Collaging cultures : curating Italian studies

This essay is a contribution to a collective project funded by the UK government, Transnationalizing Modern Languages (2014-2017)This essay aims to contribute to current debates about how to research and teach within the disciplinary frame of Modern Languages in light of the knowledge that recent patterns of global migration have made the conventional fusion of national territory and language untenable. The challenge is how to reimagine histories of cultural practice and production critically in spite of the national frame that continues to shape our thinking. Starting from theoretical prompts by Doris Sommer and Okwui Enwezor, I suggest that contemporary curatorial practice offers one model for reworking how we practice Italian Studies in light of the decolonizing imperatives of work in diasporic, postcolonial, and transnational studies. Emphasizing a spatial model of cultural connectedness, I work with a notion of the haptic to investigate (as a kind of case study) how an encounter with the variegated traces of Italian culture in Scotland may lead researchers/students towards a pragmatic understanding of connectivity that does not depend on the blood lines of what Sommer calls ‘inherited frameworks.’ I argue that contemporary curatorial practices revising both the optics and ownership of (Italian) culture can radically alter the presuppositions of our research and pedagogical practices.PostprintPeer reviewe

A Systematic Review of Urban Navigation Systems for Visually Impaired People

Blind and Visually impaired people (BVIP) face a range of practical difficulties when undertaking outdoor journeys as pedestrians. Over the past decade, a variety of assistive devices have been researched and developed to help BVIP navigate more safely and independently. In~addition, research in overlapping domains are addressing the problem of automatic environment interpretation using computer vision and machine learning, particularly deep learning, approaches. Our aim in this article is to present a comprehensive review of research directly in, or relevant to, assistive outdoor navigation for BVIP. We breakdown the navigation area into a series of navigation phases and tasks. We then use this structure for our systematic review of research, analysing articles, methods, datasets and current limitations by task. We also provide an overview of commercial and non-commercial navigation applications targeted at BVIP. Our review contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a comprehensive, structured analysis of work in the domain, including the state of the art, and guidance on future directions. It will support both researchers and other stakeholders in the domain to establish an informed view of research progress

Haptics: Science, Technology, Applications

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications, EuroHaptics 2020, held in Leiden, The Netherlands, in September 2020. The 60 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 111 submissions. The were organized in topical sections on haptic science, haptic technology, and haptic applications. This year's focus is on accessibility

Haptics: Science, Technology, Applications

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications, EuroHaptics 2020, held in Leiden, The Netherlands, in September 2020. The 60 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 111 submissions. The were organized in topical sections on haptic science, haptic technology, and haptic applications. This year's focus is on accessibility

Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Now in these days, artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a major role in healthcare. It has many applications in diagnosis, robotic surgeries, and research, powered by the growing availability of healthcare facts and brisk improvement of analytical techniques. AI is launched in such a way that it has similar knowledge as a human but is more efficient. A robot has the same expertise as a surgeon; even if it takes a longer time for surgery, its sutures, precision, and uniformity are far better than the surgeon, leading to fewer chances of failure. To make all these things possible, AI needs some sets of algorithms. In Artificial Intelligence, there are two key categories: machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NPL), both of which are necessary to achieve practically any aim in healthcare. The goal of this study is to keep track of current advancements in science, understand technological availability, recognize the enormous power of AI in healthcare, and encourage scientists to use AI in their related fields of research. Discoveries and advancements will continue to push the AI frontier and expand the scope of its applications, with rapid developments expected in the future

Topics in construction safety and health : struck-by and caught-in hazards : an interdisciplinary annotated bibliography

"These referenced articles provide literature on the dangers to construction workers from job hazards in their occupations including the equipment they use and the type of work environment they are working in" - NIOSHTIC-2NIOSHTIC no. 20068258Production of this document was supported by cooperative agreement OH 009762 from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH.Struck-by-and-Caught-in-Hazards-annotated-bibliography.pdfcooperative agreement OH 009762 from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Healt

Research on real-time physics-based deformation for haptic-enabled medical simulation

This study developed a multiple effective visuo-haptic surgical engine to handle a variety of surgical manipulations in real-time. Soft tissue models are based on biomechanical experiment and continuum mechanics for greater accuracy. Such models will increase the realism of future training systems and the VR/AR/MR implementations for the operating room

Accessibility of E-Commerce Websites for Vision Impaired Persons

In this thesis accessibility problems with websites for vision-impaired persons are discussed in detail. General accessibility problems and those specific to e-commerce websites,especially on-line shopping websites are discussed. Accessibility problems are analyzed from the perspective of a screen reader user. As a solution for the accessibility problems identified, the WCAG 2.0 guidelines are reviewed and new changes are proposed to improve the existing guidelines. Enhanced solutions using tactile media capable of providing a better web browsing experience for vision-impaired persons are also discussed