WorldWideScience

Sample records for message reference program

  1. Asynchronous Message Service Reference Implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burleigh, Scott C.

    2011-01-01

    This software provides a library of middleware functions with a simple application programming interface, enabling implementation of distributed applications in conformance with the CCSDS AMS (Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems Asynchronous Message Service) specification. The AMS service, and its protocols, implement an architectural concept under which the modules of mission systems may be designed as if they were to operate in isolation, each one producing and consuming mission information without explicit awareness of which other modules are currently operating. Communication relationships among such modules are self-configuring; this tends to minimize complexity in the development and operations of modular data systems. A system built on this model is a society of generally autonomous, inter-operating modules that may fluctuate freely over time in response to changing mission objectives, modules functional upgrades, and recovery from individual module failure. The purpose of AMS, then, is to reduce mission cost and risk by providing standard, reusable infrastructure for the exchange of information among data system modules in a manner that is simple to use, highly automated, flexible, robust, scalable, and efficient. The implementation is designed to spawn multiple threads of AMS functionality under the control of an AMS application program. These threads enable all members of an AMS-based, distributed application to discover one another in real time, subscribe to messages on specific topics, and to publish messages on specific topics. The query/reply (client/server) communication model is also supported. Message exchange is optionally subject to encryption (to support confidentiality) and authorization. Fault tolerance measures in the discovery protocol minimize the likelihood of overall application failure due to any single operational error anywhere in the system. The multi-threaded design simplifies processing while enabling application nodes to

  2. From a Distance: Robust Reference Service via Instant Messaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meulemans, Yvonne Nalani; Carr, Allison; Ly, Pearl

    2010-01-01

    Reference service via instant messaging (IM) has significant potential to benefit distance learners. There has been wide experimentation with IM to expand reference services in libraries across the US, with mixed results. Concern has been expressed that IM cannot provide the same reference experience as face-to-face interactions. One academic…

  3. Using Instant Messaging for Online Reference Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forster, Shirley

    2006-01-01

    Many libraries are using co-browsing chat products to provide reference services to their patrons, whilst their patrons are online and using the internet. The concept of such an online service is highly desirable, but many libraries are concerned that they will never be able to afford such a system. This may have changed: Instant Messaging (IM)…

  4. Future-based Static Analysis of Message Passing Programs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wytse Oortwijn

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Message passing is widely used in industry to develop programs consisting of several distributed communicating components. Developing functionally correct message passing software is very challenging due to the concurrent nature of message exchanges. Nonetheless, many safety-critical applications rely on the message passing paradigm, including air traffic control systems and emergency services, which makes proving their correctness crucial. We focus on the modular verification of MPI programs by statically verifying concrete Java code. We use separation logic to reason about local correctness and define abstractions of the communication protocol in the process algebra used by mCRL2. We call these abstractions futures as they predict how components will interact during program execution. We establish a provable link between futures and program code and analyse the abstract futures via model checking to prove global correctness. Finally, we verify a leader election protocol to demonstrate our approach.

  5. Extending IM beyond the Reference Desk: A Case Study on the Integration of Chat Reference and Library-Wide Instant Messaging Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ian Chan

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Openfire is an open source IM network and a single unified application that meets the needs of chat reference and internal communications. In Fall 2009, the California State University San Marcos (CSUSM Library began use of Openfire and other Jive software instant messaging technologies, to simultaneously improve our existing IM-integrated chat reference software and implement an internal IM network. This case study describes the chat reference and internal communications environment at the CSUSM Library and the selection, implementation, and evaluation of Openfire. In addition, the authors discuss the benefits of deploying an integrated instant messaging and chat reference network.

  6. Unpacking the performance of a mobile health information messaging program for mothers (MomConnect) in South Africa: evidence on program reach and messaging exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LeFevre, Amnesty E; Dane, Pierre; Copley, Charles J; Pienaar, Cara; Parsons, Annie Neo; Engelhard, Matt; Woods, David; Bekker, Marcha; Benjamin, Peter; Pillay, Yogan; Barron, Peter; Seebregts, Christopher John; Mohan, Diwakar

    2018-01-01

    Despite calls to address broader evidence gaps in linking digital technologies to outcome and impact level health indicators, limited attention has been paid to measuring processes pertaining to the performance of programs. In this paper, we assess the program reach and message exposure of a mobile health information messaging program for mothers (MomConnect) in South Africa. In this descriptive study, we draw from system generated data to measure exposure to the program through registration attempts and conversions, message delivery, opt-outs and drop-outs. Using a logit model, we additionally explore determinants for early registration, opt-outs and drop-outs. From August 2014 to April 2017, 1 159 431 women were registered to MomConnect; corresponding to half of women attending antenatal care 1 (ANC1) and nearly 60% of those attending ANC1 estimated to own a mobile phone. In 2016, 26% of registrations started to get women onto MomConnect did not succeed. If registration attempts were converted to successful registrations, coverage of ANC1 attendees would have been 74% in 2016 and 86% in 2017. When considered as percentage of ANC1 attendees with access to a mobile phone, addressing conversion challenges bring registration coverage to an estimated 83%-89% in 2016 and 97%-100% in 2017. Among women registered, nearly 80% of expected short messaging service messages were received. While registration coverage and message delivery success rates exceed those observed for mobile messaging programs elsewhere, study findings highlight opportunities for program improvement and reinforce the need for rigorous and continuous monitoring of delivery systems.

  7. Protocol-Based Verification of Message-Passing Parallel Programs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    López-Acosta, Hugo-Andrés; Eduardo R. B. Marques, Eduardo R. B.; Martins, Francisco

    2015-01-01

    We present ParTypes, a type-based methodology for the verification of Message Passing Interface (MPI) programs written in the C programming language. The aim is to statically verify programs against protocol specifications, enforcing properties such as fidelity and absence of deadlocks. We develo...

  8. The Utility of the Memorable Messages Framework as an Intermediary Evaluation Tool for Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in a Nutrition Education Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, LaShara A; Morgan, Susan E; Mobley, Amy R

    2016-06-01

    Additional strategies to evaluate the impact of community nutrition education programs on low-income individuals are needed. The objective of this qualitative study was to examine the use of the Memorable Messages Framework as an intermediary nutrition education program evaluation tool to determine what fruit and vegetable messages were reported as memorable and the characteristics of those memorable messages. A convenience sample of low-income, primarily African American adults (N = 58) who previously completed a series of community nutrition education lessons within an urban area of Indiana participated in a focus group (N = 8 focus groups). A lead moderator using a semistructured script conducted the focus groups to determine what information about fruits and vegetables was most memorable from the participants' nutrition lessons and why this information was memorable. All focus group audiotapes were transcribed verbatim and ATLAS.ti software was used to code and identify themes within the data. Participants cited quantity, variety, and the positive nutritional impact of eating fruits and vegetables as most memorable. Information given in the form of recipes was also cited as most memorable. For example, participants referred to the recipe demonstrations as not only fun but also key components of the program that helped with message retention and memorability. Key characteristics of memorable messages included personal relevance and message vividness. These findings indicated that the Memorable Messages Framework may serve as an intermediary program evaluation tool to identify what information and messages are most influential to participants in community nutrition education programs. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  9. Media's Moral Messages: Assessing Perceptions of Moral Content in Television Programming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glover, Rebecca J.; Garmon, Lance C.; Hull, Darrell M.

    2011-01-01

    This study extends the examination of moral content in the media by exploring moral messages in television programming and viewer characteristics predictive of the ability to perceive such messages. Generalisability analyses confirmed the reliability of the Media's Moral Messages (MMM) rating form for analysing programme content and the existence…

  10. Design Considerations in Developing a Text Messaging Program Aimed at Smoking Cessation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holtrop, Jodi Summers; Bağci Bosi, A Tülay; Emri, Salih

    2012-01-01

    Background Cell phone text messaging is gaining increasing recognition as an important tool that can be harnessed for prevention and intervention programs across a wide variety of health research applications. Despite the growing body of literature reporting positive outcomes, very little is available about the design decisions that scaffold the development of text messaging-based health interventions. What seems to be missing is documentation of the thought process of investigators in the initial stages of protocol and content development. This omission is of particular concern because many researchers seem to view text messaging as the intervention itself instead of simply a delivery mechanism. Certainly, aspects of this technology may increase participant engagement. Like other interventions, however, the content is a central driver of the behavior change. Objective To address this noted gap in the literature, we discuss the protocol decisions and content development for SMS Turkey (or Cebiniz birakin diyor in Turkish), a smoking cessation text messaging program for adult smokers in Turkey. Methods Content was developed in English and translated into Turkish. Efforts were made to ensure that the protocol and content were grounded in evidence-based smoking cessation theory, while also reflective of the cultural aspects of smoking and quitting in Turkey. Results Methodological considerations included whether to provide cell phones and whether to reimburse participants for texting costs; whether to include supplementary intervention resources (eg, personal contact); and whether to utilize unidirectional versus bidirectional messaging. Program design considerations included how messages were tailored to the quitting curve and one’s smoking status after one’s quit date, the number of messages participants received per day, and over what period of time the intervention lasted. Conclusion The content and methods of effective smoking cessation quitline programs were

  11. HealthyhornsTXT: A Text-Messaging Program to Promote College Student Health and Wellness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glowacki, Elizabeth M; Kirtz, Susan; Hughes Wagner, Jessica; Cance, Jessica Duncan; Barrera, Denise; Bernhardt, Jay M

    2018-01-01

    Text-messaging interventions positively affect health behaviors, but their use on college campuses has been limited. Text messaging serves as a relatively affordable way to communicate with large audiences and is one of the preferred modes of communication for young adults. This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a campus-wide, health text-messaging program. The subscriber pool consisted of approximately 6,000 undergraduate students from a large, southern university. From that pool, 1,095 participants (64% female; 41% White) completed a posttest survey. Text messages covered a range of health topics and information about campus resources. Research was conducted from August through December 2015. Process data were collected throughout the semester; participants' attitudes were assessed via an online survey at the program's conclusion. Students demonstrated engagement with the messages throughout the semester as evidenced by replies to text-back keywords and clicks on website links embedded within messages. Messages about sleep, stress management, and hydration were considered most relevant. The majority of participants (61%) reported increased awareness regarding their health. Text-messaging interventions are a feasible strategy to improve college student health.

  12. Feasibility and Acceptability of a Text Messaging Program for Smoking Cessation in Israel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abroms, Lorien; Hershcovitz, Ronit; Boal, Ashley; Levine, Hagai

    2015-08-01

    Text messaging programs on mobile phones have been shown to promote smoking cessation. This study investigated whether a text-messaging program for smoking cessation, adapted from QuitNowTXT, is feasible in Israel and acceptable to Israeli smokers. Participants (N = 38) were given a baseline assessment, enrolled in the adapted text messaging program, and followed-up with at 2 weeks and 4 weeks after their quit date. The authors used an intent-to-treat analysis and found that 23.7% of participants reported having quit smoking at the 4-week follow-up. Participants sent an average of 12.9 text replies during the study period, and the majority reported reading most or all of the texts. However, 34.2% of participants had unsubscribed by the 4-week follow-up. Moderate levels of satisfaction were reported; more than half agreed that they would recommend the program. Suggestions for improvement included adding advice by an expert counselor, website support, and increased customization. Results indicate that a text messaging smoking cessation program developed by modifying the content of QuitNowTXT is feasible and could be acceptable to smokers in Israel. The experience adapting and pilot testing the program can serve as a model for using QuitNowTXT to develop and implement such programs in other countries.

  13. Methods to assess youth engagement in a text messaging supplement to an effective teen pregnancy program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devine, Sharon; Leeds, Caroline; Shlay, Judith C; Leytem, Amber; Beum, Robert; Bull, Sheana

    2015-08-01

    Youth are prolific users of cell phone minutes and text messaging. Numerous programs using short message service text messaging (SMS) have been employed to help improve health behaviors and health outcomes. However, we lack information on whether and what type of interaction or engagement with SMS program content is required to realize any benefit. We explored youth engagement with an automated SMS program designed to supplement a 25-session youth development program with demonstrated efficacy for reductions in teen pregnancy. Using two years of program data, we report on youth participation in design of message content and response frequency to messages among youth enrolled in the intervention arm of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) as one indicator of engagement. There were 221 youth between the ages of 14-18 enrolled over two years in the intervention arm of the RCT. Just over half (51%) were female; 56% were Hispanic; and 27% African American. Youth were sent 40,006 messages of which 16,501 were considered bi-directional where youth were asked to text a response. Four-fifths (82%) responded at least once to a text. We found variations in response frequency by gender, age, and ethnicity. The most popular types of messages youth responded to include questions and quizzes. The first two months of the program in each year had the highest response frequency. An important next step is to assess whether higher response to SMS results in greater efficacy. This future work can facilitate greater attention to message design and content to ensure messages are engaging for the intended audience. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Advanced Messaging Concept Development Basic Safety Message

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Transportation — Contains all Basic Safety Messages (BSMs) collected during the Advanced Messaging Concept Development (AMCD) field testing program. For this project, all of the Part...

  15. Feasibility and Acceptability of a Text Message-Based Smoking Cessation Program for Young Adults in Lima, Peru: Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blitchtein-Winicki, Dora; Zevallos, Karine; Samolski, M Reuven; Requena, David; Velarde, Chaska; Briceño, Patricia; Piazza, Marina; Ybarra, Michele L

    2017-08-04

    In Peru's urban communities, tobacco smoking generally starts during adolescence and smoking prevalence is highest among young adults. Each year, many attempt to quit, but access to smoking cessation programs is limited. Evidence-based text messaging smoking cessation programs are an alternative that has been successfully implemented in high-income countries, but not yet in middle- and low-income countries with limited tobacco control policies. The objective was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of an short message service (SMS) text message-based cognitive behavioral smoking cessation program for young adults in Lima, Peru. Recruitment included using flyers and social media ads to direct young adults interested in quitting smoking to a website where interested participants completed a Google Drive survey. Inclusion criteria were being between ages 18 and 25 years, smoking at least four cigarettes per day at least 6 days per week, willing to quit in the next 30 days, owning a mobile phone, using SMS text messaging at least once in past year, and residing in Lima. Participants joined one of three phases: (1) focus groups and in-depth interviews whose feedback was used to develop the SMS text messages, (2) validating the SMS text messages, and (3) a pilot of the SMS text message-based smoking cessation program to test its feasibility and acceptability among young adults in Lima. The outcome measures included adherence to the SMS text message-based program, acceptability of content, and smoking abstinence self-report on days 2, 7, and 30 after quitting. Of 639 participants who completed initial online surveys, 42 met the inclusion criteria and 35 agreed to participate (focus groups and interviews: n=12; validate SMS text messages: n=8; program pilot: n=15). Common quit practices and beliefs emerged from participants in the focus groups and interviews informed the content, tone, and delivery schedule of the messages used in the SMS text message smoking

  16. Communicating with the workforce during emergencies: developing an employee text messaging program in a local public health setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karasz, Hilary N; Bogan, Sharon; Bosslet, Lindsay

    2014-01-01

    Short message service (SMS) text messaging can be useful for communicating information to public health employees and improving workforce situational awareness during emergencies. We sought to understand how the 1,500 employees at Public Health--Seattle & King County, Washington, perceived barriers to and benefits of participation in a voluntary, employer-based SMS program. Based on employee feedback, we developed the system, marketed it, and invited employees to opt in. The system was tested during an ice storm in January 2012. Employee concerns about opting into an SMS program included possible work encroachment during non-work time and receiving excessive irrelevant messages. Employees who received messages during the weather event reported high levels of satisfaction and perceived utility from the program. We conclude that text messaging is a feasible form of communication with employees during emergencies. Care should be taken to design and deploy a program that maximizes employee satisfaction.

  17. Text Messaging Based Obesity Prevention Program for Parents of Pre-Adolescent African American Girls

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chishinga Callender

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available African American girls are at a greater risk of obesity than their nonminority peers. Parents have the primary control over the home environment and play an important role in the child obesity prevention. Obesity prevention programs to help parents develop an obesity-preventive home environment are needed. The purpose of this study was to collect formative research from parents of 8–10-year old African American girls about perceptions, expectations, and content for a text messaging based program. Mothers (n = 30 participated in surveys and interviews to inform message development and content. A professional expert panel (n = 10 reviewed draft text messages via a survey. All the mothers reported owning a cellphone with an unlimited texting plan, and they used their cellphones for texting (90.0% and accessing the Internet (100.0%. The majority were interested in receiving text messages about healthy eating and physical activity (86.7%. Interviews confirmed survey findings. One hundred and seven text messages promoting an obesity-preventive home environment were developed. The expert panel and parents reported positive reactions to draft text messages. This research provides evidence that mobile health (mHealth interventions appeal to parents of African American girls and they have ready access to the technology with which to support this approach.

  18. Corporate social marketing: message design to recruit program participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, David R; Blue, Carolyn L; Coster, Daniel C; Chrysler, Lisa M

    2002-01-01

    To identify variables for a corporate social marketing (SM) health message based on the 4 Ps of SM in order to recruit future participants to an existing national, commercial, self-administered weight-loss program. A systematically evaluated, author-developed, 310-response survey was administered to a random sample of 270 respondents. A previously established research plan was used to empirically identify the audience segments and the "marketing mix" appropriate for the total sample and each segment. Tangible product, pertaining to the unique program features, should be emphasized rather than positive core product and outcome expectation related to use of the program.

  19. Stepwise Development a Text Messaging-Based Bullying Prevention Program for Middle School Students (BullyDown).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ybarra, Michele L; Prescott, Tonya L; Espelage, Dorothy L

    2016-06-13

    Bullying is a significant public health issue among middle school-aged youth. Current prevention programs have only a moderate impact. Cell phone text messaging technology (mHealth) can potentially overcome existing challenges, particularly those that are structural (e.g., limited time that teachers can devote to non-educational topics). To date, the description of the development of empirically-based mHealth-delivered bullying prevention programs are lacking in the literature. To describe the development of BullyDown, a text messaging-based bullying prevention program for middle school students, guided by the Social-Emotional Learning model. We implemented five activities over a 12-month period: (1) national focus groups (n=37 youth) to gather acceptability of program components; (2) development of content; (3) a national Content Advisory Team (n=9 youth) to confirm content tone; and (4) an internal team test of software functionality followed by a beta test (n=22 youth) to confirm the enrollment protocol and the feasibility and acceptability of the program. Recruitment experiences suggested that Facebook advertising was less efficient than using a recruitment firm to recruit youth nationally, and recruiting within schools for the pilot test was feasible. Feedback from the Content Advisory Team suggests a preference for 2-4 brief text messages per day. Beta test findings suggest that BullyDown is both feasible and acceptable: 100% of youth completed the follow-up survey, 86% of whom liked the program. Text messaging appears to be a feasible and acceptable delivery method for bullying prevention programming delivered to middle school students.

  20. Program reference schedule baseline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-07-01

    This Program Reference Schedule Baseline (PRSB) provides the baseline Program-level milestones and associated schedules for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program. It integrates all Program-level schedule-related activities. This schedule baseline will be used by the Director, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), and his staff to monitor compliance with Program objectives. Chapter 1 includes brief discussions concerning the relationship of the PRSB to the Program Reference Cost Baseline (PRCB), the Mission Plan, the Project Decision Schedule, the Total System Life Cycle Cost report, the Program Management Information System report, the Program Milestone Review, annual budget preparation, and system element plans. Chapter 2 includes the identification of all Level 0, or Program-level, milestones, while Chapter 3 presents and discusses the critical path schedules that correspond to those Level 0 milestones

  1. Analysis and lessons learned instituting an instant messaging reference service at an academic health sciences library: the first year.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kipnis, Daniel G; Kaplan, Gary E

    2008-01-01

    In February 2006, Thomas Jefferson University went live with a new instant messaging (IM) service. This paper reviews the first 102 transcripts to examine question types and usage patterns. In addition, the paper highlights lessons learned in instituting the service. IM reference represents a small proportion of reference questions, but based on user feedback and technological improvements, the library has decided to continue the service.

  2. Getting Your Message Across: Mobile Phone Text Messaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beecher, Constance C.; Hayungs, Lori

    2017-01-01

    Want to send a message that 99% of your audience will read? Many Extension professionals are familiar with using social media tools to enhance Extension programming. Extension professionals may be less familiar with the use of mobile phone text-based marketing tools. The purpose of this article is to introduce SMS (short message system) marketing…

  3. Secret Message Decryption: Group Consulting Projects Using Matrices and Linear Programming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurski, Katharine F.

    2009-01-01

    We describe two short group projects for finite mathematics students that incorporate matrices and linear programming into fictional consulting requests presented as a letter to the students. The students are required to use mathematics to decrypt secret messages in one project involving matrix multiplication and inversion. The second project…

  4. Assessing the National Cancer Institute's SmokefreeMOM Text-Messaging Program for Pregnant Smokers: Pilot Randomized Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abroms, Lorien C; Chiang, Shawn; Macherelli, Laura; Leavitt, Leah; Montgomery, Margaret

    2017-10-03

    Automated text messages on mobile phones have been found to be effective for smoking cessation in adult smokers. This study aims to test the acceptability and feasibility of SmokefreeMOM, a national smoking cessation text-messaging program for pregnant smokers. Participants were recruited from prenatal care and randomized to receive SmokefreeMOM (n=55), an automated smoking cessation text-messaging program, or a control text message quitline referral (n=44). Participants were surveyed by phone at baseline and at 1 month and 3 months after enrollment. Results indicate that the SmokefreeMOM program was highly rated overall and rated more favorably than the control condition in its helpfulness at 3-month follow-up (Pmessaging at both 1-month and 3-month follow-ups (Pmessages, and few participants unsubscribed from the program. There were no significant differences between groups on the use of extra treatment resources or on smoking-related outcomes. However, at the 3-month follow-up, some outcomes favored the intervention group. SmokefreeMOM is acceptable for pregnant smokers. It is recommended that SmokefreeMOM be further refined and evaluated. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02412956; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02412956 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6tcmeRnbC). ©Lorien C Abroms, Shawn Chiang, Laura Macherelli, Leah Leavitt, Margaret Montgomery. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 03.10.2017.

  5. Improving Type Error Messages in OCaml

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arthur Charguéraud

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Cryptic type error messages are a major obstacle to learning OCaml or other ML-based languages. In many cases, error messages cannot be interpreted without a sufficiently-precise model of the type inference algorithm. The problem of improving type error messages in ML has received quite a bit of attention over the past two decades, and many different strategies have been considered. The challenge is not only to produce error messages that are both sufficiently concise and systematically useful to the programmer, but also to handle a full-blown programming language and to cope with large-sized programs efficiently. In this work, we present a modification to the traditional ML type inference algorithm implemented in OCaml that, by significantly reducing the left-to-right bias, allows us to report error messages that are more helpful to the programmer. Our algorithm remains fully predictable and continues to produce fairly concise error messages that always help making some progress towards fixing the code. We implemented our approach as a patch to the OCaml compiler in just a few hundred lines of code. We believe that this patch should benefit not just to beginners, but also to experienced programs developing large-scale OCaml programs.

  6. Efficacy of Web-Based Collection of Strength-Based Testimonials for Text Message Extension of Youth Suicide Prevention Program: Randomized Controlled Experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiha, Phyo; Pisani, Anthony R; Gurditta, Kunali; Cherry, Erin; Peterson, Derick R; Kautz, Henry; Wyman, Peter A

    2016-11-09

    Equipping members of a target population to deliver effective public health messaging to peers is an established approach in health promotion. The Sources of Strength program has demonstrated the promise of this approach for "upstream" youth suicide prevention. Text messaging is a well-established medium for promoting behavior change and is the dominant communication medium for youth. In order for peer 'opinion leader' programs like Sources of Strength to use scalable, wide-reaching media such as text messaging to spread peer-to-peer messages, they need techniques for assisting peer opinion leaders in creating effective testimonials to engage peers and match program goals. We developed a Web interface, called Stories of Personal Resilience in Managing Emotions (StoryPRIME), which helps peer opinion leaders write effective, short-form messages that can be delivered to the target population in youth suicide prevention program like Sources of Strength. To determine the efficacy of StoryPRIME, a Web-based interface for remotely eliciting high school peer leaders, and helping them produce high-quality, personal testimonials for use in a text messaging extension of an evidence-based, peer-led suicide prevention program. In a double-blind randomized controlled experiment, 36 high school students wrote testimonials with or without eliciting from the StoryPRIME interface. The interface was created in the context of Sources of Strength-an evidence-based youth suicide prevention program-and 24 ninth graders rated these testimonials on relatability, usefulness/relevance, intrigue, and likability. Testimonials written with the StoryPRIME interface were rated as more relatable, useful/relevant, intriguing, and likable than testimonials written without StoryPRIME, P=.054. StoryPRIME is a promising way to elicit high-quality, personal testimonials from youth for prevention programs that draw on members of a target population to spread public health messages. ©Phyo Thiha, Anthony

  7. Starting Off on the Best Foot: A Review of Message Framing and Message Tailoring, and Recommendations for the Comprehensive Messaging Strategy for Sustained Behavior Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pope, J Paige; Pelletier, Luc; Guertin, Camille

    2018-09-01

    Health promotion programs represent a salient means through which physical activity promoters can cultivate positive health behavior change and maintenance. The messages communicated within these programs serve as an essential component as they are often used to convey valuable information, resources, or tools that facilitate health behavior initiation and sustained engagement. Identifying the most effective way to communicate health promotion information is, therefore, of considerable importance to ensuring that people not only attend to these messages, but also connect with and internalize the information conveyed within them. This paper was written to (1) summarize and evaluate the most prominent reviewed research approaches of message framing and tailoring to message design; and (2) offer a comprehensive messaging strategy to promote sustained health behavior change. A review of the literature demonstrated that a messaging strategy that has consistently led to healthy behavior change has yet to be identified. Furthermore, scholars have articulated that a multi-theoretical approach that places emphasis on facilitating motivation and healthy behavior change needs to be employed. Thus, this paper proposes and provides recommendations for employing the Comprehensive Messaging Strategy for Sustained Behavior Change (CMSSBC), which advocates tailoring messages to peoples' stage of change and framing them to focus on self-determined motives and intrinsic goals.

  8. System of message for gamma-radiation monitor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bolic, M.D.; Koturovic, A.M.

    2001-01-01

    Paper describes a system of voice messages for gamma-radiation monitor based on PC. The systems reproduces recorded messages that is simpler than the process of their synthesis. Message choice is based on combination of recorded digital results and/or received reference messages or warnings. The system of generation of voice messages applies the Windows based software. The total memory array required to create independent voice system is maximum 1.7 mbyte. The monitor may be used for continuous monitoring of radioactivity level with 5-8 s period of message repetition. Another option of the system operation is based on monitor application for the environment monitoring. Period of messages in this case is equal to 5-30 min [ru

  9. Text messaging data collection for monitoring an infant feeding intervention program in rural China: feasibility study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ye; Wang, Wei; van Velthoven, Michelle Helena; Chen, Li; Car, Josip; Rudan, Igor; Zhang, Yanfeng; Wu, Qiong; Du, Xiaozhen; Scherpbier, Robert W

    2013-12-04

    An effective data collection method is crucial for high quality monitoring of health interventions. The traditional face-to-face data collection method is labor intensive, expensive, and time consuming. With the rapid increase of mobile phone subscribers, text messaging has the potential to be used for evaluation of population health interventions in rural China. The objective of this study was to explore the feasibility of using text messaging as a data collection tool to monitor an infant feeding intervention program. Participants were caregivers of children aged 0 to 23 months in rural China who participated in an infant feeding health education program. We used the test-retest method. First, we collected data with a text messaging survey and then with a face-to-face survey for 2 periods of 3 days. We compared the response rate, data agreement, costs, and participants' acceptability of the two methods. Also, we interviewed participants to explore their reasons for not responding to the text messages and the reasons for disagreement in the two methods. In addition, we evaluated the most appropriate time during the day for sending text messages. We included 258 participants; 99 (38.4%) participated in the text messaging survey and 177 (68.6%) in the face-to-face survey. Compared with the face-to-face survey, the text messaging survey had much lower response rates to at least one question (38.4% vs 68.6%) and to all 7 questions (27.9% vs 67.4%) with moderate data agreement (most kappa values between .5 and .75, the intraclass correlation coefficients between .53 to .72). Participants who took part in both surveys gave the same acceptability rating for both methods (median 4.0 for both on a 5-point scale, 1=disliked very much and 5=liked very much). The costs per questionnaire for the text messaging method were much lower than the costs for the face-to-face method: ¥19.7 (US $3.13) versus ¥33.9 (US $5.39) for all questionnaires, and ¥27.1 (US $4.31) versus ¥34

  10. 'Nuclearelectrica' Company messages for a broadly acceptable nuclear power program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stiopol, Mihaela; Bilegan, C. Iosif

    2001-01-01

    Romania started the nuclear power program about 20 years ago, by a high level Government decision. After 1989 the former Ministry of Electrical Power was transformed into a state owned company, RENEL, in which nuclear activities were also included. RENEL was a monopoly system responsible for production, transport and distribution of electricity in Romania. The deregulation process in the power sector was many times asked by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, to split this monopoly system in separately activities: Production, Transport and Distribution. The first step occurred in July 1998, when the nuclear activities were externalized from RENEL. In nuclear sector two new entities were created: SN 'Nuclearelectrica' SA, a state own company that includes three branches: - Nuclear Power Production - Cernavoda NPP Unit 1; - Nuclear Fuel Plant-Pitesti; - Project Development Branch - Cernavoda Units 2-5. The second entity is the so-called Romanian Authority (Autonomous Reggie) for Nuclear Activities (RAAN), including as branches the heavy water fabrication plant 'ROMAG PROD', the Nuclear Research Institute (ICN) Pitesti and the Nuclear Engineering and Design Institute (CITON) Bucharest. The rest of conventional power sector was renamed, namely, CONEL. The organization process continued and in August 2000, by a Government Ordinance the CONEL was split into the following companies: - one for hydropower production 'HIDROELECTRICA'; - one for thermal power production 'TERMOELECTRICA'; - one for transport 'TRANSELECTRICA'; - one for distribution 'ELECTRICA'. The goal of a third step of restructuring process is the privatization in the power field. The steps of Romanian Power Sector Restructuring are presented. Since 1991 a Public Information program has been established. Depending on the evolution of the construction of the first Romanian nuclear power station, during the years, the messages changed. Everybody working in the nuclear field knows how difficult is

  11. Our messages for a broadly acceptable national nuclear program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stiopol, Mihaela; Bilegan, Iosif Constantin

    2001-01-01

    Full text: Romania started the nuclear power program some 20 years ago by a high level Government decision. During that time no one asked and nobody explained to the people why a NPP is so much required. Before revolution was forbidden to talk or to write about nuclear matters. After the revolution many changes have occurred even in this field. The former ministry of electrical power was transformed into a state owned company 'RENEL' in which were also included the nuclear activities. RENEL was a monopoly responsible for production, transportation and distribution of electricity in Romania. The restructuring process in the energy field was many times asked by the World Bank and International monetary Fund - to split this monopoly system in separately activities: Production, Transportation and Distribution. The first step happened in July 1998, when the nuclear activities were externalised from RENEL, and two new entities were created: 'Nuclearelectrica' National Company - a state own company which includes three branches: - Nuclear Power Production - Cernavoda NPP - Unit 1; - Nuclear Fuel Plant - Pitesti; - Project Development Branch - Cernavoda - Unit 2-5. The second entity is so-called Autonomous Reggie for Nuclear Activities including the Heavy Water production, Nuclear Research Institute and the nuclear engineering activities - CITON. The restructuring process continued and in August 2000, By a Government Ordinance the rest of RENEL was split in more companies: - one for Hydropower production; - one for thermal power production; - one for transport; - one for distribution. The goal of a third step of restructuring process is the privatisation in the power field. Since 1991 a Public Information program has been established and it followed the usual steps. Depending on the evolution of the construction of the first Romanian nuclear power during the years the messages changed. Everybody working in the nuclear field knows now how difficult is to build the

  12. Boys to Men: Sports Media. Messages about Masculinity: A National Poll of Children, Focus Groups, and Content Analysis of Sports Programs and Commercials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Messner, Mike; Hunt, Darnell; Dunbar, Michele; Chen, Perry; Lapp, Joan; Miller, Patti

    Sports programming plays a significant role in the media messages that American boys receive today. To explore the messages that sports programming presents to its audience, this report relates the findings of a study that analyzed a representative selection of sports programs and their accompanying commercials; also presented are findings from a…

  13. Text Messaging Data Collection for Monitoring an Infant Feeding Intervention Program in Rural China: Feasibility Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Velthoven, Michelle Helena; Chen, Li; Car, Josip; Rudan, Igor; Wu, Qiong; Du, Xiaozhen; Scherpbier, Robert W

    2013-01-01

    Background An effective data collection method is crucial for high quality monitoring of health interventions. The traditional face-to-face data collection method is labor intensive, expensive, and time consuming. With the rapid increase of mobile phone subscribers, text messaging has the potential to be used for evaluation of population health interventions in rural China. Objective The objective of this study was to explore the feasibility of using text messaging as a data collection tool to monitor an infant feeding intervention program. Methods Participants were caregivers of children aged 0 to 23 months in rural China who participated in an infant feeding health education program. We used the test-retest method. First, we collected data with a text messaging survey and then with a face-to-face survey for 2 periods of 3 days. We compared the response rate, data agreement, costs, and participants’ acceptability of the two methods. Also, we interviewed participants to explore their reasons for not responding to the text messages and the reasons for disagreement in the two methods. In addition, we evaluated the most appropriate time during the day for sending text messages. Results We included 258 participants; 99 (38.4%) participated in the text messaging survey and 177 (68.6%) in the face-to-face survey. Compared with the face-to-face survey, the text messaging survey had much lower response rates to at least one question (38.4% vs 68.6%) and to all 7 questions (27.9% vs 67.4%) with moderate data agreement (most kappa values between .5 and .75, the intraclass correlation coefficients between .53 to .72). Participants who took part in both surveys gave the same acceptability rating for both methods (median 4.0 for both on a 5-point scale, 1=disliked very much and 5=liked very much). The costs per questionnaire for the text messaging method were much lower than the costs for the face-to-face method: ¥19.7 (US $3.13) versus ¥33.9 (US $5.39) for all

  14. The Utility of the Memorable Messages Framework as an Intermediary Evaluation Tool for Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in a Nutrition Education Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, LaShara A.; Morgan, Susan E.; Mobley, Amy R.

    2016-01-01

    Additional strategies to evaluate the impact of community nutrition education programs on low-income individuals are needed. The objective of this qualitative study was to examine the use of the Memorable Messages Framework as an intermediary nutrition education program evaluation tool to determine what fruit and vegetable messages were reported…

  15. Baseline Motivation Type as a Predictor of Dropout in a Healthy Eating Text Messaging Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coa, Kisha; Patrick, Heather

    2016-09-29

    Growing evidence suggests that text messaging programs are effective in facilitating health behavior change. However, high dropout rates limit the potential effectiveness of these programs. This paper describes patterns of early dropout in the HealthyYou text (HYTxt) program, with a focus on the impact of baseline motivation quality on dropout, as characterized by Self-Determination Theory (SDT). This analysis included 193 users of HYTxt, a diet and physical activity text messaging intervention developed by the US National Cancer Institute. Descriptive statistics were computed, and logistic regression models were run to examine the association between baseline motivation type and early program dropout. Overall, 43.0% (83/193) of users dropped out of the program; of these, 65.1% (54/83; 28.0% of all users) did so within the first 2 weeks. Users with higher autonomous motivation had significantly lower odds of dropping out within the first 2 weeks. A one unit increase in autonomous motivation was associated with lower odds (odds ratio 0.44, 95% CI 0.24-0.81) of early dropout, which persisted after adjusting for level of controlled motivation. Applying SDT-based strategies to enhance autonomous motivation might reduce early dropout rates, which can improve program exposure and effectiveness.

  16. Engineered cell-cell communication via DNA messaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ortiz Monica E

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Evolution has selected for organisms that benefit from genetically encoded cell-cell communication. Engineers have begun to repurpose elements of natural communication systems to realize programmed pattern formation and coordinate other population-level behaviors. However, existing engineered systems rely on system-specific small molecules to send molecular messages among cells. Thus, the information transmission capacity of current engineered biological communication systems is physically limited by specific biomolecules that are capable of sending only a single message, typically “regulate transcription.” Results We have engineered a cell-cell communication platform using bacteriophage M13 gene products to autonomously package and deliver heterologous DNA messages of varying lengths and encoded functions. We demonstrate the decoupling of messages from a common communication channel via the autonomous transmission of various arbitrary genetic messages. Further, we increase the range of engineered DNA messaging across semisolid media by linking message transmission or receipt to active cellular chemotaxis. Conclusions We demonstrate decoupling of a communication channel from message transmission within engineered biological systems via the autonomous targeted transduction of user-specified heterologous DNA messages. We also demonstrate that bacteriophage M13 particle production and message transduction occurs among chemotactic bacteria. We use chemotaxis to improve the range of DNA messaging, increasing both transmission distance and communication bit rates relative to existing small molecule-based communication systems. We postulate that integration of different engineered cell-cell communication platforms will allow for more complex spatial programming of dynamic cellular consortia.

  17. Application of a Tsunami Warning Message Metric to refine NOAA NWS Tsunami Warning Messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregg, C. E.; Johnston, D.; Sorensen, J.; Whitmore, P.

    2013-12-01

    In 2010, the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) funded a three year project to integrate social science into their Tsunami Program. One of three primary requirements of the grant was to make improvements to tsunami warning messages of the NWS' two Tsunami Warning Centers- the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC) in Palmer, Alaska and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. We conducted focus group meetings with a purposive sample of local, state and Federal stakeholders and emergency managers in six states (AK, WA, OR, CA, HI and NC) and two US Territories (US Virgin Islands and American Samoa) to qualitatively asses information needs in tsunami warning messages using WCATWC tsunami messages for the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami event. We also reviewed research literature on behavioral response to warnings to develop a tsunami warning message metric that could be used to guide revisions to tsunami warning messages of both warning centers. The message metric is divided into categories of Message Content, Style, Order and Formatting and Receiver Characteristics. A message is evaluated by cross-referencing the message with the operational definitions of metric factors. Findings are then used to guide revisions of the message until the characteristics of each factor are met. Using findings from this project and findings from a parallel NWS Warning Tiger Team study led by T. Nicolini, the WCATWC implemented the first of two phases of revisions to their warning messages in November 2012. A second phase of additional changes, which will fully implement the redesign of messages based on the metric, is in progress. The resulting messages will reflect current state-of-the-art knowledge on warning message effectiveness. Here we present the message metric; evidence-based rational for message factors; and examples of previous, existing and proposed messages.

  18. Lessons learned: program messaging in gender-transformative work with men and boys in South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viitanen, Amanda P.; Colvin, Christopher J.

    2015-01-01

    Background Adherence to traditional notions of masculinity has been identified as an important driver in the perpetuation of numerous health and social problems, including gender-based violence and HIV. With the largest generalized HIV epidemic in the world and high rates of violence against women, the need for gender-transformative work in South Africa is broadly accepted in activist circles and at the national and community level. Because of the integral role men play in both of these epidemics, initiatives and strategies that engage men in promoting gender equality have emerged over the last decade and the evidence base supporting the effectiveness of masculinities-based interventions is growing. However, little research exists on men's receptivity to the messages delivered in these programs. Objective This article examines the current practices among a set of gender-transformation initiatives in South Africa to see what lessons can be derived from them. We look at how South African men participating in these programs responded to three thematic messages frequently found in gender-transformative work: 1) the ‘costs of masculinity’ men pay for adherence to harmful gender constructs; 2) multiple forms of masculinity; and 3) the human rights framework and contested rights. Design This article synthesizes qualitative findings from in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and ethnographic research with men participating in several gender- and health-intervention programs in South Africa. The data were collected between 2007 and 2011 and synthesized using some of the basic principles of meta-ethnography. Results and conclusions Overall, men were receptive to the three thematic messages reviewed; they were able to see them in the context of their own lives and the messages facilitated rich dialog among participants. However, some men were more ambivalent toward shifting gender notions and some even adamantly resisted engaging in discussions over gender

  19. Lessons learned: program messaging in gender-transformative work with men and boys in South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viitanen, Amanda P; Colvin, Christopher J

    2015-01-01

    Adherence to traditional notions of masculinity has been identified as an important driver in the perpetuation of numerous health and social problems, including gender-based violence and HIV. With the largest generalized HIV epidemic in the world and high rates of violence against women, the need for gender-transformative work in South Africa is broadly accepted in activist circles and at the national and community level. Because of the integral role men play in both of these epidemics, initiatives and strategies that engage men in promoting gender equality have emerged over the last decade and the evidence base supporting the effectiveness of masculinities-based interventions is growing. However, little research exists on men's receptivity to the messages delivered in these programs. This article examines the current practices among a set of gender-transformation initiatives in South Africa to see what lessons can be derived from them. We look at how South African men participating in these programs responded to three thematic messages frequently found in gender-transformative work: 1) the 'costs of masculinity' men pay for adherence to harmful gender constructs; 2) multiple forms of masculinity; and 3) the human rights framework and contested rights. This article synthesizes qualitative findings from in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and ethnographic research with men participating in several gender- and health-intervention programs in South Africa. The data were collected between 2007 and 2011 and synthesized using some of the basic principles of meta-ethnography. Overall, men were receptive to the three thematic messages reviewed; they were able to see them in the context of their own lives and the messages facilitated rich dialog among participants. However, some men were more ambivalent toward shifting gender notions and some even adamantly resisted engaging in discussions over gender equality. More research is needed to gauge the long-term impact

  20. Public's Cognitive and Emotional Responses to Nuclear Messages: Implications for Effective Nuclear Communication Programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hyo Jung

    2017-01-01

    The public debate over the use of nuclear energy is not limited to the area of technology, and has become subject to the public's subjective perceptions and emotions regarding the issue. This study empirically demonstrated the advantage of loss framing in improving public's favorable responses toward nuclear energy messages. Such framing effect was found to be moderated by individuals' daily use of online news. The findings of this study suggest that public's cognitive and emotional responses toward nuclear messages should be carefully considered when planning effective nuclear communication program.

  1. Enhancing the effectiveness of antismoking messages via self-congruent appeals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chingching

    2009-01-01

    A self-congruent effect model was applied to understand adolescents' responses to antismoking advertising that referred to the self or others. Experiment 1 showed that self-referring ads generated more negative smoking attitudes than other-referring ads among adolescents with independent self-construals, whereas other-referring ads generated more negative smoking attitudes than self-referring ads among adolescents with interdependent self-construals. A survey further showed that smokers rated themselves higher on a measure of independent self-construal than nonsmokers. Experiment 2 then found that self-referring ads are more effective than other-referring ads for smokers, who have independent self-construals. Findings supported the idea that health communication campaign designers can maximize message effectiveness by developing different messages for different target segments of the population based on their self-construals.

  2. Comparing tailored and untailored text messages for smoking cessation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skov-Ettrup, L S; Ringgaard, L W; Dalum, P

    2014-01-01

    The aim was to compare the effectiveness of untailored text messages for smoking cessation to tailored text messages delivered at a higher frequency. From February 2007 to August 2009, 2030 users of an internet-based smoking cessation program with optional text message support aged 15-25 years were...... of text messages increases quit rates among young smokers....

  3. A content analysis of food references in television programming specifically targeting viewing audiences aged 11 to 14 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roseman, Mary G; Poor, Morgan; Stephenson, Tammy J

    2014-01-01

    Examine food in cable television programming specifically targeting 11- to 14-year-olds ("tweens"). Content analysis of food-related scenes (FRS)-in which food was shown, mentioned, and/or consumed-in 880 minutes of programming was conducted. Five days of afternoon/early evening television programs on the Disney Channel. Food references were compared with USDA MyPlate and classified according to modified Ratio of Recommended to Restricted Food Components. The authors found 331 FRS, averaging 16.6 scenes/h. Preponderance of FRS was physiological needs (40.7%), followed by display (10%), party (8.5%), social event (8%), and retail store (6.6%). Snacks dominated 41% of FRS, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner were much lower in frequency. Half of FRS was visual only, followed by verbal only. Food references were not congruent with MyPlate recommendations; 42% of food items did not fit into MyPlate food groups. Only 24% of food items were fruit or vegetables, which is considerably less than recommended by MyPlate guidelines. Using modified Ratio of Recommended to Restricted Food Components, 66% of food items scored food, which likely influences tweens' attitudes and behaviors. Television programming may consider past approaches to tobacco smoking and health messages on television. More attention is warranted regarding television programming by nutrition educators, researchers, health professionals, and industry specialists. Copyright © 2014 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. The Relation of Source Credibility and Message Frequency to Program Evaluation and Self-Confidence of Students in a Job Shadowing Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linnehan, Frank

    2004-01-01

    Using a pre- and post-test design, this study examined the relation of an adult's credibility and message frequency to the beliefs of female high school students participating in a job-shadowing program. Hypotheses were based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model of attitude formation and change. Findings indicate that credibility of the adult…

  5. Stepwise Development of a Text Messaging-Based Bullying Prevention Program for Middle School Students (BullyDown)

    OpenAIRE

    Ybarra, Michele L; Prescott, Tonya L; Espelage, Dorothy L

    2016-01-01

    Background Bullying is a significant public health issue among middle school-aged youth. Current prevention programs have only a moderate impact. Cell phone text messaging technology (mHealth) can potentially overcome existing challenges, particularly those that are structural (e.g., limited time that teachers can devote to non-educational topics). To date, the description of the development of empirically-based mHealth-delivered bullying prevention programs are lacking in the literature. Obj...

  6. Users of Virtual Reference Are More Satisfied with the Service They Receive than the Providers of that Service Think They Are. A Review of: Hansen, D., Johnson, M., Norton, E., & McDonough, A. (2009. Virtual provider pessimism: Analysing instant messaging reference encounters with the pair perception comparison method. Information Research, 14(4. Retrieved from http://informationr.net/ir/14-4/ paper416.html

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carol D. Howe

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective – To examine provider pessimism by comparing user and provider perception of the same instant messaging reference transaction.Design – Instant messaging users and providers completed post-reference transaction surveys which were analyzed using the pair perception comparison method.Setting – A large research university in the United States.Subjects – Two hundred undergraduate journalism students (users of the instant messaging service and 51 Master of Library Science (MLS students enrolled in a reference services class (providers of the instant messaging service.Methods – The authors created a research help webpage from which users could access the instant messaging service. Prior to service availability, providers received reference instruction and demonstrated reference aptitude through in-class activities. The authors briefed providers on the project and provided a wiki containing resources they might need during reference transactions. Providers worked in two-hour shifts, and two providers were available during each shift. The service was available for one week while potential users completed a journalism assignment. The authors asked both users and providers of the service to complete an online survey at the conclusion of the reference transaction. Users and providers completed different surveys, but both types included the following four elements: questions to aid in matching a user to a provider; questions about satisfaction with the service based on guidelines put forth by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA; open-ended questions about the reference transaction; and questions regarding demographics, prior reference service usage, and knowledge of instant messaging. There were 55 valid reference transactions, and from those, the authors matched 26 pairs of user and provider surveys. The authors analyzed paired surveys to (a compare the user’s perception of the reference transaction with the provider

  7. Updated spam filters reduce amount of messages in spam folder

    CERN Multimedia

    IT Department

    2010-01-01

    The flow of spam (unsolicited e-mail) targetting CERN mailboxes is constantly increasing: 96% of the 2 million mails received daily at CERN consist in successfully filtered spam, but spammers get smarter and detecting spam is becoming ever more difficult. In order to address this evolution, a new spam-detection software engine will progressively be deployed in next weeks. The aim is to decrease number of SPAM messages which are delivered to users’ Inboxes and to spam folders. Users can notify mail service about SPAM messages. To submit a spam message one can send it as an attachment. For more details please refer to the help pages (see links below). Useful links: To report spam messages please refer to information on http://cern.ch/mail/Help/?fdid=31 To configure spam filtering for your CERN mailbox, go to http://cern.ch/mail and click ‘spam fight’. Thank you for your collaboration. CERN Mail Services

  8. Identifying effective components of alcohol abuse prevention programs: effects of fear appeals, message style, and source expertise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stainback, R D; Rogers, R W

    1983-04-01

    Despite the importance of alcohol abuse prevention programs, the effectiveness of many components of these programs has not been demonstrated empirically. An experiment tested the efficacy of three components of many prevention programs: fear appeals, one- versus two-sided message style, and the expertise of the source. The persuasive impact of this information was examined on 113 ninth-grade students' intentions to abstain from drinking alcohol while they are teenagers. The results reveal that fear appeals are successful in strengthening students' intentions to refrain from drinking. Implications are discussed for implementing these principles and for designing future investigations of alcohol abuse prevention programs.

  9. An Examination of Adolescent Recall of Anti-Smoking Messages: Attitudes, Message Type, and Message Perceptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bigsby, Elisabeth; Monahan, Jennifer L; Ewoldsen, David R

    2017-04-01

    Delayed message recall may be influenced by currently held accessible attitudes, the nature of the message, and message perceptions (perception of bias and message elaboration). This study examined the potential of message perceptions to mediate the influence of valenced attitude accessibility and message type on unaided recall of anti-smoking Public Service Announcements (PSAs). In a field experiment, ninth grade students (N = 244) watched three PSAs and responded to items on laptop computers. Twelve weeks later, follow-up telephone surveys were conducted to assess unaided recall. Both valenced attitude accessibility and message type were associated with message perceptions. However, only perception of message bias partially mediated the relationship between message type and unaided recall.

  10. Help! A simple method for getting back-up help to the reference desk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenneth Furuta

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Using the "net send" command, native to Windows XP, librarians at the University of California, Riverside created a "help button" for the reference desk. The simple script file sends a message to librarians' workstations in their offices and logs the date and time of use. This paper describes that program.

  11. ZeroMQ messaging for many applications

    CERN Document Server

    Hintjens, Pieter

    2013-01-01

    Dive into ØMQ (aka ZeroMQ), the smart socket library that gives you fast, easy, message-based concurrency for your applications. With this quick-paced guide, you’ll learn hands-on how to use this scalable, lightweight, and highly flexible networking tool for exchanging messages among clusters, the cloud, and other multi-system environments. ØMQ maintainer Pieter Hintjens takes you on a tour of real-world applications, using extended examples in C to help you work with ØMQ’s API, sockets, and patterns. Learn how to use specific ØMQ programming techniques, build multithreaded applications, and create your own messaging architectures. You’ll discover how ØMQ works with several programming languages and most operating systems—with little or no cost. Learn ØMQ’s main patterns: request-reply, publish-subscribe, and pipeline Work with ØMQ sockets and patterns by building several small applications Explore advanced uses of ØMQ’s request-reply pattern through working examples Build reliable request...

  12. Legal drug content in music video programs shown on Australian television on saturday mornings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Rebecca; Croager, Emma; Pratt, Iain S; Khoo, Natalie

    2013-01-01

    To examine the extent to which legal drug references (alcohol and tobacco) are present in the music video clips shown on two music video programs broadcast in Australia on Saturday mornings. Further, to examine the music genres in which the references appeared and the dominant messages associated with the references. Music video clips shown on the music video programs 'Rage' (ABC TV) and [V] 'Music Video Chart' (Channel [V]) were viewed over 8 weeks from August 2011 to October 2011 and the number of clips containing verbal and/or visual drug references in each program was counted. The songs were classified by genre and the dominant messages associated with drug references were also classified and analysed. A considerable proportion of music videos (approximately one-third) contained drug references. Alcohol featured in 95% of the music videos that contained drug references. References to alcohol generally associated it with fun and humour, and alcohol and tobacco were both overwhelmingly presented in contexts that encouraged, rather than discouraged, their use. In Australia, Saturday morning is generally considered a children's television viewing timeslot, and several broadcaster Codes of Practice dictate that programs shown on Saturday mornings must be appropriate for viewing by audiences of all ages. Despite this, our findings show that music video programs aired on Saturday mornings contain a considerable level of drug-related content.

  13. Mixed messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Christopher B.; Hall, Kevin; Tsuyuki, Ross T.

    2014-01-01

    Background: More than 5 years ago, the Blueprint for Pharmacy developed a plan for transitioning pharmacy practice toward more patient-centred care. Much of the strategy for change involves communicating the new vision. Objective: To evaluate the communication of the Vision for Pharmacy by the organizations and corporations that signed the Blueprint for Pharmacy’s Commitment to Act. Methods: The list of 88 signatories of the Commitment to Act was obtained from the Blueprint for Pharmacy document. The website of each of these signatories was searched for all references to the Blueprint for Pharmacy or Vision for Pharmacy. Each of the identified references was then analyzed using summative content analysis. Results: A total of 934 references were identified from the webpages of the 88 signatories. Of these references, 549 were merely links to the Blueprint for Pharmacy’s website, 350 of the references provided some detailed information about the Blueprint for Pharmacy and only 35 references provided any specific plans to transition pharmacy practice. Conclusion: Widespread proliferation of the Vision for Pharmacy has not been achieved. One possible explanation for this is that communication of the vision by the signatories has been incomplete. To ensure the success of future communications, change leaders must develop strategies that consider how individual pharmacists and pharmacies understand the message. PMID:24660012

  14. Using the Wisconsin-Ohio Reference Evaluation Program (WOREP) to Improve Training and Reference Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novotny, Eric; Rimland, Emily

    2007-01-01

    This article discusses a service quality study conducted in the Pennsylvania State University Libraries. The Wisconsin-Ohio Reference Evaluation Program survey was selected as a valid, standardized instrument. We present our results, highlighting the impact on reference training. A second survey a year later demonstrated that focusing on…

  15. Managing Gradual Typing with Message-Safety in Dart

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ernst, Erik; Møller, Anders; Schwarz, Mathias Romme

    . This supports evolution from a dynamically typed programto a strictly statically typed form. We present a formal model of Dart that elucidates how a core of the language and its standard type system works. This allows us to characterize message-safe programs and present a theorem stating that such programs......This paper establishes a notion of message-safe programs as a natural intermediate point between dynamically typed and statically typed Dart programs. Unlike traditional static type checking, the type system in the Dart programming language is unsound by design. The rationale has been...... that this allows compile-time detection of likely errors and enables code completion in integrated development environments, without being restrictive on programmers. We show that, despite unsoundness, judicious use of type annotations can ensure useful properties of the runtime behavior of Dart programs...

  16. Enhancing a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program with text messaging: engaging minority youth to develop TOP ® Plus Text.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devine, Sharon; Bull, Sheana; Dreisbach, Susan; Shlay, Judith

    2014-03-01

    To develop and pilot a theory-based, mobile phone texting component attractive to minority youth as a supplement to the Teen Outreach Program(®), a youth development program for reducing teen pregnancy and school dropout. We conducted iterative formative research with minority youth in multiple focus groups to explore interest in texting and reaction to text messages. We piloted a month-long version of TOP(®) Plus Text with 96 teens at four sites and conducted a computer-based survey immediately after enrollment and at the end of the pilot that collected information about teens' values, social support, self-efficacy, and behaviors relating to school performance, trouble with the law, and sexual activity. After each of the first three weekly sessions we collected satisfaction measures. Upon completion of the pilot we conducted exit interviews with twelve purposively selected pilot participants. We successfully recruited and enrolled minority youth into the pilot. Teens were enthusiastic about text messages complementing TOP(®). Results also revealed barriers: access to text-capable mobile phones, retention as measured by completion of the post-pilot survey, and a need to be attentive to teen literacy. Piloting helped identify improvements for implementation including offering text messages through multiple platforms so youth without access to a mobile phone could receive messages; rewording texts to allow youth to express opinions without feeling judged; and collecting multiple types of contact information to improve follow-up. Thoughtful attention to social and behavioral theory and investment in iterative formative research with extensive consultation with teens can lead to an engaging texting curriculum that enhances and complements TOP(®). Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Secure Media Independent Handover Message Transport in Heterogeneous Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cho Choong-Ho

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The IEEE 802.21 framework for Media Independent Handover (MIH provides seamless vertical handover support for multimode mobile terminals. MIH messages are exchanged over various wireless media between mobile terminals and access networks to facilitate seamless handover. This calls for the need to secure MIH messages against network security threats in the wireless medium. In this paper, we first analyze IPSec/IKEv2 and DTLS security solution for secure MIH message transport. We show that handover latency can be an impediment to the use of IPSec and DTLS solutions. To overcome the handover overhead and hence minimize authentication time, a new secure MIH message transport solution, referred as MIHSec in this paper, is proposed. Experimental results are obtained for MIH between WLAN and Ethernet networks and the impacts of MIH message security on the handover latency are evaluated for IPSec, DTLS, and MIHSec security solutions. The effectiveness of MIHSec is demonstrated.

  18. Text Messaging, Teen Outreach Program, and Sexual Health Behavior: A Cluster Randomized Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bull, Sheana; Devine, Sharon; Schmiege, Sarah J; Pickard, Leslie; Campbell, Jon; Shlay, Judith C

    2016-09-01

    To consider whether Youth All Engaged! (a text message intervention) intensified the effects of the adolescent pregnancy prevention Teen Outreach Program (control) for youths. In this trial performed in Denver, Colorado, from 2011 to 2014, we randomized 8 Boys & Girls Clubs each of 4 years into 32 clubs per year combinations to ensure each club would serve as a treatment site for 2 years and a control site for 2 years. Control intervention consisted of the Teen Outreach Program only. We enrolled 852 youths (aged 14-18 years), and 632 were retained at follow-up, with analytic samples ranging from 50 to 624 across outcomes. We examined program costs, and whether the intervention increased condom and contraceptive use, access to care, and pregnancy prevention. Control program costs were $1184 per participant, and intervention costs were an additional $126 per participant (+10.6%). There were no statistically significant differences in primary outcomes for the full sample. Hispanic participants in the intervention condition had fewer pregnancies at follow-up (1.79%) than did those in the control group (6.72%; P = .02). Youth All Engaged is feasible, low cost, and could have potential benefits for Hispanic youths.

  19. U. S. programs on reference and advanced cladding/duct materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bennett, J.W.; Holmes, J.J.; Laidler, J.J.

