Zoomvesting: angel investors' perception of subjective cues in online pitching

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic transformed angel investment meetings from in-person to online. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether this move affected angel investors' perception of subjective behavioral cues in pitch sessions within a large Brazilian angel group.Design/methodology/approachThis study followed an exploratory approach using a triangulation process that combined observation, documents and interviews. Data collected by observation, document studies, and interviews were themed, coded, and organized during the research.FindingsThe move from in-person to online pitches did not seem to affect levels of trustworthiness or arrogance as angels assessed more message content during Q&A sessions. Body movement, gestures and "eye gaze” (i.e. the look on a presenter's face) played a central role in passion assessment during in-person meetings. Body language was highly limited during online sessions and tone of voice became the main source of passion assessment.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this study suggest that pitches at online meetings affect angel investors' perception of founders' subjective cues, particularly cues pertaining to passion. Entrepreneurs should be trained to convey passion with tone of voice and to improve their body language in the context of webcam use. The interviews with volunteer sampling were subject to volunteer bias. Additionally, the findings may be affected by cultural context.Practical implicationsA practical contribution of this study is to highlight the need for entrepreneurs to be trained for online pitches. In an online setting, body language is limited, but it is still possible to use one's hands and tone of voice to connect better to investors.Originality/valueThis study is unique because it captures the transition of angel investment meetings from in-person affairs before the pandemic to online meetings during the pandemic crisis. These unique circumstances provided a real-world laboratory to observe founders' subjective cue effects on angel investment decision-making.

CONTINUES REMOTE CARDIAC MONITORING IN CRITICALLY ILL COVID-19 PATIENTS (C3 STUDY)

Objective: 1. To evaluate the use of remote cardiac monitoring of critically ill COVID-19 patients. 2. To correlate DOZEE early warning score(DEWS) with severity and outcome Design and method: Ballistocardiography (BCG)Ballistocardiography is a noninvasive method based on the measurement of the body motion generated by the ejection of the blood at each cardiac cycle. It also contains motion arising from breathing, snoring and body movements. Dozee Early Warning System (DEWS): DEWS is an overall score for risk assessment of the physiological status of a person. It is a cumulative score of risk levels of physiological parameters like HR,RR and SPo2, which acts as an early predictor for possible physiological decline. Assessment of severity of of Acute-illness Detection of clinical deterioration Initiation of a timely and competent clinical response Total 39 subjects were observed where 24 of the subjects were Male and 15 Female and the average duration of stay at the hospital was 5 days. There were 20 patients who had comorbid conditions like HYPOTHYROID, NHL,ASTHMA etc. 19 patients did not present with any co morbidities. The outcome of 10 patients was death and 29 patients were discharged after recovery, as reported by the healthcare professionals at the ward. The vitals of the subjects were continuously monitored by Dozee, a contactless remote patient monitoring system enabled with Dozee Early Warning System (DEWS) which reflects the overall patient condition based on the Respiration, Heart Rate and Spo2 of the patients. Results: The data from the continuous monitoring of the respiration rate, heart rate and oxygen saturation of the 39 patients were analysed for their duration of stay at the hospital. The DEWS score of the patients were also analysed Conclusions: It was concluded that continuous vitals monitoring of the patients and the resulting Dews scores were an indicator of the improving or deteriorating condition of the patients. The discharged patients showed a decrease in the DEWS score, especially Breathing DEWS before they recovered. However, the expired patients showed steady increase or a stagnant high Breathing dews until time of death.

Turning Eight Family Homes Into Interactive, Pervasive Playgrounds During the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown

This paper presents an evaluation study of how eighth families adopted, played and experienced a movement-based game system of analog and digital technologies in their homes during a pandemic lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic locked down many countries and grounded people in their homes with social and physical implications. A game system consisting of simple, tangible technologies with modular components was designed to meet these needs. The game system was developed for the players to set up in their homes easily and, therefore, should not depend on screens or extensive physical installations. The game system comprises simple, tangible technologies such as light and music cubes, a simple mobile robot, card game challenges, and a suite of mini-games combining the elements in a variety of playful experiences. Using the technology probes methodology, the game system was packed into a suitcase and evaluated by eight families that played the game in their homes, video-recorded their sessions, wrote a final report and were (informally) interviewed afterwards. The data set presents how the families turned their ordinary everyday spaces into interactive, pervasive playgrounds encouraging social and bodily exploration and play. Furthermore, the study shows how bodily movement and social play can be promoted through different technologies that stimulate various bodily senses and incorporate them through the different game and play structures into their everyday living environments. The findings resulted in four design implications to aid designers and researchers in future work on movement-based game systems and interactive, pervasive playground design. These design implications accommodate social and bodily activities in ordinary places otherwise not pre-allocated for play or game activities.

Respiration Rate Extraction of Moving Subject Using Velocity Change in FMCW Radar

We propose a novel approach to determine the respiration rate of a moving subject, in terms of the velocity change, by using a frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar. In conventional methods, the respiration rate is determined by considering the variation in the distance between the targets and radar;however, these methods are vulnerable to the subject’s movements. The proposed approach estimates the respiration rate by considering the velocity, instead of the distance. An experiment was conducted to measure respiration in several subjects performing various movements. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is more robust to the subject’s movements compared to conventional research methods, and can more accurately estimate the respiration rate.

