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Technological advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) are heralding a new era of analytics and data-driven decision-making. Organisations increasingly rely on or use people analytics to optimise human resource management practices in areas such as recruitment, onboarding, performance evaluation, personnel development, health and retention management. Recent progress in the field of AI and ever-increasing volumes of digital data have raised expectations and contributed to a very positive image of people analytics. However, transferring and applying the efficiency-driven logic of analytics to manage humans carries numerous risks, challenges, and ethical implications. Based on a theorising review our paper analyses perils that can emerge from the use of people analytics. By disclosing the underlying assumptions of people analytics and offering a perspective on current and future technological advancements, we identify six perils and discuss their implications for organisations and employees. Then, we illustrate how these perils may aggravate with increasing analytical power of people analytics, and we suggest directions for future research. Our theorising review contributes to information system research at the intersection of analytics, artificial intelligence, and human-algorithmic management.

This paper explores an application of immersive Virtual Reality (iVR) as a medium to combine Android Graphical User Interface (GUI) development and CAD-based virtual prototypes to improve user experience testing. We also present tentative experimental findings, that a virtualized GUI need not be realistically placed or sized to be evaluated in an iVR environment .

Over the course of the sustainable energy transition, distributed energy generation becomes increasingly important. Building residential energy installations requires resources (expertise, time, financial liquidity, space) not all citizens have at hand. Especially in urban areas, where land is scarce and many people live as tenants, only a minority qualifies. To include urban households in the energy transition, new smart and efficient solutions need to be developed. In this article, we examine an example of an innovative energy project in Zurich (Switzerland) that complements the concept of community energy, offering residents a simple and cost-effective way to participate in photovoltaic installations in their city. The aim of the study is to gain understanding of the project characteristics that trigger or hinder participation, drawing on qualitative data from semi-structured telephone interviews with participants and non-participants (n = 18). The main drivers for participation are the direct and tangible way of supporting local sustainable energy generation, and the desire to feel as a co-owner at little effort and expense. Conversely, reservations against photovoltaics and a lack of financial resources, knowledge, or interest act as barriers for participation. The study lays a foundation for further quantitative examination and for the development of other urban energy projects.

The Swiss energy system will undergo successive restructuring in the next decades as a result of recent decisions in energy policy (Switzerland’s Energy Strategy 2050) and the expected second step in the market liberalization process (free choice of provider for small customers). This transformation will probably lead to the following trends: an increasing share of renewable energies, a shift from centralized to distributed generation and the emergence of new players in the energy market. Because of the associated integration of renewables, the grid will increasingly face problems of intermittent loads, the need to integrate smart information and communication technology, and mechanisms for demand-side management. However, these key elements of the future energy system also raise issues concerning social acceptance, as they tend to interfere with basic human needs like autonomy and privacy. Additionally, market liberalization may reshuffle existing customer utility relationships considerably. This focus group study contributes to understanding residential consumers’ attitudes and expectations regarding four scenarios of future utility/customer interactions in the Swiss electricity sector (dynamic tariffs, direct load control, energy storage and novel energy services). The findings show that as to acceptance of future scenarios, there are no “one-fit-for-all” solutions, as the needs of different consumer groups are very diverse. However, the analyses reveal that for acceptance of novel models of interaction, transparent communication and a trusted relationship are crucial. The discussion touches on practical implications for research, policymaking and electric utilities’ market strategies.

We explored the possibility of taking icons from Android Smartphones, for the use in graphical user interfaces (GUI) in bakery sheeter. This idea was generated from the fact that Android Smartphones are sold worldwide and that the icons used in the menu should have a degree of popularity that most people could deal with. With this research question in mind we created a mixed method design for the study (qualitative and quantitative data). Results show that some icons were able to represent basic navigation function in industrial machines.

Technological advancements have changed many, if not all industries. This paper focuses on changes for service providers. Many services have been implemented without the knowledge about their effectiveness and user acceptance. This paper evaluates a web browser-based support framework for banks that provides customers with assistance through text chat and co-browsing. The focus lies on elements of design and the implementation of co-browsing. The mixed-method approach was implemented in the study. 29 participants were given online-banking related tasks, where after their experience was assessed through a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The results indicate, that common visualizations and designs are better understood and that the time to solve tasks is significantly reduced when participants were supported through co-browsing.

