143 research outputs found
Reading Australia Essay: "Romulus, My Father" by Raimond Gaita
No full textThis is an introductory essay about the memoir "Romulus, My Father" by Raimond Gaita. The essay was published as part of the Copyright Agency's "Reading Australia" initiative.\ud
\ud
"In a critical moment of reflection and pause, Romulus, My Father offers the reader a key to its interpretation. The author – philosopher Raimond Gaita – tells us that ‘Plato said that those who love and seek wisdom are clinging in recollection to things they once saw’. This reference to the Greek philosopher’s work Phaedrus occurs when the boy Raimond is about eight years old. He seems already to understand much about his father, in particular his father’s goodness, which he finds expressed in his workmanship, his honesty, and his commitment to friends. And yet, as Plato forewarns us, a search for the ultimate wisdom of such things must come later – several decades on, when Gaita is faced with the task of writing his father’s eulogy. It is then that a sense of his father’s character is joined to his own search for wisdom, a combination of biography and reflection that marks the memoir form at its best, and shapes the ultimate impact of Romulus, My Father...."--publisher websit
Surrogate pointing device for cognitive sensory feedback
No full textOne of the challenges within the field of prosthetics is to restore the missing sensory function that comes with an amputation. Throughout the years several techniques have been designed and tested to provide amputees with sensory feedback as a replacement for the lost function. This study seeks to design a surrogate pointing device for cognitive sensory feedback for a simple two-dimensional movement. A screen cursor was adapted as pointing device in target reaching tasks in response to the centre-out task being controlled by a human subject through an analog joystick. The sensory feedback was im-plemented as non-invasive vibro-tactile sensations projected onto the skin of the subject, i.e. imitat-ing the cursors movement on the screen. The experiments were conducted in five trials, slowly enhancing the learning curve for the subject, before tests were conducted where the subject had to solely rely on the vibration feedback as orien-tation of the cursors movements. The results showed a steep learning curve when the visual feed-back was taken away. Furthermore, it proved that small targets (target<10x10) were almost impossi-ble to reach with the proximity of the feedback given. Results further showed that a combination of visual and sensation feedback proved effective in the target reaching tasks and could even reduce the efficacy by almost 3 second
How eHealth literacy and perceived usefullness affect the use of 'Min Laege'
No full textIntroduktion:Den demografiske udvikling i Danmark bærer præg af flere ældre og færre yngre. Der er behov for patientinddragelse for at imødekomme denne udvikling. Patientportaler kan være med til at øge patientinddragelsen. Det skyldes, at patientportaler blandt andet skaber bedre forudsætninger for kommunikation mellem patient og læge samt overblik over egne sundhedsinformationer. Eksisterende litteratur vurderer, at anvendelsen af disse portaler er utilstrækkelig. Der ses en tendens til, at e-sundhedskompetence og nytteværdi påvirker anvendelsen af patientportaler. Derfor findes det relevant at undersøge, hvordan de to elementer påvirker anvendelsen af 'Min Læge'.Metode:I specialet er der anvendt mixed method i form af interview og en spørgeskemaundersøgelse af patienter, der dels anvender, dels ikke anvender 'Min Læge'. Derudover er der foretaget et ekspertinterview. Resultater:Resultaterne viser, at personer, der anvender 'Min Læge', har overvejende bedre e-sundhedskomptence end dem, der ikke anvender applikationen. Der er ingen sammenhæng mellem de to grupper målt på nytteværdi. Derudover ses det, at mænd i højere grad anvender 'Min Læge'. I de tilfælde, hvor den ikke bliver anvendt, er årsagen oftest manglende kendskab til applikationen. Interviewene viser, 1) at informanterne i nogen grad anvender internettet til informationsøgning, 2) at informanterne forstår flere af de sundhedsfaglige termer, der bruges, 3) at det er tidsbesparende, og 4) at det skaber overblik at bruge patientportaler.Konklusion:Høj e-sundhedskompetence påvirker anvendelsen af 'Min Læge' positivt, hvorimod nytteværdi af patientportaler ikke har en påvirkning på anvendelsen.Introduction:The demographic development in Denmark is characterised by an aging population which calls for patient engagement. Patient portals is a tool, which enhances patient engagement. That is because these tools create better preconditions for communication between patient and doctor, and the possibility for personal health information overviews. However these portals are not being used sufficiently. Existing literature shows that eHealth literacy and perceived usefulness can influence adoption of patient portals which makes it relevant to investigate how these aspects affect adoption of ‘Min Læge’. Methods:The methodology of the thesis is based on a mixed method research design in the form of interviews and patient questionnaires. Furthermore, an expert interview has also been conductedResults:The results of this paper show that patients who uses ‘Min Læge’ have better eHealth literacy than patients who do not use the ‘Min Læge’ application. There is no difference between the two groups measured by perceived usefullness. Furthermore this the results from the questionnaires show that men have adopted the application often than women and the reason for not using the application is not knowing about its existence. The interviews points out that the internet is used to search for information about health and that the interviewees have some knowledge about medical language. The interviewees also feel that the patient portals help them save time and creates an overview of their current healthConclusion:A higher level of eHealth literacy affects the adoption of ‘Min Læge’ positively. In opposition perceived usefullness have no effect on adoption
Training health care staff in hand hygiene the Usefulness of a virtual reality app
