Participatory Design Shapes Future of Telephone Handsets

1995 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 331-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Dolan ◽  
Michael E. Wiklund ◽  
Robert J. Logan ◽  
Sheila Augaitis
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Participatory Design ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Paired Comparison ◽  
Free Association ◽  
Emotional Appeal ◽  
Qualitative Feedback ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
The Face

Telephone handset design has evolved for decades along with advancements in technology and manufacturing methods. Today, a handset could be reduced to a slim rod incorporating a miniaturized earpiece and microphone. However, most handsets look like the venerable K-type handset, such as those found today on many household and business telephones. Should future handsets continue to follow suit, or are there significant opportunities for improvement? Initially, we conducted five focus groups to answer this question. To begin each session, we photographed consumers holding handsets to assess gripping styles. Then, consumers rank ordered six conventionally designed handsets and six progressively designed handsets according to several ergonomic and emotional attributes. They also critiqued the handset designs according to personal preference and built clay models of their ideal handset. Based on this input, our team of human factors and industrial design specialists designed 6 new concepts, then obtained quantitative and qualitative feedback by conducting thirty focus groups in three metropolitan areas. This follow-on research, that included free association, sample handset assessment and, paired comparison and ranking exercises, identified significant opportunities to improve handset comfort, appearance, and emotional appeal. A Kruskall-Wallace H-test showed few significant differences in consumer preferences among 18 sample handsets. Our results indicate that users prefer a handset that can be shouldered, looks modern, feels good in the hand, and conforms to the face. We found that users are receptive to design innovation, but only if there is an ergonomic payoff. We include a discussion of detailed design recommendations in the last two sections.

scholarly journals Lifecourse, immigrant status and acculturation in food purchasing and preparation among low-income mothers

2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 396-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Dubowitz ◽  
Dolores Acevedo-Garcia ◽  
Judy Salkeld ◽  
Ana Cristina Lindsay ◽  
SV Subramanian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Food Preparation ◽  
Immigrant Status ◽  
Food Purchasing ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Low Income Women ◽  
Access To Food

AbstractObjectivesThis study investigates how lifecourse, immigrant status and acculturation, and neighbourhood of residence influence food purchasing and preparation among low-income women with children, living in the USA. This research sought to understand physical and economic access to food, from both ‘individual’ and ‘community’ perspectives.DesignThis study used qualitative methodology (focus groups) to examine the mechanisms and pathways of food preparation and purchasing within the context of daily life activity for US- and foreign-born women, living in the USA. The study methodology analysed notes and verbatim transcripts, summarised recurring responses and identified new themes in the discussions.Setting and subjectsA total of 44 women were purposively sampled from two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, USA, based on (1) neighbourhood of residence and (2) primary language spoken. All focus groups were conducted in community health centres and community centres co-located with offices of the special supplemental nutritional programme for Women, Infants, and Children.ResultsAnalysis of key response themes suggested that scarcity of food and physical access to food purchasing points did not influence food purchasing and preparation as much as (1) limited time for food shopping, cooking and family activities; and (2) challenges in transportation to stores and childcare. The study results demonstrated differing attitudes toward food acquisition and preparation between immigrant and US-born women and between women who lived in two metropolitan areas in the western and eastern regions of the state of Massachusetts, USA.ConclusionsThe findings illustrate ‘hidden’ constraints that need to be captured in measures of physical and economic access and availability of food. US policies and programmes that aim to improve access, availability and diet quality would benefit from considering the social context of food preparation and purchasing, and the residential environments of low-income women and families.

The Long Crisis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Holtzman
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
City Government ◽  
Professional Organizations ◽  
Postwar Period ◽  
Business Sector ◽  
Private Business ◽  
The Face ◽  
New Yorkers ◽  
Over Time

The Long Crisis explores the origins and implications of one of the most significant developments across the globe over the last fifty years: the diminished faith in government as capable of solving public problems. Conventional accounts of the shift toward market and private sector governing solutions have focused on the rising influence of conservatives, libertarians, and the business sector. The Long Crisis, however, locates the origins of this transformation in the efforts of city-dwellers to preserve liberal commitments of the postwar period. New York faced an economic crisis beginning in the late 1960s that disrupted long-standing assumptions about the services city government could provide. In response, New Yorkers—organized within block associations, nonprofits, and professional organizations—embraced an ethos of private volunteerism and, eventually, of partnership with private business in order to save their communities from neglect. Local liberal and Democratic officials came over time to see such alliances not as stopgap measures, but as legitimate and ultimately permanent features of modern governance. The ascent of market-based policies was driven less by a political assault of pro-market ideologues than by ordinary New Yorkers experimenting with novel ways to maintain robust public services in the face of the city’s budget woes. Local people and officials, The Long Crisis argues, built neoliberalism from the ground up. These shifts toward the market would both exacerbate old racial and economic inequalities and produce new ones that continue to shape metropolitan areas today.

