AN INVESTIGATION OF QR CODE USE IN INDIANAPOLIS FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

poster abstractAccording Mostyn, market research specialist, (2012), global smartphone shipments increased by 62.7 percent in 2011. In the US, smart phones are gaining in popularity. A Quick Response (QR) code is a type of barcode that can be read by smart phones. It can be used to link print to other interactive information (e.g. access URLs, send an e-coupon, download video, etc.). The QR code is considered new technology in food and beverage industry and there is limited information about its use. Nation’s Restaurant News (2011) reported that QR codes are slowly being used to promote restaurants, such as Taco Bell and Boudin Bakery. The purpose of this research is to investi-gate if and how QR codes are being used in the Indianapolis restaurant in-dustry. The study will provide baseline information and the potential for QR code use in the Indianapolis restaurants. Effective use of QR codes may even influence consumer choices and/or company profitability. Archival and web search in addition to interviews with restaurant managers is the method of data collection. Approximately 10 restaurants in the Indianapolis area will be sampled. Some interview questions include: What is the purpose of using QR code? And what are the advantages and disadvantages of using QR codes? The study is currently in the data collection phase. Preliminary results sug-gest that QR code use is in its infancy in Indianapolis, when compared to restaurants in Chicago or Vancouver. Also, more franchise restaurants and big chain restaurants have embraced this technology than the smaller family owned restaurants. QR codes are typically used for menu nutrition and res-taurant history information, marketing via coupons, and customer surveys. This study was sponsored by the IUPUI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

Can routinely collected electronic health data be used to develop novel healthcare associated infection surveillance tools?

Background: Healthcare associated infections (HCAI) pose a significant burden to health systems both within the UK and internationally. Surveillance is an essential component to any infection control programme, however traditional surveillance systems are time consuming and costly. Large amounts of electronic routine data are collected within the English NHS, yet these are not currently exploited for HCAI surveillance. Aim: To investigate whether routinely collected electronic hospital data can be exploited for HCAI surveillance within the NHS. Methods: This thesis made use of local linked electronic health data from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, including information on patient admissions, discharges, diagnoses, procedures, laboratory tests, diagnostic imaging requests and traditional infection surveillance data. To establish the evidence base on surveillance and risks of HCAI, two literature reviews were carried out. Based on these, three types of innovative surveillance tools were generated and assessed for their utility and applicability. Results: The key findings were firstly the emerging importance of automated and syndromic surveillance in infection surveillance, but the lack of investigation and application of these tools within the NHS. Syndromic surveillance of surgical site infections was successful in coronary artery bypass graft patients; however it was an inappropriate methodology for caesarean section patients. Automated case detection of healthcare associated urinary tract infections, based on electronic microbiology data, demonstrated similar rates of infection to those recorded during a point prevalence survey. Routine administrative data demonstrated mixed utility in the creation of simplified risk scores or infection, with poorly performing risk models of surgical site infections but reasonable model fit for HCA UTI. Conclusion: Whilst in principle routine administrative data can be used to generate novel surveillance tools for healthcare associated infections; in reality it is not yet practical within the IT infrastructure of the NHS

TRAVEL MOBILITY AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN THE DAILY LIVES OF COLLEGE STUDENTS

poster abstractTyson (2010) conducted research on 100 students using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Physical Activity Question-naire (PAQ). He concluded that students who engaged in more exercise had better mental health. Other studies have confirmed his findings, and have demonstrated how a student’s well-being is related to their success in build-ing relationships and maintaining academic studies. On the other hand, stu-dents that do not engage in physical activity often experience negative well-being, including difficulty concentrating, fatigue, and psychological disorders. The objectives of this study are to determine if the strength of association between daily emotion and activity participation is similar across college stu-dents, and how physical activity and travel mobility relate to well-being. The Experience Sampling Method (ESM), developed by Csikszentmihalyi, Larson, and Prescott (1977) will be used in conjunction with an accelerometer and global positioning system (GPS) to collect data from a sample of (n=24) full-time students over a period of seven days from 9:00am-9:00pm. Subjects will be randomly signaled seven times a day, at which time they will com-plete several Likert-type statements and semantic deferential items in order to measure their perceptions of well-being. To date, the combined methodo-logical use of ESM, GPS and accelerometry has not been conducted on col-lege students. Travel mobility and physical activity will be recorded using the Garmin Forerunner 410 GPS and the Actigraph accelerometer. Data collec-tion phase is incomplete. It is expected that the strength of association be-tween daily emotion and activity participation will be consistent across col-lege students, and physical activity and travel mobility will contribute to stu-dent’s well-being. It is also expected that students with high levels of physi-cal activity and travel mobility will report an overall sense of happiness and increased well-being as compared to those with low levels of physical activity and travel mobility

Electronic data capture in a rural African setting: evaluating experiences with different systems in Malawi

