Search Results (40)

Background and objectives: Numerous studies and meta-analyses have established the efficacy of telemonitoring for blood pressure and other components of metabolic syndrome in improving disease management. Nevertheless, the adoption of telemonitoring technologies is often hindered by personal, technological, and systemic barriers. In Slovakia, where patient–physician contact rates are high, there is limited research on patients’ perspectives regarding telemedicine adoption for cardiovascular risk management. The objective of this study was to examine patients’ perspectives on and perceived obstacles to the use of telemonitoring for arterial hypertension and dyslipidemia in Slovakia. Methods: This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey targeted a cohort of 18,053 patients. The survey instrument was designed to gather data on several key areas: patient demographic characteristics, blood pressure measurement habits, the utilization of smart technologies, perceived benefits and barriers to telemonitoring, and patients’ knowledge of their lipid profiles and cardiovascular risk factors. Statistical analysis included chi-square tests, ANOVA, and effect size calculations with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: A total of 1787 patient responses (9.9%) were collected. Among the respondents, 67.4% (n = 1204) had arterial hypertension, while 7.9% (n = 95) were on non-pharmacological therapy. Only 21.2% (n = 255) of hypertensive patients measured their blood pressure daily, with a significantly higher proportion of men than women (28.6% vs. 12.7%, p = 0.011, Cohen’s d = 0.42). The most frequent users of blood pressure monitoring were in the 31–45 age group (p = 0.001, η² = 0.08). A total of 19.4% (n = 347) of respondents used wearable devices, and 6.3% (n = 113) used blood pressure monitors connected to an application. Smart technology use was significantly more common in the 31–45 age group (p = 0.01, Cramer’s V = 0.15). Moderate interest in telemedicine was expressed by 69.8% (n = 1247) of respondents, though only 27.4% (n = 490) showed strong interest. The majority of patients (73.8%, n = 1319) did not know their LDL-C levels, and 45.7% (n = 817) of those who did had elevated levels. Conclusions: The findings suggest that while interest in telemedicine methods for the management of arterial hypertension and dyslipidemia exists among Slovak patients, it is more moderate than initially assumed. Importantly, expressed willingness to participate in a study should not be directly equated with readiness to adopt new technologies in daily practice. Successful integration of telemonitoring into the Slovak healthcare system will therefore require not only patient engagement but also active support from healthcare providers to overcome practical and motivational barriers. These findings highlight the need for targeted implementation strategies that address the specific barriers identified in the Central and Eastern European healthcare context. Full article

This study extended the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) by incorporating affective constructs (innovativeness, optimism, and hedonic motivation) to examine user adoption of autonomous bus (AB) in China, where government-supported deployment creates unique adoption dynamics. Analyzing 313 responses, collected via stratified sampling using SmartPLS 4.0, we identified innovativeness as the dominant driver (total effect, β = 0.347), directly influencing behavioral intention (β = 0.164*) and indirectly shaping optimism (β = 0.692*), effort expectancy (β = 0.347*), and hedonic motivation (β = 0.681*). Our findings highlight contextual influences in public service systems. Performance expectancy (β = 0.153*) exerts a stronger effect than hedonic or social factors (H6/H3 rejected), while optimism demonstrates a dual scaffolding effect (OPT→EE, β = 0.189*; OPT→PE, β = 0.401*), reflecting a “calculative optimism” pattern where users balance technological interest with pragmatic utility evaluation in policy-supported deployment contexts. From a practical perspective, these findings suggest targeting high-innovativeness users through incentive programs, emphasizing system reliability over ease of use, and implementing adapted designs. This study contributes to the literature both theoretically, by validating the hierarchical role of innovativeness in UTAUT, and practically, by offering actionable strategies for China’s ongoing AB deployment initiative, including ISO-standardized UX and policy tools such as municipal Innovator Badges. Full article

