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There are still some product design and development processes in the metal-mechanics industry that continue to be based principally on similar experiences and on the designer's own experience. These designs are, in later phases, generally checked and analysed by means of FEM (Finite Element Method) simulations or other methods in order to verify whether they are optimal. The creation of tools with which to assist design in the initial phase is, therefore, a major step forward as regards facilitating the attainment of good results in the shortest possible time and with the least possible number of design-simulation-redesign iterations. The objective of this paper is to provide a detailed description of a methodology based on mathematical formulation for the creation of tools to assist in the design of moulds or dies in the metal-mechanical sector. The strategy is based on the value analysis of a multitude of variables from a large number of proven optimal designs. The result is an assistancea tool that, by means of a mathematical formulation, attempts to concentrate the experience and know-how accumulated in many previous designs. This tool can be quickly and easily applied in order to check and attempt to adjust a new first design to the criteria of the accumulated experience. An example of the application of the methodology by means of an assistance tool with which to design aluminium extrusion porthole dies is, therefore, shown. Several lines of research, however, remain open as regards other applications of the methodology and its improvement through the introduction of artificial intelligence. En el sector metalmecánico existen aún algunos procesos de diseño y desarrollo de productos que continúan fundamentándose principalmente en experiencias similares y la propia experiencia del diseñador. Generalmente, en fases posteriores estos diseños se someten a comprobaciones y análisis mediante simulaciones MEF (método de los elementos finitos) u otros métodos para verificar si son óptimos. Por ello, la creación de herramientas de ayuda al diseño en su fase inicial se muestra como un gran avance para facilitar la obtención de buenos resultados en el mínimo tiempo posible y con el menor número de iteraciones diseño-simulación-rediseño. El objetivo del presente artículo es definir una metodología fundamentada en formulación matemática para la creación de herramientas de ayuda al diseño de moldes o matrices del sector metalmecánico. La estrategia se basa en el análisis de los valores de multitud de variables de un elevado número de diseños previos probadamente óptimos. El resultado es una herramienta que mediante una formulación matemática trata de concentrar la experiencia y el know-how acumulado a través de muchos diseños previos. Esta herramienta es de fácil y rápida aplicación para realizar comprobaciones y tratar de ajustar el primer diseño a los criterios de la experiencia acumulada. Se muestra el ejemplo de aplicación de la metodología en una herramienta de ayuda al diseño de matrices porthole de extrusión de aluminio. Y queda abierta una amplia vía de investigación para otras aplicaciones de la metodología y su mejora mediante la introducción de la inteligencia artificial.

Recent literature demonstrates the contribution of short food supply chains (SFSC) to regional economies and sustainable food systems, and acknowledges their role as drivers for sustainable development. Moreover, different types of SFSC have been supported by urban food policies (UFP) over the few last years and actors from the food chain became part of new institutional settings for urban food policies. However, evidence from the sustainability impact assessment (SIA) of these SFSC in urban contexts is limited. Our paper presents an approach for the development of an SIA framework for different SFSC types. In addition, a practical application of the tool in four metropolitan regions (Berlin, London, Ljubljana and Nairobi) is tested. The conceptual development of the SIA framework is based on an in-depth analysis of existing SIA frameworks and methods for assessing the sustainability of agriculture, food chains and food systems and adapted to the specific needs of analysing SFSC in metropolitan regions. The operational value and utility of the framework and the tool were tested with social and natural scientists and local stakeholders. The assessment results demonstrate that SFSC seems to be more sustainable than the baseline (long global food chains) in the social dimension, but also feature specific strengths and weaknesses concerning their economic and environmental sustainability. This might give an indication for regional adjusted strategies and food chain innovations that improve the sustainability performance may be required. We found the tool useful for framing the dialogue between food chain actors, consumers and policy, because it makes benefits and trade-offs of the chain types operating in an urban-rural context more visible and communicable.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10460-021-10288-w.

Creativity is acknowledged as an essential component of the design process and considered a key design graduate attribute. Despite this assertion, several studies have highlighted that the teaching of creativity in design education is often implicit rather than explicit. Moreover, there is a paucity of research on product design students’ experience of creativity in design education, leaving a gap in knowledge relevant to how creativity may be better fostered in design education. In this study, reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data from online focus groups conducted with product design students. The three themes constructed provide insights into how students perceive and engage with creativity. Theme 1, the influence of social factors on creativity, uncovers the diametric effect students’ social eco-system can have on their creativity. These include an aversion to being associated with it due to weight of expectation and negative perceptions around creativity, as well as the ‘invisible support system’ created by peers. Theme 2, sanctuary seeking tendencies of novice design students, reveals behaviours that oppose essential creative attributes: a freedom from risk and ambiguity and desire for certainty and achievability. Theme 3, tension between passion for and pursuit of creativity, outlines the conflict between participants’ ideologies and actions when pursuing creativity highlighting a reluctance to utilise structured creativity tools while gravitating towards unstructured methods such as ‘relaxed attention’. Together, the three themes form a picture of product design students’ complex relationship with creativity and importance of self-efficacy. The findings of this study make an important contribution to our understanding of design students’ perception of, and engagement with, creativity in design education. As such these findings are relevant for both design education and future creativity tool development.

