WorldWideScience

Sample records for network site visitation

  1. Network Science Center Research Team’s Visit to Kampala, Uganda

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-15

    TERMS Network Analysis, Economic Networks, Entrepreneurial Ecosystems , Economic Development, Data Collection 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17...the Project Synopsis, Developing Network Models of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Developing Economies, on the Network Science Center web site.) A...Thomas visited Kampala, Uganda in support of an ongoing Network Science Center project to develop models of entrepreneurial networks. Our Center has

  2. Preceptor Perceptions of Virtual Quality Assurance Experiential Site Visits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clarke, Cheryl L; Schott, Kathryn A; Arnold, Austin D

    2018-05-01

    Objective. To determine preceptor perceptions of the value of experiential quality assurance site visits between virtual and onsite visits, and to gauge preceptor opinions of the optimal method of site visits based on the type of visit received. Methods. Site visits (12 virtual and 17 onsite) were conducted with 29 APPE sites located at least 200 miles from campus. Participating preceptors were invited to complete an online post-visit survey adapted from a previously validated and published survey tool measuring preceptor perceptions of the value of traditional onsite visits. Results. Likert-type score averages for survey questions ranged from 4.2 to 4.6 in the virtual group and from 4.3 to 4.7 in the onsite group. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups. Preceptors were more inclined to prefer the type of visit they received. Preceptors receiving onsite visits were also more likely to indicate no visit type preference. Conclusion. Preceptors perceived value from both onsite and virtual site visits. Preceptors who experienced virtual site visits highly preferred that methodology. This study suggests that virtual site visits may be a viable alternative for providing experiential quality assurance site visits from a preceptor's perspective.

  3. Social network sites: Indispensable or optional social tools?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shklovski, Irina

    2012-01-01

    Much research has enumerated potential benefits of online social network sites. Given the pervasiveness of these sites and the numbers of people that use them daily, both re-search and media tend to make the assumption that social network sites have become indispensible to their users. Based...... on the analysis of qualitative data from users of social network sites in Russia and Kazakhstan, this paper consid-ers under what conditions social network sites can become indispensable to their users and when these technologies remain on the periphery of life despite fulfilling useful func-tions. For some...... respondents, these sites had become indis-pensable tools as they were integrated into everyday rou-tines of communicating with emotionally important and proximal contacts and were often used for coordination of offline activities. For others social network sites remained spaces where they occasionally visited...

  4. Using social networking sites (namely Facebook) in health visiting practice--an account of five years experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dion, Xena

    2015-02-01

    With new developments in electronic and social networking communication methods the way health visitors communicate with clients is rapidly changing. With good governance these technologies can be utilised to enhance the health visiting service and can be an effective way of accessing hard-to-reach families, saving time and resources. This paper presents five years' experience in the use of Facebook between the health visiting team and clients and explains the benefits and potential it offers to health visitors and other community practitioners.

  5. Flower-Visiting Social Wasps and Plants Interaction: Network Pattern and Environmental Complexity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mateus Aparecido Clemente

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Network analysis as a tool for ecological interactions studies has been widely used since last decade. However, there are few studies on the factors that shape network patterns in communities. In this sense, we compared the topological properties of the interaction network between flower-visiting social wasps and plants in two distinct phytophysiognomies in a Brazilian savanna (Riparian Forest and Rocky Grassland. Results showed that the landscapes differed in species richness and composition, and also the interaction networks between wasps and plants had different patterns. The network was more complex in the Riparian Forest, with a larger number of species and individuals and a greater amount of connections between them. The network specialization degree was more generalist in the Riparian Forest than in the Rocky Grassland. This result was corroborated by means of the nestedness index. In both networks was found asymmetry, with a large number of wasps per plant species. In general aspects, most wasps had low niche amplitude, visiting from one to three plant species. Our results suggest that differences in structural complexity of the environment directly influence the structure of the interaction network between flower-visiting social wasps and plants.

  6. Hanford/Tomsk reciprocal site visit: Plutonium agreement compliance talks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Libby, R.A.; Sorenson, R.; Six, D.; Schiegel, S.C.

    1994-11-01

    The objective of the visit to Hanford Site was to: demonstrate equipment, technology, and methods for calculating Pu production, measuring integrated reactor power, and storing and safeguarding PuO 2 ; demonstrate the shutdown of Hanford production reactors; and foster openness and transparency of Hanford operations. The first day's visit was an introduction to Hanford and a review of the history of the reactors. The second day consisted of discussions on the production reactors, reprocessing operations, and PuO 2 storage. The group divided on the third day to tour facilities. Group A toured the N reactor, K-West reactor, K-West Basins, B reactor, and participated in a demonstration and discussion of reactor modeling computer codes. Group B toured the Hanford Pu Storage Facility, 200-East Area, N-cell (oxide loadout station), the Automated Storage Facility, and the Nondestructive Assay Measurement System. Group discussions were held during the last day of the visit, which included scheduling of a US visit to Russia

  7. Do gender and personality traits influence visits of and purchases at deal sites?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sudzina, Frantisek; Pavlicek, Antonin

    2017-01-01

    As deal sites became widespread, there are multiple international and local players in the Czech market. The research presented in the paper investigates if gender and personality traits influence frequency of visits of deal sites and the number of coupon purchases. Big Five Inventory-10 is used...... to measure personality traits. None of the factors influenced frequency of visits of deal sites. Only openness to experience seems to positively influence the number of coupon purchases, though the its significance is borderline....

  8. Identifying diabetes knowledge network nodes as sites for a diabetes prevention program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gesler, Wilbert M; Arcury, Thomas A; Skelly, Anne H; Nash, Sally; Soward, April; Dougherty, Molly

    2006-12-01

    This paper reports on the methods used and results of a study that identified specific places within a community that have the potential to be sites for a diabetes prevention program. These sites, termed diabetes knowledge network nodes (DKNNs), are based on the concept of socio-spatial knowledge networks (SSKNs), the web of social relationships within which people obtain knowledge about type 2 diabetes. The target population for the study was working poor African Americans, Latinos, and European Americans of both sexes in a small rural southern town who had not been diagnosed with diabetes. Information was collected from a sample of 121 respondents on the places they visited in carrying out their daily activities. Data on number of visits to specific sites, degree of familiarity with these sites, and ratings of sites as places to receive diabetes information were used to develop three categories of DKNNs for six subgroups based on ethnicity and sex. Primary potential sites of importance to one or more subgroups included churches, grocery stores, drugstores, the local library, a beauty salon, laundromats, a community service agency, and a branch of the County Health Department. Secondary potential sites included gas stations, restaurants, banks, and post offices. Latent potential sites included three medical facilities. Most of the DKNNs were located either in the downtown area or in one of two shopping areas along the most used highway that passed through the town. The procedures used in this study can be generalized to other communities and prevention programs for other chronic diseases.

  9. Piloting a Statewide Home Visiting Quality Improvement Learning Collaborative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goyal, Neera K; Rome, Martha G; Massie, Julie A; Mangeot, Colleen; Ammerman, Robert T; Breckenridge, Jye; Lannon, Carole M

    2017-02-01

    Objective To pilot test a statewide quality improvement (QI) collaborative learning network of home visiting agencies. Methods Project timeline was June 2014-May 2015. Overall objectives of this 8-month initiative were to assess the use of collaborative QI to engage local home visiting agencies and to test the use of statewide home visiting data for QI. Outcome measures were mean time from referral to first home visit, percentage of families with at least three home visits per month, mean duration of participation, and exit rate among infants learning. A statewide data system was used to generate monthly run charts. Results Mean time from referral to first home visit was 16.7 days, and 9.4% of families received ≥3 visits per month. Mean participation was 11.7 months, and the exit rate among infants learning network, agencies tested and measured changes using statewide and internal data. Potential next steps are to develop and test new metrics with current pilot sites and a larger collaborative.

  10. The impact of national cultural distance on the number of foreign web site visits by U.S. households

    OpenAIRE

    Beugelsdijk, S.; Slangen, A.

    2010-01-01

    We investigate how national cultural distance, defined as the extent to which the shared values and norms in one country differ from those in another, affect the number of Web site visits. Based on a sample of 2,654 U.S. households visiting Web sites in 38 countries over 25 different Web site categories, we find that cultural distance has a negative and significant effect on the number of taste-related foreign Web site visits. In the case of Web sites containing sexually explicit material, we...

  11. Optimizing Visits to the Site of Death for Bereaved Families After Disasters and Terrorist Events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kristensen, Pål; Dyregrov, Atle; Weisæth, Lars; Straume, Marianne; Dyregrov, Kari; Heir, Trond; Bugge, Renate Grønvold

    2017-09-13

    In recent years it has been common after disasters and terrorist events to offer bereaved families the opportunity to visit the place where their loved ones died. Many report that such visits are beneficial in processing their loss. Various factors, both cognitive (eg, counteracting disbelief) and existential or emotional (eg, achieving a sense of closeness to the deceased), are associated with the experienced benefit. Nonetheless, exacerbations of trauma and grief reactions (eg, re-enactment fantasies) are common, with some of the bereaved also reporting adverse reactions after the visit. Subsequently, proper preparations are a prerequisite before such visits take place. This article describes how to optimize collective visits to the site of death after disasters or terrorist events for bereaved families. Important questions-for example, concerning those who should be responsible for organizing a visit and those who should be invited, the timing of the visit, what can be done at the site, the need for support personnel, and other practical issues-are discussed and general guidelines are recommended. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;page 1 of 5).

  12. Go ahead, visit those web sites, you can`t get hurt, can you?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rothfuss, J.S.; Parrett, J.W.

    1997-02-01

    Browsing (surfing) the World Wide Web (the web) has exploded onto the Internet with an unprecedented popularity. Fueled by massive acceptance, the web client/server technology is leaping forward with a speed that competes with no other software technology. The primary force behind this phenomenon is the simplicity of the web browsing experience. People who have never touched a computer before can now perform sophisticated network tasks with a simple point-and-click. Unfortunately, this simplicity gives many, if not most, web wanderers the impression that the web browser is risk free, nothing more than a high powered television. This misconception is dangerous by creating the myth that a user visiting a web site is immune from subversive or malicious intent. While many want you to believe that surfing the web is as simple as using any other household appliance, it is not like surfing television channels, it is bi-directional. You can learn a lot of useful information from web sites. But, either directly or indirectly, others can also learn quite a bit about you. Of even more concern is a web sites` potential ability to exert control over the local computer. This paper tries to consolidate some of the current concerns that you should consider as you jump into the surf.

  13. Visits to Tier-1 Computing Centres

    CERN Multimedia

    Dario Barberis

    At the beginning of 2007 it became clear that an enhanced level of communication is needed between the ATLAS computing organisation and the Tier-1 centres. Most usual meetings are ATLAS-centric and cannot address the issues of each Tier-1; therefore we decided to organise a series of visits to the Tier-1 centres and focus on site issues. For us, ATLAS computing management, it is most useful to realize how each Tier-1 centre is organised, and its relation to the associated Tier-2s; indeed their presence at these visits is also very useful. We hope it is also useful for sites... at least, we are told so! The usual participation includes, from the ATLAS side: computing management, operations, data placement, resources, accounting and database deployment coordinators; and from the Tier-1 side: computer centre management, system managers, Grid infrastructure people, network, storage and database experts, local ATLAS liaison people and representatives of the associated Tier-2s. Visiting Tier-1 centres (1-4). ...

  14. Site Visits in Interfaith and Religious Studies Pedagogy: Reflections on Visiting a Hindu Temple in Central Pennsylvania

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Jeffery D.

    2018-01-01

    Site visits provide an irreplaceable learning experience to students in both religious studies and the emerging field of interfaith studies. The conceptual core of this thesis is the claim, drawn from feminist epistemology, that an embodied pedagogy--a pedagogy which engages students not only intellectually, but as embodied beings who inhabit a…

  15. Privacy in social networking sites

    OpenAIRE

    Λεονάρδος, Γεώργιος; Leonardos, Giorgos

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to explore the aspects of privacy over the use of social networks web sites. More specific, we will show the types of social networks, their privacy mechanisms that are different in each social network site, their privacy options that are offered to users. We will report some serious privacy violations incidents of the most popular social networks sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. Also, we will report some important surveys about social networks and pr...

  16. European network on the determination of site end points for radiologically contaminated land

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Booth, Peter; Lennon, Chris

    2007-01-01

    Nexia Solutions are currently running a small European network entitled 'European Network on the Determination of Site End Points for Radiologically Contaminated Land (ENDSEP)'. Other network members include NRG (Netherlands), UKAEA (UK), CEA (France), SOGIN (Italy), Wismut (Germany), Saxon State Agency of Environment and Geology (Germany). The network is focused on the technical and socio-economical issues associated with the determination of end points for sites potentially, or actually, impacted by radiological contamination. Such issues will cover: - Those associated with the run up to establishing a site end point; - Those associated with verifying that the end points have been met; and Those associated with post closure. The network's current high level objectives can be summarized as follows: Share experience and best practice in the key issues running up to determining site end points; Gain a better understanding of the potential effects of recent and forthcoming EU legislation; Assess consistency between approaches; Highlight potential gaps within the remit of site end point determination and management; and - Consider the formulation of research projects with a view to sharing time and expense. The programme of work revolves around the following key tasks: - Share information, experience and existing good practice. - Look to determine sustainable approaches to contaminated land site end point management. - Through site visits, gain first hand experience of determining an appropriate end point strategy, and identifying and resolving end point issues. Highlight the key data gaps and consider the development of programmes to either close out these gaps or to build confidence in the approaches taken. Production of position papers on each technical are a highlighting how different countries approach/resolve a specific problem. (authors)

  17. Social Networking Sites in Education

    OpenAIRE

    Suková, Lenka

    2010-01-01

    Diploma thesis deals with social networking sites and their use in education. Thesis is divided into two general parts. The first part deals with theory of learning; Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives and new educational theory based on learning in networks -- Connectivism. After that thesis focuses on the definition of social networking sites, introduction of some of the best known social networking sites and examples of their use in foreign and domestic educational practice. The sec...

  18. Hot Spots on the Web for Teacher Librarians: A Selection of Recommended Web Sites for TLs To Visit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1996

    Six papers review and recommend sites on the Web as resources for teacher librarians include: "Just Do It: A Guide to Getting Out There and Doing It Yourself" (Catherine Ryan); "A Selection of Recommended Web Sites for TLs To Visit" (Karen Bonanno); "A Selection of Recommended Web Sites for TLs To Visit" (Sandra…

  19. Conceptualizing of Social Networking Sites

    OpenAIRE

    J. S. Sodhi; Shilpi Sharma

    2012-01-01

    People often move to their friends, families and colleagues when they feel urge and having doubts or queries to solve. Participation in social networking site has dramatically increased in recent years. Many social networking sites boost with million of members using their network on regular basis to communicate, share , create and collaborate with others. In this paper we explore the phenomenon of using social networking site to trace a link of the search from the community of users for bett...

  20. Remotely operated excavator needs assessment/site visit summary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Straub, J.; Haller, S.; Worsley, R. [Westinghouse Environmental Management Co. of Ohio, Cincinnati, OH (United States); King, M. [THETA Technology Inc. (United States)

    1992-12-02

    The Uranium in Soils Integrated Demonstration requested an assessment of soil excavation needs relative to soil remediation. The following list identifies the DOE sites assessed: Mound Laboratory, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Nevada Test Site, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Rocky Flats Plant, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Hanford Site, and Fernald Site. The reviewed sites fall into one or more of the following three categories: production, EPA National Priorities List, or CERCLA (superfund) designation. Only three of the sites appear to have the need for a remotely operated excavator rope. Hanford and Idaho Falls have areas of high-level radioactive contamination either buried or in/under buildings. The Fernald site has a need for remote operated equipment of different types. It is their feeling that remote equipment can be used to remove the health dangers to humans by removing them from the area. Most interviewees stated that characterization technologies needs are more immediate concern over excavation. In addition, the sites do not have similar geographic conditions which would aid in the development of a generic precision excavator. The sites visited were not ready to utilize or provide the required design information necessary to draft a performance specification. This creates a strong case against the development of one type of ROPE for use at these sites. Assuming soil characterization technology/methodology is improved sufficiently to allow accurate and real time field characterization then development of a precision excavator might be pursued based on FEMP needs, since the FEMP`s sole scope of work is remediation. The excavator could then be used/tested and then later modified for other sites as warranted.

  1. Independent verification in operations at nuclear power plants: Summaries of site visits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Donderi, D.C.; Smiley, A.; Ostry, D.J.; Moray, N.P.

    1995-09-01

    A critical review of approaches to independent verification in operations used in nuclear power plant quality assurance programs in other countries was conducted and are detailed in volume 1. This paper is a compilation of the visits to nuclear power plant sites to study independent verification in operations at sites in Canada, USA, Japan, United Kingdom, France and Germany. 3 tabs., 22 figs

  2. Staying Safe on Social Network Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Tips Security Tip (ST06-003) Staying Safe on Social Networking Sites Original release date: January 26, 2011 | Last revised: ... so you should take certain precautions. What are social networking sites? Social networking sites, sometimes referred to as "friend- ...

  3. The effect of provider affiliation with a primary care network on emergency department visits and hospital admissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakal, Jeffrey A.; Green, Lee; Bahler, Brad; Lewanczuk, Richard

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Primary care networks are designed to facilitate access to inter-professional, team-based care. We compared health outcomes associated with primary care networks versus conventional primary care. METHODS: We obtained data on all adult residents of Alberta who visited a primary care physician during fiscal years 2008 and 2009 and classified them as affiliated with a primary care network or not, based on the physician most involved in their care. The primary outcome was an emergency department visit or nonelective hospital admission for a Patient Medical Home indicator condition (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, coronary disease, hypertension and diabetes) within 12 months. RESULTS: Adults receiving care within a primary care network (n = 1 502 916) were older and had higher comorbidity burdens than those receiving conventional primary care (n = 1 109 941). Patients in a primary care network were less likely to visit the emergency department for an indicator condition (1.4% v. 1.7%, mean 0.031 v. 0.035 per patient, adjusted risk ratio [RR] 0.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.96–0.99) or for any cause (25.5% v. 30.5%, mean 0.55 v. 0.72 per patient, adjusted RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.93–0.94), but were more likely to be admitted to hospital for an indicator condition (0.6% v. 0.6%, mean 0.018 v. 0.017 per patient, adjusted RR 1.07, 95% CI 1.03–1.11) or all-cause (9.3% v. 9.1%, mean 0.25 v. 0.23 per patient, adjusted RR 1.08, 95% CI 1.07–1.09). Patients in a primary care network had 169 fewer all-cause emergency department visits and 86 fewer days in hospital (owing to shorter lengths of stay) per 1000 patient-years. INTERPRETATION: Care within a primary care network was associated with fewer emergency department visits and fewer hospital days. PMID:29530868

  4. Appendix B: Site Visit Reports. Assessment of Research Needs for Coal Utilization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Penner, S.S.

    1983-05-01

    This section contains edited copies of site-visit and other reports prepared by CCAWG members. Some of the hand-out materials prepared by DOE contractors and others are included (without explication) to permit readers the construction of a coherent picture of work in progress.

  5. Visiting the Site of Death: Experiences of the Bereaved after the 2004 Southeast Asian Tsunami

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kristensen, Pal; Tonnessen, Arnfinn; Weisaeth, Lars; Heir, Trond

    2012-01-01

    The authors examined how many bereaved relatives of Norwegian tourists who perished in the 2004 Southeast Asian Tsunami had visited the site of death and the most important outcome from the visit. We conducted in-depth interviews (n = 110) and used self-report questionnaires (Impact of Event Scale--Revised, Inventory of Complicated Grief, and…

  6. Envisioning Transformation in VA Mental Health Services Through Collaborative Site Visits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kearney, Lisa K; Schaefer, Jeanne A; Dollar, Katherine M; Iwamasa, Gayle Y; Katz, Ira; Schmitz, Theresa; Schohn, Mary; Resnick, Sandra G

    2018-04-16

    This column reviews the unique contributions of multiple partners in establishing a standardized site visit process to promote quality improvement in mental health care at the Veterans Health Administration. Working as a team, leaders in policy and operations, staff of research centers, and regional- and facility-level mental health leaders developed a standardized protocol for evaluating mental health services at each site and using the data to help implement policy goals. The authors discuss the challenges experienced and lessons learned in this systemwide process and how this information can be part of a framework for improving mental health services on a national level.

  7. Social Networking Sites and Language Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brick, Billy

    2011-01-01

    This article examines a study of seven learners who logged their experiences on the language leaning social networking site Livemocha over a period of three months. The features of the site are described and the likelihood of their future success is considered. The learners were introduced to the Social Networking Site (SNS) and asked to learn a…

  8. Ecological modules and roles of species in heathland plant-insect flower visitor networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dupont, Yoko; Olesen, Jens Mogens

    2009-01-01

    1.  Co-existing plants and flower-visiting animals often form complex interaction networks. A long-standing question in ecology and evolutionary biology is how to detect nonrandom subsets (compartments, blocks, modules) of strongly interacting species within such networks. Here we use a network...... analytical approach to (i) detect modularity in pollination networks, (ii) investigate species composition of modules, and (iii) assess the stability of modules across sites. 2.  Interactions between entomophilous plants and their flower-visitors were recorded throughout the flowering season at three...... heathland sites in Denmark, separated by ≥ 10 km. Among sites, plant communities were similar, but composition of flower-visiting insect faunas differed. Visitation frequencies of visitor species were recorded as a measure of insect abundance. 3.  Qualitative (presence-absence) interaction networks were...

  9. NOTE FROM VISITS SERVICE

    CERN Multimedia

    ETT Division; Division ETT; Service des visites

    2000-01-01

    The Visit Service noticed that for many years countries such as Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries visit CERN less than other member countries and that is due to the high price of the trip for the students. To improve the situation the Visit Service plans to create a network of 'Family-Accommodation' ('Famille-Accueil') in Geneva and in France nearbywith the aim to facilitate the trip to foreign students especially from the more distant member countries and to encourage them to visit our unique laboratory. We expect this exchange to be an interesting experience for both the students and the welcoming family ('famille d'accueil'). If you are interested in participating in this family network, please fill in the questionnaire below. The questionnaire is to be returned to the Visit Service, Mrs Christine Fromm, e-mail Christine.Fromm@cern.ch.Name: First name: CERN address: E-mail: Portable phone number: Home address...

  10. Characteristics of Food Industry Web Sites and "Advergames" Targeting Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culp, Jennifer; Bell, Robert A.; Cassady, Diana

    2010-01-01

    Objective: To assess the content of food industry Web sites targeting children by describing strategies used to prolong their visits and foster brand loyalty; and to document health-promoting messages on these Web sites. Design: A content analysis was conducted of Web sites advertised on 2 children's networks, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. A…

  11. Social Networking Sites: A premise on enhancement

    OpenAIRE

    MANINDERPAL SINGH SAINI; GYEWON MOON

    2013-01-01

    This article address five constructs that are paramount toward continued evolution of social networking sites (SNS`s) they include, - stabilisation, visual, language, security and flexibility. These constructs add to our proposed framework. Firmly grounded research on social networking sites and literature, we propose that user feedback, is the critical component that stimulates the development and growth of social networking sites online. We offer a framework that can aid new and current soc...

  12. Bird Pollinator Visitation is Equivalent in Island and Plantation Planting Designs in Tropical Forest Restoration Sites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ginger M. Thurston

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Active restoration is one strategy to reverse tropical forest loss. Given the dynamic nature of climates, human populations, and other ecosystem components, the past practice of using historical reference sites as restoration targets is unlikely to result in self-sustaining ecosystems. Restoring sustainable ecological processes like pollination is a more feasible goal. We investigated how flower cover, planting design, and landscape forest cover influenced bird pollinator visits to Inga edulis trees in young restoration sites in Costa Rica. I. edulis trees were located in island plantings, where seedlings had been planted in patches, or in plantation plantings, where seedlings were planted to cover the restoration area. Sites were located in landscapes with scant (10–21% or moderate (35–76% forest cover. Trees with greater flower cover received more visits from pollinating birds; neither planting design nor landscape forest cover influenced the number of pollinator visits. Resident hummingbirds and a migratory bird species were the most frequent bird pollinators. Pollination in the early years following planting may not be as affected by details of restoration design as other ecological processes like seed dispersal. Future work to assess the quality of various pollinator species will be important in assessing this idea.

  13. Forecasting outpatient visits using empirical mode decomposition coupled with back-propagation artificial neural networks optimized by particle swarm optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Daizheng; Wu, Zhihui

    2017-01-01

    Accurately predicting the trend of outpatient visits by mathematical modeling can help policy makers manage hospitals effectively, reasonably organize schedules for human resources and finances, and appropriately distribute hospital material resources. In this study, a hybrid method based on empirical mode decomposition and back-propagation artificial neural networks optimized by particle swarm optimization is developed to forecast outpatient visits on the basis of monthly numbers. The data outpatient visits are retrieved from January 2005 to December 2013 and first obtained as the original time series. Second, the original time series is decomposed into a finite and often small number of intrinsic mode functions by the empirical mode decomposition technique. Third, a three-layer back-propagation artificial neural network is constructed to forecast each intrinsic mode functions. To improve network performance and avoid falling into a local minimum, particle swarm optimization is employed to optimize the weights and thresholds of back-propagation artificial neural networks. Finally, the superposition of forecasting results of the intrinsic mode functions is regarded as the ultimate forecasting value. Simulation indicates that the proposed method attains a better performance index than the other four methods.

  14. The pervasiveness, connectedness, and intrusiveness of social network site use among young adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinoza, Guadalupe; Juvonen, Jaana

    2011-12-01

    Young adolescents are quickly becoming avid users of social networking sites (SNSs); however, little is known regarding how they use these sites. The goal of the present study was to examine the extent to which young adolescents use SNSs, with whom they connect via these sites, and whether SNS use disrupts daily functioning. Among 268 middle-school students surveyed, 63% reported having their own profile page on an SNS. On average, adolescents reported having 196 SNS contacts (friends), most of whom were known peers. Young adolescents with an SNS spent most of their time viewing and responding to comments written on their profile page. Among the SNS users, 39% reported getting behind on schoolwork and 37% reported losing sleep at least once because they were visiting an SNS. As SNS use becomes embedded in young teens' daily lives, it is important to better understand how such use affects their daily adaptive functioning.

  15. THE IMPACTS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES IN HIGHER LEARNING

    OpenAIRE

    Mohd Ishak Bin Ismail; Ruzaini Bin Abdullah Arshah

    2016-01-01

    Social networking sites, a web-based application have permeated the boundary between personal lives and student lives. Nowadays, students in higher learning used social networking site such as Facebook to facilitate their learning through the academic collaboration which it further enhances students’ social capital. Social networking site has many advantages to improve students’ learning. To date, Facebook is the leading social networking sites at this time which it being widely used by stude...

  16. Female Faculty Members in University Chemistry Departments: Observations and Conclusions Based on Site Visits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Sally; Dixon, Felicia F.; Foster, Natalie; Kuck, Valerie J.; McCarthy, Deborah A.; Tooney, Nancy M.; Buckner, Janine P.; Nolan, Susan A.; Marzabadi, Cecilia H.

    2011-01-01

    Oral interviews in focus groups and written surveys were conducted with 877 men and women, including administrators, faculty members, postdoctoral associates, and graduate students, during one-day site visits to chemistry and chemical engineering departments at 28 Ph.D.-granting institutions. This report is a preliminary review of the perceptions…

  17. Application of neural networks to waste site screening

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dabiri, A.E.; Garrett, M.; Kraft, T.; Hilton, J.; VanHammersveld, M.

    1993-02-01

    Waste site screening requires knowledge of the actual concentrations of hazardous materials and rates of flow around and below the site with time. The present approach consists primarily of drilling boreholes near contaminated sites and chemically analyzing the extracted physical samples and processing the data. This is expensive and time consuming. The feasibility of using neural network techniques to reduce the cost of waste site screening was investigated. Two neural network techniques, gradient descent back propagation and fully recurrent back propagation were utilized. The networks were trained with data received from Westinghouse Hanford Corporation. The results indicate that the network trained with the fully recurrent technique shows satisfactory generalization capability. The predicted results are close to the results obtained from a mathematical flow prediction model. It is possible to develop a new tool to predict the waste plume, thus substantially reducing the number of the bore sites and samplings. There are a variety of applications for this technique in environmental site screening and remediation. One of the obvious applications would be for optimum well siting. A neural network trained from the existing sampling data could be utilized to decide where would be the best position for the next bore site. Other applications are discussed in the report

  18. Exploring Educational and Cultural Adaptation through Social Networking Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Sherry D.; Magro, Michael J.; Sharp, Jason H.

    2011-01-01

    Social networking sites have seen tremendous growth and are widely used around the world. Nevertheless, the use of social networking sites in educational contexts is an under explored area. This paper uses a qualitative methodology, autoethnography, to investigate how social networking sites, specifically Facebook[TM], can help first semester…

  19. Google Science Fair winner visits CERN

    CERN Document Server

    Katarina Anthony

    2012-01-01

    Google Science Fair Grand Prize winner Brittany Michelle Wenger today wrapped up a day-and-a-half's visit of the CERN site. Her winning project uses an artificial neural network to diagnose breast cancer – a non-invasive technique with significant potential for use in hospitals.   Brittany Michelle Wenger at CERN's SM18 Hall. Besides winning a $50,000 scholarship from Google and work experience opportunities with some of the contest hosts, Brittany was offered a personal tour of CERN. “This visit has just been incredible,” she says. “I got to speak with [CERN's Director for Accelerators and Technology] Steve Myers about some of the medical applications and technologies coming out of the LHC experiments and how they can be used to treat cancer. We talked about proton therapy and hadron therapy, which could really change the way patients are treated, improving success rates and making treatment not such an excruciating process. That ...

  20. THE IMPACTS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES IN HIGHER LEARNING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohd Ishak Bin Ismail

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Social networking sites, a web-based application have permeated the boundary between personal lives and student lives. Nowadays, students in higher learning used social networking site such as Facebook to facilitate their learning through the academic collaboration which it further enhances students’ social capital. Social networking site has many advantages to improve students’ learning. To date, Facebook is the leading social networking sites at this time which it being widely used by students in higher learning to communicate to each other, to carry out academic collaboration and sharing resources. Learning through social networking sites is based on the social interaction which learning are emphasizing on students, real world resources, active students` participation, diversity of learning resources and the use of digital tools to deliver meaningful learning. Many studies found the positive, neutral and negative impact of social networking sites on academic performance. Thus, this study will determine the relationship between Facebook usage and academic achievement. Also, it will investigate the association of social capital and academic collaboration to Facebook usage.

  1. Online and Offline Social Networks: Use of Social Networking Sites by Emerging Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subrahmanyam, Kaveri; Reich, Stephanie M.; Waechter, Natalia; Espinoza, Guadalupe

    2008-01-01

    Social networking sites (e.g., MySpace and Facebook) are popular online communication forms among adolescents and emerging adults. Yet little is known about young people's activities on these sites and how their networks of "friends" relate to their other online (e.g., instant messaging) and offline networks. In this study, college students…

  2. Factors for Successful Use of Social Networking Sites in Higher Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L Schlenkrich

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Social networking sites are extremely popular online destinations that offer users easy ways to build and maintain relationships with each other, and to disseminate information in an activity referred to as social networking. Students, lecturers, teachers, parents and businesses, in increasing numbers, use tools available on social networking sites to communicate with each other in a fast and cost-effective manner. The use of social networking sites to support educational initiatives has received much attention. However, the full potential of social network sites has yet to be achieved as users continue to strive for optimal ways of using these sites, as well as battle to overcome the negative characteristics (for example, privacy, security, governance, user behaviour, information quality of these sites. This paper proposes factors for successful use of social networking sites in higher educational institutions. These success factors need to be adopted by users in order to develop the positive aspects of social networking, while at the same time mitigating the negative characteristics. An initial set of factors for successful use of social networking sites, as well as measures to test successful use of social networking sites were derived from the literature. These factors were tested by means of an online survey of students at a university, the results of which informed the final factors for successful use of social networking sites. The factors enable users to overcome the negative characteristics associated with social networking sites. If used successfully, social networking sites can offer lecturers and students a useful tool with which to develop their relationship and contribute to their learning experience.

  3. Web 2.0 Socail Network Sites And Facebook Marketing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Chang

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available The use of Web 2.0 and Social Network Sites (SNS has become an amazing phenomenon. In fact, one of the fastest-growing arenas of the World Wide Web is the space of so-called social networking sites. Face book, Tweeter, MySpace and other Social Network Sites have huge population of users. Almost seven hundred million people use Facebook, and hundreds of million others use other social networking sites. More and more advertisers switch their marketing budget to these SNS. This study contributes to our understanding of the Web 2.0 and the use of social networking websites by examining available literature. It seeks to understand what Web 2.0 and SNS mean, the trends, its functions and how they can be leveraged for marketing purposes.

  4. Privacy and Social Networking Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timm, Dianne M.; Duven, Carolyn J.

    2008-01-01

    College students are relying on the Internet to make connections with other people every day. As the Internet has developed and grown, so have the capabilities for interaction. Social networking sites, a group of Web sites that provide people with the opportunity to create an online profile and to share that profile with others, are a part of…

  5. Apprehension of Youth towards Social Networking Sites: Two Sides of a Coin

    OpenAIRE

    Yukti Gulati; Shilpi Sharma

    2014-01-01

    Social networking sites are wide area of research. Rapid growth in Technology and Human Resources provides us new platform to build social networks. Today it has become highest point of concern to be aware of social networking sites and built networks. Since few years Social networking site has become very popular. There are different social networking sites for different purpose fulfillment. Orkut fails in the race of Social Networking Sites as compare to facebook. Although Fa...

  6. Father Attendance in Nurse Home Visitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmberg, John R.; Olds, David L.

    2015-01-01

    Our aim was to examine the rates and predictors of father attendance at nurse home visits in replication sites of the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP). Early childhood programs can facilitate father involvement in the lives of their children, but program improvements require an understanding of factors that predict father involvement. The sample consisted of 29,109 low-income, first-time mothers who received services from 694 nurses from 80 sites. We conducted mixed-model multiple regression analyses to identify population, implementation, site, and nurse influences on father attendance. Predictors of father attendance included a count of maternal visits (B = 0.12, SE = 0.01, F = 3101.77), frequent contact between parents (B = 0.61, SE = 0.02, F = 708.02), cohabitation (B = 1.41, SE = 0.07, F = 631.51), White maternal race (B = 0.77, SE = 0.06, F = 190.12), and marriage (B = 0.42, SE = 0.08, F = 30.08). Random effects for sites and nurses predicted father-visit participation (2.7 & 6.7% of the variance, respectively), even after controlling for population sociodemographic characteristics. These findings suggest that factors operating at the levels of sites and nurses influence father attendance at home visits, even after controlling for differences in populations served. Further inquiry about these influences on father visit attendance is likely to inform program-improvement efforts. PMID:25521707

  7. Legal Risks for Students Using Social Networking Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henderson, Michael; de Zwart, Melissa; Lindsay, David; Phillips, Michael

    2010-01-01

    There are significant privacy, intellectual property, copyright and disclosure risks associated with the ill-considered use of social networking sites, however, the implementation of regulatory actions may also undermine the social and emerging educational utility of social networking sites for young people. Inevitably the burden of dealing with…

  8. 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.

  9. Scaling down from species to individuals: a flower-visitation network between individual honeybees and thistle plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dupont, Yoko; Nielsen, Kristian T.; Olesen, Jens Mogens

    2011-01-01

    stems and monitored all floral visits. The constructed bipartite network of individual plants and bees had a high connectance and low nestedness, but it was not significantly modular. Frequency distributions of number of links per species (i.e. linkage level) had their best fit to a truncated power law......, and interactions were asymmetrical. Unipartite networks of either plants or bees had exceedingly short average path length and high clustering. Linkage level of plants increased with their number of flower heads and height of inflorescence (floral display parameters). Overall, the individual network of honeybees...... and thistles was denser linked than what is known from species pollination networks. Characteristics of both plants (e.g. floral display) and animals (e.g. foraging behaviour) are likely to generate this intra–specific, inter–individual link pattern. Such features of individual–individual networks may scale up...

  10. Social Networking Sites and Addiction: Ten Lessons Learned.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuss, Daria J; Griffiths, Mark D

    2017-03-17

    Online social networking sites (SNSs) have gained increasing popularity in the last decade, with individuals engaging in SNSs to connect with others who share similar interests. The perceived need to be online may result in compulsive use of SNSs, which in extreme cases may result in symptoms and consequences traditionally associated with substance-related addictions. In order to present new insights into online social networking and addiction, in this paper, 10 lessons learned concerning online social networking sites and addiction based on the insights derived from recent empirical research will be presented. These are: (i) social networking and social media use are not the same; (ii) social networking is eclectic; (iii) social networking is a way of being; (iv) individuals can become addicted to using social networking sites; (v) Facebook addiction is only one example of SNS addiction; (vi) fear of missing out (FOMO) may be part of SNS addiction; (vii) smartphone addiction may be part of SNS addiction; (viii) nomophobia may be part of SNS addiction; (ix) there are sociodemographic differences in SNS addiction; and (x) there are methodological problems with research to date. These are discussed in turn. Recommendations for research and clinical applications are provided.

  11. Social networking sites and older users - a systematic review

    OpenAIRE

    Nef, Tobias; Ganea, Raluca L.; Müri, René M.; Mosimann, Urs P.

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND Social networking sites can be beneficial for senior citizens to promote social participation and to enhance intergenerational communication. Particularly for older adults with impaired mobility, social networking sites can help them to connect with family members and other active social networking users. The aim of this systematic review is to give an overview of existing scientific literature on social networking in older users. METHODS Computerized databases were sea...

  12. The Hachirogata Polder : Site Visit Report February/March 2017

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nijhuis, S.

    2017-01-01

    This is a report on the visit of the Hachirogata polder of the author from 28 February 2017 to 2 March 2017. The land reclamation is located in the prefecture of Akita in Japan. The visit consisted of a field trip to the polder accompanied by Prof. Yasunori Kitao (Kyoto Women’s University) with

  13. The Influence of Heritage Sites as Filming Locations on Tourists’ Decisions to Visit Sites and Their Perceptions of Them. Case Study: Game of Thrones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emily Bowyer

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides an overview of the authors’ master thesis and addresses the effects of World Heritage Sites and heritage sites which are used as filming locations on visitor perceptions of a site and their decision to visit a site. Film-induced tourism is becoming increasingly popular and it is important to assess its impacts on World Heritage Sites and heritage sites used as locations. The integration of the different aspects of heritage and filming at a site including elements and the communication between all the different parties involved are also addressed. The case study used is the popular television series Game of Thrones focusing on various locations in Northern Ireland and Dubrovnik, Croatia. The paper aims to provide a starting platform for future research on heritage sites used as filming locations and the possible impacts that this may have.

  14. DEPENDENCE ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES IN ADOLESCENTS

    OpenAIRE

    Ranjith; Santosh; Amita Rao; Ramgopal; Ashvij

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are “web-based services” that allow individuals to: (1) Construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) Articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) View and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.” Social networking sites like Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. are virtual communities where users can create individual public profiles,...

  15. Collaborative Tools for e-Participation across Networks: The Comuno Networking Site for Public Governance and Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Kaschesky

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents collaborative tools for public participation across multiple networking sites. The tools are part of the Comuno networking site for public governance and services, which is particularly targeted at the public sector (currently in alpha testing at http://comuno.org. The Broadcast tool allows cross-posting content from Comuno to a wide variety of other networking sites, such as Facebook or Twitter. The UserFeed and TopicFeed tools build RSS feeds from content published by a specific user or under a specific topic. The LifeStream tool gathers a user’s activities across multiple networking sites in the private account section at Comuno. These tools and related aspects of the Comuno networking site are discussed and presented in the context of deliberation and opinion-forming in a Swiss bilingual city.

  16. Social Networking Sites and Addiction: Ten Lessons Learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuss, Daria J.; Griffiths, Mark D.

    2017-01-01

    Online social networking sites (SNSs) have gained increasing popularity in the last decade, with individuals engaging in SNSs to connect with others who share similar interests. The perceived need to be online may result in compulsive use of SNSs, which in extreme cases may result in symptoms and consequences traditionally associated with substance-related addictions. In order to present new insights into online social networking and addiction, in this paper, 10 lessons learned concerning online social networking sites and addiction based on the insights derived from recent empirical research will be presented. These are: (i) social networking and social media use are not the same; (ii) social networking is eclectic; (iii) social networking is a way of being; (iv) individuals can become addicted to using social networking sites; (v) Facebook addiction is only one example of SNS addiction; (vi) fear of missing out (FOMO) may be part of SNS addiction; (vii) smartphone addiction may be part of SNS addiction; (viii) nomophobia may be part of SNS addiction; (ix) there are sociodemographic differences in SNS addiction; and (x) there are methodological problems with research to date. These are discussed in turn. Recommendations for research and clinical applications are provided. PMID:28304359

  17. Social Networking Sites and Addiction: Ten Lessons Learned

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daria J. Kuss

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Online social networking sites (SNSs have gained increasing popularity in the last decade, with individuals engaging in SNSs to connect with others who share similar interests. The perceived need to be online may result in compulsive use of SNSs, which in extreme cases may result in symptoms and consequences traditionally associated with substance-related addictions. In order to present new insights into online social networking and addiction, in this paper, 10 lessons learned concerning online social networking sites and addiction based on the insights derived from recent empirical research will be presented. These are: (i social networking and social media use are not the same; (ii social networking is eclectic; (iii social networking is a way of being; (iv individuals can become addicted to using social networking sites; (v Facebook addiction is only one example of SNS addiction; (vi fear of missing out (FOMO may be part of SNS addiction; (vii smartphone addiction may be part of SNS addiction; (viii nomophobia may be part of SNS addiction; (ix there are sociodemographic differences in SNS addiction; and (x there are methodological problems with research to date. These are discussed in turn. Recommendations for research and clinical applications are provided.

  18. Matching Profiles from Social Network Sites

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Veldman, Irma

    2009-01-01

    In recent years social networking sites have become very popular. Many people are member of one or more of these profile sites and tend to put a lot of informa- tion about themselves online. This often publicly available data can be useful for many purposes. Retrieving all available data from one

  19. The visit is the medium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haller, P [Electricite de France (EDF), 75 - Paris (France). Service de la Production Thermique

    1990-12-31

    In France the number of visitors to nuclear plants every year is comparable to the number of annual visitors to the Musee de l`Homme (approximately 300,000). Plant visits play an important role in the nuclear industry`s commnications and should be made as effective as possible. An appropriate discourse consisting of the following should be available: a warm reception; an open attitude; an ability to listen; and a willingness to inform. During the tour, the message received by the public should be positive. This message should consist of the benefits of electronuclear energy, and that the people working within the industry are ordinary people with concerns similar to the public. The words used during the visit should be chosen to avoid words with negative connotations. The use of measurement figures should be put in a comparative mode that can be understoood by the visitors. The site itself should be well signed with various amenities available. There are two stages to any visit: getting to the site and the actual site visit. Proper signage to the visitor center is important. Once there, two types of signage are important: directional and informationl. For the visit, have someone available to greet visitors. The visitor should receive an itinerary of the tour, with the end providing an opportunity for questions and answers, and refreshments. An adequate program for children should be available.

  20. Social networking sites and older users - a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nef, Tobias; Ganea, Raluca L; Müri, René M; Mosimann, Urs P

    2013-07-01

    Social networking sites can be beneficial for senior citizens to promote social participation and to enhance intergenerational communication. Particularly for older adults with impaired mobility, social networking sites can help them to connect with family members and other active social networking users. The aim of this systematic review is to give an overview of existing scientific literature on social networking in older users. Computerized databases were searched and 105 articles were identified and screened using exclusion criteria. After exclusion of 87 articles, 18 articles were included, reviewed, classified, and the key findings were extracted. Common findings are identified and critically discussed and possible future research directions are outlined. The main benefit of using social networking sites for older adults is to enter in an intergenerational communication with younger family members (children and grandchildren) that is appreciated by both sides. Identified barriers are privacy concerns, technical difficulties and the fact that current Web design does not take the needs of older users into account. Under the conditions that these problems are carefully addressed, social networking sites have the potential to support today's and tomorrow's communication between older and younger family members.

  1. Malaysian Users’ Perception towards Facebook as a Social Networking Site

    OpenAIRE

    Ahasanul Haque; Abdullah Sarwar; Farzana Yasmin

    2013-01-01

    Social network sites constitute a rapidly growing phenomenon. Thus, understanding users perception toward social network sites become essential. Realizing this present needs, this study strives to determine the user’s perception towards Facebook in Malaysia. This paper commences by examining the relevance of the privacy, features, sharing social information, and accessibility provided by the social network sites. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted. A convenience sampling m...

  2. Target Channel Visiting Order Design Using Particle Swarm Optimization for Spectrum Handoff in Cognitive Radio Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shilian Zheng

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available In a dynamic spectrum access network, when a primary user (licensed user reappears on the current channel, cognitive radios (CRs need to vacate the channel and reestablish a communications link on some other channel to avoid interference to primary users, resulting in spectrum handoff. This paper studies the problem of designing target channel visiting order for spectrum handoff to minimize expected spectrum handoff delay. A particle swarm optimization (PSO based algorithm is proposed to solve the problem. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm performs far better than random target channel visiting scheme. The solutions obtained by PSO are very close to the optimal solution which further validates the effectiveness of the proposed method.

  3. Where is the UK's pollinator biodiversity? The importance of urban areas for flower-visiting insects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldock, Katherine C R; Goddard, Mark A; Hicks, Damien M; Kunin, William E; Mitschunas, Nadine; Osgathorpe, Lynne M; Potts, Simon G; Robertson, Kirsty M; Scott, Anna V; Stone, Graham N; Vaughan, Ian P; Memmott, Jane

    2015-03-22

    Insect pollinators provide a crucial ecosystem service, but are under threat. Urban areas could be important for pollinators, though their value relative to other habitats is poorly known. We compared pollinator communities using quantified flower-visitation networks in 36 sites (each 1 km(2)) in three landscapes: urban, farmland and nature reserves. Overall, flower-visitor abundance and species richness did not differ significantly between the three landscape types. Bee abundance did not differ between landscapes, but bee species richness was higher in urban areas than farmland. Hoverfly abundance was higher in farmland and nature reserves than urban sites, but species richness did not differ significantly. While urban pollinator assemblages were more homogeneous across space than those in farmland or nature reserves, there was no significant difference in the numbers of rarer species between the three landscapes. Network-level specialization was higher in farmland than urban sites. Relative to other habitats, urban visitors foraged from a greater number of plant species (higher generality) but also visited a lower proportion of available plant species (higher specialization), both possibly driven by higher urban plant richness. Urban areas are growing, and improving their value for pollinators should be part of any national strategy to conserve and restore pollinators.

  4. Social Networking Sites as Virtual Communities of Practice: A Mixed Method Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Lorretta J.

    2010-01-01

    Membership in social networking sites is increasing rapidly. Social networking sites serve many purposes including networking, communication, recruitment, and sharing knowledge. Social networking sites, public or private, may be hosted on applications such as Facebook and LinkedIn. As individuals begin to follow and participate in social…

  5. Impact of Social Networking Sites in Bangladesh: Few Possible Solutions

    OpenAIRE

    Md. Omar Faruq; Alim-Al-Reza; Md. Mahbubur Rahman; Mohammad Raisul Alam

    2017-01-01

    Bangladesh is a developing country. But in few recent years this country is going to be turned as digitalized. The first condition of being digitalization is the whole communication system of the country have to be developed tremendously. If we notice about the communication system, then Social Networking Sites can be a platform of revolution. This study is based on the perspective of Bangladesh on Social Networking Sites(SNS). In Bangladesh, Social Networking Sites ar...

  6. 76 FR 51022 - Juneau Hydropower, Inc.; Notice of Scoping Meeting and Site Visit and Soliciting Scoping Comments...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-17

    ... Hydropower, Inc.; Notice of Scoping Meeting and Site Visit and Soliciting Scoping Comments for an Applicant...: Alternative Licensing Process. b. Project No.: 13563-001. c. Applicant: Juneau Hydropower, Inc. d. Name of... Mitchell, Business Manager, Juneau Hydropower, Inc., P.O. Box 22775, Juneau, AK 99802; 907-789-2775, e...

  7. Networking for philanthropy: increasing volunteer behavior via social networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yoojung; Lee, Wei-Na

    2014-03-01

    Social networking sites (SNSs) provide a unique social venue to engage the young generation in philanthropy through their networking capabilities. An integrated model that incorporates social capital into the Theory of Reasoned Action is developed to explain volunteer behavior through social networks. As expected, volunteer behavior was predicted by volunteer intention, which was influenced by attitudes and subjective norms. In addition, social capital, an outcome of the extensive use of SNSs, was as an important driver of users' attitude and subjective norms toward volunteering via SNSs.

  8. The Influence of Social Network Sites on the Job Application Process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ben Allouch, Somaya; Kotamraju, Nalini Panchita

    2011-01-01

    The popularity of social network sites has given rise to concerns about the amount and nature of information that people disclose on them. While the media has publicized several high-profile instances of people losing their jobs because they had disclosed inappropriate job-related, empirical......, but when tested experimentally, the results show that recruiters do rely more on information derived from others than on self-reported information. This research confirms the popular suspicion that social network sites influence job applicants’ career opportunities, but also goes further to demonstrate...... research about the use of social network sites by job recruiters is almost non-existing. Social network sites are nowadays tools for recruiters to screen job applicants during the job application procedure. This study examined what specific information on social network sites recruiters use to form...

  9. HOW DO STUDENTS SELECT SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES? AN ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS (AHP) MODEL

    OpenAIRE

    Chun Meng Tang; Miang Hong Ngerng

    2015-01-01

    Social networking sites are popular among university students, and students today are indeed spoiled for choice. New emerging social networking sites sprout up amid popular sites, while some existing ones die out. Given the choice of so many social networking sites, how do students decide which one they will sign up for and stay on as an active user? The answer to this question is of interest to social networking site designers and marketers. The market of social networking sites is highly co...

  10. The role of social networking web sites in influencing residency decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schweitzer, Justin; Hannan, Alexander; Coren, Joshua

    2012-10-01

    Social networking Web sites such as Facebook have grown rapidly in popularity. It is unknown how such sites affect the ways in which medical trainees investigate and interact with graduate medical education (GME) programs. To evaluate the use of social networking Web sites as a means for osteopathic medical students, interns, residents, and fellows to interact with GME programs and report the degree to which that interaction impacts a medical trainee's choice of GME program. An anonymous, 10-item electronic survey on social networking Web sites was e-mailed to osteopathic medical student, intern, resident, and fellow members of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. The weighted least squares test and the Fisher exact test were used for data analysis. A total of 9606 surveys were distributed, and 992 (10%) were completed. Nine hundred twenty-eight (93%) of the respondents used social networking Web sites, with the most popular services being Facebook (891 [90%]; P=.03), the Student Doctor Network (278 [28%]), and LinkedIn (89 [9%]; P=.03). Three hundred fifty-three respondents (36%; P=.52) were connected with a professional organization and 673 (68%; P=.73) used social networking Web sites for job searching related to GME programs or postresidency employment. Within the population of 497 third-, fourth-, and fifth-year osteopathic medical students, 136 (27%) reported gleaning information about programs through social networking Web sites (P=.01). Within the total population, 100 of 992 (10%) reported that this information influenced their decisions (P=.07). Of note, 144 (14%) of the total 992 respondents reported that the programs they applied to did not have any presence on social networking Web sites (P=.05). Our results indicate that social networking Web sites have a present and growing influence on how osteopathic medical students, interns, residents, and fellows learn about and select a GME program.

