Assessment Of Technologies Research Articles

Subjective assessment by employees of health-saving technologies at the individual level and in the workplace

Aim to study the attitude to a healthy lifestyle of employees of various professions by means of a questionnaire and their assessment of the health-saving technologies used in the workplace.
 Material and methods. 210 workers took part in the survey. The questionnaire included 24 questions that allow us to evaluate employees' ideas about a healthy lifestyle, technologies for self-preservation of health and a system of health-saving measures at the enterprise. The obtained data were subjected to mathematical and statistical processing.
 Results. The analysis of respondents' responses revealed the formation of respondents' ideas about a healthy lifestyle (HLS), however, the proportion of people following the principles of HLS in each of the two groups formed by industry is low. Respondents consider lack of time, material difficulties and lack of perseverance and will to be the main reasons preventing compliance with the requirements of a healthy lifestyle, and the most popular measures of self-preservation of health are compliance with sleep and rest, annual medical examination. It should be noted the prevalence of such behavioral risk factors in both groups as poor nutrition and low physical activity, which, apparently, is the reason for a significant proportion of positive responses about being overweight, exceeding the national average. Among men of the first group, the proportion of smokers is also high. Insufficient attention is paid at enterprises to ensuring safe working conditions using innovative technologies and collective means of protection. Various ways of compensating employees for working in harmful working conditions are rarely used, as well as means of encouraging and increasing employees' motivation for healthy lifestyle.
 Conclusions. In order to solve the problem of protecting the health of employees and achieving work longevity, it is necessary to tighten the legislative requirements for the introduction of comprehensive health promotion programs in the workplace, the promotion of healthy lifestyle.
 Ethics. The study was conducted in compliance with all ethical standards set out in the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association and the Directives of the European Community.

Internet of Things: Security, Issues, Threats, and Assessment of Different Cryptographic Technologies

Internet of Things: Security, Issues, Threats, and Assessment of Different Cryptographic Technologies

Technological Civilization and Health Impact Assessment of Non-Ionizing Radiation in Nigeria: Review

Technological Civilization and Health Impact Assessment of Non-Ionizing Radiation in Nigeria: Review

The study of the efficiency evaluation of the ventilation system of the poultry house in the summer

With the onset of cold weather, heat transfer through the walls and especially the roofs of bird rooms, unlike in the summer period, increases significantly, which leads to a sharp decrease in warm indoor air. Therefore, in order to maintain the regulatory conditions of the ventilation system, it is reduced to a transitional mode, and then to a minimum ventilation mode. Low ventilation repeatability limits inside the building determine the minimum volume of air supplied by the ventilation system. The economic and production efficiency of poultry farming is related to the premises and climatic conditions, which can seriously affect the well-being of broilers. Heat stress contributes to behavioral, physiological and biochemical changes in broilers, which leads to economic losses.
 The purpose of this study is to influence the annual efficiency of the poultry house ventilation system, mainly in summer, in order to evaluate the efficiency during the reconstruction of the cooling system, that is, to improve the ventilation system of the room, as well as to give an economic assessment of waste disposal technology.
 Energy– and resource-saving, environmentally friendly technologies and technological tools, plastic-type recuperators, a bird droppings removal system, as well as lighting and irrigation processes were taken as the object of the study. In conducting our research, let’s use classical and special methods, including a decomposition method for analyzing the functional use of recycling technology, a logical and linguistic method for assessing the safety of nitrogen during disposal, microclimate technology, nutrition and storage.
 Based on the mathematical model, a computer research methodology was developed to improve the energy efficiency of the poultry house. Using a computer program, the number of LEDs (α=200, I0=20 cd) for an enclosure measuring 66×12 m is N=273 pieces, and the number of LEDs (α=200, I0=20 cd) for a building measuring 78×18 m is N=259 pieces. The design parameters of the illuminators are justified

Investigating the Impact of Completion Time and Perceived Workload in Pickers-to-Parts Order-Picking Technologies: Evidence from Laboratory Experiments

Background: Despite the general impression that digital order-picking supportive technologies can manage a series of emerging challenges, there is still a very limited amount of research concerning the implementation and evaluation of such technologies in manual picker-to-goods order-picking systems. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the performance of three alternative picker-to-goods technologies (i.e., Pick-by-Radio Frequency (RF) Scanner, Pick-to-light, and Pick-by-vision) in terms of completion time and perceived workload. Methods: The Design of Experiments (DoE) methodology is adopted to investigate order-picking technologies in terms of completion time. More specifically, a full factorial design has been used (23 × 3 full factorial design) for the assessment of the aforementioned order-picking technologies via laboratory testing. Furthermore, for the comparative assessment of the reviewed order-picking technologies in terms of workload, the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) is embraced by system users. Results: The results reveal that the best picker-to-goods technology in terms of order-picking completion time and perceived workload under certain laboratory setup is light picking when combined with few items per order line and many order lines per order. Conclusion: The paper successfully identified the best picker-to-goods technology, however it is important to mention that the adoption of such order-picking technology implies certain managerial implications that include training programs for employees to ensure they are proficient in using such technologies, upfront costs for purchasing and implementing the order picking system, and adjustments to existing workflows.

