558 research outputs found
Sort by
Design Considerations in Therapeutic Exergaming
No full textIn this paper we discuss the importance of feedback in therapeutic exergaming. It is widely believed that exergaming benefits the patient in terms of encouraging adherence and boosting the patient’s confidence of correct execution and feedback is essential in achieving these. However, feedback and in particular visual feedback, may also have potential negative effects on the quality of the exercise. We describe in this paper a prototype single-sensor therapeutic exergame that we have developed and provide some preliminary user feedback regarding enjoyment and perceived competence when using the exergame compared to exercising without the exergame. Our results indicate that all participants found exercising with the game more enjoyable. However, additional work is needed to increase participants’ confidence in their correct execution of the exercise
Requirements Gathering for the Delivery of Healthcare Data in Aware Homes
No full textAware homes support the monitoring of older adults,
with the potential to detect a wealth of information regarding the person's functional, cognitive and social wellbeing. While much research in this space focuses on the collection and interpretation of sensor data, it is equally important to understand how we can begin to relay the information learned back to older adults, empowering them to play an active role in the management of their health. In this paper we discuss the results of the requirements gathering phase of our research with a number of older adults living in aware homes. The goal of this research is to explore issues surrounding the delivery of healthcare
information, as collected through embedded sensors in the home, to the home owner. Our results reveal a number of emerging themes around this space, including a desire by older adults to play an active role in managing their health and potential concerns surrounding the delivery of such information through technology
Challenges for Requirements Development: An Industry Perspective
Get PDFIt is well recognised that software requirements must accurately reflect the needs of a target domain, however, challenges still exist in effectively acheiving this. This paper reports on the results of an industry-based study investigating factors that affect the communication of requirements between the development team and other stakeholders during requirements development. Challenges found in practice are related to common obstacles reported in the literature. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings including implications for Software Process Improvement (SPI) in requirements developmen
A study of innovation and intrapreneurship in Dundalk Institute of Technology
No full textDundalk Institute of Technology maintains a strategy of strongly encouraging innovation and entrepreneurial activities amongst its students across all faculties and disciplines. This research has made evident that efforts have been made to develop an enterprise culture on campus. An array of detail is given on a range of examples of this level of support which includes the on-campus Regional Development Centre, the ACE initiative based on campus and also the effort in spearheading the student enterprise intern programme which has now been extended to a number of institutes throughout the country. There is a general agreement amongst both authors of relevant literature and also industry experts that intrapreneurs and innovations play a key role in the success of any organisation of either large or small profile. It is also stated that the organisational culture in which individuals are employed will have significant impact in their ability to generate an innovative performance. It is further stated that in the vast majority of organisations contend with a number of barriers to innovation exist, most of which are based as an issue in organisational culture
Towards an Integrated, Multi-method Remote Sensing Strategy for Archaeological Landscape Analysis: the Discovery of the Rossnaree Enclosure, Brú na Bóinne, County Meath, Ireland
Get PDFHistorically for site discovery and delimitation aerial photography, and latterly LiDAR, has been used in the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site, an internationally significant archaeological landscape known for its many Neolithic passage tombs and other monuments. The landscape is largely composed of the floodplain and terraces of the River Boyne which are farmed in a combination of pasture crops and tillage for cereals. In the case of Rosnaree, the site was first identified as a large, dense scatter of worked lithics (chipped stone artefacts, primarily flint) in the NE corner of a tillage field (Fig 1A). The lithics suggested intensive activity, possibly involving residential settlement, broadly dating to the Neolithic (4,000-2,500 cal BC). There was no evidence for the site from legacy aerial photography or in a more recent LiDAR survey. Multi-method geophysical and topographical survey (Fig 1B to H) funded by the Heritage Council has revealed the presence of the enclosure which has a complex set of internal features and is likely to be multi-phase. The enclosure is multi-vallate and measures c.110m N-S by at least 160m E-W. Unlike the passage tombs, the Rosnaree site is located on the southern side of the River Boyne, at a highly significant location within the Brú na Bóinne complex. It marks the point at which the river begins to delineate the famous ‘bend’ of Brú na Bóinne and is located directly to the SW and across the River Boyne from the Knowth passage tomb complex. It sits on a hitherto unremarkable low knoll on the first gravel terrace above the river. Because of its close association with the lithic scatter, it appears that the enclosure is likely to date from the Neolithic period. Reviews of the evidence for Neolithic enclosures in Ireland suggest that although there are some similarities to Neolithic enclosure sites identified elsewhere, there are no close parallels. The strategic location of the site, the presence of the animal bone in some quantity as well as a human tooth and a greywacke slab (the preferred stone type used in the construction of many of the passage tombs) all point to a complex set of functions for this site likely to include both a residential habitation element and a more ceremonial element. This is the first site of its kind to be identified in the Brú na Bóinne area and is additionally significant as it positioned on the S side of the River Boyne Investigation of this site potentially addresses some of the key research questions identified in the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site Research Framework; developing new and refined methodologies in searching for new sites - in particular those related to settlement, the scale of operation of the monument complex, the changing environment and the significance of the River Boyne itself. What can we learn from lithic scatter, remote sensing and excavation data from this site that can assist us in a larger scale evaluation of the archaeological potential of the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site
