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Article
Publication date: 8 June 2012

January Luczak

The purpose of this paper is to chronicle a small company's path towards establishing a functioning, effective quality system for a medical device technology and to provide some…

1050

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to chronicle a small company's path towards establishing a functioning, effective quality system for a medical device technology and to provide some “do‐it‐yourself” (DIY) tips learned along the way.

Design/methodology/approach

When a company comes up with an innovation in medical device technology, where can it go from there to transfer its product into the hands of consumers? If the technology is patented, the company has the option to license it. Alternatively, the company may want to move forward with further product development and marketing on its own (whether patented or not). Getting a medical device into any market typically requires regulatory approval, which cannot be obtained without a quality system. This paper focuses on the foundations of establishing a quality system and obtaining certification and regulatory approval in Canada, the EU, and the USA, and is directed towards small medical device manufacturers. It describes the process within four phases that cover the initial start up, implementation of procedures, certification and regulatory approval, and continual improvement.

Findings

Establishing a quality system is a monumental task for any company, but especially so for a small one. However, the benefits of implementing a quality system outweigh the initial setbacks associated with doing so. The descriptions of phases in tandem with the DIY tips presented in this paper are intended to be of help to a small medical device manufacturer wanting to bring their innovative technology to consumers within a major marketplace.

Originality/value

This is an original paper written for the Third Canadian Quality Congress.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 24 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 September 2010

Tadahiro Iizaka and Fumiaki Suda

Farmers’ markets in Japan have different characteristics from those in Europe and America. Although the amount of each farmer's sales profit is small, Japanese farmers’ markets

Abstract

Farmers’ markets in Japan have different characteristics from those in Europe and America. Although the amount of each farmer's sales profit is small, Japanese farmers’ markets have proved to be beneficial for Japanese farmers by providing them with nonmonetary benefits that cannot otherwise be gained from the modern large-scale farm products circulation. It also functions as the place of the rehabilitation of certain foods and products “forgotten” in modern circulation, and cases with old fashioned “grapes” and “eggplants” are those examples. Point of Sale (POS) systems, which were thought the symbol of modernized circulation, however, have been suggested to function as the device for communicating with farmers and consumers. Because the studies of Japanese farmers’ markets are approved to the origin of various logics, the researchers were not able to establish the united theory. However, it should be noted that Japanese farmers’ markets have established a firm position in the local food chain and will continue to function as a valuable channel for supporting sustainable agriculture.

Details

From Community to Consumption: New and Classical Themes in Rural Sociological Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-281-5

Article
Publication date: 2 September 2014

Mikhail B. Bokov, Anastasia Edelkina, Marina Klubova, Thomas Thurner, Natalia P. Velikanova and Konstantin Vishnevskiy

Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) were designed to determine the exact location of objects on land, water and air for military purposes. With the opening of the satellite…

Abstract

Purpose

Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) were designed to determine the exact location of objects on land, water and air for military purposes. With the opening of the satellite signal for civilian use, the technology created business opportunities for various applications. Today, satellite positioning technology is used by transporters, carriers, motorists, surveyors, builders, foresters, etc. through a wide array of devices like mobile phones or multimedia devices with built-in receiver modules.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides the results of a recently held foresight exercise on the future development of Russia’s GLONASS system.

Findings

The foresight exercise suggested a number niche markets where the GLONASS technology could be of great use, like monitoring of buildings and construction sides or the monitoring of shipments. In addition, in the case of Russia, large-scale government-driven investment programs will be key drivers for GLONASS’ growth perspectives.

Originality/value

The paper provides a comprehensive picture of the development of GNSS for civilian use until 2020.

Details

Foresight, vol. 16 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6689

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 August 2021

Shweta Pandey, Deepak Chawla, Sandeep Puri and Luz Suplico Jeong

Notwithstanding the novelty and importance of wearable fitness devices, few studies have focussed on comparing the drivers of adoption and usage of wearable fitness in the context…

Abstract

Purpose

Notwithstanding the novelty and importance of wearable fitness devices, few studies have focussed on comparing the drivers of adoption and usage of wearable fitness in the context of developing countries. This study aims to explore factors that drive overall acceptance of wearable fitness devices in developing countries (India and the Philippines) and whether the impact of these factors on the intention to adopt (INT) differs by country and gender.

Design/methodology/approach

The study extends the existing body of knowledge by developing a model that integrates the impact of various perceived benefits (health, autonomy, social, hedonic, symbolic), health self-efficacy (HEALTHSE) and individual characteristics (technological innovativeness [TI]) on the INT wearable fitness devices and the moderating impact of country and gender. The analysis was carried out using partial least square and data of 343 respondents.

