Measuring risk preference: temporal stability, convergent validity, and age differences

Across various domains in life we need to make choices where the outcomes are not guaranteed and there is the potential for a loss. Individuals differ in their willingness to partake in risky activities or make choices under risk. Risk preference, is a psychological construct that reflects individual’s appetite for risk. Various disciplines, in particular, psychology and economics, have developed risk preference measures and used these to investigate inter and intra-individual differences. Despite the popularity of risk preference in the behavioural sciences, we lack a clear understanding of how stable this construct is and how coherently it is captured. This lack of clarity can have consequences on how well we understand and quantify individual differences in risk preference, in particular age differences. This dissertation aims to address these open questions by using meta-analytic methods, where we synthesised and analysed data from various sources. In three studies we: (1) compare the temporal stability and convergent validity of risk preference measures; (2) assess to what extent published evidence on age differences in task-based risk-taking aligns with theoretical predictions; and (3) how self-reported risk-taking propensity changes across adulthood. Overall, (1) we observe substantial differences in the temporal stability of risk preference measures and an overall lack of convergence; (2) whilst most theories predict an age-related decline in risk taking, this is not in line with the evidence observed from behavioural tasks; in contrast (3) we note across several domains, that self-reported risk-taking propensity declines with age. Through these three studies, we show that not all measures of risk preference are comparable, and that we need to establish a clearer definition and operationalisation of the construct. This has implications for the understanding of individual differences, as well as the development and evaluation of theories

Streamlining Cross-Organizational Aircraft Development: Results from the AGILE Project

The research and innovation AGILE project developed the next generation of aircraft Multidisciplinary Design and Optimization processes, which target significant reductions in aircraft development costs and time to market, leading to more cost-effective and greener aircraft solutions. The high level objective is the reduction of the lead time of 40% with respect to the current state-of-the-art. 19 industry, research and academia partners from Europe, Canada and Russia developed solutions to cope with the challenges of collaborative design and optimization of complex products. In order to accelerate the deployment of large-scale, collaborative multidisciplinary design and optimization (MDO), a novel methodology, the so-called AGILE Paradigm, has been developed. Furthermore, the AGILE project has developed and released a set of open technologies enabling the implementation of the AGILE Paradigm approach. The collection of all the technologies constitutes AGILE Framework, which has been deployed for the design and the optimization of multiple aircraft configurations. This paper focuses on the application of the AGILE Paradigm on seven novel aircraft configurations, proving the achievement of the project’s objectives

Inner-View of Nanomaterial Incited Protein Conformational Changes: Insights into Designable Interaction.

Nanoparticle bioreactivity critically depends upon interaction between proteins and nanomaterials (NM). The formation of the "protein corona" (PC) is the effect of such nanoprotein interactions. PC has a wide usage in pharmaceuticals, drug delivery, medicine, and industrial biotechnology. Therefore, a detailed in-vitro, in-vivo, and in-silico understanding of nanoprotein interaction is fundamental and has a genuine contemporary appeal. NM surfaces can modify the protein conformation during interaction, or NMs themselves can lead to self-aggregations. Both phenomena can change the whole downstream bioreactivity of the concerned nanosystem. The main aim of this review is to understand the mechanistic view of NM-protein interaction and recapitulate the underlying physical chemistry behind the formation of such complicated macromolecular assemblies, to provide a critical overview of the different models describing NM induced structural and functional modification of proteins. The review also attempts to point out the current limitation in understanding the field and highlights the future scopes, involving a plausible proposition of how artificial intelligence could be aided to explore such systems for the prediction and directed design of the desired NM-protein interactions

Division of Research and Economic Development Annual Report for FY2005

Annual report for the Division of Research and Economic Development of the University of Rhode Island for the year 2004-2005. Includes statistics of project proposals, expenditures, URI Foundation Awards, previous annual report summaries and awards received by individual academic and administrative departments

