Mainstream Adoption Research Articles

On the Economic Design of Stablecoins

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to trade at par with a reference asset, typically the U.S. Dollar. While they all share the same fundamental objective of maintaining stability against their reference assets, stablecoins differ substantially in terms of their economic design, quality of backing, stability assumptions and legal protections for coin holders. We surface two critical dimensions that underpin the economic design of every stablecoin: (1) the volatility of the reserve assets against the reference asset, which defines the risk profile of the stablecoin for coin holders; and (2) the degree to which the stablecoin is exposed to the risk of a death spiral. To address these risks, fiat-backed stablecoins must rely on reserves of high-quality, liquid assets and be subject to a framework that protects coin holders from credit risk, market risk, operational risk, as well as the insolvency or bankruptcy of the issuer. Although decentralized stablecoin designs eliminate the need to trust an intermediary, they are either exposed to death spirals, or highly capital inefficient, as they must be highly over-collateralized to account for the lack of an intermediary. While these trade-offs might be acceptable for narrow use cases within the cryptocurrency space, without a breakthrough in decentralized stablecoin design, they are likely to limit the usefulness of these coins for mainstream adoption.

A Survey of FPGA Logic Cell Designs in the Light of Emerging Technologies

The functional component for an FPGA is the logic element which enables it to adapt to various hardware descriptions. This behavior is mostly due to the MUX-like functional flexibility provided by these logic elements or cells. However, in recent years, decelerating transistor sizing as per Moore’s law has led to diminishing power, area and delay returns over cost. Hence, the idea of venturing into FPGA logic cell designs based on emerging technologies is becoming not merely attractive, but even inescapable. The present work surveys various conventional and non-conventional logic cell designs proposed in the literature by identifying four logic design families, namely LUT-based, cone-based, matrix/cluster-based and transistor array-based. We then carry out a detailed comparison at two levels - a quantitative comparison based on metrics like power, delay and area which govern the overall performance of various FPGA architectures and secondly a qualitative comparison on factors which are important considering the ease of mainstream adoption. We highlight the importance of introducing and co-optimizing novel devices and architectures to maximize the overall FPGA performance.

Market Adoption of Healthy Buildings in the Office Sector: A Global Study from the Owner’s Perspective

The emergence of human health and well-being concerns provide market differentiation opportunities for real estate companies globally. Our paper examines the market adoption of healthy office buildings by looking into how a healthy office building is defined and measured in the marketplace. What is its financial value for tenants and owners? What are real estate owner's perspectives and strategies for this emerging market? We synthesized the existing body of academic and industry literature, and conducted interviews with executives from 15 real estate corporations that own office buildings across the globe. The results from literature review indicate that there is some early evidence of a real estate price premium for specific indoor environment quality (IEQ) features. At the level of health-focused building certification systems (BCS), there is no empirical and quantitative research on healthy building’s financial performance, except theoretical return on investment (ROI) models. The results from owners’ interviews confirm that the scarcity of empirical evidence linking healthy building attributes to financial returns presents the mainstream adoption barrier for building owners. Owners are adopting diverse healthy building attributes that are driven by end-user’s health and wellbeing demand regardless if they are adopting health-focused BCSs. Their strategies for pursuing the healthy building market range from risk mitigation to proactive pursuit of new growth opportunities. Private equity funds and real estate investment trusts (REITs) firms tend to focus on the former, while direct real estate investment firms are more likely adopt proactive strategies to lead the adoption curve.

Protocol for a randomised controlled trial of a primary care intervention to Reverse Frailty and Enhance Resilience through Exercise and dietary protein Education (REFEREE) in community-dwelling adults aged 65 and over

Introduction: Resistance exercises and dietary protein have been shown to reverse frailty, yet they are not commonly offered in clinical practice. We aim to measure changes in health outcomes, including physical frailty status (SHARE-FI), clinical frailty status (CFS) and muscle mass, as a result of an optimised exercise and dietary intervention versus usual care in a primary care (PC) setting. The intervention has been derived from our systematic review and meta-analysis findings and optimised through patient and public involvement and multidisciplinary team input. Methods: This study is a multicentre randomised controlled parallel arm trial with a three month follow up. 210 eligible people aged 65 and over, no more than mildly frail, will be recruited in seven PC practices in Ireland and randomly assigned to ‘intervention’ or ‘usual care’. Intervention participants will be provided a leaflet with strength exercises, protein dietary guidance and educational discussion. Baseline measurements will include demographics, health indicators, comorbidities, malnutrition universal screening tool (MUST), frailty status (SHARE-FI, CFS) and muscle mass (bioelectrical impedance). Primary outcome will be frailty status measured by SHARE-FI at three months. Secondary outcomes include CFS, muscle mass, in-patient hospitalisation, long term care admission, and subjective ease of intervention and difference to general health. Statistical analysis will be undertaken by an independent statistician. Discussion: The diversity of tested frailty interventions and lack of clear guidance may contribute to low implementation rates. The REFEREE trial focusses on an optimised intervention for a syndrome that poses growing individual and societal challenges. It is hoped results can encourage mainstream adoption of interventions to reverse clinical frailty and build resilience in primary care. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT04628754; registered on 13 November 2020.

