Balloon Borne GPSsondes that Enable Simultaneous Multi-Point Atmospheric Sensing with a Single Ground Station

Balloon-borne radiosondes provide measurements of in-situ atmospheric data such as wind velocity, temperature, and pressure, amongst many others. The Space and Atmospheric Instrumentation Laboratory at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has developed low cost (\u3c $150, all inclusive) GPS-enabled radiosondes that are capable of having multiple balloons simultaneously in the air communicating to a single omni-directional ground station antenna. Each GPS-sonde is equipped with a GPS Module for zonal and meridional winds, thermistor for in-situ temperature, and a pressure sensor. Slant range of greater than 120km is achieved through low-cost LoRa radio modules. Interference-free transmission timing between multiple payloads is done by time division multiplexing. The current design allows for up to six payloads to be simultaneously airborne and transmit live atmospheric data through one ground station. A higher number of simultaneous transmissions are also possible, albeit with a minor hit to spatial resolution. We present the system design, complete with hardware and software details, as well data from our current test flights and plans for future development

Professionals’ decision-making in recommending communication aids in the UK : competing considerations

Existing research suggests the provision of communication aids for children with complex communication needs can have significant positive impacts on health and quality-of-life. The process of clinical decision-making related to the recommendation of high-tech communication aids is not well documented or evaluated, and research evidence related to the provision of these aids remains limited. This study aimed to understand the factors that specialized AAC professionals in the UK consider when recommending high-tech communication aids. Purposive sampling was used to recruit teams to six focus groups, each of which centred on a team’s recent recommendation process (i.e. a discussion following a real-time assessment session, where the team attempted to arrive at an agreed recommendation for a specific child). Thematic network analysis was used to interpret data from the focus group discussions. Participants identified a wide range of child characteristics, access features, and communication aid attributes in weighing up decisions for individual children. Findings suggest that specialized AAC professionals in the UK prioritize access features over language considerations in their communication aid recommendations. An explanatory model was developed to illustrate the interaction effect that several competing considerations may have on decision-making. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed

Developing effective practice learning for tomorrow's social workers

This paper considers some of the changes in social work education in the UK, particularly focusing on practice learning in England. The changes and developments are briefly identified and examined in the context of what we know about practice learning. The paper presents some findings from a small scale qualitative study of key stakeholders involved in practice learning and education in social work and their perceptions of these anticipated changes, which are revisited at implementation. The implications for practice learning are discussed

Training Models in Counseling Psychology: Scientist-Practitioner Versus Practitioner-Scholar

Considerable discussion has occurred through the years regarding models of training. With the recent accreditation of counseling psychology programs espousing the practitioner-scholar model, the importance of reexamining the merits of this as well as the traditional scientist-practitioner is now very important for the future of the field. This article consists of two positions: One pro practitioner-scholar and the other pro scientist-practitioner and con practitioner-scholar. The first position (first part of the article) by Biever, Patterson, and Welch argues for inclusion of the practitioner-scholar model as an alternative for training in counseling psychology. The second position (in the second part of the article) by Stoltenberg, Pace, and Kashubeck reviews concerns with two competing models. These authors conclude that the scientist-practitioner model is a better fit for training in counseling psychology. Recommendations for training within models are presented.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Evidence in action: a Thompsonian perspective on evidence-based decision-making in social work

Evidence-based practice presupposes evidence-based decision-making. In the debate it is argued that a social work fashioned after evidence should be more rational, less authoritarian and built on scientific knowledge, respect and ethics. Yet the empirical evidence that this idea works is weak. In fact the difficulties met during efforts to implement evidence could be a sound reaction. Indeed difficulties experienced could be a defensive organizational reaction to a new, disturbing technology. In this article James D. Thompson’s classical study Organizations in Action from 1967 is applied to evidence-based decision-making in social work. It shows to date that many problems have been given, at best, tenuous attention. It is argued that a focus on evidence will raise ambiguity and complexity levels within organizations and that new professional specialists will emerge. Further, new constellations of power will appear, leading to a change of balance within the domains of social work

Change in Blood Pressure Variability Among Treated Elderly Hypertensive Patients and Its Association With Mortality

Background: Information is scarce regarding effects of antihypertensive medication on blood pressure variability (BPV) and associated clinical outcomes. We examined whether antihypertensive treatment changes BPV over time and whether such change (decline or increase) has any association with long-term mortality in an elderly hypertensive population. Methods and Results: We used data from a subset of participants in the Second Australian National Blood Pressure study (n=496) aged ≥65 years who had 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure recordings at study entry (baseline) and then after a median of 2 years while on treatment (follow-up). Weighted day-night systolic BPV was calculated for both baseline and follow-up as a weighted mean of daytime and nighttime blood pressure standard deviations. The annual rate of change in BPV over time was calculated from these BPV estimates. Furthermore, we classified both BPV estimates as high and low based on the baseline median BPV value and then classified BPV changes into stable: low BPV, stable: high BPV, decline: high to low, and increase: low to high. We observed an annual decline (mean±SD: −0.37±1.95; 95% CI, −0.54 to −0.19; P<0.001) in weighted day-night systolic BPV between baseline and follow-up. Having constant stable: high BPV was associated with an increase in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio: 3.03; 95% CI, 1.67–5.52) and cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio: 3.70; 95% CI, 1.62–8.47) in relation to the stable: low BPV group over a median 8.6 years after the follow-up ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Similarly, higher risk was observed in the decline: high to low group. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that in elderly hypertensive patients, average BPV declined over 2 years of follow-up after initiation of antihypertensive therapy, and having higher BPV (regardless of any change) was associated with increased long-term mortality

Blended versus face-to-face: comparing student performance in a therapeutics class

Therapeutics is a very complex subject for every pharmacy student, since it requires the application of knowledge from several other disciplines. The study of therapeutics is often done in case-based learning in order to promote reflective thinking and give a scenario as real as possible. The objective of this study was to compare student performance between faceto-face (n = 54) and blended learning (n = 56) approaches to the teaching of therapeutics. They can confirm that there are statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between the final exam scores from both groups, being that the b learning group achieved higher scores. Blended learning seems to be an effective way to teach therapeutics, following pre established teaching methods, and above all, does not negatively affect student performance. It also provides new learning environments and strategies, and promotes the development of new skills such as learning and collaborating online, which may be relevant in a networked knowledge society.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio