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Accident models and analysis methods affect what accident investigators look for, which contributory factors are found, and which recommendations are issued. This paper contrasts the Sequentially Timed Events Plotting (STEP) method and the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) for accident analysis and modelling. The main issue addressed in this paper is the comparison of the established multi-linear method STEP with the new systemic method FRAM and which new insights the latter provides for accident analysis in comparison to the former established multi-linear method. Since STEP and FRAM are based on a different understandings of the nature of accidents, the comparison of the methods focuses on what we can learn from both methods, how, when, and why to apply them. The main finding is that STEP helps to illustrate what happened, involving which actors at what time, whereas FRAM illustrates the dynamic interactions within socio-technical systems and lets the analyst understand the how and why by describing non-linear dependencies, performance conditions, variability, and their resonance across functions.
In this study, the usability of smart phone application store app is evaluated. The study was performed on different smart phone operating systems. Data about usability was gathered through surveys and think aloud based experiment. Anova analysis was also performed on data to identify significant issues. A lot of smartphone users reported issues with installing, locating and searching about apps. Many users had issues with uninstalling of apps and navigating the search results when looking for apps. The smartphone operating system and the app store does not provide seamless navigation and alot of content is not tailored for smart phone users.
Objective: Usability inspection methods are a class of usability evaluation methods, applied by usability evaluators to assess usability related aspects of different user interfaces. Different usability inspection methods are proposed so far to evaluate user interfaces in a better way. This systematic literature review summarized different usability evaluation methods, with more focus on two widely used inspection methods. The review also summarized the problems with these two methods and probable proposed solution to cope with these problems.
Method: A systematic review method as described by Kitchenham [3] was followed to carry out this review. The identified problems in the review were structured in a form of questions. The search to find the relevant data that address the identified questions were conducted on the basis of planned search strategies. Papers were selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria in accordance with the quality checklist; followed by data extraction and synthesis strictly characterized by quality checklist, inclusion and exclusion criteria to attain better results.
Results and discussion: Despite of its advantages there still exists many weaknesses in Heuristic evaluation (HE) and Cognitive walk-through (CW) methods. Different studies have highlighted different factors that may influence the results. Those factors include number of evaluators, evaluator's perception and experience, time, environment, cost, indigenous design, the way method applied and acquired software.
Conclusion: To get better evaluation results, it is best to use different techniques for usability evaluation of single software or optimize existing techniques.
As machine translation technology improves comparisons to human performance are often made in quite general and exaggerated terms. Thus, it is important to be able to account for differences accurately. This paper reports a simple, descriptive scheme for comparing translations and applies it to two translations of a British opinion article published in March, 2017. One is a human translation (HT) into Swedish, and the other a machine translation (MT). While the comparison is limited to one text, the results are indicative of current limitations in MT.
The paper reports experiences of automatically converting the dependency analysis of the LinES English-Swedish parallel treebank to universal dependencies (UD). The most tangible result is a version of the treebank that actually employs the relations and parts-of-speech categories required by UD, and no other. It is also more complete in that punctuation marks have received dependencies, which is not the case in the original version. We discuss our method in the light of problems that arise from the desire to keep the syntactic analyses of a parallel treebank internally consistent, while available monolingual UD treebanks for English and Swedish diverge somewhat in their use of UD annotations. Finally, we compare the output from the conversion program with the existing UD treebanks.
As for any categorial scheme used for annotation, UD abound with borderline cases. The main instruments to resolve them are the UD design principles and, of course, the linguistic facts of the matter. UD makes a fundamental distinction between content words and function words, and a, perhaps less fundamental, distinction between pure function words and the rest. It has been suggested that adpositions are to be included among the pure function words. In this paper I discuss the case of prepositions in Swedish and related languages in the light of these distinctions. It relates to a more general problem: How should we resolve cases where the linguistic intuitions and UD design principles are in conflict?
In principle the CLARIN research infrastructure provides a good environment to support research on translation. In reality, the progress within CLARIN in this area seems to be fairly slow. In this paper I will give examples of the resources currently available, and suggest what is needed to achieve a relevant research infrastructure for translation studies. Also, I argue that translation studies has more to gain from language technology, and statistical machine translation in particular, than what is generally assumed, and give some examples.
We propose a system for use in translation teaching with automatic support for alignment and comparative assessment of different translations. A primary use of this system is for discussion in class and comparison of student translations from a given source text, but it may also be used to study and compare differences between published translations. We describe the intended functions of the system and give suggestions on its design and architecture. We also discuss the degree of automation that can be expected and report results from a small indicative study focused on word alignment performance.
The paper offers an effective way of teacher-student computer-based collabo-ration in translation class. We show how a quantitative-qualitative method of analysis supported by word alignment technology can be applied to student translations for use in the classroom. The combined use of natural-language pro-cessing and manual techniques enables students to 'co-emerge' during highly motivated collaborative sessions. Within the advocated approach, students are pro-active seekers for a better translation (grade) in a teacher-centered computer-based peer-assisted translation class.
Comparable or parallel corpora are beneficial for many NLP tasks. The automatic collection of corpora enables large-scale resources, even for less-resourced languages, which in turn can be useful for deducing rules and patterns for text rewriting algorithms, a subtask of automatic text simplification. We present two methods for the alignment of Swedish easy-to-read text segments to text segments from a reference corpus. The first method (M1) was originally developed for the task of text reuse detection, measuring sentence similarity by a modified version of a TF-IDF vector space model. A second method (M2), also accounting for part-of-speech tags, was devel- oped, and the methods were compared. For evaluation, a crowdsourcing platform was built for human judgement data collection, and preliminary results showed that cosine similarity relates better to human ranks than the Dice coefficient. We also saw a tendency that including syntactic context to the TF-IDF vector space model is beneficial for this kind of paraphrase alignment task.
This paper presents a rationale for structuring a distributed human factors laboratory for future air systems. The distributed herein refers to two aspects: content and geographic. As for content, the laboratory is structured in two levels, namely, individual, and team. As for geographic, the laboratory infrastructure is distributed in three physically separate facilities, namely, Department of Computer and Information Science (IDA) and Department of Management and Engineering (IEI) from Linköping University – Sweden and the Competence Center in Manufacturing from the Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA) – Brazil.
This study is one of a series of studies, researching various aspects that all aim at enhanced simulation based certification aiding for aircraft. An experimental within-group design study was performed with 10 participants ( 5 male, and 5 female). The results showed a significant difference, F(2,16) = 5.11, p = 0.019, in mental workload between an engine failure condition and an normal condition for eye blink frequency. No effect of speed at the engine failure event on mental workload was found.
In this position paper we briefly introduce SmartEnv ontology which relies on SEmantic Sensor Network (SSN) ontology and is used to represent different aspects of smart and sensorized environments. We will also talk about E-carehome project aiming at providing an IoT-based health-care system for elderly people at their homes. Furthermore, we refer to the role of SmartEnv in Ecarehome and how it needs to be further extended to achieve semantic interoperability as one of the challenges in development of autonomous health care systems at home.
This thesis has been carried out within the program Bachelor of Computer Science and Engineering at Linköping University in the spring of 2015 performed at the request of ArcCore in Linköping. The aim is to create and design a user friendly Android application which wirelessly can communicate with the electronic control units in a car or test environment.
The Android application consists of five main screens, four whose task is to print the information travelling on the CAN bus. The five screens are start, fault codes, sensors, ECU Extract and overview. Start will take you to the other screens. Fault codes, print all the fault codes, sensors prints all sensors, the ECU extract prints all information and overview displays a virtual dashboard. User Evaluations have been conducted to develop both the design and layout of the application. The development process is executed by using extreme programming and the evaluations have been carried out with the help of traditional usability tests and binary success. The evaluations feedback has been used to develop both the design and the user friendliness of the application.
The application has been developed in the Android Studio and communicates with the ECUs using a PEAK PCAN Wireless Gateway which is connected to the Hercules Development Kit TMS570 MCU.
The result is that we can clearly see that the ease of use has increased during the development process and that we now by using evaluations have a nice and easy user-friendly Android application that can be used by all who wants to get the information available on the CAN bus.
Conceptualization of meaning in design-driven innovation and value in service innovation, seem to be sharing some core characteristics that are essential but have not yet been integrated. Thus, this paper explores design-driven innovation and its conceptual relevance for service innovation within the framework of service-dominant logic (S-D logic) by examining interrelation between meaning and value. Design-driven innovation is defined as a strategic framework that enables radical innovation through change in meaning relying on Krippendorff's (1989) notion that people interact with artifacts because they make sense to them. On the other hand, S-D logic's core concepts evolve around resource integration for value co-creation among multiple stakeholders addressing important complexities of service innovation. Both meaning and value share some conceptual commonalities. By exploring and interrelating them within their conceptual frameworks, this paper aims to open new ways for understanding and operationalizing service innovation and the role of service design within it.
Purpose – The S-D logic enabled the phenomenological understanding of value cocreation in a service ecosystem which positioned the new forms of value cocreation and resource integration in the center of service innovation process. However, the underlying phenomenological aspects of service innovation needs further exploration to understand how changes in resource integration and value cocreation occur. On the other hand, innovation driven by design focuses on change in meaning, a concept well explored in design research, as a main driver of change arising in use and interaction, dependent on the context and institutional arrangements, and dynamically emerging. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore the conceptual relevance of change in meaning for service innovation grounded in the S-D logic. Integrating the design-related conceptualization of meaning as a concept that contributes to new interpretation of rescues and value cocreation can bring a more nuanced perspective to the cocreative aspect of service innovation. The concept of change in meaning can make valuable multidisciplinary connections to S-D logic and set the common ground in adopting a more phenomenological perspective of service innovation. Design/methodology/approach – This paper builds a conceptual framework for understanding main building blocks of service innovation informed by change in meaning. The framework is based on the conceptual exploration of the the S-D logic literature on service innovation and design research literature on meaning, uncovering similarities, differences and mutual dynamics. The framework provides the explanation of the relationships between the main building blocks relevant for service innovation facilitated through change in meaning. Findings – The findings indicate shared characteristics between meaning and value that set the ground for understanding change in meaning as a complementary perspective in understanding service innovation. The concept of meaning brings insights into phenomenological aspect of value co-creation by emphasizing its interpretative quality. Examination of the relationship between meaning and value cocreation reveals that meaning and value cocreation are similar but have distinct roles in the cocreation process where meaning facilitates resource interpretation as an important step underlying service innovation. Originality/value – This paper expands the S-D logic and service innovation literature with multidisciplinary contributions on meaning from design research. The concept of meaning in this paper combines research streams relying on similar concepts and integrates them in comprehensive framework that can be used as a starting point for future research in service innovation. The framework shows service innovation as a dynamic process where value cocreation and change in meaning coexist and are mutually dependent thus contributing to the richer understanding of the phenomenological quality of service innovation.
