806 research outputs found
University of Nebraska at Omaha Department of Biomechanics Annual Report Spring 2019
This report contains:
A letter from the Director: Dr. Nick Stergiou
Articles about Updates: Center for Research in Human Movement Variability
Articles about the Updates: Department of Biomechanics
Articles on Exciting News
Article about Beyond the Boarders
Articles on Outreach
and Highlightshttps://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/nbcfnewsletter/1015/thumbnail.jp
A case of design-enabled public policy formulation process
Governments are increasingly applying design practices to address public challenges. While the study of these practices evidences their utility for designing public services, the specific design activities and their value for policy formulation are rather unclear. To shed light in this direction, this paper presents a case study on the collaboration of LABgobar and SENASA in reforming the Bovine Tuberculosis regulations in Argentina. By analysing the project’s documentation and interviewing project members, this study illustrates design practices that complement traditional policy formulation processes. These practices include methods for problem understanding and reframing, idea generation, and collaborative policy prototyping. Interestingly, these adapt elements coming from multiple disciplines. Despite the potential value of design in policy formulation processes, real adoption remains tied to local -and often small scale- experiments. This paper adds further studies for a more robust understanding of design's contribution to addressing policy challenges
Future Climate Rhetorics of Belize: A Counter-Apocalyptic Inquiry into Belize’s Possible, Probable, and Preferable Futures
This dissertation investigates future climate rhetorics of Belize through a variety of methods in order to mediate the various conceptions of the future professed in climate policy, experiential phenomenology, and acoustic ecologies of agroecology. Chapter one considers the values embedded in climate change policy documents, specifically the Nation Communications documents composed by Belize’s various ministries since the country signed to the Paris Agreement in 2016. Using the People’s Agreement of Cochamba as an alternative lens, the chapter explores how people-centered, as opposed to market-centered, attunements informing climate policy can potentially lead to a more just, equitable future that does not rely on technocratic knowledge and the maintenance of colonial relations. Chapter two delves into a case study undertaken by the researcher at the Trio Farms Cacao Association’s cacao agroforestry concession to glean how the farmers working in this system conceive of changes in their labors as a result of increased temperatures, increased rainfall volatility, and increased incidents of natural disasters, proposing the ‘rhetoric of hope’ to discuss the futures projected by the farmers in spite of the industry’s bleak outlook. Chapter three builds from the case study through a sonic rhetoric performance writing experiment using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) devices deployed in the concession to discuss audible perceptions of biodiversity and harmony in order to demonstrate mediations rhetoricians can provide to discussions about the role of human ‘ear ring’ amid the rise in machine ‘listening.’ The fourth chapter uses the insights of the previous chapters to develop a narrative in the method of what Aja Martinez’s terms ‘counter story’ in order to conceive of alternate futures wherein Belizeans might alter their political trajectory towards equity and wellbeing during a time of extreme heating events and collapsed global supply chains. The dissertation then concludes by discussing insights about the methods used in the dissertation that might be improved for repeatability as well as how aspects of the researcher’s life as an environmental activist have informed the work herein
Novel Foods and Edible Insects in the European Union
This open access book proposes an in-depth study on a vast range of issues connected to the regulation of Novel Foods in the European Union, pursuing an interdisciplinary approach and thus providing a comprehensive picture of this complex topic. Particular attention is paid not only to the current EU legislative framework, its positive innovations, unsolved problems and limits, but also to food safety issues and the potential impact of Novel Foods on sustainability and food security. In addition, the book focuses on a particular category of Novel Foods: insects for human consumption. These products recently gained momentum after the first EU Commission authorisation of dried yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor)in 2021. The book contributes to the lively public debate following this long-awaited authorisation by examining the legal issues arising from the application of the Novel Foods Regulation to these peculiar new foods; the EFSA risk assessment evaluations; the consumers’ perceptions and potential future of insect-based products’ market in the EU. By providing such an extensive analysis, including recent developments and future prospects, the book represents a valuable tool for students and academics, but also institutions and public authorities, helping them understanding the various challenges related to Novel Foods and edible insects. Furthermore, it seeks to promote an informed debate in order to find innovative solutions to pressing problems concerning how to feed the world of tomorrow
Autonomous behaviour in tangible user interfaces as a design factor
PhD ThesisThis thesis critically explores the design space of autonomous and actuated artefacts, considering
how autonomous behaviours in interactive technologies might shape and influence users’
interactions and behaviours.
Since the invention of gearing and clockwork, mechanical devices were built that both fascinate
and intrigue people through their mechanical actuation. There seems to be something magical
about moving devices, which draws our attention and piques our interest. Progress in the
development of computational hardware is allowing increasingly complex commercial products
to be available to broad consumer-markets. New technologies emerge very fast, ranging from
personal devices with strong computational power to diverse user interfaces, like multi-touch
surfaces or gestural input devices. Electronic systems are becoming smaller and smarter, as they
comprise sensing, controlling and actuation. From this, new opportunities arise in integrating
more sensors and technology in physical objects.
These trends raise some specific questions around the impacts smarter systems might have
on people and interaction: how do people perceive smart systems that are tangible and what
implications does this perception have for user interface design? Which design opportunities are
opened up through smart systems? There is a tendency in humans to attribute life-like qualities
onto non-animate objects, which evokes social behaviour towards technology. Maybe it would be
possible to build user interfaces that utilise such behaviours to motivate people towards frequent
use, or even motivate them to build relationships in which the users care for their devices. Their
aim is not to increase the efficiency of user interfaces, but to create interfaces that are more
engaging to interact with and excite people to bond with these tangible objects.
This thesis sets out to explore autonomous behaviours in physical interfaces. More specifically, I
am interested in the factors that make a user interpret an interface as autonomous. Through a
review of literature concerned with animated objects, autonomous technology and robots, I have
mapped out a design space exploring the factors that are important in developing autonomous
interfaces. Building on this and utilising workshops conducted with other researchers, I have
vi
developed a framework that identifies key elements for the design of Tangible Autonomous
Interfaces (TAIs). To validate the dimensions of this framework and to further unpack the
impacts on users of interacting with autonomous interfaces I have adopted a ‘research through
design’ approach. I have iteratively designed and realised a series of autonomous, interactive
prototypes, which demonstrate the potential of such interfaces to establish themselves as social
entities. Through two deeper case studies, consisting of an actuated helium balloon and desktop
lamp, I provide insights into how autonomy could be implemented into Tangible User Interfaces.
My studies revealed that through their autonomous behaviour (guided by the framework) these
devices established themselves, in interaction, as social entities. They furthermore turned out to
be acceptable, especially if people were able to find a purpose for them in their lives. This thesis
closes with a discussion of findings and provides specific implications for design of autonomous
behaviour in interfaces
Manufacturing equipment data collection framework
Estágio realizado na Qimonda Portugal, S. A. e orientado pelo Eng.º Nuno SoaresTese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informática e Computação. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200
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