Using the Technology Acceptance Model to Identify Factors That Predict Likelihood to Adopt Tele-Neurorehabilitation.

Tele-neurorehabilitation has the potential to reduce accessibility barriers and enhance patient outcomes through a more seamless continuum of care. A growing number of studies have found that tele-neurorehabilitation produces equivalent results to usual care for a variety of outcomes including activities of daily living and health related quality of life. Despite the potential of tele-neurorehabilitation, this model of care has failed to achieve mainstream adoption. Little is known about feasibility and acceptability of tele-neurorehabilitation and most published studies do not use a validated model to guide and evaluate implementation. The technology acceptance model (TAM) was developed 20 years ago and is one of the most widely used theoretical frameworks for predicting an individual's likelihood to adopt and use new technology. The TAM3 further built on the original model by incorporating additional elements from human decision making such as computer anxiety. In this perspective, we utilize the TAM3 to systematically map the findings from existing published studies, in order to explore the determinants of adoption of tele-neurorehabilitation by both stroke survivors and prescribing clinicians. We present evidence suggesting that computer self-efficacy and computer anxiety are significant predictors of an individual's likelihood to use tele-neurorehabilitation. Understanding what factors support or hinder uptake of tele-neurorehabilitation can assist in translatability and sustainable adoption of this technology. If we are to shift tele-neurorehabilitation from the research domain to become a mainstream health sector activity, key stakeholders must address the barriers that have consistently hindered adoption.

(Keynote) 10-Minute Fast Charging of High Energy Density Lithium-Ion Batteries with Superior Cycle Life

Adding 200 miles of driving range in 10 min by charging at 400 kW, the so-called extreme fast charging (XFC), is considered as the key to mainstream adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). No EVs today, however, can withstand 400-kW charging power due to the risk of Li plating, which severely deteriorates battery life.Recently, our group reported an asymmetric temperature modulation (ATM) method that enables 10 min charging of high-energy EV cells with remarkable cycle life. [1] The key concept of the ATM method is to charge a Li-ion cell at an elevated temperature of 60oC and discharge (and stores) the cell at the cool ambient temperature (Figure 1). The high charging temperature effectively eliminates Li plating thanks to the enhanced kinetics and transport, and the limited time of exposure to 60oC (~10 min per cycle, or 0.1% of the lifetime of an EV) prevents severe SEI growth. We demonstrated that a high-energy cell with a specific energy of 209 Wh/kg sustained 2500 cycles of 10-minute XFC with only 8.3% capacity loss, far exceeding the US DOE target.In this talk, we will give a comprehensive discussion of the ATM method. Also, we will share our latest progress on the XFC of cells with much higher specific energy (260 Wh/kg).

In Vitro Evidences of Different Fibroblast Morpho-Functional Responses to Red, Near-Infrared and Violet-Blue Photobiomodulation: Clues for Addressing Wound Healing

Although photobiomodulation (PBM) has proven promising to treat wounds, the lack of univocal guidelines and of a thorough understanding of light–tissue interactions hampers its mainstream adoption for wound healing promotion. This study compared murine and human fibroblast responses to PBM by red (635 ± 5 nm), near-infrared (NIR, 808 ± 1 nm), and violet-blue (405 ± 5 nm) light (0.4 J/cm2 energy density, 13 mW/cm2 power density). Cell viability was not altered by PBM treatments. Light and confocal laser scanning microscopy and biochemical analyses showed, in red PBM irradiated cells: F-actin assembly reduction, up-regulated expression of Ki67 proliferation marker and of vinculin in focal adhesions, type-1 collagen down-regulation, matrix metalloproteinase-2 and metalloproteinase-9 expression/functionality increase concomitant to their inhibitors (TIMP-1 and TIMP-2) decrease. Violet-blue and even more NIR PBM stimulated collagen expression/deposition and, likely, cell differentiation towards (proto)myofibroblast phenotype. Indeed, these cells exhibited a higher polygonal surface area, stress fiber-like structures, increased vinculin- and phospho-focal adhesion kinase-rich clusters and α-smooth muscle actin. This study may provide the experimental groundwork to support red, NIR, and violet-blue PBM as potential options to promote proliferative and matrix remodeling/maturation phases of wound healing, targeting fibroblasts, and to suggest the use of combined PBM treatments in the wound management setting.

