How to Succeed in Teaching Your Campus about Physical Accessibility Issues Without Really Trying

This presentation is designed for anyone who has desired to teach their community about physical accessibility issues. It will be present within the framework of the Accessibility Scavenger Hunt , an activity developed by myself in conjunction with Northern Arizona University staff and faculty. The goal of the scavenger hunt was to teach the community about campus accessibility issues without resorting to using simulation exercises. We will discuss the framework of the activity as well as the role that the activity had in improving the accessibility of the campus

Determining the focal length of a lens

There are many methods used to determine the focal length of a lens. This experimental method is based solely on the simplicity of the procedure

Development of a consensus classification of physiotherapy interventions in paediatric neurorehabilitation

Background and Aims Physiotherapy within paediatric neurorehabilitation is a complex process whereby the relationship between treatments delivered and resultant severity-adjusted patient outcomes have been difficult to demonstrate. An essential prerequisite for analysing physiotherapy input at the point of its delivery to the patient is to have clear descriptions and categories of physiotherapy interventions. Recent work in this area has focussed on grouping treatments based on their common essential ingredients. The aim of this work is to develop an expert-lead consensus classification of physiotherapy interventions used in paediatric neurorehabilitation, categorised according to their essential ingredients, actions and mediators. Method Comprehensive literature searches of five electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, CINAHL and PsychINFO) together with supplementary hand searching identified 4,194 studies which were separated into 34 different interventions following cross-referencing with other sources. These were then divided into eight distinct categories according to their essential treatment ingredients. A panel of 13 expert physiotherapists specialising in the field of paediatric neurorehabilitation were consulted in two rounds of an online modifiedDelphi survey (a method commonly used to glean expert consensus). Results In modified-Delphi survey rounds 1 and 2 respectively, eight (62%) and nine (69%) of the experts responded. Utilising a threshold of ≥75% agreement set a priori to represent expert consensus, there was agreement that the eight categories are comprehensive (complete) and unambiguous (easily understood). What remains less clear is the extent to which these categories are independent of one another. Discussion This categorisation of physiotherapy interventions within paediatric neurorehabilitation is the first of its kind to group treatments according to their essential treatment ingredients. Such work adds the potential for gleaning greater understanding regarding how physiotherapy leads to improved patient outcomes within paediatric neurorehabilitation. Further work is required in this area to better understand the extent to which different categories are truly independent or where similarities exist between them

‘Communicating Lily’s Pain’: a reflective narrative commentary about co-creating a resource to provoke thinking and change about assessing and managing the pain of children with profound cognitive impairment:Communicating Lily’s Pain

This paper draws together about 20 years of research work and discovery and the development of a resource about pain assessment and management in children with profound cognitive impairment. The animation tells the story of an imagined child called Lily and the skills her mother uses and the challenges that her mother faces in assessing and managing Lily's pain. The animation is built on stories drawn from qualitative research findings, conversations while in clinical practice and with members of the general public, parent advisers and other sources. Most of the “evidence” came from stories shared by parents and healthcare professionals. This paper draws on some elements of socio‐narratology and is predicated on the basis that stories are important and they can act on and with us. By using an animation to tell Lily's story, the intention was to communicate research findings to a wider and more diverse audience than the typical readership of an academic journal. The intention was to act in and on people's consciousness about children's pain and to strengthen relationships and create bonds between clinicians, parents, and children in pain to make their dialog more social, connected, and meaningful. All three of us—the researcher, the writer, and the animator—have been marked and “re‐shaped” by our work related to creating Lily; we have learned more about children like Lily and their mothers, and we have learned more about ourselves and our humanity. This animation is still a story in progress, a story ‘in the wild’, a story (and a resource) we would like you to re‐tell and share. The story of Lily's pain aimed to change the lives of parents and children and professionals. Our hope is that you can be part of that change