This study aimed to pilot test, assess usability and utility of, and identify barriers to implementation for the Profile of Preschool Communication (PPC) - a new data collection tool designed to support outcome monitoring in preschool speech-language programs and practice-based research. Methods. This pilot study was conducted with three sites in the Ontario Preschool Speech and Language (PSL) program. Twenty-three speech-language pathologists used the PPC for all outcome monitoring assessments for 2-3-months and provided feedback about their experience using it in practice. Then, 18 of the 23 speech-language pathologists completed online surveys to rate usability and utility, and report their perceived implementation barriers and facilitators. Results. Speech-language pathologists reported difficulties completing some sections of the PPC, most notably obtaining data related to maternal education and family history of mental health concerns. Usability and utility were generally rated favorably with some items rated as neutral. Barriers to implementation included the paper format, completion time, requirement to ask personal questions, and the perception by some that data were useful for outcome monitoring but not practice. Facilitators included ease of use, an improvement over the existing tool, and the collection of data to support service planning. Conclusions. The PPC shows potential as an outcome monitoring data collection tool in preschool speech-language pathology programs. Findings will be of interest to researchers engaged in practice-based research and those interested in engaging stakeholders to develop clinically meaningful tools.

In clinical practice, assessing digital health literacy is important to identify patients who may encounter difficulties adapting to digital health using digital technology and service. We developed the Digital Health Technology Literacy Assessment Questionnaire (DHTL-AQ) to assess the ability to use digital health technology, services, and data. The DHTL-AQ was developed in three phases. In the first phase, the conceptual framework and domains and items were generated from a systematic literature review using relevant theory and surveys. In the second phase, a cross-sectional survey with 590 adults age ≥ 18 years was conducted at an academic hospital in Seoul, Korea in January and February 2020 to test face validity of the items. Then, psychometric validation was conducted to determine the final items and cut-off scores of the DHTL-AQ. The eHealth literacy scale, the Newest Vital Sign, and 10 mobile app task ability assessments were examined to test validity. The final DHTL-AQ includes 34 items in two domains (digital functional and digital critical literacy) and 4 categories (Information and Communications Technology terms, Information and Communications Technology icons, use of an app, evaluating reliability and relevance of health information). The DHTL-AQ had excellent internal consistency (overall Cronbach’s α = 0.95; 0.87–0.94 for subtotals) and acceptable model fit (CFI = 0.821, TLI = 0.807, SRMR = 0.065, RMSEA = 0.090). The DHTL-AQ was highly correlated with task ability assessment (r = 0.7591), and moderately correlated with the eHealth literacy scale (r = 0.5265) and the Newest Vital Sign (r = 0.5929). The DHTL-AQ is a reliable and valid instrument to measure digital health technology literacy. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10916-022-01800-8.

It appears that up until now, no comprehensive tool has been developed to assess medical students’ attitudes toward the different dimensions of professionalism. The present study aimed to develop a comprehensive quantitative tool to evaluate medical students’ attitudes toward professionalism. This study consisted of two phases: The first phase was item generation and questionnaire design based on literature review and a qualitative survey. The qualitative data were extracted from 49 semi-structured individual interviews and one focus group discussion. In the second phase, the questionnaire was developed and its face, content, and structure validity and reliability were evaluated. To measure the construct validity of the questionnaire, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 354 medical students at different academic levels at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The final questionnaire was loaded on five factors. The factors accounted for 43.5% of the total variance. Moreover, Cronbach's alpha was 0.84 for the total scale, and the interclass correlation coefficient was 0.77 for the test-retest reliability. The 17-item questionnaire measuring medical students’ professional attitude had acceptable validity and reliability and can be adopted in other studies on physicians’ and medical students’ professional attitudes.

Market demand for electrical products by standard electrical products defines the demand for stamping tools. The design of the tool is based on the requirements of easy assembly, disassembly and maintenance. The development of such tools requires the designer to meet complex requirements, some of which are only defined at the beginning, so that the most precise specifications possible are necessary right at the start of the design process. In order to meet the required complex product geometry, product tolerance and the number of products required by the customer, the development of a multi-row punching tool is shown. The tool consists of an upper and a lower part, which are appropriately positioned accordingly and fixed to the stamping machine. The force required to stamp and the force required to detach the guide plate from the sheet metal were determined. The functionality of the developed tool and the stamping process is shown in its entirety, from the entry of the sheet into the tool to the exit of the finished product. The products obtained by stepwise stamping are rotors and stators, which are the basic elements of any electrical device.

Knowledge of antibiotics and awareness of microbial resistance are essential for appropriate antibiotic consumption. This study aimed to develop and validate a measure of antibiotic knowledge and consumption (AKCT) and to make it available in the Arabic language and context. The tool was developed and applied on individuals ≥ 18 years, with mastery of Arabic or English. Exploratory factor analysis using principal-component analysis tested the psychometric properties of the items. AKCT scores were compared with the Infectious Numeracy Test (INT) scores to establish convergent validity. Cronbach’s α > 0.7 measured reliability. Three hundred-eighty-six participants completed the questionnaire, achieving a 95.3% response rate. Five components were retained after factor analysis: Side-effects and resistance, Access to antibiotics, Recovery after use, Antibiotics use indications, and Body response. Cronbach’s α = 0.85. The mean ± SD of AKCT = 9.82 ± 3.85 (range = 7–20); lowest scores were related to “Side-effects and resistance” (2.32 ± 2.00, max = 7) and “Antibiotic use indications” (1.61 ± 1.29, max = 5). Scores on the AKCT and INT positively correlated. The AKCT is a valuable, valid, and reliable tool developed for measurement of antibiotic knowledge and consumption behaviors to identify specific areas needing improvements; hence, targeted interventions are devised.

