Wildlife trade in Brazil: a closer look at wild pets welfare issues.

PubMed

Kuhnen, V V; Kanaan, V T

2014-02-01

Wild animals have been kept as pets for centuries, in Brazil companionship is one of the main reasons why wild species are legally bred and traded. This paper is an attempt to call the attention for problems concerning the welfare of wild pets involved in the trading system in Brazil. Some issues presented are: a) the significant increase in the number of wildlife breeders and traders and the difficulties faced by of the Brazilian government in controlling this activity; b) the main welfare issues faced by breeders and owners of wild pets; and c) the destination of wild pets no longer wanted. Finally, some recommendations are made having the welfare of the animals as a priority.

Numerical Analysis on Seepage in the deep overburden CFRD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeyu, GUO; Junrui, CHAI; Yuan, QIN

2017-12-01

There are many problems in the construction of hydraulic structures on deep overburden because of its complex foundation structure and poor geological condition. Seepage failure is one of the main problems. The Combination of the seepage control system of the face rockfill dam and the deep overburden can effectively control the seepage of construction of the concrete face rockfill dam on the deep overburden. Widely used anti-seepage measures are horizontal blanket, waterproof wall, curtain grouting and so on, but the method, technique and its effect of seepage control still have many problems thus need further study. Due to the above considerations, Three-dimensional seepage field numerical analysis based on practical engineering case is conducted to study the seepage prevention effect under different seepage prevention methods, which is of great significance to the development of dam technology and the development of hydropower resources in China.

Multicultural Aspects of Library Media Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Latrobe, Kathy Howard, Comp.; Laughlin, Mildred Knight, Comp.

Designed to help library media specialists, as well as administrators, teachers, and parents, develop a greater sensitivity to the multicultural problems and issues that young people face in schools, this collection of essays offers diverse perspectives on multicultural issues in the media program. The four main sections of the book and the essays…

The Developing Child: Discussion Papers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Year of the Child, Canberra (Australia). National Committee of Non-Government Organisations.

The Developing Child Sub-Committee of the Australian International Year of the Child Committee of Non-Government Organizations prepared papers on the main problems facing children from birth to 12 years of age. Topics designated for attention were (1) the parenting role, including the influence of parents on children, factors influencing parental…

The Licensure of Mental Health Counselors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hendrikson, Leslie

With the growing number of counselors working outside of school settings, licensure of mental health counselors has become an important issue. A main problem facing counselors is the lack of a clear identity. Licensure would lead to increased professionalism and identification. Licensure is authorized by the state legislature, regulating the…

Education as an Environmental Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vasquez-Martinez, Claudio-Rafael; Gonzalez, Clara; Carrillo, Fatima; Delgado, Luis; Alvarez, Miguel; Morfin-Otero, Maria

2015-01-01

One of the main factors in the globalization of problems and opportunities that face human society is science, which deals with matters of health, environment, competitive production, and employment, among other issues, and generally ways for promoting a better quality of life. Science has become a central part of the culture in the developed…

Integration of Sustainability in Engineering Education: Why Is PBL an Answer?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guerra, Aida

2017-01-01

Purpose: Education for sustainable development (ESD) is one of the challenges engineering education currently faces. Engineering education needs to revise and change its curriculum to integrate ESD principles and knowledge. Problem based learning (PBL) has been one of the main learning pedagogies used to integrate sustainability in engineering…

Face Liveness Detection Using Defocus

PubMed Central

Kim, Sooyeon; Ban, Yuseok; Lee, Sangyoun

2015-01-01

In order to develop security systems for identity authentication, face recognition (FR) technology has been applied. One of the main problems of applying FR technology is that the systems are especially vulnerable to attacks with spoofing faces (e.g., 2D pictures). To defend from these attacks and to enhance the reliability of FR systems, many anti-spoofing approaches have been recently developed. In this paper, we propose a method for face liveness detection using the effect of defocus. From two images sequentially taken at different focuses, three features, focus, power histogram and gradient location and orientation histogram (GLOH), are extracted. Afterwards, we detect forged faces through the feature-level fusion approach. For reliable performance verification, we develop two databases with a handheld digital camera and a webcam. The proposed method achieves a 3.29% half total error rate (HTER) at a given depth of field (DoF) and can be extended to camera-equipped devices, like smartphones. PMID:25594594

The Necessity of ASEAN Community in Producing Pilots

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saowaros, Thanoo; Puncreobutr, Vichian

2016-01-01

The main objectives of this study are to identify the reasons for the shortage of pilots; the necessity of producing Pilots and the obstacles and problems faced by ASEAN Community in producing pilots. The study is conducted by official documents, observations, in-depth interview from personnel who are working for Airports Authority of Thailand,…

Citizen-Consumers, Social Markets and the Reform of Public Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peters, Michael A.

2004-01-01

In a paper presented in July 2003 to Labour's National Policy Forum, the main policy-making body in the United Kingdom, Liam Byrne, a research associate of the Social Market Foundation, forecast the major problems that will face government in Britain in 2020. As reported in the "Guardian" (9 August 2003): "British national…

Recommendation in Higher Education Using Data Mining Techniques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vialardi, Cesar; Bravo, Javier; Shafti, Leila; Ortigosa, Alvaro

2009-01-01

One of the main problems faced by university students is to take the right decision in relation to their academic itinerary based on available information (for example courses, schedules, sections, classrooms and professors). In this context, this work proposes the use of a recommendation system based on data mining techniques to help students to…

Diversity in Information Technology Education: Issues and Controversies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trajkovski, Goran, Ed.

2006-01-01

"Diversity in Information Technology Education: Issues and Controversies" sheds light on the status of diversity in the field of IT education. It identifies a wide range of problems that educators face on a daily basis, and gives practical, applicable solutions, mainly by showcasing successful and replicable examples. The chapters in "Diversity in…

Annual Pennsylvania Conference on Postsecondary Occupational Education: Programming Postsecondary Occupational Education. (Ninth, Pennsylvania State University, September 28-29, 1977).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martorana, S. V., Ed.; And Others

This publication contains the text of the main presentations and the highlights of discussion groups from the Ninth Annual Pennsylvania Conference on Postsecondary Occupational Education. The conference theme was "Programming Postsecondary Occupational Education." Ewald Nyquist, the first speaker, delineated the problems faced by…

The Educational Disadvantage of the Indian American Student.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coombs, L. Madison

The main body of this research synthesis serves to point out research findings regarding the educationally disadvantaged Indian American school children. The decade of the 1960's is noted to be the significant period in bringing to the attention of educators and the American public the educational problems facing the Indian American. Some of the…

Islamic Studies or the Study of Islam?: From Parker to Rammell

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dien, Mawil Izzi

2007-01-01

The paper reports and discusses some of the practical and contextual difficulties facing the teaching of Islamic studies within the British higher education environment. The main problems in the author's view stem from the haziness surrounding the discipline definition and the methodology employed in teaching it. This is particularly observed when…

Towards Deeper Comprehension in Higher Engineering Education: "Method of Cornerstones"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korpela, Aki; Tarhasaari, Timo; Kettunen, Lauri; Mikkonen, Risto; Kinnari-Korpela, Hanna

2016-01-01

During the current millennium, universities have faced a new kind of problem: there is not enough higher learning in higher education. Driving forces have mainly been economical, since financial pressure and effort for increasing efficiency have given rise to growing amount of accessed and graduated students. In addition, a pressure for…

The Mistake Colleges Make about Student Drinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Busteed, Brandon

2008-01-01

Despite conventional wisdom, the alcohol problem colleges face is not mainly about high-risk drinkers, and the solution is not about intervening with them alone. Yet studies show that, despite a handful of solid efforts in the realm of primary prevention, most colleges take a group-think approach to identifying and intervening with high-risk…

Patient's Perceptions Regarding Orthodontic Needs and Satisfactory Level with the Procedure.

PubMed

Farishta, Saibel

2015-09-01

In order to keep the patients satisfied with Orthodontic treatment and to address the growing concern among new orthodontic patients, this study was undertaken to evaluate patient's perceptions of their orthodontic treatment needs and the satisfactory level with the procedure. This cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of 362 patients who had received orthodontic treatment. Questionnaires included information factors that encouraged them to take orthodontic treatment, painful experience of orthodontic therapy, and also to know the effectiveness of the treatment. Student's t-test and ANOVA test were used to analyze results at P = 0.05. Most of the participants faced problems due to their dentition (60.2%), followed by mastication 23.6%. It was found that most of the study subjects were motivated by orthodontist to receive the treatment (29.7%). When the participants were asked about the complications faced by them during the procedure and the most common answer was a longer duration of the treatment (23.3%). Pain was also a common factor faced by the participants (15.9%). Significant results were seen according to gender and age. The study concluded that problems in the dentition were the main factor to seek orthodontic treatment and most of the subjects were convinced by the specialist to undergo orthodontic therapy. Many problems faced during the treatment, but still majority gave a positive response to the treatment.

A qualitative study of a blended therapy using problem solving therapy with a customised smartphone app in men who present to hospital with intentional self-harm.

PubMed

Mackie, Craig; Dunn, Nicole; MacLean, Sarah; Testa, Valerie; Heisel, Marnin; Hatcher, Simon

2017-11-01

Blended therapy describes the use of computerised therapy combined with face-to-face therapy to extend the depth, range and nature of the face-to-face therapy. We wanted to develop a treatment manual for a randomised trial of blended therapy combining face-to-face problem solving and a smartphone app in men who present to hospital with self-harm. To develop a treatment manual and to describe the experience of receiving and delivering a blended therapy. After completion of the blended therapy, semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with participants to describe their experience of the treatment. Two independent coders analysed the material using a thematic, grounded theory approach. Seven men were enrolled in the study, and six completed the qualitative interviews. The two main themes identified were of trust and connection. Participants attended 85% of their appointments. In the treatment manual, we emphasised the themes of trust and connection by allowing time to discuss the app in the face-to-face to sessions, ensuring that therapists are familiar with the app and know how to respond to technical queries. Identification of trust and connection generates novel questions about the importance of the therapeutic alliance with technology rather than with people. Clinicians and app developers need to pay attention to the therapeutic relationship with technology as trust and good communication can be easily damaged, resulting in disengagement with the app. Blended therapy may result in increased adherence to face-to-face sessions. NCT02718248. © 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.

Modeling Earth system changes of the past

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kutzbach, John E.

1992-01-01

This review outlines some of the challenging problems to be faced in understanding the causes and mechanisms of large climatic changes and gives examples of initial studies of these problems with climate models. The review covers climatic changes in three main periods of earth history: (1) the past several centuries; (2) the past several glacial-interglacial cycles; and (3) the past several million years. The review will concentrate on studies of climate but, where possible, will mention broader aspects of the earth system.

Development of coffee maker service robot using speech and face recognition systems using POMDP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budiharto, Widodo; Meiliana; Santoso Gunawan, Alexander Agung

2016-07-01

There are many development of intelligent service robot in order to interact with user naturally. This purpose can be done by embedding speech and face recognition ability on specific tasks to the robot. In this research, we would like to propose Intelligent Coffee Maker Robot which the speech recognition is based on Indonesian language and powered by statistical dialogue systems. This kind of robot can be used in the office, supermarket or restaurant. In our scenario, robot will recognize user's face and then accept commands from the user to do an action, specifically in making a coffee. Based on our previous work, the accuracy for speech recognition is about 86% and face recognition is about 93% in laboratory experiments. The main problem in here is to know the intention of user about how sweetness of the coffee. The intelligent coffee maker robot should conclude the user intention through conversation under unreliable automatic speech in noisy environment. In this paper, this spoken dialog problem is treated as a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP). We describe how this formulation establish a promising framework by empirical results. The dialog simulations are presented which demonstrate significant quantitative outcome.

OECD Thematic Review on Adult Learning: Norway. Background Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tangen, Fride

Adult learning in Norway was examined in a thematic review that focused on the following areas: the contexts of adult learning; the participants in, providers of, and returns from adult learning; issues and problems facing adult learning; and good practices. The following are among the main findings of the review: (1) adult learning has a long…

Linking Cultures through Play: Children Exchange Cultural Elements through Play Activities in Kindergarten

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Botsoglou, Kafenia; Kakana, Domna-Mika

2003-01-01

The recent years in our country we are facing an increasingly great number of immigrant students, mainly from East European countries and the Balkans, particularly in many Greek elementary schools and kindergartens. Aim of the presented study is to sketch the problems that came out from the co-existence of students with different cultural…

A Model of Twice-Exceptionality: Explaining and Defining the Apparent Paradoxical Combination of Disability and Giftedness in Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ronksley-Pavia, Michelle

2015-01-01

The literature on twice-exceptionality suggests one of the main problems facing twice-exceptional children is that there is no consensus on the definition of the terms "disability" or "giftedness" and, consequently, the term "twice-exceptional". Endeavoring to define these specific terms loops back on itself to…

Physical and psychological health problems of garment workers in the Fiji.

PubMed

Chand, Anand

2006-09-01

This paper unravels the physical and psychological health problems of garment workers in Fiji. It is based on research work done between 1997-2007. Majority of the garment workers are women. The main physical health problems faced by workers are: 'Occupational fatigue syndrome', body pains, obesity, and bladder and kidney problems. The major psychological problems work stress and depression. Work stress and depression are caused by 'intensification of work' to meet daily targets, strict factory rules and regulations, poor pay, poor working conditions, in-human abuse, and fear of job loss. Since garment workers do not have much education and skills they have no other option but to work for the garment industry and suffer in silence.

Problems of increased transport load as a result of implementation of projects of high-rise constructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Provotorov, Ivan; Gasilov, Valentin; Anisimova, Nadezhda

2018-03-01

The structure of problems of high-rise construction us suggested, which includes the impact on environment, design solutions, transportation problems, financial costs for construction and operation, and others. Positive and negative aspects of high-rise construction are considered. One of the basic problems of high-rise construction is the problem of increased transport load. Construction of the subway on the basis of the concession mechanism, with the use of unmanned control of rolling stock is proposed as the most expedient solution. An evaluation of the effectiveness of this project is presented, it shows quite high performance indicators for a private investor. Main problems that the project implementation may face in conditions of lack of scientific and methodological support are outlined.

Perceptions of family caregivers of cancer patients about the challenges of caregiving: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Nemati, Shahnaz; Rassouli, Maryam; Ilkhani, Mahnaz; Baghestani, Ahmad Reza

2018-03-01

The experience of caring for a family member with cancer is associated with several care-related problems and challenges for the caregiver. The comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the trials and tribulations of caregiving can be a step towards resolving the problems faced by family caregivers of these patients. The present study aimed to explore challenges faced by Iranian family caregivers of cancer patients. The present qualitative study was conducted through in-depth semi-structured interviews held with 21 family caregivers of cancer patients selected through purposive sampling. Interviews continued until saturation of data. All interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed through conventional content analysis. The codes extracted from interviews produced four main themes, including 'confusion', 'uncertainty', 'disintegration' and 'setback', which collectively caused suffering for family caregivers. Care provided in an atmosphere of suffering and discontent diminishes caregiver's quality of life and quality of patient care. Health planners should therefore consider the challenges and sufferings faced by family caregivers and should seek to obviate them through appropriate plans. © 2017 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Study and Application of a Multi Magnetoresistor Sensor System to Detect Corrosion in Suspension Cables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torres, V.; Quek, S.; Gaydecki, P.

2010-02-01

Aging and deterioration of the main functional parts in civil structures is one of the biggest problems that private and governmental institutions, dedicated to operate and maintain such structures, are facing now days. In the case of relatively old suspension bridges, problems emerge due to corrosion and break of wires in the main cables. Decisive information and a reliable monitoring and evaluation are factors of great relevance required to prevent significant or catastrophic damages caused to the structure, and more importantly, to people. The main challenge for the NDE methods of inspection arises in dealing with the steel wrapping barrier of the suspension cable, which main function is to shield, shape and hold the bundles. The following work, presents a study of a multi-Magnetoresistive sensors system aiming to support the monitoring and evaluation of suspension cables at some of its stages. Modelling, signal acquisition, signal processing, experiments and the initial phases of implementation are presented and discussed widely.

Interfacial Micromechanics in Fibrous Composites: Design, Evaluation, and Models

PubMed Central

Lei, Zhenkun; Li, Xuan; Qin, Fuyong; Qiu, Wei

2014-01-01

Recent advances of interfacial micromechanics in fiber reinforced composites using micro-Raman spectroscopy are given. The faced mechanical problems for interface design in fibrous composites are elaborated from three optimization ways: material, interface, and computation. Some reasons are depicted that the interfacial evaluation methods are difficult to guarantee the integrity, repeatability, and consistency. Micro-Raman study on the fiber interface failure behavior and the main interface mechanical problems in fibrous composites are summarized, including interfacial stress transfer, strength criterion of interface debonding and failure, fiber bridging, frictional slip, slip transition, and friction reloading. The theoretical models of above interface mechanical problems are given. PMID:24977189

What's the Point of Me? James Hillman's Acorn Theory and the Role of Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Susan C.

2015-01-01

On the subject of identity crises which we all face from time to time, The late James Hillman, a maverick Jungian psychologist, summed up the problem this way: "Today's main paradigm for understanding a human life, the interplay of genetics and environment, omits something essential the particularity you feel to be you." In his 1996…

Youth in the New South Africa. Towards Policy Formulation. Main Report of the Co-operative Research Programme: South African Youth.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Zyl Slabbert, F., Ed.; And Others

In view of the sweeping political and social changes in South Africa, the Human Sciences Research Council and other agencies established the Co-operative Research Programme: South African Youth, a program to undertake research on the problems, challenges, and opportunities facing South African youth. This report presents the information base of…

Concept-Focused Teaching: Using Big Ideas to Guide Instruction in Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olson, Joanne K.

2008-01-01

One of the main problems we face in science teaching is that students are learning isolated facts and missing central concepts. For instance, consider what you know about life cycles. Chances are that you remember something about butterflies and stages, such as egg, larva, pupa, adult. But what's the take-home idea that we should have learned…

Academic Essay Writing as Imitative Problem Solving: Examples from Distance Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Sydney Ian

2014-01-01

Students in tertiary education are often faced with the prospect of writing an essay on a topic they know nothing about in advance. In distance learning institutions, essays are a common method of assessment in the UK, and specified course texts remain the main sources of information the students have. How do students use a source text to…

Financing Facilities in Rural School Districts: Variations among the States and the Case of Arkansas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Mary F.

This chapter examines the main challenges that rural school districts face in school facilities funding and illustrates these problems with a case study of Arkansas. Most rural school districts serve only a small number of students, which tends to limit the funds available for construction or renovation. In addition, rural districts are likely to…

[The impact of autism on the life of parents].

PubMed

Sénéchal, Carole; des Rivières-Pigeon, Catherine

2009-01-01

The aim of this paper is to explore the stress and the psychological distress faced by parents of children living with different types of disability. Its main focus is on parents of children with autism. The first part describes the stress factors faced by parents of children with disabilities and the second, the particularities of the stress faced by parents of children with autism. The third part explores other types of stress factors, such as financial problems, marital discord or beak-up, single parenthood and lack of social support. In the forth part, we examine weather the services are well suited to provide for the needs of families, and, in the fifth part, we describe the major role played by intervention in the life of families of children with autism.

Antenna pointing mechanism for ESA ENVISAT polar platform

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Serrano, J.; SanMillan, J.; Santiago, R.

1996-01-01

INTA is currently developing a two-degree-of-freedom antenna pointing mechanism (APM) as part of the ESA ENVISAT POLAR PLATFORM (PPF) program. This mechanism will drive a Ka-band antenna within the Data-Relay Satellite System (DRS) on board the Polar Platform satellite. The first mission using PPF is ENVISAT, which is expected to be flown in 1998. This paper describes the main requirements, design, and test results of this pointing system, as well as the main technical problems from customer requirements and how those have been faced to achieve a final design.

[The fight against malnutrition of the medical community between 1860 and 1940].

PubMed

Yáñez Andrade, Juan Carlos

2017-08-01

The aim of this manuscript is to highlight the contribution of the first two generations of physicians who faced malnutrition in Chile, between the end of nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century. In the history of Chilean medicine, there is a paucity of research about the role of these physicians in the fight against malnutrition. The main interest was centered in the forties of the twentieth century and the first policies and actions for the working class feeding have been overlooked. The existence of two pioneering groups that have common elements and differences to face the problem of under nutrition is established.

Profile of male-field dependent (FD) prospective teacher's reflective thinking in solving contextual mathematical problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agustan, S.; Juniati, Dwi; Siswono, Tatag Yuli Eko

2017-08-01

Reflective thinking is an important component in the world of education, especially in professional education of teachers. In learning mathematics, reflective thinking is one way to solve mathematical problem because it can improve student's curiosity when student faces a mathematical problem. Reflective thinking is also a future competence that should be taught to students to face the challenges and to respond of demands of the 21st century. There are many factors which give impact toward the student's reflective thinking when student solves mathematical problem. One of them is cognitive style. For this reason, reflective thinking and cognitive style are important things in solving contextual mathematical problem. This research paper describes aspect of reflective thinking in solving contextual mathematical problem involved solution by using some mathematical concept, namely linear program, algebra arithmetic operation, and linear equations of two variables. The participant, in this research paper, is a male-prospective teacher who has Field Dependent. The purpose of this paper is to describe aspect of prospective teachers' reflective thinking in solving contextual mathematical problem. This research paper is a descriptive by using qualitative approach. To analyze the data, the researchers focus in four main categories which describe prospective teacher's activities using reflective thinking, namely; (a) formulation and synthesis of experience, (b) orderliness of experience, (c) evaluating the experience and (d) testing the selected solution based on the experience.

Analysis of the lack of scientific and technological talents of high-level women in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Wang

2017-08-01

The growth and development of high-level female scientific and technological talents has become a global problem, facing severe challenges. The lack of high-level women in science and technology has become a global problem. How to recruit and help female scientists and technological talents grow raises awareness from the industry. To find out the main reasons for the lack of high-level female scientific and technological talent. This paper analyses the impact of gender discrimination on the lack of high-level female scientific and technological talents, the impact of disciplinary differences on female roles. The main reasons are: women’s natural disadvantage of mathematical thinking; female birth, the traditional culture on the role of women and the impact of values.

Specific problems in visual cognition of dyslexic readers: Face discrimination deficits predict dyslexia over and above discrimination of scrambled faces and novel objects.

PubMed

Sigurdardottir, Heida Maria; Fridriksdottir, Liv Elisabet; Gudjonsdottir, Sigridur; Kristjánsson, Árni

2018-06-01

Evidence of interdependencies of face and word processing mechanisms suggest possible links between reading problems and abnormal face processing. In two experiments we assessed such high-level visual deficits in people with a history of reading problems. Experiment 1 showed that people who were worse at face matching had greater reading problems. In experiment 2, matched dyslexic and typical readers were tested, and difficulties with face matching were consistently found to predict dyslexia over and above both novel-object matching as well as matching noise patterns that shared low-level visual properties with faces. Furthermore, ADHD measures could not account for face matching problems. We speculate that reading difficulties in dyslexia are partially caused by specific deficits in high-level visual processing, in particular for visual object categories such as faces and words with which people have extensive experience. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impairments in the Face-Processing Network in Developmental Prosopagnosia and Semantic Dementia

PubMed Central

Mendez, Mario F.; Ringman, John M.; Shapira, Jill S.

2015-01-01

Background Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) and semantic dementia (SD) may be the two most common neurologic disorders of face processing, but their main clinical and pathophysiologic differences have not been established. To identify those features, we compared patients with DP and SD. Methods Five patients with DP, five with right temporal-predominant SD, and ten normal controls underwent cognitive, visual perceptual, and face-processing tasks. Results Although the patients with SD were more cognitively impaired than those with DP, the two groups did not differ statistically on the visual perceptual tests. On the face-processing tasks, the DP group had difficulty with configural analysis and they reported relying on serial, feature-by-feature analysis or awareness of salient features to recognize faces. By contrast, the SD group had problems with person knowledge and made semantically related errors. The SD group had better face familiarity scores, suggesting a potentially useful clinical test for distinguishing SD from DP. Conclusions These two disorders of face processing represent clinically distinguishable disturbances along a right hemisphere face-processing network: DP, characterized by early configural agnosia for faces, and SD, characterized primarily by a multimodal person knowledge disorder. We discuss these preliminary findings in the context of the current literature on the face-processing network; recent studies suggest an additional right anterior temporal, unimodal face familiarity-memory deficit consistent with an “associative prosopagnosia.” PMID:26705265

A Case Study: One Public School's Endeavor to Revive Arts Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naranjo, Juanita

2013-01-01

Public K-12 schools in the United States currently face competing demands that place improved student learning as the main goal to ensure students develop 21st century skills. However, internal and external factors may work with or against each other within a school's efforts to achieve this. The problem that serves as the basis for this…

Building a Better You: Volume 2. A Guide for Health Education in Georgia Schools...Grade Seven Through Eleven.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgia State Dept. of Education, Atlanta. Office of Instructional Services.

Developing a secondary level health education program is the main focus of this guide, and concepts and supporting data pertaining to some of the major health problems facing children and youth are presented as well. The guide is divided into three sections. The first section, "Policies and Procedures," is concerned with school health policies and…

Semi-Supervised Sparse Representation Based Classification for Face Recognition With Insufficient Labeled Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Yuan; Ma, Jiayi; Yuille, Alan L.

2017-05-01

This paper addresses the problem of face recognition when there is only few, or even only a single, labeled examples of the face that we wish to recognize. Moreover, these examples are typically corrupted by nuisance variables, both linear (i.e., additive nuisance variables such as bad lighting, wearing of glasses) and non-linear (i.e., non-additive pixel-wise nuisance variables such as expression changes). The small number of labeled examples means that it is hard to remove these nuisance variables between the training and testing faces to obtain good recognition performance. To address the problem we propose a method called Semi-Supervised Sparse Representation based Classification (S$^3$RC). This is based on recent work on sparsity where faces are represented in terms of two dictionaries: a gallery dictionary consisting of one or more examples of each person, and a variation dictionary representing linear nuisance variables (e.g., different lighting conditions, different glasses). The main idea is that (i) we use the variation dictionary to characterize the linear nuisance variables via the sparsity framework, then (ii) prototype face images are estimated as a gallery dictionary via a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM), with mixed labeled and unlabeled samples in a semi-supervised manner, to deal with the non-linear nuisance variations between labeled and unlabeled samples. We have done experiments with insufficient labeled samples, even when there is only a single labeled sample per person. Our results on the AR, Multi-PIE, CAS-PEAL, and LFW databases demonstrate that the proposed method is able to deliver significantly improved performance over existing methods.

[Displaced women's opinion of the impact of forced displacement on their health].

PubMed

Mogollón Pérez, Amparo Susana; Vázquez Navarrete, María Luisa

2006-01-01

To analyze the adaptation process of women internally displaced to the city and the relationship between displacement and their self-perceived main health problems. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive study was carried out by means of semi-structured individual interviews with a maximum variation sample of 25 internally displaced women. A narrative content analysis was conducted with mixed generation of categories and data segmentation by age and themes. The area under study consisted of five localities in the city of Bogotá (Colombia). According to the interviewed women's discourses, their adaptation to city life depended on the new socioeconomic and environmental conditions and the psychosocial impact of displacement on the family. Precarious economic conditions forced them to live in an unhealthy environment and, occasionally, to adopt the role of head of household. In this role, many of these women, particularly young women, faced great difficulties in ensuring that the family's needs were met. Young women and teenagers reported behavioral changes due to displacement, including reproduction of violence in the home. The main self-perceived health problems among displaced women were mental health, access to food, infections and gynecological alterations. Displaced women identified the main factors hindering their access to health services as their economic situation and home responsibilities. Displaced women face new environmental and family challenges that negatively affect their health and access to healthcare. Specific interventions aimed at displaced women are required to foster better health through access to work and long -term socioeconomic stability.

Facilitating collaboration between pharmacists and physicians using an iterative interview process

PubMed Central

Chui, Michelle A.; Stone, Jamie A.; Odukoya, Olufumilola K.; Maxwell, Leigh

2014-01-01

Objective To elicit and describe mutually agreed upon common problems and subsequent solutions resulting from a facilitated face-to-face meeting between pharmacists and physicians. Design Descriptive, exploratory, non-experimental study. Setting Wisconsin from October to December 2011. Participants Physicians and community pharmacists Intervention Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with pharmacists and physicians from the same community, informed by previous individual interviews. Main outcome measure Methods to enhance collaboration and barriers to implementing collaboration between pharmacists and physicians Results Physicians and pharmacists generated ideas in which collaboration could improve patient care, including controlled substance monitoring, medication adherence, collaborative practice agreements for point of service issues, and a mechanism for urgent communication. Methods on how to collaborate on these issues were also discussed. Conclusions Bringing physicians and pharmacists together for a face-to-face interaction that was informed by information gained in previous individual interviews successfully stimulated conversation on ways in which each profession could help the other provide optimal patient care. This interaction appeared to dispel assumptions and build trust. Results of this project may provide pharmacists with the confidence to reach out to their physician colleagues. PMID:24362573

Competition between L- and V-type transitions in interference stabilization of Rydberg atoms.

PubMed

Fedorov, M; Poluektov, N

1998-01-19

The problem of Interference Stabilization of Rydberg atoms is considered. Two kinds of Raman-type transitions can be responsible for the effect: L-type transitions via the continuum and V-type transitions via lower resonant atomic levels. The main distinctions between L- and V- stabilization are described. The conditions under which each of these two effects can exist are found and discussed.

The Effectiveness of State Certified, Graduate Degreed, and National Board Certified Teachers as Determined by Student Growth in Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gardner, David Jonathan

2010-01-01

Federal, state, and local government agencies are promoting merit pay systems that are tied to student achievement. The main problem facing governments, school districts, and educators is that money is hard to come by in the current market and choosing where to spend merit pay monies to receive a maximum rate of return on the investment realized…

Technology Confidence, Competence and Problem Solving Strategies: Differences within Online and Face-to-Face Formats

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Sharon L.; Palmer, Louann Bierlein

2011-01-01

This study identified the problem solving strategies used by students within a university course designed to teach pre-service teachers educational technology, and whether those strategies were influenced by the format of the course (i.e., face-to-face computer lab vs. online). It also examined to what extent the type of problem solving strategies…

Constraints affecting dairy goats milk production in Kenya.

PubMed

Mbindyo, C M; Gitao, C G; Peter, S G

2018-01-01

In Kenya, the population of dairy goats is about 200,000 and 80% of these are reared in Mount Kenya region. They provide a quick source of milk for consumption or sale, which has an immense value especially to poor households. The small land sizes required for their rearing are especially useful in these highly populated areas. Although much research has been done on problems faced by dairy cattle farmers, limited information is available on problems faced by dairy goat farmers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the constraints affecting dairy goat production in Mount Kenya region. In a cross-sectional survey, 157 farmers were interviewed on major constraints using a semi-structured questionnaire. The results from the questionnaires showed that the main problems experienced by these farmers were as follows: lack of market of milk and goats 45% (71/157), diseases 33% (52/157), high cost of concentrates 25% (38/157), lack of feed 19% (30/157), problems of unreliable buck rotation program 16.5% (26/157), and insecurity 1.8% (3/157). The study revealed that dairy goat farmers in the region faced by a number of challenges and therefore, our recommendation is there is a need for farmers to be trained on innovative ways of value chain addition and other strategies to market their milk. Additionally, the government should put resources to salvage the milk plant and association members should put firm measures to improve management. Creation of farmer awareness, treatment, and disease control measures should be instituted to improve productivity.

Evaluation of ISO CRS Envelopes Relative to U.S. Vehicles and Child Restraint Systems.

PubMed

Hu, Jingwen; Manary, Miriam A; Klinich, Kathleen D; Reed, Matthew P

2015-01-01

The objectives of this study are to use computer simulation to evaluate the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 13216-3:2006(E) child restraint system (CRS) envelopes relative to rear seat compartments from vehicles and CRSs in the U.S. market, investigate the potential compatibility issues of U.S. vehicles and CRSs, and demonstrate whether necessary modifications can be made to introduce such a system into compatibility evaluations between U.S. vehicles and CRSs. Three-dimensional geometry models for 26 vehicles and 16 convertible CRS designs developed previously were used. Geometry models of 3 forward-facing and 3 rear-facing CRS envelopes provided by the ISO were built in the current study. The virtual fit process closely followed the physical procedures described in the ISO standards. The results showed that the current ISO rear-facing envelopes can provide reasonable classifications for CRSs and vehicles, but the forward-facing envelopes do not represent products currently in the U.S. market. In particular, all of the selected vehicles could accommodate the largest forward-facing CRS envelope at the second-row seat location behind the driver seat. In contrast, half of the selected CRSs could not fit within any of the forward-facing ISO CRS envelopes, mainly due to protrusion at the rear-top corner of the envelope. The results also indicate that the rear seat compartment in U.S. vehicles often cannot accommodate a large portion of convertible CRSs in the rear-facing position. The increased demand for vehicle fuel economy and the recommendation to keep children rear-facing longer may lead to smaller cars and larger CRSs, which may increase the potential for fit problems. The virtual classifications indicated that contact between the forward-facing CRSs and the head restraints in the rear seats as well as that between the rear-facing CRSs and the back of the front seats is a main concern regarding the compatibility between the vehicles and the CRSs. Therefore, modification of the current ISO forward-facing CRS envelopes will likely to be necessary to ensure that they are useful for the U.S. market.

Kernel-aligned multi-view canonical correlation analysis for image recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Shuzhi; Ge, Hongwei; Yuan, Yun-Hao

2016-09-01

Existing kernel-based correlation analysis methods mainly adopt a single kernel in each view. However, only a single kernel is usually insufficient to characterize nonlinear distribution information of a view. To solve the problem, we transform each original feature vector into a 2-dimensional feature matrix by means of kernel alignment, and then propose a novel kernel-aligned multi-view canonical correlation analysis (KAMCCA) method on the basis of the feature matrices. Our proposed method can simultaneously employ multiple kernels to better capture the nonlinear distribution information of each view, so that correlation features learned by KAMCCA can have well discriminating power in real-world image recognition. Extensive experiments are designed on five real-world image datasets, including NIR face images, thermal face images, visible face images, handwritten digit images, and object images. Promising experimental results on the datasets have manifested the effectiveness of our proposed method.

Quality of Life Among Senior Citizens in Bhutan.

PubMed

Dorji, Nidup; Dunne, Michael P; Seib, Charrlotte; Deb, Sibnath

2017-01-01

This study explored associations between quality of life (QOL), spirituality, social integration, chronic diseases, and lifetime adversity among people aged 60 years and older in Bhutan. Adults aged 60 to 101 years (n = 337) completed face-to-face interviews. The main measure included the World Health Organization QOL questionnaire and Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire. The social relationships domain of QOL had the highest mean. Frequent back pain, memory decline, depression, mobility impairment, insomnia, and lung diseases were commonly reported and negatively related to QOL. Compared with women, men reported fewer physical and mental health problems and better QOL. Multivariate analysis revealed that cumulative health problems, psychological distress, and social connectedness contributed significantly to overall QOL. The measure of spirituality was negatively associated with QOL, which is not conclusive and suggests the need for more research especially when the influence of spiritualism is highly visible in the everyday lives of Bhutanese people. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to care for elderly people in Bhutan.

A history of noma, the "Face of Poverty".

PubMed

Marck, Klaas W

2003-04-15

Noma (necrotizing ulcerative stomatitis, stomatitis gangrenosa, or cancrum oris) is a devastating orofacial gangrene that occurs mainly among children. The disease has a global yearly incidence of 140,000 cases and a mortality rate of approximately 90 percent. Patients who survive noma generally suffer from its sequelae, including serious facial disfigurement, trismus, oral incontinence, and speech problems. The medical history of noma indicates that the disease was already known in classical and medieval civilizations in Europe. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Dutch chirurgeons clearly described noma as a clinical entity and realized that the popular name "water canker" was not sufficient, because this quickly spreading ulceration in the faces of children was different from "cancer." In the eighteenth century, awareness that noma is related to poverty, malnutrition, and preceding diseases such as measles increased in northwestern Europe. In the first half of the nineteenth century, extensive surgical procedures were described for the treatment of the sequelae of noma. At the end of that century, noma gradually disappeared in the Western world because of economic progress, which gave the poorest in society the opportunity to feed their children sufficiently. Only in the twentieth century were effective drugs (sulfonamides and penicillin) against noma developed, as well as adequate surgical treatment for the sequelae of noma. These modes of treatment remain inaccessible for the many present-day victims of noma because of their extreme poverty. The only truly effective approach to the problem of noma throughout the world is prevention, namely, combating the extreme poverty with measures that lead to economic progress. In the meantime, medical doctors in the Western world should not forget their own history and ignore this global health problem; rather, they should face "the face of poverty" with the eyes of mercy and concern suited to their profession.

[IMSS in numbers. Consumption of alcohol and psyhoactive substances].

PubMed

2005-01-01

One of the main public health problems in the world are alcohol and drug abuse. Health impact of addictions is clearly evidenced by the increasing numbers of suicides, depression, domestic violence, accidents and injuries. The mental and behavioral problems derived by the abuse of alcohol and psychoactive drugs are under reported. From 1991 to 2003 around 13,000 cases for problems due to alcohol abuse were reported annually in Family Medicine services, nearly 4000 cases in specialized services and an average of 20,000 cases were attended in the emergency areas of the social security system in Mexico (IMSS). The data indicates that this health problems are becoming evident in young populations under 25 years old and the trend is increasing. Professional resources that are specialized in the treatment of such behavioral problems are not sufficient and the institution faces an upcoming health threat that demands prevention programs and a more integrated health care programs.

Counting to 20: Online Implementation of a Face-to-Face, Elementary Mathematics Methods Problem-Solving Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwartz, Catherine Stein

2012-01-01

This study describes implementation of the same problem-solving activity in both online and face-to-face environments. The activity, done in the first class period or first module of a K-2 mathematics methods course, was initially used in a face-to-face class and then adapted later for use in an online class. While the task was originally designed…

Pragmatic failure, mind style and characterisation in fiction about autism

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

This article presents an analysis of different types of pragmatic failure in the interactional behaviour of the ‘autistic’ protagonists of three recent novels. Three main types of pragmatic failure occur across all three novels: problems with informativeness and relevance in conversational contributions; problems with face management resulting in unintentional impolite behaviours; and problems with the interpretation of figurative language. These problems are salient and frequent enough to contribute to the projection of distinctive mind styles, and more generally to the characterisation of the protagonists as individuals with communication and socialisation difficulties that are likely to both reflect and reinforce general perceptions of autism-spectrum disorders. It is also argued that pragmatic failure contributes to the potential defamiliarisation of ‘normal’ communication, which is presented as being fraught with obscurity, ambiguity and insincerity. PMID:29710882

Causative factors of cost overrun in highway projects of Sindh province of Pakistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sohu, S.; Halid, A.; Nagapan, S.; Fattah, A.; Latif, I.; Ullah, K.

2017-11-01

Cost overrun is an increase of cost of project from approved budget which was signed by parties at the time of tender. Cost overrun in construction of highway projects is a common problem worldwide and construction industry of Pakistan is also facing this crucial problem of cost overrun in highway projects of Pakistan. The main objective of this research is to identify the causative factors of cost overrun in highway projects of Sindh province of Pakistan. A well designed questionnaire was developed based on 64 common factors of cost overrun from literature review. Developed questionnaire was distributed among selected 30 experts from owner/client, designer/consultant and contractor who have experience more than 20 years’ experience in highway projects. The collected data was statistical analyzed. After analysis results showed that delay process in payment by client, inadequate planning, client interference, poor contract management, delay of decision making, change of scope of project and financial problems faced by client were most causative factors of cost overrun in highway projects. This research will provide alertness to stakeholders of highway projects of Sindh province to avoid cost overrun in projects.

Understanding the shortage of village doctors in China and solutions under the policy of basic public health service equalization: evidence from Changzhou.

PubMed

Li, Xiaohong; Cochran, Christopher; Lu, Jun; Shen, Jay; Hao, Chao; Wang, Ying; Sun, Mei; Li, Chengyue; Chang, Fengshui; Hao, Mo

2015-01-01

As the most important public health service providers in rural China, village doctors are facing a new challenge of heavier workload resulting from the recent policy of public health service equalization. Studies on the shortage of village doctors, mainly based on the national statistics, have so far been very broad. This study conducted detailed field surveys to identify specific factors of and potential solutions to the shortage in village doctors. Eight hundred forty-four village doctors and 995 health decision makers and providers were surveyed through a questionnaire, and some of them were surveyed by in-depth face-to-face interviews and focus group interviews. Opinions on the shortage in village doctors and the potentially effective approaches to addressing the problem were sought. Some village doctors (51.3%) were at least 50 years old. Some village doctors (92.3%) did not want their children to become a village doctor, and the main reasons were "low salary" and "lack of social security". Village doctors felt that it was difficult to provide all the required public health services. Local residents indicated that they established good relationships with village doctors. Some health decision makers and providers (74.0%) thought that they needed more village doctors. The shortage in village doctors presents a major obstacle toward the realization of China's policy of public health service equalization. The aging of current village doctors exacerbates the problem. Policies and programs are needed to retain the current and attract new village doctors into the workforce. Separate measures are also needed to address disparities in socioeconomic circumstance from village to village. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Facial detection using deep learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Manik; Anuradha, J.; Manne, H. K.; Kashyap, G. S. C.

2017-11-01

In the recent past, we have observed that Facebook has developed an uncanny ability to recognize people in photographs. Previously, we had to tag people in photos by clicking on them and typing their name. Now as soon as we upload a photo, Facebook tags everyone on its own. Facebook can recognize faces with 98% accuracy which is pretty much as good as humans can do. This technology is called Face Detection. Face detection is a popular topic in biometrics. We have surveillance cameras in public places for video capture as well as security purposes. The main advantages of this algorithm over other are uniqueness and approval. We need speed and accuracy to identify. But face detection is really a series of several related problems: First, look at a picture and find all the faces in it. Second, focus on each face and understand that even if a face is turned in a weird direction or in bad lighting, it is still the same person. Third select features which can be used to identify each face uniquely like size of the eyes, face etc. Finally, compare these features to data we have to find the person name. As a human, your brain is wired to do all of this automatically and instantly. In fact, humans are too good at recognizing faces. Computers are not capable of this kind of high-level generalization, so we must teach them how to do each step in this process separately. The growth of face detection is largely driven by growing applications such as credit card verification, surveillance video images, authentication for banking and security system access.

Facial Performance Transfer via Deformable Models and Parametric Correspondence.

PubMed

Asthana, Akshay; de la Hunty, Miles; Dhall, Abhinav; Goecke, Roland

2012-09-01

The issue of transferring facial performance from one person's face to another's has been an area of interest for the movie industry and the computer graphics community for quite some time. In recent years, deformable face models, such as the Active Appearance Model (AAM), have made it possible to track and synthesize faces in real time. Not surprisingly, deformable face model-based approaches for facial performance transfer have gained tremendous interest in the computer vision and graphics community. In this paper, we focus on the problem of real-time facial performance transfer using the AAM framework. We propose a novel approach of learning the mapping between the parameters of two completely independent AAMs, using them to facilitate the facial performance transfer in a more realistic manner than previous approaches. The main advantage of modeling this parametric correspondence is that it allows a "meaningful" transfer of both the nonrigid shape and texture across faces irrespective of the speakers' gender, shape, and size of the faces, and illumination conditions. We explore linear and nonlinear methods for modeling the parametric correspondence between the AAMs and show that the sparse linear regression method performs the best. Moreover, we show the utility of the proposed framework for a cross-language facial performance transfer that is an area of interest for the movie dubbing industry.

Multi-Task Convolutional Neural Network for Pose-Invariant Face Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Xi; Liu, Xiaoming

2018-02-01

This paper explores multi-task learning (MTL) for face recognition. We answer the questions of how and why MTL can improve the face recognition performance. First, we propose a multi-task Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for face recognition where identity classification is the main task and pose, illumination, and expression estimations are the side tasks. Second, we develop a dynamic-weighting scheme to automatically assign the loss weight to each side task, which is a crucial problem in MTL. Third, we propose a pose-directed multi-task CNN by grouping different poses to learn pose-specific identity features, simultaneously across all poses. Last but not least, we propose an energy-based weight analysis method to explore how CNN-based MTL works. We observe that the side tasks serve as regularizations to disentangle the variations from the learnt identity features. Extensive experiments on the entire Multi-PIE dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work using all data in Multi-PIE for face recognition. Our approach is also applicable to in-the-wild datasets for pose-invariant face recognition and achieves comparable or better performance than state of the art on LFW, CFP, and IJB-A datasets.

Critical Problems Facing Technology Education: Perceptions of Indiana Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazaros, Edward J.; Rogers, George E.

2006-01-01

In 1993 Wicklein conducted a study to determine the present and the future critical issues and problems facing the technology education (TE) profession. The Wicklein study questioned 25 panelists from 15 states and the District of Columbia to ascertain the issues and problems facing TE. However, in the Wicklein study, only seven of the panelists…

Difficulties facing physician mothers in Japan.

PubMed

Yamazaki, Yuka; Kozono, Yuki; Mori, Ryo; Marui, Eiji

2011-11-01

Despite recent increases in the number of female physicians graduating in Japan, their premature resignations after childbirth are contributing to the acute shortage of physicians. Previous Japanese studies have explored supportive measures in the workplace, but have rarely focused on the specific problems or concerns of physician-mothers. Therefore, this study explored the challenges facing Japanese physician-mothers in efforts to identify solutions for their retention. Open-ended questionnaires were mailed to 646 alumnae of Juntendo University School of Medicine. We asked subjects to describe their opinions about 'The challenges related to female physicians' resignations'. Comments gathered from alumnae who graduated between 6 and 30 years ago and have children were analyzed qualitatively. Overall, 249 physicians returned the questionnaire (response rate 38.5%), and 73 alumnae with children who graduated in the stated time period provided comments. The challenges facing physician-mothers mainly consisted of factors associated with Japanese society, family responsibilities, and work environment. Japanese society epitomized by traditional gender roles heightened stress related to family responsibilities and promoted gender discrimination at work environment. Additionally, changing Japanese society positively influenced working atmosphere and husband's support. Moreover, the introduction of educational curriculums that alleviated traditional gender role was proposed for pre- and post- medical students. Traditional gender roles encourage discrimination by male physicians or work-family conflicts. The problems facing female physicians involve more than just family responsibilities: diminishing the notion of gender role is key to helping retain them in the workforce. © 2011 Tohoku University Medical Press

Telephone triage by GPs in out-of-hours primary care in Denmark: a prospective observational study of efficiency and relevance

PubMed Central

Huibers, Linda; Moth, Grete; Carlsen, Anders H; Christensen, Morten B; Vedsted, Peter

2016-01-01

Background In the UK, telephone triage in out-of-hours primary care is mostly managed by nurses, whereas GPs perform triage in Denmark. Aim To describe telephone contacts triaged to face-to-face contacts, GP-assessed relevance, and factors associated with triage to face-to-face contact. Design and setting A prospective observational study in Danish out-of-hours primary care, conducted from June 2010 to May 2011. Method Information on patients was collected from the electronic patient administration system and GPs completed electronic questionnaires about the contacts. The GPs conducting the face-to-face contacts assessed relevance of the triage to face-to-face contacts. The authors performed binomial regression analyses, calculating relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals. Results In total, 59.2% of calls ended with a telephone consultation. Factors associated with triage to a face-to-face contact were: patient age >40 years (40–64: RR = 1.13; >64: RR = 1.34), persisting problem for 12–24 hours (RR = 1.15), severe problem (RR = 2.60), potentially severe problem (RR = 5.81), and non-severe problem (RR = 2.23). Face-to-face contacts were assessed as irrelevant for 12.7% of clinic consultations and 11.7% of home visits. A statistically significantly higher risk of irrelevant face-to-face contact was found for a persisting problem of >24 hours (RR = 1.25), contact on weekday nights (RR = 1.25), and contact <2 hours before the patient’s own GP’s opening time (RR = 1.80). Conclusion Around 12% of all face-to-face consultations in the study are assessed as irrelevant by GP colleagues, suggesting that GP triage is efficient. Knowledge of the factors influencing triage can provide better education for GPs, but future studies are needed to investigate other quality aspects of GP telephone triage. PMID:27432608

A Sophisticated Architecture Is Indeed Necessary for the Implementation of Health in All Policies but not Enough

PubMed Central

Breton, Eric

2016-01-01

In this commentary, I argue that beyond a sophisticated supportive architecture to facilitate implementation of actions on the social determinants of health (SDOH) and health inequities, the Health in All Policies (HiAP) project faces two main barriers: lack of awareness within policy networks on the social determinants of population health, and a tendency of health actors to neglect investing in other sectors’ complex problems. PMID:27285517

Aerothermal environment induced by mismatch at the SSME main combustion chamber-nozzle joint

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcconnaughey, H. V.; O'Farrell, J. M.; Olive, T. A.; Brown, G. B.; Holt, J. B.

1990-01-01

The computational study reported here is motivated by a Space Shuttle main engine hardware problem detected in post-flight and post-test inspections. Of interest are the potential for hot gas ingestion into the joint (G15) at the main combustion chamber-to-nozzle interface and the effect of particular goemetric nonuniformities on that gas ingestion. The flowfield in the G15 region involves supersonic flow past a rounded forward facing step preceded by a deep narrow cavity. This paper describes the physical problem associated with joint G15 and computational investigations of the G15 aerothermal environment. The associated flowfield was simulated in two and three space dimensions using the United Solutions Algorithm (USA) computational fluid dynamics code series. A benchmark calculation of experimentally measured supersonic flow over of a square cavity was performed to demonstrate the accuracy of the USA code in analyzing flows similar to the G15 computational flowfield. The G15 results demonstrate the mechanism for hot gas ingestion into the joint and reveal the sensitivity to salient geometric nonuniformities.

Ineffective Healthcare Technology Management in Benin’s Public Health Sector: The Perceptions of Key Actors and Their Ability to Address the Main Problems

PubMed Central

Houngbo, P. Thierry; De Cock Buning, Tjard; Bunders, Joske; Coleman, Harry L. S.; Medenou, Daton; Dakpanon, Laurent; Zweekhorst, Marjolein

2017-01-01

Background: Low-income countries face many contextual challenges to manage healthcare technologies effectively, as the majority are imported and resources are constrained to a greater extent. Previous healthcare technology management (HTM) policies in Benin have failed to produce better quality of care for the population and costeffectiveness for the government. This study aims to identify and assess the main problems facing HTM in Benin’s public health sector, as well as the ability of key actors within the sector to address these problems. Methods: We conducted 2 surveys in 117 selected health facilities. The first survey was based on 377 questionnaires and 259 interviews, and the second involved observation and group interviews at health facilities. The Temple-Bird Healthcare Technology Package System (TBHTPS), tailored to the context of Benin’s health system, was used as a conceptual framework. Results: The findings of the first survey show that 85% of key actors in Benin’s HTM sector characterized the system as failing in components of the TBHTPS framework. Biomedical, clinical, healthcare technology engineers and technicians perceived problems most severely, followed by users of equipment, managers and hospital directors, international organization officers, local and foreign suppliers, and finally policy-makers, planners and administrators at the Ministry of Health (MoH). The 5 most important challenges to be addressed are policy, strategic management and planning, and technology needs assessment and selection – categorized as major enabling inputs (MEI) in HTM by the TBHTPS framework – and installation and commissioning, training and skill development and procurement, which are import and use activities (IUA). The ability of each key actor to address these problems (the degree of political or administrative power they possess) was inversely proportional to their perception of the severity of the problems. Observational data gathered during site visits described a different set of challenges including maintenance and repair, distribution, installation and commissioning, use and training and personnel skill development. Conclusion: The lack of experiential and technical knowledge in policy development processes could underpin many of the continuing problems in Benin’s HTM system. Before solutions can be devised to these problems, it is necessary to investigate their root causes, and which problems are most amenable to policy development. PMID:28949474

The Social Problem-Solving Questionnaire: Evaluation of Psychometric Properties among Turkish Primary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dereli Iman, Esra

2013-01-01

Problem Statement: Children, like adults, face numerous problems and conflicts in their everyday lives, including issues with peers, siblings, older children, parents, teachers, and other adults. The methods children use to solve such problems are more important than actually facing the problems. The lack of effective social problem-solving skills…

A Survey on Sentiment Classification in Face Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qian, Jingyu

2018-01-01

Face recognition has been an important topic for both industry and academia for a long time. K-means clustering, autoencoder, and convolutional neural network, each representing a design idea for face recognition method, are three popular algorithms to deal with face recognition problems. It is worthwhile to summarize and compare these three different algorithms. This paper will focus on one specific face recognition problem-sentiment classification from images. Three different algorithms for sentiment classification problems will be summarized, including k-means clustering, autoencoder, and convolutional neural network. An experiment with the application of these algorithms on a specific dataset of human faces will be conducted to illustrate how these algorithms are applied and their accuracy. Finally, the three algorithms are compared based on the accuracy result.

