Being large: An interpretive phenomenological enquiry into the lived world of problematic weight

The aim of this study is to explore how large women who are unhappy with their weight experience their everyday lives. This qualitative phenomenological research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with six participants (all who defined themselves as BMI ≥ 30), whose descriptions were then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Two main themes were identified. The first highlighted the continual experience of being a monstrously huge body and how this impacts life. The second explored how perpetually feeling the eyes of others created everyday challenges that needed to be managed. This study seeks to contribute to the limited existing phenomenological UK based research undertaken with large women from the general population. Its findings suggest the highly ambiguous lived experience of being large. There is an intensely all-consuming bodily managing practice of disownment and positioning the body as an object-like form (medically, socially and impaired). There is constant self-surveillance and social scrutiny trying to be acceptable in their unacceptable bodies within their relational world. There is an attempt to avoid feelings of shame and to experience themselves as more than their body even though this is how they experience themselves. The clinical significance lies in its attempt to increase understanding from an integrative existential psychological perspective for weight management including; the experience of someone’s physical, social, psychological and spiritual worlds; the understanding and impact of general moods; embracing the ambiguity of the body and the enhancement of agency. The study recommends that further research be undertaken into how these areas are specifically experienced and the meaning given by large women

Effect of long-wavelength light on electroencephalogram and subjective alertness

This study extends previous findings on the effect of different levels of short-wavelength light on human alertness. This study explores the alerting ability of long-wavelength light at two levels (40 lx and 160 lx). Eight subjects took part in the 60-minute experiment for each of two nights, during which their objective alertness and subjective alertness were evaluated using electroencephalogram and questionnaire. Results show that both levels increased electroencephalogram beta power, which shows a different pattern compared with the previous findings on short-wavelength light. These results strongly suggest that although short-wavelength light may impact alertness through circadian system, long-wavelength light will have to achieve that through other pathways. The further comparison between current and previous results also suggests that long-wavelength light is just as strong on acute alerting ability, as shown by electroencephalogram measures and self-rating questionnaire, as short-wavelength light

Design, Construction, and Performance of a Deep Braced Excavation

The engineering approach to design and specification development for a deep excavation is presented along with construction instrumentation data that illustrates the concepts, criteria, and performance of the excavation shoring system. The project included an excavation of up to about 20 m depth, over 650 m long, and 20 m wide made through generally competent glacial overburden with 46 structures located immediately adjacent to the excavation. Excavation support was achieved using a braced soldier-pile and lagging wall system. A detailed instrumentation program was undertaken by the owner to monitor contractor compliance with ground and structure movement criteria. Semi-empirical and theoretical concepts related to earth pressure diagrams and soldier-pile design reduction factors are explored in detail, with particular emphasis on contract provisions for specifying design of excavation support. The deformation performance, structural design, and construction pre-loading are shown to be directly linked an alternative approach is presented for future design and specification of excavation support

Application of the four-colour theorem to the surfaces of polyhedra

The four-colour map theorem states that, given any separation of a plane into contiguous regions, producing a figure called a map, no more than four colours are required to colour the regions of the map so that no two adjacent regions have the same colour. Two regions are considered to be adjacent if they share a common boundary that is not a corner (a point shared by three or more regions). The theorem was proposed in the 1850s and became the first theorem to be proved by computational methods in the 1970s. Despite the theorem being true, some geopolitical maps require more than four colours (if, for example, some regions are not contiguous) and the theorem has never been of great interest to mapmakers. This paper describes the theorem and explores how it could be extended to three dimensions. We restrict our study to the colouring of the surfaces of three-dimensional polytopes or polyhedra, specifically those that are convex. An analysis of the relationship between two-dimensional maps and three-dimensional surfaces is presented with regard to the minimum number of colours required. Visual examples are provided for regular polyhedral of increasing number of polygonal faces

Failure of an Excavation Support System

The design, construction, and collapse of an excavation support system constructed through layered soils are presented in this paper. The braced soldier-pile and lagging shoring was installed through soft clay, with the base of the excavation in hard glacial deposits. Complicating factors included the use of soil berms for temporary support, construction sequencing, weather conditions, and the location of the failed section near a re-entrant corner of the shoring system. Rapid responses of all contract parties and careful evaluation of the failure causes limited subsequent safety and damage concerns, and no claims were made. Post-failure examination of the preceding events provides several insights into potential better specification practices. Theoretical comparison of soil strength and structural engineering principles demonstrate the true failure mechanisms in spite of several implied causes suggested at the outset of the investigation

Image categorisation based on the spatiochromatic information

An imaging workflow to categorise images into business graphics and pictorial images based on spatiochromatic information is demonstrated. Studies on three computational characteristics (lightness frequency distribution, average chroma distribution, and Fourier spectrum) show that differences between business graphics and pictorial images can be discriminated mathematically. To enhance the performance of the image categorisation workflow, a multilayer perceptron neural network was designed and experimentally evaluated, and which performed with an accuracy of 95% using a database consisting of 57 randomly selected images

Neural Networks for Transformation to Spectral Spaces

This work is concerned with mapping between the CMYK colour space and spectral space using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). The dimensionality of the spectral space is high (typically 31) leading to a large number of weights (or free parameters) in the network. This paper explores the hypothesis that a computational advantage can be obtained, in these cases, by treating the reflectance at each wavelength as being independent of the reflectance at any other wavelength; the implication of this hypothesis is that instead of using a single large ANN, it is possible to use, for example, 31 separate networks, each of which maps to one dimension of the 31-d spectral space. The results showed that as the number of training samples is reduced the advantage of the population of single-wavelength networks over the standard neural network approach increased

Designing Effective Warnings about Addiction on the Patient Information Leaflet of Over-the-Counter Codeine Sold in England to University Students

(1) Background: The harm of misusing over-the-counter (OTC) codeine-containing medicines among university students in England is being increasingly recognized. Based on English university students, this paper aims to study the importance of information design on information communication, explore methods for effective warning design, and investigate university students’ perception of OTC codeine. (2) Methods: The effective warning design is addressed through case studies, answering correctness by the heat map generated from the eye-tracking experiment (ETE), and the total time spent on the tasks. User perceptions are made though online surveys. (3) Results: Information design significantly affects the way user processes information. Therefore, two emphasized warnings displayed in the headline, and the “possible side effect (PSE)” sections and warning signs of addiction presented under the PSE are suggested as effective ways to display warnings. For students’ perception of OTC codeine, 80% of university students are unfamiliar with the substance. After reading the patient information leaflets (PILs), 47% recommended tight regulation on codeine. (4) Conclusions: The misuse of OTC codeine could be a potential problem among English university students. The design of the PIL significantly influences the chance of unintentional medicine misuse. The display of warnings on the PILs of OTC codeine should be redesigned for better understanding