Search Results (7)

Mitigating smartphone addiction among adolescents remains a significant challenge. Existing anti-addiction products exhibit critical limitations, including vulnerability to circumvention, over-reliance on user self-discipline, and insufficient coercive control. To address these issues, this study proposes a novel product design methodology integrating LLM-AHP (Large Language Model-Analytic Hierarchy Process), SD-LLM (Stable Diffusion-Large Language Model), and manual expert refinement across four iterative stages. The LLM-AHP analysis identified “coercive management independent of self-discipline” and “minimization of human intervention and family conflicts” as the most critical requirements. The final hardware-based device was developed with several key features, including a non-removable case, non-standard internal screws, a triple-verified contact detection device, an emergency call area, and a roller shutter. The workflow of “LLM-AHP → SD-LLM → Manual Refinement” facilitates precise requirement identification, design evaluation, and scheme generation, offering a reusable design framework for other hardware-based children’s products. Full article

Uncertainties in geometry, material properties, and excitation forces critically influence the performance of nonlinear electromagnetic vibration energy harvesters, which are promising power sources for wireless sensor networks in industrial environments. These nonlinear harvesters rely on tunable magnetic stiffness to achieve broadband operation, but their strong nonlinear coupling makes them highly sensitive to small parameter deviations. This study investigates how geometric tolerances, variability of magnetic material properties, and excitation irregularities affect the dynamic response and harvested output power of electromagnetic vibration energy harvesters. Nonlinear magnetic restoring forces were obtained using Finite Element Method Magnetics simulations and implemented in a one-degree-of-freedom model for numerical analysis. The results show that deviations as small as ±0.1 mm in geometry or ±5% in magnetic coercivity can shift the system between monostable, bistable, and chaotic regimes, which could dramatically change wireless sensor operation. Controlled asymmetry of design and impulsive excitation were found to facilitate high-energy orbits, enhancing stability and energy conversion. These findings demonstrate that understanding and managing uncertainty amplification across geometric, material, and excitation domains is essential for reproducible and reliable operation, supporting the design of robust nonlinear electromagnetic harvesters for industrial applications of wireless sensor networks. Full article

The iron nitride materials, especially α″-Fe₁₆N₂, are considered one of the most promising candidates for future rare-earth-free magnets. However, the mass production of α″-Fe₁₆N₂ powders as a raw material for permanent magnets is still challenging. In this work, starting from iron lumps as a raw material, we have managed to prepare the α″-Fe₁₆N₂ powders via the gas atomization method, followed by subsequent nitriding in an ammonia–hydrogen gas mixture stream. The particle size was controlled by changing the gas atomization preparation conditions. X-ray diffractograms (XRD) analyses show that the prepared powders are composed of α″-Fe₁₆N₂ and α-Fe phases. The α″-Fe₁₆N₂ volume ratio increases with decreasing powder size and increasing nitriding time, reaching a maximum of 57% α″-Fe₁₆N₂ phase in powders with size below 32 ± 3 μm after 96 h nitridation. The saturation magnetization reaches the value of 237 emu/g and a reasonable coercivity value of 884 Oe. Compared to the saturation magnetization values of α-Fe powders, the α″-Fe₁₆N₂ powders prepared through our proposed approach show an increase of up to 10% in saturation and demonstrate the possibility of mass production of α″-Fe₁₆N₂ powders as precursors of permanent magnets without rare earths. Full article

