Improving Community Participation of the Inactive Elderly: Preferred Learning Style-Based Interventions

Occupational therapists believe social engagement is vital to the health and well-being of the older adult. Social isolation has been linked to loss of physical, cognitive and emotional health. Elders at risk of social isolation are not specifically addressed by community health programs due to lack of knowledge and resources. Social isolation and loss of meaningful activity are significant precursors to rapid decline in the health and well-being of elderly people living in their communities. Literature indicates that use of personal learning style preferences to problem solve improves success in occupation. Older adults often lack awareness of their personal learning styles and how to use them as tools to experience success in new learning, relearning of old skills and adapting to changing contexts in community living. Failure to understand often leads to ineffective approaches to new occupations or avoidance of activities that led to frustration or perceived loss of ability in the past. This leads to loss of self-efficacy, isolation and apathy. The older adult population is in need of education in recognizing their individual learning styles and how to best use this information as a tool to optimize their function in meaningful community occupations. They will benefit from learning and practicing learning strategies specific to the needs of the older adult to improve effective community engagement. The population of interest for this scholarly project are elders who are living in community but are not actively engaged or rarely engaged in occupations outside their homes, from the very elderly (70+) to the oldest-old (80+) (Maderer & Skiba, 2006, p. 126) who are at increased risk of reduced health status and quality of life due to isolation and inactivity. These are elderly men and women who are regarded as most vulnerable to a future need for home health care or eventual institutionalization. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to gather information regarding social isolation and the benefits of participation in occupations that have meaning to the individual. The findings indicate that community health interventions frequently take place in group settings with a select population of elders dwelling in senior housing. Direct therapy services to provide individualized, occupation-based interventions can provide the impetus for future gro~p participation for this at risk population. A need exists for a manual to present the role of the occupational therapist in addressing the social participation needs of the elder hoping to remain in place. The goal of this project is to provide a manual designed to enhance the knowledge and confidence of occupational therapists working with this challenging population. It provides the practitioner with education in and application of adult learning styles and experiential learning theories and includes a quick reference pamphlet for learning style identification in the field. It contains learning strategies for older adults as important aspects of teaching the elderly an effective means of learning, reflecting and applying self-directed goals toward meaningful social occupations

Implications of Weak Link Effects on Thermal Characteristics of Transition-Edge Sensors

Weak link behavior in transition-edge sensor (TES) devices creates the need for a more careful characterization of a device's thermal characteristics through its transition. This is particularly true for small TESs where a small change in the measurement current results in large changes in temperature. A highly current-dependent transition shape makes accurate thermal characterization of the TES parameters through the transition challenging. To accurately interpret measurements, especially complex impedance, it is crucial to know the temperature-dependent thermal conductance, G(T), and heat capacity, C(T), at each point through the transition. We will present data illustrating these effects and discuss how we overcome the challenges that are present in accurately determining G and T from IV curves. We will also show how these weak link effects vary with TES size

Development of a TES-Based Anti-Coincidence Detector for Future X-ray Observatories

Microcalorimeters onboard future x-ray observatories require an anti-coincidence detector to remove environmental backgrounds. In order to most effectively integrate this anticoincidence detector with the main microcalorimeter array, both instruments should use similar read-out technology. The detectors used in the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) use a phonon measurement technique that is well suited for an anti-coincidence detector with a microcalorimeter array using SQUID readout. This technique works by using a transition-edge sensor (TES) connected to superconducting collection fins to measure the athermal phonon signal produced when an event occurs in the substrate crystal. Energy from the event propagates through the crystal to the superconducting collection fins, creating quasiparticles, which are then trapped as they enter the TES where they produce a signal. We are currently developing a prototype anti-coincidence detector for future x-ray missions and have recently fabricated test devices with Mo/Au TESs and Al collection fins. We will present results from the first tests of these devices which indicate a proof of concept that quasiparticle trapping is occurring in these materials

Archeota, Spring 2016

https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/saasc_archeota/1002/thumbnail.jp

Making History Stick: Representations of Naval Stores in North Carolina Museums

This thesis explores the extent to which three North Carolina museums, the North Carolina Museum of History, the Cape Fear Museum, and the Maritime Museum at Southport, represent the state’s history of naval stores. Being a crucial part of North Carolina’s past that is frequently ignored in the formal education system, naval stores should be highlighted in museum exhibits about the state’s history and heritage. A critical analysis of these exhibits shows how these representations form a significant part of civic engagement and suggests improvements that would enhance the education of audiences about the importance of naval stores to the historical development of the state

Acute Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Major Depressive Disorder:Predictors of Specificity

