scholarly journals On Occupant Behavior and Innovation Studies Towards High Performance Buildings: A Transdisciplinary Approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cem Keskin ◽  
M. Mengüç
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Transdisciplinary Research ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Occupant Behavior ◽  
Transdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Innovation Studies ◽  
Research Perspective ◽  
Interdisciplinary Dialog

With ever-increasing population and urbanization, it is crucial to decrease energy density in the built environment without sacrificing occupants’ comfort and well-being. This requires consideration of technological developments along with the human factor in order to achieve environmental and social sustainability. Two major contributors to the development of conceptualizations for human-centric technologies are behavior and innovation (B&I) studies. Behavior studies aims to explain individualistic or society-based dynamics of human behavior whereas the innovation studies focuses on social, economic, organizational, and regulatory dimensions and processes of inventive activity. If these studies are incorporated into the hardcore architecture and engineering disciplines with a transdisciplinary approach, the orchestration of occupant behavior and the innovative technologies would be possible, which in turn significantly enhance the comfort and energy efficiency in built environments. This paper aims to provide an overview of interdisciplinary dialog between B&I studies and underlines the role of their collaboration to leverage transdisciplinary research on human-building interaction for energy efficiency. The approach presented here is structured as a conceptual framework and named the ‘socio-technical core’ (STC). STC is to lead to more organic articulation of energy efficiency innovations with real life and pave the way for higher level of acceptance. In order to have a ‘big-picture’ for the well-accepted conceptualizations and the current status of interdisciplinary dialog, we provide a review of (B&I) theories and models along with network analysis of key concepts. Then we investigate the potential directions of future transdisciplinary efforts by discussing the influences of B&I studies to each other for application to energy efficiency studies. In order to put the analysis in a firm background, we provide a case study for thermostat, which can be considered as a product improved with B&I approaches during last decades. We also discuss the benefits of B&I based transdisciplinary research perspective by referring to few examples in literature and the points emerged in this study.

Psychological Resilience Provides No Independent Protection From Suicidal Risk

Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danica W. Y. Liu ◽  
A. Kate Fairweather-Schmidt ◽  
Richard Burns ◽  
Rachel M. Roberts ◽  
Kaarin J. Anstey
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Psychological Resilience ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Life Project ◽  
Resilience Factors ◽  
First Time

Abstract. Background: Little is known about the role of resilience in the likelihood of suicidal ideation (SI) over time. Aims: We examined the association between resilience and SI in a young-adult cohort over 4 years. Our objectives were to determine whether resilience was associated with SI at follow-up or, conversely, whether SI was associated with lowered resilience at follow-up. Method: Participants were selected from the Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life Project from Canberra and Queanbeyan, Australia, aged 28–32 years at the first time point and 32–36 at the second. Multinomial, linear, and binary regression analyses explored the association between resilience and SI over two time points. Models were adjusted for suicidality risk factors. Results: While unadjusted analyses identified associations between resilience and SI, these effects were fully explained by the inclusion of other suicidality risk factors. Conclusion: Despite strong cross-sectional associations, resilience and SI appear to be unrelated in a longitudinal context, once risk/resilience factors are controlled for. As independent indicators of psychological well-being, suicidality and resilience are essential if current status is to be captured. However, the addition of other factors (e.g., support, mastery) makes this association tenuous. Consequently, resilience per se may not be protective of SI.

Could Thyroid Disorders Be Better Understood and Dealt as a Thyroid Syndrome

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (08) ◽  
pp. 326-328
Author(s):  
Dr. Sushma Patil ◽  
Dr. Vikrant Patil
Keyword(s):  
Reference Range ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Thyroid Disorders ◽  
Thyroid Function Tests ◽  
Thyroid Disorder ◽  
Serum Concentrations ◽  
Comorbid Conditions ◽  
Free T4 ◽  
Research Perspective ◽  
Wide Range

Thyroid disorders are common worldwide. Thyroid dysfunction, both hypo- and hyperthyroidism may increase the risk of cardiovascular disorders. Current thyroid function tests may have limitations since they only measure the total or free T4 and/or T3 and TSH serum concentrations in peripheral blood and not the effect of T4 or T3 serum on different specific target tissues. Several comorbid conditions can interfere with the absorption or increase the clearance of levothyroxine. Among patients treated with thyroid replacement, under or overmedicated may-be at risk for adverse health consequences. A wide range of drugs may interfere with levothyroxine absorption, metabolism, and action. Patients report a lack of well-being, despite reaching euthyroid reference range of TSH, with psychological distress. If we will consider Thyroid related conditions as a syndrome then research perspective at the pathophysiology, interrelation between symptoms and comorbidities will be much broader that can lead researchers to get insights of different pathways in which thyroid gland functioning can be perceived and dealt therapeutically. The deliberation of thyroid disorder as a syndrome can affluence our knowledge of correlating cofounders, action of thyroid hormones on target tissues, underlying cause and thyroid health.

