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Product service systems

Just-in-Time prompts for running, walking, and performing strength exercises in the built environment: 4-Week randomized feasibility study

Background: App-based mobile health exercise interventions can motivate individuals to engage in more physical activity (PA). According to the Fogg Behavior Model, it is important that the individual receive prompts at the right time to be successfully persuaded into PA. These are referred to as just-in-time (JIT) interventions. The Playful Active Urban Living (PAUL) app is among the first to include 2 types of JIT prompts: JIT adaptive reminder messages to initiate a run or walk and JIT strength exercise prompts during a walk or run (containing location-based instruction videos). This paper reports on the feasibility of the PAUL app and its JIT prompts.Objective: The main objective of this study was to examine user experience, app engagement, and users' perceptions and opinions regarding the PAUL app and its JIT prompts and to explore changes in the PA behavior, intrinsic motivation, and the perceived capability of the PA behavior of the participants.Methods: In total, 2 versions of the closed-beta version of the PAUL app were evaluated: a basic version (Basic PAUL) and a JIT adaptive version (Smart PAUL). Both apps send JIT exercise prompts, but the versions differ in that the Smart PAUL app sends JIT adaptive reminder messages to initiate running or walking behavior, whereas the Basic PAUL app sends reminder messages at randomized times. A total of 23 participants were randomized into 1 of the 2 intervention arms. PA behavior (accelerometer-measured), intrinsic motivation, and the perceived capability of PA behavior were measured before and after the intervention. After the intervention, participants were also asked to complete a questionnaire on user experience, and they were invited for an exit interview to assess user perceptions and opinions of the app in depth.Results: No differences in PA behavior were observed (Z=-1.433; P=.08), but intrinsic motivation for running and walking and for performing strength exercises significantly increased (Z=-3.342; P<.001 and Z=-1.821; P=.04, respectively). Furthermore, participants increased their perceived capability to perform strength exercises (Z=2.231; P=.01) but not to walk or run (Z=-1.221; P=.12). The interviews indicated that the participants were enthusiastic about the strength exercise prompts. These were perceived as personal, fun, and relevant to their health. The reminders were perceived as important initiators for PA, but participants from both app groups explained that the reminder messages were often not sent at times they could exercise. Although the participants were enthusiastic about the functionalities of the app, technical issues resulted in a low user experience.Conclusions: The preliminary findings suggest that the PAUL apps are promising and innovative interventions for promoting PA. Users perceived the strength exercise prompts as a valuable addition to exercise apps. However, to be a feasible intervention, the app must be more stable.

Analyse kosteneffectiviteit Electric Road Systems (ERS) voor Nederland

Voor emissievrije transportsector is het van belang dat bedrijven kunnen beschikken over een goed netwerk om de batterij van hun elektrische vrachtwagen op te laden. In dat kader heeft een consortium van Decisio, EVConsult en Sweco ondersteund door de Hogeschool van Amsterdam een onderzoek uitgevoerd voor het ministerie Infrastructuur en Waterstaat: “Analyse Kosteneffectiviteit Electric Road Systems (ERS) voor Nederland”. Door middel van Electric Road Systems kan de batterij van een elektrische vrachtwagen worden opgeladen tijdens het rijden, bijvoorbeeld via een bovenleiding. Het is dus een vorm van dynamisch laden, wat een alternatief voor, dan wel een aanvulling op, het stationair laden bij een laadpaal is. 

Cultural differences in implementing business process management systems

In this paper we present the results of an international comparative research conducted through a special web survey, i.e. an online 'game' to rate and classify Critical Success Factors (CFSs) for BPMS implementations. The survey was completed by 39 respondents from 11 different countries. Central to the research was the question how BPM-systems success factors are perceived by professionals from different countries (i.e. cultural backgrounds) and how this is related to other characteristics such as their level of experience within the BPM domain. The respondents judged a total of 55 factors in two ways: (1) by allocating them to one of the five domains of BPMS implementation, and (2) by ranking their importance for BPMS implementations. Significant differences were found between respondents from Northern European versus Anglo-American countries, and between respondents with different levels of experience with BPMS implementations.

Reinforcement Learning to send reminders at right moments in smartphone Exercise Application

Just-in-time adaptive intervention (JITAI) has gained attention recently and previous studies have indicated that it is an effective strategy in the field of mobile healthcare intervention. Identifying the right moment for the intervention is a crucial component. In this paper the reinforcement learning (RL) technique has been used in a smartphone exercise application to promote physical activity. This RL model determines the ‘right’ time to deliver a restricted number of notifications adaptively, with respect to users’ temporary context information (i.e., time and calendar). A four-week trial study was conducted to examine the feasibility of our model with real target users. JITAI reminders were sent by the RL model in the fourth week of the intervention, while the participants could only access the app’s other functionalities during the first 3 weeks. Eleven target users registered for this study, and the data from 7 participants using the application for 4 weeks and receiving the intervening reminders were analyzed. Not only were the reaction behaviors of users after receiving the reminders analyzed from the application data, but the user experience with the reminders was also explored in a questionnaire and exit interviews. The results show that 83.3% reminders sent at adaptive moments were able to elicit user reaction within 50 min, and 66.7% of physical activities in the intervention week were performed within 5 h of the delivery of a reminder. Our findings indicated the usability of the RL model, while the timing of the moments to deliver reminders can be further improved based on lessons learned.