Technology readiness and segmentation profile of mature consumers

Self-service technologies (SSTs) play a major role in enabling consumers to perform service delivery themselves. The purpose of this study was to test extensions of the original Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) aimed at predicting mature consumers’ attitude and behaviour towards using self-service banking technologies (SSBTs). A survey methodology was employed to gather data from 208 mature consumers on variables captured by the extended TAM. Path analysis indicated that self-efficacy, technology discomfort, perceived risk, and personal contact were determinants of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness and also direct and indirect determinants of attitude towards and intention to use SSBTs. These findings have theoretical implications for models of technology acceptance and practical interventions designed at increasing use of SSBTs among mature consumers

The influence of incentives and survey design on mail survey response rates for mature consumers

The mail survey is still the preferred research tool for the mature consumer population and questions remain about ways of boosting survey response rates. The influence of two incentives were explored, a foil-wrapped tea bag and a $1 donation for each returned questionnaire in the study design. A significant higher response rate was only achieved for the first incentive. The effectiveness of a range of incentives and survey design features were investigated. Respondents indicated that their preferred incentive was a$500 donation to a charity. With the ongoing use of mail surveys almost mandatory for populations like this one, this study shows that incentives and design features such as CEO endorsement are important elements in improving response rates

Developing productive dispositions towards assessment in first-year business students

Background/context: Mediating students' learning experiences through curriculum and assessment (Kift, 2015) is particularly important at a regional university with highly diverse student populations. This presentation investigates the efficacy of an approach that aims to simultaneously develop first year students' "productive dispositions" (Kilpatrick, Swafford, & Findell, 2006) towards higher education assessment and written communication skills. The initiative/practice: A first-year core subject in the Bachelor of Business became fertile ground for collaboration between the disciplinary academic and teaching and learning support academics, on account of its authentic assessment tasks, involving professionally-relevant, written-response genres. With a view to maximising student engagement and achievement, we focussed on a 'live case' marketing blog and report, and developed clear and detailed assessment task descriptions, criteria-standards rubrics, and online support resources drawing on student exemplars. Methods of evaluative data collection and analysis: A mixed methods (Cresswell, 2014) approach was used including data generated through the learning management system’s analytics pertaining to student engagement with the online support resources, student assessment performance, and student evaluation survey responses. Findings based on two internal cohorts (n ≈ 148; 236) and one external cohort (n ≈88) indicate that, across all cohorts, access to the support resources was higher for students achieving a Distinction standard or above (i.e., ≥75%) on the assessment tasks in comparison with other students. Of these higher performing students, the external cohort had the highest level of engagement with the assessment materials, in terms of the number of times the resources were accessed and length of viewing time. Students with unsatisfactory results (<50%) on assessment tasks had limited engagement with the support resources. Evaluation survey responses (n = 123; 26% response rate) show that, on average, students "agreed" (4 on a 5 point Likert scale) that the materials helped them to understand and structure their responses to the assessment tasks. In their open-ended responses, students communicated that the suite of resources provided '…very helpful examples' and '…more informative explanation of each section of the assignment' and '…helped with structure', while some thought the video recordings were too long, with one student stating '… I want the necessary information quickly'. Evidence of outcomes and effectiveness: Nearly all students to some extent "behaviourally engaged" with the support resources, however, findings suggest that higher performing students had higher levels of "cognitive engagement", evidenced by higher use and investment of time in the resources (Fredericks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004). While the online provision of detailed task descriptions, rubrics and support resources enabled a "readiness environment" (Mostafa, 2015) for effective and self-paced student participation, it would seem that promoting engagement with online resources among internal students requires academics to provide more explicit cues in, and orientation to, a blended learning environment

RNA-Seq Analysis Strategies and Ethical Considerations Involved in Precision Medicine

