Making sense of wearables:new-emerging markets and mediascapes

This document reports on the events of the networking/embedding event, organised by the Epinet WP3 team in Brussels Nov 2013. It summarises observations and key findings. The aim of the event was to involve the expertise of professionals from a range public and private agencies involved in the development of wearable sensor technologies and ICT innovation policy. We learn from their input of new-emerging roles for wearable sensors, how they are situated in visions of the future of healthcare and self care, of changing lifestyles and occupations. We learn of complications in clinical practice and in medical devices regulation. We learn of expectations, of what personalisation can stand for, of conceptions of behaviour and of well-being more generally. Finally, we observe a distinct disconnect between top-down policy developments on the future delivery of personalised healthcare to European citizens and grass-roots developments in self care and in the self-management of medical conditions. The results of this consultation are key to finalising the embedding stage of the case study on wearable sensors, and they provide major input into our attempts to integrating the many different assessments of this innovation domain

Managing crime and the fear of crime at railway stations––a case study in South Wales (UK)

Rail users consistently perceive their risks from crime to be significantly higher than official statistics suggest, discouraging many from using rail transport. The aims of the paper include a discussion of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and current policy initiatives for reducing crime and the fear of crime on the railways. This exploratory study focuses on adult passengers' perceptions of crime and nuisance as they relate to the management, design and maintenance of railway stations and their immediate access routes. The study innovatively utilises interactive virtual reality (VR) scenes of ‘representative' stations as the environmental stimulus and concludes that such an approach provides an analytical and pragmatic framework for managers of railway stations that are unlikely to receive Secure Station accreditation

The evidence-based practice among social work students

The aim of this study was to describe the knowledge, attitudes and use of the Evidence-based Practice process by the fourth year undergraduate social work students of the University of West Attica, in Greece and to explore the possible relationships between them. The study design was quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional survey. A total of 98 students participated in the study, through an anonymous, self-reported questionnaire. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University Institute of Lisbon. Data were analyzed using descriptive and correlation statistics. The results indicated that the students had a good level of knowledge of the EBP, although resistance to depart from the authority-based practice was detected. Moreover, the participants reported moderately positive attitudes towards the EBP, recognizing its value and being available to learn more about it. However, most of them did not declare themselves as practitioners of the EBP. The most common barriers to the implementation of the EBP were revealed to be the lack of knowledge and the limited access to the best available evidence. Although students believe that the future will be in the EBP, this is hardly reflected in the current university training and organizational culture. Furthermore, it was found that the students with higher levels of knowledge and more positive attitudes towards the EBP are more likely to use it in the future. The choice of conducting a Dissertation was related with higher levels of EBP use, but no statistically significant relation was found with the knowledge and the attitudes. Finally, the legal status and the domain of the internship Organizations were not found to significantly affect the knowledge, attitudes and use of the EBP by the students. The present study was the first one to uncover knowledge concerning the concept of EBP in the Greek context. Further studies about the EBP are recommended, in order to promote the effective use of research evidence in the social work training and practice in the country

Self-Help: Extrajudicial Rights, Privileges and Remedies in Contemporary American Society

This Special Project examines the myriad forms of self-help currently available to persons in American society. It groups and discusses notable self-help rights, privileges, and remedies under topical classifications that parallel traditional jurisprudential categories. Parts H through VI of the Special Project sketch the legally fashioned contours and explore the legal, social, and political consequences of self-help methods in tort law, criminal law and law enforcement, commercial transactions, landlord-tenant relations,and family law matters. Part VII explores the attorney\u27s role in the development and implementation of curative self-help procedures such as mediation. Special Project concludes by examining the function, mechanisms, and merits of two increasingly popular alternative dispute resolution processes--rent-a-judge programs and the ombudsman--that offer hope for continued peaceable dispute resolution

Medical semiconductor sensors: a market perspective on state-of-the-art solutions and trends

