Reciprocal Learning: An Intergenerational Computer Training Model for Young Adults Working with Elders Follow-Up Evaluation: Summer 2006 - Report Series # 15

The goal of this evaluation, conducted in the summer of 2006, was to capture the experiences of young adults who participated as ‘senior tech tutors’ for elders in the computer training program. The training was piloted in the Internet Café at the Sheridan Elder Research Centre (SERC) in the fall of 2005. Twelve young adults participated in the training to become ‘senior tech tutors. An additional three participated in tutoring without having attended the training but were provided with instructional hand-outs. These three tech tutors had prior education and experience in the field of gerontology. Feedback interviews were conducted over the telephone. These interviews took place over an eight-week period. The relationships that tech tutors formed with their ‘student’ elders had an impact on tech tutors’ goals, their views about aging and their career aspirations

Suvien: Impact, Usability and Effectiveness

Suvien is a new tablet-based app that can display personalized multi-media content to facilitate conversation with an individual who has dementia. The Sheridan Centre for Elder Research, in partnership with the Ontario Brain Institute and the Alzheimer Society of Ontario, conducted a small 6-week pilot study to evaluate the impact, usability and effectiveness of the app on the caregiving process. Participants agreed to use the app over the course of their regular caregiving duties for at least a 2-3 times per week. A total of seven family caregivers (5 female, 2 male) and a program worker who used the app with three older adults attending a day program participated in the pilot. Participants completed pre and post measures about their caregiver experience, their use of technology, frequency and quality of interactions and emotional affect. They were provided with a journal to record their observations. At the end of the 6 weeks participants attended a debriefing interview about their experience with the app. Results showed that the app provided an easy-to-use, accessible and enjoyable conversational tool with potential as a mood changer, a distractor, and a prompt for storytelling. Interface issues identified in the trial were conveyed to the Suvien team for consideration before a public launch

Older Adults Embracing Technology: Leave No One Behind

The goal of this exploratory study, conducted throughout 2005 - 2006, was to examine effective ways to provide both initial computer training and ongoing technical support for elders with little or no computer experience, and to explore whether the accomplishment of acquiring computer skills had an impact on the elders’ quality of life. The computer training and follow-up technical support were provided by student volunteers trained specifically for this study. Following the computer training, all participants were offered 12 weeks of ongoing technical support (phone, email or in person) by the same student tech tutors and additional student volunteers. Questionnaires measuring computer comfort and proficiency were administered pre and post training and again at 6 weeks and 12 weeks after the training. Participants kept logs of their computer use and recorded their goals, successes, and challenges throughout the study. The trained and volunteer tech tutors kept field notes of the elders’ learning, and recorded the nature of the technical help requested by the participants. A number of common themes were revealed in the narrative data of both the elders and the student tech tutors. These were clustered into four categories: social inclusion; the teaching and learning experience; expanding horizons; and expressions of self-efficacy. Specific challenges encountered by tech tutors and participants are presented and innovative teaching strategies are proposed. Findings point to the need for further studies to explore the psychosocial factors that motivate and hinder elder requests for ongoing technical help as well as the need for outreach to convey the unexpected benefits of going online to nonusers. A number of recommendations and implications for policy, education and further research were highlighted by the study

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M>70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0<e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM

A comparison of training provision in large and small organizations: the case of public houses

The research examines the training practices in all public houses in a small town and contrasts differing training provisions. The industry is divided into small independent owners and two major types of pub owning companies, one of which operates managed estates, and the other relies on renting their premises and supplying their tenants and lessees with products. The managed estates employ extensive training programmes, while the letting estates seldom impose training conditions on their tenants and lessees. This brings into question the business strategy of organisations with rented estates, as the profitability of their tenants and lessees impacts directly on their own profitability

Attitudes towards training in UK licensed retail: an exploratory case study

This paper identifies the extent to which licensees and their staff are trained for their roles in public houses. All 27 licensees in a small Cheshire town were surveyed and several were subsequently interviewed in depth. Qualifications varied considerably and ranged from zero to a degree in catering. No tenant or lessee had been obliged to attend a course, whereas all managers had been trained by their employers, often with appropriate NVQ awards. All of the licensees ensured that staff were trained to their satisfaction, but the extent and aims of this training varied considerably

A marketing analysis of the licensed trade

Briefly outlines the recent history of the Licensed trade in the UK before considering what role marketing theory can play in the formulation of business response to competition. Considers the classic four Ps, price, product, place and promotion together with people, process and physical evidence. Gives examples of success in each area. Concludes that the nature of the pub trade has changed with jajor players dominating the market. Cites the growing use of the Internet to help the small operator to increase trade and advocates regular analysis of the small trader’s position will enhance their ability to adapt to change quickly