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Public Perceptions of Gambling in the UK Armed Forces : Understanding Stigma Via a Vignette Experiment
(2026-03) Smith, Jessica; Dymond, Simon; Torrance, Jamie; Department of Psychology
Gambling-related harm among armed forces (AF) personnel is a growing concern, yet public perceptions remain underexplored. Anticipated public stigma (the fear of how others perceive you) of gambling among the AF is a potential barrier to help-seeking. Understanding how the public perceives gambling in the AF is essential for shaping stigma-reduction strategies. A randomised, online 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment was conducted. A representative sample of the United Kingdom public (N = 396) was recruited through Prolific and randomly assigned to view a vignette featuring either an AF member or non-AF civilian who was described as engaging in either harmful or non-harmful gambling. Following exposure to their assigned vignette, participants completed measures assessing stigma and empathy towards the depicted individual. Participants perceived individuals from the AF as significantly more dangerous (p =.002) compared to non-AF civilians. When the vignette depicted gambling-related harm, as opposed to recreational gambling, participants reported significantly higher stigma across seven of the ten stigma measures (all p <.001). This study highlights how public stigma towards gambling harm is strong and can be shaped by military status, with AF personnel facing increased perceptions of dangerousness. Findings underscore the need for public stigma-reduction strategies that address both gambling-related and military-specific misconceptions.
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Applying the guided self-determination counselling method in primary healthcare among people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes : A qualitative study
(2025-11) Kolltveit, Beate Christin Hope; Arnardóttir, Elín; Oftedal, Bjørg Frøysland; Sigurðardóttir, Árún Kristín; Faculty of Nursing
Aim: To explore how nurses experienced using the Guided Self-Determination (GSD) counselling method in primary healthcare for the follow-up of patients at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Design: This study had a qualitative design. Methods: We used individual interviews with nurses in Norway (n = 5) and Iceland (n = 6) to collect data. The nurses had prior to this qualitative study participated in a randomised controlled trial, by applying the GSD counselling method in primary healthcare. The data was analysed by using qualitative content analysis. Results: The findings in this study resulted in the identification of three categories: (1) Promoting change in patient awareness and motivation, (2) Facilitation of health behaviour change, and (3) Challenges in applying the GSD method in patient consultations. The counselling method assisted the nurses to approach patients in a different way and to ask questions that stimulated personal reflection and increased the patients´ health awareness. Patient or Public Contribution: Patient representatives contributed in discussing the relevance of the study objectives and justification for undertaking the research, and in the development of adequate written patient information for the study.
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Hypoglycaemia and its associations with diabetes and age-related factors in older home-dwelling people with diabetes
(2025-12) Fløde, Mari; Hermann, Monica; Igland, Jannicke; Hernar, Ingvild; Sigurðardóttir, Árún Kristín; Søfteland, Eirik; Åsberg, Anders; Jenssen, Trond Geir; Haugstvedt, Anne; Faculty of Nursing
Background: Studies have shown high rates of hypoglycaemia among home-dwelling older people receiving home care services. Hypoglycaemia can lead to severe consequences and in worst case, death. Therefore, knowledge about the factors associated with the occurrence of hypoglycaemia in this patient group is important. This study aimed to investigate the associations between hypoglycaemia and relevant diabetes and age-related factors among individuals with diabetes aged ≥ 65 years who received home care services. Methods: This prospective observational study included data from blinded continuous glucose monitoring to identify hypoglycaemia and glycaemic variability. Further, data from blood tests (HbA1c, serum creatinine), medication lists, and questionnaires on cognitive function, functional status with need of assistance, and nutritional status were collected. Data analysis was performed using Fisher’s exact tests and unadjusted logistic regression analyses. Results: In total, 56 individuals participated (52% men, median age 82 years). We identified a statistically significant association between hypoglycaemia and glycaemic variability (p < 0.001). All participants with a coefficient of variation (CV) ≥ 36% had undergone at least one hypoglycaemic event during the study period. Also, participants with CV ≥ 27% had higher risk of hypoglycaemia than those with CV < 27% (OR 5.3, 95% CI 1.6, 17.7). Among the 34 participants with HbA1c ≥ 53 mmol/mol, 32% experienced hypoglycaemia. In total, 93% were treated with medications that potentially interfered with the effect of their diabetes medications, and 64% were treated with medications that potentially affected their ability to detect symptoms of hypoglycaemia. The associations between hypoglycaemia and cognitive, functional, or nutritional status is uncertain due to limitations in sample size. Conclusions: This study highlights a significant association between glycaemic variability and hypoglycaemia among older home-dwelling adults with diabetes receiving home care services. The prevalence of drug-drug interactions raises concerns about diabetes treatment and emphasise the need for targeted interventions to improve safety and care for this vulnerable group of patients.
