Relics

Relics is a single-channel video derived from a 3D computer animation that combines a range of media including photography, drawing, painting, and pre-shot video. It is constructed around a series of pictorial stills which become interlinked by the more traditionally filmic processes of panning, zooming and crane shots. In keeping with these ideas, the work revolves around a series of static architectural forms within the strangely menacing enclosure of a geodesic dome. These clinical aspects of the work are complemented by a series of elements that evoke fluidity : fireworks, mirrored biomorphic forms and oscillating projections. The visual dimension of the work is complemented by a soundtrack of rainforest bird calls. Through its ambiguous combination of recorded and virtual imagery, Relics explores the indeterminate boundaries between real and virtual space. On the one hand, it represents actual events and spaces drawn from the artist studio and image archive; on the other it represents the highly idealised spaces of drawing and 3D animation. In this work the disembodied wandering virtual eye is met with an uncanny combination of scenes, where scale and the relationships between objects are disrupted and changed. Through this simultaneity between the real and the virtual, the work conveys a disembodied sense of space and time that carries a powerful sense of affect. Relics was among the first international examples of 3D animation technology in contemporary art. It was originally exhibited in the artist’s solo show, ‘Places That Don’t Exist’ (2007, George Petelin Gallery, Gold Coast) and went on to be included in the group shows ‘d/Art 07/Screen: The Post Cinema Experience’ (2007, Chauvel Cinema, Sydney) , ‘Experimenta Utopia Now: International Biennial of Media Art’ (2010, Arts Centre, Melbourne and national touring venues) and ‘Move on Asia’ (2009, Alternative space Loop, Seoul and Para-site Art Space, Hong Kong) and was broadcast on Souvenirs from Earth (Video Art Cable Channel, Germany and France). The work was analysed in catalogue texts for ‘Places That Don’t Exist’ (2007), ‘d/Art 07’ (2007) and ‘Experimenta Utopia Now’ (2010) and the’ Souvenirs from Earth’ website.

park(ing) day

Walking through the city, passersby are occasionally jolted out of the mundane by surprises that seem out of place or incongruous with the expected urban function––a hidden cafe, or an unknown public art project. If you happen to be wandering through a major city on the third Friday of September each year, you might encounter a parking space that has been temporarily transformed into a "park" with green grass, a bench and an umbrella, perhaps a lemonade stand, a nursery, or an interactive space with a survey about local issues.

Exploring the effect of companion robots on emotional expression in older people with dementia : a pilot randomized controlled trial

This pilot study aimed to compare the effect of companion robots (PARO) to participation in an interactive reading group on emotions in people living with moderate to severe dementia in a residential care setting. A randomized crossover design, with PARO and reading control groups, was used. Eighteen residents with mid- to late-stage dementia from one aged care facility in Queensland, Australia, were recruited. Participants were assessed three times using the Quality of Life in Alzheimer’s Disease, Rating Anxiety in Dementia, Apathy Evaluation, Geriatric Depression, and Revised Algase Wandering Scales. PARO had a moderate to large positive influence on participants’ quality of life compared to the reading group. The PARO intervention group had higher pleasure scores when compared to the reading group. Findings suggest PARO may be useful as a treatment option for people with dementia; however, the need for a larger trial was identified.

Evidence for the safety and quality issues associated with the care of patients with cognitive impairment in acute care settings : a rapid review