Systematic Paired Comparisons in Preference Analysis

1965 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 406-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph L. Day
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Paired Comparison ◽  
Ice Cream ◽  
Paired Comparisons ◽  
Preference Analysis ◽  
Meaningful Information ◽  
Systematic Pattern ◽  
Different Levels

Product tests can yield meaningful information about consumer preferences only when carefully planned and analyzed. This article presents an approach to preference analysis which seeks to reduce some of the difficulties in interpreting the results of product tests. The preference distribution concept is utilized as the organizing framework for a systematic pattern of paired comparison tests using product samples containing different levels of a particular attribute. The usefulness of the method is illustrated by a study of preferences for chocolate ice cream.

Improving Systematic Response in the Face of Homicide: Family and Friends of Homicide Victims Service Needs

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 522-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jed Metzger ◽  
Jeanna M. Mastrocinque ◽  
Peter Navratil ◽  
Catherine Cerulli
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Service Needs ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Face ◽  
Systematic Response

Homicide is a pressing issue in America. This study used qualitative data obtained from focus groups of family and friends of homicide victims (FFHV) to assess and better meet the needs of victims post homicide. The study results posit myriad changes to the systematic response to homicide. The article concludes with recommendations for training and resources, with specific attention to legal, law enforcement, medical, and behavioral health providers.

Features of the Exercise Environment and Body Image: Preferences for Mirror and Standing Positions in the Aerobics Room

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivanka Prichard ◽  
Marika Tiggemann
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Standing Position ◽  
Eating Disturbance ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Eating Concerns ◽  
Qualitative Feedback ◽  
Women’S Preferences ◽  
Exercise Environment

Study 1 examined the relationships between mirror and standing position preferences in an aerobics room and body image concerns or eating disturbances. Five hundred and seventy-one female aerobics participants completed a brief questionnaire consisting of established measures. Women who did not like mirrors and who preferred to stand at the back of the aerobics room had significantly greater body-image and eating concerns than women who liked mirrors and stood anywhere in the class. Qualitative feedback from four follow-up focus groups of 20 female aerobics participants indicated that mirrors were disliked by some and used as a motivational tool by others (Study 2). The preference for standing at the back of the room centred around not wanting to be watched by other people. Taken together, the results suggest that women’s preferences for mirror and standing positions in an aerobics room may serve as an important indicator of potential body image and eating disturbance.

scholarly journals Most Preferred Business Banking Product of HDFC Bank in Trichy City

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 177-185
Author(s):  
Uma Rani T.
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Constant Factor ◽  
Asset Liability Management ◽  
Liability Management ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Rapid Transformation

Change is the only constant factor in this dynamic world and banking is not an exception. The changes staring in the face of bankers relates to the fundamental way of banking-which is undergoing rapid transformation in the world of today, in response to the forces of completion productivity and efficiency of operations, reduced operating margins better asset/liability management, risk management, any time and any where banking. The major challenge faced by banks today is to protect the falling margins due to the impact of competition. Another significant impact of banks today is the technology issue. In this study the business banking products of HDFC bank, that best suits the needs of the borrower were analysed. The Customer feels that loans to be obtained require a process that is extremely complicating and time consuming. This calls for an ombudsman setup separately for the domain. The observation and findings of the study have helped to give useful recommendation to bank. The implementation of the suggestion can help to improve strategies and build competencies over that of their competitors. This study has there by helped me by giving exposure into new concepts in today’s banking scenario as the interface shifts from service to products. There has also been some insight into competency recognition.

scholarly journals Incorporating Metadata in Multibiometric Score-Level Fusion: an Optimized Architecture

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 5290-5305
Keyword(s):  
Skin Color ◽  
Affective Computing ◽  
Biometric Data ◽  
Score Level Fusion ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Biometric Systems ◽  
The Face ◽  
Ancillary Information ◽  
Biometric Information ◽  
Level Fusion