No full textIntroduktion: Sundhedssektorerhvervede infektioner anslås at være skyld i 37000 dødsfald årligt i EU. En af årsagerne til sundhedssektorerhvervede infektioner er overførsel af patogener via sundhedspersonalets hænder. Sundhedspersonalets compliance i forhold til overholdelse af retningslinjer for håndhygiejne er 40%. WHO angiver uddannelse og træning som et af de vigtigste tiltag til at sikre korrekt håndhygiejne. Tork Essity har udviklet en virtual reality app til at træne sundhedspersonale i at udføre håndhygiejne på de rigtige tidspunkter. Projekters formål er at vurdere anvendeligheden af appen ”VR Clean Hands” til at træne håndhygiejne blandt sundhedspersonale.Metode: Mixed methodes blev anvendt. Kvalitativ dataindsamling var semistrukturerede interviews med tre informanter, der have havde anvendt appen 6 gange, samt et mailinterview med en hygiejnesygeplejerske. Kvantitativ dataindsamling bestod af træningsstatisk fra deltagere (N=7), der trænede md appen 6 gange over 14 dage, samt spørgeskemaundersøgelse med brug af TAM, PQ og SSQ, hvor nogle respondenterne (N=10) have anvendt appen 1 gang og andre 6.Resultater/ fund: Der er statistisk signifikant forskel i compliance fra 1 til 6 træningsgang. Der er ikke påvist sammenhænge mellem TAM, PQ eller SSQ i spørgeskemaundersøgelse. Fund viser, at der kan være tekniske udfordringer, der gør det svært at komme i gang med at bruge appen, men at den opfattes som anvendelig til at få skabt opmærksomhed på, hvornår der bør udføres håndhygiejne. Konklusion: ”VR Clean Hands” kan anvendes til at træne udførsel af håndhygiejne på de rigtige tidspunkter, når der er opnået en fortrolighed med teknologien.<br/
The connection between mental well-being as well technological competencies with application of digital technology in diabetic patients
No full textRecommended from our members
Atypical Lives: Systems of Meaning in Plutarch's Theseus-Romulus
Get PDFThis dissertation takes Plutarch’s paired biographies of Theseus and Romulus as a path to understanding a number of roles that the author assumes: as a biographer, an antiquarian, a Greek author under Roman rule. As the preface to the Theseus-Romulus makes clear, Plutarch himself sees these mythological figures as qualitatively different from his other biographical subjects, with the consequence that this particular pair of Lives serves as a limit case by which it is possible to elucidate the boundaries of Plutarch’s authorial identity. They present, moreover, a set of opportunities for him to demonstrate his ability to curate and present familiar material (the founding of Rome, Theseus in the labyrinth) in demonstration of his broad learning. To this end, I regard the Theseus-Romulus as a fundamentally integral text, both of whose parts should be read alongside one another and the rest of Plutarch’s corpus rather than as mere outgrowths of the traditions about the early history of Athens and Rome, respectively. Accordingly, I proceed in each of my four chapters to attend closely to a particular thematic cluster that appears in both Lives, thereby bringing to light the complex figural play by which Plutarch enlivens familiar material and demonstrates his virtuosity as author.In chapter 1, I take the preface to the Lives as my starting point, placing particular emphasis on the cartographic metaphor by which Plutarch figures the writing of biography about these mythological figures as a journey outward into unknown territories. In accounting for the surprising and counterintuitive aspects of this metaphor, I argue that Plutarch is engaging with competing models of the world, correlated with generic distinctions, and resolving them by the rhetorical strategy of syneciosis, the alignment of opposites. He is, moreover, inviting the reader to attend closely to the spatiotemporal dynamics of the Theseus and Romulus narratives, which one can understand as a set of movements along various axes and which unfold both alongside and against the metanarrative journey upon which Plutarch imagines himself as embarking in the preface to these Lives.In chapter 2, I build upon this spatial framework in order to explore the role of opsis (sight, vision) in Plutarch’s approach to history and biography. Proceeding from Plutarch’s intention, as he expresses it in the preface, to make the mythological material “take on the look of history,” I argue that opsis serves as a thematic preoccupation for Plutarch in the Theseus-Romulus, both on the level of his biographical project and within the narratives of these Lives. In surveying incidents of sight in both parts, I note that way in which opsis can grant discursive authority to the one who sees something happen (most paradigmatically, a messenger such as Proculus at the end of Romulus) but can also overwhelm or “captivate” viewers and deprive them of agency. Indeed, it is this twofold potential of opsis that informs Plutarch’s nuanced model of how biography, myth, and history might “look.” For chapter 3, I turn to mimetic and imitative ideas in the Theseus-Romulus and underscore how Plutarch employs the recursive and iterative capacities of mimēsis to build large networks that serve to connect reader, author, and both biographical subjects in various ways. Since it is a term that can take a wide range of people and objects as “input” and “output,” it appears in a particularly diverse set of circumstances in these Lives, and with a range of ethical evaluations that do not always align with the idea of ethical exemplarity implicit in Plutarch’s project in the Parallel Lives. At the same time, engagement with mimetic behavior is a key respect by which Plutarch differentiates his two biographical subjects in the Theseus-Romulus: the former is heavily bound up in imitation, especially in his relationship to Heracles and his institution of the crane dance on Delos, while Plutarch emphasizes the latter’s special status as founder of the new city of Rome by describing him as fundamentally non-imitative. In the final chapter, I turn to the motif of lēthē (forgetting) in the Theseus-Romulus, taking as my starting point Theseus 22, where Theseus neglects to change the sail on his ship to indicate his survival and Aegeus kills himself in the mistaken belief that his son is dead. I contend that Plutarch’s version of the story, which explains Theseus’ lapse as the result of his joy, relies on the pseudo-etymological link between joy (chara) and (choros) that Plato lays out in Laws II (645a). Broadening my focus, I look to the rest of the Theseus-Romulus and argue that Plutarch constructs a model of lēthē as a necessary element in cultural survival rather than a solely negative or destructive process. To reinforce this model, I suggest the familiar Ship of Theseus paradox at Theseus 23 as well as the trough in which Romulus and Remus survive at Romulus 7-8 as emblems of preservation in the face of change. More broadly, I contend that the survival, in Plutarch’s own day, of Greek identity in the face of Roman domination is bound up with the capacity of lēthē to accommodate cultural transformation without annihilation
Romulus der Große by Friedrich Dürrenmatt: a light comedy?
