Applications of sensors for in-home elder support

The number of retirees in the US is continuously increasing in proportion to the total population as the baby-boomers in the United States age. As these retirees age they are in need on continuous medical treatment and care which impacts the percent of the national budget placed on healthcare. As healthcare issues with the retirees they are often moved by their family members to assisted living facilities or to nursing homes. This movement is costly to both the family members and to the government agencies paying for or subsidizing their care. The proposal brought forth in this thesis is to design a sensor based system that should reduce the need for personnel and enhance elder\u27s quality of life by affording them more independence allowing them to live at home longer; The purpose of this thesis is the evaluation of different sensor types with regard to benefits, specificity of sensor signal to the function being monitored, drawbacks, reliability, acceptance levels by elders, privacy concerns. The design concepts for sensor assembly\u27s configurations under the special set of criteria that must be applied in the homes of elders, information of reliability studies: signal threshold levels, resolution of potential conflicts or false positives. Finally an inference engine R&D: Drawing inferences and conclusions from signals and temporal sequences, correlation with other signals, signal validation and plausibility analysis. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Senior Cohousing: The Social Architecture of Cohousing, Community Design & Well Being

The world is facing a situation without precedent, due to the anticipated growth in and increasing longevity of elderly people. Where and how people live is and can be a determinant of health. There is substantial research on inadequate housing for older people and its adverse effects on health. However, less is known about how senior cohousing affects the health of its residents. Further research is needed to improve strategies for senior living environments that promote social interaction and facilitate well-being. This study aims to bolster design and policy strategies by investigating how senior cohousing residents perceive how their living situation affects their well-being. The theoretical underpinning for this study brings together the aging theories together with Rowe and Kahn’s (Rowe & Kahn 1997, 2015) and Baltes’ (Baltes & Baltes, 1990), theories on successful aging and well-being. These approaches expand on the Person (PE)-Environment dynamic interchange while adding Socialization (S) into the models’ framework the complex blending of physiological, behavioral, and social interaction that occur at scales of the individual, built environment, and community. This research investigates how environmental design and improved social networks result in measurable improvements in quality of life (QOL), life satisfaction (LS), and well-being (WB). The study sought to evaluate the determinants across multiple SR (self-reported) measures of health. The survey results show that increased are statistically significant for QOL, LS, and WB. Senior cohousing residents are a select group of individuals who seek a more meaningful and socially connected life. They enjoy independence, autonomy, and a healthier, active aging process. The research shows that high-quality social interaction and sustainable and environmentally sensitive architectural design, through the concept of Socially Enriched Environments (SEE) and Nature Rich Environments (NRE), promote a positive sense of well-being, and self-rated health (SRH). Senior cohousing is a necessary consideration for policy initiatives in the United States, given current health care cost trajectories for the aged which are unsustainable. If undertaken, this typology can potentially relieve some of the associated costs of providing health care. It has the clear potential to help relieve social isolation and lack of social support. However, currently, the domestic senior cohousing cohort is a highly selective group with substantial life resources (education, income, assets, and resilience) that puts them well outside normal population distributions in the U.S. Meanwhile, senior cohousing has and is becoming a well-established typology. Meanwhile, senior cohousing has and is becoming a well-established typology in Denmark, Sweden, and, more recently, the United Kingdom. The establishment of these European communities relies on policy initiatives and organizational and financial assistance which make it a viable option. In the U.S., the provision of policy assistance in the formation of senior cohousing communities can reduce the amount of lead time necessary to develop these communities and the high costs of initial development while potentially increasing the number of seniors who could live in them

Seeing the wood for the trees. Carer related research and knowledge: A scoping review

This NIHR-SSCR funded scoping review provides a comprehensive mapping of what is known about carers and caring, and aims to help inform policy, practice and research in relation to carers. The review was undertaken by searching 10 electronic bibliographic databases, supplemented by additional web searches to identify academic research, grey literature and wider knowledge. The analysis adopts a selective thematic approach covering: carer variables - the characteristics of different types of carer and different caring situations; types of care - the nature of needs of the cared for person and the features of the care situation; the impact of caring – resilience and coping, employment and health; and carer support and needs assessment. The final section highlights key messages identified from the review. It found that caring involves all sections and age groups of the population, with people are likely to experience one or more periods of caregiving over their lifetime. The uniqueness of each caring relationship is also highlighted. In relation to types of carers, knowledge about ‘hard to reach’ groups, such as BAME and LGBT carers, remains sparse. Older carers are also relatively invisible in policy and research terms. It found that much of the knowledge about carers identified in the review relates to their characteristics, their lived experience and the nature of their caregiving, with relatively less being known about the effectiveness of interventions to support them. The report concludes by offering suggestions for policy and practice. An appendix provides a bibliography of the 3,434 items identified in review, classified into 17 types of reference

