Underdeveloped Technology Research Articles

Analysis of the Resistance of Elderly Individuals Living Alone in Utilizing Self-Checkout Systems in Supermarkets

Research on the rejection of technology among elderly people who are living alone is still scarce, so qualitative research methods are used to supplement the lack of exploratory research. The research was conducted in Harbin, which ranks middle in terms of economic development in China, and a total of 8 respondents were interviewed. The results of the interview showed that older people lack emotional support, instrumental support, and competence, and have subjective biases. Furthermore, active resistance encompasses factors limited usage opportunities, underdeveloped technology, unfavorable reputation, inefficiency, ambiguous equipment placement, minimal interaction, inadequate product information, and absence of instructional manuals. Conversely, passive resistance, aside from subjective biases, signifies the elderly’s pessimistic outlook on life, including world-weariness, low motivation, lack of initiative, insecurity, fear of technology, cognitive decline, and apprehension about disrupting others’ efficiency by using machinery. Additionally, this study highlights two significant findings: firstly, older individuals proficient in self-checkout technology are willing to accompany their less tech-savvy counterparts through automated aisles to alleviate feelings of isolation; secondly, older adults are wary of approaching employees and strangers, suspecting them of intending to sell products or perpetrate scams rather than provide technical assistance.

Evaluating Barriers to the Adoption of Blockchain for Enhancing Transparency in the Procurement Process within Apparel Supply Chains

The textile and apparel industry is a rapidly growing global market, with the emergence of its complexity, volatility, and competitiveness. As a result, consumer demand for transparency in the supply chain has surged, leading to the recognition of blockchain as a pivotal tool for enhanced transparency. This study focuses on evaluating barriers to blockchain adoption in apparel supply chains, with a specific emphasis on sourcing and procurement. Collaborating with industry experts in Sri Lanka, the research aims to address critical gaps in information flow. The study employed a methodology consisting of two distinct steps, incorporating a background study and Interpretative Structural Modeling (ISM). Data analysis involves identifying barriers, developing ISM-based hierarchy models, and conducting MICMAC analysis. The study reveals key challenges, such as lack of expertise and underdeveloped technology to adopt blockchain emphasizing the need for strategic planning to address these obstacles and facilitate successful blockchain implementation. This research contributes to bridging gaps in blockchain adoption within the apparel supply chain, providing practical insights for industry stakeholders and decision-makers. Future research should validate identified barriers and develop strategies for effective blockchain implementation.

Location Determinants of Indian OFDI: Insights from Panel Data Analysis

The present study attempted to analyze the determinants affecting Indian Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) during the second generation of globalization. The results showed that economic factors like trade openness and natural resource trade of the host country were highly significant variables for Indian OFDI. The case of non-economic factors such as political stability and non-violence remained significant variables for Indian investment, but the regulatory quality was not noteworthy. The study suggested that to expand the growth of OFDI, and the government could search for other suitable markets that were less capital-intensive or used underdeveloped technology. So, India has an alternative to improve its trade relations with African and Asian markets.

Surfactants, Biosurfactants, and Non-Catalytic Proteins as Key Molecules to Enhance Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Lignocellulosic Biomass.

Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) has remained a latent alternative resource to be the main substitute for oil and its derivatives in a biorefinery concept. However, its complex structure and the underdeveloped technologies for its large-scale processing keep it in a state of constant study trying to establish a consolidated process. In intensive processes, enzymes have been shown to be important molecules for the fractionation and conversion of LCB into biofuels and high-value-added molecules. However, operational challenges must be overcome before enzyme technology can be the main resource for obtaining second-generation sugars. The use of additives is shown to be a suitable strategy to improve the saccharification process. This review describes the mechanisms, roles, and effects of using additives, such as surfactants, biosurfactants, and non-catalytic proteins, separately and integrated into the enzymatic hydrolysis process of lignocellulosic biomass. In doing so, it provides a technical background in which operational biomass processing hurdles such as solids and enzymatic loadings, pretreatment burdens, and the unproductive adsorption phenomenon can be addressed.

