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Conference paper (2026) - Radoslaw R. Dukalski, Jason K. Moore, Peter J. Beek, Frances M. Brazier
Striking a balance between simulation realism and immersion is essential for the development and evaluation of a prototyping environment (set-up and methodology) for Mixed Reality Road bicycle racing applications. Multi-sensory immersion, safety, usability, and design process iterability are hard requirements for the proposed prototyping environment in which a tandem rides on a treadmill with a participant riding up-front wearing a Virtual Reality headset. In the virtual environment, with interactable interface artefacts in a 360-video sphere, participants’ needs and preferences are dis-covered as participants configure their own 3D user-interface for Mixed Reality capable cycling glasses. Sessions that simulate a cycling race, focus on two distinct scenarios of ascending and descending. Two prototyping methods, while standing and while riding a bicycle, are evaluated and compared. Cyclists’ preferences include types of information, their placement in the visual field, size, and colour, depicted in heatmap visualisations. These insights are essential for designers of Mixed Reality systems with real-time information for outdoor bicycle racing. ...
Conference paper (2025) - Radoslaw R. Dukalski, Jason K. Moore, Peter J. Beek, Frances M. Brazier
This paper introduces a novel methodology for user interface prototyping of Mixed Reality applications for a dynamic motion context, namely race cycling. During lab sessions participants prototyped information provisioning in 3D-space. Their choices reflected a trade-off between cost to visual-field real estate and personal value of elected information. Information type, purpose, representation, location, size, and colour were analysed across participants. Participants preferred similar information positioning in the two investigated scenarios (descent, ascent) but included different types of information in each scenario. Heatmap visualisations revealed six preferred visual-field segments, highlighting the amount and types of information as well as segments kept empty. Balanced mock-ups of optimal layouts for descent and ascent are presented. Besides presenting a methodology for both data collection and processing - that is generally applicable by usability researchers both within and outside sports - this study provides specific insights for designers of user interfaces in road race cycling. ...

Unravelling Uncertainty and Trading Behaviour in Horticultural Supply Chains

Journal article (2025) - M.A. van Haaften, I. Lefter, M. Kemmers, Olaf van Kooten, F.M. Brazier
The Dutch horticultural supply chain is characterised by substantial uncertainty resulting from ongoing organisational changes, such as the transformation from an auction-cooperative system to a sales organisation-based structure. This uncertainty causes strategic behaviour among all supply-chain members (including producers), which often disadvantages primary producers. This study investigates how uncertainty shapes trading behaviour and decision-making using Transaction Cost Theory as a theoretical framework. Specifically, it examines the relationship between environmental and behavioural uncertainty, trading behaviour and strategic responses. Employing a multimethod approach involving interviews, simulation sessions and debriefings to collect data, this study integrates a qualitative and quantitative analysis. The findings reveal: (1) how uncertainty influences trader behaviour and strategic decision-making, and demonstrates the need for more effective coordination mechanisms and strategies to reduce opportunism and inefficiencies in horticultural trade, (2) the diversity of strategic responses to uncertainty and (3) the factors that influence uncertainty and their relationship. These factors, include the current supply-chain structure that upholds uncertainty and strategic behaviour such as the deliberate exploitation of the absence or lack of information (asymmetric information). By combining methodological triangulation with theoretical insight, this study provides a foundational understanding of strategic behaviour under uncertainty in agri-food supply chains. ...
The advent of complex socio-technical systems in modern society calls for teaching value-based participatory design in engineering curricula. Yet, no scientific literature supports teachers in this effort. This paper introduces a teaching approach called “value-based participatory design of complex socio-technical systems” and reports on its implementation. It emphasizes the importance of actively involving stakeholders and tapping into their values from the very start of the design process. Following this approach, students learn to (1) design with stakeholders, (2) identify key values and conflicts to create a value-based mission statement, (3) navigate uncertainties, (4) adopt an iterative design process, and (5) recognize that only stakeholders can define what works best. Results of an academic course based on this approach confirm its value and importance for engineering curricula. ...
