The Human Side of Service Engineering

AHFE International

Accelerating Open Access Science in Human Factors Engineering and Human-Centered Computing

The Human Side of Service Engineering

book-cover

Editors: Christine Leitner, Walter Ganz, Clara Bassano, Debra Satterfield

Topics: Human Side of Service Engineering

Publication Date: 2022

ISBN: 978-1-958651-38-4

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1002532

Articles

Influencer attributes and characterizations on Tourists' intention to revisit destination in social media influencer marketing

Social media influencer marketing has recently received significant attention. However, this kind of social media influencer marketing has not been fully demonstrated in the context of tourism destination management/marketing. This study developed a research model based on the theory of persuasion, consisting of three influencer attributes and three characterizations as antecedents of revisit intention to destination. Data were collected through an experimental survey for respondents who live in Tokyo and Osaka in Japan. Here, two YouTubers (a man and a woman) created each tourism promotion video about one Kyoto cuisine restaurant in Kyoto. Respondents were assigned to a group to watch one of the videos, and after watching the video, they answered questions about the YouTuber and their intention to visit the tourist destination via a web questionnaire. The study found that PSR (Parasocial relationship) had a significantly positive impact on revisit intentions to destination relative to other characterizations on all groups. But the personal attributes positively related to PSR differed depending on the YouTubers and the respondents' place of residence. Therefore, tourism video marketing strategies utilizing social media influencers in destination marketing need to be fine-tuned based on the influencer's personal attributes, and characterizations considering the targets' place of residence.

Ichii Kenta, Hisashi Masuda

Conference Proceedings

Effects of Incentivized Fake Reviews on E-commerce Markets

This study analyzes difficulties posed by dealers operating in e-commerce who intervene in reviews and undermine credibility by offering money to purchasers who post highly positive reviews of their products: the incentivized fake review problem. Moreover, we study its effects on e-commerce markets. Offering biased incentives to receive more favorable reviews undermines the review mechanism validity. In e-commerce market transactions, reviews by buyers more strongly affect sales of products than in other markets. Because a loss of trust in reviews reduces the transaction volume, this incentivized fake review problem might reduce the profits of e-commerce operators and of dealers. No report of the relevant literature has described a theoretical test of these problem-related hypotheses, this study explores the subject. First, we developed a model in which buyers obtain information about sellers' products through user-generated reviews. Sellers can distort the reviews indirectly by providing incentives for highly rated reviews. Next, based on this model, we derived a Nash equilibrium incentive amount by taking a game theoretical approach to the situation of reading about incentive amounts offered by the seller. Finally, we analyzed transaction situations and the seller's gain in the equilibrium. The results revealed many points to be consistent with findings from earlier studies and with actual conditions prevailing in e-commerce markets. However, this research is limited to the proposal and analysis of a theoretical model. Therefore, future studies must be undertaken using economic experiments to verify the consistency of a model using actual transaction data and to verify the attitudes of buyers when purchasing.

Shotaro Okamoto, Hiroki Takahashi, Koji Kimita, Nariaki Nishino

Conference Proceedings

Human augmentation technology for teleworking in service/non-service industries: a survey in Japan

Telework has been widely accepted in industries as an effective means for business continuity and employee wellbeing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, its application is limited to specific types of jobs such as office work. The expectation toward digital technologies to overcome emerging risks is even accelerating under the influence of COVID-19. Specifically, human augmentation technologies (HAT) are anticipated to realize a new type of teleworking called augmented teleworking, which could create rich service experiences without physical contacts. However, the actual needs for HAT for teleworking are still understudied. This study aims to clarifies the needs and potential impacts of HAT for teleworking through the web questionnaire survey to workers across different industries and locations in Japan. The result implies that HAT to overcome access barriers and pursue reality in teleworking are anticipated and teleworking experiences would promote the needs for HAT.

Kentaro Watanabe, Bach Ho, Mai Otsuki, Yusuke Kishita, Maiko Kobayakawa

Conference Proceedings

Interdisciplinary Design Teaching: A pedagogical approach to train hands-on UX/UI designers

The rapid growth in the prevalence of smart devices has created a significant demand for workforces with knowledge and experience in user-centered design. The new emerging designers are expected to be familiar with practical design research methods while delivering competitive visual results. An interdisciplinary pedagogical approach to design teaching can help students connect the practice of psychology, human factors, and graphic design. In this presentation, we will discuss our practical methods of forming an interdisciplinary design research team to work on a hands-on design challenge involving academia and industry for the usability of specialized medical devices.Our research focuses on enhancing the usability of Environmental Control Units (ECU) in the VA Hospital healthcare system. An ECU is a digital tablet with specific functionality to help patients with spinal cord injury disabilities to overcome their common day-to-day challenges such as: making a phone call or calling the nurse/help, switching on/off the lights, adjusting the bed, etc. This device has four modes of interaction: touch-based, sip-and-puff (pneumatic tube), eye-tracking, and voice-control. Veterans with SCI/D typically find ECUs useful, yet previous research has identified dozens of usability issues ranging from relatively minor or cosmetic to catastrophic (Hancock et al., 2020; Etingen et al., 2017). This multidisciplinary research project is ongoing between California State University Long Beach, the Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders (SCI/D) Center at the Long Beach VA Hospital, and the device manufacturer, Accessibility Services, Inc.This research started in 2019 with heuristic analyses of the touch-based and eye-tracking modalities of the ECU device (Hancock et al., 2020a; Hancock et al., 2020b). Based on the heuristic evaluation findings, the team made a Beta version with improvements. The team were prepared to conduct A/B usability testing, but due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, accessing the hospital grounds got limited. In the summer of 2020, the design team developed a fully online digital prototype of the ECU interface to conduct remote A/B usability testing with a neurotypical population (i.e., CSULB students). This research has brought together students from graphic design and psychology to engage in a hands-on user-centered design project. Students from both practices received training to conduct remote user-testing sessions and post-processing the resulting data. Currently, the team is collecting data from its ongoing A/B testing between the Alpha and Beta versions of the interface. In the meantime, the team has begun to draft a new design (Omega version) based on the current and emerging findings to make design improvement suggestions to the device manufacturer.This paper will discuss how interdisciplinary design research creates unique opportunities for students in graphic design to learn human-factors psychology and how various design choices for interface features such as color, font, size, etc. will affect its usability and user experience outcomes. In contrast, students in psychology human factors learn about aesthetics and practical design solutions. As the resulting systems are for actual use by veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders in collaboration with a government partner (the VA), the students also gain valuable service learning experience.

Sam Anvari, Gabriella Hancock

Conference Proceedings

Bridging the Gap Between Industry and Education: Engaging Design Professionals in the Education of Student Designers

I-SPACE, Innovation for Students, Practitioners, Alumni, and Community Engagement, is a new model for higher education that uses online and hybrid teaching strategies to facilitate extended interactions between students and design professionals. Using I-SPACE online meetings to bridge the gap between industry and education, students obtain industry collaborations with design professionals, giving an internship-type of experience in the classroom and introducing them to high quality early career networking opportunities. I-SPACE also provides a valuable tool for diversity, equity, and inclusion in professional design education. By using the I-SPACE online and hybrid model of teaching, students from underserved and at-risk populations or those with limited monetary resources can more effectively engage with the professional design community. I-SPACE focuses on three professional practice inspired models of engagement: Co-Creation Student Practitioner, Student Mentorship, and Professional Practice. I-SPACE effectively integrates social networking and complex problem solving into the online curriculum through student collaborations with alumni, design professionals, and community stakeholders.

Julie Hurley, Nico Raddatz, Debra Satterfield

Conference Proceedings

Designing a Multi-disciplinary Class to Create a Social Robot for Alzheimer's

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and is associated with memory loss and cognitive impairments that affect daily life. Approximately 5.8 million older adults in the U.S. are living with AD (Alzheimer’s Association, 2020). People with AD often require high levels of care and assistance to maintain daily activities. The majority of care provided to a person living with AD or other forms of dementia is from a family caregiver, representing 18.6 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $244 billion (Alzheimer’s Association, 2020). The long duration, time-intensive nature of caregiving imposes high burdens on caregivers. To ease the burden on caregivers and to help assist those living with AD and other forms of dementia, several social robots have been developed. The existing robots on the market have high price points, and because of this are not accessible to a majority of the population. To address this issue, in the fall 2021 semester, undergraduate and graduate students in mechanical, aerospace, and biomedical engineering, computer science, graphic design, and architecture studied and created a low-cost social robot option. This study poses two research questions: 1. How can students understand the functional problems and needs associated with AD? 2. How can different disciplines work together to create a social robot? Students read literature reviews, conducted stakeholder meetings, designed two low-cost prototypes and performed preliminary user testing. The paper will outline guidelines for the build, interaction, and capabilities of a multi-disciplinary class in evaluating and creating new and existing social robots for dementia and Alzheimer’s care. Keywords: Social Robots, Alzheimer’s, Caregivers

Kimberly Mitchell, Xiaopeng Zhao, John Hooten, Robert Bray, Luke Macdougall

Conference Proceedings

“Voices of Design: People, Stories and Innovation” Service Design through University and Community Engagement

Voices of Design (VOD) is an event that uses Zoom, an online meeting program, and Miro, a web-based whiteboard platform, to create a virtual space for group collaboration and research. This virtual meeting space and the strategies of the VOD event are discussed regarding their ability to support large and small group interaction, interpersonal communication, design thinking processes, collaboration, complex problem solving, and gamification activities all in real time. Four goals were set as metrics for the success of this event: 1) create a safe virtual meeting place to share ideas, collaborate, and build community, 2) design content that inspires participants and casts a shared vision for design as a catalyst for positive change at global, national, local and personal levels, 3) use the event to build common ground by solving worthy yet complex problems, and 4) actively engage participants in the online activities through a series of gamification strategies. This event, these online and digital platforms, and these four goals are discussed regarding best practices for service design for online and hybrid education and design research conducted in virtual space.

