Introduction to a Twin Dual-Axis Robotic Platform for Studies of Lower Limb Biomechanics.

This paper presents a twin dual-axis robotic platform system which is designed for the characterization of postural balance under various environmental conditions and quantification of bilateral ankle mechanics in 2 degrees-of-freedom (DOF) during standing and walking. Methods: Validation experiments were conducted to evaluate performance of the system: 1) to apply accurate position perturbations under different loading conditions; 2) to simulate a range of stiffness-defined mechanical environments; and 3) to reliably quantify the joint impedance of mechanical systems. In addition, several human experiments were performed to demonstrate the system's applicability for various lower limb biomechanics studies. The first two experiments quantified postural balance on a compliance-controlled surface (passive perturbations) and under oscillatory perturbations with various frequencies and amplitudes (active perturbations). The second two experiments quantified bilateral ankle mechanics, specifically, ankle impedance in 2-DOF during standing and walking. The validation experiments showed high accuracy of the platform system to apply position perturbations, simulate a range of mechanical environments, and quantify the joint impedance. Results of the human experiments further demonstrated that the platform system is sensitive enough to detect differences in postural balance control under challenging environmental conditions as well as bilateral differences in 2-DOF ankle mechanics. This robotic platform system will allow us to better understand lower limb biomechanics during functional tasks, while also providing invaluable knowledge for the design and control of many robotic systems including robotic exoskeletons, prostheses and robot-assisted balance training programs. Clinical and Translational Impact Statement- Our robotic platform system serves as a tool to better understand the biomechanics of both healthy and neurologically impaired individuals and to develop assistive robotics and rehabilitation training programs using this information.

Considering equity in wildfire protection.

Climate change, drought, forest pest infestations, and pathogens, and high fuel loadings all factor into the expansion of territory in the United States deemed high-risk for high-intensity wildfire. Risks also mount as a decades-long demographic shift plays out, with individuals and families relocating from urban centers to more sparsely populated, vegetated areas on the margins of cities and towns-a trend that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. As some insurance carriers cease underwriting homeowners insurance in wildfire-prone areas, property owners can be expected to shoulder more costs for home hardening. The equity implications of who pays to fireproof homes and neighborhoods will intensify as wildfire risks multiply in areas beyond the comparatively wealthier wildland-urban interfaces (WUI) of the Pacific coastal states. Systems of polycentric governance, consisting of problem-solving actors who collaborate across jurisdictional and geographical boundaries, can help make wildfire mitigation more equitable. Polycentric governance institutions already help communities adapt to destructive wildfire in the United States. Lessons learned from these institutions must be tailored to poor and marginalized communities in harm's way-with a sense of urgency.

Covid-19 Crisis Communications: The Challenge for Environmental Organizations.

During the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, U.S. environmental organizations and U.S. chapters of international environmental organizations grappled with a broad set of challenges, including when and what to communicate to supporters. In the winter and early spring of 2020, environmental organizations became crisis communicators, confronted by time pressures and the limited attention spans of audiences beset by the pandemic. Crafting communications that are concise and factual, compassionate, that instill confidence, and that evince organizational competence are important facets of crisis communications. However, environmental organizations faced the additional challenge of ensuring that their own priorities were presented clearly and persuasively amidst the flood of pandemic-related information. Responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, and preparation for future pandemics, force environmental organizations to amend their crisis communications to underscore their relevance to crises and their role in problem-solving.

College and university environmental programs as a policy problem (part 2): strategies for improvement.

Environmental studies and environmental sciences programs in American and Canadian colleges and universities seek to ameliorate environmental problems through empirical enquiry and analytic judgment. In a companion article (Part 1) we describe the environmental program movement (EPM) and discuss factors that have hindered its performance. Here, we complete our analysis by proposing strategies for improvement. We recommend that environmental programs re-organize around three principles. First, adopt as an overriding goal the concept of human dignity-defined as freedom and social justice in healthy, sustainable environments. This clear higher-order goal captures the human and environmental aspirations of the EPM and would provide a more coherent direction for the efforts of diverse participants. Second, employ an explicit, genuinely interdisciplinary analytical framework that facilitates the use of multiple methods to investigate and address environmental and social problems in context. Third, develop educational programs and applied experiences that provide students with the technical knowledge, powers of observation, critical thinking skills and management acumen required for them to become effective professionals and leaders. Organizing around these three principles would build unity in the EPM while at the same time capitalizing on the strengths of the many disciplines and diverse local conditions involved.

College and university environmental programs as a policy problem (part 1): integrating knowledge, education, and action for a better world?

The environmental sciences/studies movement, with more than 1000 programs at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, is unified by a common interest-ameliorating environmental problems through empirical enquiry and analytic judgment. Unfortunately, environmental programs have struggled in their efforts to integrate knowledge across disciplines and educate students to become sound problem solvers and leaders. We examine the environmental program movement as a policy problem, looking at overall goals, mapping trends in relation to those goals, identifying the underlying factors contributing to trends, and projecting the future. We argue that despite its shared common interest, the environmental program movement is disparate and fragmented by goal ambiguity, positivistic disciplinary approaches, and poorly rationalized curricula, pedagogies, and educational philosophies. We discuss these challenges and the nature of the changes that are needed in order to overcome them. In a subsequent article (Part 2) we propose specific strategies for improvement.