Conference paper (2025) - Radoslaw R. Dukalski, Peter J. Beek, Frances M. Brazier
Road cycling presents a more challenging use case for Mixed Reality interface design. Smart glasses can facilitate decision making by placing information in context, yet prototyping in-situ is challenging. While low-fidelity studies offer observational insights, positional guidelines for interface design are sorely needed. Building on previous high-fidelity analysis, this paper presents an extension - a data driven design framework consisting of a methodology and browser-based supportive tooling. It enables designers to prototype user interfaces for cycling and other dynamic environments, based on data from prior user sessions. Adhering to values of Optimisation, Steerability, Legibility, and Continuity, it is a marked improvement in translating insights into practical designs. The designer is supported in optimising and customising the positioning of an MR user interface, with interface elements transparently and continuously negotiating visual real-estate during prototyping. The designer arrives at actionable interface layouts for evaluation without compromising safety. ...
Conference paper (2024) - Angelo C.J. Vermeulen, Arpi Derm, Alvaro Papic, Farshad Goldoust, Igor Nikolic, Frances Brazier
Human interstellar exploration involves navigating through a realm of significant uncertainty. Assessing the exact impact and consequences of moving at high velocities through the interstellar medium is challenging. Interstellar space is home to considerable amounts of cosmic dust, comprising microscopic particles with a wide range of sizes and compositions. At high speeds, spacecraft face significant risks from accumulating collisions with these particles. However, the expansive nature of interstellar space currently makes it impossible to accurately measure and chart the spread of this dust along specific trajectories. Interstellar space is also filled with high-energy cosmic rays, emitted by distant stars and other cosmic bodies. Dominated by protons and atomic nuclei, these cosmic rays travel nearly at the speed of light. The enduring effects of exposure to such radiation on the spacecraft, its crew, and the life support systems that sustain them remain unknown. The question then arises how to design an interstellar spacecraft capable of withstanding such inherent uncertainties. The solution requires a system robust enough to remain functional across diverse conditions. To try to cover for all possibilities in a top-down approach quickly becomes unfeasible. A promising direction is a bio-inspired adaptative approach. The Evolving Asteroid Starships (E|A|S) project integrates the utilization and recycling of local resources, self-organization, and bioregenerative principles to create a resilient spacecraft design. This aligns with the top priorities from NASEM's 2023 decadal survey, emphasizing space research on circular materials and bioregenerative life support. Within the framework of the E|A|S project, two distinct computer models have been developed, aiming for their eventual integration into a unified multi-model system. The inspiration for these models came in part from ESA's MELiSSA program and a visionary 1982 NASA study on a self-replicating lunar factory. Once living artificial ecosystems and self-organizing architectures are deployed, one is confronted with potential chaotic behaviour characteristic of complex systems. Sets of critical conditions that can push an otherwise stable self-sustaining system into collapse and failure were identified. It's crucial to gain a deeper understanding of how these systems function over extended periods, both under ideal environmental conditions and within the unpredictable exacting context of the interstellar medium. To address these challenges, the key drivers of systemic resilience (or lack thereof) were identified through an exploration of the characteristics of the individual components of each system. Moreover, potential mitigation strategies were also explored. These include enlarging buffer capacities, integrating redundancy, and enhancing system adaptability. ...
Large Language Models (LLMs) are expected to significantly impact various socio-technical systems, offering transformative possibilities for improved interaction between humans and technology. However, their integration poses complex challenges due to the intricate interplay between societal structures, human behaviour, and technological innovation. This research explores these multifaceted challenges, emphasising the need for a human-centered approach in integrating LLMs to ensure that technological advancements are aligned with ethical standards and societal needs. Utilizing a structured methodology comprising a workshop, literature analysis, and expert collaborations, the study uses a multi-dimensional human-centered AI framework to guide the responsible integration of LLMs. Key insights include the importance of inclusive data, considering unintended consequences, maintaining privacy, and respecting intellectual property rights. The paper identifies and advocates for principles like human-in-the-loop, continuous longitudinal studies, proactive awareness campaigns, and regular audits to develop LLMs that are ethically sound, adaptable, and effectively integrated into various socio-technical systems, thus addressing user needs and broader societal impacts. The paper also underlines the importance of collaboration among academia, industry, and policymakers to develop LLMs that are ethically aligned, socially beneficial, and adaptable to future societal needs. The findings offer valuable insights into the strategic integration of LLMs, advocating for a broader research perspective beyond industrial motivations to fully understand and leverage LLMs in socio-technical landscapes. ...
