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Feel it, code it: emotional goal modelling for gender-inclusive design
No full textContext and motivation: Organisational values such as inclusion are often explicit, providing a common language to guide behaviour and motivate employees. Personal values are often less explicit but do guide individuals’ decisions, and when challenged they generate an emotional response. However, understanding organisational values and linking them to implicit personal values of employees can be challenging.Question/problem: In this paper, we investigate the use of emotional goal models to act as a link between organisational and personal values.Principal ideas/result: We argue that when designing processes and systems for enacting organisational values, requirements engineers must consider the diverse personal values of the employees. We completed a case study within a multi-national organisation and identified pain points on career journeys which amplify the disparity of experience between men and women. We applied emotional goal modelling to elicit requirements for inclusive processes. We suggest that emotional goals can serve as a proxy for personal values and can support the formulation of requirements for designing processes cognizant of the organisational value of inclusion.Contribution: Our empirical evaluation suggests that the modelling of emotional goals can support the operationalisation of values as requirements for gender-inclusive organisational processes and systems.</p
Perspectives of people with stroke, caregivers and healthcare professionals on an adaptive mHealth intervention for physical activity in the prevention of secondary stroke: a qualitative study
No full textIntroduction: Engaging in regular physical activity (PA) is associated with lower mortality following stroke, and PA reduces the chance of recurrent stroke. Despite recent guidelines to optimise PA following stroke, people with stroke are known to be less active than their age-matched counterparts. Given the heterogenous nature of stroke, adaptive PA interventions are recommended for people with stroke. Empirical data is lacking on adaptive PA or behavioural change interventions following stroke. Suggested strategies in the prevention of stroke recommend the use of mobile health (mHealth) interventions in the primary prevention of stroke. A structured stakeholder consultation process is key to successful implementation of complex interventions. This paper reports the findings of our consultation process to inform the development of an adaptive mHealth PA.Methods: We used a qualitative study design to explore the perspectives of key stakeholders on the development of an adaptive PA intervention delivered via mHealth post-stroke. Healthcare workers, carers and people with stroke participated in semi-structured one-to-one or focus group interviews. A reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken on transcribed interviews; key themes and sub-themes were developed using coding and summarised by two researchers, then reviewed by the full research team.Results: Twenty-eight stakeholders were interviewed and three main themes were identified; Key feature of a mHealth intervention, delivering a mHealth intervention, Challenges to development and use. There was widespread agreement across stakeholder groups that an adaptive mHealth PA intervention following stroke would be beneficial to people with stroke, following discharge from acute care.Conclusion: Our consultation supports the development of an adaptive PA programme that addresses specific impairments that can hinder exercise participation after stroke.</p
2024, No. 2, CWELL Magazine
No full textCWELL Magazine: community wellness empowerment leadership and lifeskills, 2024, Mar/Apr, No 2</p
A multifamily group for adolescents with emotion regulation difficulties: adolescent, parent and clinician experiences
No full textBackground: Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) has been successfully adapted for use with adolescents experiencing difficulties associated with the maladaptive un-dercontrol of emotion. However, clinical observation and research findings suggest that adolescents may exhibit traits of both undercontrol and overcontrol—where over-regulation of emotion predominates. In the adult population, distinct groups of individuals with under- and overcontrolled regulation styles can be identified, and treatments such as Group Radical Openness (GRO) have shown promise in treating difficulties associated with the latter. However, there are difficulties identifying distinct groups of under- and overcontrolled adolescents.
Aims: The present study therefore sought to qualitatively explore the experiences of participants (adolescents and parents) and facilitators of an intervention integrating DBT for adolescents’ skills training with GRO.
Method: Six adolescents, seven parents and six clinicians completed semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Nine themes and six sub-themes were generated.
Findings: Findings suggested that an intervention of this type may have particular utility for adolescents with emotion regulation difficulties in the context of both over-control and undercontrol. Participants described improvements in symptoms and relational functioning, which they attributed to the evelopment of a shared language for communicating about emotion and the multifamily group context within which the intervention was delivered. Findings also emphasised the utility of rolling groups.
