Digital technologies for supporting the informed consent of children and young people in research: the potential for transforming current research ethics practice

Much research at the intersection of technology and ethics focuses on the impact of technological developments and innovation on wider society. This discussion considers the intersection of ethics and technology from the opposite direction; that is, how technology itself can support the ethical participation of people – particularly children and young people – in research. Our central argument is that the use of digital technologies (laptops, PCs, tablet devices, smartphones) offers the potential to support the presentation of information about research topics and methodologies, and children’s decision-making about their own participation, more effectively than by traditional, often paper-based, methods

A review of productivity analysis of the New Zealand construction industry

Abstract In recent years there has been a rising interest in the level of productivity and efficiency of the New Zealand construction industry. This interest has meant that there has been an increased use of statistical techniques to determine the productivity and efficiency of the overall industry. The purpose of this paper is to review the various measures that have been used to gauge the levels of productivity and efficiency in the New Zealand construction industry; as well as analyse some of the results to date. Finally, it considers potential areas for future research

Collaborative working within UK NHS secondary care and across sectors for COPD and the impact of peer review : qualitative findings from the UK National COPD Resources and Outcomes Project

Introduction: We investigated the effects on collaborative work within the UK National Health Service (NHS) of an intervention for service quality improvement: informal, structured, reciprocated, multidisciplinary peer review with feedback and action plans. The setting was care for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Theory and methods: We analysed semi-structured interviews with 43 hospital respiratory consultants, nurses and general managers at 24 intervention and 11 control sites, as part of a UK randomised controlled study, the National COPD Resources and Outcomes Project (NCROP), using Scott’s conceptual framework for action (inter-organisational, intra-organisational, inter-professional and inter-individual). Three areas of care targeted by NCROP involved collaboration across primary and secondary care. Results: Hospital respiratory department collaborations with commissioners and hospital managers varied. Analysis suggested that this is related to team responses to barriers. Clinicians in unsuccessful collaborations told ‘atrocity stories’ of organisational, structural and professional barriers to service improvement. The others removed barriers by working with government and commissioner agendas to ensure continued involvement in patients’ care. Multidisciplinary peer review facilitated collaboration between participants, enabling them to meet, reconcile differences and exchange ideas across boundaries. Conclusions: The data come from the first randomised controlled trial of organisational peer review, adding to research into UK health service collaborative work, which has had a more restricted focus on inter-professional relations. NCROP peer review may only modestly improve collaboration but these data suggest it might be more effective than top-down exhortations to change when collaboration both across and within organisations is required

Remote Sensing - based precision agriculture tool for the sugar industry

This project aimed to develop remote sensing applications that were both relevant and of commercial benefit to the Australian sugar industry and therefore adoptable. Such applications included the in season mapping of crop vigour so as to guide future management strategies, the identification of specific abiotic and biotic cropping constraints, and the conversion of GNDVI variability maps into yield at the block, farm and regional level. In order to achieve these applications the project team reviewed an array of remote sensing platforms, timing of imagery capture, software and analysis protocols; as well as distribution formats of derived imagery products, to a range of end users. The project developed strong collaborative linkages with all levels of the industry including mills, productivity services, agronomists, growers and researchers and increased its initial coverage from three individual farms in Bundaberg, Burdekin and the Herbert, coinciding with project CSE022, to include over 33,000 crops grown across 6 growing regions (Mulgrave, Herbert, Burdekin, Bundaberg, ISIS and Condong) during the 2011/2012 season

Using Option Prices and Open Interest to Forecast Future Volatility of a Small Cap Biotech Security Facing a Binary Event

The purpose of this study is to determine the accuracy of price targets set by options traders for small cap biotech companies approaching a Food and Drug (FDA) event. The study also highlights whether or not an increase in open interest improves the accuracy of options traders target price estimates. The thesis for this paper states that the options estimates of future price movement are accurate predictors of the future price one day before the FDA event. This thesis studies small cap biotech stocks with an approaching FDA approval or advisory committee meeting for the time period of December 2007 to April 201 3. The conclusions are that the price targets are significantly greater than the realized price. and that open interest does not significantly improve the accuracy of these contracts

Variable and changing trajectories in youth athlete development: further verification in advocating a long-term inclusive tracking approach.