Assessment of Solar Energy Technologies in Meeting the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals Under an Interval-Valued Fermatean Fuzzy Environment

Renewable energy sources, particularly solar energy, play a vital role in achieving the 2030 agenda and sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Africa. While not explicitly addressed in the millennium development goals (MDGs), renewable energy, including solar energy technologies, indirectly contributed to MDGs targets in Africa. Nevertheless, the absence of quantifiable assessments regarding the impacts of solar energy technologies, potentially attributed to limited implementation in the developing world, motivates this paper to evaluate their potential impact in Africa. The analysis, based on a two-level criteria framework and utilizing the interval-valued Fermatean fuzzy analytical hierarchy process methodology, identifies the top three potential impacts as the reduction of CO2 emissions, monetary savings, and the diminishment of air pollution.

Towards low-cost manufacturing of organic solar cells: multi-criteria assessment of fabrication technologies

Solution-processed organic solar cells have recently gained considerable attention and are becoming a future solar technology option. This study is intended to improve the assessment of the operation parameters of these manufacturing technologies in order to propose a low-cost patterning technique suitable for a successful high-volume manufacturing of full organic solar cells. The assessment will take into account quantitative and qualitative parameters, such as technical issues, environmental impact or reproducibility of the fabrication output. Multi-criteria decision making methods will be used to model the problem of fabrication technique selection, combining these techniques with fuzzy numbers which serve to assess the criteria valued with linguistic labels.

Multi-criteria decision methods applied to the assessment of photovoltaic technologies

The aim of this paper is the study and analysis of the decision criteria to be used when searching for the best technology for manufacturing photovoltaic modules, considering both technical and non-technical criteria such as social and environmental factors. Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods will be used for the modelling of the selection problem of the best technology for manufacturing photovoltaic cells. Combining these techniques with the use of fuzzy sets will mean that linguistic labels can be used to value the criteria used.

Plastic-to-energy: Process and economic–environmental assessment of a recycling technology

Plastic waste becomes a major global concern as amounts of plastic waste are rising every year. To solve this problem, various recycling methods of plastic waste have been introduced including a waste-to-energy (WTE). Adopting plastic waste as feed source to WTE process has advantages but it accompanies economic and environmental issues followed by flue gas emission and energy generation efficiency. Therefore, this study developed an integrated assessment considering environmental threat and economic feasibility of targeting plastic waste as WTE fuel while maximizing net present value (NPV). A recycling method with WTE was proposed developing a power plant producing electricity which is based on plastic calorific value and a case study considering flue gas components. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis identified variables that could influence the economic aspects of the process. As results, the FO cases, which secures residual heat through additional combustion reaction as a flue gas treatment method and generates electricity, had positive NPVs of 20.55, 19.90, 19.39, 18.93, and 18.50 million USD, respectively. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis indicates that the cost of electricity is the main contributor of NPV.

Intelligent Technology Assessment of High-Speed Railway Based on Knowledge Graphs

This paper introduces an intelligent technology assessment framework for high-speed railways based on a knowledge graph approach. We employ rule-based knowledge extraction algorithms and a Bert-BiLSTM-CRF model for entity extraction from technical texts. Subsequently, we establish relationships among various entities, constructing a knowledge graph specific to high-peed railways. The knowledge graph is stored in a Neo4j graph database in triple format. Furthermore, we establish a comprehensive evaluation metric system, integrating knowledge graph insights to assess the utility of enabling technologies. We employ the CRITIC weighting method to calculate the value assessment results for target technologies. Simulation results indicate that the training results for word segmentation and sentence splitting are favorable, and the Bert-BiLSTM-CRF model achieves convergence in accuracy, recall, and F1 score after 30 iterations. The technical assessment results in this paper align closely with the actual technological value assessment.

