The use of imaging systems to monitor shoreline dynamics

The development of imaging systems is nowadays established as one of the most powerful and reliable tools for monitoring beach morphodynamics. Two different techniques for shoreline detection are presented here and, in one case, applied to the study of beach width oscillations on a sandy beach (Pauanui Beach, New Zealand). Results indicate that images can provide datasets whose length and sample interval are accurate enough to resolve inter-annual and seasonal oscillations, and long-term trends. Similarly, imaging systems can be extremely useful in determining the statistics of rip current occurrence. Further improvements in accuracy and reliability are expected with the recent introduction of digital systems

Short-range correlations in low-lying nuclear excited states

The electromagnetic transitions to various low-lying excited states of 16O, 48Ca and 208Pb are calculated within a model which considers the short-range correlations. In general the effects of the correlations are small and do not explain the required quenching to describe the data.Comment: 6 pages, 2 postscript figures, 1 tabl

WHEN PRIVACY PROCLIVITY MEET COVID-19: NO LONGER CONCERNS OF TODAY’S M-COMMERCE USERS?

This is continuous research of our previous publication (Thomas et al., 2021). A new two by two study (Before and After COVID 19) X (China and the US culture) was designed to test the moderated mediation effect of the COVID pandemic on M-commerce user’s privacy proclivity, trust, and M-commerce intention! A new sample was collected from two countries in different time periods (Before and after COVID pandemic) to investigate whether M-commerce users’ concern about privacy proclivity has changed after COVID-19. Built on top of our 2021 publication, this study discovered that privacy proclivity no longer has a significant direct impact on consumers’ M-commerce intentions after COVID, as consumers’ desires for convenience outweigh their privacy risk concerns. However, privacy proclivity still has significant influence on consumers’ M-commerce Trust, therefore, it has an indirect impact on M-commerce intentions, but the impact is limited. Finally, the results from Hayes’ PROCESS replicated our previous study findings that culture plays a moderating role in the relationship between privacy proclivity and m-commerce trust after COVID-19 outbreak (Thomas et al., 2021). The impact of privacy proclivity is stronger on M-commerce Trust in China than in the US

The relationship between working alliance with peer mentors and eating psychopathology in a digital 6-week guided self-help intervention for anorexia nervosa

Objective: The quality of working alliance (WA) is associated with treatment outcomes across several types of psychiatric disorders and psychological interventions. This study examined the role of WA with peer mentors (people with lived experience of illness) and student mentors (graduated psychology students) in a 6-week, digital, guided self-help (GSH) intervention for anorexia nervosa. Method: Ninety-nine patients rated weekly, for 6 weeks: (a) eating psychopathology using the short version of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-QS) and (b) WA with a student mentor (n = 14) or a peer mentor (n = 10). WA was assessed by asking patients the extent to which they felt comfortable working with their mentor and the extent to which they agreed with them on the goals for support. WA with mentors and the association with eating psychopathology change were measured on a session-by-session basis. The analysis involved a random intercepts cross-lagged panel model. Results: WA with peer mentors was slightly higher than WA with students (ES = 0.3). Peer mentors' WA in the previous session was significantly associated with eating psychopathology ratings in the next session. No significant relationship was found between the previous session's EDE-QS scores and peer mentor alliance in the following session. In the student mentor group, there were no session-by-session associations between WA and eating psychopathology. However, greater WA with the student mentor across sessions was associated with less eating psychopathology. Discussion: These findings suggest that clinical outcomes are in part associated with the characteristics of the mentor delivering guidance in an online GSH for eating disorders

Joint Elastic Side-Scattering Lidar and Raman Lidar Measurements of Aerosol Optical Properties in South East Colorado

We describe an experiment, located in south-east Colorado, USA, that measured aerosol optical depth profiles using two Lidar techniques. Two independent detectors measured scattered light from a vertical UV laser beam. One detector, located at the laser site, measured light via the inelastic Raman backscattering process. This is a common method used in atmospheric science for measuring aerosol optical depth profiles. The other detector, located approximately 40km distant, viewed the laser beam from the side. This detector featured a 3.5m2 mirror and measured elastically scattered light in a bistatic Lidar configuration following the method used at the Pierre Auger cosmic ray observatory. The goal of this experiment was to assess and improve methods to measure atmospheric clarity, specifically aerosol optical depth profiles, for cosmic ray UV fluorescence detectors that use the atmosphere as a giant calorimeter. The experiment collected data from September 2010 to July 2011 under varying conditions of aerosol loading. We describe the instruments and techniques and compare the aerosol optical depth profiles measured by the Raman and bistatic Lidar detectors.Comment: 34 pages, 16 figure

Simple methods for enhancing patient outcome in routine care: Measuring, monitoring, and feedback

While highly effective, psychotherapy outcome studies suggest 5?14% of clients worsen while in treatment and that therapists are unable to identify a substantial portion of such cases. Methods to systematically track client mental health functioning over the course of treatment and adjust treatment through the use of problem-solving tools are described. We summarize meta-analyses of the effects of a feedback system indicating that the number of psychotherapy patients who deteriorate can be cut in half. We conclude with a series of practice implications, including that clinicians seriously consider making formal methods of collecting client feedback a routine part of their daily practice

