IoT snoring sound detector prototype as a model of future participatory healthcare

BACKGROUND: Traditional healthcare is centred around providing in-hospital services using hospital owned medical instruments. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that this approach lacks flexibility to insure follow-up and treatment of common medical problems. In an alternative setting adapted to this problem, participatory healthcare can be considered centred around data provided by patients owning and operating medical data collection equipment in their homes. OBJECTIVE: In order to trigger such a shift reliable and price attractive devices need to become available. Snoring, as a human sound production during sleep, can reflect sleeping behaviour and indicate sleep problems as an element of the overall health condition of a person. METHODS: The use of off-the-shelf hardware from Internet of Things platforms and standard audio components allows the development of such devices. A prototype of a snoring sound detector with this purpose is developed. RESULTS: The device, controlled by the patient and with specific snoring recording and analysing functions is demonstrated as a model for future participatory healthcare. CONCLUSIONS: Design of monitoring devices following this model could allow market introduction of new equipment for participatory healthcare, bringing a care complementary to traditional healthcare to the reach of patients, and could result in benefits from enhanced patient participation.

“I Hope I Make It”: Alternative School Students’ Attendance and the Need for an Expanded Accountability

Few empirical studies describe the interior world of alternative school settings. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 11 alternative school students, discussing factors that contribute to absenteeism as well as the circumstances that led them to enroll in an alternative setting. We find that students’ regular attendance is facilitated by (1) stable housing, (2) a means of transportation to school, (3) feelings of belonging, and (4) flexible supports from staff. Given that two of these pertain to matters beyond the school, we argue for an “expanded accountability,” in which the language of “accountability” is broadened to encompass non-educational policymaking.

Depicting Architecture: Houses of the Imagination

Depictions (drawings, models) play a significant role in giving architecture form through the use of various techniques and mediums of expression. These forms of depictions invite an experimental design approach and generate critical thinking in design. The aim in this thesis is to look at architecture critically and investigate design approaches to enhance architectural ideas through varying forms of depiction such as drawing, painting, sculpture, and digital media. Experimentally driven design processes have the potential to push ideas to greater heights in the architectural discipline. Architectural depiction that pursues ideas or notions that may never be built are significant forms of production that push design thinking into other territories; they are in and of themselves architecture. Specifically, the design of a ‘House of the Imagination’ becomes a vehicle in the thesis for experimental architectural ideas and provides an alternative setting for architectural form making.

Depicting Architecture: Houses of the Imagination

Depictions (drawings, models) play a significant role in giving architecture form through the use of various techniques and mediums of expression. These forms of depictions invite an experimental design approach and generate critical thinking in design. The aim in this thesis is to look at architecture critically and investigate design approaches to enhance architectural ideas through varying forms of depiction such as drawing, painting, sculpture, and digital media. Experimentally driven design processes have the potential to push ideas to greater heights in the architectural discipline. Architectural depiction that pursues ideas or notions that may never be built are significant forms of production that push design thinking into other territories; they are in and of themselves architecture. Specifically, the design of a ‘House of the Imagination’ becomes a vehicle in the thesis for experimental architectural ideas and provides an alternative setting for architectural form making.

Superconformal geometries and local twistors

Superconformal geometries in spacetime dimensions D = 3, 4, 5 and 6 are discussed in terms of local supertwistor bundles over standard superspace. These natually admit superconformal connections as matrix-valued one-forms. In order to make contact with the standard superspace formalism it is shown that one can always choose gauges in which the scale parts of the connection and curvature vanish, in which case the conformal and S-supersymmetry transformations become subsumed into super-Weyl transformations. The number of component fields can be reduced to those of the minimal off-shell conformal supergravity multiplets by imposing constraints which in most cases simply consists of taking the even covariant torsion two-form to vanish. This must be supplemented by further dimension-one constraints for the maximal cases in D = 3, 4. The subject is also discussed from a minimal point of view in which only the dimension-zero torsion is introduced. Finally, we introduce a new class of supermanifolds, local super Grassmannians, which provide an alternative setting for superconformal theories.

EQUILIBRIUM INDETERMINACY, ENDOGENOUS ENTRY AND EXIT, AND INCREASING RETURNS TO SPECIALIZATION

This paper systematically examines the interrelations between equilibrium indeterminacy, endogenous entry and exit of intermediate input firms, and increasing returns to specialization within two versions of a parsimonious one-sector monopolistically competitive RBC model. The technology for producing an intermediate good is postulated to display internal increasing returns to scale in our benchmark framework, whereas positive productive externalities are considered in the alternative setting. We analytically show that either formulation will exhibit belief-driven cyclical fluctuations provided the equilibrium wage-hours locus is positively sloped and steeper than the household’s labor supply curve. We also find that ceteris paribus our alternative macroeconomy is more susceptible to indeterminacy and sunspots than the baseline counterpart.

Disability and influence in job interviews

Purpose This purpose of this paper is to explore to efficacy of influence tactics at the outset of a job interview. Across three empirical studies, five influence tactics were manipulated during a simulated job interview to explore first impressions for candidates with or without a visible disability. Design/methodology/approach Participants viewed videos of candidates (either in a wheelchair or not) responding to the opening question in a job interview by using one of five influence tactics (i.e. revealing a strong alternative, setting a numerical anchor, demonstrating approachability through imperfections, presenting hard skills that described job-related competencies or presenting soft skills including connecting well with and leading others). Perceptions of trustworthiness, fit for the current job and perceived appropriate salary amount were rated. Findings Results show that, in general, tactics that might have beneficial effects when used at later moments, including the use of a strong alternate, anchor or imperfection display, may instead harm first impressions of anyone. When discussing specific skills, hard skills helped in both cases. However, the presentation of soft skills helped only the non-disabled job candidate. Trustworthiness acted as a mediator for most of these relationships in both populations. Originality/value Results provide insight into how the use of these tactics very early in an interaction unfolds. Further, parsing the use of influence tactics into their effects on specific populations (such as people with disabilities) allows us to better understand the conditions under which they may help or hurt perceptions of employability.

Carpal tunnel decompression in primary care: what is the infection risk and is it safe and effective?

Introduction The demand for elective hand surgery in England is predicted to double by 2030 compared with 2011. With such increase in demand, the UK must seek strategies to reduce costs of treatment while still maintaining standards of care. Carpal tunnel decompression performed in a treatment room rather than in theatre may provide a safe alternative setting. As yet, there are no UK-based studies that identify the risk of infection following surgery performed in a treatment room and there are no studies whatsoever assessing the qualitative outcomes of patients undergoing hand surgery outside a theatre environment. Our aim was to assess whether carpal tunnel decompression performed in the community is safe, in terms of infection risk, and effective. Materials and methods Patient outcome measures were prospectively recorded following carpal tunnel decompression in one single primary care centre performed by one surgeon from 2012 to 2017. Infection following surgery was evaluated for retrospectively. Results A total of 460 patients underwent carpal tunnel decompression within the study time period. There were three superficial infections identified, giving an infection rate of 0.65%. There were no deep infections identified. There was a statistically significant improvement in both symptom and functional outcomes following surgery, with results comparable to other studies where surgery was performed in theatre. Discussion We believe that carpal tunnel decompressions performed in a treatment room is both safe, in terms of infection risk, and effective. Surgeons should consider this location as an alternative setting to the main operating theatre.