scholarly journals Occupational exoskeletons: A roadmap toward large-scale adoption. Methodology and challenges of bringing exoskeletons to workplaces

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Crea ◽  
Philipp Beckerle ◽  
Michiel De Looze ◽  
Kevin De Pauw ◽  
Lorenzo Grazi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Specific Work ◽  
Safety Standards ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
Large Scale Field ◽  
Standards And Regulations ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract The large-scale adoption of occupational exoskeletons (OEs) will only happen if clear evidence of effectiveness of the devices is available. Performing product-specific field validation studies would allow the stakeholders and decision-makers (e.g., employers, ergonomists, health, and safety departments) to assess OEs’ effectiveness in their specific work contexts and with experienced workers, who could further provide useful insights on practical issues related to exoskeleton daily use. This paper reviews present-day scientific methods for assessing the effectiveness of OEs in laboratory and field studies, and presents the vision of the authors on a roadmap that could lead to large-scale adoption of this technology. The analysis of the state-of-the-art shows methodological differences between laboratory and field studies. While the former are more extensively reported in scientific papers, they exhibit limited generalizability of the findings to real-world scenarios. On the contrary, field studies are limited in sample sizes and frequently focused only on subjective metrics. We propose a roadmap to promote large-scale knowledge-based adoption of OEs. It details that the analysis of the costs and benefits of this technology should be communicated to all stakeholders to facilitate informed decision making, so that each stakeholder can develop their specific role regarding this innovation. Large-scale field studies can help identify and monitor the possible side-effects related to exoskeleton use in real work situations, as well as provide a comprehensive scientific knowledge base to support the revision of ergonomics risk-assessment methods, safety standards and regulations, and the definition of guidelines and practices for the selection and use of OEs.

Institutional Ethnography and Exploring the Social

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 119-140
Author(s):  
Amal Adel Abdrabo
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Institutional Ethnography ◽  
Sociological Perspective ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
The Social ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Egyptian Government ◽  
Global Agenda ◽  
Developmental Policies ◽  
The Relationship

There is a new trend taking place in Egypt over the last decades that is attempting to establish a new culture of development arguing for a knowledge-based development of Egyptian society. Consequently, Egyptian society has begun to witness the emergence of different policies, national strategies, and mega development projects that try to translate these policies into reality. But the question that remains is what type of knowledge, and in which context, should be developed? In this vein, this research serves two purposes. First, it contests the notion of knowledge while using a new method of inquiry that creates an opening for an alternative-more-humanized sociology that opposes the dominant sociological perspective that studies people as quantitative objects. The research uses institutional ethnography to provide new-actor-related insights and interpretations while exploring the social momentum within Egyptian society. Second, the research seeks to investigate the relationship between the desire to transform Egypt into a knowledge-based society through the knowledge precincts projects, following the global agenda, and the creation of a political, social, and cultural environment that allows knowledge to thrive, leading to more social justice and equity. In the end, the research asks: What is the definition of ‘knowledge' provided by the Egyptian government through its different developmental policies? How does it function inside the knowledge precincts projects? It also asks: Does Egypt's commitment to large scale programs through knowledge precincts reveal an authoritarian inclination?

Effects of oviposition by periodical cicadas on tree growth

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (9) ◽  
pp. 1688-1697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Clay ◽  
Angela L. Shelton ◽  
Chuck Winkle
Keyword(s):  
Tree Growth ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Detectable Effect ◽  
Periodical Cicadas ◽  
Annual Growth Rings ◽  
Large Scale Field ◽  
Successional Forests ◽  
Long Term Impact

Periodical cicadas ( Magicicada spp.) occur at very high densities and synchronously emerge from underground every 13 or 17 years. During the emergence, adults lay eggs in tree branches, causing significant damage; however, the long-term impact of this damage is unknown. We conducted two large-scale field studies during the 2004 emergence of one brood (Brood X) to measure the growth of trees in relation to oviposition damage by periodical cicadas. In the first experiment, we netted areas to exclude cicadas from plots in 15 early successional forests and then measured trunk circumference for 3 years on more than 4000 trees of 52 species. In this experiment, oviposition had no detectable effect on the growth rates of trees. In the second study, we measured oviposition on 12 common tree species across six sites. We then measured the annual growth rings of these trees for 3 years after the emergence. In this experiment, oviposition was correlated with a slightly reduced growth in the emergence year and following year when the data were analyzed together, but when tree species were examined individually there were no clear effects of oviposition on tree growth. These data suggest cicada oviposition has little effect on the radial growth of trees, particularly in comparison to other factors.

Do Intentions Really Predict Behavior? Self-Generated Validity Effects in Survey Research

2005 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Chandon ◽  
Vicki G. Morwitz ◽  
Werner J. Reinartz
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Purchase Intentions ◽  
Purchase Behavior ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Large Scale Field ◽  
Reactive Effect ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Measurement Effects

Studies of the relationship between purchase intentions and purchase behavior have ignored the possibility that the very act of measurement may inflate the association between intentions and behavior, a phenomenon called “self-generated validity.” In this research, the authors develop a latent model of the reactive effects of measurement that is applicable to intentions, attitude, or satisfaction data, and they show that this model can be estimated with a two-stage procedure. In the first stage, the authors use data from surveyed consumers to predict the presurvey latent purchase intentions of both surveyed and nonsurveyed consumers. In the second stage, they compare the strength of the association between the presurvey latent intentions and the postsurvey behavior across both groups. The authors find large and reliable self-generated validity effects across three diverse large-scale field studies. On average, the correlation between latent intentions and purchase behavior is 58% greater among surveyed consumers than it is among similar nonsurveyed consumers. One study also shows that the reactive effect of the measurement of purchase intentions is entirely mediated by self-generated validity and not by social norms, intention modification, or other measurement effects that are independent of presurvey latent intentions.

Assessing Insecticide Effects in Forests: A Tree-Level Approach Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

2019 ◽  
Vol 112 (6) ◽  
pp. 2686-2694
Author(s):  
Benjamin M L Leroy ◽  
Martin M Gossner ◽  
Florian P M Lauer ◽  
Ralf Petercord ◽  
Sebastian Seibold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Tree Level ◽  
Biological Traits ◽  
Thaumetopoea Processionea ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Large Scale Field ◽  
Individual Trees

Abstract Large-scale field studies on the ecological effects of aerial forest spraying often face methodological challenges, such as insufficient funding, difficult logistics, and legal obstacles. The resulting routine use of underpowered designs could lead to a systematic underestimation of insecticide effects on nontarget arthropod communities. We tested the use of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for experimental insecticide applications at tree level to increase replication in cost-efficient way. We assessed the effects of two forestry insecticides, diflubenzuron (DFB) and tebufenozide (TBF), on the oak defoliator, Thaumetopoea processionea (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Thaumetopoeidae), and on nontarget, tree-living Lepidoptera. Individual trees were sprayed with either insecticide or left unsprayed, in a fully factorial design involving 60 trees. Caterpillars fallen from tree crowns were sampled as a measure of mortality, while caterpillar feeding activity was monitored by collecting frass droppings. Both DFB and TBF led to greater mortality of T. processionea and lower Lepidoptera feeding activity than control levels. TBF caused measurable mortality in nontarget groups, affecting Macrolepidoptera more strongly than Microlepidoptera, while there was no significant side effect of DFB. The high treatment efficacy against the target pest indicates that UAV technology is well-suited for the application of insecticide in forests. We detected distinct responses to different insecticides among nontarget groups and suggest there is an influence of application timing and biological traits in these differences, emphasizing the need for more ecologically orientated risk assessment. UAV-supported designs can be used to link laboratory bioassays and large-scale experiments, allowing for more comprehensive assessments of insecticide effects in forest ecosystems.

Large-Scale Enclosed Water-Column Ecosystems an Overview of Foodweb I, the Final CEPEX Experiment

1980 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 401-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. Grice ◽  
R. P. Harris ◽  
M. R. Reeved ◽  
J. F. Heinbokel ◽  
C. O. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Balance Control ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Partial Control ◽  
Larval Fishes ◽  
Natural Assemblage ◽  
Definition Of

Enclosures of various sizes and configurations have been employed to maintain natural planktonic communities and to examine their responses to pollutants (e.g. Menzel & Steele, 1978; Steele, 1979). Studies on feeding, growth, and mortality of larval fishes, at times conducted in conjunction with pollution experiments, have also been successfully conducted in large enclosures (Koeller & Parsons, 1977). Implicit in these and other comparable studies has been the expectation (or hope) that a balance could be achieved between the advantages and difficulties inherent in more traditional field and laboratory studies. Field studies offer the realism of working with the natural assemblage with its many interacting components and links, but also suffer the disadvantage associated with a turbulent and advective system, which generally makes the repetitive sampling of the same populations impossible. Laboratory studies reverse the balance; control and definition of the components are gained at the expense of realism. The use of large containers represents a hybrid approach characterized by a partial control over a moderately realistic ecosystem. In the ideal case, the use of large containers allows sufficient control to permit experimental manipulation of (and the testing of hypotheses concerning) planktonic assemblages which are sufficiently realistic to permit extension of the experimental results to the ‘real world’.

scholarly journals Innovation Safety Management by Shaping the Law on Non-Practising Entities (Patent Trolls) in the USA and EU

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-171
Author(s):  
Tomasz Odzimek
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Patent Law ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Knowledge Based Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Law ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Eu

AbstractIn a knowledge-based economy, innovation resulting from R & D activities and subsequent management of their legal safety are of particular importance. Incorrect patent law can lead to abuse in the area of innovation security on a large scale through the activities of the NPE organization (patent trolls). This phenomenon is particularly noticeable in the US while in the EU it is at a negligible level.The aim of the article is to demonstrate and prove by using comparative literature and documents analysis of US and EU, that inappropriate law leads to violations of innovation safety through the unhampered activity of patent trolls, while a change of the law to more restrictive law is a right step to reduce the patent trolling. On the other hand, the author proves that in an area with a less liberal definition of patentability, there are no many violations of innovation safety through patent trolling.

Research on Mobile HCI

2014 ◽  
pp. 76-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Schleicher ◽  
Tilo Westermann ◽  
Benjamin Weiss ◽  
Ina Wechsung ◽  
Sebastian Möller
Keyword(s):  
General Framework ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Context Dependency ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
The Third ◽  
Large Scale Field ◽  
Usage Situation

This chapter addresses the issue of context-dependency in research on mobile human computer interaction (HCI) with an emphasis on large-scale field studies. Based on a general framework that includes all the factors relevant for Quality of Experience (QoE), the authors first show how context affects basic processes on the side of the user as well the system or device. Then the authors describe three own studies where they aimed to account for context in app usage. The first tried to do so by offering an app for a very specific usage situation (commenting soccer world cup games), the second groups related applications of one domain (on-campus service for students) in an app-in-app bundle. The third example illustrates how evaluation of one single app across various contexts can be achieved in a classic field trial. Based on the authors’ experiences, they provide recommendations what to consider when planning a study and finally point out future directions of research.

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