From the article: "This article evaluates the application of blockchain technology to improve organic or fair-trade food traceability from “Farm to Fork” in light of European regulations. This study aims to shed light on the challenges in the organic food chain to overcome, the drivers for blockchain technology, and the challenges in current projects."
The textiles and apparel industry is a major contributor to economic development while at the same time being one of the most polluting industries due to its lengthy supply chain and resource intensive production operations. To address these sustainability challenges, digitalization is seen as one of the potential solutions. Using the lens of sustainability and digitalization in Supply Chain Management (SCM), this paper analyses the sustainability and digitalization status of Dutch textile and apparel firms. We used a mixed methodology of quantitative text mining of 94 Dutch textile and apparel firms as well as qualitative thematic and coding analysis of experts’ views and opinions on sustainability and digitalization in the Dutch textiles and apparel industry. Quantitative analysis of website data shows that Dutch textile and apparel firms predominantly communicate the environmental, to a lesser extent social, and least of all economic sustainability factors. Keyword analysis also shows that the use of technological keyword indicators is less prominent, while certain technologies such as IoT, sensors and blockchain correlate mostly to environmental sustainability factors. Moreover, qualitative analysis reveals that to address sustainability via digitalization, it is important to link sustainability goals to Key Performance Indicators, which requires data for traceability. We recommend firms to: (1) re-evaluate their business models and assess the extent traceability can be incorporated in their sustainability strategy; (2) enhance stakeholder collaboration within and outside the supply chain to utilize traceability; and (3) proactively use traceability information to improve transparency and accountability to meet legal requirements and address greenwashing. This study contributes to literature by showing the importance of traceability for (a) linking sustainability and digitalization in SCM, b) achieving the ultimate goals of transparency and accountability, and c) predicting demand and supply to address overproduction and waste in the textiles and apparel sector.
MULTIFILE
From the article: Abstract Since more and more business rules management solutions are utilized, organizations search for guidance to design such solutions. Principles are often applied to guide the design of information systems in general. Scientific research on principles for business rules management is limited. The purpose of this paper is to specify, classify, and validate design principles that can be applied to guide the design of a business rules management solution. We conducted a three round focus group and three round Delphi Study, which led to the identification of 22 principles. These 22 principles can be clustered into four categories: 1) deep structure principles, 2) physical structure principles, 3) surface structure principles, and 4) organizational structure principles. Our results provide a framework for the design and analysis of business rules management solutions.
LINK
Het doel van serious games is anders dan puur entertainment. Door gebruik te maken van gamificationelementen is het idee om gebruikers op een leuke en uitdagende manier nieuwe vaardigheden te leren of aan te zetten tot gedragsverandering. In veel sectoren is een leven lang leren en ontwikkelen inmiddels een integraal onderdeel geworden en serious games zijn dan ook bijna overal wel terug te vinden. Met deze brede toepassingen is de effectiviteit van serious games echter een veel besproken vraagstuk. Ook binnen de gezondheidszorg zijn serious games sterk in opkomst en door nieuwe technologieën als virtual reality in te zetten kunnen levensechte situaties worden nagebootst en dienen als oefen- en trainingsomgeving voor zorgprofessionals. De kern van dit project draait dan ook om de vraag hoe serious games kunnen worden geëvalueerd in termen van opgedane kennis, vaardigheden of gedragsverandering van zorgprofessionals. In het verlengde hiervan ligt de vraag hoe tijdens het ontwikkelen van serious games al rekening gehouden kan worden met de toekomstige evaluatie ervan. Hoe zouden meetmethoden kunnen worden ingebouwd in de game zelf, welke data moet er worden verzameld, en hoe kan die verzameld worden? Binnen dit project zal met een scoping review bestaande literatuur worden onderzocht op effectiviteitsstudies om zo een overzicht te maken van gebruikte methoden en technieken en te inventariseren welke data hierbij gebruikt worden. Resultaten hiervan zullen worden omgezet in methoden voor evaluatie van serious games voor zorgprofessionals en ontwerpcriteria ten behoeve van het evalueren van beoogde leereffecten hiervan. Uiteindelijk zullen de ontwerpcriteria als proof-of-concept in het ontwikkeltraject van een serious game worden toegepast. Dit project creëert hiermee inzicht in hoe serious games voor zorgprofessionals goed geëvalueerd kunnen worden op leereffecten en hoe hier tijdens het ontwikkelproces al rekening mee gehouden kan worden.
The textiles and apparel industry faces increasing regulatory pressure to reduce its negative environmental and social impact. A widely discussed strategy is to extend the active lifecycle of garments through durable, better quality clothing. Durability, however, is an ambiguous concept and a more complex understanding of durability is emerging that goes beyond material strength to notions of emotional, social and functional durability that live in consumers’ mindsets. Our understanding of durability and how it impacts product design, reuse, repair and recycling is limited and businesses find it difficult to incorporate durability into more sustainable and circular business models, particularly where there is also an element of degrowth or slow growth. Additionally, digital technologies, particularly for traceability and product information, are needed and require new organizational capabilities and change. Our project proposes to explore the concept of durability in the apparel and textiles industry, focusing on how various industry actors (e.g. fashion brands, designers, suppliers, consumers) define durability and how they incorporate it into commercially viable circular business models. Our proposal is timely in that local, national and EU research agendas are stimulating sustainable and circular transformation. Nationally, we address questions in the Nationale Wetenschaps Agenda (NWA-ORC), e.g. the call on the theme Ab-initio circular materials design that emphasizes an interdisciplinarity approach for circular redesign and includes aspects of socio-economic relevance, raw material innovations and digital tooling. On the EU level, policies, directives and regulations, so called New Industrial Strategies, are aimed at helping industry towards green and digital transformation. Our proposal is pertinent to the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles and the Transition Pathway for the Textiles Ecosystem. Calls in the near future offer opportunities for the consortium to access funding for continued research and industry collaboration.
