Social dominance in cattle is important when resources are scarce and competitive situations occur such as in a queue in front of an automated milking system (AMS). We aimed to 1) create and validate an algorithm to automatically register waiting time in front of an AMS (WT_AMS) for individual cows and 2) study the effect of dominance on observed WT_AMS. Our research took place on a commercial dairy farm in the Netherlands housing 110 Holstein Friesian dairy cows and operating a two stand GEA M1one AMS. Cows were fitted with a NEDAP SmartTag Neck that included cow location. Fifteen one-hour-long observation periods took place during which three researchers noted the time an animal came into a preselected open waiting area in front of the AMS and the time of either leaving the waiting area or entering the AMS. During the time an animal was in the waiting area dominance behavior performed or received by the focal animal was registered. An algorithm was developed to determine the WT_AMS based on location data. WT_AMS for observations and algorithm were strongly correlated (Spearman's rank-order correlation: r=0.828; p=0.000; n=112). A weak negative correlation was found between dominance and waiting time in front of the AMS (r=- 0.248; p=0.01; n=66). 1n conclusion, the algorithm can be used to automatically assess WT_AMS accurately, and dominance behavior was found to have a small effect on waiting time in front of the AMS. More research is needed to determine the effect, for instance, of disease on individual WT_AMS.
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Productivity in construction is relatively low compared to other industries. This is particularly true for labour productivity. Problems that contribute to low labour productivity are often related to unorganised workspace, and inefficient organisation of work, materials and equipment. In terms of time use, site workers spend time on various activities including installing, waiting, walking etc. In lean production terms time use should be value adding and not wasteful or non-value adding. The study reported in this paper has endeavoured to measure the time use and movement applying an automated data system. The case study reflected a limited application to a specific kind of activity, namely doors installation. The study investigated time use and movements based on interviews and on automated detection of workforce. The interviews gave insights in the time build-up of work and value-added time use per day. The automated tracking indicated time intervals and uninterrupted presence of site workers on work locations giving indications of value adding time. The time measurements of the study enable comparison of time use categories of site workers. The study showed the data system calculated the same amounts of productive and value adding time one would expect based on the organisation and characteristics of the work. However, the discussion of the results underlined that the particular characteristics of individual projects and types of team work organisation may well have an impact on productivity levels of workers. More application and comparative studies of projects and further development and extension of the automated data system should be helpful.
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Objective: To systematically describe changes in pain and functioning in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) awaiting total joint replacement (TJR), and to assess determinants of this change. Methods: MEDLINE®, EMBASE, CINAHL® and Cochrane Database were searched through June 2008. The reference lists of eligible publications were reviewed. Studies that monitored pain and functioning in patients with hip or knee OA during the waiting list for TJR were analyzed. Data were collected with a pre-specified collection tool. Methodological quality was assessed and a best-evidence analysis was performed to summarize results. Results: Fifteen studies, of which two were of high quality, were included and involved 788 hip and 858 knee patients (mean age 59-72 and main wait 42-399 days). There was strong evidence that pain (in hip and knee OA) and self-reported functioning (in hip OA) do not deteriorate during a
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Introduction: Retrospective studies suggest that a rapid initiation of treatment results in a better prognosis for patients in the emergency department. There could be a difference between the actual medication administration time and the documented time in the electronic health record. In this study, the difference between the observed medication administration time and documentation time was investigated. Patient and nurse characteristics were also tested for associations with observed time differences. Methods: In this prospective study, emergency nurses were followed by observers for a total of 3 months. Patient inclusion was divided over 2 time periods. The difference in the observed medication administration time and the corresponding electronic health record documentation time was measured. The association between patient/nurse characteristics and the difference in medication administration and documentation time was tested with a Spearman correlation or biserial correlation test. Results: In 34 observed patients, the median difference in administration and documentation time was 6.0 minutes (interquartile range 2.0-16.0). In 9 (26.5%) patients, the actual time of medication administration differed more than 15 minutes with the electronic health record documentation time. High temperature, lower saturation, oxygen-dependency, and high Modified Early Warning Score were all correlated with an increasing difference between administration and documentation times. Discussion: A difference between administration and documentation times of medication in the emergency department may be common, especially for more acute patients. This could bias, in part, previously reported time-to-treatment measurements from retrospective research designs, which should be kept in mind when outcomes of retrospective time-to-treatment studies are evaluated.