Blockchain speculation or value creation? Evidence from corporate investments

AbstractMany corporate executives believe blockchain technology is broadly scalable and will achieve mainstream adoption, yet there is little evidence of significant shareholder value creation associated with corporate adoption of blockchain technology. We collect a broad sample of firms that invest in blockchain technology and examine the stock price reaction to the “first” public revelation of this news. Initial reactions average close to +13% and are followed by reversals over the next 3 months. However, we report a striking difference based on the credibility of the investment. Blockchain investments that are at an advanced stage or are confirmed in subsequent financial statements are associated with higher initial reactions and little or no reversal. The results suggest that credible corporate strategies involving blockchain technology are viewed favorably by investors.

Digital Nomadism: the nexus of remote working and travel mobility

As the world went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, people worldwide started to experience a ‘new normal.’ This ‘new normal’ has normalized remote-working and resulted in the mainstream adoption of technologies to support virtual collaboration, communication, and work from a distance. While the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the restriction of mobility as borders were closed, airlines grounded, and daily commutes limited, visions of a potential future of ‘remote-life’ started to take shape. As professionals (and employers) around the world start to realize that they are no longer physically secured to their desks, offices, or work stations, they may now start to consider a future where they are remote-working from ‘exotic’ locations, often with lower costs of living (Phuket, Bali, or Costa Rica?) instead of working from ‘home.’ Companies around the world have extended their remote-working policies, implemented due to COVID, through 2021 and beyond, and are starting to consider a broader shift towards remote (or hybrid) workforce models as a means for reducing overhead costs while supporting employee productivity and wellbeing.

Metal additive manufacturing: Technology, metallurgy and modelling

This paper provides a comprehensive review of metal additive manufacturing, a rapidly evolving field with innovative technologies and processes. The purpose of this review paper is to provide a complete picture of the current research on metal AM and its capabilities. An overview of metal AM and the current processing methods are provided, along with a brief introduction to the complex physics behind the melt pool formation. Common metal AM characteristic defects are discussed as well as the current metals and alloys that are commercially available. Furthermore, process optimization techniques and computational modelling methods are reviewed. Lastly, various post-processing methods to improve surface roughness, mechanical properties and dimensional precision are discussed. Although the library for printable alloys is increasing, there is still a need for alloy development outside of the commercial setting. Furthermore, there is currently not a complete numerical model of the AM process which is mainly due to the computational costs. Although metal AM is still in its infancy, the frequency and significance of new developments are driving AM to mainstream adoption.

Promoting clinical best practice in a user-centred design study of an upper limb rehabilitation robot

Purpose Despite their promise to increase therapy intensity in neurorehabilitation, robotic devices have not yet seen mainstream adoption. Whilst there are a number of contributing factors, it is obvious that the treating clinician should have a clear understanding of the objectives and limitations of robotic device use. This study sought to explore how devices can be developed to support a clinician in providing clinical best practice. Methods and Materials A user-centred design study of a robotic device was conducted, involving build-then-use iterations, where successive iterations are built based on feedback from the use cycle. This work reports results of an analysis of qualitative and quantitative data describing the use of the robotic device in the clinical sessions, and from a focus group with the treating clinicians. Results and Conclusions The data indicated that use of the device did not result in patient goal-setting and may have resulted in poor movement quality. Therapists expected a higher level of autonomy from the robotic device, and this may have contributed to the above problems. These problems can and should be addressed through modification of both the study design and device to provide more explicit instructions to promote clinical best practice. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Encouraging clinical best practice when using evaluating prototype devices within a clinical setting is important to ensure that best practice is maintained – and can be achieved through both study and device design Support from device developers can significantly improve the confidence of therapists during the use of that device in rehabilitation, particularly with new or prototype devices End effector-based robotic devices for rehabilitation show potential for a wide variety of patient presentations and capabilities

