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Exploring clinicians' experiences of implementing assistive technology for cognition in neurorehabilitation: insights and challenges
Get PDFTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant public health concern, frequently leading to long-term cognitive, emotional, and functional impairments. Despite growing recognition of the need for intense and long-term neurorehabilitation, access to ongoing support remains inconsistent, particularly within the United Kingdom. Assistive technology for cognition (ATC) has been identified as a potential means of addressing these challenges, offering tools that can support memory, executive functioning, and engagement in activities of daily living. However, while ATC's potential is broadly acknowledged, its integration into clinical practice remains diffuse, and the factors mediating its successful implementation are poorly understood. This thesis examines the role of ATC in neurorehabilitation, with a focus on smartphone-based interventions. A systematic review synthesises existing research on the efficacy of smartphones in supporting memory and executive function for individuals with TBI. Given the heterogeneity of the literature, a narrative synthesis was conducted, evaluating the strengths and limitations of ATC. Evidence for smartphone use in supporting cognition, primarily through the use of electronic calendar functions, was found. Variability in training and inconsistencies in the methodologies of reviewed studies are discussed, further supporting the potential of smartphones as platforms with ATCs. However, more high-quality research is required to inform clinicians and policymakers. Following this, a qualitative study explores how clinicians working in neurorehabilitation, experienced implementing ATC interventions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve professionals from various neurorehabilitation settings and disciplines. A reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken guided by Braun and Clarke's (2020) six-phase reflexive approach, identifying five overarching themes: 1) Technology is Diffuse, 2) Make it Unique (or don't Bother), 3) Context Matters, 4) Professionals Bring Themselves, and 5) The Person Beyond the Injury. Findings indicate that while ATCs have clear utility, their effectiveness is mediated by training and long-term support, MDT collaboration, and accessibility. It also offers novel insight into an important relational component between the therapist and client that has largely not been addressed in ATC research. The research highlights the need for greater guidance for clinicians, considerations of accessibility, and further evaluation of ATC interventions across clinical settings. Implications for clinical psychology, healthcare services, and future research are discussed. This thesis contributes to research and practice by identifying strategies that clinicians and services can adopt to facilitate the successful implementation of ATC's, while also emphasising the importance of inclusive, person-centred approaches within neurorehabilitation
Data and the dead: How does IHL regulate data related to the identification of deceased persons?
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Data has become central in various activities during armed conflict, including the identification of deceased persons. While the use of data-based methods can significantly improve the efficiency of efforts to identify the dead and inform their families about their fate, data can equally enable harm. This article analyzes the obligations that arise for States regarding the processing of data related to the identification of deceased persons. Despite being drafted long before the “age of data”, several international humanitarian law (IHL) provisions can be considered to give rise to obligations which protect those whose data is used to identify the dead from certain data-based harms. However, some of these protections are based on a data protection-friendly interpretation of more general obligations, and many only apply in international armed conflict. Against this background, it is suggested that further analysis on how international human rights law and domestic or regional data protection law could help to strengthen the case for data protection where IHL does not contain specific duties to protect data would be desirable.</jats:p
Cytochromes P460 and c′-β: exploiting a novel fold for multiple functions
Get PDFTwo related classes of ligand-binding heme c-containing proteins with a high degree of structural homology have been identified and characterized over recent decades: cytochromes P460 (cyts P460), defined by an unusual heme-lysine cross-link, and cytochromes c′-β (cyts c′-β), containing a canonical c-heme without the lysine cross-link. The shared protein fold of the cyt P460-cyt c′-β superfamily can accommodate a variety of heme environments with entirely different reactivities. On the one hand, cyts P460 with polar distal pockets have been shown to oxidize NH2OH to NO and/or N2O via proton-coupled electron transfer. On the other hand, cyts c′-β with hydrophobic distal pockets have a proposed gas binding function similar to the unrelated, but more extensively characterized, alpha helical cytochromes c′. Recent studies have also identified ‘halfway house’ proteins (cyts P460 with non-polar heme pockets and cyts c′-β with polar distal heme pockets) with functions yet to be resolved. Here, we review the structural, spectroscopic and enzymatic properties of the cyt P460-cyt c′-β superfamily with a view to understanding the structural determinants of their different functional properties
