Background: There is increasing evidence supporting the potential use of physical activity as an intervention for depression. However, effective behavioural interventions which focus on encouraging physical activity in people with depression are needed. Aim: This thesis reports on the development and pilot evaluation of a web-based intervention based on behavioural activation (BA) and physical activity promotion for people with depression (eMotion). There is also a specific focus on intervention fidelity. Method: A systematic review was conducted to identify how fidelity is assessed in behavioural interventions promoting physical activity in adults. Findings from the systematic review and the Centre for eHealth and Disease Management (CeHReS) Roadmap informed the development of eMotion. A novel “design fidelity” methodology was devised, which involved using an independent coder to systematically verify the presence or absence of intended and non-intended behaviour change techniques (BCTs). A pilot RCT of eMotion was conducted to provide evidence on the feasibility and acceptability of eMotion, and exploratory data on outcomes. A mixed methods process evaluation of the understanding, feasibility and enactment of the main BCTs used in eMotion, and participant’s perceptions of eMotion was conducted. Results: The systematic review presents a critical appraisal of the wide range of methods and measures used to assess intervention fidelity. The eMotion intervention consisted of weekly modules designed to re-engage people in routine, pleasurable, necessary or physical activities. Design fidelity of the intervention was excellent with discrepancies between intervention materials and the intended design for 12 out of 221 (AC1 =0.91) and 14 out of 221 (AC1 = 0.88) BCTs relating to BA and physical activity respectively. In the pilot trial, 62 people (≥10 on the PHQ-8) were randomised, and the two-month attrition rate was 19% (95% CI: 11 to 30%). Study completers in the eMotion group (n=25) had a significantly larger reduction in depressive symptoms than the waiting list control group (n=25) (Adj Mean Diff -3.6, 95% CI: -6.1 to -1.1). Participants using eMotion also reported significantly higher levels of understanding, ability and enactment of most BCTs compared with controls. Interviews with participants revealed a number of possible mechanisms by which eMotion may have changed behaviour (e.g. increased awareness of the link between mood and activity) and reduced depression (e.g. through distraction). Conclusion: This thesis has reported on the development and pilot evaluation of a behavioural intervention promoting physical activity for depression while focussing on fidelity. Further insight into a number of methodological and clinical implications for the conduct of future RCTs in this area has also been provided.

Ernst Cassirer’s The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms fails to account properly for personalized experiences; it cannot provide a basis for understanding how some experiences become personal while others do not. Our account of personalized experience will remain lacking as long as we follow Cassirer in viewing personalized experience as a non-necessary feature of other symbolic forms such as myth, language, religion, or art; instead it must be understood that personalized experience is grounded in an independent symbolic activity as basic to human cultural life as language, myth, or objectivating knowledge. This basic personalizing symbolic function is best understood as that same activity articulated in Gabriel Marcel’s phenomenological descriptions of the act of “creative fidelity.” Once this relationship has been grasped, it becomes possible to articulate a symbolic form of personalized experience by describing the unique way in which creative fidelity (as the personalizing symbolic function) spatializes, temporalizes, numeralizes (and as a result subjectifies/objectifies) its own distinct horizon of meaning (or: cultural world). The result will be a symbolic form, as Cassirer understands it, that is as far-reaching and fundamental to human cultural life as the three symbolic forms elaborated in The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms. By articulating this fourth symbolic form, we will have taken a significant step toward Cassirer’s ultimate goal of a robust philosophical anthropology.

