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To face the challenges raised by the high incidence of falls among older adults, the intelligent video-monitoring system (IVS), a fall detection system that respects privacy, was developed. Most fall detection systems are tested only in laboratories. The purpose of this paper is to test the IVS in a simulation context (apartment-laboratory), then at home.

This study is a proof of concept including two phases: a simulation study to test the IVS in an apartment-laboratory (29 scenarios of activities including falls); and a 28-day pre-test at home with two young occupants. The IVS’s sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), accuracy (A) and error rate (E) in the apartment-laboratory were calculated, and functioning at home was documented in a logbook.

For phase 1, results are: Se =91.67 per cent, Sp =99.02 per cent, A=98.25 per cent, E=1.75. For phase 2, the IVS triggered four false alarms and some technical dysfunctions appeared (e.g. computer screen never turning off) that are easily overcome.

Results show the IVS’s efficacy at automatically detecting falls at home. Potential issues related to future installation in older adults’ homes were identified. This proof of concept led to recommendations about the installation and calibration of a camera-based fall detection system.

This paper highlights the potentialities of a camera-based fall detection system in real-world contexts and supports the use of the IVS to help older adults age in place.

Older adults are at a high risk of falling. The consequences of falls are worse when the person is unable to get up afterward. Thus, an intelligent video monitoring system (IVS) was developed to detect falls and send alerts to a respondent. This study aims to explore the implementation of the IVS at home.

A multiple case study was conducted with four dyads: older adults and informal caregivers. The IVS was implemented for two months at home. Perceptions of the IVS and technical variables were documented. Interviews were thematically analyzed, and technical data were descriptively analyzed.

The rate of false alarms was 0.35 per day. Participants had positive opinions of the IVS and mentioned its ease of use. They also made suggestions for improvement.

This study showed the feasibility of a two-month implementation of this IVS. Its development should be continued and tested with a larger experimental group.

This study examined the provision of high‐tech home care by Quebec primary care organizations (CLSCs). Four technologies were selected: IV antibiotic therapy, oxygen therapy, parenteral nutrition, and peritoneal dialysis. A postal survey was sent to all CLSCs and a response rate of 69 percent was obtained; 57 percent of CLSCs have been involved in the provision of services related to three of the high‐tech interventions. The most frequently used sources of information are written material provided by manufacturers or by hospitals. CLSCs relied heavily on peer‐to‐peer training and training provided by manufacturers and hospitals. Formal agreements with hospitals regarding patient flow management were established; aspects related to the “content” of care were much less formalized. CLSCs have integrated high‐tech home care to a substantial extent. Our findings raise quality‐of‐care issues. The interface with hospitals needs to be reinforced and emphasis given to the appropriate use of technology.

Senior citizen falls are one of the highest-cost factors of healthcare within this population group. Various approaches for automatic fall detection exist. However, little is known about the seniors’ acceptance of these systems. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the acceptance of automatic fall detection devices as well as the technological commitment and the health status in community-dwelling adults with a predefined risk of falling.

Seniors with a risk of falling were equipped with either an accelerometer or an accelerometer with an additional visual and optical fall detection system in a sub-group of the study population for a period of eight weeks. Pre- and post-study questionnaires were used to assess attitudes and acceptance toward technology.

In total, 14 subjects with a mean age of 75.1 years completed the study. Acceptance toward all sensors was high and subjects were confident in their ability to handle technology. Medical assessments showed only very mild physical and no mental impairments. Measures that assured subjects privacy protection were welcomed. Sensor technology should be as unobtrusive as possible.

Privacy protection and uncomplicated use of the fall detection equipment led to high acceptance in seniors with high-technical commitment and good health status. Issues to further improve acceptance could be identified. Future research on different populations is necessary.

This paper aims to present the implementation of a multi-layer radiation propagation model in simulations of multi-phase flow and heat transfer, for a dissociating methane hydrate reservoir subjected to microwave heating.

To model the induced heterogeneity due to dissociation of hydrates in the reservoir, a multiple homogeneous layer approach, used in food processes modelling, is suggested. The multi-layer model is incorporated in an in-house, multi-phase, multi-component hydrate dissociation simulator based on the finite volume method. The modified simulator is validated with standard experimental results in the literature and subsequently applied to a hydrate reservoir to study the effect of water content and sand dielectric nature on radiation propagation and hydrate dissociation.

The comparison of the multi-layer model with experimental results show a maximum difference in temperature estimation to be less than 2.5 K. For reservoir scale simulations, three homogeneous layers are observed to be sufficient to model the induced heterogeneity. There is a significant contribution of dielectric properties of sediments and water content of the reservoir in microwave radiation attenuation and overall hydrate dissociation. A high saturation reservoir may not always provide high gas recovery by dissociation of hydrates in the case of microwave heating.

The multi-layer approach to model microwave radiation propagation is introduced and tested for the first time in dissociating hydrate reservoirs. The multi-layer model provides better control over reservoir heterogeneity and interface conditions compared to existing homogeneous models.

A decade and a half after the debut of pervasive computing, a large number of prototypes, applications, and interaction interfaces have emerged. However, there is a lack of consensus about the best approaches to create such systems or how to evaluate them. To address these issues, this paper aims to develop a performance evaluation framework for pervasive computing systems.

Based on the authors' experience in the Gator Tech Smart House – an assistive environment for the elderly, they established a reference scenario that was used to guide the analysis of the large number of systems they studied. An extensive survey of the literature was conducted, and through a thorough analysis, the authors derived and arrived at a broad taxonomy that could form a basic framework for evaluating existing and future pervasive computing systems.

A taxonomy of pervasive systems is instrumental to their successful evaluation and assessment. The process of creating such taxonomy is cumbersome, and as pervasive systems evolve with new technological advances, such taxonomy is bound to change by way of refinement or extension. This paper found that a taxonomy for something so broad as pervasive systems is very complex. It overcomes the complexity by focusing the classifications on key aspects of pervasive systems, decided purely empirically and based on the authors own experience in a real‐life, large‐scale pervasive system project.

There are currently no methods or frameworks for comparing, classifying, or evaluating pervasive systems. The paper establishes a taxonomy – a first step toward a larger evaluation methodology. It also provides a wealth of information, derived from a survey of a broad collection of pervasive systems.

Depression and other mental health disorders have a large impact on the quality of life and productivity of millions of individuals worldwide. For employers, mental health disorders are associated with increased health care costs as well as productivity losses in the form of absenteeism, short‐term disability absences and reduced on‐the‐job productivity‐known as presenteeism. The purpose of this paper is to review the association of worker productivity and mental health.

This review summarizes the literature on the prevalence of mental health conditions among working adults, and the association between these disorders and productivity. Finally, the impact of interventions or workplace policies on the productivity of those suffering with mental health conditions is covered and recommendations for employers are suggested.

Depressive disorders are relatively common in most workforces compared to other mental health conditions. The majority of studies on mental health and productivity have been conducted as part of nationwide surveys or in patient populations rather than worksites. The majority of studies show associations between mental health conditions and absenteeism (particularly short‐term disability absences). When presenteeism is measured by a validated questionnaire, results show that depression significantly impacts on‐the‐job productivity (presenteeism). Studies also indicate that the treatment expenditures for employees with depression may be offset by reductions in absenteeism, disability and on the job productivity losses.

Workplace policies and benefits which support employees suffering with mental health disorders and provide access to evidenced‐based care adhering to best practice guidelines may improve the quality of life of employees and lead to reduced absenteeism, disability and lost productivity.

The aim of this review is to explore recent literature regarding the development of fall detector technology as part of a service evaluation on the use of fall detectors across the region funded by NHS West Midlands. It also aims to explore the application and the use of products designed to detect falls and alert for help from end‐user and health and social care staff perspectives.

A comprehensive review of the literature of the last ten years was conducted, search terms were used to identify relevant literature from research databases and the main themes from the literature were summarised. This work was carried out to inform a service evaluation of the use of fall detectors across the West Midlands region and was funded by NHS West Midlands.

It was found that whilst there are a wide variety of new technologies regarding fall detectors in development, the range of technologies currently available through health and social services to users are limited. Health and social care staff appear to be less convinced of the benefits of fall detectors than end‐users. There was also a lack of robust evidence regarding different approaches to technology in the management and detection of falls. Users had mixed views regarding the use of fall detectors, with some people having concerns about privacy, lack of human contact, user‐friendliness and appropriate training, whilst others clearly identified the benefits of detecting falls and raising an alert. The implications of these findings for practice are discussed.

This paper will be of value to those working in falls services, telecare or industry partners developing fall detector technology.

This study aims to investigate the fabrication of hydrogen gas sensor based on metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) microstructure. The palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) as gate metal have been deposited on the oxide film using spin coating.

The PdNPs and the surface of oxide film were analyzed using Transmission electron microscopy. The capacitance-voltage (C-V) curves for the MOS sensor in 1, 2 and 4 per cent hydrogen concentration and in 100 KHz frequency at the room temperature were reported.

The response times for 1, 2 and 4 per cent hydrogen concentration were 2.5 s, 1.5 s and 1 s, respectively. The responses (R per cent) of MOS sensor to 1, 2 and 4 per cent hydrogen concentration were 42.8, 47.3 and 52.6 per cent, respectively.

The experimental results demonstrate that the MOS hydrogen gas sensor based on the PdNPs gate, shows the fast response and recovery compared to other hydrogen gas sensors based on the Pd.

This paper aims to examine the work experiences of female executives and the challenges of their visible and invisible work activities, considering the operating modes they develop to carry out their work activities.

This study relies on a materialist feminist perspective and a critical experientialist work theory, which considers both the visible and invisible dimensions of the work performed by female executives. The methodology is based on a qualitative research design involving individual and group interviews with 51 Canadian female executives.

The results reveal the hyper-efficiency operating mode mobilized by female executives, which combines strategies to take over and delegate work activities from the domestic sphere to reconcile the managerial work with their different life spheres.

A key finding emerging from these results relates to the invisible but omnipresent part of the work activities from the domestic sphere throughout the lives of female executives.