    1977-05-01

    Two coordinated national programs are presently in place in the United States for development of reference and advanced cladding and duct alloys for near-term and long-term LMFBR applications. A number of government, industrial and university laboratories are active participants in these two ERDA-sponsored programs. The programs are administered by ERDA through a task group organization, with each task group representing a particular technical activity and the membership of the task group drawn from among the laboratories with active involvement in that activity. Technical coordination of the two programs is provided by the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory. The National Reference Cladding and Duct Program is charged with the responsibility for development of the required technology to permit full utilization of the reference material, 20 percent cold-worked Type 316 stainless steel, in early LMFBR core applications. The current schedule calls for full evaluation of FFTF-related design base data prior to full-power operation of FFTF in early 1980, followed by a confirmation in early 1983 of reference material performance capabilities for initial-core CRBRP applications. Comprehensive evaluation of reference material performance to commercial plant goal fluence levels will be complete by 1985. The National Advanced Alloy Development Program was instituted in 1974 with the objective to develop, by 1986, advanced cladding and duct materials compatible with advanced fuel systems having peak burnup capabilities up to 150 MWD/kg and doubling times of 15 years or less. Screening of a large number of potential alloys was completed in mid-1975, and there are presently 16 candidate alloys under active investigation

  20. A reference standard-based quality assurance program for radiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Patrick T; Johnson, C Daniel; Miranda, Rafael; Patel, Maitray D; Phillips, Carrie J

    2010-01-01

    The authors have developed a comprehensive radiology quality assurance (QA) program that evaluates radiology interpretations and procedures by comparing them with reference standards. Performance metrics are calculated and then compared with benchmarks or goals on the basis of published multicenter data and meta-analyses. Additional workload for physicians is kept to a minimum by having trained allied health staff members perform the comparisons of radiology reports with the reference standards. The performance metrics tracked by the QA program include the accuracy of CT colonography for detecting polyps, the false-negative rate for mammographic detection of breast cancer, the accuracy of CT angiography detection of coronary artery stenosis, the accuracy of meniscal tear detection on MRI, the accuracy of carotid artery stenosis detection on MR angiography, the accuracy of parathyroid adenoma detection by parathyroid scintigraphy, the success rate for obtaining cortical tissue on ultrasound-guided core biopsies of pelvic renal transplants, and the technical success rate for peripheral arterial angioplasty procedures. In contrast with peer-review programs, this reference standard-based QA program minimizes the possibilities of reviewer bias and erroneous second reviewer interpretations. The more objective assessment of performance afforded by the QA program will provide data that can easily be used for education and management conferences, research projects, and multicenter evaluations. Additionally, such performance data could be used by radiology departments to demonstrate their value over nonradiology competitors to referring clinicians, hospitals, patients, and third-party payers. Copyright 2010 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Immediate increase in food intake following exercise messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albarracin, Dolores; Wang, Wei; Leeper, Joshua

    2009-07-01

    Communications to stimulate weight loss include exercise-promotion messages that often produce unsatisfactory results due to compensatory behavioral and metabolic mechanisms triggered by physical activity. This research investigated potential automatic facilitation of eating immediately after exercise messages in the absence of actual exercise. Two controlled experiments demonstrated greater than control food intake following exposure to print messages typical of exercise campaigns as well as subliminal presentation of action words associated with exercise (e.g., "active"). These inadvertent effects may explain the limited efficacy of exercise-promotion programs for weight loss, particularly when systematic dietary guidelines are absent.

  2. Using dual-phase message signs to display airline information : technical summary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Changeable Message Signs are electronic traffic signs that can be programmed to display : important messages that vary according to current roadway conditions, including the : presence of traffic congestion and accidents. CMSs can also be used to dis...

  3. Nature and Impact of Alcohol Messages in a Youth-Oriented Television Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, Cristel Antonia; Russell, Dale W; Grube, Joel W

    2009-01-01

    This research contributes to the extant literature on television influence by pairing a stimulus-side approach documenting how information is presented within a TV series with a response-side assessment of whether connectedness and exposure to a series influence the processing of that information differently depending on its format. The inquiry focuses on the nature and impact of messages about alcohol contained within a youth oriented TV program. The findings indicate that the recall and perception of the more overt negative messages increase with exposure and that receptiveness to the subtle and less remembered positive messages increases with levels of program connectedness. Highly connected viewers are both more receptive to and in greater agreement with the underlying positive alcohol message communicated in the series.

  4. A text message intervention for alcohol risk reduction among community college students: TMAP.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bock, Beth C; Barnett, Nancy P; Thind, Herpreet; Rosen, Rochelle; Walaska, Kristen; Traficante, Regina; Foster, Robert; Deutsch, Chris; Fava, Joseph L; Scott-Sheldon, Lori A J

    2016-12-01

    Students at community colleges comprise nearly half of all U.S. college students and show higher risk of heavy drinking and related consequences compared to students at 4-year colleges, but no alcohol safety programs currently target this population. To examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an alcohol risk-reduction program delivered through text messaging designed for community college (CC) students. Heavy drinking adult CC students (N=60) were enrolled and randomly assigned to the six-week active intervention (Text Message Alcohol Program: TMAP) or a control condition of general motivational (not alcohol related) text messages. TMAP text messages consisted of alcohol facts, strategies to limit alcohol use and related risks, and motivational messages. Assessments were conducted at baseline, week 6 (end of treatment) and week 12 (follow up). Most participants (87%) completed all follow up assessments. Intervention messages received an average rating of 6.8 (SD=1.5) on a 10-point scale. At week six, TMAP participants were less likely than controls to report heavy drinking and negative alcohol consequences. The TMAP group also showed significant increases in self-efficacy to resist drinking in high risk situations between baseline and week six, with no such increase among controls. Results were maintained through the week 12 follow up. The TMAP alcohol risk reduction program was feasible and highly acceptable indicated by high retention rates through the final follow up assessment and good ratings for the text message content. Reductions in multiple outcomes provide positive indications of intervention efficacy. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  5. Motivating Smoking Cessation Text Messages: Perspectives from Pregnant Smokers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schindler-Ruwisch, Jennifer M; Leavitt, Leah E; Macherelli, Laura E; Turner, Monique M; Abroms, Lorien C

    2018-06-01

    The purpose of this research is to analyze cessation text-messages written by pregnant smokers to elucidate the target population's preferred content and message attributes. To achieve this goal, the objectives of this study are three-fold; to qualitatively code messages written by pregnant smokers for frame, type of appeal, and intended target. Study participants were recruited as part of a larger trial of pregnant smokers who were enrolled in a text-messaging program or control group and surveyed 1 month post-enrollment. Each participant was asked to write a brief message to another pregnant smoker and two independent coders qualitatively analyzed responses. User generated messages (N = 51) were equally loss and gain framed, and the most common appeals were: fear, guilt, cognitive, hope and empathy, in order of most to least frequent. The target of the majority of the messages was the baby. Allowing pregnant smokers to write cessation text-messages for other pregnant women can provide relevant insight into intervention content. Specifically, pregnant smokers appear to equally promote gain and loss frames, but may prefer messages that include components of fear and guilt related to the impact of smoking on their baby. Additional research is needed to systematically uncover perspectives of pregnant smokers to ensure interventions are optimally effective.

  6. Embedded anti-alcohol messages on commercial television: what teenagers perceive.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borzekowski, D L

    1996-11-01

    Educators and producers should take advantage of television's potential for reaching audiences with health-related messages. This paper investigates adolescents' perceptions of an anti-alcohol message embedded in commercial television programming. Over 900 8th and 9th graders from New York suburbs completed surveys measuring interest, knowledge, and credibility of either an episode of The Cosby Show or Family Matters. Both episodes had an anti-alcohol message embedded within their plots. Overall, students gave high rates of interest and credibility and received high scores for knowledge for both episodes. Girls and African-American students had higher scores, on average, for interest and credibility. White students had the highest knowledge scores. Students with different television viewing experiences did not differ in their perceptions of the episodes; however, students who had previously seen the episodes gave higher levels of interest and credibility. These data indicate that youngsters are receptive to antialcohol messages within commercial television episodes. The results also suggest that similarities and differences between a viewer and a televised character relate to differences in perception. However, much more research should be done in order to generalize these findings to other audiences, episodes, programs, and health-related messages.

  7. Designing Anti-Binge Drinking Prevention Messages: Message Framing vs. Evidence Type.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Hannah; Lee, Moon J

    2017-09-27

    We investigated whether presenting anti-binge drinking health campaign messages in different message framing and evidence types influences college students' intention to avoid binge drinking, based on prospect theory (PT) and exemplification theory. A 2 (message framing: loss-framed message/gain-framed message) X 2 (evidence type: statistical/narrative) between-subjects factorial design with a control group was conducted with 156 college students. College students who were exposed to the loss-framed message condition exhibited a higher level of intention to avoid binge drinking in the near future than those who did not see any messages (the control group). This finding was mainly among non-binge drinkers. Regardless of evidence type, those who were exposed to the messages exhibited a higher level of intention to avoid binge drinking than those in the control group. This is also mainly among non-binge drinkers. We also found the main effects of message framing and evidence type on attitude toward the message and the main effect of message framing on attitude toward drinking.

  8. Improving Refill Adherence in Medicare Patients With Tailored and Interactive Mobile Text Messaging: Pilot Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Erwin W; Feger, Erin; Noble, Harmony K; Kmiec, Magdalen; Prayaga, Ram S

    2018-01-01

    Background Nonadherence is a major concern in the management of chronic conditions such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes where patients may discontinue or interrupt their medication for a variety of reasons. Text message reminders have been used to improve adherence. However, few programs or studies have explored the benefits of text messaging with older populations and at scale. In this paper, we present a program design using tailored and interactive text messaging to improve refill rates of partially adherent or nonadherent Medicare members of a large integrated health plan. Objective The aim of this 3-month program was to gain an understanding of whether tailored interactive text message dialogues could be used to improve medication refills in Medicare patients with one or more chronic diseases. Methods We used the mPulse Mobile interactive text messaging solution with partially adherent and nonadherent Medicare patients (ie, over age 65 years or younger with disabilities) of Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KP), a large integrated health plan, and compared refill rates of the text messaging group (n=12,272) to a group of partially adherent or nonadherent Medicare patients at KP who did not receive text messages (nontext messaging group, n=76,068). Both groups were exposed to other forms of refill and adherence outreach including phone calls, secure emails, and robo-calls from December 2016 to February 2017. Results The text messaging group and nontext messaging group were compared using an independent samples t test to test difference in group average of refill rates. There was a significant difference in medication refill rates between the 2 groups, with a 14.07 percentage points higher refill rate in the text messaging group (Pimprove medication refill rates among Medicare patients. These findings also support using interactive text messaging as a cost-effective, convenient, and user-friendly solution for patient engagement

  9. Message Passing Framework for Globally Interconnected Clusters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hafeez, M; Riaz, N; Asghar, S; Malik, U A; Rehman, A

    2011-01-01

    In prevailing technology trends it is apparent that the network requirements and technologies will advance in future. Therefore the need of High Performance Computing (HPC) based implementation for interconnecting clusters is comprehensible for scalability of clusters. Grid computing provides global infrastructure of interconnecting clusters consisting of dispersed computing resources over Internet. On the other hand the leading model for HPC programming is Message Passing Interface (MPI). As compared to Grid computing, MPI is better suited for solving most of the complex computational problems. MPI itself is restricted to a single cluster. It does not support message passing over the internet to use the computing resources of different clusters in an optimal way. We propose a model that provides message passing capabilities between parallel applications over the internet. The proposed model is based on Architecture for Java Universal Message Passing (A-JUMP) framework and Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) named as High Performance Computing Bus. The HPC Bus is built using ActiveMQ. HPC Bus is responsible for communication and message passing in an asynchronous manner. Asynchronous mode of communication offers an assurance for message delivery as well as a fault tolerance mechanism for message passing. The idea presented in this paper effectively utilizes wide-area intercluster networks. It also provides scheduling, dynamic resource discovery and allocation, and sub-clustering of resources for different jobs. Performance analysis and comparison study of the proposed framework with P2P-MPI are also presented in this paper.

  10. Using Facebook and text messaging to deliver a weight loss program to college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Napolitano, Melissa A; Hayes, Sharon; Bennett, Gary G; Ives, Allison K; Foster, Gary D

    2013-01-01

    Between 31 and 35% of the college-aged population is overweight or obese, yet few weight loss trials for this population have been conducted. This study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy of a technology-based 8-week weight loss intervention among college students. Students (N = 52) were randomly assigned to one of the three arms: Facebook (n = 17); Facebook Plus text messaging and personalized feedback (n = 18); Waiting List control (n = 17), with assessments at 4 weeks and 8 weeks (post-treatment). Participants were 20.47 ± 2.19 years old, 86.45 ± 17.11 kg, with a body mass index of 31.36 ± 5.3 kg/m(2) . Participants were primarily female (86.5%), and the sample was racially diverse (57.7% Caucasian, 30.8% African American, 5.8% Hispanic, and 5.7% other races). The primary outcome was weight loss after 8 weeks (post-treatment); 96.0% of the participants completed this assessment. At 8 weeks, the Facebook Plus group had significantly greater weight loss (-2.4 ± 2.5 kg) than the Facebook (-0.63 ± 2.4 kg) and Waiting List (-0.24 ± 2.6 kg) (both Ps Facebook and Waiting List groups. Results show preliminary efficacy and acceptability of the two active intervention arms (97.0% found the program helpful, 81.3% found the videos/handouts helpful, and 100% would recommend the program to others). Results indicate the potential for an innovative weight loss intervention that uses technology platforms (Facebook and text messaging) that are frequently used and already integrated into the cultural life of college students. Copyright © 2012 The Obesity Society.

  11. Choreographic Programming

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Montesi, Fabrizio

    , as they offer a concise view of the message flows enacted by a system. For this reason, in the last decade choreographies have been used in the development of programming languages, giving rise to a programming paradigm that in this dissertation we refer to as Choreographic Programming. Recent studies show...... endpoint described in a choreography can then be automatically generated, ensuring that such implementations are safe by construction. However, current formal models for choreographies do not deal with critical aspects of distributed programming, such as asynchrony, mobility, modularity, and multiparty...... sessions; it remains thus unclear whether choreographies can still guarantee safety when dealing with such nontrivial features. This PhD dissertation argues for the suitability of choreographic programming as a paradigm for the development of safe distributed systems. We proceed by investigating its...

  12. Using Text Message Surveys to Evaluate a Mobile Sexual Health Question-and-Answer Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willoughby, Jessica Fitts; L'Engle, Kelly Ladin; Jackson, Kennon; Brickman, Jared

    2018-01-01

    Text message programs for sexual health are becoming increasingly popular as practitioners aim to meet youth on media they use frequently. Two-way mobile health (mHealth) interventions allow for feedback solicitation from participants. This study explores the use of a text message survey to assess demographics and program feedback from users of an adolescent sexual health text message question-and-answer service. Development and feasibility of the short-message service survey are discussed. The text message survey achieved a 43.9% response rate, which is comparable to response rates of surveys conducted via other methods. When compared to respondents who used the service and completed an online in-school questionnaire, text survey respondents were more likely to be female and older. They also reported higher service satisfaction. Results have implications for text message service providers and researchers. This article examines a community application of a new intervention strategy and research methodology.

  13. Fighting obesity or obese persons? Public perceptions of obesity-related health messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puhl, R; Peterson, J L; Luedicke, J

    2013-06-01

    This study examined public perceptions of obesity-related public health media campaigns with specific emphasis on the extent to which campaign messages are perceived to be motivating or stigmatizing. In summer 2011, data were collected online from a nationally representative sample of 1014 adults. Participants viewed a random selection of 10 (from a total of 30) messages from major obesity public health campaigns from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, and rated each campaign message according to positive and negative descriptors, including whether it was stigmatizing or motivating. Participants also reported their familiarity with each message and their intentions to comply with the message content. Participants responded most favorably to messages involving themes of increased fruit and vegetable consumption, and general messages involving multiple health behaviors. Messages that have been publicly criticized for their stigmatizing content received the most negative ratings and the lowest intentions to comply with message content. Furthermore, messages that were perceived to be most positive and motivating made no mention of the word 'obesity' at all, and instead focused on making healthy behavioral changes without reference to body weight. These findings have important implications for framing messages in public health campaigns to address obesity, and suggest that certain types of messages may lead to increased motivation for behavior change among the public, whereas others may be perceived as stigmatizing and instill less motivation to improve health.

  14. When message-frame fits salient cultural-frame, messages feel more persuasive.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uskul, Ayse K; Oyserman, Daphna

    2010-03-01

    The present study examines the persuasive effects of tailored health messages comparing those tailored to match (versus not match) both chronic cultural frame and momentarily salient cultural frame. Evidence from two studies (Study 1: n = 72 European Americans; Study 2: n = 48 Asian Americans) supports the hypothesis that message persuasiveness increases when chronic cultural frame, health message tailoring and momentarily salient cultural frame all match. The hypothesis was tested using a message about health risks of caffeine consumption among individuals prescreened to be regular caffeine consumers. After being primed for individualism, European Americans who read a health message that focused on the personal self were more likely to accept the message-they found it more persuasive, believed they were more at risk and engaged in more message-congruent behaviour. These effects were also found among Asian Americans who were primed for collectivism and who read a health message that focused on relational obligations. The findings point to the importance of investigating the role of situational cues in persuasive effects of health messages and suggest that matching content to primed frame consistent with the chronic frame may be a way to know what to match messages to.

  15. Combined Quitline Counseling and Text Messaging for Smoking Cessation: A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boal, Ashley L; Abroms, Lorien C; Simmens, Samuel; Graham, Amanda L; Carpenter, Kelly M

    2016-05-01

    This study seeks to determine whether comprehensive quitline services combined with text messaging improve smoking cessation rates beyond those achieved by offering comprehensive quitline services alone. The study sample consisted of callers to the Alere Wellbeing, Inc, commercial quitline in 2012. A quasi-experimental design was implemented using propensity score matching to create the intervention and control groups. The intervention group consisted of those who were offered and accepted a text message intervention in addition to usual quitline services, while the control group consisted of those who were not offered the text message intervention. Analyses utilized baseline data collected at intake, program use data (eg, call history and text message use), and reports of smoking behaviors and program satisfaction collected 6 months after intake. Similar rates of 7-day abstinence were reported regardless of whether participants received combined multi-call quitline services plus text messaging (25.3%) or multi-call quitline services in isolation (25.5%), though those who received combined services reported higher treatment satisfaction (P research should investigate whether text messaging programs improve quit rates when combined with less intensive services such as single-call phone counseling. While the impact of quitline and text messaging services for smoking cessation have been examined in isolation, no study has explored the impact of combined services on smoking outcomes. This study examines the role of text messaging in combination with comprehensive quitline services including multi-call phone counseling, access to an interactive website and nicotine replacement therapy. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Increasing the Operational Value of Event Messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zhenping; Savkli, Cetin; Smith, Dan

    2003-01-01

    Assessing the health of a space mission has traditionally been performed using telemetry analysis tools. Parameter values are compared to known operational limits and are plotted over various time periods. This presentation begins with the notion that there is an incredible amount of untapped information contained within the mission s event message logs. Through creative advancements in message handling tools, the event message logs can be used to better assess spacecraft and ground system status and to highlight and report on conditions not readily apparent when messages are evaluated one-at-a-time during a real-time pass. Work in this area is being funded as part of a larger NASA effort at the Goddard Space Flight Center to create component-based, middleware-based, standards-based general purpose ground system architecture referred to as GMSEC - the GSFC Mission Services Evolution Center. The new capabilities and operational concepts for event display, event data analyses and data mining are being developed by Lockheed Martin and the new subsystem has been named GREAT - the GMSEC Reusable Event Analysis Toolkit. Planned for use on existing and future missions, GREAT has the potential to increase operational efficiency in areas of problem detection and analysis, general status reporting, and real-time situational awareness.

  17. Development of macaronic Hindi-English ‘Hinglish’ text message content for a coronary heart disease secondary prevention programme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thakkar, Jay; Karthikeyan, Ganesan; Purohit, Gaurav; Thakkar, Swetha; Sharma, Jitender; Verma, Sunilkumar; Parakh, Neeraj; Seth, Sandeep; Mishra, Sundeep; Yadav, Rakesh; Singh, Sandeep; Joshi, Rohina; Thiagalingam, Aravinda; Chow, Clara K; Redfern, Julie

    2016-01-01

    Background Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in India. Text message based prevention programs have demonstrated reduction in cardiovascular risk factors among patients with CHD in selected populations. Customisation is important as behaviour change is influenced by culture and linguistic context. Objectives To customise a mobile phone text message program supporting behaviour and treatment adherence in CHD for delivery in North India. Methods We used an iterative process with mixed methods involving three phases: (1) Initial translation, (2) Review and incorporation of feedback including review by cardiologists in India to assess alignment with local guidelines and by consumers on perceived utility and clarity and (3) Pilot testing of message management software. Results Messages were translated in three ways: symmetrical translation, asymmetrical translation and substitution. Feedback from cardiologists and 25 patients was incorporated to develop the final bank. Patients reported Hinglish messages were easy to understand (93%) and useful (78%). The software located in Australia successfully delivered messages to participants based in Delhi-surrounds (India). Conclusions Our process for customisation of a text message program considered cultural, linguistic and the medical context of potential participants. This is important in optimising intervention fidelity across populations enabling examination of the generalisability of text message programs across populations. We also demonstrated the customised program was acceptable to patients in India and that a centralised cross-country delivery model was feasible. This process could be used as a guide for other groups seeking to customise their programs. Trial registration number TEXTMEDS Australia (Parent study)—ACTRN 12613000793718. PMID:27752288

  18. 77 FR 59879 - Idaho: Incorporation by Reference of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-01

    ...: Incorporation by Reference of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program AGENCY: Environmental Protection... ``Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Programs,'' Idaho's authorized hazardous waste program. The EPA... Federal Register, the EPA is codifying and incorporating by reference the State's hazardous waste program...

  19. Program reference book for the Energy Economic Data Base Program (EEDB)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allen, R.E.; Brown, P.E.; Hodson, J.S.; Kaminski, R.S.; Ziegler, E.J.

    1983-07-01

    The objective of the Energy Economic Data Base (EEDB) Program is to provide periodic updates of technical and cost (capital, fuel and operating and maintenance) information for nuclear and comparison electric power generating stations that is of significance to the US Department of Energy (USDOE). The purpose of this Reference Book is to provide the historical content of the EEDB through the Fourth Update (1981). It contains important descriptive and tutorial information concerning the structure and use of the EEDB. It also contains reports of work done to support various aspects of the first four updates, together with significant reference data developed during those updates. As a convenience to the user, it is intended that the Reference Book be sufficiently stable that revisions are required no more frequently than once every five years

  20. Upon a Message-Oriented Trading API

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudiu VINTE

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we introduce the premises for a trading system application-programming interface (API based on a message-oriented middleware (MOM, and present the results of our research regarding the design and the implementation of a simulation-trading system employing a service-oriented architecture (SOA and messaging. Our research has been conducted with the aim of creating a simulation-trading platform, within the academic environment, that will provide both the foundation for future experiments with trading systems architectures, components, APIs, and the framework for research on trading strategies, trading algorithm design, and equity markets analysis tools. Mathematics Subject Classification: 68M14 (distributed systems.

  1. A lightweight messaging-based distributed processing and workflow execution framework for real-time and big data analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laban, Shaban; El-Desouky, Aly

    2014-05-01

    To achieve a rapid, simple and reliable parallel processing of different types of tasks and big data processing on any compute cluster, a lightweight messaging-based distributed applications processing and workflow execution framework model is proposed. The framework is based on Apache ActiveMQ and Simple (or Streaming) Text Oriented Message Protocol (STOMP). ActiveMQ , a popular and powerful open source persistence messaging and integration patterns server with scheduler capabilities, acts as a message broker in the framework. STOMP provides an interoperable wire format that allows framework programs to talk and interact between each other and ActiveMQ easily. In order to efficiently use the message broker a unified message and topic naming pattern is utilized to achieve the required operation. Only three Python programs and simple library, used to unify and simplify the implementation of activeMQ and STOMP protocol, are needed to use the framework. A watchdog program is used to monitor, remove, add, start and stop any machine and/or its different tasks when necessary. For every machine a dedicated one and only one zoo keeper program is used to start different functions or tasks, stompShell program, needed for executing the user required workflow. The stompShell instances are used to execute any workflow jobs based on received message. A well-defined, simple and flexible message structure, based on JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), is used to build any complex workflow systems. Also, JSON format is used in configuration, communication between machines and programs. The framework is platform independent. Although, the framework is built using Python the actual workflow programs or jobs can be implemented by any programming language. The generic framework can be used in small national data centres for processing seismological and radionuclide data received from the International Data Centre (IDC) of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear

  2. Text messaging, pragmatic competence, and affective facilitation in the EFL context: A pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madeline Haggan

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Since text messaging is a widely popular method of communication among young people, the paper tries to investigate whether it might have some practical application in the EFL classroom. Kuwaiti EFL students asked to render a mixture of text messages written by their peers and native English speakers into Standard English produced a large number and variety of basic language errors. However, native English-speaking judges were unsuccessful in discriminating between the native and non-native English messages. In addition, the EFL text messages showed that the students were effectively able to achieve their pragmatic aims. Text messaging may therefore have some pedagogical use in terms of motivating the learner. This idea is supported by referring to studies in the literature on text messaging which suggest that the medium may not be as linguistically damaging as is commonly thought.

  3. Applying a message oriented middleware architecture to the TJ-II remote participation system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez, E.; Portas, A.; Pereira, A.; Vega, J.

    2006-01-01

    A message oriented middleware (MOM) has been introduced into the TJ-II data acquisition system to on-line distribute information. Java message service (JMS) has been chosen as the messaging application program interface (API) in order to ensure multiplatform portability. A library of C++ classes providing interface for JMS Java classes has been developed. This allows C++ programs to inter-communicate through JMS. In addition, a set of C wrapper functions has also been developed to provide basic messaging functionalities for C or FORTRAN programs. These functions are used in TJ-II LabView data acquisition applications. Several software applications that take advantage of the MOM architecture have been developed. Firstly, a general-user application allows monitoring of the data acquisition systems. Secondly, a simple application permits the visualization of TJ-II monitor signals with on-line data refreshing. These applications are written in the Java language, thereby ensuring its portability. These software tools provide new functionalities to the TJ-II remote participation system and are equally used in the local environment

  4. Applying a message oriented middleware architecture to the TJ-II remote participation system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez, E. [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusion, Avda Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain)]. E-mail: edi.sanchez@ciemat.es; Portas, A. [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusion, Avda Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Pereira, A. [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusion, Avda Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Vega, J. [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusion, Avda Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

    2006-07-15

    A message oriented middleware (MOM) has been introduced into the TJ-II data acquisition system to on-line distribute information. Java message service (JMS) has been chosen as the messaging application program interface (API) in order to ensure multiplatform portability. A library of C++ classes providing interface for JMS Java classes has been developed. This allows C++ programs to inter-communicate through JMS. In addition, a set of C wrapper functions has also been developed to provide basic messaging functionalities for C or FORTRAN programs. These functions are used in TJ-II LabView data acquisition applications. Several software applications that take advantage of the MOM architecture have been developed. Firstly, a general-user application allows monitoring of the data acquisition systems. Secondly, a simple application permits the visualization of TJ-II monitor signals with on-line data refreshing. These applications are written in the Java language, thereby ensuring its portability. These software tools provide new functionalities to the TJ-II remote participation system and are equally used in the local environment.

  5. A message to school girls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akinwande, A

    1993-06-01

    Information, education, and communication (IEC) programs need to be strengthened to appeal to adolescents, who are increasingly contributing to unwanted pregnancy and are using abortion as a means of birth control. Successful IEC programs have the following characteristics: 1) established communication theories that guide development of materials; 2) a multimedia and a mass media approach to information dissemination, and 3) emphasis on visual displays. The primary emphasis should be on presentation of a concise, clear message with the appropriate visual medium. Many communication specialists in developing countries, however, lack the training to design and use effective IEC software. Designing effective messages involves a process of integrating scientific ideas with artistic appeal. The aim is to stimulate the target audience to change its behavior of life style. The message must be convincing and contain practical and useful information. The IEC Software Design Cycle focuses on analysis and diagnosis, design production, pretesting and modification, and distribution and evaluation. Each of these processes are described. Necessary before any attempt is made is obtaining data on historical, sociocultural, and demographic characteristics, economic activities, health and social services, communication infrastructure, marriage and family life patterns, and decision making systems. Focus group discussions may be used to collect information about the target group. An example is given of the process of development, in a course through the Center or African Family Studies, of a poster about premarital sex directed to 11-16 year olds. On the basis of focus group discussions, it was decided that the message would be to encourage girls to talk with their mothers about family life and premarital sex. The poster was produced with 2 school girls talking in front of the school. The evaluation yielded modifications such as including a school building that resembled actual

  6. Audience reactions and receptivity to HIV prevention message concepts for people living with HIV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uhrig, Jennifer D; Bann, Carla M; Wasserman, Jill; Guenther-Grey, Carolyn; Eroğlu, Doğan

    2010-04-01

    This study measured audience reactions and receptivity to five draft HIV prevention messages developed for people living with HIV (PLWH) to inform future HIV message choice and audience targeting decisions. Our premise was that message concepts that receive wide audience appeal constitute a strong starting point for designing future HIV prevention messages, program activities, and health communication and marketing campaigns for PLWH. The majority of participants indicated agreement with evaluative statements that expressed favorable attitudes toward all five of the message concepts we evaluated. Participants gave the lowest approval to the message promoting sero-sorting. Sociodemographic characteristics played less of a role in predicting differences in message perceptions than attitudes, beliefs and sexual behavior. The general appeal for these messages is encouraging given that messages were expressed in plain text without the support of other creative elements that are commonly used in message execution. These results confirm the utility of systematic efforts to generate and screen message concepts prior to large-scale testing.

  7. A Visualized Message Interface (VMI) for intelligent messaging services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Endo, T.; Kasahara, H.; Nakagawa, T.

    1984-01-01

    In CCITT, Message Handling Systems (MHS) have been studied from the viewpoint of communications protocol standardization. In addition to MHS services, Message Processing (MP) services, such as image processing, filing and retrieving services, will come into increasing demand in office automation field. These messaging services, including MHS services, can be thought of as Intelligent Messaging (IM) services. IM services include many basic services, optional user facilities and service parameters. Accordingly, it is necessary to deal with these parameters and MP procedures in as systematic and user-friendly a manner as possible. As one step towards realizing a user-friendly IM services interface, the characteristics of IM service parameters are studied and a Visualized Message Interface (VMI) which resembles a conventional letter exchange format is presented. The concept of VMI formation is discussed using the generic document structure concept as well as a Screen Interface and Protocol Interface conversion package

  8. Mobile phone text messaging to reduce alcohol and tobacco use in young people – a narrative review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haug S

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Severin Haug Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction at Zurich University, Zurich, Switzerland Background: Alcohol and tobacco use are major causes of the disease burden in most countries of the world. Mobile phone text messaging is very popular among adolescents and young adults and has the potential to deliver individualized information to large population groups at low costs. Objective: To provide a narrative review on studies testing the appropriateness and effectiveness of text messaging-based programs to reduce alcohol and tobacco use in young people. Results: Two published studies on text message-based programs for the reduction of problem drinking and two studies on programs for enhancing smoking cessation were identified. A US-American pilot experimental study tested the feasibility and initial efficacy of a text messaging-based assessment and brief intervention among young adults identified during their emergency department visit with hazardous drinking. It demonstrated the feasibility of the text messaging-based program to collect drinking data in young adults after emergency department discharge. A Swiss pre–post study tested the appropriateness and initial effectiveness of a combined, individually tailored web- and text messaging (SMS-based program to reduce problem drinking in vocational school students. It provided evidence for the appropriateness of the intervention and initial evidence for its efficacy to reduce problem drinking. One of the two studies addressing smoking cessation was a US-American pilot randomized controlled trial. Participants were recruited via online advertisements and received text messages tailored according to their quitting stage. The intervention significantly affected self-reported quitting rates at 4 weeks but not at 3 months after the quit date. Within a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in Switzerland, smoking students were proactively recruited within vocational

  9. Becoming Embedded: Incorporating Instant Messaging and the Ongoing Evolution of a Virtual Reference Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stormont, Sam

    2010-01-01

    The creation of an instant messaging (IM) service is described. The challenges encountered in developing, launching, and maintaining the project are examined and include technical support, archiving, balancing different formats, privacy, assessment, training, and the effectiveness of the IM channel. The process of choosing an aggregator and a…

  10. The Mobile Reference Service: a case study of an onsite reference service program at the School of Public Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Donghua; McCarthy, Patrick G; Krieger, Mary M; Webb, Annie B

    2009-01-01

    The School of Public Health at Saint Louis University is located at a greater distance from the library than other programs on the main medical center campus. Physical distance diminishes the ease of access to direct reference services for public health users. To bridge the gap, the library developed the Mobile Reference Service to deliver on-site information assistance with regular office hours each week. Between September 2006 and April 2007, a total of 57 in-depth reference transactions took place over 25 weeks, averaging 2 transactions per week in a 2-hour period. Overall reference transactions from public health users went up 28%, while liaison contacts with public health users doubled compared to the same period the year before. The Mobile Reference Service program has improved library support for research and scholarship, cultivated and strengthened liaison relationships, and enhanced marketing and delivery of library resources and services to the Saint Louis University School of Public Health.

  11. The Mobile Reference Service: a case study of an onsite reference service program at the school of public health*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Donghua; McCarthy, Patrick G.; Krieger, Mary M.; Webb, Annie B.

    2009-01-01

    The School of Public Health at Saint Louis University is located at a greater distance from the library than other programs on the main medical center campus. Physical distance diminishes the ease of access to direct reference services for public health users. To bridge the gap, the library developed the Mobile Reference Service to deliver onsite information assistance with regular office hours each week. Between September 2006 and April 2007, a total of 57 in-depth reference transactions took place over 25 weeks, averaging 2 transactions per week in a 2-hour period. Overall reference transactions from public health users went up 28%, while liaison contacts with public health users doubled compared to the same period the year before. The Mobile Reference Service program has improved library support for research and scholarship, cultivated and strengthened liaison relationships, and enhanced marketing and delivery of library resources and services to the Saint Louis University School of Public Health. PMID:19159004

  12. OMG do not say LOL: obese adolescents' perspectives on the content of text messages to enhance weight loss efforts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woolford, Susan J; Barr, Kathryn L C; Derry, Holly A; Jepson, Christina M; Clark, Sarah J; Strecher, Victor J; Resnicow, Kenneth

    2011-12-01

    Adolescents participating in weight loss programs experience difficulty adhering to behavior change recommendations. Communications technology provides a low cost means to increase the frequency of contact with adolescents which can improve their engagement and also lead to behavior change. Within a larger project on the development of tailored text messages for adolescents enrolled in an existing multidisciplinary weight management program, this study explored participants' perspectives about message content. A library of messages was developed focused on topics central to weight management. Four focus groups were conducted with a total of 24 participants from the weight management program to gage their reactions to the messages. Detailed notes from the focus groups were analyzed to assess the acceptability of individual messages and to identify overriding themes. Results indicate that participants were very enthusiastic about receiving text messages. They preferred messages that provided recipe ideas, included successful weight loss strategies used by peers, and requested feedback regarding their progress. They preferred positive, encouraging, and direct messages. They were unanimous that messages should include encouraging symbols (e.g., exclamation points and "smiley faces") as often as possible. They emphasized that any mention of unhealthy foods or behaviors would trigger them to eat those foods or engage in those behaviors. Text messaging acronyms (e.g., LOL) were considered too informal for messages from healthcare providers. This study suggests that including text messages in obesity interventions is acceptable to obese adolescents as a means of supporting their weight loss efforts, and it highlights the need for such messages to be carefully constructed.

  13. OMG Do Not Say LOL: Obese Adolescents’ Perspectives on the Content of Text Messages to Enhance Weight Loss Efforts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woolford, Susan J.; Barr, Kathryn L.C.; Derry, Holly A.; Jepson, Christina M.; Clark, Sarah J.; Strecher, Victor J.; Resnicow, Kenneth

    2011-01-01

    Adolescents participating in weight loss programs experience difficulty adhering to behavior change recommendations. Communications technology provides a low cost means to increase the frequency of contact with adolescents which can improve their engagement and also lead to behavior change. Within a larger project on the development of tailored text messages for adolescents enrolled in an existing multidisciplinary weight management program, this study explored participants’ perspectives about message content. A library of messages was developed focused on topics central to weight management. Four focus groups were conducted with a total of 24 participants from the weight management program to gage their reactions to the messages. Detailed notes from the focus groups were analyzed to assess the acceptability of individual messages and to identify overriding themes. Results indicate that participants were very enthusiastic about receiving text messages. They preferred messages that provided recipe ideas, included successful weight loss strategies used by peers, and requested feedback regarding their progress. They preferred positive, encouraging, and direct messages. They were unanimous that messages should include encouraging symbols (e.g., exclamation points and “smiley faces”) as often as possible. They emphasized that any mention of unhealthy foods or behaviors would trigger them to eat those foods or engage in those behaviors. Text messaging acronyms (e.g., LOL) were considered too informal for messages from healthcare providers. This study suggests that including text messages in obesity interventions is acceptable to obese adolescents as a means of supporting their weight loss efforts, and it highlights the need for such messages to be carefully constructed. PMID:21869762

  14. Message-Passing Receivers for Single Carrier Systems with Frequency-Domain Equalization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Chuanzong; Manchón, Carles Navarro; Wang, Zhongyong

    2015-01-01

    In this letter, we design iterative receiver algorithms for joint frequency-domain equalization and decoding in a single carrier system assuming perfect channel state information. Based on an approximate inference framework that combines belief propagation (BP) and the mean field (MF) approximation......, we propose two receiver algorithms with, respectively, parallel and sequential message-passing schedules in the MF part. A recently proposed receiver based on generalized approximate message passing (GAMP) is used as a benchmarking reference. The simulation results show that the BP-MF receiver...

  15. Does the Screening Status of Message Characters Affect Message Effects?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alber, Julia M.; Glanz, Karen

    2018-01-01

    Public health messages can be used to increase awareness about colorectal cancer screenings. Free or inexpensive images for creating health messages are readily available, yet little is known about how a pictured individual's engagement in the behavior of interest affects message outcomes. Participants (N = 360), aged 50 to 75 years, completed an…

  16. DMS message design workshops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-03-01

    This report summarizes the training conducted statewide regarding the design and display of messages on : dynamic message signs. The training is based on the Dynamic Message Sign Message Design and Display : Manual (0-4023-P3). Researchers developed ...

  17. Development of targeted messages to promote smoking cessation among construction trade workers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strickland, J. R.; Smock, N.; Casey, C.; Poor, T.; Kreuter, M. W.; Evanoff, B. A.

    2015-01-01

    Blue-collar workers, particularly those in the construction trades, are more likely to smoke and have less success in quitting when compared with white-collar workers. Little is known about health communication strategies that might influence this priority population. This article describes our formative work to develop targeted messages to increase participation in an existing smoking cessation program among construction workers. Using an iterative and sequential mixed-methods approach, we explored the culture, health attitudes and smoking behaviors of unionized construction workers. We used focus group and survey data to inform message development, and applied audience segmentation methods to identify potential subgroups. Among 144 current smokers, 65% reported wanting to quit smoking in the next 6 months and only 15% had heard of a union-sponsored smoking cessation program, despite widespread advertising. We tested 12 message concepts and 26 images with the target audience to evaluate perceived relevance and effectiveness. Participants responded most favorably to messages and images that emphasized family and work, although responses varied by audience segments based on age and parental status. This study is an important step towards integrating the culture of a high-risk group into targeted messages to increase participation in smoking cessation activities. PMID:25231165

  18. Programming Unconventional Computers: Dynamics, Development, Self-Reference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan Stepney

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Classical computing has well-established formalisms for specifying, refining, composing, proving, and otherwise reasoning about computations. These formalisms have matured over the past 70 years or so. Unconventional Computing includes the use of novel kinds of substrates–from black holes and quantum effects, through to chemicals, biomolecules, even slime moulds–to perform computations that do not conform to the classical model. Although many of these unconventional substrates can be coerced into performing classical computation, this is not how they “naturally” compute. Our ability to exploit unconventional computing is partly hampered by a lack of corresponding programming formalisms: we need models for building, composing, and reasoning about programs that execute in these substrates. What might, say, a slime mould programming language look like? Here I outline some of the issues and properties of these unconventional substrates that need to be addressed to find “natural” approaches to programming them. Important concepts include embodied real values, processes and dynamical systems, generative systems and their meta-dynamics, and embodied self-reference.

  19. 77 FR 59758 - Idaho: Incorporation by Reference of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-01

    ...: Incorporation by Reference of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program AGENCY: Environmental Protection..., (RCRA), allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to authorize State hazardous waste management... codification of the authorized Idaho hazardous waste management program and incorporates by reference...

  20. High performance message passing for the ATLAS DAQ/EF-1 project

    CERN Document Server

    Mornacchi, Giuseppe

    1999-01-01

    Summary form only. A message passing library has been developed in the context of the ATLAS DAQ/EF-1 project. It is used for time critical applications within the front-end part of the DAQ system, mainly to exchange data control messages between I/O processors. Key objectives of the design were low message overheads, efficient use of the data transfer buses, provision of broadcast functionality and a hardware and operating system independent implementation of the application interface. The design and implementation of the message passing library are presented. As required by the project, the implementation is based on commercial components, namely VMEbus, PCI, the Lynx-OS real-time operating system and an additional inter- processor link, PVIC. The latter offers broadcast functionality identified as being important to the overall performance of the message passing. In addition, performance benchmarks for all implementing buses are presented for both simple test programs and the full DAQ applications. (0 refs)...

  1. Developing mobile phone text messages for tobacco risk communication among college students: a mixed methods study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander V. Prokhorov

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Engaging young adults for the purpose of communicating health risks associated with nicotine and tobacco use can be challenging since they comprise a population heavily targeted with appealing marketing by the evolving tobacco industry. The Food and Drug Administration seeks novel ways to effectively communicate risks to warn about using these products. This paper describes the first step in developing a text messaging program delivered by smartphones that manipulate three messaging characteristics (i.e., depth, framing, and appeal. Methods Perceptions of community college students were described after previewing text messages designed to inform about risks of using conventional and new tobacco products. Thirty-one tobacco users and nonusers, aged 18–25 participated in five focus discussions held on two community college campuses. Attendees reviewed prototype messages and contributed feedback about text message structure and content. Qualitative data were coded and analyzed using NVivo Version 10. Results Most participants were female and two-thirds were ethnic minorities. A variety of conventional and new tobacco products in the past month were used by a third of participants. Three identified domains were derived from the qualitative data. These included perceived risks of using tobacco products, receptivity to message content, and logistical feedback regarding the future message campaign. Conclusion Overall, participants found the messages to be interesting and appropriate. A gap in awareness of the risks of using new tobacco products was revealed. Feedback on the prototype messages was incorporated into message revisions. These findings provided preliminary confirmation that the forthcoming messaging program will be appealing to young adults.

  2. Developing mobile phone text messages for tobacco risk communication among college students: a mixed methods study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prokhorov, Alexander V; Machado, Tamara C; Calabro, Karen S; Vanderwater, Elizabeth A; Vidrine, Damon J; Pasch, Keryn P; Marani, Salma K; Buchberg, Meredith; Wagh, Aditya; Russell, Sophia C; Czerniak, Katarzyna W; Botello, Gabrielle C; Dobbins, Mackenzie H; Khalil, Georges E; Perry, Cheryl L

    2017-01-31

    Engaging young adults for the purpose of communicating health risks associated with nicotine and tobacco use can be challenging since they comprise a population heavily targeted with appealing marketing by the evolving tobacco industry. The Food and Drug Administration seeks novel ways to effectively communicate risks to warn about using these products. This paper describes the first step in developing a text messaging program delivered by smartphones that manipulate three messaging characteristics (i.e., depth, framing, and appeal). Perceptions of community college students were described after previewing text messages designed to inform about risks of using conventional and new tobacco products. Thirty-one tobacco users and nonusers, aged 18-25 participated in five focus discussions held on two community college campuses. Attendees reviewed prototype messages and contributed feedback about text message structure and content. Qualitative data were coded and analyzed using NVivo Version 10. Most participants were female and two-thirds were ethnic minorities. A variety of conventional and new tobacco products in the past month were used by a third of participants. Three identified domains were derived from the qualitative data. These included perceived risks of using tobacco products, receptivity to message content, and logistical feedback regarding the future message campaign. Overall, participants found the messages to be interesting and appropriate. A gap in awareness of the risks of using new tobacco products was revealed. Feedback on the prototype messages was incorporated into message revisions. These findings provided preliminary confirmation that the forthcoming messaging program will be appealing to young adults.

  3. Using Text Messages for Critical Real-time Data Capture in the ANISA Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Islam, Mohammad Shahidul; Rahman, Qazi Sadeq-ur; Hossain, Tanvir; Connor, Nicholas E; Hossain, Belal; Rahman, Md Mahmudur; Neogi, Ranjan; Saha, Samir K; El Arifeen, Shams

    2016-05-01

    The Aetiology of Neonatal Infection in South Asia (ANISA) study takes advantage of text messaging technology to record information required for randomizing the study population into a control subcohort. The text message system is also used for monitoring various study activities. When a child-health worker registers a newborn in the study, she sends a text message to a database server containing the study identification number and newborn's age at the time of registration. For each possible serious bacterial infection case, a study physician also sends a text message to the same server with the age of the young infant at the time of illness assessment. Using this information, a computer-based algorithm randomizes the newborn into a control subcohort. Text messages are also sent to alert the study physicians and study supervisors of a possible serious bacterial infection case being referred to health-care facilities. Phlebotomists working at remote specimen collection sites send text messages to the site laboratory personnel before sending the specimens through porters. Real-time data entry and monitoring are challenging for any population-based study conducted in remote areas. Our text messaging system provides an opportunity to overcome this barrier where availability of data entry facilities is limited.

  4. Coding for Parallel Links to Maximize the Expected Value of Decodable Messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klimesh, Matthew A.; Chang, Christopher S.

    2011-01-01

    When multiple parallel communication links are available, it is useful to consider link-utilization strategies that provide tradeoffs between reliability and throughput. Interesting cases arise when there are three or more available links. Under the model considered, the links have known probabilities of being in working order, and each link has a known capacity. The sender has a number of messages to send to the receiver. Each message has a size and a value (i.e., a worth or priority). Messages may be divided into pieces arbitrarily, and the value of each piece is proportional to its size. The goal is to choose combinations of messages to send on the links so that the expected value of the messages decodable by the receiver is maximized. There are three parts to the innovation: (1) Applying coding to parallel links under the model; (2) Linear programming formulation for finding the optimal combinations of messages to send on the links; and (3) Algorithms for assisting in finding feasible combinations of messages, as support for the linear programming formulation. There are similarities between this innovation and methods developed in the field of network coding. However, network coding has generally been concerned with either maximizing throughput in a fixed network, or robust communication of a fixed volume of data. In contrast, under this model, the throughput is expected to vary depending on the state of the network. Examples of error-correcting codes that are useful under this model but which are not needed under previous models have been found. This model can represent either a one-shot communication attempt, or a stream of communications. Under the one-shot model, message sizes and link capacities are quantities of information (e.g., measured in bits), while under the communications stream model, message sizes and link capacities are information rates (e.g., measured in bits/second). This work has the potential to increase the value of data returned from

  5. Message films in Africa: A look into the past

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachael Diang′a

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Message Film-making has characterised much of films produced in post-independent Kenya. The country produced very few films in the 1980s, when indigenous film-making actually began to take root. Liberalisation of the economy, embracement of the digital technology and democratization in the 1990s paved way for a more stable film culture in the decade. A more promising growth of the film industry has been largely witnessed since the turn of the 21st century. Through this period, I note a strong tendency to produce films that are loaded with social messages deemed urgent and important to the target audience. In making these films, the film-makers hope to make a positive impact in the lives of the target audiences. These films tend to valorise the message, sometimes, neglecting the basic filmic codes, a practice that renders the films less entertaining. This endangers the growth of the industry since local films find very stiff competition from foreign films that are common on Kenyan screens. This study therefore investigates possible roots of message film-making in Africa that directly influence the tendencies in Kenya by making references to other African countries’ film experiences. My assumption is that Kenya’s cultural experiences are shared by other African countries.

  6. A Usability Evaluation of Academic Virtual Reference Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chow, Anthony S.; Croxton, Rebecca A.

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the usability of five virtual reference services--instant messenger chat, e-mail, telephone, text messaging, and Skype videoconferencing--by having 31 undergraduate and graduate students evaluate the usability of the virtual reference services of two different universities. The study's results suggest that user preference and…

  7. Self-guide framing and persuasion: responsibly increasing message processing to ideal levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Lisa M; Petty, Richard E

    2003-03-01

    The current research examines the effect that framing persuasive messages in terms of self-guides (ideal vs. ought) has on the attitudes and cognitive responses of individuals with chronic ideal versus ought self-guides. The strength of participants' ideal and ought self-guides and the magnitude of participants' ideal and ought self-discrepancies were measured using a computerized reaction time program. One week later, participants read a persuasive message about a fictional breakfast product, framed in terms of either ideals or oughts. Matching framing to stronger self-guide led to enhanced message processing activity, especially among individuals who were low in need for cognition. Individuals who read messages framed to match their stronger self-guides paid more attention to argument quality, as reflected in their attitudes and cognitive responses. Messages with self-guide framing that matched individuals' stronger self-discrepancies did not have this effect on processing.

  8. Neighbourhood-consensus message passing and its potentials in image processing applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ružic, Tijana; Pižurica, Aleksandra; Philips, Wilfried

    2011-03-01

    In this paper, a novel algorithm for inference in Markov Random Fields (MRFs) is presented. Its goal is to find approximate maximum a posteriori estimates in a simple manner by combining neighbourhood influence of iterated conditional modes (ICM) and message passing of loopy belief propagation (LBP). We call the proposed method neighbourhood-consensus message passing because a single joint message is sent from the specified neighbourhood to the central node. The message, as a function of beliefs, represents the agreement of all nodes within the neighbourhood regarding the labels of the central node. This way we are able to overcome the disadvantages of reference algorithms, ICM and LBP. On one hand, more information is propagated in comparison with ICM, while on the other hand, the huge amount of pairwise interactions is avoided in comparison with LBP by working with neighbourhoods. The idea is related to the previously developed iterated conditional expectations algorithm. Here we revisit it and redefine it in a message passing framework in a more general form. The results on three different benchmarks demonstrate that the proposed technique can perform well both for binary and multi-label MRFs without any limitations on the model definition. Furthermore, it manifests improved performance over related techniques either in terms of quality and/or speed.

  9. Reference drug programs: Effectiveness and policy implications☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneeweiss, Sebastian

    2010-01-01

    In the current economic environment, health care systems are constantly struggling to contain rapidly rising costs. Drug costs are targeted by a wide variety of measures. Many jurisdictions have implemented reference drug programs (RDPs) or similar therapeutic substitution programs. This paper summarizes the mechanism and rationale of RDPs and presents evidence of their economic effectiveness and clinical safety. RDPs for pharmaceutical reimbursement are based on the assumption that drugs within specified medication groups are therapeutically equivalent and clinically interchangeable and that a common reimbursement level can thus be established. If the evidence documents that a higher price for a given drug does not buy greater effectiveness or reduced toxicity, then under RDP such extra costs are not covered. RDPs or therapeutic substitutions based on therapeutic equivalence are seen as logical extensions of generic substitution that is based on bioequivalence of drugs. If the goal is to achieve full drug coverage for as many patients as possible in the most efficient manner, then RDPs in combination with prior authorization programs are safer and more effective than simplistic fiscal drug policies, including fixed co-payments, co-insurances, or deductibles. RDPs will reduce spending in the less innovative but largest market, while fully covering all patients. Prior authorization will ensure that patients with a specified indication will benefit from the most innovative therapies with full coverage. In practice, however, not all patients and drugs will fit exactly into one of the two categories. Therefore, a process of medically indicated exemptions that will consider full coverage should accompany an RDP. In the current economic environment, health care systems are constantly struggling to contain rapidly rising costs. Drug costs are targeted by a wide variety of measures. Many jurisdictions have implemented reference drug programs, and others are considering

  10. Remote control of data acquisition devices by means of message oriented middleware

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez, E.; Portas, A.; Pereira, A.; Vega, J.; Kirpitchev, I.

    2007-01-01

    The TJ-II autonomous acquisition systems are computers running dedicated applications for programming and controlling data acquisition channels and also integrating acquired data into the central database. These computers are located in the experimental hall and have to be remotely controlled during plasma discharges. A remote control for these systems has been implemented by taking advantage of the message-oriented middleware recently introduced into the TJ-II data acquisition system. Java Message Service (JMS) is used as the messaging application program interface. All the acquisition actions that are available through the system console of the data acquisition computers (starting or aborting an acquisition, restarting the system or updating the acquisition application) can now be initiated remotely. Command messages are sent to the acquisition systems located in the experimental hall close to the TJ-II device by using the messaging software, without having to use a remote desktop application that produces heavy network traffic and requires manual operation. Action commands can be sent to only one or to several/many acquisition systems at the same time. This software is integrated into the TJ-II remote participation system and the acquisition systems can be commanded from inside or outside the laboratory. All this software is integrated into the security framework provided by PAPI, thus preventing non-authorized users commanding the acquisition computers. In order to dimension and distribute messaging services some performance tests of the message oriented middleware software have been carried out. Results of the tests are presented. As suggested by the tests results different transport connectors are used: TCP transport protocol is used for the local environment, while HTTP protocol is used for remote accesses, thereby allowing the system performance to be optimized

  11. Remote control of data acquisition devices by means of message oriented middleware

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez, E. [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusion, Madrid (Spain)], E-mail: edi.sanchez@ciemat.es; Portas, A.; Pereira, A.; Vega, J.; Kirpitchev, I. [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusion, Madrid (Spain)

    2007-10-15

    The TJ-II autonomous acquisition systems are computers running dedicated applications for programming and controlling data acquisition channels and also integrating acquired data into the central database. These computers are located in the experimental hall and have to be remotely controlled during plasma discharges. A remote control for these systems has been implemented by taking advantage of the message-oriented middleware recently introduced into the TJ-II data acquisition system. Java Message Service (JMS) is used as the messaging application program interface. All the acquisition actions that are available through the system console of the data acquisition computers (starting or aborting an acquisition, restarting the system or updating the acquisition application) can now be initiated remotely. Command messages are sent to the acquisition systems located in the experimental hall close to the TJ-II device by using the messaging software, without having to use a remote desktop application that produces heavy network traffic and requires manual operation. Action commands can be sent to only one or to several/many acquisition systems at the same time. This software is integrated into the TJ-II remote participation system and the acquisition systems can be commanded from inside or outside the laboratory. All this software is integrated into the security framework provided by PAPI, thus preventing non-authorized users commanding the acquisition computers. In order to dimension and distribute messaging services some performance tests of the message oriented middleware software have been carried out. Results of the tests are presented. As suggested by the tests results different transport connectors are used: TCP transport protocol is used for the local environment, while HTTP protocol is used for remote accesses, thereby allowing the system performance to be optimized.

  12. Unified Internet Messaging

    OpenAIRE

    Healy, Paul; Barber, Declan

    2015-01-01

    As telephony services, mobile services and internet services continue to converge, the prospect of providing Unified Messaging and even Unified Communications becomes increasingly achievable. This paper discusses the growing importance of IP-based networks to Unified Messaging developments and examines some of the key services and protocols that are likely to make Unified Messaging more widely available. In this initial paper, we limit ourselves initially to the unification of text-based mess...

  13. Message-driven factors influencing opening and forwarding of mobile advertising messages

    OpenAIRE

    Sanz Blas, Silvia; Ruiz Mafé, Carla; Martí Parreño, José

    2015-01-01

    This work aims to analyse the influence of message-driven factors -informativeness, ubiquity, frequency and personalization- on consumer attitude and behaviour -opening and forwarding- towards mobile advertising messages. A theoretical model was developed and empirically tested using a sample of 355 Spanish teenager mobile users. Findings show that frequency is the dimension accounting the most -and significantly- of the four message-driven factors analysed on attitude toward mobile advertisi...

  14. Physician impressions of using text message technology to increase vaccination compliance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hart, Traci; Ahlers-Schmidt, Carolyn R; Chesser, Amy; Jones, Jordan; Williams, Katherine S; Wittler, Robert R

    2011-01-01

    Immunization schedules are complicated and difficult for parents to remember. Parents are willing to receive text message reminders. However, it is unknown whether physicians are willing to implement such a system. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a text messaging reminder system from the physician's perspective. Surveys were distributed in the winter of 2009-2010 by e-mail, facsimile, and telephone interview to 149 family physicians and pediatricians who provide immunizations in Sedgwick County, Kansas. A 69% response rate was achieved. Nearly all (92%) respondents reported that they currently communicate information about immunization schedules to parents using traditional methods such as verbal reminders or appointment cards; however, none (0%) currently use text or email to generate reminders to parents. Even when asked to assume they had all of the necessary resources, almost one-third (31%) reported that they were "very unwilling" or "unwilling" to use a general text-messaging program, 43% were "neutral" or "undecided," and only 27% were "willing" or "very willing." Physician willingness to use a text-messaging program was not related to their reported gender (χ²(2)=0.224, p=0.894), specialization (χ² (2)=4.363, p=0.113), years in practice (F(2, 91)=0.435, p=0.149), or comfort level with technology (χ²(4)=1.861, p=0.761). There is a hesitancy to implement a text message reminder system for childhood vaccine schedules. This may be due to the lack of empirical evidence supporting the use of this technology for health reminders or the lack of willingness to implement another system. Further investigation is needed to determine why few physicians are willing to implement text messaging for immunization reminders.