Debra Satterfield, Jose Rivera-Chang, David Teubner, Tom Tredway, Wesley Woelfel

Conference Proceedings

Reasons why students decide to leave a university

This project was designed to expand our understanding about (1) who drops out, and (2) what predicts student attrition in the first two years at a university. The university where this project has been conducted is a 4-year Hispanic Serving institution in California. The university currently involves approximately 34,000 undergraduate students, 44% of whom are from Hispanic/Latino background. Other groups are Asian (20%), White (16%), and African-American, American Indian and others (15%). We invited freshmen and sophomores to participate in this project when they had no registered courses two months after the registration period started (i.e., approximately three weeks before the start of the following semester). Our understanding was that the delay in the registration reflected cognitive and non-cognitive factors that would seriously and negatively impact continuous enrollment. A series of surveys and focus groups examined students’ decision-making motives and non-cognitive factors that would inhibit their academic progress, retention, and success. Non-cognitive reasons examined are:1. Financial problems, 2. Poor secondary school preparation, 3. Undecided/ Unsatisfactory majors, 4. Conflict with work and family commitments, 5. Increasing difficulty in academic success/progress, 6. Lack of quality time with faculty and counselors, 7. De-motivating school environment, 8. Undesirable experiences in classes, and 9. Lack of student support (Bownan et al., 2019; Goldrick-Rab, 2018; Kim, 2019; Kirp, 2019ab; Moody, 2019; Sagenmuller, 2019; Saunders-Scott, et al., 2018; Silver Wolf et al., 2017; Yool, 2019). This project additionally examined the impact from COVID-19. As compared to those participants who intended to return to the university, those who indicated that they would not return to the university presented a wider range of inhibiting factors, including: •Financial difficulties •Undecided, Undeclared, Undesirable, & Unsuitable Majors•Difficulties in maintaining good Academic Progress•Not being in contact with faculty & counselors•Not being connected with faculty & advisors•Perceived non-support - “Please reach out to me!”•Intimidation - Difficulty in reaching out to instructors or counselors•Low levels of awareness, access and use of University Support Services•Lack of understanding/support for college education from family•Lack of support on family needs that conflict with academic pursuit•Multitudes of obligations (e.g., financial, caregiving)•Some self-regulatory factors (e.g., time management, procrastination, goal setting)•Difficulty in online modalities of instruction during COVID-19The findings suggest a strong need to systematically support students who struggle. The majority of struggling students are first-time college students in the family, and low-income and under-represented students who have been strongly affected by COVID-19. When struggled, those students were not necessarily aware of campus resources or did not utilize the existing support services even when they were aware. Students sought individualized advising and wanted to be reached out. In order to promote students’ success, a holistic system must be built. For instance, it might be helpful if we try to: (1) unite financial aid, career advising, physical and mental health support, counseling, and academic support in order to ease access by students, and (2) promote student sense of belonging and connectedness as soon as they start their college lives.

Hiromi Masunaga, Tianni Zhou

Conference Proceedings

User Experience of Social Web-based Virtual Reality for the Hybrid and Blended Learning Classroom

The use of social webVR for a classroom can offer a collaborative real-time environment that bridges the gap between virtual video conferences and gaming platforms. This paper examines how to use social webVR in a virtual classroom. It addresses some of the unique UX challenges of designing for a social VR classroom space. Finally, it will address access to the virtual environment through multiple devices, including an Oculus HMD, laptop, tablet, and smartphone. Social web-based VR offers promising potential. Designing a human-centered virtual environment and considering all participants' total user experience is critical to a successful learning tool. Future virtual environments could replace the physical classroom in some cases. This paper is not about replacing the physical classroom experience but how social VR can add to the experience in a hybrid or blended learning environment where students are not always in a physical classroom 100% of the time.

Laura Huisinga

Conference Proceedings

Building Better Community: A You-centralized Experience

Through a metaverse hosted art show we use novel mechanisms to control access to content in virtual spaces. In these spaces where anonymity is the standard, and requiring interaction is secondary to being viewed or received, we explore unique means of service deployment by requiring viewers to create “content” in the form of survey responses and other interactions prior to accessing the show’s content. To strengthen the connection to the virtual space we offer POAP’s to participants to add a layer of accountability and a way of monitoring attendance and interaction on the blockchain. Content moderation is only part of the picture, community moderation viewed as a holistic space is central to evolving sustainable groups which can grow and thrive. Successful meta-worlds still require the translation of real world social practices and constructs to their virtual systems -- not necessarily in the same way they are used in real life, but perhaps in innovative and authentic ways that improve on current practice. The metaverse in its infancy is a perfect place to make large changes to social structures before they are cemented in place. The focus of this research is to explore new ways to provide inclusive education opportunities, invest in the democratization of virtual spaces, and to promote computer skills and literacy. In many current forms, metaverses are inherently non-inclusive because of economic and technological inequality as well as lack of access to Computer Science education resources. We look to disincentivize predatory practices in UX/UI design and service blueprinting, such as dark patterning that subtly create non-inclusive structures. Designing inclusion into a framework implies that a framework or service is inherently non-inclusive. This project challenges this view, and suggests instead that a virtual service should be inherently inclusive, and must be designed in such a way that it avoids the addition of non-inclusive features.

Glenn Terpstra

Conference Proceedings

Immersive AR Landmark-based Campus Wayfinding Solution with Focus on People with Navigation Difficulties

The focus of this study is to develop an indoor navigation solution for use on a mobile device to help students, especially those with navigation difficulties, better navigate their environment independently and with confidence. This research employed mixed methods, including expert interviews and case studies, to better understand the wayfinding experience of students or faculty (particularly those with navigation difficulties) and to gain a comprehensive perspective on campus wayfinding experiences. A mobile app, "BeachLead," was developed on the iOS platform. BeachLead is a landmark-based Augmented reality (AR) wayfinding platform that helps students navigate indoor spaces on campus. Students can follow landmarks to find their destination and trace their way back to the first position. This platform gamifies navigation by allowing students to hit the targets (landmarks) and embed little moments of fun during their route. Using this platform will improve the campus navigation experience, increase environmental awareness, and reduce stress and cognitive load. The data and navigation prototype will be shown and discussed.

Zahrasadat Golestanha, Debra Satterfield

Conference Proceedings

Implicit Bias in UX Research Methods

User Experience (UX) is a multidisciplinary field that utilizes specialized research methodologies to provide approaches to accessibility and usability among the users of a physical or digital product. However, in the development of these methodologies, implicit bias can present obstacles to an equitable user experience for marginalized groups. The purpose of this pilot study was to find trends in the awareness of implicit biases, such as physical, social and emotional, or cognitive and intellectual barriers to participation in UX research processes to ultimately inform larger studies. An online survey and optional interview were distributed to UX professionals from a range of user experience backgrounds that evaluated their robust understanding of implicit bias in UX research methods. Participants were also evaluated on their level of training in ethical UX practices from their formal education and workplaces. The mixed-method survey was split into three sections that investigated demographic data, workplace data, and implicit bias in UX research methodologies data. The results concluded that participants showed preparation for UX ethical practices in formal education. However, a lack of training and guidelines of UX ethical practices in their workplaces was prevalent. This information brings the concern of whether UX research methodologies inhabit inclusion for marginalized audiences, especially in the workforce. Although most participants received a robust understanding of UX ethical practices in formal education, the workforce is where services and products are being designed for all audiences to experience. Overall, participants acknowledged that a level of implicit bias exists within UX research methodologies, especially for populations with physical, social and emotional, and cognitive or intellectual disabilities. Furthermore, the mixed-method survey found that surveys and questionnaires, interviews, usability tests, journey mapping, and persona making were heavily utilized in the UX research process. A discussion of how these methods possibly present implicit bias was included. Although the data from the interview remains inconclusive due to a lack of data, the methodology used was proved to be vetted and valid by the participant. However, the participants demonstrated significance in their experiences as UX professionals and that there is a need for a vigorous understanding of humanity for the UX field. The results and methodology from this pilot study can be used for a larger qualitative and quantitative study. On this basis, the acknowledgment of implicit bias within UX research methods can spark further conversations on the importance of this topic and normalize accessible user experiences for marginalized groups within the UX community. Future implications involved finding mitigation or alternative strategies for marginalized groups with UX research methods, and exploring what specific educational topics and degrees contribute to being well-versed in ethical practices in UX. Other areas for future research include investigating better and fairer UX research methodologies that lead to better-targeted services and environments for all people, understanding establishments in DEAI and social justice in the research arena, and investigating best practices to UX research that need to be established as commonplace in the UX field.

Nathaniel Pereira

Conference Proceedings

Potentials of a Metaverse for Smart Service Engineering

With the rapid emergence of metaverse activities, the question arises as to what influence the new virtual world will have on real world challenges of companies. In our paper we investigate the potential of the metaverse for a systematic development of smart services. For this purpose, we first present a model that links central technologies, elements, and interactions of the metaverse. Furthermore, the impact of the metaverse is examined along a reference model of smart service engineering. In particular, the potential for integrating customers in the development activity of testing is examined in more detail.

Jens Neuhüttler, Philipp Christel, Truong Le, Günter Wenzel, Antonio Ardilio

Conference Proceedings

Co-creation In The Metaverse Towards Better Mental Health

Struggles with mental health are at an all-time high, and there is a lack the community resources to respond to the needs of individuals dealing with anxiety, burnout, and social isolation. With the rise of the Metaverse, there is potential in using virtual worlds, avatars, and games to address the lack of available community resources for mental health. Game worlds such as Final Fantasy XIV already have thriving communities of players. A sub-category of “role-players” is a niche subculture within the gaming community that repurposed in-game lore and elements to create unique experiences at virtual venues. A handful of these venues purpose themselves to relieve stress and foster community building. By conducting virtual ethnography in Final Fantasy XIV I will learn about community building in the role-playing community and build and test a virtual venue to reveal the effectiveness of virtual worlds to help mitigate the impact on anxiety, burnout, and social isolation.

Joshua Ian Robles

Conference Proceedings

Applying Nudges to Nemawashi: Consensus-building Without Losing Diversity

In Ringi system, which is a decision-making process followed by organizations in Japan, Nemawashi is often used in order to form a consensus. The term Nemawashi generally used in the sense of explaining the situation to the parties concerned in advance during an informal setting for obtaining their approval to a certain extent so that negotiations can go well. Nemawashi can create a consensus with a bias in advance, which may lead to a loss of diversity of ideas in decision-making. Therefore, we thought that if we could successfully apply Nudge to Nemawashi, we could reduce the loss of diversity, which can be a disadvantage of Nemawashi. In this paper, we conducted a questionnaire survey of people in organizations where Nemawashi practiced in order to find out whether the application of Nudge, which can be an important tool for documentation and facilitation, to Nemawashi has a positive, negative, or no effect on the advantages and disadvantages of Nemawashi. Therefore, Nudges can be used to support strengthening Nemawashi and reduce the loss of diversity that can be a weakness of Nemawashi in the following ways: (1) provide information at the appropriate time, (2) increase the appeal of Nemawashi by creating attention-grabbing devices, (3) ensure that people behave in accordance with social norms, (4) make sure that people react in some way to what they do or don't do, and (5) ensure people are satisfied with the results. (3) to make sure that people behave in accordance with social norms, (4) to check what kind of situation is expected to occur if a certain choice is taken or not taken, and whether the result is likely to be satisfactory, (5) to create a system that will immediately respond in some way to the doers of the words or actions, and (6) to prepare time to carefully review what has happened. We proposed a model for applying Nudge to Nemawashi in order to achieve consensus-building between decision-makers and Nemawashi practitioners without losing diversity in the process of decision-making.

