Transportation Active Safety Institute

poster abstractSince its founding in February 2006, the mission of the Transportation Active Safety Institute (TASI) has been to advance the use of active safety systems to reduce vehicle crashes and save lives. TASI was one of 10 centers awarded IUPUI Signature Center funding in January, 2008. With core faculty drawn from ten departments representing eight schools, the Transportation Active Safety Institute (TASI) is a university-wide interdisciplinary center for advanced automotive-safety research and development on the IUPUI campus. Partnership with industry, government, and non-profit agencies ensures that university research activities complement existing technologies and address existing and future needs. TASI aims to provide a neutral forum for pre-competitive discussion and development of standards and test methodologies for establishing objective benefits of active-safety systems. TASI has established a driving simulator laboratory for research into driver behavior and for testing active-safety system performance. The state-of-the-art DriveSafety DS-600c Driving Simulator is providing a flexible and realistic driving environment for industry, government, and internally sponsored research. This reconfigurable platform allows TASI to test various sensors and driver interfaces, in order to determine effective and convenient solutions to challenges in enhancing safety. TASI held its third workshop, the International Workshop on Research in Active Safety Technology, August 10-11, 2009, in Indianapolis and is currently planning an international workshop on human factors for August 2010. TASI has established an active dialog with other vehicle safety centers around the world through our Global Academic Network for Active Safety

Implementation and evaluation of a multi-level mental health promotion intervention for the workplace (MENTUPP): study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

Background Well-organised and managed workplaces can be a source of wellbeing. The construction, healthcare and information and communication technology sectors are characterised by work-related stressors (e.g. high workloads, tight deadlines) which are associated with poorer mental health and wellbeing. The MENTUPP intervention is a flexibly delivered, multi-level approach to supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in creating mentally healthy workplaces. The online intervention is tailored to each sector and designed to support employees and leaders dealing with mental health difficulties (e.g. stress), clinical level anxiety and depression, and combatting mental health-related stigma. This paper presents the protocol for the cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT) of the MENTUPP intervention in eight European countries and Australia. Methods Each intervention country will aim to recruit at least two SMEs in each of the three sectors. The design of the cRCT is based on the experiences of a pilot study and guided by a Theory of Change process that describes how the intervention is assumed to work. SMEs will be randomly assigned to the intervention or control conditions. The aim of the cRCT is to assess whether the MENTUPP intervention is effective in improving mental health and wellbeing (primary outcome) and reducing stigma, depression and suicidal behaviour (secondary outcome) in employees. The study will also involve a process and economic evaluation. Conclusions At present, there is no known multi-level, tailored, flexible and accessible workplace-based intervention for the prevention of non-clinical and clinical symptoms of depression, anxiety and burnout, and the promotion of mental wellbeing. The results of this study will provide a comprehensive overview of the implementation and effectiveness of such an intervention in a variety of contexts, languages and cultures leading to the overall goal of delivering an evidence-based intervention for mental health in the workplace

How is tailored implementation undertaken using a self-guided toolkit? Qualitative study of the ItFits-toolkit in the ImpleMentAll project

BackgroundThe process of tailored implementation is ill-defined and under-explored. The ItFits-toolkit was developed and subsequently tested as a self-guided online platform to facilitate implementation of tailored strategies for internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) services. In ImpleMentAll, ItFits-toolkit had a small but positive effect on the primary outcome of iCBT normalisation. This paper investigates, from a qualitative perspective, how implementation teams developed and undertook tailored implementation using the toolkit within the trial.MethodsImplementation teams in thirteen sites from nine countries (Europe and Australia) used the ItFits-toolkit for six months minimum, consistent with the trial protocol. A qualitative process evaluation was conducted. Descriptive data regarding goals, barriers, strategies, and implementation plans collected within the toolkit informed qualitative data collection in real time. Qualitative data included remote longitudinal interviews (n = 55) with implementation team members (n = 30) and observations of support calls (n = 19) with study sites. Qualitative data were analysed thematically, using a team-based approach.ResultsImplementation teams developed and executed tailored implementation projects across all steps in the toolkit process. Working in a structured way but with room for flexibility, decisions were shaped by team members' ideas and goals, iterative stakeholder engagement, internal and external influences, and the context of the ImpleMentAll project. Although teams reported some positive impacts of their projects, 'time', both for undertaking the work, and for seeing project impacts, was described as a key factor in decisions about implementation strategies and assessments of success.ConclusionThis study responds directly to McHugh et al.'s (2022) call for empirical description of what implementation tailoring looks like in action, in service settings. Self-guided facilitation of tailored implementation enables implementers in service settings to undertake tailoring within their organisations. Implementation tailoring takes considerable time and involves detailed work but can be supported through the provision of implementation science informed guidance and materials, iterative and ongoing stakeholder engagement, and working reflectively in response to external influencing factors. Directions for advancement of tailored implementation are suggested

Feedback models for gambling control: the use and efficacy of online responsible gambling tools

Social responsibility in gambling has become a major issue for the gaming industry. This has been coupled with the rise of behavioural tracking technologies that allow companies to track every behavioural decision and action made by gamblers on online gambling sites, slot machines, and/or any type of gambling that utilizes player cards. This chapter has a number of distinct but related aims including: (a) a brief overview of behavioral tracking technologies accompanied by a critique of both advantages and disadvantages of such technologies for both the gaming industry and researchers; and (b) results from a series of studies completed using behavioral tracking data to evaluate the efficacy of online responsible gambling tools (particularly in relation to data concerning the use of social responsibility tools such as limit setting, pop-up messaging, and personalized feedback to gamblers)

What determines students' choices of elective modules?

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. Prior literature emphasises supply side issues concerning the modularisation of university programmes such as curricula issues and enhanced learning opportunities. Comparatively little is known about the demand side, such as why students choose specific modules. This article presents an investigation that was specifically designed to improve understanding of the factors that contribute to student module choices and draws on a large primary dataset comprised of students following a wide range of majors at a new university business school

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular responses to acute hypoxia following exposure to intermittent hypoxia in healthy humans

Intermittent hypoxia (IH) is thought to be responsible for many of the long-term cardiovascular consequences associated with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Experimental human models of IH can aid in investigating the pathophysiology of these cardiovascular complications. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of IH on the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular response to acute hypoxia and hypercapnia in an experimental human model that simulates the hypoxaemia experienced by OSA patients. We exposed 10 healthy, male subjects to IH for 4 consecutive days. The IH profile involved 2 min of hypoxia (nadir = 45.0 mmHg) alternating with 2 min of normoxia (peak = 88.0 mmHg) for 6 h. The cerebral blood flow response and the pressor responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia were assessed after 2 days of sham exposure, after each day of IH, and 4 days following the discontinuation of IH. Nitric oxide derivatives were measured at baseline and following the last exposure to IH. After 4 days of IH, mean arterial pressure increased by 4 mmHg (P < 0.01), nitric oxide derivatives were reduced by 55% (P < 0.05), the pressor response to acute hypoxia increased (P < 0.01), and the cerebral vascular resistance response to hypoxia increased (P < 0.01). IH alters blood pressure and cerebrovascular regulation, which is likely to contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease in patients with OSA