UC-266 INDY-5 CompChores

Getting anyone motivated to complete chores can be a chore itself! To solve this issue, our team is using Dart and Flutter to build a desktop application that pits roommates, family members, and siblings against one another to complete chores for points. The purpose of this program is to simulate competition between users in order to motivate users to complete tasks amongst the living space. To complete this task, our program will provide a place where users can create a family, create an account, join a family, create chores, complete chores, check chore history, view the family scoreboard, and view how many chores they have completed. Users will be able to change chore points based on difficulty, estimated time of completion, and priority. There will also be a way for users to check chore history in order to know which chores were completed by each person. The family will have a main homepage which will show the top three scores within the family, the chores with the highest priority, and the family ID in which users can share with one another to allow others to join the family. Then for more detail there will be a chore page, a scoreboard page, and a settings page to change account information or leave a family. All of these pages and features will allow users to create an environment amongst their peers that is not only productive but is also fun

Social moderation and calibration versus codification: a way forward for academic standards in higher education?

A key responsibility of higher education providers is the accurate certification of the knowledge and skills attained by their students. However, despite an intense focus on developing relevant quality assurance regulations, academic standards in higher education have remained resistant to explication and consistent application. In this paper, we initially deconstruct and evaluate academic standards and dominant practitioner perspectives on their nature and use, including techno-rational, sociocultural and sociomaterial approaches. The limited prior research on the effectiveness of calibration and social moderation processes is reviewed, highlighting the significant challenges in sharing tacitly held understandings of assessment criteria (attributes of quality) and standards (levels of achievement). Further complications are considered that arise from the varying expertise and power relationships of assessors and the complexities inherent in the development and use of codified artefacts for capturing and sharing standards. We opine that because of the difficulties in clearly representing and agreeing standards, it is unsurprising that there is little evidence of marking consistency to be found in the literature even in contexts where carefully crafted artefacts, such as rubrics, are in use. We conclude that effectiveness would be enhanced through sharing understandings more widely and refocusing the use of assessment codifications towards how they may catalyse effective social moderation and calibration dialogues. Dialogues that foreground individuals’ positions of consensus and dissensus at significant points of interpretation in the assessment process are identified within the paper

The association between historical childhood sexual abuse and later parenting stress:a systematic review

An individual’s own experiences of childhood and being parented are likely to be key determinants of their later parenting experiences. Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is arguably the most toxic experience to occur in childhood and therefore may be particularly likely to impact on parenting stress in the context of parenting one’s own children. This paper aims to review studies investigating associations between earlier CSA and later parenting to determine the size and consistency of the effects, identify any mediators and moderators of the relationship, and assess the quality of the evidence base. PsycINFO, Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Web of Science, PubMed and PILOTS were searched from date of inception until 4th March 2016 and 14 studies met the inclusion criteria. Seven studies indicated a degree of direct association between experiencing CSA and later parenting stress, two studies found no association and five studies suggest that other variables such as locus of control and current stressors may affect the relationship between CSA and parenting stress. Additionally, 10 studies suggest an indirect relationship between CSA and parenting stress through current level of depression. Results suggest the existence of a relationship between CSA and parenting stress though this association is mostly mediated by other variables, including depression and other stressors. Clearer definitions of CSA and use of validated questionnaires are essential to progress this field of research

Cardiovascular and Affective Recovery from Anticipatory Threat

Anticipating a stressor elicits robust cardiovascular and affective responses. Despite the possibility that recovery from these responses may have implications for physical and mental well-being, little research has examined this issue. In this study, participants either gave a public speech or anticipated giving a speech. Compared with speech-givers, participants who anticipated giving a speech, on average, exhibited similar cardiovascular recovery (decreased heart rate [HR] and increased respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]), and reported lower negative affect during recovery. Only in the anticipation condition, however, were cardiovascular recovery and affective recovery associated: poor affective recovery predicted incomplete HR recovery and decreased RSA. These are the first data to compare explicitly recovery from anticipation of a stressor with recovery from the stressor itself. These findings suggest that failing to recover from anticipation has unique physiological costs that, in turn, may contribute to mental and physical illness.Psycholog

Fractional flow reserve versus angiography in guiding management to optimize outcomes in non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction (FAMOUS-NSTEMI): rationale and design of a randomized controlled clinical trial

