ORCID Profile
0000-0002-5508-7102
Current Organisation
University of Plymouth
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Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 14-09-2016
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 23-11-2021
Abstract: The replication crisis has stimulated researchers around the world to adopt open science research practices intended to reduce publication bias and improve research quality. Open science practices include study pre-registration, open data, open publication, and avoiding methods that can lead to publication bias and low replication rates. Although gambling studies uses similar research methods to behavioral research fields that have struggled with replication, we know little about the uptake of open science research practices in gambling-focused research. We conducted a scoping review of 500 recent (1/1/2016 – 12/1/2019) studies focused on gambling and problem gambling to examine the use of open science and transparent research practices. Our results showed that a small percentage of studies used most practices: whereas 54.6% (95% CI: [50.2, 58.9]) of studies used at least one of nine open science practices, each practice’s prevalence was: 1.6% for pre-registration (95% CI:[0.8, 3.1]), 3.2% for open data (95% CI:[2.0, 5.1]), 0% for open notebook, 35.2% for open access (95% CI:[31.1, 39.5]), 7.8% for open materials (95% CI:[5.8, 10.5]), 1.4% for open code (95% CI:[0.7, 2.9]), and 15.0% for preprint posting (95% CI:[12.1, 18.4]). In all, 6.4% (95% CI:[4.6, 8.9]) used a power analysis and 2.4% (95% CI:[1.4, 4.2]) of the studies were replication studies. Exploratory analyses showed that studies that used any open science practice, and open access in particular, had higher citation counts. We suggest several practical ways to enhance the uptake of open science principles and practices both within gambling studies and in science more broadly.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 18-12-2018
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 23-03-2021
Abstract: Primary aim: to determine the efficacy of FAST (the Fast Alcohol Screening Test) for detecting harmful and dependent levels of alcohol use. Secondary aim: to compare the performance of the FAST to two short forms of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT): the AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3. Data from 3336 in iduals in South Wales, compiled from full AUDIT datasets, were examined. AUROC analysis, alongside measures of sensitivity and specificity of the FAST, AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3 were utilized for the identification of harmful and dependent alcohol use. The FAST demonstrated efficacy in the identification of harmful and dependent levels of alcohol use, with superior performance to both the AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3. The present paper demonstrates the potential of the FAST as a cost- and time-effective method for appropriate screening and signposting in the stepped care model utilized by many health care and treatment services. Further studies are needed to ensure validity, both within the general population and for specific services and populations.
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 19-07-2021
Abstract: Objectives: The ability to accurately recall past gambling behavior and outcomes is essential for making informed decisions about future gambling. We aimed to determine whether online gambling customers can accurately recall their recent gambling outcomes and betting frequency. Methods: An online survey was distributed to 40,000 customers of an Australian sports and race wagering website which asked participants to recall their past 30-day net outcome and number of bets. We compared responses to these questions with participants’ actual outcomes as provided by the online site. Results: Among the 514 participants who reported their net outcome, only 21 (4.09%) were accurate within a 10% margin of their actual outcome. Participants were most likely to underestimate their losses (N = 333, 64.79%). Lower actual net losses were associated with greater under- and over-estimation of losses. Of the 652 participants who reported their gambling frequency, 48 (7.36%) were accurate within a 10% margin of their actual frequency. Most participants underestimated their number of bets (N = 454, 69.63%). Higher actual betting frequencies were associated with underestimating betting and lower actual frequencies with overestimating betting. Conclusions: The poor recall accuracy we observed suggests public health approaches to gambling harm minimization that assume people make informed decisions about their future bets based on past outcomes and available funds should be reconsidered. Findings also question the reliability of research outcomes predicated on self-reported gambling behavior. Research is needed to determine the best methods of increasing people’s awareness of their actual expenditure and outcomes.
