Is the Nintendo Wii Fit really acceptable to older people?: a discrete choice experiment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Interactive video games such as the Nintendo Wii Fit are increasingly used as a therapeutic tool in health and aged care settings however, their acceptability to older people is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the acceptability of the Nintendo Wii Fit as a therapy tool for hospitalised older people using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) before and after exposure to the intervention.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A DCE was administered to 21 participants in an interview style format prior to, and following several sessions of using the Wii Fit in physiotherapy. The physiotherapist prescribed the Wii Fit activities, supervised and supported the patient during the therapy sessions. Attributes included in the DCE were: mode of therapy (traditional or using the Wii Fit), amount of therapy, cost of therapy program and percentage of recovery made. Data was analysed using conditional (fixed-effects) logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Prior to commencing the therapy program participants were most concerned about therapy time (avoiding programs that were too intensive), and the amount of recovery they would make. Following the therapy program, participants were more concerned with the mode of therapy and preferred traditional therapy programs over programs using the Wii Fit.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The usefulness of the Wii Fit as a therapy tool with hospitalised older people is limited not only by the small proportion of older people who are able to use it, but by older people's preferences for traditional approaches to therapy. Mainstream media portrayals of the popularity of the Wii Fit with older people may not reflect the true acceptability in the older hospitalised population.</p

The view from the ground

Providing an orientation to this edited collection, the introduction considers the nature of money as an object and sign of value. It explores the communicative possibilities of money and financial exchange in the context of everyday routine activities. Mooney and Sifaki explain that the following chapters pay attention to how money is used by people to do things. It introduces the four parts of the book: Childhood, Money and the Everyday, Media and What is Money? The chapter then provides a possible framework for analysing the different meanings that attach to human monetary exchanges. Based on Jakobson’s six functions of language, and treating a transaction as the prototypical financial communicative event, the authors outline six corresponding functions for money

ADHD in Schools: Prevalence, Multi-professional Involvements and School Training Needs in an LEA.

As part of research undertaken by the first author, a survey of schools was carried out in one local education authority (LEA) in order to gather information about pupils diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). All mainstream and special schools and pupil referral units were approached and a response rate of 94% was achieved. In 151 schools there were 413 pupils reported as being formally diagnosed with ADHD. The survey results include details of prevalence, the balance of gender, age and special educational need (SEN) Code of Practice levels, issues of diagnosis and medication, co-morbidity and school training needs. In addition, responses from two ADHD study days, one held during the survey data collection phase and the second following dissemination of the results, provided supplementary information regarding school training needs. Implications for inclusive educational practice are discussed with reference to: prevalence rates; multi-professional identification, assessment and management of the disorder; the need for and nature of the training schools require