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As occupational therapists embrace evidence-informed and occupation-centred practice, the use of standardised visual perceptual tests remains a strong feature of typical paediatric practice. Yet, the research evidence for the use of such tools is inconclusive at best. This study compared the results of the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (TVPS) with a checklist of reported functional difficulties in 30 children attending occupational therapy. The purpose of this paper was to determine the usefulness of visual perceptual testing in relation to occupation-centred practice.

A descriptive correlational study design was used. Participants were 30 primary school-age children who were on a paediatric occupational therapy caseload. An additional 30 typically developing children participated in the development of the checklist.

Correlations were found between reported functional visual skill difficulties and two subtests of the TVPS (visual memory and visual discrimination). No correlation was found between the reported functional difficulties and any of the other five subtests of the TVPS or the total score.

Results highlight the weak relationship that existed in this study between standardised measures of visual perception, as measured by the TVPS, and functional difficulties. Therapists are cautioned to explore both the evidence base for continued use of standardised visual perceptual measures to inform occupation-centred practice and the need to embrace a more comprehensive person-centred approach to visual perceptual assessment.

This study proposes a Bayesian approach to analyze structural breaks and examines whether structural changes have occurred, at the onset of civil war, with respect to economic development and population during the period from 1945 to 1999.

In the Bayesian logit regression changepoint model, parameters of covariates are allowed to shift individually, regime transitions can move back and forth, and the model is applicable to cross-sectional, time-series data.

Contrary to popular belief that the causal process of civil war changed with the end of the Cold War, the empirical analysis shows that the regression relationships between civil war and economic development, as well as between civil war and population, remain quite stable during the study period.

This is the first to develop a Bayesian logit regression changepoint model and to apply it to studies of economic development and civil war.

Simulation is a well-known technique for using computers to imitate or simulate the operations of various kinds of real-world facilities or processes. The facility or process of interest is usually called a system, and to study it scientifically, we often have to make a set of assumptions about how it works. These assumptions, which usually take the form of mathematical or logical relationships, constitute a model that is used to gain some understanding of how the corresponding system behaves, and the quality of these understandings essentially depends on the credibility of given assumptions or models, known as VV&A (verification, validation and accreditation). The main purpose of this paper is to present an in-depth theoretical review and analysis for the application of VV&A in large-scale simulations.

After summarizing the VV&A of related research studies, the standards, frameworks, techniques, methods and tools have been discussed according to the characteristics of large-scale simulations (such as crowd network simulations).

The contributions of this paper will be useful for both academics and practitioners for formulating VV&A in large-scale simulations (such as crowd network simulations).

This paper will help researchers to provide support of a recommendation for formulating VV&A in large-scale simulations (such as crowd network simulations).

Head and neck cancers are multi-factorial diseases that can affect many sides of people's life and are due to a lot of risk factors. According to their characteristics, the treatment can be surgical, use of radiation or chemotherapy. The use of a surgical treatment can lead to surgical infections that are a main theme in medicine. At the University hospital of Naples “Federico II”, two antibiotics were employed to tackle the issue of the infections and they are compared in this paper to find which one implies the lowest length of hospital stay (LOS) and the reduction of infections.

The Six Sigma methodology and its problem-solving strategy DMAIC (define, measure, analyse, improve, control), already employed in the healthcare sector, were used as a tool of a health technology assessment between two drugs. In this paper the DMAIC roadmap is used to compare the Ceftriaxone (administered to a group of 48 patients) and the association of Cefazolin plus Clindamycin (administered to a group of 45 patients).

The results show that the LOS of patients treated with Ceftriaxone is lower than those who were treated with the association of Cefazolin plus Clindamycin, the difference is about 41%. Moreover, a lower number of complications and infections was found in patients who received Ceftriaxone. Finally, a greater number of antibiotic shifts was needed by patients treated with Cefazolin plus Clindamycin.

While the paper enhances clearly the advantages for patients' outcomes regarding the LOS and the number of complications, it did not analyse the costs of the two antibiotics.

Employing the Ceftriaxone would allow the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery to obtain lower LOS and a limited number of complications/infections for recovered patients, consequently reducing the hospitalization costs.