Findings

This study finds that the INT wearable fitness devices by consumers in developing countries are positively impacted by hedonic, health and autonomy, HEALTHSE and TI. Symbolic and social factors do not have any significant impact on the overall INT wearable fitness devices. However, there are country and gender-specific differences that are consequential to the development of marketing strategies.

Research limitations/implications

The framework and results are specific to the two countries and limited by convenience sampling. Future research can focus on replication across different countries and extend the model with additional contextual factors such as perceived risks.

Originality/value

To the best knowledge of the authors, this is one of the few studies to examine and compare the drivers of adoption of wearable fitness devices in lesser researched developing countries. Also, it is one of the few studies to compare the moderating impact of country and gender in the context of the INT wearable devices. The study provides a theoretical and methodological foundation for future research, as well as practical implications for global companies developing and promoting wearable fitness devices.

Details

Journal of Asia Business Studies, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1558-7894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 October 2021

John Abraham and Sean Geobey

The Aakash tablet was developed as a social innovation (SI) to transform India’s higher education sector. This paper aims to explain the failure of the Aakash tablet beyond the…

Abstract

Purpose

The Aakash tablet was developed as a social innovation (SI) to transform India’s higher education sector. This paper aims to explain the failure of the Aakash tablet beyond the typical explanations of deficiencies in the device’s technical capabilities. This paper argues that an SI lens provides a stronger explanation for its failure than the standard analyses built primarily on the technological viability of the device.

Design/methodology/approach

The Aakash project ran from 2010 to 2015. During this period, a number of government and policy reports as well as mainstream media articles were published on the device. Since 2015, a number of academic articles have been published on the Aakash emphasizing its failure as a technological solution. The authors draw on these sources to frame an understanding of the Aakash’s failure informed by SI theory.

Findings

Through a complexity-informed analysis, the authors show that the failure of the Aakash stemmed from flawed assumptions and a failure of the initiative to engage with both the particular and constantly changing features of the broader landscape of needs and opportunities.

Originality/value

This study draws attention to failure as a legitimate aspect of the study of SI. In presenting a “counter-case” to the usual success stories, it shows that the SI lens can also explain why an SI does not take off. It thereby adds to the literature on SI and complexity theory through an exploration of the complex interactions among public policy goals, technological advancements and entrepreneurship.

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2016

Noel Carroll and Ita Richardson

Connected Health is an emerging and rapidly developing field never before witnessed across the healthcare sector. It has the potential to transform healthcare service systems by…

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Abstract

Purpose

Connected Health is an emerging and rapidly developing field never before witnessed across the healthcare sector. It has the potential to transform healthcare service systems by increasing its safety, quality and overall efficiency. However, as healthcare technologies or medical devices continuously rely more on software development, one of the core challenges is examining how Connected Health is regulated – often impacting Connected Health innovation. The purpose of this paper is to present an understanding of how Connected Health is regulated. Many of these regulatory developments fall under “medical devices”, giving rise to Software-as-a-Medical Device (SaaMD).

Design/methodology/approach

Through an extensive literature review, this paper demystifies Connected Health regulation. It presents the outcome of expert discussions which explore the key regulatory developments in the context of Connected Health to provide a practical guide to understanding how regulation can potentially shape healthcare innovation.

Findings

Several key issues are identified, and the authors present a comprehensive overview of regulatory developments relating to Connected Health with a view to support the continued growth of IT-enabled healthcare service models. The authors also identify the key challenges in Connected Health and identify areas for future research.

Originality/value

A key outcome of this research is a clearer understanding of the opportunities and challenges that regulation and standards present to Connected Health. Furthermore, this research is of critical importance in a first attempt towards recognising the impact of regulation and standards compliance in Connected Health.

Details

Journal of Systems and Information Technology, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1328-7265

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 August 2021

Oussama BenRhouma, Ali AlZahrani, Ahmad AlKhodre, Abdallah Namoun and Wasim Ahmad Bhat

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the private-data pertaining to the interaction of users with social media applications that can be recovered from second-hand Android…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the private-data pertaining to the interaction of users with social media applications that can be recovered from second-hand Android devices.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a black-box testing-principles based methodology to develop use-cases that simulate real-world case-scenarios of the activities performed by the users on the social media application. The authors executed these use-cases in a controlled experiment and examined the Android smartphone to recover the private-data pertaining to these use-cases.

Findings

The results suggest that the social media data recovered from Android devices can reveal a complete timeline of activities performed by the user, identify all the videos watched, uploaded, shared and deleted by the user, disclose the username and user-id of the user, unveil the email addresses used by the user to download the application and share the videos with other users and expose the social network of the user on the platform. Forensic investigators may find this data helpful in investigating crimes such as cyber bullying, racism, blasphemy, vehicle thefts, road accidents and so on. However, this data-breach in Android devices is a threat to user's privacy, identity and profiling in second-hand market.

