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Chefs, brewers, and related professionals occupy a particular role in society—they work with the transformation of some of the most basic matters of our lives. They are part highly skilled workers and part artists with a vision for the end result of their transformation. In general, they work with their senses and have a highly educated palate. However, in the hectic work environment of the restaurant kitchen or the brewery, there is little tradition for formal sensory tests. In the development lab, when prototyping new foods or beverages, there is time, but little money and tradition for sensory tests. To take sensory methods to this new territory outside the well-known facilities of the sensory laboratory is a terrifying task. Will the knowledgeable experts and educated palates ridicule the sensory profession? Will they understand the method, and the value it can give them in their work? Will they understand the results? Will they think the results are too obvious, and not worth spending the time on? Those were some of the thoughts that rummaged around in the brain of the first author years ago, when we first attempted to move fast sensory methods out of the sensory laboratory and into the real life of brewers and chefs.

This chapter covers some of the most popular emerging technologies used for measuring human behaviour in applied sensory and consumer science. Here, we focus on eye-tracking (ET) technology, electrodermal activity (EDA) or skin conductance, facial expression analysis (FEA) and electroencephalography (EEG), all of which can be employed to explore the underlying and at times unconscious processes of consumer behaviour. We walk through the methods traditionally used in sensory and consumer science and explain why, in isolation, they are incomplete. We provide insights into the basic principles of the different biometric technologies in focus, including objective quantification of attentional, emotional and neural correlates of consumer behaviour and food choice. We introduce state-of-the-art consumer research examples that utilise these biometric tools. Finally, we highlight some of the future potential applications in sensory and consumer science that these emerging technologies enable.

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Introduction: Emergency departments see an increase in cases during cyclones. The aim of this study is to describe patient presentations to the Emergency Department (ED) of a tertiary level hospital (Townsville) following a tropical cyclone (Yasi). Specific areas of focus include changes in: patient demographics (age and gender), triage categories, and classification of diseases.Methods: Data were extracted from the Townsville Hospitals ED information system (EDIS) for three periods in 2009, 2010 and 2011 to coincide with formation of Cyclone Yasi (31 January 2011) to six days after Yasi crossed the coast line (8 February 2012). The analysis explored the changes in ICD10-AM 4-character classification and presented at the Chapter level.Results: There was a marked increase in the number of patients attending the ED during Yasi, particularly those aged over 65 years with a maximum daily attendance of 372 patients on 4 Feb 2011. The most marked increases were in: Triage categories - 4 and 5; and ICD categories - diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99), and factors influencing health care status (Z00-Z99). The most common diagnostic presentation across all years was injury (S00-T98).Discussion: There was an increase in presentations to the ED of TTH, which peaked in the first 24 – 48 hours following the cyclone and returned to normal over a five-day period. The changes in presentations were mostly an amplification of normal attendance patterns with some altered areas of activity. Injury patterns are similar to overseas experience.

Symmetry breaking perturbations in an electronically conducting medium are known to produce Friedel oscillations in various physical quantities of an otherwise pristine material. Here we show in a mathematically transparent fashion that Friedel oscillations in graphene have a strong sublattice asymmetry. As a result, the presence of impurities and/or defects may impact the distinct graphene sublattices very differently. Furthermore, such an asymmetry can be used to explain the recent observations that nitrogen atoms and dimers are not randomly distributed in graphene but prefer to occupy one of its two distinct sublattices. We argue that this feature is not exclusive of nitrogen and that it can be seen with other substitutional dopants.

Quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) is used to describe the nature and the intensity of sensory properties from a single evaluation of a product, whereas temporal dominance of sensation (TDS) is primarily used to identify dominant sensory properties over time. Previous studies with TDS have focused on model systems, but this is the first study to use a sequential approach, i.e. QDA then TDS in measuring sensory properties of a commercial product category, using the same set of trained assessors (n = 11). The main objectives of this study were to: (1) investigate the benefits of using a sequential approach of QDA and TDS and (2) to explore the impact of the sample composition on taste and flavour perceptions in blackcurrant squashes. The present study has proposed an alternative way of determining the choice of attributes for TDS measurement based on data obtained from previous QDA studies, where available. Both methods indicated that the flavour profile was primarily influenced by the level of dilution and complexity of sample composition combined with blackcurrant juice content. In addition, artificial sweeteners were found to modify the quality of sweetness and could also contribute to bitter notes. Using QDA and TDS in tandem was shown to be more beneficial than each just on its own enabling a more complete sensory profile of the products.