Discussion: Further research investigating the efficacy of this intervention is war-ranted. Strengths, limitations, future directions and implications for practice are discussed.</p
Safety, efficacy and health impact of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS): an umbrella review protocol
No full textBackground Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), commonly known as e-cigarettes or vapes, have witnessed a rise in popularity, particularly among the youth. Although they were initially introduced as an alternative to traditional smoking, the design and function of ENDS vary. The potential health effects of ENDS, especially in comparison to traditional cigarettes, are a matter of ongoing debate. Given the increasing number of clinical studies and systematic reviews on this topic, there exists a demand for an umbrella review that offers a comprehensive assessment. The goal of this study is to perform an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to assess the safety, efficacy, health implications and potential gateway effect associated with ENDS. Methods and analysis This umbrella review will adhere to the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) framework and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines. A planned literature search will be executed across databases such as OVID, PubMed/ MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. The inclusion criteria are systematic reviews that discuss ENDS and e-liquids in the context of safety, efficacy and health outcomes. The exclusion criteria include narrative reviews, non-systematic reviews and studies not in English. Quality of the selected studies will be evaluated using the AMSTAR V.2 Scale. An overlap assessment will be done using the Corrected Covered Area, and data synthesis will be presented both narratively and in tabulated forms Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval is not required for this study, as it does not involve the collection of original data. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication. The findings will offer crucial insights for stakeholders, policy-makers and the general public, underlining the health implications and the role of ENDS in tobacco cessation.</p
Optimizing evolutionary computation with hierarchy-based fitness functions for improved performance and efficiency
No full textResearch often focuses on improving performance and efficiency at a lower cost than the current state-of-the-art; one approach, which has enjoyed some success, is the use of various hierarchical models, particularly when trying to improve the scaling ability of Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs). The central hypothesis of this thesis is that by implementing hierarchy in fitness functions, which are at the core of EAs, one can reduce computational costs and improve performance.We initially develop a hierarchical system known as Pyramid, in which problems are decomposed into simpler versions that can be more easily solved, before scaling up to more difficult versions while reducing the population size. The scaling involves promoting high-performing individuals once they attain a certain threshold of fitness. A major research question in Pyramid is when to promote individuals to the next level (indicated by α), and another is how many individuals to promote (indicated by β). These choices were initially made arbitrarily.As part of our analysis, we use a set of GA benchmark problems to demonstrate that Pyramid is capable of at least the same performance in terms of solution quality on these benchmarks but at a considerably lower cost in terms of the number of individuals evaluated.Next, we improve Pyramid by introducing a refined threshold value of α to ensure that the top individuals are highly significantly better than the original population at the current level and making β less aggressive (to maintain a moderately sized population at the final level).As an extension of Pyramid, we propose Hierarchical Multi-Objective Symbolic Regression (HMS), where multiple objectives are arranged hierarchically. HMS works on two levels. At the first level, a random population is evolved based on a single objective (accuracy), and when the promotional criterion, also referred to as α, is met, some members of the population are promoted to the next level, where another objective (complexity) is introduced. This new, smaller population subsequently evolves using Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO). Several complexity measures are tested along with performance (accuracy). HMS is validated using synthetic Symbolic Regression (SR) problems, benchmarked against state-of-the-art solutions, as demonstrated by the best paper presented at GECCO 2022, where the authors utilized similar problems for evaluation. The evolved models are either competitive with or better than models produced with standard approaches in terms of performance. In terms of size, the solutions are more efficient, lowering computational costs.The hierarchical approaches we propose can benefit both GA and GP. Hierarchies are implemented from 2 to 5 levels, and the system is scalable to include more levels if needed. The performance is better or equal to the current state of the art, but our approaches are less computationally expensive.</p
Synthesis of sustainable lignin precursors for hierarchical porous carbons and their efficient performance in energy storage applications
