Julia W. Robinson

Stigma and Architecture

Insofar as people with disabilities work and live in settings that are less attractive and that are identifiable as “for the handicapped,” they are likely to remain outside mainstream society. As stated by (Wolfensberger and Thomas (1983): if handicapped [sic] people were served in valued locations that had positive names and appearances, and if they were involved together with valued people in valued activities, then [they] … might come to be [more] valued as members of society, believed to belong to the community, and expected to be competent, contributive and productive. (p. 35)

Architectural Research: Incorporating Myth and Science

Despite an apparently common assumption that science and myth are totally incompatible approaches to architecture, especially as related to architectural design, I argue that science and myth are both explanations of phenomena, each different, but both valid. Positing the desirability of a research and design process that would take advantage of both approaches, I address the problems of existing conceptual categories and the possible productive relationship between myth and science for architecture. Anthropology is then proposed as a paradigm for an architectural research that could address both science and myth, and this is illustrated with examples of research and design studio instruction.

Use of Computer Vision Tools to Identify Behavioral Markers of Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVES The clinical presentation of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is heterogeneous, which is a stumbling block to understanding pathophysiology and to developing new treatments. A major shift in psychiatry, embodied in the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative of National Institute of Mental Health, recognizes the pitfalls of categorizing mental illnesses using diagnostic criteria. Instead, RDoC encourages researchers to use a dimensional approach, focusing on narrower domains of psychopathology to characterize brain-behavior relationships. Our aim in this multidisciplinary pilot study was to use computer vision tools to record OCD behaviors and to cross-validate these behavioral markers with standard clinical measures. METHODS Eighteen youths with OCD and 21 healthy controls completed tasks in an innovation laboratory (free arrangement of objects, hand washing, arrangement of objects on contrasting carpets). Tasks were video-recorded. Videos were coded by blind raters for OCD-related behaviors. Childrens Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) and other scales were administered. We compared video-recorded measures of behavior in OCD versus healthy controls and correlated video measures and clinical measures of OCD. RESULTS Behavioral measures on the videos were significantly correlated with specific CY-BOCS dimension scores. During the free arrangement task, more time spent ordering objects and more moves of objects were both significantly associated with higher CY-BOCS ordering/repeating dimension scores. Longer duration of hand washing was significantly correlated with higher scores on CY-BOCS ordering/repeating and forbidden thoughts dimensions. During arrangement of objects on contrasting carpets, more moves and more adjustment of objects were significantly associated with higher CY-BOCS ordering/repeating dimension scores. CONCLUSION Preliminary data suggest that measurement of behavior using video recording is a valid approach for quantifying OCD psychopathology. This methodology could serve as a new tool for investigating OCD using an RDoC approach. This objective, novel behavioral measurement technique may benefit both researchers and clinicians in assessing pediatric OCD and in identifying new behavioral markers of OCD. Clinical Trial Registry: Development of an Instrument That Monitors Behaviors Associated With OCD. NCT02866422. http://clinicaltrials.gov.