Background While many research-based instructional strategies in STEM have been developed, faculty need support in implementing and sustaining use of these strategies. A number of STEM faculty professional development programs aim to provide such pedagogical support, and it is necessary to understand the activity and learning process for faculty in these settings. In this paper, a taxonomy for describing the learning opportunities in faculty (online) learning community meetings is presented. Faculty learning communities, meeting either in-person or (increasingly) online, are a common form of professional development. They aim to develop the pedagogical and reflective skills of participants through regular meetings centered on conversations about teaching and learning. Results The tool presented in this paper, the Taxonomy of Opportunities to Learn (TxOTL), provides a structured approach to making sense of the dynamic interactions that occur during faculty learning community meetings. The origins and development of the TxOTL are described, followed by a detailed presentation of the constructs that make up the TxOTL: communicative approach used in a conversation, the concepts developed, and the meeting segment category. The TxOTL characterizes the learning opportunities presented by a faculty learning community conversation through describing the content of the conversation as well as how participants engage in the conversation. Examples of the tool in use are provided through an application to a faculty online learning community serving instructors of a physical science curriculum. A visual representation used to compactly display the results of applying the taxonomy to a meeting is detailed as well. These examples serve to illustrate the types of claims the TxOTL facilitates. Conclusions The TxOTL allows one to examine learning opportunities available to a faculty learning community group, analyze concept development present in their conversations, track change over time in a given group, and identify patterns between meeting segment categories and communicative approaches. It is useful for researchers as well as facilitators of these STEM faculty professional development groups. The taxonomy is most applicable to faculty (online) learning communities, with limited use for workshops and K-12 professional development contexts.

This was a two-phase study that aimed to (a) develop a tool for assessing visual attention in individuals with Rett syndrome using AAC with a communication partner during naturalistic interactions in clinical settings; and (b) explore aspects of the tool's reliability, validity, and utility. The Assessment of Visual Attention in Interaction (AVAI) tool was developed to assess visual attention operationalized as focused gazes (1 s or longer) at the communication partner, an object, and a symbol set. For the study, six video-recorded interactions with nine female participants diagnosed with Rett syndrome (range: 15-52-years-old) were used to calculate intra- and inter-rater agreement, and 18 recorded interactions were analyzed to examine sensitivity to change and acceptability. There was a significant difference in the AVAI results between two conditions (with and without aided-language modeling). Inter-rater agreement ranged from moderate and strong. There was a range in scores, indicating that the AVAI could differentiate between participants. The AVAI was found to be reliable, able to detect change, and acceptable to the participants. This tool could potentially be used for evaluating interventions that utilize aided AAC.

Objective:To rigorously develop a tool which enables rapid yet comprehensive appraisal of the consumer food retail environment and provision of real-time feedback to store managers and owners, based on the ‘4Ps’ principles of marketing.Design:Multi-stage iterative approach including (1) Systematic literature review; (2) Stakeholder consultation; (3) Assessment of existing tools against identified needs; (4) Tool development; (5) Pilot testing and (6) Transition of tool to mobile application (the Store Scout app).Setting:Northern Territory, Australia.Participants:Nine remote Aboriginal community food stores; public health nutritionists, retailers, store board directors, Aboriginal community members, government representatives.Results:Forty-seven existing tools and thirty-four stakeholder interviews informed the development of the current instrument, which comprised: (1) seven product categories (Fruit & Vegetables, Drinks, Snack Foods, Meals & Convenience Foods, Meat & Seafood, Dairy & Eggs, Breads & Cereals) across the ‘4Ps’ (Product, Placement, Price, Promotion); (2) Store manager questions about context and perceived importance of key principles about the store environment and (3) a scoring and feedback component. The tool was considered feasible and acceptable by all testers.Conclusions:The developed tool addresses an unmet need to measure the consumer food retail environment across all 4Ps whilst also incorporating manager perspectives and immediate feedback. Our objectives of developing a comprehensive, feasible and acceptable instrument were achieved during pilot testing. The tool will support implementation of best practice within stores to encourage healthy food choices and has potential for broad application in retail settings locally and internationally, as well as for research purposes.

The aim of this paper is to describe the process of modification of the research tool designed for measuring the development of personal epistemology— Standardized Epistemological Understanding Assessment (SEUA). SEUA was constructed as an improved version of the instrument initially proposed by Kuhn et al. SEUA was proved to be a more reliable instrument than its predecessor; however, further changes were necessary to obtain better reliability and easier to administer form. During further research, we observed that test items used in this tool could be divided into abstract and concrete, which were approached differently by a subset of our participants. In their cases, the inability to suppress personal preferences in responding to concrete items threatened the tool’s validity, as the instrument may measure preferences rather than epistemological beliefs in this situation. SEUA was therefore modified to create a full-abstract version (SEUA-A). Both versions were administered in an online form. The performance of two versions of the tool was compared. The study results allow us to conclude that our online SEUA-A, which consists of only abstract items, is the most reliable version of the tool.