Fix and forget or fix and report: a qualitative study of tensions at the front line of incident reporting.

PubMed

Hewitt, Tanya Anne; Chreim, Samia

2015-05-01

Practitioners frequently encounter safety problems that they themselves can resolve on the spot. We ask: when faced with such a problem, do practitioners fix it in the moment and forget about it, or do they fix it in the moment and report it? We consider factors underlying these two approaches. We used a qualitative case study design employing in-depth interviews with 40 healthcare practitioners in a tertiary care hospital in Ontario, Canada. We conducted a thematic analysis, and compared the findings with the literature. 'Fixing and forgetting' was the main choice that most practitioners made in situations where they faced problems that they themselves could resolve. These situations included (A) handling near misses, which were seen as unworthy of reporting since they did not result in actual harm to the patient, (B) prioritising solving individual patients' safety problems, which were viewed as unique or one-time events and (C) encountering re-occurring safety problems, which were framed as inevitable, routine events. In only a few instances was 'fixing and reporting' mentioned as a way that the providers dealt with problems that they could resolve. We found that generally healthcare providers do not prioritise reporting if a safety problem is fixed. We argue that fixing and forgetting patient safety problems encountered may not serve patient safety as well as fixing and reporting. The latter approach aligns with recent calls for patient safety to be more preventive. We consider implications for practice. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

A proposed simulation optimization model framework for emergency department problems in public hospital

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrahim, Ireen Munira; Liong, Choong-Yeun; Bakar, Sakhinah Abu; Ahmad, Norazura; Najmuddin, Ahmad Farid

2015-12-01

The Emergency Department (ED) is a very complex system with limited resources to support increase in demand. ED services are considered as good quality if they can meet the patient's expectation. Long waiting times and length of stay is always the main problem faced by the management. The management of ED should give greater emphasis on their capacity of resources in order to increase the quality of services, which conforms to patient satisfaction. This paper is a review of work in progress of a study being conducted in a government hospital in Selangor, Malaysia. This paper proposed a simulation optimization model framework which is used to study ED operations and problems as well as to find an optimal solution to the problems. The integration of simulation and optimization is hoped can assist management in decision making process regarding their resource capacity planning in order to improve current and future ED operations.

Scientific literacy and environmental policy: The missing prerequisite for sound decision making

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

Howell, D.J.

1993-01-01

Since World War II, two trends in public policy have been much in evidence: the increasing importance of science and technology and the increasing role of public participation. This book discusses the problem that an errant, even if well intentioned, public may demand government policies that fly in the face of scientific reality and that render useless results. The first four chapters provide a general background to the policy process and emphasize regulation in particular. Chapters five through eight discuss the main problems of scientific illiteracy and public participation, using two cases: FDA approval of drugs and government regulation ofmore » recombinant DNA research.« less

Gambling harms and gambling help-seeking amongst indigenous Australians.

PubMed

Hing, Nerilee; Breen, Helen; Gordon, Ashley; Russell, Alex

2014-09-01

This paper aimed to analyze the harms arising from gambling and gambling-related help-seeking behaviour within a large sample of Indigenous Australians. A self-selected sample of 1,259 Indigenous Australian adults completed a gambling survey at three Indigenous sports and cultural events, in several communities and online. Based on responses to the problem gambling severity index (PGSI), the proportions of the sample in the moderate risk and problem gambler groups were higher than those for the population of New South Wales. Many in our sample appeared to face higher risks with their gambling and experience severe gambling harms. From PGSI responses, notable harms include financial difficulties and feelings of guilt and regret about gambling. Further harms, including personal, relationship, family, community, legal and housing impacts, were shown to be significantly higher for problem gamblers than for the other PGSI groups. Most problem gamblers relied on family, extended family and friends for financial help or went without due to gambling losses. Nearly half the sample did not think they had a problem with gambling but the results show that the majority (57.7 %) faced some risk with their gambling. Of those who sought gambling help, family, extended family, friends and respected community members were consulted, demonstrating the reciprocal obligations underpinning traditional Aboriginal culture. The strength of this finding is that these people are potentially the greatest source of gambling help, but need knowledge and resources to provide that help effectively. Local Aboriginal services were preferred as the main sources of professional help for gambling-related problems.

A Meta-Analytic and Qualitative Review of Online versus Face-to-Face Problem-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jurewitsch, Brian

2012-01-01

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional strategy that is poised for widespread application in the current, growing, on-line digital learning environment. While enjoying a track record as a defensible strategy in face-to-face learning settings, the research evidence is not clear regarding PBL in on-line environments. A review of the…

Studies on Experimental Ontology and Knowledge Service Development in Bio-Environmental Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yunliang

2018-01-01

The existing domain-related ontology and information service patterns are analyzed, and the main problems faced by the experimental scheme knowledge service were clarified. The ontology framework model for knowledge service of Bio-environmental Engineering was proposed from the aspects of experimental materials, experimental conditions and experimental instruments, and this ontology will be combined with existing knowledge organization systems to organize scientific and technological literatures, data and experimental schemes. With the similarity and priority calculation, it can improve the related domain research.

[E-learning and the continuing professional development in medicine].

PubMed

De Fiore, Luca

2010-06-01

E-learning is widely used in continuing medical education but three main problems still face health decision makers: the substantial heterogeneity among the characteristics of the web-based educational projects; the concerns about the e-learning effectiveness; the variety of outcomes used to evaluate the effectiveness. Systematic reviews suggest e-learning has effectiveness similar to traditional educational methods.The attention should now be given to how and when can we use e-learning to improve the health workers' performance and better healthcare.

An integrated methodology to assess the benefits of urban green space.

PubMed

De Ridder, K; Adamec, V; Bañuelos, A; Bruse, M; Bürger, M; Damsgaard, O; Dufek, J; Hirsch, J; Lefebre, F; Pérez-Lacorzana, J M; Thierry, A; Weber, C

2004-12-01

The interrelated issues of urban sprawl, traffic congestion, noise, and air pollution are major socioeconomic problems faced by most European cities. A methodology is currently being developed for evaluating the role of green space and urban form in alleviating the adverse effects of urbanisation, mainly focusing on the environment but also accounting for socioeconomic aspects. The objectives and structure of the methodology are briefly outlined and illustrated with preliminary results obtained from case studies performed on several European cities.

Blind speech separation system for humanoid robot with FastICA for audio filtering and separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budiharto, Widodo; Santoso Gunawan, Alexander Agung

2016-07-01

Nowadays, there are many developments in building intelligent humanoid robot, mainly in order to handle voice and image. In this research, we propose blind speech separation system using FastICA for audio filtering and separation that can be used in education or entertainment. Our main problem is to separate the multi speech sources and also to filter irrelevant noises. After speech separation step, the results will be integrated with our previous speech and face recognition system which is based on Bioloid GP robot and Raspberry Pi 2 as controller. The experimental results show the accuracy of our blind speech separation system is about 88% in command and query recognition cases.

Geopolymer concrete for structural use: Recent findings and limitations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nuruddin, M. F.; Malkawi, A. B.; Fauzi, A.; Mohammed, B. S.; Almattarneh, H. M.

2016-06-01

Geopolymer binders offer a possible solution for several problems that facing the current cement industry. These binders exhibit similar or better engineering properties compared to cement and can utilize several types of waste materials. This paper presents the recent research progress regarding the structural behaviour of reinforced geopolymer concrete members including beams, columns and slabs. The reported results showed that the structural behaviour of the reinforced geopolymer concrete members is similar to the known behaviour of the ordinary reinforced concrete members. In addition, the currently available standards have been conservatively used for analysis and designing of reinforced geopolymer concrete structures. On the other hand, the main hurdles facing the spread of geopolymer concrete was the absence of standards and the concerns about the long-term properties. Other issues included the safety, cost and liability.

Quantifying the Time Course of Visual Object Processing Using ERPs: It's Time to Up the Game

PubMed Central

Rousselet, Guillaume A.; Pernet, Cyril R.

2011-01-01

Hundreds of studies have investigated the early ERPs to faces and objects using scalp and intracranial recordings. The vast majority of these studies have used uncontrolled stimuli, inappropriate designs, peak measurements, poor figures, and poor inferential and descriptive group statistics. These problems, together with a tendency to discuss any effect p < 0.05 rather than to report effect sizes, have led to a research field very much qualitative in nature, despite its quantitative inspirations, and in which predictions do not go beyond condition A > condition B. Here we describe the main limitations of face and object ERP research and suggest alternative strategies to move forward. The problems plague intracranial and surface ERP studies, but also studies using more advanced techniques – e.g., source space analyses and measurements of network dynamics, as well as many behavioral, fMRI, TMS, and LFP studies. In essence, it is time to stop amassing binary results and start using single-trial analyses to build models of visual perception. PMID:21779262

Amygdala hypoactivity to fearful faces in boys with conduct problems and callous-unemotional traits.

PubMed

Jones, Alice P; Laurens, Kristin R; Herba, Catherine M; Barker, Gareth J; Viding, Essi

2009-01-01

Although early-onset conduct problems predict both psychiatric and health problems in adult life, little research has been done to index neural correlates of conduct problems. Emerging research suggests that a subgroup of children with conduct problems and elevated levels of callous-unemotional traits may be genetically vulnerable to manifesting disturbances in neural reactivity to emotional stimuli indexing distress. Using functional MRI, the authors evaluated differences in neural response to emotional stimuli between boys with conduct problems and elevated levels of callous-unemotional traits and comparison boys. Seventeen boys with conduct problems and elevated levels of callous-unemotional traits and 13 comparison boys of equivalent age (mean=11 years) and IQ (mean=100) viewed blocked presentations of fearful and neutral faces. For each face, participants distinguished the sex of the face via manual response. Relative to the comparison group, boys with conduct problems and elevated levels of callous-unemotional traits manifested lesser right amygdala activity to fearful faces. This finding is in line with data from studies of adults with antisocial behavior and callous-unemotional traits (i.e., psychopaths), as well as from a recent study of adolescents with callous-unemotional traits, and suggests that the neural substrates of emotional impairment associated with callous-unemotional antisocial behavior are already present in childhood.

Investigation on factors that contribute to the abandonment of building in construction industry in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farhayu Ariffin, Nur; Jaafar, Mohd Faizal Md; Idris Ali, Mohamad; Irwan Ramli, Noram; Muthusamy, Khairunisa; Shukor Lim, Nor Hasanah Abdul

2018-03-01

In Malaysia, the construction sector is one of the important sectors that contribute to economic growth and employments. However, a major concern facing the construction industry is the growing rate of delays in project delivery. In the worse cases, the projects were abandoned due to some reasons when the contract period ended. Abandoned building defines as construction work that has been continuously stalled for 6 months or more, during the project completion period or beyond the scheduled date of completion. When the projects become abandoned, it gives an adverse effect on many parties such as the developer, contractor, consultant and also client. According to previous researchers, the abandonment of building causes a serious problem and need some mitigation plan to avoid this problem from occurring. This study will investigate the fundamental factors that contribute to the abandonment of building and projects in Malaysia based on the current data of the abandoned building in most states in Malaysia. The data was collected from the respondents who is in the construction industry and had experience working with abandoned housing project. Form the respondents perspective, it shows that the main factor contribute to the building abandonment is due to the financial problem facing by the developer company.

The most common problem facing by the maintenance department: A case Study between Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norazam Yasin, Mohd; Mohamad Zin, Rosli; Halid Abdullah, Abd; Shafiq Mahmad, Muhammad; Fikri Hasmori, Muhammad

2017-11-01

From time to time, the maintenance works become more challenging due to construction of new building and also aging of the existing buildings. University buildings without any exception require proper maintenance services to support their function requirements and this can be considered as major responsibilities to be fulfilled by the maintenance department in the universities. Maintenance department specifically will face various kinds of problems in their operation works and thus this might influence the maintenance work operations itself. This study purposely to identify the common problem facing by the maintenance department and also to examine the current status of the maintenance department. In addition, this study would also propose any suitable approach that could be implemented to overcome the problem facing by the maintenance department. To achieve the objectives of this study, a combination of deep literature study and carrying out a survey is necessary. Literature study aimed to obtain deeper information about this study, meanwhile a survey aimed at identifying the common problem facing by the maintenance department and also to provide the information of the maintenance department’s organization. Several methods will be used in analyzing the data obtained through the survey, including Microsoft Office Excel and also using mean index formula. This study has identified three categories of problem in the maintenance department, which are management problems, human resource problem, and technical problems. Following the findings, several solutions being proposed which can be implemented as the solution to the problem facing. These suggestions have the potential to improve the maintenance department work efficiency, thus could help to increase the department productivity.

Planning for Resilient Settlement in Port Fairy, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuntung Pandangwati, Sri

2017-07-01

This paper aims to discuss some strategies to address problems and challenges faced by a community living in Port Fairy, a coastal town located in Southwestern Victoria, Australia. It is about three hours’ drive from Melbourne’s CBD. Like other coastal towns, Port Fairy is also affected by climate change, severe weather events and sea level rise. The impact of these problems can be seen in East Beach, an important tourist destination in Port Fairy. Soil erosion and flood due to severe wind and wave, are main problems in East Beach. This will not only affect the housings, but also the landfill site located in this beach. Therefore, it is challenging to develop solutions to enhance the resilience of this coastal town. This study may inspire Indonesian planners to further develop the resilience of hundreds coastal towns in Indonesia.

A Ranking Analysis/An Interlinking Approach of New Triangular Fuzzy Cognitive Maps and Combined Effective Time Dependent Matrix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adiga, Shreemathi; Saraswathi, A.; Praveen Prakash, A.

2018-04-01

This paper aims an interlinking approach of new Triangular Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (TrFCM) and Combined Effective Time Dependent (CETD) matrix to find the ranking of the problems of Transgenders. Section one begins with an introduction that briefly describes the scope of Triangular Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (TrFCM) and CETD Matrix. Section two provides the process of causes of problems faced by Transgenders using Fuzzy Triangular Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (TrFCM) method and performs the calculations using the collected data among the Transgender. In Section 3, the reasons for the main causes for the problems of the Transgenders. Section 4 describes the Charles Spearmans coefficients of rank correlation method by interlinking of Triangular Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (TrFCM) Method and CETD Matrix. Section 5 shows the results based on our study.

An Architectural Model of Visual Motion Understanding

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-08-01

of the Center for Visual Sciences of the University of Rochester. Their courage in the face of the overwhelming com- plexity of the human visual...analysis should perform better than either approach by itself. Notice that the problems of the two approaches are non-overlapping. Continuous methods face no...success. This is not terribly surprising, as the problem is inherently very difficult. Consider the problems faced by a unit that is trying to compute the

Semisupervised kernel marginal Fisher analysis for face recognition.

PubMed

Wang, Ziqiang; Sun, Xia; Sun, Lijun; Huang, Yuchun

2013-01-01

Dimensionality reduction is a key problem in face recognition due to the high-dimensionality of face image. To effectively cope with this problem, a novel dimensionality reduction algorithm called semisupervised kernel marginal Fisher analysis (SKMFA) for face recognition is proposed in this paper. SKMFA can make use of both labelled and unlabeled samples to learn the projection matrix for nonlinear dimensionality reduction. Meanwhile, it can successfully avoid the singularity problem by not calculating the matrix inverse. In addition, in order to make the nonlinear structure captured by the data-dependent kernel consistent with the intrinsic manifold structure, a manifold adaptive nonparameter kernel is incorporated into the learning process of SKMFA. Experimental results on three face image databases demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm.

Problems Facing Rural Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, C. E.; And Others

Problems facing rural Scottish schools range from short term consideration of daily operation to long term consideration of organizational alternatives. Addressed specifically, such problems include consideration of: (1) liaison between a secondary school and its feeder primary schools; (2) preservice teacher training for work in small, isolated…

Multi-Dimensional, Non-Pyrolyzing Ablation Test Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Risch, Tim; Kostyk, Chris

2016-01-01

Non-pyrolyzingcarbonaceous materials represent a class of candidate material for hypersonic vehicle components providing both structural and thermal protection system capabilities. Two problems relevant to this technology are presented. The first considers the one-dimensional ablation of a carbon material subject to convective heating. The second considers two-dimensional conduction in a rectangular block subject to radiative heating. Surface thermochemistry for both problems includes finite-rate surface kinetics at low temperatures, diffusion limited ablation at intermediate temperatures, and vaporization at high temperatures. The first problem requires the solution of both the steady-state thermal profile with respect to the ablating surface and the transient thermal history for a one-dimensional ablating planar slab with temperature-dependent material properties. The slab front face is convectively heated and also reradiates to a room temperature environment. The back face is adiabatic. The steady-state temperature profile and steady-state mass loss rate should be predicted. Time-dependent front and back face temperature, surface recession and recession rate along with the final temperature profile should be predicted for the time-dependent solution. The second problem requires the solution for the transient temperature history for an ablating, two-dimensional rectangular solid with anisotropic, temperature-dependent thermal properties. The front face is radiatively heated, convectively cooled, and also reradiates to a room temperature environment. The back face and sidewalls are adiabatic. The solution should include the following 9 items: final surface recession profile, time-dependent temperature history of both the front face and back face at both the centerline and sidewall, as well as the time-dependent surface recession and recession rate on the front face at both the centerline and sidewall. The results of the problems from all submitters will be collected, summarized, and presented at a later conference.

Can we match ultraviolet face images against their visible counterparts?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narang, Neeru; Bourlai, Thirimachos; Hornak, Lawrence A.

2015-05-01

In law enforcement and security applications, the acquisition of face images is critical in producing key trace evidence for the successful identification of potential threats. However, face recognition (FR) for face images captured using different camera sensors, and under variable illumination conditions, and expressions is very challenging. In this paper, we investigate the advantages and limitations of the heterogeneous problem of matching ultra violet (from 100 nm to 400 nm in wavelength) or UV, face images against their visible (VIS) counterparts, when all face images are captured under controlled conditions. The contributions of our work are three-fold; (i) We used a camera sensor designed with the capability to acquire UV images at short-ranges, and generated a dual-band (VIS and UV) database that is composed of multiple, full frontal, face images of 50 subjects. Two sessions were collected that span over the period of 2 months. (ii) For each dataset, we determined which set of face image pre-processing algorithms are more suitable for face matching, and, finally, (iii) we determined which FR algorithm better matches cross-band face images, resulting in high rank-1 identification rates. Experimental results show that our cross spectral matching (the heterogeneous problem, where gallery and probe sets consist of face images acquired in different spectral bands) algorithms achieve sufficient identification performance. However, we also conclude that the problem under study, is very challenging, and it requires further investigation to address real-world law enforcement or military applications. To the best of our knowledge, this is first time in the open literature the problem of cross-spectral matching of UV against VIS band face images is being investigated.

Main interior space facing south toward the ocean. Original scissor ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Main interior space facing south toward the ocean. Original scissor trusses and deck roof are visible at the top. Octagonal window with large picture windows face the ocean. - San Luis Yacht Club, Avila Pier, South of Front Street, Avila Beach, San Luis Obispo County, CA

Memory for angry faces, impulsivity, and problematic behavior in adolescence.

PubMed

d'Acremont, Mathieu; Van der Linden, Martial

2007-04-01

Research has shown that cognitive processes like the attribution of hostile intention or angry emotion to others contribute to the development and maintenance of conduct problems. However, the role of memory has been understudied in comparison with attribution biases. The aim of this study was thus to test if a memory bias for angry faces was related to conduct problems in youth. Adolescents from a junior secondary school were presented with angry and happy faces and were later asked to recognize the same faces with a neutral expression. They also completed an impulsivity questionnaire. A teacher assessed their behavior. The results showed that a better recognition of angry faces than happy faces predicted conduct problems and hyperactivity/inattention as reported by the teacher. The memory bias effect was more pronounced for impulsive adolescents. It is suggested that a memory bias for angry faces favors disruptive behavior but that a good ability to control impulses may moderate the negative impact of this bias.

Disturbance observer based model predictive control for accurate atmospheric entry of spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Chao; Yang, Jun; Li, Shihua; Li, Qi; Guo, Lei

2018-05-01

Facing the complex aerodynamic environment of Mars atmosphere, a composite atmospheric entry trajectory tracking strategy is investigated in this paper. External disturbances, initial states uncertainties and aerodynamic parameters uncertainties are the main problems. The composite strategy is designed to solve these problems and improve the accuracy of Mars atmospheric entry. This strategy includes a model predictive control for optimized trajectory tracking performance, as well as a disturbance observer based feedforward compensation for external disturbances and uncertainties attenuation. 500-run Monte Carlo simulations show that the proposed composite control scheme achieves more precise Mars atmospheric entry (3.8 km parachute deployment point distribution error) than the baseline control scheme (8.4 km) and integral control scheme (5.8 km).

Can Limiting Choice Increase Social Welfare? The Elderly and Health Insurance

PubMed Central

Hanoch, Yaniv; Rice, Thomas

2006-01-01

Herbert Simon's work on bounded rationality has had little impact on health policy discourse, despite numerous supportive findings. This is particularly surprising in regard to the elderly, a group marked by a decline in higher cognitive functions. Elders' cognitive capacity to make decisions will be challenged even further with the introduction of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit program, mainly because of the many options available. At the same time, a growing body of evidence points to the perils of having too many choices. By combining research from decision science, economics, and psychology, we highlight the potential problems with the expanding health insurance choices facing the elderly and conclude with some policy suggestions to alleviate the problem. PMID:16529568

Liver transplantation in Asia: past, present and future.

PubMed

Ng, Kelvin K; Lo, Chung Mau

2009-04-01

With the technical advances and improvements in perioperative management and immunosuppressants, liver transplantation is the standard treatment for patients with end-stage liver diseases. In Asia, a shortage of deceased donor liver grafts is the universal problem to be faced with in all transplant centres. Many surgical innovations are then driven to counteract this problem. This review focuses on 3 issues that denote the development of liver transplantation in Asian countries. These include living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), split liver transplantation (SLT) and liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Minimal graft weight, types of liver graft to donate and the inclusion of the middle hepatic vein with the graft are the main issues to be established in LDLT. The rapid growth and wide dissemination of LDLT has certainly alleviated the supply-and-demand problem of liver grafts in Asia. SLT is another attractive approach. Technical expertise, donor selection and graft allocation are the main determinants for its success. Liver transplantation plays a key role in the management of HCC in Asia. LDLT would be the main strategy in this aspect. The issue of extending the selection criteria for HCC patients for LDLT is still controversial. On the whole, future developments to increase the donor pool for the expanding recipient need in Asia would involve transplantation from non-heart beating donor and ABO incompatible transplantation.

1064-/1319-nm Nd:YAG laser in maxillofacial surgery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smucler, Roman; Mazanek, Jiri

1998-01-01

Patients feel face destruction as the main problem of oncological treatment in maxillofacial area. Finding a compromise between radicality and esthetic point of view is always problematic. Original Czech 1064/1319 nm Nd:YAG laser--U.S. patient pending--is new precise tool which can give new possibilities. Two wavelengths--with different water absorption--give unique chance to control collateral tissue damage. We can combine vaporization, coagulation and hyperthermic therapy special for every part of face and for every tissue. Thanks to that we use this machine in primary treatment and in palliative therapy independently or in combination with classical knife excision. Thanks to the use of fiber we are able to bit not only superficial lesions but we have opportunity of deep hyperthermic therapy with different collateral penetration. After 20 months we can show interesting results.

Still a difficult business? Negotiating alcohol-related problems in general practice consultations.

PubMed

Rapley, Tim; May, Carl; Frances Kaner, Eileen

2006-11-01

This paper describes general practitioners' (GPs) experiences of detecting and managing alcohol and alcohol-related problems in consultations. We undertook qualitative research in two phases in the North-East of England. Initially, qualitative interviews with 29 GPs explored their everyday work with patients with alcohol-related issues. We then undertook group interviews--two with GPs and one with a primary care team--where they discussed and challenged findings of the interviews. The GPs reported routinely discussing alcohol with patients with a range of alcohol-related problems. GPs believed that this work is important, but felt that until patients were willing to accept that their alcohol consumption was problematic they could achieve very little. They tentatively introduced alcohol as a potential problem, re-introduced the topic periodically, and then waited until the patient decided to change their behaviour. They were aware that they could identify and manage more patients. A lack of time and having to work with the multiple problems that patients brought to consultations were the main factors that stopped GPs managing more risky drinkers. Centrally, we compared the results of our study with [Thom, B., & Tellez, C. (1986). A difficult business-Detecting and managing alcohol-problems in general-practice. British Journal of Addiction, 81, 405-418] seminal study that was undertaken 20 years ago. We show how the intellectual, moral, emotional and practical difficulties that GPs currently face are quite similar to those faced by GPs from 20 years ago. As the definition of what could constitute abnormal alcohol consumption has expanded, so the range of consultations that they may have to negotiate these difficulties in has also expanded.

MAIN STREET FACING VIEW OF THE HOUSE. THIS VIEW IS ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

MAIN STREET FACING VIEW OF THE HOUSE. THIS VIEW IS FACING SOUTHWEST - Camp H.M. Smith and Navy Public Works Center Manana Title VII (Capehart) Housing, U-Shaped Two-Bedroom Single-Family Type 6, Birch Circle, Elm Drive, Elm Circle, and Date Drive, Pearl City, Honolulu County, HI

Examining Information Problem-Solving, Knowledge, and Application Gains within Two Instructional Methods: Problem-Based and Computer-Mediated Participatory Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newell, Terrance S.

2008-01-01

This study compared the effectiveness of two instructional methods--problem-based instruction within a face-to-face context and computer-mediated participatory simulation--in increasing students' content knowledge and application gains in the area of information problem-solving. The instructional methods were implemented over a four-week period. A…

Hierarchical Spatio-Temporal Probabilistic Graphical Model with Multiple Feature Fusion for Binary Facial Attribute Classification in Real-World Face Videos.

PubMed

Demirkus, Meltem; Precup, Doina; Clark, James J; Arbel, Tal

2016-06-01

Recent literature shows that facial attributes, i.e., contextual facial information, can be beneficial for improving the performance of real-world applications, such as face verification, face recognition, and image search. Examples of face attributes include gender, skin color, facial hair, etc. How to robustly obtain these facial attributes (traits) is still an open problem, especially in the presence of the challenges of real-world environments: non-uniform illumination conditions, arbitrary occlusions, motion blur and background clutter. What makes this problem even more difficult is the enormous variability presented by the same subject, due to arbitrary face scales, head poses, and facial expressions. In this paper, we focus on the problem of facial trait classification in real-world face videos. We have developed a fully automatic hierarchical and probabilistic framework that models the collective set of frame class distributions and feature spatial information over a video sequence. The experiments are conducted on a large real-world face video database that we have collected, labelled and made publicly available. The proposed method is flexible enough to be applied to any facial classification problem. Experiments on a large, real-world video database McGillFaces [1] of 18,000 video frames reveal that the proposed framework outperforms alternative approaches, by up to 16.96 and 10.13%, for the facial attributes of gender and facial hair, respectively.

A Qualitative Study of Psychosocial Problems among Parents of Children with Cerebral Palsy Attending Two Tertiary Care Hospitals in Western India

PubMed Central

Panchal, Dhara Antani

2014-01-01

Objective. To explore the psychosocial problems faced by the parents of children with cerebral palsy (CP) in rural and urban settings. Design. Qualitative research design using focus group discussions (FGDs) was used for the study. Setting. Two FGDs comprising one at a rural tertiary level care hospital and the other at an urban tertiary level care hospital were conducted. Participants. A total of thirteen parents participated in the two FGDs. Main Outcome Measured. Psychosocial problems experienced by the parents of children suffering from CP were measured. Results. The problems experienced by the mothers were associated with common themes such as disturbed social relationships, health problems, financial problems, moments of happiness, worries about future of the child, need for more support services, and lack of adequate number of trained physiotherapists. All the parents had children with problems since birth and most had approached various health care providers for a cure for their child. Conclusions. A wide range of psychosocial problems are experienced by the parents of children with CP. Studies like this can provide valuable information for designing a family centered care programme for children with CP. PMID:24967331

Facing the Language-Memory Problem in the Study of Autobiographical Memory.

PubMed

Bartoli, Eleonora; Smorti, Andrea

2018-05-16

This paper discusses the problem of the role of language in autobiographical memory, that is barely considered in studies on autobiographical memories and narratives. As a matter of fact, most of the current studies on autobiographical memory confounded memory and narrative together. The present paper focuses on two main issues. Firstly, it debates how narratives contribute to the construction of autobiographical memories through self-other communication. Secondly, it reflects on how language and communication should be manipulated in studies about autobiographical memory. This paper is made of three sections: the first section discusses the role of language, particularly in the form of narrative, as a social tool by which autobiographical memories can be organised in a life story; the second section examines previous methods of investigation used in the study of autobiographical memories; finally, the third section proposes different methodological alternatives to overcome the problems emerging from our analysis of literature.

MARINA & MAINE STREETS FACING NW. DARKER COLORED HOME ON ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

MARINA & MAINE STREETS FACING NW. DARKER COLORED HOME ON SE CORNER. NYSTROM VILLAGE, LIKE ATCHISON VILLAGE (HAER CA-326-N), HOUSED WORKERS DURING WORLD WAR II - Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park, Nystrom Village, Marina & Maine Streets, Richmond, Contra Costa County, CA

Conflict resolution and Y2K problems. How biomaterials will face up to the real issues of the future.

PubMed

Williams, D

1999-12-01

At the end of this century, the medical device industry has achieved some notable successes, yet achieves so little in terms of significant functional replacement and reconstruction of the body. This is partly because of the materials that are used. This article addresses the main points of concern and highlights the way in which medical devices of the future will be based on different principles and will deploy different tactics in the search for safe and reliable treatments of disease and injury.

Conceptual design of semi-automatic wheelbarrow to overcome ergonomics problems among palm oil plantation workers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nawik, N. S. M.; Deros, B. M.; Rahman, M. N. A.; Sukadarin, E. H.; Nordin, N.; Tamrin, S. B. M.; Bakar, S. A.; Norzan, M. L.

2015-12-01

An ergonomics problem is one of the main issues faced by palm oil plantation workers especially during harvesting and collecting of fresh fruit bunches (FFB). Intensive manual handling and labor activities involved have been associated with high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among palm oil plantation workers. New and safe technology on machines and equipment in palm oil plantation are very important in order to help workers reduce risks and injuries while working. The aim of this research is to improve the design of a wheelbarrow, which is suitable for workers and a small size oil palm plantation. The wheelbarrow design was drawn using CATIA ergonomic features. The characteristic of ergonomics assessment is performed by comparing the existing design of wheelbarrow. Conceptual design was developed based on the problems that have been reported by workers. From the analysis of the problem, finally have resulting concept design the ergonomic quality of semi-automatic wheelbarrow with safe and suitable used for palm oil plantation workers.

Social problems and health in urbanization.

PubMed

Talib, R; Agus, M R

1992-01-01

One of the main characteristics of urbanization in Asia is the very rapid increase in population movement from rural to urban centers. This phenomenon has led to changing population structure, its composition and lifestyles in the cities and its fringes. As a consequent of population pressure on urban system and infrastructure, compounded by the nature of the composition of the in-migrant population, the urban concentrates are faced with several social and socio-economic problems. Although there has been a lot of interests among researchers to study the causes and effects or urbanization, there is a vacuum in the area of health implications. Planners and administrators usually give priority to the physical aspects of the urban and urbanities. Social problems and health implications thereof receives very little attention either at the level of administration or research. This paper therefore is a brave attempt to focus and draw some attention to this neglected area by looking at selected social problems and the health consequences.

Varying face occlusion detection and iterative recovery for face recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Meng; Hu, Zhengping; Sun, Zhe; Zhao, Shuhuan; Sun, Mei

2017-05-01

In most sparse representation methods for face recognition (FR), occlusion problems were usually solved via removing the occlusion part of both query samples and training samples to perform the recognition process. This practice ignores the global feature of facial image and may lead to unsatisfactory results due to the limitation of local features. Considering the aforementioned drawback, we propose a method called varying occlusion detection and iterative recovery for FR. The main contributions of our method are as follows: (1) to detect an accurate occlusion area of facial images, an image processing and intersection-based clustering combination method is used for occlusion FR; (2) according to an accurate occlusion map, the new integrated facial images are recovered iteratively and put into a recognition process; and (3) the effectiveness on recognition accuracy of our method is verified by comparing it with three typical occlusion map detection methods. Experiments show that the proposed method has a highly accurate detection and recovery performance and that it outperforms several similar state-of-the-art methods against partial contiguous occlusion.

Testing Scientific Software: A Systematic Literature Review.

PubMed

Kanewala, Upulee; Bieman, James M

2014-10-01

Scientific software plays an important role in critical decision making, for example making weather predictions based on climate models, and computation of evidence for research publications. Recently, scientists have had to retract publications due to errors caused by software faults. Systematic testing can identify such faults in code. This study aims to identify specific challenges, proposed solutions, and unsolved problems faced when testing scientific software. We conducted a systematic literature survey to identify and analyze relevant literature. We identified 62 studies that provided relevant information about testing scientific software. We found that challenges faced when testing scientific software fall into two main categories: (1) testing challenges that occur due to characteristics of scientific software such as oracle problems and (2) testing challenges that occur due to cultural differences between scientists and the software engineering community such as viewing the code and the model that it implements as inseparable entities. In addition, we identified methods to potentially overcome these challenges and their limitations. Finally we describe unsolved challenges and how software engineering researchers and practitioners can help to overcome them. Scientific software presents special challenges for testing. Specifically, cultural differences between scientist developers and software engineers, along with the characteristics of the scientific software make testing more difficult. Existing techniques such as code clone detection can help to improve the testing process. Software engineers should consider special challenges posed by scientific software such as oracle problems when developing testing techniques.

A web-based e-learning application for wound diagnosis and treatment.

PubMed

Veredas, Francisco J; Ruiz-Bandera, Esperanza; Villa-Estrada, Francisca; Rufino-González, Juan F; Morente, Laura

2014-10-01

Pressure ulcers (PrU) are considered as one of the most challenging problems that Nursing professionals have to deal with in their daily practice. Nowadays, the education on PrUs is mainly based on traditional lecturing, seminars and face-to-face instruction, sometimes with the support of photographs of wounds being used as teaching material. This traditional educational methodology suffers from some important limitations, which could affect the efficacy of the learning process. This current study has been designed to introduce information and communication technologies (ICT) in the education on PrU for undergraduate students, with the main objective of evaluating the advantages an disadvantages of using ICT, by comparing the learning results obtained from using an e-learning tool with those from a traditional teaching methodology. In order to meet this major objective, a web-based learning system named ePULab has been designed and developed as an adaptive e-learning tool for the autonomous acquisition of knowledge on PrU evaluation. This innovative system has been validated by means of a randomized controlled trial that compares its learning efficacy with that from a control group receiving a traditional face-to-face instruction. Students using ePULab gave significantly better (p<0.01) learning acquisition scores (from pre-test mean 8.27 (SD 1.39) to post-test mean 15.83 (SD 2.52)) than those following traditional lecture-style classes (from pre-test mean 8.23 (SD 1.23) to post-test mean 11.6 (SD 2.52)). In this article, the ePULab software is described in detail and the results from that experimental educational validation study are also presented and analyzed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinical review: Helmet and non-invasive mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients.

PubMed

Esquinas Rodriguez, Antonio M; Papadakos, Peter J; Carron, Michele; Cosentini, Roberto; Chiumello, Davide

2013-04-25

Non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIV) has proved to be an excellent technique in selected critically ill patients with different forms of acute respiratory failure. However, NIV can fail on account of the severity of the disease and technical problems, particularly at the interface. The helmet could be an alternative interface compared to face mask to improve NIV success. We performed a clinical review to investigate the main physiological and clinical studies assessing the efficacy and related issues of NIV delivered with a helmet. A computerized search strategy of MEDLINE/PubMed (January 2000 to May 2012) and EMBASE (January 2000 to May 2012) was conducted limiting the search to retrospective, prospective, nonrandomized and randomized trials. We analyzed 152 studies from which 33 were selected, 12 physiological and 21 clinical (879 patients). The physiological studies showed that NIV with helmet could predispose to CO₂ rebreathing and increase the patients' ventilator asynchrony. The main indications for NIV were acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema, hypoxemic acute respiratory failure (community-acquired pneumonia, postoperative and immunocompromised patients) and hypercapnic acute respiratory failure. In 9 of the 21 studies the helmet was compared to a face mask during either continous positive airway pressure or pressure support ventilation. In eight studies oxygenation was similar in the two groups, while the intubation rate was similar in four and lower in three studies for the helmet group compared to face mask group. The outcome was similar in six studies. The tolerance was better with the helmet in six of the studies. Although these data are limited, NIV delivered by helmet could be a safe alternative to the face mask in patients with acute respiratory failure.

Fabrication of metal matrix composites by powder metallurgy: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manohar, Guttikonda; Dey, Abhijit; Pandey, K. M.; Maity, S. R.

2018-04-01

Now a day's metal matrix components are used in may industries and it finds the applications in many fields so, to make it as better performable materials. So, the need to increase the mechanical properties of the composites is there. As seen from previous studies major problem faced by the MMC's are wetting, interface bonding between reinforcement and matrix material while they are prepared by conventional methods like stir casting, squeeze casting and other techniques which uses liquid molten metals. So many researchers adopt PM to eliminate these defects and to increase the mechanical properties of the composites. Powder metallurgy is one of the better ways to prepare composites and Nano composites. And the major problem faced by the conventional methods are uniform distribution of the reinforcement particles in the matrix alloy, many researchers tried to homogeneously dispersion of reinforcements in matrix but they find it difficult through conventional methods, among all they find ultrasonic dispersion is efficient. This review article is mainly concentrated on importance of powder metallurgy in homogeneous distribution of reinforcement in matrix by ball milling or mechanical milling and how powder metallurgy improves the mechanical properties of the composites.

Detail of main entrance; camera facing southwest. Mare Island ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Detail of main entrance; camera facing southwest. - Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Hospital Headquarters, Johnson Lane, west side at intersection of Johnson Lane & Cossey Street, Vallejo, Solano County, CA

Interior detail of dispatch boards in main hall, facing west ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Interior detail of dispatch boards in main hall, facing west - International Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union Hall, Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory, Port Hueneme Road, Port Hueneme, Ventura County, CA

Cyberbullying victimization and mental health in adolescents and the moderating role of family dinners.

PubMed

Elgar, Frank J; Napoletano, Anthony; Saul, Grace; Dirks, Melanie A; Craig, Wendy; Poteat, V Paul; Holt, Melissa; Koenig, Brian W

2014-11-01

This study presents evidence that cyberbullying victimization relates to internalizing, externalizing, and substance use problems in adolescents and that the frequency of family dinners attenuate these associations. To examine the unique association between cyberbullying victimization and adolescent mental health (after controlling differences in involvement in traditional, face-to-face bullying) and to explore the potential moderating role of family contact in this association. This cross-sectional, observational study used survey data on 18,834 students (aged 12-18 years) from 49 schools in a Midwestern US state. Logistic regression analysis tested associations between cyberbullying victimization and the likelihood of mental health and substance use problems. Negative binomial regression analysis tested direct and synergistic contributions of cyberbullying victimization and family dinners on the rates of mental health and substance use problems. Frequency of cyberbullying victimization during the previous 12 months; victimization by traditional (face-to-face) bullying; and perpetration of traditional bullying. Five internalizing mental health problems (anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide ideation, and suicide attempt), 2 externalizing problems (fighting and vandalism), and 4 substance use problems (frequent alcohol use, frequent binge drinking, prescription drug misuse, and over-the-counter drug misuse). About one-fifth (18.6%) of the sample experienced cyberbullying during the previous 12 months. The frequency of cyberbullying positively related to all 11 internalizing, externalizing, and substance use problems (odds ratios from 2.6 [95% CI, 1.7-3.8] to 4.5 [95% CI, 3.0-6.6]). However, victimization related more closely to rates of problems in adolescents that had fewer family dinners. Cyberbullying relates to mental health and substance use problems in adolescents, even after their involvement in face-to-face bullying is taken into account. Although correlational, these results suggest that family dinners (ie, family contact and communication) are beneficial to adolescent mental health and may help protect adolescents from the harmful consequences of cyberbullying.

Marshak Lectureship Talk: Women in Physics in the Baltic States Region: Problems and Solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satkovskiene, Dalia

2008-03-01

In this contribution the gender equality problem in physics will be discussed on the basis of the results obtained implementing the project ``Baltic States Network: Women in Sciences and High Technology'' (BASNET) initiated by Lithuanian women physicists and financed by European Commission. The main goal of BASNET project was creation of the regional Strategy how to deal with women in sciences problem in the Baltic States. It has some stages and the contribution follows them. The first one was in depth sociological study aiming to find out disincentives and barriers women scientists face in their career and work at science and higher education institutions. Analysis of results revealed wide range of problems concerned with science organization, management and financing common for both counterparts. However it also proved the existence of women discrimination in sciences. As main factors influencing women under-representation in Physics was found: the stereotypes existing in the society where physics is assigned to the masculine area of activity; failings of the science management system, where highest positions are distributed not using the institutionalized objective criteria but by voting, where the correctness of majority solutions is anticipated implicitly. In physics where male scientists are the majority (they also usually compose executive boards, committees etc.) results of such a procedures often are unfavorable for women. The same reasons also influence women ``visibility'' in physicist's community and as the consequence possibility to receive needed recourses for their research as well as appropriate presentation of results obtained. The study revealed also the conservatism of scientific community- reluctance to face existing in the scientific society problems and to start solving them. On the basis of the results obtained as well practice of other countries the common strategy of solving women in physics (sciences) in the Baltic States region was formulated. As changing the stereotypes is long lasting process it was decided firstly to concentrate strategy implementation plans on changes in science management policy tackling the problem from the top and allowing receive the most quick results. For this we created the regional Baltic States Network among the corresponding international women working groups, professional organizations (Scientific societies) and corresponding departments of the governmental institutions. BASNET also became a full member of European Platform of Women Scientists (EPWS)-prestige women organization signally influencing the European Community science policy.

Collaborative Accounting Problem Solving via Group Support Systems in a Face-to-Face versus Distant Learning Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Jacqueline A.

2001-01-01

Accounting students (n=128) used either face-to-face or distant Group support systems to complete collaborative tasks. Participation and social presence perceptions were significantly higher face to face. Task difficulty did not affect participation in either environment. (Contains 54 references.) (JOW)

Conceptual and operational understanding of learning for sustainability: a case study of the beef industry in north-eastern Australia.

PubMed

Lankester, Ally J

2013-04-15

Extensive attention has been given to understanding learning processes that foster sustainability. Despite this focus there is still limited knowledge of learning processes that create changes in perspectives and practices. This paper aims to increase understanding of learning processes in the context of sustainability and refers to the beef industry in north-eastern Australia. A framework based on adult learning theories was developed and used to analyse the what, why and how of beef producers' learning to improve land condition. Twenty-eight producers were interviewed face-to-face and another 91 participated in a telephone survey. Most beef producers were motivated to learn due to perceived problems with existing practices and described mainly learning new skills and techniques to improve production. Beef producers main learning sources were their own experiences, observing others' practices and sharing experiences with peers and family members. Results showed that organised collective learning, adversity and active experimentation with natural resource management skills and techniques can facilitate critical reflection of practices, questioning of the self, others and cultural norms and an enhanced sense of environmental responsibility. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simulation of supersonic turbulent flow in the vicinity of an inclined backward-facing step

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Askary, W. A.

2011-08-01

Large eddy simulation (LES) is a viable and powerful tool to analyse unsteady three-dimensional turbulent flows. In this article, the method of LES is used to compute a plane turbulent supersonic boundary layer subjected to different pressure gradients. The pressure gradients are generated by allowing the flow to pass in the vicinity of an expansion-compression ramp (inclined backward-facing step with leeward-face angle of 25°) for an upstream Mach number of 2.9. The inflow boundary condition is the main problem for all turbulent wall-bounded flows. An approach to solve this problem is to extract instantaneous velocities, temperature and density data from an auxiliary simulation (inflow generator). To generate an appropriate realistic inflow condition to the inflow generator itself the rescaling technique for compressible flows is used. In this method, Morkovin's hypothesis, in which the total temperature fluctuations are neglected compared with the static temperature fluctuations, is applied to rescale and generate the temperature profile at inlet. This technique was successfully developed and applied by the present author for an LES of subsonic three-dimensional boundary layer of a smooth curved ramp. The present LES results are compared with the available experimental data as well as numerical data. The positive impact of the rescaling formulation of the temperature is proven by the convincing agreement of the obtained results with the experimental data compared with published numerical work and sheds light on the quality of the developed compressible inflow generator.

Recognition of familiar people with a mobile cloud architecture for Alzheimer patients.

PubMed

Fardoun, Habib M; Mashat, Abdullah A; Ramirez Castillo, Jaime

2017-02-01

This article aims to the evaluation of a prototypal assistive technology for Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients that helps them to remember personal details of familiar people they meet in their daily lives. An architecture is proposed for a personal information system powered by face recognition, where the main AD patient's interaction is performed in a smart watch device and the face recognition is carried out on the Cloud. A prototype was developed to perform some tests in a real-life scenario. The prototype showed correct results as a personal information system based on face recognition. However, usability flaws were identified in the interaction with the smart watch. Our architecture showed correct performance and we realized that it could be introduced in other fields, apart from assistive technology. However, when being targeted to patients with dementia some usability problems appeared, such as difficulties to read information in a small screen or take a proper photo. These problems should be addressed in further research. Implications for Rehabilitation This article presents a prototypal assistive technology for Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. It targets AD patients to recognize their familiars, especially in medium-advanced stages of the disease. Analysing pictures taken by a smart watch, which the patient carries, the person in front is recognized and information about him is sent to the watch. This technology enables patients to have all the information of any close person, as a remainder, easing their daily lives, improving their self-esteem and stimulating the patient with novel technology.

The challenges of emerging HISs in bridging the communication gaps among physicians and nurses in China: an interview study.

PubMed

Wen, Dong; Zhang, Xingting; Wan, Jie; Fu, Jing; Lei, Jianbo

2017-06-12

To explore the current situation, existing problems and possible causes of said problems with regards to physician-nurse communication under an environment of increasingly widespread usage of Hospital Information Systems and to seek out new potential strategies in information technology to improve physician-nurse communication. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 physicians and nurses in five leading tertiary grade A hospitals in Beijing, China (two physicians and two nurses in each hospital). The interviews primarily included three aspects comprising the current situation and problems of clinical physician-nurse communication, the application and problems of Hospital Information Systems, and assessments on the improvement of physician-nurse communication through the usage of information technology. The inductive conventional content analysis approach was employed. (1) Physicians and nurses are generally quite satisfied with the current situation of communication. However, the information needs of nurses are prone to being overlooked, and the communication methods are primarily synchronous communication such as face-to-face and phone communication. (2) Hospital Information Systems are gradually being used for physician-nurse communication; in the meantime, physicians and nurses face challenges with regards to the improvement of physician-nurse communication through the usage of information technology. Challenges differ based on the different stages of using the system and the different levels of understanding of physicians and nurses towards information technology. Their dissatisfaction mainly deals with system errors and the level of convenience in using the system. (3) In-depth interviews found that in general, physicians and nurses have a strong interest and trust in improving physician-nurse communication through appropriate information technology, e.g., communication methods such as information reminders for physicians and nurses through mobile devices and instant voice-to-text conversion methods. There are objective risks in physician-nurse communication in Chinese hospitals, and clinical information systems lack solutions to the relevant problems. Developing a dedicated, mobile, quick and convenient module for physician-nurse communication within existing hospital information system with automatic reminders for important information that segregates between synchronous and asynchronous communication according to the different types of information could help improve physician-nurse communication.

Famous faces and voices: Differential profiles in early right and left semantic dementia and in Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Luzzi, Simona; Baldinelli, Sara; Ranaldi, Valentina; Fabi, Katia; Cafazzo, Viviana; Fringuelli, Fabio; Silvestrini, Mauro; Provinciali, Leandro; Reverberi, Carlo; Gainotti, Guido

2017-01-08

Famous face and voice recognition is reported to be impaired both in semantic dementia (SD) and in Alzheimer's Disease (AD), although more severely in the former. In AD a coexistence of perceptual impairment in face and voice processing has also been reported and this could contribute to the altered performance in complex semantic tasks. On the other hand, in SD both face and voice recognition disorders could be related to the prevalence of atrophy in the right temporal lobe (RTL). The aim of the present study was twofold: (1) to investigate famous faces and voices recognition in SD and AD to verify if the two diseases show a differential pattern of impairment, resulting from disruption of different cognitive mechanisms; (2) to check if face and voice recognition disorders prevail in patients with atrophy mainly affecting the RTL. To avoid the potential influence of primary perceptual problems in face and voice recognition, a pool of patients suffering from early SD and AD were administered a detailed set of tests exploring face and voice perception. Thirteen SD (8 with prevalence of right and 5 with prevalence of left temporal atrophy) and 25 CE patients, who did not show visual and auditory perceptual impairment, were finally selected and were administered an experimental battery exploring famous face and voice recognition and naming. Twelve SD patients underwent cerebral PET imaging and were classified in right and left SD according to the onset modality and to the prevalent decrease in FDG uptake in right or left temporal lobe respectively. Correlation of PET imaging and famous face and voice recognition was performed. Results showed a differential performance profile in the two diseases, because AD patients were significantly impaired in the naming tests, but showed preserved recognition, whereas SD patients were profoundly impaired both in naming and in recognition of famous faces and voices. Furthermore, face and voice recognition disorders prevailed in SD patients with RTL atrophy, who also showed a conceptual impairment on the Pyramids and Palm Trees test more important in the pictorial than in the verbal modality. Finally, in 12SD patients in whom PET was available, a strong correlation between FDG uptake and face-to-name and voice-to-name matching data was found in the right but not in the left temporal lobe. The data support the hypothesis of a different cognitive basis for impairment of face and voice recognition in the two dementias and suggest that the pattern of impairment in SD may be due to a loss of semantic representations, while a defect of semantic control, with impaired naming and preserved recognition might be hypothesized in AD. Furthermore, the correlation between face and voice recognition disorders and RTL damage are consistent with the hypothesis assuming that in the RTL person-specific knowledge may be mainly based upon non-verbal representations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pose-Invariant Face Recognition via RGB-D Images.

PubMed

Sang, Gaoli; Li, Jing; Zhao, Qijun

2016-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) face models can intrinsically handle large pose face recognition problem. In this paper, we propose a novel pose-invariant face recognition method via RGB-D images. By employing depth, our method is able to handle self-occlusion and deformation, both of which are challenging problems in two-dimensional (2D) face recognition. Texture images in the gallery can be rendered to the same view as the probe via depth. Meanwhile, depth is also used for similarity measure via frontalization and symmetric filling. Finally, both texture and depth contribute to the final identity estimation. Experiments on Bosphorus, CurtinFaces, Eurecom, and Kiwi databases demonstrate that the additional depth information has improved the performance of face recognition with large pose variations and under even more challenging conditions.

