Numerical simulation of hydro-and morfodynamic effects of side channels design parameters

Four side channel design parameters are analysed by two-dimensionally modelling the extremes with the numerical software package Delft3D. In order to advise how to minimise the maintenance activity dredging in rivers due to the construction of side channels. These four parameters are bifurcation angle, originate place in the groyne compartment, width/depth ratio and inflow barrier. The amount dredging volume seems most sensitive to the bifurcation angle and the side channel width. Whereas the bifurcation angle also affects the length ratio of the side and main channel, the latter one can also be the dominant parameter. Further research is recommended

Living labs as a driver for change in regional television

Traditional television production and distribution organizations are increasingly being challenged by a rapidly changing technological environment. These evolutions force the television industry to leave their comfort zone. This context in mind, regional television broadcasters often lack the resources, knowledge and organizational flexibility to cope with this external pressure. In this paper, we discuss the use of Living Labs as ‘innovation intermediaries’ and ‘change facilitators’ that foster and enable user-centric innovation development processes, both inside and outside the organization. This phenomenon is approached from both an open innovation and a user innovation point of view. This paper considers Living Labs as open innovation ecosystems, enabling organizations to reach out and collaborate with their (potential) audience and other external actors, but also as an open ‘battle arena’ for the organization itself. The Living Lab process governs different expectations and enables conflicting opinions to come together and to steadily grow towards a mutual solution. Moreover, the innovation development process in the Living Lab seems to have innovation spill-over effects on the organizational level, catalyzing a broader organizational change

Designing library tools: the (un)importance of employee involvement

The growing trend of public institutions to open up data and information to citizens encouraged archives and libraries to enhance the disclosure of their content towards end-users. This implies technical challenges as more and more information is exchanged not only between people, but also between different databases and applications which are consulted by different user groups through different devices and entry points. For libraries, the challenge lies in constructing a properly functioning catalogue which is able to combine a huge amount of information from various sources and is consultable by a large group of end-users in a user friendly manner. Based on the User Centred Design paradigm and Kaulio’s (1998) degrees of user involvement in innovation, this paper wants to consider whether involving users during the creation of metadata tools can result in more motivated library co-workers and a more appreciated tool and (hopefully) in a permanent tagging tool

Action research as a framework to evaluate the operation of a living lab

Living lab research consists of gathering user feedback on innovations implemented in a real-life context (Eriksson et al., 2005). This can be facilitated by means of a panel-based approach (Schuurman et al., 2012). Since this panel is vital for living lab research, it is important to know whether all panel members are satisfied with the operation of the living lab itself. An interesting way to capture and act upon the delights and frustrations of a panel can be by adopting an action research approach. Within a participatory action research process, "communities of inquiry and action evolve and address questions and issues that are significant for those who participate as co-researchers" (Reason and Bradbury, 2008). Action research contrasts with many research methods, which emphasize disinterested researchers and reproducibility of findings. Amongst others, Ståhlbröst (2008) already used action research as a methodology within a living lab environment aiming to involve users early and throughout the whole development process, and to design new IT systems from the basis of these users’ needs. But how can this research approach be a framework to get to know your participants’ thoughts on the operation of your living lab? How can action research help to involve as much panel members as possible and to encourage people to share their opinion? Does active research actually result in more practical solutions for a detected problem? In order to capture and solve frustrations of the iMinds Living Lab panel members, a researcher was actively involved in a selection of living lab projects and panel members themselves were inserted in the reflection phase of an action design research from which the obtained knowledge resulted in the co-creation of an iMinds Living Labs website for panel members

Living lab approach for developing massmarket IoT products and services

Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a central concept in both the industrial as in the academic world. In this context, Living Lab research has been shown as an effective means for the design, implementation, development, testing and validation of Internet of Things system’s pervasiveness. However, IoT products are not yet designed based on the needs of a larger, non-technical group of end-users. Therefore, in this paper we describe the AllThingsTalk Living Lab research track in which tangible end-user products are defined to be implemented on an online IoT platform. More specifically, by using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies (i.e., desk research, online survey, probe research and co-creation) and by selecting different types of users (i.e., based on Rogers’ adoption profiles) for these interaction moments, we were able to combine the input of these users to define tangible products that meet the needs of a heterogeneous group of end-users

Full-dimensional treatment of short-time vibronic dynamics in molecular high-harmonics generation process in methane

We present derivation and implementation of the Multi-Configurational Strong-Field Approximation with Gaussian nuclear Wave Packets (MC-SFA-GWP) -- a version of the molecular strong-field approximation which treats all electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom, including their correlations, quantum-mechanically. The technique allows, for the first time, realistic simulation of high-harmonic emission in polyatomic molecules without invoking reduced-dimensionality models for the nuclear motion or the electronic structure. We use MC-SFA-GWP to model isotope effects in high-harmonics generation (HHG) spectroscopy of methane. The HHG emission in this molecule transiently involves strongly vibronically-coupled $^2F_2$ electronic state of the $\rm CH_4^+$ cation. We show that the isotopic HHG ratio in methane contains signatures of: a) field-free vibronic dynamics at the conical intersection (CI); b) resonant features in the recombination cross-sections; c) laser-driven bound-state dynamics; as well as d) the well-known short-time Gaussian decay of the emission. We assign the intrinsic vibronic feature (a) to a relatively long-lived ($\ge4$ fs) vibronic wave packet of the singly-excited $\nu_4$ ($t_2$) and $\nu_2$ ($e$) vibrational modes, strongly coupled to the components of the $^2F_2$ electronic state. We demonstrate that these physical effects differ in their dependence on the wavelength, intensity, and duration of the driving pulse, allowing them to be disentangled. We thus show that HHG spectroscopy provides a versatile tool for exploring both conical intersections and resonant features in photorecombination matrix elements in the regime not easily accessible with other techniques

Technological convergence in audiovisual media technologies

This paper presents the results of a large-scale survey on viewing practices. Data from over 10,000 cases are used to explore the adoption-use diffusion gap and the correlation structures in the frequencies of the use of multiple channels (e.g. linear television, download, Vod) on multiple devices. The results show that although a lot of devices capable of audiovisual playback are adopted, few (only computers) of them are used to consume television content. Furthermore, in terms of viewing frequencies, the data suggest spill over effects of using multiple devices, rather than a displacement. Finally, it shows there is a stable tendency to use multiple delivery channels within devices, rather than forming a pattern between devices. That is, channels usage frequencies are correlated within devices, rather than scattered among devices