What Is the Evidence for Use of a Supplemental Feeding Tube Device as an Alternative Supplemental Feeding Method for Breastfed Infants?

PubMed

Penny, Frances; Judge, Michelle; Brownell, Elizabeth; McGrath, Jacqueline M

2018-02-01

According to the Healthy People 2020 goals, the sustainability of breastfeeding duration rates within the United States has not been achieved. To increase these rates, it is important that women with breastfeeding difficulties receive the support needed to continue breastfeeding. When supplementation occurs, it is essential that the breastfeeding relationship be preserved. Various methods of supplementation are often recommended including use of the supplemental feeding tube device (SFTD). The question guiding this brief is "What evidence exists to support the use of an SFTD as a method of supplementation for breastfed infants?" The PubMed and CINAHL databases were queried for original research published in English from 1990 through July 2016. Search terms included "supplemental feeding tube," "breastfeeding," "term infants," "premature infants," "Supplemental Nursing System," "Lact-aid," and "supply line." Very limited research exists on the use of SFTDs as a method of supplementation for breastfed infants; however, existing research suggests that an SFTD may be useful as a supplementation method for breastfed infants. High-quality research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of using an SFTD for supporting exclusive and all breastfeeding rates. Nurses and providers need to be educated and trained in the use of SFTDs as well as all supplemental feeding methods. Information on efficacy and SFTD use should also be included in policies related to breastfeeding and human milk use. Further research should determine best methods of supplementation for breastfed infants and should examine differences in breastfeeding rates when using the SFTD for supplementation.

Quasi-experimental study designs series-paper 13: realizing the full potential of quasi-experiments for health research.

PubMed

Rockers, Peter C; Tugwell, Peter; Røttingen, John-Arne; Bärnighausen, Till

2017-09-01

Although the number of quasi-experiments conducted by health researchers has increased in recent years, there clearly remains unrealized potential for using these methods for causal evaluation of health policies and programs globally. This article proposes five prescriptions for capturing the full value of quasi-experiments for health research. First, new funding opportunities targeting proposals that use quasi-experimental methods should be made available to a broad pool of health researchers. Second, administrative data from health programs, often amenable to quasi-experimental analysis, should be made more accessible to researchers. Third, training in quasi-experimental methods should be integrated into existing health science graduate programs to increase global capacity to use these methods. Fourth, clear guidelines for primary research and synthesis of evidence from quasi-experiments should be developed. Fifth, strategic investments should be made to continue to develop new innovations in quasi-experimental methodologies. Tremendous opportunities exist to expand the use of quasi-experimental methods to increase our understanding of which health programs and policies work and which do not. Health researchers should continue to expand their commitment to rigorous causal evaluation with quasi-experimental methods, and international institutions should increase their support for these efforts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing Autonomous Learning in Research Methods Courses: Implementing the Student-Driven Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vandiver, Donna M.; Walsh, Jeffrey A.

2010-01-01

As empirical assessments of teaching strategies increase in many disciplines and across many different courses, a paucity of such assessment seems to exist in courses devoted to social science research methods. This lack of assessment and evaluation impedes progress in developing successful teaching pedagogy. The teaching-learning issue addressed…

Race and Ethnicity in Research Methods. Sage Focus Editions, Volume 157.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanfield, John H., II, Ed.; Dennis, Rutledge M., Ed.

The contributions in this volume examine the array of methods used in quantitative, qualitative, and comparative and historical research to show how research sensitive to ethnic issues can best be conducted. Rethinking and revising traditional methodologies and applying new ones can portray racial and ethnic issues as they really exist. The…

Gas-Dynamic Methods to Reduce Gas Flow Nonuniformity from the Annular Frames of Gas Turbine Engines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolmakova, D.; Popov, G.

2018-01-01

Gas flow nonuniformity is one of the main sources of rotor blade vibrations in the gas turbine engines. Usually, the flow circumferential nonuniformity occurs near the annular frames, located in the flow channel of the engine. This leads to the increased dynamic stresses in blades and consequently to the blade damage. The goal of the research was to find an acceptable method of reducing the level of gas flow nonuniformity. Two different methods were investigated during this research. Thus, this study gives the ideas about methods of improving the flow structure in gas turbine engine. Based on existing conditions (under development or existing engine) it allows the selection of the most suitable method for reducing gas flow nonuniformity.

Remote sensing of suspended sediment water research: principles, methods, and progress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Ping; Zhang, Jing

2011-12-01

In this paper, we reviewed the principle, data, methods and steps in suspended sediment research by using remote sensing, summed up some representative models and methods, and analyzes the deficiencies of existing methods. Combined with the recent progress of remote sensing theory and application in water suspended sediment research, we introduced in some data processing methods such as atmospheric correction method, adjacent effect correction, and some intelligence algorithms such as neural networks, genetic algorithms, support vector machines into the suspended sediment inversion research, combined with other geographic information, based on Bayesian theory, we improved the suspended sediment inversion precision, and aim to give references to the related researchers.

New Internet search volume-based weighting method for integrating various environmental impacts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ji, Changyoon, E-mail: changyoon@yonsei.ac.kr; Hong, Taehoon, E-mail: hong7@yonsei.ac.kr

Weighting is one of the steps in life cycle impact assessment that integrates various characterized environmental impacts as a single index. Weighting factors should be based on the society's preferences. However, most previous studies consider only the opinion of some people. Thus, this research proposes a new weighting method that determines the weighting factors of environmental impact categories by considering public opinion on environmental impacts using the Internet search volumes for relevant terms. To validate the new weighting method, the weighting factors for six environmental impacts calculated by the new weighting method were compared with the existing weighting factors. Themore » resulting Pearson's correlation coefficient between the new and existing weighting factors was from 0.8743 to 0.9889. It turned out that the new weighting method presents reasonable weighting factors. It also requires less time and lower cost compared to existing methods and likewise meets the main requirements of weighting methods such as simplicity, transparency, and reproducibility. The new weighting method is expected to be a good alternative for determining the weighting factor. - Highlight: • A new weighting method using Internet search volume is proposed in this research. • The new weighting method reflects the public opinion using Internet search volume. • The correlation coefficient between new and existing weighting factors is over 0.87. • The new weighting method can present the reasonable weighting factors. • The proposed method can be a good alternative for determining the weighting factors.« less

Developing Methodologies for Evaluating the Earthquake Safety of Existing Buildings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bresler, B.; And Others

This report contains four papers written during an investigation of methods for evaluating the safety of existing school buildings under Research Applied to National Needs (RANN) grants. In "Evaluation of Earthquake Safety of Existing Buildings," by B. Bresler, preliminary ideas on the evaluation of the earthquake safety of existing…

Methodology for Planning Technical Education: With a Case Study of Polytechnics in Bangladesh.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ritzen, Jozef M.; Balderston, Judith B.

A product of research first begun by one of the authors in Bangladesh, this book develops a comprehensive set of methods for planning technical education. Wherever possible, the authors draw on existing tools, fitting them to the specific context of technical education. When faced with planning problems for which existing methods are ill suited…

Evaluating the Impact of an Urban Comprehensive School Reform: An Illustration of the Need for Mixed Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sondergeld, Toni A.; Koskey, Kristin L. K.

2011-01-01

An abundance of comprehensive school reform (CSR) literature exists illustrating CSRs are effective in improving student outcomes. However, much of this research reports on top-down reforms, focuses on academic outcomes, and uses quantitative methods alone. Many educational researchers have argued for the use of mixed methods for providing a…

Untraining Educational Researchers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

St. Pierre, Elizabeth Adams

2016-01-01

The author argues that educational research curriculum that repeats formalized, scientized, pre-existing, methods-driven social science research methodologies stifle the present and future of educational research. Because such methodologies are too often disconnected from their onto-epistemological commitments, she argues for a reconnection with…

Linnorm: improved statistical analysis for single cell RNA-seq expression data.

PubMed

Yip, Shun H; Wang, Panwen; Kocher, Jean-Pierre A; Sham, Pak Chung; Wang, Junwen

2017-12-15

Linnorm is a novel normalization and transformation method for the analysis of single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. Linnorm is developed to remove technical noises and simultaneously preserve biological variations in scRNA-seq data, such that existing statistical methods can be improved. Using real scRNA-seq data, we compared Linnorm with existing normalization methods, including NODES, SAMstrt, SCnorm, scran, DESeq and TMM. Linnorm shows advantages in speed, technical noise removal and preservation of cell heterogeneity, which can improve existing methods in the discovery of novel subtypes, pseudo-temporal ordering of cells, clustering analysis, etc. Linnorm also performs better than existing DEG analysis methods, including BASiCS, NODES, SAMstrt, Seurat and DESeq2, in false positive rate control and accuracy. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Lessons from comparative effectiveness research methods development projects funded under the Recovery Act.

PubMed

Zurovac, Jelena; Esposito, Dominick

2014-11-01

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) directed nearly US$29.2 million to comparative effectiveness research (CER) methods development. To help inform future CER methods investments, we describe the ARRA CER methods projects, identify barriers to this research and discuss the alignment of topics with published methods development priorities. We used several existing resources and held discussions with ARRA CER methods investigators. Although funded projects explored many identified priority topics, investigators noted that much work remains. For example, given the considerable investments in CER data infrastructure, the methods development field can benefit from additional efforts to educate researchers about the availability of new data sources and about how best to apply methods to match their research questions and data.

A Methodology for Conducting Integrative Mixed Methods Research and Data Analyses

PubMed Central

Castro, Felipe González; Kellison, Joshua G.; Boyd, Stephen J.; Kopak, Albert

2011-01-01

Mixed methods research has gained visibility within the last few years, although limitations persist regarding the scientific caliber of certain mixed methods research designs and methods. The need exists for rigorous mixed methods designs that integrate various data analytic procedures for a seamless transfer of evidence across qualitative and quantitative modalities. Such designs can offer the strength of confirmatory results drawn from quantitative multivariate analyses, along with “deep structure” explanatory descriptions as drawn from qualitative analyses. This article presents evidence generated from over a decade of pilot research in developing an integrative mixed methods methodology. It presents a conceptual framework and methodological and data analytic procedures for conducting mixed methods research studies, and it also presents illustrative examples from the authors' ongoing integrative mixed methods research studies. PMID:22167325

Medical School Research Pipeline: Medical Student Research Experience in Psychiatry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balon, Richard; Heninger, George; Belitsky, Richard

2006-01-01

Objective: The authors discuss the importance of introducing research training in psychiatry and neurosciences to medical students. Methods: A review of existing models of research training in psychiatry with focus on those providing research training to medical students is presented. Results: Two research-training models for medical students that…

[How can the impact of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in the Austrian healthcare system be assessed? Design of a conceptual framework].

PubMed

Schumacher, I; Zechmeister, I

2012-04-01

In Austria research in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) has been conducted since the 1990s. Research in HTA aims at supporting an adequate and efficient use of health care resources in order to sustain a publicly financed and solidary health care system. Ultimately, HTA research should result in better health of the population. Research results should provide independent information for decision makers. For legitimizing further research resources and for prioritizing future HTA research and guaranteeing the value of future research, HTA research needs itself to undergo evaluation. Aim of the study is to design a conceptual framework for evaluating the impact of HTA research in Austria on the basis of the existing literature. An already existing review which presents methods and concepts how to evaluate HTA-impact was updated by a systematic research including literature of the years 2004-January 2010. Results were analysed in regard to 4 categories: definition of the term impact, target groups and system levels, operationalisation of indicators and evaluation methods. Overall, 19 publications were included. Referring to the 4 categories, an explanation of impact has to take into account HTAs multidisciplinary setting and needs a context related definition. Target groups, system levels, indicators and methods depend on the impact defined. Studies investigated direct and indirect impact and were focused on different target groups like physicians, nurses and decision makers on the micro-, and meso level, as well as politicians and reimbursement institutions on the macro level. Except for one reference all studies applied already known and mostly qualitative methods for measuring the impact of HTA research. Thus, an appropriate pool of instruments seems to be available. There is a lack of information about validity of applied methods and indicators. By adapting adequate methods and concepts a conceptual framework for the Austrian HTA-Impact evaluation has been designed. The paper presents an overview of existing methods for the evaluation of the HTA research. This has been used to identify useful approaches for measuring the HTA-impact in Austria. By providing a context sensitive framework for impact evaluation in Austria the Austrian HTA-research contributes to the international trend of impact-evaluation. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Digital Video: Scaffolding Fieldworking Skills for Research Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Remler, Nancy

2011-01-01

While many freshman composition textbooks offer cursory instruction on how to conduct field research, very little information exists on teaching undergraduates field research methods. Such instruction often occurs during graduate school. However, in order to become polished writers and researchers, and to see firsthand how research enhances…

Load Model Verification, Validation and Calibration Framework by Statistical Analysis on Field Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiao, Xiangqing; Liao, Yuan; Nguyen, Thai

2017-11-01

Accurate load models are critical for power system analysis and operation. A large amount of research work has been done on load modeling. Most of the existing research focuses on developing load models, while little has been done on developing formal load model verification and validation (V&V) methodologies or procedures. Most of the existing load model validation is based on qualitative rather than quantitative analysis. In addition, not all aspects of model V&V problem have been addressed by the existing approaches. To complement the existing methods, this paper proposes a novel load model verification and validation framework that can systematically and more comprehensively examine load model's effectiveness and accuracy. Statistical analysis, instead of visual check, quantifies the load model's accuracy, and provides a confidence level of the developed load model for model users. The analysis results can also be used to calibrate load models. The proposed framework can be used as a guidance to systematically examine load models for utility engineers and researchers. The proposed method is demonstrated through analysis of field measurements collected from a utility system.

Sunyit Visiting Faculty Research

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

deblurring with Gaussian and impulse noise . Improvements in both PSNR and visual quality of IFASDA over a typical existing method are demonstrated...blurring Images Corrupted by Mixed Impulse plus Gaussian Noise / Department of Mathematics Syracuse University This work studies a problem of image...restoration that observed images are contaminated by Gaussian and impulse noise . Existing methods in the literature are based on minimizing an objective

A Group Contribution Method for Estimating Cetane and Octane Numbers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kubic, William Louis

Much of the research on advanced biofuels is devoted to the study of novel chemical pathways for converting nonfood biomass into liquid fuels that can be blended with existing transportation fuels. Many compounds under consideration are not found in the existing fuel supplies. Often, the physical properties needed to assess the viability of a potential biofuel are not available. The only reliable information available may be the molecular structure. Group contribution methods for estimating physical properties from molecular structure have been used for more than 60 years. The most common application is estimation of thermodynamic properties. More recently, group contributionmore » methods have been developed for estimating rate dependent properties including cetane and octane numbers. Often, published group contribution methods are limited in terms of types of function groups and range of applicability. In this study, a new, broadly-applicable group contribution method based on an artificial neural network was developed to estimate cetane number research octane number, and motor octane numbers of hydrocarbons and oxygenated hydrocarbons. The new method is more accurate over a greater range molecular weights and structural complexity than existing group contribution methods for estimating cetane and octane numbers.« less

[Application and Integration of Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods in Intervention Studies in Rehabilitation Research].

PubMed

Wirtz, M A; Strohmer, J

2016-06-01

In order to develop and evaluate interventions in rehabilitation research a wide range of empirical research methods may be adopted. Qualitative research methods emphasize the relevance of an open research focus and a natural proximity to research objects. Accordingly, using qualitative methods special benefits may arise if researchers strive to identify and organize unknown information aspects (inductive purpose). Particularly, quantitative research methods require a high degree of standardization and transparency of the research process. Furthermore, a clear definition of efficacy and effectiveness exists (deductive purpose). These paradigmatic approaches are characterized by almost opposite key characteristics, application standards, purposes and quality criteria. Hence, specific aspects have to be regarded if researchers aim to select or combine those approaches in order to ensure an optimal gain in knowledge. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

32 CFR 22.105 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... applying existing technology to new products and processes in a general way. Advanced research is most... Category 6.3A) programs within Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E). Applied research... technology such as new materials, devices, methods and processes. It typically is funded in Applied Research...

Reduction of gas flow nonuniformity in gas turbine engines by means of gas-dynamic methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matveev, V.; Baturin, O.; Kolmakova, D.; Popov, G.

2017-08-01

Gas flow nonuniformity is one of the main sources of rotor blade vibrations in the gas turbine engines. Usually, the flow circumferential nonuniformity occurs near the annular frames, located in the flow channel of the engine. This leads to the increased dynamic stresses in blades and as a consequence to the blade damage. The goal of the research was to find an acceptable method of reducing the level of gas flow nonuniformity as the source of dynamic stresses in the rotor blades. Two different methods were investigated during this research. Thus, this study gives the ideas about methods of improving the flow structure in gas turbine engine. On the basis of existing conditions (under development or existing engine) it allows the selection of the most suitable method for reducing gas flow nonuniformity.

Using Participatory and Service Design to Identify Emerging Needs and Perceptions of Library Services among Science and Engineering Researchers Based at a Satellite Campus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Andrew; Kuglitsch, Rebecca; Bresnahan, Megan

2015-01-01

This study used participatory and service design methods to identify emerging research needs and existing perceptions of library services among science and engineering faculty, post-graduate, and graduate student researchers based at a satellite campus at the University of Colorado Boulder. These methods, and the results of the study, allowed us…

Pedagogical Strategies Used by Selected Leading Mixed Methodologists in Mixed Research Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frels, Rebecca K.; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.; Leech, Nancy L.; Collins, Kathleen M. T.

2014-01-01

The teaching of research methods is common across multiple fields in the social and educational sciences for establishing evidence-based practices and furthering the knowledge base through scholarship. Yet, specific to mixed methods, scant information exists as to how to approach teaching complex concepts for meaningful learning experiences. Thus,…

The Experience of Implementing an Interprofessional Research Methods Course for Student Health Professionals of Population Healt and Clinical Practice. Getting the Right Fit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Anne

2008-01-01

Purpose: This paper reports on the adaptation of an existing interpretive and critical research methods course in nursing for postgraduate student health professionals in a School of Population Health and Clinical Practice. Methods: A cyclical approach of inquiry, reflection and planning was undertaken by the teaching team to make changes to the…

Cost-effective data collection in Louisiana.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-09-01

The purpose of this research was to identify cost-effective methods to accumulate data for metropolitan transportation planning in Louisiana. The research was directed at making maximum use of existing data sources, investigating the transferability ...

Defining Quality in Undergraduate Education: Directions for Future Research Informed by a Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowers, Alison W.; Ranganathan, Shyam; Simmons, Denise R.

2018-01-01

Objectives: This research brief explores the literature addressing quality in undergraduate education to identify what previous research has said about quality and to offer future directions for research on quality in undergraduate education. Method: We conducted a scoping review to provide a broad overview of existing research. Using targeted…

Research on Swivel Construction Technology of 22,400 Tons in Zoucheng Thirty Meter Bridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Jun; Benlin, Xiao

2018-05-01

In recent years, with the rapid development of highways and railways in our country, there have been many new bridges that need to cross the existing routes. If the conventional construction methods are used, the existing traffic will be affected and the traffic will be built above the busy traffic lines, so there is a big security risk, the construction methods must be improved and innovated. In this paper, it intends to research and develop some key technologies of swivel construction. According to the construction features to use finite element method of swivel cable-stayed bridge to analyse the cable-stayed bridge . The swivel construction process is carried out to solve the technical problems and difficulties in the construction.

21 CFR 1310.07 - Proof of identity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... may be accomplished by such methods as verifying the business telephone listing through international... research documents or publicly available information which would indicate the existence of the foreign... existence and apparent validity of a business entity ordering a listed chemical, tableting machine or...

The imagework method in health and social science research.

PubMed

Edgar, I R

1999-03-01

Existing alongside the traditional forms of qualitative social science research, there is a set of potential research methods that derive from experiential groupwork and the humanistic human potential movement and are only slightly used by researchers. Social science research has barely begun to use these powerful strategies that were developed originally for personal and group change but that are potentially applicable to the research domain. This article will locate these methods within the qualitative research domain and propose a novel view of their value. The study of the actual and potential use of one of these methods, imagework, will be the particular focus of this article. References to the use of artwork, sculpting, psychodrama, gestalt, and dreamwork will also be made. The hypothesis underpinning the author's approach is that experiential research methods such as imagework can elicit implicit knowledge and self-identifies of respondents in a way that other methods cannot.

Predicting future discoveries from current scientific literature.

PubMed

Petrič, Ingrid; Cestnik, Bojan

2014-01-01

Knowledge discovery in biomedicine is a time-consuming process starting from the basic research, through preclinical testing, towards possible clinical applications. Crossing of conceptual boundaries is often needed for groundbreaking biomedical research that generates highly inventive discoveries. We demonstrate the ability of a creative literature mining method to advance valuable new discoveries based on rare ideas from existing literature. When emerging ideas from scientific literature are put together as fragments of knowledge in a systematic way, they may lead to original, sometimes surprising, research findings. If enough scientific evidence is already published for the association of such findings, they can be considered as scientific hypotheses. In this chapter, we describe a method for the computer-aided generation of such hypotheses based on the existing scientific literature. Our literature-based discovery of NF-kappaB with its possible connections to autism was recently approved by scientific community, which confirms the ability of our literature mining methodology to accelerate future discoveries based on rare ideas from existing literature.

A METHODS COMPARISON FOR COLLECTING MACROINVERTEBRATES IN THE OHIO RIVER

EPA Science Inventory

Collection of representative benthic macroinvertebrate samples from large rivers has been challenging researchers for many years. The objective of our study was to develop an appropriate method(s) for sampling macroinvertebrates from the Ohio River. Four existing sampling metho...

How L2 Legal Writers Use Strategies for Scholarly Writing: A Mixed Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bain Butler, Donna

2010-01-01

This dissertation research fills existing gaps regarding the practices and processes of teaching second language (L2) writers at higher ranges of proficiency in law school context. It is a mixed methods, longitudinal, descriptive, writer-centered study. The research purpose was to explore strategic competence as a catalyst for professional…

A Consideration of the Case for Using Life Story Interviews in the Evaluation of Widening Access Interventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raven, Neil

2016-01-01

Whilst published data sources exist for evaluating interventions aimed at widening higher education access, there is value for practitioners in conducting their own research. However, recognition of the contribution afforded by generating new data raises questions over which research methods to utilise. One method relatively new to widening…

Achievement Motivations of the Students Studying at Computer and Instructional Technologies Teaching Department

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Semerci, Cetin; Duman, Burcu

2013-01-01

The aim of this research is to determine achievement motivations of the students studying at Computer and Instructional Technologies Teaching (CITT) Department. In this research, survey method is used. In the frame of this method, the existing situation about the achievement motivations of CITT students in Yuzuncu Yil and Firat Universities in…

What about the "Google Effect"? Improving the Library Research Habits of First-Year Composition Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corbett, Patrick

2010-01-01

This article presents a consideration of how students' existing information-seeking behaviors affect traditional methods of teaching library research in first-year writing courses and offers an alternative method that uses both library and popular Internet search tools. It addresses one aspect of the ongoing pedagogical struggle with new…

Comparing biomarkers as principal surrogate endpoints.

PubMed

Huang, Ying; Gilbert, Peter B

2011-12-01

Recently a new definition of surrogate endpoint, the "principal surrogate," was proposed based on causal associations between treatment effects on the biomarker and on the clinical endpoint. Despite its appealing interpretation, limited research has been conducted to evaluate principal surrogates, and existing methods focus on risk models that consider a single biomarker. How to compare principal surrogate value of biomarkers or general risk models that consider multiple biomarkers remains an open research question. We propose to characterize a marker or risk model's principal surrogate value based on the distribution of risk difference between interventions. In addition, we propose a novel summary measure (the standardized total gain) that can be used to compare markers and to assess the incremental value of a new marker. We develop a semiparametric estimated-likelihood method to estimate the joint surrogate value of multiple biomarkers. This method accommodates two-phase sampling of biomarkers and is more widely applicable than existing nonparametric methods by incorporating continuous baseline covariates to predict the biomarker(s), and is more robust than existing parametric methods by leaving the error distribution of markers unspecified. The methodology is illustrated using a simulated example set and a real data set in the context of HIV vaccine trials. © 2011, The International Biometric Society.

Research of ceramic matrix for a safe immobilization of radioactive sludge waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorofeeva, Ludmila; Orekhov, Dmitry

2018-03-01

The research and improvement of the existing method for radioactive waste hardening by fixation in a ceramic matrix was carried out. For the samples covered with the sodium silicate and tested after the storage on the air the speed of a radionuclides leaching was determined. The properties of a clay ceramics and the optimum conditions of sintering were defined. The experimental data about the influence of a temperature mode sintering, water quantities, sludge and additives in the samples on their mechanical durability and a water resistance were obtained. The comparative analysis of the conducted research is aimed at improvement of the existing method of the hardening radioactive waste by inclusion in a ceramic matrix and reveals the advantages of the received results over analogs.

Program of Research in Flight Dynamics, The George Washington University at NASA Langley Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphy, Patrick C. (Technical Monitor); Klein, Vladislav

2005-01-01

The program objectives are fully defined in the original proposal entitled Program of Research in Flight Dynamics in GW at NASA Langley Research Center, which was originated March 20, 1975, and in the renewals of the research program from January 1, 2003 to September 30, 2005. The program in its present form includes three major topics: 1. the improvement of existing methods and development of new methods for wind tunnel and flight data analysis, 2. the application of these methods to wind tunnel and flight test data obtained from advanced airplanes, 3. the correlation of flight results with wind tunnel measurements, and theoretical predictions.

How will we know "good" qualitative research when we see it? Beginning the dialogue in health services research.

PubMed

Devers, K J

1999-12-01

To lay the foundation for an explicit review and dialogue concerning the criteria that should be used to evaluate qualitative health services research. Clear criteria are critical for the discipline because they provide a benchmark against which research can be assessed. Existing literature in the social sciences and health services research, particularly in primary care and medicine. Traditional criteria for evaluating qualitative research are rooted in the philosophical perspective (positivism) most closely associated with quantitative research and methods. As a result, qualitative research and methods may not be used as frequently as they can be and research results generated from qualitative studies may not be disseminated as widely as possible. However, alternative criteria for evaluating qualitative research have been proposed that reflect a different philosophical perspective (post-positivism). Moreover, these criteria are tailored to the unique purposes for which qualitative research is used and the research designs traditionally employed. While criteria based on these two different philosophical perspectives have much in common, some important differences exist. The field of health services research must engage in a collective, "qualitative" process to determine which criteria to adopt (positivist or post-positivist), or whether some combination of the two is most appropriate. Greater clarity about the criteria used to evaluate qualitative research will strengthen the discipline by fostering a more appropriate and improved use of qualitative methods, a greater willingness to fund and publish "good" qualitative research, and the development of more informed consumers of qualitative research results.

Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies.

PubMed

Podsakoff, Philip M; MacKenzie, Scott B; Lee, Jeong-Yeon; Podsakoff, Nathan P

2003-10-01

Interest in the problem of method biases has a long history in the behavioral sciences. Despite this, a comprehensive summary of the potential sources of method biases and how to control for them does not exist. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which method biases influence behavioral research results, identify potential sources of method biases, discuss the cognitive processes through which method biases influence responses to measures, evaluate the many different procedural and statistical techniques that can be used to control method biases, and provide recommendations for how to select appropriate procedural and statistical remedies for different types of research settings.

A Delay Discounting Model of Psychotherapy Termination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swift, Joshua K.; Callahan, Jennifer L.

2009-01-01

Delay discounting (DD) procedures are emerging as an important new method for psychotherapy researchers. In this paper a framework for conceptualizing existing, seemingly discrepant, research findings on termination is introduced and new directions for research are described. To illustrate the value of a DD framework, the common psychotherapy…

76 FR 67463 - Pediatric Medical Devices; Public Workshop; Request for Comments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-01

... use, existing scientific research data to determine pediatric effectiveness based on a similar course... research data, and C. The methods to overcome the pitfalls and data gaps, including statistical approaches... announcing a public workshop entitled ``Using Scientific Research Data to Support Pediatric Medical Device...

What Good Are Statistics that Don't Generalize?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaffer, David Williamson; Serlin, Ronald C.

2004-01-01

Quantitative and qualitative inquiry are sometimes portrayed as distinct and incompatible paradigms for research in education. Approaches to combining qualitative and quantitative research typically "integrate" the two methods by letting them co-exist independently within a single research study. Here we describe intra-sample statistical analysis…

Linked Data: Opportunities and Challenges in Disability Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glasson, Emma J.; Hussain, Rafat

2008-01-01

Background: Disability research data often exist in the form of individual records located within discrete registers that may extend across sensitive political boundaries. Method: This paper discusses the opportunities and challenges associated with using linked health and administrative data for disability research, with examples from research…

PARTNERING TO IMPROVE HUMAN EXPOSURE METHODS

EPA Science Inventory

Methods development research is an application-driven scientific area that addresses programmatic needs. The goals are to reduce measurement uncertainties, address data gaps, and improve existing analytical procedures for estimating human exposures. Partnerships have been develop...

The Impact of the Birth of a Child with Intellectual Disabilities on Pre-Existing Parental Christian Faith from the Perspective of Parents Who Have Parented Their Child to Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baines, Susannah; Hatton, Chris

2015-01-01

Background: Faith in the lives of UK families with an adult with intellectual disabilities is an under-researched area with little existing literature. Research in the United States with Christian parents suggests that they draw on their faith for coping (Rogers-Dulan 1998) and for understanding (Skinner et al. 1999). Methods: In this study,…

Using a Brief Form of Problem-Based Learning in a Research Methods Class: Perspectives of Instructor and Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elder, Anastasia D.

2015-01-01

Problem based learning (PBL) is an instructional method aimed at engaging students in collaboratively solving an ill-structured problem. PBL has been presented and researched as an overhaul of existing curriculum design, yet a modified version may be attractive to college instructors who desire active learning on the part of their students, but…

Academic Rigour, Managerial Relevance and Triangulation of Research Methods: A Perspective of Expectations Fulfilment in Postgraduate Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hui, Loi Teck; Fatt, Quek Kia

2008-01-01

Developing high-quality human capital and advancing existing knowledge stocks are crucial for the competitive advantage of a nation. The authors argue that offering postgraduate programmes that give great emphasis to academic rigour, managerial relevance and the triangulation of research methods is vital if these ends are to be achieved. They…

Development and Evaluation of Example-Anchored Scales of Interpersonal Functioning for Rehabilitation Counseling Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Bill K.; And Others

There currently exists a clear need for counseling process research scales developed to reflect the specific behaviors unique to vocational rehabilitation counseling interviews. In research at the Menninger Foundation, Taylor developed methods for constructing example-anchored (EA) scales which increase rater reliability and decrease response…

Reflections on Graduate Student PBL Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Betty

2008-01-01

The study designed to contribute to existing research on Problem-Based Learning (PBL) chose a focus group comprising 16 MSc. Petroleum Engineering students (six females). Using PBL as the method of instruction, students examined a real-life petroleum engineering problem that highlighted numerous areas of their existing curriculum. They worked in…

Steps toward a Technology for the Diffusion of Innovations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stolz, Stephanie B.

Research-based technologies for solving problems currently exist but are not being widely implemented. Although user variables, program effectiveness, and political considerations have been documented as correlates of implementation, general non-implementation of the technology still exists, due to a lack of methods. A technology of dissemination…

An Abstraction-Based Data Model for Information Retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McAllister, Richard A.; Angryk, Rafal A.

Language ontologies provide an avenue for automated lexical analysis that may be used to supplement existing information retrieval methods. This paper presents a method of information retrieval that takes advantage of WordNet, a lexical database, to generate paths of abstraction, and uses them as the basis for an inverted index structure to be used in the retrieval of documents from an indexed corpus. We present this method as a entree to a line of research on using ontologies to perform word-sense disambiguation and improve the precision of existing information retrieval techniques.

Truck trip data collection methods : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-02-01

A considerable body of research exists for addressing the data needs for passenger transportation models and statewide freight truck movements. The number of studies which focus on methods for capturing the necessary data on urban freight movements i...

Maximum margin multiple instance clustering with applications to image and text clustering.

PubMed

Zhang, Dan; Wang, Fei; Si, Luo; Li, Tao

2011-05-01

In multiple instance learning problems, patterns are often given as bags and each bag consists of some instances. Most of existing research in the area focuses on multiple instance classification and multiple instance regression, while very limited work has been conducted for multiple instance clustering (MIC). This paper formulates a novel framework, maximum margin multiple instance clustering (M(3)IC), for MIC. However, it is impractical to directly solve the optimization problem of M(3)IC. Therefore, M(3)IC is relaxed in this paper to enable an efficient optimization solution with a combination of the constrained concave-convex procedure and the cutting plane method. Furthermore, this paper presents some important properties of the proposed method and discusses the relationship between the proposed method and some other related ones. An extensive set of empirical results are shown to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method against existing research for both effectiveness and efficiency.

Analysis and optimization of cross-immunity epidemic model on complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chao; Zhang, Hao; Wu, Yin-Hua; Feng, Wei-Qiang; Zhang, Jian

2015-09-01

There are various infectious diseases in real world, and these diseases often spread on a network of population and compete for the limited hosts. Cross-immunity is an important disease competing pattern, which has attracted the attention of many researchers. In this paper, we discovered an important conclusion for two cross-immunity epidemics on a network. When the infectious ability of the second epidemic takes a fixed value, the infectious ability of the first epidemic has an optimal value which minimizes the sum of the infection sizes of the two epidemics. We also proposed a simple mathematical analysis method for the infection size of the second epidemic using the cavity method. The proposed method and conclusion are verified by simulation results. Minor inaccuracies of the existing mathematical methods for the infection size of the second epidemic are also found and discussed in experiments, which have not been noticed in existing research.

Qualitative case study methodology in nursing research: an integrative review.

PubMed

Anthony, Susan; Jack, Susan

2009-06-01

This paper is a report of an integrative review conducted to critically analyse the contemporary use of qualitative case study methodology in nursing research. Increasing complexity in health care and increasing use of case study in nursing research support the need for current examination of this methodology. In 2007, a search for case study research (published 2005-2007) indexed in the CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, Sociological Abstracts and SCOPUS databases was conducted. A sample of 42 case study research papers met the inclusion criteria. Whittemore and Knafl's integrative review method guided the analysis. Confusion exists about the name, nature and use of case study. This methodology, including terminology and concepts, is often invisible in qualitative study titles and abstracts. Case study is an exclusive methodology and an adjunct to exploring particular aspects of phenomena under investigation in larger or mixed-methods studies. A high quality of case study exists in nursing research. Judicious selection and diligent application of literature review methods promote the development of nursing science. Case study is becoming entrenched in the nursing research lexicon as a well-accepted methodology for studying phenomena in health and social care, and its growing use warrants continued appraisal to promote nursing knowledge development. Attention to all case study elements, process and publication is important in promoting authenticity, methodological quality and visibility.

[Review of research design and statistical methods in Chinese Journal of Cardiology].

PubMed

Zhang, Li-jun; Yu, Jin-ming

2009-07-01

To evaluate the research design and the use of statistical methods in Chinese Journal of Cardiology. Peer through the research design and statistical methods in all of the original papers in Chinese Journal of Cardiology from December 2007 to November 2008. The most frequently used research designs are cross-sectional design (34%), prospective design (21%) and experimental design (25%). In all of the articles, 49 (25%) use wrong statistical methods, 29 (15%) lack some sort of statistic analysis, 23 (12%) have inconsistencies in description of methods. There are significant differences between different statistical methods (P < 0.001). The correction rates of multifactor analysis were low and repeated measurement datas were not used repeated measurement analysis. Many problems exist in Chinese Journal of Cardiology. Better research design and correct use of statistical methods are still needed. More strict review by statistician and epidemiologist is also required to improve the literature qualities.

Camera-Only Kinematics for Small Lunar Rovers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, E.; Suresh, S.; Whittaker, W.

2016-11-01

Knowledge of the kinematic state of rovers is critical. Existing methods add sensors and wiring to moving parts, which can fail and adds mass and volume. This research presents a method to optically determine kinematic state using a single camera.

Jakarta socio-cultural ecology: a sustainable architecture concept in urban neighbourhood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wijaksono, Sigit; Sasmoko; Indrianti, Y.; Widhoyoko, SA

2017-12-01

As a metropolitan city with densely populated and fast residential development Jakarta should be able to implement a concept that is Jakarta socio-cultural ecology Architecture as the basis of settlement development. The concept of Jakarta socio-cultural ecology architecture is characterized by residential development capabilities that reflect and express the indigenous culture, the settlements built by linking the social and economic activities of the people of Jakarta and the settlements built by maintaining the building with the value of existing heritage. The objectives of this research are 1) to find a relevant construct to housing condition in Jakarta which then called Jakarta socio-cultural ecology, and 2) to see the tendency of complex condition of Jakarta socio-cultural ecology settlement. This research uses Neuroresearch method, which is one of mix-method research method as a mixture research method between qualitative research (exploration) and quantitative research method (explanatory and confirmatory). The population of research as well as unit analysis are all settlements in Jakarta. Sampling technique using probability sampling that is with multistage sampling. The results show that nowadays the Jakarta residential complex tends to lead to socio-cultural ecology and rather reflects and expresses the indigenous culture, the residential complex in Jakarta tends to form the building has been linked fully with the social and economic activities of Jakarta society but tends to occasionally maintain buildings with existing heritage values. This study also found that indigenous culture is a significant determinant of the formation of the condition of Jakarta socio-cultural ecology.

How will we know "good" qualitative research when we see it? Beginning the dialogue in health services research.

PubMed Central

Devers, K J

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To lay the foundation for an explicit review and dialogue concerning the criteria that should be used to evaluate qualitative health services research. Clear criteria are critical for the discipline because they provide a benchmark against which research can be assessed. DATA SOURCES: Existing literature in the social sciences and health services research, particularly in primary care and medicine. PRINCIPAL FINDING: Traditional criteria for evaluating qualitative research are rooted in the philosophical perspective (positivism) most closely associated with quantitative research and methods. As a result, qualitative research and methods may not be used as frequently as they can be and research results generated from qualitative studies may not be disseminated as widely as possible. However, alternative criteria for evaluating qualitative research have been proposed that reflect a different philosophical perspective (post-positivism). Moreover, these criteria are tailored to the unique purposes for which qualitative research is used and the research designs traditionally employed. While criteria based on these two different philosophical perspectives have much in common, some important differences exist. CONCLUSION: The field of health services research must engage in a collective, "qualitative" process to determine which criteria to adopt (positivist or post-positivist), or whether some combination of the two is most appropriate. Greater clarity about the criteria used to evaluate qualitative research will strengthen the discipline by fostering a more appropriate and improved use of qualitative methods, a greater willingness to fund and publish "good" qualitative research, and the development of more informed consumers of qualitative research results. Images Figure 1 PMID:10591278

Motivating Teachers towards Expertise Development: A Mixed-Methods Study of the Relationships between School Culture, Internal Factors, and State of Flow

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayeaux, Amanda Shuford

2013-01-01

The purpose of this sequential mixed-methods research was to discover the impact school culture, internal factors, and the state of flow has upon motivating a teacher to develop teaching expertise. This research was designed to find answers concerning why and how individual teachers can nurture their existing internal factors to increase their…

Students' Preferences in Undergraduate Mathematics Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iannone, P.; Simpson, A.

2015-01-01

Existing research into students' preferences for assessment methods has been developed from a restricted sample: in particular, the voice of students in the 'hard-pure sciences' has rarely been heard. We conducted a mixed method study to explore mathematics students' preferences of assessment methods. In contrast to the message from the general…

Searching for Rigour in the Reporting of Mixed Methods Population Health Research: A Methodological Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, K. M.; Elliott, S. J.; Leatherdale, S. T.; Robertson-Wilson, J.

2015-01-01

The environments in which population health interventions occur shape both their implementation and outcomes. Hence, when evaluating these interventions, we must explore both intervention content and context. Mixed methods (integrating quantitative and qualitative methods) provide this opportunity. However, although criteria exist for establishing…

What Touched Your Heart? Collaborative Story Analysis Emerging From an Apsáalooke Cultural Context.

PubMed

Hallett, John; Held, Suzanne; McCormick, Alma Knows His Gun; Simonds, Vanessa; Real Bird, Sloane; Martin, Christine; Simpson, Colleen; Schure, Mark; Turnsplenty, Nicole; Trottier, Coleen

2017-07-01

Community-based participatory research and decolonizing research share some recommendations for best practices for conducting research. One commonality is partnering on all stages of research; co-developing methods of data analysis is one stage with a deficit of partnering examples. We present a novel community-based and developed method for analyzing qualitative data within an Indigenous health study and explain incompatibilities of existing methods for our purposes and community needs. We describe how we explored available literature, received counsel from community Elders and experts in the field, and collaboratively developed a data analysis method consonant with community values. The method of analysis, in which interview/story remained intact, team members received story, made meaning through discussion, and generated a conceptual framework to inform intervention development, is detailed. We offer the development process and method as an example for researchers working with communities who want to keep stories intact during qualitative data analysis.

A Systematic Review of Research on the Flipped Learning Method in Engineering Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karabulut-Ilgu, Aliye; Jaramillo Cherrez, Nadia; Jahren, Charles T.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe the current state of knowledge and practice in the flipped learning approach in engineering education and to provide guidance for practitioners by critically appraising and summarizing existing research. This article is a qualitative synthesis of quantitative and qualitative research investigating the…

Measurement in Instructional Communication Research: A Decade in Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazer, Joseph P.; Graham, Elizabeth E.

2015-01-01

Periodic assessment and scrutiny of the discipline's measurement practices, instruments, and research findings are necessary to provide clarity and direction by revealing what we know, how we know it, and where the knowledge gaps exist. Reflective reviews have produced ample appraisals of the theory, research, and methods employed in the conduct…

Lakota Undergraduates as Partners in Aging Research in American Indian Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anagnopoulos, Cheryl

2006-01-01

Studies have established the beneficial role of engaging students in research at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Authentic research experiences serve as a tool for instruction where students are actively involved in the process of discovery, the scientific method, and advancing existing fields with scientific data. Further, students…

Numerical simulation on dimension decrease for annular casing of one centrifugal boiler circulation pump

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Y. Z.; Zuo, Z. G.; Liu, S. H.; Wu, Y. L.; Sha, Y. J.

2012-11-01

Primary formulation derivation indicates that the dimension of one existing centrifugal boiler circulation pump casing is too large. As great manufacture cost can be saved by dimension decrease, a numerical simulation research is developed in this paper on dimension decrease for annular casing of this pump with a specific speed equaling to 189, which aims at finding an appropriately smaller dimension of the casing while hydraulic performance and strength performance will hardly be changed according to the requirements of the cooperative company. The research object is one existing centrifugal pump with a diffuser and a semi-spherical annular casing, working as the boiler circulation pump for (ultra) supercritical units in power plants. Dimension decrease, the modification method, is achieved by decreasing the existing casing's internal radius (marked as "Ri0") while keeping the wall thickness. The research analysis is based on primary formulation derivation, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation and FEM (Finite Element Method) simulation. Primary formulation derivation estimates that a design casing's internal radius should be less than 0.75 Ri0. CFD analysis indicates that smaller casing with 0.75 Ri0 has a worse hydraulic performance when working at large flow rates and a better hydraulic performance when working at small flow rates. In consideration of hydraulic performance and dimension decrease, an appropriate casing's internal radius is determined, which equals to 0.875 Ri0. FEM analysis then confirms that modified pump casing has nearly the same strength performance as the existing pump casing. It is concluded that dimension decrease can be an economical method as well as a practical method for large pumps in engineering fields.

The impact of the participation of settlers to the formation of environment in Kampung Nelayan Belawan Medan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marpaung, B. O. Y.; Waginah

2018-03-01

Every existence of community settlements that formed has related to social, culture, and economy that exists in that society. Participation is a process that involving human interaction towards each other, of these interactions creates activities that potentially form a new space (Hendriksen, et al., 2012). Problems in this research are related to community involvement in building residential, determining land used, building roads, and utilities in Kampung Nelayan Belawan Medan residential. The aim of this research is to find the community involvement of building residential, determining land used, building roads, and utilities in Kampung Nelayan Belawan Medan residential. In the process of collecting data, researchers conducted field observation and interviews. Then the researchers connect the theory and interpretation of data in determining the method of data analysis. Then the researchers connect the theory and interpretation of data in determining the method of data analysis. The discovery of this research is that the formation of settlement spaces in the fishing village is inseparable from the participation in Kampung Nelayan Belawan Medan residential.

Lower Secondary Students' Views in Astrobiology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansson, Lena; Redfors, Andreas

2013-01-01

Astrobiology is, on a profound level, about whether life exists outside of the planet Earth. The question of existence of life elsewhere in the universe has been of interest to many societies throughout history. Recently, the research area of astrobiology has grown at a fast rate, mainly due to the development of observational methods, and the…

40 CFR 66.21 - How to calculate the penalty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... in an EPA approved research and development program where he determines that such participation would be appropriate. Information on appropriate research and development programs will be available from... existing technology or other emissions control method results in emission levels which satisfy the...

40 CFR 66.21 - How to calculate the penalty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... in an EPA approved research and development program where he determines that such participation would be appropriate. Information on appropriate research and development programs will be available from... existing technology or other emissions control method results in emission levels which satisfy the...

40 CFR 66.21 - How to calculate the penalty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... in an EPA approved research and development program where he determines that such participation would be appropriate. Information on appropriate research and development programs will be available from... existing technology or other emissions control method results in emission levels which satisfy the...

40 CFR 66.21 - How to calculate the penalty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... in an EPA approved research and development program where he determines that such participation would be appropriate. Information on appropriate research and development programs will be available from... existing technology or other emissions control method results in emission levels which satisfy the...

40 CFR 66.21 - How to calculate the penalty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... in an EPA approved research and development program where he determines that such participation would be appropriate. Information on appropriate research and development programs will be available from... existing technology or other emissions control method results in emission levels which satisfy the...

Mixed-methods designs in mental health services research: a review.

PubMed

Palinkas, Lawrence A; Horwitz, Sarah M; Chamberlain, Patricia; Hurlburt, Michael S; Landsverk, John

2011-03-01

Despite increased calls for use of mixed-methods designs in mental health services research, how and why such methods are being used and whether there are any consistent patterns that might indicate a consensus about how such methods can and should be used are unclear. Use of mixed methods was examined in 50 peer-reviewed journal articles found by searching PubMed Central and 60 National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded projects found by searching the CRISP database over five years (2005-2009). Studies were coded for aims and the rationale, structure, function, and process for using mixed methods. A notable increase was observed in articles published and grants funded over the study period. However, most did not provide an explicit rationale for using mixed methods, and 74% gave priority to use of quantitative methods. Mixed methods were used to accomplish five distinct types of study aims (assess needs for services, examine existing services, develop new or adapt existing services, evaluate services in randomized controlled trials, and examine service implementation), with three categories of rationale, seven structural arrangements based on timing and weighting of methods, five functions of mixed methods, and three ways of linking quantitative and qualitative data. Each study aim was associated with a specific pattern of use of mixed methods, and four common patterns were identified. These studies offer guidance for continued progress in integrating qualitative and quantitative methods in mental health services research consistent with efforts by NIH and other funding agencies to promote their use.

Beyond "the West as Method": Repositioning the Japanese Education Research Communities in/against the Global Structure of Academic Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takayama, Keita

2016-01-01

Drawing on the recent critiques of the global knowledge economy of social science research, this article explores possible ways in which the Japanese education research communities can reposition themselves in the wider international education research community. The premises of this discussion are that there exists a global structure of academic…

Identification of research hypotheses and new knowledge from scientific literature.

PubMed

Shardlow, Matthew; Batista-Navarro, Riza; Thompson, Paul; Nawaz, Raheel; McNaught, John; Ananiadou, Sophia

2018-06-25

Text mining (TM) methods have been used extensively to extract relations and events from the literature. In addition, TM techniques have been used to extract various types or dimensions of interpretative information, known as Meta-Knowledge (MK), from the context of relations and events, e.g. negation, speculation, certainty and knowledge type. However, most existing methods have focussed on the extraction of individual dimensions of MK, without investigating how they can be combined to obtain even richer contextual information. In this paper, we describe a novel, supervised method to extract new MK dimensions that encode Research Hypotheses (an author's intended knowledge gain) and New Knowledge (an author's findings). The method incorporates various features, including a combination of simple MK dimensions. We identify previously explored dimensions and then use a random forest to combine these with linguistic features into a classification model. To facilitate evaluation of the model, we have enriched two existing corpora annotated with relations and events, i.e., a subset of the GENIA-MK corpus and the EU-ADR corpus, by adding attributes to encode whether each relation or event corresponds to Research Hypothesis or New Knowledge. In the GENIA-MK corpus, these new attributes complement simpler MK dimensions that had previously been annotated. We show that our approach is able to assign different types of MK dimensions to relations and events with a high degree of accuracy. Firstly, our method is able to improve upon the previously reported state of the art performance for an existing dimension, i.e., Knowledge Type. Secondly, we also demonstrate high F1-score in predicting the new dimensions of Research Hypothesis (GENIA: 0.914, EU-ADR 0.802) and New Knowledge (GENIA: 0.829, EU-ADR 0.836). We have presented a novel approach for predicting New Knowledge and Research Hypothesis, which combines simple MK dimensions to achieve high F1-scores. The extraction of such information is valuable for a number of practical TM applications.

