From Art Analysis to the Search for Life on Mars

The ExoMars rover, operated by the European Space Agency and Roscosmos, will be launched in 2020 on its mission to Mars, carrying the first Raman spectrometer into space. Liam Harris explains how Raman spectroscopy, a technique much more commonly associated with art and heritage studies here on Earth, might help to detect signs of past or present life on the Red Planet

Dual-use technology transfer between defence and non-defence markets

Defence procurement easily matches and exceeds virtually any other form of technology-intensive procurements by the government. Additionally, defence procurement often focuses on technologically advanced, engineering-intensive equipment. This represents a significant potential for technological innovation and subsequent diffusion of this innovation throughout the economy. The defence industry has often been considered insular and idiosyncratic, meeting the demands of a bureaucratic, central buyer, creating firms unable to compete in dynamic commercial markets, and posing a barrier for innovative firms to enter. This study poses the question: When is technology likely to transfer into or out of the defence sector? Which organisational-level factors facilitate or hinder the likelihood and success of such technology transfer? By combining organisational identity, capabilities and institutional theories, this thesis pursues a novel approach to the problem, and we find that organisational identity moderates the capability-performance relationship – in essence, a strong organisational identity is negatively associated with the likelihood that a firm will deploy its resources in unfamiliar markets, or to exploit technologies present in them. The defence industry provides a salient context for the study of this phenomenon. This thesis presents a current overview of the UK defence sector, by reviewing the existing literature in the field and updating it with consideration to the significant changes which the industry has faced. This includes a review of the previous research on firm-level factors which influence the transfer of technology into and out of the sector. An organisational identity theory of capability deployment is then developed, and tested with a combination of expert interviews and quantitative analysis of the results of a survey of firms in the UK defence sector. The resulting analysis and discussion contribute to the understanding of the UK defence sector in the modern world, and the potential barriers to fully exploit technology developed in the defence context, and to the factors which may influence the UK armed forces’ access to technologies from non-traditional sources. Further, the recognition that institutional forces can influence organisational identity and subsequently affect the deployment of capabilities, I contribute to the management literature by suggesting a link between the rarely connected literatures on organisational identity and capabilities.Imperial Users Onl

Exergaming as a viable therapeutic tool to improve static and dynamic balance among older adults and people with idiopathic Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The use of virtual reality games (known as "exergaming") as a neurorehabilitation tool is gaining interest. Therefore, we aim to collate evidence for the effects of exergaming on the balance and postural control of older adults and people with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD). Six electronic databases were searched, from inception to April 2015, to identify relevant studies. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to calculate effect sizes between experimental and control groups. I (2) statistics were used to determine levels of heterogeneity. 325 older adults and 56 people with IPD who were assessed across 11 -studies. The results showed that exergaming improved static balance (SMD 1.069, 95% CI 0.563-1.576), postural control (SMD 0.826, 95% CI 0.481-1.170), and dynamic balance (SMD -0.808, 95% CI -1.192 to -0.424) in healthy older adults. Two IPD studies showed an improvement in static balance (SMD 0.124, 95% CI -0.581 to 0.828) and postural control (SMD 2.576, 95% CI 1.534-3.599). Our findings suggest that exergaming might be an appropriate therapeutic tool for improving balance and postural control in older adults, but more -large-scale trials are needed to determine if the same is true for people with IPD

Exergaming as a viable therapeutic tool to improve static and dynamic balance among older adults and people with idiopathic Parkinson\u27s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The use of virtual reality games (known as "exergaming") as a neurorehabilitation tool is gaining interest. Therefore, we aim to collate evidence for the effects of exergaming on the balance and postural control of older adults and people with idiopathic Parkinson\u27s disease (IPD). Six electronic databases were searched, from inception to April 2015, to identify relevant studies. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to calculate effect sizes between experimental and control groups. I (2) statistics were used to determine levels of heterogeneity. 325 older adults and 56 people with IPD who were assessed across 11 -studies. The results showed that exergaming improved static balance (SMD 1.069, 95% CI 0.563-1.576), postural control (SMD 0.826, 95% CI 0.481-1.170), and dynamic balance (SMD -0.808, 95% CI -1.192 to -0.424) in healthy older adults. Two IPD studies showed an improvement in static balance (SMD 0.124, 95% CI -0.581 to 0.828) and postural control (SMD 2.576, 95% CI 1.534-3.599). Our findings suggest that exergaming might be an appropriate therapeutic tool for improving balance and postural control in older adults, but more -large-scale trials are needed to determine if the same is true for people with IPD

Complete sputtering metallization for high-volume manufacturing

AbstractIn spite of the substantial progress made in the last decade, the GaAs IC industry is still far from reaching the high manufacturing yields established by the Si fabs. High volume applications that target the large consumer electronics market bring a new challenge to the ordinary GaAs manufacturing line and the lure to be more “Si-like” is the motivation for many new process developments. However, adopting Si methods often requires a hard re-thinking of the traditional paradigms established in the early years of GaAs IC processing. By implementing an all-sputtered metallization process in conjunction with CO2 snow metal lift-off, we believe we overcame one such paradigm. We demonstrate that evaporation is not the only suitable method for lift-off patterning and show that sputtering could represent an attractive alternative. In this paper we will discuss some of the benefits and difficulties that come from using sputtering as the metal deposition method of choice in a high volume GaAs manufacturing line

Development that works, March 31, 2011

This repository item contains a single issue of the Pardee Conference Series, On March 31, 2011, more than 100 people participated in a conference titled “Development That Works,” sponsored by Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future in collaboration with the BU Global Development program. In the pages that follow, four essays written by Boston University graduate students capture the salient points and overarching themes from the four sessions, each of which featured presentations by outstanding scholars and practitioners working in the field of development. The conference agenda and speakers’ biographies are included following the essays.The theme and the title of the conference—”Development That Works”—stemmed from the conference organizers’ desire to explore, from a groundlevel perspective, what programs, policies, and practices have been shown—or appear to have the potential—to achieve sustained, long-term advances in development in various parts of the world. The intent was not to simply showcase “success stories,” but rather to explore the larger concepts and opportunities that have resulted in development that is meaningful and sustainable over time. The presentations and discussions focused on critical assessments of why and how some programs take hold, and what can be learned from them. From the influence of global economic structures to innovative private sector programs and the need to evaluate development programs at the “granular” level, the expert panelists provided well-informed and often provocative perspectives on what is and isn’t working in development programs today, and what could work better in the future