Over the past decade, there has been growing interest in using human behavioral and physiological data to detect Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Machine learning and deep learning techniques that use multimodal sensing have emerged as promising tools for detecting SAD characteristics. Additionally, extensive research on technology-assisted psychological interventions for SAD aims to enhance treatment efficacy and address the shortcomings of existing treatments by exploring how these interventions can be tailored to individual anxiety levels, symptom severity, and personal preferences. This review provides an overview of approaches for generalised SAD, covering advancements in both sensing and interventions while highlighting the potential of affective computing. It synthesises key insights on current emerging trends, identifies research gaps, and outlines directions for future research. ...
Conference paper (2024) - Aleksandar Joksimović, Xavier Carbonneau, F.M. Brazier, Rob Vingerhoeds
This paper presents development of an innovative method for aeroplane system architecture design, based on the principles of causal networks. In light of the environmental crisis that the world faces, it is argued that the new design method should be motivated by sustainability values in the first place. This implies the necessity for a method that is evolvable, as well as for the design artefact to include an awareness of its contribution to dynamics of the higher-level systems within which it is embedded. To that end, the method is based on gradual and iterative development of an initial abstract object which represents relevant system functions over a designated life cycle. The architecture design procedure consists in evolving this abstract object by means of the pre-defined design rules towards a material architectures that satisfies multiple requirements and constraints for multiple actors. The design rules at hand represent a combination of quantitative methods such as first principles of physics and qualitative principles of systems engineering. In complement to system characteristics, rigorous book-keeping of matter and energy interfaces with the object’s surroundings is at the core of the method. To test the developed principles with the elementary method development at hand, a propulsive system architecture case study is elaborated. The case study represents a simple case of a short-medium range engine architecture designed to respond to operating requirements, whose resulting performance is book-kept and evaluated in a much broader context than the operation (in-flight performance), for which engines are commonly preliminary-designed. ...
Journal article (2024) - M. A. van Haaften, I. Lefter, O. van Kooten, F. M.T. Brazier
Simplifications of the real world affect the validity and reliability of gaming simulations. This challenges the application of gaming simulations as an instrument for experiential learning, reflective practices and data collection. This study investigates the effects of simplification on extracting tacit knowledge from human behavior by answering the research question: Can tacit knowledge in a simplified design of a gaming simulation be transferred without compromising the validity and reliability corresponding to the real-world complexity? By applying a participatory design a gaming simulation is tested as an instrument to extract tacit knowledge. To test and evaluate the validity of this application, simulation sessions have been performed with experts from the field. In simplifying reality, participants' participation emphasized that the most accurate representation of reality is a prerequisite for capturing tacit knowledge. This in turn contributes again to the validity of the simulation design. The results show that simplification of the real world didn't affect participants' perspective on the use of the gaming simulation as an experiential tool to enable learning processes or create awareness. And that a simplified simulation design, is still valid in addressing the real-world complexity, with minimization of the level of abstraction and maximization of the truthfulness. ...
Journal article (2024) - C. Natalie Van der Wal, Erica Kinkel, Elvira R.I. Van Damme, Edwin R. Galea, Michael Minkov, Frances M.T. Brazier
Are there cultural differences and similarities in the way occupants respond to evacuation notifications? Evacuation response behaviour is characterised by the way occupants react to evacuation notifications to validate what is happening around them and prepare for evacuation movement. This study presents a cross-cultural survey based on a case study of a library evacuation to specifically explore how national culture - combined with cues and affiliation - influence evacuation response behaviour. A total of 585 adults from Czech Republic, Poland, Turkey and the United Kingdom participated in the survey. The main results show that for the three scenarios explored (1) UK participants perform significantly fewer response tasks than participants from the other countries, (2) participants from all countries first look around to see what is happening, and seek additional information as one of the first three tasks they perform, (3) Czech, Turkish and UK participants are more likely to wait for a friend/colleague in a scenario without cues than with cues. These results provide insights for safety practitioners and other stakeholders on the importance of cross-cultural research for evacuation behaviour and its inclusion in policy making and emergency preparation. ...
