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A siren identification system using deep learning to aid hearing-impaired people
Get PDFThe research presented in this paper is aiming to address the safety issue that hearing-impaired people are facing when it comes to identifying a siren sound. For that purpose, a siren identification system, using deep learning, was designed, built, and tested. The system consists of a convolutional neural network that used image recognition techniques to identify the presence of a siren by converting the incoming sound into spectrograms. The problem with the lack of datasets for the training of the network was addressed by generating the appropriate data using a variety of siren sounds mixed with relevant environmental noise. A hardware interface was also developed to communicate the detection of a siren with the user, using visual methods. After training the model, the system was extensively tested using realistic scenarios to assess its performance. For the siren sounds that were used for training, the system achieved an accuracy of 98 per cent. For real-world siren sounds, recorded in the central streets of London, the system achieved an accuracy of 91 per cent. When it comes to the operation of the system in noisy environments, the tests showed that the system can identify the presence of siren when this is at a sound level of up to -6 db below the background noise. These results prove that the proposed system can be used as a base for the design of a siren-identification application for hearing-impaired people
The promotional window into society: advertising as indicator and influencer of socio-cultural trends
Get PDFIn this position paper, I argue for a structurationist understanding of advertising, exploring the current standing of advertising within western cultures, establishing advertising’s nature as a ‘distorting mirror’ of socio-cultural trends that can provide insight into the mental images and expectations of its target audience. Outlining aspects of the reciprocal relationship between society and advertising, by showcasing how advertising can impact its audiences, the paper provides relevant takeaways of this view of advertising for both academics and brand managers
Public health, technology and social context in Rwanda's COVID-19 response
Get PDFRwanda has, at the time of writing, managed to suppress the spread of COVID-19 to levels lower than all the countries that surround it in Central and East Africa. This chapter examines some of the main reasons why. From the pre-emptive stages of pandemic preparation, the Rwandan government planned for the use of information technology to be central within its public health approach and followed through with implementation of a range of measures utilising such technology when the virus was detected within Rwanda’s borders. From the use of robots for diagnostic and data collection purposes, to the deployment of drones to communicate public health guidance to the population, the benefits in reducing contact and transmission have been clear. Further necessary clarification is provided related to the legal basis for executive use of powers and the balance between human rights and state obligations under Rwanda’s 2003 Constitution (as amended in 2015). Finally, the chapter analyses the historical-social context of Rwanda that contextualises the likelihood of Rwandan people adhering to restrictions placed upon their everyday lives. The chapter concludes that, while some aspects of Rwanda’s approach may be replicable elsewhere, other reasons for Rwanda’s success may be less transferable, being dependent on the social context developed after more than two decades of transitional justice and reconciliation-based activities in the country
Nerve regeneration in transplanted organs and tracer imaging studies: a review
Get PDFThe technique of organ transplantation is well established and after transplantation the patient might be faced with the problem of nerve regeneration of the transplanted organ. Transplanted organs are innervated by the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and visceral sensory plexuses, but there is a lack of clarity regarding the neural influences on the heart, liver and kidneys and the mechanisms of their innervation. Although there has been considerable recent work exploring the potential mechanisms of nerve regeneration in organ transplantation, there remains much that is unknown about the heterogeneity and individual variability in the reinnervation of organ transplantation. The widespread availability of radioactive nerve tracers has also made a significant contribution to organ transplantation and has helped to investigate nerve recovery after transplantation, as well as providing a direction for future organ transplantation research. In this review we focused on neural tracer imaging techniques in humans and provide some conceptual insights into theories that can effectively support our choice of radionuclide tracers. This also facilitates the development of nuclear medicine techniques and promotes the development of modern medical technologies and computer tools. We described the knowledge of neural regeneration after heart transplantation, liver transplantation and kidney transplantation and apply them to various imaging techniques to quantify the uptake of radionuclide tracers to assess the prognosis of organ transplantation. We noted that the aim of this review is both to provide clinicians and nuclear medicine researchers with theories and insights into nerve regeneration in organ transplantation and to advance imaging techniques and radiotracers as a major step forward in clinical research. Moreover, we aimed to further promote the clinical and research applications of imaging techniques and provide clinicians and research technology developers with the theory and knowledge of the nerve
Responding to the need of postgraduate education for Planetary Health: development of an online Master's Degree
Get PDFThe Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) have developed an online and asynchronous Master in Science (MSc) in Planetary Health. The aim of the programme is to train a new generation of academics and professionals who understand the challenges of Planetary Health and have tools to tackle them. The design of this MSc was based on: the alignment of the programme with the principles for Planetary Health education with a focus on human health; a multi-, inter-, and trans-disciplinary approach; the urgency to respond to the Anthropocene challenges; and the commitment to the 2030 Agenda.
The MSc was recognized as an official degree by the Spanish academic system on April 2021 and launched in October 2021. There are currently more than 50 students enrolled in the program coming from a broad range of disciplines and geographic locations.
