Clinical potential and design of programmable mechanical impedances for orthotic applications

A person with a moderate or severe motor disability will often use specialised or adapted tools to assist their interaction with a general environment. Such tools can assist with the movement of a person's arms so as to facilitate manipulation, can provide postural supports, or interface to computers, wheelchairs or similar assistive technologies. Designing such devices with programmable stiffness and damping may offer a better means for the person to have effective control of their surroundings. This paper addresses the possibility of designing some assistive technologies using impedance elements that can adapt to the user and the circumstances. Two impedance elements are proposed. The first, based on magnetic particle brakes, allows control of the damping coefficient in a passive element. The second, based on detuning the P-D controller in a servo-motor mechanism, allows control of both stiffness and damping. Such a mechanical impedance can be modulated to the conditions imposed by the task in hand. The limits of linear theory are explored and possible uses of programmable impedance elements are proposed.

Women in art: the last taboo

The intention of this paper is to explore traditions and current trends in art with particular reference to the depiction of female experiences such as pregnancy, abortion, birth and motherhood. The inclusion and exclusion of such images in art history over time and across societies reflects prevailing attitudes, whilst affirming various stereotypical and gendered constructions developed and sustained within those societies. These constructions in turn relate to criteria defined by class, access to education and notions of femininity. Work by artists which feature aspects of these experiences (particularly childbirth), is considered taboo by many in a Western society which continues to render the essentially female experience as private, invisible and stigmitised and confuses the natural with the sexual. The work of undergraduate art students, inspired by the artwork of women artists who make explicit or are influenced by essentially female experiences, is discussed and attempts made to connect their work to the issues outlined.

Advanced global optimisation for mission analysis and design

This report describes the analysis and development of novel tools for the global optimisation of relevant mission design problems. A taxonomy was created for mission design problems, and an empirical analysis of their optimisational complexity performed - it was demonstrated that the use of global optimisation was necessary on most classes and informed the selection of appropriate global algorithms. The selected algorithms were then applied to the di®erent problem classes: Di®erential Evolution was found to be the most e±cient. Considering the speci¯c problem of multiple gravity assist trajectory design, a search space pruning algorithm was developed that displays both polynomial time and space complexity. Empirically, this was shown to typically achieve search space reductions of greater than six orders of magnitude, thus reducing signi¯cantly the complexity of the subsequent optimisation. The algorithm was fully implemented in a software package that allows simple visualisation of high-dimensional search spaces, and e®ective optimisation over the reduced search bounds.

Comparing the fit between BREEAM assessment and design processes

This paper explores the mapping of the environmental assessment process onto design and construction processes. A comparative case study method is used to identify and account for variations in the ‘fit’ between these two processes. The analysis compares eight BREEAM projects (although relevant to LEED, GreenStar, etc.) and distinguishes project-level characteristics and dynamics. Drawing on insights from literature on sustainable construction and assessment methods, an analytic framework is developed to examine the effect of clusters of project and assessment level elements on different types of fit (tight, punctual and bolt-on). Key elements distinguishing between types include: prior working experience with project team members, individual commitment to sustainable construction, experience with sustainable construction, project continuity, project-level ownership of the assessment process, and the nature and continuity of assessor involvement. Professionals with ‘sustainable’ experience used BREEAM judiciously to support their designs (along with other frameworks), but less committed professionals tended to treat it purely as an assessment method. More attention needs to be paid to individual levels of engagement with, and understanding of, sustainability in general (rather than knowledge of technical solutions to individual credits), to ownership of the assessment process and to the potential effect of discontinuities at the project level on sustainable design.