Inattentional Blindness While Driving

Mack and Rock’s research (1999), suggests that we perceive only those objects and events to which we directly attend. This means that the majority of unexpected visual information goes unnoticed, no matter how dramatic or important it may be. Not noticing unexpected objects in direct view because your attention is on other driving events is a potentially deadly but common phenomenon. Most drivers have experienced these brief moments of “functional blindness” and not perceived events or objects directly and obviously centered in their field of vision. This usually produces astonishment, alarm, and possible over-reaction when awareness returns. The driver may be telling the truth to the officer after the crash, “I did not see that stop sign!” Other experiments (Simons and Chabris, 1999) have shown that “InAttentional Blindness” is exhibited by a majority of viewers when an unexpected object and action take place clearly, slowly, and within inches of objects being attended to. Wickens, et al. (1998) examined how pilots in flight simulators perform using head-up displays. The research showed that when experimenters put something unexpected, but important, in pilots’ field of vision, such as an airplane on the runway, pilots often land right on top of them. This paper will describe what we believe to be the first experiment explicitly designed to test this phenomenon while driving in a simulator. Our study is unlike the normal driver distraction study in that we did not ask the driver to divert attention to an off-the-road secondary task, but to keep attention focused solely on the road and the objects on it. Subjects drove on a two-lane road in a city environment generated by a 4-channel Class II GlobalSim driving simulator. We manipulated drivers’ attention by asking them to count the number of a specific type of pedestrian randomly interspersed with other pedestrians strolling along the right side of the road. Meanwhile various expected and unexpected critical driving events—stop signs at intersections (in the line of pedestrians), random lead car braking, and barriers in the roadway—were presented. The reaction times, as sensed by brake pedal pressure, to the critical driving events were recorded and compared to a baseline condition where the drivers were asked to merely follow normal driving procedures. Compared to the baseline, the pedestrian-monitoring task increased reaction times to all types of critical driving events. Subjective observations of drivers and implications for road safety will be discussed

Inattentional Blindness While Driving

Mack and Rock’s research (1999), suggests that we perceive only those objects and events to which we directly attend. This means that the majority of unexpected visual information goes unnoticed, no matter how dramatic or important it may be. Not noticing unexpected objects in direct view because your attention is on other driving events is a potentially deadly but common phenomenon. Most drivers have experienced these brief moments of “functional blindness” and not perceived events or objects directly and obviously centered in their field of vision. This usually produces astonishment, alarm, and possible over-reaction when awareness returns. The driver may be telling the truth to the officer after the crash, “I did not see that stop sign!” Other experiments (Simons and Chabris, 1999) have shown that “InAttentional Blindness” is exhibited by a majority of viewers when an unexpected object and action take place clearly, slowly, and within inches of objects being attended to. Wickens, et al. (1998) examined how pilots in flight simulators perform using head-up displays. The research showed that when experimenters put something unexpected, but important, in pilots’ field of vision, such as an airplane on the runway, pilots often land right on top of them. This paper will describe what we believe to be the first experiment explicitly designed to test this phenomenon while driving in a simulator. Our study is unlike the normal driver distraction study in that we did not ask the driver to divert attention to an off-the-road secondary task, but to keep attention focused solely on the road and the objects on it. Subjects drove on a two-lane road in a city environment generated by a 4-channel Class II GlobalSim driving simulator. We manipulated drivers’ attention by asking them to count the number of a specific type of pedestrian randomly interspersed with other pedestrians strolling along the right side of the road. Meanwhile various expected and unexpected critical driving events—stop signs at intersections (in the line of pedestrians), random lead car braking, and barriers in the roadway—were presented. The reaction times, as sensed by brake pedal pressure, to the critical driving events were recorded and compared to a baseline condition where the drivers were asked to merely follow normal driving procedures. Compared to the baseline, the pedestrian-monitoring task increased reaction times to all types of critical driving events. Subjective observations of drivers and implications for road safety will be discussed

Telemonitoring to optimise care in motor neurone disease: a pilot study

Background Advances in telemedicine may benefit patients with motor neurone disease/ amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (MND/ALS). Aims This study aimed to improve care through telemonitoring utilising standardised symptom monitoring, clinical measurements and assessment non-invasive ventilation (NIV) parameters. It was hypothesized that telemonitoring allows proactive intervention allowing symptom management and optimized ventilation indicated by adequate nocturnal SpO2 levels and minute ventilation (MV). Methods 13 ventilated patients (mean age=62yrs; median illness duration=14m; median NIV usage= 8m) were recruited. Previously developed questions monitored symptoms and NIV-related issues, generating alerts and interventions where required. Nocturnal pulse oximetry and the patient-ventilator interaction (PVI) data were collected weekly. A revised ALS functional rating scale (ALSFRS-R) was completed three-monthly. Given the sample size, Friedman's ANOVA and Spearman's correlation coefficient were used for analysis at the baseline, at 3 month, and at 6 month. Results In total, 137 alerts led to 62 interventions (direct review 13, treatment adjustment 14, equipment provision 20, referral 15). Inspiratory positive airway pressure levels were increased median 16.8 and 21.9cmsH20 (Wk1 and 22), NIV adherence also increased over time (both p<.01). No change was observed with nocturnal SpO2 levels. ALSFRS-R scores showed illness deteriorations. No consistent correlations were found between the variables. Conclusions This pilot study found telemonitoring to be beneficial in maintaining ventilation MND despite the illness deterioration

