Geographical Dependence of Open Hardware Optimization: Case Study of Solar Photovoltaic Racking

Open-source technological development is well-known for rapid innovation and providing opportunities to reduce costs and thus increase accessibility for a wide range of products. This is done through distributed manufacturing, in which products are produced close to end users. There is anecdotal evidence that these opportunities are heavily geographically dependent, with some locations unable to acquire components to build open hardware at accessible prices because of trade restrictions, tariffs, taxes, or market availability. Supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this and forced designers to pivot towards a la carte-style design frameworks for critical system components. To further develop this phenomenon, a case study of free and open-source solar photovoltaic (PV) racking systems is provided. Two similar open-source designs made from different materials are compared in terms of capital costs for their detailed bill of materials throughout ten locations in North, Central and South America. The differences in economic optimization showed that the costs of wood-based racks were superior in North America and in some South American countries, while metal was less costly in Central and South America. The results make it clear that open hardware designs would be best to allow for local optimization based on material availability in all designs. © 2023 by the authors.

Utilization of plant varieties for agribusiness supporting tourism and economy as an appropriate technology in Chrysanthemum production during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond in Indonesia

This study aims to determine chrysanthemums' business opportunities by utilizing varieties at the difference in height to chrysanthemum crops and the impact of chrysanthemum development on farmers' social institutions. The research was conducted purposively at the chrysanthemum production center and using the Complete Group Random Plan. The first factor is the height of the place: 300 m above sea level, 500 m above sea level, and 700 m above sea level. The second factor: chrysanthemum varieties are: Kusumaswasti, Sasikirana, Kusumapatria, Cintamani, Ratnahapsari Kusumasakti. Observed microclimate parameters: air temperature, the intensity of sunlight, and humidity of the air. Observed growth and yield parameters: height of plants, number of leaves, the diameter of stems, harvest time, and brightness of flower color. The socio-economic studies observed are business opportunities and the impact of farmers' social, institutional development. The results show the height of the place of 500 meters above sea level affects the increasing vegetative growth of all chrysanthemums planted. The height of 700 m above sea level affects the increase of crop yields, especially the diameter of the flowers of Sasikirana, Ratnahapsari, and Kusumapatria varieties and the influence on the sharpness of the color of chrysanthemums of all varieties. Chrysanthemum agribusiness has farming opportunities as it can increase farmers' income and social institutions dynamics. At the same time, introducing of innovations or new ventures to the farming community is not easy. This requires perseverance and the utmost patience, namely, in introducing of alternative commodities of high economic value. © Institute of Society Transformation, 2022.

Effect of Handwashing During COVID-19 Pandemic to Domestic Water Estimation: Case Study in Banda Aceh City, Indonesia

New normal routines have continued to campaign since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2019. One of these new habits is to keep washing your hands after every activity. Hand washing can be done using hand sanitizer or soap and washed in running water. As a result, the need for water to meet the habit of washing hands is expected to affect domestic water needs in a certain area. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the increase in domestic water demand during the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the new routine of washing hands in the research area in the city of Banda Aceh, Indonesia. In addition, this study will also estimate domestic water needs until 2030 if the COVID-19 pandemic has not ended. Innovations in this research can help increase efficiency in water use and help prevent the spread of disease. This study uses a sampling method in several places in Banda Aceh city to obtain data related to the volumetric water used, handwashing time, and frequency of handwashing. Besides, data in water discharge from water supply companies in Banda Aceh city from 2018 to 2020 was also collected. Finally, data on the population of Banda Aceh city was also collected. The information and data are then analyzed using a statistical approach between supply and demand. Although it appears that there is a projected increase in domestic water demand of 1.89% per year due to the COVID-19 pandemic from 2021 to 2030, this is still 41.48% greater than the ability of water supply companies in the city of Banda Aceh to meet domestic water needs up to 2030. In conclusion, if the pandemic continues until 2030, with the expected increase in population, the domestic water needs in Banda Aceh city will still be fulfilled. © 2023 WITPress. All rights reserved.

Telehealth development of virtual environmental home visits to facilitate stroke patients discharges from Hospital

Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic has progressed the use of digital technology in the NHS to enable remote working and reduce the risk of infection transmission in NHS settings (Hutchings 2020) Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to enable and support clinical health care, patient and professionals to provide care virtually (Clipper 2020). A research study published by BJOT (2020) identified that remote home visits were feasible depending on visitor abilities, training and visit standardisation (BJOT 2020). Environmental Home visits (EHV) are fundamental to the discharge process to enable identification of appropriate equipment for the safe and timely discharge of stroke survivors. According to the National Clinical Guidelines for Stroke, stroke survivors should be offered assessment and provision of equipment and adaptations (National Clinical Guidelines for Stroke, 2016). In response to the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure safe discharge and reduced direct face-to-face contact virtual environmental home visits (VEHV) on a stroke ward was developed. Method(s): Microsoft Teams was the technology platform used to facilitate VEHV. Visits were arranged with families and caregivers who had access to the technology and were able to understand the technology. Therapists directed the patient's home environment and asked the individuals completing the VEHV for appropriate dimensions and measurements and an environmental home visit document was completed. Result(s): VEHV were completed by both qualified occupational therapists and therapy assistants were then trained to be able to implement VEHV. The use of Microsoft Teams was found to be a suitable technology platform with families and care givers who were technology competent. However where patients families and care givers did not have access to the appropriate technology or were not sufficiently computer literate VEHV's were not appropriate. Conclusion(s): The VEHV were found to be time efficient, improved patient flow, enabled a number of VEHV to be completed in a day and reduced direct face-to-face contact during Covid-19 while still maintaining communication with patient families and care givers.

Research advances on processing and quality safety control technology of aquatic pre-made products

Due to the growing demand for instant food and lifestyle change after the COVID-19, aquatic pre-made products become popular. The unique nutritional and functional characteristics and processing suitability of aquatic products make them suitable for the development of ready-to-eat, instant heat, instant cooked and ready-to-use pre-made products. However, due to their unique fishy taste, texture and perishable characteristics, appropriate pretreatment technology, flavor and quality improvement and maintenance technology as well as storage technology in the processing and storage process need to be adopted so as to improve the quality of pre-made products. The main factors affecting the quality and safety of aquatic product pre-made products include biological hazards, chemical hazards and physical hazards. Therefore, quality control technologies of aquatic pre-made products including the raw material collection, processing process and the cold chain transportation process are necessary. In the future, aquatic pre-made products should be more nutritious, high-quality and diversified because of the improvement of nutrition and quality control technology.

Assessing technology needs and satisfaction of virtual appointments during the pandemic

Introduction: COVID-19 imposed constraints on in-person medical care, challenging pediatric diabetes care. Patients and healthcare providers (HCP) can benefit from telehealth virtual visits at this time. Objective(s): Assess the access to and utilization of technology as it relates to videoconferencing and telehealth services. Assess patient and HCP satisfaction with the current virtual care services offered. Method(s): A survey was sent to patients, primary caregivers, and HCP at the clinic. Questions related to technology access, usage, and satisfaction with virtual care. Interviews were then conducted with HCP. The baseline characteristics were summarized descriptive results relating to technology access and usage were included, along with mean and median satisfaction scores. Answers to the open-ended questions and interviews were transcribed and analyzed using theme analysis. Result(s): Response rate was highest among patients with HbA1C of 7- 7.9% and lowest with HbA1C > 10%. Access to appropriate technology was high, patient and HCP satisfaction with virtual care was high. Patients preferred virtual education focused visits and in-person clinical visits. Benefits to virtual care include convenience, efficiency, money saving and challenges include lack of physical exam, excess coordination, lack of personal connection, technology issues, increased administrative burden on the HCP and a decrease in interprofessional collaboration. HCP prefer to continue with virtual care with 30%-80% of their practice. Conclusion(s): Virtual care appointments were satisfactory with few technology concerns. Participants in study were high income, high education, and spoke English. Suggestions to improve virtual care from the HCP and patient perspective were provided to include a technology support team, appointment reminders, notification for delayed appointments & better organization of blood requisitions. Further evaluation required assessing clinical outcomes of virtual care, needs of patients with language barriers, low-income & higher HbA1C.

A Model for Understanding the Mediating Association of Transparency between Emerging Technologies and Humanitarian Logistics Sustainability

There has been considerable worldwide attention to the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain technology (BCT), and artificial intelligence (AI) in all sectors of the economy. Despite still being in the expansion phase, the application of the IoT, BCT, and AI to humanitarian logistics (HL) has drawn a lot of interest due to their significant success in other industries. Commercial and noncommercial organizations are both under growing universal pressure for transparency. Therefore, this study offers a model for understanding the mediating association of transparency between emerging technologies and HL sustainability. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was used in conjunction with SmartPLS3. The software was applied to information acquired via questionnaires from 434 disaster relief workers (DRWs) chosen using the snowball sampling approach. The findings suggest that in disaster relief operations (DROs), where corruption and mismanagement in HL have been key concerns for all stakeholders, emerging technologies could be a way forward to achieving system transparency and HL sustainability. The ultimate beneficiaries of transparent and sustainable HL will be all of society, especially the victims of catastrophes. Such victims can receive proper aid on time if the appropriate technology is used in DROs, and early warnings can save many lives. This study adds to the body of knowledge by providing the first empirical evidence assessing the role of emerging technologies in HL transparency and sustainability.

