Analysing Pedestrian Traffic Around Public Displays

This paper presents a powerful approach to evaluating public technologies by capturing and analysing pedestrian traffic using computer vision. This approach is highly flexible and scales better than traditional ethnographic techniques often used to evaluate technology in public spaces. This technique can be used to evaluate a wide variety of public installations and the data collected complements existing approaches. Our technique allows behavioural analysis of both interacting users and non-interacting passers-by. This gives us the tools to understand how technology changes public spaces, how passers-by approach or avoid public technologies, and how different interaction styles work in public spaces. In the paper, we apply this technique to two large public displays and a street performance. The results demonstrate how metrics such as walking speed and proximity can be used for analysis, and how this can be used to capture disruption to pedestrian traffic and passer-by approach patterns

'Hence the name': Berwickshire parishes along the Anglo-Scottish Border as described in the Ordnance Survey Name Books

No abstract available

Traumatic Brain Injury: The Signature Wound of the Iraq War

Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI, is the signature wound of the Iraq War. It can be caused by bullets or shrapnel hitting the head or neck, but also by the blast injuries that often result from mortar attacks or roadside bombs. It is this second kind of injury that is especially prevalent in Iraq; about 65% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans wounded in action were injured by explosive devices. Overall, between 10 and 20% of Iraq veterans, or 150,000 and 300,000 people, have suffered a TBI during the war.TBI does not always cause an external wound; the pressure of a blast can overstretch or bruise the brain without leaving a visible trace. Moreover, the symptoms of TBI can be difficult to distinguish from combat stress and other related psychological injuries. Telltale signs of TBI include memory and emotional problems; vision, hearing, or speech problems; and sleep disorders. In addition, multiple mild TBIs can accumulate over time, leading to serious neurological problems that are not readily linked to one injury. As a result, TBI can often remain undiagnosed and untreated.About 90% of TBIs are mild or moderate. But severe TBIs require a lifetime of care and rehabilitation. For the several thousand Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have suffered this level of injury, the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs have developed a nationwide network of hospitals and clinics. There are four major Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers, in Tampa, FL, Richmond, VA, Minneapolis, MN, and Palo Alto, CA. These centers are supported by dozens of regional sites across the country.Although treatment is improving for veterans with severe TBI, TBI screening continues to lag. The Army has improved education for soldiers to help identify the symptoms of a mild TBI, and has begun to test troops' brain activity before their deployments to record baseline data. In spring 2007, the VA began to offer TBI evaluation to all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seen at a VA hospital or clinic. Until a universal screening program is in place in the military, however, thousands of combat veterans will continue to struggle with the effects of an undiagnosed brain injury

eVoting is a good idea, but it won’t happen any time soon

The 2010 UK General Election vividly illustrated the plight of Britain’s electoral infrastructure. But despite the clear need for modernisation, there is an overwhelming suspicion of the reliability and integrity of electronic voting system. Dr Andy Williamson argues that while the case for introducing e-voting is strong, a lack of public interest and concerns about ID verification make its introduction unlikely in the near future

The First World Oil War (Book Review) by Timothy C. Winegard

Review of The First World Oil War by Timothy C. Winegar

A Missiology of With: The Catalyst for Missionary Effectiveness in the 21st Century

The world is a very a different place than it was a century ago, and while the modern missionary movement has slightly evolved through time, many of the accepted standards and approaches are predicated on realities that no longer exist. Global connectivity, the ease of travel, and shift of the global center of Christianity mean that practices which may have been effective even fifty years ago are becoming outdated and fruitless. Nevertheless, mission agencies continue to employ these archaic practices, burning-out missionaries, alienating nationals, and wasting Kingdom resources. This dissertation proposes cross-cultural collaboration as the needed paradigm for missionary effectiveness and sustainability in the 21st century. Section One explores the current challenges facing cross-cultural Christian missions and describes existing barriers to fruitfulness. It includes a brief overview of modern realities that must be addressed in order to establish mission practices that are relevant to our time. Section Two analyzes the three dominant approaches to cross-cultural mission—the apostolic method, contextualization, and indigenization—and considers their viability for today. It also surveys and evaluates current missionary training and support methods. Section Three recommends a modification of the standard approaches to missions by suggesting a missiology of “With,” in which mission agencies, missionaries, and national partners prioritize collaborative efforts and relational methods. It suggests that doing Mission With would not only increase missionary effectiveness (particularly for future generations of missionaries, including Millennials), but may also reduce missionary attrition. Section Four introduces the artifact, a three-year program called Elan that is designed to help missionaries adapt to the field in France while equipping them to do Mission With. Section Five offers a detailed description of the Elan program, including the program specifications, standards, budget, and evaluative measures. Finally, Section Six is a reflection on my personal learning through the dissertation writing process, with a call for further research on the topic