Data stream mining in ubiquitous environments: state-of-the-art and current directions

In this article, we review the state-of-the-art techniques in mining data streams for mobile and ubiquitous environments. We start the review with a concise background of data stream processing, presenting the building blocks for mining data streams. In a wide range of applications, data streams are required to be processed on small ubiquitous devices like smartphones and sensor devices. Mobile and ubiquitous data mining target these applications with tailored techniques and approaches addressing scarcity of resources and mobility issues. Two categories can be identified for mobile and ubiquitous mining of streaming data: single-node and distributed. This survey will cover both categories. Mining mobile and ubiquitous data require algorithms with the ability to monitor and adapt the working conditions to the available computational resources. We identify the key characteristics of these algorithms and present illustrative applications. Distributed data stream mining in the mobile environment is then discussed, presenting the Pocket Data Mining framework. Mobility of users stimulates the adoption of context-awareness in this area of research. Context-awareness and collaboration are discussed in the Collaborative Data Stream Mining, where agents share knowledge to learn adaptive accurate models.

Cloud-assisted body area networks: state-of-the-art and future challenges

Body area networks (BANs) are emerging as enabling technology for many human-centered application domains such as health-care, sport, fitness, wellness, ergonomics, emergency, safety, security, and sociality. A BAN, which basically consists of wireless wearable sensor nodes usually coordinated by a static or mobile device, is mainly exploited to monitor single assisted livings. Data generated by a BAN can be processed in real-time by the BAN coordinator and/or transmitted to a server-side for online/offline processing and long-term storing. A network of BANs worn by a community of people produces large amount of contextual data that require a scalable and efficient approach for elaboration and storage. Cloud computing can provide a flexible storage and processing infrastructure to perform both online and offline analysis of body sensor data streams. In this paper, we motivate the introduction of Cloud-assisted BANs along with the main challenges that need to be addressed for their development and management. The current state-of-the-art is overviewed and framed according to the main requirements for effective Cloud-assisted BAN architectures. Finally, relevant open research issues in terms of efficiency, scalability, security, interoperability, prototyping, dynamic deployment and management, are discussed.

Context relevant persuasive interaction and design: consideration of human factors influencing B2C persuasive interaction

The revolutions of electronic and mobile commerce have opened up unique opportunities for global marketing and business to consumer (B2C) persuasive interaction; with the aim of influencing user behavior. The success or failure of such persuasive interaction is impacted by cultural, social, and personal dimensions. Accordingly, failure to consider such dimensions risks the user forming a negative attitude towards retailer’s websites or mobile applications, which subsequently threatens customer behavior. A better understanding of human factors influencing the way people perceive B2C persuasive interaction is needed. This paper is introduces the concept of a context relevant persuasive interaction and proposes a guideline for designing relevant B2C persuasive interaction.

Design (provisional chapter title)

The move of parts of OUP's publishing operation from London to Oxford in the 1970s allowed the creation of a centralised art and design department. Drawing on material in the OUP archives this chapter traces the kinds of work that this department undertook and the subsequent devolution of design activities to publishing divisions. Book design at Oxford is considered both stylistically and in response to technological changes. The relationship with the Printing House and its design standards, the search for standardisation and the need for economy, and the specialist design skills demanded by OUP's publications are recurring themes. Innovations in using overseas suppliers and in the introduction of desktop publishing technology are located in relation the the organization of the design function at OUP and its relationship to editorial policies.The chapter concludes with a consideration of the corporate identity system introduced in 1998, and its relationship to previous manifestations of 'Oxford style'.

In the intersection of the angles of a table, there is more truth than in all the tangle of muscles: Futurism as anti-humanist critique

The recent celebrations of the centenary of the publication of the Futurist manifesto led to a renewed discussion of the ideas and artworks of the Italian artists’ group. Jacques Rancière related the Futurist ethos with the modernist project of liberating art from representation. Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi, in his post-Futurist manifesto, also identified a historical irony at play in the emptying out of Futurism’s promise: a liberated mechanical humanity did indeed materialize, in a global economic system premised on financial servitude to the future via debt. However, these models continue to assess Futurism against an unchallenged humanism, finding it either supporting ideals of freedom and human rights despite itself, or else lacking in these areas. But Futurism is potentially more relevant than ever not in spite of its anti-humanist agenda, precisely because of it. Tom McCarthy annexes not Futurist art but Futurist writing to an emerging object oriented ontology that seeks to challenge the primacy of the human. If Futurism is to be repurposed as a critical concept, it can only do so by countering the humanist myth the liberal subject that underlies the current cultural and political hegemony of neo-liberalism.