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One of the main causes of long-term prosthetic abandonment is the lack of ownership over the prosthesis, which was caused mainly by the absence of sensory information regarding the lost limb. The period where the patient learns how to interact with a prosthetic device is critical in rehabilitation. This ideally happens within the first months after amputation, which is also a period associated with the consolidation of brain changes. Different studies have shown that the introduction of feedback mechanisms can be crucial to bypass the lack of sensorial information. To develop a biofeedback system for the rehabilitation of transfemoral amputees – controlled via electromyographic (EMG) activity from the leg muscles – that can provide real-time visual and/or vibratory feedback for the user.

The system uses surface EMG to control two feedback mechanisms, which are the knee joint of a prosthetic leg of a humanoid avatar in a virtual reality (VR) environment (visual feedback) and a matrix of 16 vibrotactile actuators placed in the back of the user (vibratory feedback). Data acquisition was inside a Faraday Cage using an OpenEphys® acquisition board for the surface EMG recordings. The tasks were performed on able-bodied participants, with no amputation, and for this, the dominant leg of the user was immobilized using an orthopedic boot fixed on the chair, allowing only isometric contractions of target muscles, according to the Surface EMG for Non-Invasive Assessment of Muscles (SENIAM) standard. The authors test the effectiveness of combining vibratory and visual feedback and how task difficulty affects overall performance.

The authors' results show no negative interference combining both feedback modalities and that performance peaked at the intermediate difficulty. These results provide powerful insights of what can be accomplished with the population of amputee people. By using this biofeedback system, the authors expect to engage another sensory modality in the process of spatial representation of a virtual leg, bypassing the lack of information associated with the disruption of afferent pathways following amputation.

The authors developed a showcase with a new protocol and feedback mechanisms showing the protocol's safety, efficiency and reliability. However, since this system is designed for patients with leg amputation, the full extent of the effects of the biofeedback training can only be assessed after the evaluation with the amputees, and the results obtained so far establish a safe and operational protocol to accomplish this.

In this study, the authors proposed a new biofeedback device intended to be used in the preprosthetic rehabilitation phase for people with transfemoral amputation. With this new system, the authors propose a mechanism to bypass the lack of sensory information from a virtual prosthesis and help to assimilate visual and vibrotactile stimuli as a cue for movement representation.

With this new system, the authors propose a mechanism to bypass the lack of sensory information from a virtual prosthesis and help to assimilate visual and vibrotactile stimuli as a cue for movement representation.

The authors' results show that all users were capable of recognizing both feedback modalities, both separate and combined, being able to respond accordingly throughout the tasks. The authors also show that for a one-session protocol, the last difficulty level imposed a greater challenge for most users, explained by the significant drop in performance disregarding the feedback modality. Lastly, the authors believe this paradigm can provide a better process for the embodiment of prosthetic devices, fulfilling the lack of sensory information for the users.

People are increasingly concerned about food and health and seek for functional and sugar-free products. However, there are technological challenges when adding functional components and substituting sugar in foods. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the influence of packaging and storage time on the sensory profile of functional diet guava preserve added with prebiotics, supporting the development of functional and sugar-free products and contributing to the product variety in the market.

A two-factor full factorial design was conducted in triplications that evaluated transparent and opaque packaging vs storage time (six months). The products were stored in packages with different light permeability (transparent and opaque). Quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) and acceptance tests were performed.

The packaging material did not affect the sensory changes of functional diet guava preserve during the six months of storage. QDA test showed that from three months of storage the original characteristics of the product were lost and a slight decrease in overall acceptance was observed after four and six months. However, during the six months the products had good acceptance; consequently, it was not possible to establish their rejection before this period.

More detailed studies regarding a longer storage period, including the physical and chemical measurements must be done to clarify other points about the influence of packaging and storage time on the sensory profile of functional diet guava preserve added with prebiotics. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.

The development of a functional and sugar-free preserve is a good alternative to provide a product that meets the actual consumer desires and adds value to the product. However, there are technological challenges when adding functional components and substituting sugar in foods. Thus, this study provides important information for the development of sugar-free and functional products, and to prolong their shelf life.

