Staying Active While Staying Home: The Use of Physical Activity Technologies During Life Disruptions

One impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns was a restriction on people's ability to engage in physical activity in previously routine ways. This paper presents a two-stage mixed-method study exploring how people used technology to stay physically active during this period. We found that activity trackers reminded people to be active, while virtual coaching (i.e., video tutorials and online classes) helped them stay connected. The lockdown increased people's awareness of their activity levels and removed barriers to exercise, for example by giving them greater control over their time. However, it also created new challenges, with lack of time and space, injuries due to sudden changes in activity, and anxiety around lockdown, putting limits on physical activity. We highlight future directions that must be addressed to maximise the benefits of physical activity technologies for people trying to stay active during major life disruptions

Citizen scientists are not just quiz takers: information about project type influences data disclosure in online psychological surveys

Traditionally, citizen science has centred on giving lay people opportunities to learn about science by participating in it. Lately, psychological citizen science projects have increasingly aimed to attract participants by providing an opportunity for self-learning. Unfortunately, these citizen science projects sometimes resemble quizzes hosted by private companies that have been criticised for suboptimal privacy practices. We were interested in whether similarity to these dubious quizzes could jeopardise the ability of citizen science projects to collect sensitive personal data. We found that people who join an online quiz disclose a lower volume of sensitive data than those who join a citizen science project. Moreover, post-recruitment encouragement to learn about science influenced data disclosure among quiz takers but not among citizen scientists. These findings have implications not only for the effective design of citizen science but also for the broader debate about consent to disclose data in research, academic or otherwise

Remote Work, Work Measurement and the State of Work Research in Human-Centred Computing

Over the past few decades, a small but growing group of people have worked remotely from their homes. With the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, millions of people found themselves joining this group overnight. In this position paper, we examine the kinds of work that ‘went remote’ in response to the pandemic, and consider the ways in which this transition was influenced by (and in turn came to influence) contemporary trends in digital workplace measurement and evaluation. We see that employers appeared reluctant to let certain classes of employee work remotely. When the pandemic forced staff home, employers compensated by turning to digital surveillance tools, even though, as we argue, these tools seem unable to overcome the significant conceptual barriers to understanding how people are working. We also observed that, in the United Kingdom context, the pandemic didn’t mean remote work for a significant proportion of the population. We assert that, to maximize its impact, ‘future of work’ research in human-centred computing must be more inclusive and representative of work, rather than focusing on the experiences of knowledge workers and those involved in new forms of work

Insulin resistance indexes in women with premature ovarian insufficiency — a pilot study

  Objectives: Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is associated with hypoestrogenism and an increased risk of metabolic disorders. In many clinics, a variety of insulin resistance (IR) tests are used during routine clinical assessments. To date, there is no clear opinion about which of these tests should be applied in women with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). Therefore, our preliminarily aim was to compare the most frequently used insulin resistance indexes in the clinical assessment of a group of POI women and a control group. Material and methods: Our retrospective study included 98 women with karyotypically normal spontaneous POI aged 18–39 years and a control group of 78 healthy women. Each patient was given an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to evaluate their insulin release and insulin resistance. In addition, each woman’s insulin resistance (IR) was evaluated us­ing the homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI), the fasting glucose-to-insulin ratio (FGIR), and Matsuda and McAuley indexes. The two groups’ glucose levels were compared at 0, 60 and 120 min of the OGTT. Results: At 0 and 60 min of the OGTT, the insulin levels of the POI women were significantly higher than those of the control group. The number of women in whom IR was detected using the various kits was comparable between the two groups. Conlusions: In conclusion, only the OGTT evaluation revealed a significant difference in insulin concentrations between the two study groups. The indexes most commonly used to detect IR did not detect differences in IR between the POI women and the members of the healthy control group. QUICKI detected significantly more women with IR within both study groups than other tests did

Bowen’s disease in dermoscopy

Bowen’s disease, named after John Templeton Bowen, also known as squamous cell carcinoma in situ is a type of non-melanocytic intraepidermal malignancy. It is estimated that in general population around 3% to 5% of Bowen’s disease transform into invasive squamous cell cancer. Dermoscopy aims in the identification of the Bowen’s disease. The most typical dermoscopic features of Bowen’s disease include glomerular vessels and scaly surface.  Although dermoscopy of Bowen’s disease has been well established other skin lesions may present similar or identical structures in dermoscpic images leading to differential diagnosis dilemmas. Histopathological confirmation should be obtained prior the treatment of suspected cases of Bowen’s disease in order to avoid a misdiagnosis. </p

Etyczne aspekty prowadzenia terapii online: analiza wybranych stron internetowych

