Designed to be used in the field, the program allows individuals to quickly describe their concerns about a friend or family member. Using an algorithm based on a meta analysis of existing literature of behavioral indicators of PTSD, the program returns an assessment summary suggesting actions steps to the user.
As the software development subcontractors for the project, our task was to develop an easy-to-use interface and workflow, then implement the expert system strategies necessary to provide accurate recommendations.
The project required us to build a desktop application that might also need to be used on the web, so we developed our tool in Adobe Air. After a few different iterations and focus group testing, we settled on a simple linear navigation structure – the right arrow moves you forward and the left arrow moves back.
It’s amazing how the best ideas usually turn out to be so simple.
Before getting to any specific questions, users are able to type their concerns into a text box (if they’re connected to the internet). This allows the user to express themselves right from the start, getting to the most important issues immediately.
It’s kind of like your doctor asking, “So, how are you feeling today?”.
Based on an extensive knowledgebase grounded in the literature, the unstructured text submitted by the user is analyzed for relevant content. Then, the program automatically answers any applicable multiple choice questions.
Of course, we show the user what questions were answered by their free-text entry and give them the opportunity to change their response.
Users continue through 4 sets of simple yes/no questions, things like: “Does your friend or relative seem to be distant or removed from others?” If they answer Yes, they must indicate the severity on a scale of 1 to 5. Users can answer as many or as few questions as they want.
Only 17 questions later (the entire process typically takes under 5 minutes), PAS provides a recommendation and explains which factors contributed to the assessment. While the feedback is not an official diagnosis, it give military personnel practical advice about how to respond, or what actions are appropriate.
Users can email the report to their supervisor, or save it to their computer for future reference. To ensure privacy issues don’t prevent someone from using the tool, none of the answers are stored.
The tool is simple to use and gives military personnel a quick, anonymous method of expressing their concerns and receiving advice.
Idea Works developers, Matt and Kara, did a fantastic job building a solid, user-friendly program and our friends at Lincoln are currently shopping it around to different groups. We hope to see widespread adoption soon.
For information about using the Peer Advising System, please contact the Center for Suicide Prevention Research and Studies at 573.681.5225 or CSPRS{at}lincoln{dot}edu.
]]>Based on one of the most popular intro psych texts (Psychology by David G Myers), our assignments have already been tested in the classroom for quality. And we’ll let you use two of them at no cost.
Watch the video (below) for more information:
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Over the years, SAGrader has been used a lot in Sociology courses. As a result we’ve gathered an impressive collection of classroom-tested essay assignments for Intro, Social Psychology, Social Deviance and Research Methods. Now we’re offering these ready-to-use assignments to your Sociology class!
It’s an easy way to inject some robust assignments into your curriculum. And since they’re already setup in SAGrader, you won’t have to grade them. We’ve got over 20 assignments to choose from. Use as many as you want for only $19 a student.
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While there are already some great bar exam study programs out there, we think we bring a few unique things to the field.
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We’ve been working hard on this the past few weeks so we could get it out in time for students to use before the next bar exam in July. Check it out and let us know what you think!
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