Positive Technology

2016 ◽  
pp. 1-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Riva ◽  
Daniela Villani ◽  
Pietro Cipresso ◽  
Andrea Gaggioli
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Experience ◽  
Behavioral Flexibility ◽  
The Other ◽  
Personal Goals ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Applied Approach ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Flow Experiences

This chapter describes and discusses the “Positive Technology” approach: the scientific and applied approach for the use of technology in improving the quality of our personal experience through its structuring, augmentation and/or replacement - as a way for improving and sustaining personal change. On one side, we suggest that our cognitive system is naturally shaped to identify and counter the experiential conflicts that are usually the main motives for change. Optimal experiences, also defined as “flow experiences”, instead allow the individual to consider long-term personal goals differently and start to experiment with changing them. In other words optimal experiences, when meaningful for the individual, widen the array of thoughts and actions, facilitating generativity and behavioral flexibility. On the other side we claim that it is possible to use technology to manipulate the quality of experience, with the goal of increasing wellness, and generating strengths and resilience in individuals, organizations and society.

scholarly journals Sunspot area catalog revisited: Daily cross-calibrated areas since 1874

2020 ◽  
Vol 640 ◽  
pp. A78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudip Mandal ◽  
Natalie A. Krivova ◽  
Sami K. Solanki ◽  
Nimesh Sinha ◽  
Dipankar Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Sunspot Area ◽  
The Other ◽  
Royal Greenwich Observatory ◽  
Individual Group ◽  
Cross Calibration ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Temporal Coverage ◽  
Final Composite

Context. Long and consistent sunspot area records are important for understanding long-term solar activity and variability. Multiple observatories around the globe have regularly recorded sunspot areas, but such individual records only cover restricted periods of time. Furthermore, there are systematic differences between these records and require cross-calibration before they can reliably be used for further studies. Aims. We produce a cross-calibrated and homogeneous record of total daily sunspot areas, both projected and corrected, covering the period between 1874 and 2019. In addition, we generated a catalog of calibrated individual group areas for the same period. Methods. We compared the data from nine archives: Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO), Kislovodsk, Pulkovo, Debrecen, Kodaikanal, Solar Optical Observing Network (SOON), Rome, Catania, and Yunnan Observatories, covering the period between 1874 and 2019. Cross-comparisons of the individual records were done to produce homogeneous and inter-calibrated records of daily projected and corrected areas. As in earlier studies, the basis of the composite is formed by the data from RGO. After 1976, the only datasets used are those from Kislovodsk, Pulkovo, and Debrecen observatories. This choice was made based on the temporal coverage and the quality of the data. While there are still 776 days missing in the final composite, these remaining gaps could not be filled with data from the other archives as the missing days lie either before 1922 or after 2016 and none of the additional archives cover these periods. Results. In contrast to the SOON data used in previous area composites for the post-RGO period, the properties of the data from Kislovodsk and Pulkovo are very similar to those from the RGO series. They also directly overlap the RGO data in time, which makes their cross-calibration with RGO much more reliable. Indeed, comparing our area catalog with previous such composites, we find improvements both in data quality and coverage. We also computed the daily Photometric Sunspot Index, which is widely used, for example, in empirical reconstructions of solar irradiance.

Torture, The State and the Individual

1989 ◽  
Vol 23 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 345-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanford H. Kadish
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Innocent Person ◽  
Democratic Community ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Painful Question

The Report of the Landau Commission puts a painful question for public debate: can it ever be morally acceptable in a liberal democracy for the state to use cruel measures against a person to compel him to reveal information needed to prevent grave harms, such as the loss of lives? The question, of course, belongs to a class of questions that has baffled and divided people for generations. Are some actions inherently and intrinsically wrong, so that they may not be redeemed by the net good consequences they produce on balance? Even if this is the case in general, can it be true regardless of the enormity of the consequences? Battle lines in moral philosophy are drawn in terms of how these questions are answered. For consequentialists the morality of all actions is solely determined by their consequences, near and long term. For deontologists the morality of all actions is always determined, at least in part, by their intrinsic wrongness, so that if they are wrong they are not made right by their desirable consequences. Each side has, so it seems, an unanswerable objection to the position of the other. Deontologists ask: then you mean you are ready to declare, for example, that punishment of innocent persons may be morally justified if it is necessary to prevent crime? And consequentialists (without answering) ask in turn: then you mean that even if the life of thousands and the preservation of the basic freedoms of a democratic community depend on it, you would regard it as morally prohibited to use any force against a single innocent person?These questions are among the hardest of all hard questions. But they become even harder when they are asked in the context of a public debate over how a government should act in some immediate crisis.