Identification of spaces with cluster infection risks in small cities in China based on spatial syntax and GIS

Among modern cities developing in a large-scale, extensive and unbalanced manner, smaller cities are relatively lagged behind due to relatively underdeveloped infrastructure, inadequate capital and technology talents, and insufficient attention from the national government, and thus they are more vulnerable when hit by unexpected disasters. The rampant pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has made it even clearer that small cities must be equipped with stronger abilities to timely identify and prevent potential disease outbreaks. This paper takes Zhaodong City as an example to study how to better locate spaces with cluster infection risks in small cities. It combines spatial syntax, points of interest (POI), and geographical information system (GIS), and adopts hotspot analysis, average nearest neighbour analysis, kernel density estimation and other methods, to identify and locate potentially vulnerable spaces in neighbourhoods with relatively frequent people-to-people contact and thus higher disease transmission risks. Results show that there are three point-space, four line-space, and one plane-space with high risk of outbreaks in Zhaodong City, verifying the efficacy of the identification method for small cities.

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Scavengers are poor people who are socially and economically backward. They live an affluent but unhealthy lifestyle and labour in unsanitary conditions. The absence of government assistance, insufficient education, underdeveloped technologies, and religious beliefs regarding scavengers are all incompatible. In this study the problems of the scavengers, its remedial measures and also need of changing beliefs and laws related to manual scavengers are analyzed through factor analysis and weighted. The study was conducted among 80 manual scavengers who are working in the study area. A well chalked out Interview Schedule has been prepared and administered among the sample respondents to gather their opinion.

Entrepreneurship in Asia: Entrepreneurship knowledge when East meets West

Asia differs from other regions of the world with respect to its unique and longstanding cultural, social, economic, and technological attributes, all of which have eluded systematic exploration by entrepreneurship scholars, representing a unique entrepreneurial context. However, such uniqueness should not be restricted to assertions about (among other things) institutional voids, increased difficulty financing new ventures, underdeveloped technology transfer, or undertrained entrepreneurs. This special issue takes up this thread and explores several key attributes—culture, social structure, economic policy, and technology—that represent parts of the broader domains that provide insights for future theory development. Philosophically, it is a perfect Being with its otherness, floated in either East or West, soaked up into itself, that is essential for us to clinch and to get some light on truth.

Reviews of clean coal conversion technology in China: Situations & challenges

It is important to develop the advanced coal to chemicals industry (ACCI) against a backdrop of coal-based energy structures, excessive imported oil and natural gas, and strict environmental constraints in China. In this study, the technology and industry of China's ACCI are reviewed to explain the effect of using coal to replace oil and natural gas, and the corresponding resource and environmental burdens that this will create. Development trends in technology and industry are also proposed to explore future scenarios. The review shows that although excellent progress has been made on an industrial scale, demonstrative level, and in terms of technology and equipment, the lack of strategic understanding, severe external constraints, partly underdeveloped technologies, and weak foundations must be immediately addressed. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the importance that the ACCI has on the energy revolution and energy system. Based on technological innovation, a variety of external factors should be considered as a whole with emphasis on filling the knowledge gap of theoretical foundations and industry standards to support high-quality development for ACCI.

ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКАЯ МИГРАЦИЯ ИЗ ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЙ АЗИИ В РОССИЮ

Developing countries and low-income countries with rapidly growing populations and underdeveloped agricultural technologies are most vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. The countries of Central Asia are already exposed to the impact of natural and climatic changes due to insufficient financial and technical capabilities to overcome negative climatic and environmental phenomena. The authors predict an increase in the ecological migration of the population from Central Asia to Russia due to the visa-free regime, territorial proximity, established migrant social networks and other factors, which partially will compensate for the Russian population decline. Without a legal channel for environmental migration, these flows will be forced to use the labor migration channel. However, there are a number of potential negative consequences that need to be further scrutinized.

Structural Optimisation and Behaviour of the Breakwater Integrated Oscillating Water Column Device

The Oscillating Water Column (OWC) device is a relatively young and underdeveloped technology for generating electricity from wave energy. Compared to other common renewable sources such as solar and wind energy, the costs for bottom-standing OWC’s are too high for the technology to be economically competitive. A first step in lowering the cost was the integration of OWC devices into breakwaters. Often, OWC are built quite robustly due to insufficient confidence in the magnitude of the extreme loads. This leaves room for optimisation, which so far has not been looked into in detail. In an attempt to lower the costs further, the possibilities for structural optimisation are investigated in this research. The U-OWC device in Civitavecchia, an OWC with an additional vertical duct, is used as a case study and is modelled in 3D in a one-way coupled hydraulic-structural numerical model. The model contained both a fluid domain, i.e. the wave tank, and a solid domain, i.e. the OWC structure. Coupling the two gives direct feedback on the wave impact in terms of a stress state in the structure. By converting the stresses to sectional forces, a new minimally required wall thickness can be found. Comparing these to the original thicknesses of the three main walls gives the optimisation potential of the OWC structure. Numerical simulations were carried out in operational and design conditions for varying geometries. Based on this, it was found the OWC walls could have been built using 35% less concrete on average. The results also led to a new insight on the structural behaviour. Clear trends were found in where and when to expect critical loads. It was also found that the geometrical changes barely had any influence on these properties. These findings were used to develop a new and simple design method, making a full structural analysis redundant. Removing the structural domain and making use of the found property that water pressures are constant over the transverse width, imply that a 2D model would be sufficient, reducing the model size drastically.