There are few studies with respect to the sensory aspects during the storage of functional preserves. Thus, this work will aid future studies, supporting the development of functional and sugar-free products and contributing to the product variety in the market.

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is an integral part of hospitality curriculums in Australia. Experiencing stress during WIL is expected, as students try to balance work and other responsibilities. Previous studies have usually examined the negative impact of stress on individuals. By referring to relevant theories, this paper argues the positive impact of stress and reports on a study which aimed to investigate whether stress – experienced by students during WIL – leads to resilience and well-being.

Hospitality students from different backgrounds enrolled at a tertiary institution completed an online survey. This study uses structural equation modelling (SEM), to test the proposed links between stress, resilience and well-being.

The study results show that “academic pressure” (mean score = 3.57) is the most common stressor identified by hospitality students. This was followed by stress caused by “time pressure” (mean score = 3.01). Model testing reveals that experiencing “career development concerns” has a statistically significant association with resilience. Moreover, there is a strong link (β = 0.624) between resilience and well-being.

This study makes a contribution by proposing positive outcomes related to stress during WIL. A handful of studies have looked at similar concepts. However, this paper uses statistical techniques to measure and analyse relationships between different variables. By running an SEM, the authors were able to test a linear causal relationship which identifies stressors leading to a significant impact on resilience. Similarly, the strength of relationship between resilience and well-being is also empirically tested.

This study investigates the intellectual structure of the front-end of innovation (FEI) research field and elaborates a lifecycle model, which embraces the FEI progress and conceptual development.

This study analysed 355 papers published from 1987 to 2020 in the Scopus and Web of Science databases through bibliometrics, network analysis and content analysis.

This study reveals FEI research themes and topics and explores their evolution through three periods. In addition, following a lifecycle approach, it also sets the research field foundation and discusses the maturity and potential progress of the FEI intellectual structure.

This study complements the existing FEI reviews by capturing the most relevant topics in the area, showing how these topics relate to each other to form the intellectual domain and providing insights concerning the research progress through different lifecycle stages. It also extends the FEI database used in the other literature reviews.

Recognizing this gap in the literature, previous research has developed a conceptual model that aligns Lean thinking (LT) tools and principles with project management (PM) domains to increase project efficiency through waste elimination. This paper aims to explore the application of LT in PM to minimize waste, focus on value delivery and subsequently enhance the efficiency of projects.

This research uses qualitative analysis to validate the previously developed conceptual model by conducting structured interviews with project managers and practitioners in the information technology (IT) sector to examine waste sources, assess their impact on project efficiency and investigate the model’s applicability as a strategy to enhance efficiency in IT projects.

From the research conducted, the results from the literature put in evidence that while the construction and production sectors have seen extensive research on the link between LT and PM, the combined and complementary application of these concepts to IT PM remains understudied. The research findings reveal the agreement among all respondents that LT can be successfully adapted to PM practices, leading to a positive correlation between this adaptation and waste reduction, consequently enhancing project efficiency. Moreover, respondents concur that the developed conceptual model can be customized to suit various IT projects, facilitating the seamless integration between LT and PM.

The innovative conceptual model harmonizes LT with IT project management, offering a practical and forward-looking approach to amplify efficiency in projects.

This study aims to explore the use of gamification elements by micro and small e-tailers to enhance customer loyalty. Additionally, this research seeks to identify the most promising gamification elements that can be utilised for this purpose.

The authors adopt a qualitative approach to examine the impact of gamification on online customer loyalty to micro and small e-tailers. Data were gathered using a combination of two types of expert interviews. Semi-structured interviews were held with micro and small e-tailers while large e-tailers served as the control group. Structured interviews based on multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) models were conducted to determine the most promising gamification elements.

The content analysis reveals that gamification has significant potential for fostering customer loyalty and offering various other benefits. However, small e-tailers often refrain from implementing gamification solutions due to the resource requirements in terms of finances, time, information technology and human capital. By assigning weights as an essential step in MCDA models, the authors determined that badges, medals, quests, avatars and competitions are the most promising gamification options for small e-tailers’ efforts to enhance customer loyalty.