Background Several frameworks have been developed to identify essential determinants for healthcare improvement. These frameworks aim to be comprehensive, leading to the creation of long lists of determinants that are not prioritised based on being experienced as most important. Furthermore, most existing frameworks do not describe the methods or actions used to identify and address the determinants, limiting their practical value. The aim of this study is to describe the development of a tool with prioritised facilitators and barriers supplemented with methods to identify and address each determinant. The tool can be used by those performing quality improvement initiatives in healthcare practice. Methods A mixed-methods study design was used to develop the tool. First, an online survey was used to ask healthcare professionals about the determinants they experienced as most facilitating and most hindering during the performance of their quality improvement initiative. A priority score was calculated for every named determinant, and those with a priority score ≥ 20 were incorporated into the tool. Semi-structured interviews with implementation experts were performed to gain insight on how to analyse and address the determinants in our tool. Results The 25 healthcare professionals in this study experienced 64 facilitators and 66 barriers when performing their improvement initiatives. Of these, 12 facilitators and nine barriers were incorporated into the tool. Sufficient support from management of the department was identified as the most important facilitator, while having limited time to perform the initiative was considered the most important barrier. The interviews with 16 experts in implementation science led to various inputs for identifying and addressing each determinant. Important themes included maintaining adequate communication with stakeholders, keeping the initiative at a manageable size, learning by doing and being able to influence determinants. Conclusions This paper describes the development of a tool with prioritised determinants for performing quality improvement initiatives with suggestions for analysing and addressing these determinants. The tool is developed for those engaged in quality improvement initiatives in practice, so in this way it helps in bridging the research to practice gap of determinants frameworks. More research is needed to validate and develop the tool further.

This paper covers a reliability analysis as a qualitative method, especially focused on axial piston units. The method is based on Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and results in risk and reliability assessment at the components level. Especially, the development of the reliability assessment as a methodical tool is the core of the paper. Moreover, the FTA is combined with the industrial standard method known as Design Failure Mode Effects Analysis (DFMEA) which is typically used in the development phase of the design. The evaluation and the usability of the FTA methodology is analyzed in connection with field data. Thus, the deviation of the theoretical valuation from the field data was utilized as a success indicator of the method. The analysis of the fault spreading covers the assessment of component faults and links failure states with unit effects. The analysis of the axial piston unit as a system is made on idealized/theoretical design and functional behavior only. Hence, the failure rating and the effect is subsequently applied to determine the fault risk in form of the Risk Priority Number (RPN). The failure modes and effects are based on engineering experience of past decades, supported by existing DFMEAs of axial piston units. Thus, the assessment of the risk priority number is based on previous data, yielding the given severity, occurrence and detection quantification. This approach opens new opportunities of design assessment and the results show a good agreement to the damage accumulation seen in real field data. Furthermore, the connection between theoretical design assessment and field data do support the failure ranking improvement of the DFMEA.

Background We developed a 41-item tool measuring cultural differences in healthcare as perceived by foreign patients visiting South Korea. Methods The tool was tested on 256 foreign patients who visited three tertiary hospitals in Seoul, South Korea. Content validity was explored by two physicians and eight nurses working in an international healthcare department. Structural validity was tested via exploratory factor analysis and by testing two hypotheses: (1) there are perceived cultural differences between the South Korean healthcare and those of foreign patients’ home countries (one-sample t-test); and, (2) Perceived cultural differences vary among language groups (analysis of variance). We also calculated Cronbach’s alpha. Results The content validity index of the tool was 0.97. Exploratory factor analysis identified seven significant factors: hospital care and services, food, the healthcare system, communication, the healthcare facility, religion, and cultural values. The overall Cronbach’s alpha for the tool was 0.96, indicating very high internal consistency. We found that foreign patients visiting South Korean hospitals perceived that the healthcare culture differed significantly from that of their home country. The perceived cultural differences varied significantly by language group. Conclusions Nurses can use our new tool to understand the cultural differences of foreign patients and provide them with culturally competent nursing care.

Circular oriented innovation aims to address sustainability problems such as resource scarcity, pollution and climate change by (re)designing industrial products, processes, business models, and value network configurations. Although the literature identifies collaboration as crucial for circular oriented innovation—due to the complexity, risk and uncertainties involved—few tools have been developed to support it. To address this gap, we develop and test a tool that helps companies ideate to identify partners and value within circular oriented innovation. The tool integrates decision-making principles from the entrepreneurship theory of effectuation within a design thinking approach to stimulate collaborative ideation of circular propositions. We demonstrate and test the tool through six workshops, and collect data via observations, field-notes, assessment forms and user discussions. Our results show that: 1) users are receptive to visualisation and effectuation-based questions to collaboratively ideate circular propositions; 2) expert facilitation helps to maintain a circularity focus to avoid ‘business-as-usual’ ideas; and 3) differences in the maturity and scope of projects may influence the usefulness of the tool. We contribute to theory by demonstrating the integration of effectuation, design thinking, and lean experimentation approaches into a tool to advance circular oriented innovation. We contribute to practice with the tool itself that supports early and quick ideation to identify partners and perceived value. This supports companies to collaborate and advance the design of circular propositions that bring circular business model ideas closer to implementation.

