Foresight exercises as a tool for decision-making: the example of two case studies in health

Based on the report for the unit “Foresight Methods Analysis” of the PhD programme on Technology Assessment at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. António B. Moniz

Alveolar fluid clearance in healthy pigs and influence of positive end-expiratory pressure

INTRODUCTION The objectives were to characterize alveolar fluid clearance (AFC) in pigs with normal lungs and to analyze the effect of immediate application of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). METHODS Animals (n = 25) were mechanically ventilated and divided into four groups: small edema (SE) group, producing pulmonary edema (PE) by intratracheal instillation of 4 ml/kg of saline solution; small edema with PEEP (SE + PEEP) group, same as previous but applying PEEP of 10 cmH2O; large edema (LE) group, producing PE by instillation of 10 ml/kg of saline solution; and large edema with PEEP (LE + PEEP) group, same as LE group but applying PEEP of 10 cmH2O. AFC was estimated from differences in extravascular lung water values obtained by transpulmonary thermodilution method. RESULTS At one hour, AFC was 19.4% in SE group and 18.0% in LE group. In the SE + PEEP group, the AFC rate was higher at one hour than at subsequent time points and higher than in the SE group (45.4% vs. 19.4% at one hour, P < 0.05). The AFC rate was also significantly higher in the LE + PEEP than in the LE group at three hours and four hours. CONCLUSIONS In this pig model, the AFC rate is around 20% at one hour and around 50% at four hours, regardless of the amount of edema, and is increased by the application of PEEP.

Meta-morphs: – being a mediator of the ‘thin’ place and ‘thin’ experience in the HE classroom. A paper on the experience of creating transformations in HE teaching and learning

The research which underpins this paper began as a doctoral project exploring archaic beliefs concerning Otherworlds and Thin Places in two particular landscapes - the West Coast of Wales and the West Coast of Ireland. A Thin Place is an ancient Celtic Christian term used to describe a marginal, liminal realm, beyond everyday human experience and perception, where mortals could pass into the Otherworld more readily, or make contact with those in the Otherworld more willingly. To encounter a Thin Place in ancient folklore was significant because it engendered a state of alertness, an awakening to what the theologian John O’ Donohue (2004: 49) called “the primal affection.” These complex notions and terms will be further explored in this paper in relation to Education. Thin Teaching is a pedagogical approach which offers students the space to ruminate on the possibility that their existence can be more and can mean more than the categories they believed they belonged to or felt they should inhabit. Central to the argument then, is that certain places and their inhabitants can become revitalised by sensitively considered teaching methodologies. This raises interesting questions about the role spirituality plays in teaching practice as a tool for healing in the twenty first century.

Trends in Funding, Internationalization, and Types of Study for Original Articles Published in Five Implant-Related Journals Between 2005 and 2009

Purpose: The aims of this study were to evaluate the trends in funding, geographic origin, and study types of original articles in the dental implant literature and to investigate the relationships among these factors. Materials and Methods: Articles published in Clinical Oral Implants Research, The International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants, Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research, Implant Dentistry, and Journal of Oral Implantology from 2005 to 2009 were reviewed. Nonoriginal articles were excluded. For each article included, extramural funding source, geographic origin, and study type were recorded. Descriptive and analytic analyses (alpha = .05), including a logistic regression analysis, and chi-square test were used where appropriate. Results: of a total of 2,085 articles published, 1,503 met the inclusion criteria. The most common source of funding was from industry (32.4%). The proportion of studies that reported funding increased significantly over time. Europe represented the highest percentage (55.8%) of published articles. Most of the articles reported on clinical studies (49.9%), followed by animal studies (25.9%). Articles from Asia and South America and animal and in vitro studies were significantly more likely to be funded. Conclusion: Almost half of the original dental implant articles were funded. The trend toward internationalization of authorship was evident. A strong association was observed between funding and geographic origin and between funding and study type. Most studies in North America and Europe were clinical studies and supported by industry, whereas a greater proportion of studies in Asia and South America were in vitro or animal studies funded through government resources. INT J ORAL MAXILLOFAC IMPLANTS 2012;27:69-76

Non-market valuation of natural and environmental resources in Central America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Futures Studies in Finland

The development of futures studies and the future-oriented attitude of Finnish institutions and the government can serve as great example for other countries. This attitude appears in education and economy, issues in which Finland is highly competitive in. We introduce the futures studies-related organizations and the foresight system of Finland. An overview of the development of futures studies and the activities, purposes of foresight institutions, with a major emphasis on the Finland Futures Research Centre will be presented. The main question is how could other countries utilize the Finnish example? Societal changes depend on the environment and its historical background, making it quite a challenge to come up with an all-adaptable answer for this question. Thus we will only present guidelines and proposals regarding the development of strategy at the end of this paper.

