Pilot Research Project Research Articles

Parents' Decisions to Screen Newborns for FMR1 Gene Expansions in a Pilot Research Project

Parents' Decisions to Screen Newborns for FMR1 Gene Expansions in a Pilot Research Project

Walking for fitness: is it enough to maintain both heart and bone health?

Exercising at levels of whole body accelerations exceeding 3.6g has been shown to have positive effects on cardiovascular fitness, bone density and balance. This pilot research project evaluated the whole body accelerations and cardiovascular challenge provided by selected walks in the Canberra region of Australia to determine if walks could be ranked according to potential level of impact on both cardiovascular fitness and bone health. Nine participants, who described themselves as walking at least 3km, three times per week, wore a data logging device recording heart rate, acceleration and GPS position while walking three outdoor tracks: (1) the running track of an athletics stadium; (2) on a hill climb path through bushland; and (3) on a route through suburban streets. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) for heart rate, distribution of whole body accelerations and average walking speed between track 2 and tracks 1 and 3. There was a significant difference for heart rate, distribution of whole body accelerations and average walking speed between the walks. The running track and the suburban walk provide a moderate exercise challenge, with the hill climb walk providing progressively greater vertical height challenge, resulting in an increased cardiovascular exercise challenge. No participant effectively exceeded the threshold for achieving a positive impact on bone density (100 or more accelerations/day >3.6g) on track 1, and only two of the nine participants intermittently achieved this threshold on tracks 2 and 3.

What would Jesus do now in the classroom? The CREATe research project

CREATe (Christian Reflection on Ethics And Teaching) groups are peer support groups which use an action research model to facilitate reflection and to promote the development of thinking about Christian ethics in teaching. This report summarises the findings of a pilot research project commissioned by The Stapleford Centre to offer a preliminary analysis of how Christian teachers understand Christian ethics and apply them to their teaching.

The Effect of Interventions on the Environmental Behaviour of Australian Motel Guests

This article reports on a pilot research project carried out to examine the effects of different interventions on the environmental behaviour of guests at motels in Victoria, Australia. The aim of the research was to test the influence of different in-room messages on the towel reuse behaviour of guests. Four different messages were used, representing ‘information only’ ‘information plus request’, ‘information plus descriptive norm’ and ‘information plus incentive’. Results of the study showed high levels of towel reuse and that providing information (either alone, or in conjunction with a request) acted as a prompt to encourage guests to reuse their towels. Further analysis of the results suggests that the role of habit may be the strongest influence on guests' reuse of towels. Implications for the hospitality industry are discussed, and suggestions for further research avenues proposed.

WHOʼs International Drug Monitoring – The Formative Years, 1968–1975

In early 2009, Jan Venulet (JV), gratefully agreed to the suggestion by the President of the International Society of Pharmacovigilance (ISoP) to write ‘a chapter or two’ on the earlier periods of pharmacovigilance. The purpose of ISoP’s project, to which several others will also contribute, is ‘to collect the memories of the beginning of pharmacovigilance with the objective to put it on the website for future generations’. The second author, Margaretha HellingBorda (MHB), invited by JV to collaborate on this walk down memory lane of the WHO’s International Drug Monitoring, was also part of the early and formative years, 1968–1975. Our starting point for refreshing our memories was JV’s own library and numbered references from which we selected relevant publications from the 1960s and 1970s and unpublishedWHO documents. Among the latter, one in particular has been a major reference source (seemingly the only existing copy) entitled ‘‘Pilot Research Project for International Drug Monitoring – Assignment Report, 9 January 1968–10 March 1970 by Dr Jan Venulet, Senior Project Officer’’. Apart from the above, together with World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolutions (Appendix 1), our other primary reference sources in writing this paper have been: Presentation at the 25th Anniversary of the World Health Organization’s Programme for International Monitoring by Jan Venulet. In: Proceedings of the XXVIIth CIOMS (Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences) Conference in Geneva (organized jointly by CIOMS and WHO), 14–15 September 1993. ‘‘Experience with the World Health Organization: International Monitoring of Adverse Reactions to Drugs’’, WHO, Geneva, by Margaretha Helling. In: Tognoni and Vander Kleijn, editors. Clinical Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacology. Gouveia. Chapter 9, 141–151, 1976. For a further list of references and selected bibliography, see Appendix 2. The following is a brief summary of the history, development, activities, outputs, results and reflections of the formative years, 1968–1975, of the WHO International Drug Monitoring.

The GENERATE project: Curricular and pedagogical inspiration from parents and their children working together

This report summarizes GENERATE, a pilot research project conducted by 12 artists and their children 3—14. Simply put, these artist/art educator/parents allowed their own children unlimited access to their studios, materials, equipment and workspaces for two years. During that time the children were able to work alongside their parents on making combined and separate art works and contribute to a series of public exhibitions. The project was sponsored by The Turner Contemporary in Margate and the University of the Creative Arts (UCA). The artist/parents kept logs or diaries of what happened, and attended a series of joint meetings to discuss developments. At the same time a series of public workshops were organized (sometimes from a large trailer parked in a shopping centre car park) in which other children and parents from Thanet, Kent were encouraged to spend time making art together. The researcher collected evidence of the progress of the project from observations, discussions, telephone and email communications, photographs and the logs of the artists involved. The report discusses the challenges this project has raised regarding: • definitions of creativity • adult artist’s conceptions of art • the motivations towards creativity • the teach-ability of creativity • parenting • inter-generational learning • child-led aspects of schooling.

“Every Morning before You Open the Door You Have to Watch for that Brown Envelope”: Complexities and Challenges of Undertaking Oral History with Ethiopian Forced Migrants in London, U.K.

The experience, “voice,” and perceptions of the “individual refugee” is conspicuous by its virtual absence from academic research. The few studies dealing with black and minority ethnic experiences from an emic perspective in relation to mental health do not specifically refer to refugees or asylum seekers. This article explores the use of oral history techniques when researching Ethiopian forced migrants in the U.K. Based on two pilot research projects which explored Ethiopian culture and experience in reference to mental health and well-being, it will focus on some of the complexities and challenges encountered. This article acknowledges the need for an understanding of cultural traditions as well as history and experience when planning and implementing such research as this proved to be an essential part of the research process, ensuring that individual stories and truths were allowed to evolve. The oral history approach for this research therefore ensured that the experiential knowledge of the Ethiopian forced migrant participants was given space, authenticity, and validity.

Lure(d) into listening: The potential of cognition-based music information retrieval

This paper argues for the potential of cognition-based music retrieval by introducing the notion of a musical 'hook' as a key memorization, recall, and search mechanism. A hook is considered the most salient, memorable, and easy to recall moment of a musical phrase or song. Next to its role in searching large data-bases of music, it is proposed as a way to understand and identify which cognitively relevant musical features affect the appreciation, memorization and recall of music. To illustrate the potential of this idea for the computational humanities (Willekens et al., 2010), in the second half of the paper a pilot research project is described. This project, named Listen, Lure & Locate, aims to study the cultural phenomenon of being lured to listen to new unfamiliar music, and especially the role that recent internet-mediated technologies can have in this process. It is argued that a combination of crowd annotation (i.e., social- or crowd-tagging) and marking the specific moment (the hook) in one's favorite music, has great potential for improving search engines for music. In addition, these annotations will provide a rich empirical source to music cognition research in determining what makes certain melodic fragments more sticky than others.

Extent of pharmacovigilance among resident doctors in Edo and Lagos states of Nigeria

Systematic attention to adverse drug reactions (ADRs) started with the thalidomide disaster in the early 60s of the 20(th) century. In 1968 ten countries supported a spontaneous reporting system for ADR and collaborated with the WHO pilot research project for international drug monitoring. This survey was conducted to determine the level of awareness of resident doctors about ADRs reporting, the extent of their involvement in pharmacovigilance activities and to build a useful data base that will improve the quality of health care in Nigeria. This cross-sectional observational survey was conducted in University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) and Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Edo and Lagos states, Nigeria, respectively. STUDY DESIGN / METHODS: A cross-sectional observational survey was used in this study. Total population under survey being 971 residents with the sample size of 350 statistically determined. The survey conducted revealed that 78.1% (258) of the respondents had inadequate knowledge about pharmacovigilance with 71.2% (235) unaware of the yellow forms for ADR reporting distributed by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The respondents (92.4%) have observed ADRs in the course of their training and practice, yet only 25.5% of cases were reported. The reported cases (7.3%) were to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. The study showed a statistically significant difference between the institution of respondents, knowledge and experience about pharmacovigilance (p < 0.05). There is marked under-reporting of cases and a low level of awareness about pharmacovigilance among resident doctors in Edo and Lagos states. This may be what obtains in other states in Nigeria.