There is a double value in this paper: first of all, the comparison between the two antibiotics gives an answer to one of the main issues in medicine that is the reduction of hospital-acquired infections; secondly, the Six Sigma through its DMAIC cycle can be employed also to compare two biomedical technologies as a tool of health technology assessment studies.

This paper aims to introduce a model using a digital twin concept in a cold heading manufacturing and develop a digital visual management (VM) system using Lean overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) tool to enhance the process performance and establish Fourth Industrial Revolution (I4.0) platform in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

This work utilised plan, do, check, act Lean methodology to create a digital twin of each machine in a smart manufacturing facility by taking the Lean tool OEE and digitally transforming it in the context of I4.0. To demonstrate the effectiveness of process digitisation, a case study was carried out at a manufacturing department to provide the data to the model and later validate synergy between Lean and I4.0 platform.

The OEE parameter can be increased by 10% using a proposed digital twin model with the introduction of a Level 0 into VM platform to clearly define the purpose of each data point gathered further replicate in projects across the value stream.

The findings suggest that researchers should look beyond conversion of stored data into visualisations and predictive analytics to improve the model connectivity. The development of strong big data analytics capabilities in SMEs can be achieved by shortening the time between data gathering and impact on the model performance.

The novelty of this study is the application of OEE Lean tool in the smart manufacturing sector to allow SME organisations to introduce digitalisation on the back of structured and streamlined principles with well-defined end goals to reach the optimal OEE.

Most teachers in the Gulf would agree that Arab learners struggle more with reading and writing than listening and speaking. One little considered possible influence on this is the particular visual processing requirements of English. This article suggests why visual processing or visual cognition might be a particular difficulty for Arab students reading English. It offers a simple classroom checklist that may assist teachers to notice if visual processing strain could be effecting their student’s attention, motivation and performance.

This study aims to analyse the effectiveness of a static promotional banner located on a hotel reservation website in terms of capturing the visitor’s visual attention by exploring how this impact depends on the user’s degree of internet experience.

An experiment was conducted using the eye-tracking methodology, in addition to a self-administered questionnaire. Through eye-tracking technology, eye movements were recorded whilst participants explored a generic hotel website. The factors used in the analyses were the position of the banner on the website and participants’ experience as internet users.

The findings showed that positioning a banner at certain locations on the webpage may lead to a better recall, which, in part, seems to result from the visual attention that such locations attract. The mediation analysis showed that the bottom-right and bottom-left positions have a negative effect on banner recall due, in part, to the shorter attention times and the smaller number of fixations those positions induce. Although the visitor’s level of internet experience affected his/her visual attention towards the banner, its impact on banner recall was non-significant. Results are discussed considering which variables produce greater effectiveness in capturing the user’s attention.

The paper draws several implications for the marketing literature, hospitality management and society in general.

The study is the first to analyse the impact of the position of a static ad on users’ visual attention and memory, considering the user’s degree of internet experience.

Este estudio analiza la eficacia de un banner promocional estático ubicado en un sitio web de reservas de un hotel en términos de captación de la atención visual del visitante examinando cómo este efecto depende del grado de experiencia del usuario en Internet.

Se llevó a cabo un experimento utilizando la metodología de seguimiento ocular (eye tracking), junto con un cuestionario autoadministrado. A través de la tecnología de eye tracking, se registraron los movimientos oculares mientras los participantes exploraban el sitio web genérico de un hotel. Los factores considerados en los análisis fueron la posición del banner en el sitio web y la experiencia de los participantes como usuarios de Internet.

Los hallazgos mostraron que colocar un banner en ciertas ubicaciones de la página web puede conducir a un mayor recuerdo, lo que, en parte, parece ser el resultado de la atención visual que atraen tales posiciones. El análisis de mediación mostró que las posiciones inferior-derecha e inferior-izquierda tienen un efecto negativo en el recuerdo del banner debido, en parte, a los tiempos de atención más cortos y al menor número de fijaciones que provocan esas posiciones. Aunque el nivel de experiencia de Internet del visitante afectó su atención visual hacia el banner, su impacto en el recuerdo del banner no fue significativo. Los resultados son discutidos considerando qué variables producen mayor efectividad a la hora de captar la atención del usuario.

El artículo presenta una serie de implicaciones para la literatura de marketing, la gestión hotelera y la sociedad en general.