The BG News March 18, 1999

The BGSU campus student newspaper March 18, 1999. Volume 82 - Issue 116https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/7464/thumbnail.jp

The Struggle To Be Heard: Toronto\u27s Postproduction Sound Industry, 1968 to 2005

This dissertation examines how economic and technological changes shaped the sounds of Canadian cinema, from the modern industry’s founding in the late 1960s to the widespread adoption of digital editing software in the early 2000s. By focusing on the labour and craft practices that coalesced in Toronto’s postproduction companies, I argue that such practices engendered a critical shift in the sonic style of Canadian film sound. Whereas fiction films initially featured a sonic style developed by the National Film Board of Canada for documentary production, filmmakers eventually adopted a style strongly identified with Hollywood cinema. Although it is tempting to explain this shift by appealing to generalized statements about the globalization of Hollywood cinema, I reveal a more complex picture in which a host of historical forces, including government policies, industrial competition, and discursive practices among craftspeople, are seen to shape how new sound technologies were used and how the adoption of these technologies did, or did not, affect the aesthetic of Canadian film sound. In order to narrow the focus of this dissertation, my case studies draw on films from the genres of horror and science fiction. Chapter One posits my methodology, which combines theories of film history with formal soundtrack analyses. I explain that unlike many histories of sound that trace how directors use sound as a storytelling tool, my dissertation traces the history of craft techniques among below-the-line labour and in a non-Hollywood industry centered in a single urban locale (Toronto). The remaining chapters are divided into three chronological periods. Chapter Two (1968 to 1986) outlines the founding of the narrative film industry and how sound workers in Toronto appropriated NFB documentary practices. In Chapter Three (1981 to 1989) I argue that the introduction of Dolby Stereo had minimal impact on Toronto soundtracks. Finally, in Chapter Four (1988 to 2003), I contend that the increase of digital audio workstations (DAWs) altered the value of sound labour within the industry. In order to protect their jobs, Toronto sound professionals changed their craft techniques to mirror those used in Hollywood. In these ways, each chapter reveals the various mechanisms (e.g., socioeconomic, political, industrial) that shaped the dominant sound style of each era. Thus, although the dissertation’s chapter breakdown is determined by major technological changes, it ultimately demonstrates that it is not technology alone that leads to style change; rather, such changes can be accounted for by a complex intersection of historical forces at any given period of Canadian film history. Put conversely, the history of Canadian cinema can be detected in its soundtracks

Carrying Things Home from School : Can a Child-Based School Intervention Affect Parenting Strategies and Home Climate?

School interventions have typically focused on academic and psychological outcomes for children, but can children carry positive effects home from school to influence their parents and home environments? Developmental research typically focuses on how parents influence development in their children, but this study flips this lens to ask whether children might influence their parents' development. I examine the influence of children on their parents by using evaluation data from a character development program implemented as a curriculum and a school climate intervention. Because the Positive Action (PA) program intends to increase positive behaviors in students to facilitate better relationships at school, it is possible that children are carriers of these positive behaviors when they return home at the end of the school day. The program encourages peers and school personnel to reward students for positive behaviors to both inspire future positive behaviors and to potentially crowd out opportunities for negative behaviors

The social structure and behaviour of Western Lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at Mbeli Bai, Republic of Congo