Scientific Service: a history of the Union of Professional and Technical Civil Servants 1920-1990
No full textA history of the organization of the professional and technical grades of the Irish civil service
Imparting The Importance Of Culture To Global Software Development
Get PDFProfessional software development is normally team based and is recognised as a socio-technical activity. In recent years this has been coupled with the increasing popularity of outsourcing and offshoring software development. These are two significant issues, which need to be considered and recognized. As educators it is important that we prepare our students, at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level to make informed and meaningful contributions to the industry they plan to enter. To facilitate this we need to consider providing modules which outline the benefits and problems associated with globally distributed software development. As research has identified, a key element of any such module is the importance and impact that cultural diversity plays. To facilitate understanding in this area, students can benefit from knowledge of the literature on culture. This can provide essential information which allows them to understand the broader aspects of this important topic. In this paper global software development and culture are placed in context. A summary of relevant literature with respect to culture is presented and discussed. Details of modules on the topic of global software development for both undergraduates and postgraduates, which utilised this literature, are outlined. The results from an inductive study carried out with some of the students who undertook these modules are also presented and discusse
Virtual Software Team Project Management
Get PDFGlobally distributed information systems development has become a key strategy for large sections of the software industry. This involves outsourcing projects to third parties or offshoring development to divisions in remote locations. A popular approach when implementing these strategies is the establishment of virtual teams. The justification for embarking on this approach is to endeavor to leverage the potential benefits of labor arbitrage available between geographical locations. When implementing such a strategy organizations must recognize that virtual teams operate differently to collocated teams, therefore they must be managed differently. These differences arise due to the complex and collaborative nature of information systems development and the impact distance introduces. Geographical, temporal, cultural and linguistic distance all negatively impact on coordination, cooperation, communication and visibility in the virtual team setting. In these circumstances it needs to be recognized that the project management of a virtual team must be carried out in a different manner to that of a collocated team. Results from this research highlight six specific project management areas, which need to be addressed to facilitate successful virtual team operation. They are: Organizational Virtual Team Strategy, Risk Management, Infrastructure, Implementation of a Virtual Team Process, Team Structure and Organization and Conflict Management
Novel Excitatory Effects of Adenosine Triphosphate on Contractile and Pacemaker Activity in Rabbit Urethral Smooth Muscle
No full textPurpose: Adenosine triphosphate is thought to be an important neurotransmitter in urethral smooth muscle but its physiological role is still unclear. We characterized the effects of adenosine triphosphate on contractile and pacemaker activity in rabbit urethral smooth muscle.
Materials and Methods: Tension recordings were made from strips of rabbit
proximal urethral smooth muscle. Membrane currents from freshly isolated
smooth muscle cells and interstitial cells of Cajal were recorded using the patch clamp technique. Intracellular Ca 2� was measured using confocal microscopy.
Results: Exogenous application of adenosine triphosphate (10 �M) evoked robust contractions that were inhibited by the type 2 purinergic receptor blocker suramin (100 �M) and the selective type 2 purinergic Y1 receptor antagonist MRS2500 (Tocris Bioscience, Ellisville, Missouri) (100 nM). Application of the type 2 purinergic Y receptor agonist 2-MeSADP (1 �M) mimicked the effects of adenosine triphosphate. When smooth muscle cells were studied under voltage clamp at �60 mV, adenosine triphosphate evoked a large single inward current (greater than 1.2 nA) but 2-MeSADP produced a small current (about 16 pA). In contrast, when interstitial cells of Cajal were held at �60 mV, they showed spontaneous transient inward currents that were increased in frequency by adenosine triphosphate and 2-MeSADP. These excitatory effects were inhibited by suramin and MRS2500. Interstitial cells of Cajal showed spontaneous Ca 2� waves that were increased in frequency by adenosine triphosphate and 2-MeSADP. These effects
were also inhibited by suramin and MRS2500.
Conclusions: Contractile effects of adenosine triphosphate in urethral smooth muscle are mediated by the activation of type 2 purinergic Y receptors on interstitial cells of Cajal
Review of user interface devices for ambient assisted living smart homes for older people.
No full textSmart homes generally focus on issues to do with security, health, energy savings and entertainment, issues which grow in importance as we age. The sensors, actuators and entertainment devices required to build such a system add significantly to its complexity. Hence, the Man-Machine Interface (MMI) to the smart home systems is often acknowledged to be the most sensitive area for acceptance. Smart homes can allow the user modify the house via a unified control, additionally assisted living smart homes gather information about the subjects health, information that can be used to feedback to the user to modify their behaviour via the device. Increasingly these interface device present information from the internet, such as weather and news. With the internet fast becoming the first source of information for many services, such as shopping, or care workers access, these devices may additionally help bridge the digital divide between the young and old (2) , if the principles of universal design are addressed (3)(4) . The purpose of this study is to examine user interfaces devices that can perform these tasks and analyse them with regard to the particular requirements of the older user