37 research outputs found
Technomedical Territories: Smart bodies, Smart spaces
No full textArchitecture and The Built EnvironmentArchitectural Engineering and TechnologyHyperbod
Spatiotemporal dynamics of urban health: Physiological data driven strategies for enhancing urban health and wellbeing
No full textUniversity of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building.The starting point for this research was the emergence of physiological data as a source of information that can help us understand how our interactions with the urban environment affect the human body. There is significant potential in extending existing methods for physiological data analysis in the urban domain in a way that maximises the benefits at the individual and the city scale. Physiological data could be used to identify the least stressful route, but there is currently a lack of research on their incorporation in pathfinding studies. The area of prediction of physiological responses during outdoor walking has also been understudied.
This study aims to address these issues by designing a methodology for collection and analysis of physiological data in the urban space. The methodology incorporates three components: (1) the collection and analysis of physiological data at an individual level, (2) the hotspot analysis of physiological responses at a city scale, and (3) the utilisation of the collected data in models for prediction of physiological responses, and pathfinding methods for the identification of the least stressful route. The methods and algorithms for each component of the methodology are calibrated using data collected in Sydney from experiments organised by the author, and publicly available data from a previous study conducted in Zürich.
The study acts as a pilot project that will pave the way towards large-scale experiments in this area. Its main contribution is that it supports the construction of tools for individuals who want to understand how different routes might affect their physiological responses, and have a calm experience while walking in the urban environment. It can also help researchers identify which parts of the city are associated with an increased intensity of physiological responses, possibly indicating increased stress levels. The construction of a theoretical and conceptual framework supporting the construction of the methodology also enriches current research on the links between urban environment, activity and physiological responses. Other methodological and practical contributions include the development of methods for analysing how movement may influence physiological responses as a physical stressor, and their incorporation in the designed methodology; also, the development of methods for identifying physical and psychological stressors from contextual data, based on freely available OpenStreetMap and Point of Interest data, as an alternative to image-based analysis which was used in previous studies
Music as Medicine: The Biological Approach to Music Therapy (Dritsa)
No full textΤίτλος: Η μουσική ως φάρμακο: Η βιολογική προσέγγιση της μουσικής θεραπείας Συγγραφέας: Θανάσης Δρίτσας Έτος δημοσίευσης: 2018 Εκδότης: Παπαζήση Σελίδες: 152 ISBN: 9789600234619This is a review of the book "Music as Medicine" authored by Thanassis Dritsas.
Title: Music as Medicine: The Biological Approach to Music Therapy Author: Thanassis Dritsas Publication Year: 2018 Publisher: Papazisi Pages: 152 ISBN: 978960023461
Η πρόσληψη της σειράς Sex & the City μεσούσης της ελληνικής κρίσης
No full textΗ παρούσα έρευνα προτάσσεται ως ανάγκη να έρθει στο φως η ενδεχόμενη επίδραση της ελληνικής κρίσης στην πρόσληψη των μετανεωτερικών αξόνων της σειράς Sex and the City (S&C) από τις ελληνίδες τηλεθεάτριες. Οι κύριοι άξονες αυτοί είναι: η υπερκατανάλωση, η επαγγελματική, οικονομική και σεξουαλική χειραφέτηση, η Νέα Υόρκη ως σύμβολο ατέρμονων ευκαιριών, οι νέοι τύποι συντροφικών σχέσεων και η ρομαντική / εξιδανικευμένη αγάπη, η φιλία ως ‘μεταοικογένεια’ − όλα χαρακτηριστικά της μετανεωτερικότητας… Έχει αλλάξει δηλαδή ο τρόπος που συσχετίζεται το γυναικείο κοινό μεσούσης της κρίσης με μια σειρά που αποτελεί χαρακτηριστικό μετανεωτερικό πολιτισμικό προϊόν; Η ερευνητική μέθοδος που χρησιμοποιήθηκε ήταν ποιοτική: στόχος εδώ είναι η εις βάθος διερεύνηση του όχι μόνο αν αλλά πώς και γιατί η ελληνική κρίση επηρέασε την πρόσληψη της σειράς. Η συλλογή των δεδομένων έγινε μέσω της ατομικής ημιδομημένης συνέντευξης βάθους, της οποίας ο οδηγός συνέντευξης δομήθηκε και βάσει των προαναφερθέντων κεντρικών αξόνων της σειράς. Οι συνεντεύξεις αυτές αναλύθηκαν βάσει των αρχών της θεματικής ανάλυσης περιεχομένου εν παραλλήλω με μια ερμηνευτική συλλογιστική, βάσει της φαινομενολογικής ερμηνευτικής ανάλυσης. Οι συμμετέχουσες είναι δεκαπέντε γυναίκες και έχουν παρακολουθήσει τη σειρά σταθερά προ και κατά τη διάρκεια της κρίσης: από το 1998 από όταν προβλήθηκε η σειρά για πρώτη φορά έως και σήμερα. Εντοπίστηκαν με τη βοήθεια της μεθόδου της χιονοστιβάδας. Κοινό χαρακτηριστικό των συμμετεχουσών είναι ότι όλες διαμένουν και διέμεναν στην Αθήνα, η ηλικία τους (από 31 έως 40 ετών), το ανώτατο επίπεδο εκπαίδευσης, και το ότι εργάζονται. Από τα ευρήματα, διαφάνηκε ότι οι θεματικές, η πρόσληψη των οποίων τροποποιήθηκε μεσούσης της κρίσης ήταν: η κατανάλωση, η επαγγελματική και οικονομική χειραφέτηση, η Νέα Υόρκη ως σύμβολο ατέρμονων ευκαιριών. Τα ζητήματα σχέσεων, σεξουαλικών και συντροφικών, φαίνεται ότι αντιμετωπίζονται αναστοχαστικά και εξαιτίας της κρίσης (μεταξύ άλλων παραγόντων), ενώ η πρόσληψη της φιλίας παραμένει σταθερή. Πιο συγκεκριμένα: α) εντοπίζεται η αξιακή αποεπένδυση και η ενοχή για την κατανάλωση β) συνεχίζει να αποτελεί σκοπό η αυτοπραγμάτωση και οικονομική ανεξαρτησία μέσω της επαγγελματικής σταδιοδρομίας γ) η Νέα Υόρκη ως πεδίο ατέρμονων ευκαιριών αποτελεί μια ουτοπία δ) υπάρχει μια αμφιθυμία ως προς τη σεξουαλική χειραφέτηση ε) οι συντροφικές σχέσεις αποτελούν πεδίο διαπραγμάτευσης του εαυτού στ) εντοπίζεται επένδυση στη φιλία ως πυλώνας ασφάλειας έναντι των μετανεωτερικών απειλών Καταληκτικά, συμπεραίνεται ότι το Sex & the City δίνει την δυνατότητα της ονειροπόλησης και φαντασίωσης στο γυναικείο τηλεοπτικό κοινό, που αντιλαμβάνεται τη σειρά στο σύνολό της ως διασκέδαση και καταφυγή από τη σημερινή πραγματικότητα της κρίσης.Sex and the City series focus on displaying the ideology of “sensual pleasure coercion”: cosmopolitanism, material affluence and sex. Happiness is generated by internalizing brands, by fashion and style. One should embrace these cultural prototypes, should he be happy. Nonetheless and beyond these, the series appears to answer with vigor and certainty to more internal and pan-human issues touching upon sexes and their roles within society, love, friendship, professional achievement and emancipation, career- path and modus vivendi. The present research attempts an investigating approach with regard to the role of economic crisis on the series’ perception. The spate has been created during the globalization era and that of modernity and keeps on being broadcast in the era of post-modernity and specifically amidst the crisis. The research is dictated by the need to shed light on the potential impact of the crisis on the audience’s change of perspective as it concerns its basic axis, inter alia, sexual emancipation and relationships, femininity, comradely and friendly relations, fashion consumption, economical emancipation and western cosmopolitanism. Furthermore, the question whether the female spectatorship identified themselves with the spate and in what way in an era of economic crisis, was investigated. Has the modern, Greek, female spectator changed the way she connects herself to the series? It should be reiterated at this point, that the current bibliography (theoretical and investigative) on the series focus on diverse issues: from movie studies and portraying the third wave of feminism to the analysis of basic characters’ discourse and New York reproduction, as projected in S&C. Albeit, an attempt has been undertaken here, that the investigation should address the need to meet the research void, existing in the Greek space, about the way today Greek women perceive the spate amidst the crisis, whilst the latter was created and originally broadcast during the 90’s, where social and economic reality had been by far different from the contemporary one. The inquiry method used was qualitative, dictated by the issue’s nature, given that it deemed necessary an in depth investigation of the questions emerging, something which could not have been captured by quantitative methods. An in depth semi-structured interview was used, whose questions were structured on the base of the series central axis. Data analysis was implemented via I.P.A.… The research sample comprises fifteen women, who have watched or watch now the series on a constant base and were spotted with the help of “the avalanche method” help. Participants’ common features are that all of them reside in Athens or were residents there, their age group (31-40 year old), their tertiary education level and that all of them are in work
Development of an urban health and wellbeing index for work precincts: A comparative study in Sydney, Australia
No full textWork precincts are recognized for their significant role as generators of employment and associated commerce within urban areas. This study describes a method for analyzing the physical characteristics of urban work precincts in promoting the health and wellbeing of their occupants. The following physical parameters are analyzed: public transport accessibility, green and blue spaces, food environments, fitness facilities, supermarkets, and grocery stores. The parameters are assessed using quantitative spatial analysis based on street network data, as well as point of interest data acquired from OpenStreetMap (OSM). The streets and their intersections are stored in the OSM database as links and nodes, respectively. The evaluation of the performance metrics involves measuring the street network distance from each node to the closest node of interest for each parameter. The metrics are then combined, forming an urban health and wellbeing index (UHWI), which can be used to compare the performance of different precincts. The method was tested by investigating four work precincts in Sydney, Australia, all hosting a large office building belonging to the same business institution. Our results identified two of the four precincts with a high UHWI and resulted in the identification of one underperforming precinct
Development of an urban health and wellbeing index for work precincts: A comparative study in Sydney, Australia
No full textWork precincts are recognized for their significant role as generators of employment and associated commerce within urban areas. This study describes a method for analyzing the physical characteristics of urban work precincts in promoting the health and wellbeing of their occupants. The following physical parameters are analyzed: public transport accessibility, green and blue spaces, food environments, fitness facilities, supermarkets, and grocery stores. The parameters are assessed using quantitative spatial analysis based on street network data, as well as point of interest data acquired from OpenStreetMap (OSM). The streets and their intersections are stored in the OSM database as links and nodes, respectively. The evaluation of the performance metrics involves measuring the street network distance from each node to the closest node of interest for each parameter. The metrics are then combined, forming an urban health and wellbeing index (UHWI), which can be used to compare the performance of different precincts. The method was tested by investigating four work precincts in Sydney, Australia, all hosting a large office building belonging to the same business institution. Our results identified two of the four precincts with a high UHWI and resulted in the identification of one underperforming precinct