scholarly journals Long-Term IoT-Based Maternal Monitoring: System Design and Evaluation

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 2281
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Sarhaddi ◽  
Iman Azimi ◽  
Sina Labbaf ◽  
Hannakaisa Niela-Vilén ◽  
Nikil Dutt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Maternal Health ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Pregnancy And Postpartum ◽  
Comprehensive Framework ◽  
Specific Health

Pregnancy is a unique time when many mothers gain awareness of their lifestyle and its impacts on the fetus. High-quality care during pregnancy is needed to identify possible complications early and ensure the mother’s and her unborn baby’s health and well-being. Different studies have thus far proposed maternal health monitoring systems. However, they are designed for a specific health problem or are limited to questionnaires and short-term data collection methods. Moreover, the requirements and challenges have not been evaluated in long-term studies. Maternal health necessitates a comprehensive framework enabling continuous monitoring of pregnant women. In this paper, we present an Internet-of-Things (IoT)-based system to provide ubiquitous maternal health monitoring during pregnancy and postpartum. The system consists of various data collectors to track the mother’s condition, including stress, sleep, and physical activity. We carried out the full system implementation and conducted a real human subject study on pregnant women in Southwestern Finland. We then evaluated the system’s feasibility, energy efficiency, and data reliability. Our results show that the implemented system is feasible in terms of system usage during nine months. We also indicate the smartwatch, used in our study, has acceptable energy efficiency in long-term monitoring and is able to collect reliable photoplethysmography data. Finally, we discuss the integration of the presented system with the current healthcare system.

scholarly journals Energy efficient cutting parameter optimization

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingzheng Chen ◽  
Congbo Li ◽  
Ying Tang ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Hongcheng Li
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Parameter Optimization ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Cutting Parameters ◽  
Machining Process ◽  
Cutting Fluid ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Cutting Parameter ◽  
Cutting Parameter Optimization

AbstractMechanical manufacturing industry consumes substantial energy with low energy efficiency. Increasing pressures from energy price and environmental directive force mechanical manufacturing industries to implement energy efficient technologies for reducing energy consumption and improving energy efficiency of their machining processes. In a practical machining process, cutting parameters are vital variables set by manufacturers in accordance with machining requirements of workpiece and machining condition. Proper selection of cutting parameters with energy consideration can effectively reduce energy consumption and improve energy efficiency of the machining process. Over the past 10 years, many researchers have been engaged in energy efficient cutting parameter optimization, and a large amount of literature have been published. This paper conducts a comprehensive literature review of current studies on energy efficient cutting parameter optimization to fully understand the recent advances in this research area. The energy consumption characteristics of machining process are analyzed by decomposing total energy consumption into electrical energy consumption of machine tool and embodied energy of cutting tool and cutting fluid. Current studies on energy efficient cutting parameter optimization by using experimental design method and energy models are reviewed in a comprehensive manner. Combined with the current status, future research directions of energy efficient cutting parameter optimization are presented.

scholarly journals Should my robot know what's best for me? Human–robot interaction between user experience and ethical design

AI & Society ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nora Fronemann ◽  
Kathrin Pollmann ◽  
Wulf Loh
Keyword(s):  
User Experience ◽  
Interaction Design ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Design Principles ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Original Design ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Ethical Design

AbstractTo integrate social robots in real-life contexts, it is crucial that they are accepted by the users. Acceptance is not only related to the functionality of the robot but also strongly depends on how the user experiences the interaction. Established design principles from usability and user experience research can be applied to the realm of human–robot interaction, to design robot behavior for the comfort and well-being of the user. Focusing the design on these aspects alone, however, comes with certain ethical challenges, especially regarding the user’s privacy and autonomy. Based on an example scenario of human–robot interaction in elder care, this paper discusses how established design principles can be used in social robotic design. It then juxtaposes these with ethical considerations such as privacy and user autonomy. Combining user experience and ethical perspectives, we propose adjustments to the original design principles and canvass our own design recommendations for a positive and ethically acceptable social human–robot interaction design. In doing so, we show that positive user experience and ethical design may be sometimes at odds, but can be reconciled in many cases, if designers are willing to adjust and amend time-tested design principles.