Background Tools for quantification of asthma severity are limited. Objective We sought to develop a continuous measure of asthma severity, the Asthma Severity Scoring System (ASSESS), for adolescents and adults, incorporating domains of asthma control, lung function, medications, and exacerbations. Methods Baseline and 36-month longitudinal data from participants in phase 3 of the Severe Asthma Research Program (NCT01606826) were used. Scale properties, responsiveness, and a minimally important difference were determined. External replication was performed in participants enrolled in the Severe Asthma Research Program phase 1/2. The utility of ASSESS for detecting treatment response was explored in participants undergoing corticosteroid responsiveness testing with intramuscular triamcinolone and participants receiving biologics. Results ASSESS scores ranged from 0 to 20 (8.78 ± 3.9; greater scores reflect worse severity) and differed among 5 phenotypic groups. Measurement properties were acceptable. ASSESS was responsive to changes in quality of life with a minimally important difference of 2, with good specificity for outcomes of asthma improvement and worsening but poor sensitivity. Replication analyses yielded similar results, with a 2-point decrease (improvement) associated with improvements in quality of life. Participants with a 2-point or greater decrease (improvement) in ASSESS scores also had greater improvement in lung function and asthma control after triamcinolone, but these differences were limited to phenotypic clusters 3, 4, and 5. Participants treated with biologics also had a 2-point or greater decrease (improvement) in ASSESS scores overall. Conclusions The ASSESS tool is an objective measure that might be useful in epidemiologic and clinical research studies for quantification of treatment response in individual patients and phenotypic groups. However, validation studies are warranted.

VerifyThis is a series of competitions that aims to evaluate the current state of deductive tools to prove functional correctness of programs. Such proofs typically require human creativity, and hence it is not possible to measure the performance of tools independently of the skills of its user. Similarly, solutions can be judged by humans only. In this paper, we discuss the role of the human in the competition setup and explore possible future changes to the current format. Regarding the impact of VerifyThis on deductive verification research, a survey conducted among the previous participants shows that the event is a key enabler for gaining insight into other approaches, and that it fosters collaboration and exchange.

The objective of this PhD project was to propose the design of an online corpus-driven dictionary of Portuguese for university students (DOPU), aimed at both speakers of Portuguese as a mother tongue and as an additional language and covering Brazilian and European Portuguese varieties. For that, the highly innovative semi-automated approach to dictionary-making (Gantar, Kosem and Krek 2016) was adopted, which involves automatic extraction of data from the corpus and import into dictionary writing system. As a method that had never been applied for lexicographical projects of the Portuguese language, it was necessary to experiment the approach for the first time. Thus, all the required pre-requisites were newly developed, namely, a corpus of academic texts, sketch grammar, GDEX configuration, and a specially-tailored procedure for automatic extraction of data. The experiment indicated that not only can this approach be successfully used as a means to provide lexical content for the design of DOPU, but it can also be beneficial to other lexicographical projects of Portuguese.

In order to become more innovative, corporations are increasingly turning to design­-driven innovation capabilities. These capabilities are dynamic: they influence the way companies run their business and how companies create, capture and deliver value. Building design capabilities has proven difficult, given the tacit nature of design practice and the conflicting reasoning style of abduction that allows for the creative leap. However, if these enterprises don't improve, they are in danger of losing their ability to add value to the market. This may result in loss of market-share, which may lead to job destruction and the loss of valuable knowledge as communities of practice fall apart. This paper describes an iterative design process in which a tool was developed to determine which design-driven innovation capabilities a company is lacking. The tool started as a theoretical framework and was subsequently developed by prototyping with innovation managers from several large corporates. This paper contributes a new 'dynamic capabilities view' on design and innovation and a practical approach to implementing design in large firms. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-de-lille-8039372/

In order to become more innovative, corporations are increasingly turning to design­-driven innovation capabilities. These capabilities are dynamic: they influence the way companies run their business and how companies create, capture and deliver value. Building design capabilities has proven difficult, given the tacit nature of design practice and the conflicting reasoning style of abduction that allows for the creative leap. However, if these enterprises don't improve, they are in danger of losing their ability to add value to the market. This may result in loss of market-share, which may lead to job destruction and the loss of valuable knowledge as communities of practice fall apart. This paper describes an iterative design process in which a tool was developed to determine which design-driven innovation capabilities a company is lacking. The tool started as a theoretical framework and was subsequently developed by prototyping with innovation managers from several large corporates. This paper contributes a new 'dynamic capabilities view' on design and innovation and a practical approach to implementing design in large firms. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-de-lille-8039372/

