Exploring the link between sustainability reporting and sustainability management: a conceptual framework.

Sustainability managementand Sustainability Reporting (SR) practices have dramatically increased during the last two decades, raising important questions about the relationship between internal practices and external communication. Previous literature on SR has almost exclusively highlighted the role of institutional and stakeholder pressures in driving its adoption. However, as surveys among reporters also identify internal benefits of SR, its full role for company-level sustainability management remains unclear. In order to address this question, we develop a framework accounting for four SR configurations, stemming from different levels of relative importance of external and internal motives for SR. A multiple case study involving four large Spanish companies serves to illustrate the framework and to identify company-level factors that act both as enablers and barriers of SR internal relevance. We conclude that motivations for SR, along with such internal factors, decisively influence its contribution to sustainability management.

User experience design

Inmersos en un mundo digital en el que participan cada vez más personas con diferentes niveles de experiencia en tecnología, ha aparecido la necesidad de diseñar las aplicaciones pensando en el usuario. El principal problema que un desarrollador se encuentra hoy en día es la falta de tiempo o agilidad para conceder al usuario una experiencia a medida. Muchas empresas han conseguido destacar en un mundo donde la competencia es muy grande gracias al aporte de valor añadido de una buena experiencia de usuario. Empezando por el análisis psicológico y las reacciones que tenemos cuando estamos interactuando con un sistema digital se intenta conseguir un método para diseñar la experiencia de usuario de un modo satisfactorio para ambas partes. Con el objetivo de probar el método diseñado, en el cual se incorporan muchas técnicas de otros métodos, se diseña parte de la experiencia de usuario de “ESEM 2014”, una de las conferencias informáticas más importantes del norte de Italia. Los resultados obtenidos en este trabajo son muy favorables, ya que mejoran substancialmente el resultado final y permiten al desarrollador seguir mejorando la aplicación hasta el momento y objetivo deseado. Resumen Español---ABSTRACT---In a world where more people with different level of expertise is engaging with technology, designing for the user has become one of the main concerns for the developers. Lack of time or agility are the main problems from the developers’ point of view in order to provide a good user experience. One of most important differentiators for companies is the provided experience as the technology and knowledge is highly available for everyone. The main goal of this project is to compose a method to include experience design in current agile development where short iterations is the main characteristic. In order to test the designed method, were many parts of other techniques have been included, part of the “ESEM 2014” conference has been designed. The results achieved with this guidelines has been very positive from both sides of the development, users and developers. Having short iterations allows improvement until the desired experience is achieved.

Application of user-centered design in the development of an atomated/assisted testing system for self-service devices

Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are sensitive self-service systems that require important investments in security and testing. ATM certifications are testing processes for machines that integrate software components from different vendors and are performed before their deployment for public use. This project was originated from the need of optimization of the certification process in an ATM manufacturing company. The process identifies compatibility problems between software components through testing. It is composed by a huge number of manual user tasks that makes the process very expensive and error-prone. Moreover, it is not possible to fully automate the process as it requires human intervention for manipulating ATM peripherals. This project presented important challenges for the development team. First, this is a critical process, as all the ATM operations rely on the software under test. Second, the context of use of ATMs applications is vastly different from ordinary software. Third, ATMs’ useful lifetime is beyond 15 years and both new and old models need to be supported. Fourth, the know-how for efficient testing depends on each specialist and it is not explicitly documented. Fifth, the huge number of tests and their importance implies the need for user efficiency and accuracy. All these factors led us conclude that besides the technical challenges, the usability of the intended software solution was critical for the project success. This business context is the motivation of this Master Thesis project. Our proposal focused in the development process applied. By combining user-centered design (UCD) with agile development we ensured both the high priority of usability and the early mitigation of software development risks caused by all the technology constraints. We performed 23 development iterations and finally we were able to provide a working solution on time according to users’ expectations. The evaluation of the project was carried out through usability tests, where 4 real users participated in different tests in the real context of use. The results were positive, according to different metrics: error rate, efficiency, effectiveness, and user satisfaction. We discuss the problems found, the benefits and the lessons learned in the process. Finally, we measured the expected project benefits by comparing the effort required by the current and the new process (once the new software tool is adopted). The savings corresponded to 40% less effort (man-hours) per certification. Future work includes additional evaluation of product usability in a real scenario (with customers) and the measuring of benefits in terms of quality improvement.

Propuesta de un marco conceptual para el análisis comparativo de las redes de distribución de dos supermercados online = Proposal of a conceptual framework for the comparative analysis of the distribution networks of two online supermarkets

In this article the network configuration for fulfillment and distribution of online orders of two British retailers is analyzed and compared. For this purpose, it is proposed a conceptual framework that consists of the key following aspects: network configuration, transportation management and location of demand. As a result is not obvious to determine the ideal centralization degree in each case. Finally, it is suggested the future development of an analytic tool that helps to choose the most appropriate model.