Most of what we know of the socioecology and behaviour of gorillas comes from studies of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), despite their representing less than 1% of all gorillas in the wild. Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) have received far less research effort, and difficulties in habituation have led previous studies to rely heavily on indirect trail evidence. This has prevented any in-depth comparison of social structure and behaviour between species. The discovery of swampy clearings frequented by western lowland gorillas in northern Congo has offered the first opportunity to obtain accurate demographic and behavioural data. This thesis reports on 6273 hours of observer presence at Mbeli Bai, which yielded 1681 hours of direct gorilla observation. Most data come from a population of 13 groups and 7 solitary silverbacks. Group size ranged from 2 to 16 (mean = 8.4, SD 4.3) which does not differ significantly from data published on most other populations. Female natal and secondary transfer were recorded, and male emigration from the natal group appeared universal (no multi-silverback groups were recorded). No evidence of sub-grouping or a fission-fusion grouping pattern was found. During intra-group interactions, no evidence was recorded of female philopatry, and silverbacks herded and intimidated females (especially new immigrants) to prevent emigration. Inter-unit interactions took place on only 42% of shared bai-use occasions, and levels of silverback agonism were much lower than in mountain gorillas, with peaceful mingling of groups recorded. Display behaviour was common, and two previously unrecorded agonistic displays (the splash display and the crest display) are described. No contact aggression between silverbacks was observed but evidence of wounding sustained in the forest suggests that the bai environment may inhibit such aggression. High visibility and the ease of silverback 'policing' are thought to create an unusually tolerant social dynamic, and as such, frequencies of certain social behaviours should probably be viewed as site-specific. The thesis offers the fullest account of western gorilla social structure and behaviour to date. Long-term monitoring of life history variables, if continued, will provide an unparalleled opportunity to understand the effects of habitat and food availability and more stochastic influences on western gorilla social structure, fitness, and survival

Design revolutions: IASDR 2019 Conference Proceedings. Volume 3: People

In September 2019 Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University was honoured to host the bi-annual conference of the International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR) under the unifying theme of DESIGN REVOLUTIONS. This was the first time the conference had been held in the UK. Through key research themes across nine conference tracks – Change, Learning, Living, Making, People, Technology, Thinking, Value and Voices – the conference opened up compelling, meaningful and radical dialogue of the role of design in addressing societal and organisational challenges. This Volume 3 includes papers from People track of the conference

Oblivion\u27s Edge

Oblivion\u27s Edge is a role-playing game. It is a manuscript which provides a fictional setting and the methods for group storytelling within that setting. This is not a typical academic project. It is not a board game, a card game, or a computer game. It is a creative work, more like a novel or collection of short stories than a traditional paper or thesis

Transitioning from a Traditional Nursing Home Environment to Green House Homes: What are Stakeholders\u27 Attitudes Toward and Satisfaction With the Small House Care Environment

This dissertation research was designed as two independent research studies. The first study, qualitative, and non-experimental, aimed to examine residents’, family members’, and staff members’ (stakeholders’) satisfaction with, and attitudes toward Green House living one month prior to moving and again at one and three months after moving. Focus groups were the primary method of data collection. Thirty residents and 40 staff members transitioned to one of three Green House homes beginning January, 2013. Data collected began in December, 2012. Following each focus group, tape recordings were transcribed, and coded. Using grounded theory and the constant comparative method of analysis, themes emerged. Pre-move focus group themes revealed that stakeholders were concerned about (a) the quality of care in a system using fewer staff members and (b) the challenges associated with adjusting to a new environment. Post-move focus group themes revealed that (a) stakeholders remained concerned about staffing levels; (b) residents’ had improvements in appetite, socializing, and ambulation; and (c) staff members struggled with autonomous work teams, but preferred the Green House model of care to that of a traditional nursing home. The final model reflects a synthesis of themes from which self-efficacy beliefs were hypothesized. Themes were also linked to existing gerontological theories: Person-Environment Fit, Place-Space, Thriving, and Personhood. The second study, designed to explore the construct validity of the Person-Centered Care Attitude Tool (Per-CCat), consisted of 42 Likert-type questions divided into four sections that align with person-centered care principles. Eighty-six employees of Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community completed the survey; only 70 were analyzed due to missing data. Principal Components Analysis was the analytic approached used for these data. Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity (X2 = 2006.56, p = 0.000) and Keiser-Myers-Olkins measure of sampling adequacy (0.746) indicated that the data were factorable. The final four-factor 34-item solution aligned with the following person-centered care principals: resident autonomy, social interaction and community, work culture, and feelings toward work. Further validations studies of the Per-CCat are necessary. Given the trend in long-term care toward person-centered care, a validated survey will be useful for hiring and educating caregivers and other nursing home personnel