Low-carbon efficiency assessment for Hong Kong's oceanic artificial cities applying the novel prefabricated diaphragm wall technology

Oceanic artificial cities built by reclamation are vital for addressing the future sustainable development of land in Hong Kong. However, traditional cast-in-situ (CIS) construction methods face issues such as significant environmental impacts and low durability, making it challenging to meet the requirements of low-carbon and resilient development. To address these challenges, a novel low-carbon construction technology for oceanic artificial cities is proposed: prefabricated two-wall-in-one diaphragm wall (PTDW). This study aims to address the comprehensive assessment and decision-making issues of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and load-bearing performance. First, the adaptability of PTDW technology to oceanic artificial cities is introduced. Second, the Carbon-mechanics Dual-control Assessment Model-Section level (CDAM-SL) is established. Finally, CDAM-SL is used to assess the GHG reduction efficiency of construction technologies for oceanic artificial cities. The results reveal the following key findings: (1) The Bearing Property Indicators (BPI) of the PTDW-Cavity scheme surpass the CIS scheme across the construction and operation phases. (2) Comparing to the traditional CIS scheme, the GHG emissions of the PTDW-Cavity scheme are reduced by 33.31% (8.65 t CO2e). This reduction is primarily attributed to PTDW technology, which eliminates the temporary enclosure structure construction. Furthermore, the refined PTDW technology significantly decreases the GHG emissions of precast components and enhances drainage performance. (3) The GHG reduction efficiency of the PTDW-Cavity scheme consistently outperforms the CIS scheme across both phases. Consequently, PTDW technology demonstrates significant advantages in load-bearing performance and GHG emissions reduction. The research findings provide a theoretical foundation and applicable tool for the comprehensive assessment and decision-making of low-carbon construction technology for oceanic artificial cities.

A Desktop Assessment of Ozone Micro-Nanobubble Technology for Algae and PFAS Removal from Surface Water Bodies Using Open-Source Water Quality Data

Ozone is an excellent oxidant and helps in breaking down both organic and inorganic compounds; this effect is further enhanced when it decomposes into hydroxyl radicals. Several studies confirm the good performance of ozonation and micro-nanobubble technology in eradicating algae and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances. However, very little is known about the application of ozone micro-nanobubble technology in small-scale treatment; hence, this research aims to assess the potential of this technology. A survey was performed to obtain the water quality parameters of some selected water bodies via relevant open-source databases. The water quality was compared against the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) guidelines to identify those that did not meet the criteria and it was identified that 18% of the surface water bodies were below the recommended guidelines. The identified water sources were then used for the treatment simulation, which applies the literature-reported % removal of water quality parameters to predict the effectiveness of ozone micro-nanobubble technology for the selected water sources in this study. Furthermore, the time (dose) that is needed for the treatment using this technology was estimated based on the surface area of the water bodies. The scalability study was conducted to assess how many water bodies could be treated within a day using a 50 m3/h flow rate, which yielded a value of 27%. It was concluded that ozone micro-nanobubble technology can treat algae and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances in surface waters as part of their treatment process by reducing treatment frequency and environmental impacts. By observing the benefits of ozone micro-nanobubble technology, there is a considerable chance that the surface water bodies in the City of Salisbury and, therefore, other small-scale water treatment plants, will be healthier after undergoing this process. This study demonstrated the advantages of applying open-source water quality data as a quick approximation of the evaluation of new treatment techniques, which will help engineers to better predict the performance of the designed field trials.

Responsible innovation in CDR: designing sustainable national Greenhouse Gas Removal policies in a fragmented and polycentric governance system

In the assessment of climate policies, the social sciences are sometimes assigned a restricted instrumental role, focused on understanding and mitigating social and political “constraints” seen to impede the fullest achievement of a particular technological imaginary. The work presented in this paper draws on an alternative intellectual tradition, in which the technical, social and political dimensions of the problem are seen as closely intertwined, shaped by values and interests specific to each jurisdiction. The Greenhouse Gas Removal Instruments and Policies Project (GRIP), applied this approach to the design of policies for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) in the United Kingdom. GRIP explored what policy incentives and pathways might improve the societal assessment of different CDR technologies for further development and potential deployment. Here we analyze the views of UK policy actors questioned on different CDR options, and outline policy pathways to incentivize the research and demonstration processes necessary to determine what role CDR techniques should play in climate policy. We conclude by discussing recent policy developments in the UK, and the contours of a research agenda capable of supporting a responsible evaluation of CDR options.