  11. Factors for Successful Use of Social Networking Sites in Higher Education

    OpenAIRE

    L Schlenkrich; Dave Sewry

    2012-01-01

    Social networking sites are extremely popular online destinations that offer users easy ways to build and maintain relationships with each other, and to disseminate information in an activity referred to as social networking. Students, lecturers, teachers, parents and businesses, in increasing numbers, use tools available on social networking sites to communicate with each other in a fast and cost-effective manner. The use of social networking sites to support educational initiatives has rece...

  12. The use of social-networking sites in medical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cartledge, Peter; Miller, Michael; Phillips, Bob

    2013-10-01

    A social-network site is a dedicated website or application which enables users to communicate with each other and share information, comments, messages, videos and images. This review aimed to ascertain if "social-networking sites have been used successfully in medical education to deliver educational material", and whether "healthcare professionals, and students, are engaging with social-networking sites for educational purposes". A systematic-review was undertaken using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Eight databases were searched with pre-defined search terms, limits and inclusion criteria. Data was extracted into a piloted data-table prior to the narrative-synthesis of the Quality, Utility, Extent, Strength, Target and Setting of the evidence. 1047 articles were identified. Nine articles were reviewed with the majority assessing learner satisfaction. Higher outcome measures were rarely investigated. Educators used Facebook, Twitter, and a custom-made website, MedicineAfrica to achieve their objectives. Social-networking sites have been employed without problems of professionalism, and received positive feedback from learners. However, there is no solid evidence base within the literature that social-networking is equally or more effective than other media available for educational purposes.

  13. Application of neural networks to waste site screening

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dabiri, A.E.; Kraft, T.; Hilton, J.M. [Science Applications International Corp., San Diego, CA (United States)

    1993-03-01

    Waste site screening requires knowledge of the actual concentrations of hazardous materials and rates of flow around and below the site with time. The present approach to site screening consists primarily of drilling, boreholes near contaminated site and chemically analyzing the extracted physical samples and processing the data. In addition, hydraulic and geochemical soil properties are obtained so that numerical simulation models can be used to interpret and extrapolate the field data. The objective of this work is to investigate the feasibility of using neural network techniques to reduce the cost of waste site screening. A successful technique may lead to an ability to reduce the number of boreholes and the number of samples analyzed from each borehole to properly screen the waste site. The analytic tool development described here is inexpensive because it makes use of neural network techniques that can interpolate rapidly and which can learn how to analyze data rather than having to be explicitly programmed. In the following sections, data collection and data analyses will be described, followed by a section on different neural network techniques used. The results will be presented and compared with mathematical model. Finally, the last section will summarize the research work performed and make several recommendations for future work.

  14. The topology and dynamics of complex networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dezso, Zoltan

    We start with a brief introduction about the topological properties of real networks. Most real networks are scale-free, being characterized by a power-law degree distribution. The scale-free nature of real networks leads to unexpected properties such as the vanishing epidemic threshold. Traditional methods aiming to reduce the spreading rate of viruses cannot succeed on eradicating the epidemic on a scale-free network. We demonstrate that policies that discriminate between the nodes, curing mostly the highly connected nodes, can restore a finite epidemic threshold and potentially eradicate the virus. We find that the more biased a policy is towards the hubs, the more chance it has to bring the epidemic threshold above the virus' spreading rate. We continue by studying a large Web portal as a model system for a rapidly evolving network. We find that the visitation pattern of a news document decays as a power law, in contrast with the exponential prediction provided by simple models of site visitation. This is rooted in the inhomogeneous nature of the browsing pattern characterizing individual users: the time interval between consecutive visits by the same user to the site follows a power law distribution, in contrast with the exponential expected for Poisson processes. We show that the exponent characterizing the individual user's browsing patterns determines the power-law decay in a document's visitation. Finally, we turn our attention to biological networks and demonstrate quantitatively that protein complexes in the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are comprised of a core in which subunits are highly coexpressed, display the same deletion phenotype (essential or non-essential) and share identical functional classification and cellular localization. The results allow us to define the deletion phenotype and cellular task of most known complexes, and to identify with high confidence the biochemical role of hundreds of proteins with yet unassigned functionality.

  15. USER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES - AN ANALYTICAL APPROACH

    OpenAIRE

    Dr. S. Shanmugapriya; A. Kokila

    2017-01-01

    A social networking site (SNS) or social media is an online platform that people use to build social networks or social relations with other people who share similar personal or career interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections. The advent of Social Networking sites and its resources have revolutionized the communication and social relation world. This paper aims to assess the user perception towards SNS like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. In the study data was obtained thro...

  16. 75 FR 6404 - Regulatory Site Visit Training Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-09

    ... review efficiency and quality, and the quality of its regulatory efforts and interactions, by providing... tissue establishments. The visits may include packaging facilities, quality control and pathology...

  17. Review of Social Networking Sites' Security and Privacy

    OpenAIRE

    YANG, SHUN

    2015-01-01

    Nowadays social media networking has dramatically increased. Social networking sites like Facebook make users create huge amount of profiles and share personal information within networking of different users. Social networking exposes personal information far beyond the group of friends. And that information or data on social media networking could be potential threat to people's information security and privacy. In this review, we are going to view the privacy risks and security problem...

  18. How busy is my supervisor? Detecting the visits in the office of my supervisor using a sensor network

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nait Aicha, A.; Englebienne, G.; Kröse, B.

    2012-01-01

    Existing research on the recognition of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) from simple sensor networks assumes that only a single person is present in the home. In real life there will be situations where the inhabitant receives visits from family members or professional health care givers. In such

  19. How Busy is my Supervisor? : detecting the visits in the office of my supervisor using a sensor network

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nait Aicha, Ahmed; Englebienne, Gwenn; Kröse, Ben

    2012-01-01

    Existing research on the recognition of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) from simple sensor networks assumes that only a single person is present in the home. In real life there will be situations where the inhabitant receives visits from family members or professional health care givers. In such

  20. Pro-eating disorder communities on social networking sites: a content analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juarascio, Adrienne S; Shoaib, Amber; Timko, C Alix

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the number of pro-ana groups on social networking sites and to analyze their content. A general inductive approach was used to analyze the content. Two main themes emerged from the content analysis: social support and eating disorder specific content. Themes were similar across all groups; however, a linguistic analysis indicated differences between groups on the two different networking sites. There was an absence of content typically found on Internet sites. Pro-ana groups on social networking sites are focused on social interactions, and lack eating disorder specific content found on Internet sites.

  1. A comparison of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn: Examining motivations and network externalities for the use of social networking sites

    OpenAIRE

    Kim, Mijung; Cha, Jiyoung

    2017-01-01

    Although the winner-takes-all approach is often theorized in the use of an information communication technology, more than one popular social networking site exists in the market. Integrating uses and gratification (U&G) theory with network externalities, this study examines why social networking sites can coexist in the market and whether predictors of using social networking sites differ across popular social networking sites. Three separate surveys were conducted for Facebook, Twitter, and...

  2. VISIT - Virtual visits to nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mollaret, Jean-Christophe

    2001-01-01

    For more than twenty years, EDFs Communication Division has conducted a policy of opening its generation sites to the general public. Around 300,000 people visit a nuclear power plant every year. However, for the security of persons and the safety of facilities, those parts of the plant situated in controlled areas are not accessible to visitors. For the sake of transparency, EDF has taken an interest in the technologies offered by virtual reality to show the general public what a nuclear power plant is really like, so as to initiate dialogue on nuclear energy, particularly with young people. Visit has been developed with virtual reality technologies. It serves to show the invisible (voyage to the core of fission), the inaccessible and to immerse the visitors in environments which are usually closed to the general public (discovery of the controlled area of a nuclear power plant). Visit is used in Public Information Centres which receive visitors to EDF power plants and during international exhibitions and conferences. Visit allows a virtual tour of the following controlled areas: locker room hot area/cold area, a necessary passage before entering the controlled areas; reactor building; fuel building; waste auxiliary building (liquid, solid and gaseous effluents). It also includes a tour of the rooms or equipment usually accessible to the general public: control room, turbine hall, transformer, air cooling tower

  3. Contemporary social network sites: Relevance in anesthesiology teaching, training, and research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haldar, Rudrashish; Kaushal, Ashutosh; Samanta, Sukhen; Ambesh, Paurush; Srivastava, Shashi; Singh, Prabhat K

    2016-01-01

    The phenomenal popularity of social networking sites has been used globally by medical professionals to boost professional associations and scientific developments. They have tremendous potential to forge professional liaisons, generate employment,upgrading skills and publicizing scientific achievements. We highlight the role of social networking mediums in influencing teaching, training and research in anaesthesiology. The growth of social networking sites have been prompted by the limitations of previous facilities in terms of ease of data and interface sharing and the amalgamation of audio visual aids on common platforms in the newer facilities. Contemporary social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr,Linkedn etc and their respective features based on anaesthesiology training or practice have been discussed. A host of advantages which these sites confer are also discussed. Likewise the potential pitfalls and drawbacks of these facilities have also been addressed. Social networking sites have immense potential for development of training and research in Anaesthesiology. However responsible and cautious utilization is advocated.

  4. Protecting Personal Information on Social Networking Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallant, David T.

    2011-01-01

    Almost everyone uses social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn. Since Facebook is the most popular site in the history of the Internet, this article will focus on how one can protect his/her personal information and how that extends to protecting the private information of others.

  5. Should the public be encouraged to visit nuclear plant sites?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferte, J. de la

    1993-01-01

    As we all know, technological progress does not only depend on the innovation capacity of scientists and engineers or the sophistication of technology, but also on public acceptance. People - today - are not only more curious about new applications of technology but also more inquiring about their potential impact on their own safety and environment. This is particularly true in the nuclear field, where the people are afraid of nuclear installations and processes unknown to them. On the contrary, the more opportunities they have to see or live near nuclear plants, the less they are inclined to reject them as a whole. The past two decades have confirmed the increasing importance of visitor centres at nuclear plant sites as a major communication tool between the nuclear industry and the public. Already today, for example, 16% of the US public and 11% of the French public have visited a nuclear power plant or its information centre. A rich experience is therefore available from existing visitor centres at nuclear power stations in most industrialised countries. Furthermore, the construction and industrial operation of new facilities in the nuclear fuel cycle presents new challenges in terms of public understanding and acceptance which are progressively taken into account. As a result, visitor centres with new communication strategies and tools are now being put in place at radioactive waste management sites and nuclear fuel cycle sites as well as near nuclear installations being dismantled. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) organised an international Seminar in November 1992 in Madrid (Spain) in co-operation with the Spanish Agency for the Management of Radioactive Waste (ENRESA) and the Union of Spanish Electricity Utilities (UNESA) to: 1. take stock of the experience of OECD countries in the design and operation of visitor centres; 2. assess the educational and information methods and tools used in these centres, and 3. measure their impact on public opinion and

  6. Should the public be encouraged to visit nuclear plant sites?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferte, J de la [External Relations and Public Affairs, OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, Paris (France)

    1993-07-01

    As we all know, technological progress does not only depend on the innovation capacity of scientists and engineers or the sophistication of technology, but also on public acceptance. People - today - are not only more curious about new applications of technology but also more inquiring about their potential impact on their own safety and environment. This is particularly true in the nuclear field, where the people are afraid of nuclear installations and processes unknown to them. On the contrary, the more opportunities they have to see or live near nuclear plants, the less they are inclined to reject them as a whole. The past two decades have confirmed the increasing importance of visitor centres at nuclear plant sites as a major communication tool between the nuclear industry and the public. Already today, for example, 16% of the US public and 11% of the French public have visited a nuclear power plant or its information centre. A rich experience is therefore available from existing visitor centres at nuclear power stations in most industrialised countries. Furthermore, the construction and industrial operation of new facilities in the nuclear fuel cycle presents new challenges in terms of public understanding and acceptance which are progressively taken into account. As a result, visitor centres with new communication strategies and tools are now being put in place at radioactive waste management sites and nuclear fuel cycle sites as well as near nuclear installations being dismantled. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) organised an international Seminar in November 1992 in Madrid (Spain) in co-operation with the Spanish Agency for the Management of Radioactive Waste (ENRESA) and the Union of Spanish Electricity Utilities (UNESA) to: 1. take stock of the experience of OECD countries in the design and operation of visitor centres; 2. assess the educational and information methods and tools used in these centres, and 3. measure their impact on public opinion and

  7. Problematic use of social networking sites among urban school going teenagers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meena, Parth Singh; Mittal, Pankaj Kumar; Solanki, Ram Kumar

    2012-01-01

    Background: Social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut and Twitter are virtual communities where users can create individual public profiles, interact with real-life friends and meet other people based on shared interests. An exponential rise in usage of Social Networking Sites have been seen within the last few years. Their ease of use and immediate gratification effect on users has changed the way people in general and students in particular spend their time. Young adults, particularly teenagers tended to be unaware of just how much time they really spent on social networking sites. Negative correlates of Social Networking Sites usage include the decrease in real life social community participation and academic achievement, as well as relationship problems, each of which may be indicative of potential addiction. Aims: the aim of the study was to find out whether teenagers, specially those living in cities spend too much time on social networking websites. Materials and Methods: 200 subjects, both boys and girls were included in the cross sectional study who were given a 20 item Young's internet addiction test modified for social networking sites. The responses were analyzed using chi square test and Fisher's exact test. Results: 24.74% of the students were having occasional or ‘frequency’ problems while 2.02% of them were experiencing severe problems due to excessive time spent using social networking sites. Conclusion: With the ever increasing popularity of social media, teenagers are devoting significant time to social networking on websites and are prone to get ‘addicted’ to such form of online social interaction. PMID:24250039

  8. Problematic use of social networking sites among urban school going teenagers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parth Singh Meena

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut and Twitter are virtual communities where users can create individual public profiles, interact with real-life friends and meet other people based on shared interests. An exponential rise in usage of Social Networking Sites have been seen within the last few years. Their ease of use and immediate gratification effect on users has changed the way people in general and students in particular spend their time. Young adults, particularly teenagers tended to be unaware of just how much time they really spent on social networking sites. Negative correlates of Social Networking Sites usage include the decrease in real life social community participation and academic achievement, as well as relationship problems, each of which may be indicative of potential addiction. Aims: the aim of the study was to find out whether teenagers, specially those living in cities spend too much time on social networking websites. Materials and Methods: 200 subjects, both boys and girls were included in the cross sectional study who were given a 20 item Young′s internet addiction test modified for social networking sites. The responses were analyzed using chi square test and Fisher′s exact test. Results: 24.74% of the students were having occasional or ′frequency′ problems while 2.02% of them were experiencing severe problems due to excessive time spent using social networking sites. Conclusion: With the ever increasing popularity of social media, teenagers are devoting significant time to social networking on websites and are prone to get ′addicted′ to such form of online social interaction.

  9. Problematic use of social networking sites among urban school going teenagers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meena, Parth Singh; Mittal, Pankaj Kumar; Solanki, Ram Kumar

    2012-07-01

    Social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut and Twitter are virtual communities where users can create individual public profiles, interact with real-life friends and meet other people based on shared interests. An exponential rise in usage of Social Networking Sites have been seen within the last few years. Their ease of use and immediate gratification effect on users has changed the way people in general and students in particular spend their time. Young adults, particularly teenagers tended to be unaware of just how much time they really spent on social networking sites. Negative correlates of Social Networking Sites usage include the decrease in real life social community participation and academic achievement, as well as relationship problems, each of which may be indicative of potential addiction. the aim of the study was to find out whether teenagers, specially those living in cities spend too much time on social networking websites. 200 subjects, both boys and girls were included in the cross sectional study who were given a 20 item Young's internet addiction test modified for social networking sites. The responses were analyzed using chi square test and Fisher's exact test. 24.74% of the students were having occasional or 'frequency' problems while 2.02% of them were experiencing severe problems due to excessive time spent using social networking sites. With the ever increasing popularity of social media, teenagers are devoting significant time to social networking on websites and are prone to get 'addicted' to such form of online social interaction.

  10. Potential of Social Networking Sites for Distance Education Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lester, Jaime; Perini, Michael

    2010-01-01

    This chapter explores the potential of social networking sites for increasing student engagement for distance education learners. The authors present a modified student engagement model with a focus on the integration of technology, specifically social networking sites for community college distance education learners. The chapter concludes with…

  11. HOW DO STUDENTS SELECT SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES? AN ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS (AHP MODEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chun Meng Tang

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Social networking sites are popular among university students, and students today are indeed spoiled for choice. New emerging social networking sites sprout up amid popular sites, while some existing ones die out. Given the choice of so many social networking sites, how do students decide which one they will sign up for and stay on as an active user? The answer to this question is of interest to social networking site designers and marketers. The market of social networking sites is highly competitive. To maintain the current user base and continue to attract new users, how should social networking sites design their sites? Marketers spend a fairly large percent of their marketing budget on social media marketing. To formulate an effective social media strategy, how much do marketers understand the users of social networking sites? Learning from website evaluation studies, this study intends to provide some answers to these questions by examining how university students decide between two popular social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter. We first developed an analytic hierarchy process (AHP model of four main selection criteria and 12 sub-criteria, and then administered a questionnaire to a group of university students attending a course at a Malaysian university. AHP analyses of the responses from 12 respondents provided an insight into the decision-making process involved in students’ selection of social networking sites. It seemed that of the four main criteria, privacy was the top concern, followed by functionality, usability, and content. The sub-criteria that were of key concern to the students were apps, revenue-generating opportunities, ease of use, and information security. Between Facebook and Twitter, the students thought that Facebook was the better choice. This information is useful for social networking site designers to design sites that are more relevant to their users’ needs, and for marketers to craft more effective

  12. VA Outpatient Visits by Administrative Parent, FY2010-2014

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Veterans Affairs — Outpatient visits by Administrative Parent. A visit is counted as a visit to one or more clinics or units within 1 calendar day at the site of care level. A patient...

  13. Online social network sites and social capital: a case of facebook

    OpenAIRE

    Naseri, Samaneh

    2017-01-01

    The present study is a theoretical and literary review of online social network sites and their impact on social capital. In this review, the Facebook is selected as one popular and important online social networking site in the world today. To This end, first two main concepts of social capital, bridging and bonding social capital has been provided. Next, the concept of online social networks and the impact of FB on social networks are discussed.

  14. Monitoring Quality Across Home Visiting Models: A Field Test of Michigan's Home Visiting Quality Assurance System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heany, Julia; Torres, Jennifer; Zagar, Cynthia; Kostelec, Tiffany

    2018-06-05

    Introduction In order to achieve the positive outcomes with parents and children demonstrated by many home visiting models, home visiting services must be well implemented. The Michigan Home Visiting Initiative developed a tool and procedure for monitoring implementation quality across models referred to as Michigan's Home Visiting Quality Assurance System (MHVQAS). This study field tested the MHVQAS. This article focuses on one of the study's evaluation questions: Can the MHVQAS be applied across models? Methods Eight local implementing agencies (LIAs) from four home visiting models (Healthy Families America, Early Head Start-Home Based, Parents as Teachers, Maternal Infant Health Program) and five reviewers participated in the study by completing site visits, tracking their time and costs, and completing surveys about the process. LIAs also submitted their most recent review by their model developer. The researchers conducted participant observation of the review process. Results Ratings on the MHVQAS were not significantly different between models. There were some differences in interrater reliability and perceived reliability between models. There were no significant differences between models in perceived validity, satisfaction with the review process, or cost to participate. Observational data suggested that cross-model applicability could be improved by assisting sites in relating the requirements of the tool to the specifics of their model. Discussion The MHVQAS shows promise as a tool and process to monitor implementation quality of home visiting services across models. The results of the study will be used to make improvements before the MHVQAS is used in practice.

  15. Flood quantile estimation at ungauged sites by Bayesian networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mediero, L.; Santillán, D.; Garrote, L.

    2012-04-01

    Estimating flood quantiles at a site for which no observed measurements are available is essential for water resources planning and management. Ungauged sites have no observations about the magnitude of floods, but some site and basin characteristics are known. The most common technique used is the multiple regression analysis, which relates physical and climatic basin characteristic to flood quantiles. Regression equations are fitted from flood frequency data and basin characteristics at gauged sites. Regression equations are a rigid technique that assumes linear relationships between variables and cannot take the measurement errors into account. In addition, the prediction intervals are estimated in a very simplistic way from the variance of the residuals in the estimated model. Bayesian networks are a probabilistic computational structure taken from the field of Artificial Intelligence, which have been widely and successfully applied to many scientific fields like medicine and informatics, but application to the field of hydrology is recent. Bayesian networks infer the joint probability distribution of several related variables from observations through nodes, which represent random variables, and links, which represent causal dependencies between them. A Bayesian network is more flexible than regression equations, as they capture non-linear relationships between variables. In addition, the probabilistic nature of Bayesian networks allows taking the different sources of estimation uncertainty into account, as they give a probability distribution as result. A homogeneous region in the Tagus Basin was selected as case study. A regression equation was fitted taking the basin area, the annual maximum 24-hour rainfall for a given recurrence interval and the mean height as explanatory variables. Flood quantiles at ungauged sites were estimated by Bayesian networks. Bayesian networks need to be learnt from a huge enough data set. As observational data are reduced, a

  16. Is There a Role for Social Networking Sites in Education?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Ieda M.; Hammond, Michael; Durli, Zenilde; Chou, Shiao-Yuh

    Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace have become popular among millions of users including students of all ages. There are ongoing discussions over the potential of these sites to support teaching and learning, particularly to complement traditional or online classroom activities. This paper explores whether social networking have a place in teaching and learning by investigating how students use these sites and whether they find opportunities to discuss study related activities with their peers. Two small scale studies were carried out in a face-to-face undergraduate course in Singapore and students enrolled in a face-to-face Master’s programme in Brazil. Data were collected using surveys and interviews; findings were mixed. Many of the Brazilian students used social networking sites to both socialize and discuss their studies while the Singaporean students used such sites for social interactions only. The paper discusses these differences and offers suggestions for further research.

  17. Visit by two Ministers

    CERN Multimedia

    2008-01-01

    Last December CERN received visits from two Ministers. Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Education, Daniel Vylchev, visited the CMS experiment in the company of the CMS Spokesman, T. Virdee, and several Bulgarian physicists. From left to right: J. Stamenov, M. Mateev, S. Stavrev, T. Virdee, V. Genchev, the Minister Daniel Vylchev, A. Hristova Vutsova, L. Litov and G. Soultanov. CERN Director-General, Robert Aymar, and Montenegro’s Minister of Education and Science, Slobodan Backović. On 18 December, Robert Aymar welcomed Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Education, Daniel Vylchev. A particular highlight of his visit was a tour of the CMS site, during which he met the many Bulgarian physicists working on the experiment. He also attended a presentation of the LHC Computing Grid and visited the Computer Centre. Bulgaria has been a CERN ...

  18. Factors Enabling Information Propagation in a Social Network Site

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Magnani, Matteo; Montesi, Danilo; Rossi, Luca

    2013-01-01

    A relevant feature of Social Network Sites is their ability to propagate units of information and create large distributed conversations. This phenomenon is particularly relevant because of the speed of information propagation, which is known to be much faster than within traditional media......, and because of the very large amount of people that can potentially be exposed to information items. While many general formal models of network propagation have been developed in different research fields, in this chapter we present the result of an empirical study on a Large Social Database (LSD) aimed...... at measuring specific socio-technical factors enabling information spreading in Social Network Sites....

  19. Effects Of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) On Hyper Media Computer Mediated Environments (HCMEs)

    OpenAIRE

    Yoon C. Cho

    2011-01-01

    Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are known as tools to interact and build relationships between users/customers in Hyper Media Computer Mediated Environments (HCMEs). This study explored how social networking sites play a significant role in communication between users. While numerous researchers examined the effectiveness of social networking websites, few studies investigated which factors affected customers attitudes and behavior toward social networking sites. In this paper, the authors inv...

  20. A review of influenza detection and prediction through social networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alessa, Ali; Faezipour, Miad

    2018-02-01

    Early prediction of seasonal epidemics such as influenza may reduce their impact in daily lives. Nowadays, the web can be used for surveillance of diseases. Search engines and social networking sites can be used to track trends of different diseases seven to ten days faster than government agencies such as Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC uses the Illness-Like Influenza Surveillance Network (ILINet), which is a program used to monitor Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) sent by thousands of health care providers in order to detect influenza outbreaks. It is a reliable tool, however, it is slow and expensive. For that reason, many studies aim to develop methods that do real time analysis to track ILI using social networking sites. Social media data such as Twitter can be used to predict the spread of flu in the population and can help in getting early warnings. Today, social networking sites (SNS) are used widely by many people to share thoughts and even health status. Therefore, SNS provides an efficient resource for disease surveillance and a good way to communicate to prevent disease outbreaks. The goal of this study is to review existing alternative solutions that track flu outbreak in real time using social networking sites and web blogs. Many studies have shown that social networking sites can be used to conduct real time analysis for better predictions.

  1. Contemporary social network sites: Relevance in anesthesiology teaching, training, and research

    OpenAIRE

    Rudrashish Haldar; Ashutosh Kaushal; Sukhen Samanta; Paurush Ambesh; Shashi Srivastava; Prabhat K Singh

    2016-01-01

    Objective: The phenomenal popularity of social networking sites has been used globally by medical professionals to boost professional associations and scientific developments. They have tremendous potential to forge professional liaisons, generate employment,upgrading skills and publicizing scientific achievements. We highlight the role of social networking mediums in influencing teaching, training and research in anaesthesiology. Background: The growth of social networking sites have been pr...

  2. 150 Bulgarian students visit CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    Alizée Dauvergne

    2010-01-01

    Between 27 March and 8 April 2010, 150 Bulgarian students from the Astronomical Observatory in Varna visited CERN as part of the “From Galileo to CERN” programme. Bulgarian students participating in the "From Galileo to CERN" educational programme. “It’s interesting to combine astronomy and particle physics”, explains Svejina Dimitrova, organiser of the programme and Director of Varna Astronomical Observatory. The three groups, each one comprising 50 students, first visited Pisa, Padua and other places in Italy  related to Galileo’s life. “Thanks to the visit, students understood telescopes and why Galileo is such an important scientist”, says Svejina. After Italy, they came to CERN for three days and visited several sites: Linac, the Computer Centre CCC, etc. Another group of Bulgarian students in their visit to CERN. “They became aware that particle physics is not only the...

  3. Network cyberinfrastructure as a shared platform to support multi-site research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Multi-site research across the Long-term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network requires access to data and information. We present some existing examples where you can get data from across the network and summarize the rich inventory of measurements taken across LTAR sites. But data management suppo...

  4. Why Do Academics Use Academic Social Networking Sites?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meishar-Tal, Hagit; Pieterse, Efrat

    2017-01-01

    Academic social-networking sites (ASNS) such as Academia.edu and ResearchGate are becoming very popular among academics. These sites allow uploading academic articles, abstracts, and links to published articles; track demand for published articles, and engage in professional interaction. This study investigates the nature of the use and the…

  5. Emergency Department Visits Involving Misuse and Abuse of the Antipsychotic Quetiapine: Results from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margaret E. Mattson

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Case reports in medical literature suggest that the atypical antipsychotic quetiapine, a medication not previously considered to have abuse potential, is now being subject to misuse and abuse (MUA; ie, taken when not prescribed for them or used in a way other than instructed by their health professional. Here we present systematic, nationally representative data from the 2005 to 2011 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN for prevalence of emergency department (ED visits among the U.S. general population involving quetiapine and related to MUA, suicide attempts, and adverse reactions. Nationally, quetiapine-related ED visits increased 90% between 2005 and 2011, from 35,581 ED visits to 67,497. DAWN data indicate that when used without medical supervision for recreational/self-medication purposes, quetiapine poses health risks for its users, especially among polydrug users and women. These findings suggest that the medical and public health communities should increase vigilance concerning this drug and its potential for MUA.

  6. UN Secretary General visits CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    2008-01-01

    UN Secretary General praises CERN in recent visit. Ban Ki-moon, Robert Aymar, CERN Director-General, and Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva at the CMS site.On Sunday 31 August, Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, made an important visit to CERN. Arriving in the late afternoon, he was warmly greeted at Point 5 by Robert Aymar, the Director-General, and the Sous-préfet of Gex, Olivier Laurens-Bernard. Accompanied by a UN delegation, Ban Ki-moon was also introduced to Jos Engelen, the Chief Scientific Officer, and Jim Virdee, the CMS spokesperson. He then took the opportunity to visit CMS and the machine tunnel. At the end of his short trip, Ban Ki-moon signed the Guest Book in the tradition of important dignitaries visiting CERN. Expressing his admiration for CERN’s spirit of collaboration, Ban Ki-moon said, "I am very honored to visit CERN, an invaluable scientific institution a...

  7. Privacy and Generation Y: Applying Library Values to Social Networking Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez, Peter

    2010-01-01

    Librarians face many challenges when dealing with issues of privacy within the mediated space of social networking sites. Conceptually, social networking sites differ from libraries on privacy as a value. Research about Generation Y students, the primary clientele of undergraduate libraries, can inform librarians' relationship to this important…

  8. The Use Of Social Networking Sites For Learning In Institutions Of Higher Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mange Gladys Nkatha

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Institutions of higher learning are facing greater challenges to change and subjected to various transformations in the surrounding environment including technology. These challenge and motivate them to explore new ways to improve their teaching approaches. This study sought to investigate the use of social networking site in institutions of higher learning. To this end two objectives were formulated 1 to investigate the current state of the use of social networking sites by the students 2 investigate how social networking sites can be used to promote authentic learning in institutions of higher learning. The study adopted exploratory approach using descriptive survey design where a sample of 10 67 students were picked from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology JKUAT main campus. The findings indicate the use of social networking sites is a viable option as the students are not only members of social networking sites but also that majority have access to the requisite technological devices. Additionally recommendations for ensuring authentic learning were presented. The researcher recommends the exploration of the leveraging of the existing social networking sites for learning in conjunction with key stakeholders.

  9. Utilizing social networking sites to promote adolescents' health: a pragmatic review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francomano, Jesse A; Harpin, Scott B

    2015-01-01

    Social networking site use has exploded among youth in the last few years and is being adapted as an important tool for healthcare interventions and serving as a platform for adolescents to gain access to health information. The aim of this study was to examine the strengths, weaknesses, and best practices of utilizing Facebook in adolescent health promotion and research via pragmatic literature review. We also examine how sites can facilitate ethically sound healthcare for adolescents, particularly at-risk youth. We conducted a literature review of health and social sciences literature from the past 5 years related to adolescent health and social network site use. Publications were grouped by shared content then categorized by themes. Five themes emerged: access to healthcare information, peer support and networking, risk and benefits of social network site use in care delivery, overcoming technological barriers, and social network site interventions. More research is needed to better understand how such Web sites can be better utilized to provide access to adolescents seeking healthcare. Given the broad reach of social network sites, all health information must be closely monitored for accurate, safe distribution. Finally, consent and privacy issues are omnipresent in social network sites, which calls for standards of ethical use.

  10. Profiles of social networking sites users in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Constantinides, Efthymios; Alarcón del Amo, Maria del Carmen; Lorenzo Romero, Carlota

    2010-01-01

    Online social networking has become a reality and integral part of the daily personal, social and business life. The extraordinary increase of the user numbers of Social Networking Sites (SNS) and the rampant creation of online communities presents businesses with many challenges and opportunities.

  11. Social Networking Sites in The Netherlands; an Explorative Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Constantinides, Efthymios; Lorenzo-Romero, C.; Alarcon-del-Amo, Maria-del-Carmen

    2011-01-01

    The rampant growth of social networking has become an issue of attention and interest by commercial organizations. Based on a national sample this paper investigates the demographics, profiles and behavior of participants of Social Networking sites in The Netherlands. The paper provides a typology

  12. Social Networking Web Sites as a Tool for Student Transitions: Purposive Use of Social Networking Web Sites for the First-Year Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nalbone, David P.; Kovach, Ronald J.; Fish, Jessica N.; McCoy, Kelsey M.; Jones, Kathryn E.; Wright, Hillary Rawlings

    2016-01-01

    The current study investigated the potential role that social networking Web sites (e.g., Facebook) played in creating both actual and virtual learning communities within the first-year seminar. Researchers conducted a 2-year longitudinal study to assess whether students who were connected within a university-founded virtual network persisted in…

  13. The Role of Adolescent Development in Social Networking Site Use: Theory and Evidence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Drew P. Cingel

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Using survey data collected from 260 children, adolescents, and young adults between the ages of 9 and 26, this paper offers evidence for a relationship between social networking site use and Imaginary Audience, a developmental variable in which adolescents believe others are thinking about them at all times. Specifically, after controlling for a number of variables, results indicate a significant, positive relationship between social networking site use and Imaginary Audience ideation. Additionally, results indicate a positive relationship between Imaginary Audience ideation and Facebook customization practices. Together, these findings provide evidence, based on Vygotskian developmental theory, for a general consideration of the role that currently available tools, in this case social networking sites, can have on development. Thus, findings implicate both the role of development on social networking site use, as well as the role of social networking site use on development. Overall, these findings have important implications for the study of media and human development, which are discussed in detail.

  14. FACTORS PREDICTING CONSUMERS' ASSESSMENT OF ADVERTISEMENTS ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

    OpenAIRE

    Hossam Deraz; Gabriel Baffour Awuah; Desalegn Abraha Gebrekidan

    2015-01-01

    Marketers act on social networking sites (SNSs) in order to be more efficient in merchandising their products and/or services. Even so, the scope of the published studies regarding the assessment of advertisements on social networking sites (SNAs) is limited. Consequently, the present study aimed to consider credibility and interactivity, in addition to information, entertainment and irritation values, as main factors for consumers’ assessment of SNAs, as perceived by SNSs’ users. An analysis...

  15. Visiting Holocaust-Related Sites with Medical Students as an Aid in Teaching Medical Ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-López, Esteban; Ríos-Cortés, Rosa

    2016-05-01

    During the Nazi period numerous doctors and nurses played a nefarious role. In Germany they were responsible for the sterilization and killing of disabled persons. Furthermore, the Nazi doctors used concentration camp inmates as guinea pigs in medical experiments for military or racial purposes. A study of the collaboration of doctors with National Socialism exemplifies behavior that must be avoided. Combining medical teaching with lessons from the Holocaust could be a way to transmit Medical Ethics to doctors, nurses and students. The authors describe a study tour with medical students to Poland, to the largest Nazi extermination camp, Auschwitz, and to the city of Krakow. The tour is the final component of a formal course entitled: "The Holocaust, a Reflection from Medicine" at the Autónoma University of Madrid, Spain. Visiting sites related to the Holocaust, the killing centers and the sites where medical experiments were conducted has a singular meaning for medical students. Tolerance, non-discrimination, and the value of human life can be both learnt and taught at the very place where such values were utterly absent.

  16. Human Splice-Site Prediction with Deep Neural Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naito, Tatsuhiko

    2018-04-18

    Accurate splice-site prediction is essential to delineate gene structures from sequence data. Several computational techniques have been applied to create a system to predict canonical splice sites. For classification tasks, deep neural networks (DNNs) have achieved record-breaking results and often outperformed other supervised learning techniques. In this study, a new method of splice-site prediction using DNNs was proposed. The proposed system receives an input sequence data and returns an answer as to whether it is splice site. The length of input is 140 nucleotides, with the consensus sequence (i.e., "GT" and "AG" for the donor and acceptor sites, respectively) in the middle. Each input sequence model is applied to the pretrained DNN model that determines the probability that an input is a splice site. The model consists of convolutional layers and bidirectional long short-term memory network layers. The pretraining and validation were conducted using the data set tested in previously reported methods. The performance evaluation results showed that the proposed method can outperform the previous methods. In addition, the pattern learned by the DNNs was visualized as position frequency matrices (PFMs). Some of PFMs were very similar to the consensus sequence. The trained DNN model and the brief source code for the prediction system are uploaded. Further improvement will be achieved following the further development of DNNs.

  17. Social network site usage and personal relations of migrants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Damian, E.; van Ingen, E.J.

    2014-01-01

    In this study, we examine the relation between social network site (SNS) usage and the personal networks of immigrants, using a unique dataset composed of a representative sample of immigrants living in the Netherlands. In theory, SNSs can be a helpful tool for immigrants, because they may help

  18. Time Spent on Social Network Sites and Psychological Well-Being: A Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chiungjung

    2017-06-01

    This meta-analysis examines the relationship between time spent on social networking sites and psychological well-being factors, namely self-esteem, life satisfaction, loneliness, and depression. Sixty-one studies consisting of 67 independent samples involving 19,652 participants were identified. The mean correlation between time spent on social networking sites and psychological well-being was low at r = -0.07. The correlations between time spent on social networking sites and positive indicators (self-esteem and life satisfaction) were close to 0, whereas those between time spent on social networking sites and negative indicators (depression and loneliness) were weak. The effects of publication outlet, site on which users spent time, scale of time spent, and participant age and gender were not significant. As most included studies used student samples, future research should be conducted to examine this relationship for adults.

  19. Use and views on social networking sites of pharmacy students in the United kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Maurice; Hanna, Lezley-Anne; Huey, Gwyneth

    2013-02-12

    Objective. To investigate students' use and views on social networking sites and assess differences in attitudes between genders and years in the program.Methods. All pharmacy undergraduate students were invited via e-mail to complete an electronic questionnaire consisting of 21 questions relating to social networking.Results. Most (91.8%) of the 377 respondents reported using social networking Web sites, with 98.6% using Facebook and 33.7% using Twitter. Female students were more likely than male students to agree that they had been made sufficiently aware of the professional behavior expected of them when using social networking sites (76.6% vs 58.1% p=0.002) and to agree that students should have the same professional standards whether on placement or using social networking sites (76.3% vs 61.6%; psocial networking use and potentially inappropriate attitudes towards professionalism were found among pharmacy students. Further training may be useful to ensure pharmacy students are aware of how to apply codes of conduct when using social networking sites.

  20. Use and Views on Social Networking Sites of Pharmacy Students in the United Kingdom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanna, Lezley-Anne; Huey, Gwyneth

    2013-01-01

    Objective. To investigate students' use and views on social networking sites and assess differences in attitudes between genders and years in the program. Methods. All pharmacy undergraduate students were invited via e-mail to complete an electronic questionnaire consisting of 21 questions relating to social networking. Results. Most (91.8%) of the 377 respondents reported using social networking Web sites, with 98.6% using Facebook and 33.7% using Twitter. Female students were more likely than male students to agree that they had been made sufficiently aware of the professional behavior expected of them when using social networking sites (76.6% vs 58.1% p=0.002) and to agree that students should have the same professional standards whether on placement or using social networking sites (76.3% vs 61.6%; p<0.001). Conclusions. A high level of social networking use and potentially inappropriate attitudes towards professionalism were found among pharmacy students. Further training may be useful to ensure pharmacy students are aware of how to apply codes of conduct when using social networking sites. PMID:23459621

  1. Insect-flower interaction network structure is resilient to a temporary pulse of floral resources from invasive Rhododendron ponticum.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erin Jo Tiedeken

    Full Text Available Invasive alien plants can compete with native plants for resources, and may ultimately decrease native plant diversity and/or abundance in invaded sites. This could have consequences for native mutualistic interactions, such as pollination. Although invasive plants often become highly connected in plant-pollinator interaction networks, in temperate climates they usually only flower for part of the season. Unless sufficient alternative plants flower outside this period, whole-season floral resources may be reduced by invasion. We hypothesized that the cessation of flowering of a dominant invasive plant would lead to dramatic, seasonal compositional changes in plant-pollinator communities, and subsequent changes in network structure. We investigated variation in floral resources, flower-visiting insect communities, and interaction networks during and after the flowering of invasive Rhododendron ponticum in four invaded Irish woodland sites. Floral resources decreased significantly after R. ponticum flowering, but the magnitude of the decrease varied among sites. Neither insect abundance nor richness varied between the two periods (during and after R. ponticum flowering, yet insect community composition was distinct, mostly due to a significant reduction in Bombus abundance after flowering. During flowering R. ponticum was frequently visited by Bombus; after flowering, these highly mobile pollinators presumably left to find alternative floral resources. Despite compositional changes, however, network structural properties remained stable after R. ponticum flowering ceased: generality increased, but quantitative connectance, interaction evenness, vulnerability, H'2 and network size did not change. This is likely because after R. ponticum flowering, two to three alternative plant species became prominent in networks and insects increased their diet breadth, as indicated by the increase in network-level generality. We conclude that network structure

  2. Characteristics of food industry web sites and "advergames" targeting children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culp, Jennifer; Bell, Robert A; Cassady, Diana

    2010-01-01

    To assess the content of food industry Web sites targeting children by describing strategies used to prolong their visits and foster brand loyalty; and to document health-promoting messages on these Web sites. A content analysis was conducted of Web sites advertised on 2 children's networks, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. A total of 290 Web pages and 247 unique games on 19 Internet sites were examined. Games, found on 81% of Web sites, were the most predominant promotion strategy used. All games had at least 1 brand identifier, with logos being most frequently used. On average Web sites contained 1 "healthful" message for every 45 exposures to brand identifiers. Food companies use Web sites to extend their television advertising to promote brand loyalty among children. These sites almost exclusively promoted food items high in sugar and fat. Health professionals need to monitor food industry marketing practices used in "new media." Published by Elsevier Inc.

  3. Sport psychology group consultation using social networking web sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dietrich, Frederick; Shipherd, Amber M; Gershgoren, Lael; Filho, Edson Medeiros; Basevitch, Itay

    2012-08-01

    A social networking Web site, Facebook, was used to deliver long-term sport psychology consultation services to student-athletes (i.e., soccer players) in 30- to 60-min weekly sessions. Additional short-term team building, group cohesion, communication, anger management, injury rehabilitation, mental toughness, commitment, and leadership workshops were provided. Cohesion and overall relationships between both the student-athletes and the sport psychology consultants benefited from this process. Social networking Web sites offer a practical way of providing sport psychology consulting services that does not require use of major resources. (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

  4. The Imagined Audience on Social Network Sites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eden Litt

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available When people construct and share posts on social network sites like Facebook and Twitter, whom do they imagine as their audience? How do users describe this imagined audience? Do they have a sub-audience in mind (e.g., “friends who like reality television”? Do they share more broadly and abstractly (e.g., “the public”? Do such imaginings fluctuate each time a person posts? Using a mixed-methods approach involving a 2-month-long diary study of 119 diverse American adults and their 1,200 social network site posts, supplemented with follow-up interviews (N = 30, this study explores the imagined audience on social network sites. The findings reveal that even though users often interacted with large diverse audiences as they posted, they coped by envisioning either very broad abstract imagined audiences or more targeted specific imagined audiences composed of personal ties, professional ties, communal ties, and/or phantasmal ties. When people had target imagined audiences in mind, they were most often homogeneous and composed of people’s friends and family. Users’ imaginings typically fluctuated among these audience types as they posted even though the potential audience as per their posts’ privacy settings often did not change. The findings provide a list of audience types, as well as detailed descriptions, examples, and frequencies on which future research can build. With people’s online presence playing an important role for their reputations, these findings provide more insight into for whom people are managing their privacy and whom they have in mind as they share.

  5. Academic Social Networking Sites: Improves Research Visibility and Impact

    OpenAIRE

    Ebrahim, Nader Ale

    2017-01-01

    Researchers needs to remove many traditional obstacles to disseminate and outreach their research outputs. Academic social networking allows you to connect with other researchers in your field, share your publications, and get feedback on your non-peer-reviewed work. The academic social networking, making your work more widely discoverable and easily available. The two best known academic social networking are ResearchGate and Academia.edu. These sites offer an instant technique to monitor wh...

  6. Mineral licks: motivational factors for visitation and accompanying disease risk at communal use sites of elk and deer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavelle, Michael J; Phillips, Gregory E; Fischer, Justin W; Burke, Patrick W; Seward, Nathan W; Stahl, Randal S; Nichols, Tracy A; Wunder, Bruce A; VerCauteren, Kurt C

    2014-12-01

    Free-ranging cervids acquire most of their essential minerals through forage consumption, though occasionally seek other sources to account for seasonal mineral deficiencies. Mineral sources occur as natural geological deposits (i.e., licks) or as anthropogenic mineral supplements. In both scenarios, these sources commonly serve as focal sites for visitation. We monitored 11 licks in Rocky Mountain National Park, north-central Colorado, using trail cameras to quantify daily visitation indices (DVI) and soil consumption indices (SCI) for Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) during summer 2006 and documented elk, mule deer, and moose (Alces alces) visiting licks. Additionally, soil samples were collected, and mineral concentrations were compared to discern levels that explain rates of visitation. Relationships between response variables; DVI and SCI, and explanatory variables; elevation class, moisture class, period of study, and concentrations of minerals were examined. We found that DVI and SCI were greatest at two wet, low-elevation licks exhibiting relatively high concentrations of manganese and sodium. Because cervids are known to seek Na from soils, we suggest our observed association of Mn with DVI and SCI was a likely consequence of deer and elk seeking supplemental dietary Na. Additionally, highly utilized licks such as these provide an area of concentrated cervid occupation and interaction, thus increasing risk for environmental transmission of infectious pathogens such as chronic wasting disease, which has been shown to be shed in the saliva, urine, and feces of infected cervids.

  7. Social networking sites as business tool: a study of user behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Constantinides, Efthymios; Lorenzo-Romero, C.; Alarcon-del-Amo, M.d.C.; Glykas, M.

    2013-01-01

    Social Networking Sites (SNS) are second generation web applications allowing the creation of personal online networks; the social networking domain has become one of the fastest growing online environments connecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Businesses are increasingly interested

  8. The moderating role of attachment anxiety on social network site use intensity and social capital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Haihua; Shi, Junqi; Liu, Yihao; Sheng, Zitong

    2013-02-01

    This study examined the moderating role of attachment anxiety on the relationship between intensity of social network site use and bridging, bonding, and maintained social capital. Data from 322 undergraduate Chinese students were collected. Hierarchical regression analyses showed positive relationships between online intensity of social network site use and the three types of social capital. Moreover, attachment anxiety moderated the effect of intensity of social network site use on social capital. Specifically, for students with lower attachment anxiety, the relationships between intensity of social network site use and bonding and bridging social capital were stronger than those with higher attachment anxiety. The result suggested that social network sites cannot improve highly anxiously attached individuals' social capital effectively; they may need more face-to-face communications.

  9. Stability of modularity and structural keystone species in temporal cumulative plant- flower-visitor networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dupont, Yoko; Olesen, Jens Mogens

    2012-01-01

    Modularity is a structural property of ecological networks, which has received much interest, but has been poorly explored. Modules are distinct subsets of species interacting strongly with each other, but sparsely with species outside the subset. Using a series of temporal cumulative networks, we...... all flowering plants and flower-visiting insect species throughout the flowering season at three dry heathland sites in Denmark. For each site, we constructed cumulative networks every 0.5 months, resulting in series of 10–12 networks per site. Numbers of interactions, and plant and insect species...... around one or two hubs. These hub species encompassed a small number of plant species, many of which acted as hubs at several study sites and throughout most of their flowering season. Thus, these plants become of key importance in maintaining the structure of their pollination network. We conclude...

  10. Social Networking Sites and Addiction: Ten Lessons Learned

    OpenAIRE

    Kuss, Daria J.; Griffiths, Mark D.

    2017-01-01

    Online social networking sites (SNSs) have gained increasing popularity in the last decade, with individuals engaging in SNSs to connect with others who share similar interests. The perceived need to be online may result in compulsive use of SNSs, which in extreme cases may result in symptoms and consequences traditionally associated with substance-related addictions. In order to present new insights into online social networking and addiction, in this paper, 10 lessons learned concerning onl...

  11. Cosmic visits

    CERN Multimedia

    Stefania Pandolfi

    2015-01-01

    On Saturday, 19 September, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano and Amalia Ercoli Finzi, Principal Investigator of the SD2 experiment on board the ESA Rosetta spacecraft, visited the AMS Control Centre and other CERN installations.   From left to right: Sergio Bertolucci (CERN Director of Research and Computing), Amalia Ercoli Finzi (Emeritus Professor in the Aerospace department of the Polytechnic University of Milan and Principal Investigator of the SD2 experiment on board the ESA Rosetta spacecraft), Maurice Bourquin (AMS-02 Senior Scientist and Honorary Professor in the Nuclear and Corpuscular Physics department of the University of Geneva) and Luca Parmitano (Major in the Italian Air Force and European Space Agency astronaut) in the AMS Payload and Operation Control Centre. They were welcomed in the early morning by Sergio Bertolucci and then headed to the Prévessin site to visit the CERN Control Centre and the Payload and Operation Control Centre (POCC) of the Alpha Magnetic Sp...

  12. XenoSite: accurately predicting CYP-mediated sites of metabolism with neural networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaretzki, Jed; Matlock, Matthew; Swamidass, S Joshua

    2013-12-23

    Understanding how xenobiotic molecules are metabolized is important because it influences the safety, efficacy, and dose of medicines and how they can be modified to improve these properties. The cytochrome P450s (CYPs) are proteins responsible for metabolizing 90% of drugs on the market, and many computational methods can predict which atomic sites of a molecule--sites of metabolism (SOMs)--are modified during CYP-mediated metabolism. This study improves on prior methods of predicting CYP-mediated SOMs by using new descriptors and machine learning based on neural networks. The new method, XenoSite, is faster to train and more accurate by as much as 4% or 5% for some isozymes. Furthermore, some "incorrect" predictions made by XenoSite were subsequently validated as correct predictions by revaluation of the source literature. Moreover, XenoSite output is interpretable as a probability, which reflects both the confidence of the model that a particular atom is metabolized and the statistical likelihood that its prediction for that atom is correct.

  13. Fire promotes pollinator visitation: implications for ameliorating declines of pollination services.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael E Van Nuland

    Full Text Available Pollinators serve critical roles for the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, and have an estimated annual value of over $150 billion for global agriculture. Mounting evidence from agricultural systems reveals that pollinators are declining in many regions of the world, and with a lack of information on whether pollinator communities in natural systems are following similar trends, identifying factors which support pollinator visitation and services are important for ameliorating the effects of the current global pollinator crisis. We investigated how fire affects resource structure and how that variation influences floral pollinator communities by comparing burn versus control treatments in a southeastern USA old-field system. We hypothesized and found a positive relationship between fire and plant density of a native forb, Verbesina alternifolia, as well as a significant difference in floral visitation of V. alternifolia between burn and control treatments. V. alternifolia density was 44% greater and floral visitation was 54% greater in burned treatments relative to control sites. When the density of V. alternifolia was experimentally reduced in the burn sites to equivalent densities observed in control sites, floral visitation in burned sites declined to rates found in control sites. Our results indicate that plant density is a proximal mechanism by which an imposed fire regime can indirectly impact floral visitation, suggesting its usefulness as a tool for management of pollination services. Although concerns surround the negative impacts of management, indirect positive effects may provide an important direction to explore for managing future ecological and conservation issues. Studies examining the interaction among resource concentration, plant apparency, and how fire affects the evolutionary consequences of altered patterns of floral visitation are overdue.

  14. Factors affecting Malaysian university students’ purchase intention in social networking sites

    OpenAIRE

    Saeideh Sharifi fard; Ezhar Tamam; Md Salleh Hj Hassan; Moniza Waheed; Zeinab Zaremohzzabieh

    2016-01-01

    This study applied the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 to examine acceptance and use of social networking sites in a marketing setting. This study uses 370 regular higher education students in Malaysia as respondents. Quantitative method is used. The findings revealed that performance expectancy (PE) and hedonic motivation were the main factors that influence users’ online purchase intention (PI) through social networking sites (SNSs) in Malaysia. As for moderating influe...

  15. How prepared were the Puerto Rico Seismic Network sites for the arrival of Hurricane Maria? Lessons learned on communications, power and infrastructure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanacore, E. A.; Lopez, A. M.; Huerfano, V.; Lugo, J.; Baez-Sanchez, G.

