Field study for the evaluation of the acoustic quality of open-plan offices

2021 ◽  
Vol 263 (4) ◽  
pp. 2544-2549
Author(s):  
Patrick Chevret ◽  
Thomas Bonzom ◽  
Lucas Lenne ◽  
Laurent Brocolini ◽  
Julien Marchand
Keyword(s):  
Service Industry ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Occupational Accidents ◽  
Work Organisation ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Open Plan ◽  
Sound Masking

Even if the global health crisis is currently changing the work organisation in offices in the service industry, the problem of noise in open plan offices remains a major challenge with regard to occupational health and well-being. Since 2012, the French National Research and Safety Institute for the Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Diseases (INRS) has been carrying out acoustic surveys in French open-plan offices by measuring both some usual indicators of empty offices (Tr, D2S, Lp4m, rc, Lp) and also the ambient noise levels in activity. In addition, GABO questionnaires have been proposed to employees to assess their perception of the noise environment. So far, 50 open spaces were evaluated, with more or less data collected depending on the situation encountered. Approximately 1,400 employees have already answered the questionnaire. All of the sites visited cover the entire set of activities described by the ISO 22955 standard. An analysis of the links between the acoustic parameters and the perception of employees was carried out. This analysis provides additional information to the studies on the choice of acoustic descriptors and on the use of sound masking systems that aim to control background noise to reduce noise disturbance due to intelligible conversations.

scholarly journals FeV1 and BMI influence King’s Sarcoidosis Questionnaire score in sarcoidosis patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Christian Frye ◽  
Laura Potasso ◽  
Erik Farin-Glattacker ◽  
Surrinder Birring ◽  
Joachim Müller-Quernheim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Lung Function ◽  
General Health ◽  
Unknown Origin ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Current Therapy ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Assess Quality

Abstract Background Sarcoidosis is granulomatous disease of unknown origin affecting organ function and quality of life. The King’s Sarcoidosis Questionnaire (KSQ) serves as a tool to assess quality of life in sarcoidosis patients with general health and organ specific domains. A German translation has been validated in a German cohort. In this study we assessed, whether clinical parameters influence KSQ scores. Methods Clinical data (e.g. lung function, organ impairment, serological parameters) for the German validation cohort were extracted from clinical charts and investigated by correlation and linear regression analyses. Results KSQ subdomain scores were generally lower in patients with respective organ manifestation or on current therapy. LUNG subdomain was significantly predicted by lung functional parameters, however for general health status, only FeV1 exerted significant influence. GHS was not influenced by serological parameters, but was significantly negatively correlated with body mass index (BMI). KSQ provides additional information beyond lung function, clinical or serological parameters in sarcoidosis patients. Notably, high BMI is significantly negatively associated with patients’ well-being as measured by KSQ-GHS. Conclusion This observation may direct further studies investigating the effect of obesity on sarcoidosis-related quality of life and strategies to intervene with steroid-sparing therapies and measures of life style modifications. Trial registration This study was registered in the German Clinical Trials Register (reference number DRKS00010072). Registered January 2016.

scholarly journals Changes in well-being during the COVID pandemic: A longitudinal study of older adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 740-740
Author(s):  
Andrea Huseth-Zosel ◽  
Heather Fuller
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Qualitative Responses

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health crisis the world has not seen in a century, with older adults faced with unique impacts due to their increased vulnerability and need to social distance. This research examines changes in physical and mental health and quality of life among older adults in the upper Midwest during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seventy older adults aged 70-97 participated in three phone interviews (April [Time 1], June [Time 2], and October [Time 3] 2020) focusing on experiences coping with the pandemic and understanding overall changes in well-being. Participants rated their quality of life, physical health, and mental health on a scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being “Poor” and 5 being “Excellent.” Self-reported quality of life, mental health, and physical health initially declined between retrospective pre-COVID and Time 1 scores, with gradual increases seen across all three variables for Time 2 and Time 3 scores. Thematic analysis of qualitative responses for each interview wave identified salient themes of: 1) reduced quality of life, 2) distraction and routine, 3) loss and uncertainty, and 4) resilience and adaptation. The significance and meaning of these themes shifted across each time point. For example, the reduced quality of life theme initially encompassed loss of activities, later shifted to concerns about struggles to maintain relationships, and finally focused on hope for the future. Findings will be discussed in light of the significance of change over time as well as policy and practice implications for older adults.