The aim of this Master Thesis is to analyse the worldwide state-of-the art market solutions and trends in semiconductor sensors within medical applications; specially magnetic and pressure sensors, with the intention of developing a potential entry plan of Infineon Technologies AG into this market. For that purpose, a fit between a top-down and bottom-up qualitative and quantitative estimation of the medical semiconductor sensor’s market size has been made; with application units, sensor volumes and sensor revenues, with a horizontal scope of five years. Once understood the existing market, some insight into the competitive landscape is provided, where the key suppliers are analysed in terms of product portfolio and revenue share estimates, on an application basis. And also, a spotlight on innovation and trends at three levels – healthcare, medical devices and medical semiconductor sensors – is presented, to forecast a possible evolution of the fore-mentioned market. The research that has been conducted is based on three main sources of information; internal contacts (i.e. within Infineon), external contacts (most of them through internal references) and internet research. Access to market research company’s reports and interviews has been particularly helpful, to complement extensive internet research. Outcomes of this study indicate that the global medical semiconductor magnetic sensor market reveals low revenue potential; as most of the applications are yet innovation fields. Reed switch replacement in battery-powered medical devices can be an opportunity for magnetic switches. However, this project suggests that there is a key investment opportunity: magnetic beads for viral detection with spintronics sensors. The global medical semiconductor pressure sensor market seems a fairly mature market; the gross part of the revenue comes from blood pressure measurement. Blood pressure measurement might be an opportunity for existing automotive semiconductor pressure sensor products. Furthermore, this report suggests that the future of blood pressure measurement might tend towards implantable pressure sensors, with a non-significantly different technological basis. To conclude, this report unveils certain business opportunities for Infineon’s semiconductor magnetic and pressure sensor products; and puts special focus on the development of derivative products to pioneer the commercialization of innovative medical applications, with a forecasted huge revenue potential

Collaborative governance: framing New Zealand practice

Collaborative governance is talked about as something New Zealand needs to have more of, to deal with the sorts of issues governement faces today, like solving use and conservation of fresh water.  There is even some promising practice of collaborative governance such as through the Land and Water Forum.  Yet beyond this well-known example, the government, the public sector and the public of New Zealand do not have ready access to information about collaborative governance: what it is; what is entails; when this mode of governance is likely to be effective; and what is needed for successful collaborative governance. This working paper addresses this gap

Improving Information Sharing for Effective Social Outcomes

The research project focused on the following questions: To what extent and how is personal information of individuals with complex social needs collected, managed, and shared across government and other organisations? What are barriers and enablers to cross-government information sharing? What are existing strategies and arrangements for enabling cross-government information sharing in other jurisdictions? What can New Zealand learn from other jurisdictions in that respect? How, and under what conditions, can cross-government information sharing be improved in order to achieve more effective social outcomes

Towards a cyber safety information framework for South African parents

This dissertation addresses the need for a structured approach to the education of parents regarding cyber safety threats. The researcher has been approached by a service provider, EduX, which works with schools to facilitate digital learning. Edu X has expressed the need to provide cyber safety information for parents from the schools where their solution is implemented. This research suggests a Cyber Safety Information Framework for South African parents, tailored to their specific needs. The Design Science Research Methodology was followed to develop the framework through one main cycle and two sub-cycles. The framework includes different dimensions of the parents’ needs. A Cyber Safety Information Needs Assesment Instrument was developed and tested to tailor these dimensions to a specific school. In addition, a categorisation (or catalogue) of existing cyber safety online material to be used by schools, was developed. The evaluation of this framework was done by designing a prototype of an application to be used by schools to determine its implementation based on the outcome of the needs assessment instrument, the relevant cyber safety content, the way to present the material, as well as the best time to present it. This prototype was demonstrated to a potential user from EduX, and the framework was refined and updated based on the feedback received.Dissertation (MIT)--University of Pretoria, 2019.InformaticsMITUnrestricte