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care commissioned this rapid review to identify recent evidence in relation to three key questions: 1. What is the current evidence of quality and safety issues regarding the hospital experience of people with cognitive impairment (dementia/delirium)? 2. What are the existing evidence-based pathways, best practice or guidelines for cognitive impairment in hospitals? 3. What are the key components of an ideal patient journey for a person with dementia and/or delirium? The purpose of this review is to identify best practice in caring for patients with cognitive impairment (CI) in acute hospital settings. CI refers to patients with dementia and delirium but can include other conditions. For the purposes of this report, ‘Hospitals’ is defined as acute care settings and includes care provided by acute care institutions in other settings (e.g. Multipurpose Services and Hospital in the Home). It does not include residential aged care settings nor palliative care services that are not part of a service provided by an acute care institution. Method Both peer-reviewed publications and the grey literature were comprehensively searched for recent (primarily post 2010) publications, reports and guidelines that addressed the three key questions. The literature was evaluated and graded according to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) levels of criteria (see Evidence Summary – Appendix B). Results Thirty-one recent publications were retrieved in relation to quality and safety issues faced by people with CI in acute hospitals. The results indicate that CI is a common problem in hospitals (upwards of 30% - the rate increases with increasing patient age), although this is likely to be an underestimate, in part, due to numbers of patients without a formal dementia diagnosis. There is a large body of evidence showing that patients with CI have worse outcomes than patients without CI following hospitalisation including increased mortality, more complications, longer hospital stays, increased system costs as well as functional and cognitive decline. 4 To improve the care of patients with CI in hospital, best practice guidelines have been developed, of which sixteen recent guidelines/position statements/standards were identified in this review (Table 2). Four guidelines described standards or quality indicators for providing optimal care for the older person with CI in hospital, in general, while three focused on delirium diagnosis, prevention and management. The remaining guidelines/statements focused on specific issues in relation to the care of patients with CI in acute hospitals including hydration, nutrition, wandering and care in the Emergency Department (ED). A key message in several of the guidelines was that older patients should be assessed for CI at admission and this is particularly important in the case of delirium, which can indicate an emergency, in order to implement treatment. A second clear mess...

Brief guided imagery and body scanning interventions reduce food cravings

Elaborated Intrusion (EI) Theory proposes that cravings occur when involuntary thoughts about food are elaborated; a key part of elaboration is affectively-charged imagery. Craving can be weakened by working memory tasks that block imagery. EI Theory predicts that cravings should also be reduced by preventing involuntary thoughts being elaborated in the first place. Research has found that imagery techniques such as body scanning and guided imagery can reduce the occurrence of food thoughts. This study tested the prediction that these techniques also reduce craving. We asked participants to abstain from food overnight, and then to carry out 10 min of body scanning, guided imagery, or a control mind wandering task. They rated their craving at 10 points during the task on a single item measure, and before and after the task using the Craving Experience Questionnaire. While craving rose during the task for the mind wandering group, neither the guided imagery nor body scanning group showed an increase. These effects were not detected by the CEQ, suggesting that they are only present during the competing task. As they require no devices or materials and are unobtrusive, brief guided imagery strategies might form useful components of weight loss programmes that attempt to address cravings.

The sideways hourglass : establishing the lemniscate as a narrative structure for writing and reading non-linear stories

This thesis is a study in narratology that examines the pre-theoretical ideas that underlie the study of narrative and time. The thesis explores how the lemniscate can be transported from geometry to narrative in order to structure a non-linear story that breaks the rules of causality and chronology by coupling physical movement through space with the backward pull of memory. The findings offer new possibilities for understanding the nexus between shape and story and for recording non-linear narratives that are marked by simultaneity, counterpoint, and reversal.

The effectiveness of meaningful occupation interventions for people living with dementia in residential aged care: A systematic review protocol

Review questions/objective What is the effectiveness of meaningful occupation interventions for people living with dementia in residential aged care facilities? More specifically, the objectives are to identify: The effectiveness of interventions based on engaging residents of residential aged care facilities who have dementia in meaningful occupation (activities that have meaning for the individual) on: quality of life, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (such as agitation, aggression, depression, wandering, apathy, etc.), mood, function, cognition, and sleep. Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider studies that include participants with a confirmed diagnosis of any type of dementia living in residential aged care facilities / long term care/nursing homes/permanent care. Types of intervention(s)/phenomena of interest This review will consider studies that evaluate non-pharmacological interventions that are based on occupational or activity interventions considered to be meaningful to the person with dementia, and tailoring the intervention to meet their needs, abilities, interests and/or preferences will be required as part of the study’s methodology. Such interventions may include reminiscence therapy, exercise therapy, music therapy, individualized activity, behavioral interventions, recreational therapy, diversional therapy and psychosocial interventions. Trials of combinations of two or more such interventions will also be considered. Interventions may be in comparison to usual care, other meaningful occupation interventions, or any other non-pharmacological control or comparator.

