Building capture and access (C&A) applications for use in the operation theatre differs greatly from C&A applications built to support other settings e.g. meeting rooms or classrooms. Based on field studies of surgical operations, this paper explores how to design C&A applications for the operation theatre. Based on the findings from our field work, we have built the ActiveTheatre, a C&A protot...

In this paper we report about ongoing research on navigation assistance in virtual environments. Our aim is to contribute to the development of forms of navigation assistance that enable non-professional visitors of a virtual environment to find their way without previous training. The environment used in this research is a virtual theatre that models a real world music theatre. This virtual th...

IZINDABA A Vereeniging theatre sister has resigned rather than meet Kopanong Hospital's insistence that she scrub for all theatre evacuations, including those involving 'clean ups' after messy abortions. Sister Wilhelmein Charles is the sole remaining objector among more than two dozen theatre colleagues who signed a petition in 2000 refusing to conduct or be associated with terminations of pre...

Recently we have built the largest Virtual Reality (VR) theatre in the world for the Kyongju World Culture EXPO 2000. Unlike single user VR systems, the VR theatre is characterized by a single shared screen and controlled by a kind of tightly coupled user inputs from several hundreds of people in the audience. The large computer-generated stereo images by the huge cylindrical screen provide the...

This article reports on a pilot study of the use of applied theatre in the dissemination of health research findings and validation of data. The study took place in South Africa, as part of the Southern Africa Stroke Prevention Initiative (SASPI) and was based at the University/Medical Research Council Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (also known as the Agincourt Unit). ...

Almost every aspect of anaesthetic and intensive care practice can be taught within the operating theatre and intensive care unit. This includes knowledge in the areas of medicine, anatomy, pharmacology, physiology, measurement and statistics, invaluable psychomotor and global skills and abilities, as well as the many important non-clinical aspects of anaesthesia and intensive care including ef...

Addressing three current critical turns in gerontology, this article proposes the theatre as a fertile ground for various theoretical angles in age studies including the performative on and off stage, the narrative in the script and the critical questioning of age and ageism in the multiple realities of performance. Beginning from a shared site in the theatre, researchers may be able to establi...

On May 18, 2001 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) proclaimed kutiyattam, the Sanskrit theatre of India, one of nineteen "Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity." This was the first time in history that this art has received a prestigious international recognition (see www.unesco.org/bpi/intangible_heritage/india.htm). To celebrate this m...

A recent report by the National Audit Office found that only 50% to 60% of weekday operating time was being used. This report was examined by the Committee of Public Accounts and much of the blame for underutilization of operating theatres was attributed to poor working practices among surgeons. We investigated theatre utilization in our hospital and found underutilization on the same scale as ...