To understand how transition across different thermal zones in a building impacts the thermal perception of occupants, the current work examines occupant feedback in two work environments — nursing staff in hospital wards and the workers in an office. Both studies used a mix of subjective surveys and objective measurements. A total of 96 responses were collected from the hospital wards while 142 were collected from the office. The thermal environment in the hospital wards was perceived as slightly warm on the ASHRAE thermal sensation scale (mean TSV = 1.2), while the office workers rated their environment on the cool side (mean TSV = 0.15). The results also show that when the transitions were across temperature differences within 2 °C, the thermal perception was not impacted by the magnitude of the temperature difference — as reflected in occupant thermal sensation and thermal comfort/thermal acceptability vote. This would imply that the effect of temperature steps on thermal perception, if any, within these boundaries, was extremely short lived. These findings go towards establishing the feasibility of heterogeneous indoor thermal environments and thermal zoning of workspaces for human comfort.
Businesses today are facing ever greater competition. Products and services need to be delivered faster, more efficiently and at lower price. Companies are forced to supply customised products: demand-oriented production. In order to meet this changing demand, companies have to subcontract and collaborate. An efficient web service system that defines tasks and roles is indispensable for achieving this. The spiders in the web are people. People have a number of tools to hand that enable them to design or adapt the process-oriented organisation. In this regard, people have access to an ever increasing number of standardised process objects (web services) that are available via the Internet.
Creative SMEs are heavily focusing on the creating process designing new products and services. Consequently, their managers tend to loose contact with crucial management issues. Especially their knowledge of the financial aspects of their business can be so limited that they fail to connect with the financial viability of their business, which can lead to serious business problems. This paper draws on a number of studies that examine the role of outsiders -contracted professional service providers- in relation to business success of SMEs. In the light of the potential growth of Flemish creative SMEs on international markets the question can be raised as to what extent outsiders, and more specifically financial service providers like accountants and banks, contribute to the export success of these firms. In this paper therefore the role played by accountants and banks was explored to solve export-related questions by small furniture designers in Flanders, Belgium. Export can be considered as the most successful growth and therefore raises interesting management issues for creative SMEs. Little is known about the content and intensity of services of accountants and bank employees in relation to export-related questions of owner-managers of small creative firms. In order to examine the fit between supply and demand the focus is on outsider contribution during six phases of export.
What if living organisms communicated signals from the environment to us and thereby offered a sustainable alternative to electronic sensors? Within the field of biodesign, designers and scientists are collaborating with living organisms to produce new materials with ecological benefits. The company Hoekmine, in collaboration with designers, has been researching the potential of flavobacteria for producing sustainable colorants to be applied on everyday products. These non-harmful bacteria can change their form, texture and iridescent color in response to diverse environmental factors, such as humidity and temperature. Here, billions of cells are sensing and integrating the results as color. Therefore, Hoekmine envisions biosensors, which would minimize the use of increasingly demanded electronic sensors, and thus, the implementation of scarce and toxic materials. Developing a living sensor by hosting flavobacteria in a biobased and biodegradable flexible material offers opportunities for sustainable alternatives to electronic sensors. Aiming to take this concept to the next level, we propose a research collaboration between Avans, Hoekmine and a company specialized in biobased and biodegradable labels, Bio4Life. Together with this interdisciplinary team, we aim to bridge microbiology and embodiment design, and contribute to the development of a circular economy where digital technology and organic systems merge in the design of Living Circular Labels (LCLs). Throughout the project we will use an iterative approach between designing and testing LCLs that host living flavobacteria and additionally, methods for the end user to activate the bacteria’s growth at a given time.
We propose to do an experimental study in which we will use 360 video and still photo simulations that portray varying levels of crowding. Simulations will be presented to 25 student participants and 25 older adult participants (65+; a lucrative tourist segment) in an experimental setting while signals of their emotional responses are recorded from their brain (EEG) and body (skin conductivity and heart rate) at our Experience Measurement Lab. A questionnaire will measure their intent to recommend and their willingness to pay for the ‘experiences’ (simulations) they have viewed. Analyses will determine optimal levels of crowding for the quality of the tourist experience, but also for income at the destination, accounting for the fact that a more crowded destination features more potential sources of income (visitors), but each a (possibly) different level of willingness to pay, including potential implications for local tourist taxes. Models will also account for possibly different processes in the two different age groups. Furthermore, modelling word-of-mouth/mouse marketing based on intent to recommend will also make it possible to predict how crowding affects demand long-term. Partner: KU Leuven.
Despite the vast potential drone technologies have, their integration to our society has been slow due to restricting regulations. Recently, a new EU-wide drone regulation has been published. This regulation is intended to harmonize the non-uniform national regulations across EU. It also relaxes the existing restrictions and allows previously prohibited operations that have significant socio-economic and technological impacts, such as autonomous BVLOS flights even over populated areas. However, there are challenges with regard to specifics and accessibilities of the required technological & procedural prerequisite this regulation entails. There is, therefore, a demand from SMEs for practical knowledge on technological and procedural aspects of a safe, robust and BVLOS operable security drone with short and long-term autonomy that fully complies to the new drone regulation. The required drone technologies include robust obstacle avoidance, intelligence failsafe for robust, reliable and safe autonomous flights with long-term autonomy capabilities. The operational procedures include SORA, pre/in/post-flight analysis and ROC/LUC permissions. In this project, these two aspects will be addressed in an integral manner. The consortium recognizes that developing such advanced security drone in two years is ambitious. Yet, they firmly believe that it is realizable due to the complementary expertise of the consortium and their commitment for the success of the project. With this project, the knowledge institutes will enrich their practical knowledge in the area of autonomous and BVLOS capable drones, operational procedures, risk analysis and mitigations. The partner companies will be equipped with the necessary technologies, operation permission and knowledge on optimal operation procedures to be at the forefront and benefit from the exploding market opportunities when the new regulation is fully implemented in July 2022. Moreover, this project will also make a demonstrable contribution to the renewal of higher professional education.