A pilot RCT of a multi-component nutrition intervention for nursing home residents with dementia

Background Malnutrition and unintentional weight loss are major clinical issues in people with dementia living in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) and are associated with serious adverse outcomes. However, evidence regarding effective interventions is limited and strategies to improve the nutritional status of this population are required. This presentation describes the implementation and results of a pilot randomised controlled trial of a multi-component intervention for improving the nutritional status of RACF residents with dementia. Method Fifteen residents with moderate-severe dementia living in a secure long-term RACF participated in a five week pilot study. Participants were randomly allocated to either an Intervention (n=8) or Control group (n=7). The intervention comprised four elements delivered in a separate dining room at lunch and dinner: the systematic reinforcement of residents’ eating behaviors using a specific communication protocol; family-style dining; high ambiance table presentation; and routine Dietary-Nutrition Champion supervision. Control group participants ate their meals according to the facility’s standard practice. Baseline and follow-up assessments of nutritional status, food consumption, and body mass index were obtained by qualified nutritionists. Additional assessments included measures of cognitive functioning, mealtime agitation, depression, wandering status and multiple measures of intervention fidelity. Results No participant was malnourished at study commencement and participants in both groups gained weight from follow-up to baseline which was not significantly different between groups (t=0.43; p=0.67). A high degree of treatment fidelity was evident throughout the intervention. Qualitative data from staff indicate the intervention was perceived to be beneficial for residents. Conclusions This multi-component nutritional intervention was well received and was feasible in the RACF setting. Participants’ sound nutritional status at baseline likely accounts for the lack of an intervention effect. Further research using this protocol in malnourished residents is recommended. For success, a collaborative approach between researchers and facility staff, particularly dietary staff, is essential.

Kirkko sydämessä : Uskonnon muokkautuminen ja individuaatio inkerinsuomalaisten elämänvaiheissa 1900-luvulla

The Church in one s heart. The formation of religion and individuation in the lives of Ingrian Finns in the 20th century. Sinikka Haapaniemi University of Helsinki, Finland 302 pages The study falls within the sphere of religious views and the problematique of the life trajectory. The target group comprises those Finnish speakers (Ingrian Finns, Ingrians) living in what was historically Ingermanland and who in varying circumstances became scattered. These times were characterized by pressures for change due to societal reasons and reasons of war. In conditions of change external living conditions matters of religious conviction may assume new meaning and form. The examination focuses on sustaining personal faith in difficult life situations and on how crises affected religious views. Another level of scrutiny takes shape through the terminology of the analytic psychology of C.G. Jung. Individuation is deemed to occur as a cumulative process through the stages of life. The basic data for the study comprises interviews with twenty (20) natives of Ingria and their biographical narratives written in standard language. Many biographical accounts and memoirs serve as secondary data. The interviewees, who were largely selected at random, recounted their lives without questions formulated in advance. The study falls within the field of comparative religion and adheres to the principles of qualitative research practice and the case-study method. Effort was made to get to know each interviewee in the situation which his/her narrative presents. The aim is to pay attention to the interpretations given by the narrators of their various experiences and to understand their meanings on a personal level. The years during which the Ingrians were scattered, wandering and returning raise problems of survival. An individual s own initiative assumes individual forms and emphases. Religion was part of the narrators lives as one factor in the quality of life. Their religious thinking was influenced by both their home upbringing and the teaching of the Church. The interviewees took a serious attitude to the informative teaching of confirmation training. When there was no longer a church, it was claimed that the church travelled with them. Changed circumstances tested the validity of the teachings. The message of the Church institution persisted and helped them to preserve their traditions. A striving for unity and for the presence of a community emerged both in the form of ritual behaviour and in a predilection to sociability. Gradually, as they returned, the activity of the Church of Ingria began to revive. At the turn of the millennium the network of parishes was extensive and cultural activity flourished wherever the Ingrians settled in the postwar decades. Religion is part of the process of individuation. Examination of religion and individuation shows that religion remained an individual view, whose factual base was formed by Christianity and the tradition of the Church. Home upbringing served to orientate, but not to bind. With ageing the importance of independent thought is emphasized, for example in relation to confession, it did not pose a threat to individuality. Keywords: Life story, Religiosity, individuation, Ingrian, the Church of Ingria