    2017-12-01

    For exactly 85 years the island of Puerto Rico in the northeastern Caribbean was spared from catastrophic category 4 hurricane winds. Then Hurricane Maria arrived on September 20, 2017 with maximum sustained winds of up to 155 mph. The eye of the hurricane crossed the island from southeast to northwest in eight hours leaving almost a meter of rainfall on its path. Sustained winds, gusts and precipitation were most certainly going to affect the seismic and geodetic equipment the Puerto Rico Seismic Network (PRSN) use for locating earthquakes in the region. PRSN relies on 35 seismic stations (velocity and strong-motion) to characterize the seismic behavior of the island and 15 geodetic (GNSS) stations to determine crustal deformation of the Puerto Rico - Virgin Islands microplate. PRSN stations have been designed to withstand earthquakes. However, the equipment suffered considerable damage due to the strong winds especially station communication towers. This coupled with catastrophic damage to the telecommunication and power grids of the island had severe effects on the network. Additionally, the level of devastation was such that it hampered the ability of PRSN staff to visit the sites for assessment and repair. Here we present the effects of category 4 hurricane had on our seismic and geodetic sites, examine the susceptibility of the PRSN stations' power and communications, and discuss future plans to recuperate and improve station resiliency for future catastrophic events. These lessons learned hopefully will help harden sites of networks, agencies and/or institutions that rely on similar infrastructure.

  16. Social Networking Sites as a Learning Tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez-Casado, Noelia; Cegarra Navarro, Juan Gabriel; Wensley, Anthony; Tomaseti-Solano, Eva

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Over the past few years, social networking sites (SNSs) have become very useful for firms, allowing companies to manage the customer-brand relationships. In this context, SNSs can be considered as a learning tool because of the brand knowledge that customers develop from these relationships. Because of the fact that knowledge in…

  17. THE USE OF INDUSTRIAL VISITS TO ENHANCE LEARNING AT ENGINEERING COURSES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TIRUNELVELI N. P. PADMESH

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Industrial visits represent an important activity in any engineering undergraduate programme that contributes to the achievement of various essential learning outcomes and programme objectives. This paper reports on an attempt to make the industrial visit an integral part of the Engineering Design and Communication course. This is achieved through identifying learning outcomes and a suitable industrial site to achieve them. For this purpose a thermal power plant was indentified as a site to be visited by students. The visit was planned to help students to achieve the learning outcomes. A number of questions in form of surveys, related to the learning outcomes, were prepared and given to the students to answer. The pre-visit, after-visit, and post-visit surveys were aimed at priming the minds of the students, gauging the level of satisfaction, and assessing the level of retention of knowledge, respectively. Students found this method very useful and they were able to remember a fair bit of information after about semester from the trip date. Our assessment of this exercise is the objectives have been achieved.

  18. Analysis of impact of Internet marketing on visits of the Lenovo Blog CZ

    OpenAIRE

    Ruskovská, Petra

    2013-01-01

    The thesis analyses the impact of Internet marketing tools on visits of the Lenovo Blog CZ, the official blog of the computer manufacturer Lenovo. It focuses evolution of visits of the blog over time, on the impact of social networks and Facebook posts paid promotion on visits. Finally, it observes to what extent the Internet marketing tools impact overall visits of the blog over the observed time.

  19. 76 FR 19466 - Masco Builder Cabinet Group Including On-Site Leased Workers From Reserves Network, Reliable...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-07

    ... Builder Cabinet Group Including On-Site Leased Workers From Reserves Network, Reliable Staffing, and Third Dimension Waverly, OH; Masco Builder Cabinet Group Including On-Site Leased Workers From Reserves Network... Group including on-site leased workers from Reserves Network, Jackson, Ohio. The workers produce...

  20. Identifying potential kidney donors using social networking web sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Alexander; Anderson, Emily E; Turner, Hang T; Shoham, David; Hou, Susan H; Grams, Morgan

    2013-01-01

    Social networking sites like Facebook may be a powerful tool for increasing rates of live kidney donation. They allow for wide dissemination of information and discussion and could lessen anxiety associated with a face-to-face request for donation. However, sparse data exist on the use of social media for this purpose. We searched Facebook, the most popular social networking site, for publicly available English-language pages seeking kidney donors for a specific individual, abstracting information on the potential recipient, characteristics of the page itself, and whether potential donors were tested. In the 91 pages meeting inclusion criteria, the mean age of potential recipients was 37 (range: 2-69); 88% were US residents. Other posted information included the individual's photograph (76%), blood type (64%), cause of kidney disease (43%), and location (71%). Thirty-two percent of pages reported having potential donors tested, and 10% reported receiving a live-donor kidney transplant. Those reporting donor testing shared more potential recipient characteristics, provided more information about transplantation, and had higher page traffic. Facebook is already being used to identify potential kidney donors. Future studies should focus on how to safely, ethically, and effectively use social networking sites to inform potential donors and potentially expand live kidney donation. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  1. Sick-visit immunizations and delayed well-baby visits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robison, Steve G

    2013-07-01

    Giving recommended immunizations during sick visits for minor and acute illness such as acute otitis media has long been an American Academy of Pediatrics/Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice recommendation. An addition to the American Academy of Pediatrics policy in 2010 advised considering whether giving immunizations at the sick visit would discourage making up missed well-baby visits. This study quantifies the potential tradeoff between sick-visit immunizations and well-baby visits. This study was a retrospective cohort analysis with a case-control component of sick visits for acute otitis media that supplanted normal well-baby visits at age 2, 4, or 6 months. Infants were stratified for sick-visit immunization, no sick-visit immunization but quick makeup well-baby visits, or no sick-visit immunizations or quick makeup visits. Immunization rates and well-baby visit rates were assessed through 24 months of age. For 1060 study cases, no significant difference was detected in immunization rates or well-baby visits through 24 months of age between those with or without sick-visit immunizations. Thirty-nine percent of infants without a sick-visit shot failed to return for a quick makeup well-baby visit; this delayed group was significantly less likely to be up-to-date for immunizations (relative risk: 0.66) and had fewer well-baby visits (mean: 3.8) from 2 through 24 months of age compared with those with sick-visit shots (mean: 4.7). The substantial risk that infants will not return for a timely makeup well-baby visit after a sick visit should be included in any consideration of whether to delay immunizations.

  2. Problematic use of social networking sites among urban school going teenagers

    OpenAIRE

    Meena, Parth Singh; Mittal, Pankaj Kumar; Solanki, Ram Kumar

    2012-01-01

    Background: Social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut and Twitter are virtual communities where users can create individual public profiles, interact with real-life friends and meet other people based on shared interests. An exponential rise in usage of Social Networking Sites have been seen within the last few years. Their ease of use and immediate gratification effect on users has changed the way people in general and students in particular spend their time. Young adults, particularly te...

  3. Selective Self-Presentation and Social Comparison Through Photographs on Social Networking Sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Jesse; Vendemia, Megan A

    2016-10-01

    Through social media and camera phones, users enact selective self-presentation as they choose, edit, and post photographs of themselves (such as selfies) to social networking sites for an imagined audience. Photos typically focus on users' physical appearance, which may compound existing sociocultural pressures about body image. We identified users of social networking sites among a nationally representative U.S. sample (N = 1,686) and examined women's and men's photo-related behavior, including posting photos, editing photos, and feelings after engaging in upward and downward social comparison with others' photos on social networking sites. We identified some sex differences: women edited photos more frequently and felt worse after upward social comparison than men. Body image and body comparison tendency mediated these effects.

  4. What Motivates Young Adults to Talk About Physical Activity on Social Network Sites?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ni; Campo, Shelly; Yang, Jingzhen; Eckler, Petya; Snetselaar, Linda; Janz, Kathleen; Leary, Emily

    2017-06-22

    Electronic word-of-mouth on social network sites has been used successfully in marketing. In social marketing, electronic word-of-mouth about products as health behaviors has the potential to be more effective and reach more young adults than health education through traditional mass media. However, little is known about what motivates people to actively initiate electronic word-of-mouth about health behaviors on their personal pages or profiles on social network sites, thus potentially reaching all their contacts on those sites. This study filled the gap by applying a marketing theoretical model to explore the factors associated with electronic word-of-mouth on social network sites about leisure-time physical activity. A Web survey link was sent to undergraduate students at one of the Midwestern universities and 439 of them completed the survey. The average age of the 439 participants was 19 years (SD=1 year, range: 18-24). Results suggested that emotional engagement with leisure-time physical activity (ie, affective involvement in leisure-time physical activity) predicted providing relevant opinions or information on social network sites. Social network site users who perceived stronger ties with all their contacts were more likely to provide and seek leisure-time physical activity opinions and information. People who provided leisure-time physical activity opinions and information were more likely to seek opinions and information, and people who forwarded information about leisure-time physical activity were more likely to chat about it. This study shed light on the application of the electronic word-of-mouth theoretical framework in promoting health behaviors. The findings can also guide the development of future social marketing interventions using social network sites to promote leisure-time physical activity. ©Ni Zhang, Shelly Campo, Jingzhen Yang, Petya Eckler, Linda Snetselaar, Kathleen Janz, Emily Leary. Originally published in the Journal of Medical

  5. Social network site addiction - an overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andreassen, Cecilie Schou; Pallesen, Ståle

    2014-01-01

    Research into frequent, excessive, and compulsive social network activity has increased the last years, in which terms such as "social network site addiction" and "Facebook addiction" have been used interchangeably. The aim of this review is to offer more knowledge and better understanding of social network site addiction (SNS-addiction) among researchers as well as clinicians by presenting a narrative overview of the research field in terms of definition, measurement, antecedents, consequences, and treatment as well as recommendations for future research efforts. Seven different measures of SNS-addiction have been developed, although they have to a very little extent been validated against each other. The small number of studies conducted so far on this topic suggests that SNS-addiction is associated with health-related, academic, and interpersonal problems/issues. However such studies have relied on a simple cross-sectional study design. It is therefore hard to draw any conclusions about potential causality and long-term effects at this point, beyond hypothetical speculations. Empirical studies suggest that SNS-addiction is caused by dispositional factors (e.g., personality, needs, self-esteem), although relevant explanatory socio-cultural and behavioral reinforcement factors remain to be empirically explored. No well-documented treatment for SNS-addiction exists, but knowledge gained from Internet addiction treatment approaches might be transferable to SNS-addiction. Overall, the research on this topic is in its infancy, and as such the SNS-addiction construct needs further conceptual and empirical exploration. There is a great demand for studies using careful longitudinal designs and studies which include objective measures of both behavior and health based on broad representative samples.

  6. Carbon Nanotube and Nanofiber Exposure Assessments: An Analysis of 14 Site Visits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahm, Matthew M.; Schubauer-Berigan, Mary K.; Evans, Douglas E.; Birch, M. Eileen; Fernback, Joseph E.; Deddens, James A.

    2015-01-01

    Recent evidence has suggested the potential for wide-ranging health effects that could result from exposure to carbon nanotubes (CNT) and carbon nanofibers (CNF). In response, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) set a recommended exposure limit (REL) for CNT and CNF: 1 µg m−3 as an 8-h time weighted average (TWA) of elemental carbon (EC) for the respirable size fraction. The purpose of this study was to conduct an industrywide exposure assessment among US CNT and CNF manufacturers and users. Fourteen total sites were visited to assess exposures to CNT (13 sites) and CNF (1 site). Personal breathing zone (PBZ) and area samples were collected for both the inhalable and respirable mass concentration of EC, using NIOSH Method 5040. Inhalable PBZ samples were collected at nine sites while at the remaining five sites both respirable and inhalable PBZ samples were collected side-by-side. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) PBZ and area samples were also collected at the inhalable size fraction and analyzed to quantify and size CNT and CNF agglomerate and fibrous exposures. Respirable EC PBZ concentrations ranged from 0.02 to 2.94 µg m−3 with a geometric mean (GM) of 0.34 µg m−3 and an 8-h TWA of 0.16 µg m−3. PBZ samples at the inhalable size fraction for EC ranged from 0.01 to 79.57 µg m−3 with a GM of 1.21 µg m−3. PBZ samples analyzed by TEM showed concentrations ranging from 0.0001 to 1.613 CNT or CNF-structures per cm3 with a GM of 0.008 and an 8-h TWA concentration of 0.003. The most common CNT structure sizes were found to be larger agglomerates in the 2–5 µm range as well as agglomerates >5 µm. A statistically significant correlation was observed between the inhalable samples for the mass of EC and structure counts by TEM (Spearman ρ = 0.39, P 1 μg m−3. Until more information is known about health effects associated with larger agglomerates, it seems prudent to assess worker exposure to airborne CNT and CNF

  7. Projecting the Mental Model of Social Networking Site Usage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chun-Hui Wu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The growth of online social networking sites (SNS has created a new world of connection and communication for online users. SNS usage has become an important part of people’s daily lives. This study aims to obtain new insights towards SNS usage behaviour. Based on participants’ mental models, it is hoped to make more clear exposition about their perceptions and experiences as well as to explore what factors affect their behaviour for using social networking sites. A blend of qualitative methodologies was adopted for data collection and analysis, including the Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET method, the laddering technique, and the means-end chain theory. The results of this study show that the most important values of using SNS include its convenience, maintaining relationship, gaining relaxation, as well as reaching coherence. Additionally, participants pointed out they cared about their online privacy issues very much and had found some potential dangers; however, they continued to use these sites because of the great benefits and enjoyment.

  8. Social Network Sites: A Starting Point for Career Development Practitioners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strehlke, Christina

    2010-01-01

    This action research study explores the career influence of social network sites (SNSs) by examining 14 web-based articles that consider the risks and opportunities of SNSs from a job search perspective. Three themes are discussed: user visibility, self-presentation, and network connections. Practical strategies are identified to help career…

  9. Do highly cited clinicians get more citations when being present at social networking sites?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatemeh Ramezani-Pakpour-Langeroudi

    2018-01-01

    Conclusion: It seems putting the papers in social networking sites can influence the citation rate. We recommend all scientists to be present at social networking sites to have better chance of visibility and also citation.

  10. Understanding willingness to pay for social network sites

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vock, M.; van Dolen, W.; de Ruyter, K.

    2013-01-01

    The authors investigate how perceived customer value can be translated into economic returns for online social network sites (SNS). The (joint) impact of two value propositions, social capital and entitativity, is assessed. Perceived economic and social customer value are investigated as outcomes of

  11. The public visits a nuclear waste site: Survey results from the West Valley Demonstration Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffman, W.D.

    1987-01-01

    This paper discusses the results of the 1986 survey taken at the West Valley Demonstration Project Open House where a major nuclear waste cleanup is in progress. Over 1400 people were polled on what they think is most effective in educating the public on nuclear waste. A demographic analysis describes the population attending the event and their major interests in the project. Responses to attitudinal questions are examined to evaluate the importance of radioactive waste cleanup as an environmental issue and a fiscal responsibility. Additionally, nuclear power is evaluated on its public perception as an energy resource. The purpose of the study is to find out who visits a nuclear waste site and why, and to measure their attitudes on nuclear issues

  12. Who Needs Facebook Anyway - Privacy and Sociality in Social Network Sites

    OpenAIRE

    Leenes , Ronald ,

    2011-01-01

    Part 3: Part IV: Keynotes; International audience; SNSs pose a plethora of privacy issues that are reasonably well known and understood. Many issues boil down to the same problem: information makes it to the wrong audience. This problem is inherent to the design and business model of the current social network sites. How to cope with this? Two approaches seem obvious: address user behaviour and/or address the architecture of social network sites. In this presentation I will argue that the opt...

  13. Do highly cited clinicians get more citations when being present at social networking sites?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramezani-Pakpour-Langeroudi, Fatemeh; Okhovati, Maryam; Talebian, Ali

    2018-01-01

    The advent of social networking sites has facilitated the dissemination of scientific research. This article aims to investigate the presence of Iranian highly cited clinicians in social networking sites. This is a scientometrics study. Essential Science Indicator (ESI) was searched for Iranian highly cited papers in clinical medicine during November-December 2015. Then, the authors of the papers were checked and a list of authors was obtained. In the second phase, the authors' names were searched in the selected social networking sites (ResearchGate [RG], Academia, Mendeley, LinkedIn). The total citations and h-index in Scopus were also gathered. Fifty-five highly cited papers were retrieved. A total of 107 authors participated in writing these papers. RG was the most popular (64.5%) and LinkedIn and Academia were in 2 nd and 3 rd places. None of the authors of highly cited papers were subscribed to Mendeley. A positive direct relationship was observed between visibility at social networking sites with citation and h-index rate. A significant relationship was observed between the RG score, citations, reads indicators in RG, and citation numbers and there was a significant relationship between the number of document indicator in Academia and the citation numbers. It seems putting the papers in social networking sites can influence the citation rate. We recommend all scientists to be present at social networking sites to have better chance of visibility and also citation.

  14. A generational comparison of social networking site use: the influence of age and social identity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barker, Valerie

    2012-01-01

    An online survey (N=256) compared social networking site (SNS) use among younger (millennial: 18-29) and older (baby-boomer: 41-64) subscribers focusing on the influence of collective self-esteem and group identity on motives for SNS use. Younger participants reported higher positive collective self-esteem, social networking site use for peer communication, and social compensation. Regardless of age, participants reporting high collective self-esteem and group identity were more likely to use social networking sites for peer communication and social identity gratifications, while those reporting negative collective self-esteem were more likely to use social networking sites for social compensation. The theoretical implications of the strong relationship between social identity gratifications and social compensation are discussed.

  15. Descrivere un Social Network Site: un approccio empirico

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rossi, Luca; Di Lascio, F Marta L; Pacelli, Barbara

    2015-01-01

    This chapters provide methods to describe in a quantitative way, a social network site as a whole. Besides the most commonly used metrics such as number of users or level of activity the chapter proposes more complex metrics based on topi diversity and language fidelity....

  16. Energy Savings through Site Renewal in an HSPA/LTE Network Evolution Scenario

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Micallef, Gilbert; Mogensen, Preben

    Mobile network operators are committing themselves to reduce the energy consumption of their networks. However, the expected growth in traffic and the upgrades required to sustain this growth pose a serious question on whether these targets are achievable. Through a case study, this paper looks a...... to just 12%. In some cases, when a less aggressive traffic growth is assumed, the energy savings are enough to balance any increase in energy. In a best case scenario, where all sites are replaced when new equipment is available, energy savings close to 40% are achievable....... at how the energy consumption of a mobile network is likely to develop over a period of nine years, considering the evolution of an existing HSPA layer into a multi-layered (HSPA+LTE) network. Besides, this study also considers four different equipment versions released throughout the years, which...... are introduced in the network based on a replacement strategy. In addition, the two most modern sites are assumed to be configured with remote radio head. In comparison to the reference case which leads to an increase in energy consumption of almost 200%, considering these site upgrades can limit the increase...

  17. The Role of Individual-Media Relationship and Consumer Personal Factors on Spanish Teenagers' Mobile Social Networking Sites Usage

    OpenAIRE

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

    2014-01-01

    Social Networking Sites (SNS) are gaining momentum as powerful tools of marketing communications. Mobile phones are becoming one of the most popular devices for accessing Social Networking Sites. In Spain, 44% of Social Networking Sites users access these sites on a daily basis while 79% of them access these sites on a weekly basis. Furthermore, it is notable that over 70% of Social Networking Sites users talk about and recommend commercial brands. This justifies the interest of the study of ...

  18. Are the users of social networking sites homogeneous? A cross-cultural study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alarcón-del-Amo, María-del-Carmen; Gómez-Borja, Miguel-Ángel; Lorenzo-Romero, Carlota

    2015-01-01

    The growing use of Social Networking Sites (SNS) around the world has made it necessary to understand individuals' behaviors within these sites according to different cultures. Based on a comparative study between two different European countries (The Netherlands versus Spain), a comparison of typologies of networked Internet users has been obtained through a latent segmentation approach. These typologies are based on the frequency with which users perform different activities, their socio-demographic variables, and experience in social networking and interaction patterns. The findings show new insights regarding international segmentation in order to analyse SNS user behaviors in both countries. These results are relevant for marketing strategists eager to use the communication potential of networked individuals and for marketers willing to explore the potential of online networking as a low cost and a highly efficient alternative to traditional networking approaches. For most businesses, expert users could be valuable opinion leaders and potential brand influencers. PMID:26321971

  19. Are the users of social networking sites homogeneous? A cross-cultural study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alarcón-Del-Amo, María-Del-Carmen; Gómez-Borja, Miguel-Ángel; Lorenzo-Romero, Carlota

    2015-01-01

    The growing use of Social Networking Sites (SNS) around the world has made it necessary to understand individuals' behaviors within these sites according to different cultures. Based on a comparative study between two different European countries (The Netherlands versus Spain), a comparison of typologies of networked Internet users has been obtained through a latent segmentation approach. These typologies are based on the frequency with which users perform different activities, their socio-demographic variables, and experience in social networking and interaction patterns. The findings show new insights regarding international segmentation in order to analyse SNS user behaviors in both countries. These results are relevant for marketing strategists eager to use the communication potential of networked individuals and for marketers willing to explore the potential of online networking as a low cost and a highly efficient alternative to traditional networking approaches. For most businesses, expert users could be valuable opinion leaders and potential brand influencers.

  20. Are the users of Social Networking Sites homogeneous? A cross-cultural study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MARÍA-DEL-CARMEN eALARCÓN-DEL-AMO

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The growing use of Social Networking Sites (SNS around the world has made it necessary to understand individuals’ behaviours within these sites according to different cultures. Based on a comparative study between two different European countries (The Netherlands versus Spain, a comparison of typologies of networked Internet users has been obtained through a latent segmentation approach. These typologies are based on the frequency with which users perform different activities, their socio-demographic variables, and experience in social networking and interaction patterns. The findings show new insights regarding international segmentation in order to analyse SNS user behaviours in both countries. These results are relevant for marketing strategists eager to use the communication potential of networked individuals and for marketers willing to explore the potential of online networking as a low cost and a highly efficient alternative to traditional networking approaches. For most businesses, expert users could be valuable opinion leaders and potential brand influencers.

  1. Friend networking sites and their relationship to adolescents' well-being and social self-esteem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valkenburg, Patti M; Peter, Jochen; Schouten, Alexander P

    2006-10-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the consequences of friend networking sites (e.g., Friendster, MySpace) for adolescents' self-esteem and well-being. We conducted a survey among 881 adolescents (10-19-year-olds) who had an online profile on a Dutch friend networking site. Using structural equation modeling, we found that the frequency with which adolescents used the site had an indirect effect on their social self-esteem and well-being. The use of the friend networking site stimulated the number of relationships formed on the site, the frequency with which adolescents received feedback on their profiles, and the tone (i.e., positive vs. negative) of this feedback. Positive feedback on the profiles enhanced adolescents' social self-esteem and well-being, whereas negative feedback decreased their self-esteem and well-being.

  2. Factors affecting the frequency and amount of social networking site use: Motivations, perceptions, and privacy concerns

    OpenAIRE

    Cha, Jiyoung

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that affect the use of social networking Web sites. In doing so, this investigation focuses on two dimensions of social networking site use frequency (i.e., how often people use social networking sites) and amount (i.e., how much time people spend on social networks). Integrating the technology acceptance model with uses and gratification and other consumer characteristics, this study found that interpersonal utility, perceived ease of use, ...

  3. Social Network Sites Effectiveness from EFL Students' Viewpoints

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alnujaidi, Sulaiman

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between EFL students' experience, attitudes, perceptions, and expectations toward the effectiveness of Social Network Sites (SNS), namely, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Flickr, Classmates, Academica, MySpace, English baby, and Google+, in English language learning. A survey of 103 participants from…

  4. Social Network Sites, Individual Social Capital and Happiness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    E. Arampatzi (Efstratia); M.J. Burger (Martijn); N.A. Novik (Natallia)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractCan online social contacts replace the importance of real-life social connections in our pursuit of happiness? With the growing use of social network sites (SNSs), attention has been increasingly drawn to this topic. Our study empirically examines the effect of SNS use on happiness for

  5. SPATIAL DATA MINING TOOLBOX FOR MAPPING SUITABILITY OF LANDFILL SITES USING NEURAL NETWORKS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. K. M. Abujayyab

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Mapping the suitability of landfill sites is a complex field and is involved with multidiscipline. The purpose of this research is to create an ArcGIS spatial data mining toolbox for mapping the suitability of landfill sites at a regional scale using neural networks. The toolbox is constructed from six sub-tools to prepare, train, and process data. The employment of the toolbox is straightforward. The multilayer perceptron (MLP neural networks structure with a backpropagation learning algorithm is used. The dataset is mined from the north states in Malaysia. A total of 14 criteria are utilized to build the training dataset. The toolbox provides a platform for decision makers to implement neural networks for mapping the suitability of landfill sites in the ArcGIS environment. The result shows the ability of the toolbox to produce suitability maps for landfill sites.

  6. Web Sites for Young Children: Gateway to Online Social Networking?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauman, Sheri; Tatum, Tanisha

    2009-01-01

    Traffic on Web sites for young children (ages 3-12) has increased exponentially in recent years. Advocates proclaim that they are safe introductions to the Internet and online social networking and teach essential 21st-century skills. Critics note developmental concerns. In this article, we provide basic information about Web sites for young…

  7. Shimon Pérès visite le CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Press Office. Geneva

    1995-01-01

    Shimon Peres, Israel's Foreign Minister, made an official visit to CERN on 26 January. He was accompanied by the Israeli Ambassador to the International Organizations in Geneva, Yosef Lamdan, and was received by CERN's Director General, Prof. Christopher Llewellyn Smith. The visit took place at the site of the giant OPAL experiment, on the Large Electron Positron Collider (LEP), where there is major Israeli involvement.

  8. Frameworks for Understanding the Nature of Interactions, Networking, and Community in a Social Networking Site for Academic Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grainne Conole

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a new social networking site, Cloudworks, which has been developed to enable discussion and sharing of learning and teaching ideas/designs and to promote reflective academic practice. The site aims to foster new forms of social and participatory practices (peer critiquing, sharing, user-generated content, aggregation, and personalisation within an educational context. One of the key challenges in the development of the site has been to understand the user interactions and the changing patterns of user behaviour as it evolves. The paper explores the extent to which four frameworks that have been used in researching networked learning contexts can provide insights into the patterns of user behaviour that we see in Cloudworks. The paper considers this within the current debate about the new types of interactions, networking, and community being observed as users adapt to and appropriate new technologies.

  9. Social networking sites: an adjunctive treatment modality for psychological problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menon, Indu S; Sharma, Manoj Kumar; Chandra, Prabha S; Thennarasu, K

    2014-07-01

    Social networking is seen as a way to enhance social support and feeling of well-being. The present work explores the potentials of social networking sites as an adjunctive treatment modality for initiating treatment contact as well as for managing psychological problems. Interview schedule, Facebook intensity questionnaire were administered on 28 subjects with a combination of 18 males and 10 females. They were taken from the in-patient and out-patient psychiatry setting of the hospital. Facebook was the most popular sites and used to seek emotional support on the basis of the frequent updates of emotional content that users put in their profile; reconciliations, escape from the problems or to manage the loneliness; getting information about illness and its treatment and interaction with experts and also manifested as problematic use. It has implications for developing social networking based adjunctive treatment modality for psychological problems.

  10. Social networking sites use and the morphology of a social-semantic brain network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turel, Ofir; He, Qinghua; Brevers, Damien; Bechara, Antoine

    2017-09-30

    Social lives have shifted, at least in part, for large portions of the population to social networking sites. How such lifestyle changes may be associated with brain structures is still largely unknown. In this manuscript, we describe two preliminary studies aimed at exploring this issue. The first study (n = 276) showed that Facebook users reported on increased social-semantic and mentalizing demands, and that such increases were positively associated with people's level of Facebook use. The second study (n = 33) theorized on and examined likely anatomical correlates of such changes in demands on the brain. Findings indicated that the grey matter volumes of the posterior parts of the bilateral middle and superior temporal, and left fusiform gyri were positively associated with the level of Facebook use. These results provided preliminary evidence that grey matter volumes of brain structures involved in social-semantic and mentalizing tasks may be linked to the extent of social networking sites use.

  11. Text in social networking Web sites: A word frequency analysis of Live Spaces

    OpenAIRE

    Thelwall, Mike

    2008-01-01

    Social networking sites are owned by a wide section of society and seem to dominate Web usage. Despite much research into this phenomenon, little systematic data is available. This article partially fills this gap with a pilot text analysis of one social networking site, Live Spaces. The text in 3,071 English language Live Spaces sites was monitored daily for six months and word frequency statistics calculated and compared with those from the British National Corpus. The results confirmed the...

  12. The relation between social network site usage and loneliness and mental health in community-dwelling older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aarts, S; Peek, S T M; Wouters, E J M

    2015-09-01

    Loneliness is expected to become an even bigger social problem in the upcoming decades, because of the growing number of older adults. It has been argued that the use of social network sites can aid in decreasing loneliness and improving mental health. The purpose of this study was to examine whether and how social network sites usage is related to loneliness and mental health in community-dwelling older adults. The study population included community-dwelling older adults aged 60 and over residing in the Netherlands (n = 626) collected through the LISS panel (www.lissdata.nl). Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses, adjusted for potentially important confounders, were conducted in order to investigate the relation between social network sites usage and (emotional and social) loneliness and mental health. More than half of the individuals (56.2%) reported to use social network sites at least several times per week. Social network sites usage appeared unrelated to loneliness in general, and to emotional and social loneliness in particular. Social network sites usage also appeared unrelated to mental health. Several significant associations between related factors and the outcomes at hand were detected. In this sample, which was representative for the Dutch population, social network sites usage was unrelated to loneliness and/or mental health. The results indicate that a simple association between social network site usage and loneliness and mental health as such, cannot automatically be assumed in community-dwelling older adults. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  13. Privacy in Online Social Networking Sites

    OpenAIRE

    M.Ida Evones

    2015-01-01

    There are more than 192 act ive social networking websites. Bringing every kind of social group together in one place and letting them interact is really a big thing indeed .Huge amount of information process in the sites each day, end up making it vulnerable to attack. There is no systematic framework taking into account the importance of privacy. Increased privacy settings don’t always guarantee privacy when there is a loop hole in the applications. Lack of user education results is over sh...

  14. Clicking for friendship: social network sites and the medium of personhood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Shryock

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook depend on familiar social resources, including language, reading/writing and established semantic constructs such as personhood, privacy and friends. However, the use of computers, the Web 2.0 platform, and the latest networking software are revolutionising how “personhood” and “friendship” are produced by communication. We refer to the media theory of Niklas Luhmann to identify specific differences in how communication is organised and reproduced on networking sites. The electronic medium appears to be changing the way participants selectively construct and bind expectations of personhood and communicative ties to themselves and others. Using software available on the Web, users confront each other as digital bodies, as participants in communication, available for friendship within a new “ether of interactivity”.

  15. Monitoring Flower Visitation Networks and Interactions between Pairs of Bumble Bees in a Large Outdoor Flight Cage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lihoreau, Mathieu; Chittka, Lars; Raine, Nigel E

    2016-01-01

    Pollinators, such as bees, often develop multi-location routes (traplines) to exploit subsets of flower patches within larger plant populations. How individuals establish such foraging areas in the presence of other foragers is poorly explored. Here we investigated the foraging patterns of pairs of bumble bees (Bombus terrestris) released sequentially into an 880m2 outdoor flight cage containing 10 feeding stations (artificial flowers). Using motion-sensitive video cameras mounted on flowers, we mapped the flower visitation networks of both foragers, quantified their interactions and compared their foraging success over an entire day. Overall, bees that were released first (residents) travelled 37% faster and collected 77% more nectar, thereby reaching a net energy intake rate 64% higher than bees released second (newcomers). However, this prior-experience advantage decreased as newcomers became familiar with the spatial configuration of the flower array. When both bees visited the same flower simultaneously, the most frequent outcome was for the resident to evict the newcomer. On the rare occasions when newcomers evicted residents, the two bees increased their frequency of return visits to that flower. These competitive interactions led to a significant (if only partial) spatial overlap between the foraging patterns of pairs of bees. While newcomers may initially use social cues (such as olfactory footprints) to exploit flowers used by residents, either because such cues indicate higher rewards and/or safety from predation, residents may attempt to preserve their monopoly over familiar resources through exploitation and interference. We discuss how these interactions may favour spatial partitioning, thereby maximising the foraging efficiency of individuals and colonies.

  16. Students and Social Networking Sites: The Posting Paradox

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Robert; Parsons, Kristine; Lifer, David

    2010-01-01

    This article reports the results of a field study in which undergraduate students were questioned about their use of social networking sites and the appropriateness of the content that they post. The responses indicate that students routinely post content that they realise is not appropriate for all audiences, especially potential employers.…

  17. The Impact of the Invasive Alien Plant, Impatiens glandulifera, on Pollen Transfer Networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carine Emer

    Full Text Available Biological invasions are a threat to the maintenance of ecological processes, including pollination. Plant-flower visitor networks are traditionally used as a surrogated for pollination at the community level, despite they do not represent the pollination process, which takes place at the stigma of plants where pollen grains are deposited. Here we investigated whether the invasion of the alien plant Impatiens glandulifera (Balsaminaceae affects pollen transfer at the community level. We asked whether more alien pollen is deposited on the stigmas of plants on invaded sites, whether deposition is affected by stigma type (dry, semidry and wet and whether the invasion of I. glandulifera changes the structure of the resulting pollen transfer networks. We sampled stigmas of plants on 10 sites invaded by I. glandulifera (hereafter, balsam and 10 non-invaded control sites. All 20 networks had interactions with balsam pollen, although significantly more balsam pollen was found on plants with dry stigmas in invaded areas. Balsam pollen deposition was restricted to a small subset of plant species, which is surprising because pollinators are known to carry high loads of balsam pollen. Balsam invasion did not affect the loading of native pollen, nor did it affect pollen transfer network properties; networks were modular and poorly nested, both of which are likely to be related to the specificity of pollen transfer interactions. Our results indicate that pollination networks become more specialized when moving from the flower visitation to the level of pollen transfer networks. Therefore, caution is needed when inferring pollination from patterns of insect visitation or insect pollen loads as the relationship between these and pollen deposition is not straightforward.

  18. The Influence of Social Networking Sites on High School Students' Social and Academic Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, June

    2010-01-01

    This dissertation examines the effects of social network sites on youth social and academic development. First, I provide a critical analysis of the extant research literature surrounding social network sites and youth. I merge scholarly thought in the areas of Internet studies, digital divides, social capital theory, psychological well-being,…

  19. User-Centric Secure Cross-Site Interaction Framework for Online Social Networking Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ko, Moo Nam

    2011-01-01

    Social networking service is one of major technological phenomena on Web 2.0. Hundreds of millions of users are posting message, photos, and videos on their profiles and interacting with other users, but the sharing and interaction are limited within the same social networking site. Although users can share some content on a social networking site…

  20. A Semantics-Based Approach for Business Categorization on Social Networking Sites

    OpenAIRE

    Memon , Atia ,; Zinke , Christian; Meyer , Kyrill

    2017-01-01

    Part 18: Design Science Research in CNs; International audience; As the number and adoption of social networking sites (SNSs) supporting business representation in the form of business pages continues to escalate, more scalable and robust mechanisms for integrating data from different networks in order to serve the special purposes need to be envisaged. An important concern of such SNS data integration is the platform dependencies that different networks impose in collecting, organizing, and ...

  1. Use of social networking sites: Facebook group as a learning management system

    OpenAIRE

    Md. Abul Kalam Siddike; Md. Shiful Islam; Hasanul Banna

    2015-01-01

    Social networking sites (SNSs) are becoming popular day by day in academia as well as in business organizations around the world. Facebook as the largest and fastest networking sites, is one of the important SNSs that can play an important role in different academic disciplines. The aim of this study is to investigate the use of SNSs by the undergraduate students of International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM). The specific objectives are: (i) to explore the frequency of using SNSs by ...

  2. How Do Career Centers Use Social Networking Sites?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osborn, Debra S.; LoFrisco, Barbara M.

    2012-01-01

    The popularity and growth of social networking sites (SNSs), particularly among the college-aged demographic, makes them logical tools for university career centers to use to connect with students. The authors surveyed 78 university career centers to determine how they use SNSs, the benefits and drawbacks, and the advice they would give to a…

  3. Managing a User’s Vulnerability on a Social Networking Site

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-05-01

    aid not only the cyberbullying of teenagers but also the cyberstalking and cyberharassment of adults3. On a social networking site, an individual user...news/2011-07-23-facebook-stalker- sentenced_n.htm 3en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Cyberbullying 1 posts and subsequent interactions. The owner of the site

  4. Social Networking Sites as Communication, Interaction, and Learning Environments: Perceptions and Preferences of Distance Education Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozkurt, Aras; Karadeniz, Abdulkadir; Kocdar, Serpil

    2017-01-01

    The advent of Web 2.0 technologies transformed online networks into interactive spaces in which user-generated content has become the core material. With the possibilities that emerged from Web 2.0, social networking sites became very popular. The capability of social networking sites promises opportunities for communication and interaction,…

  5. Segmenting the social networking sites users: An empirical study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lorenzo-Romero, C.; Constantinides, Efthymios; Alarcon-del-Amo, M.d.C.

    2012-01-01

    The growth of social networking sites (SNS) presents businesses and marketers with risks and challenges. Customers become sophisticated, empowered and increasingly involved in shaping of the marketing offer. Marketers are becoming aware of the threat of losing control over their message but also

  6. Proceedings of the scientific visit on crystalline rock repository development.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mariner, Paul E.; Hardin, Ernest L.; Miksova, Jitka [RAWRA, Czech Republic

    2013-02-01

    A scientific visit on Crystalline Rock Repository Development was held in the Czech Republic on September 24-27, 2012. The visit was hosted by the Czech Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (RAWRA), co-hosted by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The purpose of the visit was to promote technical information exchange between participants from countries engaged in the investigation and exploration of crystalline rock for the eventual construction of nuclear waste repositories. The visit was designed especially for participants of countries that have recently commenced (or recommenced) national repository programmes in crystalline host rock formations. Discussion topics included repository programme development, site screening and selection, site characterization, disposal concepts in crystalline host rock, regulatory frameworks, and safety assessment methodology. Interest was surveyed in establishing a %E2%80%9Cclub,%E2%80%9D the mission of which would be to identify and address the various technical challenges that confront the disposal of radioactive waste in crystalline rock environments. The idea of a second scientific visit to be held one year later in another host country received popular support. The visit concluded with a trip to the countryside south of Prague where participants were treated to a tour of the laboratory and underground facilities of the Josef Regional Underground Research Centre.

  7. Privacy policies for health social networking sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jingquan

    2013-01-01

    Health social networking sites (HSNS), virtual communities where users connect with each other around common problems and share relevant health data, have been increasingly adopted by medical professionals and patients. The growing use of HSNS like Sermo and PatientsLikeMe has prompted public concerns about the risks that such online data-sharing platforms pose to the privacy and security of personal health data. This paper articulates a set of privacy risks introduced by social networking in health care and presents a practical example that demonstrates how the risks might be intrinsic to some HSNS. The aim of this study is to identify and sketch the policy implications of using HSNS and how policy makers and stakeholders should elaborate upon them to protect the privacy of online health data. PMID:23599228

  8. Privacy policies for health social networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jingquan

    2013-01-01

    Health social networking sites (HSNS), virtual communities where users connect with each other around common problems and share relevant health data, have been increasingly adopted by medical professionals and patients. The growing use of HSNS like Sermo and PatientsLikeMe has prompted public concerns about the risks that such online data-sharing platforms pose to the privacy and security of personal health data. This paper articulates a set of privacy risks introduced by social networking in health care and presents a practical example that demonstrates how the risks might be intrinsic to some HSNS. The aim of this study is to identify and sketch the policy implications of using HSNS and how policy makers and stakeholders should elaborate upon them to protect the privacy of online health data.

  9. MySpace and Facebook: applying the uses and gratifications theory to exploring friend-networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raacke, John; Bonds-Raacke, Jennifer

    2008-04-01

    The increased use of the Internet as a new tool in communication has changed the way people interact. This fact is even more evident in the recent development and use of friend-networking sites. However, no research has evaluated these sites and their impact on college students. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate: (a) why people use these friend-networking sites, (b) what the characteristics are of the typical college user, and (c) what uses and gratifications are met by using these sites. Results indicated that the vast majority of college students are using these friend-networking sites for a significant portion of their day for reasons such as making new friends and locating old friends. Additionally, both men and women of traditional college age are equally engaging in this form of online communication with this result holding true for nearly all ethnic groups. Finally, results showed that many uses and gratifications are met by users (e.g., "keeping in touch with friends"). Results are discussed in light of the impact that friend-networking sites have on communication and social needs of college students.

  10. Use of social networking sites by parents of very low birth weight infants: experiences and the potential of a dedicated site.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabbert, Tatjana I; Metze, Boris; Bührer, Christoph; Garten, Lars

    2013-12-01

    The objective of this study was to study the experiences of parents of preterm infants who use social networking sites and the potential of such sites for gathering information and facilitating personal exchange. An anonymous self-reporting questionnaire was administered to parents of infants below 1,500 g birth weight born between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010 in two tertiary neonatal intensive care units. Of the 278 families who were sent a questionnaire, 141 responded; 53.6 % of respondents claimed to be presently members of online social networking sites. However, only 10.7 and 18.6 % used the Internet to exchange information about their infants during the NICU stay and after discharge, respectively. Most (64.0 %) responding parents considered that currently available commercial Internet sites inadequately met their need to exchange information as parents of preterm infants. Overall, 79.1 % of respondents reported that they would be interested in joining a native-language online networking site providing (1) general information on prematurity, (2) explanations of abbreviations commonly used in a hospital setting, and (3) details of common medical problems and the treatment thereof, including the availability of local therapists and follow-up services. Also, parents wanted to engage in personal exchange online not only with other parents but also with medical staff. The support of parents of hospitalized preterm infants by neonatal nurses and doctors could be extended by developing an expert-controlled, online networking site providing reliable and updated information and facilitating personal exchange among parents.

  11. Social Networking Sites (SNSs- Shifting Paradigm of English Language Usage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hetal K. Kachhia

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available English is the globally accepted language in various nations and professions in different varieties, but the English that has acquired a wider spectrum than all these Englishes is the English used in Social Networking Sites which has changed the scenario of English language usage due to the ease in its accessibility and the kind of flexibility of language usage. The English used in Social Networking Sites like Facebook and Twitter has changed the linguistic behaviour of the people by producing a number of acronyms like BFF, FB etc, creating new verb forms like ‘to tweet’ or nouns like ‘tweeple’ or producing many compound nouns such as ‘netiquette’, changing the meaning of traditional verbs and nouns by introducing new meanings to them, e.g. the word ‘friend’ is used to refer “someone to an online list of acquaintances”, and by making use of prefixes like ‘un’ for the purpose of conveying the meaning of negation as in ‘unlike a comment/update’ by ignoring its original prefix ‘dis’ for referring the antonym of ‘like’. By emphasizing on the aim of communication, grammar and vocabulary are put on the peripheral value in Social Networking Sites. Therefore, the focal point of this paper is to study the changes in the linguistic behaviour of the people caused by the SNSs.

  12. Online social networking issues within academia and pharmacy education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cain, Jeff

    2008-02-15

    Online social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace are extremely popular as indicated by the numbers of members and visits to the sites. They allow students to connect with users with similar interests, build and maintain relationships with friends, and feel more connected with their campus. The foremost criticisms of online social networking are that students may open themselves to public scrutiny of their online personas and risk physical safety by revealing excessive personal information. This review outlines issues of online social networking in higher education by drawing upon articles in both the lay press and academic publications. New points for pharmacy educators to consider include the possible emergence of an "e-professionalism" concept; legal and ethical implications of using online postings in admission, discipline, and student safety decisions; how online personas may blend into professional life; and the responsibility for educating students about the risks of online social networking.

  13. Monitoring Flower Visitation Networks and Interactions between Pairs of Bumble Bees in a Large Outdoor Flight Cage.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathieu Lihoreau

    Full Text Available Pollinators, such as bees, often develop multi-location routes (traplines to exploit subsets of flower patches within larger plant populations. How individuals establish such foraging areas in the presence of other foragers is poorly explored. Here we investigated the foraging patterns of pairs of bumble bees (Bombus terrestris released sequentially into an 880m2 outdoor flight cage containing 10 feeding stations (artificial flowers. Using motion-sensitive video cameras mounted on flowers, we mapped the flower visitation networks of both foragers, quantified their interactions and compared their foraging success over an entire day. Overall, bees that were released first (residents travelled 37% faster and collected 77% more nectar, thereby reaching a net energy intake rate 64% higher than bees released second (newcomers. However, this prior-experience advantage decreased as newcomers became familiar with the spatial configuration of the flower array. When both bees visited the same flower simultaneously, the most frequent outcome was for the resident to evict the newcomer. On the rare occasions when newcomers evicted residents, the two bees increased their frequency of return visits to that flower. These competitive interactions led to a significant (if only partial spatial overlap between the foraging patterns of pairs of bees. While newcomers may initially use social cues (such as olfactory footprints to exploit flowers used by residents, either because such cues indicate higher rewards and/or safety from predation, residents may attempt to preserve their monopoly over familiar resources through exploitation and interference. We discuss how these interactions may favour spatial partitioning, thereby maximising the foraging efficiency of individuals and colonies.

  14. The Role of Adolescent Development in Social Networking Site Use: Theory and Evidence

    OpenAIRE

    Drew P. Cingel; Ellen Wartella; Marina Krcmar

    2014-01-01

    Using survey data collected from 260 children, adolescents, and young adults between the ages of 9 and 26, this paper offers evidence for a relationship between social networking site use and Imaginary Audience, a developmental variable in which adolescents believe others are thinking about them at all times. Specifically, after controlling for a number of variables, results indicate a significant, positive relationship between social networking site use and Imaginary Audience ideation. Addit...

  15. Can a Social Networking Site Support Afterschool Group Learning of Mandarin?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yang; Crook, Charles; O'Malley, Claire

    2014-01-01

    Schools are often encouraged to facilitate extra-curricular learning within their own premises. This study addresses the potential of social networking sites (SNS) for supporting such out-of-class study. Given concerns that learning on these sites may happen at a surface level, we adopted self-determination theory for designing a social networking…

  16. Using Social Networking Sites as a Platform for Second Language Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prichard, Caleb

    2013-01-01

    Social networking sites (SNSs) are increasingly used to communicate and to maintain relationships with people around the globe, and their usage has certainly led to incidental language gains for second language (L2) users. Language instructors are just beginning to utilize SNS sites to manage their courses or to have students practice language…

  17. Treatment of depressed mothers in home visiting: impact on psychological distress and social functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ammerman, Robert T; Putnam, Frank W; Altaye, Mekibib; Teeters, Angelique R; Stevens, Jack; Van Ginkel, Judith B

    2013-08-01

    Depression is prevalent in mothers receiving home visiting. Little is known about the impact of treatment on associated features of maternal depression in this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a novel, adapted treatment for depressed mothers in home visiting on psychological distress and social functioning. In-Home Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (IH-CBT) was developed to treat depressed mothers in home visiting. A randomized clinical trial design was used in which subjects were 93 new mothers in a home visiting program. Mothers with major depressive disorder identified at 3 months postpartum were randomized into IH-CBT and ongoing home visiting (n = 47) or standard home visiting (SHV; n = 46) in which they received home visitation alone and could obtain treatment in the community. Measures of psychological distress, social support, and social network were measured at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and three-month follow-up. Clinical features of depression and home visiting parameters were examined as potential moderators. Subjects receiving IH-CBT reported decreased psychological distress at post-treatment (ES = 0.77) and follow-up (ES = 0.73). Examination of types of psychological distress indicated broad improvements at both time points. Those receiving IH-CBT reported increased social support over time relative to those in the SHV condition. Effect sizes were modest at post-treatment (ES = 0.38) but increased at follow-up (ES = 0.65). Improvements were seen in affiliative and belonginess aspects of social support, in contrast to tangible support which was statistically non-significant. Findings were not moderated by clinical features of depression or home visiting parameters. No group differences were found in size of and involvement with social networks. IH-CBT is effective in reducing psychological distress and improving perceived social support in depressed mothers receiving home visiting. To the extent that mothers are better

  18. Jumping to (fatal) conclusions? An analysis of video film on a social networking web site of recreational jumping from height into water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Kevin

    2014-01-01

    In high-income countries, death as a consequence of recreational jumping into water from height has not been well investigated partly because it traditionally has been a covert activity within youth culture. An observational study of video recordings posted on the YouTube web site was used to gather data on the nature of jumping activity in New Zealand and Australia. An analytical framework was developed to identify site- participant- social characteristics (10 variables) and online feedback (4 variables). Of the 389 videos recorded in New Zealand (n = 210) and Australia (n = 179), 929 jumpers were observed, and rivers were the most frequently reported site of jumping activity (New Zealand 47%; Australia 35%). One fifth (20%) of the jumps in New Zealand and one third (33%) in Australia were from heights estimated to be more than 12 m. The YouTube website portraying jumps from height were visited almost half a million times (495,686 hits). Ways of reducing recreational jumping risk via targeted education interventions may be best directed at young male adults. Use of social network sites to foster safe behaviours may be an effective way to educate young people of the inherent risks of jumping from height into water.

  19. Political Participation and Power Relations in Egypt: The Scope of Newspapers and Social Network Sites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mostafa Shehata

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The political use of media in Egypt post-2011 revolution brought about drastic transformations in political activism and power structures. In the context of communication power theory, this article investigates the effects of newspapers and social network sites on political participation and political power relations. The research employed a mixed methodology, comprised of a survey of 527 Egyptian youth and semi-structured interviews of 12 political activists and journalists. The results showed a significant relationship between reading newspapers and youth’s political participation, but not between using social network sites and political participation. In addition, newspapers and social network sites were platforms for a series of conflicts and coalitions that emerged between pro- and anti-revolution actors. Despite the importance of social network sites as key tools for informing and mobilizing the public, they eventually failed to empower new political actors, and this was because old actors, supported by newspapers and other mainstream media, managed to obstruct the new actors’ progress.

  20. Factors affecting yearly and monthly visits to Taipei Zoo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Ai-Tsen; Lin, Yann-Jou

    2018-02-01

    This study investigated factors affecting yearly and monthly numbers of visits to Taipei Zoo. Both linear and nonlinear regression models were used to estimate yearly visits. The results of both models showed that the "opening effect" and "animal star effect" had a significantly positive effect on yearly visits, while a SARS outbreak had a negative effect. The number of years had a significant influence on yearly visits. Results showed that the nonlinear model had better explanatory power and fitted the variations of visits better. Results of monthly model showed that monthly visits were significantly influenced by time fluctuations, weather conditions, and the animal star effect. Chinese New Year, summer vacation, numbers of holidays, and animal star exhibitions increased the number of monthly visits, while the number of days with temperatures at or below 15 °C, the number of days with temperatures at or above 30 °C, and the number of rainy days had significantly negative effects. Furthermore, the model of monthly visits showed that the animal star effect could last for over two quarters. The results of this study clarify the factors affecting visits to an outdoor recreation site and confirm the importance of meteorological factors to recreation use.

  1. Teacher Professionalization in the Age of Social Networking Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimmons, Royce; Veletsianos, George

    2015-01-01

    As teacher education students become professionals, they face a number of tensions related to identity, social participation, and work-life balance, which may be further complicated by social networking sites (SNS). This qualitative study sought to articulate tensions that arose between professionalization influences and teacher education student…

  2. Young EIROforum prizewinner visits CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Bulletin

    2015-01-01

    On 27 to 31 July, CERN welcomed Paul Clarke, an 18-year-old Irish mathematician who won a CERN EIROforum prize (second place) at EUCYS 2014 (European Union Contest for Young Scientists).   Paul Clarke, visiting the new Microcosm exhibit. In addition to a €5000 prize, Paul visited the Laboratory and its experiments, meeting and speaking with CERN physicists and computer scientists. Paul's winning project is entitled "Contributions to cyclic graph theory." As the summary of the project suggests, graph theory is an area of pure mathematics which studies properties of linkages and networks. It has applications in several areas including computing, molecular structure, neuroscience, search engines, engineering etc. This project makes a profound contribution to the study of graphs. It identifies key concepts and provides the methodology to apply them to some long-standing major problems in the subject with great success. Paul has just finished high sc...