Exploring the Factors of Cooperation between Artists and Technologists in Creating New Media Art Works: Based on AHP

The deeper the combination of art and technology, the more extensive the cooperation between artists and technologists. In many cases, the creation of New Media Art requires the cooperation of artists and technologists. However, since New Media Art is an emerging art form, the process of cocreating New Media Art between the two is at the exploration stage. Especially in areas with underdeveloped New Media Art and underdeveloped technology, there exist many problems in the cooperation between the two, such as a lack of complete understanding of the factors involved in the cooperation process and a lack of reasonable planning for the cooperation process. Therefore, this study analyzes the factors that affect the collaboration process between the two creating New Media Art. Common factors are collected from the literature and then added or deleted after expert opinions. Then, analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method is applied to get the weight of each factor and understand the influence degree of the factor. The research results show that there are relatively fixed factors influencing the collaboration process between artists and technologists in creating New Media Art, and various factors have different degrees of influence on cooperation. Therefore, in the process of cooperation between the two parties, more emphasis should be placed on the factors of cooperation, which makes the cooperation more scientific.

Forward osmosis for industrial effluents treatment – sustainability considerations

Access to clean water resources has become a global challenge in recent times, especially in developing countries, where huge amounts of highly polluted industrial and municipal effluents are produced and discharged into the receiving environments. Applications of membrane technologies to deal with effluents from various origins have recently received a great deal of attention due to their inherent advantages compared to other physico-chemical methods developed so far. Forward osmosis (FO) is among one of the efficient membrane-based processes adopted by wastewater treatment facilities, with various configurations currently being transferred from laboratory and pilot-scales to large-scale applications. Still, FO technologies are plagued with drawbacks such as fouling, internal concentration polarization (ICP), reverse solute flux and draw solution recovery, which invariably increases the cost of operation and restricts the feasibility for large-scale and long-term use because economic considerations are the most important sustainability criteria when selecting a wastewater treatment technique among the various alternatives. Several modifications have been introduced in recent years to overcome the existing limitations, such as incorporation of engineered nanomaterials onto the membrane surface to mitigate membrane fouling and to enhance their life-time, thereby minimizing the cleaning and (when necessary) replacement costs. Several FO based pre-treatment technologies have also been introduced for complex effluents treatment to minimize the operational costs arising from cleaning and replacement activities. Therefore, assessing the performance of such technologies according to sustainability indicators is the key to ensure long-term benefits from the application of FO technologies for the treatment of highly polluted effluents. In this review, treatment and water reclamation from industrial effluents using FO process and the current states of the standalone and hybrid technologies considering sustainability criteria are discussed. Scaling-up opportunities for the existing lab-scale modules have been evaluated and environmental footprint of the under-developed technologies are discussed. This review will therefore aid in selecting the most suitable configurations of FO technologies (standalone/hybrid) to deal with the highly polluted effluents for real world applications and to direct future studies in this emerging area. Perspectives and recommendations for future studies are also included.

Determinants of nuclear power expansion in Indonesia

As Indonesia is rich in natural resources, nuclear power remains a low priority among energy alternatives. However, Indonesia needs to introduce nuclear power to improve the atmospheric environment and to support sustainable economic growth. This study conducted a two-stage survey of logit-probit and analytic hierarchy process to analyze the perception of Indonesian energy policymakers regarding the introduction of nuclear power, the potential for change, and key decision factors. The analysis confirms that the perception of nuclear power is positive and that the willingness to expand nuclear power can improve if negative conditions, such as underdeveloped technology level, foreign aid and assistance, and safety issues are addressed. In addition, it is confirmed that the policy makers consider political/social and environmental factors to be more important for decision-making. The results of this study can give inplications and be used as a key reference for Indonesia's nuclear power policy

A 96-well high-throughput, rapid-screening platform of extracellular electron transfer in microbial fuel cells