No full textABSTRACT: Lignin-derived porous carbons have great potential for energy storage applications. However, their traditional synthesis requires highly corrosive activating agents in order to produce porous structures. In this work, an environmentally friendly and unique method has been developed for preparing lignin-based 3D spherical porous carbons (LSPCs). Dropwise injection of a lignin solution containing PVA sacrificial templates into liquid nitrogen produces tiny spheres that are lyophilized and carbonized to produce LSPCs. Most of the synthesized samples possess excellent specific surface areas (426.6−790.5 m2 /g) along with hierarchical micro- and mesoporous morphologies. When tested in supercapacitor applications, LSPC-28 demonstrates a superior specific capacitance of 102.3 F/g at 0.5 A/g, excellent rate capability with 70.3% capacitance retention at 20 A/g, and a commendable energy density of 2.1 Wh/kg at 250 W/kg. These materials (LSPC-46) also show promising performance as an anode material in sodium-ion batteries with high reversible capacity (110 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 ), high Coulombic efficiency, and excellent cycling stability. This novel and green technique is anticipated to facilitate the scalability of lignin-based porous carbons and open a range of research opportunities for energy storage applications</p
Contrasting phosphorus build‑up and drawdown dynamics in soils receiving dairy processing sludge and mineral fertilisers
No full textSustainable utilisation of waste from the food industry is required to transition to a circular economy. The dairy industry relies on high phosphorus (P) inputs and produces large quantities of P-rich dairy processing sludge (DPS). Recycling DPS into P fertilisers provides an opportunity to decrease the reliance on chemical P fertilisers. However, current soil nutrient management planning (NMP) is based on chemical P and does not account for recycled alternatives. A pot trial using a novel isotope pool dilution technique was used to describe build-up and drawdown cycles of P in soils fertilised with DPS. Changes in available, exchangeable, and Mehlich3 P (M3-P) pools were recorded over 36 weeks of grass growth. Results demonstrated that in the period of high P demand (12 weeks), these P pools were depleted. As crop growth and demand decreased, available P recovered through mobilisation of P from exchangeable P and M3-P reserves. DPS allowed available P to recover and build up to agronomic target levels after 24 weeks. Using DPS, build-up of available and exchangeable P was slower but P use efficiency was higher at stages of slow growth. Dairy waste created a more stable P pool which could be utilised by crops over a growing season indicating that NMP needs to account for this in the decision support for growers. Isotope studies revealed that extractive agronomic tests do not capture drawdown in P reserves.</p
Independent Tether Management Nodes for Subsea Vehicles in Complex Fields
No full textThis paper presents a Tether Multipoint Management System (TMMS) for a Resident Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) in offshore operations. Operating close to structure or seabed. Boulders etc tether management is critical to ensure the safety and effectiveness of operations without tether entanglement. The proposed TMMS is composed of one or more Independent Tether Management Nodes (ITMN) enabling the ROV to move freely and autonomously around offshore structures while minimizing the risk of tether entanglement. The ITMN can use a combination of active thrusters (axial, lateral, and vertical) and passive (buoyancy and fin) control to achieve the necessary degrees of freedom and an onboard battery for power. The proposed system expands the operational capability of the ROV, allowing it to perform tasks not possible beforehand, saving time and increasing efficiency. </p
Physical activity, screen time and dietary behaviours in New Zealand adolescents prior to and following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textBackground Insufcient physical activity, high screen time, and unhealthy dietary patterns among adolescents may have worsened during the pandemic, but data are lacking. This study compared physical activity, screen time and fruit and vegetable intake in adolescents from Dunedin, New Zealand, 5–6 years before (Study 1) and during (Study 2) the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Adolescents completed an online survey as part of the Built Environment and Active Transport to School (BEATS) studies in 2014/2015 (Study 1; n=1,266; age: 15.3±1.4 years; 54.6% female) and 2021/2022 (Study 2; n=819; age: 15.2±1.4 years; 47.4% female). The proportion of adolescents meeting guidelines for physical activity (≥60 min/ day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity), outside school screen time (≤2 h/day) and fruit and vegetable intake (>1 serving/day for both fruit and vegetables) was calculated. Data were analysed using multivariable linear and logistic regression modelling. Results Few adolescents met recommended health behaviour guidelines. Compared to Study 1, significantly greater proportions of adolescents at Study 2 met guidelines for physical activity (16.7% vs. 23.1%; p<0.001) and out-side school screen time (13.3% vs. 18.3%; p<0.001) while fruit and vegetable intake was not different (29.6% vs. 27.0%; p=0.322). Compared to Study 1, average outside school screen time at Study 2 was lower on both weekdays (5.0±2.9 vs. 4.6±2.9; p<0.001) and weekend days (6.9±3.5 vs. 6.1±3.6 h/day; p<0.001). Reported frequency of consuming sweets was higher and soft drinks lower at Study 2 versus Study 1. Conclusions Despite observed higher levels of physical activity and lower levels of outside school screen time during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic levels, few adolescents met health behaviour guidelines at both time points. Therefore, comprehensive health promotion that aims to improve physical activity levels, screen time and dietary patterns for adolescents is still necessary to prevent chronic health conditions adulthood</p