A design for affordances framework for product packaging: food packaging case study

Since affordances provided by packaging features play a major role in facilitating user packaging interaction, it is important to integrate the concept of affordances into the packaging design process and to understand the interrelationships between packaging features and affordances. A framework is proposed for linking user requirements to packaging design features utilizing the concept of affordances. The framework is accomplished in two main steps; first, determine the affordances required to facilitate performing packaging-related tasks, and second, link these affordances to packaging features. Previous packaging usability studies were reviewed to elicit requirements in terms of affordance properties such as intuitiveness, responsiveness, and clarity of information. The elicited properties represent the affordances of purchase-ability, store-ability, open-ability, reopen/reclose-ability, handle-ability, unpack-ability, and dispose-ability. An affordance structure matrix (ASM) was built to link user requirements, represented by affordance properties, to packaging features, and to appraise the links between them. To demonstrate its functionality, the framework was applied to assessment of a food packaging design. Further, a usability study conducted with 37 users agreed with the framework outcomes. The framework systematically incorporates user requirements for affordances into the design stage, thereby allowing modifications of packaging features to improve packaging designs based on affordance measures

Pallet loading optimization considering storage time and relative humidity

Purpose: This paper studies a 3-dimensional pallet loading problem considering interlock stacking pattern, box dimensions, humidity, and storage time, where overlapping and overhanging are not allowed. Despite the importance of this problem in the literature, our work provides the first method that considers the environmental conditions such as 1) storage time and 2) humidity, and their tremendous impacts on the strength of the boxes, as has been observed widely in the DHL supply chain. Design/methodology/approach: This paper proposes a two-phase heuristic algorithm to solve a 3-dimensional pallet loading problem under real conditions (relative humidity, and storage time) considering interlock stacking patterns, where overlapping and overhanging are not allowed. In phase 1, the horizontal layer configuration is determined by block techniques. Three types of horizontal layers are created based on box dimensions perpendicular to the base. In phase 2, a novel mathematical model is propounded to improve the pallet volume utilization, and stability considering the pallet's maximum allowable height and weight, and the dynamic compression strength of boxes. The dynamic compression strength of boxes is calculated by the modified McKee formula. Two performance measures, pallet volume utilization and stability (load height), are utilized to evaluate the performance of the proposed heuristic algorithm in real-world instances (DHL Supply Chain).  Findings: The results illustrated that the dynamic compression strength of boxes decreases as the relative humidity and storage time increase. The load height changes dynamically along with box dimensions, box alignment, direction, relative humidity, and storage time. Increasing relative humidity and storage time and applying an interlock stacking pattern reduce the pallet utilization, however, enhance the pallet stability. Finally, the proposed heuristic algorithm's efficacy increases as the identical boxes dimensions' heterogeneity increases. Originality/value: It is believed in the supply chain where these characteristics are observed, the implementation of the heuristic algorithm will help them improve the pallet volume utilization and stability

The Interaction Between Physical and Psychosocial Stressors

Do physical and psychosocial stressors interact to increase stress in ways not explainable by the stressors alone? A preliminary study compared participants’ stress response while subjected to a physical stressor (reduced or full physical load) and a predetermined social stressor (confronted by calm or aggressive behavior). Salivary cortisol samples measured endocrine stress. Heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) measured autonomic stress. Perceived stress was measured via discomfort and stress state surveys. Participants with a heavier load reported increased distress and discomfort. Encountering an aggressive individual increased endocrine stress, distress levels, and perceived discomfort. Higher autonomic stress and discomfort were found in participants with heavier physical load and aggressive individuals. The results suggest a relationship where physical load increases the stressfulness of aggressive behavior in ways not explainable by the effects of the stressors alone. Future research is needed to confirm this investigation’s findings

A Design for Affordances Framework for Product Packaging: Food Packaging Case Study

Since affordances provided by packaging features play a major role in facilitating user packaging interaction, it is important to integrate the concept of affordances into the packaging design process and to understand the interrelationships between packaging features and affordances. A framework is proposed for linking user requirements to packaging design features utilizing the concept of affordances. The framework is accomplished in two main steps; first, determine the affordances required to facilitate performing packaging-related tasks, and second, link these affordances to packaging features. Previous packaging usability studies were reviewed to elicit requirements in terms of affordance properties such as intuitiveness, responsiveness, and clarity of information. The elicited properties represent the affordances of purchase-ability, store-ability, open-ability, reopen/reclose-ability, handle-ability, unpackability, and dispose-ability. An affordance structure matrix (ASM) was built to link user requirements, represented by affordance properties, to packaging features, and to appraise the links between them. To demonstrate its functionality, the framework was applied to assessment of a food packaging design. Further, a usability study conducted with 37 users agreed with the framework outcomes. The framework systematically incorporates user requirements for affordances into the design stage, thereby allowing modifications of packaging features to improve packaging designs based on affordance measures.This article is published as Mumani, Ahmad Abdelhafiz, Richard T. Stone, and Esraa Abdelall. "A design for affordances framework for product packaging: food packaging case study." Journal of Applied Packaging Research 10, no. 4 (2018): 5. https://scholarworks.rit.edu/japr/vol10/iss4/5. Posted with permission.</p

An Accurate and Robust Genetic Algorithm to Minimize the Total Tardiness in Parallel Machine Scheduling Problems

This paper uses a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to reduce total tardiness in an identical parallel machine scheduling problem. The proposed GA is a crossover-free (vegetative reproduction) GA but used for four types of mutations (Two Genes Exchange mutation, Number of Jobs mutation, Flip Ends mutation, and Flip Middle mutation) to make the required balance between the exploration and exploitation functions of the crossover and mutation operators. The results showed that use of these strategies positively affects the accuracy and robustness of the proposed GA in minimizing the total tardiness. The results of the proposed GA are compared to the mathematical model in terms of the time required to tackle the proposed problem. The findings illustrate the ability of the propounded GA to acquire the results in a short time compared to the mathematical model. On the other hand, increasing the number of machines degraded the performance of the proposed GA

The Interaction Between Physical and Psychosocial Stressors

Do physical and psychosocial stressors interact to increase stress in ways not explainable by the stressors alone? A preliminary study compared participants’ stress response while subjected to a physical stressor (reduced or full physical load) and a predetermined social stressor (confronted by calm or aggressive behavior). Salivary cortisol samples measured endocrine stress. Heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) measured autonomic stress. Perceived stress was measured via discomfort and stress state surveys. Participants with a heavier load reported increased distress and discomfort. Encountering an aggressive individual increased endocrine stress, distress levels, and perceived discomfort. Higher autonomic stress and discomfort were found in participants with heavier physical load and aggressive individuals. The results suggest a relationship where physical load increases the stressfulness of aggressive behavior in ways not explainable by the effects of the stressors alone. Future research is needed to confirm this investigation’s findings.This article is published as Abdelall, Esraa S., Zoe Eagle, Tor Finseth, Ahmad A. Mumani, Zhonglun Wang, Michael C. Dorneich, and Richard T. Stone. "The Interaction Between Physical and Psychosocial Stressors." Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience (2020). DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00063. Posted with permission.</p