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Defining the Energy Efficiency Design Envelope for Regional Scottish Passivhaus Dwellings
No full textThe aim of this research is to achieve regional solutions to Passivhaus (PH) in Scotland by quantifying the effects of varying key architectural parameters on the energy performance of three prototype house typologies across the different climate data regions. It uses PHPP to generate weather optimisation graphs for glazing area, but expands the variables to include; orientation, typology and roof form. It investigates; detached, semi-detached and mid-terrace housing typologies, altering a number of architectural variables in each case. A four bedroom prototype house design is used based on passive solar principles and specified to comply with a space heating energy demand of under 15 kWh/(m²a) in four Scottish climates and a heating load of under 10 W/m² in two further climate regions. The study investigates the effects on the Specific Space Heat Demand of the prototype design when changing key variables: orientation, area of north and south facing glazing, roof pitch and building form. The results showed marked differences in the thermal performance of the prototype across the seven different climate data regions reflecting the range of climate extremes and their impact on the architectural design. It begins to develop an understanding of the extent to which the different architectural criteria modelled impact on the energy efficiency of the house and the degree to which these can be varied whilst still meeting Passivhaus compliance benchmarks. The study illustrates the need for more nuanced regional solutions to ultra low energy housing in Scotland that better reflects the large regional climatic differences across the country
OPEC Production Management Practices under WTO Law and the Antitrust Law of Non-OPEC Countries
No full textThe petroleum production management practices of OPEC member states have always been controversial particularly among the major petroleum-consuming nations of the developed world. While this controversy has traditionally been kept within the realm of politics, it is increasingly taking a legal form. A number of suits have been brought against OPEC, OPEC member states as well as their national oil companies or subsidiaries, often for alleged breach of national competition regulation. There have also been several attempts to use the WTO dispute settlement system to challenge OPEC member states that are also members of the WTO. This article attempts to answer the question of whether the petroleum production management practices of OPEC member states are subject to any external legal controls in the form of international economic law and the competition or antitrust laws of non-OPEC countries
Routine scale and polish for periodontal health in adults
No full textBackgroundMany dentists or hygienists provide scaling and polishing for patients at regular intervals, even if those patients are considered to be at low risk of developing periodontal disease. There is debate over the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of 'routine scaling and polishing' and the 'optimal' frequency at which it should be provided for healthy adults.A 'routine scale and polish' treatment is defined as scaling or polishing or both of the crown and root surfaces of teeth to remove local irritational factors (plaque, calculus, debris and staining), that does not involve periodontal surgery or any form of adjunctive periodontal therapy such as the use of chemotherapeutic agents or root planing.ObjectivesThe objectives were: 1) to determine the beneficial and harmful effects of routine scaling and polishing for periodontal health; 2) to determine the beneficial and harmful effects of providing routine scaling and polishing at different time intervals on periodontal health; 3) to compare the effects of routine scaling and polishing with or without oral hygiene instruction (OHI) on periodontal health; and 4) to compare the effects of routine scaling and polishing provided by a dentist or dental care professional (dental therapist or dental hygienist) on periodontal health.Search methodsWe searched the following electronic databases: the Cochrane Oral Health Group's Trials Register (to 15 July 2013), CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library 2013, Issue 6), MEDLINE via OVID (1946 to 15 July 2013) and EMBASE via OVID (1980 to 15 July 2013). We searched the metaRegister of Controlled Trials and the US National Institutes of Health Clinical Trials Register (clinicaltrials.gov) for ongoing and completed studies to July 2013. There were no restrictions regarding language or date of publication.Selection criteriaRandomised controlled trials of routine scale and polish treatments (excluding split-mouth trials) with and without OHI in healthy dentate adults, without severe periodontitis.Data collection and analysisTwo review authors screened the results of the searches against inclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed risk of bias independently and in duplicate. We calculated mean differences (MDs) (standardised mean differences (SMDs) when different scales were reported) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for continuous data and, where results were meta-analysed, we used a fixed-effect model as there were fewer than four studies. Study authors were contacted where possible and where deemed necessary for missing information.Main resultsThree studies were included in this review with 836 participants included in the analyses. All three studies are assessed as at unclear risk of bias. The numerical results are only presented here for the primary outcome gingivitis. There were no useable data presented in the studies for the outcomes of attachment change and tooth loss. No studies reported any adverse effects.- Objective 1: Scale and polish versus no scale and polishOnly one trial provided data for the comparison between scale and polish versus no scale and polish. This study was conducted in general practice and compared both six-monthly and 12-monthly scale and polish treatments with no treatment. This study showed no evidence to claim or refute benefit for scale and polish treatments for the outcomes of gingivitis, calculus and plaque. The MD for six-monthly scale and polish, for the percentage of index teeth with bleeding at 24 months was -2% (95% CI -10% to 6%; P value = 0.65), with 40% of the sites in the control group with bleeding. The MD for 12-monthly scale and polish was -1% (95% CI -9% to 7%; P value = 0.82). The body of evidence was assessed as of low quality.- Objective 2: Scale and polish at different time intervalsTwo studies, both at unclear risk of bias, compared routine scale and polish provided at different time intervals. When comparing six with 12 months there was insufficient evidence to determine a difference for gingivitis at 24 months SMD -0.08 (95% CI -0.27 to 0.10). There were some statistically significant differences in favour of scaling and polishing provided at more frequent intervals, in particular between three and 12 months for the outcome of gingivitis at 24 months, with OHI, MD -0.14 (95% CI -0.23 to -0.05; P value = 0.003) and without OHI MD -0.21 (95% CI -0.30 to -0.12; P value < 0.001) (mean per patient measured on 0-3 scale), based on one study. There was some evidence of a reduction in calculus. This body of evidence was assessed as of low quality.- Objective 3: Scale and polish with and without OHIOne study provided data for the comparison of scale and polish treatment with and without OHI. There was a reduction in gingivitis for the 12-month scale and polish treatment when assessed at 24 months MD -0.14 (95% CI -0.22 to -0.06) in favour of including OHI. There were also significant reductions in plaque for both three and 12-month scale and polish treatments when OHI was included. The body of evidence was once again assessed as of low quality.- Objective 4: Scale and polish provided by a dentist compared with a dental care professionalNo studies were found which compared the effects of routine scaling and polishing provided by a dentist or dental care professional (dental therapist or dental hygienist) on periodontal health.Authors' conclusionsThere is insufficient evidence to determine the effects of routine scale and polish treatments. High quality trials conducted in general dental practice settings with sufficiently long follow-up periods (five years or more) are required to address the objectives of this review.<br/