Verk
Eyra - Speech Data Acquisition System for Many Languages
(2016) Petursson, Matthias; Klüpfel, Simon; Gudnason, Jon; Department of Engineering
Speech data acquisition is particularly important for under-resourced languages. The data gathering is the most labour-intensive part of developing speech technologies such as automatic speech recognizers and synthesizers. It is therefore important to facilitate this process with as much automation and labour-cutting tools as possible. This paper describes a new open-source system called Eyra which enables distributed speech data collecting through a variety of devices. It addresses internet connectivity issues by allowing the data collectors to run the back-end server off a local laptop, thereby facilitating automatic quality control and less labour-intensive data uploading and compiling. It can also be used in a crowd-sourcing set-up where volunteers can donate voice samples through a desktop web-browser interface. An initial test shows that the system works well in an offline mode using smart-phones for data collection.
Verk
Development of a Vibrotactile Wearable for Real-Time Information Communication
(University of Iceland, School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, 2026) Yeganeh, Nashmin; Prof. Dr. Rúnar Unnþórsson; Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science (UI); Iðnaðarverkfræði-, vélaverkfræði- og tölvunarfræðideild (HÍ); School of Engineering and Natural Sciences (UI); Verkfræði- og náttúruvísindasvið (HÍ)
In a digital environment saturated with information, there is an increasing need for new ways to deliver information quickly and reliably without relying on sight or hearing. This is especially critical when these senses are already overloaded or otherwise unavailable. Vibrotactile stimulation, where information is conveyed through vibrations on the skin, shows great promise as a way to utilize the body’s sense of touch. The effectiveness of such systems, however, depends entirely on how the vibrations are structured and calibrated, particularly on regions of the body where the skin is less sensitive. This thesis investigates how to design and fine-tune vibrotactile stimulation in wearable devices so that it communicates information reliably in real-time without causing cognitive fatigue. The forearm is well-suited for such equipment as it does not hinder hand movement and the device can remain nearly unobtrusive. However, the density of mechanoreceptors is lower and spatial perception is poorer there than, for example, in the fingertips, which imposes certain perceptual constraints. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically research how the location, frequency, and temporal patterns of vibration affect how we perceive the vibrations and interpret the messages encoded within them. A custom-built wearable device was designed using voice coil actuators integrated into a flexible textile substrate with 3D-printed enclosures. The device is capable of delivering dynamic, independent, and spatially distributed vibrations. The research employed psychophysical methods to explore and quantify three core dimensions: spatial resolution, frequency effects, and the temporal structure of stimuli. Thesis Objective 1 (TO1) This objective evaluated the minimum spacing required between actuators for users to distinguish between them. The results revealed that a 20 mm spacing yielded the highest accuracy (approximately 90–92%) on both the dorsal and ventral (upper and under) sides of the forearm. Thesis Objective 2 (TO2) This objective investigated how different frequencies (100–250 Hz) and anatomical placements (wrist, mid-forearm, elbow) affected perception. The study showed that frequency alone had little effect, whereas location was crucial; accuracy was higher in areas near landmarks or bone, such as the wrist and elbow. Thesis Objective 3 (TO3) This objective focused on how the timing of stimuli affects perception. Sequential stimulation, where vibration was delivered by one actuator at a time, was compared to simultaneous stimulation, where all relevant actuators were activated at once. The results confirmed that it is significantly easier to distinguish signals delivered sequentially (93.24% accuracy) than those delivered simultaneously (26.15%). Further investigation into inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs) revealed that accuracy is highest when intervals are between 100 and 500 milliseconds. Shorter patterns proved more effective than longer ones, and users remembered the beginning and end of the sequences best. Furthermore, performance improved with practice, demonstrating that users can learn to adapt to such systems over time. These investigations provide a foundation for the design of wearable tactile systems that work efficiently with human perception. The findings are applicable to the development of assistive technologies, sensory substitution devices, silent alerting systems, and even virtual or augmented reality (VR/AR) interfaces. By demonstrating that complex information can be reliably conveyed through structured vibrations on the forearm, this thesis confirms that touch is a viable communication channel in human-computer interaction when other modalities are overloaded.

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