New century, new light : the role of design in the transition to LED technology

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building.This thesis is concerned with a particular moment of technological change – the emergence of LED technology in the early part of the 21st century as a viable architectural light source. The advent of this technology into the provision of artificial light has not been straightforward, since LEDs have created many design challenges not seen in the lighting technologies of the 20th century. This thesis therefore examines both the challenges and potential of LED technology. Additionally, it explores both the ways LED lighting can be used to take advantage of the benefits this technology offers and new design processes that may be required for that purpose. A series of practice-led experiments were undertaken to gain a greater understanding of the nature of LED light. An approach based on ‘frames for practice’ was adopted to guide these experiments, which themselves were supported by the technical and scientific literature that discusses the way light is generated, measured and experienced. LEDs are part of a wider technological change from industrial to digital technologies. Actor- network theory (ANT) has provided the lens through which moments of technological change in lighting in the past and the current transformation are examined. Research outcomes include a suggested method of working with LEDs and possible new uses of LED light in different lighting scenarios. Above all, a fuller understanding of the move from industrial to digital lighting and its implications was gained

The Nexus of Climate Change, COVID-19, and Environmental Justice on Children\u27s Health

Climate change poses a threat to children, who are increasingly vulnerable, depending on adults to protect them from the impacts of these changes including extreme weather events, poor air and water quality and risk to mental health. Children living in poverty carry additional burdens and risks, living in environments that consistently experience poor air and water quality from polluting industries, compounded by the effects of climate change. COVID-19 has placed additional challenges to children’s health and increases the complexity of addressing climate change and environmental justice. The intersection between climate change and COVID-19 exacerbates these existing disparities by impacting children\u27s physical and mental health that are a direct product of poverty and structural racism. This article examines the nexus of climate change, COVID-19, and environmental justice that impacts the mental and physical health of children including anxiety, stress, adverse childhood experiences, and depression; increases in violence and aggression; and the effects of air pollution. Public health professionals and health care providers must be aware of national strategies that protect children from environmental health risks and emerging infectious diseases, such as climate change and COVID-19, respectively

Netnography: Range of practices, misperceptions, and missed opportunities

This is the first article to describe how broadening of the term netnography in qualitative research is leading to misperceptions and missed opportunities. The once accepted need for human presence in netnographic studies is giving way to nonparticipatory (passive) approaches, which claim to be naturalistic and bias-free. While this may be tenable in some environments, it also removes the opportunity for cocreation in online communities and social media spaces. By contrast, participatory (active) netnographers have an opportunity to conduct their research in a way that contributes value and a continuity of narrative to online spaces. This article examines the ways in which netnographies are being used and adapted across a spectrum of online involvement. It explores the ways in which netnographies conform to, or depart from, the unique set of analytic steps intended to provide qualitative rigor. It concludes by advocating for active netnography, one which requires a netnographic “slog” where researchers are prepared for the “blood, sweat, and tears” in order to reap rich benefits

Substance use in school going teenagers in Kildare and west Wicklow.

This document reported on research on young people and drug misuse funded by the Eastern Health Board and the Action South Kildare Partnership. The aim was to collect data on the extent and type of drug use, both legal and illegal, in the secondary-school-going population of Kildare and west Wicklow. This was carried out by giving a self-administered questionnaire to a sample of 1,838 pupils from 29 schools in the area. The mean age of respondents was 14.7 years; 53% were male and 47% were female. The researchers found that 86% of those surveyed had used at least one drug. The principal drugs were alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, and solvents, with LSD, amphetamines and magic mushrooms mentioned. Heroin was far less commonly used. Those who reported using cigarettes, cannabis or alcohol were found to have been more likely to have tried other substances, and males had a higher risk of having taken any illegal drugs. Significantly more vocational school than secondary school pupils were found to persist in using ecstasy and amphetamines, and they were also found to have a lower mean age of initiation into heroin use

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Implications for Rural Economies

This paper presents a rapid assessment of current and likely future impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on rural economies given their socio-economic characteristics. Drawing principally on current evidence for the UK, as well as lessons from the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak and the 2007/8 financial crises, it outlines the likely key demand and supply effects, paying attention to the situation for agriculture as well as discussing the implications for rural communities. A distinction is made between the effects on businesses offering goods and services for out-of-home as opposed to in-home consumption. Gendered dimensions are also noted as likely business and household strategies for coping and adaptation. The paper concludes with a brief mapping of a research agenda for studying the longer-term effects of COVID-19 on rural economies

Guidance for research on social isolation, loneliness, and participation among older people: Lessons from a mixed methods study

This article provides methodological guidance to researchers wishing to develop collaborative research projects with local governments and other agencies, by describing the process adopted in a mixed methods study conducted in the City of Wanneroo (the City), a local government area in Perth, Western Australia. The study explored factors related to older people’s (60+ years) participation in community-based activities and links between their participation and levels of social isolation, loneliness, and social connectedness. The research incorporated four interrelated stages: (1) an audit of existing programs in the City and program participant characteristics; (2) focus groups with program participants and interviews with nonparticipants; (3) a cross-sectional survey to assess factors associated with participation and links to social isolation, loneliness, and social connectedness; (4) face-to-face interviews with survey respondents screened at risk for loneliness. Methodological recommendations are provided to guide future collaborative research with local authorities, program developers, and administrators, aimed at minimizing social isolation and loneliness among older people. These include the need for clear communication and documentation of mutually agreed research objectives and responsibilities from project initiation to completion, identifying and working with local agencies to maximize recruitment among “hard to reach” groups, understanding the dimensions of loneliness addressed in the selected instrument used to screen for loneliness, and integrating innovative data collection techniques when working with vulnerable groups such as socially isolated older people

