scholarly journals Views of the Future of Partners of People with Multiple Sclerosis Who Attended a Lifestyle Modification Workshop: A Qualitative Analysis of Perspectives and Experiences

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Sandra L. Neate ◽  
Keryn L. Taylor ◽  
Nupur Nag ◽  
George A. Jelinek ◽  
Steve Simpson-Yap ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Lifestyle Modification ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Interpretive Phenomenology ◽  
Related Risk ◽  
The Future ◽  
Partner Perceptions ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

People with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) often experience uncertainty and fear about their futures. Partners of PwMS may share their concerns and experience fears about their own futures, limitations on their lives, ability to work, and becoming a carer. For PwMS, modification of lifestyle-related risk factors has been associated with improved health outcomes. For PwMS who attended residential lifestyle modification workshops (RLMW), sustained improved health outcomes have been demonstrated. Whether improved outcomes for PwMS who engage with lifestyle modification translate to improved partner perceptions of the future, is yet to be explored. We explored the perspectives of partners of PwMS who had attended a RLMW and the impact that the person with MS’s illness and their engagement with lifestyle modification had on their partners’ views of the future. Analysis of 21 semi-structured interviews used a methodology informed by Heidegger’s Interpretive Phenomenology. Three themes emerged: ‘uncertainty’, ‘planning for the future’ and ‘control, empowerment and confidence’. Subthemes included MS and lifestyle modification being a catalyst for positive change; developing a sense of control and empowerment; and hope, optimism and positivity. Lifestyle modification may provide benefits, not only to PwMS, but also to their partners, and should be considered part of mainstream management of MS.

scholarly journals Sustainable electricity for sustainable health? A case study in North-western Zambia

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 72-82
Author(s):  
Lizzie Caperon ◽  
Lina Brand-Correa
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Hydropower Plant ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Impact

This study explores the under-researched link between clean energy and public health outcomes, and offers new insights into the link between wider access to clean energy and progress towards health outcomes, in particular the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. This is the first study to consider the impact of a run-of-river hydropower plant (RORHP) in a remote rural community in Zambia in relation to health outcomes. Exploring this relationship establishes how the health benefits which renewable energy can bring can be capitalised upon to meet the health-related objectives of the United Nations sustainable development goals. Workshops and semi-structured interviews were conducted with a range of stakeholders including community members, health workers, business owners, and key people involved with the plant, to establish health and social impacts of the introduction of electricity in the community of Ikelenge. Findings are used to establish both synergies and trade-offs of the RORHP on the health of the community, and recommendations are made for the continued improvement of health following the introduction of the RORHP, to achieve further progress towards meeting SDG targets.

scholarly journals The Impact of Stigma and Discrimination on Adherence to Medication amongst People Living with HIV in Tiv Land, North Central Nigeria

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Godwin Aondohemba Timiun ◽  
Timothy J. Scrase
Keyword(s):  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Hiv Patients ◽  
Stigma And Discrimination ◽  
Treatment Services ◽  
Adherence To Medication ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

In spite the identification of stigma as a factor impeding public utilisation of HIV counselling, testing, and treatment services in Nigeria, gaps still exist in knowledge on the impact of stigma, and discrimination on adherence to medication amongst people living with HIV (PLWH). This study adopted mixed methods to examine the impact of stigma and discrimination on adherence to medication amongst PLWH in Nigeria.  A sample of 1,621 respondents was collected using multi-stage and purposive sampling methods. Structured interviews using questionnaires and in-depth interviews (using a guide) were utilised for data collection. SPSS (version 21) was used for quantitative data analysis while the qualitative data was analysed thematically. There are 46.3% men and 53.7% women respondents. Generally, their income is low, 70.7% are earning less than N25, 000 (approximately $125 USD) per month. Some of the HIV patients are stigmatised. In reaction, they avoid public places, travel long distances away from their immediate community to collect drugs and to avoid been noticed around the centers. They sometimes miss taking drugs regularly as prescribed, suffer depression and die. Stigma and discrimination impede adherence to medication amongst PLHW in Nigeria. More efforts should be made to create awareness to reduce stigma and discrimination of HIV patients, while augmenting their income to meet up with the challenges of adherence to medication. The overall benefits would be enhanced mechanism of HIV prevention, treatment and control in the study area.

The politics of bounded procurement: Purists, brokers and the politics-procurement dichotomy

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandru V. Roman
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Political ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Complex Environments ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Future ◽  
Environmental Instability ◽  
The Impact

The last two decades have witnessed a tremendous growth in the body of literature addressing the importance and the impact of contracting and public procurement within the context of devolution of government. The austere budgetary and financial outlooks of the future suggest that the significance of the area will only continue to grow. As such, generating explanatory frameworks, within dimensions such as decisionmaking and accountability in public procurement, becomes crucial. Drawing from original research this article suggests one possible frame for understanding administrative decision-making in complex environments. Based on semi-structured interviews with public procurement specialists, the study identifies two decision-making patterns− broker and purist. It is asserted that the decision-making dynamics exhibited by administrators are contingent on their perceptions regarding environmental instability, in particular the political volatility surrounding their work.