Emotional Disturbance

MedlinePlus

... body of research exists regarding methods of providing students with positive behavioral support (PBS) in the school environment, so that problem behaviors are minimized and positive, appropriate behaviors are ...

A scoping review of research on the prescribing practice of Canadian pharmacists

PubMed Central

Faruquee, Chowdhury Farhana; Guirguis, Lisa M.

2015-01-01

Background: Pharmacists in Canada have been prescribing since 2007. This review aims to explore the volume, array and nature of research activity on Canadian pharmacist prescribing and to identify gaps in the existing literature. Methods: We conducted a scoping review to examine the literature on prescribing by pharmacists in Canada according to methodological trends, research areas and key findings. We searched for peer-reviewed research articles and abstracts in the Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts databases without any date limitations. A standardized form was used to extract information. Results: We identified 156 articles; of these, 26 articles and 12 abstracts met inclusion criteria. One-half of the research studies (20) used quantitative methods, including surveys, trials and experimental designs; 11 studies used qualitative methods and 7 used other methods. Research on pharmacist prescribing demonstrated an improvement in patient outcomes (13 studies), varied stakeholder perceptions (10 studies) and factors that influence this practice change (11 studies). Pharmacist prescribing was adopted when pharmacists practised patient-centred care. Stakeholders held contrasting perceptions of pharmacist prescribing. Discussion: Canadian research has demonstrated the benefit of pharmacist prescribing on patient outcomes, which is not present in the international literature. Future research may consider a meta-analysis addressing the impact on patient health. Gaps in research include comparisons between provinces, effects on physicians’ services, overall patient safety and access to health care systems and economic implications for society. Conclusion: A growing body of research on pharmacist prescribing has captured the early impact of prescribing on patient outcomes, perceptions of practice and practice change. Opportunities exist for pan-Canadian research that examines the system impact. PMID:26600824

The ethical tightrope: politics of intimacy and consensual method in sexuality research.

PubMed

Zago, Luiz F; Holmes, Dave

2015-06-01

This paper seeks to analyze the construction of ethics in sexuality research in which qualitative methods are employed in the field of social sciences. Analyses are based on a bibliographic review of current discussions on research methods of queer theory and on the authors' own experiences of past research on sexuality. The article offers a theoretical perspective on the ways ethnography and in-depth interviews become methods that can rely on a consensual method and create a politics of intimacy between the researchers and research participants. The politics of intimacy may contribute to the production of a politically engaged knowledge while escaping from the moral matrix that usually governs the relationship between researchers and research participants. It is argued here that the researcher's sexed and gendered body matters for fieldwork; that the consensual method among participants may be employed in sexuality research as a fruitful tool; and that the relationships created among researchers and participants can pose a challenge to predetermined ethical guidelines in research. As a result, discussions problematize the existence of a politics of intimacy in sexuality research that is characterized by ethical relations among research participants. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

University role in astronaut life support systems: Portable thermal control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ephrath, A. R.

1971-01-01

One of the most vital life support systems is that used to provide the astronaut with an adequate thermal environment. State-of-the-art techniques are reviewed for collecting and rejecting excess heat loads from the suited astronaut. Emphasis is placed on problem areas which exist and which may be suitable topics for university research. Areas covered include thermal control requirements and restrictions, methods of heat absorption and rejection or storage, and comparison between existing methods and possible future techniques.

Quantifying construction and demolition waste: an analytical review.

PubMed

Wu, Zezhou; Yu, Ann T W; Shen, Liyin; Liu, Guiwen

2014-09-01

Quantifying construction and demolition (C&D) waste generation is regarded as a prerequisite for the implementation of successful waste management. In literature, various methods have been employed to quantify the C&D waste generation at both regional and project levels. However, an integrated review that systemically describes and analyses all the existing methods has yet to be conducted. To bridge this research gap, an analytical review is conducted. Fifty-seven papers are retrieved based on a set of rigorous procedures. The characteristics of the selected papers are classified according to the following criteria - waste generation activity, estimation level and quantification methodology. Six categories of existing C&D waste quantification methodologies are identified, including site visit method, waste generation rate method, lifetime analysis method, classification system accumulation method, variables modelling method and other particular methods. A critical comparison of the identified methods is given according to their characteristics and implementation constraints. Moreover, a decision tree is proposed for aiding the selection of the most appropriate quantification method in different scenarios. Based on the analytical review, limitations of previous studies and recommendations of potential future research directions are further suggested. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Research in Computational Astrobiology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chaban, Galina; Colombano, Silvano; Scargle, Jeff; New, Michael H.; Pohorille, Andrew; Wilson, Michael A.

2003-01-01

We report on several projects in the field of computational astrobiology, which is devoted to advancing our understanding of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the Universe using theoretical and computational tools. Research projects included modifying existing computer simulation codes to use efficient, multiple time step algorithms, statistical methods for analysis of astrophysical data via optimal partitioning methods, electronic structure calculations on water-nuclei acid complexes, incorporation of structural information into genomic sequence analysis methods and calculations of shock-induced formation of polycylic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds.

Fabricating data: How substituting values for nondetects can ruin results, and what can be done about it

USGS Publications Warehouse

Helsel, D.R.

2006-01-01

The most commonly used method in environmental chemistry to deal with values below detection limits is to substitute a fraction of the detection limit for each nondetect. Two decades of research has shown that this fabrication of values produces poor estimates of statistics, and commonly obscures patterns and trends in the data. Papers using substitution may conclude that significant differences, correlations, and regression relationships do not exist, when in fact they do. The reverse may also be true. Fortunately, good alternative methods for dealing with nondetects already exist, and are summarized here with references to original sources. Substituting values for nondetects should be used rarely, and should generally be considered unacceptable in scientific research. There are better ways.

Response to ERIS 2014 States' Research Needs Survey

EPA Science Inventory

This document is ORD’s response to the states’ needs and priorities, as identified in the 2014 survey. ORD identified existing methods, models, tools and databases on these topics, as well as near-term research and development efforts, that could assist states in thei...

A critical methodological review of discourse and conversation analysis studies of family therapy.

PubMed

Tseliou, Eleftheria

2013-12-01

Discourse (DA) and conversation (CA) analysis, two qualitative research methods, have been recently suggested as potentially promising for the study of family therapy due to common epistemological adherences and their potential for an in situ study of therapeutic dialog. However, to date, there is no systematic methodological review of the few existing DA and CA studies of family therapy. This study aims at addressing this lack by critically reviewing published DA and CA studies of family therapy on methodological grounds. Twenty-eight articles in total are reviewed in relation to certain methodological axes identified in the relevant literature. These include choice of method, framing of research question(s), data/sampling, type of analysis, epistemological perspective, content/type of knowledge claims, and attendance to criteria for good quality practice. It is argued that the reviewed studies show "glimpses" of the methods' potential for family therapy research despite the identification of certain "shortcomings" regarding their methodological rigor. These include unclearly framed research questions and the predominance of case study designs. They also include inconsistencies between choice of method, stated or unstated epistemological orientations and knowledge claims, and limited attendance to criteria for good quality practice. In conclusion, it is argued that DA and CA can add to the existing quantitative and qualitative methods for family therapy research. They can both offer unique ways for a detailed study of the actual therapeutic dialog, provided that future attempts strive for a methodologically rigorous practice and against their uncritical deployment. © FPI, Inc.

[Mixed methods research in public health: issues and illustration].

PubMed

Guével, Marie-Renée; Pommier, Jeanine

2012-01-01

For many years, researchers in a range of fields have combined quantitative and qualitative methods. However, the combined use of quantitative and qualitative methods has only recently been conceptualized and defined as mixed methods research. Some authors have described the emerging field as a third methodological tradition (in addition to the qualitative and quantitative traditions). Mixed methods research combines different perspectives and facilitates the study of complex interventions or programs, particularly in public health, an area where interdisciplinarity is critical. However, the existing literature is primarily in English. By contrast, the literature in French remains limited. The purpose of this paper is to present the emergence of mixed methods research for francophone public health specialists. A literature review was conducted to identify the main characteristics of mixed methods research. The results provide an overall picture of the mixed methods approach through its history, definitions, and applications, and highlight the tools developed to clarify the approach (typologies) and to implement it (integration of results and quality standards). The tools highlighted in the literature review are illustrated by a study conducted in France. Mixed methods research opens new possibilities for examining complex research questions and provides relevant and promising opportunities for addressing current public health issues in France.

Computational inverse methods of heat source in fatigue damage problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Aizhou; Li, Yuan; Yan, Bo

2018-04-01

Fatigue dissipation energy is the research focus in field of fatigue damage at present. It is a new idea to solve the problem of calculating fatigue dissipation energy by introducing inverse method of heat source into parameter identification of fatigue dissipation energy model. This paper introduces the research advances on computational inverse method of heat source and regularization technique to solve inverse problem, as well as the existing heat source solution method in fatigue process, prospects inverse method of heat source applying in fatigue damage field, lays the foundation for further improving the effectiveness of fatigue dissipation energy rapid prediction.

The Capability of Virtual Reality to Meet Military Requirements (la Capacite de la rea1ite virtuelle a repondre aux besoins militaires)

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-11-01

importance of the sensation of presence, and cybersickness . The third day reviewed assessment methods and applications research. Speakers reviewed...of the sensation of presence, and cybersickness . The third day reviewed assessment methods and applications research. Speakers reviewed existing or...Reality technology. Presentations discussed sensory interfaces, measures of effectiveness, importance of the sensation of presence, and cybersickness

An overview of data integration methods for regional assessment.

PubMed

Locantore, Nicholas W; Tran, Liem T; O'Neill, Robert V; McKinnis, Peter W; Smith, Elizabeth R; O'Connell, Michael

2004-06-01

The U.S. Environmental Protections Agency's (U.S. EPA) Regional Vulnerability Assessment(ReVA) program has focused much of its research over the last five years on developing and evaluating integration methods for spatial data. An initial strategic priority was to use existing data from monitoring programs, model results, and other spatial data. Because most of these data were not collected with an intention of integrating into a regional assessment of conditions and vulnerabilities, issues exist that may preclude the use of some methods or require some sort of data preparation. Additionally, to support multi-criteria decision-making, methods need to be able to address a series of assessment questions that provide insights into where environmental risks are a priority. This paper provides an overview of twelve spatial integration methods that can be applied towards regional assessment, along with preliminary results as to how sensitive each method is to data issues that will likely be encountered with the use of existing data.

Finding the Right Mix: Teaching Methods as Predictors for Student Progress on Learning Objectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glover, Jacob I.

2012-01-01

This study extends existing student ratings research by exploring how teaching methods, individually and collectively, influence a minimum standard of student achievement on learning objectives and how class size impacts this influence. Twenty teaching methods were used to predict substantial or exceptional progress on each of 12 learning…

Considerations for the Systematic Analysis and Use of Single-Case Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horner, Robert H.; Swaminathan, Hariharan; Sugai, George; Smolkowski, Keith

2012-01-01

Single-case research designs provide a rigorous research methodology for documenting experimental control. If single-case methods are to gain wider application, however, a need exists to define more clearly (a) the logic of single-case designs, (b) the process and decision rules for visual analysis, and (c) an accepted process for integrating…

Exploring the use of storytelling in quantitative research fields using a multiple case study method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, Lori N. Hamlet

The purpose of this study was to explore the emerging use of storytelling in quantitative research fields. The focus was not on examining storytelling in research, but rather how stories are used in various ways within the social context of quantitative research environments. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven professionals who had experience using storytelling in their work and my personal experience with the subject matter was also used as a source of data according to the notion of researcher-as-instrument. This study is qualitative in nature and is guided by two supporting theoretical frameworks, the sociological perspective and narrative inquiry. A multiple case study methodology was used to gain insight about why participants decided to use stories or storytelling in a quantitative research environment that may not be traditionally open to such methods. This study also attempted to identify how storytelling can strengthen or supplement existing research, as well as what value stories can provide to the practice of research in general. Five thematic findings emerged from the data and were grouped under two headings, "Experiencing Research" and "Story Work." The themes were found to be consistent with four main theoretical functions of storytelling identified in existing scholarly literature: (a) sense-making; (b) meaning-making; (c) culture; and (d) communal function. The five thematic themes that emerged from this study and were consistent with the existing literature include: (a) social context; (b) quantitative versus qualitative; (c) we think and learn in terms of stories; (d) stories tie experiences together; and (e) making sense and meaning. Recommendations are offered in the form of implications for various social contexts and topics for further research are presented as well.

Research progress on expansive soil cracks under changing environment.

PubMed

Shi, Bei-xiao; Zheng, Cheng-feng; Wu, Jin-kun

2014-01-01

Engineering problems shunned previously rise to the surface gradually with the activities of reforming the natural world in depth, the problem of expansive soil crack under the changing environment becoming a control factor of expansive soil slope stability. The problem of expansive soil crack has gradually become a research hotspot, elaborates the occurrence and development of cracks from the basic properties of expansive soil, and points out the role of controlling the crack of expansive soil strength. We summarize the existing research methods and results of expansive soil crack characteristics. Improving crack measurement and calculation method and researching the crack depth measurement, statistical analysis method, crack depth and surface feature relationship will be the future direction.

Ecological Momentary Assessment and Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment

PubMed Central

Morgenstern, Jon; Kuerbis, Alexis; Muench, Frederick

2014-01-01

The ability to capture real-time data on human behavior inexpensively, efficiently, and accurately holds promise to transform and broaden our understanding of many areas of health science. One approach to acquiring this type of real-time data is ecological momentary assessment (EMA). This method has been used to collect data in many domains of addiction research, including research on the treatment of alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that use of EMA can improve the quality of AUD treatment research when compared with standard assessment methods because it provides more accurate reporting, allows investigators to examine the dynamic unfolding of the behavior change process at an individual level, and can be used to augment and improve clinical assessment and treatment. Overall, the existing literature provides strong support for the advantages of EMA when combined with standard assessment of addictive behaviors in general. Nevertheless, use of EMA in AUD treatment research thus far has been limited, especially in the area of research on mechanisms of behavior change. Existing research indicates, however, that EMA can be used to deliver tailored feedback as a novel and potentially transformative approach to improving AUD treatment. This research area clearly warrants additional future efforts. PMID:26259004

A surety engineering framework to reduce cognitive systems risks.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Caudell, Thomas P.; Peercy, David Eugene; Caldera, Eva O.

Cognitive science research investigates the advancement of human cognition and neuroscience capabilities. Addressing risks associated with these advancements can counter potential program failures, legal and ethical issues, constraints to scientific research, and product vulnerabilities. Survey results, focus group discussions, cognitive science experts, and surety researchers concur technical risks exist that could impact cognitive science research in areas such as medicine, privacy, human enhancement, law and policy, military applications, and national security (SAND2006-6895). This SAND report documents a surety engineering framework and a process for identifying cognitive system technical, ethical, legal and societal risks and applying appropriate surety methods to reducemore » such risks. The framework consists of several models: Specification, Design, Evaluation, Risk, and Maturity. Two detailed case studies are included to illustrate the use of the process and framework. Several Appendices provide detailed information on existing cognitive system architectures; ethical, legal, and societal risk research; surety methods and technologies; and educing information research with a case study vignette. The process and framework provide a model for how cognitive systems research and full-scale product development can apply surety engineering to reduce perceived and actual risks.« less

Research on single-chip microcomputer controlled rotating magnetic field mineralization model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yang; Qi, Yulin; Yang, Junxiao; Li, Na

2017-08-01

As one of the method of selecting ore, the magnetic separation method has the advantages of stable operation, simple process flow, high beneficiation efficiency and no chemical environment pollution. But the existing magnetic separator are more mechanical, the operation is not flexible, and can not change the magnetic field parameters according to the precision of the ore needed. Based on the existing magnetic separator is mechanical, the rotating magnetic field can be used for single chip microcomputer control as the research object, design and trial a rotating magnetic field processing prototype, and through the single-chip PWM pulse output to control the rotation of the magnetic field strength and rotating magnetic field speed. This method of using pure software to generate PWM pulse to control rotary magnetic field beneficiation, with higher flexibility, accuracy and lower cost, can give full play to the performance of single-chip.

Exploring Self-Efficacy in Education Leadership Programs: What Makes the Difference?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Versland, Tena M.

2016-01-01

Despite attention given to principal preparation program reform, little research exists explaining how candidates develop self-efficacy or how preparation programs contribute to self-efficacy development. Researchers used a mixed-methods study to examine principals' perceptions of program effectiveness, determine underlying constructs related to…

Review: Quantifying animal feeding behaviour with a focus on pigs.

PubMed

Maselyne, Jarissa; Saeys, Wouter; Van Nuffel, Annelies

2015-01-01

The study of animal feeding behaviour is of interest to understand feeding, to investigate the effect of treatments and conditions or to predict illness. This paper reviews the different steps to undertake when studying animal feeding behaviour, with illustrations for group-housed pigs. First, one must be aware of the mechanisms that control feeding and the various influences that can change feeding behaviour. Satiety is shown to largely influence free feeding (ad libitum and without an operant condition) in animals, but 'free' feeding seems a very fragile process, given the many factors that can influence feeding behaviour. Second, a measurement method must be chosen that is compatible with the goal of the research. Several measurement methods exist, which lead to different experimental set-ups and measurement data. Sensors are available for lab conditions, for research on group-housed pigs and also for on-farm use. Most of these methods result in a record of feeding visits. However, these feeding visits are often found to be clustered into meals. Thus, the third step is to choose which unit of feeding behaviour to use for analysis. Depending on the situation, either meals, feeding visits, other raw data, or a combination thereof can be suitable. Meals are more appropriate for analysing short-term feeding behaviour, but this may not be true for disease detection. Further research is therefore needed. To cluster visits into meals, an appropriate analysis method has to be selected. The last part of this paper provides a review and discussion of the existing methods for meal determination. A variety of methods exist, with the most recent methods based on the influence of satiety on feeding. More thorough validation of the recent methods, including validation from a behavioural point of view and uniformity in the applied methods is therefore necessary. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of the psychological impact of tinnitus interview: a clinician-administered measure of tinnitus-related distress.

PubMed

Henry, J L; Kangas, M; Wilson, P H

2001-01-01

The development of valid and reliable methods for assessing psychological aspects of tinnitus continues to be an important goal of research. Such assessment methods are potentially useful in clinical and research contexts. Existing self-report measures have a number of disadvantages, and so a need exists to develop a form of assessment that is less open to response bias and the effects of experimental demand. A new approach, the Psychological Impact of Tinnitus Interview (PITI), is described, and some preliminary data on its psychometric properties are reported. The results suggest that the PITI is capable of providing a measure of separate, relatively independent dimensions of tinnitus-related distress--namely, sleep difficulties, general distress, mood, suicidal aspects, and avoidance of or interference with normal activities. This method may lead to more refined measures of these dimensions of tinnitus-related psychological difficulties. The PITI should be regarded as a promising assessment tool for use in experimental settings, pending further work on its content, coding method, and administration.

EVA Glove Research Team

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strauss, Alvin M.; Peterson, Steven W.; Main, John A.; Dickenson, Rueben D.; Shields, Bobby L.; Lorenz, Christine H.

1992-01-01

The goal of the basic research portion of the extravehicular activity (EVA) glove research program is to gain a greater understanding of the kinematics of the hand, the characteristics of the pressurized EVA glove, and the interaction of the two. Examination of the literature showed that there existed no acceptable, non-invasive method of obtaining accurate biomechanical data on the hand. For this reason a project was initiated to develop magnetic resonance imaging as a tool for biomechanical data acquisition and visualization. Literature reviews also revealed a lack of practical modeling methods for fabric structures, so a basic science research program was also initiated in this area.

Methodological Issues in Mobile Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (mCSCL): What Methods, What to Measure and When to Measure?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Song, Yanjie

2014-01-01

This study aims to investigate (1) methods utilized in mobile computer-supported collaborative learning (mCSCL) research which focuses on studying, learning and collaboration mediated by mobile devices; (2) whether these methods have examined mCSCL effectively; (3) when the methods are administered; and (4) what methodological issues exist in…

CLT and AE methods of in-situ load testing : comparison and development of evaluation criteria : in-situ evaluation of post-tensioned parking garage, Kansas City, Missouri

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-02-01

The objective of the proposed research project is to compare the results of two recently introduced nondestructive load test methods to the existing 24-hour load test method described in Chapter 20 of ACI 318-05. The two new methods of nondestructive...

Adolescent judgment of sexual content on television: implications for future content analysis research.

PubMed

Manganello, Jennifer A; Henderson, Vani R; Jordan, Amy; Trentacoste, Nicole; Martin, Suzanne; Hennessy, Michael; Fishbein, Martin

2010-07-01

Many studies of sexual messages in media utilize content analysis methods. At times, this research assumes that researchers and trained coders using content analysis methods and the intended audience view and interpret media content similarly. This article compares adolescents' perceptions of the presence or absence of sexual content on television to those of researchers using three different coding schemes. Results from this formative research study suggest that participants and researchers are most likely to agree with content categories assessing manifest content, and that differences exist among adolescents who view sexual messages on television. Researchers using content analysis methods to examine sexual content in media and media effects on sexual behavior should consider identifying how audience characteristics may affect interpretation of content and account for audience perspectives in content analysis study protocols when appropriate for study goals.

Prediction and Validation of Disease Genes Using HeteSim Scores.

PubMed

Zeng, Xiangxiang; Liao, Yuanlu; Liu, Yuansheng; Zou, Quan

2017-01-01

Deciphering the gene disease association is an important goal in biomedical research. In this paper, we use a novel relevance measure, called HeteSim, to prioritize candidate disease genes. Two methods based on heterogeneous networks constructed using protein-protein interaction, gene-phenotype associations, and phenotype-phenotype similarity, are presented. In HeteSim_MultiPath (HSMP), HeteSim scores of different paths are combined with a constant that dampens the contributions of longer paths. In HeteSim_SVM (HSSVM), HeteSim scores are combined with a machine learning method. The 3-fold experiments show that our non-machine learning method HSMP performs better than the existing non-machine learning methods, our machine learning method HSSVM obtains similar accuracy with the best existing machine learning method CATAPULT. From the analysis of the top 10 predicted genes for different diseases, we found that HSSVM avoid the disadvantage of the existing machine learning based methods, which always predict similar genes for different diseases. The data sets and Matlab code for the two methods are freely available for download at http://lab.malab.cn/data/HeteSim/index.jsp.

Comparison of gamma-oryzanol contents in crude rice bran oils from different sources by various determination methods.

PubMed

Yoshie, Ayano; Kanda, Ayato; Nakamura, Takahiro; Igusa, Hisao; Hara, Setsuko

2009-01-01

Although there are various determination methods for gamma -oryzanol contained in rice bran oil by absorptiometry, normal-phase HPLC, and reversed-phase HPLC, their accuracies and the correlations among them have not been revealed yet. Chloroform-containing mixed solvents are widely used as mobile phases in some HPLC methods, but researchers have been apprehensive about its use in terms of safety for the human body and the environment.In the present study, a simple and accurate determination method was developed by improving the reversed-phase HPLC method. This novel HPLC method uses methanol/acetonitrile/acetic acid (52/45/3 v/v/v), a non-chlorinated solvent, as the mobile phase, and shows an excellent linearity (y = 0.9527x + 0.1241, R(2) = 0.9974) with absorptiometry. The mean relative errors among the existing 3 methods and the novel method, determined by adding fixed amounts of gamma-oryzanol into refined rice salad oil, were -4.7% for the absorptiometry, -6.8% for the existing normal-phase HPLC, +4.6% for the existing reversed-phase HPLC, and -1.6% for the novel reversed-phase HPLC method. gamma -Oryzanol content in 12 kinds of crude rice bran oils obtained from different sources were determined by the four methods. The mean content of those oils were 1.75+/-0.18% for the absorptiometry, 1.29+/-0.11% for the existing normal-phase HPLC, 1.51+/-0.10% for the existing reversed-phase HPLC, and 1.54+/-0.19% for the novel reversed-phase HPLC method.

Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project: Project Management Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Millis, Marc G.

2004-01-01

To leap past the limitations of existing propulsion, the NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics (BPP) Project seeks further advancements in physics from which new propulsion methods can eventually be derived. Three visionary breakthroughs are sought: (1) propulsion that requires no propellant, (2) propulsion that circumvents existing speed limits, and (3) breakthrough methods of energy production to power such devices. Because these propulsion goals are presumably far from fruition, a special emphasis is to identify credible research that will make measurable progress toward these goals in the near-term. The management techniques to address this challenge are presented, with a special emphasis on the process used to review, prioritize, and select research tasks. This selection process includes these key features: (a) research tasks are constrained to only address the immediate unknowns, curious effects or critical issues, (b) reliability of assertions is more important than the implications of the assertions, which includes the practice where the reviewers judge credibility rather than feasibility, and (c) total scores are obtained by multiplying the criteria scores rather than by adding. Lessons learned and revisions planned are discussed.

Mixed Methods in Biomedical and Health Services Research

PubMed Central

Curry, Leslie A.; Krumholz, Harlan M.; O’Cathain, Alicia; Plano Clark, Vicki L.; Cherlin, Emily; Bradley, Elizabeth H.

2013-01-01

Mixed methods studies, in which qualitative and quantitative methods are combined in a single program of inquiry, can be valuable in biomedical and health services research, where the complementary strengths of each approach can yield greater insight into complex phenomena than either approach alone. Although interest in mixed methods is growing among science funders and investigators, written guidance on how to conduct and assess rigorous mixed methods studies is not readily accessible to the general readership of peer-reviewed biomedical and health services journals. Furthermore, existing guidelines for publishing mixed methods studies are not well known or applied by researchers and journal editors. Accordingly, this paper is intended to serve as a concise, practical resource for readers interested in core principles and practices of mixed methods research. We briefly describe mixed methods approaches and present illustrations from published biomedical and health services literature, including in cardiovascular care, summarize standards for the design and reporting of these studies, and highlight four central considerations for investigators interested in using these methods. PMID:23322807

Historical Trends in Counsellor Education Dissertations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, Judith; Dykeman, Cass; Bender, Sara

2016-01-01

There exists a dearth of literature on the content, research method and research design trends of dissertations in education. Within one large subfield of education (i.e. counsellor education), an online and full-text archive of dissertations has become available. This archive contains over 200 dissertations produced in Oregon State University's…

Indigenous Ways of Knowing: Implications for Participatory Research and Community

PubMed Central

Cochran, Patricia A. L.; Marshall, Catherine A.; Garcia-Downing, Carmen; Kendall, Elizabeth; Cook, Doris; McCubbin, Laurie; Gover, Reva Mariah S.

2008-01-01

Researchers have a responsibility to cause no harm, but research has been a source of distress for indigenous people because of inappropriate methods and practices. The way researchers acquire knowledge in indigenous communities may be as critical for eliminating health disparities as the actual knowledge that is gained about a particular health problem. Researchers working with indigenous communities must continue to resolve conflict between the values of the academic setting and those of the community. It is important to consider the ways of knowing that exist in indigenous communities when developing research methods. Challenges to research partnerships include how to distribute the benefits of the research findings when academic or external needs contrast with the need to protect indigenous knowledge. PMID:18048800

Case Selection via Matching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nielsen, Richard A.

2016-01-01

This article shows how statistical matching methods can be used to select "most similar" cases for qualitative analysis. I first offer a methodological justification for research designs based on selecting most similar cases. I then discuss the applicability of existing matching methods to the task of selecting most similar cases and…

Improving Upon String Methods for Transition State Discovery.

PubMed

Chaffey-Millar, Hugh; Nikodem, Astrid; Matveev, Alexei V; Krüger, Sven; Rösch, Notker

2012-02-14

Transition state discovery via application of string methods has been researched on two fronts. The first front involves development of a new string method, named the Searching String method, while the second one aims at estimating transition states from a discretized reaction path. The Searching String method has been benchmarked against a number of previously existing string methods and the Nudged Elastic Band method. The developed methods have led to a reduction in the number of gradient calls required to optimize a transition state, as compared to existing methods. The Searching String method reported here places new beads on a reaction pathway at the midpoint between existing beads, such that the resolution of the path discretization in the region containing the transition state grows exponentially with the number of beads. This approach leads to favorable convergence behavior and generates more accurate estimates of transition states from which convergence to the final transition states occurs more readily. Several techniques for generating improved estimates of transition states from a converged string or nudged elastic band have been developed and benchmarked on 13 chemical test cases. Optimization approaches for string methods, and pitfalls therein, are discussed.

Investigating trends in acoustics research from 1970-1999.

PubMed

Viator, J A; Pestorius, F M

2001-05-01

Text data mining is a burgeoning field in which new information is extracted from existing text databases. Computational methods are used to compare relationships between database elements to yield new information about the existing data. Text data mining software was used to determine research trends in acoustics for the years 1970, 1980, 1990, and 1999. Trends were indicated by the number of published articles in the categories of acoustics using the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA) as the article source. Research was classified using a method based on the Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme (PACS). Research was further subdivided into world regions, including North and South America, Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Australia/New Zealand. In order to gauge the use of JASA as an indicator of international acoustics research, three subjects, underwater sound, nonlinear acoustics, and bioacoustics, were further tracked in 1999, using all journals in the INSPEC database. Research trends indicated a shift in emphasis of certain areas, notably underwater sound, audition, and speech. JASA also showed steady growth, with increasing participation by non-US authors, from about 20% in 1970 to nearly 50% in 1999.

What Touched Your Heart? Collaborative Story Analysis Emerging From an Apsáalooke Cultural Context

PubMed Central

Hallett, John; Held, Suzanne; McCormick, Alma Knows His Gun; Simonds, Vanessa; Bird, Sloane Real; Martin, Christine; Simpson, Colleen; Schure, Mark; Turnsplenty, Nicole; Trottier, Coleen

2017-01-01

Community-based participatory research and decolonizing research share some recommendations for best practices for conducting research. One commonality is partnering on all stages of research; co-developing methods of data analysis is one stage with a deficit of partnering examples. We present a novel community-based and developed method for analyzing qualitative data within an Indigenous health study and explain incompatibilities of existing methods for our purposes and community needs. We describe how we explored available literature, received counsel from community Elders and experts in the field, and collaboratively developed a data analysis method consonant with community values. The method of analysis, in which interview/story remained intact, team members received story, made meaning through discussion, and generated a conceptual framework to inform intervention development, is detailed. We offer the development process and method as an example for researchers working with communities who want to keep stories intact during qualitative data analysis. PMID:27659019

LEGO-MM: LEarning structured model by probabilistic loGic Ontology tree for MultiMedia.

PubMed

Tang, Jinhui; Chang, Shiyu; Qi, Guo-Jun; Tian, Qi; Rui, Yong; Huang, Thomas S

2016-09-22

Recent advances in Multimedia ontology have resulted in a number of concept models, e.g., LSCOM and Mediamill 101, which are accessible and public to other researchers. However, most current research effort still focuses on building new concepts from scratch, very few work explores the appropriate method to construct new concepts upon the existing models already in the warehouse. To address this issue, we propose a new framework in this paper, termed LEGO1-MM, which can seamlessly integrate both the new target training examples and the existing primitive concept models to infer the more complex concept models. LEGOMM treats the primitive concept models as the lego toy to potentially construct an unlimited vocabulary of new concepts. Specifically, we first formulate the logic operations to be the lego connectors to combine existing concept models hierarchically in probabilistic logic ontology trees. Then, we incorporate new target training information simultaneously to efficiently disambiguate the underlying logic tree and correct the error propagation. Extensive experiments are conducted on a large vehicle domain data set from ImageNet. The results demonstrate that LEGO-MM has significantly superior performance over existing state-of-the-art methods, which build new concept models from scratch.

Quadcopter Control Using Speech Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malik, H.; Darma, S.; Soekirno, S.

2018-04-01

This research reported a comparison from a success rate of speech recognition systems that used two types of databases they were existing databases and new databases, that were implemented into quadcopter as motion control. Speech recognition system was using Mel frequency cepstral coefficient method (MFCC) as feature extraction that was trained using recursive neural network method (RNN). MFCC method was one of the feature extraction methods that most used for speech recognition. This method has a success rate of 80% - 95%. Existing database was used to measure the success rate of RNN method. The new database was created using Indonesian language and then the success rate was compared with results from an existing database. Sound input from the microphone was processed on a DSP module with MFCC method to get the characteristic values. Then, the characteristic values were trained using the RNN which result was a command. The command became a control input to the single board computer (SBC) which result was the movement of the quadcopter. On SBC, we used robot operating system (ROS) as the kernel (Operating System).

The potential use of social media and other internet-related data and communications for child maltreatment surveillance and epidemiological research: Scoping review and recommendations.

PubMed

Schwab-Reese, Laura M; Hovdestad, Wendy; Tonmyr, Lil; Fluke, John

2018-01-20

Collecting child maltreatment data is a complicated undertaking for many reasons. As a result, there is an interest by child maltreatment researchers to develop methodologies that allow for the triangulation of data sources. To better understand how social media and internet-based technologies could contribute to these approaches, we conducted a scoping review to provide an overview of social media and internet-based methodologies for health research, to report results of evaluation and validation research on these methods, and to highlight studies with potential relevance to child maltreatment research and surveillance. Many approaches were identified in the broad health literature; however, there has been limited application of these approaches to child maltreatment. The most common use was recruiting participants or engaging existing participants using online methods. From the broad health literature, social media and internet-based approaches to surveillance and epidemiologic research appear promising. Many of the approaches are relatively low cost and easy to implement without extensive infrastructure, but there are also a range of limitations for each method. Several methods have a mixed record of validation and sources of error in estimation are not yet understood or predictable. In addition to the problems relevant to other health outcomes, child maltreatment researchers face additional challenges, including the complex ethical issues associated with both internet-based and child maltreatment research. If these issues are adequately addressed, social media and internet-based technologies may be a promising approach to reducing some of the limitations in existing child maltreatment data. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

An Efficient, Lossless Database for Storing and Transmitting Medical Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fenstermacher, Marc J.

1998-01-01

This research aimed in creating new compression methods based on the central idea of Set Redundancy Compression (SRC). Set Redundancy refers to the common information that exists in a set of similar images. SRC compression methods take advantage of this common information and can achieve improved compression of similar images by reducing their Set Redundancy. The current research resulted in the development of three new lossless SRC compression methods: MARS (Median-Aided Region Sorting), MAZE (Max-Aided Zero Elimination) and MaxGBA (Max-Guided Bit Allocation).

Development of a Research Participants’ Perception Survey to Improve Clinical Research

PubMed Central

Yessis, Jennifer L.; Kost, Rhonda G.; Lee, Laura M.; Coller, Barry S.; Henderson, David K.

2012-01-01

Abstract Introduction: Clinical research participants’ perceptions regarding their experiences during research protocols provide outcome‐based insights into the effectiveness of efforts to protect rights and safety, and opportunities to enhance participants’ clinical research experiences. Use of validated surveys measuring patient‐centered outcomes is standard in hospitals, yet no instruments exist to assess outcomes of clinical research processes. Methods: We derived survey questions from data obtained from focus groups comprised of research participants and professionals. We assessed the survey for face/content validity, and privacy/confidentiality protections and fielded it to research participants at 15 centers. We conducted analyses of response rates, sample characteristics, and psychometrics, including survey and item completion and analysis, internal consistency, item internal consistency, criterion‐related validity, and item usefulness. Responses were tested for fit into existing patient‐centered dimensions of care and new clinical research dimensions using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Results: Surveys were mailed to 18,890 individuals; 4,961 were returned (29%). Survey completion was 89% overall; completion rates exceeded 90% for 88 of 93 evaluable items. Questions fit into three dimensions of patient‐centered care and two novel clinical research dimensions (Cronbach's alpha for dimensions: 0.69–0.85). Conclusions: The validated survey offers a new method for assessing and improving outcomes of clinical research processes. Clin Trans Sci 2012; Volume 5: 452–460 PMID:23253666

Routinely collected data as a strategic resource for research: priorities for methods and workforce.

PubMed

Jorm, Louisa

2015-09-30

In the era of 'big data', research using routinely collected data offers greater potential than ever before to drive health system effectiveness and efficiency, and population health improvement. In Australia, the policy environment, and emerging frameworks and processes for data governance and access, increasingly support the use of routinely collected data for research. Capitalising on this strategic resource requires investment in both research methods and research workforce. Priorities for methods development include validation studies, techniques for analysing complex longitudinal data, exploration of bias introduced through linkage error, and a robust toolkit to evaluate policies and programs using 'natural experiments'. Priorities for workforce development include broadening the skills base of the existing research workforce, and the formation of new, larger, interdisciplinary research teams to incorporate capabilities in computer science, partnership research, research translation and the 'business' aspects of research. Large-scale, long-term partnership approaches involving government, industry and researchers offer the most promising way to maximise returns on investment in research using routinely collected data.

Probabilistic classification method on multi wavelength chromatographic data for photosynthetic pigments identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prilianti, K. R.; Setiawan, Y.; Indriatmoko, Adhiwibawa, M. A. S.; Limantara, L.; Brotosudarmo, T. H. P.

2014-02-01

Environmental and health problem caused by artificial colorant encourages the increasing usage of natural colorant nowadays. Natural colorant refers to the colorant that is derivate from living organism or minerals. Extensive research topic has been done to exploit these colorant, but recent data shows that only 0.5% of the wide range of plant pigments in the earth has been exhaustively used. Hence development of the pigment characterization technique is an important consideration. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a widely used technique to separate pigments in a mixture and identify it. In former HPLC fingerprinting, pigment characterization was based on a single chromatogram from a fixed wavelength (one dimensional) and discard the information contained at other wavelength. Therefore, two dimensional fingerprints have been proposed to use more chromatographic information. Unfortunately this method leads to the data processing problem due to the size of its data matrix. The other common problem in the chromatogram analysis is the subjectivity of the researcher in recognizing the chromatogram pattern. In this research an automated analysis method of the multi wavelength chromatographic data was proposed. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to compress the data matrix and Maximum Likelihood (ML) classification was applied to identify the chromatogram pattern of the existing pigments in a mixture. Three photosynthetic pigments were selected to show the proposed method. Those pigments are β-carotene, fucoxanthin and zeaxanthin. The result suggests that the method could well inform the existence of the pigments in a particular mixture. A simple computer application was also developed to facilitate real time analysis. Input of the application is multi wavelength chromatographic data matrix and the output is information about the existence of the three pigments.

What Should Be Done with "Fit" in Principal Selection?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, Brandon; Kelly, Joseph; Mullooly, James

2016-01-01

Although the school principal's role has been growing in importance, the methods used to select principals have not changed much since the 1950s. Moreover, researchers have seldom scrutinized principal selection methods; yet, significant procedural issues exist. The concept of "fit" has been used within principal selection for decades,…

Digital Simulation Games for Social Studies Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Devlin-Scherer, Roberta; Sardone, Nancy B.

2010-01-01

Data from ten teacher candidates studying teaching methods were analyzed to determine perceptions toward digital simulation games in the area of social studies. This research can be used as a conceptual model of how current teacher candidates react to new methods of instruction and determine how education programs might change existing curricula…

Aligning Person-Centred Methods and Young People's Conceptualizations of Diversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waite, Sue; Boyask, Ruth; Lawson, Hazel

2010-01-01

Many existing studies of diversity are concerned with social groups identified by externally determined factors, for example, ethnicity, gender, or educational attainment, and examine, either quantitatively or qualitatively, issues delineated by these. In evaluating methods used in previous research, we consider ways in which the adoption of…

Measuring the performance of livability programs.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-07-01

This report analyzes the performance measurement processes adopted by five large livability programs throughout the United States. It compares and contrasts these programs by examining existing research in performance measurement methods. The ...

Factors that influence utilisation of HIV/AIDS prevention methods among university students residing at a selected university campus.

PubMed

Ndabarora, Eléazar; Mchunu, Gugu

2014-01-01

Various studies have reported that university students, who are mostly young people, rarely use existing HIV/AIDS preventive methods. Although studies have shown that young university students have a high degree of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and HIV modes of transmission, they are still not utilising the existing HIV prevention methods and still engage in risky sexual practices favourable to HIV. Some variables, such as awareness of existing HIV/AIDS prevention methods, have been associated with utilisation of such methods. The study aimed to explore factors that influence use of existing HIV/AIDS prevention methods among university students residing in a selected campus, using the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a theoretical framework. A quantitative research approach and an exploratory-descriptive design were used to describe perceived factors that influence utilisation by university students of HIV/AIDS prevention methods. A total of 335 students completed online and manual questionnaires. Study findings showed that the factors which influenced utilisation of HIV/AIDS prevention methods were mainly determined by awareness of the existing university-based HIV/AIDS prevention strategies. Most utilised prevention methods were voluntary counselling and testing services and free condoms. Perceived susceptibility and perceived threat of HIV/AIDS score was also found to correlate with HIV risk index score. Perceived susceptibility and perceived threat of HIV/AIDS showed correlation with self-efficacy on condoms and their utilisation. Most HBM variables were not predictors of utilisation of HIV/AIDS prevention methods among students. Intervention aiming to improve the utilisation of HIV/AIDS prevention methods among students at the selected university should focus on removing identified barriers, promoting HIV/AIDS prevention services and providing appropriate resources to implement such programmes.

Quick-Change Ceramic Flame Holder for High-Output Torches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haskin, Henry

2010-01-01

Researchers at NASA's Langley Research Center have developed a new ceramic design flame holder with a service temperature of 4,000 F (2,204 C). The combination of high strength and high temperature capability, as well as a twist-lock mounting method to the steel burner, sets this flame holder apart from existing technology.

Developing Principals as Racial Equity Leaders: A Mixed Method Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raskin, Candace F.; Krull, Melissa; Thatcher, Roberta

2015-01-01

This article will present information and research on how a college of education is intentionally developing principals to lead with confidence and racial competence. The nation's student achievement research is sobering: our current school systems widen already existing gaps between white students and students of color, (Darling-Hammond, L. 2004,…

Disposal of Information Seeking and Retrieval Research: Replacement with a Radical Proposition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Budd, John M.; Anstaett, Ashley

2013-01-01

Introduction: Research and theory on the topics of information seeking and retrieval have been plagued by some fundamental problems for several decades. Many of the difficulties spring from mechanistic and instrumental thinking and modelling. Method: Existing models of information retrieval and information seeking are examined for efficacy in a…

Knowledge Production through Interdisciplinary Skills: Producing an Effective Postgraduate Research Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chitakunye, Pepukayi; Takhar-Lail, Amandeep

2015-01-01

This study contributes to existing methodological knowledge by showing how a transformed research methods curriculum, which is beyond the milieu of schooling, can engage postgraduate students in a critical dialogue on how knowledge is produced in industry and higher education. Initial insights are drawn from two interpretive studies that employed…

A Tool for Mapping Research Skills in Undergraduate Curricula

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fraser, Gillian A.; Crook, Anne C.; Park, Julian R.

2007-01-01

There has been considerable interest recently in the teaching of skills to undergraduate students. However, existing methods for collating data on how much, where and when students are taught and assessed skills have often been shown to be time-consuming and ineffective. Here, we outline an electronic research skills audit tool that has been…

The Effectiveness of Community Practice Interventions: A Review of the Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohmer, Mary L.; Korr, Wynne S.

2006-01-01

Objective: Evidence-based practice is becoming increasingly important in social work and community practice. The authors reviewed existing research to assess the level of evidence available to guide community practice. Method: The authors conducted a review of the literature on community practice intervention research from 1985 to 2002 using…

Curriculum Development in Studio-Style University Physics and Implications for Dissemination of Research-Based Reforms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foote, Kathleen T.

2016-01-01

Over the past few decades, a growing body of evidence demonstrates that students learn best in engaging, interactive, collaborative, and inquiry-based environments. However, most college science classes are still taught with traditional methods suggesting the existing selection of research-based instructional materials has not widely transformed…

Demystifying Moderators and Mediators in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research: A Primer and Review of the Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farmer, C.

2012-01-01

Background: Intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) researchers have been relatively slow to adopt the search for moderators and mediators, although these variables are key in understanding how and why relationships exist between variables. Although the traditional method of causal steps is useful for describing and understanding…

"I Am More than What I Look Alike": Asian American Women in Public School Administration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liang, Jia; Peters-Hawkins, April L.

2017-01-01

Purpose: Little research exists that examines the leadership experiences of Asian American women in public schools. This study sought to understand the meanings Asian American women school administrators have constructed out of their professional lives given the intersection of gender, race-ethnicity, and leadership. Research Method/Approach: Data…

Assessing Aspects of Creativity in Deaf and Hearing High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanzione, Christopher M.; Perez, Susan M.; Lederberg, Amy R.

2013-01-01

To address the paucity of current research on the development of creativity in deaf students, and to extend existing research to adolescents, the present study investigated divergent thinking, a method of assessing creativity, in both deaf and hearing adolescents. We assessed divergent thinking in two domains, figural and verbal, while also…

A Research Synthesis of the Evaluation Capacity Building Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Labin, Susan N.; Duffy, Jennifer L.; Meyers, Duncan C.; Wandersman, Abraham; Lesesne, Catherine A.

2012-01-01

The continuously growing demand for program results has produced an increased need for evaluation capacity building (ECB). The "Integrative ECB Model" was developed to integrate concepts from existing ECB theory literature and to structure a synthesis of the empirical ECB literature. The study used a broad-based research synthesis method with…

A Statewide Examination of the Training Satisfaction of Instructional Coaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lubbers, Susanne L.

2017-01-01

As the roles of instructional coaches are expanding in school districts, little research exists about how instructional coaches are initially trained for their positions. Much of the research base of teachers coach peers shows it is a strong method of helping teachers improve their classroom effectiveness, but little is known about an…

A study of prediction methods for the high angle-of-attack aerodynamics of straight wings and fighter aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcmillan, O. J.; Mendenhall, M. R.; Perkins, S. C., Jr.

1984-01-01

Work is described dealing with two areas which are dominated by the nonlinear effects of vortex flows. The first area concerns the stall/spin characteristics of a general aviation wing with a modified leading edge. The second area concerns the high-angle-of-attack characteristics of high performance military aircraft. For each area, the governing phenomena are described as identified with the aid of existing experimental data. Existing analytical methods are reviewed, and the most promising method for each area used to perform some preliminary calculations. Based on these results, the strengths and weaknesses of the methods are defined, and research programs recommended to improve the methods as a result of better understanding of the flow mechanisms involved.

Wind-induced vibration of stay cables : brief

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-02-01

The objectives of this project were to: : Identify gaps in current knowledge base : Conduct analytical and experimental research in critical areas : Study performance of existing cable-stayed bridges : Study current mitigation methods...

Use of paired management action grids for ease in depicting differences between users' and managers' perceptions of problems

Treesearch

R. J. Steele; James E. Fletcher

1992-01-01

This research was to determine whether differences exist between users and managers concerning perceptions of actual and perceived problems in parks and primarily to present a method of graphically depicting the differing perceptions of problems which exist between users and park managers which can be easily employed by area managers and related to the public, upper...

The emergence of an ethical duty to disclose genetic research results: international perspectives.

PubMed

Knoppers, Bartha Maria; Joly, Yann; Simard, Jacques; Durocher, Francine

2006-11-01

The last decade has witnessed the emergence of international ethics guidelines discussing the importance of disclosing global and also, in certain circumstances, individual genetic research results to participants. This discussion is all the more important considering the advent of pharmacogenomics and the increasing incidence of 'translational' genetic research in the post-genomic era. We surveyed both the literature and the ethical guidelines using selective keywords. We then analyzed our data using a qualitative method approach and singled out countries or policies that were representative of certain positions. From our findings, we conclude that at the international level, there now exists an ethical duty to return individual genetic research results subject to the existence of proof of validity, significance and benefit. Even where these criteria are met, the right of the research participant not to know also has to be taken into consideration. The existence of an ethical duty to return individual genetic research results begs several other questions: Who should have the responsibility of disclosing such results and when? To whom should the results be disclosed? How? Finally, will this ethical 'imperative' become a legally recognized duty as well?

An online database for plant image analysis software tools.

