Touchscreen interventions for people with dementia

This project builds on the existing evidence that suggests that art-based interventions can be beneficial for the wellbeing of people with dementia and their carers, and explores whether such interventions can be delivered via a touchscreen tablet device using an application that allows them to view art images. Twelve pairs of volunteers with dementia and their informal carers were recruited through Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Cafés. A quasi-experimental mixed-methods within-subjects study evaluated the impact of art-viewing on wellbeing using visual analogue scales as well as exploring the experiences of participants qualitatively with thematic analysis. Quantitative results showed a significant effect for change in composite wellbeing from viewing session one to session five. Wellbeing subdomain scores showed an impact on wellbeing which tended to increase with the number of sessions. Qualitative findings were reported in relation to shifts in cognition, changes in behaviour, mood and relationships between people with dementia and their carers. These changes tended to be viewed as positive by interviewees. The results suggest that touchscreen based art interventions have the potential to provide an activity people with dementia can engage in with their carers which can benefit their wellbeing. A larger-scale controlled study would help to further determine whether wider dementia care practice implications can be drawn for clinical psychologists and other healthcare providers

Convergence of calls as animals form social bonds, active compensation for noisy communication channels, and the evolution of vocal learning in mammals

Author Posting. © American Psychological Association, 2008. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of American Psychological Association for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Comparative Psychology 122 (2008): 319-331, doi:10.1037/a0013087.The classic evidence for vocal production learning involves imitation of novel, often anthropogenic sounds. Among mammals, this has been reported for African elephants, harbor seals, and dolphins. A broader taxonomic distribution has been reported for vocal convergence, where the acoustic properties of calls from different individuals converge when they are housed together in captivity or form social bonds in the wild. This kind of vocal convergence has been demonstrated for animals as diverse as songbirds, parakeets, bats, elephants, cetaceans, and primates. For most of these species, call convergence is thought to reflect a group-distinctive identifier, with shared calls reflecting and strengthening social bonds. Pooling data on vocal imitation and vocal convergence suggests a wider taxonomic distribution of vocal production learning among mammals than generally appreciated. The wide taxonomic distribution of this evidence for vocal production learning suggests that perhaps more of the neural underpinnings for vocal production learning are in place in mammals than is usually imagined. One ubiquitous function for vocal production learning that is starting to receive attention involves modifying signals to improve communication in a noisy channel

An optical telemetry device to identify which dolphin produces a sound

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 1985. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 78 (1985): 1892-1895, doi:10.1121/1.392777.A small telemetry device, called a "vocalight," was designed for attachment to a dolphin's head using a suction cup. The vocalight lights up a variable number of light-emitting diodes depending upon the loudness of sounds received at a hydrophone within the suction cup. If vocalights matched for sensitivity are put on each dolphin within a captive group, observers can identify which dolphin produces a vocalization. Use of vocalights indicates that source levels of whistles from captive bottlenosed dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, range from approximately 125 to over 140 dB re: 1 µPa at 1 m.This research was performed with financial assistance from a W.H.O.I. Postdoctoral Scholar Award and N.I.H. Postdoctoral Fellowship S-F32-NS07206

The effect of catchment characteristics on sewage settling velocity grading

A procedure has been developed which measures the settling velocity distribution of particles within a complete sewage sample. The development of the test method included observations of particle and liquid interaction using both synthetic media and sewage. Comparison studies with two other currently used settling velocity test procedures was undertaken. The method is suitable for use with either DWF or storm sewage. Information relating to the catchment characteristics of 35 No. wastewater treatment works was collected from the privatised water companies in England and Wales. 29 No. of these sites were used in an experimental programme to determine the settling velocity grading of 33 No. sewage samples. The collected data were analysed in an attempt to relate the settling velocity distribution to the characteristics of the contributing catchment. Statistical analysis of the catchment data and the measured settling velocity distributions was undertaken. A curve fitting exercise using an S-shaped curve which had the same physical characteristics as the settling velocity distributions was performed. None of these analyses found evidence that the settling velocity distribution of sewage had a significant relationship with the chosen catchment characteristics. The regression equations produced from the statistical analysis cannot be used to assist in the design of separation devices. However, a grading curve envelope was produced, the limits of which were clearly defined for the measured data set. There was no evidence of a relationship between settling velocity grading and the characteristics of the contributing catchment, particularly the catchment area. The present empirical approach to settling tank design cannot be improved upon at present by considering the variation in catchment parameters. This study has provided a basis for future research into the settling velocity measurement and should be of benefit to future workers within this field