Conference paper (2024) - Aleksandar Joksimović, Xavier Carbonneau, F.M. Brazier, Rob Vingerhoeds
This paper presents a simple explanatory framework to analyse the diverse strategies proposed by the civil aviation sector in attempts to reconcile its growth tendencies with its impact on natural environment. Despite framing the industry as a single entity that has a problem to solve, it is better represented as a diverse set of actors, each responsible for various constituent systems at different phases of their respective life cycles. To elucidate this multi-actor pursuit of higher-level emergent objectives, the paper firstly presents an overview of different development scenarios dedicated to guide the industry towards sustainability. Given that the constituent systems tackled in such strategies strongly depend on each other, the sustainability objective relies on reconciling all the different agendas and contributions in unison, making them collectively compatible with the dynamics of the socio-economic and the natural world. To analyse the problem coherently, a basic description of an arbitrary system as a coarse-grained closed causal network is formulated. A categorisation for the model parameters is proposed to help define the system boundary and interaction with the environment unambiguously, dispensing with the need to know details of the model that represents the system at hand. This formalism was previously derived for preliminary sizing and performance estimation of aeroplane engines; by virtue of recursive nature of the coarse-graining process, the same formalism can be used to describe systems at any arbitrary levels, which enables a small system (in the current paper the system of interest being the propulsive system) to be integrated into a multi-level causal dependence framework. Then, the typical industry evolution scenarios are re-framed on the common ground of the causal network formalism. Subsequently, the framework is extended with a simple quantitative energy-based representation to formulate a qualitative case of how the scenarios could be formulated more coherently to avoid conflicting local optimisation objectives in pursuit of common higher-level goals. Finally, the entirety of the presented elements are brought together in a proposal to conceptualise an industrial system as a life cycle which exchanges matter, energy and information with its large-scale environment. The paper argues that such framing of the problem can pave the way to simplification of the problem of conflicting high-level objectives, by enabling a coherent understanding of the mutual dependence between a system of interest and the much more complex system of systems that is the aeronautical industry. ...
Conference paper (2024) - Aleksandar Joksimović, F.M. Brazier, Xavier Carbonneau, Rob Vingerhoeds
An overwhelming abundance of innovative civil aeroplane concepts has been presented by the research community in recent decades. Their development has been motivated mainly by need for better operating energy, or in particular the fuel efficiency - the common objective variable for economic and environmental optimisation. This paper focuses on one common conceptual issue with the disruptive concepts which originates in remarkable divergence of the concept space in different directions away from the conventional Tube&Wing paradigm. As a consequence, it becomes increasingly difficult to make a meaningful comparison of any arbitrary pair of concepts by employing the conventional intuitions, definitions, or figures of merit. The objective of the paper is to elaborate a framework that could encompass the entire design space under a common conceptual umbrella. The method we employ relies on systems engineering principles of Function-to-Form mapping. Firstly, a comprehensive review of innovative concepts is provided, with emphasis on the problem of the apparent complexity of the design space arising from the conventional taxonomic intuitions. Then, the descriptive framework is presented, with relevant definitions of function, form and system architecture. First-order application of the framework to the conventional aeroplane design space implies that the Tube&Wing concept family can be represented as roughly one-to-one function-to-form mapping. By analysing the summarised pool of disruptive concepts in the same key, inference is made on existence of an extensive and continuous design space. Furthermore, and argument is presented for existence of the civil-aeroplane performance optimisation trend that aligns with parts of the design space moving away from one-to-one function-to-form mapping. In other words, parts of the design space moving towards the regions in which concepts map as many functions onto as few forms as possible. If extended to the entirety of the life cycle of the system, this framework could reveal even more possibilities for system optimisation, in line with contemporary socio-economic attempts to resolve potentially contradictory requirements and constraints of sustainable growth of the aeronautical industry. ...