The study makes a unique contribution to the understanding of the usefulness of gamification in augmenting customer loyalty and identifying essential gamification elements for micro and small e-tailers.

This study aims to analyze the complexities of the Brazilian soybean supply chain (SSC) and develop strategic interventions to improve the origin system’s performance.

This study used stakeholder interviews to identify the SSC bottlenecks and determine and assess drivers of competitiveness. A methodological framework based on the systems thinking approach for developing long-term structural changes was used. The problem was structured using behavior over time graph and causal loop modeling to propose three investment strategies to solve the logistics problem in SSC.

This study highlights the gaps in coordination between stakeholders and the public sector regarding the public policy for infrastructure investment. Three strategic interventions were developed to address the agro-industrial logistical problem, namely, investment in storage, multimodal transport systems and improvements in existing transport infrastructure. To overcome transport and storage logistics limitations, the authors suggest different forms of partnerships, including public-private partnerships.

This research is limited to evaluating an agricultural commodity (soybean) and does not include its by-products. The sample of stakeholders was limited and the boundary of analysis was Brazil. Nevertheless, the study showed how strategic interventions could be developed following a holistic analysis.

The proposed integrated approach illustrates the development of three strategic initiatives. It can be implemented by stakeholders, including the public sector, which is the basis for providing assertive long-term investments in Brazilian logistics.

The SSC analysis could promote the implementation of systemically determined interventions and strategies. It could significantly improve the performance of agricultural systems and help the formulation of public policies aimed at rural development.

The use of system dynamics to identify intervention points is an essential contribution to mitigating the SSC’s hindrances. Moreover, the combining methodologies resulted in comprehensive intervention strategies.

Although the number of studies that investigate supply chain sustainability learning has increased, little is known about the way sub-suppliers build knowledge and learn sustainability practices. Thus, moving beyond merely investigating the accumulation of knowledge, this research explores sub-suppliers’ knowing that supports the learning of sustainability practices in a multi-tiered food supply chain.

In the conduct of this interpretive research in South Brazil, two ethnographies were completed during 74 days of observations to understand similarities and differences between certified and non-certified sub-suppliers with respect to sustainability practices. As part of our research conducted in the context of poultry production, secondary data and data gathered through semi-structured interviews with representatives of the buyer and first-tier supplier firms were used to provide a better comprehension of the multi-tiered supply chain context. Then, we executed an interpretive textual analysis.

Our investigation explored six vignettes to reveal ways of learning sustainability practices in terms of waste management, biosecurity and animal welfare. Although the buyer firm requested these practices, we noted that the first-tier supplier was responsible for translating the practices to sub-suppliers. Moreover, we found that sustainability learning was shaped by the sub-supplier context embodied in knowledge through knowing. The ways of learning were related to sharing knowledge between experts and novices with the support of material practices; however, knowledge was also gained by unlearning some knowledge shared by the supplier. Sustainability practice learning, thus, was performed in a space of learning via knowledge creation among practitioners.

Recognising how sustainability learning happens in a multi-tiered supply chain context can help managers to develop plans to implement sustainability practices that will broaden their sustainability knowledge.

Unlike previous studies on supply chain sustainability learning, we reveal ways that sustainability practices emerge from knowledge that results from sub-suppliers’ knowing. We also explain how unlearning can consciously occur in several situations of sustainability learning.

Through a literature review, a gap has been identified regarding the role of competition as a driver of social network (SN) usage. This study aims to design to address this gap, seeking motivators for SN usage based on how SN consumption may be related to users’ experience of competition. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of competition in social media usage.

The authors used an exploratory qualitative approach, conducting a set of focus groups with young social media users. Data was analyzed with software.

Two new drivers for SN use are proposed, namely, competition and collective narrative.

This is an exploratory study, and it does not seek to generalize results or quantify causal relationships among variables.

This paper offers SN managers a deeper understanding of key growth drivers for these media.

This research can help society understand and debate the impacts of SNs on users’ lives, providing insights into drivers of excessive usage.

This paper proposes the following two SN usage drivers yet to be described in the literature: competition and collective narrative.