Measurement push and pull forces on automatic liquid dispensers

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, automated liquid dispensers have been increasingly developed to assist transmission prevention. However, data availability of automatic liquid dispenser mechanism's technical characteristics is not yet widely available. This causes frequent over or under design in its development. Therefore, we specifically measure push and pull forces engineering characteristics generated by the automatic liquid dispenser mechanism. A wire mechanism-based automatic liquid dispenser apparatus was used to experiment. A load-cell sensor was used to detect the force that occurs from a servo motor controlled by a microcontroller. The force data (push and pull) will be sent directly to the database server cloud with a recording frequency of every second. Three types of fluid treatment levels are used i.e. water, liquid soap, and hand sanitizer gel. Three types of fluid volume treatment levels used were 50 ml, 150 ml, and 250 ml. Each treatment level combination is carried out at the servo motors rotation steps 180°, 150°, 120°, 90°, 60°, and 30°. The results show that no significant differences were found in maximal forces required to release the water, liquid soap, and hand-sanitizer gel. It is also known that the volume of the fluid has a very significant effect on the amount of push and pull forces generated.

Sustainable utilization of natural resources for socio-environmental resilience and transformation in the mountains of Nepal

Mountains of Nepal are rich in natural resources as well as shelter for many ethnic group and indigenous community. Mountain people depend on natural resources and unique landscapes to survive, to preserve a unique sense of identity, and to provide livelihoods for centuries. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented damage to the mountain economy given the immediate effect on ecotourism and remittance, which are the main source of income for communities in the mountains. People in mountains have been using indigenous and local knowledge for utilization of natural resources for their survival. Skilled manpower returning home from abroad can be beneficial and with the use of appropriate technology will be beneficial for those returning from the abroad due to various reasons. Sustainable harvesting of natural resources and various micro/small enterprises can be developed using the appropriate technology. These enterprises not only creates jobs but also can contribute to improve the local to national level economy. A new approach is required combining the science and engineering aspect with local communities contributing their local knowledge and practices, which can develop socio-environmental resilience-building and transformation in mountains of Nepal. © 2021 Elsevier Inc.

Hybrid solar fish dryers as a solution for improving the quality of fisheries products to support green technology during the pandemic COVID-19

The fishing communities in Sungai Rasau village, South Kalimantan, Indonesia, have several joint business groups that mostly process their fish catch into salted fish products and shrimp paste for sale in the market. The fish drying technique still uses traditional methods that rely on sunny weather, this is not effective because the weather is difficult to predict due to climate change globally. This means that high rainfall affects fish drying production activities. If left unchecked, this certainly results in a decrease in the quantity and quality of salted fish production and affects their income and welfare. To maintain and improve the quality of raw materials for fisheries production, the solution is the use of appropriate technology, namely making salted fish processing equipment or dryers that are energy efficient and not influenced by weather factors such as rain. Using this tool can improve the quality and quantity of production. The form of activity methods carried out includes (1) coordination with related parties to foster local fishing groups;(2) identifying problems and determining solutions;(3) solar fish dryer design;(4) making efficient technology fish dryers that effectively and efficiently utilize solar energy. At the time of implementation of the dryer, the measurement of water content using TDS obtained results that the water content of mackerel has been reduced to about 10%

Assessment of Key Feeding Technologies and Land Use in Dairy Sheep Farms in Spain

Familiar mixed dairy sheep farm is the most widespread system in the Mediterranean basin, in Latin America and in developing countries (85%). There is a strong lack of technological adoption in packages of feeding and land use in small-scale farms. To increase competitiveness, it would be of great interest to deepen the knowledge of how innovation was selected, adopted, and spread. The objective of this research was to select strategic feeding and land use technologies in familiar mixed dairy sheep systems and later assess dairy sheep farms in Spain. This objective was assessed by combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies. In the first stage, with the aim to identify and select the appropriate technologies, a panel of 107 experts in dairy sheep production was used. A questionnaire was applied to all of them with successive rounds using Delphi methodology. Later, these technologies were grouped by principal components analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). In a second stage the technological results from a random sample of 157 farms in the Center of Spain were collected. The technologies selected were linked to the technological adoption level of the farms in Castilla la Mancha by a multiple regression model. Ten technologies were selected by the 107 experts. Four factors were retained by PCA that explained at 67.11% of variance. The first factor is related to feeding strategies, the second to land use for livestock production, the third to efficient management of land resources or ecoefficiency and the fourth to by-products use. The expert evaluation was grouped in three clusters using the Ward’s method and the squared Euclidean distance measure, where the second showed higher values in the adoption level of each technology. The multiple regression model explained the relationship between the technologies and the technological level of the farms (R2 73.53%). The five technologies selected were: use of unifeed (1), supplemental feeding (5), grazing (6), raw materials production (7) and sustainable use of water and soil (10). These ten technologies identified can be directly extended to small-scale dairy farms from other countries in the Mediterranean basin and Latin America. This technological selection was supported from the broad and diverse panel of experts used. Besides, five technologies identified by the quantitative model will be able to be taken into account for the development of public innovation policies. They are direct technologies and easy to apply on the farm and seeking increased viability through innovation vs. intensification.

