Ergonomic evaluation of school furniture in Slovenia: From primary school to university.

BACKGROUND: Adequate school furniture is important to prevent musculoskeletal discomfort among students. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess the suitability of school furniture compared to body dimensions of students. METHODS: A cross-sectional study included a total of 442 students from primary school, secondary school, and university. Nine body dimensions along with five furniture dimensions were measured and equations for mismatch criteria were applied. RESULTS: In primary school, differences in body dimensions were more evident among students of different age, while in secondary school and university, differences between male and female students became more apparent. The mismatch for desk height ranged from 100.0% at primary school to 48.0% at university. Similarly, the seat height mismatch was the most evident in primary school (89.7% -94.6%), lower at university (52.0%) and the lowest in secondary school (18.0%). The seat depth mismatch was present among all groups, ranging from 23.1% to 40.4%, and was in general more pronounced in males. Seat to desk clearance mismatch was the most evident among secondary school students. In primary school, seat and desk height were generally too high for most of students. CONCLUSIONS: Specific differences in body dimensions among groups of students of different age and gender were observed and a high student-furniture mismatch was identified in all educational institutions. Implementation of adjustable school furniture, covering at least two size marks, is needed to provide ergonomic and healthy learning conditions and to further enhance the comfort and well-being of students in the classroom.

Involving Older Adults During COVID-19 Restrictions in Developing an Ecosystem Supporting Active Aging: Overview of Alternative Elicitation Methods and Common Requirements From Five European Countries.

Background: Information and communication technology solutions have the potential to support active and healthy aging and improve monitoring and treatment outcomes. To make such solutions acceptable, all stakeholders must be involved in the requirements elicitation process. Due to the COVID-19 situation, alternative approaches to commonly used face-to-face methods must often be used. One aim of the current article is to share a unique experience from the Pharaon project where due to the COVID-19 outbreak alternative elicitation methods were used. In addition, an overview of common functional, quality, and emotional goals identified by six pilot sites is presented to complement the knowledge about the needs of older adults. Methods: Originally planned face-to-face co-creation seminars were impossible to carry out, and all pilot sites chose alternative requirements elicitation methods that were most suitable in their situation. The elicited requirements were presented in the form of goal models. In one summary goal model, we provide an overview of common functional, quality, and emotional goals. Results: Different elicitation methods were combined based on the digital literacy of the target group and their access to digital tools. Methods applied without digital technologies were phone interviews, reviews of literature and previous projects, while by means of digital technologies online interviews, online questionnaires, and (semi-)virtual co-creation seminars were conducted. The combination of the methods allowed to involve all planned stakeholders. Virtual and semi-virtual co-creation seminars created collaborative environment comparable to face-to-face situations, while online participation helped to save the time of the participants. The most prevalent functional goals elicited were "Monitor health," "Receive advice," "Receive information." "Easy to use/comfortable," "personalized/tailored," "automatic/smart" were identified as most prevalent quality goals. Most frequently occurring emotional goals were "involved," "empowered," and "informed." Conclusion: There are alternative methods to face-to-face co-creation seminars, which effectively involve older adults and other stakeholders in the requirements elicitation process. Despite the used elicitation method, the requirements can be easily transformed into goal models to present the results in a uniform way. The common requirements across different pilots provided a strong foundation for representing detailed requirements and input for further software development processes.

Thermal effusivity of different tabletop materials in relation to users' perception.

Tactile interaction between humans and elements in the built environment, such as furniture, is often underappreciated. The aim of this study was to objectively evaluate thermal properties of ten tabletop materials as well as user perceptions of those materials after use. Sixteen participants tested ten materials in a randomised order. Infrared thermography was used to determine tabletop temperature distribution and change. Materials with lower thermal effusivity (wood-based materials) in general reached higher surface temperature differences after 15 min of contact and were rated as more pleasant to touch, more suitable for writing, and more liked for everyday use. Participants' sex and forearm mass had no effect on the temperature after contact. Participants gave the highest ratings to the appearance of oak-based materials. Surface treatment affected subjective evaluation of the materials. The tabletop made of lacquered solid wood had the most favourable thermal and user-rated characteristics.

Correction: Alao et al. Impact of Alkali and Silane Treatment on Hemp/PLA Composites' Performance: From Micro to Macro Scale. Polymers 2021, 13, 851.

The authors wish to make the following two corrections to this paper [...].

Impact of Alkali and Silane Treatment on Hemp/PLA Composites' Performance: From Micro to Macro Scale.

This study investigated the effect of hemp fiber pretreatments (water and sodium hydroxide) combined with silane treatment, first on the fiber properties (microscale) and then on polylactide (PLA) composite properties (macroscale). At the microscale, Fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy investigations highlighted structural alterations in the fibers, with the removal of targeted components and rearrangement in the cell wall. These structural changes influenced unitary fiber properties. At the macroscale, both pretreatments increased the composites' tensile properties, despite their negative impact on fiber performance. Additionally, silane treatment improved composite performance thanks to higher performance of the fibers themselves and improved fiber compatibility with the PLA matrix brought on by the silane couplings. PLA composites reinforced by 30 wt.% alkali and silane treated hemp fibers exhibited the highest tensile strength (62 MPa), flexural strength (113 MPa), and Young's modulus (7.6 GPa). Overall, the paper demonstrates the applicability of locally grown, frost-retted hemp fibers for the development of bio-based composites with low density (1.13 to 1.23 g cm-3).