This paper deals with the issue on how organizations can use crowdsourcing effectively for business development. The result is that crowdsourcing needs to be designed in an iterative fashion in order to have organizational impact. Organizations resist change and an iterative approach is necessary in order to enhance the maturity of the crowdsourced solution. We call this type of crowdsourcing K-crowdsourcing, based on an analogy from parental biology, which distinguishes between r- and K-strategists. Using this analogy, today’s understanding of crowdsourcing is mostly r-crowdsourcing: resulting in a large amount of solutions. On the contrary, using K-crowdsourcing you will have fewer solutions, but they are more easily implemented in the organization. The role of the consulting firm changes in a K-crowdsourcing setting. The traditional stakeholder of the consultant is the client. In a K-crowdsourcing setting, the client as well as the crowd are equally important. By using the crowd, the consultant is able to deliver better quality. In some strategic settings, choosing the right strategy is vital for the long-term survival of the client.

In order to enhance and improve the quality of “public services”, a sound and clear quality management concept is needed. From the process perspective, “high quality” means that a process must deliver satisfaction—the ultimate output variable of any process. A smart city uses information and communication technologies (ICT) in order to increase the quality of its services—which should result in the high satisfaction of the inhabitants. In this chapter, we present a literature overview of benchmarking municipalities and our own primary research of benchmarking satisfaction in over 41 municipalities in Switzerland. As a case study, we show also a benchmarking project conducted in 2013–2014 with the cities of Lublin (Poland) and St.Gall (Switzerland). This chapter will show a framework of a performance dashboard for benchmarking municipalities and how to implement best practice from other municipalities. The key finding of the benchmarking process is to learn from best practice municipalities (the “between analysis”) and identify the variables which drive satisfaction in a municipality (the “within analysis”). The chapter ends with a discussion on how a smart city can employ the data derived from ICTs to refine the aforementioned benchmarking process. Our conclusion is that it is vital to embed the smart city concept in a management system that helps decision makers to steer the municipality in a complex environment. To illustrate this point, we show synergies of traditional quality management and smart government approaches in fostering the value of benchmarking outcomes.

This paper presents a review on design issues and solutions found in active lower limb prostheses. This review is based on a systematic literature search with a methodical search strategy. The search was carried out across four major technical databases and the retrieved records were screened for their relevance. A total of 21 different active prostheses, including 8 above-knee, 9 below-knee and 4 combined knee-ankle prostheses were identified. While an active prosthesis may help to restore the functional performance of an amputee, the requirements regarding the actuation unit as well as for the control system are high and the development becomes a challenging task. Regarding mechanical design and the actuation unit high force/torque delivery, high efficiency, low size and low weight are conflicting goals. The actuation principle and variable impedance actuators are discussed. The control system is paramount for a “natural functioning” of the prosthesis. The control system has to enable locomotion and should react to the amputee’s intent. For this, multi-level control approaches are reviewed.

Fetal pain remains a controversial subject both in terms of recognizing its existence and the time-frame within which it appears. This article investigates the hypothesis that pain perception during development is not related to any determined structures of the central nervous system (CNS), on the contrary, the process of perception could be made with any structure satisfying conditions that the perception of pain is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment. According to this definition, chronic decerebrate and decorticate experimental animals, anencephalic, and hydranencephalic patients demonstrate that the basic, most general, appropriate interaction with the environment can be achieved with a functional mesodiencephalon (brain stem, and diencephalon) as the hierarchically highest structure of the CNS during development. In intact fetuses, this structure shows signs of sufficient maturation starting from the 15th week of gestation. Bearing in mind the dominant role of the reticular formation of the brain stem, which is marked by a wide divergence of afferent information, a sense of pain transmitted through it is diffuse and can dominate the overall perception of the fetus. The threshold for tactile stimuli is lower at earlier stages of gestation. The pain inhibition mechanisms are not sufficiently developed during intrauterine development, which is another factor that leads to increased intensity of pain in the fetus. As a conclusion it could be proposed that the fetus is exposed to rudimentary painful stimuli starting from the 15th gestation week and that it is extremely sensitive to painful stimuli.

The marketing literature suggests that frontline employees are the central determinant of how customer-oriented a service organization is perceived to be by its customers. However, little is known about the contingencies of employees’ customer orientation (CO) beyond personality traits and broadly construed work attitudes. Based on the social identity approach, the present article develops a multilevel model whereby CO is the result of identity-based management of frontline employees. Two empirical studies in the travel industry show that employees’ CO depends on employees’ organizational identification and their leaders’ acting as role models of CO.