Background Case investigation and reactive case detection (RACD) activities are widely-used in low transmission settings to determine the suspected origin of infection and identify and treat malaria infections nearby to the index patient household. Case investigation and RACD activities are time and resource intensive, include methodologies that vary across eliminating settings, and have no standardized metrics or tools available to monitor and evaluate them. Methods In response to this gap, a simple programme tool was developed for monitoring and evaluating (M&E) RACD activities and piloted by national malaria programmes. During the development phase, four modules of the RACD M&E tool were created to assess and evaluate key case investigation and RACD activities and costs. A pilot phase was then carried out by programme implementers between 2013 and 2015, during which malaria surveillance teams in three different settings (China, Indonesia, Thailand) piloted the tool over a period of 3 months each. This study describes summary results of the pilots and feasibility and impact of the tool on programmes. Results All three study areas implemented the RACD M&E tool modules, and pilot users reported the tool and evaluation process were helpful to identify gaps in RACD programme activities. In the 45 health facilities evaluated, 71.8% (97/135; min 35.3–max 100.0%) of the proper notification and reporting forms and 20.0% (27/135; min 0.0–max 100.0%) of standard operating procedures (SOPs) were available to support malaria elimination activities. The tool highlighted gaps in reporting key data indicators on the completeness for malaria case reporting (98.8%; min 93.3–max 100.0%), case investigations (65.6%; min 61.8–max 78.4%) and RACD activities (70.0%; min 64.7–max 100.0%). Evaluation of the SOPs showed that knowledge and practices of malaria personnel varied within and between study areas. Average monthly costs for conducting case investigation and RACD activities showed variation between study areas (min USD $844.80–max USD $2038.00) for the malaria personnel, commodities, services and other costs required to carry out the activities. Conclusion The RACD M&E tool was implemented in the three pilot areas, identifying key gaps that led to impacts on programme decision making. Study findings support the need for routine M&E of malaria case reporting, case investigation and RACD activities. Scale-up of the RACD M&E tool in malaria-eliminating settings will contribute to improved programme performance to the high level that is required to reach elimination. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12936-017-1991-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Estudios clínicos y epidemiológicos muestran que la comorbilidad, la coexistencia de varias enfermedades en un mismo paciente, tiene un gran impacto en la evolución de su estado de salud. Por lo tanto, el análisis de comorbilidades es clave para identificar nuevas estrategias preventivas y terapéuticas, trabajando hacia una medicina más personalizada. Con el fin de aprovechar el potencial del creciente volumen de información de salud disponible en la época del “big data”, esta tesis presenta el desarrollo de nuevas herramientas y recursos para la identificación de patrones de comorbilidad, basados en la información clínica y molecular. Las herramientas comoRbidity y psygenet2r presentados en esta tesis permiten analizar las comorbilidades de forma amplia y completa, y en particular, ofrecen a los usuarios la posibilidad de diseñar su propio estudio de comorbilidad según sus necesidades y especificaciones. Por otra parte, debido al importante papel que juega la información molecular en la interpretación de la causa de comorbilidades y la falta de recursos para recopilar esta información en el área específica de los trastornos mentales, una nueva base de datos, PsyGeNET, se ha desarrollado centrada en las asociaciones gen-enfermedad. En resumen, todas las herramientas desarrolladas en esta tesis, disponibles en el dominio público y aplicadas ya en estudios del campo biomédico, son de gran valor práctico para el análisis de la comorbilidad y puede ayudar a transformar la información clínica en conocimiento que puede ser analizado, interpretado por los investigadores y aplicado para lograr una práctica de la medicina más personalizada. Clinical and epidemiological studies show that comorbidity, the coexistence of disorders in a patient, has a great impact on the evolution of the health status of patients. Therefore, comorbidity analysis is key to identify new preventive and therapeutic strategies, walking through a more personalized medicine. In order to harness the power of the increasing volume of available health information in the era of big data, this thesis presents the development of new tools and resources for the identification of comorbidity patterns, based on the clinical and molecular information. The comoRbidity package and the psygenet2r one presented in this thesis provide an adequately complete and comprehensive analysis of comorbidities and in particular, offer the users the possibility to design their own comorbidity study according to their needs and specifications. Moreover, due to the significant role that plays the molecular information in interpreting the cause of disease comorbidities and the lack of resources to collect that information in the specific area of mental disorders, a new manual curated database, PsyGeNET, focus on gene-disease association has also been developed. In summary, all the tools developed in this thesis, available to the scientific community and already applied to several studies in the biomedical field, are of immense practical value for the comorbidity analysis and can aid to transform clinical information in a form of knowledge that can be analyzed, interpreted by researchers and applied leading overall, to more personalized medicine.

Memory retrieval requires both accuracy and speed. Olfactory learning of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster serves as a powerful model system to identify molecular and neuronal substrates of memory and memory-guided behavior. The behavioral expression of olfactory memory has traditionally been tested as a conditioned odor response in a simple T-maze, which measures the result, but not the speed, of odor choice. Here, we developed multiplexed T-mazes that allow video recording of the choice behavior. Automatic fly counting in each arm of the maze visualizes choice dynamics. Using this setup, we show that the transient blockade of serotonergic neurons slows down the choice, while leaving the eventual choice intact. In contrast, activation of the same neurons impairs the eventual performance leaving the choice speed unchanged. Our new apparatus contributes to elucidating how the speed and the accuracy of memory retrieval are implemented in the fly brain.

Introduction Knowledge Translation (KT) is expected to be a critical learning outcome of a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program. It continues to serve as an area of interest among educators and healthcare providers due to its importance to evidence-based practice. This study endeavored to develop a valid and reliable KT learning assessment tool in CPD. Methods The Inventory of Reflective Vignettes (IRV), an innovative approach of integrating research vignettes, was utilized in crafting the 20-item IRV-KT tool. This instrument includes knowledge creation and action as essential KT constructs. KT competency was assessed in three segments (i.e., before and after CPD event and if in a lecture) using a one-group post-posttest pre-experimental design. Health professionals who successfully completed a CPD program on a knowledge translation topic were asked to complete the IRV-KT during the pilot study (n = 10) and actual implementation (n = 45). Responses were subjected to Cronbach’s reliability and criterion-validity testing. Results The initial test of the IRV-KT tool demonstrated a high internal reliability (α = 0.97) and most items yielded acceptable validity scores. During the actual implementation, a higher reliability score of 0.98 was generated with significant correlations between the before-after segments for both KT constructs of creation (r = 0.33, p r = 0.49, p r > 0.35, p Discussion The study produced a reflective assessment tool to validly and reliably assess KT learning in a CPD. IRV-KT is seen to guide the curriculum process of CPD programs to bridge learning and healthcare outcomes.