Planetary Balloon-Based Science Platform Evaluation and Program Implementation

This report describes a study evaluating the potential for a balloon-based optical telescope as a planetary science asset to achieve decadal class science. The study considered potential science achievable and science traceability relative to the most recent planetary science decadal survey, potential platform features, and demonstration flights in the evaluation process. Science Potential and Benefits: This study confirms the cost the-benefit value for planetary science purposes. Forty-four (44) important questions of the decadal survey are at least partially addressable through balloon based capabilities. Planetary science through balloon observations can provide significant science through observations in the 300 nm to 5 m range and at longer wavelengths as well. Additionally, balloon missions have demonstrated the ability to progress from concept to observation to publication much faster than a space mission increasing the speed of science return. Planetary science from a balloon-borne platform is a relatively low-cost approach to new science measurements. This is particularly relevant within a cost-constrained planetary science budget. Repeated flights further reduce the cost of the per unit science data. Such flights offer observing time at a very competitive cost. Another advantage for planetary scientists is that a dedicated asset could provide significant new viewing opportunities not possible from the ground and allow unprecedented access to observations that cannot be realized with the time allocation pressures faced by current observing assets. In addition, flight systems that have a relatively short life cycle and where hardware is generally recovered, are excellent opportunities to train early career scientists, engineers, and project managers. The fact that balloon-borne payloads, unlike space missions, are generally recovered offers an excellent tool to test and mature instruments and other space craft systems. Desired Gondola Features: Potential gondola characteristics are assessed in this study and a concept is recommended, the Gondola for High-Altitude Planetary Science (GHAPS). This first generation platform is designed around a 1 m or larger aperture, narrow-field telescope with pointing accuracies better than one arc-second. A classical Cassegrain, or variant like Ritchey-Chretien, telescope is recommended for the primary telescope. The gondola should be designed for multiple flights so it must be robust and readily processed at recovery. It must be light-weighted to the extent possible to allow for long-duration flights on super-pressure balloons. Demonstration Flights: Recent demonstration flights achieved several significant accomplishments that can feed forward to a GHAPS gondola project. Science results included the first ever Earth-based measurements for CO2 in a comet, first measurements for CO2 and H2O in an Oort cloud comet, and the first measurement of 1 Ceres at 2.73 m to refine the shape of the infrared water absorption feature. The performance of the Fine Steering Mirror (FSM) was also demonstrated. The BOPPS platform can continue to be leveraged on future flights even as GHAPS is being developed. The study affirms the planetary decadal recommendations, and shows that a number of Top Priority science questions can be achieved. A combination GHAPS and BOPPS would provide the best value for PSD for realizing that science

From COTS Simulation Software to an Open-source Platform: A Use Case in the Medical Device Industry

AbstractThe implementation of Discrete Event Simulation (DES) – based decision support tools in complex manufacturing environments could prove of invaluable help to industrial practitioners involved in cross-functional decision processes at multiple hierarchical levels. The increasing number of decision variables, their stochastic nature and the non-linearity of their mutual relationships theoretically make simulation a preferred modelling approach for a great variety of manufacturing systems as strict simplifying assumptions are not necessarily required and the models’ detail level can be tuned according to the analysis purposes. However, recourse to Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) simulation packages to develop and implement simulation-based solutions in real manufacturing environments usually presents significant cost-of-ownership (COO). Along with license costs, modelling flexibility and sustainability represent fundamental issues raised by industrial engineers that adopt COTS simulation packages. In order to promote the use of DES in production related decision making processes and reduce the associated COO for manufacturing companies, an open-source simulation platform, ManPy, has been developed. ManPy consists of a library of DES objects implemented in SimPy. ManPy's scope is to provide modellers with generic, highly customizable open-source simulation objects that can be connected to form a model in the same fashion of COTS simulation packages. ManPy's on-going development is based on guidelines provided by the analysis of real industrial use cases. Specific pilot models developed in SimPy are used to identify new objects and relevant features to be incorporated in ManPy in order to make it a highly flexible simulation tool. In this article, a use case based on a labour intensive serial production line operating in a medical device manufacturing plant is described. Insights for the transition from a COTS simulation model to a specific SimPy model and finally to generic ManPy objects are presented

UK national ecosystem assessment follow-on: cultural ecosystem services and indicators

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