Practical implications

Perceived notion of data sanitisation as a result of application removal and factory-reset can have serious implications. Though being helpful to forensic investigators, it leaves the user vulnerable to privacy breach, identity theft, profiling and social network revealing in second-hand market. At the same time, users' sensitivity towards data-breach might compel users to refrain from selling their Android devices in second-hand market and hamper device recycling.

Originality/value

This study attempts to bridge the literature gap in social media data-breach in second-hand Android devices by experimentally determining the extent of the breach. The findings of this study can help digital forensic investigators in solving crimes such as vehicle theft, road accidents, cybercrimes and so on. It can assist smartphone users to decide whether to sell their smartphones in a second-hand market, and at the same time encourage developers and researchers to design methods of social media data sanitisation.

Details

Information & Computer Security, vol. 30 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4961

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 May 2015

Christian Fuentes

– The purpose of this paper is to examine and explain what organizes the marketing of retail sustainability.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine and explain what organizes the marketing of retail sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

Theoretically, this paper takes a marketing-as-practice approach and makes use of practice theory to conceptualize the marketing of sustainability. Methodologically, an ethnographic study of three Swedish retail chains and their marketing work has been conducted. Interviews with management, observations made at the stores of these three retailers and various marketing texts and images produced by these retailers form the material analysed.

Findings

This paper illustrates three different ways of marketing and enacting sustainability. It shows that sustainability is framed differently and, indeed, enacted differently in order to fit various ideas about who are the responsible consumers. The argument is that rather than consumer demand, supply pressure or media scandals, the marketing of sustainability is in each of the cases studied configured around a specific notion of the responsible consumer. What sustainability work is marketed, through which devices it is marketed, and how it is framed is guided by an idea of whom the retailers’ responsible consumers are, what their lifestyles are, and what they will be interested in. Images of responsible consumers work as configuring agents around which retailing activities and devices are organized.

Originality/value

The paper provides an in-depth analysis of the marketing of sustainability and offers a new explanation about what it is that influences the various approach to sustainable marketing taken by retailers.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 43 no. 4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 December 2021

Prashant Raman and Kumar Aashish

There are two-fold objectives to this research. First is to analyse the importance of technology readiness (TR) for the users in using sports and fitness wearable devices in…

Abstract

Purpose

There are two-fold objectives to this research. First is to analyse the importance of technology readiness (TR) for the users in using sports and fitness wearable devices in India. And second is to explore if gymnasium (gym) users are much more technologically ready as compared to non-gym users to use sports and fitness wearable devices.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses technology readiness and acceptance model (TRAM) to examine the users' intention to use sports and fitness wearable devices. Data from a survey of 907 respondents from India were collected and partial least squares (PLS)-structural equation modelling (SEM) technique was used to empirically examine it.

Findings

The outcomes reveal that innovativeness and optimism have a positive influence on perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU), and insecurity and discomfort have a negative influence on PEOU and PU. Both PEOU and PU act as important determinants in the user's intention to use sports and fitness wearable devices. The multi-group analysis (MGA) suggests that gym users tend to exhibit more positive intention towards using sports and fitness wearable devices and show higher probability of using the wearable devices relative to non-gym users.

Originality/value

There are hardly any studies on intention to use sports and fitness wearable devices in India. The current research tries to understand the intention behind the gym users and non-gym users to use sports and fitness wearable devices. The outcomes of the research will help the marketers to align their promotional campaign based on the new segmentation variable “gym-user/non-gym user”. The research also highlights the importance of TR in the use of sports and fitness wearable devices in India.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. 23 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 September 2019

Josie McLaren and Tony Appleyard

The purpose of this paper is to investigate accountability for farm animal welfare (FAW) in food companies. FAW is an important social issue, yet it is difficult to define and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate accountability for farm animal welfare (FAW) in food companies. FAW is an important social issue, yet it is difficult to define and measure, meaning that it is difficult for companies to demonstrate accountability. The authors investigate a proposed solution, the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), and how it has disrupted the informal rules or culture of the market. The research questions centre on the process of response to BBFAW and the necessary characteristics for BBFAW to play a performative role in the market.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper employs an analysis of published BBFAW reports (2012–2017) and case study interviews in five BBFAW firms, in order to address the research questions.

Findings

The authors present evidence of a dynamic, repetitive process, starting with recognition of the importance of FAW and BBFAW, followed by internal discussions and the commitment of resources, and changes in communication to external stakeholders. Three necessary characteristics for performativity are proposed: common language, building networks and expanding markets.

Originality/value

This paper reflects a socially important issue that is under-represented in the accounting literature. The results provide an insight into the use of external accounts to drive collaboratively the social change agenda. The performativity process and identified characteristics contribute to expanding this literature in the accounting domain.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 33 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

21 – 30 of over 44000