Process Control Panel Design and Construction in the Seventies

1971 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. T80-T83
Author(s):  
S. A. E. Barrow
Keyword(s):  
Process Control ◽  
Integrated Design ◽  
High Density ◽  
Process Industry ◽  
Considerable Reduction ◽  
Control Panel ◽  
The Future ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Panel Design

The accent on centralised control has led to a considerable reduction in panel length by the use of high density instrumentation. Condensing the panel length introduces the problem of mounting back of panel equipment in a much reduced area. Several designs of control panels have been developed within the process industry and the paper reviews the various answers to this problem. One particularly successful integrated design is described and includes development, layout, fabrication, shop testing, transport, installation, maintenance and control house layout. The paper concludes with various improvements and innovations for the future and the impact of integrated panel design on manufacturers and users.

scholarly journals A Review of Influencing Factors on Spatial Spread of COVID-19 Based on Geographical Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 12182
Author(s):  
Zhixiang Xie ◽  
Rongqin Zhao ◽  
Minglei Ding ◽  
Zhiqiang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Prevention And Control ◽  
Research Progress ◽  
Driving Mechanism ◽  
Epidemic Spread ◽  
Spatial Spread ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The Future ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 outbreak is a manifestation of the contradiction between man and land. Geography plays an important role in epidemic prevention and control with its cross-sectional characteristics and spatial perspective. Based on a systematic review of previous studies, this paper summarizes the research progress on factors influencing the spatial spread of COVID-19 from the research content and method and proposes the main development direction of geography in epidemic prevention and control research in the future. Overall, current studies have explored the factors influencing the epidemic spread on different scales, including global, national, regional and urban. Research methods are mainly composed of quantitative analysis. In addition to the traditional regression analysis and correlation analysis, the spatial lag model, the spatial error model, the geographically weighted regression model and the geographic detector have been widely used. The impact of natural environment and economic and social factors on the epidemic spread is mainly reflected in temperature, humidity, wind speed, air pollutants, population movement, economic development level and medical and health facilities. In the future, new technologies, new methods and new means should be used to reveal the driving mechanism of the epidemic spread in a specific geographical space, which is refined, multi-scale and systematic, with emphasis on exploring the factors influencing the epidemic spread from the perspective of spatial and behavioral interaction, and establish a spatial database platform that combines the information of residents’ cases, the natural environment and economic society. This is of great significance to further play the role of geography in epidemic prevention and control.

‘Normal’ and ‘failing’ mothers: Women’s constructions of maternal subjectivity while living with multiple sclerosis

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 516-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloe Parton ◽  
Terri Katz ◽  
Jane M Ussher
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cultural Discourses ◽  
Biographical Disruption ◽  
Maternal Subjectivity ◽  
Subject Positions ◽  
The Impact

Multiple sclerosis causes physical and cognitive impairment that can impact women’s experiences of motherhood. This study examined how women construct their maternal subjectivities, or sense of self as a mother, drawing on a framework of biographical disruption. A total of 20 mothers with a multiple sclerosis diagnosis took part in semi-structured interviews. Transcripts were analysed using thematic decomposition to identify subject positions that women adopted in relation to cultural discourses of gender, motherhood and illness. Three main subject positions were identified: ‘The Failing Mother’, ‘Fear of Judgement and Burdening Others’ and ‘The Normal Mother’. Women’s sense of self as the ‘Failing Mother’ was attributed to the impact of multiple sclerosis, contributing to biographical disruption and reinforced through ‘Fear of Judgement and Burdening Others’ within social interactions. In accounts of the ‘Normal Mother’, maternal subjectivity was renegotiated by adopting strategies to manage the limitations of multiple sclerosis on mothering practice. This allowed women to self-position as ‘good’ mothers. Health professionals can assist women by acknowledging the embodied impact of multiple sclerosis on maternal subjectivities, coping strategies that women employ to address potential biographical disruption, and the cultural context of mothering, which contributes to women’s experience of subjectivity and well-being when living with multiple sclerosis.

scholarly journals Automation and the Future of Command and Control: The End of Auftragstaktik?