Die akute myeloische Leukamie (AML) entsteht durch die klonale Expansion primitiver myeloischer Vorlauferzellen. Diese Expansion ist die Folge einer Reihe genetischer Veranderungen, welche die Proliferation, Reifung und Differenzierung des hamatopoetischen Systems unterbrechen. Es kommt somit zu einer Akkumulation reifungsgestorter leukamischer Zellen im Knochenmark. Die normale Hamatopoese wird hierbei zunehmend verdrangt. In den letzten Jahren haben zahlreiche experimentelle und klinische Studien wesentliche pathogenetische Faktoren und Mechanismen der Leukamogenese identifizieren konnen. Insbesondere die Identifikation zahlreicher AML-spezifischer Chromosomenaberrationen und Mutationen hat unser Verstandnis der AML-Entstehung vertieft und im klinischen Alltag eine deutliche Verbesserung der Diagnostik, Prognoseabschatzung und Therapieplanung ermoglicht.

The integration of body-proximal robots into the body schema of their users is a crucial aspect for the acceptance of those artificial devices. Humans integrate information about such systems from visual, tactile, and proprioceptive perception. For the design of novel, human-oriented robotics, it is important to understand how this integration can be supported by the technical design of the robot. In this paper, first experiments aiming at the assessment of lower limb body schema integration during postural motions are performed. A robot is used to imitate the squatting movements of human subjects. In contrast to a previous implementation, human motion sensing is improved for real-time operation by using inertial measurement units. A first human-in-the-loop experiment indicates that this approach resolves limitations caused by delays of the previous RGB-D measurements. The integration into the body schema of the participants is assessed by means of a psychometric questionnaire. Experimental results regarding body schema integration suggest that for body-proximal robotics noticeably detached from human subjects, agency is the most stable of body schema variables and that to induce a sense of ownership and location, more feedback channels to the subjects might be required.

The current study investigates the relationship between Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (e.g. helping colleagues, making innovative suggestions). We replicate earlier findings of such a relationship between those behaviours and organizational identification using ten samples across different occupational groups and countries in Study 1. Study 2 investigates the relationship in a longitudinal approach. Study 3 looks into this relationship on a group-level analysis while Study 4 extends our findings by linking identification to customer perceptions and financial performance, mediated by OCBs (Organizational Citizenship Behaviours).

The “rubber hand illusion (RHI)” is a perceptual illusion, which allows the integration of artificial limbs into the body representation of a person by means of combined visual and tactile stimulation. The illusion has been frequently replicated but always concerning the upper limbs. The present study verified an analog illusion that can be called the “rubber foot illusion” (RFI). In a conjoint experiment using both a rubber hand and a rubber foot, brushstrokes were applied to the respective real and rubber limb placed alongside the real one. However, only the artificial limb’s handling was visible. The brushstrokes were given either synchronously, with a delay of ±0.5 s, or without tactile stimulation of the real limb. Questionnaire data and the proprioceptive drift towards the rubber limb (determined by calling on the subjects to show where they locate their unseen limb) defined the illusion strength. Results revealed that the illusion was induced in both limbs with comparable strength, but only in the synchronous condition.

Using the murine B16F1 melanoma, we compared a CTL- versus helper T cell (TH)-directed vaccination approach. Mice were either orally vaccinated with attenuated Salmonella typhimurium (SL) or subcutaneously with dendritic cells (DCs) loaded with gp100 peptides predicted to bind to H2-Kb/H2-Db molecules. SL were transformed with the murine gp100 cDNA (SL-gp100) or with a fusion construct of gp100 and a fragment of invariant chain cDNA (SL-gp100/Ii). Transcription of these genes in vivo has been readily observed in monocytes and DC. Retardation of B16F1 growth was more efficiently achieved by vaccination with SL-gp100 than with DC. Vaccination with SL-gp100/Ii aiming at preferential presentation by MHC II molecules provided some further improvement due to a stronger expansion of TH and CTL. The importance of help was further sustained by a prolongation of the survival time when mice concomitantly received IL2. Notably, prophylactic, compared to therapeutic, vaccination had no additional impact on survival time/rate. This was due to a striking decrease in frequencies of gp100-specific TH, CTL, and cytokine-expressing cells during tumor growth. Thus, the efficacy of vaccination was limited by tumor-induced immunosuppression. Our data demonstrate the oral route of vaccination via Salmonella as a most convenient transfer regimen and confirm the superiority of protocols aiming at preferential activation of TH.

