Young people and ICT 2002: findings from a survey conducted in Autumn 2002

This report describes a survey that explored the attitudes and experiences of young people aged 5-18 and their parents, in relation to the use of information and communications technology (ICT) at home and at schoo

Increasing sustainability in co-design projects: A qualitative evaluation of a co-design programme in New Zealand

The Health Quality & Safety Commission New Zealand commissioned Ko Awatea, an innovation and improvement centre, to deliver a co-design programme to nine teams of healthcare providers. The co-design programme was part of Partners in Care, a broader programme developed in 2012 to support and enable patient engagement and participation across the health and disability sector. Teams received training, guidance and mentorship in Experience Based Design (EBD) methodology.1 We evaluated the co-design programme to explore barriers and facilitators to the sustainability of the co-design projects and the EBD approach. The evaluation involved seventeen semi-structured interviews with programme participants, including seven team members, five sponsors, four patients and the programme facilitator. A further two team members provided written feedback. Eight teams provided completed workbooks. Data from the interviews and workbooks was thematically analysed. Team members saw support from sponsors as important to increase visibility and successful completion of co-design projects, mitigate barriers, and to secure resources and buy-in from peers. Five of nine participating teams reported dissatisfaction with the support received. Communication and competing priorities were challenges to sponsor engagement. Sharing co-design skills with peers and alignment with organisational strategy were seen as important for sustainability. Teams identified lack of secured resources or staff time, and consumer or staff attrition as key barriers to sustainability. The conclusion: buy-in from sponsors and senior leaders, support from colleagues, user-friendliness of co-design tools, consumer and staff availability, alignment, and system or culture change were key factors that influenced project sustainability

Increasing patient engagement in healthcare service design: a qualitative evaluation of a co-design programme in New Zealand

The Health & Quality Safety Commission New Zealand commissioned Ko Awatea, an innovation and improvement centre, to deliver a co-design programme to nine teams of healthcare providers. The co-design programme was part of Partners in Care, a broader programme developed in 2012 to support and enable patient engagement and participation across the health and disability sector. In the current programme teams received training, guidance and mentorship in Experience Based Design (EBD) methodology through a one day masterclass, seven WebEx sessions, coaching calls, email and through the completion of workbooks. We evaluated the co-design programme to explore the experiences, challenges and solutions that participating teams encountered while engaging with patients in their projects. The evaluation involved seventeen semi-structured interviews with programme participants, including seven team members, five sponsors, four patients and the programme facilitator. A further two team members provided feedback in written form and eight of nine teams provided completed workbooks. Data from the interviews and workbooks was thematically analysed. Health professionals identified key challenges to patient engagement as capturing diverse experiences, clear communication of project details and the availability and health of the patient. Patients advised the importance of improved communication, planning in advance and providing feedback and assurance about the value of their contribution. There are several important considerations to secure and maintain patient engagement in co-design. These include tailored strategies for approaching patients and capturing their experiences, pre-existing relationships and continued rapport building between patients and health professionals, good communication throughout the project, planning, and visibility of outcomes

Assessment of infrasound signals recorded on seismic stations and infrasound arrays in the western United States using ground truth sources

The article of record as published may be located at https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggy042Funded by Naval Postgraduate SchoolGround truth sources in Utah during 2003–2013 are used to assess the contribution of temporal atmospheric conditions to infrasound detection and the predictive capabilities of atmospheric models. Ground truth sources consist of 28 long duration static rocket motor burn tests and 28 impulsive rocket body demolitions. Automated infrasound detections from a hybrid of regional seismometers and infrasound arrays use a combination of short-term time average/long-term time average ratios and spectral analyses. These detections are grouped into station triads using a Delaunay triangulation network and then associated to estimate phase velocity and azimuth to filter signals associated with a particular source location. The resulting range and azimuth distribution from sources to detecting stations varies seasonally and is consistent with predictions based on seasonal atmospheric models. Impulsive signals from rocket body detonations are observed at greater distances (>700 km) than the extended duration signals generated by the rocket burn test (up to 600 km). Infrasound energy attenuation associated with the two source types is quantified as a function of range and azimuth from infrasound amplitude measurements. Ray-tracing results using Ground-to-Space atmospheric specifica- tions are compared to these observations and illustrate the degree to which the time variations in characteristics of the observations can be predicted over a multiple year time period.The Naval Postgraduate School, under Grant No. N00244-14-1- 0002, funded this work.The Naval Postgraduate School, under Grant No. N00244-14-1- 0002, funded this work

