Drawing from a study of everyday home practices from a material objects' perspective, this paper examines the potential that a thing ethnography holds for both design and anthropology. In doing so, the paper challenges anthropocentric assumptions about the world, and opens up ways of understanding relationships …

BackgroundWorldwide healthcare systems insist a patient centred, integrated, approach, which improves clinical outcomes, quality of life, patient satisfaction, effectiveness, and efficiency. In the Netherlands, Integrated care (IC) centres arise, but literature does not attend Facility Managements (FM) …

Despite the latest amendment of the Dublin System, which is supposed to be an improvement compared to the previous versions, especially in terms of protecting the Fundamental Rights of the refugees, the EU is still widely criticized for its asylum policies. Germany, as the Member State that receives …

Some researchers insist that sustainability should be represented as a continuous quest, doubting that there is the ‘right’ way to be sustainable. Acknowledging the immensity of sustainability challenges, this article takes a different perspective, arguing that without understanding of concrete barriers …

This paper discusses risk and uncertainty aspects and proposes an assessment tool leading to identification of critical control points (CCPs) within purchasing-oriented activities of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Identifying such CCPs is the basis for developing SME purchasing instruments to support …

From the publishers' website: The goal of this research is to define a method for configuring a collaborative business rules management solution from a value proposition perspective. In an earlier published study (Business rules management solutions: added value by means of business interoperability. …

Nowadays the main airports throughout the world are suffering because their capacity are getting close to saturation due to the air traffic which is still increasing besides the economic crisis and oil prices. In addition, the forecasts predict an increase in air traffic of at least 3.6% until 2020. …

Smart home technologies are a large potential market for the construction and building services industry. This chapter discusses the topics consultants, installers, and suppliers of home automation systems encounter when working in the field. Improved communication skills and more flexible approaches …

Recently, the use of military robots – which may be drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), remotely piloted systems, autonomous weapon systems or ‘killer robots’ – has been debated in the media, politics, and academia. Military robots are increasingly automated, which means that they can perform tasks …

Long-term care facilities are currently installing dynamic lighting systems with the aim to improve the well-being and behaviour of residents with dementia. The aim of this study was to investigate the implementation of dynamic lighting systems from the perspective of stakeholders and the performance …