  3. Peptide microarrays to probe for competition for binding sites in a protein interaction network

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sinzinger, M.D.S.; Ruttekolk, I.R.R.; Gloerich, J.; Wessels, H.; Chung, Y.D.; Adjobo-Hermans, M.J.W.; Brock, R.E.

    2013-01-01

    Cellular protein interaction networks are a result of the binding preferences of a particular protein and the entirety of interactors that mutually compete for binding sites. Therefore, the reconstruction of interaction networks by the accumulation of interaction networks for individual proteins

  4. Hammarskjöld's visit to South Africa

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    the Herero people of that territory had, through their Chiefs' Council, been petitioning the UN and ..... to major tourist sites in the city, then to Stellenbosch, Fransch Hoek, where he visited the .... would unite on the South African issue. A much ...

  5. Why Do You Adopt Social Networking Sites? Investigating the Driving Factors through Structural Equation Modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jan, Muhammad Tahir

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate those factors that are associated with the adoption of social networking sites from the perspective of Muslim users residing in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach: A complete self-administered questionnaire was collected from 223 Muslim users of social networking sites in Malaysia. Both…

  6. ITU World Youth Forum visits CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    2009-01-01

    About 250 students selected by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to participate in the 2009 Youth Forum made CERN a primary destination for this year’s World Youth Forum event. The 250 students participating in the 2009 Youth Forum attend a presentation in the Globe of Science and Innovation.On Tuesday 6 October, the group visited several sites including the Microcosm exhibition and the ATLAS cavern to get a glimpse of what CERN does and the exciting science that is studied here. Since 2001 and every three years, the ITU World Forum brings together young men and women, aged 18-23, to learn about new technologies and the world around them. This year’s group included participants from one hundred and twenty-five different countries. This was the first time that the event involved a visit to CERN. When asked why CERN was a destination, Pascal Biner, organizer of the visit for ITU, explained that CERN was a necessary stop given the Forum’s base in Gen...

  7. Building a sense of virtual community: the role of the features of social networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chi-Wen; Lin, Chiun-Sin

    2014-07-01

    In recent years, social networking sites have received increased attention because of the potential of this medium to transform business by building virtual communities. However, theoretical and empirical studies investigating how specific features of social networking sites contribute to building a sense of virtual community (SOVC)-an important dimension of a successful virtual community-are rare. Furthermore, SOVC scales have been developed, and research on this issue has been called for, but few studies have heeded this call. On the basis of prior literature, this study proposes that perceptions of the three most salient features of social networking sites-system quality (SQ), information quality (IQ), and social information exchange (SIE)-play a key role in fostering SOVC. In particular, SQ is proposed to increase IQ and SIE, and SIE is proposed to enhance IQ, both of which thereafter build SOVC. The research model was examined in the context of Facebook, one of the most popular social networking sites in the world. We adopted Blanchard's scales to measure SOVC. Data gathered using a Web-based questionnaire, and analyzed with partial least squares, were utilized to test the model. The results demonstrate that SIE, SQ, and IQ are the factors that form SOVC. The findings also suggest that SQ plays a fundamental role in supporting SIE and IQ in social networking sites. Implications for theory, practice, and future research directions are discussed.

  8. Centre for Global Development Visiting Fellowship Program | IDRC ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    The Center for Global Development (CGD), located in Washington DC, is a globally preeminent think tank with unique networking and reach. Its Visiting Fellowship Program offers fellowships to scholars from think tanks and academic research institutions in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Over the period from 2012 to2017, ...

  9. Understanding Members’ Attachment to Social Networking Sites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lim, Eric T. K.; Cyr, Dianne; Tan, Chee-Wee

    2014-01-01

    Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are pervasive phenomena in today’s society. With greater connectivity and interactivity enabled through emerging technologies, SNSs provide communication platforms for individuals to bridge spatial and temporal differences when making friends, sharing experiences......, socializing with others and much more. This study therefore endeavors to shed light on this growing trend by decomposing members’ motives for participating within SNSs into identity-based, bondbased and comparison-based attachments. Each of these forms of attachment in turn affects members’ cooperative...

  10. Emotion homophily in social network site messages

    OpenAIRE

    Thelwall, Mike

    2010-01-01

    Social network sites (SNS) like MySpace seem to play a role in friendships and wider relationships for many people. Emotion expression can be important in relationship maintenance but little is known about the role of emotion in SNSs, other than positive comments being widespread in MySpace. But is emotion typically reciprocated, and do Friends express and/or receive similar levels of emotion expression to each other? Based upon an analysis of over two million MySpace public comments associat...

  11. Tourism and visiting activities in Tierp. Threats and possibilities with a repository for spent nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bjoerne, S.; Sandberg, M.; Sahlberg, B.

    1999-10-01

    Consequences for tourism and visiting at Tierp from siting a spent fuel repository in the community are studied. Tierp has little tourism as of today, and siting of the repository will probably lead to increased visiting of Tierp professionally and as a leisure activity

  12. DeepSite: protein-binding site predictor using 3D-convolutional neural networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez, J; Doerr, S; Martínez-Rosell, G; Rose, A S; De Fabritiis, G

    2017-10-01

    An important step in structure-based drug design consists in the prediction of druggable binding sites. Several algorithms for detecting binding cavities, those likely to bind to a small drug compound, have been developed over the years by clever exploitation of geometric, chemical and evolutionary features of the protein. Here we present a novel knowledge-based approach that uses state-of-the-art convolutional neural networks, where the algorithm is learned by examples. In total, 7622 proteins from the scPDB database of binding sites have been evaluated using both a distance and a volumetric overlap approach. Our machine-learning based method demonstrates superior performance to two other competitive algorithmic strategies. DeepSite is freely available at www.playmolecule.org. Users can submit either a PDB ID or PDB file for pocket detection to our NVIDIA GPU-equipped servers through a WebGL graphical interface. gianni.defabritiis@upf.edu. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  13. The Predictors of the Willingness to Recommend a Visit for Diversified Tourism Attractions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lesjak Miha

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The predictors of a positive word-of-mouth experience as an important destination loyalty factor among tourist in the Šumava and South Bohemian Touristic Regions were studied via structural equation modelling. The perception of quality, on-site experience, and the perception of value as the mediators between the motivation to visit and the word-of-mouth experience were studied. The pleasant ‘natural’ environment, the history, the accessibility, and the closeness were found as the pull motivation factors. Social gathering, education, self-reflection, and relaxation were revealed as the push motivation factors. Speaking of the common-place factors, the complexity, the novelty, and the density were all identified as factors of perception of the visited environment. The on-site experience is given by pleasure, arousal, and dominance feelings. The model ‘motivation to visit → quality of environment → on-site experience → perceived value of environment → satisfaction with visit → willingness to recommend the visit’ was found as being appropriate for the collected data.

  14. A Privacy Preservation Model for Health-Related Social Networking Sites

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Jingquan

    2015-01-01

    The increasing use of social networking sites (SNS) in health care has resulted in a growing number of individuals posting personal health information online. These sites may disclose users' health information to many different individuals and organizations and mine it for a variety of commercial and research purposes, yet the revelation of personal health information to unauthorized individuals or entities brings a concomitant concern of greater risk for loss of privacy among users. Many use...

  15. Multidimensional scaling of ideological landscape on social network sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Deokjae; Hahn, Kyu S.; Park, Juyong

    2012-02-01

    Social network sites (SNSs) are valuable source of information on various subjects in network science. Recently, political activity of SNSs users has increasing attention and is an interesting interdisciplinary subject of physical and social science. In this work, we measure ideological positions of the legislators of U.S. and South Korea (S.K.) evaluated by Twitter users, using the information employed in the bipartite network structure of the legislators and their Twitter followers. We compare the result with ideological positions constructed from roll call record of the legislators. This shows there is a discrepancy between the ideological positions evaluated by Twitter users and actual positions estimated from roll call votes in S.K. We also asses the ideological positions of the Twitter users themselves and analyze the distribution of the positions.

  16. A Generational Comparison of Social Networking Site Use: The Influence of Age and Social Identity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barker, Valerie

    2012-01-01

    An online survey (N = 256) compared social networking site (SNS) use among younger (millennial: 18-29) and older (baby-boomer: 41-64) subscribers focusing on the influence of collective self-esteem and group identity on motives for SNS use. Younger participants reported higher positive collective self-esteem, social networking site use for peer…

  17. The CERN Visits Service proposes: Lab Visits for CERN People

    CERN Multimedia

    2001-01-01

    The CMS assembly hall at point 5 - one of the new Visits Service itineraries. Discover the new visits itineraries of your laboratory with the Visits Service! The recently completed visitors platform in the CMS detector assembly hall at point 5, first of a series of new visit tours, will be the destination for special summer visits organised by the Visits Service for CERN people. Each week the Visits Service will reserve a slot to take CERN people to visit the CMS assembly hall and get first hand experience of the magnitude of the LHC endeavour. Tours will be shorter than the public visit programme, and will include a short introduction in the bus along with a guided tour of the CMS visitor platform. Visits will start at 3.30 pm from the visits meeting point in the reception of building 33, and the bus will be back at reception at 5 pm. Up to 24 people can take part in each visit. The calendar for the coming weeks is: Friday 27 July in French Thursday 2 August in English Wednesday 8 August in French Booking...

  18. Sharing of Alcohol-Related Content on Social Networking Sites: Frequency, Content, and Correlates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erevik, Eilin K; Torsheim, Torbjørn; Vedaa, Øystein; Andreassen, Cecilie S; Pallesen, Ståle

    2017-05-01

    The present study aimed to explore students' reports of their sharing of alcohol-related content on different social networking sites (i.e., frequency of sharing and connotations of alcohol-related posts), and to identify indicators of such posting. Students at the four largest institutions for higher education in Bergen, Norway, were invited to participate in an Internet-based survey. The sample size was 11,236 (a 39.4% response rate). The survey included questions about disclosure of alcohol-related content on social networking sites, alcohol use (using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test), personality factors (using the Mini-IPIP), and demographic characteristics. Binary logistic regressions were used to analyze indicators of frequent sharing of alcohol-related content depicting positive and negative aspects of alcohol use. A majority of the students had posted alcohol-related content (71.0%), although few reported having done so frequently. Positive aspects of alcohol use (e.g., enjoyment or social community) were most frequently shared. Young, single, and extroverted students with high alcohol consumption were more likely to report frequent sharing of alcohol-related content. Positive attitudes toward posting alcohol-related content and reports of exposure to such content particularly increased the likelihood of one's own posting of alcohol-related content. Positive aspects of alcohol use seem to be emphasized on social networking sites. Sharing of alcohol-related content is associated with heightened alcohol use, which implies that such sites can be relevant for prevention agents. Social influence from social networking sites, such as exposure to others' alcohol-related content, is associated with one's own sharing of similar content.

  19. Frameworks for Understanding the Nature of Interactions, Networking, and Community in a Social Networking Site for Academic Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conole, Grainne; Galley, Rebecca; Culver, Juliette

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes a new social networking site, Cloudworks, which has been developed to enable discussion and sharing of learning and teaching ideas/designs and to promote reflective academic practice. The site aims to foster new forms of social and participatory practices (peer critiquing, sharing, user-generated content, aggregation, and…

  20. Young People's Use of Online Social Networking Sites :a Uses and Gratifications Perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Dunne, Aine; Lawlor, Margaret-Anne; Rowley, Jennifer

    2010-01-01

    Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore why young people use and participate in social networking sites (SNS) with specific reference to Bebo. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach is employed in this study with a view to exploring the uses and gratifications that girls aged 12 to 14 years, both seek and obtain from the Bebo social networking site. The research was conducted in a school setting in Ireland. Findings – The findings indicate that the participant...

  1. The CERN Visits Service proposes: Lab Visits for CERN People

    CERN Document Server

    2001-01-01

    The CMS assembly hall at point 5 - one of the new Visits Service itineraries. Discover the new visits itineraries of your laboratory with the Visits Service! The recently completed visitors platform in the CMS detector assembly hall at point 5, first of a series of new visit itineraries, will be the destination for special summer visits organised by the Visits Service for CERN people. Each week the Visits Service will reserve a slot to take CERN people to visit the CMS assembly hall and get first hand experience of the magnitude of the LHC endeavour. Tours will be shorter than the public visit programme, and will include a short introduction in the bus along with a guided tour of the CMS visitor platform. Visits will start at 3.30 pm from the reception of building 33, and the bus will be back at reception at 5 pm. Up to 22 people can take part in each visit. The calendar for the coming weeks is: Wednesday 15 August in English Wednesday 22 August in French Wednesday 29 August in English Bookings should be m...

  2. The CERN Visits Service proposes: Lab Visits for CERN People

    CERN Document Server

    2001-01-01

    The CMS assembly hall at point 5 - one of the new Visits Service itineraries. Discover the new visits itineraries of your laboratory with the Visits Service! The recently completed visitors platform in the CMS detector assembly hall at point 5, first of a series of new visit itineraries, will be the destination for special summer visits organised by the Visits Service for CERN people. Each week the Visits Service will reserve a slot to take CERN people to visit the CMS assembly hall and get first hand experience of the magnitude of the LHC endeavour. Tours will be shorter than the public visit programme, and will include a short introduction in the bus along with a guided tour of the CMS visitor platform. Visits will start at 3.30 pm from the reception of building 33, and the bus will be back at reception at 5 pm. Up to 22 people can take part in each visit. The calendar for the coming weeks is: Wednesday 8 August in French Wednesday 15 August in English Wednesday 22 August in French Bookings should be mad...

  3. The CERN Visits Service proposes: Lab Visits for CERN People

    CERN Document Server

    2001-01-01

    The CMS assembly hall at point 5 - one of the new Visits Service itineraries. Discover the new visits itineraries of your laboratory with the Visits Service! The recently completed visitors platform in the CMS detector assembly hall at point 5, first of a series of new visit itineraries, will be the destination for special summer visits organised by the Visits Service for CERN people. Each week the Visits Service will reserve a slot to take CERN people to visit the CMS assembly hall and get first hand experience of the magnitude of the LHC endeavour. Tours will be shorter than the public visit programme, and will include a short introduction in the bus along with a guided tour of the CMS visitor platform. Visits will start at 3.30 pm from the reception of building 33, and the bus will be back at reception at 5 pm. Up to 22 people can take part in each visit. The calendar for the coming weeks is: Thursday 2 August in English Wednesday 8 August in French Wednesday 15 August in English Bookings should be made...

  4. A Bayesian belief network approach for assessing uncertainty in conceptual site models at contaminated sites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Nanna Isbak; Binning, Philip John; McKnight, Ursula S.

    2016-01-01

    the most important site-specific features and processes that may affect the contaminant transport behavior at the site. However, the development of a CSM will always be associated with uncertainties due to limited data and lack of understanding of the site conditions. CSM uncertainty is often found...... to be a major source of model error and it should therefore be accounted for when evaluating uncertainties in risk assessments. We present a Bayesian belief network (BBN) approach for constructing CSMs and assessing their uncertainty at contaminated sites. BBNs are graphical probabilistic models...... that are effective for integrating quantitative and qualitative information, and thus can strengthen decisions when empirical data are lacking. The proposed BBN approach facilitates a systematic construction of multiple CSMs, and then determines the belief in each CSM using a variety of data types and/or expert...

  5. A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR GEOSPATIAL SITE SELECTION USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS AS DECISION RULES: A CASE STUDY ON LANDFILL SITES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. K. M. Abujayyab

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper briefly introduced the theory and framework of geospatial site selection (GSS and discussed the application and framework of artificial neural networks (ANNs. The related literature on the use of ANNs as decision rules in GSS is scarce from 2000 till 2015. As this study found, ANNs are not only adaptable to dynamic changes but also capable of improving the objectivity of acquisition in GSS, reducing time consumption, and providing high validation. ANNs make for a powerful tool for solving geospatial decision-making problems by enabling geospatial decision makers to implement their constraints and imprecise concepts. This tool offers a way to represent and handle uncertainty. Specifically, ANNs are decision rules implemented to enhance conventional GSS frameworks. The main assumption in implementing ANNs in GSS is that the current characteristics of existing sites are indicative of the degree of suitability of new locations with similar characteristics. GSS requires several input criteria that embody specific requirements and the desired site characteristics, which could contribute to geospatial sites. In this study, the proposed framework consists of four stages for implementing ANNs in GSS. A multilayer feed-forward network with a backpropagation algorithm was used to train the networks from prior sites to assess, generalize, and evaluate the outputs on the basis of the inputs for the new sites. Two metrics, namely, confusion matrix and receiver operating characteristic tests, were utilized to achieve high accuracy and validation. Results proved that ANNs provide reasonable and efficient results as an accurate and inexpensive quantitative technique for GSS.

  6. Travel websites: Changing visits, evaluations and posts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bronner, Fred; de Hoog, Robert

    2016-01-01

    Many studies concerning the role of web-based information in tourism measure one-time interactions. This paper presents results of a longitudinal study. Data collected in 2014 about website visits, evaluations and posts, are compared with data from 2007. The main finding is the advance of sites

  7. Are Adolescents Engaged in the Problematic Use of Social Networking Sites More Involved in Peer Aggression and Victimization?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Ferrer, Belén; Moreno, David; Musitu, Gonzalo

    2018-01-01

    The problematic use of social networking sites is becoming a major public health concern. Previous research has found that adolescents who engage in a problematic use of social networking sites are likely to show maladjustment problems. However, little is known about its links with peer aggression and victimization. The main goal of this study was to analyze the relationship between problematic use of online social networking sites, peer aggression -overt vs. relational and reactive vs. instrumental-, and peer victimization -overt physical and verbal, and relational-, taking into account gender and age (in early and mid-adolescence). Participants were selected using randomized cluster sampling considering school and class as clusters. A battery of instruments was applied to 1,952 adolescents' secondary students from Spain (Andalusia) (50.4% boys), aged 11 to 16 ( M = 14.07, SD = 1.39). Results showed that girls and 14-16 adolescents were more involved in a problematic use of online social networking sites. Furthermore, adolescents with high problematic use of online social networking sites were more involved in overt-reactive and instrumental-and relational-reactive and instrumental-aggressive behaviors, and self-reported higher levels of overt-physical and verbal-and relational victimization. Even though boys indicated higher levels of all types of victimization, girls with high problematic use of online social networking sites scored the highest on relational victimization. Relating to age, early adolescents (aged 11-14) with higher problematic use of online social networking sites reported the highest levels of overt verbal and relational victimization. Overall, results suggested the co-occurrence of problematic use of online social networking sites, peer aggression and victimization. In addition, results showed the influence that gender and age had on peer victimization. This study highlights the continuity between offline and online domains with regard to

  8. Are Adolescents Engaged in the Problematic Use of Social Networking Sites More Involved in Peer Aggression and Victimization?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Belén Martínez-Ferrer

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The problematic use of social networking sites is becoming a major public health concern. Previous research has found that adolescents who engage in a problematic use of social networking sites are likely to show maladjustment problems. However, little is known about its links with peer aggression and victimization. The main goal of this study was to analyze the relationship between problematic use of online social networking sites, peer aggression –overt vs. relational and reactive vs. instrumental–, and peer victimization –overt physical and verbal, and relational–, taking into account gender and age (in early and mid-adolescence. Participants were selected using randomized cluster sampling considering school and class as clusters. A battery of instruments was applied to 1,952 adolescents' secondary students from Spain (Andalusia (50.4% boys, aged 11 to 16 (M = 14.07, SD = 1.39. Results showed that girls and 14–16 adolescents were more involved in a problematic use of online social networking sites. Furthermore, adolescents with high problematic use of online social networking sites were more involved in overt—reactive and instrumental—and relational—reactive and instrumental—aggressive behaviors, and self-reported higher levels of overt—physical and verbal—and relational victimization. Even though boys indicated higher levels of all types of victimization, girls with high problematic use of online social networking sites scored the highest on relational victimization. Relating to age, early adolescents (aged 11–14 with higher problematic use of online social networking sites reported the highest levels of overt verbal and relational victimization. Overall, results suggested the co-occurrence of problematic use of online social networking sites, peer aggression and victimization. In addition, results showed the influence that gender and age had on peer victimization. This study highlights the continuity between offline

  9. Weighted Scale-Free Network Properties of Ecological Network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jae Woo; Maeng, Seong Eun

    2013-01-01

    We investigate the scale-free network properties of the bipartite ecological network, in particular, the plant-pollinator network. In plant-pollinator network, the pollinators visit the plant to get the nectars. In contrast to the other complex network, the plant-pollinator network has not only the trophic relationships among the interacting partners but also the complexities of the coevolutionary effects. The interactions between the plant and pollinators are beneficial relations. The plant-pollinator network is a bipartite and weighted network. The networks have two types of the nodes: plant and pollinator. We consider the visiting frequency of a pollinator to a plant as the weighting value of the link. We defined the strength of a node as the sum of the weighting value of the links. We reported the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the degree and the strength of the plant-pollinator network. The CDF of the plants followed stretched exponential functions for both degree and strength, but the CDF of the pollinators showed the power law for both degree and strength. The average strength of the links showed the nonlinear dependence on the degree of the networks.

  10. Visit safety

    CERN Document Server

    2012-01-01

    Experiment areas, offices, workshops: it is possible to have co-workers or friends visit these places.     You already know about the official visits service, the VIP office, and professional visits. But do you know about the safety instruction GSI-OHS1, “Visits on the CERN site”? This is a mandatory General Safety Instruction that was created to assist you in ensuring safety for all your visits, whatever their nature—especially those that are non-official. Questions? The HSE Unit will be happy to answer them. Write to safety-general@cern.ch.   The HSE Unit

  11. Adolescents' Social Network Site Use, Peer Appearance-Related Feedback, and Body Dissatisfaction: Testing a Mediation Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Vries, Dian A; Peter, Jochen; de Graaf, Hanneke; Nikken, Peter

    2016-01-01

    Previous correlational research indicates that adolescent girls who use social network sites more frequently are more dissatisfied with their bodies. However, we know little about the causal direction of this relationship, the mechanisms underlying this relationship, and whether this relationship also occurs among boys to the same extent. The present two-wave panel study (18 month time lag) among 604 Dutch adolescents (aged 11-18; 50.7% female; 97.7% native Dutch) aimed to fill these gaps in knowledge. Structural equation modeling showed that social network site use predicted increased body dissatisfaction and increased peer influence on body image in the form of receiving peer appearance-related feedback. Peer appearance-related feedback did not predict body dissatisfaction and thus did not mediate the effect of social network site use on body dissatisfaction. Gender did not moderate the findings. Hence, social network sites can play an adverse role in the body image of both adolescent boys and girls.

  12. Interprofessional collaboration in nursing homes (interprof): a grounded theory study of general practitioner experiences and strategies to perform nursing home visits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleischmann, Nina; Tetzlaff, Britta; Werle, Jochen; Geister, Christina; Scherer, Martin; Weyerer, Siegfried; Hummers-Pradier, Eva; Mueller, Christiane A

    2016-08-30

    Interprofessionalism, considered as collaboration between medical professionals, has gained prominence over recent decades and evidence for its impact has grown. The steadily increasing number of residents in nursing homes will challenge medical care and the interaction across professions, especially nurses and general practitioners (GPs). The nursing home visit, a key element of medical care, has been underrepresented in research. This study explores GP perspectives on interprofessional collaboration with a focus on their visits to nursing homes in order to understand their experiences and expectations. This research represents an aspect of the interprof study, which explores medical care needs as well as the perceived collaboration and communication by nursing home residents, their families, GPs and nurses. This paper focusses on GPs' views, investigating in particular their visits to nursing homes in order to understand their experiences. Open guideline-interviews covering interprofessional collaboration and the visit process were conducted with 30 GPs in three study centers and analyzed with grounded theory methodology. GPs were recruited via postal request and existing networks of the research partners. Four different types of nursing home visits were found: visits on demand, periodical visits, nursing home rounds and ad-hoc-decision based visits. We identified the core category "productive performance" of home visits in nursing homes which stands for the balance of GPs´ individual efforts and rewards. GPs used different strategies to perform a productive home visit: preparing strategies, on-site strategies and investing strategies. We compiled a theory of GPs home visits in nursing homes in Germany. The findings will be useful for research, and scientific and management purposes to generate a deeper understanding of GP perspectives and thereby improve interprofessional collaboration to ensure a high quality of care.

  13. Chernobyl after Perestroika: Reflections on a recent visit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ausubel, J.H.

    1992-01-01

    Political change and economic deterioration have drastically affected the handling of the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. A visit to the site is recounted and five lessons drawn. These are the need for new organizations to manage the decontamination of hazardous waste sites, the limited use of emergency preparedness, the importance of longevity of risks and consequences for environmental management, the need to give international status to sites of major environmental hazards, and the surprises about what prove to be environmentally significant technologies

  14. Social Networking Sites and Contact Risks among Flemish Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandoninck, Sofie; d'Haenens, Leen; De Cock, Rozane; Donoso, Veronica

    2012-01-01

    This study investigates how teenagers use social networking sites (SNS) and other online communication applications, to what extent they are exposed to online contact risks related to the use of these online tools and how they cope with these risks. A written survey was administered among 815 Flemish adolescents aged 14-19. The study controls for…

  15. Political Parties and Interest Groups Members' Patterns of Social Network Site Usage in Kyrgyzstan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elira Turdubaeva

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Kyrgyzstan, with a high level of political participation and an avant-garde position regarding internet access in Central Asia, broadband and social media penetration in the population, is a critical case for studying social network sites (SNSs in relation to political participation. This study analyzes the practices and attitudes of SNS users in Kyrgyzstan. Two types of users – members of political parties and members of interest organizations – are interviewed in focus groups about their practices and attitudes towards political content in the social network site Facebook. The findings indicate that, to some extent, the political engagement is indeed occurring within the Facebook environment, suggesting that the popular social networking sites (SNSs are an avenue for young people to express and share their political views. Facebook allowed users to share their political beliefs, support specific candidates, and interact with others on political issues. Participants’ perceptions regarding the appropriateness of political activity on Facebook, as well as the specific types of political activities they engaged in and witnessed within the site, were also explored.

  16. Trends and correlates of cannabis-involved emergency department visits: 2004 to 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, He; Wu, Li-Tzy

    2016-01-01

    Objectives To examine trends and correlates of cannabis-involved emergency department (ED) visits in the United States from 2004 to 2011. Methods Data were obtained from the 2004-2011 Drug Abuse Warning Network. We analyzed trend in cannabis-involved ED visits for persons aged ≥12 years and stratified by type of cannabis involvement (cannabis-only, cannabis-polydrug). We used logistic regressions to determine correlates of cannabis-involved hospitalization versus cannabis-involved ED visits only. Results Between 2004 and 2011, the ED visit rate increased from 51 to 73 visits per 100,000 population aged ≥ 12 years for cannabis-only use (P-value for trend=0.004) and from 63 to 100 for cannabis-polydrug use (P-value for trendcannabis-only-involved ED visit rate (Rate difference=80 per 100,000 adolescents). Across racial/ethnic groups, the most prevalent ED visits were noted among non-Hispanic blacks. Among cannabis-involved visits, the odds of hospitalization (versus ED visits only) increased with age strata compared with aged 12-17 years. Conclusions These findings suggest a notable increase in the ED visit numbers and rates for both the use of cannabis-only and cannabis-polydrug during the studied period, particularly among young people and non-Hispanic blacks. PMID:27574753

  17. Modeling Visit Behaviour in Smart Homes using Unsupervised Learning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nait Aicha, A.; Englebienne, G.; Kröse, B.

    2014-01-01

    Many algorithms on health monitoring from ambient sensor networks assume that only a single person is present in the home. We present an unsupervised method that models visit behaviour. A Markov modulated multidimensional non-homogeneous Poisson process (M3P2) is described that allows us to model

  18. The Sanctuary of Jupiter Anxur in Terracina: a typological reconstruction as an aid for on site visits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Gabellone

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The reconstructive study of Giove Anxur sanctuary in Terracina (Lazio, Italy is part of a wider valorization project to develop a musealization intervention that provides in-site visit, aimed at understanding the existents archaeological structures and to the creation of digital contents and multimedia solutions useful to stimulate the curiosity and interest of the visitors. The entire project was done in collaboration with the Archaeological Superintendence of Lazio, the Officina Rambaldi and the Syremont spa, in order to make a digital movie that describes the historical and archaeological features of one the most important republican sanctuaries in central Italy. The planimetric reconstruction returns the spatial sense and architectural complexity of the various levels on which articulates the original path of cult.

  19. Artificial neural network for on-site quantitative analysis of soils using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El Haddad, J. [Univ. Bordeaux, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence (France); CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence (France); Villot-Kadri, M.; Ismaël, A.; Gallou, G. [IVEA Solution, Centre Scientifique d' Orsay, Bât 503, 91400 Orsay (France); Michel, K.; Bruyère, D.; Laperche, V. [BRGM, Service Métrologie, Monitoring et Analyse, 3 avenue Claude Guillemin, B.P 36009, 45060 Orléans Cedex (France); Canioni, L. [Univ. Bordeaux, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence (France); CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence (France); Bousquet, B., E-mail: bruno.bousquet@u-bordeaux1.fr [Univ. Bordeaux, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence (France); CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence (France)

    2013-01-01

    Nowadays, due to environmental concerns, fast on-site quantitative analyses of soils are required. Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy is a serious candidate to address this challenge and is especially well suited for multi-elemental analysis of heavy metals. However, saturation and matrix effects prevent from a simple treatment of the LIBS data, namely through a regular calibration curve. This paper details the limits of this approach and consequently emphasizes the advantage of using artificial neural networks well suited for non-linear and multi-variate calibration. This advanced method of data analysis is evaluated in the case of real soil samples and on-site LIBS measurements. The selection of the LIBS data as input data of the network is particularly detailed and finally, resulting errors of prediction lower than 20% for aluminum, calcium, copper and iron demonstrate the good efficiency of the artificial neural networks for on-site quantitative LIBS of soils. - Highlights: ► We perform on-site quantitative LIBS analysis of soil samples. ► We demonstrate that univariate analysis is not convenient. ► We exploit artificial neural networks for LIBS analysis. ► Spectral lines other than the ones from the analyte must be introduced.

  20. Artificial neural network for on-site quantitative analysis of soils using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Haddad, J.; Villot-Kadri, M.; Ismaël, A.; Gallou, G.; Michel, K.; Bruyère, D.; Laperche, V.; Canioni, L.; Bousquet, B.

    2013-01-01

    Nowadays, due to environmental concerns, fast on-site quantitative analyses of soils are required. Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy is a serious candidate to address this challenge and is especially well suited for multi-elemental analysis of heavy metals. However, saturation and matrix effects prevent from a simple treatment of the LIBS data, namely through a regular calibration curve. This paper details the limits of this approach and consequently emphasizes the advantage of using artificial neural networks well suited for non-linear and multi-variate calibration. This advanced method of data analysis is evaluated in the case of real soil samples and on-site LIBS measurements. The selection of the LIBS data as input data of the network is particularly detailed and finally, resulting errors of prediction lower than 20% for aluminum, calcium, copper and iron demonstrate the good efficiency of the artificial neural networks for on-site quantitative LIBS of soils. - Highlights: ► We perform on-site quantitative LIBS analysis of soil samples. ► We demonstrate that univariate analysis is not convenient. ► We exploit artificial neural networks for LIBS analysis. ► Spectral lines other than the ones from the analyte must be introduced

  1. US Cub Scouts visit CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    2001-01-01

    A group of young American Cub Scouts from Den 10, Pack 130 (based in Geneva) at the Microcosm last Saturday. On their trip to CERN, which included the first Visits Service tour of the ATLAS construction site, the scouts were able to satisfy most of the requirements for the Cub Scout engineering badge. From left to right: Edouard Vincent, Ariel Litke, Alexander Richter, Antoine Vidal de Saint Phalle, Jason Iredale and Daniel Reghelini.

  2. Radiation Therapy Deficiencies Identified During On-Site Dosimetry Visits by the Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core Houston Quality Assurance Center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kry, Stephen F; Dromgoole, Lainy; Alvarez, Paola; Leif, Jessica; Molineu, Andrea; Taylor, Paige; Followill, David S

    2017-12-01

    To review the dosimetric, mechanical, and programmatic deficiencies most frequently observed during on-site visits of radiation therapy facilities by the Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core Quality Assurance Center in Houston (IROC Houston). The findings of IROC Houston between 2000 and 2014, including 409 institutions and 1020 linear accelerators (linacs), were compiled. On-site evaluations by IROC Houston include verification of absolute calibration (tolerance of ±3%), relative dosimetric review (tolerances of ±2% between treatment planning system [TPS] calculation and measurement), mechanical evaluation (including multileaf collimator and kilovoltage-megavoltage isocenter evaluation against Task Group [TG]-142 tolerances), and general programmatic review (including institutional quality assurance program vs TG-40 and TG-142). An average of 3.1 deficiencies was identified at each institution visited, a number that has decreased slightly with time. The most common errors are tabulated and include TG-40/TG-142 compliance (82% of institutions were deficient), small field size output factors (59% of institutions had errors ≥3%), and wedge factors (33% of institutions had errors ≥3%). Dosimetric errors of ≥10%, including in beam calibration, were seen at many institutions. There is substantial room for improvement of both dosimetric and programmatic issues in radiation therapy, which should be a high priority for the medical physics community. Particularly relevant was suboptimal beam modeling in the TPS and a corresponding failure to detect these errors by not including TPS data in the linac quality assurance process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Making the Long Tail Visible: Social Networking Sites and Independent Music Discovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaffney, Michael; Rafferty, Pauline

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate users' knowledge and use of social networking sites and folksonomies to discover if social tagging and folksonomies, within the area of independent music, aid in its information retrieval and discovery. The sites examined in this project are MySpace, Lastfm, Pandora and Allmusic. In addition,…

  4. Factors affecting Malaysian university students’ purchase intention in social networking sites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saeideh Sharifi fard

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This study applied the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 to examine acceptance and use of social networking sites in a marketing setting. This study uses 370 regular higher education students in Malaysia as respondents. Quantitative method is used. The findings revealed that performance expectancy (PE and hedonic motivation were the main factors that influence users’ online purchase intention (PI through social networking sites (SNSs in Malaysia. As for moderating influences of gender and age, the results showed that gender significantly moderated purposed association between these four elements and the online PI, while the moderating effect of age was only recognized in PE. Findings of this research offer practitioners with better insights that would aid them in developing effective online marketing strategies to attract online purchasing users through SNSs.

  5. A delay differential equation model for dengue transmission with regular visits to a mosquito breeding site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaacob, Y.; Yeak, S. H.; Lim, R. S.; Soewono, E.

    2015-03-01

    Dengue disease has been known as one of widely transmitted vector-borne diseases which potentially affects millions of people throughout the world especially in tropical and sub-tropical countries. One of the main factors contributing in the complication of the transmission process is the mobility of people in which people may get infection in the places far from their home. Here we construct a delay differential equation model for dengue transmission in a closed population where regular visits of people to a mosquito breeding site out of their residency such as traditional market take place daily. Basic reproductive ratio of the system is obtained and depends on the ratio between the outgoing rates of susceptible human and infective human. It is shown that the increase of mobility with different variation of mobility rates may contribute to different level of basic reproductive ratio as well as different level of outbreaks.

  6. Sexual health promotion on social networking sites: a process evaluation of The FaceSpace Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Phuong; Gold, Judy; Pedrana, Alisa; Chang, Shanton; Howard, Steve; Ilic, Olivia; Hellard, Margaret; Stoove, Mark

    2013-07-01

    This article reports findings from an evaluation of reach and engagement of The FaceSpace Project, a novel sexual health promotion project delivered through social networking sites that targeted young people aged 16-29 years. Multiple methods were used to evaluate project reach and engagement. The evaluation focussed on quantitative data (online usage statistics, online surveys), complemented by available qualitative data (project team meeting notes). The project reached 900 fans who were mostly between 18 and 34 years of age. The most successful ways of increasing audience reach were via Facebook advertisements and tagging photos of young people attending a music festival on the project Facebook page. Peaks in Facebook page interactions (comments and "likes") coincided with recruitment peaks and when videos were posted. However, video views varied greatly between postings. Feedback from the project team for increasing engagement in future social networking site interventions included having one centralized Facebook page and using episodic videos. This evaluation is among the first to assess the use of social networking sites for sexual health promotion and provides information to inform the implementation and evaluation of future projects using new media. Social networking sites offer great potential to reach and engage young people for sexual health promotion. However, further work is required to improve implementation and promote audience reach and engagement as well as to determine effectiveness of social networking sites in changing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Copyright © 2013 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. A Privacy Preservation Model for Health-Related Social Networking Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    The increasing use of social networking sites (SNS) in health care has resulted in a growing number of individuals posting personal health information online. These sites may disclose users' health information to many different individuals and organizations and mine it for a variety of commercial and research purposes, yet the revelation of personal health information to unauthorized individuals or entities brings a concomitant concern of greater risk for loss of privacy among users. Many users join multiple social networks for different purposes and enter personal and other specific information covering social, professional, and health domains into other websites. Integration of multiple online and real social networks makes the users vulnerable to unintentional and intentional security threats and misuse. This paper analyzes the privacy and security characteristics of leading health-related SNS. It presents a threat model and identifies the most important threats to users and SNS providers. Building on threat analysis and modeling, this paper presents a privacy preservation model that incorporates individual self-protection and privacy-by-design approaches and uses the model to develop principles and countermeasures to protect user privacy. This study paves the way for analysis and design of privacy-preserving mechanisms on health-related SNS. PMID:26155953

  8. A Privacy Preservation Model for Health-Related Social Networking Sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jingquan

    2015-07-08

    The increasing use of social networking sites (SNS) in health care has resulted in a growing number of individuals posting personal health information online. These sites may disclose users' health information to many different individuals and organizations and mine it for a variety of commercial and research purposes, yet the revelation of personal health information to unauthorized individuals or entities brings a concomitant concern of greater risk for loss of privacy among users. Many users join multiple social networks for different purposes and enter personal and other specific information covering social, professional, and health domains into other websites. Integration of multiple online and real social networks makes the users vulnerable to unintentional and intentional security threats and misuse. This paper analyzes the privacy and security characteristics of leading health-related SNS. It presents a threat model and identifies the most important threats to users and SNS providers. Building on threat analysis and modeling, this paper presents a privacy preservation model that incorporates individual self-protection and privacy-by-design approaches and uses the model to develop principles and countermeasures to protect user privacy. This study paves the way for analysis and design of privacy-preserving mechanisms on health-related SNS.

  9. What makes one spread the word online - A study on electronic word of mouth motivations on social networking sites

    OpenAIRE

    Sridharan, Santhya

    2016-01-01

    Master's thesis in International hotel and tourism management The main focus of the study is to understand what motivates a person to give electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on social networking sites. With the increasing popularity of social networking sites, lots of consumers check these sites for reviews of products and services. Based on the literature review, a scale of motives that lead to giving eWOM by means of writing comments on social networking sites was developed. The study used ...

  10. Exploring the Potential of Social Network Sites in Relation to Intercultural Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Anouk

    2012-01-01

    This article reports on the results of a project which used a social network site to support students on a year abroad and foster informal learning, particularly in the area of intercultural communication. The project employed a peer-mentoring structure to solve the problem of role conflict, in which users of these sites may feel some tension as…

  11. Enabling Interoperable and Selective Data Sharing among Social Networking Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Dongwan; Lopes, Rodrigo

    With the widespread use of social networking (SN) sites and even introduction of a social component in non-social oriented services, there is a growing concern over user privacy in general, how to handle and share user profiles across SN sites in particular. Although there have been several proprietary or open source-based approaches to unifying the creation of third party applications, the availability and retrieval of user profile information are still limited to the site where the third party application is run, mostly devoid of the support for data interoperability. In this paper we propose an approach to enabling interopearable and selective data sharing among SN sites. To support selective data sharing, we discuss an authenticated dictionary (ADT)-based credential which enables a user to share only a subset of her information certified by external SN sites with applications running on an SN site. For interoperable data sharing, we propose an extension to the OpenSocial API so that it can provide an open source-based framework for allowing the ADT-based credential to be used seamlessly among different SN sites.

  12. The network architecture and site test of DCIS in Lungmen nuclear power station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, C. K.

    2006-01-01

    The Lungmen Nuclear Power Station (LMNPS) is located in North-Eastern Seashore of Taiwan. LMNPP has two units. Each unit generates 1350 Megawatts. It is the first ABWR Plant in Taiwan and is under-construction now. Due to contractual arrangement, there are seven large I and C suppliers/designers, which are GE NUMAC, DRS, Invensys, GEIS, Hitachi, MHI, and Stone and Webster company. The Distributed Control and Information System (DCIS) in Lungmen are fully integrated with the state-of-the-art computer and network technology. General Electric is the leading designer for integration of DCIS. This paper presents Network Architecture and the Site Test of DCIS. The network architectures are follows. GE NUMAC System adopts the point to point architecture, DRS System adopts Ring type architecture with SCRAMNET protocol, Inevnsys system adopts IGiga Byte Backbone mesh network with Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol, GEIS adopts Ethernet network with EGD protocol, Hitachi adopts ring type network with proprietary protocol. MHI adopt Ethernet network with UDP. The data-links are used for connection between different suppliers. The DCIS architecture supports the plant automation, the alarm prioritization and alarm suppression, and uniform MMI screen for entire plant. The Test Program regarding the integration of different network architectures and Initial DCIS architecture Setup for 161KV Energization will be discussed. Test tool for improving site test schedule, and lessons learned from FAT will be discussed too. And conclusions are at the end of this paper. (authors)

  13. The network architecture and site test of DCIS in Lungmen nuclear power station

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, C. K. [Instrument and Control Section, Lungmen Nuclear Power Station, Taiwan Power Company, Taipei County Taiwan (China)

    2006-07-01

    The Lungmen Nuclear Power Station (LMNPS) is located in North-Eastern Seashore of Taiwan. LMNPP has two units. Each unit generates 1350 Megawatts. It is the first ABWR Plant in Taiwan and is under-construction now. Due to contractual arrangement, there are seven large I and C suppliers/designers, which are GE NUMAC, DRS, Invensys, GEIS, Hitachi, MHI, and Stone and Webster company. The Distributed Control and Information System (DCIS) in Lungmen are fully integrated with the state-of-the-art computer and network technology. General Electric is the leading designer for integration of DCIS. This paper presents Network Architecture and the Site Test of DCIS. The network architectures are follows. GE NUMAC System adopts the point to point architecture, DRS System adopts Ring type architecture with SCRAMNET protocol, Inevnsys system adopts IGiga Byte Backbone mesh network with Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol, GEIS adopts Ethernet network with EGD protocol, Hitachi adopts ring type network with proprietary protocol. MHI adopt Ethernet network with UDP. The data-links are used for connection between different suppliers. The DCIS architecture supports the plant automation, the alarm prioritization and alarm suppression, and uniform MMI screen for entire plant. The Test Program regarding the integration of different network architectures and Initial DCIS architecture Setup for 161KV Energization will be discussed. Test tool for improving site test schedule, and lessons learned from FAT will be discussed too. And conclusions are at the end of this paper. (authors)

  14. Exploring Multilevel Factors for Family Engagement in Home Visiting Across Two National Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latimore, Amanda D; Burrell, Lori; Crowne, Sarah; Ojo, Kristen; Cluxton-Keller, Fallon; Gustin, Sunday; Kruse, Lakota; Hellman, Daniela; Scott, Lenore; Riordan, Annette; Duggan, Anne

    2017-07-01

    The associations of family, home visitor and site characteristics with family engagement within the first 6 months were examined. The variation in family engagement was also explored. Home visiting program participants were drawn from 21 Healthy Families America sites (1707 families) and 9 Nurse-Family Partnership sites (650 families) in New Jersey. Three-level nested generalized linear mixed models assessed the associations of family, home visitor and site characteristics with family receipt of a high dose of services in the first 6 months of enrollment. A family was considered to have received a high dose of service in the first 6 months of enrollment if they were active at 6 months and had received at least 50% of their expected visits in the first 6 months. In general, both home visiting programs engaged, at a relatively high level (Healthy Families America (HFA) 59%, Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) 64%), with families demonstrating high-risk characteristics such as lower maternal education, maternal smoking, and maternal mental health need. Home visitor characteristics explained more of the variation (87%) in the receipt of services for HFA, while family characteristics explained more of the variation (75%) in the receipt of services for NFP. At the family level, NFP may improve the consistency with which they engage families by increasing retention efforts among mothers with lower education and smoking mothers. HFA sites seeking to improve engagement consistency should consider increasing the flexible in home visitor job responsibilities and examining the current expected-visit policies followed by home visitors on difficult-to-engage families.

  15. Exploring Young People's Experiences on Social Networking Sites

    OpenAIRE

    Rehim, Shrehan

    2017-01-01

    Abstract\\ud Online Social Networking Sites (SNS) are a ubiquitous platform for communication and have been considered as one of the most significant changes to how young people interact today. Whilst SNS bring many opportunities, they have also been used as a tool for harassment and abuse online. The term ‘cyberbullying’, is most widely used to describe this phenomenon. A growing body of research demonstrates that cyberbullying has the potential to detrimentally impact young people’s wellbein...

  16. Visits to Registered Nurses: An Opportunity to Increase Contraceptive Access in California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Emese C; Kong, Kevin; Watts, Leslie A; Schwarz, Eleanor B; Darney, Philip D; Thiel de Bocanegra, Heike

    In 2013, California passed Assembly Bill (A.B.) 2348, approving registered nurses (RNs) to dispense patient self-administered hormonal contraceptives and administer injections of hormonal contraceptives. The Family Planning, Access, Care and Treatment (Family PACT) program, which came into effect in 1997 to expand low-income, uninsured California resident access to contraceptives at no cost, is one program in which qualified RNs can dispense and administer contraceptives. The aims of this study were to (a) describe utilization of RN visits within California's Family PACT program and (b) evaluate the impact of RN visits on client birth control acquisition during the first 18 months after implementation of A.B. 2348 (January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014). A descriptive observational design using administrative databases was used. Family PACT claims were retrieved for RN visits and contraception. Paid claims for contraceptive dispensing and/or administration visits by physicians, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants were compared before and after the implementation of A.B. 2348 at practice sites where RN visits were and were not utilized. Contraceptive methods and administration procedures were identified using Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System codes, National Drug Codes, and Common Procedural Terminology codes. Claims data for healthcare facilities were abstracted by site location based on a unique combination of National Provider Identifier (NPI), NPI Owner, and NPI location number. RN visits were found mainly in Northern California and the Central Valley (73%). Sixty-eight percent of RN visits resulted in same-day dispensing and/or administration of hormonal (and/or barrier) methods. Since benefit implementation, RN visits resulted in a 10% increase in access to birth control dispensing and/or administration visits. RN visits were also associated with future birth control acquisition and other healthcare utilization within the

  17. 17 April 2008 - Head of Internal Audit Network meeting visiting the ATLAS experimental area with CERN ATLAS Team Leader P. Fassnacht, ATLAS Technical Coordinator M. Nessi and ATLAS Resources Manager M. Nordberg.

    CERN Multimedia

    Mona Schweizer

    2008-01-01

    17 April 2008 - Head of Internal Audit Network meeting visiting the ATLAS experimental area with CERN ATLAS Team Leader P. Fassnacht, ATLAS Technical Coordinator M. Nessi and ATLAS Resources Manager M. Nordberg.

  18. Foundation Year Students' Perceptions of Using Social Network Sites for Learning English in the Saudi Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    AlShoaibi, Rana; Shukri, Nadia

    2017-01-01

    The major aim of this study is to better understand the university students' perceptions and attitudes towards using social network sites for learning English as well as to identify if there is a difference between male and female university students in terms of using social networking sites for learning English inside and outside the classroom.…

  19. Age Factor in Business Education Students' Use of Social Networking Sites in Tertiary Institutions in Anambra State, Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ementa, Christiana Ngozi; Ile, Chika Madu

    2015-01-01

    There are diverse social networking sites which range from those that provide social sharing and interaction to those that provide networks for professionals within same and other fields. Social networking sites require a user to sign up, create a profile and begin sending short messages about what the user is doing or thinking. The study sought…

  20. Prediction of protein hydration sites from sequence by modular neural networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ehrlich, L.; Reczko, M.; Bohr, Henrik

    1998-01-01

    The hydration properties of a protein are important determinants of its structure and function. Here, modular neural networks are employed to predict ordered hydration sites using protein sequence information. First, secondary structure and solvent accessibility are predicted from sequence with two...... separate neural networks. These predictions are used as input together with protein sequences for networks predicting hydration of residues, backbone atoms and sidechains. These networks are teined with protein crystal structures. The prediction of hydration is improved by adding information on secondary...... structure and solvent accessibility and, using actual values of these properties, redidue hydration can be predicted to 77% accuracy with a Metthews coefficient of 0.43. However, predicted property data with an accuracy of 60-70% result in less than half the improvement in predictive performance observed...

  1. What do we mean by social networking sites?

    Science.gov (United States)

    La Sala, Louise; Skues, Jason; Wise, Lisa

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore people's conceptual understanding of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) through exploring the combined use of a range of popular SNSs, including Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Instagram, Tumblr, LinkedIn and Google Plus. Seventy-three adults, aged 18 to 63, participated in an online survey that used open-ended questions to ask how participants define and use different SNSs. Four themes were identified, including the explicit presentation and interpretation of different selves, the love-hate relationship with SNSs, privacy and danger concerns, and limited SNS knowledge. The findings from this study suggest that researchers need to consider how people use SNSs in combination as this influences the decisions people make about which SNS accounts they use and how they present themselves on these sites.

  2. „Dark Tourism“– Evaluation of Visitors Experience after Visiting Thanatological Tourist Attractions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marijana Bittner

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Although thanatourism is a unique kind of tourism, whose history goes back to ancient times and the middle ages, literature on this touristic demand is still scarce, despite the fact that classification and categorization of thanatological tourist sites has existed for a certain number of years. Considering how the phenomenon of thanatourism, or „dark tourism“has not been sufficiently explored in Croatia, and there is not enough literature to qualitatively research it, this study represents an attempt to come to a conclusion whether visits to a thanatouristic site contribute to a better understanding of the broader subject to which the tourist site is related, using qualitative methods. Reviewing published literature on the subject of „dark tourism“ and using the method of semi-structured interviews on a sample of ten respondents of Croatian origin, we shall attempt to see whether thantological tourist sites are a part of the cultural and historical heritage, whether a visit to a thanatological tourist site develops a desire to visit another tourist site with similar features, and whether there is a need for a more detailed study on the subject matter which initiated the making of a certain thanatological site. It would also be interesting to view the lucrative side of such sites, i.e. their economic potential. The purpose of this study is to highlight pointers of maintenance and preservation of existing sites or the formation of new ones, mainly on the grounds of former Yugoslavia, as an area of frequent conflicts of various ethnic groups.

