Statefulness and Tangible interaction in Design Education

Interaction in Industrial Design is expanding from tangible realms to intangible digital experiences. In this new environment, Interaction Design provides logical sequences and behaviors that allow users to easily navigate through complex workflows. This paper discusses a framework in which interaction design provides an innovative approach to traditional industrial design. This includes the concept of ‘statefulness’, where the dynamic changes of complex systems are broken down into states that can be defined and manipulated in order to achieve a desired user experience. This framework goes beyond having physical components of a product control digital interfaces and develops experiences that jump between physical and virtual realms. The paper also describes how interaction and industrial design collaborations are put into practice in a graduate level studio course, in which students are directed by instructors with expertise in both disciplines, all working together in exploratory assignments

National park research fellowships increase capacity and creativity in responding to climate change

The challenges posed by climate change in national parks and other protected areas demand creative approaches, new ideas, and experiments that are beyond the capacity of any single park or agency staff. Research fellowships provide a critical way that the National Park Service (NPS) and its partners can address the agency’s needs to address climate change adaptation challenges. At least 30 such programs support stewardship-relevant science in national parks. Some national programs and initiatives at Acadia National Park in Maine, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California serve as examples of how researchers in these programs are informing restoration, relocation, vegetation and fire management, and resource protection activities; documenting change that has already occurred; providing baseline data on biodiversity; and conducting novel experiments. Successful fellowship programs have strong engagement of resource managers, emphasize communication with management and public audiences, and incorporate ongoing support and evaluation. As a result of these successes, NPS and partners are working to expand and strengthen the sustainability and effectiveness of research grants and fellowships

Does Emotional Intelligence at medical school admission predict future licensing examination performance?

Background: Medical school admissions committees are seeking alternatives to traditional academic measures when selecting students; one potential measure being emotional intelligence (EI). If EI is to be used as an admissions criterion, it should predict future performance. The purpose of this study is to determine if EI scores at admissions predicts performance on a medical licensure examination Methods: All medical school applicants to the University of Ottawa in 2006 and 2007 were invited to complete the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT v2.0) after their interview. Students were tracked through medical school into licensure and EI scores were correlated to their scores on the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination (MCCQE) attempted between 2010 and 2014. Results: The correlation between the MSCEIT and the MCCQE Part I was r (200) = .01 p =. 90 The covariates of age and gender accounted for a significant amount of variance in MCCQE Part I scores (R2 = .10, p <.001, n=202) but the addition of the MSCEIT scores was not statistically significant (R2 change = .002, p=.56). The correlation between the MSCEIT and the MCCQE Part II was r(197) = .06, p = .41. The covariates of age and gender accounted for some variance in MCCQE Part II scores (R2 = .05, p = .007, n=199) but the addition of the MSCEIT did not (R2 change = .002 p =.55). Conclusion: The low correlations between EI and licensure scores replicates other studies that have found weak correlations between EI scores and tests administered at admissions and during medical school.  These results suggest caution if one were to use EI as part of their admissions process

Regional-scale drivers of groundwater faunal distributions

Freshwater aquifers are a major source of drinking water; they also possess unique assemblages of organisms. However, little is known about the distributional drivers of obligate groundwater organisms at the regional scale. We examine the distribution and composition of stygobiont assemblages in a complex geological setting and explore the relationship between groundwater fauna, hydrogeology and water chemistry. In the study area we grouped similar geologies into five hydrogeological formations (hydro-units) within which habitats for groundwater fauna were broadly similar. We found that the occurrence of stygobionts differed significantly between hydro-units. Stygobionts were significantly less likely to be recorded in mudstone/siltstone and sandstone aquifers compared with carbonate rocks or with igneous/metamorphic rocks. Variance partitioning indicated that the hydro-units explained a greater proportion of the variance (7.52%) in the groundwater community than water chemistry (5.02%). However, much of the variation remained unexplained. The macrofaunal stygobiont species in our study area formed three groups: (1) Niphargus glenniei was recorded in a range of hydro- units but only in the west of the study area. (2) Niphargus kochianus , Niphargus fontanus, Proasellus cavaticus and Crangonyx subterraneus were predominately recorded in carbonate aquifers in the east of the study area. (3) Niphargus aquilex and Microniphargus leruthi, were found throughout the study area and in a range of hydro-units. We hypothesise that physical barriers exist that prevent some stygobiont taxa from colonizing apparently suitable geologies; the low permeability deposits dividing the western and eastern parts of the study area may partly explain the observed distributions

