Groups Of End-users Research Articles

Engagement and accessibility tools for pro-environmental action on air quality: the SOCIO-BEE paradigm

AbstractThe involvement of citizens and all stakeholders is crucial in tackling environmental and social matters. This, addressing equity and diversity issues, although challenging, is a necessary condition for achieving positive outcomes and ensuring that no one is left behind. To help ease this challenge, this work presents a systematic approach to ensure inclusive participation and leverage non-technical and technical elements to maximise stakeholder engagement in scientific activities to successfully address sustainability concerns. For that, it builds on the interim results of the H2020 SOCIO-BEE project, a Citizen science (CS) proposal to reduce air pollution through inclusive community engagement and social innovation. As part of an interdisciplinary CS project, an abductive systematic combining methodology was employed, which allowed for dialogue and collaboration between theory and practice throughout the whole process, during which separate groups of experts and potential end-users were involved. The article presents (i) the stakeholder engagement strategy codified in the SOCIO-BEE toolkit as a robust, actionable and inclusive foundation of engagement to CS activities; and (ii) the digital platform UX that allows setting up campaigns for measurements and assignment to citizens, incorporating the requirements for flexibility, accessibility, limited digital literacy, inclusion and legal and ethical considerations. Their combination and mutual interaction aim to leverage the pros of CS and technology whilst reducing their cons to ensure the four pillars of applicability, scalability, actionability, and inclusion. This is supported by the presented hybrid model which combines physical and virtual spaces and individual and collective action.

Tailoring community preventive care to personal health needs: a data-driven and participatory approach

A digital platform with tools for health promotion was developed as a proof of concept in co-creation with all relevant stakeholders involved: citizens, caregivers, and local policy makers, aiming to optimize community preventive care.
 The platform, referred to as BIBOPP, was developed as a proof of concept focusing on prevention and health promotion for citizens, local policy makers but also for primary care givers wanting to offer personalized follow up. To this end, we set up multiple co-creation sessions with different target groups of end users, including those with expected limited digital literacy skills, eg. older adults and people with no or low formal educational background. Based on this input, the functionalities of the tools were designed and developed and afterwards tested with a new group of end-users.
 The online prevention platform offered citizens from 5 Flemish municipalities a digital screening, allowing them to evaluate their health and lifestyle. This screening is the Domus Medica Health Guide (GGDM), an evidence-based tool predicting personal risk for chronic diseases. The outcome of the screening is linked to the electronic medical health record hosted by the general practitioner, notifying the latter in case of excessive risk and involving him in the process of disease prevention and health promotion.
 Based on the personalized lifestyle advice resulting from the survey responses, end users then received an overview of activities and primary care providers in their community, tailored to their personal risk profile and preferences.
 The data collected with consent from the end users, yielded insights on the self-reported lifestyle and health of these participants. On an aggregated level, this tool has the potential to provide data for population health management.
 First lessons learned indicate that the platform did require significant digital literacy skills from end-users, as indicated by the participants younger age and relatively healthy lifestyle (eg. less than 10% smokers, +50% daily physical activity, …). However, in a co-creation session group with older adults, they indicated that digital skills were not a threshold when peer support was available. Furthermore, they recognized that the tool helped them in the self-management of their health and that they trusted the data governance. People with low to no formal educational background on the other hand were more suspicious about the tool and data governance unless this was offered to them through their trusted care providers. Also, older adults indicated that support with the interpretation of the advices by a health professional could be of added value.
 Next steps for BIBOPP now are involving these health professionals, and more specifically primary care actors in onboarding and guiding people to and through the platform.
 To conclude, this data-driven proof of concept co-designed with end-users, has promise to deliver personalized services, strengthen community preventive care, and optimize the local health policy.
 