  3. Visiting entertainment venues and sexual health in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Li; Wu, Zunyou; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane; Guan, Jihui; Yin, Yueping; Detels, Roger; Wu, Sheng; Lee, Sung-Jae; Cao, Haijun; Lin, Chunqing; Rou, Keming; Liu, Zhendong

    2009-10-01

    Entertainment venues in China are associated with risky sexual behavior. Most previous studies related to entertainment venues in China have focused on sex workers and commercial sex, but this study addressed sexual health in a sample of the general urban population. A randomly selected sample of market vendors (n = 4,510) from an eastern city was recruited and assessed to examine relationships between entertainment venue visits and sexual risk. Both behavioral (self-reports of unprotected sex) and biomedical (STD test results) measures were used. About 18% of the sample (26.8% of men and 9% of women) reported visiting entertainment venues in the past 30 days. Those who visited entertainment venues were more likely to be male, younger, single, with higher education, and to have more discretionary income. For both men and women, visiting entertainment venues was a significant predictor for unprotected sex and STD infection. Gender differences were observed in predicting unprotected sex and STD infections. Entertainment venues could be potential sites for place-based intervention programs and outreach for the general population.

  4. Language Views on Social Networking Sites for Language Learning: The Case of Busuu

    Science.gov (United States)

    Álvarez Valencia, José Aldemar

    2016-01-01

    Social networking has compelled the area of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) to expand its research palette and account for new virtual ecologies that afford language learning and socialization. This study focuses on Busuu, a social networking site for language learning (SNSLL), and analyzes the views of language that are enacted through…

  5. Use of Social Network Sites and Instant Messaging Does Not Lead to Increased Offline Social Network Size, or to Emotionally Closer Relationships with Offline Network Members

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pollet, Thomas V.; Roberts, Sam G. B.; Dunbar, Robin I. M.

    The effect of Internet use on social relationships is still a matter of intense debate. This study examined the relationships between use of social media (instant messaging and social network sites), network size, and emotional closeness in a sample of 117 individuals aged 18 to 63 years old. Time

  6. A framework for unsupervised spam detection in social networking sites

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bosma, M.; Meij, E.; Weerkamp, W.

    2012-01-01

    Social networking sites offer users the option to submit user spam reports for a given message, indicating this message is inappropriate. In this paper we present a framework that uses these user spam reports for spam detection. The framework is based on the HITS web link analysis framework and is

  7. www.snob.ru: A Social Network Site for the Elite

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roesen, Tine

    2011-01-01

    initially resembled yet another invention by New Russians who are eager to flash their riches, with its online social network serving as yet another exclusive club. However, in 2009 the site was opened for guest access and membership by subscription; it is now possible not only to establish the basic facts...

  8. A systematic review of nonsurgical single-visit versus multiple-visit endodontic treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wong AWY

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Amy WY Wong, Chengfei Zhang, Chun-hung Chu Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China Abstract: Conventional endodontic treatment used to require multiple visits, but some clinicians have suggested that single-visit treatment is superior. Single-visit endodontic treatment and multiple-visit endodontic treatment both have their advantages and disadvantages. This paper is a literature review of the research on nonsurgical single-visit versus multiple-visit endodontic treatment. The PubMed database was searched using the keywords (endodontic treatment OR endodontic therapy OR root canal treatment OR root canal therapy AND (single-visit OR one-visit OR 1-visit. Review papers, case reports, data studies, and irrelevant reports were excluded, and 47 papers on clinical trials were reviewed. The studies generally had small sample sizes, and the endodontic procedures varied among the studies. Meta-analysis on the selected studies was performed, and the results showed that the postoperative complications of the single-visit and multiple-visit endodontic treatment were similar. Furthermore, neither single-visit endodontic treatment nor multiple-visit treatment had superior results over the other in terms of healing or success rate. Results of limited studies on disinfection of the root canals using low-energy laser photodynamic therapy is inconclusive, and further studies are necessary to show whether laser should be used in endodontic treatment. This review also found that that neither single-visit endodontic treatment nor multiple-visit treatment could guarantee the absence of postoperative pain. Since the study design of many studies displayed significant limitation and the materials and equipment used in endodontic treatment have dramatically changed in recent years, prospective randomized clinical trials are needed to further verify the postoperative pain and success rates of

  9. The Impact of Political Advertising through Social Networking Sites on Egyptians’ Political Orientations and Choices

    OpenAIRE

    khaled A. Gad

    2014-01-01

    This paper examines the influence of political advertising through social networking sites on Egyptians’ political orientations and choices. The objective of this paper is to determine how Egyptians’ social networking sites users are interested in political promoting campaigns and how they deal with such campaigns. Also the paper measures the impact of these campaigns in influencing the current political events, the individuals’ political choices and orientations, and the extent to which they...

  10. Visit of the RPII to the Wylfa Nuclear Power Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-08-01

    This document is a report of the visit of RPII representatives to the Wylfa Nuclear Power Plant in Anglesey in North Wales. The principal topics covered are radioactive waste management, safety issues and the future of the Wylfa NPP. There was also a site tourwhich included the reactor building, the control room, the turbine hall and the simulator. Staff from Magnox Electric, which operates the Wylfa NPP, the NII and the UK Environment Agency participated in the visit

  11. Hammarskjöld's visit to South Africa

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    His visit followed another police shooting – this time of unarmed protestors against the pass laws at Sharpeville, south of Johannesburg, on 21 March 1960 – and .... road is paved to Pretoria, not only through good intentions, but, I hope, also by .... to major tourist sites in the city, then to Stellenbosch, Fransch Hoek, where he.

  12. Mobility Analysis for Inter-Site Carrier Aggregation in LTE Heterogeneous Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barbera, Simone; Pedersen, Klaus I.; Michaelsen, Per Henrik

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we analyze the mobility performance for an LTE Heterogeneous Network with macro and pico cells deployed on different carriers. Cases with/without downlink inter-site carrier aggregation are investigated. Extensive system level simulations are exploited to quantify the performance...

  13. US-CERN Virtual Visits: Building Transcontinental Connections for High Energy Physics

    CERN Document Server

    Gonski, Julia; The ATLAS collaboration

    2017-01-01

    For nearly fifteen years, Virtual Visits at CERN have been bringing high-energy physics research directly to the public, through the use of videoconferencing systems at both ATLAS and CMS experimental sites. Over 30,000 people from all seven continents have participated in Virtual Visits to date, engaging students, teachers, artists, and general enthusiasts alike. While these connections often take place in science festivals or classrooms, the versatility of the medium allows the visit to be customized for any audience. In particular, Virtual Visit connections to the United States can integrate a population for which distance from the experiment may hinder education and awareness. Examples of such targeted audiences include US Congressional offices and other governmental institutions, to enhance dialogue about the benefits of global basic research, and historically underrepresented or underserved minority groups. Both the foundational work and future possibilities of US Virtual Visit connections is discussed.

  14. Learners' Attitudes toward Foreign Language Practice on Social Network Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villafuerte, Jhonny; Romero, Asier

    2017-01-01

    This work aims to study learners' attitudes towards practicing English Language on Social Networks Sites (SNS). The sample involved 110 students from the University Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabi in Ecuador, and the University of the Basque Country in Spain. The instrument applied was a Likert scale questionnaire designed Ad hoc by the researchers,…

  15. The Use of Social Networking Sites among Malaysian University Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamat, Afendi; Embi, Mohamed Amin; Hassan, Haslinda Abu

    2012-01-01

    Social networking sites (SNSs) have increasingly become an important tool for young adults to interact and socialize with their peers. As most of these young adults are also learners, educators have been looking for ways to understand the phenomena in order to harness its potential for use in education. This is especially relevant in Malaysia…

  16. A quantitative method for groundwater surveillance monitoring network design at the Hanford Site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meyer, P.D.

    1993-12-01

    As part of the Environmental Surveillance Program at the Hanford Site, mandated by the US Department of Energy, hundreds of groundwater wells are sampled each year, with each sample typically analyzed for a variety of constituents. The groundwater sampling program must satisfy several broad objectives. These objectives include an integrated assessment of the condition of groundwater and the identification and quantification of existing, emerging, or potential groundwater problems. Several quantitative network desip objectives are proposed and a mathematical optimization model is developed from these objectives. The model attempts to find minimum cost network alternatives that maximize the amount of information generated by the network. Information is measured both by the rats of change with respect to time of the contaminant concentration and the uncertainty in contaminant concentration. In an application to tritium monitoring at the Hanford Site, both information measures were derived from historical data using time series analysis

  17. Visit ISOLDE!

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Bulletin

    2013-01-01

    CERN Internal Communication is organising a visit to ISOLDE – an opportunity for you to see the CERN set-up that can produce over 1000 different isotopes!   If you wish to participate, you can sign up for a visit by sending us an e-mail. Note that the visits will take place between 18 and 22 February, and will be open only to CERN access-card holders.   The visit will include an introduction by experts and a tour of the ISOLDE set-up. NB: For security reason, pregnant women and kids under the age of 16 can not take the tour.  

  18. Analysis, Design and Implementation of a Networking Proof-of-Concept Prototype to Support Maritime Visit, Board, Search and Seizure Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-03-01

    information base MIO maritime interdiction operations MPU man portable unit NLOS non-line-of-site NMS network management system NOC...administrator. For smaller networks, the economic feasibility for a comprehensive NMS might not be worth the investment. Instead, an application designed to... MPU -4s with Samsung devices attached to host a variety of IP-based applications. These nodes were utilized by the BTs to sweep the vessel in a

  19. The most remote point method for the site selection of the future GGOS network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hase, Hayo; Pedreros, Felipe

    2014-10-01

    The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) proposes 30-40 geodetic observatories as global infrastructure for the most accurate reference frame to monitor the global change. To reach this goal, several geodetic observatories have upgrade plans to become GGOS stations. Most initiatives are driven by national institutions following national interests. From a global perspective, the site distribution remains incomplete and the initiatives to improve this are up until now insufficient. This article is a contribution to answer the question on where to install new GGOS observatories and where to add observation techniques to existing observatories. It introduces the iterative most remote point (MRP) method for filling in the largest gaps in existing technique-specific networks. A spherical version of the Voronoi-diagram is used to pick the optimal location of the new observatory, but practical concerns determine its realistic location. Once chosen, the process is iterated. A quality and a homogeneity parameter of global networks measure the progress of improving the homogeneity of the global site distribution. This method is applied to the global networks of VGOS, and VGOS co-located with SLR to derive some clues about where additional observatory sites or additional observation techniques at existing observatories will improve the GGOS network configuration. With only six additional VGOS-stations, the homogeneity of the global VGOS-network could be significantly improved by more than . From the presented analysis, 25 known or new co-located VGOS and SLR sites are proposed as the future GGOS backbone: Colombo, Easter Island, Fairbanks, Fortaleza, Galapagos, GGAO, Hartebeesthoek, Honiara, Ibadan, Kokee Park, La Plata, Mauritius, McMurdo, Metsahövi, Ny Alesund, Riyadh, San Diego, Santa Maria, Shanghai, Syowa, Tahiti, Tristan de Cunha, Warkworth, Wettzell, and Yarragadee.

  20. Variation in density of cattle-visiting muscid flies between Danish inland pastures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Karl-Martin Vagn; Jespersen, Jørgen B.; Nielsen, B. Overgaard

    1993-01-01

    recorded, whilst the relative abundance and density of the species and the total fly-load varied considerably between pastures. In most cases the mean loads of Haematobia irritans (L.) and Hydrotaea irritans (Fall.) on heifers varied significantly in relation to site topography and shelter. These crude......The density of cattle-visiting flies (Muscidae) and the load of black-flies (Simulium spp.) were estimated in twelve and eighteen inland pastures in Denmark in 1984 and 1985 respectively. No differences in the geographical distribution pattern of the predominant cattle-visiting Muscidae were...... site variables explained 65-98% of the variation in densities of horn flies and sheep head flies observed between pastures. Highest densities of Hydrotaea irritans were primarily associated with permanent, low-lying, fairly sheltered grassland sites, whereas the density was low in temporary, dry, wind...

  1. Brand interactions and social media: enhancing user loyalty through social networking sites

    OpenAIRE

    Nisar, T.M.; Whitehead, C.

    2016-01-01

    This paper aims to investigate how user loyalty can be achieved and maintained through social networking sites. More specifically, we intend to test the relationships between brands, user loyalty and social media. The research thus provides insights into user-brand relationships through social media and argues how loyal customers can be through social networking websites. Although there are considerable numbers of studies about loyalty; there exists very limited work studying user loyalty thr...

  2. African Americans and Network Disadvantage: Enhancing Social Capital through Participation on Social Networking Sites

    OpenAIRE

    Danielle Taana Smith

    2013-01-01

    This study examines the participation of African Americans on social networking sites (SNS), and evaluates the degree to which African Americans engage in activities in the online environment to mitigate social capital deficits. Prior literature suggests that compared with whites, African Americans have less social capital that can enhance their socio-economic mobility. As such, my research question is: do African Americans enhance their social capital through their participation on SNS? I us...

  3. Consumer adoption of social networking sites: implications for theory and practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lorenzo Romero, Carlota; Constantinides, Efthymios; Alarcon-del-Amo, Maria-del-Carmen

    2011-01-01

    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study factors affecting the acceptance of social networking sites (SNS), analyze users' practices and behavior in these environments and assess the degree of acceptance of SNS in The Netherlands. Design/methodology/approach – An extended technology

  4. Exploring How and Why Young People Use Social Networking Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Laura

    2018-01-01

    Upcoming statutory UK government guidance for keeping children safe in education reflects the use of social media, which is one of the most common activities undertaken by young people. This study explores how and why young people are using social networking sites (SNS) and whether there are age or gender differences. A key feature of the study…

  5. Use of social network sites and instant messaging does not lead to increased offline social network size, or to emotionally closer relationships with offline network members.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollet, Thomas V; Roberts, Sam G B; Dunbar, Robin I M

    2011-04-01

    The effect of Internet use on social relationships is still a matter of intense debate. This study examined the relationships between use of social media (instant messaging and social network sites), network size, and emotional closeness in a sample of 117 individuals aged 18 to 63 years old. Time spent using social media was associated with a larger number of online social network "friends." However, time spent using social media was not associated with larger offline networks, or feeling emotionally closer to offline network members. Further, those that used social media, as compared to non-users of social media, did not have larger offline networks, and were not emotionally closer to offline network members. These results highlight the importance of considering potential time and cognitive constraints on offline social networks when examining the impact of social media use on social relationships.

  6. Remote source document verification in two national clinical trials networks: a pilot study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meredith Mealer

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Barriers to executing large-scale randomized controlled trials include costs, complexity, and regulatory requirements. We hypothesized that source document verification (SDV via remote electronic monitoring is feasible. METHODS: Five hospitals from two NIH sponsored networks provided remote electronic access to study monitors. We evaluated pre-visit remote SDV compared to traditional on-site SDV using a randomized convenience sample of all study subjects due for a monitoring visit. The number of data values verified and the time to perform remote and on-site SDV was collected. RESULTS: Thirty-two study subjects were randomized to either remote SDV (N=16 or traditional on-site SDV (N=16. Technical capabilities, remote access policies and regulatory requirements varied widely across sites. In the adult network, only 14 of 2965 data values (0.47% could not be located remotely. In the traditional on-site SDV arm, 3 of 2608 data values (0.12% required coordinator help. In the pediatric network, all 198 data values in the remote SDV arm and all 183 data values in the on-site SDV arm were located. Although not statistically significant there was a consistent trend for more time consumed per data value (minutes +/- SD: Adult 0.50 +/- 0.17 min vs. 0.39 +/- 0.10 min (two-tailed t-test p=0.11; Pediatric 0.99 +/- 1.07 min vs. 0.56 +/- 0.61 min (p=0.37 and time per case report form: Adult: 4.60 +/- 1.42 min vs. 3.60 +/- 0.96 min (p=0.10; Pediatric: 11.64 +/- 7.54 min vs. 6.07 +/- 3.18 min (p=0.10 using remote SDV. CONCLUSIONS: Because each site had different policies, requirements, and technologies, a common approach to assimilating monitors into the access management system could not be implemented. Despite substantial technology differences, more than 99% of data values were successfully monitored remotely. This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of remote monitoring and the need to develop consistent access policies for remote study

  7. An inventory of terrestrial mammals at national parks in the Northeast Temperate Network and Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilbert, Andrew T.; O'Connell, Allan F.; Annand, Elizabeth M.; Talancy, Neil W.; Sauer, John R.; Nichols, James D.

    2008-01-01

    An inventory of mammals was conducted during 2004 at nine national park sites in the Northeast Temperate Network (NETN): Acadia National Park (NP), Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park (NHP), Minute Man NHP, Morristown NHP, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site (NHS), Saint-Gaudens NHS, Saugus Iron Works NHS, Saratoga NHP, and Weir Farm NHS. Sagamore Hill NHS, part of the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network (NCBN), was also surveyed. Each park except Acadia NP was sampled twice, once in the winter/spring and again in the summer/fall. During the winter/spring visit, indirect measure (IM) sampling arrays were employed at 2 to 16 stations and included sampling by remote cameras, cubby boxes (covered trackplates), and hair traps. IM stations were established and re-used during the summer/fall sampling period. Trapping was conducted at 2 to 12 stations at all parks except Acadia NP during the summer/fall period and consisted of arrays of small-mammal traps, squirrel-sized live traps, and some fox-sized live traps. We used estimation-based procedures and probabilistic sampling techniques to design this inventory. A total of 38 species was detected by IM sampling, trapping, and field observations. Species diversity (number of species) varied among parks, ranging from 8 to 24, with Minute Man NHP having the most species detected. Raccoon (Procyon lotor), Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana), Fisher (Martes pennanti), and Domestic Cat (Felis silvestris) were the most common medium-sized mammals detected in this study and White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus), Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda), Deer Mouse (P. maniculatus), and Meadow Vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) the most common small mammals detected. All species detected are considered fairly common throughout their range including the Fisher, which has been reintroduced in several New England states. We did not detect any state or federal endangered or threatened species.

  8. Truth in Reporting: How Data Capture Methods Obfuscate Actual Surgical Site Infection Rates within a Health Care Network System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bordeianou, Liliana; Cauley, Christy E; Antonelli, Donna; Bird, Sarah; Rattner, David; Hutter, Matthew; Mahmood, Sadiqa; Schnipper, Deborah; Rubin, Marc; Bleday, Ronald; Kenney, Pardon; Berger, David

    2017-01-01

    Two systems measure surgical site infection rates following colorectal surgeries: the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services pay-for-performance initiatives use National Healthcare Safety Network data for hospital comparisons. This study aimed to compare database concordance. This is a multi-institution cohort study of systemwide Colorectal Surgery Collaborative. The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program requires rigorous, standardized data capture techniques; National Healthcare Safety Network allows 5 data capture techniques. Standardized surgical site infection rates were compared between databases. The Cohen κ-coefficient was calculated. This study was conducted at Boston-area hospitals. National Healthcare Safety Network or National Surgical Quality Improvement Program patients undergoing colorectal surgery were included. Standardized surgical site infection rates were the primary outcomes of interest. Thirty-day surgical site infection rates of 3547 (National Surgical Quality Improvement Program) vs 5179 (National Healthcare Safety Network) colorectal procedures (2012-2014). Discrepancies appeared: National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database of hospital 1 (N = 1480 patients) routinely found surgical site infection rates of approximately 10%, routinely deemed rate "exemplary" or "as expected" (100%). National Healthcare Safety Network data from the same hospital and time period (N = 1881) revealed a similar overall surgical site infection rate (10%), but standardized rates were deemed "worse than national average" 80% of the time. Overall, hospitals using less rigorous capture methods had improved surgical site infection rates for National Healthcare Safety Network compared with standardized National Surgical Quality Improvement Program reports. The correlation coefficient

  9. Beyond Baby Steps: Today's Use of Social Networking Sites and the Nursing Profession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandlin, Jean Kelso; Hinmon, Dan

    2016-01-01

    Nurses' use of online social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are increasing and with it the controversy surrounding the compatibility of social networking sites within a profession that values privacy and confidentiality. This article draws on case studies, experiments, surveys, and policies from professional organizations, academic research, and nursing education programs spanning the last 5 years to highlight best practices that address 2 critical areas where the values of the nursing profession and those of social media most directly collide: regulatory issues and the blurring of professional and personal online identities. It also suggests ways of using social media to complement patient outcomes and the professional development of nurses while remaining consistent with professional ethics and values.

  10. The role of social networking sites in early adolescents’ social life

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Antheunis, M.L.; Schouten, A.P.; Krahmer, E.J.

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the role of social networking sites (SNSs) in early adolescents’ social lives. First, we investigated the relation between SNS use and several aspects of early adolescents’ social lives (i.e., friendship quality, bridging social capital, and bonding social

  11. Mercury Deposition Network Site Operator Training for the System Blank and Blind Audit Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wetherbee, Gregory A.; Lehmann, Christopher M.B.

    2008-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey operates the external quality assurance project for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program/Mercury Deposition Network. The project includes the system blank and blind audit programs for assessment of total mercury concentration data quality for wet-deposition samples. This presentation was prepared to train new site operators and to refresh experienced site operators to successfully process and submit system blank and blind audit samples for chemical analysis. Analytical results are used to estimate chemical stability and contamination levels of National Atmospheric Deposition Program/Mercury Deposition Network samples and to evaluate laboratory variability and bias.

  12. Networked Mobilities and new sites of mediated interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Ole B.

    2008-01-01

    everyday life experiences the movement is much more than a travel from point A to point B. The mobile experiences of the contemporary society are practices that are meaningful and normatively embedded. That is to say, mobility is seen as a cultural phenomenon shaping notions of self and other as well......This paper takes point of departure in an understanding of mobility as an important cultural dimension to contemporary life. The movement of objects, signs, and people constitutes material sites of networked relationships. However, as an increasing number of mobility practices are making up our...

  13. Self-adaptive tensor network states with multi-site correlators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovyrshin, Arseny; Reiher, Markus

    2017-12-01

    We introduce the concept of self-adaptive tensor network states (SATNSs) based on multi-site correlators. The SATNS ansatz gradually extends its variational space incorporating the most important next-order correlators into the ansatz for the wave function. The selection of these correlators is guided by entanglement-entropy measures from quantum information theory. By sequentially introducing variational parameters and adjusting them to the system under study, the SATNS ansatz achieves keeping their number significantly smaller than the total number of full-configuration interaction parameters. The SATNS ansatz is studied for manganocene in its lowest-energy sextet and doublet states; the latter of which is known to be difficult to describe. It is shown that the SATNS parametrization solves the convergence issues found for previous correlator-based tensor network states.

  14. Self-reflection on privacy research in social networking sites

    OpenAIRE

    De Wolf, Ralf; Vanderhoven, Ellen; Berendt, Bettina; Pierson, Jo; Schellens, Tammy

    2017-01-01

    The increasing popularity of social networking sites has been a source of many privacy concerns. To mitigate these concerns and empower users, different forms of educational and technological solutions have been developed. Developing and evaluating such solutions, however, cannot be considered a neutral process. Instead, it is socially bound and interwoven with norms and values of the researchers. In this contribution, we aim to make the research process and development of privacy solutions m...

  15. Researchers' attitudes towards the use of social networking sites

    OpenAIRE

    Greifeneder, E.; Pontis, S.; Blandford, A. E.; Attalla, H.; Neal, D.; Schlebbe, K.

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to better understand why many researchers do not have a profile on social networking sites (SNS), and whether this is the result of conscious decisions. / Design/methodology/approach: Thematic analysis was conducted on a large qualitative data set from researchers across three levels of seniority, four countries and four disciplines to explore their attitudes toward and experiences with SNS. / Findings: The study found much greater scepticism toward adopt...

  16. Visiting Ground Zero: sacred echoes in secular rites

    OpenAIRE

    Richard C. Martin

    2010-01-01

    For the past several years since September 11, 2001, large numbers of people from across the continent and around the world have visited the site of the devastated World Trade Center in New York. Scholars in religious studies and the social sciences have noticed that there were and continue to be (though less so over time) religious aspects to the observances and performances of visitors to ‘Ground Zero’, as the site of the former World Trade Center almost immediately came to be called. A cen...

  17. It's better to give than to receive: the role of social support, trust, and participation on health-related social networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hether, Heather J; Murphy, Sheila T; Valente, Thomas W

    2014-12-01

    Nearly 60% of American adults and 80% of Internet users have sought health information online. Moreover, Internet users are no longer solely passive consumers of online health content; they are active producers as well. Social media, such as social networking sites, are increasingly being used as online venues for the exchange of health-related information and advice. However, little is known about how participation on health-related social networking sites affects users. Research has shown that women participate more on social networking sites and social networks are more influential among same-sex members. Therefore, this study examined how participation on a social networking site about pregnancy influenced members' health-related attitudes and behaviors. The authors surveyed 114 pregnant members of 8 popular pregnancy-related sites. Analyses revealed that time spent on the sites was less predictive of health-related outcomes than more qualitative assessments such as trust in the sites. Furthermore, providing support was associated with the most outcomes, including seeking more information from additional sources and following recommendations posted on the sites. The implications of these findings, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.

  18. Prescriptions, Nonmedical Use, and Emergency Department Visits Involving Prescription Stimulants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Lian-Yu; Crum, Rosa M.; Strain, Eric C.; CalebAlexander, G.; Kaufmann, Christopher; Mojtabai, Ramin

    2018-01-01

    Objective Little is known regarding the temporal trends in prescription, nonmedical use and emergency department (ED) visits involving prescription stimulants in the United States. We aimed to examine the three national trends involving dextroamphetamine-amphetamin (Adderall) and methylphenidate in adults and adolescents. Method Three national surveys conducted between 2006-2011 were used: National Disease and Therapeutic Index (NDTI), a survey of office-based practices, National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), a population survey of substance use, and Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), a survey of ED visits. Ordinary least square regression was used to examine temporal changes over time and the associations between these three trends. Results In adolescents, treatment visits involving dextroamphetamine-amphetamine and methylphenidate decreased over time; nonmedical dextroamphetamine-amphetamine use remained stable while nonmedical methylphenidate use declined by 54.4% in 6 years. ED visits involving either medication remained stable. In adults, treatment visits involving dextroamphetamine-amphetamine remained unchanged while nonmedical use went up by 67% and ED visits went up by 156%. These three trends involving methylphenidate remained unchanged. The major source for both medications was a friend or relative across age groups; two-thirds of these friends/relatives had obtained the medication from a physician. Conclusions Trends of prescriptions for stimulants do not correspond to trends in reports of nonmedical use and ED visits. Increased nonmedical stimulant use may not be simply attributed to increased prescribing trends. Future studies should focus on deeper understanding of the proportion, risk factors and motivations for drug diversions. PMID:26890573

  19. How risky are social networking sites? A comparison of places online where youth sexual solicitation and harassment occurs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ybarra, Michele L; Mitchell, Kimberly J

    2008-02-01

    Recently, public attention has focused on the possibility that social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are being widely used to sexually solicit underage youth, consequently increasing their vulnerability to sexual victimization. Beyond anecdotal accounts, however, whether victimization is more commonly reported in social networking sites is unknown. The Growing up With Media Survey is a national cross-sectional online survey of 1588 youth. Participants were 10- to 15-year-old youth who have used the Internet at least once in the last 6 months. The main outcome measures were unwanted sexual solicitation on the Internet, defined as unwanted requests to talk about sex, provide personal sexual information, and do something sexual, and Internet harassment, defined as rude or mean comments, or spreading of rumors. Fifteen percent of all of the youth reported an unwanted sexual solicitation online in the last year; 4% reported an incident on a social networking site specifically. Thirty-three percent reported an online harassment in the last year; 9% reported an incident on a social networking site specifically. Among targeted youth, solicitations were more commonly reported via instant messaging (43%) and in chat rooms (32%), and harassment was more commonly reported in instant messaging (55%) than through social networking sites (27% and 28%, respectively). Broad claims of victimization risk, at least defined as unwanted sexual solicitation or harassment, associated with social networking sites do not seem justified. Prevention efforts may have a greater impact if they focus on the psychosocial problems of youth instead of a specific Internet application, including funding for online youth outreach programs, school antibullying programs, and online mental health services.

  20. Incorporating Social Networking Sites into Traditional Pedagogy: A Case of Facebook

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naghdipour, Bakhtiar; Eldridge, Nilgün Hancioglu

    2016-01-01

    The use of online social networking sites for educational purposes or expanding curricular opportunities has recently sparked debates in scholarly forums. This potential, however, has yet to attract sufficient attention in second language classes, and particularly in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. The current study explores the…

  1. Social networking sites: emerging and essential tools for communication in dermatology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amir, Mahsa; Sampson, Blake P; Endly, Dawnielle; Tamai, Jennifer M; Henley, Jill; Brewer, Ann Chang; Dunn, Jeffrey H; Dunnick, Cory A; Dellavalle, Robert P

    2014-01-01

    The use of social media by dermatology journals and professional and patient-centered dermatology organizations remains largely unknown and, to our knowledge, has yet to be fully evaluated. To evaluate and quantify the extent of involvement of dermatology journals, professional dermatology organizations, and dermatology-related patient advocate groups on social networking sites. We obtained an archived list of 102 current dermatology journals from SCImago on the World Wide Web and used the list to investigate Facebook, Twitter, and individual journal websites for the presence of social media accounts. We identified professional and patient-centered dermatology organization activity on social networks through queries of predetermined search terms on Google, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The activity of each entity was documented by recording the following metrics of popularity: the numbers of Facebook "likes," Twitter "followers," and LinkedIn "members." The numbers of Facebook likes, Twitter followers, and LinkedIn members corresponding to each dermatology journal and each professional and patient-related dermatology organization. On July 17, 2012, of the 102 dermatology journals ranked by SCImago, 12.7% were present on Facebook and 13.7% on Twitter. We identified popular dermatology journals based on Facebook likes and Twitter followers, led by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and Dermatology Times, respectively. Popular professional dermatology organizations included dermRounds Dermatology Network (11 251 likes on Facebook and 2900 followers on Twitter). The most popular dermatology patient-centered organizations were the Skin Cancer Foundation (20 119 likes on Facebook), DermaTalk (21 542 followers on Twitter), and the National Psoriasis Foundation (200 members on LinkedIn). Patient-centered and professional dermatology organizations use social networking sites; however, academic journals tend to lag behind significantly. Although some

  2. A Bayesian belief network approach for assessing uncertainty in conceptual site models at contaminated sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomsen, Nanna I.; Binning, Philip J.; McKnight, Ursula S.; Tuxen, Nina; Bjerg, Poul L.; Troldborg, Mads

    2016-05-01

    A key component in risk assessment of contaminated sites is in the formulation of a conceptual site model (CSM). A CSM is a simplified representation of reality and forms the basis for the mathematical modeling of contaminant fate and transport at the site. The CSM should therefore identify the most important site-specific features and processes that may affect the contaminant transport behavior at the site. However, the development of a CSM will always be associated with uncertainties due to limited data and lack of understanding of the site conditions. CSM uncertainty is often found to be a major source of model error and it should therefore be accounted for when evaluating uncertainties in risk assessments. We present a Bayesian belief network (BBN) approach for constructing CSMs and assessing their uncertainty at contaminated sites. BBNs are graphical probabilistic models that are effective for integrating quantitative and qualitative information, and thus can strengthen decisions when empirical data are lacking. The proposed BBN approach facilitates a systematic construction of multiple CSMs, and then determines the belief in each CSM using a variety of data types and/or expert opinion at different knowledge levels. The developed BBNs combine data from desktop studies and initial site investigations with expert opinion to assess which of the CSMs are more likely to reflect the actual site conditions. The method is demonstrated on a Danish field site, contaminated with chlorinated ethenes. Four different CSMs are developed by combining two contaminant source zone interpretations (presence or absence of a separate phase contamination) and two geological interpretations (fractured or unfractured clay till). The beliefs in each of the CSMs are assessed sequentially based on data from three investigation stages (a screening investigation, a more detailed investigation, and an expert consultation) to demonstrate that the belief can be updated as more information

  3. Social Networking Sites, Depression, and Anxiety: A Systematic Review

    OpenAIRE

    Seabrook, Elizabeth M; Kern, Margaret L; Rickard, Nikki S

    2016-01-01

    Background Social networking sites (SNSs) have become a pervasive part of modern culture, which may also affect mental health. Objective The aim of this systematic review was to identify and summarize research examining depression and anxiety in the context of SNSs. It also aimed to identify studies that complement the assessment of mental illness with measures of well-being and examine moderators and mediators that add to the complexity of this environment. Methods A multidatabase search was...

  4. Learning through Social Networking Sites--The Critical Role of the Teacher

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callaghan, Noelene; Bower, Matt

    2012-01-01

    This comparative case study examined factors affecting behaviour and learning in social networking sites (SNS). The behaviour and learning of two classes completing identical SNS based modules of work was observed and compared. All student contributions to the SNS were analysed, with the cognitive process dimension of the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy…

  5. Social Networking Sites and Cognitive Abilities: Do They Make You Smarter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alloway, Tracy Packiam; Horton, John; Alloway, Ross G.; Dawson, Clare

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of social networking sites (SNS) on cognitive abilities and reported levels of social connectedness in adolescents. In order to provide a reliable measure of cognitive skills, standardized tests of verbal ability, working memory, and academic attainment were administered. Students also…

  6. Privacy Practices of Health Social Networking Sites: Implications for Privacy and Data Security in Online Cancer Communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charbonneau, Deborah H

    2016-08-01

    While online communities for social support continue to grow, little is known about the state of privacy practices of health social networking sites. This article reports on a structured content analysis of privacy policies and disclosure practices for 25 online ovarian cancer communities. All of the health social networking sites in the study sample provided privacy statements to users, yet privacy practices varied considerably across the sites. The majority of sites informed users that personal information was collected about participants and shared with third parties (96%, n = 24). Furthermore, more than half of the sites (56%, n = 14) stated that cookies technology was used to track user behaviors. Despite these disclosures, only 36% (n = 9) offered opt-out choices for sharing data with third parties. In addition, very few of the sites (28%, n = 7) allowed individuals to delete their personal information. Discussions about specific security measures used to protect personal information were largely missing. Implications for privacy, confidentiality, consumer choice, and data safety in online environments are discussed. Overall, nurses and other health professionals can utilize these findings to encourage individuals seeking online support and participating in social networking sites to build awareness of privacy risks to better protect their personal health information in the digital age.

  7. How Less Alienation Creates More Exploitation? Audience Labour on Social Network Sites.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eran Fisher

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: The notion of audience labour has been an important contribution to Marxist political economy of the media. It revised the traditional political economy analysis, which focused on media ownership, by suggesting that media was also a site of production, constituting particular relations of production. Such analysis highlighted the active role of audience in the creation of media value as both commodities and workers, thus pointing to audience exploitation. Recently, in light of paradigmatic transformations in the media environment – particularly the emergence of Web 2.0 and social network sites – there has been a renewed interest in such analysis, and a reexamination of audience exploitation. Focusing on Facebook as a case-study, this article examines audience labour on social network sites along two Marxist themes – exploitation and alienation. It argues for a historical shift in the link between exploitation and alienation of audience labour, concurrent with the shift from mass media to social media. In the mass media, the capacity for exploitation of audience labour was quite limited while the alienation that such work created was high. In contrast, social media allows for the expansion and intensification of exploitation. Simultaneously, audience labour on social media – because it involves communication and sociability – also ameliorates alienation by allowing self-expression, authenticity, and relations with others. Moreover, the article argues that the political economy of social network sites is founded on a dialectical link between exploitation and alienation: in order to be de-alienated, Facebook users must communicate and socialize, thus exacerbating their exploitation. And vice-versa, in order for Facebook to exploit the work of its users, it must contribute to their de-alienation.

  8. United States and European students’ social-networking site activities and academic performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Karpinski, Aryn; Kirschner, Paul A.; Shreffler, Anthony; Albert, Patricia; Tomko, Carrie

    2018-01-01

    Different cultures communicate differently. Research is beginning to examine the differences in culture related to social-networking site (SNS) use. Differences in specific SNS activities related to academic performance among United States (US; n = 446) and European (n = 394) university students

  9. The use of social networking sites for language practice and learningDOI:10.5007/2175-8026.2011n60p277

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa Baralt

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Recent descriptions of online social networking communities (i.e., Facebook, MySpace within the Web 2.0 movement havesuggested that these sites might be used in educational contextsto promote cultural awareness, interaction, and collaboration(Ferdig et al., 2007. Here it is argued that social networkingsites can also be used for language teaching and learning. Thepurpose of this paper is therefore threefold: (1 to provide atheoretical framework justifying the use and incorporation ofsocial networking sites in foreign language courses; (2 to reviewexisting social networking sites and provide suggestions forhow they might be used in different language contexts; and (3to describe an ongoing study in which one social networkingsite, Orkut, is being used for a course in Portuguese as a foreignlanguage. Besides suggesting that social networking sites canserve as an authentic way to be exposed to language and cultureoutside of the classroom, it is also argued that participation insocial networking sites can be an ideal medium for languagepractice and learning.

  10. Information sharing and relationships on social networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steijn, Wouter M P; Schouten, Alexander P

    2013-08-01

    This article investigates the relationship between sharing personal information and relationship development in the context of social networking sites (SNSs). Information disclosed on these sites could affect relationships in a different manner compared to more traditional interactions, such as instant messaging or face-to-face interaction. Respondents in the age range of 12 to 83 were surveyed about experiences of relationship development as a consequence of contact through Facebook or Hyves-the most popular Dutch SNSs. Results showed a primarily positive effect of information sharing on SNSs on our relationships. Furthermore, relationship development mainly occurs among acquaintances and friends, and public posts are most strongly related to relationship development. These findings suggest that SNSs might affect relationships in a distinct fashion as acquaintances and friends gain access to public self-disclosures that might normally only be reserved for close friends and family. Overall, this study provides an insight into some of the positive aspects of the public nature of SNSs in contrast with the general negative associations.

  11. Early Detection of Peak Demand Days of Chronic Respiratory Diseases Emergency Department Visits Using Artificial Neural Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khatri, Krishan L; Tamil, Lakshman S

    2018-01-01

    Chronic respiratory diseases, mainly asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), affect the lives of people by limiting their activities in various aspects. Overcrowding of hospital emergency departments (EDs) due to respiratory diseases in certain weather and environmental pollution conditions results in the degradation of quality of medical care, and even limits its availability. A useful tool for ED managers would be to forecast peak demand days so that they can take steps to improve the availability of medical care. In this paper, we developed an artificial neural network based classifier using multilayer perceptron with back propagation algorithm that predicts peak event (peak demand days) of patients with respiratory diseases, mainly asthma and COPD visiting EDs in Dallas County of Texas in the United States. The precision and recall for peak event class were 77.1% and 78.0%, respectively, and those for nonpeak events were 83.9% and 83.2%, respectively. The overall accuracy of the system is 81.0%.

  12. Use of Social Networking Sites by Academic Librarians in Six Selected States of Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tella, Adeyinka; Olarongbe, Shuaib Agboola; Akanbi-Ademolake, Hauwa Bolanle; Adisa, Mulikat Y.

    2013-01-01

    The attractiveness of social networking sites (SNSs) has extended to almost all professionals in numerous human organizations including the library. Librarians as a result of this development are now making use of these sites to connect to other libraries and librarians both within and outside their environment. However, it is observed that the…

  13. Dental visits to a North Carolina emergency department: a painful problem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hocker, Michael B; Villani, John J; Borawski, Joseph B; Evans, Christopher S; Nelson, Scott M; Gerardo, Charles J; Limkakeng, Alex T

    2012-01-01

    Emergency departments (EDs) act as the safety net and alternative care site for patients without insurance who have dental pain. We conducted a retrospective chart review of visits to an urban teaching hospital ED over a 12-month period, looking at patients who presented with a chief complaint or ICD code indicating dental pain, toothache, or dental abscess. The number of visits to this ED by patients with a dental complaint was 1,013, representing approximately 1.3% of all visits to this ED. Dental patients had a mean age of 32 (+/- 13) years, and 60% of all dental visits were made by African Americans. Dental patients were more likely to be self-pay than all other ED patients (61% versus 22%, P dental ED visits (97%), the patient was treated and discharged; at most visits (90%) no dental procedure was performed. ED treatment typically consisted of pain control and antibiotics; at 81% of visits, the patient received an opiate prescription on discharge, and at 69% of visits, the patient received an antibiotic prescription on discharge. This retrospective chart review covered a limited period of time, included only patients at a large urban academic medical center, and did not incorporate follow-up analysis. Although they make up a small percentage of all ED visits, dental ED visits are more common among the uninsured, seldom result in definitive care or hospital admission, and often result in prescription of an opioid or antibiotic. These findings are cause for concern and have implications for public policy.

  14. Digital divide 2.0: the role of social networking sites in seeking health information online from a longitudinal perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Yang; Xie, Wenjing

    2015-01-01

    Adopting a longitudinal angle, this study analyzed data from the Pew Internet's Health Tracking Survey in 2006, 2008, and 2010 to identify potential communication inequalities in social networking site use. Results showed that with the growing role of social networking site use in predicting people's likelihood of seeking health information online, the socioeconomic and demographic factors that contributed to the disparities in social networking site use could also lead to disparities in seeking health information online. Also, results indicated that people are more likely to seek heath-related information online if they or their close family or friends have a chronic disease situation.

  15. The Role of Social Networking Sites in Early Adolescents' Social Lives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antheunis, Marjolijn L.; Schouten, Alexander P.; Krahmer, Emiel

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the role of social networking sites (SNSs) in early adolescents' social lives. First, we investigated the relation between SNS use and several aspects of early adolescents' social lives (i.e., friendship quality, bridging social capital, and bonding social capital). Second, we examined whether there are…

  16. Decision support for the definition of wind turbine systems adequacy to site specificities and weak electrical networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arbaoui, A.

    2006-10-01

    A decision support system for the definition of wind turbine systems is developed by taking into account the wind and site characteristics, the wind turbine components and the electrical network properties close to the site. The approach is based on functional analysis, on the investigation of the functional fluxes and on the definition of a model suitable for supporting decision at the preliminary stages of wind turbine design. The complete set of solutions derived from the model is determined using a Constraint Satisfaction Problem solver. The intrinsic capability of the model to support decision is derived from the investigation of the model parsimony, precision, exactness and specialization. The model takes into account performance criteria resulting from knowledge of manufacturers, distributors and investors. These criteria are used to discriminate design alternatives. Design alternatives correspond to choices of site (wind, electric network) and wind turbine architectures (related to 7 design variables). Performance criteria are the cost of electric kWh, the amount of energy being produced and the discounted total cost of the project. Electric network connection to wind turbines is taken into account through slow variations of the voltage and Flickers phenomenon. First, the maximal rate of penetration of the wind turbine energy production is determined. Next, two design alternatives have been investigated to improve wind turbine system integration in electric distribution networks. These alternatives are a reactive power control system and an inertial energy storage system. Inertial storage systems seem to be more expensive than reactive power control systems for this type of application. The influence of site specificities on decision making process has been established through three different sites (a Mediterranean site and two sites located in northern Europe). Profits relative to the cost of kWh appear to be high for Mediterranean sites. Most of the

  17. A Cross-cultural Qualitative Examination of Social-networking Sites and Academic Performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ozer, Ipek; Karpinski, Aryn; Kirschner, Paul A.

    2018-01-01

    Social-networking site (SNS) use, specifically Facebook®, has remained a controversial subject for many educators and media. Recent studies discuss the negative and positive impacts of SNSs on students’ academic performance. This qualitative study examines the impact of SNSs on students’ academic

  18. It’s all about networking! Empirical investigation of social capital formation on social network sites

    OpenAIRE

    Koroleva, Ksenia; Krasnova, Hanna; Veltri, Natasha F.; Günther, Oliver

    2011-01-01

    As Social Network Sites (SNS) permeate our daily routines, the question whether participation results in value for SNS users becomes particularly acute. This study adopts a 'participation-source-outcome' perspective to explore how distinct uses of SNS generate various types of social capital benefits. Building on existing research, extensive qualitative findings and an empirical study with 253 Facebook users, we uncover the process of social capital formation on SNS. We find that even though ...

  19. eWOM credibility on social networking sites: A framework

    OpenAIRE

    Moran, Gillian; Muzellec, Laurent

    2017-01-01

    Social networking sites (SNS) offer brands the ability to spread positive electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) for the purposes of building awareness and acquiring new customers. However, the credibility of eWOM is threatened of late as marketers increasingly try to manipulate eWOM practices on SNS. A greater understanding of eWOM credibility is necessary to better enable marketers to leverage true consumer engagement by generating credible peer-to-peer communications. Yet, to date, there is no on...

  20. Social Networking Site Use Predicts Changes in Young Adults' Psychological Adjustment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szwedo, David E.; Mikami, Amori Yee; Allen, Joseph P.

    2012-01-01

    This study examined youths' friendships and posted pictures on social networking sites as predictors of changes in their adjustment over time. Observational, self-report, and peer-report data were obtained from a community sample of 89 young adults interviewed at age 21 and again at age 22. Findings were consistent with a leveling effect for…

  1. Students' Participation in Social Networking Sites: Implications for Social Work Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, Dhrubodhi; Clark, Janet

    2012-01-01

    Social work students have few guidelines to help them evaluate the implication of their posted information on Internet-based social networking sites (SNSs). There is a national trend among employers of human services to cross-check publicly available online information on applicants. Based on data from a survey of 105 baccalaureate and master's…

  2. The Effects of Social Networking Sites on Students' Studying and Habits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gok, Tolga

    2016-01-01

    Social media is important to communicate with people, share/ask information, and follow/evaluate/interpret the events, etc. for everyone at the present time. The positive and negative effects of social networking sites on students' studying and habits were examined in this research. The study was conducted on 220 students in vocational school of…

  3. The effect of social network sites on adolescents’ appearance investment and desire for cosmetic surgery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, D.; Peter, J.; Nikken, P.; de Graaf, H.

    2013-01-01

    Although adolescents frequently use social network sites (SNS), little is known about whether the highly visual and self-presentation-centered character of such sites affects body-related outcomes. The first aim of the current study was to investigate the causal direction of the relationship between

  4. François Bayrou visits CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    2008-01-01

    On 3 July, François Bayrou, president of the French political party MOuvement DÉMocrate, visited CERN and took part in a round-table discussion. François Bayrou and Yves Schutz, from the ALICE collaboration, on the experimental site.As a politician, Mr Bayrou greatly appreciated the opportunity to hold discussions with CERN scientists on the international and collaborative nature of the science being done here, and on the development of particle physics over the next fifty years.

  5. Social networking sites: a clinical dilemma?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maughan, Daniel Lawrence; Economou, Alexis

    2015-02-01

    Social networking sites (SNS) are having an increasing influence on patients' lives and doctors are far from certain about how to deal with this new challenge. In our literature search, we could find no research on how doctors could engage positively with SNS to improve patient outcomes or create more patient-led care. We need to acknowledge the fact that a review of a patient's SNS page has the potential to enhance assessment and management, particularly where a corroborant history is hard to attain. As doctors, we need to think clearly about how to adapt our practice in light of this new form of communication; in particular, whether there is a case for engaging with SNS to improve patient care. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  6. THE NEED OF DASHBOARD IN SOCIAL RESEARCH NETWORK SITES FOR RESEARCHERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti Hawa Apandi

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, dashboard has been widely used by organizations to display information based on their objectives such as monitoring business performance or checking the current trend in the niche market. There is a need to investigate whether the researchers also need the dashboard in assisting their research works. There are some issues facing by researchers while using Social Research Network Sites (SRNS since they could not noticed with information related to research field that they might be interested in because they are huge amounts of information in the SRNS. The inclusion of dashboard in the SRNS has to be explored to understand its relevancy in supporting the researchers work. We review previous works regarding dashboard usage to find the purposes of having dashboard and find researcher needs by reviewing researchers use scenario in the social networking sites. Then, we analyze whether the dashboard purposes can satisfy the researcher needs. From the analysis, we found out that the dashboard is a significant tool in assisting the researchers on: measuring their own research performance, monitoring research trends and alerting them with upcoming events.