PubMed

Lobet, Guillaume; Draye, Xavier; Périlleux, Claire

2013-10-09

Recent years have seen an increase in methods for plant phenotyping using image analyses. These methods require new software solutions for data extraction and treatment. These solutions are instrumental in supporting various research pipelines, ranging from the localisation of cellular compounds to the quantification of tree canopies. However, due to the variety of existing tools and the lack of central repository, it is challenging for researchers to identify the software that is best suited for their research. We present an online, manually curated, database referencing more than 90 plant image analysis software solutions. The website, plant-image-analysis.org, presents each software in a uniform and concise manner enabling users to identify the available solutions for their experimental needs. The website also enables user feedback, evaluations and new software submissions. The plant-image-analysis.org database provides an overview of existing plant image analysis software. The aim of such a toolbox is to help users to find solutions, and to provide developers a way to exchange and communicate about their work.

Creative design inspired by biological knowledge: Technologies and methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Runhua; Liu, Wei; Cao, Guozhong; Shi, Yuan

2018-05-01

Biological knowledge is becoming an important source of inspiration for developing creative solutions to engineering design problems and even has a huge potential in formulating ideas that can help firms compete successfully in a dynamic market. To identify the technologies and methods that can facilitate the development of biologically inspired creative designs, this research briefly reviews the existing biological-knowledge-based theories and methods and examines the application of biological-knowledge-inspired designs in various fields. Afterward, this research thoroughly examines the four dimensions of key technologies that underlie the biologically inspired design (BID) process. This research then discusses the future development trends of the BID process before presenting the conclusions.

Advancing Methods for U.S. Transgender Health Research

PubMed Central

Reisner, Sari L.; Deutsch, Madeline B.; Bhasin, Shalender; Bockting, Walter; Brown, George R.; Feldman, Jamie; Garofalo, Rob; Kreukels, Baudewijntje; Radix, Asa; Safer, Joshua D.; Tangpricha, Vin; T’Sjoen, Guy; Goodman, Michael

2016-01-01

Purpose of Review To describe methodological challenges, gaps, and opportunities in U.S. transgender health research. Recent Findings Lack of large prospective observational studies and intervention trials, limited data on risks and benefits of gender affirmation (e.g., hormones and surgical interventions), and inconsistent use of definitions across studies hinder evidence-based care for transgender people. Systematic high-quality observational and intervention-testing studies may be carried out using several approaches, including general population-based, health systems-based, clinic-based, venue-based, and hybrid designs. Each of these approaches has its strength and limitations; however, harmonization of research efforts is needed. Ongoing development of evidence-based clinical recommendations will benefit from a series of observational and intervention studies aimed at identification, recruitment, and follow-up of transgender people of different ages, from different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds and with diverse gender identities. Summary Transgender health research faces challenges that include standardization of lexicon, agreed-upon population definitions, study design, sampling, measurement, outcome ascertainment, and sample size. Application of existing and new methods is needed to fill existing gaps, increase the scientific rigor and reach of transgender health research, and inform evidence-based prevention and care for this underserved population. PMID:26845331

Paradigms for machine learning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schlimmer, Jeffrey C.; Langley, Pat

1991-01-01

Five paradigms are described for machine learning: connectionist (neural network) methods, genetic algorithms and classifier systems, empirical methods for inducing rules and decision trees, analytic learning methods, and case-based approaches. Some dimensions are considered along with these paradigms vary in their approach to learning, and the basic methods are reviewed that are used within each framework, together with open research issues. It is argued that the similarities among the paradigms are more important than their differences, and that future work should attempt to bridge the existing boundaries. Finally, some recent developments in the field of machine learning are discussed, and their impact on both research and applications is examined.

[Establishment of Assessment Method for Air Bacteria and Fungi Contamination].

PubMed

Zhang, Hua-ling; Yao, Da-jun; Zhang, Yu; Fang, Zi-liang

2016-03-15

In this paper, in order to settle existing problems in the assessment of air bacteria and fungi contamination, the indoor and outdoor air bacteria and fungi filed concentrations by impact method and settlement method in existing documents were collected and analyzed, then the goodness of chi square was used to test whether these concentration data obeyed normal distribution at the significant level of α = 0.05, and combined with the 3σ principle of normal distribution and the current assessment standards, the suggested concentrations ranges of air microbial concentrations were determined. The research results could provide a reference for developing air bacteria and fungi contamination assessment standards in the future.

Network Approaches to Substance Use and HIV/Hepatitis C Risk among Homeless Youth and Adult Women in the United States: A Review

PubMed Central

Dombrowski, Kirk; Sittner, Kelley; Crawford, Devan; Welch-Lazoritz, Melissa; Habecker, Patrick; Khan, Bilal

2016-01-01

During the United States economic recession of 2008–2011, the number of homeless and unstably housed people in the United States increased considerably. Homeless adult women and unaccompanied homeless youth make up the most marginal segments of this population. Because homeless individuals are a hard to reach population, research into these marginal groups has traditionally been a challenge for researchers interested in substance abuse and mental health. Network analysis techniques and research strategies offer means for dealing with traditional challenges such as missing sampling frames, variation in definitions of homelessness and study inclusion criteria, and enumeration/population estimation procedures. This review focuses on the need for, and recent steps toward, solutions to these problems that involve network science strategies for data collection and analysis. Research from a range of fields is reviewed and organized according to a new stress process framework aimed at understanding how homeless status interacts with issues related to substance abuse and mental health. Three types of network innovation are discussed: network scale-up methods, a network ecology approach to social resources, and the integration of network variables into the proposed stress process model of homeless substance abuse and mental health. By employing network methods and integrating these methods into existing models, research on homeless and unstably housed women and unaccompanied young people can address existing research challenges and promote more effective intervention and care programs. PMID:28042394

Network Approaches to Substance Use and HIV/Hepatitis C Risk among Homeless Youth and Adult Women in the United States: A Review.

PubMed

Dombrowski, Kirk; Sittner, Kelley; Crawford, Devan; Welch-Lazoritz, Melissa; Habecker, Patrick; Khan, Bilal

2016-09-01

During the United States economic recession of 2008-2011, the number of homeless and unstably housed people in the United States increased considerably. Homeless adult women and unaccompanied homeless youth make up the most marginal segments of this population. Because homeless individuals are a hard to reach population, research into these marginal groups has traditionally been a challenge for researchers interested in substance abuse and mental health. Network analysis techniques and research strategies offer means for dealing with traditional challenges such as missing sampling frames, variation in definitions of homelessness and study inclusion criteria, and enumeration/population estimation procedures. This review focuses on the need for, and recent steps toward, solutions to these problems that involve network science strategies for data collection and analysis. Research from a range of fields is reviewed and organized according to a new stress process framework aimed at understanding how homeless status interacts with issues related to substance abuse and mental health. Three types of network innovation are discussed: network scale-up methods, a network ecology approach to social resources, and the integration of network variables into the proposed stress process model of homeless substance abuse and mental health. By employing network methods and integrating these methods into existing models, research on homeless and unstably housed women and unaccompanied young people can address existing research challenges and promote more effective intervention and care programs.

Research in the perianesthesia setting: the basics of getting started.

PubMed

Myers, Gina; Kosinski, Michele

2005-02-01

Research can be defined as a process that systematically investigates a situation with the objective of expanding the existing knowledge of a profession. Research asks the question "Does what we do as nurses help or hinder?" The purpose of this article is to provide a brief history of nursing research and to review basic research methods. In addition, examples of potential research projects focused in the perianesthesia practice arena will be explored. Practical steps will be outlined to guide novice nurse researchers in their early endeavors.

Assessment of Entrepreneurial Territorial Attractiveness by the Ranking Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gavrilova, Marina A.; Shepelev, Victor M.; Kosyakova, Inessa V.; Belikova, Lyudmila F.; Chistik, Olga F.

2016-01-01

The relevance of the researched problem is caused by existence of differentiation in development of separate regional units (urban districts and municipalities) within the region. The aim of this article is to offer a method, which determines the level of differentiation in development of various components of the region, and also in producing a…

Carbohydrate-Loading: A Safe and Effective Method of Improving Endurance Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beeker, Richard T.; Israel, Richard G.

Carbohydrate-loading prior to distance events is a common practice among endurance athletes. The purposes of this paper are to review previous research and to clarify misconceptions which may exist concerning carbohydrate-loading. The most effective method of carbohydrate-loading involves a training run of sufficient intensity and duration to…

Processes, Procedures, and Methods to Control Pollution Resulting from Silvicultural Activities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Office of Water Programs.

This report presents brief documentation of silvicultural practices, both those now in use and those in stages of research and development. A majority of the text is concerned with the specific aspects of silvicultural activities which relate to nonpoint source pollution control methods. Analyzed are existing and near future pollution control…

Design and Implementation of a Studio-Based General Chemistry Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottfried, Amy C.; Sweeder, Ryan D.; Bartolin, Jeffrey M.; Hessler, Jessica A.; Reynolds, Benjamin P.; Stewart, Ian C.; Coppola, Brian P.; Holl, Mark Banaszak M.

2007-01-01

The design and implementation of a new value-added general chemistry course, which could use the studio instructional method to incorporate the existing educational research is reviewed. These teaching methods and activities were woven into the course to provide the students with ways of learning chemical concepts and practicing scientific…

A Bayesian taxonomic classification method for 16S rRNA gene sequences with improved species-level accuracy.

PubMed

Gao, Xiang; Lin, Huaiying; Revanna, Kashi; Dong, Qunfeng

2017-05-10

Species-level classification for 16S rRNA gene sequences remains a serious challenge for microbiome researchers, because existing taxonomic classification tools for 16S rRNA gene sequences either do not provide species-level classification, or their classification results are unreliable. The unreliable results are due to the limitations in the existing methods which either lack solid probabilistic-based criteria to evaluate the confidence of their taxonomic assignments, or use nucleotide k-mer frequency as the proxy for sequence similarity measurement. We have developed a method that shows significantly improved species-level classification results over existing methods. Our method calculates true sequence similarity between query sequences and database hits using pairwise sequence alignment. Taxonomic classifications are assigned from the species to the phylum levels based on the lowest common ancestors of multiple database hits for each query sequence, and further classification reliabilities are evaluated by bootstrap confidence scores. The novelty of our method is that the contribution of each database hit to the taxonomic assignment of the query sequence is weighted by a Bayesian posterior probability based upon the degree of sequence similarity of the database hit to the query sequence. Our method does not need any training datasets specific for different taxonomic groups. Instead only a reference database is required for aligning to the query sequences, making our method easily applicable for different regions of the 16S rRNA gene or other phylogenetic marker genes. Reliable species-level classification for 16S rRNA or other phylogenetic marker genes is critical for microbiome research. Our software shows significantly higher classification accuracy than the existing tools and we provide probabilistic-based confidence scores to evaluate the reliability of our taxonomic classification assignments based on multiple database matches to query sequences. Despite its higher computational costs, our method is still suitable for analyzing large-scale microbiome datasets for practical purposes. Furthermore, our method can be applied for taxonomic classification of any phylogenetic marker gene sequences. Our software, called BLCA, is freely available at https://github.com/qunfengdong/BLCA .

Montessori education: a review of the evidence base

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, Chloë

2017-10-01

The Montessori educational method has existed for over 100 years, but evaluations of its effectiveness are scarce. This review paper has three aims, namely to (1) identify some key elements of the method, (2) review existing evaluations of Montessori education, and (3) review studies that do not explicitly evaluate Montessori education but which evaluate the key elements identified in (1). The goal of the paper is therefore to provide a review of the evidence base for Montessori education, with the dual aspirations of stimulating future research and helping teachers to better understand whether and why Montessori education might be effective.

German translation of the Alberta context tool and two measures of research use: methods, challenges and lessons learned

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Understanding the relationship between organizational context and research utilization is key to reducing the research-practice gap in health care. This is particularly true in the residential long term care (LTC) setting where relatively little work has examined the influence of context on research implementation. Reliable, valid measures and tools are a prerequisite for studying organizational context and research utilization. Few such tools exist in German. We thus translated three such tools (the Alberta Context Tool and two measures of research use) into German for use in German residential LTC. We point out challenges and strategies for their solution unique to German residential LTC, and demonstrate how resolving specific challenges in the translation of the health care aide instrument version streamlined the translation process of versions for registered nurses, allied health providers, practice specialists, and managers. Methods Our translation methods were based on best practices and included two independent forward translations, reconciliation of the forward translations, expert panel discussions, two independent back translations, reconciliation of the back translations, back translation review, and cognitive debriefing. Results We categorized the challenges in this translation process into seven categories: (1) differing professional education of Canadian and German care providers, (2) risk that German translations would become grammatically complex, (3) wordings at risk of being misunderstood, (4) phrases/idioms non-existent in German, (5) lack of corresponding German words, (6) limited comprehensibility of corresponding German words, and (7) target persons’ unfamiliarity with activities detailed in survey items. Examples of each challenge are described with strategies that we used to manage the challenge. Conclusion Translating an existing instrument is complex and time-consuming, but a rigorous approach is necessary to obtain instrument equivalence. Essential components were (1) involvement of and co-operation with the instrument developers and (2) expert panel discussions, including both target group and content experts. Equivalent translated instruments help researchers from different cultures to find a common language and undertake comparative research. As acceptable psychometric properties are a prerequisite for that, we are currently carrying out a study with that focus. PMID:24238613

Elucidating the power in empowerment and the participation in participatory action research: a story about research team and elementary school change.

PubMed

Dworski-Riggs, Deanne; Langhout, Regina Day

2010-06-01

Community psychologists are increasingly using Participatory Action Research (PAR) as a way to promote social justice by creating conditions that foster empowerment. Yet, little attention has been paid to the differences between the power structure that PAR advocates and the local community power structures. This paper seeks to evaluate the level of participation in a PAR project for multiple stakeholder groups, determine how PAR was adjusted to better fit community norms, and whether our research team was able to facilitate the emergence of PAR by adopting an approach that was relevant to the existing power relations. We conclude that power differences should not be seen as roadblocks to participation, but rather as moments of opportunity for the researchers to refine their methods and for the community and the community psychologist to challenge existing power structures.

Elucidating the Power in Empowerment and the Participation in Participatory Action Research: A Story About Research Team and Elementary School Change

PubMed Central

Dworski-Riggs, Deanne

2010-01-01

Community psychologists are increasingly using Participatory Action Research (PAR) as a way to promote social justice by creating conditions that foster empowerment. Yet, little attention has been paid to the differences between the power structure that PAR advocates and the local community power structures. This paper seeks to evaluate the level of participation in a PAR project for multiple stakeholder groups, determine how PAR was adjusted to better fit community norms, and whether our research team was able to facilitate the emergence of PAR by adopting an approach that was relevant to the existing power relations. We conclude that power differences should not be seen as roadblocks to participation, but rather as moments of opportunity for the researchers to refine their methods and for the community and the community psychologist to challenge existing power structures. PMID:20232244

Evaluating co-creation of knowledge: from quality criteria and indicators to methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuck-Zöller, Susanne; Cortekar, Jörg; Jacob, Daniela

2017-11-01

Basic research in the natural sciences rests on a long tradition of evaluation. However, since the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) came out in 2012, there has been intense discussion in the natural sciences, above all amongst researchers and funding agencies in the different fields of applied research and scientific service. This discussion was intensified when climate services and other fields, used to make users participate in research and development activities (co-creation), demanded new evaluation methods appropriate to this new research mode. This paper starts by describing a comprehensive and interdisciplinary literature overview of indicators to evaluate co-creation of knowledge, including the different fields of integrated knowledge production. Then the authors harmonize the different elements of evaluation from literature in an evaluation cascade that scales down from very general evaluation dimensions to tangible assessment methods. They describe evaluation indicators already being documented and include a mixture of different assessment methods for two exemplary criteria. It is shown what can be deduced from already existing methodology for climate services and envisaged how climate services can further to develop their specific evaluation method.

Measurement of Physical and Hydraulic Properties of Organic Soil Using Computed Tomographic Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blais, K. E.; Quinton, W. L.; Heck, R. J.; Price, J. S.; Schmidt, M. G.

2005-12-01

The Lower Liard River valley is located within the continental northern boreal region and the zone of discontinuous permafrost. Lying in the centre of the Mackenzie basin, this valley is an extensive flat headwater region with a high density of open water and peatlands. Several standard methods of measuring the physical properties of organic soils exist, although many of them have several drawbacks that limit their use. Organic soils, in particular, have unique properties that require special attention to ensure that the measured hydrological characteristics are represented as they exist in nature. The goal of this research was to devise an improved method of analyzing and measuring the physical and hydraulic properties of organic soil using MicroCT imagery. Specifically, this research seeks to determine if two and three-dimensional images of peat can be used to accurately characterize air-filled porosity, active porosity, pore size distribution, pore saturated area and capillarity of porous Sphagnum cells. Results indicate that measurements derived from these images are consistent with current literature. They also suggest that this non-destructive method is a valuable tool for measuring peat physical and hydraulic properties and that there is potential for additional research using CT technology.

The Application of the Microgenetic Method to Studies of Learning in Science Education: Characteristics of Published Studies, Methodological Issues and Recommendations for Future Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brock, Richard; Taber, Keith S.

2017-01-01

This paper examines the role of the microgenetic method in science education. The microgenetic method is a technique for exploring the progression of learning in detail through repeated, high-frequency observations of a learner's "performance" in some activity. Existing microgenetic studies in science education are analysed. This leads…

Incorporating energy conservation techniques in the operation of existing LeRC R and D facilities. [energy policy/NASA programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nieberding, W. C.

1975-01-01

A general discussion of various methods which can be used to reduce energy consumption is presented. A very brief description of Lewis Research Center facilities is given and the energy reduction methods are discussed relative to them. Some specific examples (ie; automated equipment and data systems) of the implementation of the energy reduction methods are included.

Writing Integrative Reviews of the Literature: Methods and Purposes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torraco, Richard J.

2016-01-01

This article discusses the integrative review of the literature as a distinctive form of research that uses existing literature to create new knowledge. As an expansion and update of a previously published article on this topic, it acknowledges the growth and appeal of this form of research to scholars, it identifies the main components of the…

What Do We Know and How Well Do We Know It? Identifying Practice-Based Insights in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Barbara; Pasley, Joan

2012-01-01

Knowledge derived from practice forms a significant portion of the knowledge base in the education field, yet is not accessible using existing empirical research methods. This paper describes a systematic, rigorous, grounded approach to collecting and analysing practice-based knowledge using the authors' research in teacher leadership as an…

The Relationship between Attention Levels and Class Participation of First-Year Students in Classroom Teaching Departments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sezer, Adem; Inel, Yusuf; Seçkin, Ahmet Çagdas; Uluçinar, Ufuk

2017-01-01

This study aimed to detect any relationship that may exist between classroom teacher candidates' class participation and their attention levels. The research method was a convergent parallel design, mixing quantitative and qualitative research techniques, and the study group was composed of 21 freshmen studying in the Classroom Teaching Department…

REPORT OF A NATIONAL VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL EDUCATION SEMINAR ON RESEARCH AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT (FEBRUARY 7-11, 1966).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LESTER, HERSCHEL T., JR.

FORTY-ONE VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL EDUCATION LEADERS AND 23 CONSULTANTS PARTICIPATED IN A SEMINAR TO DISCUSS EXISTING RESEARCH METHODS BELIEVED TO BE USEFUL IN CONTROLLING CURRICULUM VARIABLES. THE SEMINAR WAS ONE OF SIX CONDUCTED IN COOPERATION WITH THE AMERICAN VOCATIONAL ASSOCIATION, U.S. OFFICE OF EDUCATION, AND CORNELL UNIVERSITY. PRESENTATIONS…

How (and Whether) to Teach Undergraduates about the Replication Crisis in Psychological Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chopik, William J.; Bremner, Ryan H.; Defever, Andrew M.; Keller, Victor N.

2018-01-01

Over the past 10 years, crises surrounding replication, fraud, and best practices in research methods have dominated discussions in the field of psychology. However, no research exists examining how to communicate these issues to undergraduates and what effect this has on their attitudes toward the field. We developed and validated a 1-hr lecture…

The Self Concept.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fitzgibbon, Ann

The purpose of this paper is to increase awareness of the self concept as a variable, to indicate what is known about the self concept from existing research, to discuss its importance to the school and its effect on learning, and to offer a method of assessment which is tied to a definition arbitrarily made as a starting point for researchers. A…

An Investigation of High-Achieving African-American Students Attending Community Colleges: A Mixed Methods Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gipson, John; Mitchell, Donald, Jr.; McLean, Carolyn

2018-01-01

While much more research has been conducted about African-American college students in recent decades, there still exists a need for further explorations concerning factors related to student success and retention. For example, articles often explore the experiences of African-American students at four-year institutions and often use deficit…

Developing Library GIS Services for Humanities and Social Science: An Action Research Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kong, Ningning; Fosmire, Michael; Branch, Benjamin Dewayne

2017-01-01

In the academic libraries' efforts to support digital humanities and social science, GIS service plays an important role. However, there is no general service model existing about how libraries can develop GIS services to best engage with digital humanities and social science. In this study, we adopted the action research method to develop and…

Educational Data Mining Applications and Tasks: A Survey of the Last 10 Years

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bakhshinategh, Behdad; Zaiane, Osmar R.; ElAtia, Samira; Ipperciel, Donald

2018-01-01

Educational Data Mining (EDM) is the field of using data mining techniques in educational environments. There exist various methods and applications in EDM which can follow both applied research objectives such as improving and enhancing learning quality, as well as pure research objectives, which tend to improve our understanding of the learning…

Stormwater BMP Effectiveness Assessment Toolkit

EPA Science Inventory

US EPA has identified stormwater BMP effectiveness as a priority research need. Effective protection of biotic integrity requires that processes maintaining the diversity of physical habitats be protected. Methods are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of existing Stormwater ...

Mixed Methods Research: The "Thing-ness" Problem.

PubMed

Hesse-Biber, Sharlene

2015-06-01

Contemporary mixed methods research (MMR) veers away from a "loosely bounded" to a "bounded" concept that has important negative implications for how qualitatively driven mixed methods approaches are positioned in the field of mixed methods and overall innovation in the praxis of MMR. I deploy the concept of reification defined as taking an object/abstraction and treating it as if it were real such that it takes on the quality of "thing-ness," having a concrete independent existence. I argue that the contemporary reification of mixed methods as a "thing" is fueled by three interrelated factors: (a) the growing formalization of mixed methods as design, (b) the unexamined belief in the "synergy" of mixed methods and, (c) the deployment of a "practical pragmatism" as the "philosophical partner" for mixed methods inquiry. © The Author(s) 2015.

Setting research priorities to reduce global mortality from preterm birth and low birth weight by 2015.

PubMed

Bahl, Rajiv; Martines, Jose; Bhandari, Nita; Biloglav, Zrinka; Edmond, Karen; Iyengar, Sharad; Kramer, Michael; Lawn, Joy E; Manandhar, D S; Mori, Rintaro; Rasmussen, Kathleen M; Sachdev, H P S; Singhal, Nalini; Tomlinson, Mark; Victora, Cesar; Williams, Anthony F; Chan, Kit Yee; Rudan, Igor

2012-06-01

This paper aims to identify health research priorities that could improve the rate of progress in reducing global neonatal mortality from preterm birth and low birth weight (PB/LBW), as set out in the UN's Millennium Development Goal 4. We applied the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) methodology for setting priorities in health research investments. In the process coordinated by the World Health Organization in 2007-2008, 21 researchers with interest in child, maternal and newborn health suggested 82 research ideas that spanned across the broad spectrum of epidemiological research, health policy and systems research, improvement of existing interventions and development of new interventions. The 82 research questions were then assessed for answerability, effectiveness, deliverability, maximum potential for mortality reduction and the effect on equity using the CHNRI method. The top 10 identified research priorities were dominated by health systems and policy research questions (eg, identification of LBW infants born at home within 24-48 hours of birth for additional care; approaches to improve quality of care of LBW infants in health facilities; identification of barriers to optimal home care practices including care seeking; and approaches to increase the use of antenatal corticosteriods in preterm labor and to improve access to hospital care for LBW infants). These were followed by priorities for improvement of the existing interventions (eg, early initiation of breastfeeding, including feeding mode and techniques for those unable to suckle directly from the breast; improved cord care, such as chlorhexidine application; and alternative methods to Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) to keep LBW infants warm in community settings). The highest-ranked epidemiological question suggested improving criteria for identifying LBW infants who need to be cared for in a hospital. Among the new interventions, the greatest support was shown for the development of new simple and effective interventions for providing thermal care to LBW infants, if KMC is not acceptable to the mother. The context for this exercise was set within the MDG4, requiring an urgent and rapid progress in mortality reduction from low birth weight, rather than identifying long-term strategic solutions of the greatest potential. In a short-term context, the health policy and systems research to improve access and coverage by the existing interventions, coupled with further research to improve effectiveness, deliverability and acceptance of existing interventions, and epidemiological research to address the key gaps in knowledge, were all highlighted as research priorities.

A method and software framework for enriching private biomedical sources with data from public online repositories.

PubMed

Anguita, Alberto; García-Remesal, Miguel; Graf, Norbert; Maojo, Victor

2016-04-01

Modern biomedical research relies on the semantic integration of heterogeneous data sources to find data correlations. Researchers access multiple datasets of disparate origin, and identify elements-e.g. genes, compounds, pathways-that lead to interesting correlations. Normally, they must refer to additional public databases in order to enrich the information about the identified entities-e.g. scientific literature, published clinical trial results, etc. While semantic integration techniques have traditionally focused on providing homogeneous access to private datasets-thus helping automate the first part of the research, and there exist different solutions for browsing public data, there is still a need for tools that facilitate merging public repositories with private datasets. This paper presents a framework that automatically locates public data of interest to the researcher and semantically integrates it with existing private datasets. The framework has been designed as an extension of traditional data integration systems, and has been validated with an existing data integration platform from a European research project by integrating a private biological dataset with data from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evidence & Gap Maps: A tool for promoting evidence informed policy and strategic research agendas.

PubMed

Snilstveit, Birte; Vojtkova, Martina; Bhavsar, Ami; Stevenson, Jennifer; Gaarder, Marie

2016-11-01

A range of organizations are engaged in the production of evidence on the effects of health, social, and economic development programs on human welfare outcomes. However, evidence is often scattered around different databases, web sites, and the gray literature and is often presented in inaccessible formats. Lack of overview of the evidence in a specific field can be a barrier to the use of existing research and prevent efficient use of limited resources for new research. Evidence & Gap Maps (EGMs) aim to address these issues and complement existing synthesis and mapping approaches. EGMs are a new addition to the tools available to support evidence-informed policymaking. To provide an accessible resource for researchers, commissioners, and decision makers, EGMs provide thematic collections of evidence structured around a framework which schematically represents the types of interventions and outcomes of relevance to a particular sector. By mapping the existing evidence using this framework, EGMs provide a visual overview of what we know and do not know about the effects of different programs. They make existing evidence available, and by providing links to user-friendly summaries of relevant studies, EGMs can facilitate the use of existing evidence for decision making. They identify key "gaps" where little or no evidence from impact evaluations and systematic reviews is available and can be a valuable resource to inform a strategic approach to building the evidence base in a particular sector. The article will introduce readers to the concept and methods of EGMs and present a demonstration of the EGM tool using existing examples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Virtual reality exposure therapy for the treatment of anxiety disorders: an evaluation of research quality.

PubMed

McCann, Russell A; Armstrong, Christina M; Skopp, Nancy A; Edwards-Stewart, Amanda; Smolenski, Derek J; June, Jennifer D; Metzger-Abamukong, Melinda; Reger, Greg M

2014-08-01

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) support the effectiveness of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) for anxiety disorders; however, the overall quality of the VRET RCT literature base has yet to be evaluated. This study reviewed 27 VRET RCTs and the degree of adherence to 8 RCT research design criteria derived from existing standards. Adherence to the study quality criteria was generally low as the articles met an average 2.85 criteria (SD=1.56). None of the studies met more than six quality criteria. Study quality did not predict effect size; however, a reduction in effect size magnitude was observed for studies with larger sample sizes when comparing VRET to non-active control groups. VRET may be an effective method of treatment but caution should be exercised in interpreting the existing body of literature supporting VRET relative to existing standards of care. The need for well-designed VRET research is discussed. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

What methods are used to apply positive deviance within healthcare organisations? A systematic review

PubMed Central

Baxter, Ruth; Taylor, Natalie; Kellar, Ian; Lawton, Rebecca

2016-01-01

Background The positive deviance approach focuses on those who demonstrate exceptional performance, despite facing the same constraints as others. ‘Positive deviants’ are identified and hypotheses about how they succeed are generated. These hypotheses are tested and then disseminated within the wider community. The positive deviance approach is being increasingly applied within healthcare organisations, although limited guidance exists and different methods, of varying quality, are used. This paper systematically reviews healthcare applications of the positive deviance approach to explore how positive deviance is defined, the quality of existing applications and the methods used within them, including the extent to which staff and patients are involved. Methods Peer-reviewed articles, published prior to September 2014, reporting empirical research on the use of the positive deviance approach within healthcare, were identified from seven electronic databases. A previously defined four-stage process for positive deviance in healthcare was used as the basis for data extraction. Quality assessments were conducted using a validated tool, and a narrative synthesis approach was followed. Results 37 of 818 articles met the inclusion criteria. The positive deviance approach was most frequently applied within North America, in secondary care, and to address healthcare-associated infections. Research predominantly identified positive deviants and generated hypotheses about how they succeeded. The approach and processes followed were poorly defined. Research quality was low, articles lacked detail and comparison groups were rarely included. Applications of positive deviance typically lacked staff and/or patient involvement, and the methods used often required extensive resources. Conclusion Further research is required to develop high quality yet practical methods which involve staff and patients in all stages of the positive deviance approach. The efficacy and efficiency of positive deviance must be assessed and compared with other quality improvement approaches. PROSPERO registration number CRD42014009365. PMID:26590198

Research notes : retrofitting culverts for fish.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-01-01

Culverts are a well established method to pass a roadway over a waterway. Standard design criteria exist for meeting the hydraulic requirements for moving the water through the culverts. However, the hydraulic conditions resulting from many culvert d...

ECO-ITS : Intelligent Transportation System Applications to Improve Environmental Performance

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-05-01

This report describes recent research supported by the US DOTs AERIS program, building upon existing work through developing and improving data collection methods, developing new data fusion techniques to improve estimates, and applying appropriat...

Examination of economical methods for repairing highway landslides.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-04-01

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spends millions of dollars each year in the repairs of highway landslides. In previous research, an inventory of highway landslides showed that about 1440 landslides of various sizes exist on major roadways maintai...

Documenting Preservice Teacher Growth through Critical Assessment of Online Lesson Plans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cude, Michelle D.; Haraway, Dana L.

2017-01-01

This research explores the question of how students in a social studies methods course improve skills in analyzing and critiquing pre-existing lesson plans. It utilizes a pre-post authentic assessment tool to measure student growth in key skills of lesson plan critique over the course of one semester's methods instruction. The results support the…

(Co)Meta-Reflection as a Method for the Professional Development of Academic Middle Leaders in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thorpe, Anthony; Garside, Diane

2017-01-01

The professional development of middle leaders in higher education is little considered in existing research, though there are general concerns being raised about the suitability of the professional development opportunities currently available. This article develops and explores the use of meta-reflection as a method for professional development,…

Scholarly Practice and Inquiry: Dynamic Interactions in an Elementary Mathematics Methods Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tyminski, Andrew M.; Brittain, McKenzie H.

2017-01-01

This paper represents research that exists at the crossroad of scholarly practice and scholarly inquiry. We share the design, enactment and empirical examination of an elementary methods course activity, Exploring and Supporting Student Thinking (ESST) which engaged 18 prospective teachers in two sessions of one on one problem posing with 3rd…

Survey of three-dimensional numerical estuarine models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cheng, Ralph T.; Smith, Peter E.

1989-01-01

This paper surveys the existing 3-D estuarine hydrodynamic and solute transport models by a review of the commonly used assumptions and approximations, and by an examination of the methods of solution. The model formulations, methods of solution, and known applications are surveyed and summarized in tables. In conclusion, the authors present their modeling philosophy and suggest future research needs.

A Nonparametric, Multiple Imputation-Based Method for the Retrospective Integration of Data Sets.

PubMed

Carrig, Madeline M; Manrique-Vallier, Daniel; Ranby, Krista W; Reiter, Jerome P; Hoyle, Rick H

2015-01-01

Complex research questions often cannot be addressed adequately with a single data set. One sensible alternative to the high cost and effort associated with the creation of large new data sets is to combine existing data sets containing variables related to the constructs of interest. The goal of the present research was to develop a flexible, broadly applicable approach to the integration of disparate data sets that is based on nonparametric multiple imputation and the collection of data from a convenient, de novo calibration sample. We demonstrate proof of concept for the approach by integrating three existing data sets containing items related to the extent of problematic alcohol use and associations with deviant peers. We discuss both necessary conditions for the approach to work well and potential strengths and weaknesses of the method compared to other data set integration approaches.

A Nonparametric, Multiple Imputation-Based Method for the Retrospective Integration of Data Sets

PubMed Central

Carrig, Madeline M.; Manrique-Vallier, Daniel; Ranby, Krista W.; Reiter, Jerome P.; Hoyle, Rick H.

2015-01-01

Complex research questions often cannot be addressed adequately with a single data set. One sensible alternative to the high cost and effort associated with the creation of large new data sets is to combine existing data sets containing variables related to the constructs of interest. The goal of the present research was to develop a flexible, broadly applicable approach to the integration of disparate data sets that is based on nonparametric multiple imputation and the collection of data from a convenient, de novo calibration sample. We demonstrate proof of concept for the approach by integrating three existing data sets containing items related to the extent of problematic alcohol use and associations with deviant peers. We discuss both necessary conditions for the approach to work well and potential strengths and weaknesses of the method compared to other data set integration approaches. PMID:26257437

Stakeholder prioritization of zoonoses in Japan with analytic hierarchy process method.

PubMed

Kadohira, M; Hill, G; Yoshizaki, R; Ota, S; Yoshikawa, Y

2015-05-01

There exists an urgent need to develop iterative risk assessment strategies of zoonotic diseases. The aim of this study is to develop a method of prioritizing 98 zoonoses derived from animal pathogens in Japan and to involve four major groups of stakeholders: researchers, physicians, public health officials, and citizens. We used a combination of risk profiling and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Profiling risk was accomplished with semi-quantitative analysis of existing public health data. AHP data collection was performed by administering questionnaires to the four stakeholder groups. Results showed that researchers and public health officials focused on case fatality as the chief important factor, while physicians and citizens placed more weight on diagnosis and prevention, respectively. Most of the six top-ranked diseases were similar among all stakeholders. Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and Ebola fever were ranked first, second, and third, respectively.

Evaluation of green building rating tools based on existing green building achievement in Indonesia using Life Cycle Assessment Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basten, Van; Latief, Yusuf; Berawi, Mohammed Ali; Budiman, Rachmat; Riswanto

2017-03-01

Total completed building construction value in Indonesia increased 116% during 2009 to 2011. That's followed by increasing 11% energy consumption in Indonesia in the last three years with 70% energy met to the electricity needs of commercial building. In addition, a few application of green building concept in Indonesia made the greenhouse gas emissions or CO2 amount increased by 25%. Construction, operation, and maintain of building cost consider relatively high. The evaluation in this research is used to improve the building performance with some of green concept alternatives. The research methodology is conducted by combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches through interview and case study. Assessing the successful of optimization functions in the existing green building is based on the operational and maintenance phase with the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Method. The result of optimization that is the largest efficiency and effective of building life cycle.

A Review on Human Activity Recognition Using Vision-Based Method.

PubMed

Zhang, Shugang; Wei, Zhiqiang; Nie, Jie; Huang, Lei; Wang, Shuang; Li, Zhen

2017-01-01

Human activity recognition (HAR) aims to recognize activities from a series of observations on the actions of subjects and the environmental conditions. The vision-based HAR research is the basis of many applications including video surveillance, health care, and human-computer interaction (HCI). This review highlights the advances of state-of-the-art activity recognition approaches, especially for the activity representation and classification methods. For the representation methods, we sort out a chronological research trajectory from global representations to local representations, and recent depth-based representations. For the classification methods, we conform to the categorization of template-based methods, discriminative models, and generative models and review several prevalent methods. Next, representative and available datasets are introduced. Aiming to provide an overview of those methods and a convenient way of comparing them, we classify existing literatures with a detailed taxonomy including representation and classification methods, as well as the datasets they used. Finally, we investigate the directions for future research.

Structured Feedback Training for Time-Out: Efficacy and Efficiency in Comparison to a Didactic Method.

PubMed

Jensen, Scott A; Blumberg, Sean; Browning, Megan

2017-09-01

Although time-out has been demonstrated to be effective across multiple settings, little research exists on effective methods for training others to implement time-out. The present set of studies is an exploratory analysis of a structured feedback method for training time-out using repeated role-plays. The three studies examined (a) a between-subjects comparison to more a traditional didactic/video modeling method of time-out training, (b) a within-subjects comparison to traditional didactic/video modeling training for another skill, and (c) the impact of structured feedback training on in-home time-out implementation. Though findings are only preliminary and more research is needed, the structured feedback method appears across studies to be an efficient, effective method that demonstrates good maintenance of skill up to 3 months post training. Findings suggest, though do not confirm, a benefit of the structured feedback method over a more traditional didactic/video training model. Implications and further research on the method are discussed.

A Review on Human Activity Recognition Using Vision-Based Method

PubMed Central

Nie, Jie

2017-01-01

Human activity recognition (HAR) aims to recognize activities from a series of observations on the actions of subjects and the environmental conditions. The vision-based HAR research is the basis of many applications including video surveillance, health care, and human-computer interaction (HCI). This review highlights the advances of state-of-the-art activity recognition approaches, especially for the activity representation and classification methods. For the representation methods, we sort out a chronological research trajectory from global representations to local representations, and recent depth-based representations. For the classification methods, we conform to the categorization of template-based methods, discriminative models, and generative models and review several prevalent methods. Next, representative and available datasets are introduced. Aiming to provide an overview of those methods and a convenient way of comparing them, we classify existing literatures with a detailed taxonomy including representation and classification methods, as well as the datasets they used. Finally, we investigate the directions for future research. PMID:29065585

Program of Research in Flight Dynamics in The George Washington University at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klein, Vladislav

2002-01-01

The program objectives were defined in the original proposal entitled 'Program of Research in Flight Dynamics in the JIAFS at NASA Langley Research Center' which was originated March 20, 1975, and yearly renewals of the research program dated December 1, 1998 to December 31, 2002. The program included three major topics: 1) Improvement of existing methods and development of new methods for flight and wind tunnel data analysis based on system identification methodology; 2) Application of these methods to flight and wind tunnel data obtained from advanced aircraft; 3) Modeling and control of aircraft. The principal investigator of the program was Dr. Vladislav Klein, Professor Emeritus at The George Washington University, DC. Seven Graduate Research Scholar Assistants (GRSA) participated in the program. The results of the research conducted during four years of the total co-operative period were published in 2 NASA Technical Reports, 3 thesis and 3 papers. The list of these publications is included.

Research in disaster settings: a systematic qualitative review of ethical guidelines.

PubMed

Mezinska, Signe; Kakuk, Péter; Mijaljica, Goran; Waligóra, Marcin; O'Mathúna, Dónal P

2016-10-21

Conducting research during or in the aftermath of disasters poses many specific practical and ethical challenges. This is particularly the case with research involving human subjects. The extraordinary circumstances of research conducted in disaster settings require appropriate regulations to ensure the protection of human participants. The goal of this study is to systematically and qualitatively review the existing ethical guidelines for disaster research by using the constant comparative method (CCM). We performed a systematic qualitative review of disaster research ethics guidelines to collect and compare existing regulations. Guidelines were identified by a three-tiered search strategy: 1) searching databases (PubMed and Google Scholar), 2) an Internet search (Google), and 3) a search of the references in the included documents from the first two searches. We used the constant comparative method (CCM) for analysis of included guidelines. Fourteen full text guidelines were included for analysis. The included guidelines covered the period 2000-2014. Qualitative analysis of the included guidelines revealed two core themes: vulnerability and research ethics committee review. Within each of the two core themes, various categories and subcategories were identified. Some concepts and terms identified in analyzed guidelines are used in an inconsistent manner and applied in different contexts. Conceptual clarity is needed in this area as well as empirical evidence to support the statements and requirements included in analyzed guidelines.

Environmental influences on methods used to collect dietary data from children.

PubMed

Frank, G C

1994-01-01

When collecting dietary data on children, confidence about responses is required. Children exist in multienvironments in their everyday lives, eg, the personal, school, home, peer, medical care, media, food industry, and fast-food facility environments. These macroenvironments influence the format and type of data-collection methods used to interview today's youth. Researchers should identify the influence of each environment on the child's eating pattern and nutrient intake, explore the pros and cons of various data-collection methods amid these environments, and determine unresolved methodological issues to stimulate future research. Standardized protocols for interviewing children, exclusion criteria for surrogate responses, and currency of nutrient data for new food products available to children are needed. Redefining our methods by understanding the macroenvironments of youth can create a dietary methodology for the 21st century--an evolutionary method that builds on past research and incorporates current technology and societal changes.

Can the caged bird sing? Reflections on the application of qualitative research methods to case study design in homeopathic medicine

PubMed Central

Thompson, Trevor DB

2004-01-01

Background Two main pathways exist for the development of knowledge in clinical homeopathy. These comprise clinical trials conducted primarily by university-based researchers and cases reports and homeopathic "provings" compiled by engaged homeopathic practitioners. In this paper the relative merits of these methods are examined and a middle way proposed. This consists of the "Formal Case Study" (FCS) in which qualitative methods are used to increase the rigour and sophistication with which homeopathic cases are studied. Before going into design issues this paper places the FCS in an historical and academic context and describes the relative merits of the method. Discussion Like any research, the FCS should have a clear focus. This focus can be both "internal", grounded in the discourse of homeopathy and also encompass issues of wider appeal. A selection of possible "internal" and "external" research questions is introduced. Data generation should be from multiple sources to ensure adequate triangulation. This could include the recording and transcription of actual consultations. Analysis is built around existing theory, involves cross-case comparison and the search for deviant cases. The trustworthiness of conclusions is ensured by the application of concepts from qualitative research including triangulation, groundedness, respondent validation and reflexivity. Though homeopathic case studies have been reported in mainstream literature, none has used formal qualitative methods – though some such studies are in progress. Summary This paper introduces the reader to a new strategy for homeopathic research. This strategy, termed the "formal case study", allows for a naturalistic enquiry into the players, processes and outcomes of homeopathic practice. Using ideas from qualitative research, it allows a rigorous approach to types of research question that cannot typically be addressed through clinical trials and numeric outcome studies. The FCS provides an opportunity for the practitioner-researcher to contribute to the evidence-base in homeopathy in a systematic fashion. The FCS can also be used to inform the design of clinical trials through holistic study of the "active ingredients" of the therapeutic process and its clinical outcomes. PMID:15018637

Evaluating care from a care ethical perspective:: A pilot study.

PubMed

Kuis, Esther E; Goossensen, Anne

2017-08-01

Care ethical theories provide an excellent opening for evaluation of healthcare practices since searching for (moments of) good care from a moral perspective is central to care ethics. However, a fruitful way to translate care ethical insights into measurable criteria and how to measure these criteria has as yet been unexplored: this study describes one of the first attempts. To investigate whether the emotional touchpoint method is suitable for evaluating care from a care ethical perspective. An adapted version of the emotional touchpoint interview method was used. Touchpoints represent the key moments to the experience of receiving care, where the patient recalls being touched emotionally or cognitively. Participants and research context: Interviews were conducted at three different care settings: a hospital, mental healthcare institution and care facility for older people. A total of 31 participants (29 patients and 2 relatives) took part in the study. Ethical considerations: The research was found not to be subject to the (Dutch) Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act. A three-step care ethical evaluation model was developed and described using two touchpoints as examples. A focus group meeting showed that the method was considered of great value for partaking institutions in comparison with existing methods. Reflection and discussion: Considering existing methods to evaluate quality of care, the touchpoint method belongs to the category of instruments which evaluate the patient experience. The touchpoint method distinguishes itself because no pre-defined categories are used but the values of patients are followed, which is an essential issue from a care ethical perspective. The method portrays the insider perspective of patients and thereby contributes to humanizing care. The touchpoint method is a valuable instrument for evaluating care; it generates evaluation data about the core care ethical principle of responsiveness.

Computational Design of Materials: Planetary Entry to Electric Aircraft and Beyond

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Alexander; Lawson, John W.

2014-01-01

NASA's projects and missions push the bounds of what is possible. To support the agency's work, materials development must stay on the cutting edge in order to keep pace. Today, researchers at NASA Ames Research Center perform multiscale modeling to aid the development of new materials and provide insight into existing ones. Multiscale modeling enables researchers to determine micro- and macroscale properties by connecting computational methods ranging from the atomic level (density functional theory, molecular dynamics) to the macroscale (finite element method). The output of one level is passed on as input to the next level, creating a powerful predictive model.

Toward an Integrated Research Agenda for Critical Illness in Aging

PubMed Central

Milbrandt, Eric B.; Eldadah, Basil; Nayfield, Susan; Hadley, Evan; Angus, Derek C.

2010-01-01

Aging brings an increased predisposition to critical illness. Patients older than 65 years of age account for approximately half of all intensive care unit (ICU) admissions in the United States, a proportion that is expected to increase considerably with the aging of the population. Emerging research suggests that elderly survivors of intensive care suffer significant long-term sequelae, including accelerated age-related functional decline. Existing evidence-based interventions are frequently underused and their efficacy untested in older subjects. Improving ICU outcomes in the elderly will require not only better methods for translating sound science into improved ICU practice but also an enhanced understanding of the underlying molecular, physiological, and pathophysiological interactions of critical illness with the aging process itself. Yet, significant barriers to research for critical illness in aging exist. We review the state of knowledge and identify gaps in knowledge, research opportunities, and barriers to research, with the goal of promoting an integrated research agenda for critical illness in aging. PMID:20558632

Extensions of Existing Methods for Use with a New Class of Experimental Designs Useful when There Is Treatment Effect Contamination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhoads, Christopher

2011-01-01

Researchers planning a randomized field trial to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention often face the following dilemma. They plan to recruit schools to participate in their study. The question is, "Should the researchers randomly assign individuals (either students or teachers, depending on the intervention) within schools to…

Teaching Them All: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study of African American Students' Perceptions of Their Middle School's Culture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hankerson, Henry

2009-01-01

Research indicates school culture impacts student achievement. At Teach Them All Middle School (TTA), an achievement gap exists between African American and White students. The purpose of the current study was to examine the perceptions of African American students concerning the school culture at TTA. The research questions explored the…

The Relationship of Grade Span in 9th Grade to Math Achievement in High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, John; Miller, Mary Lou; Myers, Jim; Norton, Timothy

2015-01-01

Purpose, Scope, and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to determine if a correlation exists between grade span for ninth grade and gains in math achievement test scores in 10th grade and 12th grade. A quantitative, longitudinal, correlational research design was employed to investigate the research questions. The population was high…

Clinical Trial Design for HIV Prevention Research: Determining Standards of Prevention.

PubMed

Dawson, Liza; Zwerski, Sheryl

2015-06-01

This article seeks to advance ethical dialogue on choosing standards of prevention in clinical trials testing improved biomedical prevention methods for HIV. The stakes in this area of research are high, given the continued high rates of infection in many countries and the budget limitations that have constrained efforts to expand treatment for all who are currently HIV-infected. New prevention methods are still needed; at the same time, some existing prevention and treatment interventions have been proven effective but are not yet widely available in the countries where they most urgently needed. The ethical tensions in this field of clinical research are well known and have been the subject of extensive debate. There is no single clinical trial design that can optimize all the ethically important goals and commitments involved in research. Several recent articles have described the current ethical difficulties in designing HIV prevention trials, especially in resource limited settings; however, there is no consensus on how to handle clinical trial design decisions, and existing international ethical guidelines offer conflicting advice. This article acknowledges these deep ethical dilemmas and moves beyond a simple descriptive approach to advance an organized method for considering what clinical trial designs will be ethically acceptable for HIV prevention trials, balancing the relevant criteria and providing justification for specific design decisions. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Defining Interdisciplinary Research: Conclusions from a Critical Review of the Literature

PubMed Central

Aboelela, Sally W; Larson, Elaine; Bakken, Suzanne; Carrasquillo, Olveen; Formicola, Allan; Glied, Sherry A; Haas, Janet; Gebbie, Kristine M

2007-01-01

Objective To summarize findings from a systematic exploration of existing literature and views regarding interdisciplinarity, to discuss themes and components of such work, and to propose a theoretically based definition of interdisciplinary research. Data Sources/Study Setting Two major data sources were used: interviews with researchers from various disciplines, and a systematic review of the education, business, and health care literature from January 1980 through January 2005. Study Design Systematic review of literature, one-on-one interviews, field test (survey). Data Collection/Extraction Methods We reviewed 14 definitions of interdisciplinarity, the characteristics of 42 interdisciplinary research publications from multiple fields of study, and 14 researcher interviews to arrive at a preliminary definition of interdisciplinary research. That definition was then field tested by 12 individuals with interdisciplinary research experience, and their responses incorporated into the definition of interdisciplinary research proposed in this paper. Principal Findings Three key definitional characteristics were identified: the qualitative mode of research (and its theoretical underpinnings), existence of a continuum of synthesis among disciplines, and the desired outcome of the interdisciplinary research. Conclusion Existing literature from several fields did not provide a definition for interdisciplinary research of sufficient specificity to facilitate activities such as identification of the competencies, structure, and resources needed for health care and health policy research. This analysis led to the proposed definition, which is designed to aid decision makers in funding agencies/program committees and researchers to identify and take full advantage the interdisciplinary approach, and to serve as a basis for competency-based formalized training to provide researchers with interdisciplinary skills. PMID:17355595

Four applications of permutation methods to testing a single-mediator model.

