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Joie de vivre
No full textSarah Bodman talks with Sarah Boris about her love of joyful colours and how she uses screenprint to express solidarity and hope
Retrofitting historic stock requires a pragmatic approach (Part 1)
No full textThe first of two parts, this article explores the considerations for retrofitting historic and heritage buildings to enhance sustainability. This includes available guidance and tools, as well as determining client objectives to inform the approach and specification. Importantly the article highlights the importance of determining how a building performs to avoid causing negative unintended consequences through specifying inappropriate interventions
Will paying for road use prove electrifying?
No full textThe 21st PTRC Fireside Chat examined the UK Government's proposed introduction of a pay-per-mile charge for use of electric cars. In this writeup, the following takeway points emerge:1. Government is presenting eVED as inevitable not debatable and on balance it seems like a dose of common sense; and by having it now out in the open allows people to think and plan ahead.2. In essence, eVED is an extension of fuel duty, with which the public are familiar.3. Electric car drivers recognise that they would eventually need to pay their way.4. Whether you have the choice to charge your EV at home has a substantial implication at present for fairness when it comes to electric cars, which eVED could exacerbate.5. The difference in profile of early adopters of EVs compared to later adopters should not be underestimated.6. The EV transition is underway and the UK policy framework for the transition is commendable.7. The timing of eVED being introduced could harm the momentum of the EV transition.8. The simplicity of eVED is key to its implementation and operation, though when something affects millions of people it is seldom simple.9. Progressing eVED could still prove to be playing with fire as finer details are progressed and communicated.10.The need for continued positive messaging to the public is crucial in a climate of negative press coverage.11.The principle behind eVED is that it is a tax source akin to fuel duty, and the sooner eVED becomes boring to debate the better.12.The message to the public should be that they are being asked to pay a modest sum of money for the miles they drive, and they will likely be better off overall as EV drivers than as petrol or diesel drivers.13.There is a distinction between perception and reality and between those without EVs (and exposed to news feeds of opinion) and those EV owners experiencing reality.14.A charge of 3p per mile might only be the start if replacing fuel duty is the goal, which would require this rate to triple.15.The overall policy context needs to be promoting sustainable electric car use, not merely electric car use and in this respect alternatives to the car need to be attractive.16.Paying per mile and being aware of it could be valuable to influencing travel behaviour (for all drivers, not only EV drivers).17.If eVED, having now been announced, falters as a measure then the window of opportunity for its introduction may be lost for a decade or longer.18.In a currently unpredictable and volatile political landscape, the latest the next general election in the UK can be called is 2029, not long after the proposed April 2028 introduction of eVED
Quantifying cyber threat using Bayesian statistical analysis
No full textModern organisations face a cyber threat landscape that evolves faster than traditional qualitative risk scoring can adapt. It is important for organisations to keep pace with adversaries’ tactics and react accordingly. This paper develops a quantitative cyber risk assessment framework that integrates Bayesian statistical analysis with system specific hazard mapping. Drawing on the Cyber Security Body of Knowledge (CyBOK) Risk Management and NIST guidance, the study maps unacceptable and acceptable losses to hazards, links hazards to MITRE ATT&CK tactics and onto broader threat categories; and Bayes’ Theorem is applied to update threat probabilities as new cyber threat intelligence (CTI) is ingested. A proof of concept spreadsheet tool was developed - it ingests CTI pulses from publicly available feeds and recalculates hazard probabilities for each system, producing dynamic risk scores and dashboards. Evaluation using a simulated vulnerability set shows that the tool reprioritises hazards based on current exploitation activity: vulnerabilities with recent CTI evidence receive higher posterior probabilities than those with similar CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) scores but no active threats. The tool’s transparency and its value in bridging technical risk data with organisational decision making, while noting the manual effort hazard mapping process as a candidate for future automation are the key observations. The study concludes that simple Bayesian updating, when combined with system context, provides an accessible yet rigorous approach to threat quantification and lays the foundation for future automation and dependency modelling
The birth trauma earthquake: A qualitative investigation of first-time mothers who perceived their birth as traumatic
No full textProblemPregnancies can be anxiety-provoking, and birth which includes complications or deviations from expectations can be perceived as traumatic.BackgroundThe perception of birth as traumatic is inherently subjective and the salience of aspects contributing to the perception of birth trauma amongst first-time mothers may differ. Further, risk factors have not included the voices of women from minority ethnic backgrounds, who are known to experience higher-levels of discrimination whilst in receipt of healthcare.AimTo contribute to the understanding of experiences of birth which are perceived as traumatic by women.MethodsSemi-structured interviews (N = 16) were undertaken in May-June 2024 with mothers who had perceived their first birth to be traumatic; and analysed using Grounded Theory.Findings‘The Birth Trauma Earthquake’ theory was comprised of six themes: ‘Morbid Fixations’; ‘Grieving the Birth They Never Had’; ‘Changing Relationships’; ‘The ‘Hysterical’ Labouring Woman’; ‘Transactional Care’; and ‘Diminishing Their Own Experiences’.DiscussionPerceiving birth as traumatic was seen as a catalyst for rippling after-effects, with widespread impact both personally, and in their experience of healthcare professionals. Women were observed to have engaged in what may be perceived as maladaptive coping strategies to contain and control the associated shockwaves.ConclusionMaternity care should be comprehensive and compassionate, fostering resilience in the aftermath of the earthquake, but more importantly prepare and reduce the propensity for it. These findings provide an insight into the lived experience of those who have perceived birth to be traumatic, with implications for informing future methods to prevent and mitigate associated impacts
Simulation of phototactic and puddle-crossing behaviors: a step toward assembling swarm logic gates using soldier crabs
