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Change Blindness Image Database
No full textThis archive includes the full 100-images used in the development of the Change Detection Task. Images with and without the target are provided, as well as a separate folder where the target has been highlighted.Two versions of the task are also provided, a 40-image version and a 20-image version. Each version is further divided into Set A and Set B of the task. This allows for repeated measures designs using the task. Within each folder of both versions is a CSV file containing data pertaining to performance on each image for that version of the task.A CSV file is also provided that details the changing feature, the X and Y pixel details of the target, and total area of the image the target covers.Lastly, eight practice images and four 'easy' images are provided. These easy images contain a larger target that is easier to detect in order to protect against task difficulty reducing task motivation.A jamovi and CSV datafile is also provided for a study that investigated change detection performance and executive functioning.</p
Blockchain innovation in sports economies
No full textIn this chapter, Potts, Thomas and Tierney consider sports as an economy and the impact of innovation, blockchain technology and its applications, on truth and trust in sports and business models and opportunities. They dedicate space and time to several of blockchains’ potential applications in sports—NFTs, DAOs, and web3 chief among them. Finally, with blockchain technology as their new foundation, they imagine the future of sports economies.</p
Virtual consumption in luxury brands: consumer purchase motivations of virtual luxury fashion in virtual worlds
No full textPurposeThis study aims to determine Chinese consumers’ motivations for purchasing virtual luxury fashion in virtual worlds (i.e. luxury skins in video games), building on a theory of consumption values, luxury fashion and virtual consumption studies.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers conducted qualitative research that utilised semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis using NVivo. About 21 Chinese participant responses were collected and analysed to identify and classify themes.FindingsConsumers purchase virtual luxury products for nine reasons. These include social value, driven by conspicuous consumption needs and self-expression; emotional value, involving perceived enjoyment and emotional connection derived from game characters; functional value, reflected in visual aesthetics; epistemic value, rooted in novelty and conditional value, linked to continual usage intention. These findings offer crucial insights into how consumers perceive the value of virtual luxury. The findings also reveal that brand awareness and perceived exclusivity shape consumers’ perceptions of the social value of virtual luxury fashion, which, in turn, influences their purchasing decisions.Originality/valueThis study is timely for both luxury brands and creators of virtual worlds, given the increasing collaboration between these two industries. By building upon a theory of consumption values, this study contributes to the rapidly growing research field of virtual luxury fashion consumption. Furthermore, the findings of this study, which reveal the key drivers behind consumers’ purchasing decisions, can be applied to real-life brand collaborations with creators of virtual worlds. A comprehensive understanding of consumer purchase motivations can offer strategic guidance for virtual product development and the enhancement of customer experiences in these environments.</p
Patient‐size based dose optimization in projection radiography examinations: A BMI‐guided approach
No full textPurpose: The increasing prevalence of obesity poses challenges for dose optimization in projection radiography due to greater anatomical thickness in overweight and obese patients worldwide. Diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) alone may not adequately account for variations in body habitus, potentially leading to suboptimal patient protection. This study aimed to explore benchmark doses (BMDs) based on patient body mass index (BMI) for projection radiography examinations of major anatomical regions in Sri Lanka, providing a complementary approach for dose optimization alongside DRLs.Methods: This prospective study included 1989 adult patients (≥18 years) undergoing abdomen anteroposterior (AP), chest posteroanterior (PA), kidney–ureter–bladder (KUB) AP, lumbar spine AP, lumbar spine lateral (LAT), and pelvis AP examinations at six major tertiary care hospitals. For each examination, patient demographics (age, weight, height, and BMI) and exposure parameters (kilovoltage peak [kVp] and tube current-exposure time product [mAs]) were recorded, and the patient doses in terms of kerma-area product (PKA) were measured using a PKA meter. DRLs (achievable doses) were proposed at the median of the median PKA distribution across hospitals for a standard-sized patient group (58 ± 20 kg). For BMI-based BMDs, patients were classified into four standard BMI categories: underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese. The median PKA distributions across hospitals were used to formulate BMI-based BMDs, which were then compared with the proposed DRLs for the standard-sized patient group.Results: The results showed a progressive increase in BMI-based BMDs across BMI categories for all examinations studied. BMI-based BMDs (in Gy.cm2) for underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese patients were as follows: 1.46, 1.94, 2.88, 3.00 (abdomen AP); 0.17, 0.21, 0.22, 0.25 (chest PA); 1.70, 1.76, 2.30, 3.60 (KUB AP); 1.00, 1.03, 1.29, 1.48 (lumbar spine AP); 1.94, 2.09, 2.57, 2.56 (lumbar spine LAT); and 0.60, 1.85, 1.86, 2.24 (pelvis AP). Compared to normal weight patients, underweight patients exhibited percentage reductions in BMI-based BMDs of 24.7%, 3.4%, 2.9%, 7.1%, 4.5%, and 67.6% for abdomen AP, KUB AP, lumbar spine AP, lumbar spine LAT, chest PA, and pelvis AP, respectively. Conversely, overweight patients demonstrated percentage increases of 48.5%, 30.7%, 25.2%, 23.0%, 4.8%, and 0.5% across the same examinations, while obese patients showed increases of 54.6%, 104.5%, 51.5%, 22.5%, 19.0%, and 21.1%, respectively. DRLs for the standard-sized patient group were 1.82, 0.22, 2.03, 1.27, 2.21, and 1.90 Gy.cm2, respectively.Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of BMI-based BMDs as an effective tool for personalized dose optimization, accounting for variations in patient body habitus. Their integration into clinical practice, alongside DRLs, could enhance patient protection and promote good radiographic practices. Furthermore, the findings underscore the need for the introduction of international guidelines for DRLs in intervals of BMI to ensure standardized implementation across countries.</p
Does it even exist? Transformational climate change responses in metropolitan Melbourne and implications for higher education.