The Feasibility of Using Guided Self-Help in Anorexia Nervosa: An Analysis of Drop-Out From the Study Protocol and Intervention Adherence

The implementation of online technologies to promote wellbeing is increasingly becoming a worldwide priority. This study includes secondary analyses of data and examined drop-out rates in an online guided self-help intervention for patients with anorexia nervosa. Specifically, rates of drop-out at end of treatment (i.e., 6 weeks assessment), as well as intervention adherence (minimum of four of six online guided sessions) and differences between completers and drop-outs were examined. Motivation to change and associated patient variables were assessed as predictors of drop-out using structural equation modeling. Ninety-nine patients were randomized to the intervention arm of the trial. Data were available for 82 individuals, 67 of whom completed the 6 weeks assessment and attended a minimum of four online sessions. No significant differences were found between completers and drop-outs at baseline. At the end of the first week of participation, drop-outs from the 6 weeks assessment or the intervention reported less satisfaction with their work with the mentor delivering online guidance. Greater confidence in own ability to change and higher controlled motivation (willingness to change due to pressure from others) predicted lower drop-out rates from the 6 weeks assessment. Stronger alliance with the therapist at the treatment center and lower psychological distress were associated with greater autonomous motivation (self-directed motivation) and importance and ability to change. Data demonstrate that a novel online guided self-help intervention for patients with anorexia nervosa is feasible. Early satisfaction with the program and external pressure to change have a protective role against drop-out rates. Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02336841

Multitasking Compensatory Saccadic Training Program for Hemianopia Patients: A New Approach With 3-Dimensional Real-World Objects

Producción CientíficaPurpose: To examinewhether a noncomputerized multitasking compensatory saccadic training program (MCSTP) for patients with hemianopia, based on a reading regimen and eight exercises that recreate everyday visuomotor activities using threedimensional (3D) real-world objects, improves the visual ability/function, quality of life (QL), and functional independence (FI). Methods: The 3D-MCSTP included four in-office visits and two customized homebased daily training sessions over 12weeks. A quasiexperimental, pretest/posttest study designwas carried out with an intervention group (IG) (n = 20) and a no-training group (NTG) (n = 20) matched for age, hemianopia type, and brain injury duration. Results: The groups were comparable for the main baseline variables and all participants (n = 40) completed the study. The IGmainly showed significant improvements in visual-processing speed (57.34% ± 19.28%; P < 0.0001) and visual attention/retention ability (26.67% ± 19.21%; P < 0.0001), which also were significantly greater (P < 0.05) than in the NTG. Moreover, the IG showed large effect sizes (Cohen’s d) in 75% of the totalQL and FI dimensions analyzed; in contrast to the NTGthat showed negligiblemean effect sizes in 96% of these dimensions. Conclusions: The customized 3D-MCSTP was associated with a satisfactory response in the IG for improving complex visual processing, QL, and FI. Translational Relevance: Neurovisual rehabilitation of patientswith hemianopia seems more efficient when programs combine in-office visits and customized home-based training sessions based on real objects and simulating real-life conditions, than no treatment or previously reported computer-screen approaches, probably because of better stimulation of patients´ motivation and visual-processing speed brain mechanisms

Tutor and teacher timescapes : lessons from a home-school partnership

A partnership project was developed in which parents volunteered to support teachersin training years 1-3 children in computer skills at a primary school in a small, lowsocio-economic community. This article identifies the ways teachers and the &lsquo;tutors&rsquo;(as the volunteers were called) understood the value of the project. &lsquo;Being a teacher&rsquo;and &lsquo;being a volunteer&rsquo; were structured by different forms of social engagement,which in turn influenced the ways individuals were able to work with each other incollaborative processes. We argue that the discursive practices encoded in homeschool-community partnership rhetoric represent ruling-class ways of organising andnetworking that may be incompatible with those of people from low socio-economicbackgrounds. When such volunteers work in schools their attendance may be sporadicand short-term whereas teachers would like &lsquo;reliable&rsquo; ongoing commitment. Thismismatch wrought of teachers&rsquo; and volunteers&rsquo; differing everyday realities needs to beunderstood before useful models for partnerships in disadvantaged communities maybe realised.<br /

Performance of a small size telescope (SST-1M) camera for gamma-ray astronomy with the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The foreseen implementations of the Small Size Telescopes (SST) in CTA will provide unique insights into the highest energy gamma rays offering fundamental means to discover and under- stand the sources populating the Galaxy and our local neighborhood. Aiming at such a goal, the SST-1M is one of the three different implementations that are being prototyped and tested for CTA. SST-1M is a Davies-Cotton single mirror telescope equipped with a unique camera technology based on SiPMs with demonstrated advantages over classical photomultipliers in terms of duty-cycle. In this contribution, we describe the telescope components, the camera, and the trigger and readout system. The results of the commissioning of the camera using a dedicated test setup are then presented. The performances of the camera first prototype in terms of expected trigger rates and trigger efficiencies for different night-sky background conditions are presented, and the camera response is compared to end-to-end simulations.Comment: All CTA contributions at arXiv:1709.0348