Breda University of Applied Sciences

Despite increased interest in experience and experience design in hospitality, tourism and leisure, the field remains emergent. For experience design to mature in research and practice, clear consensus conceptualization of key constructs, like memorable, meaningful, and transformative experiences, is needed. While existing research identifies emotions as the key to memorable experiences, more conceptual work is needed to understand the unique impact and process behind meaningful experiences. This paper proposes an expanded conceptualization of the impact and process associated with meaningful experiences. We suggest that as individuals reflect on existing experiential (i.e., autobiographical) memories, they can extract insight from those memories. If any of the extracted insights connect with core sources of meaning, then the individuals perceive their experience as meaningful. Suggestions for potential strategies to design for meaningful experiences are also shared.

This chapter presents the importance of the 5S methodology in the processes to maintain and seek continuous improvement in the conditions of organization, order, and cleanliness, as well as the optimization of working conditions, safety, work environment, personal motivation, and efficiency. Therefore, we present the characteristics of the 5S, some research on the 5S that has emerged during the last two decades, the benefits observed after the application, the process of implementation of the 5S, and a case study of the application.

Short urban agri-food supply chains are an effective way to promote sustainability, viability, local economy and food security. This venture requires collaboration and knowledge from different disciplines, such as agriculture, food processing, logistics, sustainable economy, social innovation, engineering and ICT. However, there are many gaps in this research field, and many grey areas in government policy and regulations. The scope of this research is to explore the concept of short urban agri-food supply chains through case-study analysis and discussion. A case study was conducted based on a Breda (The Netherlands) municipal urban farming development, which included field observation, in-depth interviews with technical and knowledge experts, and detailed examination of present developments in short urban agri-food supply chains. Currently, urban farms operate in rather small scales, partly due to limited resources, sustainability requirements, lack of infrastructure, and deficiencies in regulatory compliance policy, food quality assurance system implementation guidance, local distribution platforms, etc. Moreover, urban farming’s small-scale operation form, combined with seasonal distribution patterns result in very high operational and distribution costs. Supply chain partners need targeted support in order to support and improve urban farming business operations. Emerging local-to- local business models are expected to facilitate contemporary needs and promote sustainability.

The rapid expansion of the e-commerce industry over the past five years has significantly impacted on global commerce, presenting both opportunities and challenges, particularly labour shortages during peak seasons. These shortages lead to poor working conditions, operational disruptions, and reduced customer satisfaction, necessitating strategic re-evaluation for long-term sustainability beyond short-term fixes. This study investigates the labour working conditions in the e-commerce sector, focusing on the physical and mental well-being of the workforce in the post- COVID-19 era. It explores how labour shortages affect employee well-being and operational resilience, providing an overview of various labour strategies to promote well-being and mitigate safety hazards and increased overtime during peak periods. The research employed semi-structured interviews, qualitative data analysis, and a comparative analysis of strategies from three leading logistics organizations operating in the Netherlands, revealing critical insights into sustainable working conditions, workforce management, operational efficiency, and effective employee onboarding and training strategies. The study aims to illuminate current issues while promoting a diverse, equal, and inclusive work environment, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and overall well-being.

We present a simple analytical formalism based on the Lorentz-Scherrer equation and Bernoulli statistics for estimating the fraction of crystallites (and the associated uncertainty parameters) contributing to all finite Bragg peaks of a typical powder pattern obtained from a static polycrystalline sample. We test and validate this formalism using numerical simulations, and show that they can be applied to experiments using monochromatic or polychromatic (pink-beam) radiation. Our results show that enhancing the sampling efficiency of a given powder diffraction experiment for such samples requires optimizing the sum of the multiplicities of reflections included in the pattern along with the wavelength used in acquiring the pattern. Utilizing these equations in planning powder diffraction experiments for sampling efficiency is also discussed.

Successful organizational change requires substantial efforts from both the leaders and recipients of change. After a long tradition of focusing on change leaders, academics now increasingly focus on the role of change recipients. The current literature on recipients, however, offers mostly binary categorizations of their roles in change (e.g., supportive vs. unsupportive) obtained from questionnaires. Such an approach does not reveal how events can cause shifts in recipients’ role taking during a change initiative. Actors’ roles change and are changed by change events. We adopted an assisted sensemaking approach using a narrative methodology to study recipients’ various storylines by which they construct and reconstruct their own multiple roles throughout change. Eighty participants were asked to tell the retrospective story of their experience of, and role taking in, a top-down change initiative as if they were crafting chapters of a book. Analysis and classification of these individual stories yielded five underlying composite narratives, each representing typical shifts in perceived role taking by recipients during a change initiative. This study highlights and illustrates how recipients’ role taking is a complex, adaptive, and social process.

This study investigates the user experience and preferences of older adults who received food from a social robot with expressive movement tailored to the kind of food it delivered. The robot presented food items, either favored or disfavored, employing approaching behaviors customized to correspond with or oppose the individuals’ respective preferences or aversions (i.e., liked food presented with happy behavior or liked food presented with sad expressive behavior). The study measured user experience and engagement utilizing a survey and observations. Our results indicate there is no significant difference between user experience and engagement in both behavioral conditions. These findings suggest that expressive robot behavior while presenting food may not be necessary. A possible explanation for these findings is the lack of the older adult’s attention on the robot when receiving the food, as their attention is primarily directed towards the food itself. This result contrasts with a previous study that showed that seniors preferred behavior congruent with the emotional valence of the news it delivered.