Socio-behaviour challenges to phase III HIV vaccine trials in sub-Saharan Africa

Background: A number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa are preparing for HIV vaccine efficacy trials. Social and behavioural factors related to HIV transmission require examination in each setting where these trials are considered. As part of this, several countries have also recently begun preparatory research investigating relevant social and behavioural issues. There is a need for a review of the literature to help focus such research efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa. Objective: To examine key social and behavioural issues that may impact on the conduct of HIV vaccine efficacy trials in sub-Saharan Africa. Design: Literature review Methods: Major databases (PubMed, PsychInfo, EBSCOhost, and AIDSline) were searched for literature that discussed social and behavioural issues related to HIV vaccine trials. Three areas are highlighted as being particularly significant for HIV vaccine research: (1) willingness to participate in future HIV vaccine efficacy trials, (2) retention of participants in studies, and (3) sexual risk reporting during trials. For each of these topics, major findings from both developed and developing countries are described and avenues for further research are discussed. Results: There are few data from Sub-Saharan Africa regarding willingness to participate in HIV vaccine trials. Data on participant retention rates varies widely, and maintaining large cohorts of individuals within Phase III trials presents an important challenge. In addition, the possible impact of trial participation on sexual disinhibition, and response bias on sexual risk-reporting remain as issues for HIV vaccine trials in African contexts. Conclusions: Social and behavioural research forms an important part of preparations for HIV vaccine efficacy trials, and there is a clear need for more research of this type in Sub-Saharan Africa. Innovative approaches are required to address issues such as willingness to participate in vaccine research, participant retention during efficacy trials, and the accurate reporting by participants of sexual risk behaviours

Surface plasmons on zig-zag gratings

publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticleThis paper was published in Optics Express and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.20.023921 Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.© Copyright 2012 Optical Society of Americ

Liberal market economies, business, and political finance: Britain under New Labour

The extent and nature of business financing of parties is an important feature of political finance. Britain’s transparent and permissive regulatory system provides an excellent opportunity to study business financing of parties. Business donations have been very important to the Conservative party over the last decade, and of only marginal importance to Labour. Unlike other Conservative contributors, business donors are more likely to contribute when the party is popular. In contrast to the previous period of Conservative government, the biggest British businesses tended to abstain from political finance under New Labour. However, their bias towards the Conservatives is affected by the party’s popularity and the closeness of an election. Britain shares the political importance of business financing of parties and its mixture of ideological and pragmatic motivations with other liberal market economies. However, in Britain the bias towards the right is much stronger and the role of big business more marginal

New Zealand Guideline for the Connection of PV Solar Power and Determining Hosting Capacity for PV Solar Power

Small-scale distributed generation (DG) in New Zealand, particularly photovoltaic (PV) generation, has been growing steadily over the past few years. In the last year alone to 31 March 2016, installed PV generation of all capacities has grown by a factor of about 1.6 to reach 37 MW. Approximately 90% (33 MW) of this installed PV capacity is made up of small-scale, single phase residential grid-tied systems with ratings below 10 kW. This corresponds, on average, to approximately 300-400 new PV systems being installed each month within low voltage (LV) distribution networks. Traditionally, the flow of power in electricity distribution networks has been largely unidirectional. However, distributed generation introduces reverse power flows into the LV network when the power produced by DG systems is greater than what can be consumed locally. This introduction of reverse power flows and the dynamic behavior of DG system inverters can negatively impact the electricity network, causing issues such as over-voltage, phase imbalance, overloading of conductors and transformers, and create unique safety challenges. As such, each DG connection application received by electricity distribution businesses (EDBs) presently needs to be carefully considered for its impact on the electricity network. The resourcing demand imposed by larger numbers of connection applications, and the difficulty of technical assessment including congestion evaluation, are likely to increase substantially as DG uptake intensifies. This has prompted the Electric Power Engineering Centre (EPECentre) via its GREEN Grid programme, with the assistance of the electricity industry based Network Analysis Group (NAG), to develop a small-scale inverter based DG connection guideline for New Zealand EDBs. This has been developed on behalf of the Electricity Engineers’ Association (EEA) specifically for the connection of inverter energy systems (IES) of 10 kW or less. This paper summarizes key aspects of this guideline. This includes a streamlined connection application evaluation process that enables EDBs to efficiently categorize DG applications into three groups. These groups vary from those with minimal or moderate network impact that can be autoassessed, to those most likely to cause network congestion that require manual assessment. These categories are determined by looking at the DG hosting capacity specific to the LV network that the DG is connecting to. For two of these categories, mitigation measures for connection, are prescribed. It is also shown how DG hosting capacity can be used to simply evaluate LV network congestion in order to satisfy Electricity Industry Participation Code (EIPC) Part 6 requirements. Key technical requirements for all IES, appropriate for New Zealand conditions, are also summarized

The seabird wreck in the Bay of Biscay and South-Western Approaches in 2014: A review of reported mortality

Between December 2013 and February 2014, a series of storm events occurred in areas of the North Atlantic frequented by migratory seabirds. Prolonged exposure to sustained storm conditions was followed by an unprecedented level of seabird mortality, apparently due to starvation, exhaustion and drowning. A total of 54,982 wrecked birds was recorded along European coastlines of the North-East Atlantic over the winter; 94% of which were dead. The majority of birds found were recorded on the French coastline (79.6%), and the most impacted species was the Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica (53.5%). In this paper, we describe the conditions surrounding this wreck event and report the numbers of wrecked and stranded seabirds by combining reports from multiple affected countries