Nikka Ko, Youji Kohda, Naoshi Uchihira

Conference Proceedings

Empowering Futures Literacy through a Knowledge-based Service Innovation Workshop

During stepping into an era of rapidly changing world and constantly disruption, companies need to generate new value to unlock opportunities and drive the growth (Lee et al., 2009). Innovation is a key initiative for competitive advantage as the main driver of economic growth (Lopez, 2012). Nevertheless, as the environment changes, regulations evolve, new technologies emerge, and even consumer behavior changes, businesses may not have a clear picture of how they will survive or succeed. Companies should increase individuals' futures literacy capacities in order to strengthen firms' sensing dynamic capabilities (Rhisiart et al., 2015). UNESCO has addressed the urgent need to enhance people's capacities and skills by empowering everyone to better use the future to prepare for potential crises or overcome major challenges (UNESCO, 2021). However, there is no established approach for developing these competencies in service innovation. Therefore, we aim to enhance individuals ability by cultivating future literacy, which is a basis of human skill for future service design (Bell, 2009; Miller, 2018).Kononiuk et al. (2021) stated a future study by providing tools to facilitate futures thinking, including trend and scenario analysis. Rohrbeck (2011) listed future-oriented capabilities as the ability to gather external data, and apply creativity to find opportunities and take risks. Therefore, we believe that the global and business scanning, such as megatrend, technology trends or research direction through intellectual property, will be an essential part of enhancing future literacy. Technology trends alone usually cannot cover all organizational scenarios (Lee, 2013). Predicting the future requires not just recognizing and assessing opportunities, but also taking into account potential risks (Morris et al., 2013; Dannenberg and Grapentin, 2016; Haarhaus & Liening, 2020). In addition to considering the potential and impacts of technology breakthroughs, the climate change also influences business and financial decisions (TCFD, 2021). Unexpected business losses may caused by climate-related economic costs, such as rising global temperatures or natural disasters. Firms will be better able to take responsibility and foresight if they are aware of the challenges (TCFD, 2020). Based on the background, we developed knowledge-based service innovation workshop. We have presented megatrend, technology trends and relevant patent information to demonstrate the likelihood of technological advancement. As a reference for comprehending possible scenarios, we also present probable climate-related economic costs. Then, leveraging the future vision as a starting point to generate innovative ideas.This paper discusses the success of promoting future literacy for corporate innovation with the knowledge-based service innovation workshop. We conducted an idea generating workshop for employees at various levels to help them in developing innovative ideas for both internal and external environments. We developed our brainstorming workshop in conjunction with providing of megatrend, technology trends, business-related intellectual property, and trustworthy climate-related financial information. It also considers employee feedback on how to motivate creativity through the provision of future opportunities. The outcomes of this study will contribute to the enhance human resource competencies in order to cope with the future, which will lead to sustainable service innovation development.

Porruthai Boonswasd, Kunio Shirahada

Conference Proceedings

Maritime Engine Room Resource Management Extended to Remote Members Onshore: Conceptual Model using Internet of Everything (IoE)

Operation and management of ships is a typical service system including human factors. In recent years, the maritime industry has become increasingly concerned about human factors against maritime accidents, which have still remained high rate. The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978/2010 (STCW convention) made that maritime resource management (MRM) is a requirement for seafarers' qualifications, including BRM (Bridge Resource Management) for the navigation department and ERM (Engine Room Resource Management) for the engine department. This paper focuses on ERM, which is a method to operate a ship safely by appropriately managing and effectively utilizing resources in the ship engine area. The STCW code lists the following requirements for ERM: (1) allocation, assignment and prioritization of resources (2) effective communication (3) assertiveness and leadership (4) obtaining and maintaining situational awareness (5) consideration of team experience.MRM has been developed based on Crew Resource Management (CRM), which has been developed in the aviation industry and has been one of the important issues in human factors research, by fitting the characteristics and target tasks of ships. At present, MRM capability is being developed through training-based methods. However, MRM does not depend solely on the abilities and skills of individuals, but can be demonstrated by organizations. In addition, as the equipment on ships becomes more complicated in response to environmental regulations and efficient operation, it is becoming more difficult for the personnel in the engine department to manage and control all the resources alone. In the future, it will be necessary to provide remote support from the members onshore, to make data visible efficiently by utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT), and to develop mechanisms and systems to support ERM in the actual field.In this paper, we propose a conceptual model of support system for ERM using human awareness and IoT sensors, and an ERM concept that extends to remote members onshore including engineering supervisors and maintenance personnel in shipbuilding companies. The proposed model uses not only an IoT system to collect sensor data from the main engine, generator, and other equipment on board the ship, but also the smart voice messaging system that allows the crew to share and store their operations and observations (human awareness). This model is classified as Internet of Everything (IoE) since it consists of IoT and human awareness. The smart voice messaging system had been developed for collaboration management in various services including maintenance by authors (Uchihira et al., Collaboration management by smart voice messaging for physical and adaptive intelligent services, PICMET 2013). The proposed ERM support system based on IoE is still conceptual model. We evaluated effectiveness of the proposed system by interviewing several ship managers. As a result, it was found that the system has the potential to support the resource management of equipment and personnel, which is the objective of MRM. Unique points of the proposed model include (1) ERM model extended to remote members onshore and (2) ERM support system utilizing both IoT sensor data and human awareness together.

Moritaro Inoue, Naoshi Uchihira

Conference Proceedings

Changes in the Relationship between Medical Professionals Mediated by an Information Tool: An Ethnography of Team Medicine in Japan

Comparing the percentage of the total population aged 65 and over in 2021, Japan (29.1%) is the world's highest super-aged society. It has been predicted for some time that the existing healthcare system would not be able to cope with the increasing demand for healthcare. One of the government's proposals to restructure the healthcare system is to make greater use of team medicine.The purpose of this paper is to clarify what has changed through team medicine mediated by information tools. The study site was a medium-sized hospital in a regional city in Japan. The research method used was ethnography with a focus on participant observation. The study period was eight years, from 2012 to 2020. One of the authors conducted the investigation while working at the hospital as a hospital staff. In the 2012 revision of medical fees, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) added the new item of "guidance and management for prevention of dialysis (through team medicine)" to prevent serious complications in diabetic patients.The new reimbursement system only set out the conditions for calculation and left the operation of the system to the hospitals themselves. Hospitals were initially confused, and medical professionals did not know what to do. However, the introduction of the MAP information tool, which visualizes and lists the patients' treatment status, has made it possible for the health professionals to work proactively. Through the mediation of MAP, inadequate treatment of patients (e.g., lack of necessary tests, inadequate selection of appropriate drugs, etc.) became clear. Under such circumstances, not only nurses and pharmacists but also medical secretaries have been transformed into people who are relied upon by doctors. Such a change was born from their attitude that they did not accept team medicine, which was mainly based on hierarchy and division of labor among medical professionals, and that they were willing to take on the work of other professions. In other words, each specialized profession filled in the gaps in patient care that tended to arise by overlapping their respective duties. In addition, the relationship between doctors and other professionals has changed from a hierarchical relationship to a mutual relationship in which problems are raised.In conclusion, it was found that the mediation of information tools and the overlapping of work with other professions with one's own professional area did not reduce the organizational capacity of the team and promoted positive changes in professional relationships.

Hiromi Yamaguchi, Yasunobu Ito

Conference Proceedings

The Invisible Work and its Value of Outpatient Nurses: A Case Study of an Internal Medicine Clinic in Fukuoka, Japan

In recent years, the environment surrounding medical care in Japan has been changing drastically with the development and sophistication of medical care and the declining birthrate and aging of the population. In response to the changes in medical care, nurses are now required to provide high quality direct care to patients with various diseases and living environments. For this reason, work that does not involve patients, such as clerical work, has been regarded as less valuable as a nurse’s job. However, in practice, many of the nurses’ jobs do not involve patients. These jobs are not valued by society and the nursing community, making them “invisible”. In order to visualize the nurses' work based on facts, it is necessary to clarify the invisible work of nurses and its value. Until now, there have been a few ethnographic studies that have attempted to reveal the invisible work of Japanese nurses. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the invisible work of outpatient nurses and what their value is through a case study of an internal medicine clinic in Japan. As a result of the study, it was found that outpatient nurses not only assist with medical treatment, which is defined by law as nurses’ work, but they play an important role in the functioning of outpatient clinics by performing other duties. This is where the value of the invisible work performed by outpatient nurses is thought to exist.

Yaeko Kawaguchi, Yasunobu Ito

Conference Proceedings

Conceptual Change in Human-centered Design by Artificial Intelligence System

It has been pointed out that the development of artificial intelligence can transform the relationship between systems and people fundamentally. Human-centered design (HCD) is a concept that realizes a human-centered system by grasping user usage and deriving user requirements. This design concept is still important and is effective when systematizing existing operations. However, when a user's advanced work can be replaced by artificial intelligence, the relationship between the user and the system changes dramatically, but the direction has not been clarified. In this study, interviews were conducted with service providers on the site using artificial intelligence and discussed the necessity of rebuilding the meaning and significance of the operations and actions of the user using the system.

Masaya Ando, Yasunobu Ito

Conference Proceedings

Predictive Model Establishment for The Online Shopping Experience Factors Affecting Repurchase Intention Using Stepwise Linear Regression

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought drastic changes in the way people purchase goods/products. The behavior of people shifted to online shopping and an increase in electronic transactions. In the present, the e-commerce industry in the Philippines continues to grow; however, it is still not as established as developed countries. For online businesses to succeed in the highly competitive online environment, a better understanding of the different factors affecting consumer behavior is vital. This study investigated the e-commerce sector wherein the focus is the online shopping factors that affect the repurchase intention of consumers from multiple generations, namely Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z. Seven online shopping experience factors were determined in the study affecting consumers' repurchase intention. The study used stepwise linear regression and Cronbach's alpha for data analysis, and the predictive models were validated. The results show that Customer Satisfaction and Perceived Usefulness affect the online repurchase intention for Baby Boomers. At the same time, Perceived Security, Transactionality, and Website Quality are the factors that affect Generation X's repurchase intention. Furthermore, Availability, Perceived Usefulness, and Website Quality affect repurchase intention for Generation Y. Lastly, Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Security and Customer Satisfaction affects the repurchase intention for Generation Z. Aside from repurchase intention, these factors also significantly affect online store revisit. These results will be helpful for e-commerce company owners in improving the features of their platforms based on consumers' preferences. Recommendations include for e-commerce sites to improve cybersecurity, and user-friendly interface, convenient payment methods, clear refund or return policies, and consistent monitoring and updating of product stocks.

Jesselyn Alcain, Charlie Marquez, Lara Camille Beriña, Luke Samuel Bulaon, Jane Andrea Cheng, Gennes Erika Cruz

Conference Proceedings

Acquisition and sharing of knowledge and skills of visiting nurses in Japan

The purpose of this study is to clarify, through ethnographic research, how nurses acquire and share their knowledge and skills of home nursing in clinical settings. The field research took place at a visiting nurse station in Nagoya, Japan between 2013 and November 2021. Research method used were participant observations and interviews at visiting nurse station and patients’ homes. One of the authors is an assistant professor of nursing at a university’s Nurse and Health department who also leads students in the clinical training at the visiting nurse station. The research data were acquired from periodical nurse station visits and from accompanying nurses in their activities.visiting nurses considered patients and family as partners, and they explored the preferred care together with the patient to create tailored care. We showed the following in a paper at AHFE-HSSE conference in 2021: the visiting nurses read into the patient’s societal background, life and beliefs, and visiting nurses analyzed the living style patients wish for, in order to propose the method which materialize this kind of living. The value co-created by the nurses and patient formulated the “normal living style” wished to be sustained by the patient (Otani and Ito 2021).Incidentally, in nursing education in Japan, universities nursing faculties and nursing schools educate students in basic knowledge and skills of nursing in wards to home nursing in Japan. The co-creative practices and techniques of visiting nursing care need to be learned while working in a clinical setting after the nurse is licensed.　The paper revealed the following: The visiting nurse "co-created" with the patient to produce a nursing technique that fit the patient's needs　based on the "sticky information" (von Hippel 1994) obtained in the patient's home. At the visiting nurse station, the nurses reported new information obtained at the patient's home or communicated to the patient during daily conferences. The nurse illustrated and demonstrated the nursing techniques that fit the patient to colleague nurses.In addition, the nurses had a joint conference with physical, occupational, and speech therapists working in the same station. The participants reported to each other the new information the patient during their stay at the patient's home, and described the techniques of each specialist that fit the patients. The information revealed in the conference was recorded into the patient's medical chart each time. The nursing skills created in the patient's home through co-creation with the patient are sticky information that is difficult to transfer, but they are shared and accumulated through gestural demonstrations at conferences by the health professionals.