Analysis of Differences in the Levels of TPACK: Unpacking Performance Indicators in the TPACK Levels Rubric

Since the development of the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework, researchers have been developing a variety of instruments to measure the TPACK of pre-service and in-service teachers. The task of developing an efficient, reliable, and valid instrument is difficult. Even validated instruments require guidance for consistent use that preserves the instrument fidelity. The purpose of this study is to provide guidance for using the TPACK Levels Rubric, a validated instrument that was developed on the basis of the model for the progressive levels of TPACK. The authors systematically examined the criteria of the rubric in order to understand the differences in the levels of TPACK for each rubric component, and developed lesson exemplars to create guidelines for educators using this tool in assessing the TPACK levels of teachers. The iterative instrument analysis also led to the revision of the original rubric to establish the horizontal and vertical alignments and the consistency of the rubric, for each level across four components, and for each component across five levels. The construct validity of the revised rubric was confirmed on the basis of a exploratory factor analysis of 175 mathematics lesson plans and videos of taught lessons developed by graduate special education pre-service and in-service elementary school teachers.

Experimenting with New Ways of Circular and Participatory Design: The Case Study of a Traditional Sicilian Architecture Transformed for Experiential Tourism

Circular economy, participatory design, and experiential tourism are the starting points for the “Il Pagliaru Novu” research project, whose aim is to redesign, in an innovative scope, a traditional Sicilian rural architecture called pagliaru. This paper aims to present such research, which experimented—in parallel—a circular design approach and a virtual participatory design experience to develop a microarchitecture for experiential tourism. We describe the method and design process behind the Pagliaru Novu, and the features—combining tradition and innovation—of such microarchitecture. The design, and especially the entire design process, highlights how a series of constraints related to the pandemic may turn into opportunities.

Overcoming supply disruptions during pandemics by utilizing found hardware for open source gentle ventilation.

This article details the design of an open source emergency gentle ventilator (gentle-vent) framework that can be used in periods of scarcity. Although it is not a medical device, the system utilizes a wide range of commonly-available components that are combined using basic electronics skills to achieve the desired performance. The main function of the gentle-vent is to generate a calibrated pressure wave at the pump to provide support to the patient's breathing. Each gentle-vent permutation was tested using a DIY manometer as it would be utilized in the field in low-resource settings and validated with an open source VentMon. The most rudimentary implementation costs less than $40.

Reshaping Perspectives on Flexible Work: The Impact of COVID-19 on Academic Library Management

During COVID-19, academic library employees pivoted to predominantly remote work. Associate deans, associate university librarians, and equivalent managers at the top 50 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions were interviewed about benefits, challenges, pre-pandemic norms, necessary conditions, and the future of flexible work arrangements (FWAs). The findings suggest that successful FWAs require adequate technology and effective managerial communication and depend on the types of positions and individuals involved. Most managers believe FWAs will increase in academic libraries in the future. FWAs provide benefits for both organizations and employees and will likely have a positive impact on library space, recruitment, and retention. At the same time, careful communication and compassionate leadership are needed for successful FWAs.

Self-Care Needs and Technology Preferences Among Parents in Marginalized Communities: Participatory Design Study.

BACKGROUND: Ten million parents provide unpaid care to children living with chronic conditions, such as asthma, and a high percentage of these parents are in marginalized communities, including racial and ethnic minority and low-income families. There is an urgent need to develop technology-enabled tailored solutions to support the self-care needs of these parents. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to use a participatory design approach to describe and compare Latino and non-Latino parents' current self-care practices, needs, and technology preferences when caring for children with asthma in marginalized communities. METHODS: The participatory design approach was used to actively engage intended users in the design process and empower them to identify needs and generate design ideas to meet those needs. RESULTS: Thirteen stakeholders participated in three design sessions. We described Latino and non-Latino parents' similarities in self-care practices and cultural-specific preferences. When coming up with ideas of technologies for self-care, non-Latino parents focused on improving caregiving stress through journaling, daily affirmations, and tracking feelings, while Latino parents focused more on relaxation and entertainment. CONCLUSIONS: Considerations need to be taken beyond language differences when developing technology-enabled interventions for diverse populations. The community partnership approach strengthened the study's inclusive design.