Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Roles Of Perceived Control And Planning In Ranch Drought Preparedness, Tonya Haigh, Cody Knutson

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Ranchers in the Great Plains and across the United States face the threat of periodic drought. Though ranchers might minimize losses through drought-preparedness activities, many do not adequately prepare for drought, in part because of perceptions that the outcomes of drought management are not controllable. We explore how drought planning activities affect ranchers' perceptions of control and drought preparedness using the theories of planned behavior and goal attainment as guiding frameworks. Ten Great Plains ranchers who had engaged in drought management activities were interviewed about their plans. From the interviews, three activities emerged that appeared to increase ranchers' perceived control …

Evaluating A New Infection Prevention And Control Programme (Ipcp): Tool Development And Use In The Republic Of Kiribati, P-A Zimmerman, H Yeatman, M Jones, H Murdoch

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Abstract of poster presentation that presented at the 2nd International Conference on Prevention and Infection Control (ICPIC 2013), Geneva, Switzerland, 25-28 June 2013.

The Effects Of Inhibitory Control Training On Alcohol Consumption, Implicit Alcohol-Related Cognitions And Brain Electrical Activity, Claire Bowley, Cameron Faricy, Bronwyn Hegarty, Stuart J. Johnstone, Janette L. Smith, Peter J. Kelly, Jacqueline A. Rushby

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This study aimed to replicate findings that alcohol consumption and positive implicit beer-related cognitions can be reduced using inhibitory control (IC) training, with the addition of an active training control. Frontal EEG asymmetry, an objective psychophysiological index of approach motivation, was used as a dependent measure to examine training outcomes. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two IC training conditions (Beer NoGo or Beer Go) or a Brief Alcohol Intervention (BAI) (i.e. the active training control). The IC training tasks consistently paired a stimulus that required a response with images of water (Beer NoGo) or images of beer (Beer …

Capability Curve Based Enhanced Reactive Power Control Strategy For Stability Enhancement And Network Voltage Management, Lasantha Meegahapola, Tim Littler, Sarath Perera

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Reactive power has become a vital resource in modern electricity networks due to increased penetration of distributed generation. This paper examines the extended reactive power capability of DFIGs to improve network stability and capability to manage network voltage profile during transient faults and dynamic operating conditions. A coordinated reactive power controller is designed by considering the reactive power capabilities of the rotor-side converter (RSC) and the grid-side converter (GSC) of the DFIG in order to maximise the reactive power support from DFIGs. The study has illustrated that, a significant reactive power contribution can be obtained from partially loaded DFIG wind …

Towards Improved Steel Alloy Designs For Control Of Weld Heat Affected Zone Properties, F J. Barbaro, Z Zhu, L Kuzmikova, H Li, J M. Gray

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper reviews the current technology related to control of weld HAZ properties in high strength steels. The debate related to appropriate balance of Ti and N is addressed and it appears that a stoichiometric ratio provides optimum fracture toughness. The results are significant because despite the well established difficulties in controlling Ti/N ratio, this data now provides guidance in terms of alloy design to achieve optimum fracture toughness in the HAZ of welds. The enhanced resistance to grain coarsening behaviour of high Nb steels has now provided another incremental improvement in the weldability of steels for critical applications such …

Novel Modulation And Control Strategy For Five-Level Anpc Converter With Unbalanced Dc Voltage Applied To A Single-Phase Grid Connected Pv System, Hamid R. Teymour, Danny Sutanto, Kashem M. Muttaqi, Phil Ciufo

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper proposes a new control strategy and a novel modulation technique for a grid-connected photo-voltaic (PV) system using a single-phase five-level flying capacitor (FC) based active-neutral-point-clamped (ANPC) converter. The proposed modulator can control the FC voltage to follow the requested reference value and simultaneously generate the required ac output voltage regardless of the values of the dc capacitor voltages of the converter. By implementing this method, smaller values of dc-link and flying capacitors can be used even in applications that could experience ripple or transient in the capacitors voltage. In the grid-connected single-phase five-level ANPC, where the capacitors can …

