Use of assistive technologies and alternative means by older people: The “Actional Model of Older people´s Coping with Health-Related Declines”

in Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science (2022)

This paper presents the “Actional Model of Older people´s Coping with Health-Related Declines” to explain the use of a broad range of action alternatives of older persons for dealing with current or ... [more ▼]

This paper presents the “Actional Model of Older people´s Coping with Health-Related Declines” to explain the use of a broad range of action alternatives of older persons for dealing with current or anticipated diseases, functional declines, activity limitations and participation restrictions. The general background is the action-theoretical model of intentional self-regulation of human development (e.g., Brandtstädter, 2006; Rothermund & Brandtstädter, 2019). Yet, our model provides an increased specification of major model components toward the situation of older people coping with current or anticipated health-related declines. The model development follows an adapted theory construction methodology (TCM) by Borsboom et al. (2021) and adapted principles for constructing practically useful theories by Berkman & Wilson (2021). Regarding content, we further draw on models of the use of assistive technologies (ATs) and medical services, qualitative studies on reasons for using ATs, and quantitative studies on health-related goals. The resulting model includes these components: (1) Discrepancies between perceived or anticipated and desired health-related development, (2) health-related discrepancy reduction and prevention goals, (3) action possibilities for reducing or preventing health-related discrepancies, (4) further motivating and demotivating goals, (5) beliefs about effective means for reaching the goals (2) and (4), (6) generation of the particular coping actions by goals (2) and (4) in combination with beliefs about effective means, (7) external context factors, and (8) modes of joint decision-making and decision-making on behalf of older people. The explanatory and practical value of the model are discussed as well as its implications for future research and geropsychology teaching. [less ▲]

Use of Autostitch for automatic stitching of microscope images.

in Micron (2007), 38(5), 492-9

Image stitching is the process of combining multiple images to produce a panorama or larger image. In many biomedical studies, including those of cancer and infection, the use of this approach is highly ... [more ▼]

Image stitching is the process of combining multiple images to produce a panorama or larger image. In many biomedical studies, including those of cancer and infection, the use of this approach is highly desirable in order to acquire large areas of certain structures or whole sections, while retaining microscopic resolution. In this study, we describe the application of Autostitch, viz. software that is normally used for the generation of panoramas in photography, in the seamless stitching of microscope images. First, we tested this software on image sets manually acquired by normal light microscopy and compared the performance with a manual stitching approach performed with Paint Shop Pro. Secondly, this software was applied to an image stack acquired by an automatic microscope. The stitching results were then compared with that generated by a self-programmed rectangular tiling macro integrated in Image J. Thirdly, this program was applied in the image stitching of images from electron microscopy. Thus, the automatic stitching program described here may find applications in convenient image stitching and virtual microscopy in the biomedical research. [less ▲]

Use of continuous glucose monitoring in children and adolescents

in Pediatric Diabetes (2012), 13(3), 215-228

[No abstract available]

The use of detention and alternatives to detention in the context of immigration policies - Luxembourg

Report (2014)

The Use of In Vitro Systems for Evaluating Immunotoxicity: The Report and Recommendations of an ECVAM Workshop

in Journal of Immunotoxicology (2005), 2(2), 61-83

This is the report of a workshop organised by the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM). ECVAM's main goal, as defined in 1993 by its Scientific Advisory Committee, is to ... [more ▼]

This is the report of a workshop organised by the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM). ECVAM's main goal, as defined in 1993 by its Scientific Advisory Committee, is to promote the scientific and regulatory acceptance of alternative methods that are of importance to the biosciences and which replace, reduce or refine the use of laboratory animals. One of the first priorities set by ECVAM was the implementation of procedures that would enable it to become well informed about the state-of-the-art of non-animal test development and validation, and the potential for the possible incorporation of alternative tests into regulatory procedures. It was decided that this would be best achieved by the organization of ECVAM workshops on specific topics, at which small groups of invited experts would review the current status of various types of in vitro tests and their potential uses, and make recommendations about the best ways forward (Anonymous, 1994). The workshop on "The use of in vitro systems for evaluating Immunotoxicity" was held at ECVAM (Ispra), Italy, on 24th-26th November 2003. The participants represented academia, national organizations, international regulatory bodies and industry. The aim of the workshop was to review the state-of-the-art in the field of in vitro immunotoxicology, and to develop strategies towards the replacement of in vivo testing. At the end of this report are listed the recommendations that should be considered for prevalidation and validation of relevant and reliable procedures, that could replace the use of animals in chemical and cosmetics toxicity testing. [less ▲]

The use of iPads in Kindergarten: An exploratory survey study

Scientific Conference (2016, September 06)

The educational technology support team of the city of Luxembourg deployed 60 iPads, in a pilot phase during the school year 2014-2015, in around 120 Kindergarten classes. In order to assess whether this ... [more ▼]

