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Initial stage of an industrial investigation of the knowledge management practices in a large-scale multinational automotive company
No full textAbstract: Automotive systems engineering (SE) design and high-quality manufacturing, are highly reliant on the valuable knowledge and experience embedded within corporate processes, guides, rules, and practitioners. However, current knowledge management (KM) strategies are not entirely well suited to effectively capture all the new SE knowledge generated during continuous innovation so that it is readily accessible throughout the complete vehicle product lifecycle. This paper reports on an investigation into KM practices within the product development (PD) environment of a large-scale multinational automotive manufacturer. An initial exploratory industrial investigation involving automotive PD practitioners, was conducted with the central focus on the real-world implications of creating, sharing, storing and accessing SE knowledge. This paper presents an appraisal of the KM practices and reveals the types of SE knowledge utilised and the KM taxonomies employed throughout the SE lifecycle on multigenerational vehicle programs. The research conclusions in this paper form the foundation for further work
A Media-Theoretical Armamentarium: From the Pharmakon to Pharmacologies of Media
No full textThis essay provides an introductory account of the concept of pharmakon and its uses in different traditions relevant to media theory. First, we chart existing media-theoretical uses of the pharmakon and the main points of reference in this body of work, such as Plato, Jacques Derrida and Bernard Stiegler. Second, we present the alternative genealogies of the pharmakon in reference to material, chemical and medical contexts. Taking the approach Galen developed to the pharmakon in the context of medical practice in Classical antiquity as its guide, this section presents an alternate history of the concept in order to illustrate how else it might be conceived and used. Finally, we introduce the contributions to this special issue which, as a whole, explicate a range of “pharmacologies” and “pharmacologics” available to media theory
Two factors that can increase the length of hospital stay of patients with dementia
Get PDFObjectives: Patients with dementia are at greater risk of a long hospital stay and this is associated with adverse outcomes. The aim of this service evaluation was to identify variables most predictive of increased length of hospital stay amongst patients with dementia. Methods/Design: We conducted a retrospective analysis on a cross-sectional hospital dataset for the period January–December 2016. Excluding length of stay less than 24 h and readmissions, the sample comprised of 1133 patients who had a dementia diagnosis on record. Results: The highest incidence rate ratio for length of stay in the dementia sample was: (a) discharge to a care home (IRR: 2.443, 95% CI 1.778–3.357), (b) falls without harm (IRR: 2.486, 95% CI 2.029–3.045). Conclusions: Based on this dataset, we conclude that improvements made to falls prevention strategies in hospitals and discharge planning procedures can help to reduce the length of stay for patients with dementia.</p
An Exploration of Hatred in Pop Music:Viva Hate
No full text‘Love’ may be the major theme of the majority of pop songs, but ‘hate’, including its subcategories malevolence, vengeance, self-loathing, and contempt, run it close. Looking at artists across the history of popular music, and songs ranging from ‘Runaround Sue’ to ‘W.A.P’, this book explores the concept of hatred in lyrics, album art, music video, and the music industry itself, asking important questions about misogyny, politics, psychology, and family along the way
Teaching the Middle Ages through modern games: Using, modding and creating games for education and impact
No full textGames can act as invaluable tools for the teaching of the Middle Ages. The learning potential of physical and digital games is increasingly undeniable at every level of historical study. These games can provide a foundation of information through their stories and worlds. They can foster understanding of complex systems through their mechanics and rules. Their very nature requires the player to learn to progress. The educational power of games is particularly potent within the study of the Middle Ages. These games act as the first or most substantial introduction to the period for many students and can strongly influence their understanding of the era. Within the classroom, they can be deployed to introduce new and alien themes to students typically unfamiliar with the subject matter swiftly and effectively. They can foster an interest in and understanding of the medieval world through various innovative means and hence act as a key educational tool. This volume presents a series of essays addressing the practical use of games of all varieties as teaching tools within Medieval Studies and related fields. In doing so it provides examples of the use of games at pre-university, undergraduate, and postgraduate levels of study, and considers the application of commercial games, development of bespoke historical games, use of game design as a learning process, and use of games outside the classroom. As such, the book is a flexible and diverse pedagogical resource and its methods may be readily adapted to the teaching of different medieval themes or other periods of history
Shifting Sands and Changing Lands
No full textThis concluding chapter to the volume on Anglo-Norman queen consorts attempts to see and explore the shifting statuses of English queen consorts from the Anglo-Norman into the Angevin period by exploring the role that Bernard of Clairvaux and the growing cult of the Blessed Virgin Mary played in exemplifying earthly models for queens, as well as the changing lands of the Angevin 'Empire' and its meaning for marriage diplomacy
Conserving the Past, Learning from the Past: Art, Science and Copying in the Gallery
