13,857 research outputs found

    Consent and the Construction of the Volunteer: Institutional Settings of Experimental Research on Human Beings in Britain during the Cold War

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    This study challenges the primacy of consent in the history of human experimentation and argues that privileging the cultural frameworks adds nuance to our understanding of the construction of the volunteer in the period 1945 to 1970. Historians and bio-ethicists have argued that medical ethics codes have marked out the parameters of using people as subjects in medical scientific research and that the consent of the subjects was fundamental to their status as volunteers. However, the temporality of the creation of medical ethics codes means that they need to be understood within their historical context. That medical ethics codes arose from a specific historical context rather than a concerted and conscious determination to safeguard the well-being of subjects needs to be acknowledged. The British context of human experimentation is under-researched and there has been even less focus on the cultural frameworks within which experiments took place. This study demonstrates, through a close analysis of the Medical Research Council's Common Cold Research Unit (CCRU) and the government's military research facility, the Chemical Defence Experimental Establishment, Porton Down (Porton), that the `volunteer' in human experiments was a subjective entity whose identity was specific to the institution which recruited and made use of the subject. By examining representations of volunteers in the British press, the rhetoric of the government's collectivist agenda becomes evident and this fed into the institutional construction of the volunteer at the CCRU. In contrast, discussions between Porton scientists, staff members, and government officials demonstrate that the use of military personnel in secret chemical warfare experiments was far more complex. Conflicting interests of the military, the government and the scientific imperative affected how the military volunteer was perceived

    Embodying entrepreneurship: everyday practices, processes and routines in a technology incubator

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    The growing interest in the processes and practices of entrepreneurship has been dominated by a consideration of temporality. Through a thirty-six-month ethnography of a technology incubator, this thesis contributes to extant understanding by exploring the effect of space. The first paper explores how class structures from the surrounding city have appropriated entrepreneurship within the incubator. The second paper adopts a more explicitly spatial analysis to reveal how the use of space influences a common understanding of entrepreneurship. The final paper looks more closely at the entrepreneurs within the incubator and how they use visual symbols to develop their identity. Taken together, the three papers reject the notion of entrepreneurship as a primarily economic endeavour as articulated through commonly understood language and propose entrepreneuring as an enigmatic attractor that is accessed through the ambiguity of the non-verbal to develop the ‘new’. The thesis therefore contributes to the understanding of entrepreneurship and proposes a distinct role for the non-verbal in that understanding

    TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF EFFORTFUL FUNDRAISING EXPERIENCES: USING INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS IN FUNDRAISING RESEARCH

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    Physical-activity oriented community fundraising has experienced an exponential growth in popularity over the past 15 years. The aim of this study was to explore the value of effortful fundraising experiences, from the point of view of participants, and explore the impact that these experiences have on people’s lives. This study used an IPA approach to interview 23 individuals, recognising the role of participants as proxy (nonprofessional) fundraisers for charitable organisations, and the unique organisation donor dynamic that this creates. It also bought together relevant psychological theory related to physical activity fundraising experiences (through a narrative literature review) and used primary interview data to substantiate these. Effortful fundraising experiences are examined in detail to understand their significance to participants, and how such experiences influence their connection with a charity or cause. This was done with an idiographic focus at first, before examining convergences and divergences across the sample. This study found that effortful fundraising experiences can have a profound positive impact upon community fundraisers in both the short and the long term. Additionally, it found that these experiences can be opportunities for charitable organisations to create lasting meaningful relationships with participants, and foster mutually beneficial lifetime relationships with them. Further research is needed to test specific psychological theory in this context, including self-esteem theory, self determination theory, and the martyrdom effect (among others)

    Walking with the Earth: Intercultural Perspectives on Ethics of Ecological Caring

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    It is commonly believed that considering nature different from us, human beings (qua rational, cultural, religious and social actors), is detrimental to our engagement for the preservation of nature. An obvious example is animal rights, a deep concern for all living beings, including non-human living creatures, which is understandable only if we approach nature, without fearing it, as something which should remain outside of our true home. “Walking with the earth” aims at questioning any similar preconceptions in the wide sense, including allegoric-poetic contributions. We invited 14 authors from 4 continents to express all sorts of ways of saying why caring is so important, why togetherness, being-with each others, as a spiritual but also embodied ethics is important in a divided world