Critical coastal issues of Sagar Island, east coast of India.

PubMed

Gopinath, Girish

2010-01-01

Sagar Island, situated in the east coast of India and one of the biggest deltas in Sundarban group, faces coastal erosion and degradation of coastal vegetation and various natural hazards. Erosion is mainly due to clay mining, wave activities, and the impact of river and tidal currents of Muri Ganga and Hugly Rivers. Further, the coastal zone of Sagar Island faces increasingly severe problems of rapidly growing human population, deteriorating environmental quality, and loss of critical habitats. Sagar Island has been victimized several times by tropical cyclones and influenced daily by tidal fluctuations. The island needs immediate attention on the coastal zone in order to protect the shoreline and ecosystem. The capability of satellite remote sensing to provide synoptic, repetitive, and multispectral data has proved to be very useful in the inventory and monitoring of critical coastal issues. Sagar Island and its environs are subjected to both natural and anthropogenic activities that continuously modify the region.

[Personal resources and nursing work: a research on coping strategies and job satisfaction].

PubMed

Formentin, Silvia; Dallago, Lorenza; Negrisolo, Adriana

2009-01-01

The coping (ability to face a difficult situation), is an essential resource for nurses, because it increases the effective functioning in the working environment, job satisfaction and individual level of wellness. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between coping strategies and job satisfaction. A self report questionnaire was administered to all the nurses working in health services and hospitals of Padua province and to free lance nurses members of the College of Nurses, to collect information on coping strategies and job satisfaction. 2264 questionnaires were returned (71%). Active coping strategies are adopted mainly from older nurses while avoiding strategies are prevalent among younger. An association was observed between job satisfaction and active coping strategies, aimed at problem solving: active strategies increase job satisfaction while avoiding strategies descrease it. Individual coping strategies implemented to face difficult situations are associated to job satisfaction.

Caring for the elderly: changing perceptions and attitudes.

PubMed

Lovell, Marge

2006-03-01

The aging population is currently one of the main issues facing international health care systems. It is a recognized fact that with advancing age, the likelihood of developing health problems and chronic disease will increase and the demand for health care resources will escalate. This will impact hospitals and long-term care facilities. Our young nurses of the future will be faced with the challenging task of caring for this elderly population. A review of the literature revealed that nursing students have a negative attitude toward the elderly. This may be affected by personal beliefs, values, culture, experience, or observations. Their perceived attitudes toward the gerontology field will make it difficult to recruit the nurses required in this area. This article will explore these issues and examine the role of all health care professionals to help change their attitudes and develop a more positive relationship to meet the needs of this unique population.

Ergonomics and accessibility for people with visual impairment in hotels.

PubMed

Dos Santos, Larissa Nascimento; de Carvalho, Ricardo José Matos

2012-01-01

This article presents a diagnosis of luxury or superior hotels in the city of Natal, located in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, in northeastern Brazil, in what concerns accessibility to the visually impaired. The main objective is to present the guiding principles to design actions and interventions that must be considered in the preparation or revision of technical standards and manuals of good practice in accessibility related to people with visual impairments who are hotel users. The survey showed that the hotels do not meet the normative indications of accessibility, their facilities are in-accessible (have prevented access) or of reduced accessibility and its employees are not prepared to provide adequate hospital services for people with visual impairment. It was concluded that some of the accessibility problems faced by people with visual impairments are also faced by people in general.

Medicine and Mind-Body Dualism: A Reply to Mehta's Critique

PubMed Central

Joubert, Callie

2014-01-01

Neeta Mehta recently advanced the thesis that medical practice is facing a crisis today. In her paper “Mind-body dualism: a critique from a health perspective” she attributes the crisis to the philosophy of Descartes and set out to understand why this dualism is still alive despite its disavowal from philosophers, health practitioners and lay people. The aim of my reply to her critique is three-fold. First, I draw attention to a more fundamental problem and show that dualism is inescapable—scientifically and commonsensically. I then focus on the self-conscious emotions of shame, guilt and remorse, and argue that the self is not identical with a brain. The third section draws attention to the crisis in psychiatry and stipulates some of the main reasons why this is so. Contrary to Mehta's thesis, the health profession faces a crisis because of physicalism and biological reductionism. PMID:24891801

Medicine and Mind-Body Dualism: A Reply to Mehta's Critique.

PubMed

Joubert, Callie

2014-01-01

Neeta Mehta recently advanced the thesis that medical practice is facing a crisis today. In her paper "Mind-body dualism: a critique from a health perspective" she attributes the crisis to the philosophy of Descartes and set out to understand why this dualism is still alive despite its disavowal from philosophers, health practitioners and lay people. The aim of my reply to her critique is three-fold. First, I draw attention to a more fundamental problem and show that dualism is inescapable-scientifically and commonsensically. I then focus on the self-conscious emotions of shame, guilt and remorse, and argue that the self is not identical with a brain. The third section draws attention to the crisis in psychiatry and stipulates some of the main reasons why this is so. Contrary to Mehta's thesis, the health profession faces a crisis because of physicalism and biological reductionism.

Hospital Management Between The Modern Image And Aging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dadulescu, Ana-Maria

2015-09-01

Hospital management has experienced significant progress with the evolution of the Romanian health system reform, it has made strides in terms of resource allocation and cost control, new systems for classification, evaluation and monitoring (DRGs, SIUI, CaPeSaRo) were implemented, some taken from other countries and adapted to local conditions, but not always integrated with the other components and sometimes incompletely implemented and developed. This material does not offer definite solutions to current problems. It only briefly addresses the main aspects of hospital activity, and points out some failures with whom hospital managers are presently faced. Once the problems are identified it creates prerequisites for solving them, it opens channels of research and development of new methodologies or correlation of the existing deficient workflows that can be corrected.

Data mining and the human genome

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

Abarbanel, Henry; Callan, Curtis; Dally, William

2000-01-07

As genomics research moves from an era of data acquisition to one of both acquisition and interpretation, new methods are required for organizing and prioritizing the data. These methods would allow an initial level of data analysis to be carried out before committing resources to a particular genetic locus. This JASON study sought to delineate the main problems that must be faced in bioinformatics and to identify information technologies that can help to overcome those problems. While the current influx of data greatly exceeds what biologists have experienced in the past, other scientific disciplines and the commercial sector have beenmore » handling much larger datasets for many years. Powerful datamining techniques have been developed in other fields that, with appropriate modification, could be applied to the biological sciences.« less

Exemplar-Based Image Inpainting Using a Modified Priority Definition.

PubMed

Deng, Liang-Jian; Huang, Ting-Zhu; Zhao, Xi-Le

2015-01-01

Exemplar-based algorithms are a popular technique for image inpainting. They mainly have two important phases: deciding the filling-in order and selecting good exemplars. Traditional exemplar-based algorithms are to search suitable patches from source regions to fill in the missing parts, but they have to face a problem: improper selection of exemplars. To improve the problem, we introduce an independent strategy through investigating the process of patches propagation in this paper. We first define a new separated priority definition to propagate geometry and then synthesize image textures, aiming to well recover image geometry and textures. In addition, an automatic algorithm is designed to estimate steps for the new separated priority definition. Comparing with some competitive approaches, the new priority definition can recover image geometry and textures well.

Multirate control with incomplete information over Profibus-DP network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salt, J.; Casanova, V.; Cuenca, A.; Pizá, R.

2014-07-01

When a process field bus-decentralized peripherals (Profibus-DP) network is used in an industrial environment, a deterministic behaviour is usually claimed. However, due to some concerns such as bandwidth limitations, lack of synchronisation among different clocks and existence of time-varying delays, a more complex problem must be faced. This problem implies the transmission of irregular and, even, random sequences of incomplete information. The main consequence of this issue is the appearance of different sampling periods at different network devices. In this paper, this aspect is checked by means of a detailed Profibus-DP timescale study. In addition, in order to deal with the different periods, a delay-dependent dual-rate proportional-integral-derivative control is introduced. Stability for the proposed control system is analysed in terms of linear matrix inequalities.

Design of MSR primary circuit with minimum pressure losses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noga, Tomáš; Žitek, Pavel; Valenta, Václav

This article describes a design of a MSR primary circuit with minimum pressure losses. It includes a brief description of this type of a reactor and its integral layout, properties, purpose, etc. The objective of this paper is to define problems of pressure losses calculation and to design a proper device for a primary circuit of MSR reactor, including its basic dimensions. Thanks to this, it can become an initial project for a construction of a real piece of work. This is the main contribution of the carried out study. Of course, this article is not a detailed solution, but it points out facts and problems, which future designers may have to face. The further step of our work will be a reconstruction of the current experiment for a two-stage flowing.

Exemplar-Based Image Inpainting Using a Modified Priority Definition

PubMed Central

Deng, Liang-Jian; Huang, Ting-Zhu; Zhao, Xi-Le

2015-01-01

Exemplar-based algorithms are a popular technique for image inpainting. They mainly have two important phases: deciding the filling-in order and selecting good exemplars. Traditional exemplar-based algorithms are to search suitable patches from source regions to fill in the missing parts, but they have to face a problem: improper selection of exemplars. To improve the problem, we introduce an independent strategy through investigating the process of patches propagation in this paper. We first define a new separated priority definition to propagate geometry and then synthesize image textures, aiming to well recover image geometry and textures. In addition, an automatic algorithm is designed to estimate steps for the new separated priority definition. Comparing with some competitive approaches, the new priority definition can recover image geometry and textures well. PMID:26492491

Centre-based restricted nearest feature plane with angle classifier for face recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Linlin; Lu, Huifen; Zhao, Liang; Li, Zuohua

2017-10-01

An improved classifier based on the nearest feature plane (NFP), called the centre-based restricted nearest feature plane with the angle (RNFPA) classifier, is proposed for the face recognition problems here. The famous NFP uses the geometrical information of samples to increase the number of training samples, but it increases the computation complexity and it also has an inaccuracy problem coursed by the extended feature plane. To solve the above problems, RNFPA exploits a centre-based feature plane and utilizes a threshold of angle to restrict extended feature space. By choosing the appropriate angle threshold, RNFPA can improve the performance and decrease computation complexity. Experiments in the AT&T face database, AR face database and FERET face database are used to evaluate the proposed classifier. Compared with the original NFP classifier, the nearest feature line (NFL) classifier, the nearest neighbour (NN) classifier and some other improved NFP classifiers, the proposed one achieves competitive performance.

A modified active appearance model based on an adaptive artificial bee colony.

PubMed

Abdulameer, Mohammed Hasan; Sheikh Abdullah, Siti Norul Huda; Othman, Zulaiha Ali

2014-01-01

Active appearance model (AAM) is one of the most popular model-based approaches that have been extensively used to extract features by highly accurate modeling of human faces under various physical and environmental circumstances. However, in such active appearance model, fitting the model with original image is a challenging task. State of the art shows that optimization method is applicable to resolve this problem. However, another common problem is applying optimization. Hence, in this paper we propose an AAM based face recognition technique, which is capable of resolving the fitting problem of AAM by introducing a new adaptive ABC algorithm. The adaptation increases the efficiency of fitting as against the conventional ABC algorithm. We have used three datasets: CASIA dataset, property 2.5D face dataset, and UBIRIS v1 images dataset in our experiments. The results have revealed that the proposed face recognition technique has performed effectively, in terms of accuracy of face recognition.

Interior detail of main entry with railroad tracks; camera facing ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Interior detail of main entry with railroad tracks; camera facing east. - Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Mechanics Shop, Waterfront Avenue, west side between A Street & Third Street, Vallejo, Solano County, CA

6. INTERIOR MAIN SPACE DETAIL VIEW, FACING EAST. BUILDING NO ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

6. INTERIOR MAIN SPACE DETAIL VIEW, FACING EAST. BUILDING NO 42 GARAGE & TRANSPORTATION MAINTENANCE FACILITY - NASA Industrial Plant, Garage & Transportation Maintenance Facility, 12214 Lakewood Boulevard, Downey, Los Angeles County, CA

5. INTERIOR MAIN SPACE DETAIL VIEW, FACING WEST. BUILDING NO ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

5. INTERIOR MAIN SPACE DETAIL VIEW, FACING WEST. BUILDING NO 42 GARAGE & TRANSPORTATION MAINTENANCE FACILITY - NASA Industrial Plant, Garage & Transportation Maintenance Facility, 12214 Lakewood Boulevard, Downey, Los Angeles County, CA

Detail of main doors on east elevation; camera facing west. ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Detail of main doors on east elevation; camera facing west. - Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Hospital Headquarters, Johnson Lane, west side at intersection of Johnson Lane & Cossey Street, Vallejo, Solano County, CA

Detail of main hall porch on east elevation; camera facing ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Detail of main hall porch on east elevation; camera facing west. - Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Wilderman Hall, Johnson Lane, north side adjacent to (south of) Hospital Complex, Vallejo, Solano County, CA

View of main terrace with mature tree, camera facing southeast ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

View of main terrace with mature tree, camera facing southeast - Naval Training Station, Senior Officers' Quarters District, Naval Station Treasure Island, Yerba Buena Island, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA

Detail of main entry on east elevation; camera facing west. ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Detail of main entry on east elevation; camera facing west. - Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Defense Electronics Equipment Operating Center, I Street, terminus west of Cedar Avenue, Vallejo, Solano County, CA

Human ear detection in the thermal infrared spectrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abaza, Ayman; Bourlai, Thirimachos

2012-06-01

In this paper the problem of human ear detection in the thermal infrared (IR) spectrum is studied in order to illustrate the advantages and limitations of the most important steps of ear-based biometrics that can operate in day and night time environments. The main contributions of this work are two-fold: First, a dual-band database is assembled that consists of visible and thermal profile face images. The thermal data was collected using a high definition middle-wave infrared (3-5 microns) camera that is capable of acquiring thermal imprints of human skin. Second, a fully automated, thermal imaging based ear detection method is developed for real-time segmentation of human ears in either day or night time environments. The proposed method is based on Haar features forming a cascaded AdaBoost classifier (our modified version of the original Viola-Jones approach1 that was designed to be applied mainly in visible band images). The main advantage of the proposed method, applied on our profile face image data set collected in the thermal-band, is that it is designed to reduce the learning time required by the original Viola-Jones method from several weeks to several hours. Unlike other approaches reported in the literature, which have been tested but not designed to operate in the thermal band, our method yields a high detection accuracy that reaches ~ 91.5%. Further analysis on our data set yielded that: (a) photometric normalization techniques do not directly improve ear detection performance. However, when using a certain photometric normalization technique (CLAHE) on falsely detected images, the detection rate improved by ~ 4%; (b) the high detection accuracy of our method did not degrade when we lowered down the original spatial resolution of thermal ear images. For example, even after using one third of the original spatial resolution (i.e. ~ 20% of the original computational time) of the thermal profile face images, the high ear detection accuracy of our method remained unaffected. This resulted also in speeding up the detection time of an ear image from 265 to 17 milliseconds per image. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time that the problem of human ear detection in the thermal band is being investigated in the open literature.

Assessment of the efficacy of blended learning in an introductory pharmacy class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munson, Christina Elizabeth

Blended learning is the convergence between traditional face-to-face learning typically seen in a university setting and a computer-mediated learning environment, and is increasingly being seen as a viable alternative for learning instruction. Pharmaceutical calculations (PC) is a course taken by students in the first year in the school of pharmacy at the University of Kansas (KU SOP). One of the objectives of the PC class is that students are able to perform calculations with minimal error consistently. This requires repetitive drill which is a poor use of class time. By moving presentation of material online and using class time for small learning group problem solving as well as practice exams, the transformation of the course to a blended or hybrid course is assessed for efficacy and found to have student outcomes which are comparable to previous face-to-face (F2F) classes. As KU SOP expands it class sizes from 105 to ˜150 students and its campuses (building a satellite campus in Wichita, Kansas), being able to provide quality instruction at a reasonable cost is desirable. By redesigning PC to be a hybrid course, the need to hire additional instructors and/or increase available resources is minimized. Instructors remain for the large part on the main campus in Lawrence while students are learning at remote locations, a cost-effective measure for all parties involved. Using small learning groups (consisting of not more than 3 or 4 students) to work problems in PC was demonstrated to be an effective use of F2F class time in the fall semester, 2008 at KU. The class was taught by the same instructor in the fall of 2009 using blended learning as the class format. The current computer Learning Management System (LMS) in use at KU is Blackboard((c)2010). By using Blackboard to deliver lectures and have students work through tutorials to learn the material, class time was devoted to highly-focused problem solving. Due to unequal data distribution, the non-parametric tests Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney were used to assess student outcomes from three different classes (years) of students. The only significant differences were between groups of males in two different face-to-face classes. There was no significant difference between BL and F2F class formats. In general, blended learning was found to be as effective as a traditional F2F class format when comparing final student outcomes.

Interior detail of main stairway from first floor; camera facing ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Interior detail of main stairway from first floor; camera facing west. - Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Hospital Ward, Johnson Lane, west side at intersection of Johnson Lane & Cossey Street, Vallejo, Solano County, CA

Problem-solving in caregiver-counselling (PLiP Study): study protocol of a cluster randomized pragmatic trial.

PubMed

Pfeiffer, Klaus; Hautzinger, Martin; Patak, Margarete; Grünwald, Julia; Becker, Clemens; Albrecht, Diana

2017-03-06

Despite the positive evaluation of various caregiver interventions over the past 3 decades, only very few intervention protocols have been translated to delivery in service contexts. The purpose of this study is to train care counsellors of statutory long term care insurances in problem-solving and to evaluate this approach as an additional component in the statutory care counselling in Germany. A pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial in which 38 sites with 58 care counsellors are randomly assigned to provide either routine counselling plus additional problem-solving for caregivers or routine counselling alone. The counsellor training comprises an initial 2-day training, a follow-up day after 4 months, and biweekly supervision contacts with a psychotherapist for 6 months over the phone. The agreed minimum counselling intensity is one initial face-to-face contact including a caregiver assessment and at least one telephone follow-up contact. Caregivers who are positively screened for significant strain in their role are followed up at 3 and 6 months after baseline assessment. Main outcome are caregivers' depressive symptoms. While it is unclear if the expected very low amount of additional counselling time is sufficient to yield any additional effects on caregiver depression, it is also unclear if the additional problem-solving component yields to synergies with routine counselling that is based on information and case management. There are different potential individual and organisational barriers to a consistent intervention delivery like gratification for participation, time for extra work or internal motivation to participate. ( ISRCTN23635523 ).

Personality judgments from everyday images of faces

PubMed Central

Sutherland, Clare A. M.; Rowley, Lauren E.; Amoaku, Unity T.; Daguzan, Ella; Kidd-Rossiter, Kate A.; Maceviciute, Ugne; Young, Andrew W.

2015-01-01

People readily make personality attributions to images of strangers' faces. Here we investigated the basis of these personality attributions as made to everyday, naturalistic face images. In a first study, we used 1000 highly varying “ambient image” face photographs to test the correspondence between personality judgments of the Big Five and dimensions known to underlie a range of facial first impressions: approachability, dominance, and youthful-attractiveness. Interestingly, the facial Big Five judgments were found to separate to some extent: judgments of openness, extraversion, emotional stability, and agreeableness were mainly linked to facial first impressions of approachability, whereas conscientiousness judgments involved a combination of approachability and dominance. In a second study we used average face images to investigate which main cues are used by perceivers to make impressions of the Big Five, by extracting consistent cues to impressions from the large variation in the original images. When forming impressions of strangers from highly varying, naturalistic face photographs, perceivers mainly seem to rely on broad facial cues to approachability, such as smiling. PMID:26579008

Livelihood analysis of floating net cages fish farmers at Sendang Village Sub-district of Gajah Mungkur Reservoir of Wonogiri Regency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nissa, Z. N. A.; Suadi; Sukardi

2018-03-01

Floating net cages farming (KJA) is one of the main livelihood resources in Sendang Village, Gajah Mungkur Reservoir. The purposes of this study were to determine the livelihood asset of fish farmers, the problems of livelihood asset management and the utilization strategy to support aquaculture businesses also farmers livelihood. The study showed that the natural capital, provides easiest way to farmer in fish cultivation. The fish farmers also have good technical capabilities in fish cultivation and the product has high demand and value which is essential for farmers livelihood. The main problems faced by small-scale farmers and all large-scale farmers were transition period, and the rise of cost price which sometime cause the failure in the business. The strategies to deal the problems include technological adjustment, managing the pattern of stocking of tilapia seeds and income source diversification. There were differences in dealing the rise of cost. The small-scale farmers borrow from the bank, while medium-scale farmers use their savings. Another difference of livelihood strategy was the management of financial capital. However, various strategies were still required to increase the livelihood of fish farmers and could address the vulnerabilities in the cultivation of KJA as a common pool resources.

3. View of north tower, facing north across the main ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

3. View of north tower, facing north across the main channel of the Columbus River from Clover Island. - Pasco-Kennewick Transmission Line, Columbia River Crossing Towers, Columbia Drive & Gum Street, Kennewick, Benton County, WA

Main interior space facing the bar. The more recent kitchen ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Main interior space facing the bar. The more recent kitchen and restroom additions are behind the rear wall. - San Luis Yacht Club, Avila Pier, South of Front Street, Avila Beach, San Luis Obispo County, CA

Universities Face Wide-Ranging Changes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krieger, James H.

1976-01-01

Discusses problems facing the research university, including declining enrollments and funds, fewer opportunities for graduates, and the complexity of research problems. Recommends making more efficient use of resources, improving communications with the broader public, and reducing economic and social barriers to obtaining a higher education.…

You're Not Alone in Facing These Board-Related Bugaboos.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Loozen, Luann F.

1982-01-01

School board service can have detrimental effects on members' personal lives. The most frequent and pervasive problems faced by board members are lack of time, loneliness, stress, alienation from community life, abuse, and fatigue. Problem-solving tips are offered. (Author/MLF)

Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Solving and Mitigating the Two Main Cluster Pendulum Problem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ali, Yasmin; Sommer, Bruce; Troung, Tuan; Anderson, Brian; Madsen, Christopher

2017-01-01

The Orion Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) Orion spacecraft will return humans from beyond earth's orbit, including Mars and will be required to land 20,000 pounds of mass safely in the ocean. The parachute system nominally lands under 3 main parachutes, but the system is designed to be fault tolerant and land under 2 main parachutes. During several of the parachute development tests, it was observed that a pendulum, or swinging, motion could develop while the Crew Module (CM) was descending under two parachutes. This pendulum effect had not been previously predicted by modeling. Landing impact analysis showed that the landing loads would double in some places across the spacecraft. The CM structural design limits would be exceeded upon landing if this pendulum motion were to occur. The Orion descent and landing team was faced with potentially millions of dollars in structural modifications and a severe mass increase. A multidisciplinary team was formed to determine root cause, model the pendulum motion, study alternate canopy planforms and assess alternate operational vehicle controls & operations providing mitigation options resulting in a reliability level deemed safe for human spaceflight. The problem and solution is a balance of risk to a known solution versus a chance to improve the landing performance for the next human-rated spacecraft.

Problems Facing Native American Youths. Hearing before the Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, Second Session, on Oversight Hearing on Problems Facing Native American Youths (August 1, 2002).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

A Senate committee hearing received testimony on the problems of Native American youth and programs addressing those problems. Speakers included representatives of the American Academy of Pediatrics, United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY), Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the Office of National Drug…

Experimental evaluation of two 36 inch by 47 inch graphite/epoxy sandwich shear webs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bush, H. G.

1975-01-01

The design is described and test of two large (36 in. x 47 in.) graphite/epoxy sandwich shear webs. One sandwich web was designed to exhibit strength failure of the facings at a shear load of 7638 lbs/in., which is a characteristic loading for the space shuttle orbiter main engine thrust beam structure. The second sandwich web was designed to exhibit general instability failure at a shear load of 5000 lbs/in., to identify problem areas of stability critical sandwich webs and to assess the adequacy of contemporary analysis techniques.

Teaching light reflection and refraction to the blind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Azevedo, A. C.; Vieira, L. P.; Aguiar, C. E.; Santos, A. C. F.

2015-01-01

The latest trend in special education policy is to teach students both with and without special needs in the same school system. In the case of students with visual impairment, one of the main problems they face, particularly in physics, is the lack of instructional material adapted for the experimental laboratory. In this paper, we present strategies, activities and resources for instructional use by physics teachers in classrooms with students with visual impairment using laser devices. For the best results, we suggest that teachers use resources from the perspective of building models to stimulate the interest and active involvement of the students.

A Sophisticated Architecture Is Indeed Necessary for the Implementation of Health in All Policies but not Enough Comment on "Understanding the Role of Public Administration in Implementing Action on the Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequities".

PubMed

Breton, Eric

2016-02-29

In this commentary, I argue that beyond a sophisticated supportive architecture to facilitate implementation of actions on the social determinants of health (SDOH) and health inequities, the Health in All Policies (HiAP) project faces two main barriers: lack of awareness within policy networks on the social determinants of population health, and a tendency of health actors to neglect investing in other sectors' complex problems. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

ENEL power generation and transmission control (PGTC) system

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

Galli, F.; Schiavi

1986-08-01

The ENEL (Italian State Power Board) PGTC System has a multi-level architecture which consists of a National Control Center (NCC), eight Area Control Centers (ACC), and Remote Terminal Units (RTU). Remote Control Centers (RCC), representing the third hierarchical level of the control system, will be integrated into the system beginning in 1987. This paper describes the structure of the PGTC system from the remote stations up to the NCC and the main control functions. The method of implementation, the organizational and managerial problems that were faced in the development of the project are also described.

Experimental Study on the Treatment of low C/N ratio disposal of sewage with BAF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, W. J.; Ma, T.; Cheng, W.

2010-03-01

The Biological Aerated Filter (BAF) is a simple, high-efficient, low-consumptive for new biological membrane method correspond to the situation of china, will be one of the main technical measures to solve the progressive deterioration of water environment problem faced china especially medium and small towns. This paper focuses on the experimental study and mechanism analysis in which the up flow, cocurrent gas-water, single-stage BAF was adopted on treatment domestic wastewater, the results showed that BAF has good performance in treating domestic sewage, and it had steady treatment effect with different pollution loads.

Vlsi implementation of flexible architecture for decision tree classification in data mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, K. Venkatesh; Shewandagn, Behailu; Bhukya, Shankar Nayak

2017-07-01

The Data mining algorithms have become vital to researchers in science, engineering, medicine, business, search and security domains. In recent years, there has been a terrific raise in the size of the data being collected and analyzed. Classification is the main difficulty faced in data mining. In a number of the solutions developed for this problem, most accepted one is Decision Tree Classification (DTC) that gives high precision while handling very large amount of data. This paper presents VLSI implementation of flexible architecture for Decision Tree classification in data mining using c4.5 algorithm.

Diagnosis: Michael Moore--media paint filmmaker to be health care system's main problem.

PubMed

Kao, Caroline

2008-01-01

The media reporting on Sicko, Michael Moore's documentary about the failures of the U.S. health care system, provides an example of how corporate media continue to twist and restrict the much-needed debate on health care reform. Aside from an occasional concession that having 46 million uninsured Americans is indeed problematic, the media's hype-filled conversation on health care avoids the issues and echoes old myths about the dangers of "government-run" and "socialized" health care. But in the face of the media demonization, universal health care is remarkably popular among the public.

Normal grief and its correlates in Lubumbashi, an urban city in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

PubMed

Joe, Katabwa Kabongo; Mapatano, Mala Ali; Manyonga, Tshibangu; Mwadianvita, Costa Kazadi; Valérien, Mutombo; Stanis, Wembonyama; Kavulu, Mukendi; Espérance, Kashala

2016-01-01

Grief is a universal experience faced at one time or another by most people during their lives. Response to grief and bereavement losses can lead to psychiatric disorders such as mood disorders, post traumatic responses, insomnia loss of appetite, anxiety, and depression. The aim of our study is to value in our community the physical and psychological complications of a normal grief. We conducted a cross-sectional study from March 2012 to September 2012 in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. Two questionnaires, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory scale were used as screening tool. A snow ball sampling method was performed and the questionnaires were administered only to those who consented to participate in the study. A total of 78 subjects were included in the study of which 87.2% were aged between 14-50 years old. The majority of the subjects were female 65.4%, and about a quarter (28%) was unemployed. The main correlates of the grief reported in the present study were being treated as witchcraft or accused to be responsible of a death (68%), being rejected by family and not being allowed to inherit (32%). Being homeless was reported in 26%. The main psychological symptoms reported were psychological distress after 1 year (65%) and related physical health problems after the death (72%). Depression and mild anxiety were the most reported disorders, with respectively 92.3% and 74.4% of the subjects. Grief in Lubumbashi is associated with a large number of psychological, social and health problems. Health problems such as gastric is, high blood pressure were often reported. Being accused of witchcraft remains the main social impact. Depression and anxiety were the most psychological problem associated with grief.

Normal grief and its correlates in Lubumbashi, an urban city in the Democratic Republic of Congo

PubMed Central

Joe, Katabwa Kabongo; Mapatano, Mala Ali; Manyonga, Tshibangu; Mwadianvita, Costa Kazadi; Valérien, Mutombo; Stanis, Wembonyama; Kavulu, Mukendi; Espérance, Kashala

2016-01-01

Introduction Grief is a universal experience faced at one time or another by most people during their lives. Response to grief and bereavement losses can lead to psychiatric disorders such as mood disorders, post traumatic responses, insomnia loss of appetite, anxiety, and depression. The aim of our study is to value in our community the physical and psychological complications of a normal grief. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study from March 2012 to September 2012 in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. Two questionnaires, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory scale were used as screening tool. A snow ball sampling method was performed and the questionnaires were administered only to those who consented to participate in the study. Results A total of 78 subjects were included in the study of which 87.2% were aged between 14-50 years old. The majority of the subjects were female 65.4%, and about a quarter (28%) was unemployed. The main correlates of the grief reported in the present study were being treated as witchcraft or accused to be responsible of a death (68%), being rejected by family and not being allowed to inherit (32%). Being homeless was reported in 26%. The main psychological symptoms reported were psychological distress after 1 year (65%) and related physical health problems after the death (72%). Depression and mild anxiety were the most reported disorders, with respectively 92.3% and 74.4% of the subjects. Conclusion Grief in Lubumbashi is associated with a large number of psychological, social and health problems. Health problems such as gastric is, high blood pressure were often reported. Being accused of witchcraft remains the main social impact. Depression and anxiety were the most psychological problem associated with grief. PMID:27583088

Taking It Online--The Effects of Delivery Medium and Facilitator on Student Achievement in Problem-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schoenfeld-Tacher, Regina; McConnell, Sherry; Kogan, Lori R.

2004-01-01

This study compares the effects of delivery medium (online vs. face-to-face) and facilitator content expertise on academic outcomes in a problem-based learning (PBL) course in anatomy for pre-health/medical majors. The content of online PBL sessions was examined to gain insight into the problem-solving process taking place in these situations.…

The Problem of Science Education in Minority Areas--Based on a Study in Gansu Province of China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liang, Bai

2017-01-01

After 60 years of development, minority education not only has made great achievements in China, but also faces many problems. Among them is the problem of science education. The students learning in high school in the basic education in minority areas have faced particular difficulties in learning science. The teaching quality is not high,…

DoD Implementation of the Better Buying Power Initiatives

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-01

statutory measures (Budget Control Act of 2011), Congress has been directed to face this problem and provide a workable solution or face the evils...Defense Support Program (DSP) to provide the capabilities that the SBIRS has had problems delivering (Richelson, 2007; Werner, 2011). The purpose of the...Defense David Packard took office. They were keen on addressing the problems plaguing defense acquisition: excessive centralization, inefficiencies

Relationship between Family Adaptability, Cohesion and Adolescent Problem Behaviors: Curvilinearity of Circumplex Model.

PubMed

Joh, Ju Youn; Kim, Sun; Park, Jun Li; Kim, Yeon Pyo

2013-05-01

The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES) III using the circumplex model has been widely used in investigating family function. However, the criticism of the curvilinear hypothesis of the circumplex model has always been from an empirical point of view. This study examined the relationship between adolescent adaptability, cohesion, and adolescent problem behaviors, and especially testing the consistency of the curvilinear hypotheses with FACES III. We used the data from 398 adolescent participants who were in middle school. A self-reported questionnaire was used to evaluate the FACES III and Youth Self Report. According to the level of family adaptability, significant differences were evident in internalizing problems (P = 0.014). But, in externalizing problems, the results were not significant (P = 0.305). Also, according to the level of family cohesion, significant differences were in internalizing problems (P = 0.002) and externalizing problems (P = 0.004). The relationship between the dimensions of adaptability, cohesion and adolescent problem behaviors was not curvilinear. In other words, adolescents with high adaptability and high cohesion showed low problem behaviors.

Relationship between Family Adaptability, Cohesion and Adolescent Problem Behaviors: Curvilinearity of Circumplex Model

PubMed Central

Joh, Ju Youn; Kim, Sun; Park, Jun Li

2013-01-01

Background The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES) III using the circumplex model has been widely used in investigating family function. However, the criticism of the curvilinear hypothesis of the circumplex model has always been from an empirical point of view. This study examined the relationship between adolescent adaptability, cohesion, and adolescent problem behaviors, and especially testing the consistency of the curvilinear hypotheses with FACES III. Methods We used the data from 398 adolescent participants who were in middle school. A self-reported questionnaire was used to evaluate the FACES III and Youth Self Report. Results According to the level of family adaptability, significant differences were evident in internalizing problems (P = 0.014). But, in externalizing problems, the results were not significant (P = 0.305). Also, according to the level of family cohesion, significant differences were in internalizing problems (P = 0.002) and externalizing problems (P = 0.004). Conclusion The relationship between the dimensions of adaptability, cohesion and adolescent problem behaviors was not curvilinear. In other words, adolescents with high adaptability and high cohesion showed low problem behaviors. PMID:23730484

A Modified Active Appearance Model Based on an Adaptive Artificial Bee Colony

PubMed Central

Othman, Zulaiha Ali

2014-01-01

Active appearance model (AAM) is one of the most popular model-based approaches that have been extensively used to extract features by highly accurate modeling of human faces under various physical and environmental circumstances. However, in such active appearance model, fitting the model with original image is a challenging task. State of the art shows that optimization method is applicable to resolve this problem. However, another common problem is applying optimization. Hence, in this paper we propose an AAM based face recognition technique, which is capable of resolving the fitting problem of AAM by introducing a new adaptive ABC algorithm. The adaptation increases the efficiency of fitting as against the conventional ABC algorithm. We have used three datasets: CASIA dataset, property 2.5D face dataset, and UBIRIS v1 images dataset in our experiments. The results have revealed that the proposed face recognition technique has performed effectively, in terms of accuracy of face recognition. PMID:25165748

Consultation Focus: Identification of Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pian, Canta

This paper discusses some of the problems faced by Asian Americans. Major topics addressed include: (1) the lack of accurate census statistics on minorities, especially Asian and Pacific Americans; (2) the employment, health, and stereotypic portrayal problems faced by Asian and Pacific American women; (3) racially discriminatory immigration laws…

Plagiarism Due to Misunderstanding: Online Instructor Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenberger, Scott; Holbeck, Rick; Steele, John; Dyer, Thomas

2016-01-01

Plagiarism is an ongoing problem in higher education. This problem exists in both online and face-to-face modalities. The literature indicates that there are three ways higher education institutions define plagiarism, which includes theft, deception, and misunderstanding. Plagiarism due to misunderstanding has received less attention in the…

Testing Scientific Software: A Systematic Literature Review

PubMed Central

Kanewala, Upulee; Bieman, James M.

2014-01-01

Context Scientific software plays an important role in critical decision making, for example making weather predictions based on climate models, and computation of evidence for research publications. Recently, scientists have had to retract publications due to errors caused by software faults. Systematic testing can identify such faults in code. Objective This study aims to identify specific challenges, proposed solutions, and unsolved problems faced when testing scientific software. Method We conducted a systematic literature survey to identify and analyze relevant literature. We identified 62 studies that provided relevant information about testing scientific software. Results We found that challenges faced when testing scientific software fall into two main categories: (1) testing challenges that occur due to characteristics of scientific software such as oracle problems and (2) testing challenges that occur due to cultural differences between scientists and the software engineering community such as viewing the code and the model that it implements as inseparable entities. In addition, we identified methods to potentially overcome these challenges and their limitations. Finally we describe unsolved challenges and how software engineering researchers and practitioners can help to overcome them. Conclusions Scientific software presents special challenges for testing. Specifically, cultural differences between scientist developers and software engineers, along with the characteristics of the scientific software make testing more difficult. Existing techniques such as code clone detection can help to improve the testing process. Software engineers should consider special challenges posed by scientific software such as oracle problems when developing testing techniques. PMID:25125798

Data on the migration of health-care workers: sources, uses, and challenges.

PubMed Central

Diallo, Khassoum

2004-01-01

The migration of health workers within and between countries is a growing concern worldwide because of its impact on health systems in developing and developed countries alike. Policy decisions need to be made at the national, regional and international levels to manage more effectively this phenomenon, but those decisions will be effective and correctly implemented and evaluated only if they are based on adequate statistical data. Most statistics on the migration of health-care workers are neither complete nor fully comparable, and they are often underused, limited (because they often give only a broad description of the phenomena) and not as timely as required. There is also a conflict between the wide range of potential sources of data and the poor statistical evidence on the migration of health personnel. There are two major problems facing researchers who wish to provide evidence on this migration: the problems commonly faced when studying migration in general, such as definitional and comparability problems of "worker migrations" and those related to the specific movements of the health workforce. This paper presents information on the uses of statistics and those who use them, the strengths and limitations of the main data sources, and other challenges that need to be met to obtain good evidence on the migration of health workers. This paper also proposes methods to improve the collection, analysis, sharing, and use of statistics on the migration of health workers. PMID:15375450

A novel numerical framework for self-similarity in plasticity: Wedge indentation in single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juul, K. J.; Niordson, C. F.; Nielsen, K. L.; Kysar, J. W.

2018-03-01

A novel numerical framework for analyzing self-similar problems in plasticity is developed and demonstrated. Self-similar problems of this kind include processes such as stationary cracks, void growth, indentation etc. The proposed technique offers a simple and efficient method for handling this class of complex problems by avoiding issues related to traditional Lagrangian procedures. Moreover, the proposed technique allows for focusing the mesh in the region of interest. In the present paper, the technique is exploited to analyze the well-known wedge indentation problem of an elastic-viscoplastic single crystal. However, the framework may be readily adapted to any constitutive law of interest. The main focus herein is the development of the self-similar framework, while the indentation study serves primarily as verification of the technique by comparing to existing numerical and analytical studies. In this study, the three most common metal crystal structures will be investigated, namely the face-centered cubic (FCC), body-centered cubic (BCC), and hexagonal close packed (HCP) crystal structures, where the stress and slip rate fields around the moving contact point singularity are presented.

Victimisation through bullying and cyberbullying: Emotional intelligence, severity of victimisation and technology use in different types of victims.

PubMed

Beltrán-Catalán, María; Zych, Izabela; Ortega-Ruiz, Rosario; Llorent, Vicente J

2018-05-01

Bullying and cyberbullying are global public health problems. However, very few studies described prevalence, similarities and differences among face-to-face victims, cybervictims and students who are victimised through both bullying and cyberbullying. This study was conducted to describe these different patterns of victimisation and severity of victimisation, emotional intelligence and technology use in different types of victims. A total number of 2,139 secondary school students from 22 schools, randomly selected from all provinces of Andalusia, Spain, participated in this study. Information about bullying, cyberbullying, social networking sites use and perceived emotional intelligence was collected. Face-to-face victimisation only is the most common type of victimisation followed by mixed victimisation. Cybervictimisation only is rare. Mixed victims score higher in severity of bullying and present higher emotional attention than face-to-face victims. Most victims of cyberbullying are also face-to-face victims. Holistic approach that focuses on different problems at the same time seems to be needed to tackle these behaviours.

A fuzzy reinforcement learning approach to power control in wireless transmitters.

PubMed

Vengerov, David; Bambos, Nicholas; Berenji, Hamid R

2005-08-01

We address the issue of power-controlled shared channel access in wireless networks supporting packetized data traffic. We formulate this problem using the dynamic programming framework and present a new distributed fuzzy reinforcement learning algorithm (ACFRL-2) capable of adequately solving a class of problems to which the power control problem belongs. Our experimental results show that the algorithm converges almost deterministically to a neighborhood of optimal parameter values, as opposed to a very noisy stochastic convergence of earlier algorithms. The main tradeoff facing a transmitter is to balance its current power level with future backlog in the presence of stochastically changing interference. Simulation experiments demonstrate that the ACFRL-2 algorithm achieves significant performance gains over the standard power control approach used in CDMA2000. Such a large improvement is explained by the fact that ACFRL-2 allows transmitters to learn implicit coordination policies, which back off under stressful channel conditions as opposed to engaging in escalating "power wars."

3D face recognition based on multiple keypoint descriptors and sparse representation.

PubMed

Zhang, Lin; Ding, Zhixuan; Li, Hongyu; Shen, Ying; Lu, Jianwei

2014-01-01

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in developing methods for 3D face recognition. However, 3D scans often suffer from the problems of missing parts, large facial expressions, and occlusions. To be useful in real-world applications, a 3D face recognition approach should be able to handle these challenges. In this paper, we propose a novel general approach to deal with the 3D face recognition problem by making use of multiple keypoint descriptors (MKD) and the sparse representation-based classification (SRC). We call the proposed method 3DMKDSRC for short. Specifically, with 3DMKDSRC, each 3D face scan is represented as a set of descriptor vectors extracted from keypoints by meshSIFT. Descriptor vectors of gallery samples form the gallery dictionary. Given a probe 3D face scan, its descriptors are extracted at first and then its identity can be determined by using a multitask SRC. The proposed 3DMKDSRC approach does not require the pre-alignment between two face scans and is quite robust to the problems of missing data, occlusions and expressions. Its superiority over the other leading 3D face recognition schemes has been corroborated by extensive experiments conducted on three benchmark databases, Bosphorus, GavabDB, and FRGC2.0. The Matlab source code for 3DMKDSRC and the related evaluation results are publicly available at http://sse.tongji.edu.cn/linzhang/3dmkdsrcface/3dmkdsrc.htm.

Student Experiences of Problem-Based Learning in Pharmacy: Conceptions of Learning, Approaches to Learning and the Integration of Face-to-Face and On-Line Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis, Robert A.; Goodyear, Peter; Brillant, Martha; Prosser, Michael

2008-01-01

This study investigates fourth-year pharmacy students' experiences of problem-based learning (PBL). It adopts a phenomenographic approach to the evaluation of problem-based learning, to shed light on the ways in which different groups of students conceive of, and approach, PBL. The study focuses on the way students approach solving problem…

Integrated Maintenance Information System (IMIS): A Maintenance Information Delivery Concept.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-11-01

InterFace Figure 2. Portable Maintenance Computer Concept. provide advice for difficult fault-isolation problems . The technician will be able to accomplish...faced with an ever-growing number of paper-based technical orders (TOs). This has greatly increased costs and distribution problems . In addition, it has...compounded problems associ- ated with ensuring accurate data and the lengthy correction times involved. To improve the accuracy of technical data and

Problems faced and coping strategies used by adolescents with mentally ill parents in Delhi.

PubMed

George, Shoba; Shaiju, Bindu; Sharma, Veena

2012-01-01

The present study was conducted to assess the problems faced by adolescents whose parents suffer from major mental illness at selected mental health institutes of Delhi. The objectives also included assessment of the coping strategies of the adolescents in dealing with these problems. The Stuart Stress Adaptation Model of Psychiatric Nursing Care was used as the conceptual framework. A descriptive survey approach with cross-sectional design was used in the study. A structured interview schedule was prepared. Purposive non-probability sampling technique was employed to interview 50 adolescents whose parents suffer from major mental illness. Data gathered was analysed and interpreted using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study showed that majority of the adolescents had moderate problems as a result of their parent's mental illness. Area-wise analysis of the problems revealed that the highest problems faced were in family relationship and support and majority of the adolescents used maladaptive coping strategies. A set of guidelines on effective coping strategies was disseminated to these adolescents.

Exact solution for a two-phase Stefan problem with variable latent heat and a convective boundary condition at the fixed face

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bollati, Julieta; Tarzia, Domingo A.

2018-04-01

Recently, in Tarzia (Thermal Sci 21A:1-11, 2017) for the classical two-phase Lamé-Clapeyron-Stefan problem an equivalence between the temperature and convective boundary conditions at the fixed face under a certain restriction was obtained. Motivated by this article we study the two-phase Stefan problem for a semi-infinite material with a latent heat defined as a power function of the position and a convective boundary condition at the fixed face. An exact solution is constructed using Kummer functions in case that an inequality for the convective transfer coefficient is satisfied generalizing recent works for the corresponding one-phase free boundary problem. We also consider the limit to our problem when that coefficient goes to infinity obtaining a new free boundary problem, which has been recently studied in Zhou et al. (J Eng Math 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10665-017-9921-y).

The Familial Road to Healthy Societies: New and Converging Modes of Re-Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dyson, William A.

This discussion focuses on problems facing developing and developed nations and describes social changes required to meet human needs in the economic condition of scarcity facing industrializing and postindustrial societies. Current problems of developed societies are emphasized. For example, traditional health care provision in western societies…

Developing Effective In-School-Suspension Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vanderslice, Ronna

Discipline--the most serious problem faced by teachers today--has consistently appeared at or near the top of the public's attitudes toward the public schools. This paper discusses the difficulty of discipline and one of the most perplexing problems facing administrators today--the use of suspension as a discipline alternative. Out-of-school…

Facing Life, English: 5113.30.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singleton, Clifford G.; Rice, M. Paul

The outline of a course in the investigation of literature (both fiction and nonfiction) which concerns youth facing and overcoming problems of life, with stress upon the novel and biography, is presented. The student is expected, through reading selected literary works, to (1) examine the problems confronted by youth, (2) examine youth's needs…

Analysis of Five Instructional Methods for Teaching Sketchpad to Junior High Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Geoffrey; Shumway, Steve; Terry, Ronald; Bartholomew, Scott

2012-01-01

This manuscript addresses a problem teachers of computer software applications face today: What is an effective method for teaching new computer software? Technology and engineering teachers, specifically those with communications and other related courses that involve computer software applications, face this problem when teaching computer…

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

Flintoff, F.

With the advent of industrialisation and urbanisation, developing countries are faced with numerous problems, one of the biggest being the provision of an effective solid wastes system appropriate to their varying climates and economies. The problems facing third world countries are discussed, these include the lack of a network of district depots, inadequate automotive servicing facilities and technical expertise.

People Considerations in Word Processing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diamond, Marion L.

1984-01-01

Business educators preparing students for jobs in business and industry should become aware of the problems faced by workers in a typical large office environment. Word processor operators face many of the same problems as factory assembly line workers--lack of personalization, lack of incentive, and removal from the mainstream. (JOW)

The Big Picture and Specifics of College General Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gan, Yang

2018-01-01

In recent years, general education has developed considerably in Chinese universities, but it still faces many challenges and problems. Among the various negative factors, four problems may be the greatest challenges currently faced by Chinese university general education and ordinary undergraduate education: (1) In the era of massified higher…

[Implementation of a new prescription system. A qualitative survey of organizational barriers].

PubMed

Andersen, Stig Ejdrup

2002-09-16

The aim of this study was to identify organisational difficulties faced by physicians and nurses when using drug prescribing sheets for the recording of both drug prescriptions and drug administration. Qualitative interviews with seven physicians and eight nurses from two general internal medicine wards. Main outcome measures were the difficulties explicitly identified during the interviews. The implementation of procedures conflicted with existing structure, culture, and routines. Insufficient competence within the system to use the drug prescribing sheets created resistance and made people create their own solutions to the problems they faced. A total of nine difficulties were identified: 1) insufficient knowledge and uncertainty about procedures, 2) ignorance of sources of error, 3) unclear responsibilities, 4) low community spirit, 5) insufficient communication, 6) clinician autonomy and low acceptance of change, 7) strong professional identity, 8) low priority task, and 9) logistic problems. Unawareness of procedures, insufficient dissemination of knowledge, and insufficient cooperation and skepticism among those who put drug handling into practice is likely to have an impact on the quality of health care. The identification of these obstacles may help managers to improve the quality of the drug handling process and make it possible to select a framework for changing the clinical behavior of doctors and nurses.

An investigation of the effects of interventions on problem-solving strategies and abilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cox, Charles Terrence, Jr.

Problem-solving has been described as being the "heart" of the chemistry classroom, and students' development of problem-solving skills is essential for their success in chemistry. Despite the importance of problem-solving, there has been little research within the chemistry domain, largely because of the lack of tools to collect data for large populations. Problem-solving was assessed using a software package known as IMMEX (for Interactive Multimedia Exercises) which has an HTML tracking feature that allows for collection of problem-solving data in the background as students work the problems. The primary goal of this research was to develop methods (known as interventions) that could promote improvements in students' problem-solving and most notably aid in their transition from the novice to competent level. Three intervention techniques that were incorporated within the chemistry curricula: collaborative grouping (face-to-face and distance), concept mapping, and peer-led team learning. The face-to-face collaborative grouping intervention was designed to probe the factors affecting the quality of the group interaction. Students' logical reasoning abilities were measured using the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT) test which classifies students as formal, transitional, or concrete. These classifications essentially provide a basis for identifying scientific aptitude. These designations were used as the basis for forming collaborative groups of two students. The six possibilities (formal-formal, formal-transitional, etc.) were formed to determine how the group composition influences the gains in student abilities observed from collaborative grouping interventions. Students were given three assignments (an individual pre-collaborative, an individual post collaborative, and a collaborative assignment) each requiring them to work an IMMEX problem set. Similar gains in performance of 10% gains were observed for each group with two exceptions. The transitional students who were paired with concrete students had a 15% gain, and the concrete students paired with other concrete students had only a marginal gain. In fact, there was no statistical difference in the pre-collaborative and post-collaborative student abilities for concrete-concrete groups. The distance collaborative intervention was completed using a new interface for the IMMEX software designed to mimic face-to-face collaboration. A stereochemistry problem set which had a solved rate of 28% prior to collaboration was chosen for incorporation into this distance collaboration study. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Family support, physical impairment, and adherence in hemodialysis: an investigation of main and buffering effects.

PubMed

Christensen, A J; Smith, T W; Turner, C W; Holman, J M; Gregory, M C; Rich, M A

1992-08-01

Patient noncompliance is a pervasive problem among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Previous studies have implicated social support as an important correlate of adherence behavior in other chronic illness groups, but little research has examined this relationship in a hemodialysis population. The present study examined the main and interactive effects of social support in the family and illness-related physical impairment with regard to patient compliance in a sample of 78 hemodialysis patients. Results indicated that patients holding perceptions of a more supportive family environment exhibited significantly more favorable adherence to fluid-intake restrictions than did patients reporting less family support. Family support was not associated with adherence to dietary restrictions. The effect of family support on fluid-intake adherence was not moderated by level of physical impairment. This pattern suggests that the influence of support on adherence is more attributable to a main or direct effect, as opposed to a buffering process in the face of increased physical impairment.

COPE Method Implementation Program to Reduce Communication Apprehension Level in Full Day Yunior High School Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasetyo, A. R.

2017-02-01

This study was aimed to explore the effect of COPE method to reduce communication apprehension level of students in Early Adolescence who become Full Day Junior High School students. Full Day Junior High School students, especially in Surabaya coastal area, have more demands to develop the communication aspects such as group discussions and presentations and extracurricular activities. Higher demands to develop such aspects of communication may cause them to experience communication apprehension. The subject was Full Day School students totaling 31 students. The design of the research was experimental design. The experimental method used was a non-randomized pretest posttest control group design and purposive sampling was also used. COPE method is a process that consists of four main stages where people are trying to deal with and control of stressful situations as a result of the problem being faced by conducting cognitive and behavioral changes. Four main stages COPE method is Calming the nervous system, Originating an imaginative plan, Persisting in the face of obstacles and failure, and Evaluating and adjusting the plan. Results of quantitative analysis based on U-Mann Whitney Test shows significant effect on the COPE Method to decrease anxiety levels of communication (0.000 <0.005).

