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Concordia University

Innovative research reawakens human memories through intelligent textiles

As part of the 2010 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, two teams of researchers led by Professor Barbara Layne of Concordia University, Montreal, and Professor Janis Jefferies at Goldsmiths, University of London, U.K., have brought research in intelligent textiles to a new level.

The research teams have developed a highly sophisticated concept of interactive clothing whereby the body’s physical and emotional state triggers the transfer of personalized memory back to the wearer.

The project, titled Wearable Absence, uses a system of wearable devices never before seen in the expanding field of intelligent textiles. Combining uniquely engineered adaptors and soft cabling systems with fashionable clothing designs, the prototype garments incorporate wireless technologies and bio-sensing devices to activate a rich database of image and sound, creating a narrative, or string of messages, from an ‘absent’ person.

Wireless sensors and bio-sensing devices are embedded into garments that record the wearer’s temperature, heart rate, galvanic skin response (moisture) and rate of respiration. The data is sent via the Internet to a sophisticated database which in turns sends back messages to the clothing. The messages, which evoke memories of an absent person, may take the form of voice recordings or songs broadcast from speakers sewn into a hood or shoulder seams, or scrolling text on a LED array woven into fabric, or video and photographic imagery.

To give an example, a person might be experiencing a certain emotional state such as stress, grief or despair. The bio-sensors would prompt the person’s clothing to receive a range of messages such as photos, texts and sound recordings to provide comfort.

This unique combination of textile arts, emotional mapping and responsive technologies can enhance human experience, with enormous potential for the fields of health care and well-being.

For more information on the Wearable Absence project:

Barbara Layne, Studio subTela, Concordia University, Montreal, Québec

http://subtela.hexagram.ca

Janis Jefferies, Digital Studios, Goldsmiths College, University of London, U.K.

http://www.wearableabsence.com

High-resolution photos available on request.

Spending time in nature makes people feel more alive, study shows

Feeling sluggish? The solution may require getting outside the box — that big brick-and-mortar box called a building.

Being outside in nature makes people feel more alive, finds a series of studies published in the June 2010 issue of the Journal of Environmental Psychology. And that sense of increased vitality exists above and beyond the energizing effects of physical activity and social interaction that are often associated with our forays into the natural world, the studies show.

“Nature is fuel for the soul, ” says Richard Ryan, lead author and a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. “Often when we feel depleted we reach for a cup of coffee, but research suggests a better way to get energized is to connect with nature,” he says.

The findings, adds Ryan, are important for both mental and physical health. “Research has shown that people with a greater sense of vitality don’t just have more energy for things they want to do, they are also more resilient to physical illnesses. One of the pathways to health may be to spend more time in natural settings,” says Ryan.

In recent years, numerous experimental psychology studies have linked exposure to nature with increased energy and heightened sense of well-being. For example, research has shown that people on wilderness excursions report feeling more alive and that just recalling outdoor experiences increases feelings of happiness and health. Other studies suggest that the very presence of nature helps to ward off feelings of exhaustion and that 90 percent of people report increased energy when placed in outdoor activities.

What is novel about this research, write the authors, is that it carefully tests whether this increased vitality associated with the outdoors is simply the feel-good spillover from physical activity and people-mixing often present in these situations. To tease out the effects of nature alone, the authors conducted five separate experiments, involving 537 college students in actual and imagined contexts. In one experiment, participants were led on a 15-minute walk through indoor hallways or along a tree-lined river path. In another, the undergraduates viewed photographic scenes of buildings or landscapes. A third experiment required students to imagine themselves in a variety of situations both active and sedentary, inside and out, and with and without others.

Two final experiments tracked participants’ moods and energy levels throughout the day using diary entries. Over either four days or two weeks, students recorded their exercise, social interactions, time spent outside, and exposure to natural environments, including plants and windows.

Across all methodologies, individuals consistently felt more energetic when they spent time in natural settings or imagined themselves in such situations. The findings were particularly robust, notes Ryan; being outside in nature for just 20 minutes in a day was enough to significantly boost vitality levels. Interestingly, in the last study, the presence of nature had an independent energizing effect above that of being outdoors. In other words, conclude the authors, being outdoors was vitalizing in large part because of the presence of nature.

The paper builds on earlier research by Ryan, Netta Weinstein, a psychologist at the University of Hamburg, Germany, and others showing that people are more caring and generous when exposed to nature. “We have a natural connection with living things,” says Ryan. “Nature is something within which we flourish, so having it be more a part of our lives is critical, especially when we live and work in built environments.” These studies, concludes Ryan, underscore the importance of having access to parks and natural surroundings and of incorporating natural elements into our buildings through windows and indoor plants.

The paper was coauthored by Weinstein; Jessey Bernstein, McGill University; Kirk Warren Brown, Virginia Commonwealth University; Louis Mastella, University of Rochester; and Marylène Gagné, Concordia University.

About the University of Rochester

The University of Rochester (www.rochester.edu) is one of the nation’s leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by its Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, and Nursing, and the Memorial Art Gallery.

Ethicist urges tax credits to spur organ donation

Montreal, Quebec — June 3 — A Université de Montréal philosopher and ethicist is proposing that governments implement an organ donation tax credit to help increase the number of organs available for transplant.

Jurgen De Wispelaere is a visiting fellow with the university’s Centre for Ethics Research, generally known by its French-language acronym, CRÉUM. In a paper presented at the 2010 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences taking place this week at Montreal’s Concordia University, he says public policy needs to address the serious shortage of organs available for transplant.

De Wispelaere says that on average, about 50 per cent of all potentially available organs are not used because families refuse to provide consent at time of death, or families can’t be contacted in time, or because medical personnel decline to remove the organs because consent is not clear. (Note: De Wispelaere’s figures are not specific to Canada and are obtained from surveying international literature on the issue. The research also does not differentiate between donor consent procedures in different jurisdictions)

For example, he says that even though a person may have signed an organ donor card or registry, families may argue that the consent was given years ago and the person about to die had changed his or her mind. Because of the emotional factors surrounding the death of a loved one, says De Wispelaere, medical authorities are generally reluctant to pressure families to consent to organ donation.

De Wispelaere says there’s a tremendous social benefit to organ transplants, since it increases the quality of life of people who are then able to return to active life. He says governments are right to want to encourage organ donation.

He says that up to now, governments have generally tried to encourage people to be donors, but that idea has gone as far as it can go. He says that the best way to increase the number of organs available for transplant is to work with the families. De Wispelaere proposes a two-pronged approach.

First of all, he proposes beefing up the organ donor registry system by creating what he calls a ‘second consenter.’ A person who wants to donate organs would, well in advance of death or illness, name a person to act as his or her ‘second consenter.’

De Wispelaere says naming a second consenter — a spouse, next-of-kin or even family friend — would allow families to openly discuss organ donation at a less emotional time. When death was imminent, the second consenter would be able to vouch for the donor’s wishes.

This, he says, would almost certainly increase the number of organs available. “The donor would have a living advocate who could say, ‘Yes, we had a discussion about this, and I can assure you that the person really wanted to go ahead’,” says De Wispelaere. “We think this reduces the stress on the family.”

He also says doctors will be more likely to proceed in cases when the family can’t be reached in time if they know a second consenter can vouch for the donor’s intentions.

The second — and more controversial — aspect of his approach involves creating an incentive for second consenters not to change their minds or back out of their commitment. De Wispelaere proposes that this be done by getting governments to create organ transplant tax credit programs. A person who agrees to be a second consenter would be entitled to a tax credit after the donor’s death.

De Wispelaere says he realizes this idea is “problematic,” but he is adamant that a tax credit does not amount to selling organs. Most countries use tax credits to encourage behaviour that’s socially beneficial, says De Wispelaere, citing child benefits as an example. He says an organ donation tax credit is merely an extension of the concept.

He says the second consenter would get the tax credit whether the organs are used for transplant or not. The purpose of the tax credit would be to provide incentive for people to become second consenters — and to not change their mind when the potential donor dies.

He does not put a dollar figure on his proposed organ donation tax credit, but expects it would be a relatively small — almost symbolic — amount.

De Wispelaere says governments would get best results by implementing both parts of his proposal. But he says they could, if they were concerned about the tax credit, increase the number of donors simply by creating ‘second consenters.’

Get more from the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences

Organised by the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences brings together about 9,000 researchers, scholars, graduate students, practitioners, and policy makers to share groundbreaking research and examine the most important social and cultural issues of the day. Montréal’s Concordia University is the host of Congress 2010, May 28 to June 4.

The Congress program includes original research from across disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences, providing a great collection of expert sources and innovative story leads. Contact the Congress Media room for assistance connecting with researchers at Congress.

Ryan Saxby Hill

Media Relations

Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

[email protected]

613-894-7635 (mobile)

514-848-2424 ext. 5023 (media room)