Patients with orthopedic problems often use assistive devices, e.g., ankle-foot orthoses and therapeutic footwear, to support their mobility. However, many users are not satisfied with their devices or do not use them at all, resulting in a decrease of quality of life. It has been shown that a main cause for dissatisfaction and non-use lies in the process of drawing up requirements. It appears that orthopedic engineers have too little insight in the different areas of life of patients leading to deficient design requirements. In this article a general approach—the so-called Triple I model—is presented to understand the different areas of life of patients. This model offers, in line with and directed by the intention of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model three perspectives or ‘pairs of lenses’ to analyze these areas of life: the identity, the interests of key stakeholders or social actors, and the underlying societal ideals. The Triple I model is elaborated for assistive devices and offers an associated methodology to orthopedic engineers to systematically map the different areas of life of patients, to understand the requirements for every area, and to explore the conditions. In case of assistive devices five different areas of life have to be investigated: daily living at home, work, transport, social and spiritual activities, sport and leisure.

Purpose: Older people with dementia (OPD) have specific housing and technology-related needs, for which various design principles exist. A model for designing environments and its constituting items for people with dementia that has a firm foundation in neurology may help guide designers in making design choices. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach: A general design model is presented consisting of three principles for OPD, namely designing for ageing people; designing for a favourable state and designing for beautiful moments. The neurosciences as a whole give shape to an eminent framework explaining the behaviour of OPD. One of the objectives of this paper is to translate the design principles into design specifications and to show that these specifications can be translated in a design.Findings: Philosophical concepts are introduced which are required to understand design for OPD. Four case studies from Dutch nursing homes are presented that show how the theory of modal aspects of the philosopher Dooyeweerd can be used to map design specifications in a systematic way.Research limitations/implications: These examples of design solutions illustrate the applicability of the model developed in this article. It emphasises the importance of the environment for supporting the daily life of OPD.Originality/value: There is a need for a design model for OPD. The environment and technology should initiate positive behaviours and meaningful experiences. In this paper, a general model for the designing of environments for OPD was developed that has a firm foundation in neurology and behavioural sciences. This model consists of six distinct steps and each step can be investigated empirically. In other words, this model may lay the foundation for an evidence-based design.

This chapter explores the energy transition from a philosophical perspective. We argue that there is a hidden dimension in the current discussions about sustainability. This hidden dimension can be found first of all in the fact that phenomena such as the denial of global warming, the rise of populism and the increase in social contradictions are not seen in their context. At a fundamental level, it appears that all these phenomena are characterized by broken connections: man no longer feels connected with the Transcendent, the human being and the planet. On the basis of the above analysis, we outline some action perspectives. We conclude that the energy transition not only requires addressing technological, economic, social and legal problems, but that moral and religious aspects must also be discussed. Because it is precisely religious or moral values that motivate and inspire people to strive for an inclusive energy transition and release a lot of creative energy.

10 Engineering procurement and construction (EPC) stage was published in Process Intensification on page 123.