    THE DREAM OF A ZERO WASTE SOCIETY: EXPLORING THE PRACTICES AND BEHAVIOURS OF WASTE GENERATION IN GREATER MEXICO CITY

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    This research aims to re-conceptualise consumption and waste generation through a broader set of theoretical questions and analytical methodologies to establish a more holistic theoretical framework for comprehending the global South's "waste crisis." This thesis is primarily based on the following question: "why do we dispose of things?". By focusing on practices and behaviours of consumption and disposal by citizens of GMC, this thesis seeks to unpack the networks, symbols, skills, and meanings of these practices. This moves the conceptualisation of waste generation away from being conceived as an irremediable consequence of population growth or as primary responsibility on the consumers' shoulders. Therefore, this thesis proposes that consumers are embedded in a "throwaway environment" that pushes them toward unsustainable practices. However, this does not mean that the consumers have a "throwaway culture"; consumers might be "carriers" of practices, but they are still active participants. By unravelling the multiple layers of framing that aggregate into the consumption and disposal of citizens in GMC, we shall see how GMC society's historical, social, and political framework serves as dispositions that guide an individual to act. This study focuses on modifying the narrative of considering consumers as careless, lazy, or consumption-driven. It also sheds light on how ignoring these behaviours and practices will only bring temporary and reactionary solutions when dealing with waste. This dissertation also offers an analytical framework that explores how consumers' elements interrelate and are synergetic. By re-conceptualising consumption and waste generation, I propose not focusing on the insidious moral narrative of whether consumption and disposal are acceptable and to what degree. Instead, we should concentrate on a policy strategy that will help reduce the flow of materials. As a result, we might be able to curve a waste crisis by accepting shared responsibility (mostly borne by governments and businesses

    Internationalisation dynamics in contemporary South American life sciences: the case of zebrafish

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    We tend to assume that science is inherently international. Geographical boundaries are not a matter of concern in science, and when they do – e.g. due to the rise of nationalist or populist movements – they are thought to constitute a threat to the essence of the scientific enterprise; namely, the global mobility of ideas, knowledge and researchers. Quite recently, we also started to consider that research could become ‘more international’ under the assumption that in doing so it becomes better, i.e. more collaborative, innovative, dynamic, and of greater quality. Such a positive conceptualisation of internationalisation, however, rests on interpretations coming almost exclusively from the Global North that systematically ignore power dynamics in scientific practice and that regard scientific internationalisation as an unproblematic transformative process and as a desired outcome. In Science and Technology Studies (STS), social research on model organisms is perhaps the clearest example of the influence of the dominant vision of internationalisation. This body of literature tends to describe model organism science and their research communities as uniform and harmonious international ecosystems governed by a strong collaborative ethos of sharing specimens, knowledge and resources. But beyond these unproblematic descriptions, how does internationalisation actually transform research on life? To what extent do the power dynamics of internationalisation intervene in contemporary practices of knowledge production and diffusion in this field of research? This thesis revisits the dynamics and practices of scientific internationalisation in contemporary science from the perspective of South American life sciences. It takes the zebrafish (Danio rerio), a small tropic freshwater fish, originally from the Ganges region in India and quite popular in pet shops, as a case study of how complex dynamics of internationalisation intervene in science. While zebrafish research has experienced a remarkable growth in recent years at the global scale, in South America its growth has been unprecedented, allowing average laboratories, which often operate with small budgets and with less well-developed science infrastructures, to conduct world-class research. My approach is based on a consideration of internationalisation as a conceptual model of change. I consider internationalisation to be a process essentially marked by tensions in the spatial, cognitive and evaluative dimensions of scientific practice. These tensions, I claim, are not just a key feature of internationalisation, but also aspects of a conceptual opposition that is geared towards explaining how change comes about in science. By studying the dynamics of internationalisation, I seek to understand various transformations of zebrafish research: from its construction as a research artefact to its diffusion across geographical boundaries. My focus on South America, on the other hand, helps me to understand the complexity of such dynamics beyond the lenses of the dominant discourse of internationalisation that prevails in the STS literature on model organisms. I use mixed-methods (i.e. semi-structured interviews, document analysis, bibliometrics and social network analysis) to observe and interpret transformations of internationalisation at different scales and levels. My analysis suggests first, that internationalisation played an important role in the construction of the zebrafish as a model organism and that, in the infrastructures and practices of resource exchange that sustain the scientific value of the organism internationally, dynamics of asymmetry and empowerment problematise the collaborative ethos of this community. Second, I found that collaborative networks – measured through co-authorships – also played an important role in the diffusion of zebrafish as a model organism in South America. However, I did not find a clear indication of international dependency in the diffusion of zebrafish, explained by a geographical concentration of scientific expertise in the zebrafish collaboration network. Rather than exposing peripheral researchers to novel ideas, networks of international collaboration seem to be more related to access to privileged material infrastructures resulting from the social organisation of scientific labour worldwide. Lastly, by examining practices of biological data curation and researchers’ international mobility trajectories, I describe how dynamics of internationalisation shape the notion of research excellence in model organism science. In this case, I found mobility trajectories to play a key role in boosting researchers’ contributions to the community’s database, especially among researchers from peripheral communities like South America. Overall, while these findings show the value of considering internationalisation as a conceptual model of change in science, more research is needed on the intervention of complex dynamics of internationalisation in other cases and fields of research