  15. Modification of reference temperature program in reactor regulating system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Sung Sik; Lee, Byung Jin; Kim, Se Chang; Cheong, Jong Sik [Korea Power Engineering Company, Inc., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Ji In; Doo, Jin Yong [Korea Electric Power Cooperation, Yonggwang (Korea, Republic of)

    1999-12-31

    In Yonggwang nuclear units 3 and 4 currently under commercial operation, the cold temperature was very close to the technical specification limit of 298 deg C during initial startup testing, which was caused by the higher-than-expected reactor coolant system flow. Accordingly, the reference temperature (Tref) program needed to be revised to allow more flexibility for plant operations. In this study, the method of a specific test performed at Yonggwang nuclear unit 4 to revise the Tref program was described and the test results were discussed. In addition, the modified Tref program was evaluated on its potential impacts on system performance and safety. The methods of changing the Tref program and the associated pressurizer level setpoint program were also explained. Finally, for Ulchin nuclear unit 3 and 4 currently under initial startup testing, the effects of reactor coolant system flow rate on the coolant temperature were evaluated from the thermal hydraulic standpoint and an optimum Tref program was recommended. 6 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs. (Author)

  16. Modification of reference temperature program in reactor regulating system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Sung Sik; Lee, Byung Jin; Kim, Se Chang; Cheong, Jong Sik [Korea Power Engineering Company, Inc., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Ji In; Doo, Jin Yong [Korea Electric Power Cooperation, Yonggwang (Korea, Republic of)

    1998-12-31

    In Yonggwang nuclear units 3 and 4 currently under commercial operation, the cold temperature was very close to the technical specification limit of 298 deg C during initial startup testing, which was caused by the higher-than-expected reactor coolant system flow. Accordingly, the reference temperature (Tref) program needed to be revised to allow more flexibility for plant operations. In this study, the method of a specific test performed at Yonggwang nuclear unit 4 to revise the Tref program was described and the test results were discussed. In addition, the modified Tref program was evaluated on its potential impacts on system performance and safety. The methods of changing the Tref program and the associated pressurizer level setpoint program were also explained. Finally, for Ulchin nuclear unit 3 and 4 currently under initial startup testing, the effects of reactor coolant system flow rate on the coolant temperature were evaluated from the thermal hydraulic standpoint and an optimum Tref program was recommended. 6 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs. (Author)

  17. When message-frame fits salient cultural-frame, messages feel more persuasive

    OpenAIRE

    Uskul, Ayse K.; Oyserman, Daphna

    2010-01-01

    The present study examines the persuasive effects of tailored health messages comparing those tailored to match (versus not match) both chronic cultural frame and momentarily salient cultural frame. Evidence from two studies (Study 1: n = 72 European Americans; Study 2: n = 48 Asian Americans) supports the hypothesis that message persuasiveness increases when chronic cultural frame, health message tailoring and momentarily salient cultural frame all match. The hypothesis was tested using a me...

  18. The Canadian National Calibration Reference Center for Bioassay and in-vivo Monitoring: A program summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kramer, G.H.; Zamora, M.L.

    1994-01-01

    The Canadian National Calibration Reference Center for Bioassay and in-vivo Monitoring is part of the Radiation Protection Bureau, Department of Health. The Reference Center operates a variety of different intercomparison programs that are designed to confirm that workplace monitoring results are accurate and provide the necessary external verification required by the Canadian regulators. The programs administered by the Reference Center currently include urinalysis intercomparisons for tritium, natural uranium, and 14 C, and in-vivo programs for whole-body, thorax, and thyroid monitoring. The benefits of the intercomparison programs to the participants are discussed by example. Future programs that are planned include dual spiked urine sample which contain both tritium and 14 C and the in-vivo measurement of 99m Tc. 18 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs

  19. MessageSpace: a messaging system for health research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escobar, Rodrigo D.; Akopian, David; Parra-Medina, Deborah; Esparza, Laura

    2013-03-01

    Mobile Health (mHealth) has emerged as a promising direction for delivery of healthcare services via mobile communication devices such as cell phones. Examples include texting-based interventions for chronic disease monitoring, diabetes management, control of hypertension, smoking cessation, monitoring medication adherence, appointment keeping and medical test result delivery; as well as improving patient-provider communication, health information communication, data collection and access to health records. While existing messaging systems very well support bulk messaging and some polling applications, they are not designed for data collection and processing of health research oriented studies. For that reason known studies based on text-messaging campaigns have been constrained in participant numbers. In order to empower healthcare promotion and education research, this paper presents a system dedicated for healthcare research. It is designed for convenient communication with various study groups, feedback collection and automated processing.

  20. 77 FR 29275 - Oklahoma: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-17

    ...: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency... ``Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Programs'', Oklahoma's authorized hazardous waste program. The... State regulations that are authorized and that the EPA will enforce under the Solid Waste Disposal Act...

  1. 77 FR 46994 - Oklahoma: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-07

    ...: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency... ``Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Programs'', Oklahoma's authorized hazardous waste program. The... State regulations that are authorized and that the EPA will enforce under the Solid Waste Disposal Act...

  2. 75 FR 36609 - Oklahoma: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-28

    ...: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency... ``Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Programs'', Oklahoma's authorized hazardous waste program. The... State regulations that are authorized and that the EPA will enforce under the Solid Waste Disposal Act...

  3. EMI Messaging Guidelines

    CERN Document Server

    Cons, L.

    2011-01-01

    Guidelines for potential users of messaging within EMI. The goal is to provide enough practical information so that EMI product teams can start investigating whether using messaging in their products can be beneficial or not.

  4. Strategic messaging to promote taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages: lessons from recent political campaigns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jou, Judy; Niederdeppe, Jeff; Barry, Colleen L; Gollust, Sarah E

    2014-05-01

    This study explored the use of strategic messaging by proponents of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxation to influence public opinion and shape the policy process, emphasizing the experiences in El Monte and Richmond, California, with SSB tax proposals in 2012. We conducted 18 semistructured interviews with key stakeholders about the use and perceived effectiveness of messages supporting and opposing SSB taxation, knowledge sharing among advocates, message dissemination, and lessons learned from their messaging experiences. The protax messages most frequently mentioned by respondents were reinvesting tax revenue into health-related programs and linking SSB consumption to health outcomes such as obesity and diabetes. The most frequently mentioned antitax messages addressed negative economic effects on businesses and government restriction of personal choice. Factors contributing to perceived messaging success included clearly defining "sugar-sweetened beverage" and earmarking funds for obesity prevention, incorporating cultural sensitivity into messaging, and providing education about the health effects of SSB consumption. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation has faced significant challenges in gaining political and public support. Future campaigns can benefit from insights gained through the experiences of stakeholders involved in previous policy debates.

  5. Parents Working Together: development and feasibility trial of a workplace-based program for parents that incorporates general parenting and health behaviour messages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Wilson

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Parenting programs integrating general parenting and health behaviour messaging may be an effective childhood obesity prevention strategy. The current study explored workplaces as an alternate setting to deliver parenting programs. Methods This study involved two phases. The objective of the first phase was to explore interest in and preferred delivery mode of a workplace program that addresses general parenting and health behaviours. The objective of the second phase was to adapt and test the feasibility and acceptability of a pre-existing program that has been successfully run in community settings for parents in their workplace. To achieve the first objective, we conducted 9 individual or small group qualitative interviews with 11 workplace representatives involved in employee wellness/wellness programming from 8 different organizations across Southwestern Ontario. To achieve the second objective, we adapted a pre-existing program incorporating workplace representatives’ suggestions to create Parents Working Together (PWT. We then tested the program using a pre/post uncontrolled feasibility trial with 9 employees of a large manufacturing company located in Guelph, Ontario. Results Results from the qualitative phase showed that a workplace parenting program that addresses general parenting and health behaviour messages is of interest to workplaces. Results from the feasibility trial suggest that PWT is feasible and well received by participants; attendance rates were high with 89 % of the participants attending 5 or more sessions and 44 % attending all 7 sessions offered. All participants stated they would recommend the program to co-workers. Just over half of our parent participants were male (55.6 %, which is a unique finding as the majority of existing parenting programs engage primarily mothers. Impact evaluation results suggest that changes in children’s and parents’ weight-related behaviours, as well as

  6. Parents Working Together: development and feasibility trial of a workplace-based program for parents that incorporates general parenting and health behaviour messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, L; Lero, Donna; Smofsky, Allan; Gross, Deborah; Haines, Jess

    2016-11-10

    Parenting programs integrating general parenting and health behaviour messaging may be an effective childhood obesity prevention strategy. The current study explored workplaces as an alternate setting to deliver parenting programs. This study involved two phases. The objective of the first phase was to explore interest in and preferred delivery mode of a workplace program that addresses general parenting and health behaviours. The objective of the second phase was to adapt and test the feasibility and acceptability of a pre-existing program that has been successfully run in community settings for parents in their workplace. To achieve the first objective, we conducted 9 individual or small group qualitative interviews with 11 workplace representatives involved in employee wellness/wellness programming from 8 different organizations across Southwestern Ontario. To achieve the second objective, we adapted a pre-existing program incorporating workplace representatives' suggestions to create Parents Working Together (PWT). We then tested the program using a pre/post uncontrolled feasibility trial with 9 employees of a large manufacturing company located in Guelph, Ontario. Results from the qualitative phase showed that a workplace parenting program that addresses general parenting and health behaviour messages is of interest to workplaces. Results from the feasibility trial suggest that PWT is feasible and well received by participants; attendance rates were high with 89 % of the participants attending 5 or more sessions and 44 % attending all 7 sessions offered. All participants stated they would recommend the program to co-workers. Just over half of our parent participants were male (55.6 %), which is a unique finding as the majority of existing parenting programs engage primarily mothers. Impact evaluation results suggest that changes in children's and parents' weight-related behaviours, as well as parents' reports of family interfering with work were in the

  7. 75 FR 45583 - New York: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-03

    ...: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency... authorized hazardous waste program which is set forth in the regulations entitled ``Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Programs'', New York's authorized hazardous waste program. EPA will incorporate by...

  8. The Role of Values, Moral Norms, and Descriptive Norms in Building Occupant Responses to an Energy-Efficiency Pilot Program and to Framing of Related Messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arpan, Laura M.; Barooah, Prabir; Subramany, Rahul

    2015-01-01

    This study examined building occupants' responses associated with an occupant-based energy-efficiency pilot in a university building. The influence of occupants' values and norms as well as effects of two educational message frames (descriptive vs. moral norms cues) on program support were tested. Occupants' personal moral norm to conserve energy…

  9. Developing Social Media-Based Suicide Prevention Messages in Partnership With Young People: Exploratory Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Jo; Bailey, Eleanor; Hetrick, Sarah; Paix, Steve; O'Donnell, Matt; Cox, Georgina; Ftanou, Maria; Skehan, Jaelea

    2017-10-04

    Social media is increasingly being used by young people for health-related issues, including communicating about suicide. Due to the concerns about causing distress or inducing suicidal thoughts or behaviors, to date young people neither have been engaged in the development of social media-based suicide prevention interventions nor have interventions focused on educating young people about safe ways to communicate about suicide online. Given the potential that social media holds to deliver messages to vast numbers of people across space and time and the fact that young people often prefer to seek help from their friends and peers, safely educating and engaging young people to develop suicide prevention messages that can be delivered via social media is an obvious next step. The objectives of this study were to (1) provide education to a small number of secondary school students about safe ways to communicate about suicide via social media; (2) engage the same young people in the development of a suite of social media-based suicide prevention multimedia messages; (3) assess the impact of this on participants; and (4) assess the acceptability and safety of the messages developed. This study involved two phases. In phase 1, 20 participants recruited from two schools took part in an 8- to 10-week program during which they were provided with psychoeducation about mental health and suicide, including how to talk safely about suicide online, and they were then supported to design and develop their own media messages. These participants completed an evaluation questionnaire at the conclusion of the program. In phase 2, a larger group of participants (n=69), recruited via an opt-in process, viewed the media messages and completed a short questionnaire about each one. Participants in phase 1 enjoyed the program and reported that they learned new skills, such as how to talk safely about suicide online, and felt more able to provide emotional support to others (16/20, 80%). No

  10. Adolescents just do not know what they want: a qualitative study to describe obese adolescents' experiences of text messaging to support behavior change maintenance post intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Kyla L; Kerr, Deborah A; Fenner, Ashley A; Straker, Leon M

    2014-04-08

    Adolescents are considered a hard to reach group and novel approaches are needed to encourage good health. Text messaging interventions have been reported as acceptable to adolescents but there is little evidence regarding the use of text messages with overweight and obese adolescents to support engagement or behavior change after the conclusion of a healthy lifestyle program. The intent of this study was to explore the opinions of overweight adolescents and their parents regarding the use of text messages as a support during the maintenance period following an intervention. This paper reports on the findings from focus groups conducted with adolescents (n=12) and parents (n=13) who had completed an eight-week intensive intervention known as Curtin University's Activity, Food and Attitudes Program (CAFAP). Focus groups were conducted three months post intensive intervention. Participants were asked about their experiences of the prior three-month maintenance phase during which adolescents had received tri-weekly text messages based on the self-determination theory and goal-setting theory. Participants were asked about the style and content of text messages used as well as how they used the text messages. Data were analyzed using content and thematic analyses. Two clear themes emerged from the focus groups relating to (1) what adolescents liked or thought they wanted in a text message to support behavior change, and (2) how they experienced or responded to text messages. Within the "like/want" theme, there were five sub-themes relating to the overall tone of the text, frequency, timing, reference to long-term goals, and inclusion of practical tips. Within the "response to text" theme, there were four sub-themes describing a lack of motivation, barriers to change, feelings of shame, and perceived unfavorable comparison with other adolescents. What adolescents said they wanted in text messages often conflicted with their actual experiences. Parent reports provided a

  11. The role of short messaging service in supporting the delivery of healthcare: An umbrella systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Househ, Mowafa

    2016-06-01

    Short messaging service (SMS) messages may present a convenient and cost-effective method to support healthcare interventions. This work assesses the effects of short messaging service on various healthcare interventions found in systematic reviews. The search strategy was based on two key concepts: short messaging service and healthcare delivery. The initial search was conducted in December 2012 and was updated in June 2013. Of the 550 identified references, 13 systematic reviews met the inclusion criteria, of which 8 were published in peer-reviewed journals and 5 were retrieved from the Cochrane library. Data analysis shows that low to moderate research evidence exists on the benefits of short messaging service interventions for appointment reminders, promoting health in developing countries and preventive healthcare. In many interventions, however, there were a few studies that were of high quality, and most of the studies were rated from low to moderate quality or had no rating at all. Healthcare organizations, policy makers, or clinicians using short messaging service messages to support healthcare interventions should (1) implement interventions that have been found to work in healthcare settings, (2) continue evaluating short messaging service interventions that have not been adequately assessed, and (3) improve collaboration between various healthcare entities to develop studies targeted at specific populations to evaluate the long-term impact of short messaging service on healthcare outcomes. © The Author(s) 2014.

  12. 75 FR 45489 - New York: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-03

    ...: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency... (EPA) to authorize States to operate their hazardous waste management programs in lieu of the Federal program. EPA uses the regulations entitled ``Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Programs'' to...

  13. A secure transmission scheme of streaming media based on the encrypted control message

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Bing; Jin, Zhigang; Shu, Yantai; Yu, Li

    2007-09-01

    As the use of streaming media applications increased dramatically in recent years, streaming media security becomes an important presumption, protecting the privacy. This paper proposes a new encryption scheme in view of characteristics of streaming media and the disadvantage of the living method: encrypt the control message in the streaming media with the high security lever and permute and confuse the data which is non control message according to the corresponding control message. Here the so-called control message refers to the key data of the streaming media, including the streaming media header and the header of the video frame, and the seed key. We encrypt the control message using the public key encryption algorithm which can provide high security lever, such as RSA. At the same time we make use of the seed key to generate key stream, from which the permutation list P responding to GOP (group of picture) is derived. The plain text of the non-control message XORs the key stream and gets the middle cipher text. And then obtained one is permutated according to P. In contrast the decryption process is the inverse process of the above. We have set up a testbed for the above scheme and found our scheme is six to eight times faster than the conventional method. It can be applied not only between PCs but also between handheld devices.

  14. Positive mood can increase or decrease message scrutiny: the hedonic contingency view of mood and message processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wegener, D T; Petty, R E; Smith, S M

    1995-07-01

    Currently dominant explanations of mood effects on persuasive message processing (i.e., cognitive capacity and feelings as information) predict that happy moods lead to less message scrutiny than neutral or sad moods. The hedonic contingency view (D. T. Wegener & R. E. Petty, 1994) predicts that happy moods can sometimes be associated with greater message processing activity because people in a happy mood are more attentive than neutral or sad people to the hedonic consequences of their actions. Consistent with this view, Experiment 1 finds that a happy mood can lead to greater message scrutiny than a neutral mood when the message is not mood threatening. Experiment 2 finds that a happy mood leads to greater message scrutiny than a sad mood when an uplifting message is encountered, but to less message scrutiny when a depressing message is encountered.

  15. WhatsApp Messaging: Achievements and Success in Academia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nitza, Davidivitch; Roman, Yavich

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, there has been a significant rise in the use of technological means in general and in academic teaching in particular. Many programs have been developed that include computer-assisted teaching, as well as online courses at educational institutions. The current study focuses on WhatsApp messaging and its use in academia. Studies…

  16. CDC MessageWorks: Designing and Validating a Social Marketing Tool to Craft and Defend Effective Messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, Galen E; Keller, Punam A; Reynolds, Jennifer; Schaur, Michelle; Krause, Diane

    2016-03-01

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, in partnership with Oak Ridge Associated Universities, designed an online social marketing strategy tool, MessageWorks, to help health communicators effectively formulate messages aimed at changing health behaviors and evaluate message tactics and audience characteristics. MessageWorks is based on the advisor for risk communication model that identifies 10 variables that can be used to predict target audience intentions to comply with health recommendations. This article discusses the value of the MessageWorks tool to health communicators and to the field of social marketing by (1) describing the scientific evidence supporting use of MessageWorks to improve health communication practice and (2) summarizing how to use MessageWorks and interpret the results it produces.

  17. Text messaging intervention for teens and young adults with diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markowitz, Jessica T; Cousineau, Tara; Franko, Debra L; Schultz, Alan T; Trant, Meredith; Rodgers, Rachel; Laffel, Lori M B

    2014-09-01

    Adolescents and young adults use text messaging as their primary mode of communication, thus providing an opportunity to use this mode of communication for mobile health (mHealth) interventions. Youth with diabetes are an important group for these mHealth initiatives, as diabetes management requires an enormous amount of daily effort and this population has difficulty achieving optimal diabetes management. Goal setting and self-efficacy are 2 factors in the management of diabetes. We examined the feasibility of a healthy lifestyle text messaging program targeting self-efficacy and goal setting among adolescents and young adults with diabetes. Participants, ages 16-21, were assigned to either a text messaging group, which received daily motivational messages about nutrition and physical activity, or a control group, which received paper-based information about healthy lifestyle. Both groups set goals for nutrition and physical activity and completed a measure of self-efficacy. Participants' mean age was 18.7 ± 1.6 years old, with diabetes duration of 10.0 ± 4.6 years, and A1c of 8.7 ± 1.7%. The text messaging intervention was rated highly and proved to be acceptable to participants. Self-efficacy, glycemic control, and body mass index did not change over the course of the short, 1-month pilot study. Positive, daily, motivational text messages may be effective in increasing motivation for small goal changes in the areas of nutrition and physical activity. These interventions may be used in the future in youth with diabetes to improve diabetes care. Utilizing more targeted text messages is an area for future research. © 2014 Diabetes Technology Society.

  18. An analysis of patient-provider secure messaging at two Veterans Health Administration medical centers: message content and resolution through secure messaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimada, Stephanie L; Petrakis, Beth Ann; Rothendler, James A; Zirkle, Maryan; Zhao, Shibei; Feng, Hua; Fix, Gemmae M; Ozkaynak, Mustafa; Martin, Tracey; Johnson, Sharon A; Tulu, Bengisu; Gordon, Howard S; Simon, Steven R; Woods, Susan S

    2017-09-01

    We sought to understand how patients and primary care teams use secure messaging (SM) to communicate with one another by analyzing secure message threads from 2 Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. We coded 1000 threads of SM communication sampled from 40 primary care teams. Most threads (94.5%) were initiated by patients (90.4%) or caregivers (4.1%); only 5.5% were initiated by primary care team members proactively reaching out to patients. Medication renewals and refills (47.2%), scheduling requests (17.6%), medication issues (12.9%), and health issues (12.7%) were the most common patient-initiated requests, followed by referrals (7.0%), administrative issues (6.5%), test results (5.4%), test issues (5.2%), informing messages (4.9%), comments about the patient portal or SM (4.1%), appreciation (3.9%), self-reported data (2.8%), life issues (1.5%), and complaints (1.5%). Very few messages were clinically urgent (0.7%) or contained other potentially challenging content. Message threads were mostly short (2.7 messages), comprising an average of 1.35 discrete content types. A substantial proportion of issues (24.2%) did not show any evidence of being resolved through SM. Time to response and extent of resolution via SM varied by message content. Proactive SM use by teams varied, but was most often for test results (32.7%), medication-related issues (21.8%), medication renewals (16.4%), or scheduling issues (18.2%). The majority of messages were transactional and initiated by patients or caregivers. Not all content categories were fully addressed over SM. Further education and training for both patients and clinical teams could improve the quality and efficiency of SM communication. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association 2017. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the United States.

  19. CDC MessageWorks: Designing and Validating a Social Marketing Tool to Craft and Defend Effective Messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, Galen E.; Keller, Punam A.; Reynolds, Jennifer; Schaur, Michelle; Krause, Diane

    2016-01-01

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, in partnership with Oak Ridge Associated Universities, designed an online social marketing strategy tool, MessageWorks, to help health communicators effectively formulate messages aimed at changing health behaviors and evaluate message tactics and audience characteristics. MessageWorks is based on the advisor for risk communication model that identifies 10 variables that can be used to predict target audience intentions to comply with health recommendations. This article discusses the value of the MessageWorks tool to health communicators and to the field of social marketing by (1) describing the scientific evidence supporting use of MessageWorks to improve health communication practice and (2) summarizing how to use MessageWorks and interpret the results it produces. PMID:26877714

  20. MODEL LOYALITAS PADA PENGGUNAAN BRAND INSTANT MESSAGING OLEH REMAJA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Gustiasa

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Instant messaging is one of the communication services that teenagers often use. Referring to its often socializing psychography, many instant messaging brands that compete get market share through marketing communications strategies. The condition of consumer loyalty as the ultimate goal of marketing communication here has its own challenges. Brand switching almost does not cost (zero cost so consumers often use two or more brands at once in their smartphone or gadget. This research builds and tests consumer loyalty model using brand instant messaging by adolescent. This type of quantitative research is selected by Structural Equation Modeling analysis. There are five hypothesis tests with six variables obtained through the results of previous research factor analysis and literature review. The analysis shows that the model is not fit and only two hypotheses accepted the significance of the influence between the variables. The first hypothesis received is the influence between information exposure variable to the level of brand attribute knowledge. The next hypothesis received significance is the influence of consumer satisfaction levels and perceptions of social support to consumer brand user loyalty.   Instant messaging merupakan salah satu layanan komunikasi yang kerap digunakan remaja. Mengacu pada psikografisnya yang kerap bersosialisasi, banyak merek instant messaging yang berkompetisi mendapatkan market share melalui strategi komunikasi pemasaran. Kondisi loyalitas konsumen sebagai tujuan akhir komunikasi pemasaran disini memiliki tantangan tersendiri. Perpindahan merek (brand switching nyaris tidak membutuhkan biaya (zero cost sehingga konsumen sering menggunakan dua atau lebih merek sekaligus dalam smartphone atau gadgetnya. Penelitian ini membangun dan menguji model loyalitas konsumen penggunaan brand instant messaging oleh remaja. Tipe penelitian kuantitatif dipilih dengan analisis Structural Equation Modeling. Terdapat lima

  1. Mission IM-Possible: Starting an Instant Message Reference Service Using Trillian

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciocco, Ronalee; Huff, Alice

    2007-01-01

    The authors, both of whom are working at the Musselman library, relate how they are always looking for ways to improve and update their reference service. When they introduced a chat reference service to their online library services, they received only four inquiries in the entire year 2002-2003. The authors found out later that the paltry number…

  2. 76 FR 26681 - Wisconsin: Incorporation by Reference of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-09

    ... of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA... Hazardous Waste Management Programs,'' Wisconsin's authorized hazardous waste program. EPA will incorporate... that are authorized and that the EPA will enforce under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, commonly referred...

  3. Message framing in social networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kao, Danny Tengti; Chuang, Shih-Chieh; Wang, Sui-Min; Zhang, Lei

    2013-10-01

    Online social networking sites represent significant new opportunities for Internet advertisers. However, results based on the real world cannot be generalized to all virtual worlds. In this research, the moderating effects of need for cognition (NFC) and knowledge were applied to examine the impact of message framing on attitudes toward social networking sites. A total of 216 undergraduates participated in the study. Results reveal that for social networking sites, while high-NFC individuals form more favorable attitudes toward negatively framed messages than positively framed messages, low-NFC individuals form more favorable attitudes toward positively framed messages than negatively framed messages. In addition, low-knowledge individuals demonstrate more favorable attitudes toward negatively framed messages than positively framed messages; however, the framing effect does not differentially affect the attitudes of high-knowledge individuals. Furthermore, the framing effect does not differentially affect the attitudes of high-NFC individuals with high knowledge. In contrast, low-NFC individuals with low knowledge hold more favorable attitudes toward positively framed messages than negatively framed messages.

  4. Mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Car, Josip; Gurol-Urganci, Ipek; de Jongh, Thyra; Vodopivec-Jamsek, Vlasta; Atun, Rifat

    2012-07-11

    Missed appointments are a major cause of inefficiency in healthcare delivery, with substantial monetary costs for the health system, leading to delays in diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Patients' forgetfulness is one of the main reasons for missed appointments, and reminders may help alleviate this problem. Modes of communicating reminders for appointments to patients include face-to-face communication, postal messages, calls to landlines or mobile phones, and mobile phone messaging. Mobile phone messaging applications such as Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS) could provide an important, inexpensive delivery medium for reminders for healthcare appointments. To assess the effects of mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments. Secondary objectives include assessment of patients' and healthcare providers' evaluation of the intervention; costs; and possible risks and harms associated with the intervention. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL,The Cochrane Library 2009, Issue 2), MEDLINE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), EMBASE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), PsycINFO (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), CINAHL (EbscoHOST) (January 1993 to June 2009), LILACS (January 1993 to June 2009) and African Health Anthology (January 1993 to June 2009). We also reviewed grey literature (including trial registers) and reference lists of articles. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-randomised controlled trials (QRCTs), controlled before-after (CBA) studies, or interrupted time series (ITS) studies with at least three time points before and after the intervention. We included studies assessing mobile phone messaging as reminders for healthcare appointments. We only included studies in which it was possible to assess effects of mobile phone messaging independent of other technologies or interventions.   Two review authors independently assessed all

  5. Improving the Effectiveness of Fundraising Messages: The Impact of Charity Goal Attainment, Message Framing, and Evidence on Persuasion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Enny; Kerkhof, Peter; Kuiper, Joyce

    2008-01-01

    This experimental study assessed the effectiveness of fundraising messages. Based on recent findings regarding the effects of message framing and evidence, effective fundraising messages should combine abstract, statistical information with a negative message frame and anecdotal evidence with a positive message frame. In addition, building on…

  6. Survey of Instant Messaging Applications Encryption Methods

    OpenAIRE

    Kabakuş, Abdullah; Kara, Resul

    2015-01-01

    Instant messaging applications has already taken the place of traditional Short Messaging Service (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) due to their popularity and usage easement they provide. Users of instant messaging applications are able to send both text and audio messages, different types of attachments such as photos, videos, contact information to their contacts in real time. Because of instant messaging applications use internet instead of Short Message Service Technical Reali...

  7. Impact of Cultural Exposure and Message Framing on Oral Health Behavior: Exploring the Role of Message Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brick, Cameron; McCully, Scout N; Updegraff, John A; Ehret, Phillip J; Areguin, Maira A; Sherman, David K

    2016-10-01

    Health messages are more effective when framed to be congruent with recipient characteristics, and health practitioners can strategically choose message features to promote adherence to recommended behaviors. We present exposure to US culture as a moderator of the impact of gain-frame versus loss-frame messages. Since US culture emphasizes individualism and approach orientation, greater cultural exposure was expected to predict improved patient choices and memory for gain-framed messages, whereas individuals with less exposure to US culture would show these advantages for loss-framed messages. 223 participants viewed a written oral health message in 1 of 3 randomized conditions-gain-frame, loss-frame, or no-message control-and were given 10 flosses. Cultural exposure was measured with the proportions of life spent and parents born in the US. At baseline and 1 week later, participants completed recall tests and reported recent flossing behavior. Message frame and cultural exposure interacted to predict improved patient decisions (increased flossing) and memory maintenance for the health message over 1 week; for example, those with low cultural exposure who saw a loss-frame message flossed more. Incongruent messages led to the same flossing rates as no message. Memory retention did not explain the effect of message congruency on flossing. Flossing behavior was self-reported. Cultural exposure may only have practical application in either highly individualistic or collectivistic countries. In health care settings where patients are urged to follow a behavior, asking basic demographic questions could allow medical practitioners to intentionally communicate in terms of gains or losses to improve patient decision making and treatment adherence. © The Author(s) 2015.

  8. 77 FR 46964 - Oklahoma: Incorporation by Reference of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-07

    ...: Incorporation by Reference of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program AGENCY: Environmental Protection... Agency (EPA) to authorize States to operate their hazardous waste management programs in lieu of the Federal program. The EPA uses the regulations entitled ``Approved State Hazardous Waste Management...

  9. 77 FR 29231 - Oklahoma: Incorporation by Reference of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-17

    ...: Incorporation by Reference of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program AGENCY: Environmental Protection... Agency (EPA) to authorize States to operate their hazardous waste management programs in lieu of the Federal program. The EPA uses the regulations entitled ``Approved State Hazardous Waste Management...

  10. 76 FR 26616 - Wisconsin: Incorporation by Reference of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-09

    ... Reference of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA... (RCRA) allows EPA to authorize States to operate their hazardous waste management programs in lieu of the Federal program. EPA uses the regulations entitled ``Approved State Hazardous Waste Management...

  11. 75 FR 17332 - Idaho: Incorporation by Reference of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-06

    ...: Incorporation by Reference of Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Program AGENCY: Environmental Protection... ``Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Programs,'' Idaho's authorized hazardous waste program. The EPA... regulations that are authorized and that the EPA will enforce under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, commonly...

  12. Learning experiences in population education: proposed guidelines and core messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-01-01

    As a result of the 1984 Regional Workshop for the Development of Packages of Adequate Learning Requirements in Population Education, the participants tackled the problem of non-institutionalization of population education into the formal and non-formal educational curricula in their countries. Based on their deliberations, several sets of guidelines and core messages were formulated to provide countries with a more definite direction that will hopefully ensure the functional and effective integration of population education in their respective national school and out-of-school curriculum system. Useful packages of learning materials in population education should help realize the country's population policy and goals within the broader framework of socioeconomic development, and the content of the package should comprehensively cover the core messages of the country's Population Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Program. The population knowledge base of the package should be accurate and relevant; the package should provide for graphic and visual presentation and for assessment of effects on the target groups. Proposed core messages in population education discuss the advantages of small family size and delayed marriage, and aspects of responsible parenthood. Other messages discuss population resource development and population-related beliefs and values.

  13. Degree sequence in message transfer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamuna, M.

    2017-11-01

    Message encryption is always an issue in current communication scenario. Methods are being devised using various domains. Graphs satisfy numerous unique properties which can be used for message transfer. In this paper, I propose a message encryption method based on degree sequence of graphs.

  14. Let's Talk About Breastfeeding: The Importance of Delivering a Message in a Home Visiting Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGinnis, Sandra; Lee, Eunju; Kirkland, Kristen; Miranda-Julian, Claudia; Greene, Rose

    2018-05-01

    To examine the potential impact of paraprofessional home visitors in promoting breastfeeding initiation and continuation among a high-risk population. A secondary analysis of program data from a statewide home visitation program. Thirty-six Healthy Families New York sites across New York State. A total of 3521 pregnant mothers at risk of poor child health and developmental outcomes. Home visitors deliver a multifaceted intervention that includes educating high-risk mothers on benefits of breastfeeding, encouraging them to breastfeed and supporting their efforts during prenatal and postnatal periods. Home visitor-reported content and frequency of home visits, participant-reported breastfeeding initiation and duration, and covariates (Kempe Family Stress Index, race and ethnicity, region, nativity, marital status, age, and education). Logistic regression. Breastfeeding initiation increased by 1.5% for each 1-point increase in the percentage of prenatal home visits that included breastfeeding discussions. Breastfeeding continuation during the first 6 months also increased with the percentage of earlier home visits that included breastfeeding discussions. Additionally, if a participant receives 1 more home visit during the third month, her likelihood of breastfeeding at 6 months increases by 11%. Effect sizes varied by months postpartum. Delivering a breastfeeding message consistently during regular home visits is important for increasing breastfeeding rates. Given that home visiting programs target new mothers least likely to breastfeed, a more consistent focus on breastfeeding in this supportive context may reduce breastfeeding disparities.

  15. Perceptions of anti-smoking messages amongst high school students in Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imam Syed H

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Surveys have provided evidence that tobacco use is widely prevalent amongst the youth in Pakistan. Several reviews have evaluated the effectiveness of various tobacco control programs, however, few have taken into account the perceptions of students themselves regarding these measures. The aim of this study was to determine the most effective anti-smoking messages that can be delivered to high-school students in Pakistan, based on their self-rated perceptions. It also aimed to assess the impact of pictorial/multi-media messages compared with written health warnings and to discover differences in perceptions of smokers to those of non-smokers to health warning messages. Methods This study was carried out in five major cities of Pakistan in private English-medium schools. A presentation was delivered at each school that highlighted the well-established health consequences of smoking using both written health warnings and pictorial/multi-media health messages. Following the presentation, the participants filled out a graded questionnaire form, using which they rated the risk-factors and messages that they thought were most effective in stopping or preventing them from smoking. The Friedman test was used to rank responses to each of the questions in the form. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank test used to analyze the impact of pictorial/multi-media messages over written statements. The Mann Whitney U test was used to compare responses of smokers with those of non-smokers. Results Picture of an oral cavity cancer, videos of a cancer patient using an electronic voice box and a patient on a ventilator, were perceived to be the most effective anti-smoking messages by students. Addiction, harming others through passive smoking and impact of smoking on disposable incomes were perceived to be less effective messages. Pictorial/multi-media messages were perceived to be more effective than written health warnings. Health warnings were perceived as

  16. Comprehensive Technical Report, General Electric Direct-Air-Cycle Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program, Program Summary and References

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thornton, G.; Rothstein, A.J.

    1962-06-28

    This is one of twenty-one volumes sumarizing the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program of the General Electric Company. This volume discusses the background to the General Electric program, and summarizes the various direct-air-cycle nuclear test assemblies and power plants that were developed. Because of the requirements of high performance, low weight, and small size, vast improvements in existing technology were required to meet the flight objectives. The technological progress achieved during the program is also summarized. The last appendix contains a compilation of the abstracts, tables of contents, and reference lists of the other twenty volumes.

  17. Entity-based Classification of Twitter Messages

    OpenAIRE

    Yerva, Surender Reddy; Miklós, Zoltán; Aberer, Karl

    2012-01-01

    Twitter is a popular micro-blogging service on theWeb, where people can enter short messages, which then become visible to some other users of the service. While the topics of these messages varies, there are a lot of messages where the users express their opinions about some companies or their products. These messages are a rich source of information for companies for sentiment analysis or opinion mining. There is however a great obstacle for analyzing the messages directly: as the company n...

  18. Framing of health information messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akl, Elie A; Oxman, Andrew D; Herrin, Jeph; Vist, Gunn E; Terrenato, Irene; Sperati, Francesca; Costiniuk, Cecilia; Blank, Diana; Schünemann, Holger

    2011-12-07

    The same information about the evidence on health effects can be framed either in positive words or in negative words. Some research suggests that positive versus negative framing can lead to different decisions, a phenomenon described as the framing effect. Attribute framing is the positive versus negative description of a specific attribute of a single item or a state, for example, "the chance of survival with cancer is 2/3" versus "the chance of mortality with cancer is 1/3". Goal framing is the description of the consequences of performing or not performing an act as a gain versus a loss, for example, "if you undergo a screening test for cancer, your survival will be prolonged" versus "if you don't undergo screening test for cancer, your survival will be shortened". To evaluate the effects of attribute (positive versus negative) framing and of goal (gain versus loss) framing of the same health information, on understanding, perception of effectiveness, persuasiveness, and behavior of health professionals, policy makers, and consumers. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library, issue 3 2007), MEDLINE (Ovid) (1966 to October 2007), EMBASE (Ovid) (1980 to October 2007), PsycINFO (Ovid) (1887 to October 2007). There were no language restrictions. We reviewed the reference lists of related systematic reviews, included studies and of excluded but closely related studies. We also contacted experts in the field. We included randomized controlled trials, quasi-randomised controlled trials, and cross-over studies with health professionals, policy makers, and consumers evaluating one of the two types of framing. Two review authors extracted data in duplicate and independently. We graded the quality of evidence for each outcome using the GRADE approach. We standardized the outcome effects using standardized mean difference (SMD). We stratified the analysis by the type of framing (attribute, goal) and conducted pre

  19. Automation of Precise Time Reference Stations (PTRS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, P. J.

    1985-04-01

    The U.S. Naval Observatory is presently engaged in a program of automating precise time stations (PTS) and precise time reference stations (PTBS) by using a versatile mini-computer controlled data acquisition system (DAS). The data acquisition system is configured to monitor locally available PTTI signals such as LORAN-C, OMEGA, and/or the Global Positioning System. In addition, the DAS performs local standard intercomparison. Computer telephone communications provide automatic data transfer to the Naval Observatory. Subsequently, after analysis of the data, results and information can be sent back to the precise time reference station to provide automatic control of remote station timing. The DAS configuration is designed around state of the art standard industrial high reliability modules. The system integration and software are standardized but allow considerable flexibility to satisfy special local requirements such as stability measurements, performance evaluation and printing of messages and certificates. The DAS operates completely independently and may be queried or controlled at any time with a computer or terminal device (control is protected for use by authorized personnel only). Such DAS equipped PTS are operational in Hawaii, California, Texas and Florida.

  20. mHealth Series: Measuring maternal newborn and child health coverage by text messaging – a county–level model for China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yanfeng; Chen, Li; van Velthoven, Michelle H. M. M. T.; Wang, Wei; Liu, Li; Du, Xiaozhen; Wu, Qiong; Li, Ye; Car, Josip

    2013-01-01

    Background Effective interventions in maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), if achieving high level of population coverage, could prevent most of deaths in children under five years of age. High–quality measurements of MNCH coverage are essential for tracking progress and making evidence–based decisions. Methods MNCH coverage data are mainly collected through fieldworkers’ interview with preselected households in standard programs of Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) or Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) in most low– and middle–income countries. Household surveys will continue to be the major data source for MNCH coverage in the foreseeable future. However, face–to–face data collection broadly used in household surveys is labor–intensive, time–consuming and expensive. Mobile phones are drawing more and more interest in medical research with the rapid increase in usage and text messaging could be an innovative way of data collection, that is, we could collect DHS data through mHealth method. We refer to it as “mDHS”. Finding We propose in this paper a conceptual model for measuring MNCH coverage by text messaging in China. In developing this model, we considered resource constraints, sample representativeness, sample size and survey bias. The components of the model are text messaging platform, routine health information system, health facilities, communities and households. Conclusions Measuring MNCH interventions coverage by text messaging could be advantageous in many ways and establish a much larger evidence–base for MNCH health policies in China. Before mDHS could indeed be launched, research priorities would include a systematic assessment of routine health information systems and exploring feasibility to collect name lists, mobile phone numbers and general demographic and socio–economic data; qualitative interviews with health workers and caregivers; assessment of data validity of all indicators to be collected by text

  1. Adolescents Just Do Not Know What They Want: A Qualitative Study to Describe Obese Adolescents’ Experiences of Text Messaging to Support Behavior Change Maintenance Post Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, Deborah A; Fenner, Ashley A; Straker, Leon M

    2014-01-01

    Background Adolescents are considered a hard to reach group and novel approaches are needed to encourage good health. Text messaging interventions have been reported as acceptable to adolescents but there is little evidence regarding the use of text messages with overweight and obese adolescents to support engagement or behavior change after the conclusion of a healthy lifestyle program. Objective The intent of this study was to explore the opinions of overweight adolescents and their parents regarding the use of text messages as a support during the maintenance period following an intervention. Methods This paper reports on the findings from focus groups conducted with adolescents (n=12) and parents (n=13) who had completed an eight-week intensive intervention known as Curtin University’s Activity, Food and Attitudes Program (CAFAP). Focus groups were conducted three months post intensive intervention. Participants were asked about their experiences of the prior three-month maintenance phase during which adolescents had received tri-weekly text messages based on the self-determination theory and goal-setting theory. Participants were asked about the style and content of text messages used as well as how they used the text messages. Data were analyzed using content and thematic analyses. Results Two clear themes emerged from the focus groups relating to (1) what adolescents liked or thought they wanted in a text message to support behavior change, and (2) how they experienced or responded to text messages. Within the “like/want” theme, there were five sub-themes relating to the overall tone of the text, frequency, timing, reference to long-term goals, and inclusion of practical tips. Within the “response to text” theme, there were four sub-themes describing a lack of motivation, barriers to change, feelings of shame, and perceived unfavorable comparison with other adolescents. What adolescents said they wanted in text messages often conflicted with their

  2. Fear, threat and efficacy in threat appeals: message involvement as a key mediator to message acceptance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cauberghe, Verolien; De Pelsmacker, Patrick; Janssens, Wim; Dens, Nathalie

    2009-03-01

    In a sample of 170 youngsters, the effect of two versions of a public service announcement (PSA) threat appeal against speeding, placed in four different contexts, on evoked fear, perceived threat (severity and probability of occurrence), perceived response efficacy and self-efficacy, message involvement and anti-speeding attitude and anti-speeding intention is investigated. Evoked fear and perceived threat and efficacy independently influence message involvement. Message involvement is a full mediator between evoked fear, perceived threat and efficacy perception on the one hand, and attitudes towards the message and behavioral intention to accept the message on the other. Speeding experience has a significantly negative impact on anti-speeding attitudes. Message and medium context threat levels and context thematic congruency have a significant effect on evoked fear and to a lesser extent on perceived threat.

  3. Getting the message across: age differences in the positive and negative framing of health care messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shamaskin, Andrea M; Mikels, Joseph A; Reed, Andrew E

    2010-09-01

    Although valenced health care messages influence impressions, memory, and behavior (Levin, Schneider, & Gaeth, 1998) and the processing of valenced information changes with age (Carstensen & Mikels, 2005), these 2 lines of research have thus far been disconnected. This study examined impressions of, and memory for, positively and negatively framed health care messages that were presented in pamphlets to 25 older adults and 24 younger adults. Older adults relative to younger adults rated positive pamphlets more informative than negative pamphlets and remembered a higher proportion of positive to negative messages. However, older adults misremembered negative messages to be positive. These findings demonstrate the age-related positivity effect in health care messages with promise as to the persuasive nature and lingering effects of positive messages. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

  4. Mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurol-Urganci, Ipek; de Jongh, Thyra; Vodopivec-Jamsek, Vlasta; Atun, Rifat; Car, Josip

    2013-12-05

    This review is an update of the original Cochrane review published in July 2012. Missed appointments are a major cause of inefficiency in healthcare delivery with substantial monetary costs for the health system, leading to delays in diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Patients' forgetfulness is one of the main reasons for missed appointments. Patient reminders may help reduce missed appointments. Modes of communicating reminders for appointments to patients include face-to-face communication, postal messages, calls to landlines or mobile phones, and mobile phone messaging. Mobile phone messaging applications, such as Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS), could provide an important, inexpensive delivery medium for reminders for healthcare appointments. To update our review assessing the effects of mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments. Secondary objectives include assessment of costs; health outcomes; patients' and healthcare providers' evaluation of the intervention and perceptions of safety; and possible harms and adverse effects associated with the intervention. Original searches were run in June 2009. For this update, we searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL,The Cochrane Library 2012, Issue 8), MEDLINE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to August 2012), EMBASE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to August 2012), PsycINFO (OvidSP) (January 1993 to August 2012) and CINAHL (EbscoHOST) (January 1993 to August 2012). We also reviewed grey literature (including trial registers) and reference lists of articles. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing mobile phone messaging as reminders for healthcare appointments. We only included studies in which it was possible to assess effects of mobile phone messaging independent of other technologies or interventions.   Two review authors independently assessed all studies against the inclusion criteria, with any disagreements resolved by a third

  5. Manipulative Use of Short Messaging Service (SMS Text Messages by Nigerian Telecommunications Companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayoola, Kehinde A.

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper is an application of Relevance Theory for the interpretation of short messaging service (SMS text messages emanating from Nigerian telecommunications companies to their subscribers. The aim of the research was to identify and describe the manipulative strategies employed by Nigerian telecommunications companies to induce subscribers to part with their money through sales promotion lotteries. 100 SMS texts were purposively extracted from the cell phones of randomly selected residents of Lagos Nigeria who had received promotional SMS text messages from three major Nigerian telecommunications companies. Using Sperber and Wilson's Relevance Theory (1995 as its theoretical framework, the paper described the manipulative use of SMS by Nigerian telecommunications companies. The analysis revealed that SMS text messages were encoded to achieve maximization of relevance through explicature and implicature; contextual implication and strengthening; and the reduction of processing effort through violating the maxim of truthfulness and the creative use of graphology. The paper concludes that SMS text-messages were used manipulatively by Nigerian telecommunications companies to earn indirect income from sales promotion lottery.

  6. Text messaging in health care: a systematic review of impact studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeager, Valerie A; Menachemi, Nir

    2011-01-01

    Studies suggest text messaging is beneficial to health care; however, no one has synthesized the overall evidence on texting interventions. In response to this need, we conducted a systematic review of the impacts of text messaging in health care. PubMed database searches and subsequent reference list reviews sought English-language, peer-reviewed studies involving text messaging in health care. Commentaries, conference proceedings, and feasibilities studies were excluded. Data was extracted using an article coding sheet and input into a database for analysis. Of the 61 papers reviewed, 50 articles (82%) found text messaging had a positive effect on the primary outcome. Average sample sizes in articles reporting positive findings (n=813) were significantly larger than those that did not find a positive impact (n=178) on outcomes (p = 0.032). Articles were categorized into focal groups as follows: 27 articles (44.3%) investigated the impact of texting on disease management, 24 articles (39.3%) focused texting's impact to public health related outcomes, and 10 articles (16.4%) examined texting and its influence on administrative processes. Articles in focal groups differed by the purpose of the study, direction of the communication, and where they were published, but not in likelihood of reporting a positive impact from texting. Current evidence indicates that text messaging health care interventions are largely beneficial clinically, in public health related uses, and in terms of administrative processes. However, despite the promise of these findings, literature gaps exist, especially in primary care settings, across geographic regions and with vulnerable populations.

  7. Delusions of reference: a new theoretical model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Startup, Mike; Bucci, Sandra; Langdon, Robyn

    2009-03-01

    Although delusions of reference are one of the most common psychotic symptoms, they have been the focus of little research, possibly because they have been considered to be integral to persecutory delusions. Evidence has now emerged that there are two kinds of delusion of reference. One of these, referential delusions of communication, which involves beliefs that others are communicating in subtle, nonverbal ways, is the focus of this paper. We present a new model designed to account for the four crucial aspects of the phenomenology of these delusions: (1) that neutral stimuli are experienced as having personal significance; (2) that the neutral stimuli are experienced as communicating a message nonverbally; (3) that the content of the message concerns the self; (4) that the experience of a self-referent communication is believed rather than being dismissed as implausible. We used PsycINFO and Scopus, using the term "delusion* of reference", to search for publications with a bearing on our model. The amount of research we found that was designed to test aspects of this model is small but other published research appears to provide some support for its various steps. Much of this research was not explicitly intended to provide an account of delusions of reference but its relevance nevertheless seems clear. There is preliminary support for the plausibility of our model but much additional research is needed. We conclude by summarising what we consider to be the main desiderata.

  8. Improving the effectiveness of fundraising messages: The impact of charity goal attainment, message framing, and evidence on persuasion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Das, E.; Kerkhof, P.; Kuiper, J.

    2008-01-01

    This experimental study assessed the effectiveness of fundraising messages. Based on recent findings regarding the effects of message framing and evidence, effective fundraising messages should combine abstract, statistical information with a negative message frame and anecdotal evidence with a

  9. Technology-Enhanced Maintenance of Treatment Gains in Eating Disorders: Efficacy of an Intervention Delivered via Text Messaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauer, Stephanie; Okon, Eberhard; Meermann, Rolf; Kordy, Hans

    2012-01-01

    Objective: Given the lack of maintenance interventions for eating disorders, a program delivered via the short message service (SMS) and text messaging was developed to support patients after their discharge from inpatient treatment. Method: The efficacy of the intervention was studied in a randomized controlled trial. Additionally, its impact on…

  10. The impact of cultural exposure and message framing on oral health behavior: Exploring the role of message memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brick, Cameron; McCully, Scout N.; Updegraff, John A.; Ehret, Phillip J.; Areguin, Maira A.; Sherman, David K.

    2015-01-01

    Background Health messages are more effective when framed to be congruent with recipient characteristics, and health practitioners can strategically decide on message features to promote adherence to recommended behaviors. We present exposure to United States (U.S.) culture as a moderator of the impact of gain- vs. loss-frame messages. Since U.S. culture emphasizes individualism and approach orientation, greater cultural exposure was expected to predict improved patient choices and memory for gain-framed messages, whereas individuals with less exposure to U.S. culture would show these advantages for loss-framed messages. Methods 223 participants viewed a written oral health message in one of three randomized conditions: gain-frame, loss-frame, or no-message control, and were given ten flosses. Cultural exposure was measured with the proportions of life spent and parents born in the U.S. At baseline and one week later, participants completed recall tests and reported recent flossing behavior. Results Message frame and cultural exposure interacted to predict improved patient decisions (increased flossing) and memory maintenance for the health message over one week. E.g., those with low cultural exposure who saw a loss-frame message flossed more. Incongruent messages led to the same flossing rates as no message. Memory retention did not explain the effect of message congruency on flossing. Limitations Flossing behavior was self-reported. Cultural exposure may only have practical application in either highly individualistic or collectivistic countries. Conclusions In healthcare settings where patients are urged to follow a behavior, asking basic demographic questions could allow medical practitioners to intentionally communicate in terms of gains or losses to improve patient decision making and treatment adherence. PMID:25654986

  11. Developing effective messages about potable recycled water: The importance of message structure and content

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, J.; Fielding, K. S.; Gardner, J.; Leviston, Z.; Green, M.

    2015-04-01

    Community opposition is a barrier to potable recycled water schemes. Effective communication strategies about such schemes are needed. Drawing on social psychological literature, two experimental studies are presented, which explore messages that improve public perceptions of potable recycled water. The Elaboration-Likelihood Model of information processing and attitude change is tested and supported. Study 1 (N = 415) premeasured support for recycled water, and trust in government information at Time 1. Messages varied in complexity and sidedness were presented at Time 2 (3 weeks later), and support and trust were remeasured. Support increased after receiving information, provided that participants received complex rather than simple information. Trust in government was also higher after receiving information. There was tentative evidence of this in response to two-sided messages rather than one-sided messages. Initial attitudes to recycled water moderated responses to information. Those initially neutral or ambivalent responded differently to simple and one-sided messages, compared to participants with positive or negative attitudes. Study 2 (N = 957) tested the effectiveness of information about the low relative risks, and/or benefits of potable recycled water, compared to control groups. Messages about the low risks resulted in higher support when the issue of recycled water was relevant. Messages about benefits resulted in higher perceived issue relevance, but did not translate into greater support. The results highlight the importance of understanding people's motivation to process information, and need to tailor communication to match attitudes and stage of recycled water schemes' development.

  12. Toward Predicting Popularity of Social Marketing Messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Bei; Chen, Miao; Kwok, Linchi

    Popularity of social marketing messages indicates the effectiveness of the corresponding marketing strategies. This research aims to discover the characteristics of social marketing messages that contribute to different level of popularity. Using messages posted by a sample of restaurants on Facebook as a case study, we measured the message popularity by the number of "likes" voted by fans, and examined the relationship between the message popularity and two properties of the messages: (1) content, and (2) media type. Combining a number of text mining and statistics methods, we have discovered some interesting patterns correlated to "more popular" and "less popular" social marketing messages. This work lays foundation for building computational models to predict the popularity of social marketing messages in the future.

  13. Maintaining relevance: an evaluation of health message sponsorship at Australian community sport and arts events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenberg, Michael; Ferguson, Renee

    2014-12-04

    Health message sponsorship at community sport and arts events is an established component of a health promotion settings approach. Recent increases in commercial sponsorship of sport and community events has swelled competition for consumer attention and potentially reduced the impact of health message sponsorship. The purpose of this study was to evaluate awareness, understandings and behavioural intentions of health messages promoted at sponsored community sport and arts events. Interview and self-administered surveys were completed by 2259 adults attending one of 29 sport and arts events held in Western Australia between 2008 and 2013. The surveys measured participant awareness of the health message promoted at the event, as well as comprehension, acceptance and behavioural intention as a result of exposure to health messages. Awareness of the sponsored health message was 58% across all sponsored events, with high levels of comprehension (74%) and acceptance (92%) among those aware of the health message. Forming behavioural intentions was significantly related to the type of sponsored message promoted at the event, being female and over 40 years of age. Messages about sun protection and promoting mental health were the most likely to result in behavioural intention. Health message sponsorship, at least within a comprehensive sponsorship program, appears to remain an effective health promotion strategy for generating awareness and behavioural intention among people attending sport and arts events. Remaining relevant within a modern sponsorship environment appears closely aligned to selecting health messages that promote behavioural action relevant to the sponsored event that are also supported by broader health promotion campaigns.

  14. A Messaging Infrastructure for WLCG

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casey, James; Cons, Lionel; Lapka, Wojciech; Paladin, Massimo; Skaburskas, Konstantin

    2011-01-01

    During the EGEE-III project operational tools such as SAM, Nagios, Gridview, the regional Dashboard and GGUS moved to a communication architecture based on ActiveMQ, an open-source enterprise messaging solution. LHC experiments, in particular ATLAS, developed prototypes of systems using the same messaging infrastructure, validating the system for their use-cases. In this paper we describe the WLCG messaging use cases and outline an improved messaging architecture based on the experience gained during the EGEE-III period. We show how this provides a solid basis for many applications, including the grid middleware, to improve their resilience and reliability.

  15. Distributed parallel messaging for multiprocessor systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Dong; Heidelberger, Philip; Salapura, Valentina; Senger, Robert M; Steinmacher-Burrow, Burhard; Sugawara, Yutaka

    2013-06-04

    A method and apparatus for distributed parallel messaging in a parallel computing system. The apparatus includes, at each node of a multiprocessor network, multiple injection messaging engine units and reception messaging engine units, each implementing a DMA engine and each supporting both multiple packet injection into and multiple reception from a network, in parallel. The reception side of the messaging unit (MU) includes a switch interface enabling writing of data of a packet received from the network to the memory system. The transmission side of the messaging unit, includes switch interface for reading from the memory system when injecting packets into the network.

  16. ``Frames of Reference'' revisited

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steyn-Ross, Alistair; Ivey, Donald G.

    1992-12-01

    The PSSC teaching film, ``Frames of Reference,'' was made in 1960, and was one of the first audio-visual attempts at showing how your physical ``point of view,'' or frame of reference, necessarily alters both your perceptions and your observations of motion. The gentle humor and original demonstrations made a lasting impact on many audiences, and with its recent re-release as part of the AAPT Cinema Classics videodisc it is timely that we should review both the message and the methods of the film. An annotated script and photographs from the film are presented, followed by extension material on rotating frames which teachers may find appropriate for use in their classrooms: constructions, demonstrations, an example, and theory.

  17. When communications collide with recipients' actions: effects of post-message behavior on intentions to follow the message recommendation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albarracín, Dolores; Cohen, Joel B; Kumkale, G Tarcan

    2003-07-01

    Two experiments investigated the processes through which post-message behavior (e.g., noncompliance) influences resistance to the message. Participants in Experiment 1 read preventive, consumer-education messages that either opposed the consumption of an alcohol-like product or recommended moderation. Half of the participants then tried the product, whereas the remaining participants performed a filler task. In the absence of trial, the two messages had the same effect. However, recipients of the abstinence-promoting preventive message who tried the product had stronger intentions to use the product in the future than recipients of the moderation message. This finding suggests that assessments of message impact may be inadequate unless an opportunity for trial is also provided. Results are interpreted in terms of self-perception and cognitive dissonance and contrasted from psychological reactance.

  18. When Communications Collide With Recipients’ Actions: Effects of Post-Message Behavior on Intentions to Follow the Message Recommendation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albarracín, Dolores; Cohen, Joel B.; Kumkale, G. Tarcan

    2013-01-01

    Two experiments investigated the processes through which post-message behavior (e.g., noncompliance) influences resistance to the message. Participants in Experiment 1 read preventive, consumer-education messages that either opposed the consumption of an alcohol-like product or recommended moderation. Half of the participants then tried the product, whereas the remaining participants performed a filler task. In the absence of trial, the two messages had the same effect. However, recipients of the abstinence-promoting preventive message who tried the product had stronger intentions to use the product in the future than recipients of the moderation message. This finding suggests that assessments of message impact may be inadequate unless an opportunity for trial is also provided. Results are interpreted in terms of self-perception and cognitive dissonance and contrasted from psychological reactance. PMID:15018672

  19. Guidelines for designing messages in risk communication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takashita, Hirofumi; Horikoshi, Hidehiko

    2004-07-01

    Risk Communication Study Team (hereafter called RC team) has designed messages for risk communication based on the analysis of the local residents' opinions which were expressed in several questionnaire surveys. The messages are described in a side format (Power Point format) every single content. This report provides basic guidelines for making messages that are used for risk communication, and does not include concrete messages which RC team designed. The RC team has already published the report entitled 'Information materials for risk communication' (JNC TN8450 2003-008) separately, and it gives the concrete messages. This report shows general cautions and checklists in designing messages, comments on the messages from outside risk communication experts, and opinions from local residents. (author)

  20. Comparative analysis of methods and tools for open and closed fuel cycles modeling: MESSAGE and DESAE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andrianov, A.A.; Korovin, Yu.A.; Murogov, V.M.; Fedorova, E.V.; Fesenko, G.A.

    2006-01-01

    Comparative analysis of optimization and simulation methods by the example of MESSAGE and DESAE programs is carried out for nuclear power prospects and advanced fuel cycles modeling. Test calculations for open and two-component nuclear power and closed fuel cycle are performed. Auxiliary simulation-dynamic model is developed to specify MESSAGE and DESAE modeling approaches difference. The model description is given [ru

  1. Event-Driven Messaging for Offline Data Quality Monitoring at ATLAS

    CERN Document Server

    Onyisi, Peter; The ATLAS collaboration

    2015-01-01

    During LHC Run 1, the information flow through the offline data quality monitoring in ATLAS relied heavily on chains of processes polling each other's outputs for handshaking purposes. This resulted in a fragile architecture with many possible points of failure and an inability to monitor the overall state of the distributed system. We report on the status of a project undertaken during the LHC shutdown to replace the ad hoc synchronization methods with a uniform message queue system. This enables the use of standard protocols to connect processes on multiple hosts; reliable transmission of messages between possibly unreliable programs; easy monitoring of the information flow; and the removal of inefficient polling-based communication.