Barriers to social sustainability in urbanisation: a comparative multi-stakeholder perspective

Social sustainability is a key pillar of sustainable development that usually receives less focus and emphasis when compared to other environmental or economic aspects. This entails the need to address this gap, should the concept of urban sustainability be comprehensively tackled. Despite such importance, social sustainability is considered a relatively difficult pillar to measure, considering its entanglements with the concerned individuals, communities, and stakeholders. This study aimed to identify the key barriers to achieving social sustainability in the context of Jordan. It relied on the opinions of three groups of experts, including academics, practitioners, and end users to reach a comprehensive account of understanding such barriers within a multi-faceted approach. The methodology relied on the Delphi technique by identifying areas of consensus and variance in provided opinions. The Kruskal–Wallis test was then applied to identify the inter-group differences and explore the key causes for such differences. The study concluded by developing a comprehensive framework of identified barriers weighed according to their relative importance considering the provided cumulative feedback. In so doing, it represents a step towards a comprehensive model that would assist in understanding, and later enabling, the successful achievement of social sustainability in the studied local context.

The ‘Other Talk’: a co-design study of board games for cross-generational communication of life-and-death issues

ABSTRACT This study presents the collaborative design experience of developing a cross-generational communication game about life-and-death issues. The research activities involved two groups of end-users from different generations, who were tasked with working together to build tools that would encourage a deeper communication between them. To overcome limited knowledge on serious game design and encourage participation, this study utilises an experimental approach that involves a series of workshop activities following a design circle. The results indicate that engagement among cross-generational participants can be enhanced by involving a small, mixed group and utilising structural design materials in the co-design process. The groups developed a collaborative mode of task-oriented and ability-based division of labour to develop the game. This approach also stimulated individuals to take on multiple roles, that is, users, testers, informants, and design partners, and shift between roles as the group dynamic, supporting materials, and design stages evolve. Additionally, this collaborative process encourages participants to reflect on their role as future end-users when communicating sensitive issues to others.

Investigating end-users’ values in agriculture mobile applications development: An empirical study on Bangladeshi female farmers

The omnipresent nature of mobile applications (apps) in all aspects of daily lives raises the necessity of reflecting end-users’ values (e.g., fairness, honesty, social recognition, etc.) in apps. However, there are limited considerations of end-users’ values in apps development. Value violations by apps have been reported in the media and are responsible for end-users’ dissatisfaction and negative socio-economic consequences. Value violations may bring more severe and lasting problems for marginalized and vulnerable end-users of apps, which have been explored less (if at all) in the software engineering community. One of the main reasons behind value violations is the lack of understanding of human values due to their ill-defined, ambiguous, and implicit nature. Furthermore, addressing all the values of the end-users in a single app might cause dissatisfaction for some of the end-users if they have different values. Therefore, it is essential to identify if there are different groups of end-users of apps who share similar values and develop different sets of apps design strategies accordingly, which is the essential first step towards values-based apps development. This research aims to fill this gap by investigating different groups of Bangladeshi female farmers as a marginalized and vulnerable group of end-users of Bangladeshi agriculture apps based on their values. We conducted an empirical study that collected and analyzed data from a survey with 193 Bangladeshi female farmers to explore the underlying factor structure of Bangladeshi female farmers’ values and the significance of demographics on their values. The results identified three underlying factors of Bangladeshi female farmers. The first factor comprises of five values: benevolence, security, conformity, universalism, and tradition. The second factor consists of two values: self-direction and stimulation. The third factor includes three values: power, achievement, and hedonism. We also identified strong influences of demographics on some of the values of Bangladeshi female farmers. For example, area has significant impacts on three values: hedonism, achievement, and tradition. Similarly, there are also strong influences of household income on power and security. The results provide a direction for Bangladeshi agriculture app developers to develop different sets of apps design strategies for different groups of Bangladeshi female farmers based on their values.

BioChipVis: An information visualization interface for explainable biochip data classification

This paper proposes a new information visualisation interface to help with the reading and improvement of Biochips. The interface serves two main groups of bio-chip end users. Biologists who use the chips to detect biochemical substances can use the interface to read chips and determine the reliability of readings. It also helps bio-chip developers to design and train classification models by seeing how well the different biosensors work and how the data fits their model. The interface proposed uses a Random Forest classifier and visualises the classification to provide a better understanding of how the data is classified by showing how it fits different classifications and how changes in attribute values can affect the classification. The interface also allows model-developers to interact to see how their model works for different attribute values, and shows them how new data (sent by model-users) fits into their classification model. This allow the biochip designers to detect how their model may be limited so they can retrain the model accordingly. The particular challenge with this project is how we manage and visualise uncertainty related to bio-sensor readings (that can be resultant from the manufacturing process and environmental factors) and the machine learning models, so that biologists can account for this when designing or using chips. Overall, our interface demonstrates the potential of information visualisation to be used to allow developers and model-users to better understand the effectiveness of classification models for their data, as well as the potential of collaborative interfaces to help them work together to build more effective supervised classification models.