Building information modelling (BIM) is becoming more and more important to manage complex communication and information sharing processes in collaborative building projects. A growing number of design, engineering and construction firms have made attempts to adopt BIM to enhance their services and products. However, there remain many uncertainties in the implementation strategies and actual performance. Neither the success nor the bottleneck can be justified objectively since there is no common benchmarking for firms that are applying BIM. This article describes applied research to generate an instrument for benchmarking BIM performance. The instrument aims to provide insight into the current BIM performance level of design, engineering and construction firms. The purpose is to justify the qualification of the parties to be commissioned for projects, as well as to raise awareness and establish a common strategy for innovation through BIM. The benchmarking instrument is based on a quick scan method. It combines quantitative and qualitative assessments of the 'hard' and 'soft' aspects of BIM. The use of this instrument by BIM consultants in the Netherlands has taken place since early 2010. © 2010 Earthscan.

This paper attempts to make two contributions to discussions related to TEI: (1) an analysis of how tools used for working with TEI documents encourage certain values and make certain assumptions about the work of textual editing and (2) a report on a methodological framework from outside the humanities that suggests a unique way to study such systems. Borrowing models of design research from the fields of design and human-computer interaction, I argue that prototypes can be used to create new conceptual knowledge, to investigate the values and assumptions of sociotechnical systems, and to communicate alternative visions of those systems. I first analyze an existing tool, the Versioning Machine, as a way of focusing the design of a prototype that reimagines several aspects of that original—specifically, I argue that the Versioning Machine creates an environment that to some extent assumes that TEI documents are created by one editor and intended for one instantiation. The prototype presented experiments with an alternative vision of textual editing as bringing encoded texts and interpretations together in multiple and flexible instantiations. Rather than a technical problem with an optimal solution, I approach this design process as an opportunity to ask how prototypes can give designers access to conceptual issues and allow users to enact alternative values and imagine alternative futures. This research was supported by the Modernist Versions Project, which is funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Partnership Development Grant.

Electron microscopy has a crucial role in the field of materials science and structural biology. Although electron microscopy gives lots of important results and findings, some additional simulations and image processing/reconstruction is required to get more information from the data that are collected from the experiments. For this purpose, researchers are using IMOD1 and QSTEM2 for electron microscopy analysis and simulation. IMOD is a set of programs used for tomographic reconstruction and 3D visualization and QSTEM is used for quantitative simulations of TEM and STEM images. However, IMOD and QSTEM are hard to install or use for beginners who are not familiar with computational skills. To overcome this issue, we have developed “Online IMOD and STEM tools” to allow users to perform microscopy analysis and simulation with ease. We applied several ways to launch or combine tools. Based on the original source codes of the software, we used the graphical interface builder Rappture to build a new interface to launch several tools. Also, we used the nanowhim window manager to combine and organize tools. The online version of IMOD and QSTEM will enable researchers from all over the world to use IMOD and QSTEM programs directly and easily on the nanoHUB website.

Background Sexuality is a key component of quality of life and well-being and a need to express one’s sexuality continues into old age. Staff and families in residential aged care facilities often find expressions of sexuality by residents, particularly those living with dementia, challenging and facilities often struggle to address individuals’ needs in this area. This paper describes the development of an assessment tool which enables residential aged care facilities to identify how supportive their organisation is of all residents’ expression of their sexuality, and thereby improve where required. Methods Multi-phase design using qualitative methods and a Delphi technique. Tool items were derived from the literature and verified by qualitative interviews with aged care facility staff, residents and families. The final item pool was confirmed via a reactive Delphi process. Results A final item pool of sixty-nine items grouped into seven key areas allows facilities to score their compliance with the areas identified as being supportive of older people’s expression of their sexuality in a residential aged care environment. Conclusions The sexuality assessment tool (SexAT) guides practice to support the normalization of sexuality in aged care homes and assists facilities to identify where enhancements to the environment, policies, procedures and practices, information and education/training are required. The tool also enables facilities to monitor initiatives in these areas over time.