PubMed

Taylor, Aaron B; MacKinnon, David P

2012-09-01

Four applications of permutation tests to the single-mediator model are described and evaluated in this study. Permutation tests work by rearranging data in many possible ways in order to estimate the sampling distribution for the test statistic. The four applications to mediation evaluated here are the permutation test of ab, the permutation joint significance test, and the noniterative and iterative permutation confidence intervals for ab. A Monte Carlo simulation study was used to compare these four tests with the four best available tests for mediation found in previous research: the joint significance test, the distribution of the product test, and the percentile and bias-corrected bootstrap tests. We compared the different methods on Type I error, power, and confidence interval coverage. The noniterative permutation confidence interval for ab was the best performer among the new methods. It successfully controlled Type I error, had power nearly as good as the most powerful existing methods, and had better coverage than any existing method. The iterative permutation confidence interval for ab had lower power than do some existing methods, but it performed better than any other method in terms of coverage. The permutation confidence interval methods are recommended when estimating a confidence interval is a primary concern. SPSS and SAS macros that estimate these confidence intervals are provided.

The Impact of Incentives on Exercise Behavior: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

PubMed Central

Strohacker, Kelley; Galarraga, Omar; Williams, David M.

2015-01-01

Background The effectiveness of reinforcing exercise behavior with material incentives is unclear. Purpose Conduct a systematic review of existing research on material incentives for exercise, organized by incentive strategy. Methods Ten studies conducted between January 1965 and June 2013 assessed the impact of incentivizing exercise compared to a non-incentivized control. Results There was significant heterogeneity between studies regarding reinforcement procedures and outcomes. Incentives tended to improve behavior during the intervention while findings were mixed regarding sustained behavior after incentives were removed. Conclusions The most effective incentive procedure is unclear given the limitations of existing research. The effectiveness of various incentive procedures in promoting initial behavior change and habit formation, as well as the use of sustainable incentive procedures should be explored in future research. PMID:24307474

A scoping review of spatial cluster analysis techniques for point-event data.

PubMed

Fritz, Charles E; Schuurman, Nadine; Robertson, Colin; Lear, Scott

2013-05-01

Spatial cluster analysis is a uniquely interdisciplinary endeavour, and so it is important to communicate and disseminate ideas, innovations, best practices and challenges across practitioners, applied epidemiology researchers and spatial statisticians. In this research we conducted a scoping review to systematically search peer-reviewed journal databases for research that has employed spatial cluster analysis methods on individual-level, address location, or x and y coordinate derived data. To illustrate the thematic issues raised by our results, methods were tested using a dataset where known clusters existed. Point pattern methods, spatial clustering and cluster detection tests, and a locally weighted spatial regression model were most commonly used for individual-level, address location data (n = 29). The spatial scan statistic was the most popular method for address location data (n = 19). Six themes were identified relating to the application of spatial cluster analysis methods and subsequent analyses, which we recommend researchers to consider; exploratory analysis, visualization, spatial resolution, aetiology, scale and spatial weights. It is our intention that researchers seeking direction for using spatial cluster analysis methods, consider the caveats and strengths of each approach, but also explore the numerous other methods available for this type of analysis. Applied spatial epidemiology researchers and practitioners should give special consideration to applying multiple tests to a dataset. Future research should focus on developing frameworks for selecting appropriate methods and the corresponding spatial weighting schemes.

Identification of influential users by neighbors in online social networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheikhahmadi, Amir; Nematbakhsh, Mohammad Ali; Zareie, Ahmad

2017-11-01

Identification and ranking of influential users in social networks for the sake of news spreading and advertising has recently become an attractive field of research. Given the large number of users in social networks and also the various relations that exist among them, providing an effective method to identify influential users has been gradually considered as an essential factor. In most of the already-provided methods, those users who are located in an appropriate structural position of the network are regarded as influential users. These methods do not usually pay attention to the interactions among users, and also consider those relations as being binary in nature. This paper, therefore, proposes a new method to identify influential users in a social network by considering those interactions that exist among the users. Since users tend to act within the frame of communities, the network is initially divided into different communities. Then the amount of interaction among users is used as a parameter to set the weight of relations existing within the network. Afterward, by determining the neighbors' role for each user, a two-level method is proposed for both detecting users' influence and also ranking them. Simulation and experimental results on twitter data shows that those users who are selected by the proposed method, comparing to other existing ones, are distributed in a more appropriate distance. Moreover, the proposed method outperforms the other ones in terms of both the influential speed and capacity of the users it selects.

Comparison of OpenFOAM and EllipSys3D actuator line methods with (NEW) MEXICO results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nathan, J.; Meyer Forsting, A. R.; Troldborg, N.; Masson, C.

2017-05-01

The Actuator Line Method exists for more than a decade and has become a well established choice for simulating wind rotors in computational fluid dynamics. Numerous implementations exist and are used in the wind energy research community. These codes were verified by experimental data such as the MEXICO experiment. Often the verification against other codes were made on a very broad scale. Therefore this study attempts first a validation by comparing two different implementations, namely an adapted version of SOWFA/OpenFOAM and EllipSys3D and also a verification by comparing against experimental results from the MEXICO and NEW MEXICO experiments.

A brief measure of attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology.

PubMed

Roberts, Lynne D; Povee, Kate

2014-01-01

The adoption of mixed methods research in psychology has trailed behind other social science disciplines. Teaching psychology students, academics, and practitioners about mixed methodologies may increase the use of mixed methods within the discipline. However, tailoring and evaluating education and training in mixed methodologies requires an understanding of, and way of measuring, attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology. To date, no such measure exists. In this article we present the development and initial validation of a new measure: Attitudes toward Mixed Methods Research in Psychology. A pool of 42 items developed from previous qualitative research on attitudes toward mixed methods research along with validation measures was administered via an online survey to a convenience sample of 274 psychology students, academics and psychologists. Principal axis factoring with varimax rotation on a subset of the sample produced a four-factor, 12-item solution. Confirmatory factor analysis on a separate subset of the sample indicated that a higher order four factor model provided the best fit to the data. The four factors; 'Limited Exposure,' '(in)Compatibility,' 'Validity,' and 'Tokenistic Qualitative Component'; each have acceptable internal reliability. Known groups validity analyses based on preferred research orientation and self-rated mixed methods research skills, and convergent and divergent validity analyses based on measures of attitudes toward psychology as a science and scientist and practitioner orientation, provide initial validation of the measure. This brief, internally reliable measure can be used in assessing attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology, measuring change in attitudes as part of the evaluation of mixed methods education, and in larger research programs.

Qualitative research methods: key features and insights gained from use in infection prevention research.

PubMed

Forman, Jane; Creswell, John W; Damschroder, Laura; Kowalski, Christine P; Krein, Sarah L

2008-12-01

Infection control professionals and hospital epidemiologists are accustomed to using quantitative research. Although quantitative studies are extremely important in the field of infection control and prevention, often they cannot help us explain why certain factors affect the use of infection control practices and identify the underlying mechanisms through which they do so. Qualitative research methods, which use open-ended techniques, such as interviews, to collect data and nonstatistical techniques to analyze it, provide detailed, diverse insights of individuals, useful quotes that bring a realism to applied research, and information about how different health care settings operate. Qualitative research can illuminate the processes underlying statistical correlations, inform the development of interventions, and show how interventions work to produce observed outcomes. This article describes the key features of qualitative research and the advantages that such features add to existing quantitative research approaches in the study of infection control. We address the goal of qualitative research, the nature of the research process, sampling, data collection and analysis, validity, generalizability of findings, and presentation of findings. Health services researchers are increasingly using qualitative methods to address practical problems by uncovering interacting influences in complex health care environments. Qualitative research methods, applied with expertise and rigor, can contribute important insights to infection prevention efforts.

Simplified neutrosophic sets and their applications in multi-criteria group decision-making problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Juan-juan; Wang, Jian-qiang; Wang, Jing; Zhang, Hong-yu; Chen, Xiao-hong

2016-07-01

As a variation of fuzzy sets and intuitionistic fuzzy sets, neutrosophic sets have been developed to represent uncertain, imprecise, incomplete and inconsistent information that exists in the real world. Simplified neutrosophic sets (SNSs) have been proposed for the main purpose of addressing issues with a set of specific numbers. However, there are certain problems regarding the existing operations of SNSs, as well as their aggregation operators and the comparison methods. Therefore, this paper defines the novel operations of simplified neutrosophic numbers (SNNs) and develops a comparison method based on the related research of intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. On the basis of these operations and the comparison method, some SNN aggregation operators are proposed. Additionally, an approach for multi-criteria group decision-making (MCGDM) problems is explored by applying these aggregation operators. Finally, an example to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method is provided and a comparison with some other methods is made.

Numerical simulation for the air entrainment of aerated flow with an improved multiphase SPH model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Hang; Li, Ran; Pu, Xunchi; Zhang, Hongwei; Feng, Jingjie

2017-11-01

Aerated flow is a complex hydraulic phenomenon that exists widely in the field of environmental hydraulics. It is generally characterised by large deformation and violent fragmentation of the free surface. Compared to Euler methods (volume of fluid (VOF) method or rigid-lid hypothesis method), the existing single-phase Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method has performed well for solving particle motion. A lack of research on interphase interaction and air concentration, however, has affected the application of SPH model. In our study, an improved multiphase SPH model is presented to simulate aeration flows. A drag force was included in the momentum equation to ensure accuracy of the air particle slip velocity. Furthermore, a calculation method for air concentration is developed to analyse the air entrainment characteristics. Two studies were used to simulate the hydraulic and air entrainment characteristics. And, compared with the experimental results, the simulation results agree with the experimental results well.

Automatic fall monitoring: a review.

PubMed

Pannurat, Natthapon; Thiemjarus, Surapa; Nantajeewarawat, Ekawit

2014-07-18

Falls and fall-related injuries are major incidents, especially for elderly people, which often mark the onset of major deterioration of health. More than one-third of home-dwelling people aged 65 or above and two-thirds of those in residential care fall once or more each year. Reliable fall detection, as well as prevention, is an important research topic for monitoring elderly living alone in residential or hospital units. The aim of this study is to review the existing fall detection systems and some of the key research challenges faced by the research community in this field. We categorize the existing platforms into two groups: wearable and ambient devices; the classification methods are divided into rule-based and machine learning techniques. The relative merit and potential drawbacks are discussed, and we also outline some of the outstanding research challenges that emerging new platforms need to address.

Automatic Fall Monitoring: A Review

PubMed Central

Pannurat, Natthapon; Thiemjarus, Surapa; Nantajeewarawat, Ekawit

2014-01-01

Falls and fall-related injuries are major incidents, especially for elderly people, which often mark the onset of major deterioration of health. More than one-third of home-dwelling people aged 65 or above and two-thirds of those in residential care fall once or more each year. Reliable fall detection, as well as prevention, is an important research topic for monitoring elderly living alone in residential or hospital units. The aim of this study is to review the existing fall detection systems and some of the key research challenges faced by the research community in this field. We categorize the existing platforms into two groups: wearable and ambient devices; the classification methods are divided into rule-based and machine learning techniques. The relative merit and potential drawbacks are discussed, and we also outline some of the outstanding research challenges that emerging new platforms need to address. PMID:25046016

Psychology is not primarily Empirical Science: A Comparison of Cultures in the Lexical Hypothesis Tradition as a Failure of Introspection.

PubMed

Linkov, Václav

2017-06-01

A large part of psychology has become an empirical science that assumes that there might exist one set of research methods suitable for psychological research in all human cultures. Research questions, methods, and theories formulated from one cultural perspective are not thoroughly introspectively examined when being used in another cultural environment. This leads to research that answers questions that are not meaningful in such environments. Research coming from the lexical hypothesis tradition is given as an example. The original research in English language decided that the lexicon was enough to represent language structures for the purpose of examining how language reflects personality; however, some languages might use specific grammatical structures to reflect personality, so the lexicon is not enough to adequately represent these languages. Despite this, researchers still follow the research method developed for the English language. The Czech and Korean languages are examples of this approach. A solution to this problem is the thorough use of introspection during the formulation of research questions.

Flood Discharge Analysis with Nakayasu Method Using Combination of HEC-RAS Method on Deli River in Medan City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harahap, Rumilla; Jeumpa, Kemala; Hadibroto, Bambang

2018-03-01

The problem in this research is how in the rainy season the water does not overflow, does not occur flood and during the dry season does not occur drought so it can adjust the condition or existence of Deli river which is around Medan city. Deli River floods often occur, either caused by a smaller capacity than the existing discharge, lack of maintenance and drainage and disposal systems that do not fit with the environment, resulting in flood subscriptions every year. The purpose of this research is to know flood discharge at Deli river as Flood control in Medan city. This research is analyzed on several methods such as log Pearson, Gumbel and hydrograph unit, while HEC-RAS method is modeling conducted in analyzing the water profile of the Deli River. Furthermore, the calculation of the periodic flood discharge using the Nakayasu Method. Calculation result at Deli River return period flood discharge 2 years with an area of 14.8 km2 annual flood hydrograph the total is 26.79 m3/sec on the hours at the 4th time. Return period flood discharge 5 years with an area of 14.8 km2 annual flood hydrograph the total is 73,44 m3/sec. While 25 annual return period total flood hydrograph is 146.50 m3/sec. With flood analysis can reduce and minimize the risk of losses and land can be mapped if in the area there is flooding.

New developments in transit noise and vibration criteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanson, Carl E.

2004-05-01

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) noise and vibration impact criteria were developed in the early 1990's. Noise criteria are ambient-based, developed from the Schultz curve and fundamental research performed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the 1970's. Vibration criteria are single-value rms vibration velocity levels. After 10 years of experience applying the criteria in assessments of new transit projects throughout the United States, FTA is updating its methods. Approach to assessment of new projects in existing high-noise environments will be clarified. Method for assessing noise impacts due to horn blowing at grade crossings will be provided. Vibration criteria will be expanded to include spectral information. This paper summarizes the background of the current criteria, discusses examples where existing methods are lacking, and describes the planned remedies to improve criteria and methods.

Review Article "Valuating the intangible effects of natural hazards - review and analysis of the costing methods"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markantonis, V.; Meyer, V.; Schwarze, R.

2012-05-01

The "intangible" or "non-market" effects are those costs of natural hazards which are not, or at least not easily measurable in monetary terms, as for example, impacts on health, cultural heritage or the environment. The intangible effects are often not included in costs assessments of natural hazards leading to an incomplete and biased cost assessment. However, several methods exist which try to estimate these effects in a non-monetary or monetary form. The objective of the present paper is to review and evaluate methods for estimating the intangible effects of natural hazards, specifically related to health and environmental effects. Existing methods are analyzed and compared using various criteria, research gaps are identified, application recommendations are provided, and valuation issues that should be addressed by the scientific community are highlighted.

Developing the DESCARTE Model: The Design of Case Study Research in Health Care.

PubMed

Carolan, Clare M; Forbat, Liz; Smith, Annetta

2016-04-01

Case study is a long-established research tradition which predates the recent surge in mixed-methods research. Although a myriad of nuanced definitions of case study exist, seminal case study authors agree that the use of multiple data sources typify this research approach. The expansive case study literature demonstrates a lack of clarity and guidance in designing and reporting this approach to research. Informed by two reviews of the current health care literature, we posit that methodological description in case studies principally focuses on description of case study typology, which impedes the construction of methodologically clear and rigorous case studies. We draw from the case study and mixed-methods literature to develop the DESCARTE model as an innovative approach to the design, conduct, and reporting of case studies in health care. We examine how case study fits within the overall enterprise of qualitatively driven mixed-methods research, and the potential strengths of the model are considered. © The Author(s) 2015.

Methodological Issues in Questionnaire Design.

PubMed

Song, Youngshin; Son, Youn Jung; Oh, Doonam

2015-06-01

The process of designing a questionnaire is complicated. Many questionnaires on nursing phenomena have been developed and used by nursing researchers. The purpose of this paper was to discuss questionnaire design and factors that should be considered when using existing scales. Methodological issues were discussed, such as factors in the design of questions, steps in developing questionnaires, wording and formatting methods for items, and administrations methods. How to use existing scales, how to facilitate cultural adaptation, and how to prevent socially desirable responding were discussed. Moreover, the triangulation method in questionnaire development was introduced. Steps were recommended for designing questions such as appropriately operationalizing key concepts for the target population, clearly formatting response options, generating items and confirming final items through face or content validity, sufficiently piloting the questionnaire using item analysis, demonstrating reliability and validity, finalizing the scale, and training the administrator. Psychometric properties and cultural equivalence should be evaluated prior to administration when using an existing questionnaire and performing cultural adaptation. In the context of well-defined nursing phenomena, logical and systematic methods will contribute to the development of simple and precise questionnaires.

IMPACCT Kids’ Care: a real-world example of stakeholder involvement in comparative effectiveness research

PubMed Central

Likumahuwa-Ackman, Sonja; Angier, Heather; Sumic, Aleksandra; Harding, Rose L; Cottrell, Erika K; Cohen, Deborah J; Nelson, Christine A; Burdick, Timothy E; Wallace, Lorraine S; Gallia, Charles; DeVoe, Jennifer E

2015-01-01

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has accelerated conversations about the importance of actively engaging stakeholders in all aspects of comparative effectiveness research (CER). Other scientific disciplines have a history of stakeholder engagement, yet few empirical examples exist of how these stakeholders can inform and enrich CER. Here we present a case study which includes the methods used to engage stakeholders, what we learned from them, and how we incorporated their ideas in a CER project. We selected stakeholders from key groups, built relationships with them and collected their feedback through interviews, observation and ongoing meetings during the four research process phases: proposal development, adapting study methods, understanding the context and information technology tool design and refinement. PMID:26274796

IMPACCT Kids' Care: a real-world example of stakeholder involvement in comparative effectiveness research.

PubMed

Likumahuwa-Ackman, Sonja; Angier, Heather; Sumic, Aleksandra; Harding, Rose L; Cottrell, Erika K; Cohen, Deborah J; Nelson, Christine A; Burdick, Timothy E; Wallace, Lorraine S; Gallia, Charles; DeVoe, Jennifer E

2015-08-01

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has accelerated conversations about the importance of actively engaging stakeholders in all aspects of comparative effectiveness research (CER). Other scientific disciplines have a history of stakeholder engagement, yet few empirical examples exist of how these stakeholders can inform and enrich CER. Here we present a case study which includes the methods used to engage stakeholders, what we learned from them, and how we incorporated their ideas in a CER project. We selected stakeholders from key groups, built relationships with them and collected their feedback through interviews, observation and ongoing meetings during the four research process phases: proposal development, adapting study methods, understanding the context and information technology tool design and refinement.

The Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II): A Cross-Sample Structural Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strunk, Kamden K.; Lane, Forrest C.

2017-01-01

A common concern about the Beck Depression Inventory, Second edition (BDI-II) among researchers in the area of depression has long been the single-factor scoring scheme. Methods exist for making cross-sample comparisons of latent structure but tend to rely on estimation methods that can be imprecise and unnecessarily complex. This study presents a…

Quantifying construction and demolition waste: An analytical review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Zezhou; Yu, Ann T.W., E-mail: bsannyu@polyu.edu.hk; Shen, Liyin

2014-09-15

Highlights: • Prevailing C and D waste quantification methodologies are identified and compared. • One specific methodology cannot fulfill all waste quantification scenarios. • A relevance tree for appropriate quantification methodology selection is proposed. • More attentions should be paid to civil and infrastructural works. • Classified information is suggested for making an effective waste management plan. - Abstract: Quantifying construction and demolition (C and D) waste generation is regarded as a prerequisite for the implementation of successful waste management. In literature, various methods have been employed to quantify the C and D waste generation at both regional and projectmore » levels. However, an integrated review that systemically describes and analyses all the existing methods has yet to be conducted. To bridge this research gap, an analytical review is conducted. Fifty-seven papers are retrieved based on a set of rigorous procedures. The characteristics of the selected papers are classified according to the following criteria - waste generation activity, estimation level and quantification methodology. Six categories of existing C and D waste quantification methodologies are identified, including site visit method, waste generation rate method, lifetime analysis method, classification system accumulation method, variables modelling method and other particular methods. A critical comparison of the identified methods is given according to their characteristics and implementation constraints. Moreover, a decision tree is proposed for aiding the selection of the most appropriate quantification method in different scenarios. Based on the analytical review, limitations of previous studies and recommendations of potential future research directions are further suggested.« less

An optical method for characterizing carbon content in ceramic pot filters.

PubMed

Goodwin, J Y; Elmore, A C; Salvinelli, C; Reidmeyer, Mary R

2017-08-01

Ceramic pot filter (CPF) technology is a relatively common means of household water treatment in developing areas, and performance characteristics of CPFs have been characterized using production CPFs, experimental CPFs fabricated in research laboratories, and ceramic disks intended to be CPF surrogates. There is evidence that CPF manufacturers do not always fire their products according to best practices and the result is incomplete combustion of the pore forming material and the creation of a carbon core in the final CPFs. Researchers seldom acknowledge the existence of potential existence of carbon cores, and at least one CPF producer has postulated that the carbon may be beneficial in terms of final water quality because of the presence of activated carbon in consumer filters marketed in the Western world. An initial step in characterizing the presence and impact of carbon cores is the characterization of those cores. An optical method which may be more viable to producers relative to off-site laboratory analysis of carbon content has been developed and verified. The use of the optical method is demonstrated via preliminary disinfection and flowrate studies, and the results of these studies indicate that the method may be of use in studying production kiln operation.

How to integrate biological research into society and exclude errors in biomedical publications? Progress in theoretical and systems biology releases pressure on experimental research.

PubMed

Volkov, Vadim

2014-01-01

This brief opinion proposes measures to increase efficiency and exclude errors in biomedical research under the existing dynamic situation. Rapid changes in biology began with the description of the three dimensional structure of DNA 60 years ago; today biology has progressed by interacting with computer science and nanoscience together with the introduction of robotic stations for the acquisition of large-scale arrays of data. These changes have had an increasing influence on the entire research and scientific community. Future advance demands short-term measures to ensure error-proof and efficient development. They can include the fast publishing of negative results, publishing detailed methodical papers and excluding a strict connection between career progression and publication activity, especially for younger researchers. Further development of theoretical and systems biology together with the use of multiple experimental methods for biological experiments could also be helpful in the context of years and decades. With regards to the links between science and society, it is reasonable to compare both these systems, to find and describe specific features for biology and to integrate it into the existing stream of social life and financial fluxes. It will increase the level of scientific research and have mutual positive effects for both biology and society. Several examples are given for further discussion.

Effect of Blast-Induced Vibration from New Railway Tunnel on Existing Adjacent Railway Tunnel in Xinjiang, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Qingguo; Li, Jie; Li, Dewu; Ou, Erfeng

2013-01-01

The vibrations of existing service tunnels induced by blast-excavation of adjacent tunnels have attracted much attention from both academics and engineers during recent decades in China. The blasting vibration velocity (BVV) is the most widely used controlling index for in situ monitoring and safety assessment of existing lining structures. Although numerous in situ tests and simulations had been carried out to investigate blast-induced vibrations of existing tunnels due to excavation of new tunnels (mostly by bench excavation method), research on the overall dynamical response of existing service tunnels in terms of not only BVV but also stress/strain seemed limited for new tunnels excavated by the full-section blasting method. In this paper, the impacts of blast-induced vibrations from a new tunnel on an existing railway tunnel in Xinjiang, China were comprehensively investigated by using laboratory tests, in situ monitoring and numerical simulations. The measured data from laboratory tests and in situ monitoring were used to determine the parameters needed for numerical simulations, and were compared with the calculated results. Based on the results from in situ monitoring and numerical simulations, which were consistent with each other, the original blasting design and corresponding parameters were adjusted to reduce the maximum BVV, which proved to be effective and safe. The effect of both the static stress before blasting vibrations and the dynamic stress induced by blasting on the total stresses in the existing tunnel lining is also discussed. The methods and related results presented could be applied in projects with similar ground and distance between old and new tunnels if the new tunnel is to be excavated by the full-section blasting method.

Research support for effective state and community tobacco control programme response to electronic nicotine delivery systems

PubMed Central

Schmitt, Carol L; Lee, Youn Ok; Curry, Laurel E; Farrelly, Matthew C; Rogers, Todd

2014-01-01

Objective To identify unmet research needs of state and community tobacco control practitioners pertaining to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS or e-cigarettes) that would inform policy and practice efforts at the state and community levels, and to describe ENDS-related research and dissemination activities of the National Cancer Institute-funded State and Community Tobacco Control Research Initiative. Methods To determine specific research gaps relevant to state and community tobacco control practice, we analysed survey data collected from tobacco control programmes (TCPs) in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia (N=51). Survey items covered a range of ENDS issues: direct harm to users, harm of secondhand vapour, cessation, flavours, constituents and youth access. Results There is no ENDS topic on which a majority of state TCP managers feel very informed. They feel least informed about harms of secondhand vapour while also reporting that this information is among the most important for their programme. A majority (N=31) of respondents indicated needs for research on the implications of ENDS products for existing policies. Conclusions TCP managers report that ENDS research is highly important for practice and need research-based information to inform decision making around the inclusion of ENDS in existing tobacco control policies. For optimal relevance to state and community TCPs, research on ENDS should prioritise study of the health effects of ENDS use and secondhand exposure to ENDS vapour in the context of existing tobacco control policies. PMID:24935899

Grade 1 to 6 Thai students' existing ideas about light: Across-age study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horasirt, Yupaporn; Yuenyong, Chokchai

2018-01-01

This paper aimed to investigate Grade 1 to 6 Thai (6 - 12 years old) students' existing ideas about light, sight, vision, source of light. The participants included 36 Grade 1 to 6 students (6 students in each Grade) who studying at a primary school in Khon Kaen. The method of this study is a descriptive qualitative research design. The tools included the two-tiered test about light and open-ended question. Students' responses were categorized the students' existing ideas about light. Findings indicated that young students held various existing ideas about light that could be categorized into 6 different groups relating to sight, vision, and source of light. The paper discussed these students' existing ideas for developing constructivist learning about light in Thailand context.

The Application of Sensors on Guardrails for the Purpose of Real Time Impact Detection

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-01

collection methods ; however, there are major differences in the measures of performance for policy goals and objectives (U.S. DOT, 2002). The goal here is...seriousness of this issue has motivated the US Department of Transportation and Transportation Research Board to develop and deploy new methods and... methods to integrate new sensing capabilities into existing Intelligent Transportation Systems in a time efficient and cost effective manner. In

Estimating Logistics Support of Reusable Launch Vehicles During Conceptual Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, W. D.; White, N. H.; Davies, W. T.; Ebeling, C. E.

1997-01-01

Methods exist to define the logistics support requirements for new aircraft concepts but are not directly applicable to new launch vehicle concepts. In order to define the support requirements and to discriminate among new technologies and processing choices for these systems, NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) is developing new analysis methods. This paper describes several methods under development, gives their current status, and discusses the benefits and limitations associated with their use.

Using Mathematical Modeling and Set-Based Design Principles to Recommend an Existing CVL Design

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-01

designs, it would be worth researching the feasibility of varying the launch method on some of the larger light aircraft carriers, such as the Liaoning...thesis examines the trade space in major design areas such as tonnage, aircraft launch method , propulsion, and performance in order to illustrate...future conflict. This thesis examines the trade space in major design areas such as tonnage, aircraft launch method , propulsion, and performance in

Surface Area Analysis Using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) Method: Standard Operating Procedure Series: SOP-C

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

Method Scientific Operating Procedure Series : SOP-C En vi ro nm en ta l L ab or at or y Jonathon Brame and Chris Griggs September 2016...BET) Method Scientific Operating Procedure Series : SOP-C Jonathon Brame and Chris Griggs Environmental Laboratory U.S. Army Engineer Research and...response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing

Frequency-dependent FDTD methods using Z transforms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sullivan, Dennis M.

1992-01-01

While the frequency-dependent finite-difference time-domain, or (FD)2TD, method can correctly calculate EM propagation through media whose dielectric properties are frequency-dependent, more elaborate applications lead to greater (FD)2TD complexity. Z-transform theory is presently used to develop the mathematical bases of the (FD)2TD method, simultaneously obtaining a clearer formulation and allowing researchers to draw on the existing literature of systems analysis and signal-processing.

FMLRC: Hybrid long read error correction using an FM-index.

PubMed

Wang, Jeremy R; Holt, James; McMillan, Leonard; Jones, Corbin D

2018-02-09

Long read sequencing is changing the landscape of genomic research, especially de novo assembly. Despite the high error rate inherent to long read technologies, increased read lengths dramatically improve the continuity and accuracy of genome assemblies. However, the cost and throughput of these technologies limits their application to complex genomes. One solution is to decrease the cost and time to assemble novel genomes by leveraging "hybrid" assemblies that use long reads for scaffolding and short reads for accuracy. We describe a novel method leveraging a multi-string Burrows-Wheeler Transform with auxiliary FM-index to correct errors in long read sequences using a set of complementary short reads. We demonstrate that our method efficiently produces significantly more high quality corrected sequence than existing hybrid error-correction methods. We also show that our method produces more contiguous assemblies, in many cases, than existing state-of-the-art hybrid and long-read only de novo assembly methods. Our method accurately corrects long read sequence data using complementary short reads. We demonstrate higher total throughput of corrected long reads and a corresponding increase in contiguity of the resulting de novo assemblies. Improved throughput and computational efficiency than existing methods will help better economically utilize emerging long read sequencing technologies.

Key Technology of Real-Time Road Navigation Method Based on Intelligent Data Research

PubMed Central

Tang, Haijing; Liang, Yu; Huang, Zhongnan; Wang, Taoyi; He, Lin; Du, Yicong; Ding, Gangyi

2016-01-01

The effect of traffic flow prediction plays an important role in routing selection. Traditional traffic flow forecasting methods mainly include linear, nonlinear, neural network, and Time Series Analysis method. However, all of them have some shortcomings. This paper analyzes the existing algorithms on traffic flow prediction and characteristics of city traffic flow and proposes a road traffic flow prediction method based on transfer probability. This method first analyzes the transfer probability of upstream of the target road and then makes the prediction of the traffic flow at the next time by using the traffic flow equation. Newton Interior-Point Method is used to obtain the optimal value of parameters. Finally, it uses the proposed model to predict the traffic flow at the next time. By comparing the existing prediction methods, the proposed model has proven to have good performance. It can fast get the optimal value of parameters faster and has higher prediction accuracy, which can be used to make real-time traffic flow prediction. PMID:27872637

Urban forest ecosystem services: A case study in Corvallis,Oregon

EPA Science Inventory

Background/Questions/Methods One EPA research focus is quantifying ecosystem services, benefits that ecosystems provide to humans, in order to promote informed natural resource management decisions and to assess the effectiveness of existing environmental policies. A case study...

Mathematical correlation of modal-parameter-identification methods via system-realization theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juang, Jer-Nan

1987-01-01

A unified approach is introduced using system-realization theory to derive and correlate modal-parameter-identification methods for flexible structures. Several different time-domain methods are analyzed and treated. A basic mathematical foundation is presented which provides insight into the field of modal-parameter identification for comparison and evaluation. The relation among various existing methods is established and discussed. This report serves as a starting point to stimulate additional research toward the unification of the many possible approaches for modal-parameter identification.

Is audit research? The relationships between clinical audit and social-research.

PubMed

Hughes, Rhidian

2005-01-01

Quality has an established history in health care. Audit, as a means of quality assessment, is well understood and the existing literature has identified links between audit and research processes. This paper reviews the relationships between audit and research processes, highlighting how audit can be improved through the principles and practice of social research. The review begins by defining the audit process. It goes on to explore salient relationships between clinical audit and research, grouped into the following broad themes: ethical considerations, highlighting responsibilities towards others and the need for ethical review for audit; asking questions and using appropriate methods, emphasising transparency in audit methods; conceptual issues, including identifying problematic concepts, such as "satisfaction", and the importance of reflexivity within audit; emphasising research in context, highlighting the benefits of vignettes and action research; complementary methods, demonstrating improvements for the quality of findings; and training and multidisciplinary working, suggesting the need for closer relationships between researchers and clinical practitioners. Audit processes cannot be considered research. Both audit and research processes serve distinct purposes. Attention to the principles of research when conducting audit are necessary to improve the quality of audit and, in turn, the quality of health care.

Study of rainfall-induced landslide: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tohari, A.

2018-02-01

Rainfall-induced landslides pose a substantial risk to people and infrastructure. For this reason, there have been numerous studies to understand the landslide mechanism. Most of them were performed on the numerical analysis and laboratory experiment. This paper presents a review of existing research on field hydrological condition of soil slopes leading to the initiation of rainfall-induced landslide. Existing methods to study field hydrological response of slopes are first reviewed, emphasizing their limitations and suitability of application. The typical hydrological response profiles in the slope are then discussed. Subsequently, some significant findings on hydrological condition leading to rainfall-induced landslides are summarized and discussed. Finally, several research topics are recommended for future study.

Access Based Cost Estimation for Beddown Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-23

logic. This research expands upon the existing research by using Visual Basic for Applications ( VBA ) to further customize and streamline the...methods with the use of VBA . Calculations are completed in either underlying Form VBA code or through global modules accessible throughout the...query and SQL referencing. Attempts were made where possible to align data structures with possible external sources to minimize import errors and

Knowledge discovery in traditional Chinese medicine: state of the art and perspectives.

PubMed

Feng, Yi; Wu, Zhaohui; Zhou, Xuezhong; Zhou, Zhongmei; Fan, Weiyu

2006-11-01

As a complementary medical system to Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) provides a unique theoretical and practical approach to the treatment of diseases over thousands of years. Confronted with the increasing popularity of TCM and the huge volume of TCM data, historically accumulated and recently obtained, there is an urgent need to explore these resources effectively by the techniques of knowledge discovery in database (KDD). This paper aims at providing an overview of recent KDD studies in TCM field. A literature search was conducted in both English and Chinese publications, and major studies of knowledge discovery in TCM (KDTCM) reported in these materials were identified. Based on an introduction to the state of the art of TCM data resources, a review of four subfields of KDTCM research was presented, including KDD for the research of Chinese medical formula, KDD for the research of Chinese herbal medicine, KDD for TCM syndrome research, and KDD for TCM clinical diagnosis. Furthermore, the current state and main problems in each subfield were summarized based on a discussion of existing studies, and future directions for each subfield were also proposed accordingly. A series of KDD methods are used in existing KDTCM researches, ranging from conventional frequent itemset mining to state of the art latent structure model. Considerable interesting discoveries are obtained by these methods, such as novel TCM paired drugs discovered by frequent itemset analysis, functional community of related genes discovered under syndrome perspective by text mining, the high proportion of toxic plants in the botanical family Ranunculaceae disclosed by statistical analysis, the association between M-cholinoceptor blocking drug and Solanaceae revealed by association rule mining, etc. It is particularly inspiring to see some studies connecting TCM with biomedicine, which provide a novel top-down view for functional genomics research. However, further developments of KDD methods are still expected to better adapt to the features of TCM. Existing studies demonstrate that KDTCM is effective in obtaining medical discoveries. However, much more work needs to be done in order to discover real diamonds from TCM domain. The usage and development of KDTCM in the future will substantially contribute to the TCM community, as well as modern life science.

[Sex survey research in Germany and Europe : Liebesleben (LoveLives): A pilot study into the sexual experiences, attitudes and relationships of adults in Germany].

PubMed

Matthiesen, Silja; Dekker, Arne; von Rueden, Ursula; Winkelmann, Christine; Wendt, Janine; Briken, Peer

2017-09-01

At the Hamburg Institute for Sex Research in Germany, a nationwide study is currently being carried out into the sexual experiences, attitudes and relationships of adults (18-75 years). The main focus of this pilot study is to test the comprehensibility and length of a data collecting instrument as well as the comparison of two data collecting methods with regard to reliability and representativeness of the results as well as of the refusal rate. To this end face-to-face interviews (n = 500) and questionnaires sent by post (n = 500) are to be compared with each other as methods. The data to be collected relates to sexuality, particularly the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The WHO definition of sexual health forms the basis for the study and thus connects up with the existing sex survey research in Europe and western industrial nations. Comparable surveys have been conducted over the past ten years in more than 30 European countries using a variety of methods. The focus of the study is placed upon the increase that has been observed for several years now in certain STIs. The article provides an overview of existing sex survey research in Europe. It becomes clear that the studies conducted so far are very heterogeneous with regard to chosen method, sampling techniques and the choice of content focus, so that no suitable data for cross-national comparability are currently available.

The use of periodization in exercise prescriptions for inactive adults: A systematic review

PubMed Central

Strohacker, Kelley; Fazzino, Daniel; Breslin, Whitney L.; Xu, Xiaomeng

2015-01-01

Background Periodization of exercise is a method typically used in sports training, but the impact of periodized exercise on health outcomes in untrained adults is unclear. Purpose This review aims to summarize existing research wherein aerobic or resistance exercise was prescribed to inactive adults using a recognized periodization method. Methods A search of relevant databases, conducted between January and February of 2014, yielded 21 studies published between 2000 and 2013 that assessed the impact of periodized exercise on health outcomes in untrained participants. Results Substantial heterogeneity existed between studies, even under the same periodization method. Compared to baseline values or non-training control groups, prescribing periodized resistance or aerobic exercise yielded significant improvements in health outcomes related to traditional and emerging risk factors for cardiovascular disease, low-back and neck/shoulder pain, disease severity, and quality of life, with mixed results for increasing bone mineral density. Conclusions Although it is premature to conclude that periodized exercise is superior to non-periodized exercise for improving health outcomes, periodization appears to be a feasible means of prescribing exercise to inactive adults within an intervention setting. Further research is necessary to understand the effectiveness of periodizing aerobic exercise, the psychological effects of periodization, and the feasibility of implementing flexible non-linear methods. PMID:26844095

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hameed, Abdul; Khoshkbarforoushha, Alireza; Ranjan, Rajiv

In a cloud computing paradigm, energy efficient allocation of different virtualized ICT resources (servers, storage disks, and networks, and the like) is a complex problem due to the presence of heterogeneous application (e.g., content delivery networks, MapReduce, web applications, and the like) workloads having contentious allocation requirements in terms of ICT resource capacities (e.g., network bandwidth, processing speed, response time, etc.). Several recent papers have tried to address the issue of improving energy efficiency in allocating cloud resources to applications with varying degree of success. However, to the best of our knowledge there is no published literature on this subjectmore » that clearly articulates the research problem and provides research taxonomy for succinct classification of existing techniques. Hence, the main aim of this paper is to identify open challenges associated with energy efficient resource allocation. In this regard, the study, first, outlines the problem and existing hardware and software-based techniques available for this purpose. Furthermore, available techniques already presented in the literature are summarized based on the energy-efficient research dimension taxonomy. The advantages and disadvantages of the existing techniques are comprehensively analyzed against the proposed research dimension taxonomy namely: resource adaption policy, objective function, allocation method, allocation operation, and interoperability.« less

Waste Bank Revitalization in Palabuhanratu West Java

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samadikun, Budi Prasetyo; Handayani, Dwi Siwi; Laksana, Muhamad Permana

2018-02-01

Palabuhanratu Village has three waste banks, one of them was established since 2010, the others built in 2016. However, waste processing from the source is still not optimal, it's only reduced waste about 5% of the total waste generated to the final waste disposal site. The performance of waste banks is still minimal, because one waste bank can not serve the entire area of the village. Furthermore, organic waste processed by some communities of Palabuhanratu Village to be compost can not be a mass movement, due to the lack of public knowledge. The purpose of this research is to know the existing condition of waste management in Palabuhanratu Village and to formulate the revitalization of existing waste bank. The research used survey research method by using questionnaire, in depth interview, and observation. Analytical technique using quantitative and qualitative analysis. The findings of the research indicate that the residents of Palabuhanratu Village who often do waste sorting from the source only from the residents of RT 01 / RW 33. The number of existing temporary waste disposal site in Palabuhanratu Village is still lacking, so it requires addition up to 5 units that integrated with waste bank in this village.

Use of formative research and social network theory to develop a group walking intervention: Sumter County on the Move!

PubMed

Forthofer, Melinda; Burroughs-Girardi, Ericka; Stoisor-Olsson, Liliana; Wilcox, Sara; Sharpe, Patricia A; Pekuri, Linda M

2016-10-01

Although social support is a frequently cited enabler of physical activity, few studies have examined how to harness social support in interventions. This paper describes community-based formative research to design a walking program for mobilizing naturally occurring social networks to support increases in walking behavior. Focus group methods were used to engage community members in discussions about desired walking program features. The research was conducted with underserved communities in Sumter County, South Carolina. The majority of focus group participants were women (76%) and African American (92%). Several important themes emerged from the focus group results regarding attitudes toward walking, facilitators of and barriers to walking, ideal walking program characteristics, and strategies for encouraging community members to walk. Most noteably, the role of existing social networks as a supportive influence on physical activity was a recurring theme in our formative research and a gap in the existing evidence base. The resulting walking program focused on strategies for mobilizing, supporting and reinforcing existing social networks as mechanisms for increasing walking. Our approach to linking theory, empirical evidence and community-based formative research for the development of a walking intervention offers an example for practitioners developing intervention strategies for a wide range of behaviors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of monitoring and diagnostic methods for robots used in remediation of waste sites. 1997 annual progress report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tecza, J.

1998-06-01

'Safe and efficient clean up of hazardous and radioactive waste sites throughout the DOE complex will require extensive use of robots. This research effort focuses on developing Monitoring and Diagnostic (M and D) methods for robots that will provide early detection, isolation, and tracking of impending faults before they result in serious failure. The utility and effectiveness of applying M and D methods to hydraulic robots has never been proven. The present research program is utilizing seeded faults in a laboratory test rig that is representative of an existing hydraulically-powered remediation robot. This report summarizes activity conducted in the firstmore » 9 months of the project. The research team has analyzed the Rosie Mobile Worksystem as a representative hydraulic robot, developed a test rig for implanted fault testing, developed a test plan and agenda, and established methods for acquiring and analyzing the test data.'« less

Research on uncertainty evaluation measure and method of voltage sag severity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X. N.; Wei, J.; Ye, S. Y.; Chen, B.; Long, C.

2018-01-01

Voltage sag is an inevitable serious problem of power quality in power system. This paper focuses on a general summarization and reviews on the concepts, indices and evaluation methods about voltage sag severity. Considering the complexity and uncertainty of influencing factors, damage degree, the characteristics and requirements of voltage sag severity in the power source-network-load sides, the measure concepts and their existing conditions, evaluation indices and methods of voltage sag severity have been analyzed. Current evaluation techniques, such as stochastic theory, fuzzy logic, as well as their fusion, are reviewed in detail. An index system about voltage sag severity is provided for comprehensive study. The main aim of this paper is to propose thought and method of severity research based on advanced uncertainty theory and uncertainty measure. This study may be considered as a valuable guide for researchers who are interested in the domain of voltage sag severity.

Research Methods in Healthcare Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Stewardship: Use of Administrative and Surveillance Databases.

PubMed

Drees, Marci; Gerber, Jeffrey S; Morgan, Daniel J; Lee, Grace M

2016-11-01

Administrative and surveillance data are used frequently in healthcare epidemiology and antimicrobial stewardship (HE&AS) research because of their wide availability and efficiency. However, data quality issues exist, requiring careful consideration and potential validation of data. This methods paper presents key considerations for using administrative and surveillance data in HE&AS, including types of data available and potential use, data limitations, and the importance of validation. After discussing these issues, we review examples of HE&AS research using administrative data with a focus on scenarios when their use may be advantageous. A checklist is provided to help aid study development in HE&AS using administrative data. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;1-10.

Experimental and analytical research on the aerodynamics of wind driven turbines. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rohrbach, C.; Wainauski, H.; Worobel, R.

1977-12-01

This aerodynamic research program was aimed at providing a reliable, comprehensive data base on a series of wind turbine models covering a broad range of the prime aerodynamic and geometric variables. Such data obtained under controlled laboratory conditions on turbines designed by the same method, of the same size, and tested in the same wind tunnel had not been available in the literature. Moreover, this research program was further aimed at providing a basis for evaluating the adequacy of existing wind turbine aerodynamic design and performance methodology, for assessing the potential of recent advanced theories and for providing a basismore » for further method development and refinement.« less

Ecological momentary assessment: what it is and why it is a method of the future in clinical psychopharmacology

PubMed Central

Moskowitz, Debbie S.; Young, Simon N.

2006-01-01

Current methods of assessment in clinical psychopharmacology have several serious disadvantages, particularly for the study of social functioning. We aimed to review the strengths and weaknesses of current methods used in clinical psychopharmacology and to compare them with a group of methods, developed by personality/social psychologists, termed ecological momentary assessment (EMA), which permit the research participant to report on symptoms, affect and behaviour close in time to experience and which sample many events or time periods. EMA has a number of advantages over more traditional methods for the assessment of patients in clinical psychopharmacological studies. It can both complement and, in part, replace existing methods. EMA methods will permit more sensitive assessments and will enable more wide-ranging and detailed measurements of mood and behaviour. These types of methods should be adopted more widely by clinical psychopharmacology researchers. PMID:16496031

Accurate reconstruction of viral quasispecies spectra through improved estimation of strain richness

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Background Estimating the number of different species (richness) in a mixed microbial population has been a main focus in metagenomic research. Existing methods of species richness estimation ride on the assumption that the reads in each assembled contig correspond to only one of the microbial genomes in the population. This assumption and the underlying probabilistic formulations of existing methods are not useful for quasispecies populations where the strains are highly genetically related. The lack of knowledge on the number of different strains in a quasispecies population is observed to hinder the precision of existing Viral Quasispecies Spectrum Reconstruction (QSR) methods due to the uncontrolled reconstruction of a large number of in silico false positives. In this work, we formulated a novel probabilistic method for strain richness estimation specifically targeting viral quasispecies. By using this approach we improved our recently proposed spectrum reconstruction pipeline ViQuaS to achieve higher levels of precision in reconstructed quasispecies spectra without compromising the recall rates. We also discuss how one other existing popular QSR method named ShoRAH can be improved using this new approach. Results On benchmark data sets, our estimation method provided accurate richness estimates (< 0.2 median estimation error) and improved the precision of ViQuaS by 2%-13% and F-score by 1%-9% without compromising the recall rates. We also demonstrate that our estimation method can be used to improve the precision and F-score of ShoRAH by 0%-7% and 0%-5% respectively. Conclusions The proposed probabilistic estimation method can be used to estimate the richness of viral populations with a quasispecies behavior and to improve the accuracy of the quasispecies spectra reconstructed by the existing methods ViQuaS and ShoRAH in the presence of a moderate level of technical sequencing errors. Availability http://sourceforge.net/projects/viquas/ PMID:26678073

Applications of geographic information systems (GIS) data and methods in obesity-related research.

PubMed

Jia, P; Cheng, X; Xue, H; Wang, Y

2017-04-01

Geographic information systems (GIS) data/methods offer good promise for public health programs including obesity-related research. This study systematically examined their applications and identified gaps and limitations in current obesity-related research. A systematic search of PubMed for studies published before 20 May 2016, utilizing synonyms for GIS in combination with synonyms for obesity as search terms, identified 121 studies that met our inclusion criteria. We found primary applications of GIS data/methods in obesity-related research included (i) visualization of spatial distribution of obesity and obesity-related phenomena, and basic obesogenic environmental features, and (ii) construction of advanced obesogenic environmental indicators. We found high spatial heterogeneity in obesity prevalence/risk and obesogenic environmental factors. Also, study design and characteristics varied considerably across studies because of lack of established guidance and protocols in the field, which may also have contributed to the mixed findings about environmental impacts on obesity. Existing findings regarding built environment are more robust than those regarding food environment. Applications of GIS data/methods in obesity research are still limited, and related research faces many challenges. More and better GIS data and more friendly analysis methods are needed to expand future GIS applications in obesity-related research. © 2017 World Obesity Federation.

