Improving adherence physical activity with a smartphone application based on adults with intellectual disabilities (APPCOID)

Background People with intellectual disabilities (ID) have lower levels of physical activity and quality of life and they have a lot of barriers to face when taking part in physical activity. Other problems are the poor adherence to physical activity such people have so this study is designed to improve adherence to physical activity for people with intellectual disabilities with the assistance of an application for smartphones. The aim of the study will be to improve physical activity and physical condition after multimodal intervention and to analyse the promotion of adherence to physical activity through a multimodal intervention and an app intervention (mHealth) in people with ID. Methods A two-stage study will be conducted. In stage 1 a multimodal intervention will take place will be done with physical activity and educational advice over eight weeks, two days a week. Data will be measured after and before the intervention. In stage 2 a randomized controlled trial will be conducted. In the intervention group we will install an application to a smartphone; this application will be a reminder to do a physical activity and they have to select whether they have or haven’t done a physical activity every day. This application will be installed for 18 weeks. Data will be measured after and before the application is installed in two groups. We will measure results 10 weeks later when the two groups don’t have the reminder. The principal outcome used to measure the adherence to physical activity will be the International Physical Activity Questionnaire; secondary outcomes will be a fun-fitness test and self-report survey about quality of life, self-efficacy and social support. Samples will be randomized by sealed envelope in two groups, with approximately 20 subjects in each group. It’s important to know that the therapist will be blinded and won’t know the subjects of each group. Discussion Offering people with ID a multimodal intervention and tool to increase the adherence to a physical activity may increase the levels of physical activity and quality of life. Such a scheme, if beneficial, could be implemented successfully within public health sense. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01915381.

Using mobile technology and augmented reality to increase data reliability for environmental assessment

Climate change and land use pressures are making environmental monitoring increasingly important. As environmental health is degrading at an alarming rate, ecologists have tried to tackle the problem by monitoring the composition and condition of environment. However, traditional monitoring methods using experts are manual and expensive; to address this issue government organisations designed a simpler and faster surrogate-based assessment technique for consultants, landholders and ordinary citizens. However, it remains complex, subjective and error prone. This makes collected data difficult to interpret and compare. In this paper we describe a work-in-progress mobile application designed to address these shortcomings through the use of augmented reality and multimedia smartphone technology.

Exploring the effect of achievements on students attending university orientation

University orientation is a key event for new students that aids in the transition from a school to a university environment. A smartphone orientation application was built to aid students attending the event. Achievements were added to the application in an attempt to engage students further with the orientation activities and application. An exploratory field study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of the achievement system on participants attending orientation. Forty-six new students were recruited to test the orientation application. Twenty-six participants used a gamified version of the orientation application and twenty participants used a non-gamified version. While the gamification was generally well received, no impact on user experience was evident. Some effect on engagement with orientation activities was shown. Participants who used the gamified system reported the game elements as fun, but some negative issues arose, such as cheating.

Synthesis and characterisation of hybrid gold/polymer nanoparticles for bioassay application

A bioassay technique, based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) tagged gold nanoparticles encapsulated with a biotin functionalised polymer, has been demonstrated through the spectroscopic detection of a streptavidin binding event. A methodical series of steps preceded these results: synthesis of nanoparticles which were found to give a reproducible SERS signal; design and synthesis of polymers with RAFT-functional end groups able to encapsulate the gold nanoparticle. The polymer also enabled the attachment of a biotin molecule functionalised so that it could be attached to the hybrid nanoparticle through a modular process. Finally, the demonstrations of a positive bioassay for this model construct using streptavidin/biotin binding. The synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles was performed by using tri-sodium citrate as the reducing agent. The shape of the silver nanoparticles was quite difficult to control. Gold nanoparticles were able to be prepared in more regular shapes (spherical) and therefore gave a more consistent and reproducible SERS signal. The synthesis of gold nanoparticles with a diameter of 30 nm was the most reproducible and these were also stable over the longest periods of time. From the SERS results the optimal size of gold nanoparticles was found to be approximately 30 nm. Obtaining a consistent SERS signal with nanoparticles smaller than this was particularly difficult. Nanoparticles more than 50 nm in diameter were too large to remain suspended for longer than a day or two and formed a precipitate, rendering the solutions useless for our desired application. Gold nanoparticles dispersed in water were able to be stabilised by the addition of as-synthesised polymers dissolved in a water miscible solvent. Polymer stabilised AuNPs could not be formed from polymers synthesised by conventional free radical polymerization, i.e. polymers that did not possess a sulphur containing end-group. This indicated that the sulphur-containing functionality present within the polymers was essential for the self assembly process to occur. Polymer stabilization of the gold colloid was evidenced by a range of techniques including, visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and Raman spectroscopy. After treatment of the hybrid nanoparticles with a series of SERS tags, focussing on 2-quinolinethiol the SERS signals were found to have comparable signal intensity to the citrate stabilised gold nanoparticles. This finding illustrates that the stabilization process does not interfere with the ability of gold nanoparticles to act as substrates for the SERS effect. Incorporation of a biotin moiety into the hybrid nanoparticles was achieved through a =click‘ reaction between an alkyne-functionalised polymer and an azido-functionalised biotin analogue. This functionalized biotin was prepared through a 4-step synthesis from biotin. Upon exposure of the surface-bound streptavidin to biotin-functionalised polymer hybrid gold nanoparticles, then washing, a SERS signal was obtained from the 2-quinolinethiol which was attached to the gold nanoparticles (positive assay). After exposure to functionalised polymer hybrid gold nanoparticles without biotin present then washing a SERS signal was not obtained as the nanoparticles did not bind to the streptavidin (negative assay). These results illustrate the applicability of the use of SERS active functional-polymer encapsulated gold nanoparticles for bioassay application.

