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This study investigates sociability in the context of immersive Virtual Reality (VR). A Design Science Research process was applied, and three iterative development versions of a VR application were studied. Sociability around the technology was investigated with two theoretical perspectives: social presence and social interactions. The results of qualitative interviews and observations as well as a quantitative experiment are combined to make a proposal for four design principles enhancing the beneficial sociability of VR systems. These principles address the importance of ease-of-use and personalization in the activation of a customer, customer empowerment and emancipation through familiarization, creating real-world connections and surprising content, as well as adding informative elements and streamlining the customer encounter and service process. The proposed design principles are empirically linked through social behaviors and emotions to cognitive outcomes representing beneficial sociability, e.g., improved customer motivation, willingness-to-share, value communications, co-creation, and co-innovation.

Using new technologies in customer interactions is a popular way of trying to increase customer engagement. It is, however, unknown how such efforts by marketers’ affect engagement, and particularl...

Publisher Copyright: © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. The integration of circular economy-based life cycle management (LCM) into product design and optimisation is essential for the transformation towards a circular economy (CE). However, companies often lack the expertise to adapt life-cycle design (LCD) thinking in their business operations and are in need of respective capacity building. To close this apparent gap is the aim of the project e-CirP (Embedding Circular Economy into Product Design and Optimization) where LUT University, Fraunhofer, Technical University of Denmark, University of Padova, Delft University of Technology, University of Helsinki and Metso Outotec have worked together to develop a program that allows Master students across Europe to learn how to integrate CE and Life Cycle Thinking principles into product design by analysing real industrial cases. In the project, modern pedagogical approaches have been applied. A modular training package covering general circular economy aspects, as well as detailed value chain perspectives, has been created. Next to the content-related aspects, a great focus was also on the support of so-called soft-skills development, e.g. through international student cooperation on case studies. The paper presents the perspective of participating students as well as the cooperating companies that supplied the industry cases to allow an overview of opportunities and challenges.

Year 2020 will be remembered for the rapid and large-scale virtualization of services. The process of virtualization has been the fastest in the sectors that could have adopted new working methods already earlier but where work culture and change resistance have been the main reasons for not adopting video conferences or cloud-based sharing of documents. In these cases where the devices and application that have already been widely adopted before the pandemic, the change has been even surprisingly smooth. Many organizations have still focused on ensuring the successful virtualization of the basic functions. During this rapid adaptation, there have been less resources to virtualize the more complex task where the physical presence of personnel is inescapably needed to finish the tasks. publishedVersion Non

Comprehensive and time-dependent information (e.g., chemical composition, concentration) of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in atmospheric, indoor, and breath air is essential to understand the fundamental science of the atmosphere, air quality, and diseases diagnostic. Here, we introduced a fully automated online dynamic in-tube extraction (ITEX)-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method for continuous and quantitative monitoring of VOCs in air. In this approach, modified Cycle Composer software and a PAL autosampler controlled and operated the ITEX preconditioning, internal standard (ISTD) addition, air sampling, and ITEX desorption sequentially to enable full automation. Air flow passed through the ITEX with the help of an external pump, instead of plunger up-down strokes, to allow larger sampling volumes, exhaustive extraction, and consequently lower detection limits. Further, in order to evaluate the ITEX system stability and to develop the corresponding quantitative ITEX method, two laboratory-made permeation systems (for standard VOCs and ISTD) were constructed. The stability and suitability of the developed system was validated with a consecutive 19 day atmospheric air campaign under automation. By using an electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers packed ITEX, selective extraction of some VOCs and durability of over 1500 extraction and desorption cycles were achieved. Especially, the latter step is critically important for on-site long-term application at remote regions. This ITEX method provided 2-3 magnitudes lower quantitation limits than the headspace dynamic ITEX method and other needle trap methods. Our results proved the excellence of the fully automated online dynamic ITEX-GC/MS system for tracking VOCs in the atmospheric air.

Publisher Copyright: © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved. Previous research has found out that simulated, Virtual Reality (VR)-based forests can bring equal or even higher restorative effects than real forests. In this study, a Virtual Reality (VR)-based forest was created in order to compare whether VR-based forest can possess restorative effects in the context of primary school, and how the possible effects compare to restorative effects of a normal recess or to a situation when there is no recess at all. The effects were measured using Restorative Outcome Scale (ROS) and problem-solving tasks after the intervention. The results showed that VR-based forest had the highest restorative effect. There was a significant difference between VR-forest and no recess-groups, but no statistical difference between VR-forest and normal recess-groups. Future research avenues and implications of virtual forests are discussed.