‘No one knows like we do’ — the narratives of mental health service users trained as researchers

In 2008, Mind in Bexley received a research development grant from the Big Lottery Fund and a training grant from Bexley Care Trust to empower service users to participate and contribute to a pilot research project. The project aims were to work with, develop, train and support service users as researchers, in order to record the narratives of service users who have common experiences of mental health distress and treatment. The research development project set up an advisory group, created and developed a partnership with the University of Kent and provided workshops and training sessions to explore some of the principles of research and ethics. In addition, the group undertook a preliminary literature review, developed and refined a research questionnaire and piloted interviews with six service users. Many issues were raised and lessons learned during the planning and conduct of the project. This paper discusses the process and reflects on aspects of the project's design and delivery. In addition, this paper highlights some of the difficulties in undertaking service user research and suggests recommendations as to how to overcome some of these complex issues.

The Efficacy of Alexithymia Reduction Treatment: A Pilot Study

The aim of this pilot research project was to assess the efficacy of Alexithymia Reduction Treatment (ART), a six-session manualized psychoeducational group intervention. A quasi-experimental design was used. The six participants in the Treatment Group were recruited at a university-based counseling center and the seven participants in the Treatment as Usual group were from a hospital-based day treatment program. Participants in the Treatment Group demonstrated significant reductions in normative male alexithymia and the endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology from pre-test to post-test. The Treatment as Usual group did not demonstrate significant reductions in these variables pre-test to post-test. Neither group showed significant change in attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help.

Police ethnic profiling in Hungary — An empirical research

Profiling by law enforcement agencies has become one of the most widely researched and debated questions in legal discussions relating to ethnic and racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. This research report highlights the findings of a recent pilot research project organized by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee that focused on police stop and search practices and their discriminatory effects on Hungary’s largest ethnic minority, the Roma. As part of the research, for the first time in Hungary, broad-spectrum data collection on the ethnic aspects and general efficiency of ID checks has been conducted.

Thinking through Quality in Field Education: Integrating Alternative and Traditional Learning Opportunities

In this article, we look at two intersecting imperatives in social work and university education and how they shape our thinking about quality in field education. We will explore how practices of new managerialism and the desire for diversity come into conflict when trying to assess the quality of field‐based learning. Drawing on findings from a pilot research project we completed at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, we propose that it would be beneficial for Canadian schools of social work to rely less on assessing quality in terms of standards and specifications and more on a transformative notion of quality that speaks more clearly to empowering students and enhancing their knowledge and skills.

Critical friends: an investigation of shared narrative practice between education and nursing graduates

This article reports the findings of a pilot research project that investigated the perceived educational value of sharing narrative practice amongst graduate students from the School of Education and the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Tasmania. During a semester the graduate students reflected upon and wrote about a ‘critical incident’ which had occurred during their recent practical experience. These narratives were exchanged with the graduate students in the other discipline in order for the lecturers to examine the perceived educational value of sharing narrative practice. Analyses of written responses and questionnaire results were framed within a social constructivist perspective and drew on notions of peer feedback, critical reflection and the value of shared stories. The findings revealed that the graduate students appeared to revert to discipline-specific behaviours within this cross-disciplinary context.

Bridge of Signs: Can Sign Language Empower Non-Deaf Children to Triumph over Their Communication Disabilities?

This pilot research project examined the use of sign language as a communication bridge for non-Deaf children between the ages of 0–6 years who had been diagnosed with, or whose communication difficulties suggested, the presence of such disorders as Autism, Down Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), and/or learning disabilities. Teaching staff, speech language therapists, and parents noted that hearing children who used the Bridge of Signs model experienced language development with sign language and, in some cases, went on to use that foundation as a bridge to speaking the oral language of their caretakers. Though deaf children who used the model were more likely to have been exposed to sign language and its use, they still showed improvement in vocabulary acquisition and production. Future development and application of this model will benefit from quantitative and longitudinal study.