Increasingly often robots are deployed in human environments, where they will encounter people. An example of a challenge robots encounter is crossing paths with a human. Based on human-robot proxemics research one would expect that people would keep a certain distance to maintain an appropriate comfort level. However it is unclear whether this also holds for crossing scenarios between a robot and a person. In the first experiment presented in this paper, a humanoid robot crossed paths with a person in which the crossing angle and acceleration of the robot were manipulated. Results showed that participants deviated more from a straight path when the robot arrived earlier at the crossing point compared to the other trials and when it accelerated or when the robot itself deviated from a straight path. If participants had to deviate from their path, it was regarded as less comfortable and it required more effort. In the second experiment, an autonomous guided vehicle was used, and we tested the moving speed of the robot. Similar to the first experiment, when the robot kept a straight path or stopped, it was regarded as the most comfortable. The results show that it is more comfortable if a robot does not change its direction while crossing paths with the robot. These findings indicate that perceived comfort is not merely determined by distance, but is more strongly affected by how predictable the robot is.

Background The Modified Shuttle Test-Paeds (Paeds), a recently developed 10-meter Shuttle run test for aerobic capacity in children. This study aims to investigate the construct validity (known-group and convergent validity) and test-retest reliability of the recently developed test for cardiorespiratory fitness, the Modified Shuttle Test-Paeds (Paeds). Methods A total of 144 participants (6–12 y) were tested on the Paeds test, and 84 children were tested on the 20-meter Shuttle Run test (20 m-SRT) to assess construct validity. To evaluate test-retest reliability, 46 children were tested twice on the Paeds. Results No sex differences were found, but there was an age effect. A strong correlation was found between Paeds and the 20 m-SRT (rs=0.78, p < 0.001). The test-retest reliability was good (ICC 0.84; 95% CI 0.74–0.91). Conclusion Paeds appears to be a reliable and valid tool for estimating cardiorespiratory fitness in typically developing children aged 6–12 years and has the advantages of being shorter, needing less space, not requiring pacing and being self-motivational. More studies are needed to assess whether children reach an aerobic steady state in three minutes and how much of the results of the Paeds test can be explained by the agility component of the task (turning and grasping or aiming a bean bag). For clinical use, psychometric properties should be studied in various patient groups (e.g., ADHD, DCD, and children with intellectual disabilities).

Job shop manufacturing environments have characteristics that make it difficult to implement some of the Lean methods that are prevalent in large-volume manufacturing systems. In this chapter, a real-life case study is documented where Lean tools are adapted and adopted in a high product variability, customized production, and low volume with lead times out of the control limits. Lean was implemented to overcome some important challenges such as the lack of capacity to handle larger production volumes. The methodology presented and the case study that illustrates the managerial decision-making and process improvement help demonstrate a useful route to improved performance, faster manufacturing response, and organizational strategy that helps plant capacity to reduce delivery times.

The constant changes the industry and service providers face represent critical challenges because they must consider specific aspects for efficient performance. Two important ones are the efficient use of resources and the delivery time of products and services. The approach presented in this research is based on the development of a Product-Service System (PSS) methodology that allows a structure for the design of a business model, which contemplates both challenges and from which different models related to the purchase and rental of products, and the offer of results-oriented services. The methodology is formulated using tools focused on the stages of Conceptualization, Business Model Canvas, Product-Service System (PSS) Scenarios, Blueprint, and Validation. The study's contribution provides a valuable perspective in applying the proposed methodology for developing the business plan by mapping service activities. Through the proposed structure that contemplates the versatility of its elements, it is possible to understand the importance of having products that provide flexibility and adaptability to customer needs and establishing strategies that contribute to reducing environmental impacts generated by the inadequate valuation of resources. The methodology includes aspects that favor implementing creative and dynamic business models, emphasizing the constant evolution of products and services.

The purpose for writing this paper is twofold: (1) building on the former PBPD publication on “Placecinemaking”, from the viewpoints of the foundations of history, theory, and methodology; and (2) demonstrating the methodology on a new movie/place-making project, “Le Mille Notti”, which was launched after the publication of said PBPD paper. This new submission is therefore a complementary extension and a deeper analysis of what was presented in 2023 on PBPD. The approach is based on documental back-tracing, where needed complemented by interviews and testimonials. The analysis pertains to a wide range of fields, from the history of cinema to leisure direction and to placemaking. This paper is based on a further analysis of the “Placecinemaking” approach, in order to extract: (a) historical roots and context in the history of cinema; to enable (b) application to a new film in the series of projects where the approach was organically developed into a repeatable process; and to present (c) the outcome of the new movie, titled “Le Mille Notti” in the specific areas pertaining to the movie, Borgo Aurora, Turin, and its actors. Research was based on documental back-tracing, therefore no new empirical findings will be made available or generated from this process besides what was tracked in documental sources (newspapers, production notes, earlier interviews as already publicly published and distributed in media, and more). Process and methods will be equivalent to the ones adopted in the PBPB publication, 2023, therefore already tested and proven by peer review. The paper will have a potential high impact in terms of further proving, justifying, and contextualizing an organic approach as formalized in a repeatable process. The paper does uniquely present, critically review, and demonstrate the place-making fit of a new film, “Le Mille Notti”, providing additional insights into the “Placecinemaking” approach.