Kagari Otani, Yasunobu Ito

Conference Proceedings

The production process of films from a relational perspective: A case study of independent films about Parkinson's disease in Japan

The purpose of this paper is to clarify how creativity is produced in filmmaking from a relational perspective. Creativity here refers to the fact that films that contain original ideas and evoke sympathy in the audience are not produced solely through the internal mechanisms of individuals, but rather as a result of the collective actions and activities of various people.In recent years, movies have moved beyond the confines of theaters, and infrastructures such as Amazon Prime and Netflix are rapidly expanding. Against this backdrop, independent Japanese films have been receiving high acclaim overseas. The so-called independent films are not films that come out with huge budgets and a fixed release destination like the major film systems, but films that are planned and produced by the filmmakers themselves without any financial resources. Independent films can have an impact on people despite the risk of completion and release, but their reputation is focused on the director and producer. For this reason, the relationship between actors other than the director and producer in filmmaking is not fully clarified.Filmmaking is a multi-layered and contingent creativity that is created through the long-term interaction of not only the director, producer, and cast, but also various other actors such as equipment, script, and location. While independent films allow for a greater degree of freedom in planning, they are also subject to complexities and volatility, such as difficulties in obtaining financing and differences in the image of the film among the staff, which can prevent the project from proceeding as planned at the outset.The subject of the study is Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and movies about it. PD is an intractable disease for which there is currently no curative treatment, and which causes progressive symptoms such as tremors in the limbs and stiffness in the muscles that interfere with daily life. In order to control the progression of the disease, it is said that regular exercise therapy and rehabilitation are essential, along with daily medication. The film will be produced with the cooperation of the PD Patients Association, which has 8,000 members, and will consist of two parts: a drama about the life of the main character who was diagnosed with PD in his 40s, and a documentary about several PD patients in their 30s to 60s. The research was conducted by one of the authors (a filmmaker) using ethnography: from December 2020 to November 2021, he conducted participant observation of the relationships between the actors involved in the project and the living conditions of the PD parties, and interviewed them. Based on these observations, we conducted a series of interviews. The PD parties who would become the informants and the filmmakers had numerous dialogues. As a result, their social and living environments were unraveled.

Shun Coney, Yasunobu Ito

Conference Proceedings

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on electricity load demand in Thailand

Electricity demand is typically affected by many exogenous and endogenous factors to which utility generation, transmission, and distribution systems respond accordingly. The outbreak of COVID -19 caused a sudden change in every aspect in many countries. The number of cases increased exponentially from mid-March 2020 in Thailand. The Thai government has taken many pandemic-prevention measures such as requiring people to stay home to reduce human-to-human transmission of the virus. Many human activities stopped, such as businesses, services, and transportation. The preventive measures taken to curb the spread of COVID -19 have drastically changed the behavioral patterns of people. The energy sector is one of the sectors most affected by COVID-19. After the government-imposed restrictions to prevent COVID -19 within the country, there were extreme fluctuations in demand for electricity on the grid. We compared the electricity load patterns before and after introducing the countrywide restrictions by the government. Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand provided the daily 30-minute load data. This study provides valuable insights into the Thai power system during the global crisis. This is to support decision making, especially for policy-makers, grid operators, and regulators, by quantifying the short-term impact and identifying the long-term impact of pandemic waves on the power system.

Su Wutyi Hnin, Amna Javed, Chawalit Jeenanunta, Jessada Karnjana, Youji Kohda

Conference Proceedings

Value creation through third-party certification - Case study of phase-free certification for certifying disaster prevention

The purpose of this research is to clarify how third-party certification creates value by looking at a case study of third-party certification. An application of the “phase free” concept is discussed as an example of how third-party certification generates value. Disaster prevention is a typical social issue that diverse members of society must proactively confront. It is, however, considered an uncertain cost by many people, wherein preparing for disasters is not an entrenched practice. “Phase free” is a concept originating in Japan that aims to encourage consumers to purchase products and services that are useful in the event of disasters by providing phase-free certification of such products and services. For example, a plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle can be used as a battery when parked. Even though this power storage function is not recognized at normal times, it will be very useful in the event of a disaster. Phase free, thus, refers to the concept of "deriving considerable benefit during times of emergencies from products and services used in everyday life."Generally, third-party certification is considered to bring about a positive effect on eliminating the asymmetry of information, such as by guaranteeing the quality of products and services in the market, by strengthening a company's competitiveness, and by enhancing reliability. However, due to the considerable economic and time burden imposed on producers in complying with strict standards and the lack of understanding among consumers about the value of certification, the use of certification marks has not gained sufficient traction. There are cases, however, in which third-party authentication is considered to have led to the creation of value. For example, non-fungible tokens (NFT) are also seen to be creating new value by allowing third parties to certify (endorse) value using block chain technology. Phase-free certification, like NFT, appears to be successful in creating value.This study elucidates the features of value creation through phase-free certification by looking into the activities of the Phase Free Association (https://phasefree.or.jp/), which carries out third-party certification. The target of the study is the "School Education Initiatives in Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture," which was certified by the Phase Free Association in 2021 (Gold Prize winner at the Phase Free Award 2021). An interview with representatives of the Phase Free Association was conducted to clarify how the "value of disaster prevention" is embedded in school education. An analysis was conducted focusing on the benefits that school officials, parents, government officials, and other stakeholders gain from this embedded value of disaster prevention. The study clarifies how balance is achieved between normal-time value (teaching the prescribed school education curriculum) and disaster-time value (protecting children from disasters), as well as investigates the mechanism behind the value-creation process.This study, therefore, contributes to research on third-party certification through analysis of a case of phase-free certification that has succeeded in providing value related to disaster prevention to school education, which is an intangible service.

Aki Shimbo, Amna Javed, Hideomi Gokon, Youji Kohda

Conference Proceedings

Differences in processes and outcomes between starting from in-house industrial designers and starting from R&D engineers in design-driven innovation

This research aims to clarify the differences in development processes, new product outlines, and post-launch results between two cases of design-driven innovation (DDI), one starting from industrial designers and the other starting from engineers.SignificanceThe importance of design for gaining a competitive advantage is well documented in many countries with a strong tradition of industrial design, such as Italy, Sweden, and Japan. The DDI concept proposed by Roberto Verganti has been developed based on the analysis of more than 50 case studies, mainly from the manufacturing industry. However, while several studies have been published on the practical process of DDI, there are still few empirical studies that focus on the differences in the processes and outcomes of DDI when starting from in-house industrial designers and when starting from R&D engineers.MethodologyThis study adopted a qualitative approach using Yin's methodology and selected two cases related to high-end model electric fans launched by two Japanese electronics companies in the electric fan market, which is a mature market.In both cases, information on the development process was collected mainly through the use of authenticated secondary sources, augmented in part by direct interviews. On the other hand, the overviews of the new products were based on the product catalogs, and the post-launch results were analyzed based on POS data.Findings/Discussion of resultsNew product development related to the DDI process includes the following stages: design research, idea generation, concept design, product planning, legal protection (patents, etc.), detail design, prototype manufacturing, testing, and production.In the two cases, the in-house designers play a strategic role in the product planning stage, but the main role of idea generation is different. In the case where idea generation was led by the in-house designers, the appearance of the conventional electric fan was retained, but incremental innovation through modularization was achieved. On the other hand, in the case where the ideas were generated by engineers in the R&D department, a different technology was adopted for the air blowing mechanism, resulting in newness in terms of appearance and product concept.Both models won the Good Design Award and succeeded in establishing a new domain of high-end electric fans in a mature market. The products originating from in-house industrial designers could only increase the number of fan blades in order to compete with other companies' products in subsequent product development. In contrast, the design by R&D engineers achieved less-than-satisfactory results in terms of sales due to the newness of its design, but it had a positive impact on the company's subsequent product development and business expansion by applying the adopted technology to products other than electric fans. As a result of this study's considerations, it was found that differences occur in the development processes, new product outlines, and post-launch results when the originators are in-house industrial designers and when they are engineers.Originality/valueThis novel qualitative study will advance the accumulation of DDI process research related to new product development and provide suggestions on how to effectively manage and utilize in-house industrial designers and engineers to ensure successful DDI and its outcomes.

Yoshito Kubo, Osamu Sato

Conference Proceedings

Predicting economic indicators using Political Texts

The paper proposes a new text-based indicator aimed at assessing the impact over time of political debate on economy. Textual data from the plenary verbatim reports of the Italian Parliament are pre-processed and relevant themes, whose temporal evolution allows predicting fluctuations in fundamental macro-economic variables, are estimated via a Correlated Topic Model. Specifically, a Political Debate Index is derived based on a time-varying weighting function of the estimated topic proportions. The capability, in terms of out-of-sample forecasts accuracy, of the proposed approach in improving the predictability of selected economic indicators is evaluated considering different predictors. The reached results seem to support the evidence that qualitative information conveyed by the daily political debate does have an impact on the economic dynamic over time and can be usefully used to improve the economic predictions performance.

Alessandra Amendola, Alessandro Grimaldi, Walter Distaso

Conference Proceedings

Augmented decision making model for responsible actors in healthcare

The purpose of this paper is to understand if the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools may enable augmented decision-making for responsible actors (Spohrer, 2021) in healthcare. The biggest challenge for AI in healthcare is its own full applicability in daily clinical practices, due to fragmented data and their poor quality, further complicated by the patients’ reluctance to share them (Shinners et al., 2020) for privacy issues. The motivation of this work is to search for models and methodologies capable of overcoming these criticalities. In this sense, transparent AI deserves to be much more explored because it would enable augmented decisions (not just automatic decisions) as they result from an effective HMI (Zhu et al., 2018). Then, this can also contribute to strengthening the patient’s perception of the reliability and safety of the tool (de Fine Licht, 2020), by improving their trust in the healthcare operations (Das, 2020). A literature review has been carried out to propose a framework (Share-to-Care) to encourage a great acceptance by actors of new technologies in healthcare thanks to reasoned transparency. Methodologically, the ‘theory synthesis’ (Jaakkola, 2020) helps us in intending how to give back drivers and suggestions to researchers and practitioners in designing and using AI in healthcare. Findings concern transparent AI as leverage able to foster the spread of collaborative behaviors useful for augmented decision-making not only powered by technologies but mainly by humans.