Nuestro estudio es el primero en analizar el impacto de la posición de un anuncio estático en la atención visual y la memoria de los usuarios, considerando el nivel de experiencia del usuario en Internet.

本研究分析了位于酒店预订网站上的静态促销横幅在吸引访问者视觉注意力方面的效果, 并探索了这种效果如何受到用户的互联网体验程度的影响。

本文除了采用自填问卷的方式, 还使用眼动追踪方法进行了实验。通过眼动追踪技术, 记录了参与者在浏览一般酒店网站时的眼动情况。分析中使用的因素是网站上横幅的位置和参与者作为互联网用户的体验。

调查结果显示, 将横幅定位在网页上的某些位置可能会导致更佳的记忆, 这种效果在一定程度上是由于横幅的位置吸引了视觉注意力。调解分析表明, 横幅在右下角和左下角的位置对的回忆有负面影响, 部分原因是这些位置引起的注意时间较短、固定次数较少。虽然访问者的互联网体验水平影响了他/她对横幅的视觉注意力, 但其对横幅记忆的影响并不显著。讨论结果时考虑到了某些变量在吸引用户的注意力方面具有更明显的效果。

本文对市场营销文献、酒店管理和社会都具有一定的借鉴意义。

本次研究是第一个分析静态广告的位置对用户视觉注意力和记忆的影响的研究, 考虑到用户的互联网体验程度。

This study investigates whether colors red or blue in financial disclosure documents (Key Investor Information Documents – KIIDs) affect attention distribution toward the visual stimulus and the perception of financial attractiveness of the products.

In order to observe and measure financial consumers' visual attention, the unobtrusive methodology of eye-tracking is used on a sample of nonprofessional investors, applying an ecological protocol, through a cross-sectional design.

Financial information processing and visual attention distribution are influenced by the color of the KIID document, as red seems to attract attention, proxied by gazing behavior, more than blue. Red color, compared to blue, is also observed to push investors to rate the products as less financially attractive, especially when the product Risk Reward Profile is high.

The findings highlight the role of the basic visual properties of documents conveying financial information, prompting to investigate the unconscious and automatic mechanisms of individual's attention and its influence on decision making.

Using the eye-tracking tool, this study bridges neuroscience, color research, marketing and finance and provides new knowledge on the underlying neural mechanisms of financial consumers' behavior.

This paper aims to examine the impact of using visual grammar on learning participle adjectives by EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners.

The study follows an experimental design in which two groups participated in the study. The experimental group used visual grammar tools in learning participle adjectives. The control group was taught the participle adjectives in a traditional way. A pre–post test was designed and presented to the participants in the two groups.

The results showed that the experimental group made statistically significant improvements in their performance in using participle adjectives due to the use of visual grammar tools.

The current study is only limited to the effect of visual images on a particular grammatical issue, that is participle adjectives. Besides, the study does not include the gender variable; there may be variation in the results depending on the variable of gender.

The present study can provide language instructors with some guidelines on how to incorporate visual grammar applications in teaching grammar aspects. Learners can also be encouraged to have a better understanding of English grammar, using the different connotations of visual images.

Using visual images in teaching grammar will increase the learners' ability to think beyond their classroom environment. They can use this experience whenever they face visual images in different societal activities.

This paper is one of the initial attempts to investigate the effect of using visual grammar on learning participle adjectives.

This study introduces the concept of audiovisual alerts and warnings as a way to reduce phishing susceptibility on mobile devices.

This study has three phases. The first phase included 32 subject matter experts that provided feedback toward a phishing alert and warning system. The second phase included development and a pilot study to validate a phishing alert and warning system prototype. The third phase included delivery of the Phishing Alert and Warning System (PAWS^TM mobile app) to 205 participants. This study designed, developed, as well as empirically tested the PAWS^TM mobile app that alerted and warned participants to the signs of phishing in emails on mobile devices.

The results of this study indicated audio alerts and visual warnings potentially lower phishing susceptibility in emails. Audiovisual warnings appeared to assist study participants in noticing phishing emails more easily and in less time than without audiovisual warnings.

This study's implications to mitigation of phishing emails are key, as it appears that alerts and warnings added to email applications may play a significant role in the reduction of phishing susceptibility.

This study extends the existing information security body of knowledge on phishing prevention and awareness by using audiovisual alerts and warnings to email recipients tested in real-life applications.