The development of wearable robotic exoskeletons has seen rapid progress in recent years, driven by the growing need for technologies that support motor rehabilitation, assist individuals with physical impairments, and enhance human capabilities in both clinical and everyday contexts. Within this field, elbow exoskeletons have emerged as a key focus due to the joint’s essential role in upper limb functionality and its frequent impairment following neurological injuries such as stroke. With increasing research activity, there is a strong interest in evaluating these systems not only from a technical perspective but also in terms of user comfort, adaptability, and clinical relevance. This review investigates recent advancements in elbow exoskeleton technology, evaluating their effectiveness and identifying key design challenges and limitations. Devices are categorized based on three main criteria: mechanical structure (rigid, soft, or hybrid), actuation method, and sensing technologies. Additionally, the review classifies systems by their supported range of motion, flexion–extension, supination–pronation, or both. Through a systematic analysis of these features, the paper highlights current design trends, common trade-offs, and research gaps, aiming to guide the development of more practical, effective, and accessible elbow exoskeletons. Full article

Artificial intelligence (AI) affects many aspects of modern life, and most predictions are that the impact of AI on business and society will only increase. In the marketing function of today’s leading businesses, two main types of AI can be discerned. Traditional AI centres on supervised learning algorithms to support and enable the application of data rules, predictive functionality and other AI-based features. Generative AI, on the other hand, uses large language model (LLM) data sets and user prompts to generate new content. While AI-generated applications and content can boost efficiency, they also present challenges regarding transparency and authenticity, and the question of bias is central to these concerns. This article adopts a qualitative inductive approach to research this issue in the context of the marketing function of a global software supplier. Based on a systematic literature review and in-depth interviews with company marketeers, the perceived bias issues in coding, prompting and deployment of AI in digital marketing are identified. Then, based on a provisional conceptual framework derived from the extant literature, an analytical framework for revealing and mitigating bias in digital marketing is put forward, incorporating the perspectives of industry-based practitioners. The framework can be used as a checklist of marketing activities in which bias may exist in either traditional or generative AI across different stages of the customer journey. The article thus contributes to the development of theory and practice regarding the management of bias in AI-generated content and will be of interest to researchers and practitioners as an operational guide and point of departure for subsequent studies. Full article

This study, grounded in the theory of public value, explores how spatial form, urban governance, and people’s experiences influence the realization of public value in the regeneration of historic environments (HER) in China. Addressing the current dilemma faced by historic districts between “destructive construction” and “frozen preservation”, this research proposes that integrating public value into the HER process is crucial for promoting sustainable urban development. This study reviews key theories of public value and critically evaluates their application in historic environment regeneration. From a public perception perspective, this study constructs a hexagon public value model encompassing intrinsic, instrumental, and institutional values, analyzed through the dimensions of spatial form, urban governance, and people’s experiences. Through an empirical analysis of five case studies in China (Chengdu Kuanzhai Alley, Shanghai Tianzifang Alley, Guangzhou Enning Road, Beijing Nanluogu Alley, and Taiyuan Zhonglou Street), this research employs structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the interactions between these factors. The results reveal that spatial form has a significant positive impact on intrinsic value, while urban governance and people’s experiences have significant positive impacts on intrinsic, instrumental, and institutional values. The methodology combines bottom-up (based on grounded theory analysis of online user reviews) and top-down (literature review) approaches, ensuring the authenticity and theoretical depth of the questionnaire. The findings offer in-depth understanding and practical guidance for future HER work, contributing to bridging the knowledge gap in this field and providing a reference for urban managers and planners to balance preservation, development, and public interests in historic environment regeneration. Full article