This paper presents recent turbine research and development work on renewable energy technology development and innovation at the Institute for Ocean Technology, National Research Council Canada. The advantages of the oscillating foil turbines as opposed to horizontal axis turbines are identified and discussed. A wing-in-ground effect (WIG) application for oscillating turbine is introduced and the systematic development of a novel WIG oscillating foil turbine is briefly presented with conceptual design example. In-house simulation tool development, numerical and experimental capability development and testing facilities for turbine energy research are also briefly introduced., 5th IASTED Asian Conference on Power and Energy Systems, AsiaPES 2012, 2 April 2012 through 4 April 2012, Phuket

The paper presents a tool architecture which supports the formal verification of logic controllers for processing systems. The tool's main intention is to provide a front-end for modelling the controller as well as the processing systems. The models are automatically transformed into representations which can be analysed by existing model checking algorithms. While the first part of the paper gives an overview of the complete architecture, the second part introduces a newly developed modelling interface: Process Control Event Diagrams (PCEDs) are formally defined as a suitable means to represent the flow of information in controlled processes. The transformation of PCEDs into verifiable code is described, and the whole procedure of modelling, model transformation and verification is illustrated with a simple processing system.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the issues around health related quality of life (HRQoL) of children living with HIV (CLH) through qualitative inquiries and to formulate and validate a culturally acceptable HRQoL instrument.METHODOLOGY: The study was conducted in three districts of West Bengal, India. During the qualitative phase, we conducted 34 in-depth interviews (IDI) with caregivers of CLH and 4 focus group discussions (FGD) with 8 to 15 year old CLH. We identified items affecting HRQoL through qualitative analysis to create 2 HIV-targeted scales – ‘symptoms’ and ‘discrimination’. These 2 scales were combined with 4 generic core scales of the ‘Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL)’ to formulate the ‘Quality of life (health-related) of children living with HIV/AIDS in India (QOL-CHAI)’ instrument. In order to assess applicability and detect problems with understanding of intended meaning of items, cognitive interviews were conducted with 10 children (5 each from 8 - 12 years and 13 – 15 year age categories). In the quantitative phase we recruited 199 CLH and 194 children who were exposed but not HIV infected (HIV-affected) to evaluate psychometric properties of the QOL-CHAI instrument and to compare HRQoL between CLH and HIV-affected children.RESULTS: IDIs with caregivers identified several barriers and facilitators related to pediatric disclosure of HIV status. Further, various perceptions and experiences associated with caregiving for CLH and issues such as discrimination, adherence to medication, grievances about available health care provisions were also revealed through qualitative inquiries. The QOL-CHAI showed acceptable psychometric properties with Cronbach’s α for the scales ranging between 0.69 and 0.85. Factor structure of the QOL-CHAI was found to be roughly in agreement with the domain specific categorizations. In terms of convergent validity, symptom scale score showed significant negative correlation with CD4 cell count (Pearson’s coefficient=-0.23, p

Early design decisions influence the performance of a building significantly. Yet, computational support for performance assessment during early design is very limited. This research proposes an analysis pipeline for the accurate and comprehensive assessment of building performance by integrating simulation-based analysis tools that perform daylighting, computational fluid dynamics, energy, and contaminant transport simulations, as well as wind tunnel testing that performs velocity and pressure measurements to generate wind pressure coefficients. The pipeline is implemented in three different ways: hybrid, model-based, and empirical workflows. The hybrid workflow combines computational fluid dynamics simulations and wind tunnel testing, while the model-based and empirical workflows utilize computational fluid dynamics simulations and wind tunnel testing, respectively. In the pipeline, computational fluid dynamics is used early on to evaluate a high number of alternatives, leading to the selection of a limited number of good-performing options. Following this, wind tunnel testing is used to “correct” the initial wind pressure coefficient results for increased accuracy. Therefore, a hybrid approach operating with high accuracy that can effectively explore the design search space is needed. The pipeline is tested on a hypothetical office building with different shading device configurations. The coupling of computational and physical testing methods in a hybrid workflow significantly enhanced the accuracy of airflow-related data, which is underestimated by 15.4% using the model-based workflow. Moreover, the hybrid workflow managed the complexity of the design search space by the assessment and elimination of different design alternatives by the stepwise simulation workflow. The inclusion of shading devices also improved the accuracy of airflow-related data. If the shading devices had not been modeled for the simulations and had not been tested, the results would have overestimated the ventilation rate by 85% and underestimated the ventilation rate by 1.4%, respectively. The study's contribution is significant as it proposes a pipeline for a more accurate and comprehensive assessment of building performance, which can inform design decisions and improve the overall building's performance. © 2023 The Authors

ObjectiveConcerns about care quality have prompted calls to create workplace cultures conducive to high-quality, safe and compassionate care and to provide a supportive environment in which staff can operate effectively. How healthcare organisations assess their culture of care is an important first step in creating such cultures. This article reports on the development and validation of a tool, the Culture of Care Barometer, designed to assess perceptions of a caring culture among healthcare workers preliminary to culture change.Design/setting/participantsAn exploratory mixed methods study designed to develop and test the validity of a tool to measure ‘culture of care’ through focus groups and questionnaires. Questionnaire development was facilitated through: a literature review, experts generating items of interest and focus group discussions with healthcare staff across specialities, roles and seniority within three types of public healthcare organisations in the UK. The tool was designed to be multiprofessional and pilot tested with a sample of 467 nurses and healthcare support workers in acute care and then validated with a sample of 1698 staff working across acute, mental health and community services in England. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify dimensions underlying the Barometer.ResultsPsychometric testing resulted in the development of a 30-item questionnaire linked to four domains with retained items loading to four factors: organisational values (α=0.93, valid n=1568, M=3.7), team support (α=0.93, valid n=1557, M=3.2), relationships with colleagues (α=0.84, valid n=1617, M=4.0) and job constraints (α=0.70, valid n=1616, M=3.3).ConclusionsThe study developed a valid and reliable instrument with which to gauge the different attributes of care culture perceived by healthcare staff with potential for organisational benchmarking.