Pervasive 2007: It's about the User

Pervasive computing is as much about the user as it is about the technology. So, the Fifth International Conference on Pervasive Computing emphasized desirability rather than just feasibility. Featured themes included user benefits, human-computer interaction, group and social interactions, context awareness, finding and positioning people and objects, and personal privacy.     

Creating a Student Centered Learning Environment at the University of Denver

A team of faculty members at the University of Denver changed the learning environment in key courses in the Department of Engineering from predominately teacher centered to student centered. Through this funded project new grading methods were implemented, classrooms were renovated and wired with studio layouts to facilitate learning, the Engineering Circuits Laboratory was rewired and instrumented for automated data acquisition and reporting, and two new pedagogical approaches were developed. At the onset of the project, six goals were established related to student learning. The introduction of industry standard hardware and software provided students with unprecedented hands‐on experience and project related activities stimulated faculty innovations in other current and future courses. Assessment results indicate that the new grading system improved the clarity of expectations for students before assignments were given resulting in increased reported motivation for learning in many courses. Even though course GPAs did not always reflect higher achievement on graded work, faculty members firmly believe that deeper understanding was achieved because more complex material was assimilated.     

Late complication of laparoscopic salpingoophorectomy: retained foreign body presenting as an acute abdomen

The technique of immunocytochemistry was used to identify myoglobin in kidney, confirming a diagnosis of neuroleptic malignant syndrome following an otherwise obscure autopsy in a decomposed body. The features of neuroleptic malignant syndrome are reviewed with a differential diagnosis of myoglobin renal casts. The report emphasizes a thorough and detailed assessment of deaths which occur during treatment with neuroleptic drugs.     

Introduction to the special series: HIV infection among drug abusers.

Drug users are particularly at risk for contracting the human immunodeficiency virus and serve as a major mechanism for spreading the virus to other sectors of the population. As a result drug abuse treatment and potential behavioral change strategies are primary public health issues. The purpose of this article is to review the contributions included in this special edition, which represent an effort to describe the most current thinking in the field with a blend of theoretical, review, and empirical articles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child custody mediation and litigation: Parents' satisfaction and functioning one year after settlement.

A 1-yr follow-up study was conducted on families randomly assigned to settle custody disputes either in mediation or through adversary procedures. Consistent with Time 1 reports, at Time 2 fathers who mediated were substantially more satisfied than were fathers who litigated. Fathers who mediated also complied more with child support orders. Contrary to prediction, the greater satisfaction and compliance of fathers did not lead to increased satisfaction among mothers who mediated. In contrast to Time 1, at follow-up mothers who mediated were significantly less satisfied than were mothers who litigated, but selective attrition may account for these differences. The psychological adjustment of mothers and fathers was not significantly different between settlement groups at Time 2, but mothers in both groups reported less satisfaction with dispute settlement and less dysphoria at Time 2 than they had reported at Time 1. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence-Based Solutions for Overcoming Access Barriers, Decreasing Attrition, and Promoting Change With Underserved Families.

Various definitions exist for what constitutes family therapy. In this article, we consider family therapy to encompass any intervention that targets family interactions and conceptualizes problems as existing beyond individual clients. Numerous individual studies and several quantitative reviews have established family therapy as an effective treatment modality and the treatment of choice for many disorders. However, critiques of existing service provision highlight the unfortunate fact that numerous barriers to treatment exist at multiple levels of the broader ecology, preventing many families from benefiting from these services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exposure plus response-prevention treatment of bulimia nervosa.

A controlled study evaluating the effectiveness of exposure plus response-prevention treatment of bulimia nervosa was conducted in a sample of 47 women. This was a four-group comparison involving three treatment conditions and a waiting-list control group. The three treatment conditions were (a) exposure plus response prevention conducted in a single setting (clinic), (b) exposure plus response prevention conducted in multiple settings (clinic, patients' homes, and restaurants), and (c) cognitive–behavioral therapy without exposure plus response prevention. All treatment was provided to groups of 3 patients at a time. Outcome was evaluated at posttreatment and at a 6-month follow-up. The three treatment groups improved significantly on most outcome measures, whereas the waiting-list control group showed little change. At follow-up, there was a slightly better outcome on vomiting behavior and amount of food consumed in one of the test meals for the exposure plus response-prevention groups relative to the no-exposure group. However, on all other measures, the degree of improvement from pretreatment to follow-up was the same for all three treatment groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optical properties of amorphous carbon thin films prepared by plasma deposition in a graphite hollow cathode

Carbon films have been produced using a graphite hollow cathode and an r.f. plasma of hydrogen or hydrogen and argon. No hydrocarbon gas was used. The films were subjected to heat treatments up to 700 °C in air. The optical properties of the films were studied using Fourier transform IR, UV-visible, Raman, ellipsometry and photoluminescence techniques before and after the annealing. Films prepared without argon have a narrower band gap and a different photoluminescence response from films prepared with argon. The index of refraction was seen to have values between 1.7 and 2.2 depending on the preparation conditions. The optical band gap of the films was generally greater than 2 eV and the annealing process both increased the gap and reduced the density of states responsible for the large photoluminescence signal.