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This paper aims to propose a gesture recognition method at an early stage. An accelerometer is installed in most current mobile phones, such as iPhones, Android-powered devices and video game controllers for the Wii or PS3, which enables easy and intuitive operations. Therefore, many gesture-based user interfaces that use accelerometers are expected to appear in the future. Gesture recognition systems with an accelerometer generally have to construct models with user’s gesture data before use and recognize unknown gestures by comparing them with the models. Because the recognition process generally starts after the gesture has finished, the output of the recognition result and feedback delay, which may cause users to retry gestures, degrades the interface usability.

The simplest way to achieve early recognition is to start it at a fixed time after a gesture starts. However, the degree of accuracy would decrease if a gesture in an early stage was similar to the others. Moreover, the timing of a recognition has to be capped by the length of the shortest gesture, which may be too early for longer gestures. On the other hand, retreated recognition timing will exceed the length of the shorter gestures. In addition, a proper length of training data has to be found, as the full length of training data does not fit the input data until halfway. To recognize gestures in an early stage, proper recognition timing and a proper length of training data have to be decided. This paper proposes a gesture recognition method used in the early stages that sequentially calculates the distance between the input and training data. The proposed method outputs the recognition result when one candidate has a stronger likelihood of recognition than the other candidates so that similar incorrect gestures are not output.

The proposed method was experimentally evaluated on 27 kinds of gestures and it was confirmed that the recognition process finished 1,000 msec before the end of the gestures on average without deteriorating the level of accuracy. Gestures were recognized in an early stage of motion, which would lead to an improvement in the interface usability and a reduction in the number of incorrect operations such as retried gestures. Moreover, a gesture-based photo viewer was implemented as a useful application of our proposed method, the proposed early gesture recognition system was used in a live unscripted performance and its effectiveness is ensured.

Gesture recognition methods with accelerometers generally learn a given user’s gesture data before using the system, then recognizes any unknown gestures by comparing them with the training data. The recognition process starts after a gesture has finished, and therefore, any interaction or feedback depending on the recognition result is delayed. For example, an image on a smartphone screen rotates a few seconds after the device has been tilted, which may cause the user to retry tilting the smartphone even if the first one was correctly recognized. Although many studies on gesture recognition using accelerometers have been done, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, none of these studies has taken the potential delays in output into consideration.

Existing models of decline and turnaround assume an automatic initiation of a turnaround strategy when decline occurs. However, extended decline over time suggests that the turnaround strategy did not match the causality and severity of the situation. Borrowing from the crisis management literature, this paper argues that a triggering event or events needs to shock incumbent management into realizing that different action is called for. Such triggering events, or triggers, also play a role in the turnaround process by influencing strategies and inducing management changes. Incorporating the need for, and role of, triggers in understanding the decline/turnaround sequence helps explain the iterative and non‐sequential nature of this process.

Examines the history of professionalism as an issue in British marketing. Investigates attempts made to establish professional attributes in British marketing and the model of professionalism adopted. Looks at limits placed on the progression of marketing with regard to professionalism. States that the ideal typical model of professionalism has never been a valid framework for marketing, in that the structural bases of the occupation are of a different order and require individual analysis.

The first step toward developing an automated construction workers performance monitoring system is to initially establish a complete and competent activity recognition solution, which is still lacking. This study aims to propose a novel approach of using labor physiological data collected through wearable sensors as means of remote and automatic activity recognition.

A pilot study is conducted against three pre-fabrication stone construction workers throughout three full working shifts to test the ability of automatically recognizing the type of activities they perform in-site through their lively measured physiological signals (i.e. blood volume pulse, respiration rate, heart rate, galvanic skin response and skin temperature). The physiological data are broadcasted from wearable sensors to a tablet application developed for this particular purpose, and are therefore used to train and assess the performance of various machine-learning classifiers.

A promising result of up to 88% accuracy level for activity recognition was achieved by using an artificial neural network classifier. Nonetheless, special care needs to be taken for some activities that evoke similar physiological patterns. It is expected that blending this method with other currently developed camera-based or kinetic-based methods would yield higher activity recognition accuracy levels.

The proposed method complements previously proposed labor tracking methods that focused on monitoring labor trajectories and postures, by using additional rich source of information from labors physiology, for real-time and remote activity recognition. Ultimately, this paves for an automated and comprehensive solution with which construction managers could monitor, control and collect rich real-time data about workers performance remotely.