Displacement Plethysmographs For Measuring Limb Segment Blood Flow (Forearm, Hand, Calf, Foot) With Independent Control Over Local Skin Temperature: A Project For An Older Tool, Joanne N. Caldwell Odgers, David J. R Hoyle, Nigel A.S Taylor

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Measuring cutaneous blood flow is an essential building block for understanding thermoeffector responses to changes in central and peripheral tissue temperatures. Under thermoneutral conditions, skin blood flow modifications are the primary pathway for heat exchange. Outside this zone, flow changes provide information pertaining to the thermoregulatory control mechanisms that modulate vasomotor tone. Whilst there are numerous methods available for measuring regional blood flow in humans, the most common method for evaluating the cutaneous flow is via venous-occlusion plethysmography, which has been used for over a century (an older tool), with strain-gauge plethysmographs being most commonly used today.

Combined Cognitive And State-Control Training For Children With And Without Ad/Hd: Effects On Behaviour, Working Memory And Resting Eeg, Rebecca Bonfield, Stuart Johnstone, Kirsten Johnson, Stephanie Carrigan, Steven Roodenrys, Sue Bennett, Emily Church, Jacob Sargeant

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the 23rd Australasian Society for Psychophysiology Conference, 20-22 Nov 2013, Wollongong, Australia

Diabetes And Cognitive Deficits In Chronic Schizophrenia: A Case-Control Study, Mei Han, Xu-Feng Huang, Da Chun Chen, Meihong Xiu, Thomas R. Kosten, Xiang Yang Zhang

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Cognitive impairment occurs in both schizophrenia and diabetes. There is currently limited understanding whether schizophrenia with diabetes has more serious cognitive deficits than schizophrenia without diabetes or diabetes only. This study assessed cognitive performance in 190 healthy controls, 106 diabetes only, 127 schizophrenia without diabetes and 55 schizophrenia with diabetes. This study was conducted from January 2008 to December 2010. Compared to healthy controls, all patient groups had significantly decreased total and five index RBANS scores (all p<0.01-p

Fuzzy Control Of A Conjugated Polymer Actuator, Mohammadreza Sabetghadam, Mehmet Itik, Gursel Alici

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Polypyrrole actuators may represent time varying and nonlinear dynamics as the solvent evaporation continuously affects their performance. Linear models can be used to design controllers for polypyrrole actuators to some extent but their performance may not be sufficient in order to comply with the requirements for applications where high precision is necessary. This paper proposes a Fuzzy Logic controller to improve the tracking performance of a trilayer polypyyrole conducting polymer actuator. As the fuzzy controller does not require a model for the system, the nonlinearities and uncertainties can be handled effectively. Experimental results show that fuzzy control improves the tracking …

A Maximum Principle For Optimal Control Of Stochastic Evolution Equations, Kai Du, Qingxin Meng

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

A general maximum principle is proved for optimal controls of abstract semilinear stochastic evolution equations. The control variable and linear unbounded operators act in both drift and diffusion terms, and the control set need not be convex. Read More: http://epubs.siam.org/doi/abs/10.1137/120882433

Point Of Common Coupling (Pcc) Voltage Control Of A Grid-Connected Solar Photovoltaic (Pv) System, Brian K. Perera, Philip Ciufo, Sarath Perera

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

In future low voltage grids, with multiple inverter interfaced sources connected, voltage regulation may become a necessary task. The potential exists for inverter interfaced sources to be deployed to regulate the voltage at the point of common coupling (PCC) of each inverter interfaced sources. The PCC voltage regulation is attainable with inverter interfaced sources by dynamically controlling the amount of reactive power injected to the power distribution grid by individual systems. In the current research, a closed-loop controller is proposed to regulate the PCC voltage of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system that is connected to a single-phase power distribution feeder …

Vibration Control Of Vehicle Seat Integrating With Chassis Suspension And Driver Body Model, Haiping Du, Weihua Li, Nong Zhang

