This paper introduces a new approach to the conceptual design of mechanical systems from qualitative speciications of behaviour. The power of the approach stems from the integration of techniques in qualitative physics and constraint programming. We illustrate the approach with an eeective kinematic synthesis method that reasons with qualitative representations of connguration spaces using cons...

This set of articles has its roots in the 2008 special edition of Health Policy and Planning, titled ‘Future directions for health policy analysis: a tribute to the work of Professor Gill Walt’, which among other things called for ‘better use of the existing but often descriptive body of policy analysis through synthesis of existing case study material’ (Gilson et al. 2008, p. 292). Picking up ...

BACKGROUND Dealing with dependency in the elderly and their families leads us to explore the life experience of those involved together with the processes of adaptation to this condition. A number of original studies have been published which, following a qualitative methodology, have dealt with both dimensions. METHODS/DESIGN OBJECTIVES 1) To present a synthesis of the qualitative evidenc...

BACKGROUND Qualitative synthesis has become more commonplace in recent years. Meta-ethnography is one of several methods for synthesising qualitative research and is being used increasingly within health care research. However, many aspects of the steps in the process remain ill-defined. DISCUSSION We utilized the seven stages of the synthesis process to synthesise qualitative research on adh...

BACKGROUND There is a growing body of evidence relating to how information and communication technology (ICT) can be used to support people with physical health conditions. Less is known regarding mental health, and in particular, mood disorder. OBJECTIVE To conduct a metasynthesis of all qualitative studies exploring the use of ICTs by people with mood disorder. METHODS Searches were run i...

This paper describes a novel method for the synthesis of mechanisms from their qualitative behavioural speci cations. The technique has been implemented in the context of automated design of mechanisms in Technics Lego. We introduce a new kinematic abstraction called a unity machine which is a machine with a single degree of freedom. Unity machines are the mechanical analogues of functions in p...

The synthesis problem asks for the automatic construction of a system from its specification. In the traditional setting, the system is “constructed from scratch” rather than composed from reusable components. However, this is rare in practice, and almost every non-trivial software system relies heavily on the use of libraries of reusable components. Recently, Lustig and Vardi introduced datafl...

Cochrane systematic reviews have proven to be beneficial for decision making processes, both on a practitioner and a policy level, and there are current initiatives to extend the types of evidence used by them, including qualitative research. In this article we outline the major achievements of the Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group. Although the Group has encountered numerou...

Given that recent literature reviews on physical activity in urban parks deliberately excluded qualitative findings, we reviewed qualitative research on this topic informed by a published classification scheme based on quantitative research. Twenty-one studies met our inclusion criteria. These studies relied mainly on semi-structured interviews with individuals or in focus groups; only five stu...

BACKGROUND HIV-related stigma continues to negatively impact the health and well-being of people living with HIV, with deleterious effects on their care, treatment and quality of life. A growing body of qualitative research has documented the relationship between HIV-related stigma and health. This review aims to synthesize qualitative evidence that explored the intersections of stigma and heal...