In this paper, a novel biomechanical modeling and simulation environment with an emphasis on user-specific customization is presented. A modular modeling approach for multi-body systems allows a flexible extension by specific biomechanical modeling elements and enables an efficient application in dynamic simulation and optimization problems. A functional distribution of model description and model parameter data in combination with standardized interfaces enables a simple and reliable replacement or modification of specific functional components. The user-specific customization comprises the identification of anthropometric model parameters as well as the generation of a virtual three-dimensional character. The modeling and simulation environment is associated with Prosthesis-User-in-the-Loop, a hardware simulator concept for the design and optimization of lower limb prosthetic devices based on user experience and assessment. For a demonstration of the flexibility and capability of the modeling and simulation environment, an exemplary application in context of the hardware simulator is given.

This paper introduces a robotic concept for the assessment of psychological factors in prosthetic design. Its aim is to imitate the postural movements of the participants while those are conducting squatting movements in order to investigate the integration of artificial limbs to the subject's body scheme. Therefore, the robot mimics the functionality and appearance of the human foot, shank and thigh as well as the ankle and knee joint. To induce a more realistic outer appearance, the hull of a shop-window mannequin is used as cladding. The robot is controlled by a computed torque control combined with a RGB-D sensor for the acquisition of the desired trajectories from the participant. In the test setup one leg of the participant is hidden from his view while the robot stands next to him and imitates the movements of this leg. This paper gives an insight in the theory of body schema integration. The concept of the robot is described and detailed information about the mechanical design and actuator dimensioning in accordance with psychological and biomechanical requirements are given. Furthermore, the concept of the human-machine interface, the control algorithm and simulations based on experimental data from a human subject are presented.

Feelings of unrealistic body parts are related to deficits in human information processing and can occur as a part of phan, tom sensations after amputation [8]. Experimentally induced sensoric illusions like rubber hand illusion (RHI) [1] may help to understand basic information processing and could give new ideas for treatment or the rehabilitation pro, cess. Factors that are related to modulate sensoric illusions during movement may help to develop new intervention strategies in the rehabilitation of illusory symptoms. The goal of this study was to review the factors affecting persis, tence of the RHI effect during movement. We selected 13 keywords and searched in the following www.dimdi.de data bases (CCTR93, CDAR94, CDSR93, DAHTA, DAHTA, EA08, ED93, EM00, EM47, HG05, KP05, KR03, ME00, ME60, PI67, PY81, TV01, TVPP). A total of 160 articles were found. Duplicates were removed and the remaining list was filtered with the objective to explore the influence of active or passive movement during experimentally induced RHI. Then we identified six articles which experimentally examined persistence of RHI during active or passive move, ments. Results indicate that RHI are maintained during active or passive movements due to visual and temporal congru, ency. During active movements the RHI is more stable or global than in passive movements or during tactile stimulation. Factores like visual and temporal congruency are related to maintain RHI and are discussed in the rehabilitation of phan, tom sensations regarding new innovations in the design of prosthetics

The goal of user-centered development (UCD) is an active involvement of the user for a clear understanding of the users' needs. In the context of rehabilitation engineering it is essential to integrate the users' needs into the development methodology. In fact the use or disclaim of assistive device depends on good comfort and satisfaction during application. Especially prostheses are developed to improve amputees’ quality of life up to live independently again. UCD can improve integrating the amputees’ needs into the prosthesis’ properties. For a more detailed view of the prosthesis-users’ needs we developed a questionnaire and collected data from patients regarding their needs using lower limb prostheses. 88 items, describing satisfaction, usability, appearance, functionality and handling of the prosthesis in different motor situations, were generated. Among 65 participants, 29 transfemoral amputees and experienced prosthesis users completed the questionnaire. The results indicate a lack of satisfaction with the prosthesis shaft as well as with different motor functions. Furthermore, the majority feels socially restricted and is dissatisfied with their appearance in public. While the latter is significantly negative correlated with feelings of social restriction, problems during changing gait speed are significantly negative correlated with feelings of certainty and stability during spontaneous movements. Although prostheses are developed to help to improve amputees’ quality of life, the lack in different motor- and social- issues are noticeable. This indicates that the enhancement of changing gait speed in prostheses may help amputees to feel more certain and natural during walking. From an amputee’s point of view, this could be one important predictor for being more satisfied and a first step for being more independent in life in general. With this first step of UCD, important information for the design of prosthesis in future has been generated.

