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The capability to perform dexterous operations in an autonomous manner would greatly enhance the productivity of robotic operations. In this paper, we present a new methodology for vision‐based grasping of objects or parts using a three‐finger hand as a gripper of a robotic manipulator.

The hand employed in our work, called SARAH, was designed for robotic operations on the space station, however, the main steps of our procedure can be applied for tasks in a manufacturing environment. Our methodology involves two principal stages: automatic synthesis of grasps for planar and revolute objects with SARAH and vision‐based pose estimation of the object to be grasped. For both stages, we assume that a model of the object is available off‐line.

In the paper, numerical results are presented for grasp synthesis of several objects with SARAH to demonstrate the feasibility and optimality of the synthesized grasps. Experimental results are also obtained with SARAH as the end‐effector of a seven‐degree‐of‐freedom robotic arm, demonstrating the feasibility of the integrated vision‐based grasping.

The methodology described in the paper, although represents a substantial step towards automated grasping with a robotic manipulator, still requires some decision making from the user. Further work can improve the pose identification aspects of the algorithm to make them more robust and free of human intervention. As well, the grasp synthesis procedure can be expanded to handle more complex and possibly moving objects, as well as to allow for different grasp types than those considered here.

The work demonstrates feasibility of autonomous grasp execution in industrial setting by using a three‐finger hand as a robotic gripper.

The results presented in the paper demonstrate the feasibility of synthesising optimised grasps which take into account the kinematics of the gripper. We also demonstrate a real implementation of vision‐based grasping by using a robotic manipulator with a three‐finger hand.

This paper reports on a pilot project to develop a 32-acre site made available by the City of Kampala for housing with the express purpose of promoting urban agriculture. Started in 2004 under the leadership of a city agronomist, with the aid of research teams from McGill University, Montreal, Makerere University, Kampala, and financial support from IDRC, the project is still ongoing. The process is one of participatory planning with the future residents, a group of mixed ethnicity and religions from all parts of the city, and includes training in house construction and agricultural techniques. Project implementation has been slower than anticipated due to unforeseen hazards such as mislaid title deeds, unavailability of government resources, communication shut-downs, the time required to transact business, acquire permissions, permits and the like, and most recently by the threat of a major power line from the Bujagali Falls to serve Kampala being thrust through the site. We nevertheless remain optimistic of ultimate success.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of an electronic noise-monitoring device (NoiseSign) at reducing noise levels in quiet study areas in an academic library.

Surveys and decibel-level measurements were used to measure the perceived and objective noise levels, respectively, in both an intervention and a control area of two major branch libraries. Patrons’ perception of noise was measured with a passive paper and online survey, which asked patrons to rate the current noise level and their desired noise level. The actual noise measurements were collected twice a day with a hand-held decibel reader for 60 seconds and then corroborated after the intervention with automatically logged decibel readings from the noise monitor device in the two intervention areas. The authors conducted one-way ANOVA’s to determine if the results were significant.

The NoiseSign had no statistically significant effect on either actual noise levels or user perceptions of noise in the library. The surveys comments and anecdotal observation of the spaces while doing measurements did reveal that noise in the quiet study areas was not the primary source of complaints.

In spite of many proposed solutions to reducing noise in libraries, there has been very little research in this area. This is the first study to examine the effectiveness of using a noise-monitoring device in reducing noise levels at an academic library.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how shareholder engagement on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues is informally exercised by a large global institutional investor with locally embedded, geographically remote firms. This field is still a new area of research due to a scarcity of data, and because ordinarily, private engagement activities are conducted confidentially. Therefore, the paper aims to fill this gap in the literature by studying the private corporate engagement activities of a large UK-based institutional investor on ESG issues with Japanese investee firms in order to achieve a greater understanding of the under-researched area of corporate social responsibility.

The authors employ a multi-method approach to analyse engagement activities by the institutional investor. The authors have obtained a unique data set of the institutional investor’s engagement activities. The institutional investor is UK-based, has a long history of active engagement, and is considered one of the oldest and largest specialists in responsible investment. Further, the authors have conducted several in-depth interviews with a UK-based ESG service provider as well as one of the largest Japanese trust companies.

First, it is found that main target firms of engagement activities are large firms with global operations, and that corporate governance issues are the most important engagement topic in Japan. Second, in trying to effectively exercise voice across societies, engagement activities are conducted with geographically remote target firms on various ESG agendas in a self-enforcing, face-to-face, and sometimes collective manner. Finally, this study argues for the gap between the asset manager’s motivation to engage and local target firms’ readiness to respond due to corporate organisational and language issues.

The authors contribute to social responsibility literature by focusing on the role of global investors in Japan to diffuse global standards. This area has been largely neglected in this stream of literature, despite the increasing presence of foreign investors in Japan. This is one of the first attempts to analyse a global investor’s engagement strategies with one specific country outside of the USA and Europe. Further, within the literature on shareholder engagement, this is the first paper that focuses on the means of engagement activities and the responses by target firms.

The purpose of this paper seeks to provide an in-depth overview of a series of fake news information literacy library workshops, which were offered 19 times over the course of 2 years. It examines the results of a fake news game, which was played with a wide variety of audiences.

This case study examines workshops offered by two librarians at [name of institution], a major research institution in [city], [country]. It describes the workshops in detail and demonstrates how others may adopt this model.

The authors found that while high school students proved to be the most adept at recognizing fake news, the literature suggests that mere exposure to digital media is not sufficient in preparing Generation Z in their digital literacy critical assessment skills.

Library and information professionals are provided with the tools to adapt this workshop to suit the needs of their respective users.

This paper examines how a workshop can be adapted to seven unique audiences, spanning from high school students to university alumni. It incorporates the Association of College and Research Libraries framework and the latest literature into informing its practice.

This paper aims to discuss current work and further steps of the psychological hotline launched by the National Psychological Association of Ukraine (NPA), along with a call for action to mental health professionals worldwide.

This paper describes the training and support of the NPA’s hotline staff as well as reflections on the hotline’s work from June 2022 to April 2023.

With broad international support, the NPA’s psychological hotline currently operates in 21 countries providing psychological assistance and referrals to other service providers within Ukraine and abroad. The authors propose further steps of its work, including international collaboration.

Providing citizens of Ukraine with broad public access to evidence-based remote psychological support through NPA’s hotlines is a high priority considering the war’s negative impact on mental health diverse and the limited capacity of the state mental health system.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the potential for pastoral communities inhabiting Kenyan Masailand to adapt to climate change using conservancies and payments for ecosystem services.

Multiple methods and data sources were used, comprising: a socio‐economic survey of 295 households; informal interviews with pastoralists, conservancy managers, and tourism investors; focus group discussions; a stakeholder workshop. Monthly rainfall data was used to analyse drought frequency and intensity. A framework of the interactions between pastoralists' drought coping and risk mitigation strategies and the conservancy effects was developed, and used to qualitatively assess some interactions across the three study sites. Changes in household livestock holdings and sources of cash income are calculated in relation to the 2008‐09 drought.

The frequency and intensity of droughts are increasing but are localised across the three study sites. The proportion of households with per capita livestock holdings below the 4.5 TLU poverty vulnerability threshold increased by 34 per cent in Kitengela and 5 per cent in the Mara site, mainly due to the drought in 2008‐2009. Payment for ecosystem services was found to buffer households from fluctuating livestock income, but also generates synergies and/or trade‐offs depending on land use restrictions.

The contribution of conservancies to drought coping and risk mitigation strategies of pastoralists is analyzed as a basis for evaluating the potential for ecosystem‐based adaptation.

This study aims to explore how care staff working with people with learning disabilities experienced psychologist-facilitated team formulation sessions in a cognitive analytic style (contextual reformulation).

Eleven participants attended at least one contextual reformulation session regarding a client their team referred because of challenging behaviour. Post-intervention semi-structured interviews were analysed using qualitative inductive thematic analysis.

Five themes were developed: multiple roles and functions of sessions and clinicians; challenging behaviour in relationship; making links – understanding can be enlightening, containing and practical; the process of developing a shared understanding and approach; and caught between two perspectives. Findings suggested contextual reformulation helped staff see challenging behaviour as relational, provided them with the space to reflect on their emotions and relate compassionately to themselves and others, and ultimately helped them to focus their interventions on understanding and relationally managing rather than acting to reduce behaviour.

Qualitative methodology allows no causal inferences to be made. Ten of 11 participants were female.

This qualitative study adds to the limited research base on team formulation in learning disabilities settings and specifically that using a cognitive analytic approach.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the emergent 3D interactive media technologies are used as a viable tool for enhancing visitors’ overall experiences at an exhibition entitled, 300 Years of Hakka Kungfu – Digital Vision of Its Legacy and Future (Hakka Kungfu Exhibition) – presented and co-organized by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of Hong Kong, International Guoshu Association and the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong.

A questionnaire survey in both online and paper-based formats was used for identifying visitors’ experiences in the interactions with the multimedia technologies. For this research study, a questionnaire, consisting of 26 items, was set out to measure the visitors’ experiences at the Exhibition. Since the Exhibition was about presenting a centuries-old Chinese cultural heritage, Hakka Kungfu via the use multimedia technologies, in the context of establishing a dialogue between the past and present, the researchers included questionnaire items that were devoted to enquire about the level of understanding, knowledge and enjoyment, and visitors’ new knowledge about Hong Kong history and culture was successfully disseminated to the respondents at the end of the questionnaire.

A total of 209 completed questionnaires were collected at this Hakka Kungfu Exhibition. The findings reveal that the exhibits did attract people at all ages. This Exhibition gave the visitors a sense of interest and wonder in the object and information presented in the Exhibition. Findings of this study also reveal that this Exhibition has successfully attracted a large number of female visitors, as well as visitors who have never taken any martial arts training. In addition, visitors’ Exhibition experience was found to be memorable, as well as enjoyable. Furthermore, visitors’ experience within the Exhibition suggested that it was entertaining, as well as educational. By creating a long-lasting impact on the minds of these Exhibition visitors about the connections between and relevance of traditional Chinese Kungfu, their collective cultural identity, as well as the contemporary society we live in. The Exhibition exemplified the successful integration of the presentation of Kungfu as a form of cultural heritage with engagement-creating technology, in which technology is unobtrusive but effective.

Although it is already a global trend for the museums to integrate multimedia technologies into their exhibitions, research on the situation and feedback of multimedia technology used in the museum exhibitions in Hong Kong is scarce as well as scattered. Findings of this study could help identify various factors involved in audience participation, thereby exploring the possibility of building a contact point/space for traditional Chinese Kungfu as an intangible cultural heritage, via the integration of the latest media technologies. In particular, the development of multimedia technologies has become increasingly important to museums, and museum professionals have been exploring how digital and communication technologies can be developed to offer visitors a more interactive, personalized museum experience. In general, despite the growing interest in deploying digital technology as interpretation devices in museums and galleries, there are relatively few studies that examine how visitors, both alone and with others, use new technologies when exploring the museum contents.

The purpose of this paper is to explore experiences of team culture, structure and function of an intensive support service (ISS) within the context of the recent service guidance “Building the Right Support” (NHS England, Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, 2015). Reflections on the Hampshire and Southampton ISS set up in 2010 are discussed with a view to informing a debate about frameworks for ISS services nationally.

A reflective piece, drawing on experience and case examples.

This paper describes that a key function of an ISS is making individuals safe and this is significantly assisted by using shared team formulation, which can enable information and perspectives to be shared between and within teams as rapidly as possible. Further, a case is made for recognising the importance of inter-disciplinary practice, as the Southampton and Hampshire ISS has removed the “old fashioned” demarcations that led to individuals seeing a “procession” of different professionals from different disciplines. This relates to team structure, but importantly is about a culture of holding a shared identity based on positive behavioural support values, rather than a traditional uni-disciplinary perspective.

ISS models are being proposed by NHS England and this paper suggests some important practical aspects.

Limited literature exists examining the team culture within ISSs, which contributes to desired outcomes for service users. This paper opens a debate about structural and functional aspects of service delivery in this service model.