'Scratch' locative audio drama - report to BBC executives on trial at BBC FreeThinking 2008

‘Scratch’ investigates the use of physical space as a representation of narrative and dramatic structure. An audio-drama, it is a world-first in being location-sensitive without being tied to any particular place (preceding attempts by others have emphasised location-specific aspects of the genre). Developed in collaboration with and part-funded by BBC Radio Drama, it builds on research undertaken for ‘Dragons’ (output 4). It uses pre-recorded audio on GPS-enabled mobile devices allowing sounds to be virtually attached to locations in an outdoor space. As participants move, they encounter scenes forming a coherent drama which behave differently if the same place is visited more than once. This translocational approach opens novel artistic possibilities exploited through team expertise in narrative, sound design and advanced interaction. It is also significant in the economics of broadcast media as a more viable proposition than the many experimental locative experiences which have been site-specific: this was of great interest to the BBC. The public performance selected for BBC FreeThinking, 1-2 September 2008 in Liverpool as part of European Capital of Culture was reported in a co-authored 2009 conference presentation at ISEA, Belfast, 26-29 August 2009 and in a co-authored short chapter in Spierling and Szilas (eds.) Interactive Storytelling, Springer 2008. Boyd Davis directed the project and devised and undertook the evaluation with 40 trial listeners, reporting to BBC executives (http://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/1000/) for whom a second trial was also run in London in 2009. The evaluation used interview, video observation and a questionnaire combining an open question at the beginning with more specific questions later, avoiding channelling respondents' reactions immediately after the experience into issues which might not be uppermost in their minds, while also yielding data capable of rigorous analysis. The evaluation was to provide feedback to the makers of the drama and to guide policy at the BBC. [287] Participants were recruited principally through the publicity for FreeThinking 2008 – mainly via the festival website. The average age of participants was 40. The gender of participants was 20 males, 17 females and 3 null returns. The evaluation strategy was to combine an open question at the beginning with more specific questions later. In this way we avoided channeling respondents' initial opinions immediately after the experience into issues which might not be uppermost in their minds, while also yielding data capable of rigorous analysis. The purpose of the evaluation was to provide guidance for ourselves as the makers of the drama and to guide policy at the BBC on locative and other interactive media. The responses are analysed in the report.

Toward a pedagogy of advanced studies in the University : the production of an inventive academic writing in the Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities

Resumen basado en el de la publicaci??n

Embedding arts and humanities in the creative economy: the role of graduates in the UK

The recent change in funding structure in the UK higher education system has fuelled an animated debate about the role that arts and humanities (A&H) subjects play not only within higher education but more broadly in the society and the economy. The debate has engaged with a variety of arguments and perspectives, from the intrinsic value of A&H, to their contribution to the broader society and their economic impact, particularly in relation to the creative economy, through knowledge exchange activities. The paper argues that in the current debate very little attention has been placed on the role that A&H graduates play in the economy, through their work after graduation, and specifically in the creative economy. Using Higher Education Statistical Agency data, we analyse the performance of A&H graduates (compared with other graduates) and particularly explore how embedded they are with the creative economy and its associated industries. The results highlight a complex intersection of different subdisciplines of the A&H with the creative economy but also reveal the salary gap and unstable working conditions experienced by graduates in this field.

Digital technology and creative arts career patterns in the UK creative economy

The creative industries have attracted the attention of academics and policy makers for the complexity surrounding their development, supply-chains and models of production. In particular, many have recognised the difficulty in capturing the role that digital technologies play within the creative industries. Digital technologies are embedded in the production and market structures of the creative industries and are also partially distinct and discernible from it. This paper unfolds the role played by digital technologies focusing on a key aspect of its development: human capital. Using student micro-data collected by the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA) in the United Kingdom, we investigate the characteristics and location determinants of digital graduates. The paper deals specifically with understanding whether digital skills in the UK are equally embedded across the creative industries, or are concentrated in other sub-sectors. Furthermore, it explores the role that these graduates play in each sub-sector and their financial rewards. Findings suggest that digital technology graduates tend to concentrate in the software and gaming sub-sector of the creative industries but also are likely to be in embedded creative jobs outside of the creative industries. Although they are more likely to be in full-time employment than part-time or self-employment, they also suffer from a higher level of unemployment.

Internationalizing the MFA in Creative Writing

is article explores the prospects for internationalizing the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing, a degree that has gained considerable popularity in the United States in the past half century but has yet to gain much of a foothold in other countries. As part of this exploration, we describe the experiences of estab- lishing the first low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing in Asia at City University of Hong Kong, explaining the justification for setting up such a program with reference to the history of teaching creative writing and the current conditions for literary writing in English in Asia and globally. We also reflect upon the processes of planning, curriculum design, and administrative negotiation and that went into setting up the program and report on feedback from the first cohort of students. e experience of setting up this program is used as the basis for raising a number of more general issues regarding the teaching of creative writing in English in interna- tional contexts.