The Chameleon Team

Project Leaders: Barbara Buffaloe, Katie Grantham Lough, Luke Wesselschmidt, Jacqueline McDermott-Kelty, Rashad Abdul-Majid, Bryan Glass, Heather BensonProposal for the 2008 project: "The Chameleon Team." The University of Missouri?Columbia (MU) and Missouri University of Science and Technology (S&T) have teamed to develop an exciting energy conservation product. The Chameleon project will produce an artificially intelligent residential energy management system designed to blend into its environment. Upon successful completion of this project, the Chameleon home automation system will enable the average homeowner to conserve energy and save money by simply having the system installed in their home and not changing any of their daily activities. This total budget of the design, development, and implementation of Chameleon�s prototypes is well over the budget for this funding opportunity, this proposal will focus on the educational partnerships required to develop the user interface for the system. This multi?university undergraduate student project incorporates engineering, architectural studies, and interior design students to develop a seamlessly integrated and highly functioning home automation system that requires no technical skills to operate. The underlying technology that enables the project is the IT capabilities of both universities which will enable weekly video?conference design meetings as well as internet accessible energy monitoring data available in real �time. In addition, students on both campuses utilize computer programs specific to their disciplines and learn program associated with other disciplines due to the multidisciplinary efforts required. For example, S&T students use the computer program, Maui Solar, to estimate the size and placement of solar panels for home energy production. MU students often suggest solar energy production on their concept designs but do not know the details of how and where to place the modules. Working together with the computer program, students from both campuses are learning the importance of each disciplines� core software programs. The Chameleon team�s proposal for the Interdisciplinary Innovation Fund meets the requirement from the MU Information Technology Committee. The student led team is working to make the UM system a leader in energy conservation through the use of cutting edge technology and multidisciplinary design efforts that make the technology available to the average homeowner.MU Interdisciplinary Innovations Fun

Core competencies to prepare health professionals to respond to the climate crisis

The now well-described climate change impacts on human health and disease present an urgent challenge to health professionals and health care systems, calling for a focus on efforts to mitigate harm. Yet, with a few exceptions, such as the United Kingdom, climate change education is generally absent in the mainstream health professional education curriculum, creating a situation in which health care professionals lack the knowledge and skills to recognize, prepare for, and respond to current and future climate change-related health and health system threats in a meaningful wa

Efficiency and safety of varying the frequency of whole blood donation (INTERVAL): a randomised trial of 45 000 donors

Background: Limits on the frequency of whole blood donation exist primarily to safeguard donor health. However, there is substantial variation across blood services in the maximum frequency of donations allowed. We compared standard practice in the UK with shorter inter-donation intervals used in other countries. Methods: In this parallel group, pragmatic, randomised trial, we recruited whole blood donors aged 18 years or older from 25 centres across England, UK. By use of a computer-based algorithm, men were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to 12-week (standard) versus 10-week versus 8-week inter-donation intervals, and women were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to 16-week (standard) versus 14-week versus 12-week intervals. Participants were not masked to their allocated intervention group. The primary outcome was the number of donations over 2 years. Secondary outcomes related to safety were quality of life, symptoms potentially related to donation, physical activity, cognitive function, haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations, and deferrals because of low haemoglobin. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN24760606, and is ongoing but no longer recruiting participants. Findings: 45 263 whole blood donors (22 466 men, 22 797 women) were recruited between June 11, 2012, and June 15, 2014. Data were analysed for 45 042 (99·5%) participants. Men were randomly assigned to the 12-week (n=7452) versus 10-week (n=7449) versus 8-week (n=7456) groups; and women to the 16-week (n=7550) versus 14-week (n=7567) versus 12-week (n=7568) groups. In men, compared with the 12-week group, the mean amount of blood collected per donor over 2 years increased by 1·69 units (95% CI 1·59–1·80; approximately 795 mL) in the 8-week group and by 0·79 units (0·69–0·88; approximately 370 mL) in the 10-week group (p<0·0001 for both). In women, compared with the 16-week group, it increased by 0·84 units (95% CI 0·76–0·91; approximately 395 mL) in the 12-week group and by 0·46 units (0·39–0·53; approximately 215 mL) in the 14-week group (p<0·0001 for both). No significant differences were observed in quality of life, physical activity, or cognitive function across randomised groups. However, more frequent donation resulted in more donation-related symptoms (eg, tiredness, breathlessness, feeling faint, dizziness, and restless legs, especially among men [for all listed symptoms]), lower mean haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations, and more deferrals for low haemoglobin (p<0·0001 for each) than those observed in the standard frequency groups. Interpretation: Over 2 years, more frequent donation than is standard practice in the UK collected substantially more blood without having a major effect on donors' quality of life, physical activity, or cognitive function, but resulted in more donation-related symptoms, deferrals, and iron deficiency. Funding: NHS Blood and Transplant, National Institute for Health Research, UK Medical Research Council, and British Heart Foundation