  2. Evaluation of Sexual Communication Message Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Parent-child communication about sex is an important proximal reproductive health outcome. But while campaigns to promote it such as the Parents Speak Up National Campaign (PSUNC) have been effective, little is known about how messages influence parental cognitions and behavior. This study examines which message features explain responses to sexual communication messages. We content analyzed 4 PSUNC ads to identify specific, measurable message and advertising execution features. We then develop quantitative measures of those features, including message strategies, marketing strategies, and voice and other stylistic features, and merged the resulting data into a dataset drawn from a national media tracking survey of the campaign. Finally, we conducted multivariable logistic regression models to identify relationships between message content and ad reactions/receptivity, and between ad reactions/receptivity and parents' cognitions related to sexual communication included in the campaign's conceptual model. We found that overall parents were highly receptive to the PSUNC ads. We did not find significant associations between message content and ad reactions/receptivity. However, we found that reactions/receptivity to specific PSUNC ads were associated with increased norms, self-efficacy, short- and long-term expectations about parent-child sexual communication, as theorized in the conceptual model. This study extends previous research and methods to analyze message content and reactions/receptivity. The results confirm and extend previous PSUNC campaign evaluation and provide further evidence for the conceptual model. Future research should examine additional message content features and the effects of reactions/receptivity. PMID:21599875

  3. Evaluation of Sexual Communication Message Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khan Munziba

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Parent-child communication about sex is an important proximal reproductive health outcome. But while campaigns to promote it such as the Parents Speak Up National Campaign (PSUNC have been effective, little is known about how messages influence parental cognitions and behavior. This study examines which message features explain responses to sexual communication messages. We content analyzed 4 PSUNC ads to identify specific, measurable message and advertising execution features. We then develop quantitative measures of those features, including message strategies, marketing strategies, and voice and other stylistic features, and merged the resulting data into a dataset drawn from a national media tracking survey of the campaign. Finally, we conducted multivariable logistic regression models to identify relationships between message content and ad reactions/receptivity, and between ad reactions/receptivity and parents' cognitions related to sexual communication included in the campaign's conceptual model. We found that overall parents were highly receptive to the PSUNC ads. We did not find significant associations between message content and ad reactions/receptivity. However, we found that reactions/receptivity to specific PSUNC ads were associated with increased norms, self-efficacy, short- and long-term expectations about parent-child sexual communication, as theorized in the conceptual model. This study extends previous research and methods to analyze message content and reactions/receptivity. The results confirm and extend previous PSUNC campaign evaluation and provide further evidence for the conceptual model. Future research should examine additional message content features and the effects of reactions/receptivity.

  4. 77 FR 3224 - New Mexico: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-23

    ... Mexico: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program AGENCY: Environmental... entitled ``Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Programs,'' New Mexico's authorized hazardous waste... of the State regulations that are authorized and that the EPA will enforce under the Solid Waste...

  5. TXT@WORK: pediatric hospitalists and text messaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuhlmann, Stephanie; Ahlers-Schmidt, Carolyn R; Steinberger, Erik

    2014-07-01

    Many studies assess provider-patient communication through text messaging; however, minimal research has addressed communication among physicians. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of text messaging by pediatric hospitalists. A brief, anonymous, electronic survey was distributed through the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Hospital Medicine Listserv in February 2012. Survey questions assessed work-related text messaging. Of the 106 pediatric hospitalist respondents, 97 met inclusion criteria. Most were female (73%) and had been in practice text messages, some (12%) more than 10 times per shift. More than half (53%) received work-related text messages when not at work. When asked to identify all potential work recipients, most often sent work-related text messages to other pediatric hospitalists (64%), fellows or resident physicians (37%), and subspecialists/consulting physicians (28%). When asked their preferred mode for brief communication, respondents' preferences varied. Many (46%) respondents worried privacy laws can be violated by sending/receiving text messages, and some (30%) reported having received protected health information (PHI) through text messages. However, only 11% reported their institution offered encryption software for text messaging. Physicians were using text messaging as a means of brief, work-related communication. Concerns arose regarding transfer of PHI using unsecure systems and work-life balance. Future research should examine accuracy and effectiveness of text message communication in the hospital, as well as patient privacy issues.

  6. 78 FR 52166 - Quantitative Messaging Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-22

    ... COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION Quantitative Messaging Research AGENCY: Commodity Futures... survey will follow qualitative message testing research (for which CFTC received fast-track OMB approval... message testing research (for which CFTC received fast-track OMB approval) and is necessary to identify...

  7. Source Similarity and Social Media Health Messages: Extending Construal Level Theory to Message Sources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Rachel

    2015-09-01

    Social media users post messages about health goals and behaviors to online social networks. Compared with more traditional sources of health communication such as physicians or health journalists, peer sources are likely to be perceived as more socially close or similar, which influences how messages are processed. This experimental study uses construal level theory of psychological distance to predict how mediated health messages from peers influence health-related cognition and behavioral intention. Participants were exposed to source cues that identified peer sources as being either highly attitudinally and demographically similar to or different from participants. As predicted by construal level theory, participants who perceived sources of social media health messages as highly similar listed a greater proportion of beliefs about the feasibility of health behaviors and a greater proportion of negative beliefs, while participants who perceived sources as more dissimilar listed a greater proportion of positive beliefs about the health behaviors. Results of the study could be useful in determining how health messages from peers could encourage individuals to set realistic health goals.

  8. Effects of Text Messaging on Academic Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barks Amanda

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available University students frequently send and receive cellular phone text messages during classroominstruction. Cognitive psychology research indicates that multi-tasking is frequently associatedwith performance cost. However, university students often have considerable experience withelectronic multi-tasking and may believe that they can devote necessary attention to a classroomlecture while sending and receiving text messages. In the current study, university students whoused text messaging were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: 1. a group that sent andreceived text messages during a lecture or, 2. a group that did not engage in text messagingduring the lecture. Participants who engaged in text messaging demonstrated significantlypoorer performance on a test covering lecture content compared with the group that did notsend and receive text messages. Participants exhibiting higher levels of text messaging skill hadsignificantly lower test scores than participants who were less proficient at text messaging. It ishypothesized that in terms of retention of lecture material, more frequent task shifting by thosewith greater text messaging proficiency contributed to poorer performance. Overall, the findingsdo not support the view, held by many university students, that this form of multitasking has littleeffect on the acquisition of lecture content. Results provide empirical support for teachers andprofessors who ban text messaging in the classroom.

  9. The perfect message at the perfect moment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalyanam, Kirthi; Zweben, Monte

    2005-11-01

    Marketers planning promotional campaigns ask questions to boost the odds that the messages will be accepted: Who should receive each message? What should be its content? How should we deliver it? The one question they rarely ask is, when should we deliver it? That's too bad, because in marketing, timing is arguably the most important variable of all. Indeed, there are moments in a customer's relationship with a business when she wants to communicate with that business because something has changed. If the company contacts her with the right message in the right format at the right time, there's a good chance of a warm reception. The question of "when" can be answered by a new computer-based model called "dialogue marketing," which is, to date, the highest rung on an evolutionary ladder that ascends from database marketing to relationship marketing to one-to-one marketing. Its principle advantages over older approaches are that it is completely interactive, exploits many communication channels, and is "relationship aware": that is, it continuously tracks every nuance of the customer's interaction with the business. Thus, dialogue marketing responds to each transition in that relationship at the moment the customer requires attention. Turning a traditional marketing strategy into a dialogue-marketing program is a straightforward matter. Begin by identifying the batch communications you make with customers, then ask yourself what events could trigger those communications to make them more timely. Add a question or call to action to each message and prepare a different treatment or response for each possible answer. Finally, create a series of increasingly urgent calls to action that kick in if the question or call to action goes unanswered by the customer. As dialogue marketing proliferates, it may provide the solid new footing that Madison Avenue seeks.

  10. Improving Type Error Messages in OCaml

    OpenAIRE

    Charguéraud , Arthur

    2015-01-01

    International audience; Cryptic type error messages are a major obstacle to learning OCaml or other ML-based languages. In many cases, error messages cannot be interpreted without a sufficiently-precise model of the type inference algorithm. The problem of improving type error messages in ML has received quite a bit of attention over the past two decades, and many different strategies have been considered. The challenge is not only to produce error messages that are both sufficiently concise ...

  11. CMLOG: A common message logging system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, J.; Akers, W.; Bickley, M.; Wu, D.; Watson, W. III

    1997-01-01

    The Common Message Logging (CMLOG) system is an object-oriented and distributed system that not only allows applications and systems to log data (messages) of any type into a centralized database but also lets applications view incoming messages in real-time or retrieve stored data from the database according to selection rules. It consists of a concurrent Unix server that handles incoming logging or searching messages, a Motif browser that can view incoming messages in real-time or display stored data in the database, a client daemon that buffers and sends logging messages to the server, and libraries that can be used by applications to send data to or retrieve data from the database via the server. This paper presents the design and implementation of the CMLOG system meanwhile it will also address the issue of integration of CMLOG into existing control systems. CMLOG into existing control systems

  12. Aquifer thermal energy storage reference manual: seasonal thermal energy storage program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prater, L.S.

    1980-01-01

    This is the reference manual of the Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage (STES) Program, and is the primary document for the transfer of technical information of the STES Program. It has been issued in preliminary form and will be updated periodically to include more technical data and results of research. As the program progresses and new technical data become available, sections of the manual will be revised to incorporate these data. This primary document contains summaries of: the TRW, incorporated demonstration project at Behtel, Alaska, Dames and Moore demonstration project at Stony Brook, New York, and the University of Minnesota demonstration project at Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; the technical support programs including legal/institutional assessment; economic assessment; environmental assessment; field test facilities; a compendia of existing information; numerical simulation; and non-aquifer STES concepts. (LCL)

  13. Hand hygiene posters: selling the message.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenner, E A; Jones, F; Fletcher, B C; Miller, L; Scott, G M

    2005-02-01

    This literature review was undertaken to determine the established theory and research that might be utilized to inform the construction of persuasive messages on hand hygiene posters. It discusses the principles of message framing and the use of fear appeals. Current theory suggests that the most effective messages for health promotion behaviours should be framed in terms of gains rather than losses for the individual. However, as clinical hand hygiene is largely for the benefit of others (i.e. patients), messages should also invoke a sense of personal responsibility and appeal to altruistic behaviour. The use of repeated minimal fear appeals have their place. Posters that simply convey training messages are not effective persuaders.

  14. What's in a message? Delivering sexual health promotion to young people in Australia via text messaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hellard Margaret E

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Advances in communication technologies have dramatically changed how individuals access information and communicate. Recent studies have found that mobile phone text messages (SMS can be used successfully for short-term behaviour change. However there is no published information examining the acceptability, utility and efficacy of different characteristics of health promotion SMS. This paper presents the results of evaluation focus groups among participants who received twelve sexual health related SMS as part of a study examining the impact of text messaging for sexual health promotion to on young people in Victoria, Australia. Methods Eight gender-segregated focus groups were held with 21 males and 22 females in August 2008. Transcripts of audio recordings were analysed using thematic analysis. Data were coded under one or more themes. Results Text messages were viewed as an acceptable and 'personal' means of health promotion, with participants particularly valuing the informal language. There was a preference for messages that were positive, relevant and short and for messages to cover a variety of topics. Participants were more likely to remember and share messages that were funny, rhymed and/or tied into particular annual events. The message broadcasting, generally fortnightly on Friday afternoons, was viewed as appropriate. Participants said the messages provided new information, a reminder of existing information and reduced apprehension about testing for sexually transmitted infections. Conclusions Mobile phones, in particular SMS, offer health promoters an exciting opportunity to engage personally with a huge number of individuals for low cost. The key elements emerging from this evaluation, such as message style, language and broadcast schedule are directly relevant to future studies using SMS for health promotion, as well as for future health promotion interventions in other mediums that require short formats, such

  15. The message development tool: a case for effective operationalization of messaging in social marketing practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattson, Marifran; Basu, Ambar

    2010-07-01

    That messages are essential, if not the most critical component of any communicative process, seems like an obvious claim. More so when the communication is about health--one of the most vital and elemental of human experiences (Babrow & Mattson, 2003). Any communication campaign that aims to change a target audience's health behaviors needs to centralize messages. Even though messaging strategies are an essential component of social marketing and are a widely used campaign model, health campaigns based on this framework have not always been able to effectively operationalize this key component, leading to cases where initiating and sustaining prescribed health behavior has been difficult (MacStravic, 2000). Based on an examination of the VERB campaign and an Australian breastfeeding promotion campaign, we propose a message development tool within the ambit of the social marketing framework that aims to extend the framework and ensure that the messaging component of the model is contextualized at the core of planning, implementation, and evaluation efforts.

  16. Investigating the impact of viral message appeal and message credibility on consumer attitude toward brand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majid Esmaeilpour

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Background - Due to the rapid growth of the Internet and use of e-commerce in recent years, viral marketing has drawn the attention of manufacturing and service organizations. However, no research has been conducted to examine the impact of message appeal and message source credibility on consumers' attitude with mediating role of intellectual involvement of consumers and their risk taking level. Purpose - The aim of this study was to examine the impact of appeal and message source credibility on consumers’ attitude with mediating role of consumers’ intellectual involvement and their risk taking level. Design/methodology/approach – The population of this study includes consumers of mobile phones (Samsung, Sony, Nokia, LG and iPhone in Bushehr city (Iran. As the population of the study is unlimited, 430 questionnaires were distributed using available sampling method, and 391 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Using structural equation modeling, data were analyzed through smart PLS software. Findings –The results show that the appeal and credibility of the message source have impact on consumer attitudes toward the brand. It was also found that intellectual involvement of consumers plays the mediating role in the relationship between message appeal and consumer attitudes toward brand. In the relationship between message source credibility and customer attitude towards the brand, the level of risk taking of people has no mediating role. Research limitations/implications – Data collection tool was questionnaire in this study, and questionnaire has some disadvantages that can affect the results. Additionally, this study was conducted in Bushehr city (Iran. Therefore, we should be cautious in generalizing the findings. Originality/value – In this study, the effect of message appeal and message source credibility on consumer attitude to brand was examined. The risk taking level of consumer and his involvement level were considered

  17. Message exchange in the building industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vries, de B.; Somers, L.J.A.M.

    1995-01-01

    A process model is described for exchanging information in the building industry. In this model participants send and receive messages. On receipt of a message an activity is executed if all required information is available. Otherwise a message will be sent to another participant to obtain the

  18. Diabetes education via mobile text messaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wangberg, Silje C; Arsand, Eirik; Andersson, Niklas

    2006-01-01

    Living with diabetes makes great educational demands on a family. We have tested the feasibility of using the mobile phone short message service (SMS) for reaching people with diabetes information. We also assessed user satisfaction and perceived pros and cons of the medium through interviews. Eleven parents of children with type 1 diabetes received messages for 11 weeks. The parents were positive about the system and said that they would like to continue to use it. The pop-up reminding effect of SMS messages in busy everyday life was noted as positive. Some parents experienced the messages as somewhat intrusive, arriving too often and at inconvenient times. The parents also noted the potential of the messages to facilitate communication with their adolescent children. The inability to store all of the messages or to print them out were seen as major disadvantages. Overall, the SMS seems to hold promise as means of delivering diabetes information.

  19. Recent computer attacks via Instant Messaging

    CERN Multimedia

    IT Department

    2008-01-01

    Be cautious of any unexpected messages containing web links even if they appear to come from known contacts. If you happen to click on such a link and if your permission is requested to run or install software, always decline it. Several computers at CERN have recently been broken into by attackers who have tricked users of Instant Messaging applications (e.g. MSN, Yahoo Messenger, etc.) into clicking on web links which appeared to come from known contacts. The links appeared to be photos from ‘friends’ and requested software to be installed. In practice, attacker software was installed and the messages did not come from real contacts. In the past such fake messages were mainly sent by email but now a wider range of applications are being targeted, including Instant Messaging. Cybercriminals are making growing use of fake messages to try to trick you into clicking on Web links which will help them to install malicious software on your computer. Anti-virus software cann...

  20. Auctioning Bulk Mobile Messages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S. Meij (Simon); L-F. Pau (Louis-François); H.W.G.M. van Heck (Eric)

    2003-01-01

    textabstractThe search for enablers of continued growth of SMS traffic, as well as the take-off of the more diversified MMS message contents, open up for enterprises the potential of bulk use of mobile messaging , instead of essentially one-by-one use. In parallel, such enterprises or value added

  1. Designing Skin Cancer Prevention Messages: Should We Emphasize Gains or Losses? Message Framing, Risk Type, and Prior Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Moon J; Kang, Hannah

    2018-05-01

    To test whether message framing (ie, gain vs. loss) and risk type (ie, health vs appearance risk) in skin cancer prevention messages interact with one's prior experience. Two experiments with a 2 (message framing: gain vs loss) × 2 (risk type: health vs appearance risk) factorial design were conducted. The participants were given a URL to the experiment website via e-mail. On the first page of the website, the participants were told that they would be asked to evaluate a skin cancer print public service announcement (PSA): Online experiments. A total of 397 individuals participated (236 for experiment 1 and 161 for experiment 2). Apparatus: Four versions of the skin cancer print PSAs were developed. Four PSAs were identical except for the 2 manipulated components: message framing and risk type. Measures were adopted from Cho and Boster (message framing), Jones and Leary and Kiene et al. (risk type), De Vries, Mesters, van't Riet, Willems, and Reubsaet and Knight, Kirincich, Farmer, and Hood (prior experience), and Hammond, Fong, Zanna, Thrasher, and Borland and Hoffner and Ye (behavioral intent). General linear models were used to test hypotheses. Three-way interactions among message framing, risk type, and prior experience were found: When the intent of the message was to encourage sunscreen use, the effects of message framing and risk type were shown to be the exact opposite directions from when the intent was to discourage indoor/outdoor tanning. To discourage tanning among those with prior experience, messages emphasizing losses in terms of one's health will work better. For those with no prior experience, messages emphasizing potential appearance losses will work better for discouraging tanning while messages emphasizing gains like improving appearance will do a better job in encouraging sunscreen use.

  2. Popular Mobilization Messaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Garrison

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This Research Paper examines the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Unit’s (PMU messaging on the organisation’s website and social media platforms through early January 2017 to develop a more nuanced understanding of the PMU’s outlook, both present and future. After providing an overview of the PMU’s media presence online, the paper discusses how the organisation promotes its core narrative: that it is a cross-confessional and patriotic force for the defence of all Iraqis against a brutal and evil IS. The paper then addresses the PMU’s use of messaging to refute the sectarian portrayal of the organisation in some quarters before turning to the way the PMU approaches regional and international states in its media. Finally, the paper summarises the PMU’s messaging strategy and discusses how this strategy implies a less threatening future for the organisation than is often anticipated.

  3. Hooked on a feeling: Affective anti-smoking messages are more effective than cognitive messages at changing implicit evaluations of smoking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Colin Tucker Smith

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Because implicit evaluations are thought to underlie many aspects of behavior, researchers have started looking for ways to change them. We examine whether and when persuasive messages alter strongly-held implicit evaluations of smoking. In smokers, an affective anti-smoking message led to more negative implicit evaluations on four different implicit measures as compared to a cognitive anti-smoking message which seemed to backfire. Additional analyses suggested that the observed effects were mediated by the feelings and emotions raised by the messages. In non-smokers, both the affective and cognitive message engendered slightly more negative implicit evaluations. We conclude that persuasive messages change implicit evaluations in a way that depends on properties of the message and of the participant. Thus, our data open new avenues for research directed at tailoring persuasive messages to change implicit evaluations.

  4. Hooked on a feeling: affective anti-smoking messages are more effective than cognitive messages at changing implicit evaluations of smoking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Colin Tucker; De Houwer, Jan

    2015-01-01

    Because implicit evaluations are thought to underlie many aspects of behavior, researchers have started looking for ways to change them. We examine whether and when persuasive messages alter strongly held implicit evaluations of smoking. In smokers, an affective anti-smoking message led to more negative implicit evaluations on four different implicit measures as compared to a cognitive anti-smoking message which seemed to backfire. Additional analyses suggested that the observed effects were mediated by the feelings and emotions raised by the messages. In non-smokers, both the affective and cognitive message engendered slightly more negative implicit evaluations. We conclude that persuasive messages change implicit evaluations in a way that depends on properties of the message and of the participant. Thus, our data open new avenues for research directed at tailoring persuasive messages to change implicit evaluations.

  5. Middleware Proxy: A Request-Driven Messaging Broker For High Volume Data Distribution

    CERN Document Server

    Sliwinski, W; Dworak, A

    2014-01-01

    Nowadays, all major infrastructures and data centres (commercial and scientific) make an extensive use of the publish-subscribe messaging paradigm, which helps to decouple the message sender (publisher) from the message receiver (consumer). This paradigm is also heavily used in the CERN Accelerator Control system, in Proxy broker - critical part of the Controls Middleware (CMW) project. Proxy provides the aforementioned publish-subscribe facility and also supports execution of synchronous read and write operations. Moreover, it enables service scalability and dramatically reduces the network resources and overhead (CPU and memory) on publisher machine, required to serve all subscriptions. Proxy was developed in modern C++, using state of the art programming techniques (e.g. Boost) and following recommended software patterns for achieving low-latency and high concurrency. The outstanding performance of the Proxy infrastructure was confirmed during the last 3 years by delivering the high volume of LHC equipment...

  6. Effectively engaging stakeholders and the public in developing violence prevention messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyko, Jennifer A; Wathen, C Nadine; Kothari, Anita

    2017-05-11

    Preventing family violence requires that stakeholders and the broader public be involved in developing evidence-based violence prevention strategies. However, gaps exist in between what we know (knowledge), what we do (action), and the structures supporting practice (policy). We discuss the broad challenge of mobilizing knowledge-for-action in family violence, with a primary focus on the issue of how stakeholders and the public can be effectively engaged when developing and communicating evidence-based violence prevention messages. We suggest that a comprehensive approach to stakeholder and public engagement in developing violence prevention messages includes: 1) clear and consistent messaging; 2) identifying and using, as appropriate, lessons from campaigns that show evidence of reducing specific types of violence; and 3) evidence-informed approaches for communicating to specific groups. Components of a comprehensive approach must take into account the available research evidence, implementation feasibility, and the context-specific nature of family violence. While strategies exist for engaging stakeholders and the public in messaging about family violence prevention, knowledge mobilization must be informed by evidence, dialogue with stakeholders, and proactive media strategies. This paper will be of interest to public health practitioners or others involved in planning and implementing violence prevention programs because it highlights what is known about the issue, potential solutions, and implementation considerations.

  7. Nonblocking and orphan free message logging protocols

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvisi, Lorenzo; Hoppe, Bruce; Marzullo, Keith

    1992-12-01

    Currently existing message logging protocols demonstrate a classic pessimistic vs. optimistic tradeoff. We show that the optimistic-pessimistic tradeoff is not inherent to the problem of message logging. We construct a message-logging protocol that has the positive features of both optimistic and pessimistic protocol: our protocol prevents orphans and allows simple failure recovery; however, it requires no blocking in failure-free runs. Furthermore, this protocol does not introduce any additional message overhead as compared to one implemented for a system in which messages may be lost but processes do not crash.

  8. The religious message in action - a case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    René Gothóni

    1975-01-01

    Full Text Available We understand a religious message to be the product of a religious movement. In studying such a message, it is very much to the purpose to place it in the context in which it operates. The cultural and social context of a religious message is some religious movement. Hence, the message should be examined against that framework. Each message has a certain structure, and its detection is of prime importance. Messages are not only part of the tradition, but themselves unique in their respective communicative situations. Thus, in our view, structural analysis does not have analytical use-value unless the message's symbols are set into their communicative context. The aim of this paper is dual: On the one hand, we intend to analyze and clarify the structure of a religious message of the Laestadian movement, how the message operates, also how the members of that movement respond to the codes of the message, and what kind of functions it fulfills; on the other, to develop and test an analytical model which would combine structural and interactional analysis.

  9. Message Scheduling and Forwarding in Congested DTNs

    KAUST Repository

    Elwhishi, Ahmed; Ho, Pin-Han; Shihada, Basem

    2012-01-01

    Multi-copy utility-based routing has been considered as one of the most applicable approaches to effective message delivery in Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs). By allowing multiple message replicas launched, the ratio of message delivery or delay can be significantly reduced compared with other counterparts. Such an advantage, nonetheless, is at the expense of taking more buffer space at each node and higher complexity in message forwarding decisions. This paper investigates an efficient message scheduling and dropping policy via analytical modeling approach, aiming to achieve optimal performance in terms of message delivery delay. Extensive simulation results, based on a synthetic mobility model and real mobility traces, show that the proposed scheduling framework can achieve superb performance against its counterparts in terms of delivery delay.

  10. Message Scheduling and Forwarding in Congested DTNs

    KAUST Repository

    Elwhishi, Ahmed

    2012-08-19

    Multi-copy utility-based routing has been considered as one of the most applicable approaches to effective message delivery in Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs). By allowing multiple message replicas launched, the ratio of message delivery or delay can be significantly reduced compared with other counterparts. Such an advantage, nonetheless, is at the expense of taking more buffer space at each node and higher complexity in message forwarding decisions. This paper investigates an efficient message scheduling and dropping policy via analytical modeling approach, aiming to achieve optimal performance in terms of message delivery delay. Extensive simulation results, based on a synthetic mobility model and real mobility traces, show that the proposed scheduling framework can achieve superb performance against its counterparts in terms of delivery delay.

  11. Does perceived risk influence the effects of message framing? Revisiting the link between prospect theory and message framing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Riet, J.P. van 't; Cox, A.D.; Cox, D.; Zimet, G.D.; Bruijn, G.J. de; Putte, B. van den; Vries, H. de; Werrij, M.Q.; Ruiter, R.A.C.

    2016-01-01

    Health-promoting messages can be framed in terms of the beneficial consequences of healthy behaviour (gain-framed messages) or the detrimental consequences of unhealthy behaviour (loss-framed messages). An influential notion holds that the perceived risk associated with the recommended behaviour

  12. Messages about methadone and buprenorphine in reality television: a content analysis of celebrity rehab with Dr. Drew.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roose, Robert; Fuentes, Liza; Cheema, Mandeep

    2012-08-01

    Medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence is safe and effective, yet negative perceptions about methadone and buprenorphine may discourage patients from entering treatment. One source of information that may influence viewers' perceptions is television. We performed a content analysis of a popular reality television program on addiction treatment. Although many patients had histories of opioid use, there were no positive messages about methadone or buprenorphine. The two main messages were that they (1) are primarily drugs of abuse, and (2) not acceptable treatment options. These messages reinforce negative stereotypes and may perpetuate stigma. There were multiple missed opportunities to provide evidence-based information.

  13. The Message Reporting System of the ATLAS DAQ System

    CERN Document Server

    Caprini, M; Kolos, S; 10th ICATPP Conference on Astroparticle, Particle, Space Physics, Detectors and Medical Physics Applications

    2008-01-01

    The Message Reporting System (MRS) in the ATLAS data acquisition system (DAQ) is one package of the Online Software which acts as a glue of various elements of DAQ, High Level Trigger (HLT) and Detector Control System (DCS). The aim of the MRS is to provide a facility which allows all software components in ATLAS to report messages to other components of the distributed DAQ system. The processes requiring a MRS are on one hand applications that report error conditions or information and on the other hand message processors that receive reported messages. A message reporting application can inject one or more messages into the MRS at any time. An application wishing to receive messages can subscribe to a message group according to defined criteria. The application receives messages that fulfill the subscription criteria when they are reported to MRS. The receiver message processing can consist of anything from simply logging the messages in a file/terminal to performing message analysis. The inter-process comm...

  14. Active power reference tracking in electricity distribution grids over non-ideal communication networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Thomas le Fevre; Olsen, Rasmus Løvenstein; Iov, Florin

    2018-01-01

    the distributed implementation in the testbed show the effectiveness of the controller and that the considered scenario of the reference tracking application is not significantly affected by delays and losses as originating from PLC communication in good conditions. The subsequent simulation experiments show......Distribution system operators may in the future control active power of selected consumers and generators in order to achieve a desired grid behavior. For cost efficient deployment, this control application may use existing communication infrastructure with non-ideal properties, i.e. imposing...... the resilience of the reference tracking control application to end-to-end message delays up to the order of 3 control periods and to message loss up to approximately 70%....

  15. Scope and effectiveness of mobile phone messaging for HIV/AIDS care: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Velthoven, M H M M T; Brusamento, S; Majeed, A; Car, J

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this mixed method systematic review was to assess the scope, effectiveness, acceptability and feasibility of the use of mobile phone messaging for HIV infection prevention, treatment and care. We comprehensively searched the peer-reviewed and grey literature. Two authors independently screened citations, extracted data and assessed study quality of included studies (any research design) focusing on mobile phone messaging interventions for HIV care. We present a narrative overview of the results. Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria: three randomized controlled trials, 11 interventional studies using other study designs and seven qualitative or cross-sectional studies. We also found six on-going trials and 21 projects. Five of the on-going trials and all the above mentioned projects took place in low or middle-income countries. Mobile phone messaging was researched for HIV prevention, appointment reminders, HIV testing reminders, medication adherence and for communication between health workers. Of the three randomized controlled trials assessing the use of short message service (SMS) to improve medication adherence, two showed positive results. Other interventional studies did not provide significant results. In conclusion, despite an extensive search we found limited evidence on the effectiveness of mobile phone messaging for HIV care. There is a need to adequately document outcomes and constraints of programs using mobile phone messaging to support HIV care to assess the impact and to focus on best practice.

  16. Energy Economic Data Base (EEDB) Program. Technical Reference Book

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allen, R.E.; Benedict, R.G.; Hodson, J.S.

    1983-09-01

    Purpose of the program is to develop current technical and cost information for nuclear and comparison electric power generating stations. Purpose of this Technical Reference Book is to provide the current technical design bases for each of the technical data models updated in the Sixth Update (1983). It contains a set of detailed system design descriptions for these technical data models, which are supplemented with engineering drawings. The system design descriptions reflect regulatory and industry practice and experience for nuclear and coal-fired power generating stations that are current for January 1, 1983

  17. Hand hygiene posters: motivators or mixed messages?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenner, E A; Jones, F; Fletcher, B C; Miller, L; Scott, G M

    2005-07-01

    Poster campaigns regarding hand hygiene are commonly used by infection control teams to improve practice, yet little is known of the extent to which they are based on established theory or research. This study reports on the content analysis of hand hygiene posters (N=69) and their messages (N=75) using message-framing theory. The results showed that posters seldom drew on knowledge about effective ways to frame messages. Frequently, they simply conveyed information 'telling' rather than 'selling' and some of this was confusing. Most posters were not designed to motivate, and some conveyed mixed messages. Few used fear appeals. Hand hygiene posters could have a greater impact if principles of message framing were utilized in their design. Suggestions for gain-framed messages are offered, but these need to be tested empirically.

  18. Messages about appearance, food, weight and exercise in "tween" television.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simpson, Courtney C; Kwitowski, Melissa; Boutte, Rachel; Gow, Rachel W; Mazzeo, Suzanne E

    2016-12-01

    Tweens (children ages ~8-14years) are a relatively recently defined age group, increasingly targeted by marketers. Individuals in this age group are particularly vulnerable to opinions and behaviors presented in media messages, given their level of cognitive and social development. However, little research has examined messages about appearance, food, weight, and exercise in television specifically targeting tweens, despite the popularity of this media type among this age group. This study used a content analytic approach to explore these messages in the five most popular television shows for tweens on the Disney Channel (as of 2015). Using a multiple-pass approach, relevant content in episodes from the most recently completed seasons of each show was coded. Appearance related incidents occurred in every episode; these most frequently mentioned attractiveness/beauty. Food related incidents were also present in every episode; typically, these situations were appearance and weight neutral. Exercise related incidents occurred in 53.3% of episodes; the majority expressed resistance to exercise. Weight related incidents occurred in 40.0% of the episodes; the majority praised the muscular ideal. Women were more likely to initiate appearance incidents, and men were more likely to initiate exercise incidents. These results suggest that programs specifically marketed to tweens reinforce appearance ideals, including stereotypes about female attractiveness and male athleticism, two constructs linked to eating pathology and body dissatisfaction. Given the developmental vulnerability of the target group, these findings are concerning, and highlight potential foci for prevention programming, including media literacy, for tweens. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Preventing messaging queue deadlocks in a DMA environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blocksome, Michael A; Chen, Dong; Gooding, Thomas; Heidelberger, Philip; Parker, Jeff

    2014-01-14

    Embodiments of the invention may be used to manage message queues in a parallel computing environment to prevent message queue deadlock. A direct memory access controller of a compute node may determine when a messaging queue is full. In response, the DMA may generate and interrupt. An interrupt handler may stop the DMA and swap all descriptors from the full messaging queue into a larger queue (or enlarge the original queue). The interrupt handler then restarts the DMA. Alternatively, the interrupt handler stops the DMA, allocates a memory block to hold queue data, and then moves descriptors from the full messaging queue into the allocated memory block. The interrupt handler then restarts the DMA. During a normal messaging advance cycle, a messaging manager attempts to inject the descriptors in the memory block into other messaging queues until the descriptors have all been processed.

  20. Racial Differences in Attitudes toward Direct Reference Political Advertising.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Thomas F.; Surlin, Stuart H.

    Random telephone surveys in a northern and a southern city were initiated to determine attitudes toward "informative" and "direct reference" mass media political advertisements. Responses were organized in regional, social, and racial categories. The results quantified reactions to the two types of political messages of blacks…

  1. Form cues and content difficulty as determinants of children's cognitive processing of televised educational messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, T A; Wright, J C; Huston, A C

    1987-06-01

    An experiment was designed to assess the effects of formal production features and content difficulty on children's processing of televised messages about nutrition. Messages with identical content (the same script and visual shot sequence) were made in two forms: child program forms (animated film, second-person address, and character voice narration with sprightly music) and adult program forms (live photography, third-person address, and adult male narration with sedate background music). For each form, messages were made at three levels of content difficulty. Easier versions were longer, more redundant, and used simpler language; difficult versions presented information more quickly with less redundancy and more abstract language. Regardless of form or difficulty level, each set of bits presented the same basic information. Kindergarten children (N = 120) were assigned to view three different bits of the same form type and difficulty embedded in a miniprogram. Visual attention to child forms was significantly greater than to adult forms; free and cued recall scores were also higher for child than for adult forms. Although all recall and recognition scores were best for easy versions and worst for difficult versions, attention showed only minor variation as a function of content difficulty. Results are interpreted to indicate that formal production features, independently of content, influence the effort and level of processing that children use to understand televised educational messages.

  2. Psi4NumPy: An Interactive Quantum Chemistry Programming Environment for Reference Implementations and Rapid Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Daniel G A; Burns, Lori A; Sirianni, Dominic A; Nascimento, Daniel R; Kumar, Ashutosh; James, Andrew M; Schriber, Jeffrey B; Zhang, Tianyuan; Zhang, Boyi; Abbott, Adam S; Berquist, Eric J; Lechner, Marvin H; Cunha, Leonardo A; Heide, Alexander G; Waldrop, Jonathan M; Takeshita, Tyler Y; Alenaizan, Asem; Neuhauser, Daniel; King, Rollin A; Simmonett, Andrew C; Turney, Justin M; Schaefer, Henry F; Evangelista, Francesco A; DePrince, A Eugene; Crawford, T Daniel; Patkowski, Konrad; Sherrill, C David

    2018-06-11

    Psi4NumPy demonstrates the use of efficient computational kernels from the open-source Psi4 program through the popular NumPy library for linear algebra in Python to facilitate the rapid development of clear, understandable Python computer code for new quantum chemical methods, while maintaining a relatively low execution time. Using these tools, reference implementations have been created for a number of methods, including self-consistent field (SCF), SCF response, many-body perturbation theory, coupled-cluster theory, configuration interaction, and symmetry-adapted perturbation theory. Furthermore, several reference codes have been integrated into Jupyter notebooks, allowing background, underlying theory, and formula information to be associated with the implementation. Psi4NumPy tools and associated reference implementations can lower the barrier for future development of quantum chemistry methods. These implementations also demonstrate the power of the hybrid C++/Python programming approach employed by the Psi4 program.

  3. The importance of HIV prevention messaging for orphaned youth in Zimbabwe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haney, Erica; Singh, Kavita

    2012-01-01

    The AIDS epidemic has contributed to a drastic increase in the number of orphans in Zimbabwe. Female adolescent orphans are particularly in jeopardy of contracting HIV due to disadvantages including extreme poverty, low education, and the absent of parental oversight which can lead to higher risk-taking sexual behaviors. By understanding where girls receive education about HIV and who they rely on for information, organizations can effectively modify existing programs to better target this at-risk population. For this study a household survey was conducted which included 216 orphans and 324 non-orphans (n=540), aged 12-17 years, in the resource-poor setting of Hwange District, Zimbabwe. The aims of this article were to examine the differences between orphans and non-orphans in HIV prevention message exposure, level of motivation for learning about HIV, and communication with caregivers about safe sex. The household survey revealed that younger orphans, aged 12-15 years, were more motivated to learn about HIV and had greater HIV messaging exposure in school than non-orphans. These exposure and differences in the levels of motivation between groups dissipated at older ages. Our research also discovered less caregiver communication among orphans than non-orphans. Our findings suggest that HIV programs targeting orphans need to do a better job at keeping older orphans interested in HIV prevention at a time when it matters most. Furthermore, intervention strategies that provide caregiver support are instrumental in effectively delivering prevention messages to girls at home.

  4. SMS Messaging Applications

    CERN Document Server

    Pero, Nicola

    2009-01-01

    Cell phones are the most common communication device on the planet, and Short Message Service (SMS) is the chief channel for companies to offer services, accept requests, report news, and download binary files over cell phones. This guide describes the protocols and best practices (things that ensure you won't get sued or lose your right to offer a service) you need to know to make SMS messaging part of an organizational service. Issues such as character sets, differences among vendors, common practices in Europe and North America, and API choices are covered.

  5. Evidence-Based Support for the Characteristics of Tsunami Warning Messages for Local, Regional and Distant Sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregg, C. E.; Johnston, D. M.; Sorensen, J. H.; Vogt Sorensen, B.; Whitmore, P.

    2014-12-01

    Many studies since 2004 have documented the dissemination and receipt of risk information for local to distant tsunamis and factors influencing people's responses. A few earlier tsunami studies and numerous studies of other hazards provide additional support for developing effective tsunami messages. This study explores evidence-based approaches to developing such messages for the Pacific and National Tsunami Warning Centers in the US. It extends a message metric developed for the NWS Tsunami Program. People at risk to tsunamis receive information from multiple sources through multiple channels. Sources are official and informal and environmental and social cues. Traditionally, official tsunami messages followed a linear dissemination path through relatively few channels from warning center to emergency management to public and media. However, the digital age has brought about a fundamental change in the dissemination and receipt of official and informal communications. Information is now disseminated in very non-linear paths and all end-user groups may receive the same message simultaneously. Research has demonstrated a range of factors that influence rapid respond to an initial real or perceived threat. Immediate response is less common than one involving delayed protective actions where people first engage in "milling behavior" to exchange information and confirm the warning before taking protective action. The most important message factors to achieve rapid response focus on the content and style of the message and the frequency of dissemination. Previously we developed a tsunami message metric consisting of 21 factors divided into message content and style and receiver characteristics. Initially, each factor was equally weighted to identify gaps, but here we extend the work by weighting specific factors. This utilizes recent research that identifies the most important determinants of protective action. We then discuss the prioritization of message information

  6. Use of a text message program to raise type 2 diabetes risk awareness and promote health behavior change (part II): assessment of participants' perceptions on efficacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buis, Lorraine R; Hirzel, Lindsey; Turske, Scott A; Des Jardins, Terrisca R; Yarandi, Hossein; Bondurant, Patricia

    2013-12-19

    Although there is great enthusiasm in both the public and private sector for the further development and use of large-scale consumer-facing public health applications for mobile platforms, little is known about user experience and satisfaction with this type of approach. As a part of the Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program, txt4health, a public-facing, mobile phone-based health information service targeting type 2 diabetes, was launched in 3 Beacon Communities: the Southeast Michigan Beacon Community in Detroit, MI, the Greater Cincinnati Beacon Community in Cincinnati, OH, and the Crescent City Beacon Community in New Orleans, LA. This program was marketed via large public health campaigns and drew many users within the respective communities. The purpose of this investigation was to use the RE-AIM framework to document txt4health efficacy by focusing on perceptions of satisfaction, usage, and behavior change among individuals who used txt4health in pilot studies in Southeast Michigan and Greater Cincinnati. We conducted a multimodal user survey with txt4health users recruited via text message through the program to understand participant perceptions of program use and satisfaction, as well as self-reported perceptions of behavior change as a result of using txt4health. Txt4health users reported very high levels of program satisfaction, with 67.1% (108/161) reporting satisfaction scores of ≥8 on a 10-point scale, with 10 equivalent to most satisfied (mean 8.2, SD 1.6). All survey participants agreed/strongly agreed that the messages included in txt4health were clear and easy to understand (100.0%, 160/160), and most found txt4health made them knowledgeable about their risk for type 2 diabetes (88.1%, 140/159) and made them conscious of their diet and physical activity (88.8%, 142/160). Most participants reported that txt4health helped them to make behavior changes related to diet; after having completed txt4health, most agreed/strongly agreed that

  7. AMS: Area Message Service for SLC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crane, M.; Mackenzie, R.; Millsom, D.; Zelazny, M.

    1993-04-01

    The Area Message Service (AMS) is a TCP/IP based messaging service currently in use at SLAC. A number of projects under development here at SLAC require and application level interface to the 4.3BSD UNIX socket level communications functions using TCP/IP over ethernet. AMS provides connection management, solicited message transfer, unsolicited message transfer, and asynchronous notification of pending messages. AMS is written completely in ANSI 'C' and is currently portable over three hardware/operating system/network manager platforms, VAX/VMS/Multinet, PC/MS-DOS/Pathworks, VME 68K/pSOS/pNA. The basic architecture is a client-server connection where either end of the interface may be the server. This allows for connections and data flow to be initiated from either end of the interface. Included in the paper are details concerning the connection management, the handling of the multi-platform code, and the implementation process

  8. The efficacy of mobile phone-based text message interventions ('Happy Quit') for smoking cessation in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Yanhui; Wu, Qiuxia; Tang, Jinsong; Zhang, Fengyu; Wang, Xuyi; Qi, Chang; He, Haoyu; Long, Jiang; Kelly, Brian C; Cohen, Joanna

    2016-08-19

    Considering the extreme shortage of smoking cessation services in China, and the acceptability, feasibility and efficacy of mobile phone-based text message interventions for quitting smoking in other countries, here we propose a study of "the efficacy of mobile phone-based text message interventions ('Happy Quit') for smoking cessation in China". The primary objective of this proposed project is to assess whether a program of widely accessed mobile phone-based text message interventions ('Happy Quit') will be effective at helping people in China who smoke, to quit. Based on the efficacy of previous studies in smoking cessation, we hypothesize that 'Happy Quit' will be an effective, feasible and affordable smoking cessation program in China. In this single-blind, randomized trial, undertaken in China, about 2000 smokers willing to make a quit attempt will be randomly allocated, using an independent telephone randomization system that includes a minimization algorithm balancing for sex (male, female), age (19-34 or >34 years), educational level (≤ or >12 years), and Fagerstrom score for nicotine addiction (≤5, >5), to 'Happy Quit', comprising motivational messages and behavioral-change support, or to a control group that receives text messages unrelated to quitting. Messages will be developed to be suitable for Chinese. A pilot study will be conducted before the intervention to modify the library of messages and interventions. The primary outcome will be self-reported continuous smoking abstinence. A secondary outcome will be point prevalence of abstinence. Abstinence will be assessed at six time points (4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 weeks post-intervention). A third outcome will be reductions in number of cigarettes smoked per day. The results will provide valuable insights into bridging the gap between need and services received for smoking cessation interventions and tobacco use prevention in China. It will also serve as mHealth model for extending the public

  9. The influence of message framing, intention to quit smoking, and nicotine dependence on the persuasiveness of smoking cessation messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moorman, Marjolein; van den Putte, Bas

    2008-10-01

    This study explores the combined effect of message framing, intention to quit smoking, and nicotine dependence on the persuasiveness of smoking cessation messages. Pre- and post-message measures of quit intention, attitude toward smoking cessation, and perceived behavioral control were taken in two separate waves from current cigarette smokers with varying levels of nicotine dependence (N=151). In the second wave, participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. In the first group, participants read a smoking cessation message which emphasized the benefits of quitting (positive frame). In the second group participants read a message which emphasized the costs of not quitting (negative frame). Results show that smokers' intentions to quit smoking and their level of nicotine dependence jointly influence the persuasiveness of positive and negative message frames. When nicotine dependence and quitting intention are both high, a negative frame works best. Conversely, a positive frame is preferable when nicotine dependence or quitting intention is low. Smokers' level of processing is proposed as the underlying mechanism explaining the different effects of message frames.

  10. Improved Message Authentication and Confidentiality Checking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ismail Jabiullah, M.; Abdullah Al-Shamim, M.; Lutfar Rahman, M.

    2005-01-01

    The most confusing areas of the secured network communications are the message authentication and confidentiality checking. The attacks and the counter measures have become so convoluted that the users in this area begin to account for all contingencies. Two session-key generation techniques are used here to generate two separate session keys K 1 and K 2 ; and both the sender and the reveiver share these keys for higher degree of authentication and confidentiality. For this, the message is first encrypted by the key K 1 , and then the intermediary message authenticatin code (MAC) is generated by encrypting the encrypted message using the key K 2 . Then, the encrypted message and the intermediary MAC is again encrypted by using the K 2 and concatenated with the encrypted message and sent to the destination. At the receiving end, first, the received ciphertext is encrypted by using key K 2 and compared to the received MAC. The received ciphertext again is decrypted by the key K 2 and compared with the first decrypted MAC twice by the key K 2 . The plaintext is obtained by decrypting the received ciphertext first by K 2 and then by K 1 , using the corresponding decryption techniques respectively. The encryption techniques with key K 2 provides the authentication and with key K 1 provides the confidentiality checking of the transmitted message. The developed technique can be applied to both academic and commercial applications in online or offline electronic transactions for security.(authors)

  11. A one-way text messaging intervention for obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, Ahleum; Choi, Jaekyung

    2016-04-01

    Worldwide, there has been a startling increase in the number of people who are obese or overweight. Obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and overall mortality. Mobile phone messaging is an important means of human communication globally. Because the mobile phone can be used anywhere at any time, mobile phone messaging has the potential to manage obesity. We investigated the effectiveness of a one-way text messaging intervention for obesity. Participants' body mass index and waist circumference were measured at the beginning of the programme and again after 12 weeks. The text message group received text messages about exercise, dietary intake, and general information about obesity three times a week, while the control group did not receive any text messages from the study. Of the 80 participants, 25 subjects in the text message group and 29 participants in the control group completed the study. After adjusting for baseline body mass index, the body mass index was significantly lower in the text message group than in the control group (27.9 vs. 28.3; p = 0.02). After adjusting for the baseline waist circumference, the difference of waist circumference between the text message group and control group was not significant (93.4 vs. 94.6; p = 0.13). The one-way text messaging intervention was a simple and effective way to manage obesity. The one-way text messaging intervention may be a useful method for lifestyle modification in obese subjects. © The Author(s) 2015.

  12. Persuasive messages. Development of persuasive messages may help increase mothers' compliance of their children's immunization schedule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gore, P; Madhavan, S; Curry, D; McClurg, G; Castiglia, M; Rosenbluth, S A; Smego, R A

    1998-01-01

    Effective immunization campaigns can be designed by determining which persuasion strategy is most effective in attracting the attention of mothers of preschoolers. The authors assess the impact of three persuasional strategies: fear-arousal, motherhood-arousal, and rational messages, on mothers of preschoolers who are late for their immunizations. The fear-arousal message was found to be most effective, followed by the motherhood-arousal, and then the rational message, in attracting mothers' attention to their child's immunization status.

  13. Empowerment in the process of health messaging for rural low-income mothers: an exploratory message design project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldoory, Linda; Braun, Bonnie; Maring, Elisabeth Fost; Duggal, Mili; Briones, Rowena Lynn

    2015-01-01

    Rural, low-income mothers face challenges to their health equal to or greater than those of low-income mothers from urban areas. This study put health message design into the hands of low-income rural mothers. The current study filled a research gap by analyzing a participatory process used to design health messages tailored to the everyday lives of rural low-income mothers. A total of forty-three mothers participated in nine focus groups, which were held from 2012 to 2013, in eight states. The mothers were from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Participants discussed food security, physical activity, and oral health information. They created messages by considering several elements: visuals, length of message, voice/perspective, self-efficacy and personal control, emotional appeals, positive and negative reinforcements, and steps to health behavior change. This study was innovative in its focus on empowerment as a key process to health message design.

  14. Mixed messages: The Blueprint for Pharmacy and a communication gap.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenthal, Meagen; Chen, Christopher B; Hall, Kevin; Tsuyuki, Ross T

    2014-03-01

    More than 5 years ago, the Blueprint for Pharmacy developed a plan for transitioning pharmacy practice toward more patient-centred care. Much of the strategy for change involves communicating the new vision. To evaluate the communication of the Vision for Pharmacy by the organizations and corporations that signed the Blueprint for Pharmacy's Commitment to Act. The list of 88 signatories of the Commitment to Act was obtained from the Blueprint for Pharmacy document. The website of each of these signatories was searched for all references to the Blueprint for Pharmacy or Vision for Pharmacy. Each of the identified references was then analyzed using summative content analysis. A total of 934 references were identified from the webpages of the 88 signatories. Of these references, 549 were merely links to the Blueprint for Pharmacy's website, 350 of the references provided some detailed information about the Blueprint for Pharmacy and only 35 references provided any specific plans to transition pharmacy practice. Widespread proliferation of the Vision for Pharmacy has not been achieved. One possible explanation for this is that communication of the vision by the signatories has been incomplete. To ensure the success of future communications, change leaders must develop strategies that consider how individual pharmacists and pharmacies understand the message.

  15. Crafting a Real-Time Information Aggregator for Mobile Messaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenq-Shiou Leu

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Mobile messaging is evolving beyond SMS (Short Message Service text messaging with the introduction of MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service. In the past, such a scheme is used for peer-to-peer communication. Messages are generally displayed on a cellular phone with a limited-sized screen. However, such a visualizing process is not suitable to broadcast real-time SMS/MMS messages to people in public. To facilitate the instancy and publicity, we develop a real-time information aggregator—Visualizing SMS and MMS Messages System (VSMMS—to realize the concept by integrating SMS and MMS messaging over GSM/GPRS/UMTS onto a remote display device. The device exhibits messages on a larger display device in public. VSMMS features a revolutionized variation of mass media broadcasting. In this paper, we practically illustrate how to design and implement VSMMS and use a M/M/1 model to conduct a theoretical analysis about the message delay in the system queue. Meanwhile, we make an empirical performance evaluation about the message transmission time over different networks.

  16. Development of an MPI benchmark program library

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uehara, Hitoshi

    2001-03-01

    Distributed parallel simulation software with message passing interfaces has been developed to realize large-scale and high performance numerical simulations. The most popular API for message communication is an MPI. The MPI will be provided on the Earth Simulator. It is known that performance of message communication using the MPI libraries gives a significant influence on a whole performance of simulation programs. We developed an MPI benchmark program library named MBL in order to measure the performance of message communication precisely. The MBL measures the performance of major MPI functions such as point-to-point communications and collective communications and the performance of major communication patterns which are often found in application programs. In this report, the description of the MBL and the performance analysis of the MPI/SX measured on the SX-4 are presented. (author)

  17. AMS: Area Message Service for SLC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crane, M.; Mackenzie, R.; Millsom, D.; Zelazny, M.

    1993-01-01

    The Area Message Service (AMS) is a TCP/IP based messaging service currently in use at SLAC. A number of projects under development here at SLAC require an application level interface to the 4.3BSD UNIX socket level communications functions using TCP/IP over ethernet. AMS provides connection management, solicited message transfer, unsolicited message transfer, and asynchronous notification of pending messages. AMS is written completely in ANSI open-quote C close-quote and is currently portable over three hardware/operating system/network manager platforms, VAX/VMS/Multinet, PC/MS-DOS/Pathworks, VME 68K/pSOS/pNA. The basic architecture is a client-server connection where either end of the interface may be the server. This allows for connections and data flow to be initiated from either end of the interface. Included in the paper are details concerning the connection management, the handling of the multi-platform code, and the implementation process

  18. Does perceived risk influence the effects of message framing? Revisiting the link between prospect theory and message framing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van 't Riet, Jonathan; Cox, Anthony D; Cox, Dena; Zimet, Gregory D; De Bruijn, Gert-Jan; Van den Putte, Bas; De Vries, Hein; Werrij, Marieke Q; Ruiter, Robert A C

    2016-12-01

    Health-promoting messages can be framed in terms of the beneficial consequences of healthy behaviour (gain-framed messages) or the detrimental consequences of unhealthy behaviour (loss-framed messages). An influential notion holds that the perceived risk associated with the recommended behaviour determines the relative persuasiveness of gain- and loss-framed messages. This 'risk-framing hypothesis', which was derived from prospect theory, has been central to health message-framing research for the better part of two decades and has enduring appeal to researchers and practitioners. It has found its way into several health communication handbooks and is communicated to the general public. The present article examines the validity of the risk-framing hypothesis anew by providing a review of the health message-framing literature. In spite of its ongoing appeal, we conclude that the hypothesis has severe theoretical flaws. In addition, we find that the empirical evidence in favour of the hypothesis is weak and inconsistent. It seems that, in applying prospect theory's tenets to a health-promotion context, some of the theory's key aspects have been lost in translation. At the close of the article, we offer a research agenda for the future, arguing that, above all, new methodology is needed to bring the message-framing literature further.

  19. Factors influencing message dissemination through social media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Zeyu; Yang, Huancheng; Fu, Yang; Fu, Dianzheng; Podobnik, Boris; Stanley, H. Eugene

    2018-06-01

    Online social networks strongly impact our daily lives. An internet user (a "Netizen") wants messages to be efficiently disseminated. The susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) dissemination model is the traditional tool for exploring the spreading mechanism of information diffusion. We here test our SIR-based dissemination model on open and real-world data collected from Twitter. We locate and identify phase transitions in the message dissemination process. We find that message content is a stronger factor than the popularity of the sender. We also find that the probability that a message will be forwarded has a threshold that affects its ability to spread, and when the probability is above the threshold the message quickly achieves mass dissemination.

  20. Investigating the impact of viral message appeal and message credibility on consumer attitude toward the brand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esmaeilpour Majid

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Due to the rapid growth of the Internet and use of e-commerce in the recent years, viral marketing has drawn the attention of manufacturing and service organizations. However, no research has been conducted to examine the impact of message appeal and message source credibility on consumers’ attitude with mediating role of intellectual involvement of consumers and their risk taking level. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of appeal and message source credibility on consumers’ attitude with mediating role of consumers’ intellectual involvement and their risk taking level. The population of this study includes consumers of mobile phones (Samsung, Sony, Nokia, LG and iPhone in the Bushehr city (Iran. As the population of the study is unlimited, 430 questionnaires were distributed using available sampling method, and 391 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Using structural equation modeling, we analysed the data through smart PLS software. The results show that the appeal and credibility of the message source impact the consumer attitudes toward the brand. We also found that the intellectual involvement of consumers plays the mediating role in the relationship between message appeal and consumer attitudes toward brands. In the relationship between message source credibility and customer attitude towards the brand, the level of risk taking of people has no mediating role.

  1. Management and Archiving e-mail Messages in Governmental Organization

    OpenAIRE

    Ashraf Mohamed A.Mohsen

    2006-01-01

    The study deals great issue of digital preservation that is e-mail archiving, it covered all aspects of the topic; it discuss: e-mail system, components of e-mail message, advantages and disadvantages of e-mail, official e-mail messages, management of e-mail messages, organizing and arrangement of e-mail messages, keeping and deleting messages, archiving e-mail messages, and some related issues like: privacy and security.

  2. The influence of message framing, intention to quit smoking, and nicotine dependence on the persuasiveness of smoking cessation messages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moorman, M.; van den Putte, B.

    2008-01-01

    This study explores the combined effect of message framing, intention to quit smoking, and nicotine dependence on the persuasiveness of smoking cessation messages. Pre- and post-message measures of quit intention, attitude toward smoking cessation, and perceived behavioral control were taken in two

  3. The WLCG Messaging Service and its Future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cons, Lionel; Paladin, Massimo

    2012-01-01

    Enterprise messaging is seen as an attractive mechanism to simplify and extend several portions of the Grid middleware, from low level monitoring to experiments dashboards. The production messaging service currently used by WLCG includes four tightly coupled brokers operated by EGI (running Apache ActiveMQ and designed to host the Grid operational tools such as SAM) as well as two dedicated services for ATLAS-DDM and experiments dashboards (currently also running Apache ActiveMQ). In the future, this service is expected to grow in numbers of applications supported, brokers and technologies. The WLCG Messaging Roadmap identified three areas with room for improvement (security, scalability and availability/reliability) as well as ten practical recommendations to address them. This paper describes a messaging service architecture that is in line with these recommendations as well as a software architecture based on reusable components that ease interactions with the messaging service. These two architectures will support the growth of the WLCG messaging service.

