Measuring Baseball’s Heartbeat: The Hidden Harms of Wearable Technology to Professional Ballplayers

Föreliggande examensarbete undersöker möjligheterna att effektivisera order- och lagerhanteringen av surfplattor hos företaget Företag A. Arbetet är avgränsat till företagets varuhus i Barkarby och till de två största märkena på marknaden just nu; Apple och Samsung. Detta är ett ämne som är relativt nytt eftersom det är en relativt ny marknad runt hela världen som har exploderat sedan Apples första lansering av surfplattan. Eftersom Företag A säljer samtliga märkens surfplattor vilka har helt olika efterfrågan, så kan deras order- och lagerhantering bli svårhanterlig. De uppställda frågeställningarna som ligger till grund för arbetet är: Vilken/vilka teoretiska modeller om orderhantering kan bäst tillämpas på fallet Företag A Barkarby? Vilka åtgärder skulle kunna genomföras för att effektivisera det nuvarande arbetssättet? Utifrån dessa frågor har en del modeller undersöks huruvida de passar in i både teori och praktik på Företag As sätt att hantera de mest sålda surfplattorna på sitt lager. Genom att studera deras arbetssätt när det gäller ordrar och förvaring på lagret kan sedan passande modeller appliceras. Fallstudien har till stor del genomförts genom att utifrån studielitteratur diskutera ämnet med personal från Företag A; både från huvudkontoret och från Barkarbyvaruhuset.Resultatet från uppsatsen är att det inte finns någon befintlig modell som passar in till 100% på Företag As arbetssätt, däremot finns det andra faktorer som kan ändras på för att få en mer kontinuerlig och överseende orderhantering. Marknaden för surfplattor är otroligt oförutsägbar och fluktuerar ofta utan något utstuderat mönster. Det enda som har visat sig vara säkert är åtgången av de två mest populära märkena när de släpper en ny modell.Marknaden för elektronikkedjor är otroligt konkurrensstyrd, inte bara i Sverige utan i hela Europa, vilket gör det än viktigare att ha rätt kvantitet på lager. Finns inte det kunderna vill ha så går de någon annanstans, eftersom priserna på surfplattor är densamma överallt.This paper examines the possibilities to make the handling of orders and storage for tablets more efficient for Företag As warehouse in Barkarby. The work is limited to the company’s warehouse in Barkarby and to the two largest manufacturers for tablets; Apple and Samsung. This is a relatively new subject because it is a relatively new market around the world, which has exploded since Apple released their first tablet. Because Företag A sells every manufacturer’s tablet, all with different demands, it makes the organisation of orders and storage quite difficult.The formulated questions which this paper is based on are: Which of the theoretical models about orderhandeling can best be applied on the case of Företag A Barkarby? What measures can be used to make the current way of working more efficient? With these questions as a starting point some models have been studied whether they fit in theory and practice in the way Företag A works when it comes to handling the most sold tablets in their storage. Through studying their way of working suiting models can be applied. The case study has mainly been implemented by after reading student literature discussing the problems with people who works at Företag A; both at the head quarters and in the warehouse in Barkarby.The result from this essay is that there isn’t any model which fits 100 % on Företag A’s way of work, but there are other factors that can be changed to get a more continuous and overseeing order process. The market for tablets is very unpredictable and fluctuates often without a worked out pattern. The only sure thing is the demand with the two most popular manufacturers when they release a new model.The market for electronic chains is extremely competition controlled, not only in Sweden but in all of Europe, which makes it even more important to have the right quantity in storage. If the product that the customers want isn’t available they simply go somewhere else, since the prices are the same everywhere

Real-time sweat pH monitoring based on a wearable chemical barcode micro-fluidic platform incorporating ionic liquids

This work presents the fabrication, characterisation and the performance of a wearable, robust, flexible and disposable chemical barcode device based on a micro-fluidic platform that incorporates ionic liquid polymer gels (ionogels). The device has been applied to the monitoring of the pH of sweat in real time during an exercise period. The device is an ideal wearable sensor for measuring the pH of sweat since it does not contents any electronic part for fluidic handle or pH detection and because it can be directly incorporated into clothing, head- or wristbands, which are in continuous contact with the skin. In addition, due to the micro-fluidic structure, fresh sweat is continuously passing through the sensing area providing the capability to perform continuous real time analysis. The approach presented here ensures immediate feedback regarding sweat composition. Sweat analysis is attractive for monitoring purposes as it can provide physiological information directly relevant to the health and performance of the wearer without the need for an invasive sampling approac