The development of online psychological counselling brings new ethical challenges, related to the use of advanced technologies in traditional psychological tasks. The aim of the article is to present two studies of websites dedicated to provide online psychological counselling services (N = 43, 80), in which the degree of implementation of ethical principles was verified. The results confirmed that not all ethical requirements are implemented to a sufficient degree. The article also presents proposals for actions aimed at increasing ethical awareness of practitioners and changes necessary to introduce in Polish codes of ethic

Analysis of classical techniques precision on the measurement of cellulose moisture gain/loss

The precision of the four classical techniques (Karl-Fischer titration, (thermo)gravimetric method, Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) and near infrared (NIR) spectroscopies) commonly used in the analysis of cellulose moisture absorption/desorption has been deeply investigated regarding the reproducibility of these processes. Based on multiple repeated experiments, cellulose water content values obtained with Karl-Fischer titration and (thermo)gravimetric method were plotted as a function of time. Then, the cautious peak-by-peak analysis of the absorbance and wavenumber shifts visible in IR spectra has been carried out. The collected data was described using boxplots that provided valuable information on the experimental points spread. It has been successfully proven that gravimetric methods allow for precise drawing of moisture absorption and desorption curves, while Karl-Fischer titration, ATR FT-IR and NIR techniques provide the possibility of the moisture absorption/desorption processes description by linear mathematical models (R2 &gt;90%). Therefore, this study provides a systematic comparison between various analytical methods

Eworklife: developing effective strategies for remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic means governments have advised citizens to engage in “social distancing” measures, which include working from home. Many people have had to learn how to work from home and develop effective strategies in a very short period. This especially rapid move to remote working is unprecedented, so we do not know how this shift is affecting people’s working lives. We developed a mixed-methods survey and a series of in-depth interviews, through which we investigated the new challenges for people in managing digital self-control, maintaining productivity and work-life balance that have surfaced during the COVID-19 crisis. We also catalogued the strategies participants adopted through the first stages of lockdown in response to these challenges. From this, we draw research and policy implications for supporting neophyte remote workers when managing digital self-control, productivity, and work-life balance during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

Evaluation of motivation to quit smoking in outpatients attending smoking cessation clinic

Wstęp: Skuteczność leczenia uzależnienia od nikotyny zależy nie tylko od zastosowanej metody, lecz w dużej mierze również od motywacji pacjenta. Celem autorów pracy była ocena stopnia motywacji oraz określenie najbardziej motywującego czynnika u pacjentów zgłaszających się do poradni antynikotynowej. Materiał i metody: Zbadano 111 osób uzależnionych od nikotyny (50 mężczyzn, 61 kobiet). Średni wiek badanych wyniósł 58 lat. Do oceny wykorzystano: test motywacji według N. Schneider, test uzależnienia Fagerströma i kwestionariusz poradni antynikotynowej. Wyniki: Najczęstszą motywacją do rzucenia palenia była troska o zdrowie (83% badanych). W teście motywacji wynik wyniósł średnio 6,93; średni stopień uzależnienia w teście Fagerströma - 5,49. Gotowość do rzucenia palenia w ciągu miesiąca zadeklarowało 87 badanych (w tym: w ciągu 24 godzin 36%, w ciągu tygodnia kolejne 23%, w ciągu 4 tygodni 28%). Motywacja do porzucenia palenia była podobna u mężczyzn i kobiet. Wnioski: Troska o zdrowie jest najsilniejszym czynnikiem motywującym pacjentów poradni przeciwnikotynowej do rzucenia palenia, zarówno wśród kobiet, jak i mężczyzn. Gotowość do podjęcia próby zaprzestania palenia, oceniana pośrednio deklarowanym czasem, po którym zostanie podjęta próba, nie koreluje ze stopniem motywacji do zaprzestania palenia.Introduction: The success in smoking cessation depends not only on a method of treatment but also on patient motivation. The aim of this study was to estimate the motivation and the main reason to quit smoking among outpatients attending smoking cessation clinic. Material and methods: One hundred and eleven patients (50 men and 61 women), mean age 58, filled in a motivation test, nicotine dependence test and a questionnaire of the clinic. Results: The main motivation to quit was for the health reasons (83%). Mean motivation test result was 6.93; mean nicotine addiction evaluated in dependence test was 5.49. Eighty seven percent of patients were ready to quit smoking during one month (36% in 24 hours; 23% in one week; 28% in four weeks). There was no significant difference beetwen men and women. Conclusions: The main motivation to quit smoking were the health reasons as well among men as women. There was no correlation between the readiness to quit smoking determined as time to quit attempt and the motivation test