Innovative toilets can save resources, but have higher embodied impacts associated with materials and electronic components. This article presents an environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA) of an innovative multifunctional toilet (WashOne) for two alternative configurations (with or without washlet), comparing its performance with those of conventional systems (toilet and bidet). Additionally, two scenario analyses were conducted: (i) user behavior (alternative washlet use patterns) and (ii) user location (Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Saudi Arabia). The results show that the WashOne with washlet has a better global environmental performance than the conventional system, even for low use. It also reveals that the use phase has the highest contribution to impacts due to electricity consumption. User location analysis further shows that Sweden has the lowest environmental impact, while Germany and the Netherlands have the highest potential for impact reduction when changing from a conventional system to the WashOne. Based on the overall results, some recommendations are provided to enhance the environmental performance of innovative toilet systems, namely the optimization of the washlet use patterns. This article highlights the importance of performing a LCA at an early stage of the development of innovative toilets by identifying the critical issues and hotspots to improve their design and performance.

O presente estudo explora o impacto cognitivo do design de interface dos aplicativos de entrega de comida, com ênfase na comparação entre UberEats e Meituan Waimai. Com base no modelo Cognitive-Affective-Behavioral (CAB), este estudo investiga como diferentes aspectos do design de interface, como funcionalidade, valor emocional, valor social e valor estético, influenciam a satisfação dos consumidores e a sua intenção de compra. Este estudo utilizou uma abordagem quantitativa, tendo recolhido 600 questionários válidos através da aplicação de um inquérito. A análise dos dados foi realizada através de regressão linear múltipla, com o objetivo de compreender a relação entre o design de interface e o comportamento dos utilizadores. Os resultados indicam que, embora os fatores funcionais não influenciem diretamente a intenção de compra, eles aumentam significativamente a satisfação dos consumidores. Os fatores emocionais e sociais têm um impacto positivo tanto na satisfação quanto na intenção de compra, enquanto os fatores estéticos influenciam principalmente a satisfação dos consumidores, com um efeito limitado sobre a intenção de compra. Assim, otimizar o design funcional, reforçar o apelo emocional e proporcionar um feedback social mais robusto podem melhorar eficazmente a experiência do utilizador e, em certa medida, aumentar a sua intenção de compra. No campo académico, este estudo oferece contributos valiosos ao integrar o modelo CAB na análise da experiência de uso de plataformas de entrega de comida, fornecendo insights sobre os fatores que influenciam a satisfação e o comportamento de compra dos consumidores. Do ponto de vista prático, a investigação oferece recomendações às empresas para otimizar o design dos seus aplicativos, destacando a importância dos fatores emocionais e estéticos para promover um maior envolvimento e fidelização dos utilizadores.

Citizen science projects attempt to use knowledge, time or computing resources of volunteers to achieve a particular scientific objective. It fosters collaboration between scientists and the general public. Several citizen-science projects are already in execution, some of those successful. In particular, ’wisdom of the crowds’ may be used to get a consensual opinion on a particular topic or object (e.g. classification or labeling purposes), by collecting and analyzing opinions of users on those topics or objects. Citizen science projects collect data that is used for its stated purpose (e.g. object classification), but we consider that all the collected data may be used to give interesting insights on the reasoning of the project’s volunteers. In this paper we present a citizen-science project (volunteer labeling of imprecisely segmented image regions) and show which information can be inferred, through basic analysis, about individual and collective behavior of volunteers of the project.

This study presents a novel approach to enhancing indoor navigation in crowded multi-terminal airports using visible light communication (VLC) technology. By leveraging existing luminaires as transmission points, encoded messages are conveyed through modulated light signals to provide location-specific guidance. The objectives are to facilitate navigation, optimize routes, and improve system performance through Edge/Fog integration. The methodology includes the use of tetrachromatic LED-equipped luminaires with On–Off Keying (OOK) modulation and a mesh cellular hybrid structure. Detailed airport modeling and user analysis (pedestrians and luggage/passenger carriers) equipped with PINPIN optical sensors are conducted. A VLC-specific communication protocol with coding and decoding techniques ensures reliable data transmission, while wayfinding algorithms offer real-time guidance. The results show effective data transmission and localization, enabling self-localization, travel direction inference, and route optimization. Agent-based simulations demonstrate improved traffic control, with analyses of user halting and average speed. This approach provides reliable indoor navigation independent of GPS signals, enhancing accessibility and convenience for airport users. The integration of VLC with Edge/Fog architecture ensures efficient movement through complex airport layouts.

In the beginning of 1999, the CIO of a Portuguese company in the automobile industry was debating with himself whether to abandon or to continue supporting the MIS his company had been using for years. This MIS had been supporting the company’s production processes and the procurement of resources for these processes. However, in spite of the fact that the MIS system had been deployed under the CIO’s tight control, the CIO felt strong opposition to the use of this MIS system, opposition that was preventing the MIS system from being used to its full potential. Moreover, the CIO was at lost as to how to ensure greater compliance to his control and fuller use of the MIS system. Therefore, the CIO decided that he needed someone external to the company to help him understand the fundamental reasons, technical, social, or cultural, for the opposition to the MIS system.