The process of user-innovation: A case study on user innovation in a consumer goods setting

Manufacturers usually benefit by dividing their innovation processes into distinct phases in order to ensure that the development activities are performed efficiently in an appropriate sequence. Users usually do not apply such structured processes. They follow a more intuition-driven approach. In this paper we analyze the way users improve or develop novel products. The field of our research is a new and rapidly evolving consumer market, the sport of kite surfing. We identified a sequence that underlies the approaches of user inventors. This sequence consists of two major stages, (1) idea generation and (2) idea realization, each again subdivided. We propose that a manufacturer in the relevant product field can significantly profit from more closely observing such user activities: Better understanding of tacit needs which cannot be derived by applying classical market research methods. Learn about the adequacy of solutions from the user. This may guide their development activities and prevent development of inadequate solutions. Collect user ideas as well as corresponding solution knowledge at very low tariffs and increase reputation as a customer-close organization. --Produktinnovation,Produktentwicklung,Benutzer / Beteiligung

Power subsystem automation study

The purpose of the phase 2 of the power subsystem automation study was to demonstrate the feasibility of using computer software to manage an aspect of the electrical power subsystem on a space station. The state of the art in expert systems software was investigated in this study. This effort resulted in the demonstration of prototype expert system software for managing one aspect of a simulated space station power subsystem

A quasilinear transmission problem with application to Maxwell equations with a divergence-free D-field

Maxwell equations in the absence of free charges require initial data with a divergence-free displacement field D. In materials in which the dependence D=D(E) is nonlinear the quasilinear problem 07 c5D(E)=0 is hence to be solved. In many applications, e.g. in the modelling of wave packets, an approximative asymptotic ansatz of the electric field E is used, which satisfies this divergence condition at t=0 only up to a small residual. We search then for a small correction of the ansatz to enforce 07 c5D(E)=0 at t=0 and choose this correction in the form of a gradient field. In the usual case of a power type nonlinearity in D(E) this leads to the sum of the Laplace and p-Laplace operators. We also allow for the medium to consist of two different materials so that a transmission problem across an interface is produced. We prove the existence of the correction term for a general class of nonlinearities and provide regularity estimates for its derivatives, independent of the L2-norm of the original ansatz. In this way, when applied to the wave packet setting, the correction term is indeed asymptotically smaller than the original ansatz. We also provide numerical experiments to support our analysis

Health Care User Perspectives on Constructing, Contextualizing, and Co-Producing "Quality of Care"

Most of the research on health care user “quality of care” perspectives seeks discrete and measurable indicators to advance quality improvement (QI) goals. This lacks sufficiently grounded query about the meaning of “quality of care” for health users, and how context influences their ideas and experiences. We studied this between 2010 and 2011, repeatedly interviewing and shadowing 45 individuals in three of New York’s hospital-based outpatient HIV care settings during routine visits. We found participants using common terminology, but across the cohort meaning varied and employed personal narratives. Participants conveyed the impact of historic and current experiences of stigma and discrimination on limiting access to care, and showed its destabilizing effects on quality constructs. Participants also felt they contributed to their health care settings’ delivery of quality care. From our findings, we discuss the applicability and implications of “co-production” to conceptualize health care as jointly delivered by typical “givers” and “receivers” of care

Video guidance, landing, and imaging systems

The adaptive potential of video guidance technology for earth orbital and interplanetary missions was explored. The application of video acquisition, pointing, tracking, and navigation technology was considered to three primary missions: planetary landing, earth resources satellite, and spacecraft rendezvous and docking. It was found that an imaging system can be mechanized to provide a spacecraft or satellite with a considerable amount of adaptability with respect to its environment. It also provides a level of autonomy essential to many future missions and enhances their data gathering ability. The feasibility of an autonomous video guidance system capable of observing a planetary surface during terminal descent and selecting the most acceptable landing site was successfully demonstrated in the laboratory. The techniques developed for acquisition, pointing, and tracking show promise for recognizing and tracking coastlines, rivers, and other constituents of interest. Routines were written and checked for rendezvous, docking, and station-keeping functions

Study and simulation results for video landmark acquisition and tracking technology (Vilat-2)

The results of several investigations and hardware developments which supported new technology for Earth feature recognition and classification are described. Data analysis techniques and procedures were developed for processing the Feature Identification and Location Experiment (FILE) data. This experiment was flown in November 1981, on the second Shuttle flight and a second instrument, designed for aircraft flights, was flown over the United States in 1981. Ground tests were performed to provide the basis for designing a more advanced version (four spectral bands) of the FILE which would be capable of classifying clouds and snow (and possibly ice) as distinct features, in addition to the features classified in the Shuttle experiment (two spectral bands). The Shuttle instrument classifies water, bare land, vegetation, and clouds/snow/ice (grouped)

Priming third-party social exclusion does not elicit children's inclusion of out-group members

This study investigates how culture and priming 3- to 7-year-old children (N = 186) with third-party social exclusion affects their subsequent inclusion of out-group members. Children in societies that tend to value social independence (Germany, New Zealand) and interdependence (Northern Cyprus) were randomly assigned to minimal groups. Next, they watched video stimuli depicting third-party social exclusion (exclusion condition) or neutral content (control condition). We assessed children's recognition of the social exclusion expressed in the priming videos and their understanding of the emotional consequences thereof. We furthermore assessed children's inclusion behaviour in a ball-tossing game in which participants could include an out-group agent into an in-group interplay. Children across societies detected third-party social exclusion and ascribed lower mood to excluded than non-excluded protagonists. Children from Germany and New Zealand were more likely to include the out-group agent into the in-group interaction than children from Northern Cyprus. Children's social inclusion remained unaffected by their exposure to third-party social exclusion primes. These results suggest that children from diverse societies recognize social exclusion and correctly forecast its negative emotional consequences, but raise doubt on the notion that social exclusion exposure affects subsequent social inclusion

Associations Between Hearing Performance and Physiological Measures - An Overview and Outlook

The current paper summarises the research investigating associations between physiological data and hearing performance. An overview of state-of-the-art research and literature is given as well as promising directions for associations between physiological data and data regarding hearing loss and hearing performance. The physiological parameters included in this paper are: electrodermal activity, heart rate variability, blood pressure, blood oxygenation and respiratory rate. Furthermore, the environmental and behavioural measurements of physical activity and body mass index, alcohol consumption and smoking have been included. So far, only electrodermal activity and heart rate variability are physiological signals simultaneously associated with hearing loss or hearing performance. Initial findings suggest blood pressure and respiratory rate to be the most promising physiological measures that relate to hearing loss and hearing performance