Extending the lifespan of products can be approached in several ways. One promising way is to give users a greater sense of ownership of the products that are used. In the context of Product Service Systems (PSS), products are often used temporarily, shared with others, and offered through a technology-mediated environment. Not much is known about psychological ownership in this context. To evaluate psychological ownership affordances as an intermediate knowledge tool in the context of PSS, we started a case study focused on a bicycle sharing service of The Student Hotel (TSH). The central question was how a design approach, based on psychological ownership, can help to redesign the bicycle-service of TSH to contribute to extended lifespans of the bicycles. This resulted in ten exemplary designs as project outcomes and two implemented design interventions in a TSH branch. All project members and stakeholders (app supplier X-bike and Roetz-bikes mechanics) and students of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and Utrecht University of Applied Sciences (HU) (n=42) were interviewed on process efficiency, process quality and design quality at the end of the collaboration. We performed a qualitative analysis to identify when and how the team members applied the design tool, how these obstructed or supported the design process, and if the team members show shared understanding of the behavioral and/or social consequences of their decisions. The results show both top-down and bottom-up insights, leading to four suggestions for adapting the existing model as an intermediate knowledge tool: (1) being more goal-oriented, (2) consider a hierarchy of affordances, (3) consider to add a new affordance and (4) recognize a more active role of the service provider.
BACKGROUND: Combining increased dietary protein intake and resistance exercise training for elderly people is a promising strategy to prevent or counteract the loss of muscle mass and decrease the risk of disabilities. Using findings from controlled interventions in a real-life setting requires adaptations to the intervention and working procedures of healthcare professionals (HCPs). The aim of this study is to adapt an efficacious intervention for elderly people to a real-life setting (phase one) and test the feasibility and potential impact of this prototype intervention in practice in a pilot study (phase two).METHODS: The Intervention Mapping approach was used to guide the adaptation in phase one. Qualitative data were collected from the original researchers, target group, and HCPs, and information was used to decide whether and how specified intervention elements needed to be adapted. In phase two, a one-group pre-test post-test pilot study was conducted (n = 25 community-dwelling elderly), to elicit further improvements to the prototype intervention. The evaluation included participant questionnaires and measurements at baseline (T0) and follow-up (T1), registration forms, interviews, and focus group discussions (T1). Qualitative data for both phases were analysed using an inductive approach. Outcome measures included physical functioning, strength, body composition, and dietary intake. Change in outcomes was assessed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests.RESULTS: The most important adaptations to the original intervention were the design of HCP training and extending the original protein supplementation with a broader nutrition programme aimed at increasing protein intake, facilitated by a dietician. Although the prototype intervention was appreciated by participants and professionals, and perceived applicable for implementation, the pilot study process evaluation resulted in further adaptations, mostly concerning recruitment, training session guidance, and the nutrition programme. Pilot study outcome measures showed significant improvements in muscle strength and functioning, but no change in lean body mass.CONCLUSION: The combined nutrition and exercise intervention was successfully adapted to the real-life setting and seems to have included the most important effective intervention elements. After adaptation of the intervention using insights from the pilot study, a larger, controlled trial should be conducted to assess cost-effectiveness.TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov NL51834.081.14 (April 22, 2015).
Closing the loop of products and materials in Product Service Systems (PSS) can be approached by designers in several ways. One promising strategy is to invoke a greater sense of ownership of the products and materials that are used within a PSS. To develop and evaluate a design tool in the context of PSS, our case study focused on a bicycle sharing service. The central question was whether and how designers can be supported with a design tool, based on psychological ownership, to involve users in closing the loop activities. We developed a PSS design tool based on psychological ownership literature and implemented it in a range of design iterations. This resulted in ten design proposals and two implemented design interventions. To evaluate the design tool, 42 project members were interviewed about their design process. The design interventions were evaluated through site visits, an interview with the bicycle repairer responsible, and nine users of the bicycle service. We conclude that a psychological ownership-based design tool shows potential to contribute to closing the resource loop by allowing end users and service provider of PSS to collaborate on repair and maintenance activities. Our evaluation resulted in suggestions for revising the psychological ownership design tool, including adding ‘Giving Feedback’ to the list of affordances, prioritizing ‘Enabling’ and ‘Simplification’ over others and recognize a reciprocal relationship between service provider and service user when closing the loop activities.