MCU Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-146
Author(s):  
Rosario M. Simonetti ◽  
Paolo Tripodi
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Command And Control ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
Control Functions ◽  
The Future ◽  
Strategic Leaders ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Generation Technology ◽  
Advisory Role

The impact of new technologies and the increased speed in the future battlespace may overcentralize command and control functions at the political or strategic level and, as a result, bypass the advisory role played by a qualified staff. Political and/or strategic leaders might find it appealing to pursue preemptive or preventive wars as a strategy to acquire asymmetric advantage over the enemy. This article investigates the roots of this trend, connecting historical perspectives with implications that next-generation technology may have on command and control.

scholarly journals Professionals’ responses to the introduction of AI innovations in radiology and their implications for future adoption: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaru Chen ◽  
Charitini Stavropoulou ◽  
Radhika Narasinkan ◽  
Adrian Baker ◽  
Harry Scarbrough
Keyword(s):  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
Potential Solution ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Work Processes ◽  
Professional Groups ◽  
The Future ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Professional Responses ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovations in radiology offer a potential solution to the increasing demand for imaging tests and the ongoing workforce crisis. Crucial to their adoption is the involvement of different professional groups, namely radiologists and radiographers, who work interdependently but whose perceptions and responses towards AI may differ. We aim to explore the knowledge, awareness and attitudes towards AI amongst professional groups in radiology, and to analyse the implications for the future adoption of these technologies into practice. Methods We conducted 18 semi-structured interviews with 12 radiologists and 6 radiographers from four breast units in National Health Services (NHS) organisations and one focus group with 8 radiographers from a fifth NHS breast unit, between 2018 and 2020. Results We found that radiographers and radiologists vary with respect to their awareness and knowledge around AI. Through their professional networks, conference attendance, and contacts with industry developers, radiologists receive more information and acquire more knowledge of the potential applications of AI. Radiographers instead rely more on localized personal networks for information. Our results also show that although both groups believe AI innovations offer a potential solution to workforce shortages, they differ significantly regarding the impact they believe it will have on their professional roles. Radiologists believe AI has the potential to take on more repetitive tasks and allow them to focus on more interesting and challenging work. They are less concerned that AI technology might constrain their professional role and autonomy. Radiographers showed greater concern about the potential impact that AI technology could have on their roles and skills development. They were less confident of their ability to respond positively to the potential risks and opportunities posed by AI technology. Conclusions In summary, our findings suggest that professional responses to AI are linked to existing work roles, but are also mediated by differences in knowledge and attitudes attributable to inter-professional differences in status and identity. These findings question broad-brush assertions about the future deskilling impact of AI which neglect the need for AI innovations in healthcare to be integrated into existing work processes subject to high levels of professional autonomy.

How “Conditions of Confinement” Impact “Conditions of Employment”: The Work-Related Well-Being of Provincial Correctional Officers in Atlantic Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary Ricciardelli ◽  
Nicole Gerarda Power
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Workplace Violence ◽  
Correctional Officers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Atlantic Canada ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Organizational Stressors ◽  
The Impact

Internationally, researchers studying correctional officer (CO) work have examined CO self-presentation, staff-prisoner relationships, and emotional labor. We build on this research by drawing on occupational literature to examine officer mental health outcomes that result from correctional work. We examine the impact of working in prison on COs' well-being, paying particular attention to aspects of the work content (operational stressors) and context (organizational stressors). In conducting semi-structured interviews with COs in Atlantic Canada, we found that COs identified a number of operational stressors as impacting their mental health, specifically generalized violence among prisoners, direct and vicarious violence, and ongoing harassment. COs identified organizational stressors, including a work culture that discourages visible emotional responses to operational stressors, a lack of support from management, and inadequate procedures for dealing with workplace violence and harassment, as factors that exacerbate and contribute to negative mental health outcomes.

A mixed-methods study of tailor-made animated cartoons in teaching punctuation in EFL writing

ReCALL ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (01) ◽  
pp. 75-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arif Bakla
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Treatment Group ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Post Test ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

AbstractDespite their potential benefits, teacher-created animated cartoons have not found much room in second-language (L2) research, probably due to some technical challenges involved in creating them. This paper reports the findings of a mixed-methods embedded experimental study, designed to test the impact of tailor-made animated cartoons on the correct use of common punctuation rules in English. The participants were 112 Turkish-first language (L1) learners of English, assigned to either the treatment or control group through random cluster sampling. The instructional materials in the treatment group included teacher-created animated cartoons, exercises designed using SCORM-compliant software, and a forum for discussions in Moodle. The participants in the control group, on the other hand, used PowerPoint presentations (PPTs) instead of animated cartoons and completed the same follow-up activities. Quantitative results suggested that the treatment and control groups’ post-test and late post-test scores significantly differed in favour of the former. Moreover, qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and document analysis revealed that the participants, especially those in the treatment group, viewed this learning experience highly positively. The findings globally imply that tailor-made animated cartoons might facilitate the learning of punctuation and help raise students’ awareness of it.

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