Leveraging new technology to advance smart service is a key service research priority. Such technologies enable smart interactions that address customers' needs in a more meaningful way. Thus, they have a profound effect not only on customer experience but also on streamlining future service offer- ings, business models and service ecosystems. However, while research is emerging, the concept of smart service is still vague, complicating its successful integration in business practice. This paper aims to characterize smart service through a comprehensive analysis of its theoretical and conceptual building blocks. A systematic literature review is conducted to reconcile the existing understanding of diverse disciplines. A comprehensive keyword-based search approach across 33 academic and three practitioner-oriented journals yielded 157 relevant articles (out of 13.022 articles). The contribution of this investi- gation is the cross-disciplinary overview of smart service with implications to a broader understanding of the role of smart service in individuals' everyday lives.
Selenium has been a method to test web applications for over a decade, it is interacting directly with the browser and has gained support from both browsers and the community. With the growing amount of browsers, mobile devices and operating systems which a web application is expected to work with, services providing these systems for testing web applications against has gained interest. These services provide testing as a service (TaaS), and runs Selenium-tests in the cloud. This research tried to compare the different services with each other in regard to flexibility, cost, simplicity and reliability. I have also tried to see differences between running the tests locally and using these services. The results showed that there are some differences between the services, and the one best suited might depend on the web application.
Organizations for humanitarian assistance, disaster response and military activities are characterized by their special role in society to resolve time-constrained and potentially life-threatening situations. The tactical missions that these organizations conduct regularly are significantly dynamic in character, and sometimes impossible to fully comprehend and predict. In these situations, when control becomes opportunistic, the organizations are forced to rely on the collective experience of their personnel to respond effectively to the unfolding threats. Generating such experience through traditional means of training, exercising and apprenticeship, is expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to manage.
This thesis explores how and why mission experience should be utilized in emergency management and military organizations to improve performance. A multimedia approach for capturing mission experience has further been tested in two case studies to determine how the commanders' experiences can be externalized to enable vicarious learning. These studies propose a set of technical, methodological, and ethical issues that need to be considered when externalizing mission experience, based on two aforementioned case studies complemented by a literature review. The presented outcomes are (1) a model aligning abilities that tactical organizations need when responding to dynamic situations of different familiarity, (2) a review of the usefulness of several different data sources for externalization of commanders' experiences from tactical operations, and (3) a review of methodological, technical, and ethical issues to consider when externalizing tactical military and emergency management operations. The results presented in this thesis indicate that multimedia approaches for capturing mission histories can indeed complement training and exercising as a method for generating valuable experience from tactical missions.
In this study, thoughts on ethics of workplace monitoring are being applied to the very special domain of evaluations of tactical operations, such as military or crisis management exercises or operations. I try to find out if there are differences in the way we should regard workplace monitoring when it comes to this domain compared to standard workplaces such as offices, since the purpose of the surveillance is not to enforce discipline, but to evaluate the organizations' ability to conduct a tactical operation. The study focuses on issues such as privacy and informed consent and the main purpose of the investigation is to structure a consistent ethical standpoint when it comes to operations' evaluation by making parallels to related theories that I found correct and applicable. I conclude that is indeed reasonable to place other demands on crisis management workers than we would do on other work forces, and that it should therefore be easier to motivate workplace monitoring for the purpose of evaluating distributed tactical operations. I argue however, just as Miller does regarding police work, that upholding privacy can be a real problem when crisis management personnel are exposed to monitoring, even though it is intended for evaluation.
In this paper we present the Reconstruction and Exploration approach (R&E) and F-REX tool and their applications in a field exercise with the Swedish Rescue Services Agency with the purpose of investigating features needed for a computer supported approach for evaluation of large scale crisis management operations. After the exercise several interviews and one seminar were held to evaluate R&E as a representative for computer supported evaluation approaches for crisis management operations. Initial results indicate that multimedia presentation of key events from an operation can be very valuable not only to stimulate the participants to reflect on their own performance, but also to document and share lessons learned to non-participants.
A tactical organisation can be seen as an adhocracy designed to perform missions in uncertain, ambiguous and complex environments. Flexibility, adaptability, resilience, innovation, creativity and improvisation have all been identified as key skills for successful outcome of these missions. To learn skills associated with such abilities previous research has shown that knowledge acquired through experience plays an important role. It is therefore important that individuals, teams and organisations share and learn from experiences to improve their ability to cope with novel situations. In literature there is a lack of consistency in how these abilities are discussed, we therefore propose the FAIRIC model to help define and differentiate between the concepts. By unravelling some of the similarities and differences we create a common vocabulary to discuss knowledge gained from experience. This can help classify different experiences and provide a more systematic way of gathering knowledge on situational factors that influence the success of different actions and more unified interpretations that can assist design of knowledge representations to share mission experience over boundaries of time and space.
Human factors research popularly employs perception-based techniques to investigate team performance and its dependency to cognitive processes. Such studies frequently rely upon either observer-based or self-assessment techniques to collect data. In this study, we examined behavioral observer ratings and self-assessment ratings for measuring team performance in virtual teams, with team performance regarded as a combination of task outcome and team cognition. Juxtaposing self-assessments and observer ratings from a quasi-experiment comparing team performance rating techniques reveals that they indeed produce overall similar results, with both singling out teamwork effectiveness ratings as the strongest contributor to overall team performance. However, the comparisons show remarkably low correlation on individual questionnaire items. The most striking difference is that the team members self-assessments of workload are lower than the corresponding observer ratings. In particular, the self-assessments do not correlate at all with overall team performance, whereas the observers workload ratings are more consistent with contemporary research that suggests a strong correlation between workload and team performance, suggesting that observer-based techniques are more reliable than self-assessments for assessing workload. For other ratings, the results show that the two techniques are fairly equal, suggesting that the choice between methods to employ can be deferred to other considerations such as obtrusiveness, accessibility, and resource availability.
This thesis is to help developers in the touch design of casual games. The thesis work was made on the development platform Gideros Mobile and much of the thesis theory and methods will be based on that work. The purpose of the report is to show what one should think about when making a casual game in a touch design perspective, like taking into account that most people are used to one type of input design (like swiping or tapping), that you should design the game with the purpose to reach out to as a large audience as possible (taking into account people with disabilities) and some small notes on what should be avoided so not to deter people from wanting to play the game. It is important to note that this thesis is built for the purpose of mobile casual games, others will probably not find this thesis relevant.
This Master's Thesis aimed to assess and propose improvements for initial learnability in Sectra AB's Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS) by integrating usability engineering and agile software development. Assessing initial learnability and re-designing complex systems is difficult as they have a high skill cap and take longer time to learn in comparison to simpler ones. Further, companies that use agile methodologies often focus on completing small items which might hide the overarching vision of a product that can lead to usability problems. While there are several methods for assessing usability, no research has specifically focused on assessing initial learnability in complex systems. This study however investigates how this may be achieved by combining current methodologies for measuring learnability with usability engineering and agile software development. Initial learnability issues and needs were assessed after evaluating Sectra PACS using 5 participants and analysed using impact mapping as well as conducting a focus group within the organisation that owns the product.
Mobil informationsteknik har på senaste tiden fått mer uppmärksamhet inom industriella applikationer, inte minst inom underhåll och reparation där teknisk dokumentation förekommer i stor utsträckning. Scania har tagit fram ett nytt koncept för interaktion med teknisk dokumentation i verkstaden där en viktig del av konceptet är mobilitet. Scanias förhoppningar är att en ökad möjlighet till mobilitet ska kunna förbättra användarupplevelsen.
I detta arbete har en observationsstudie genomförts för att identifiera användarnas behov av mobilitet vid reparation och underhållsarbete samt de kontextuella faktorer som påverkar val av mobil interaktionsteknik.
Fyra olika behov av mobilitet kunde identifieras efter analysen och till dessa kunde olika krav knytas för att skapa ett underlag för bedömning av olika teknikers potential att uppfylla de aktuella behoven.
Vid utveckling av spel till smartphones så krävs ofta flera olika implementationer för olika plattformar. Men det finns olika spelmotorer och ramverk till olika programspråk som kan kompilera samma kod till flera olika mobila plattformar. Kivy är ett sådant ramverk för programspråket Python.
I detta arbete användes prototypdriven utveckling i Kivy för att försöka höja spelupplevelsen av ett tvådimensionellt online-spel i kategorin action-strategi som tidigare fanns implementerat i GameMaker. Olika tekniker för att öka prestandan för spelet testades också. Det visade sig att med den bästa kombinationen av de tekniker som testades så blev prestandan med hög last cirka 29 bilder/s. Användarbarheten, spelbarheten och ljud-estetiken av spelet ökades medan nöjet och den personliga tillfredställelsen från spelet minskade. Totalt sett blev spelupplevelsen i stort sätt oförändrad.
Bluetooth Low Energy is becoming increasingly popular in mobile applications due to the possibility of using it for proximity data. Proximity can be estimated by measuring the strength of the Bluetooth signal, and actions can then be performed based on a user's proximity to a certain location or object. One of the most interesting applications of proximity information is automating common tasks; this paper evaluates Bluetooth Low Energy in the context of using smartphones to automatically unlock a door when a user approaches the door. Measurements were performed to determine signal strength reliability, energy consumption and connection latency. The results show that Bluetooth Low Energy is a suitable technology for proximity-based door locks despite the large variance in signal strength.
This paper describes a workflow for designing experiences whileinteracting with an advanced driver assistant system. Future driver assistancesystems that utilize sensors and Car2X-communication in order to detect threatsin the car environment can help the driver to avoid collisions. To increase theacceptance of such a system, the interaction between the driver and the systemshould be able to generate positive experiences. To generate those experiences,a story-based design workflow was used. Concepts created with this workflowshould be able to address specific psychological needs of the driver. Theimplementation of this workflow revealed different schemes of positiveexperiences during driver interaction in critical situations.
