Development of a stakeholder identification and analysis method for human factors integration in work system design interventions – Change Agent Infrastructure

In any work system design intervention—for example, a physical workplace re-design, a work process change, or an equipment upgrade—it is often emphasized how important it is to involve stakeholders in the process of analysis and design, to gain their perspectives as input to the development, and ensure their future acceptance of the solution. While the users of an artifact or workplace are most often regarded as being the most important stakeholders in a design intervention, in a work-system context there may be additional influential stakeholders who influence and negotiate the design intervention's outcomes, resource allocation, requirements, and implementation. Literature shows that it is uncommon for empirical ergonomics and human factors (EHF) research to apply and report the use of any structured stakeholder identification method at all, leading to ad-hoc selections of whom to consider important. Conversely, other research fields offer a plethora of stakeholder identification and analysis methods, few of which seem to have been adopted in the EHF context. This article presents the development of a structured method for identification, classification, and qualitative analysis of stakeholders in EHF-related work system design intervention. It describes the method's EHF-related theoretical underpinnings, lessons learned from four use cases, and the incremental development of the method that has resulted in the current method procedure and visualization aids. The method, called Change Agent Infrastructure (abbreviated CHAI), has a mainly macroergonomic purpose, set on increasing the understanding of sociotechnical interactions that create the conditions for work system design intervention, and facilitating participative efforts.     

Rapid Aging as a Key to Understand Deactivation of Ni/Al2O3 Catalysts Applied for the CO2 Methanation

Catalysis Letters - We developed a rapid aging method for Ni/Al2O3 methanation catalysts mimicking the real aging in the actual application. The method is based on hydrothermal deactivation of the...     

Mathematical Modeling of Drying Processes of Selected Fruits and Vegetables

This study investigates the behavior of fruit and vegetable samples during drying. The experimental data are fitted to several different thin-layer drying models. Regression analysis is used to determine model parameters, while statistical indicators serve to evaluate the goodness of fit. The power function model gives the best fit for all examined samples. Based on this model, different drying and heat storage technologies can be combined to ensure that the required residual moisture content of an agricultural product is reached. It is demonstrated on the case of a specific Togolese processing plant that under favorable conditions, fossil fuel consumption can be decreased by 33 %.     

Experiencing CSCL: from motivation to the embodied experience and beyond

International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning -     

Building community together: towards equitable CSCL practices and processes

International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning -     

Beyond economics—understanding the decision-making of German small private landlords in terms of energy efficiency investment

The German government aims to achieve virtually climate-neutral building stock by 2050 to tackle climate change. To realise this goal, comprehensive policy packages based on neoclassical economic theory are in place to foster energy efficiency investment. However, in the building sector, there is increasingly a gap between this aspiration and the reality. It is claimed that one of the main reasons for this is that the existing policy framework fails to address the specific characteristics and needs of different groups of building owners. This is a particular challenge in Germany, where 80% of all dwellings are owned privately and 37% are rented out by small private landlords (SPL). Despite the significant numbers of SPL, they often follow black box decision-making processes when considering energy renovations. In this study, the author uses an explanatory model to understand the decision-making processes of SPL, combining theoretical aspects from different research disciplines. This model was applied to a low-demand housing market in a neighbourhood in the Ruhr area. Eighteen semi-structured interviews (each lasting between 37 and 115 min) were conducted, demonstrating that in addition to economic factors, the values, beliefs, norms and routines of SPL—as well as their personal capabilities and contextual factors—play an important role in their decision-making. Based on the findings, recommendations are made for enhancing the effectiveness of existing energy efficiency policies and other supporting instruments (e.g. tenancy law and social legislation), tailored to the specific needs of SPL.     

A flexible air separation process: 1. Design and steady-state optimizations

The flexible operation of energy-intensive processes, such as cryogenic air separation, has economic potential due to increasing fluctuations of the electricity markets. Multiproduct air separation processes with high ratios of liquid product are very promising for flexible operation due to storable products. We present a process design with an integrated liquefication cycle and liquid assist operation, that facilitates a high liquid product ratio and a flexible process operation. We use a mechanistic dynamic process model in steady-state process optimizations covering the wide operational range of the proposed process. The optimization results show that the power demand can be varied in a range from 3.5 to 28 MW without violating operational constraints by changing the nitrogen and oxygen production rates. Thus, the proposed process is a promising air separation candidate for flexible operation with respect to fluctuating electricity markets.