Conference paper (2023) - Elvira Van Damme, Natalie van der Wal, Gert Jan Hofstede, Frances Brazier
“How does culture, in combination with cues, settings and affiliation, influence response-phase behaviour and time and total evacuation time?”. A questionnaire and an agent-based model for a case study of a library evacuation in Czech Republic, Poland, Turkey and the UK have been developed to answer this question. Our questionnaire, conducted among 442 respondents (N = 105 from Czech Republic, N = 106 from Poland, N = 106 from Turkey and N = 125 from the United Kingdom), shows significant differences in the number of performed response tasks per culture - whereby Turkish respondents perform the most response tasks and British the least - and the results were directly implemented in our agent-based model. Simulation results show: (1) these differences - in combination with emergent effects for task choice and agent interactions - directly translate into the average response and evacuation times being highest for Turkey, followed by Poland, Czech Republic, and the UK, (2) cues, setting and affiliation influence response and evacuation time - such as being informed by staff giving a negative correlation and evacuating in groups a positive correlation with response time -, while the magnitude of these effects differ per culture. Our results suggest that faster response times might be related to dimensions of national culture, such as weak uncertainty avoidance and high individualism. ...
Journal article (2023) - P. de Vries, G. Pijper, P.H.G. van Langen, Ö. Turan, F.M. Brazier
The purpose of this paper is the introduction of a participatory systems design method to find solutions for multi-stakeholder challenges. This method, called Participatory Systems Design (PSD), aims to improve collaboration by increasing trust, engagement, and empowerment of people from different organizations and organizational levels, operating in a socio-technical setting. Participants collectively explore the challenges in their relation, define the values related to these challenges and create a continuous process of self- organization to fulfil their mission. In this way, participants increase their ability to communicate, collaborate and improve their performance.

The PSD method is problem-oriented and consists of three steps to improve business relations in a business network. Following PSD, stakeholders work together on solving complex issues in business processes, resulting in more trust, engagement, and empowerment and an increased ability to collaborate at all organizational levels. The dynamic alignment of business processes leads to a better business relation, more joint business, cost savings, and sustainable solutions. The preservation business networks share a multi-stakeholder context that correlates with the specifics of a participatory design approach and could benefit from applying the PSD method. The introduction of this method allows to have a closer look at the opportunities and limitations for the application of PSD in preservation networks. This will need further research and this paper is an attempt to initiate an uptake using a well-researched case study in another domain as an important reference. ...
Journal article (2023) - V. Nespeca, M. Comes, F.M. Brazier
Qualitative research is a powerful means to capture human interactions and behavior. Although there are different methodologies to develop models based on qualitative research, a methodology is missing that enables to strike a balance between the comparability across cases provided by methodologies that rely on a common and context-independent framework and the flexibility to study any policy problem provided by methodologies that focus on capturing a case study without relying on a common framework. Additionally, a rigorous methodology is missing that enables the development of both theoretical and empirical models for supporting policy formulation and evaluation with respect to a specific policy problem. In this article, the authors propose a methodology targeting these gaps for ABMs in two stages. First, a novel conceptual framework centered on a particular policy problem is developed based on existing theories and qualitative insights from one or more case studies. Second, empirical or theoretical ABMs are developed based on the conceptual framework and generic models. This methodology is illustrated by an example application for disaster information management in Jakarta, resulting in an empirical descriptive agent-based model. ...
Journal article (2023) - G. Slingerland, I. Nikolic, F.M. Brazier
Fast growth of cities decreases the quality of life in these places. In response, Municipalities install policies aiming to improve local livability. While literature suggests social structures to have a defining impact on policy effectiveness, current evaluation metrics are not able to take this into account. This paper presents the Social Neighbourhood model, an agent-based model used to simulate and explore how livability changes in a neighbourhood given various social structures and policies. The model is applied to a neighbourhood in The Hague, Netherlands. The main result of the modelling experiments is that social structures have a very strong influence on whether or not a policy to improve livability is effective. Three hypotheses, concerning this relationship between social structures, livability, and policy interventions are drawn up as a starting point for future research. ...