This report describes a bachelor thesis in computer science performed at the system department within the product development unit for GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) at Ericsson in Linköping.GSM can be considered a mature technology but it is still updated with new features on a regular basis. This requires that the technology also continuously is being tested. One technique that is used to perform quality tests is called PESQ (Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality). PESQ is a standardized algorithm to perform speech quality tests; it gives a score based on how a human would percept speech quality.The purpose of this thesis was to enhance the speech quality analysis process used when testing the GSM network. One goal was to analyze if it was possible to record and inject sound into a phone call and verify the possibility to execute the PESQ algorithm using a smartphone. Another goal was to develop a smartphone application to perform the described tasks.In order to do so an application for Android was developed. The development process included an investigation whether the Android platform supplies the functionality required. The investiga-tion showed that no general solution for recording and injecting audio into a phone call could be found. Recording was possible on some smartphones, but the characteristics of the recorded audio were not as desired. No solution for injecting audio into a phone call could be found for any of the tested smartphones.However, even though no solution for recording and injecting was found, an application was developed. The application was decided to be more of a proof of concept on how an application of this kind would work. It would also be a good foundation for future development. Suggested future work in order to integrate the application into the existing testing environment is to find alternative solutions for recording and injecting, maybe with the help of smartphone manu-facturers.
New ways of interaction between users and their computing devices has revealed that users are not only interested in sharing their data, but their user interfaces as well. This calls for an extension of the traditional notion of user interfaces, to a notion where user interfaces span over multiple devices: Distributed User Interfaces (DUIs). The purpose of this thesis is to identify challenges in developing Web based DUIs, and the result is a JavaScript library that aids the development of these types of interfaces. The development has been driven in an explorative fashion, to discover techniques that is appropriate to use, when moving ideas from existing DUI frameworks for the desktop, to the Web. Soundness of the implementation has been evaluated by measuring properties of the library source code that indicates maintainability and extensibility. The conclusion is that the library has the potential of answering the needs for future DUI development targeting the Web.
Teams consisting of only software developers will occasionally need to develop products that has to be easy to use. User Centered Design (UCD) is one approach to help increase the ease of use of a product and that can be incorporated into the teams' traditional workflow when needed. The software developer team followed in this thesis had not tried to incorporate UCD into their current workflow when developing such products. So, this thesis looks at how a product designed with an agile/UCD approach differs from a product developed by the software development team's traditional approach. The two products were designed to solve the same problem. The results show that the product developed with an agile/UCD-approach gave better usability rankings and better external appeal than the one created with the team's traditional approach. On the other hand, traditional methods constitute a better choice for quick development of products for more technical user groups within the company for example.
Denna studie har som syfte att ta fram ett designförslag på ett ögonrörelsestyrt infotainment-system samt utvärdera detta. Fokusen ligger på den funktionella design och dess för- och nackdelar. Studien tar upp tre olika designförslag varav ett valdes att göra en prototyp av. Prototypen skapades med hjälp av HTML5, Javascript och Python. Detta kopplades sedan samman med ett ögonrörelsesystem tillhörande Smart Eye AB. Prototypen användartestades och utvärderades med hjälp av en bilsimulator. Utvärderingen gjordes med hjälp av en enkät samt SUS-formulär. Enkäten resulterade i en kvalitativ utvärdering av prototypen medan SUS-värdet (69,88) pekar på att förbättringar bör göras för att öka den upplevda användbarheten. Studien innehåller även framtida förbättringsförslag för vidare utveckling.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a high mortality disease, second to stroke and ischemic heart disease. This non-curable disease progressively exacerbates, leading to high personal and societal economic impact, reduced quality of life and often death. General treatment plans for COPD risk mistreating the individuals' condition. To be effective, the treatment should be individualized following the practices of precision medicine. The aim of this thesis was to develop a data driven algorithm and system with visualization to assess individual COPD risk. With MRI body composition profile measurements, it is possible to accurately assess propensity of a multitude of metabolic conditions, such as coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The algorithm and system has been developed using Wolfram Language and R within the Wolfram Mathematica framework. The algorithm calculates individualized virtual control groups metabolically similar to the patient's body composition and spirometric profile. Using UK Biobank data, our tool was used to assess patient COPD propensity using an individual-specific virtual control group with AUROC 0.778 (female) and 0.758 (men). Additionally, the tool was used to identify new body composition profiles related to COPD and associated comorbid conditions.
Background: Written language impairments are common in Alzheimers disease and reduced syntactic complexity in written discourse has been observed decades before the onset of dementia. The validity of average dependency distance (ADD), a measure of syntactic complexity, in cognitive decline needs to be studied further to evaluate its clinical relevance. Aims: The aim of the study was to determine whether ADD is associated with levels of cognitive impairment in memory clinic patients. Methods & procedures: We analyzed written texts collected in clinical practice from 114 participants with subjective cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimers disease during routine assessment at a memory clinic. ADD was measured using automated analysis methods consisting of a syntactic parser and a part-of-speech tagger. Outcomes & results: Our results show a significant association between ADD and levels of cognitive impairment, using ordinal logistic regression models. Conclusion: These results suggest that ADD is clinically relevant with regard to levels of cognitive impairment and indicate a diagnostic potential for ADD in cognitive assessment.
This paper introduces two concepts—dialogical emergency management and strategic awareness—as means to use and understand the content of social media for the purpose of emergency communication. Dialogical emergency management denotes that the emergency management organizations follow what people publish in various social media on emergencies and ongoing emergency response, and then adjust their information strategies in a way that matches the expectations and needs for emergency information of ..
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been extensively studied the past years for various applications. In this work, we propose a Markov chain to model the movement of a single FAY deployed for data collection from remote sensors. Furthermore, we introduce a second Markov chain to model the irregularities of the UAVs movement when it is in transit. We investigate the impact of the distance of the FAV from the sensor on the success probability of information transmission. We provide numerical evaluation of the theoretical results.
The designed product is often assessed in interaction design education, but there are also courses that focus on learning the design process. It is then necessary to develop criteria for grading in such courses. To make a successful transfer from theory to practice, students also need to learn the criteria practitioners use, rather than the criteria that academically oriented teachers use. To do this, one approach is to align criteria with the conceptions practicing interaction designers have of process quality in design. Therefore, the research questions for this study are what those conceptions are, and how they can be utilized in grading criteria for interaction design projects in education. Interviews were made with 10 interaction designers. The interviews were qualitatively analyzed. The results demonstrate that practicing interaction designers conceptualize the quality of the design process in three ways: it is good if established methods are used and the design is managed within resource constraints, and within organizational and technological limitations, while also meeting stated objectives; it is even better if the design has a thought-through rationale; and ideally, the design should also be inspirational. These conceptions were transferred to points on a criteria-referenced grading scale which was used to develop course specific grading criteria. The criteria were evaluated in terms of comprehensibility and reliability. The evaluation showed that most of the students who also attended lectures understood the criteria. A high and significant covariation and a high level of agreement between the two teachers who graded the projects were shown. Further, the developed criteria should be generalizable to other process-centered interaction design courses and to assessment in other design disciplines.
This paper makes the proposition that interaction and service design can be seen as offering perspectives in a space of action where acting agents grasp a finite perspective depending on objects of concern and equipment, and then reorganize the space. The meaning of this proposition is outlined in the paper, and it also presents a case study of client meetings at banks, which illustrates the proposition. That case show how equipment was used in the background while the clerk attended the client. The clerk made things available for the client in their shared region, directing the client's perspective on the space of action. It was observed that equipment at times presented too rigid a perspective, not allowing the clerk to restructure it. Still, the clerk could make things available for himself or herself and for others, creating a multi-stable character of the region. Seeing interaction and service design in this way highlight the service moments as they appear to the individual agents who co-create the service throughout an encounter. The region set up by designers offers a frame of possible perspectives and an orientation in the service moment.
Interaktionsdesign och UX handlar om tekniker för att utforma nyskapande interaktiva produkter och tjänster med god användarupplevelse. God användarupplevelse, eller UX (eng. user experience), är det övergripande målet för designarbetet. Den här boken är tänkt som ett praktiskt stöd under hela designprocessen: från initiala insikter och formulerade avsikter, till konceptidéer och test av prototyper. Tyngdpunkten ligger på de tidiga faserna där designens inriktning slås fast.
Boken vänder sig till yrkesverksamma som vill lära sig nya tekniker och arbetssätt, och till studenter som ska arbeta konkret med design av interaktiva produkter och tjänster.
The front-end of the design process is where the design work is framed for the first time. It is the early part of the design work where the design team decides what to design rather than how to design something. It is often referred to as fuzzy, since it is very tentative in nature and the design team has yet to develop a sense of direction. In product design, the team, however, already knows that they are to develop some kind of physical product. In graphic design, the team knows that some sort of visual artefact is to be produced. In interaction and service design, the design team has a wider scope, aiming to shape the activities people perform. The problem this paper addresses is what to focus on in the fuzzy front-end of interaction and service design. We propose using the Mediated Action Sheets, which provide a framework based on socio-cultural theories of mediated action to structure the user research and idea generation phases of the design process. The Mediated Action Sheets consist of The Persona Sheet that is a structure for user research and developing personas, and The Concept Design Sheet for thinking concept ideas through in more detail. The paper provides examples of how they can be incorporated into the craftsmanship of interaction and service design.
The following blog post is edited from an email conversation between the authors about the concept of interactive form, which incidentally is the name of a course given at Linköping University. If you do teach a course, it might be a good idea to understand the meaning of the course name.
How can service prototypes be created and evaluated? This paper describes how methods like bodystorming and experience prototyping can be used in combination with pluralistic walkthrough in an evaluation method we call 'service walkthrough'. We put the method to test in the development of augmented tourism services at the author Astrid Lindgren's childhood home. After initial design work, a mock-up and roleplay of a treasure hunt in the garden of the childhood home was made. It was evaluated using the service walkthrough method. The most important lesson learned was that a service walkthrough can be used to evaluate service prototypes and that it reveals information about practical as well as experiential issues for users.
The purpose of lifelogging is to help users collect data for self-monitoring and reflection. We have in this study explored how lifelogging technology (a camera and a heart rate monitor) can change user experience (UX) research, and we describe a novel approach. Data was collected for three days with four participants, and a 4-6-hours co-creation workshop with stimulated recall interview was held with each of them to create an experience timeline. The timeline includes selfreported key experiences, lifelog stimulated experiences, heart rate, decisions, and valence. The results show that the number of experiences in the timeline that come from data points stimulated by the lifelogging, are as many as the self-reported data points. Lessons learned include that the use of lifelogging produces highly detailed UX research, but it is very time consuming, due to the sheer amount of data.