Human–Machine Interfaces (HMIs) in autonomous driving technology have recently gained significant research interest in public transportation. However, most of the studies are biased towards qualitative methods, while combining quantitative and qualitative approaches has yet to receive commensurate attention in measuring user acceptance of design outcome evaluation. To the best of our knowledge, no standardized test procedure that combines quantitative and qualitative methods has been formed to evaluate and compare the interrelationships between different designs of HMIs and their psychological effects on users. This paper proposes a practical and comprehensive protocol to guide assessments of user acceptance of HMI design solutions. We first defined user acceptance and analyzed the existing evaluation methods. Then, specific ergonomic factors and requirements that the designed output HMI should meet were identified. Based on this, we developed a protocol to evaluate a particular HMI solution from in- and out-of-vehicle perspectives. Our theoretical protocol combines objective and subjective measures to compare users’ behavior when interacting with Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) in a virtual experimental environment, especially in public transportation. Standardized testing procedures provide researchers and interaction designers with a practical framework and offer theoretical support for subsequent studies. Full article

The positive energy district (PED) concept is attracting growing research interest; however, the need for practical approaches to facilitate their implementation remains crucial. This study, framed in the COST Action ‘Positive Energy Districts European Network’, offers a comprehensive review of the roadmaps, pathways, and guidelines—namely ‘PED-Transition Approaches’—currently available to support the implementation of district-scale innovative models, thereby advancing energy transitions and enhancing livability at the city level. The review involved a systematic search and web scraping of documents, including scientific and grey literature, as well as EU-funded projects’ reports. The studies were identified according to multiple filters and eligibility criteria, then categorised in a structured repository using a multidimensional matrix, and finally examined following three-levels of detail (i.e., bibliometric study) overview and in-depth analysis. The findings reflect the main characteristics, gaps, and challenges in PED implementation by underlying the growing need for effective step-by-step, user-centric, and context-based transition approaches. In conclusion, the research, building on an extensive literature of multiple inspirational methodologies and their associated use cases, is a strong basis to develop sequential pathways to facilitate PED implementation among key stakeholders in a short–medium-term perspective towards a climate-neutral city vision. Full article

In the context of proteomic-scale research, it is imperative to automatically analyze numerous species and subspecies to discern distinctive characteristics present in multiple species of the fungi kingdom that contain sequences of interest that could fulfill a specific biological function. To achieve this, complex sequences must be recognized within an organism’s entire set of proteomes. Our study presents FungiRegEx, a piece of software that facilitates the identification of regular expressions of proteomes of fungal organisms and uses real-time data retrieval of the different species from the JGI Mycocosm database without the need to download any file. Integrating a graphical user interface that makes it easy to use, the tool offers regular expression searches on 2402 fungal species from the JGI Mycocosm portal. The tool was validated with the AXSXG sequence and the RXRL effector, demonstrating the effectiveness of FungiRegEx in identifying user-defined patterns in the recovered sequences. This tool allows customization and filtering, and it can save results if required, combining speed, adaptability, and ease of use. It provides an experience without a console and programming, displaying the results in a GUI and making them easier to read. Its architecture guarantees optimized use of resources, time consumption, and implementation flexibility, allowing the customization of specific software parameters for resource management. The tool’s potential for future research and exploration is emphasized, providing a nuanced perspective on its practical use within the fungal genomics community. The tools are available at the addresses mentioned in the text. Full article

Internet users consistently lean towards influencers who actively participate in their respective areas of interest, providing thorough information and genuine product reviews. These practices have the potential to positively influence the decision-making process related to purchasing. This study delves into the realm of influencer marketing, examining it from the viewpoints of both consumers and specialists. The study is based on the qualitative research, employing both individual in-depth interviews and a focus group. More precisely, the investigation included a series of six individual interviews with influencers from Romania and a focus group comprising eight participants to grasp their perceptions of influencer marketing campaigns. The findings underscore the importance of transparency and authenticity for content creators. Influencers tailor their content based on the platform they use, revealing an existing correlation among them, all while underscoring the significance of transparency and striving to maintain close connections with their followers. This study not only offers a fresh perspective on understanding consumers’ views regarding the activities of content creators in the online domain but also sheds light on influencers’ perspectives concerning collaborations, content creation, and their relationships within their community. Theoretical implications encompass the identification of novel behavioral traits among Romanian consumers regarding influencer marketing actions and contributes to a clearer understanding of the term influencer marketing. Full article

