A Mobile App Delivering a Gamified Battery of Cognitive Tests Designed for Repeated Play (OU Brainwave): App Design and Cohort Study

Background: Mobile phone and tablet apps are an increasingly common platform to collect data. A key challenge for researchers has been participant “buy-in” and participant attrition for designs requiring repeated testing. Objective: The objective of this study was to develop and asses the utility of 1 – 2 minute versions of both classic and novel cognitive tasks within a user focussed and driven mobile phone and tablet app designed to encourage repeated play. Methods: A large sample (N = 13,979 at first data collection) participated in multiple, self-paced, sessions of working memory (N-back), spatial cognition (Mental rotation), sustained attentional focus (Persistent Vigilance task), and split attention (Multiple object tracking) tasks along with an implementation of a novel action learning task. A full morningness-eveningness questionnaire was also included. Data was collected across an 18 month period. While the app prompted reengagement at set intervals, each participant was free to repeatedly complete each task as many times as they wished. Results: We found a significant relationship between morningness and age (r = 0.298, n = 12755, p Conclusions: Using extremely short testing periods and permitting participants to decide their own level of engagement - both in terms of which gamified task they played, and how many sessions they completed - we were able to collect a substantial and valid dataset. We suggest that the success of OU brainwave should inform future research oriented apps - particularly in issues around balancing participant engagement with data fidelity

What are the ‘active ingredients’ of interventions targeting the public's engagement with antimicrobial resistance and how might they work?

Objectives. Changing public awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a global public health priority. A systematic review of interventions that targeted public AMR awareness and associated behaviour was previously conducted. Here, we focus on identifying the active content of these interventions and explore potential mechanisms of action. Methods. The project took a novel approach to intervention mapping utilizing the following steps: (1) an exploration of explicit and tacit theory and theoretical constructs within the interventions using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDFv2), (2) retrospective coding of behaviour change techniques (BCTs) using the BCT Taxonomy v1, and (3) an investigation of coherent links between the TDF domains and BCTs across the interventions. Results. Of 20 studies included, only four reported an explicit theoretical basis to their intervention. However, TDF analysis revealed that nine of the 14 TDF domains were utilized, most commonly ‘Knowledge’ and ‘Environmental context and resources’. The BCT analysis showed that all interventions contained at least one BCT, and 14 of 93 (15%) BCTs were coded, most commonly ‘Information about health consequences’, ‘Credible source’, and ‘Instruction on how to perform the behaviour’. Conclusions. We identified nine relevant TDF domains and 14 BCTs used in these interventions. Only 15% of BCTs have been applied in AMR interventions thus providing a clear opportunity for the development of novel interventions in this context. This methodological approach provides a useful way of retrospectively mapping theoretical constructs and BCTs when reviewing studies that provide limited information on theory and intervention content

Silencing accounts of silenced sexualities

About the book: Feminist research is informed by a history of breaking silences, of demanding that women's voices be heard, recorded and included in wider intellectual genealogies and histories. This has led to an emphasis on voice and speaking out in the research endeavour. Moments of secrecy and silence are less often addressed. This gives rise to a number of questions. What are the silences, secrets, omissions and and political consequences of such moments? What particular dilemmas and constraints do they represent or entail? What are their implications for research praxis? Are such moments always indicative of voicelessness or powerlessness? Or may they also constitute a productive moment in the research encounter? Contributors to this volume were invited to reflect on these questions. The resulting chapters are a fascinating collection of insights into the research process, making an important contribution to theoretical and empirical debates about epistemology, subjectivity and identity in research. Researchers often face difficult dilemmas about who to represent and how, what to omit and what to include. This book explores such questions in a fascinating collection of essays from international scholar

Gay fathers, gay citizenship: on the power of reproductive futurism and assimilation

Edelman's (2004) new ethics of queer theory is focussed on the all-pervasive image of the child, which he argues provides the foundation for the hegemonic politics of 'reproductive futurism'. His searing criticism raises important questions for sexual citizenship and particularly the gay parent as citizen. Edelman's argument that queers should abandon accommodation and instead embrace their position as the figure of negativity offers a challenge to all those gay men that seek to be fathers. In this paper I critically engage with Edelman's arguments and explore the implications of a queer rejection of reproductive futurism and parental privilege through an empirical investigation of young gay men's stories about the possibility of becoming fathers. I argue that whilst Edelman's uncompromising stance serves to open a space for gay men embracing the jouissance that is increasingly being abandoned through an assimilationist desire for citizenship it also, more problematically, closes down possibilities for gay men and thus further reinforces present inequalities in citizenship. Is negativity the only option in the face of the onslaught of reproductive futurism or might there be a dialectical solution that is at once radically queer but also reflective of the variety of claims for sexual citizenship