Our study argues that the extant literature on virtual reality-based learning environments (VRLEs) currently lacks proper definitions and context descriptions for a problem space, which is fundamental for conducting design science research (DSR). Without properly conducted problem space identification, the most pivotal problems cannot be identified resulting solutions lacking validity and unreliable evaluations. This is a major challenge for the DSR in the educational field, but also for the research on VRLEs. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a novel DSR method to support rigorous problem space identification, which would allow rigorous and profound problem space analysis. The instantiation of our method is depicted with a VRLE development project. In the problem space identification –process we adopt the concepts of self-determination theory and learning path to study and consider individual and a system level of the current VRLE artifact. This theoretical lens enables us to identify the problem space for VRLEs and also suggest how the to-be-developed artifact to be later evaluated. This paper contributes by introducing a general problem space identification for VRLEs and a DSR method to guide the future DSR in the educational field.

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Practitioners including designers and teachers developing Virtual Reality (VR) courses are facing a question regarding the strengths and subject areas in which VR-enriched courses might have the highest potential compared to conventional courses. The present study develops a survey scale to assess and match industry managers’ requirements for skills for working life. The same scale was surveyed among two different groups of higher education students participating in conventional courses and a VR-aided course. The results indicate that the industry requirements were higher than met by the both course types. However, the results highlight a set of skills for which the VR courses have the highest potential compared to conventional courses. These skills include self-monitoring, independent thinking and understanding, adapting and applying new ideas into practice as well as creativity as a latent class theme. The paper discusses example designs based on these skills whose development is suggested to be included in the future VR course designs. Practitioners including designers and teachers developing Virtual Reality (VR) courses are facing a question regarding the strengths and subject areas in which VR-enriched courses might have the highest potential compared to conventional courses. The present study develops a survey scale to assess and match industry managers’ requirements for skills for working life. The same scale was surveyed among two different groups of higher education students participating in conventional courses and a VR-aided course. The results indicate that the industry requirements were higher than met by the both course types. However, the results highlight a set of skills for which the VR courses have the highest potential compared to conventional courses. These skills include self-monitoring, independent thinking and understanding, adapting and applying new ideas into practice as well as creativity as a latent class theme. The paper discusses example designs based on these skills whose development is suggested to be included in the future VR course designs.

This chapter focuses on applying design science research for virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) design processes. Six selected case studies are presented in the context of VRLEs. The case selections were analyzed in terms of their contributions to design knowledge. The objective of this book chapter is twofold: 1) for researchers, the design knowledge contributions of case studies are highlighted for future reference, and 2) for developers and practitioners, design principles are presented for the development of VRLEs. The final outcome of the present study is a conceptual model describing the current design knowledge in the field of VRLEs and identifying the research gaps that should be addressed in future research on the educational use of VR.

Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) is the most common and heavily referenced methodology in the context of innovation and development in information systems. Its application has extended from information technology systems and processes to many other sectors including services and governance. The purpose of this study is to introduce DSRM as a research tool in forest-sector research and to demonstrate how it was applied in a new service-development process in the area of forest management and in virtual reality. Two DSRM iterations and their evaluation are introduced. The first one concerns forest-owner preferences for various forest-management services including virtual options, and the second concerns an application that is developed and demonstrated to customers either remotely or in-person. The findings indicate that there is a niche group of forest owners at whom the virtual-reality service could be aimed, and that these services do have the potential to meet the objectives of forest-sector companies and forest owners in terms of resource efficiency, improved interaction and shared understanding. The contribution of the study lies in exemplifying the use of DSRM in the forest sector and enhancing understanding of design and forest-owner preferences in the realm of digital services.

In this study, a simulated, VR-based environment was built and analyzed to explore if a VR environment can possess recovering effects. 61 university students tested a VR application depicting a forest and answered survey questions about the experience. The results showed that VR-environment can indeed have recovering effects. Moreover, when comparing to previous studies in real forests, the recovery effects were at similar levels. The study results suggest that as the VR-based environments can possess recovery effects, they can work as recovery environments at schools or similar environments. The study results offer implications for the designers and propose design principles to build recovering VR environments. Future research avenues to scrutinize the results in various research contexts are discussed.