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Browse: Home / Uncategorized
New Atheism: A Quick Overview
By dianerdoll on May 16, 2011
As pioneered by the Four Horsemen, the New Atheist Movement "has a metaphysical component, an epistemological component, and an ethical component" (Taylor). The metaphysical component is the belief that there is no personal God. The epistemological component is the claim that belief in such a God is irrational. These first two components are nothing new. […]
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subset: commoncrawl


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Download the Episode here: Episode 22
In this episode we talk about stuff... but Cowboy Kenny and Uncle Buck challenge Niel and Cheatin' Steve to a match at the 11th company tournament!
Oh yeah, we talk about our first impressions of the Necron Codex. In segment 3 we talk about how to prep for a GT away from home. Segment 4 is our Special Character highlight on Warboss Ghazghull Mag Uruk Thraka. Then Chem-Dog Cory and Uncle Buck do some Black Library reviews. In the Deep Six we look at working on some display boards.


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Dogs are welcome in all areas of the Mother Shipton's park, apart from the adventure playground
Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, HG5 8DD
For discounted tickets book online HERE
|Off Peak
|Adult 16+
|Child 3-15
|Family (2 Adults +2 Children)
* School holidays and events
For a full list of prices see the Plan Your Visit page.
The park that is home to Mother Shipton's Cave and the Petrifying Well is a unique, unspoilt remnant of the Royal Forest of Knaresborough. Sir Henry Slingsby's Long Walk is described by English Heritage as "one of the best" of its kind. Visitors from all over the world have been enchanted by the park's natural beauty, mesmerised by the Petrifying Well and fascinated by Mother Shipton's story.
Dogs are welcome in all areas of the Mother Shipton's park, apart from the adventure playground which is clearly signposted. Out of respect for other visitors, we ask that dogs are kept on a lead at all times.
Share your photos and comments with us on social media. Discover the latest news, updates and event information.


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Sleeveless Floral Organza Tea Dress - Floral Organza Midi Dress RM539
Elegant tea dress fabricated from sheer organza with bold large floral print (floral print position is not fixed and may vary in different sizes).
Length is 47" from shoulder top to the bottom of the hem. Click Here for Size Guide.
We offer Customization Service for this product. Learn More Here.
Please check out the Dispatching & Shipping Standards for this product to make sure we can meet your needs.


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Located in north central Texas, Dallas rose to prominence from its historical importance as a center for the cotton and petroleum industries. It is the largest economic center of the 12 county Dallas—Fort Worth—Arlington Metropolitan Area, which has one of the largest concentrations of corporate headquarters for publicly-traded companies in the nation. The city's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, computer technology, energy, and transportation. It is the third most popular destination for business travel in the country.
Mercury sells a variety of insurance products through a network of local, independent agents. In Texas, we have agents in every major market who want to help you each step of the way. Mercury offers comprehensive coverage options, including personal auto insurance, mechanical protection, homeowners insurance and umbrella insurance. Mercury also provides business auto insurance.
Mercury enjoys a unique position in the Dallas marketplace, providing customers with some of Texas' most affordable and personalized agent-driven service. Mercury sells a variety of insurance products through a network of more than 8,000 local, independent agents in 11 states. Contact a Mercury agent in your neighborhood for a free rate quote and start saving today.


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Tiny Tales: Our New House
by Rebecca Finn (author and illustrator) and Rebecca Finn (author and illustrator) (UK edition)
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Take the worry out of moving house with this lovely novelty book! Combining charming pictures with chunky tabs and simple four-piece jigsaws, it shows very young children what it might be like to move to a new home. Letting tots explore interesting details like removal vans, new bedrooms and new neighbours, the story leads to a reassuring ending which soothes anxieties. A great way for little ones to resolve their worries as they solve the fun jigsaw puzzles!
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More of the same from the Winter Meetings in Orlando on Tuesday, as the Tampa Bay Rays' front office officials engaged in conversations, yet no major deals were to be had.
#Rays Neander on the status of talks: pic.twitter.com/pF80aFITXJ
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) December 13, 2017
Rays GM Erik Neander felt there were some good talks, although no large deals were particularly close. Neander said there was a 50/50 mix of talks involving free agency and trades, with slightly more discussions on the agent front.
The Rays did make another small move to add infield depth on Tuesday, acquiring Ryan Schimpf from the San Diego Padres for minor league infielder Deion Tansel.
We've acquired INF Ryan Schimpf from San Diego for minor league INF Deion Tansel.
67.4% of his hits have been XBH – the top ratio in MLB since 2016 (min. 500 PA). #JumboSchimpf 🍤 pic.twitter.com/FXBwOAH3sv
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) December 12, 2017
Schimpf, 29, has played parts of the past two seasons with the Padres, yet posting just a .195 batting average. He, however, has some interesting power numbers with 58 of his 86 hits (67.4%) going for extra bases, including 34 home runs. He also struck out 175 times in 527 plate appearances, making him the king of the "three true outcomes"— home run, strikeout, and walk; Schimpf has homered, struck out, or walked in 278 (53%) of his 527 career plate appearances.
His 12.97 AB/HR ratio ranks sixth in the majors and third in the NL (minimum 500 plate appearances) behind Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton (11.74) and the Dodgers Cody Bellinger (12.31).
Schimpf, a lefty hitter, has two minor-league options remaining and will battle for a spot on the roster during Spring Training. In addition to his ability to serve as a utility infielder, as well as power bat off the bench, Schimpf could also be a platoon candidate at second base if Tampa Bay doesn't sign another first baseman — thus shifting Brad Miller back to first base.
Schimpf is the second infielder the Rays have acquired in two days, and third in the last two weeks, adding Joey Wendle on Monday and previously claiming Micah Johnson off waivers.
#Rays Neander on collecting 3 infielders not being a sign of something else coming: pic.twitter.com/oSYxQ8sWBu
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) December 12, 2017
It has been suggested, namely by Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), that the accumulation of depth by the Rays comes at a curious time when they are said to be considering trading several veterans, including 3B Evan Longoria, SS Adeiny Hechavarria and 2B Brad Miller. However, the Rays' General Manager pumped the breaks on the doom and gloom assertion, saying the acquisitions are not a precursor to a trade of a veteran, rather they are more a product of price point and roster flexibility.
Reports broke Tuesday that Rays had signed a talented 16 year-old prospect Jelfry Marte of the Dominican Republic. Marte is the third ranked international prospect behind Shohei Ohtani and Wander Franco, who signed with Tampa Bay in July.
However, the reports may be a bit premature, as the Rays would likely need to acquire international signing money from another club to sign Marte. The prodigious shortstop initially signed with Minnesota, but his $3-million contract was voided because of a vision issue.
Neander Quotes That Matter
I don't think we have a big need to re-stock our farm system. It's much stronger than it has been in some time. …While our team has been hanging around not necessarily where we want to be, our minor leagues have gotten much better.
— Per Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) Neander said Schimpf, Joey Wendle and Micah Johnson are all versatile that can play multiple positions. Of the group, Neander says Wendle is likely the best defender of the three.
— Just remember, as with any other industry, journalists have to make money as do their publications. That is to say a lot of what they write during this, the Hot-Stove period, is prone to hyperbole and sensationalism. Don't always believe the hype. With this in mind, here are two articles that may temper the palpitations you're likely having:
Ranking Rays trade chips from least likely to most likely
Rays have pieces to help shape trade market
— Finally, I realize the linked article is three-years old, however, the Yankees are still hosting the described event in the Tampa Bay market; students from the school I teach at attended it today. I never understood why my home team doesn't act similarly within their own market?
In the end this event is for the kids, and to them whomever provides a given experience is irrelevant. Yet you cannot imagine how much swag the Yankees gives to students in attendance, which ultimately allows them to maintain a foothold within — even if just promotionally speaking — the market. Hey Rays, do you want your fan base to grow? Get 'em while they're young!


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Emily Jones escapes down the rabbit hole and into London's underground unicorn scene.
Do you reckon he dresses as a unicorn all of the time, or is it a special occasion thing?' I asked Olivia, Head of Design for Quench and fellow unicorn enthusiast, as we sat in Victoria station Starbucks downing sugar saturated hot chocolates. Having stumbled across the bizarre VICE documentary that chronicled the life of a polyamorous unicorn movement; contacting the creatures that identify as mythical beings for an interview sounded like a totally acceptable thing to do during deadline period. So off we went, inspired by curiosity and adventure, gallivanting across the country to this mysterious man's 'crystal castle' with nothing but a whacky documentary to prove his authenticity as a real person (i.e. not a murderer). The road trip excitement began to dwindle as soon as we hit the steady stream of bodies piling out of the station, replaced by a jittery, nervous tension. We clumsily navigated the London walkways, contemplating our impending escapades. It's a cold December evening, and we are in London missing lectures to meet a unicorn cult. Shaft, recovering alcoholic and founder of this 'glampede' following a spiritual awakening at the Burning Man festival, is back in London to recruit fellow like minded individuals to grow his mythical empire.
Armed with a Dictaphone, minimal information and marginally less of an idea as to what we were walking into, hot chocolates did not seem strong enough to calm our nerves. Dutch courage was necessary in this instance. A glass of red in a conveniently located pub helped a little to dispel, or at least mask, the feeling that we were completely unqualified for the task ahead. We began to speculate further; lead unicorn, glitter enthusiast, creative director, who is he really? Early for our meeting, the waiting only served to enhance our imagination. We wondered whether these guys were at all sane, but mostly we contemplated our own sanity in agreeing to do this. With wine flowing through our veins, we eventually set out down the rabbit hole (the tube) to meet the mythical creature at his house. What could go wrong, right?
And there we were, loitering on a street corner in a slightly dodgy looking area of London, getting cat-called from cars passing by. We dithered around for quite a while, attempting to muster up the courage to knock on the door of the disappointingly ordinary 'crystal castle'. An average looking terrace house, one that wouldn't look out of place in Cathays, didn't resonate any magical qualities at all. We loitered for a while longer, apprehensive, but laughing, both at the incredulousness of our situation and in a wine-fuelled excitement. We decided to give him a call, on the grounds that this was marginally less scary than stepping over the threshold and knocking the door.
Our nerves are dispelled immediately when Shaft threw open the door, enveloping each of us in a warm hug, 'You're early guys! I just got home from work!'. It seemed he did not, in fact, go to work in a unicorn horn, but, his whacky jumper, nose piercing and arm full of festival bands suggested that he was a little eccentric in day-to-day life too. Almost instantly, the nerves had turned to infectious giggles as we entered this 'crystal castle'. Walking into the living room, we encountered with a curious-looking woman with dreadlocks sat on the floor, sketching something beautiful on a white canvas. Next to her, a woman with razor-short hair and piercings sits at a sewing machine, threading an intricate black and blood red gothic corset that would not have looked out of place in a Van Helsing drama.
'Do you want to watch me get ready? Come on, come upstairs to my cloud guys!', Shaft said, as if he had known us forever, connoting a sort of fantasy-like universe in which he is the White Rabbit, leading us up the stairs and into Wonderland. Transfixed and intrigued, we are already under the spell of this man, whose energy radiates like a dance as he leaps upwards. Sneaking a glance at each other, we silently agree that this is more than a little crazy, and we already love it.
As Shaft prances through the door and begins to rifle through his wardrobe, we spy a myriad sequins and colour as he contemplates his outfit. His bedroom is indeed a cloud; imposing, feathered angel wings hang from the white-washed wall and the bed below is painted with his own personally designed bedsheets that read, 'The Fabulus of Unicorns' amongst splashes of swirling colours. We sit on the bed, and Shaft bounces around as the doorbell starts to ring; once, twice, three times. More people have arrived to join us. Bodies pile in, and we meet Patrick; part unicorn, part phoenix changeling, whose soft London drawl and laid-back, spiritual character indeed embodies a certain mystery. The others, all girls, are dressed in quirky ensembles. Danae, an Australian-born teacher living in London, wears a full-body psychedelic cat suit and pink, studded platform heels; a pink tiara perches upon her auburn hair. In our monochrome outfits, we feel rather underdressed and under-sparkled.
The conversation begins to flow rapidly and randomly around 'the cloud'. Each voice is animated and words swirl confusingly. It is a discussion like no other, and we try to keep up. Looking at Shaft I try to form a coherent question, but I am too transfixed to say much of anything. He twirls his moustache until the ends stand erect, illuminated against the silver glitter that glides along his cheekbones. He prances over in a gold sequined jacket and trousers; an ostentatious diamante necklace is nestled on his bare chest. His very realistic unicorn tail sways and his golden unicorn horn glints proudly from his third eye. He has transformed into something else, something other, and it is spellbinding.
'This is the cloud guys…yes the unicorn empire came from my bedroom, as you can see I put my degree in Wales to good use!' he laughs, half hysterically, half elatedly. Chuffed and intrigued that he was once a Cardiff student, we ask about his degree at UWIC in Graphic Design, and the path that it has led him on. 'Graphic Design is basically Pictionary! I work in advertising now, I literally sell dreams. I have visions and create art…I've rebranded ideas as 'visions', it sounds much better'. It becomes clear that Shaft is highly intelligent, and a master at his craft. He's tired of it though, he says.
'But we have ideas and we make someone feel insecure by the way they look, through advertising, and I want to do the opposite to that. I love my job, but I've been having visions of new things. I want to heal the world, and make it a much better place for you and for me'. His words are whimsical, poetic even, speaking as though he exists within a world beyond the one we know. Shaft pulls a copy of Mein Kampf from his bookshelf and looks at us, his lips twitching with mischief and amusement. 'This guy for example, he ruled through hate and fear, but he had great graphic design!'
"I mean, the idea that a short guy with black hair became the leader of the Aryan race, isn't that a bit fucking weird? It was originally a gift from my racist friend, as a joke, but it showed to me that one man can make a difference when I've always actually thought 'I can't make a difference, I'm nothing.'
'We all make a difference, all of us being alive makes a difference I realised; the way we interact with people changes the way they are, and the way we are…and I realised all that because of Hitler!"
We gape at him in poorly disguised disbelief. His thought process, being like none other we have ever encountered, is lightning fast. The words that twist from his mouth captivate the room and hypnotise us into believing his world is our reality. He is believable because he believes every word he speaks.
This movement, we ask, where was it born? 'It was born on drugs, mainly Ketamine.', He laughs again. Shaft maintains that his addictions have saved him from death, allowing him to escape the darkened realms of his own mind and descend into a world that is considerably more beautiful. Thus behind the glitter, the sparkles, and the horns, there lies something more sinister and raw. This is the life of a man who has struggled in a world full of depressing mundanities.
As a recovering alcoholic, current drug addict and a youth plagued by thoughts of suicide, his past is etched behind wild and vibrant eyes. 'My internal monologue for my whole life has been 'I hate myself'…most creatives are really insecure, we do amazing things but close ourselves down. I never loved myself until now.' This hedonist, unicorn movement, was born out of shadows, yet in its wake there is joy. It has become a coping mechanism, perhaps, for Shaft and people like him to escape; to heal, and to embrace both the love of the world and find a peace from within.
'The whole thing around the VICE documentary, they followed me around for a year whilst I was having a mental breakdown; I'd given up booze and was like 'Oh shit I don't know who I am' – and I've been trying to figure it out. And that was year one, and now I'm going to give up drugs, which is going to be even harder because drugs actually saved my life. Drugs have helped me to gain superpowers and open up my heart, but my journey next year will be to do all of this without the drugs.'
He continues, without any attempt to explain his complex and strange vocabulary to us. We are in his world now. We are simply to listen and accept his words, not to question them.
'I used to be a 'Trash-acorn… we all start off like this, as hedonists who love partying and being wild, taking all the drugs and making out. And then you start getting bored of it, and realise there must be more to life than this. Then you take Ayahuasca [later we discovered this to be a hallucinogenic drink originating from South America], and then you see some shit, and what I saw was to become a 'Light Warrior-corn'. I saw myself training as a Jedi warrior and Mother Aya taught me how to dance. And then we had a gangbang, up in the galaxy with Mother Aya [in my head], and she taught me how to love myself. I got into a bliss state that I've never felt before, and things changed.'
'Now I have Light Warrior-corns which is a harder path, where we actually have to tackle our own shit and get stronger, and raise the vibrations wherever we go. My job has always been to make everyone feel happy and fabulous and sexy, and Morning Gloryville has taught me how to harness that as a 'thing', so that wherever we go as a 'fabulus' we can make everyone feel happy and help people to connect with themselves and their sexuality.'
Rather lost for words, and feeling unable to ask for an explanation at this point, we nodded along, mouths slightly agape. 'I do it in some of my tantric work, and I'm going to be doing it in my new workshops in London – it's more sexy stuff though.' Using this as an opening to discuss the more sexual nature of the movement, we ask about his polyamorous lifestyle.
'In the urban dictionary, when a polyamorous couple go out and get a girl to join their relationship she's actually called a unicorn.' This is related to the third principle of Unicornia, he continues, a set of commandments if you will, that form the core ethos behind the glampede.
'If you love everyone there will be more love in the world. Have many lovers and love all of them; make-out and make love with a pure heart and make everyone feel fabulous and sexy.' You don't have to be polyamorous to be a unicorn, Shaft explains to the fledgling members sat with us, slightly abashed. Though he muses, if you are truly on a spiritual path then giving up the ego and attachment comes hand in hand with polyamory. He speaks in a light, playful tone, yet under his free-loving persona I sense perhaps a more vulnerable man, who has suffered deeply from a broken heart in another life. Sexuality, it is clear, has gained a central importance to Shaft's vision.
Basically I was on Ryan Air going to Nowhere Festival; all the best ideas come from Ryan Air! I meditated for 2 hours. I had a tiered vision… about how we are unicorns, and we create positive energy in the room. Well, we also work at high-end sex parties, so we open up these orgy rooms and work at body positivity events. It's conscious sexuality, and that's what I promote.
His visions, he continues, told him to create tantric unicorns characterised within a flowing, beautiful dance of love and sexuality, making and spreading love in an ethereal and undulated way. 'And now I am no longer a Trasha-corn or a Pega-corn god, and I am changing from a Light Warrior-corn to Tantri-corn.' The ability to transform remains at the heart of Shaft's philosophy. He is on a journey of self-discovery, a quest to discover and validate his existence through change and evolution.
These high-end sex parties, Shaft explains, work to manifest and promote the belief that we are all gods and goddesses in this world; that we must harness our natural powers to give and create love. Visions that manifested on the Ryan Air flight have led him to create tantric goddess activation sessions, which are one-to-one client based workshops that teach the awakening of conscious sexuality. 'I am the creator and manifestor of my reality, Iboga [a psychedelic plant from Central Africa] showed me that I should become a full time tantric unicorn. I want to help people to activate the goddess within.'
We wonder aloud whether he feels he is living another life, with one foot in reality, and one hoof in the fairy-tale world he has created. 'No not at all because I tell everyone everything all of the time; I would not be suppressing anything, otherwise you would not be living your true authentic self. Everyone knows I am a unicorn.' He is self-assured, as he sits dripping in gold, exuding a love for his life and a thirst for the future.
'What's in the future? The visions I've been having is about my tantric unicorn stuff, I've learnt all the superpowers; it's weird, all the fucked up people on a journey to try and heal themselves have become healers, and they are using that to help others, and that's what I do now.'
What was it that made him so mesmerising? Maybe it was the way he giggled; high-pitched, and ecstatic, like a child playing with helium balloons. He laughs at his own words, and at the world, like someone who knows suffering and love and heartbreak, and it has driven him mad, but in the best way there is. 'Just be happy, really, that's the main goal, isn't it,' he states matter-of-factly. By now we are inclined to agree with everything he says, as a Catholic would unquestionably believe the words of his priest. Though battle-scarred and appearing wiser than his 36 years, he embodies a youth that I have never known in a man. And like Willy Wonka in his chocolate factory, Shaft is the king of this house and the God of his own mythical universe. Some may think he is more than a little mad, but as Bukowski once said; "some people never go crazy, and what truly horrible lives they must live."
To keep up to date with the wonderful Fabulus, check out their Facebook page:


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Sunshine Restaurants With Air Conditioning
Thuan An Vietnamese And Chinese Restaurant
Asian $$$$$ Opens Tue 9:00:AM
Bookings are recommended on weekends.
Those craving sumptuous Asian cuisine in Sunshine need only pay a visit to Pho Hien Saigon on Hampshire Road to find traditional Vietnamese fare. Meet with friends, relax at a table surrounded by colo...
Why not try the Hu Tieu; made up of a smooth clear chicken broth, with minced meat, sliced pork, prawns, calamari, lettuce, bean shoots and fresh quail eggs topped with a homemade cracker
Bookings preferred.


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Author: Lisa M. Klein
Genre: YA, Romance, Historical Fiction
How did I get it? Powell's (Portland bookstore/giant palace of awesome)
Summary: He is Hamlet, Prince of Denmark; she is simply Ophelia. If you think you know their story, think again.
In this reimagining of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, it is Ophelia who takes center stage. A rowdy, motherless girl, she grows up at Elsinore Castle to become the queen's most trusted lady-in-waiting. Ambitious for knowledge and witty as well as beautiful, Ophelia learns the ways of power in a court where nothing is as it seems. When she catches the attention of the captivating, dark-haired Prince Hamlet, their love blossoms in secret. But bloody deeds soon turn Denmark into a place of madness, and Ophelia's happiness is shattered. Ultimately, she must choose between her love for Hamlet and her own life. In desperation, Ophelia devises a treacherous plan to escape from Elsinore forever . . . with one very dangerous secret.
Lisa Klein's Ophelia tells the story of a young woman falling in love, searching for her place in the world, and finding the strength to survive. Sharp and literary, dark and romantic, this dramatic story holds readers in its grip until the final, heartrending scene.
Review: I'm honestly not sure if I loved this book or not. I'm a Shakespeare girl, so I was in love with the idea of a retelling from Ophelia's point of view, but I don't know how to think about this novel.
It was well-written, although a bit archaic for a YA novel. Ophelia had plenty of wit and she was a very compelling heroine. Hamlet was portrayed fairly accurately, I think, although their love story seemed a bit stilted to me. Gertrude was a very intriguing woman, and the only character whom I could say I had a problem with was Laertes. His actions weren't really explained very well and I felt like he was sort of passed over and made into a two-dimensional character when there was plenty of opportunity to show him in a more human light.
I really did love Ophelia for her thirst for knowledge and her awareness of the sexism within her culture. In a good deal of YA fiction, I see so many instances where the imbalance between women and men is obvious but never addressed. I didn't have this problem with Ophelia. I could rely on the main character to realize the injustice of her situation and do her best to counter it, and that was very refreshing.
I think my only serious issue with this novel was the latter part of it. The plot is faithful to the original play, but because it doesn't end where Shakespeare ended it, the last stretch of the book was rather boring. The author tacked on another hundred pages or so, and that much falling action is a bit of a yawn. But the end was very satisfying and I liked the way she brought everything full circle in this very bittersweet, hopeful way that made me smile.
Recommend it?
Probably not to the average teenager girl, but certainly to anyone with an appreciation for Shakespeare.
Purchase it:
Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Book Depository
Other books by the author:


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Cresswell Crags
Caves at Creswell Crags © Henrylisatom
A short distance from the M1 motorway near Nottingham is an ancient limestone gorge, honeycombed with caves, where archaeologists have found traces of Ice Age inhabitants who lived here up to 50,000 years ago. The Cresswell Crags are a rare site, featuring Britain's only known Ice Age-era rock art. At the east end of the gorge visitors can find out its archaeological significance at a museum and education centre, equipped with several high-tech interpretive exhibitions. The area itself can also be explored, rewarding visitors with its sweeping views and interesting rock formations; while actual tours of the caves are run on weekends and during school holidays only. Check the website for details.
Website: www.creswell-crags.org.uk


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Racquel Collins-Underwood '01
Dr. Racquel Collins-Underwood '01, a cancer researcher at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, knew at an early age that she wanted to make a difference in children's lives.
"I knew at the age of 12 that I would be a cancer researcher at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. When Danny Thomas was alive, he would have fundraising telethons throughout the year. I was glued to every one of them. When I asked my parents why these kids were dying, they couldn't answer my questions. I then made it my mission to find out why. Big dreams like this are hard to achieve on your own," says Collins-Underwood.
After completing her military service in the U.S. Air Force, Collins-Underwood chose to attend Radford University because of its low student-professor ratio, its excellent biology program and the beautiful campus. "Radford University is still one of the most picturesque campuses that I have ever seen," she says.
She chose biology because "understanding the basic molecular and cellular processes that make life possible has always intrigued me. Even after so many years in the field, how cells work still fascinates me," she says. Her interests led her to pursue medical technology. "I was talking to one of my mentors at Radford, Dr. Mary Roberts, and she knew my aspirations for cancer research. She introduced me to the medical technology program, and I immediately changed my major from biology to medical technology. I still had the opportunity to learn about molecular and cellular process but now with a clinical application. Little did I know that this one decision would positively impact the rest of my career!"
After graduating in 2001, she moved to Baltimore to work as a medical technologist in the transfusion medicine department at Johns Hopkins Hospital. After two years there, she applied to the Cancer Biology Ph.D. program at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. "I obtained my Ph.D. in Cancer and Radiation Biology and applied for one job -- at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. And I got it!"
After three years in research, she was promoted to a permanent staff member position in the Molecular Pathology Laboratory. In her current role, she is a part of a team that diagnoses childhood cancers and follows patients throughout their treatment using molecular techniques that allows scientists to see mutations at the DNA and RNA level. In her spare time, she works with other research laboratories that are constantly looking for new mutations related to cancer. She helps to design research processes to incorporate new findings into the panels of genetic tests available to patients. "It's the most incredible work I've ever done and consider myself one of the lucky few that actually go to a job that I love every day," she says.
She says the most rewarding part of her work is that she gets to see the fruits of her labor. "Because all of the employees and the families that are served by St. Jude share one hospital space and one cafeteria, we are constantly reminded of why our work is so important. Seeing these kids run, play and laugh is a constant source of inspiration that changes our attitude and perspective on life." Collins-Underwood also volunteers after hours at the hospital. "I get to meet and spend time with these amazing patients and their families. While I have seen many kids in my time here achieve remission and go on to lead healthy, cancer-free lives, we still lose patients. It's heartbreaking, but it gives me more drive and energy to continue the work so that the next child survives."
As a professional, she still thinks back on her time at RU. "Dr. Roberts and Dr. Orion Rogers were my favorite professors and my first real mentors. Dr. Gary Coté will also always stand out in my mind. What I gained from Dr. Roberts's intense labs, Dr. Coté's cell biology class, and Dr. Cindy Burkhardt's instrumental methods class is alive and well in my brain today!"
Collins-Underwood currently serves on the College of Science and Technology Alumni Advisory Council. "I was blessed to find this not-so-little gem of a school in the mountains of Virginia. Every experience and relationship at Radford made me the person and scientist I am today. I am grateful beyond words for the opportunity to study at Radford University."


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Kelowna is a recreational paradise. Whether you're here to experience the natural beauty of the Okanagan Valley, or you're after shopping, dining and other big-city amenities, the Comfort Suites Kelowna places it all at your fingertips.
We're located just minutes from the city's thriving downtown area, as well as stunning beaches, wineries, orchards, mountains, golf courses and countless other outdoor attractions. We're also one of the top hotels in Kelowna near the airport, making us the destination of choice for business travellers.
As one of the newest all-suite hotels in Kelowna, our modern facilities boast 83 luxuriously appointed suites in 11 distinctive room types, allowing guests to book a stay that meets their travel style and budget.
During your stay, we encourage you to take advantage of our hotel's many services and amenities.
We offer a complimentary hot breakfast buffet, indoor swimming pool with waterslide and hot tub, 24-hour fitness centre and business meeting rooms.
Should you require assistance at any time during your stay, our friendly, attentive customer service team will be happy to help.
Enjoy your stay.
If you're looking for affordable accommodation in Kelowna without sacrificing comfort or quality, look no further than the Comfort Suites. Whether you need a set of budget-friendly Two-Queen Suites to house your kids' hockey team, or you're treating a special someone to a romantic weekend getaway in our Executive Jacuzzi Suite, we have have a selection of 11 suites to meet your travel needs.
The Comfort Suites is also one of the best hotels in Kelowna for added conveniences. Our Wheelchair Accessible Queen Suites are specially designed with wider doorways, wheel-in showers, lower light switches and hearing-impaired doorbells.
For a more luxurious travel experience, be sure to ask about our Deluxe Family, Superior Family and Honeymoon Suites.
Heralded as 'The Napa of the North' by travel writers, Kelowna has become a popular destination for travellers from across BC, Canada and around the world.
Whether you're ready to explore the wine trails, the fairways, the vast Okanagan Lake, or the dining, shopping and shows that makes this Interior community eclectic, you're sure to spend your days thinking, 'I can't wait to come back again.
With fabulous hot summers and an incredibly expansive lake at almost every turn!
The beach has become a way of life in Kelowna. You can rent a boat, take a tour or simply bask on the shores just footsteps from some of the city's best eateries.
After you have experienced a day on the Okanagan Lake, you can enjoy another round of water fun at our Kelowna hotel with a waterslide.
Learn how to tell the difference between a Gewürtztraminer and a Riesling on Okanagan wine tours as you explore the valley's world-renowned and hidden gem wineries—dozens of which are just a short drive from our front lobby.
Equally close and impressive are Okanagan golf courses, several of which are champion designed and boast landscapes dotted with fruit trees and lake views.
For everything else, there's the vibrant downtown Kelowna and highway strip.
Here you'll find award-winning restaurants featuring local fare, artisans, cafés, theatres and Prospera Place, which is home to the Kelowna Rockets WHL team and an outstanding line-up of concerts and events throughout the year.
Land at our YLW Airport and stay with us
Shut down the screens and enjoy these summer activities with your kids from the Comfort Suites hotel in Kelowna.
Explore one of the most picturesque wine regions in the Okanagan from the Comfort Suites Kelowna hotel.


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Family retreat to be held in Brockton
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BROCKTON -- Families will be gathering to pray together on June 2, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at a full day of activities at the Family Rosary Retreat in Easton, which will include eucharistic adoration, mission Rosary, the opportunity to receive the sacrament of reconciliation, and a vigil Mass celebrated by Auxiliay Bishop John Dooher. The entire day will be offered in English and Spanish at Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton.
Based on the theme "Closest Neighbors, Trustworthy Friends, Brothers and Sisters: Living the Beatitudes Together in Christ," keynotes will be given for the English track by Sister Theresa Rickard, O.P., President of RENEW International and developer of the Arise program; and the Spanish track keynote will be given by Dr. Jose Fermin.
"Our greatest gift from God is our family and our greatest gift to our family is our time," says Father John Phalen, CSC, President of Holy Cross Family Ministries. "We hope families will make time to come together. Families are so overburdened with activities and 'busyness.' It makes it difficult to stay close, never mind find time to pray," added Father Phalen. "While this day may add yet another activity to the schedule, we hope the time will fulfill in their lives Father Peyton's famous slogan that, 'The Family That Prays Together Stays Together.'"
Father Patrick Peyton, CSC, sainthood candidate and founder of Holy Cross Family Ministries grew up praying the family Rosary in his home. His great devotion to the Blessed Mother and the Rosary prompted him to found Family Rosary in 1942. A member of Holy Cross Family Ministries in Easton, Family Rosary supports the spiritual well-being of the family through prayer, especially the Rosary by providing opportunities for family members to participate in retreats, workshops, parish missions and days of reflection.
For more information on Holy Cross Family Ministries or Family Rosary, go to www.FamilyRosary.org.


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Def Jam co-founder and record label exec Russell Simmons has helped to set up a new record label dedicated to finding artists on YouTube.
All Def Music has been founded by Simmons, Steve Rifkind of Loud Records and television and film producer Brian Robbins. The label will be "the first major label-affiliated music company created specifically to sign, develop and promote artists on YouTube" said the collective in a statement – via PC Mag. Rifkind has been appointed CEO of the company, commenting: "Tapping into YouTube's fertile creative platform, we intend to identify, develop and nurture music's next generation of superstar talent."
The label will be part of the Universal Music Group and will launch this autumn. Universal's CEO Lucian Grainge said of the new venture: "The exponential growth of Internet-based video has created a powerful new outlet for music and music-based content, and the launch of All Def Music is a part of our broader strategy to partner with some of the most experienced entrepreneurs in media and technology to identify future stars and develop powerful content on the world's fastest growing media platform."
All Def Music is a off-shoot of All Def Digital, Simmons and Robbins' own YouTube channel.


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I thought it was about time to spotlight one of my dear and sacred places. What perfect timing as I just made a trip out there with Temple Witch to continue with our Dark Moon offerings practice! As you can see the beach has the glorious appeal of having cliffs as well as the Sea, oh but wait there is more 😉
The beach has a official state name, as it is an official state beach, but that name doesn't seem to sit with it in my mind very well. Originally I was calling it Crab beach because it is a massive grave-site to countless crabs. Literally thousands of crabs from tiny tiny to big ol' guys carcasses and shells litter the beach. Temple Witch has taken quite a few of the shells home for her own Sea dealings. But that name didn't last long as the true star of the this amazingly peaceful and treacherous land emerged.
Before I indulge in that I'll give you a little background. It was Temple and the Giant that found this beach, and were generous enough to share it. Unlike our other Sea haunt of Muir Beach, Cove Beach seems to be at the same time more peaceful, and more active. It is more peaceful in that most of the humans who visit tend to stay within a 100 feet of the parking lot, leaving the whole other side of the beach empty and gloriously isolated for our feasting and pleasure. More active in that the spirits and animals of the place just seem more…restless. It is not uncommon to watch a huge 100+ flock of seagulls diving and feasting on the crabs when the waves hit just so. Or to watch the Pelicans diving not to far off shore and the Gulls clamoring for scraps. There are often many dead on the beach, not just crabs, gulls and other birds as well. And the turkey vultures always seem to make at least one pass of the sandy area. The waves themselves hit a little rougher, the undercurrent unforgiving and relentless in its want to pull you out. All and all Cove beach is a bit more wild.
Which suits are needs just fine.
Now the title of this wonderful beach is due to its neolithic-style coves that immediately impress the mind with the majesty and beauty of natures temples. There really are no words to describe the joy at seeing this powerful combination of Land, Sea and Sky. So instead I shall show you.
The pictures cannot do it justice. It is primal raw natural energy. It is intoxicating in its simplicity and it's complexity. It is holy. The first cave (there are several) is accessible at certain times of the year when the tide is farther out. Making it an amazing liminal place, let alone that fact that it is a cove that tapers off into nothing. A true opening to the underground, the other world, the beyond.
There is a lot of evidence of the holiness of these underground spaces. There are huge man made cairns in Ireland and France, neolithic structures many of which are oriented to celestial bodies like the sun and moon. One of the many things that I would like to study more about, the way the sun has a habit of beaming into the cove really speaks to me. Was it finding such a wonder as this that made the Ancients of Ireland decide to build there own? Portals have always been a fascinating feature in the myths and stories, and staring into the darkness at that point when suddenly the crashing waves are muffled, feeling the cold damp and heaviness of rock. I can feel the draw. The pull to somewhere else. Somewhere beyond.
Luckily I have always managed to feel the sun's call and return back to the glittering passioned sea.
One of these days we will get around to holding a ritual in this cave. Temple has long wanted to honor Persephone in this manner, and I know there are several of my deities who would use such a portal as this to be honored. But till that time, we continue to come and leave our humble offerings.
I to sign my songs and praises of the Gods that I have oathbound and those who I have not. To feel the warmth of the sun and the strength of the rock, to see the darkness of the shadow and size of the sea. Under the massive cliffs I feel the Morrighan's watchful eye, the challenge and the expectation forever weighing upon me. I thank the Dagda for his continued blessing, and for the guidance to keep hospitality in my heart. I acknowledge my vows to the Great Queen and know that there is much yet I need to do to be worthy. I turn smiling to the jovial sea and sing flirtatious love songs at the wild outsider Manannan Mac Lir. I give thanks to the beach and the land, those small spirits that have opened up this sanctuary to me.
And I feel blessed.