Makers

Developing Interventions for Scaling Up UK Upcycling

Upcycling presents one of many opportunities for reducing consumption of materials and energy. Despite recent growth evidenced by increasing numbers of practitioners and businesses based on upcycling, it remains a niche activity and requires scaling up to realise its potential benefits. This paper investigates UK household upcycling in order to develop interventions for scaling up upcycling in the UK. Mixed methods were used in four stages: (a) Interviews to gain insights into UK upcycling; (b) a survey to discover key factors influencing UK upcycling; (c) intervention development based on the synthesis of interviews and survey; and (d) use of a semi-Delphi technique to evaluate and develop initial interventions. The results showed approaches to upcycling (e.g., wood, metal and fabric as frequently used materials, online platforms as frequently used source of materials), context for upcycling (e.g., predominant use of home for upcycling), factors influencing UK upcycling with key determinants (i.e., intention, attitude and subjective norm), important demographic characteristics considering a target audience for interventions (i.e., 30+ females) and prioritised interventions for scaling up (e.g., TV and inspirational media and community workshops as short-term high priority interventions). The paper further discusses implications of the study in terms of development of theory and practice of upcycling.

Contextual Impacts on Industrial Processes Brought by the Digital Transformation of Manufacturing: A Systematic Review

The digital transformation of manufacturing (a phenomenon also known as “Industry 4.0” or “Smart Manufacturing”) is finding a growing interest both at practitioner and academic levels, but is still in its infancy and needs deeper investigation. Even though current and potential advantages of digital manufacturing are remarkable, in terms of improved efficiency, sustainability, customization, and flexibility, only a limited number of companies has already developed ad hoc strategies necessary to achieve a superior performance. Through a systematic review, this study aims at assessing the current state of the art of the academic literature regarding the paradigm shift occurring in the manufacturing settings, in order to provide definitions as well as point out recurring patterns and gaps to be addressed by future research. For the literature search, the most representative keywords, strict criteria, and classification schemes based on authoritative reference studies were used. The final sample of 156 primary publications was analyzed through a systematic coding process to identify theoretical and methodological approaches, together with other significant elements. This analysis allowed a mapping of the literature based on clusters of critical themes to synthesize the developments of different research streams and provide the most representative picture of its current state. Research areas, insights, and gaps resulting from this analysis contributed to create a schematic research agenda, which clearly indicates the space for future evolutions of the state of knowledge in this field.