No full textEn el presente artículo, la comedia Romulus der Große. Eine historische Komödie in vier Akten (1980) escrita originariamente en 1948/49 por Friedrich Dürrenmatt bajo el recuerdo cercano de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, pero reelaborada a lo largo de toda su vida en diferentes versiones, es analizada con la intención de comprender en qué sentido afirma su autor que se trata de una comedia pesada o difícil, porque aparentemente es ligera o fácil, es decir qué entiende el escritor por comedia, según sus propias reflexiones al respecto y cómo construye el humor en esta obra.In this article the comedy Romulus der Große. Eine historische Komödie in vier Akten (1980), originally written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt in 1948/49 under the close memory of World War II, but reworked throughout his life in different versions, is analyzed with the intention of understanding in what sense does the author say that it is a heavy or difficult comedy, because apparently it is light or easy, that is to say what the writer understands by comedy, according to his own reflections on this and how he builds humor in this work
Comparison of tongue interface with keyboard for control of an assistive robotic arm
No full textThis paper demonstrates how an assistive 6 DoF robotic arm with a gripper can be controlled manually using a tongue interface. The proposed method suggests that it possible for a user to manipulate the surroundings with his or her tongue using the inductive tongue control system as deployed in this study. The sensors of an inductive tongue-computer interface were mapped to the Cartesian control of an assistive robotic arm. The resulting control system was tested manually in order to compare manual control of the robot using a standard keyboard and using the tongue interface. Two healthy subjects controlled the robotic arm to precisely move a bottle of water from one location to another. The results shows that the tongue interface was able to fully control the robotic arm in a similar manner as the standard keyboard resulting in the same number of successful manipulations and an average increase in task duration of up to 30% as compared with the standard keyboard
Non-Invasive Sensory Input Results in Changes in Non-Painful and Painful Sensations in Two Upper-Limb Amputees
Get PDFDesigns of active prostheses attempt to compensate for various functional losses following amputation. Integration of sensory feedback with the functional control re-enables sensory interaction with the environment through the prosthetic. Besides the functional and sensory loss, amputation induces anatomical and physiological changes of the sensory neural pathways, both peripherally and centrally, which can lead to phantom limb pain (PLP). Additionally, referred sensation areas (RSAs) likely originating from peripheral nerve sprouting, regeneration, and sensory reinnervation may develop. RSAs might provide a non-invasive access point to sensory neural pathways that project to the lost limb. This paper aims to report on the sensory input features, elicited using non-invasive electrical stimulation of RSAs that over time alleviated PLP in two upper-limb amputees. The distinct features of RSAs and sensation evoked using mechanical and electrical stimuli were characterized for the two participants over a period of 7 and 9 weeks, respectively. Both participants received transradial and transhumeral amputation following traumatic injuries. In one participant, a relatively low but stable number of RSAs provided a large variety of types of evoked phantom hand (PH) sensations. These included non-painful touch, vibration, tingling, stabbing, pressure, warmth/cold as well as the perception of various positions and movements of the phantom hand upon stimulation. Discomforting and painful sensations were induced with both mechanical and electrical stimuli. The other participant had a relatively large number of RSAs which varied over time. Stimulation of the RSAs provided mostly non-painful sensations of touch in the phantom hand. Temporary PLP alleviation and a change in the perception of the phantom hand from a tight to a more open fist were reported by both participants. The specificity of RSAs, dynamics in perception of the sensory input, and the associated alleviation of PLP could be effectively exploited by designs of future active prostheses. As such, techniques for the modulation of the sensory input associated with paradigms from interaction with the environment may add another dimension of protheses towards integrating personalized therapy for PLP
- …
