A Robotic Computer, which moves its monitor "head" and "neck" but has no explicit face, is being designed to interact with users in a natural way for applications such as learning, rapport-building, interactive teaching, and posture improvement. In all these applications, the robot will need to move in subtle ways that express its state, and that promote appropriate movements in the user, but t...

This paper introduces a formalized definition of an external space representation and proposes a virtual navigation paradigm as a mean for space integration from tactile snapshots. Rules for the design of indoor experimental environments to be used in virtual navigation are presented; they take into account posture modifications of the subject and the cognitive load of the elementary tasks inhe...

To increase health education we applied blended learning concept by combining physical activity and elearning technology. Investigation aims to create, apply and assess learning tasks. 201 high school students (15-22 years, 17,6±1.4) were divided in control (CG) and practical (PG) group. PG was exposed to several problems solving using physical activity and technology to accomplish the goals. T...

We present here a comprehensive definition of therapeutic exergames from which a methodology to create safe exergames for real therapy pathways is derived. Three main steps are identified. (I) A clear identification of all the exercise requirements, not only in terms of goals of the therapy, but also in terms of additional constraints. Characteristic parameters for determining the challenge lev...

Integrated planning is a holistic approach to addressing the needs of local communities built on partnerships between those responsible for development, environmental quality and service provision. This study investigated the extent and key influences on the use of integrated planning to promote physical activity among six metropolitan councils in Melbourne Australia, which took part in the Met...

Operational planning is considered an important tool for translating government policies and strategic objectives into day-to-day management activities. However, developing countries suffer from persistent misalignment between policy, planning and budgeting. The Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) was introduced to address this misalignment. Kenya adopted the MTEF in the early 2000s, and i...

BACKGROUND Publicly funded family planning clinics provide contraceptive care to millions of poor and low-income women every year. To inform the design of services that will best meet the contraceptive and reproductive health needs of women, we conducted a targeted survey of family planning clinic clients, asking women about services received in the past year and about their reasons for visitin...

LIKE MANY PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATIONS, POLICE SERVICES HAVE HAD to pay increasing attention to strategic planning in recent years. This has been precipitated by community and government calls for improved accountability, and the accelerating pace of reform within police services. In responding to this need, police services are experiencing many of the problems familiar to large organisations wh...

BACKGROUND Unmet need for family planning has implications for women and their families, such as unsafe abortion, physical abuse, and poor maternal health. Contraceptive knowledge has increased across low-income settings, yet unmet need remains high with little information on the factors explaining it. This study assessed factors associated with unmet need among pregnant women in rural Burkina ...