  7. Prevalence of pain in the orofacial regions in patients visiting general dentists in the Northwest Practice-based REsearch Collaborative in Evidence-based DENTistry research network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horst, Orapin V; Cunha-Cruz, Joana; Zhou, Lingmei; Manning, Walter; Mancl, Lloyd; DeRouen, Timothy A

    2015-10-01

    This study aimed to measure prevalence of pain in the orofacial regions and determine association with demographics, treatment history, and oral health conditions in dental patients visiting clinics in the Northwest Practice-based REsearch Collaborative in Evidence-based DENTistry (PRECEDENT) research network. Data were recorded in a survey with systematic random sampling of patients (n = 1,668, 18 to 93 years old, 56% female) visiting 100 general dentists in the Northwest PRECEDENT research network. Prevalence ratios (PR) of orofacial pain by each variable were estimated by generalized estimating equations for Poisson regression. The prevalence of orofacial pain during the past year was 16.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 13.4-18.9), of which the most prevalent pain locations were dentoalveolar (9.1%; 95% CI, 7.0-11.2) and musculoligamentous tissues (6.6%; 95% CI, 4.5-8.7). Other locations included soft tissues (0.5%; 95% CI, 0.2-0.8) and nonspecific areas (0.6%; 95% CI, 0.2-1.0). The prevalence of dentoalveolar but not musculoligamentous pain decreased with age. When comparing the 18- to 29-year-old patients, dentoalveolar pain decreased significantly in 45- to 64-year-old patients (PR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.4-0.9) and in those 65 years or older (PR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3-0.9). Sex significantly affected the prevalence of musculoligamentous but not dentoalveolar pain. Women (PR, 3.2; 95% CI, 2.0-5.1) were more likely to have musculoligamentous pain. The prevalence of dentoalveolar and musculoligamentous pain did not vary significantly by ethnicity. Dentoalveolar pain was reported more frequently in patients who did not receive dental maintenance (PR, 2.9; 95% CI, 2.1-4.2) and those visiting community-based public health clinics (PR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.2-3.7). One in 6 patients visiting a general dentist had experienced orofacial pain during the past year. Dentoalveolar and musculoligamentous pains were the most prevalent types of pain. Pain in the muscles and

  8. Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network Sites: How American Teens Navigate the New World of "Digital Citizenship"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lenhart, Amanda; Madden, Mary; Smith, Aaron; Purcell, Kristen; Zickuhr, Kathryn; Rainie, Lee

    2011-01-01

    Social media use has become so pervasive in the lives of American teens that having a presence on a social network site is almost synonymous with being online. Fully 95% of all teens ages 12-17 are now online and 80% of those online teens are users of social media sites. The authors focused their attention in this research on social network sites…

  9. From community to commodity: the ethics of pharma-funded social networking sites for physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landa, Amy Snow; Elliott, Carl

    2013-01-01

    A growing number of doctors in the United States are joining online professional networks that cater exclusively to licensed physicians. The most popular are Sermo, with more than 135,000 members, and Doximity, with more than 100,000. Both companies claim to offer a valuable service by enabling doctors to "connect" in a secure online environment. But their business models raise ethical concerns. The sites generate revenue by selling access to their large networks of physician-users to clients that include global pharmaceutical companies, market research and consulting firms, and hedge funds and other investors. In exchange for a fee, these clients are offered a variety of tools to monitor, analyze, and solicit physicians' opinions. In Sermo's case, clients are also offered opportunities to conduct "awareness campaigns" on the site that are aimed at influencing physician sentiment about specific drugs and medical devices. In effect, these online networks have created an even more efficient means for the pharmaceutical industry to track physician sentiment, disseminate messages, and cultivate key opinion leaders. This paper argues that the dual nature of these sites (a) undermines their integrity and transparency as forums for the exchange of medical opinion and (b) presents an ethical conflict for the doctors who use them. © 2013 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

  10. Geological discrete fracture network model for the Laxemar site. Site Descriptive Modelling. SDM-Site Laxemar

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    La Pointe, Paul; Fox, Aaron (Golder Associates Inc (United States)); Hermanson, Jan; Oehman, Johan (Golder Associates AB, Stockholm (Sweden))

    2008-12-15

    The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) is performing site characterization at two different locations, Forsmark and Laxemar, in order to locate a site for a final geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel. The program is built upon the development of Site Descriptive Models (SDMs) at specific timed data freezes. Each SDM is formed from discipline-specific reports from across the scientific spectrum. This report describes the methods, analyses, and conclusions of the modelling team in the production of the SDM-Site Laxemar geological discrete-fracture network (DFN) model. The DFN builds upon the work of other geological models, including the deformation zone and rock domain models. The geological DFN is a statistical model for stochastically simulating rock fractures and minor deformation zones at a scale of less than 1,000 m (the lower cut-off of the DZ models). The geological DFN is valid within six distinct fracture domains inside the Laxemar local model subarea: FSM{sub C}, FSM{sub E}W007, FSM{sub N}, FSM{sub N}E005, FSM{sub S}, and FSM{sub W}. The models are built using data from detailed surface outcrop maps, geophysical lineament maps, and the cored borehole record at Laxemar. The conceptual model for the SDM-Site Laxemar geological DFN model revolves around the identification of fracture domains based on relative fracture set intensities, orientation clustering, and the regional tectonic framework (including deformation zones). A single coupled fracture size/fracture intensity concept (the Base Model) based on a Pareto (power-law) distribution for fracture sizes was chosen as the recommended parameterisation. A slew of alternative size-intensity models were also carried through the fracture analyses and into the uncertainty and model verification analyses. Uncertainty is modelled by analysing the effects on fracture intensity (P32) that alternative model cases can have. Uncertainty is parameterised as a ratio between the P32 of the

  11. Geological discrete fracture network model for the Laxemar site. Site Descriptive Modelling. SDM-Site Laxemar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    La Pointe, Paul; Fox, Aaron; Hermanson, Jan; Oehman, Johan

    2008-10-01

    The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) is performing site characterization at two different locations, Forsmark and Laxemar, in order to locate a site for a final geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel. The program is built upon the development of Site Descriptive Models (SDMs) at specific timed data freezes. Each SDM is formed from discipline-specific reports from across the scientific spectrum. This report describes the methods, analyses, and conclusions of the modelling team in the production of the SDM-Site Laxemar geological discrete-fracture network (DFN) model. The DFN builds upon the work of other geological models, including the deformation zone and rock domain models. The geological DFN is a statistical model for stochastically simulating rock fractures and minor deformation zones at a scale of less than 1,000 m (the lower cut-off of the DZ models). The geological DFN is valid within six distinct fracture domains inside the Laxemar local model subarea: FSM C , FSM E W007, FSM N , FSM N E005, FSM S , and FSM W . The models are built using data from detailed surface outcrop maps, geophysical lineament maps, and the cored borehole record at Laxemar. The conceptual model for the SDM-Site Laxemar geological DFN model revolves around the identification of fracture domains based on relative fracture set intensities, orientation clustering, and the regional tectonic framework (including deformation zones). A single coupled fracture size/fracture intensity concept (the Base Model) based on a Pareto (power-law) distribution for fracture sizes was chosen as the recommended parameterisation. A slew of alternative size-intensity models were also carried through the fracture analyses and into the uncertainty and model verification analyses. Uncertainty is modelled by analysing the effects on fracture intensity (P32) that alternative model cases can have. Uncertainty is parameterised as a ratio between the P32 of the alternative model and the P

  12. Social networking site (SNS) use by adolescent mothers: Can social support and social capital be enhanced by online social networks? - A structured review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nolan, Samantha; Hendricks, Joyce; Ferguson, Sally; Towell, Amanda

    2017-05-01

    to critically appraise the available literature and summarise the evidence relating to adolescent mothers' use of social networking sites in terms of any social support and social capital they may provide and to identify areas for future exploration. social networking sites have been demonstrated to provide social support to marginalised individuals and provide psycho-social benefits to members of such groups. Adolescent mothers are at risk of; social marginalisation; anxiety disorders and depressive symptoms; and poorer health and educational outcomes for their children. Social support has been shown to benefit adolescent mothers thus online mechanisms require consideration. a review of original research articles METHOD: key terms and Boolean operators identified research reports across a 20-year timeframe pertaining to the area of enquiry in: CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Medline, Scopus, ERIC, ProQuest, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Health Collection (Informit) and Google Scholar databases. Eight original research articles met the inclusion criteria for this review. studies demonstrate that adolescent mothers actively search for health information using the Internet and social networking sites, and that social support and social capital can be attributed to their use of specifically created online groups from within targeted health interventions. Use of a message board forum for pregnant and parenting adolescents also demonstrates elements of social support. There are no studies to date pertaining to adolescent mothers' use of globally accessible social networking sites in terms of social support provision and related outcomes. further investigation is warranted to explore the potential benefits of adolescent mothers' use of globally accessible social networking sites in terms of any social support provision and social capital they may provide. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Usefulness of Social Network Sites for Adolescents' Development of Online Career Skills

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rutten, Mariëlle; Ros, Anje; Kuijpers, Marinka; Kreijns, Karel

    2018-01-01

    Schools have an important role in teaching students how to use Social Network Site (SNS) for career purposes. This involves the opportunity for students to practice online career skills. Different types of digital environments are available for schools. There are SNS designed to enable users to

  14. Intoxigenic digital spaces? Youth, social networking sites and alcohol marketing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Richard; Casswell, Sally

    2010-09-01

    To examine how young people in New Zealand engage with alcohol and reproduce alcohol marketing messages and alcohol-related branding in 'Bebo', a popular social networking site (SNS) on the Internet. Data are drawn from information posted on approximately 150 Bebo Web pages and analysed by way of textual analysis and cyberspace ethnography. Social networking sites, such as Bebo, provide young people with a digital space in which to share a range of alcohol marketing messages via peer-to-peer transmission. Bebo also enables youth to communicate to one another how they consume alcohol and their views of alcohol marketing messages. The information being shared by young people who use Bebo is openly provided in the form of personal information, forum comments, digital photographs and answering quizzes about their engagement with alcohol. Through this sharing of information in the digital Internet environment, young people are creating 'intoxigenic social identities' as well as 'intoxigenic digital spaces' that further contribute towards the normalisation of youth consumption of alcohol. A better understanding of how youth are using the Internet to share their experiences with alcohol and engagement with alcohol-related messages is crucial to public health research as alcohol marketing practices rapidly evolve.

  15. Technical Report: Reference photon dosimetry data for Varian accelerators based on IROC-Houston site visit data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kerns, James R.; Followill, David S.; Kry, Stephen F., E-mail: sfkry@mdanderson.org [Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States); Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core-Houston, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States); Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States); Lowenstein, Jessica; Molineu, Andrea; Alvarez, Paola; Taylor, Paige A. [Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States); Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core-Houston, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States); Stingo, Francesco C. [Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States)

    2016-05-15

    Purpose: Accurate data regarding linear accelerator (Linac) radiation characteristics are important for treatment planning system modeling as well as regular quality assurance of the machine. The Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core-Houston (IROC-H) has measured the dosimetric characteristics of numerous machines through their on-site dosimetry review protocols. Photon data are presented and can be used as a secondary check of acquired values, as a means to verify commissioning a new machine, or in preparation for an IROC-H site visit. Methods: Photon data from IROC-H on-site reviews from 2000 to 2014 were compiled and analyzed. Specifically, data from approximately 500 Varian machines were analyzed. Each dataset consisted of point measurements of several dosimetric parameters at various locations in a water phantom to assess the percentage depth dose, jaw output factors, multileaf collimator small field output factors, off-axis factors, and wedge factors. The data were analyzed by energy and parameter, with similarly performing machine models being assimilated into classes. Common statistical metrics are presented for each machine class. Measurement data were compared against other reference data where applicable. Results: Distributions of the parameter data were shown to be robust and derive from a student’s t distribution. Based on statistical and clinical criteria, all machine models were able to be classified into two or three classes for each energy, except for 6 MV for which there were eight classes. Quantitative analysis of the measurements for 6, 10, 15, and 18 MV photon beams is presented for each parameter; supplementary material has also been made available which contains further statistical information. Conclusions: IROC-H has collected numerous data on Varian Linacs and the results of photon measurements from the past 15 years are presented. The data can be used as a comparison check of a physicist’s acquired values. Acquired values that are well

  16. Technical Report: Reference photon dosimetry data for Varian accelerators based on IROC-Houston site visit data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kerns, James R.; Followill, David S.; Kry, Stephen F.; Lowenstein, Jessica; Molineu, Andrea; Alvarez, Paola; Taylor, Paige A.; Stingo, Francesco C.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Accurate data regarding linear accelerator (Linac) radiation characteristics are important for treatment planning system modeling as well as regular quality assurance of the machine. The Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core-Houston (IROC-H) has measured the dosimetric characteristics of numerous machines through their on-site dosimetry review protocols. Photon data are presented and can be used as a secondary check of acquired values, as a means to verify commissioning a new machine, or in preparation for an IROC-H site visit. Methods: Photon data from IROC-H on-site reviews from 2000 to 2014 were compiled and analyzed. Specifically, data from approximately 500 Varian machines were analyzed. Each dataset consisted of point measurements of several dosimetric parameters at various locations in a water phantom to assess the percentage depth dose, jaw output factors, multileaf collimator small field output factors, off-axis factors, and wedge factors. The data were analyzed by energy and parameter, with similarly performing machine models being assimilated into classes. Common statistical metrics are presented for each machine class. Measurement data were compared against other reference data where applicable. Results: Distributions of the parameter data were shown to be robust and derive from a student’s t distribution. Based on statistical and clinical criteria, all machine models were able to be classified into two or three classes for each energy, except for 6 MV for which there were eight classes. Quantitative analysis of the measurements for 6, 10, 15, and 18 MV photon beams is presented for each parameter; supplementary material has also been made available which contains further statistical information. Conclusions: IROC-H has collected numerous data on Varian Linacs and the results of photon measurements from the past 15 years are presented. The data can be used as a comparison check of a physicist’s acquired values. Acquired values that are well

  17. Learners’ Views Regarding the Use of Social Networking Sites in Distance Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Büşra Özmen

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available In this study, it was aimed to examine the use of learning management systems supported by social networking sites in distance education and to determine the views of learners regarding these platforms. The study group of this study, which uses a qualitative research approach, consists of 15 undergraduate students who resumed their education in Turkey. The data were gathered via a semi-structured interview form which consists of open-ended questions. Content analysis was used in the analysis of the data. According to the results of the study, it has been revealed within the scope of the course that the students have positive attitudes towards the use of social networking sites and distance education applications and these applications have positively affected the quality of communication between instructors and students. Furthermore, it was seen that the students made comments relating to the interesting aspects of the applications and the difference between distance education and face-to-face learning.

  18. Sharing for Health: A Study of Chinese Adolescents' Experiences and Perspectives on Using Social Network Sites to Share Health Information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ni; Teti, Michele; Stanfield, Kellie; Campo, Shelly

    2017-07-01

    This exploratory qualitative study examines Chinese adolescents' health information sharing habits on social network sites. Ten focus group meetings with 76 adolescents, ages 12 to 17 years, were conducted at community-based organizations in Chicago's Chinatown. The research team transcribed the recording and analyzed the transcripts using ATLAS.ti. Chinese adolescents are using different social network sites for various topics of health information including food, physical activity, and so on. Adolescents would share useful and/or interesting health information. Many adolescents raised credibility concerns regarding health information and suggested evaluating the information based on self-experience or intuition, word-of-mouth, or information online. The findings shed lights on future intervention using social network sites to promote health among Chinese adolescents in the United States. Future interventions should provide adolescents with interesting and culturally sensitive health information and educate them to critically evaluate health information on social network sites.

  19. Qualitative Analysis of Commercial Social Network Profiles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melendez, Lester; Wolfson, Ouri; Adjouadi, Malek; Rishe, Naphtali

    Social-networking sites have become an integral part of many users' daily internet routine. Commercial enterprises have been quick to recognize this and are subsequently creating profiles for many of their products and services. Commercial enterprises use social network profiles to target and interact with potential customers as well as to provide a gateway for users of the product or service to interact with each other. Many commercial enterprises use the statistics from their product or service's social network profile to tout the popularity and success of the product or service being showcased. They will use statistics such as number of friends, number of daily visits, number of interactions, and other similar measurements to quantify their claims. These statistics are often not a clear indication of the true popularity and success of the product. In this chapter the term product is used to refer to any tangible or intangible product, service, celebrity, personality, film, book, or other entity produced by a commercial enterprise.

  20. A Study of Social Networking Sites for Learners of Japanese

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fusako Ota

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Social Networking Sites (SNSs such as “Facebook” and “MySpace” have been used by many people from different countries around the world, and they have recently been applied to second language (L2 learning, both inside and outside classrooms. A number of researchers have investigated the utility of SNSs, and some language researchers have studied the use of SNSs for L2 learning in language classrooms. However, the study of the usage of SNSs for L2 learning outside the classroom has not yet been studied thoroughly, despite the fact that many communities and groups exist for users who are interested in learning L2 on such sites. This article examines the nature and extent of SNS communities available specifically for L2 learners of Japanese, and describes the usage which is being made of these communities in particular on the SNSs, “mixi” and “Facebook”. Furthermore, the beneficial aspects of using such sites for L2 learning will be discussed.

  1. Consumer culture theory (re)visits actor-network theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bajde, Domen

    2013-01-01

    The vocabulary and tactics developed by actor-network theory (ANT) can shed light on several ontological and epistemological challenges faced by consumer culture theory. Rather than providing ready-made theories or methods, our translation of ANT puts forward a series of questions and propositions...

  2. Brain anatomy alterations associated with Social Networking Site (SNS) addiction

    OpenAIRE

    He, Qinghua; Turel, Ofir; Bechara, Antoine

    2017-01-01

    This study relies on knowledge regarding the neuroplasticity of dual-system components that govern addiction and excessive behavior and suggests that alterations in the grey matter volumes, i.e., brain morphology, of specific regions of interest are associated with technology-related addictions. Using voxel based morphometry (VBM) applied to structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans of twenty social network site (SNS) users with varying degrees of SNS addiction, we show that SNS addic...

  3. EFFECTS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF THE FIRST YEAR BSED STUDENTS OF NAVAL STATE UNIVERSITY

    OpenAIRE

    Christopher Rotilles Vicera, Ed. D*

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to determine the effects of social networking sites on the academic performance of the students as related to the socio-demographic characteristics, social networking site usage and social network addiction. As to the socio-demographic characteristics, the respondents' age ranged from 15-17 years old or 70% of the total number of respondents. A big proportion of 70% were females. Most of the respondents were single with 98%. Their family income ranged from P5,000-9,999 with 4...

  4. A neural network based methodology to predict site-specific spectral acceleration values

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamatchi, P.; Rajasankar, J.; Ramana, G. V.; Nagpal, A. K.

    2010-12-01

    A general neural network based methodology that has the potential to replace the computationally-intensive site-specific seismic analysis of structures is proposed in this paper. The basic framework of the methodology consists of a feed forward back propagation neural network algorithm with one hidden layer to represent the seismic potential of a region and soil amplification effects. The methodology is implemented and verified with parameters corresponding to Delhi city in India. For this purpose, strong ground motions are generated at bedrock level for a chosen site in Delhi due to earthquakes considered to originate from the central seismic gap of the Himalayan belt using necessary geological as well as geotechnical data. Surface level ground motions and corresponding site-specific response spectra are obtained by using a one-dimensional equivalent linear wave propagation model. Spectral acceleration values are considered as a target parameter to verify the performance of the methodology. Numerical studies carried out to validate the proposed methodology show that the errors in predicted spectral acceleration values are within acceptable limits for design purposes. The methodology is general in the sense that it can be applied to other seismically vulnerable regions and also can be updated by including more parameters depending on the state-of-the-art in the subject.

  5. Summary of discrete fracture network modelling as applied to hydrogeology of the Forsmark and Laxemar sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartley, Lee; Roberts, David

    2013-04-01

    The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) is responsible for the development of a deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel. The permitting of such a repository is informed by assessment studies to estimate the risks of the disposal method. One of the potential risks involves the transport of radionuclides in groundwater from defective canisters in the repository to the accessible environment. The Swedish programme for geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel has involved undertaking detailed surface-based site characterisation studies at two different sites, Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp. A key component of the hydrogeological modelling of these two sites has been the development of Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) concepts of groundwater flow through the fractures in the crystalline rocks present. A discrete fracture network model represents some of the characteristics of fractures explicitly, such as their, orientation, intensity, size, spatial distribution, shape and transmissivity. This report summarises how the discrete fracture network methodology has been applied to model groundwater flow and transport at Forsmark and Laxemar. The account has involved summarising reports previously published by SKB between 2001 and 2011. The report describes the conceptual framework and assumptions used in interpreting site data, and in particular how data has been used to calibrate the various parameters that define the discrete fracture network representation of bedrock hydrogeology against borehole geologic and hydraulic data. Steps taken to confirm whether the developed discrete fracture network models provide a description of regional-scale groundwater flow and solute transport consistent with wider hydraulic tests hydrochemical data from Forsmark and Laxemar are discussed. It illustrates the use of derived hydrogeological DFN models in the simulations of the temperate period hydrogeology that provided input to radionuclide transport

  6. Summary of discrete fracture network modelling as applied to hydrogeology of the Forsmark and Laxemar sites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hartley, Lee; Roberts, David

    2013-04-15

    The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) is responsible for the development of a deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel. The permitting of such a repository is informed by assessment studies to estimate the risks of the disposal method. One of the potential risks involves the transport of radionuclides in groundwater from defective canisters in the repository to the accessible environment. The Swedish programme for geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel has involved undertaking detailed surface-based site characterisation studies at two different sites, Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp. A key component of the hydrogeological modelling of these two sites has been the development of Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) concepts of groundwater flow through the fractures in the crystalline rocks present. A discrete fracture network model represents some of the characteristics of fractures explicitly, such as their, orientation, intensity, size, spatial distribution, shape and transmissivity. This report summarises how the discrete fracture network methodology has been applied to model groundwater flow and transport at Forsmark and Laxemar. The account has involved summarising reports previously published by SKB between 2001 and 2011. The report describes the conceptual framework and assumptions used in interpreting site data, and in particular how data has been used to calibrate the various parameters that define the discrete fracture network representation of bedrock hydrogeology against borehole geologic and hydraulic data. Steps taken to confirm whether the developed discrete fracture network models provide a description of regional-scale groundwater flow and solute transport consistent with wider hydraulic tests hydrochemical data from Forsmark and Laxemar are discussed. It illustrates the use of derived hydrogeological DFN models in the simulations of the temperate period hydrogeology that provided input to radionuclide transport

  7. Solar radiation measurements at the network of six sites in the UK, January - December 2001

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Driscoll, C.M.H.; Campbell, J.I.; Pearson, A.J.; Grainger, K.J.L.; Dean, S.F.; Clark, I.E

    2002-04-01

    A summary of the results from January to December 2001 of a survey of solar radiation levels at the UK network of six solar radiation measurement sites is presented. The network consists of three NRPB sites at Chilton, Leeds and (monitoring since 1988) and three Meteorological Office stations at Camborne, Kinloss and Lerwick (monitoring since 1993). Visible (400-770 nm), ultraviolet UVA radiation (320-400 nm) and erythemally weighted ultraviolet radiation UVR{sub eff} (280-400 nm) have been measured simultaneously using a three detector measurement system. Results are compared with calculated irradiances of ultraviolet radiation and published illuminance data, and with data for the measurement period from 1988 to 2000. Yearly reports have been produced for selected sites, giving the daily solar index (which is a measure of the sunburn potential for sensitive skin types) throughout the year. (author)

  8. Solar radiation measurements at the network of six sites in the UK, January - December 2001

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Driscoll, C.M.H.; Campbell, J.I.; Pearson, A.J.; Grainger, K.J.L.; Dean, S.F.; Clark, I.E.

    2002-01-01

    A summary of the results from January to December 2001 of a survey of solar radiation levels at the UK network of six solar radiation measurement sites is presented. The network consists of three NRPB sites at Chilton, Leeds and (monitoring since 1988) and three Meteorological Office stations at Camborne, Kinloss and Lerwick (monitoring since 1993). Visible (400-770 nm), ultraviolet UVA radiation (320-400 nm) and erythemally weighted ultraviolet radiation UVR eff (280-400 nm) have been measured simultaneously using a three detector measurement system. Results are compared with calculated irradiances of ultraviolet radiation and published illuminance data, and with data for the measurement period from 1988 to 2000. Yearly reports have been produced for selected sites, giving the daily solar index (which is a measure of the sunburn potential for sensitive skin types) throughout the year. (author)

  9. European visit

    CERN Multimedia

    2006-01-01

    The European Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potočnik, (on the right) visited the CMS assembly hall accompanied by Jim Virdee, Deputy Spokesman of CMS (on the left), and Robert Aymar, Director-General of CERN. The European Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potočnik, visited CERN on Tuesday 31 January. He was welcomed by the Director-General, Robert Aymar, who described the missions and current activities of CERN to him, in particular the realisation of the LHC with its three components: accelerator, detectors, storage and processing of data. The European Commissioner then visited the CMS assembly hall, then the hall for testing the LHC magnets and the ATLAS cavern. During this first visit since his appointment at the end of 2004, Janez Potočnik appeared very interested by the operation of CERN, an example of successful scientific co-operation on a European scale. The many projects (30 on average) that CERN and the European Commission carry out jointly for the benefit of res...

  10. Digital Divides and Social Network Sites: Which Students Participate in Social Media?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, June

    2011-01-01

    Social network sites (SNSs) like Myspace and Facebook are now popular online communities with large teenage user populations. Teens use these technologies to interact, play, explore, and learn in significant ways. As scholars become interested in studying these new online communities, I contribute to the emerging conversation by re-examining…

  11. Neural network model for the prediction of PM10 daily concentrations in two sites in the Western Mediterranean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Gennaro, Gianluigi; Trizio, Livia; Di Gilio, Alessia; Pey, Jorge; Pérez, Noemi; Cusack, Michael; Alastuey, Andrés; Querol, Xavier

    2013-10-01

    An artificial neural network (ANN) was developed and tested to forecast PM10 daily concentration in two contrasted environments in NE Spain, a regional background site (Montseny), and an urban background site (Barcelona-CSIC), which was highly influenced by vehicular emissions. In order to predict 24-h average PM10 concentrations, the artificial neural network previously developed by Caselli et al. (2009) was improved by using hourly PM concentrations and deterministic factors such as a Saharan dust alert. In particular, the model input data for prediction were the hourly PM10 concentrations 1-day in advance, local meteorological data and information about air masses origin. The forecasted performance indexes for both sites were calculated and they showed better results for the regional background site in Montseny (R(2)=0.86, SI=0.75) than for urban site in Barcelona (R(2)=0.73, SI=0.58), influenced by local and sometimes unexpected sources. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis conducted to understand the importance of the different variables included among the input data, showed that local meteorology and air masses origin are key factors in the model forecasts. This result explains the reason for the improvement of ANN's forecasting performance at the Montseny site with respect to the Barcelona site. Moreover, the artificial neural network developed in this work could prove useful to predict PM10 concentrations, especially, at regional background sites such as those on the Mediterranean Basin which are primarily affected by long-range transports. Hence, the artificial neural network presented here could be a powerful tool for obtaining real time information on air quality status and could aid stakeholders in their development of cost-effective control strategies. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. The Social Influence Qualities of Social Network Sites: A Qualitative and Experimental Investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-03-01

    Guadagno and Cialdini, 2005). This is especially true with the unique social arrangements and organizational forms found on social network sites...their true feelings to others. According to Respondent #18, “it’s easier to talk on the phone than it is in person. To say something important...include things like weather, horoscope , graffiti, etc. • In addition to these tasks, how do you use this site as part of your daily life? o Do you use

  13. Social Networking Sites Use and Cross Cultural Adaptation of Muslim Indonesian Students in Australian Universities: Valuing Cultural Diversity

    OpenAIRE

    Nuraryo, Imam

    2016-01-01

    Muslim Asian students have diverse specific needs when undertaking education in western country universities. Many international students use social networking sites as media for distance communication and helping in their adjustment.This study attempts to investigate the impact of using new social networking sites on the cross cultural adaptation process. Qualitative methodology was used for the study. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted for data collection. The study investigates ...

  14. Using maximum entropy modeling for optimal selection of sampling sites for monitoring networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stohlgren, Thomas J.; Kumar, Sunil; Barnett, David T.; Evangelista, Paul H.

    2011-01-01

    Environmental monitoring programs must efficiently describe state shifts. We propose using maximum entropy modeling to select dissimilar sampling sites to capture environmental variability at low cost, and demonstrate a specific application: sample site selection for the Central Plains domain (453,490 km2) of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). We relied on four environmental factors: mean annual temperature and precipitation, elevation, and vegetation type. A “sample site” was defined as a 20 km × 20 km area (equal to NEON’s airborne observation platform [AOP] footprint), within which each 1 km2 cell was evaluated for each environmental factor. After each model run, the most environmentally dissimilar site was selected from all potential sample sites. The iterative selection of eight sites captured approximately 80% of the environmental envelope of the domain, an improvement over stratified random sampling and simple random designs for sample site selection. This approach can be widely used for cost-efficient selection of survey and monitoring sites.

  15. Visit of the King of the Belgians

    CERN Multimedia

    Maximilien Brice

    2009-01-01

    19 février 2009 - Sa Majesté Albert II, Roi des Belges et le Ministre du Climat et de l’Energie P. Magnette visitent le site experimental de CMS au Point 5 du LHC avec le Directeur de la Recherche et de l’Informatique S. Bertolucci et le Porte-parole de la Collaboration CMS T. Virdee. Tirage 02 à 08: Sa Majesté Albert II, Roi des Belges signe le livre d'or dans le SDX5 en présence du Directeur des accélérateurs et de la technologie S. Myers et du Directeur de la recherche et de l’informatique S. Bertolucci; Tirage 09 à 22: Sa Majesté Albert II, Roi des Belges et le Ministre du Climat et de l’Energie P. Magnette visitent le tunnel du LHC avec le Chef du Projet sLHC L. Evans et K. Cornelis. Tirage 23 à 35: Sa Majesté Albert II, Roi des Belges et le Ministre du Climat et de l’Energie P. Magnette visitent la cerne expérimentale de CMS avec W. Van Doninck (VUB), D. Favart (UCL) et le Porte-parole de la Collaboration T. Virdee. Tirage 36 à 50: Welcome line au Point 5 du LHC: Accueil en t...

  16. A statistical intercomparison between "urban" and "rural" precipitation chemistry data from greater Manchester and two nearby secondary national network sites in the United Kingdom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, David S.; Longhurst, James W. S.

    Precipitation chemistry data from a dense urban monitoring network in Greater Manchester, northwest England, were compared with interpolated values from the U.K. secondary national acid deposition monitoring network for the year 1988. Differences were found to be small. However, when data from individual sites from the Greater Manchester network were compared with data from the two nearest secondary national network sites, significant differences were found using simple and complex statistical analyses. Precipitation chemistry at rural sites could be similar to that at urban sites, but the sources of some ions were thought to be different. The synoptic-scale gradients of precipitation chemistry, as shown by the secondary national network, also accounted for some of the differences.

  17. The Economics of Networks: theory and empirics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M.J. van der Leij (Marco)

    2006-01-01

    textabstractWherever we are, networks are all around us. The roads that we travel form a network. The websites that we visit form an enormous information network. But, above all, we are part of a network ourselves, the network of social contacts and relations. These networks play an

  18. Political campaigning 2.0: The influence of online news and social networking sites on attitudes and behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Montathar Faraon

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to examine differences in influence between online news (e.g., New York Times and social networking sites (e.g., Facebook and Twitter on attitudes in political campaigns. In a web-based experiment, campaign, polls and election between two fictitious candidates were simulated. Participants’ explicit and implicit attitudes as well as voting behavior were assessed using self-report items and the Implicit Association Test (IAT. The results reveal that information emanating from online news had a significant influence on explicit and implicit attitudes while that of social networking sites did not. Overall, negative items had a stronger impact than positive ones, more so in online news compared to social networking sites. Negative information from either type of media was more likely to change participants’ explicit attitudes in a negative direction and as a consequence also change their vote. Practical implications of the findings and limitations of the study are discussed.

  19. Examination of a Social-Networking Site Activities Scale (SNSAS) Using Rasch Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alhaythami, Hassan; Karpinski, Aryn; Kirschner, Paul; Bolden, Edward

    2017-01-01

    This study examined the psychometric properties of a social-networking site (SNS) activities scale (SNSAS) using Rasch Analysis. Items were also examined with Rasch Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Differential Item Functioning (DIF) across groups of university students (i.e., males and females from the United States [US] and Europe; N =…

  20. Flare-up rate in pulpally necrotic molars in one-visit versus two-visit endodontic treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eleazer, P D; Eleazer, K R

    1998-09-01

    This retrospective study compared one-visit versus two-visit endodontic treatment. The same technique and materials were used before and after making the sole change to one-visit endodontic treatment in 1991. Treatment records of 402 consecutive patients with pulpally necrotic first and second molars were compared. In 201 patients, treatment was provided by debridement and instrumentation, followed by obturation at a second visit; whereas the second group received single visit therapy. Flare-ups were defined as either patient reports of pain not controlled with over-the-counter medication or as increasing swelling. Sixteen flare-ups (8%) occurred in the two-visit group versus six flare-ups (3%) for the one-visit group. This showed an advantage for one-visit treatment at a 95% confidence level. In a second comparison, one-visit patients who had previously received two-visit treatment for a different pulpally necrotic molar served as their own control. No significant differences were present in this subgroup of 17 patients.

  1. Friend me: which factors influence top global brands participation in social network sites

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Araujo, T.; Neijens, P.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose - This study focuses on how brands participate in social network sites (SNSs) and investigates both the different strategies they adopt and the factors that influence these strategies. Design/methodology/approach - The activities of top brands in SNSs were investigated through a content

  2. Community and Social Network Sites as Technology Enhanced Learning Environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ryberg, Thomas; Christiansen, Ellen

    2008-01-01

    This paper examines the affordance of the Danish social networking site Mingler.dk for peer-to-peer learning and development. With inspiration from different theoretical frameworks, the authors argue how learning and development in such social online systems can be conceptualised and analysed....... Theoretically the paper defines development in accordance with Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development, and learning in accordance with Wenger's concept of communities of practice. The authors suggest analysing the learning and development taking place on Mingler.dk by using these concepts...... supplemented by the notion of horizontal learning adopted from Engestrm and Wenger. Their analysis shows how horizontal learning happens by crossing boundaries between several sites of engagement, and how the actors' multiple membership enables the community members to draw on a vast amount of resources from...

  3. Analysis of the Monitoring Network at the Salmon, Mississippi, Site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2013-08-01

    The Salmon site in southern Mississippi was the location of two underground nuclear tests and two methane-oxygen gas explosion tests conducted in the Tatum Salt Dome at a depth of 2,715 feet below ground surface. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (a predecessor agency of the U.S. Department of Energy [DOE]) and the U.S. Department of Defense jointly conducted the tests between 1964 and 1970. The testing operations resulted in surface contamination at multiple locations on the site and contamination of shallow aquifers. No radionuclides from the nuclear tests were released to the surface or to groundwater, although radionuclide-contaminated drill cuttings were brought to the surface during re-entry drilling. Drilling operations generated the largest single volume of waste materials, including radionuclide-contaminated drill cuttings and drilling fluids. Nonradioactive wastes were also generated as part of the testing operations. Site cleanup and decommissioning began in 1971 and officially ended in 1972. DOE conducted additional site characterization between 1992 and 1999. The historical investigations have provided a reasonable understanding of current surface and shallow subsurface conditions at the site, although some additional investigation is desirable. For example, additional hydrologic data would improve confidence in assigning groundwater gradients and flow directions in the aquifers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitored groundwater at the site as part of its Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program from 1972 through 2007, when DOE's Office of Legacy Management (LM) assumed responsibility for site monitoring. The current monitoring network consists of 28 monitoring wells and 11 surface water locations. Multiple aquifers which underlie the site are monitored. The current analyte list includes metals, radionuclides, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

  4. An Expanded Study of Net Generation Perceptions on Privacy and Security on Social Networking Sites (SNS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawler, James P.; Molluzzo, John C.; Doshi, Vijal

    2012-01-01

    Social networking on the Internet continues to be a frequent avenue of communication, especially among Net Generation consumers, giving benefits both personal and professional. The benefits may be eventually hindered by issues in information gathering and sharing on social networking sites. This study evaluates the perceptions of students taking a…

  5. Aversive Peer Experiences on Social Networking Sites: Development of the Social Networking-Peer Experiences Questionnaire (SN-PEQ).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landoll, Ryan R; La Greca, Annette M; Lai, Betty S

    2013-12-01

    Cyber victimization is an important research area; yet, little is known about aversive peer experiences on social networking sites (SNSs), which are used extensively by youth and host complex social exchanges. Across samples of adolescents ( n =216) and young adults ( n =214), we developed the Social Networking-Peer Experiences Questionnaire ( SN-PEQ ), and examined its psychometric properties, distinctiveness from traditional peer victimization, and associations with internalized distress. The SN-PEQ demonstrated strong factorial invariance and a single factor structure that was distinct from other forms of peer victimization. Negative SNS experiences were associated with youths' symptoms of social anxiety and depression, even when controlling for traditional peer victimization. Findings highlight the importance of examining the effects of aversive peer experiences that occur via social media.

  6. Aversive Peer Experiences on Social Networking Sites: Development of the Social Networking-Peer Experiences Questionnaire (SN-PEQ)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landoll, Ryan R.; La Greca, Annette M.; Lai, Betty S.

    2012-01-01

    Cyber victimization is an important research area; yet, little is known about aversive peer experiences on social networking sites (SNSs), which are used extensively by youth and host complex social exchanges. Across samples of adolescents (n=216) and young adults (n=214), we developed the Social Networking-Peer Experiences Questionnaire (SN-PEQ), and examined its psychometric properties, distinctiveness from traditional peer victimization, and associations with internalized distress. The SN-PEQ demonstrated strong factorial invariance and a single factor structure that was distinct from other forms of peer victimization. Negative SNS experiences were associated with youths’ symptoms of social anxiety and depression, even when controlling for traditional peer victimization. Findings highlight the importance of examining the effects of aversive peer experiences that occur via social media. PMID:24288449

  7. Learners' Views Regarding the Use of Social Networking Sites in Distance Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Özmen, Büsra; Atici, Bünyamin

    2014-01-01

    In this study, it was aimed to examine the use of learning management systems supported by social networking sites in distance education and to determine the views of learners regarding these platforms. The study group of this study, which uses a qualitative research approach, consists of 15 undergraduate students who resumed their education in…

  8. Can Bayesian Belief Networks help tackling conceptual model uncertainties in contaminated site risk assessment?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Troldborg, Mads; Thomsen, Nanna Isbak; McKnight, Ursula S.

    different conceptual models may describe the same contaminated site equally well. In many cases, conceptual model uncertainty has been shown to be one of the dominant sources for uncertainty and is therefore essential to account for when quantifying uncertainties in risk assessments. We present here......A key component in risk assessment of contaminated sites is the formulation of a conceptual site model. The conceptual model is a simplified representation of reality and forms the basis for the mathematical modelling of contaminant fate and transport at the site. A conceptual model should...... a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) approach for evaluating the uncertainty in risk assessment of groundwater contamination from contaminated sites. The approach accounts for conceptual model uncertainty by considering multiple conceptual models, each of which represents an alternative interpretation of the site...

  9. A spatial neural fuzzy network for estimating pan evaporation at ungauged sites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C.-H. Chung

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Evaporation is an essential reference to the management of water resources. In this study, a hybrid model that integrates a spatial neural fuzzy network with the kringing method is developed to estimate pan evaporation at ungauged sites. The adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS can extract the nonlinear relationship of observations, while kriging is an excellent geostatistical interpolator. Three-year daily data collected from nineteen meteorological stations covering the whole of Taiwan are used to train and test the constructed model. The pan evaporation (Epan at ungauged sites can be obtained through summing up the outputs of the spatially weighted ANFIS and the residuals adjusted by kriging. Results indicate that the proposed AK model (hybriding ANFIS and kriging can effectively improve the accuracy of Epan estimation as compared with that of empirical formula. This hybrid model demonstrates its reliability in estimating the spatial distribution of Epan and consequently provides precise Epan estimation by taking geographical features into consideration.

  10. P³DB 3.0: From plant phosphorylation sites to protein networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Qiuming; Ge, Huangyi; Wu, Shangquan; Zhang, Ning; Chen, Wei; Xu, Chunhui; Gao, Jianjiong; Thelen, Jay J; Xu, Dong

    2014-01-01

    In the past few years, the Plant Protein Phosphorylation Database (P(3)DB, http://p3db.org) has become one of the most significant in vivo data resources for studying plant phosphoproteomics. We have substantially updated P(3)DB with respect to format, new datasets and analytic tools. In the P(3)DB 3.0, there are altogether 47 923 phosphosites in 16 477 phosphoproteins curated across nine plant organisms from 32 studies, which have met our multiple quality standards for acquisition of in vivo phosphorylation site data. Centralized by these phosphorylation data, multiple related data and annotations are provided, including protein-protein interaction (PPI), gene ontology, protein tertiary structures, orthologous sequences, kinase/phosphatase classification and Kinase Client Assay (KiC Assay) data--all of which provides context for the phosphorylation event. In addition, P(3)DB 3.0 incorporates multiple network viewers for the above features, such as PPI network, kinase-substrate network, phosphatase-substrate network, and domain co-occurrence network to help study phosphorylation from a systems point of view. Furthermore, the new P(3)DB reflects a community-based design through which users can share datasets and automate data depository processes for publication purposes. Each of these new features supports the goal of making P(3)DB a comprehensive, systematic and interactive platform for phosphoproteomics research.

  11. Predictors of Mobile Phone and Social Networking Site Dependency in Adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burnell, Kaitlyn; Kuther, Tara L

    2016-10-01

    The present study explored social and psychological predictors of social networking site (SNS) and mobile phone dependency in a sample of emerging adults (ages 18-25, n = 159, M = 21.87, SD = 2.08) and young adults (ages 26-40, n = 97, M = 31.21, SD = 4.11). Path analysis revealed that SNS dependency mediated the relationship of social comparison, SNS support, and impulsivity on mobile phone dependency. Impulsivity also showed direct links to mobile phone dependency. The present findings suggest that individuals with a strong orientation toward social comparison, who perceive a strong sense of support through SNS networks, or who show difficulty with self-regulation may be at risk for SNS and mobile phone dependency.

  12. Developing a network: the PMM process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamara, A

    1997-11-01

    Since 1988, the Prevention of Maternal Mortality (PMM) Network has developed, implemented and evaluated projects that focus directly on prevention of maternal deaths. The Network, which consists of 11 multidisciplinary teams in West Africa and one at Columbia University, grew from discussions between the Carnegie Corporation of New York and researchers at Columbia School of Public Health. Its goals are: to strengthen capacities in developing countries; to provide program models for preventing maternal deaths; and to inform policymakers about the importance of maternal mortality. This paper describes the development and functioning of the Network. The initial steps included identifying interested partners in Africa and encouraging them to form multidisciplinary teams. Each African team received two grants: one to perform a needs assessment and then another to develop and implement projects based on the results. The Columbia team provided technical assistance in a variety of ways, including site visits, workshops and correspondence. Teams tested program models and reported findings both to local policymakers and in international fora. Collaboration with government and community leaders helped facilitate progress at all stages. At the PMM Network Results Conference in 1996, the teams decided to continue their work by forming the Regional PMM (RPMM) Network, an entirely African entity.

  13. Perceptions and Use of Social Networking Sites in the United States and Ecuador: A Mixed-Methods Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pumper, Megan A.; Yaeger, Jeffery P.; Moreno, Megan A.

    2013-01-01

    Social networking sites are globally popular. In the United States, these types of sites are perceived positively by users and used at high rates, which has likely yielded personal health behavior displays such as substance abuse and depression. Due to possible cultural influence present on these sites, it remains unknown if SNS could be utilized…

  14. Site classification of Indian strong motion network using response spectra ratios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chopra, Sumer; Kumar, Vikas; Choudhury, Pallabee; Yadav, R. B. S.

    2018-03-01

    In the present study, we tried to classify the Indian strong motion sites spread all over Himalaya and adjoining region, located on varied geological formations, based on response spectral ratio. A total of 90 sites were classified based on 395 strong motion records from 94 earthquakes recorded at these sites. The magnitude of these earthquakes are between 2.3 and 7.7 and the hypocentral distance for most of the cases is less than 50 km. The predominant period obtained from response spectral ratios is used to classify these sites. It was found that the shape and predominant peaks of the spectra at these sites match with those in Japan, Italy, Iran, and at some of the sites in Europe and the same classification scheme can be applied to Indian strong motion network. We found that the earlier schemes based on description of near-surface geology, geomorphology, and topography were not able to capture the effect of sediment thickness. The sites are classified into seven classes (CL-I to CL-VII) with varying predominant periods and ranges as proposed by Alessandro et al. (Bull Seismol Soc Am 102:680-695 2012). The effect of magnitudes and hypocentral distances on the shape and predominant peaks were also studied and found to be very small. The classification scheme is robust and cost-effective and can be used in region-specific attenuation relationships for accounting local site effect.

  15. The choice of forest site for recreation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agimass, Fitalew; Lundhede, Thomas; Panduro, Toke Emil

    2018-01-01

    logit as well as a random parameter logit model. The variables that are found to affect the choice of forest site to a visit for recreation include: forest area, tree species composition, forest density, availability of historical sites, terrain difference, state ownership, and distance. Regarding......In this paper, we investigate the factors that can influence the site choice of forest recreation. Relevant attributes are identified by using spatial data analysis from a questionnaire asking people to indicate their most recent forest visits by pinpointing on a map. The main objectives...

  16. Health visiting assessment--unpacking critical attributes in health visitor needs assessment practice: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appleton, Jane V; Cowley, Sarah

    2008-02-01

    Assessment of family health need is a central feature of health visiting practice in which a range of skills, knowledge and judgements are used. These assessments are pivotal in uncovering need, safeguarding children and in determining levels of health intervention to be offered to children and their families by the health visiting service in the UK. The central focus of this paper is to outline the critical attributes of the basic principles that underpin health visiting assessment practice that emerged as part of a case study enquiry. A case study design informed by a constructivist methodology was used to examine health visitors' professional judgements and use of formal guidelines in identifying health needs and prioritising families requiring extra health visiting support. The main study was conducted in three community Trust case sites in England, UK, with pilot work being undertaken in a fourth site. Fifteen health visitors participated in the main study and data were collected during 56 observed home visits to families receiving extra health visiting support. Separate in-depth interviews were conducted with the health visitors, pre- and post-home contacts, while 53 client interviews also took place. The analysis suggests that there are certain fundamental elements associated with the majority of health visitor assessments and these have been termed assessment principles. These characteristics are integral to, and provide the basis upon which health visitors' assessments are conducted and professional judgement is formed. They reflect the basic principles of health visiting assessment practice, which exist despite the constraints and realities of the practice context and can be differentiated from the activity centred methods of assessment processes.

  17. Instructor Experiences with a Social Networking Site in a Higher Education Setting: Expectations, Frustrations, Appropriation, and Compartmentalization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veletsianos, George; Kimmons, Royce; French, Karen D.

    2013-01-01

    Researchers and practitioners have suggested that the use of social networking sites in formal education may be a worthwhile endeavor. Toward this goal, emerging learning platforms have included social networking features. Nevertheless, empirical literature examining user experiences, and more specifically instructor experiences, with these tools…

  18. Call for Volunteers! Help Wanted for the 50th Anniversary Public Visits

    CERN Multimedia

    2004-01-01

    On 16 October 2004, CERN opens its doors to the public. The Visits Service is already busy with preparations for this day of special events to mark the fiftieth anniversary, and is recruiting volunteers. On 16 October 2004, CERN will be holding an Open Day to mark its Golden Jubilee. Members of the public will be invited to CERN to discover 50 years of history as they tour 50 different sites. The sites include the experiment halls, the assembly halls for the LHC detectors and magnets as well as the computer centre and the fire station. With a programme offering site visits, talks, a play on a scientific theme and a variety of workshops, there will be something for everybody, including an area set aside with stimulating games to entertain the very young. A number of evening tours will be organized specifically for the inhabitants of Cessy, St Genis, Meyrin and Ferney-Voltaire, where the experiment halls for CMS, ALICE, ATLAS and LHCb are respectively located. This is your opportunity to show the public some ...

  19. Call for Volunteers! Help Wanted for the 50th Anniversary Public Visits

    CERN Multimedia

    2004-01-01

    On 16 October 2004, CERN opens its doors to the public. The Visits Service is already busy with preparations for this day of special events to mark the fiftieth anniversary, and is recruiting volunteers. On 16 October 2004, CERN will be holding an Open Day to mark its Golden Jubilee. Members of the public will be invited to CERN to discover 50 years of history as they tour 50 different sites. The sites include the experiment halls, the assembly halls for the LHC detectors and magnets as well as the computer centre and the fire station. With a programme offering site visits, talks, a play on a scientific theme and a variety of workshops there will be something for everybody, including an area set aside with stimulating games to entertain the very young. A number of evening tours will be organized specifically for the inhabitants of Cessy, St Genis, Meyrin and Ferney-Voltaire, where the experiment halls for CMS, ALICE, ATLAS and LHCb are respectively located. This is your opportunity to show the public some of ...

  20. Visiting Ground Zero: sacred echoes in secular rites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard C. Martin

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available For the past several years since September 11, 2001, large numbers of people from across the continent and around the world have visited the site of the devastated World Trade Center in New York. Scholars in religious studies and the social sciences have noticed that there were and continue to be (though less so over time religious aspects to the observances and performances of visitors to ‘Ground Zero’, as the site of the former World Trade Center almost immediately came to be called. A central argument of this article is that the ongoing stream of visitors to Ground Zero, strictly speaking, does not qualify this phenomenon as a pilgrimage in the traditional religious sense; it is more akin to the growing phenomenon of religious tourism, although it is not exactly that either. Nonetheless the event of 9/11 generated many ritualized activities; the article will also address the pro­cess scholars call ‘ritualization’ and related terms in ritual studies. Although ritualized performances at Ground Zero do not amount to a pilgrimage in the narrow sense that historians of religion mean when they analyse traditional pilgrimages, such as the Hajj to Mecca, or following the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, visiting Ground Zero has taken on both secular and religious elements.

  1. Initial Tuning Sebagai Salah Satu Metode Pengoptimalan New Site Pada Jaringan Seluler Gsm (Studi Kasus Pada Area Kerja Pt. Sinergi Telecom Under Ericsson Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hesti Susilawati

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available The development of new sites by telecommunication network operator, especially GSM network, purposes for more increase performance and give satisfy for consument. Performance of a site is most affecting for value of network quality totally. New site builded must be monitorized and optimized by its existing in order to can be more realible on serving society with the method that was mentioned “initial tuning activity”. On this method must be concerned some matter as like: application of accurate frequency for avoiding interference problem, creating neighbour relationship between ex isting site and new site, detection for faulth installation for arranging re-use frequency concept, setting accurate coverage, olso changing tilt angle for accurate main beam area. This arrangement must be conditioned on a new site that still “default”, so it can improve quality. On operator side, they have some criteria that must be passed by a new site. Initial tuning activity on Site Simpang RGM had been proved on passing  that site from recommended criteria, olso being totally indicated more increase pe rformance of network

  2. Alcohol-Related Posts from Young People on Social Networking Sites : Content and Motivations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hendriks, H.; Gebhardt, W.A.; van den Putte, B.

    Many young people place alcohol-related posts on social networking sites (SNS) which can result in undesirable effects. Although several recent studies have investigated the occurrence of alcohol-related SNS use, it is neither clear (a) what type of alcohol posts are placed on SNS, (b) the

  3. LNS users primer for accessing government sites on the ARPA network. [MIT. -->. ANL, BNL, LBL, and New York Univ. Courant Inst

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kannel, M.

    1979-06-01

    This primer was developed as part of the study conducted by the Laboratory for Nuclear Science (LNS) on the feasibility of networks for computer resource sharing. The primer is an instructinal guide for the LNS user who would like to access and use computers at other government sites on the ARPA network. The format is a series of scenarios of actual recorded on-line terminal sessions' showing the novice user how to access the foreign site, obtain help documentation, run a simple program, and transfer files to and from the foreign site. Access to the ARPA network in these scenarios is via Multics or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Terminal Interface Processor. The foreign government sites accessed are the computing facilities at Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, and New York University Courant Institute. This technique of auditing actual terminal sessions as a teaching aid can be extended to include other computing facilities as well as other networks.

  4. Learning about knowledge: A complex network approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fontoura Costa, Luciano da

    2006-01-01

    An approach to modeling knowledge acquisition in terms of walks along complex networks is described. Each subset of knowledge is represented as a node, and relations between such knowledge are expressed as edges. Two types of edges are considered, corresponding to free and conditional transitions. The latter case implies that a node can only be reached after visiting previously a set of nodes (the required conditions). The process of knowledge acquisition can then be simulated by considering the number of nodes visited as a single agent moves along the network, starting from its lowest layer. It is shown that hierarchical networks--i.e., networks composed of successive interconnected layers--are related to compositions of the prerequisite relationships between the nodes. In order to avoid deadlocks--i.e., unreachable nodes--the subnetwork in each layer is assumed to be a connected component. Several configurations of such hierarchical knowledge networks are simulated and the performance of the moving agent quantified in terms of the percentage of visited nodes after each movement. The Barabasi-Albert and random models are considered for the layer and interconnecting subnetworks. Although all subnetworks in each realization have the same number of nodes, several interconnectivities, defined by the average node degree of the interconnection networks, have been considered. Two visiting strategies are investigated: random choice among the existing edges and preferential choice to so far untracked edges. A series of interesting results are obtained, including the identification of a series of plateaus of knowledge stagnation in the case of the preferential movement strategy in the presence of conditional edges

  5. Use of Social Network Sites for Communication Among Health Professionals: Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Windy Sy; Leung, Angela Ym

    2018-03-28

    Although much research has been done investigating the roles of social network sites (SNSs) in linking patients and health professionals, there is a lack of information about their uses, benefits, and limitations in connecting health professions only for professional communication. This review aimed to examine the utilization of SNSs for communication among health professionals in (1) frontline clinical practice, (2) professional networks, and (3) education and training to identify areas for future health communication research. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. A systematic search of the literature published in the last 10 years (January 1, 2007, to March 1, 2017) was performed in March 2017, using the following electronic databases: MEDLINE via OvidSP, EMBASE, CINAHL Complete, and InfoSci-Journals. The searches were conducted using the following defined search terms: "social media" OR "social network" OR "social network site" OR "Facebook" OR "Twitter" OR "Linkedin" OR "Instagram" OR "Weibo" OR "Whatsapp" OR "Telegram" OR "WeChat" AND "health" OR "health profession." Of the 6977 papers retrieved, a total of 33 studies were included in this review. They were exploratory in nature, and the majority used surveys (n=25) and interviews (n=6). All retrieved studies stated that SNSs enhanced effective communication and information sharing. SNSs were used for supporting delivering of clinical services, making referrals, and sharing information. They were beneficial to network building and professional collaboration. SNSs were novel tools to enhance educational interactions among peers, students, instructors, and preceptors. The application of SNSs came with restraints in technical knowledge, concerns on data protection, privacy and liability, issues in professionalism, and data protection. SNSs provide platforms facilitating efficient communication, interactions, and connections among health

  6. Evaluation of natural attenuation processes in the groundwater of a tar oil contaminated site: development of a monitoring network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borke, P.; Husers, N.; Werner, P.; Leibenath, C.

