An information assistant system for the prevention of tunnel vision in crisis management

In the crisis management environment, tunnel vision is a set of bias in decision makers’ cognitive process which often leads to incorrect understanding of the real crisis situation, biased perception of information, and improper decisions. The tunnel vision phenomenon is a consequence of both the challenges in the task and the natural limitation in a human being’s cognitive process. An information assistant system is proposed with the purpose of preventing tunnel vision. The system serves as a platform for monitoring the on-going crisis event. All information goes through the system before arrives at the user. The system enhances the data quality, reduces the data quantity and presents the crisis information in a manner that prevents or repairs the user’s cognitive overload. While working with such a system, the users (crisis managers) are expected to be more likely to stay aware of the actual situation, stay open minded to possibilities, and make proper decisions

Linking recorded data with emotive and adaptive computing in an eHealth environment

Telecare, and particularly lifestyle monitoring, currently relies on the ability to detect and respond to changes in individual behaviour using data derived from sensors around the home. This means that a significant aspect of behaviour, that of an individuals emotional state, is not accounted for in reaching a conclusion as to the form of response required. The linked concepts of emotive and adaptive computing offer an opportunity to include information about emotional state and the paper considers how current developments in this area have the potential to be integrated within telecare and other areas of eHealth. In doing so, it looks at the development of and current state of the art of both emotive and adaptive computing, including its conceptual background, and places them into an overall eHealth context for application and development

Building a Community of Shalom: What the Bible Says about Multicultural Education

Multicultural education is a highly controversial topic in which it has been the center of contentions and conflicts as it has evolved for the last couple of decades. Several concerns and problems existed in the field of multicultural education will be addressed in this article. In addition, a new framework of multicultural education, called the shalom model, which is drawn from the Bible is presented, along with the characteristics of the model. The goal of multicultural education, according to this model, is to build a community of shalom, an image that is clearly described in Isaiah 11:6. In order to accomplish this goal, the model suggests that all people need to be equipped with the truth that all people are the image bearers of God. This concept is expanded into four implementation interventions when relating to others: biblical perspective; cultural competence; contextualized pedagogy; and intentional praxis. Finally, regarding the application issue of this model, some points of the implementation strategies are addressed in this article

Populism and security in political speechmaking : the 2008 US Presidential Campaign

The issue of security has been a prominent feature of the US political landscape since the attacks of 9/11. Not surprisingly, then, issues of security, trust and credibility were raised throughout the 2008 US election presidential campaign. In the latter stages of his presidency, George W. Bush had been engaged in portraying his two terms as a successful period as national protector, keeping the US safe from further terrorist attack.Both the policy and the rhetorical strategies of the Bush administration coalesced around an emphasis on 'homeland security'. As well as producing a dominant way of asserting political legitimacy, this put in place an administrative framework within which elected legislators had to situate themselves, including the candidates for the 2008 presidential election

Eye-tracking measurements of language processing: developmental differences in children at high risk for ASD

To explore how being at high risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), based on having an older sibling diagnosed with ASD, affects word comprehension and language processing speed, 18-, 24- and 36-month-old children, at high and low risk for ASD were tested in a cross- sectional study, on an eye gaze measure of receptive language that measured how accurately and rapidly the children looked at named target images. There were no significant differences between the high risk ASD group and the low risk control group of 18- and 24-month-olds. However, 36-month-olds in the high risk for ASD group performed significantly worse on the accuracy measure, but not on the speed measure. We propose that the language processing efficiency of the high risk group is not compromised, but other vocabulary acquisition factors might have lead to the high risk 36-month-olds to comprehend significantly fewer nouns on our measure.K01 DC013306 - NIDCD NIH HHS; R01 DC010290 - NIDCD NIH HHS; K01DC013306 - NIDCD NIH HHS; R01 DC 10290 - NIDCD NIH HH

CARE TEAM EDUCATION ON THE USE OF SENSORY RESOURCES IN INPATIENT PSYCHIATRY

Sensory processing is the way the nervous system receives, organizes, and understands sensory information gained through our body’s senses and physical environment. The deprivation of sensory processing, or the inability of one’s nervous system to use meaningful sensations, can lead to negative outcomes such as anxiety, stress, depression, withdrawal and reduced motivation, or agitation and disturbed behavior. Dr. Ayres\u27 Sensory Integration Theory was used as the guiding framework for this project. Research literature indicates that sensory modulated approaches are an effective treatment approach for patients who are distressed, anxious, agitated, or potentially aggressive, and can be used as an alternative to more coercive actions such as seclusion and restraint. It has also demonstrated that sensory modulated approaches can be helpful for people with various psychiatric diagnoses such as anxiety, depression, mania, psychosis, and post-traumatic stress disorders. The aim of this project was to provide an educational in-service to psychiatric inpatient staff members about the use of sensory modulated approaches as an additional preventive tool for mental health patients. A post evaluation was provided to identify the effectiveness of the educational in-service. Participants of the in-service included sixteen (16) staff members and ten (10) undergraduate nursing students. All participants who completed the post evaluation reported the rating of helpfulness of sensory integration approaches to their current practice. All staff members reported it as very helpful, while eighty-six percent (86%) of students thought it was very helpful to their current practice. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of the staff reported the in-service as very helpful for increasing their knowledge of sensory resources, and eighty-six percent (86%) of the students reported it as very helpful. The favorable outcomes demonstrate success in providing staff education. Increased knowledge and understanding allow staff members to adopt the sensory modulated approach to further help reduce behavioral disturbances, empower staff and patients to build positive relationships, and provide alternative strategies to more coercive practices such as seclusion or restraints. Further research on the effect of this educational in-service on the actual implementation of sensory modulated approach is needed to support the true effectiveness of this project. Future implications for advanced nursing practice, education, research, and health policy are to promote and implement this alternative approach, provide evidence based data to improve the quality of clinical practice, and analyze the data collected to improve future practices and overall patient outcomes