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 20-12-2019
Abstract: Little is understood about the attentional mechanisms that lead to perceptions of collective efficacy. This paper presents two studies that address this lack of understanding. Study 1 examined participants (N = 59) attentional processes relating to positive, neutral or negative emotional facial photographs, when instructed to select their ‘most confident’ or ‘least confident’ team. Eye gaze metrics of first fixation duration (FFD), fixation duration (FD) and fixation count (FC) were measured alongside in idual perceptions of collective efficacy and emotional valence of the teams selected. Participants had shorter FFD, longer FD, and more FC on positive faces when instructed to select their most confident team (p & .05). Collective efficacy and emotional valence were significantly greater when participants selected their most confident team (p & .05). Study 2 explored the influence of video content familiarity of team-based observation interventions on attentional processes and collective efficacy in interdependent team-sport athletes (N = 34). When participants were exposed to familiar (own team/sport) and unfamiliar (unknown team/sport) team-based performance video, eye tracking data revealed similar gaze behaviours for the two conditions in terms of areas of interest. However, collective efficacy increased most for the familiar condition. Study 1 results indicate that the emotional expressions of team members influence both where and for how long we look at potential team members, and that conspecifics’ emotional expression impacts on our perceptions of collective efficacy. For Study 2, given the apparent greater increase in collective efficacy for the familiar condition, the similar attentional processes evident for familiar and unfamiliar team footage suggests that differences in meaning of the observed content dictates collective efficacy perceptions. Across both studies, the findings indicate the importance of positive emotional vicarious experiences when using team-based observation interventions to improve collective efficacy in teams.
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 25-04-2023
Abstract: Open science refers to a set of practices that aim to make scientific research more transparent, accessible, and reproducible, including pre-registration of study protocols, sharing of data and materials, the use of transparent research methods, and open access publishing. In this opinion piece, we describe and evaluate the current state of open science practices in behavioral addiction research. We highlight the specific value of open science practices for the field discuss recent field-specific meta-scientific reviews that show the adoption of such practices remains in its infancy address the challenges to engaging with open science and make recommendations for how researchers, journals, and scientific institutions can work to overcome these challenges and promote high-quality, transparently reported behavioral addiction research. By collaboratively promoting open science practices, the field can create a more sustainable and productive research environment that benefits both the scientificcommunity and society as a whole.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 22-02-2018
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 30-09-2020
Abstract: Background & Aim: Deposit limits may be an effective strategy for minimising the harm associated with online gambling. However, voluntary uptake of these tools is low. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of different messages to increase use of deposit limits by customers of online gambling sites and to examine the effects of limit setting on gambling behaviour. Design: A pre-registered, naturalistic randomised control trial was conducted wherein customers were sent varied messages by online gambling operators. Setting: Four online Australian sports and racing wagering websites. Participants: 31,989 wagering customers (reduced to 26,516 after screening for eligibility) who had placed bets on at least five days during the last 30. Interventions: Messages were sent via email or in-account notification and were designed to either: [1] be informative, describing the availability and purpose of the tool, [2] highlight the benefits other people receive from using the tool (social messages), or [3] promote the benefit in iduals could receive from using the tool (personal messages). Comparators: A control group of customers who did not receive messages was monitored for comparison. Measurements: We collected customer account data for 90-days pre- and post-messages. Findings: 161 (0.71%) customers set a deposit limit within five days of messages being sent. Those sent messages via in-account notification were more likely to set limits than those sent messages via email. Differences in message content had little effect on deposit limit uptake. Customers who set limits showed significantly greater decreases in average daily wager amount, the SD of average daily wager, net loss, and betting intensity compared to a randomly selected subs le of non-limit-setters. Conclusions: Customer messages are inexpensive and can lead to small but impactful increases in the uptake of deposit limits on gambling sites. Setting deposit limits was associated with decreased gambling intensity, expenditure, and losses and may therefore be an effective harm-reduction strategy.