This manuscript presents a review on multibiometrics using ancillary information, in addition to the main biometric data. The proposed method involves taking non-biometric information into account in the biometric recognition process to improve system performance. This ancillary information can come from the user (the skin color), the sensor (the camera flash, etc.) or the operating environment (the ambient noise). Moreover, the paper presents an extension of the adapted sequential fusion framework through a complete description of the method used for the score-level fusion architecture presented at the IEEE BioSmart 2019 Proceedings. An optimized score-level fusion architecture is proposed. An introduction of new concepts (namely “biochemical features” and “multi origin biometrics”) is also made. The first part of the paper highlights the various biometric systems developed up to now, their architecture and characteristics. Then, the manuscript discussed about multibiometrics through its advantages, its diversity and the different levels of fusion. An attention was paid to the score-level fusion before addressing the consideration of ancillary information (or metadata) in multibiometrics. Dealing with the affective computing, the influence of emotion on the performance of biometric systems is explored. Finally, a typology of biometric adaptation is discussed. As an application, the proposed methodology will implement a multibiometric system using the face, contactless fingerprint and skin color. A single sensor will be used (a camera) with two shots while the skin color will be extracted automatically from the facial image.

scholarly journals How and why do Quality Circles work for General Practitioners - a realist approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Rohrbasser ◽  
Geoffrey Wong ◽  
Sharon Mickan ◽  
Janet Harris
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Quality Circles ◽  
Programme Theory ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Preliminary Programme

Abstract Objectives: To understand how and why general practitioners in quality circles (QC) reflect on and improve routine practice over time. To provide practical guidance for participants and facilitators to implement and for policy makers to organise this complex social intervention. Design: A theory-driven mixed method Setting: Primary health care Method: We collected data in four stages to develop and refine the programme theory of QCs: 1) co-inquiry with Swiss and European stakeholders to develop a preliminary programme theory; 2) realist review with systematic searches in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINHAL (1980-2020) to extend the preliminary programme theory; 3) programme refinement through interviews with participants, facilitators, tutors and managers of quality circles; 4) consolidation through interviews and iterative searches for theories enabling us to strengthen the programme theory. Sources of data: The co-inquiry comprised 3 interviews and 3 focus groups with 50 European experts. From the literature search we included 108 papers to develop the literature-based programme theory. In stage 3, we used data from 40 participants gathered in 6 interviews and 2 focus groups to refine the programme theory. In stage 4, five interviewees from different health care systems consolidated our programme theory. Result: Requirements for successful QCs are governmental trust in GPs abilities to deliver quality improvement, training, access to educational material and performance data, protected time, and financial resources. Group dynamics strongly influence success; facilitators should ensure participants exchange knowledge and generate new concepts in a safe environment. Peer interaction promotes professional development and psychological well-being. With repetition, participants gain confidence to put their new concepts into practice. Conclusion: QCs can improve practice, promote professional development, and psychological well-being given adequate professional and administrative support.

scholarly journals Influence of socio-economic indicators and territorial networks at the spatiotemporal spread dynamics of Covid-19 in Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Da Guia Albuquerque ◽  
Jefferson Rodrigues dos Santos ◽  
Angelita Fialho Silveira ◽  
Dardo Lorenzo Bornia Junior ◽  
Rozele Borges Nunes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Brazilian Government ◽  
Basic Sanitation ◽  
Spread Dynamics ◽  
The Face

This work aims to provide an overview of the territorial evolution of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) in Brazil using socio-demographic variables, for the time span between February 26, 2020 until January 24, 2021. Socio-demographic indicators, basic sanitation infrastructure data, and epidemiological bulletins were integrated using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to develop a social vulnerability index (SVI), to estimate the degree of exposure risk of the Brazilian population to COVID-19. The results indicate that the majority of confirmed cases were reported from the main Brazilian capitals, linked to well-developed port and airport modes. In terms of deaths, the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Ceará and Pernambuco were at the top of the ranking. On the contrary, there were some states of the mid-west (Mato Grosso do Sul) and the north (Acre, Amapá, Roraima, Rondônia and Tocantins), that recorded low mortality indexes. The SVI reveals that the states of the north and north-east are the most vulnerable. Regarding the metropolitan areas, it was observed that the main capitals of the north and north-east, with the exception of Salvador, present significantly more critical numbers in terms of dissemination and deaths by COVID-19 than the capitals of the south-southeast, where the SVI is lower. The comparative exception was Santa Catarina state metropolitan areas. Finally, as the virus does not strike everyone in the same way, one of the great challenges is to search for solutions to cope with COVID-19 in the face of very unequal realities. Thus, a reflection on the strategies adopted by the Brazilian government is relevant, while considering the continental dimensions and the diversity of the Brazilian regions, to obtain a better analysis of the more vulnerable populations and social groups.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document