ABSTRACT Background: Psychotherapy treatment specificity is the degree to which therapists utilize specific factors and not others of an intended treatment during therapy sessions. In Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), increased specificity has been associated with greater efficacy. IPT, however, is a dyadic intervention, and little is known about the relationship between patients' pre-treatment characteristics and IPT specificity. Understanding patient characteristics that predict treatment specificity is crucial for treatment optimization. Methods: Subjects meeting DSM-IV criteria for Major Depressive Disorder were randomly assigned to IPT or escitalopram. Data from a small sub-set of subjects were examined: 20 patients (8 males, 12 females), randomized to receive IPT from one of four study therapists. Subjects remitted with IPT alone. The following predictors were hypothesized to be associated with higher treatment specificity: a) treatment preference match (patients indicating a preference for psychotherapy) as opposed to non-match (patients indicating a preference for medication or no preference); b) lower baseline scores on anxiety spectrum assessments; and, c) higher severity baseline depression scores. Patient/ therapist gender match (female patient matched with female therapist) in comparison to non-gender match (male patient with female therapist) were predicted to produce negligible results.Results: Higher baseline depressive severity predicted higher IPT specificity. Higher baseline depressive severity and preference for no therapy were highly correlated. However, patient treatment preference, therapist/ patient gender match, and anxiety spectrum scores were not related to treatment specificity.Implications: Results suggest that specificity may act as mediator between baseline depressive severity and outcome. Further studies with larger samples are needed

What makes work meaningful - or meaningless?

Meaningful work is something we all want. The psychiatrist Viktor Frankl famously described how the innate human quest for meaning is so strong that, even in the direst circumstances, people seek out their purpose in life. More recently, researchers have shown meaningfulness to be more important to employees than any other aspect of work, including pay and rewards, opportunities for promotion, or working conditions. Meaningful work can be highly motivational, leading to improved performance, commitment, and satisfaction. But, so far, surprisingly little research has explored where and how people find their work meaningful and the role that leaders can play in this process. We interviewed 135 people working in 10 very different occupations and asked them to tell us stories about incidents or times when they found their work to be meaningful and, conversely, times when they asked themselves, “What’s the point of doing this job?” We expected to find that meaningfulness would be similar to other work-related attitudes, such as engagement or commitment, in that it would arise purely in response to situations within the work environment. However, we found that, unlike these other attitudes, meaningfulness tended to be intensely personal and individual; it was often revealed to employees as they reflected on their work and its wider contribution to society in ways that mattered to them as individuals. People tended to speak of their work as meaningful in relation to thoughts or memories of significant family members such as parents or children, bridging the gap between work and the personal realm. We also expected meaningfulness to be a relatively enduring state of mind experienced by individuals toward their work; instead, our interviewees talked of unplanned or unexpected moments during which they found their work deeply meaningful. We were anticipating that our data would show that the meaningfulness experienced by employees in relation to their work was clearly associated with actions taken by managers, such that, for example, transformational leaders would have followers who found their work meaningful, whereas transactional leaders would not. Instead, our research showed that quality of leadership received virtually no mention when people described meaningful moments at work, but poor management was the top destroyer of meaningfulness

The association between cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiometabolic risk in children is mediated by abdominal adiposity: the HAPPY study

Background: It is unclear whether cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is independently linked to cardiometabolic risk in children. This study investigated a) the association between CRF level and presence of cardiometabolic risk disorders using health-related cut points, and b) whether these associations were mediated by abdominal adiposity in children. Methods: This was a cross-sectional design study. Anthropometry, biochemical parameters and CRF were assessed in 147 schoolchildren (75 girls) aged 10-14 years. CRF was determined using a maximal cycle ergometer test. Children were classified as ‘fit’ or ‘unfit’ according to published thresholds. Logistic regression was used to investigate the odds of having individual and clustered cardiometabolic risk factors according to CRF level and whether abdominal adiposity mediated these associations. Results: Children classified as unfit had increased odds of presenting individual and clustered cardiometabolic risk factors (p 0.05). Conclusions: This study suggests that the association between CRF and cardiometabolic risk is mediated by abdominal adiposity in 10-14 year-old children and that abdominal adiposity may be a more important determinant of adverse cardiometabolic health in this age group

“What? That’s for Old People, that.” Home Adaptations, Ageing and Stigmatisation: A Qualitative Inquiry

Older people, even those living with long-term conditions or poor mobility, can be supported to live well at home, through adapting their home to meet changing need. Installing home adaptations, from grab rails to walk in shower rooms, is cost effective, may prevent falls, reduce social isolation and improve self confidence. Despite austerity cuts to public spending, the UK government increased home adaptations’ funding. However, not much is known about older people’s experiences and understanding of acquiring and living with home adaptations and uptake of home adaptations could be improved. Using wearable camera and face to face interview data, this qualitative study explored a diverse group of older people’s retrospective experiences (n = 30). Focus group discussions were also carried out with a wide range of professionals involved in the provision of home adaptations (n = 39). Findings suggest people may delay having adaptations, because of perceived stigmatising associations with decline and vulnerability. As delaying the installation of home adaptations until crisis point is known to reduce their effectiveness, such associations need to be challenged