Assessing the Expected Value of Research Studies in Reducing Uncertainty and Improving Implementation Dynamics.

PubMed

Grimm, Sabine E; Dixon, Simon; Stevens, John W

2017-07-01

With low implementation of cost-effective health technologies being a problem in many health systems, it is worth considering the potential effects of research on implementation at the time of health technology assessment. Meaningful and realistic implementation estimates must be of dynamic nature. To extend existing methods for assessing the value of research studies in terms of both reduction of uncertainty and improvement in implementation by considering diffusion based on expert beliefs with and without further research conditional on the strength of evidence. We use expected value of sample information and expected value of specific implementation measure concepts accounting for the effects of specific research studies on implementation and the reduction of uncertainty. Diffusion theory and elicitation of expert beliefs about the shape of diffusion curves inform implementation dynamics. We illustrate use of the resulting dynamic expected value of research in a preterm birth screening technology and results are compared with those from a static analysis. Allowing for diffusion based on expert beliefs had a significant impact on the expected value of research in the case study, suggesting that mistakes are made where static implementation levels are assumed. Incorporating the effects of research on implementation resulted in an increase in the expected value of research compared to the expected value of sample information alone. Assessing the expected value of research in reducing uncertainty and improving implementation dynamics has the potential to complement currently used analyses in health technology assessments, especially in recommendations for further research. The combination of expected value of research, diffusion theory, and elicitation described in this article is an important addition to the existing methods of health technology assessment.

VMT Mix Modeling for Mobile Source Emissions Forecasting: Formulation and Empirical Application

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-05-01

The purpose of the current report is to propose and implement a methodology for obtaining improved link-specific vehicle miles of travel (VMT) mix values compared to those obtained from existent methods. Specifically, the research is developing a fra...

Training Feedback Handbook. Research Product 83-7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burnside, Billy L.; And Others

This handbook is designed to assist training developers and evaluators in structuring their collection of feedback data. Addressed first are various methods for collecting feedback data, including informal feedback, existing unit performance records, questionnaires, structured interviews, systematic observation, and testing. The next chapter, a…

Mesopotamia, A Difficult but Interesting Topic.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kavett, Hyman

1979-01-01

Describes a method to help students become participants in historical analysis rather than observers of ancient history. Mesopotamia is used as a case study of a culture for which opportunities exist for conjecture, hypothesis formation, research, extrapolation, problem solving, and statements of causality. (Author/DB)

Updating and improving methodology for prioritizing highway project locations on the strategic intermodal system : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-05-01

Florida International University researchers examined the existing performance measures and the project prioritization method in the CMP and updated them to better reflect the current conditions and strategic goals of FDOT. They also developed visual...

Juvenile Arrest: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vermeiren, Robert; Jones, Stephanie M.; Ruchkin, Vladislav; Deboutte, Dirk; Schwab-Stone, Mary

2004-01-01

Background: Cross-national studies describing the psychopathological characteristics of arrested adolescents are virtually non-existent. Such studies are important because they have implications for national policy on arrest, case-management, and future research. Method: To address this issue, self-report surveys administered to representative…

Utilizing ego-centric video to conduct naturalistic bicycling studies.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-10-01

Existing data collection methods are mostly designed for videos captured by stationary cameras and are not designed to follow cyclists along a : route or to integrate other sensor data. The goals of this research are: a) to develop a platform to coll...

A brief measure of attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology

PubMed Central

Roberts, Lynne D.; Povee, Kate

2014-01-01

The adoption of mixed methods research in psychology has trailed behind other social science disciplines. Teaching psychology students, academics, and practitioners about mixed methodologies may increase the use of mixed methods within the discipline. However, tailoring and evaluating education and training in mixed methodologies requires an understanding of, and way of measuring, attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology. To date, no such measure exists. In this article we present the development and initial validation of a new measure: Attitudes toward Mixed Methods Research in Psychology. A pool of 42 items developed from previous qualitative research on attitudes toward mixed methods research along with validation measures was administered via an online survey to a convenience sample of 274 psychology students, academics and psychologists. Principal axis factoring with varimax rotation on a subset of the sample produced a four-factor, 12-item solution. Confirmatory factor analysis on a separate subset of the sample indicated that a higher order four factor model provided the best fit to the data. The four factors; ‘Limited Exposure,’ ‘(in)Compatibility,’ ‘Validity,’ and ‘Tokenistic Qualitative Component’; each have acceptable internal reliability. Known groups validity analyses based on preferred research orientation and self-rated mixed methods research skills, and convergent and divergent validity analyses based on measures of attitudes toward psychology as a science and scientist and practitioner orientation, provide initial validation of the measure. This brief, internally reliable measure can be used in assessing attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology, measuring change in attitudes as part of the evaluation of mixed methods education, and in larger research programs. PMID:25429281

Systematic Review of Methods in Low-Consensus Fields: Supporting Commensuration through `Construct-Centered Methods Aggregation' in the Case of Climate Change Vulnerability Research.

PubMed

Delaney, Aogán; Tamás, Peter A; Crane, Todd A; Chesterman, Sabrina

2016-01-01

There is increasing interest in using systematic review to synthesize evidence on the social and environmental effects of and adaptations to climate change. Use of systematic review for evidence in this field is complicated by the heterogeneity of methods used and by uneven reporting. In order to facilitate synthesis of results and design of subsequent research a method, construct-centered methods aggregation, was designed to 1) provide a transparent, valid and reliable description of research methods, 2) support comparability of primary studies and 3) contribute to a shared empirical basis for improving research practice. Rather than taking research reports at face value, research designs are reviewed through inductive analysis. This involves bottom-up identification of constructs, definitions and operationalizations; assessment of concepts' commensurability through comparison of definitions; identification of theoretical frameworks through patterns of construct use; and integration of transparently reported and valid operationalizations into ideal-type research frameworks. Through the integration of reliable bottom-up inductive coding from operationalizations and top-down coding driven from stated theory with expert interpretation, construct-centered methods aggregation enabled both resolution of heterogeneity within identically named constructs and merging of differently labeled but identical constructs. These two processes allowed transparent, rigorous and contextually sensitive synthesis of the research presented in an uneven set of reports undertaken in a heterogenous field. If adopted more broadly, construct-centered methods aggregation may contribute to the emergence of a valid, empirically-grounded description of methods used in primary research. These descriptions may function as a set of expectations that improves the transparency of reporting and as an evolving comprehensive framework that supports both interpretation of existing and design of future research.

Systematic Review of Methods in Low-Consensus Fields: Supporting Commensuration through `Construct-Centered Methods Aggregation’ in the Case of Climate Change Vulnerability Research

PubMed Central

Crane, Todd A.; Chesterman, Sabrina

2016-01-01

There is increasing interest in using systematic review to synthesize evidence on the social and environmental effects of and adaptations to climate change. Use of systematic review for evidence in this field is complicated by the heterogeneity of methods used and by uneven reporting. In order to facilitate synthesis of results and design of subsequent research a method, construct-centered methods aggregation, was designed to 1) provide a transparent, valid and reliable description of research methods, 2) support comparability of primary studies and 3) contribute to a shared empirical basis for improving research practice. Rather than taking research reports at face value, research designs are reviewed through inductive analysis. This involves bottom-up identification of constructs, definitions and operationalizations; assessment of concepts’ commensurability through comparison of definitions; identification of theoretical frameworks through patterns of construct use; and integration of transparently reported and valid operationalizations into ideal-type research frameworks. Through the integration of reliable bottom-up inductive coding from operationalizations and top-down coding driven from stated theory with expert interpretation, construct-centered methods aggregation enabled both resolution of heterogeneity within identically named constructs and merging of differently labeled but identical constructs. These two processes allowed transparent, rigorous and contextually sensitive synthesis of the research presented in an uneven set of reports undertaken in a heterogenous field. If adopted more broadly, construct-centered methods aggregation may contribute to the emergence of a valid, empirically-grounded description of methods used in primary research. These descriptions may function as a set of expectations that improves the transparency of reporting and as an evolving comprehensive framework that supports both interpretation of existing and design of future research. PMID:26901409

Increasingly mobile: How new technologies can enhance qualitative research

PubMed Central

Moylan, Carrie Ann; Derr, Amelia Seraphia; Lindhorst, Taryn

2015-01-01

Advances in technology, such as the growth of smart phones, tablet computing, and improved access to the internet have resulted in many new tools and applications designed to increase efficiency and improve workflow. Some of these tools will assist scholars using qualitative methods with their research processes. We describe emerging technologies for use in data collection, analysis, and dissemination that each offer enhancements to existing research processes. Suggestions for keeping pace with the ever-evolving technological landscape are also offered. PMID:25798072

A hybrid method for evaluating enterprise architecture implementation.

PubMed

Nikpay, Fatemeh; Ahmad, Rodina; Yin Kia, Chiam

2017-02-01

Enterprise Architecture (EA) implementation evaluation provides a set of methods and practices for evaluating the EA implementation artefacts within an EA implementation project. There are insufficient practices in existing EA evaluation models in terms of considering all EA functions and processes, using structured methods in developing EA implementation, employing matured practices, and using appropriate metrics to achieve proper evaluation. The aim of this research is to develop a hybrid evaluation method that supports achieving the objectives of EA implementation. To attain this aim, the first step is to identify EA implementation evaluation practices. To this end, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted. Second, the proposed hybrid method was developed based on the foundation and information extracted from the SLR, semi-structured interviews with EA practitioners, program theory evaluation and Information Systems (ISs) evaluation. Finally, the proposed method was validated by means of a case study and expert reviews. This research provides a suitable foundation for researchers who wish to extend and continue this research topic with further analysis and exploration, and for practitioners who would like to employ an effective and lightweight evaluation method for EA projects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

From Symbols to Movement: "LANTD", the Design and Implementation of a Laban Notation-Based Method for Teaching Dance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dania, Aspasia; Tyrovola, Vasiliki; Koutsouba, Maria

2017-01-01

The aim of this paper is to present the design and evaluate the impact of a Laban Notation-based method for Teaching Dance (LANTD) on novice dancers' performance, in the case of Greek traditional dance. In this research, traditional dance is conceived in its "second existence" as a kind of presentational activity performed outside its…

Evaluation of methods for determining hardware projected life

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

An investigation of existing methods of predicting hardware life is summarized by reviewing programs having long life requirements, current research efforts on long life problems, and technical papers reporting work on life predicting techniques. The results indicate that there are no accurate quantitative means to predict hardware life for system level hardware. The effectiveness of test programs and the cause of hardware failures is considered.

Integrating qualitative research methods into care improvement efforts within a learning health system: addressing antibiotic overuse.

PubMed

Munoz-Plaza, Corrine E; Parry, Carla; Hahn, Erin E; Tang, Tania; Nguyen, Huong Q; Gould, Michael K; Kanter, Michael H; Sharp, Adam L

2016-08-15

Despite reports advocating for integration of research into healthcare delivery, scant literature exists describing how this can be accomplished. Examples highlighting application of qualitative research methods embedded into a healthcare system are particularly needed. This article describes the process and value of embedding qualitative research as the second phase of an explanatory, sequential, mixed methods study to improve antibiotic stewardship for acute sinusitis. Purposive sampling of providers for in-depth interviews improved understanding of unwarranted antibiotic prescribing and elicited stakeholder recommendations for improvement. Qualitative data collection, transcription and constant comparative analyses occurred iteratively. Emerging themes and sub-themes identified primary drivers of unwarranted antibiotic prescribing patterns and recommendations for improving practice. These findings informed the design of a health system intervention to improve antibiotic stewardship for acute sinusitis. Core components of the intervention are also described. Qualitative research can be effectively applied in learning healthcare systems to elucidate quantitative results and inform improvement efforts.

Health Disparities of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: What Do We Know? What Do We Do?

PubMed Central

Krahn, Gloria L.; Fox, Michael H.

2015-01-01

Background Recent attention to health of people with intellectual disabilities has used a health disparities framework. Building on historical context, the paper summarizes what is known about health disparities from reports and research and provide direction on what to do to reduce these disparities among adults with intellectual disabilities. Methods The present authors examined literature from 2002 to 2011 on health disparities and people with disabilities looking for broad themes on documenting disparities and on research approaches and methods. Results Multiple countries published reports on health of people with intellectual disabilities. Researchers summarized existing research within a health disparities framework. A number of promising methodologies are identified such as health services research, health indicators, enhanced surveillance and mixed-methods. Conclusions Strategies to reduce health disparities include use of data to educate decision makers, attention to social determinants and a life-course model and emphasis on leveraging inclusion in mainstream services where possible. PMID:23913632

A Sample of NASA Langley Unsteady Pressure Experiments for Computational Aerodynamics Code Evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuster, David M.; Scott, Robert C.; Bartels, Robert E.; Edwards, John W.; Bennett, Robert M.

2000-01-01

As computational fluid dynamics methods mature, code development is rapidly transitioning from prediction of steady flowfields to unsteady flows. This change in emphasis offers a number of new challenges to the research community, not the least of which is obtaining detailed, accurate unsteady experimental data with which to evaluate new methods. Researchers at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) have been actively measuring unsteady pressure distributions for nearly 40 years. Over the last 20 years, these measurements have focused on developing high-quality datasets for use in code evaluation. This paper provides a sample of unsteady pressure measurements obtained by LaRC and available for government, university, and industry researchers to evaluate new and existing unsteady aerodynamic analysis methods. A number of cases are highlighted and discussed with attention focused on the unique character of the individual datasets and their perceived usefulness for code evaluation. Ongoing LaRC research in this area is also presented.

Getting quality in qualitative research: a short introduction to feminist methodology and methods.

PubMed

Landman, Maeve

2006-11-01

The present paper reflects a practical activity undertaken by the Nutrition Society's qualitative research network in October 2005. It reflects the structure of that exercise. First, there is an introduction to feminist methodology and methods. The informing premise is that feminist methodology is of particular interest to practitioners (professional and/or academic) engaged in occupations numerically dominated by women, such as nutritionists. A critical argument is made for a place for feminist methodology in related areas of social research. The discussion points to the differences that exist between various feminist commentators, although the central aims of feminist research are broadly shared. The paper comprises an overview of organizing concepts, discussion and questions posed to stimulate discussion on the design and process of research informed by feminist methodology. Issues arising from that discussion are summarized.

A method to assess the allocation suitability of recreational activities: An economic approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hsiao-Lin

1996-03-01

Most existing methods of planning focus on development of a recreational area; less consideration is placed on the allocation of recreational activities within a recreational area. Most existing research emphasizes the economic benefits of developing a recreational area; few authors assessed the allocation suitability of recreational activities from an economic point of view. The purpose of this work was to develop a model to assess the allocation suitability of recreational activities according to the application of a concept of analysis of cost and benefit under a premise of ecological concern. The model was verified with a case study of Taiwan. We suggest that the proposed model should form a critical part of recreational planning.

Management of Dynamic Biomedical Terminologies: Current Status and Future Challenges

PubMed Central

Dos Reis, J. C.; Pruski, C.

2015-01-01

Summary Objectives Controlled terminologies and their dependent artefacts provide a consensual understanding of a domain while reducing ambiguities and enabling reasoning. However, the evolution of a domain’s knowledge directly impacts these terminologies and generates inconsistencies in the underlying biomedical information systems. In this article, we review existing work addressing the dynamic aspect of terminologies as well as their effects on mappings and semantic annotations. Methods We investigate approaches related to the identification, characterization and propagation of changes in terminologies, mappings and semantic annotations including techniques to update their content. Results and conclusion Based on the explored issues and existing methods, we outline open research challenges requiring investigation in the near future. PMID:26293859

A research agenda on patient safety in primary care. Recommendations by the LINNEAUS collaboration on patient safety in primary care

PubMed Central

Verstappen, Wim; Gaal, Sander; Bowie, Paul; Parker, Diane; Lainer, Miriam; Valderas, Jose M.; Wensing, Michel; Esmail, Aneez

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: Healthcare can cause avoidable serious harm to patients. Primary care is not an exception, and the relative lack of research in this area lends urgency to a better understanding of patient safety, the future research agenda and the development of primary care oriented safety programmes. Objective: To outline a research agenda for patient safety improvement in primary care in Europe and beyond. Methods: The LINNEAUS collaboration partners analysed existing research on epidemiology and classification of errors, diagnostic and medication errors, safety culture, and learning for and improving patient safety. We discussed ideas for future research in several meetings, workshops and congresses with LINNEAUS collaboration partners, practising GPs, researchers in this field, and policy makers. Results: This paper summarizes and integrates the outcomes of the LINNEAUS collaboration on patient safety in primary care. It proposes a research agenda on improvement strategies for patient safety in primary care. In addition, it provides background information to help to connect research in this field with practicing GPs and other healthcare workers in primary care. Conclusion: Future research studies should target specific primary care domains, using prospective methods and innovative methods such as patient involvement. PMID:26339841

Research of Litchi Diseases Diagnosis Expertsystem Based on Rbr and Cbr

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Bing; Liu, Liqun

To conquer the bottleneck problems existing in the traditional rule-based reasoning diseases diagnosis system, such as low reasoning efficiency and lack of flexibility, etc.. It researched the integrated case-based reasoning (CBR) and rule-based reasoning (RBR) technology, and put forward a litchi diseases diagnosis expert system (LDDES) with integrated reasoning method. The method use data mining and knowledge obtaining technology to establish knowledge base and case library. It adopt rules to instruct the retrieval and matching for CBR, and use association rule and decision trees algorithm to calculate case similarity.The experiment shows that the method can increase the system's flexibility and reasoning ability, and improve the accuracy of litchi diseases diagnosis.

Fault Tree Analysis Application for Safety and Reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallace, Dolores R.

2003-01-01

Many commercial software tools exist for fault tree analysis (FTA), an accepted method for mitigating risk in systems. The method embedded in the tools identifies a root as use in system components, but when software is identified as a root cause, it does not build trees into the software component. No commercial software tools have been built specifically for development and analysis of software fault trees. Research indicates that the methods of FTA could be applied to software, but the method is not practical without automated tool support. With appropriate automated tool support, software fault tree analysis (SFTA) may be a practical technique for identifying the underlying cause of software faults that may lead to critical system failures. We strive to demonstrate that existing commercial tools for FTA can be adapted for use with SFTA, and that applied to a safety-critical system, SFTA can be used to identify serious potential problems long before integrator and system testing.

A general-purpose machine learning framework for predicting properties of inorganic materials

DOE PAGES

Ward, Logan; Agrawal, Ankit; Choudhary, Alok; ...

2016-08-26

A very active area of materials research is to devise methods that use machine learning to automatically extract predictive models from existing materials data. While prior examples have demonstrated successful models for some applications, many more applications exist where machine learning can make a strong impact. To enable faster development of machine-learning-based models for such applications, we have created a framework capable of being applied to a broad range of materials data. Our method works by using a chemically diverse list of attributes, which we demonstrate are suitable for describing a wide variety of properties, and a novel method formore » partitioning the data set into groups of similar materials to boost the predictive accuracy. In this manuscript, we demonstrate how this new method can be used to predict diverse properties of crystalline and amorphous materials, such as band gap energy and glass-forming ability.« less

Model Uncertainty Quantification Methods In Data Assimilation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pathiraja, S. D.; Marshall, L. A.; Sharma, A.; Moradkhani, H.

2017-12-01

Data Assimilation involves utilising observations to improve model predictions in a seamless and statistically optimal fashion. Its applications are wide-ranging; from improving weather forecasts to tracking targets such as in the Apollo 11 mission. The use of Data Assimilation methods in high dimensional complex geophysical systems is an active area of research, where there exists many opportunities to enhance existing methodologies. One of the central challenges is in model uncertainty quantification; the outcome of any Data Assimilation study is strongly dependent on the uncertainties assigned to both observations and models. I focus on developing improved model uncertainty quantification methods that are applicable to challenging real world scenarios. These include developing methods for cases where the system states are only partially observed, where there is little prior knowledge of the model errors, and where the model error statistics are likely to be highly non-Gaussian.

A general-purpose machine learning framework for predicting properties of inorganic materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ward, Logan; Agrawal, Ankit; Choudhary, Alok

A very active area of materials research is to devise methods that use machine learning to automatically extract predictive models from existing materials data. While prior examples have demonstrated successful models for some applications, many more applications exist where machine learning can make a strong impact. To enable faster development of machine-learning-based models for such applications, we have created a framework capable of being applied to a broad range of materials data. Our method works by using a chemically diverse list of attributes, which we demonstrate are suitable for describing a wide variety of properties, and a novel method formore » partitioning the data set into groups of similar materials to boost the predictive accuracy. In this manuscript, we demonstrate how this new method can be used to predict diverse properties of crystalline and amorphous materials, such as band gap energy and glass-forming ability.« less

On the existence of maximum likelihood estimates for presence-only data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hefley, Trevor J.; Hooten, Mevin B.

2015-01-01

It is important to identify conditions for which maximum likelihood estimates are unlikely to be identifiable from presence-only data. In data sets where the maximum likelihood estimates do not exist, penalized likelihood and Bayesian methods will produce coefficient estimates, but these are sensitive to the choice of estimation procedure and prior or penalty term. When sample size is small or it is thought that habitat preferences are strong, we propose a suite of estimation procedures researchers can consider using.

Integrating community-based participatory research and informatics approaches to improve the engagement and health of underserved populations

PubMed Central

Schaefbauer, Chris L; Campbell, Terrance R; Senteio, Charles; Siek, Katie A; Bakken, Suzanne; Veinot, Tiffany C

2016-01-01

Objective We compare 5 health informatics research projects that applied community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches with the goal of extending existing CBPR principles to address issues specific to health informatics research. Materials and methods We conducted a cross-case analysis of 5 diverse case studies with 1 common element: integration of CBPR approaches into health informatics research. After reviewing publications and other case-related materials, all coauthors engaged in collaborative discussions focused on CBPR. Researchers mapped each case to an existing CBPR framework, examined each case individually for success factors and barriers, and identified common patterns across cases. Results Benefits of applying CBPR approaches to health informatics research across the cases included the following: developing more relevant research with wider impact, greater engagement with diverse populations, improved internal validity, more rapid translation of research into action, and the development of people. Challenges of applying CBPR to health informatics research included requirements to develop strong, sustainable academic-community partnerships and mismatches related to cultural and temporal factors. Several technology-related challenges, including needs to define ownership of technology outputs and to build technical capacity with community partners, also emerged from our analysis. Finally, we created several principles that extended an existing CBPR framework to specifically address health informatics research requirements. Conclusions Our cross-case analysis yielded valuable insights regarding CBPR implementation in health informatics research and identified valuable lessons useful for future CBPR-based research. The benefits of applying CBPR approaches can be significant, particularly in engaging populations that are typically underserved by health care and in designing patient-facing technology. PMID:26228766

Existence of the sugar-bisulfite adducts and its inhibiting effect on degradation of monosaccharide in acid system.

PubMed

Shi, Yan

2014-02-01

Degradation of fermentable monosaccharides is one of the primary concerns for acid prehydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. Recently, in our research on degradation of pure monosaccharides in aqueous SO₂ solution by gas chromatography (GC) analysis, we found that detected yield was not actual yield of each monosaccharide due to the existence of sugar-bisulfite adducts, and a new method was developed by ourselves which led to accurate detection of recovery yield of each monosaccharide in aqueous SO₂ solution by GC analysis. By the use of this method, degradation of each monosaccharide in aqueous SO₂ was investigated and results showed that sugar-bisulfite adducts have different inhibiting effect on degradation of each monosaccharide in aqueous SO₂ because of their different stability. In addition, NMR testing also demonstrated possible existence of reaction between conjugated based HSO₃(-) and aldehyde group of sugars in acid system.

Internet research in psychology.

PubMed

Gosling, Samuel D; Mason, Winter

2015-01-03

Today the Internet plays a role in the lives of nearly 40% of the world's population, and it is becoming increasingly entwined in daily life. This growing presence is transforming psychological science in terms of the topics studied and the methods used. We provide an overview of the literature, considering three broad domains of research: translational (implementing traditional methods online; e.g., surveys), phenomenological (topics spawned or mediated by the Internet; e.g., cyberbullying), and novel (new ways to study existing topics; e.g., rumors). We discuss issues (e.g., sampling, ethics) that arise when doing research online and point to emerging opportunities (e.g., smartphone sensing). Psychological research on the Internet comes with new challenges, but the opportunities far outweigh the costs. By integrating the Internet, psychological research has the ability to reach large, diverse samples and collect data on actual behaviors, which will ultimately increase the impact of psychological research on society.

ROLE OF YOGA IN THE TREATMENT OF NEUROTIC DISORDERS: CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

PubMed Central

Grover, Poonam; Varma, V.K.; Pershad, D.; Verma, S.K.

1994-01-01

A large number of studies have consistently demonstrated the potential of yoga, not only in the treatment of psychiatric and psychosomatic disorder but also in promoting positive physical and mental health. This paper reviews various studies on the treatment of neurosis with techniques derived from yoga. A few lacunae have been identified and possible directions for future research are outlined. It is hoped that research along these lines will develop a standardized method of yoga therapy which can be utilized and integrated within the existing methods of treatment of neurotic disorders. PMID:21743694

An examination of the challenges influencing science instruction in Florida elementary classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

North, Stephanie Gwinn

It has been shown that the mechanical properties of thin films tend to differ from their bulk counterparts. Specifically, the bulge and microtensile testing of thin films used in MEMS have revealed that these films demonstrate an inverse relationship between thickness and strength. A film dimension is not a material property, but it evidently does affect the mechanical performance of materials at very small thicknesses. A hypothetical explanation for this phenomenon is that as the thickness dimension of the film decreases, it is statistically less likely that imperfections exist in the material. It would require a very small thickness (or volume) to limit imperfections in a material, which is why this phenomenon is seen in films with thicknesses on the order of 100 nm to a few microns. Another hypothesized explanation is that the surface tension that exists in bulk material also exists in thin films but has a greater impact at such a small scale. The goal of this research is to identify a theoretical prediction of the strength of thin films based on its microstructural properties such as grain size and film thickness. This would minimize the need for expensive and complicated tests such as the bulge and microtensile tests. In this research, data was collected from the bulge and microtensile testing of copper, aluminum, gold, and polysilicon free-standing thin films. Statistical testing of this data revealed a definitive inverse relationship between thickness and strength, as well as between grain size and strength, as expected. However, due to a lack of a standardized method for either test, there were significant variations in the data. This research compares and analyzes the methods used by other researchers to develop a suggested set of instructions for a standardized bulge test and standardized microtensile test. The most important parameters to be controlled in each test were found to be strain rate, temperature, film deposition method, film length, and strain measurement.

A data recipient centered de-identification method to retain statistical attributes.

PubMed

Gal, Tamas S; Tucker, Thomas C; Gangopadhyay, Aryya; Chen, Zhiyuan

2014-08-01

Privacy has always been a great concern of patients and medical service providers. As a result of the recent advances in information technology and the government's push for the use of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, a large amount of medical data is collected and stored electronically. This data needs to be made available for analysis but at the same time patient privacy has to be protected through de-identification. Although biomedical researchers often describe their research plans when they request anonymized data, most existing anonymization methods do not use this information when de-identifying the data. As a result, the anonymized data may not be useful for the planned research project. This paper proposes a data recipient centered approach to tailor the de-identification method based on input from the recipient of the data. We demonstrate our approach through an anonymization project for biomedical researchers with specific goals to improve the utility of the anonymized data for statistical models used for their research project. The selected algorithm improves a privacy protection method called Condensation by Aggarwal et al. Our methods were tested and validated on real cancer surveillance data provided by the Kentucky Cancer Registry. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evidence and speculation: reimagining approaches to architecture and research within the paediatric hospital.

PubMed

McLaughlan, Rebecca; Pert, Alan

2017-11-25

As the dominant research paradigm within the construction of contemporary healthcare facilities, evidence-based design (EBD) will increasingly impact our expectations of what hospital architecture should be. Research methods within EBD focus on prototyping incremental advances and evaluating what has already been built. Yet medical care is a rapidly evolving system; changes to technology, workforce composition, patient demographics and funding models can create rapid and unpredictable changes to medical practice and modes of care. This dynamism has the potential to curtail or negate the usefulness of current best practice approaches. To imagine new directions for the role of the hospital in society, or innovative ways in which the built environment might support well-being, requires a model that can project beyond existing constraints. Speculative design employs a design-based research methodology to imagine alternative futures and uses the artefacts created through this process to enable broader critical reflection on existing practices. This paper examines the contribution of speculative design within the context of the paediatric hospital as a means of facilitating critical reflection regarding the design of new healthcare facilities. While EBD is largely limited by what has already been built, speculative design offers a complementary research method to meet this limitation. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Dementia ascertainment using existing data in UK longitudinal and cohort studies: a systematic review of methodology.

PubMed

Sibbett, Ruth A; Russ, Tom C; Deary, Ian J; Starr, John M

2017-07-03

Studies investigating the risk factors for or causation of dementia must consider subjects prior to disease onset. To overcome the limitations of prospective studies and self-reported recall of information, the use of existing data is key. This review provides a narrative account of dementia ascertainment methods using sources of existing data. The literature search was performed using: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychInfo and Web of Science. Included articles reported a UK-based study of dementia in which cases were ascertained using existing data. Existing data included that which was routinely collected and that which was collected for previous research. After removing duplicates, abstracts were screened and the remaining articles were included for full-text review. A quality tool was used to evaluate the description of the ascertainment methodology. Of the 3545 abstracts screened, 360 articles were selected for full-text review. 47 articles were included for final consideration. Data sources for ascertainment included: death records, national datasets, research databases and hospital records among others. 36 articles used existing data alone for ascertainment, of which 27 used only a single data source. The most frequently used source was a research database. Quality scores ranged from 7/16 to 16/16. Quality scores were better for articles with dementia ascertainment as an outcome. Some papers performed validation studies of dementia ascertainment and most indicated that observed rates of dementia were lower than expected. We identified a lack of consistency in dementia ascertainment methodology using existing data. With no data source identified as a "gold-standard", we suggest the use of multiple sources. Where possible, studies should access records with evidence to confirm the diagnosis. Studies should also calculate the dementia ascertainment rate for the population being studied to enable a comparison with an expected rate.

Agent-based Training: Facilitating Knowledge and Skill Acquisition in a Modern Space Operations Team

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-04-01

face, and being careful to not add to existing problems such as limited display space. This required us to work closely with members of the SBIRS operational community and use research tools such as cognitive task analysis methods.

The Aggregate Exposure Pathway (AEP): A conceptual framework for advancing exposure science research and applications

EPA Science Inventory

Historically, risk assessment has relied upon toxicological data to obtain hazard-based reference levels, which are subsequently compared to exposure estimates to determine whether an unacceptable risk to public health may exist. Recent advances in analytical methods, biomarker ...

Hormonal Control of Fetal Growth.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooke, Paul S.; Nicoll, Charles S.

1983-01-01

Summarizes recent research on hormonal control of fetal growth, presenting data obtained using a new method for studying the area. Effects of endocrine ablations and congenital deficiencies, studies of hormone/receptor levels, in-vitro techniques, hormones implicated in promoting fetal growth, problems with existing methodologies, and growth of…

Flexible sampling large-scale social networks by self-adjustable random walk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Xiao-Ke; Zhu, Jonathan J. H.

2016-12-01

Online social networks (OSNs) have become an increasingly attractive gold mine for academic and commercial researchers. However, research on OSNs faces a number of difficult challenges. One bottleneck lies in the massive quantity and often unavailability of OSN population data. Sampling perhaps becomes the only feasible solution to the problems. How to draw samples that can represent the underlying OSNs has remained a formidable task because of a number of conceptual and methodological reasons. Especially, most of the empirically-driven studies on network sampling are confined to simulated data or sub-graph data, which are fundamentally different from real and complete-graph OSNs. In the current study, we propose a flexible sampling method, called Self-Adjustable Random Walk (SARW), and test it against with the population data of a real large-scale OSN. We evaluate the strengths of the sampling method in comparison with four prevailing methods, including uniform, breadth-first search (BFS), random walk (RW), and revised RW (i.e., MHRW) sampling. We try to mix both induced-edge and external-edge information of sampled nodes together in the same sampling process. Our results show that the SARW sampling method has been able to generate unbiased samples of OSNs with maximal precision and minimal cost. The study is helpful for the practice of OSN research by providing a highly needed sampling tools, for the methodological development of large-scale network sampling by comparative evaluations of existing sampling methods, and for the theoretical understanding of human networks by highlighting discrepancies and contradictions between existing knowledge/assumptions of large-scale real OSN data.

Methods for Evaluating Respondent Attrition in Web-Based Surveys

PubMed Central

Sabo, Roy T; Krist, Alex H; Day, Teresa; Cyrus, John; Woolf, Steven H

2016-01-01

Background Electronic surveys are convenient, cost effective, and increasingly popular tools for collecting information. While the online platform allows researchers to recruit and enroll more participants, there is an increased risk of participant dropout in Web-based research. Often, these dropout trends are simply reported, adjusted for, or ignored altogether. Objective To propose a conceptual framework that analyzes respondent attrition and demonstrates the utility of these methods with existing survey data. Methods First, we suggest visualization of attrition trends using bar charts and survival curves. Next, we propose a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) to detect or confirm significant attrition points. Finally, we suggest applications of existing statistical methods to investigate the effect of internal survey characteristics and patient characteristics on dropout. In order to apply this framework, we conducted a case study; a seventeen-item Informed Decision-Making (IDM) module addressing how and why patients make decisions about cancer screening. Results Using the framework, we were able to find significant attrition points at Questions 4, 6, 7, and 9, and were also able to identify participant responses and characteristics associated with dropout at these points and overall. Conclusions When these methods were applied to survey data, significant attrition trends were revealed, both visually and empirically, that can inspire researchers to investigate the factors associated with survey dropout, address whether survey completion is associated with health outcomes, and compare attrition patterns between groups. The framework can be used to extract information beyond simple responses, can be useful during survey development, and can help determine the external validity of survey results. PMID:27876687

Context-Aware Adaptive Hybrid Semantic Relatedness in Biomedical Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emadzadeh, Ehsan

Text mining of biomedical literature and clinical notes is a very active field of research in biomedical science. Semantic analysis is one of the core modules for different Natural Language Processing (NLP) solutions. Methods for calculating semantic relatedness of two concepts can be very useful in solutions solving different problems such as relationship extraction, ontology creation and question / answering [1--6]. Several techniques exist in calculating semantic relatedness of two concepts. These techniques utilize different knowledge sources and corpora. So far, researchers attempted to find the best hybrid method for each domain by combining semantic relatedness techniques and data sources manually. In this work, attempts were made to eliminate the needs for manually combining semantic relatedness methods targeting any new contexts or resources through proposing an automated method, which attempted to find the best combination of semantic relatedness techniques and resources to achieve the best semantic relatedness score in every context. This may help the research community find the best hybrid method for each context considering the available algorithms and resources.

Problems Discovery of Final Graduation Projects During the Software Development Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Hagery, Mohammed Abdullah Hassan

2012-01-01

The traditional techniques and methods used by students during systems development at the College of Computer, Qassim University is leading to this study. It leads to identify problems that hinder the construction and development of information systems, and identify their causes. The most important stages of systems development are analysis and design, which represent a solid foundation to build strong systems that are free from errors. The motivation of this research is the existence of many problems that impede getting exact output after the development of systems by the university graduates within departments of computer. The research concentrates on discovering the problems during the development tasks. The required data were collected using a questionnaire method, which formulated and judged and distributed to the target population. The research results were analyzed by three statistic methods.

How to improve the comfort of Kesawan Heritage Corridor, Medan City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tegar; Ginting, Nurlisa; Suwantoro, H.

2018-03-01

Comfort is indispensable to make a friendly neighborhood or city. Especially the comfort of the infrastructure in the corridor. People must be able to feel comfortable to act rationally in their physical environment. Existing infrastructure must able to support Kesawan as a historic district. Kesawan is an area that is filled with so many unique buildings. Without comfort, how good the existing buildings’ architecture cannot be enjoyed. It will also affect the identity of a region or city. The aim of this research is to re-design the public facilities from Kesawan corridor’s comfort aspect: orientation, traffic calming, vegetation, signage, public facilities (toilet, seating place, bus station, bins), information center, parking and pedestrian path. It will translate the design concept in the form of design criteria. This research uses qualitative methods. Some facilities in this corridor are unsuitable even some of them are not available. So, we need some improvements and additions to the existing facilities. It is expected that by upgrading the existing facilities, visitors who come to Kesawan will be able to enjoy more and able to make Medan city more friendly.

Preventing infections in nursing homes: A survey of infection control practices in southeast Michigan

PubMed Central

Mody, Lona; Langa, Kenneth M.; Saint, Sanjay; Bradley, Suzanne F.

2012-01-01

Background Studies on adherence to infection control policies in nursing homes (NHs) are limited. This pilot study explores the use of various infection control practices and the role of infection control practitioners in southeast Michigan NHs. Methods A 43-item self-administered questionnaire and explanatory cover letter were mailed to 105 licensed NHs in southeast Michigan. A second mailing was sent to the nonresponders 4 weeks later. Results Significant variability existed in adoption of various infection control measures with respect to time spent in infection control activities (50% of facilities having a full-time infection control practitioner), definitions used in monitoring infections, and immunization rates (influenza: range, 0%–100%; mean, 73.2%; pneumococcal: range, 0%–100%; mean, 38.5%). Conclusion Although strides have been made in infection control research in NHs, significant variations exist in implementation of infection control methods and guidelines. Future research should focus on identifying barriers to infection control in NHs. PMID:16216667

The state of rehabilitation research: art or science?

PubMed

Tate, Denise G

2006-02-01

Rehabilitation research has been criticized as not standing up enough to the rigors of scientific method to be called "science." The field has been portrayed as slow to promote its scientific achievements and to include them under the rubric of evidence-based rehabilitation. Following in the footsteps of psychology, rehabilitation as a broad-based discipline has faced many similar obstacles in achieving scientific status. Controversy exists about what exactly constitutes rehabilitation science versus its art and its respective multidisciplinary domains. The conception of these domains is directly related to current methods available to assess the state of the discipline and its research accomplishments. I used quantitative methods, such as randomized clinical and/or controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews, to assess the status of rehabilitation research. Findings suggest that, as a field, rehabilitation makes significant contributions to science, measurable by the number and quality of RCTs and systematic reviews conducted so far on topics of critical importance for clinical care. In "artful" complement, qualitative approaches can be used as research tools to aid investigators in seeking knowledge beyond that obtained by quantitative methods, assessing many complexities associated with the various contexts of rehabilitation research. Other requirements to develop a common vision of rehabilitation science are also discussed.

Assessing capacity to consent for research in cognitively impaired older patients

PubMed Central

Gilbert, Thomas; Bosquet, Antoine; Thomas-Antérion, Catherine; Bonnefoy, Marc; Le Saux, Olivia

2017-01-01

Background The number of clinical trials including older patients, and particularly patients with cognitive impairment, is increasing. While statutory provisions exist to make sure that the capacity to consent is assessed systematically for each patient, many gray areas remain with regard to how this assessment is made or should be made in the routine practice of clinical research. Objectives The aim of this review was to draw up an inventory of assessment tools evaluating older patients’ capacity to consent specifically applicable to clinical research, which could be used in routine practice. Methods Two authors independently searched PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar data-bases between November 2015 and January 2016. The search was actualized in April 2017. We used keywords (MeSH terms and text words) referring to informed consent, capacity to consent, consent for research, research ethics, cognitive impairment, vulnerable older patients, and assessment tools. Existing reviews were also considered. Results Among the numerous existing tools for assessing capacity to consent, 14 seemed potentially suited for clinical research and six were evaluated in older patients. The MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Clinical Research (MacCAT-CR) was the most frequently cited. Conclusion The MacCAT-CR is currently the most used and the best validated questionnaire. However, it appears difficult to use and time-consuming. A more recent tool, the University of California Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent (UBACC), seems interesting for routine practice because of its simplicity, relevance, and applicability in older patients. PMID:29026293

A Framework to Support the Sharing and Reuse of Computable Phenotype Definitions Across Health Care Delivery and Clinical Research Applications

PubMed Central

Richesson, Rachel L.; Smerek, Michelle M.; Blake Cameron, C.

2016-01-01

Introduction: The ability to reproducibly identify clinically equivalent patient populations is critical to the vision of learning health care systems that implement and evaluate evidence-based treatments. The use of common or semantically equivalent phenotype definitions across research and health care use cases will support this aim. Currently, there is no single consolidated repository for computable phenotype definitions, making it difficult to find all definitions that already exist, and also hindering the sharing of definitions between user groups. Method: Drawing from our experience in an academic medical center that supports a number of multisite research projects and quality improvement studies, we articulate a framework that will support the sharing of phenotype definitions across research and health care use cases, and highlight gaps and areas that need attention and collaborative solutions. Framework: An infrastructure for re-using computable phenotype definitions and sharing experience across health care delivery and clinical research applications includes: access to a collection of existing phenotype definitions, information to evaluate their appropriateness for particular applications, a knowledge base of implementation guidance, supporting tools that are user-friendly and intuitive, and a willingness to use them. Next Steps: We encourage prospective researchers and health administrators to re-use existing EHR-based condition definitions where appropriate and share their results with others to support a national culture of learning health care. There are a number of federally funded resources to support these activities, and research sponsors should encourage their use. PMID:27563686

[Application of chemometrics in composition-activity relationship research of traditional Chinese medicine].

PubMed

Han, Sheng-Nan

2014-07-01

Chemometrics is a new branch of chemistry which is widely applied to various fields of analytical chemistry. Chemometrics can use theories and methods of mathematics, statistics, computer science and other related disciplines to optimize the chemical measurement process and maximize access to acquire chemical information and other information on material systems by analyzing chemical measurement data. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine has attracted widespread attention. In the research of traditional Chinese medicine, it has been a key problem that how to interpret the relationship between various chemical components and its efficacy, which seriously restricts the modernization of Chinese medicine. As chemometrics brings the multivariate analysis methods into the chemical research, it has been applied as an effective research tool in the composition-activity relationship research of Chinese medicine. This article reviews the applications of chemometrics methods in the composition-activity relationship research in recent years. The applications of multivariate statistical analysis methods (such as regression analysis, correlation analysis, principal component analysis, etc. ) and artificial neural network (such as back propagation artificial neural network, radical basis function neural network, support vector machine, etc. ) are summarized, including the brief fundamental principles, the research contents and the advantages and disadvantages. Finally, the existing main problems and prospects of its future researches are proposed.

Is smartphone addiction really an addiction?

PubMed

Panova, Tayana; Carbonell, Xavier

2018-06-13

Aims In light of the rise in research on technological addictions and smartphone addiction in particular, the aim of this paper was to review the relevant literature on the topic of smartphone addiction and determine whether this disorder exists or if it does not adequately satisfy the criteria for addiction. Methods We reviewed quantitative and qualitative studies on smartphone addiction and analyzed their methods and conclusions to make a determination on the suitability of the diagnosis "addiction" to excessive and problematic smartphone use. Results Although the majority of research in the field declares that smartphones are addictive or takes the existence of smartphone addiction as granted, we did not find sufficient support from the addiction perspective to confirm the existence of smartphone addiction at this time. The behaviors observed in the research could be better labeled as problematic or maladaptive smartphone use and their consequences do not meet the severity levels of those caused by addiction. Discussion and conclusions Addiction is a disorder with severe effects on physical and psychological health. A behavior may have a similar presentation as addiction in terms of excessive use, impulse control problems, and negative consequences, but that does not mean that it should be considered an addiction. We propose moving away from the addiction framework when studying technological behaviors and using other terms such as "problematic use" to describe them. We recommend that problematic technology use is to be studied in its sociocultural context with an increased focus on its compensatory functions, motivations, and gratifications.

Variable Selection in the Presence of Missing Data: Imputation-based Methods.

PubMed

Zhao, Yize; Long, Qi

2017-01-01

Variable selection plays an essential role in regression analysis as it identifies important variables that associated with outcomes and is known to improve predictive accuracy of resulting models. Variable selection methods have been widely investigated for fully observed data. However, in the presence of missing data, methods for variable selection need to be carefully designed to account for missing data mechanisms and statistical techniques used for handling missing data. Since imputation is arguably the most popular method for handling missing data due to its ease of use, statistical methods for variable selection that are combined with imputation are of particular interest. These methods, valid used under the assumptions of missing at random (MAR) and missing completely at random (MCAR), largely fall into three general strategies. The first strategy applies existing variable selection methods to each imputed dataset and then combine variable selection results across all imputed datasets. The second strategy applies existing variable selection methods to stacked imputed datasets. The third variable selection strategy combines resampling techniques such as bootstrap with imputation. Despite recent advances, this area remains under-developed and offers fertile ground for further research.

An ESA roadmap for geobiology in space exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cousins, Claire R.; Cockell, Charles S.

2016-01-01

Geobiology, and in particular mineral-microbe interactions, has a significant role to play in current and future space exploration. This includes the search for biosignatures in extraterrestrial environments, and the human exploration of space. Microorganisms can be exploited to advance such exploration, such as through biomining, maintenance of life-support systems, and testing of life-detection instrumentation. In view of these potential applications, a European Space Agency (ESA) Topical Team "Geobiology in Space Exploration" was developed to explore these applications, and identify research avenues to be investigated to support this endeavour. Through community workshops, a roadmap was produced, with which to define future research directions via a set of 15 recommendations spanning three key areas: Science, Technology, and Community. These roadmap recommendations identify the need for research into: (1) new terrestrial space-analogue environments; (2) community level microbial-mineral interactions; (3) response of biofilms to the space environment; (4) enzymatic and biochemical mineral interaction; (5) technical refinement of instrumentation for space-based microbiology experiments, including precursor flight tests; (6) integration of existing ground-based planetary simulation facilities; (7) integration of fieldsite biogeography with laboratory- and field-based research; (8) modification of existing planetary instruments for new geobiological investigations; (9) development of in situ sample preparation techniques; (10) miniaturisation of existing analytical methods, such as DNA sequencing technology; (11) new sensor technology to analyse chemical interaction in small volume samples; (12) development of reusable Lunar and Near Earth Object experimental platforms; (13) utility of Earth-based research to enable the realistic pursuit of extraterrestrial biosignatures; (14) terrestrial benefits and technological spin-off from existing and future space-based geobiology investigations; and (15) new communication avenues between space agencies and terrestrial research organisations to enable this impact to be developed.

A collaborative approach for research paper recommender system.

PubMed

Haruna, Khalid; Akmar Ismail, Maizatul; Damiasih, Damiasih; Sutopo, Joko; Herawan, Tutut

2017-01-01

Research paper recommenders emerged over the last decade to ease finding publications relating to researchers' area of interest. The challenge was not just to provide researchers with very rich publications at any time, any place and in any form but to also offer the right publication to the right researcher in the right way. Several approaches exist in handling paper recommender systems. However, these approaches assumed the availability of the whole contents of the recommending papers to be freely accessible, which is not always true due to factors such as copyright restrictions. This paper presents a collaborative approach for research paper recommender system. By leveraging the advantages of collaborative filtering approach, we utilize the publicly available contextual metadata to infer the hidden associations that exist between research papers in order to personalize recommendations. The novelty of our proposed approach is that it provides personalized recommendations regardless of the research field and regardless of the user's expertise. Using a publicly available dataset, our proposed approach has recorded a significant improvement over other baseline methods in measuring both the overall performance and the ability to return relevant and useful publications at the top of the recommendation list.

Convolutional Neural Network-Based Human Detection in Nighttime Images Using Visible Light Camera Sensors.

PubMed

Kim, Jong Hyun; Hong, Hyung Gil; Park, Kang Ryoung

2017-05-08

Because intelligent surveillance systems have recently undergone rapid growth, research on accurately detecting humans in videos captured at a long distance is growing in importance. The existing research using visible light cameras has mainly focused on methods of human detection for daytime hours when there is outside light, but human detection during nighttime hours when there is no outside light is difficult. Thus, methods that employ additional near-infrared (NIR) illuminators and NIR cameras or thermal cameras have been used. However, in the case of NIR illuminators, there are limitations in terms of the illumination angle and distance. There are also difficulties because the illuminator power must be adaptively adjusted depending on whether the object is close or far away. In the case of thermal cameras, their cost is still high, which makes it difficult to install and use them in a variety of places. Because of this, research has been conducted on nighttime human detection using visible light cameras, but this has focused on objects at a short distance in an indoor environment or the use of video-based methods to capture multiple images and process them, which causes problems related to the increase in the processing time. To resolve these problems, this paper presents a method that uses a single image captured at night on a visible light camera to detect humans in a variety of environments based on a convolutional neural network. Experimental results using a self-constructed Dongguk night-time human detection database (DNHD-DB1) and two open databases (Korea advanced institute of science and technology (KAIST) and computer vision center (CVC) databases), as well as high-accuracy human detection in a variety of environments, show that the method has excellent performance compared to existing methods.