The Putin doctrine: The formation of a conceptual framework for Russian dominance in the post-Soviet area. OSW Commentary No. 131, 28.03.2014

The statements made in recent weeks by Russian officials, and especially President Vladimir Putin, in connection with Moscow’s policy towards Ukraine, may suggest that the emergence of a certain doctrine of Russian foreign and security policy is at hand, especially in relation to the post-Soviet area. Most of the arguments at the core of this doctrine are not new, but recently they have been formulated more openly and in more radical terms. Those arguments concern the role of Russia as the defender of Russian-speaking communities abroad and the guarantor of their rights, as well as specifically understood good neighbourly relations (meaning in fact limited sovereignty) as a precondition that must be met in order for Moscow to recognise the independence and territorial integrity of post-Soviet states. However, the new doctrine also includes arguments which have not been raised before, or have hitherto only been formulated on rare occasions, and which may indicate the future evolution of Russia’s policy. Specifically, this refers to Russia’s use of extralegal categories, such as national interest, truth and justice, to justify its policy, and its recognition of military force as a legitimate instrument to defend its compatriots abroad. This doctrine is effectively an outline of the conceptual foundation for Russian dominance in the post-Soviet area. It offers a justification for the efforts to restore the unity of the ‘Russian nation’ (or more broadly, the Russian-speaking community), within a bloc pursuing close integration (the Eurasian Economic Union), or even within a single state encompassing at least parts of that area. As such, it poses a challenge for the West, which Moscow sees as the main opponent of Russia’s plans to build a new order in Europe (Eurasia) that would undermine the post-Cold War order.

Combining the power of online crowdsourcing with creative writing user interfaces

The goal of this work was to provide professional and amateur writers with a new way of enhancing their productivity and mental well-being, by helping them overcoming writers block and being able to achieve a state of optimal experience while writing. Our approach is based on bringing together different components to create what we call a creative moment. A creative moment is composed by an image, a text, a mood, a location and a color. The color presented in the creative moment varied according to the mood that was associated to the creative moment. With the creative moments we hoped that our users could have a way to easily trigger their creativity and have a kick start in their work. The prototyping of a web crowdsourcing platform, named CreativeWall, and a Microsoft Word Add-In, that was used on the user study performed, is described and their implementations are discussed. The user study reveals that our approach does have a positive influence in the productivity of the participants when compared with another existing approach. The study also revealed that our approach can ease the process of achieving a state of optimal experience by enhancing one of the dimensions presented on the Flow Theory. At the end we present what we consider would be some possible future developments for the concept created during the development of this work.

A conceptual framework for evaluating traffic safety system measures.

National Highway Safety Bureau, Washington, D.C.

Effective affective user interface design in games

It is proposed that games, which are designed to generate positive affect, are most successful when they facilitate flow (Csikszentmihalyi 1992). Flow is a state of concentration, deep enjoyment, and total absorption in an activity. The study of games, and a resulting understanding of flow in games can inform the design of non-leisure software for positive affect. The paper considers the ways in which computer games contravene Nielsen's guidelines for heuristic evaluation ( Nielsen and Molich 1990) and how these contraventions impact on flow. The paper also explores the implications for research that stem from the differences between games played on a personal computer and games played on a dedicated console. This research takes important initial steps towards de. ning how flow in computer games can inform affective design.

Dysprosodic speech following basal ganglia insult: Toward a conceptual framework for the study of cerebral representation of prosody

Progress in understanding brain/behavior relationships in adult-acquired dysprosody has led to models of cortical hemispheric representation of prosodic processing based on functional (linguistic vs affective) or physical (timing vs pitch) parameters. These explanatory perspectives have not been reconciled, and also a number of neurobehavior syndromes that include dysprosody among their neurological signs have not yet been integrated. In addition to expanding the functional perspective on prosody, some of these syndromes have implicated a significant role of subcortical nuclei in prosodic competence. In this article, two patients with acquired dysprosodic speech following damage to basal ganglia nuclei were evaluated using behavioral, acoustic, cognitive, and radiographic approaches. Selective quantitative measures were performed on each individual’s performance to provide detailed verification and clarification of clinical observations, and to test hypotheses regarding prosodic function. These studies, combined with a review of related clinical research findings, exemplify the value of a broader perspective on the neurobehavioral dysfunction underlying acquired adult dysprosodic speech, and lead to a new, proposed conceptual framework for the cerebral representation of prosody.