Microbial extracellular electron transfer (EET) stimulates a plethora of intellectual concepts leading to potential applications that offer environmentally sustainable advances in the fields of biofuels, wastewater treatment, bioremediation, desalination, and biosensing. Despite its vast potential and remarkable research efforts to date, bacterial electrogenicity is arguably the most underdeveloped technology used to confront the aforementioned challenges. Severe limitations are placed in the intrinsic energy and electron transfer processes of naturally occurring microorganisms. Significant boosts in this technology can be achieved with the growth of synthetic biology tools that manipulate microbial electron transfer pathways and improve their electrogenic potential. In particular, electrogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been studied with the utility of its complete genome being sequenced coupled with well-established techniques for genetic manipulation. To optimize power density production, a high-throughput, rapid and highly sensitive test array for measuring the electrogenicity of hundreds of genetically engineered P. aeruginosa mutants is needed. This task is not trivial, as the accurate and parallel quantitative measurements of bacterial electrogenicity require long measurement times (~tens of days), continuous introduction of organic fuels (~tends of milliliters), architecturally complex and often inefficient devices, and labor-intensive operation. The overall objective of this work was to enable rapid (<30 min), sensitive (>100-fold improvement), and high-throughput (>96 wells) characterization of bacterial electrogenicity from a single 5 μL culture suspension. This project used paper as a substratum that inherently produces favorable conditions for easy, rapid, and sensitive control of an electrogenic microbial suspension. From 95 isogenic P. aeruginosa mutant, an hmgA mutant generated the highest power density (39 μW/cm2), which is higher than that of wild-type P. aeruginosa and even the strongly electrogenic organism, Shewanella oneidensis (25 μW/cm2). In summary, this work will serve as a springboard for the development of novel paradigms for genetic networks that will help develop mutations or over-expression and synthetic biology constructs to identify genes in P. aeruginosa and other organisms that enhance electrogenic performance in microbial fuel cells (MFCs).

Chemically Tailored Multifunctional Asymmetric Isoporous Triblock Terpolymer Membranes for Selective Transport.

Membrane-based separation of organic molecules with 1-2 nm lateral dimensions is a demanding but rather underdeveloped technology. The major challenge is to fabricate membranes having distinct nanochannels with desired functionality. Here, a bottom-up strategy to produce such a membrane using a tailor-made triblock terpolymer featuring miscible end blocks with two different functional groups is demonstrated. A scalable multifunctional integral asymmetric isoporous membrane is fabricated by the solvent evaporation-induced self-assembly of the block copolymer combined with nonsolvent-induced phase separation. The membrane nanopores are readily functionalized using positively and negatively charged moieties by two straightforward gas-solid reactions. The pores of the post-functionalized membranes act as target-specific functional soft nanochannels due to swelling of the polyelectrolyte blocks in a hydrated state. The membranes show unprecedented separation selectivity of small molecules based on size and/or charge which demonstrates the potential of the proposed strategy to prepare next-generation nanofiltration membranes.

Flawed Assumption in Pro-Nuclear Arguments and South Korea's Strategic Choice

In this article I explore assumptions behind the aspiration for nuclear armament in South Korea. An increasing number of South Koreans advocate nuclear armament of their country, either by redeploying US tactical nuclear weapons or by developing an indigenous nuclear capability. Support for “going nuclear” reflects three beliefs: nuclear weapons can serve as a shield from external bullying, the balance of power between Seoul and Pyongyang has shifted due to Pyongyang’s growing nuclear capability, and possessing nuclear weapons is the sole way to protect ROK national interests given growing skepticism over the credibility of the US nuclear umbrella. I revisit deterrence theory to demonstrate that these perceptions are based on the flawed assumption that nuclear weapons can only be deterred by other nuclear weapons. This assumption―an extrapolation from the Cold War experience―does not consider technological breakthroughs made since then. In fact, modern, technologically advanced conventional weapons can also deter nuclear weapons, especially those using relatively underdeveloped technologies. By continuously modernizing its conventional weapons and strengthening the ROK-US alliance, South Korea can deter Pyongyang from contemplating a nuclear assault on South Korea.

