Gaze and body orientation as an apparatus for patient inclusion into/exclusion from a patient-centred framework of communication

Dialogue interpreter training has traditionally focused on the way in which the interpreter manages, and maintains, verbal interaction between the primary participants while it seems to overlook the importance of specific non-verbal aspects that are inherent in mediated interaction. This article presents an alternative method for the training of medical interpreters by drawing on research on non-verbal communication in interpreter-mediated consultations with a view to drawing attention to the interpreter's impact on the patient's inclusion in a patient-centred framework during mediated consultations. More specifically, it provides evidence of non-verbal interaction that might open up new trajectories in the interpreters' training by foregrounding the impact of the interpreter's and others' direction of gaze and body orientation on the accomplishment and maintenance - or lack thereof - of a patient-centred framework of communication. The present article reports on findings that emerged from the analysis of selected excerpts of authentic interpreter-mediated consultations within the framework of a training experiment. Coded instances of interaction are analysed by relying on Goffman's 'ratification process', Goodwin's 'participation and engagement frameworks' and Norris' 'modal density foreground-background continuum'. Hospital ethical approval and participants' written informed consent were obtained prior to the collection of data

Design and implementation of an UVM functional verification environment for IEEE 802.1AE-compliant MAC Security IPs in automotive applications

The constant growth of automotive network complexity has led top line models including more than 100 Electronic Control Units (ECUs). As a result, in-car networks are rapidly reaching their limits in terms of data load, flexibility and bandwidth. The Ethernet backbone is consequently considered as the best solution from the automotive world because it provides a common network topology, easy integration with other subdomains, excellent performance and high flexibility. On the other hand, the increasing interconnection of vehicles with the outside world expands the attack surface providing multiple attack points, either internal or external, that could be exploited to interact maliciously with the car. The IEEE 802.1AE MAC Security Standard (MACsec) solves security weakness of Ethernet communication offering data integrity, authenticity and confidentiality. Therefore an Intellectual Property (IP) for automotive application compliant with the before mentioned standard appears to be a suitable solution. Security countermeasures, besides guaranteeing the car against attacks, should not impact on vehicle normal operation because of unexpected behaviour. Indeed, since the vast majority of automotive applications is classified as safety-critical, even a single bug could endanger not only cars but also passengers’ lives. Hence, a thorough functional verification is essential in order to provide a device together safe and secure. In this work a deep analysis of functional verification for MACsec compliant IP has been carried out, multiple verification approaches and techniques have been investigates in order to identify the most suitable for the specific case. This study, considering requirements of re-usability, flexibility and high performance, led to the implementation of a UVM-based verification platform together with the MACsec IP behavioural model required in such a verification environment. The testbench has been deployed to intensively test the IP – more than 10 millions tests have been executed. Verification results depict that several bugs, either concerning functionality or security, have been discovered achieving 100% verification coverage. Moreover, performance wise, the testbench has proven to be up to ten times faster than the one already in place during the design phase. Flexibility, re-usability and high performance of the implemented platform has made the verification process much faster and easier. Moreover, for the same reasons, the testbench has been adopted by other teams in similar verification projects