HARMONIA: strategy of an integrated resilience assessment platform (IRAP) with available tools and geospatial services.

The huge amount of the available data nowadays has raised some major challenges which are related to the storage, fusion, structure, streaming and processing of these data. In this paper, we present the development of a holistic framework, entitled HARMONIA, that encompasses State-of-The-Art solutions for the emerging issues related to Climate Change, natural and/or man-made hazards and urban/peri-urban risks. The Horizon 2020 HARMONIA project is developing an Integrated Resilience Assessment Platform (IRAP) which plans to provide targeted services for different groups of end-users. In particular, it will actively support urban decision-makers in strategic decisions and planning and citizens in facing daily effects and risks of Climate Change. Additionally, the platform will be a place to interconnect cities which end up facing similar Climate Change effects. HARMONIA IRAP leverages cuttingedge technologies (i.e., explainable Artificial Intelligence, Data Mining, multi-criteria analysis, dynamic programming) and services (ie., Virtual Machines, Containers) in order to provide solutions considering the complexity and diversity of extreme earth and non-earth data. In addition, this platform includes a Decision Support System providing early-warning feedback and recommendations to the end-users. In this way the HARMONIA IRAP design tends to address these challenges by offering the corresponding dynamic, scalable and robust mechanisms with the aim to provide useful integrated tools for the related users. Datacubes architecture, which is a major part of the IRAP, offers the opportunity to investigate more sophisticated correlations among the data and provide a more tangible representation of the extracted information.

A non-threshold model to estimate carcinogenic risk of nitrate-nitrite in drinking water

Understanding nitrate–nitrite ( NO 3 − − NO 2 − ) levels in drinking water and the associated non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks are essential to protect public health. The non-carcinogenic risk assessment of NO 3 − – NO 2 − in drinking water has been well documented, however, there remains a knowledge gap in understanding and quantification of the carcinogenic risk of NO 3 − – NO 2 − . This study develops a non-threshold–based model for estimation of carcinogenic risk of NO 3 − – NO 2 − ingested through drinking water for a densely populated urban area with a case study of Tehran's potable water (TPW). In this regard, 200 tap water samples from different parts of the city were taken in wet (May 2018) and dry (October 2018) periods to determine NO 3 − – NO 2 − concentration in the TPW and the associated health risks across different groups of end-users. Sampling results reveal higher concentrations of NO 3 − – NO 2 − during the dry period, which can be associated to the significant contribution of nitrogen–rich groundwater in supplying the city's water demands during the dry period. Findings suggest concerns associated with the non-carcinogenic risk of NO 3 − – NO 2 − in the TPW, especially for children. More than 55% of the samples taken during the dry period show a positive carcinogenic risk for all groups of end-users (68% for men, 72% for women, and 56% for children) whilst just 8% of the samples are deemed unsafe with regards to the permissible NO 3 − level in drinking water, i.e. 50 mg/L. Approximately, 45% of the samples taken during the wet period show a positive carcinogenic risk for adults whilst the maximum concentration of NO 3 − was about 23 mg/L, i.e. two times less than the permissible level in drinking water. The findings emphasize on the necessity of reducing the permissible level of NO 3 − in drinking water, set out by the existing water quality standards , to safeguard public health against the carcinogenic risks. The model developed within this study recommends the urgent need for reduction of NO 3 − level in Tehran's water resources to protect public health of over 13 M population who incessantly use the TPW. • A model is developed to estimate carcinogenic risk of NO 3 − in drinking water. • Non-carcinogenic risk of NO 3 − – NO 2 − was observed in Tehran's drinking water. • Majority of samples taken in dry period show a positive carcinogenic risk of NO 3 − • The permissible level of NO 3 − does not safeguard human health vs carcinogenic risks.