Viewing art on a tablet computer: a wellbeing intervention for people with dementia and their caregivers

Background: Art-based interventions have been shown to be beneficial for the wellbeing of people with dementia and their caregivers. This paper explored whether such interventions can be delivered via a touchscreen tablet device displaying art images. Methods: Twelve pairs of volunteers with dementia and informal caregivers were recruited. A quasi-experimental mixed-methods within-subjects study evaluated the wellbeing impacts of art viewing using visual analogue scales and explored participant experiences with thematic analysis. Findings: Quantitative results showed a significant effect for change in composite wellbeing from session one to session five. Wellbeing subdomains showed impact on wellbeing, which generally increased with number of sessions. Qualitative findings included changes in cognition, behaviour, mood and relationships. These changes tended to be viewed positively. Conclusions: The results suggest touchscreen-based art interventions could yield wellbeing benefits for this population. A larger-scale controlled study would help to determine whether wider dementia care practice implications can be drawn

A datalogger to identify vocalizing dolphins

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 1991. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 90 (1991): 1668-1671, doi:10.1121/1.401908.A datalogger was developed to identify vocalizing dolphins within socially interacting captive groups. Every 50 ms the logger stores data on the level and frequency of detected sound. Dataloggers are temporarily attached to dolphins by suction cups for data collection sessions lasting up to 45 min. Later, computer analysis of data from the dataloggers reveals which dolphin produced each vocalization recorded during the session. Results from use of dataloggers with two captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) at the New England Aquarium in Boston, MA are presented. The possible use of dataloggers with wild dolphins is discussed.This work was supported by ONR Grant No. N00014-87-K-0236

Postpartum whistle production in bottlenose dolphins

Author Posting. © Society for Marine Mammalogy, 2008. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of John Wiley & Sons for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Marine Mammal Science 24 (2008): 479-502, doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2008.00195.x.Despite much research on bottlenose dolphin signature whistles, few have investigated the role of maternal whistles in early calf development. We investigated maternal whistle use in the first weeks postpartum for captive dolphins. The overall whistling rate increased by a factor of ten when the calves were born and then decreased again in the third week of the one surviving calf. Adult whistles were distinguished from calf whistles based on the extent of frequency modulation and were further classified into signature and non-signature whistles by comparison to a dictionary of known whistles. The average rate of maternal signature whistle production increased significantly from 0.02 whistles per dolphin-minute before the calves were born to 0.2 and 0.3 whistles in weeks 1 and 2, decreasing again to 0.06 in week 3 for the mother of the surviving calf. Percent maternal signature whistles changed similarly. Signature whistle production by non-mothers did not change when the calves were born. A likely function of this increase in maternal signature whistle production is that it enables the calf to learn to identify the mother in the first weeks of life.This research was funded by a Howard Hughes Predoctoral Fellowship, the Ocean Ventures Fund, and the WHOI education department

Pollution in the open oceans: 2009-2013

This review of pollution in the open oceans updates a report on this topic prepared by GESAMP five years previously (Reports and Studies No. 79, GESAMP, 2009). The latter report, the first from GESAMP focusing specifically on the oceans beyond the 200 m depth contour, was prepared for purposes of the Assessment of Assessments, the preparatory phase of a regular process for assessing the state of the marine environment, led jointly by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO-IOC)