These patterns are for two closely related audiences, the authors and the shepherds. Why have one set of patterns for two audiences? The obvious reason is that authors and shepherds are often the same people, and much of the advice is the same. But more importantly, an author can gain great insights by understanding what a reader – in this case, the shepherd – is looking for. So I modified the ...

This work present the main features of the ADVICE (IST 1999-11305) project, a research project whose main aim is to develop a virtual assistant for e-shops that imitates the behaviour of a human vendor.

AspectJ was designed as a seamless aspect-oriented extension of the Java programming language. However, unlike Java, AspectJ does not have a safe type system: an accepted binding between a pointcut and an advice can give rise to type errors at runtime. In addition, AspectJ’s typing rules are severely restricting the definition of certain generic advice behavior. In this technical report, we pre...

BACKGROUND There are no randomized trials examining whether intensive advice to pregnant smokers is more stressful than standard care. METHOD Nine hundred eighteen U.K. women currently smoking on commencing antenatal care were randomized into three arms. Women in Arm A received one episode of brief advice to stop smoking. Women in Arm B were assessed for stage of change and worked through an ...

This paper reviews five randomized controlled trials of brief spit (smokeless) tobacco (ST) cessation treatment by dental professionals consisting of oral cancer screening, cessation advice, self-help materials, and brief cessation counseling by a dental hygienist. In addition, original two-year findings from a randomized controlled trial to determine the effect of a dental-directed, peer-assis...

BACKGROUND United Kingdom (UK) national guidelines recommend that all pregnant women who smoke should be advised to quit at every available opportunity, and brief cessation advice is an efficient and cost-effective means to increase quit rates. The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) implemented in 2004 requires general practitioners to document their delivery of smoking cessation advice in pa...