Eco-friendly and sustainability assessment of technologies for nutrient recovery from human urine—a review

Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) represent the primary components of commercial NPK fertilizer and are primarily derived from finite resources through complex and expensive processes. To ensure global food security, the development of sustainable and eco-friendly procedures for fertilizer production has gained attention. Humans generally excrete urine containing 11 g of N/L, 0.3 g of P/L of P and 1.5 g of K/L, which benefit plant growth. The recovery of these essential plant nutrients from human urine has become the focal point of increasing research endeavors. Despite the potential advantages of nutrient recovery from urine, this process is complicated, and the economic implications are substantial. Furthermore, human urine may harbor undesirable contaminants, such as pathogens, pharmaceutical residues, hormones, and elevated salt levels, which could be disseminated into the environment through agriculture. This study appraised various emerging technologies for nutrient recovery from human urine, considering their challenges, environmental impact, economic viability, and the overall sustainability of the processes. This review elucidated that most nutrient recovery technologies demonstrated elevated efficiency in nutrient recovery. Nevertheless, a recurrent oversight involves neglecting the potential transfer of contaminants and pathogens into environmental matrices. The complexity of these processes and their economic feasibility vary, with some proving intricate and economically unviable. Given that no singular technology fully mitigates these challenges, integrating two or more technologies appears imperative to address drawbacks and enhance overall system performance.

A Cross-Citation-Based Model for Technological Advancement Assessment: Methodology and Application

Assessing technological advancements is crucial for the formulation of science and technology policies and making well-informed investments in the ever-evolving technology market. However, current assessment methods are predominantly geared towards mature technologies, limiting our capacity for a systematic and quantitative evaluation of emerging technologies. Overcoming this challenge is crucial for accurate technology evaluation across various fields and generations. To address this challenge, we present a novel approach that leverages bibliometrics, specifically paper citation networks, to gauge shifts in the flow of knowledge throughout the technological evolution. This method is capable of discerning a wide array of trends in technology development and serves as a highly effective tool for evaluating technological progress. In this paper, we showcase the accuracy and applicability of this approach by applying it to the realm of mobile communication technology. Furthermore, we provide a comparative analysis of its quantitative results with other conventional assessment methods. The practical significance of our model lies in providing a nuanced understanding of emerging technologies within a specific domain, enabling informed decisions, and fostering strategic planning in technology-oriented fields. In terms of originality and value, this model serves as a comprehensive tool for assessing technological progress, quantifying emerging technologies, facilitating the evaluation of diverse technological trajectories, and efficiently informing technology policy-making processes.

Can an ecological scarcity method for Germany support robust decisions? – analysing the effect of uncertain target values on the impact assessment of energy generation technologies

PurposePotentially contradictory indicators in Life Cycle Assessment cause ambiguity and thus uncertainty regarding the interpretation of results. The weighting-based ecological scarcity method (ESM) aims at reducing interpretation uncertainty by applying policy-based normative target values. However, the definition of these target values is uncertain due to different reasons such as questionable temporal representativeness. By means of an uncertainty analysis, this paper examines if ESMs are an appropriate approach to support robust decisions on multidimensional environmental impacts.MethodsTo assess the effect of uncertain target values (inputs) on environmental indicators (output), the ESM based Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) is combined with a Monte Carlo Analysis. The comprehensive uncertainty analysis includes the following steps: (1) sample generation, (2) output calculation and (3) results analysis and visualisation. (1) To generate a sample, moderate and strict limits for target values are derived from laws, directives or strategies. Random input parameters are drawn from a uniform distribution within those limits. (2) The sample is used to conduct several LCIAs leading to a distribution of total impact scores. (3) The results’ robustness is evaluated by means of the rank acceptability index to identify stable ranks for energy generation systems taken from ecoinvent v. 3.7.1.Results and discussionApplying moderate and strict target values in the ESM, results in substantial differences in the weighting sets. Even though the application of stricter target values changes the contribution of an environmental indicator to the total impact score the ranking of the energy generation systems varies only slightly. Moreover, the Monte Carlo Analysis reveals that displacement effects in ranks are not arbitrary: systems switch at most between ranks next to each other and most of the analysed systems dominate at least a single rank. Technologies with high shares of land use, global warming and air pollutants and particulate matter show a higher rank variance.ConclusionsThe weighting schemes, deduced from target values, provide a meaningful ranking of alternatives. At the same time, the results are not excessively sensitive to the uncertainties of the target values, i.e. the inherent uncertainty of the target values does not result in arbitrary outcomes, which is necessary to support robust decisions. The ESM is able to effectively facilitate decision making by making different environmental issues comparable.