Relapse Model among Iranian Drug Users: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Jalali, Amir; Seyedfatemi, Naiemeh; Peyrovi, Hamid

2015-01-01

Relapse is a common problem in drug user's rehabilitation program and reported in all over the country. An in-depth study on patients' experiences can be used for exploring the relapse process among drug users. Therefore, this study suggests a model for relapse process among Iranian drug users. In this qualitative study with grounded theory approach, 22 participants with rich information about the phenomenon under the study were selected using purposive, snowball and theoretical sampling methods. After obtaining the informed consent, data were collected based on face-to-face, in-depth, semi-structured interviews. All interviews were analyzed in three stages of axial, selective and open coding methods. Nine main categories emerged, including avoiding of drugs, concerns about being accepted, family atmosphere, social conditions, mental challenge, self-management, self-deception, use and remorse and a main category, feeling of loss as the core variable. Mental challenge has two subcategories, evoking pleasure and craving. Relapse model is a dynamic and systematic process including from cycles of drug avoidance to remorse with a core variable as feeling of loss.  Relapse process is a dynamic and systematic process that needs an effective control. Determining a relapse model as a clear process could be helpful in clinical sessions. RESULTS of this research have depicted relapse process among Iranian drugs user by conceptual model.

Regional and Household Adaptation Strategies to Climate Extremes: the Case Study of the Beava River Basin, the Czech Republic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duží, Barbora; Stojanov, Robert; Vikhrov, Dmytro

2013-04-01

We investigate regional and household adaptation strategies in the region affected by climate extremes, focusing on floods occurrence during past 15 years period. The main research question is: What is the overall state of adaptation measurements to climate extremes on the Bečva river basin? Target area is located along upper and middle part of the Bečva river basin in the east of the Czech Republic. The main theoretical concepts draw from differentiations between coping/adaptation strategies to climate extremes and theory of focusing event as a starter of changes in attention and agenda of problem solution. We apply mixed empirical research and case study approach. First we use qualitative research to serve as an initial entrance to the issue, to find out the perception of adaptation progress and preparedness to climate extremes on regional level. We conducted deep interviews (N=20) with relevant stakeholders. We proceed with quantitative research through the conducting face-to face questionnaires with household residents (N=305) in no, low and no risk area in relation to flood occurrence. We designed set of questions to find out relation among experiences with flood, the level of damages and applied emergency and adaptation measurements.

Fostering interpersonal trust on social media: physicians' perspectives and experiences.

PubMed

Panahi, Sirous; Watson, Jason; Partridge, Helen

2016-02-01

The problem of developing and sustaining mutual trust is one of the main barriers to knowledge sharing on social media platforms such as blogs, wikis, micro-blogs and social networking websites. While many studies argue that mutual trust is necessary for online communication and knowledge sharing, few have actually explored and demonstrated how physicians can establish and sustain trusted relationships on social media. To identify approaches through which physicians establish interpersonal trust on social media. Twenty-four physicians, who were active users of social media, were interviewed using a semi-structured approach between 2013 and 2014. Snowball sampling was employed for participant recruitment. The data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Physicians trust their peers on social media in a slightly different way than in face-to-face communication. The study found that the majority of participants established trust on social media mainly through previous personal interaction, authenticity and relevancy of voice, professional standing, consistency of communication, peer recommendation, and non-anonymous and moderated sites. Healthcare professionals need to approach social media carefully when using it for knowledge sharing, networking and developing trusted relations with like-minded peers. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Combined effects of inversion and feature removal on N170 responses elicited by faces and car fronts

PubMed Central

Kloth, Nadine; Itier, Roxane J.; Schweinberger, Stefan R.

2014-01-01

The face-sensitive N170 is typically enhanced for inverted compared to upright faces. Itier, Alain, Sedore, and McIntosh (2007) recently suggested that this N170 inversion effect is mainly driven by the eye region which becomes salient when the face configuration is disrupted. Here we tested whether similar effects could be observed with non-face objects that are structurally similar to faces in terms of possessing a homogeneous within-class first-order feature configuration. We presented upright and inverted pictures of intact car fronts, car fronts without lights, and isolated lights, in addition to analogous face conditions. Upright cars elicited substantial N170 responses of similar amplitude to those evoked by upright faces. In strong contrast to face conditions however, the car-elicited N170 was mainly driven by the global shape rather than the presence or absence of lights, and was dramatically reduced for isolated lights. Overall, our data confirm a differential influence of the eye region in upright and inverted faces. Results for car fronts do not suggest similar interactive encoding of eye-like features and configuration for non-face objects, even when these objects possess a similar feature configuration as faces. PMID:23485023

Discrete bacteria foraging optimization algorithm for graph based problems - a transition from continuous to discrete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sur, Chiranjib; Shukla, Anupam

2018-03-01

Bacteria Foraging Optimisation Algorithm is a collective behaviour-based meta-heuristics searching depending on the social influence of the bacteria co-agents in the search space of the problem. The algorithm faces tremendous hindrance in terms of its application for discrete problems and graph-based problems due to biased mathematical modelling and dynamic structure of the algorithm. This had been the key factor to revive and introduce the discrete form called Discrete Bacteria Foraging Optimisation (DBFO) Algorithm for discrete problems which exceeds the number of continuous domain problems represented by mathematical and numerical equations in real life. In this work, we have mainly simulated a graph-based road multi-objective optimisation problem and have discussed the prospect of its utilisation in other similar optimisation problems and graph-based problems. The various solution representations that can be handled by this DBFO has also been discussed. The implications and dynamics of the various parameters used in the DBFO are illustrated from the point view of the problems and has been a combination of both exploration and exploitation. The result of DBFO has been compared with Ant Colony Optimisation and Intelligent Water Drops Algorithms. Important features of DBFO are that the bacteria agents do not depend on the local heuristic information but estimates new exploration schemes depending upon the previous experience and covered path analysis. This makes the algorithm better in combination generation for graph-based problems and combination generation for NP hard problems.

What's Ailing Ontario's Colleges and What Can Faculty Do about It

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fedderson, Kim

2008-01-01

In this article, the author discusses the problems facing Ontario's community colleges' faculty as educators whose "craft" is to teach. The author contends that the problems educators face haven't really been the focus of the three constituencies that have dominated the conversations about the colleges: (1) college management; (2) the…

The New Workforce Generation: Understanding the Problems Facing Parental Involvement in Jordanian Kindergartens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ihmeideh, Fathi; Khasawneh, Samer; Mahfouz, Safi; Khawaldeh, Moustafa

2008-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the problems facing parental involvement in Jordanian kindergartens from the parents' perspectives. A 36-item questionnaire that addressed five domains was designed by the researchers and distributed among the study participants. The study sample consisted of 297 parents of kindergarten children from various…

A Problem in Online Interpersonal Skills Training: Do Learners Practice Skills?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doo, Min Young

2006-01-01

One problem found when teaching interpersonal skills online is learners' lack of opportunity for skill practice. The online learning environment is deficient in face-to-face interaction, and opportunities for self-regulation make it difficult to ensure learners practice skills despite the positive effects of such practice on skill improvement. The…

The Problems of Translating Oriental Texts into Arabic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sakarna, Ahmad Khalaf; Ma'Abrah, Mohamdd Akash

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the problems and difficulties that face the students of Arabic Language at Mu'tah University when translating oriental texts from English into Arabic in the academic year 2011-2012. The difficulties facing Arabic students when translating oriental texts has never been studied, rising an urgent need to…

Problems Teachers Face When Doing Action Research and Finding Possible Solutions: Three Cases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhou, Jun

2012-01-01

Through case studies, this paper explores problems teachers face when doing action research: for instance, teachers may misunderstand the research, mistrust university researchers, lack the time or adequate library resources to conduct research, lack theoretical guidance or knowledge of research methodology, and feel pressure or frustration during…

Rationale for Students Preparation and Entrepreneurship Education in the Face of Global Economic Crisis in Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Onuma, Nwite

2016-01-01

The rationale for students preparation in job creation through entrepreneurship education was examined. Problems of unemployment among Nigerian university graduates and challenges to entrepreneurship in the face of global economic crisis were also highlighted. The persistent problem of unemployment among University graduates and its attendant…

The Effects of Vocal Activity and Race of Applicant on Job Selection Interview Decisions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byrd, Marquita L.

Because interviewing is a face-to-face interaction belonging to the genre of interpersonal relationships, the employment interview is subject to some of the same problems that beset interpersonal relationships. Problems can occur in both interviews and interpersonal relationships because of bias, which originates from background characteristics,…

Using Asynchronous Learning in Redesign: Reaching and Retaining the At-Risk Student

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Twigg, Carol A.

2009-01-01

In addition to experiencing the generic quality and cost problems faced by all colleges and universities, community colleges face problems particular to their student populations. They need to design more flexible schedules for working adult students, create a greater sense of community or engagement for commuting students, address the special…

Direct Problem-Based Learning (DPBL): A Framework for Integrating Direct Instruction and Problem-Based Learning Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winarno, Sri; Muthu, Kalaiarasi Sonai; Ling, Lew Sook

2018-01-01

Direct instruction approach has been widely used in higher education. Many studies revealed that direct instruction improved students' knowledge. The characteristics of direct instruction include the subject delivered through face-to-face interaction with the lecturers and materials that sequenced deliberately and taught explicitly. However,…

Wintering area DDE source to migratory white-faced ibis revealed by satellite telemetry and prey sampling.

PubMed

Yates, Michael A; Fuller, Mark R; Henny, Charles J; Seegar, William S; Garcia, Jaqueline

2010-01-01

Locations of contaminant exposure for nesting migratory species are difficult to fully understand because of possible additional sources encountered during migration or on the wintering grounds. A portion of the migratory white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) nesting at Carson Lake, Nevada continues to be exposed to dichloro-diphenyldichloro-ethylene (DDE) with no change, which is unusual, observed in egg concentrations between 1985 and 2000. About 45-63% of the earliest nesting segment shows reduced reproductive success correlated with elevated egg concentrations of >4 microg/g wet weight (ww). Local prey (primarily earthworms) near nests contained little DDE so we tracked the migration and wintering movements of 20 adult males during 2000-2004 to determine the possible source. At various wintering sites, we found a correlation (r (2) = 0.518, P = 0.0125, N = 11) between DDE in earthworm composites and DDE in blood plasma of white-faced ibis wintering there, although the plasma was collected on their breeding grounds soon after arrival. The main source of DDE was wintering areas in the Mexicali Valley of Baja California Norte, Mexico, and probably the adjacent Imperial Valley, California, USA. This unusual continuing DDE problem for white-faced ibis is associated with: the long-term persistence in soil of DDE; the earthworms' ability to bioconcentrate DDE from soil; the proclivity of white-faced ibis to feed on earthworms in agricultural fields; the species's extreme sensitivity to DDE in their eggs; and perhaps its life history strategy of being a "capital breeder". We suggest surveying and sampling white-faced ibis eggs at nesting colonies, especially at Carson Lake, to monitor the continuing influence of DDE.

Wintering area DDE source to migratory white-faced ibis revealed by satellite telemetry and prey sampling

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yates, M.A.; Fuller, M.R.; Henny, C.J.; Seegar, W.S.; Garcia, Jorge H.

2010-01-01

Locations of contaminant exposure for nesting migratory species are difficult to fully understand because of possible additional sources encountered during migration or on the wintering grounds. A portion of the migratory white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) nesting at Carson Lake, Nevada continues to be exposed to dichloro-diphenyldichloro-ethylene (DDE) with no change, which is unusual, observed in egg concentrations between 1985 and 2000. About 45-63% of the earliest nesting segment shows reduced reproductive success correlated with elevated egg concentrations of >4 ??g/g wet weight (ww). Local prey (primarily earthworms) near nests contained little DDE so we tracked the migration and wintering movements of 20 adult males during 2000-2004 to determine the possible source. At various wintering sites, we found a correlation (r 2 = 0.518, P = 0.0125, N = 11) between DDE in earthworm composites and DDE in blood plasma of white-faced ibis wintering there, although the plasma was collected on their breeding grounds soon after arrival. The main source of DDE was wintering areas in the Mexicali Valley of Baja California Norte, Mexico, and probably the adjacent Imperial Valley, California, USA. This unusual continuing DDE problem for white-faced ibis is associated with: the long-term persistence in soil of DDE; the earthworms' ability to bioconcentrate DDE from soil; the proclivity of white-faced ibis to feed on earthworms in agricultural fields; the species's extreme sensitivity to DDE in their eggs; and perhaps its life history strategy of being a "capital breeder". We suggest surveying and sampling white-faced ibis eggs at nesting colonies, especially at Carson Lake, to monitor the continuing influence of DDE. ?? 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

A survey of the dummy face and human face stimuli used in BCI paradigm.

PubMed

Chen, Long; Jin, Jing; Zhang, Yu; Wang, Xingyu; Cichocki, Andrzej

2015-01-15

It was proved that the human face stimulus were superior to the flash only stimulus in BCI system. However, human face stimulus may lead to copyright infringement problems and was hard to be edited according to the requirement of the BCI study. Recently, it was reported that facial expression changes could be done by changing a curve in a dummy face which could obtain good performance when it was applied to visual-based P300 BCI systems. In this paper, four different paradigms were presented, which were called dummy face pattern, human face pattern, inverted dummy face pattern and inverted human face pattern, to evaluate the performance of the dummy faces stimuli compared with the human faces stimuli. The key point that determined the value of dummy faces in BCI systems were whether dummy faces stimuli could obtain as good performance as human faces stimuli. Online and offline results of four different paradigms would have been obtained and comparatively analyzed. Online and offline results showed that there was no significant difference among dummy faces and human faces in ERPs, classification accuracy and information transfer rate when they were applied in BCI systems. Dummy faces stimuli could evoke large ERPs and obtain as high classification accuracy and information transfer rate as the human faces stimuli. Since dummy faces were easy to be edited and had no copyright infringement problems, it would be a good choice for optimizing the stimuli of BCI systems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mental health first aid training for Australian medical and nursing students: an evaluation study.

PubMed

Bond, Kathy S; Jorm, Anthony F; Kitchener, Betty A; Reavley, Nicola J

2015-01-01

The role and demands of studying nursing and medicine involve specific stressors that may contribute to an increased risk for mental health problems. Stigma is a barrier to help-seeking for mental health problems in nursing and medical students, making these students vulnerable to negative outcomes including higher failure rates and discontinuation of study. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a potential intervention to increase the likelihood that medical and nursing students will support their peers to seek help for mental health problems. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a tailored MHFA course for nursing and medical students. Nursing and medical students self-selected into either a face-to-face or online tailored MHFA course. Four hundred and thirty-four nursing and medical students completed pre- and post-course surveys measuring mental health first aid intentions, mental health literacy, confidence in providing help, stigmatising attitudes and satisfaction with the course. The results of the study showed that both the online and face-to-face courses improved the quality of first aid intentions towards a person experiencing depression, and increased mental health literacy and confidence in providing help. The training also decreased stigmatizing attitudes and desire for social distance from a person with depression. Both online and face-to-face tailored MHFA courses have the potential to improve outcomes for students with mental health problems, and may benefit the students in their future professional careers.

E-Mentoring the Online Doctoral Student from the Dissertation Prospectus through Dissertation Completion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Black, Ronald

2017-01-01

Faculty who mentor online doctoral candidates face many of the same challenges and opportunities as those mentoring doctoral candidates in traditional, face-to-face modalities. The main difference is that E-Mentoring is based on interacting in the online space rather than interacting face-to-face, which may present challenges for both the…

Robust Face Recognition via Multi-Scale Patch-Based Matrix Regression.

PubMed

Gao, Guangwei; Yang, Jian; Jing, Xiaoyuan; Huang, Pu; Hua, Juliang; Yue, Dong

2016-01-01

In many real-world applications such as smart card solutions, law enforcement, surveillance and access control, the limited training sample size is the most fundamental problem. By making use of the low-rank structural information of the reconstructed error image, the so-called nuclear norm-based matrix regression has been demonstrated to be effective for robust face recognition with continuous occlusions. However, the recognition performance of nuclear norm-based matrix regression degrades greatly in the face of the small sample size problem. An alternative solution to tackle this problem is performing matrix regression on each patch and then integrating the outputs from all patches. However, it is difficult to set an optimal patch size across different databases. To fully utilize the complementary information from different patch scales for the final decision, we propose a multi-scale patch-based matrix regression scheme based on which the ensemble of multi-scale outputs can be achieved optimally. Extensive experiments on benchmark face databases validate the effectiveness and robustness of our method, which outperforms several state-of-the-art patch-based face recognition algorithms.

Ethical challenges in pain management post-surgery.

PubMed

Rejeh, Nahid; Ahmadi, Fazlollah; Mohamadi, Eesa; Anoosheh, Moniereh; Kazemnejad, Anooshirvan

2009-03-01

This qualitative study describes ethical challenges faced by Iranian nurses in the process of pain management in surgical units. To address this issue, semistructured interviews were conducted with 26 nurses working in surgery units in three large university hospitals in Tehran. An analysis of the transcripts revealed three main categories: institutional limitations; nurses' proximity to and involvement with pain and suffering; and nurses' fallibility. Specific themes identified within the categories were: insufficient resources, medical hierarchy; difficulties with believing patients' complaints regarding pain and suffering; and experiencing the consequences of poor judgments. Our findings lead us to conclude that, as nurses are much closer to patients' pain and suffering than other health professionals, being aware of their ethical problems, and being able to reflect on them and discuss and learn from them, will reduce the burden of the ethical challenges faced. The findings will help nurses in other countries to devise suitable ways to reduce the ethical burdens they bear in their daily practice.

Quantitative Comparisons of a Coarse-Grid LES with Experimental Data for Backward-Facing Step Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDonough, J. M.

1999-11-01

A novel approach to LES employing an additive decomposition of both solutions and governing equations (similar to ``multi-level'' approaches of Dubois et al.,Dynamic Multilevel Methods and the Simulation of Turbulence, Cambridge University Press, 1999) is presented; its main structural features are lack of filtering of governing equations (instead, solutions are filtered to remove aliasing due to under resolution) and direct modeling of subgrid-scale primitive variables (rather than modeling their correlations) in the manner proposed by Hylin and McDonough (Int. J. Fluid Mech. Res. 26, 228-256, 1999). A 2-D implementation of this formalism is applied to the backward-facing step flow studied experimentally by Driver and Seegmiller (AIAA J. 23, 163-171, 1985) and Driver et al. (AIAA J. 25, 914-919, 1987), and run on grids sufficiently coarse to permit easy extension to 3-D, industrially-realistic problems. Comparisons of computed and experimental mean quantities (velocity profiles, turbulence kinetic energy, reattachment lengths, etc.) and effects of grid refinement will be presented.

3D Face Recognition Based on Multiple Keypoint Descriptors and Sparse Representation

PubMed Central

Zhang, Lin; Ding, Zhixuan; Li, Hongyu; Shen, Ying; Lu, Jianwei

2014-01-01

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in developing methods for 3D face recognition. However, 3D scans often suffer from the problems of missing parts, large facial expressions, and occlusions. To be useful in real-world applications, a 3D face recognition approach should be able to handle these challenges. In this paper, we propose a novel general approach to deal with the 3D face recognition problem by making use of multiple keypoint descriptors (MKD) and the sparse representation-based classification (SRC). We call the proposed method 3DMKDSRC for short. Specifically, with 3DMKDSRC, each 3D face scan is represented as a set of descriptor vectors extracted from keypoints by meshSIFT. Descriptor vectors of gallery samples form the gallery dictionary. Given a probe 3D face scan, its descriptors are extracted at first and then its identity can be determined by using a multitask SRC. The proposed 3DMKDSRC approach does not require the pre-alignment between two face scans and is quite robust to the problems of missing data, occlusions and expressions. Its superiority over the other leading 3D face recognition schemes has been corroborated by extensive experiments conducted on three benchmark databases, Bosphorus, GavabDB, and FRGC2.0. The Matlab source code for 3DMKDSRC and the related evaluation results are publicly available at http://sse.tongji.edu.cn/linzhang/3dmkdsrcface/3dmkdsrc.htm. PMID:24940876

Face recognition via edge-based Gabor feature representation for plastic surgery-altered images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chude-Olisah, Chollette C.; Sulong, Ghazali; Chude-Okonkwo, Uche A. K.; Hashim, Siti Z. M.

2014-12-01

Plastic surgery procedures on the face introduce skin texture variations between images of the same person (intra-subject), thereby making the task of face recognition more difficult than in normal scenario. Usually, in contemporary face recognition systems, the original gray-level face image is used as input to the Gabor descriptor, which translates to encoding some texture properties of the face image. The texture-encoding process significantly degrades the performance of such systems in the case of plastic surgery due to the presence of surgically induced intra-subject variations. Based on the proposition that the shape of significant facial components such as eyes, nose, eyebrow, and mouth remains unchanged after plastic surgery, this paper employs an edge-based Gabor feature representation approach for the recognition of surgically altered face images. We use the edge information, which is dependent on the shapes of the significant facial components, to address the plastic surgery-induced texture variation problems. To ensure that the significant facial components represent useful edge information with little or no false edges, a simple illumination normalization technique is proposed for preprocessing. Gabor wavelet is applied to the edge image to accentuate on the uniqueness of the significant facial components for discriminating among different subjects. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated on the Georgia Tech (GT) and the Labeled Faces in the Wild (LFW) databases with illumination and expression problems, and the plastic surgery database with texture changes. Results show that the proposed edge-based Gabor feature representation approach is robust against plastic surgery-induced face variations amidst expression and illumination problems and outperforms the existing plastic surgery face recognition methods reported in the literature.

1. View facing east/southeast of main elevation of Dixie Cotton ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

1. View facing east/southeast of main elevation of Dixie Cotton Mill. The original 1895 mill structure has been considerably expanded and altered over the years. Note the hipped roof office structure (built c. 1913) in front of main mill building. Parking lot in foreground was formerly a recreation space for the mill village. - Dixie Cotton Mill, 710 Greenville Street, La Grange, Troup County, GA

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

Huesemann, Michael H.

It is currently believed that science and technology can provide effective solutions to most, if not all, environmental problems facing western industrial societies. The validity of this optimistic assumption is highly questionable for at least three reasons: First, current mechanistic, reductionist science is inherently incapable of providing the complete and accurate information which is required to successfully address environmental problems. Second, both the conservation of mass principle and the second law of thermodynamics dictate that most remediation technologies - while successful in solving specific pollution problems - cause unavoidable negative environmental impacts elsewhere or in the future. Third, it ismore » intrinsically impossible to design industrial processes that have no negative environmental impacts. This follows not only from the entropy law but also from the fact that any generation of energy is impossible without negative environmental consequences. It can therefore be concluded that science and technology have only very limited potential in solving current and future environmental problems. Consequently, it will be necessary to address the root cause of environmental deterioration, namely the prevailing materialistic values that are the main driving force for both overpopulation and overconsumption. The long-term protection of the environment is therefore not primarily a technical problem but rather a social and moral problem that can only be solved by drastically reducing the strong influence of materialistic values.« less

Hybrid Course Design: A Different Type of Polymer Blend

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pilcher, Spence C.

2017-01-01

An upper-division undergraduate polymer chemistry course was developed as a blended/hybrid course. The students met face-to-face once a week for 75 min with all other components being available online. Face-to-face meetings were used for class discussions/problem-based lectures, student presentations, hands-on activities, and examinations. Online…

Multirotor micro air vehicle autonomous landing system based on image markers recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skoczylas, Marcin; Gadomer, Lukasz; Walendziuk, Wojciech

2017-08-01

In this paper the idea of an autonomic drone landing system which bases on different markers detection, is presented. The issue of safe autonomic drone landing is one of the major aspects connected with drone missions. The idea of the proposed system is to detect the landing place, marked with an image called marker, using one of the image recognition algorithms, and heading during the landing procedure to this place. Choosing the proper marker, which allows the greatest quality of the recognition system, is the main problem faced in this paper. Seven markers are tested and compared. The achieved results are described and discussed.

Hot CNO and p-capture nucleosynthesis in intermediate-mass AGB stars.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Antona, F.; Ventura, P.

When the judgement on the reliability of models for ``multiple" populations in globular clusters is based on the nucleosynthesis needed to produce the anomalous abundances of light elements, the asymptotic giant branch scenario remains the only game in town. We discuss this evidence, together with the difficulties that this model too has to face in dealing with the direct comparison between the observed abundances and predicted yields. We show that a reduction of the cross section of the 23Na(p,alpha )20Ne reaction at T∼100MK is the main requirement that could allow to ease or fully solve the problems.

The role of food-security solutions in the protection of natural resources and environment of developing countries.

PubMed

Lashgarara, Farhad; Mirdamadi, Seyyed Mehdi; Hosseini, Seyyed Jamal Farajollah; Chizari, Mohammad

2008-10-01

The majority of the countries of the world, especially developing countries, face environmental problems. Limitations of basic resources (water and soil) and population growth have been the cause of these environmental problems that countries are confronted with. Developing countries have numerous problems, including destruction of forests, vegetable and animal species, and pollution of the environment. Damage to natural resources and the environment can influence the food-security situation. One of the main millennium development goals (MDGs) is protection of the environment and people's health. This cannot obtained unless there is ensured food security. Food security has been defined as a situation when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food needed to maintain a healthy and active life. At the same time, with ensured food security, we can hope to protect the natural resources and environment. The methodology used is descriptive-analytical, and its main purpose is determining the importance and role of food-security solutions in the reduction of environmental hazards and improvement of natural resources and the environmental situation in developing countries. Therefore, some of the most important food-security solutions that can play an important role in this relation were discussed, including conventional research-based technology, biotechnology, information and communication technologies (ICTs), alternative energy sources, and food irradiation.

The EMIR experience in the use of software control simulators to speed up the time to telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez Ramos, Pablo; López-Ruiz, J. C.; Moreno Arce, Heidy; Rosich, Josefina; Perez Menor, José Maria

2012-09-01

One of the main problems facing development teams working on instrument control systems consists on the need to access mechanisms which are not available until well into the integration phase. The need to work with real hardware creates additional problems like, among others: certain faults cannot be tested due to the possibility of hardware damage, taking the system to the limit may shorten its operational lifespan and the full system may not be available during some periods due to maintenance and/or testing of individual components. These problems can be treated with the use of simulators and by applying software/hardware standards. Since information on the construction and performance of electro-mechanical systems is available at relatively early stages of the project, simulators are developed in advance (before the existence of the mechanism) or, if conventions and standards have been correctly followed, a previously developed simulator might be used. This article describes our experience in building software simulators and the main advantages we have identified, which are: the control software can be developed even in the absence of real hardware, critical tests can be prepared using the simulated systems, test system behavior for hardware failure situations that represent a risk of the real system, and the speed up of in house integration of the entire instrument. The use of simulators allows us to reduce development, testing and integration time.

Multidisciplinary and participatory workshops with stakeholders in a community of extreme poverty in the Peruvian Amazon: Development of priority concerns and potential health, nutrition and education interventions

PubMed Central

Casapia, Martin; Joseph, Serene A; Gyorkos, Theresa W

2007-01-01

Background Communities of extreme poverty suffer disproportionately from a wide range of adverse outcomes, but are often neglected or underserved by organized services and research attention. In order to target the first Millennium Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty, thereby reducing health inequalities, participatory research in these communities is needed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the priority problems and respective potential cost-effective interventions in Belen, a community of extreme poverty in the Peruvian Amazon, using a multidisciplinary and participatory focus. Methods Two multidisciplinary and participatory workshops were conducted with important stakeholders from government, non-government and community organizations, national institutes and academic institutions. In Workshop 1, participants prioritized the main health and health-related problems in the community of Belen. Problem trees were developed to show perceived causes and effects for the top six problems. In Workshop 2, following presentations describing data from recently completed field research in school and household populations of Belen, participants listed potential interventions for the priority problems, including associated barriers, enabling factors, costs and benefits. Results The top ten priority problems in Belen were identified as: 1) infant malnutrition; 2) adolescent pregnancy; 3) diarrhoea; 4) anaemia; 5) parasites; 6) lack of basic sanitation; 7) low level of education; 8) sexually transmitted diseases; 9) domestic violence; and 10) delayed school entry. Causes and effects for the top six problems, proposed interventions, and factors relating to the implementation of interventions were multidisciplinary in nature and included health, nutrition, education, social and environmental issues. Conclusion The two workshops provided valuable insight into the main health and health-related problems facing the community of Belen. The participatory focus of the workshops ensured the active involvement of important stakeholders from Belen. Based on the results of the workshops, effective and essential interventions are now being planned which will contribute to reducing health inequalities in the community. PMID:17623093

[A review on the urban green space cooling effect based on field measurement of air temperature].

PubMed

Liu, Feng Feng; Yan, Wei Jiao; Kong, Fan Hua; Yin, Hai Wei; Ban, Yu Long; Xu, Wen Bin

2017-04-18

With the development of urbanization, the effect of urban heat island has become increasingly evident. As an essential component of the urban natural landscapes, urban green space plays an important role in mitigating the effect of urban heat island. However, facing the rapid urbanization and changing environment, how to rationally plan and design the green space and realize its best cooling effect which can improve the urban environment and microclimate is still an urgent problem to be solved. So there is a strong need for mulitiscale researches on the cooling effect of urban green space. This paper systematically gave a review on the cooling effect of urban green space based on field measurement of air temperature, the main factors that influenced the cooling effect of green space were explored from three aspects including the area and shape characteristics of urban green space, the structure characteristics of vegetation and the external factors which affected the cooling effect, and the characteristics of the cooling effect of the green space were summarized from the aspect of time variation and distance decay. Then, the main problems and future research prospects of urban green space cooling effect were put forward.

Performance analysis of a diesel engine driven brushless alternator with combined AC and thyristor fed DC loads through PSPICE

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

Narayanan, S.S.Y.; Ananthakrishnan, P.; Hangari, V.U.

1995-12-31

A brushless alternator with damper windings in the main alternator and with combined ac and thyristor fed dc loads has been handled ab initio as a total modeling and simulation problem for which a complete steady state performance prediction algorithm has been developed through proper application of Park`s equivalent circuit approach individually to the main and exciter alternator units of the brushless alternator. Details of the problems faced during implementation of this algorithm through PSPICE for the case of a specific 125 kVA brushless alternator as well as methods adopted for successfully overcoming the same have then been presented. Finallymore » a comparison of the predicted performance with those obtained experimentally for this 125 kVA unit has also been provided for the cases of both thyristor fed dc load alone as well as combined ac and thyristor fed dc loads. To enable proper calculation of derating factors to be used in the design of such brushless alternators, the simulation results then include harmonic analysis of the alternator output voltage and current waveforms at the point of common connection of the ac and thyristor fed dc load, damper winding currents, main alternator field winding current, exciter alternator armature voltage and the alternator developed torque and torque angle pulsations.« less

The contribution of a gender perspective to the understanding of migrants' health

PubMed Central

Llácer, Alicia; Zunzunegui, María Victoria; del Amo, Julia; Mazarrasa, Lucía; Bolůmar, Francisco

2007-01-01

In 2005 women represented approximately half of all 190 million international migrants worldwide. This paper addresses the need to integrate a gender perspective into epidemiological studies on migration and health, outlines conceptual gaps and discusses some methodological problems. We mainly consider the international voluntary migrant. Women may emigrate as wives or as workers in a labour market in which they face double segregation, both as migrants and as women. We highlight migrant women's heightened vulnerability to situations of violence, as well as important gaps in our knowledge of the possible differential health effects of factors such as poverty, unemployment, social networks and support, discrimination, health behaviours and use of services. We provide an overview of the problems of characterising migrant populations in the health information systems, and of possible biases in the health effects caused by failure to take the triple dimension of gender, social class and ethnicity into account. PMID:18000117

About ATMPs, SOPs and GMP: The Hurdles to Produce Novel Skin Grafts for Clinical Use

PubMed Central

Hartmann-Fritsch, Fabienne; Marino, Daniela; Reichmann, Ernst

2016-01-01

Background The treatment of severe full-thickness skin defects represents a significant and common clinical problem worldwide. A bio-engineered autologous skin substitute would significantly reduce the problems observed with today's gold standard. Methods Within 15 years of research, the Tissue Biology Research Unit of the University Children's Hospital Zurich has developed autologous tissue-engineered skin grafts based on collagen type I hydrogels. Those products are considered as advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) and are routinely produced for clinical trials in a clean room facility following the guidelines for good manufacturing practice (GMP). This article focuses on hurdles observed for the translation of ATMPs from research into the GMP environment and clinical application. Results and Conclusion Personalized medicine in the field of rare diseases has great potential. However, ATMPs are mainly developed and promoted by academia, hospitals, and small companies, which face many obstacles such as high financial burdens. PMID:27781022

Optimizing visual comfort for stereoscopic 3D display based on color-plus-depth signals.

PubMed

Shao, Feng; Jiang, Qiuping; Fu, Randi; Yu, Mei; Jiang, Gangyi

2016-05-30

Visual comfort is a long-facing problem in stereoscopic 3D (S3D) display. In this paper, targeting to produce S3D content based on color-plus-depth signals, a general framework for depth mapping to optimize visual comfort for S3D display is proposed. The main motivation of this work is to remap the depth range of color-plus-depth signals to a new depth range that is suitable to comfortable S3D display. Towards this end, we first remap the depth range globally based on the adjusted zero disparity plane, and then present a two-stage global and local depth optimization solution to solve the visual comfort problem. The remapped depth map is used to generate the S3D output. We demonstrate the power of our approach on perceptually uncomfortable and comfortable stereoscopic images.

A comparative study of upwind and MacCormack schemes for CAA benchmark problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Viswanathan, K.; Sankar, L. N.

1995-01-01

In this study, upwind schemes and MacCormack schemes are evaluated as to their suitability for aeroacoustic applications. The governing equations are cast in a curvilinear coordinate system and discretized using finite volume concepts. A flux splitting procedure is used for the upwind schemes, where the signals crossing the cell faces are grouped into two categories: signals that bring information from outside into the cell, and signals that leave the cell. These signals may be computed in several ways, with the desired spatial and temporal accuracy achieved by choosing appropriate interpolating polynomials. The classical MacCormack schemes employed here are fourth order accurate in time and space. Results for categories 1, 4, and 6 of the workshop's benchmark problems are presented. Comparisons are also made with the exact solutions, where available. The main conclusions of this study are finally presented.

Relationships between medicine and industry: approaches to the problem of conflicts of interest.

PubMed

Raad, Raymond; Appelbaum, Paul S

2012-01-01

Relationships between physicians and industry are prevalent in medical education, clinical practice, and research, as well as at the level of medical institutions. These relationships can be valuable for the advancement of medicine but have also received increased scrutiny in recent years because they create conflicts of interest that pose a risk of biasing the judgments of physicians. Responses to these conflicts of interest by medical institutions, journals, and governments have utilized four main tools: education, disclosure, management, and prohibition. Each of the four has its advantages and drawbacks. Medicine faces the challenge of tailoring the use of these tools to minimize the risk of bias while allowing useful medical-industry collaborations to proceed. Viewing the dilemmas created by physicians' relationships with industry as a version of the principal-agent problem, which is much discussed by economists, may help in developing creative approaches to these issues.

Combined effects of inversion and feature removal on N170 responses elicited by faces and car fronts.

PubMed

Kloth, Nadine; Itier, Roxane J; Schweinberger, Stefan R

2013-04-01

The face-sensitive N170 is typically enhanced for inverted compared to upright faces. Itier, Alain, Sedore, and McIntosh (2007) recently suggested that this N170 inversion effect is mainly driven by the eye region which becomes salient when the face configuration is disrupted. Here we tested whether similar effects could be observed with non-face objects that are structurally similar to faces in terms of possessing a homogeneous within-class first-order feature configuration. We presented upright and inverted pictures of intact car fronts, car fronts without lights, and isolated lights, in addition to analogous face conditions. Upright cars elicited substantial N170 responses of similar amplitude to those evoked by upright faces. In strong contrast to face conditions however, the car-elicited N170 was mainly driven by the global shape rather than the presence or absence of lights, and was dramatically reduced for isolated lights. Overall, our data confirm a differential influence of the eye region in upright and inverted faces. Results for car fronts do not suggest similar interactive encoding of eye-like features and configuration for non-face objects, even when these objects possess a similar feature configuration as faces. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rapid Categorization of Human and Ape Faces in 9-Month-Old Infants Revealed by Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation.

PubMed

Peykarjou, Stefanie; Hoehl, Stefanie; Pauen, Sabina; Rossion, Bruno

2017-10-02

This study investigates categorization of human and ape faces in 9-month-olds using a Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation (FPVS) paradigm while measuring EEG. Categorization responses are elicited only if infants discriminate between different categories and generalize across exemplars within each category. In study 1, human or ape faces were presented as standard and deviant stimuli in upright and inverted trials. Upright ape faces presented among humans elicited strong categorization responses, whereas responses for upright human faces and for inverted ape faces were smaller. Deviant inverted human faces did not elicit categorization. Data were best explained by a model with main effects of species and orientation. However, variance of low-level image characteristics was higher for the ape than the human category. Variance was matched to replicate this finding in an independent sample (study 2). Both human and ape faces elicited categorization in upright and inverted conditions, but upright ape faces elicited the strongest responses. Again, data were best explained by a model of two main effects. These experiments demonstrate that 9-month-olds rapidly categorize faces, and unfamiliar faces presented among human faces elicit increased categorization responses. This likely reflects habituation for the familiar standard category, and stronger release for the unfamiliar category deviants.

Studying Abroad as a Sorting Criterion in the Recruitment Process: A Field Experiment among German Employers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petzold, Knut

2017-01-01

As the experience of studying abroad can signal general and transnational human capital, it is considered to be increasingly important for professional careers, particularly in the context of economies' internationalization. However, studies using graduate surveys face problems of self-selection and studies on employers' opinions face problems of…

Emotion Regulation Enhancement of Cognitive Behavior Therapy for College Student Problem Drinkers: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ford, Julian D.; Grasso, Damion J.; Levine, Joan; Tennen, Howard

2018-01-01

This pilot randomized clinical trial tested an emotion regulation enhancement to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) with 29 college student problem drinkers with histories of complex trauma and current clinically significant traumatic stress symptoms. Participants received eight face-to-face sessions of manualized Internet-supported CBT for problem…

Navigating Turn-Taking and Conversational Repair in an Online Synchronous Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Earnshaw, Yvonne

2017-01-01

In face-to-face conversations, speaker transitions (or hand-offs) are typically seamless. In computer-mediated communication settings, speaker hand-offs can be a bit more challenging. This paper presents the results of a study of audio communication problems that occur in an online synchronous course, and how, and by whom, those problems are…

Creative Multimodal Learning Environments and Blended Interaction for Problem-Based Activity in HCI Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ioannou, Andri; Vasiliou, Christina; Zaphiris, Panayiotis; Arh, Tanja; Klobucar, Tomaž; Pipan, Matija

2015-01-01

This exploratory case study aims to examine how students benefit from a multimodal learning environment while they engage in collaborative problem-based activity in a Human Computer Interaction (HCI) university course. For 12 weeks, 30 students, in groups of 5-7 each, participated in weekly face-to-face meetings and online interactions.…

Population problems in Austronesia.

PubMed

Hull, T H

1986-11-01

The author examines population issues facing countries in Oceania and Southeastern Asia. "Analysis is based on recently released population projections from the United Nations Population Division. There are great differences among the countries.... There are nonetheless important areas of commonality: all nations are facing the problem of raising levels of schooling in line with parents' aspirations and economic needs, all face problems of caring for a rising proportion of aged, and all have difficulties with the monitoring and control of international migration. Also, since minority groups in many countries are majority polities in neighbouring states, there is potential for establishing international dialogues aimed at relieving internal tensions." Consideration is given to the role of Australia in promoting international cooperation to deal with these issues. excerpt

Complications of bariatric surgery: presentation and emergency management--a review.

PubMed

Monkhouse, S J W; Morgan, J D T; Norton, S A

2009-05-01

The prevalence of obesity surgery is increasing rapidly in the UK as demand rises. Consequently, general surgeons on-call may be faced with the complications of such surgery and need to have an understanding about how to manage them, at least initially. Obesity surgery is mainly offered in tertiary centres but patients may present with problems to their local district hospital. This review summarises the main complications that may be encountered. A full literature search was carried out looking at articles published in the last 10 years. Keywords for search purposes included bariatric, surgery, complications, emergency and management. Complications of bariatric surgery have been extensively written about but never in a format that is designed to aid the on-call surgeon. The intricate details and rare complications have been excluded to concentrate on those symptoms and signs that are likely to be encountered by the emergency team.

Crystallization techniques in wastewater treatment: An overview of applications.

PubMed

Lu, Haijiao; Wang, Jingkang; Wang, Ting; Wang, Na; Bao, Ying; Hao, Hongxun

2017-04-01

As a by-product of industrial or domestic activities, wastewater of different compositions has caused serious environmental problems all over the world. Facing the challenge of wastewater treatment, researchers have begun to make use of crystallization techniques in wastewater treatment. Crystallization techniques have many advantages, such as high efficiency, energy saving, low costs, less space occupation and so on. In recent decades, crystallization is considered as one of promising techniques for wastewater treatment, especially for desalination, water and salt recovery. It has been widely used in engineering applications all over the world. In this paper, various crystallization techniques in wastewater treatment are summarized, mainly including evaporation crystallization, cooling crystallization, reaction crystallization, drowning-out crystallization and membrane distillation crystallization. Overall, they are mainly used for desalination, water and salt recovery. Their applications, advantages and disadvantages were compared and discussed in detail. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bioinformatics and Microarray Data Analysis on the Cloud.

PubMed

Calabrese, Barbara; Cannataro, Mario

2016-01-01

High-throughput platforms such as microarray, mass spectrometry, and next-generation sequencing are producing an increasing volume of omics data that needs large data storage and computing power. Cloud computing offers massive scalable computing and storage, data sharing, on-demand anytime and anywhere access to resources and applications, and thus, it may represent the key technology for facing those issues. In fact, in the recent years it has been adopted for the deployment of different bioinformatics solutions and services both in academia and in the industry. Although this, cloud computing presents several issues regarding the security and privacy of data, that are particularly important when analyzing patients data, such as in personalized medicine. This chapter reviews main academic and industrial cloud-based bioinformatics solutions; with a special focus on microarray data analysis solutions and underlines main issues and problems related to the use of such platforms for the storage and analysis of patients data.

What goes around, comes around: John Gregory, MD, and the profession of medicine

PubMed Central

McCullough, Laurence B.

2007-01-01

Each generation of physicians believes the problems they face are unique. History shows that very few situations are new to medicine. Some appear to have been around for centuries (medical institutions' “cherry-picking” of patients, third-party interference in medical care), while others have been around for millennia (competition among physicians, competition between physicians and nonphysicians). This article describes problems of medicine faced by 18th-century medicine and the solutions to those problems proposed by Dr. John Gregory in the latter part of that century. Both the problems and his solutions seem surprisingly modern. PMID:17256037

Learning Opportunities in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication and Face-to-Face Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Hye Yeong

2014-01-01

This study investigated how synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) and face-to-face (F2F) oral interaction influence the way in which learners collaborate in language learning and how they solve their communicative problems. The findings suggest that output modality may affect how learners produce language, attend to linguistic forms,…

Student Perceptions Concerning Their Experience in a Flipped Undergraduate Capstone Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCubbins, O. P.; Paulsen, Thomas H.; Anderson, Ryan G.

2016-01-01

Flipped learning is an innovative approach to teaching at the post-secondary level. Traditional methods of initial delivery of curricular content occur before a face-to-face class session. Students must prepare before attending class, as the majority of face-to-face class sessions are utilized for applying curricular content to complex problems. A…

Health problems of Nepalese migrants working in three Gulf countries.

PubMed

Joshi, Suresh; Simkhada, Padam; Prescott, Gordon J

2011-03-28

Nepal is one of the largest suppliers of labour to countries where there is a demand for cheap and low skilled workers. In the recent years the Gulf countries have collectively become the main destinations for international migration. This paper aims to explore the health problems and accidents experienced by a sample of Nepalese migrant in three Gulf countries. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 408 Nepalese migrants who had at least one period of work experience of at least six months in any of three Gulf countries: Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Face to face questionnaire interviews were conducted applying a convenience technique to select the study participants. Nepalese migrants in these Gulf countries were generally young men between 26-35 years of age. Unskilled construction jobs including labourer, scaffolder, plumber and carpenter were the most common jobs. Health problems were widespread and one quarter of study participants reported experiencing injuries or accidents at work within the last 12 months. The rates of health problems and accidents reported were very similar in the three countries. Only one third of the respondents were provided with insurance for health services by their employer. Lack of leave for illness, cost and fear of losing their job were the barriers to accessing health care services. The study found that construction and agricultural workers were more likely to experience accidents at their workplace and health problems than other workers. The findings suggest important messages for the migration policy makers in Nepal. There is a lack of adequate information for the migrants making them aware of their health risks and rights in relation to health services in the destination countries and we suggest that the government of Nepal should be responsible for providing this information. Employers should provide orientation on possible health risks and appropriate training for preventive measures and all necessary access to health care services to all their workers.

Health problems of Nepalese migrants working in three Gulf countries

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Nepal is one of the largest suppliers of labour to countries where there is a demand for cheap and low skilled workers. In the recent years the Gulf countries have collectively become the main destinations for international migration. This paper aims to explore the health problems and accidents experienced by a sample of Nepalese migrant in three Gulf countries. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 408 Nepalese migrants who had at least one period of work experience of at least six months in any of three Gulf countries: Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Face to face questionnaire interviews were conducted applying a convenience technique to select the study participants. Results Nepalese migrants in these Gulf countries were generally young men between 26-35 years of age. Unskilled construction jobs including labourer, scaffolder, plumber and carpenter were the most common jobs. Health problems were widespread and one quarter of study participants reported experiencing injuries or accidents at work within the last 12 months. The rates of health problems and accidents reported were very similar in the three countries. Only one third of the respondents were provided with insurance for health services by their employer. Lack of leave for illness, cost and fear of losing their job were the barriers to accessing health care services. The study found that construction and agricultural workers were more likely to experience accidents at their workplace and health problems than other workers. Conclusion The findings suggest important messages for the migration policy makers in Nepal. There is a lack of adequate information for the migrants making them aware of their health risks and rights in relation to health services in the destination countries and we suggest that the government of Nepal should be responsible for providing this information. Employers should provide orientation on possible health risks and appropriate training for preventive measures and all necessary access to health care services to all their workers. PMID:21443802

ARSH 1: Reproductive and sexual health problems of adolescents and young adults: a cross sectional community survey on knowledge, attitude and practice.

PubMed

Nair, M K C; Leena, M L; Thankachi, Yamini; George, Babu; Russell, Paul Swamidhas Sudhakar

2013-11-01

To understand the problems faced and the difference in knowledge, attitude and practice of young people across the age group of 10-24 y on reproductive and sexual health issues and to get their suggestions regarding adolescent care services. This cross sectional community survey involving three districts in Kerala was conducted among adolescents and young adults of 10-24 y using a population proportion to sample size technique. The main problems faced by the young people between 10 and 24 y of age were financial, substance abuse in family, poor academic performance, difference of opinion, disease in self/family, mental problems, lack of talent, strict parents, difficulty in mingling, love failure, broken family, loneliness and problems at school/office in the descending order. As the age advances higher percentage of both boys (43.4%) and girls (61.7%) discuss reproductive sexual health issues among themselves. There was a statistically significant difference in personal hygiene practices like changing napkins/cloths more than once a day (94.3%), cleaning genital organs with soap every day (71.7%), washing after urination (69.2%), washing from front to back after defecation (62.2%) and washing hands with soap after defecation (73.2%) between 10-14, 15-19, and 20-24 y age group with higher percentages in the older groups. In order to make the service more useful, more of the older group participants suggested giving information on adolescent services to parents, adolescents and society as a whole by creating better societal acceptance and keeping confidentiality in service delivery. This study has shown an overall inadequacy in reproductive health knowledge in all age groups, but increasing knowledge gain and better attitude and practices on reproductive and sexual health as the age increases. The suggestions made by the group regarding need for adolescent reproductive sexual health (ARSH) and counseling services with privacy and confidentiality ensured, is useful for planning ARSH services under National Rural Health Mission.

A novel anti-windup framework for cascade control systems: an application to underactuated mechanical systems.

PubMed

Mehdi, Niaz; Rehan, Muhammad; Malik, Fahad Mumtaz; Bhatti, Aamer Iqbal; Tufail, Muhammad

2014-05-01

This paper describes the anti-windup compensator (AWC) design methodologies for stable and unstable cascade plants with cascade controllers facing actuator saturation. Two novel full-order decoupling AWC architectures, based on equivalence of the overall closed-loop system, are developed to deal with windup effects. The decoupled architectures have been developed, to formulate the AWC synthesis problem, by assuring equivalence of the coupled and the decoupled architectures, instead of using an analogy, for cascade control systems. A comparison of both AWC architectures from application point of view is provided to consolidate their utilities. Mainly, one of the architecture is better in terms of computational complexity for implementation, while the other is suitable for unstable cascade systems. On the basis of the architectures for cascade systems facing stability and performance degradation problems in the event of actuator saturation, the global AWC design methodologies utilizing linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) are developed. These LMIs are synthesized by application of the Lyapunov theory, the global sector condition and the ℒ2 gain reduction of the uncertain decoupled nonlinear component of the decoupled architecture. Further, an LMI-based local AWC design methodology is derived by utilizing a local sector condition by means of a quadratic Lyapunov function to resolve the windup problem for unstable cascade plants under saturation. To demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed AWC schemes, an underactuated mechanical system, the ball-and-beam system, is considered, and details of the simulation and practical implementation results are described. Copyright © 2014 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Population Aging and Migrant Workers: Bottlenecks in Tuberculosis Control in Rural China

PubMed Central

Lu, Hui; You, Hua; Fan, Hong; Huang, Lifang; Wang, Qungang; Shen, Hongbing; Wang, Jianming

2014-01-01

Background Tuberculosis is a serious global health problem. Its paradigms are shifting through time, especially in rapidly developing countries such as China. Health providers in China are at the forefront of the battle against tuberculosis; however, there are few empirical studies on health providers' perspectives on the challenges they face in tuberculosis control at the county level in China. This study was conducted among health providers to explore their experiences with tuberculosis control in order to identify bottlenecks and emerging challenges in controlling tuberculosis in rural China. Methods A qualitative approach was used. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 17 health providers working in various positions within the health system of one rural county (ZJG) of China. Data were analyzed based on thematic content analysis using MAXQDA 10 qualitative data analysis software. Results Health providers reported several problems in tuberculosis control in ZJG county. Migrant workers and the elderly were repeatedly documented as the main obstacles in effective tuberculosis control in the county. At a personal level, doctors showed their frustration with the lack of new drugs for treating tuberculosis patients, and their opinions varied regarding incentives for referring patients. Conclusion The results suggest that several problems still remain for controlling tuberculosis in rural China. Tuberculosis control efforts need to make reaching the most vulnerable populations a priority and encourage local health providers to adopt innovative practices in the local context based on national guidelines to achieve the best results. Considerable changes in China's National Tuberculosis Control Program are needed to tackle these emerging challenges faced by health workers at the county level. PMID:24498440

Population aging and migrant workers: bottlenecks in tuberculosis control in rural China.