  4. A sex risk reduction text-message program for young adult females discharged from the emergency department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suffoletto, Brian; Akers, Aletha; McGinnis, Kathleen A; Calabria, Jaclyn; Wiesenfeld, Harold C; Clark, Duncan B

    2013-09-01

    To pilot test a text message (SMS) sex risk reduction program among at-risk young adult female patients discharged from an emergency department (ED). A convenience sample of 52 female patients with hazardous drinking behavior and recent risky sexual encounters were recruited from an urban ED and randomized to the SMS program (n = 23) or a control group (n = 29). All participants completed a web-based questionnaire in the ED and at 3-month follow-up. For 12 weeks, SMS participants were asked to report whether they had a risky sexual encounter in the past week, received theory-based feedback, and were asked if they were willing set a goal to refrain from having another risky encounter. Thirty-nine percent of SMS participants completed all weeks of SMS reports, and noncompletion increasing from 12% on week 1 to a 33% by week 12. Three-month follow-up was completed in 56% of participants. In the intervention group, there was an increase in the proportion with condom use with last vaginal sex from 20% (95% CI 4%-48%) to 53% (95% CI 27%-79%) and an increase in always condom use over the past 28 days from 0% (95% CI 0%-22%) to 33% (95% CI 12%-62%). These changes were not statistically different from control participants. SMS programs may be useful to reduce risk for sexually transmitted diseases among at-risk young adults being discharged from the ED. Future trials should examine ways to improve adherence to SMS dialog over time and measure objective outcomes in a larger sample. Copyright © 2013 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Text Messaging: An Intervention to Increase Physical Activity among African American Participants in a Faith-Based, Competitive Weight Loss Program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pamela McCoy

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available African American adults are less likely to meet the recommended physical activity guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity than Caucasian adults. The purpose of this study was to assess whether a text message intervention would increase physical activity in this population. This pilot study used a pre-/post-questionnaire non-randomized design. Participants in a faith-based weight loss competition who agreed to participate in the text messaging were assigned to the intervention group (n = 52. Participants who declined to participate in the intervention, but agreed to participate in the study, were assigned to the control group (n = 30. The text messages provided strategies for increasing physical activity and were based on constructs of the Health Belief Model and the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model. Chi square tests determined the intervention group participants increased exercise time by approximately eight percent (p = 0.03, while the control group’s exercise time remained constant. The intervention group increased walking and running. The control group increased running. Most participants indicated that the health text messages were effective. The results of this pilot study suggest that text messaging may be an effective method for providing options for motivating individuals to increase physical activity.

  6. Comment ameliorer la selection et le traitement des messages verbaux? (How to Improve the Selection and Processing of Verbal Messages)

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Rivenez, Marie; Darwin, Chris; Guillaume, Anne

    2005-01-01

    L'objectif de cette recherche est d'ameliorer la selection des messages verbaux. Nous cherchons a determiner les facteurs influencant le traitement d'un message verbal lorsque l'attention est portee sur un autre message...

  7. Message passing for quantified Boolean formulas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Pan; Ramezanpour, Abolfazl; Zecchina, Riccardo; Zdeborová, Lenka

    2012-01-01

    We introduce two types of message passing algorithms for quantified Boolean formulas (QBF). The first type is a message passing based heuristics that can prove unsatisfiability of the QBF by assigning the universal variables in such a way that the remaining formula is unsatisfiable. In the second type, we use message passing to guide branching heuristics of a Davis–Putnam–Logemann–Loveland (DPLL) complete solver. Numerical experiments show that on random QBFs our branching heuristics give robust exponential efficiency gain with respect to state-of-the-art solvers. We also manage to solve some previously unsolved benchmarks from the QBFLIB library. Apart from this, our study sheds light on using message passing in small systems and as subroutines in complete solvers

  8. Mobile phone messaging for communicating results of medical investigations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurol-Urganci, Ipek; de Jongh, Thyra; Vodopivec-Jamsek, Vlasta; Car, Josip; Atun, Rifat

    2012-06-13

    Mobile phone messaging, such as Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS), has rapidly grown into a mode of communication with a wide range of applications, including communicating the results from medical investigations to patients. Alternative modes of communication of results include face-to-face communication, postal messages, calls to landlines or mobile phones, through web-based health records and email. Possible advantages of mobile phone messaging include convenience to both patients and healthcare providers, reduced waiting times for health services and healthcare costs. To assess the effects of mobile phone messaging for communicating results of medical investigations, on people's healthcare-seeking behaviour and health outcomes. Secondary objectives include assessment of participants' evaluation of the intervention, direct and indirect healthcare costs and possible risks and harms associated with the intervention. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library 2009, Issue 2), MEDLINE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), EMBASE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), PsycINFO (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), CINAHL (EbscoHOST) (January 1993 to June 2009), LILACS (January 1993 to June 2009) and African Health Anthology (January 1993 to June 2009). We also reviewed grey literature (including trial registers) and reference lists of articles. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-randomised controlled trials (QRCTs), controlled before-after (CBA) studies, or interrupted time series (ITS) studies with at least three time points before and after the intervention. We included studies assessing mobile phone messaging for communicating results of medical tests, between a healthcare provider or 'treatment buddy' and patient. We only included studies in which it was possible to assess the effects of mobile phone messaging independent of other technologies or interventions.

  9. A snapshot of tobacco-related messages relayed in pediatric offices in Delaware.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinson, Judith; Raughley, Erin; Chang, Christine D; Chidekel, Aaron

    2003-10-01

    Much research exists demonstrating that pediatricians should counsel patients and families about tobacco. However, few data are available about tobacco-related messages relayed in pediatric offices. Since an anti-tobacco office environment can be a strong component of an active tobacco prevention program, we evaluated pediatric offices in Delaware to characterize tobacco-related messages. A convenience sample of 32 of 63 (51%) pediatric offices in Delaware was directly evaluated for the presence of tobacco-related messages. Fifty-five of 63 (87%) pediatric practices in Delaware were contacted by telephone to inquire about the presence of a tobacco coordinator. The 32 practices represented 71 physicians, were located in all three counties throughout the state, and were urban and non-urban in setting. The same investigator evaluated practices in a single site visit. All were located in smoke-free buildings. At one office, people were seen smoking outside; however, the presence of discarded cigarettes was much more common. Thirteen practices (41%) employed smokers, most of whom smoked outside during work hours. Twenty-one of 28 practices (75%) had waiting room magazines containing tobacco advertisements. Fifteen practices (47%) offered anti-tobacco literature while six practices (19%) displayed visual media, none exclusively addressing tobacco. Nine practices (28%) use chart flags to identify smokers. None of 55 pediatric practices in Delaware contacted by telephone identified an office tobacco prevention coordinator. Our data indicate that, in Delaware, the pediatric offices we visited overall convey a limited message about tobacco and could strengthen tobacco prevention strategies. Research measuring the impact of office-based anti-tobacco messages is needed. If these messages are effective in preventing tobacco use, practitioners can supplement active counseling with indirect interventions that require minimal maintenance once established and that place no

  10. Using Publish-Subscribe Messaging for System Status and Automation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Danford S.

    2015-01-01

    The NASA Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center (GMSEC) system is a message-based plug-and-play open system architecture used in many of NASA mission operations centers. This presentation will focus on the use of GMSEC standard messages to report and analyze the status of a system and enable the automation of the system's components. In GMSEC systems, each component reports its status using a keep-alive message and also publishes status and activities as log messages. In addition, the components can accept functional directive messages from the GMSEC message bus. Over the past several years, development teams have found ways to utilize these messages to create innovative display pages and increasingly sophisticated approaches to automation. This presentation will show the flexibility and value of the message-based approach to system awareness and automation.

  11. Using Text-Messaging in the Secondary Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Kevin; Orthober, Corrie

    2011-01-01

    To examine the potential uses of and barriers to text-messaging in secondary schools, three classes (66 students) of high school students used their personal mobile phones to receive out of school, course-related text-messages from teachers. Forty-six students (70%) agreed to receive text-messages. Findings indicate that participants found…

  12. Emotional flow in persuasive health messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nabi, Robin L

    2015-01-01

    Overwhelmingly, the literature on the persuasive influence of emotions has focused on individual emotions, fear in particular, though some recent attention has been given to mixed emotions in persuasive appeals. Building on this newer wave of research, this article argues that instead of focusing on singular emotional states or collections of emotions evoked by a message, it might prove valuable to explore the flow, or evolution, of emotional experience over the course of exposure to a health message. The article offers a brief introduction to the concept of emotion, followed by a review of the state of the literature on the use of emotion in health messages. The concept of emotional flow is then introduced along with a consideration of how it has been tacitly incorporated into the study of emotional health messages. Finally, the utility of the concept of emotional flow is elaborated by articulating the ways in which it might be harnessed to facilitate the creation of more effective health messages, individually as well as across campaigns. The article concludes with an agenda for future research.

  13. Matching Message Design and Depressed Cognition: An Exploration of Attention Patterns for Gain- and Loss-Framed Depression Help-Seeking Messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lueck, Jennifer A

    2017-07-01

    Although disproportionally affected by depression, most depressed college students do not seek the help they need. Research has recently uncovered the potential negative effects of depression help-seeking messages if depressed cognition is not considered in the health message design process. It is unclear if depression determines whether and how individuals pay attention to gain- and loss-framed depression help-seeking messages-a mechanism that has significant implications for the strategic planning of health communication interventions. In order to enable the effective matching of message design and audience features, this study investigated attention patterns for gain (n = 75)- and loss (n = 78)-framed depression help-seeking messages using eye-tracking technology and self-report measures. The results confirmed that depression is a characteristic of risk avoidance and negative cognition. Depressed participants tended to pay more attention to disease information that was placed in a loss-framed rather than a gain-framed depression help-seeking message. Using negative message framing strategies for health messages seeking to educate about depression symptoms might therefore be a useful persuasive strategy-particularly when disseminated to vulnerable populations affected by depression. Furthermore, the present study emphasizes the effective use of eye-tracking technology in communication research.

  14. Effects of argument quality, source credibility and self-reported diabetes knowledge on message attitudes: an experiment using diabetes related messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Tung-Cheng; Hwang, Lih-Lian; Lai, Yung-Jye

    2017-05-17

    Previous studies have reported that credibility and content (argument quality) are the most critical factors affecting the quality of health information and its acceptance and use; however, this causal relationship merits further investigation in the context of health education. Moreover, message recipients' prior knowledge may moderate these relationships. This study used the elaboration likelihood model to determine the main effects of argument quality, source credibility and the moderating effect of self-reported diabetes knowledge on message attitudes. A between-subjects experimental design using an educational message concerning diabetes for manipulation was applied to validate the effects empirically. A total of 181 participants without diabetes were recruited from the Department of Health, Taipei City Government. Four group messages were manipulated in terms of argument quality (high and low) × source credibility (high and low). Argument quality and source credibility of health information significantly influenced the attitude of message recipients. The participants with high self-reported knowledge participants exhibited significant disapproval for messages with low argument quality. Effective health information should provide objective descriptions and cite reliable sources; in addition, it should provide accurate, customised messages for recipients who have high background knowledge level and ability to discern message quality. © 2017 Health Libraries Group Health Information & Libraries Journal.

  15. Why are Tailored Messages More Effective? A Multiple Mediation Analysis of a Breast Cancer Screening Intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Jakob D; King, Andy J; Carcioppolo, Nicholas; Davis, LaShara

    2012-10-01

    Past research has found that tailoring increases the persuasive effectiveness of a message. However, the observed effect has been small and the explanatory mechanism remains unknown. To address these shortcomings, a tailoring software program was created that personalized breast cancer screening pamphlets according to risk, health belief model constructs, and visual preference. Women aged 40 and older ( N = 119) participated in a 2 (tailored vs. stock message) × 2 (charts/graphs vs. illustrated visuals) × 3 (nested replications of the visuals) experiment. Participants provided with tailored illustrated pamphlets expressed greater breast cancer screening intentions than those provided with other pamphlets. In a test of 10 different mediators, perceived message relevance was found to fully mediate the tailoring × visual interaction.

  16. Quantum signature scheme for known quantum messages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Taewan; Lee, Hyang-Sook

    2015-01-01

    When we want to sign a quantum message that we create, we can use arbitrated quantum signature schemes which are possible to sign for not only known quantum messages but also unknown quantum messages. However, since the arbitrated quantum signature schemes need the help of a trusted arbitrator in each verification of the signature, it is known that the schemes are not convenient in practical use. If we consider only known quantum messages such as the above situation, there can exist a quantum signature scheme with more efficient structure. In this paper, we present a new quantum signature scheme for known quantum messages without the help of an arbitrator. Differing from arbitrated quantum signature schemes based on the quantum one-time pad with the symmetric key, since our scheme is based on quantum public-key cryptosystems, the validity of the signature can be verified by a receiver without the help of an arbitrator. Moreover, we show that our scheme provides the functions of quantum message integrity, user authentication and non-repudiation of the origin as in digital signature schemes. (paper)

  17. Prevention messages and AIDS risk behavior in Kampala, Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hearst, Norman; Kajubi, Phoebe; Hudes, Esther Sid; Maganda, Albert K; Green, Edward C

    2012-01-01

    Uganda was one of the first countries to substantially reduce HIV rates through behavior change, but these gains have not continued in recent years. Little is known about what messages Ugandans are currently hearing about AIDS prevention, what they themselves believe to be important prevention strategies, and how these beliefs are associated with behavior. We interviewed men and women aged between 20 and 39 in two poor peri-urban areas of Kampala, using a random sample, cross-sectional household survey design. Respondents provided detailed reports of sexual behavior over the past six months, the main prevention message they are currently hearing about AIDS, and their own ranking of the importance of prevention strategies. Condom use was the main AIDS prevention message that respondents reported hearing, followed by getting tested. These were also what respondents themselves considered most important, followed closely by faithfulness. Abstinence was the lowest ranked strategy, but a higher ranking for this prevention strategy was the only one consistently associated with less risky behavior. A higher ranking for condoms was associated with higher levels of risk behavior, while the ranking of testing made no difference in any behavior. These results present challenges for AIDS prevention strategies that rely primarily on promoting condoms and testing. HIV prevention programs need to assess their impact on behavior.

  18. Instant Messaging by SIP

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muhi, Daniel; Dulai, Tibor; Jaskó, Szilárd

    2008-11-01

    SIP is a general-purpose application layer protocol which is able to establish sessions between two or more parties. These sessions are mainly telephone calls and multimedia conferences. However it can be used for other purposes like instant messaging and presence service. SIP has a very important role in mobile communication as more and more communicating applications are going mobile. In this paper we would like to show how SIP can be used for instant messaging purposes.

  19. Effects of a statewide antismoking campaign on mass media messages and smoking beliefs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, D M; Prokhorov, A V; Harty, K C

    1994-01-01

    BACKGROUND. In 1985, The Minnesota Legislature initiated a long-term and broad-based program to deter adolescent tobacco use. The initiative was funded by higher taxes on tobacco products and combined school-based programming, mass-media campaigns, and local community grants. The Minnesota-Wisconsin Adolescent Tobacco-Use Research Project was designed to evaluate this effort by monitoring adolescent tobacco use and related factors in Minnesota and Wisconsin from 1986 to 1990. The results presented in this paper indicate that the Minnesota initiative dramatically increased Minnesota schoolchildren's reported exposure to the anti-smoking messages in the mass media but had little effect on smoking-related beliefs or smoking behaviors. CONCLUSIONS. These results, together with the findings from other recent studies, suggest that even dramatic increases in exposure to anti-tobacco messages in the mass-media, in the absence of a substantial and sustained school-based tobacco prevention measures, may be insufficient to generate reductions in adolescent tobacco use.

  20. Qualitative study to explore Prospect Theory and message framing and diet and cancer prevention-related issues among African American adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satia, Jessie A; Barlow, Jameta; Armstrong-Brown, Janelle; Watters, Joanne L

    2010-01-01

    There is a dearth of knowledge regarding factors that may motivate African American adolescents to consume healthier diets. To develop and test cancer prevention messages based on Prospect Theory on motivation to improve dietary intake in African American adolescents and to explore other salient factors that may inform dietary intervention design and implementation in this population. Semistructured in-person qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 African American male and female adolescents, aged 12 to 16 years, in North Carolina. Prospect Theory and message framing were used to guide the design of the 4 sets of diet-related messages related to cancer prevention: short-term, gain-framed; long-term, gain-framed; short-term, loss-framed; and long-term, loss-framed messages. Data were also collected on demographic, behavioral, and psychological factors; usual health behaviors; and preferences for intervention delivery. Most respondents found the gain-framed, short-term messages most salient for both fruits/vegetables (8 [61.5%]) and fat consumption (7 [53.8%]). For fat consumption only, 2 (15.4%) found the loss-framed, short-term messages pertinent; none found the loss-framed, long-term messages relevant for either dietary variable. All indicated interest in participating in a dietary intervention/education program; most preferred the Internet as a channel for intervention delivery. Participants expressed diverse views regarding knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding healthy eating. The gain-framed, short-term messages were most salient for motivating the majority of respondents to consume a healthy diet and most expressed a strong interest in participating in programs about diet and nutrition, with the Internet as the preferred communication channel. Researchers conducting dietary interventions and education initiatives and medical professionals who counsel African American adolescents should consider using Prospect Theory as a theoretical framework

  1. The Message Logging System for NOνA Experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Qiming; Kowalkowski, J B; Biery, K A

    2011-01-01

    The message logging system provides the infrastructure for all of the distributed processes in the data acquisition (DAQ) to report status messages of various severities in a consistent manner to a central location, as well as providing the tools for displaying and archiving the messages. The message logging system has been developed over a decade, and has been run successfully on CDF and CMS experiments. The most recent work to the message logging system is to build it as a stand-alone package with the name MessageFacility which works for any generic framework or applications, with NOνA as the first driving user. System designs and architectures, as well as the efforts of making it a generic library will be discussed. We also present new features that have been added.

  2. Gain versus loss-framed messaging and colorectal cancer screening among African Americans: A preliminary examination of perceived racism and culturally targeted dual messaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucas, Todd; Hayman, Lenwood W; Blessman, James E; Asabigi, Kanzoni; Novak, Julie M

    2016-05-01

    This preliminary study examined the effect of gain versus loss-framed messaging as well as culturally targeted personal prevention messaging on African Americans' receptivity to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. This research also examined mechanistic functions of perceived racism in response to message framing. Community samples of African Americans (N = 132) and White Americans (N = 50) who were non-compliant with recommended CRC screening completed an online education module about CRC, and were either exposed to a gain-framed or loss-framed message about CRC screening. Half of African Americans were exposed to an additional and culturally targeted self-control message about personal prevention of CRC. Theory of planned behavior measures of attitudes, normative beliefs, perceived behavioural control, and intentions to obtain a CRC screen served as primary outcomes. The effect of messaging on perceived racism was also measured as an outcome. Consistent with prior research, White Americans were more receptive to CRC screening when exposed to a loss-framed message. However, African Americans were more receptive when exposed to a gain-framed message. The contrary effect of loss-framed messaging on receptivity to screening among African Americans was mediated by an increase in perceived racism. However, including an additional and culturally targeted prevention message mitigated the adverse effect of a loss-framed message. This study identifies an important potential cultural difference in the effect of message framing on illness screening among African Americans, while also suggesting a culturally relevant linking mechanism. This study also suggests the potential for simultaneously presented and culturally targeted messaging to alter the effects of gain and loss-framed messaging on African Americans. What is already known on this subject? African Americans are at an increased risk of both developing and dying from colorectal cancer (CRC). These disparities can be

  3. Actors with Multi-Headed Message Receive Patterns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sulzmann, Martin; Lam, Edmund Soon Lee; Van Weert, Peter

    2008-01-01

    style actors with receive clauses containing multi-headed message patterns. Patterns may be non-linear and constrained by guards. We provide a number of examples to show the usefulness of the extension. We also explore the design space for multi-headed message matching semantics, for example first-match......The actor model provides high-level concurrency abstractions to coordinate simultaneous computations by message passing. Languages implementing the actor model such as Erlang commonly only support single-headed pattern matching over received messages. We propose and design an extension of Erlang...... and rule priority-match semantics. The various semantics are inspired by the multi-set constraint matching semantics found in Constraint Handling Rules. This provides us with a formal model to study actors with multi-headed message receive patterns. The system can be implemented efficiently and we have...

  4. A theory-based video messaging mobile phone intervention for smoking cessation: randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whittaker, Robyn; Dorey, Enid; Bramley, Dale; Bullen, Chris; Denny, Simon; Elley, C Raina; Maddison, Ralph; McRobbie, Hayden; Parag, Varsha; Rodgers, Anthony; Salmon, Penny

    2011-01-21

    Advances in technology allowed the development of a novel smoking cessation program delivered by video messages sent to mobile phones. This social cognitive theory-based intervention (called "STUB IT") used observational learning via short video diary messages from role models going through the quitting process to teach behavioral change techniques. The objective of our study was to assess the effectiveness of a multimedia mobile phone intervention for smoking cessation. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 6-month follow-up. Participants had to be 16 years of age or over, be current daily smokers, be ready to quit, and have a video message-capable phone. Recruitment targeted younger adults predominantly through radio and online advertising. Registration and data collection were completed online, prompted by text messages. The intervention group received an automated package of video and text messages over 6 months that was tailored to self-selected quit date, role model, and timing of messages. Extra messages were available on demand to beat cravings and address lapses. The control group also set a quit date and received a general health video message sent to their phone every 2 weeks. The target sample size was not achieved due to difficulty recruiting young adult quitters. Of the 226 randomized participants, 47% (107/226) were female and 24% (54/226) were Maori (indigenous population of New Zealand). Their mean age was 27 years (SD 8.7), and there was a high level of nicotine addiction. Continuous abstinence at 6 months was 26.4% (29/110) in the intervention group and 27.6% (32/116) in the control group (P = .8). Feedback from participants indicated that the support provided by the video role models was important and appreciated. This study was not able to demonstrate a statistically significant effect of the complex video messaging mobile phone intervention compared with simple general health video messages via mobile phone. However, there was

  5. Effects of Text Messaging on Academic Performance

    OpenAIRE

    Barks Amanda; Searight H. Russell; Ratwik Susan

    2011-01-01

    University students frequently send and receive cellular phone text messages during classroominstruction. Cognitive psychology research indicates that multi-tasking is frequently associatedwith performance cost. However, university students often have considerable experience withelectronic multi-tasking and may believe that they can devote necessary attention to a classroomlecture while sending and receiving text messages. In the current study, university students whoused text messaging were ...

  6. Reactions to threatening health messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ten Hoor, Gill A; Peters, Gjalt-Jorn Y; Kalagi, Janice; de Groot, Lianne; Grootjans, Karlijne; Huschens, Alexander; Köhninger, Constanze; Kölgen, Lizan; Pelssers, Isabelle; Schütt, Toby; Thomas, Sophia; Ruiter, Robert A C; Kok, Gerjo

    2012-11-21

    Threatening health messages that focus on severity are popular, but frequently have no effect or even a counterproductive effect on behavior change. This paradox (i.e. wide application despite low effectiveness) may be partly explained by the intuitive appeal of threatening communication: it may be hard to predict the defensive reactions occurring in response to fear appeals. We examine this hypothesis by using two studies by Brown and colleagues, which provide evidence that threatening health messages in the form of distressing imagery in anti-smoking and anti-alcohol campaigns cause defensive reactions. We simulated both Brown et al. experiments, asking participants to estimate the reactions of the original study subjects to the threatening health information (n = 93). Afterwards, we presented the actual original study outcomes. One week later, we assessed whether this knowledge of the actual study outcomes helped participants to more successfully estimate the effectiveness of the threatening health information (n = 72). Results showed that participants were initially convinced of the effectiveness of threatening health messages and were unable to anticipate the defensive reactions that in fact occurred. Furthermore, these estimates did not improve after participants had been explained the dynamics of threatening communication as well as what the effects of the threatening communication had been in reality. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the effectiveness of threatening health messages is intuitively appealing. What is more, providing empirical evidence against the use of threatening health messages has very little effect on this intuitive appeal.

  7. Instant messaging at the hospital: supporting articulation work?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iversen, Tobias Buschmann; Melby, Line; Toussaint, Pieter

    2013-09-01

    Clinical work is increasingly fragmented and requires extensive articulation and coordination. Computer systems may support such work. In this study, we investigate how instant messaging functions as a tool for supporting articulation work at the hospital. This paper aims to describe the characteristics of instant messaging communication in terms of number and length of messages, distribution over time, and the number of participants included in conversations. We also aim to determine what kind of articulation work is supported by analysing message content. Analysis of one month's worth of instant messages sent through the perioperative coordination and communication system at a Danish hospital. Instant messaging was found to be used extensively for articulation work, mostly through short, simple conversational exchanges. It is used particularly often for communication concerning the patient, specifically, the coordination and logistics of patient care. Instant messaging is used by all actors involved in the perioperative domain. Articulation work and clinical work are hard to separate in a real clinical setting. Predefined messages and strict workflow design do not suffice when supporting communication in the context of collaborative clinical work. Flexibility is of vital importance, and this needs to be reflected in the design of supportive communication systems. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Outpatient blood pressure monitoring using bi-directional text messaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anthony, Chris A; Polgreen, Linnea A; Chounramany, James; Foster, Eric D; Goerdt, Christopher J; Miller, Michelle L; Suneja, Manish; Segre, Alberto M; Carter, Barry L; Polgreen, Philip M

    2015-05-01

    To diagnose hypertension, multiple blood pressure (BP) measurements are recommended. We randomized patients into three groups: EMR-only (patients recorded BP measurements in an electronic medical record [EMR] web portal), EMR + reminders (patients were sent text message reminders to record their BP measurements in the EMR), and bi-directional text messaging (patients were sent a text message asking them to respond with their current BP). Subjects were asked to complete 14 measurements. Automated messages were sent to each patient in the bi-directional text messaging and EMR + reminder groups twice daily. Among 121 patients, those in the bi-directional text messaging group reported the full 14 measurements more often than both the EMR-only group (P text messaging is an effective way to gather patient BP data. Text-message-based reminders alone are an effective way to encourage patients to record BP measurements. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Tracing How Normative Messages May Influence Physical Activity Intention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Bavel, René; Esposito, Gabriele; Baranowski, Tom; Duch-Brown, Néstor

    2017-04-01

    Normative messages have been shown to increase intention to do physical activity. We traced how "positive" and "negative" normative messages influenced physical activity intention by comparing constructs of the model of goal-directed behavior with descriptive norms (MGDB + DNs) across control and treatment groups in an experiment. For this purpose, 16-24-year-old respondents (n = 1,200) in Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania were asked about their age, sex, and levels of physical activity before being exposed to positive and negative normative messages and completing a questionnaire with MGDB + DNs scales. Different MGDB + DNs constructs were influenced by the normative messages: compared with the control, the negative message group showed stronger attitudes (p = .003) and the positive message group showed higher positive anticipated emotions (p = .005). The positive message's effect is consistent with the literature on conformity to social norms. The negative message's effect lends itself to interpretations based on social identity and deviance regulation theories.

  10. Effects of Instant Messaging on School Performance in Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grover, Karan; Pecor, Keith; Malkowski, Michael; Kang, Lilia; Machado, Sasha; Lulla, Roshni; Heisey, David; Ming, Xue

    2016-06-01

    Instant messaging may compromise sleep quality and school performance in adolescents. We aimed to determine associations between nighttime messaging and daytime sleepiness, self-reported sleep parameters, and/or school performance. Students from 3 high schools in New Jersey completed anonymous questionnaires assessing sleep duration, daytime sleepiness, messaging habits, and academic performance. Of the 2,352 students sampled, 1,537 responses were contrasted among grades, sexes, and messaging duration, both before and after lights out. Students who reported longer duration of messaging after lights out were more likely to report a shorter sleep duration, higher rate of daytime sleepiness, and poorer academic performance. Messaging before lights out was not associated with higher rates of daytime sleepiness or poorer academic performance. Females reported more messaging, more daytime sleepiness, and better academic performance than males. There may be an association between text messaging and school performance in this cohort of students. © The Author(s) 2016.

  11. The WLCG Messaging Service and its Future

    CERN Document Server

    Cons, Lionel

    2012-01-01

    Enterprise messaging is seen as an attractive mechanism to simplify and extend several portions of the Grid middleware, from low level monitoring to experiments dashboards. The production messaging service currently used by WLCG includes four tightly coupled brokers operated by EGI (running Apache ActiveMQ and designed to host the Grid operational tools such as SAM) as well as two dedicated services for ATLAS-DDM and experiments dashboards (currently also running Apache ActiveMQ). In the future, this service is expected to grow in numbers of applications supported, brokers and technologies. The WLCG Messaging Roadmap identified three areas with room for improvement (security, scalability and availability/reliability) as well as ten practical recommendations to address them. This paper describes a messaging service architecture that is in line with these recommendations as well as a software architecture based on reusable components that ease interactions with the messaging service. These two architectures wil...

  12. Mobile phone messaging for preventive health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vodopivec-Jamsek, Vlasta; de Jongh, Thyra; Gurol-Urganci, Ipek; Atun, Rifat; Car, Josip

    2012-12-12

    Preventive health care promotes health and prevents disease or injuries by addressing factors that lead to the onset of a disease, and by detecting latent conditions to reduce or halt their progression. Many risk factors for costly and disabling conditions (such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases) can be prevented, yet healthcare systems do not make the best use of their available resources to support this process. Mobile phone messaging applications, such as Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS), could offer a convenient and cost-effective way to support desirable health behaviours for preventive health care. To assess the effects of mobile phone messaging interventions as a mode of delivery for preventive health care, on health status and health behaviour outcomes. We searched: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library 2009, Issue 2), MEDLINE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), EMBASE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), PsycINFO (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), CINAHL (EbscoHOST) (January 1993 to June 2009), LILACS (January 1993 to June 2009) and African Health Anthology (January 1993 to June 2009).We also reviewed grey literature (including trial registers) and reference lists of articles. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-randomised controlled trials (QRCTs), controlled before-after (CBA) studies, and interrupted time series (ITS) studies with at least three time points before and after the intervention. We included studies using SMS or MMS as a mode of delivery for any type of preventive health care. We only included studies in which it was possible to assess the effects of mobile phone messaging independent of other technologies or interventions. Two review authors independently assessed all studies against the inclusion criteria, with any disagreements resolved by a third review author. Study design features

  13. Pilot study of psychotherapeutic text messaging for depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfeiffer, Paul N; Henry, Jennifer; Ganoczy, Dara; Piette, John D

    2017-08-01

    Background Text messaging services could increase access to psychotherapeutic content for individuals with depression by avoiding barriers to in-person psychotherapy such as cost, transportation, and therapist availability. Determining whether text messages reflecting different psychotherapeutic techniques exhibit differences in acceptability or effectiveness may help guide service development. Objectives We aimed to determine: (1) the feasibility of delivering a psychotherapy-based text messaging service to people with depression identified via the internet, (2) whether there is variation in satisfaction with messages according to the type of psychotherapeutic technique they represent, and (3) whether symptoms of depression vary according to receipt of each message type and participants' satisfaction with the messages they received. Methods For this study 190 US adults who screened positive for a major depressive episode (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score ≥10) were recruited from online advertisements. Participants received a daily psychotherapy-based text message 6 days per week for 12 weeks. Text messages were developed by a team of psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers to reflect three psychotherapeutic approaches: acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), behavioural activation, and cognitive restructuring. Each week the message type for the week was randomly assigned from one of the three types, allowing for repeats. Participants were asked daily to rate each message. On the 7th day of each week, participants completed a two-item depression screener (PHQ-2). Web-based surveys at baseline, 6, and 12 weeks were used as the primary measure of depressive symptoms (PHQ-9). Results Of the 190 participants enrolled, 85 (45%) completed the 6-week web survey and 67 (35%) completed the 12-week survey. The mean baseline PHQ-9 score was 19.4 (SD 4.2) and there was a statistically significant mean improvement in PHQ-9 scores of -2.9 (SD 6.0; p

  14. Systematic and heuristic processing of majority and minority-endorsed messages: the effects of varying outcome relevance and levels of orientation on attitude and message processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Robin; Hewstone, Miles; Martin, Pearl Y

    2007-01-01

    Two experiments investigated the conditions under which majority and minority sources instigate systematic processing of their messages. Both experiments crossed source status (majority vs. minority) with message quality (strong vs. weak arguments). In each experiment, message elaboration was manipulated by varying either motivational (outcome relevance, Experiment 1) or cognitive (orientating tasks, Experiment 2) factors. The results showed that when either motivational or cognitive factors encouraged low message elaboration, there was heuristic acceptance of the majority position without detailed message processing. When the level of message elaboration was intermediate, there was message processing only for the minority source. Finally, when message elaboration was high, there was message processing for both source conditions. These results show that majority and minority influence is sensitive to motivational and cognitive factors that constrain or enhance message elaboration and that both sources can lead to systematic processing under specific circumstances.

  15. Video: useful tool for delivering family planning messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumarsono, S K

    1985-10-01

    In 1969, the Government of Indonesia declared that the population explosion was a national problem. The National Family Planning Program was consequently launched to encourage adoption of the ideal of a small, happy and prosperous family norm. Micro-approach messages are composed of the following: physiology of menstruation; reproductive process; healthy pregnancy; rational family planning; rational application of contraceptives; infant and child care; nutrition improvement; increase in breastfeeding; increase in family income; education in family life; family health; and deferred marriage age. Macro-approach messages include: the population problem and its impact on socioeconomic aspects; efforts to cope with the population problem; and improvement of women's lot. In utilizing the media and communication channels, the program encourages the implementation of units and working units of IEC to produce IEC materials; utilizes all possible existing media and IEC channels; maintains the consistent linkage between the activity of mass media and the IEC activities in the field; and encourages the private sector to participate in the production of IEC media and materials. A media production center was set up and carries out the following activities: producing video cassettes for tv broadcasts of family planning drama, family planning news, and tv spots; producing duplicates of the video cassettes for distribution to provinces in support of the video network; producing teaching materials for family planning workers; and transfering family planning films into video cassettes. A video network was developed and includes video monitors in family planning service points such as hospitals, family planning clinics and public places like bus stations. In 1985, the program will be expanded by 50 mobile information units equipped with video monitors. Video has potentials to increase the productivity and effectiveness of the family planning program. The video production process is

  16. Flow of emotional messages in artificial social networks

    OpenAIRE

    Chmiel, Anna; Holyst, Janusz A.

    2010-01-01

    Models of message flows in an artificial group of users communicating via the Internet are introduced and investigated using numerical simulations. We assumed that messages possess an emotional character with a positive valence and that the willingness to send the next affective message to a given person increases with the number of messages received from this person. As a result, the weights of links between group members evolve over time. Memory effects are introduced, taking into account t...

  17. Understanding health food messages on Twitter for health literacy promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, J; Liu, F; Zhou, H

    2018-05-01

    With the popularity of social media, Twitter has become an important tool to promote health literacy. However, many health-related messages on Twitter are dead-ended and cannot reach many people. This is unhelpful for health literacy promotion. This article aims to examine the features of online health food messages that people like to retweet. We adopted rumour theory as our theoretical foundation and extracted seven characteristics (i.e. emotional valence, attractiveness, sender's authoritativeness, external evidence, argument length, hashtags, and direct messages). A total of 10,025 health-related messages on Twitter were collected, and 1496 messages were randomly selected for further analysis. Each message was treated as one unit and then coded. All the hypotheses were tested with logistic regression. Emotional valence, attractiveness, sender's authoritativeness, argument length, and direct messages in a Twitter message had positive effects on people's retweet behaviour. The effect of external evidence was negative. Hashtags had no significant effect after consideration of other variables. Online health food messages containing positive emotions, including pictures, containing direct messages, having an authoritative sender, having longer arguments, or not containing external URLs are more likely to be retweeted. However, a message only containing positive or negative emotions or including direct messages without any support information will not be retweeted.

  18. A Thinking Person's Comedy: A Study of Intertextuality in "Cheers."

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hlynka, Anthony; Knupfer, Nancy Nelson

    This paper addresses the television program "Cheers" and demonstrates one way of interpreting the complexity of messages within the program. The interplay of visual messages within the "Cheers" programming is referred to as intertextuality, or the relation of one text to another to express an idea. Two basic types of…

  19. 78 FR 64202 - Quantitative Messaging Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-28

    ... COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION Quantitative Messaging Research AGENCY: Commodity Futures... survey will follow qualitative message testing research (for which CFTC received fast- track OMB approval... comments. Please submit your comments using only one method and identify that it is for the ``Quantitative...

  20. The Prodiguer Messaging Platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denvil, S.; Greenslade, M. A.; Carenton, N.; Levavasseur, G.; Raciazek, J.

    2015-12-01

    CONVERGENCE is a French multi-partner national project designed to gather HPC and informatics expertise to innovate in the context of running French global climate models with differing grids and at differing resolutions. Efficient and reliable execution of these models and the management and dissemination of model output are some of the complexities that CONVERGENCE aims to resolve.At any one moment in time, researchers affiliated with the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL) climate modeling group, are running hundreds of global climate simulations. These simulations execute upon a heterogeneous set of French High Performance Computing (HPC) environments. The IPSL's simulation execution runtime libIGCM (library for IPSL Global Climate Modeling group) has recently been enhanced so as to support hitherto impossible realtime use cases such as simulation monitoring, data publication, metrics collection, simulation control, visualizations … etc. At the core of this enhancement is Prodiguer: an AMQP (Advanced Message Queue Protocol) based event driven asynchronous distributed messaging platform. libIGCM now dispatches copious amounts of information, in the form of messages, to the platform for remote processing by Prodiguer software agents at IPSL servers in Paris. Such processing takes several forms: Persisting message content to database(s); Launching rollback jobs upon simulation failure; Notifying downstream applications; Automation of visualization pipelines; We will describe and/or demonstrate the platform's: Technical implementation; Inherent ease of scalability; Inherent adaptiveness in respect to supervising simulations; Web portal receiving simulation notifications in realtime.

  1. Safety message broadcast in vehicular networks

    CERN Document Server

    Bi, Yuanguo; Zhuang, Weihua; Zhao, Hai

    2017-01-01

    This book presents the current research on safety message dissemination in vehicular networks, covering medium access control and relay selection for multi-hop safety message broadcast. Along with an overall overview of the architecture, characteristics, and applications of vehicular networks, the authors discuss the challenging issues in the research on performance improvement for safety applications, and provide a comprehensive review of the research literature. A cross layer broadcast protocol is included to support efficient safety message broadcast by jointly considering geographical location, physical-layer channel condition, and moving velocity of vehicles in the highway scenario. To further support multi-hop safety message broadcast in a complex road layout, the authors propose an urban multi-hop broadcast protocol that utilizes a novel forwarding node selection scheme. Additionally, a busy tone based medium access control scheme is designed to provide strict priority to safety applications in vehicle...

  2. Effects of Electronic Word - of - Mouth Messages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Choong Hoon Lim

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available With the increased usage of online technologies, there has been an escalation of Electronic Word - of –Mouth (eWOM messages related to sport products and services offered and consumed. Therefore, in this original investigation by applying eWOM to the sport industry, this study examined how the combination of the quality of the eWOM message and the provider of the eWOM message affects purchaseintentions depending on the expertise level of the consumer. This study – which involved the collection of data from 134 students at a large university situated in the Midwest of the United States – utilized repeated measures of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA with tripartite groups of expertise and experimental conditions as independent variables. Purchase intention was the dependent variables. The results indicated that the quality of the eWOM message moderated the effect of the provider of the eWOM message. The subject’s level of expertise also had a moderating role on purchase intention.

  3. Insights into targeting young male drivers with anti-speeding advertising: An application of the Step approach to Message Design and Testing (SatMDT).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, I; White, K M; Ho, B; Elliott, B; Watson, B

    2017-06-01

    In Australia, young drivers aged 17-25 years comprise 13% of the population yet account for 22% of all road deaths with young males over-represented in such trauma. Speeding represents a major contributing factor and advertising campaigns have long focused on promoting anti-speeding messages in the effort to reduce drivers' speeds. Positioned within a larger program of research aimed at developing, piloting, and evaluating a range of theoretically-informed anti-speeding messages, the current study reports results relating to the final phase of the research, the evaluation. Six messages were devised in accordance with the guiding framework, the Step approach to Message Design and Testing ([SatMDT]; Lewis et al., 2016) and based on the findings emerging from earlier qualitative and quantitative studies within the program of research. N=938 licensed drivers (n=455 males, 48%) aged 17-62 years completed an online survey. To ensure a controlled test of the persuasiveness of the message content, the messages were presented in an audio-based format and thus were devoid of potential confounds, such as images. The messages sought to address a particular belief (i.e., behavioural, normative, control) and to focus either on emphasising the positive aspects which make speeding less likely or challenging the negative aspects which make speeding more likely. Thus, key to this evaluation was to test the persuasiveness of the message content in terms of the particular belief and focus it was addressing. Participants were randomly assigned to either the Control condition (i.e., no exposure to a message) or the Intervention condition (i.e., exposed to one of the six messages presented as an audio-recorded message within the survey). Persuasiveness was assessed via a range of outcome measures including both direct (i.e., third-person perceptions, message rejection) as well as indirect measures (i.e., intentions, willingness to speed). Age, gender, and message type were independent

  4. Individual differences in drivers' cognitive processing of road safety messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaye, Sherrie-Anne; White, Melanie J; Lewis, Ioni M

    2013-01-01

    Using Gray and McNaughton's (2000) revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (r-RST), we examined the influence of personality on processing of words presented in gain-framed and loss-framed anti-speeding messages and how the processing biases associated with personality influenced message acceptance. The r-RST predicts that the nervous system regulates personality and that behaviour is dependent upon the activation of the behavioural activation system (BAS), activated by reward cues and the fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS), activated by punishment cues. According to r-RST, individuals differ in the sensitivities of their BAS and FFFS (i.e., weak to strong), which in turn leads to stable patterns of behaviour in the presence of rewards and punishments, respectively. It was hypothesised that individual differences in personality (i.e., strength of the BAS and the FFFS) would influence the degree of both message processing (as measured by reaction time to previously viewed message words) and message acceptance (measured three ways by perceived message effectiveness, behavioural intentions, and attitudes). Specifically, it was anticipated that, individuals with a stronger BAS would process the words presented in the gain-frame messages faster than those with a weaker BAS and individuals with a stronger FFFS would process the words presented in the loss-frame messages faster than those with a weaker FFFS. Further, it was expected that greater processing (faster reaction times) would be associated with greater acceptance for that message. Driver licence holding students (N=108) were recruited to view one of four anti-speeding messages (i.e., social gain-frame, social loss-frame, physical gain-frame, and physical loss-frame). A computerised lexical decision task assessed participants' subsequent reaction times to message words, as an indicator of the extent of processing of the previously viewed message. Self-report measures assessed personality and the three message

  5. Reactions to threatening health messages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ten Hoor Gill A

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Threatening health messages that focus on severity are popular, but frequently have no effect or even a counterproductive effect on behavior change. This paradox (i.e. wide application despite low effectiveness may be partly explained by the intuitive appeal of threatening communication: it may be hard to predict the defensive reactions occurring in response to fear appeals. We examine this hypothesis by using two studies by Brown and colleagues, which provide evidence that threatening health messages in the form of distressing imagery in anti-smoking and anti-alcohol campaigns cause defensive reactions. Methods We simulated both Brown et al. experiments, asking participants to estimate the reactions of the original study subjects to the threatening health information (n = 93. Afterwards, we presented the actual original study outcomes. One week later, we assessed whether this knowledge of the actual study outcomes helped participants to more successfully estimate the effectiveness of the threatening health information (n = 72. Results Results showed that participants were initially convinced of the effectiveness of threatening health messages and were unable to anticipate the defensive reactions that in fact occurred. Furthermore, these estimates did not improve after participants had been explained the dynamics of threatening communication as well as what the effects of the threatening communication had been in reality. Conclusions These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the effectiveness of threatening health messages is intuitively appealing. What is more, providing empirical evidence against the use of threatening health messages has very little effect on this intuitive appeal.

  6. Lol: New Language and Spelling in Instant Messaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varnhagen, Connie K.; McFall, G. Peggy; Pugh, Nicole; Routledge, Lisa; Sumida-MacDonald, Heather; Kwong, Trudy E.

    2010-01-01

    Written communication in instant messaging, text messaging, chat, and other forms of electronic communication appears to have generated a "new language" of abbreviations, acronyms, word combinations, and punctuation. In this naturalistic study, adolescents collected their instant messaging conversations for a 1-week period and then completed a…

  7. A Novel Message Scheduling Framework for Delay Tolerant Networks Routing

    KAUST Repository

    Elwhishi, Ahmed

    2013-05-01

    Multicopy routing strategies have been considered the most applicable approaches to achieve message delivery in Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs). Epidemic routing and two-hop forwarding routing are two well-reported approaches for delay tolerant networks routing which allow multiple message replicas to be launched in order to increase message delivery ratio and/or reduce message delivery delay. This advantage, nonetheless, is at the expense of additional buffer space and bandwidth overhead. Thus, to achieve efficient utilization of network resources, it is important to come up with an effective message scheduling strategy to determine which messages should be forwarded and which should be dropped in case of buffer is full. This paper investigates a new message scheduling framework for epidemic and two-hop forwarding routing in DTNs, such that the forwarding/dropping decision can be made at a node during each contact for either optimal message delivery ratio or message delivery delay. Extensive simulation results show that the proposed message scheduling framework can achieve better performance than its counterparts.

  8. The message is the message-maker.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chalkley, A B

    1977-03-01

    For those engaged in family planning or other demographic work of an active kind, serious errors can be made and much money and skill wasted unless there is a clear idea of available means of communication. Literacy and media-diffusion figures offer vague parameters, especially in Asia, and the role of spoken communication -- considered key in "illiterate" societies -- is even more difficult to assess. For mass media, the starting point is "diffusion rates" representing numbers of TV sets owned or newspapers sold per 1000 population and so on -- measures of quantity. This article surveys the population growth rates, urban-rural distribution, educational levels, literacy rates, numbers of newspapers bought, radios and TVs owned (per 1000 population) for 12 Asian countries, and discusses their meaning in terms of media use. Chief among the points made are that print media still have an enormous role to play in the developing countries -- newspaper diffusion rates are quite high, even in countries with low urban population (especially India). The quality of electronic media (too often considered the natural "wave of the future" everywhere) varies but is generally not high. Where they are fully developed their role is vital -- but it might be noted that it is the message makers themselves who are most vital. Choosing the right medium and the proper message for it is essential.

  9. Creating Effective Media Messaging for Rural Smoke-free Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riker, Carol A; Butler, Karen M; Ricks, JaNelle M; Record, Rachael A; Begley, Kathy; Anderson, Debra Gay; Hahn, Ellen J

    2015-01-01

    Objectives were to (1) explore perceived effectiveness of existing smoke-free print advertisements in rural communities and (2) generate message content, characteristics, and media delivery channels that resonate with residents. Qualitative methods design. Thirty-nine rural adults recruited by community partners. Content analysis of findings from individuals in four focus groups who participated in general discussion and reviewed eight print ads related to secondhand smoke (SHS) and smoke-free policy. Six content themes were identified: smoking/SHS dangers, worker health, analogies, economic impact, rights, and nostalgia. Seven message characteristics were recognized: short/to the point, large enough to read, graphic images, poignant stories, statistics/charts/graphs, message sender, and messages targeting different groups. Four media delivery channels were considered most effective: local media, technology, billboard messages, and print materials. Seeking input from key informants is essential to reaching rural residents. Use of analogies in media messaging is a distinct contribution to the literature on effective smoke-free campaigns. Other findings support previous studies of effective messaging and delivery channels. Further research is needed to examine effectiveness of themes related to message content in smoke-free ads and delivery strategies. Effective media messaging can lead to policy change in rural communities to reduce exposure to SHS. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Text messaging among residents and faculty in a university general surgery residency program: prevalence, purpose, and patient care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Dhruvil R; Galante, Joseph M; Bold, Richard J; Canter, Robert J; Martinez, Steve R

    2013-01-01

    There is little information about the use of text messaging (texting) devices among resident and faculty physicians for patient-related care (PRC). To determine the prevalence, frequency, purpose, and concerns regarding texting among resident and attending surgeons and to identify factors associated with PRC texting. E-mail survey. University medical center and its affiliated hospitals. Surgery resident and attending staff. Prevalence, frequency, purpose, and concerns regarding patient-related care text messaging. Overall, 73 (65%) surveyed physicians responded, including 45 resident (66%) and 28 attending surgeons (62%). All respondents owned a texting device. Majority of surgery residents (88%) and attendings (71%) texted residents, whereas only 59% of residents and 65% of attendings texted other faculty. Most resident to resident text occurred at a frequency of 3-5 times/d (43%) compared with most attending to resident texts, which occurred 1-2 times/d (33%). Most resident to attending (25%) and attending to attending (30%) texts occurred 1-2 times/d. Among those that texted, PRC was the most frequently reported purpose for resident to resident (46%), resident to attending (64%), attending to resident (82%), and attending to other attending staff (60%) texting. Texting was the most preferred method to communicate about routine PRC (47% of residents vs 44% of attendings). Age (OR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.79-0.95; p = 0.003), but not sex, specialty/clinical rotation, academic rank, or postgraduate year (PGY) level predicted PRC texting. Most resident and attending staff surveyed utilize texting, mostly for PRC. Texting was preferred for communicating routine PRC information. Our data may facilitate the development of guidelines for the appropriate use of PRC texting. Copyright © 2013 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Extracting messages masked by chaos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez, G.; Cerdeira, H.A.

    1995-01-01

    We show how to extract messages that are masked by a chaotic signal in a system of two Lorenz oscillators. This mask removal is done for two different modes of transmission, a digital one where a parameter of the sender is switched between two values, and an analog mode, where a small amplitude message is added to the carrier signal. We achieve this without using a second Lorenz oscillator as receiver, and without doing a full reconstruction of the dynamics. This method is robust with respect to transformations that impede the unmasking using a Lorenz receiver, and is not affected by the broad-band noise that is inherent to the synchronization process. We also discuss the limitations of this way of extraction for messages in high frequency bands. (author). 12 refs, 4 figs

  12. Flow of Emotional Messages in Artificial Social Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chmiel, Anna; Hołyst, Janusz A.

    Models of message flows in an artificial group of users communicating via the Internet are introduced and investigated using numerical simulations. We assumed that messages possess an emotional character with a positive valence and that the willingness to send the next affective message to a given person increases with the number of messages received from this person. As a result, the weights of links between group members evolve over time. Memory effects are introduced, taking into account that the preferential selection of message receivers depends on the communication intensity during the recent period only. We also model the phenomenon of secondary social sharing when the reception of an emotional e-mail triggers the distribution of several emotional e-mails to other people.

  13. Message Framing in Vaccine Communication: A Systematic Review of Published Literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penţa, Marcela A; Băban, Adriana

    2018-03-01

    Suboptimal vaccination rates are a significant problem in many countries today, in spite of improved access to vaccine services. As a result, there has been a recent expansion of research on how best to communicate about vaccines. The purpose of the present article is to provide an updated review of published, peer-reviewed empirical studies that examined the effectiveness of gain versus loss framing (i.e., goal framing) in the context of vaccine communication. To locate studies, we examined the reference list from the previous meta-analytic review (O'Keefe & Nan, 2012), and we conducted systematic searches across multiple databases. We included 34 studies in the qualitative synthesis. The relative effectiveness of goal-framed vaccine messages was often shown to depend on characteristics of the message recipient, perceived risk, or situational factors, yet most effects were inconsistent across studies, or simply limited by an insufficient number of studies. Methodological characteristics and variations are noted and discussed. The review points to several directions concerning moderators and mediators of framing effects where additional rigorous studies would be needed.

  14. Increasing the response rate of text messaging data collection: a delayed randomized controlled trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ye; Wang, Wei; Wu, Qiong; van Velthoven, Michelle Helena; Chen, Li; Du, Xiaozhen; Zhang, Yanfeng; Rudan, Igor; Car, Josip

    2015-01-01

    Objective To test the effectiveness of multiple interventions on increasing the response rate of text messaging for longitudinal data collection. Methods Our cohort included 283 caregivers of children aged 6–12 months who were participating in an anemia program in rural China. Using text messages to collect data on anemia medication adherence, we conducted a delayed randomized controlled trial to test multiple interventions (an additional four reminders; a ¥5.0 (US$0.79) credit reward for replying; and a feedback text message). After a 6-week pilot study with week 7 as the baseline measurement, we randomly allocated all participants into two groups: group 1 (n = 142) and group 2 (n = 141). During weeks 8–11, we introduced the interventions to group 1, and in weeks 12–15 the intervention was introduced to both groups. We compared the response rates between groups and explored factors affecting the response rate. Results During weeks 8–11, the response rates in group 1 increased and were significantly higher than in group 2 (p0.05) and slightly decreased in group 1. Younger participants or participants who had children with lower hemoglobin concentration were more likely to reply (p = 0.02). Sending four reminders on the second day contributed to only 286 (11.7%) extra text messages. Discussion Our study showed that multiple interventions were effective in increasing response rate of text messaging data collection in rural China. Conclusions Larger multi-site studies are needed to find the most effective way of using these interventions to allow usage of text messaging data collection for health research. PMID:25332355

  15. Subtle Messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamplin de Poinsot, Nan

    1999-01-01

    Describes a self-portrait assignment inspired by the work of Frida Kahlo. Discusses Frida Kahlo's artwork and use of surrealist and symbolist views. States that each student had to incorporate personal symbolism in the portrait to convey a message about him or herself in a subtle manner. (CMK)

  16. Art messaging to engage homeless young adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyamathi, Adeline; Slagle, Alexandra; Thomas, Alexandra; Hudson, Angela; Kahilifard, Farinaz; Avila, Glenna; Orser, Julie; Cuchilla, Manuel

    2011-01-01

    Art has been shown to be an empowering and engaging entity with numerous benefits to vulnerable populations, including the homeless persons and young adults. However, little is known how homeless young adults perceive the use of art as messages that can communicate the danger of initiating or continuing drug and alcohol use. The purpose of this study was to solicit perspectives of homeless, drug-using young adults as to how art can be used to design messages for their peers about the danger of initiating or continuing drug and alcohol use. Qualitative methodology via focus group discussions was utilized to engage 24 homeless young adults enrolled from a drop-in site in Santa Monica, California. The findings revealed support for a myriad of delivery styles, including in-person communication, flyers, music, documentary film, and creative writing. The young adults also provided insight into the importance of the thematic framework of messages. Such themes ranged from empowering and hopeful messages to those designed to scare young homeless adults into not experimenting with drugs. The findings indicate that in addition to messages communicating the need to prevent or reduce drug and alcohol use, homeless young adults respond to messages that remind them of goals and dreams they once had for their future, and to content that is personal, real, and truthful. Our research indicates that messages that reinforce protective factors such as hope for the future and self-esteem may be as important to homeless young adults as information about the risks and consequences of drug use.

  17. Convergence of Health Level Seven Version 2 Messages to Semantic Web Technologies for Software-Intensive Systems in Telemedicine Trauma Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menezes, Pedro Monteiro; Cook, Timothy Wayne; Cavalini, Luciana Tricai

    2016-01-01

    To present the technical background and the development of a procedure that enriches the semantics of Health Level Seven version 2 (HL7v2) messages for software-intensive systems in telemedicine trauma care. This study followed a multilevel model-driven approach for the development of semantically interoperable health information systems. The Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) ABCDE protocol was adopted as the use case. A prototype application embedded the semantics into an HL7v2 message as an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) file, which was validated against an XML schema that defines constraints on a common reference model. This message was exchanged with a second prototype application, developed on the Mirth middleware, which was also used to parse and validate both the original and the hybrid messages. Both versions of the data instance (one pure XML, one embedded in the HL7v2 message) were equally validated and the RDF-based semantics recovered by the receiving side of the prototype from the shared XML schema. This study demonstrated the semantic enrichment of HL7v2 messages for intensive-software telemedicine systems for trauma care, by validating components of extracts generated in various computing environments. The adoption of the method proposed in this study ensures the compliance of the HL7v2 standard in Semantic Web technologies.

  18. Python essential reference

    CERN Document Server

    Beazley, David M

    2009-01-01

    Python Essential Reference is the definitive reference guide to the Python programming language — the one authoritative handbook that reliably untangles and explains both the core Python language and the most essential parts of the Python library. Designed for the professional programmer, the book is concise, to the point, and highly accessible. It also includes detailed information on the Python library and many advanced subjects that is not available in either the official Python documentation or any other single reference source. Thoroughly updated to reflect the significant new programming language features and library modules that have been introduced in Python 2.6 and Python 3, the fourth edition of Python Essential Reference is the definitive guide for programmers who need to modernize existing Python code or who are planning an eventual migration to Python 3. Programmers starting a new Python project will find detailed coverage of contemporary Python programming idioms.

  19. Rethinking Risk: Prospect Theory Application in Health Message Framing Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrington, Nancy Grant; Kerr, Anna M

    2017-02-01

    Although prospect theory conceptualizes risk as uncertainty, health message framing research based on the theory typically conceptualizes risk as severity. This study reports the results of two experiments designed to explore these alternative conceptualizations of risk and their effect on health decision making. Participants (N 1  = 768, N 2  = 532) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions that presented a hypothetical scenario of a sexually transmitted disease (STD) outbreak. The conditions were defined by message prompt (deadly vs. easily curable STD) and response option frame (gain vs. loss). Participants selected which of two programs (certain outcome vs. uncertain outcome) they would prefer to combat the outbreak. Across both experiments, participants expressed strong preferences for certain (low risk) outcomes in the gain-framed conditions and no preferences in the loss-framed conditions. These differences held regardless of the consequence severity of the scenario. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these results and offer directions for future research.

  20. Collecting Virtual Reference Statistics with an IM Chat-Bot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mason R.K. Hall

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available A perennial problem in libraries is capturing accurate statistics. This article addresses this problem with the creative use of Web 2.0 tools: Meebo and AOL Instant Messenger. It describes the development and implementation of an instant messaging "stat-bot" that prompts staff to record virtual reference statistics via IM. Step-by-step guidelines and the perl script are provided.

  1. A qualitative study of college student responses to conflicting messages in advertising: anti-binge drinking public service announcements versus wine promotion health messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, Ho-Young; Wu, Lei; Kelly, Stephanie; Haley, Eric

    2011-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate how college students deal with conflicting health messages in advertising regarding binge drinking and wine promotion. Phenomenological in-depth long interviews were conducted beyond the point of redundancy (N = 16). The results of this study indicated that students' meaning making regarding the conflicting messages relied greatly upon how consistent either message was with their prior beliefs about alcohol. Additionally, not all students perceived the messages to be contradictory; these students saw the messages as being constructed for different purposes and as such incomparable. Overall, students who perceived conflict responded to the topic with apathy fueled by advertising skepticism. Employing qualitative methodology to understand how college students respond to conflicting messages will assist health promotion practitioners develop more effective alcohol abuse prevention messages and provide suggestions for researchers for studying this phenomenon from other perspectives in the future. Implications are further discussed within.