Luminosity profiles of advanced mergers of galaxies using 2MASS data

A sample of 27 disturbed galaxies that show signs of interaction but have a single nucleus were selected from the Arp and the Arp-Madore catalogues. For these, the Ks band images from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) are analysed to obtain their radial luminosity pro�les and other structural parameters. We �nd that in spite of their similar optical appearance, the sample galaxies vary in their dynamical properties, and fall into two distinct classes. The �rst class consists of galaxies which can be described by a single r1=4 law and the second class consists of galaxies that show an outer exponential disk. A few galaxies that have disturbed pro�les cannot be �t into either of the above classes. However, all the galaxies are similar in all other parameters such as the far-infrared colours, the molecular hydrogen content and the central velocity dispersion. Thus, the dynamical parameters of these sets seem to be determined by the ratio of the initial masses of the colliding galaxies. We propose that the galaxies in the �rst class result from a merger of spiral galaxies of equal masses whereas the second class of galaxies results from a merger of unequal mass galaxies. The few objects that do not fall into either category show a disturbed luminosity pro�le and a wandering centre, which is indicative of these being unrelaxed mergers. Of the 27 galaxies in our sample, 9 show elliptical-like pro�les and 13 show an outer exponential. Interestingly, Arp 224, the second oldest merger remnant of the Toomre sequence shows an exponential disk in the outer parts.

Rendezvous of Multiple UAVs with Collision Avoidance Using Consensus

This paper addresses the problem of multiple unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) rendezvous when the UAVs have to perform maneuvers to avoid collisions with other UAVs. The proposed solution consists of using velocity control and a wandering maneuver, if needed, of the UAVs based on a consensus among them on the estimated time of arrival at the point of the rendezvous. This algorithm, with a slight modification is shown to be useful in tracking stationary or slowly moving targets with a standoff distance. The proposed algorithm is simple and computationally efficient. The simulation results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0000145. (C) 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Threshold-Independent QRS Detection Using the Dynamic Plosion Index

Detection of QRS serves as a first step in many automated ECG analysis techniques. Motivated by the strong similarities between the signal structures of an ECG signal and the integrated linear prediction residual (ILPR) of voiced speech, an algorithm proposed earlier for epoch detection from ILPR is extended to the problem of QRS detection. The ECG signal is pre-processed by high-pass filtering to remove the baseline wandering and by half-wave rectification to reduce the ambiguities. The initial estimates of the QRS are iteratively obtained using a non-linear temporal feature, named the dynamic plosion index suitable for detection of transients in a signal. These estimates are further refined to obtain a higher temporal accuracy. Unlike most of the high performance algorithms, this technique does not make use of any threshold or differencing operation. The proposed algorithm is validated on the MIT-BIH database using the standard metrics and its performance is found to be comparable to the state-of-the-art algorithms, despite its threshold independence and simple decision logic.

Los gitanos en la España del siglo XV y su vinculación a Hungría

Rara vez el público relaciona la llegada de los gitanos a los reinos de España con el siglo XV. Para muchos lo gitano es la esencia más española, de cuya tradición beben escritores y músicos. Esto no es así, los “egipcianos” llegaron hace seis siglos en calidad de penitentes refugiados que huían del turco, lo que en historia no es mucho tiempo atrás. Llegaron a la península cruzando Europa, entrando a ésta por el Reino de Hungría, siguiendo las rutas de peregrinación como forma de subsistencia. Su inadaptación al modelo de vasallo de la Monarquía absoluta trajo su persecución. Los vientos de la reforma y del erasmismo tampoco les favorecieron.