    Smart-antenna techniques for energy-efficient wireless sensor networks used in bridge structural health monitoring

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    Abstract: It is well known that wireless sensor networks differ from other computing platforms in that 1- they typically require a minimal amount of computing power at the nodes; 2- it is often desirable for sensor nodes to have drastically low power consumption. The main benefit of the this work is a substantial network life before batteries need to be replaced or, alternatively, the capacity to function off of modest environmental energy sources (energy harvesting). In the context of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), battery replacement is particularly problematic since nodes can be in difficult to access locations. Furthermore, any intervention on a bridge may disrupt normal bridge operation, e.g. traffic may need to be halted. In this regard, switchbeam smart antennas in combination with wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have shown great potential in reducing implementation and maintenance costs of SHM systems. The main goal of implementing switch-beam smart antennas in our application is to reduce power consumption, by focusing the radiated energy only where it is needed. SHM systems capture the dynamic vibration information of a bridge structure in real-time in order to assess the health of the structure and to predict failures. Current SHM systems are based on piezoelectric patch sensors. In addition, the collection of data from the plurality of sensors distributed over the span of the bridge is typically performed through an expensive and bulky set of shielded wires which routes the information to a data sink at one end of the structure. The installation, maintenance and operational costs of such systems are extremely high due to high power consumption and the need for periodic maintenance. Wireless sensor networks represent an attractive alternative, in terms of cost, ease of maintenance, and power consumption. However, network lifetime in terms of node battery life must be very long (ideally 5–10 years) given the cost and hassle of manual intervention. In this context, the focus of this project is to reduce the global power consumption of the SHM system by implementing switched-beam smart antennas jointly with an optimized MAC layer. In the first part of the thesis, a sensor network platform for bridge SHM incorporating switched-beam antennas is modelled and simulated. where the main consideration is the joint optimization of beamforming parameters, MAC layer, and energy consumption. The simulation model, built within the Omnet++ network simulation framework, incorporates the energy consumption profiles of actual selected components (microcontroller, radio interface chip). The energy consumption and packet delivery ratio (PDR) of the network with switched-beam antennas is compared with an equivalent network based on omnidirectional antennas. In the second part of the thesis, this system model is leveraged to examine two distinct but interrelated aspects: Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) based solar energy harvesting and switched-beam antenna strategies. The main consideration here is the joint optimization of solar energy harvesting and switchedbeam directional antennas, where an equivalent network based on omnidirectional antennas acts as a baseline reference for comparison purposes.Il est bien connu que les rĂ©seaux de capteurs sans fils diffĂšrent des autres plateformes informatiques Ă©tant donnĂ© 1- qu’ils requiĂšrent typiquement une puissance de calcul minimale aux noeuds du rĂ©seau ; 2- qu’il est souvent dĂ©sirable que les noeuds capteurs aient une consommation d’énergie dramatiquement