Water Consumption Pattern Analysis Using Biclustering: When, Why and How

Sensors deployed within water distribution systems collect consumption data that enable the application of data analysis techniques to extract essential information. Time series clustering has been traditionally applied for modeling end-user water consumption profiles to aid water management. However, its effectiveness is limited by the diversity and local nature of consumption patterns. In addition, existing techniques cannot adequately handle changes in household composition, disruptive events (e.g., vacations), and consumption dynamics at different time scales. In this context, biclustering approaches provide a natural alternative to detect groups of end-users with coherent consumption profiles during local time periods while addressing the aforementioned limitations. This work discusses when, why and how to apply biclustering techniques for water consumption data analysis, and further proposes a methodology to this end. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work introducing biclustering to water consumption data analysis. Results on data from a real-world water distribution system—Quinta do Lago, Portugal—confirm the potentialities of the proposed approach for pattern discovery with guarantees of statistical significance and robustness that entities can rely on for strategic planning.

Ownership, Use of, and Interest in Digital Mental Health Technologies Among Clinicians and Young People Across a Spectrum of Clinical Care Needs: Cross-sectional Survey.

BackgroundThere is currently an increased interest in and acceptance of technology-enabled mental health care. To adequately harness this opportunity, it is critical that the design and development of digital mental health technologies be informed by the needs and preferences of end users. Despite young people and clinicians being the predominant users of such technologies, few studies have examined their perspectives on different digital mental health technologies.ObjectiveThis study aims to understand the technologies that young people have access to and use in their everyday lives and what applications of these technologies they are interested in to support their mental health. The study also explores the technologies that youth mental health clinicians currently use within their practice and what applications of these technologies they are interested in to support their clients’ mental health.MethodsYouth mental health service users (aged 12-25 years) from both primary and specialist services, young people from the general population (aged 16-25 years), and youth mental health clinicians completed a web-based survey exploring technology ownership, use of, and interest levels in using different digital interventions to support their mental health or that of their clients.ResultsA total of 588 young people and 73 youth mental health clinicians completed the survey. Smartphone ownership or private access among young people within mental health services and the general population was universal (611/617, 99%), with high levels of access to computers and social media. Youth technology use was frequent, with 63.3% (387/611) using smartphones several times an hour. Clinicians reported using smartphones (61/76, 80%) and video chat (69/76, 91%) commonly in clinical practice and found them to be helpful. Approximately 50% (296/609) of the young people used mental health apps, which was significantly less than the clinicians (χ23=28.8, n=670; P<.001). Similarly, clinicians were significantly more interested in using technology for mental health support than young people (H3=55.90; P<.001), with 100% (73/73) of clinicians being at least slightly interested in technology to support mental health compared with 88% (520/591) of young people. Follow-up tests revealed no difference in interest between young people from the general population, primary mental health services, and specialist mental health services (all P>.23). Young people were most interested in web-based self-help, mobile self-help, and blended therapy.ConclusionsTechnology access is pervasive among young people within and outside of youth mental health services; clinicians are already using technology to support clinical care, and there is widespread interest in digital mental health technologies among these groups of end users. These findings provide important insights into the perspectives of young people and clinicians regarding the value of digital mental health interventions in supporting youth mental health.

Values and preferences for contraception: A global systematic review

ObjectiveTo identify and synthesize original research on contraceptive user values, preferences, views, and concerns about specific family planning methods, as well as perspectives from health workers. Study designWe conducted a systematic review of global contraceptive user values and preferences. We searched 10 electronic databases for qualitative and quantitative studies published from 2005 to 2020 and extracted data in duplicate using standard forms. ResultsOverall, 423 original research articles from 93 countries among various groups of end-users and health workers in all 6 World Health Organization regions and all 4 World Bank income classification categories met inclusion criteria. Of these, 250 (59%) articles were from high-income countries, mostly from the United States of America (n = 139), the United Kingdom (n = 29), and Australia (n = 23). Quantitative methods were used in 269 articles, most often cross-sectional surveys (n = 190). Qualitative interviews were used in 116 articles and focus group discussions in 69 articles. The most commonly reported themes included side effects, effectiveness, and ease/frequency/duration of use. Interference in sex and partner relations, menstrual effects, reversibility, counseling/interactions with health workers, cost/availability, autonomy, and discreet use were also important. Users generally reported satisfaction with (and more accurate knowledge about) the methods they were using. ConclusionsContraceptive users have diverse values and preferences, although there is consistency in core themes across settings. Despite the large body of literature identified and relevance to person-centered care, varied reporting of findings limited robust synthesis and quantification of the review results.