PubMed

Bele, Sumedh; Jiang, Wei; Lu, Hui; You, Hua; Fan, Hong; Huang, Lifang; Wang, Qungang; Shen, Hongbing; Wang, Jianming

2014-01-01

Tuberculosis is a serious global health problem. Its paradigms are shifting through time, especially in rapidly developing countries such as China. Health providers in China are at the forefront of the battle against tuberculosis; however, there are few empirical studies on health providers' perspectives on the challenges they face in tuberculosis control at the county level in China. This study was conducted among health providers to explore their experiences with tuberculosis control in order to identify bottlenecks and emerging challenges in controlling tuberculosis in rural China. A qualitative approach was used. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 17 health providers working in various positions within the health system of one rural county (ZJG) of China. Data were analyzed based on thematic content analysis using MAXQDA 10 qualitative data analysis software. Health providers reported several problems in tuberculosis control in ZJG county. Migrant workers and the elderly were repeatedly documented as the main obstacles in effective tuberculosis control in the county. At a personal level, doctors showed their frustration with the lack of new drugs for treating tuberculosis patients, and their opinions varied regarding incentives for referring patients. The results suggest that several problems still remain for controlling tuberculosis in rural China. Tuberculosis control efforts need to make reaching the most vulnerable populations a priority and encourage local health providers to adopt innovative practices in the local context based on national guidelines to achieve the best results. Considerable changes in China's National Tuberculosis Control Program are needed to tackle these emerging challenges faced by health workers at the county level.

Assessment of elderly people in general practice. 2. Functional abilities and medical problems.

PubMed Central

Iliffe, S; Haines, A; Gallivan, S; Booroff, A; Goldenberg, E; Morgan, P

1991-01-01

A random sample of 239 patients aged 75 years and over registered with general practitioners in north and north west London was selected for home assessment to determine the functional abilities and medical problems of this group of patients. Nearly one in five of the patients were incontinent of urine (18.4%), although this was on a daily basis for only 4.1%. Around one in 20 patients were incontinent of faeces (5.9%), yet only one patient had laundry service support. Unassisted mobility outdoors was reported as possible by 81.2% of the patients. Fourteen different types of aids were present in the participants' homes, the commonest being walking sticks, bath aids and stair rails. Only a small proportion of aids seemed to be currently unused. The major functional problems were bathing, housework, shopping, washing and ironing, and cooking main meals, but the level of demand for extra help was low. One in five patients had a hearing aid (19.8%) but for only 30% of these patients was it in continuous use. Polypharmacy was common, with 29.7% of patients taking three or more prescribed medicines. The workload implications of this approach to anticipatory care of elderly people are considerable. In an average practice of 2000 patients with 130 patients aged 75 years and over the primary care team would need over 150 hours of face-to-face contact per year with these patients to fulfil the new contractual obligation and the yield of new information leading to effective medical or social intervention is limited.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) PMID:2003950

3D Face Modeling Using the Multi-Deformable Method

PubMed Central

Hwang, Jinkyu; Yu, Sunjin; Kim, Joongrock; Lee, Sangyoun

2012-01-01

In this paper, we focus on the problem of the accuracy performance of 3D face modeling techniques using corresponding features in multiple views, which is quite sensitive to feature extraction errors. To solve the problem, we adopt a statistical model-based 3D face modeling approach in a mirror system consisting of two mirrors and a camera. The overall procedure of our 3D facial modeling method has two primary steps: 3D facial shape estimation using a multiple 3D face deformable model and texture mapping using seamless cloning that is a type of gradient-domain blending. To evaluate our method's performance, we generate 3D faces of 30 individuals and then carry out two tests: accuracy test and robustness test. Our method shows not only highly accurate 3D face shape results when compared with the ground truth, but also robustness to feature extraction errors. Moreover, 3D face rendering results intuitively show that our method is more robust to feature extraction errors than other 3D face modeling methods. An additional contribution of our method is that a wide range of face textures can be acquired by the mirror system. By using this texture map, we generate realistic 3D face for individuals at the end of the paper. PMID:23201976

Face liveness detection using shearlet-based feature descriptors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Litong; Po, Lai-Man; Li, Yuming; Yuan, Fang

2016-07-01

Face recognition is a widely used biometric technology due to its convenience but it is vulnerable to spoofing attacks made by nonreal faces such as photographs or videos of valid users. The antispoof problem must be well resolved before widely applying face recognition in our daily life. Face liveness detection is a core technology to make sure that the input face is a live person. However, this is still very challenging using conventional liveness detection approaches of texture analysis and motion detection. The aim of this paper is to propose a feature descriptor and an efficient framework that can be used to effectively deal with the face liveness detection problem. In this framework, new feature descriptors are defined using a multiscale directional transform (shearlet transform). Then, stacked autoencoders and a softmax classifier are concatenated to detect face liveness. We evaluated this approach using the CASIA Face antispoofing database and replay-attack database. The experimental results show that our approach performs better than the state-of-the-art techniques following the provided protocols of these databases, and it is possible to significantly enhance the security of the face recognition biometric system. In addition, the experimental results also demonstrate that this framework can be easily extended to classify different spoofing attacks.

Analysis of the causes of medical evacuation of injured and sick soldiers of the Polish Military Contingent in the Islamic State of Afghanistan taking part in International Security Assistance Force operations.

PubMed

Ziemba, Radosław

2012-04-01

Military casualties in Afghanistan arise in part from climatic and natural conditions that are difficult for European soldiers to endure, as well as from intense guerrilla combat with mass use of IEDs (improvised explosive devices), thus posing numerous and diverse medical problems requiring evacuation to the home country. A search of the literature revealed no comprehensive studies of the causes of medical evacuation from this theater of operations. This article is a review of medical reports of the Polish Military Contingent taking part in Operation Enduring Freedom during the period from 01 January 2010 to 31 December 2011, including an analysis of causes of all ROLE 4 medical evacuations (to the military base in Germany or to the home country). As many as 565 (5.49%) of the total of 10 294 contingent soldiers were evacuated during the analyzed period. Of these, 29% of evacuation cases were due to combat injuries, 23% to complications of respiratory tract infection, 11% to mental health problems, 11% to chronic neuralgias, 12% to complications of acute gastrointestinal infections, 4% to non-combat injuries, 3% to dental and maxillofacial problems, 2% to dermatological problems and 2% to leishmaniasis. The remaining causes included chronic organic/systemic diseases manifested during service. The main causes of medical evacuations to the home country were the consequences of combat injuries, mainly due to IED attacks. Appropriate diagnosis and early treatment of infections is also an important problem in the face of a significant number of complications resulting in evacuation of soldiers to their home country.

Examining problem solving in physics-intensive Ph.D. research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leak, Anne E.; Rothwell, Susan L.; Olivera, Javier; Zwickl, Benjamin; Vosburg, Jarrett; Martin, Kelly Norris

2017-12-01

Problem-solving strategies learned by physics undergraduates should prepare them for real-world contexts as they transition from students to professionals. Yet, graduate students in physics-intensive research face problems that go beyond problem sets they experienced as undergraduates and are solved by different strategies than are typically learned in undergraduate coursework. This paper expands the notion of problem solving by characterizing the breadth of problems and problem-solving processes carried out by graduate students in physics-intensive research. We conducted semi-structured interviews with ten graduate students to determine the routine, difficult, and important problems they engage in and problem-solving strategies they found useful in their research. A qualitative typological analysis resulted in the creation of a three-dimensional framework: context, activity, and feature (that made the problem challenging). Problem contexts extended beyond theory and mathematics to include interactions with lab equipment, data, software, and people. Important and difficult contexts blended social and technical skills. Routine problem activities were typically well defined (e.g., troubleshooting), while difficult and important ones were more open ended and had multiple solution paths (e.g., evaluating options). In addition to broadening our understanding of problems faced by graduate students, our findings explore problem-solving strategies (e.g., breaking down problems, evaluating options, using test cases or approximations) and characteristics of successful problem solvers (e.g., initiative, persistence, and motivation). Our research provides evidence of the influence that problems students are exposed to have on the strategies they use and learn. Using this evidence, we have developed a preliminary framework for exploring problems from the solver's perspective. This framework will be examined and refined in future work. Understanding problems graduate students face and the strategies they use has implications for improving how we approach problem solving in undergraduate physics and physics education research.

Future Critical Issues and Problems Facing Technology and Engineering Education in the Commonwealth of Virginia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katsioloudis, Petros; Moye, Johnny J.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research was to determine the future critical issues and problems facing the K-12 technology and engineering education profession in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This study was based on the Wicklein nationwide studies (1993a, 2005). Even though this study did not exactly replicate the Wicklein studies--since it was limited to…

Studies in the Human Use of Controlled English

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-01

Controlled English (CE) is intended to aid human problem solving processes when analysing data and generating high-value conclusions in collaboration...state of affairs. The second approach is to guide a user face-to-face to formulate free English sentences into CE to solve a logic problem. The paper describes both approaches and provides an informal analysis of the results to date.

Investigating ICT Using Problem-Based Learning in Face-to-Face and Online Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearson, John

2006-01-01

This article reports on the design, implementation and evaluation of a module in the MEd (Business) in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong in which an explicit problem-based learning (PBL) approach was used to investigate the challenges associated with the adoption and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in…

Cognitive access to numbers: the philosophical significance of empirical findings about basic number abilities.

PubMed

Giaquinto, Marcus

2017-02-19

How can we acquire a grasp of cardinal numbers, even the first very small positive cardinal numbers, given that they are abstract mathematical entities? That problem of cognitive access is the main focus of this paper. All the major rival views about the nature and existence of cardinal numbers face difficulties; and the view most consonant with our normal thought and talk about numbers, the view that cardinal numbers are sizes of sets, runs into the cognitive access problem. The source of the problem is the plausible assumption that cognitive access to something requires causal contact with it. It is argued that this assumption is in fact wrong, and that in this and similar cases, we should accept that a certain recognize-and-distinguish capacity is sufficient for cognitive access. We can then go on to solve the cognitive access problem, and thereby support the set-size view of cardinal numbers, by paying attention to empirical findings about basic number abilities. To this end, some selected studies of infants, pre-school children and a trained chimpanzee are briefly discussed.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The origins of numerical abilities'. © 2017 The Author(s).

The Feasibility of Flipping: An Exploratory Analysis of the Flipped Classroom in a Developing Country

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffith, Alana D. D.

2017-01-01

There has been an increased demand on educational institutions to provide students with value for money. The sociology course SOCI3035 Caribbean Social Problems with 111 students was transformed to a fully flipped course replacing several face-to-face lectures, tutorials and assessment with online versions as homework. Face to face lecture time…

Self-stigma and the intention to seek psychological help online compared to face-to-face.

PubMed

Wallin, Emma; Maathz, Pernilla; Parling, Thomas; Hursti, Timo

2018-07-01

The present study aims to investigate the impact of help-seeking self-stigma on the preference and intention to seek psychological treatment delivered online compared to face-to-face. This study uses survey data from two Swedish samples. Sample 1 consists of 267 students (78.7% women) with a mean age of 24.5 (SD = 6.1). Sample 2 consists of 195 primary care patients (56.9% women) with a mean age of 45.3 (SD = 17.7). The number of participants who preferred online treatment was higher if seeking psychological help for a perceived stigmatized problem compared to mental health problems in general. The odds ratios for choosing treatment online over face-to-face were 6.41, 95% CI [4.05, 10.14] in Sample 1 and 11.19, 95% CI [5.29, 23.67] in Sample 2. In addition, findings suggest that higher levels of help-seeking self-stigma predicted higher intention to seek treatment online compared to face-to-face. Our results suggest that online interventions may facilitate help-seeking among individuals deterred by stigma. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Face sketch recognition based on edge enhancement via deep learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Zhenzhu; Yang, Fumeng; Zhang, Yuming; Wu, Congzhong

2017-11-01

In this paper,we address the face sketch recognition problem. Firstly, we utilize the eigenface algorithm to convert a sketch image into a synthesized sketch face image. Subsequently, considering the low-level vision problem in synthesized face sketch image .Super resolution reconstruction algorithm based on CNN(convolutional neural network) is employed to improve the visual effect. To be specific, we uses a lightweight super-resolution structure to learn a residual mapping instead of directly mapping the feature maps from the low-level space to high-level patch representations, which making the networks are easier to optimize and have lower computational complexity. Finally, we adopt LDA(Linear Discriminant Analysis) algorithm to realize face sketch recognition on synthesized face image before super resolution and after respectively. Extensive experiments on the face sketch database(CUFS) from CUHK demonstrate that the recognition rate of SVM(Support Vector Machine) algorithm improves from 65% to 69% and the recognition rate of LDA(Linear Discriminant Analysis) algorithm improves from 69% to 75%.What'more,the synthesized face image after super resolution can not only better describer image details such as hair ,nose and mouth etc, but also improve the recognition accuracy effectively.

Qualitative analysis of national documents on health care services and pharmaceuticals` purchasing challenges: evidence from Iran.

PubMed

Bastani, Peivand; Samadbeik, Mahnaz; Dinarvand, Rassoul; Kashefian-Naeeini, Sara; Vatankhah, Soudabeh

2018-06-05

Iranian health sector encountered many challenges in resource allocation and health service purchasing during the past decades, the aim of this study was to determine the main challenges of the present process of health service purchasing for national policymakers and other developing countries with the same setting. It was a qualitative study carried out via the complete content analysis of all relevant national documents from 2007 to 2014. In order to retrieve the related documents, we searched the official websites related to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, four main Iranian insurance organizations, the Health Committee of the Parliament Profile, strategic vice president's site and Supreme Insurance Council. After recognition of documents, their credibility and authenticity were evaluated in terms of their publication or adjustment. For the analysis of documents, the four step-Scott method was used applying MAXQDA version 10. Findings illustrated that health service purchase challenges in the country can be classified in 6 main themes of policy-making, executive, intersectional, natural, legal and informational challenges with 26 subthemes. Furthermore, 5 themes of Basic Benefit Package, Reimbursement,Decision making, Technology and Contract are considered as the main Challenges in pharmaceutical purchasing area containing 13 relevant subthemes. It seems that according to documents, Iran has faced many structural and procedural problems with the purchase of the best health interventions. So it is highly recommended to consider consequences derived from the present challenges and try to use these evidences in their policy making process to decrease the existed problems and move to better procurement of health interventions.

Finessing filter scarcity problem in face recognition via multi-fold filter convolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Low, Cheng-Yaw; Teoh, Andrew Beng-Jin

2017-06-01

The deep convolutional neural networks for face recognition, from DeepFace to the recent FaceNet, demand a sufficiently large volume of filters for feature extraction, in addition to being deep. The shallow filter-bank approaches, e.g., principal component analysis network (PCANet), binarized statistical image features (BSIF), and other analogous variants, endure the filter scarcity problem that not all PCA and ICA filters available are discriminative to abstract noise-free features. This paper extends our previous work on multi-fold filter convolution (ℳ-FFC), where the pre-learned PCA and ICA filter sets are exponentially diversified by ℳ folds to instantiate PCA, ICA, and PCA-ICA offspring. The experimental results unveil that the 2-FFC operation solves the filter scarcity state. The 2-FFC descriptors are also evidenced to be superior to that of PCANet, BSIF, and other face descriptors, in terms of rank-1 identification rate (%).

Challenges Faced by Maine School Districts in Providing High Quality Public Education. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silvernail, David L.; Linet, Sarah R.

2014-01-01

The goal of this study was to: (1) identify challenges faced by Maine school districts in providing high quality public education; (2) describe the magnitude of the challenges; and (3) identify areas where school districts were experiencing some success in meeting these challenges. The School Districts Challenge Survey was distributed online to…

Discretization and Numerical Solution of a Plane Problem in the Mechanics of Interfacial Cracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khoroshun, L. P.

2017-01-01

The Fourier transform is used to reduce the linear plane problem of the tension of a body with an interfacial crack to a system of dual equations for the transformed stresses and, then, to a system of integro-differential equations for the difference of displacements of the crack faces. After discretization, this latter system transforms into a system of algebraic equations for displacements of the crack faces. The effect of the bielastic constant and the number of discretization points on the half-length of the crack faces and the distribution of stresses at the interface is studied

Arrangement for multiplexing and intensity splitting light beams for interface into fiber optic cables

DOEpatents

Johnson, Steve A.

1990-01-01

An arrangement especially suitable for use in a laser apparatus for converting a plurality of different input light beams, for example copper vapor laser beams, into a plurality of substantially identical light beams is disclosed herein. This arrangement utilizes an optical mixing bar which is preferably integrally formed as a single unit and which includes a main body for mixing light therein, a flat input surface on one end of the main body, and a multi-faceted output face on the opposite end of the main body. This arrangement also includes means for directing the plurality of different input light beams onto the input face of the mixing base, whereby to cause the different beams to mix within the main body of the mixing bar and exit the latter from its multi-faceted output face as the desired plurality of substantially identical output beams.

Face-to-Face vs. Real-Time Clinical Education: No Significant Difference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohammed, Y. Q.; Waddington, G.; Donnan, P.

2007-01-01

The main objective of this pilot research project was to determine whether the use of an internet broadband link to stream physiotherapy clinical education workshop proceedings in "real-time" is of equivalent educational value to the traditional face-to-face experience. This project looked at the benefits of using the above technology as…

Learners' Willingness to Communicate in Face-to-Face versus Oral Computer-Mediated Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yanguas, Íñigo; Flores, Alayne

2014-01-01

The present study had two main goals: to explore performance differences in a task-based environment between face-to-face (FTF) and oral computer-mediated communication (OCMC) groups, and to investigate the relationship between trait-like willingness to communicate (WTC) and performance in the FTF and OCMC groups. Students from two intact…

Using Online Video Lectures to Enrich Traditional Face-to-Face Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Makarem, Suzanne C.

2015-01-01

University educators need to meet changing needs of the digital generation by integrating technology through online content delivery. Despite the many advantages of online education, a large number of university professors are reluctant to make the transition from traditional-face-to-face lectures to online delivery, mainly due to the time, cost,…

Effects of Virtual Education on Academic Culture: Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jefferson, Renee N.; Arnold, Liz W.

2009-01-01

The perceived advantages and disadvantages of courses taught in online and face-to-face learning environments were explored for students taking an accounting and a data collection and analysis course. Both courses were taught in a face-to-face learning environment at the main or satellite campus. It was hypothesized that there would be…

Learning optimal embedded cascades.

PubMed

Saberian, Mohammad Javad; Vasconcelos, Nuno

2012-10-01

The problem of automatic and optimal design of embedded object detector cascades is considered. Two main challenges are identified: optimization of the cascade configuration and optimization of individual cascade stages, so as to achieve the best tradeoff between classification accuracy and speed, under a detection rate constraint. Two novel boosting algorithms are proposed to address these problems. The first, RCBoost, formulates boosting as a constrained optimization problem which is solved with a barrier penalty method. The constraint is the target detection rate, which is met at all iterations of the boosting process. This enables the design of embedded cascades of known configuration without extensive cross validation or heuristics. The second, ECBoost, searches over cascade configurations to achieve the optimal tradeoff between classification risk and speed. The two algorithms are combined into an overall boosting procedure, RCECBoost, which optimizes both the cascade configuration and its stages under a detection rate constraint, in a fully automated manner. Extensive experiments in face, car, pedestrian, and panda detection show that the resulting detectors achieve an accuracy versus speed tradeoff superior to those of previous methods.

An investigation on nuclear energy policy in Turkey and public perception

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coskun, Mehmet Burhanettin; Tanriover, Banu

2016-11-01

Turkey, which meets nearly 70 per cent of its energy demands with import, is facing the problems of energy security and current account deficit as a result of its dependence on foreign sources in terms of energy input. It is also known that Turkey is having environmental problems due to the increases in CO2 emission. Considering these problems in Turkish economy, where energy input is commonly used, it is necessary to use energy sources efficiently and provide alternative energy sources. Due to the dependency of renewable sources on meteorological conditions (the absence of enough sun, wind, and water sources), the energy generation could not be provided efficiently and permanently from these sources. At this point, nuclear energy as analternative energy source maintains its importance as a sustainable energy source that providing energy in 7 days and 24 hours. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the nuclear energy subject within the context of negative public perceptions emerged after Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima (2011) disasters and to investigate in the economic framework.

Globalization causes a world of health problems.

PubMed

Abell, H

1998-01-01

Many countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean offer substantial tax breaks to foreign corporations that set up shops in free-trade zones and waive environmental regulations and repress trade unions to further induce this practice. Workers in these shops--mainly women--perform repetitive machine-based motions, are exposed to toxic chemicals and unsafe equipment, and face dangerously high production quotas. Health problems caused by these working conditions include headache and dizziness, fatigue, anemia, forgetfulness, stomach pains, respiratory problems, hypertension, heart disease, and allergies. Water and air pollution and dumping of hazardous waste affect the health of entire communities. Since free-trade zones are a permanent feature of the global economy, organizing to protect workers and communities assumes critical importance. Groups such as the Border Committee of Women Workers in Mexico are providing workers with skills and support to make demands such as better treatment of pregnant workers. International labor, environmental, and public health advocates can support such efforts by providing assistance to worker-controlled organizations and pressuring governments to enforce laws intended to protect workers and their communities.

Set-free Markov state model building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weber, Marcus; Fackeldey, Konstantin; Schütte, Christof

2017-03-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations face challenging problems since the time scales of interest often are much longer than what is possible to simulate; and even if sufficiently long simulations are possible the complex nature of the resulting simulation data makes interpretation difficult. Markov State Models (MSMs) help to overcome these problems by making experimentally relevant time scales accessible via coarse grained representations that also allow for convenient interpretation. However, standard set-based MSMs exhibit some caveats limiting their approximation quality and statistical significance. One of the main caveats results from the fact that typical MD trajectories repeatedly re-cross the boundary between the sets used to build the MSM which causes statistical bias in estimating the transition probabilities between these sets. In this article, we present a set-free approach to MSM building utilizing smooth overlapping ansatz functions instead of sets and an adaptive refinement approach. This kind of meshless discretization helps to overcome the recrossing problem and yields an adaptive refinement procedure that allows us to improve the quality of the model while exploring state space and inserting new ansatz functions into the MSM.

Effective monitoring of agriculture: a response.

PubMed

Sachs, Jeffrey D; Remans, Roseline; Smukler, Sean M; Winowiecki, Leigh; Andelman, Sandy J; Cassman, Kenneth G; Castle, David; DeFries, Ruth; Denning, Glenn; Fanzo, Jessica; Jackson, Louise E; Leemans, Rik; Lehmann, Johannes; Milder, Jeffrey C; Naeem, Shahid; Nziguheba, Generose; Palm, Cheryl A; Pingali, Prabhu L; Reganold, John P; Richter, Daniel D; Scherr, Sara J; Sircely, Jason; Sullivan, Clare; Tomich, Thomas P; Sanchez, Pedro A

2012-03-01

The development of effective agricultural monitoring networks is essential to track, anticipate and manage changes in the social, economic and environmental aspects of agriculture. We welcome the perspective of Lindenmayer and Likens (J. Environ. Monit., 2011, 13, 1559) as published in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring on our earlier paper, "Monitoring the World's Agriculture" (Sachs et al., Nature, 2010, 466, 558-560). In this response, we address their three main critiques labeled as 'the passive approach', 'the problem with uniform metrics' and 'the problem with composite metrics'. We expand on specific research questions at the core of the network design, on the distinction between key universal and site-specific metrics to detect change over time and across scales, and on the need for composite metrics in decision-making. We believe that simultaneously measuring indicators of the three pillars of sustainability (environmentally sound, social responsible and economically viable) in an effectively integrated monitoring system will ultimately allow scientists and land managers alike to find solutions to the most pressing problems facing global food security. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012

Comparison of computing capability and information system abilities of state hospitals owned by Ministry of Labor and Social Security and Ministry of Health.

PubMed

Tengilimoğlu, Dilaver; Celik, Yusuf; Ulgü, Mahir

2006-08-01

The main purpose of this study is to give an idea to the readers about how big and important the computing and information problems that hospital managers as well as policy makers will face with after collecting the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MoLSS) and Ministry of Health (MoH) hospitals under single structure in Turkey by comparing the current level of computing capability of hospitals owned by two ministries. The data used in this study were obtained from 729 hospitals that belong to both ministries by using a data collection tool. The results indicate that there have been considerable differences among the hospitals owned by the two ministries in terms of human resources and information systems. The hospital managers and decision makers making their decisions based on the data produced by current hospital information system (HIS) would more likely face very important difficulties after merging MoH and MoLSS hospitals in Turkey. It is also possible to claim that the level and adequacy of computing abilities and devices do not allow the managers of public hospitals to use computer technology effectively in their information management practices. Lack of technical information, undeveloped information culture, inappropriate management styles, and being inexperienced are the main reasons of why HIS does not run properly and effectively in Turkish hospitals.

Clustering Millions of Faces by Identity.

PubMed

Otto, Charles; Wang, Dayong; Jain, Anil K

2018-02-01

Given a large collection of unlabeled face images, we address the problem of clustering faces into an unknown number of identities. This problem is of interest in social media, law enforcement, and other applications, where the number of faces can be of the order of hundreds of million, while the number of identities (clusters) can range from a few thousand to millions. To address the challenges of run-time complexity and cluster quality, we present an approximate Rank-Order clustering algorithm that performs better than popular clustering algorithms (k-Means and Spectral). Our experiments include clustering up to 123 million face images into over 10 million clusters. Clustering results are analyzed in terms of external (known face labels) and internal (unknown face labels) quality measures, and run-time. Our algorithm achieves an F-measure of 0.87 on the LFW benchmark (13 K faces of 5,749 individuals), which drops to 0.27 on the largest dataset considered (13 K faces in LFW + 123M distractor images). Additionally, we show that frames in the YouTube benchmark can be clustered with an F-measure of 0.71. An internal per-cluster quality measure is developed to rank individual clusters for manual exploration of high quality clusters that are compact and isolated.

New control strategies for longwall armored face conveyors

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

Broadfoot, A.R.; Betz, R.E.

1998-03-01

This paper investigates a new control approach for longwall armored face conveyors (AFC`s) using variable-speed drives (VSD`s). Traditionally, AFC`s have used fixed-speed or two-speed motors, with various mechanical solutions employed to try to solve the problems that this causes. The VSD approach to the control problem promises to solve all the significant problems associated with the control of AFC`s. This paper will present the control algorithms developed for a VSD-based AFC drive system and demonstrate potential performance via computer simulation. A full discussion of the problems involved with the control of AFC`s can be found in the companion paper.

The Academic, Administrative, Economic, Social, and Psychological Problems Faced by Students of Textile and Clothing Major at King Abdul-Aziz University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alsubyani, Noor Abdulhadi

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the academic, administrative, economic, social, and psychological problems faced by students of Textile and fabric major at King Abdul-Aziz University. To achieve this purpose, a questionnaire was designed and distributed to a sample of students in the Textile and fabric major, after the use of…

The Magnificence of Getting in Trouble: Finding Hope in Classroom Disobedience and Resistance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leafgren, Sheri

2009-01-01

Over forty years ago, Howard Zinn identified the problem as not one of civil disobedience, but of civil "obedience". He confronted the problem of remaining obedient to laws and rules even "in the face of the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war and cruelty." Framed in an early childhood context, this article explores the value of…

Managing Digital Learning Environments: Student Teachers' Perception on the Social Networking Services Use in Writing Courses in Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prasojo, Lantip Diat; Habibi, Akhmad; Mukminin, Amirul; Muhaimin; Taridi, Muhammad; Ikhsan; Saudagar, Ferdiaz

2017-01-01

Limited studies have been conducted to examine how effective and what impacts dealing with students' learning experiences as well as the problems faced by the students. This study focused on English student teachers' experiences on the advantages and problems faced in using Social Networking Services (SNS) in English as Foreign Language (EFL)…

A Comparison of Classroom and Online Asynchronous Problem-Based Learning for Students Undertaking Statistics Training as Part of a Public Health Masters Degree

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Jong, N.; Verstegen, D. M. L.; Tan, F. E. S.; O'Connor, S. J.

2013-01-01

This case-study compared traditional, face-to-face classroom-based teaching with asynchronous online learning and teaching methods in two sets of students undertaking a problem-based learning module in the multilevel and exploratory factor analysis of longitudinal data as part of a Masters degree in Public Health at Maastricht University. Students…

Learning biology through connecting mathematics to scientific mechanisms: Student outcomes and teacher supports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuchardt, Anita

Integrating mathematics into science classrooms has been part of the conversation in science education for a long time. However, studies on student learning after incorporating mathematics in to the science classroom have shown mixed results. Understanding the mixed effects of including mathematics in science has been hindered by a historical focus on characteristics of integration tangential to student learning (e.g., shared elements, extent of integration). A new framework is presented emphasizing the epistemic role of mathematics in science. An epistemic role of mathematics missing from the current literature is identified: use of mathematics to represent scientific mechanisms, Mechanism Connected Mathematics (MCM). Building on prior theoretical work, it is proposed that having students develop mathematical equations that represent scientific mechanisms could elevate their conceptual understanding and quantitative problem solving. Following design and implementation of an MCM unit in inheritance, a large-scale quantitative analysis of pre and post implementation test results showed MCM students, compared to traditionally instructed students) had significantly greater gains in conceptual understanding of mathematically modeled scientific mechanisms, and their ability to solve complex quantitative problems. To gain insight into the mechanism behind the gain in quantitative problem solving, a small-scale qualitative study was conducted of two contrasting groups: 1) within-MCM instruction: competent versus struggling problem solvers, and 2) within-competent problem solvers: MCM instructed versus traditionally instructed. Competent MCM students tended to connect their mathematical inscriptions to the scientific phenomenon and to switch between mathematical and scientifically productive approaches during problem solving in potentially productive ways. The other two groups did not. To address concerns about teacher capacity presenting barriers to scalability of MCM approaches, the types and amount of teacher support needed to achieve these types of student learning gains were investigated. In the context of providing teachers with access to educative materials, students achieved learning gains in both areas in the absence of face-to-face teacher professional development. However, maximal student learning gains required the investment of face-to-face professional development. This finding can govern distribution of scarce resources, but does not preclude implementation of MCM instruction even where resource availability does not allow for face-to-face professional development.

Hybrid generative-discriminative approach to age-invariant face recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sajid, Muhammad; Shafique, Tamoor

2018-03-01

Age-invariant face recognition is still a challenging research problem due to the complex aging process involving types of facial tissues, skin, fat, muscles, and bones. Most of the related studies that have addressed the aging problem are focused on generative representation (aging simulation) or discriminative representation (feature-based approaches). Designing an appropriate hybrid approach taking into account both the generative and discriminative representations for age-invariant face recognition remains an open problem. We perform a hybrid matching to achieve robustness to aging variations. This approach automatically segments the eyes, nose-bridge, and mouth regions, which are relatively less sensitive to aging variations compared with the rest of the facial regions that are age-sensitive. The aging variations of age-sensitive facial parts are compensated using a demographic-aware generative model based on a bridged denoising autoencoder. The age-insensitive facial parts are represented by pixel average vector-based local binary patterns. Deep convolutional neural networks are used to extract relative features of age-sensitive and age-insensitive facial parts. Finally, the feature vectors of age-sensitive and age-insensitive facial parts are fused to achieve the recognition results. Extensive experimental results on morphological face database II (MORPH II), face and gesture recognition network (FG-NET), and Verification Subset of cross-age celebrity dataset (CACD-VS) demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for age-invariant face recognition well.

Gender classification system in uncontrolled environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Pingping; Zhang, Yu-Jin; Duan, Fei

2011-01-01

Most face analysis systems available today perform mainly on restricted databases of images in terms of size, age, illumination. In addition, it is frequently assumed that all images are frontal and unconcealed. Actually, in a non-guided real-time supervision, the face pictures taken may often be partially covered and with head rotation less or more. In this paper, a special system supposed to be used in real-time surveillance with un-calibrated camera and non-guided photography is described. It mainly consists of five parts: face detection, non-face filtering, best-angle face selection, texture normalization, and gender classification. Emphases are focused on non-face filtering and best-angle face selection parts as well as texture normalization. Best-angle faces are figured out by PCA reconstruction, which equals to an implicit face alignment and results in a huge increase of the accuracy for gender classification. Dynamic skin model and a masked PCA reconstruction algorithm are applied to filter out faces detected in error. In order to fully include facial-texture and shape-outline features, a hybrid feature that is a combination of Gabor wavelet and PHoG (pyramid histogram of gradients) was proposed to equitable inner texture and outer contour. Comparative study on the effects of different non-face filtering and texture masking methods in the context of gender classification by SVM is reported through experiments on a set of UT (a company name) face images, a large number of internet images and CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences) face database. Some encouraging results are obtained.

Loss of Face among Chinese Businesspeople in Intracultural and Intercultural Business Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cardon, Peter W.; Scott, James Calvert

2007-01-01

Problem: No systematic research has been conducted about loss of face in Chinese business culture. General research questions: What causes Chinese businesspeople to lose face when conducting business intraculturally and interculturally? Setting: People's Republic of China. Participants: 34 Chinese businesspeople from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou,…

Maximal likelihood correspondence estimation for face recognition across pose.

PubMed

Li, Shaoxin; Liu, Xin; Chai, Xiujuan; Zhang, Haihong; Lao, Shihong; Shan, Shiguang

2014-10-01

Due to the misalignment of image features, the performance of many conventional face recognition methods degrades considerably in across pose scenario. To address this problem, many image matching-based methods are proposed to estimate semantic correspondence between faces in different poses. In this paper, we aim to solve two critical problems in previous image matching-based correspondence learning methods: 1) fail to fully exploit face specific structure information in correspondence estimation and 2) fail to learn personalized correspondence for each probe image. To this end, we first build a model, termed as morphable displacement field (MDF), to encode face specific structure information of semantic correspondence from a set of real samples of correspondences calculated from 3D face models. Then, we propose a maximal likelihood correspondence estimation (MLCE) method to learn personalized correspondence based on maximal likelihood frontal face assumption. After obtaining the semantic correspondence encoded in the learned displacement, we can synthesize virtual frontal images of the profile faces for subsequent recognition. Using linear discriminant analysis method with pixel-intensity features, state-of-the-art performance is achieved on three multipose benchmarks, i.e., CMU-PIE, FERET, and MultiPIE databases. Owe to the rational MDF regularization and the usage of novel maximal likelihood objective, the proposed MLCE method can reliably learn correspondence between faces in different poses even in complex wild environment, i.e., labeled face in the wild database.

An introduction to the Semantic Web for health sciences librarians.

PubMed

Robu, Ioana; Robu, Valentin; Thirion, Benoit

2006-04-01

The paper (1) introduces health sciences librarians to the main concepts and principles of the Semantic Web (SW) and (2) briefly reviews a number of projects on the handling of biomedical information that uses SW technology. The paper is structured into two main parts. "Semantic Web Technology" provides a high-level description, with examples, of the main standards and concepts: extensible markup language (XML), Resource Description Framework (RDF), RDF Schema (RDFS), ontologies, and their utility in information retrieval, concluding with mention of more advanced SW languages and their characteristics. "Semantic Web Applications and Research Projects in the Biomedical Field" is a brief review of the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS), Generalised Architecture for Languages, Encyclopedias and Nomenclatures in Medicine (GALEN), HealthCyberMap, LinkBase, and the thesaurus of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The paper also mentions other benefits and by-products of the SW, citing projects related to them. Some of the problems facing the SW vision are presented, especially the ways in which the librarians' expertise in organizing knowledge and in structuring information may contribute to SW projects.

An Autopsy of Nanofiltration Membrane Used for Landfill Leachate Treatment

PubMed Central

Demir, Ibrahim; Koyuncu, Ismail; Guclu, Serkan; Yildiz, Senol; Balahorli, Vahit; Caglar, Suphi; Turken, Turker; Pasaoglu, Mehmet E.; Kaya, Recep; Sengur-Tasdemir, Reyhan

2015-01-01

Komurcuoda leachate treatment plant, Istanbul, which consists of membrane bioreactor (MBR) and nanofiltration (NF) system, faced rapid flux decline in membranes after 3-year successful operation. To compensate rapid flux decline in membranes, the fouled membranes were renewed but replacement of the membranes did not solve the problem. To find the reasons and make a comprehensive analysis, membrane autopsy was performed. Visual and physical inspection of the modules and some instrumental analysis were conducted for membrane autopsy. Membranes were found severely fouled with organic and inorganic foulants. Main foulant was iron which was deposited on surface. The main reason was found to be the changing of aerator type of MBR. When surface aerators were exchanged with bottom diffusers which led to increasing of dissolved oxygen (DO) level of the basin, iron particles were oxidized and they converted into particulate insoluble form. It was thought that probably this insoluble form of the iron particles was the main cause of decreased membrane performance. After the diagnosis, a new pretreatment alternative including a new iron antiscalant was suggested and system performance has been recovered. PMID:26137593

Total Facelift: Forehead Lift, Midface Lift, and Neck Lift

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Patients with thick skin mainly exhibit the aging processes of sagging, whereas patients with thin skin develop wrinkles or volume loss. Asian skin is usually thicker than that of Westerners; and thus, the sagging of skin due to aging, rather than wrinkling, is the chief problem to be addressed in Asians. Asian skin is also relatively large in area and thick, implying that the weight of tissue to be lifted is considerably heavier. These factors account for the difficulties in performing a facelift in Asians. Facelifts can be divided into forehead lift, midface lift, and lower face lift. These can be performed individually or with 2-3 procedures combined. PMID:25798381

Conceptual framework to ensure water security in Ukraine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gadzalo, Yaroslav; Romashchenko, Mykhailo; Yatsiuk, Mykhailo

2018-02-01

As a result of global climate change against the background of natural water supply deterioration and river water content reductions, nowadays Ukraine is facing the problem of environmental degradation of river basins. In light of this, we suggest that achieving an acceptable level of water security in Ukraine should be defined as the strategic objective of national water policy. The state of national water security should be evaluated by its progress in certain sectors. The basic principles of the new water policy of Ukraine are supposed to be represented in Water Strategy of Ukraine. Integrated water management by the basin principle should serve as the main tool for achieving the objectives of water security.

Nurse education and convergent information technologies.

PubMed

Howard, B

This article concerns one of the main problems facing nurse education, that of meeting individualised learner needs. This endeavour is inescapable because of current trends in the curriculum, trends towards continuous assessment and more recently, advice from the English National Board (ENB) regarding continuous theoretical assessment. Computer assisted learning, it is suggested, can be helpful in nurturing individual learner progress. Sophisticated technologies are available to educationalists which develop individual learning strategies, but the cost of producing the necessary courseware is high, both in terms of money and tutor time. Hopefully a solution has been found as a project has been funded and is being run by the ENB allowing tutors to develop skills in this area of education.

A Noninferiority Trial of a Problem-Solving Intervention for Hospice Caregivers: In Person versus Videophone

PubMed Central

Parker Oliver, Debra; Wittenberg-Lyles, Elaine; Washington, Karla; Doorenbos, Ardith; Rue, Tessa; Berry, Donna

2012-01-01

Abstract Purpose of the study Problem-solving therapy (PST) has been found effective when delivered to informal caregivers of patients with various conditions. In hospice, however, its translation to practice is impeded by the increased resources needed for its delivery. The study purpose was to compare the effectiveness of a PST intervention delivered face-to-face with one delivered via videophone to hospice primary caregivers. Design and methods The study design was a randomized noninferiority trial with two groups, Group 1 in which caregivers received PST face-to-face, and Group 2 in which caregivers received PST via videophone. Family hospice caregivers were recruited from two urban hospice agencies and received the PST intervention (in three visits for Group 1 or three video-calls in Group 2) in an approximate period of 20 days after hospice admission. Standard caregiver demographic data were collected. Psychometric instruments administered to caregivers at baseline and at study completion included the CQLI-R (Caregiver Quality of Life Index–Revised), the STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), and the PSI (Problem-Solving Inventory). Results One hundred twenty-six caregivers were recruited in the study; 77 were randomly assigned to Group 1 and 49 to Group 2. PST delivered via video was not inferior to face-to-face delivery. The observed changes in scores were similar for each group. Caregiver quality of life improved and state anxiety decreased under both conditions. Conclusions The delivery of PST via videophone was not inferior to face-to-face. Audiovisual feedback captured by technology may be sufficient, providing a solution to the geographic barriers that often inhibit the delivery of these types of interventions to older adults in hospice. PMID:22536989

Facial anatomy.

PubMed

Marur, Tania; Tuna, Yakup; Demirci, Selman

2014-01-01

Dermatologic problems of the face affect both function and aesthetics, which are based on complex anatomical features. Treating dermatologic problems while preserving the aesthetics and functions of the face requires knowledge of normal anatomy. When performing successfully invasive procedures of the face, it is essential to understand its underlying topographic anatomy. This chapter presents the anatomy of the facial musculature and neurovascular structures in a systematic way with some clinically important aspects. We describe the attachments of the mimetic and masticatory muscles and emphasize their functions and nerve supply. We highlight clinically relevant facial topographic anatomy by explaining the course and location of the sensory and motor nerves of the face and facial vasculature with their relations. Additionally, this chapter reviews the recent nomenclature of the branching pattern of the facial artery. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Use of top tethers with forward-facing child restraints: observations and driver interviews.

PubMed

Eichelberger, Angela H; Decina, Lawrence E; Jermakian, Jessica S; McCartt, Anne T

2014-02-01

Despite the safety benefits, many parents do not use top tethers with forward-facing child restraints. Detailed information was collected about why parents are not using tethers. The sample included 479 drivers who had forward-facing child restraints installed in passenger vehicles equipped with tether anchors. The survey was conducted primarily at shopping centers, recreation facilities, child care facilities, car seat check events, and health care facilities in mostly suburban areas surrounding Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Fredericksburg (VA), and Seattle. Drivers were surveyed about their knowledge and use of tethers and experience with child restraints. Tether use was observed to verify whether tethers were being used correctly. Fifty-six percent of forward-facing child restraints were installed with the tether; 39% were installed with the tether used correctly. The tether was used with 71% of LATCH lower anchor installations and 33% of seat belt installations. Drivers who installed child restraints without tethers most often said they did not know about the tether or how to use it. Although the tether use rate was slightly higher in the current research than in previous studies, many parents and caregivers still use forward-facing child restraints without attaching the tether. Because the main problem is lack of awareness of the tether or how to use it, public education should focus specifically on the safety benefits of tethers and how to use them. Information about why caregivers fail to use top tethers is potentially useful to child restraint manufacturers, child passenger safety technicians, and others who work with parents to improve motor vehicle safety. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.

Exploring the challenges faced by polytechnic students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matore, Mohd Effendi @ Ewan Mohd; Khairani, Ahmad Zamri

2015-02-01

This study aims to identify other challenges besides those already faced by students, in seven polytechnics in Malaysia as a continuation to the previous research that had identified 52 main challenges faced by students using the Rasch Model. The explorative study focuses on the challenges that are not included in the Mooney Problem Checklist (MPCL). A total of 121 polytechnic students submitted 183 written responses through the open questions provided. Two hundred fifty two students had responded from a students' perspective on the dichotomous questions regarding their view on the challenges faced. The data was analysed qualitatively using the NVivo 8.0. The findings showed that students from Politeknik Seberang Perai (PSP) gave the highest response, which was 56 (30.6%) and Politeknik Metro Kuala Lumpur (PMKL) had the lowest response of 2 (1.09%). Five dominant challenges were identified, which were the English language (32, 17.5%), learning (14, 7.7%), vehicles (13, 7.1%), information technology and communication (ICT) (13, 7.1%), and peers (11, 6.0%). This article, however, focus on three apparent challenges, namely, English language, vehicles, as well as computer and ICT, as the challenges of learning and peers had been analysed in the previous MPCL. The challenge of English language that had been raised was regarding the weakness in commanding the aspects of speech and fluency. The computer and ICT challenge covered the weakness in mastering ICT and computers, as well as computer breakdowns and low-performance computers. The challenge of vehicles emphasized the unavailability of vehicles to attend lectures and go elsewhere, lack of transportation service in the polytechnic and not having a valid driving license. These challenges are very relevant and need to be discussed in an effort to prepare polytechnics in facing the transformational process of polytechnics.

Apprehensions and problems after laryngectomy: Patients' perspective.

PubMed

Hirani, Ismail; Siddiqui, Atif Hafeez; Muhammad Khyani, Iqbal Abdul

2015-11-01

To evaluate the apprehensions, social, sexual and financial problems in patients with advanced laryngeal cancer after total laryngectomy and the impact of attending laryngeal club on these problems. The analytical study was conducted at the Dow Medical College and Civil Hospital Karachi from January 1996 to December 2011. Patients with total laryngectomy, operated for advanced laryngeal cancer at various centres of Sindh and Balochistan, attending Laryngeal Club of Pakistan, situated at Civil Hospital Karachi, were included. All the patients were evaluated through a questionnaire covering their apprehensions regarding social, sexual and financial impact on their lives after total laryngectomy. Data was analysed using SPSS 16. Of the 125 patients, 120(96%) were males, and 5(4%) were females; all housewives. The overall mean age was 54.8±0.5 years (range: 31-65 years). Further, 92(74%) participants were worried about financial uncertainty, while 84(67%) had regrets over loss of their voice; patients worried about losing family support and facing social rejection were 23(18%) and 15(12%) respectively. Only 7(5%) patients feared losing sexual relationship with their spouse. All these apprehensions were subdued after attending the Laryngeal Club of Pakistan. Severe financial impact was faced by 55(44%) patients due to loss of job, while 05(4%) had moderate impact due to change of job with lower income and 60(48%) patients had no financial problem. A good 102(82%) participants thought the support from their friends and family was upto their expectations; 98(78%) enjoyed satisfactory sex life although with reduced frequency of 1 to 2 intercourses per month; 21(17%) were having the frequency of 3-10 per month; and 3(2%) had more than 10 per month. Only 16(13%) patients were not involved in sexual relations with their spouses due to various reasons. Majority of laryngectomised patients expressed apprehensions and showed some social problems after laryngectomy, especially in the initial phase which improved either with passage of time or after attending Laryngectomy Club. The main problem was financial constraints; majority had good friends and family support and enjoyed satisfactory sexual relationship with their spouse.

The Role of Active Exploration of 3D Face Stimuli on Recognition Memory of Facial Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Chang Hong; Ward, James; Markall, Helena

2007-01-01

Research on face recognition has mainly relied on methods in which observers are relatively passive viewers of face stimuli. This study investigated whether active exploration of three-dimensional (3D) face stimuli could facilitate recognition memory. A standard recognition task and a sequential matching task were employed in a yoked design.…

Geoelectrical Characterization of the Punta Banda System: A Possible Structural Control for the Geothermal Anomalies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arango-Galvan, C.; Flores-Marquez, E.; Prol-Ledesma, R.; Working Group, I.

2007-05-01

The lack of sufficient drinking water in México has become a very serious problem, especially in the northern desert regions of the country. In order to give a real solution to this phenomenon the IMPULSA research program has been created to develope novel technologies based on desalination of sea and brackish water using renewable sources of energy to face the problem. The Punta Banda geothermal anomaly is located towards the northern part of Baja California Peninsula (Mexico). High water temperatures in some wells along the coast depicted a geothermal anomaly. An audiomagnetotelluric survey was carried out in the area as a preliminary study, both to understand the process generating these anomalous temperatures and to assess its potential exploitation to supply hot water to desalination plants. Among the electromagnetic methods, the audiomagnetotellurics (AMT) method is appropriated for deep groundwater and geothermal studies. The survey consisted of 27 AMT stations covering a 5 km profile along the Agua Blanca Fault. The employed array allowed us to characterize the geoelectrical properties of the main structures up to 500 m depth. Two main geoelectrical zones were identified: 1) a shallow low resistivity media located at the central portion of the profile, coinciding with the Maneadero valley and 2) two high resitivity structures bordering the conductive zone possibly related to NS faulting, already identified by previous geophysical studies. These results suggest that the main geothermal anomalies are controlled by the dominant structural regime in the zone.

Teacher Opinions on the Problems Faced in Reading and Writing by Syrian Migrant Children in Their First Class at Primary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ugurlu, Necla Isikdogan; Kayhan, Nilay

2018-01-01

The objective of this study is to evaluate, according to the opinions of teachers, the problems faced by the children of Syrian families who have taken refuge in Turkey since 2011 with regard to their linguistic and communication skills, as well as their reading and writing process in Turkish as a foreign language. The research group is composed…

Effectiveness of problem gambling interventions in a service setting: a protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled clinical trial.

PubMed

Abbott, M; Bellringer, M; Vandal, A C; Hodgins, D C; Battersby, M; Rodda, S N

2017-03-02

The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the relative effectiveness of 2 of the best developed and most promising forms of therapy for problem gambling, namely face-to-face motivational interviewing (MI) combined with a self-instruction booklet (W) and follow-up telephone booster sessions (B; MI+W+B) and face-to-face cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). This project is a single-blind pragmatic randomised clinical trial of 2 interventions, with and without the addition of relapse-prevention text messages. Trial assessments take place pretreatment, at 3 and 12 months. A total of 300 participants will be recruited through a community treatment agency that provides services across New Zealand and randomised to up to 10 face-to-face sessions of CBT or 1 face-to-face session of MI+W+up to 5 B. Participants will also be randomised to 9 months of postcare text messaging. Eligibility criteria include a self-perception of having a current gambling problem and a willingness to participate in all components of the study (eg, read workbook). The statistical analysis will use an intent-to-treat approach. Primary outcome measures are days spent gambling and amount of money spent per day gambling in the prior month. Secondary outcome measures include problem gambling severity, gambling urges, gambling cognitions, mood, alcohol, drug use, tobacco, psychological distress, quality of life, health status and direct and indirect costs associated with treatment. The research methods to be used in this study have been approved by the Ministry of Health, Health and Disability Ethics Committees (HDEC) 15/CEN/99. The investigators will provide annual reports to the HDEC and report any adverse events to this committee. Amendments will also be submitted to this committee. The results of this trial will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and as a report to the funding body. Additionally, the results will be presented at national and international conferences. ACTRN12615000637549. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Justifying surgery's last taboo: the ethics of face transplants

PubMed Central

Freeman, Michael; Jaoudé, Pauline Abou

2007-01-01

Should face transplants be undertaken? This article examines the ethical problems involved from the perspective of the recipient, looking particularly at the question of identity, the donor and the donor's family, and the disfigured community and society more generally. Concern is expressed that full face transplants are going ahead. PMID:17264192

Health Risks Faced by Public School Band Directors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woolery, Danielle N.; Woolery, Jesse A.

2013-01-01

Public school band directors face many work-related hazards in their grueling, yet rewarding job. As a school year progresses, directors are expected to work long hours, while trying to balance professional and personal responsibilities. A band director whose career spans multiple decades can potentially face a number of serious medical problems.…

Cyber Victimization in High School: Measurement, Overlap with Face-to-Face Victimization, and Associations with Social-Emotional Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Christina Flynn; Demaray, Michelle Kilpatrick; Tennant, Jaclyn E.; Jenkins, Lyndsay N.

2017-01-01

Cyber victimization is a contemporary problem facing youth and adolescents (Diamanduros, Downs, & Jenkins, 2008; Kowalski & Limber, 2007). It is imperative for researchers and school personnel to understand the associations between cyber victimization and student social-emotional outcomes. This article explores (a) gender differences in…

Addressing the service linkage problem. Increasing substance abuse treatment engagement using personalized feedback interventions in heavy-using female domestic violence shelter residents.

PubMed

Ogle, Richard L; Baer, John S

2003-11-01

Two personalized substance abuse assessment and feedback interventions were tested for effectiveness in engaging female domestic violence shelter residents in substance abuse treatment. One hundred forty-seven residents were assessed for quantity andfrequency of substance use, negative consequences due to use, motivation to change substance use behavior, and psychopathological symptoms related to substance abuse. Assessment identified (33) 22% of participants as heavy substance users. Twenty of the 33 heavy-using residents received one of two personalized substance use feedback interventions:face-to-face feedback or writtenfeedbackplaced in shelter mailboxes. Treatment engagement was defined as attending at least one substance abuse treatment session within 30 days after the intervention. Results showed a significant difference in treatment engagement rates in favor of the face-to-face feedback group (60% vs. 0%). The results provide preliminary data suggesting that substance abuse assessment can be effectively accomplished in the shelter environment and that the face-to-face feedback procedure may be an effective intervention to bridge the service linkage problem between domestic violence services and substance abuse treatment.