Although research investigating collaborative partnerships with older adults has been slow to develop, promoting user involvement and co-production is gaining interest in aging studies, with the aim of improving interactions between the different stakeholders involved, and toward the more effective delivery of care provisions and better community life for aging people. This is based on existing evidence that improved dynamics within collaborative and mutual learning processes can enhance the integration of new practices at different levels by generating novel creative approaches and practice frameworks for the delivery of quality care for older adults. This article presents the findings from a series of narrative interviews conducted with different stakeholders involved in arts-health practices in Finland and South Korea. Focusing on empirical perspectives of these stakeholders on arts-health practices—from planning to assessment—this study identifies vital components of co-producing and co-delivering arts-health practices for older adults and highlights the importance of utilizing their late-life creativity as active partners in such practices across cultural contexts. In addition to identifying three central stages of developing arts-health practices, two theocratical models are proposed to provide structural support for collaborative partnerships in arts-health practices, with the aim of promoting holistic care provisions for aging people through such practices. Full article

Working actively to engage service users in participatory practices is both a policy expectation and a moral imperative for mental health social workers in contemporary Western mental health care. Recent research suggests that such practices of service user involvement are becoming increasingly individualised and driven by market logic. Based on an ethnographic study within a Swedish public psychiatric organisation, this article applies the concept of commodification to examine this trend. By showing how the practice of user involvement takes the form of a market where personal narratives and experiences of mental health problems are bought and sold as commodities, the analysis illuminates how market logic permeates the everyday practice of user involvement. One consequence of this commodification is that user organisations, as well as individual service users, are restricted in their role as independent actors pursuing their own agenda, and instead increasingly act on behalf of the public and as providers of personal experiences. While it is vital that service user perspectives are heard and recognised within mental health services, mental health social workers need to be aware of the risks of commodifying lived experience. When attention is directed to individual experiences and narratives, there is a risk that opportunities to advocate on behalf of the user collective as a whole and speak from a more principled and socio-political standpoint are lost. In addition, the commodification of personal experience tends to rationalise and privilege user narratives that conform to the dominant institutional logic of the mental health organisation, while excluding more uncomfortable and challenging voices, thereby undermining the ability of service users to raise critical issues that do not align with the interests of the mental health organisation. Full article

In both industry and academia, sustainability has become a priority in the interior design and architecture industry, having a significant impact on society. However, most recent studies on building sustainability focus mainly on environmental and economic issues, with social sustainability often being complicated and overlooked in relevant research. This paper argues that there is a need for workplace design guidance that prioritizes parameters at the intersection of twenty-first-century workforce–corporate interests, embodying the notion of social sustainability within the built environment. Through this perspective, the physical environment is considered the container of its social content, and its features and characteristics have a direct impact on the quality of life and work for office workers. Although international currents in the age of globalization have stimulated tangible progress in the context of sustainability, the interior design of most design and architecture offices in Jordan suffers from an underrepresentation of the distinctive features of socially sustainable, user-welcoming interior spaces and environments. The current study explores the experiences of interior design professionals in Jordan through four windows of “Physiological Health and Comfort”, “Efficiency and Ergonomics”, “Privacy and Social Interaction”, and “Spatial Organization (Design)” from a quantitative perspective. A survey was developed to investigate these criteria and was administered among 145 full-time design professionals working in offices in Amman, Jordan. The study aimed to investigate the experiences of these practitioners in relation to their office work environment, with a focus on exploring Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), Quality of Work Life (QWL), and Quality of Life (QoL) from the perspective of social sustainability. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and regression models were employed to analyze the survey data and evaluate the findings. Overall, the study highlights the need for theoretical and practical incentives to promote the adoption of socially sustainable development in workplace design, particularly in the context of interior design in Jordan. By focusing on the experiences of interior design professionals with their workplace environment, this study provides valuable insights for the development of workplace design guidelines that prioritize social sustainability parameters within the built environment. Full article