Physical Activity, Eating Habits and Mental Health during COVID-19 Lockdown Period in Serbian Adolescents.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every aspect of life, especially daily physical activity and healthy eating habits but also mental health. Our study aimed to examine the relationship between the physical activity level, eating habits and mental health of Serbian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 3506 students from the territory of the Republic of Serbia participated in this study. IPAQ-short version and HBSC-FFQ were used to assess physical activity level and eating habits, along with self-rated health. Moderate correlations were identified between physical activity, eating habits and mental health, along with average physical activity, very high life satisfaction (ß = 0.177, p < 0.01) and very low emotional distress (ß = -0.150, p < 0.01). A significant predictor of mental health was the frequency of breakfast on weekdays (ß = 0.167, p < 0.01 for life satisfaction and ß = -0.153, p < 0.01 for emotional distress), but not on weekends. Since the pandemic's course is uncertain, the focus should be on maintaining good physical activity, nutrition and well-being.

MINDFUL WALKING IN KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS: A FEASIBILITY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Purpose: Current walking interventions for people with knee osteoarthritis (OA) focus on either reducing knee joint loading or on increasing physical activity. There is a need for interventions that could address both quality and quantity of walking for people with knee OA. The goal of this randomized controlled trial (clinicaltrials.gov # NCT03064139) was to determine the feasibility of a mindful walking intervention to improve quality and quantity of walking in people with knee OA. Methods: Individuals with symptomatic knee OA were recruited from the community using advertisements. Study criteria are shown in Table 1. [Formula presented] During enrollment, the more symptomatic knee, or a knee selected at random in case of equal symptoms, was designated as the study knee. After the baseline visit, participants were randomized to either a mindful walking group (MWG) or an attention-matched self-management group (SMG). Participants in both groups received 11 intervention sessions delivered over a 6-month period (4 in 1 st month, 2 each in 2nd and 3rd months, 1 each in 4th, 5th, and 6th months). Interventions were delivered via in-person groups (4-10 in each group) and each session was 1.5-3 hours in duration. For MWG, a certified instructor provided training in mindful walking that includes whole-body movement retraining and mindful body-awareness skill building. Biomechanical elements include: shorter stride length, higher cadence, greater toe-in, and more aligned posture. Participants were coached to progressively increase their mindful walking activity each week. Mindfulness elements include mindful body-awareness skills to increase sensitivity and awareness of deviations from the taught techniques. The approach is based on “ChiWalking®” so called because the movement approaches are drawn in part from T’ai Chi. For SMG, a researcher delivered a curriculum consisting of education and self-management techniques (e.g., importance of physical activity and exercise, nutrition, weight-management, etc.). This information was also provided to MWG in a condensed form. Gait analyses and physical performance tests were completed at baseline and 6-months. Physical activity was assessed using a commercial wrist-worn activity monitor (Charge 3, Fitbit Inc, San Francisco, CA). Participant-reported outcomes (PROs) were completed at baseline and every 3-months. Participants were remotely followed for an additional 6-months after the end of the intervention. Given the feasibility nature of the study, primary outcomes included recruitment, adherence, retention and number of adverse events. Secondary outcomes included peak external knee adduction moment [KAM], daily step count, Knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS) Pain, Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Arthritis Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES), 30-second chair stand test (30STS), 40-meter fast paced walk test (40FPW), and Stair Climbing Test (SCT). Analyses were conducted on intention-to-treat basis with all randomized participants included and missing values were not imputed. Results: Participants were recruited between March 2019 and January 2020. During this period, ∼450 individuals completed pre-screening questionnaires (∼41 per month), 66 completed in-person screening visits, 47 were enrolled, and 44 were randomized (Table 2). Interventions for 19 participants were interrupted, delayed for 3-months, and then transitioned to virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the original recruitment goal was 62, the trial was halted earlier due to COVID-19. [Formula presented] Attendance is shown in Table 3. On average, MWG group attended 63% of the sessions vs. 70% in the SMG group. Among those who attended at least 1 session, MWG group attended 69% vs. 77% for SMG. Among those who attended at least 3 sessions, MWG group attended 75% vs. 84% for SMG. Post-intervention, 65% (n=15) and 87% (n=20) of MWG completed the in-person visits and PROs, respectively. In SMG, 81% (n=17) completed in-person visits and PROs. At 12-months, 91% (n=21) and 71% (n 15) completed the PROs for MWG and SMG, respectively. [Formula presented] Participant feedback at 6- and 12-months showed that the intervention was acceptable (Table 4). There were no serious adverse events related to the intervention in either group. Within group and between group differences for secondary outcomes are shown in Table 5. [Formula presented] [Formula presented] Conclusions: Our benchmarks were recruitment over 1.5 years, attendance of 75% in MWG group, and retention of 80% of participants at 6-months. While all of these benchmarks were negatively impacted by COVID-19, the recruitment rates over the period studied, adherence in those who attended at least 3 sessions, and retention for some secondary outcomes were acceptable. Participants in both groups found the interventions helpful, enjoyable, and rated it highly. At 12-month follow-up, MWG participants continued to practice mindful walking 1-2 days a week. Between group differences for secondary outcomes were small. Given the feasibility nature of the study, conclusions regarding efficacy cannot be made and larger trial would be needed. Our results show that our methods are appropriate for conducting such a larger trial.