The bus industry is plagued by high accident costs and risks of passenger injuries. A bus simulator may offer a method of reducing accident rates by delivering targeted training to bus drivers who are most at risk. The first part of this thesis describes the design of the UK's first bus simulator, the fidelity of which was based on a thorough analysis of bus crashes. The second part describes the first studies in a multi-staged method to evaluate the training effectiveness of the simulator: face validity, effects of bus driver experience and stress on simulated performance and simulator sickness. This approach ensured that the ABS has a reasonable level of fidelity, is capable of eliciting behaviourally valid responses from bus drivers and is the first step is achieving training transfer effectiveness. The final study investigated the occurrence of self-bias in bus drivers. The conclusions drove the design of simulated scenarios to be used for bus driver training. Keywords: Bus, Simulator, Fidelity, Validity, Accidents, Driving, Stress, Training

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Wi-Fi authentication mechanisms include central authentication, dynamic and distributed authentication and some encryption methods. Most of the existing authentication methods were designed for single-hop networks, as opposed to multihop Wi-Fi mesh networks. This research endeavors to characterize and compare existing Wi-Fi authentication mechanisms to find the best secure connection mechanism associated with Wi-Fi mesh network fragmentation and distributed authentication. The methodology is experimental and empirical, based on actual network testing. This thesis characterizes five different types of Wrt54gl firmware, three types of Wi-Fi routing protocols, and besides the eight Wi-Fi mesh network authentication protocols related to this research, it also characterizes and compares 14 existing authentication protocols. Most existing authentication protocols are not applicable to Wi-Fi mesh networks since they are based on Layer 2 of the OSI model and are not designed for Wi-Fi mesh networks. We propose using TincVPN which provides distributed authentication, fragmentation, and can provide secure connections for backbone Wi-Fi mesh networks.

abstract: The current study assessed whether the interrater reliability and predictive validity of fidelity ratings differed significantly across the modalities of audio and video recordings. As empirically supported programs are moving to scale, attention to fidelity, the extent to which a program is delivered as intended, is essential because high fidelity is needed for positive program effects. Consequently, an important issue for prevention science is the development of feasible and acceptable methods for assessing fidelity. Currently, fidelity monitoring is rarely practiced, as the typical way of measuring fidelity, which uses video of sessions, is expensive, time-consuming, and intrusive. Audio recording has multiple advantages over video recording: 1) it is less intrusive; 2) equipment is less expensive; 3) recording procedures are simpler; 4) files are smaller so it takes less time to upload data and storage is less expensive; 5) recordings contain less identifying information; and 6) both clients and providers may be more willing to have sensitive interactions recorded with audio only. For these reasons, the use of audio recording may facilitate the monitoring of fidelity and increase the acceptability of both the intervention and implementation models, which may serve to broaden the scope of the families reached and improve the quality of the services provided. The current study compared the reliability and validity of fidelity ratings across audio and video rating modalities using 77 feedback sessions drawn from a larger randomized controlled trial of the Family Check-Up (FCU). Coders rated fidelity and caregiver in-session engagement at the age 2 feedback session. The composite fidelity and caregiver engagement scores were tested using path analysis to examine whether they predicted parenting behavior at age 3. Twenty percent of the sessions were double coded to assess interrater reliability. The interrater reliability and predictive validity of fidelity scores and caregiver engagement did not significantly differ across rating modality. However, caution must be used in interpreting these results because the interrater reliabilities in both conditions were low. Possible explanations for the low reliability, limitations of the current study, and directions for future research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2019

To address students’ academic and behavioral needs, schools are held accountable for implementing effective evidence–based interventions. An important relationship exists between implementation fidelity and the effectiveness of interventions. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify and evaluate the evidence of interventions to improve the implementation fidelity of academic interventions and to evaluate the quality of the existing research with a focus on the quality of the research on the most successful interventions. A total of 13 studies met the inclusion criteria. Each study was coded based on a quality of evidence coding protocol and the findings were then reviewed and synthesized. The results show that performance feedback was the most used and successful intervention for increasing implementation fidelity of an academic intervention. Professional development and teacher training were other interventions that were implemented to improve implementation fidelity. These results are summarized and implications for school-based practice are discussed. With such few studies that met the inclusion criteria, there is a need for more research in this area.