Requirements gathering using drama for computer vision-based monitoring in supportive home environments
No full textThe use of theatrical techniques to provoke discussion amongst potential users of gerontechnology in order to assist with the design process was investigated. Specifically, the technology being developed was automated visual tracking and monitoring to support older people within their homes by analysing their activity and raising the alarm should they fall. A professional author produced a variety of stories, manifested as relatively short video scenarios, illustrating the various ways in which the technology might operate and be used. Professional actors played out these scenarios as video clips which were shown to groups of potential users as a means of generating discussion. The result was a rich, qualitative method of data collection used successfully with older people and providing a systematic way of accessing their valuable input on the design of a tool to help them to live independently. The method provided a way in which the results of drama, and the discussions provoked, could be fed back into the design process. Key words: Dramatised scenarios, fall detection, computer vision
Segmenting multiple objects with overlapping appearance and uncertainty
No full textA probabilistic method is proposed for segmentation of multiple objects that overlap or are in close proximity to one another. A likelihood function is formulated that explicitly models overlapping object appearance. Priors on global appearance and geometry (including shape) are learned from example images. Markov chain Monte Carlo methods are used to obtain samples from a posterior distribution over model parameters from which expectations can be estimated. The method is described in detail for the problem of segmenting femur and tibia in x-ray images. The result is a probabilistic segmentation that quantifies uncertainty so that measurements such as joint space can be made with associated uncertainty
The emotional wellbeing of researchers:considerations for practice
No full textAs technology progressively pervades all aspects of our lives, members of the HCI community are engaging with increasingly sensitive contexts in their research - for example, end of life, genocide, computer-mediated communication under oppressive regimes. The considerations generated by research in such contexts can go well beyond those addressed by generic ethical approval processes and institutional practice. Whilst it is standard to ensure that the wellbeing of participants is taken into account in research design and the ethical approval process, it is much less common for the researcher's own emotional wellbeing to be considered explicitly. This paper describes the role that a researcher's emotions may play in research, and the impact which research in sensitive contexts can have on researchers' emotional wellbeing and on research validity. A qualitative survey is described which investigated the support mechanisms which HCI researchers have in place in case they are distressed/ troubled as a result of their research. The results of the survey are used, in combination with insights into how other disciplines address the topic, to synthesize suggestions for ways in which the HCI community can proactively incorporate consideration for the emotional wellbeing of the researcher into the research process
Categorisation of new classes of digital interaction
No full textThis article introduces a new concept, digital interactivity, through examining local digital culture; and video game culture is employed as a metaphor to interpret local digital culture. As a result, 'control-' and 'communication-based interaction are initiated, based on 'user to media' relationships. Based on the degree of physical interaction, 'liminal' and 'transitive' interactions are initiated. Less physical digital interaction is described as 'liminal' interaction and more physical digital interaction is described as 'transitive' interaction. These new classes of digital interaction can be applied to real-world examples, such as digital interactive installation artworks and video games.</p
The case for randomized controlled trials to assess the impact of clinical information systems
No full textThere is a persistent view of a significant minority in the medical informatics community that the randomized controlled trial (ROT) has a limited role to play in evaluating clinical information systems. A common reason voiced by skeptics is that these systems are fundamentally different from drug interventions, so the RCT is irrelevant. There is an urgent need to promote the use of RCTs, given the shift to evidence-based policy and the need to demonstrate cost-effectiveness of these systems. The authors suggest returning to first principles and argue that what is required is clarity about how to match methods to evaluation questions. The authors address common concerns about RCTs, and the extent to which they are fallacious, and also discuss the challenges of conducting RCTs in informatics and alternative study designs when randomized trials are infeasible. While neither a perfect nor universal evaluation method, RCTs form an important part of an evaluator's toolkit.</p
Artists’ Television: Interruptions–Interventions
No full textPartridge's chapter Investigates the incidence and approach of video art upon broadcast TV in the UK and Europe from Schum (1968) to TV Interventions, Channel 4 1990
The Ambiguities of Transitional Narrative in The Porcupine by Julian Barnes
No full textThis article examines The Porcupine (1992) by Julian Barnes as a rare and early treatment of criminal trial in transitional states at a time when scholarship in the area of transitional justice was in its infancy. Its examination of the relationship between a deposed Communist dictator, a zealous prosecutor, and the public in a state based on Bulgaria foreshadowed many of the issues that would become apparent in later prosecutions by liberal regimes of their illiberal predecessors.In particular, it highlights the potency of fictional narrative to serve as a valuable corrective to the potentially hegemonic official, public narrative of trial or truth commission. It demonstrates that the novel or the play can give voice to the unacknowledged victim, to the vindications of the old regime transitional justice seeks to discredit, to the equivocacy and indeterminativeness of transitionthat the report or verdict cannot. The novel or play can “cut deeper” into the history of repression or violence, allowing more nuanced and even divergent understanding of the past, the process itself, and the future
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