On the Persuasive Power of Videogame avatars on Health-related behaviours

Background: Avatars are representations of the self in a virtual environment. They have been used to influence behaviour and may represent a promising avenue for designing interventions to promote health-related behaviour change. Aim: To determine the extent to which a representation of the self in a videogame influences health-related behaviours. Method: In addressing the aim of the thesis, a mixed methods approach was adopted. This started with a systematic review investigating the effectiveness of various attempts at health persuasion using avatar appearance manipulation. Next, a qualitative study investigating gamers’ avatar design preferences and experiences of playing an exergame with an idealised, self-similar avatar was conducted. The quantitative phase of the thesis involved three quantitative studies investigating the existence, ambivalence, and variance of stereotypes associated with plus-sized and athletic physiques over three modalities (text, image, video); and a replication-extension of an exergame-based Proteus Effect study involving larger-bodied and ‘average’ avatars. In this latter study, a bespoke exergame was developed that used the stimuli developed in the previous studies as avatars. Results: The systematic review (Chapter 4) revealed that a small number of studies had investigated using avatars to promote health related behaviour, and a common finding was that using larger-bodied (compared with athletic) avatars in exergames resulted in reduced physical-activity. Since this was explained in terms of stereotypical behaviours, such as laziness, being assimilated into the players’ behaviour, the qualitative study (Chapter 5) explored participants’ accounts of being restricted to an athletic avatar and found that this was not always a positive experience. To explore this further, Chapter 6 investigated the stereotype structures of plus-sized and athletic bodies were both found to suggest ambivalence. Text descriptions of prototypical ‘athletic’ groups (Chapter 6), and images of virtual humans with athletic bodies (Chapter 7) were rated as more competent, more arrogant, and less friendly compared with larger-bodied examples. Negative stereotypes, such as laziness, were reflected in evaluations of larger bodied representations, but so was the potentially positive trait of affability. In Chapter 8, larger-bodied exemplars that were animated with counter-stereotypical information (running on the spot) were rated less negatively than those that were stationary. When the exemplars were used as avatars, there was no evidence for behaviour change as a function of avatar-physique in the experimental replication study (Chapter 9). Conclusion: By using methods derived from existing social psychological theories, it is possible to create representations of larger bodies that are evaluated more positively. Further, there may be negative consequences to relying on athletic-bodied avatars to encourage exercise. Although there was no strong evidence that participants behaviour was affected by the type of avatar used, an argument can be made for allowing users to explore a broader range of physiques and presenting larger-bodied characters positively as competent agents

Urinary Stents

This open access book provides a concise overview of a range of aspects related to urinary stents. Sections within the work cover clinical and recent technological advancements in the field. Chapters feature detailed coverage of the different surgical, pharmacological and palliative treatments currently available. Insight is also given on current limitations of urinary stents and how these can be overcome by utilizing anti-biofilm coatings; new biomaterials, drug-eluting stents, and biodegradable stents. Therefore, enabling the reader to systematically gain a detailed understanding of the subject. Urinary Stents is a practical, multi-disciplinary focused resource on the complications and applications of ureteral, urethral and prostatic stents in day-to-day clinical practice. A vital read for all medical professionals and researchers who work in this area

Nanoparticles: Potential for Use to Prevent Infections

One of the major issues related to medical devices and especially urinary stents are infections caused by different strains of bacteria and fungi, mainly in light of the recent rise in microbial resistance to existing antibiotics. Lately, it has been shown that nanomaterials could be superior alternatives to conventional antibiotics. Generally, nanoparticles are used for many applications in the biomedical field primarily due to the ability to adjust and control their physicochemical properties as well as their great reactivity due to the large surface-to-volume ratio. This has led to the formation of a new research field called nanomedicine which can be defined as the use of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in diagnostics, imaging, observing, prevention, control, and treatment of diseases. For example, coverings or coatings based on nanomaterials are now seen as a promising strategy for preventing or treating biofilms formation on healthcare kits, implants, and medical devices. Toxicity, inappropriate delivery, or degradation of conventionally used drugs for the treatment of infections may be avoided by using nanoparticles without or with encapsulated/immobilized active substances. Most of the materials which are used and examined for the preparation of the nanoparticles with encapsulated/immobilized active substances or smart reactive nanomaterials with antimicrobial effects are polymers, naturally derived antimicrobials, metal-based and non-metallic materials. This chapter provides an overview of the current state and future perspectives of the nanoparticle-based systems based on these materials for prevention, control, or elimination of biofilm-related infections on urinary stents. It also addresses manufacturing conditions indicating the huge potential for the improvement of existing and development of new promising stent solutions