Meet The Truth: Leverage Objective Facts and Subjective Views for Interpretable Rumor Detection

This paper reports the results of a survey carried out to assess the clinical usage currently being made of gait analysis facilities within the UK. Thirty-five centres were circulated with a questionnaire which requested information under four main headings: (i) equipment, (ii) research projects, (iii) clinical service commitments, and (iv) subjective views of the ultimate clinical value of the service. Of the 25 completed questionnaires returned, 16 were suitable for inclusion in the final analysis of data. The survey provided useful data on the equipment and facilities available in each centre together with details of the service available to prospective referring clinicians. Ten centres were considered as being currently involved in some clinical work, with six of these being routinely involved. The respondents generally felt that gait analysis techniques have a clinical context, if not yet routinely, but the numbers of referrals to the centres is still quite small. A number of areas worthy of further work were identified by the respondents. It is hoped that presentation of these results will stimulate dialogue between centres and between clinicians and bioengineers.

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Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Self-Perception of Aging Among Older Adults

Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine ◽

10.1177/2333721421999320 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 233372142199932

Author(s):

Alexander Seifert

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Multivariate Analysis ◽

Data Collection ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Living Alone ◽

Self Perception ◽

Before And After ◽

Subjective Views ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a pattern of physical distancing worldwide, particularly for adults aged 65+. Such distancing can evoke subjective feelings of negative self-perception of aging (SPA) among older adults, but how this pandemic has influenced such SPA is not yet known. This study, therefore, explored SPA at different time phases of the COVID-19 pandemic to explain the pandemic’s impact on SPA among older adults. The analysis employed a sample of 1,990 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 to 95 (mean age = 72.74 years; 43% female) in Switzerland. Data collection from different older adults within one study occurred both before and after Switzerland’s first confirmed COVID-19 case. The descriptive analysis revealed that negative SPA increased, and positive SPA decreased, after the Swiss government recommended physical distancing. After the Federal Council decided to ease these measures, negative SPA slightly decreased and positive SPA increased. According to the multivariate analysis, individuals interviewed after the lockdown were more likely to report greater levels of negative SPA and lower levels of positive SPA. Age, income, and living alone also correlated with SPA. The results suggest that the pandemic has affected older adults’ subjective views of their own aging, and these findings help illustrate the pandemic’s outcomes.

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