The Science of Individuality and Tailored M-Health Communication

2022 ◽  
pp. 635-656
Author(s):  
Anastasius S. Moumtzoglou
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
The Other ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Tailored Communication ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Tailored Communications

The era of the science of individuality promises to fully recognize the uniqueness of the individual who needs to be seen and treated with utter respect for his or her individuality. It will not be long until digitizing a person unlocks the cause for what is wrong, creating valuable knowledge that can save a life or markedly improve the quality of life. On the other hand, emerging m-health technologies provide fundamentally different ways of looking at tailored communication technology. As a result, tailored communications research is poised at a crossroads. It needs to both build on and break away from existing frameworks into new territory, realizing the necessary commitment to theory-driven research at basic, methodological, clinical, and applied levels. The chapter envisions tailored m-health communication in the context of the science of individuality, emphasizing the variability, stability, and centrality of the individual.

scholarly journals Profiling of primary metabolites in grapes of interspecific grapevine varieties: sugars and organic acids

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 361-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Pavloušek ◽  
M. Kumšta
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Organic Acids ◽  
Vitis Vinifera ◽  
Hplc Method ◽  
The Other ◽  
Vitis Vinifera L ◽  
Primary Metabolites ◽  
Primary And Secondary Metabolites ◽  
The Individual

The quality of grapes is determined above all by the contents of the primary and secondary metabolites. The primary metabolites involve sugars and organic acids, and just these compounds are dealt with in this study. Its objective was to analyse and critically evaluate the primary metabolites in new interspecific varieties and, based on a comparison with European varieties of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), to find out the similarities and also possible differences between them. The study evaluates and compares 4 conventional varieties of Vitis vinifera with 11 new interspecific cultivars. The contents and compositions of the individual sugars and acids were estimated by means of the HPLC method. Most of these varieties belong to the group with either medium or low content of malic acid, i.e. with a medium to high β ratio. This corroborates the similarity of interspecific varieties to those of V. vinifera. The cluster analysis identified the existence of two interesting groups of varieties: the first one involved the varieties Riesling, Nativa, Marlen, and Kofranka while the other group consisted of varieties Blaufränkisch, Blauer Portugieser, and Laurot. This observation also indicates similarity between Vitis vinifera L. varieties and interspecific cultivars and demonstrates that the contents of the primary metabolites (i.e. sugars and organic acids) are also comparable.

Security Design

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-45
Author(s):  
Paweł Kępka
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
The Other ◽  
Design Criteria ◽  
Security Design ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Sense Of Security ◽  
Protected Values ◽  
The Individual

The article presents issues related to  security design including, among others, the classification of security design, criteria for its division, the essence of design, security interests and objectives, security determinants (environment), concepts for safety-enhancing activities under specified conditions, security potential and the concept of security enhancing activities. The considerations are based on the assumption that security is first and foremost based on the need to protect against the real risks posed by elements that could negatively affect individuals, communities or entire countries. On the other hand, the long history, beyond the defined approach to  providing security, resulting strictly from the willingness to  live in  a  specific environment (space), indicates cases in which the sense of security is related to the authority, capabilities, quality of assets and resources possessed. Both of the approaches presented emphasise that, regardless of their attitude, the issue of protection of human life and health is the most important category of things to be protected. The first approach indicates a reactionary character, closely related to intervention in respect of a given threat (real or imaginary), while the second one draws the perspective of organising the security potential that constitutes the strength of the individual in general, including the case of a real threat. It is a sign of preparing resources (legal, organisational, material, financial, informational) for the potential threat from nature, another person or a country. The concepts defined for preparing for what becomes a threat to the protected values are not only logical, but can also be seen in a hierarchical way. The proof in this case is that, first of all, people repel what threatens them here and now and only then do they think about building their security potential as an answer to what they may face in the future.

Optimising Epilepsy Therapy – Searching for the Evidence – Looking Beyond the Data

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 164
Author(s):  
Mar Carreño ◽  
Eugen Trinka ◽  
Martin Holtkamp ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Refractory Epilepsy ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Type D ◽  
Epilepsy Therapy ◽  
Suitable Treatment ◽  
Type C ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Devil

There is now an extensive range of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) available including older established treatments and a newer generation of medications. The choice of drugs and what constitutes optimal therapy, however, is unclear due to limitations in the data supporting their use, particularly among the newer treatments. In clinical trials of monotherapy, a treatment is required to show only non-inferiority to another benchmark treatment. In trials of polytherapy, comparisons are limited to placebo. It is therefore necessary to look beyond the study data and consider other parameters to ascertain the most suitable treatment for the individual patient. Available evidence suggests that efficacy is similar among most AEDs, but this does not mean they are all the same. Some show efficacy in early and refractory epilepsy and some improve depression and quality of life (QOL) in epilepsy. AEDs are associated with a range of adverse events (AEs) that can limit their usefulness. AE classifications include type A (augmented and dose related) including tiredness, fatigue, insomnia, dizziness, vertigo, imbalance, ataxia, tremor and cognitive impairment; type B (bizarre and idiosyncratic) including various hypersensitivity reactions; type C (chronic long-term toxicity) including hirsutism, alopecia, weight gain and obesity; and type D (teratogenesis and carcinogenesis). The newer AEDs have been more thoroughly assessed for AEs than older drugs and risks are better understood. In AED safety, it is not better to follow a policy of ‘better the devil you know’ but rather to carefully monitor AE incidence and be prepared to switch drugs to improve tolerability and avoid non-compliance and treatment failure.