Studies in vortex motion

This thesis covers four different problems in the understanding of vortex sheets, and these are presented in four chapters.

In Chapter 1, free streamline theory is used to determine the steady solutions of an array of identical, hollow or stagnant core vortices in an inviscid, incompressible fluid. Assuming the array is symmetric to rotation through π radians about an axis through any vortex centre, there are two solutions or no solutions depending on whether A^(1/2)/L is less than or greater than 0.38 where A is the area of the vortex and L is the separation distance. Stability analysis shows that the more deformed shape is unstable to infinitesimal symmetric disturbances which leave the centres of the vortices undisplaced.

Chapter 2 is concerned with the roll-up of vortex sheets in homogeneous fluid. The flow over conventional and ring wings is used to test the method of Fink and Soh (1974). Despite modifications which improve the accuracy of the method, unphysical results occur. A possible explanation for this is that small scales are important and an alternate method based on "Cloud-in-Cell" techniques is introduced. The results show small scale growth and amalgamation into larger structures.

The motion of a buoyant pair of line vortices of opposite circulation is considered in Chapter 3. The density difference between the fluid carried by the vortices and the fluid outside is considered small, so that the Boussinesq approximation may be used. A macroscopic model is developed which shows the formation of a detrainment filament and this is included as a modification to the model. The results agree well with the numerical solution as developed by Hill (1975b) and show that after an initial slowdown, the vortices begin to accelerate downwards.

Chapter 4 reproduces completely a paper that has already been published (Baker, Barker, Bofah and Saffman (1974)) on the effect of "vortex wandering" on the measurement of velocity profiles of the trailing vortices behind a wing.

Autobiografia de ficção como matéria de historicidade em João do Rio e em João Gilberto Noll

A análise de arquivos jornalísticos para a formação do conceito de historicidade em torno das obras Memórias de um rato de hotel (1912), de João do Rio, e Bandoleiros (1985), de João Gilberto Noll, foi a nossa primeira contribuição para a formação do objeto autobiografia de ficção, ou autoficção, como também denominamos. A partir desses arquivos de memórias, relativos a dois contextos finisseculares, o XIX e o XX respectivamente, pudemos compreender a historicidade como matriz do nosso objeto autoficção, permeada pelo que Foucault chama de efetividade cotidiana. Essa efetividade do cotidiano é costurada pelo fio da oralidade, que se refere ao elenco das atividades humanas no todo social, tendo como principal característica a ação comunicativa entre os sujeitos. Assim, ligamos a oralidade à historicidade em duas perspectivas complementares: os ditos e os escritos. A primeira diz respeito aos processos da comunicação humana e suas trocas simbólicas, que são projetadas na cultura: os ditos. A segunda se refere ao produto das representações literais do sujeito, grafadas no dorso impresso da memória: os escritos. A memória é a chave de acesso à escrita do si, que se distingue do que chamamos de autoficção, porque nessa última prevalecem as experiências do tempo presente para o futuro. Memórias de um rato de hotel é a escrita de um Eu-autor, contando do cárcere as suas experiências de gatuno no contexto da belle époque carioca. Por meio da memória, ele reconstrói o contexto finissecular, enfatizando a degradação urbana e a decadência ética da burguesia em ascensão, nos tempos da recém-inaugurada República. Na autoficção Bandoleiros, temos o relato vertiginoso de um Eu-narrador, contando do seus fracassos literários e conjugais. Ele é um escritor decadente, transitando nos espaços degradados da pós-modernidade, retirando dessa perambulação o material vivo de seu livro Sol macabro. Nessa autoficção, Noll registra as impressões sobre a realidade dos 1980, focalizando as subjetividades agônicas à margem do capitalismo tardio, num trânsito indômito entre Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro e os Estados Unidos. Na nossa tese, compreendemos a realidade como a matéria plástica da autobiografia de ficção. A experiência mundana do escritor é também forte aliada na composição de uma estética subjetiva, ou subjestética, que está para além do auto-retrato narcísico da autobiografia, em suas formas tradicionais