Indigenous social work across borders: Expanding social work in the South Pacific

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracie Mafile’o ◽  
Halaevalu F Ofahengaue Vakalahi
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Preservation ◽  
Current Status ◽  
The South ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Work Education

Pacific indigenous social work has developed across borders reflecting the diaspora of Pacific peoples outside their homelands. It is proposed that the ‘next wave’ of Pacific social work be centred in Pacific homelands to invigorate new approaches that better address well-being for transnational Pacific peoples. The current status of Pacific social work education, professionalization and theory is discussed. It is argued that social justice, locally-led development and cultural preservation will be better realized with an expansion of Pacific social work across borders. The article reflects on decolonization, universalism–relativism, nature of social work, resourcing and collaborations for Pacific social work.

Professional Psychology in Portugal

1997 ◽  
Vol 81 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1211-1222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Fagulha ◽  
Richard H. Dana
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Professional Psychology ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Environmental Concerns ◽  
Advanced Degrees ◽  
Professional Degree ◽  
History Of ◽  
Training Research

This paper describes the history and current status of professional psychology in Portugal where a unique perspective combines training, research, and practical contributions from Europe and the Americas with their own history of psychological tradition and expertise. Training in professional psychology includes Social Psychology and Educational and Vocational Guidance specializations in addition to Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy and Counseling for the professional degree, Licenciatura. Advanced degrees are offered in Environmental Psychology, Career Development, Social Cognition, and other areas, primarily for academic positions. Research in all of these areas is expected to have applied outcomes that contribute to individual well being and an improved quality of life for the entire population. The result has been a rapid development of an indigenous professional psychology to address mental health, social, and environmental concerns that compel psychological attention and resources worldwide as well as those problems of local and national origins.

Removing NOx Pollution by Photocatalytic Building Materials in Real-Life: Evaluation of Existing Field Studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pernille D. Pedersen ◽  
Nina Lock ◽  
Henrik Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Objective Evaluation ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Hazardous Air Pollutants

: The NOx gasses (NO and NO2) are among the most important air pollutants, due to the toxicity of NO2, as well as the role of NOx in the tropospheric oxidation of Volatile Organic Carbons (VOCs), contributing to the formation of other hazardous air pollutants. Air pollution is one of the biggest health threats world-wide, hence reducing NOx levels is an important objective of the UN sustainable development goals, e.g. #3, “Good health and well-being” and #11 “Sustainable cities and communities”. Photocatalysis using TiO2 and light is a promising technique for removing NOx along with other pollutants, as demonstrated on laboratory scale. Furthermore, a long range of real-life test studies of varying scales have been conducted during the past two decades. The results of these studies have been conflicting, with some studies reporting no effect on the ambient air quality and others reporting significant reductions of NOx level. However, the studies are very difficult to compare and assess due to the very different approaches used, which consequently vary in quality. In this review, we aim to develop a set of objective evaluation criteria to assess the quality of the individual studies in order to simplify the interpretation and comparison of the existing studies. Moreover, we propose some guidelines for future test-studies. Furthermore, the approaches and main conclusions from 23 studies are independently assessed and discussed herein.

scholarly journals Non-invasive imaging of the coronary arteries

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (29) ◽  
pp. 2444-2454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip D Adamson ◽  
David E Newby
Keyword(s):  
Coronary Arteries ◽  
Randomized Clinical Trials ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Perspective ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Prognostic Stratification

Abstract Non-invasive imaging of the coronary arteries is an enterprise in rapid development. From the research perspective, there is great demand for in vivo techniques that can reliably identify features of high-risk plaque that may offer insight into pathophysiological processes and act as surrogate indicators of response to therapeutic intervention. Meanwhile, there is clear clinical need for greater accuracy in diagnosis and prognostic stratification. Fortunately, ongoing technological improvements and emerging data from randomized clinical trials are helping make these elusive goals a reality. This review provides an update on the current status of non-invasive coronary imaging with computed tomography, magnetic resonance, and positron emission tomography with a focus on current clinical applications and future research directions.

scholarly journals Tango Therapy: Current Status and the Next Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Dance Therapy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Medical Application ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Argentine Tango ◽  
Systemic Analysis ◽  
Health And Well Being

Dance is basically a complex physical activity which either casually or formally organized in which people take part for fitness, health and well-being, social relationships or competition and a worldwide human activity that involves complex whole body movements through space synchronized to music. Dance-related reviews of evidence have examined the effectiveness of dance therapy on psychological and physical health and well-being outcomes in patients with cancer, for schizophrenia, and on depression. Dance therapy was officially described firstly in 1948. The medical application of dance therapy was well reviewed in neurologic conditions. Dance has been used extensively for the treatment of gait and balance dysfunction in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Especially, Argentine tango is the most frequently employed dance form in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Tango therapy may hold promise as an intervention to improve gait, balance, and mobility in a variety of neurological conditions. Tango therapy was approached from dance therapy to the current status of medical application. A more systemic analysis of tango movement for proper and effective therapeutic application of tango is necessary for medical purposes.

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