Design Methods for Interactive TV : two empirical studies

The central question for this paper is how to improve the production process by closing the gap between industrial designers and software engineers of television(TV)-based User Interfaces (UI) in an industrial environment. Software engineers are highly interested whether one UI design can be converted into several fully functional UIs for TV products with different screen properties. The aim of the software engineers is to apply automatic layout and scaling in order to speed up and improve the production process. However, the question is whether a UI design lends itself for such automatic layout and scaling. This is investigated by analysing a prototype UI design done by industrial designers. In a first requirements study, industrial designers had created meta annotations on top of their UI design in order to disclose their design rationale for discussions with software engineers. In a second study, industrial designers assessed the potential of four different meta annotation approaches. The question was which annotation method industrial designers would prefer and whether it could satisfy the technical requirements of the software engineering process. One main result is that the industrial designers preferred the method they were already familiar with, which therefore seems to be the most effective one although the main objective of automatic layout and scaling could still not be achieved

The chicken or the egg? Exploring bi-directional associations between Newcastle disease vaccination and village chicken flock size in rural Tanzania

Newcastle disease (ND) is a viral disease of poultry with global importance, responsible for the loss of a potential source of household nutrition and economic livelihood in many low-income food-deficit countries. Periodic outbreaks of this endemic disease result in high mortality amongst free-ranging chicken flocks and may serve as a disincentive for rural households to invest time or resources in poultry-keeping. Sustainable ND control can be achieved through vaccination using a thermotolerant vaccine administered via eyedrop by trained "community vaccinators". This article evaluates the uptake and outcomes of fee-for-service ND vaccination programs in eight rural villages in the semi-arid central zone of Tanzania. It represents part of an interdisciplinary program seeking to address chronic undernutrition in children through improvements to existing poultry and crop systems. Newcastle disease vaccination uptake was found to vary substantially across communities and seasons, with a significantly higher level of vaccination amongst households participating in a longitudinal study of children's growth compared with non-participating households (p = 0.009). Two multivariable model analyses were used to explore associations between vaccination and chicken numbers, allowing for clustered data and socioeconomic and cultural variation amongst the population. Results demonstrated that both (a) households that undertook ND vaccination had a significantly larger chicken flock size in the period between that vaccination campaign and the next compared with those that did not vaccinate (p = 0.018); and (b) households with larger chicken flocks at the time of vaccination were significantly more likely to participate in vaccination programs (p < 0.001). Additionally, households vaccinating in all three vaccination campaigns held over 12 months were identified to have significantly larger chicken flocks at the end of this period (p < 0.001). Opportunities to understand causality and complexity through quantitative analyses are limited, and there is a role for qualitative approaches to explore decisions made by poultry-keeping households and the motivations, challenges and priorities of community vaccinators. Evidence of a bi-directional relationship, however, whereby vaccination leads to greater chicken numbers, and larger flocks are more likely to be vaccinated, offers useful insights into the efficacy of fee-for-service animal health programs. This article concludes that attention should be focused on ways of supporting the participation of vulnerable households in ND vaccination campaigns, and encouraging regular vaccination throughout the year, as a pathway to strengthen food security, promote resilience and contribute to improved human nutrition

Sequential Analysis of Livestock Herding Dog and Sheep Interactions

Livestock herding dogs are crucial contributors to Australian agriculture. However, there is a dearth of empirical studies of the behavioural interactions between dog and livestock during herding. A statistical approach that may reveal cause and effect in such interactions is lag sequential analysis. Using 48 video recordings of livestock herding dogs and sheep in a yard trial competition, event-based (time between behaviours is irrelevant) and time-based (time between behaviours is defined) lag sequential analyses identified several significant behavioural interactions (adjusted residuals greater than 2.58; the maximum likelihood-ratio chi-squared statistic for all eight contingency tables identified all sequences as highly significant (p \u3c 0.001)). These sequences were: The dog ceasing all movement followed by the sheep also ceasing movement; the dog chasing the sheep and a group of sheep escaping the main flock; a single sheep escaping the flock and the dog chasing; sheep initiating movement followed by the dog following; foot-stamping followed by the dog ceasing all movement; and, foot-stamping by the sheep and the dog lip-licking in response. Log linear regression identified significant relationships among undesirable behaviours in sheep and both observed trial duration (p = 0.001) and trial score (p = 0.009). No differences in the herding styles of dogs were identified between sex of dog and frequency of sheep escape behaviours (p = 0.355) nor the sex of dog and competition level (p = 0.116). The identification of trial score as a predictor of efficient performance confirms the benefits of incorporating extant objective measures to assess livestock herding dogs

Structure and soft magnetic properties of sputter deposited MnZn-ferrite films

In this paper we report the soft magnetic properties of thin films of sputtered MnZn ferrite deposited on thermally oxidized Si substrates. A high deposition temperature, 600¿°C, together with the addition of water vapor to the sputtering gas was found to improve the initial ac permeability, µ. The highest value obtained was approximately 30. For MnZn-ferrite films with much larger grain sizes, as obtained by deposition on a polycrystalline Zn-ferrite substrate, a µ of 100 was obtained. The results are discussed in terms of the so-called nonmagnetic grain boundary model

An appraisal of the indigenous chicken market in Tanzania and Zambia. Are the markets ready for improved outputs from village production systems?