faible. La principale retombĂ©e de ce travail rĂ©side en la durĂ©e de vie allongĂ©e du rĂ©seau avant que les piles ne doivent ĂȘtre remplacĂ©es ou, alternativement, la capacitĂ© de fonctionner indĂ©finiment Ă  partir de modestes sources d’énergie ambiente (glĂąnage d’énergie). Dans le contexte du contrĂŽle de la santĂ© structurale (CSS), le remplacement de piles est particuliĂšrement problĂ©matique puisque les noeuds peuvent se trouver en des endroits difficiles d’accĂšs. De plus, toute intervention sur un pont implique une perturbation de l’opĂ©ration normale de la structure, par exemple un arrĂȘt du traffic. Dans ce contexte, les antennes intelligentes Ă  commutation de faisceau en combinaison avec les rĂ©seaux de capteurs sans fils ont dĂ©montrĂ© un grand potentiel pour rĂ©duire les coĂ»ts de rĂ©alisation et d’entretien de systĂšmes de CSS. L’objectif principal de l’intĂ©gration d’antennes Ă  commutation de faisceau dans notre application rĂ©side dans la rĂ©duction de la consommation Ă©nergĂ©tique, rĂ©alisĂ©e en concentrant l’énergie radiĂ©e uniquement lĂ  oĂč elle est nĂ©cessaire. Les systĂšmes de CSS capturent l’information dynamique de vibration d’une structure de pont en temps rĂ©el de maniĂšre Ă  Ă©valuer la santĂ© de la structure et prĂ©dire les failles. Les systĂšmes courants de CSS sont basĂ©s sur des senseurs piĂ©zoĂ©lectriques planaires. De plus, la collecte de donnĂ©es Ă  partir de la pluralitĂ© de senseurs distribuĂ©s sur l’étendue du pont est typiquement effectuĂ©e par le biais d’un ensemble coĂ»teux et encombrant de cĂąbles blindĂ©s qui vĂ©hiculent l’information jusqu’à un point de collecte Ă  une extremitĂ© de la structure. L’installation, l’entretien, et les coĂ»ts opĂ©rationnels de tels systĂšmes sont extrĂȘmement Ă©levĂ©s Ă©tant donnĂ© la consommation de puissance Ă©levĂ©e et le besoin d’entretien rĂ©gulier. Les rĂ©seaux de capteurs sans fils reprĂ©sentent une alternative attrayante, en termes de coĂ»t, facilitĂ© d’entretien et consommation Ă©nergĂ©tique. Toutefois, la vie de rĂ©seau en termes de la durĂ©e de vie des piles doit ĂȘtre trĂšs longue (idĂ©alement de 5 Ă  10 ans) Ă©tant donnĂ© le coĂ»t et les problĂšmes liĂ©s Ă  l’intervention manuelle. Dans ce contexte, ce projet se concentre sur la rĂ©duction de la consommation de puissance globale d’un systĂšme de CSS en y intĂ©grant des antennes intelligentes Ă  commutation de faisceau conjointement avec une couche d’accĂšs au mĂ©dium (couche MAC) optimisĂ©e. Dans la premiĂšre partie de la thĂšse, une plateforme de rĂ©seau de capteurs sans fils pour le CSS d’un pont incorporant des antennes Ă  commutation de faisceaux est modĂ©lisĂ© et simulĂ©, avec pour considĂ©ration principale l’optimisation des paramĂštres de sĂ©lection de faisceau, de la couche MAC et de la consommation d’énergie. Le modĂšle de simulation, construit dans le logiciel de simulation de rĂ©seaux Omnet++, incorpore les profils de consommation d’énergie de composants rĂ©els sĂ©lectionnĂ©s (microcontrĂŽleur, puce d’interface radio). La consommation d’énergie et le taux de livraison de paquets du rĂ©seau avec antennes Ă  commutation de faisceau est comparĂ© avec un rĂ©seau Ă©quivalent basĂ© sur des antennes omnidirectionnelles. Dans la deuxiĂšme partie de la thĂšse, le modĂšle systĂšme proposĂ© est mis Ă  contribution pour examiner deux aspects distrincts mais interreliĂ©s : le glĂąnage d’énergie Ă  partir de cellules solaire Ă  base d’arsĂ©niure de Gallium (GaAs) et les stratĂ©gies liĂ©es aux antennes Ă  commutation de faisceau. La considĂ©ration principale ici est l’optimisation conjointe du glĂąnage d’énergie et des antennes Ă  commutation de faisceau, en ayant pour base de comparaison un rĂ©seau Ă©quivalent Ă  base d’antennes omnidirectionnelles
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