Existential Coaching Psychology

In this article I seek to elaborate a model of existential coaching psychology that is both grounded in existentialphenomenological philosophy but also informed by work in coaching. To date, many attempts to develop anexistential approach to coaching have – in my view – described an approach to coaching that is either indistinguishablefrom existential counselling and psychotherapy or a rather crude form of technical eclecticism.In this article, I discuss the key elements of existential coaching, as I understand it, and the need to modify theexistential therapeutic approach for coaching practise. To this end, I draw on extant work on coaching and,in particular, the need for both a goal and solution directed approach if an existential model of psychologicalcoaching is going to provide the basis for effective practise

Art as a pathway to impact: Understanding the affective experience of public engagement with film

The need for social as well as academic impact in social science research is now well established. Art is increasingly being explored as a means of generating social impact, most commonly as a means for engaging the public with research findings, but to date with little exploration of the process of engagement itself. In this study, we set out to explore the power of art to engage the public. We do this by examining the ‘affective’ experience of engagement through a qualitative investigation using one-to-one interviews and a modified visual matrix exercise. In this article we report on the findings from our analysis of the affective experience of watching a film series, and through this discuss the use of film to communicate research findings and value of a novel qualitative psychosocial methodology for exploring the process of public engagement

Existential Coaching Psychology

In this article I seek to elaborate a model of existential coaching psychology that is both grounded in existentialphenomenological philosophy but also informed by work in coaching. To date, many attempts to develop anexistential approach to coaching have – in my view – described an approach to coaching that is either indistinguishablefrom existential counselling and psychotherapy or a rather crude form of technical eclecticism.In this article, I discuss the key elements of existential coaching, as I understand it, and the need to modify theexistential therapeutic approach for coaching practise. To this end, I draw on extant work on coaching and,in particular, the need for both a goal and solution directed approach if an existential model of psychologicalcoaching is going to provide the basis for effective practise

The Psychology of Puppy Play:A Phenomenological Investigation

This article presents a phenomenological investigation into the experience of engaging in a sexual practice known as “puppy play,” where participants role-play being puppies or handlers (those that look after or own puppies), often within a dominance/submission sexual context. Only one previous study has been conducted on this phenomenon and the present study sought to provide new knowledge about the meaning of this practice for participants. We conducted a qualitative analysis of data derived from 68 individual experience descriptions and 25 semi-structured interviews with puppies and handlers. Through the use of a phenomenological methodology focused on experience, we have identified the key constituents that comprise this phenomenon and help make sense of peoples’ desire to participate. The five themes include: (1) sexual pleasure; (2) relaxation, therapy and escape from self; (3) adult play and vibrant physicality; (4) extending and expressing selfhood; (5) relationships and community. We discuss this practice/identity in the context of enjoyment of the dominant/submissive sexual element, the perceived benefits of a form of mindful adult play, the opportunity to explore aspects of selfhood, and the value of relationships and community membership

Means-end analysis of consumers’ perceptions of virtual world affordances for e-commerce

Virtual worlds are three-dimensional (3D) persistent multi-user online environments where users interact through avatars. The affordances of virtual worlds can be useful for business-to-consumer e-commerce. Moreover, affordances of virtual worlds can complement affordances of websites to provide consumers with an enhanced e-commerce experience. We investigated which affordances of virtual worlds can enhance consumers‟ experiences on e-commerce websites. We conducted laddering interviews with 30 virtual world consumers to understand their perceptions of virtual world affordances. A means-end analysis was then applied to the interview data. The results suggest co-presence, product discovery, 3D product experience, greater interactivity with products and sociability are some of the key virtual world affordances for consumers. We discuss theoretical implications of the research using dimensions from the Technology Acceptance Model. We also discuss practical implications, such as how virtual world affordances can be incorporated into the design of e-commerce websites

Political Contest and Oppositional Voices in Postconflict Democracy:The Impact of Institutional Design on Government–Media Relations

The media are considered to play a crucial democratic role in the public sphere through representing political issues to the public (Gelders et al. 2007); facilitating deliberation, public opinion formation and political participation (Habermas 1989); acting as the 'watchdog' of powerful societal institutions (Norris 2000); and in assisting in the development of civil society in politically fragile and divided contexts (Taylor 2000). Journalists are expected to perform their news reporting within the framework of public interest values, such as objectivity, impartiality, public service, autonomy, and a critical questioning of power (Street 2001). Yet, it is acknowledged that political, cultural, organisational, economic, and relational factors affect this journalistic ideal (Davis 2010). In deeply divided, post-conflict societies, ethno-political antagonisms are fundamental to almost all aspects of civic life, yet there is limited research into how government-media relations operate in such contexts. Most media-politics studies focus on Western majoritarian parliamentary or presidential systems - that is, any system that has clear ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ after elections - and where institutional factors are considered, the focus is largely on how party systems impact on journalism (e.g. Çarkoğlu et al. 2014; Hallin and Mancini 2004; Sheafer and Wolfsfeld 2009). This focus however, neglects important institutional variables, such as mandatory coalition, proportionality and special cross-community voting arrangements, which pertain in more constitutionally complex democracies and which may have a significant impact on media-politics relations