Using cultural probes to inform the design of assistive technologies

This paper discusses the practical implications of applying cultural probes to drive the design of assistive technologies. Specifically we describe a study in which a probe was deployed with home-based carers of people with dementia in order to capture critical data and gain insights of integrating the technologies into this sensitive and socially complex design space. To represent and utilise the insights gained from the cultural probes, we created narratives based on the probe data to enhance the design of assistive technologies.This work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/K00266X/1) and RCUK through the Horizon Digital Economy Research grant (EP/G065802/1)

Control of unsteady separated flow associated with the dynamic stall of airfoils

The two principal objectives of this research were to achieve an improved understanding of the mechanisms involved in the onset and development of dynamic stall under compressible flow conditions, and to investigate the feasibility of employing adaptive airfoil geometry as an active flow control device in the dynamic stall engine. Presented here are the results of a quantitative (PDI) study of the compressibility effects on dynamic stall over the transiently pitching airfoil, as well as a discussion of a preliminary technique developed to measure the deformation produced by the adaptive geometry control device, and bench test results obtained using an airfoil equipped with the device

Duality, the Methodology of Shooting a Documentary as a One-Man Crew

This thesis will discuss Duality, a long-form documentary about artistic nude models who also create art involving the nude female form. This thesis will discuss the inspiration for the film, as well as the deciding factors that made me choose this as the topic for my thesis documentary. This thesis will also cover the process and methodology of shooting a documentary as a one-man crew, beginning with the process of preproduction, then the principal photography of the documentary, followed by the editing and postproduction process, and finally premiering the final film

Improved observer dependent perception of weak edges when scanning an image in real time indicated by introducing 1/f noise into the primary visual cortex V1. Theory and experimental support

We present results of a new process for generating 1/f type noise sequences and introducing the noise in the primary visual cortex which then enables improved perception of weak edges when an observer is scanning a complex image in real time to detect detail such as in mammogram reading sessions. It can be explained by an adaptation of information theory for functional rather than previous task-based methods for formulating processes for edge formation in early vision. This is enabled from a two "species" classification of the interaction of opposing on-centre and off-centre neuron processes. We show that non-stationary stochastic resonances predicted by theory can occur with 1/f noise in the primary visual cortex V1 and suggest that signalling exchanges between V1 and the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the thalamus can initiate neural activity for saccadic action (and observer attention) for weak edge perception. Improvements predicted by our theory were shown from 600 observations by two groups of observers of limited experience and an experienced radiologist for reference (but not for diagnosis). They scanned and rated the definition of microcalcification in clusters separately rated by the experienced radiologist. The results and supporting theory showed dependence on the observer's attention and orderly scanning. Using a compact simplified equipment configuration the methodology has important clinical applications for conjunction searches of features and for detection of objects in poor light conditions for vehicles. Copyright © 2009 ACPSEM

The breakfast series

The purpose of this project was to produce visual work that examined a possible nostalgia that unfolds around the breakfast meal. The method of examination involved creating a process breakfast that was followed thirty times. The result of following this process was the taking of three hundred Polaroids that were then edited for their potential to visually reconstruct the ideal process breakfast. This process of discovery has resulted in a number of significant insight into the narrative of breakfast: that an idealized narrative could exist in the visualization of the process breakfast; that elements of nostalgia that may exist within the work are contingent on the viewer; and the level of authenticity of the project affects the nature of the idealization in effect

Resisting Obsolescence: Polaroid Practices in the 'Digital Age'

This thesis looks at today’s Polaroid practice in order to explore questions of the materiality of media, its agency, and the possibilities of media technologies to challenge and resist processes of obsolescence. By approaching Polaroid from a perspective that encompasses the material and social realm of the practice, and drawing on a 12-month networked ethnography that focused on the online and offline sites the practice inhabits, this thesis looks at the social, material, and cultural meanings of Polaroid in relation to other photographic practices today. Through the analysis of online digital platforms, mainly Polaroid dedicated Facebook groups, and the offline sites where members of Polaroid-centred communities gather (London and Vienna), this thesis explores the way Polaroid as a practice is produced, consumed and circulated. In addition, this research seeks to contribute to the understanding of media technologies not only as transmitters of content but also as enablers of sociality, in a context in which this sociality (and by extension, materiality) is fundamental for the infrastructural maintenance of the practice. By reading Polaroid media technology in terms of both continuity and transformation, and tradition and innovation, this thesis proposes three main arguments. (1) Analogue and digital photographic practices do not stand in opposition to one another but in a supplementary relationship in which each practice informs the other. (2) It is through residual practices and the building of an informal infrastructure that so-called obsolete technologies can continue to intersect the present and challenge assumptions of technological progress. (3) Obsolescence is a mutable, variable category that is not necessarily related to the material dimensions of the media object, but to ideological discourses that see progress through material culture