Textile sensors to measure sweat pH and sweat-rate during exercise

Sweat analysis can provide a valuable insight into a person’s well-being. Here we present wearable textile-based sensors that can provide real-time information regarding sweat activity. A pH sensitive dye incorporated into a fabric fluidic system is used to determine sweat pH. To detect the onset of sweat activity a sweat rate sensor is incorporated into a textile substrate. The sensors are integrated into a waistband and controlled by a central unit with wireless connectivity. The use of such sensors for sweat analysis may provide valuable physiological information for applications in sports performance and also in healthcare

A Model for Using Physiological Conditions for Proactive Tourist Recommendations

Mobile proactive tourist recommender systems can support tourists by recommending the best choice depending on different contexts related to herself and the environment. In this paper, we propose to utilize wearable sensors to gather health information about a tourist and use them for recommending tourist activities. We discuss a range of wearable devices, sensors to infer physiological conditions of the users, and exemplify the feasibility using a popular self-quantification mobile app. Our main contribution then comprises a data model to derive relations between the parameters measured by the wearable sensors, such as heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, and use them to infer the physiological condition of a user. This model can then be used to derive classes of tourist activities that determine which items should be recommended

Health and well-being implications surrounding the use of wearable GPS devices in professional rugby league: A Foucauldian disciplinary analysis of the normalised use of a common surveillance aid

Wearable GPS tracking devices have become commonplace coaching aids across professional field sports to enhance sports performances and reduce injury rates, despite the implications of the technology being poorly understood. This study looked at how GPS devices are used and the impact constant surveillance has upon the physical, psychological, and emotional health of rugby football workers. The disciplinary analysis of Michel Foucault was used to investigate how British Super League teams use wearable GPS technology, to investigate the dominant 'truth' that promotes surveillance technologies as 'universally beneficial' to athlete sports performance, health and well-being. Data was drawn from semi-structured interviews with three performance analysts/strength and conditioning coaches at three different Super League clubs across the North of England. Participants confessed data generated from wearable GPS is often totally ignored, despite being specifically produced to protect athlete health and wellbeing. When used, GPS data can become a 'disciplinary tool' to normalise and coerce players to comply with potentially unhealthy physical and psychological demands of a professional playing career. Importantly, regardless of how GPS data was used, the employment of wearable GPS devices was constantly and rigorously implemented. The constant surveillance experience by working players, when mismanaged or adopted as a coercive disciplinary tool, magnifies the uncertainty and fear of failure central to the predominant challenges that arise during a working football career. This leads to the acceptance of problematic norms damaging to physical, psychological, and emotional health. If GPS or other surveillance based performance analysis technologies are to be used in sport, coaches need to regulate or re-think their day-to-day use to avoid creating new harms to athlete health and well-being

Concept and development of an autonomous wearable micro-fluidic platform for real time pH sweat analysis

In this work the development of an autonomous, robust and wearable micro-fluidic platform capable of performing on-line analysis of pH in sweat is discussed. Through the means of an optical detection system based on a surface mount light emitting diode (SMD LED) and a light photo sensor as a detector, a wearable system was achieved in which real-time monitoring of sweat pH was performed during 55 minutes of cycling activity. We have shown how through systems engineering, integrating miniaturised electrical components, and by improving the micro-fluidic chip characteristics, the wearability, reliability and performance of the micro-fluidic platform was significantly improved

Cross-Modal Health State Estimation

Individuals create and consume more diverse data about themselves today than any time in history. Sources of this data include wearable devices, images, social media, geospatial information and more. A tremendous opportunity rests within cross-modal data analysis that leverages existing domain knowledge methods to understand and guide human health. Especially in chronic diseases, current medical practice uses a combination of sparse hospital based biological metrics (blood tests, expensive imaging, etc.) to understand the evolving health status of an individual. Future health systems must integrate data created at the individual level to better understand health status perpetually, especially in a cybernetic framework. In this work we fuse multiple user created and open source data streams along with established biomedical domain knowledge to give two types of quantitative state estimates of cardiovascular health. First, we use wearable devices to calculate cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), a known quantitative leading predictor of heart disease which is not routinely collected in clinical settings. Second, we estimate inherent genetic traits, living environmental risks, circadian rhythm, and biological metrics from a diverse dataset. Our experimental results on 24 subjects demonstrate how multi-modal data can provide personalized health insight. Understanding the dynamic nature of health status will pave the way for better health based recommendation engines, better clinical decision making and positive lifestyle changes.Comment: Accepted to ACM Multimedia 2018 Conference - Brave New Ideas, Seoul, Korea, ACM ISBN 978-1-4503-5665-7/18/1