Francesco Polese, Luca Carrubbo, Antonietta Megaro

Conference Proceedings

Artificial Intelligence Algorithms in Precision Medicine: a New Approach in Clinical Decision-Making

US National Institutes of Health described the precision medicine as ‘an emerging approach for disease treatment and prevention that takes into account individual variability in genes, environment and lifestyle for each person.’ In other words, on the basis of the definition, the precision medicine allows to treat patients based on their genetic, lifestyle, and environmental data. Nevertheless, the complexity and rise of data in healthcare arising from cheap genome sequencing, advanced biotechnology, health sensors patients use at home, and the collection of information about patients’journey in healthcare with hand-held devices unquestionably require a suitable toolkit and advanced analytics for processing the huge information. The artificial intelligence algorithms (AI) can remarkably improve the ability to use big data to make predictions by reducing the cost of making predictions. The advantages of artificial intelligence algorithms have been extensively discussed in the medical literature. In this paper based on the collection of the data relevant for the health of a given individual and the inference obtained by AI, we provide a simulation environment for understanding and suggesting the best actions that need to be performed to improve the individual’s health. Such simulation modelling can help improve clinical decision-making and the fundamental understanding of the healthcare system and clinical process.

Valeria Damato, Pietro Campiglia, Clara Bassano

Conference Proceedings

Brand algorithms and social engagement in digital era

The world we live in today is pervaded by digital, the net is increasingly present and mixes the dimensions of the physical and the virtual, changing the way we understand, decide and evaluate things and also the way we do business. Artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies are transforming the way we think and do marketing and the way companies relate to consumers and society.Internet has assumed a key role in nurturing innovation within business ecosystems. AI, big data and Internet of things (IoT) are key drivers of the current revolution in the way of communicating and relating among both individuals and products. This change is mainly due to the impact of algorithms’ mediations on the creation of value and customer engagement.Recent years, growing attention has been devoted to consumer brand engagement through emerging technological platforms (e.g., social media/artificial intelligence-based). However, despite important knowledge advancement, much remains unknown regarding the effect of Consumers’ Technology-Facilitated Brand Engagement (CTFBE) on individuals’ wellbeing, thus determining an important research gap (Hollebeek and Belk, 2021). CTFBE comprises a vital social facet. Hollebeek and Belk (2021) define CTFBE as a consumer’s bloodedly volitional resource investment in technology-mediated brand interactions (Kumar et al., 2019; Hollebeek et al, 2020). Online behavioral customer engagement occurs because of the rise of the new media and the advancement of technology, which have changed the way customers connect and interact with firms (Jahn and Kunz, 2012). One of the most active channels for such an aim are social media (Gummerus et al, 2012) where customers share their own experiences, information, review brands and manifest enthusiasm, delight, or disgust about a brand with others (Hollebeek and Chen, 2014).Digital transformation has totally transformed the value creation process (Reinartz et al., 2019) revolutionizing the way of doing business using the large mass of available data and information, through sophisticated service platforms that increase both effectiveness and efficiency in the value creation processes. AI has been a key component of digital transformation, substantially affecting consumer decision-making (Duan et al., 2021).AI, big data and the IoT are supporting and / or automating many decision-making processes: product, price, channel, supply chain, communication, etc. The customer experience is also redesigned starting from new value creation objectives and can become a stimulus for the creation of new business models. This, in turn, can provide a customized experience that is highly valued by consumers (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016). While new technologies have brought more ways for customers to interact with brands and companies, digital technologies have similarly enabled the automation of company’s interactions with customers (Kunz et al., 2017).According to Kumar et al (2010), AI represents the enabling technology for the transformation of marketing theory and practices: the enormous availability of data, the explosion of the possibilities to reach and interact on the markets and an increased speed of transactions. AI-enabled digital platform helps organizations to attract their customers (Bag et al, 2021; Chawla and Goyal, 2021).An increasing number of marketing decisions already use artificial intelligence in some way, and with the rise of big data is becoming easier to incorporate AI into business practices. Marketers may develop a more effective and personalized communication approach (Mogaji et al., 2020). For this reason, today AI is adopted in all activities where classification, forecasts and clustering are useful or necessary to solve problems and support decisions (management of anomalies in processes, logistics and optimization planning, customer service and customization).In the contemporary world the ubiquity of digital has made fluid the distinctions between channels and has integrated two dimensions of reality (physical and virtual one in phygital), the management of complex processes has become agile and adaptive, the advantages of integration and dynamic use of resources condition the operation of entire businesses. Well, what influence all this changes, new technologies and brand algorithms will have on social engagement?Prior studies on artificial intelligence in service and marketing research have not addressed customer engagement (Kaartemo & Helkkula, 2018). Perhaps, even Kaartemo & Helkkula (2018) specifically called for more research to answer the question: “How can we improve customer engagement through AI?”The article proposal is theoretical/conceptual in nature and starts from an updated review of academic literature on the aforementioned topics, mainly within marketing and business management disciplines, to achieve an interpretative attempt of Brand algorithm and social engagement (role) in digital era. References on request.

Teresa Marrone, Pierpaolo Testa

Conference Proceedings

Algorithms and Human Creativity: Threats or Opportunities?A Literature Review

We explore the move from a mechanical vision of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to a systemic vision of Intelligence Augmentation (IA) (Barile et al., 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021; Navarrini, 2020; Chiriatti, 2019). AI assumes the role of empowered intelligence (IA) as it is capable of expressing a capacity for modeling integration of experiences, knowledge and emotions in conditions of strong uncertainty (Barile et al., 2021; Hagel, 2021). But in a world where the nature of machine learning is changing so rapidly, does technology empower or annihilate creativity? The aim of the paper is to draw attention to the impact that disruptive technology has on human creative processes. How might progress in AI affect Human Creativity (HC)? We propose a literature review to better understand both trends and gaps.Keywords: AI, Human Creativity, Viable Systems Approach (VSA).

Sergio Barile, Clara Bassano, Paolo Piciocchi, Pietro Vito, James Clinton Spohrer

Conference Proceedings

Roles and Competences of Data Science Projects

In recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that data is playing an ever more important role in companies and the need for IT (Information Technology) applications to support people in their activities is growing. The requirements for data-driven projects for the automation and augmentation of processes and tasks are significantly higher than for standard IT projects. An essential requirement is to learn from company data and to use it for new applications. The composition of the project team plays an essential role. It is necessary to recognize which roles and competences are required for the implementation of the project and to recognize how these may change during the project. In the following, due to the interdisciplinary nature of data science projects, new competences and roles for project execution will be identified and discussed. Possible risks that can arise from unstructured project planning and from role and competence planning will be identified. The differences compared to standard projects are highlighted and the challenges compared to them are examined. To support project planning, the use of tools can be helpful. The requirements a tool or method should fulfil in order to add value for a broad spectrum of enterprises are addressed. Exemplary criteria in this context are neutrality, branch independence and free availability of the method. In addition, the usability and areas of application of such tools are discussed.

Claudia Dukino, Damian Kutzias, Maike Link

Conference Proceedings

Implementation of AI Technologies in manufacturing - success factors and challenges

There is a broad consensus on the potential of smart services for production and the added value their use offers. Industrial artificial intelligence (AI) has several advantages. AI technologies, for example, can strengthen resilience, support work processes, increase product quality and thus improve competitiveness. Many companies have recognised these potentials and are developing AI solutions. There are many successful proof-of-concepts (PoC) and pilot projects, but AI technologies successfully implemented in the real environment are scarce. Successful implementation of smart services based on industrial AI in production operations can be understood as its repetitive use and integration into operational business, which is a prerequisite for exploiting the potentials. Currently, little is known about how to achieve successful implementation. In contrast, there is much evidence that the implementation and operation of AI in manufacturing is associated with extensive challenges and barriers. The factors that positively influence the roll-out of AI technologies in manufacturing, however, are little explored. Therefore, this paper focuses on the identification of success factors and barriers for the implementation and operation of AI solutions in manufacturing. Furthermore, it is analysed whether and how the identified success factors and barriers differ from each other in order to subsequently derive initial recommendations for action. The methodology is based on explorative qualitative research. First, 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted with AI experts from a German Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). In an expert workshop, the main findings were validated, and possible solution and support options were discussed. Our findings confirm the results found in the literature and complement them with new insights. Success factors and challenges can be found on the technical, organisational, and human side and relate most often to "data", "development and operational processes" and "stakeholder engagement".

Janika Kutz, Jens Neuhüttler, Jan Spilski, Thomas Lachmann

Conference Proceedings

Implementing data-based services: A socio-technical model

The trend towards digitalization requires equipment manufacturers to complement their products with data-based services. Successfully implementing appropriate processes into existing organizational structures poses several challenges, which we address in this research. Based on two in-depth case studies together with Swiss industrial companies we developed a sociotechnical model that supports the successful implementation of data-based services. Following, the challenges as well as the model and its application are briefly described. Challenges: Adding data-based services to existing products requires not only new skills, such as the ability to collect valid data or to apply the latest algorithms of data analytics. If needed, such methodological abilities can be obtained on the labor market. Rather, it is a matter of identifying the right indicators on which to base data-driven services, or interpreting the results of analysis in a way that adds value for customers. Consequently, novel methodological abilities need to be combined with in-depth domain expertise. However, the required expertise is usually distributed throughout an organization. This is because, industrial companies over the years optimize their organizational processes and structures regarding the production, commissioning and maintenance of their traditional products. Therefore, experiences and knowledge are gained by different organizational units. Combining this distributed expertise to create synergies in the analysis and interpretation of data can be a major challenge. It becomes even more difficult, when part of the expertise is tacit or when its relevance is not obvious but requires the linking of seemingly unimportant information. Hence, organizational processes and structures must be found that enable co-production and hence the knowledge synergies required for the data-based services. The sociotechnical model: Based on an extended literature review and the needs of our industrial partners we developed a sociotechnical model. It provides operationalized criteria for designing and evaluating organizational processes and structures, which enable knowledge-oriented collaboration. The model is onion-like structured with different spheres. The data-based service to be implemented builds the core of the model. It is surrounded by spheres of technology, knowledge, human workforce, and organizational structures. For each sphere as well as for interfaces between spheres operationalized criteria are provided, which represent preconditions of successful knowledge-oriented collaboration. Examples for the criteria are: process transparency, perceived self-efficacy or mutual trust. Furthermore, the upper hemisphere of the model represents the service provider, whereas its lower hemisphere represents the customer. It is very important to have both included as the targeted synergies require boundary-spanning collaboration between the two. Model application: The model and its criteria are applied when designing the collaboration of everyone required for service delivery. As long as a company still mainly manufactures its traditional mechanical industrial products, it cannot radically reorganize. In this case, the model supports the design of processes and structures of collaboration across organizational boundaries based on defined roles and networking. In periodical meetings the collaboration within these networks is evaluated and optimized by means of the model's criteria. The model as well as its application will be presented in the paper.

