The use of virtual reality for public health education with reference to Syrian refugee camps

In this study we used Virtual Reality (VR) technology to provide an immersive interactive learning experience for undergraduate public health students in the UK and Lebanon. Students carried out a problem-based learning exercise around public health challenges faced by Syrian refugees in Lebanon. In the wider context of a Virtual Student Exchange programme small, mixed nationality groups were connected by Skype, WhatsApp and other technologies to research specific healthcare requirements for refugee camps (e.g. sanitation) and constructed an interview guide for the Lebanese students to use on a visit to a camp at the end of the programme. Lebanese students captured 360-degree videos to allow UK peers to ‘join’ them on their camp visit using VR. Findings from post-hoc video interviews focusing on the use of VR indicated that students felt closer to the subject of their research than before it was used. Participants’ emotions were affected by what they saw in the camps, providing a broader cognitive experience in which sight, sound, and emotions were linked to the camps, deepening learning about the refugees’ conditions. Faculty were able to move beyond the use of simple text-based scenarios, facilitating students’ learning about a real-world situation that they would not have been able to access through other means. This approach has potential for wider use in education, providing virtual access to locations it can be difficult for learners to visit by other means

Exploring heritage through time and space : Supporting community reflection on the highland clearances

On the two hundredth anniversary of the Kildonan clearances, when people were forcibly removed from their homes, the Timespan Heritage centre has created a program of community centred work aimed at challenging pre conceptions and encouraging reflection on this important historical process. This paper explores the innovative ways in which virtual world technology has facilitated community engagement, enhanced visualisation and encouraged reflection as part of this program. An installation where users navigate through a reconstruction of pre clearance Caen township is controlled through natural gestures and presented on a 300 inch six megapixel screen. This environment allows users to experience the past in new ways. The platform has value as an effective way for an educator, artist or hobbyist to create large scale virtual environments using off the shelf hardware and open source software. The result is an exhibit that also serves as a platform for experimentation into innovative ways of community co-creation and co-curation.Postprin

The forgotten '45 : Donald Dubh's rebellion in an archipelagic context

The final rebellion of Donald Dubh, heir to the forfeited MacDonald lordship of the Isles, is usually examined within the context of Highland rebellions that occurred in the half century after forfeiture. However, the factors that motivated the Islesmen to rise in rebellion in 1545 are multi-faceted and can only be fully understood by placing the rising in a wider context, which considers national and archipelagic events. The discussion that follows explores the reasons why the Islesmen, almost unanimously, entered into agreement with Henry VIII to attack Scotland from the west and why this endeavour failed. At the same time, the article highlights Henry’s recognition of the strategic importance of the west which led him into alliance with Donald Dubh and his supporters

Noise thresholds for optical quantum computers

In this Letter we numerically investigate the fault-tolerant threshold for optical cluster-state quantum computing. We allow both photon loss noise and depolarizing noise (as a general proxy for all local noise), and obtain a threshold region of allowed pairs of values for the two types of noise. Roughly speaking, our results show that scalable optical quantum computing is possible for photon loss probabilities < 3x10(-3), and for depolarization probabilities < 10(-4)

Noise thresholds for optical cluster-state quantum computation

In this paper we do a detailed numerical investigation of the fault-tolerant threshold for optical cluster-state quantum computation. Our noise model allows both photon loss and depolarizing noise, as a general proxy for all types of local noise other than photon loss noise. We obtain a threshold region of allowed pairs of values for the two types of noise. Roughly speaking, our results show that scalable optical quantum computing is possible for photon loss probabilities less than 0.003, and for depolarization probabilities less than 0.0001. Our fault-tolerant protocol involves a number of innovations, including a method for syndrome extraction known as telecorrection, whereby repeated syndrome measurements are guaranteed to agree. This paper is an extended version of [Dawson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 020501].Comment: 28 pages. Corrections made to Table I

Rocks Associated With the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian Unconformity in Southwestern Indiana

The purpose of this field conference is to acquaint participants with strata that are associated with the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian unconformity in southwestern Indiana. Criteria which aid in distinguishing between Mansfield strata of Pottsville (early Pennsylvanian) age and classic formations of Chester (late Mississippian) age will receive considerable attention in discussions at evening meetings and on the outcrop. Inspection of limestone and sandstone quarries will afford an insight into the economic products of Chester and Mansfield rocks

The NASA-UC Eta-Earth Program: III. A Super-Earth orbiting HD 97658 and a Neptune-mass planet orbiting Gl 785

We report the discovery of planets orbiting two bright, nearby early K dwarf stars, HD 97658 and Gl 785. These planets were detected by Keplerian modelling of radial velocities measured with Keck-HIRES for the NASA-UC Eta-Earth Survey. HD 97658 b is a close-in super-Earth with minimum mass Msini = 8.2 +/- 1.2 M_Earth, orbital period P = 9.494 +/- 0.005 d, and an orbit that is consistent with circular. Gl 785 b is a Neptune-mass planet with Msini = 21.6 +/- 2.0 M_Earth, P = 74.39 +/- 0.12 d, and orbital eccentricity 0.30 +/- 0.09. Photometric observations with the T12 0.8 m automatic photometric telescope at Fairborn Observatory show that HD 97658 is photometrically constant at the radial velocity period to 0.09 mmag, supporting the existence of the planet.Comment: Submitted to ApJ, 7 pages, 6 figures, 5 table

Agility and change-of-direction speed are independent skills: Implications for training for agility in invasion sports

This review explores the differences between agility in invasion sports (defined as including reactive decision-making) and change-of-direction speed (CODS), and highlights the implications for training. Correlations between agility tests and CODS tests indicate that they represent independent skills. Agility tests discriminate higher-from lower-standard athletes better than CODS tests, indicating that the cognitive element of agility is important to performance. Training studies have shown that the development of strength qualities can transfer to gains in CODS, but this has never been shown for agility. There is some evidence that the importance of physical qualities is greater for CODS than for agility. It was concluded that the reactive element should be included in agility training, testing and research. While there appears to be no research evidence for the benefits of strength and power training, there is some support for the use of small-sided games for improving agility

Rocks Associated with the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian Unconformity in Southwestern Indiana

Indiana Geological Survey Guidebook 9The purpose of this field conference is to acquaint participants with strata that are associated with the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian boundary in southwestern Indiana. Criteria which aid in distinguishing between Mansfield strata of Pottsville (early Pennsylvanian) age and clastic formations of Chester (late Mississippian) age will receive considerable attention in discussions at evening meetings and on the outcrop. Inspection of limestone and sandstone quarries will afford an insight into the economic products of Chester and Mansfield rocks. Participants may collect fossils at many of the stops.Indiana Geological Survey; Indiana Department of Conservation Department of Geology, Indiana Universit