Generating Interactive WebSocket Applications in TypeScript

Advancements in mobile device computing power have made interactive web applications possible, allowing the web browser to render contents dynamically and support low-latency communication with the server. This comes at a cost to the developer, who now needs to reason more about correctness of communication patterns in their application as web applications support more complex communication patterns. Multiparty session types (MPST) provide a framework for verifying conformance of implementations to their prescribed communication protocol. Existing proposals for applying the MPST framework in application developments either neglect the event-driven nature of web applications, or lack compatibility with industry tools and practices, which discourages mainstream adoption by web developers. In this paper, we present an implementation of the MPST framework for developing interactive web applications using familiar industry tools using TypeScript and the React.js framework. The developer can use the Scribble protocol language to specify the protocol and use the Scribble toolchain to validate and obtain the local protocol for each role. The local protocol describes the interactions of the global communication protocol observed by the role. We encode the local protocol into TypeScript types, catering for server-side and client-side targets separately. We show that our encoding guarantees that only implementations which conform to the protocol can type-check. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach through a web-based implementation of the classic Noughts and Crosses game from an MPST formalism of the game logic.

Supporting open educational practices through open textbooks

ABSTRACT There has been little research into the impact of textbook costs on higher education in the United Kingdom. To better understand textbook use patterns and the issues faced by UK students and educators the UK Open Textbooks Project (2017–2018, http://ukopentextbooks.org/)) conducted quantitative survey research with United Kingdom educators in September 2018. This article reports on the findings of this survey, which focussed on awareness of open educational resources; textbook use and rationale; awareness and use of open textbooks; and open licensing. Results reveal fertile ground for open textbook adoption with potential to support a wide range of open educational practices. The findings indicate strategies for supporting pedagogical innovation and student access through the mainstream adoption of open textbooks.

Emerging regulatory approaches to blockchain based token economy

Blockchain enabled digital scarcity has opened up a whole new dimension of possibilities for the token economy, particularly with regards to rights and assets that have not been traded electronically before. Blockchain based tokenization of rights and assets has also brought a new set of legal and regulatory challenges. Regulators and legislators are yet to address many of the issues raised by blockchain based tokenization, from decentralisation and token characterisation to cross border harmonisation and regulatory compliance with traditional market infrastructure. Lack of regulatory alignment can undermine many of the benefits of the token economy. Lack of legal certainty may not only stifle innovation and slow down mainstream adoption of blockchain based tokenization, but can also raise the risks for investors and harm the reputation of the industry. The emerging regulations vary in approach. Liechtenstein became the first country to have comprehensive technology-neutral regulation of the token economy. Malta and Singapore also represent progressive jurisdictions for blockchain regulation. However, most jurisdictions, including the US and the EU, have not yet formed clear policy for blockchain regulation and many legal questions remain open. The paper examines whether there is an emerging predominant regulatory approach or prevailing regulatory direction for the future of the token economy. It also highlights the existing regulatory void and divergent approaches to blockchain based tokenization. Finally, the paper concludes that there is an urgent need to provide a clear legal and regulatory framework if the potential of the token economy is to be realised.

Innovations in on-demand audio education: Beyond trending.

The evolution of broadcast audio has been rapidly changing over the past 10-15 years with the advent of podcasts in the early 2000s. As with other media, podcast audio has been adapted for use within medical and specifically neurology education in the form of the Neurology Podcast since 2007. As podcasts were an initial step in the field of on-demand media, further technological evolution has resulted in increasing customization of a listener's audio experience. We believe a historical inflection point has been reached with the increasingly mainstream adoption of virtual assistant technology which allows for consumption of brief on-demand self-curated audio productions. As editors of the Neurology Podcast, we have introduced a new audio product to this technological landscape, the Neurology Minute. In doing so, we hope that curated on-demand educational audio will become a part of the daily routine of many practicing neurologists as we move into this new technological age.

Integration of wastewater treatment into process design of lignocellulosic biorefineries for improved economic viability

BackgroundProduction and use of bio-based products offer advantages over conventional petrochemicals, yet the relatively high cost of production has restricted their mainstream adoption. Optimization of wastewater treatment processes could reduce capital expenditures, lowering the barrier to market entry for lignocellulosic biorefineries. This paper characterizes wastewater associated with lignocellulosic ethanol production and evaluates potential wastewater treatment operations.ResultsIt is found that organic material is intrinsic to bioconversion wastewater, representing up to 260 kg of biological oxygen demand per tonne of feedstock processed. Inorganics in the wastewater largely originate from additions during pretreatment and pH adjustments, which increase the inorganic loading by 44 kg per tonne of feedstock processed. Adjusting the ethanol production process to decrease addition of inorganic material could reduce the demands and therefore cost of waste treatment. Various waste treatment technologies—including those that take advantage of ecosystem services provided by feedstock production—were compared in terms of capital and operating costs, as well as technical feasibility.ConclusionsIt is concluded that wastewater treatment technologies should be better integrated with conversion process design and feedstock production. Efforts to recycle resources throughout the biofuel supply chain through application of ecosystem services provided by adjacent feedstock plantations and recovery of resources from the waste stream to reduce overall capital and operating costs of bioconversion facilities.