The present study investigated cardiac threat appraisal and its association with depression after first myocardial infarction (MI). A semi-structured interview allowing for DSM-IV-Axis I diagnoses was administered to 36 patients after first MI. Patients completed self-reports 5 to 15 days after the MI (time 1), 6 to 8 weeks later (time 2) and again 6 months later (time 3). Assessments at time 1 included indices of cardiac threat appraisal, locus of control, coping, and depression while at time 2 and time 3 only measures of depression were obtained. Cardiac threat appraisal was significantly correlated with depression at time 1, but was unrelated to depression scores at time 2 and time 3. Furthermore, there was a significant inverse association between cardiac threat appraisal and the subscales search for affiliation and "threat minimization" of the coping questionnaire. Additionally, search for affiliation correlated negatively with depression scores at time 1 and time 3, and "threat minimization" negatively with depression scores at time 1 and time 2. These results suggest a significant association between cardiac threat appraisal and depressive symptoms shortly after MI. Practical implications for treatment are discussed.

In this work, we propose a holistic analysis framework for collaborative e-Business process modelling approaches that takes into account the specific challenges small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are facing with regard to modelling inter-organizational processes. Based on concepts of the management approach Balanced Scorecard (BSC) four different perspectives are derived from empirical studies, conceptual research results and completed with modelling experiences of an EU-funded project. By considering concepts of Management Theories, Business Process Management (BPM) and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) paradigms, requirements for collaborative modelling approaches are presented according to the four perspectives financial, working process, innovation/ learning and user. Finally, a strategy map describes the complex interactions of the identified requirements between the perspectives.

Web Services have experienced great interest during the last years as they were expected to play a key role as enablers of seamless application-to-application integration both within company boundaries and on a global, cross-organizational scale. As a technical foundation for the realization of Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs), Web Services encapsulate complexity inherent to individual applications and allow for their loose coupling. However, a truly global mesh of such services has not yet become reality due to various reasons. Novel technologies and design principles are currently about to emerge which allow human users to use, customize, combine, interconnect and finally expose Web-based content or functionality as new resources which are often referred to as Mash-ups. In this article, we provide an overview of existing Mash-ups as well as tools and platforms that empower users to build them in a highly efficient and intuitive fashion. Statistical data and case studies are leveraged to examine new ways of resource provision and consumption and also the relevance of upcoming intermediaries. Finally, we investigate remaining research challenges on the path to a truly global SOA. The Conference: http://conferences.computer.org/scc/2007/ Services now account for more than half of the U.S. economy. Services Computing, as a new cross discipline, addresses how to enable IT technology to help people perform business services more efficiently and effectively. Building on its great success in 2004, 2005, and 2006, The 2007 IEEE International Conference on Services Computing (SCC 2007) continues to bridge the gap between Services Computing and Business models with an emerging suite of ground-breaking technology that includes service-oriented architecture, business process integration and management, grid/utility/autonomic computing, and Web 2.0. The theme of SCC 2007 is "Services: Science, Technology, and Business". SCC 2007 will be co-located with the 2007 IEEE International Conference on Web Services (ICWS 2007). Both ICWS 2007 and SCC 2007 are the flagship conferences in 2007 IEEE Congress on Services (SERVICES 2007) to celebrate their third gathering along with other events to explore "Services" (Science and Technology), which was promoted by IEEE Computer Society in 2003! IEEE Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) Industry Summit, IEEE International Services Computing Contest, IEEE SOA Standards Symposium, IEEE Services Computing Workshops, IEEE Services Computing Ph.D. Student Symposium will be featured at this joint event. Services Computing, as a new cross discipline, addresses how to enable IT and computing technology to help people perform business processes, services, and applications more efficiently and effectively. At the core of a business model is a set of processes that jointly help yield a profit in an organization. As we can see, Services Computing currently shapes the thinking of business modeling, business consulting, solution creation, service delivery, and software architecture design, development and deployment. The global nature of Services Computing leads to many opportunities and few challenges and creates a new networked economic structure for supporting different business models. SCC 2007 has the following three major research tracks: Foundations of Services Computing, Services-Centric Business Models, and Business Process Integration and Management. SCC 2007 is sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Services Computing. SCC 2004 was held in Shanghai, China, September 15-18, 2004 . SCC 2005 was co-located with ICWS 2005 on July 11-15, 2005 in Orlando, Florida, USA. SCC 2006 was co-located with ICWS 2006 on September 18-22, 2006 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The SCC Proceedings has been included in EI Compendex. SCC 2007 will concentrate on the science and technology of Business/Application Services and the bridging technologies such as Business Strategy and Design, Business Process Integration and Management, Grid and Utility Computing, and SOA Services and Solutions; while ICWS 2007 will continue to put its focus on all aspects of Web services from Computer Science and Engineering perspectives. http://www.christoph-schroth.de/