    2005-01-01

    Tar oil is a complex mixture of mainly aromatic hydrocarbons. It is found in the subsurface of manufactured gas plants (MGP), coking plants or wood preserving facilities. The transportation into the soil and groundwater stands for a severe contamination. This is due to the physico-chemical properties of the DNAPL (dense non aqueous phase liquid) and its mobility in the soil and aquifer system. Additionally most of the contaminants show a low biological degradability and solubility under in situ conditions. Therefore it is known as a long term source of contamination. Nevertheless, natural attenuation (NA) processes are detectable at tar oil contaminated sites. In the thematic network two of the German funding priority KORA (http://www.natural-attenuation.de) these processes are matter of investigation. Four typical contaminated sites were chosen to evaluate under which circumstances monitored natural attenuation (MNA) is applicable. Furthermore enhanced natural attenuation questions are examined. The design of monitoring networks at tar oil contaminated sites plays a significant role in gaining field evidence for natural attenuation as well as documenting the efficiency of the attenuation processes and evaluating the matching of performance goals. Well designed monitoring networks include the placement of monitoring wells in 3D so that 3D flow path, mass balances and an estimation of mass flux can be monitored. As an example the history of the monitoring network of a wood preserving facility is shown. Starting from a risk assessment network to a network for MNA is presented. In this case for example especially the determination of the groundwater flow direction in time and space is connected to the number of observation wells and their location. Moreover in the beginning the observation wells were located according to the assumed centerline of the plume. Because of the variability of the groundwater flow direction and the need to determine mass flux a control plane

  7. Preliminary - discrete fracture network modelling of tracer migration experiments at the SCV site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dershowitz, W.S.; Wallmann, P.; Geier, J.E.; Lee, G.

    1991-09-01

    This report describes a numerical modelling study of solute transport within the Site Characterization and Validation (SCV) block at the Stripa site. The study was carried out with the FracMan/MAFIC package, utilizing statistics from stages 3 and 4 of the Stripa phase 3 Site Characterization and Validation project. Simulations were carried out to calibrate fracture solute transport properties against observations in the first stage of saline injection radar experiments. These results were then used to predict the performance of planned tracer experiments, using both particle tracking network solute transport, and pathways analysis approaches. Simulations were also carried out to predict results of the second stage of saline injection radar experiments. (au) (34 refs.)

  8. "I Gave up MySpace for Lent": New Teachers and Social Networking Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kist, William

    2008-01-01

    This Digital Literacies column describes the dilemma many new teachers feel as their uses of social networking sites pose conflicts with institutional cautions regarding educators' participation in these kinds of online activities. Pre-service teachers discuss the challenges of marrying their own out-of-school literacies to mandated professional…

  9. Flare-up rate in molars with periapical radiolucency in one-visit vs two-visit endodontic treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbar, Iftikhar; Iqbal, Azhar; Al-Omiri, Mahmoud K

    2013-05-01

    The objective of this study was to compare postobturation flare-ups following single and two-visit endodontic treatment of molar teeth with periapical radiolucency. A total of 100 patients with asymptomatic molar teeth with periapical radiolucency were selected. They were randomly allocated into two groups. Fifty patients received complete endodontic treatment in one-visit. Fifty patients received treatment by debridement and instrumentation at the first visit followed by obturation at the second visit. 10% of patients had flare-ups in the single visit group and 8% of patients had flare-ups in the two-visit group. Number of visits did not affect the success of endodontic treatment (p>0.05). Age, gender and tooth type had no effects on the occurrence of flare-ups regardless the number of visits (p>0.05). One-visit endodontic treatment was as successful as two-visit endodontic treatment as evaluated by rate of flareups in asymptomatic molar teeth with periapical radiolucency.

  10. k-visit Attribute Grammars

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielson, Hanne Riis; Skyum, S.

    1981-01-01

    It is shown that any well-defined attribute grammar is k-visit for some k. Furthermore, it is shown that given a well-defined grammar G and an integer k, it is decidable whether G is k-visit. Finally it is shown that the k-visit grammars specify a proper hierarchy with respect to translations...

  11. Key findings from HSC's 2010 site visits: health care markets weather economic downturn, brace for health reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Felland, Laurie E; Grossman, Joy M; Tu, Ha T

    2011-05-01

    Lingering fallout--loss of jobs and employer coverage--from the great recession slowed demand for health care services but did little to slow aggressive competition by dominant hospital systems for well-insured patients, according to key findings from the Center for Studying Health System Change's (HSC) 2010 site visits to 12 nationally representative metropolitan communities. Hospitals with significant market clout continued to command high payment rate increases from private insurers, and tighter hospital-physician alignment heightened concerns about growing provider market power. High and rising premiums led to increasing employer adoption of consumer-driven health plans and continued increases in patient cost sharing, but the broader movement to educate and engage consumers in care decisions did not keep pace. State and local budget deficits led to some funding cuts for safety net providers, but an influx of federal stimulus funds increased support to community health centers and shored up Medicaid programs, allowing many people who lost private insurance because of job losses to remain covered. Hospitals, physicians and insurers generally viewed health reform coverage expansions favorably, but all worried about protecting revenues as reform requirements phase in.

  12. Patients who share transparent visit notes with others: characteristics, risks, and benefits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Sara L; Mejilla, Roanne; Darer, Jonathan D; Oster, Natalia V; Ralston, James D; Leveille, Suzanne G; Walker, Jan; Delbanco, Tom; Elmore, Joann G

    2014-11-12

    Inviting patients to read their primary care visit notes may improve communication and help them engage more actively in their health care. Little is known about how patients will use the opportunity to share their visit notes with family members or caregivers, or what the benefits might be. Our goal was to evaluate the characteristics of patients who reported sharing their visit notes during the course of the study, including their views on associated benefits and risks. The OpenNotes study invited patients to access their primary care providers' visit notes in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Pre- and post-intervention surveys assessed patient demographics, standardized measures of patient-doctor communication, sharing of visit notes with others during the study, and specific health behaviors reflecting the potential benefits and risks of offering patients easy access to their visit notes. More than half (55.43%, 2503/4516) of the participants who reported viewing at least one visit note would like the option of letting family members or friends have their own Web access to their visit notes, and 21.70% (980/4516) reported sharing their visit notes with someone during the study year. Men, and those retired or unable to work, were significantly more likely to share visit notes, and those sharing were neither more nor less concerned about their privacy than were non-sharers. Compared to participants who did not share clinic notes, those who shared were more likely to report taking better care of themselves and taking their medications as prescribed, after adjustment for age, gender, employment status, and study site. One in five OpenNotes patients shared a visit note with someone, and those sharing Web access to their visit notes reported better adherence to self-care and medications. As health information technology systems increase patients' ability to access their medical records, facilitating access to caregivers may improve perceived health

  13. Glancing up or down: Mood management and selective social comparisons on social networking sites.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Johnson, B.K.; Knobloch-Westerwick, S.

    2014-01-01

    Social networking sites (SNS) provide opportunities for mood management through selective exposure. This study tested the prediction that negative mood fosters self-enhancing social comparisons to SNS profiles. Participants were induced into positive or negative moods and then browsed manipulated

  14. Social connections and the persuasiveness of viral campaigns in social network sites: persuasive intent as the underlying mechanism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Noort, G.; Antheunis, M.L.; van Reijmersdal, E.A.

    2012-01-01

    Social media are increasingly popular. Consequently, marketers more and more recognize social network sites as a platform for commercial campaigns. Social network users forward these campaigns to their online connections. However, our understanding of the persuasiveness of these campaigns is scarce.

  15. On the Rapid Rise of Social Networking Sites: New Findings and Policy Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livingstone, Sonia; Brake, David R

    2010-01-01

    Social networking sites have been rapidly adopted by children and, especially, teenagers and young people worldwide, enabling new opportunities for the presentation of the self, learning, construction of a wide circle of relationships, and the management of privacy and intimacy. On the other hand, there are also concerns that social networking…

  16. "Actually, I Wanted to Learn": Study-Related Knowledge Exchange on Social Networking Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wodzicki, Katrin; Schwammlein, Eva; Moskaliuk, Johannes

    2012-01-01

    Social media open up multiple options to add a new dimension to learning and knowledge processes. Particularly, social networking sites allow students to connect formal and informal learning settings. Students can find like-minded people and organize informal knowledge exchange for educational purposes. However, little is known about in which way…

  17. How Irish Political Parties are Using Social Networking Sites to Reach Generation Z: an Insight into a New Online Social Network in a Small Democracy

    OpenAIRE

    Lynch, Kevin; Hogan, John

    2016-01-01

    This study, using in-depth interviews and focus groups, examines perceptions of social networking sites as a means of communicating with Generation Z, from the perspectives of the major Irish political parties using these online resources and the perspective of their young target audience. There are two research questions: (1) How do political parties perceive social networking sites’ role in communicating with Generation Z? and (2) How do members of Generation Z perceive social networking si...

  18. Monitoring and control requirement definition study for Dispersed Storage and Generation (DSG). Volume 4, appendix C: Identification from utility visits of present and future approaches to integration of DSG into distribution networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    1980-01-01

    Visits to four utilities concerned with the use of DSG power sources on their distribution networks yielded useful impressions of present and future approaches to the integration of DSGs into electrical distribution network. Different approaches to future utility systems with DSG are beginning to take shape. The new DSG sources will be in decentralized locations with some measure of centralized control. The utilities have yet to establish firmly the communication and control means or their organization. For the present, the means for integrating the DSGs and their associated monitoring and control equipment into a unified system have not been decided.

  19. Lifestyle counseling in hypertension-related visits – analysis of video-taped general practice visits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van Dulmen Sandra

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The general practitioner (GP can play an important role in promoting a healthy lifestyle, which is especially relevant in people with an elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases due to hypertension. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the frequency and content of lifestyle counseling about weight loss, nutrition, physical activity, and smoking by GPs in hypertension-related visits. A distinction was made between the assessment of lifestyle (gathering information or measuring weight or waist circumference and giving lifestyle advice (giving a specific advice to change the patient's behavior or referring the patient to other sources of information or other health professionals. Methods For this study, we observed 212 video recordings of hypertension-related visits collected within the Second Dutch National Survey of General Practice in 2000/2001. Results The mean duration of visits was 9.8 minutes (range 2.5 to 30 minutes. In 40% of the visits lifestyle was discussed (n = 84, but in 81% of these visits this discussion lasted shorter than a quarter of the visit. An assessment of lifestyle was made in 77 visits (36%, most commonly regarding body weight and nutrition. In most cases the patient initiated the discussion about nutrition and physical activity, whereas the assessment of weight and smoking status was mostly initiated by the GP. In 35 visits (17% the GP gave lifestyle advice, but in only one fifth of these visits the patient's motivation or perceived barriers for changing behavior were assessed. Supporting factors were not discussed at all. Conclusion In 40% of the hypertension-related visits lifestyle topics were discussed. However, both the frequency and quality of lifestyle advice can be improved.

  20. Chilean Teachers Begin Exchange Program Visit in Magdalena

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-01-01

    Two teachers from the town of San Pedro de Atacama, in the northern desert of the South American nation of Chile, arrive in Magdalena, New Mexico, Sunday, January 28, for a two-week visit that is part of a Sister Cities program sponsored by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), the nonprofit research corporation that operates the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). They will be accompanied by their town's mayor. Myriam Nancy Rivera Mercado, Head of the high school in San Pedro, Gabriela Fernanda Rodriguez Moraleda, a tourism teacher there, and San Pedro Mayor Sandra Berna Martinez will begin a visit that includes classroom observations in the Magdalena schools, a reception hosted by the Magdalena Village Council, and a Mayor's Breakfast with Magdalena Mayor Jim Wolfe. They also will meet local residents, tour the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge with a second-grade class, visit an area ranch, tour the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope, and see Socorro's Community Arts Party. "These teachers will learn much about New Mexico, the United States, and our educational system, and will take this new knowledge back to their students and their community," said NRAO Education Officer Robyn Harrison. The visit is part of a Sister Cities program initiated and funded by AUI, which operates the NRAO for the U.S. National Science Foundation. Radio astronomy is a common link between San Pedro de Atacama and Magdalena. San Pedro is near the site of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international telescope project now under construction with funding by major partners in North America, Europe, and Japan. Magdalena is near the site of NRAO's VLA radio telescope. In Magdalena, the Village Council and Mayor Wolfe formalized their participation in the Sister Cities program last September, and San Pedro ratified the program in December. In San Pedro, the ceremony ratifying the agreement was attended by U.S. Ambassador to Chile Craig K

  1. Standardized quality audit procedures for on-site dosimetry visits to radiotherapy hospitals. Report of the IAEA consultants' meeting, IAEA, Vienna, 27 September - 1 October 1999; revised in 2001

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Izewska, Joanna; Dutreix, A.; Followill, D.S.; Nisbet, A.; Novotny, J.; Sipila, P.; Dam, J. van

    2002-01-01

    Since 1969 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), together with the World Health Organization (WHO), has performed postal TLD audits to verify the calibration of radiotherapy beams in developing countries. The IAEA over the past 30 years, has verified the calibration of more than 3500 clinical photon beams at approximately 1000 radiotherapy hospitals. Detailed follow-up procedures have been implemented since 1996. When the TLD result of a participating institution falls outside the acceptance limits of ±5%, the institution is initially informed that there is a discrepancy and requested to try to identify the reasons why it occurred. The institution is not informed of the actual magnitude of the discrepancy (blind conditions) but is offered a second TLD audit. If the deviation cannot be resolved by the local radiotherapy institution or the national SSDL, then an on-site visit is suggested which, if accepted, is made by an IAEA expert in clinical dosimetry. The on-site visit includes a review of the dosimetry data and techniques, corrective measurements and ad-hoc training. The reasons for the discrepancy are then traced, explained, corrected and reported. Until the discrepancies are resolved and changes have been implemented by hospitals to ensure that the discrepancies do not reoccur, the safe and effective delivery of radiation doses to patients is questionable. This document provides a standardised set of procedures for resolving discrepancies during onsite visits to radiotherapy hospitals by the IAEA experts. The table below summarises the acceptance criteria to be used by the IAEA experts for dosimetry and mechanical parameters of the hospital treatment units. If some of the parameters are outside the acceptance criterion, it will not be possible for an institution to assure the adequate quality of the dosimetry practices in radiotherapy. The criteria are based on analyses of clinical data and the measurement uncertainties for various dosimetry and

  2. Use of social networking sites: Facebook group as a learning management system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md. Abul Kalam Siddike

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Social networking sites (SNSs are becoming popular day by day in academia as well as in business organizations around the world. Facebook as the largest and fastest networking sites, is one of the important SNSs that can play an important role in different academic disciplines. The aim of this study is to investigate the use of SNSs by the undergraduate students of International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM. The specific objectives are: (i to explore the frequency of using SNSs by the undergraduates; (ii to identify the purpose of using SNSs; (iii to examine the perceptions of undergraduates for using SNSs as an academic tool; and (iv finally, to propose Facebook group as a learning management system (LMS of IIUM. A structured survey questionnaire was distributed among 500 undergraduate students of IIUM and 351 responses were received. The results report that Facebook and Google+ are preferred SNSs. Sharing information with friends, getting connected with people for different level, making new friends, and passing time are the main reasons for using SNSs. This study also proposes a six-step procedure for using Facebook group as a LMS.

  3. Overall Ventilation System Flow Network Calculation for Site Recommendation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steinhoff, Jeff J.

    2001-01-01

    The scope of this calculation is to determine ventilation system resistances, pressure drops, airflows, and operating cost estimates for the Site Recommendation (SR) design as detailed in the ''Site Recommendation Subsurface Layout'' (BSC (Bechtel SAIC Company) 2001a). The statutory limit for emplacement of waste in Yucca Mountain is 70,000 metric tons of uranium (MTU) and is considered the base case for this report. The objective is to determine the overall repository system ventilation flow network for the monitoring phase during normal operations and to provide a basis for the system description document design descriptions. Any values derived from this calculation will not be used to support construction, fabrication, or procurement. The work scope is identified in the ''Technical Work Plan for Subsurface Design Section FY01 Work Activities'' (CRWMS M and O 2001, pp. 6 and 13). In accordance with the technical work plan this calculation was prepared in accordance with AP-3.12Q, ''Calculations'' and other procedures invoked by AP-3.12Q. It also incorporates the procedure AP-SI1.Q, ''Software Management''

  4. Psychological predictors of young adults' use of social networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Kathryn; Fornasier, Stephanie; White, Katherine M

    2010-04-01

    Young people are increasingly using social networking sites (SNSs) like MySpace and Facebook to engage with others. The use of SNSs can have both positive and negative effects on the individual; however, few studies identify the types of people who frequent these Internet sites. This study sought to predict young adults' use of SNSs and addictive tendency toward the use of SNSs from their personality characteristics and levels of self-esteem. University students (N = 201), aged 17 to 24 years, reported their use of SNSs and addictive tendencies for SNSs use and completed the NEO Five-Factor Personality Inventory and the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. Multiple regression analyses revealed that, as a group, the personality and self-esteem factors significantly predicted both level of SNS use and addictive tendency but did not explain a large amount of variance in either outcome measure. The findings indicated that extroverted and unconscientious individuals reported higher levels of both SNS use and addictive tendencies. Future research should attempt to identify which other psychosocial characteristics explain young people's level of use and propensity for addictive tendencies for these popular Internet sites.

  5. Young Consumers’ Brand Communications Literacy in a Social Networking Site Context

    OpenAIRE

    Lawlor, Margaret-Anne; Dunne, Aine; Rowley, Jennifer

    2016-01-01

    Purpose - Whilst substantial scholarly attention has been given to children’s understanding of advertising in the context of traditional advertising channels, there is a gap in the literature with regard to children’s commercial awareness in the context of online social networking sites (SNS). This paper seeks to explore the nature and extent of advertising literacy amongst young consumers in the context of their use of SNS, namely Facebook and Bebo. Design/methodology/approach - A three-s...

  6. THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES (SNSS) ON STUDENTS’ SOCIAL INTERACTION

    OpenAIRE

    Jesse John Lukindo

    2016-01-01

    This study explored the impact of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) on students’ social interaction at Northeast Normal University in China. The study was guided by three research questions; what are the levels of SNS time use and social connectedness in terms of gender?, what are the differences of university students SNS time use and social connectedness and what is the relationship between SNS time use and social connectedness. It involved a total sample of 79 students from various faculties ...

  7. Variation in Quality of Urgent Health Care Provided During Commercial Virtual Visits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoenfeld, Adam J; Davies, Jason M; Marafino, Ben J; Dean, Mitzi; DeJong, Colette; Bardach, Naomi S; Kazi, Dhruv S; Boscardin, W John; Lin, Grace A; Duseja, Reena; Mei, Y John; Mehrotra, Ateev; Dudley, R Adams

    2016-05-01

    Commercial virtual visits are an increasingly popular model of health care for the management of common acute illnesses. In commercial virtual visits, patients access a website to be connected synchronously-via videoconference, telephone, or webchat-to a physician with whom they have no prior relationship. To date, whether the care delivered through those websites is similar or quality varies among the sites has not been assessed. To assess the variation in the quality of urgent health care among virtual visit companies. This audit study used 67 trained standardized patients who presented to commercial virtual visit companies with the following 6 common acute illnesses: ankle pain, streptococcal pharyngitis, viral pharyngitis, acute rhinosinusitis, low back pain, and recurrent female urinary tract infection. The 8 commercial virtual visit websites with the highest web traffic were selected for audit, for a total of 599 visits. Data were collected from May 1, 2013, to July 30, 2014, and analyzed from July 1, 2014, to September 1, 2015. Completeness of histories and physical examinations, the correct diagnosis (vs an incorrect or no diagnosis), and adherence to guidelines of key management decisions. Sixty-seven standardized patients completed 599 commercial virtual visits during the study period. Histories and physical examinations were complete in 417 visits (69.6%; 95% CI, 67.7%-71.6%); diagnoses were correctly named in 458 visits (76.5%; 95% CI, 72.9%-79.9%), and key management decisions were adherent to guidelines in 325 visits (54.3%; 95% CI, 50.2%-58.3%). Rates of guideline-adherent care ranged from 206 visits (34.4%) to 396 visits (66.1%) across the 8 websites. Variation across websites was significantly greater for viral pharyngitis and acute rhinosinusitis (adjusted rates, 12.8% to 82.1%) than for streptococcal pharyngitis and low back pain (adjusted rates, 74.6% to 96.5%) or ankle pain and recurrent urinary tract infection (adjusted rates, 3.4% to 40

  8. African Americans and Network Disadvantage: Enhancing Social Capital through Participation on Social Networking Sites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danielle Taana Smith

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the participation of African Americans on social networking sites (SNS, and evaluates the degree to which African Americans engage in activities in the online environment to mitigate social capital deficits. Prior literature suggests that compared with whites, African Americans have less social capital that can enhance their socio-economic mobility. As such, my research question is: do African Americans enhance their social capital through their participation on SNS? I use nationally representative data collected from the Pew Internet and American Life Project to explore the research question. The results suggest that the online environment is potentially a space in which African Americans can lessen social capital deficits.

  9. Polish visit

    CERN Document Server

    2003-01-01

    On 6 October, Professor Michal Kleiber, Polish Minister of Science and Chairman of the State Committee for Scientific Research, visited CERN and met both the current and designated Director General, Luciano Maiani and Robert Aymar. Professor Kleiber visited the CMS and ATLAS detector assembly halls, the underground cavern for ATLAS, and the LHC superconducting magnet string test hall. Michal Kleiber (left), Polish minister of science and Jan Krolikowski, scientist at Warsaw University and working for CMS, who shows the prototypes of the Muon Trigger board of CMS.

  10. Social Network Site Usage and Personal Relations of Migrants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Damian

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we examine the relation between social network site (SNS usage and the personal networks of immigrants, using a unique dataset composed of a representative sample of immigrants living in the Netherlands. In theory, SNSs can be a helpful tool for immigrants, because they may help establish social ties in the destination country and help maintain ties with people in the country of origin. We examine whether this is also true in practice by analyzing whether the frequency of using two SNSs—Facebook and Hyves (a Dutch SNS—is associated with the number of ingroup and outgroup ties, as well as the quality of social relations. In addition, we test whether general emotional disclosure boosts the effect of SNS usage on the quality of relationships. We find that SNS usage is associated with more outgroup ties, but not with more ingroup ties. Our analyses also show that SNS usage is associated with greater quality social relationships among migrants. Contrary to our expectations, we found no interaction between general emotional disclosure and SNS usage on satisfaction with social relations. The implications of these findings are discussed.

  11. The Director-General visits the ATLAS construction site at Point 1

    CERN Multimedia

    Patrice Loiez

    1998-01-01

    Photo 05 : Claude Guitton (left), Project Manager for the EDF/Knight Piesold joint venture responsible for design and site supervision for LHC civil engineering at Point 1 takes the Director-General Chris Llewellyn Smith and LHC Project Leader Lyn Evans on a tour of the site.

  12. Ambient Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Observations in the San Francisco Bay Area of California Using a Fixed-site Monitoring Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martien, P. T.; Guha, A.; Bower, J.; Perkins, I.; Randall, S.; Young, A.; Hilken, H.; Stevenson, E.

    2016-12-01

    The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is the greater San Francisco Bay metropolitan area's chief air quality regulatory agency. Aligning itself with the Governor's Executive Order S-3-05, the Air District has set a goal to reduce the region's GHG emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by the year 2050. The Air District's 2016 Clean Air Plan will lay out the agency's vision and actions to put the region on a path forward towards achieving the 2050 goal while also reducing air pollution and related health impacts. The 2016 Plan has three overarching objectives: 1) develop a multi-pollutant emissions control strategy, (2) reduce population exposure to harmful air pollutants, especially in vulnerable communities, and (3) protect climate through a comprehensive Regional Climate Protection Strategy. To accomplish one of 2016 Plan's control measures (SL3 - Greenhouse Gas Monitoring and Measurement Network), the Air District has set up a long-term, ambient GHG monitoring network at four sites. The first site is located north and upwind of the urban core at Bodega Bay by the Pacific Coast. It mostly receives clean marine inflow and serves as the regional background site. The other three sites are strategically located at regional exit points for Bay Area plumes that presumably contain well-mixed GHG enhancements from local sources. CO2 and CH4are being measured continuously at the fixed-sites, along with combustion tracer CO and other air pollutants. In the longer term, the network will allow the Air District to monitor ambient concentrations of GHGs and thus evaluate the effectiveness of its policy, regulation and enforcement efforts. We present data trends from the first year of operation of the fixed-site monitoring network including monthly and seasonal patterns, diurnal variations and regional enhancements at individual sites above background concentrations. We also locate an isotopic methane instrument (Picarro, G132-i) for a short duration (a week) at each of the

  13. Sensory coding of nest-site value in honeybee swarms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seeley, Thomas D; Visscher, P Kirk

    2008-12-01

    This study investigates the first stage of the decision-making process of a honeybee swarm as it chooses a nest site: how a scout bee codes the value of a potential nest site in the waggle dances she produces to represent this site. We presented honeybee swarms with a two-alternative choice between a high-value site and a medium-value site and recorded the behavior of individually identifiable scout bees as they reported on these two alternatives. We found that bees performed equally lengthy inspections at the two sites, but that, on the swarm cluster, they performed more dance circuits per bee for the high-value site. We also found that there was much individual-level noise in the coding of site value, but that there were clear population-level differences in total dance circuits produced for the two sites. The first bee to find a site had a high probability of reporting the site with a waggle dance, regardless of its value. This discoverer-should-dance phenomenon may help ensure that a swarm gives attention to all discovered sites. There was rapid decay in the dance response; the number of dance circuits produced by a bee after visiting a site decreased linearly over sequential visits, and eventually each bee ceased visiting her site. This decay, or ;leakage', in the accumulation of bees at a site improves a swarm's decision-making ability by helping a swarm avoid making fast-decision errors.

  14. Risk factors associated with visiting or not visiting the accident & emergency department after a fall.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheffer, Alice C; van Hensbroek, Pieter Boele; van Dijk, Nynke; Luitse, Jan S K; Goslings, Johannes C; Luigies, René H; de Rooij, Sophia E

    2013-07-26

    Little is known about the prevalence of modifiable risk factors of falling in elderly persons with a fall-history who do not visit the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department after one or more falls. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of modifiable risk factors in a population that visited the A&E Department after a fall (A&E group) and in a community-dwelling population of elderly individuals with a fall history who did not visit the A&E Department after a fall (non-A&E group). Two cohorts were included in this study. The first cohort included 547 individuals 65 years and older who were visited at home by a mobile fall prevention team. The participants in this cohort had fall histories but did not visit the A&E Department after a previous fall. These participants were age- and gender-matched to persons who visited the A&E Department for care after a fall. All participants were asked to complete the CAREFALL Triage Instrument. The mean number of modifiable risk factors in patients who did not visit the A&E Department was 2.9, compared to 3.8 in the group that visited the A&E Department (pfalling, impaired vision, mood and high risk of osteoporosis were all independently associated with visiting the A&E Department. All modifiable risk factors for falling were found to be shared between community-dwelling elderly individuals with a fall history who visited the A&E Department and those who did not visit the Department, although the prevalence of these factors was somewhat lower in the A&E group. Preventive strategies aimed both at patients presenting to the A&E Department after a fall and those not presenting after a fall could perhaps reduce the number of recurrent falls, the occurrence of injury and the frequency of visits to the A&E Department.

  15. Motives for online friending and following: The dark side of social network site connections

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ouwerkerk, J.W.; Johnson, B.K.

    Motives for “friending,” following, or connecting with others on social network sites are often positive, but darker motives may also play an important role. A survey with a novel Following Motives Scale (FMS) demonstrates accordingly that positive, sociable motives (i.e., others providing a valued

  16. College Students' Uses and Perceptions of Social Networking Sites for Health and Wellness Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yan

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: This study explores college students' use of social networking sites for health and wellness information and their perceptions of this use. Method: Thirty-eight college students were interviewed. Analysis: The interview transcripts were analysed using the qualitative content analysis method. Results: Those who had experience using…

  17. LTAR information management: Six examples of data intensive work at site and network levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Information systems for managing research data from the Long-term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) program are implemented at site and network levels. Different information management tools are necessary to manage a variety of data types. There is no one-size fits all solution for managing all LTAR dat...

  18. The Activists’ Use of Social Networking Sites in the Arab World

    OpenAIRE

    Alatrash, Adib Barakat

    2015-01-01

    Social Networking Sites (SNS) became one of the most important tools to activate people in various issues including political and social causes. SNS is widely used by activist; individuals or groups, especially in the regions of conflict and chaos. Arab Spring is one of the recent and crucial examples to see how SNS is being used in activating and mobilizing societies against the autocratic state authorities. Thus, the roles that SNS can play by activists have been increasing day by day to th...

  19. Social Networking Sites in Education – Governmental Recommendations and Actual Use

    OpenAIRE

    Ingrid Helleve; Aslaug Grov Almås; Brita Bjørkelo

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to explore to what extent and for what purposes pre-service teachers (Study 1, n = 474) and upper secondary pupils (Study 2, n = 324) use social networking sites (SNS), and how the Government’s recommendations correspond to the two groups’ understanding of their educational institutions’ SNS guidelines. Results show that the majority in both groups want to communicate with peers, not with each other. Both report negative SNS experiences. Pre-service teachers do not us...

  20. The CarboCount CH sites: characterization of a dense greenhouse gas observation network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Oney

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available We describe a new rural network of four densely placed (2, CH4, and CO measurement sites in north-central Switzerland and analyze its suitability for regional-scale (~ 100–500 km carbon flux studies. We characterize each site for the period from March 2013 to February 2014 by analyzing surrounding land cover, observed local meteorology, and sensitivity to surface fluxes, as simulated with the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART-COSMO (FLEXible PARTicle dispersion model-Consortium for Small-Scale Modeling. The Beromünster measurements are made on a tall tower (212 m located on a gentle hill. At Beromünster, regional CO2 signals (measurement minus background vary diurnally from −4 to +4 ppmv, on average, and are simulated to come from nearly the entire Swiss Plateau, where 50 % of surface influence is simulated to be within 130–260 km distance. The Früebüel site measurements are made 4 m above ground on the flank of a gently sloping mountain. Nearby (2 signals varying diurnally from −5 to +12 ppmv and elevated summer daytime CH4 signals (+30 ppbv above other sites. The Gimmiz site measurements are made on a small tower (32 m in flat terrain. Here, strong summertime regional signals (−5 to +60 ppmv CO2 stem from large, nearby (2. Here, considerable anthropogenic influence from the nearby industrialized region near Zurich causes the average wintertime regional CO2 signals to be 5 ppmv above the regional signals simultaneously measured at the Früebüel site. We find that the suitability of the data sets from our current observation network for regional carbon budgeting studies largely depends on the ability of the high-resolution (2 km atmospheric transport model to correctly capture the temporal dynamics of the stratification of the lower atmosphere at the different sites. The current version of the atmospheric transport model captures these dynamics well, but it clearly reaches its limits at the sites in steep topography

  1. First tooth, first visit, zero cavities: a practical approach to the infant oral health visit

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Fitzgerald, Kirsten

    2017-04-01

    The IDA adopted a formal policy on children’s oral health in 2011. There is increasing evidence to support early dental visits for children. The background to the infant oral health visit is discussed and a systematic approach to the practicalities of the visit is offered. General dental practitioners are encouraged to offer the first oral health visit before the first birthday, and this paper aims to give them practical advice concerning this visit. The feature is accompanied by a companion paper that reviews the literature pertaining to the topic, and serves to complement the recent clinical feature published in the Journal of the Irish Dental Association.

  2. The Cervix Cancer Research Network (CCRN: Increasing access to cancer clinical trials in low- and middle-income countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gita eSuneja

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The burden of cervical cancer is large and growing in developing countries, due in large part to limited access to screening services and lack of human papillomavirus (HPV vaccination. In spite of modern advances in diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, outcomes from cervical cancer have not markedly improved in recent years. Novel clinical trials are urgently needed to improve outcomes from cervical cancer worldwide. Methods: The Cervix Cancer Research Network (CCRN, a subsidiary of the Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG, is a multi-national, multi-institutional consortium of physicians and scientists focused on improving cervical cancer outcomes worldwide by making cancer clinical trials available in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. Standard operating procedures for participation in CCRN include a pre-qualifying questionnaire to evaluate clinical activities and research infrastructure, followed by a site visit. Once a site is approved, they may choose to participate in one of four currently accruing clinical trials.Results: To date, 13 different CCRN site visits have been performed. Of these 13 sites visited, 10 have been approved as CCRN sites including Tata Memorial Hospital, India; Bangalore, India; Trivandrum, India; Ramathibodi, Thailand; Siriaj, Thailand; Pramongkutklao, Thailand; Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Center; the Hertzen Moscow Cancer Research Institute; and the Russian Scientific Center of Roentgenoradiology. The four currently accruing clinical trials are TACO, OUTBACK, INTERLACE, and SHAPE.Discussion: The CCRN has successfully enrolled 10 sites in developing countries to participate in four randomized clinical trials. The primary objectives are to provide novel therapeutics to regions with the greatest need and to improve the validity and generalizability of clinical trial results by enrolling a diverse sample of patients.

  3. A funding model for health visiting: baseline requirements--part 1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cowley, Sarah

    2007-11-01

    A funding model proposed in two papers will outline the health visiting resource, including team skill mix, required to deliver the recommended approach of 'progressive universalism,' taking account of health inequalities, best evidence and impact on outcomes that might be anticipated. The model has been discussed as far as possible across the professional networks of both the Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association (CPHVA) and United Kingdom Public Health Association (UKPHA), and is a consensus statement agreed by all who have participated.

  4. VisitSense: Sensing Place Visit Patterns from Ambient Radio on Smartphones for Targeted Mobile Ads in Shopping Malls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Byoungjip; Kang, Seungwoo; Ha, Jin-Young; Song, Junehwa

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we introduce a novel smartphone framework called VisitSense that automatically detects and predicts a smartphone user’s place visits from ambient radio to enable behavioral targeting for mobile ads in large shopping malls. VisitSense enables mobile app developers to adopt visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising for shopping mall visitors in their apps. It also benefits mobile users by allowing them to receive highly relevant mobile ads that are aware of their place visit patterns in shopping malls. To achieve the goal, VisitSense employs accurate visit detection and prediction methods. For accurate visit detection, we develop a change-based detection method to take into consideration the stability change of ambient radio and the mobility change of users. It performs well in large shopping malls where ambient radio is quite noisy and causes existing algorithms to easily fail. In addition, we proposed a causality-based visit prediction model to capture the causality in the sequential visit patterns for effective prediction. We have developed a VisitSense prototype system, and a visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising application that is based on it. Furthermore, we deploy the system in the COEX Mall, one of the largest shopping malls in Korea, and conduct diverse experiments to show the effectiveness of VisitSense. PMID:26193275

  5. VisitSense: Sensing Place Visit Patterns from Ambient Radio on Smartphones for Targeted Mobile Ads in Shopping Malls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Byoungjip; Kang, Seungwoo; Ha, Jin-Young; Song, Junehwa

    2015-07-16

    In this paper, we introduce a novel smartphone framework called VisitSense that automatically detects and predicts a smartphone user's place visits from ambient radio to enable behavioral targeting for mobile ads in large shopping malls. VisitSense enables mobile app developers to adopt visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising for shopping mall visitors in their apps. It also benefits mobile users by allowing them to receive highly relevant mobile ads that are aware of their place visit patterns in shopping malls. To achieve the goal, VisitSense employs accurate visit detection and prediction methods. For accurate visit detection, we develop a change-based detection method to take into consideration the stability change of ambient radio and the mobility change of users. It performs well in large shopping malls where ambient radio is quite noisy and causes existing algorithms to easily fail. In addition, we proposed a causality-based visit prediction model to capture the causality in the sequential visit patterns for effective prediction. We have developed a VisitSense prototype system, and a visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising application that is based on it. Furthermore, we deploy the system in the COEX Mall, one of the largest shopping malls in Korea, and conduct diverse experiments to show the effectiveness of VisitSense.

  6. The role of social network sites in romantic relationships: Effects on jealousy and relationship happiness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Utz, S.; Beukeboom, C.J.

    2011-01-01

    On social network sites (SNS), information about one's romantic partner is readily available and public for friends. The paper focuses on the negative (SNS jealousy) and positive (SNS relationship happiness) consequences of SNS use for romantic relationships. We examined whether relationship

  7. Growing up wired: social networking sites and adolescent psychosocial development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spies Shapiro, Lauren A; Margolin, Gayla

    2014-03-01

    Since the advent of social networking site (SNS) technologies, adolescents' use of these technologies has expanded and is now a primary way of communicating with and acquiring information about others in their social network. Overall, adolescents and young adults' stated motivations for using SNSs are quite similar to more traditional forms of communication-to stay in touch with friends, make plans, get to know people better, and present oneself to others. We begin with a summary of theories that describe the role of SNSs in adolescents' interpersonal relationships, as well as common methodologies used in this field of research thus far. Then, with the social changes that occur throughout adolescence as a backdrop, we address the ways in which SNSs intersect with key tasks of adolescent psychosocial development, specifically peer affiliation and friendship quality, as well as identity development. Evidence suggests that SNSs differentially relate to adolescents' social connectivity and identity development, with sociability, self-esteem, and nature of SNS feedback as important potential moderators. We synthesize current findings, highlight unanswered questions, and recommend both methodological and theoretical directions for future research.

  8. Wild bees visiting cucumber on midwestern U.S. organic farms benefit from near-farm semi-natural areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, A A; Bentley, M; Reynolds, H L

    2013-02-01

    Wild bees that provide pollination services to vegetable crops depend on forage resources, nesting sites, and overwintering sites in the agricultural landscape. The scale at which crop-visiting bees use resources in the landscape can vary regionally, and has not been characterized in the Midwestern United States. We investigated the effects of seminatural land cover on wild bee visitation frequency to cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and on wild bee species richness on 10 organic farms in Indiana. We estimated the spatial scale at which the effects of land cover were strongest, and also examined the effects of nonlandscape factors on wild bees. The visitation frequency of wild bees to cucumber was positively related to the proportion of seminatural land in the surrounding landscape, and this relationship was strongest within 250 m of the cucumber patch. The species richness of wild cucumber visitors was not affected by land cover at any spatial scale, nor by any of the nonlandscape factors we considered. Our results indicate that wild, crop visiting bees benefit from seminatural areas in the agricultural landscape, and benefit most strongly from seminatural areas within 250 m of the crop field. This suggests that setting aside natural areas in the near vicinity of vegetable fields may be an effective way to support wild, crop-visiting bees and secure their pollination services.

  9. Croatian visit

    CERN Multimedia

    2004-01-01

    On 11 December, President Stjepan Mesic of the Republic of Croatia visited CERN. He was welcomed by Director General, Robert Aymar, and the President of CERN Council, Maurice Bourquin. Afterwards he met, among others, the Directors of CERN and Croatian scientists working here. He finished his tour by visiting the underground cavern for the ATLAS experiment. The arrival at CERN of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Stjepan Mesic. In the first row, from left to right: Maurice Bourquin, President of CERN Council, Stjepan Mesic, President of the Republic of Croatia and Robert Aymar, Director General of CERN.

  10. The Educational Use of Facebook as a Social Networking Site in Animal Physiology Classes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Köseoglu, Pinar; Mercan, Gamze

    2016-01-01

    This study aims at performing a sample application of the educational use of Facebook as a social networking site in Animal Physiology classes, and to determine student's' views on the application. The research sample was composed of 29 third year undergraduate students attending the Biology Education Department of Hacettepe University. The…

  11. Using Geoscience and Geostatistics to Optimize Groundwater Monitoring Networks at the Savannah River Site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tuckfield, R.C.

    2001-01-01

    A team of scientists, engineers, and statisticians was assembled to review the operation efficiency of groundwater monitoring networks at US Department of Energy Savannah River Site (SRS). Subsequent to a feasibility study, this team selected and conducted an analysis of the A/M area groundwater monitoring well network. The purpose was to optimize the number of groundwater wells requisite for monitoring the plumes of the principal constituent of concern, viz., trichloroethylene (TCE). The project gathered technical expertise from the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC), the Environmental Restoration Division (ERD), and the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) of SRS

  12. In their own words: why teenagers don't use social networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Rosland K; White, Katherine M

    2011-06-01

    We explored common reasons for non-use of the rapidly growing popularity of social networking sites among a sample of Australian adolescents (N = 69). Transcripts were coded by grouping responses along similar themes for non-use that had been commonly stated by participants. The primary reasons offered by adolescents were: lack of motivation, poor use of time, preference for other forms of communication, preference for engaging in other activities, cybersafety concerns, and a dislike of self-presentation online. The identification of these themes allows for a greater understanding of teenagers' decisions not to engage in the popular medium of communication and points to possible strategies that could be utilised by Web site developers in efforts to appeal to a wider teenage audience.

  13. Overview of Privacy in Social Networking Sites (SNS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powale, Pallavi I.; Bhutkar, Ganesh D.

    2013-07-01

    Social Networking Sites (SNS) have become an integral part of communication and life style of people in today's world. Because of the wide range of services offered by SNSs mostly for free of cost, these sites are attracting the attention of all possible Internet users. Most importantly, users from all age groups have become members of SNSs. Since many of the users are not aware of the data thefts associated with information sharing, they freely share their personal information with SNSs. Therefore, SNSs may be used for investigating users' character and social habits by familiar or even unknown persons and agencies. Such commercial and social scenario, has led to number of privacy and security threats. Though, all major issues in SNSs need to be addressed, by SNS providers, privacy of SNS users is the most crucial. And therefore, in this paper, we have focused our discussion on "privacy in SNSs". We have discussed different ways of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) leakages from SNSs, information revelation to third-party domains without user consent and privacy related threats associated with such information sharing. We expect that this comprehensive overview on privacy in SNSs will definitely help in raising user awareness about sharing data and managing their privacy with SNSs. It will also help SNS providers to rethink about their privacy policies.

  14. VisitSense: Sensing Place Visit Patterns from Ambient Radio on Smartphones for Targeted Mobile Ads in Shopping Malls

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Byoungjip Kim

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we introduce a novel smartphone framework called VisitSense that automatically detects and predicts a smartphone user’s place visits from ambient radio to enable behavioral targeting for mobile ads in large shopping malls. VisitSense enables mobile app developers to adopt visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising for shopping mall visitors in their apps. It also benefits mobile users by allowing them to receive highly relevant mobile ads that are aware of their place visit patterns in shopping malls. To achieve the goal, VisitSense employs accurate visit detection and prediction methods. For accurate visit detection, we develop a change-based detection method to take into consideration the stability change of ambient radio and the mobility change of users. It performs well in large shopping malls where ambient radio is quite noisy and causes existing algorithms to easily fail. In addition, we proposed a causality-based visit prediction model to capture the causality in the sequential visit patterns for effective prediction. We have developed a VisitSense prototype system, and a visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising application that is based on it. Furthermore, we deploy the system in the COEX Mall, one of the largest shopping malls in Korea, and conduct diverse experiments to show the effectiveness of VisitSense.

  15. On-site visits to radiotherapy centres: Medical physics procedures. Quality Assurance Team for Radiation Oncology (QUATRO)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-03-01

    The IAEA has a long standing history of providing support and assistance for radiotherapy dosimetry audits in Member States, for educating and training radiotherapy professionals, and for reviewing the radiotherapy process in a variety of situations. Since 1969, and in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the IAEA has implemented a dosimetry audit service using mailed thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) to verify the calibration of radiotherapy beams in hospitals in Member States. The IAEA/WHO TLD service aims at improving the accuracy and consistency of clinical radiotherapy dosimetry worldwide. Detailed follow-up procedures have been implemented for correcting incorrect beam calibrations. When necessary, on-site visits by IAEA experts in radiotherapy physics are organized to identify and rectify dosimetry problems in hospitals. The IAEA has also been requested to organize expert missions in response to problems found during the radiation treatment planning process. Assessment of the doses received by affected patients and a medical assessment were undertaken when appropriate. Although vital for the radiotherapy process, accurate beam dosimetry and treatment planning alone cannot guarantee the successful treatment of a patient. The quality assurance (QA) of the entire radiotherapy process has to be taken into account. Hence, a new approach has been developed and named 'Quality Assurance Team for Radiation Oncology (QUATRO)'. The principal aim of QUATRO is to review the radiotherapy process, including the organization, infrastructure, clinical and medical physics aspects of the radiotherapy services. It also includes reviewing the hospital's professional competence, with a view to quality improvement. The QUATRO methodology is described in the IAEA publication Comprehensive Audits of Radiotherapy Practices: A Tool for Quality Improvement. QUATRO, in addition, offers assistance in the resolution of suspected or actual dose misadministrations (over

  16. 42 CFR 409.48 - Visits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... INSURANCE BENEFITS Home Health Services Under Hospital Insurance § 409.48 Visits. (a) Number of allowable... home health visits. All Medicare home health services are covered under hospital insurance unless there... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Visits. 409.48 Section 409.48 Public Health CENTERS...

  17. Modelling and Monitoring in Preparedness for Nuclear Powered Warship Visits in Australia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grzechnik, Marcus P.; Orr, Blake W.; Bokor, Ilonka; Solomon, Stephen B. [Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, 619 Lower Plenty Road, Yallambie, Victoria, 3084 (Australia)

    2014-07-01

    As a part of reciprocal inter-Governmental arrangements, Australia hosts regular Governmental-approved peacetime visits of naval vessels. These vessels can be conventionally or nuclear-powered. Because of the nature of Nuclear Powered Warships (NPWs), special procedures have been adopted to ensure that the safety of the general public is maintained during visits by such vessels (Nimitz class carriers or submarines). These procedures include Conditions of Entry and the arrangements for visits, as well as contingency arrangements in the unlikely event of an accident resulting in the hazardous release of radioactivity to the environment. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) is involved in an inter-departmental committee, the Visiting Ships Panel (Nuclear) (VSP(N)), which oversees the arrangements for visits to Australian Ports by NPWs. This panel includes representatives from Navy and Jurisdictions which host NPW visits. As well as existing arrangements (including reference accident scenarios and sampling of sediment and local seafood), ARPANSA has initiated programmes to; - Present automated atmospheric dispersion products based on current and predicted weather - these are expected to be housed on a secure web site with outputs tailored to the needs of first responders using the ARGOS decision support tool. - Monitor water concentrations within NPW ports prior to visits, in order to establish baseline values. The monitoring (for Cs-137) involves a high volume filtering and extraction technique which has been developed at ARPANSA and will be discussed. An update on progress will be discussed. This includes an overview of relevant systems, procedures in place and work to be completed. Issues to be resolved and lessons learned will also be considered. (authors)

  18. The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colburn, Jessica L; Nothelle, Stephanie

    2018-02-01

    The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is an annual preventive health benefit, which was created in 2011 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The visit provides an opportunity for clinicians to review preventive health recommendations and screen for geriatric syndromes. In this article, the authors review the requirements of the Annual Wellness Visit, discuss ways to use the Annual Wellness Visit to improve the care of geriatric patients, and provide suggestions for how to incorporate this benefit into a busy clinic. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Brand community integration and customer satisfaction of social media network sites among students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hayford Amegbe

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to examine how consumers integrate into brand communities on social media network sites (SNSs and how it affects overall satisfaction of social media sites users among students. The study depends on the service-dominant logic (SDL to develop the constructs for hypotheses testing. The study used a cross-sectional survey research design. The data were col-lected using a web-based survey of university of Nairobi Students. In all, a total of 608 students participated in the survey. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling with AMOS software. The results revealed that frequency of usage of SNSs and duration of usage positively affect the self –perceived relevance of SNSs. Also, the self-perceived relevance leads to building brand community which finally leads to customer satisfaction. The research was limited to only students of Nairobi and selecting students in itself, which is a limitation as well as limiting it to uni-versity of Nairobi. The younger or the millennial are not the only users of SNSs. We have older generations as well, who also use SNSs for various activities such as professional development among others. Understanding why consumers of social media network site would integrate brand community is seminal for both local and foreign firms doing business in a developing country. This would enable marketing practitioners to craft marketing strategies best for community brand build-ing.

  20. 28 CFR 540.41 - Visiting facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Visiting facilities. 540.41 Section 540... WITH PERSONS IN THE COMMUNITY Visiting Regulations § 540.41 Visiting facilities. The Warden shall have... have a portion of the visiting room equipped and set up to provide facilities for the children of...

  1. The United Kingdom's radiotherapy dosimetry audit network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thwaites, D.I.; Allahverdi, M.; Powley, S.K.; Nisbet, A.

    2003-01-01

    The first comprehensive national dosimetry intercomparison in the United Kingdom involving all UK radiotherapy centres was carried out in the late 1980s. Out of this a regular radiotherapy dosimetry audit network evolved in the early 1990s. The network is co-ordinated by the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine and comprises eight co-operative regional groups. Audits are based on site visits using ionization chambers and epoxy resin water substitute phantoms. The basic audit methodology and phantom design follows that of the original national intercomparison exercise. However, most of the groups have evolved more complex methods, to extend the audit scope to include other parameters, other parts of the radiotherapy process and other treatment modalities. A number of the groups have developed phantoms to simulate various clinical treatment situations, enabling the sharing of phantoms and expertise between groups, but retaining a common base. Besides megavoltage external beam photon dosimetry, a number of the groups have also included the audit of kilovoltage X ray beams, electron beams and brachytherapy dosimetry. The National Physical Laboratory is involved in the network and carries out basic beam calibration audits to link the groups. The network is described and the methods and results are illustrated using the Scottish+ group as an example. (author)

  2. Social Capital, Self-Esteem, and Use of Online Social Network Sites: A Longitudinal Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinfield, Charles; Ellison, Nicole B.; Lampe, Cliff

    2008-01-01

    A longitudinal analysis of panel data from users of a popular online social network site, Facebook, investigated the relationship between intensity of Facebook use, measures of psychological well-being, and bridging social capital. Two surveys conducted a year apart at a large U.S. university, complemented with in-depth interviews with 18 Facebook…

  3. Study of exchange networks between two Amazon archaeological sites by INAA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hazenfratz, Roberto; Munita, C.S.

    2016-01-01

    This work comprises the utilization of instrumental neutron activation analysis to determine the concentration of 24 chemical elements in pottery shards from two large archaeological sites in central Amazon, Lago Grande and Osvaldo. The multidimensional data set was analyzed by cluster and principal component analysis for defining chemical groups of pottery. The results were correlated to potential exchange networks driven by three mechanisms: trade, exogamic marriage and territorial integration in the region. All of them have important consequences for archaeological research regarding the Amazonian pre-colonial occupation. (author)

  4. Visiting Vehicle Ground Trajectory Tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamm, Dustin

    2013-01-01

    The International Space Station (ISS) Visiting Vehicle Group needed a targeting tool for vehicles that rendezvous with the ISS. The Visiting Vehicle Ground Trajectory targeting tool provides the ability to perform both realtime and planning operations for the Visiting Vehicle Group. This tool provides a highly reconfigurable base, which allows the Visiting Vehicle Group to perform their work. The application is composed of a telemetry processing function, a relative motion function, a targeting function, a vector view, and 2D/3D world map type graphics. The software tool provides the ability to plan a rendezvous trajectory for vehicles that visit the ISS. It models these relative trajectories using planned and realtime data from the vehicle. The tool monitors ongoing rendezvous trajectory relative motion, and ensures visiting vehicles stay within agreed corridors. The software provides the ability to update or re-plan a rendezvous to support contingency operations. Adding new parameters and incorporating them into the system was previously not available on-the-fly. If an unanticipated capability wasn't discovered until the vehicle was flying, there was no way to update things.