Lithium-Ion Polymer Battery for 12-Voltage Applications: Experiment, Modelling, and Validation

Modelling, simulation, and validation of the 12-volt battery pack using a 20 Ah lithium–nickel–manganese–cobalt–oxide cell is presented in this paper. The cell characteristics influenced by thermal effects are also considered in the modelling. The parameters normalized directly from a single cell experiment are foundations of the model. This approach provides a systematic integration of actual cell monitoring with a module model that contains four cells connected in series. The validated battery module model then is utilized to form a high fidelity 80 Ah 12-volt battery pack with 14.4 V nominal voltage. The battery cell thermal effectiveness and battery module management system functions are constructed in the MATLAB/Simulink platform. The experimental tests are carried out in an industry-scale setup with cycler unit, temperature control chamber, and computer-controlled software for battery testing. As the 12-volt lithium-ion battery packs might be ready for mainstream adoption in automotive starting–lighting–ignition (SLI), stop–start engine idling elimination, and stationary energy storage applications, this paper investigates the influence of ambient temperature and charging/discharging currents on the battery performance in terms of discharging voltage and usable capacity. The proposed simulation model provides design guidelines for lithium-ion polymer batteries in electrified vehicles and stationary electric energy storage applications.

Investigating the link between innovation and mainstream adoption: How to identify consumer trends

Retailers operate in a very competitive environment and are facing increasing challenges. One such challenge is to anticipate change in their consumers and interpret these into relevant innovative products and service. For retailers, even with a customer centric approach, identifying imminent change in consumer preference and updating and adapting their business models on a continuous basis can create a distinct competitive advantage. Extant literature does not adequately address what methods are available to identify new consumer trends for the retail industry. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework to assess the market potential of an innovation to be adopted by mainstream markets. The framework has been drawn from exiting methodologies and applied to the emerging trend in horticulture in the UK. The case study analysis provides evidence that there is the opportunity for horticulture to appeal to a broader market sector. This framework provides scholars and marketers with a foundation for a better understanding of the process of identifying innovations for mainstream consumers.

Cross-chain interoperability among blockchain-based systems using transactions

Abstract The blockchain is an emerging technology which has the potential to improve many information systems. In this regard, the applications and the platform they are built on must be able to connect and communicate with each other. However, the current blockchain platforms have several limitations, such as lack of interoperability among different systems. The existing platforms of blockchain applications operate only within their own networks. Even though the underlying technology is similar, it relies on centralized third-party mediators to exchange or retrieve information from other blockchain networks. The current third-party intermediaries establish trust and security by preserving a centralized ledger to track ‘account balances’ and vouch for a transaction’s authenticity. The inability for independent blockchains to communicate with one another is an inherent problem in the decentralized systems. Lack of appropriate inter-blockchain communication puts a strain on the mainstream adoption of blockchain. It is evident that blockchain technology has the potential to become a suitable solution for some systems if it can scale and is able to cross communicate with other systems. For the multisystem blockchain concept to become a reality, a mechanism is required that would connect and communicate with multiple entities’ blockchain systems in a distributed fashion (without any intermediary), while maintaining the property of trust and integrity built by individual blockchains. In this article, we propose a mechanism that provides cross-chain interoperability using transactions.

Open Textbooks: A Balance Between Empowerment and Disruption

The use of open textbooks in universities is according to some organisations changing the higher education landscape and is promising for the mainstream adoption of OER. The aim of this paper is to analyse authors’ views of agency and empowerment when they plan, create and reflect on their open textbooks, their teaching and students’ learning. Another aim is to analyse the ways in which knowledge supports authors’ creation of open textbooks and tensions inherent in this practice. This qualitative study used a modified version of a validated questionnaire for 1 h long semi-structured interviews with four interviewees, conducted over 4 days. The data from the interviews were analysed in three steps combining two coding structures, for self-regulated learning and levels of contradictions. The results suggest that the four authors engendered a sense of relational agency in the creation process. They indicated that they valued openness and the pedagogical project itself by highlighting both teachers’ and learners’ perception of agency and empowerment. The data also support the authors’ concerns about the disruptive nature of open textbooks regarding stability versus adaptation and data ownership as it relates to use of learning analytics and commercial interests, indicating considerable contradictions in open textbook practices.