  2. Military Message Experiment. Volume II.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-04-01

    elements of the Department of Defense. This resulted in a memorandum from the Director, Telecomunications and Comand and Control, OSD, in June 1975...1978 to April 1979 and provides a discussion of the telecomunications inter- face aspects of the experiment. This Final Report covers the period of...arise in the telecomunication system which require A retransmission of an outgoing message. A "service" message may be created within the

  3. Enhancing community knowledge and health behaviors to eliminate blinding trachoma in Mali using radio messaging as a strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bamani, Sanoussi; Toubali, Emily; Diarra, Sadio; Goita, Seydou; Berté, Zana; Coulibaly, Famolo; Sangaré, Hama; Tuinsma, Marjon; Zhang, Yaobi; Dembelé, Benoit; Melvin, Palesa; MacArthur, Chad

    2013-04-01

    The National Blindness Prevention Program in Mali has broadcast messages on the radio about trachoma as part of the country's trachoma elimination strategy since 2008. In 2011, a radio impact survey using multi-stage cluster sampling was conducted in the regions of Kayes and Segou to assess radio listening habits, coverage of the broadcasts, community knowledge and behavior specific to trachoma and facial cleanliness of children. Radio access and listening were high, with 60% of respondents having heard a message on the radio about trachoma. The majority of respondents knew about trachoma, its root causes, its impact on health and prevention measures. Additionally, 66% reported washing their children's faces more than or equal to twice/day and 94% reported latrine disposal of feces. A high percentage of persons who gave a positive response to knowledge and behavior questions reported hearing the trachoma messages on the radio with 60% reporting that the radio is where they learned about trachoma. There was no significant difference in facial cleanliness when comparing children whose primary caregiver had/had not heard the trachoma messages. Next steps include revising the current messages to include more focused behavior change messaging and to engage in a more robust use of community radios.

  4. Choreographic Programming

    OpenAIRE

    Montesi, Fabrizio

    2014-01-01

    Choreographies are descriptions of distributed systems where the developer gives a global view of how messages are exchanged by endpoint nodes (endpoints for short), instead of separately defining the behaviour of each endpoint. They have a significant impact on the quality of software, as they offer a concise view of the message flows enacted by a system. For this reason, in the last decade choreographies have been used in the development of programming languages, giving rise to a programmin...

  5. The efficacy of mobile phone-based text message interventions (‘Happy Quit’ for smoking cessation in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanhui Liao

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Considering the extreme shortage of smoking cessation services in China, and the acceptability, feasibility and efficacy of mobile phone-based text message interventions for quitting smoking in other countries, here we propose a study of “the efficacy of mobile phone-based text message interventions (‘Happy Quit’ for smoking cessation in China”. The primary objective of this proposed project is to assess whether a program of widely accessed mobile phone-based text message interventions (‘Happy Quit’ will be effective at helping people in China who smoke, to quit. Based on the efficacy of previous studies in smoking cessation, we hypothesize that ‘Happy Quit’ will be an effective, feasible and affordable smoking cessation program in China. Methods/Design In this single-blind, randomized trial, undertaken in China, about 2000 smokers willing to make a quit attempt will be randomly allocated, using an independent telephone randomization system that includes a minimization algorithm balancing for sex (male, female, age (19–34 or >34 years, educational level (≤ or >12 years, and Fagerstrom score for nicotine addiction (≤5, >5, to ‘Happy Quit’, comprising motivational messages and behavioral-change support, or to a control group that receives text messages unrelated to quitting. Messages will be developed to be suitable for Chinese. A pilot study will be conducted before the intervention to modify the library of messages and interventions. The primary outcome will be self-reported continuous smoking abstinence. A secondary outcome will be point prevalence of abstinence. Abstinence will be assessed at six time points (4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 weeks post-intervention. A third outcome will be reductions in number of cigarettes smoked per day. Discussion/Implications The results will provide valuable insights into bridging the gap between need and services received for smoking cessation interventions and

  6. Soft real-time alarm messages for ATLAS TDAQ

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darlea, G.; Al Shabibi, A.; Martin, B.; Lehmann Miotto, G.

    2010-05-01

    The ATLAS TDAQ network consists of three separate Ethernet-based networks (Data, Control and Management) with over 2000 end-nodes. The TDAQ system has to be aware of the meaningful network failures and events in order for it to take effective recovery actions. The first stage of the process is implemented with Spectrum, a commercial network management tool. Spectrum detects and registers all network events, then it publishes the information via a CORBA programming interface. A gateway program (called NSG—Network Service Gateway) connects to Spectrum through CORBA and exposes to its clients a Java RMI interface. This interface implements a callback mechanism that allows the clients to subscribe for monitoring "interesting" parts of the network. The last stage of the TDAQ network monitoring tool is implemented in a module named DNC (DAQ to Network Connection), which filters the events that are to be reported to the TDAQ system: it subscribes to the gateway only for the machines that are currently active in the system and it forwards only the alarms that are considered important for the current TDAQ data taking session. The network information is then synthesized and presented in a human-readable format. These messages can be further processed either by the shifter who is in charge, the network expert or the Online Expert System. This article aims to describe the different mechanisms of the chain that transports the network events to the front-end user, as well as the constraints and rules that govern the filtering and the final format of the alarm messages.

  7. Soft real-time alarm messages for ATLAS TDAQ

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Darlea, G.; Al Shabibi, A.; Martin, B.; Lehmann Miotto, G.

    2010-01-01

    The ATLAS TDAQ network consists of three separate Ethernet-based networks (Data, Control and Management) with over 2000 end-nodes. The TDAQ system has to be aware of the meaningful network failures and events in order for it to take effective recovery actions. The first stage of the process is implemented with Spectrum, a commercial network management tool. Spectrum detects and registers all network events, then it publishes the information via a CORBA programming interface. A gateway program (called NSG-Network Service Gateway) connects to Spectrum through CORBA and exposes to its clients a Java RMI interface. This interface implements a callback mechanism that allows the clients to subscribe for monitoring 'interesting' parts of the network. The last stage of the TDAQ network monitoring tool is implemented in a module named DNC (DAQ to Network Connection), which filters the events that are to be reported to the TDAQ system: it subscribes to the gateway only for the machines that are currently active in the system and it forwards only the alarms that are considered important for the current TDAQ data taking session. The network information is then synthesized and presented in a human-readable format. These messages can be further processed either by the shifter who is in charge, the network expert or the Online Expert System. This article aims to describe the different mechanisms of the chain that transports the network events to the front-end user, as well as the constraints and rules that govern the filtering and the final format of the alarm messages.

  8. Soft real-time alarm messages for ATLAS TDAQ

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Darlea, G., E-mail: georgiana.lavinia.darlea@cern.c [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland); Al Shabibi, A.; Martin, B.; Lehmann Miotto, G. [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland)

    2010-05-21

    The ATLAS TDAQ network consists of three separate Ethernet-based networks (Data, Control and Management) with over 2000 end-nodes. The TDAQ system has to be aware of the meaningful network failures and events in order for it to take effective recovery actions. The first stage of the process is implemented with Spectrum, a commercial network management tool. Spectrum detects and registers all network events, then it publishes the information via a CORBA programming interface. A gateway program (called NSG-Network Service Gateway) connects to Spectrum through CORBA and exposes to its clients a Java RMI interface. This interface implements a callback mechanism that allows the clients to subscribe for monitoring 'interesting' parts of the network. The last stage of the TDAQ network monitoring tool is implemented in a module named DNC (DAQ to Network Connection), which filters the events that are to be reported to the TDAQ system: it subscribes to the gateway only for the machines that are currently active in the system and it forwards only the alarms that are considered important for the current TDAQ data taking session. The network information is then synthesized and presented in a human-readable format. These messages can be further processed either by the shifter who is in charge, the network expert or the Online Expert System. This article aims to describe the different mechanisms of the chain that transports the network events to the front-end user, as well as the constraints and rules that govern the filtering and the final format of the alarm messages.

  9. 19 CFR 4.7d - Container status messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Container status messages. 4.7d Section 4.7d... TREASURY VESSELS IN FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC TRADES Arrival and Entry of Vessels § 4.7d Container status messages. (a) Container status messages required. In addition to the advance filing requirements pursuant...

  10. Identifying spam e-mail messages using an intelligence algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parichehr Ghaedi

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available During the past few years, there have been growing interests in using email for delivering various types of messages such as social, financial, etc. There are also people who use email messages to promote products and services or even to do criminal activities called Spam email. These unwanted messages are sent to different target population for different purposes and there is a growing interest to develop methods to filter such email messages. This paper presents a method to filter Spam email messages based on the keyword pattern. In this article, a multi-agent filter trade based on the Bayes rule, which has benefit of using the users’ interest, keywords and investigation the message content according to its topic, has been used. Then Nested Neural Network has been used to detect the spam messages. To check the authenticity of this proposed method, we test it for a couple of email messages, so that it could determine spams and hams from each other, effectively. The result shows the superiority of this method over the previous ones including filters with Multi-Layer Perceptron that detect spams.

  11. Short Message Service (SMS) Texting Symbols: A Functional Analysis of 10,000 Cellular Phone Text Messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beasley, Robert E.

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of symbolic expressions (e.g., "BTW," "LOL," "UR") in an SMS text messaging corpus consisting of over 10,000 text messages. More specifically, the purpose was to determine, not only how frequently these symbolic expressions are used, but how they are utilized in terms of the language functions…

  12. How consumers evaluate eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doh, Sun-Jae; Hwang, Jang-Sun

    2009-04-01

    This experiment explored how consumers evaluate electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) messages about products. Each participant was exposed a 10-message set in a single board. Five groups were manipulated in terms of their ratios of positive and negative messages. The result showed significant differences across various sets of eWOM messages. Although more positive sets showed higher scores in many cases, this was not true in all situations, especially for the case of credibility. Involvement and prior knowledge partially moderated the relationship between the ratio of messages and the eWOM effect. The credibility of Web sites and eWOM messages can be damaged in the long run if all of the eWOM messages are positive.

  13. An Optimal Non-Interactive Message Authentication Protocol

    OpenAIRE

    Pasini, Sylvain; Vaudenay, Serge

    2006-01-01

    Vaudenay recently proposed a message authentication protocol which is interactive and based on short authenticated strings (SAS). We study here SAS-based non-interactive message authentication protocols (NIMAP). We start by the analysis of two popular non-interactive message authentication protocols. The first one is based on a collision-resistant hash function and was presented by Balfanz et al. The second protocol is based on a universal hash function family and was proposed by Gehrmann, Mi...

  14. Text messaging-based smoking cessation intervention: a narrative review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Grace; Ells, Daniel M; Camenga, Deepa R; Krishnan-Sarin, Suchitra

    2014-05-01

    Smoking cessation interventions delivered via text messaging on mobile phones may enhance motivations to quit smoking. The goal of this narrative review is to describe the text messaging interventions' theoretical contents, frequency and duration, treatment outcome, and sample characteristics such as age and motivation to quit, to better inform the future development of this mode of intervention. Studies were included if text messaging was primarily used to deliver smoking cessation intervention and published in English in a peer-reviewed journal. All articles were coded by two independent raters to determine eligibility and to extract data. Twenty-two studies described 15 text messaging interventions. About half of the interventions recruited adults (ages 30-40) and the other half targeted young adults (ages 18-29). Fourteen interventions sent text messages during the quit phase, 10 had a preparation phase and eight had a maintenance phase. The number of text messages and the duration of the intervention varied. All used motivational messages grounded in social cognitive behavioral theories, 11 used behavioral change techniques, and 14 used individually tailored messages. Eleven interventions also offered other smoking cessation tools. Three interventions yielded smoking cessation outcomes greater than the control condition. The proliferation of text messaging in recent years suggests that text messaging interventions may have the potential to improve smoking cessation rates. Detailed summary of the interventions suggests areas for future research and clinical application. More rigorous studies are needed to identify components of the interventions that can enhance their acceptability, feasibility and efficacy. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  15. Preference for gain- or loss-framed electronic cigarette prevention messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Grace; Cavallo, Dana A; Camenga, Deepa R; Morean, Meghan E; Krishnan-Sarin, Suchitra

    2016-11-01

    Effective electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) prevention messages are needed to combat the rising popularity/uptake of e-cigarettes among youth. We examined preferences for e-cigarette prevention messages that either emphasized gains (e.g., You save money by not using e-cigarettes) or losses (e.g., You spend money by using e-cigarettes) among adolescents and young adults. Using surveys in two middle schools, four high schools, and one college in CT (N=5405), we assessed students' preferences for gain- or loss-framed e-cigarette prevention messages related to four themes: financial cost, health risks, addiction potential, and social labeling as a smoker. We also assessed whether preferences for each message framing theme differed by sex, school level, cigarette-use status, and e-cigarette use-status. We also examined whether preference for message framing differed by cigarette and e-cigarette susceptibility status among never e-cigarette users. Overall, loss-framing was preferred for message themes related to health risks, addiction potential, and social labeling as a smoker, whereas gain-framing was preferred for message themes related to financial cost. Logistic regression analyses showed that 1) females preferred loss-framed messages for all themes relative to males, 2) lifetime e-cigarette users preferred loss-framed health risks and social labeling messages relative to never users, and 3) high school students preferred gain-framed social labeling messages relative to college students. The preference for message framing did not differ by cigarette or e-cigarette susceptibility. Preference for message framing differed by themes and individual characteristics. This formative research could inform the construction of persuasive e-cigarette prevention messages. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  16. Quantum messages with signatures forgeable in arbitrated quantum signature schemes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Taewan; Choi, Jeong Woon; Jho, Nam-Su; Lee, Soojoon

    2015-01-01

    Even though a method to perfectly sign quantum messages has not been known, the arbitrated quantum signature scheme has been considered as one of the good candidates. However, its forgery problem has been an obstacle to the scheme becoming a successful method. In this paper, we consider one situation, which is slightly different from the forgery problem, that we use to check whether at least one quantum message with signature can be forged in a given scheme, although all the messages cannot be forged. If there are only a finite number of forgeable quantum messages in the scheme, then the scheme can be secured against the forgery attack by not sending forgeable quantum messages, and so our situation does not directly imply that we check whether the scheme is secure against the attack. However, if users run a given scheme without any consideration of forgeable quantum messages, then a sender might transmit such forgeable messages to a receiver and in such a case an attacker can forge the messages if the attacker knows them. Thus it is important and necessary to look into forgeable quantum messages. We show here that there always exists such a forgeable quantum message-signature pair for every known scheme with quantum encryption and rotation, and numerically show that there are no forgeable quantum message-signature pairs that exist in an arbitrated quantum signature scheme. (paper)

  17. Countering Islamic State Messaging Through “Linkage-Based” Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.M. Berger

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The Islamic State’s recent losses on the battlefield, including significant casualties within its media and propaganda division, offer a unique opportunity to inject competing and alternative messages into the information space. This paper proposes that the content of such messages should be guided by a linkage-based analysis of existing Islamic State messaging. A linkage-based analysis of a top-level 2017 audio message by Islamic State spokesperson Abu Hasan al Muhajir offers several potential insights into crafting effective content for competing and alternative messages. A comparison of the 2017 work to earlier Islamic State messaging also reveals specific opportunities to undermine the credibility of the organisation’s broader propaganda programme by highlighting the organisation’s repeated failure to follow through on its extravagantly promised commitment to achieving its stated goals.

  18. RSA Key Development Using Fingerprint Image on Text Message

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, Sayuti; Triana, Indah; Khairani, Sumi; Yasir, Amru; Sundari, Siti

    2017-12-01

    Along with the development of technology today, humans are very facilitated in accessing information and Communicate with various media, including through the Internet network . Messages are sent by media such as text are not necessarily guaranteed security. it is often found someone that wants to send a secret message to the recipient, but the messages can be known by irresponsible people. So the sender feels dissappointed because the secret message that should be known only to the recipient only becomes known by the irresponsible people . It is necessary to do security the message by using the RSA algorithm, Using fingerprint image to generate RSA key.This is a solution to enrich the security of a message,it is needed to process images firstly before generating RSA keys with feature extraction.

  19. Programming Web Services with SOAP

    CERN Document Server

    Snell, James L; Kulchenko, Pavel

    2002-01-01

    The web services architecture provides a new way to think about and implement application-to-application integration and interoperability that makes the development platform irrelevant. Two applications, regardless of operating system, programming language, or any other technical implementation detail, communicate using XML messages over open Internet protocols such as HTTP or SMTP. The Simple Open Access Protocol (SOAP) is a specification that details how to encode that information and has become the messaging protocol of choice for Web services.Programming Web Services with SOAP is a detail

  20. Hybrid Message-Embedded Cipher Using Logistic Map

    OpenAIRE

    Mishra, Mina; Mankar, V. H.

    2012-01-01

    The proposed hybrid message embedded scheme consists of hill cipher combined with message embedded chaotic scheme. Message-embedded scheme using non-linear feedback shift register as non-linear function and 1-D logistic map as chaotic map is modified, analyzed and tested for avalanche property and strength against known plaintext attack and brute-force attack. Parameter of logistic map acts as a secret key. As we know that the minimum key space to resist brute-force attack is 2100, and it is ...

  1. Messages about Sexuality: An Ecological Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boone, Tanya L.

    2015-01-01

    The goal of this two-part study was to identify the perceived influence of sexuality messages from parents, peers, school and the media--four microsystems within the Ecological Model--on emerging adult US college women's sexual attitudes. Findings suggest that parents were the most likely source of the message to "remain abstinent until…

  2. Oh! Web 2.0, Virtual Reference Service 2.0, Tools & Techniques (II)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arya, Harsh Bardhan; Mishra, J. K.

    2012-01-01

    The paper describes the theory and definition of the practice of librarianship, specifically addressing how Web 2.0 technologies (tools) such as synchronous messaging, collaborative reference service and streaming media, blogs, wikis, social networks, social bookmarking tools, tagging, RSS feeds, and mashups might intimate changes and how…

  3. Real Time Assessment of Young Adults' Attitudes toward Tobacco Messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hébert, Emily T; Vandewater, Elizabeth A; Businelle, Michael S; Harrell, Melissa B; Kelder, Steven H; Perry, Cheryl L

    2018-01-01

    We used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine young adults' attitudes towards pro-tobacco messages encountered in real time and their association with intentions to use tobacco. Young adults (N = 92, ages 18-29) recorded sightings of marketing or social media related to tobacco in real time via mobile app for 28 days. Participants reported message characteristics, their attitudes towards the message, and intentions to use the depicted product for each submission. We used generalized linear mixed models to examine factors related to attitude towards message and intentions to use tobacco. Messages depicting e-cigarettes (p < .001) or hookah (p < .05) were associated with significantly more favorable attitudes compared with traditional cigarettes. Positive attitude towards the message was significantly associated with intention to use the depicted product (p < .001). Messages depicting e-cigarettes and hookah were significantly associated with higher intention to use. Message source was not significantly related to attitudes towards the message or product use intentions. Marketing featuring e-cigarettes and hookah is an important target for future regulation. Given that pro-tobacco and e-cigarette messages are prevalent online, future research should consider the Internet and social media as important venues for counter-marketing and intervention efforts.

  4. Alternative Data Storage Solution for Mobile Messaging Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David C. C. Ong

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, mobile devices have become relatively more powerful with additional features which have the capability to provide multimedia streaming. Better, faster and more reliable data storage solutions in the mobile messaging platform have become more essential with these additional improvements. The existing mobile messaging infrastructure, in particular the data storage platform has become less proficient in coping with the increased demand for its services. This demand especially in the mobile messaging area (i.e. SMS – Short Messaging Service, MMS – Multimedia Messaging Service, which may well exceeded 250,000 requests per second, means that the need to evaluate competing data management systems has become not only necessary but essential. This paper presents an evaluation of SMS and MMS platforms using different database management systems – DBMS and recommends the best data management strategies for these platforms.

  5. Social media for message testing: a multilevel approach to linking favorable viewer responses with message, producer, and viewer influence on YouTube.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paek, Hye-Jin; Hove, Thomas; Jeon, Jehoon

    2013-01-01

    To explore the feasibility of social media for message testing, this study connects favorable viewer responses to antismoking videos on YouTube with the videos' message characteristics (message sensation value [MSV] and appeals), producer types, and viewer influences (viewer rating and number of viewers). Through multilevel modeling, a content analysis of 7,561 viewer comments on antismoking videos is linked with a content analysis of 87 antismoking videos. Based on a cognitive response approach, viewer comments are classified and coded as message-oriented thought, video feature-relevant thought, and audience-generated thought. The three mixed logit models indicate that videos with a greater number of viewers consistently increased the odds of favorable viewer responses, while those presenting humor appeals decreased the odds of favorable message-oriented and audience-generated thoughts. Some significant interaction effects show that videos produced by laypeople may hinder favorable viewer responses, while a greater number of viewer comments can work jointly with videos presenting threat appeals to predict favorable viewer responses. Also, for a more accurate understanding of audience responses to the messages, nuance cues should be considered together with message features and viewer influences.

  6. Driver memory for in-vehicle visual and auditory messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    1999-12-01

    Three experiments were conducted in a driving simulator to evaluate effects of in-vehicle message modality and message format on comprehension and memory for younger and older drivers. Visual icons and text messages were effective in terms of high co...

  7. Representing culture in interstellar messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vakoch, Douglas A.

    2008-09-01

    As scholars involved with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) have contemplated how we might portray humankind in any messages sent to civilizations beyond Earth, one of the challenges they face is adequately representing the diversity of human cultures. For example, in a 2003 workshop in Paris sponsored by the SETI Institute, the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) SETI Permanent Study Group, the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (ISAST), and the John Templeton Foundation, a varied group of artists, scientists, and scholars from the humanities considered how to encode notions of altruism in interstellar messages . Though the group represented 10 countries, most were from Europe and North America, leading to the group's recommendation that subsequent discussions on the topic should include more globally representative perspectives. As a result, the IAA Study Group on Interstellar Message Construction and the SETI Institute sponsored a follow-up workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA in February 2005. The Santa Fe workshop brought together scholars from a range of disciplines including anthropology, archaeology, chemistry, communication science, philosophy, and psychology. Participants included scholars familiar with interstellar message design as well as specialists in cross-cultural research who had participated in the Symposium on Altruism in Cross-cultural Perspective, held just prior to the workshop during the annual conference of the Society for Cross-cultural Research . The workshop included discussion of how cultural understandings of altruism can complement and critique the more biologically based models of altruism proposed for interstellar messages at the 2003 Paris workshop. This paper, written by the chair of both the Paris and Santa Fe workshops, will explore the challenges of communicating concepts of altruism that draw on both biological and cultural models.

  8. Gender messages in contemporary popular Malay songs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Collin Jerome

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Gender has been an important area of research in the field of popular music studies. Numerous scholars have found that contemporary popular music functions as a locus of diverse constructions and expressions of gender. While most studies focus on content analyses of popular music, there is still a need for more research on audience’s perception of popular music’s messages. This study examined adult Malay listeners’ perceptions of gender messages in contemporary Malay songs. A total of 16 contemporary Malay songs were analysed using Fairclough’s (1992 method of text analysis. The content of the songs that conveyed messages about gender were the basis for analysis. The results showed that the messages revolve mainly around socially constructed gender roles and expectations in romantic relationships. Gender stereotypes are also used in the songs to reinforce men’s and women’s roles in romantic relationships. The results also showed that, while listeners acknowledge the songs’ messages about gender, their own perceptions of gender and what it means to be a gendered being in today’s world are neither represented nor discussed fully in the songs analysed. It is hoped the findings from this, particularly the mismatch between projected and perceived notions of gender, contribute to the field of popular Malay music studies in particular, and popular music studies in general where gender messages in popular songs and their influence on listeners’ perceptions of their own gender is concerned.

  9. Fear, threat and efficacy in threat appeals: Message involvement as a key mediator to message acceptance

    OpenAIRE

    Cauberghe, Verolien; De Pelsmacker, Patrick; JANSSENS, Wim; Dens, Nathalie

    2009-01-01

    In a sample of 170 youngsters, the effect of two versions of a public service announcement (PSA) threat appeal against speeding, placed in four different contexts. on evoked fear, perceived threat (severity and probability of occurrence), perceived response efficacy and self-efficacy, message involvement and anti-speeding attitude and anti-speeding intention is investigated. Evoked fear and perceived threat and efficacy independently influence message involvement...

  10. Supervising simulations with the Prodiguer Messaging Platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenslade, Mark; Carenton, Nicolas; Denvil, Sebastien

    2015-04-01

    At any one moment in time, researchers affiliated with the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL) climate modeling group, are running hundreds of global climate simulations. These simulations execute upon a heterogeneous set of High Performance Computing (HPC) environments spread throughout France. The IPSL's simulation execution runtime is called libIGCM (library for IPSL Global Climate Modeling group). libIGCM has recently been enhanced so as to support realtime operational use cases. Such use cases include simulation monitoring, data publication, environment metrics collection, automated simulation control … etc. At the core of this enhancement is the Prodiguer messaging platform. libIGCM now emits information, in the form of messages, for remote processing at IPSL servers in Paris. The remote message processing takes several forms, for example: 1. Persisting message content to database(s); 2. Notifying an operator of changes in a simulation's execution status; 3. Launching rollback jobs upon simulation failure; 4. Dynamically updating controlled vocabularies; 5. Notifying downstream applications such as the Prodiguer web portal; We will describe how the messaging platform has been implemented from a technical perspective and demonstrate the Prodiguer web portal receiving realtime notifications.

  11. A Qualitative Study to Inform the Design, Content and Structure of an Interactive SMS Messaging Service in Chikwawa, Malawi.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Laidlaw

    2015-10-01

    Five themes were identified encapsulating the opinions and beliefs of the residents in Chimoto and Sikenala; Current Health Education Practices, Message Content, Mobile Phone Access, Trust in the SCHI and Sustainability. Current Health Education Practices refers to the current availability of health education, the access to such information and self-reported need for further information in more accessible means. Message Content depicts participants’ need for practical application of the messages they receive and adequate information for the participant to make an informed choice about their own health. In terms of the SMS Messaging Service, participants had no preference as to frequency or volume of messages but stated they would prefer to receive messages out with school hours. Mobile Phone Access represents the participants’ fears around accessibility of the service to those without mobile devices. The sharing of messages and mobile phones with friends and family was discussed as a potential method to overcome this barrier. Trust in the SCHI depicts the residents’ positive views of the project and that they would believe the content of the messages because they trust the SCHI as the source, especially if they recognised a designated project mobile number. This was affirmed by their declaration to share messages with those without phone access. Weariness of the service was identified only in terms of cost because of negative experiences with other subscription services. Finally Sustainability encapsulates the participants’ views on the long term aims of the messaging service and their request for the project to follow up with visits and services in addition to the messages. They particularly emphasising a need for face-to-face communication. Conclusions From this analysis it appears that the sampled participants are on board with the messaging service, and have provided in depth detailed examples of the type of information they require, specifically

  12. Synchronous message-based communication for distributed heterogeneous systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilkinson, N.; Dohan, D.

    1992-01-01

    The use of a synchronous, message-based real-time operating system (Unison) as the basis of transparent interprocess and inter-processor communication over VME-bus is described. The implementation of a synchronous, message-based protocol for network communication between heterogeneous systems is discussed. In particular, the design and implementation of a message-based session layer over a virtual circuit transport layer protocol using UDP/IP is described. Inter-process communication is achieved via a message-based semantic which is portable by virtue of its ease of implementation in other operating system environments. Protocol performance for network communication among heterogeneous architecture is presented, including VMS, Unix, Mach and Unison. (author)

  13. The prototype message broadcast system for the superconducting super collider

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Low, K.; Skegg, R.

    1991-01-01

    This paper presents a prototype unified message broadcast system to handle the site-wide distribution of all control system messages for the Superconducting Super Collider. The messages are assembled in the control room area and encapsulated for transmission via a general fiber-optic link system to devices distributed throughout 70 miles of tunnels. An embedded timing signal is used by the distribution system to ensure that messages arrive at all devices simultaneously. Devices receive messages using a special receiver sub-system

  14. Systems analysis programs for hands-on integrated reliability evaluations (SAPHIRE) version 5.0, technical reference manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Russell, K.D.; Atwood, C.L.; Galyean, W.J.; Sattison, M.B.; Rasmuson, D.M.

    1994-07-01

    The Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) refers to a set of several microcomputer programs that were developed to create and analyze probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs), primarily for nuclear power plants. This volume provides information on the principles used in the construction and operation of Version 5.0 of the Integrated Reliability and Risk Analysis System (IRRAS) and the System Analysis and Risk Assessment (SARA) system. It summarizes the fundamental mathematical concepts of sets and logic, fault trees, and probability. This volume then describes the algorithms that these programs use to construct a fault tree and to obtain the minimal cut sets. It gives the formulas used to obtain the probability of the top event from the minimal cut sets, and the formulas for probabilities that are appropriate under various assumptions concerning repairability and mission time. It defines the measures of basic event importance that these programs can calculate. This volume gives an overview of uncertainty analysis using simple Monte Carlo sampling or Latin Hypercube sampling, and states the algorithms used by these programs to generate random basic event probabilities from various distributions. Further references are given, and a detailed example of the reduction and quantification of a simple fault tree is provided in an appendix

  15. Arbitrated quantum signature scheme with message recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Hwayean; Hong, Changho; Kim, Hyunsang; Lim, Jongin; Yang, Hyung Jin

    2004-01-01

    Two quantum signature schemes with message recovery relying on the availability of an arbitrator are proposed. One scheme uses a public board and the other does not. However both schemes provide confidentiality of the message and a higher efficiency in transmission

  16. (In-)Secure messaging with the Silent Circle instant messaging protocol

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verschoor, S.R.; Lange, T.

    2016-01-01

    Silent Text, the instant messaging application by the company Silent Circle, provides its users with end-to-end encrypted communication on the Blackphone and other smartphones. The underlying protocol, SCimp, has received many extensions during the update to version 2, but has not been subjected to

  17. ZeroMQ: Messaging Made Simple

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2013-01-01

    Since its inception in 2007, ZeroMQ has defined a new product category of thin, fast, open source message transports. This little library has now grown into a large, vibrant community of projects tied together with standard protocols and APIs. Applications, written in any language, talk to each other over TCP, multicast, or inproc transports, using a single socket-based API, and a set of "patterns" (pub-sub, request-reply, dealer-router, pipeline). ZeroMQ handles message framing, batching, and I/O, but ignores aspects like serialization and persistence. By focussing on the essentials, and acting as a toolkit rather than a pre-packaged solution, ZeroMQ turns the complex problem of distributed computing into a relatively simple recipe. About the speaker Pieter Hintjens is a writer, programmer, and public speaker who has spent decades building large software systems, organizations, and businesses. He designed the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) in 2006 for JPMorganChase and left ...

  18. 75 FR 51392 - New York: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-20

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 272 [EPA-R02-RCRA-2010-0249; FRL-9178-8] New York: Incorporation by Reference of State Hazardous Waste Management Program Correction In rule document 2010-18927 beginning on page 45489 in the issue of Tuesday, August 3, 2010, make the following correction: Appendix A...

  19. Mental health message appeals and audience engagement: Evidence from Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yap, Jo En; Zubcevic-Basic, Nives; Johnson, Lester W; Lodewyckx, Michaela A

    2017-09-07

    Social media platforms are increasingly used to disseminate social marketing messages about mental health and wellbeing. This study presents a range of message appeals used in social media enabled mental health promotion and stigma reduction messages. Furthermore, it examines the relationship between the type of message appeals and audience engagement. A content analysis of 65 organisation-generated YouTube videos about depression and anxiety and stigma reduction was conducted. The most utilised message appeal was Sorrow, followed by Affiliation, Ease/Convenience, Hope, Humour, Guilt/Shame, Heroic/Successful, and Fear. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the type of message appeals and audience engagement in terms of the number of likes, comments, and shares. The analysis revealed that Sorrow is the most useful message appeal for generating audience comments. However, Sorrow is negatively associated with the number of likes and shares. The results suggest that mental health promotion messages may engage a larger audience through Affiliation and Hope as they have a positive impact on the number of shares. This could, in effect, turn audiences into vocal advocates for mental health promotion and stigma reduction messages. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Bidirectional Text Messaging to Improve Adherence to Recommended Lipid Testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldwin, Laura-Mae; Morrison, Caitlin; Griffin, Jonathan; Anderson, Nick; Edwards, Kelly; Green, Jeff; Waldren, Cleary; Reiter, William

    2017-01-01

    Synergies between technology and health care in the United States are accelerating, increasing opportunities to leverage these technologies to improve patient care. This study was a collaboration between an academic study team, a rural primary care clinic, and a local nonprofit informatics company developing tools to improve patient care through population management. Our team created a text messaging management tool, then developed methods for and tested the feasibility of bidirectional text messaging to remind eligible patients about the need for lipid testing. We measured patient response to the text messages, then interviewed 8 patients to explore their text messaging experience. Of the 129 patients the clinic was able to contact by phone, 29.4% had no cell phone or text-messaging capabilities. An additional 20% refused to participate. Two thirds of the 28 patients who participated in the text messaging intervention (67.9%) responded to at least 1 of the up to 3 messages. Seven of 8 interviewed patients had a positive text-messaging experience. Bidirectional text messaging is a feasible and largely acceptable form of communication for test reminders that has the potential to reach large numbers of patients in clinical care. © Copyright 2017 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

  1. VISUAL ART AND REGULATORY FIT MESSAGES ON CONSUMER EVALUATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danielle Mantovani

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we demonstrate that the art infusion effect, in which the presence of visual art causes a positive impact on consumers’ perceptions of products and advertising messages, might have a moderation effect on regulatory fit and non-fit messages. We investigate the impact of visual art on advertisement evaluations in regulatory (non- fit conditions. Regulatory focus theory suggests that consumers rely on their motivational focus (prevention vs. promotion for their evaluations and decisions. Usually, consumers prefer products that fit with their personal motivational focus. In the present study, the results of three experiments indicate that using visual art with a promotion or prevention fit message is recommended, while non-art images increase message persuasiveness when non-fit messages are presented. Therefore, not all information compatible with the consumer’s motivational focus are best evaluated. When non-art images are presented, non-fit messages might be more persuasive.

  2. Development of a smoking prevention mass media program using diagnostic and formative research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worden, J K; Flynn, B S; Geller, B M; Chen, M; Shelton, L G; Secker-Walker, R H; Solomon, D S; Solomon, L J; Couchey, S; Costanza, M C

    1988-09-01

    The process of developing a mass media campaign to prevent smoking among adolescents is described in detail. This campaign supplements a school smoking prevention program and shares educational objectives with the school program but is otherwise independent. It comprises various television and radio 30- and 60-sec "spot" messages. The campaign development process includes identifying educational objectives and strategies for appealing to young people; conducting diagnostic surveys and focus groups to determine target audience interests and perceptions about smoking and media content; suggesting approaches to producers to create preliminary television and radio messages for testing; conducting formative pretests with target groups to select optimal messages and suggest improvements to those messages; producing final messages for media presentation; and developing a media exposure plan to place messages in local media at optimal times for reception by target audiences. The media campaign is being evaluated in a 5-year project with 5,500 adolescents in four communities to determine the additional effect of mass media over a school program alone in preventing smoking.

  3. Understanding the effectiveness of the entertainment-education strategy: an investigation of how audience involvement, message processing, and message design influence health information recall.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quintero Johnson, Jessie M; Harrison, Kristen; Quick, Brian L

    2013-01-01

    A growing body of evidence suggests that entertainment-education (EE) is a promising health communication strategy. The purpose of this study was to identify some of the factors that facilitate and hinder audience involvement with EE messages. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the authors introduce a construct they call experiential involvement, which describes the experience of being cognitively and emotionally involved with EE messages and is a product of transportation into an EE text and identification with EE characters. Using an experimental design, the authors also investigated how reports of experiential involvement and health information recall varied depending on the degree to which the educational content was well integrated with the narrative content in EE messages. Findings indicated that integration significantly influenced health information recall. Results indicated that experiential involvement and the perception that the health topic in EE messages was personally relevant predicted participants' systematic processing of the information in EE messages. Contrary to expectation, personal relevance did not predict experiential involvement, and systematic message processing was negatively related to health information recall. Implications for the construction of EE messages and the study of the EE strategy are discussed.

  4. A Message-Passing Hardware/Software Cosimulation Environment for Reconfigurable Computing Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Saldaña

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available High-performance reconfigurable computers (HPRCs provide a mix of standard processors and FPGAs to collectively accelerate applications. This introduces new design challenges, such as the need for portable programming models across HPRCs and system-level verification tools. To address the need for cosimulating a complete heterogeneous application using both software and hardware in an HPRC, we have created a tool called the Message-passing Simulation Framework (MSF. We have used it to simulate and develop an interface enabling an MPI-based approach to exchange data between X86 processors and hardware engines inside FPGAs. The MSF can also be used as an application development tool that enables multiple FPGAs in simulation to exchange messages amongst themselves and with X86 processors. As an example, we simulate a LINPACK benchmark hardware core using an Intel-FSB-Xilinx-FPGA platform to quickly prototype the hardware, to test the communications. and to verify the benchmark results.

  5. Perl Pocket Reference

    CERN Document Server

    Vromans, Johan

    2011-01-01

    If you have a Perl programming question, you'll find the answer quickly in this handy, easy-to-use quick reference. The Perl Pocket Reference condenses and organizes stacks of documentation down to the most essential facts, so you can find what you need in a heartbeat. Updated for Perl 5.14, the 5th edition provides a summary of Perl syntax rules and a complete list of operators, built-in functions, and other features. It's the perfect companion to O'Reilly's authoritative and in-depth Perl programming books, including Learning Perl, Programming Perl, and the Perl Cookbook..

  6. Mobile phone short message service messaging for behaviour modification in a community-based weight control programme in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joo, Nam-Seok; Kim, Bom-Taeck

    2007-01-01

    We conducted a community-based anti-obesity programme using mobile phone short message service (SMS) messaging. A total of 927 participants were recruited and visited a public health centre for initial assessment. Mobile phones were used to deliver short messages about diet, exercise and behaviour modification once a week. After a 12-week anti-obesity programme they visited the public health centre again. Four hundred and thirty-three subjects (47%) successfully completed their weight control programme. There were mean reductions of weight, waist circumference and body mass index of 1.6 kg (P behaviour modification in weight control and anti-obesity health education programmes when promoted by community health centres.

  7. Message strategies in direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising: a content analysis using Taylor's six-segment message strategy wheel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Wan-Hsiu Sunny; Lancaster, Alyse R

    2012-01-01

    This exploratory study applies Taylor's (1999) six-segment message strategy wheel to direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical television commercials to understand message strategies adopted by pharmaceutical advertisers to persuade consumers. A convenience sample of 96 DTC commercial campaigns was analyzed. The results suggest that most DTC drug ads used a combination approach, providing consumers with medical and drug information while simultaneously appealing to the viewer's ego-related needs and desires. In contrast to ration and ego strategies, other approaches including routine, acute need, and social are relatively uncommon while sensory was the least common message strategy. Findings thus recognized the educational value of DTC commercials.

  8. Sistema de ayuda para la redacción de mensajes en un servicio de referencia por correo electrónico Help system for messages writing in a reference service via e-mail

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedro Falcato

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available El presente artículo trata el origen, el desarrollo y las propiedades del sistema de ayuda que utiliza un servicio de referencia digital como apoyo para elaborar respuestas. Está basado en la compilación y clasificación de locuciones de uso frecuente cuya eficacia comunicativa ha sido puesta a prueba en la práctica, adaptadas de modo tal que el referencista puede emplearlas como módulos para construir los mensajes. Se exponen las principales características de la interfaz diseñada. Se tratan también los alcances y limitaciones que tiene un sistema de este tipo, así como la aplicabilidad de la idea que le dio origen para construir ayudas equivalentes en otros entornos de referencia.The article deals with the origin, development, and properties of the help system used by a digital reference service as a support to develop answers. It is based on the compilation and classification of frequently used idioms whose communication effectiveness was practically put to the test, adapted in such a way that the reference librarian can use them as modules to construct the messages. Main characteristics of the interface design are stated. Scopes and limitations of that kind of system are discussed as well as the compatibility of the original idea to build equivalent helps in some other reference environment.

  9. Micro-cultural customization of organ donation propagation messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunkel, Anke; Nakamoto, Kent; Schulz, Peter J

    2018-05-01

    Organ transplantation is plagued by limited availability of organs. This study investigated the effect of messages promoting organ donation which were customized according to the language-defined micro-cultures in Switzerland. Community-, informative-, and emotional-oriented messages were carried by conventional flyers. A 3 × 3 between-subjects experiment was conducted with short- and long-term willingness to donate, long-term signing of organ donation card and long-term interpersonal communication on organ donation as outcome variables. The culturally customized interventions appeared to have no immediate effect and consequently no differential effect on willingness to donate organs and on signing a donor card. Among the Swiss Germans, of the three messages, the community-oriented one instigated less interpersonal communication. Findings are consistent with a mechanism in which the message does not have an immediate effect on willingness to donate organs but motivates further thought and related behaviors that lead to higher commitment and later increased willingness to donate. Targeting not only the message but also the objective that drives the messages must be considered. Campaigns should include elements that build on the unfolding commitment process to promote the follow-up actions that lead to greater willingness. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Framing breastfeeding and formula-feeding messages in popular U.S. magazines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frerichs, Leah; Andsager, Julie L; Campo, Shelly; Aquilino, Mary; Stewart Dyer, Carolyn

    2006-01-01

    Media framing of infant feeding has the ability to influence knowledge and views of the barriers, benefits, and solutions inherent in breastfeeding or formula-feeding. This study examined how seven popular U.S. parenting, general women's, and African American magazines framed breastfeeding and formula-feeding messages to determine whether a sense-making approach was used and the extent to which visual images portrayed feeding practices. Analysis included 615 articles published from 1997 to 2003 that referred to infant feeding. Text and images were analyzed. The magazines provided more information on breastfeeding than formula feeding. Parenting magazines included more advice than barriers or benefits. African American magazines presented more breastfeeding benefits, and general women's magazines contained the least infant-feeding information. Messages were focused on individualized breastfeeding barriers and advice, seldom covered social and environmental issues, and placed much of the responsibility of infant feeding on the mother, while the role of social and partner support was diminished. Bottle-feeding images were nearly as common as breastfeeding images. Findings can be used by public health practitioners to increase the likelihood of reaching certain target audiences through popular magazines.

  11. Suspecting Neurological Dysfunction From E Mail Messages ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A non medical person suspected and confirmed neurological dysfunction in an individual, based only on e mail messages sent by the individual. With email communication becoming rampant “peculiar” email messages may raise the suspicion of neurological dysfunction. Organic pathology explaining the abnormal email ...

  12. Effects of Exergaming and Message Framing in School Environments on Physical Activity Attitudes and Intentions of Children and Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lwin, May O; Ho, Shirley S; Younbo, Jung; Leng, Theng Yin; Wardoyo, Reidinar J; Jung, Kim Hyo

    2016-09-01

    Although interventions targeting the health of students in schools are becoming common, few studies have examined how health messages operate at the group level in school environments. This study examines the effects of message-based health interventions (extrinsic vs. intrinsic goal framing) in group environments (exergame competitive vs. exergame noncompetitive) on eliciting attitudes and intentions toward physical activity among children and adolescents. We conducted a 7-week school-based intervention program involving 336 children and 259 adolescents in Singapore in which pre- and post-intervention responses were recorded. Our findings revealed the difference in responses between child and adolescent groups. Children who participated in noncompetitive exergames with extrinsically framed health messages and those who participated in competitive exergames with intrinsically framed health messages demonstrated more favorable attitudes toward physical activity. However, the same effects were absent in our adolescent group. These findings suggest that the integration of exergames into competitive and noncompetitive environments can serve as a gateway to traditional physical activity in schools when strategically combined with intrinsically and extrinsically framed messages. Practical and theoretical implications for schools and health educators are discussed.

  13. U.S. Department of Energy Reference Model Program RM1: Experimental Results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hill, Craig [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States); Neary, Vincent Sinclair [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Gunawan, Budi [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Guala, Michele [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States); Sotiropoulos, Fotis [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

    2014-10-01

    The Reference Model Project (RMP), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Wind and Water Power Technologies Program within the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE), aims at expediting industry growth and efficiency by providing non-proprietary Reference Models (RM) of MHK technology designs as study objects for open-source research and development (Neary et al. 2014a,b). As part of this program, MHK turbine models were tested in a large open channel facility at the University of Minnesota’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (UMN-SAFL). Reference Model 1 (RM2) is a 1:40 geometric scale dual-rotor axial flow horizontal axis device with counter-rotating rotors, each with a rotor diameter dT = 0.5m. Precise blade angular position and torque measurements were synchronized with three acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) aligned with each rotor and the midpoint for RM1. Flow conditions for each case were controlled such that depth, h = 1m, and volumetric flow rate, Qw = 2.425m3s-1, resulting in a hub height velocity of approximately Uhub = 1.05ms-1 and blade chord length Reynolds numbers of Rec ≈ 3.0x105. Vertical velocity profiles collected in the wake of each device from 1 to 10 rotor diameters are used to estimate the velocity recovery and turbulent characteristics in the wake, as well as the interaction of the counter-rotating rotor wakes. The development of this high resolution laboratory investigation provides a robust dataset that enables assessing turbulence performance models and their ability to accurately predict device performance metrics, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models that can be used to predict turbulent inflow environments, reproduce wake velocity deficit, recovery and higher order turbulent statistics, as well as device performance metrics.

  14. U.S. Department of Energy Reference Model Program RM1: Experimental Results.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hill, Craig [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States); Neary, Vincent Sinclair [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Gunawan, Budi [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Guala, Michele [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States); Sotiropoulos, Fotis [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

    2017-08-01

    The Reference Model Project (RMP), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Wind and Water Power Technologies Program within the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE), aims at expediting industry growth and efficiency by providing nonproprietary Reference Models (RM) of MHK technology designs as study objects for opensource research and development (Neary et al. 2014a,b). As part of this program, MHK turbine models were tested in a large open channel facility at the University of Minnesota’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (UMN-SAFL). Reference Model 1 (RM1) is a 1:40 geometric scale dual-rotor axial flow horizontal axis device with counter-rotating rotors, each with a rotor diameter dT = 0.5m. Precise blade angular position and torque measurements were synchronized with three acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) aligned with each rotor and the midpoint for RM1. Flow conditions for each case were controlled such that depth, h = 1m, and volumetric flow rate, Qw = 2.425m3s-1, resulting in a hub height velocity of approximately Uhub = 1.05ms-1 and blade chord length Reynolds numbers of Rec ≈ 3.0x105. Vertical velocity profiles collected in the wake of each device from 1 to 10 rotor diameters are used to estimate the velocity recovery and turbulent characteristics in the wake, as well as the interaction of the counter-rotating rotor wakes. The development of this high resolution laboratory investigation provides a robust dataset that enables assessing turbulence performance models and their ability to accurately predict device performance metrics, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models that can be used to predict turbulent inflow environments, reproduce wake velocity deficit, recovery and higher order turbulent statistics, as well as device performance metrics.

  15. Tendency to Message Delivery in Internet Viral Marketing

    OpenAIRE

    Mostafa Ghazizadeh; Ahmad Sardari; Seyyed Reza Shojaee; Mehdi Samizadeh

    2011-01-01

    Abstract The main goal of this research is to review and determine the factors associated with tendency to forward the marketing messages in viral marketing plans of Fast-food industries. In other words, in this study, the effects of three critical determinants, i.e. commercial intention, attractiveness, and media richness have been examined on receivers' intention to forward marketing message in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz. Findings imply that receivers’ attitude toward the message has pos...

  16. Implementing High-Performance Geometric Multigrid Solver with Naturally Grained Messages

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shan, H; Williams, S; Zheng, Y; Kamil, A; Yelick, K

    2015-10-26

    Structured-grid linear solvers often require manually packing and unpacking of communication data to achieve high performance.Orchestrating this process efficiently is challenging, labor-intensive, and potentially error-prone.In this paper, we explore an alternative approach that communicates the data with naturally grained messagesizes without manual packing and unpacking. This approach is the distributed analogue of shared-memory programming, taking advantage of the global addressspace in PGAS languages to provide substantial programming ease. However, its performance may suffer from the large number of small messages. We investigate theruntime support required in the UPC ++ library for this naturally grained version to close the performance gap between the two approaches and attain comparable performance at scale using the High-Performance Geometric Multgrid (HPGMG-FV) benchmark as a driver.

  17. Content Analysis of Virtual Reference Data: Reshaping Library Website Design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Suhua Caroline; Welch, Jennifer M

    2016-01-01

    An academic health sciences library wanted to redesign its website to provide better access to health information in the community. Virtual reference data were used to provide information about user searching behavior. This study analyzed three years (2012-2014) of virtual reference data, including e-mail questions, text messaging, and live chat transcripts, to evaluate the library website for redesigning, especially in areas such as the home page, patrons' terminology, and issues prompting patrons to ask for help. A coding system based on information links in the current library website was created to analyze the data.

  18. Teaching Students the Persuasive Message through Small Group Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creelman, Valerie

    2008-01-01

    Teaching students to write persuasive messages is a critical feature of any undergraduate business communications course. For the persuasive writing module in the author's course, students write a persuasive message on the basis of the four-part indirect pattern often used for sales or fund-raising messages. The course text she uses identifies…

  19. Message Correlation Analysis Tool for NOvA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Qiming; Biery, Kurt A; Kowalkowski, James B

    2012-01-01

    A complex running system, such as the NOvA online data acquisition, consists of a large number of distributed but closely interacting components. This paper describes a generic real-time correlation analysis and event identification engine, named Message Analyzer. Its purpose is to capture run time abnormalities and recognize system failures based on log messages from participating components. The initial design of analysis engine is driven by the data acquisition (DAQ) of the NOvA experiment. The Message Analyzer performs filtering and pattern recognition on the log messages and reacts to system failures identified by associated triggering rules. The tool helps the system maintain a healthy running state and to minimize data corruption. This paper also describes a domain specific language that allows the recognition patterns and correlation rules to be specified in a clear and flexible way. In addition, the engine provides a plugin mechanism for users to implement specialized patterns or rules in generic languages such as C++.

  20. Message Correlation Analysis Tool for NOvA

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2012-01-01

    A complex running system, such as the NOvA online data acquisition, consists of a large number of distributed but closely interacting components. This paper describes a generic realtime correlation analysis and event identification engine, named Message Analyzer. Its purpose is to capture run time abnormalities and recognize system failures based on log messages from participating components. The initial design of analysis engine is driven by the DAQ of the NOvA experiment. The Message Analyzer performs filtering and pattern recognition on the log messages and reacts to system failures identified by associated triggering rules. The tool helps the system maintain a healthy running state and to minimize data corruption. This paper also describes a domain specific language that allows the recognition patterns and correlation rules to be specified in a clear and flexible way. In addition, the engine provides a plugin mechanism for users to implement specialized patterns or rules in generic languages such as C++.

  1. Message correlation analysis tool for NOvA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lu, Qiming [Fermilab; Biery, Kurt A. [Fermilab; Kowalkowski, James B. [Fermilab

    2012-01-01

    A complex running system, such as the NOvA online data acquisition, consists of a large number of distributed but closely interacting components. This paper describes a generic real-time correlation analysis and event identification engine, named Message Analyzer. Its purpose is to capture run time abnormalities and recognize system failures based on log messages from participating components. The initial design of analysis engine is driven by the data acquisition (DAQ) of the NOvA experiment. The Message Analyzer performs filtering and pattern recognition on the log messages and reacts to system failures identified by associated triggering rules. The tool helps the system maintain a healthy running state and to minimize data corruption. This paper also describes a domain specific language that allows the recognition patterns and correlation rules to be specified in a clear and flexible way. In addition, the engine provides a plugin mechanism for users to implement specialized patterns or rules in generic languages such as C++.

  2. Coverage of breast cancer in the Australian print media--does advertising and editorial coverage reflect correct social marketing messages?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Sandra C

    2004-01-01

    Early detection of breast cancer by mammographic screening has the potential to dramatically reduce mortality rates, but many women do not comply with screening recommendations. The media are an important source of health information for many women--through both direct social marketing advertisements and indirect dissemination of information via editorial content. This study investigated the accuracy of breast cancer detection messages in the top-selling Australian women's magazines and three weekend newspapers in the six-month period from December 2000 to May 2001 that included any reference to breast cancer and found that current coverage of breast cancer in the Australian print media conveys messages that are unlikely to encourage appropriate screening.

  3. A one-mode-for-all predictor for text messaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vimala Balakrishnan

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses the enhancements made on the current mobile phone messaging software, namely the predictive text entry. In addition, the application also has a facility to abbreviate any unabbreviated words that exist in the dictionary, so that the message length can be reduced. The application was tested in a computer-simulated mobile environment and the results of the tests are presented here. These additional features will potentially enable users to send messages at a reduced length and thus reduce the cost of sending messages. Moreover, users who are not adept in using the abbreviations can now do so with features made available on their mobile phones. It is believed that these additional features will also encourage more users to use the predictive software as well as further improve users’ messaging satisfaction.

  4. Message passing vs. shared address space on a cluster of SMPs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shan, Hongzhang; Singh, Jaswinder Pal; Oliker, Leonid; Biswas, Rupak

    2001-01-01

    The emergence of scalable computer architectures using clusters of PCs or PC-SMPs with commodity networking has made them attractive platforms for high-end scientific computing. Currently, message passing (MP) and shared address space (SAS) are the two leading programming paradigms for these systems. MP has been standardized with MPI, and is the most common and mature parallel programming approach. However, MP code development can be extremely difficult, especially for irregularly structured computations. SAS offers substantial ease of programming, but may suffer from performance limitations due to poor spatial locality and high protocol overhead. In this paper, they compare the performance of and programming effort required for six applications under both programming models on a 32-CPU PC-SMP cluster. Our application suite consists of codes that typically do not exhibit scalable performance under shared-memory programming due to their high communication-to-computation ratios and complex communication patterns. Results indicate that SAS can achieve about half the parallel efficiency of MPI for most of the applications; however, on certain classes of problems, SAS performance is competitive with MPI

  5. Adapting a Database of Text Messages to a Mobile-Based Weight Loss Program: The Case of the Middle East

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Selma Limam Mansar

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Obesity has become a worldwide epidemic. Qatar, a rapidly developing country in the Middle East, has seen a sharp increase in the prevalence of obesity. The increase can be attributed to several reasons, including sedentary lifestyles imposed by a harsh climate and the introduction of Western fast food. Mobile technologies have been used and studied as a technology to support individuals’ weight loss. The authors have developed a mobile application that implements three strategies drawn from proven theories of behavioral change. The application is localized to the cultural context of its proposed users. The objective of this paper is to present a method through which we adapted the messaging content of a weight loss application to the context of its users while retaining an effective degree of automation. The adaptation addressed body image, eating and physical exercise habits, and regional/cultural needs. The paper discusses how surveying potential users can be used to build a profile of a target population, find common patterns, and then develop a database of text messages. The text messages are automated and sent to the users at specific times of day, as suggested by the survey results.

  6. Branded food references in children's magazines: 'advertisements' are the tip of the iceberg.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, S C; Gregory, P; Kervin, L

    2012-06-01

    While children's magazines 'blur the lines' between editorial content and advertising, this medium has escaped the calls for government restrictions that are currently associated with food advertisements aired during children's television programming. The aim of this study was to address significant gaps in the evidence base in relation to commercial food messages in children's magazines by systematically investigating the nature and extent of food advertising and promotions over a 12-month period. All issues of Australian children's magazines published in the calendar year 2009 were examined for references to foods or beverages. Approximately 16% of the 1678 food references identified were portrayals of branded food products (or food brands). However, only 83 of these 269 were clearly identified as advertisements. Of these 269 branded food references, 86% were for non-core (broadly, less healthy) foods, including all but seven of the advertisements. It appears that recent reductions in televised promotions for non-core foods, and industry initiatives to reduce the targeting of children, have not carried through to magazine advertising. This study adds to the evidence base that the marketing of unhealthy food to children is widespread, and often covert, and supports public health calls for the strengthening of advertising regulation. © 2012 The Authors. Pediatric Obesity © 2012 International Association for the Study of Obesity.

  7. Exploring the use of text and instant messaging in higher education classrooms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sharon Lauricella

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This article examined how higher education students used text and instant messaging for academic purposes with their peers and faculty. Specifically, comfort level, frequency of use, usefulness, reasons for messaging and differences between peer-to-peer and peer-to-instructor interactions were examined. Students noted that they were very comfortable with using both text and instant messaging. Text messaging was used weekly with instructors and daily with peers. Instant messaging was used rarely with instructors but weekly with peers. Students rated text messaging as very useful and instant messaging as moderately useful for academic purposes. Key reasons cited for using both text and instant messaging included saving time, resolving administrative issues, convenience and ease of use. Text messaging appears to be the preferred mode of communication for students with respect to communicating with both peers and instructors. It is concluded that both text and instant messaging are useful and viable tools for augmenting student's communication among peers and faculty in higher education.

  8. Technical reference book for the Energy Economic Data Base (EEDB) Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allen, R.E.; Benedict, R.G.; Hodson, J.S.

    1984-09-01

    The Energy Economic Data Base (EEDB) Program is sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for the purpose of developing current technical and cost information for nuclear and comparison electric power generating stations. The EEDB contains a variety of nuclear and coal-fired power plant technical data models. Each of these data models is a complete and detailed conceptual design for a single unit, commercial, steam electric, power generating station located on a standard hypothetical Middletown site. A major effort for the Sixth Update (1983) has been the updating of the system design descriptions and selected engineering drawings for the technical data models. This update took the form of revising and expanding the system design descriptions and engineering drawings contained in the Base Data Studies, to include the technical information developed and recorded in the first five EEDB updates. The results of the update effort are contained in this EEDB Program Technical Reference Book

  9. Persuasiveness of Anti-Smoking Messages: Self-Construal and Message Focus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Bo; Nan, Xiaoli; Zhao, Xinyan

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of independent vs interdependent self-construal in non-smokers' responses to an anti-smoking message that focuses on either personal or relational consequences of smoking. Design/methodology/approach: Two web-based experimental studies were conducted among US college non-smokers. In the…

  10. The BlackBerry Project: Capturing the Content of Adolescents’ Text Messaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Underwood, Marion K.; Rosen, Lisa H.; More, David; Ehrenreich, Sam; Gentsch, Joanna K.

    2011-01-01

    This brief report presents an innovative method for capturing the content of adolescents’ electronic communication on handheld devices: text messaging, email, and Instant Messaging. In an ongoing longitudinal study, adolescents were provided with BlackBerry devices with service plans paid by the investigators, and use of text messaging was examined when participants were 15 years old and in the 10th grade (N=175, 81 girls). BlackBerries are configured so that the content of all text messages, email messages, and Instant Messages is saved to a secure server and organized in a highly secure, searchable, online archive. This paper describes the technology used to devise this method and ethical considerations. Evidence for validity is presented, including information on use of text messaging to show that participants used these devices heavily and frequencies of profane and sexual language in a two-day sample of text messaging to demonstrate that they were communicating openly. PMID:22004337

  11. Adaptive Beaconing in Mobility Aware Clustering Based MAC Protocol for Safety Message Dissemination in VANET

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nishu Gupta

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Majority of research contributions in wireless access in vehicular environment (WAVE/IEEE 802.11p standard focus on life critical safety-related applications. These applications require regular status update of vehicle’s position referred to as beaconing. Periodic beaconing in vehicle to vehicle communication leads to severe network congestion in the communication channel. The condition worsens under high vehicular density where it impacts reliability and upper bound latency of safety messages. In this paper, WAVE compliant enhancement to the existing IEEE 802.11p protocol is presented which targets prioritized delivery of safety messages while simultaneously provisioning the dissemination of nonsafety messages. Proposed scheme relies on dynamic generation of beacons to mitigate channel congestion and inefficient bandwidth utilization by reducing transmission frequency of beacons. Through the use of clustering mechanism, different beaconing frequencies and different data transmission rates are assigned to prioritize vehicular mobility. Through extensive simulation results, the performance of the proposed approach is evaluated in terms of a wide range of quality of service (QoS parameters for two different transmission ranges. Results show that the proposed protocol provides significant enhancement and stability of the clustered topology in vehicular ad hoc network over existing standard and other protocols with similar applications.