No full textThis chapter examines the entanglement of art, science and education in the National Gallery in London and beyond during the 20th century through the activities of the student artist, Rosa Branson (b.1933), and the German emigré painting conservator, Helmut Moritz Ruhmann (1891-1973). It discusses the changing place of copying in the education of student painters at Camberwell School of Art and at the Slade School of Art and the five years that Rosa spent copying paintings in the National Gallery to learn the Renaissance layering technics that she would use to paint contemporary topics. It traces the European painting conservation networks that supported Ruhemann’s appointment as consultant restorer at the National Gallery after his expulsion in 1933 from the Kaiser Wilhem Museum in Berlin on the grounds of his Jewish heritage. It considers the relation of art and science in the conservation of paintings at the National Gallery through which knowledge of the Renaissance layering technics that Rosa would use became increasingly understood. It also discusses the curriculum that Ruhemann devised for student restorers at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, which included both art and science and which he disseminated via the International Institute for Conservation, of which he was a founder member. The curriculum Ruhemann developed for student restorers at the Courtauld Institute included time spent copying in the National Gallery, where Ruhemann provided encouragement to Rosa as he supervised student-restorers copying. The conclusion argues that together these artistic and conservation activities illustrate a meshwork of forms of exhibiting where threads of informal formal education and learning at the Slade and in the National Gallery knot together the exhibiting of "old masters" and explanations of the scientific restoration processes that were central to Ruhemann’s conservation work and which inform the Renaissance layering technics that Rosa uses to paint contemporary topics
Community sharing: sustainable mobility in a post-carbon, depopulating society
Get PDFThis paper examines new initiatives in shared mobility of Kashiwa City, a satellite town outside Tokyo, from the users’ perspective. In Japan, the transport sector accounts for almost 20 per cent of carbon emissions. At the same time, a population decrease has led to a decline in use of public transport, reducing the level of the quality of life of residents who live in rural and remote areas. This makes residents depend on private cars, ending up contributing to carbon emissions. Three key issues for sustainable mobility to tackle carbon emissions and residents’ wellbeing issues are discussed. Kashiwa City has experimented with new shared transport services with fixed-route microbuses and more flexible community taxis. The paper explores user perception and experience of such community mobility services and considers the three issues from the viewpoint of the practice of mobility. Background interviews were conducted with the city’s officials and transport service operators, and an ethnographic study was carried out and in-situ conversations were made to explore the utility and meaning of mobility. To increase use of public transport to further reduce CO2 emissions from transport, it is important to pay more attention to the practice of mobility from the user’s perspective
Bark to the future: The welfare of domestic dogs during interaction with a positively reinforcing artificial agent.
No full textDomestic pet dogs typically spend a large amount of time inside the home environment, including hours alone. An audio/food dispensing automated device (an artificial agent, hereafter agent) was evaluated for enrichment potential. The agent issued owner-spoken verbal cues to dogs, and food rewards for correct behavioural responses. The dogs’ welfare during interaction was examined using Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA), and results were compared with quantitative behavioural measurements. QBA is a ‘whole animal’ measure, which describes and quantifies the emotionally expressive quality of an animal’s demeanour in a specific context, using descriptive terms such as ‘excited’ or ‘curious’. Adult pet domestic dogs (n = 17) were observed in two experimental conditions: 1) Agent; researcher and owner present (A+RO); 2) Agent; researcher and owner absent (A-RO). The agent was remotely triggered to call each dog by name and issue up to four repeated, randomised and previously trained verbal cues e.g., ‘spin’, ‘roll’, ‘sit’, ‘up’ (maximum 16 cues). In a baseline condition (Owner; researcher and agent present) (O+RA) the dog’s owner replaced the agent’s role. QBA using a fixed list of 20 descriptors was performed by three observers for each dog in each condition, using video recordings (51 clips) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) applied. QBA principal component 1 (PC1) was the same in all conditions, characterising dogs as ranging from ‘attentive/interested/anticipating’ to ‘conflicted/apathetic’, with the majority of dogs at the former end. QBA PC2 revealed variability in dogs’ interactive styles, ranging from ‘calm/concentrating’ to ‘aroused/excited/persistent’ in agent conditions, and ‘calm/wary’ to ‘excited/aroused’ in baseline. Inter-observer agreement was high on all PCs (e.g., PC1 A+RO Kendall’s W = 0.88; PC1 A-RO W = 0.83; PC1 O+RA W = 0.77). Quantitative continuous behaviour sampling revealed no significant differences in state behaviour between conditions; ‘looking up’ (p = 0.494); ‘ears up’ (p = 0.662); ‘cued response behaviour’ (p = 0.630); these behaviour categories correlated significantly with QBA PC1 in each condition (average r = 0.800; r = 0.780; r = 0.793 respectively).Indicators of positive anticipation, sustained engagement, competence, and motivation were identified throughout testing and in all conditions. These findings suggest that positively reinforcing interactions with an agent or an owner are equally rewarding for dogs within the context of testing. This study is the first to assess welfare during interaction with an automated device and, using a novel application of QBA, suggests the overarching experience is pleasurable for dogs