Immersive virtual reality applications aim at providing an all-encompassing spatial experience where a user can feel like being in another world or dimension. The systems are inherently designed for individual use as the devices disconnect the user from the physical environment. However, the applications are seldom used alone. Specifically, when used for sales and marketing, the user often needs help from other people but also benefits from social interaction as a part of the experience. Design research methodology is applied to three iterative development versions of a virtual-reality application. The focus of the evaluation of the artifacts is in the social use emphasizing three sociability factors: shared knowledge, mutual trust and influence. According to the findings, the users prefer personal social interaction as a part of the experience. Thus, the social aspect should be emphasized in the service design. peerReviewed

Companies search for new ways of utilizing technologies such as the Mixed Reality (MR) in order to enrich their customer interactions. While more of these MR technologies are emerging to assist customer-employee interactions, there is a strategic choice related to scalability of how to organize these service encounters: face-to-face or digitally over the web. Eventually, the question is how much of these interactions can be automatized with acceptable tradeoffs for the customer experience and business outcomes. This study analyzes the influence of a MR design elements on the outcomes of a customer experience in a use case where the customer learning is focal for the service. The experiment comparing two conditions: face-to-face interactions and remote interactions over the web showed no difference in terms of customer experience and perceived learning. On the other hand, the ease-of-use of the technology as well as the familiarity with the subject and technology effected the customer learning. The results offer implications to both the customer experience management and the MR system design.

Submicron hydroxyapatite fibers were fabricated by electroblowing followed by annealing. Solutions of Ca(NO3)2∙4H2O, triethyl phosphate and polyvinylpyrrolidone dissolved in ethanol and water were used for the electroblowing. The annealed membranes consisted of randomly oriented fibers characterized as hydroxyapatite by X-ray diffraction. Solution blow spinning of hydroxyapatite was also attempted, but the resulting fiber membranes incorporated large beads and were overall of poor quality compared to the electroblown fibers. With electroblowing the hydroxyapatite fibers were prepared at a fast rate of 1.38 g/h, a significant improvement over the production rate obtainable in conventional needle electrospinning. In simulated body fluid (SBF) a continuous apatite layer was found to form around the hydroxyapatite fibers in just six hours suggesting high bioactivity. SBF immersion up to 7 days led to an increase in densification of the apatite layer and further increase in its thickness. The fibers can thus be considered promising for bone scaffold applications.

Natural and business ecosystems are complex and dynamic service systems that interact through the utilization of ecosystem service offerings for human well-being. Currently, natural and business sciences have not developed a shared and common set of service-based terms or concepts for discussing ecosystem service offerings in the process of value co-creation. In this study, the ecosystem service approach was compared with marketing science's service-dominant logic. The terminology and concepts were harmonized, and the two approaches were then integrated into a service-dominant value creation (SVC) framework. The incorporation of natural ecosystems includes accounting for the flow of positive and negative impacts through associated value networks. Therefore, the term value-in-impact was proposed to describe these value flows. A case study of the global forest-based sector was then presented, demonstrating how to discuss current research challenges using the proposed framework. In conclusion, a shared service-dominant approach provides an opportunity for deeper inter-disciplinary discussion between natural and business sciences. This study represents a contribution towards the development of a holistic service science that includes consideration for natural ecosystems. The SVC framework also addresses many of the multidimensional challenges noted by previous sustainability frameworks. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electroblowing was used to prepare ZnO and aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO, 1–3 cation-% of Al) fibers. The as-blown fibers were calcined at 500 °C to obtain the target material. The average fiber diameters ranged from 240 ± 60 nm for ZnO fibers to 330 ± 80 nm for AZO with 3% Al. Smaller crystallite size was measured with the x-ray diffraction for the Al doped fibers. Electroblowing was found out be an effective method to increase the fiber productivity over electrospinning and other methods reported in literature to prepare AZO fibers as a high production rate of 0.32 g/h was achieved. The ZnO and AZO fibers could be converted to zeolitic imidazole framework-8 [ZIF-8, zinc(2-methylimidazolate)2] by a solvent free thermal treatment in an autoclave under 2-methylimidazole (HmIM) vapor at 150 and 200 °C while preserving the fibrous structure. The conversion process to ZIF-8 occurred faster at higher temperatures and on fibers with smaller crystallite size. Depending on the conversion treatment time either ZnO/ZIF-8 and AZO/ZIF-8 core/shell fibers or ZIF-8 fibers could be obtained. At best the prepared ZIF-8 fibers had a very high BET specific surface area of 1340 m2/g.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mechanical properties of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite coating by tensile adhesion testing and scratch testing. The coating was manufactured on titanium substrate by converting atomic layer-deposited (ALD) calcium carbonate thin film in dilute phosphate solution. The tensile adhesion testing was performed with hydraulic testing device in accordance with ISO 4624 and ISO 16276-1. Scratch testing was done according to SFS-EN 13523-12 with spherical 10 µm scratching tip. Characterization of the samples was done with light and electron microscopy after which they were stained with alizarin red and the failure modes and loadings were analyzed. The highest obtained tensile adhesion value was 6.71 MPa produced with 4000 ALD cycles, converted to hydroxyapatite in alkaline solution, and annealed for 30 min in 700 °C. The annealing improved the adhesion values by approximately 0.8 MPa, but examining the samples with electron microscopy showed intact coating in both annealed and non-annealed samples. Samples produced with 4000 cycles performed better in testing than 2000 cycle samples, and better adhesion was also achieved with alkaline conversion solution compared to neutral solution.

