Using multi media to enhance a flexible learning program: lessons learned.
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Central Queensland University is a well-established distance education provider with an internationally recognized reputation in flexible learning. It has a well-developed infrastructure for the preparation of quality print and multimedia learning materials. A symposium and working conference linking twelve sites, including Auckland NZ via video conferencing, and supported by print based materials and web based conferencing was held during November 1998 with the assistance of Telstra's Conferlink. This paper provides the background, organisation, and evaluation results. Our conclusions are that appropriate use of a combination of print based materials, videoconferencing and a web based classroom works well for the provision of continuing education to health professionals. In addition this symposium was able to reach clinicians and demonstrate the value of informatics to support evidence based practice. (+info)
Restricted natural language processing for case simulation tools.
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For Interactive Patient II, a multimedia case simulation designed to improve history-taking skills, we created a new natural language interface called GRASP (General Recognition and Analysis of Sentences and Phrases) that allows students to interact with the program at a higher level of realism. Requirements included the ability to handle ambiguous word senses and to match user questions/queries to unique Canonical Phrases, which are used to identify case findings in our knowledge database. In a simulation of fifty user queries, some of which contained ambiguous words, this tool was 96% accurate in identifying concepts. (+info)
Multimedia explorer: image database, image proxy-server and search-engine.
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Multimedia plays a major role in medicine. Databases containing images, movies or other types of multimedia objects are increasing in number, especially on the WWW. However, no good retrieval mechanism or search engine currently exists to efficiently track down such multimedia sources in the vast of information provided by the WWW. Secondly, the tools for searching databases are usually not adapted to the properties of images. HTML pages do not allow complex searches. Therefore establishing a more comfortable retrieval involves the use of a higher programming level like JAVA. With this platform independent language it is possible to create extensions to commonly used web browsers. These applets offer a graphical user interface for high level navigation. We implemented a database using JAVA objects as the primary storage container which are then stored by a JAVA controlled ORACLE8 database. Navigation depends on a structured vocabulary enhanced by a semantic network. With this approach multimedia objects can be encapsulated within a logical module for quick data retrieval. (+info)
Worldwide telemedicine services based on distributed multimedia electronic patient records by using the second generation Web server hyperwave.
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A distributed multimedia electronic patient record (EPR) is a central component of a medicine-telematics application that supports physicians working in rural areas of South America, and offers medical services to scientists in Antarctica. A Hyperwave server is used to maintain the patient record. As opposed to common web servers--and as a second generation web server--Hyperwave provides the capability of holding documents in a distributed web space without the problem of broken links. This enables physicians to browse through a patient's record by using a standard browser even if the patient's record is distributed over several servers. The patient record is basically implemented on the "Good European Health Record" (GEHR) architecture. (+info)
The risks of multimedia methods: effects of actor's race and gender on preferences for health states.
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OBJECTIVE: While the use of multimedia methods in medical education and decision support can facilitate learning, it also has certain hazards. One potential hazard is the inadvertent triggering of racial and gender bias by the appearance of actors or patients in presentations. The authors hypothesized that race and gender affect preferences. To explore this issue they studied the effects of actors' race and gender on preference ratings for health states that include symptoms of schizophrenia. DESIGN: A convenience sample of patients with schizophrenia, family members of patients, and health professionals was used. Participants were randomly assigned to rate two health states, one portrayed by either a man of mixed race (Hispanic-black) or a white man and the second portrayed by either a white woman or a white man. MEASUREMENTS: Visual analog scale (VAS) and standard gamble ratings of health state preferences for health states that include symptoms of mild and moderate schizophrenia. RESULTS: Studies of the effects of the race of the actor (n = 114) revealed that racial mismatch between the actor and the participant affected the participant's preferences for health states. Ratings were lower when racial groups differed (mean difference, 0.098 for visual analog scale ratings and 0.053 lower in standard gamble, P = 0.006 for interactions between the race of the subject and the actor). In studies of the effects of a female actress on ratings (n = 117), we found no evidence of a corresponding interaction between the gender of the actor and the study participant. Rather, an interaction between actor's gender and method of assessment was observed. Standard gamble ratings (difference between means, 0.151), but not visual analog scale ratings (difference, 0.005), were markedly higher when the state was portrayed by the actress (P = 0.003 for interactions between actor's gender and method of preference assessment). Differential effects on standard gamble ratings suggest that an actor's gender may influence the willingness of viewers to gamble to gain health benefits (or risk attitude). CONCLUSIONS: Educators and researchers considering the use of multimedia methods for decision support need to be aware of the potential for the race and gender of patients or actors to influence preferences for health states and thus, potentially, medical decisions. (+info)
Four-day multimedia diet records underestimate energy needs in middle-aged and elderly women as determined by doubly-labeled water.