scholarly journals Quality of Life in the Perspectives of Teachers in COVID 19 Pandemic Era: Implications for Funding Allocation for Faculty Well-being Initiatives

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell D'Souza
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Employment Status ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
One Way Anova ◽  
Primary Instrument ◽  
Monthly Salary

People all around the globe have been impacted by the COVID-19 global health crisis, which has led to severe mental and psychological health problems and a weakened overall sense of well-being. However, there is not a lot of information available regarding the effect of COVID-19 on Indian instructors. The objective of this research was to discover if COVID-19 impacts the professional teachers' quality of life (QoL) in India. The descriptive study that included 890 licensed teachers was the respondents of this cross-sectional approach. The primary instrument in this research was the COVID-19 Impact on Quality of Life (COV19-QoL). Statistics used to evaluate the data included descriptive statistics, t-test, and one-way ANOVA to measure the effect of COVID-19 on the QoL of instructors. Results showed that it had a modest impact. COVID-19 impacted QoL differently depending on the program degree. The effect of COVID-19 on the patient's overall quality of life did not vary greatly according to age, sex, marital status, employment status, monthly salary, whether or not they had any COVID-19-related cases near their home, whether or not they knew anyone who had contracted or died from COVID-19, and whether or not they believed they were at risk. Teachers' mental health and quality of life must also be attended to, and supports must be offered to enable them to cope with the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research has added to the increasing body of literature on the pandemic's effect, making it an important source of data for future investigations.

scholarly journals Assessing public open spaces in Belgrade – A quality of urban life perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Vukovic ◽  
Ashraf M. Salama ◽  
Biserka Mitrovic ◽  
Mirjana Devetakovic
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Assessment Study ◽  
Quality Of Urban Life ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Public Open Spaces

PurposeThis paper interrogates the impact of spatial transformations on urban life. It explores the level of individual and group satisfaction and sense of well-being within the urban public realm; this is undertaken by reporting on the outcomes of an assessment study of three key public open spaces in Belgrade, developed from a quality of urban life (QoUL) perspective.Design/methodology/approachA systematic multilevel assessment method is utilised, with the aim of determining the material and immaterial elements that can contribute to an individual's sense of comfort within a public space. The study places emphasis on the functional, social and perceptual attributes as they relate to the physical characteristics of three assessed spaces.FindingsThe assessment study resulted in a systematic overview of the different attributes of the three assessed spaces. With various performance levels within each set of attributes, the study identifies key challenges and problems that could lead towards determining possible opportunities for future local urban interventions and developmental actions.Originality/valueWith the shifts in policies and the associated governance process that redefined the outlook of previously enforced development and urban growth in the last two decades, the capital of Serbia, Belgrade, has undergone significant spatial changes. This has resulted in a certain level of fragmentation in the urban fabric, leading to a number of challenges concerning public health, well-being, safety, accessibility, comfort and urban mobility, to name a few, that need to be better addressed and understood within the local context.

scholarly journals The Use of Emerging Technologies DIoT: Elderly Daily Living in Post-Epidemic Era

2021 ◽  
Vol 335 ◽  
pp. 04004
Author(s):  
Jie Li ◽  
Wei Wei Goh ◽  
N.Z Jhanjhi
Keyword(s):  
Daily Living ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Body ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Technology Application ◽  
Load Carrying ◽  
Elderly Users

