Search results

Digital kiosks and inclusivity

Mobility hubs facilitate multimodal transport and have the potential to improve the accessibility and usability of new mobility services. However, in the context of increasing digitalisation, using mobility hubs requires digital literacy or even owning a smartphone. This constraint may result in the exclusion of current and potential users. Digital kiosks might prove to be a solution, as they can facilitate the use of the services found at mobility hubs. Nevertheless, knowledge of how digital kiosks may improve the experience of disadvantaged groups remains limited in the literature. As part of the SmartHubs project, a field test with a digital kiosk was conducted with 105 participants in Brussels (Belgium) and Rotterdam (The Netherlands) to investigate the intention to use it and its usability in the context of mobility hubs. This study adopted a mixed methods approach, combining participant observation and questionnaire surveys. Firstly, participants were asked to accomplish seven tasks with the digital kiosk while being observed by the researchers. Finally, assisted questionnaire surveys were conducted with the same participants, including close-ended, open-ended and socio-demographic questions. The results offer insights into the experience of the users of a digital kiosk in a mobility hub and the differences across specific social groups. These findings may be relevant for decision-makers and practitioners working in urban mobility on subjects such as mobility hubs and shared mobility, and for user interface developers concerned with the inclusivity of digital kiosks.

Introduction to “Inspired to change: A kaleidoscoop of transitions in higher education“

Technological developments have a major impact on how we live, work and learn together. Several authors refer to a fourth revolution in which robots and other intelligent systems take over an increasing number of the current (routine) tasks carried out by humans (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2014; Est et al., 2015; Ford, 2016; Helbing, 2014; Ross, 2017; Schwab, 2016). The relationship between man and machine will change fundamentally as a result. We are already noticing this shift, most specifically in the workplace. E.g., in the field of health care, digitalisation and robotisation can empower patients and their families. Hospitals are primarily intended for clients with complex care needs. This has consequences for the tasks carried out by nurses, who become more of a ‘care director’ or ‘research nurse’. Hospitals approach this in different ways, resulting in considerable diversity as to how these roles are fulfilled. These changes, albeit diverse, can also be seen in the roles of accountants, police officers and financial advisers at banks (Biemans, Sjoer, Brouwer and Potting, 2017). The traditional occupational profiles no longer exist and the essence of these professions is shifting. This does not make such occupations less attractive, but requires different qualities. The demand for more highly educated professionals who can carry out complex tasks in a creative and interdisciplinary manner will increase (McKinsey, 2017). Also, other social developments, such as migration and greenification, prompt us to ask new questions, resulting in new paths towards identifying solutions.

E-Procurement as Digital Collaboration in an Integrated Coalition Limited by EU Regulation

from the article: Supply chain integration intensifies through digitalisation of business administration (BA) processes. However, it is unclear whether differences exist between the public and private sector in development or implementation of supply chain integration solutions. The large scope of the supply chain, being a large network of companies working together towards one end product, is limited for this study to e-procurement processes. The related software solutions are included. This study starts with a theoretical snapshot of e-procurement. This is followed by a process viewpoint of the e-procurement function. Next five different forms of e-procurement cooperation are presented seen from an actors network viewpoint. The utilisation of these forms create insight in the differences between the public and private sector in their e-procurement adoption behaviour. The process maturity scan results shows that the process maturity between the two sectors is comparable. However, this only explains the differences per sector concerning their ability to improve and control their processes in general. For reliability, this step is followed by three in-depth interviews combined with analyses of recent e-procurement behaviour studies involving the two sectors. The final step compares the maturity outcome with the in-depth data results. Both sectors show certain forms of coalition in the e-procurement. Where ‘competition’ is a construct that drives the private sector, the public sector has cost control as a driver towards collaboration and integration within e-procurement. This can only partially be explained by the past European financial crises. Differences are found in digital collaboration and the integration itself. The most important difference lies in the European tendering procedure to which the public sector (unlike the private) is restricted. In nature an e-procurement design and development project does not fit the prescribed procedures.

DigiRealXL : Digital realities as key enabling technology / methodology for Socio Ecological-Economic transformation. (Presentation parallel session Digitalisation)

Prototype van bank gemaakt van oude archiefkasten

Dutch:Repurpose: Afgedankte producten en reststromen hergebruiken in een andere functie en/of context om daarmee de waarde van deze materialen te behouden. Binnen dat kader is voor Ahrend de CiJal Bench ontworpen, waarbij gebruik is gemaakt van kunststof (PP) lameldeuren en Ciranol werkbladen.De lameldeuren zijn afkomstig van jaloeziedeurkasten die overtollig zijn door o.a. de toenemende digitalisatie en de groeiende trend van thuiswerken. De Ciranol bladen zijn afkomstig van teruggenomen bureaus, die na revitalisatie opnieuw in de markt worden gezet. Daarbij worden de bureaus voorzien van nieuwe werkbladen, waarbij de oorspronkelijke Ciranol bladen als reststroom overblijven.Door deze twee reststromen gecombineerd her te gebruiken en dus te kiezen voor Repurpose als strategie binnen de R-Ladder wordt hiermee een aanzienlijk hogere waarde gecreëerd, dan wanneer zou worden gekozen voor de huidige strategieën voor de twee afzonderlijke reststromen: Recycling en Recovery voor respectievelijk de lameldeuren en de Ciranol bladen.English:Repurpose: Reusing discarded products and residual flows within another function and/or context to maintain the value of these materials. Within that framework the CiJal Bench is designed for Ahrend, with the use of plastic (PP) tambour doors and Ciranol desktops.The tambour doors come from tambour door cabinets, which are left over due to the growing digitalisation and the trend of working from home. The Ciranol desktops are coming from returned office desks, which are revitalised before being brought back to the market. Those desks are fitted with new desktops, leaving the Ciranol desktops as a residual flow.By combining these two residual flows for reuse and thus choosing for Repurpose as a strategy within the R-Ladder, the created value is considerably higher than when choosing for the two initial strategies for these two materials: Recycling and Recovery for the tambour doors and the Ciranol desktops respectively.

Implementing organisational change in a digitalising facilities management organisation through stewardship interventions

While digitalisation requires facilities management (FM) organisations to change at an increasing rate, little is known about the mechanisms that create ownership and enable individuals to implement changes in everyday FM practice. In this study, these mechanisms are explored from a stewardship perspective. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights in the dynamics of organisational change in FM by analysing how stewardship behaviour leads to change.A process model for implementing organisational change is constructed, based on existing theoretical insights from stewardship and intrapreneurship literature. The model is evaluated in a case study through analysis of critical events. Interviewing was the key data collection method.The process model gives an event-driven explanation of change through psychological ownership. Analysis of multiple critical events suggests that the model explains intra-organisational as well as inter-organisational change. The case data further suggests that, compared to intra-organisational change, tailored relational and motivational support is more important for inter-organisational change because of the higher risks involved. Job crafting emerged as an unanticipated finding that offers interesting prospects for future FM research.The process model offers guidance for leaders in FM organisations on providing tailored support to internal and external employees during periods of organisational change.Stewardship and intrapreneurship are combined to provide insights on organisational change in FM. The study demonstrates how intrapreneurial behaviour and stewardship behaviour can be linked to create innovation within and between organisations.