A flexible, open, decentralized system for digital pathology networks.

PubMed

Schuler, Robert; Smith, David E; Kumaraguruparan, Gowri; Chervenak, Ann; Lewis, Anne D; Hyde, Dallas M; Kesselman, Carl

2012-01-01

High-resolution digital imaging is enabling digital archiving and sharing of digitized microscopy slides and new methods for digital pathology. Collaborative research centers, outsourced medical services, and multi-site organizations stand to benefit from sharing pathology data in a digital pathology network. Yet significant technological challenges remain due to the large size and volume of digitized whole slide images. While information systems do exist for managing local pathology laboratories, they tend to be oriented toward narrow clinical use cases or offer closed ecosystems around proprietary formats. Few solutions exist for networking digital pathology operations. Here we present a system architecture and implementation of a digital pathology network and share results from a production system that federates major research centers.

Multivariate statistical analysis software technologies for astrophysical research involving large data bases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Djorgovski, George

1993-01-01

The existing and forthcoming data bases from NASA missions contain an abundance of information whose complexity cannot be efficiently tapped with simple statistical techniques. Powerful multivariate statistical methods already exist which can be used to harness much of the richness of these data. Automatic classification techniques have been developed to solve the problem of identifying known types of objects in multiparameter data sets, in addition to leading to the discovery of new physical phenomena and classes of objects. We propose an exploratory study and integration of promising techniques in the development of a general and modular classification/analysis system for very large data bases, which would enhance and optimize data management and the use of human research resource.

A Flexible, Open, Decentralized System for Digital Pathology Networks

PubMed Central

SMITH, David E.; KUMARAGURUPARAN, Gowri; CHERVENAK, Ann; LEWIS, Anne D.; HYDE, Dallas M.; KESSELMAN, Carl

2014-01-01

High-resolution digital imaging is enabling digital archiving and sharing of digitized microscopy slides and new methods for digital pathology. Collaborative research centers, outsourced medical services, and multi-site organizations stand to benefit from sharing pathology data in a digital pathology network. Yet significant technological challenges remain due to the large size and volume of digitized whole slide images. While information systems do exist for managing local pathology laboratories, they tend to be oriented toward narrow clinical use cases or offer closed ecosystems around proprietary formats. Few solutions exist for networking digital pathology operations. Here we present a system architecture and implementation of a digital pathology network and share results from a production system that federates major research centers. PMID:22941985

Multivariate statistical analysis software technologies for astrophysical research involving large data bases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Djorgovski, Stanislav

1992-01-01

The existing and forthcoming data bases from NASA missions contain an abundance of information whose complexity cannot be efficiently tapped with simple statistical techniques. Powerful multivariate statistical methods already exist which can be used to harness much of the richness of these data. Automatic classification techniques have been developed to solve the problem of identifying known types of objects in multi parameter data sets, in addition to leading to the discovery of new physical phenomena and classes of objects. We propose an exploratory study and integration of promising techniques in the development of a general and modular classification/analysis system for very large data bases, which would enhance and optimize data management and the use of human research resources.

Worked examples of alternative methods for the synthesis of qualitative and quantitative research in systematic reviews

PubMed Central

Lucas, Patricia J; Baird, Janis; Arai, Lisa; Law, Catherine; Roberts, Helen M

2007-01-01

Background The inclusion of qualitative studies in systematic reviews poses methodological challenges. This paper presents worked examples of two methods of data synthesis (textual narrative and thematic), used in relation to one review, with the aim of enabling researchers to consider the strength of different approaches. Methods A systematic review of lay perspectives of infant size and growth was conducted, locating 19 studies (including both qualitative and quantitative). The data extracted from these were synthesised using both a textual narrative and a thematic synthesis. Results The processes of both methods are presented, showing a stepwise progression to the final synthesis. Both methods led us to similar conclusions about lay views toward infant size and growth. Differences between methods lie in the way they dealt with study quality and heterogeneity. Conclusion On the basis of the work reported here, we consider textual narrative and thematic synthesis have strengths and weaknesses in relation to different research questions. Thematic synthesis holds most potential for hypothesis generation, but may obscure heterogeneity and quality appraisal. Textual narrative synthesis is better able to describe the scope of existing research and account for the strength of evidence, but is less good at identifying commonality. PMID:17224044

Looking for trees in the forest: summary tree from posterior samples

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Bayesian phylogenetic analysis generates a set of trees which are often condensed into a single tree representing the whole set. Many methods exist for selecting a representative topology for a set of unrooted trees, few exist for assigning branch lengths to a fixed topology, and even fewer for simultaneously setting the topology and branch lengths. However, there is very little research into locating a good representative for a set of rooted time trees like the ones obtained from a BEAST analysis. Results We empirically compare new and known methods for generating a summary tree. Some new methods are motivated by mathematical constructions such as tree metrics, while the rest employ tree concepts which work well in practice. These use more of the posterior than existing methods, which discard information not directly mapped to the chosen topology. Using results from a large number of simulations we assess the quality of a summary tree, measuring (a) how well it explains the sequence data under the model and (b) how close it is to the “truth”, i.e to the tree used to generate the sequences. Conclusions Our simulations indicate that no single method is “best”. Methods producing good divergence time estimates have poor branch lengths and lower model fit, and vice versa. Using the results presented here, a user can choose the appropriate method based on the purpose of the summary tree. PMID:24093883

Looking for trees in the forest: summary tree from posterior samples.

PubMed

Heled, Joseph; Bouckaert, Remco R

2013-10-04

Bayesian phylogenetic analysis generates a set of trees which are often condensed into a single tree representing the whole set. Many methods exist for selecting a representative topology for a set of unrooted trees, few exist for assigning branch lengths to a fixed topology, and even fewer for simultaneously setting the topology and branch lengths. However, there is very little research into locating a good representative for a set of rooted time trees like the ones obtained from a BEAST analysis. We empirically compare new and known methods for generating a summary tree. Some new methods are motivated by mathematical constructions such as tree metrics, while the rest employ tree concepts which work well in practice. These use more of the posterior than existing methods, which discard information not directly mapped to the chosen topology. Using results from a large number of simulations we assess the quality of a summary tree, measuring (a) how well it explains the sequence data under the model and (b) how close it is to the "truth", i.e to the tree used to generate the sequences. Our simulations indicate that no single method is "best". Methods producing good divergence time estimates have poor branch lengths and lower model fit, and vice versa. Using the results presented here, a user can choose the appropriate method based on the purpose of the summary tree.

On Modeling Research Work for Describing and Filtering Scientific Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sicilia, Miguel-Ángel

Existing models for Research Information Systems (RIS) properly address the description of people and organizations, projects, facilities and their outcomes, e.g. papers, reports or patents. While this is adequate for the recording and accountability of research investments, helping researchers in finding relevant people, organizations or results requires considering both the content of research work and also its context. The content is not only related to the domain area, but it requires modeling methodological issues as variables, instruments or scientific methods that can then be used as search criteria. The context of research work is determined by the ongoing projects or scientific interests of an individual or a group, and can be expressed using the same methodological concepts. However, modeling methodological issues is notably complex and dependent on the scientific discipline and research area. This paper sketches the main requirements for those models, providing some motivating examples that could serve as a point of departure for future attempts in developing an upper ontology for research methods and tools.

Lessons Learned From a Community–Academic Initiative: The Development of a Core Competency–Based Training for Community–Academic Initiative Community Health Workers

PubMed Central

Matos, Sergio; Kapadia, Smiti; Islam, Nadia; Cusack, Arthur; Kwong, Sylvia; Trinh-Shevrin, Chau

2012-01-01

Objectives. Despite the importance of community health workers (CHWs) in strategies to reduce health disparities and the call to enhance their roles in research, little information exists on how to prepare CHWs involved in community–academic initiatives (CAIs). Therefore, the New York University Prevention Research Center piloted a CAI–CHW training program. Methods. We applied a core competency framework to an existing CHW curriculum and bolstered the curriculum to include research-specific sessions. We employed diverse training methods, guided by adult learning principles and popular education philosophy. Evaluation instruments assessed changes related to confidence, intention to use learned skills, usefulness of sessions, and satisfaction with the training. Results. Results demonstrated that a core competency–based training can successfully affect CHWs’ perceived confidence and intentions to apply learned content, and can provide a larger social justice context of their role and work. Conclusions. This program demonstrates that a core competency–based framework coupled with CAI-research–specific skill sessions (1) provides skills that CAI–CHWs intend to use, (2) builds confidence, and (3) provides participants with a more contextualized view of client needs and CHW roles. PMID:22594730

Growing a garden without water: Graduate teaching assistants in introductory science laboratories at a doctoral/research university

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luft, Julie A.; Kurdziel, Josepha P.; Roehrig, Gillian H.; Turner, Jessica

2004-03-01

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) in the sciences are a common feature of U.S. universities that have a prominent mission of research. During the past 2 decades, increased attention has been paid to the professional development of GTAs as instructors. As a result, universities have created training programs to assist GTAs in selecting instructional methods, curricular formats, and assessments when they serve as laboratory, lecture, or discussion group instructors. Unfortunately, few studies explore the educational and instructional environment of GTAs in these reformed settings. This study was conducted to address this specific need. As a constructivist inquiry, qualitative methods were used to collect and analyze the data to elucidate the educational and instructional environment of science GTAs at a doctoral/research university in which various training programs existed. We found that GTAs worked autonomously, that traditional practices and curricula existed in laboratories, and that instructors frequently held limited views of undergraduates' abilities and motivation. Findings in this initial study about GTAs suggest that developers of GTA training programs draw on the literature regarding science teacher education, and that reward systems be instituted that recognize faculty and staff for their participation in GTA training programs.

Searching for rigour in the reporting of mixed methods population health research: a methodological review.

PubMed

Brown, K M; Elliott, S J; Leatherdale, S T; Robertson-Wilson, J

2015-12-01

The environments in which population health interventions occur shape both their implementation and outcomes. Hence, when evaluating these interventions, we must explore both intervention content and context. Mixed methods (integrating quantitative and qualitative methods) provide this opportunity. However, although criteria exist for establishing rigour in quantitative and qualitative research, there is poor consensus regarding rigour in mixed methods. Using the empirical example of school-based obesity interventions, this methodological review examined how mixed methods have been used and reported, and how rigour has been addressed. Twenty-three peer-reviewed mixed methods studies were identified through a systematic search of five databases and appraised using the guidelines for Good Reporting of a Mixed Methods Study. In general, more detailed description of data collection and analysis, integration, inferences and justifying the use of mixed methods is needed. Additionally, improved reporting of methodological rigour is required. This review calls for increased discussion of practical techniques for establishing rigour in mixed methods research, beyond those for quantitative and qualitative criteria individually. A guide for reporting mixed methods research in population health should be developed to improve the reporting quality of mixed methods studies. Through improved reporting, mixed methods can provide strong evidence to inform policy and practice. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Webly-Supervised Fine-Grained Visual Categorization via Deep Domain Adaptation.

PubMed

Xu, Zhe; Huang, Shaoli; Zhang, Ya; Tao, Dacheng

2018-05-01

Learning visual representations from web data has recently attracted attention for object recognition. Previous studies have mainly focused on overcoming label noise and data bias and have shown promising results by learning directly from web data. However, we argue that it might be better to transfer knowledge from existing human labeling resources to improve performance at nearly no additional cost. In this paper, we propose a new semi-supervised method for learning via web data. Our method has the unique design of exploiting strong supervision, i.e., in addition to standard image-level labels, our method also utilizes detailed annotations including object bounding boxes and part landmarks. By transferring as much knowledge as possible from existing strongly supervised datasets to weakly supervised web images, our method can benefit from sophisticated object recognition algorithms and overcome several typical problems found in webly-supervised learning. We consider the problem of fine-grained visual categorization, in which existing training resources are scarce, as our main research objective. Comprehensive experimentation and extensive analysis demonstrate encouraging performance of the proposed approach, which, at the same time, delivers a new pipeline for fine-grained visual categorization that is likely to be highly effective for real-world applications.

Program of Research in Flight Dynamics in the JIAFS, George Washington University at NASA Langley Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klein, Vladislav

2002-01-01

The program objectives are fully defined in the original proposal entitled 'Program of Research in Flight Dynamics in GW at NASA Langley Research Center,' which was originated March 20, 1975, and in the renewals of the research program from December 1, 2000 to November 30, 2001. The program in its present form includes three major topics: 1) the improvement of existing methods and development of new methods for wind tunnel and flight test data analysis, 2) the application of these methods to wind tunnel and flight test data obtained from advanced airplanes, 3) the correlation of flight results with wind tunnel measurements, and theoretical predictions. The Principal Investigator of the program is Dr. Vladislav Klein. Three Graduate Research Scholar Assistants (K. G. Mas, M. M. Eissa and N. M. Szyba) also participated in the program. Specific developments in the program during the period Dec. 1, 2001 through Nov. 30, 2002 included: 1) Data analysis of highly swept delta wing aircraft from wind and water tunnel data, and 2) Aerodynamic characteristics of the radio control aircraft from flight test.

Mathematical correlation of modal parameter identification methods via system realization theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juang, J. N.

1986-01-01

A unified approach is introduced using system realization theory to derive and correlate modal parameter identification methods for flexible structures. Several different time-domain and frequency-domain methods are analyzed and treated. A basic mathematical foundation is presented which provides insight into the field of modal parameter identification for comparison and evaluation. The relation among various existing methods is established and discussed. This report serves as a starting point to stimulate additional research towards the unification of the many possible approaches for modal parameter identification.

A comparison of students' achievement and attitude as a function of lecture/lab sequencing in a non-science majors introductory biology course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hurst March, Robin Denise

This investigation compared student achievement and attitudes toward science from three different sequencing approaches used in teaching biology to nonscience students. The three sequencing approaches were the lecture course only, lecture/laboratory courses taken together, and laboratory with previously taken lecture approach. The purposes of this study were to determine if (1) a relationship exists between the Attitude Towards Science in School Assessment (ATSSA) scores (Germann, 1988) and biology achievement, (2) a difference exists among the ATSSA scores and sequencing, (3) a difference exists among the biology achievement scores and sequencing, and (4) the ATSSA is a reliable instrument of science attitude assessment for the undergraduate students in an introductory biology nonmajors laboratory and lecture courses at a research I institution during the fall semester 1996. Fifty-four students comprised the lecture only group, 90 students comprised the lecture and laboratory taken together approach, and 23 students comprised the laboratory only approach. Research questions addressed were (1) What are the differences in student biology achievement as a function of the three different methods of instruction? (2) What are the differences in student attitude towards science as a function of the three different methods of instruction? (3) What is the relationship between post-attitude (ATSSA) and biology achievement for each of the three methods of instruction? An analysis of variance utilized the mean posttest scores on the ATSSA and mean achievement scores as the dependent variables. The independent variables were the three different sequences of enrollment in introductory biology. At the.05 level of significance, it was found that no significant difference existed between the ATTS and laboratory/lecture sequence. At the.05 level of significance, it was found that no significant difference existed between achievement and laboratory/lecture sequence. A Pearson product moment correlation was used to see if a relationship existed between posttest ATSSA scores and achievement totals in each sequence. A significant relationship was noted between the ATSSA and achievement in each sequence that involved a laboratory component.

Methods for Evaluating Respondent Attrition in Web-Based Surveys.

PubMed

Hochheimer, Camille J; Sabo, Roy T; Krist, Alex H; Day, Teresa; Cyrus, John; Woolf, Steven H

2016-11-22

Electronic surveys are convenient, cost effective, and increasingly popular tools for collecting information. While the online platform allows researchers to recruit and enroll more participants, there is an increased risk of participant dropout in Web-based research. Often, these dropout trends are simply reported, adjusted for, or ignored altogether. To propose a conceptual framework that analyzes respondent attrition and demonstrates the utility of these methods with existing survey data. First, we suggest visualization of attrition trends using bar charts and survival curves. Next, we propose a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) to detect or confirm significant attrition points. Finally, we suggest applications of existing statistical methods to investigate the effect of internal survey characteristics and patient characteristics on dropout. In order to apply this framework, we conducted a case study; a seventeen-item Informed Decision-Making (IDM) module addressing how and why patients make decisions about cancer screening. Using the framework, we were able to find significant attrition points at Questions 4, 6, 7, and 9, and were also able to identify participant responses and characteristics associated with dropout at these points and overall. When these methods were applied to survey data, significant attrition trends were revealed, both visually and empirically, that can inspire researchers to investigate the factors associated with survey dropout, address whether survey completion is associated with health outcomes, and compare attrition patterns between groups. The framework can be used to extract information beyond simple responses, can be useful during survey development, and can help determine the external validity of survey results. ©Camille J Hochheimer, Roy T Sabo, Alex H Krist, Teresa Day, John Cyrus, Steven H Woolf. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 22.11.2016.

Development of Methodologies for IV and V of Neural Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Brian; Darrah, Marjorie

2003-01-01

Non-deterministic systems often rely upon neural network (NN) technology to "lean" to manage flight systems under controlled conditions using carefully chosen training sets. How can these adaptive systems be certified to ensure that they will become increasingly efficient and behave appropriately in real-time situations? The bulk of Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) research of non-deterministic software control systems such as Adaptive Flight Controllers (AFC's) addresses NNs in well-behaved and constrained environments such as simulations and strict process control. However, neither substantive research, nor effective IV&V techniques have been found to address AFC's learning in real-time and adapting to live flight conditions. Adaptive flight control systems offer good extensibility into commercial aviation as well as military aviation and transportation. Consequently, this area of IV&V represents an area of growing interest and urgency. ISR proposes to further the current body of knowledge to meet two objectives: Research the current IV&V methods and assess where these methods may be applied toward a methodology for the V&V of Neural Network; and identify effective methods for IV&V of NNs that learn in real-time, including developing a prototype test bed for IV&V of AFC's. Currently. no practical method exists. lSR will meet these objectives through the tasks identified and described below. First, ISR will conduct a literature review of current IV&V technology. TO do this, ISR will collect the existing body of research on IV&V of non-deterministic systems and neural network. ISR will also develop the framework for disseminating this information through specialized training. This effort will focus on developing NASA's capability to conduct IV&V of neural network systems and to provide training to meet the increasing need for IV&V expertise in such systems.

The coordinate-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging data.

PubMed

Samartsidis, Pantelis; Montagna, Silvia; Nichols, Thomas E; Johnson, Timothy D

2017-01-01

Neuroimaging meta-analysis is an area of growing interest in statistics. The special characteristics of neuroimaging data render classical meta-analysis methods inapplicable and therefore new methods have been developed. We review existing methodologies, explaining the benefits and drawbacks of each. A demonstration on a real dataset of emotion studies is included. We discuss some still-open problems in the field to highlight the need for future research.

Defense Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) FY 1984.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-01-12

nuclear submarine non-metallic, light weight, high strength piping . Includes the development of adequate fabrication procedures for attaching pipe ...waste heat economizer methods, require development. Improved conventional and hybrid heat pipes and/or two phase transport devices 149 IF are required...DESCRIPTION: A need exists to conceive, design, fabricate and test a method of adjusting the length of the individual legs of nylon or Kevlar rope sling

The coordinate-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging data

PubMed Central

Samartsidis, Pantelis; Montagna, Silvia; Nichols, Thomas E.; Johnson, Timothy D.

2017-01-01

Neuroimaging meta-analysis is an area of growing interest in statistics. The special characteristics of neuroimaging data render classical meta-analysis methods inapplicable and therefore new methods have been developed. We review existing methodologies, explaining the benefits and drawbacks of each. A demonstration on a real dataset of emotion studies is included. We discuss some still-open problems in the field to highlight the need for future research. PMID:29545671

Improved mapping of radio sources from VLBI data by least-square fit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodemich, E. R.

1985-01-01

A method is described for producing improved mapping of radio sources from Very Long Base Interferometry (VLBI) data. The method described is more direct than existing Fourier methods, is often more accurate, and runs at least as fast. The visibility data is modeled here, as in existing methods, as a function of the unknown brightness distribution and the unknown antenna gains and phases. These unknowns are chosen so that the resulting function values are as near as possible to the observed values. If researchers use the radio mapping source deviation to measure the closeness of this fit to the observed values, they are led to the problem of minimizing a certain function of all the unknown parameters. This minimization problem cannot be solved directly, but it can be attacked by iterative methods which we show converge automatically to the minimum with no user intervention. The resulting brightness distribution will furnish the best fit to the data among all brightness distributions of given resolution.

Advancing methods for research on household water insecurity: Studying entitlements and capabilities, socio-cultural dynamics, and political processes, institutions and governance.

PubMed

Wutich, Amber; Budds, Jessica; Eichelberger, Laura; Geere, Jo; Harris, Leila; Horney, Jennifer; Jepson, Wendy; Norman, Emma; O'Reilly, Kathleen; Pearson, Amber; Shah, Sameer; Shinn, Jamie; Simpson, Karen; Staddon, Chad; Stoler, Justin; Teodoro, Manuel P; Young, Sera

2017-11-01

Household water insecurity has serious implications for the health, livelihoods and wellbeing of people around the world. Existing methods to assess the state of household water insecurity focus largely on water quality, quantity or adequacy, source or reliability, and affordability. These methods have significant advantages in terms of their simplicity and comparability, but are widely recognized to oversimplify and underestimate the global burden of household water insecurity. In contrast, a broader definition of household water insecurity should include entitlements and human capabilities, sociocultural dynamics, and political institutions and processes. This paper proposes a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods that can be widely adopted across cultural, geographic, and demographic contexts to assess hard-to-measure dimensions of household water insecurity. In doing so, it critically evaluates existing methods for assessing household water insecurity and suggests ways in which methodological innovations advance a broader definition of household water insecurity.

The pointillism method for creating stimuli suitable for use in computer-based visual contrast sensitivity testing.

PubMed

Turner, Travis H

2005-03-30

An increasingly large corpus of clinical and experimental neuropsychological research has demonstrated the utility of measuring visual contrast sensitivity. Unfortunately, existing means of measuring contrast sensitivity can be prohibitively expensive, difficult to standardize, or lack reliability. Additionally, most existing tests do not allow full control over important characteristics, such as off-angle rotations, waveform, contrast, and spatial frequency. Ideally, researchers could manipulate characteristics and display stimuli in a computerized task designed to meet experimental needs. Thus far, 256-bit color limitation in standard cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors has been preclusive. To this end, the pointillism method (PM) was developed. Using MATLAB software, stimuli are created based on both mathematical and stochastic components, such that differences in regional luminance values of the gradient field closely approximate the desired contrast. This paper describes the method and examines its performance in sine and square-wave image sets from a range of contrast values. Results suggest the utility of the method for most experimental applications. Weaknesses in the current version, the need for validation and reliability studies, and considerations regarding applications are discussed. Syntax for the program is provided in an appendix, and a version of the program independent of MATLAB is available from the author.

Readiness of food composition databases and food component analysis systems for nutrigenomics

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The study objective was to discuss the international implications of using nutrigenomics as the basis for individualized health promotion and chronic disease prevention and the challenges it presents to existing nutrient databases and nutrient analysis systems. Definitions and research methods of nu...

Children's Expressed Emotions when Disclosing Maltreatment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sayfan, Liat; Mitchell, Emilie B.; Goodman, Gail S.; Eisen, Mitchell L.; Qin, Jianjian

2008-01-01

Objective: Our goal was to examine children's expressed emotions when they disclose maltreatment. Little scientific research exists on this topic, and yet children's emotional expressions at disclosure may inform psychological theory and play a crucial role in legal determinations. Method: One hundred and twenty-four videotaped forensic interviews…

The Relationship between Principals' Cultural Intelligence Levels and Their Cultural Leadership Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Göksoy, Süleyman

2017-01-01

This study aimed to identify school administrators' views on school administrators' cultural intelligence and cultural leadership behaviors. The study employed relational screening model, a descriptive research method, since it set out to determine the existing situation. "Cultural Intelligence Scale" and "Cultural Leadership…

Towards an AI Behavior Toolkit for Games

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-01-01

Introduction To date there exists a disparity between AI research and game development technologies (Laird and van Lent 2000). We are currently...art AI re- sults. Such a kit has obvious benefits for both communities. On the game development side, the kit will provide a straight- forward method

Historical Inquiry in Vocational Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lakes, Richard D.

Few dissertations on vocational educational history are being written by graduate students. Reasons for this paucity of research include: (1) few opportunities exist for employment in the foundations of education field; and (2) few mentorships are availabile for those with training in both historical methods and vocational education fields. The…

Some fuzzy techniques for staff selection process: A survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Md Saad, R.; Ahmad, M. Z.; Abu, M. S.; Jusoh, M. S.

2013-04-01

With high level of business competition, it is vital to have flexible staff that are able to adapt themselves with work circumstances. However, staff selection process is not an easy task to be solved, even when it is tackled in a simplified version containing only a single criterion and a homogeneous skill. When multiple criteria and various skills are involved, the problem becomes much more complicated. In adddition, there are some information that could not be measured precisely. This is patently obvious when dealing with opinions, thoughts, feelings, believes, etc. One possible tool to handle this issue is by using fuzzy set theory. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to review the existing fuzzy techniques for solving staff selection process. It classifies several existing research methods and identifies areas where there is a gap and need further research. Finally, this paper concludes by suggesting new ideas for future research based on the gaps identified.

Multimodal evaluation and management of children with concussion: using our heads and available evidence.

PubMed

Gioia, Gerard A

2015-01-01

Significant attention has been focused on concussions in children, but a dearth of research evidence exists supporting clinical evaluation and management. The primary objective of this review paper is to describe a multimodal, developmentally adapted, standardized concussion assessment and active rehabilitation approach for children as young as 5 years old. This study reviews the CDC-funded research programme, including the development of tools for post-concussion symptom assessment involving the child and parent, measurement of specific neurocognitive functions and assessment of dynamic cognitive exertional effects. A clinical approach to active, individualized, moderated concussion rehabilitation management is presented, including a 10-step guide to symptom management, with a specific focus on the school challenges faced by the recovering student. To better inform concussion practice across the developmental age spectrum, a significant need exists for further research evidence to refine clinical assessment methods and develop effective treatment approaches.

The SIR model of Zika virus disease outbreak in Brazil at year 2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aik, Lim Eng; Kiang, Lam Chee; Hong, Tan Wei; Abu, Mohd Syafarudy

2017-05-01

This research study demonstrates a numerical model intended for comprehension the spread of the year 2015 Zika virus disease utilizing the standard SIR framework. In modeling virulent disease dynamics, it is important to explore whether the illness spread could accomplish a pandemic level or it could be eradicated. Information from the year 2015 Zika virus disease event is utilized and Brazil where the event began is considered in this research study. A three dimensional nonlinear differential equation is formulated and solved numerically utilizing the Euler's method in MS excel. It is appeared from the research study that, with health intercessions of public, the viable regenerative number can be decreased making it feasible for the event to cease to exist. It is additionally indicated numerically that the pandemic can just cease to exist when there are no new infected people in the populace.

Multimodal Evaluation and Management of Children with Concussion: Using our heads and available evidence

PubMed Central

Gioia, Gerard A.

2015-01-01

Significant attention has been focused on concussions in children but a dearth of research evidence exists supporting clinical evaluation and management. The primary objective of this review paper is to describe a multimodal, developmentally adapted, standardized concussion assessment and active rehabilitation approach for children as young as age five. We review our CDC-funded research program including the development of tools for post-concussion symptom assessment involving the child and parent, measurement of specific neurocognitive functions, and assessment of dynamic cognitive exertional effects. A clinical approach to active, individualized, moderated concussion rehabilitation management is presented, including a ten step guide to symptom management, with a specific focus on the school challenges faced by the recovering student. To better inform concussion practice across the developmental age spectrum, a significant need exists for further research evidence to refine our clinical assessment methods and develop effective treatment approaches. PMID:25356518

The Global Evidence Mapping Initiative: Scoping research in broad topic areas

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Evidence mapping describes the quantity, design and characteristics of research in broad topic areas, in contrast to systematic reviews, which usually address narrowly-focused research questions. The breadth of evidence mapping helps to identify evidence gaps, and may guide future research efforts. The Global Evidence Mapping (GEM) Initiative was established in 2007 to create evidence maps providing an overview of existing research in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Methods The GEM evidence mapping method involved three core tasks: 1. Setting the boundaries and context of the map: Definitions for the fields of TBI and SCI were clarified, the prehospital, acute inhospital and rehabilitation phases of care were delineated and relevant stakeholders (patients, carers, clinicians, researchers and policymakers) who could contribute to the mapping were identified. Researchable clinical questions were developed through consultation with key stakeholders and a broad literature search. 2. Searching for and selection of relevant studies: Evidence search and selection involved development of specific search strategies, development of inclusion and exclusion criteria, searching of relevant databases and independent screening and selection by two researchers. 3. Reporting on yield and study characteristics: Data extraction was performed at two levels - 'interventions and study design' and 'detailed study characteristics'. The evidence map and commentary reflected the depth of data extraction. Results One hundred and twenty-nine researchable clinical questions in TBI and SCI were identified. These questions were then prioritised into high (n = 60) and low (n = 69) importance by the stakeholders involved in question development. Since 2007, 58 263 abstracts have been screened, 3 731 full text articles have been reviewed and 1 644 relevant neurotrauma publications have been mapped, covering fifty-three high priority questions. Conclusions GEM Initiative evidence maps have a broad range of potential end-users including funding agencies, researchers and clinicians. Evidence mapping is at least as resource-intensive as systematic reviewing. The GEM Initiative has made advancements in evidence mapping, most notably in the area of question development and prioritisation. Evidence mapping complements other review methods for describing existing research, informing future research efforts, and addressing evidence gaps. PMID:21682870

COSMOS: accurate detection of somatic structural variations through asymmetric comparison between tumor and normal samples.

PubMed

Yamagata, Koichi; Yamanishi, Ayako; Kokubu, Chikara; Takeda, Junji; Sese, Jun

2016-05-05

An important challenge in cancer genomics is precise detection of structural variations (SVs) by high-throughput short-read sequencing, which is hampered by the high false discovery rates of existing analysis tools. Here, we propose an accurate SV detection method named COSMOS, which compares the statistics of the mapped read pairs in tumor samples with isogenic normal control samples in a distinct asymmetric manner. COSMOS also prioritizes the candidate SVs using strand-specific read-depth information. Performance tests on modeled tumor genomes revealed that COSMOS outperformed existing methods in terms of F-measure. We also applied COSMOS to an experimental mouse cell-based model, in which SVs were induced by genome engineering and gamma-ray irradiation, followed by polymerase chain reaction-based confirmation. The precision of COSMOS was 84.5%, while the next best existing method was 70.4%. Moreover, the sensitivity of COSMOS was the highest, indicating that COSMOS has great potential for cancer genome analysis. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Beyond traditional advertisements: leveraging Facebook's social structures for research recruitment.

PubMed

Valdez, Rupa S; Guterbock, Thomas M; Thompson, Morgan J; Reilly, Jeremiah D; Menefee, Hannah K; Bennici, Maria S; Williams, Ishan C; Rexrode, Deborah L

2014-10-27

Obtaining access to a demographically and geographically diverse sample for health-related research can be costly and time consuming. Previous studies have reported mixed results regarding the potential of using social media-based advertisements to overcome these challenges. Our aim was to develop and assess the feasibility, benefits, and challenges of recruiting for research studies related to consumer health information technology (IT) by leveraging the social structures embedded in the social networking platform, Facebook. Two recruitment strategies that involved direct communication with existing Facebook groups and pages were developed and implemented in two distinct populations. The first recruitment strategy involved posting a survey link directly to consenting groups and pages and was used to recruit Filipino-Americans to a study assessing the perceptions, use of, and preferences for consumer health IT. This study took place between August and December 2013. The second recruitment strategy targeted individuals with type 2 diabetes and involved creating a study-related Facebook group and asking administrators of other groups and pages to publicize our group to their members. Group members were then directly invited to participate in an online pre-study survey. This portion of a larger study to understand existing health management practices as a foundation for consumer health IT design took place between May and June 2014. In executing both recruitment strategies, efforts were made to establish trust and transparency. Recruitment rate, cost, content of interaction, and characteristics of the sample obtained were used to assess the recruitment methods. The two recruitment methods yielded 87 and 79 complete responses, respectively. The first recruitment method yielded a rate of study completion proportionate to that of the rate of posts made, whereas recruitment successes of the second recruitment method seemed to follow directly from the actions of a subset of administrators. Excluding personnel time, the first recruitment method resulted in no direct costs, and the second recruitment method resulted in a total direct cost of US $118.17. Messages, posts, and comments received using both recruitment strategies reflected ten themes, including appreciation, assistance, clarification, concerns, encouragement, health information, interest, promotion, solicitations, and support. Both recruitment methods produced mixed results regarding sample representativeness with respect to characteristics such as gender, race, and ethnicity. The results of the study demonstrate that leveraging the social structures of Facebook for health-related research was feasible for obtaining small samples appropriate for qualitative research but not for obtaining large samples needed for quantitative research. The content of interactions with members of the target population prompted ethical deliberations concerning suitable target communities and appropriate boundaries between researchers and participants. Widespread replication of this method would benefit from a broad discussion among researchers, social media users, social media companies, and experts in research ethics to address appropriate protocols for such interactions.

The relevance of qualitative research for clinical programs in psychiatry.

PubMed

Goering, Paula; Boydell, Katherine M; Pignatiello, Antonio

2008-03-01

It is time to move beyond education about qualitative research theory and methods to using them to understand and improve psychiatric practice. There is a good fit between this agenda and current thinking about research use that broadens definitions of evidence beyond the results of experiments. This paper describes a qualitative program evaluation to illustrate what kind of useful knowledge is generated and how it can be created through a clinician-researcher partnership. The linkage and exchange model of effective knowledge translation described involves interaction between clinicians and researchers throughout the research process and results in mutual learning through the planning, disseminating, and application of existing or new qualitative research in decision making.

The emerging marijuana retail environment: Key lessons learned from tobacco and alcohol retail research.

PubMed

Berg, Carla J; Henriksen, Lisa; Cavazos-Rehg, Patricia A; Haardoerfer, Regine; Freisthler, Bridget

2018-06-01

The emerging retail market for recreational marijuana use warrants research and surveillance as such markets are established in more US states. This research can be informed by the existing literature regarding tobacco and alcohol, which highlights the impact of spatial access to tobacco and alcohol retailers and exposure to tobacco and alcohol marketing on smoking and drinking among youth and young adults. Prior research indicates that tobacco and alcohol retailers, as well as medical marijuana dispensaries, are disproportionately located in neighborhoods characterized by socioeconomic disadvantage and by higher proportions of racial/ethnic minorities and young adults. Moreover, retail marketing or point-of-sale practices may differentially target subpopulations and differ by neighborhood demography and local policy. This literature and the methods employed for studying the tobacco and alcohol market could inform research on the retail environment for marijuana, as current gaps exist. In particular, much of the existing literature involves cross-sectional research designs; longitudinal studies are needed. Moreover, standardized measures are needed for systematic monitoring of industry marketing practices and to conduct research examining neighborhood differences in exposure to retail marketing for marijuana and its contribution to use modality and frequency, alone and in combination with nicotine and alcohol. The use of standardized measures for tobacco and alcohol marketing have been critical to develop an evidence base from cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that document the impact of retail marketing on substance use by adolescents and adults. Similar research is needed to establish an evidence base to inform federal, state, and local regulations of marijuana. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

New directions in qualitative research in psychology.

PubMed

Demuth, Carolin

2015-06-01

Qualitative Research gains increasing popularity in the field of Psychology. With the renewed interest, there are, however, also some risks related to the overhomogenization and increasing standardization of qualitative methods. This special issue is dedicated to clarify some of the existing misconceptions of qualitative research and to discuss its potentials for the field of psychology in light of recent endeavors to overcome paradigmatic battles and a re-orientation to the specifities of psychology. The issue comprises a discussion from workshop on the future of qualitative research in psychology organized at Aalborg University, and several contributions that resulted from it.

Aplicación de técnicas de análisis de redes sociales y de co-ocurrencia de palabras en la determinación de frentes de investigación

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boeris, C. E.

A bibliometric study of the scientific production of the IAR researchers has been performed, with the aim of determining the institute's research fronts and groups of researchers working on these fronts. Methods of analysis of co-occurrence of words, authorship analysis and social network analysis (SNA) has been applied by extracting keywords and the names of the authors on the base of published works. The results support the existence of two research fronts within the institution. FULL TEXT IN SPANISH

[The present state and progress of researches on gait recognition].

PubMed

Xue, Zhaojun; Jin, Jingna; Ming, Dong; Wan, Baikun

2008-10-01

Recognition by gait is a new field for the biometric recognition technology. Its aim is to recognize people and detect physiological, pathological and mental characters by their walk style. The use of gait as a biometric for human identification is promising. The technique of gait recognition, as an attractive research area of biomedical information detection, attracts more and more attention. In this paper is introduced a survey of the basic theory, existing gait recognition methods and potential prospects. The latest progress and key factors of research difficulties are analyzed, and future researches are envisaged.

Dynamic Resource Allocation to Improve Service Performance in Order Fulfillment Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

efficient system uses economies of scale at two points: orders are batched before processing, which reduces processing costs, and processed or- ders ...the ef- fects of batching on order picking processes is well-researched and well-understood ( van den Berg and Gademann, 1999). Because orders are...a final so- journ time distribution. Our work builds on existing research in matrix-geometric methods by Neuts (1981), Asmussen and M0ller (2001

What Research Is Being Done on Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in the Russian Research Community?

PubMed Central

Popova, Svetlana; Yaltonskaya, Aleksandra; Yaltonsky, Vladimir; Kolpakov, Yaroslav; Abrosimov, Ilya; Pervakov, Kristina; Tanner, Valeria; Rehm, Jürgen

2014-01-01

Aims: Although Russia has one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption and alcohol-attributable burden of disease, little is known about the existing research on prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) in this country. The objective of this study was to locate and review published and unpublished studies related to any aspect of PAE and FASD conducted in or using study populations from Russia. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in multiple English and Russian electronic bibliographic databases. In addition, a manual search was conducted in several major libraries in Moscow. Results: The search revealed a small pool of existing research studies related to PAE and/or FASD in Russia (126: 22 in English and 104 in Russian). Existing epidemiological data indicate a high prevalence of PAE and FASD, which underlines the strong negative impact that alcohol has on mortality, morbidity and disability in Russia. High levels of alcohol consumption by women of childbearing age, low levels of contraception use, and low levels of knowledge by health and other professionals regarding the harmful effects of PAE put this country at great risk of further alcohol-affected pregnancies. Conclusions: Alcohol preventive measures in Russia warrant immediate attention. More research focused on alcohol prevention and policy is needed in order to reduce alcohol-related harm, especially in the field of FASD. PMID:24158024

The systematic review as a research process in music therapy.

PubMed

Hanson-Abromeit, Deanna; Sena Moore, Kimberly

2014-01-01

Music therapists are challenged to present evidence on the efficacy of music therapy treatment and incorporate the best available research evidence to make informed healthcare and treatment decisions. Higher standards of evidence can come from a variety of sources including systematic reviews. To define and describe a range of research review methods using examples from music therapy and related literature, with emphasis on the systematic review. In addition, the authors provide a detailed overview of methodological processes for conducting and reporting systematic reviews in music therapy. The systematic review process is described in five steps. Step 1 identifies the research plan and operationalized research question(s). Step 2 illustrates the identification and organization of the existing literature related to the question(s). Step 3 details coding of data extracted from the literature. Step 4 explains the synthesis of coded findings and analysis to answer the research question(s). Step 5 describes the strength of evidence evaluation and results presentation for practice recommendations. Music therapists are encouraged to develop and conduct systematic reviews. This methodology contributes to review outcome credibility and can determine how information is interpreted and used by clinicians, clients or patients, and policy makers. A systematic review is a methodologically rigorous research method used to organize and evaluate extant literature related to a clinical problem. Systematic reviews can assist music therapists in managing the ever-increasing literature, making well-informed evidence based practice and research decisions, and translating existing music-based and nonmusic based literature to clinical practice and research development. © the American Music Therapy Association 2014. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A survey and taxonomy on energy efficient resource allocation techniques for cloud computing systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hameed, Abdul; Khoshkbarforoushha, Alireza; Ranjan, Rajiv

In a cloud computing paradigm, energy efficient allocation of different virtualized ICT resources (servers, storage disks, and networks, and the like) is a complex problem due to the presence of heterogeneous application (e.g., content delivery networks, MapReduce, web applications, and the like) workloads having contentious allocation requirements in terms of ICT resource capacities (e.g., network bandwidth, processing speed, response time, etc.). Several recent papers have tried to address the issue of improving energy efficiency in allocating cloud resources to applications with varying degree of success. However, to the best of our knowledge there is no published literature on this subjectmore » that clearly articulates the research problem and provides research taxonomy for succinct classification of existing techniques. Hence, the main aim of this paper is to identify open challenges associated with energy efficient resource allocation. In this regard, the study, first, outlines the problem and existing hardware and software-based techniques available for this purpose. Furthermore, available techniques already presented in the literature are summarized based on the energy-efficient research dimension taxonomy. The advantages and disadvantages of the existing techniques are comprehensively analyzed against the proposed research dimension taxonomy namely: resource adaption policy, objective function, allocation method, allocation operation, and interoperability.« less

Assessing Consumer Responses to PREPs: A Review of Tobacco Industry and Independent Research Methods

PubMed Central

Rees, Vaughan W.; Kreslake, Jennifer M.; Cummings, K. Michael; O'Connor, Richard J.; Hatsukami, Dorothy K.; Parascandola, Mark; Shields, Peter G.; Connolly, Gregory N.

2009-01-01

Objective Internal tobacco industry documents and the mainstream literature are reviewed to identify methods and measures for evaluating tobacco consumer response. The review aims to outline areas in which established methods exist, identify gaps in current methods for assessing CR, and consider how these methods might be applied to evaluate PREPs and new products. Methods Internal industry research reviewed included published papers, manuscript drafts, presentations, protocols, and instruments relating to consumer response measures were identified and analyzed. Peer-reviewed research was identified using PubMed and Scopus. Results Industry research on consumer response focuses on product development and marketing. To develop and refine new products, the tobacco industry has developed notable strategies for assessing consumers' sensory and subjective responses to product design characteristics. Independent research is often conducted to gauge the likelihood of future product adoption by measuring consumers' risk perceptions, responses to product, and product acceptability. Conclusions A model which conceptualizes consumer response as comprising the separate, but interacting domains of product perceptions and response to product is outlined. Industry and independent research supports the dual domain model, and provides a wide range of methods for assessment of the construct components of consumer response. Further research is needed to validate consumer response constructs, determine the relationship between consumer response and tobacco user behavior, and improve reliability of consumer response measures. Scientifically rigorous consumer response assessment methods will provide a needed empirical basis for future regulation of PREPs and new products, to counteract tobacco industry influence on consumers, and enhance the public health. PMID:19959675

Truths, lies, and statistics.

PubMed

Thiese, Matthew S; Walker, Skyler; Lindsey, Jenna

2017-10-01

Distribution of valuable research discoveries are needed for the continual advancement of patient care. Publication and subsequent reliance of false study results would be detrimental for patient care. Unfortunately, research misconduct may originate from many sources. While there is evidence of ongoing research misconduct in all it's forms, it is challenging to identify the actual occurrence of research misconduct, which is especially true for misconduct in clinical trials. Research misconduct is challenging to measure and there are few studies reporting the prevalence or underlying causes of research misconduct among biomedical researchers. Reported prevalence estimates of misconduct are probably underestimates, and range from 0.3% to 4.9%. There have been efforts to measure the prevalence of research misconduct; however, the relatively few published studies are not freely comparable because of varying characterizations of research misconduct and the methods used for data collection. There are some signs which may point to an increased possibility of research misconduct, however there is a need for continued self-policing by biomedical researchers. There are existing resources to assist in ensuring appropriate statistical methods and preventing other types of research fraud. These included the "Statistical Analyses and Methods in the Published Literature", also known as the SAMPL guidelines, which help scientists determine the appropriate method of reporting various statistical methods; the "Strengthening Analytical Thinking for Observational Studies", or the STRATOS, which emphases on execution and interpretation of results; and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which was created in 1997 to deliver guidance about publication ethics. COPE has a sequence of views and strategies grounded in the values of honesty and accuracy.

A collaborative approach for research paper recommender system

PubMed Central

Akmar Ismail, Maizatul; Damiasih, Damiasih; Sutopo, Joko; Herawan, Tutut

2017-01-01

Research paper recommenders emerged over the last decade to ease finding publications relating to researchers’ area of interest. The challenge was not just to provide researchers with very rich publications at any time, any place and in any form but to also offer the right publication to the right researcher in the right way. Several approaches exist in handling paper recommender systems. However, these approaches assumed the availability of the whole contents of the recommending papers to be freely accessible, which is not always true due to factors such as copyright restrictions. This paper presents a collaborative approach for research paper recommender system. By leveraging the advantages of collaborative filtering approach, we utilize the publicly available contextual metadata to infer the hidden associations that exist between research papers in order to personalize recommendations. The novelty of our proposed approach is that it provides personalized recommendations regardless of the research field and regardless of the user’s expertise. Using a publicly available dataset, our proposed approach has recorded a significant improvement over other baseline methods in measuring both the overall performance and the ability to return relevant and useful publications at the top of the recommendation list. PMID:28981512

Fabrication methods for YF-12 wing panels for the Supersonic Cruise Aircraft Research Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, E. L.; Payne, L.; Carter, A. L.

1975-01-01

Advanced fabrication and joining processes for titanium and composite materials are being investigated by NASA to develop technology for the Supersonic Cruise Aircraft Research (SCAR) Program. With Lockheed-ADP as the prime contractor, full-scale structural panels are being designed and fabricated to replace an existing integrally stiffened shear panel on the upper wing surface of the NASA YF-12 aircraft. The program involves ground testing and Mach 3 flight testing of full-scale structural panels and laboratory testing of representative structural element specimens. Fabrication methods and test results for weldbrazed and Rohrbond titanium panels are discussed. The fabrication methods being developed for boron/aluminum, Borsic/aluminum, and graphite/polyimide panels are also presented.

Acquiring Data by Mining the Past: Pairing Communities with Environmental Monitoring Methods through Open Online Collaborative Replication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lippincott, M.; Lewis, E. S.; Gehrke, G. E.; Wise, A.; Pyle, S.; Sinatra, V.; Bland, G.; Bydlowski, D.; Henry, A.; Gilberts, P. A.

2016-12-01

Community groups are interested in low-cost sensors to monitor their environment. However, many new commercial sensors are unknown devices without peer-reviewed evaluations of data quality or pathways to regulatory acceptance, and the time to achieve these outcomes may be beyond a community's patience and attention. Rather than developing a device from scratch or validating a new commercial product, a workflow is presented whereby existing technologies, especially those that are out of patent, are replicated through open online collaboration between communities affected by environmental pollution, volunteers, academic institutions, and existing open hardware and open source software projects. Technology case studies will be presented, focusing primarily on a passive PM monitor based on the UNC Passive Monitor. Stages of the project will be detailed moving from identifying community needs, reviewing existing technology, partnership development, technology replication, IP review and licensing, data quality assurance (in process), and field evaluation with community partners (in process), with special attention to partnership development and technology review. We have leveraged open hardware and open source software to lower the cost and access barriers of existing technologies for PM10-2.5 and other atmospheric measures that have already been validated through peer review. Existing validation of and regulatory familiarity with a technology enables a rapid pathway towards collecting data, shortening the time it takes for communities to leverage data in environmental management decisions. Online collaboration requires rigorous documentation that aids in spreading research methods and promoting deep engagement by interested community researchers outside academia. At the same time, careful choice of technology and the use of small-scale fabrication through laser cutting, 3D printing, and open, shared repositories of plans and software enables educational engagement that broadens a project's reach.

Cormack Research Project: Glasgow University

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skinner, Susan; Ryan, James M.

1998-01-01

The aim of this project was to investigate and improve upon existing methods of analysing data from COMITEL on the Gamma Ray Observatory for neutrons emitted during solar flares. In particular, a strategy for placing confidence intervals on neutron energy distributions, due to uncertainties on the response matrix has been developed. We have also been able to demonstrate the superior performance of one of a range of possible statistical regularization strategies. A method of generating likely models of neutron energy distributions has also been developed as a tool to this end. The project involved solving an inverse problem with noise being added to the data in various ways. To achieve this pre-existing C code was used to run Fortran subroutines which performed statistical regularization on the data.

Research on periodic orbits in the three problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández, S.; Gámez, J.

