Intelligent Products in Supply/Demand Networks: Steps to Developing a Simulation Environment for Concept Evaluation

Supply/Demand networks are undergoing rapid changes with the increasing use of dynamic rather than static information. This paper discusses the idea of intelligent products as both producers and consumers of dynamic information, before describing research in progress to develop a suitable simulation environment for experimenting with the intelligent product concept. The research will briefly consider the potential of a new Microsoft parallel programming environment (Axum) as a development tool

The presentation of self-harm recovery::A Thematic Analysis of YouTube videos

Little is known about how recovery from self-harm is understood by individuals with personal experience of self-harm. YouTube is an important online venue for posting and discussion of user-generated self-harm videos. Drawing on this material, this study explores how self-harm recovery is presented on YouTube. The 30 most highly-viewed videos about recovery from self-harm were thematically analysed. Three themes were identified: 1) a desire for change, 2) control over change, 3) implementing change. This study identifies multiple understandings of self-harm, which in turn shape individuals’ understandings of self-harm recovery. This has implications for self-harm advice or support

Shy Geek, Likes Music, Technology, and Gaming: An Examination of Autistic Males’ Online Dating Profiles

Dating involves a range of complex social skills that autistic adults can often find challenging. Many autistic adults have turned to online dating, which in theory may ameliorate these social difficulties. The aim of this study was to explore, for the first time, how autistic males describe themselves in online dating profiles. The online dating profiles of 52 self-identified autistic males were analyzed using a combination of frequency and thematic analyses. A common pattern of self-description was identified, involving a combination of both desirable and undesirable characteristics. Themes included interests, negative descriptions of personality, ideal match, and autism. Findings are discussed in terms of desirability, the norms of online dating, and the benefits and costs of computer-mediated communication for autistic male online daters

Autistic adults’ experience of restricted repetitive behaviours

Background: Restricted and Repetitive Behaviours (RRB) are a core characteristic of autism, though little is known about autistic people’s lived experience of these phenomena. Research has defined RRB in terms of: 1) a distinction between higher-order and lower-order RRB; as well as 2) a perceived lack of function and 3) a perceived lack of voluntary control. Method: Twelve autistic adults without intellectual disability were interviewed to elucidate an understanding of these three issues from their lived experience. Results: Thematic analysis identified four key themes regarding RRB: Self-regulation; positive impacts; negative impacts and suppression. The distinction between higher-order and lower-order RRB was not reflected in the adults’ lived experience. In addition to having both positive and negative impacts, the expression of RRB for some behaviours in certain contexts was largely, though not wholly, under voluntary control. Perceived negative evaluations from others can result in strategies to minimise the expression of RRB to observers, although suppressing RRB can be stressful with a cost to the individual. Conclusions: These findings provide insight into the important functions of RRB and both its positive and negative impacts. It indicates that future research should look to help maximise the positive impacts and minimize the negative, and consider the impact suppression of RRB has on mental health and functioning

Towards a Comparative Measure for Legged Agility

We introduce an agility measure enabling the comparison of two very different leaping-from-rest transitions by two comparably powered but morphologically different legged robots. We use the measure to show that a flexible spine outperforms a rigid back in the leaping- from-rest task. The agility measure also sheds light on the source of this benefit: core actuation through a sufficiently powerful parallel elastic actuated spine outperforms a similar power budget applied either only to preload the spine or only to actuate the spine during the leap, as well as a rigid backed configuration of the identical machine

The attractiveness, trustworthiness and desirability of autistic males' online dating profiles

A lack of success through traditional, face-to-face dating has led some autistic adults to pursue relationships through online dating. Creating an online dating profile, however, is a process that requires a range of complex social skills, the ability to balance a number of social demands, and self- and other-awareness - all of which can be challenging for autistic people. This paper presents two studies investigating the perceived attractiveness, trustworthiness and desirability of autistic males’ online dating profiles by females from the general population. In Study 1, 111 heterosexual females rated the autistic attributes and interests in an online dating profile as comparably attractive, trustworthy and desirable to date as an online dating profile comprising typical attributes and interests, but online dating profiles that mixed typical attributes with autistic interests were perceived to be less desirable to date. Study 2 investigated the impact of the wording of autistic characteristics and an explicit statement of a diagnosis of autism in 127 heterosexual females. Positive wording and an explicit statement of a diagnosis of autism enhanced perceived attractiveness and trustworthiness, but not desirability to date. The implications for the construction of autistic males’ online dating profiles are discussed

Supporting Distant Familial Relationships with the Internet of Things

In this paper we discuss the opportunities of ‘off the shelf’ Internet of things technologies to be used to support closeness in interpersonal relationships. We give our motivation to study IoT on technologies to support distant interpersonal relationships. We present two designs, ‘SmartLamps’ and ‘Connected Rings’, which use IoT technology to foster experiences of relatedness between distant families. We present some of the challenges faced while evaluating these devices using ‘in the wild’ research