No full textTransformational climate change responses (CCRs) are vital for countries to achieve mitigation and adaptation goals, and to safeguard socioecological well-being. While transformative mitigation appears straightforward, adaptation measures are harder to grasp. Higher education has the potential to train future practitioners not only in CCRs but also in addressing the broader challenges that a changing climate presents. I analyzed the transformative nature of CCRs developed by the nine Northern Alliance for Greenhouse Action (NAGA) councils in Melbourne, considering three key criteria—research and education engagement, addressing existing vulnerabilities, and tackling root causes. Transformative adaptation measures are less visible in local government strategies, with incremental adaptation strategies being more prevalent. Conversely, mitigation responses lean toward transformative actions. This underscores the need for a shift in CCR pedagogy in higher education, preparing practitioners for transformational climate actions, especially considering students entering work placements and employment in Victorian local councils.</p
Intelligent robust control design for a 3-DoF industrial manipulator
No full textPrecise control of multi-degree-of-freedom (DoF) robotic manipulators is essential in industrial settings, where high tracking accuracy, fast convergence, and robustness to uncertainty are critical. However, many existing methods continue to suffer from high chattering, slow response, and limited adaptability to disturbances or abrupt input variations. This paper presents a control framework for a 3-DoF industrial manipulator that integrates nonsingular terminal sliding mode control (NTSMC), backstepping design, and a clustering-enhanced radial basis function neural network (RBFNN). The NTSMC component provides finite-time convergence and strong robustness to matched uncertainties, leading to superior tracking performance with a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.000202 under ideal conditions and 0.002634 under disturbances, both significantly better than those achieved by Fuzzy-sliding mode control (SMC) and SMC-neural network (NN) baselines. Backstepping enables smooth coordination of the control input across dynamic subsystems, which reduces settling time to 0.0375 seconds in the ideal case and 0.2808 seconds under disturbance. The clustering-enhanced RBFNN allows structured and efficient initialization of network parameters, identifying effective centers and widths in fewer than 500 iterations and improving generalization to both periodic and abrupt input signals. The combined design eliminates the common trade-off between chattering suppression and trajectory smoothness and demonstrates practical potential for real-time, high-precision control in uncertain industrial environments.</p
An EKF prediction of COVID-19 propagation under vaccinations and viral variants
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose significant challenges to global public health, requiring advanced predictive mathematical models for prediction, prevention and control. This paper proposes a novel approach to dynamic estimation of COVID-19 pandemic in the presence of vaccinations and viral variants. By introducing the vaccinated compartment and re-infection factor into the classical susceptible, exposed, infectious, recovered, and deceased (SEIRD) model to characterise the vaccination and re-infection effects, a new vaccination-SEIRD (V-SEIRD) model is established to depict the dynamics of COVID-19 transmission in the presence of vaccinations and viral variants under the variable total population. Upon this model, an extended Kalman filter (EKF) is further developed to simultaneously estimate the model parameters and predict the transmission state for COVID-19 pandemic. Results demonstrate that the suggested approach is capable of characterising the vaccination and re-infection impacts on COVID-19 evolution, resulting in enhanced accuracy for COVID-19 prediction in the presence of vaccinations and viral variants. The proposed method can aid the design of vaccination strategies and public health policies for infectious disease prevention and control.</p
Oral Health in Individuals with Severe Mental Illness on Second‐Generation Antipsychotics—A Scoping Review
No full textINTRODUCTION: There has been a significant increase in antipsychotic usage, particularly belonging to second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs), in the management of severe mental illnesses (SMIs) over the past few decades, but their impact on oral health is unclear. This review evaluated the oral side effects of the SGAs used in managing SMIs. METHODS: A PRISMA-guided scoping review was conducted, using predefined criteria and relevant word combination in Medline (PubMed), Embase, Scopus and Cochrane databases. Eligible studies were assessed for study type, population demographics, antipsychotic medication usage, oral diseases and conditions, and their outcomes. Primary outcomes were explicitly studied oral conditions or diseases, and secondary outcomes were broader oral or general "treatment-emergent adverse effects." RESULTS: Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria for the primary outcomes and 13 for the secondary outcomes. The most reported primary outcomes were salivary gland dysfunction (hypofunction, three studies; hypersalivation, two studies), dental caries (positive association, three studies; no association, one study), and periodontal disease (five studies). Secondary outcomes included dysgeusia and oral hypoesthesia (six studies). DISCUSSION: SGAs significantly compromise oral health, particularly through salivary gland and sensory dysfunction, highlighting the need for up-to-date guidelines on routine oral screening and preventive care.</p
Monitoring of Defects in Overhead Conductors Using Non-Electrical Partial Discharge Method