This paper considers the impact of the Investors in People (IIP) Standard upon small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Midlands. The paper describes IIP, then considers the significance of SMEs and the impact of training and development in that sector. The paper then presents an analytical framework, firmly rooted in a literature review, that provides the basis for an examination of the reasons why SMEs might commit (or fail to commit) to IIP, the difficulties encountered and the benefits received. Our empirical findings are discussed in the context of this framework. These findings are based on questionnaire responses from almost 600 SMEs, and interviews with promoters of IIP. Some key responses are broken down according to size‐band and/or growth‐orientation. In addition, follow‐up interviews were conducted with selected firms, ranging from IIP enthusiasts to rejecters. This study therefore combines quantitative data with qualitative input. The attitudes and experiences of the respondents offer fresh insight into the appropriateness of IIP as an organisational development tool for the SME sector. The SME support network in England and Wales is undergoing a critical transition. The role of the Training and Enterprise Councils in promoting IIP to SMEs also comes under scrutiny, and our study has lessons for the promotion of IIP by the new learning and skills councils.

It has been suggested that children's repeated traumatisation, such as repeated exposure to physical or sexual abuse, evokes defensive operations and experiential distortions that lead to personality disorder. This understanding has major implications with regard to how staff understand their patients, their role within the relationship and the therapy approach they take. Analysis of staff's understandings regarding influences upon the therapeutic relationship with women diagnosed as borderline personality disorder, acknowledges the centrality of trauma/attachment difficulties; however, this continues to perceive relationships as internalised difficulties within the women. This research explores the negative compounding factors that result in re‐enactments of early attachments and the need for shared responsibility for producing such relationships, in order to develop a more therapeutic, supporting and validating experience for both patients and staff.

Adults with Down's Syndrome are at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in later life. This paper gives an overview of the current research in the area and discusses the implications it raises for individuals, carers and service providers. Information on the link between Down's Syndrome and Alzheimer's disease and prevalence rates are given. The clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and a stage model documenting the progression of the disease are presented. Attention is drawn to the problems inherent in assessing and diagnosing Alzheimer's disease in a person with a pre‐existing learning disability. The importance of a thorough assessment procedure and guidelines for assessment methods are highlighted. The paper also discusses the management of Alzheimer's disease and focuses on care management practices and recommendations for service provision. Guidelines for supporting individuals include maintaining skills, adopting a person‐centred approach, implementing psychosocial interventions and multidisciplinary care management. Finally, high prevalence rates of Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down's Syndrome and increasing life spans are highlighted as a particular concern, and recommendations for the future include increasing education and awareness, implementing screening services, improving assessment methods and developing appropriate services.

Dementia is a condition that involves inevitably progressive deficits in numerous cognitive domains, including thought, language, memory, understanding and judgement. A difference in behaviour may be noted, as well as overall loss of skills. Dementia is more than four times as prevalent in people with intellectual disabilities as in the general population. Diagnosis of the condition in people with intellectual disabilities, however, is often difficult due to lack of baseline skill assessment, high staff turnover in supported accommodation and low expectations of capabilities. Current National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on anti‐dementia medication state that treatment should not be initiated until the condition has reached moderate severity. Determining whether symptoms are at this stage in people with intellectual disabilities is difficult because their skill level is already impaired. An accurate and extensive record of baseline skill levels in people with intellectual disabilities is therefore crucial, and regular comparison with baseline is key to early diagnosis of dementia.

This article is an extended version of an ‘experts’ briefing' commissioned to inform senior child welfare managers in English local authorities and voluntary agencies about the available evidence to inform the provision of effective services in complex child protection cases. It starts by noting how differences in the approach to service provision in different jurisdictions affect both the nature of research conducted and its transferability across national boundaries. It then summarises the characteristics both of parents who are likely to maltreat their children and also of the children most likely to be maltreated. The factors that make some families ‘hard to engage’ or ‘hard to help/change’ are then discussed, as are the essential elements of effective professional practice in child protection. Particular attention is paid to effective approaches to helping families and young people who are hard to identify or engage.

Answers recent calls for scholarly study of organizational culture in a marketing context. Presents a view of the marketing concept as culture based on the organizational symbolism paradigm. Then applies this perspective through techniques for implementing the marketing concept.