"To design for the future you must leaf through the past": Museums as part of systems of innovation

Museums are not conventionally associated with innovation or viewed as part of innovation systems. After all, we could argue, museums are about the past, heritage, and nostalgia, whereas innovation is about the future. Yet, if this is the case, why does a company such as BMW co-locate its archive, museum, and innovation center? In this preliminary essay on the combination of past and present knowledge in innovation, we revisit the academic literature on innovation systems. We explore how, historically, museums and their collections have contributed to innovation and to the development of innovative designs. We ask: How have organizations set up to preserve the past contributed to the future, and what has encouraged and inhibited these processes? We focus primarily on nineteenth- and twentieth-century experience in the United Kingdom and on the relationships among the arts, design, and industry on the one hand and museum collections on the other

The Influence of Concurrent Visual Feedback During Treadmill Training in Parkinson’s Disease

Walking is an exercise that has been thought to benefit Parkinson’s disease (PD). In a laboratory setting treadmills have been employed to successfully improve certain aspects of gait in PD (Cakit et al., 2007, Fisher et al., 2008, Herman et al., 2007, Miyai et al., 2000, Miyai et al., 2002, Pohl et al., 2003). Research has also indicated that walking with visual cues can improve aspects of gait that are impaired in PD (Azulay et al., 1999, Bagely et al., 1997, Nieuwboer et al., 2007), however, the integration of visual cues and treadmill training has yet to be studied. Thus, the purpose of this thesis was to determine the effect of treadmill training in PD, with and without the availability of concurrent visual feedback. The first chapter was focused on identifying previous exercise strategies that have been utilized in PD. Since a multitude of exercise interventions have been investigated, an evaluation of previous literature included analysis of a number of critical factors including: frequency, intensity and duration of training, the participant sample size, and outcome measures employed. Further, a review of recent PD aerobic testing and training studies guided the development of the current treadmill testing and training protocols. The second chapter examines the influence of 12 weeks of treadmill training with and without concurrent visual feedback on PD motor symptom severity, physiological efficiency and gait responses at baseline, immediately after training and again six weeks later. Findings showed that the motor symptom severity scores worsened immediately after training and remained unchanged six weeks later. However, improvements in aerobic efficiency were found immediately after treadmill training that remained improved at six weeks post training. Similarly, the spatio-temporal characteristics of gait improved immediately after treadmill training and were also maintained at six weeks post training. Overall, immediately after treadmill training with concurrent visual feedback greater gait and aerobic improvements were found that did not wear off when compared to training without this feedback. The results of this study suggest that treadmill training does not improve motor symptom severity. However, treadmill training as a rehabilitative strategy can offer aerobic and gait improvements in PD. The third chapter examines the influence of 12 weeks of treadmill training in PD with and without concurrent visual feedback on the rate of perceived exertion, mean arterial pressure, timed up-and-go and Layfayette pegboard times at baseline, immediately after training and at follow up six weeks later. Across the assessments findings showed not only did the mean arterial pressure lower for both groups but also faster pegboard insertion and removal times were found. Further, trends indicated that with each successive assessment period all participants subjectively reported lower levels of required exertion for each workload and were also faster at the timed up-and-go test. Overall, regardless of group no detectable differences in the functional and clinical outcomes were found. However, after the treadmill training, decreased blood pressure along with faster fine motor control speeds indicated the range of potential benefits that can be attained from this form of training. The last chapter summarizes the principle findings of this thesis that include the physiological efficiency responses, the spatio-temporal gait changes, the motor symptom severity evaluations and the clinical and functional outcomes assessed. This chapter reviews the significant findings and intriguing trends found across the three evaluation periods that included pre-test, post-test and at follow up six weeks after training was completed. These findings are interpreted to provide a platform for the continued investigation of the effects of treadmill training in PD. Similarly, the limitations that occurred were also reviewed to emphasize the necessary considerations for future work in this area. Finally to appropriately conclude and ensure the findings are easily understood, take-home messages were provided to simplify the complex nature of this study. Treadmill training has benefits to offer the PD population that include greater aerobic efficiency and corresponding improvements in gait, however this form of exercise was not successful in motor symptom severity improvement