  12. Non-Blocking Concurrent Imperative Programming with Session Types

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Silva

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Concurrent C0 is an imperative programming language in the C family with session-typed message-passing concurrency. The previously proposed semantics implements asynchronous (non-blocking output; we extend it here with non-blocking input. A key idea is to postpone message reception as much as possible by interpreting receive commands as a request for a message. We implemented our ideas as a translation from a blocking intermediate language to a non-blocking language. Finally, we evaluated our techniques with several benchmark programs and show the results obtained. While the abstract measure of span always decreases (or remains unchanged, only a few of the examples reap a practical benefit.

  13. Text messages as a learning tool for midwives | Woods | South ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The use of cell phone text messaging to improve access to continuing ... with 50 of the message recipients, demonstrated that the text messages were well received by ... services, such as the management of HIV-infected children and adults.

  14. Computer programs for display. [magnetic tapes - project planning/NASA programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    1975-01-01

    The developments of an information storage and retrieval system are presented. Computer programs used in the system are described; the programs allow display messages to be placed on disks in an off-line environment permitting a more efficient use of memory. A time table that shows complete and scheduled developments of the system is given.

  15. Undergraduates' Text Messaging Language and Literacy Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grace, Abbie; Kemp, Nenagh; Martin, Frances Heritage; Parrila, Rauno

    2014-01-01

    Research investigating whether people's literacy skill is being affected by the use of text messaging language has produced largely positive results for children, but mixed results for adults. We asked 150 undergraduate university students in Western Canada and 86 in South Eastern Australia to supply naturalistic text messages and to complete…

  16. Expectancy Theory in Media and Message Selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Leuven, Jim

    1981-01-01

    Argues for reversing emphasis on uses and gratifications research in favor of an expectancy model which holds that selection of a particular medium depends on (1) the expectation that the choice will be followed by a message of interest and (2) the importance of that message in satisfying user's values. (PD)

  17. The prototype message broadcast system for the Superconducting Super Collider

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Low, K.; Skegg, R.

    1990-11-01

    A prototype unified message broadcast system to handle the site-wide distribution of all control system messages for the Superconducting Super Collider is presented. The messages are assembled in the control room area and encapsulated for transmission via a general fiber-optic link system to devices distributed throughout 70 miles of tunnels. An embedded timing signal is used by the distribution system to ensure that messages arrive at all devices simultaneously. Devices receive messages using a special receiver sub-system. A simple version of this system is to be used in the Accelerator Systems String Test (ASST) at the SSC site in 1991. 3 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab

  18. A Novel Message Scheduling Framework for Delay Tolerant Networks Routing

    KAUST Repository

    Elwhishi, Ahmed; Ho, Pin-Han; Naik, K.; Shihada, Basem

    2013-01-01

    new message scheduling framework for epidemic and two-hop forwarding routing in DTNs, such that the forwarding/dropping decision can be made at a node during each contact for either optimal message delivery ratio or message delivery delay. Extensive

  19. Calcium, Vitamin D, Iron, and Folate Messages in Three Canadian Magazines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Marcia; Zalot, Lindsay; Wadsworth, Laurie A

    2014-12-01

    Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey showed that calcium, vitamin D, iron, and folate are nutrients of concern for females 19-50 years of age. The study objectives were to assess the quantity, format, and accuracy of messages related to these nutrients in selected Canadian magazines and to examine their congruency with Canadian nutrition policies. Using content analysis methodology, messages were coded using a stratified sample of a constructed year for Canadian Living, Chatelaine, and Homemakers magazines (n = 33) from 2003-2008. Pilot research was conducted to assess inter-coder agreement and to develop the study coding sheet and codebook. The messages identified (n = 595) averaged 18 messages per magazine issue. The most messages were found for calcium, followed by folate, iron, and vitamin D, and the messages were found primarily in articles (46%) and advertisements (37%). Overall, most messages were coded as accurate (82%) and congruent with Canadian nutrition policies (90%). This research demonstrated that the majority of messages in 3 Canadian magazines between 2003 and 2008 were accurate and reflected Canadian nutrition policies. Because Canadian women continue to receive much nutrition information via print media, this research provides important insights for dietitians into media messaging.

  20. Communications programs: Planning for the future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D'Alessandro, J.S.

    1991-01-01

    In the past, the norm has been for developers and project managers to treat communications programs as a secondary, and thus less important, component of a project. Today, a communications program is one of the most important components of a project and communications personnel must be considered integral members of the project management team. The first step to facilitate the flow of information is to establish a presence in the affected community as soon as possible. Design a communications program that operates on several levels simultaneously. While the message should remain consistent, delivery mechanisms and packaging should be tailored to the particular audience. Realize that the communications program is as important to the success of the project as is its financing and engineering. Choose the right people to communicate the message; they must be believable. Never forget that the project is affecting the lives of real people and that it is real people you are attempting to communicate with. The final suggestion is to design the communications program so that it has as many avenues for input, both internally and externally, as it does for output. For any communications program to be truly effective, it must not merely communicate a message, but must also facilitate the establishment of positive relationships between the project and both its supporters and opponents

  1. MMS: An electronic message management system for emergency response

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, H.B.; Garde, H.; Andersen, V.

    1998-01-01

    among messages can be viewed in a graphic tree-like display. By employing the extensive filtration facilities offered by the MMS. users are able to monitor the current status of messages. And, in general, filtration provides users with means of surveying a possibly large number of responses to messages...... contingency plan and procedures to be applied during predefined stages of an emergency....

  2. Instant Messaging in Dental Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khatoon, Binish; Hill, Kirsty B; Walmsley, A Damien

    2015-12-01

    Instant messaging (IM) is when users communicate instantly via their mobile devices, and it has become one of the most preferred choices of tools to communicate amongst health professions students. The aim of this study was to understand how dental students communicate via IM, faculty members' perspectives on using IM to communicate with students, and whether such tools are useful in the learning environment. After free-associating themes on online communication, two draft topic guides for structured interviews were designed that focussed on mobile device-related communication activities. A total of 20 students and six faculty members at the University of Birmingham School of Dentistry agreed to take part in the interviews. Students were selected from years 1-5 representing each year group. The most preferred communication tools were emails, social networking, and IM. Emails were used for more formal messages, and IM and social networking sites were used for shorter messages. WhatsApp was the most used IM app because of its popular features such as being able to check if recipients have read and received messages and group work. The students reported that changes were necessary to improve their communication with faculty members. The faculty members reported having mixed feelings toward the use of IM to communicate with students. The students wished to make such tools a permanent part of their learning environment, but only with the approval of faculty members. The faculty members were willing to accept IM as a communication tool only if it is monitored and maintained by the university and has a positive effect on learning.

  3. Design of a Message Passing Model for Use in a Heterogeneous CPU-NFP Framework for Network Analytics

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Pennefather, S

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available of applications written in the Go programming language to be executed on a Network Flow Processor (NFP) for enhanced performance. This paper explores the need and feasibility of implementing a message passing model for data transmission between the NFP and CPU...

  4. Partisan Responses to Public Health Messages: Motivated Reasoning and Sugary Drink Taxes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gollust, Sarah E; Barry, Colleen L; Niederdeppe, Jeff

    2017-12-01

    This study examines the public's motivated reasoning of competitive messages about sugary drink taxes, a public health policy approach attempted with some recent success in the United States. In an experiment embedded in a nationally representative survey fielded in the fall of 2012, we randomized participants ( N  = 5,147) to receive one of four messages: control, a strong protax message, a two-sided message, or a message refuting arguments made in soda company antitax messages. The protax message showed no effects on tax support, while the two-sided message depressed Republicans' support. The refutation message boosted independents' support but produced backlash among Republicans. This motivated response was pronounced among Republicans who were plausibly previously exposed to the sugary drink tax debate. These findings reinforce the communication challenges in an increasingly politicized US health policy discourse. Copyright © 2017 by Duke University Press.

  5. IAEA-RCA Co-ordinated Research Program on Reference Asian Man

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koyanagi, Taku

    1990-01-01

    The Research Coordination Meeting was held in Mito City, Japan on October 17-21, 1988, inviting the chief investigating scientists from 11 RCA member countries to discuss practical plans for the Coordinated Research Program (CRP) on 'Compilation of Anatomical, Physiological and Metabolic Characteristics for a Reference Asian Man' based on the decision taken at the Project Formulation Meeting for the RCA Project 'Strengthening Radiation Protection' Tokyo, November 1987. Significance of the setting 'Reference Man' for Asian peoples to estimate more realistic radiation doses by applying the real typical physical, physiological and metabolic parameters for them instead of those recommended by ICRP based on the data for 'Caucasian Man' has been indicated by whole member countries and recognized again at the Meeting. The present status of 'Reference Man-oriented Studies' in each countries was presented by the participants and certain difference or difficulties were pointed out among the countries depending on the geographical, social, or economical conditions as well as the ethnic circumstances. After the mutual discussions and exchange of up-to-date information, the general conclusions were drawn as follows: acknowledging the importance of the CRP, research works should be carried out in each country with the expected supports from IAEA and other member countries. The first priority is given on the measurements of human physique (and internal organs) followed by the food consumption survey. Trace element analysis would be done by the countries where possible. The standard manual for data collection might be necessary. The establishments of Co-ordination Center or central body with data base and also subgroup systems are desirable to promote the CRP. (author)

  6. Sending and Receiving Text Messages with Sexual Content: Relations with Early Sexual Activity and Borderline Personality Features in Late Adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brinkley, Dawn Y; Ackerman, Robert A; Ehrenreich, Samuel E; Underwood, Marion K

    2017-05-01

    This research examined adolescents' written text messages with sexual content to investigate how sexting relates to sexual activity and borderline personality features. Participants (N = 181, 85 girls) completed a measure of borderline personality features prior to 10 th grade and were subsequently given smartphones configured to capture the content of their text messages. Four days of text messaging were micro-coded for content related to sex. Following 12 th grade, participants reported on their sexual activity and again completed a measure of borderline personality features. Results showed that engaging in sexting at age 16 was associated with reporting an early sexual debut, having sexual intercourse experience, having multiple sex partners, and engaging in drug use in combination with sexual activity two years later. Girls engaging in sex talk were more likely to have had sexual intercourse by age 18. Text messaging about hypothetical sex in grade 10 also predicted borderline personality features at age 18. These findings suggest that sending text messages with sexual content poses risks for adolescents. Programs to prevent risky sexual activity and to promote psychological health could be enhanced by teaching adolescents to use digital communication responsibly.

  7. Sending and Receiving Text Messages with Sexual Content: Relations with Early Sexual Activity and Borderline Personality Features in Late Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brinkley, Dawn Y.; Ackerman, Robert A.; Ehrenreich, Samuel E.; Underwood, Marion K.

    2017-01-01

    This research examined adolescents’ written text messages with sexual content to investigate how sexting relates to sexual activity and borderline personality features. Participants (N = 181, 85 girls) completed a measure of borderline personality features prior to 10th grade and were subsequently given smartphones configured to capture the content of their text messages. Four days of text messaging were micro-coded for content related to sex. Following 12th grade, participants reported on their sexual activity and again completed a measure of borderline personality features. Results showed that engaging in sexting at age 16 was associated with reporting an early sexual debut, having sexual intercourse experience, having multiple sex partners, and engaging in drug use in combination with sexual activity two years later. Girls engaging in sex talk were more likely to have had sexual intercourse by age 18. Text messaging about hypothetical sex in grade 10 also predicted borderline personality features at age 18. These findings suggest that sending text messages with sexual content poses risks for adolescents. Programs to prevent risky sexual activity and to promote psychological health could be enhanced by teaching adolescents to use digital communication responsibly. PMID:28824224

  8. Everybody Brush! Consumer Satisfaction with a Tooth Decay Prevention Program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joana Cunha-Cruz

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available IntroductionTwice-daily caregiver-supervised toothbrushing with fluoridated toothpaste is an effective and widely recommended strategy to prevent tooth decay in children. Qualitative research suggests that low-income caregivers know the recommendation but would benefit from toothbrushing supplies and advice about how to introduce this health behavior especially as the child becomes older and asserts autonomy to do it “myself.” Our objective is to assess consumer satisfaction with the evidence-based theory-informed campaign and usefulness of materials that were home delivered. The focus of the evaluation was families with children <36 months of age because of the high incidence of disease in this population.MethodsA dental care organization designed and implemented Everybody Brush! in three counties of Central Oregon. Participants were families of Medicaid-insured children <21 years of age. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three study groups: test (supplies, voice/printed messages, telephone support, active (supplies, and a waitlist control. Program materials were in English and Spanish. Caregivers of children <36 months were interviewed at the beginning and end of the program.ResultsA total of 83,148 toothbrushing kits were mailed to 21,743 families. In addition, 93,766 printed messages and 110,367 recorded messages were sent to half of the families. Caregivers were highly satisfied. On a global rating scale from 0 to 10 (worst to best program possible, they rated the program 9.5 on average (median: 10, SD 0.9. On a scale from 0 to 10 (not at all to very useful, mean ratings for usefulness of the toothbrushing supplies was 9.5 (SD = 1.5, for the printed postcard messages was 7.2 (SD 3.6, and for the voice telephone messages was 6.5 (SD 3.9.DiscussionA dental care organization carried out a complex community intervention designed to address excess tooth decay among low-income children. Caregivers were highly

  9. OpenSHMEM-UCX : Evaluation of UCX for implementing OpenSHMEM Programming Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baker, Matthew B [ORNL; Gorentla Venkata, Manjunath [ORNL; Aderholdt, William Ferrol [ORNL; Shamis, Pavel [ARM Research

    2016-01-01

    The OpenSHMEM reference implementation was developed towards the goal of developing an open source and high-performing Open- SHMEM implementation. To achieve portability and performance across various networks, the OpenSHMEM reference implementation uses GAS- Net and UCCS for network operations. Recently, new network layers have emerged with the promise of providing high-performance, scalabil- ity, and portability for HPC applications. In this paper, we implement the OpenSHMEM reference implementation to use the UCX framework for network operations. Then, we evaluate its performance and scalabil- ity on Cray XK systems to understand UCX s suitability for developing the OpenSHMEM programming model. Further, we develop a bench- mark called SHOMS for evaluating the OpenSHMEM implementation. Our experimental results show that OpenSHMEM-UCX outperforms the vendor supplied OpenSHMEM implementation in most cases on the Cray XK system by up to 40% with respect to message rate and up to 70% for the execution of application kernels.

  10. Reactions to framing of cessation messages: insights from dual-smoker couples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipkus, Isaac M; Ranby, Krista W; Lewis, Megan A; Toll, Benjamin

    2013-12-01

    Couples in which both members smoke (dual-smoker couples) have not been the explicit target of cessation interventions. Quit rates are lower and relapse rates are higher among individuals in dual-smoker couples. A potentially effective strategy to motivate dual-smoker couples to quit is to convey messages that highlight how the positive outcomes of quitting (gain frame) or the negative outcomes of continued smoking (loss frame) affect the couple rather than the individual smoker. We explored whether dual-smoker couples' smoking behaviors (e.g., amount smoked) and desire to quit would differ as a function of message frame (gain vs. loss) or outcome focus (individual vs. couple). Dual-smoker couples (N = 40) completed a baseline survey and were then randomized to review gain- or loss-framed messages that varied whether the outcomes influenced the individual or the couple. Main outcomes were desire to quit after reading messages and smoking behaviors at a 1-month follow-up. Couple-focused messages produced the strongest desire to quit and decreased amount of cigarettes smoked at follow-up. The latter effect was mediated by desire to quit. Loss-framed messages produced inconsistent effects on desire to quit. There were no significant interactions between outcome focus and message framing. Findings suggest that messages emphasizing how smoking affects both partners can motivate cessation among dual-smoker couples. Contrary to findings showing that gain-framed messages motivate cessation targeting individual smokers, results suggest that loss-framed messages may be more persuasive than gain-framed messages when the target of the outcome involves significant others.

  11. The Effectiveness of Campaign Messages on Turnout and Vote Choice

    OpenAIRE

    Friedel, Sylvia

    2013-01-01

    In this dissertation, I study campaign effects on turnout and vote choice. I analyze different campaign messages and the way they affect voters across various situations. First, through an online survey experiment, I study the impact of campaign messages and ideological cues on voters as they make inferences on candidates. Next, through a field experiment, I test whether microtargeted messages or general messages on the economy have any effect on turnout. Lastly, using online survey data, I e...

  12. Secure message authentication system for node to node network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sindhu, R.; Vanitha, M. M.; Norman, J.

    2017-10-01

    The Message verification remains some of the best actual methods for prevent the illegal and dis honored communication after presence progressed to WSNs (Wireless Sensor Networks). Intend for this purpose, several message verification systems must stand established, created on both symmetric key cryptography otherwise public key cryptosystems. Best of them will have some limits for great computational then statement above in count of deficiency of climb ability then flexibility in node settlement occurrence. In a polynomial based system was newly presented for these problems. Though, this system then situations delay will must the dimness of integral limitation firm in the point of polynomial: once the amount of message transferred remains the greater than the limitation then the opponent will completely improve the polynomial approaches. This paper suggests using ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography). Though using the node verification the technique in this paper permits some nodes to transfer a limitless amount of messages lacking misery in the limit problem. This system will have the message cause secrecy. Equally theoretic study then model effects show our planned system will be effective than the polynomial based method in positions of calculation then statement above in privacy points though message basis privacy.

  13. Effectiveness of safety and public service announcement messages on dynamic message signs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-07-01

    The number of transportation agencies that use dynamic message signs (DMS) to provide traffic information to motorists has increased dramatically over the past four decades. This growing trend of DMS deployment is a reflection of the public interest ...

  14. Framing Effects in Narrative and Non-Narrative Risk Messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinhardt, Joseph; Shapiro, Michael A

    2015-08-01

    Narrative messages are increasingly popular in health and risk campaigns, yet gain/loss framing effects have never been tested with such messages. Three experiments examined framing in narrative messages. Experiment 1 found that only the character's decision, not framing, influenced judgments about characters in a narrative derived from a prospect theory context. Experiment 2 found that a framing effect that occurred when presented in a decision format did not occur when the same situation was presented as a narrative. Using a different story/decision context, Experiment 3 found no significant difference in preference for surgery over radiation therapy in a narrative presentation compared to a non-narrative presentation. The results suggest that health and risk campaigns cannot assume that framing effects will be the same in narrative messages and non-narrative messages. Potential reasons for these differences and suggestions for future research are discussed. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

  15. Creating buzz: the neural correlates of effective message propagation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falk, Emily B; Morelli, Sylvia A; Welborn, B Locke; Dambacher, Karl; Lieberman, Matthew D

    2013-07-01

    Social interaction promotes the spread of values, attitudes, and behaviors. Here, we report on neural responses to ideas that are destined to spread. We scanned message communicators using functional MRI during their initial exposure to the to-be-communicated ideas. These message communicators then had the opportunity to spread the messages and their corresponding subjective evaluations to message recipients outside the scanner. Successful ideas were associated with neural responses in the communicators' mentalizing systems and reward systems when they first heard the messages, prior to spreading them. Similarly, individuals more able to spread their own views to others produced greater mentalizing-system activity during initial encoding. Unlike prior social-influence studies that focused on the individuals being influenced, this investigation focused on the brains of influencers. Successful social influence is reliably associated with an influencer-to-be's state of mind when first encoding ideas.

  16. Comics: a medium for today's development messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Opilas, E A

    1978-03-01

    Filipino illustrated magazines, or the comics, may yet prove to be the most effective media, if not the most effective, for spreading the country's development messages. Long criticized by intellectuals and the social elite, the comics have been grossly underrated in their potential to inform, persuade, and even influence the life-style of the people. The government's Commission on Population (Popcom) has developed an information-education-communication program using the comics, among other media, to disseminate stories on family planning, responsible parenthood, and related topics. Its best quality is popular appeal, and for publishers and distribution outlets, the comics provide good business. A review of these materials shows that their themes reflect the following topics or issues: 1) population trends and consequences; 2) socioeconomic benefits of family planning; 3) customs which influence family planning; 4) family planning concepts; 5) family planning methods; 6) human sexuality and reproduction; 7) the husband-wife relationship; 8) guides for family planning motivation or communication; and 9) guides for teaching family planning. The materials were developed with 4 qualities in mind so as to attract audience or reader interest: simplicity, familiarity, realism, and attractiveness of materials. The consensus is that in the comics, population and development agencies may have found a "secret weapon" in getting these messages across, and that this new-found use for the illustrated magazines may be giving them a new respectability without in any way diminishing their popular appeal.

  17. "Wait a while, my love" -- an Indonesian popular song with a family planning message.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pekerti, R; Musa, R

    1989-10-01

    "Wait a While, My Love," recorded by pop singer Irianti Emingpraja, was the first Indonesian rock sock to contain a family planning message. The album including the song has sold over 100,000 copies. The song has also been packaged as a 60-second video that can be used as an opening theme for radio and television programs. The song, aimed at encouraging Indonesian youth to postpone marriage, has the following lyrics: "Flying free like a seagull/I'll cover many places 'round the world/Give me time for study and reflection, to grow as a mature wise woman/Oh, wait a while, my love/Don't buy me a ring, reflection of your inner love/I'll climb my way up to the top of the world/And reaching our rainbow of hope." The song was produced with support from the United Nations Fund for Population Activities and the Indonesian National Family Planning Coordinating Board. Key factors to be examined in producing a popular song with a family planning message include the specific message desired, the target audience, type of music, the singer, the producer, marketing, a multimedia campaign strategy, and distribution outlets.

  18. 47 CFR 64.3100 - Restrictions on mobile service commercial messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... subscriber; (2) Include a functioning return electronic mail address or other Internet-based mechanism that... of mobile service commercial messages and/or commercial electronic mail messages, and that does not... electronic mail messages with a functioning option and clear and conspicuous instructions to reject further...

  19. Collecting location-based voice messages on a TalkingBadge

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, John Paulin; Glenstrup, Arne John; Wusheng, Wang

    2012-01-01

    and specific enough to distinguish between zones located just 20 meters apart. Finally, we played digitized voice messages to 11 participants walking into a zone. They received most of the messages well, but a majority of their comments were negative, expressing concerns for the potential infringement...... of privacy. We conclude that location specific audio messaging works from a technical perspective, but requires careful consideration of social comfort....

  20. Learning from Marketing: Rapid Development of Medication Messages that Engage Patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yank, Veronica; Tribett, Erika; Green, Lydia; Pettis, Jasmine

    2015-01-01

    Objective To adapt marketing approaches in a health services environment. Methods Researchers and advertising professionals partnered in developing advertising-style messages designed to activate patients pre-identified as having chronic kidney disease to ask providers about recommended medications. We assessed feasibility of the development process by evaluating partnership structure, costs, and timeframe. We tested messages with patients and providers using preliminary surveys to refine initial messages and subsequent focus groups to identify the most persuasive ones. Results The partnership achieved an efficient structure, $14,550 total costs, and 4-month timeframe. The advertising team developed 11 initial messages. The research team conducted surveys and focus groups with a total of 13 patients and 8 providers to identify three messages as most activating. Focus group themes suggested the general approach of using advertising-style messages was acceptable if it supported patient-provider relationships and had a credible evidence base. Individual messages were more motivating if they elicited personal identification with imagery, particular emotions, active patient role, and message clarity. Conclusion We demonstrated feasibility of a research-advertising partnership and acceptability and likely impact of advertising-style messages on patient medication-seeking behavior. Practice Implications Healthcare systems may want to replicate our adaptation of marketing approaches to patients with chronic conditions. PMID:25913245

  1. Learning from marketing: Rapid development of medication messages that engage patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yank, Veronica; Tribett, Erika; Green, Lydia; Pettis, Jasmine

    2015-08-01

    To adapt marketing approaches in a health services environment. Researchers and advertising professionals partnered in developing advertising-style messages designed to activate patients pre-identified as having chronic kidney disease to ask providers about recommended medications. We assessed feasibility of the development process by evaluating partnership structure, costs, and timeframe. We tested messages with patients and providers using preliminary surveys to refine initial messages and subsequent focus groups to identify the most persuasive ones. The partnership achieved an efficient structure, $14,550 total costs, and 4-month timeframe. The advertising team developed 11 initial messages. The research team conducted surveys and focus groups with a total of 13 patients and 8 providers to identify three messages as most activating. Focus group themes suggested the general approach of using advertising-style messages was acceptable if it supported patient-provider relationships and had a credible evidence base. Individual messages were more motivating if they elicited personal identification with imagery, particular emotions, active patient role, and message clarity. We demonstrated feasibility of a research-advertising partnership and acceptability and likely impact of advertising-style messages on patient medication-seeking behavior. Healthcare systems may want to replicate our adaptation of marketing approaches to patients with chronic conditions. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  2. Alert Messaging in the CMS Distributed Workflow System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maxa, Zdenek

    2012-01-01

    WMAgent is the core component of the CMS workload management system. One of the features of this job managing platform is a configurable messaging system aimed at generating, distributing and processing alerts: short messages describing a given alert-worthy information or pathological condition. Apart from the framework's sub-components running within the WMAgent instances, there is a stand-alone application collecting alerts from all WMAgent instances running across the CMS distributed computing environment. The alert framework has a versatile design that allows for receiving alert messages also from other CMS production applications, such as PhEDEx data transfer manager. We present implementation details of the system, including its Python implementation using ZeroMQ, CouchDB message storage and future visions as well as operational experiences. Inter-operation with monitoring platforms such as Dashboard or Lemon is described.

  3. Multi-level scaling properties of instant-message communications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Guanxiong; Han, Xiaopu; Wang, Binghong

    2010-08-01

    To research the statistical properties of human's communication behaviors is one of the highlight areas of Human Dynamics. In this paper, we analyze the instant message data of QICQ from volunteers, and discover that there are many forms of non-Poisson characters, such as inter-event distributions of sending and receiving messages, communications between two friends, log-in activities, the distribution of online time, quantities of messages, and so on. These distributions not only denote the pattern of human communication activities, but also relate to the statistical property of human behaviors in using software. We find out that most of these exponents distribute between -1 and -2, which indicates that the Instant Message (IM) communication behavior of human is different from Non-IM communication behaviors; there are many fat-tail characters related to IM communication behavior.

  4. Sequencing the threat and recommendation components of persuasive messages differentially improves the effectiveness of high- and low-distressing imagery in an anti-alcohol message in students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Stephen L; West, Charlotte

    2015-05-01

    Distressing imagery is often used to improve the persuasiveness of mass-reach health promotion messages, but its effectiveness may be limited because audiences avoid attending to content. Prior self-affirmation or self-efficacy inductions have been shown to reduce avoidance and improve audience responsiveness to distressing messages, but these are difficult to introduce into a mass-reach context. Reasoning that a behavioural recommendation may have a similar effect, we reversed the traditional threat-behavioural recommendation health promotion message sequence. 2 × 2 experimental design: Factor 1, high- and low-distress images; Factor 2, threat-recommendation and recommendation-threat sequences. Ninety-one students were exposed to an identical text message accompanied by high- or low-distress imagery presented in threat-recommendation and recommendation-threat sequences. For the high-distress message, greater persuasion was observed for the recommendation-threat than the threat-recommendation sequence. This was partially mediated by participants' greater self-exposure to the threat component of the message, which we attribute to the effect of sequence in reducing attentional avoidance. For the low-distress message, greater persuasion was observed for the threat-recommendation sequence, which was not mediated by reading time allocated to the threat. Tailoring message sequence to suit the degree of distress that message developers wish to induce provides a tool that could improve persuasive messages. These findings provide a first step in this process and discuss further steps needed to consolidate and expand these findings. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Health promotion messages accompanied by distressing imagery might, under some circumstances, persuade individuals to engage in healthier behaviour. Audiences can respond defensively to distressing imagery, but may be less inclined to do so when an easily followed behavioural

  5. 3. Secure Messaging

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 6; Issue 1. Electronic Commerce - Secure Messaging. V Rajaraman. Series Article Volume 6 Issue 1 January 2001 pp 8-17. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link: https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/006/01/0008-0017 ...

  6. Should We Ban Instant Messaging In School?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Texley, Sharon; DeGennaro, Donna

    2005-01-01

    This article is a brief debate on the pros and cons of allowing students to use instant messaging (IM) in school. On one hand, teenagers' desire to socialize can overcome other priorities and schools may set policies to ban instant messaging. The contrary view is that schools should embrace the IM technology being popularized by youth and find…

  7. Development of a text messaging system to improve receipt of survivorship care in adolescent and young adult survivors of childhood cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casillas, Jacqueline; Goyal, Anju; Bryman, Jason; Alquaddoomi, Faisal; Ganz, Patricia A; Lidington, Emma; Macadangdang, Joshua; Estrin, Deborah

    2017-08-01

    This study aimed to develop and examine the acceptability, feasibility, and usability of a text messaging, or Short Message Service (SMS), system for improving the receipt of survivorship care for adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of childhood cancer. Researchers developed and refined the text messaging system based on qualitative data from AYA survivors in an iterative three-stage process. In stage 1, a focus group (n = 4) addressed acceptability; in stage 2, key informant interviews (n = 10) following a 6-week trial addressed feasibility; and in stage 3, key informant interviews (n = 23) following a 6-week trial addressed usability. Qualitative data were analyzed using a constant comparative analytic approach exploring in-depth themes. The final system includes programmed reminders to schedule and attend late effect screening appointments, tailored suggestions for community resources for cancer survivors, and messages prompting participant feedback regarding the appointments and resources. Participants found the text messaging system an acceptable form of communication, the screening reminders and feedback prompts feasible for improving the receipt of survivorship care, and the tailored suggestions for community resources usable for connecting survivors to relevant services. Participants suggested supplementing survivorship care visits and forming AYA survivor social networks as future implementations for the text messaging system. The text messaging system may assist AYA survivors by coordinating late effect screening appointments, facilitating a partnership with the survivorship care team, and connecting survivors with relevant community resources. The text messaging system has the potential to improve the receipt of survivorship care.

  8. A qualitative study to explore Prospect theory and message framing and diet and cancer prevention-related issues among African American adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satia, Jessie A.; Barlow, Jameta; Armstrong-Brown, Janelle; Watters, Joanne L.

    2010-01-01

    Aims To develop and test cancer prevention messages based on Prospect theory on motivation to improve dietary intake in African American adolescents, and to explore other salient factors that may inform dietary intervention design and implementation in this population. Methods Semi-structured in-person qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 African-American male and female adolescents, 12-16 years, in North Carolina. Prospect theory and message framing were used to guide the design of the four sets of diet-related messages related to cancer prevention: short-term gain-, long-term gain-, short-term loss-, and long-term loss-framed messages. Data were also collected on demographic, behavioral, and psychological factors; usual health behaviors; and preferences for intervention delivery. Results The majority of respondents found the gain-framed, short-term messages most salient for both fruits/vegetables (8 (61.5%)), and fat consumption (7 (53.8%)). For fat consumption only, 2 (15.4%) found the loss-framed, short-term messages pertinent; none found the loss-framed, long-term messages relevant for either dietary variable. All indicated interest in participating in a dietary intervention/education program; most preferred the Internet as a channel for intervention delivery. Participants expressed diverse views regarding knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding healthy eating. Conclusions Researchers conducting dietary interventions and education initiatives and medical professionals who counsel African American adolescents should consider using Prospect Theory as a theoretical framework, should focus on gain-framed short-term messages regarding cancer prevention, and should employ the Internet for data collection and intervention and information delivery. PMID:20142738

  9. Virtual Reference at a Global University: An Analysis of Patron and Question Type

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rawson, Joseph; Davis, Megan A.; Harding, Julie; Miller, Clare

    2013-01-01

    This paper covers material presented at the 15th Annual Off-Campus conference (formerly known as the Off Campus Library Services Conference) in Memphis, Tennessee. During the course of this presentation, participants learned how both chat and instant messaging reference are being conducted and evaluated at a major online learning university. This…

  10. Positive messaging promotes walking in older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Notthoff, Nanna; Carstensen, Laura L

    2014-06-01

    Walking is among the most cost-effective and accessible means of exercise. Mounting evidence suggests that walking may help to maintain physical and cognitive independence in old age by preventing a variety of health problems. However, older Americans fall far short of meeting the daily recommendations for walking. In 2 studies, we examined whether considering older adults' preferential attention to positive information may effectively enhance interventions aimed at promoting walking. In Study 1, we compared the effectiveness of positive, negative, and neutral messages to encourage walking (as measured with pedometers). Older adults who were informed about the benefits of walking walked more than those who were informed about the negative consequences of failing to walk, whereas younger adults were unaffected by framing valence. In Study 2, we examined within-person change in walking in older adults in response to positively- or negatively-framed messages over a 28-day period. Once again, positively-framed messages more effectively promoted walking than negatively-framed messages, and the effect was sustained across the intervention period. Together, these studies suggest that consideration of age-related changes in preferences for positive and negative information may inform the design of effective interventions to promote healthy lifestyles. Future research is needed to examine the mechanisms underlying the greater effectiveness of positively- as opposed to negatively-framed messages and the generalizability of findings to other intervention targets and other subpopulations of older adults. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  11. A message-passing approach to random constraint satisfaction problems with growing domains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Chunyan; Zheng, Zhiming; Zhou, Haijun; Xu, Ke

    2011-01-01

    Message-passing algorithms based on belief propagation (BP) are implemented on a random constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) referred to as model RB, which is a prototype of hard random CSPs with growing domain size. In model RB, the number of candidate discrete values (the domain size) of each variable increases polynomially with the variable number N of the problem formula. Although the satisfiability threshold of model RB is exactly known, finding solutions for a single problem formula is quite challenging and attempts have been limited to cases of N ∼ 10 2 . In this paper, we propose two different kinds of message-passing algorithms guided by BP for this problem. Numerical simulations demonstrate that these algorithms allow us to find a solution for random formulas of model RB with constraint tightness slightly less than p cr , the threshold value for the satisfiability phase transition. To evaluate the performance of these algorithms, we also provide a local search algorithm (random walk) as a comparison. Besides this, the simulated time dependence of the problem size N and the entropy of the variables for growing domain size are discussed

  12. Java for dummies quick reference

    CERN Document Server

    Lowe, Doug

    2012-01-01

    A reference that answers your questions as you move through your coding The demand for Android programming and web apps continues to grow at an unprecedented pace and Java is the preferred language for both. Java For Dummies Quick Reference keeps you moving through your coding while you solve a problem, look up a command or syntax, or search for a programming tip. Whether you're a Java newbie or a seasoned user, this fast reference offers you quick access to solutions without requiring that you wade through pages of tutorial material. Leverages the true reference format that is organized with

  13. Nature and Impact of Alcohol Messages in a Youth-Oriented Television Series

    OpenAIRE

    Russell, Cristel Antonia; Russell, Dale W.; Grube, Joel W.

    2009-01-01

    This research contributes to the extant literature on television influence by pairing a stimulus-side approach documenting how information is presented within a TV series with a response-side assessment of whether connectedness and exposure to a series influence the processing of that information differently depending on its format. The inquiry focuses on the nature and impact of messages about alcohol contained within a youth oriented TV program. The findings indicate that the recall and per...

  14. Smoking among Patients in Substance Use Disorders Treatment: Associations with Tobacco Advertising, Anti-tobacco Messages and Perceived Health Risk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Barbara K.; Le, Thao; Andrews, K. Blakely; Pramod, Sowmya; Guydish, Joseph

    2016-01-01

    Background Although tobacco control efforts have contributed to an overall decline in smoking, individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) continue to smoke at high rates and remain targets of advertising to vulnerable groups, including those with mental health disorders and SUDs. Objective We examined associations of tobacco advertising exposure and receptivity, anti-tobacco message awareness, and health-risk perception with smoking status and cigarettes-per-day (CPD) in a national sample of SUD treatment patients. Method Patients (N=1,113) in 24 programs chosen randomly, stratified by program type, from among publicly funded, adult treatment programs within the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network completed surveys of smoking, advertising exposure and receptivity, anti-tobacco message awareness and perceived health risks. Results Current smokers (77.9% of the sample) smoked a daily median of 10 cigarettes (IQR= 13). Participants reporting daily advertising exposure were 1.41 times more likely to be smokers (p=0.019) than others. Those highly receptive to advertising were 2.34 times more likely to be smokers (padvertising was 11.1% (95% CI: 2.8%-20.0%) higher than for smokers with low/moderate advertising receptivity. Anti-tobacco message awareness was not associated with smoking status or CPD. Conclusion The high rate of smoking among SUD treatment patients is associated with daily exposure and high receptivity to tobacco advertisements, and lower perception of health-related, smoking risks. Tobacco control efforts should target this vulnerable population. PMID:27314450

  15. Smoking among patients in substance use disorders treatment: associations with tobacco advertising, anti-tobacco messages, and perceived health risks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Barbara K; Le, Thao; Andrews, K Blakely; Pramod, Sowmya; Guydish, Joseph

    2016-11-01

    Although tobacco control efforts have contributed to an overall decline in smoking, individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) continue to smoke at high rates and remain targets of advertising to vulnerable groups, including those with mental health disorders and SUDs. We examined associations of tobacco advertising exposure and receptivity, anti-tobacco message awareness, and health-risk perception with smoking status and cigarettes-per-day (CPD) in a national sample of SUD treatment patients. The patients (N = 1,113) in 24 programs chosen randomly, stratified by program type, from among publicly funded adult treatment programs within the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network completed surveys of smoking, advertising exposure and receptivity, anti-tobacco message awareness, and perceived health risks. Current smokers (77.9% of the sample) smoked a daily median of 10 cigarettes (IQR = 13). The participants reporting daily advertising exposure were 1.41 times more likely to be smokers (p = 0.019) than others. Those highly receptive to advertising were 2.34 times more likely to be smokers (p advertising was 11.1% (95% CI: 2.8%-20.0%) higher than for smokers with low/moderate advertising receptivity. Anti-tobacco message awareness was not associated with smoking status or CPD. The high rate of smoking among SUD treatment patients is associated with daily exposure and high receptivity to tobacco advertisements and lower perception of health-related smoking risks. Tobacco control efforts should target this vulnerable population.

  16. Statistics of Epidemics in Networks by Passing Messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shrestha, Munik Kumar

    Epidemic processes are common out-of-equilibrium phenomena of broad interdisciplinary interest. In this thesis, we show how message-passing approach can be a helpful tool for simulating epidemic models in disordered medium like networks, and in particular for estimating the probability that a given node will become infectious at a particular time. The sort of dynamics we consider are stochastic, where randomness can arise from the stochastic events or from the randomness of network structures. As in belief propagation, variables or messages in message-passing approach are defined on the directed edges of a network. However, unlike belief propagation, where the posterior distributions are updated according to Bayes' rule, in message-passing approach we write differential equations for the messages over time. It takes correlations between neighboring nodes into account while preventing causal signals from backtracking to their immediate source, and thus avoids "echo chamber effects" where a pair of adjacent nodes each amplify the probability that the other is infectious. In our first results, we develop a message-passing approach to threshold models of behavior popular in sociology. These are models, first proposed by Granovetter, where individuals have to hear about a trend or behavior from some number of neighbors before adopting it themselves. In thermodynamic limit of large random networks, we provide an exact analytic scheme while calculating the time dependence of the probabilities and thus learning about the whole dynamics of bootstrap percolation, which is a simple model known in statistical physics for exhibiting discontinuous phase transition. As an application, we apply a similar model to financial networks, studying when bankruptcies spread due to the sudden devaluation of shared assets in overlapping portfolios. We predict that although diversification may be good for individual institutions, it can create dangerous systemic effects, and as a result

  17. I spy with my little eye: cognitive processing of framed physical activity messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bassett-Gunter, Rebecca L; Latimer-Cheung, Amy E; Martin Ginis, Kathleen A; Castelhano, Monica

    2014-01-01

    The primary purpose was to examine the relative cognitive processing of gain-framed versus loss-framed physical activity messages following exposure to health risk information. Guided by the Extended Parallel Process Model, the secondary purpose was to examine the relation between dwell time, message recall, and message-relevant thoughts, as well as perceived risk, personal relevance, and fear arousal. Baseline measures of perceived risk for inactivity-related disease and health problems were administered to 77 undergraduate students. Participants read population-specific health risk information while wearing a head-mounted eye tracker, which measured dwell time on message content. Perceived risk was then reassessed. Next, participants read PA messages while the eye tracker measured dwell time on message content. Immediately following message exposure, recall, thought-listing, fear arousal, and personal relevance were measured. Dwell time on gain-framed messages was significantly greater than loss-framed messages. However, message recall and thought-listing did not differ by message frame. Dwell time was not significantly related to recall or thought-listing. Consistent with the Extended Parallel Process Model, fear arousal was significantly related to recall, thought-listing, and personal relevance. In conclusion, gain-framed messages may evoke greater dwell time than loss-famed messages. However, dwell time alone may be insufficient for evoking further cognitive processing.

  18. Microprocessorized message multiplexer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ejzman, S.; Guglielmi, L.; Jaeger, J.J.

    1980-07-01

    The 'Microprocessorized Message Multiplexer' is an elementary development tool used to create and debug the software of a target microprocessor (User Module: UM). It connects together four devices: a terminal, a cassette recorder, the target microprocessor and a host computer where macro and editor for the M 6800 microprocessor are resident [fr

  19. Effects of media messages on parent-child sexual communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, W Douglas; Davis, Kevin C; Silber Ashley, Olivia; Khan, Munziba

    2012-01-01

    Parent-child communication about sex is an important reproductive health outcome. Consistent, positive perceptions of communication by parents and children can promote behavioral outcomes such as delaying sexual debut and increasing contraceptive use. The authors investigated whether exposure to messages from the Parents Speak Up National Campaign (PSUNC), a social marketing campaign to promote increased parent-child sexual communication, led to increased children's self-reports of communication. Also, the authors examined whether PSUNC message exposure increased agreement about communication between parents and their children. In a randomized experimental design, the authors surveyed children of parents exposed and not exposed to PSUNC messages. Parents and children completed online instruments asking matched questions about sexual attitudes, beliefs, and communication. The authors matched 394 parents and children for analysis. They used ordinal logistic regression modeling and kappa statistics. Children of parents exposed to PSUNC messages were more likely to (a) report sexual communication than were those not exposed and (b) agree with their parents about extent and content. Parent-child pairs of the same gender, younger pairs, and non-White pairs were more likely to agree. Overall, PSUNC message exposure appears to have promoted more extensive sexual communication. Future research should examine behavioral mechanisms and message receptivity among subgroups of parents and children.

  20. Evidence of Premeditation in Skin Messages in Suicide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byard, Roger W

    2016-03-01

    A 34-year-old man with manic-depressive disorder was found dead sitting in a vehicle with a hose running from the exhaust pipe to the cabin. Numerous suicide notes were found inside his house. At autopsy, the decedent was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved windcheater. Upon removal of his clothes, a series of messages were also found written on the legs and forearm. Death was due to carbon monoxide toxicity with a blood level of carboxyhemoglobin of 84%. Skin messages represent a rare form of suicide note that may suggest that a suicide has not been planned, as the decedent may have used the nearest surface to write on. This case demonstrates, however, that skin messages may be more organized, being written prior to dressing and setting up the fatal episode. They also may compliment other notes and messages. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  1. Preferred Tone of Nutrition Text Messages for Young Adults: Focus Group Testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    Background Young adults are a particularly hard to reach group using conventional health promotion practices as they do not see nutrition messages as personally relevant to them. Text messaging (short message service, SMS) offers an innovative approach to reaching young adults to support and promote dietary behavior change. Objective The aim of this study was to develop and test tonal preferences for nutrition text messages among young adults using focus groups. Methods A total of 39 young adults aged 18-30 years residing in Perth, Western Australia participated in four focus groups. Participants briefly discussed their perception of healthy eating and their responses to messages about increasing fruit and vegetables, and reducing “junk food” and alcohol intake. They ranked their preference for 15 nutrition messages across 3 dietary behaviors (fruit and vegetables, junk food, and alcohol) with 5 different message tones (authoritative, empathetic, generation Y, solutions, and substitutions) and identified the messages most likely to persuade young adults to change their diet. A 5-point ranking of the nutrition messages was from the most likely to least likely to persuade (1-5). The focus groups were conducted by a trained facilitator and observer and were recorded. Data driven content analysis was used to explore themes. Tonal preferences and potential motivators were collated and frequencies presented. Results Participants ranked offering substitutes (29%, 11/39) and using empathy (22%, 9/39) as the most persuasive message techniques in improving diets of young adults, with low responses for Generation Y (17%, 7/39), solutions (17%, 7/39), and authoritative (15%, 6/39) tones. Females were more likely to consider substitution messages persuasive (35%, 7/20) compared with males (22%, 4/19). A greater proportion of males compared with females considered authoritative messages persuasive: (22%, 4/19) compared with (7%, 1/20). There is a strong preference for a

  2. Data communications in a parallel active messaging interface of a parallel computer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Kristan D; Faraj, Daniel A

    2013-07-09

    Algorithm selection for data communications in a parallel active messaging interface (`PAMI`) of a parallel computer, the PAMI composed of data communications endpoints, each endpoint including specifications of a client, a context, and a task, endpoints coupled for data communications through the PAMI, including associating in the PAMI data communications algorithms and ranges of message sizes so that each algorithm is associated with a separate range of message sizes; receiving in an origin endpoint of the PAMI a data communications instruction, the instruction specifying transmission of a data communications message from the origin endpoint to a target endpoint, the data communications message characterized by a message size; selecting, from among the associated algorithms and ranges, a data communications algorithm in dependence upon the message size; and transmitting, according to the selected data communications algorithm from the origin endpoint to the target endpoint, the data communications message.

  3. Mobile phone messaging for facilitating self-management of long-term illnesses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Jongh, Thyra; Gurol-Urganci, Ipek; Vodopivec-Jamsek, Vlasta; Car, Josip; Atun, Rifat

    2012-12-12

    Long-term illnesses affect a significant proportion of the population in developed and developing countries. Mobile phone messaging applications, such as Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS), may present convenient, cost-effective ways of supporting self-management and improving patients' self-efficacy skills through, for instance, medication reminders, therapy adjustments or supportive messages. To assess the effects of mobile phone messaging applications designed to facilitate self-management of long-term illnesses, in terms of impact on health outcomes and patients' capacity to self-manage their condition. Secondary objectives include assessment of: user evaluation of the intervention; health service utilisation and costs; and possible risks and harms associated with the intervention. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL,The Cochrane Library 2009, Issue 2), MEDLINE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), EMBASE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), PsycINFO (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), CINAHL (EbscoHOST) (January 1993 to June 2009), LILACS (January 1993 to June 2009) and African Health Anthology (January 1993 to June 2009).We also reviewed grey literature (including trial registers) and reference lists of articles. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-randomised controlled trials (QRCTs), controlled before-after (CBA) studies, or interrupted time series (ITS) studies with at least three time points before and after the intervention. We selected only studies where it was possible to assess the effects of mobile phone messaging independent of other technologies or interventions. Two review authors independently assessed all studies against the inclusion criteria, with any disagreements resolved by a third review author. Study design features, characteristics of target populations, interventions and controls, and results data were extracted by two review authors and confirmed by

  4. Subjective knowledge and fear appeal effectiveness: implications for message design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nabi, Robin L; Roskos-Ewoldsen, David; Carpentier, Francesca Dillman

    2008-01-01

    This research investigates the role of perceived health knowledge on the effectiveness of fear-based persuasive appeals. Undergraduates (N = 263) read a strong fear, weak fear, or efficacy-only message encouraging breast or testicular self-examination. As expected, results indicated that men high in subjective knowledge were less reactant and more persuaded by the efficacy-only message whereas those low in subjective knowledge did not evidence this pattern. Contrary to expectation, women high in subjective knowledge had comparable reactions to each of the 3 messages. Implications for fear appeal theory and message design are discussed.

  5. Real-time mobile customer short message system design and implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Qirui; Sun, Fang

    To expand the current mobile phone short message service, and to make the contact between schools, teachers, parents and feedback of the modern school office system more timely and conveniently, designed and developed the Short Message System based on the Linux platform. The state-of-the-art principles and designed proposals in the Short Message System based on the Linux platform are introduced. Finally we propose an optimized secure access authentication method. At present, many schools,vbusinesses and research institutions ratify the promotion and application the messaging system gradually, which has shown benign market prospects.

  6. Electronic messaging and communication with living kidney donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruck, Jessica M; Zhou, Sheng; Thomas, Alvin G; Cramm, Shannon L; Massie, Allan B; Montgomery, John R; Berger, Jonathan C; Henderson, Macey L; Segev, Dorry L

    2018-02-01

    New regulations require living kidney donor (LKD) follow-up for 2 years, but donor retention remains poor. Electronic communication (eg, text messaging and e-mail) might improve donor retention. To explore the possible impact of electronic communication, we recruited LKDs to participate in an exploratory study of communication via telephone, e-mail, or text messaging postdonation; communication through this study was purely optional and did not replace standard follow-up. Of 69 LKDs recruited, 3% requested telephone call, 52% e-mail, and 45% text messaging. Telephone response rate was 0%; these LKDs were subsequently excluded from analysis. Overall response rates with e-mail or text messaging at 1 week, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years were 94%, 87%, 81%, 72%, and 72%. Lower response rates were seen in African Americans, even after adjusting for age, sex, and contact method (incidence rate ratio (IRR) nonresponse 2.07 5.81 16.36 , P = .001). Text messaging had higher response rates than e-mail (IRR nonresponse 0.11 0.28 0.71 , P = .007). Rates of nonresponse were similar by sex (IRR 0.68, P = .4) and age (IRR 1.00, P > .9). In summary, LKDs strongly preferred electronic messaging over telephone and were highly responsive 2 years postdonation, even in this nonrequired, nonincentivized exploratory research study. These electronic communication tools can be automated and may improve regulatory compliance and postdonation care. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Songs and storytelling: bringing health messages to life in Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silver, D

    2001-01-01

    In villages without doctors and hospitals in the remote eastern Ugandan district of Pallisa, traditional birth attendants and mothers are solving the most serious health problems through the teaching power of songs and stories. The village's rich oral tradition was enlisted as the principal means not only for transmitting these important health messages, but also for supporting their practice throughout the community. Utilizing existing community traditions such as songs and storytelling offers culturally appropriate ways of enhancing the communications component of the health care system to make it serve the poor majority in a readily comprehensible, credible, affordable, and accessible form. These non-formal active-learning methods are highly compatible with and promotive of the general principles of primary health care, especially for their empowering, participatory and sustainable qualities. It is only a natural extension for health educators to more fully employ the use of the time-honored oral traditions of songs and storytelling as a vehicle for communicating health messages. For students in the health professions, awareness of these proven principles for engaging people at the local levels will contribute to more effective training, strategic program design, and advocacy.

  8. Short message service or disService: issues with text messaging in a complex medical environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Robert; Appel, Lora; Morra, Dante; Lo, Vivian; Kitto, Simon; Quan, Sherman

    2014-04-01

    Hospitals today are experiencing major changes in their clinical communication workflows as conventional numeric paging and face-to-face verbal conversations are being replaced by computer mediated communication systems. In this paper, we highlight the importance of understanding this transition and discuss some of the impacts that may emerge when verbal clinical conversations are replaced by short text messages. In-depth interviews (n=108) and non-participatory observation sessions (n=260h) were conducted on the General Internal Medicine wards at five academic teaching hospitals in Toronto, Canada. From our analysis of the qualitative data, we identified two major themes. De-contextualization of complex issues led to an increase in misinterpretation and an increase in back and forth messaging for clarification. Depersonalization of communication was due to less verbal conversations and face-to-face interactions and led to a negative impact on work relationships. Text-based communication in hospital settings led to the oversimplification of messages and the depersonalization of communication. It is important to recognize and understand these unintended consequences of new technology to avoid the negative impacts to patient care and work relationships. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. The communication effects of audience situation and message framing on smoking cessation

    OpenAIRE

    Yang, Dong-jenn

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the communication effects of smoking cessation by using message framing (positive messages/negative messages) and audience situation (smoker/nonsmoker and high/low self-efficacy). The study used 207 valid homogeneous subjects and a between-subject experiment method was employed for analyses. The results showed that the communication effects were influenced by the interactive effects of message framing and audience situation, and for smokers, positive messages have a more s...

  10. Approved reference and testing materials for use in Nuclear Waste Management Research and Development Programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mellinger, G.B.; Daniel, J.L.

    1984-12-01

    This document, addressed to members of the waste management research and development community summarizes reference and testing materials available from the Nuclear Waste Materials Characterization Center (MCC). These materials are furnished under the MCC's charter to distribute reference materials essential for quantitative evaluation of nuclear waste package materials under development in the US. Reference materials with known behavior in various standard waste management related tests are needed to ensure that individual testing programs are correctly performing those tests. Approved testing materials are provided to assist the projects in assembling materials data base of defensible accuracy and precision. This is the second issue of this publication. Eight new Approved Testing Materials are listed, and Spent Fuel is included as a separate section of Standard Materials because of its increasing importance as a potential repository storage form. A summary of current characterization information is provided for each material listed. Future issues will provide updates of the characterization status of the materials presented in this issue, and information about new standard materials as they are acquired. 7 references, 1 figure, 19 tables

  11. Why do GPs hesitate to refer diabetes patients to a self-management education program: a qualitative study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    De Maeseneer Jan

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Self-management support is seen as a cornerstone of good diabetes care and many countries are currently engaged in initiatives to integrate self-management support in primary care. Concerning the organisation of these programs, evidence is growing that engagement of health care professionals, in particular of GPs, is critical for successful application. This paper reports on a study exploring why a substantial number of GPs was (initially reluctant to refer patients to a self-management education program in Belgium. Methods Qualitative analysis of semi-structured face-to-face interviews with a purposive sample of 20 GPs who were not regular users of the service. The Greenhalgh diffusion of innovation framework was used as background and organising framework. Results Several barriers, linked to different components of the Greenhalgh model, emerged from the interview data. One of the most striking ones was the limited readiness for innovation among GPs. Feelings of fear of further fragmentation of diabetes care and frustration and insecurity regarding their own role in diabetes care prevented them from engaging in the innovation process. GPs needed time to be reassured that the program respects their role and has an added value to usual care. Once GPs considered referring patients, it was not clear enough which of their patients would benefit from the program. Some GPs expressed the need for training in motivational skills, so that they could better motivate their patients to participate. A practical but often mentioned barrier was the distance to the centre where the program was delivered. Further, uncertainty about continuity interfered with the uptake of the offer. Conclusions The study results contribute to a better understanding of the reasons why GPs hesitate to refer patients to a self-management education program. First of all, the role of GPs and other health care providers in diabetes care needs to be clarified before

  12. Why do GPs hesitate to refer diabetes patients to a self-management education program: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunaert, Patricia; Vandekerckhove, Marie; Bastiaens, Hilde; Feyen, Luc; Bussche, Piet Vanden; De Maeseneer, Jan; De Sutter, An; Willems, Sara

    2011-09-08

    Self-management support is seen as a cornerstone of good diabetes care and many countries are currently engaged in initiatives to integrate self-management support in primary care. Concerning the organisation of these programs, evidence is growing that engagement of health care professionals, in particular of GPs, is critical for successful application. This paper reports on a study exploring why a substantial number of GPs was (initially) reluctant to refer patients to a self-management education program in Belgium. Qualitative analysis of semi-structured face-to-face interviews with a purposive sample of 20 GPs who were not regular users of the service. The Greenhalgh diffusion of innovation framework was used as background and organising framework. Several barriers, linked to different components of the Greenhalgh model, emerged from the interview data. One of the most striking ones was the limited readiness for innovation among GPs. Feelings of fear of further fragmentation of diabetes care and frustration and insecurity regarding their own role in diabetes care prevented them from engaging in the innovation process. GPs needed time to be reassured that the program respects their role and has an added value to usual care. Once GPs considered referring patients, it was not clear enough which of their patients would benefit from the program. Some GPs expressed the need for training in motivational skills, so that they could better motivate their patients to participate. A practical but often mentioned barrier was the distance to the centre where the program was delivered. Further, uncertainty about continuity interfered with the uptake of the offer. The study results contribute to a better understanding of the reasons why GPs hesitate to refer patients to a self-management education program. First of all, the role of GPs and other health care providers in diabetes care needs to be clarified before introducing new functions. Feelings of security and a basic trust

  13. Addressing medication nonadherence by mobile phone: development and delivery of tailored messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gatwood, Justin; Balkrishnan, Rajesh; Erickson, Steven R; An, Lawrence C; Piette, John D; Farris, Karen B

    2014-01-01

    Medication nonadherence remains a significant public health problem, and efforts to improve adherence have shown only limited impact. The tailoring of messages has become a popular method of developing communication to influence specific health-related behaviors but the development and impact of tailored text messages on medication use is poorly understood. The aim of this paper is to describe an approach to developing theory-based tailored messages for delivery via mobile phone to improve medication adherence among patients with diabetes. Kreuter's five-step tailoring process was followed to create tailored messages for mobile phone delivery. Two focus group sessions, using input from 11 people, and expert review of message content were used to adapt the survey instrument on which the messages were tailored and edit the developed messages for the target population. Following established tailoring methods a library of 168 theory-driven and 128 medication-specific tailored messages were developed and formatted for automated delivery to mobile phones. Concepts from the Health Belief Model and Self-Determination Theory were used to craft the messages and an algorithm was applied to determine the order and timing of messages with the aim of progressively influencing disease and treatment-related beliefs driving adherence to diabetes medication. The process described may be applied to future investigations aiming to improve medication adherence in patients with diabetes and the effectiveness of the current messages will be tested in a planned analysis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Can Text Messages Increase Empathy and Prosocial Behavior? The Development and Initial Validation of Text to Connect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konrath, Sara; Falk, Emily; Fuhrel-Forbis, Andrea; Liu, Mary; Swain, James; Tolman, Richard; Cunningham, Rebecca; Walton, Maureen

    2015-01-01

    To what extent can simple mental exercises cause shifts in empathic habits? Can we use mobile technology to make people more empathic? It may depend on how empathy is measured. Scholars have identified a number of different facets and correlates of empathy. This study is among the first to take a comprehensive, multidimensional approach to empathy to determine how empathy training could affect these different facets and correlates. In doing so, we can learn more about empathy and its multifaceted nature. Participants (N = 90) were randomly assigned to receive either an empathy-building text message program (Text to Connect) or one of two control conditions (active versus passive). Respondents completed measures of dispositional empathy (i.e. self-perceptions of being an empathic person), affective empathy (i.e. motivations to help, immediate feelings of empathic concern), and prosocial behavior (i.e. self-reports and observer-reports) at baseline, and then again after the 14 day intervention period. We found that empathy-building messages increased affective indicators of empathy and prosocial behaviors, but actually decreased self-perceptions of empathy, relative to control messages. Although the brief text messaging intervention did not consistently impact empathy-related personality traits, it holds promise for the use of mobile technology for changing empathic motivations and behaviors. PMID:26356504

  15. Explaining the Efficacy of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV Prevention: A Qualitative Study of Message Framing and Messaging Preferences Among US Men Who have Sex with Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Underhill, Kristen; Morrow, Kathleen M; Colleran, Christopher; Calabrese, Sarah K; Operario, Don; Salovey, Peter; Mayer, Kenneth H

    2016-07-01

    We investigated message comprehension and message framing preferences for communicating about PrEP efficacy with US MSM. We conducted eight focus groups (n = 38) and n = 56 individual interviews with MSM in Providence, RI. Facilitators probed comprehension, credibility, and acceptability of efficacy messages, including percentages, non-numerical paraphrases, efficacy ranges versus point estimates, and success- versus failure-framed messages. Our findings indicated a range of comprehension and operational understandings of efficacy messages. Participants tended to prefer percentage-based and success-framed messages, although preferences varied for communicating about efficacy using a single percentage versus a range. Participants reported uncertainty about how to interpret numerical estimates, and many questioned whether trial results would predict personal effectiveness. These results suggest that providers and researchers implementing PrEP may face challenges in communicating with users about efficacy. Efforts to educate MSM about PrEP should incorporate percentage-based information, and message framing decisions may influence message credibility and overall PrEP acceptability.