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Systematic problems exist in the quantification of food intake in populations using traditional self-reported measures. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an innovative multimedia diet record (MMDR) for dietary energy intake assessment. Dietary intake was estimated by combining the use of a microcassette tape recorder and 35-mm camera in 53 women whose ages ranged from 50 to 93 y (64.9 +/- 11.3 y), with body weights of 62.4 +/- 12.2 kg and body mass indexes (BMI) of 24.4 +/- 4.0 kg/m(2). Using household measures, subjects voice-recorded and photographed all food and beverages consumed for four consecutive days. A two-point doubly-labeled water (DLW) method was used over 13 d to calculate carbon dioxide production, total body water, and subsequently, total energy expenditure (TEE) through the use of a food quotient. Mean body weight did not change between d 1 and 14. TEE and reported energy intake were compared using MMDR. Mean reported energy intakes 7.5 +/- 1.9 MJ/d (1774 +/- 476 kcal/d) were lower (P < 0.01) than TEE by 10.4 +/- 3.1 MJ/d (2477 +/- 736 kcal/d), indicating underreporting of food intake. Reporting accuracy (reported energy intake/TEE' 100%) was 76.0 +/- 22.9%. Mean energy expenditure (MJ/d), as determined by doubly-labeled water, was higher (P < 0.01) in each stratified age range when compared to reported energy intake by MMDR. There were no significant differences in reporting accuracy among the stratified age groups. Using the MMDR method, this population of weight-stable women underreported their food intakes compared to their determined energy expenditure estimated by DLW. (+info)
An interactive CD-ROM for nutrition screening and counseling.
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OBJECTIVES: The goal of this project was to develop an interactive CD-ROM for nutrition screening and counseling, designed to produce dietary behavior change in fat and fruit and vegetable intake. METHODS: The design was based on principles of relevance to the learner, readiness for change, feedback, individualization, facilitation of skills, and goal setting. It was tested in community settings such as libraries, senior centers, and Women, Infants, and Children clinics. RESULTS: Nearly 80% of the respondents (n = 284), including numerous low-income persons, reported learning something new about nutrition and health or their own dietary habits. More than 50% of those recontacted 2 to 4 weeks later had put some of their dietary goals into practice. CONCLUSIONS: This program is useful for dietary screening, feedback, skill building, and motivation in settings in which in-person counseling by nutrition professionals is not feasible. (+info)
Going virtual with quicktime VR: new methods and standardized tools for interactive dynamic visualization of anatomical structures.
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Continuing evolution of computer-based multimedia technologies has produced QuickTime, a multiplatform digital media standard that is supported by stand-alone commercial programs and World Wide Web browsers. While its core functions might be most commonly employed for production and delivery of conventional video programs (e.g., lecture videos), additional QuickTime VR "virtual reality" features can be used to produce photorealistic, interactive "non-linear movies" of anatomical structures ranging in size from microscopic through gross anatomic. But what is really included in QuickTime VR and how can it be easily used to produce novel and innovative visualizations for education and research? This tutorial introduces the QuickTime multimedia environment, its QuickTime VR extensions, basic linear and non-linear digital video technologies, image acquisition, and other specialized QuickTime VR production methods. Four separate practical applications are presented for light and electron microscopy, dissectable preserved specimens, and explorable functional anatomy in magnetic resonance cinegrams. (+info)