Background As hardware for electronic data capture (EDC), such as smartphones or tablets, becomes cheaper and more widely available, the potential for using such hardware as data capture tools in routine healthcare and research is increasing. Objective We aim to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of four EDC systems being used simultaneously in rural Malawi: two for Android devices (CommCare and ODK Collect), one for PALM and Windows OS (Pendragon), and a custom-built application for Android (Mobile InterVA – MIVA). Design We report on the personal field and development experience of fieldworkers, project managers, and EDC system developers. Results Fieldworkers preferred using EDC to paper-based systems, although some struggled with the technology at first. Highlighted features include in-built skip patterns for all systems, and specifically the ‘case’ function that CommCare offers. MIVA as a standalone app required considerably more time and expertise than the other systems to create and could not be customised for our specific research needs; however, it facilitates standardised routine data collection. CommCare and ODK Collect both have user-friendly web-interfaces for form development and good technical support. CommCare requires Internet to build an application and download it to a device, whereas all steps can be done offline with ODK Collect, a desirable feature in low connectivity settings. Pendragon required more complex programming of logic, using a Microsoft Access application, and generally had less technical support. Start-up costs varied between systems, and all were considered more expensive than setting up a paper-based system; however running costs were generally low and therefore thought to be cost-effective over the course of our projects. Conclusions EDC offers many opportunities for efficient data collection, but brings some issues requiring consideration when designing a study; the decision of which hardware and software to use should be informed by the aim of data collection, budget, and local circumstances

Designing a brief behaviour change intervention to reduce sexually transmitted infections: a discrete choice experiment

Objectives: To understand whether people attending sexual health (SH) clinics are willing to participate in a brief behavioural change intervention (BBCI) to reduce the likelihood of future sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and to understand their preferences for different service designs. Methods: A discrete choice experiment (DCE) with young heterosexual adults (aged 16-25 years), and men who have sex with men (MSM) aged 16 or above, attending SH clinics in England. Results: Data from 368 participants showed that people particularly valued BBCIs that involved talking (OR 1.45; 95%CI 1.35, 1.57 compared with an ‘email or text’ based BBCI), preferably with a health care professional rather than a peer. Findings also showed that 26% of respondents preferred ‘email / texts’ to all other options; the remaining 14% preferred not to participate in any of the offered BBCIs. Implications: These results suggest that most people attending SH clinics in England are likely to participate in a BBCI if offered, but the type / format of the BBCI is likely to be the single important determinant of uptake rather than characteristics such as the length and the number of sessions. Moreover, participants generally favoured ‘talking’ based options rather than digital alternatives, which are likely to require the most resources to implement

Introductory Guide to Scuba Diver Species

Scuba studies primarily focused on physiological aspects of the sport. A few studies about consumer dive behavior have surfaced in the tourism and leisure literature since the 1980s. The recreational scuba market is not homogeneous. Hence the purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of scuba diver characteristics and to conduct an exploratory examination of scuba specific values and involvement. The study sought to identify differences between local scuba divers and visitors, and classify subgroups of divers based on scuba specific values. Data ( =377) was collected in the Florida Keys. Results showed that visitors had less years of certification experience but spent more on scuba, compared to local resident divers. Cluster analysis identified four groups of scuba divers - ‘fun-seeking belongers’, ‘actualizers’, ‘inner- circles’ and ‘moderates’. Group characteristics and scuba specific values were presented. Results may be useful to scuba stakeholders such as marketers and tourism administrators

Healthcare provider and service user perspectives on STI risk reduction interventions for young people and MSM in the UK

Objective Behavioural interventions have been shown to reduce sexual behaviours associated with increased risk of sexually transmitted infections in young people (<25 years) and men who have sex with men (MSM) internationally, but evidence from England is limited. We aimed to explore service provider and user experiences and perspectives on behavioural interventions to reduce sexual behaviour risks, and the use of automated methods to triage individuals to these services. Methods We conducted a sequential mixed methods study with sexual health service providers and users in 2015/2016. Qualitative interviews with providers and service users (heterosexual young people and MSM) in London and Brighton allowed us to explore a range of experiences and expectations. A subsequent national web-survey of service providers measured the feasibility of delivery within existing resources and preferences for intervention attributes. Results We conducted 35 service user (15 heterosexual young people; 20 MSM), and 26 provider interviews, and had 100 web-survey responses. We found considerable heterogeneity in prevention services offered. Service users and providers were broadly supportive of tailoring interventions offered, but service users raised concerns about automated, data-driven triage, particularly around equity and fairness of service delivery. Digital technologies, including social media or apps, were appealing to providers, being less resource intensive. However, one-to-one talking interventions remained popular with both service users and providers, being familiar, trust-worthy, and personal. Key tensions between desirability of interventions and availability of resources to deliver them was acknowledged/recognised by providers and users. Conclusion Overall, behavioural interventions to reduce sexual behaviour risks were viewed favourably by service providers and users, with key considerations including: privacy, personalisation and convenience. However, introducing desirable targeted interventions within heterogeneous sexual health settings will require resources to adapt interventions and research to fully understand the barriers and facilitators to use within routine services

An Examination of Motivation and Identification of Football Fans

This study examined the fans motivation to attend the National Football League (NFL) games and how it relates to fan identification. Data from 158 fans who attended regular season games in a Midwestern city in the United States were analyzed using regression to determine the degree to which fan identification could be explained by motivation factors. It was found that self-esteem, entertainment, escape, and eustress explained 40.1% of the variance in fan identification. Understanding that fans have different levels of identification and different types of motivations will enable sport marketers can better tailor strategies to more effectively reach target markets

An Examination of Motivation and Identification of Football Fans

This study examined the fans motivation to attend the National Football League (NFL) games and how it relates to fan identification. Data from 158 fans who attended regular season games in a Midwestern city in the United States were analyzed using regression to determine the degree to which fan identification could be explained by motivation factors. It was found that self-esteem, entertainment, escape, and eustress explained 40.1% of the variance in fan identification. Understanding that fans have different levels of identification and different types of motivations will enable sport marketers can better tailor strategies to more effectively reach target markets