This diploma work is dedicated to problems of textbooks from view of harmony authors of the textbooks and realization education in the class (Fidelity of implementation of teachers guide). At the beginning of the theoretical part is short chapter about history of education system from the view of content of education. After that, the theoretic part deals with the textbook itself, its content and its creating. The work is thinking about difficulty of creating the new textbooks, and that from the view not only of teachers, but also from the view of authors and the publishers. Not less important is chapter dealing with researches of the textbooks. This chapter is divided in the researches before 1989 and after 1989, and using professional literature describes the variety ways of researches of the textbooks not only in Czech Republic, but also in foreign countries. Then the theoretic part is concerning of relation the textbook and its users, so the teacher, the student and also the parent. It tries to explain, how big part play the teacher and his choice of the textbook, due to interaction between him and the student during the education. The last chapter of the theoretical part shortly describes the education sphere of "Člověk a jeho svět", its content and also the opinions of the specialists on its...

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Tissue regeneration using in-vitro scaffold becomes a vital mean to mimic the in-vivo counterpart due to the insufficiency of animal models to predict the applicability of drug and other physiological behavior. Three-dimensional (3D) bio-printing is an emerging technology to reproduce living tissue through controlled allocation of biomaterial and cell. Due to its bio-compatibility, natural hydrogels are commonly considered as the scaffold material in bio-printing process. However, repeatable scaffold structure with good printability and shape fidelity is a challenge with hydrogel material due to weak bonding in polymer chain. Additionally, there are intrinsic limitations for bio-printing of hydrogels due to limited cell proliferation and colonization while cells are immobilized within hydrogels and don’t spread, stretch and migrate to generate new tissue. The goal of this research is to develop a bio-ink suitable for extrusion-based bio-printing process to construct 3D scaffold. In this research, a novel hybrid hydrogel, is designed and systematic quantitative characterization are conducted to validate its printability, shape fidelity and cell viability. The outcomes are measured and quantified which demonstrate the favorable printability and shape fidelity of our proposed material. The research focuses on factors associated with pre-printing, printing and post-printing behavior of bio-ink and their biology. With the proposed hybrid hydrogel, 2 cm tall acellular 3D scaffold is fabricated with proper shape fidelity. Cell viability of the proposed material are tested with multiple cell lines i.e. BxPC3, prostate stem cancer cell, HEK 293, and Porc1 cell and about 90% viability after 15-day incubation have been achieved. The designed hybrid hydrogel demonstrate excellent behavior as bio-ink for bio-printing process which can reproduce scaffold with proper printability, shape fidelity and higher cell survivability. Additionally, the outlined characterization techniques proposed here open-up a novel avenue for quantifiable bio-ink assessment framework in lieu of their qualitative evaluation.

Many schools are transitioning towards a preventative approach to meet the needs of at-risk learners with academic and/or behavioral concerns through the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework. This qualitative study explored the perceptions of the impacting factors for MTSS and the needs of building leadership teams through semi-structured interviews using a video conferencing-based online platform. Participants included 15 building administrators from school districts in a mountain west state of the United States. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed through thematic analysis. A total of four themes or impacting factors were identified. First, participants reported that MTSS relies on the district's capacity to provide support and partnership, like administrators or district leadership. Second, provision and prioritization of resources (e.g., personnel, time, or training) was perceived as key to MTSS implementation. Third, stakeholder buy-in and disposition were perceived as effecting MTSS practices, including staff buy-in, the awareness of the need for MTSS, and building's culture and established practices. Lastly, other contextual factors in the building were reported as also influencing MTSS implementation. The results of this study can act as an implementation guide for building and district MTSS teams looking to strengthen and enhance their MTSS efforts. It is also a call to action for school districts nationwide to prioritize their MTSS practices through ongoing training, provision of resources, and consistent support to building-level teams. Finally, this study sheds light on the day-to-day realities of MTSS implementation. Limitations of this study include the following: (a) limited generalization of findings to other geographic regions; (b) little to no involvement of the participants in day-to-day implementation of MTSS interventions; (c) potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; and (d) possible confirmation bias during data analysis. Steps were taken to ensure the trustworthiness of the data, including pilot interviews, member checks, analyst triangulation, and audit trailing.