Caregivers have a key role in protecting children’s wellbeing, and, with appropriate skills, can prevent a multitude of negative social outcomes, particularly in challenged or humanitarian settings. Accordingly, the Strong Families programme was designed as a light touch family skills programme, with a focus of supporting caregiving during stressful situations. To evaluate the short-term impact of the Strong Families programme, we performed a time-convenience, randomized, controlled trial in Iran. A total of 292 families (63% from Iranian decent, 39% from Afghan decent, and 1% other), with children aged eight to twelve years, were recruited through ten centers in Iran and allocated to an intervention (n = 199) or waitlist/control group (n = 93). The two groups did not differ demographically at baseline. We assessed families prospectively, through three scales, PAFAS (parenting and family adjustment scales), SDQ (strengths and difficulties questionnaire), and CYRM-R (child and youth resilience measure). Caregivers in the intervention group improved (highly) statistically significantly on all but one PAFAS subscales (parental consistency, coercive parenting, positive encouragement, parental adjustment, family relationships, and parental teamwork), which was not noted in the waitlist group. On the SDQ, there were (highly) significant positive changes in scores in the intervention group on all sub-scales and the “total difficulty scale“, whereas the waitlist/control group also improved on three (prosocial, conduct problems, and hyperactivity) of the five SDQ subscales. Children originating from Afghanistan improved significantly on the overall resilience scale of the CYRM-R in the intervention group, but not in the waitlist/control group. Overall, all our stratified results of the different scales reflect an accentuated improvement in families with higher levels of problems at baseline. Our comparative results indicated a strong alignment of the strong families programme with its intended short-term impact, per its logical frame on parenting practices and family management skills, children behaviour, caregivers and children mental health, and capacity to cope with stress. We postulate that the potential nudging or diffusion of knowledge (cross-contamination between intervention and waitlist/control group) at the community level could explain improvements in the waitlist/control group on some indicators, however, further research on this is recommend. Full article

Psychiatric intensive care unit: improved clinical practices adjusted to inpatient needs and experiences. The use of coercive measures, such as isolation rooms, for acute psychiatric illness is still common in Switzerland. Under the pressure of governmental quality control, a preliminary quantitative naturalistic study, approved by the ethics commission, made an inventory of coercive measures and captured the patients’ experiences. On the basis of the quantitative and qualitative results, a working group was formed and led a quality approach aimed to reassess all the procedures for training and the treatment of patients in the intensive care room. In order to improve current practices and decrease the traumatic aspects of forced isolation, four management phases are proposed and developed in this article. Full article

Public health policies must address multiple goals and complex community health needs. Recently, management control practices have emerged to provide a broader type of information for evaluating the effectiveness of healthcare policies, and relate activities and processes to multiple strategic outcomes. This study compares the effect of traditional and contemporary management control practices on the achievement of public health policies. It is also analyzed how two different uses of such practices (enabling vs. coercive) facilitate the achievement of public health policies. Relationships are explored using data collected from managers from public health agencies and public hospitals in Spain. The findings show that contemporary management control practices are more suitable than traditional practices to achieve public health policies. Furthermore, results show that public health policies are better achieved when managers use management control practices in an enabling way rather than in a coercive way. Full article

The voluntariness to agree with a psychiatric treatment is not an “all-or-nothing” phenomenon. Numerous factors as developmental maturity, psychological mechanisms, cultural values, legal regulations, various dependencies of the protagonists, available treatment strategies and resources interact and are part of a dynamical process. Children and adolescents usually do not go to psychiatric hospital of their own accord. If they endanger themselves or others by any kind of psychic disturbance, the use of power and coercion by parents, guardians, community or legal authorities is sometimes inevitable to take them into the care of mental health professionals. Therapeutical motivated measures which will be taken against disturbing behaviour of children and adolescents often consist not only of therapy but also of control. Coercion can be a legitimate dimension of treatment, but it demands careful examination by the clinician. Regarding treatment options and goals the way of negotiation is preferable whenever possible to develop and strengthen the own treatment motivation in children and adolescents. Even subtle endeavours to enforce therapeutical activities affect the therapeutical atmosphere on the ward and lead to emotional stress in both the patients with their families on the one side and the psychiatric staff on the other.The decisions in context of coercive measures are always influenced by subjective factors as personalities of the protagonists, quality of the relationships between them, sympathy, empathy and professional capabilities offered by each member of the staff. Scrupulous reflexion of psychopathological, psychodynamical and institutional issues is required, especially if coercive measures as seclusion, restraint or medication against the will were employed.As far as the sparse empirical literature on the subject allows and comprising clinical experiences the effects of coercion on the therapeutical relationships will be reported in this article. Recommendations on how to manage aggression and the consequences of coercion in therapeutical settings will be given.The importance of clarity of roles and cooperation between the institutions responsible for the use of coercive treatments and measures will be stressed in every individual case. All has to be done to prevent an abuse of power which can occur in context of the asymmetrical relationship between psychiatric institutions and psychically disturbed children and adolescents treated in them. Experiences with coercive measures of any kind usually produce long-lasting after-effects and endanger the motivation of the patients afflicted to accept treatment at all, namely in the current treatment episode or in the future when treatment may be needed again. Full article