Translation and validation of the German version of the Mother-Generated Index and its application during the postnatal period.
No full textthe Mother-Generated Index (MGI) is a validated tool to assess postnatal quality of life. It is usually administered several weeks or months after birth and correlates with indices of post partum mood states and physical complaints. The instrument had not been translated into German before or validated for use among German-speaking women, nor have the results of the tool been assessed specifically for the administration directly after birth. This paper aims to describe the systematic translation process of the MGI into German and to assess the convergent validity of the German version of the instrument directly after birth and seven weeks post partum
Designing (with) AI for Wellbeing
No full textDesigning with data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can bring significant value to the development of systems and technologies that promote personal wellbeing. However, there are also unaddressed challenges and risks connected to designing (with) AI for wellbeing, such as the difficulties in ensuring that the generated feedback or proposed interventions are relevant considering the large interpersonal variations between the current, desired and achievable level of physical and mental wellbeing of different individuals. In this one-day hybrid workshop, we aim to bring together design and HCI researchers and practitioners interested in the intersection of design, AI, and wellbeing beyond clinical applications. We will discuss challenges in designing with AI for wellbeing originating from a) the domains of design and b) general issues in developing AI systems, and uncover new potential directions that emerge when coupling design, AI and wellbeing. Our aim is to bring together researchers and practitioners from various fields and backgrounds who use data and AI when designing for wellbeing. Through this workshop, we aim to create a conceptual framework that enables the emergence of rich, meaningful, and ethical solutions for designing (with) AI for wellbeing, while also providing handles to mitigate the emergence of negative consequences
Challenges of a Pregnancy Gone Wrong: Pregnancy Complications, Illness Perceptions and Distress
No full textWomen with pregnancy complications need to cope with a pregnancy that can have life changing consequences. The objective of this research project was to understand the experience of women who had been diagnosed with a pregnancy complication. The research involved an exploratory investigation into illness perceptions of pregnant women with complications and how these relate to depression and anxiety. First a literature review was divided into two parts. The first part dealt with anxiety specific to pregnancy complications. The second part dealt with illness perceptions. Since no published literature on illness perceptions in pregnancy complications was found, a literature review was conducted into illness perceptions in hypertension, diabetes and pain which are all closely associated to pregnancy complications.
The research was divided into two studies. The first was a mixed method study in which six women were interviewed regarding their experience in dealing with a pregnancy complication and a pilot was conducted using the Illness Perception Questionnaire (Revised). The second study consisted of an online survey further exploring the relationship between illness perceptions and distress in this population. Recruitment for participation proved very difficult and there were only thirty-six participants who complete the full online study. This survey comprised of a battery of self-report questionnaires including background information, rating of health scale, the Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and State Trait Anxiety Inventory Scale (State).
Results from both studies indicated that women in experienced significantly higher degrees of distress and anxiety than those in normal populations. They perceived their pregnancy complications as being outside of their personal control and they don’t see treatment as likely to be effective in controlling their medical condition. They also perceived their pregnancy complication as having high consequences in their lives and they are concerned about the impact of the pregnancy complication has on themselves and on their child. The women who did not have detectable symptoms (asymptomatic) and who could not directly experience cues to their illness were significantly more depressed.
This research adds to the international findings on illness perceptions in general and is a starting point for understanding illness perceptions for women with pregnancy complications. The psychological needs of women with pregnancy complications are significant, and are often under-rated and under-evaluated by treatment providers. Understanding illness perceptions of this population can provide a framework for the development of further interventions for this vulnerable population
