title: Power and Energy Visualisation in the Home

authors: Al Mutirui, Mohammed Ayedh

subjects: Power and energy

abstract: This thesis explores ways of improving the ability for households to manage their consumption of electricity, in the context of increasing concerns regarding global warming, and ever-growing demands for electricity. The thesis first explores the understanding of power and energy concepts and relationships, to establish whether poor understanding of these concepts affects people’s ability to be aware of and manage their consumption. It then, given that being informed is an important contributor to awareness, proceeds to explore the effectiveness of two different styles of energy visualisation in the home: numerical detail, and a more abstract representation.

The results demonstrated that participants had a limited understanding of the relationship between the power and energy. The statistical relationship between participants’ understanding and their ability to manage energy consumption in their home was a positive weak correlation. Participants believed that the abstract representation was more useful and clear than the numerical representation in visualizing home energy consumption in both studies. In representing power consumption in home, using an abstract meter was better than using a digital visualization meter because of the clarity of representation and attractive display.

text: Power and Energy Visualisation in the Home This thesis explores ways of improving the ability for households to manage their consumption of electricity, in the context of increasing concerns regarding global warming, and ever-growing demands for electricity. The thesis first explores the understanding of power and energy concepts and relationships, to establish whether poor understanding of these concepts affects people’s ability to be aware of and manage their consumption. It then, given that being informed is an important contributor to awareness, proceeds to explore the effectiveness of two different styles of energy visualisation in the home: numerical detail, and a more abstract representation.

The results demonstrated that participants had a limited understanding of the relationship between the power and energy. The statistical relationship between participants’ understanding and their ability to manage energy consumption in their home was a positive weak correlation. Participants believed that the abstract representation was more useful and clear than the numerical representation in visualizing home energy consumption in both studies. In representing power consumption in home, using an abstract meter was better than using a digital visualization meter because of the clarity of representation and attractive display.

year: 2012

title: Space as an inter semiotic agent in the (de)construction of poetic meaning (El espacio como agente intersemiótico en la (de) construcción del significado poético)

authors: Lopez-Fernandez, Laura

abstract: In this study I propose a new mode of reading space in experimental poetry within the framework of visual and verbal semiotic theories (Roland Barthes 1973, 1977; Mitchell W. J. T. 1980, and Theo Van Leuwen 1996). Space can be analyzed as an agent of meaning and not as a mere mediator. Although there is a poetics of space that has been studied from a variety of heterogeneous approaches, since Gaston Bachelard (1957) who talked about the transfer of the poet's affectivity to the surrounding space and objects, to more recent cultural and gender studies on the role of spatial form in poetry, there is still much research to be done on this subject, especially considering new intermedia poetry such as fractal, hypertextual, kinetic, or biopoetry.
Many experimental artists are in dialogue with a popular understanding of non-Euclidean geometry. For instance, a major impact of modern mathematics and physics in experimental poetry is the rejection of a coordinated and fixed referential system, in favor of multiple spatial dimensions in a single (re)presentation. In this framework the topological (set of points) dimensions of an experimental poem – cubism, futurism, visual, fractal, typographic, biopoetry, concrete, etc., - usually exceed the bi-dimensional space or planar projection of the page (surface) in which the poem is arranged. Order is deliberately ambiguous encouraging multiple readings.
Experimental poets combine representational and nonfigurative space to construct or deconstruct meaning in radical new ways. But in order to access this perceptual domain we need to change our conventional expectations of a poem. In traditional poetry, space is not active, it does not have agency so it is not able to generate meaning on its own, quite the contrary; space is a tool that allows the linguistic codes to produce meaning. In this traditional context G. E. Lessing’s (Laocon 1766) classical division between painting and the plastic arts on one hand, and poetry as a literary art on the other hand, which is based on sequentiality, is still valid. But in experimental poetic practices space is not just a mediator although it is an elusive factor, and it is often disregarded in the interpretation process.
Space is neither an empty receptacle nor something independent of the objects of the poem. Space acquires a dynamic and relational value and it is determined by the interaction of those objects. We will see that one of the factors at play in the production of meaning is simultaneity over sequentiality, which minimizes conventional reading and its intuitive expectations. Space contributes to the construction of meaning by disrupting conventional borders between the work and the frame, between visual perception and participation, between the materiality of the signs and virtual space, between rhythm and chaos, between the now of the poem and its projections creating alternative forms in time and space. We will contextualize this with relevant poems by Jose Maria Iglesias, J.M. Calleja, Isabel Jover, Antonio Orihuela, Ramon Dachs and Roger Olivella

text: Space as an inter semiotic agent in the (de)construction of poetic meaning (El espacio como agente intersemiótico en la (de) construcción del significado poético) In this study I propose a new mode of reading space in experimental poetry within the framework of visual and verbal semiotic theories (Roland Barthes 1973, 1977; Mitchell W. J. T. 1980, and Theo Van Leuwen 1996). Space can be analyzed as an agent of meaning and not as a mere mediator. Although there is a poetics of space that has been studied from a variety of heterogeneous approaches, since Gaston Bachelard (1957) who talked about the transfer of the poet's affectivity to the surrounding space and objects, to more recent cultural and gender studies on the role of spatial form in poetry, there is still much research to be done on this subject, especially considering new intermedia poetry such as fractal, hypertextual, kinetic, or biopoetry.
Many experimental artists are in dialogue with a popular understanding of non-Euclidean geometry. For instance, a major impact of modern mathematics and physics in experimental poetry is the rejection of a coordinated and fixed referential system, in favor of multiple spatial dimensions in a single (re)presentation. In this framework the topological (set of points) dimensions of an experimental poem – cubism, futurism, visual, fractal, typographic, biopoetry, concrete, etc., - usually exceed the bi-dimensional space or planar projection of the page (surface) in which the poem is arranged. Order is deliberately ambiguous encouraging multiple readings.
Experimental poets combine representational and nonfigurative space to construct or deconstruct meaning in radical new ways. But in order to access this perceptual domain we need to change our conventional expectations of a poem. In traditional poetry, space is not active, it does not have agency so it is not able to generate meaning on its own, quite the contrary; space is a tool that allows the linguistic codes to produce meaning. In this traditional context G. E. Lessing’s (Laocon 1766) classical division between painting and the plastic arts on one hand, and poetry as a literary art on the other hand, which is based on sequentiality, is still valid. But in experimental poetic practices space is not just a mediator although it is an elusive factor, and it is often disregarded in the interpretation process.
Space is neither an empty receptacle nor something independent of the objects of the poem. Space acquires a dynamic and relational value and it is determined by the interaction of those objects. We will see that one of the factors at play in the production of meaning is simultaneity over sequentiality, which minimizes conventional reading and its intuitive expectations. Space contributes to the construction of meaning by disrupting conventional borders between the work and the frame, between visual perception and participation, between the materiality of the signs and virtual space, between rhythm and chaos, between the now of the poem and its projections creating alternative forms in time and space. We will contextualize this with relevant poems by Jose Maria Iglesias, J.M. Calleja, Isabel Jover, Antonio Orihuela, Ramon Dachs and Roger Olivella

year: 2014

title: Implementation framework for chronic disease intervention effectiveness in Maori and other indigenous communities

authors: Oetzel, John G.

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: Background: About 40% of all health burden in New Zealand is due to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes/obesity. Outcomes for Māori (indigenous people) are significantly worse than non-Maori; these inequities mirror those found in indigenous communities elsewhere. Evidence-based interventions with established efficacy may not be effective in indigenous communities without addressing specific implementation challenges. We present an implementation framework for interventions to prevent and treat chronic conditions for Māori and other indigenous communities.
Theoretical framework: The He Pikinga Waiora Implementation Framework has indigenous self-determination at its core and consists of four elements: cultural-centeredness, community engagement, systems thinking, and integrated knowledge translation. All elements have conceptual fit with Kaupapa Māori aspirations (i.e., indigenous knowledge creation, theorizing, and methodology) and all have demonstrated evidence of positive implementation outcomes.
Applying the framework: A coding scheme derived from the Framework was applied to 13 studies of diabetes prevention in indigenous communities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States from a systematic review. Cross-tabulations demonstrated that culture-centeredness (p = .008) and community engagement (p = .009) explained differences in diabetes outcomes and community engagement (p = .098) explained difference in blood pressure outcomes.
Implications and conclusions: The He Pikinga Waiora Implementation Framework appears to be well suited to advance implementation science for indigenous communities in general and Māori in particular. The framework has promise as a policy and planning tool to evaluate and design effective interventions for chronic disease prevention in indigenous communities.

text: Implementation framework for chronic disease intervention effectiveness in Maori and other indigenous communities Background: About 40% of all health burden in New Zealand is due to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes/obesity. Outcomes for Māori (indigenous people) are significantly worse than non-Maori; these inequities mirror those found in indigenous communities elsewhere. Evidence-based interventions with established efficacy may not be effective in indigenous communities without addressing specific implementation challenges. We present an implementation framework for interventions to prevent and treat chronic conditions for Māori and other indigenous communities.
Theoretical framework: The He Pikinga Waiora Implementation Framework has indigenous self-determination at its core and consists of four elements: cultural-centeredness, community engagement, systems thinking, and integrated knowledge translation. All elements have conceptual fit with Kaupapa Māori aspirations (i.e., indigenous knowledge creation, theorizing, and methodology) and all have demonstrated evidence of positive implementation outcomes.
Applying the framework: A coding scheme derived from the Framework was applied to 13 studies of diabetes prevention in indigenous communities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States from a systematic review. Cross-tabulations demonstrated that culture-centeredness (p = .008) and community engagement (p = .009) explained differences in diabetes outcomes and community engagement (p = .098) explained difference in blood pressure outcomes.
Implications and conclusions: The He Pikinga Waiora Implementation Framework appears to be well suited to advance implementation science for indigenous communities in general and Māori in particular. The framework has promise as a policy and planning tool to evaluate and design effective interventions for chronic disease prevention in indigenous communities.

year: 2017