RNA-Seq has become the most recently and widely accepted method to evaluate gene expression. Though with RNA-Seq being a fairly green technology, analytical methods for its output data have not been fully investigated as they have for preceding technology; such as those methods used in analyses of microarray data. This is likely the result of the potential breadth of information that can be obtained from the different applications of RNA-Seq. Analyses of RNA-Seq data include: detecting differentially expressed genes, transcriptome profiling, and interpretation of gene functions. As with any advanced technology medical or otherwise, the longer it is available, the price of the technology, in general, decreases and the technology itself becomes more refined. This has been true for genomic sequencing—costs per sample have continued to decrease; and the accuracy and precision of results has improved greatly. Synchronously, more physicians have opted to have more of their patients’ genetic material sequenced. This has caused both challenges in the development of accurate, efficient, and consistent statistical methods; and much debate regarding the ethics involved in genomic sequencing. To provide insight into two statistical challenges that are common with analyzing RNA-Seq data, we conduct extensive simulation studies. These simulations studies include: 1) investigation of fitting complex models which account for pairedness across subject’s measurements in terms of the power gained and control of Type I error rate; and 2) evaluation of clustering performance of various clustering methods in transformed RNA-Seq data. In addition to investigating the aforementioned statistical challenges, we develop a protocol for a survey study which has the potential to provide insight into cancer patients’ opinions towards genomic sequencing as there is much ethics related controversy that surrounds the topic

Assessment of the Feasibility of Permeable Pavement for Sustainable Stormwater Management Using SWMM

The advancement of urbanization in the Philippines changed natural lands into impervious surfaces and aided the contamination of surface runoff and nearby water bodies. Low Impact Development (LID) technologies were introduced as an alternative to conventional drainage systems, specifically permeable pavements. Such technology is beneficial for stormwater runoff reduction, ground infiltration enablement, and stormwater treatment. This research was conducted to investigate the feasibility of permeable pavement for sustainable stormwater management in a university setting, particularly in De La Salle University – Laguna Campus. The Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) was utilized to simulate different rainfall scenarios on selected little to no vegetation regions with increasing permeable pavement area coverage. The findings showed that the LID surface area to subcatchment area (SA/CA) ratio is inversely proportional to the total runoff reduction observed in all rainfall scenarios. The total runoff reached zero when the SA/CA ratio was at least 50%. The permeable pavement was concluded to be effective in surface runoff infiltration, reduction, and storage which is beneficial for long-term stormwater management and flood prevention strategies. The study can be used in future investigations and applications of similar LID technologies

The compound risk of heat and COVID-19 in New York City: riskscapes, physical and social factors, and interventions

Climate change is disrupting the fundamental conditions of human life and exacerbating existing inequity by placing further burdens on communities that are already vulnerable. Risk exposure varies by where people live and work. In this article, we examine the spatial overlap of the compound risks of COVID-19 and extreme heat in New York City. We assess the relationship between socio-demographic and natural, built and social environmental characteristics, and the spatial correspondence of COVID-19 daily case rates across three pandemic waves. We use these data to create a compound risk index combining heat, COVID-19, density and social vulnerability. Our findings demonstrate that the compound risk of COVID-19 and heat are public health and equity challenges. Heat and COVID-19 exposure are influenced by natural, built, and social environmental factors, including access to mitigation infrastructure. Socio-demographic characteristics are significant indicators of COVID-19 and heat exposure and of where compound vulnerability exists. Using GIS mapping, we illustrate how COVID-19 risk geographies change across the three waves of the pandemic and the particular impact of vaccinations before the onset of the third wave. We, then, use our compound risk index to assess heat interventions undertaken by the City, identify neighborhoods of both adequate and inadequate coverage and provide recommendations for future interventions

Targeting Protein Homeostasis in Sporadic Inclusion Body Myositis

Sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) is the commonest severe myopathy in patients over age 50. Previous therapeutic trials have targeted the inflammatory features of sIBM, but all have failed. Since protein dyshomeostasis may also play a role in sIBM, we tested the effects of targeting this feature of the disease. Using rat myoblast cultures, we found that up-regulation of the heat shock response with Arimoclomol reduced key pathological markers of sIBM in vitro. Furthermore, in mutant valosin-containing protein VCP mice, which develop an inclusion body myopathy (IBM), treatment with Arimoclomol ameliorated disease pathology and improved muscle function. We therefore evaluated the safety and tolerability of Arimoclomol in an investigator-lead, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, proof-of-concept patient trial and gathered exploratory efficacy data which showed that Arimoclomol was safe and well tolerated. Although Arimoclomol improved some IBM-like pathology in vitro and in vivo in the mutant VCP mouse, we did not see statistically significant evidence of efficacy in this proof of concept patient trial