No full textLiving organisms have been expected to realize an emergent computing. Although a wide variety of biological systems has been exploited as computing devices, there have been a few attempts of computing devices employing animal collective behaviors. Previous studies have implemented collision-based logical gates employing swarms of soldier crabs, Mictyris guinotae. However, how to control their movements in connected multiple gates has yet to be proposed. This study focused on their characteristic behaviors, a positive phototaxis and a puddle-crossing, as a mechanism by which they would autonomously adapt the group size at the joint part of the assembled gates. We performed simulation with the mutual anticipation model, where agents interact with each other based on potential transitions. The model successfully reproduced these behaviors by adjusting environmental factors. We propose how to use them for interconnections between logic gates and discuss its significance in terms of cognitive interaction
Existing and future use cases, and safety and ethical considerations for AI in body image, and eating disorder prevention
Full text linkArtificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming digital, clinical, and cultural landscapes in ways that hold significant implications for body image and eating disorder (ED) prevention. This article outlines how traditional and generative AI technologies influence societal appearance ideals as well as digital environments, including online mental health tools. While AI offers opportunities for early detection, personalized and scalable prevention, and the promotion of more inclusive representation, it also poses ethical and psychological risks, including amplification of harmful appearance ideals, algorithmic bias, and overreliance on technology. This article identifies key research priorities relevant to body image spanning macro-level impacts, emerging use cases, ethics and safety, equity and representation in datasets, public perceptions, and the need for interdisciplinary and participatory governance. As AI becomes embedded in everyday life, its responsible and safe use will be critical to ensuring it does not exacerbate body image concerns or increase ED risk
The Politics of Place: Space and Locality in the European Screen Industries
Full text linkProfound transformations in the ways media products are produced, distributed and consumed caused by digital technologies that have ‘disrupted’ established business models, markets and relationships, has led to a renewed interest in the industry’s spatial patterning and hence the importance of place in which locality, paradoxically in an era of globalisation, has been seen as having heightened significance. This renewed interest in space and location – sometimes characterised as the ‘spatial turn’ in media studies – has become a particularly pressing and urgent issue across Europe over the last decade as the effects of digital disruption become more pervasive. In an era of the increasing internationalisation of media production and an orientation to global markets, policy makers have recognised the importance of preserving, even enhancing this spatial plurality. As many studies have shown, the strength and influence of Public Service Media, – which have traditionally embraced this role of cultural identity-building, albeit with mixed results – has weakened in the face of increasingly powerful alternative providers: satellite channels or streaming platforms. These competitors, such as Sky or Netflix, operate to a global commercial logic in which ‘territories’ – not defined by either established national or regional boundaries – are conceived as markets not cultures. This new logic does not entirely displace or supersede the older logics of analogue broadcasting but introduces new layers of spatial complexity that need to be investigated and analysed.This wide-ranging collection seeks to address these ‘layers of spatial complexity’ through a series of thirteen interconnected chapters investigating and analysing the importance of place, space and locality across the breadth of Europe from Greenland to Romania. Although the collection attends to the paradoxes and contradictions of space, place and locality revealed by detailed investigation, it is inspired by the desire to identify, and find ways of valuing, the various strategies, practices and specific productions that resist homogenisation, ones that encourage plurality and sustainable growth and which contribute to the European cultural ideal of unity in diversity. The Introduction discusses three broad issues that underpin the collection: how globalisation has affected media industries; conceptions of ‘Europe’ as a region, an idea and an ideology; and a preliminary discussion of spatial theorisation. The Conclusion considers the broader thematic linkages between the chapters and suggests lines for further analysis
Automated method for quantitative analysis of iris fluorescein angiography based on machine learning
Full text linkBackground Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of vision impairment, often progressing to neovascular glaucoma. Early detection of neovascularisation of the iris (NVI) is crucial for timely intervention. Traditional diagnostic methods, such as slit-lamp examination, have limitations in identifying early-stage NVI. This study presents a deep learning-based automated approach for analysing iris fluorescein angiography (IFA) images to detect and quantify peripupillary leakage, a key indicator of NVI.Methods A dataset of 2,449 IFA images was used to train a YOLOv8n-based segmentation model for precise pupil localisation. A leakage circularity detection algorithm was developed to quantify peripupillary fluorescein leakage. The algorithm’s performance was evaluated using an independent test set of 131 clinically standardized IFA images. Performance metrics included mean absolute error (MAE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and intersection over union (IoU). Results were compared with manual annotations from two clinical experts.Results The proposed method demonstrated a significant reduction in MAE (20.81 degrees) and MAPE (21.64%) compared to Clinical Staff 1 (MAE: 34.23 degrees, MAPE: 58.38%) and Clinical Staff 2 (MAE: 43.17 degrees, MAPE: 75.71%). The algorithm achieved an IoU of 39.3%, slightly lower than Clinical Staff 1 (44.5%) and Clinical Staff 2 (41.7%), indicating high segmentation accuracy but minor spatial misalignment. The inter-clinician agreement yielded an IoU of 54.8%, highlighting subjectivity in human assessments.Conclusions The deep learning-based approach provides superior consistency and accuracy in quantifying peripupillary fluorescein leakage compared to manual expert annotations. While human experts demonstrated slightly higher spatial precision, the algorithm significantly reduces variability and subjectivity in leakage quantification. This automated method has the potential to enhance early detection of NVI, improve clinical workflow efficiency, and assist ophthalmologists in diagnosing DR. Further optimization will focus on refining spatial segmentation accuracy