Population data centre profile - The Western Australian data linkage branch

Established in 1995, the Western Australian Data Linkage Branch (DLB) is Australia’s longest running data linkage agency. The Western Australian Data Linkage System (WADLS) employs an enduring linkage model spanning over 60 data collections supported by internally developed and supported software and IT infrastructure. DLB has delivered, and continues to deliver, a range of significant data linkage innovations, many of which have been adopted elsewhere. A current restructure within the Western Australian Department of Health (which we will refer to as the Department of Health) will provide an improved funding model geared toward addressing issues with staff retention, capacity and customer service, as well as fostering improvements to data management, governance and availability. Research using linked data provided by DLB has been used in over 800 projects resulting in over 2350 publications and outcomes for policy development, service delivery and public health. Demand continues to grow for data linkage services and with the Department of Health’s bolstered commitment to resourcing, DLB looks forward to a future for data linkage in Western Australia that is sustainable, high quality, efficient, and safe

Dissociation of structural and functional integrities of the motor system in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia

Background and Purpose: This study investigated the structural and functional changes in the motor system in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; n=25) and behavioral-variant fronto-temporal dementia (bvFTD; n=17) relative to healthy controls (n=37). Methods: Structural changes were examined using a region-of-interest approach, applying voxel-based morphometry for gray-matter changes and diffusion tensor imaging for white-matter changes. Functional changes in the motor system were elucidated using threshold-tracking transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) measurements of upper motor-neuron excitability. Results: The structural analyses showed that in ALS there were more white-matter changes in the corticospinal and motor-cortex regions and more gray-matter changes in the cerebellum in comparison to controls. bvFTD showed substantial gray- and white-matter changes across virtually all motor-system regions compared to controls, although the brainstem was affected less than the other regions. Direct comparisons across patient groups showed that the gray- and white-matter motor-system changes inclusive of the motor cortex were greater in bvFTD than in ALS. By contrast, the functional integrity of the motor system was more adversely affected in ALS than in bvFTD, with both patient groups showing increased excitability of upper motor neurons compared to controls. Conclusions: Cross-correlation of structural and functional data further revealed a neural dissociation of different motor-system regions and tracts covarying with the TMS excitability across both patient groups. The structural and functional motor-system integrities appear to be dissociated between ALS and bvFTD, which represents useful information for the diagnosis of motor-system changes in these two disorders

User Interface Device with Actuated Buttons

A user interface device with actuated buttons is described. In an embodiment, the user interface device comprises two or more buttons and the motion of the buttons is controlled by actuators under software control such that their motion is inter-related. The position or motion of the buttons may provide a user with feedback about the current state of a software program they are using or provide them with enhanced user input functionality. In another embodiment, the ability to move the buttons is used to reconfigure the user interface buttons and this may be performed dynamically, based on the current state of the software program, or may be performed dependent upon the software program being used. The user interface device may be a peripheral device, such as a mouse or keyboard, or may be integrated within a computing device such as a games device

Can we use digital life-log images to investigate active and sedentary travel behaviour? Results from a pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Active travel such as walking and cycling has potential to increase physical activity levels in sedentary individuals. Motorised car travel is a sedentary behaviour that contributes to carbon emissions. There have been recent calls for technology that will improve our ability to measure these travel behaviours, and in particular evaluate modes and volumes of active versus sedentary travel. The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate the potential efficacy of a new electronic measurement device, a wearable digital camera called SenseCam, in travel research.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants (n = 20) were required to wear the SenseCam device for one full day of travel. The device automatically records approximately 3,600 time-stamped, first-person point-of-view images per day, without any action required by the wearer. Participants also completed a self-report travel diary over the same period for comparison, and were interviewed afterwards to assess user burden and experience.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were a total of 105 confirmed journeys in this pilot. The new SenseCam device recorded more journeys than the travel diary (99 vs. 94). Although the two measures demonstrated an acceptable correlation for journey duration (r = 0.92, p < 0.001) self-reported journey duration was over-reported (mean difference 154 s per journey; 95% CI = 89 to 218 s; 95% limits of agreement = 154 ± 598 s (-444 to 752 s)). The device also provided visual data that was used for directed interviews about sources of error.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Direct observation of travel behaviour from time-stamped images shows considerable potential in the field of travel research. Journey duration derived from direct observation of travel behaviour from time-stamped images appears to suggest over-reporting of self-reported journey duration.</p