Corticosteroids for the common cold

BACKGROUND: The common cold is a frequent illness, which, although benign and self limiting, results in many consultations to primary care and considerable loss of school or work days. Current symptomatic treatments have limited benefit. Corticosteroids are an effective treatment in other upper respiratory tract infections and their anti‐inflammatory effects may also be beneficial in the common cold. This updated review has included one additional study. OBJECTIVES: To compare corticosteroids versus usual care for the common cold on measures of symptom resolution and improvement in children and adults. SEARCH METHODS: We searched Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL 2015, Issue 4), which includes the Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) Group's Specialised Register, the Database of Reviews of Effects (DARE) (2015, Issue 2), NHS Health Economics Database (2015, Issue 2), MEDLINE (1948 to May week 3, 2015) and EMBASE (January 2010 to May 2015). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised, double‐blind, controlled trials comparing corticosteroids to placebo or to standard clinical management. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed trial quality. We were unable to perform meta‐analysis and instead present a narrative description of the available evidence. MAIN RESULTS: We included three trials (353 participants). Two trials compared intranasal corticosteroids to placebo and one trial compared intranasal corticosteroids to usual care; no trials studied oral corticosteroids. In the two placebo‐controlled trials, no benefit of intranasal corticosteroids was demonstrated for duration or severity of symptoms. The risk of bias overall was low or unclear in these two trials. In a trial of 54 participants, the mean number of symptomatic days was 10.3 in the placebo group, compared to 10.7 in those using intranasal corticosteroids (P value = 0.72). A second trial of 199 participants reported no significant differences in the duration of symptoms. The single‐blind trial in children aged two to 14 years, who were also receiving oral antibiotics, had inadequate reporting of outcome measures regarding symptom resolution. The overall risk of bias was high for this trial. Mean symptom severity scores were significantly lower in the group receiving intranasal steroids in addition to oral amoxicillin. One placebo‐controlled trial reported the presence of rhinovirus in nasal aspirates and found no differences. Only one of the three trials reported on adverse events; no differences were found. Two trials reported secondary bacterial infections (one case of sinusitis, one case of acute otitis media; both in the corticosteroid groups). A lack of comparable outcome measures meant that we were unable to combine the data. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence does not support the use of intranasal corticosteroids for symptomatic relief from the common cold. However, there were only three trials, one of which was very poor quality, and there was limited statistical power overall. Further large, randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trials in adults and children are required to answer this question

The effects of local stellar radiation and dust depletion on non-equilibrium interstellar chemistry

Interstellar chemistry is important for galaxy formation, as it determines the rate at which gas can cool, and enables us to make predictions for observable spectroscopic lines from ions and molecules. We explore two central aspects of modelling the chemistry of the interstellar medium (ISM): (1) the effects of local stellar radiation, which ionizes and heats the gas, and (2) the depletion of metals on to dust grains, which reduces the abundance of metals in the gas phase. We run high-resolution (400 M⊙ per baryonic particle) simulations of isolated disc galaxies, from dwarfs to Milky Way-mass, using the FIRE galaxy formation models together with the CHIMES non-equilibrium chemistry and cooling module. In our fiducial model, we couple the chemistry to the stellar fluxes calculated from star particles using an approximate radiative transfer scheme; and we implement an empirical density-dependent prescription for metal depletion. For comparison, we also run simulations with a spatially uniform radiation field, and without metal depletion. Our fiducial model broadly reproduces observed trends in H I and H2 mass with stellar mass, and in line luminosity versus star formation rate for [C II] 158μm , [O I] 63μm , [O III] 88μm , [N II] 122μm , and H α6563Å. Our simulations with a uniform radiation field predict fainter luminosities, by up to an order of magnitude for [O III] 88μm and H α6563Å, while ignoring metal depletion increases the luminosity of carbon and oxygen lines by a factor ~2. However, the overall evolution of the galaxy is not strongly affected by local stellar fluxes or metal depletion, except in dwarf galaxies where the inclusion of local fluxes leads to weaker outflows and hence higher gas fractions

Point-of-care diagnostic technology in paediatric ambulatory care: a qualitative interview study of English clinicians and stakeholders

Point-of-care (POC) tests have the potential to improve paediatric healthcare. However, both the development and evaluation of POC technology have almost solely been focused on adults. We aimed to explore frontline clinicians’ and stakeholders’ current experience of POC diagnostic technology in children in England; and to identify areas of unmet need. Design, setting and participants: Qualitative semistructured telephone interviews were carried out with purposively sampled participants from clinical paediatric ambulatory care and charity, industry and policymaking stakeholders. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Results: We interviewed 19 clinicians and 8 stakeholders. The main perceived benefits of POC tests and technologies were that they aided early decision-making and could be convenient and empowering when used independently by patients and families. Clinicians and stakeholders wanted more POC tests to be available for use in clinical practice. Most recognised that play and reward are important components of successful POC tests for children. Clinicians wanted tests to give them answers, which would result in a change in their clinical management. Detecting acute serious illness, notably distinguishing viral and bacterial infection, was perceived to be an area where tests could add value. POC tests were thought to be particularly useful for children presenting atypically, where diagnosis was more challenging, such as those less able to communicate, and for rare serious diseases. Many participants felt they could be useful in managing chronic disease. Conclusions: This exploratory study found that clinicians and stakeholders supported the use of diagnostic POC technology in paediatric ambulatory care settings in England. Some existing tests are not fit for purpose and could be refined. Industry should be encouraged to develop new child-friendly tests tackling areas of unmet need, guided by the preferred characteristics of those working on the ground