Clinical Decision Support for Fall Prevention: Defining End-User Needs.

Falls in community-dwelling older adults are common, and there is a lack of clinical decision support (CDS) to provide health care providers with effective, individualized fall prevention recommendations. The goal of this research is to identify end-user (primary care staff and patients) needs through a human-centered design process for a tool that will generate CDS to protect older adults from falls and injuries. Primary care staff (primary care providers, care coordinator nurses, licensed practical nurses, and medical assistants) and community-dwelling patients aged 60 years or older associated with Brigham & Women's Hospital-affiliated primary care clinics and the University of Florida Health Archer Family Health Care primary care clinic were eligible to participate in this study. Through semi-structured and exploratory interviews with participants, our team identified end-user needs through content analysis. User needs for primary care staff (n = 24) and patients (n = 18) were categorized under the following themes: workload burden; systematic communication; in-person assessment of patient condition; personal support networks; motivational tools; patient understanding of fall risk; individualized resources; and evidence-based safe exercises and expert guidance. While some of these themes are specific to either primary care staff or patients, several address needs expressed by both groups of end-users. Our findings suggest that there are many care gaps in fall prevention management in primary care and that personalized, actionable, and evidence-based CDS has the potential to address some of these gaps.

A niche technique overlooked in the Danish district heating sector? Exploring socio-technical perspectives of short-term thermal energy storage for building energy flexibility

This research explores socio-technical perspectives of the demand-side management strategy of using the built environment for short term thermal energy storage. Here conceptualised as a niche innovation within the Danish socio-technical district heating landscapes, the research explores potentials and limitations of this building energy flexibility strategy from the perspective of district heating sector professionals, actors at the centre of the low-carbon energy transitions. Results of the mixed-methods abductive research enquiry suggest that this energy flexibility strategy facilitates (I) solving local network congestion challenges in smaller parts of existing networks and (II) reduces needed network capacity in new heat supply areas. Sector professionals assess this (III) energy flexibility strategy as most practicable in large-scale/commercial buildings and industries. Challenges include hardware balancing, service and maintenance, and the sometimes counterproductive incentive structures among stakeholders involved. Research evidence suggests that business models appealing to environmental values and priorities may incentivise sustainable heat-use behaviours more than economic benefit alone among some groups of end users. Building energy flexibility and demand-side management strategies may become integral to future ‘smart’ energy systems throughout the world. However, their successful implementation necessitates understanding the local socio-technical dynamics involved. Multidisciplinary research approaches as the one taken here facilitate these necessary insights.

Marine energy transition with LNG and electric batteries: a technological adoption analysis of Norwegian ferries

Purpose The article investigates factors associated with the relative success in adopting two specific alternative marine energies (liquefied natural gas [LNG] and electric batteries) in the Norwegian ferry market. This specific market segment is an interesting case study as its national-flagged fleet boasting the largest number of ships using alternative marine energies in comparison with the other countries of the region and the world.Design/methodology/approach A database tracking the yearly deployment of ships using a different combination of LNG and electric batteries was built from shipping lines’ online information and grey literature. The technological adoption approach was used to categorize different groups of users at each step of the adoption process and identify which factors separate the early adopters from the other groups of end-users. The compiled data allow tracing the changing distribution of Norwegian ferry operators along the conceptualized technology adoption curve.Findings Results indicated that the Norwegian ferry market matches required conditions to pass the “chasm” of uncertainties associated with transitioning to new technology. Some disparities between the adoption of LNG and the electric batteries in the Norwegian ferry markets are observed.Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, no study has explored the adoption of new energies in the maritime industry based on the technology adoption process through a similar perspective. The analysis is helpful to shed light on the barriers associated with a high level of uncertainties when it comes to adopting new marine energies.

Improving the user experience of televisits and telemonitoring for heart failure patients in less than 6 months: a methodological approach

BackgroundWith the spread of COVID-19, telemedicine solutions became crucial to release continuous and remote assistance to chronic patients. The rapid transition to telemedicine solutions did not allow a complete assessment of the user experience by both patients and medical personnel. Despite the well-known benefits in remote care, the lack of usability evaluation of already existing technologies for the vital signs measurement has emerged. A telemedicine platform must match video communication between patients and the medical staff with the possibility to measure vital parameters. Furthermore, technological assistance may overcome the unfamiliarity with telemedicine and drastically reduce the learning time for both patients and medical personnel. ObjectivesThe research work presents a method to improve the user experience of a telemedicine service based on the combination of televisits and telemonitoring with wearable sensors for heart failure patients. Skilled technological staff is proposed by the presented method to lead the learning process of both medical personnel and patients in order to reach a high level of usability in less than 6 months. MethodsThe proposed method is composed of 5 steps: identification of technological staff and end users; selection of the telemedicine platform; design of questionnaires for usability analysis; training of clinicians and patients; final usability evaluation of the telemedicine platform by means of customized satisfaction questionnaires and Post-Study System Usability Questionnaires (PSSUQs). The methodological approach has been tested in collaboration with a heart failure clinic by involving 5 physicians, 5 nurses, 15 heart failure patients, a research engineer and 4 technicians. A platform with 3 wearable sensors has been chosen: a wireless thermometer, a finger pulse-oximeter and an undershirt have been used for the detection of ECG trace. While these devices allowed asynchronous measurements of physiological data, scheduled televisits have been used for direct communication between physicians and patients. ResultsSatisfaction questionnaires of patients and clinicians reached respectively 65.18% and 65.83%, while PSSUQ scores were respectively 91.73% and 81.70%. Both groups of end users confirmed a good level of usability and their satisfaction about the ease of use and the perceived quality of the instrumentation. Moreover, 73% of patients did not require help from caregivers to use the kit of sensors. The results have been reached in 5.5 months according to the aim defined initially. Research engineers have played a crucial role in helping clinicians and patients to improve the user experience with the telemedicine platform. ConclusionsThe high level of usability and satisfaction confirmed that the proposed methodological approach helps to learn the technological features of the telemedicine platforms, which are based on different types of technology, such as web applications, wearable sensors and virtual calls. The positive results with heart failure patients encouraged to plan further research studies by using the designed method with other categories of chronic patients.

A Graphical Toolkit for Longitudinal Dataset Maintenance and Predictive Model Training in Health Care.

Predictive analytic models, including machine learning (ML) models, are increasingly integrated into electronic health record (EHR)-based decision support tools for clinicians. These models have the potential to improve care, but are challenging to internally validate, implement, and maintain over the long term. Principles of ML operations (MLOps) may inform development of infrastructure to support the entire ML lifecycle, from feature selection to long-term model deployment and retraining. This study aimed to present the conceptual prototypes for a novel predictive model management system and to evaluate the acceptability of the system among three groups of end users. Based on principles of user-centered software design, human-computer interaction, and ethical design, we created graphical prototypes of a web-based MLOps interface to support the construction, deployment, and maintenance of models using EHR data. To assess the acceptability of the interface, we conducted semistructured user interviews with three groups of users (health informaticians, clinical and data stakeholders, chief information officers) and evaluated preliminary usability using the System Usability Scale (SUS). We subsequently revised prototypes based on user input and developed user case studies. Our prototypes include design frameworks for feature selection, model training, deployment, long-term maintenance, visualization over time, and cross-functional collaboration. Users were able to complete 71% of prompted tasks without assistance. The average SUS score of the initial prototype was 75.8 out of 100, translating to a percentile range of 70 to 79, a letter grade of B, and an adjective rating of "good." We reviewed persona-based case studies that illustrate functionalities of this novel prototype. The initial graphical prototypes of this MLOps system are preliminarily usable and demonstrate an unmet need within the clinical informatics landscape.