Journal article (2023) - A.C.J. Vermeulen, Alvaro Papic, I. Nikolic, F.M. Brazier
Bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS) are vital for long-duration and remote space missions to increase mission sustainability. These systems break down human waste materials into nutrients and CO2 for plants and other edible organisms, which in turn provide food, fresh water, and oxygen for astronauts. The central idea is to create a materially closed loop, which can significantly reduce mission mass and volume by cutting down or even eliminating disposable waste. In most BLSS studies only a fraction of the resources, such as food, are provided by the system itself, with the rest taken on board at departure or provided through resupply missions. However, for autonomous long-duration space missions without any possibility of resupply, a BLSS that generates all resources with minimal or no material loss, is essential. The goal of this study is to develop a stoichiometric model of a conceptually fully closed BLSS that provides all the metabolic needs of the crew and organisms. The MELiSSA concept of the European Space Agency is used as reference system, consisting of five interconnected compartments, each inhabited by different types of organisms. A detailed review of publicly available MELiSSA literature from 1989 to 2022 revealed that no existing stoichiometric model met the study’s requirements. Therefore, a new stoichiometric model was developed to describe the cycling of the elements C, H, O, and N through all five MELiSSA compartments and one auxiliary compartment. A compact set of chemical equations with fixed coefficients was established for this purpose. A spreadsheet model simulates the flow of all relevant compounds for a crew of six. By balancing the dimensions of the different compartments, a high degree of closure is attained at steady state, with 12 out of 14 compounds exhibiting zero loss, and oxygen and CO2 displaying only minor losses between iterations. This is the first stoichiometric model of a MELiSSA-inspired BLSS that describes a continuous provision of 100% of the food and oxygen needs of the crew. The stoichiometry serves as the foundation of an agent-based model of the MELiSSA loop, as part of the Evolving Asteroid Starships (E|A|S) research project. ...
Identifying the diverse and often competing values of citizens, and resolving the consequent public value conflicts, are of significant importance for inclusive and integrated urban development. Scholars have highlighted that relational, value-laden urban space gives rise to many diverse conflicts that vary both spatially and temporally. Although notions of public value conflicts have been conceived in theory, there are few empirical studies that identify such values and their conflicts in urban space. Building on public value theory and using a case-study mixed-methods approach, this paper proposes a new approach to empirically investigate public value conflicts in urban space. Using unstructured participatory data of 4528 citizen contributions from a Public Participation Geographic Information Systems in Hamburg, Germany, natural language processing and spatial clustering techniques are used to identify areas of potential value conflicts. Four expert interviews assess and interpret these quantitative findings. By integrating quantitative assessments with the qualitative findings of the interviews, we identify 19 general public values and nine archetypical conflicts. On the basis of these results, this paper proposes a new conceptual model of ‘Public Value Spheres’ that extends the understanding of public value conflicts and helps to further account for the value-laden nature of urban space. ...
Journal article (2023) - P.H.G. van Langen, Gerdje Pijper, P. de Vries, F.M. Brazier
Challenges involving economic, environmental, and societal aspects necessitate organisations in business networks to collaborate. The scientific problem central to this paper is the difficulty of building sustainable collaborations. The research question is how to support organisations in building sustainable collaborations in their business relationships. This paper presents a new socio-technical approach to this end, i.e., PDPS (an acronym for Participatory Design of Participatory Systems) and explores its potential in a case study. PDPS is a value-based approach to the participatory design of participatory systems. Such socio-technical systems enable people working in different disciplines, departments, and organisational levels to create sustainable relationships supported by distributed information and communication technology. In a participatory system, participants gain trust, engagement, and empowerment to self-organise actions that produce results they could not have achieved alone. Following PDPS, participants collectively explore challenges in their relationship, define a joint value-based mission, and create a continuous process of self-organisation to fulfil this mission. In a case study, PDPS supported two Dutch business partners in solving recurring transport and logistics issues in retail store refurbishment projects. Turning their traditional business processes into participatory ones led to new solutions for sustainable transport and logistics, more joint business, and more profit. PDPS differs from other approaches in its involvement of all participants in a business relationship, its focus on shared values, and its capacity for creating a continuous process of self-organisation to fulfil a joint mission. This paper may support researchers, practitioners, and organisational policymakers interested in building sustainable collaborations in business networks. ...