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Vehicle seat suspension is one of very important components to provide ride comfort, in particular, commercial vehicles, to reduce driver fatigue due to long hours driving. This paper presents a study on active control of seat suspension to reduce vertical vibration transmitted from uneven road profile to driver body. The control problem will be firstly studied by proposing an integrated seat suspension model which includes vehicle chassis suspension, seat suspension, and driver body model. This is a new concept in the field of study because most of the current active and semi-active seat suspension studies only consider seat suspension or …

Experiences Of Kenyan Healthcare Workers Providing Services To Men Who Have Sex With Men: Qualitative Findings From A Sensitivity Training Programme, Elise M. Van Der Elst, Evans Gichuru, Anisa Omar, Jennifer Kanungi, Zoe Duby, Miriam Midoun, Sylvia Shangani, Susan M. Graham, Adrian D. Smith, Eduard J. Sanders, Don Operario

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Introduction

Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Kenya are at high risk for HIV and may experience prejudiced treatment in health settings due to stigma. An on-line computer-facilitated MSM sensitivity programme was conducted to educate healthcare workers (HCWs) about the health issues and needs of MSM patients.

Methods

Seventy-four HCWs from 49 ART-providing health facilities in the Kenyan Coast were recruited through purposive sampling to undergo a two-day MSM sensitivity training. We conducted eight focus group discussions (FGDs) with programme participants prior to and three months after completing the training programme. Discussions aimed to characterize HCWs’ challenges in …

Even With Cruise Control You Still Have To Steer: Defining Trolling To Get Things Done, Andrew M. Whelan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

'Trolling' is not a pre-given aspect of a discursive environment, which we enter into and then identify as such. This paper demonstrates that trolling is contextually mobilised as an occasioned aspect of interaction through an example: a news segment aired on the Australian network television news program Seven News in 2012. This segment is interpreted initially with reference to existing frameworks, so as to make a case about how trolling is conventionally understood, and this interpretation is then respecified through a membership categorisation analysis of the segment in question. By attending to the methods with which trolls are produced and …

Varying Task Difficulty In The Go/Nogo Task: The Effects Of Inhibitory Control, Arousal, And Perceived Effort On Erp Components, Nicholas Benikos, Stuart J. Johnstone, Steven J. Roodenrys

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Similar to other executive functions, inhibitory control is thought to be a dynamic process that can be influenced by variations in task difficulty. However, little is known about how different task parameters alter inhibitory performance and processing as a task becomes more difficult. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of varying task difficulty, via manipulation of reaction time deadline (RTD), on measures of inhibitory control, perceived effort, and task-related arousal (indexed by skin conductance level). Sixty adults completed a visual Go/Nogo task (70% Go) after being randomly assigned to one of three task difficulty conditions: High, …

Importance Of The Inverted Control In Measuring Holistic Face Processing With The Composite Effect And Part-Whole Effect, Elinor Mckone, A Davies, H Darke, Kate Crookes, T Wickramariyaratne, S Zappia, C Fiorentini, Simone K. Favelle, M Broughton, D Fernando

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Holistic coding for faces is shown in several illusions that demonstrate integration of the percept across the entire face. The illusions occur upright but, crucially, not inverted. Converting the illusions into experimental tasks that measure their strength - and thus index degree of holistic coding - is often considered straightforward yet in fact relies on a hidden assumption, namely that there is no contribution to the experimental measure from secondary cognitive factors. For the composite effect, a relevant secondary factor is size of the "spotlight" of visuospatial attention.The composite task assumes this spotlight can be easily restricted to the target …

Inertial Sensing For Human Motor Control Symmetry In Injury Rehabilitation, Matthew Field, David Stirling, Montserrat Ros, Zengxi Stephen Pan, Fazel Naghdy

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper proposes a series of methods for representing changes in human motion during injury rehabilitation using Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) inertial sensors. Tracking the changes over a recovery period requires methods for evaluating the similarity of movement in an impaired state against a non-impaired state. We investigate the use of motion analyses such as the centre of mass (COM) tipping distance, the variance of joint velocity eigenvalues and the cumulative state changes of Gaussian mixture models (GMM) for monitoring the symmetry between the left and right sides of body during rehabilitation exercises. The methods are tested on an injured athlete …