The Problem of Water in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands: A Cultural Ecological Study

The island of St. Thomas has been home for many cultures over the past thirty-five hundred years, and each society has left its mark on the landscape. This study illustrates the changing relationships between culture and the island environment. It is an attempt to understand how a specific environmental problem has evolved, how a water shortage has come to exist in a relatively wet climatic zone

A comparison of the stable isotopic ecology of eastern, western, and pre-human forest ecosystems in the South Island of New Zealand

New Zealand forests have been reduced and degraded by gross removal, logging, and the effects of mammals introduced by Polynesian and European settlers. These changes increase the value of the remaining forests, so information on the effects of these disturbances will be useful to inform the management of forest protection. Integrated measurements of C and N cycling within forests can be obtained using foliar stable isotope ratios, which may detect differences between forests resulting from natural or anthropogenic disturbances. This thesis characterises the stable isotopic composition distribution and likely drivers of isotopic variation of vegetation in several central South Island forests, and provides a baseline for future ecological New Zealand studies of present and pre-human vegetation. The largest detected stable isotope variation in modern leaf material was that of δ15N values between the eastern and western podocarp-broadleaf forests. This variation was probably controlled by the lower soil N availability associated with the high rainfall of western forests causing low δ15N values (-8.5 ± 3.5 ‰) relative to an eastern forest (+1.6 ± 1.3 ‰) and global temperate forests (average -2.8 ± 2.0 ‰ (Martinelli et al. 1999)). The significant but slightly higher mean δ15N (0.6 ‰) of a historically selectively logged forest (Saltwater Forest) in comparison to the mean in an unlogged forest (Okarito Forest), on the West Coast, could be attributed to either alteration to N cycling from logging, site differences in topography, or local soil N differences between the forests. Although δ13C showed no significant geographical variation, the well-described ‘canopy effect’ was observed in all modern forests, manifested as a positive covariation between δ13C and vegetation height. Similarly, large taxon-specific differences were observed between δ15N and δ13C values in both modern and fossil leaves. Well-preserved fossil leaves, from sediments c. 4500 years B.P in Pyramid Valley, North Canterbury, had higher δ13C (4.2 ‰) and δ15N (2.5 ‰) values than modern vegetation from Riccarton Bush, Christchurch. The difference between ecosystems spanning several millennia probably reflects ecosystem-scale changes in C and N cycling within New Zealand forests following human arrival, particularly from the degradation caused by invasive animals

Prenatal Lead Exposure Risk Assessment by Vermont Maternity Care Providers

Introduction. One percent of women of childbearing age in the U.S. have blood lead levels ≥ 5 ug/dL, which are associated with maternal hypertension during pregnancy, neural tube and cardiac defects in infants, low birth weight, prematurity, and spontaneous abortion. It is unknown whether obstetrics providers in Vermont are screening their pregnant patients for lead levels and educating them on lead exposure risks. Objective. To gain an understanding of current lead screening practices in Vermont and issue recommendations for disseminating lead screening information. Methods. We developed and e-mailed a survey to practicing OB/GYN physicians, maternity care focused family medicine physicians, nurse midwives, and professional midwives. The survey assessed current screening practices for lead exposure in their pregnant patients, interest in receiving statewide guidelines, and guideline dissemination preferences. Results. Of the 41 respondents, 12% currently conduct risk assessments for lead exposure with all of their pregnant patients. Fifty four percent of maternity providers give all of their patients educational materials about lead exposure and risk of toxicity. Seventy one percent of maternity providers think that having guidelines provided by the Vermont Department of Health would encourage them to begin or continue lead exposure screening. The two preferred methods of communicating guidelines to physicians were grand rounds and email whereas non-physician providers preferred email and webinar. Discussion. The majority of pregnant patients in Vermont are not properly assessed or educated about lead risks. However, there is interest in having statewide standardized lead risk assessment guidelines, with dissemination preferences differing by provider type.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1248/thumbnail.jp

Validation of Floating Node Method Using Three-Point Bend Doubler Under Quasi-Static Loading

