ULEARN: Personalised Learner’s Profile Based On Dynamic Learning Style Questionnaire

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version.E-Learning recommender system effectiveness re- lies upon their ability to recommend appropriate learning con- tents according to the learner learning style and preferences. An effective approach to handle the learner preferences is to build an efficient learner profile in order to gain adaptation and individualisation of the learning environment. It is usually necessary to know learning style and preferences of the learner on a domain before adapting the learning process and course content. This study focuses on identifying the learning styles of students in order to adapt the learning process and course content. ULEARN is an adaptive recommender learning system designed to provide learners with personalised learning environment such as course learning objects that match their adaptive profile. This paper presents the algorithm used in ULEARN to reduce dynamically the number of questions in Felder-Silverman learning style ques- tionnaire used to initialise the adaptive learner profile. Firstly, the questionnaire is restructured into four groups, one for each learning style dimension; and a study is carried out to determine the order in which questions will be asked in each dimension. Then an algorithm is built upon this ranking of questions to calculate dynamically the initial learning style of the user as they go through the questionnaire

Managing obesity through mobile phone applications: a state-of-the-art review from a user-centred design perspective

Evidence has shown that the trend of increasing obesity rates has continued in the last decade. Mobile phone applications, benefiting from their ubiquity, have been increasingly used to address this issue. In order to increase the applications’ acceptance and success, a design and development process that focuses on users, such as User-Centred Design, is necessary. This paper reviews reported studies that concern the design and development of mobile phone applications to prevent obesity, and analyses them from a User-Centred Design perspective. Based on the review results, strengths and weaknesses of the existing studies were identified. Identified strengths included: evidence of the inclusion of multidisciplinary skills and perspectives; user involvement in studies; and the adoption of iterative design practices. Weaknesses included the lack of specificity in the selection of end-users and inconsistent evaluation protocols. The review was concluded by outlining issues and research areas that need to be addressed in the future, including: greater understanding of the effectiveness of sharing data between peers; privacy; and guidelines for designing for behavioural change through mobile phone applications

Improving Adherence and Clinical Outcomes in Self-Guided Internet Treatment for Anxiety and Depression: A 12-Month Follow-Up of a Randomised Controlled Trial

Background: A recent paper reported the outcomes of a study examining a new self-guided internet-delivered treatment, the Wellbeing Course, for symptoms of anxiety or depression. This study found the intervention resulted in significant symptom reductions. It also found that automated emails increased treatment completion and clinical improvements in a subsample with elevated anxiety and depression. Aims: To examine the clinical outcomes and the effect of automated emails at 12 months post-treatment. Method: Participants, who were randomly allocated to a Treatment Plus Automated Emails Group (TEG; n = 100), a standard Treatment Group (TG; n = 106) or delayed-treatment Waitlist Control Group (Control; n = 51), were followed up at 12 months post-treatment. Eighty-one percent, 78% and 87% of participants in the TEG, TG and treated Waitlist Control Group provided symptom data at 12-month follow-up, respectively. The primary outcome measures were the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Item Scale (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Item Scale (GAD-7).Results: Significant improvements in symptoms of anxiety and depression were observed over time in both the TEG and TG (Fs >69, ps .05), and were associated with large effect sizes. No statistically significant differences in symptoms were found between the TEG and TG at post-treatment, 3-month or 12-month follow-up. Previously reported symptom differences between TEG and TG participants with comorbid symptoms were no longer present at 12-month follow-up (ps >.70).Conclusions: The overall benefits of the Wellbeing Course were sustained at 12-month follow-up. Although automated emails facilitated Course completion and reductions in symptoms for participants with comorbid anxiety and depression from pre-post treatment, these differences were no longer observed at 12-month follow-up. The results indicate that automated emails promote more rapid treatment response for people with elevated and comorbid symptoms, but may not improve longer term outcomes

Identification and thermochemical analysis of high-lignin feedstocks for biofuel and biochemical production

Background - Lignin is a highly abundant biopolymer synthesized by plants as a complex component of plant secondary cell walls. Efforts to utilize lignin-based bioproducts are needed. Results - Herein we identify and characterize the composition and pyrolytic deconstruction characteristics of high-lignin feedstocks. Feedstocks displaying the highest levels of lignin were identified as drupe endocarp biomass arising as agricultural waste from horticultural crops. By performing pyrolysis coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, we characterized lignin-derived deconstruction products from endocarp biomass and compared these with switchgrass. By comparing individual pyrolytic products, we document higher amounts of acetic acid, 1-hydroxy-2-propanone, acetone and furfural in switchgrass compared to endocarp tissue, which is consistent with high holocellulose relative to lignin. By contrast, greater yields of lignin-based pyrolytic products such as phenol, 2-methoxyphenol, 2-methylphenol, 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol and 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol arising from drupe endocarp tissue are documented. Conclusions - Differences in product yield, thermal decomposition rates and molecular species distribution among the feedstocks illustrate the potential of high-lignin endocarp feedstocks to generate valuable chemicals by thermochemical deconstruction

Statistical design and analysis in trials of proportionate interventions: a systematic review

Background: In proportionate or adaptive interventions, the dose or intensity can be adjusted based on individual need at predefined decision stages during the delivery of the intervention. The development of such interventions may require an evaluation of the effectiveness of the individual stages in addition to the whole intervention. However, evaluating individual stages of an intervention has various challenges, particularly the statistical design and analysis. This review aimed to identify the use of trials of proportionate interventions and how they are being designed and analysed in current practice. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Web of Science and PsycINFO for articles published between 2010 and 2015 inclusive. We considered trials of proportionate interventions in all fields of research. For each trial, its aims, design and analysis were extracted. The data synthesis was conducted using summary statistics and a narrative format. Results: Our review identified 44 proportionate intervention trials, comprising 28 trial results, 13 protocols and three secondary analyses. These were mostly described as stepped care (n=37) and mainly focussed on mental health research (n=30). The other studies were aimed at finding an optimal adaptive treatment strategy (n=7) in a variety of therapeutic areas. Further terminology used included adaptive intervention, staged intervention, sequentially multiple assignment trial or a two-phase design. The median number of decision stages in the interventions was two and only one study explicitly evaluated the effect of the individual stages. Conclusions: Trials of proportionate staged interventions are being used predominantly within the mental health field. However, few studies consider the different stages of the interventions, either at the design or the analysis phase, and how they may interact with one another. There is a need for further guidance on the design, analyses and reporting across trials of proportionate interventions

The sexual difference around hetero-sexism and queerness; philosophical-sociological perspectives

The following pages are intended to show why sexual difference constitutes a category that surpasses both the traditional hetero-normative model and the postmodern multiplication of infinite self-determined genders. Both false alternatives are founded on a dualistic framework that separates and excludes some kind of fixed and eternal abstract entities, on the one hand, and on the other, finite signifiers that are increasingly fragmented. Sexual difference, on the contrary, allows us to posit the self-differing and immanent multiplicity of each sex without the need to reify or eliminate them

Marketing, Technology, and Medicine: Recommendations on How to Incorporate Psychological Principles into New Technologies to Promote Healthy Behaviors

Although technologies have provided new forms of entertainment and improved our work efficiency, they have also reduced our need to engage in healthy physical activities. We believe that the psychological principles that make sedentary entertainment technologies (such as television and video games) engaging can be incorporated into new technologies to make new technologies both engaging and promote healthy behaviors. This short report aims to 1) describe how technology has traditionally reduced motivation to engage in health behaviors, 2) discuss key elements that may make sedentary technology (in this case, television) engaging, and 3) provide examples of how these same elements can be incorporated into new technologies to increase engagement and promote health behaviors