In order to investigate the possible existence of small planets in extrasolar systems, a restricted, circular and plane three body problem is used. One of the two primaries has a mass similar to the Sun and the other one has a mass greater than Jupiter. Periodic and quasi-periodic orbits for the third body with different values of the Jacobi constant (C) are found by numerical methods. One of the three cases studied is fictitious, the others resemble two real systems of ext rasolar planets. The Everhart method is used and the results show the existence of periodic and quasi-periodic orbits for the lesser value of C. Irregular orbits appear for the other values of C, specially on the exterior zone of the secondary body.

TMA Vessel Segmentation Based on Color and Morphological Features: Application to Angiogenesis Research

PubMed Central

Fernández-Carrobles, M. Milagro; Tadeo, Irene; Bueno, Gloria; Noguera, Rosa; Déniz, Oscar; Salido, Jesús; García-Rojo, Marcial

2013-01-01

Given that angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis are strongly related to prognosis in neoplastic and other pathologies and that many methods exist that provide different results, we aim to construct a morphometric tool allowing us to measure different aspects of the shape and size of vascular vessels in a complete and accurate way. The developed tool presented is based on vessel closing which is an essential property to properly characterize the size and the shape of vascular and lymphatic vessels. The method is fast and accurate improving existing tools for angiogenesis analysis. The tool also improves the accuracy of vascular density measurements, since the set of endothelial cells forming a vessel is considered as a single object. PMID:24489494

The potential of unmanned aerial systems for sea turtle research and conservation: a review and future directions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rees, Alan F.; Avens, Larisa; Ballorain, Katia; Bevan, Elizabeth; Broderick, Annette C.; Carthy, Raymond R.; Christianen, Marjolijn J. A.; Duclos, Gwénaël; Heithaus, Michael R.; Johnston, David W.; Mangel, Jeffrey C.; Paladino, Frank V.; Pendoley, Kellie; Reina, Richard D.; Robinson, Nathan J.; Ryan, Robert; Sykora-Bodie, Seth T.; Tilley, Dominic; Varela, Miguel R.; Whitman, Elizabeth R.; Whittock, Paul A.; Wibbels, Thane; Godley, Brendan J.

2018-01-01

The use of satellite systems and manned aircraft surveys for remote data collection has been shown to be transformative for sea turtle conservation and research by enabling the collection of data on turtles and their habitats over larger areas than can be achieved by surveys on foot or by boat. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are increasingly being adopted to gather data, at previously unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions in diverse geographic locations. This easily accessible, low-cost tool is improving existing research methods and enabling novel approaches in marine turtle ecology and conservation. Here we review the diverse ways in which incorporating inexpensive UAVs may reduce costs and field time while improving safety and data quality and quantity over existing methods for studies on turtle nesting, at-sea distribution and behaviour surveys, as well as expanding into new avenues such as surveillance against illegal take. Furthermore, we highlight the impact that high-quality aerial imagery captured by UAVs can have for public outreach and engagement. This technology does not come without challenges. We discuss the potential constraints of these systems within the ethical and legal frameworks which researchers must operate and the difficulties that can result with regard to storage and analysis of large amounts of imagery. We then suggest areas where technological development could further expand the utility of UAVs as data-gathering tools; for example, functioning as downloading nodes for data collected by sensors placed on turtles. Development of methods for the use of UAVs in sea turtle research will serve as case studies for use with other marine and terrestrial taxa.

Spatial change transformation of educational areas in Bandung

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yudi Permana, Asep; Wijaya, Karto

2017-12-01

Transformation is a total transfer process from a particular shape into a new figure which can be interpreted as the final stage of a changing process. Transformation, as a gradually progressive process, utilizes space and time factors becoming the aspect that greatly influences the change until reaching the ultimate stage. The changes are completed by responding to the influence of external and internal elements which will lead to a change from an early familiar form. The purpose of this research is to build theory based on phenomenon which occurs in the field as a result of space transformation process in Bandung so that it can be seen the setting adjustment of either physical or non-physical in the area becoming the city identity. The research method is qualitative research method with descriptive survey method approach. The focus of research is aimed at discrete phenomena in the field as an effort to disclose the background essence of the resulted theory formation. The study does not use a theoretical framework, yet there is a consistency in observing a discrete phenomenon of the grand tour results. The phenomenon is raised through the snowball sampling process. The process of collecting data, analyzing, and building theories is conducted jointly and iteratively within one research time range. The study results in the formation of space knowledge based on knitting and the value system of the users’ activities and the space settings. All users’ behaviors in using space are related to social, cultural, economic and creative activities in utilizing the existing space conditions. The results of this study provide an enrichment of architectural theory, planning theory and urban design theory having already existed.

The qualitative-quantitative debate: moving from positivism and confrontation to post-positivism and reconciliation.

PubMed

Clark, A M

1998-06-01

Critiques of logical positivism form the foundation for a significant number of nursing research papers, with the philosophy being inappropriately deemed synonymous with empirical method. Frequently, proposing an alternative method to those identified with the quantitative paradigm, these critiques are based on a poor foundation. This paper highlights an alternative philosophy to positivism which can also underpin empirical inquiry, that of post-positivism. Post-positivism is contrasted with positivism, which is presented as an outmoded and rejected philosophy which should cease to significantly shape inquiry. Though some acknowledgement of post-positivism has occurred in the nursing literature, this has yet to permeate into mainstream nursing research. Many still base their arguments on a positivistic view of science. Through achievement of a better understanding of post-positivism and greater focus on explicating the philosophical assumptions underpinning all research methods, the distinctions that have long been perceived to exist between qualitative and quantitative methodologies can be confined to the past. Rather methods will be selected solely on the nature of research questions.

Inventory on the dietary assessment tools available and needed in africa: a prerequisite for setting up a common methodological research infrastructure for nutritional surveillance, research, and prevention of diet-related non-communicable diseases.

PubMed

Pisa, Pedro T; Landais, Edwige; Margetts, Barrie; Vorster, Hester H; Friedenreich, Christine M; Huybrechts, Inge; Martin-Prevel, Yves; Branca, Francesco; Lee, Warren T K; Leclercq, Catherine; Jerling, Johann; Zotor, Francis; Amuna, Paul; Al Jawaldeh, Ayoub; Aderibigbe, Olaide Ruth; Amoussa, Waliou Hounkpatin; Anderson, Cheryl A M; Aounallah-Skhiri, Hajer; Atek, Madjid; Benhura, Chakare; Chifamba, Jephat; Covic, Namukolo; Dary, Omar; Delisle, Hélène; El Ati, Jalila; El Hamdouchi, Asmaa; El Rhazi, Karima; Faber, Mieke; Kalimbira, Alexander; Korkalo, Liisa; Kruger, Annamarie; Ledo, James; Machiweni, Tatenda; Mahachi, Carol; Mathe, Nonsikelelo; Mokori, Alex; Mouquet-Rivier, Claire; Mutie, Catherine; Nashandi, Hilde Liisa; Norris, Shane A; Onabanjo, Oluseye Olusegun; Rambeloson, Zo; Saha, Foudjo Brice U; Ubaoji, Kingsley Ikechukwu; Zaghloul, Sahar; Slimani, Nadia

2018-01-02

To carry out an inventory on the availability, challenges, and needs of dietary assessment (DA) methods in Africa as a pre-requisite to provide evidence, and set directions (strategies) for implementing common dietary methods and support web-research infrastructure across countries. The inventory was performed within the framework of the "Africa's Study on Physical Activity and Dietary Assessment Methods" (AS-PADAM) project. It involves international institutional and African networks. An inventory questionnaire was developed and disseminated through the networks. Eighteen countries responded to the dietary inventory questionnaire. Various DA tools were reported in Africa; 24-Hour Dietary Recall and Food Frequency Questionnaire were the most commonly used tools. Few tools were validated and tested for reliability. Face-to-face interview was the common method of administration. No computerized software or other new (web) technologies were reported. No tools were standardized across countries. The lack of comparable DA methods across represented countries is a major obstacle to implement comprehensive and joint nutrition-related programmes for surveillance, programme evaluation, research, and prevention. There is a need to develop new or adapt existing DA methods across countries by employing related research infrastructure that has been validated and standardized in other settings, with the view to standardizing methods for wider use.

Usual and Unusual Care: Existing Practice Control Groups In Randomized Controlled Trials of Behavioral Interventions

PubMed Central

Freedland, Kenneth E.; Mohr, David C.; Davidson, Karina W.; Schwartz, Joseph E.

2011-01-01

Objective To examine the use of existing practice control groups in randomized controlled trials of behavioral interventions, and the role of extrinsic healthcare services in the design and conduct of behavioral trials. Method Selective qualitative review. Results Extrinsic healthcare services, also known as nonstudy care, have important but under-recognized effects on the design and conduct of behavioral trials. Usual care, treatment as usual, standard of care, and other existing practice control groups pose a variety of methodological and ethical challenges, but they play a vital role in behavioral intervention research. Conclusion This review highlights the need for a scientific consensus statement on control groups in behavioral trials. PMID:21536837

Reviewing the Connection between Paradigms and Theories to Understand Adolescent Drug Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Trenette T.

2010-01-01

Approaches to studying social phenomenon are fundamentally based upon personal beliefs about the nature of knowledge, reality, and order. Scholars, researchers, and practitioners can benefit from utilizing a coherent method that organizes the wide array of perspectives that exist and the theories, practice, prevention interventions, and policies…

The Impact of Feedback as Formative Assessment on Student Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owen, Leanne

2016-01-01

This article provides an evaluation of the redesign of a research methods course intended to enhance students' learning for understanding and transfer. Drawing on principles of formative assessment from the existing academic literature, the instructor introduced a number of increasingly complex low-stakes assignments for students to complete prior…

Teacher Burnout: A Laughing Matter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKenzie, Kemberly Elaine

2009-01-01

This study employed a quantitative research method and examined the relationship among teacher burnout, job-related stress and humor coping styles in 306 high school teachers from the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. In particular, this study sought to determine if a relationship existed among the three variables by examining if teacher burnout…

Creative Retirement: Survey of Older Adults' Educational Interests and Motivations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sloane-Seale, Atlanta; Kops, Bill

2004-01-01

The University of Manitoba's Continuing Education Division (CED) and Creative Retirement Manitoba (CRM) formed a partnership to promote applied research on lifelong learning and older adults, to develop new and to complement existing educational activities, and to explore new program models and instructional methods to meet the educational needs…

Food-Based Science Curriculum Yields Gains in Nutrition Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carraway-Stage, Virginia; Hovland, Jana; Showers, Carissa; Díaz, Sebastián; Duffrin, Melani W.

2015-01-01

Background: Students may be receiving less than an average of 4?hours of nutrition instruction per year. Integrating nutrition with other subject areas such as science may increase exposure to nutrition education, while supporting existing academics. Methods: During the 2009-2010 school year, researchers implemented the Food, Math, and Science…

Developing a Vocational Index for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Julie Lounds; Seltzer, Marsha Mailick

2012-01-01

Existing methods of indexing the vocational activities of adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have made significant contributions to research. Nonetheless, they are limited by problems with sensitivity and reliability. We developed an index of vocational and educational outcomes that captures the full range of activities experienced by…

Exergame Apps and Physical Activity: The Results of the ZOMBIE Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cowdery, Joan; Majeske, Paul; Frank, Rebecca; Brown, Devin

2015-01-01

Background: Although there are thousands of health and fitness smartphone apps currently available, little research exists regarding the effects of mobile app technology on physical activity behavior. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test whether Exergame smartphone applications increase physical activity levels. Methods: This was a…

Defining Learning Disability: Does IQ Have Anything Significant to Say?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunn, Michael W.

2010-01-01

A debate exists in the research community about replacing the traditional IQ/achievement discrepancy method for learning disability identification with a "response-to-intervention model". This new assessment paradigm uses a student's level of improvement with small-group or individual programming to determine a possible need for…

Adapting Training to Meet the Preferred Learning Styles of Different Generations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Urick, Michael

2017-01-01

This article considers how training professionals can respond to differences in training preferences between generational groups. It adopts two methods. First, it surveys the existing research and finds generally that preferences for training approaches can differ between groups and specifically that younger employees are perceived to leverage…

Evidence-Based Clinical Voice Assessment: A Systematic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Nelson; Barkmeier-Kraemer, Julie; Eadie, Tanya; Sivasankar, M. Preeti; Mehta, Daryush; Paul, Diane; Hillman, Robert

2013-01-01

Purpose: To determine what research evidence exists to support the use of voice measures in the clinical assessment of patients with voice disorders. Method: The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) National Center for Evidence-Based Practice in Communication Disorders staff searched 29 databases for peer-reviewed English-language…

Using Qualitative Methods for Revising Items in the Hispanic Stress Inventory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cervantes, Richard C.; Goldbach, Jeremy T.; Padilla, Amado M.

2012-01-01

Despite progress in the development of measures to assess psychosocial stress experiences in the general population, a lack of culturally informed assessment instruments exist to enable clinicians and researchers to detect and accurately diagnosis mental health concerns among Hispanics. The Hispanic Stress Inventory (HSI) was developed…

Courseware Authoring and Delivering System for Chinese Language Instruction. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mao, Tang

A study investigated technical methods for simplifying and improving the creation of software for teaching uncommonly taught languages such as Chinese. Research consisted of assessment of existing authoring systems, domestic and overseas, available hardware, peripherals, and software packages that could be integrated into this project. Then some…

Understanding RTI in Mathematics: Proven Methods and Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gersten, Russell, Ed.; Newman-Gonchar, Rebecca, Ed.

2011-01-01

Edited by National Math Panel veteran Russell Gersten with contributions by all of the country's leading researchers on RTI and math, this cutting-edge text blends the existing evidence base with practical guidelines for RTI implementation. Current and future RTI coordinators, curriculum developers, math specialists, and department heads will get…

Emerging Tools to Estimate and to Predict Exposures to Chemicals

EPA Science Inventory

The timely assessment of the human and ecological risk posed by thousands of existing and emerging commercial chemicals is a critical challenge facing EPA in its mission to protect public health and the environment The US EPA has been conducting research to enhance methods used t...

Teachers' Views of Their Assessment Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atjonen, Päivi

2014-01-01

The main aim of this research was to analyse teachers' views of pupil assessment. The theoretical framework was based on existing literature on advances and challenges of pupil assessment in regard to support for learning, fairness, educational partnership, feedback, and favourable methods. The data were gathered by means of a questionnaire…

Thinking Relationally about Studying "Up"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stich, Amy E.; Colyar, Julia E.

2015-01-01

In this paper, the authors argue that despite a resurgence of elite studies, the majority of existing scholarship works to reify and legitimize social inequality through its language and method. In particular, the authors utilize Pierre Bourdieu's concept of relational thinking to review and critique contemporary research on elite education and…

Cultural Adaptation for Therapy with American Indians and Alaska Natives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, Jacqueline S.; Rose, WanmdiWi J.

2012-01-01

Most indigenous approaches for any interpersonal interaction begin with the relationship, knowing a person, developing trust, and respect for the individual that fits well with Western interpersonal approaches. Unfortunately, there exists no Western research to determine the efficacy of this method with indigenous populations. Because of the…

Student Perceptions of University Physical Activity Instruction Courses Taught Utilizing Sport Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohr, Derek J.; Sibley, Benjamin A.; Townsend, J. Scott

2012-01-01

Limited research exists on effective teaching methods in university physical activity instruction (PAI) program courses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate PAI courses taught utilizing a sport education curriculum and instructional model. The Individual Development and Educational Assessment (IDEA) teaching evaluation was administered to…

Measuring School Psychology Trainee Self-Efficacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lockwood, Adam B.; Mcclure, John; Sealander, Karen; Baker, Courtney N.

2017-01-01

There is an ever-increasing need for school psychology training programs to demonstrate their ability to produce competent practitioners. One method of addressing this need is through the assessment of self-efficacy. However, little research on self-efficacy in school psychology exists likely due to the lack of a psychometrically sound measure of…

Methodological Gravitism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zaman, Muhammad

2011-01-01

In this paper the author presents the case of the exchange marriage system to delineate a model of methodological gravitism. Such a model is not a deviation from or alteration to the existing qualitative research approaches. I have adopted culturally specific methodology to investigate spouse selection in line with the Grounded Theory Method. This…

Resource Utilisation and Curriculum Implementation in Community Colleges in Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kigwilu, Peter Changilwa; Akala, Winston Jumba

2017-01-01

The study investigated how Catholic-sponsored community colleges in Nairobi utilise the existing physical facilities and teaching and learning resources for effective implementation of Artisan and Craft curricula. The study adopted a mixed methods research design. Proportional stratified random sampling was used to sample 172 students and 18…

The Power of Movement: Body-Engaging Activities for Teaching Economics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roncolato, Leanne; Koh, Cairynne

2017-01-01

Existing research points to the critical connection between student engagement and deep learning. This paper explores body engagement as one type of student centered learning. While other disciplines are making progress in developing body-engaging pedagogical methods as a complement to traditional lectures, the use of such innovations in…

Applications of statistical physics methods in economics: Current state and perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lux, Thomas

2016-12-01

This note discusses the development of applications of statistical physics to economics since the beginning of the `econophysics' movement about twenty years ago. I attempt to assess which of these applications appear particularly valuable and successful, and where important overlaps exist between research conducted by economist and `econophysicists'.

A Multidisciplinary Osteoporosis Service-Based Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitehead, Dean; Keast, John; Montgomery, Val; Hayman, Sue

2004-01-01

Objective: To investigate an existing Trust-based osteoporosis service's preventative activity, determine any issues and problems and use this data to reorganise the service, as part of a National Health Service Executive/Regional Office-commissioned and funded study. Setting: A UK Hospital Trust's Osteoporosis Service. Design & Method: A…

Discovering Entrepreneurship: An Exploration of a Tripartite Approach to Developing Entrepreneurial Capacities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Lorna A.; Smith, Alison J.; Hannon, Paul D.

2006-01-01

Purpose: To describe an exploration in the use of synergistic learning methods in the delivery of an innovative pilot programme designed to teach entrepreneurship capacities. The programme took a tripartite approach involving nascent entrepreneurs, existing entrepreneurs and facilitators using an action research and action learning approach.…

The Impact of Noninvariant Intercepts in Latent Means Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whittaker, Tiffany A.

2013-01-01

Latent means methods such as multiple-indicator multiple-cause (MIMIC) and structured means modeling (SMM) allow researchers to determine whether or not a significant difference exists between groups' factor means. Strong invariance is typically recommended when interpreting latent mean differences. The extent of the impact of noninvariant…

eLearning: Is There a Place in Athletic Training Education?

PubMed Central

Wright, Kenneth E.; Stewart, Jeffrey; Wright, Vivian H.; Barker, Scott

2002-01-01

Objective: To provide an overview of current issue and research literature that discusses the use of eLearning in an academic curriculum. We address several components to be examined before eLearning is incorporated into athletic training education. Data Sources: We searched MEDLINE and Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) from 2000 through 2002 using the key words distance education, online learning, and the individual research studies referenced in this article. Data Synthesis: Educational research studies have confirmed that multiple methods in instruction delivery exist. Within the changing culture of higher education, the use of effective communication tools has been shown to increase student knowledge and skills. Through eLearning, methods of instruction design are designed to be student centered and allow the educator to become a facilitator. Conclusions/Recommendations: Even though the use of eLearning faces many challenges in athletic training education, the research literature does support this method of instructional delivery in selected courses in athletic training education. PMID:12937546

eLearning: Is There a Place in Athletic Training Education?

PubMed

Wright, Kenneth E; Stewart, Jeffrey; Wright, Vivian H; Barker, Scott

2002-12-01

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of current issue and research literature that discusses the use of eLearning in an academic curriculum. We address several components to be examined before eLearning is incorporated into athletic training education. DATA SOURCES: We searched MEDLINE and Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) from 2000 through 2002 using the key words distance education, online learning, and the individual research studies referenced in this article. DATA SYNTHESIS: Educational research studies have confirmed that multiple methods in instruction delivery exist. Within the changing culture of higher education, the use of effective communication tools has been shown to increase student knowledge and skills. Through eLearning, methods of instruction design are designed to be student centered and allow the educator to become a facilitator. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS: Even though the use of eLearning faces many challenges in athletic training education, the research literature does support this method of instructional delivery in selected courses in athletic training education.

Using videoed workshops in interdisciplinary research with people who have disabilities.

PubMed

Timmins, Fiona; O'rourke, Pearl; Bagnasco, Annamaria; Timmins, Bernard; Ekins, Ray; Long, Siobhan; Aleo, Giuseppe; Sasso, Loredana

2017-09-19

Internationally, interdisciplinary research is advocated in healthcare. Such research receives great respect, particularly from funding bodies, which expect innovations in healthcare to emerge from a whole team rather than a single discipline. However, little guidance exists about the process and structures for such research. To explore and explain the use of videoed workshops and mixed-media artefacts to collect data, and explore the benefits and challenges for interdisciplinary healthcare research. sources Videoed workshops were used to ascertain the preferences of eight people who have disabilities concerning assistive technology. These workshops are used to demonstrate the method's benefits and related challenges for interdisciplinary healthcare research. This method of collecting data has important potential benefits for healthcare research. Future research in healthcare must not only be interdisciplinary, it should also involve a range of research designs that are adaptive and responsive to service users' needs and use innovative methods of collecting data. The use of video and photography in interdisciplinary research for healthcare technology is an exciting possibility, but it poses ethical and practical considerations. Videos and photography area a useful aid in interdisciplinary research and can be a valuable means of non-verbal data collection, especially with participants affected by disabilities, and can support research methods, such as the use of questionnaires. ©2012 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

Sandia Higher Order Elements (SHOE) v 0.5 alpha

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2013-09-24

SHOE is research code for characterizing and visualizing higher-order finite elements; it contains a framework for defining classes of interpolation techniques and element shapes; methods for interpolating triangular, quadrilateral, tetrahedral, and hexahedral cells using Lagrange and Legendre polynomial bases of arbitrary order; methods to decompose each element into domains of constant gradient flow (using a polynomial solver to identify critical points); and an isocontouring technique that uses this decomposition to guarantee topological correctness. Please note that this is an alpha release of research software and that some time has passed since it was actively developed; build- and run-time issues likelymore » exist.« less

The Abbreviation of Personality, or how to Measure 200 Personality Scales with 200 Items

PubMed Central

Yarkoni, Tal

2010-01-01

Personality researchers have recently advocated the use of very short personality inventories in order to minimize administration time. However, few such inventories are currently available. Here I introduce an automated method that can be used to abbreviate virtually any personality inventory with minimal effort. After validating the method against existing measures in Studies 1 and 2, a new 181-item inventory is generated in Study 3 that accurately recaptures scores on 8 different broadband inventories comprising 203 distinct scales. Collectively, the results validate a powerful new way to improve the efficiency of personality measurement in research settings. PMID:20419061

Assessing culture via the Internet: methods and techniques for psychological research.

PubMed

Barry, D T

2001-02-01

This study examines the acculturation experiences of Arabic immigrants and assesses the utility of the Internet as a data collection tool. Based on in-depth pilot interview data from 10 male Arabic immigrants and items selected from pre-existing measures, the Male Arabic Ethnic Identity Measure (MAEIM) was developed. Male Arab immigrants (115 males) were solicited through traditional methods in addition to the Internet. Satisfactory reliability and validity were reported for the MAEIM. No significant differences emerged between the Internet and Midwestern samples. The Internet proved to be an effective method for soliciting a relatively large, geographically dispersed sample of Arabic immigrants. The use of the Internet as a research tool is examined in the context of anonymity, networking, low-cost, perceived interactive control, methodological rigor, and external validity. The Internet was an effective vehicle for addressing concerns raised by prospective participants. It is suggested that the Internet may be an important method to assess culture-relevant variables in further research on Arab and other immigrant populations.

The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Life and Longevity After Cancer (LILAC) Study: Description and Baseline Characteristics of Participants.

PubMed

Paskett, Electra D; Caan, Bette J; Johnson, Lisa; Bernardo, Brittany M; Young, Gregory S; Pennell, Michael L; Ray, Roberta M; Kroenke, Candyce H; Porter, Peggy L; Anderson, Garnet L

2018-02-01

Background: The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Life and Longevity After Cancer (LILAC) study offers an important opportunity to advance cancer research by extending the original WHI studies to examine survivorship in women diagnosed with cancer during their participation in WHI. Methods: The goals of LILAC are to (i) obtain cancer treatment information and long-term cancer outcomes for women diagnosed with one of eight selected cancers (breast, endometrial, ovarian, lung, and colorectal cancers, and melanoma, lymphoma, and leukemia); (ii) augment the existing WHI biorepository with fixed tumor tissue from the solid tumor sites for cancers diagnosed since 2002; and (iii) develop, refine, and validate methods to use administrative data to capture treatment and recurrence data. Methods for accomplishing these goals are described, as are results from the initial LILAC participant survey. Results: A total of 9,934 WHI participants living with cancer were eligible for LILAC participation, of which 78% ( N = 7,760) agreed to participate. Among the three most prevalent cancer types, 54% are breast cancer survivors, 11% are melanoma survivors, and 10% are survivors of colorectal cancer. Conclusions: In addition to describing this resource, we present pertinent lessons that may assist other investigators interested in embedding survivorship research into existing large epidemiologic cohorts. Impact: The LILAC resource offers a valuable opportunity for researchers to study cancer survivorship and issues pertinent to cancer survivors in future studies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 27(2); 125-37. ©2017 AACR . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

Best practices for community-engaged participatory research with Pacific Islander communities in the USA and USAPI: protocol for a scoping review

PubMed Central

McElfish, Pearl Anna; Ayers, Britni L; Purvis, Rachel S; Sinclair, Ka’imi; Esquivel, Monica; Steelman, Susan C

2018-01-01

Introduction Community-based participatory research is a partnership approach to research that seeks to equally involve community members, organisational representatives and academic partners throughout the research process in a coequal and mutually beneficial partnership. To date, no published article has synthesised the best practices for community-based participatory research practices with Pacific Islanders. Methods and analysis The reviewers will examine studies’ titles, abstracts and full text, comparing eligibility to address discrepancies. For each eligible study, data extraction will be executed by two reviewers and one confirmation coder, comparing extracted data to address any discrepancies. Eligible data will be synthesised and reported in a narrative review assessing coverage and gaps in existing literature related to community-based participatory research with Pacific Islanders. Discussion and dissemination The purpose of this review is to identify best practices used when conducting community-based participatory research with Pacific Islanders; it will also extrapolate where the gaps are in the existing literature. This will be the first scoping review on community-based participatory research with Pacific Islanders. To facilitate dissemination, the results of this scoping review will be submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed journal, presented at conferences and shared with community-based participatory research stakeholders. PMID:29371285

Investigation of the Utilization of Modern Industrial Methods, Processes, Ergonomics, and the Internet in the Scientific Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myer, Spencer S., Jr.

2005-01-01

On Oct. 1, 2001 Cleveland State University and NASA Glenn Research Center embarked on the above named cooperative agreement. Because NASA's research facilities often exhibit instances where the failure to use state-of-the-art technologies and methods to improve on outmoded systems of interface and control, and this runs contrary to the NASA philosophy of "faster, better, and cheaper", it was deemed an ideal opportunity for this collaboration. The main objectives of the proposed effort were to research and investigate the use of the latest technologies, methods, techniques, etc. which pertain to control and interface with industrial and research systems and facilities. The work was done in large part at NASA Glenn Research Center, using selected research facilities as real-world laboratories; such as certain Microgravity Science Division and Space Station projects. Microgravity Science Division at Glenn Research Center designs and builds experiments to be flown on the Space Shuttle and eventually on the International Space Station. Economy of space, weight, complexity, data storage, ergonomics, and many other factors present problems that also exist in industry. Many of the solutions can come from the same areas of study mentioned above.

Probabilistic Determination of Green Infrastructure Pollutant Removal Rates from the International Stormwater BMP Database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilliom, R.; Hogue, T. S.; McCray, J. E.

2017-12-01

There is a need for improved parameterization of stormwater best management practices (BMP) performance estimates to improve modeling of urban hydrology, planning and design of green infrastructure projects, and water quality crediting for stormwater management. Percent removal is commonly used to estimate BMP pollutant removal efficiency, but there is general agreement that this approach has significant uncertainties and is easily affected by site-specific factors. Additionally, some fraction of monitored BMPs have negative percent removal, so it is important to understand the probability that a BMP will provide the desired water quality function versus exacerbating water quality problems. The widely used k-C* equation has shown to provide a more adaptable and accurate method to model BMP contaminant attenuation, and previous work has begun to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the k-C* method. However, no systematic method exists for obtaining first-order removal rate constants needed to use the k-C* equation for stormwater BMPs; thus there is minimal application of the method. The current research analyzes existing water quality data in the International Stormwater BMP Database to provide screening-level parameterization of the k-C* equation for selected BMP types and analysis of factors that skew the distribution of efficiency estimates from the database. Results illustrate that while certain BMPs are more likely to provide desired contaminant removal than others, site- and design-specific factors strongly influence performance. For example, bioretention systems show both the highest and lowest removal rates of dissolved copper, total phosphorous, and total nitrogen. Exploration and discussion of this and other findings will inform the application of the probabilistic pollutant removal rate constants. Though data limitations exist, this research will facilitate improved accuracy of BMP modeling and ultimately aid decision-making for stormwater quality management in urban systems.

Infusing culture into oncology research on quality of life.

PubMed

Ashing-Giwa, Kimlin; Kagawa-Singer, Marjorie

2006-01-01

To review the literature relevant to understanding culturally informed oncology research, particularly as it relates to health-related quality of life. Published articles and books. A cultural perspective to the prevailing theory and research methods used in oncology research with respect to quality of life is imperative. A multidimensional and practical framework can be applied to increase cultural competence in research by addressing the purpose of the research, theoretical framework, and methodologic approaches. Culturally competent, multicultural research will help the scientific community better comprehend disparities that exist in health-related quality of life so that benefits can be experienced by all patients. Nursing practice and research must continue its leadership role to infuse cultural competence and reduce disparities in the healthcare system.

A review on classification methods for solving fully fuzzy linear systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daud, Wan Suhana Wan; Ahmad, Nazihah; Aziz, Khairu Azlan Abd

2015-12-01

Fully Fuzzy Linear System (FFLS) exists when there are fuzzy numbers on both sides of the linear systems. This system is quite significant today since most of the linear systems play with uncertainties of parameters especially in mathematics, engineering and finance. Many researchers and practitioners used the FFLS to model their problem and they apply various methods to solve it. In this paper, we present the outcome of a comprehensive review that we have done on various methods used for solving the FFLS. We classify our findings based on parameters' type used for the FFLS either restricted or unrestricted. We also discuss some of the methods by illustrating numerical examples and identify the differences between the methods. Ultimately, we summarize all findings in a table. We hope this study will encourage researchers to appreciate the use of this method and with that it will be easier for them to choose the right method or to propose any new method for solving the FFLS.

Analytical evaluation of current starch methods used in the international sugar industry: Part I.

PubMed

Cole, Marsha; Eggleston, Gillian; Triplett, Alexa

2017-08-01

Several analytical starch methods exist in the international sugar industry to mitigate starch-related processing challenges and assess the quality of traded end-products. These methods use iodometric chemistry, mostly potato starch standards, and utilize similar solubilization strategies, but had not been comprehensively compared. In this study, industrial starch methods were compared to the USDA Starch Research method using simulated raw sugars. Type of starch standard, solubilization approach, iodometric reagents, and wavelength detection affected total starch determination in simulated raw sugars. Simulated sugars containing potato starch were more accurately detected by the industrial methods, whereas those containing corn starch, a better model for sugarcane starch, were only accurately measured by the USDA Starch Research method. Use of a potato starch standard curve over-estimated starch concentrations. Among the variables studied, starch standard, solubilization approach, and wavelength detection affected the sensitivity, accuracy/precision, and limited the detection/quantification of the current industry starch methods the most. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

An Empirical Comparison of Methods for Equating with Randomly Equivalent Groups of 50 to 400 Test Takers. Research Report. ETS RR-10-05

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Livingston, Samuel A.; Kim, Sooyeon

2010-01-01

A series of resampling studies investigated the accuracy of equating by four different methods in a random groups equating design with samples of 400, 200, 100, and 50 test takers taking each form. Six pairs of forms were constructed. Each pair was constructed by assigning items from an existing test taken by 9,000 or more test takers. The…

Application of Density Estimation Methods to Datasets from a Glider

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-30

humpback and sperm whales as well as different dolphin species. OBJECTIVES The objective of this research is to extend existing methods for cetacean...than 1500 m. Such deep waters are known to be good habitats for species such as sperm and beaked whales. The acoustic data is currently being...analyzed for the presence of marine mammal calls. Preliminary results indicate the presence of sperm whale echolocalation clicks (Figs. 4 and 5). Overall

Application of Density Estimation Methods to Datasets from a Glider

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-30

sperm whales as well as different dolphin species. OBJECTIVES The objective of this research is to extend existing methods for cetacean...Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions...a cue counting approach, where a cue has been defined as a clicking event (Küsel et al., 2011), to density estimation from data recorded by single

Worked examples of alternative methods for the synthesis of qualitative and quantitative research in systematic reviews.

PubMed

Lucas, Patricia J; Baird, Janis; Arai, Lisa; Law, Catherine; Roberts, Helen M

2007-01-15

The inclusion of qualitative studies in systematic reviews poses methodological challenges. This paper presents worked examples of two methods of data synthesis (textual narrative and thematic), used in relation to one review, with the aim of enabling researchers to consider the strength of different approaches. A systematic review of lay perspectives of infant size and growth was conducted, locating 19 studies (including both qualitative and quantitative). The data extracted from these were synthesised using both a textual narrative and a thematic synthesis. The processes of both methods are presented, showing a stepwise progression to the final synthesis. Both methods led us to similar conclusions about lay views toward infant size and growth. Differences between methods lie in the way they dealt with study quality and heterogeneity. On the basis of the work reported here, we consider textual narrative and thematic synthesis have strengths and weaknesses in relation to different research questions. Thematic synthesis holds most potential for hypothesis generation, but may obscure heterogeneity and quality appraisal. Textual narrative synthesis is better able to describe the scope of existing research and account for the strength of evidence, but is less good at identifying commonality.

Using beta coefficients to impute missing correlations in meta-analysis research: Reasons for caution.

PubMed

Roth, Philip L; Le, Huy; Oh, In-Sue; Van Iddekinge, Chad H; Bobko, Philip

2018-06-01

Meta-analysis has become a well-accepted method for synthesizing empirical research about a given phenomenon. Many meta-analyses focus on synthesizing correlations across primary studies, but some primary studies do not report correlations. Peterson and Brown (2005) suggested that researchers could use standardized regression weights (i.e., beta coefficients) to impute missing correlations. Indeed, their beta estimation procedures (BEPs) have been used in meta-analyses in a wide variety of fields. In this study, the authors evaluated the accuracy of BEPs in meta-analysis. We first examined how use of BEPs might affect results from a published meta-analysis. We then developed a series of Monte Carlo simulations that systematically compared the use of existing correlations (that were not missing) to data sets that incorporated BEPs (that impute missing correlations from corresponding beta coefficients). These simulations estimated ρ̄ (mean population correlation) and SDρ (true standard deviation) across a variety of meta-analytic conditions. Results from both the existing meta-analysis and the Monte Carlo simulations revealed that BEPs were associated with potentially large biases when estimating ρ̄ and even larger biases when estimating SDρ. Using only existing correlations often substantially outperformed use of BEPs and virtually never performed worse than BEPs. Overall, the authors urge a return to the standard practice of using only existing correlations in meta-analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

The quest for tissue stem cells in the pancreas and other organs, and their application in beta-cell replacement.

PubMed

Houbracken, Isabelle; Bouwens, Luc

2010-01-01

Adult stem cell research has drawn a lot of attention by many researchers, due to its medical hope of cell replacement or regenerative therapy for diabetes patients. Despite the many research efforts to date, there is no consensus on the existence of stem cells in adult pancreas. Genetic lineage tracing experiments have put into serious doubt whether β-cell neogenesis from stem/progenitor cells takes place postnatally. Different in vitro experiments have suggested centroacinar, ductal, acinar, stellate, or yet unidentified clonigenic cells as candidate β-cell progenitors. As in the rest of the adult stem cell field, sound and promising observations have been made. However, these observations still need to be replicated. As an alternative to committed stem/progenitor cells in the pancreas, transdifferentiation or lineage reprogramming of exocrine acinar and endocrine α-cells may be used to generate new β-cells. At present, it is unclear which approach is most medically promising. This article highlights the progress being made in knowledge about tissue stem cells, their existence and availability for therapy in diabetes. Particular attention is given to the assessment of methods to verify the existence of tissue stem cells.

The behavioral ecology of cultural psychological variation.

PubMed

Sng, Oliver; Neuberg, Steven L; Varnum, Michael E W; Kenrick, Douglas T

2018-04-23

Recent work has documented a wide range of important psychological differences across societies. Multiple explanations have been offered for why such differences exist, including historical philosophies, subsistence methods, social mobility, social class, climactic stresses, and religion. With the growing body of theory and data, there is an emerging need for an organizing framework. We propose here that a behavioral ecological perspective, particularly the idea of adaptive phenotypic plasticity, can provide an overarching framework for thinking about psychological variation across cultures and societies. We focus on how societies vary as a function of six important ecological dimensions: density, relatedness, sex ratio, mortality likelihood, resources, and disease. This framework can: (a) highlight new areas of research, (b) integrate and ground existing cultural psychological explanations, (c) integrate research on variation across human societies with research on parallel variations in other animal species, (d) provide a way for thinking about multiple levels of culture and cultural change, and (e) facilitate the creation of an ecological taxonomy of societies, from which one can derive specific predictions about cultural differences and similarities. Finally, we discuss the relationships between the current framework and existing perspectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

An effective pseudospectral method for constraint dynamic optimisation problems with characteristic times

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Long; Liu, Xinggao; Ma, Liang; Zhang, Zeyin

2018-03-01

Dynamic optimisation problem with characteristic times, widely existing in many areas, is one of the frontiers and hotspots of dynamic optimisation researches. This paper considers a class of dynamic optimisation problems with constraints that depend on the interior points either fixed or variable, where a novel direct pseudospectral method using Legendre-Gauss (LG) collocation points for solving these problems is presented. The formula for the state at the terminal time of each subdomain is derived, which results in a linear combination of the state at the LG points in the subdomains so as to avoid the complex nonlinear integral. The sensitivities of the state at the collocation points with respect to the variable characteristic times are derived to improve the efficiency of the method. Three well-known characteristic time dynamic optimisation problems are solved and compared in detail among the reported literature methods. The research results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Construction of the iSTAR international Study of Astronomical Reasoning Database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slater, S. J.; Tatge, C. B.; Slater, T. F.; Bretones, P. S.; Schleigh, S.

2016-12-01

Perhaps more than any other science discipline-based education research field, the scholarly literature base describing and documenting astronomy education research is highly fragmented and widely dispersed across numerous journals. The resulting wide diversity of journals that publish astronomy education research presents an arduous challenge for scholars trying to best understand what work has been done and what work still needs to be done. Moreover, a vast amount of education research on the teaching and learning of astronomy exists in dissertations that were never published and even more exists in the realm of un-disseminated grey literature hosted in conference proceedings and society newsletters going back decades. With a few notable exceptions far less extensive than the current project, there has been no comprehensive repository for cataloging astronomy education research methods and results to date. In response, an international cadre of scholars coordinated by the CAPER Center for Astronomy & Physics Education Research are creating the underlying structure for an online database in order to conduct an international Study of Astronomy Reasoning, iSTAR, project. The online iSTAR database serves as an online host to bring together in one place digital copies of hard to locate journal articles, isolated dissertations and theses, and professional meeting contributions to extend the world's scholars abilities to more easily find and utilize a far broader collection of astronomy education research literature than has been previously available. Works are categorized by research method, nature of study-participants, educational learning venue studied, country and language of the study, and other fruitfully useful categories. Scholars wishing to add their own literature resources are encouraged to contribute to the online database located at istardatabase.org

Statistical Methods Applied to Gamma-ray Spectroscopy Algorithms in Nuclear Security Missions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fagan, Deborah K.; Robinson, Sean M.; Runkle, Robert C.

2012-10-01

In a wide range of nuclear security missions, gamma-ray spectroscopy is a critical research and development priority. One particularly relevant challenge is the interdiction of special nuclear material for which gamma-ray spectroscopy supports the goals of detecting and identifying gamma-ray sources. This manuscript examines the existing set of spectroscopy methods, attempts to categorize them by the statistical methods on which they rely, and identifies methods that have yet to be considered. Our examination shows that current methods effectively estimate the effect of counting uncertainty but in many cases do not address larger sources of decision uncertainty—ones that are significantly moremore » complex. We thus explore the premise that significantly improving algorithm performance requires greater coupling between the problem physics that drives data acquisition and statistical methods that analyze such data. Untapped statistical methods, such as Bayes Modeling Averaging and hierarchical and empirical Bayes methods have the potential to reduce decision uncertainty by more rigorously and comprehensively incorporating all sources of uncertainty. We expect that application of such methods will demonstrate progress in meeting the needs of nuclear security missions by improving on the existing numerical infrastructure for which these analyses have not been conducted.« less

Probabilistic framework for product design optimization and risk management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keski-Rahkonen, J. K.

2018-05-01

Probabilistic methods have gradually gained ground within engineering practices but currently it is still the industry standard to use deterministic safety margin approaches to dimensioning components and qualitative methods to manage product risks. These methods are suitable for baseline design work but quantitative risk management and product reliability optimization require more advanced predictive approaches. Ample research has been published on how to predict failure probabilities for mechanical components and furthermore to optimize reliability through life cycle cost analysis. This paper reviews the literature for existing methods and tries to harness their best features and simplify the process to be applicable in practical engineering work. Recommended process applies Monte Carlo method on top of load-resistance models to estimate failure probabilities. Furthermore, it adds on existing literature by introducing a practical framework to use probabilistic models in quantitative risk management and product life cycle costs optimization. The main focus is on mechanical failure modes due to the well-developed methods used to predict these types of failures. However, the same framework can be applied on any type of failure mode as long as predictive models can be developed.

Assessing consumer responses to potential reduced-exposure tobacco products: a review of tobacco industry and independent research methods.

PubMed

Rees, Vaughan W; Kreslake, Jennifer M; Cummings, K Michael; O'Connor, Richard J; Hatsukami, Dorothy K; Parascandola, Mark; Shields, Peter G; Connolly, Gregory N

2009-12-01

Internal tobacco industry documents and the mainstream literature are reviewed to identify methods and measures for evaluating tobacco consumer response. The review aims to outline areas in which established methods exist, identify gaps in current methods for assessing consumer response, and consider how these methods might be applied to evaluate potentially reduced exposure tobacco products and new products. Internal industry research reviewed included published articles, manuscript drafts, presentations, protocols, and instruments relating to consumer response measures were identified and analyzed. Peer-reviewed research was identified using PubMed and Scopus. Industry research on consumer response focuses on product development and marketing. To develop and refine new products, the tobacco industry has developed notable strategies for assessing consumers' sensory and subjective responses to product design characteristics. Independent research is often conducted to gauge the likelihood of future product adoption by measuring consumers' risk perceptions, responses to product, and product acceptability. A model that conceptualizes consumer response as comprising the separate, but interacting, domains of product perceptions and response to product is outlined. Industry and independent research supports the dual domain model and provides a wide range of methods for assessment of the construct components of consumer response. Further research is needed to validate consumer response constructs, determine the relationship between consumer response and tobacco user behavior, and improve reliability of consumer response measures. Scientifically rigorous consumer response assessment methods will provide a needed empirical basis for future regulation of potentially reduced-exposure tobacco products and new products, to counteract tobacco industry influence on consumers, and enhance the public health.

Developing criteria to establish Trusted Digital Repositories

USGS Publications Warehouse

Faundeen, John L.

2017-01-01

This paper details the drivers, methods, and outcomes of the U.S. Geological Survey’s quest to establish criteria by which to judge its own digital preservation resources as Trusted Digital Repositories. Drivers included recent U.S. legislation focused on data and asset management conducted by federal agencies spending $100M USD or more annually on research activities. The methods entailed seeking existing evaluation criteria from national and international organizations such as International Standards Organization (ISO), U.S. Library of Congress, and Data Seal of Approval upon which to model USGS repository evaluations. Certification, complexity, cost, and usability of existing evaluation models were key considerations. The selected evaluation method was derived to allow the repository evaluation process to be transparent, understandable, and defensible; factors that are critical for judging competing, internal units. Implementing the chosen evaluation criteria involved establishing a cross-agency, multi-disciplinary team that interfaced across the organization. 

Research on Operation Assessment Method for Energy Meter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiangqun; Huang, Rui; Shen, Liman; chen, Hao; Xiong, Dezhi; Xiao, Xiangqi; Liu, Mouhai; Xu, Renheng

2018-03-01

The existing electric energy meter rotation maintenance strategy regularly checks the electric energy meter and evaluates the state. It only considers the influence of time factors, neglects the influence of other factors, leads to the inaccuracy of the evaluation, and causes the waste of resources. In order to evaluate the running state of the electric energy meter in time, a method of the operation evaluation of the electric energy meter is proposed. The method is based on extracting the existing data acquisition system, marketing business system and metrology production scheduling platform that affect the state of energy meters, and classified into error stability, operational reliability, potential risks and other factors according to the influencing factors, based on the above basic test score, inspecting score, monitoring score, score of family defect detection. Then, according to the evaluation model according to the scoring, we evaluate electric energy meter operating state, and finally put forward the corresponding maintenance strategy of rotation.

Height Measuring System On Video Using Otsu Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandy, C. L. M.; Meiyanti, R.

2017-01-01

A measurement of height is comparing the value of the magnitude of an object with a standard measuring tool. The problems that exist in the measurement are still the use of a simple apparatus in which one of them is by using a meter. This method requires a relatively long time. To overcome these problems, this research aims to create software with image processing that is used for the measurement of height. And subsequent that image is tested, where the object captured by the video camera can be known so that the height of the object can be measured using the learning method of Otsu. The system was built using Delphi 7 of Vision Lab VCL 4.5 component. To increase the quality of work of the system in future research, the developed system can be combined with other methods.

Prospects for rebuilding primary care using the patient-centered medical home.

PubMed

Landon, Bruce E; Gill, James M; Antonelli, Richard C; Rich, Eugene C

2010-05-01

Existing research suggests that models of enhanced primary care lead to health care systems with better performance. What the research does not show is whether such an approach is feasible or likely to be effective within the U.S. health care system. Many commentators have adopted the model of the patient-centered medical home as policy shorthand to address the reinvention of primary care in the United States. We analyze potential barriers to implementing the medical home model for policy makers and practitioners. Among others, these include developing new payment models, as well as the need for up-front funding to assemble the personnel and infrastructure required by an enhanced non-visit-based primary care practice and methods to facilitate transformation of existing practices to functioning medical homes.

Analysis of Test Case Computations and Experiments for the First Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuster, David M.; Heeg, Jennifer; Wieseman, Carol D.; Chwalowski, Pawel

2013-01-01

This paper compares computational and experimental data from the Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop (AePW) held in April 2012. This workshop was designed as a series of technical interchange meetings to assess the state of the art of computational methods for predicting unsteady flowfields and static and dynamic aeroelastic response. The goals are to provide an impartial forum to evaluate the effectiveness of existing computer codes and modeling techniques to simulate aeroelastic problems and to identify computational and experimental areas needing additional research and development. Three subject configurations were chosen from existing wind-tunnel data sets where there is pertinent experimental data available for comparison. Participant researchers analyzed one or more of the subject configurations, and results from all of these computations were compared at the workshop.

Operations research applications in nuclear energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Benjamin Lloyd

This dissertation consists of three papers; the first is published in Annals of Operations Research, the second is nearing submission to INFORMS Journal on Computing, and the third is the predecessor of a paper nearing submission to Progress in Nuclear Energy. We apply operations research techniques to nuclear waste disposal and nuclear safeguards. Although these fields are different, they allow us to showcase some benefits of using operations research techniques to enhance nuclear energy applications. The first paper, "Optimizing High-Level Nuclear Waste Disposal within a Deep Geologic Repository," presents a mixed-integer programming model that determines where to place high-level nuclear waste packages in a deep geologic repository to minimize heat load concentration. We develop a heuristic that increases the size of solvable model instances. The second paper, "Optimally Configuring a Measurement System to Detect Diversions from a Nuclear Fuel Cycle," introduces a simulation-optimization algorithm and an integer-programming model to find the best, or near-best, resource-limited nuclear fuel cycle measurement system with a high degree of confidence. Given location-dependent measurement method precisions, we (i) optimize the configuration of n methods at n locations of a hypothetical nuclear fuel cycle facility, (ii) find the most important location at which to improve method precision, and (iii) determine the effect of measurement frequency on near-optimal configurations and objective values. Our results correspond to existing outcomes but we obtain them at least an order of magnitude faster. The third paper, "Optimizing Nuclear Material Control and Accountability Measurement Systems," extends the integer program from the second paper to locate measurement methods in a larger, hypothetical nuclear fuel cycle scenario given fixed purchase and utilization budgets. This paper also presents two mixed-integer quadratic programming models to increase the precision of existing methods given a fixed improvement budget and to reduce the measurement uncertainty in the system while limiting improvement costs. We quickly obtain similar or better solutions compared to several intuitive analyses that take much longer to perform.