Achieving a change towards the sustainable use and management of pesticides requires a multiple perspective approach that combines traditional knowledge, experience of different local stakeholders, scientific expertise, and context-specific data to provide useful and understandable information for the target farmers. In this paper, the incorporation of the information on environmental and social dimensions into a “science-based” pesticide management practice is presented as an example of a replicable multidisciplinary approach. This approach depicts the importance of the context-specific scenario analysis and of the involvement of farmers starting from their practices and their knowledge. A diverse range of engagement initiatives have been adopted to consult, inform, and involve the community. Tools as target guidelines of good practices, self-evaluation checklists, and a user-friendly indicator that considers social, environmental, and territorial parameters of the specific area, gained a lot of interest and trust and have proven to be useful in disseminating the methodology of environmental risk assessment to farmers, supporting and assisting them in the comparison of different phytosanitary strategies at farm scale to identify weaknesses in their current pesticide management at farm level and to find corresponding corrective actions. The experience also highlighted the importance of the role of properly trained and informed advisors. Full article

The fuel system, which aims to provide sufficient fuel to the engine to maintain thrust and power, is one of the most critical systems in the aircraft. However, possible degradation modes, such as leakage and blockage, can lead to component failure, affect performance, and even cause serious accidents. As an advanced maintenance strategy, Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) can provide effective coverage, by combining state-of-the-art sensors with data acquisition and analysis techniques to guide maintenance before the asset’s degradation becomes serious. Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly machine learning (ML), has proved effective in supporting CBM, for analyzing data and generating predictions regarding the asset’s health condition, thus influencing maintenance plans. However, from an engineering perspective, the output of ML algorithms, usually in the form of data-driven neural networks, has come into question in practice, as it can be non-intuitive and lacks the ability to provide unambiguous engineering signals to maintainers, making it difficult to trust. Engineers are interested in a deterministic decision-making process and how it is being revealed; algorithms should be able to certify and convince engineers to approve recommended actions. Explainable AI (XAI) has emerged as a potential solution, providing some of the logic on how the output is derived from the input given, which may help users understand the diagnostic result of the algorithm. In order to inspire and advise data scientists and engineers who are about to develop and use AI approaches in fuel systems, this paper explores the literature of experiment, simulation, and AI-based diagnostics for the fuel system to make an informed statement as to the progress that has been made in intelligent fault diagnostics for fuel systems, emphasizing the necessity of giving unambiguous engineering signals to maintainers, as well as highlighting potential areas for future research. Full article

Ongoing health challenges, such as the increased global burden of chronic disease, are increasingly answered by calls for personalized approaches to healthcare. Genomic medicine, a vital component of these personalization strategies, is applied in risk assessment, prevention, prognostication, and therapeutic targeting. However, several practical, ethical, and technological challenges remain. Across Europe, Personal Health Data Space (PHDS) projects are under development aiming to establish patient-centered, interoperable data ecosystems balancing data access, control, and use for individual citizens to complement the research and commercial focus of the European Health Data Space provisions. The current study explores healthcare users’ and health care professionals’ perspectives on personalized genomic medicine and PHDS solutions, in casu the Personal Genetic Locker (PGL). A mixed-methods design was used, including surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Several meta-themes were generated from the data: (i) participants were interested in genomic information; (ii) participants valued data control, robust infrastructure, and sharing data with non-commercial stakeholders; (iii) autonomy was a central concern for all participants; (iv) institutional and interpersonal trust were highly significant for genomic medicine; and (v) participants encouraged the implementation of PHDSs since PHDSs were thought to promote the use of genomic data and enhance patients’ control over their data. To conclude, we formulated several facilitators to implement genomic medicine in healthcare based on the perspectives of a diverse set of stakeholders. Full article