Ethnicity identification from face images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Xiaoguang; Jain, Anil K.

2004-08-01

Human facial images provide the demographic information, such as ethnicity and gender. Conversely, ethnicity and gender also play an important role in face-related applications. Image-based ethnicity identification problem is addressed in a machine learning framework. The Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) based scheme is presented for the two-class (Asian vs. non-Asian) ethnicity classification task. Multiscale analysis is applied to the input facial images. An ensemble framework, which integrates the LDA analysis for the input face images at different scales, is proposed to further improve the classification performance. The product rule is used as the combination strategy in the ensemble. Experimental results based on a face database containing 263 subjects (2,630 face images, with equal balance between the two classes) are promising, indicating that LDA and the proposed ensemble framework have sufficient discriminative power for the ethnicity classification problem. The normalized ethnicity classification scores can be helpful in the facial identity recognition. Useful as a "soft" biometric, face matching scores can be updated based on the output of ethnicity classification module. In other words, ethnicity classifier does not have to be perfect to be useful in practice.

Person Authentication Using Learned Parameters of Lifting Wavelet Filters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niijima, Koichi

2006-10-01

This paper proposes a method for identifying persons by the use of the lifting wavelet parameters learned by kurtosis-minimization. Our learning method uses desirable properties of kurtosis and wavelet coefficients of a facial image. Exploiting these properties, the lifting parameters are trained so as to minimize the kurtosis of lifting wavelet coefficients computed for the facial image. Since this minimization problem is an ill-posed problem, it is solved by the aid of Tikhonov's regularization method. Our learning algorithm is applied to each of the faces to be identified to generate its feature vector whose components consist of the learned parameters. The constructed feature vectors are memorized together with the corresponding faces in a feature vectors database. Person authentication is performed by comparing the feature vector of a query face with those stored in the database. In numerical experiments, the lifting parameters are trained for each of the neutral faces of 132 persons (74 males and 58 females) in the AR face database. Person authentication is executed by using the smile and anger faces of the same persons in the database.

Tensor discriminant color space for face recognition.

PubMed

Wang, Su-Jing; Yang, Jian; Zhang, Na; Zhou, Chun-Guang

2011-09-01

Recent research efforts reveal that color may provide useful information for face recognition. For different visual tasks, the choice of a color space is generally different. How can a color space be sought for the specific face recognition problem? To address this problem, this paper represents a color image as a third-order tensor and presents the tensor discriminant color space (TDCS) model. The model can keep the underlying spatial structure of color images. With the definition of n-mode between-class scatter matrices and within-class scatter matrices, TDCS constructs an iterative procedure to obtain one color space transformation matrix and two discriminant projection matrices by maximizing the ratio of these two scatter matrices. The experiments are conducted on two color face databases, AR and Georgia Tech face databases, and the results show that both the performance and the efficiency of the proposed method are better than those of the state-of-the-art color image discriminant model, which involve one color space transformation matrix and one discriminant projection matrix, specifically in a complicated face database with various pose variations.

Trading Land: A Review of Approaches to Accounting for Upstream Land Requirements of Traded Products.

PubMed

Schaffartzik, Anke; Haberl, Helmut; Kastner, Thomas; Wiedenhofer, Dominik; Eisenmenger, Nina; Erb, Karl-Heinz

2015-10-01

Land use is recognized as a pervasive driver of environmental impacts, including climate change and biodiversity loss. Global trade leads to "telecoupling" between the land use of production and the consumption of biomass-based goods and services. Telecoupling is captured by accounts of the upstream land requirements associated with traded products, also commonly referred to as land footprints. These accounts face challenges in two main areas: (1) the allocation of land to products traded and consumed and (2) the metrics to account for differences in land quality and land-use intensity. For two main families of accounting approaches (biophysical, factor-based and environmentally extended input-output analysis), this review discusses conceptual differences and compares results for land footprints. Biophysical approaches are able to capture a large number of products and different land uses, but suffer from a truncation problem. Economic approaches solve the truncation problem, but are hampered by the limited disaggregation of sectors and products. In light of the conceptual differences, the overall similarity of results generated by both types of approaches is remarkable. Diametrically opposed results for some of the world's largest producers and consumers of biomass-based products, however, make interpretation difficult. This review aims to provide clarity on some of the underlying conceptual issues of accounting for land footprints.

Flow Distribution Around the SSME Main Injector Assembly Using Porosity Formulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, Gary C.; Chen, Yen-Sen; Wang, Ten-See

1995-01-01

Hot gas turbulent flow distribution around the main injector assembly of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) and Liquid Oxidizer (LOX) flow distribution through the LOX posts have a great effect on the combustion phenomena inside the main combustion chamber. In order to design a CFD model to be an effective engineering analysis tool with good computational turn- around time (especially for 3-D flow problems) and still maintain good accuracy in describing the flow features, the concept of porosity was employed to describe the effects of blockage and drag force due to the presence of the LOX posts in the turbulent flow field around the main injector assembly of the SSME. 2-D numerical studies were conducted to identify the drag coefficients of the flows both through tube banks and around the shielded posts over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. Empirical, analytical expressions of the drag coefficient as a function of local flow Reynolds number were then deduced. The porosity model was applied to the turbulent flow around the main injector assembly of the SSME, and analyses were performed. The 3-D CFD analysis was divided into three parts, LOX dome, hot gas injector assembly, and hydrogen cavity. The numerical results indicate that the mixture ratio at the downstream of injector face was close to stoichiometric around baffle elements.

Flow Distribution Around the SSME Main Injector Assembly Using Porosity Formulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, Gary C.; Chen, Yen-Sen; Wang, Ten-See

1995-01-01

Hot gas turbulent flow distribution around the main injector assembly of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) and Liquid Oxidizer (LOX) flow distribution through the LOX posts have a great effect on the combustion phenomena inside the main combustion chamber. In order to design a CFD model to be an effective engineering analysis tool with good computational turn-around time (especially for 3-D flow problems) and still maintain good accuracy in describing the flow features, the concept of porosity was employed to describe the effects of blockage and drag force due to the presence of the LOX posts in the turbulent flow field around the main injector assembly of the SSME. 2-D numerical studies were conducted to identify the drag coefficients of the flows both through tube banks and around the shielded posts over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. Empirical, analytical expressions of the drag coefficient as a function of local flow Reynolds number were then deduced. The porosity model was applied to the turbulent flow around the main injector assembly of the SSME, and analyses were performed. The 3-D CFD analysis was divided into three parts, LOX dome, hot gas injector assembly, and hydrogen cavity. The numerical results indicate that the mixture ratio at the downstream of injector face was close to stoichiometric around baffle elements.

Internet-based virtual classroom and educational management software enhance students' didactic and clinical experiences in perfusion education programs.

PubMed

Riley, Jeffrey B; Austin, Jon W; Holt, David W; Searles, Bruce E; Darling, Edward M

2004-09-01

A challenge faced by many university-based perfusion education (PE) programs is the need for student clinical rotations at hospital locations that are geographically disparate from the main educational campus. The problem has been addressed through the employment of distance-learning environments. The purpose of this educational study is to evaluate the effectiveness of this teaching model as it is applied to PE. Web-based virtual classroom (VC) environments and educational management system (EMS) software were implemented independently and as adjuncts to live, interactive Internet-based audio/video transmission from classroom to classroom in multiple university-based PE programs. These Internet environments have been used in a variety of ways including: 1) forum for communication between the university faculty, students, and preceptors at clinical sites, 2) didactic lectures from expert clinicians to students assigned to distant clinical sites, 3) small group problem-based-learning modules designed to enhance students analytical skills, and 4) conversion of traditional face-to-face lectures to asynchronous learning modules. Hypotheses and measures of student and faculty satisfaction, clinical experience, and learning outcomes are proposed, and some early student feedback was collected. For curricula that emphasize both didactic and clinical education, the use of Internet-based VC and EMS software provides significant advancements over traditional models. Recognized advantages include: 1) improved communications between the college faculty and the students and clinical preceptors, 2) enhanced access to a national network of clinical experts in specialized techniques, 3) expanded opportunity for student distant clinical rotations with continued didactic course work, and 4) improved continuity and consistency of clinical experiences between students through implementation of asynchronous learning modules. Students recognize the learning efficiency of on-line information presentation but still prefer the traditional face-to-face classroom environment. Traditional paradigms impose limitations that are rooted in dependence upon the students and instructors being physically located in the same place at the same time. These represents significant impediments for PE programs that use geographically separate clinical sites to provide clinical experience. Historically this has led to a disintegration of the presentation of theory, and a reduction in the quantity or quality of clinical experience opportunities. New PE models help to eliminate limitations and improve the quality of education especially in the face of economic challenges. Perfusion education students and faculty will have to work together to find computer-based offerings that are equivalent to traditional classroom methods.

Combined Effects of Inversion and Feature Removal on N170 Responses Elicited by Faces and Car Fronts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kloth, Nadine; Itier, Roxane J.; Schweinberger, Stefan R.

2013-01-01

The face-sensitive N170 is typically enhanced for inverted compared to upright faces. Itier, Alain, Sedore, and McIntosh (2007) recently suggested that this N170 inversion effect is mainly driven by the eye region which becomes salient when the face configuration is disrupted. Here we tested whether similar effects could be observed with non-face…

Blended Online and Face-to-Face Learning: A Pilot Project in the Faculty of Education, Eduardo Mondlane University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muianga, Xavier

2005-01-01

This paper is about the introduction of blended online and face-to-face learning to the Faculty of Education at Eduardo Mondlane University (EMU) in Mozambique. The main objective of the intervention was to explore the use of a course management system (CMS) within a flexible, student-centred teaching and learning strategy. The author selected two…

Competency-Based Achievement System

PubMed Central

Ross, Shelley; Poth, Cheryl N.; Donoff, Michel; Humphries, Paul; Steiner, Ivan; Schipper, Shirley; Janke, Fred; Nichols, Darren

2011-01-01

Abstract Problem addressed Family medicine residency programs require innovative means to assess residents’ competence in “soft” skills (eg, patient-centred care, communication, and professionalism) and to identify residents who are having difficulty early enough in their residency to provide remedial training. Objective of program To develop a method to assess residents’ competence in various skills and to identify residents who are having difficulty. Program description The Competency-Based Achievement System (CBAS) was designed to measure competence using 3 main principles: formative feedback, guided self-assessment, and regular face-to-face meetings. The CBAS is resident driven and provides a framework for meaningful interactions between residents and advisors. Residents use the CBAS to organize and review their feedback, to guide their own assessment of their progress, and to discern their future learning needs. Advisors use the CBAS to monitor, guide, and verify residents’ knowledge of and competence in important skills. Conclusion By focusing on specific skills and behaviour, the CBAS enables residents and advisors to make formative assessments and to communicate their findings. Feedback indicates that the CBAS is a user-friendly and helpful system to assess competence. PMID:21918129

Assessment of a prototype for the Systemization of Nursing Care on a mobile device.

PubMed

Rezende, Laura Cristhiane Mendonça; Santos, Sérgio Ribeiro Dos; Medeiros, Ana Lúcia

2016-01-01

assess a prototype for use on mobile devices that permits registering data for the Systemization of Nursing Care at a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. an exploratory and descriptive study was undertaken, characterized as an applied methodological research, developed at a teaching hospital. the mobile technology the nurses at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit use was positive, although some reported they faced difficulties to manage it, while others with experience in using mobile devices did not face problems to use it. The application has the functions needed for the Systematization of Nursing Care at the unit, but changes were suggested in the interface of the screens, some data collection terms and parameters the application offers. The main contributions of the software were: agility in the development and documentation of the systemization, freedom to move, standardization of infant assessment, optimization of time to develop bureaucratic activities, possibilities to recover information and reduction of physical space the registers occupy. prototype software for the Systemization of Nursing Care with mobile technology permits flexibility for the nurses to register their activities, as the data can be collected at the bedside.

[Work and depression in women after the birth of a child].

PubMed

Romito, P; Pomicino, L; Lucchetta, C; Scrimin, F; Turan, J Molzan

2007-01-01

To analyze the main factors associated to depression at 8 months postpartum, looking more particularly at women's employment. 352 women responded to a face-to-face questionnaire few days after the birth, at the Maternity Hospital "Burlo Garofolo" in Trieste, and 292 of them responded to a telephone interview 8 months later. Psychological distress 8 months after delivery was evaluated with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). 8 months postpartum, 5% of women were depressed. 32% of women were non-satisfied with their current working status, without differences among those working and those staying at home. 13% of sample reported problems related to work (such as being fired or no flexible working hours). The women's actual working status was not associated with depression, while the congruence between what the woman was doing (working/at home) and her wishes was. The relationship was still significant after adjusting for other factors associated with depression. Employment dissatisfaction is negatively associated with women's health after childbirth. To promote mothers' wellbeing, the question of women's employment after birth should be addressed.

Social Determinants and Access to Induced Abortion in Burkina Faso: From Two Case Studies

PubMed Central

Ouédraogo, Ramatou

2014-01-01

Unsafe abortion constitutes a major public health problem in Burkina Faso and concerns mainly young women. The legal restriction and social stigma make abortions most often clandestine and risky for women who decide to terminate a pregnancy. However, the exposure to the risk of unsafe induced abortion is not the same for all the women who faced unwanted pregnancy and decide to have an abortion. Drawn from a qualitative study on the issue of abortion in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital, the contrasting cases of two young women who had abortion allow us to show how the women's personal resources (such as the school level, financial resources, the compliance to social norms, the social network, etc.) may determine the degree of vulnerability of women, the delay to have an abortion, the type of care they are likely to benefit from, and the cost they have to face. This study concludes that the poorest always pay more (cost and consequences), take longer to have an abortion, and have more exposure to the risk of unsafe abortion. PMID:24790605

Nuclear reactor downcomer flow deflector

DOEpatents

Gilmore, Charles B [Greensburg, PA; Altman, David A [Pittsburgh, PA; Singleton, Norman R [Murrysville, PA

2011-02-15

A nuclear reactor having a coolant flow deflector secured to a reactor core barrel in line with a coolant inlet nozzle. The flow deflector redirects incoming coolant down an annulus between the core barrel and the reactor vessel. The deflector has a main body with a front side facing the fluid inlet nozzle and a rear side facing the core barrel. The rear side of the main body has at least one protrusion secured to the core barrel so that a gap exists between the rear side of the main body adjacent the protrusion and the core barrel. Preferably, the protrusion is a relief that circumscribes the rear side of the main body.

Availing services for developmental disabilities: parental experiences from a referral center in developing country.

PubMed

Juneja, Monica; Jain, Rahul; Singhal, Swati; Mishra, Devendra

2012-09-01

To identify the problems faced by parents of children with developmental disabilities in availing rehabilitative services and to find their satisfaction level. This study was carried out at a Child Development Clinic (CDC) located in Northern India. Children with developmental disabilities, who were availing services at CDC for at least last 3 mo and had at least 3 follow-up visits, were enrolled. A questionnaire pertaining to the socio-demographic profile, problems faced in availing services and satisfaction level was filled by the parents of the enrolled children. During the study period, 161 parents filled the questionnaire. 77.6% had some problems in getting the services, the major being difficulty in commuting (50%) and financial constraint (21.7%). More than 80% parents use public transport to reach CDC with 19% travelling more than 50 Km. 29.8% had difficulty in bringing their child to the clinic, either due to severe behavioral problems or physical disability. However, majority of the families were well satisfied with the services as 95% of them graded their satisfaction level at 3 or more on the scale of 0-5. Parents of children with developmental disabilities face many problems in getting rehabilitative services. They travel long distances, face hardships in carrying their child, and lose their day's earnings, apart from spending time and money for their child's therapy. However, most of the parents are well satisfied with the services.

Original and Mirror Face Images and Minimum Squared Error Classification for Visible Light Face Recognition.

PubMed

Wang, Rong

2015-01-01

In real-world applications, the image of faces varies with illumination, facial expression, and poses. It seems that more training samples are able to reveal possible images of the faces. Though minimum squared error classification (MSEC) is a widely used method, its applications on face recognition usually suffer from the problem of a limited number of training samples. In this paper, we improve MSEC by using the mirror faces as virtual training samples. We obtained the mirror faces generated from original training samples and put these two kinds of samples into a new set. The face recognition experiments show that our method does obtain high accuracy performance in classification.

Obstacles and problems of ethical leadership from the perspective of nursing leaders: a qualitative content analysis.

PubMed

Barkhordari-Sharifabad, Maasoumeh; Ashktorab, Tahereh; Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, Foroozan

2017-01-01

In the nursing profession, leadership plays a significant role in creating motivation and thus enabling nurses to provide high quality care. Ethics is an essential component of leadership qualifications and the ethical leader can help create an ethical atmosphere, offer ethical guidance, and ensure the occupational satisfaction of personnel through prioritizing moralities. However, some issues prevent the implementation of this type of leadership by nursing leaders. The aim of this study was to identify and describe some problems and obstacles in ethical leadership faced by nursing leaders, and to help them achieve more accurate information and broader perspective in this field. The present study was conducted using a qualitative approach and content analysis. A total of 14 nursing managers and educators were selected purposefully, and deep and semi-structured interviews were conducted with them. Content analysis was performed using an inductive approach. Three main categories were obtained after data analysis: ethical, cultural and managerial problems. "Ethical problems" pertain to doubt in ethical actions, ethical conflicts and ethical distress; "cultural problems" include organizational and social culture; and "managerial problems" are connected to organizational and staff-related issues. Nursing leaders put forth various aspects of the problems associated with ethical leadership in the clinical setting. This style of leadership could be promoted by developing suitable programs and providing clear-cut strategies for removing the current obstacles and correcting the organizational structure. This can lead to ethical improvement in nursing leaders and subsequently the nurses.

Numerical analysis of laminar and turbulent incompressible flows using the finite element Fluid Dynamics Analysis Package (FIDAP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sohn, Jeong L.

1988-01-01

The purpose of the study is the evaluation of the numerical accuracy of FIDAP (Fluid Dynamics Analysis Package). Accordingly, four test problems in laminar and turbulent incompressible flows are selected and the computational results of these problems compared with other numerical solutions and/or experimental data. These problems include: (1) 2-D laminar flow inside a wall-driven cavity; (2) 2-D laminar flow over a backward-facing step; (3) 2-D turbulent flow over a backward-facing step; and (4) 2-D turbulent flow through a turn-around duct.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A blue-black indigo snake is seen crossing a roadway inside the Center. Indigo snakes are active during the day and spend a great deal of time foraging for food and mates. They often hide in gopher tortoise burrows (the tortoises don’t seem to mind) in sandy scrub habitats. The longest snakes in the United States, some individuals reach almost nine feet in length. In 1978, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed indigo snakes as a threatened species in all portions of its range; federal protection has helped to stop collection of these snakes from the wild. The numbers of indigo snakes are still declining throughout most of the Southeast, especially Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Habitat loss and fragmentation is the main problem facing these snakes today. KSC shares a boundary with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses 92,000 acres that are a habitat for more than 331 species of birds, 31 mammals, 117 fishes, and 65 amphibians and reptiles.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-06-10

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A blue-black indigo snake is seen crossing a roadway inside the Center. Indigo snakes are active during the day and spend a great deal of time foraging for food and mates. They often hide in gopher tortoise burrows (the tortoises don’t seem to mind) in sandy scrub habitats. The longest snakes in the United States, some individuals reach almost nine feet in length. In 1978, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed indigo snakes as a threatened species in all portions of its range; federal protection has helped to stop collection of these snakes from the wild. The numbers of indigo snakes are still declining throughout most of the Southeast, especially Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Habitat loss and fragmentation is the main problem facing these snakes today. KSC shares a boundary with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses 92,000 acres that are a habitat for more than 331 species of birds, 31 mammals, 117 fishes, and 65 amphibians and reptiles.

Measurement and visualization of face-to-face interaction among community-dwelling older adults using wearable sensors.

PubMed

Masumoto, Kouhei; Yaguchi, Takaharu; Matsuda, Hiroshi; Tani, Hideaki; Tozuka, Keisuke; Kondo, Narihiko; Okada, Shuichi

2017-10-01

A number of interventions have been undertaken to develop and promote social networks among community-dwelling older adults. However, it has been difficult to examine the effects of these interventions, because of problems in assessing interactions. The present study was designed to quantitatively measure and visualize face-to-face interactions among elderly participants in an exercise program. We also examined relationships among interactional variables, personality and interest in community involvement, including interactions with the local community. Older adults living in the same community were recruited to participate in an exercise program that consisted of four sessions. We collected data on face-to-face interactions of the participants by using a wearable sensor technology device. Network analysis identified the communication networks of participants in the exercise program, as well as changes in these networks. Additionally, there were significant correlations between the number of people involved in face-to-face interactions and changes in both interest in community involvement and interactions with local community residents, as well as personality traits, including agreeableness. Social networks in the community are essential for solving problems caused by the aging society. We showed the possible applications of face-to-face interactional data for identifying core participants having many interactions, and isolated participants having only a few interactions within the community. Such data would be useful for carrying out efficient interventions for increasing participants' involvement with their community. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1752-1758. © 2017 Japan Geriatrics Society.

Current Perception of Telemedicine in an EU Country

PubMed Central

POENARU, Calin; POENARU, Elena; VINEREANU, Dragos

2014-01-01

Objectives: To assess the perception and expectation of beneficiaries and providers of telemedicine services in Romania. Methods: Interview (on-line and face-to-face) of 109 representatives of medical community, from two categories: physicians, involved directly in the patient care, and medical and information technology directors of state and private owned clinics and hospitals. A third group, formed by executives from main technology service provider companies, was added in order to expand the results with their vision as potential suppliers of telemedicine projects. Outcomes: We evaluated 4 important aspects of telemedicine: actual status of the services, development efforts and allocated budget, expected future services, and stoppers and enablers. On the actual status we identified in 48% of the cases the existence of core services good enough to start advanced telemedicine services. We developed a metric (SOR = Supporter/Opponents Ratio) to evaluate the suitability of telemedicine services to evolve and to deliver on expectations. The analysis shows that physicians see potential for development for EHR and PACS (both with SOR >25), but the executives start looking forward to more advanced services like remote patient monitoring. Main impact is expected in collaboration and patient quality life areas and, by far, the main stoppers are reduced budgets and organizational problems to adapt to the new data models. Conclusions: We identified a strong support from the physicians related with the introduction of new type of healthcare services accompanied with high expectations. On the executive level, the expectations are different, ranging from low optimism on the technology side, to serious support on the medical side. However, there is a clear trend, able to create the first telemedicine services during the next years. PMID:25705307

Issues experienced while administering care to patients with dementia in acute care hospitals: A study based on focus group interviews

PubMed Central

Fukuda, Risa; Shimizu, Yasuko

2015-01-01

Objective Dementia is a major public health problem. More and more patients with dementia are being admitted to acute care hospitals for treatment of comorbidities. Issues associated with care of patients with dementia in acute care hospitals have not been adequately clarified. This study aimed to explore the challenges nurses face in providing care to patients with dementia in acute care hospitals in Japan. Methods This was a qualitative study using focus group interviews (FGIs). The setting was six acute hospitals with surgical and medical wards in the western region of Japan. Participants were nurses in surgical and internal medicine wards, excluding intensive care units. Nurses with less than 3 years working experience, those without experience in dementia patient care in their currently assigned ward, and head nurses were excluded from participation. FGIs were used to collect data from February to December 2008. Interviews were scheduled for 1–1.5 h. The qualitative synthesis method was used for data analysis. Results In total, 50 nurses with an average experience of 9.8 years participated. Eight focus groups were formed. Issues in administering care to patients with dementia at acute care hospitals were divided into seven groups. Three of these groups, that is, problematic patient behaviors, recurrent problem, and problems affecting many people equally, interact to result in a burdensome cycle. This cycle is exacerbated by lack of nursing experience and lack of organization in hospitals. In coping with this cycle, the nurses develop protection plans for themselves and for the hospital. Conclusions The two main issues experienced by nurses while administering care to patients with dementia in acute care hospitals were as follows: (a) the various problems and difficulties faced by nurses were interactive and caused a burdensome cycle, and (b) nurses do their best to adapt to these conditions despite feeling conflicted. PMID:25716983

The Role of the e-Tutor in Synchronous Online Problem-Based Learning: A Study in a Master Public Health Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Jong, Nynke; Verstegen, Daniëlle M. L.; Könings, Karen D.

2018-01-01

The aim of this study is to compare the role of the tutor in an online and a face-to-face problem-based learning (PBL) session to shed light on potential differences of the tutor role in both settings. In this practice-based study we compared the two groups with the same tutor undertaking the same module. Students completed questionnaires about…

FaceIt: face recognition from static and live video for law enforcement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atick, Joseph J.; Griffin, Paul M.; Redlich, A. N.

1997-01-01

Recent advances in image and pattern recognition technology- -especially face recognition--are leading to the development of a new generation of information systems of great value to the law enforcement community. With these systems it is now possible to pool and manage vast amounts of biometric intelligence such as face and finger print records and conduct computerized searches on them. We review one of the enabling technologies underlying these systems: the FaceIt face recognition engine; and discuss three applications that illustrate its benefits as a problem-solving technology and an efficient and cost effective investigative tool.

Development of an Autonomous Face Recognition Machine.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-12-08

This approach, like Baron’s, would be a very time consuming task. The problem of locating a face in Bromley’s work was the least complex of the three...top level design and the development and design decisions that were made in developing the Autonomous Face Recognition Machine (AFRM). The chapter is...images within a digital image. The second sectio examines the algorithm used in performing face recognition. The decision to divide the development

Sociocultural aspects of arsenicosis in Bangladesh: community perspective.

PubMed

Ahmad, Sheikh A; Sayed, Muhammad H S; Khan, Manzurul H; Karim, Muhammad N; Haque, Muhammad A; Bhuiyan, Mohammad S A; Rahman, Muhammad S; Faruquee, Mahmud H

2007-10-01

This was a cross-sectional study under taken to explore the socioeconomic perspective of the arsenicosis problem, carried out in arsenic contaminated Upazillas where at least 100 arsenicosis patients had been identified. Two of the Upazillas with significant arsenic mitigation intervention and three of the Upazillas with limited interventions were selected for the study. Seven hundred fifty respondents were included in the study from 25 villages of the 5 Upazillas. Arsenicosis became a serious problem for the affected communities. Majority (71.31%) of respondents obtained their drinking water from tubewells, almost one third (29%) of the respondents still knowingly using arsenic contaminated water. Primary reason identified for this practice was distance of safe water source. Majority (58.6%) of the respondents said to face economic and 17.9% said to face social problem of varied range. Patients of lower income group were particularly more likely to face economic problems (P< .001) as well as social problem (P< .01). About half (50.7%) of the arsenicosis patients faced difficulty whilst receiving treatment, particularly female patients were more likely to face problem than male (P< .05). Several concerns also were surfaced regarding the heath care service provider particularly to the women patients, some of which are: long waiting time for receiving treatment (15%), discrimination in service delivery (10.7%) and inadequate separate facility for female patients (14.3%). Moreover the issues of financial burden raised by the respondents seem to have emerged as significant in terms of health care access. Access to Health service was particularly difficult for poor patients, as they often had to face problems associated with accessing service like, non availability of medicines in the hospitals (50.7%), traveling long distance (26.7%), purchasing medicine in most cases (32.4%) etc. Their dissatisfaction was compounded by negligent behavior of health care staff and nature of treatment provided. Furthermore length of time needed for reversal of symptoms led to loosing faith on efficacy of treatment, which cascades to negligence of patient's part in seeking health care. Women are less likely to get treatment for arsenicosis than men (P< .01). As there appear to be specific difficulties for women particularly for poor women in accessing health care, social and cultural values make it difficult for them to attend to their own health needs and to travel to service providers. Study findings suggest that a significant proportion (79.9%) of arsenicosis patient was found to access alternative health care. This includes; Homeopath, village doctors, Kabiraj and local pharmacists. Respondents in high intervention Upazillas were significantly more likely to get treatment (P< .05), to face fewer problems and to be satisfied with the facility (P< .001). Provision of safe water options, periodic screening of water source for arsenic, availability of trained doctor, regular availability of medicine, doorstep treatment, follow up on severe patients were the suggestions came from community for improvement.

Women & Housing: A Report on Sex Discrimination in Five American Cities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Council of Negro Women, New York, NY.

Public hearings and workshops were held in five metropolitan areas to gather data about the problems women in American cities face when they try to acquire and maintain a place to live. The chief findings were: (1) women have faced and continue to face discrimination in marketing, lending, and shelter-related services; (2) discrimination against…

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: From Face to Face Interaction to a Broader Contextual Understanding of Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jahoda, A.; Dagnan, D.; Kroese, B. Stenfert; Pert, C.; Trower, P.

2009-01-01

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is increasingly used to address the emotional and interpersonal problems of people with ID. There is a limited but promising evidence base supporting this activity. However, these individuals face real and continuing challenges in their lives that have implications for their self and interpersonal perceptions.…

Challenges Faced by Undergraduate Military Students at American Public University System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Machuca, Ana; Torres, Karin; Morris, Pamela; Whitley, William

2014-01-01

This paper will summarize some of challenges faced by military students enrolled in an associate and bachelors online program at American Public University System (APUS). The survey results on which the study is based exposed the following problems faced by military personnel: 48.7% had difficulties working around military obligations, 33.3%…

[Adjustment processes of foreign exchange high school students in Japan].

PubMed

Nagai, S

1988-04-01

The main purpose of the present study was to excavate the adjustment problems of 93 high school exchange students in Japan. Questionnaires including Cornell Medical Index (CMI) were administered longitudinally. In addition, individual interviews were held with those who had failed to adjust to the Japanese society. As for the subjective psychosomatic symptoms manifested in CMI, there was no significant sex difference while Asians were successively found to be significantly more liable to diseases and less adjusted than non-Asians. The questionnaires other than CMI disclosed difficulties which exchange students found in adjusting at Japanese home, including delicate personal relationships with host siblings, apparent lack of affective gestures (hugs and kisses), and early curfew. In the meanwhile, language barrier and trifling rules constituted the primary difficulties they faced at host school. On account of prejudice against women, girls had more unpleasant experiences than boys. Through individual interviews, all of the early returners were found to have already had a basic problem in their home countries.

Fault tolerance in computational grids: perspectives, challenges, and issues.

PubMed

Haider, Sajjad; Nazir, Babar

2016-01-01

Computational grids are established with the intention of providing shared access to hardware and software based resources with special reference to increased computational capabilities. Fault tolerance is one of the most important issues faced by the computational grids. The main contribution of this survey is the creation of an extended classification of problems that incur in the computational grid environments. The proposed classification will help researchers, developers, and maintainers of grids to understand the types of issues to be anticipated. Moreover, different types of problems, such as omission, interaction, and timing related have been identified that need to be handled on various layers of the computational grid. In this survey, an analysis and examination is also performed pertaining to the fault tolerance and fault detection mechanisms. Our conclusion is that a dependable and reliable grid can only be established when more emphasis is on fault identification. Moreover, our survey reveals that adaptive and intelligent fault identification, and tolerance techniques can improve the dependability of grid working environments.

Intraparticle FRET for Enhanced Efficiency of Two-Photon Activated Photodynamic Therapy.

PubMed

Cao, Hongqian; Yang, Yang; Qi, Yanfei; Li, Yue; Sun, Bingbing; Li, Ying; Cui, Wei; Li, Juan; Li, Junbai

2018-06-01

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) still faces two main problems on cancer therapy. One is how to improve PDT efficiency against hypoxic environment of tumors. The other one is how to overcome the limit of short wavelength light to increase PDT treatment depth. In this work, an intraparticle fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) platform is designed to address these problems together. The nanoparticles are doped with multicomponents, such as catalase, two-photon dyes, and traditional photosensitizers, with a simple "one-pot" and green method. On the one hand, catalase can catalyze intracellular H 2 O 2 into O 2 and promote PDT efficiency. One the other hand, photosensitizers can be excited indirectly by two-photon lasers through an intraparticle FRET mechanism, which results in deeper tissue penetration for PDT. These properties are verified through the material induced cytotoxicity in light or in dark and in vivo blocking blood-vessel experiment. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Cytogenetic risks and possible adverse health effects by narcotic substances dependent.

PubMed

Movafagh, Abolfazl; Haeri, Ali; Kolahi, Ali Asghar; Hassani-Moghadam, Hossein

2012-09-01

Illicit drug abuse has crossed social, economic, and geographical borders, and remains one of the major health problems that modern society is facing worldwide. The role of multiple drug abuse as a basic for chromosome damage has been overlooked and it is important to determine its possible adverse health effects. This study aimed to compare the frequency of chromosomal damages between drug addicts and free drug controls. Cytogenetic study was obtained from 146 illicit drug-users and 200 free drug controls. Subjects were grouped into three categories depending on main drug of dependence. Cytogenetic studies on cultured lymphocytes showed an increase the frequency of chromosomal damages among addicts including opiate (5.89%), heroin (7.65%), and crystal (4.9%) when compared with drug free controls (1.45%). The frequency of chromosomal abnormalities was breaks, gaps, marker, and acentric, respectively. Our findings are also important as they are among the first to suggest here, illicit drug addiction continue to be significant public health problems in Iran.

Iraq-Iran chemical war: calendar, mortality and morbidity.

PubMed

Razavi, Seyed Mansour; Razavi, Mahdiyeh Sadat; Pirhosseinloo, Mohsen; Salamati, Payman

2014-01-01

To review the calendar, mortality and morbidity of Iraq-Iran chemical war among Iranians based on researchers'reports. We used national and international databanks such as PubMed, ISI, Scopus, Irandoc and Iranmedex and studied 350 articles related to chemical agents and their effects on different organs. The main criteria for qualification of articles were relevancy orientation and being published in approved medical journals. The Iraqi army invaded to west and southwest Iran using chemical weapons such as nerve agents (NAs) and sulfur mustard (SM). Most victims were civilians including women and children. These attacks had imposed more than 150 types of diseases and complications on Iranians and the frequency of death was 2%-3%. Most reports were about respiratory problems and a few were in the domain of socio-economic damages. At present, 25 years after the end of war, the victims are faced with different complications induced by chemical agents and it is estimated that they will be continuously troubled by these problems in future.

Qualitative Differences in the Exploration of Upright and Upside-Down Faces in Four-Month-Old Infants: An Eye-Movement Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallay, Mathieu; Baudouin, Jean-Yves; Durand, Karine; Lemoine, Christelle; Lecuyer, Roger

2006-01-01

Four-month-old infants were habituated with an upright or an upside-down face. Eye-movement recordings showed that the upright and upside-down faces were not explored the same way. Infants spent more time exploring internal features, mainly in the region of the nose and mouth, when the face was upright. They also alternated as frequently between…

Increases in Problem Drinking

MedlinePlus

... AUD based on the new guidelines. They conducted face-to-face interviews with over 36,000 U.S. adults. They ... Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). NIH Office of Communications and Public Liaison Building 31, Room 5B52 Bethesda, ...

No Nation Alone

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chase, Stuart

1976-01-01

Summarized are 13 major problems facing every country in the world today. Problems include: disarmament, population explosion, pollution, energy, conservation of natural resources, transportation, communications, and health. (SL)

Issues and Concerns Faced by Undergraduate Language Student Teachers during Teaching Practicum Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ali, Mohd Sofi; Othman, Abdul Jalil; Karim, Abdul Faruk Abdul

2014-01-01

This study examined specific issues and concerns faced by Bachelor of Education student teachers majoring in Language and Literature during their 12-week teaching practicum experience. Specifically, three main areas of concerns were examined. They were: (1) specific issues and concerns related to the implementation of teaching practicum faced by…

Face Allotransplantation and Burns: a Review

PubMed Central

A, Arno; JP, Barret; RA, Harrison; MG, Jeschke

2012-01-01

Burns may represent one of the main indications for face allotransplantation. Severely disfigured faces featuring a devastating appearance and great functional impairments are not only seen as burn sequelae, but also occur as a result of other traumatic injuries, oncological surgical resections, benign tumors (e.g., neurofibromatosis), and major congenital malformations. To date, sixteen human face composite tissue allotransplantations have been performed with success. Despite the initial scepticism about its applicability, due mainly to ethical and technical reasons, the previous worldwide cases and their associated positive outcomes –including acceptable immunosuppressive regimens, excellent aesthetic and functional results, and good psychological acceptance by the recipient- , enable the conclusion that face composite tissue allotransplantation has become another therapeutic strategy in the reconstructive surgical armamentarium, which bears special consideration when dealing with severely disfigured burned patients. The aim of this review is to describe the basics of face composite tissue allotransplantation and give an overview of some of the cases performed until now, with special attention paid to debating the pros and cons of its applicability in burn patients. PMID:22274632

A review of arsenic and its impacts in groundwater of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta, Bangladesh.

PubMed

Edmunds, W M; Ahmed, K M; Whitehead, P G

2015-06-01

Arsenic in drinking water is the single most important environmental issue facing Bangladesh; between 35 and 77 million of its 156 million inhabitants are considered to be at risk from drinking As-contaminated water. This dominates the list of stress factors affecting health, livelihoods and the ecosystem of the delta region. There is a vast literature on the subject so this review provides a filter of the more important information available on the topic. The arsenic problem arises from the move in the 1980s and 1990s by international agencies to construct tube wells as a source of water free of pathogens, groundwater usually considered a safe source. Since arsenic was not measured during routine chemical analysis and also is difficult to measure at low concentrations it was not until the late 1990s that the widespread natural anomaly of high arsenic was discovered and confirmed. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that the medical evidence of arsenicosis only appears slowly. The problem arises in delta regions because of the young age of the sediments deposited by the GBM river system. The sediments contain minerals such as biotite which undergo slow "diagenetic" reactions as the sediments become compacted, and which, under the reducing conditions of the groundwater, release in the form of toxic As(3+). The problem is restricted to sediments of Holocene age and groundwater of a certain depth (mainly 30-150 m), coinciding with the optimum well depth. The problem is most serious in a belt across southern Bangladesh, but within 50 m of the coast the problem is only minor because of use of deep groundwater; salinity in shallow groundwater here is the main issue for drinking water. The Government of Bangladesh adopted a National Arsenic Policy and Mitigation Action Plan in 2004 for providing arsenic safe water to all the exposed population, to provide medical care for those who have visible symptoms of arsenicosis. There is as yet no national monitoring program in place. Various mitigation strategies have been tested, but generally the numerous small scale technological remedies have proved unworkable at village level. The current statistics show that use of deep groundwater (below 150 m) is the main source of arsenic mitigation over most of the arsenic affected areas as well as rainwater harvesting in certain location.

Advanced Vacuum Plasma Spray (VPS) for a Robust, Longlife and Safe Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holmes, Richard R.; Elam, Sandra K.; McKechnie, Timothy N.; Power, Christopher A.

2010-01-01

In 1984, the Vacuum Plasma Spray Lab was built at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center for applying durable, protective coatings to turbine blades for the space shuttle main engine (SSME) high pressure fuel turbopump. Existing turbine blades were cracking and breaking off after five hot fire tests while VPS coated turbine blades showed no wear or cracking after 40 hot fire tests. Following that, a major manufacturing problem of copper coatings peeling off the SSME Titanium Main Fuel Valve Housing was corrected with a tenacious VPS copper coating. A patented VPS process utilizing Functional Gradient Material (FGM) application was developed to build ceramic lined metallic cartridges for space furnace experiments, safely containing gallium arsenide at 1260 degrees centigrade. The VPS/FGM process was then translated to build robust, long life, liquid rocket combustion chambers for the space shuttle main engine. A 5K (5,000 Lb. thrust) thruster with the VPS/FGM protective coating experienced 220 hot firing tests in pristine condition with no wear compared to the SSME which showed blanching (surface pulverization) and cooling channel cracks in less than 30 of the same hot firing tests. After 35 of the hot firing tests, the injector face plates disintegrated. The VPS/FGM process was then applied to spraying protective thermal barrier coatings on the face plates which showed 50% cooler operating temperature, with no wear after 50 hot fire tests. Cooling channels were closed out in two weeks, compared to one year for the SSME. Working up the TRL (Technology Readiness Level) to establish the VPS/FGM process as viable technology, a 40K thruster was built and is currently being tested. Proposed is to build a J-2X size liquid rocket engine as the final step in establishing the VPS/FGM process TRL for space flight.

Production and characterization refuse derived fuel (RDF) from high organic and moisture contents of municipal solid waste (MSW)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dianda, P.; Mahidin; Munawar, E.

2018-03-01

Many cities in developing countries is facing a serious problems to dealing with huge municipal solid waste (MSW) generated. The main approach to manage MSW is causes environmental impact associated with the leachate and landfill gas emissions. On the other hand, the energy available also limited by rapid growth of population and economic development due to shortage of the natural resource. In this study, the potential utilized of MSW to produce refuse derived fuel (RDF) was investigate. The RDF was produced with various organic waste content. Then, the RDF was subjected to laboratory analysis to determine its characteristic including the calorific value. The results shows the moisture content was increased by increasing organic waste content, while the calorific value was found 17-36 MJ/kg. The highest calorific value was about 36 MJ/kg obtained at RDF with 40% organic waste content. This results indicated that the RDF can be use to substitute coal in main burning process and calcinations of cement industry.

[Health and the market].

PubMed

Vecchio, C

2000-09-01

The main problem facing the health systems in all western countries is the curbing of their rising costs. This fact represents a serious risk for the stability of any health system. Free-trade solutions, founded on market-driven systems, do not seem to be capable of preserving the peculiarity of all the national European health systems, characterized by universalism and public management, together with efficacy and effectiveness. The market spurs the demand but does not reduce the costs. Its main social danger is that it may give rise to a two-level health system: the first, of good quality but more expensive, managed by private companies and possible only for the upper and middle classes; the second, of poor quality but naturally less expensive, managed by the Public Health Service for the lower classes. Solidarity, responsibility, and equity are three civil virtues that must be deeply rooted in all European National Health Services (particularly the Italian National Health Service) so that their historical capacity of guaranteeing a sure and effective protection against disease can be consolidated.

Access to health care and social protection.

PubMed

Martin, Philippe

2012-06-01

In France, the access to healthcare has been conceived as a social right and is mainly managed through the coverage of the population by the National Health Insurance, which is a part of the whole French social security scheme. This system was based on the so-called Bismarckian model, which implies that it requires full employment and solid family links, as the insured persons are the workers and their dependents. This paper examines the typical problems that this system has to face as far as the right to healthcare is concerned. First, it addresses the need to introduce some universal coverage programs, in order to integrate the excluded population. Then, it addresses the issue of financial sustainability as the structural weakness of the French system--in which healthcare is still mainly provided by private practice physicians and governed by the principle of freedom--leads to conceive and implement complex forms of regulations between the State, the Social security institutions and the healthcare providers.

Sustainable Manufacturing framework from Islamic Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zain, S.; Adesta, E. Y. T.; Ismail, A. F.; Ahmad, Z.

2017-03-01

Islam is a complete way of life and offers holistic and comprehensive solutions to the human life. Manufacturing is one of the fields in which the voice of Islam is hardly heard. The efforts to relate and integrate manufacturing practices with Islamic principles and to eventually create a holistic solution is still lacking. This study is an attempt to develop a framework of sustainable manufacturing practices from the Islamic perspective. This framework may offer optional solutions to the current problems faced by the world such as global warming, climate change, pollutions, diseases etc. due to human ignorance. The framework was developed based on a preliminary research on the recent study of Maqasid Shari’ah, which is used as the main foundation. The developed framework comprises of three main domains, namely social, economic and environment. The framework is hoped to offer alternative solutions in producing high quality products, whilst taking into consideration the society, economy and environment, in line with the teachings of Islam and in accordance to our subservience to Allah SWT.

EFL/ESL Textbook Selection in Korea and East Asia - Relevant Issues and Literature Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meurant, Robert C.

EFL/ESL departments periodically face the problem of textbook selection. Cogent issues are that non-native speakers will use L2 English mainly to communicate with other non-native English speakers, so an American accent is becoming less important. L2 English will mainly be used in computer-mediated communication, hence the importance of L2 Digital Literacy. The convergence of Information Communication Technologies is radically impacting Second Language Acquisition, which is integrating web-hosted Assessment and Learning Management Systems. EFL/ESL textbooks need to be compatible with blended learning, prepare students for a globalized world, and foster autonomous learning. I summarize five papers on EFL/ESL textbook evaluation and selection, and include relevant material for adaptation. Textbooks are major sources of contact with the target language, so selection is an important decision. Educators need to be systematic and objective in their approach, adopting a selection process that is open, transparent, accountable, participatory, informed and rigorous.

Brief report.

PubMed

Colnerud, Gunnel

2013-10-01

Most accounts of the ethical problems facing researchers across a broad spectrum of research fields come from ethicists, ethics committees, and specialists committed to the study of ethics in human research. In contrast, this study reports on the ethical questions that researchers, themselves, report facing in their everyday practice. Fifty-five Swedish researchers contributed 109 examples of ethical dilemmas, conflicts, and problems in research. They were all researchers at the postdoctoral level in the fields of medicine, the humanities, education, and the social sciences, who devoted at least 50 percent of their working hours to research. They reported issues they face before, during, and after gathering data. Their range of issues is broader than generally discussed and points to the importance of researchers' ethical sensitivity.

A model to explain suicide by self-immolation among Iranian women: A grounded theory study.

PubMed

Khankeh, Hamid Reza; Hosseini, Seyed Ali; Rezaie, Leeba; Shakeri, Jalal; Schwebel, David C

2015-11-01

Self-immolation is a common method of suicide among Iranian women. There are several contributing motives for attempting self-immolation, and exploration of the process of self-immolation incidents will help interventionists and clinicians develop prevention programs. A grounded theory study using face-to-face, recorded interviews was conducted with surviving self-immolated patients (n=14), their close relatives (n=5), and medical staff (n=8) in Kermanshah, Iran. Data were analyzed using constant comparison in open, axial, and selective coding stages. A conceptual model was developed to explain the relationships among the main categories extracted through the grounded theory study. Family conflicts emerged as the core category. Cultural context of self-immolated patients offered a contextual condition. Other important categories linked to the core category were mental health problems, distinct characteristics of the suicidal method, and self-immolation as a threat. The role of mental health problems as a causal condition was detected in different levels of the self-immolation process. Finally, adverse consequences of self-immolation emerged as having important impact. The conceptual model, derived through grounded theory study, can guide design of prevention programs. The pivotal role of family conflicts should be emphasized in mental health interventions. The impact of adverse consequences of self-immolation on further suicidal processes necessitates post-suicide prevention programs. Further research to design specific interventions is recommended. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Problems of Dual-Career Black Couples: Identification and Implications for Family Interventions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Veronica G.

1990-01-01

Examined problems of 41 dual-career Black couples. Findings indicated that dual-career Black couples experienced a number of problems related to their lifestyle. Found unique problems perceived by dual-career Black families. In addition to problems experienced by White dual-career couples, Blacks also faced racial discrimination, social isolation,…

Coaching Family Caregivers to Become Better Problem Solvers When Caring for Persons with Advanced Cancer.

PubMed

Dionne-Odom, J Nicholas; Lyons, Kathleen D; Akyar, Imatullah; Bakitas, Marie A

2016-01-01

Family caregivers of persons with advanced cancer often take on responsibilities that present daunting and complex problems. Serious problems that go unresolved may be burdensome and result in negative outcomes for caregivers' psychological and physical health and affect the quality of care delivered to the care recipients with cancer, especially at the end of life. Formal problem-solving training approaches have been developed over the past several decades to assist individuals with managing problems faced in daily life. Several of these problem-solving principles and techniques were incorporated into ENABLE (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life End), an "early" palliative care telehealth intervention for individuals diagnosed with advanced cancer and their family caregivers. A hypothetical case resembling the situations of actual caregiver participants in ENABLE that exemplifies the complex problems that caregivers face is presented, followed by presentation of an overview of ENABLE's problem-solving key principles, techniques, and steps in problem-solving support. Though more research is needed to formally test the use of problem-solving support in social work practice, social workers can easily incorporate these techniques into everyday practice.

Investigating and analyzing prospective teacher's reflective thinking in solving mathematical problem: A case study of female-field dependent (FD) prospective teacher

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agustan, S.; Juniati, Dwi; Siswono, Tatag Yuli Eko

2017-05-01

In the last few years, reflective thinking becomes very popular term in the world of education, especially in professional education of teachers. One of goals of the educational personnel and teacher institutions create responsible prospective teachers and they are able reflective thinking. Reflective thinking is a future competence that should be taught to students to face the challenges and to respond of demands of the 21st century. Reflective thinking can be applied in mathematics becauseby reflective thinking, students can improve theircuriosity to solve mathematical problem. In solving mathematical problem is assumed that cognitive style has an impact on prospective teacher's mental activity. As a consequence, reflective thinking and cognitive style are important things in solving mathematical problem. The subject, in this research paper, isa female-prospective teacher who has fielddependent cognitive style. The purpose of this research paperis to investigate the ability of prospective teachers' reflective thinking in solving mathematical problem. This research paper is a descriptive by using qualitativeapproach. To analyze the data related to prospectiveteacher's reflective thinking in solving contextual mathematicalproblem, the researchers focus in four main categories which describe prospective teacher's activities in using reflective thinking, namely; (a) formulation and synthesis of experience, (b) orderliness of experience, (c) evaluating the experience and (d) testing the selected solution based on the experience.

Control problems in armored face conveyors for longwall mines

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

Broadfoot, A.R.; Betz, R.E.

1998-03-01

This paper is a tutorial discussion of the current difficulties being experienced with the performance of armored face conveyor (AFC) drive systems, as used in longwall mining. It presents the traditional approaches to the design of the drive system and highlights the inadequacies. The final part of the paper presents a possible solution approach using variable-speed drive systems, emphasizing the advantages of this approach. The paper is significant, in that it discusses, in one document, a number of problems related to the operation of longwall AFC`s. Furthermore, it presents a solution path for these problems. The details of the controlmore » strategies to solve the problems highlighted are left to a companion paper.« less

Eco-informatics for decision makers advancing a research agenda

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cushing, J.B.; Wilson, T.; Brandt, L.; Gregg, V.; Spengler, S.; Borning, A.; Delcambre, L.; Bowker, G.; Frame, M.; Fulop, J.; Hert, C.; Hovy, E.; Jones, J.; Landis, E.; Schnase, J.L.; Schweik, C.; Sonntag, W.; ,

2005-01-01

Resource managers often face significant information technology (IT) problems when integrating ecological or environmental information to make decisions. At a workshop sponsored by the NSF and USGS in December 2004, university researchers, natural resource managers, and information managers met to articulate IT problems facing ecology and environmental decision makers. Decision making IT problems were identified in five areas: 1) policy, 2) data presentation, 3) data gaps, 4) tools, and 5) indicators. To alleviate those problems, workshop participants recommended specific informatics research in modeling and simulation, data quality, information integration and ontologies, and social and human aspects. This paper reports the workshop findings, and briefly compares these with research that traditionally falls under the emerging eco-informatics rubric. ?? Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.

Understanding ill-structured engineering ethics problems through a collaborative learning and argument visualization approach.

PubMed

Hoffmann, Michael; Borenstein, Jason

2014-03-01

As a committee of the National Academy of Engineering recognized, ethics education should foster the ability of students to analyze complex decision situations and ill-structured problems. Building on the NAE's insights, we report about an innovative teaching approach that has two main features: first, it places the emphasis on deliberation and on self-directed, problem-based learning in small groups of students; and second, it focuses on understanding ill-structured problems. The first innovation is motivated by an abundance of scholarly research that supports the value of deliberative learning practices. The second results from a critique of the traditional case-study approach in engineering ethics. A key problem with standard cases is that they are usually described in such a fashion that renders the ethical problem as being too obvious and simplistic. The practitioner, by contrast, may face problems that are ill-structured. In the collaborative learning environment described here, groups of students use interactive and web-based argument visualization software called "AGORA-net: Participate - Deliberate!". The function of the software is to structure communication and problem solving in small groups. Students are confronted with the task of identifying possible stakeholder positions and reconstructing their legitimacy by constructing justifications for these positions in the form of graphically represented argument maps. The argument maps are then presented in class so that these stakeholder positions and their respective justifications become visible and can be brought into a reasoned dialogue. Argument mapping provides an opportunity for students to collaborate in teams and to develop critical thinking and argumentation skills.