Patients with environment-related disorders: Comprehensive results of interdisciplinary diagnostics

Researchers dealing with environmental illnesses face complex diagnostic and methodological difficulties. Poor objective findings contrast with high subjective suffering and a firm belief that environmental exposure is the only source of complaints. The Basel pilot research project established a multi-modal assessment procedure and assessed complaints attributed to the environment. Medical, psychological and environmental findings were evaluated as to their pathogenic validity. Furthermore, patients were pooled into distinguishable subgroups in order to formulate more appropriate therapy strategies. Sixty-three patients took part in the threefold diagnostic approach (medical examination, psychiatric exploration, environmental analysis) of a mixed qualitative/quantitative study. Interdisciplinary case conferences allowed a consensus rating of the aetiological relevance of the findings to be reached. The discrepancy between self-rating and experts' judgement was exploited for subgroup formation. About 50% of the patients' symptoms could be attributed to psychiatric causes. Based on self-rating and experts' judgement, four subgroups were distinguished with differing medical, psychiatric and environmental aetiologies, personality traits and interactional competencies. Patients with environment-related disorders form a heterogeneous group. An interdisciplinary assessment and a comparison between self- and experts' judgements enable a more differentiated psychotherapeutic procedure and may enhance future treatment success.

Preserving Control in Trade Procedure Redesign - The Beer Living Lab

Globalization requires the European Union (EU) to reduce the administrative burdens for companies involved in cross-border trade if the EU is to remain a competitive economic zone. However, increasing efficiency and reducing administrative burden can easily conflict with the growing need for security, safety, health, fraud prevention and control. A key question then is how to ensure that when redesigning procedures for higher efficiency, effectiveness and trade facilitation, the desired control mechanisms are preserved and even improved? The e3-control methodology is being developed to cope with this challenge, however so far it has been implemented in parts only. In this paper we illustrate a holistic application of e3-control in the Beer Living Lab (BeerLL), an EU-funded pilot research project in the beer industry, to address a complex, real-life inter-organizational problem. Based on the application of e3-control in the BeerLL we reflect on: (1) the usefulness of e3-control to address complex interorganizational real-life problems; (2) the process of applying e3-control; (3) the underlying concepts of e3-control; and (4) the use of Living Labs as a setting for evaluating design artefacts.

Reducing cancer health disparities: Perspective of the National Cancer Institute

Background: The National Cancer Institute created the Special Population Network (SPN) to develop cancer awareness, research and training with partnerships from community and research organizations. Methods: Eighteen SPNs were funded with the goals of enlisting community partnerships, enhancing training opportunities for minority scientists, and conducting pilot research projects. Results: The SPN program concluded in 2005 after achieving many major milestones. Conclusion: This paper provides background information about the SPN and one of its programs, the Pacific Islander Cancer Control Network.

A pilot study of occupational envenomations in North American zoos and aquaria

Objective. To characterize occupational envenomations from exotic and native creatures, we surveyed North American zoos and aquaria. Methods. Survey questionnaires were mailed to curators at 216 zoos/aquaria which are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and listed on the AZA website. Reptile curators were asked to complete the zoo surveys. The questions addressed the number and types of bites, availability of antivenom (AV) on the premises, and sources of general information about envenoming. Responses were kept anonymous. Results. A total of 216 surveys were mailed. The response rate was 58% for this pilot research project. Twenty-six (21%) of responding institutions replied that they had at least one incident of bite from a venomous species in the last 10 years. Species of animals included a variety of native and exotic terrestrial and marine species. There were no deaths or serious outcomes reported as complications of these incidents. Less than one-third of responding institutions reported having AVs on-site for medical use in case of envenomations. A variety of information sources, including internally developed protocols and poison center resources, were reported as sources of envenoming information for respondents. Conclusions. Clinicians and toxicologists should be prepared to care for cases of envenomations from exotic zoo or aquarium species such as the ones identified in this survey in their practice regions.

PROBLEM FORMULATION ABILITY IS A STUDENT'S PROBLEM IN CS1!

At IACIS 2007 we presented a pilot research project [13] titled Is the Problematic in CS1 a student’s Problem Solving Ability? The acronym “CS1” refers to first courses in computer programming (and CS0 to a preparatory course). The symptom of the problem was that 40% of the students enrolled in CS1 courses worldwide withdrew, failed or performed poorly. Several studies suggested that a key factor might be that students lack problem solving ability. The pilot study administered three questionnaires, each with a free writing task, to quantify a student’s ability to analyze and identify problems. The results identified one questionnaire that correlated with student’s CS1 course grades and accounted for 60% of the variance final exam scores. That result was motivated a more comprehensive study. The questionnaire was revised to focus on assessing Problem Formulation Ability. The results in this new study provide strong evidence that Problem Formulation Ability affects student performance and that it is one of the components that effectively predicts a student’s CS1 course grade. The objective is to find an instrument to effectively place students in either a CS0 or CS1 course.