Evaluating Unity created teaching simulations within occupational therapy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the evaluation of an educational occupational therapy home visit simulation newly built in Unity, compared with a previously created simulation based in the Open Sim platform. The evaluation is based on students’ preferences. Design/methodology/approach – A simulation was built in Unity in which the academic content was identical to the previous Open Sim-based simulation. Student groups used the simulations then completed a questionnaire. Numerical data and descriptive comments were analysed. Findings – Students preferred the simulation built in Unity to the Open Sim simulation. Improvements with the Unity simulation include; reduced time to gain competence to use, ease of use and fewer negative physiological experiences. The small percentage of students experiencing motion sickness is an ongoing concern and warrants further investigation. The Unity simulation may also be useful as an academic assessment tool. Research limitations/implications – Findings are limited by short time usage of the simulations in 3D virtual worlds with confined spaces and no requirement for in-world group interaction, and by some methodological limitations including the research being based within a single higher education institution, and with a profession-specific group of students. Originality/value – This paper highlights student preference for using a purpose built simulation created with Unity over a simulation built in Open Sim, showing where best to spend future development time and funding. Similar comparison research is scarce. Keywords Stroke, Second Life, Higher education, Occupational therapy, Academic assessment, Unity Paper type Research paperN/

Virtual rehabilitation: what are the practical barriers for home-based research?

Virtual reality technologies are becoming increasingly accessible and affordable to deliver, and consequently the interest in applying virtual reality within rehabilitation is growing. This has resulted in the emergence of research exploring the utility of virtual reality and interactive video gaming interventions for home use by patients. The aim of this paper is to highlight the practical factors and difficulties that may be encountered in research in this area, and to make recommendations for addressing these. Whilst this paper focuses on examples drawn mainly from stroke rehabilitation research, many of the issues raised are relevant to other conditions where virtual reality approaches have the potential to be applied to home-based rehabilitation

Nutrient Profile and Promotion Model baby food - Stata Code

This Stata code and results table template allows users to analyse their own set of commercial baby foods according to the WHO (2022) Nutrient and Promotion Profle Model. See more details on the Nutrient and Promotion Profile Model (NPPM) https://babyfoodnppm.org/abou

The Corroded Surface: Portrait of the Sublime

Derived from the Latin corrodere, meaning to ‘gnaw to pieces’, corrosion as a transformative physical process is nature at its most sublime, engendering fear and power, producing the obscure and reducing form to the darkness ‘beneath all beauty as promise of its ultimate annihilation’ (Beckley, 2001: p. 72). The thesis considers corrosion as subtraction, erasure and negation in relation to the painting process. Through experimentation with the ruination of both content and painting’s plastic, material properties the thesis reflects upon how the disruption or destruction of image and surface might relate to the un- representable. Within the history of twentieth century art negation has been cited as the defining spirit of the Modernism (TJ Clark: 1986). Jean François Lyotard suggests that it is the sublime that has provoked this destructive, nihilistic tendency and given Modern and postmodern art its ‘impetus and axioms’ (Lyotard: 1979). As the 2010 Tate research project, The Sublime Object attests, the sublime is once again ‘now’. Painting was conspicuous in its absence from the project, perhaps because as Simon Morley states ‘most sublime artworks these days tend to be installations. It is certainly getting harder for painting, the traditional vessel for evoking visual sublimity, to elicit such effects’ (2010, p. 74). This thesis will examine Morley’s position by considering how the composition of the un-presentable may be alluded to through de-composition and corrosion in painting. An expressionist enquiry into the tension between figure and ground the thesis investigates a relationship between mark, surface and the sublime.(1) Notoriously difficult to capture, the sublime is intrinsically contradictory, making an effective, overarching theory on the subject all but impossible to sustain (Forsey: 2007). Highlighting some of the problems surrounding the theory of the sublime James Elkins, in his essay ‘Against the Sublime’ (2009), suggests that the term has been mistaken for a trans-historical category and that it has been used and abused to smuggle religious content into contemporary critical writing. Further more, he describes the post-Kantian postmodern sublime as so intricate and linguistically complex as to render it effectively redundant without substantial qualification. Elkins has called for a moratorium on the term sublime and a redress of language in favor of new, direct terms (2009). This project asks if painting can facilitate this redress and provide these terms. Note (1): An enquiry that applies a necessarily heuristic approach to a project engaged with subjective, felt experience in painting characterized by and articulated through the primacy of gestural abstraction

Virtually home: Exploring the potential of virtual reality to support patient discharge after stroke

Introduction: The level of assessment and intervention received by patients prior to discharge varies widely across stroke services in the United Kingdom. This study aimed to explore the potential value of virtual reality in preparing patients for discharge following stroke. Method: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 13 occupational therapists, eight patients with a stroke and four community stroke survivors. Views were sought of the perceived acceptability, potential utility and limitations of a ‘virtual home’ environment for use in pre-discharge education and assessment. Data were analysed thematically. Findings: Interviewees found the virtual home to be an acceptable and visual means of facilitating discussions about discharge. It was perceived as valuable in assessing patient insight into safety risks and exploring the implications of installing assistive equipment at home. Limitations were identified relating to specific software issues and the use of virtual reality with patients with cognitive or perceptual impairments. Conclusion: The results demonstrate the potential utility of the virtual home within stroke rehabilitation. Patients and therapists engaged with the virtual home and, moreover, made practical suggestions for future development. Feasibility and pilot testing in a clinical setting is required to compare the use of the virtual home with traditional approaches of pre-discharge assessment.Stroke Association (ref: TSA SRTF 2013/01) and Nottingham Hospitals Charity and NUH Department of Research and Development – Pump Priming Awar

Virtually home: feasibility study and pilot randomised controlled trial of a virtual reality intervention to support patient discharge after stroke

Introduction: Virtual reality has the potential to assist occupational therapists in preparing patients for discharge by facilitating discussions and providing education about relevant practical issues and safety concerns. This study aimed to explore the feasibility of using a virtual reality intervention to support patient discharge after stroke and pilot its use. Method: Practical aspects of delivering a virtual reality intervention prior to discharge were explored by means of a non-randomised feasibility study and a subsequent pilot randomised controlled trial. Factors considered included eligibility, recruitment, intervention delivery, attrition and suitability of outcome measures. Outcome measures included standardised assessments of stroke severity, mobility, health-related quality of life, functional ability, satisfaction with services and concerns about falling. Results: Thirty-three participants were recruited in total: 17 to the feasibility study and 16 to the pilot trial. At 1-month follow-up, 14 participants (82%) were re-assessed in the feasibility study and 12 (75%) in the pilot trial. The main difficulties encountered related to recruitment, particularly regarding post-stroke cognitive impairments, the presence of mild deficits or illness. Conclusion: It was feasible to recruit and retain participants, deliver the intervention and collect outcome measures, despite slow recruitment rates. These findings could inform the design of a definitive trial

A low cost virtual reality system for home based rehabilitation of the arm following stroke: a randomised controlled feasibility trial

Objective: To assess the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial of a home-based virtual reality system for rehabilitation of the arm following stroke. Design: Two group feasibility randomised controlled trial of intervention versus usual care. Setting: Patients’ homes. Participants: Patients aged 18 or over, with residual arm dysfunction following stroke and, no longer receiving any other intensive rehabilitation. Interventions: Eight weeks’ use of a low cost home-based virtual reality system employing infra-red capture to translate the position of the hand into game play or usual care. Main measures: The primary objective was to collect information on the feasibility of a trial, including recruitment, collection of outcome measures and staff support required. Patients were assessed at three time points using the Wolf Motor Function Test, Nine-Hole Peg Test, Motor Activity Log and Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living. Results: Over 15 months only 47 people were referred to the team. Twenty seven were randomised and 18 (67%) of those completed final outcome measures. Sample size calculation based on data from the Wolf Motor Function Test indicated a requirement for 38 per group. There was a significantly greater change from baseline in the intervention group on midpoint Wolf Grip strength and two subscales of the final Motor Activity Log. Training in the use of the equipment took a median of 230 minutes per patient. Conclusions: To achieve the required sample size, a definitive home-based trial would require additional strategies to boost recruitment rates and adequate resources for patient support