Traditional or village poultry, consisting primarily of indigenous chickens, make up over 80% of poultry in Africa. Most are kept as small flocks in free-ranging, scavenging, low input production systems. They provide vital nutritional and financial needs especially for children, women of reproductive age, people with HIV/AIDS and the poor. Poultry meat and eggs provide animal source protein and essential micronutrients which improves growth and cognitive development in children. While productivity of indigenous chickens is low due to uncontrolled disease and an unreliable scavenging resource base, the minimal inputs result in a high benefit-cost ratio. By increasing supplementary feeding through improved crop yields and improving disease control through vaccination, a higher number of chickens of greater bodyweight will be available to market. An appraisal of the indigenous chicken market in Tanzania and Zambia was conducted to identify the key individuals (including gender imbalances), market channels, commercialisation margins, market trends and competition from exotic, commercial chickens (broilers and spent layers). Consumers preferred indigenous chickens and urban consumers paid their significantly higher price, which resulted from the accumulative costs of intermediary traders’ fees, transport costs and market fees. Commercial chickens in urban markets sold at a lower price but were vulnerable to fluctuating costs of high inputs. Indigenous chicken producers’ margins were favourable enough to suggest that some additional costs were sustainable, provided the off take channels and consumer confidence is sustained. Markets for indigenous chickens were informal and consequently, their response to increased production may be unpredictable

Assumptions for long-term stochastic population forecasts in 18 European countries: Hypothèses de projections stochastiquesàlong terme des populations de 18 pays européens

The aim of the ‘Uncertain Population of Europe’(UPE) project was to compute long-term stochastic (probabilistic) population forecasts for 18 European countries. We developed a general methodology for constructing predictive distributions for fertility, mortality and migration. The assumptions underlying stochastic population forecasts can be assessed by analysing errors in past forecasts or model-based estimates of forecast errors, or by expert judgement. All three approaches have been used in the project. This article summarizes and discusses the results of the three approaches. It demonstrates how the—sometimes conflicting—results can be synthesized into a consistent set of assumptions about the expected levels and the uncertainty of total fertility rate, life expectancy at birth of men and women, and net migration for 18 European countries

One Health, veterinarians and the nexus between disease and food security

Achieving ecologically sustainable food systems for people and animals is one of the greatest challenges facing our world today. Four interdisciplinary approaches that promote a holistic, systems approach to disease prevention and food security are introduced. Current domestic and international initiatives that link disease prevention with food and nutrition security are presented, with an emphasis on animal‐source food and examples from Australia, Tanzania and Timor‐Leste. Veterinarians are uniquely placed to use their training in comparative physiology in support of the production of sustainable, nutritious, ethical and safe food delivered with minimal waste to promote human, animal and environmental health

Patient coaching in secondary care:healthcare professionals' views on target group, intervention and coach profile

Background: Not all patients are able to communicate effectively during consultations with medical specialists. Patient coaching has shown to be effective for enhancing communication. Objective: We aimed to get healthcare professionals' views on target groups for patient coaching, on supportive elements in patient coaching and on the necessary qualifications and profile of a patient coach, to further our knowledge on the concept of patient coaching as supportive intervention for patients in consultations with medical specialists. Methods: We chose a qualitative research design and interviewed 18 healthcare professionals (six medical specialists, four family physicians, four community nurses and four nurse specialists/physician assistants) and analysed the verbatim transcripts using Qualitative Analysis Guide of Leuven. After a short introduction of the global concept of patient coaching and presentation of patients' perceived barriers, two interviewers structured the interview around three research questions: which patients could benefit from a patient coach, what should such a coach do and who could act like such a coach? Results: Participants describe patients who could benefit from patient coaching as generally vulnerable (e.g. older age, insufficiently accompanied, lower socioeconomic status, co-morbidity and cognitive problems) but also patients who are situationally vulnerable (e.g. elicited by bad news). Patient coaching should comprise emotional and instrumental support, aiming at reducing stress and improving the processing of medical information. Patient coaching should start from the patient's home and include preparing questions, navigating to and in the hospital, recording information during the consultation, checking understanding and recalling information. Patient coaches should have at least basic medical knowledge and a higher education. Conclusion: Healthcare professionals believe that patient coaching by a trained professional with medical knowledge could be beneficial to patients who are stressed when visiting a medical specialist. Future research should involve the views of patients on patient coaching, focus on investigating to what extent patient coaching is able to reduce stress and support a patient in processing medical information and the preferred patient coach's profile