Angola 2001/2002. Key Development Issues and Aid in a Context of Peace

This is the third report on Angola under the Country Advisor Agreement between the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and Chr. Michelsen Institute. The report consists of a part I synthesising and assessing existing information regarding political, economic and social developments in Angola, and a Part II focussing on development aid in a context of peace. This is done through contributions on the economy, the state and civil society by leading social scientists on Angola, originally presented at the seminar “Preparing for Peace. Workshop on Future Swedish and Norwegian Development Cooperation with Angola” hosted by CMI 8-9 April 2002

The smartphone as a platform for wearable cameras in health research

Background: The SenseCam, a small camera that is worn on the chest via a lanyard, is increasingly being deployed in a health research. However, the SenseCam is not yet in widespread use due to a variety of factors. It is proposed that the ubiquitous smartphone can provide a more accessible alternative to the SenseCam. Purpose: To perform an initial evaluation of the potential of the smartphone to become an alternative to the SenseCam. Methods: Adults were supplied with a smartphone running lifelogging software which they wore on a lanyard. Participants wore the smartphone for up to a day and the resulting lifelog data was both manually annotated and automatically analyzed for the presence of visual concepts. The results were compared to prior work using the SenseCam. Results: In total 166,000 smartphone photos were gathered from 47 individuals, along with associated sensor readings. The average time spent wearing the device across all users was 5 hours and 39 minutes (± 4 hours 11 minutes SD). A subset of 36,698 photos was selected for manual annotation by 5 researchers. Software analysis of these photos supports the automatic identification of activities to a similar level of accuracy as for SenseCam images in a previous study. Conclusions: Many aspects of the functionality of a SenseCam can largely be replicated, and in some cases enhanced, by the ubiquitous smartphone platform. This makes the smartphone a good candidate for a new generation of wearable sensing devices in health research, due to its widespread use across many populations. It is envisioned that the smartphone will provide a compelling alternative to the dedicated SenseCam hardware for a number of users and application areas. This will be achieved by integrating new types of sensor data, leveraging the smartphone’s real-time connectivity and rich user interface, and providing support for a range of relatively sophisticated applications

Physical computing:A key element of modern computer science education

Policymakers and educators around the globe acknowledge the importance of computer science (CS) education. But traditional CS teaching tools and methodologies do not necessarily address the needs of a diverse, global student population or the latest developments in modern programming and data science. Physical computing – combining software and hardware to build interactive physical systems that sense and respond to the real world – has been shown to result in broad engagement across a spectrum of users. In this paper we review prior research into physical computing in the classroom and combine this with our own experiences. We summarise the reported benefits and show how recent trends in the design and implementation of physical computing devices and systems are resulting in growing adoption. By way of example, we provide a detailed description of a recently developed physical computing system, the BBC micro:bit

PrintSense: a versatile sensing technique to support multimodal flexible surface interaction

We present a multimodal on-surface and near-surface sensing technique for planar, curved and flexible surfaces. Our technique leverages temporal multiplexing of signals coming from a universal interdigitated electrode design, which is printed as a single conductive layer on a flexible substrate. It supports sensing of touch and proximity input, and moreover is capable of capturing several levels of pressure and flexing. We leverage recent developments in conductive inkjet printing as a way to prototype electrode patterns, and combine this with our hardware module for supporting the full range of sensing methods. As the technique is low-cost and easy to implement, it is particularly well-suited for prototyping touch- and hover-based user interfaces, including curved and deformable ones