No full textThe safety and reliability of overhead transmission lines depend significantly on the timely identification of mechanical conductor defects such as broken strands, surface burrs, arcing, and bird caging. These irregularities not only compromise structural integrity but also generate localised electric field distortions that may trigger partial discharge. This thesis proposes a comprehensive, non-contact partial discharge-based fault detection methodology by combining electromagnetic sensing with drone-compatible sensor technologies, offering a scalable approach to modern powerline monitoring.A technical investigation begins by examining the underlying mechanisms of conductor degradation and its relationship with partial discharge activity. Finite element modelling using COMSOL Multiphysics is employed to simulate the electric field distribution of aluminium conductor steel-reinforced cables under different defect conditions. The simulations reveal that broken strands significantly intensify electric fields around the fault region, increasing the likelihood of ionisation and partial discharge occurrence. These findings guide the design and placement of sensors for field deployment.To validate the simulation results, laboratory experiments are conducted under high-voltage conditions. The study quantifies the partial discharge intensity caused by single and multiple broken strands, confirming that increased gap distance between the strand and conductor core correlates with higher partial discharge magnitude, and in some cases, transitions into arcing. Additional tests compare defect types and their corresponding phase-resolved partial discharge patterns, highlighting the sensitivity of partial discharge measurements to specific conductor abnormalities. These results suggest that phase-resolved partial discharge patterns analysis can not only detect but also classify different fault types.The thesis further investigates sensor technology selection, evaluating the performance of three different antennas—a biconical antenna, a monopole antenna, and a commercial early fault detection sensor. Through comparative partial discharge signal analysis across multiple conductor states, the early fault detection sensor is found to offer the best balance between detection accuracy, portability, and suitability for drone integration.Building on this, the experiment of an early fault detection sensor mounted on a drone flying alone conductor is proposed and simulated. The key objective of this experiment is to confirm the precision of the distance measurements made by the sensor and establish the trigger conditions for the detection of failures, which are visualised using an oscilloscope. In summary, this research establishes a novel partial discharge-based detection framework combining finite element modelling (FEM) simulation, high-voltage experimentation, antenna evaluation, and drone-based monitoring. The findings support a scalable, non-invasive, and cost-effective approach for proactive conductor health monitoring, contributing to the advancement of smart grid asset management strategies.</p
The role of family support on the effects of paramedic role overload on resilience, intention to leave and promotive voice
No full textPurpose: Paramedics have played a critical role in the health care system response to the COVID-19 pandemic as frontline responders. However, in comparison to other health care workers (i.e. nurses), less research has been conducted on how paramedic work has been undertaken and how they manage their resources in the context of high workloads. This study examines several factors that deplete paramedic resources as well as the importance of family support in buffering the effects of low levels of resilience that can impact paramedic intention to leave and promotive voice. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 648 paramedics employed by Ambulance Victoria, Australia, during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine five hypotheses: (1) resilience mediates the relationship between role overload and intention to leave; (2) resilience mediates the relationship between role overload and promotive voice; (3) family support moderates the relationship between role overload and resilience; (4) family support moderates the indirect effect of role overload on intention to leave via resilience and (5) family support moderates the indirect effect of role overload on promotive voice via resilience. Findings: We found that when family support was low, the impact of role overload on turnover intention via resilience was significant. When family support was low, the negative impact of role overload on promotive voice via resilience was significant. When family support was high, such a negative indirect effect was not significant in predicting employee promotive voice via resilience. Practical implications: We suggest that organisations should focus human resource management (HRM) policies and practices on family-friendly initiatives to further enhance family support resources to benefit individuals, families and organisations. Originality/value: Our findings demonstrate the importance of family support as a buffer to the negative effects of role overload on employee resilience and promotive voice. There is clear importance of the contextual elements of family support as a resource, and its absence may result in resource depletion and can act as a catalyst in a resource depletion spiral. This demonstrates the importance of organisations understanding and learning to utilise external resources to complement organisational and individual resources to reduce intention to leave and support promotive employee voice. We suggest that organisations should focus HRM policies and practices on family-friendly initiatives to further enhance family support resources to benefit individuals, families and organisations.</p