University of Massachusetts Boston

About: University of Massachusetts Boston is a education organization based out in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 6541 authors who have published 12918 publications receiving 411731 citations. The organization is also known as: UMass Boston.

An artificial neural network to estimate physical activity energy expenditure and identify physical activity type from an accelerometer.

Abstract: The aim of this investigation was to develop and test two artificial neural networks (ANN) to apply to physical activity data collected with a commonly used uniaxial accelerometer. The first ANN model estimated physical activity metabolic equivalents (METs), and the second ANN identified activity type. Subjects (n = 24 men and 24 women, mean age = 35 yr) completed a menu of activities that included sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous intensities, and each activity was performed for 10 min. There were three different activity menus, and 20 participants completed each menu. Oxygen consumption (in ml x kg(-1) x min(-1)) was measured continuously, and the average of minutes 4-9 was used to represent the oxygen cost of each activity. To calculate METs, activity oxygen consumption was divided by 3.5 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) (1 MET). Accelerometer data were collected second by second using the Actigraph model 7164. For the analysis, we used the distribution of counts (10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles of a minute's second-by-second counts) and temporal dynamics of counts (lag, one autocorrelation) as the accelerometer feature inputs to the ANN. To examine model performance, we used the leave-one-out cross-validation technique. The ANN prediction of METs root-mean-squared error was 1.22 METs (confidence interval: 1.14-1.30). For the prediction of activity type, the ANN correctly classified activity type 88.8% of the time (confidence interval: 86.4-91.2%). Activity types were low-level activities, locomotion, vigorous sports, and household activities/other activities. This novel approach of applying ANNs for processing Actigraph accelerometer data is promising and shows that we can successfully estimate activity METs and identify activity type using ANN analytic procedures.

A randomized controlled trial of Hanen’s ‘More Than Words’ in toddlers with early autism symptoms

Abstract: Background: This randomized controlled trial compared Hanen’s ‘More than Words’ (HMTW), a parentimplemented intervention, to a ‘business as usual’ control group. Methods: Sixty-two children (51 boys and 11 girls; M age = 20 months; SD = 2.6) who met criteria for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their parents participated in the study. The HMTW intervention was provided over 3.5 months. There were three measurement periods: prior to randomization (Time 1) and at 5 and 9 months post enrollment (Times 2 and 3). Children’s communication and parental responsivity were measured at each time point. Children’s object interest, a putative moderator, was measured at Time 1. Results: There were no main effects of the HMTW intervention on either parental responsivity or children’s communication. However, the effects on residualized gains in parental responsivity from Time 1 to both Times 2 and 3 yielded noteworthy effect sizes (Glass’s D = .71, .50 respectively). In contrast, there were treatment effects on child communication gains to Time 3 that were moderated by children’s Time 1 object interest. Children with lower levels of Time 1 object interest exhibited facilitated growth in communication; children with higher levels of object interest exhibited growth attenuation. Conclusions: The HMTW intervention showed differential effects on child communication depending on a baseline child factor. HMTW facilitated communication in children with lower levels of Time 1 object interest. Parents of children who evidence higher object interest may require greater support to implement the HMTW strategies, or may require different strategies than those provided by the HMTW curriculum.

Sixth-Grade Students' Epistemologies of Science: The Impact of School Science Experiences on Epistemological Development

Abstract: Previous studies have documented that middle school students have a limited "knowledge unproblematic" epistemology of science (i.e., scientists steadily amass more facts about the world by doing experiments) with no appreciation of the role played by scientists' ideas in guiding inquiry. An important question concerns to what extent students this age and younger are ready to restructure their epistemological views to focus on more "constructivist" issues: the conjectural, explanatory, testable, and revisable nature of theories. This study tests the claim that even elementary school students can make significant progress in developing a more sophisticated, constructivist epistemology of science, given a sustained elementary school science curriculum that is designed to support students' thinking about epistemological issues. To assess the impact of elementary science experiences on students' epistemological views, 2 demographically similar groups of 6th-grade students were individually interviewed using th...

Tbe Ethnography of Communication: An Introduction

Abstract: Preface. 1. Introduction:. Scope and Focus. Method. Historical Background. Significance. Organization of the Book. 2. Basic Terms, Concepts, and Issues:. Patterns of Communication. Communicative Functions. Speech Community. Communicative Competence. The Competence of Incompetence. Units of Analysis. Categories of Talk. Language and Culture. Social Structure and Ideology. Routines and Rituals. Universals and Inequalities. 3. Varieties of Language:. Language Choice. Diglossia and Dinomia. Code--Switching and Style--Shifting. Code--Markers. Varieties Associated with Setting. Varieties Associated with Activity Domain. Varieties Associated with Region. Varieties Associated with Ethnicity. Varieties Associated with Social Class, Status, and Role. Varieties Associated with Role--Relationships. Varieties Associated with Sex. Varieties Associated with Age. Varieties Associated with Personality States and 'Abnormal' Speech. Non--Native Varieties. 4. The Analysis of Communicative Events:. Relationship of Ethnographer and Speech Community. Types o f Data. Survey of Data Collection and Analytic Procedures. Identification of Communicative Events. Components of Communication. Relationship among Components. Elicitation within a Frame. Analysis of Interaction. Sample Analyses of Communicative Events. Further Illustrations of Ethnographic Analysis. 5. Contrasts in Patterns of Communication:. Comparative Rhetoric. Historical Development. Ethnographic Perspective. Establishing Validity. Situated Event Analysis. Other Data Collection and Analytic Procedures. Cross--Cultural Communication. Concepts of 'Face' . Constructing an Unseen Face. 6. Attitudes toward Communicative Performance:. Methodology. Attitudes Toward Language and Language Skills. Attitudes Toward Languages and Varieties. Stereotyping. Appropriateness. Language and Identity. Language Maintenance, Shift, and Spread. Taboos and Euphemisms. 7. Acquisition of Communicative Competence:. Early Linguistic Development. Social Interaction. Language and Enculturation. Definition of Stages and Roles. Communicative Strategies. Formulaic Expressions. Nonverbal Communication. Peer Influence and Extended Acquisition. Speech Play. Formal Education. Multilingual Contexts. Children's Beliefs about Language. 8. Politeness, Power, and Politics:. Language and Politics. Language and Social Theories. Linguistic Signs of Power. Linguistic Performances of Power. Linguistic Resistance and Rebellion. Language Planning. Responsibilities and Limitations. 9. Conclusion:. References. Index of Languages. General Index.

Relapse and maintenance issues for smoking cessation.

Abstract: This article reviews short-term (6 months) and longer term (12-24 months) maintenance of cessation and relapse in adult smokers and the factors and treatments that affect these outcomes. MedLine and PsycLIT searches were done for research published in English between 1988 and 1998 meeting a defined set of criteria. Intensive intervention, telephone counseling, and use of pharmacotherapy were found to improve outcomes; however, compared with public health approaches, they reach relatively few smokers. Brief interventions during medical visits are cost-effective and could potentially reach most smokers but are not consistently delivered. Predictors of relapse include slips, younger age, nicotine dependence, low self-efficacy, weight concerns, and previous quit attempts. Potential areas for research, recommendations for longer follow-up assessments, and standard definitions for slip, relapse, and long-term maintenance are discussed.