Implementing sustainability in product portfolio development through digitalization and a game-based approach

The aim of this research is to explore if and how digitalization and a game-based approach can improve the usability and implementation of sustainable design methods and tools in a product development process. Based on semi-systematic literature review, advantages and limitations of digitalization and game-based approaches in this context were identified. A previously developed method that guides the implementation of a strategic sustainability perspective in product portfolio development, was then selected and elements of digitalization and game-based approaches were incorporated in its four building blocks: double-flow scenario modeling, sustainability assessment, market success assessment, and portfolio development. The resulting prototype of this method was further adapted after feedback gathered through expert interviews and then tested in workshops with industry and academia. It was found that digitalization was especially useful for the scenario simulation, data management, and automatic visualization of results, while the benefits of the game-based approach were enhanced motivation, collaboration, and co-design of results and solutions. At the same time, drawbacks were discovered, for example related to decreased transparency of how results are calculated, overuse of visualization and extrinsic rewards, leading to lack of clarity and trust in the results. In conclusion, there are synergies between digitalization and game-based approaches that can improve the usability of sustainable design methods and tools, but extensive testing is recommended to avoid pitfalls that can lead to opposite effects. Moreover, recommendations were identified for how to include digitalization and a game-based approach, for example, to enable integration with other tools, maintenance and constant update, to explore the benefits of team-based assessments and collaboration, to add diversity and customization, and to link the game to the user\u27s context, application, expectations and requirements

Control of Diastereoselectivity in C=O/C=N Reductive Cyclizations Using an Intramolecularly Tethered Hydrazone

Cyclic hydrazones are efficient ketyl radical acceptors in reductive coupling cyclizations mediated by samarium diiodide, affording cyclic amino alcohols with controlled stereochemistry at the new aminated stereocenter. This approach has been successfully applied to the stereoselective synthesis of a fully functionalized trehazolin cyclitol starting from D-glucose, where the required cyclic hydrazone was directly obtained by partial hydrazynolysis of a 1,2-cyclic carbonate.Financial support by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Spain (project BQU2000-1501-C02-01) and Fundación Ramón Areces (predoctoral fellowship to A. G.) are gratefully acknowledged.Peer reviewe

IMPLICATIONS OF EU INSTRUMENTS ON COMPANY CAPABILITIES TO DESIGN MORE SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS-PRODUCT ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT AND DIGITAL PRODUCT PASSPORT

In the EU, initiatives with concrete instruments for measuring and storing sustainability-related product data are now introduced in legislation. Based on literature review and semi-structured interviews, this study investigates two EU instruments, the Product Environmental Footprint method and Digital Product Passports, and their potential implications for company capabilities to design and select more sustainable solutions in a strategic way. The results show that these instruments can lead to increased transparency and traceability in the design and comparison of solutions, allowing for more effective collaboration across the value chain. By applying a strategic sustainability perspective, it was found that these EU instruments have major limitations as they lack a systems perspective, do not include a full socio-ecological sustainability perspective, and do not support strategic decision-making. This results in risks for suboptimization and the design of solutions that turn out to be costly dead-ends on the way towards a sustainable society. Research is therefore recommended to investigate how these instruments can facilitate a strategic development of sustainable solutions

La Xarxa de Biblioteques del CSIC : 10 anys informatitzant

En éste artículo se explica el proceso de informatización de la Red de Bibliotecas del CSIC iniciado en 1986, de la situación de la que se partía, la elección de Aleph cómo sistema integrado de gestión de bibliotecas y el balance tras diez años de informatización de la Red

Phase stability of hafnium oxide and zirconium oxide on silicon substrate

Phase stabilities of Hf-Si-O and Zr-Si-O have been studied with first-principles and thermodynamic modeling. From the obtained thermodynamic descriptions, phase diagrams pertinent to thin film processing were calculated. We found that the relative stability of the metal silicates with respect to their binary oxides plays a critical role in silicide formation. It was observed that both the HfO$_2$/Si and ZrO$_2$/Si interfaces are stable in a wide temperature range and silicide may form at low temperatures, partially at the HfO$_2$/Si interface.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure