This paper describes the creation of a digital improvisational theatre game, called Party Quirks, that allows a human user to improvise a scene with synthetic actors according to the rules of the real-world version of the game. The AI actor behaviors are based on our study of communication strategies between real-life actors on stage and the fuzzy concepts that they employ to define and portray...

BACKGROUND To study the effect of administration of tranexamic acid on the use of blood and blood products, return to theatre for post-operative bleeding and the length of intensive care stay after primary cardiac surgery, data for 4191 patients, of all priorities, who underwent primary cardiac operation during the period between 30/10/00 and 21/09/04 were analysed. METHODS Retrospective anal...

OBJECTIVES The primary aim was to assess the need for objective cuff pressure monitoring in the theatre complex and trauma centre at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. Secondary aims were to determine whether the tube size, tube make or place of intubation affected cuff pressure. METHOD Endotracheal tube cuff pressures of 91 patients in the trauma centre and 100 patients in the ...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this cluster randomized trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based theatre intervention program for immigrant and refugee youth in special classes for improving mental health and academic outcomes. The primary hypothesis was that students in the theatre intervention group would report a greater reduction in impairment from symptoms compared to students in th...

Arts-based approaches to public engagement offer unique advantages over traditional methods of consultation. Here we describe and assess our use of theatre as a method of public engagement in the development of health policy on preimplantation genetic diagnosis, a controversial method for selecting the genetic characteristics of embryos created through in vitro fertilization. Funding from the C...

Infections related to modern surgical procedures present a difficult problem for contemporary medicine. Infections acquired during surgery represent a risk factor related to therapeutical interventions. Eradication of microorganisms from hospital operating theatre environment may contribute to reduction of infections as the laminar flow air-conditioning considerably reduces the number of microo...

Recently while doing cataract surgery, I saw a visiting student wandering across our theatre unaware that he was trailing flames from his gown. Deserting my patient, I beat on the back of the unsuspecting student with my surgically gloved hands (!) to put out the flames. The student was not harmed except for a hole in his gown, though my hands were a bit scorched, and the seeds of this article ...

We describe the ``WEDGE'' immersive projection theater. The WEDGE has been built as an affordable installation for university VR infrastructure in Australia. It achieves a ``semi-immersive'' sense of presence without, apparently, give rise to significant discomfort. The vertex region of the theater appears to be especially effective in giving a sense of presence. See http://wedge.anu.edu.au/ fo...

1 Theatre for a Change (TfaC) is a UK registered charity, which is also registered as a non-governmental organisation in Ghana and Malawi and has a Board of Directors in both countries. TfaC equips socially and economically marginalised communities with communications skills, knowledge and awareness to transform their lives and the lives of others on a personal, social and professional level. T...