Trafficking and Health: A Systematic Review of Research Methods.

PubMed

Cannon, Abby C; Arcara, Jennet; Graham, Laurie M; Macy, Rebecca J

2018-04-01

Trafficking in persons (TIP) is a human rights violation with serious public health consequences. Unfortunately, assessing TIP and its health sequelae rigorously and reliably is challenging due to TIP's clandestine nature, variation in definitions of TIP, and the need to use research methods that ensure studies are ethical and feasible. To help guide practice, policy, and research to assess TIP and health, we undertook a systematic literature review of 70 peer-reviewed, published articles to (a) identify TIP and health research methods being used, (b) determine what we can learn about TIP and health from these varied methodologies, and (c) determine the gaps that exist in health-focused TIP research. Results revealed that there are various quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods being used to investigate TIP and health. Furthermore, findings show that the limitations of current methodologies affect what is known about TIP and health. In particular, varying definitions, participant recruitment strategies, ethical standards, and outcome measures all affect what is known about TIP and health. Moreover, findings demonstrate an urgent need for representative and nonpurposive recruitment strategies in future investigations of TIP and health as well as research on risk and protective factors related to TIP and health, intervention effectiveness, long-term health outcomes, and research on trafficked people beyond women trafficked for sex. We offer recommendations for research, policy, and practice based on review results.

Research on Energy-saving Shape Design of High School Library Building in Cold Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hui, Zhao; Weishuang, Xie; Zirui, Tong

2017-11-01

Considering climatic characteristics in cold region, existing high school libraries in Changchun are researched according to investigation of real conditions of these library buildings. Mathematical analysis and CAD methods are used to summarize the relation between building shape and building energy saving of high school library. Strategies are put forward for sustainable development of high school library building in cold region, providing reliable design basis for construction of high school libraries in Changchun.

Beyond Traditional Advertisements: Leveraging Facebook’s Social Structures for Research Recruitment

PubMed Central

Guterbock, Thomas M; Thompson, Morgan J; Reilly, Jeremiah D; Menefee, Hannah K; Bennici, Maria S; Williams, Ishan C; Rexrode, Deborah L

2014-01-01

Background Obtaining access to a demographically and geographically diverse sample for health-related research can be costly and time consuming. Previous studies have reported mixed results regarding the potential of using social media-based advertisements to overcome these challenges. Objective Our aim was to develop and assess the feasibility, benefits, and challenges of recruiting for research studies related to consumer health information technology (IT) by leveraging the social structures embedded in the social networking platform, Facebook. Methods Two recruitment strategies that involved direct communication with existing Facebook groups and pages were developed and implemented in two distinct populations. The first recruitment strategy involved posting a survey link directly to consenting groups and pages and was used to recruit Filipino-Americans to a study assessing the perceptions, use of, and preferences for consumer health IT. This study took place between August and December 2013. The second recruitment strategy targeted individuals with type 2 diabetes and involved creating a study-related Facebook group and asking administrators of other groups and pages to publicize our group to their members. Group members were then directly invited to participate in an online pre-study survey. This portion of a larger study to understand existing health management practices as a foundation for consumer health IT design took place between May and June 2014. In executing both recruitment strategies, efforts were made to establish trust and transparency. Recruitment rate, cost, content of interaction, and characteristics of the sample obtained were used to assess the recruitment methods. Results The two recruitment methods yielded 87 and 79 complete responses, respectively. The first recruitment method yielded a rate of study completion proportionate to that of the rate of posts made, whereas recruitment successes of the second recruitment method seemed to follow directly from the actions of a subset of administrators. Excluding personnel time, the first recruitment method resulted in no direct costs, and the second recruitment method resulted in a total direct cost of US $118.17. Messages, posts, and comments received using both recruitment strategies reflected ten themes, including appreciation, assistance, clarification, concerns, encouragement, health information, interest, promotion, solicitations, and support. Both recruitment methods produced mixed results regarding sample representativeness with respect to characteristics such as gender, race, and ethnicity. Conclusions The results of the study demonstrate that leveraging the social structures of Facebook for health-related research was feasible for obtaining small samples appropriate for qualitative research but not for obtaining large samples needed for quantitative research. The content of interactions with members of the target population prompted ethical deliberations concerning suitable target communities and appropriate boundaries between researchers and participants. Widespread replication of this method would benefit from a broad discussion among researchers, social media users, social media companies, and experts in research ethics to address appropriate protocols for such interactions. PMID:25348050

Inequalities in global health inequalities research: A 50-year bibliometric analysis (1966-2015)

PubMed Central

Pericàs, Juan M.; Benach, Joan

2018-01-01

Background Increasing evidence shows that health inequalities exist between and within countries, and emphasis has been placed on strengthening the production and use of the global health inequalities research, so as to improve capacities to act. Yet, a comprehensive overview of this evidence base is still needed, to determine what is known about the global and historical scientific production on health inequalities to date, how is it distributed in terms of country income groups and world regions, how has it changed over time, and what international collaboration dynamics exist. Methods A comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the global scientific production on health inequalities, from 1966 to 2015, was conducted using Scopus database. The historical and global evolution of the study of health inequalities was considered, and through joinpoint regression analysis and visualisation network maps, the preceding questions were examined. Findings 159 countries (via authorship affiliation) contributed to this scientific production, three times as many countries than previously found. Scientific output on health inequalities has exponentially grown over the last five decades, with several marked shift points, and a visible country-income group affiliation gradient in the initiation and consistent publication frequency. Higher income countries, especially Anglo-Saxon and European countries, disproportionately dominate first and co-authorship, and are at the core of the global collaborative research networks, with the Global South on the periphery. However, several country anomalies exist that suggest that the causes of these research inequalities, and potential underlying dependencies, run deeper than simply differences in country income and language. Conclusions Whilst the global evidence base has expanded, Global North-South research gaps exist, persist and, in some cases, are widening. Greater understanding of the structural determinants of these research inequalities and national research capacities is needed, to further strengthen the evidence base, and support the long term agenda for global health equity. PMID:29385197

A Fresh Start for Flood Estimation in Ungauged Basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woods, R. A.

2017-12-01

The two standard methods for flood estimation in ungauged basins, regression-based statistical models and rainfall-runoff models using a design rainfall event, have survived relatively unchanged as the methods of choice for more than 40 years. Their technical implementation has developed greatly, but the models' representation of hydrological processes has not, despite a large volume of hydrological research. I suggest it is time to introduce more hydrology into flood estimation. The reliability of the current methods can be unsatisfactory. For example, despite the UK's relatively straightforward hydrology, regression estimates of the index flood are uncertain by +/- a factor of two (for a 95% confidence interval), an impractically large uncertainty for design. The standard error of rainfall-runoff model estimates is not usually known, but available assessments indicate poorer reliability than statistical methods. There is a practical need for improved reliability in flood estimation. Two promising candidates to supersede the existing methods are (i) continuous simulation by rainfall-runoff modelling and (ii) event-based derived distribution methods. The main challenge with continuous simulation methods in ungauged basins is to specify the model structure and parameter values, when calibration data are not available. This has been an active area of research for more than a decade, and this activity is likely to continue. The major challenges for the derived distribution method in ungauged catchments include not only the correct specification of model structure and parameter values, but also antecedent conditions (e.g. seasonal soil water balance). However, a much smaller community of researchers are active in developing or applying the derived distribution approach, and as a result slower progress is being made. A change in needed: surely we have learned enough about hydrology in the last 40 years that we can make a practical hydrological advance on our methods for flood estimation! A shift to new methods for flood estimation will not be taken lightly by practitioners. However, the standard for change is clear - can we develop new methods which give significant improvements in reliability over those existing methods which are demonstrably unsatisfactory?

Localizing ECoG electrodes on the cortical anatomy without post-implantation imaging

PubMed Central

Gupta, Disha; Hill, N. Jeremy; Adamo, Matthew A.; Ritaccio, Anthony; Schalk, Gerwin

2014-01-01

Introduction Electrocorticographic (ECoG) grids are placed subdurally on the cortex in people undergoing cortical resection to delineate eloquent cortex. ECoG signals have high spatial and temporal resolution and thus can be valuable for neuroscientific research. The value of these data is highest when they can be related to the cortical anatomy. Existing methods that establish this relationship rely either on post-implantation imaging using computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or X-Rays, or on intra-operative photographs. For research purposes, it is desirable to localize ECoG electrodes on the brain anatomy even when post-operative imaging is not available or when intra-operative photographs do not readily identify anatomical landmarks. Methods We developed a method to co-register ECoG electrodes to the underlying cortical anatomy using only a pre-operative MRI, a clinical neuronavigation device (such as BrainLab VectorVision), and fiducial markers. To validate our technique, we compared our results to data collected from six subjects who also had post-grid implantation imaging available. We compared the electrode coordinates obtained by our fiducial-based method to those obtained using existing methods, which are based on co-registering pre- and post-grid implantation images. Results Our fiducial-based method agreed with the MRI–CT method to within an average of 8.24 mm (mean, median = 7.10 mm) across 6 subjects in 3 dimensions. It showed an average discrepancy of 2.7 mm when compared to the results of the intra-operative photograph method in a 2D coordinate system. As this method does not require post-operative imaging such as CTs, our technique should prove useful for research in intra-operative single-stage surgery scenarios. To demonstrate the use of our method, we applied our method during real-time mapping of eloquent cortex during a single-stage surgery. The results demonstrated that our method can be applied intra-operatively in the absence of post-operative imaging to acquire ECoG signals that can be valuable for neuroscientific investigations. PMID:25379417

Alzheimer disease research in the 21st century: past and current failures, new perspectives and funding priorities.

PubMed

Pistollato, Francesca; Ohayon, Elan L; Lam, Ann; Langley, Gillian R; Novak, Thomas J; Pamies, David; Perry, George; Trushina, Eugenia; Williams, Robin S B; Roher, Alex E; Hartung, Thomas; Harnad, Stevan; Barnard, Neal; Morris, Martha Clare; Lai, Mei-Chun; Merkley, Ryan; Chandrasekera, P Charukeshi

2016-06-28

Much of Alzheimer disease (AD) research has been traditionally based on the use of animals, which have been extensively applied in an effort to both improve our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of the disease and to test novel therapeutic approaches. However, decades of such research have not effectively translated into substantial therapeutic success for human patients. Here we critically discuss these issues in order to determine how existing human-based methods can be applied to study AD pathology and develop novel therapeutics. These methods, which include patient-derived cells, computational analysis and models, together with large-scale epidemiological studies represent novel and exciting tools to enhance and forward AD research. In particular, these methods are helping advance AD research by contributing multifactorial and multidimensional perspectives, especially considering the crucial role played by lifestyle risk factors in the determination of AD risk. In addition to research techniques, we also consider related pitfalls and flaws in the current research funding system. Conversely, we identify encouraging new trends in research and government policy. In light of these new research directions, we provide recommendations regarding prioritization of research funding. The goal of this document is to stimulate scientific and public discussion on the need to explore new avenues in AD research, considering outcome and ethics as core principles to reliably judge traditional research efforts and eventually undertake new research strategies.

Alzheimer disease research in the 21st century: past and current failures, new perspectives and funding priorities

PubMed Central

Pistollato, Francesca; Ohayon, Elan L.; Lam, Ann; Langley, Gillian R.; Novak, Thomas J.; Pamies, David; Perry, George; Trushina, Eugenia; Williams, Robin S.B.; Roher, Alex E.; Hartung, Thomas; Harnad, Stevan; Barnard, Neal; Morris, Martha Clare; Lai, Mei-Chun; Merkley, Ryan; Chandrasekera, P. Charukeshi

2016-01-01

Much of Alzheimer disease (AD) research has been traditionally based on the use of animals, which have been extensively applied in an effort to both improve our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of the disease and to test novel therapeutic approaches. However, decades of such research have not effectively translated into substantial therapeutic success for human patients. Here we critically discuss these issues in order to determine how existing human-based methods can be applied to study AD pathology and develop novel therapeutics. These methods, which include patient-derived cells, computational analysis and models, together with large-scale epidemiological studies represent novel and exciting tools to enhance and forward AD research. In particular, these methods are helping advance AD research by contributing multifactorial and multidimensional perspectives, especially considering the crucial role played by lifestyle risk factors in the determination of AD risk. In addition to research techniques, we also consider related pitfalls and flaws in the current research funding system. Conversely, we identify encouraging new trends in research and government policy. In light of these new research directions, we provide recommendations regarding prioritization of research funding. The goal of this document is to stimulate scientific and public discussion on the need to explore new avenues in AD research, considering outcome and ethics as core principles to reliably judge traditional research efforts and eventually undertake new research strategies. PMID:27229915

Preparing and Presenting Effective Research Posters

PubMed Central

Miller, Jane E

2007-01-01

Objectives Posters are a common way to present results of a statistical analysis, program evaluation, or other project at professional conferences. Often, researchers fail to recognize the unique nature of the format, which is a hybrid of a published paper and an oral presentation. This methods note demonstrates how to design research posters to convey study objectives, methods, findings, and implications effectively to varied professional audiences. Methods A review of existing literature on research communication and poster design is used to identify and demonstrate important considerations for poster content and layout. Guidelines on how to write about statistical methods, results, and statistical significance are illustrated with samples of ineffective writing annotated to point out weaknesses, accompanied by concrete examples and explanations of improved presentation. A comparison of the content and format of papers, speeches, and posters is also provided. Findings Each component of a research poster about a quantitative analysis should be adapted to the audience and format, with complex statistical results translated into simplified charts, tables, and bulleted text to convey findings as part of a clear, focused story line. Conclusions Effective research posters should be designed around two or three key findings with accompanying handouts and narrative description to supply additional technical detail and encourage dialog with poster viewers. PMID:17355594

Principles for building public-private partnerships to benefit food safety, nutrition, and health research

PubMed Central

Rowe, Sylvia; Alexander, Nick; Kretser, Alison; Steele, Robert; Kretsch, Molly; Applebaum, Rhona; Clydesdale, Fergus; Cummins, Deborah; Hentges, Eric; Navia, Juan; Jarvis, Ashley; Falci, Ken

2013-01-01

The present article articulates principles for effective public-private partnerships (PPPs) in scientific research. Recognizing that PPPs represent one approach for creating research collaborations and that there are other methods outside the scope of this article, PPPs can be useful in leveraging diverse expertise among government, academic, and industry researchers to address public health needs and questions concerned with nutrition, health, food science, and food and ingredient safety. A three-step process was used to identify the principles proposed herein: step 1) review of existing PPP guidelines, both in the peer-reviewed literature and at 16 disparate non-industry organizations; step 2) analysis of relevant successful or promising PPPs; and step 3) formal background interviews of 27 experienced, senior-level individuals from academia, government, industry, foundations, and non-governmental organizations. This process resulted in the articulation of 12 potential principles for establishing and managing successful research PPPs. The review of existing guidelines showed that guidelines for research partnerships currently reside largely within institutions rather than in the peer-reviewed literature. This article aims to introduce these principles into the literature to serve as a framework for dialogue and for future PPPs. PMID:24117791

Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Sixth Annual Practice-based Research Network theme issue--They just keep getting better and better.

PubMed

Bowman, Marjorie A; Neale, Anne Victoria

2011-01-01

We have quite a rich issue this month related to practice-based research networks (PBRNs)--reflections on where they have been, where they should go, how they should happen; lessons learned about recruiting physicians and patients and new research methods; and several clinical studies from existing PBRNs. We had an amazing number of manuscripts submitted this year for the PBRN issue; as a result, this is a powerful issue. Some are under revision for future issues of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, just as we have some articles from PBRNs appearing in most issues. PBRNs have deepened the family medicine research tradition. The importance of primary care research to build the evidence base of our clinical practice, plus the useful work building the methods of primary care research, distinguishes the pioneers in PBRNs. PBRNs are Health Improvement Networks and national treasures to be nurtured.

Systemic accident analysis: examining the gap between research and practice.

PubMed

Underwood, Peter; Waterson, Patrick

2013-06-01

The systems approach is arguably the dominant concept within accident analysis research. Viewing accidents as a result of uncontrolled system interactions, it forms the theoretical basis of various systemic accident analysis (SAA) models and methods. Despite the proposed benefits of SAA, such as an improved description of accident causation, evidence within the scientific literature suggests that these techniques are not being used in practice and that a research-practice gap exists. The aim of this study was to explore the issues stemming from research and practice which could hinder the awareness, adoption and usage of SAA. To achieve this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 safety experts from ten countries and a variety of industries, including rail, aviation and maritime. This study suggests that the research-practice gap should be closed and efforts to bridge the gap should focus on ensuring that systemic methods meet the needs of practitioners and improving the communication of SAA research. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Economic Analysis of Nutrition Interventions for Chronic Disease Prevention: Methods, Research, and Policy

PubMed Central

Wong, John B.; Coates, Paul M.; Russell, Robert M.; Dwyer, Johanna T.; Schuttinga, James A.; Bowman, Barbara A.; Peterson, Sarah A.

2011-01-01

Increased interest in the potential societal benefit of incorporating health economics as a part of clinical translational science, particularly nutrition interventions, led the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health to sponsor a conference to address key questions about economic analysis of nutrition interventions to enhance communication among health economic methodologists, researchers, reimbursement policy makers, and regulators. Issues discussed included the state of the science, such as what health economic methods are currently used to judge the burden of illness, interventions, or health care policies, and what new research methodologies are available or needed to address knowledge and methodological gaps or barriers. Research applications included existing evidence-based health economic research activities in nutrition that are ongoing or planned at federal agencies. International and U.S. regulatory, policy and clinical practice perspectives included a discussion of how research results can help regulators and policy makers within government make nutrition policy decisions, and how economics affects clinical guideline development. PMID:21884133

The Profile Quality of Pond In Kendal Regency to Diversification Aquaculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayuniar, Ligar Novi; Hidayat, Jafron Wasiq

2018-02-01

Water quality, particularly coastal areas, is systematically tropogenic. The decline in water quality is caused by industrial waste pollution, soil erosion carried by the river, and the depletion of mangrove areas. The decrease of water quality can affect the fishery cultivation activities that exist in the region. It also affects the quality of the cultivated fish. Fish cultivated in ponds with poor water quality can be harmful to the health of the people who consume the fish. One effort to manage the feasibility of pond waters is by identifying the quality. The purpose of this research is to know the profile of pond water quality and to know the diversity potential of aquaculture. Based on the nature of the problem this research is a field research, while the purpose of this study is descriptive and explanatory research. The method used in this research is research by using survey method. Aquatic profile results are essential to improve the quality and quantity of Fisheries, especially in diversifying fisheries.

caTIES: a grid based system for coding and retrieval of surgical pathology reports and tissue specimens in support of translational research.

PubMed

Crowley, Rebecca S; Castine, Melissa; Mitchell, Kevin; Chavan, Girish; McSherry, Tara; Feldman, Michael

2010-01-01

The authors report on the development of the Cancer Tissue Information Extraction System (caTIES)--an application that supports collaborative tissue banking and text mining by leveraging existing natural language processing methods and algorithms, grid communication and security frameworks, and query visualization methods. The system fills an important need for text-derived clinical data in translational research such as tissue-banking and clinical trials. The design of caTIES addresses three critical issues for informatics support of translational research: (1) federation of research data sources derived from clinical systems; (2) expressive graphical interfaces for concept-based text mining; and (3) regulatory and security model for supporting multi-center collaborative research. Implementation of the system at several Cancer Centers across the country is creating a potential network of caTIES repositories that could provide millions of de-identified clinical reports to users. The system provides an end-to-end application of medical natural language processing to support multi-institutional translational research programs.

Prevention and self-management interventions are top priorities for osteoarthritis systematic reviews.

PubMed

Jaramillo, Alejandra; Welch, Vivian A; Ueffing, Erin; Gruen, Russell L; Bragge, Peter; Lyddiatt, Anne; Tugwell, Peter

2013-05-01

To identify high-priority research questions for osteoarthritis systematic reviews with consideration of health equity and the social determinants of health (SDH). We consulted with experts and conducted a literature search to identify a priority-setting method that could be adapted to address the health equity and SDH. We selected the Global Evidence Mapping priority-setting method, and through consultations and consensus, we adapted the method to meet our objectives. This involves developing an evidence map of the existing systematic reviews on osteoarthritis; conducting one face-to-face workshop with patients and another one with clinicians, researchers, and patients; and conducting an online survey of patients to rank the top 10 research questions. We piloted the adapted method with the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Review Group to set research priorities for osteoarthritis. Our focus was on systematic reviews: we identified 34 high-priority research questions for osteoarthritis systematic reviews. Prevention and self-management interventions, mainly diet and exercise, are top priorities for osteoarthritis systematic reviews. Evaluation against our predefined objectives showed that this method did prioritize SDH (50% of the research questions considered SDH). There were marked gaps: no high-priority topics were identified for access to care until patients had advanced disease-lifestyle changes once the disease was diagnosed. This method was felt feasible if conducted annually. We confirmed the utility of an adapted priority-setting method that is feasible and considers SDH. Further testing of this method is needed to assess whether considerations of health equity are prioritized and involve disadvantaged groups of the population. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Droplet Microarray Based on Superhydrophobic-Superhydrophilic Patterns for Single Cell Analysis.

PubMed

Jogia, Gabriella E; Tronser, Tina; Popova, Anna A; Levkin, Pavel A

2016-12-09

Single-cell analysis provides fundamental information on individual cell response to different environmental cues and is a growing interest in cancer and stem cell research. However, current existing methods are still facing challenges in performing such analysis in a high-throughput manner whilst being cost-effective. Here we established the Droplet Microarray (DMA) as a miniaturized screening platform for high-throughput single-cell analysis. Using the method of limited dilution and varying cell density and seeding time, we optimized the distribution of single cells on the DMA. We established culturing conditions for single cells in individual droplets on DMA obtaining the survival of nearly 100% of single cells and doubling time of single cells comparable with that of cells cultured in bulk cell population using conventional methods. Our results demonstrate that the DMA is a suitable platform for single-cell analysis, which carries a number of advantages compared with existing technologies allowing for treatment, staining and spot-to-spot analysis of single cells over time using conventional analysis methods such as microscopy.

Combinational Reasoning of Quantitative Fuzzy Topological Relations for Simple Fuzzy Regions

PubMed Central

Liu, Bo; Li, Dajun; Xia, Yuanping; Ruan, Jian; Xu, Lili; Wu, Huanyi

2015-01-01

In recent years, formalization and reasoning of topological relations have become a hot topic as a means to generate knowledge about the relations between spatial objects at the conceptual and geometrical levels. These mechanisms have been widely used in spatial data query, spatial data mining, evaluation of equivalence and similarity in a spatial scene, as well as for consistency assessment of the topological relations of multi-resolution spatial databases. The concept of computational fuzzy topological space is applied to simple fuzzy regions to efficiently and more accurately solve fuzzy topological relations. Thus, extending the existing research and improving upon the previous work, this paper presents a new method to describe fuzzy topological relations between simple spatial regions in Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Firstly, we propose a new definition for simple fuzzy line segments and simple fuzzy regions based on the computational fuzzy topology. And then, based on the new definitions, we also propose a new combinational reasoning method to compute the topological relations between simple fuzzy regions, moreover, this study has discovered that there are (1) 23 different topological relations between a simple crisp region and a simple fuzzy region; (2) 152 different topological relations between two simple fuzzy regions. In the end, we have discussed some examples to demonstrate the validity of the new method, through comparisons with existing fuzzy models, we showed that the proposed method can compute more than the existing models, as it is more expressive than the existing fuzzy models. PMID:25775452

The Impact of Airport Performance towards Construction and Infrastructure Expansion in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laksono, T. D.; Kurniasih, N.; Hasyim, C.; Setiawan, M. I.; Ahmar, A. S.

2018-01-01

Development that is generated from airport areas includes construction and infrastructure development. This research reviews about how the implementation of material management in certain construction project and the relationship between development especially construction and infrastructure development with Airport Performance. The method that is used in this research is mixed method. The population in this research is 297 airports that are existed in Indonesia. From those 297 airports then it is chosen airports that have the most completed data about construction project and it is obtained 148 airports. Based on the coefficient correlation (R) test it is known that construction and infrastructure development has relatively strong relation with airport performance variable, but there are still other factors that influence construction and infrastructure development become bigger effect.

An Early Years Toolbox for Assessing Early Executive Function, Language, Self-Regulation, and Social Development: Validity, Reliability, and Preliminary Norms

PubMed Central

Howard, Steven J.; Melhuish, Edward

2016-01-01

Several methods of assessing executive function (EF), self-regulation, language development, and social development in young children have been developed over previous decades. Yet new technologies make available methods of assessment not previously considered. In resolving conceptual and pragmatic limitations of existing tools, the Early Years Toolbox (EYT) offers substantial advantages for early assessment of language, EF, self-regulation, and social development. In the current study, results of our large-scale administration of this toolbox to 1,764 preschool and early primary school students indicated very good reliability, convergent validity with existing measures, and developmental sensitivity. Results were also suggestive of better capture of children’s emerging abilities relative to comparison measures. Preliminary norms are presented, showing a clear developmental trajectory across half-year age groups. The accessibility of the EYT, as well as its advantages over existing measures, offers considerably enhanced opportunities for objective measurement of young children’s abilities to enable research and educational applications. PMID:28503022

Exploration on the reform of the science and engineering experiment teaching based on the combination with teaching and scientific research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Peng

2017-08-01

The existing problems of the experiment education in colleges and universities are analyzed. Take the science and engineering specialty as example, the idea of the combination with teaching and scientific research is discussed. The key problems are how the scientific research and scientific research achievements are used effectively in the experiment education, how to effectively use scientific research laboratories and scientific researchers. Then, a specialty experiment education system is established which is good for the teaching in accordance of all students' aptitude. The research in this paper can give the construction of the experiment teaching methods and the experiment system reform for the science and engineering specialties in colleges and universities.

Use of methods for specifying the target difference in randomised controlled trial sample size calculations: Two surveys of trialists' practice.

PubMed

Cook, Jonathan A; Hislop, Jennifer M; Altman, Doug G; Briggs, Andrew H; Fayers, Peter M; Norrie, John D; Ramsay, Craig R; Harvey, Ian M; Vale, Luke D

2014-06-01

Central to the design of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) is a calculation of the number of participants needed. This is typically achieved by specifying a target difference, which enables the trial to identify a difference of a particular magnitude should one exist. Seven methods have been proposed for formally determining what the target difference should be. However, in practice, it may be driven by convenience or some other informal basis. It is unclear how aware the trialist community is of these formal methods or whether they are used. To determine current practice regarding the specification of the target difference by surveying trialists. Two surveys were conducted: (1) Members of the Society for Clinical Trials (SCT): participants were invited to complete an online survey through the society's email distribution list. Respondents were asked about their awareness, use of, and willingness to recommend methods; (2) Leading UK- and Ireland-based trialists: the survey was sent to UK Clinical Research Collaboration registered Clinical Trials Units, Medical Research Council UK Hubs for Trial Methodology Research, and the Research Design Services of the National Institute for Health Research. This survey also included questions about the most recent trial developed by the respondent's group. Survey 1: Of the 1182 members on the SCT membership email distribution list, 180 responses were received (15%). Awareness of methods ranged from 69 (38%) for health economic methods to 162 (90%) for pilot study. Willingness to recommend among those who had used a particular method ranged from 56% for the opinion-seeking method to 89% for the review of evidence-base method. Survey 2: Of the 61 surveys sent out, 34 (56%) responses were received. Awareness of methods ranged from 33 (97%) for the review of evidence-base and pilot methods to 14 (41%) for the distribution method. The highest level of willingness to recommend among users was for the anchor method (87%). Based upon the most recent trial, the target difference was usually one viewed as important by a stakeholder group, mostly also viewed as a realistic difference given the interventions under evaluation, and sometimes one that led to an achievable sample size. The response rates achieved were relatively low despite the surveys being short, well presented, and having utilised reminders. Substantial variations in practice exist with awareness, use, and willingness to recommend methods varying substantially. The findings support the view that sample size calculation is a more complex process than would appear to be the case from trial reports and protocols. Guidance on approaches for sample size estimation may increase both awareness and use of appropriate formal methods. © The Author(s), 2014.

Single-Case Experimental Designs: A Systematic Review of Published Research and Current Standards

PubMed Central

Smith, Justin D.

2013-01-01

This article systematically reviews the research design and methodological characteristics of single-case experimental design (SCED) research published in peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2010. SCEDs provide researchers with a flexible and viable alternative to group designs with large sample sizes. However, methodological challenges have precluded widespread implementation and acceptance of the SCED as a viable complementary methodology to the predominant group design. This article includes a description of the research design, measurement, and analysis domains distinctive to the SCED; a discussion of the results within the framework of contemporary standards and guidelines in the field; and a presentation of updated benchmarks for key characteristics (e.g., baseline sampling, method of analysis), and overall, it provides researchers and reviewers with a resource for conducting and evaluating SCED research. The results of the systematic review of 409 studies suggest that recently published SCED research is largely in accordance with contemporary criteria for experimental quality. Analytic method emerged as an area of discord. Comparison of the findings of this review with historical estimates of the use of statistical analysis indicates an upward trend, but visual analysis remains the most common analytic method and also garners the most support amongst those entities providing SCED standards. Although consensus exists along key dimensions of single-case research design and researchers appear to be practicing within these parameters, there remains a need for further evaluation of assessment and sampling techniques and data analytic methods. PMID:22845874

Air Pollution Forecasts: An Overview

PubMed Central

Bai, Lu; Wang, Jianzhou; Lu, Haiyan

2018-01-01

Air pollution is defined as a phenomenon harmful to the ecological system and the normal conditions of human existence and development when some substances in the atmosphere exceed a certain concentration. In the face of increasingly serious environmental pollution problems, scholars have conducted a significant quantity of related research, and in those studies, the forecasting of air pollution has been of paramount importance. As a precaution, the air pollution forecast is the basis for taking effective pollution control measures, and accurate forecasting of air pollution has become an important task. Extensive research indicates that the methods of air pollution forecasting can be broadly divided into three classical categories: statistical forecasting methods, artificial intelligence methods, and numerical forecasting methods. More recently, some hybrid models have been proposed, which can improve the forecast accuracy. To provide a clear perspective on air pollution forecasting, this study reviews the theory and application of those forecasting models. In addition, based on a comparison of different forecasting methods, the advantages and disadvantages of some methods of forecasting are also provided. This study aims to provide an overview of air pollution forecasting methods for easy access and reference by researchers, which will be helpful in further studies. PMID:29673227

Air Pollution Forecasts: An Overview.

PubMed

Bai, Lu; Wang, Jianzhou; Ma, Xuejiao; Lu, Haiyan

2018-04-17

Air pollution is defined as a phenomenon harmful to the ecological system and the normal conditions of human existence and development when some substances in the atmosphere exceed a certain concentration. In the face of increasingly serious environmental pollution problems, scholars have conducted a significant quantity of related research, and in those studies, the forecasting of air pollution has been of paramount importance. As a precaution, the air pollution forecast is the basis for taking effective pollution control measures, and accurate forecasting of air pollution has become an important task. Extensive research indicates that the methods of air pollution forecasting can be broadly divided into three classical categories: statistical forecasting methods, artificial intelligence methods, and numerical forecasting methods. More recently, some hybrid models have been proposed, which can improve the forecast accuracy. To provide a clear perspective on air pollution forecasting, this study reviews the theory and application of those forecasting models. In addition, based on a comparison of different forecasting methods, the advantages and disadvantages of some methods of forecasting are also provided. This study aims to provide an overview of air pollution forecasting methods for easy access and reference by researchers, which will be helpful in further studies.

Interdisciplinary research on patient-provider communication: a cross-method comparison.

PubMed

Chou, Wen-Ying Sylvia; Han, Paul; Pilsner, Alison; Coa, Kisha; Greenberg, Larrie; Blatt, Benjamin

2011-01-01

Patient-provider communication, a key aspect of healthcare delivery, has been assessed through multiple methods for purposes of research, education, and quality control. Common techniques include satisfaction ratings and quantitatively- and qualitatively-oriented direct observations. Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches is critically important in determining the appropriate assessment method for a specific research or practical goal. Analyzing ten videotaped simulated encounters between medical students and Standardized Patients (SPs), this study compared three existing assessment methods through the same data set. Methods included: (1) dichotomized SP ratings on students' communication skills; (2) Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) analysis; and (3) inductive discourse analysis informed by sociolinguistic theories. The large dichotomous contrast between good and poor ratings in (1) was not evidenced in any of the other methods. Following a discussion of strengths and weaknesses of each approach, we pilot-tested a combined assessment done by coders blinded to results of (1)-(3). This type of integrative approach has the potential of adding a quantifiable dimension to qualitative, discourse-based observations. Subjecting the same data set to separate analytic methods provides an excellent opportunity for methodological comparisons with the goal of informing future assessment of clinical encounters.

Preconception care for women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus: a mixed-methods study exploring uptake of preconception care.

PubMed

Earle, Sarah; Tariq, Anisah; Komaromy, Carol; Lloyd, Cathy E; Karamat, M Ali; Webb, Jackie; Gill, Paramjit S

2017-03-01

Diabetes mellitus is a global health problem and one of the most common medical conditions in pregnancy. A wide range of modifiable risk factors are associated with diabetes mellitus in pregnancy, and it is widely acknowledged that preconception care (PCC) is beneficial for women with pre-existing diabetes mellitus. However, uptake of PCC services is low. To systematically review qualitative research on PCC for women with pre-existing diabetes mellitus of childbearing age, identify facilitators of and barriers to uptake of PCC and establish themes and gaps in knowledge. Through qualitative interviews explore views on the provision of, and facilitators of and barriers to the uptake of, PCC. Mixed methods encompassing a systematic review and qualitative interviews. Two secondary care sites and 11 primary care sites. Women of childbearing age with pre-existing type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) of white British or Pakistani origin. None. A narrative synthesis of the literature using thematic analysis and a thematic analysis of the qualitative interview data using the method of constant comparison. Eighteen qualitative studies were included in the systematic review and a quality appraisal was carried out using relevant criteria for qualitative research appraisal, including a narrative summary of study quality. Twelve interviews with women with pre-existing T1DM or T2DM were carried out. This fell short of the original aim of interviewing 48 women owing to challenges in recruitment, especially in primary care. A synthesis of these data shows that uptake of PCC is influenced by a range of factors, including the complexity of pregnancy planning, the skill and expertise of health professionals who provide care to women with diabetes mellitus, the role of health professionals in the delivery of PCC, and the quality of relationships between women and health professionals. Owing to significant challenges with recruitment of participants, particularly in primary care, 12 interviews with women with pre-existing T1DM or T2DM were carried out, which fell short of the a priori sample size. Reconceptualising PCC to place greater emphasis on pregnancy planning, fertility and contraception would lower some of the existing barriers to uptake of care. It is important to clarify who is responsible for the delivery of PCC to women with pre-existing diabetes mellitus and to ensure that the correct expertise is available so that opportunities for advice giving are maximised. Relationships between women and health professionals should be based on a partnership approach that encourages mutual trust and respect, focusing on positive change rather than negative outcomes. Further research is needed to investigate the views and experiences of stakeholders that commission, design and deliver PCC services for women with pre-existing diabetes mellitus; to explore experiences of women from minority or ethnically diverse backgrounds; to investigate the role of family support in contraception, pregnancy planning and PCC; and to investigate the management of diabetes mellitus in neonatal care and its role in breastfeeding. This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42014015592 and ISRCTN12983949. The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.

Review of hardware cost estimation methods, models and tools applied to early phases of space mission planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trivailo, O.; Sippel, M.; Şekercioğlu, Y. A.

2012-08-01

The primary purpose of this paper is to review currently existing cost estimation methods, models, tools and resources applicable to the space sector. While key space sector methods are outlined, a specific focus is placed on hardware cost estimation on a system level, particularly for early mission phases during which specifications and requirements are not yet crystallised, and information is limited. For the space industry, cost engineering within the systems engineering framework is an integral discipline. The cost of any space program now constitutes a stringent design criterion, which must be considered and carefully controlled during the entire program life cycle. A first step to any program budget is a representative cost estimate which usually hinges on a particular estimation approach, or methodology. Therefore appropriate selection of specific cost models, methods and tools is paramount, a difficult task given the highly variable nature, scope as well as scientific and technical requirements applicable to each program. Numerous methods, models and tools exist. However new ways are needed to address very early, pre-Phase 0 cost estimation during the initial program research and establishment phase when system specifications are limited, but the available research budget needs to be established and defined. Due to their specificity, for vehicles such as reusable launchers with a manned capability, a lack of historical data implies that using either the classic heuristic approach such as parametric cost estimation based on underlying CERs, or the analogy approach, is therefore, by definition, limited. This review identifies prominent cost estimation models applied to the space sector, and their underlying cost driving parameters and factors. Strengths, weaknesses, and suitability to specific mission types and classes are also highlighted. Current approaches which strategically amalgamate various cost estimation strategies both for formulation and validation of an estimate, and techniques and/or methods to attain representative and justifiable cost estimates are consequently discussed. Ultimately, the aim of the paper is to establish a baseline for development of a non-commercial, low cost, transparent cost estimation methodology to be applied during very early program research phases at a complete vehicle system level, for largely unprecedented manned launch vehicles in the future. This paper takes the first step to achieving this through the identification, analysis and understanding of established, existing techniques, models, tools and resources relevant within the space sector.

Localizing ECoG electrodes on the cortical anatomy without post-implantation imaging.

PubMed

Gupta, Disha; Hill, N Jeremy; Adamo, Matthew A; Ritaccio, Anthony; Schalk, Gerwin

2014-01-01

Electrocorticographic (ECoG) grids are placed subdurally on the cortex in people undergoing cortical resection to delineate eloquent cortex. ECoG signals have high spatial and temporal resolution and thus can be valuable for neuroscientific research. The value of these data is highest when they can be related to the cortical anatomy. Existing methods that establish this relationship rely either on post-implantation imaging using computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or X-Rays, or on intra-operative photographs. For research purposes, it is desirable to localize ECoG electrodes on the brain anatomy even when post-operative imaging is not available or when intra-operative photographs do not readily identify anatomical landmarks. We developed a method to co-register ECoG electrodes to the underlying cortical anatomy using only a pre-operative MRI, a clinical neuronavigation device (such as BrainLab VectorVision), and fiducial markers. To validate our technique, we compared our results to data collected from six subjects who also had post-grid implantation imaging available. We compared the electrode coordinates obtained by our fiducial-based method to those obtained using existing methods, which are based on co-registering pre- and post-grid implantation images. Our fiducial-based method agreed with the MRI-CT method to within an average of 8.24 mm (mean, median = 7.10 mm) across 6 subjects in 3 dimensions. It showed an average discrepancy of 2.7 mm when compared to the results of the intra-operative photograph method in a 2D coordinate system. As this method does not require post-operative imaging such as CTs, our technique should prove useful for research in intra-operative single-stage surgery scenarios. To demonstrate the use of our method, we applied our method during real-time mapping of eloquent cortex during a single-stage surgery. The results demonstrated that our method can be applied intra-operatively in the absence of post-operative imaging to acquire ECoG signals that can be valuable for neuroscientific investigations.

An Investigation of Leadership Practices That Yield Success in Renewal Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Govia, Mauriciere A.

2017-01-01

The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) set forth the Renewal School initiative as a method of school turnaround that preserves the existing school community; with necessary leadership changes when applicable, and supplied human and operational resources. Educational research has cited that school leadership is the second leading…

Teaching Focus Group Interviewing: Benefits and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George, Molly

2013-01-01

Focus group interviewing is widely used by academic and applied researchers. Given the popularity and strengths of this method, it is surprising how rarely focus group interviewing is taught in the undergraduate classroom and how few resources exist to support instructors who wish to train students to use this technique. This article fills the gap…

Inquiry-Based Instruction for Students with Special Needs in School Based Agricultural Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Easterly, R. G., III; Myers, Brian E.

2011-01-01

Educating students with special needs in school based agricultural education (SBAE) is a problem that should be addressed. While many students in SBAE classes have special needs, contradicting research exists establishing the best method of instruction for students with special needs. Inquiry-based instruction shows some promise, but little is…

Theatre for Re-Education: Experimenting with Documentary Form in Kerala

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eldhose, Adakkaravayalil; Das, Neethu

2015-01-01

This paper is a study of a Malayalam documentary play "Not Just the Victims" staged by Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre Trivandrum. Along with analyzing the documentary method of the play this study looks at how the theatre group employed the play for "re-educating" the people regarding certain existing norms. The play…

A Study of the Leadership Practices of South Carolina Superintendents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redish, Carlotta D.

2010-01-01

This dissertation is a report of a mixed method study that examines the leadership practices of black and white public school superintendents in the state of South Carolina. The researcher explored any self-perceived leadership practice differences, if existent, between black and white superintendents and, if so, were the race of the…

Prevalence of Sufficient Physical Activity among Parents Attending a University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sabourin, Sharon; Irwin, Jennifer

2008-01-01

Objective: The benefits of regular physical activity are well documented. However, approximately half of all university students are insufficiently active, and no research to date exists on the activity behavior of university students who are also parents. Participants and Methods: Using an adapted version of the Godin Leisure Time Exercise…

A Review of Parent Education Programs for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schultz, Tia R.; Schmidt, Carla T.; Stichter, Janine P.

2011-01-01

Benefits of parent education have been demonstrated for decades. However, there exists a lack of formative evaluation of parent education for parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), limiting the interpretation of ongoing and future research. To understand the current status, key characteristics, and evaluation methods of parent…

Four Methods of Identifying Change in the Context of a Multiple Component Reading Intervention for Struggling Middle School Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frijters, Jan C.; Lovett, Maureen W.; Sevcik, Rose A.; Morris, Robin D.

2013-01-01

The results from controlled intervention research have indicated that effective reading interventions exist for children with reading difficulties. Effect sizes for older struggling readers, however, typically have not matched the large effects demonstrated with younger children. Standardized effect sizes for intervention/control comparisons…

Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Programs: A "Fit" for Gifted Learners?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hertberg-Davis, Holly; Callahan, Carolyn M.; Kyburg, Robin M.

2006-01-01

Although limited research exists on the appropriateness of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Programs for gifted secondary learners, these courses serve as the primary methods of meeting the needs of gifted students in most high schools. This qualitative study employed a grounded theory approach to investigate how…

The Association of Physical Activity and Academic Behavior: A Systematic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Rachel A.; Kuzel, AnnMarie H.; Vaandering, Michael E.; Chen, Weiyun

2017-01-01

Background: In this systematic review, we assessed the existing research describing the effects of physical activity (PA) on academic behavior, with a special focus on the effectiveness of the treatments applied, study designs, outcome measures, and results. Methods: We obtained data from various journal search engines and 218 journal articles…

Reliability Estimation for Aggregated Data: Applications for Organizational Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hart, Roland J.; Bradshaw, Stephen C.

This report provides the statistical tools necessary to measure the extent of error that exists in organizational record data and group survey data. It is felt that traditional methods of measuring error are inappropriate or incomplete when applied to organizational groups, especially in studies of organizational change when the same variables are…

Utilization of citric acid in wood bonding

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Citric acid (CA) is a weak organic acid. It exists most notably in citrus fruits so that it is named likewise. As a commodity chemical, CA is produced on a large scale by fermentation. In this chapter, we first briefly review the applied research and methods for commercial production of CA. Then we ...

Development of an Integrated GIS and Land Use Planning Course: Impacts of Hybrid Instructional Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamruzzaman, M.

2014-01-01

This study reports an action research undertaken at Queensland University of Technology. It evaluates the effectiveness of the integration of geographic information systems (GIS) within the substantive domains of an existing land use planning course in 2011. Using student performance, learning experience survey, and questionnaire survey data, it…

African American Social Work Faculty: Overcoming Existing Barriers and Achieving Research Productivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Junior Lloyd; Huggins-Hoyt, Kimberly Y.; Holosko, Michael J.; Briggs, Harold E.

2018-01-01

Purpose: This study explored the scholarship experiences of top-ranked African American faculty in schools of social work. Method: Qualitative interviews were conducted with N = 10 top-ranked African American faculty identified as achieving considerable productivity and impact of scholarship. Findings: Four major themes were identified, each of…

Universal Design for Instruction in Postsecondary Education: A Systematic Review of Empirically Based Articles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Kelly D.; Park, Hye Jin; Brown, Steven; Cook, Bryan

2011-01-01

Universal Design for Instruction (UDI) in postsecondary education is a relatively new concept/framework that has generated significant support. The purpose of this literature review was to examine existing empirical research, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, on the use of UDI (and related terms) in postsecondary education.…

Individual Characteristics and Unit Performance. A Review of Research and Methods.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kahan, James P.; And Others

This report reviews existing studies of the determinants of group performance in an attempt to understand how personnel characteristics of units affect the effectiveness and efficiency with which those units perform their missions. As defined for this project, unit performance is the aggregate behavior of personnel in a unit. This review provides…

Ageing and People with Learning Disabilities: In Search of Evidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Carol

2015-01-01

Background: Growing numbers of people with learning disabilities are now living into older age. This study aims to examine the state of knowledge about their lives and the challenges that ageing has for both family carers and policymakers and practitioners. Materials and Methods: The article synthesises existing research in the fields of learning…

The Effect of Spoilers on the Enjoyment of Short Stories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levine, William H.; Betzner, Michelle; Autry, Kevin S.

2016-01-01

Recent research has provided evidence that the information provided before a story--a spoiler--may increase the enjoyment of that story, perhaps by increasing the processing fluency experienced during reading. In one experiment, we tested the reliability of these findings by closely replicating existing methods and the generality of these findings…

The Effects of Kolb's Experiential Learning Model on Successful Intelligence in Secondary Agriculture Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Marshall A.; Robinson, J. Shane

2016-01-01

Experiential learning is an important pedagogical approach used in secondary agricultural education. Though anecdotal evidence supports the use of experiential learning, a paucity of empirical research exists supporting the effects of this approach when compared to a more conventional teaching method, such as direct instruction. Therefore, the…

An Exploratory Study of Software Cost Estimating at the Electronic Systems Division.

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-07-01

action’. to improve the software cost Sestimating proces., While thin research was limited to the M.nD onvironment, the same types of problema may exist...Methods in Social Science. Now York: Random House, 1969. 57. Smith, Ronald L. Structured Programming Series (Vol. XI) - Estimating Software Project

Investigation of Job Satisfaction Levels of School Administrators and Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sener, Gönül; Boydak Özan, Mukadder

2017-01-01

The main purpose of the research is to determine the job satisfaction levels of school administrators and teachers. The descriptive method based on screening model for revealing the existing situation was used in the study. An attempt to determine the job satisfaction levels of administrators and teachers in educational organizations was made in…

Projective Drawings of Mothers and Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence: A Mixed Methods Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Backos, Amy; Samuelson, Kristin W.

2017-01-01

The Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) and the Draw-A-Person: Screening Procedure for Emotional Disturbance (DAP:SPED) are intended to facilitate therapeutic discussion and assess emotional disturbance; however, little research exists on their use with victims of trauma or for identifying posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study examined…

Measuring Future Worker Productivity via Business Email Message Creation: Implications for Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hagler, Barbara E.; Erthal, Margaret; Walzer, Dona; Anderson, Marcia A.

2009-01-01

Objective: This research was conducted to determine if relationships exist among college students' business email message productivity score and (a) email message quality score, (b) text keying method used to create email message, and (c) self-reported college English grade. Background: Email is increasingly the communication channel preferred for…

A Mixed Methods Analysis of Students' Understanding of Slope and Derivative Concepts and Students' Mathematical Dispositions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patel, Rita Manubhai

2013-01-01

This dissertation examined understanding of slope and derivative concepts and mathematical dispositions of first-semester college calculus students, who are recent high school graduates, transitioning to university mathematics. The present investigation extends existing research in the following ways. First, based on this investigation, the…

The Futility of Propensity Score Methods in a Statewide Study of International Baccalaureate (IB)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

May, Henry; Rodriguez, Awilda; Sirinides, Philip M.; Perna, Laura W.; Yee, April; Ransom, Tafaya

2014-01-01

With the goal of increasing students' academic readiness for college, high schools in the United States are increasingly offering "credit-based transition programs," including International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Placement (AP), and dual enrollment. Existing research points to the promise of IB, AP, and other credit-based…