Integration of simulation and multimedia in automatically generated Internet courses

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47532-4_5This paper describes the automatic generation of simulation-based Internet courses by means of an object-oriented continuous simulation language (OOCSMP), and a compiler for this language (C-OOL). Several multimedia extensions added to the language are also described. These extensions provide the student with a better understanding of the simulated models. The paper finally describes a course developed using the multimedia extensions

Parental decisions about children's oral health behaviour - relative or absolute?

Objectives To test the extent to which parents' judgements about their children's oral health behaviour conform to the principles of a specific theory of cognitive decision making – Range-frequency Theory. Methods Experimental study with an opportunity sample of 121 parents of young children (3–6 years old) living in areas of relative deprivation in South Wales. Parents were allocated to four different experimental groups, and each completed a pen-and-paper exercise, which involved being presented with (and rating) how often other parents brushed their children's teeth. The brushing frequencies presented varied between the groups, directly test the rank and range principle of Range-frequency Theory. Results Parents' ratings of other toothbrushing frequencies were predicted by the range and rank principle of Range-frequency Theory. A comparison between Group 1 and Group 2 showed that parents' ratings of similar brushing frequencies were affected by their relative rank among other brushing frequencies presented. A comparison between Group 3 and Group 4 showed that parents in a group who were presented with a very high brushing frequency (21 times a week) rated all other brushing frequencies as relatively less healthy than the comparison group. Conclusions The principles of Range-frequency Theory predicted parents' judgement about children's oral health behaviour – specifically toothbrushing frequency. These findings provide a theoretical framework on which to develop future oral health education and interventions aimed at promoting twice-daily toothbrushing to parents of young children

Relationship Between the Cortisol-Estradiol Phase Difference and Affect in Women

Affective disorders impact women’s health, with a lifetime prevalence of over twelve per cent. They have been correlated with reproductive cycle factors, under the regulation of hormonal circadian rhythms. In affective disorders, circadian rhythms may become desynchronized. The circadian rhythms of cortisol and estradiol may play a role in affective disorders. The purpose of this study was to explore the temporal relationship between the rhythms of cortisol and estradiol and its relationship to affect. It was hypothesized that a cortisol-estradiol phase difference (PD) exists that correlates with optimal affect. A small scale, comparative, correlational design was used to test the hypothesis. Twenty-three women were recruited from an urban university. Salivary samples were collected over a twenty-four-hour period and fitted to a cosinor model. Subjective measures of affect were collected. Relationships between the cortisol-estradiol PD and affect were evaluated using a second-degree polynomial equation. Results demonstrated a significant correlation in affect measures (p \u3c 0.05). An optimal PD was identified for affect to be 3.6 hours. The phase relationship between cortisol and estradiol may play a role in the development of alterations in affective disorders

Perceptions of gay men’s masculinity are associated with sexual self-label, voice quality and physique

Like all other men, gay men may utilise stereotypically masculine attributes and behaviours in an attempt to accrue ‘masculine capital’, a term referring to the social power afforded by the display of traits and behaviours associated with orthodox, ‘hegemonic’ masculinity. Previous research findings suggest that gay sexual self-labels – conveying position preferences in anal intercourse between men – voice quality and muscularity may contribute to gay men’s masculine capital. This study examined the relative contribution to gay men’s masculine capital made by sexual self-labels, voice quality (deep/high-pitched) and physique (muscularity/thinness). It also assessed the beliefs gay men and straight people hold regarding the gendered nature of gay sexual self-labels in anal intercourse. Results from a survey of 538 participants showed that gay and straight people perceived the anally insertive sexual self-label as the most masculine and the anally receptive self-label the least masculine. The findings also revealed that voice quality and physique were more strongly associated with perceptions of gay men’s masculinity than their sexual self-label, although gay men who had masculine attributes and were anally receptive were perceived as less masculine than those who had the same attributes and were anally insertive

Herding Cats: Modelling, Simulation, Testing, and Data Mining for Weak Memory

We propose an axiomatic generic framework for modelling weak memory. We show how to instantiate this framework for SC, TSO, C++ restricted to release-acquire atomics, and Power. For Power, we compare our model to a preceding operational model in which we found a flaw. To do so, we define an operational model that we show equivalent to our axiomatic model. We also propose a model for ARM. Our testing on this architecture revealed a behaviour later acknowl-edged as a bug by ARM, and more recently 31 additional anomalies. We offer a new simulation tool, called herd, which allows the user to specify the model of his choice in a concise way. Given a specification of a model, the tool becomes a simulator for that model. The tool relies on an axiomatic description; this choice allows us to outperform all previous simulation tools. Additionally, we confirm that verification time is vastly improved, in the case of bounded model checking. Finally, we put our models in perspective, in the light of empirical data obtained by analysing the C and C++ code of a Debian Linux distribution. We present our new analysis tool, called mole, which explores a piece of code to find the weak memory idioms that it uses

An examination of the construct validity of the Generalized Pliance Questionnaire

The Generalized Pliance Questionnaire (GPQ) was originally validated against measures of psychological flexibility and psychological distress. However, measures which have substantial conceptual overlap with the GPQ (e.g., the Need to Belong Scale [NTBS], Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale [BFNE]) were not examined. The present study seeks to investigate the construct validity of the GPQ-9. As expected, data from a survey of 272 participants indicated significant large correlations between the GPQ-9 and NTBS and BFNE respectively. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the unidimensional structure of the GPQ-9. A structural equation model revealed that the BFNE (and not the GPQ-9 or NTBS) was significantly associated with psychological flexibility and psychological distress. Implications of these tentative preliminary findings suggest that the GPQ may be a more sensitive measure than the BFNE for ACT research

