D-touch: A Consumer-Grade Tangible Interface Module and Musical Applications

We define a class of tangible media applications that can be implemented on consumer-grade personal computers. These applications interpret user manipulation of physical objects in a restricted space and produce unlocalized outputs. We propose a generic approach to the implementation of such interfaces using flexible fiducial markers, which identify objects to a robust and fast video-processing algorithm, so they can be recognized and tracked in real time. We describe an implementation of the technology, then report two new, flexible music performance applications that demonstrate and validate it

Using Technology to Support At-Risk Students' Learning

A new report finds that technology - when implemented properly -can produce significant gains in student achievement and boost engagement, particularly among students most at risk

Assessment of pulmonary edema: principles and practice

Pulmonary edema increasingly is recognized as a perioperative complication affecting outcome. Several risk factors have been identified, including those of cardiogenic origin, such as heart failure or excessive fluid administration, and those related to increased pulmonary capillary permeability secondary to inflammatory mediators. Effective treatment requires prompt diagnosis and early intervention. Consequently, over the past 2 centuries a concentrated effort to develop clinical tools to rapidly diagnose pulmonary edema and track response to treatment has occurred. The ideal properties of such a tool would include high sensitivity and specificity, easy availability, and the ability to diagnose early accumulation of lung water before the development of the full clinical presentation. In addition, clinicians highly value the ability to precisely quantify extravascular lung water accumulation and differentiate hydrostatic from high permeability etiologies of pulmonary edema. In this review, advances in understanding the physiology of extravascular lung water accumulation in health and in disease and the various mechanisms that protect against the development of pulmonary edema under physiologic conditions are discussed. In addition, the various bedside modalities available to diagnose early accumulation of extravascular lung water and pulmonary edema, including chest auscultation, chest roentgenography, lung ultrasonography, and transpulmonary thermodilution, are examined. Furthermore, advantages and limitations of these methods for the operating room and intensive care unit that are critical for proper modality selection in each individual case are explored

The Importance of Academic Deans\u27 Interpersonal/Negotiating Skills as Leaders

Four academic deans investigated when and how they used interpersonal/negotiating skills to function effectively in their positions. For two full weeks, the deans coded their on-the-job interactions during scheduled meetings, informal meetings, spontaneous encounters/meetings, telephone calls, and select email. Analyses revealed that the interpersonal/negotiating skills used, from most to least prevalent, were: working closely with others, being responsive to key persons, negotiating key players\u27 roles, and keeping key persons in the organisation informed. Across these engagements, the deans interacted with 35 different categories of stakeholders inside and outside their institutions for 32 different purposes. Given the nature and range of interactions, the deans concluded that practicing and prospective deans should likely have access to professional development opportunities explicitly focused on working closely with others. Future research would need to confirm, however, whether interpersonal/negotiating skills are essential for deans\u27 job survival and, if so, whether such skills can authentically be developed