgravity and confined environment, where the astronauts’ experience living in confined environments can be compared to the domestic space and office interiors. Our ambition is to re-launch an aesthetic, sustainable, design-based approach to improve dwelling conditions, trying to implement care into different well-being dimensions – mental, physical, social, and global – looking at the new people’s behaviours, or even, generating new behaviours, through design

Digitising the Industry Internet of Things Connecting the Physical, Digital and VirtualWorlds

This book provides an overview of the current Internet of Things (IoT) landscape, ranging from the research, innovation and development priorities to enabling technologies in a global context. A successful deployment of IoT technologies requires integration on all layers, be it cognitive and semantic aspects, middleware components, services, edge devices/machines and infrastructures. It is intended to be a standalone book in a series that covers the Internet of Things activities of the IERC - Internet of Things European Research Cluster from research to technological innovation, validation and deployment. The book builds on the ideas put forward by the European Research Cluster and the IoT European Platform Initiative (IoT-EPI) and presents global views and state of the art results on the challenges facing the research, innovation, development and deployment of IoT in the next years. The IoT is bridging the physical world with virtual world and requires sound information processing capabilities for the "digital shadows" of these real things. The research and innovation in nanoelectronics, semiconductor, sensors/actuators, communication, analytics technologies, cyber-physical systems, software, swarm intelligent and deep learning systems are essential for the successful deployment of IoT applications. The emergence of IoT platforms with multiple functionalities enables rapid development and lower costs by offering standardised components that can be shared across multiple solutions in many industry verticals. The IoT applications will gradually move from vertical, single purpose solutions to multi-purpose and collaborative applications interacting across industry verticals, organisations and people, being one of the essential paradigms of the digital economy. Many of those applications still have to be identified and involvement of end-users including the creative sector in this innovation is crucial. The IoT applications and deployments as integrated building blocks of the new digital economy are part of the accompanying IoT policy framework to address issues of horizontal nature and common interest (i.e. privacy, end-to-end security, user acceptance, societal, ethical aspects and legal issues) for providing trusted IoT solutions in a coordinated and consolidated manner across the IoT activities and pilots. In this, context IoT ecosystems offer solutions beyond a platform and solve important technical challenges in the different verticals and across verticals. These IoT technology ecosystems are instrumental for the deployment of large pilots and can easily be connected to or build upon the core IoT solutions for different applications in order to expand the system of use and allow new and even unanticipated IoT end uses. Technical topics discussed in the book include: • Introduction• Digitising industry and IoT as key enabler in the new era of Digital Economy• IoT Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda• IoT in the digital industrial context: Digital Single Market• Integration of heterogeneous systems and bridging the virtual, digital and physical worlds• Federated IoT platforms and interoperability• Evolution from intelligent devices to connected systems of systems by adding new layers of cognitive behaviour, artificial intelligence and user interfaces.• Innovation through IoT ecosystems• Trust-based IoT end-to-end security, privacy framework• User acceptance, societal, ethical aspects and legal issues• Internet of Things Application

Development of a lean principles framework for ERP implementation process

The aim of this research is to develop a novel framework based on lean principles and tools to be exploited in managing ERP implementation processes in order to enhance the overall success rate of the implementation project, which in turn minimises cost and time overruns. The framework consists of three stages built in a logical sequence taking into consideration the requirements of ERP projects implementations and the lean transformation principles. The first stage starts with an assessment model to measure the organisational readiness for implementing ERP system using leanness assessment approach. The second stage of the framework introduces the use of the Obeya lean tool along with a change management model to help visualize and streamlining the process of ERP implementation. In the final stage, a value stream mapping technique is used to identify potential waste occurrence and eliminate non-value adding activities from the process. As a result, a new eight stages ERP implementation process is developed and presented with descriptions on the activities encompassed in each stage. A research methodology consisting of four major phases was employed to attain the targeted objectives of the research; beginning with project initiation and contextual definition followed by data collection and field study. The data acquired from the previous two phases were used to conduct a thorough analysis from which key findings were drawn and used in the creative development of the readiness assessment model and the framework. Finally, elementary aspects of the framework were put to scrutiny through live case studies and professional expert judgement. The author made use of both qualitative and quantitative research measures. A validation for the ERP readiness assessment model is conducted initially on three case studies, and then the whole framework is validated through two other case studies and experts’ judgments. The results and overall feedback reflected a high level of acceptance of the framework structure and approach. The novel framework has the capability to improve the ERP implementation process providing it is utilised fully. It helps organisation to successfully deliver ERP systems on time, on budget, and with the required functionalities with high-level of acceptance from all stakeholders

Designing Behaviours For Well-Being Spaces

Spaces and their views are changing. The perception of physical and mental well-being is also shifting, especially because of the pandemic. We are experiencing a transitional time where new needs and requirements emerge, affecting human behaviour and the space definition at macro and micro level. New dynamics and perceptions are recognized, leading architects and designers to focus on studying and applying innovative methods. The book explores the radical transformation of living and working spaces, in which the hybridization of interior and exterior requires a new vision able to interpreter renewed people’s behaviours and needs, a challenging issue for the design discipline that has a multidisciplinary nature as well as a multiscale approach for both research and practice. Many examples today demonstrate the importance of the therapeutic contribution of architecture and design, to redevelop places of hospitality and care, and create environments in which there is a deep harmony of space, light, and beauty. The interest in research concerning the quality of life has also increased a lot of studies on the complex question of the environmental perception and the importance of natural stimuli for health in interiors, in which the physiological effects of light and colour are fundamental to balance the of human beings’ equilibrium. In the book we present testimonies of international researchers and designers who propose disruptive scenarios and methodologies to improve wellbeing and mental health conditions overall life quality at urban and personal living level through several examples: the city and the relations with the environment, commercial and hospitality areas, personal spaces, as well as outer space, in microgravity and confined environment, where the astronauts’ experience living in confined environments can be compared to the domestic space and office interiors. Our ambition is to re-launch an aesthetic, sustainable, design-based approach to improve dwelling conditions, trying to implement care into different well-being dimensions – mental, physical, social, and global – looking at the new people’s behaviours, or even, generating new behaviours, through design