eDNAPlus: A unifying modelling framework for DNA-based biodiversity monitorin
Get PDFDNA-based biodiversity surveys, which involve collecting physical samples from survey sites and assaying them in the laboratory to detect species via their diagnostic DNA sequences, are increasingly being adopted for biodiversity monitoring and decision-making. The most commonly employed method, metabarcoding, combines PCR with high-throughput DNA sequencing to amplify and read “DNA barcode” sequences, generating count data indicating the number of times each DNA barcode was read. However, DNA-based data are noisy and error-prone, with several sources of variation, and cannot alone estimate the species-specific amount of DNA present at a surveyed site (DNA biomass). In this article, we present a unifying modeling framework for DNA-based survey data that allows estimation of changes in DNA biomass within species, across sites and their links to environmental covariates, while for the first time simultaneously accounting for key sources of variation, error and noise in the data-generating process, and for between-species and between-sites correlation. Bayesian inference is performed using MCMC with Laplace approximations. We describe a re-parameterization scheme for crossed-effects models designed to improve mixing, and an adaptive approach for updating latent variables, which reduces computation time. Theoretical and simulation results are used to guide study design, including the level of replication at different survey stages and the use of quality control methods. Finally, we demonstrate our new framework on a dataset of Malaise-trap samples, quantifying the effects of elevation and distance-to-road on each species, and produce maps identifying areas of high biodiversity and species DNA biomass. Supplementary materials for this article are available online, including a standardized description of the materials available for reproducing the work
Consumer financial literacy and habitual behaviour as drivers of contactless payment ownership
Get PDFHistorically, cash has been noted for its ease and convenience as a payment instrument; however, contactless payments now rival cash in this regard. Using UK survey data at a time when contactless payments were on the rise but not yet fully adopted, we examine the role of consumers’ financial literacy and trait habitual behaviours as drivers of contactless payment ownership. This unique timing allows us to identify a segment of the population without contactless card ownership; a rare opportunity given the current widespread adoption of the technology. We find that consumers’ financial literacy and proneness to routine behaviour are positively associated with ownership of contactless payment cards. Using propensity score matching techniques, we address the ex-ante heterogeneity between individuals exhibiting different levels of financial literacy, habitual behaviour, and non-random selection issues to show that our results are robust to potential endogeneity issues. Our findings can inform policymakers and banks about the adoption patterns of emerging payment technologies, providing insights that are particularly relevant for future technologies facing early-stage adoption challenges
Aligning Back-End Systems with Front-End Services: Configurations of Financial Management Information Systems and e-services provision
Get PDFPurpose – To explore the configurations of the central government’s core and non-core financial management information systems (FMIS) interoperability and e-service delivery, highlighting the role of FMIS as a strategic backbone for broader digital transformation efforts.
Design/methodology/approach – Using cluster analysis on data from the World Bank’s 2022 GovTech Maturity Index, we examine a sample of 105 countries with a high coverage of core and non-core FMIS functions. We examine the coexistence of different levels of FMIS interoperability and e-service delivery to map prevailing configurations across central governments.
Findings – Our findings point to a diverse configuration of FMIS interoperability and e-service delivery in different economies. Each configuration represents a distinct arrangement of how central governments have implemented and connected their financial management systems with digital service platforms. Four distinct configurations emerge from the analysis, reflecting combinations of interoperability and e-service development, allowing for a nuanced view of the role of FMIS towards broader digital transformation.
Research limitations/implications – The study adopts a cross-sectional design, focusing on central governments only. It does not address causal mechanisms or the role of regional/local FMIS, and contextual factors influencing e-service effectiveness remain outside its scope. Future longitudinal and qualitative research is needed to trace transitions between configurations and test the conditions that trigger them.
Practical implications – The findings highlight the relevance of a proper strategy for FMIS interoperability to support a sustainable e-service programme, informing international development organisations about this current Achilles’ heel for digital governance.
Social implications – The findings reinforce the role of accounting-related digital transformation in enhancing the overall effectiveness of public sector governance, benefiting society as a whole.