  16. An exploration of appearance and health messages present in pregnancy magazines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boepple, Leah; Thompson, J Kevin

    2017-12-01

    This study explored appearance-related images and messages present in pregnancy magazines (e.g. Fit Pregnancy, Pregnancy & Newborn, and Pregnancy Magazine). A substantial portion of advertisements and articles promoted appearance-related products or products for postpartum weight loss. Health messages and messages related to diet and exercise were also present. Images also sexualized pregnant women's bodies. Appearance-related messages aimed toward pregnant women may be problematic and may contribute to body dissatisfaction in these women.

  17. DIRECTIONAL OPPORTUNISTIC MECHANISM IN CLUSTER MESSAGE CRITICALITY LEVEL BASED ZIGBEE ROUTING

    OpenAIRE

    B.Rajeshkanna *1, Dr.M.Anitha 2

    2018-01-01

    The cluster message criticality level based zigbee routing(CMCLZOR) has been proposed for routing the cluster messages in wireless smart energy home area networks. It employs zigbee opportunistic shortcut tree routing(ZOSTR) and AODV individually for routing normal messages and highly critical messages respectively. ZOSTR allows the receiving nodes to compete for forwarding a packet with the priority of left-over hops rather than stating single next hop node like unicast protocols. Since it h...

  18. Environmental Guidance Program Reference Book: Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act. Revision 3

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1988-01-31

    Two laws governing activities in the marine environment are considered in this Reference Book. The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA, P.L. 92-532) regulates ocean dumping of waste, provides for a research program on ocean dumping, and provides for the designation and regulation of marine sanctuaries. The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA, P.L. 92-522) establishes a federal program to protect and manage marine mammals. The Fishery Conservation and Management Act (FCMA, P.L. 94-265) establishes a program to regulate marine fisheries resources and commercial marine fishermen. Because the Department of Energy (DOE) is not engaged in any activities that could be classified as fishing under FCMA, this Act and its regulations have no implications for the DOE; therefore, no further consideration of this Act is given within this Reference Book. The requirements of the MPRSA and the MMPA are discussed in terms of their implications for the DOE.

  19. Persuasion with Unintelligible Messages: A Cognitive Response Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padgett, Vernon R.; Brock, Timothy C.

    Theories of persuasion have long assumed a process which includes comprehension of the message by the recipient. Several hundred undergraduates at Ohio State University and Marshall University (Ohio) participated in six experiments examining persuasion and the use of unintelligible messages. Subjects in individual cubicles of a university language…

  20. Safety Assessment for LILW Near-Surface Disposal Facility Using the IAEA Reference Model and MASCOT Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hyun Joo; Park, Joo Wan; Kim, Chang Lak

    2002-01-01

    A reference scenario of vault safety case prepared by the IAEA for the near-surface disposal facility of low-and intermediate-level radioactive wastes is assessed with the MASCOT program. The appropriate conceptual models for the MASCOT implementation is developed. An assessment of groundwater pathway through a drinking well as a geosphere-biosphere interface is performed first, then biosphere pathway is analysed to estimate the radiological consequences of the disposed radionuclides based on compartment modeling approach. The validity of conceptual modeling for the reference scenario is investigated where possible comparing to the results generated by the other assessment. The result of this study shows that the typical conceptual model for groundwater pathway represented by the compartment model can be satisfactorily used for safety assessment of the entire disposal system in a consistent way. It is also shown that safety assessment of a disposal facility considering complex and various pathways would be possible by the MASCOT program

  1. The Agita São Paulo Program as a model for using physical activity to promote health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Mahecha Matsudo

    2003-10-01

    Full Text Available The "Agita São Paulo" Program applies a multilevel intervention approach to promoting physical activity among the 37 million inhabitants of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The verb "agita" means to move the body, but the term also suggests changing the way of thinking and becoming a more active citizen. Since being launched in 1996, the Program has been widely copied throughout Brazil and in other countries of Latin America, and the World Health Organization has characterized it as a model for other developing countries. The Program aims to disseminate a clear and simple message to the community as well as establish partnerships with governmental and nongovernmental organizations and other entities. The Agita São Paulo message encourages people to adopt an active lifestyle by accumulating at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity per day, on most days of the week. The Program has three main target groups: students, workers, and the elderly. The Program organizes "mega-events" that simultaneously reach and involve large numbers of people, and it also conducts ongoing activities with institutions that become partners of the Program. Intervention studies that the Program has carried out on specific, small groups have found both changes in behavior and an increasing awareness of the Program's name and message. In addition, surveys have found that a growing number of persons in the state of São Paulo have become aware of the Program and its message and have changed their physical activity level. A number of the special features of and lessons learned from the Agita São Paulo Program may have contributed to its success, including: a multisectorial approach; broad use of partnerships; the inclusion principle (avoiding messages or attitudes that might exclude any social group; the scientific basis for all the Program activities; the extensive free media coverage that the Program has received; a "two-hats" approach, using either governmental

  2. The Agita São Paulo Program as a model for using physical activity to promote health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matsudo Sandra Mahecha

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The "Agita São Paulo" Program applies a multilevel intervention approach to promoting physical activity among the 37 million inhabitants of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The verb "agita" means to move the body, but the term also suggests changing the way of thinking and becoming a more active citizen. Since being launched in 1996, the Program has been widely copied throughout Brazil and in other countries of Latin America, and the World Health Organization has characterized it as a model for other developing countries. The Program aims to disseminate a clear and simple message to the community as well as establish partnerships with governmental and nongovernmental organizations and other entities. The Agita São Paulo message encourages people to adopt an active lifestyle by accumulating at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity per day, on most days of the week. The Program has three main target groups: students, workers, and the elderly. The Program organizes "mega-events" that simultaneously reach and involve large numbers of people, and it also conducts ongoing activities with institutions that become partners of the Program. Intervention studies that the Program has carried out on specific, small groups have found both changes in behavior and an increasing awareness of the Program's name and message. In addition, surveys have found that a growing number of persons in the state of São Paulo have become aware of the Program and its message and have changed their physical activity level. A number of the special features of and lessons learned from the Agita São Paulo Program may have contributed to its success, including: a multisectorial approach; broad use of partnerships; the inclusion principle (avoiding messages or attitudes that might exclude any social group; the scientific basis for all the Program activities; the extensive free media coverage that the Program has received; a "two-hats" approach, using either governmental

  3. Frequency of Risk-Related News Media Messages in 2016 Coverage of Zika Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sell, Tara Kirk; Watson, Crystal; Meyer, Diane; Kronk, Marissa; Ravi, Sanjana; Pechta, Laura E; Lubell, Keri M; Rose, Dale A

    2018-01-03

    News media plays a large role in the information the public receives during an infectious disease outbreak, and may influence public knowledge and perceptions of risk. This study analyzed and described the content of U.S. news media coverage of Zika virus and Zika response during 2016. A random selection of 800 Zika-related news stories from 25 print and television news sources was analyzed. The study examined 24 different messages that appeared in news media articles and characterized them using theories of risk perception as messages with characteristics that could increase perception of risk (risk-elevating messages; n = 14), messages that could decrease perception of risk (risk-minimizing messages; n = 8), or messages about travel or testing guidance (n = 2). Overall, 96% of news stories in the study sample contained at least one or more risk-elevating message(s) and 61% contained risk-minimizing message(s). The frequency of many messages changed after local transmission was confirmed in Florida, and differed between sources in locations with or without local transmission in 2016. Forty percent of news stories included messages about negative potential outcomes of Zika virus infection without mentioning ways to reduce risk. Findings from this study may help inform current federal, state, and local Zika responses by offering a detailed analysis of how news media are covering the outbreak and response activities as well as identifying specific messages appearing more or less frequently than intended. Findings identifying the types of messages that require greater emphasis may also assist public health communicators in responding more effectively to future outbreaks. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

  4. Nuclear fuel cycle modelling using MESSAGE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guiying Zhang; Dongsheng Niu; Guoliang Xu; Hui Zhang; Jue Li; Lei Cao; Zeqin Guo; Zhichao Wang; Yutong Qiu; Yanming Shi; Gaoliang Li

    2017-01-01

    In order to demonstrate the possibilities of application of MESSAGE tool for the modelling of a Nuclear Energy System at the national level, one of the possible open nuclear fuel cycle options based on thermal reactors has been modelled using MESSAGE. The steps of the front-end and back-end of nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear reactor operation are described. The optimal structure for Nuclear Power Development and optimal schedule for introducing various reactor technologies and fuel cycle options; infrastructure facilities, nuclear material flows and waste, investments and other costs are demonstrated. (author)

  5. Model-based development and testing of advertising messages

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bech-Larsen, Tino

    2000-01-01

    The implementation of valid and comprehensible guidelines for message development potentially enhances the effects of advertising messages and improves the possibility of measuring such effects. Moreover, such guidelines also have potential implications for the managerial communication processes...... (client-agency and intra-agency) involved in the development of advertising messages. The purpose of the study described in this paper is to compare the development and effects of two campaign proposals, with the common aim of increasing the consumption of apples among young Danes (18 to 35 years of age......-test with the target group (n=500), as well as interviews with the involved advertising agency and client2 staff....

  6. Preferred breast cancer message sources and frames amongst ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This descriptive study set out to verify the Kenyan women's knowledge of the various risk factors associated with breast cancer, their preferred framing of the breast cancer messages and their preferred channels for receiving those messages. Three hundred and ninety-three (393) women aged 20-64 years from the Kisumu ...

  7. Differential Effects of Message Framing on Obesity Policy Support Between Democrats and Republicans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Tae Kyoung; Kim, Hye Kyung

    2017-12-01

    This study tests whether gain- and loss-framed messages about establishing obesity-reducing policies have different persuasive effects on Republicans and Democrats. In a randomized between-subject experiment, participants (N = 384) read a message emphasizing either benefits to a society by establishing policies aimed to reduce obesity (i.e., gain-framed message) or costs to a society that fails to establish those policies (i.e., loss-framed message). Results indicated that Democrats perceived the gain-framed message as more persuasive than the loss-framed message and the perceived argument strength fully mediated the framing effect on Democrats' policy support; however, there was no framing effect on perceived argument strength among Republicans. On the other hand, the gain-framed message led Republicans to attribute the cause of obesity less to the individual level compared to the loss-framed message and the no-message condition. We observed no framing difference among Democrats on causal attributions. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

  8. Health message framing effects on attitudes, intentions, and behavior: a meta-analytic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Kristel M; Updegraff, John A

    2012-02-01

    Message framing has been an important focus in health communication research, yet prior meta-analyses found limited support for using framing to increase persuasiveness of health messages. This meta-analysis distinguished the outcomes used to assess the persuasive impact of framed messages (attitudes, intentions, or behavior). One hundred eighty-nine effect sizes were identified from 94 peer-reviewed, published studies which compared the persuasive impact of gain- and loss-framed messages. Gain-framed messages were more likely than loss-framed messages to encourage prevention behaviors (r = 0.083, p = 0.002), particularly for skin cancer prevention, smoking cessation, and physical activity. No effect of framing was found when persuasion was assessed by attitudes/intentions or among studies encouraging detection. Gain-framed messages appear to be more effective than loss-framed messages in promoting prevention behaviors. Research should examine the contexts in which loss-framed messages are most effective, and the processes that mediate the effects of framing on behavior.

  9. Automated Classification of Consumer Health Information Needs in Patient Portal Messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cronin, Robert M; Fabbri, Daniel; Denny, Joshua C; Jackson, Gretchen Purcell

    2015-01-01

    Patients have diverse health information needs, and secure messaging through patient portals is an emerging means by which such needs are expressed and met. As patient portal adoption increases, growing volumes of secure messages may burden healthcare providers. Automated classification could expedite portal message triage and answering. We created four automated classifiers based on word content and natural language processing techniques to identify health information needs in 1000 patient-generated portal messages. Logistic regression and random forest classifiers detected single information needs well, with area under the curves of 0.804-0.914. A logistic regression classifier accurately found the set of needs within a message, with a Jaccard index of 0.859 (95% Confidence Interval: (0.847, 0.871)). Automated classification of consumer health information needs expressed in patient portal messages is feasible and may allow direct linking to relevant resources or creation of institutional resources for commonly expressed needs.

  10. Should women be "All About That Bass?": Diverse body-ideal messages and women's body image.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Betz, Diana E; Ramsey, Laura R

    2017-09-01

    While most body image research emphasizes the thin ideal, a wider variety of body-ideal messages pervade U.S. popular culture today, including those promoting athleticism or curves. Two studies assessed women's reactions to messages conveying thin, athletic, and curvy ideals, compared to a control message that emphasized accepting all body types. Study 1 (N=192) surveyed women's responses to these messages and found they perceived body-acceptance and athletic messages most favorably, curvy messages more negatively, and thin messages most negatively. Further, greatest liking within each message category came from women who identified with that body type. Study 2 (N=189) experimentally manipulated exposure to these messages, then measured self-objectification and body satisfaction. Messages promoting a body-ideal caused more self-objectification than body-acceptance messages. Also, athletic messages caused more body dissatisfaction than thin messages. Together, these findings reveal the complexity of women's responses to diverse messages they receive about ideal bodies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Two-way text messaging: an interactive mobile learning environment in higher education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H.K. Salinda Premadasa

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Short messaging service (SMS is perhaps the most popular mobile technology prevalent among students in higher education due to its ubiquitous nature and the capability of two-way communication. However, a major limitation in two-way text messaging is sending back a part of received data with the reply message. This limitation results in users of a mobile learning environment being unable to reply back to the correct destination. This article presents a two-way text messaging system that can be integrated into a learning management system (LMS to provide an interactive learning experience to the user community. Initially, a database is integrated into the LMS that holds message information such as recipient's phone number, message body and user data header. A specific port associated with the SMS is used to conceal and exchange data of a particular course unit. Subsequently, software in the student's mobile device captures this message and sends back the reply message to the appropriate course unit allowing both teachers and students to view messages sent and replies received pertaining to a particular course. Results indicate the educational impact of the proposed system in improving the learning environment and benefits it offers to the community in a campus-wide implementation.

  12. Effects of E-cigarette Advertising Messages and Cues on Cessation Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jo, Catherine L; Golden, Shelley D; Noar, Seth M; Rini, Christine; Ribisl, Kurt M

    2018-01-01

    We examined effects of e-cigarette ad messages and visual cues on outcomes related to combustible cigarette smoking cessation: smoking cessation intention, smoking urges, and immediate smoking behavior. US adult smokers (N = 3293) were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk and randomized to condition in a 3 (message: e-cigarette use anywhere, harm reduction, control) × 2 (e-cigarette cue presence or absence) between-subjects experiment. Stimuli were print ads for cigarette-like e-cigarettes ("cigalikes") that were manipulated for the experimental conditions. We conducted ANOVA and logistic regression analyses to investigate effects of the manipulations. Message effects on cessation intention and smoking urges were not statistically significant. There was no evidence of cue effects or message × cue interactions across outcomes. Contrary to expectations, e-cigarette use anywhere and harm reduction messages were associated with lower odds of immediate smoking than the control message (AOR EUA = 0.75, 95%CI = 0.58, 0.97, p = .026; AOR HR = 0.72, 95%CI = 0.55, 0.93, p = .013). E-cigarette use anywhere and harm reduction messages may encourage smoking cessation, given the observed reduction in immediate smoking. E-cigarette cues may not influence smoking cessation outcomes. Future studies should investigate whether message effects are a result of smokers believing e-cigarettes to be effective cessation aids.

  13. Impact of nutrition messages on children's food choice: pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bannon, Katie; Schwartz, Marlene B

    2006-03-01

    This pilot study tested the influence of nutrition message framing on snack choice among kindergarteners. Three classrooms were randomly assigned to watch one of the following 60s videos: (a) a gain-framed nutrition message (i.e. the positive benefits of eating apples) (n=14); (b) a loss-framed message (i.e. the negative consequences of not eating apples) (n=18); or (c) a control scene (children playing a game) (n=18). Following this, the children were offered a choice between animal crackers and an apple for their snack. Among the children who saw one of the nutrition message videos, 56% chose apples rather than animal crackers; in the control condition only 33% chose apples. This difference was statistically significant (chi2=7.56, p<0.01). These results suggest that videos containing nutritional messages may have a positive influence on children's short-term food choices.

  14. Diffusion of Messages from an Electronic Cigarette Brand to Potential Users through Twitter.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kar-Hai Chu

    Full Text Available This study explores the presence and actions of an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette brand, Blu, on Twitter to observe how marketing messages are sent and diffused through the retweet (i.e., message forwarding functionality. Retweet networks enable messages to reach additional Twitter users beyond the sender's local network. We follow messages from their origin through multiple retweets to identify which messages have more reach, and the different users who are exposed.We collected three months of publicly available data from Twitter. A combination of techniques in social network analysis and content analysis were applied to determine the various networks of users who are exposed to e-cigarette messages and how the retweet network can affect which messages spread.The Blu retweet network expanded during the study period. Analysis of user profiles combined with network cluster analysis showed that messages of certain topics were only circulated within a community of e-cigarette supporters, while other topics spread further, reaching more general Twitter users who may not support or use e-cigarettes.Retweet networks can serve as proxy filters for marketing messages, as Twitter users decide which messages they will continue to diffuse among their followers. As certain e-cigarette messages extend beyond their point of origin, the audience being exposed expands beyond the e-cigarette community. Potential implications for health education campaigns include utilizing Twitter and targeting important gatekeepers or hubs that would maximize message diffusion.

  15. Testing the effect of text messaging cues to promote physical activity habits: a worksite-based exploratory intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fournier, M; d'Arripe-Longueville, F; Radel, R

    2017-10-01

    This study aims to test the efficacy of text messaging cues (SMS) to promote physical activity (PA) habit formation in the workplace. Employees (N = 49; 28 females and 21 males, Mage = 47.5 ± 8.29 years) were randomized into two parallel groups: a PA group enrolled in a 28-week supervised PA program and a PA+SMS group enrolled in the same PA program with text messaging cues received before their PA sessions. The exercise habit was assessed every week from self-reports on an online application. PA maintenance and several physical fitness measures were also assessed prior to and after the intervention to evaluate its general impact. Mixed model analysis of the 603 observations indicated a small but significant effect of the SMS cues on the speed at which participants engaged in PA behaviors, as the significant interaction effect revealed that the slope of the exercise habit over time was slightly steeper in the PA+SMS group (B = 0.0462, P = 0.0001) than in the PA group (B = 0.0216, P = 0.01). SMS delivery had a marginal effect on the maintenance of PA behaviors 1 year after the intervention. The results suggest that text messaging can help to form PA habits at the workplace and might facilitate long-term maintenance of PA behaviors. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Increasing available FIFO space to prevent messaging queue deadlocks in a DMA environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blocksome, Michael A [Rochester, MN; Chen, Dong [Croton On Hudson, NY; Gooding, Thomas [Rochester, MN; Heidelberger, Philip [Cortlandt Manor, NY; Parker, Jeff [Rochester, MN

    2012-02-07

    Embodiments of the invention may be used to manage message queues in a parallel computing environment to prevent message queue deadlock. A direct memory access controller of a compute node may determine when a messaging queue is full. In response, the DMA may generate an interrupt. An interrupt handler may stop the DMA and swap all descriptors from the full messaging queue into a larger queue (or enlarge the original queue). The interrupt handler then restarts the DMA. Alternatively, the interrupt handler stops the DMA, allocates a memory block to hold queue data, and then moves descriptors from the full messaging queue into the allocated memory block. The interrupt handler then restarts the DMA. During a normal messaging advance cycle, a messaging manager attempts to inject the descriptors in the memory block into other messaging queues until the descriptors have all been processed.

  17. 75 FR 64692 - Green Technology Pilot Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Patent and Trademark Office Green Technology Pilot Program ACTION: Proposed...- 0062 Green Technology Pilot Program comment'' in the subject line of the message. Fax: 571-273-0112... United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented a pilot program on December 8, 2009, that...

  18. Broadcasting a message in a parallel computer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berg, Jeremy E [Rochester, MN; Faraj, Ahmad A [Rochester, MN

    2011-08-02

    Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for broadcasting a message in a parallel computer. The parallel computer includes a plurality of compute nodes connected together using a data communications network. The data communications network optimized for point to point data communications and is characterized by at least two dimensions. The compute nodes are organized into at least one operational group of compute nodes for collective parallel operations of the parallel computer. One compute node of the operational group assigned to be a logical root. Broadcasting a message in a parallel computer includes: establishing a Hamiltonian path along all of the compute nodes in at least one plane of the data communications network and in the operational group; and broadcasting, by the logical root to the remaining compute nodes, the logical root's message along the established Hamiltonian path.

  19. Analysis of Nuclear Option in Planning on Java Bali Integrated Electricity System By Using Message Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masdin; Sudi-Ariyanto; Nuryanti

    2004-01-01

    The growth of national energy demand in the future still become a great challenge for energy supply sector in Indonesia. The current energy supply strategy focuses the development and diversification of all energy options including fossil fuel, renewable energy and nuclear energy. Based on the Comprehensive Assessment Of Different Energy Source For Electricity Demand Study (CADES), final energy demand will grow from 4,065 PJ in 2000 to about 8,200 PJ in 2025. In this paper, the analysis of national energy system network will be divided into 2 regions, namely Java Bali region and Outside Java Bali region. Period of time horizon chosen in this study is 25 years (2000 to 2025). Simulation of network system configuration based on minimum objective function criteria was done by using MESSAGE (Model for Energy Supply Strategy Alternatives and their General Environmental Impacts) computer program. The focus of the analysis in this paper is simulation of electricity planning sector for Java Bali region. The result of simulation shows that for scenarios with no limitation on all fuel for power plant, scenario where fuel oil as constant supply for power plant and also configuration with limitation on gas supply, Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) does not appear during the study period using cost parameter set in this study. If there are limitations on gas supply and constrains of emissions (SO 2 and CO 2 ) due to coal combustion, NPP would become competitive and appear at about year 2015. (author)

  20. Automated Classification of Consumer Health Information Needs in Patient Portal Messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cronin, Robert M.; Fabbri, Daniel; Denny, Joshua C.; Jackson, Gretchen Purcell

    2015-01-01

    Patients have diverse health information needs, and secure messaging through patient portals is an emerging means by which such needs are expressed and met. As patient portal adoption increases, growing volumes of secure messages may burden healthcare providers. Automated classification could expedite portal message triage and answering. We created four automated classifiers based on word content and natural language processing techniques to identify health information needs in 1000 patient-generated portal messages. Logistic regression and random forest classifiers detected single information needs well, with area under the curves of 0.804–0.914. A logistic regression classifier accurately found the set of needs within a message, with a Jaccard index of 0.859 (95% Confidence Interval: (0.847, 0.871)). Automated classification of consumer health information needs expressed in patient portal messages is feasible and may allow direct linking to relevant resources or creation of institutional resources for commonly expressed needs. PMID:26958285

  1. DICE: An Object Oriented Programming Environment for Cooperative Engineering Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    1989-03-20

    environment called PARMENIDES /FRULEKIT; PARMENIDES /FRULEKIT supports programming in frames and rules and was developed in LISP at Carnegie-Mellon...the domain of building design and construction. The Blackboard in DICEY-BUILDER is represented as frames in PARMENIDES , while the KMs are implemented... PARMENIDES fo rart omat format d a b C /envelope BLACKBOAR D machine to machine (’BLACKBOARD l m message f il transfer message p read •d message format J

  2. Are Instant Messages Speech?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baron, Naomi S.

    Instant messaging (IM) is commonly viewed as a “spoken” medium, in light of its reputation for informality, non-standard spelling and punctuation, and use of lexical shortenings and emoticons. However, the actual nature of IM is an empirical issue that bears linguistic analysis.

  3. "Playing Hooky" Health Messages: Apprehension, Impression Management, and Deception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, Ashley; Murphy, Melissa; Blackburn, Kate

    2018-03-01

    This study investigates playing hooky in higher education classrooms and associates this behavior with students' communicative dispositions, instructor perceptions, and language use. We define "playing hooky" as students skipping class and explaining their absence to their instructor with deceptive health messages. The purpose of Study 1, an online survey (N = 177), is to further understand the characteristics of students who engage in this type of deceptive health communication. Study 1 measures communication apprehension and perceived instructor credibility in students who had played hooky from class and those who had not. Findings reveal that students who communicate playing hooky health messages (a) reported more instructor communication apprehension and (b) perceived the instructors with whom they had played hooky to be less credible. Study 2 uses facework theory and MEH analysis to reveal the different linguistic strategies students use to communicate (a) truthful health messages (N = 165) and (b) deceptive heath messages (N = 82) to their instructor following an absence. Results demonstrate that students' facework strategies are more geared toward saving instructors' negative face in the deceptive health message condition. Implications of both studies are offered.

  4. Interarrival times of message propagation on directed networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mihaljev, Tamara; de Arcangelis, Lucilla; Herrmann, Hans J.

    2011-08-01

    One of the challenges in fighting cybercrime is to understand the dynamics of message propagation on botnets, networks of infected computers used to send viruses, unsolicited commercial emails (SPAM) or denial of service attacks. We map this problem to the propagation of multiple random walkers on directed networks and we evaluate the interarrival time distribution between successive walkers arriving at a target. We show that the temporal organization of this process, which models information propagation on unstructured peer to peer networks, has the same features as SPAM reaching a single user. We study the behavior of the message interarrival time distribution on three different network topologies using two different rules for sending messages. In all networks the propagation is not a pure Poisson process. It shows universal features on Poissonian networks and a more complex behavior on scale free networks. Results open the possibility to indirectly learn about the process of sending messages on networks with unknown topologies, by studying interarrival times at any node of the network.

  5. Engaging Students in Active Learning: The Case for Personalized Multimedia Messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno, Roxana; Mayer, Richard E.

    2000-01-01

    Tests the hypothesis that personalized messages in a multimedia science lesson can promote deep learning by actively engaging students in the elaboration of the materials and reducing processing load. Instructional messages were presented in either a personalized style or a neutral style. Results reveal that personalized messages produced better…

  6. Mobile phone text messaging improves antihypertensive drug adherence in the community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varleta, Paola; Acevedo, Mónica; Akel, Carlos; Salinas, Claudia; Navarrete, Carlos; García, Ana; Echegoyen, Carolina; Rodriguez, Daniel; Gramusset, Lissette; Leon, Sandra; Cofré, Pedro; Retamal, Raquel; Romero, Katerine

    2017-12-01

    Antihypertensive drug adherence (ADA) is a mainstay in blood pressure control. Education through mobile phone short message system (SMS) text messaging could improve ADA. The authors conducted a randomized study involving 314 patients with hypertension with Text messaging intervention improved ADA (risk ratio, 1.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-1.6 [Ptext messaging resulted in an increase in reporting ADA in this hypertensive Latino population. This approach could become an effective tool to overcome poor medication adherence in the community. ©2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. The serial message-passing schedule for LDPC decoding algorithms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Mingshan; Liu, Shanshan; Zhou, Yuan; Jiang, Xue

    2015-12-01

    The conventional message-passing schedule for LDPC decoding algorithms is the so-called flooding schedule. It has the disadvantage that the updated messages cannot be used until next iteration, thus reducing the convergence speed . In this case, the Layered Decoding algorithm (LBP) based on serial message-passing schedule is proposed. In this paper the decoding principle of LBP algorithm is briefly introduced, and then proposed its two improved algorithms, the grouped serial decoding algorithm (Grouped LBP) and the semi-serial decoding algorithm .They can improve LBP algorithm's decoding speed while maintaining a good decoding performance.

  8. UNDERSTANDING OUR AUDIENCE: MESSAGES FROM CONCEPT TO COMPLETION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tharwat EL-Sakran

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The United Arab Emirates (UAE is a business hub for a great number of multinational and international companies that conduct daily communication activities in English, which has made efficient and audience sensitive written communication an essential requirement in today’s workplace. With computer-mediated communication (CMC taking over face-to-face communication, this has created an essential need for students to learn efficient and appropriate communication styles pertinent to communication via emails. This study presents a pragmatic approach for teaching the how of writing appropriate and effective professional email messages. Comparisons of pre-and post-teaching email messages point to significant improvements in the quality of post teaching email messages.

  9. Game Theoretic Analysis of Cooperative Message Forwarding in Opportunistic Mobile Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pal, Sujata; Saha, Barun Kumar; Misra, Sudip

    2017-12-01

    In cooperative communication, a set of players forming a coalition ensures communal behavior among themselves by helping one another in message forwarding. Opportunistic mobile networks (OMNs) require multihop communications for transferring messages from the source to the destination nodes. However, noncooperative nodes only forward their own messages to others, and drop others' messages upon receiving them. So, the message delivery overhead increases in OMN. For minimizing the overhead and maximizing the delivery rate, we propose two coalition-based cooperative schemes: 1) simple coalition formation (SCF) and 2) overlapping coalition formation (OCF) game. In SCF, we consider the presence of a central information center, whereas OCF is a fully distributed scheme. In SCF, coalitions are disjoint, whereas in OCF, a node may be the member of multiple coalitions at the same time. All nodes in a coalition help each other cooperatively by forwarding group messages to the intermediate or destination nodes. The goal of the nodes is to achieve high success rate in delivering messages. The proposed SCF scheme is cohesive, in which disjoint coalitions always combine to form grand coalition. In OCF, a node reaches a stable grand coalition when all the nodes of the OMN are members of overlapping coalition of the node. No node gains by deviating from the grand coalition in SCF and OCF. Simulation results based on synthetic mobility model and real-life traces show that the message delivery ratio of OMNs increase by up to 67%, as compared to the noncooperative scenario. Moreover, the message overhead ratio using the proposed coalition-based schemes reduces by up to about (1/3)rd of that of the noncooperative communication scheme.

  10. Error message recording and reporting in the SLC control system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spencer, N.; Bogart, J.; Phinney, N.; Thompson, K.

    1985-01-01

    Error or information messages that are signaled by control software either in the VAX host computer or the local microprocessor clusters are handled by a dedicated VAX process (PARANOIA). Messages are recorded on disk for further analysis and displayed at the appropriate console. Another VAX process (ERRLOG) can be used to sort, list and histogram various categories of messages. The functions performed by these processes and the algorithms used are discussed

  11. Error message recording and reporting in the SLC control system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spencer, N.; Bogart, J.; Phinney, N.; Thompson, K.

    1985-04-01

    Error or information messages that are signaled by control software either in the VAX host computer or the local microprocessor clusters are handled by a dedicated VAX process (PARANOIA). Messages are recorded on disk for further analysis and displayed at the appropriate console. Another VAX process (ERRLOG) can be used to sort, list and histogram various categories of messages. The functions performed by these processes and the algorithms used are discussed

  12. The BlackBerry Project: Capturing the Content of Adolescents' Text Messaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Underwood, Marion K.; Rosen, Lisa H.; More, David; Ehrenreich, Samuel E.; Gentsch, Joanna K.

    2012-01-01

    This article presents an innovative method for capturing the content of adolescents' electronic communication on handheld devices: text messaging, e-mail, and instant messaging. In an ongoing longitudinal study, adolescents were provided with BlackBerry devices with service plans paid for by the investigators, and use of text messaging was…

  13. GPS Ephemeris Message Broadcast Simulation

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Browne, Nathan J; Light, James J

    2005-01-01

    The warfighter constantly needs increased accuracy from GPS and a means to increasing this accuracy to the decimeter level is a broadcast ephemeris message containing GPS satellite orbit and clock corrections...

  14. Young children's perceptions of fire-safety messages: do framing and parental mediation matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borzekowski, Dina; Clearfield, Elizabeth; Rimal, Rajiv; Gielen, Andrea

    2014-01-01

    Media can deliver health and safety messages promoting child health and injury prevention. This study examined the effects of message framing and parental mediation on children's perceptions of fire-safety messages. Using a 2 × 3 randomized experimental design, this study considered both message framing (gain or loss) and parental mediation (no mediation/control, unscripted, or scripted) with 320 children who were 4 and 5 years of age. Children saw two messages (burn and smoke inhalation) embedded in a cartoon. Afterward, researchers assessed children's recall, understanding, and perceptions of self-efficacy and social norms. Children were more likely to recall the safety messages if they were older (burn: adjusted odds ration [AOR] = 2.74 and smoke: AOR = 2.58), and could recall the smoke inhalation message if they had unscripted mediation (AOR = 3.16). Message understanding was poor, with only about 50% of children choosing a correct behavior in a similar scenario. For the burn message, correct understanding was associated with gain-framing and scripted mediation (AOR = 3.22 and 5.77, respectively). Only the scripted mediation group was significantly associated with an increase in perceived social norms (burn: coefficient =.37 and smoke: coefficient =.55; P video-based messages to teach children safety behaviors needs to be enhanced.

  15. Promoting participation in physical activity using framed messages: an application of prospect theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latimer, Amy E; Rench, Tara A; Rivers, Susan E; Katulak, Nicole A; Materese, Stephanie A; Cadmus, Lisa; Hicks, Althea; Keany Hodorowski, Julie; Salovey, Peter

    2008-11-01

    Messages designed to motivate participation in physical activity usually emphasize the benefits of physical activity (gain-framed) as well as the costs of inactivity (loss-framed). The framing implications of prospect theory suggest that the effectiveness of these messages could be enhanced by providing gain-framed information only. We compared the effectiveness of gain-, loss-, and mixed-framed messages for promoting moderate to vigorous physical activity. Randomized trial. Sedentary, healthy callers to the US National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service (N=322) received gain-, loss-, or mixed-framed messages on three occasions (baseline, Week 1, and Week 5). Social cognitive variables and self-reported physical activity were assessed at baseline, Week 2, and Week 9. Separate regression analyses were conducted to examine message effects at each assessment point. At Week 2, gain- and mixed-framed messages resulted in stronger intentions and greater self-efficacy than loss-framed messages. At Week 9, gain-framed messages resulted in greater physical activity participation than loss- or mixed-framed messages. Social cognitive variables at Week 2 did not mediate the Week 9 framing effects on physical activity participation. Using gain-framed messages exclusively may be a means of increasing the efficacy of physical activity materials.

  16. Message from Fermilab Director

    CERN Multimedia

    2009-01-01

    With this issue’s message, Fermilab Director Pier Oddone opens a new series of occasional exchanges between CERN and other laboratories world-wide. As part of this exchange, CERN Director-General Rolf Heuer, wrote a message in Tuesday’s edition of Fermilab TodayPerspectivesNothing is more important for our worldwide particle physics community than successfully turning on the LHC later this year. The promise for great discoveries is huge, and many of the plans for our future depend on LHC results. Those of us planning national programmes in anticipation of data from the LHC face formidable challenges to develop future facilities that are complementary to the LHC, whatever the physics discoveries may be. At Fermilab, this has led us to move forcefully with a programme at the intensity frontier, where experiments with neutrinos and rare decays open a complementary window into nature. Our ultimate goal for a unified picture of nat...

  17. MESA: Message-Based System Analysis Using Runtime Verification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shafiei, Nastaran; Tkachuk, Oksana; Mehlitz, Peter

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we present a novel approach and framework for run-time verication of large, safety critical messaging systems. This work was motivated by verifying the System Wide Information Management (SWIM) project of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). SWIM provides live air traffic, site and weather data streams for the whole National Airspace System (NAS), which can easily amount to several hundred messages per second. Such safety critical systems cannot be instrumented, therefore, verification and monitoring has to happen using a nonintrusive approach, by connecting to a variety of network interfaces. Due to a large number of potential properties to check, the verification framework needs to support efficient formulation of properties with a suitable Domain Specific Language (DSL). Our approach is to utilize a distributed system that is geared towards connectivity and scalability and interface it at the message queue level to a powerful verification engine. We implemented our approach in the tool called MESA: Message-Based System Analysis, which leverages the open source projects RACE (Runtime for Airspace Concept Evaluation) and TraceContract. RACE is a platform for instantiating and running highly concurrent and distributed systems and enables connectivity to SWIM and scalability. TraceContract is a runtime verication tool that allows for checking traces against properties specified in a powerful DSL. We applied our approach to verify a SWIM service against several requirements.We found errors such as duplicate and out-of-order messages.

  18. Covert Channel Pada Aliran Data Websocket untuk Komunikasi Messaging XMPP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoga Dwitya Pramudita

    2015-07-01

    Abstract Instant Messaging communication services provide a variety of communication features that can be used by the user, such as text messaging (text messages both online and offline. One of the standard protocol that supports this service is XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol. XMPP communication using XML documents, making it vulnerable to passive attacks monitoring content of  communications. To overcome this drawback the solution is encrypted communications. The other solutions that try to offer in this research is the use of a covert channel to send hidden messages. In this research will create a browser based XMPP client application that is capable to deliver XMPP communication and also provide covert channel communication. XMPP communication can be built on a web-based application using WebSocket protocol. This protocol will exploit field masking-key to load the covert channel messages that is sent during the session XMPP communication takes place. From the test results, the client application is able to produce a covert channel communication with a data width of 3 bytes in each packet. The client application is also able to perform covert communication channel in a communication link with the condition of the probability of packet loss rate below 10%.   Keywords— WebSocket, XMPP, masking-key, Covert Channel, browser based application.

  19. The mixed message behind "Medication-Assisted Treatment" for substance use disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Sean M; Adinoff, Bryon

    2018-01-01

    The gap between treatment utilization and treatment need for substance use disorders (SUDs) remains a significant concern in our field. While the growing call to bridge this gap often takes the form of more treatment services and/or better integration of existing services, this perspective proposes that more effective labels for and transparent descriptions of existing services would also have a meaningful impact. Adopting the perspective of a consumer-based health-care model (wherein treatments and services are products and patients are consumers) allows us to consider how labels like Addiction-focused Medical Management, Medication-Assisted Treatment, Medication-Assisted Therapy, and others may actually be contributing to the underutilization problem rather than alleviating it. In this perspective, "Medication-Assisted Therapy" for opioid-use disorder (OUD) is singled out and discussed as inherently confusing, providing the message that pharmacotherapy for this disorder is a secondary treatment to other services which are generally regarded, in practice, as ancillary. That this mixed message is occurring amidst a nationwide "opioid epidemic" is a potential cause for concern and may actually serve to reinforce the longstanding, documented stigma against OUD pharmacotherapy. We recommend that referring to pharmacotherapy for SUD as simply "medication," as we do for other chronic medical disorders, will bring both clarity and precision to this effective treatment approach.

  20. Effects of persuasive message order on coping with breast cancer information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prentice-Dunn, S; Floyd, D L; Flournoy, J M

    2001-02-01

    The current study explored the impact of varying the order of message components on coping with breast cancer information. In a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design, threat information, coping information and order of information were manipulated. College students read persuasive essays that varied in emphasis on threat of developing breast cancer and effectiveness of breast self-examination (BSE) in averting the threat of cancer. Participants who read the high-threat message reported higher intentions to perform BSE, more rational problem solving and more hopelessness than did those who read a low-threat message. The coping information messages produced a similar pattern of results. In addition, those who read the high-coping message reported less fatalism than did participants who read the low-coping message. When threat information was presented first, the high-threat message led to less hopelessness and reliance on religious faith than when the coping information was presented first. These results demonstrate the threatening health information energizes one to act in both adaptive and maladaptive ways, and that coping information decreases the tendency to respond maladaptively to the health threat. They also suggest that the order of presentation of the information may affect the extent to which people respond adaptively.

  1. Age Differences in Children's Perceptions of Message Intent: An Exploratory Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blosser, Betsy J.; Roberts, Donald F.

    To determine when and how children begin to differentiate among messages with different goals and to examine whether such differentiation leads to differences in interpretational strategies, 90 children between the ages of 4 and 11 viewed each of five different television messages representing four different message types. The types were: (1)…

  2. Exploring Message Meaning: A Qualitative Media Literacy Study of College Freshmen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashley, Seth; Lyden, Grace; Fasbinder, Devon

    2012-01-01

    Critical media literacy demands understanding of the deeper meanings of media messages. Using a grounded theory approach, this study analyzed responses by first-year college students with no formal media literacy education to three types of video messages: an advertisement, a public relations message and a news report. Students did not exhibit…

  3. Mitigating Psychological Reactance: The Role of Message-Induced Empathy in Persuasion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Lijiang

    2010-01-01

    This article examines the role of message-induced state empathy in persuasion. Message-induced empathy is conceptualized as a perception-action process that consists of affective, cognitive, and associative components. Twenty professionally produced public service announcements (PSAs) were used as stimuli messages in a 2 (high vs. low empathy) x 2…

  4. Grounding in Instant Messaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox Tree, Jean E.; Mayer, Sarah A.; Betts, Teresa E.

    2011-01-01

    In two experiments, we investigated predictions of the "collaborative theory of language use" (Clark, 1996) as applied to instant messaging (IM). This theory describes how the presence and absence of different grounding constraints causes people to interact differently across different communicative media (Clark & Brennan, 1991). In Study 1, we…

  5. The Effect of Bilingualism on Communication Efficiency in Text Messages (SMS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrier, L. Mark; Benitez, Sandra Y.

    2010-01-01

    The widespread use of cell phones has led to the proliferation of messages sent using the Short Messaging Service (SMS). The 160-character limit on text messages encourages the use of shortenings and other shortcuts in language use. When bilingual speakers use SMS, their access to multiple sources of vocabulary, sentence structure, and other…

  6. Using Facebook to Recruit Parents to Participate in a Family Program to Prevent Teen Drug Use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oesterle, Sabrina; Epstein, Marina; Haggerty, Kevin P; Moreno, Megan A

    2018-05-01

    Despite strong evidence that family programs are effective in preventing adolescent substance use, recruiting parents to participate in such programs remains a persistent challenge. This study explored the feasibility of using Facebook to recruit parents of middle school students to a self-directed family program to prevent adolescent drug use. The study used paid Facebook ads aiming to recruit 100 parents in Washington and Colorado using marijuana- or parenting-focused messages. All ad-recruited parents were also invited to refer others in order to compare Facebook recruitment to web-based respondent-driven sampling. Despite offering a $15 incentive for each successfully referred participant, the majority of the screened (70.4%) and eligible (65.1%) parents were recruited through Facebook ads. Yet, eligibility and consent rates were significantly higher among referred (76.6 and 57.3%, respectively) than Facebook-recruited parents (60.0 and 36.6%, respectively). Click-through rates on Facebook were higher for marijuana-focused than parenting-focused ads (0.72 and 0.65%, respectively). The final sample (54% Facebook-recruited) consisted of 103 demographically homogeneous parents (female, educated, non-Hispanic White, and mostly from Washington). Although Facebook was an effective and efficient method to recruit parents to a study with equal to better cost-effectiveness than traditional recruitment strategies, the promise of social media to reach a diverse population was not realized. Additional approaches to Facebook recruitment are needed to reach diverse samples in real-world settings and increase public health impact of family programs.

  7. Development of a Social DTN for Message Communication between SNS Group Members

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hidenori Takasuka

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Smartphones have the ability to communicate with other terminals through ad hoc connections. A variety of applications have been developed to exploit this ability. The authors have developed an Android OS (operating system application (called “social DTN manager” that builds a DTN (delay, disruption, disconnection tolerant networking among members of a social networking service (SNS community using a community token. The members can exchange messages over this network. Control messages for building a DTN are forwarded to only those nodes that use the same community token in order to reduce flooding of message copies. When a source node sends a communication request to its destination node, they exchange control messages to establish a communication route. Relay nodes use these messages to create and hold routing information for these nodes in their routing tables. Thereafter, relay nodes can forward data messages based on their routing tables. This again reduces flooding of message copies. The social DTN manager incorporates these functions, Facebook Graph API and Google Nearby Connections API. The authors have installed it in Android terminals and confirmed that a social DTN can successfully be built using this application and that data messages can be exchanged between terminals via reactive routes.

  8. Message framing and defensive processing: a cultural examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ko, Deborah M; Kim, Heejung S

    2010-01-01

    Past research has shown that health messages on safer sexual practices that focus on relational consequences are more persuasive than messages that focus on personal consequences. However, we theorize that it is defensiveness against personal risk framing that threatens the self among people from more individualistic cultures. Two studies tested this idea. Study 1 showed that European Americans were less persuaded by personal framing than by relational framing but that this pattern was not found for Asian Americans, who are more collectivistic. Study 2 showed that these defensive patterns were eliminated among European American participants when a person's self-image was affirmed. These results suggest defensive processes as the mechanism behind the differences in message framing effectiveness and motivate a closer look at cultural patterns.

  9. The use of messages in altering risky gambling behavior in experienced gamblers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jardin, Bianca F; Wulfert, Edelgard

    2012-03-01

    The present study was an experimental analogue that examined the relationship between gambling-related irrational beliefs and risky gambling behavior. Eighty high-frequency gamblers were randomly assigned to four conditions and played a chance-based computer game in a laboratory setting. Depending on the condition, during the game a pop-up screen repeatedly displayed either accurate or inaccurate messages concerning the game, neutral messages, or no messages. Consistent with a cognitive-behavioral model of gambling, accurate messages that correctly described the random contingencies governing the game decreased risky gambling behavior. Contrary to predictions, inaccurate messages designed to mimic gamblers' irrational beliefs about their abilities to influence chance events did not lead to more risky gambling behavior than exposure to neutral or no messages. Participants in the latter three conditions did not differ significantly from one another and all showed riskier gambling behavior than participants in the accurate message condition. The results suggest that harm minimization strategies that help individuals maintain a rational perspective while gambling may protect them from unreasonable risk-taking. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

  10. Impact of locus of control on health message effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Ying; Shen, Fuyuan

    2011-10-01

    This article examined how individuals' locus of control might moderate the effect of health message frames. An experiment was conducted whereby participants read either individual- or social-responsibility message frames after their locus of control was primed. Results indicated that messages presented in individual-responsibility frames were more persuasive when people were primed with internal locus of control, whereas social-responsibility framed appeals were more persuasive when people were primed with external locus of control. These results were found for individuals in both high and low cognitive load conditions. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

  11. Two-Way Social Media Messaging in Postoperative Cataract Surgical Patients: Prospective Interventional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanguansak, Thuss; Morley, Katharine E; Morley, Michael G; Thinkhamrop, Kavin; Thuanman, Jaruwan; Agarwal, Isha

    2017-12-19

    Social media offers a new way to provide education, reminders, and support for patients with a variety of health conditions. Most of these interventions use one-way, provider-patient communication. Incorporating social media tools to improve postoperative (postop) education and follow-up care has only been used in limited situations. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and efficacy of two-way social media messaging to deliver reminders and educational information about postop care to cataract patients. A total of 98 patients undergoing their first eye cataract surgery were divided into two groups: a no message group receiving usual pre- and postop care and a message group receiving usual care plus messages in a mobile social media format with standardized content and timing. Each patient in the message group received nine messages about hand and face hygiene, medication and postop visit adherence, and links to patient education videos about postop care. Patients could respond to messages as desired. Main outcome measures included medication adherence, postop visit adherence, clinical outcomes, and patients' subjective assessments of two-way messaging. The number, types, content, and timing of responses by patients to messages were recorded. Medication adherence was better in the message group at postop day 7, with high adherence in 47 patients (96%, 47/49) versus 36 patients (73%, 36/49) in the no message group (P=.004), but no statistically significant differences in medication adherence between the groups were noted at preop and postop day 30. Visit adherence was higher at postop day 30 in the message group (100%, 49/49) versus the no message group (88%, 43/49; P=.03) but was 100% (49/49) in both groups at postop day 1 and 7. Final visual outcomes were similar between groups. A total of 441 standardized messages were sent to the message group. Out of 270 responses generated, 188 (70%) were simple acknowledgments or "thank you," and 82 (30

  12. Scalable Arbitrated Quantum Signature of Classical Messages with Multi-Signers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Yuguang; Wang Yuan; Teng Yiwei; Chai Haiping; Wen Qiaoyan

    2010-01-01

    Unconditionally secure signature is an important part of quantum cryptography. Usually, a signature scheme only provides an environment for a single signer. Nevertheless, in real applications, many signers may collaboratively send a message to the verifier and convince the verifier that the message is actually transmitted by them. In this paper, we give a scalable arbitrated signature protocol of classical messages with multi-signers. Its security is analyzed and proved to be secure even with a compromised arbitrator. (general)

  13. Text messaging approach improves weight loss in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A randomized study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Axley, Page; Kodali, Sudha; Kuo, Yong-Fang; Ravi, Sujan; Seay, Toni; Parikh, Nina M; Singal, Ashwani K

    2018-05-01

    Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is emerging as the most common liver disease. The only effective treatment is 7%-10% weight loss. Mobile technology is increasingly used in weight management. This study was performed to evaluate the effects of text messaging intervention on weight loss in patients with NAFLD. Thirty well-defined NAFLD patients (mean age 52 years, 67% females, mean BMI 38) were randomized 1:1 to control group: counselling on healthy diet and exercise, or intervention group: text messages in addition to healthy life style counselling. NAFLD text messaging program sent weekly messages for 22 weeks on healthy life style education. Primary outcome was change in weight. Secondary outcomes were changes in liver enzymes and lipid profile. Intervention group lost an average of 6.9 lbs. (P = .03) compared to gain of 1.8 lbs. in the control group (P = .45). Intervention group also showed a decrease in ALT level (-12.5 IU/L, P = .035) and improvement in serum triglycerides (-28 mg/dL, P = .048). There were no changes in the control group on serum ALT level (-6.1 IU/L, P = .46) and on serum triglycerides (-20.3 mg/dL P = .27). Using one-way analysis of variance, change in outcomes in intervention group compared to control group was significant for weight (P = .02) and BMI (P = .02). Text messaging on healthy life style is associated with reduction in weight in NAFLD patients. Larger studies are suggested to examine benefits on liver histology, and assess long-term impact of this approach in patients with NAFLD. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Message Collision Avoidance Protocols for Detecting Stray Nodes in a Scuba Diving Group Using Ultrasonic Multi-Hop Message Communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shinya Kaido

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Recent years have seen a growing interest in underwater communication and some progress has been made in this area. However, underwater communication is still immature compared with terrestrial communication. A prime reason for this is that the underwater environment is intrinsically not suitable for propagation of electric waves. Instead, ultrasonic waves are mainly used for underwater communication. Since ultrasonic waves cannot provide sufficient communication speed or capacity, they cannot use existing network technologies, which assume use of radio waves. In particular, communication in shallow water is still an uncharted territory. Few communication technologies are employed in environments where people enjoy scuba diving. This paper addresses problems faced by recreational scuba divers. It proposes constructing an ad hoc mesh-shaped network between divers within a group and use ultrasonic waves as transmission media in order to enable the detection of a stray diver. It also proposes a communication protocol in which messages are relayed in multiple hops, and a message collision avoidance method, which is intended to reduce the rate of packet loss caused by message propagation delay. We have implemented the proposed methods in a network simulator, and compared them with an existing communication method that has no message collision avoidance function, in terms of the packet loss rate, the stray driver detection rate, and the rate of the ability to communicate in multiple hops.

  15. Verifying Safety Messages Using Relative-Time and Zone Priority in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banani, Sam; Thiemjarus, Surapa; Kittipiyakul, Somsak

    2018-01-01

    In high-density road networks, with each vehicle broadcasting multiple messages per second, the arrival rate of safety messages can easily exceed the rate at which digital signatures can be verified. Since not all messages can be verified, algorithms for selecting which messages to verify are required to ensure that each vehicle receives appropriate awareness about neighbouring vehicles. This paper presents a novel scheme to select important safety messages for verification in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). The proposed scheme uses location and direction of the sender, as well as proximity and relative-time between vehicles, to reduce the number of irrelevant messages verified (i.e., messages from vehicles that are unlikely to cause an accident). Compared with other existing schemes, the analysis results show that the proposed scheme can verify messages from nearby vehicles with lower inter-message delay and reduced packet loss and thus provides high level of awareness of the nearby vehicles. PMID:29652840

  16. A Pub/Sub Message Distribution Architecture for Disruption Tolerant Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrilho, Sergio; Esaki, Hiroshi

    Access to information is taken for granted in urban areas covered by a robust communication infrastructure. Nevertheless most of the areas in the world, are not covered by such infrastructures. We propose a DTN publish and subscribe system called Hikari, which uses nodes' mobility in order to distribute messages without using a robust infrastructure. The area of Disruption/Delay Tolerant Networks (DTN) focuses on providing connectivity to locations separated by networks with disruptions and delays. The Hikari system does not use node identifiers for message forwarding thus eliminating the complexity of routing associated with many forwarding schemes in DTN. Hikari uses nodes paths' information, advertised by special nodes in the system or predicted by the system itself, for optimizing the message dissemination process. We have used the Paris subway system, due to it's complexity, to validate Hikari and to analyze it's performance. We have shown that Hikari achieves a superior deliver rate while keeping redundant messages in the system low, which is ideal when using devices with limited resources for message dissemination.

  17. Blind sensor calibration using approximate message passing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schülke, Christophe; Caltagirone, Francesco; Zdeborová, Lenka

    2015-01-01

    The ubiquity of approximately sparse data has led a variety of communities to take great interest in compressed sensing algorithms. Although these are very successful and well understood for linear measurements with additive noise, applying them to real data can be problematic if imperfect sensing devices introduce deviations from this ideal signal acquisition process, caused by sensor decalibration or failure. We propose a message passing algorithm called calibration approximate message passing (Cal-AMP) that can treat a variety of such sensor-induced imperfections. In addition to deriving the general form of the algorithm, we numerically investigate two particular settings. In the first, a fraction of the sensors is faulty, giving readings unrelated to the signal. In the second, sensors are decalibrated and each one introduces a different multiplicative gain to the measurements. Cal-AMP shares the scalability of approximate message passing, allowing us to treat large sized instances of these problems, and experimentally exhibits a phase transition between domains of success and failure. (paper)

  18. Final test report for NTCIP 1203 V2.25--dynamic message signs (DMS) as deployed by the Virginia department of transportation (VDOT).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-04-25

    This report presents the results of the ITS Standards Testing Program for the field testing, assessment, and evaluation of the NTCIP standards that apply in the domain of Dynamic Message Signs (DMS). Specifically, the National Transportation Communic...

  19. Notified Access: Extending Remote Memory Access Programming Models for Producer-Consumer Synchronization

    KAUST Repository

    Belli, Roberto; Hoefler, Torsten

    2015-01-01

    Remote Memory Access (RMA) programming enables direct access to low-level hardware features to achieve high performance for distributed-memory programs. However, the design of RMA programming schemes focuses on the memory access and less on the synchronization. For example, in contemporary RMA programming systems, the widely used producer-consumer pattern can only be implemented inefficiently, incurring in an overhead of an additional round-trip message. We propose Notified Access, a scheme where the target process of an access can receive a completion notification. This scheme enables direct and efficient synchronization with a minimum number of messages. We implement our scheme in an open source MPI-3 RMA library and demonstrate lower overheads (two cache misses) than other point-to-point synchronization mechanisms for each notification. We also evaluate our implementation on three real-world benchmarks, a stencil computation, a tree computation, and a Colicky factorization implemented with tasks. Our scheme always performs better than traditional message passing and other existing RMA synchronization schemes, providing up to 50% speedup on small messages. Our analysis shows that Notified Access is a valuable primitive for any RMA system. Furthermore, we provide guidance for the design of low-level network interfaces to support Notified Access efficiently.

  20. Notified Access: Extending Remote Memory Access Programming Models for Producer-Consumer Synchronization

    KAUST Repository

    Belli, Roberto

    2015-05-01

    Remote Memory Access (RMA) programming enables direct access to low-level hardware features to achieve high performance for distributed-memory programs. However, the design of RMA programming schemes focuses on the memory access and less on the synchronization. For example, in contemporary RMA programming systems, the widely used producer-consumer pattern can only be implemented inefficiently, incurring in an overhead of an additional round-trip message. We propose Notified Access, a scheme where the target process of an access can receive a completion notification. This scheme enables direct and efficient synchronization with a minimum number of messages. We implement our scheme in an open source MPI-3 RMA library and demonstrate lower overheads (two cache misses) than other point-to-point synchronization mechanisms for each notification. We also evaluate our implementation on three real-world benchmarks, a stencil computation, a tree computation, and a Colicky factorization implemented with tasks. Our scheme always performs better than traditional message passing and other existing RMA synchronization schemes, providing up to 50% speedup on small messages. Our analysis shows that Notified Access is a valuable primitive for any RMA system. Furthermore, we provide guidance for the design of low-level network interfaces to support Notified Access efficiently.