Annals of Scientific Society for Assembly, Handling and Industrial Robotics 2021

This Open Access proceedings presents a good overview of the current research landscape of assembly, handling and industrial robotics. The objective of MHI Colloquium is the successful networking at both academic and management level. Thereby, the colloquium focuses an academic exchange at a high level in order to distribute the obtained research results, to determine synergy effects and trends, to connect the actors in person and in conclusion, to strengthen the research field as well as the MHI community. In addition, there is the possibility to become acquatined with the organizing institute. Primary audience is formed by members of the scientific society for assembly, handling and industrial robotics (WGMHI)

Annals of Scientific Society for Assembly, Handling and Industrial Robotics 2021

This Open Access proceedings presents a good overview of the current research landscape of assembly, handling and industrial robotics. The objective of MHI Colloquium is the successful networking at both academic and management level. Thereby, the colloquium focuses an academic exchange at a high level in order to distribute the obtained research results, to determine synergy effects and trends, to connect the actors in person and in conclusion, to strengthen the research field as well as the MHI community. In addition, there is the possibility to become acquatined with the organizing institute. Primary audience is formed by members of the scientific society for assembly, handling and industrial robotics (WGMHI)

Annals of Scientific Society for Assembly, Handling and Industrial Robotics 2021

This Open Access proceedings presents a good overview of the current research landscape of assembly, handling and industrial robotics. The objective of MHI Colloquium is the successful networking at both academic and management level. Thereby, the colloquium focuses an academic exchange at a high level in order to distribute the obtained research results, to determine synergy effects and trends, to connect the actors in person and in conclusion, to strengthen the research field as well as the MHI community. In addition, there is the possibility to become acquatined with the organizing institute. Primary audience is formed by members of the scientific society for assembly, handling and industrial robotics (WGMHI)

Determinants of online leisure travel planning decision processes :a segmented approach

D.B.A. ThesisThere is an abundance of information sources on the Internet that consumers use to plan and book their travel. This information reflects the fact that travel comprises a significant part of the business conducted through the web. Consumers are sometimes faced with a complex task of making purchasing decisions in the dynamic and fast-paced medium of the Internet. In spite of the importance of travel and the intricacies of the decision process, an integrated framework that identifies the various determinants of the online leisure travel planning decision process and how they interact, is largely absent in travel literature. This study aims to make a contribution by extracting from relevant literature useful elements that could comprise such a framework. It also uses several phases of qualitative research to refine the framework, and then a quantitative assessment of data collected from an online questionnaire completed by 1,198 respondents to test specific components of the framework that deal with online travel booking intention. In the final model building stage, three logistic regression models were compared. The first is a parsimonious one containing key determinants that lead to online travel booking intention. These determinants emerged from theoretical frameworks of the theory of reasoned action and innovation adoption theory. The second Model used strictly involvement, motivation, and knowledge variables that are thought to influence online booking intention. The third Model included a combination of relevant predictor variables from the other two Models. The relationship between various demographics and online travel booking intention was investigated yielding some interesting insights. Consequently, this study recommends these demographic variables be considered in segmenting travelers to find those more likely to book online. The determinants of online leisure travel booking decision processes could be used in conjunction with demographic variables to more accurately predict leisure travel website usage

Deployment of business process automation software agents and the future of work

The thesis explores the impact of a new wave of software application technology that attempts to “mimic” human activities to automate routine and repetitive tasks. The claims made by the technology suppliers is that organisations can reduce reliance on workers by replacing them with more cost-effective software agents (also known as robotic process automation and business process automation using software). The aims of the research are three-fold: firstly, to understand the main determinants that influence the deployment of software agents in the workplace setting and can decisions be explained through existing frameworks and models; secondly, to explore how software agents affect job characteristics, work characteristics and skills; and thirdly, to consider the extent to which the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT) captures the key elements to assess workers’ intentions to work with and use software agents. The nature of the research problem is concerned with analysing a real-world contemporary phenomenon in a natural setting. The research empirically examines the implementation of software agent technology in the healthcare sector through six case studies pre and post implementation in a workplace environment. Participants groups comprised of managers and workers across five departments. To provide structure to capture the data analysis, a logic model framework was used, allowing for a comparison of what had changed between the two phases of the study at each site. The findings suggest that the implementation of software agents is not straightforward, even for simple tasks and it is not something that can be delivered quickly. To understand the extent automation is implemented, a revised five level of automation taxonomy was developed and assessed. Any level of task automation (i.e. taxonomy level 1 or greater) was found to benefit departments and workers by reducing the need for workers to perform the mundane, route and repetitive tasks. The benefits included automation outperforming workers at certain tasks and freeing workers to have more time to perform other duties. The research contributes to the continued debate on the skills required to perform work and on the labour use strategies for automation systems. What remains the same is that workers are continuing to use skills to intervene and perform manual tasks when the automation fails. What is new is the troubleshooting skills workers are learning to fix issues with the automation and what is different is the rebalance of work