Originality/value – This is among the first empirical studies to systematically analyse the configurations of FMIS interoperability and e-service across a large global sample. It reframes FMIS not only as a back-office tool but as a strategic enabler of digital government, advancing the literature on digital transformation by applying a punctuated equilibrium perspective to highlight non-linear development trajectories
Risk sharing with Lambda value at risk under heterogeneous beliefs
No full textIn this paper, we study the risk sharing problem among multiple agents using Lambda Value-at-Risk as their preference functional, under heterogeneous beliefs, where beliefs are represented by several probability measures. We obtain semi-explicit formulas for the inf-convolution of multiple Lambda Value-at-Risk measures under heterogeneous beliefs and the explicit forms of the corresponding optimal allocations. To show the impact of belief heterogeneity, we consider three cases: homogeneous beliefs, conditional beliefs and absolutely continuous beliefs. For those cases, we find more explicit expressions for the inf-convolution, showing the influence of the relation of the beliefs on the inf-convolution. Moreover, we consider, in a two-agent setting, the inf-convolution of one Lambda Value-at-Risk and a general risk measure, including expected utility, distortion risk measures and Lambda Value-at-Risk as special cases, with differing beliefs. The expression of the inf-convolution and the form of the optimal allocation are obtained. In all above cases we demonstrate that trivial outcomes arise when both belief inconsistency and risk tolerance are high. Finally, we discuss risk sharing for an alternative definition of Lambda Value-at-Risk
Information, Asset Price Volatility, and Liquidity
Get PDFHow are asset price volatility and liquidity impacted by public perception of the economic state and by market competitivity? We wish to understand the direct impacts as well as indirect impacts via information acquisition and aggregation. To investigate, we design a laboratory experiment with human subjects as bond investors and exogenously vary the bond default rate, the private information cost schedule, and the market format. To discipline the experiment parameters and to obtain hypotheses for empirical testing, we construct a theoretical model that closely parallels the experiment. We find that the laboratory data support most theoretical predictions, for example, liquidity increases when traders purchase more precise private information, when public information indicates a less ominous state, and when the market is less competitive. Overall price volatility also increases with more precise private information and less competitivity, but it decreases with less ominous public information. Decomposing volatility into “efficient” and “inefficient” components may offer insight for policy analysis
C.G. Jung, analytical psychology, and the 'structure of feeling' in the Modern period
Get PDFThe thesis proposes that Raymond Williams's cultural materialist notion of the 'structure of feeling' can be interpreted as an unconscious historical process. The 'structure of feeling' is discussed on the one hand in relation to Jungian analytical psychology and, on the other hand, in the context of the emergence of a shift in nineteenth century European historical thought from a tradition and style of objective, documented, history, to the value of the historicist notion of 'feeling into' the past. Williams's idea that representations of the living sense of an historical period are conveyed as an impression of the character and tone of that period in its symbolic forms and become 'felt' in another, later, time and place, are examined in relation to Jungian notions of the collective unconscious and the archetypes. The articulation of the 'structure of feeling' in the Modern period are examined in Jung's writings and in Virginia Woolf's novel, 'Mrs Dalloway' (1925)
The impact of social media influencers on viewers’ inspiration towards tourism destinations and revisit intention: a combined PLS-SEM and NCA approach
No full textThe current study examines the role of social media influencers’ (SMIs) attributes on viewers’ inspiration towards travelling to tourism destinations and their revisit intention, underpinned by both the ‘stimulus to organism response’ (S-O-R) model and ‘persuasion theory’. Firstly, a lay theory approach was used to assess visitors’ beliefs of SMIs’ travel content, via a trinary questionnaire (Yes/Maybe/No). Secondly, PLS-SEM and ‘necessary condition analysis’ (NCA) approaches were applied to assess sufficiency logic and necessary conditions. The trinary responses indicate that travellers believe that SMIs’ attributes are important to them. Moreover, the findings of PLS and NCA reveal that three main persuasive attributes of SMIs, notably expertise, trustworthiness and familiarity, are significant influences as well as the necessary conditions to drive viewers’ inspiration, which further leads to revisit intention. While entertainment and synchronous interactivity are identified as influential factors, they are not necessary conditions. Additionally, informativeness and asynchronous interactivity have neither significant impacts nor necessary conditions. The current study findings extend the persuasion theory by confirming the new attributes of SMIs and the outcome variables of viewers’ inspiration and revisit intention. This study offers practical implications for stakeholders to develop effective online travel promotions through SMIs to increase tourist volume towards destinations