Deltagande Forskning – Lärdomar, resultat och erfarenheter från Växthusgruppens arbete 1999–2000

Centrum för uthålligt lantbruk (CUL) vid SLU har initierat ett pionjärarbete att få igång deltagande forskning inom lantbrukssektorn i Sverige. I denna rapport beskrivs den läro- och förändringsprocess, de framgångar och svårigheter, som en av de grupper som ingår i CUL:s satsning genomgått och mött under sitt arbete med deltagande forskning. De resultat gruppens försök och praktiska arbete lett fram till presenteras också. Rapporten är skriven av gruppens facilitator (Karin Eksvärd) efter att ha samtalat med gruppmedlemmarna enskilt och tillsammans om deltagarnas åsikter kring gruppens arbete och arbetsformer. Några av gruppdeltagarnas åsikter och uttalanden finns inlagda som citat i rapporten. Deltagarna har även haft möjlighet att kommentera rapporten under dess framtagande. Gruppens arbete har möjliggjorts genom att rådgivarna har arrangerat gruppens möten som kurser inom miljöstödsprogrammet. Det har varit ett givande och lärorikt arbete som fortsätter att öka vårt kunnande om ekologisk tomatodling, oss själva som grupp och sättet att arbeta. Vi hoppas att denna rapport skall inspirera fler lantbrukare, rådgivare och forskare att i högre grad samverka med varandra och att på detta sätt vidareutveckla svenskt lantbruk

Using olfactory media cues in e-learning – perspectives from an empirical investigation

People interact with computers using their senses. Currently, in a digital context, traditional digital media like videos and images used to convey information to users, and these media can be used as a source of information. However, relatively few studies have been conducted on olfactory media as a source of information in a digital context. In this paper, we report on a study that examined the possibility of using olfactory media as a source of information and whether its usage as informational cues enhances learning performance and user Quality of Experience (QoE). To this end, an olfactory-enhanced quiz (web-based) was developed about four countries. The quiz contained different types of questions employing four types of digital media in their contents: text, image, audio and olfactory media. Four scents were used that were considered to be related to the respective countries. Sixty-four participants were invited to our experiment to evaluate this application. Our results revealed that usage of olfactory media synchronised with traditional digital media had a significant impact on learner performance compared to the case when no olfactory media was employed. In respect of user QoE, it was found that olfactory media influenced users positively; moreover, they were passionate about engaging with enhanced olfactory applications in the future

Cognitive processing in non-communicative patients:what can event-related potentials tell us?

Event-related potentials (ERP) have been proposed to improve the differential diagnosis of non-responsive patients. We investigated the potential of the P300 as a reliable marker of conscious processing in patients with locked-in syndrome (LIS). Eleven chronic LIS patients and 10 healthy subjects (HS) listened to a complex-tone auditory oddball paradigm, first in a passive condition (listen to the sounds) and then in an active condition (counting the deviant tones). Seven out of nine HS displayed a P300 waveform in the passive condition and all in the active condition. HS showed statistically significant changes in peak and area amplitude between conditions. Three out of seven LIS patients showed the P3 waveform in the passive condition and five of seven in the active condition. No changes in peak amplitude and only a significant difference at one electrode in area amplitude were observed in this group between conditions. We conclude that, in spite of keeping full consciousness and intact or nearly intact cortical functions, compared to HS, LIS patients present less reliable results when testing with ERP, specifically in the passive condition. We thus strongly recommend applying ERP paradigms in an active condition when evaluating consciousness in non-responsive patients

Mental imagery for brain-computer interface control and communication in non-responsive individuals

Background: People who survive severe brain damage may eventually develop a prolonged consciousness disorder. Others can regain full consciousness but remain unable to speak or move because of the severity of the lesions, as for those with locked-in syndrome (LIS). Brain-computer interface techniques can be useful to disentangle these states by detecting neurophysiological correlates of conscious processing of information to enable communication with these individuals after the diagnosis. Objective: The goal of our study was to evaluate with a user-centered design approach the usability of a mental imagery task to detect signs of voluntary information processing and enabling communication in a group of severely disabled individuals. Methods: Five individuals with LIS participated in the study. Participants were instructed to imagine hand, arm or feet movements during electroencephalography (EEG) to detect patterns of event-related synchronization/desynchronization associated with each task. After the user-centered design, usability was evaluated (i.e., efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction). Results: Two participants achieved significant levels of accuracy in 2 different tasks. The associated workload and levels of satisfaction perceived by the users were moderate and were mainly related to the time demand of the task. Conclusion: Results showed lack of effectiveness of the task to detect voluntary brain activity and thus detect consciousness or communicate with non-responsive individuals. The application must be modified to be sufficiently satisfying for the intended end-users and suggestions are made in this regard. © 2019 Elsevier Masson SA