The educational technology support team of the city of Luxembourg deployed 60 iPads, in a pilot phase during the school year 2014-2015, in around 120 Kindergarten classes. In order to assess whether this deployment was well received by teachers and whether it was worth extending it, we did an exploratory survey study that asked Kindergarten teachers about their reactions to the provided iPads. Moreover, we wanted to contribute to the existing body of research on enabling and hindering factors for the integration of ICT in education (Ertmer, 2005; Pelgrum, 2011). We did send out an email to about 210 Kindergarten teachers inviting them to participate in our study and answer various questions about their use or not of the provided iPads. A mix of open and closed questions were used. We first asked them whether they had used the iPads or not and depending on their answers they received a slightly different version of our survey. Both groups of respondents were asked to answer some questions not directly linked to the use of iPads in education: their gender, their age, the length of their work experience, how many children they have in their class, how competent they feel with using digital tools, what digital tools they use privately and for what purposes they use them, what digital tools (other than iPads) they use in their classes and for what purposes they use them, what they consider to be good teaching in Kindergarten. Those who said they had indeed used the iPads were then asked how they had prepared themselves before using the iPads in class, why and for what purposes and for which learning & teaching activities they had used them (Leclercq & Poumay 2005), what they had expected from their use, what problems, issues and challenges they had faced, if they would want to use them more / differently in the future, what they would need to wore more / better with iPads and whether they would be willing to offer professional development sessions to other teachers. Those who said they did not use the provided iPads were asked why they did not use the iPads, if they had thought about the use of iPads in education, if they had heard about it from colleagues, under which conditions they might consider to use them, how they would prepare themselves in case they would plan to use iPads in their class, if they wanted to visit colleagues and observe how they use them, for what purposes and activities they might want to use them, how they would use them, and what effects they would expect the iPads to have on their pupils and on their teaching. Overall, 91 teachers filled out the survey, 63 claiming they had (at least once) used the provided iPads in their class and 28 saying they never used them. Results will be presented at the conference and discussed in terms of teacher believes about the usefulness of tablets and digital technologies (Tondeur, Hermans, van Braak & Valcke, 2008), and more specifically how first-order and second-order barriers impact Kindergarten teachers decisions to integrate mobile ICT in their classrooms, or not (Lui & Pange, 2015). [less ▲]

The use of media in language teaching

Scientific Conference (2022, September 24)

Multilingual teaching and the promotion of multilingualism among students are important principles of the University of Luxembourg. For their implementation, a variety of e-learning resources are used ... [more ▼]

Multilingual teaching and the promotion of multilingualism among students are important principles of the University of Luxembourg. For their implementation, a variety of e-learning resources are used, adapted to the needs of the learners. We will give an overview of new multimodal communication practices and methods used by learners in multilingual contexts which naturally lead teachers to rethink their approach and incorporate media into their teaching strategies. The hybrid nature of devices (computers, tablets, televisions, smartphones, paper, interactive whiteboards, etc.) and digital tools (document sharing platforms, online correction tools, interactive exercises, online learning programmes, dictionaries, video editing software, automatic pronunciation correction, etc.) offer a great potential to interactive and mobile teaching and learning. We will illustrate this potential by giving an example of how to develop text production competence in Chinese as a foreign language in a motivating way using the content management system Moodle. Our reflection aims at optimising the quality of language teaching both in and out of the classroom. [less ▲]

The use of process data to advance our understanding of technology-enhanced assessment

Speeches/Talks (2016)

The use of simulation in the design of critical embedded systems

Scientific Conference (2016, June 09)

Les plate-formes virtuelles permettant de prédire par simulation numérique les performances deviennent peu à peu une réalité dans la conception des systèmes de contrôle les plus complexes et les plus ... [more ▼]

Les plate-formes virtuelles permettant de prédire par simulation numérique les performances deviennent peu à peu une réalité dans la conception des systèmes de contrôle les plus complexes et les plus contraints (automobile, aéronautique, contrôle de réseaux power-grid, etc). Dès les phases amont du cycle de conception, ces outils guident les concepteurs dans leurs choix de conception. Le premier objectif de cet exposé est de dresser un rapide panorama des modèles et techniques de simulation de l'embarqué critique: simulation du comportement fonctionnel (lois de contrôle), simulation "timing-accurate" des plate-formes d'exécution, de leur complémentarité et limites actuelles. Contrairement à des techniques mathématiques, la simulation ne fournit a priori aucune garantie sur la couverture de vérification et les situations pire-cas ("corner cases") ne sont pas nécessairement identifiées. Néanmoins la simulation est de plus en plus incontournable car les modèles analytiques ne sont généralement pas en mesure de capturer toute la complexité des systèmes réels. Le second objectif de cet exposé est d'identifier des bonnes pratiques méthodologiques pour l'utilisation de la simulation dans les systèmes critiques (ex: choix des temps de simulation et nombre d'expérimentations en fonction de caractéristiques structurelles des processus simulés, métriques de performances pour les événements rares, etc). [less ▲]

The use of strategies in motor learning: Validation of a new questionnaire

in Beek, Peter; van de Langenberg, Rolf (Eds.) European Workshop on Movement Science - Book of Abstracts (2007, June)