A method of comparing the costs of platform and unique product design

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1999.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 34).by Adam J. King.S.M

Trademark Parody: Lessons From the Copyright Decision in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.

Parodies have long provided many of us with amusement, entertainment,and sometimes even information. An effective parody can convey one or more messages with powerful effect. The message may be a political statement, social commentary, commercial speech, a bawdy joke, ridicule of a brand name, criticism of commercialism, or just plain humor for its own sake. Often someone\u27s ox is being gored, or someone feels that a property right has been infringed. The party so injured often contemplates a lawsuit, and an array of legal theories are available to further that impulse. Perhaps copyright infringement is the claim, if some protectable expression has been used in the parody; or the right of publicity, if a person\u27s name, likeness, or other identifying characteristic has arguably been usurped; or intentional infliction of emotional distress, if the parody is perceived as too biting. When a trademark has been used in a parody, a panoply of federal and state law claims can be asserted, including federal trademark infringement, violation of section 43(a) of the Lanham Act of 1946,\u27 common law unfair competition, and violation of a state trademark statute. The gist of any of these claims is practically the same; the parodist caused a likelihood of consumer confusion or otherwise infringed upon the trademark owner\u27s good will. If the trademark owner cannot make this showing, it may resort to a dilution claim under state statutes or case law (and now under federal law), alleging here that the parody blurred the distinctiveness or tarnished the image of a distinctive mark, even though it did not cause a likelihood of confusion. The Supreme Court has recognized parody\u27s protected role a number of times in specific contexts but has not offered general guidelines for dealing with all intellectual property claims involving parody. Given the distinct nature of each of these claims and the need to decide only the particular case at hand, the lack of general guidance is not surprising. The result, however, has been confusion. Lower courts have often struggled with parodies in intellectual property cases, and many law review articles have been written on the topic. The treatment of parodies in trademark law is one of the more serious areas of difficulty, particularly because the Lanham Act does not appear to contemplate or address the issue. The likelihood of confusion test provides a conceptual approach that works well enough in garden variety trademark cases, but it provides an uncomfortable fit in parody cases. The Supreme Court\u27s recent copyright decision in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., provides some guidance for the treatment of parodies in copyright cases. Although Campbell focused on copyright parodies, the case may also provide some important principles for the analysis of parody in trademark law. Therefore, this article discusses Campbell\u27s broader relevance, specifically in trademark cases

Using measured photography to obtain optimal results from CCD Color Scanners

With the advent of desktop color scanners in the electronic prepress production environment, quality in color separations from transmissive originals has become erratic. The cause of this fluctuation is, in part, due to the transition from PMT to CCD-based scanning technology. Whereas, PMT scanners tend to have a broad dynamic range, that of CCD scanners is more limited. This characteristic adversely affects the quality of color separations by causing additional tone compression. An original transparency typically has a shadow density of 3.00 and a diffused highlight density of 0.30 for an overall density range of 2.70. On a four-color heatset web press with coated stock, the maximum reproducible tonal range corresponds to a density of 1.80. The difference in density of 0.90 between the original and the press sheet is unable to fit through the printing window unless it undergoes considerable tone compression. This project was based on two hypotheses. The first was that the lower the tonal range of a transmissive original the more readily lower-midtone-to-shadow tonality could be retained in the separations produced by a CCD scanner and related equipment. The second was that exposure latitude in the separations would decrease with increasing tonal range. The first stage of production was to produce twelve test transparencies by photograph ing a still life set to four tonal ranges: 3.5, 4.5, 5.5, and 6.5 f/stops. Within each range, three images were selected to represent normal exposure, 1/2 f/stop overexposure, and 1/2 f/stop underexposure. Comparison of halftone proofs, made from separations of the normallyexposed transparencies, were later used for the first hypothesis. Proofs from the 1/2 f/stop over- and 1/2 f/stop underexposures were compared with the normal exposures to test the second hypothesis. vm The twelve test transparencies were first scanned on the Dainippon Screen SG-608 to produce a set of best-of-kind reference separations and halftone proofs. Next, the trans parencies were scanned on two midrange 12-bit CCD scanners, one a Pixelcraft CIS 4520RS, the other an Agfa Horizon. Separations for both were produced with Color Access 1.3.3 software on a Macintosh Quadra 700 computer, linked to an Agfa SelectSet 5000 image-setter via an Agfa 5000PS Star Plus RIP. The image files were placed in an 8 1/2 X 11 QuarkXPress page with a 20% gray surround prior to output. Halftone proofs were produced with the Fuji Color Art proofing system, then viewed under 5000 Kelvin lighting. Three methods were used for comparison: visual evaluation by the author, densitometric measurement, and evaluation by 32 independent judges. Only proofs from the two CCD scanners were shown to the judges. Proofs from the SG-608, of noticeably higher quality, were used for reference. The four proofs from separations produced by normally-exposed originals were used to examine the first hypothesis. Two groups of proofs, one for each scanner, were ranked by the judges according to best-to-worst rendition of lower-midtone-to-shadow detail. The rank ings for both groups placed the 3.5 f/stop tonal ranges first, 4.5 f/stop second, 5.5 f/stop third, and 6.5 f/stop fourth. Visual evaluation by the author ranked the proofs in the same order, establishing a 100% correlation. Increases in density range were also expected to follow the 3.5 to 6.5 f/stop ranking. But actual measurements showed increases in density to 4.5 f/stops, then a pronounced drop of 0.25 or greater for the 5.5 and 6.5 f/stop ranges. This demonstated that the higher tonal ranges exceeded the capacity of the CCDs to make a full response, indicating that limited dynamic range was causing abrupt increases in tone compression. To determine the validity of the second hypothesis, the judges examined two groups of twelve proofs each, corresponding to the separations for normal, 1/2 f/stop over- and 1/2 f/stop underexposed originals within each of the four tonal ranges. For the Agfa Horizon, the rankings were 3.5 f/stop tonal range first, 4.5 f/stop second, 5.5 f/stop third, and 6.5 f/stop fourth. With the Pixelcraft CIS 4520RS, the rankings were 3.5 f/stop first, 6.5 f/stop second, 5.5 f/stop third, and 6.5 f/stop fourth. The misranking of the 6.5 f/stop range in second place indicated the difficulty the judges experienced in distinguishing between higher tonal ranges due to the increasing effects of tone compression. Again, densitometric measurements did not support the rank ings of the judges or the author because the densitometer could not distinguish between small tonal range differences due to good exposure latitude and those differences due to blocked shadow tonality resulting from tone compression. A procedure was devised for mathematical assessment of tonal range differences. Using the change in density between adjacent tonal ranges, a value was derived which could be expressed as a fraction of the inital 1 f/stop difference between ranges ( 1 f/stop = 0.30 den sity units). For example, the 3.5 f/stop normal exposure for the Agfa Horizon had a tonal range of 1.73 and the 4.5 f/stop normal exposure had a tonal range of 2.02. The change from 3.5 to 4.5 f/stops is +0.29. Expressed as a percentage, 0.29 -0.30 = 97%. This value showed that the scanner made a nearly complete response in translating tonal range differences in the original transparency to tonal range differences in the separations. Further refinement of these calculations is needed to reflect differences in gamma and tone compression between the original transparencies and the halftone proofs. The findings of this study demonstrate that optimal results from a CCD or PMT scan ner can only be obtained if the tonal range of the original scene is less than 4.5 f/stops. When the 4.5 f/stop range was exceeded, the CCD scanners responded with an immediate deterioration of lower-midtone-to-shadow tonality. In comparison, PMT scanner displayed a more gradual degradation of lower-midtone-to-shadow tonality, in keeping with its greater dynamic range