Psychosocial outcomes following spinal cord injury in Iran.

PubMed

Khazaeipour, Zahra; Norouzi-Javidan, Abbas; Kaveh, Mahboobeh; Khanzadeh Mehrabani, Fatemeh; Kazazi, Elham; Emami-Razavi, Seyed-Hasan

2014-05-01

Objective/background In patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), SCI causes psychosocial complications that vary based on culture, conditions, and the amenities of each community. Health planners and social services should have full knowledge of these issues in order to plan schedules that address them. In this study, we aimed to understand the psychosocial problems of persons with SCI in Iran and to explore the requirements for minimizing these difficulties. Design This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Setting Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research (BASIR) Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Participants One hundred nineteen persons with SCI referred to BASIR clinic to receive outpatient rehabilitation. Methods In this study, trained interviewers administered a questionnaire to the participants. The questionnaire consisted of socio-demographic variables and psychosocial questions about finances, employment, housing, education, and social communication problems. Results Psychosocial problems for persons with SCI are mainly associated with financial hardship due to unemployment and the high cost of living, followed by difficulties with transportation, house modification, education, marriage, social communication, sports, and entertainment. Psychological problems include sadness, depression, irritability/anger, suicidal thoughts, and a lack of self-confidence. The levels of the aforementioned problems differ with respect to sex. Conclusion Persons suffering from SCI can face some serious psychosocial problems that may vary according to sex. For example, transportation difficulties can lead to problems such as unsociability. After recognizing these problems, the next step would be providing services to facilitate a productive lifestyle, enhancing social communication and psychological health, and ultimately creating a higher quality of life.

Pose Invariant Face Recognition Based on Hybrid Dominant Frequency Features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wijaya, I. Gede Pasek Suta; Uchimura, Keiichi; Hu, Zhencheng

Face recognition is one of the most active research areas in pattern recognition, not only because the face is a human biometric characteristics of human being but also because there are many potential applications of the face recognition which range from human-computer interactions to authentication, security, and surveillance. This paper presents an approach to pose invariant human face image recognition. The proposed scheme is based on the analysis of discrete cosine transforms (DCT) and discrete wavelet transforms (DWT) of face images. From both the DCT and DWT domain coefficients, which describe the facial information, we build compact and meaningful features vector, using simple statistical measures and quantization. This feature vector is called as the hybrid dominant frequency features. Then, we apply a combination of the L2 and Lq metric to classify the hybrid dominant frequency features to a person's class. The aim of the proposed system is to overcome the high memory space requirement, the high computational load, and the retraining problems of previous methods. The proposed system is tested using several face databases and the experimental results are compared to a well-known Eigenface method. The proposed method shows good performance, robustness, stability, and accuracy without requiring geometrical normalization. Furthermore, the purposed method has low computational cost, requires little memory space, and can overcome retraining problem.

Disease management programs: barriers and benefits.

PubMed

Magnezi, Racheli; Kaufman, Galit; Ziv, Arnona; Kalter-Leibovici, Ofra; Reuveni, Haim

2013-04-01

The healthcare system in Israel faces difficulties similar to those of most industrialized countries, including limited resources, a growing chronically ill population, and demand for high quality care. Disease management programs (DMPs) for patients with a chronic illness aim to alleviate some of these problems, primarily by improving patient self-management skills and quality of care. This study surveyed the opinions of senior healthcare administrators regarding barriers, benefits, and support for implementing DMPs. Cross-sectional survey. A 21-item questionnaire was self-completed by 87 of 105 (83%) healthcare administrators included in the study. Participants were 65.5% male and 47% physicians, 25.3% nurses, 17.3% administrators, and 10.3% other healthcare professionals. The main perceived benefit of DMPs among all respondents was improving quality of care. Other benefits noted were better contact with patients (81.6%) and better compliance with treatment (75.9%). Efficient long-term utilization of system resources was perceived as a benefit by only 58.6%. The main perceived barriers to implementing DMPs were lack of budgetary resources (69%) and increased time required versus financial compensation received (63.2%). The benefits of DMPs were patient oriented; barriers were perceived as financial and limiting professional autonomy. Information regarding long-term benefits (better patient outcomes) that ultimately provide better value for the system versus short-term barriers (increased costs and expenditures of time without compensation) might encourage the implementation of DMPs in countries faced with a growing population of patients with at least 1 chronic illness.

Effective intervention programming: improving maternal adjustment through parent education.

PubMed

Farris, Jaelyn R; Bert, Shannon S Carothers; Nicholson, Jody S; Glass, Kerrie; Borkowski, John G

2013-05-01

This study assessed the secondary effects of a parent training intervention program on maternal adjustment, with a focus on understanding ways in which program efficacy differed for participants as a function of whether or not their children had behavior problems. Mothers (N = 99) of toddlers (2-3 years of age) were randomly assigned to receive one of three levels of intervention: (1) informational booklet (2) booklet + face-to-face parent training sessions, or (3) booklet + web-based parent training sessions. Findings indicated that all levels of intervention were associated with increases in maternal well-being for participants with typically developing children. Mothers of toddlers with behavior problems, however, did not benefit from receiving only the booklet but significantly benefitted from receiving either the face-to-face or web-based interventions. Findings are discussed in terms of efficient and efficacious program dissemination and the resulting implications for public policy.

Optimal scheduling of micro grids based on single objective programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yue

2018-04-01

Faced with the growing demand for electricity and the shortage of fossil fuels, how to optimally optimize the micro-grid has become an important research topic to maximize the economic, technological and environmental benefits of the micro-grid. This paper considers the role of the battery and the micro-grid and power grid to allow the exchange of power not exceeding 150kW preconditions, the main study of the economy to load for the goal is to minimize the electricity cost (abandonment of wind), to establish an optimization model, and to solve the problem by genetic algorithm. The optimal scheduling scheme is obtained and the utilization of renewable energy and the impact of the battery involved in regulation are analyzed.

Infrared observations of the dust coma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campins, Humberto C.; Tokunaga, Alan T.

1988-01-01

The main infrared observational results were briefly reviewed at the start of this session. The new results are summarized. All of these results have yet to be synthesized into a self-consistent picture of the dust grain composition, dust production history, outburst mechanisms, and composition of the nucleus. The workshop discussion was helpful in pointing out problems faced by theorists, such as data quality, the lack of the proper theory for computing the scattering and emission of irregular particles, and in some cases the lack of optical constants of realistic materials. It is expected that the gross spectral and dynamical properties of Halley's Comet can be understood in time, even if the details of the observations and the theoretical calculations continue to vex us in the future.

Radiation-tolerant microprocessors in Japanese scientific space vehicles: how to maximize the benefits of commercial SOI technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Daisuke; Hirose, Kazuyuki; Saito, Hirobumi

2013-05-01

Development of semiconductor devices not only for harsh radiation environments such as space but also for ground-based applications now faces a major hurdle of radiation problems. Necessary is protecting chips from malfunctions due to sub-nanosecond transient noises induced by radiation. As a protection technique using the silicon-on-insulator structure is often suggested, but the use in fact requires devices and circuits carefully optimized for maximizing its benefits. Mainly describing theoretical and experimental characterization of the transient effects, this paper presents a comprehensive study on radiation responses of commercial silicon-on- insulator technologies, which study results in a space-use low-power system-on-chip with a 100-MIPS RISC-based core.

The career paths of women (and men) in French research.

PubMed

de Cheveigné, Suzanne

2009-02-01

This paper presents results from a qualitative study of perceptions of science careers in the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the main research institution in France. Its aim is to understand the 'glass ceiling' effect, which reduces the proportion of women at the higher levels of the career hierarchy. Long interviews were carried out with men, as well as women, support staff and researchers. Factors such as tension between individual and collective dimensions of research activity, and long-term time-management problems, were identified: these affect both men and women but in different ways. Organizations bear an important responsibility through the way they reinforce or alleviate difficulties that women and men face in contributing to scientific research at all levels.

"Live Chat" Clients at Kids Help Phone: Individual Characteristics and Problem Topics.

PubMed

Haner, Dilys; Pepler, Debra

2016-01-01

Young people in Canada prefer to use the Internet over face-to-face contact when seeking help for problems of daily living and mental health problems. Kids Help Phone (KHP) provides on-demand, anonymous help to young people via telephone and Live Chat technologies. Two hundred thirty-two phone clients and 230 Live Chat clients responded to a questionnaire at this otherwise anonymous service, providing previously inaccessible data about their individual characteristics and characterizations of the problems for which they sought help. There was a larger proportion of weighty problems (mental health and suicide) among chatters than callers. There were also more non-heterosexual youth, and those who identified as Asian and Black African or Caribbean, using Live Chat than phone. Implications for training Live Chat counsellors to respond effectively to chatters are discussed.

Main Sources, Socio-Demographic and Anthropometric Correlates of Salt Intake in Austria

PubMed Central

Hasenegger, Verena; Rust, Petra; Purtscher, Anna Elisabeth; Erler, Judith; Ekmekcioglu, Cem

2018-01-01

Excessive salt intake is known to increase blood pressure and cardiovascular risk. Nevertheless, salt intake exceeds the recommendations in most countries. To face this problem, it is important to identify high consumers as well as the main contributors of salt intake. Overall, data of 2018 adults between 18 and 64 years were analysed to determine the main sources, socio-demographic and anthropometric correlates of salt intake. Dietary intake was assessed from 24-h-recalls, information on socio-demographic characteristics was obtained using a questionnaire and anthropometric data were measured. Salt intake was significantly higher in males than in females. There was a significant positive association between salt intake and body mass index. No significant differences in salt intake were observed for other variables including affluence, educational level, smoking status and physical activity. The main contributor to salt intake were condiments including table salt (32.6%), followed by cereals and cereal products (27.0%), meat and meat products (16.1%) and dairy products (14.0%). These results highlight that specific population groups need to be targeted by public health initiatives and that a reduction in salt intake can only be achieved in tandem with the food producers by the reduction of salt in processed foods. PMID:29509671

Changes in Students' Choice Determinants in Poland: A Comparative Study of Tertiary Business Education between 2008 and 2013

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sojkin, Bogdan; Bartkowiak, Pawel; Skuza, Agnieszka

2015-01-01

For the last 20 years Polish education faced turbulent changes, first experiencing a rapid increase in the number of students and the dynamic growth of educational institutions, and then facing the reverse trend of decreasing number of students and universities being closed down or facing serious financial problems. Furthermore, forecasts for the…

Tools for Protecting the Privacy of Specific Individuals in Video

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Datong; Chang, Yi; Yan, Rong; Yang, Jie

2007-12-01

This paper presents a system for protecting the privacy of specific individuals in video recordings. We address the following two problems: automatic people identification with limited labeled data, and human body obscuring with preserved structure and motion information. In order to address the first problem, we propose a new discriminative learning algorithm to improve people identification accuracy using limited training data labeled from the original video and imperfect pairwise constraints labeled from face obscured video data. We employ a robust face detection and tracking algorithm to obscure human faces in the video. Our experiments in a nursing home environment show that the system can obtain a high accuracy of people identification using limited labeled data and noisy pairwise constraints. The study result indicates that human subjects can perform reasonably well in labeling pairwise constraints with the face masked data. For the second problem, we propose a novel method of body obscuring, which removes the appearance information of the people while preserving rich structure and motion information. The proposed approach provides a way to minimize the risk of exposing the identities of the protected people while maximizing the use of the captured data for activity/behavior analysis.

Still-to-video face recognition in unconstrained environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Haoyu; Liu, Changsong; Ding, Xiaoqing

2015-02-01

Face images from video sequences captured in unconstrained environments usually contain several kinds of variations, e.g. pose, facial expression, illumination, image resolution and occlusion. Motion blur and compression artifacts also deteriorate recognition performance. Besides, in various practical systems such as law enforcement, video surveillance and e-passport identification, only a single still image per person is enrolled as the gallery set. Many existing methods may fail to work due to variations in face appearances and the limit of available gallery samples. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for still-to-video face recognition in unconstrained environments. By assuming that faces from still images and video frames share the same identity space, a regularized least squares regression method is utilized to tackle the multi-modality problem. Regularization terms based on heuristic assumptions are enrolled to avoid overfitting. In order to deal with the single image per person problem, we exploit face variations learned from training sets to synthesize virtual samples for gallery samples. We adopt a learning algorithm combining both affine/convex hull-based approach and regularizations to match image sets. Experimental results on a real-world dataset consisting of unconstrained video sequences demonstrate that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods impressively.

Feasibility of an online and a face-to-face version of a self-management program for young adults with a rheumatic disease: experiences of young adults and peer leaders

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Based on the self-efficacy theory, an online and a face-to-face self-management programs ‘Challenge your Arthritis’ for young adults with a rheumatic disease have recently been developed. These two courses are led by young peer leaders. The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of the online and face-to-face self-management program. Methods Feasibility was evaluated on items of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, user-acceptance, and adherence to both programs in young adults and peer leaders. Additional analyses of interactions on the e-Health applications, discussion board and chat board, were conducted. Results Twenty-two young adults with a diagnosed rheumatic disease participated in the study: 12 young adults followed the online program and 10 followed the face-to-face program. Both programs appeared to be feasible, especially in dealing with problems in daily life, and the participants indicated the time investment as ‘worthwhile’. In using the online program, no technical problems occurred. Participants found the program easy to use, user friendly, and liked the ‘look and feel’ of the program. Conclusions Both the online and the face-to-face versions of a self-management program. ‘Challenge your arthritis’ were found to be feasible and well appreciated by young adults with a rheumatic disease. Because these programs are likely to be a practical aid to health practices, a randomized controlled study to investigate the effects on patient outcomes is planned. PMID:24666817

Feasibility of an online and a face-to-face version of a self-management program for young adults with a rheumatic disease: experiences of young adults and peer leaders.

PubMed

Ammerlaan, Judy; van Os-Medendorp, Harmieke; Scholtus, Lieske; de Vos, André; Zwier, Matthijs; Bijlsma, Hans; Kruize, Aike A

2014-03-25

Based on the self-efficacy theory, an online and a face-to-face self-management programs 'Challenge your Arthritis' for young adults with a rheumatic disease have recently been developed. These two courses are led by young peer leaders. The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of the online and face-to-face self-management program. Feasibility was evaluated on items of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, user-acceptance, and adherence to both programs in young adults and peer leaders. Additional analyses of interactions on the e-Health applications, discussion board and chat board, were conducted. Twenty-two young adults with a diagnosed rheumatic disease participated in the study: 12 young adults followed the online program and 10 followed the face-to-face program. Both programs appeared to be feasible, especially in dealing with problems in daily life, and the participants indicated the time investment as 'worthwhile'. In using the online program, no technical problems occurred. Participants found the program easy to use, user friendly, and liked the 'look and feel' of the program. Both the online and the face-to-face versions of a self-management program. 'Challenge your arthritis' were found to be feasible and well appreciated by young adults with a rheumatic disease. Because these programs are likely to be a practical aid to health practices, a randomized controlled study to investigate the effects on patient outcomes is planned.

Low Energy Consumption Hydraulic Techniques

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-08-30

usually at welds . 1-15 SECTION II PHASE I - ADVANCED AIRCRAFT HYDRAULIC SYSTEM SELECTION Phase I included Task 1 selection of the aircraft and definition...face was bronze plated. The bearings were 52100 tool steel and the pistons were M50 tool steel. The shoe faces were 4140 with bronze plate and the back...o Magnet assembly o Coil assembly DDV Force Motor - -- ,..._(First Stage) oeMain Control Valve __(Second Sae Main Control Valve LVDT Figure 282 Direct

Law of Strata Pressure Behavior in Shallow Coal Seam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jian; Liu, Leibin; Zheng, Zhiyang

2018-02-01

The law of strata pressure behavior in shallow coal seam is analyzed, according to the load data of Jinjie Coal Mine 31109 working face hydraulic supports. The first weighting distance of main roof is 80 m, and the periodic weighting distance of main roof is about 20 m. And according to the load data in the middle and both ends of the working face, the working resistance of hydraulic supports and the setting load are a bit small, so they couldn’t meet the needs of supporting roof. Then, the front abutment pressure of working face is analyzed by numerical simulation. It does not only explain the reason that the load is too big, but also explains the reason that the strata pressure behavior in shallow coal seam is serious. The length of undamaged main roof rock beam verifies the correctness of the periodic weighting distance.

New and Emerging Problems in School Adminstration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

TenHaken, Richard E.

This paper examines a number of problems facing school board members and educational administrators today and suggests some possible approaches to addressing those problems effectively. In considering each problem area, the author emphasizes its impact on the activities and responsibilities of school officials and discusses concrete steps they can…

Education, Unemployment and Productivity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rumberger, Russell W.

The United States is faced with two serious economic problems: declining productivity growth and rising unemployment. These problems have become severe in the last decade. Both problems are caused by a number of factors, but experts fail to agree on which factors have most contributed to the problems. This paper examines the relationship between…

Examining Problem Solving in Physics-Intensive Ph.D. Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leak, Anne E.; Rothwell, Susan L.; Olivera, Javier; Zwickl, Benjamin; Vosburg, Jarrett; Martin, Kelly Norris

2017-01-01

Problem-solving strategies learned by physics undergraduates should prepare them for real-world contexts as they transition from students to professionals. Yet, graduate students in physics-intensive research face problems that go beyond problem sets they experienced as undergraduates and are solved by different strategies than are typically…

[Development of an integrative cognitive rehabilitation program for brain injured patients in the post-acute stage].

PubMed

Oh, Hyun Soo; Kim, Young Ran; Seo, Wha Sook; Seo, Yeon Ok

2005-04-01

This study was conducted to develop a comprehensive cognitive rehabilitation program that can be easily applied to brain injured patients by family members or nurses in community or hospital settings. A Systemic literature review design was used. Thirty-three related studies were reviewed. Based on the results of the literature review, the training tasks for attention were designated to enhancing 4 hierarchical areas, i.e., focused, selective, alternating, and divided attention. On the other hand, the memory rehabilitation tasks mainly consisted of mnemonic skills, such as the association method which helps patients memorize given information by linking together common attributes, the visual imagery method, and self-instruction method. The problem solving rehabilitation program included a task of games or plays which stimulated the patients' curiosity and interest. The training tasks for problem solving were to encourage the process of deriving reasonable solutions for a problematic situation resembling real problems that the patients were faced with in their everyday life. It is expected that the cognitive rehabilitation program developed from this study could help patients having difficulty in their every day life, due to a reduced cognitive ability resulting from brain injury, to effectively adapt to every day life.

The hit problem for symmetric polynomials over the Steenrod algebra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janfada, A. S.; Wood, R. M. W.

2002-09-01

We cite [18] for references to work on the hit problem for the polynomial algebra P(n) = [open face F]2[x1, ;…, xn] = [oplus B: plus sign in circle]d[gt-or-equal, slanted]0 Pd(n), viewed as a graded left module over the Steenrod algebra [script A] at the prime 2. The grading is by the homogeneous polynomials Pd(n) of degree d in the n variables x1, …, xn of grading 1. The present article investigates the hit problem for the [script A]-submodule of symmetric polynomials B(n) = P(n)[sum L: summation operator]n , where [sum L: summation operator]n denotes the symmetric group on n letters acting on the right of P(n). Among the main results is the symmetric version of the well-known Peterson conjecture. For a positive integer d, let [mu](d) denote the smallest value of k for which d = [sum L: summation operator]ki=1(2[lambda]i[minus sign]1), where [lambda]i [gt-or-equal, slanted] 0.

Coping styles as moderating the relationships between terrorist attacks and well-being outcomes.

PubMed

Braun-Lewensohn, Orna; Celestin-Westreich, Smadar; Celestin, Leon-Patrice; Verleye, Gino; Verté, Dominique; Ponjaert-Kristoffersen, Ingrid

2009-06-01

This study aims to explore use of coping strategies among adolescents and their relationships with well being in the context of ongoing terrorism. Furthermore, we aim to explore to what extent coping styles in addition to exposure variables explain well being of adolescents facing ongoing terror. During September 2003, after three years of ongoing terror attacks, 913 Israeli adolescents aged 12-18 years, completed the following questionnaires during regular class sessions: Demographics, Achenbach's Youth Self Report; Exposure to Terror and Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) questionnaire; Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS) and Brief Symptoms Inventory. Adolescents employed mainly problem solving strategies which mean they have the capacity to cope well in spite of stressful events. Emotional focused coping was associated with PTS and mental health problems. Regression analysis of different exposure and coping variables revealed that exposure, appraisal (subjective exposure) and coping styles explained 26-37% of the variance of different psychological problems. The findings highlight the importance of appraisal (subjective exposure) and coping strategies, for understanding adolescents' mental health outcomes. Moreover, these findings are relevant to the development of prevention/intervention programs that facilitate youth's cognitive and emotional adjustments to ongoing trauma risks and terror threats.

1. THREE QUARTERS VIEW OF THE LIBRARY BUILDING. THE MAIN ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

1. THREE QUARTERS VIEW OF THE LIBRARY BUILDING. THE MAIN ENTRANCE IS ON THE LEFT, FACING FORTH STREET - Anaconda Historic District, Hearst Free Library, Fourth & Main Streets, Anaconda, Deer Lodge County, MT

Modern meta-heuristics based on nonlinear physics processes: A review of models and design procedures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salcedo-Sanz, S.

2016-10-01

Meta-heuristic algorithms are problem-solving methods which try to find good-enough solutions to very hard optimization problems, at a reasonable computation time, where classical approaches fail, or cannot even been applied. Many existing meta-heuristics approaches are nature-inspired techniques, which work by simulating or modeling different natural processes in a computer. Historically, many of the most successful meta-heuristic approaches have had a biological inspiration, such as evolutionary computation or swarm intelligence paradigms, but in the last few years new approaches based on nonlinear physics processes modeling have been proposed and applied with success. Non-linear physics processes, modeled as optimization algorithms, are able to produce completely new search procedures, with extremely effective exploration capabilities in many cases, which are able to outperform existing optimization approaches. In this paper we review the most important optimization algorithms based on nonlinear physics, how they have been constructed from specific modeling of a real phenomena, and also their novelty in terms of comparison with alternative existing algorithms for optimization. We first review important concepts on optimization problems, search spaces and problems' difficulty. Then, the usefulness of heuristics and meta-heuristics approaches to face hard optimization problems is introduced, and some of the main existing classical versions of these algorithms are reviewed. The mathematical framework of different nonlinear physics processes is then introduced as a preparatory step to review in detail the most important meta-heuristics based on them. A discussion on the novelty of these approaches, their main computational implementation and design issues, and the evaluation of a novel meta-heuristic based on Strange Attractors mutation will be carried out to complete the review of these techniques. We also describe some of the most important application areas, in broad sense, of meta-heuristics, and describe free-accessible software frameworks which can be used to make easier the implementation of these algorithms.

Iraqi primary care system in Kurdistan region: providers' perspectives on problems and opportunities for improvement.

PubMed

Shabila, Nazar P; Al-Tawil, Namir G; Al-Hadithi, Tariq S; Sondorp, Egbert; Vaughan, Kelsey

2012-09-27

As part of a comprehensive study on the primary health care system in Iraq, we sought to explore primary care providers' perspectives about the main problems influencing the provision of primary care services and opportunities to improve the system. A qualitative study based on four focus groups involving 40 primary care providers from 12 primary health care centres was conducted in Erbil governorate in the Iraqi Kurdistan region between July and October 2010. A topic guide was used to lead discussions and covered questions on positive aspects of and current problems with the primary care system in addition to the priority needs for its improvement. The discussions were fully transcribed and the qualitative data was analyzed by content analysis, followed by a thematic analysis. Problems facing the primary care system included inappropriate health service delivery (irrational use of health services, irrational treatment, poor referral system, poor infrastructure and poor hygiene), health workforce challenges (high number of specialists, uneven distribution of the health workforce, rapid turnover, lack of training and educational opportunities and discrepancies in the salary system), shortage in resources (shortage and low quality of medical supplies and shortage in financing), poor information technology and poor leadership/governance. The greatest emphasis was placed on poor organization of health services delivery, particularly the irrational use of health services and the related overcrowding and overload on primary care providers and health facilities. Suggestions for improving the system included application of a family medicine approach and ensuring effective planning and monitoring. This study has provided a comprehensive understanding of the factors that negatively affect the primary care system in Iraq's Kurdistan region from the perspective of primary care providers. From their experience, primary care providers have a role in informing the community and policy makers about the main problems affecting this system, though improvements to the health care system must be taken up at the national level and involve other key stakeholders.

[A review of the alert and psycholinguistic intervention model in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder].

PubMed

Vaquerizo-Madrid, J; Estévez-Díaz, F; Díaz-Maíllo, I

2006-02-13

In every class in our schools, teachers are faced with one or two children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a neurobiological disorder with three main clinical axes: lack of attention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Generally speaking, these children develop poorer psycholinguistic skills, although over 50% of these problems remain undetected because they are concealed by the child's behaviour. Most of the children will see some kind of adverse effect on their academic performance, chiefly in areas concerning reading and writing. The language disorders in ADHD are mainly related to the areas of semantics and pragmatics and, to a lesser extent, to phonetic-phonological aspects. They are discernible from the earliest months of life, during the preverbal stage, which is the time when the infant's character is being shaped. In this case, our experience shows that the character can be classed as difficult or inflexible and explosive in 56.5% of children diagnosed with ADHD. Moreover, we know that many children with this disorder find it difficult to engage in play, and 30% of them have retarded language development. A rather undefined percentage of children can have similar problems to those of children with autism spectrum disorders, which makes the differential diagnosis even more complicated. The mixed model of intervention in ADHD includes language work within the context of cognitive-behavioural programmes and the development of narrative skills and social competencies through a literary creativity workshop. This study offers a review of the psycholinguistic problems affecting children with ADHD in the light of our own experience, together with other clinical evidence.

Flow in water-intake pump bays: A guide for utility engineers. Final report

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

Ettema, R.

1998-09-01

This report is intended to serve as a guide for power-plant engineers facing problems with flow conditions in pump bays in water-intake structures, especially those located alongside rivers. The guide briefly introduces the typical prevailing flow field outside of a riverside water intake. That flow field often sets the inflow conditions for pump bays located within the water intake. The monograph then presents and discusses the main flow problems associated with pump bays. The problems usually revolve around the formation of troublesome vortices. A novel feature of this monograph is the use of numerical modeling to reveal diagnostically how themore » vortices form and their sensitivities to flow conditions, such as uniformity of approach flow entering the bay and water-surface elevation relative to pump-bell submergence. The modeling was carried out using a computer code developed specially for the present project. Pump-bay layouts are discussed next. The discussion begins with a summary of the main variables influencing bay flows. The numerical model is used to determine the sensitivities of the vortices to variations in the geometric parameters. The fixes include the use of flow-control vanes and suction scoops for ensuring satisfactory flow performance in severe flow conditions; notably flows with strong cross flow and shallow flows. The monograph ends with descriptions of modeling techniques. An extensive discussion is provided on the use of numerical model for illuminating bay flows. The model is used to show how fluid viscosity affects bay flow. The effect of fluid viscosity is an important consideration in hydraulic modeling of water intakes.« less

In search of evidence-based plastic surgery: the problems faced by the specialty.

PubMed

Offer, G J; Perks, A G

2000-07-01

Recently, there has been significant interest both from government and medical practitioners in the discipline of evidence-based medicine. In this article we discuss the problems faced by the plastic surgeon when trying to ensure that practice is evidence-based and highlight some of the reasons behind these difficulties. With the rapid growth of the Internet we also outline its use to access high quality information for the plastic surgeon. Copyright 2000 The British Association of Plastic Surgeons.

Women in Transition, 1983. Hearing before the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-Eighth Congress, First Session on Examination of Problems Faced by Women in Transition from Work without Pay to Economic Self-Sufficiency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.

This is a Congressional hearing on an examination of problems faced by women in transition from work without pay to economic self-sufficiency. Testimony includes statements from individuals representing the Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor; the Career Training Program, Women's Center, Enterprise State Junior College, Alabama; the National…

An introduction to the Semantic Web for health sciences librarians*

PubMed Central

Robu, Ioana; Robu, Valentin; Thirion, Benoit

2006-01-01

Objectives: The paper (1) introduces health sciences librarians to the main concepts and principles of the Semantic Web (SW) and (2) briefly reviews a number of projects on the handling of biomedical information that uses SW technology. Methodology: The paper is structured into two main parts. “Semantic Web Technology” provides a high-level description, with examples, of the main standards and concepts: extensible markup language (XML), Resource Description Framework (RDF), RDF Schema (RDFS), ontologies, and their utility in information retrieval, concluding with mention of more advanced SW languages and their characteristics. “Semantic Web Applications and Research Projects in the Biomedical Field” is a brief review of the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS), Generalised Architecture for Languages, Encyclopedias and Nomenclatures in Medicine (GALEN), HealthCyberMap, LinkBase, and the thesaurus of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The paper also mentions other benefits and by-products of the SW, citing projects related to them. Discussion and Conclusions: Some of the problems facing the SW vision are presented, especially the ways in which the librarians' expertise in organizing knowledge and in structuring information may contribute to SW projects. PMID:16636713

Predicting the occurrence of wildfires with binary structured additive regression models.

PubMed

Ríos-Pena, Laura; Kneib, Thomas; Cadarso-Suárez, Carmen; Marey-Pérez, Manuel

2017-02-01

Wildfires are one of the main environmental problems facing societies today, and in the case of Galicia (north-west Spain), they are the main cause of forest destruction. This paper used binary structured additive regression (STAR) for modelling the occurrence of wildfires in Galicia. Binary STAR models are a recent contribution to the classical logistic regression and binary generalized additive models. Their main advantage lies in their flexibility for modelling non-linear effects, while simultaneously incorporating spatial and temporal variables directly, thereby making it possible to reveal possible relationships among the variables considered. The results showed that the occurrence of wildfires depends on many covariates which display variable behaviour across space and time, and which largely determine the likelihood of ignition of a fire. The joint possibility of working on spatial scales with a resolution of 1 × 1 km cells and mapping predictions in a colour range makes STAR models a useful tool for plotting and predicting wildfire occurrence. Lastly, it will facilitate the development of fire behaviour models, which can be invaluable when it comes to drawing up fire-prevention and firefighting plans. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced Techniques for Deploying Reliable and Efficient Access Control: Application to E-healthcare.

PubMed

Jaïdi, Faouzi; Labbene-Ayachi, Faten; Bouhoula, Adel

2016-12-01

Nowadays, e-healthcare is a main advancement and upcoming technology in healthcare industry that contributes to setting up automated and efficient healthcare infrastructures. Unfortunately, several security aspects remain as main challenges towards secure and privacy-preserving e-healthcare systems. From the access control perspective, e-healthcare systems face several issues due to the necessity of defining (at the same time) rigorous and flexible access control solutions. This delicate and irregular balance between flexibility and robustness has an immediate impact on the compliance of the deployed access control policy. To address this issue, the paper defines a general framework to organize thinking about verifying, validating and monitoring the compliance of access control policies in the context of e-healthcare databases. We study the problem of the conformity of low level policies within relational databases and we particularly focus on the case of a medical-records management database defined in the context of a Medical Information System. We propose an advanced solution for deploying reliable and efficient access control policies. Our solution extends the traditional lifecycle of an access control policy and allows mainly managing the compliance of the policy. We refer to an example to illustrate the relevance of our proposal.

"I'll look it up on the Web first": Barriers and overcoming barriers to consult for sexual dysfunction among young men.

PubMed

Akre, Christina; Michaud, Pierre-André; Suris, Joan-Carles

2010-06-12

Our aim was to identify the barriers young men face to consult a health professional when they encounter sexual dysfunctions and where they turn to, if so, for answers. We conducted an exploratory qualitative research including 12 young men aged 16-20 years old seen in two focus groups. Discussions were triggered through vignettes about sexual dysfunction. Young men preferred not to talk about sexual dysfunction problems with anyone and to solve them alone as it is considered an intimate and embarrassing subject which can negatively impact their masculinity. Confidentiality appeared to be the most important criterion in disclosing an intimate subject to a health professional. Participants raised the problem of males' accessibility to services and lack of reason to consult. Two criteria to address the problem were if it was long-lasting or considered as physical. The Internet was unanimously considered as an initial solution to solve a problem, which could guide them to a face-to-face consultation if necessary. Results suggest that Internet-based tools should be developed to become an easy access door to sexual health services for young men. Wherever they consult and for whatever problem, sexual health must be on the agenda.

Visual cryptography for face privacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ross, Arun; Othman, Asem A.

2010-04-01

We discuss the problem of preserving the privacy of a digital face image stored in a central database. In the proposed scheme, a private face image is dithered into two host face images such that it can be revealed only when both host images are simultaneously available; at the same time, the individual host images do not reveal the identity of the original image. In order to accomplish this, we appeal to the field of Visual Cryptography. Experimental results confirm the following: (a) the possibility of hiding a private face image in two unrelated host face images; (b) the successful matching of face images that are reconstructed by superimposing the host images; and (c) the inability of the host images, known as sheets, to reveal the identity of the secret face image.

Transferring of speech movements from video to 3D face space.

PubMed

Pei, Yuru; Zha, Hongbin

2007-01-01

We present a novel method for transferring speech animation recorded in low quality videos to high resolution 3D face models. The basic idea is to synthesize the animated faces by an interpolation based on a small set of 3D key face shapes which span a 3D face space. The 3D key shapes are extracted by an unsupervised learning process in 2D video space to form a set of 2D visemes which are then mapped to the 3D face space. The learning process consists of two main phases: 1) Isomap-based nonlinear dimensionality reduction to embed the video speech movements into a low-dimensional manifold and 2) K-means clustering in the low-dimensional space to extract 2D key viseme frames. Our main contribution is that we use the Isomap-based learning method to extract intrinsic geometry of the speech video space and thus to make it possible to define the 3D key viseme shapes. To do so, we need only to capture a limited number of 3D key face models by using a general 3D scanner. Moreover, we also develop a skull movement recovery method based on simple anatomical structures to enhance 3D realism in local mouth movements. Experimental results show that our method can achieve realistic 3D animation effects with a small number of 3D key face models.

Orthogonal-blendshape-based editing system for facial motion capture data.

PubMed

Li, Qing; Deng, Zhigang

2008-01-01

The authors present a novel data-driven 3D facial motion capture data editing system using automated construction of an orthogonal blendshape face model and constrained weight propagation, aiming to bridge the popular facial motion capture technique and blendshape approach. In this work, a 3D facial-motion-capture-editing problem is transformed to a blendshape-animation-editing problem. Given a collected facial motion capture data set, we construct a truncated PCA space spanned by the greatest retained eigenvectors and a corresponding blendshape face model for each anatomical region of the human face. As such, modifying blendshape weights (PCA coefficients) is equivalent to editing their corresponding motion capture sequence. In addition, a constrained weight propagation technique allows animators to balance automation and flexible controls.

Medication challenges for patients with severe mental illness: experience and views of patients, caregivers and mental health care workers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

PubMed

Iseselo, Masunga K; Ambikile, Joel Seme

2017-01-01

Management of patients with mental disorders is inadequate in the majority of low and middle income countries. The main treatment modality for patients with severe mental disorders in these countries is mainly pharmacological approach. Patients face many challenges in meeting medication needs. In this context, high percentages of individuals who have severe mental disorders are not treated. Regular and adequate supplies of appropriate, safe and affordable medications are some of the important aspects required for provision of quality mental health services. Psychotropic medications are an important component of holistic care that provides treatment options for those suffering from mental illnesses. In Tanzania, mental health services face many challenges including inadequate mental health care providers, infrastructure, and medication supply. Relapse is a common problem among patients attending mental health facilities. This study is aimed at exploring views and experiences of patients, caregivers and mental health care providers on the psychotropic medication in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A qualitative study was conducted, involving two focus group discussions with seven and nine caregivers in each group. Eleven in-depth interviews with four patients and seven mental health care providers at Temeke Municipality, Dar es Salaam, were conducted. Convenient sampling procedure was used to select participants for the study. Discussion and interview guides were used during data collection. Interviews were audio-recorded in Kiswahili with all study participants. The recorded interviews were transcribed and qualitative content thematic analysis was used to analyze data after translation. Four themes were identified. These include attitudes of patients towards psychotropic medication, availability of psychotropic medications, financial concerns towards psychotropic medications, and coverage of free treatment policy. The availability and affordability of psychotropic medications to patients are big problems. This was partly attributed to insufficient funds to support the budget of health facilities and technical challenges contributed by both the health facilities and other stakeholders. To improve mental health services in the country, it is important to ensure adequate supply of psychotropic medications in the health facilities. Access to psychotropic medications is essential in addressing the public health problem of untreated mental illnesses. These findings call for the government and other stakeholders to increase funding for essential psychotropic medications.

Face pose tracking using the four-point algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fung, Ho Yin; Wong, Kin Hong; Yu, Ying Kin; Tsui, Kwan Pang; Kam, Ho Chuen

2017-06-01

In this paper, we have developed an algorithm to track the pose of a human face robustly and efficiently. Face pose estimation is very useful in many applications such as building virtual reality systems and creating an alternative input method for the disabled. Firstly, we have modified a face detection toolbox called DLib for the detection of a face in front of a camera. The detected face features are passed to a pose estimation method, known as the four-point algorithm, for pose computation. The theory applied and the technical problems encountered during system development are discussed in the paper. It is demonstrated that the system is able to track the pose of a face in real time using a consumer grade laptop computer.

Perceived problems with computer gaming and internet use among adolescents: measurement tool for non-clinical survey studies

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Existing instruments for measuring problematic computer and console gaming and internet use are often lengthy and often based on a pathological perspective. The objective was to develop and present a new and short non-clinical measurement tool for perceived problems related to computer use and gaming among adolescents and to study the association between screen time and perceived problems. Methods Cross-sectional school-survey of 11-, 13-, and 15-year old students in thirteen schools in the City of Aarhus, Denmark, participation rate 89%, n = 2100. The main exposure was time spend on weekdays on computer- and console-gaming and internet use for communication and surfing. The outcome measures were three indexes on perceived problems related to computer and console gaming and internet use. Results The three new indexes showed high face validity and acceptable internal consistency. Most schoolchildren with high screen time did not experience problems related to computer use. Still, there was a strong and graded association between time use and perceived problems related to computer gaming, console gaming (only boys) and internet use, odds ratios ranging from 6.90 to 10.23. Conclusion The three new measures of perceived problems related to computer and console gaming and internet use among adolescents are appropriate, reliable and valid for use in non-clinical surveys about young people’s everyday life and behaviour. These new measures do not assess Internet Gaming Disorder as it is listed in the DSM and therefore has no parity with DSM criteria. We found an increasing risk of perceived problems with increasing time spent with gaming and internet use. Nevertheless, most schoolchildren who spent much time with gaming and internet use did not experience problems. PMID:24731270

Family adaptation to cerebral palsy in adolescents: A European multicenter study.

PubMed

Guyard, Audrey; Michelsen, Susan I; Arnaud, Catherine; Fauconnier, Jerome

2017-02-01

Factors promoting family adaptation to child's disability are poorly studied together. The aim of the study was to describe the family adaptation to disability and to identify determinants associated with using a global theoretical model. 286 families of teenagers [13-17 years] with cerebral palsy (CP) from 4 European disability registers were included and visited at home. Face to face interviews were performed in order to measure parental distress, perceived impact in various dimensions of family life, family resources and stressors. Relationships were modelled with structural equations. 31.8% of parents living with an adolescent with CP showed clinically significant high stress requiring professional assistance. The main stressors were the level of motor impairment and behavioural disorders in adolescent. A good family functioning was the best protective factor. Respite in care and a parents' positive attitude were significantly related to less parental distress. Material support, socioeconomical level, marital status or parental qualifications did not appear to be significant protector factors. Particular attention must be paid not only on physical condition but also on adolescent psychological problems to improve family adaptation. Families at risk of experiencing severe distress should be targeted early and proactive caregiver interventions on the whole family should be performed. Family is a dynamic system: facing disability, it tries to recover its balance with available resources and its perception of the situation. Literature highlights potential stressors and protecting factors that could affect the disabled child's family adaptation but few papers study a global model including most of these factors. This study validated a global theoretical model of family adaptation to disability at adolescence. It identified behaviour disorders and motor impairment level as main stressors, family functioning as the largest protecting factors, and equipment and financial support as non significant protective factors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A new OH5 reconstruction with an assessment of its uncertainty.

PubMed

Benazzi, Stefano; Bookstein, Fred L; Strait, David S; Weber, Gerhard W

2011-07-01

The OH5 cranium, holotype of Paranthropus boisei consists of two main portions that do not fit together: the extensively reconstructed face and a portion of the neurocranium. A physical reconstruction of the cranium was carried out by Tobias in 1967, who did not discuss problems related to deformation, although he noted a slight functional asymmetry. Nevertheless, the reconstructed cranium shows some anomalies, mainly due to the right skewed position of the upper calvariofacial fragment and uncertainty of the relative position of the neurocranium to the face, which hamper further quantitative analysis of OH5's cranial geometry. Here, we present a complete virtual reconstruction of OH5, using three-dimensional (3D) digital data, geometric morphometric (GM) methods and computer-aided design (CAD) techniques. Starting from a CT scan of Tobias's reconstruction, a semi-automatic segmentation method was used to remove Tobias's plaster. The upper calvariofacial fragment was separated from the lower facial fragment and re-aligned using superposition of their independent midsagittal planes in a range of feasible positions. The missing parts of the right hemiface were reconstructed using non-uniform rational basis-spline (NURBS) surface and subsequently mirrored using the midsagittal plane to arrive at a symmetrical facial reconstruction. A symmetric neurocranium was obtained as the average of the original shape and its mirrored version. The alignment between the two symmetric shapes (face and neurocranium) used their independent midsagittal plane and a reference shape (KNM-ER 406) to highly reduce their degrees of freedom. From the series of alternative reconstructions, we selected the middle of this rather small feasible range. When reconstructed as a range in this way, the whole cranial form of this unique specimen can be further quantified by comparative coordinate-based methods such as GM or can be used for finite element modeling (FEM) explorations of hypotheses about the mechanics of early hominin feeding and diets. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Russian Military Reform: Problems and Challenges

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-25

RUSSIAN MILITARY REFORM : PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL ZURAB AGLADZE Georgian Army...USAWC STRATEGIC REASERCH PROJECT RUSSIAN MILITARY REFORM : PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES by Lieutenant Colonel...noncommissioned officers still continue to be unsolved. Despite some successes, Russian military reform still faces many challenges that will

How to become a good problem solver.

PubMed

Gurden, Dean

2016-09-14

Nurses face many problems in the workplace on a daily basis, so the ability to solve or overcome them is essential to the job. If you are a nursing student and feel you lack problem-solving skills, what kind of help can you get?

A study of fuzzy logic ensemble system performance on face recognition problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polyakova, A.; Lipinskiy, L.

2017-02-01

Some problems are difficult to solve by using a single intelligent information technology (IIT). The ensemble of the various data mining (DM) techniques is a set of models which are able to solve the problem by itself, but the combination of which allows increasing the efficiency of the system as a whole. Using the IIT ensembles can improve the reliability and efficiency of the final decision, since it emphasizes on the diversity of its components. The new method of the intellectual informational technology ensemble design is considered in this paper. It is based on the fuzzy logic and is designed to solve the classification and regression problems. The ensemble consists of several data mining algorithms: artificial neural network, support vector machine and decision trees. These algorithms and their ensemble have been tested by solving the face recognition problems. Principal components analysis (PCA) is used for feature selection.

“Live Chat” Clients at Kids Help Phone: Individual Characteristics and Problem Topics

PubMed Central

Haner, Dilys; Pepler, Debra

2016-01-01

Objective Young people in Canada prefer to use the Internet over face-to-face contact when seeking help for problems of daily living and mental health problems. Kids Help Phone (KHP) provides on-demand, anonymous help to young people via telephone and Live Chat technologies. Methods Two hundred thirty-two phone clients and 230 Live Chat clients responded to a questionnaire at this otherwise anonymous service, providing previously inaccessible data about their individual characteristics and characterizations of the problems for which they sought help. Results There was a larger proportion of weighty problems (mental health and suicide) among chatters than callers. There were also more non-heterosexual youth, and those who identified as Asian and Black African or Caribbean, using Live Chat than phone. Conclusions Implications for training Live Chat counsellors to respond effectively to chatters are discussed. PMID:27924143

The Steiner Multigraph Problem: Wildlife corridor design for multiple species

Treesearch

Katherine J. Lai; Carla P. Gomes; Michael K. Schwartz; Kevin S. McKelvey; David E. Calkin; Claire A. Montgomery

2011-01-01

The conservation of wildlife corridors between existing habitat preserves is important for combating the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation facing species of concern. We introduce the Steiner Multigraph Problem to model the problem of minimum-cost wildlife corridor design for multiple species with different landscape requirements. This problem can also model...

Enhanced Critical Thinking Skills through Problem-Solving Games in Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Scott Douglas

2017-01-01

Aim/Purpose: Students face many challenges improving their soft skills such as critical thinking. This paper offers one possible solution to this problem. Background: This paper considers one method of enhancing critical thinking through a problem-solving game called the Coffee Shop. Problem-solving is a key component to critical thinking, and…

Hardwood log supply: a broader perspective

Treesearch

Iris Montague; Adri Andersch; Jan Wiedenbeck; Urs Buehlmann

2015-01-01

At regional and state meetings we talk with others in our business about the problems we face: log exports, log quality, log markets, logger shortages, cash flow problems, the weather. These are familiar talking points and real and persistent problems. But what is the relative importance of these problems for log procurement in different regions of...

Problems and Issues in Translating International Educational Achievement Tests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arffman, Inga

2013-01-01

The article reviews research and findings on problems and issues faced when translating international academic achievement tests. The purpose is to draw attention to the problems, to help to develop the procedures followed when translating the tests, and to provide suggestions for further research. The problems concentrate on the following: the…

Science educators' perceptions of problems facing science education: A report of five surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gallagher, James Joseph; Yager, Robert E.

Five groups of science educators representing faculty at graduate institutions, graduate students, teachers, supervisors, and leadership conferees were surveyed concerning their perceptions of current problems facing science education. A total of 144 participants provided an average of 4.7 responses. The responses were tabulated using an emergent set of categories that resulted in six major groupings, i.e. conceptual, organizational, teacher; related, student-related, university, and societal. The category with the most problems identified was in the area of conceptual problems. University related problems and organizational problems were the next two most frequently mentioned categories for problems. Specific problems in all categories most often cited include the following:1confusion and uncertainty in goals and objectives;2lack of vision and leadership in schools and universities;3absence of a theoretical base for science education;4poor quality teacher education programs;5inappropriate avenues for continuing education of teachers; limited dialogue between researchers and practitioners; declining enrollments; poor quality teaching and counseling; insufficient programs in science for the wide spectrum of students; and public and parental apathy towards science.

A multi-view face recognition system based on cascade face detector and improved Dlib

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Hongjun; Chen, Pei; Shen, Wei

2018-03-01

In this research, we present a framework for multi-view face detect and recognition system based on cascade face detector and improved Dlib. This method is aimed to solve the problems of low efficiency and low accuracy in multi-view face recognition, to build a multi-view face recognition system, and to discover a suitable monitoring scheme. For face detection, the cascade face detector is used to extracted the Haar-like feature from the training samples, and Haar-like feature is used to train a cascade classifier by combining Adaboost algorithm. Next, for face recognition, we proposed an improved distance model based on Dlib to improve the accuracy of multiview face recognition. Furthermore, we applied this proposed method into recognizing face images taken from different viewing directions, including horizontal view, overlooks view, and looking-up view, and researched a suitable monitoring scheme. This method works well for multi-view face recognition, and it is also simulated and tested, showing satisfactory experimental results.

Responses to mental health stigma questions: the importance of social desirability and data collection method.

PubMed

Henderson, Claire; Evans-Lacko, Sara; Flach, Clare; Thornicroft, Graham

2012-03-01

To evaluate the impact on the general public of England's Time to Change program to reduce mental health-related stigma and discrimination using newly developed measures of knowledge and intended behaviour regarding people with mental health problems, and an established attitudes scale, and to investigate whether social desirability affects responses to the new measures and test whether this varies according to data collection method. The Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS) and Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale (RIBS) were administered together with the 13-item version of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale to 2 samples (each n = 196) drawn from the Time to Change mass media campaign target group; one group was interviewed face to face, while the other completed the measures as an online survey. After controlling for other covariates, interaction terms between collection method and social desirability were positive for each instrument. The social desirability score was associated with the RIBS score in the face-to-face group only (β = 0.35, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.57), but not with the MAKS score in either group; however, MAKS scores were more likely to be positive when data were collected face to face (β = 1.53, 95% CI 0.74 to 2.32). Behavioural intentions toward people with mental health problems may be better assessed using online self-complete methods than in-person interviews. The effect of face-to-face interviewing on knowledge requires further investigation.

Assessment of fluvial geomorphological change in the confluence of Chindwin and Ayeyarwady Rivers in Myanmar using remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piman, T.; Vasconcelos, V. V.; Apirumanekul, C.; Krittasudthacheewa, C.

2017-12-01

Bank erosion along the braided stretches of Ayeyarwady and Chindwin Rivers has been one of the main concerns at Sagaing region, in Myanmar, because it threatens villages, infrastructure and farmland, while the consequent sedimentation hampers boat transportation. This study assesses the changes on these two river channels and its sandbanks, in their confluence area. A special focus is given to infer the risk of villages to bank erosion. Landsat images from 1973, 1989, and annual series from 1998 to 2015 were used to evaluate frequency and rates of erosion, deposition and vegetation restabilization. Maps showed where the channels maintained stable and which areas faced bank erosion more frequently. From 1973 to 2015, 30% of the river valley in the studied area faced bank erosion. Although the summed area of the river channel remained relatively stable throughout the period, the rates of bank erosion vs. bank restabilization were higher after 2004. Most of the village area in the in the river valley within the bluffs (89% - 71km2) have not faced bank erosion since 1973, while 8.9% (7 km2) are in vulnerable areas that faced erosion before 2012, and bank erosion destroyed 1.3% (1 km2) of the villages from 2012 to 2015. The average rate of village land loss from bank erosion within the river valley from 1973 to 2012 was 0.18 km2/year, but increased to 0.33km2/year during 2012-2015. The villages located just downstream from the confluence of Chindwin and Ayeyarwady River faced higher problems with bank erosion. Approximately half of the village area (51.5% - 87km2) adjacent to the bluffs (outside the river valley) were facing stable land since 1973 (lowest risk), while 5.8% (10 km2) were facing stable river channel (low risk) and 42.7% (73 km2) were facing areas of unstable river channel (possible risk). As for the biggest urban sites, Monywa and Pakokku face areas of unstable river channel, while Sagaing and Myingyan are safer, facing areas of stable land. A detailed assessment of remote sensing images also showed how Chindwin channel widened progressively due to bank erosion in the direction of Su Lay Kon and Ah Myning villages, in Monywa district. The rapid changes in river geomorphology calls for public's attention on alternative ways to live with these dynamic but important rivers.