As the number of aging population increases, their Quality of Life (QoL) becomes a concern in the society. The elderly is not only vulnerable due to their chronic degeneration issues but may also be insensitive to technological innovation which could possibly improve their QoL in the Industrial Revolution 4.0. The outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly threatened their well-being in their living context and will consequentially change people’s perspective towards normal lifestyle after this public health crisis. Recent studies have highlighted the usability of the drone technology in the automation of navigation, monitoring, and load carrying which can potentially facilitate various purposes of use in our daily life. This paper reviews recent academic works related to Drone-Based Internet of Things (DIoT) technology and extracts the advantages of DIoT applications, which have the potential to assist elderly’s Activity of Daily Living (ADL) in post-epidemic time. Our results suggest that with the low energy consumption, the DIoT techniques are capable of reducing the body exposure under pandemic situation and satisfying the appreciation to normal and digital-connected life in the future. Nevertheless, the limited flying range and low technology penetration among elderly users significantly impede the implementation of DIoT application. Importantly, the DIoT technology upgrades manpower-based manual work. This paper updates to the knowledge of drone technology application in the context of elderly centre during post-pandemic.

Convergent Beam Electron Diffraction

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 304-315
Author(s):  
G. Lehmpfuhl
Keyword(s):  
Electron Diffraction ◽  
Diffraction Pattern ◽  
Crystal Surface ◽  
Diffraction Spot ◽  
Crystal Thickness ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Microscopic Investigations

Introduction In electron microscopic investigations of crystalline specimens the direct observation of the electron diffraction pattern gives additional information about the specimen. The quality of this information depends on the quality of the crystals or the crystal area contributing to the diffraction pattern. By selected area diffraction in a conventional electron microscope, specimen areas as small as 1 µ in diameter can be investigated. It is well known that crystal areas of that size which must be thin enough (in the order of 1000 Å) for electron microscopic investigations are normally somewhat distorted by bending, or they are not homogeneous. Furthermore, the crystal surface is not well defined over such a large area. These are facts which cause reduction of information in the diffraction pattern. The intensity of a diffraction spot, for example, depends on the crystal thickness. If the thickness is not uniform over the investigated area, one observes an averaged intensity, so that the intensity distribution in the diffraction pattern cannot be used for an analysis unless additional information is available.

Perceived Overprotection and Its Association With Quality of Life in Dementia

GeroPsych ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 125-134
Author(s):  
Mechthild Niemann-Mirmehdi ◽  
Andreas Häusler ◽  
Paul Gellert ◽  
Johanna Nordheim
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Patient Autonomy ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Association ◽  
Significant Positive Association ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Mental Well Being

Abstract. To date, few studies have focused on perceived overprotection from the perspective of people with dementia (PwD). In the present examination, the association of perceived overprotection in PwD is examined as an autonomy-restricting factor and thus negative for their mental well-being. Cross-sectional data from the prospective DYADEM study of 82 patient/partner dyads (mean age = 74.26) were used to investigate the association between overprotection, perceived stress, depression, and quality of life (QoL). The analyses show that an overprotective contact style with PwD has a significant positive association with stress and depression, and has a negative association with QoL. The results emphasize the importance of avoiding an overprotective care style and supporting patient autonomy.

Ego Psychoanalytic Rorschach Interpretation

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irving B. Weiner
Keyword(s):  
Differential Diagnosis ◽  
Sequence Analysis ◽  
Treatment Planning ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Adjustment Difficulties ◽  
Behavioral Features ◽  
Defensive Style ◽  
Cognitive Slippage ◽  
Interpretive Process

Abstract. This article concerns the utility of ego psychoanalytic perspectives in Rorschach interpretation. Psychoanalytic ego psychology focuses on how people cope with events in their lives and how effectively they can meet challenges to their sense of well-being. The way people deal with experienced distress constitutes their defensive style and determines to a large extent what kind of person they are. Adequate defenses against anxiety promote comfortable and productive adjustment, whereas ineffective defenses typically cause adjustment difficulties and susceptibility to psychological disorders. In Rorschach assessment, the nature and effectiveness of a person’s defensive style can often be identified with a sequence analysis that integrates the structural, thematic, and behavioral features in the protocol. In particular, the sequential quality of responses, especially preceding and following instances of cognitive slippage, can help identify causes of upsetting concerns, defensive efforts to alleviating these concerns, and the adequacy of these defensive efforts in restoring equanimity. This interpretive process is illustrated with attention to implications for differential diagnosis and treatment planning in the Rorschach protocol of a 20-year-old suicidal woman.

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