Adrian Campos, Toni Waefler, Anina Havelka, Patricia Deflorin

Conference Proceedings

Holistic Customer Experience in Smart City Service Systems – A Conceptual Model

Through the multiplicity of different actors, smart cities offer many physical and digital touchpoints where interactions with customers can occur for the creation and delivery of smart services. Integrating these touchpoints at different levels offers the potential to foster innovation and stimulate service creation by bringing together different resources. At present, however, service production and delivery in cities is mostly highly parcelled out and isolated by individual providers. A strong competitive spirit is particularly evident in the use of the multitude of data in smart cities, due to its high value when being transformed into valuable smart services. The isolated consideration of services can be one of the central weaknesses of today's cities, leading to a declining attractiveness as a place to stay and consume. Increasing online competition, related changing consumer behavior, and the COVID-19 pandemic are leading to a growing decoupling of work, leisure and shopping from physical locations and thus from the city as a place where services are provided. To strengthen the development of a city, it is necessary to attract customers back by making the experience attractive as a combination of different value contributions, e.g. integrating retail services with smart solutions for the search of nearby free parking spaces, toward an integrated customer experience in cities. Meanwhile it has been argued that customer experience in cities is more holistic than the experience in single service encounters, there is a lack in research in exploring how customer experience in cities can be conceptualized. In this work, we therefore present city experience as an integrative concept which bundles the experiences from various activities in the city toward a holistic customer experience. Following the Design Science Research process suggested by Peffers et al. (2007), examining smart service literature in the field of smart cities and 141 real-world smart city services from the perspective of their contribution to customer experience, we develop a conceptual model which depicts the central determinants of city experience. Our model deepens knowledge in the field of consumer-oriented value creation in smart cities providing an integrative perspective on customer experience, smart cities and smart services. We consider our insights significant for research, as our integrative framework deepens the understanding of a holistic customer experience as a solution to the above-described problems. It provides a basis to further theorize on customer experience in smart cities and on how to design and integrate smart services to create it. Further, our work can help practitioners involved in smart cities in the design of new smart services as well as the evaluation of existing services with respect to their contribution to the city experience. Accordingly, this integrative perspective on smart city services organizes the state of the art of smart service research in a novel way and enhances understanding on the role of smart services to contribute to an overall customer experience. By taking on this view, our research provides important perspectives and results that could significantly contribute to solving the ongoing challenges according to a city’s attractiveness and development.

Michel Muschkiet, Tobias Wulfert

Conference Proceedings

Dissemination of smart product-service systems in the corporate world

In the corporate world, the focus continues to be on technical innovations in particular. However, with the ever more widespread development of data-based and intelligent ("smart") systems, in which products and services are increasingly interlinked, this way of thinking quickly reaches its limits. The focus here is more on customer benefits, which form the basis for future innovations. Accordingly, the importance of integrated development of smart product-service systems (sPSS) is also increasingly coming into focus.To find out the extent to which products and services are already being developed in an integrated manner and what concrete support needs exist with regard to this topic in practice, Fraunhofer IAO conducted a broad survey among German companies. The survey was conducted in the summer of 2021, with 71 companies taking part. In terms of company size, there was a relatively even distribution. 56 percent of the companies surveyed had a workforce of up to 249 employees, while the remaining 44 percent had 250 or more employees. Across all company sizes, 59 percent assigned themselves to the secondary sector and 41 percent to the tertiary sector. Some interesting findings were derived from the survey. It is apparent that the development focus in the companies surveyed is increasingly moving away from product development toward service and system development. Despite this development, many companies still do not have defined development processes for the latter. Thus, there is a considerable need for research and transfer for service and systems research. It should be noted that most companies would rather see a dovetailing of classic product and service development approaches than the introduction of completely new and previously unknown models and processes.Another interesting finding from the survey is that an astonishing number of companies are already addressing the issue of sPSS. 29 percent of the survey participants even already have an sPSS application in use. Only 17 percent state that they have not yet addressed the issue and are not planning to do so in the near future. The remaining 54 percent lie between these two poles in terms of their experience with sPSS. Another striking aspect from the survey is the broad overall need for support that the companies surveyed identify for themselves in the development of sPSS. Of the ten items asked about the need for support, four had an approval rate above 40 percent and seven still above 30 percent. This supports the following hypotheses: on the one hand, that many companies are already dealing with the topic of sPSS. On the other hand, that there has been little concrete experience with the topic in practice. Overall, the survey shows that the topic of smart product service systems is receiving increasing attention in German companies. However, it also shows that there is still little concrete experience and that many companies are currently looking for external knowledge and expertise. The paper will go into more detail on the study results and show if there are differences between the surveyed companies, e.g. depending on company size, sector or previous orientation.

Christian Schiller, Michaela Friedrich, Simon Buchart

Conference Proceedings

Towards the role of smart services as well as AI in building and enhancing entrepreneurial resilience in small and medium-sized service companies

The aim of this paper is to provide practitioners and consultants with guidelines for enhancing organizational resilience in small and medium-sized businesses. It describes the actions an organization could perform and what goals should be pursued in order to successfully respond to potential threats. Design/methodology/approach – The paper builds on existing research on organizational resilience as well as the resilience of complex systems and the theories established there. By linking these research areas, it describes an adapted framework that considers the use of artificial intelligence and the provision of smart services in service companies. In addition, the paper illustrates the practicality of the framework by applying it to a small brick-and-mortar retail business.Findings – This paper proposes the use of a structured approach and methods such as stress testing and simulations to increase organizational resilience. It suggests that using artificial intelligence as well as offering smart services can have a positive impact on the resilience of a small and medium sized business.Originality/value – The paper contributes to the better applicability of measures aimed at increasing organizational resilience by suggesting a structured approach as well as appropriate avenues for action.Keywords: Organizational Resilience, Complex Systems, Smart Services, Artificial Intelligence

Alexander Gorovoj, Christian Schiller, Michaela Friedrich, Abdul Rahman Abdel Razek

Conference Proceedings

Development of new sustainable services

Sustainability is one of the most frequently discussed topics of our time. Although the idea of a sustainable economy was already addressed in the context of forestry in the 15th century and may therefore appear to be have a long tradition, the need for action - for example due to political or public demands - is stronger today than ever in many sectors of the economy. Although a growing number of companies are endeavoring to make their products and services more environmentally compatible, concepts for sustainability have hardly been implemented comprehensively in business practice to date.However, the guiding principle of sustainable design is already known in the product world and appears to be established to a certain extent, but it opens up more or less "new territory" in the sense of systematic research and development for new services. On the one hand, interesting economic and ecological opportunities for companies can be found in this area; on the other hand, there are also uncertainties associated with it, mainly due to the lack of knowledge about sustainable services.In particular, ecological sustainability has so far been discussed strongly against the background of energy production (shutdown of coal-fired power plants, use of renewable energies, etc.), energy-intensive industries (chemicals, steel production, etc.) and energy-consuming private areas of life (heating, mobility, etc.). However, the importance for the service economy is often underestimated. Particularly with regard to the design of processes (e.g. "online instead of on-site"), the consumption of resources (e.g. use of sustainable mobility solutions) and the development of new ecologically sustainable service offerings, considerable opportunities lies hidden here.Companies that want to put their ideas for ecologically sustainable services into practice often face two fundamental challenges. First, their corporate structures and processes are not designed for the efficient development and market positioning of new services. In many cases, the difficulties start with the fact that the development processes are not clearly defined, i.e. there is a lack of clear descriptions of the tasks, the methods to be used and the personnel requirements needed. Secondly, competencies with regard to the ecological sustainability of services are missing. In particular, there is a lack of knowledge on how to systematically develop sustainability into services.In the conference presentation, a reference model for the development of new ecologically sustainable services will be presented. In addition to a configurable development process, the model includes integrated methods and tools for various sustainability aspects. The reference model is complemented by recommendations for its organizational and personnel implementation.

Thomas Meiren, Christian Schiller

Conference Proceedings

Essential Areas of Action for the Smartification of Traditional Products and Services Considering the Capabilities of SMEs

One way for small and medium sized (SMEs) enterprises developing traditional physical products to follow the digital transformation is to smartify their products and develop smart services according to business or customer needs. The process to set up a smartification strategy for the first time covers many different organizational, human, technical and business process related aspects. With our research we provide a decision framework to support CEOs in identifying, which areas of action should be focused upon and enterprise-specifically further developed for the smartification of selected products. This paper derives the areas of action, which build the base for the decision framework’s underlying capability and maturity model.

Sandra Frings, Holger Kett, Jürgen Falkner

Conference Proceedings

Processes in Data Science Projects

Data science and artificial intelligence have passed the stage of research in the ivory tower over the last years. Applications are not only found in huge enterprises and corporate groups: Many start-up companies were founded, and also small and medium sized enterprises adapt the new technology and take advantage of the capabilities more and more. For many of them, the use of data-based approaches rapidly become a necessity due to the product and service range of the competition or customer expectations. In particular, companies coming from other business sections than information technology face the challenge to implement new and robust data-based solutions. Classical structures and competencies have to be combined with new ones in data science projects, which usually come with high interdisciplinarity. Some aspects of such projects can be done just as in classical projects whereas others have to be slightly adapted and also some completely new arise. Data science process models can assist enterprises by facing these challenges with a structured approach, however most of them focus on the new or technical aspects of such projects or ignore the business context. This paper focuses on the aspect of business processes from data science projects in practice and shows their relevance in several points of time in and around a project’s lifetime. Process-related differences to classical projects are shown and possibilities to take processes into account in an appropriate manner are discussed. Lastly, recommendations are given to cope with processes in the context of data science projects respecting the interplay of processes, humans and technology.

Damian Kutzias, Claudia Dukino

Conference Proceedings

Towards a maturity model to measure data consistency in the manufacturing industry

The deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the manufacturing context is said to provide significant benefits to organizations. However, many manufacturers struggle to meet the requirements necessary for the use of AI technologies within their company. A major challenge is linking and processing the existing data into a way in which it can be reliably processed by AI algorithms. This is especially relevant in established companies characterized by a historically grown bulky and decentralized IT infrastructure. Moreover, in many of these companies there is no common understanding of data consistency. Therefore, we investigate the diverse dimensions of data consistency and set the foundation for a maturity model to assess a company division’s status quo. Based on our literature review and four interdisciplinary and iterative workshops conducted with experts from an automotive OEM, we developed the concept of a maturity model for data consistency that provides situation-specific recommendations for further improvement.