The role of demand response in residential electricity load reduction using appliance shifting techniques

PurposeSome of the major concerns since the implementation of smart meters (prepaid meters) in some parts of Ghana is how electricity consumers have benefited from data obtained from these meters by providing important statistics on electricity-saving advice; this is one of the key demand-side management methods for achieving load reduction in residential homes. Appliance shifting techniques have proved to be an effective demand response strategy in load reduction. The purpose of this paper is therefore to help consumers of electricity understand when and how they can shift some appliances from peak to off-peak and vice versa.Design/methodology/approachThe research uses an analysis technique of Richardson et al. (2010). In their survey on time-of-use surveys to determine the usage of electricity in households as far as appliance shifting was concerned, this study allowed for the assessment of how the occupants’ daily activities in households affect residential electricity consumption. Fell et al. (2014) modeled an aggregate of electricity demand using different appliances (n) in the household. The data for the peak time used in this study were identified from 05:00 to 08:00 and 17:00 to 21:00 for testing the load shifting algorithms, and the off-peak times were pecked from 10:00 to 16:00 and 23:00. This study technique used load management considering real-time scheduling for peak levels in the selected homes. The household devices are modeled in terms of controlled parameters. Using this study’s time-triggered loads on refrigerators and air conditioning systems, the findings suggested that peak loads can be reduced to 45% as a means of maintaining the simultaneous quality of service. To minimize peak loads to around 35% or more, Chaiwongsa and Wongwises (2020) have indicated that room air conditioning and refrigerator loads are simpler to move compared to other household appliances such as cooking appliances. Yet in conclusion, this study made a strong case that a decrease in household peak demand for electricity is primarily contingent on improvements in human behavior.FindingsThis study has shown that appliance load shifting is a very good way of reducing electrical consumption in residential homes. The comparative performance shows a moderate reduction of 1% in load as was found in the work done by Laicaine (2014). The results, however, indicate that load shifting to a large extent can be achieved by consumer behavioral change. The main response to this study is to advise policymakers in Ghana to develop the appropriate demand response and consumer education towards the general reduction in electrical load in domestic households. The difficulty, however, is how to get the attention of consumer’s on how to start using appliances with less load at peak and also shift some appliances from off-peak times. By increasing consumer knowledge and participation in demand response, it is possible to achieve more efficiency and flexibility in load reduction. The findings were benchmarked with existing comparison studies but may benefit from the potential production of structured references. However, the findings show that load shifting can only be done by modifying consumer actions.Research limitations/implicationsIt should be remembered that this study showed that the use of appliances shifting in residential homes results in load reduction benefits for customers, expressed as savings in electricity prices. The next step will be to build on this cost/benefit study to explain and measure how these reductions transform into net consumer gains for all Ghanaian households.Practical/implicationsLoad shifting will include load controllers in the future, which would automatically handle electricity consumption from various appliances in the home. Based on the device and user needs, the controllers can prioritize loads and appliance usage. The algorithms that underpin automatic load controllers will include knowledge about the behaviors of groups of end users. The results on the time dependency of activities may theoretically inform the algorithms of automatic demand controllers.Originality/valueThis paper addresses an important need for the country in the midst of finding solutions to an unending energy crisis. This paper presents demand response to the Ghanaian electricity consumer as a means to help in the reduction of load in residential homes. This is a novel research as no one has at yet carried out any research in this direction in Ghana. This paper has some new information to offer in the field of demand in household electricity consumption.