Trading Land: A Review of Approaches to Accounting for Upstream Land Requirements of Traded Products

PubMed Central

Haberl, Helmut; Kastner, Thomas; Wiedenhofer, Dominik; Eisenmenger, Nina; Erb, Karl‐Heinz

2015-01-01

Summary Land use is recognized as a pervasive driver of environmental impacts, including climate change and biodiversity loss. Global trade leads to “telecoupling” between the land use of production and the consumption of biomass‐based goods and services. Telecoupling is captured by accounts of the upstream land requirements associated with traded products, also commonly referred to as land footprints. These accounts face challenges in two main areas: (1) the allocation of land to products traded and consumed and (2) the metrics to account for differences in land quality and land‐use intensity. For two main families of accounting approaches (biophysical, factor‐based and environmentally extended input‐output analysis), this review discusses conceptual differences and compares results for land footprints. Biophysical approaches are able to capture a large number of products and different land uses, but suffer from a truncation problem. Economic approaches solve the truncation problem, but are hampered by the limited disaggregation of sectors and products. In light of the conceptual differences, the overall similarity of results generated by both types of approaches is remarkable. Diametrically opposed results for some of the world's largest producers and consumers of biomass‐based products, however, make interpretation difficult. This review aims to provide clarity on some of the underlying conceptual issues of accounting for land footprints. PMID:27547028

Impact of Past Land Use Changes on Drinking Water Quantity and Quality in Ljubljana Aquifer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bracic Zeleznik, Branka; Cencur Curk, Barbara

2010-05-01

Most of the practical problems that we face today with the on-site management of drinking water sources and distribution of healthy drinking water, originate from past actions, interventions and political decisions. In Ljubljana, the capital of the Republic of Slovenia, underlying groundwater is the main drinking water source. The main threat to drinking water sources is constant input of pollutant loads from roads, roofs, sewers, industry and agricultural areas. The main problems are directly and indirectly related to the significant decrease of groundwater level and deterioration of groundwater quality observed in the last decades as an effect of land use practices under varying climate conditions. The Vodovod-Kanalizacija Public Utility is responsible for water supply of the city residents as well as for management of the water supply system, its surveillance and maintenance. In the past, the Ljubljana Municipality was responsible for the protection of water resources and the first delineation of groundwater protection areas was issued in Decree in 1955. In 2004 a Decree on the water protection zones for the aquifer of Ljubljansko polje on the state level was issued and passed the competences of proclamation of the water protection zones to the state. Spatial planning is a domain of The Municipality and land use is limited according to water protection legislation. For several observation wells long-time data sets about groundwater levels and quality are available, which enable us to analyse changes in groundwater quantity and quality parameters. From the data it is obvious that climate variations are affecting groundwater recharge. In addition, changing of land use affects groundwater quality. In spite of the Decree on the water protection there is a heavy pressure of investors to change land use plans and regulations on protection zones, which causes every day problems in managing the drinking water source. Groundwater management in Ljubljana demands strong and effective co-operation between state, municipality, public water supply company and consumers.

Coaching Family Caregivers to become Better Problem Solvers when Caring for Persons with Advanced Cancer

PubMed Central

Dionne-Odom, J. Nicholas; Lyons, Kathleen D.; Akyar, Imatullah; Bakitas, Marie

2016-01-01

Family caregivers of persons with advanced cancer often take on responsibilities that present daunting and complex problems. Serious problems that go unresolved may be burdensome and result in negative outcomes for caregivers’ psychological and physical health and affect the quality of care delivered to the care recipients with cancer, especially at the end of life. Formal problem-solving training approaches have been developed over the past several decades to assist individuals with managing problems faced in daily life. Several of these problem-solving principles and techniques were incorporated into ENABLE (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life End), an ‘early’ palliative care telehealth intervention for individuals diagnosed with advanced cancer and their family caregivers. A hypothetical case resembling the situations of actual caregiver participants in ENABLE that exemplifies the complex problems that caregivers face is presented followed by presentation of an overview of ENABLE’s problem-solving key principles, techniques and steps in problem-solving support. Though more research is needed to formally test the use of problem-solving support in social work practice, social workers can easily incorporate these techniques into everyday practice. PMID:27143574

MANUAL: REAL TIME CONTROL OF COMBINED SEWERS

EPA Science Inventory

Managers, engineers, and operators of combined urban sewer systems are faced with difficult problems related to the operation and maintenance of their facilities. In addition to the issues related to the operation and upkeep of the system, many sewerage agencies are facing increa...

Teaching by Telephone: The Problems of Teaching Without the Visual Channel

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Short, John

1974-01-01

Observations and research on telephone communication as opposed to face-to-face and closed circuit TV communication are examined, and telephone's advantages and disadvantages are listed with the conclusion that it can constitute an acceptable complementary teaching approach. (JT)

Assessment of Issues Facing Immigrant and Refugee Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Segal, Uma A.; Mayadas, Nazneen S.

2005-01-01

This article identifies the different problems immigrants and refugees face in the United States, especially socioeconomic and psychosocial concerns that often relate to the experience of migration. Traditional familial roles and responsibilities are frequently challenged, exacerbated by sociocultural differences and inadequate understandings…

Are the Editors faced with e-problems performing their duties and responsibilities satisfactorily?

PubMed

Ali Jawaid, Shaukat; Jawaid, Masood

2013-09-01

Astonishing revolution in information technology, developments in electronic publishing and availability of manuscript management software's has provided lot of facilities to authors, reviewers as well as editors but it has also given birth to lot of e-problems. This communication highlights some of these e-problems besides discussing the manuscript management system practiced by Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences through modified Open Journal System. It also cautions the editors of small journals faced with financial and human resource constraints to keep themselves abreast of all these developments, go for automation in e publishing gradually as all the stake holders i.e. authors, reviewers and office management staff learns these and become used to it.

The hierarchy of stability and predictability in orthognathic surgery with rigid fixation: an update and extension.

PubMed

Proffit, William R; Turvey, Timothy A; Phillips, Ceib

2007-04-30

A hierarchy of stability exists among the types of surgical movements that are possible with orthognathic surgery. This report updates the hierarchy, focusing on comparison of the stability of procedures when rigid fixation is used. Two procedures not previously placed in the hierarchy now are included: correction of asymmetry is stable with rigid fixation and repositioning of the chin also is very stable. During the first post-surgical year, surgical movements in patients treated for Class II/long face problems tend to be more stable than those treated for Class III problems. Clinically relevant changes (more than 2 mm) occur in a surprisingly large percentage of orthognathic surgery patients from one to five years post-treatment, after surgical healing is complete. During the first post-surgical year, patients treated for Class II/long face problems are more stable than those treated for Class III problems; from one to five years post-treatment, some patients in both groups experience skeletal change, but the Class III patients then are more stable than the Class II/long face patients. Fewer patients exhibit long-term changes in the dental occlusion than skeletal changes, because the dentition usually adapts to the skeletal change.

Managing Problems Before Problems Manage You.

PubMed

Grigsby, Jim

2015-01-01

Every day we face problems, both personal and professional, and our initial reaction determines how well we solve those problems. Whether a problem is minor or major, short-term or lingering, there are techniques we can employ to help manage the problem and the problem-solving process. This article, based on my book Don't Tick Off The Gators! Managing Problems Before Problems Manage You, presents 12 different concepts for managing problems, not "cookie cutter" solutions, but different ideas that you can apply as they fit your circumstances.

[Non-face-to-face sleep improvement program in a workplace: bibliotherapy with and without behavioral self-control procedure].

PubMed

Adachi, Yoshiko; Kunitsuka, Kouko; Taniyama, Katsuko; Hayashi, Chikako; Tanaka, Minori; Sato, Chifumi

2010-01-01

Sleep hygiene education has been important health issue in the health promotion and the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases. A feasible and effective method is necessary for population approach. To evaluate the effects of a non-face-to-face brief behavioral program for a sleep improvement in workplaces. Research design was a cluster control trial. Three hundred and thirty participants were allocated to the bibliotherapy group (BTG; n=130) or self-control group (SCG; n=200). Two groups were recruited from separated local sections of a Japanese company each other. There was no eligibility criteria and the intervention was open to every worker in the workplaces. All participants received a self-help booklet and information on recent topics of insomnia-related health problems. SCG participants set several behaviors for habit improvement and monitored those behaviors for 4 wk additionally. The replies to the questionnaire showed that almost all of them had any sleep disturbances. A total of 158 participants in SCG (79%) and a total of 106 participants in BTG (82%) responded to the post questionnaire. Sleep parameters of pre and post questionnaires were compared between SCG and BTG. Overall, sleep onset latency was reduced and sleep efficiency was improved. The significant changes were found in only SCG. Re-analysis of pre and post 3-days' sleep diaries showed that the subjects in both group improved significantly in the main variables (total sleep time, number of awakenings, time spent awake, sleep efficiency). Sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset, and daytime sleepiness improved significantly in only SCG. These results suggest that an additional target setting and self-monitoring could promote the effectiveness for sleep improvement of a bibliotherapy.

Empathy and face processing in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Rigby, Sarah N; Stoesz, Brenda M; Jakobson, Lorna S

2018-06-01

Many factors contribute to social difficulties in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The goal of the present work was to determine whether atypicalities in how individuals with ASD process static, socially engaging faces persist when nonrigid facial motion cues are present. We also sought to explore the relationships between various face processing abilities and individual differences in autism symptom severity and traits such as empathy. Participants included 16 adults with ASD without intellectual impairment and 16 sex- and age-matched controls. Mean Verbal IQ was comparable across groups [t(30) = 0.70, P = 0.49]. The two groups responded similarly to many of the experimental manipulations; however, relative to controls, participants with ASD responded more slowly to dynamic expressive faces, even when no judgment was required; were less accurate at identity matching with static and dynamic faces; and needed more time to make identity and expression judgments [F(1, 30) ≥ 6.37, P ≤ 0.017, η p 2  ≥ 0.175 in all cases], particularly when the faces were moving [F(1, 30) = 3.40, P = 0.072, η p 2  = 0.104]. In the full sample, as social autistic traits increased and empathic skills declined, participants needed more time to judge static identity, and static or dynamic expressions [0.43 < |r s | < 0.56]. The results suggest that adults with ASD show general impairments in face and motion processing and support the view that an examination of individual variation in particular personality traits and abilities is important for advancing our understanding of face perception. Autism Res 2018, 11: 942-955. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Our findings suggest that people with ASD have problems processing expressive faces, especially when seen in motion. It is important to learn who is most at risk for face processing problems, given that in the general population such problems appear to be linked to impaired social skills and empathy. By studying relationships between different abilities and traits, we may be able to find better ways to diagnose and support all people on the autism spectrum. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Challenge of Educational Technology in Underdeveloped Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Griffith J.

1970-01-01

A USAID officer outlines the fundamental educational problems faced by the African nations and describes the educational broadcasting program the Congo has developed to deal with some of these problems. (LS)

A Blended Learning Approach to Teaching Basic Pharmacokinetics and the Significance of Face-to-Face Interaction

PubMed Central

Holbrook, Jane

2010-01-01

Objective To assess pharmacy students' attitudes towards a blended-learning pharmacokinetics course. Design Narrated visual presentations and animations that illustrated kinetic processes and guided students through the use of software programs used for calculations were created. Other learning techniques used included online self-assessment quizzes, practice problem sets, and weekly face-to-face problem-solving tutorials. Assessment A precourse questionnaire to assess students' level of enthusiasm towards the blended-learning course and to solicit any concerns they had was administered at the beginning of the course. A postcourse questionnaire that included the same 4 Likert-scale items from the precourse questionnaire and follow-up open-ended questions was administered. Individual changes in level of enthusiasm were compared for individuals who completed both the precourse and postcourse questionnaire. Students' concerns about the blended method of learning had decreased postcourse while their enthusiasm for the benefits of blended learning had increased. Conclusion Students' initial concerns about the blended learning experience were focused on their ability to communicate with the instructor about the online components, but shifted to their own time management skills at the end of the course. Face-to-face interactions with each other and with the instructor were more highly rated than online interactions in this course. PMID:20798797

A blended learning approach to teaching basic pharmacokinetics and the significance of face-to-face interaction.

PubMed

Edginton, Andrea; Holbrook, Jane

2010-06-15

To assess pharmacy students' attitudes towards a blended-learning pharmacokinetics course. Narrated visual presentations and animations that illustrated kinetic processes and guided students through the use of software programs used for calculations were created. Other learning techniques used included online self-assessment quizzes, practice problem sets, and weekly face-to-face problem-solving tutorials. A precourse questionnaire to assess students' level of enthusiasm towards the blended-learning course and to solicit any concerns they had was administered at the beginning of the course. A postcourse questionnaire that included the same 4 Likert-scale items from the precourse questionnaire and follow-up open-ended questions was administered. Individual changes in level of enthusiasm were compared for individuals who completed both the precourse and postcourse questionnaire. Students' concerns about the blended method of learning had decreased postcourse while their enthusiasm for the benefits of blended learning had increased. Students' initial concerns about the blended learning experience were focused on their ability to communicate with the instructor about the online components, but shifted to their own time management skills at the end of the course. Face-to-face interactions with each other and with the instructor were more highly rated than online interactions in this course.

PBF Reactor Building (PER620). Camera on main floor faces south ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

PBF Reactor Building (PER-620). Camera on main floor faces south (open) doorway. In foreground is canal gate, lined with stainless steel and painted with protective coatings. Reactor pit is round with protective coatings. Reactor put is round form discernible beyond. Lifting beams and rigging are in place for a load test before reactor vessel arrives. Photographer: John Capek. Date: January 26, 1970. INEEL negative no. 70-347 - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, SPERT-I & Power Burst Facility Area, Scoville, Butte County, ID

Face liveness detection for face recognition based on cardiac features of skin color image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suh, Kun Ha; Lee, Eui Chul

2016-07-01

With the growth of biometric technology, spoofing attacks have been emerged a threat to the security of the system. Main spoofing scenarios in the face recognition system include the printing attack, replay attack, and 3D mask attack. To prevent such attacks, techniques that evaluating liveness of the biometric data can be considered as a solution. In this paper, a novel face liveness detection method based on cardiac signal extracted from face is presented. The key point of proposed method is that the cardiac characteristic is detected in live faces but not detected in non-live faces. Experimental results showed that the proposed method can be effective way for determining printing attack or 3D mask attack.

The professional learning community as perceived by Israeli school superintendents, principals and teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schechter, Chen

2012-12-01

A professional learning community (PLC) facilitates collaborative learning among colleagues at all levels in their common working environment. PLCs are particularly useful in schools, with teachers and principals meeting regularly to solve problems relating to teaching and learning. Being a means of improving student achievement, PLCs have received growing support from researchers and practitioners alike, yet some professionals are still exploring ways to develop learning networks focusing on teaching and learning issues. The purpose of this study was to examine Israeli teachers', principals', and superintendents' perceptions of inhibiting and fostering factors of the PLC. In this qualitative, topic-oriented study, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 15 teachers from elementary, middle and secondary schools and their respective principals (15) and superintendents (15). Generating themes was inductive, grounded in the perspectives articulated by participants. The principals and the teachers indicated that overload, a lack of resources and top-down commands were PLC-inhibiting factors. The superintendents saw the principal's leadership style as a main PLC-fostering factor. Understanding how these three echelons in the school system perceive the inhibiting and fostering factors of a PLC could indicate whether and how this collaborative learning process can be nurtured and sustained in schools.

An investigation of child restraint/seatbelt usage in motor vehicles by Maori in Northland New Zealand.

PubMed

Brewin, M; Peters, T

2003-03-01

To investigate child restraint/seatbelt use by the indigenous (Maori) population in Northland New Zealand. Observational surveys were conducted at the two main car parks (McDonald's and the largest supermarket) to determine the number of passengers restrained, the type of restraints, and correct use. Observations were restricted to those who were obviously Maori, based upon the local knowledge of the observer. In addition, face to face questionnaires were administered to Maori whanau/caregivers involved in the care of two or more children for more than three days a week. A total of 788 participants were observed. Babies were those most likely to have all occupants restrained correctly (97%), followed by toddlers (66%), adults (56%), and school age children (48%); 138 interviews were conducted. Females (86%) were significantly more likely to ensure that all passengers were restrained on short journeys compared to males (67%; p<0.05). Respondents under 45 (80%) were significantly less likely to restrain child passengers compared to people aged 45 or older (91%; p<0.05). This study highlights the problem that larger families in this study had in providing correct child restraints for all their children.

Assessment of a prototype for the Systemization of Nursing Care on a mobile device 1

PubMed Central

Rezende, Laura Cristhiane Mendonça; dos Santos, Sérgio Ribeiro; Medeiros, Ana Lúcia

2016-01-01

Abstract Objectives: assess a prototype for use on mobile devices that permits registering data for the Systemization of Nursing Care at a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Method: an exploratory and descriptive study was undertaken, characterized as an applied methodological research, developed at a teaching hospital. Results: the mobile technology the nurses at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit use was positive, although some reported they faced difficulties to manage it, while others with experience in using mobile devices did not face problems to use it. The application has the functions needed for the Systematization of Nursing Care at the unit, but changes were suggested in the interface of the screens, some data collection terms and parameters the application offers. The main contributions of the software were: agility in the development and documentation of the systemization, freedom to move, standardization of infant assessment, optimization of time to develop bureaucratic activities, possibilities to recover information and reduction of physical space the registers occupy. Conclusion: prototype software for the Systemization of Nursing Care with mobile technology permits flexibility for the nurses to register their activities, as the data can be collected at the bedside. PMID:27384467

Perception of Peace in Students' Drawings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cengelci Kose, Tuba; Gurdogan Bayir, Omur

2016-01-01

Problem Statement: Societies are facing several kinds of problems in the world today as chaos among the countries, conflicts between different groups, wars and diseases. It can be claimed that solving these problems is impossible unless societies care about humanistic cooperation, tolerance and peace. Individuals required developing fundamental…

The Right Network for the Right Problem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gomez, Louis M.; Russell, Jennifer L.; Bryk, Anthony S.; LeMahieu, Paul G.; Mejia, Eva M.

2016-01-01

Educators are realizing that individuals working in isolation can't adequately address the teaching and learning problems that face us today. Collective action networks are needed. Sharing networks use collective energy to support individual action and agency, whereas execution networks typically address complex problems that require sustained…

Alternatives for Young School-Leavers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Qamar, M. Kalim

1983-01-01

To produce skilled manpower and reduce its reliance on foreigners, Papua New Guinea has increased access to education. But the country has lately been facing the problem of youth leaving school, along with problems of mass unemployment, rural-urban migration, and crime. Strategies to solve these problems are discussed. (IS)

Ethical Principles, Practices, and Problems in Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baca, M. Carlota, Ed.; Stein, Ronald H., Ed.

Eighteen professionals analyze the ethical principles, practices, and problems in institutions of higher learning by examining the major issues facing higher education today. Focusing on ethical standards and judgements that affect decision-making and problem-solving, the contributors review the rights and responsibilities of academic freedom,…

Identification of countermeasures for the youth crash problem related to alcohol

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1975-01-01

Face-to-face interviews were conducted with male New York State drivers. These groups, each containing young (16-24 years) and middle aged (35-49 years) drivers were sampled as follows: 1) random sample of the general population of licensed drivers (...

35. PRATER GRADE ROAD VIEW, FACING NW. NOTE WEATHERING STEEL ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

35. PRATER GRADE ROAD VIEW, FACING NW. NOTE WEATHERING STEEL RAIL AND ROAD CUT IN DISTANCE. MONTEZUMA VALLEY OVERLOOK IS JUST TO RIGHT OF DISTANT ROAD CUT. - Mesa Verde National Park Main Entrance Road, Cortez, Montezuma County, CO

Problems Encountered during the Scientific Research Process in Graduate Education: The Institute of Educational Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akyürek, Erkan; Afacan, Özlem

2018-01-01

This study was conducted to determine the problems faced by graduate students when conducting scientific research and to make suggestions for solving these problems. The research model was a case study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants in the study with questions about the problems encountered during scientific research…

Expenditure and Revenue Problems in Central-City School Districts: Problems for the 1980s.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Joseph F.; Hack, Walter G.

1983-01-01

Investigates the combination of expenditure and revenue problems facing central-city school districts. Examines educational overburden, related overburden, and cost differentials between central city and other types of districts. Also looks at tax capacity and efforts, and analyzes the effects of Federal and State activity on the problems of city…

Beyond Trivia and Nostalgia: Collaborating in the Construction of a Local History.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shopes, Linda

1984-01-01

To overcome problems of trivia and nostalgia, a problem-centered approach to community oral history projects is proposed. Instead of cataloging details about aspects of past social life, the projects might shape their inquiry as an effort to understand a problem facing the community, a problem with contemporary significance but historical roots.…

Optimal infrastructure maintenance scheduling problem under budget uncertainty.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-05-01

This research addresses a general class of infrastructure asset management problems. Infrastructure : agencies usually face budget uncertainties that will eventually lead to suboptimal planning if : maintenance decisions are made without taking the u...

Supplier Selection based on the Performance by using PROMETHEE Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinaga, T. S.; Siregar, K.

2017-03-01

Generally, companies faced problem to identify vendors that can provide excellent service in availability raw material and on time delivery. The performance of suppliers in a company have to be monitored to ensure the availability to fulfill the company needs. This research is intended to explain how to assess suppliers to improve manufacturing performance. The criteria that considered in evaluating suppliers is criteria of Dickson. There are four main criteria which further split into seven sub-criteria, namely compliance with accuracy, consistency, on-time delivery, right quantity order, flexibility and negotiation, timely of order confirmation, and responsiveness. This research uses PROMETHEE methodology in assessing the supplier performances and obtaining a selected supplier as the best one that shown from the degree of alternative comparison preference between suppliers.

Two main and a new type rare earth elements in Mg alloys: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kong, Linghang

2017-09-01

Magnesium (Mg) alloys stand for the lightest structure engineering materials. Moreover, the strengthening of Mg alloys in ductility, toughness and corrosion predominates their wide applications. With adding rare earth elements in Mg, the mechanical properties will be improved remarkably, especially their plasticity and strength. A brief overview of the addition of rare earth elements for Mg alloys is shown. The basic mechanisms of strengthening Mg alloys with rare earth elements are reviewed, including the solid solution strengthening, grain refinement and long period stacking ordered (LPSO) phase. Furthermore, the available rare earth elements are summarized by type, chemical or physical effects and other unique properties. Finally, some challenge problems that the research is facing and future expectations of ra-re-earth Mg alloys are stated and discussed.

Therapeutic Potential of Epigallocatechin Gallate Nanodelivery Systems

PubMed Central

Granja, Andreia; Frias, Iúri; Neves, Ana Rute; Reis, Salette

2017-01-01

Nowadays, the society is facing a large health problem with the rising of new diseases, including cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and obesity. Thus, it is important to invest in substances that enhance the health of the population. In this context, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a flavonoid found in many plants, especially in tea. Several studies support the notion that EGCG has several benefits in fighting cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity, among others. Nevertheless, the poor intestinal absorbance and instability of EGCG constitute the main drawback to use this molecule in prevention and therapy. The encapsulation of EGCG in nanocarriers leads to its enhanced stability and higher therapeutic effects. A comprehensive review of studies currently available on the encapsulation of EGCG by means of nanocarriers will be addressed. PMID:28791306

Blending online therapy into regular face-to-face therapy for depression: content, ratio and preconditions according to patients and therapists using a Delphi study.

PubMed

van der Vaart, Rosalie; Witting, Marjon; Riper, Heleen; Kooistra, Lisa; Bohlmeijer, Ernst T; van Gemert-Pijnen, Lisette J E W C

2014-12-14

Blending online modules into face-to-face therapy offers perspectives to enhance patient self-management and to increase the (cost-)effectiveness of therapy, while still providing the support patients need. The aim of this study was to outline optimal usage of blended care for depression, according to patients and therapists. A Delphi method was used to find consensus on suitable blended protocols (content, sequence and ratio). Phase 1 was an explorative phase, conducted in two rounds of online questionnaires, in which patients' and therapists' preferences and opinions about online psychotherapy were surveyed. In phase 2, data from phase 1 was used in face-to-face interviews with therapists to investigate how blended therapy protocols could be set up and what essential preconditions would be. Twelve therapists and nine patients completed the surveys. Blended therapy was positively perceived among all respondents, especially to enhance the self-management of patients. According to most respondents, practical therapy components (assignments, diaries and psycho-education) may be provided via online modules, while process-related components (introduction, evaluation and discussing thoughts and feelings), should be supported face-to-face. The preferred blend of online and face-to-face sessions differs between therapists and patients; most therapists prefer 75% face-to-face sessions, most patients 50 to 60%. The interviews showed that tailoring treatment to individual patients is essential in secondary mental health care, due to the complexity of their problems. The amount and ratio of online modules needs to be adjusted according to the patient's problems, skills and characteristics. Therapists themselves should also develop skills to integrate online and face-to-face sessions. Blending online and face-to-face sessions in an integrated depression therapy is viewed as a positive innovation by patients and therapists. Following a standard blended protocol, however, would be difficult in secondary mental health care. A database of online modules could provide flexibility to tailor treatment to individual patients, which asks motivation and skills of both patients and therapists. Further research is necessary to determine the (cost-)effectiveness of blended care, but this study provides starting points and preconditions to blend online and face-to-face sessions and create a treatment combining the best of both worlds.

The use of complementary and alternative medicine in the general population: results from a longitudinal community study.

PubMed

Rössler, Wulf; Lauber, Christoph; Angst, Jules; Haker, Helene; Gamma, Alex; Eich, Dominique; Kessler, Ronald C; Ajdacic-Gross, Vladeta

2007-01-01

Many patients with psychological or physical problems are interested in non-medical approaches. The reasons for the growing popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are not well understood considering that evidence of the effectiveness of conventional therapies is greater than ever before. We have examined data from the Zurich Study to determine trends and predictors of CAM use in Switzerland. The Zurich Study is a longitudinal community study that was started in 1979 with a sample of 591 participants born in 1958 and 1959. In 1999, the last of six interview waves with face-to-face interviews was conducted. CAM use was analyzed with data from interviews in 1993 and 1999. Polytomous logistic regression analysis focused on the personal, demographic and sociocultural background of CAM users. CAM use in the last 12 months was reported by 21.9% of the participants in 1993 and by 29.5% in 1999. CAM use among those exhibiting either physical or psychological problems was in the ratio of two to one. There was a trend from alternative variants of CAM (homeopathy) to complementary ones (massage, osteopathy, acupuncture). The vast majority of CAM use was in addition to conventional therapies. Predictors of CAM use were, among others, attribution of physical complaints to stress and other psychological variables, very low education level in parents, and lacking political interest. Besides the sociocultural background, characteristics such as the psychological attribution style play an important role in CAM use. CAM use in Switzerland is mainly of a complementary rather than an alternative nature.

Long-term assessment of facial features and functions needing more attention in treatment of Treacher Collins syndrome.

PubMed

Plomp, Raul G; Versnel, Sarah L; van Lieshout, Manouk J S; Poublon, Rene M L; Mathijssen, Irene M J

2013-08-01

This study aimed to determine which facial features and functions need more attention during surgical treatment of Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) in the long term. A cross-sectional cohort study was conducted to compare 23 TCS patients with 206 controls (all≥18 years) regarding satisfaction with their face. The adjusted Body Cathexis Scale was used to determine satisfaction with the appearance of the different facial features and functions. Desire for further treatment of these items was questioned. For each patient an overview was made of all facial operations performed, the affected facial features and the objective severity of the facial deformities. Patients were least satisfied with the appearance of the ears, facial profile and eyelids and with the functions hearing and nasal patency (P<0.001). Residual deformity of the reconstructed facial areas remained a problem in mainly the orbital area. The desire for further treatment and dissatisfaction was high in the operated patients, predominantly for eyelid reconstructions. Another significant wish was for improvement of hearing. In patients with TCS, functional deficits of the face are shown to be as important as the facial appearance. Particularly nasal patency and hearing are frequently impaired and require routine screening and treatment from intake onwards. Furthermore, correction of ear deformities and midface hypoplasia should be offered and performed more frequently. Residual deformity and dissatisfaction remains a problem, especially in reconstructed eyelids. II. Copyright © 2013 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

GEODATA: Information System Based on Geospatial for Early Warning Tracking and Analysis Agricultural Plant Diseases in Central Java

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasetyo, S. Y. J.; Agus, Y. H.; Dewi, C.; Simanjuntak, B. H.; Hartomo, K. D.

2017-03-01

The Government of Indonesia is currently faced with the problems of food, especially rice. It needs in large numbers that have to import from neighboring countries. Actually, the Indonesian government has the ability to produce rice to meet national needs but is still faced with the problem of pest attack rice annually increasing extent. One of the factors is that geographically Indonesia located on the migration path of world rice insect pests (called BPH or Brown Planthoppers) (Nilaparvata lugens Stal.) It leads endemic status annually. One proposed strategy to be applied is to use an early warning system based on a specific region of the main pest population. The proposed information system called GEODATA. GEODATA is Geospatial Outbreak of Disease Tracking and Analysis. The system works using a library ESSA (Exponential Smoothing - Spatial Autocorrelation) developed in previous studies in Satya Wacana Christian University. GEODATA built to meet the qualifications required surveillance device by BMKG (Indonesian Agency of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics’ Central Java Provinces), BPTPH (Indonesian Agency of Plant Protection and Horticulture) Central Java Provinces, BKP-KP District Boyolali, Central Java, (Indonesian Agency of Food Security and Agriculture Field Supervisor, District Boyolali, Central Java Provinces) and farmer groups. GIS GEODATA meets the needs of surveillance devices that include: (1) mapping of the disease, (2) analysis of the dynamics of the disease, and (3) prediction of attacks / disease outbreaks in a particular region. GIS GEODATA is currently under implementation in the laboratory field observations of plant pest in Central Java province, Indonesia.

Identification of aspects of functioning, disability and health relevant to patients experiencing vertigo: a qualitative study using the international classification of functioning, disability and health

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Purpose Aims of this study were to identify aspects of functioning and health relevant to patients with vertigo expressed by ICF categories and to explore the potential of the ICF to describe the patient perspective in vertigo. Methods We conducted a series of qualitative semi-structured face-to-face interviews using a descriptive approach. Data was analyzed using the meaning condensation procedure and then linked to categories of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Results From May to July 2010 12 interviews were carried out until saturation was reached. Four hundred and seventy-one single concepts were extracted which were linked to 142 different ICF categories. 40 of those belonged to the component body functions, 62 to the component activity and participation, and 40 to the component environmental factors. Besides the most prominent aspect “dizziness” most participants reported problems within “Emotional functions (b152), problems related to mobility and carrying out the daily routine. Almost all participants reported “Immediate family (e310)” as a relevant modifying environmental factor. Conclusions From the patients’ perspective, vertigo has impact on multifaceted aspects of functioning and disability, mainly body functions and activities and participation. Modifying contextual factors have to be taken into account to cover the complex interaction between the health condition of vertigo on the individuals’ daily life. The results of this study will contribute to developing standards for the measurement of functioning, disability and health relevant for patients suffering from vertigo. PMID:22738067

Consumers' Loyalty Related to Labor Inclusion of People with Disabilities.

PubMed

González, Marta; Luis Fernández, José

2016-01-01

the purpose of this paper is to show that reporting the corporate commitment to labor exclusion of people with disability correlates with the increase of consumer loyalty. It is a theoretical revision that will relate consumer loyalty to three main topics: disability and labor exclusion, responsible consumerism toward disability, and corporate communication to increase loyalty of those consumers that are concerned about this problem.      • Disability is an invisible phenomenon that concerns the whole of human society. So, the exclusion of the collective appears as a great social problem that might be dealt by the companies to be perceived as responsible.      • Responsible companies are awarded with the loyalty of the consumers.      • Clear corporate information about the commitment with this problem will reinforce the loyalty toward the brand.      • This information can be given in an informal way or by following a certification process. The impact of those methods will depend on how disability is understood by each consumer. This paper focuses on a topic usually neglected by companies and even by literature. However, the fact that more and more companies are paying attention to this problem allows us to think that we are facing a social change that will challenge companies.

Consumers’ Loyalty Related to Labor Inclusion of People with Disabilities

PubMed Central

González, Marta; Luis Fernández, José

2016-01-01

Purpose: the purpose of this paper is to show that reporting the corporate commitment to labor exclusion of people with disability correlates with the increase of consumer loyalty. Methodology: It is a theoretical revision that will relate consumer loyalty to three main topics: disability and labor exclusion, responsible consumerism toward disability, and corporate communication to increase loyalty of those consumers that are concerned about this problem. Findings:      • Disability is an invisible phenomenon that concerns the whole of human society. So, the exclusion of the collective appears as a great social problem that might be dealt by the companies to be perceived as responsible.      • Responsible companies are awarded with the loyalty of the consumers.      • Clear corporate information about the commitment with this problem will reinforce the loyalty toward the brand.      • This information can be given in an informal way or by following a certification process. The impact of those methods will depend on how disability is understood by each consumer. Originality/value: This paper focuses on a topic usually neglected by companies and even by literature. However, the fact that more and more companies are paying attention to this problem allows us to think that we are facing a social change that will challenge companies. PMID:27445880

Facial transplantation: A concise update

PubMed Central

Barrera-Pulido, Fernando; Gomez-Cia, Tomas; Sicilia-Castro, Domingo; Garcia-Perla-Garcia, Alberto; Gacto-Sanchez, Purificacion; Hernandez-Guisado, Jose-Maria; Lagares-Borrego, Araceli; Narros-Gimenez, Rocio; Gonzalez-Padilla, Juan D.

2013-01-01

Objectives: Update on clinical results obtained by the first worldwide facial transplantation teams as well as review of the literature concerning the main surgical, immunological, ethical, and follow-up aspects described on facial transplanted patients. Study design: MEDLINE search of articles published on “face transplantation” until March 2012. Results: Eighteen clinical cases were studied. The mean patient age was 37.5 years, with a higher prevalence of men. Main surgical indication was gunshot injuries (6 patients). All patients had previously undergone multiple conventional surgical reconstructive procedures which had failed. Altogether 8 transplant teams belonging to 4 countries participated. Thirteen partial face transplantations and 5 full face transplantations have been performed. Allografts are varied according to face anatomical components and the amount of skin, muscle, bone, and other tissues included, though all were grafted successfully and remained viable without significant postoperative surgical complications. The patient with the longest follow-up was 5 years. Two patients died 2 and 27 months after transplantation. Conclusions: Clinical experience has demonstrated the feasibility of facial transplantation as a valuable reconstructive option, but it still remains considered as an experimental procedure with unresolved issues to settle down. Results show that from a clinical, technical, and immunological standpoint, facial transplantation has achieved functional, aesthetic, and social rehabilitation in severely facial disfigured patients. Key words:Face transplantation, composite tissue transplantation, face allograft, facial reconstruction, outcomes and complications of face transplantation. PMID:23229268

Face-to-face: Perceived personal relevance amplifies face processing

PubMed Central

Pittig, Andre; Schupp, Harald T.; Alpers, Georg W.

2017-01-01

Abstract The human face conveys emotional and social information, but it is not well understood how these two aspects influence face perception. In order to model a group situation, two faces displaying happy, neutral or angry expressions were presented. Importantly, faces were either facing the observer, or they were presented in profile view directed towards, or looking away from each other. In Experiment 1 (n = 64), face pairs were rated regarding perceived relevance, wish-to-interact, and displayed interactivity, as well as valence and arousal. All variables revealed main effects of facial expression (emotional > neutral), face orientation (facing observer > towards > away) and interactions showed that evaluation of emotional faces strongly varies with their orientation. Experiment 2 (n = 33) examined the temporal dynamics of perceptual-attentional processing of these face constellations with event-related potentials. Processing of emotional and neutral faces differed significantly in N170 amplitudes, early posterior negativity (EPN), and sustained positive potentials. Importantly, selective emotional face processing varied as a function of face orientation, indicating early emotion-specific (N170, EPN) and late threat-specific effects (LPP, sustained positivity). Taken together, perceived personal relevance to the observer—conveyed by facial expression and face direction—amplifies emotional face processing within triadic group situations. PMID:28158672

Terrestrial Laser Scanner Two-Face Measurements for Analyzing the Elevation-Dependent Deformation of the Onsala Space Observatory 20-m Radio Telescope's Main Reflector in a Bundle Adjustment.

PubMed

Holst, Christoph; Schunck, David; Nothnagel, Axel; Haas, Rüdiger; Wennerbäck, Lars; Olofsson, Henrik; Hammargren, Roger; Kuhlmann, Heiner

2017-08-09

For accurate astronomic and geodetic observations based on radio telescopes, the elevation-dependent deformation of the radio telescopes' main reflectors should be known. Terrestrial laser scanning has been used for determining the corresponding changes of focal lengths and areal reflector deformations at several occasions before. New in this publication is the situation in which we minimize systematic measurement errors by an improved measurement and data-processing concept: Sampling the main reflector in both faces of the laser scanner and calibrating the laser scanner in situ in a bundle adjustment. This concept is applied to the Onsala Space Observatory 20-m radio telescope: The focal length of the main reflector decreases by 9.6 mm from 85 ∘ to 5 ∘ elevation angle. Further local deformations of the main reflector are not detected.

Terrestrial Laser Scanner Two-Face Measurements for Analyzing the Elevation-Dependent Deformation of the Onsala Space Observatory 20-m Radio Telescope’s Main Reflector in a Bundle Adjustment

PubMed Central

Schunck, David; Nothnagel, Axel; Haas, Rüdiger; Wennerbäck, Lars; Olofsson, Henrik; Hammargren, Roger; Kuhlmann, Heiner

2017-01-01

For accurate astronomic and geodetic observations based on radio telescopes, the elevation-dependent deformation of the radio telescopes’ main reflectors should be known. Terrestrial laser scanning has been used for determining the corresponding changes of focal lengths and areal reflector deformations at several occasions before. New in this publication is the situation in which we minimize systematic measurement errors by an improved measurement and data-processing concept: Sampling the main reflector in both faces of the laser scanner and calibrating the laser scanner in situ in a bundle adjustment. This concept is applied to the Onsala Space Observatory 20-m radio telescope: The focal length of the main reflector decreases by 9.6 mm from 85∘ to 5∘ elevation angle. Further local deformations of the main reflector are not detected. PMID:28792449

Annoyance, Sleep and Concentration Problems due to Combined Traffic Noise and the Benefit of Quiet Side

PubMed Central

Bodin, Theo; Björk, Jonas; Ardö, Jonas; Albin, Maria

2015-01-01

Background: Access to a quiet side in one’s dwelling is thought to compensate for higher noise levels at the most exposed façade. It has also been indicated that noise from combined traffic sources causes more noise annoyance than equal average levels from either road traffic or railway noise separately. Methods: 2612 persons in Malmö, Sweden, answered to a residential environment survey including questions on outdoor environment, noise sensitivity, noise annoyance, sleep quality and concentration problems. Road traffic and railway noise was modeled using Geographic Information System. Results: Access to a quiet side, i.e., at least one window facing yard, water or green space, was associated with reduced risk of annoyance OR (95%CI) 0.47 (0.38–0.59), and concentration problems 0.76 (0.61–0.95). Bedroom window facing the same environment was associated to reduced risk of reporting of poor sleep quality 0.78 (0.64–1.00). Railway noise was associated with reduced risk of annoyance below 55 dB(A) but not at higher levels of exposure. Conclusions: Having a window facing a yard, water or green space was associated to a substantially reduced risk of noise annoyance and concentration problems. If this window was the bedroom window, sleeping problems were less likely. PMID:25642690

An Enquiry into the Problems Faced by the Monitors in Jana Chaitanya Kendras.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reddy, P. A.; Rao, C. Janardhana

1997-01-01

A survey of 200 volunteer monitors in literacy centers in India identified problems they had, particularly in acquiring suitable materials and securing cooperation from agencies and communities. Some relationship between monitors' personal characteristics and problems was found, suggesting a need for preservice and inservice training. (SK)

Addressing Complex Challenges through Adaptive Leadership: A Promising Approach to Collaborative Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Tenneisha; Squires, Vicki

2017-01-01

Organizations are faced with solving increasingly complex problems. Addressing these issues requires effective leadership that can facilitate a collaborative problem solving approach where multiple perspectives are leveraged. In this conceptual paper, we critique the effectiveness of earlier leadership models in tackling complex organizational…

Vantage point - A 'wicked' problem.

PubMed

Naish, Jane

2015-10-01

SENIOR NURSES everywhere are facing a 'wicked' problem, wicked in the sense that it seems to defy resolution. The problem is this: the national shortage of nurses, particularly of those at band 5, is forcing us to use agency nurses so that we have enough staff to provide patient care safely.

Rural Schools for Tomorrow. Yearbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butterworth, Julian E., Ed.

This 1945 National Education Association yearbook focuses attention on the post-World War II problems of rural schools and encourages national, state, and local leaders to lay plans for strengthening rural education programs. The articles examine social and economic problems faced by rural Americans, the implications of these problems for rural…

Special Problems of People with Diabetes and Visual Impairment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenthal, J. L.

1993-01-01

This article addresses the types of visual impairment caused by diabetes and the unique problems that people with diabetes and visual impairment face. Diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic optic neuropathy are discussed as causes of visual impairment, and specific problems in basic living are identified, including diet,…

Monitoring Affect States during Effortful Problem Solving Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

D'Mello, Sidney K.; Lehman, Blair; Person, Natalie

2010-01-01

We explored the affective states that students experienced during effortful problem solving activities. We conducted a study where 41 students solved difficult analytical reasoning problems from the Law School Admission Test. Students viewed videos of their faces and screen captures and judged their emotions from a set of 14 states (basic…

The Care and Feeding of Aquatic Personnel.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNally, James

1989-01-01

A serious problem facing recreation and aquatic directors is retaining pool personnel. This article identifies factors that contribute to retention problems and suggests an "off-season" training program for former employees, with incentives, as a way of addressing these problems. Results of a survey of 49 pool employees are presented.…

The Mexican American.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowan, Helen

The purpose of this paper, prepared for the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights, is to indicate the types and ranges of problems facing the Mexican American community and to suggest ways in which these problems are peculiar to Mexican Americans. Specific examples are cited to illustrate major problems and personal experiences. Topics covered in the…

The Future Problem Solving Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crabbe, Anne B.

1989-01-01

Describes the Future Problem Solving Program, in which students from the U.S. and around the world are tackling some complex challenges facing society, ranging from acid rain to terrorism. The program uses a creative problem solving process developed for business and industry. A sixth-grade toxic waste cleanup project illustrates the process.…

CONFRONTING THE MODIFIABLE AREAL UNIT PROBLEM FOR INFERENCE ON NITRATE IN REGIONAL SHALLOW GROUND WATER

EPA Science Inventory

This work addresses a potentially serious problem in synthesis of
spatially explicit data on ground water quality from wells, known to
geographers as the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP). Investigators
are faced with choosing a level of aggregation appropriate to
...

Inclusive Education--Empirical Experience from Serbia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kovacevic, Jasmina; Macesic-Petrovic, Dragana

2012-01-01

This descriptive study finds out the problems most frequently facing the children with special needs in regular schooling. The sample included 500 teachers in elementary schools from Serbia. The results point out the problems in inclusive education. Most educational problems occur in relations and communications with their peers in typical…

Designing Crowdcritique Systems for Formative Feedback

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Easterday, Matthew W.; Rees Lewis, Daniel; Gerber, Elizabeth M.

2017-01-01

Intelligent tutors based on expert systems often struggle to provide formative feedback on complex, ill-defined problems where answers are unknown. Hybrid crowdsourcing systems that combine the intelligence of multiple novices in face-to-face settings might provide an alternate approach for providing intelligent formative feedback. The purpose of…

Pupil Transportation and the Law. Second Edition. NOLPE Monograph Series, No. 55.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mawdsley, Ralph D.

School officials face a daunting array of legal responsibilities in managing student transportation. This monograph identifies and discusses the most important transportation problems facing school officials, despite the considerable variances among state requirements. Following the introductory section, section 2 describes school districts' and…

A cohort study on the evolution of psychosocial problems in older patients with breast or colorectal cancer: comparison with younger cancer patients and older primary care patients without cancer.

PubMed

Deckx, Laura; van Abbema, Doris L; van den Akker, Marjan; van den Broeke, Carine; van Driel, Mieke; Bulens, Paul; Tjan-Heijnen, Vivianne C G; Kenis, Cindy; de Jonge, Eric T; Houben, Bert; Buntinx, Frank

2015-07-09

Although older cancer survivors commonly report psychosocial problems, the impact of both cancer and ageing on the occurrence of these problems remains largely unknown. The evolution of depression, cognitive functioning, and fatigue was evaluated in a group of older cancer patients in comparison with a group of younger cancer patients and older persons without cancer. Older (≥70 years) and younger cancer patients (50-69 years) with breast or colorectal cancer stage I-III, and older persons without cancer (≥70 years) were included. Data were collected at baseline and one year follow-up and were available for 536 persons. Depression was evaluated with the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale. Cognitive functioning was measured with the cognitive functioning subscale of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. Fatigue was measured with a Visual Analogue Scale. Risk factors for depression, cognitive functioning, and fatigue were analysed using multivariate logistic regression analyses. Risk factors included cancer- and ageing-related factors such as functional status, cancer treatment, and comorbidities. The evolution of psychosocial problems was similar for the group of older (N = 125) and younger cancer patients (N = 196): an increase in depression (p < 0.01), slight worsening in cognitive functioning (p = 0.01), and no clear change in fatigue. Also, compared to the group of people without cancer (N = 215), the differences were small and after one year of follow-up only depression was more frequent in older cancer patients compared to older persons without cancer (18% versus 9%, p = 0.04). In multivariate analyses the main risk factors for psychosocial problems after one year follow-up were changes in functional status and presence of baseline depression, fatigue, or cognitive impairment. Over the course of one year after a diagnosis of cancer, cancer patients face increasing levels of depression and increasing difficulties in cognitive functioning. The main risk factor for psychosocial problems was presence of the problem at baseline. This calls for regular screening for psychosocial problems and exchange of information on psychosocial functioning between different health care providers and settings during the treatment and follow-up trajectory of cancer patients.

Doctors' and nurses' perceptions of a ward-based pharmacist in rural northern Sweden.

PubMed

Sjölander, Maria; Gustafsson, Maria; Gallego, Gisselle

2017-08-01

Background This project is part of the prospective quasi experimental proof-of-concept investigation of clinical pharmacist intervention study to reduce drug-related problems among people admitted to a ward in a rural hospital in northern Sweden. Objective To explore doctors' and nurses' perceptions and expectations of having a ward-based pharmacist providing clinical pharmacy services. Setting Medical ward in a rural hospital in northern Sweden. Method Eighteen face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of doctors and nurses working on the ward where the clinical pharmacy service was due to be implemented. Semi-structured interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Main outcome measure Perceptions and expectations of nurses and doctors. Results Doctors and nurses had limited experience of working with pharmacists. Most had a vague idea of what pharmacists can contribute within a ward setting. Participants, mainly nurses, suggested inventory and drug distribution roles, but few were aware of the pharmacists' skills and clinical competence. Different views were expressed on whether the new clinical pharmacy service would have an impact on workload. However, most participants took a positive view of having a ward-based pharmacist. Conclusion This study provided an opportunity to explore doctors' and nurses' expectations of the role of clinical pharmacists before a clinical pharmacy service was implemented. To successfully implement a clinical pharmacy service, roles, clinical competence and responsibilities should be clearly described. Furthermore, it is important to focus on collaborative working relationships between doctors, nurses and pharmacists.

Knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices about HIV/AIDS in Kuwait.

PubMed

al-Owaish, R; Moussa, M A; Anwar, S; al-Shoumer, H; Sharma, P

1999-04-01

This survey is aimed at assessing knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices in Kuwait regarding AIDS/HIV. Structured face-to-face interviews were conducted during the year 1995 on a sample of 2,219 subjects, aged 18 to 60, health professionals were excluded. The survey instrument included 26 questions on AIDS/HIV knowledge, 6 about attitudes and beliefs, and 6 about behavior and practice. The remaining 22 items dealt with sociodemographic characteristics, role of religion, source of information, and satisfaction about AIDS control programs. Two thirds of subjects had good knowledge about the main modes of HIV/AIDS transmission. Using a multiple regression model, the knowledge score was positively associated with level of education, age, years of hearing about AIDS, and socioeconomic status. The multiple logistic regression showed that subjects tend not to change their behavior related to AIDS if they were less than 40 years old, had low education, were females, single, had a lower socioeconomic status, had heard about AIDS for less than 3 years, and had a low level of knowledge about AIDS. More than half of the participants were satisfied with the government's action for AIDS prevention. The majority of subjects thought that religion was important in dealing with daily life problems. In conclusion, while most of the people in Kuwait were aware of the main modes of AIDS transmission, a gap existed about modes that did not transmit the disease. This was reflected in their attitudes and practice toward AIDS patients. The study calls for a greater role for medical professionals, mass media, and religion in AIDS prevention and control.

93. VIEW OF PILINGS ON SOUTHEAST SIDE, FACING NORTH FROM ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

93. VIEW OF PILINGS ON SOUTHEAST SIDE, FACING NORTH FROM SOUTHEAST SIDE OF 4TH TEE, SHOWING RESTROOMS, PUMPHOUSE, AND THE TACKLE BOX IN BACKGROUND - Huntington Beach Municipal Pier, Pacific Coast Highway at Main Street, Huntington Beach, Orange County, CA

Post-Hospital Discharge Care: A Retrospective Cohort Study Exploring the Value of Pharmacist-Enhanced Care and Describing Medication-Related Problems.

PubMed

Hawes, Emily M; Pinelli, Nicole R; Sanders, Kimberly A; Lipshutz, Andrew M; Tong, Gretchen; Sievers, Lauren S; Chao, Sarah; Gwynne, Mark

2018-01-01

BACKGROUND Medication-related problems occur at high rates during care transitions. Evidence suggests that pharmacists are well-suited to identify and resolve medication-related problems during hospital admission and at discharge. Additional evidence is needed to understand the impact of face-to-face pharmacist visits in primary care after discharge. The purpose of the study was to describe medication-related problems found during face-to-face pharmacist visits in a medical home after hospital discharge. METHODS A retrospective cohort study was conducted within an academic primary care center staffed by family medicine trained physicians that evaluated patients who attended a hospital follow-up visit with pharmacist-enhanced care (N = 86) versus usual care (N = 86). The primary objective was to describe medication-related problems identified by pharmacists using a modified individualized Medication Assessment and Planning tool for patients receiving pharmacist-enhanced care. Secondary analyses were also conducted to compare 30-day and 60-day hospital readmission and emergency department visit rates in those exposed to pharmacist-enhanced care versus those who were not. RESULTS At baseline, the mean hospitalizations in the prior year were 1.1 ± 1.7 (pharmacist-enhanced care) and 0.76 ± 1.2 (usual care), indicating a low initial readmission risk. Of patients receiving pharmacist-enhanced care, 97.7% were found to have at least 1 medication-related problem, with an average of 4.36 medication-related problems per patient. The 30-day readmission rate was lower, but not significantly different between groups (8.1% for pharmacist-enhanced care versus 12.8% for usual care; adjusted odds ratio (OR), 0.47; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.16-1.36). LIMITATIONS Limitations include the retrospective cohort study design and small sample size. Medication-related problems were identified and collected prospectively during pharmacist visits. CONCLUSION Medication-related problems are ubiquitous after hospital discharge. Larger prospective studies will be needed to understand the potential value of pharmacist-enhanced care during hospital follow-up visits on readmission rates in low-risk patient populations receiving care within a primary care medical home. ©2018 by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine and The Duke Endowment. All rights reserved.

Teaching about the Global Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blackburn, Anne M.

1985-01-01

Social studies educators hold an important key to our future success in the management of "spaceship earth." Students must be made aware of the global environment and the many problems facing it. These problems are discussed. (RM)

Ecotourism and Interpretation in Costa Rica: Parallels and Peregrinations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Wayne E.

1994-01-01

Discusses the ecotourism industry in Costa Rica and some of the problems faced by its national park system, including megaparks, rapid increase in tourism, and interpretive services. Suggests alternatives for the problems. (MKR)