The NASA Advanced Composite Project (ACP), an industry/government/university partnership, has embarked upon the task of developing technology that can aid in reducing the time line for structural certification of aircraft composite parts using a combination of technologies, one of which is high fidelity damage progression computational methods. Phase II of this project included a task for validating an approach based on the Floating Node Method combined with Directional Cohesive Elements (FNM-DCZE). This paper discusses predicted damage onset and growth in a three-point bend doubler specimen compared to experimental results. Sensitivity of the simulations to mesh refinement as well as key material properties and thermal effects are studied and reported. Overall, qualitative results suggest the main aspects of the damage progression have been captured, with the simulated damage morphology and sequence of events resembling closely what was observed experimentally. Quantitatively, the first load-peak is predicted. However, the re-loading observed in the experiments, after the first load peak, is not captured numerically, suggesting further investigation may be worth pursuing

The Bead Maze Hand Function Test for Children

Importance: There is a need for a pediatric hand function test that can be used to objectively assess movement quality. We have developed a toy-based test, the Bead Maze Hand Function (BMHF) test, to quantify how well a child performs an activity. This is achieved by assessing the control of forces applied while drawing a bead over wires of different complexity. Objective: To study the psychometric properties of the BMHF test and understand the influence of age and task complexity on test measures. Design: A cross-sectional, observational study performed in a single visit. Setting: Clinical research laboratory. Participants: Twenty-three participants (ages 4–15 yr) were recruited locally. They were typically developing children with no illness or conditions that affected their movement. Interventions/Assessments: Participants performed the BMHF test and the Box and Block test with both hands. Outcomes and Measures: Total force and completion time were examined according to age and task complexity using a linear mixed-effects model. We calculated intraclass correlation coefficients to measure interrater reliability of the method and estimated concurrent validity using the Box and Block test. Results: Total force and completion time decreased with age and depended on task complexity. The total force was more sensitive to task complexity. The Box and Block score was associated with BMHF completion time but not with total force. We found excellent interrater reliability. Conclusions and Relevance: A familiar toy equipped with hidden sensors provides a sensitive tool to assess a child’s typical hand function. Plain-Language Summary: We developed the Bead Maze Hand Function (BMHF) test to determine how well a child performs an activity with their hands. The BMHF test is a toy equipped with hidden sensors. Twenty-three typically developing children with no illnesses or conditions that affected their hand movement participated in the study. We asked the children to perform the BMHF test with both hands. Our study found that occupational therapists can reliably use the BMHF test to assess a child’s hand function

Research Priorities in Pediatric Palliative Care: A Delphi Study

Pediatric palliative care is increasingly recognized to be a specialized type of care requiring specific skills and knowledge, yet, as found in several countries, there is little available research evidence on which to base care. Objectives: The goal of the project was to achieve consensus among palliative care practitioners and researchers regarding the identification of pertinents lines of research. Method: A Delphi technique was used with an interdisciplinary panel (n=14–16) of researchers and frontline clinicians in pediatric palliative care in Canada. Results: Four priority research questions were identified: What matters most for patients and parents receiving pediatric palliative services? What are the bereavement needs of families in pediatric palliative care? What are the best practice standards in pain and symptom management? What are effective strategies to alleviate suffering at the end of life? Conclusions: These identified priorities will provide guidance and direction for research efforts in Canada, and may prove useful in providing optimal care to patients and families in pediatric palliative care

Academic motherhood and fieldwork: Juggling time, emotions and competing demands

The idea and practice of going ‘into the field’ to conduct research and gather data is a deeply rooted aspect of Geography as a discipline. For global North Development Geographers, amongst others, this usually entails travelling to, and spending periods of time in, often far-flung parts of the global South. Forging a successful academic career as a Development Geographer in the UK, is therefore to some extent predicated on mobility. This paper aims to critically engage with the gendered aspects of this expected mobility, focusing on the challenges and time constraints that are apparent when conducting overseas fieldwork as a mother, unaccompanied by her children. The paper emphasises the emotion work that is entailed in balancing the competing demands of overseas fieldwork and mothering, and begins to think through the implications of these challenges in terms of the types of knowledge we produce, as well as in relation to gender equality within the academy