Food for Thought on Conducting Research Projects on Media Accessibility During the Covid-19 Pandemic and the New Normal

The following practice report is based on observational experiences of a project group running a research project on accessibility during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project aimed to provide accessibility using plain language in children’s programs on a public television channel. The project included three groups of end-users: Deaf, hard of hearing, and visually impaired children. An overview of the project is presented to provide background for the practice report. The second part of the report deals with changes encountered in the running of the project during the pandemic: compensating for the lack of interactivity, social interaction and collective experience; using video conferencing; monitoring research; at-home research spaces and technological availability; network availability and performance; dealing with home computers; communication load; workload and work-life balance. Some key concepts of actor-network theory are used to analyse new actors, networks and shifts encountered in the process of implementing the project in the “new normal” in comparison to its planned implementation pre-COVID-19. In conclusion, a summary of possible options is cited to provide food for thought in running such projects. Lay summary The following practice report is based on the observations of a group running a research project on accessibility for Deaf, Hard of Hearing and blind children to children’s programs during the Covid-19 pandemic. We aimed to provide accessibility using plain language (easy to understand and easy to follow language in subtitles, through sign language and audiodescription) in children’s’ programs on a public television channel. Initially, an overview of the project is presented to provide background, then the changes encountered in the running of the project due to the pandemic are studied. Some of the issues discussed are: How to compensate for the lack of interactivity and social interaction since there was no face-to-face interaction; using video conferencing, monitoring research; at home research spaces and technology availability; issues about network availability and performance; dealing with home computers; communication load, and workload. Some key concepts of the actor-network theory (ANT) are used to explain changes. ANT is concerned with exploring how networks come into existence, looking into which relations exist, how those relations are sustained, how actors come together to constitute and maintain a network and how networks maintain impermanent stability. In conclusion, a summary of possible options is cited to provide food for thought in running such projects.

Decision support system for integrated management of mycotoxins in feed and food supply chains

Mycotoxins present a global food safety threat of our feed and food. Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites of certain fungi in agricultural products that are harmful to animal and human health. The presence of mycotoxins in these products depends on a variety of management and environmental factors in the field, during storage and/or processing of feed and food commodities. To date, information on mycotoxin management is available, but is not easy to access by supply chain actors. This study aimed to design, build and test a Decision Support System (DSS) that can help decision making on mycotoxin management by various actors along the feed and food supply chains. As part of this, available knowledge and data on mycotoxin prevention and control were collected and synthesised into easy to understand guidelines and tools for various groups of end-users. The DSS consists of four different modules: (a) static information module and (b) scenario analysis module, (c) dynamic module for forecasting mycotoxins, and (d) dynamic module for real-time monitoring of moulds/mycotoxins in grain silos. Intended end-users are all end-user groups for modules (a) and (b); growers and collectors for module (c) and; post-harvest storage managers for module (d). The DSS is user-friendly and accessible through PCs, tablets and smartphones (seehttps://mytoolbox-platform.com/). In various phases of the DSS development, the tool has been demonstrated to groups of end-users, and their suggestions have been taken into account, whenever possible. Also, a near final version has been tested with individual farmers on the easiness to use the system. In this way we aimed to maximise the DSS uptake by actors along the chain. Ultimately, this DSS will improve decision making on mycotoxin management; it will assist in reducing mycotoxin contamination in the key crops of Europe, thereby reducing economic losses and improving animal and human health.

A Vax4HPV Mobile Application for Parents of Human Papillomavirus Vaccine-Eligible Children: Iterative Formative Assessments.

Although the human papillomavirus vaccine is efficacious, 40% of 13-year-old adolescents have been vaccinated for human papillomavirus. Implementing theory-based, user-centered applications can address this suboptimal coverage. This formative usability test aimed to develop a theory-based, user-centered interface to stimulate and inform parents' decision making on human papillomavirus vaccination and to help them act upon that decision. Iterative formative assessments were conducted through four focus groups of parents of children aged 9 to 14 years (N = 15). Participants discussed the desired content and features of a vaccine for human papillomavirus smartphone application while reviewing application prototypes. The discussions were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and then underwent qualitative content analysis. Four of the discovered themes were related to the content desired by parents: sources of information, facilitators of human papillomavirus vaccination, addressing the reasons for vaccine hesitancy, and gender-neutral content. The remaining three themes concerned the application's desirable designs and features: clear and descriptive interfaces, accessibility to broad groups of end users, and closing the intention-behavior gap. The need for adolescent human papillomavirus vaccination was generally well received by participants. This study found that theory-based, user-centered applications offering directions to appropriate clinics and human papillomavirus vaccine recommendations offered by nurses, can mitigate hesitancy by providing information via preferred routes and closing intention-behavior gaps.