Athlete development through adolescence can vary greatly because of maturational processes. For example, variation can be observed in anthropometric and fitness measures with later maturing individuals "catching up" their earlier maturing peers at later time points. This study examined a methodological issue concerning how best to assess anthropometric and fitness change (i.e., "across age categories" or "per year") relative to an age and skill-matched population (N = 1,172). Furthermore, it examined changes in anthropometric and fitness characteristics in 3 cases of youth rugby league players (aged 13-15) across a 2-year period. Findings identified the "per year" method as generating less deviated z-scores across anthropometric and fitness measures (e.g., mean change p < 0.001), suggesting less substantial change in case players relative to the population. When applied to additional players, z-score and radar graphs showed developmental variability and longitudinal change. The possibility of a "later maturing player" increasing anthropometric (e.g., height: player 4 = 3.3 cm; player 5 = 13.2 cm; and player 6 = 15.7 cm) and fitness (e.g., 30-m sprint: player 4 = -0.18 s, player 5 = -0.46 s, and player 6 = -0.59 s) characteristics compared with early maturing players was confirmed. Findings affirm the potential for variable and changing trajectories in adolescent athletes. Practical implications advocate a long-term inclusive tracking approach of athletes, the avoidance of (de)selection, and the reduction of a performance emphasis in adolescent stages of sport systems

An individualized longitudinal approach to monitoring the dynamics of growth and fitness development in adolescent athletes.

This study evaluated the development of anthropometric and fitness characteristics of 3 individual adolescent junior rugby league players and compared their characteristics with a cross-sectional population matched by age and skill level. Cross-sectional anthropometric and fitness assessments were conducted on 1,172 players selected to the Rugby Football League's talent development program (i.e., the Player Performance Pathway) between 2005 and 2008. Three players of differing relative age, maturational status, and playing position were measured and tracked once per year on 3 occasions (Under 13s, 14s, 15s age categories) and compared against the cross-sectional population. Results demonstrated that the later maturing players increased height (player 1 = 9.2%; player 2 = 7.8%) and a number of fitness characteristics (e.g., 60-m speed-player 1 = -14.9%; player 2 = -9.9%) more than the earlier maturing player (player 3-Height = 2.0%, 60-m sprint = -0.7%) over the 2-year period. The variation in the development of anthropometric and fitness characteristics between the 3 players highlights the importance of longitudinally monitoring individual characteristics during adolescence to assess the dynamic changes in growth, maturation, and fitness. Findings showcase the limitations of short-term performance assessments at one-off time points within annual-age categories, instead of advocating individual development and progression tracking without deselection. Coaches should consider using an individual approach, comparing data with population averages, to assist in the prescription of appropriate training and lifestyle interventions to aid the development of junior athletes

Scaling up socio-technological pedagogies what does it take to develop students' learning and teachers, expertise in innovative environments ? /

La présente recherche a été subventionnée par le ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport dans le cadre du Programme d'aide à la recherche sur l'enseignement et l'apprentissage (PAREA)PA-2009-005Également disponible en version papier.Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 24 nov. 2011

Overview of Advanced LIGO Adaptive Optics

This is an overview of the adaptive optics used in Advanced LIGO (aLIGO), known as the thermal compensation system (TCS). The thermal compensation system was designed to minimize thermally-induced spatial distortions in the interferometer optical modes and to provide some correction for static curvature errors in the core optics of aLIGO. The TCS is comprised of ring heater actuators, spatially tunable CO$_{2}$ laser projectors and Hartmann wavefront sensors. The system meets the requirements of correcting for nominal distortion in Advanced LIGO to a maximum residual error of 5.4nm, weighted across the laser beam, for up to 125W of laser input power into the interferometer

Sensitivity to Change (Responsiveness) and Minimal Important Differences of the LupusQoL in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Objective: The LupusQoL is a reliable and valid health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measure for adults with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study evaluates the responsiveness and minimal important differences (MID) for the eight LupusQoL domains. Methods: Patients experiencing a flare were recruited from nine UK centres. At each of the ten monthly visits, HRQoL (LupusQoL, SF-36), global rating of change (GRC) and disease activity (DA) using the BILAG-2004 index were assessed. The responsiveness of the LupusQoL and the SF-36 was evaluated primarily when patients reported an improvement or deterioration on the GRC scale and, secondly, with changes in physician-reported DA. MIDs were estimated as mean changes when minimal change was reported on the GRC scale. Results: 101 patients were recruited. For all LupusQoL domains, mean HRQoL worsened when patients reported deterioration and improved when patients reported an improvement in GRC; SF-36 domains showed comparable responsiveness. Improvement in some domains of the LupusQoL/SF-36 was observed with a decrease in DA but when DA worsened, there was no significant change. LupusQoL MID estimates for deterioration ranged from -2.4 to -8.7 and for improvement, 3.5 to 7.3; for the SF-36, -2.0 to -11.1, and 2.8 to 10.9 respectively. Conclusion: All LupusQoL domains are sensitive to change with patient-reported deterioration or improvement in health status. For DA, some LupusQoL domains showed responsiveness when there was improvement but none for deterioration. LupusQoL items were derived from SLE patients and provide the advantage of disease-specific domains, important to them, not captured by the SF-36