The study analyses twelve empirical cases employing different Mixed Reality (MR) applications: 1) 360-videos, 2) augmented reality (AR) mobile applications, 3) augmented virtuality (AV), and 4) AV+AR. The empirical data in all cases consist of observations of users’ and potential customers’ experiences with different MR applications followed by qualitative interviews. The study assesses how various MR applications can create experience-centric services. The research focus is in service and sensory design as well as in customer experience management. The study results suggest that MR can provide new opportunities for prolonged customer experiences in terms of new encounters and cues, different sensory effects and improved social interactions among business representatives and fellow customers. Furthermore, MR experiences can generate positive word-of-mouth especially in cases with dramatic structures. Finally, the results suggest that the customers' willingness-to-interact with service personnel increase after a MR experience. The study analyses twelve empirical cases employing different Mixed Reality (MR) applications: 1) 360-videos, 2) augmented reality (AR) mobile applications, 3) augmented virtuality (AV), and 4) AV+AR. The empirical data in all cases consist of observations of users’ and potential customers’ experiences with different MR applications followed by qualitative interviews. The study assesses how various MR applications can create experience-centric services. The research focus is in service and sensory design as well as in customer experience management. The study results suggest that MR can provide new opportunities for prolonged customer experiences in terms of new encounters and cues, different sensory effects and improved social interactions among business representatives and fellow customers. Furthermore, MR experiences can generate positive word-of-mouth especially in cases with dramatic structures. Finally, the results suggest that the customers' willingness-to-interact with service personnel increase after a MR experience.

The Thermo Scientific™ SureTect™ Listeria monocytogenes assay is a real-time PCR assay for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes in food and environmental samples, which was certified during 2013 by the AOAC Research Institute (RI) as Performance Tested MethodSM (PTM) 061302 for a representative range of key food matrixes and production surfaces. This report details the method modification study, which was conducted during 2014, using the AOAC-RI PTM program to extend the validated matrix claims of the assay in comparison to the reference method detailed in International Organization for Standardization 11290-1:1996, including Amendment 1:2004, to gain certification for raw ground turkey, raw ground pork, pasteurized 2% milk, raw pork sausages, raw cod, pasteurized brie cheese, cooked sliced ham, and bagged lettuce. All matrixes were tested by Thermo Fisher Scientific, Microbiology Division, Basingstoke, UK. In addition, brie cheese, bagged lettuce, and raw cod were analyzed independently by the University of Guelph, Canada, during the AOAC-RI controlled independent laboratory study. Using probability of detection (POD) statistical analysis, a significant difference was demonstrated between the candidate and reference methods for the high spiking level with raw ground pork and brie cheese. For all other matrixes and the low spiked levels for raw ground pork and brie cheese, no significant difference by POD was seen between the two methods during the study.

The aim of this explorative study is to find out how the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) has affected the forest and chain of custody (CoC) certification strategies and practices among the Finnish wood industry companies. We are especially interested to find out whether more integrated strategies and collaborative networks have emerged for enhanced communications throughout the industry value chains. This qualitative interview study included both EUTR ex ante and ex post analysis, based on three rounds of managerial and expert interviews during 2011-2015. The results indicate that the EUTR appears to have enforced the supplier-client relations in the Finnish wood industry value chain. The sector still lacks integrated communication strategies with better understanding of customer and stakeholder values, which could contribute to more cohesive communication and marketing efforts reflecting the values of the whole industry. The certification practices are fairly spontaneously implemented following the traditional industry culture, which is not supportive of innovations and gaining competitive advantages in the broader material markets. Furthermore, the existence of two parallel forest certificates (Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)) seems to hamper the effective communication and building of an image of sustainable wood products among customers and end consumers, groups that are also exposed to more general environmental communication, e.g., in the building material markets.

