Teesside University

About: Teesside University is a education organization based out in Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 2155 authors who have published 5540 publications receiving 118373 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Teesside.

Do medical student attitudes towards patients with chronic low back pain improve during training? a cross-sectional study.

Abstract: Background Health care professionals with positive attitudes towards the functional abilities of patients with low back pain are more likely to encourage activity and avoidance of rest as per recommended guidelines. This study investigated whether medical student training fosters positive attitudes towards patients with back pain and their ability to function.

Pain Reconceptualisation after Pain Neurophysiology Education in Adults with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Qualitative Study.

Abstract: Pain neurophysiology education (PNE) is an educational intervention for patients with chronic pain PNE purports to assist patients to reconceptualise their pain away from the biomedical model towards a more biopsychosocial understanding by explaining pain biology This study aimed to explore the extent, and nature, of patients' reconceptualisation of their chronic low back pain (CLBP) following PNE Eleven adults with CLBP underwent semistructured interviews before and three weeks after receiving PNE Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed in a framework approach using four a priori themes identified from our previous research: (1) degrees of reconceptualisation, (2) personal relevance, (3) importance of prior beliefs, and (4) perceived benefit of PNE We observed varying degrees of reconceptualisation from zero to almost complete, with most participants showing partial reconceptualisation Personal relevance of the information to participants and their prior beliefs were associated with the degree of benefit they perceived from PNE Where benefits were found, they manifested as improved understanding, coping, and function Findings map closely to our previous studies in more disparate chronic pain groups The phenomenon of reconceptualisation is applicable to CLBP and the sufficiency of the themes from our previous studies increases confidence in the certainty of the findings

Attitudes towards the male contraceptive pill in men and women in casual and stable sexual relationships

Abstract: Background and methodology Men9s and women9s attitudes towards the male contraceptive pill and their trust in the effective use of the male pill were investigated, as well as the associated variables of reported health behaviours, perceived self-efficacy and type of sexual relationship, using a questionnaire survey. Results Although both sexes had a favourable attitude towards the male pill, females had a more positive attitude than men. Conversely, women had less trust that men would use the male pill effectively. Males in stable sexual relationships were more positive about the male pill than those in casual sexual relationships. Gender, relationship type and trust in the effective use of the male pill reliably predicted attitude towards the male pill. High perceived self-efficacy was related to engaging in more health behaviours, and in men a positive association between health behaviours and attitude towards the male pill has been found. Discussion and conclusions A positive attitude towards the male pill does not automatically imply that the individual is confident about its effective use. Once the male pill is widely available, promotional campaigns could target not only men but also their female partners, as the latter tend to come into contact with health services more frequently. In order to increase confidence in effective implementation, a variety of presentations of the male pill should be made available in line with individual needs and lifestyles.

Exploring the Scalability of Character-Based Storytelling

Abstract: Interactive Storytelling is establishing itself as a major application of virtual embodied characters. To achieve further progress in the field, some authors have suggested that it was necessary to break the 10-minute barrier for story duration, while preserving story pace. In this context, understanding scalability issues is an essential aspect of the development of future Interactive Storytelling technologies. Scalability can be defined as the production of a richer narrative which follows the scaling-up of the Artificial Intelligence representations for plot structure or charactersý roles. We have formalised narrative events in terms of "film idioms" which are dynamically recognised as the story is generated. This enabled us to stage a number of experiments in which we modified several determinants of scalability, such as the number of feature characters or the complexity of their roles and recorded subsequent narrative extension, through the number of film idioms generated.

A comprehensive allometric analysis of 2nd digit length to 4th digit length in humans

Abstract: It has been widely reported that men have a lower ratio of the 2nd and 4th human finger lengths (2D : 4D) Size-scaling ratios, however, have the seldom-appreciated potential for providing biased estimates Using an information-theoretic approach, we compared 12 candidate models, with different assumptions and error structures, for scaling untransformed 2D to 4D lengths from 154 men and 262 women In each hand, the two-parameter power function and the straight line with intercept models, both with normal, homoscedastic error, were superior to the other models and essentially equivalent to each other for normalizing 2D to 4D lengths The conventional 2D : 4D ratio biased relative 2D length low for the generally bigger hands of men, and vice versa for women, thereby leading to an artefactual indication that mean relative 2D length is lower in men than women Conversely, use of the more appropriate allometric or linear regression models revealed that mean relative 2D length was, in fact, greater in men than women We conclude that 2D does not vary in direct proportion to 4D for both men and women, rendering the use of the simple 2D : 4D ratio inappropriate for size-scaling purposes and intergroup comparisons