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In this article it is argued that the knowledge and wisdom are there to reclaim our place in nature as a peaceful species. The technology is also there, although we walked dangerously close to the abyss to get hold of it. No one intended to become an enemy of ecology and our own survival. We gained powers we could not handle, consciousness lagged behind. Not anymore, times are changing. We have knowledge, technology and the urgent realization that things have to change. Make way for wisdom, which we have long stifled. What are we waiting for?
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Past research on designing for behavioural change mostly concerned linear design processes, whereas in practice, Agile design methods are increasingly popular. This paper evaluates the possibilities and limitations of using Agile design methods in theory-driven design for behavioural change. We performed a design case study, consisting of a student design team working on improving waiting experiences at Schiphol Airport security and check-in. Our study showed that Agile design methods are usable when designing for behavioural change. Moreover, the Behavioural Lenses toolkit used in the design process is beneficial in facilitating theory-driven Agile design. The combination of an Agile design process and tools to evidentially inform the design enabled the design team to formulate viable and interesting concepts for improving waiting-line experiences. However, limitations also occurred: a mismatch between the rate at which the Scream method proceeded and the time and momentum needed to conduct in-depth research.
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This paper presents work aimed at improved organization and performance of production in housing renovation projects. The purpose is to explore and demonstrate the potential of lean work organization and industrialized product technology to improve workflow and productive time. The research included selected case studies that have been found to implement lean work organization and industrialized product technology in an experimental setting. Adjustments to the work organization and construction technology have been implemented on site. The effects of the adjustments have been measured and were reviewed with operatives and managers. The data have been collected and analyzed, in comparison to traditional settings. Two projects were studied. The first case implied am application of lean work organization in which labor was reorganized redistributing and balancing operations among operatives of different trades. In the second case industrialized solution for prefabricated installation of prefabricated roofs. In both cases the labor productivity increased substantially compared to traditional situations. Although the limited number of cases, both situations appeared to be representative for other housing projects. This has led to conclusions extrapolated from both cases applicable to other projects, and contribution to the knowledge to improve production in construction. Vrijhoef, R. (2016). “Effects of Lean Work Organization and Industrialization on Workflow and Productive Time in Housing Renovation Projects.” In: Proc. 24 th Ann. Conf. of the Int’l. Group for Lean Construction, Boston, MA, USA, sect.2 pp. 63–72. Available at: .
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By presenting tourists with real-time information an increase in efficiency and satisfaction of their day planning can be achieved. At the same time, real-time information services can offer the municipality the opportunity to spread the tourists throughout the city centre. An important factor for success is if we can influence tourist day planning. Therefore we studied how tourists could be persuaded to change their planning with real-time information services. This was done by providing the tourists with real-time sensor data about the queue length at the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. Two groups of tourists were interviewed about an application that was able to show the queue length at the museum. One group of tourists was interviewed while in the process of planning their day, and one group was interviewed while they were waiting in the queue. Results showed that the information about the queue length and information to visit alternative tourist attractions were trusted by both of the groups. Furthermore, the tourists were very inclined to change their route and plans for that day based on the queue length.
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from the paper: "This paper presents a research endeavouring to model site work in a 4D BIM model. Next simulations are performed with this model in 5 scenarios including specific interventions in work organisation, notably changing positons of facilities for site workers. A case study has been done in a construction project in the Netherlands. The research has showed the possibility to model time use of site workers in 4D BIM. Next the research has showed potential to perform and calculate specific interventions in the model, and prospect realistic changes in productive time use as a result."
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In bepaalde single-core configuraties met één processor, b.v. embedded control systems zoals robotic applications die uit vele korte processen bestaan, kunnen de context switches van een proces een aanzienlijke hoeveelheid van de beschikbare processing power verbruiken. Het verminderen van het aantal context switches vermindert de executietijd en verhoogt daardoor de prestaties van de toepassing. Bovendien is de end-to-end executietijd van de processen langer dan strict noodzakelijk, b.v. omdat de processen moeten wachten op controllers die een taak uitvoeren. Door de regels voor synchrone communicatie via kanalen in de procesalgebraïsche specificatietaal Communicating Sequential Processes te versoepelen, kunnen we de end-to-end executietijd verkorten. In ons onderzoek definiëren we verschillende graafproducten, bewijzen we dat deze producten een prestatiewinst opleveren (onder bepaalde voorwaarden) en we werken de numerieke en combinatorische aspecten van deze graafproducten uit.
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