  5. Deriving amplification factors from simple site parameters using generalized regression neural networks: implications for relevant site proxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boudghene Stambouli, Ahmed; Zendagui, Djawad; Bard, Pierre-Yves; Derras, Boumédiène

    2017-07-01

    Most modern seismic codes account for site effects using an amplification factor (AF) that modifies the rock acceleration response spectra in relation to a "site condition proxy," i.e., a parameter related to the velocity profile at the site under consideration. Therefore, for practical purposes, it is interesting to identify the site parameters that best control the frequency-dependent shape of the AF. The goal of the present study is to provide a quantitative assessment of the performance of various site condition proxies to predict the main AF features, including the often used short- and mid-period amplification factors, Fa and Fv, proposed by Borcherdt (in Earthq Spectra 10:617-653, 1994). In this context, the linear, viscoelastic responses of a set of 858 actual soil columns from Japan, the USA, and Europe are computed for a set of 14 real accelerograms with varying frequency contents. The correlation between the corresponding site-specific average amplification factors and several site proxies (considered alone or as multiple combinations) is analyzed using the generalized regression neural network (GRNN). The performance of each site proxy combination is assessed through the variance reduction with respect to the initial amplification factor variability of the 858 profiles. Both the whole period range and specific short- and mid-period ranges associated with the Borcherdt factors Fa and Fv are considered. The actual amplification factor of an arbitrary soil profile is found to be satisfactorily approximated with a limited number of site proxies (4-6). As the usual code practice implies a lower number of site proxies (generally one, sometimes two), a sensitivity analysis is conducted to identify the "best performing" site parameters. The best one is the overall velocity contrast between underlying bedrock and minimum velocity in the soil column. Because these are the most difficult and expensive parameters to measure, especially for thick deposits, other

  6. Social Network Sites (SNS): do they match ? Definitions and methods for social sciences and marketing research

    OpenAIRE

    Stenger, Thomas; Coutant, Alexandre

    2009-01-01

    Social Networks Sites (SNS) such as Facebook, MySpace, Skyrock.com or Linkedin have become new fields of investigation for marketing. Even though the phenomenon has met with an amazing popular success, only a few scientific works have been published on this subject. This article proposes initially to evaluate the situation by a review of the experts' discourses and, then, a an analysis of the texts in core disciplines specialising in social networks analysis (mainly sociometry, anthropology a...

  7. Hospitals of Rome in the Early Nineteenth Century: The Apostolic Visit of 1825.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duffin, Jacalyn

    2016-01-01

    Pope Leo XII marked the 1825 Jubilee by visiting the hospitals of Rome. Italy was recovering from the French invasion that had disrupted social and religious structures. The Visitors investigated conditions, and recommended changes. By 1826, eight large hospitals were ordered to unite, but, three years later, the order was rescinded. Based on the Visit's mostly unexamined records in the Vatican Secret Archives, hospital registers, and minutes of the governing council held in the Archivio di Stato di Roma, this paper reconstructs the network of Rome's hospitals in the early 19 th century. It also compares Roman hospitals to its Parisian counterparts, especially with respect to governance and education. Finally, it examines the merger as an early example of a practice that remains vibrant (if controversial) today.

  8. International scientific communication in the context of social networking sites for scientists

    OpenAIRE

    Stachowiak, Beata

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, the author considers the alterations that occurred in the international scientific communication. It is mainly technological development that exerts the influence over these alterations – particularly the emergence of new media. The major part of this paper is dedicated to the issue of the use of social networking sites in scientific communication. In her considerations, the author refers to the world-wide research pertaining to social media in the meantime demonstrating the at...

  9. Developing Educational Materials about Risks on Social Network Sites: A Design Based Research Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanderhoven, Ellen; Schellens, Tammy; Vanderlinde, Ruben; Valcke, Martin

    2016-01-01

    Nearly all of today's Western teenagers have a profile on a social network site (SNS). As many risks have been reported, researchers and governments have emphasized the role of school education to teach teenagers how to deal safely with SNSs. However, little is known about the specific characteristics which would make interventions effective.…

  10. In the patient's best interest: appraising social network site information for surrogate decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siddiqui, Shahla; Chuan, Voo Teck

    2018-06-28

    This paper will discuss why and how social network sites ought to be used in surrogate decision making (SDM), with focus on a context like Singapore in which substituted judgment is incorporated as part of best interest assessment for SDM, as guided by the Code of Practice for making decisions for those lacking mental capacity under the Mental Capacity Act (2008). Specifically, the paper will argue that the Code of Practice already supports an ethical obligation, as part of a patient-centred care approach, to look for and appraise social network site (SNS) as a source of information for best interest decision making. As an important preliminary, the paper will draw on Berg's arguments to support the use of SNS information as a resource for SDM. It will also supplement her account for how SNS information ought to be weighed against or considered alongside other evidence of patient preference or wishes, such as advance directives and anecdotal accounts by relatives. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

  11. Spaceflight participant visits CERN!

    CERN Multimedia

    Kathryn Coldham

    2016-01-01

    On 15 July, CERN welcomed spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari.   Anousheh Ansari’s grin stretches from ear to ear, during an intriguing conversation with Nobel laureate Samuel C.C. Ting at AMS POCC. (Image: Maximilien Brice/CERN) Iranian-American Anousheh Ansari was the first-ever female spaceflight participant, spending eight days on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2006. She now has a new addition to her list of extraordinary sights ­– the home of the world’s largest particle accelerator: CERN.   On 15 July, Anousheh Ansari came to CERN and, unsurprisingly, visited the control room of the experiment attached to the ISS: the AMS. At the AMS Payload Operations Control Centre (AMS POCC) on CERN’s Prévessin site, she met the Nobel laureate Samuel Ting, spokesperson of the AMS experiment. Ansari and her accompanying guests were thrilled to expand their knowledge about CERN, its research and its...

  12. Single-visit or multiple-visit root canal treatment: systematic review, meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwendicke, Falk; Göstemeyer, Gerd

    2017-02-01

    Single-visit root canal treatment has some advantages over conventional multivisit treatment, but might increase the risk of complications. We systematically evaluated the risk of complications after single-visit or multiple-visit root canal treatment using meta-analysis and trial-sequential analysis. Controlled trials comparing single-visit versus multiple-visit root canal treatment of permanent teeth were included. Trials needed to assess the risk of long-term complications (pain, infection, new/persisting/increasing periapical lesions ≥1 year after treatment), short-term pain or flare-up (acute exacerbation of initiation or continuation of root canal treatment). Electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central) were screened, random-effects meta-analyses performed and trial-sequential analysis used to control for risk of random errors. Evidence was graded according to GRADE. 29 trials (4341 patients) were included, all but 6 showing high risk of bias. Based on 10 trials (1257 teeth), risk of complications was not significantly different in single-visit versus multiple-visit treatment (risk ratio (RR) 1.00 (95% CI 0.75 to 1.35); weak evidence). Based on 20 studies (3008 teeth), risk of pain did not significantly differ between treatments (RR 0.99 (95% CI 0.76 to 1.30); moderate evidence). Risk of flare-up was recorded by 8 studies (1110 teeth) and was significantly higher after single-visit versus multiple-visit treatment (RR 2.13 (95% CI 1.16 to 3.89); very weak evidence). Trial-sequential analysis revealed that firm evidence for benefit, harm or futility was not reached for any of the outcomes. There is insufficient evidence to rule out whether important differences between both strategies exist. Dentists can provide root canal treatment in 1 or multiple visits. Given the possibly increased risk of flare-ups, multiple-visit treatment might be preferred for certain teeth (eg, those with periapical lesions). Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited

  13. Configurations of using social networking sites and perceived online social capital among adults with and without disabilities

    OpenAIRE

    Viluckienė, Jolita; Ruškus, Jonas

    2017-01-01

    Drawing on nationally representative survey 2014 data, this article examines the implications of social networking sites (SNS) use and the relationship with perceived online social capital among Lithuanian adults with and without disabilities. By contributing to the wide academic discussion on the value of online and social networks for people with disabilities, this research shows that intensive participation on SNS (as Facebook) presupposes stronger affective and evaluative dimensions of so...

  14. Reflections of Students' Language Usage in Social Networking Sites: Making or Marring Academic English

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurairaj, Saraswathy; Hoon, Er Pek; Roy, Swagata Sinha; Fong, Pok Wei

    2015-01-01

    Social networking sites (SNSs) have become a major form of communication in today's day and age whereby language use has been impacted in various areas especially in that of learning and teaching. Young users use literally half their week engaging in SNSs communication, thereby giving rise to a brand of internet slang which is entirely their own.…

  15. Baseline Predictors of Missed Visits in the Look AHEAD Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzpatrick, Stephanie L.; Jeffery, Robert; Johnson, Karen C.; Roche, Cathy C.; Van Dorsten, Brent; Gee, Molly; Johnson, Ruby Ann; Charleston, Jeanne; Dotson, Kathy; Walkup, Michael P.; Hill-Briggs, Felicia; Brancati, Frederick L.

    2013-01-01

    Objective To identify baseline attributes associated with consecutively missed data collection visits during the first 48 months of Look AHEAD—a randomized, controlled trial in 5145 overweight/obese adults with type 2 diabetes designed to determine the long-term health benefits of weight loss achieved by lifestyle change. Design and Methods The analyzed sample consisted of 5016 participants who were alive at month 48 and enrolled at Look AHEAD sites. Demographic, baseline behavior, psychosocial factors, and treatment randomization were included as predictors of missed consecutive visits in proportional hazard models. Results In multivariate Cox proportional hazard models, baseline attributes of participants who missed consecutive visits (n=222) included: younger age ( Hazard Ratio [HR] 1.18 per 5 years younger; 95% Confidence Interval 1.05, 1.30), higher depression score (HR 1.04; 1.01, 1.06), non-married status (HR 1.37; 1.04, 1.82), never self-weighing prior to enrollment (HR 2.01; 1.25, 3.23), and randomization to minimal vs. intensive lifestyle intervention (HR 1.46; 1.11, 1.91). Conclusions Younger age, symptoms of depression, non-married status, never self-weighing, and randomization to minimal intervention were associated with a higher likelihood of missing consecutive data collection visits, even in a high-retention trial like Look AHEAD. Whether modifications to screening or retention efforts targeted to these attributes might enhance long-term retention in behavioral trials requires further investigation. PMID:23996977

  16. Flowers visited by hummingbirds in the open habitats of the southeastern Brazilian mountaintops: species composition and seasonality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, L C; Rodrigues, M

    2014-08-01

    The hummingbird-visited plant community located on the open-habitat mountaintop of the Espinhaço Range was studied for two years (from August 2007 to July 2009) in Serra do Cipó National Park, Southeastern Brazil (19° 15' S and 43° 31' W). The floral characteristics and flowering period of the hummingbird-visited plants was monthly recorded along trails located in three vegetation types: (1) typical campos rupestres (TCR), (2) open fields (OPF), and (3) capões de mata (CAM). Hummingbird visitation was observed in 51 plant species, 22 ornithophilous and 29 non-ornithophilous species. The TCR showed the greatest number of species visited (N = 38), followed by the OPF (N = 18) and CAM (N = 17). Six species of hummingbirds were recorded visiting flowers: Augastes scutatus, Campylopterus largipennis, Colibri serrirostris, Chlorostilbon lucidus, Eupetomena macroura and Phaethornis pretrei. This study demonstrates that the species richness and the number of ornithophilous species visited by the hummingbirds at the study site are more similar to hummingbird-plant communities of the Atlantic Forest than to those of the Cerrado communities and other Brazilian highland open-habitat communities. The plant families most visited by hummingbirds were Bromeliaceae and Asteraceae. Although the Asteraceae family is rarely used as a food resource for hummingbirds in other high and lowland communities, in the study site this family is used mainly by the endemic hummingbird Augastes scutatus. We found a large overlap of flowering throughout the year among the species visited by the hummingbirds. Thus, the nectar availability supports these resident hummingbirds. The present study also showed that the studied hummingbird-plant community is composed of many species endemic to the campos rupestres of the Espinhaço Range, some of which are considered to be in danger of extinction, thus constituting a unique and threatened community. Thus, understanding hummingbird-plant pollination

  17. Flowers visited by hummingbirds in the open habitats of the southeastern brazilian mountaintops: species composition and seasonality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LC Rodrigues

    Full Text Available The hummingbird-visited plant community located on the open-habitat mountaintop of the Espinhaço Range was studied for two years (from August 2007 to July 2009 in Serra do Cipó National Park, Southeastern Brazil (19° 15′ S and 43° 31′ W. The floral characteristics and flowering period of the hummingbird-visited plants was monthly recorded along trails located in three vegetation types: (1 typical campos rupestres (TCR, (2 open fields (OPF, and (3 capões de mata(CAM. Hummingbird visitation was observed in 51 plant species, 22 ornithophilous and 29 non-ornithophilous species. The TCR showed the greatest number of species visited (N = 38, followed by the OPF (N = 18 and CAM (N = 17. Six species of hummingbirds were recorded visiting flowers: Augastes scutatus, Campylopterus largipennis, Colibri serrirostris, Chlorostilbon lucidus, Eupetomena macroura and Phaethornis pretrei. This study demonstrates that the species richness and the number of ornithophilous species visited by the hummingbirds at the study site are more similar to hummingbird-plant communities of the Atlantic Forest than to those of the Cerrado communities and other Brazilian highland open-habitat communities. The plant families most visited by hummingbirds were Bromeliaceae and Asteraceae. Although the Asteraceae family is rarely used as a food resource for hummingbirds in other high and lowland communities, in the study site this family is used mainly by the endemic hummingbird Augastes scutatus. We found a large overlap of flowering throughout the year among the species visited by the hummingbirds. Thus, the nectar availability supports these resident hummingbirds. The present study also showed that the studied hummingbird-plant community is composed of many species endemic to the campos rupestres of the Espinhaço Range, some of which are considered to be in danger of extinction, thus constituting a unique and threatened community. Thus, understanding hummingbird

  18. Thomas Kibble visits CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    Rosaria Marraffino

    2014-01-01

    Emeritus Professor Sir Thomas W.B. Kibble, from Imperial College London visited LHC for the first time last week and delivered a colloquium on the genesis of electroweak unification and the Brout-Englert-Higgs mechanism.   From left to right: Jim Virdee, Tiziano Camporesi, Tom Kibble and Austin Ball on the visit to CMS. On his way back from Trieste, where he received the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics' Dirac Medal, Tom Kibble stopped by CERN for his first visit to the LHC. Kibble had a standing invitation from Jim Virdee, former CMS spokesperson, who is also a researcher from Imperial College London. Peter Jenni (left) and Tom Kibble tour the ATLAS detector. (Image: Erwan Bertrand) Kibble made the trip to CERN a family outing and brought along 14 relatives,  including his children and grandchildren. He visited the ATLAS detector with Peter Jenni, its former spokesperson, on Friday 10 October. In the afternoon, Kibble delivered a colloquium in the...

  19. Are Business-Oriented Social Networking Web Sites Useful Resources for Locating Passive Jobseekers? Results of a Recent Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeKay, Sam

    2009-01-01

    The assumption that members of business-oriented social networking Web sites are passive jobseekers has never been validated. The purpose of this study is to examine the accuracy of this assumption. The study concludes that this claim is questionable and that the majority of members registered at one major site, and possibly others, are currently…

  20. One-visit endodontics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashkenaz, P J

    1984-10-01

    I would like to conclude with some personal observations and comments on the use of single-visit endodontics in private practice based on my 12 years of experience utilizing this procedure. I cannot stress in strong enough terms that one-visit endodontics should not be undertaken by the novice. As an evolutionary philosophy of treatment, its use grows out of a full understanding of fundamental endodontic principles by the experienced practitioner. It is only after considering all of the indications and contraindications in each case on an individual basis, that a decision should be made as to whether or not it can be completed in a single visit. However, it is also important for the practitioner to have a clinical sense of what can be accomplished once the rubber dam has been placed and work commenced on the tooth. I submit to you that this very important clinical sense can be gained only after many years of clinical experience. Therefore, the endodontic competence of the practicing dentist becomes the overriding factor in determining the outcome of any one particular case. This is not to say that only a specialized few can and should perform this procedure. However, it does mean that a high degree of clinical skill is necessary to perform it in a successful manner. The performance of better endodontics in multiple visits will ensure success in single visits. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the individual practitioner to objectively evaluate his or her endodontic skills. The clinician should critically evaluate every aspect of his or her endodontic practice by determining the incidences of biomechanical errors such as ledging, perforations, overinstrumentation, broken instruments, interappointment flare-ups, and failures. For only after evaluating these areas will the clinician have an indication as to his or her level of endodontic skill and whether or not future study and practice need be done in one or more specific aspects of endodontic practice. Once a high

  1. Scaling up kangaroo mother care in South Africa: 'on-site' versus 'off-site' educational facilitation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van Rooyen Elise

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Scaling up the implementation of new health care interventions can be challenging and demand intensive training or retraining of health workers. This paper reports on the results of testing the effectiveness of two different kinds of face-to-face facilitation used in conjunction with a well-designed educational package in the scaling up of kangaroo mother care. Methods Thirty-six hospitals in the Provinces of Gauteng and Mpumalanga in South Africa were targeted to implement kangaroo mother care and participated in the trial. The hospitals were paired with respect to their geographical location and annual number of births. One hospital in each pair was randomly allocated to receive either 'on-site' facilitation (Group A or 'off-site' facilitation (Group B. Hospitals in Group A received two on-site visits, whereas delegates from hospitals in Group B attended one off-site, 'hands-on' workshop at a training hospital. All hospitals were evaluated during a site visit six to eight months after attending an introductory workshop and were scored by means of an existing progress-monitoring tool with a scoring scale of 0–30. Successful implementation was regarded as demonstrating evidence of practice (score >10 during the site visit. Results There was no significant difference between the scores of Groups A and B (p = 0.633. Fifteen hospitals in Group A and 16 in Group B demonstrated evidence of practice. The median score for Group A was 16.52 (range 00.00–23.79 and that for Group B 14.76 (range 07.50–23.29. Conclusion A previous trial illustrated that the implementation of a new health care intervention could be scaled up by using a carefully designed educational package, combined with face-to-face facilitation by respected resource persons. This study demonstrated that the site of facilitation, either on site or at a centre of excellence, did not influence the ability of a hospital to implement KMC. The choice of outreach

  2. Dutch ministerial visit

    CERN Multimedia

    2007-01-01

    Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science R. Plasterk (third from left) in the ATLAS cavern with NIKHEF Director F. Linde, CERN Chief Scientific Officer J. Engelen, Ambassador J. van Eenennaam, ATLAS Collaboration Spokesperson P. Jenni, Mission Representative G. Vrielink and ATLAS Magnet Project Leader H. ten Kate.Minister of Education, Culture and Science from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ronald Plasterk, visited CERN on 25th October. With Jos Engelen, CERN Scientific Director, as his guide he visited Point 1 of the LHC tunnel and ATLAS, where Nikhef (the national institute for subatomic physics, a Dutch government and university collaboration) constructed all 96 of the largest muon drift chambers in the barrel as well as parts of the magnet system, the inner detector, the DAQ and triggering. Overall the Netherlands contribute 4.5% to the annual CERN budget and the minister’s visit celebrated the contributions of the 79 ...

  3. Motivation to take part in integrated care – an assessment of follow-up home visits to elderly persons

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjelmar, U; Hendriksen, Carsten; Hansen, K

    2011-01-01

    to implement because of a number of organizational obstacles, including co-ordination between the organizations involved in the process. In this paper we look at the factors that affect motivation to participate in a cross-sectoral programme in Copenhagen, Denmark, implementing follow-up home visits to elderly...... persons. Theory and methods: The analysis is based on inter-organizational network theory in an attempt to explain the role of motivation in network formation between organizational systems. The empirical findings are based on focus groups and in-depth interviews with hospital staff, general practitioners...... understanding of values and learning potentials. Conclusions: The study concludes that we need to focus on specific care fields and actors to reduce complexity in the area and more fully understand what motivates care providers to participate in cross-sectoral activities, such as a follow-up home visit...

  4. Phylogenetic trait-based analyses of ecological networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rafferty, Nicole E; Ives, Anthony R

    2013-10-01

    Ecological networks of two interacting guilds of species, such as flowering plants and pollinators, are common in nature, and studying their structure can yield insights into their resilience to environmental disturbances. Here we develop analytical methods for exploring the strengths of interactions within bipartite networks consisting of two guilds of phylogenetically related species. We then apply these methods to investigate the resilience of a plant-pollinator community to anticipated climate change. The methods allow the statistical assessment of, for example, whether closely related pollinators are more likely to visit plants with similar relative frequencies, and whether closely related pollinators tend to visit closely related plants. The methods can also incorporate trait information, allowing us to identify which plant traits are likely responsible for attracting different pollinators. These questions are important for our study of 14 prairie plants and their 22 insect pollinators. Over the last 70 years, six of the plants have advanced their flowering, while eight have not. When we experimentally forced earlier flowering times, five of the six advanced-flowering species experienced higher pollinator visitation rates, whereas only one of the eight other species had more visits; this network thus appears resilient to climate change, because those species with advanced flowering have ample pollinators earlier in the season. Using the methods developed here, we show that advanced-flowering plants did not have a distinct pollinator community from the other eight species. Furthermore, pollinator phylogeny did not explain pollinator community composition; closely related pollinators were not more likely to visit the same plant species. However, differences among pollinator communities visiting different plants were explained by plant height, floral color, and symmetry. As a result, closely related plants attracted similar numbers of pollinators. By parsing out

  5. "click like if you like it" : The effect of directional posts on social network sites

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    López, Manuela; Sicilia, Maria; Verlegh, Peeter W.J.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose - Social network sites (SNSs) are an important part of consumers' everyday lives, and have been recognized as a useful marketing channel. However, little is known about how brands should communicate in order to be more effective and maximize the diffusion of electronic word of mouth (eWOM)

  6. Quality and accuracy of sexual health information web sites visited by young people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buhi, Eric R; Daley, Ellen M; Oberne, Alison; Smith, Sarah A; Schneider, Tali; Fuhrmann, Hollie J

    2010-08-01

    We assessed online sexual health information quality and accuracy and the utility of web site quality indicators. In reviewing 177 sexual health web sites, we found below average quality but few inaccuracies. Web sites with the most technically complex information and/or controversial topics contained the most inaccuracies. We found no association between inaccurate information and web site quality. (c) 2010 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Adolescents' social network site use, peer appearance-related feedback, and body dissatisfaction: Testing a mediation model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, D.A.; Peter, J.; de Graaf, H.; Nikken, P.

    Previous correlational research indicates that adolescent girls who use social network sites more frequently are more dissatisfied with their bodies. However, we know little about the causal direction of this relationship, the mechanisms underlying this relationship, and whether this relationship

  8. ChloroP, a neural network-based method for predicting chloroplast transitpeptides and their cleavage sites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Emanuelsson, O.; Nielsen, Henrik; von Heijne, Gunnar

    1999-01-01

    the cleavage sites given in SWISS-PROT. An analysis of 715 Arabidopsis thaliana sequences from SWISS-PROT suggests that the ChloroP method should be useful for the identification of putative transit peptides in genome-wide sequence data. The ChloroP predictor is available as a web-server at http......We present a neural network based method (ChloroP) for identifying chloroplast transit peptides and their cleavage sites. Using cross-validation, 88% of the sequences in our homology reduced training set were correctly classified as transit peptides or nontransit peptides. This performance level...

  9. Visiting Filmmakers: Why Bother?

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonald, Scott

    1995-01-01

    Argues that visits by independent filmmakers to campus are exciting and intellectually invigorating for students and teachers, and these visits add to the cultural energy of the college. Notes that a commitment to independent cinema challenges the assumptions and the economics of conventional cinema. Discusses how much independent filmmakers are…

  10. Visiting CERN… like “common people”

    CERN Multimedia

    Antonella del Rosso

    2012-01-01

    Paul Young, the British pop star who made his name in the 80s, came to visit CERN on 17 December. His son brought him here because of his passion for science in general and physics in particular. Father and son found the visit exciting and CERN’s activities really thrilling. We could even expect a surprise for Paul's next visit…   The visiting group in the CMS Control Room (Photo credit: P. Geeraert, ESO). Paul Young, famous for his interpretation of “Love of the Common People”, came to CERN because his teenage son is going to be studying A-level physics at school next year and wanted to visit the Laboratory. “I was fascinated by the visit. CERN is a place I didn’t know much about, but my son knows a lot more about science than I do. The explanations we got were great. We enjoyed the visit very much,” he said enthusiastically. Paul Young and his son visited the CMS underground cavern with Michael Hoch. &...

  11. Thyroid Disease and Surgery in CHEER: The Nation’s Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Practice Based Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parham, Kourosh; Chapurin, Nikita; Schulz, Kris; Shin, Jennifer J.; Pynnonen, Melissa A.; Witsell, David L.; Langman, Alan; Nguyen-Huynh, Anh; Ryan, Sheila E.; Vambutas, Andrea; Wolfley, Anne; Roberts, Rhonda; Lee, Walter T.

    2017-01-01

    Objectives 1) Describe thyroid-related diagnoses and procedures in CHEER across academic and community sites. 2) Compare management of malignant thyroid disease across these sites, and 3) Provide practice based data related to flexible laryngoscopy vocal fold assessment before and after thyroid surgery based on AAO-HNSF Clinical Practice Guidelines. Study Design Review of retrospective data collection (RDC) database of the CHEER network using ICD-9 and CPT codes related to thyroid conditions. Setting Multisite practice based network. Subjects and Methods There were 3,807 thyroid patients (1,392 malignant; 2,415 benign) with 10,160 unique visits identified from 1 year of patient data in the RDC. Analysis was performed for identified cohort of patients using demographics, site characteristics and diagnostic and procedural distribution. Results Mean number of patients with thyroid disease per site was 238 (range 23–715). In community practices, 19% of patients with thyroid disease had cancer versus 45% in the academic setting (pVocal fold function was assessed by flexible laryngoscopy in 34.0% of pre-operative patients and in 3.7% post-operatively. Conclusion This is the first overview of malignant and benign thyroid disease through CHEER. It shows how the RDC can be used alone and with national guidelines to inform of clinical practice patterns in academic and community sites. This demonstrates the potential for future thyroid related studies utilizing the Otolaryngology-H&N Surgery’s practice-based research network. PMID:27371622

  12. Reducing Hospital Readmissions Through Preferred Networks Of Skilled Nursing Facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McHugh, John P; Foster, Andrew; Mor, Vincent; Shield, Renée R; Trivedi, Amal N; Wetle, Terrie; Zinn, Jacqueline S; Tyler, Denise A

    2017-09-01

    Establishing preferred provider networks of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) is one approach hospital administrators are using to reduce excess thirty-day readmissions and avoid Medicare penalties or to reduce beneficiaries' costs as part of value-based payment models. However, hospitals are also required to provide patients at discharge with a list of Medicare-eligible providers and cannot explicitly restrict patient choice. This requirement complicates the development of a SNF network. Furthermore, there is little evidence about the effectiveness of network development in reducing readmission rates. We used a concurrent mixed-methods approach, combining Medicare claims data for the period 2009-13 with qualitative data gathered from interviews during site visits to hospitals in eight US markets in March-October 2015, to examine changes in rehospitalization rates and differences in practices between hospitals that did and did not develop formal SNF networks. Four hospitals had developed formal SNF networks as part of their care management efforts. These hospitals saw a relative reduction from 2009 to 2013 in readmission rates for patients discharged to SNFs that was 4.5 percentage points greater than the reduction for hospitals without formal networks. Interviews revealed that those with networks expanded existing relationships with SNFs, effectively managed patient data, and exercised a looser interpretation of patient choice. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  13. Using Social Networking Sites for Communicable Disease Control: Innovative Contact Tracing or Breach of Confidentiality?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandeville, Kate L; Harris, Matthew; Thomas, H Lucy; Chow, Yimmy; Seng, Claude

    2014-04-01

    Social media applications such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have attained huge popularity, with more than three billion people and organizations predicted to have a social networking account by 2015. Social media offers a rapid avenue of communication with the public and has potential benefits for communicable disease control and surveillance. However, its application in everyday public health practice raises a number of important issues around confidentiality and autonomy. We report here a case from local level health protection where the friend of an individual with meningococcal septicaemia used a social networking site to notify potential contacts.

  14. Psychological risk factors of addiction to social networking sites among Chinese smartphone users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Anise M S; Cheung, Vivi I; Ku, Lisbeth; Hung, Eva P W

    2013-09-01

    Smartphones allow users to access social networking sites (SNSs) whenever and wherever they want. Such easy availability and accessibility may increase their vulnerability to addiction. Based on the social cognitive theory (SCT), we examined the impacts of outcome expectancies, self-efficacy, and impulsivity on young Chinese smartphone users' addictive tendencies toward SNSs. Two hundred seventy-seven Macau young smartphone users (116 males and 161 females; mean age = 26.62) filled out an online Chinese questionnaire concerning their usage of social networking sites via smartphones, addiction tendencies toward SNSs, impulsivity trait, outcome expectancies toward the use, and Internet self-efficacy. The findings revealed that those who spent more time on SNSs also reported higher addictive tendencies. Addictive tendencies were positively correlated with both outcome expectancies and impulsivity, but negatively associated with Internet self-efficacy. These three psychological variables explained 23% of the variance in addictive tendencies. The findings of this study suggest that, compared to demographics, psychological factors provide a better account for addictive tendencies towards SNSs among Chinese smartphone users in Macau. The three psychological risk factors were low Internet self-efficacy, favorable outcome expectancies, and high impulsivity trait. Educational campaigns with screening procedures for high-risk groups are recommended for effective prevention and treatment.

  15. Berliner Philarmoniker ATLAS visit

    CERN Multimedia

    ATLAS Collaboration

    2017-01-01

    The Berliner Philarmoniker in on tour through Europe. They stopped on June 27th in Geneva, for a concert at the Victoria Hall. An ATLAS visit was organised the morning after, lead by the ATLAS spokesperson Karl Jakobs (welcome and overview talk) and two ATLAS guides (AVC visit and 3D movie).

  16. Tourism and visiting activities in Tierp. Threats and possibilities with a repository for spent nuclear fuel; Turism och besoeksnaering i Tierp. Hot och moejligheter med ett djupfoervar av anvaent kaernbraensle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bjoerne, S.; Sandberg, M. [EuroFutures AB, Stockholm (Sweden); Sahlberg, B. [EBS Invent AB (Sweden)

    1999-10-01

    Consequences for tourism and visiting at Tierp from siting a spent fuel repository in the community are studied. Tierp has little tourism as of today, and siting of the repository will probably lead to increased visiting of Tierp professionally and as a leisure activity.

  17. Securing a Wireless Site Network to Create a BIM-Allied Work-Front

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Payam R. Zekavat

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The Building Information Model (BIM serves as a framework to align all the project-related data, providing interoperability to store and retrieve information interactively. Unfortunately, the construction site itself is excluded from this interaction as the large amount of data requires high data transfer rates and ruggedized hardware. However, advanced wireless communication technologies open radically new avenues to relay large amounts of data automatically and in near real-time. Construction could be a key beneficiary of these advancements. Wireless communication integrated with BIM, GPS and the Internet is able to provide the backbone necessary for creating intelligent systems, supporting the designer in his or her office as well as workers on the work-front. This paper presents a study that documents the development and testing of prototypes designed to facilitate information sharing at the field-level during construction. The main system constitutes an information hub, called the eCKiosk, connecting “senders and receivers” both on-site as well as off-site. The system design is discussed and some of the main modules are demonstrated. Since the electronic Kiosk depends on robust connections to the wireless devices distributed across the site, reliable connectivity is essential. For this reason, the discussion includes a study of the electronic signals behaviour in an ever-changing construction site. Measurements of the signal strengths during excavation and concrete work are presented and compared with theoretical calculations used to predict wave propagation. The results show how present models overestimate signal attenuation patterns on the construction site. This is important for designing a reliable and secure wireless site networks to link BIM to the work-front.

  18. A statistical intercomparison between 'urban' and 'rural' precipitation chemistry data from Greater Manchester and the two nearby secondary national network sites in the United Kingdom

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, D.S.; Longhurst, J.W.S. (Manchester Polytechnic, Manchester (United Kingdom). Acid Rain Information Centre, Dept. of Environmental and Graphical Studies)

    1992-11-01

    Precipitation chemistry data from a dense urban monitoring network in Greater Manchester, northwest England, were compared with interpolated values from the U.K. secondary national acid deposition monitoring network for the year 1988. Differences were found to be small. However, when data from individual sites from the Greater Manchester network were compared with data from the two nearest secondary national network sites, significant differences were found using simple and complex statistical analyses. Precipitation chemistry at rural sites could be similar to that at urban sites, but the sources of some ions were thought to be different. The synoptic-scale gradients of precipitation chemistry, as shown by the secondary national network, also accounted for some of the differences. 34 refs., 7 figs., 8 tabs.

  19. Integrating mental health into adolescent annual visits: impact of previsit comprehensive screening on within-visit processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gadomski, Anne M; Fothergill, Kate E; Larson, Susan; Wissow, Lawrence S; Winegrad, Heather; Nagykaldi, Zsolt J; Olson, Ardis L; Roter, Debra L

    2015-03-01

    To evaluate how a comprehensive, computerized, self-administered adolescent screener, the DartScreen, affects within-visit patient-doctor interactions such as data gathering, advice giving, counseling, and discussion of mental health issues. Patient-doctor interaction was compared between visits without screening and those with the DartScreen completed before the visit. Teens, aged 15-19 years scheduled for an annual visit, were recruited at one urban and one rural pediatric primary care clinic. The doctor acted as his/her own control, first using his/her usual routine for five to six adolescent annual visits. Then, the DartScreen was introduced for five visits where at the beginning of the visit, the doctor received a summary report of the screening results. All visits were audio recorded and analyzed using the Roter interaction analysis system. Doctor and teen dialogue and topics discussed were compared between the two groups. Seven midcareer doctors and 72 adolescents participated; 37 visits without DartScreen and 35 with DartScreen were audio recorded. The Roter interaction analysis system defined medically related data gathering (mean, 36.8 vs. 32.7 statements; p = .03) and counseling (mean, 36.8 vs. 32.7 statements; p = .01) decreased with DartScreen; however, doctor responsiveness and engagement improved with DartScreen (mean, 4.8 vs. 5.1 statements; p = .00). Teens completing the DartScreen offered more psychosocial information (mean, 18.5 vs. 10.6 statements; p = .01), and mental health was discussed more after the DartScreen (mean, 93.7 vs. 43.5 statements; p = .03). Discussion of somatic and substance abuse topics did not change. Doctors reported that screening improved visit organization and efficiency. Use of the screener increased discussion of mental health but not at the expense of other adolescent health topics. Copyright © 2015 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. 28 CFR 540.62 - Institutional visits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ....62 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT CONTACT WITH PERSONS IN THE COMMUNITY Contact With News Media § 540.62 Institutional visits. (a) A media representative shall make advance appointments for visits. (b) When media representatives visit the institutions...

  1. The effect of social network site use on appearance investment and desire for cosmetic surgery among adolescent boys and girls

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, D.A.; Peter, J.; Nikken, P.; de Graaf, H.

    2014-01-01

    Although adolescents frequently use social network sites, little is known about whether the highly visual and self-presentation-centered character of such sites affects body-related outcomes such as investment in appearance and appearance-changing strategies. Due to gender differences in appearance

  2. Factors associated with end-of-life by home-visit nursing-care providers in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakanishi, Miharu; Niimura, Junko; Nishida, Atsushi

    2017-06-01

    Home-visit nursing-care services in Japan are expected to provide home hospice services for older patients with non-cancer diseases. The aim of the present study was to examine factors that contribute to the provision of end-of-life care by home-visit nursing-care providers in Japan. The present retrospective study was carried out using nationally representative cross-sectional data from the 2007, 2010, and 2013 Survey of Institutions and Establishments for Long-Term Care. A total of 138 008 randomly sampled home-visit nursing-care service users were included in this analysis. End-of-life care (study outcome) was defined as the provision of nursing-care within the last month of life. Of the 138 008 patients at home, 2280 (1.7%) received home-based nursing care within the last month of life, and end-of-life care was offered primarily to cancer patients (n = 1651; 72.4%). After accounting for patient characteristics, patients were more likely to receive end-of-life care when they used home-visit nursing-care providers that had a greater number of nursing staff or were located in a region with fewer hospital beds. Among home-visit nursing-care providers, the nursing staff ratio and the availability of hospital beds were related to the provision of end-of-life care. Home-visit nursing-care providers should establish specialist hospice care teams with enhanced staffing ratios to allow for the adequate provision of home-based end-of-life care. A community-based network between home-visit nursing-care providers and hospitals should also be established to attain an integrated end-of-life care system for elderly populations in regions with more hospital beds. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 991-998. © 2016 Japan Geriatrics Society.

  3. “VICO”, Visiting Colleagues

    CERN Multimedia

    Staff Association

    2017-01-01

    “Hello, I am your delegate” – have you heard this line? Maybe you have already had the pleasure of receiving a visit from a Staff Association delegate – then you know what this is all about. As for those of you, who have not yet heard these words, it’s time to get curious. The Staff Association has decided to embark upon an adventure called “VICO”, Visiting Colleagues. From past experience, we have understood the value of personal, direct contact with the people we represent. We believe that the best way to achieve this is to knock on your office door and pay you a short visit.  We do not want to make you fill in yet another online questionnaire and would much rather collect your feedback in a short conversation face to face. Of course, we have prepared ourselves thoroughly for these visit rounds, because we do not want to waste your time. We welcome criticism because it can make us aware of our shortcomings, tell us about how y...

  4. Marketing of Academic Library Services through Social Networking Sites: Implications of Electronic Word-of-Mouth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siddike, Md. Abul Kalam; Kiran, K.

    2015-01-01

    The main objective of this study is to investigate the perceptions of academic librarians towards the marketing of library services through social networking sites (SNSs) and their understanding of using electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) as a marketing tool in academic libraries. This study follows a qualitative data-gathering approach of structured…

  5. LB01.06: VISIT-TO-VISIT BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY AND CARDIOVASCULAR OUTCOMES IN FELODIPINE EVENT REDUCTION STUDY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Y; Zhang, X; Liu, L; Zanchetti, A

    2015-06-01

    Many antihypertensive outcome trials have shown that visit-to-visit blood pressure variability is correlated closely with clinical outcomes in hypertensive patients. The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between visit-to-visit blood pressure variability (BPV) and the major cardiovascular outcomes in the Chinese hypertensive patients. Felodipine Event Reduction (FEVER) study was a double-blind, randomized trial on 9711 Chinese hypertensive patients, in whom cardiovascular outcomes were significantly reduced by more intense therapy achieving a mean of 138 mmHg SBP compared with less-intense therapy achieving a mean of 142 mmHg. Visit-to-visit BPV during the follow-up period [defined as standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), and average real variability(ARV)] was derived from casual cuff BP measures after six months follow-up until the end of the study. Hazard ratios (HRs), for the incidence of CVD associated with SD, CV, and ARV of SBP and DBP were calculated using Cox proportional hazard models. Overall predictive power [area under receiver operating characteristic (AUC ROC) curve] of the level of blood pressure, blood pressure variability and other baseline characteristics was calculated. In FEVER study, visit-to-visit variability in SBP were significant predictors of subsequent stroke [eg, hazard ratios [HR] for ARV, SD and CV was 1.071 (95% CI: 1.025-1.118), 1.373 (95% CI: 1.159-1.626) and 0.572 (95% CI: 0.451-0,726)]. Visit-to-visit variability in DBP were also showed similar trend [eg, HR for ARV, SD and CV was 1.066 (95% CI: 0.992-1.145), 1.931 (95% CI: 1.435-2.598) and 0.558 (95% CI: 0.438-0,710)]. However, using the analysis of AUC ROC analysis, the risk importance sequence of the stroke events in this cohort was level of SBP, age, level of DBP ARV, SD, sex, CV and treatment. Visit-to-visit blood pressure variability has some effects on the cardiovascular outcomes in the Chinese hypertensive patents in the cohort in

  6. Contingencies of self-worth and social-networking-site behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stefanone, Michael A; Lackaff, Derek; Rosen, Devan

    2011-01-01

    Social-networking sites like Facebook enable people to share a range of personal information with expansive groups of "friends." With the growing popularity of media sharing online, many questions remain regarding antecedent conditions for this behavior. Contingencies of self-worth afford a more nuanced approach to variable traits that affect self-esteem, and may help explain online behavior. A total of 311 participants completed an online survey measuring such contingencies and typical behaviors on Facebook. First, exploratory factor analyses revealed an underlying structure to the seven dimensions of self-worth. Public-based contingencies explained online photo sharing (β = 0.158, p relationship with time online (β = -0.186, p relationship with the intensity of online photo sharing (β = 0.242), although no relationship was evident for time spent managing profiles.

  7. Historical sites at the Prince Edward islands

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Cooper, J

    1986-07-01

    Full Text Available This report gives the results of a workshop held on historical sites at the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward islands, southern Indian Ocean. All known visits and sojourns on the Prince Edward islands up to 1948 are tabulated. All known historical sites...

  8. A method for under-sampled ecological network data analysis: plant-pollination as case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter B. Sorensen

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we develop a method, termed the Interaction Distribution (ID method, for analysis of quantitative ecological network data. In many cases, quantitative network data sets are under-sampled, i.e. many interactions are poorly sampled or remain unobserved. Hence, the output of statistical analyses may fail to differentiate between patterns that are statistical artefacts and those which are real characteristics of ecological networks. The ID method can support assessment and inference of under-sampled ecological network data. In the current paper, we illustrate and discuss the ID method based on the properties of plant-animal pollination data sets of flower visitation frequencies. However, the ID method may be applied to other types of ecological networks. The method can supplement existing network analyses based on two definitions of the underlying probabilities for each combination of pollinator and plant species: (1, pi,j: the probability for a visit made by the i’th pollinator species to take place on the j’th plant species; (2, qi,j: the probability for a visit received by the j’th plant species to be made by the i’th pollinator. The method applies the Dirichlet distribution to estimate these two probabilities, based on a given empirical data set. The estimated mean values for pi,j and qi,j reflect the relative differences between recorded numbers of visits for different pollinator and plant species, and the estimated uncertainty of pi,j and qi,j decreases with higher numbers of recorded visits.

  9. Examining recruiters’ assessment of impression management tactics as used by job seekers on social networking sites

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bondarouk, Tanya; Ruel, Huub; Molenaar, David A.

    2013-01-01

    Recruiters nowadays have started focusing their attention towards Social Networking Sites (SNS) for they provide an ideal basis to judge one’s personality on, and deal with on-line Impression Management (IM) tactics among job seekers and/or candidates in job seeking behavior. Impression Management

  10. To use or not to use: guidelines for researchers using data from online social networking sites

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Wynsberghe, Amy Louise; Been, Henry; van Keulen, Maurice

    The universal and ubiquitous use of computing technologies confronts us with new ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. In the current age of abundant information sharing and gathering, social networking sites (SNSs) are now thought of as incredible resources for collecting data on individuals. The

  11. Identification of phosphorylation sites in protein kinase A substrates using artificial neural networks and mass spectrometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjerrild, M.; Stensballe, A.; Rasmussen, T.E.

    2004-01-01

    Protein phosphorylation plays a key role in cell regulation and identification of phosphorylation sites is important for understanding their functional significance. Here, we present an artificial neural network algorithm: NetPhosK (http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/NetPhosK/) that predicts protein...

  12. Identification of phosphorylation sites in protein kinase A substrates using artificial neural networks and mass spectrometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjerrild, Majbrit; Stensballe, Allan; Rasmussen, Thomas E

    2011-01-01

    Protein phosphorylation plays a key role in cell regulation and identification of phosphorylation sites is important for understanding their functional significance. Here, we present an artificial neural network algorithm: NetPhosK (http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/NetPhosK/) that predicts protein...

  13. The #nofilter Self: The Contest for Authenticity among Social Networking Sites, 2002–2016

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meredith Salisbury

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study traces appeals to authenticity, over time, in the promotional material of leading social-networking sites (SNSs. Using the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, the public-facing websites of major SNS platforms—beginning with Friendster in 2002—were sampled at six-month intervals, with promotional language and visuals examined for authenticity claims. The authors tracked these appeals, with attention to changes in promotional copy, through to July 2016, among the most popular social media services (as determined by English-language web presence and active monthly user figures or, when unavailable, reported network size. The study found that nearly all SNSs invoked authenticity—directly or through language like “real life” and “genuine”—in their promotional materials. What stood out was the profoundly reactive nature of these claims, with new services often defining themselves, openly or implicitly, against legacy services’ inauthenticity. A recurring marketing strategy, in other words, has been to call out competitors’ phoniness by substituting (and touting some other, differently grounded mode of authenticity. Since the affordances of social sites, even those touting evanescence or anonymity, make them vulnerable to similar charges, the cycle gets replayed with numbing regularity.

  14. Proximity to Woodland and Landscape Structure Drive Pollinator Visitation in Apple Orchard Ecosystem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neelendra K Joshi

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Landscapes of farms and adjacent areas are known to influence abundance of various arthropods such as pollinators in commercial agricultural ecosystems. In this context, we examined the effect of heterogeneous landscapes surrounding and including commercial apple orchards on pollinator visitation and foraging distance during bloom period from 2011 to 2013 in Pennsylvania. Our results showed that the frequency of feral honeybees and solitary bee visits within an apple orchard depends on the proximity of the orchard to an unmanaged habitat (primarily comprised of forest. At the landscape scale, we found that the Mean Proximity Index, the Largest Patch Index and the Number of Patches positively correlated with the visitation rate of dominant bee taxa (Apis mellifera, Bombus spp. and solitary bees visiting apple flowers at low spatial scales (up to 500 m around the orchards. The Mean Proximity Index at 500 m was related to bee visitation patterns, especially for solitary bees and A. mellifera. Bees in all our study sites preferred to forage in areas with large homogenous patches up to 500 m around an apple orchard. This effect can be attributed to the mass flowering of apples that formed the largest proportion of the 500 m spatial scale. The Number of Patches at 250 m spatial scale was positively correlated with bee visitation, especially Bombus spp., probably because these areas had more habitats and more resources required by these bees. We conclude that retaining unmanaged habitats closer to commercial apple orchards will maintain biodiversity within the landscapes and insure pollination services to apples.

  15. Re-visiting the tympanic membrane vicinity as core body temperature measurement site.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wui Keat Yeoh

    Full Text Available Core body temperature (CBT is an important and commonly used indicator of human health and endurance performance. A rise in baseline CBT can be attributed to an onset of flu, infection or even thermoregulatory failure when it becomes excessive. Sites which have been used for measurement of CBT include the pulmonary artery, the esophagus, the rectum and the tympanic membrane. Among them, the tympanic membrane is an attractive measurement site for CBT due to its unobtrusive nature and ease of measurement facilitated, especially when continuous CBT measurements are needed for monitoring such as during military, occupational and sporting settings. However, to-date, there are still polarizing views on the suitability of tympanic membrane as a CBT site. This paper will revisit a number of key unresolved issues in the literature and also presents, for the first time, a benchmark of the middle ear temperature against temperature measurements from other sites. Results from experiments carried out on human and primate subjects will be presented to draw a fresh set of insights against the backdrop of hypotheses and controversies.

  16. Re-visiting the tympanic membrane vicinity as core body temperature measurement site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gan, Chee Wee; Liang, Wenyu

    2017-01-01

    Core body temperature (CBT) is an important and commonly used indicator of human health and endurance performance. A rise in baseline CBT can be attributed to an onset of flu, infection or even thermoregulatory failure when it becomes excessive. Sites which have been used for measurement of CBT include the pulmonary artery, the esophagus, the rectum and the tympanic membrane. Among them, the tympanic membrane is an attractive measurement site for CBT due to its unobtrusive nature and ease of measurement facilitated, especially when continuous CBT measurements are needed for monitoring such as during military, occupational and sporting settings. However, to-date, there are still polarizing views on the suitability of tympanic membrane as a CBT site. This paper will revisit a number of key unresolved issues in the literature and also presents, for the first time, a benchmark of the middle ear temperature against temperature measurements from other sites. Results from experiments carried out on human and primate subjects will be presented to draw a fresh set of insights against the backdrop of hypotheses and controversies. PMID:28414722

  17. 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.

  18. Importance of Wellness to the Tourists visiting Batangas Province

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romualdo L. Roque

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Wellness is having a healthy body, mind and spirit. Health and wellness go hand in hand. Most people link wellness to physical health condition only but the researcher found out the other dimension of wellness that matters to the tourists. This study assessed the other dimensions of wellness such as social, spiritual, intellectual, emotional and occupational wellness and reveals the most significant wellness dimension among the tourists visiting Wellness Spa in Batangas Province. The researcher aimed to present the profile of the wellness spa center along with the facilities and services they offer and how it helped wellness travelers achieve their purpose when visiting wellness spa. Descriptive design was used with 5 Wellness Spa Centers in Batangas as subject of the study with the used of adopted questionnaire; 216 enthusiastic wellness tourists were asked to sincerely answer the questions in order to collect relevant data. This study unveils that social wellness is important among tourists. They visit wellness spa to build social network, to openly communicate to others and openly express their thoughts and feelings. This wellness tourists aging from 26 – 35 years old earning an average of Php20, 000 prefer spa services and facilities to relax, use gym to shape up in order to maintain a healthy physical wellbeing. Knowing their purpose in life and discovering the true meaning of their existence is the aim of this wellness travel. People that acquire a higher educational degree, most of them are married put emphasis about what is important in life and discover the real purpose of their existence.

  19. Surfing for thinness: a pilot study of pro-eating disorder Web site usage in adolescents with eating disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Jenny L; Peebles, Rebecka; Hardy, Kristina K; Litt, Iris F

    2006-12-01

    Pro-eating disorder Web sites are communities of individuals who engage in disordered eating and use the Internet to discuss their activities. Pro-recovery sites, which are less numerous, express a recovery-oriented perspective. This pilot study investigated the awareness and usage of pro-eating disorder Web sites among adolescents with eating disorders and their parents and explored associations with health and quality of life. This was a cross-sectional study of 698 families of patients (aged 10-22 years) diagnosed with an eating disorder at Stanford between 1997 and 2004. Anonymous surveys were mailed and offered in clinic. Survey content included questions about disease severity, health outcomes, Web site usage, and parental knowledge of eating disorder Web site usage. Surveys were returned by 182 individuals: 76 patients and 106 parents. Parents frequently (52.8%) were aware of pro-eating disorder sites, but an equal number did not know whether their child visited these sites, and only 27.6% had discussed them with their child. Most (62.5%) parents, however, did not know about pro-recovery sites. Forty-one percent of patients visited pro-recovery sites, 35.5% visited pro-eating disorder sites, 25.0% visited both, and 48.7% visited neither. While visiting pro-eating disorder sites, 96.0% reported learning new weight loss or purging techniques. However, 46.4% of pro-recovery site visitors also learned new techniques. Pro-eating disorder site users did not differ from nonusers in health outcomes but reported spending less time on school or schoolwork and had a longer duration of illness. Users of both pro-eating disorder and pro-recovery sites were hospitalized more than users of neither site. Pro-eating disorder site usage was prevalent among adolescents with eating disorders, yet parents had little knowledge of this. Although use of these sites was not associated with other health outcomes, usage may have a negative impact on quality of life and result in

  20. First comes social networking, then comes marriage? Characteristics of Americans married 2005-2012 who met through social networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Jeffrey A

    2014-05-01

    Abstract Although social networking sites (SNS) have become increasingly prevalent and integrated into the lives of users, the role of SNS in courtship is relatively unknown. The present manuscript reports on the characteristics of Americans married between 2005 and 2012 who met through SNS drawn from a weighted national sample (N=18,527). Compared to other online meetings (i.e., dating sites, online communities, one-on-one communication), individuals who met through SNS were younger, married more recently, and were more likely to be African American. Compared with offline meetings, individuals who met through SNS were more likely to be younger, male, African American and Hispanic, married more recently, and frequent Internet users with higher incomes. Trends suggest an increasing proportion of individuals are meeting using SNS, necessitating further research on factors that influence romantic relational development through SNS.