Driven to drive : designing gamification for a learner logbook smartphone application

Driving can be dangerous, especially for young and inexperienced drivers. To help address the issue of inexperience a gamified logbook application was developed for Learner drivers. The application aims to encourage learners to undertake a wider range of practice, while also making it easier to record their mandatory practice sessions. This paper reports on the design of this application, focusing on the effect that adding gamification can have on the usability and user experience of the application and the importance of playability testing for gamified systems. Two versions of the application were developed, one with game elements and one without game elements. This paper presents findings from a study that compares the user experience of these two versions of the application with twelve recent Learner drivers. Overall, participants reported that the gamified version was more engaging and motivating than the non-gamified version, however neither versions were preferred over the other. We theorise that this may have occurred due to a number of usability issues that arose, including an increased difficulty in learnability due to the added game elements. These design issues are important to address in future gamified system designs.

Using a smartphone application for customer-centric banking

The banking industry is under pressure. In order to compete, banks should adapt to concentrating on the specific customer needs, following an outside-in perspective. This paper presents the design of a business model for banks that considers this development by providing flexible and comprehensive support for retail banking clients. It is demonstrated that the identification of customer processes and the consequent alignment of banking services to those processes implies great potential to increase customer retention in banking. It will be shown that information technology – especially smartphones – can serve as an interface between customer and suppliers to enable an alignment of offerings to customer processes. This approach enables the integration of banks into their customers’ lifestyle, creating emotional value added, improving the personal relationship and the customers’ affiliation with the bank. The paper presents the design of such a customer-process-centric smartphone application and derives success factors for implementation.

Application of a hybrid Entropy–McKinsey Matrix method in evaluating sustainable urbanization : a China case study

Although urbanization can promote social and economic development, it can also cause various problems. As the key decision makers of urbanization, local governments should be able to evaluate urbanization performance, summarize experiences, and find problems caused by urbanization. This paper introduces a hybrid Entropy–McKinsey Matrix method for evaluating sustainable urbanization. The McKinsey Matrix is commonly referred to as the GE Matrix. The values of a development index (DI) and coordination index (CI) are calculated by employing the Entropy method and are used as a basis for constructing a GE Matrix. The matrix can assist in assessing sustainable urbanization performance by locating the urbanization state point. A case study of the city of Jinan in China demonstrates the process of using the evaluation method. The case study reveals that the method is an effective tool in helping policy makers understand the performance of urban sustainability and therefore formulate suitable strategies for guiding urbanization toward better sustainability.

Chronic disease risks and use of a smartphone application during a physical activity and dietary intervention in Australian truck drivers

- Objective This study examined chronic disease risks and the use of a smartphone activity tracking application during an intervention in Australian truck drivers (April-October 2014). - Methods Forty-four men (mean age=47.5 [SD 9.8] years) completed baseline health measures, and were subsequently offered access to a free wrist-worn activity tracker and smartphone application (Jawbone UP) to monitor step counts and dietary choices during a 20-week intervention. Chronic disease risks were evaluated against guidelines; weekly step count and dietary logs registered by drivers in the application were analysed to evaluate use of the Jawbone UP. - Results Chronic disease risks were high (e.g. 97% high waist circumference [≥94 cm]). Eighteen drivers (41%) did not start the intervention; smartphone technical barriers were the main reason for drop out. Across 20-weeks, drivers who used the Jawbone UP logged step counts for an average of 6 [SD 1] days/week; mean step counts remained consistent across the intervention (weeks 1–4=8,743[SD 2,867] steps/day; weeks 17–20=8,994[SD 3,478] steps/day). The median number of dietary logs significantly decreased from start (17 [IQR 38] logs/weeks) to end of the intervention (0 [IQR 23] logs/week; p<0.01); the median proportion of healthy diet choices relative to total diet choices logged increased across the intervention (weeks 1–4=38[IQR 21]%; weeks 17–20=58[IQR 18]%). - Conclusions Step counts were more successfully monitored than dietary choices in those drivers who used the Jawbone UP. - Implications Smartphone technology facilitated active living and healthy dietary choices, but also prohibited intervention engagement in a number of these high-risk Australian truck drivers.

Determination of preventive maintenance lead time using hybrid analysis

The time for conducting Preventive Maintenance (PM) on an asset is often determined using a predefined alarm limit based on trends of a hazard function. In this paper, the authors propose using both hazard and reliability functions to improve the accuracy of the prediction particularly when the failure characteristic of the asset whole life is modelled using different failure distributions for the different stages of the life of the asset. The proposed method is validated using simulations and case studies.