This article describes the development of the curriculum of this MSc, presents the main characteristics of the programme and discusses some of the challenges encountered in the development of the programme and its implementation
Applying real-time dynamic scaffolding techniques during tutoring sessions using intelligent tutoring systems
Get PDFAn intelligent tutoring system (ITS) is a computer system or software application that is built to replicate human tutors by supporting the theory of “learning by doing.” Even though ITSs have been proven to be successful in academic studies, they still have not found large adoption by the industry due to the complexities of building such systems due to the high technical expertise and domain knowledge requirements. Attempts have been made to build authoring tools that can provide assistance in building tutoring systems; however, most of these tools are targeted toward authors that have considerable programming experience. This research proposes an authoring tool for ITS, which is targeted at novice authors with minimum technical/programming experience and provides real-time scaffolding to learner’s incomplete/incorrect answers using the best scaffolding techniques. Two evaluation techniques were applied for the evaluation of the performance of the proposed authoring tool, e.g., paired t-test analysis and postexperiment survey. The learning gains obtained from paired t-test contend a significant learning gain and improvement in the learning process with enhanced learning performance with multiple scaffolding techniques as compared to single scaffolding technique experience. The postexperiment survey has a notable result that shows the effectiveness of the tutor model that ensures a very user-friendly interface, deploying scaffolding techniques and adequate control of selecting and deploying scaffolding techniques and making the authoring process easy
Caring for people living with dementia in their own homes: a qualitative study exploring the role and experiences of registered nurses within a district nursing service in the UK
Get PDFBackground
In the UK, district nursing services (DNS) deliver care to people intheir own homes and have regular contact with people with dementia. Research conducted with nurses working in similar roles outside the UK suggests their contribution to high quality dementia care is limited by compassion fatigue, lack of dementia training and low levels of confidence. However, there is a paucity of research exploring the role and learning and support needs of nurses within DNS.
Objectives
The aim was to gain insight into the role and experiences of nurses caring for people living with dementia at home.
Methods
The study was informed by a descriptive phenomenological approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of ten nurses working in DNS. Data were analysed thematically.
Results
Five main themes were identified: ‘Home as a care setting’ reflected how delivering home-based care shaped participants experiences of caring for people with dementia; ‘Taking it in their stride’ revealed how participants adapted and responded to the complexity of care needs for people with dementia; ‘Complexity and unpredictability’ related to the unpredictable nature of people with dementia's care needs and the impact this had on participants' workloads; ‘Expertise and support within the wider team’ detailed which networks nurses used for advice and support to manage the complex needs of people living with dementia at home; ‘Specialist support’ identified the need for structural changes and resources to enable the nurses to deliver the care needed.
Conclusions
This study enables better understanding of the role of DNS in supporting people with dementia to live at home. This is important for defining how dementia care can become effectively integrated into primary care. Recommendations include improved models of care, which factor in specialist nurses, additional time for home visits and greater emphasis on education and training.
Implications for practice
Improved models of working that factor in additional time and staffing such as specialist nurses in dementia and palliative care would allow DNS to meet the needs of people with dementia more effectively
Teaching Here and There; Episode 15, with academics Paraskevi Dilaveri and Jelle Scheurleer
No full textThis is episode 15 of our podcast series features a European-centred conversation with Paraskevi Dilaveri, or Evi as we know her, the Coordinator of the Bachelors Writing Program at The American College of Greece in Athens, where she also teaches academic writing and research skills. Our second guest is Jelle Scheurleer is the course director radiotherapy modules of the master program in Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology at Inholland University of Applied Sciences, in Haarlem, NL.
Our guests discuss their experiences of hybrid teaching before, during and since the pandemic. Evi and Jelle talk about their challenges and the realities for students, how hybrid teaching should be approached, as well as the impact of hybrid on their students' sense of inclusivity and the practical implications for two different but hands-on courses, as well as the importance of the campus experience
Effects of rural tourism development on poverty alleviation: a grounded theory
Get PDFTourism has been accredited as a significant sector by the Namibian government because it is one of the highest income earners and ranks third after mining and agriculture. This research paper explores the key determinants of poverty in the Northern region of Namibia (Kunene and Zambezi) and the effects of rural tourism development on poverty alleviation. The research adopted grounded theory and phenomenological approaches and data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with various tourism stakeholders in the two regions. The research findings reveal the importance of all stakeholders in identifying the causes of poverty in each region/constituency before implementing poverty alleviation strategies. This study, therefore, concludes that providing the same tourism strategies to different geographical locations does not work, because some communities are extremely deprived. This research, therefore, recommends a flexible framework which takes a pragmatic approach to move away from the “one size fits all” approach
Work-Family Conflict and Mental Distress of Black Women in Employment in South Africa: A Template Analysis
Get PDFWork–family conflict causes stress, and exposure to it may lead to mental distress. Yet little is known about work–family conflict and mental distress in Africa. This study reports on the perceptions of black South African women in employment on work–family conflict and the mental distress women may experience when exposed to this conflict. The study utilised interpretative phenomenological analysis as a research design. Data were collected with the help of a semi-structured interview schedule. A total of 20 individual interviews and four focus group interviews comprising five participants each were conducted. All interviews were audio-recorded, and the data obtained were transcribed verbatim and analysed using template analysis. Two level-one theme codes emerged from the data analysis: antecedents of work–family conflict and work–family conflict manifestations. The findings of the study point to the need for managers to work in partnership with employees using family-friendly initiatives such as family supportive supervision for promoting mental well-being