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 16-07-2021
Abstract: Study preregistration is one of several “open science” practices (e.g., open data, preprints) that researchers use to improve the transparency and rigour of their research. As more researchers adopt preregistration as a regular research practice, examining the nature and content of preregistrations can help identify strengths and weaknesses of current practices. The value of preregistration, in part, relates to the specificity of the study plan and the extent to which investigators adhere to this plan. We identified 53 preregistrations from the gambling studies field meeting our predefined eligibility criteria and scored their level of specificity using a 23-item protocol developed to measure the extent to which a clear and exhaustive preregistration plan restricts various researcher degrees of freedom (RDoF i.e., the many methodological choices available to researchers when collecting and analysing data, and when reporting their findings). We also scored studies on a 32-item protocol that measured adherence to the preregistered plan in the study manuscript. We found that gambling preregistrations had low specificity levels on most RDoF. However, a comparison with a s le of cross-disciplinary preregistrations (N = 52 Bakker et al., 2020) indicated that gambling preregistrations scored higher on 12 (of 29) items. Thirteen (65%) of the 20 associated published articles or preprints deviated from the protocol without declaring as much (the mean number of undeclared deviations per article was 2.25, SD = 2.34). Overall, while we found improvements in specificity and adherence over time (2017-2020), our findings suggest the purported benefits of preregistration—including increasing transparency and reducing RDoF—are not fully achieved by current practices. Using our findings, we provide 10 practical recommendations that can be used to support and refine preregistration practices.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-03-2021
DOI: 10.1111/ADD.15471
Abstract: We tested the effectiveness of three different messages designed to increase limit‐setting on gambling sites and sent these via e‐mail or in‐account notification to compare delivery modes. As a secondary aim, we examined the effects of limit‐setting on gambling behaviour. A pre‐registered, naturalistic randomized control trial using a 3 × 2 plus control design. Four on‐line Australian sports and racing wagering websites. A total of 31 989 wagering customers (reduced to 26,560 after eligibility screening) who had placed bets on at least 5 days in the past 30 [mean age = 41.4, standard deviation (SD) = 14.3 79% male]. Messages were sent via e‐mail or in‐account notification by on‐line gambling operators and were designed to either: (1) be informative, describing the availability and purpose of the tool (informative messages), (2) highlight the benefits other people receive from using the tool (social messages) or (3) promote the benefit in iduals could receive from using the tool (personal messages). A control group who did not receive messages was monitored for comparison. Our primary outcome was the number of customers who set a deposit limit within 5 days of receiving messages and secondary outcomes included pre‐ and post‐message betting behaviour (e.g. average daily wager). One hundred and sixty‐one (0.71%) customers sent messages set limits compared to three (0.08%) controls [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 8.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.99, 33.76)]. Social and personal messages were no more effective than informative messages (aOR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.65, 1.48 aOR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.60, 1.44) and in‐account messages were no more effective than e‐mails (aOR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.71, 1.49). Customers who set limits significantly decreased their average daily wager, the SD of daily wager, net loss and betting intensity compared with non‐limit‐setters. Messages to on‐line gambling website customers are inexpensive, and may lead to small but impactful increases in setting deposit limits. Limit‐setting may be an effective strategy for reducing gambling expenditure and intensity.
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 06-2022
DOI: 10.1037/ADB0000792
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-09-2022
DOI: 10.1111/DAR.13545
Abstract: Alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) is an umbrella term referring to the neurocognitive impairments caused by excessive and prolonged alcohol use and the associated nutritional deficiencies. This study evaluated the outcomes of an online research-informed training program for ARBD which aimed to improve client outcomes by promoting support staff's awareness and confidence in working with clients who may have (or who are at risk of developing) the condition. Staff working within a large non-governmental non-profit housing organisation (n = 883) enrolled in the training program. Questionnaires were used pre- and post-training to collect self-reported awareness of ARBD and confidence in supporting in iduals with the condition. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 staff members approximately 10 weeks post-completion of the program. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed by employing qualitative content analysis. Findings from the questionnaires indicated a significant increase in all measures after completing the training program. Three main themes were developed based on the interview data: changes to awareness and understanding professional practice and training-specific characteristics. Participants reported changes in their ability to identify potential service users with ARBD and confidence in doing so. Our findings demonstrate that online training programs can be effective in improving support staff's ability to identify ARBD, potentially leading an increase in signposting service users to relevant services. The research-informed nature of the training demonstrates that translating research findings directly to frontline workers can have a substantial impact and may improve outcomes for this client group.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 22-07-2022
DOI: 10.3389/FPSYT.2022.913230