A Unified Integration of Interactive Digital Platforms for Enhancing Performance and Assessment in Technology and Livelihood Education

A Unified Integration of Interactive Digital Platforms for Enhancing Performance and Assessment in Technology and Livelihood Education

Kinematic Assessment of Upper Limb Movements using the ArmeoPower Robotic Exoskeleton.

After a neurological injury, neurorehabilitation aims to restore sensorimotor function of patients. Technological assessments can provide high-quality data on a patient's performance and support clinical decision making towards the most appropriate therapy. In this study, the ArmeoPower, a robotic exoskeleton for the upper extremities, was used to assess 12 neurological patients and 31 able-bodied participants performing various standardized single joint and frontal plane game-like exercises. From the collected data, kinematic metrics (End-Point Error, Hand-Path Ratio, reaction time, stability, Number of Velocity Peaks, peak, and mean Velocity) and the game score, were calculated and analyzed according to three criteria: the reliability (a), the difference between patients and able-bodied participants (b), as well as the influence of robotic movement assistance (c). In total, 39 metrics were analyzed and the following five most promising assessment variables for different exercises could be identified based on the three above-mentioned criteria: smoothness (RainMug (wrist)), mean speed (RainMug (wrist)), reaction time (Goalkeeper), maximum speed (HighFlyer (elbow)) and accuracy (Connect the dots), with the former showing good validity (rho=0.82, p=0.02) when comparing to the patient's severity level. The results demonstrate feasibility to extract and analyze various kinematic metrics from the ArmeoPower, which can provide quantitative information about human performance during training and therapy. The generated data increases the understanding of the patient's movement and can be used in the future in clinical research for better performance evaluation and providing more feedback options, leading towards a more personalized and patient-centric therapy.

Synthesis of relevant information around non-core domains to support Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) for decision making.

Countries fundamentally base macro and micro decision making in the field of health on economic considerations, the budgetary impact of technologies being a major criterion. Nevertheless, the value of the technology of interest and its dimensions are more complex if we seek to take decisions based on the value itself. The use of structured and explicit approaches that require the assessment of multiple criteria that reflect the dimensions of this value may significantly improve the quality of the decision making. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a complementary decision-making tool that is able to systematically incorporate dimensions or domains such as ethical, organisational, legal, environmental and social considerations, as well as costs and benefits of medical interventions, together with the distinct perspectives of the interested parties. The objective of this article is to propose the implementation of analysis of non-core domains, in reports of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies/units. To assess the scientific evidence on MCDA techniques a systematic review was conducted using structured searches in biomedical databases and websites of various HTA organisations. A consensus group was held using the nominal group technique and involving users of healthcare services, providers, managers and academics. Complementary, a survey was sent to HTA agencies to ascertain the degree of implementation of MCDA in their methods. 42 articles reporting the use of non-core criteria for the assessment of health technologies were included in the analysis. From these articles, a total of 216 non-core criteria were retrieved and categorised into domains by the researchers, and of these, 56 were classified as socioeconomic, 59 as organisational, 10 as legal, 8 as environmental and 47 as ethical, while 36 were considered to relate to other domains. The consensus group, based on the 216 non-core criteria obtained from the systematic review, proposed, and defined 26 criteria that participants considered necessary for decision making in healthcare. The consensus group did not consider that any of the domains should be given more weight than others or that any individual criteria should dominate. These approaches can serve as a framework of reference for a well-structured systematic discussion concerning the basis of individual criteria and the evidence supporting them.

Nanofiber applications in microbial fuel cells for enhanced energy generation: a mini review.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) represent simple devices that harness the metabolic activities of microorganisms to produce electrical energy from diverse sources such as organic waste and sustainable biomass. Because of their unique advantage to generate sustainable energy, through the employment of biodegradable and repurposed waste materials, the development of MFCs has garnered considerable interest. Critical elements are typically the electrodes and separator. This mini-review article presents a critical assessment of nanofiber technology used as electrodes and separators in MFCs to enhance energy generation. In particular, the review highlights the application of nanofiber webs in each part of MFCs including anodes, cathodes, and membranes and their influence on energy generation. The role of nanofiber technology in this regard is then analysed in detail, focusing on improved electron transfer rate, enhanced biofilm formation, and enhanced durability and stability. In addition, the challenges and opportunities associated with integrating nanofibers into MFCs are discussed, along with suggestions for future research in this field. Significant developments in MFCs over the past decade have led to a several-fold increase in achievable power density, yet further improvements in performance and the exploration of cost-effective materials remain promising areas for further advancement. This review demonstrates the great promise of nanofiber-based electrodes and separators in future applications of MFCs.