<p>Background: In patients with acute non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), coronary arteriography is usually recommended; but visual interpretation of the angiogram is subjective. We hypothesized that functional assessment of coronary stenosis severity with a pressure-sensitive guide wire (fractional flow reserve [FFR]) would have additive diagnostic, clinical, and health economic utility as compared with angiography-guided standard care.</p> <p>Methods and design: A prospective multicenter parallel-group 1:1 randomized controlled superiority trial in 350 NSTEMI patients with ≥1 coronary stenosis ≥30% severity (threshold for FFR measurement) will be conducted. Patients will be randomized immediately after coronary angiography to the FFR-guided group or angiography-guided group. All patients will then undergo FFR measurement in all vessels with a coronary stenosis ≥30% severity including culprit and nonculprit lesions. Fractional flow reserve will be disclosed to guide treatment in the FFR-guided group but not disclosed in the “angiography-guided” group. In the FFR-guided group, an FFR ≤0.80 will be an indication for revascularization by percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass surgery, as appropriate. The primary outcome is the between-group difference in the proportion of patients allocated to medical management only compared with revascularization. Secondary outcomes include the occurrence of cardiac death or hospitalization for myocardial infarction or heart failure, quality of life, and health care costs. The minimum and average follow-up periods for the primary analysis are 6 and 18 months, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions: Our developmental clinical trial will address the feasibility of FFR measurement in NSTEMI and the influence of FFR disclosure on treatment decisions and health and economic outcomes.</p&gt

Effect of suspension systems on the physiological and psychological responses to sub-maximal biking on simulated smooth and bumpy tracks

The aim of this study was to compare the physiological and psychological responses of cyclists riding on a hard tail bicycle and on a full suspension bicycle. Twenty males participated in two series of tests. A test rig held the front axle of the bicycle steady while the rear wheel rotated against a heavy roller with bumps (or no bumps) on its surface. In the first series of tests, eight participants (age 19 – 27 years, body mass 65 – 82 kg) were tested on both the full suspension and hard tail bicycles with and without bumps fitted to the roller. The second series of test repeated the bump tests with a further six participants (age 22 – 31 years, body mass 74 – 94 kg) and also involved an investigation of familiarization effects with the final six participants (age 21 – 30 years, body mass 64 – 80 kg). Heart rate, oxygen consumption (VO<sub>2</sub>), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and comfort were recorded during 10 min sub-maximal tests. Combined data for the bumps tests show that the full suspension bicycle was significantly different (P < 0.001) from the hard tail bicycle on all four measures. Oxygen consumption, heart rate and RPE were lower on average by 8.7 (s = 3.6) ml · kg<sup>-1</sup> · min<sup>-1</sup>, 32.1 (s = 12.1) beats · min<sup>-1</sup> and 2.6 (s = 2.0) units, respectively. Comfort scores were higher (better) on average by 1.9 (s = 0.8) units. For the no bumps tests, the only statistically significant difference (P = 0.008) was in VO<sub>2</sub>, which was lower for the hard tail bicycle by 2.2 (s = 1.7) ml · kg-1 · min<sup>-1</sup>. The results indicate that the full suspension bicycle provides a physiological and psychological advantage over the hard tail bicycle during simulated sub-maximal exercise on bumps

Investigation of associations between attachment, parenting and schizotypy during the postnatal period

Background Parenting can be a stressful experience particularly for people with mental health problems or people who experienced abuse or attachment difficulties in their own childhoods. This study examined the relationships between earlier trauma, attachment, parenting and schizotypy in a non-clinical sample, with the specific hypothesis that parenting stress and competence would mediate any association between trauma, attachment and schizotypy. Methods One hundred and thirty-four first time parents with a child under 12 months old completed the following questionnaires online: the Experiences of Close Relationships Scale – Short Form (ECR-S), the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire – Brief, Revised (SPQ-BR) the Parenting Stress Scale, the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC) and the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Questionnaire. Results Parenting stress mediated the association between attachment and schizotypy, though parenting competence did not have a significant effect as a mediator in a parallel model. Childhood trauma was associated with attachment and schizotypy but did not correlate with the parenting variables. Limitations The study utilised a cross-sectional design and self-report measures which limits the ability to make causal inferences from the results. However, findings warrant replication in clinical samples with psychosis. Conclusions The study adds to the understanding of what may exacerbate schizotypal symptoms in the first 12 months postpartum as parental attachment insecurity and parental stress together predicted elevated self-reported experiences of schizotypal symptoms

Investigation of associations between attachment, parenting and schizotypy during the postnatal period

Background Parenting can be a stressful experience particularly for people with mental health problems or people who experienced abuse or attachment difficulties in their own childhoods. This study examined the relationships between earlier trauma, attachment, parenting and schizotypy in a non-clinical sample, with the specific hypothesis that parenting stress and competence would mediate any association between trauma, attachment and schizotypy. Methods One hundred and thirty-four first time parents with a child under 12 months old completed the following questionnaires online: the Experiences of Close Relationships Scale – Short Form (ECR-S), the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire – Brief, Revised (SPQ-BR) the Parenting Stress Scale, the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC) and the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Questionnaire. Results Parenting stress mediated the association between attachment and schizotypy, though parenting competence did not have a significant effect as a mediator in a parallel model. Childhood trauma was associated with attachment and schizotypy but did not correlate with the parenting variables. Limitations The study utilised a cross-sectional design and self-report measures which limits the ability to make causal inferences from the results. However, findings warrant replication in clinical samples with psychosis. Conclusions The study adds to the understanding of what may exacerbate schizotypal symptoms in the first 12 months postpartum as parental attachment insecurity and parental stress together predicted elevated self-reported experiences of schizotypal symptoms