A cross sectional evaluation of an alcohol intervention targeting young university students

BACKGROUND: Hazardous drinking has been found to be higher among young university students compared to their non-university peers. Although young university students are exposed to new and exciting experiences, including greater availability and emphasis on social functions involving alcohol there are few multi strategy comprehensive interventions aimed at reducing alcohol-related harms. METHODS: Random cross sectional online surveys were administered to 18-24 year old students studying at the main campus of a large metropolitan university in Perth, Western Australia. Prior to the completion of the second survey an alcohol intervention was implemented on campus. Completed surveys were received from 2465 (Baseline; T1) and 2422 (Post Year 1: T2) students. Students who consumed alcohol in the past 12 months were categorised as low risk or hazardous drinkers using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Due to the cross sectional nature of the two samples two-tailed two-proportion z-test and two sample t-tests were employed to determine statistical significance between the two time periods for categorical and continuous variables respectively. RESULTS: At T1 and T2 89.1 % and 87.2 % of the total sample reported drinking alcohol in the past month respectively. Hazardous levels of alcohol consumption reduced slightly between T1 (39.7 %) and T2 (38 %). In both time periods hazardous drinkers reported significantly higher mean scores for experienced harm, second-hand harm and witnessed harm scores compared to low risk drinkers (p &lt;0.001). Hazardous drinkers were significantly more likely to experience academic problems due to their alcohol consumption and to report more positive alcohol expectations than low risk drinkers at both time periods (p &lt;0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Harms and problems for students who report hazardous drinking are of concern and efforts should be made to ensure integrated and targeted strategies reach higher risk students and focus on specific issues such as driving while intoxicated and alcohol related unplanned sexual activity. However there is also a need for universal strategies targeting all students and low risk drinkers as they too are exposed to alcohol harms within the drinking and social environment. Changing the culture of the university environment is a long term aim and to effect change a sustained combination of organisational actions, partnerships and educational actions is required

Minimizing Errors in RT-PCR Detection and Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA for Wastewater Surveillance

Wastewater surveillance for pathogens using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is an effective, resource-efficient tool for gathering additional community-level public health information, including the incidence and/or prevalence and trends of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater may provide an early-warning signal of COVID-19 infections in a community. The capacity of the world’s environmental microbiology and virology laboratories for SARS-CoV-2 RNA characterization in wastewater is rapidly increasing. However, there are no standardized protocols nor harmonized quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) procedures for SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance. This paper is a technical review of factors that can lead to false-positive and -negative errors in the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2, culminating in recommendations and strategies that can be implemented to identify and mitigate these errors. Recommendations include, stringent QA/QC measures, representative sampling approaches, effective virus concentration and efficient RNA extraction, amplification inhibition assessment, inclusion of sample processing controls, and considerations for RT-PCR assay selection and data interpretation. Clear data interpretation guidelines (e.g., determination of positive and negative samples) are critical, particularly during a low incidence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. Corrective and confirmatory actions must be in place for inconclusive and/or potentially significant results (e.g., initial onset or reemergence of COVID-19 in a community). It will also be prudent to perform inter-laboratory comparisons to ensure results are reliable and interpretable for ongoing and retrospective analyses. The strategies that are recommended in this review aim to improve SARS-CoV-2 characterization for wastewater surveillance applications. A silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic is that the efficacy of wastewater surveillance was demonstrated during this global crisis. In the future, wastewater will play an important role in the surveillance of a range of other communicable diseases.Highlights: Harmonized QA/QC procedures for SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance are lacking; Wastewater analysis protocols are not optimized for trace analysis of viruses; False-positive and -negative errors have consequences for public health responses; Inter-laboratory studies utilizing standardized reference materials and protocols are needed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Luciano Floridi and contemporary art practice

This article examines how the thinking of Luciano Floridi, especially his emphasis on information, could affect the way we approach art practice. It aims to situate art practice in relation to contemporary informational theories and suggests that the way we view contemporary art practice needs to move beyond existing theories. Key components to Floridi’s philosophy are introduced with relevance to art practice, followed by an analysis of these concepts with examples from the history of art. It is hoped that, by clarifying some of the more complex terms and concepts, readers will form a better understanding of the connections and potential synergy between art practice and the sciences of information, through the philosophy of Floridi