Maximilian Feike, Philipp Christel

Conference Proceedings

Towards a Concept of “Governance as a Smart- Service” in Service-Oriented Value-Creation-Systems

The course of the digital transformation of economy, work and society as well as increasing pressure from hyper individualized demand on the one hand and on the other hand issues that ask for global action, like pandemics or climate change, paves the way for new smart service-oriented forms of value creation, thus, solutions enhanced by new technological possibilities that transcendent corporate or individual routines and restrictions of human coping with complexity. Future Service Business thrives with seamless interaction in the conscious providing and coupling of resources, i. e. products and services, physical and digital elements, manpower and competencies, massively supported by and dependent on data and analytics in business-ecosystems. In order to create this “seamlessness” a new quality of conjoint value creation on strategic as well as operative level is necessary, that helps balancing value co-creation and value co-destruction in coopetitive multi-actor-ecosystems. Research on modelling processes for sustainable and resilient “governance as a smart service” is presented that deep dives on possible ways to combine the relative strenghs of digital evaluation and human decision. The research question if governance design for resource integration in new service business ecosystems can be provided “…as a smart service” itself is approached with two focal assumptions on resource integration in service-oriented ecosystems: firstly, the creation of a common, overarching value proposition for the customer (promise making externally) has to be complemented by value propositions for each contributing actor involved on the provider side (promis making internally). This will enable the governance function to know about and adress the costs of collaboration. Secondly, the design of common operational processes for key activities that meets internal expectations is crucial (promise keeping of the ecosystem). This will enable the governance function as well as mulit facetted actor practices to meet expectations and rely on fullfillment of collaborative quality by each actor in the value creation system. For the formulation of innovative value propositions we refer to the concept of value proposition design (Osterwalder et al 2015, Chesbrough, 2007). We aim to find out, to what extent the elements of the concept in the customer sphere: jobs to be done, pains, gains, can be transferred to the internal perspective of ecosystem partners and what adjustments are necessary in formulating value propositions in internal perspective. In the solution sphere of the Value Proposition Design concept with the elements: products & services, pain relievers, gain creators, we explore to which extent these are suitable to map the perspectives of the actors involved in order to derive reference processes of resource integration regarding the commonly shaped value propositions, internally and externally alike. The view formulated by Grönross (2011, 290), that in service-oriented value creation processes of different actors run simultaneously and a number of dialogic processes lead to an integrated process of coordinated action is modified. Our starting point is the need for a structured and digital augmented multilog and the goal is the design of a number of suitable common processes and standards with a resource-integrating bridging function between the original business models of each contributing partner in the system and the collaborative business model of the ecosystem as system of systems. This includes looking at virtual instances in the (re-) design of governance processes that support collaboration in a balance between independence and dependency (Malone, 2018, Freund / Spohrer, 2013).

Anne Sophie Tombeil, Rainer Nägele

Conference Proceedings

An approach for developing and assessing sustainable business models

With sustainability becoming an increasingly important factor in a globalized world, there is an increasing demand for ways to systematically incorporate sustainable activities into companies. Representing the value creation logic of a company, business models play an important role in this development. In this paper we suggest an approach to support organizations in developing and evaluating sustainability aspects in their business model by helping select appropriate measures as well as considering assessment indicators that help evaluate their successful implementation.

Lena Ahner, Jens Neuhüttler, Nicole Gladilov

Conference Proceedings

Shedding Light on the Digital Vulnerability: Challenges and Solutions

There was a hope that digital transformation, in improving public service provision and delivery, and in promoting inclusion – with due regard to the needs of vulnerable populations – is instrumental in mitigating the effects of exclusion and improving people’s livelihoods (UN e-Government Survey 2012). Also, the rise of social media with their more inclusive tendencies and lower technical skill requirements was expected to open new horizons for the inclusion of vulnerable groups. Whereas these hopes have partly become true, we are also witnessing that vulnerable groups are facing new type of risks such as digital harassment, hate speech, disinformation/misinformation attacks and other risks which hinder those groups from fully benefitting from digital transformation.While traditional digital divide reasons (lack of access and skills) remain important, motivational reasons have increased in importance over time. Effective interventions aimed at tacklingdigital exclusion need to take into consideration national contexts, individual experience etc. What worked a decade ago in a particular country might not work currently in a different or even the same country (Helsper, E.J. and Reisdorf, B.C. 2016). The aim of research paper is to shed a light on the digital vulnerability, and to understand (a) which are the groups and activities where digital transformation (increase of digital awareness, skills, resources) could bring about the biggest change in the quality of life, and empowerment? (b) What are the main actors in this field? (c) What are the practical implications to rise their capacity and empower them?Our research collects and analyses data from Ukraine and Georgia. The democratic development of these two countries has been relatively similar. Both countries have also placed emphasis on digital development. However, the state of democracy is fragile in both countries, there are many inequalities and a great threat to security, especially in Ukraine. This makes the vulnerable groups even more vulnerable digitally and the risks mentioned above might have real dramatic consequences.Even though we are looking more closely at these two countries, there is a threat to democracy and societies everywhere, so this focus is universal.The research will make use of primary as well as of secondary data. The primary data will be collected using semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders. The secondary data will be collected from public sources (strategy and policy documents etc.)In our study the digitally vulnerable groups (DVG) are those whose digital engagement in political decision-making and e-services is hindered by their lack of awareness of digital issues, access to technological benefits, and / or digital literacy and skills. Irrespective of the causes (e.g. demographic, socioeconomic and/or health status, living conditions or social position, etc.), these barriers prevent the people from reaping the benefits of digital transformation and as such, have a negative impact on their rights, interests, and everyday life. The primary research shows that the priority target groups are similar in both countries – these are (a) children and young people; and (b) elderly people. Evidently those both groups have completely different needs, barriers, and enablers for benefitting from digital agenda. The research is part of a project DRIVE, the results will be used for preparing recommendations for action, train civil society organisations and public authorities to work on these recommendations and turn two of the recommendations into a pilot project to be implemented during the project.

Kristina Reinsalu

Conference Proceedings

The Soul of a New Machine: Promises and Pitfalls of Artificial Intelligence in Finance

After decades of development and many false dawns Artificial Intelligence (AI), in its various guises, finally appears poised for mainstream commercial adoption. The financial sector, in particular, is looking with great interest at a broad range of applications. In April 2021, the European Commission published draft legislation that endeavours to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for the civilian use of AI. With its proposal for an "Artificial Intelligence Act" (AI Act) the Commission aims at striking a balance between the twin objectives of promoting the uptake of AI in the European Union and the need to address the risks associated with some of its uses. To this end the AI Act identifies a number of applications that are either deemed "high risk", and therefore subject to specific requirements and enhanced supervision, or prohibited outright. Only one of the “high risk” applications listed in the initial proposal relates to the financial services sector. This contribution examines other potential intersections between the proposed AI Act and the extensive body of existing financial-sector legislation and seeks to provide an initial assessment of the proposed regulatory framework.

Christian Stiefmueller

Conference Proceedings

Fostering Actor Engagement with Human Centered Service Design (HCSD): Lessons Learned from the Cross Domain Examples of Service Dominant Architecture

The research question of this work is "how to foster actor engagement with the help of Human Centered Service Design (HCSD)". Based on the foundations of Service-Dominant Logic (Vargo and Lusch 2018), Service Science (Spohrer, Kieliszewski et al. 2019) and Design Science (Papanek and Fuller 1972, Peffers, Tuunanen et al. 2008), in a first step the building blocks of HCSD are elaborated. In a second step the relevance of the building blocks is analyzed in the context of actor engagement. The key findings are used to develop a set of explicitly applicable solution pattern for promoting actor engagement (Peffers, Tuunanen et al. 2008). Finally, the relevance of the developed solution pattern is demonstrated using cross domain examples of Service Dominant Architecture (SDA).

Markus Warg

Conference Proceedings

Digital Matching for live-in care

In Austria, 25,000 to 30,000 people being cared for by live-in caregivers. Live-in caregivers are defined as workers who are employed to provide care services to elderly and disabled people living in their private households. Activities in home care are predominantly carried out by immigrant women because of the special conditions that home care provides. These conditions can have many positive aspects for both the care workers and the care recipients, if they are well and appropriately matched to the skills of the caregivers and the needs of the persons being cared for. The live-in caregivers in Western countries come mostly from Eastern Europe. On the one hand, because of the worldwide shortage of qualified care workers and, on the other hand, due to the higher wages in contrast to their home countries and the prospects that such a position brings with it.However, they can also bear risks of dependency on their employers, leading to isolation, on-call work, and the risk of exploitation, while putting live-in care workers in a particularly vulnerable position with respect to immigration policy. Working conditions are often extremely harsh, with fees and contracts strictly regulated by recruiting agencies.Live-in care workers are an important but forgotten sector of long-term care. Without improving their working conditions, we will not be able to provide affordable, quality care to citizens, who are very urgently in need of this service. Even though this is often the only affordable solution for affected families. In order to improve the working conditions and to ensure that the caregivers continue to be employed in households that best match their skills and aspirations, we have created a new live-in care matching platform. Before creating the platform, we conducted focus group interviews to find out what is important to the stakeholders.Together with families of people in need of care and care workers, we developed a platform that meets the requirements of both sides and optimally supports both sides in the placement process. Here, both caregivers and persons in need of care (or their families) have the opportunity to disclose what they value, what skills they possess and what special features there are by answering a questionnaire. Using an innovative matching algorithm, the platform selects the ideal combination of caregivers and persons in need of care. In this paper, we will analyze the results of the focus group interviews in more detail, elaborate on the lessons learned and discuss which attributes play a particular role in the matching process based on our algorithm. In the future, the process should be simplified for both parties and will serve as a validation for the stakeholders

Mohammad Allagha, Oskar Kruschitz, Katherina Voss, Stefanie Binder, Kevin Truckenthanner

Conference Proceedings

Sustainability-related gamified design science approaches for successful value creation

The use of gamified designs has been gaining exponential research interest during the last decade, centered around user-centric designs aiming to persuade individuals to a successful individual behavioral change. In the focus of scientific interest are those, which lead to a maintained behavioral change led by intrinsic motivation. Such designs are at the center of attention in diverse sustainability-related topics as well (e.g., education, crowdsourcing, healthcare, individual wellbeing, eco-friendly behaviors, etc.). A focal point of such approaches lies in their rigorous conceptualization, for which design science offers detailed guidelines, resulting in successful artifacts, generated to deliver tailored solutions for users, providing value creation. The present paper aims to investigate, in what types of sustainability-related contexts are gamified approaches proposed as design science artifacts for successful value reaction. The goal of the paper is to identify and explore these research areas and hand a holistic overview about promising and innovative, applied approaches, conducted as design science artifacts. This goal is reached through a narrative synthesis method, searching and selecting papers at Scopus, Web of Science, and ACM Digital Library as databases, following the PRISMA 2020 Guidelines, interpreting N = 14 records. The results of this study deliver a structured summary about successfully gamified design science artifacts centered around value creation in pro-sustainability areas, offering a snapshot of the present standing of research in this applied domain of interest

Flora Poecze, A Min Tjoa

Conference Proceedings

From Alibaba to Youtube: User Search for Digital Democracy Topics in Switzerland

Digital Democracy tools such as e-consultation, e-petitions or internet voting play an increasing role and are part of the digitalisation process in politics and government. Digital life styles in general and during the pandemic in particular might have pushed for an increasing demand for so called civic tech tools. Digital democracy search terms were monitored across multiple digital channels for several months in the year 2021 and contrasted to the offer for such tools in the German, French and Italian speaking part of the country. To measure the offer for digital participation tools an index per canton established in 2021 is being used.