Power network in the loop : subsystem testing using a switching amplifier

“Hardware in the Loop” (HIL) testing is widely used in the automotive industry. The sophisticated electronic control units used for vehicle control are usually tested and evaluated using HIL-simulations. The HIL increases the degree of realistic testing of any system. Moreover, it helps in designing the structure and control of the system under test so that it works effectively in the situations that will be encountered in the system. Due to the size and the complexity of interaction within a power network, most research is based on pure simulation. To validate the performance of physical generator or protection system, most testing is constrained to very simple power network. This research, however, examines a method to test power system hardware within a complex virtual environment using the concept of the HIL. The HIL testing for electronic control units and power systems protection device can be easily performed at signal level. But performance of power systems equipments, such as distributed generation systems can not be evaluated at signal level using HIL testing. The HIL testing for power systems equipments is termed here as ‘Power Network in the Loop’ (PNIL). PNIL testing can only be performed at power level and requires a power amplifier that can amplify the simulation signal to the power level. A power network is divided in two parts. One part represents the Power Network Under Test (PNUT) and the other part represents the rest of the complex network. The complex network is simulated in real time simulator (RTS) while the PNUT is connected to the Voltage Source Converter (VSC) based power amplifier. Two way interaction between the simulator and amplifier is performed using analog to digital (A/D) and digital to analog (D/A) converters. The power amplifier amplifies the current or voltage signal of simulator to the power level and establishes the power level interaction between RTS and PNUT. In the first part of this thesis, design and control of a VSC based power amplifier that can amplify a broadband voltage signal is presented. A new Hybrid Discontinuous Control method is proposed for the amplifier. This amplifier can be used for several power systems applications. In the first part of the thesis, use of this amplifier in DSTATCOM and UPS applications are presented. In the later part of this thesis the solution of network in the loop testing with the help of this amplifier is reported. The experimental setup for PNIL testing is built in the laboratory of Queensland University of Technology and the feasibility of PNIL testing has been evaluated using the experimental studies. In the last section of this thesis a universal load with power regenerative capability is designed. This universal load is used to test the DG system using PNIL concepts. This thesis is composed of published/submitted papers that form the chapters in this dissertation. Each paper has been published or submitted during the period of candidature. Chapter 1 integrates all the papers to provide a coherent view of wide bandwidth switching amplifier and its used in different power systems applications specially for the solution of power systems testing using PNIL.

Technological barriers to learning : designing hybrid pedagogy to minimise cognitive load and maximise understanding

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) provide great promise for the future of education. In the Asia-Pacific region, many nations have started working towards the comprehensive development of infrastructure to enable the development of strong networked educational systems. In Queensland there have been significant initiatives in the past decade to support the integration of technology in classrooms and to set the conditions for the enhancement of teaching and learning with technology. One of the great challenges is to develop our classrooms to make the most of these technologies for the benefit of student learning. Recent research and theory into cognitive load, suggests that complex information environments may well impose a barrier on student learning. Further, it suggests that teachers have the capacity to mitigate against cognitive load through the way they prepare and support students engaging with complex information environments. This chapter compares student learning at different levels of cognitive load to show that learning is enhanced when integrating pedagogies are employed to mitigate against high-load information environments. This suggests that a mature policy framework for ICTs in education needs to consider carefully the development of professional capacities to effectively design and integrate technologies for learning.

Determinants of knowledge transfer and learning in hybrid public private alliances

This paper uses the case study of a hybrid public-private strategic alliance as data to complement and contrast with the traditional views on knowledge transfer and learning between alliance partners. In particular, the paper explores whether the concept of competitive collaboration conceptualized by Hamel (1991) in his seminal work holds true for all forms of strategic alliances. Conceptualizing the knowledge boundaries of organisations in alliances as a ‘collaborative membrane’, we focus attention on the permeability of these boundaries rather than the actual location of the boundaries. In this vein, we present a case study of a major public sector organization that illustrates how these principles have allowed it to start rebuilding its internal capabilities adopting a more collaborative stance and ensuring their knowledge boundaries are highly porous as they move more major projects into hybrid public private alliance contracts.

Hybrid system simulation of computer control applications over communication networks

Discrete event-driven simulations of digital communication networks have been used widely. However, it is difficult to use a network simulator to simulate a hybrid system in which some objects are not discrete event-driven but are continuous time-driven. A networked control system (NCS) is such an application, in which physical process dynamics are continuous by nature. We have designed and implemented a hybrid simulation environment which effectively integrates models of continuous-time plant processes and discrete-event communication networks by extending the open source network simulator NS-2. To do this a synchronisation mechanism was developed to connect a continuous plant simulation with a discrete network simulation. Furthermore, for evaluating co-design approaches in an NCS environment, a piggybacking method was adopted to allow the control period to be adjusted during simulations. The effectiveness of the technique is demonstrated through case studies which simulate a networked control scenario in which the communication and control system properties are defined explicitly.