A horizon scanning system for identifying new telehealth innovations

The paper presents the development of a new horizon scanning tool to identify recent innovations in telehealth technologies; specifically, those that are relevant to the care and management of long-term conditions (LTCs). It also discusses the issues regarding matching appropriate technologies with relevant applications

Maavis@School

Managed Access to Audio, Visual and Information Services (Maavis) was launched as an open source beta release application in September 2008. Maavis was developed by the authors with the participation of older people using a prototype called ‘SIMWIN’ which showed proof of concept and indicated beneficial outcomes1-3. The concepts behind Maavis, which partially were guided by human computer interfacing for people with dementia4, were always recognised as beneficial to other populations5. During 2008 these concepts, summarised as use of IT without understanding it or extreme simplification of the interface, were evaluated with four school pupils with varying physical and learning impairments. Again this work indicated beneficial outcomes6. This lead to the authors adding features to Maavis to make it suitable for use in the special needs school environment, eg being network friendly and single switch scanning access. This was achieved through brainstorming and consultations with staff within three schools. These developments will be tested during the autumn term 2009 in the same three schools. The details of the developments and their success so far in the classroom will be reported. In June 2009 Maavis was adopted by JISC’s OSS Watch as a ‘strategic’ project that will significantly address accessibility issues of IT and the web for groups who struggle with standard IT and/or are e-isolated. The aim is to establish an active open development community by the first half of 2010. Links with others in the adult education field and with UK and international care providers are already initiated

Auslegung: A journal of philosophy, volume 17, number 2 (summer 1991) book review

Review of Allan Gibbard's "Wise Choices, Apt Feelings

The Impact of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 on the Pricing Structure of Equity REITs

Tax legislation included in the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 made large-scale investments in equity real estate investment trusts (REITs) more desirable to institutional investors. Other studies have observed an increased level of institutional ownership in REITs during the timeframe following passage of the act. Based on an analysis of equity REITs before and after passage of the Act, the present study finds that its passage coincided with a significant change in the role of unsystematic risk in the pricing of equity REITs.

Assistive Technology: Creating and Engaging Collaborative Communities.

This paper outlines the remit of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council KT-EQUAL (Knowledge Transfer for Extending Quality of Life for older and disabled people) programme. Case examples drawing on the range of activities undertaken by KT-EQUAL highlight where assistive technology developments have been facilitated, the value of network activities and an underpinning model of engagement and collaboration. Given an increasing emphasis on the impact of research the model and innovative approaches deployed by KT-EQUAL are even more crucial in future developments which aim to ensure that research can be used to benefit society

Observing Remote Prescription of AT

A lack of widely accepted guidelines/protocols for remote prescription of assistive technology is noted. This paper reports observations from attempts to use web based videoconferencing with embedded tools for the provision of assistive technology to children with complex needs

IntelliTable: Inclusively-Designed Furniture with Robotic Capabilities

IntelliTable is a new proof-of-principle assistive technology system with robotic capabilities in the form of an elegant universal cantilever table able to move around by itself, or under user control. We describe the design and current capabilities of the table and the human-centered design methodology used in its development and initial evaluation. The IntelliTable study has delivered robotic platform programmed by a smartphone that can navigate around a typical home or care environment, avoiding obstacles, and positioning itself at the user's command. It can also be configured to navigate itself to pre-ordained places positions within an environment using ceiling tracking, responsive optical guidance and object-based sonar navigation

Locating assistive technology research in a clinical setting : an occupational perspective

Peer research was used to identify the experience and perceptions of assistive technology and telecare adoption in a UK healthcare context. A narrative account of participation and learning is intended to provoke further dialogue. There have been a range of policy and implementation initiatives that are within the direct experience of organisational actors over the last 15 years and this engagement allows for specific reflection on the service achievements and some of the barriers to implementation of technology changes in rehabilitation practice and service design. Insights are presented that suggest a reification of research priorities and a need to align technology, through patient and public engagement, to provider priorities. In addition, an improvement in adoption would be based on sustained capacity building within the Occupational Therapy workforce and a re-focus on specific knowledge sharing and learning about technology. Given the shared desire to promote the sustained adoption of appropriate technology for assistance and rehabilitation it is suggested the voice of practitioners is strengthened through research and knowledge exchange in the clinical setting

T-maze learning in weanling lambs

A major advantage of sheep models in experimental studies of neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., with prenatal neurotoxicant exposure) is that the equivalent of all three trimesters of human brain development occurs in sheep entirely in utero. However, studies of learning and memory in sheep are limited. The goal of this study was to extend the analysis of spatial learning and memory in adolescent sheep using several traditional T-maze tasks. Both 9- and 14-week-old lambs acquired a delayed non-matching to place task, but the older lambs learned the task significantly faster. In contrast, acquisition of a matching to place task was significantly more difficult. Lambs, like rodents, appear to have a predisposition toward learning “win-shift” spatial problems in a T-maze under appetitive motivation. Lambs also rapidly acquired a position habit and showed typical reversal learning curves. These findings support the use of T-maze tasks to assess behavioral outcomes in various sheep models