Christoph Glauser, Uwe Serdült

Conference Proceedings

Interaction as a concept for Social Service Engineering

Purpose: Human factors play a central part in the design and management of services and service systems. This paper asks the conceptual question of the role of human factors in service science, speaking about the dimensions of human interactions in service design. Design/methodology/approach: Our research is deeply embedded in the approach of design science research (DSR). In contrast to the DSR which focuses primarily on designing and evaluating practical solutions, this work concentrates on theory building during DSR cycles. Hence, it systematically develops practical solution experiences and theoretical conceptualizations accordingly. Findings: While current research in service science focuses on service systems with service as the central element, the present paper evaluates the importance of interaction as the basis for the co-creation of value and, thus, linking service system and work system. It introduces the concept of interaction as a phenomenon that describes the in-actu situation in which actors co-create value by exchanging service – especially in human-human interaction. Work and service design as well as service engineering means to design all conditions for a successful interaction – avoiding value destruction (e.g., stress and unhealthy work conditions) as well as promoting co-creation of value (e.g., wellbeing, satisfaction as well as monetary value).

Christian Zinke-Wehlmann, Julia Friedrich, Vanita Römer, Kristin Gilbert, Ulrike Pietrzyk, Anne Steputat Rätze

Conference Proceedings

Analyzing Internet-related Social Work Opportunities of an Approach inspired by Actor-Network Theory (ANT)

The number of areas of society that are being digitised continues to increase and so Internet offers are becoming increasingly important. This development also affects social work, whose specialists meanwhile see a trend to expand the internet-related offerings. This has been further strengthened in germany by the lockdowns since March 2020. This poses a particular challenge for youth workers, as their addressees, the so-called digital natives, did not experience the time before digitization and use the Internet as a matter of course to cultivate existing friendships and meet new people. Today’s young people no longer distinguish between offline and online, they are onlife. However, even in this age group there is every level of the digital divide, because not all have the same equipment, fast internet access or the necessary application skills.Up to now, they have only had limited success in switching to hybrid offers. In addition to the requirements of the recipients, this is partly due to the technical scepticism of the social work-ers, the relatively one-sided orientation of further training and the lack of equipment (Klein-schmidt/Scheibe). All this is still incomplete and does not apply equally to all social workers.This unfinished list shows that this phenomenon is interrelated and cannot be described and explained solely by describing the skills of the social workers. At this point, the actor-network theory (ANT) could be a useful theoretical perspective, because it allows the entanglement and reciprocal influences of human and non-human components in a network to be visible and then analysed. I take up the previous considerations on the use of the ANT in contexts of internet-related social work and think about them along the question of how a case study could be structured in which the individual situation of youth workers in relation to the respective conditions of success of their internet-related activities can be explored and subsequently analysed.To answer the question, I first outline the basic elements of the ANT, and then explore the potential of a thematic examination of specialists in case studies on object-related theory buil-ding. Based on this, I present a possible research design. Finally, I summarize the relevant findings and discuss ideas for further development. Stüwe, G., Ermel, N.: Lehrbuch Soziale Arbeit und Digitalisierung. Beltz, Weinheim, Basel (2019) Bossong, H.: Soziale Arbeit in Zeiten der Digitalisierung: Entwicklungspotenziale mit Schatten-seiten. neue praxis 4, 303 – 324 (2018) Buschle, C., Meyer, N.: Soziale Arbeit im Ausnahmezustand?! Professionstheoretische For-schungsnotizen zur Corona-Pandemie. Soziale Passagen 12, 155 – 170 (2020) Günzel, S.: Raum. Eine kulturwissenschaftliche Einführung. transcript, Bielefeld (2017) Waechter, N., Hollauf, I.: Soziale Herausforderungen und Entwicklungsaufgaben im Medienalltag jugendlicher Videospieler/innen. deutsche jugend 5, 218-226 (2018) Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (BMFSFJ): 16. Kinder- und Ju-gendbericht. Förderung demokratischer Bildung im Kindes- und Jugendalter. Rostock (2020) Iske, S., Kutscher, N.: Digitale Ungleichheiten im Kontext Sozialer Arbeit. In: Kutscher, N., Ley, T., Seelmeyer, U., Siller, F., Tillmann, A., Zorn, I. (eds.): Handbuch Soziale Arbeit und Digitalisie-rung. Beltz-Juventa, Weinheim, Basel, 115 – 128 (2020) Bossong, H.: Soziale Arbeit in Zeiten der Digitalisierung: Entwicklungspotenziale mit Schattenseiten. neue praxis 4, 303 – 324 (2018) Helbig, C., Roeske, A. (2020): Digitalisierung in Studium und Weiterbildung der Sozialen Arbeit. In: Kutscher, N., Ley, T., Seelmeyer, U., Siller, F., Tillmann, A., Zorn, I. (eds.): Handbuch Soziale Arbeit und Digitalisierung. Beltz-Juventa, Weinheim, Basel, 333 – 346 (2020) Kleinschmidt, N. S., Scheibe, M.: Der Digital Divide bei Fachkräften der Sozialen Arbeit. Abbild ge-sellschaftlicher Entwicklungen oder ein eingeschriebener „Konstruktionsfehler“ – Eine Untersuchung der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe. FORUM sozial 2, 47 – 49 (2021) Latour, B.: Existenzweisen. Eine Anthropologie der Modernen. Suhrkamp, Berlin (2018) Eßer, F.: Wissenschaft- und Technikforschung: Erklärungspotenziale für die Digitalisierung der Sozialen Arbeit. In: Kutscher, N., Ley, T., Seelmeyer, U., Siller, F., Tillmann, A., Zorn, I. (eds.): Handbuch Soziale Arbeit und Digitalisierung. Beltz-Juventa, Weinheim, Basel, 18 – 29 (2020) Hoff, W.: Vom Fallverstehen zur Theoriebildung. Über die epistemische Bedeutung einer ver-nachlässigten Wissensform. In: Birgmeier, B., Mührel, E., Winkler, M. (eds.): Sozialpädagogische SeitenSprünge. Einsichten von außen, Aussichten von innen: Befunde und Visionen zur Sozialpä-dagogik. Beltz-Juventa, Weinheim, Basel, 89 – 95 (2020)

Matthias Scheibe

Conference Proceedings

Blockchain-powered Digital Ownership from Users’ Perspectives

Digital ownership has gained attraction as a prospective domain for research and development of emerging technologies in recent years. A significant number of solutions, primarily blockchain-powered systems for digital ownership, have been developed and published aiming for widespread usage. However, the approach still appears uncommon to both digital creators and consumers community. While the majority of research in this field has been on technical aspects of implementing such solutions, there is an extreme deficiency regarding users’ viewpoints incorporated into the design and thus enlarging the barriers in mainstream adoption. This study picked the area of digital arts and shifted the focus to users’ perspectives in blockchain-based services for digital ownership in art. By adopting a qualitative approach to learn about digital creators’ behaviors and opinions, the study findings revealed various concerns about contemporary services that hinder creators’ use, their actual needs and expectations in a blockchain-based system for powering digital art products. Based on the study results, three design implications were identified to enhance the level of acceptance from the digital creator group.

Dam Thi Thien Nhi, Leonhard Glomann, Alexander Piazza

Conference Proceedings

Are we prepared for the Rise of Service Robots? - A Review on Acceptance Measurement

The challenge of demographic change combined with decreasing numbers of care personal is widely known. To ensure the service of individual care for seniors, researchers work on developing digital devices to support the caregivers in their day-to-day tasks. Especially the Covid-19 pandemic emphasized this need for flexible services. In this context, service robots are not only able to overcome this challenge, but to also support in other use cases such as therapy of children with autism spectrum disorder, or teaching. Regardless of their area of application, their usage and benefits highly depend on the user acceptance. Consequently, many studies on their appearance, behavior as well as their usefulness and acceptance have been undertaken. However, the studies on acceptance measurements are difficult to compare due to different study designs and therefore are hard to build upon. This is the case since traditional acceptance models such as the Technology Acceptance Model by Davis (1989), are not considered as sufficient for the interaction-focused technology of robots. Therefore, it is difficult and time-consuming for researchers to determine the most appropriate model in order to measure the acceptance of the developed service robots. To be able to measure new robot developments in this rapidly evolving research field, an overview on existing models as well as their application options is necessary.To support researchers and developers the aim of this research is to provide an overview on existing models for the acceptance measurements of service robots. To reach the objective, the following main research question is proposed: Which models currently exist to measure the acceptance of different service robots?Following the taxonomy on literature reviews by Cooper (1988), the focus of this literature review is on existing research methods and practices. The goal is to integrate existing literature within a matrix to identify central issues, by having a neutral perspective. The research follows the guidelines of Brocke et al. (2009) including a concept-centric approach of Webster and Watson (2002) for the literature analysis and synthesis. The foundation builds a search based on the search string robot* AND accept* AND (measur* OR method* OR model* OR evaluation*) which was used for Scopus, Science Direct, IEEE Xplore as well as Google Scholar. From the 274 identified research paper duplicates and non-English ones are excluded, which is resulting in 226 unique research paper. Those are further clustered and the 19 identified acceptance models for service robots are brought into relation to the robotic classification of Onnasch et al. (2020). The concept-matrix reveals that most models are highly specific to a certain field of application or target group. In addition, a large number of acceptance models for service robots were found, but most of them are not commonly used. This concept-centric literature review gives a structured overview that can be used by researchers and developers to quickly identify the most suitable model for their research. However, some characteristics are not covered or just covered from different models. Consequently, further research on how to overcome these gaps is required.

Nina Merz, Joerg Franke, Freimut Bodendorf

Conference Proceedings

Combining digital and physical user interfaces – concept of a self-service system for exhibitions

Digitization is finding its way into many different areas and applications, including exhibitions and museums. While until a few decades ago the information presented was purely restricted to physical elements, self-service systems are now increasingly applied in exhibitions. They allow the visitors to enhance their experience by obtaining additional digital information. Usually, these self-service systems are implemented using standard computers, equipped either with a keyboard or a touchscreen. Nevertheless, the added value of interacting with physical elements in our environment is undeniable. This article presents work in progress and describes the concept and prototype of a novel system that cleverly combines digital information with the interaction through physical elements using innovative technology. The aim is to design an interactive exhibition for museums that combines the traditional, physical user interface with the digital version and thus creates a mixture of both worlds. Using the example of a physical city map, the system offers visitors the opportunity to interact by touch and wooden cubes equipped with NFC tags. The article concludes with an outlook for an evaluation of the prototype and recommendations for further research.

Christian Zagel, Matthia Leyendecker

Conference Proceedings

Evidence-based decision making using visual analytics for a local food bank

Food insecurity is defined as an individual or household’s inability or limited access to safe and nutritious food that every person in the household need for an active, healthy life. In this research, we apply visual analytics, the integration of data analytics and interactive visualization, to provide evidence-based decision-making for a local food bank to better understand the people and communities in its service area and improve the reach and impact of the food bank. We have identified the indicators of the need, rates of usage, and other factors related to the general accessibility of the food bank and its programs. Interactive dashboards were developed to allow decision-makers of the food bank to combine their field knowledge with the computing power to make evidence-based informed decisions in complex hunger relief operations.

Steven Jiang, Kehinde Odubela, Lauren Davis

Conference Proceedings