Long-term consequences of exenterative surgery for people with pelvic cancer.

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (7_suppl) ◽  
pp. 118-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Young ◽  
Michael Solomon ◽  
Daniel Steffens ◽  
Cherry Koh
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Locally Advanced ◽  
Resection Margins ◽  
R0 Resection ◽  
Personal Goals ◽  
Pelvic Cancer ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Ongoing Pain

118 Background: For people with recurrent or locally advanced pelvic cancer with no evidence of metastatic spread, pelvic exenteration (PE) surgery that achieves clear (R0) resection margins is the only potentially curative treatment option. This extensive, radical surgery can involve removal of the pelvic organs, muscles, nerves and bone, resulting in significant impairment for patients. The aim of this study is to describe the long-term quality of life outcomes for this procedure, specifically to investigate levels of pain, vitality, depression and ability to achieve personal goals among survivors three or more years after surgery. Methods: The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney is a national referral center for PE in Australia. Patient-reported outcome measures, including generic (SF36) and colorectal cancer-specific (FACT-C) measures of quality of life (QoL), pain, vitality, depression and self-reported ability to achieve personal goals are assessed pre-surgery, every six months to three years and then annually. Consecutive patients who were three or more years after PE comprised the sample for this study. Trajectories for patient reported outcomes were plotted and the proportion of survivors who experienced ongoing pain, vitality and depression at each time point were calculated. Results: Among 241 patients who were 3 years post-PE, 63 (26%, 95% CI: 21-32%) had died and 3-year QoL assessments were completed by 65 (51%) of survivors. Three years after surgery, mean QoL scores were similar to baseline and remained fairly stable among survivors to 5 years. There was a small decrease over time in the proportion of survivors reporting ongoing pain. From 3 years onwards, approximately 70% (95% CI: 58-79%) of survivors reported ongoing pain and 44% (95% CI: 34-57%) reported some level of depression. However, SF-36 vitality scores increased slightly from a mean of 46.2 pre-PE to 54.0 at 3 years. Conclusions: Despite the extensive nature of PE surgery, the majority of survivors achieved reasonable long-term quality of life. However, high levels of chronic pain and depression indicate ongoing needs for supportive care in this patient group.

scholarly journals An improved NO<sub>2</sub> retrieval for the GOME-2 satellite instrument

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 1147-1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Richter ◽  
M. Begoin ◽  
A. Hilboll ◽  
J. P. Burrows
Keyword(s):  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Spectral Signature ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Good Consistency ◽  
The Individual ◽  
High Pass

Abstract. Satellite observations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) provide valuable information on both stratospheric and tropospheric composition. Nadir measurements from GOME, SCIAMACHY, OMI, and GOME-2 have been used in many studies on tropospheric NO2 burdens, the importance of different NOx emissions sources and their change over time. The observations made by the three GOME-2 instruments will extend the existing data set by more than a decade, and a high quality of the data as well as their good consistency with existing time series is of particular importance. In this paper, an improved GOME-2 NO2 retrieval is described which reduces the scatter of the individual NO2 columns globally but in particular in the region of the Southern Atlantic Anomaly. This is achieved by using a larger fitting window including more spectral points, and by applying a two step spike removal algorithm in the fit. The new GOME-2 data set is shown to have good consistency with SCIAMACHY NO2 columns. Remaining small differences are shown to be linked to changes in the daily solar irradiance measurements used in both GOME-2 and SCIAMACHY retrievals. In the large retrieval window, a not previously identified spectral signature was found which is linked to deserts and other regions with bare soil. Inclusion of this empirically derived pseudo cross-section significantly improves the retrievals and potentially provides information on surface properties and desert aerosols. Using the new GOME-2 NO2 data set, a long-term average of tropospheric columns was computed and high-pass filtered. The resulting map shows evidence for pollution from several additional shipping lanes, not previously identified in satellite observations. This illustrates the excellent signal to noise ratio achievable with the improved GOME-2 retrievals.

Assuring the Quality of In-Home Care: The "Other" Challenge for Long-Term Care

1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 444-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Applebaum ◽  
P. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
The Other ◽  
Term Care
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