Abstract: The “frontal lobe paradox” highlights a phenomenon in which a subset of patients who possess frontal lobe damage and exhibit marked impairments in everyday life are still able to able to verbally describe a logical course of action relating to a task and perform well in interview and test settings. Such cases pose a challenge with regard to the assessment of mental capacity within clinical settings. Recent position articles state that the frontal lobe paradox is a well-known phenomenon within the field of neuropsychology, anecdotal reports from clinicians in the UK suggest this is not the case. Consequently, we conducted a scoping review to examine the breadth and depth of literature relating to the frontal lobe paradox. Searches were conducted using electronic databases and search engines, which were supplemented with a snowball search of the references used within relevant literature. We identified and reviewed 28 documents specifically related to the frontal lobe paradox. Nearly 50% of all identified academic texts published since 2000 were position articles that cited a handful of case studies published between 1936 and 1986 as evidence for the phenomenon. We also observed instances of articles citing position articles as evidence of the frontal lobe paradox. Overall, our findings indicate a lack of readily accessible research specific to the frontal lobe paradox. In particular, there is a lack of contemporary research specific to the subject and an absence of clarification as to which syndromes and disorders are included within the term.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-06-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S10899-022-10120-Y
Abstract: The replication crisis has stimulated researchers around the world to adopt open science research practices intended to reduce publication bias and improve research quality. Open science practices include study pre-registration, open data, open access, and avoiding methods that can lead to publication bias and low replication rates. Although gambling studies uses similar research methods as behavioral research fields that have struggled with replication, we know little about the uptake of open science research practices in gambling-focused research. We conducted a scoping review of 500 recent (1/1/2016–12/1/2019) studies focused on gambling and problem gambling to examine the use of open science and transparent research practices. Our results showed that a small percentage of studies used most practices: whereas 54.6% (95% CI: [50.2, 58.9]) of studies used at least one of nine open science practices, each practice’s prevalence was: 1.6% for pre-registration (95% CI: [0.8, 3.1]), 3.2% for open data (95% CI: [2.0, 5.1]), 0% for open notebook, 35.2% for open access (95% CI: [31.1, 39.5]), 7.8% for open materials (95% CI: [5.8, 10.5]), 1.4% for open code (95% CI: [0.7, 2.9]), and 15.0% for preprint posting (95% CI: [12.1, 18.4]). In all, 6.4% (95% CI: [4.6, 8.9]) of the studies included a power analysis and 2.4% (95% CI: [1.4, 4.2]) were replication studies. Exploratory analyses showed that studies that used any open science practice, and open access in particular, had higher citation counts. We suggest several practical ways to enhance the uptake of open science principles and practices both within gambling studies and in science more generally.
Publisher: Akademiai Kiado Zrt.
Date: 12-2016
Publisher: Akademiai Kiado Zrt.
Date: 06-2016
Publisher: No publisher found
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1037/ADB0000761
Abstract: Consumer Protection Tools (CPTs e.g., deposit limits, timeouts) are provided by gambling sites to assist customers to gamble without harms. We aimed to understand how CPTs are used, and by which customers, which is essential to determine their effectiveness. We examined the account data of 39,853 customers (median age = 33 years 84% male) across six Australian wagering sites over 1 year (2018/07/01-2019/06/30). Most (83%) customers did not use any CPTs, with low rates of use for deposit limits (15.8%), timeouts (0.55%-1.57%), and self-exclusion tools (0.16%-0.57%) observed. Requiring customers to set a deposit limit or opt-out of setting one led to substantial increases in limit setting. Many customers who used limits later changed them, typically by increasing or removing them. Non-CPT users and deposit limit users were similar in their demographic and gambling characteristics, while comparatively, timeout and/or self-exclusion users were younger and displayed more risky gambling behaviors (e.g., higher net loss and betting frequency). Our findings suggest that voluntary deposit limits have inherent limitations in addressing harmful behaviors if consumers can easily increase or remove limits. The study suggests that greater efforts are needed to encourage CPT use among a broad customer base, including default limits requiring opt-out, greater restrictions on increasing or remove limits, and more persuasive communication of the benefits of timeouts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 17-03-2021
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 28-11-2019
Publisher: Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc.
Date: 09-2020
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 05-2021
Publisher: Akademiai Kiado Zrt.
Date: 05-10-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-02-2021
DOI: 10.1111/JPC.15330
Abstract: The Australian ‘There is no place like home’ project is implementing a paediatric low‐risk febrile neutropenia (FN) programme across eight paediatric hospitals. We sought to identify the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic on programme implementation. Paediatric oncology, infectious diseases and emergency medicine health‐care workers and parent/carers were surveyed to explore the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on home‐based FN care. Online surveys were distributed nationally to health‐care workers involved in care of children with FN and to parents or carers of children with cancer. Surveys were completed by 78 health‐care workers and 32 parents/carers. Overall, 95% of health‐care workers had confidence in the safety of home‐based FN care, with 35% reporting changes at their own hospitals in response to the pandemic that made them more comfortable with this model. Compared to pre‐pandemic, % of parent/carers were now more worried about attending the hospital with their child and % were interested in receiving home‐based FN care. Among both groups, increased telehealth access and acceptance of home‐based care, improved patient quality of life and reduced risk of nosocomial infection were identified as programme enablers, while re‐direction of resources due to COVID‐19 and challenges in implementing change during a crisis were potential barriers. There is strong clinician and parent/carer support for home‐based management of low‐risk FN across Australia. Changes made to the delivery of cancer care in response to the pandemic have generally increased acceptance for home‐based treatments and opportunities exist to leverage these to refine the low‐risk FN programme.
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Robert Heirene.