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Despite the growing adoption and acceptance of gamification approaches among firms, the relationship between gamification and the early stage of innovation is confusing and deserves further attention in order to produce added-value exploratory knowledge. This paper puts forward the idea that gamification approaches can support the early stage of innovation by making a cross-comparison of published case studies of firms where gamification was used to address innovation challenges, e.g. use of gamification elements and tools that support the generation of ideas for developing new product concepts or entering new markets. In order to understand and clarify the relationship between gamification and the early stage of innovation, the paper proposes an analytical framework that provides a consistent and organized picture of the use of gamification approaches for innovation purposes. Research findings provide a conceptualization of gamification in the context of the early stage of innovation and demonstrate significant outcomes of these types of approaches with regard to the various forms of engagement, team spirit, consensus building, knowledge transfer, creative thinking and productivity.

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Objectives: To describe the results of the acoustic analysis of a database of 90 voice samples with distinct dysphonia levels, using four different - commercial and open source - software programs. Study design: Exploratory, transversal. Methods: The samples were analyzed by four different types of software programs that perform acoustical evaluation - one open source software (Praat) and three commercial ones (Multi Dimensional Voice Program - MDVP by Kay Elemetrics; VoiceStudio by Seegnal; and Dr. Speech by Tiger Electronics) - for comparison among the most commonly used acoustic measures (frequency, perturbation and noise measures). Results: There is a moderate to strong,correlation, positive and statistically significant among the software programs. The mean FO is not statistically different among the used applications. The other acoustic measures revealed statistically significant differences. Conclusion: Even though it is easier to access software programs and there are numerous proposals for acoustic measures, not all of them are statistically representative nor have numeric semblance among the different applications.

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to first investigate the efficiency of the most commonly used performance measures for minimizing the number of workstations (NWs) in approaches addressing simple assembly line balancing problem (SALBP) for both straight and U-shaped line, and second to provide a comparative evaluation of 20 constructive heuristics to find solutions to the SALBP-1. Design/methodology/approach A total of 200 problems are solved by 20 different constructive heuristics for both straight and U-shaped assembly line. Moreover, several comparisons have been made to evaluate the performance of constructive heuristics. Findings Minimizing the smoothness index is not necessarily equivalent to minimizing the NWs; therefore, it should not be used as the fitness function in approaches addressing the SALBP-1. Line efficiency and the idle time are indeed reliable performance measures for minimizing the NWs. The most promising heuristics for straight and U-shaped line configurations for SALBP-1 are also ranked and introduced. Practical implications Results are expected to help scholars and industrial practitioners to better design effective solution methods for having the most balanced assembly line. This study will further help with choosing the most proper heuristic with regard to the problem specifications and line configuration. Originality/value There is limited research assessing the efficiency of the common objectives for SALBP-1. This study is among the first to prove that minimizing the workload smoothness is not equivalent to minimizing the NWs in SALBP-1 studies. This work is also one of the first attempts for evaluating the constructive heuristics for both straight and U-shaped line configurations.

Abstract
Electrical distribution systems are facing new challenges mainly due to the growing penetration of distributed generation of mainly intermittent nature such as wind and solar PV. As a result, these systems need to undergo massive transformations in terms of operational scheme. In other words, new operational strategies, which increase the flexibility of distribution systems, have to be put in place. This is highly required if distribution systems are to support large quantities of variable RES power. One plausible strategy worth considering relates to the meshed operation of such systems. The main topic of this paper revolves around the prospects of operating distribution grids in a meshed manner. The benefits are quantified in terms of added flexibility to the system, and vRES utilization levels. A mixed integer linear programming model is employed to perform the required analysis, and a 119-bus distribution system is used for this purpose. The analysis of the results generally shows the strong viability of the new operation strategy in terms of adding flexibility and scaling up the utilization level of variable RES power in the considered system. This strategy can be considered as a viable flexibility option that enables further integration of intermittent power sources.