Factors affecting the identification of individual mountain bongo antelope

The recognition of individuals forms the basis of many endangered species monitoring protocols. This process typically relies on manual recognition techniques. This study aimed to calculate a measure of the error rates inherent within the manual technique and also sought to identify visual traits that aid identification, using the critically endangered mountain bongo, Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci, as a model system. Identification accuracy was assessed with a matching task that required same/different decisions to side-by-side pairings of individual bongos. Error rates were lowest when only the flanks of bongos were shown, suggesting that the inclusion of other visual traits confounded accuracy. Accuracy was also higher for photographs of captive animals than camera-trap images, and in observers experienced in working with mountain bongos, than those unfamiliar with the sub-species. These results suggest that the removal of non-essential morphological traits from photographs of bongos, the use of high-quality images, and relevant expertise all help increase identification accuracy. Finally, given the rise in automated identification and the use of citizen science, something our results would suggest is applicable within the context of the mountain bongo, this study provides a framework for assessing their accuracy in individual as well as species identification

A Music-Related Quality of Life measure to guide music rehabilitation for adult CI users

Purpose: A music-related quality of life (MuRQoL) questionnaire was developed for the evaluation of music rehabilitation for adult cochlear implant (CI) users. The present studies were aimed at refinement and validation. Method: Twenty-four experts reviewed the MuRQoL items for face validity. A refined version was completed by 147 adult CI users and psychometric techniques were used for item selection, assessment of reliability and definition of the factor structure. The same participants completed the Short Form Health Survey for construct validation. MuRQoL responses from 68 CI users were compared with those of a matched group of normal-hearing (NH) adults. Results: Eighteen items measuring music perception & engagement and 18 items measuring their importance were selected; they grouped together into two domains. The final questionnaire has high internal consistency and repeatability. Significant differences between CI users and NH adults and a correlation between music engagement and quality of life (QoL) support construct validity. Scores of music perception & engagement and importance for the 18 items can be combined to assess the impact of music on the QoL. Conclusion: The MuRQoL questionnaire is a reliable and valid measure of self-reported music perception, engagement and their importance for adult CI users with potential to guide music aural rehabilitation

What is taught about dementia in secondary schools? A survey of schools in Sussex, England (innovative practice)

Local dementia education initiatives exist in schools but it is unclear what the wider uptake of such programmes are. A self-created survey was sent to staff in a number of secondary schools (teaching ages 11-16) across Sussex, England. Sixty schools responded to the survey (response rate = 58%). While the majority of schools expressed an interest in including some form of dementia education within their school in the future, only nine schools (15%) currently had dementia education embedded within their curriculum. Despite government calls to reduce stigma and improve attitudes towards dementia, it seems very little is being taught in secondary schools on the topic

Extending the assessment of patient-centredness in health care:Development of the updated Valuing Patients as Individuals Scale using exploratory factor analysis

Aims and objectives\ud \ud To update and re-validate the Valuing Patients as Individuals Scale for use as a patient appraisal of received healthcare.\ud \ud \ud Background\ud \ud Healthcare in the United Kingdom and beyond is required to deliver high quality, person-centred care that is clinically effective and safe. However, patient experience is not uniform, and complaints often focus on the way patients have been treated. Legislation in United Kingdom requires health services to gather and use patients' evaluations of care to improve services.\ud \ud \ud Design\ud \ud This study uses scoping literature reviews, cognitive testing of questionnaire items with patient and healthcare staff focus groups, and exploratory factor analysis.\ud \ud \ud Methods/Setting/Participants\ud \ud Data were collected from 790 participants across 34 wards in two acute hospitals in one National Health Service Health Board in Scotland from September 2011–February 2012. Ethics and Research and Development approval were obtained.\ud \ud \ud Results\ud \ud Fifty six unique items identified through literature review were added to 72 original Valuing Patients as Individuals Scale items. Face validity interviews removed ambiguous or low relevance items leaving 88 items for administration to patients. Two hundred and ninety questionnaires were returned, representing 37% response rate, 71 were incomplete. Thus 219 complete data were used for Exploratory Factor Analysis with varimax orthogonal rotation. This revealed a 31 item, three factor solution, Care and Respect; Understanding and Engagement; Patient Concerns, with good reliability, concurrent and discriminant validity in terms of gender. A shortened 10 item measure based on the top 3 or 4 loading items on each scale was comparable.\ud \ud \ud \ud Relevance to clinical practice\ud \ud The short scale version is now being routinized in real-time evaluation of patient experience contributing to this United Kingdom, National Health Service setting meeting its policy and legislative requirements.\ud \ud \ud \ud \ud \ud \ud \ud \ud \ud \ud \ud \ud \ud \ud What does this paper contribute to the wider global clinical community?\ud •The updated Valuing Patients as Individuals Scale;\ud •Is a reliable and valid measure specifically designed to capture the issues that matter most to people receiving secondary care.\ud •Has been developed based upon current conceptualisations of person-centred care and the clinical practices required to deliver this.\ud •May be used within service improvement work as a trigger to ensure person-centred care delivery