Collaborating around vertical and horizontal large interactive displays: which way is best?

Large interactive displays are increasingly being placed in work and public settings. An assumption is that the shared surface they provide can facilitate collaboration among co-located groups. An exploratory study was carried out to investigate this claim, and, in particular, to examine the effects of the physical orientation of a display on group working. Two conditions were compared: vertical versus horizontal. A number of differences were found. In the horizontal condition group members switched more between roles, explored more ideas and had a greater awareness of what each other was doing. In the vertical condition groups found it more difficult to collaborate around the display. A follow-up study explored how participants, who had previous experience of using both displays, determined how to work together when provided with both kinds of display. The groups exhibited a more efficient and coordinated way of working but less collaboration in terms of the sharing and discussion of ideas.     

Tackling social inequality in development: beyond access to appropriation of ICTs for employability

ABSTRACT

This study was motivated to investigate social inequality in developed nations, by studying the impact of ICTs upon the vulnerable unemployed and under-employed in Singapore. First, drawing upon Amartya Sen’s capability approach, we operationalize the dependent variable as self-perceived employability, conceptualized as both a measure of well-being and a livelihood capability. Secondly, we used Neil Selwyn’s digital divide hierarchical impact assessment framework, to define and measure the ICT assets of access, usage, and appropriation. Primary data was gathered from 302 under-employed and unemployed workers in Singapore, a developed Asian economy. Regression analyses revealed that higher-order hierarchies of ICT usage and appropriation were associated with the dependent variable of employability, while access was not. We discuss the implications for development discourse in regions with ubiquitous access, advocating for policymakers to focus on ICT training. Further, we offer nuanced findings on vulnerability in developed economies as an enhancement to mainstream ICT4D scholarship, focused exclusively on poverty in developing countries.     

Thickening of waste activated sludge by biological flotation

Waste activated sludge was thickened by biological flotation without polymer flocculant dosage. The BIOFLOT® process utilizes the denitrifying ability of activated sludge bacteria. Gaseous products of anaerobic nitrate reduction cause spontaneous flotation of the sludge suspended solids. Laboratory tests confirmed the dependence of sludge thickening efficiency on available nitrate concentration, flotation time and temperature. Full-scale experiments were performed in a fully automatized unit for discontinuous sludge thickening from wastewater treatment plants with a capacity of up to 5000 I.E. Waste activated sludge from wastewater treatment plants at Pisek. Milevsko and Björnlunda was thickened from 6.2, 10.7 and 3.5 g/l MLSS to 59.4, 59.7 and 66.7 g/t MLSS, respectively. Concentrations of COD, ammonium and phosphate ions were decreased in sludge water. The average nitrate consumption for bioflotation was 21.2 mg NO₁⁻ per 1 g of MLSS of activated sludge. Flotation time ranged from 4 to 48 h.     

Effect of surfactants on the determination of fluoride in waters

Eleven surfactants representing pure cationic anionic and nonionic detergents, four commercial detergents, sodium pyrophosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate, a soap and nitrilotriacetic acid were investigated for their effect on the spectrophotometric and specific ion electrode determinations of fluoride in water. Cationic, anionic and nonionic detergents at concentrations up to 50, 400 and 1000 mg l⁻¹, respectively, gave 5% error or less in the determination of fluoride. Sodium tripolyphosphate interfered badly above 1.5 mg l⁻¹, and therefore the interference by formulated detergents containing tripolyphosphate was large. The fluoride ion activity electrode method is the most suitable procedure for the determination of fluoride in polluted waters containing surfactants.     

Characterization of polyurethane resins by FTIR,TGA, and XRD

Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric Analysis, and X‐ray Diffractometry have been used to investigate the rigid, semi rigid, and soft polyurethane (PU) forms, which were developed by the Group of Analytic Chemistry and Technology of Polymers ‐ USP ‐ São Carlos. The –NCO/–OH ratios were 0.6, 0.5, and 0.3% for rigid, semi rigid, and soft PUs, respectively, showing that different ratios cause differences in thermal behaviors and crystalline structures of the synthesized PU resins. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Examining the infusion of mobile technology by healthcare practitioners in a hospital setting

While mobile Health (mHealth) holds much potential, the infusion of mHealth is still in its infancy and has yet to achieve sufficient attention in the Information Systems field. As a result, the objective of this paper is to identify the (a) determinants for successful infusion of mHealth by healthcare practitioners and (b) benefits healthcare practitioners perceive from infusing mHealth. A sequential mixed methods approach (case study and survey) is employed to achieve this objective. The study contributes to IS theory and practice by: (1) developing a model with six determinants (Availability, Self-Efficacy, Time-Criticality, Habit, Technology Trust, and Task Behaviour) and three individual performance-related benefits associated with mHealth infusion (Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Learning), (2) exploring undocumented determinants and relationships, (3) identifying conditions that both healthcare practitioners and organisations can employ to assist with mHealth infusion and (4) informing healthcare organisations and vendors as to the performance of mHealth in post-adoptive scenarios.