In the past few years, ideas of Social Identity Theory and Self-Categorization Theory have been successfully applied to the organizational domain. In this article, the authors provide an overview of these recent developments and present a concept of social identification in organizational contexts, based on these theories. The assumptions of this framework are that (a) social identification in organizational contexts is a multifaceted concept consisting of different dimensions and foci (or targets), (b) higher levels of identification are related to higher productivity and more positive work-related attitudes, and (c) identification is a very flexible concept that is linked to the situational context. The authors present the results of a series of field and laboratory studies in which the proposed relationships are analyzed and, in the main, confirmed.

Dieser Beitrag beschreibt die Entwicklung und Konsequenzen des nächsten Schritts der betrieblichen Informationsverarbeitung aus ökonomischer Perspektive: Mit Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) und anderen Ubiquitous-Computing-Technologien bekommen Informationssysteme erstmals Augen und Ohren. Bisher mussten sie aufwendig von Menschen mit Hilfe von Tastatur und Barcode-Leser mit Daten gefüttert werden. Nun können Informationssysteme Daten aus der realen Welt automatisch in Echtzeit zu einem Bruchteil der Kosten sammeln. Dies ermöglicht einerseits die wirtschaftliche Gewinnung von wesentlich feingranulareren Daten und andererseits deutlich differenziertere Managementregelkreise. Denn Unternehmen können nur managen, was sie auch messen können, und nur wer Out-of-Stock und Schwund messen kann, kann wirksame Gegenmaßnahmen einleiten. In einem ersten Schritt führt der Technologieeinsatz damit zu sichereren, schnelleren und effizienteren Prozessen, in einem zweiten Schritt zu neuen „smarten“ Produkten und Dienstleistungen.

Background In product development for lower limb prosthetic devices, a set of special criteria needs to be met. Prosthetic devices have a direct impact on the rehabilitation process after an amputation with both perceived technological and psychological aspects playing an important role. However, available psychometric questionnaires fail to consider the important links between these two dimensions. In this article a probabilistic latent trait model is proposed with seven technical and psychological factors which measure satisfaction with the prosthesis. The results of a first study are used to determine the basic parameters of the statistical model. These distributions represent hypotheses about factor loadings between manifest items and latent factors of the proposed psychometric questionnaire. Methods A study was conducted and analyzed to form hypotheses for the prior distributions of the questionnaire’s measurement model. An expert agreement study conducted on 22 experts was used to determine the prior distribution of item-factor loadings in the model. Results Model parameters that had to be specified as part of the measurement model were informed prior distributions on the item-factor loadings. For the current 70 items in the questionnaire, each factor loading was set to represent the certainty with which experts had assigned the items to their respective factors. Considering only the measurement model and not the structural model of the questionnaire, 70 out of 217 informed prior distributions on parameters were set. Conclusion The use of preliminary studies to set prior distributions in latent trait models, while being a relatively new approach in psychological research, provides helpful information towards the design of a seven factor questionnaire that means to identify relations between technical and psychological factors in prosthetic product design and rehabilitation medicine.

Background Physical therapy for the treatment of lateral epicondylitis (LE) often comprises movement therapies, extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ECSWT), low level laser therapy (LLLT), low frequency electrical stimulation or pulsed electromagnetic fields. Still, only ECSWT and LLLT have been meta-analytically researched. Methods PUBMED, EMBASE and Cochrane database were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methodological quality of each study was rated with an adapted version of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) checklist. Pain reduction (the difference between treatment and control groups at the end of trials) and pain relief (the change in pain from baseline to the end of trials) were calculated with mean differences (MD) and 95 %-Confidence intervals (95 % CI). Results One thousand one hundred thirty eight studies were identified. One thousand seventy of those did not meet inclusion criteria. After full articles were retrieved 16 studies met inclusion criteria and 12 studies reported comparable outcome variables. Analyses were conducted for overall pain relief, pain relief during maximum handgrip strength tests, and maximum handgrip strength. There were not enough studies to conduct an analysis of physical function or other outcome variables. Conclusions Differences between treatment and control groups were larger than differences between treatments. Control group gains were 50 to 66 % as high as treatment group gains. Still, only treatment groups with their combination of therapy specific and non-therapy specific factors reliably met criteria for clinical relevance. Results are discussed with respect to stability and their potential meaning for the use of non-therapy specific agents to optimize patients’ gain. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12891-015-0665-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.