VP26 HTA In Nursing: Scoping Trends With An ICF Component Analysis

IntroductionNursing is a worldwide growing but still underdeveloped health technology assessment (HTA) field. A systematic overview about the current trends in HTA and nursing would shed some light on the issues of (i) the HTA base in this sector, and (ii) outcomes addressed with the interventions and technologies.MethodsWe conducted a scoping review using the National Health Service (NHS) Centre for Reviews and Dissemination HTA database, including all abstracts of HTA reports related to nursing. To systemize the interventions and technologies assessed in the HTA reports, we designed an International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Map connecting the targeted healthcare outcomes with the components of the ICF Classification.ResultsWe identified seventy-eight HTA reports related to nursing care, published between the years 1992 and 2018. Overall, forty-four reports did not outline any particular outcome and had to be categorized as unclear. The remaining thirty-four reports addressed three ICF components (body functions, activities/ participation, environmental factors) with sixty-eight ICF content categories. Frequent ICF contents were services, systems and policies (code e5, n = 15), cardiovascular/ respiratory functions (code b4, n = 10), mental functions (code b1, n = 7), digestive functions (code b5, n = 7), domestic life (code d6, n = 7), and sensory functions/ pain (b2, n = 6). Six HTA reports evaluated interventions/ technologies with presumed effects on at least four ICF content categories from two ICF components.ConclusionsHTA in the field of nursing is often complex, including multicomponent approaches and a wide range of potential outcomes relevant for the HTA assessment. The ICF model might be useful to support a more streamlined understanding of complex interventions in this sector. Furthermore, reports might benefit from linking the ICF Classification with HTA, especially for the assessment of complex interventions.

Trends in Microalgae Incorporation Into Innovative Food Products With Potential Health Benefits.

Microalgae have demonstrated potential to meet the population's need for a more sustainable food supply, specifically with respect to protein demand. These promising protein sources present several advantages over other currently used raw materials from an environmental point of view. Additionally, one of the main characteristics of microalgae is the production of bioactive compounds with potential benefits for human health. Microalgae exploitation as a source of protein (bulk protein) and other valuable products within the food industry still presents some drawbacks, mainly because of the underdeveloped technologies and processes currently available for microalgae processing. The systematic improvement of the technology readiness level (TRL) could help change the current situation if applied to microalgae cultivation and processing. High maturity in microalgae cultivation and processing technologies also requires improvement of the economy of scale and investment of resources in new facilities and research. Antioxidative, antihypertensive, immunomodulatory, anticancerogenic, hepato-protective, and anticoagulant activities have been attributed to some microalgae-derived compounds such as peptides. Nevertheless, research on this topic is scarce and the evidence on potential health benefits is not strong. In the last years, the possibility of using microalgae-derived compounds for innovative functional food products has become of great interest, but the literature available mainly focuses more on the addition of the whole cells or some compound already available on the market. This review describes the status of utilising microalgae as an ingredient in innovative food products with potential health benefits.

Selection of key technology policies for Chinese offshore wind power: A perspective on patent maps

China is rich in offshore wind energy resources and the development of its offshore wind power is considered a practical solution to today's energy requirements. In the field of offshore wind power and, in contrast to more developed countries, China still has a problem with both a weak technical support system and underdeveloped technologies. To shed some light on present day technological advancements in this area, this paper uses the Beijing IncoShare Patent Database as well as patent maps to conduct statistical analyses on the evolution, regional distribution, variation in type and International Patent Classification of patent applications for offshore wind power in China. The research indicates that policies aimed at bolstering technologies were the cause of the observed rapid growth in offshore wind power patents from 2006 to 2013. Regional distribution of these patents is concentrated in Eastern China, with little activity in either Central or Western China. At present, a significant percentage of patents on Chinese offshore wind power have expired, so it is recommended that China both increase its capacity for technical industrialization and reinforce its protection of intellectual property rights. Furthermore, insufficient research on motors, hydraulic engineering and ship propulsion plants is a constraint to technological progress and future policy which aims at improving China's prospects for offshore wind power should focus on these areas.

Design and implementation of the communication system based on wireless communication for open-pit mine

Aiming at the problems of underdeveloped information technology and low penetration rate of wireless communication technology and automatic control system in open-pit mines, this paper studied the communication technology and protocol for the vehicle communication of open-pit mines. Based on the wireless GPRS/4G cellular network, the study established the basic network framework of the system, and designed the key communication technologies and suitable wireless communication protocol, including network hierarchical model, network protocol, message transmission rules, and message structure. The vehicle management and monitoring information system was developed based on the component-based development technology. Thus, the general communication mode and packet flow transaction were established. The application shows that the designed system can meet the requirements of vehicle data transmission. Vehicles on the road can be monitored, scheduled, and managed much more efficiently than ever before.