Reliable identification of the aetiological agent is crucial in mastitis diagnostics. Real-time PCR is a fast, automated tool for detecting the most common udder pathogens directly from milk. In this study aseptically taken quarter milk samples were analysed with a real-time PCR assay (Thermo Scientific PathoProof Mastitis Complete-12 Kit, Thermo Fisher Scientific Ltd.) and by semi-quantitative, in-depth bacteriological culture (BC). The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the real-time PCR assay in routine use. A total of 294 quarter milk samples from routine mastitis cases were cultured in the national reference laboratory of Finland and examined with real-time PCR. With BC, 251 out of 294 (85·7%) of the milk samples had at least one colony on the plate and 38 samples were considered contaminated. In the PCR mastitis assay, DNA of target species was amplified in 244 samples out of 294 (83·0%). The most common bacterial species detected in the samples, irrespective of the diagnostic method, was the coagulase negative staphylococci (CNS) group (later referred as Staphylococcus spp.) followed by Staphylococcus aureus. Sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) for the PCR assay to provide a positive Staph. aureus result was 97·0 and 95·8% compared with BC. For Staphylococcus spp., the corresponding figures were 86·7 and 75·4%. Our results imply that PCR performed well as a diagnostic tool to detect Staph. aureus but may be too nonspecific for Staphylococcus spp. in routine use with the current cut-off Ct value (37·0). Using PCR as the only microbiological method for mastitis diagnostics, clinical relevance of the results should be carefully considered before further decisions, for instance antimicrobial treatment, especially when minor pathogens with low amount of DNA have been detected. Introducing the concept of contaminated samples should also be considered.

Two methods of collecting milk samples from mastitic bovine mammary quarters were compared. Samples were taken in a consistent order in which standard aseptic technique sampling was done first, followed by insertion of a sterile cannula through the teat canal and collection of a second sample. Microbiological results of those two sampling techniques were compared. Milk samples were analysed using multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The cannula technique produced a reduced number of microbial species or groups of species per sample compared with conventional sampling. Staphylococcus spp. were the most common species identified and were detected more often during conventional sampling than with cannula sampling. Staphylococcus spp. identified in milk samples could also have originated from the teat canal without being present in the milk. The number of samples positive for Trueperella pyogenes or yeasts in the conventional samples was twice as high as in the cannula samples, indicating that the presence of Trueperella pyogenes and yeast species should not necessarily be interpreted as being the causative agents of bovine intra-mammary infections (IMI).

Our study focuses on exploring on the dimensionality of sustainability in perceived consumer value regarding wooden products in the Finnish context. Factors affecting consumer value on sustainability were derived from the literature on sustainable consumption and tested on a specific case of wooden terrace products through a developed survey instrument. The dimensions of sustainability-based consumer value were identified using a factor analysis on data consisting of 208 responses collected in the home and building material retail sector in May–June 2013. Four-dimensional structure for consumer value concerning sustainable and responsible wooden products is identified to consist of “Information and product origin,” “Consumer activity,” “Product image,” and “Quality.” The first two, sustainability-related factors were more strongly valued by elderly as well as by female respondents, while “Quality” and “Image” were more preferred by young and middle-aged respondent groups. As for the conclusion, our result...

The Thermo Scientific™ SureTect™ Salmonella species Assay is a new real-time PCR assay for the detection of Salmonellae in food and environmental samples. This validation study was conducted using the AOAC Research Institute (RI) Performance Tested MethodsSM program to validate the SureTect Salmonella species Assay incomparison to the reference method detailed in International Organization for Standardization 6579:2002 in a variety of food matrixes, namely, raw ground beef, raw chicken breast, raw ground pork, fresh bagged lettuce, pork frankfurters, nonfat dried milk powder, cooked peeled shrimp, pasteurized liquid whole egg, ready-to-eat meal containing beef, and stainlesssteel surface samples. With the exception of liquid whole egg and fresh bagged lettuce, which were tested in-house, all matrixes were tested by Marshfield Food Safety, Marshfield, WI, on behalf of Thermo Fisher Scientific. In addition, three matrixes (pork frankfurters, lettuce, and stainless steel surface samples) were analyzed independently as part of the AOAC-RI-controlled laboratory study by the University of Guelph, Canada. No significant difference by probability of detection or McNemars Chi-squared statistical analysis was found between the candidate or reference methods for any of the food matrixes or environmental surface samples tested during the validation study. Inclusivity and exclusivity testing was conducted with 117 and 36 isolates, respectively, which demonstrated that the SureTect Salmonella species Assay was able to detect all the major groups of Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica (e.g., Typhimurium) and the less common subspecies of S. enterica (e.g., arizoniae) and the rarely encountered S. bongori. None of the exclusivity isolates analyzed were detected by the SureTect Salmonella species Assay. Ruggedness testing was conducted to evaluate the performance of the assay with specific method deviations outside of the recommended parameters open to variation (enrichment time and temperature, and lysis temperature), which demonstrated that the assay gave reliable performance. Accelerated stability testing was additionally conducted, validating the assay shelf life.