An Integrated Framework of Individual Acceptance of Agile Methodologies

Although systems development methodologies (SDM) are believed to help improve the software development process, the deployment of SDMs often encounters developers’ resistance. Agile methodologies, the latest batch of SDMs that are better in dealing with volatile business requirements, are likely to face the same problems since they require developers to drastically change their work habits and acquire new skills. Therefore, it is essential to identify the factors that could potentially influence individual developer’s acceptance of agile methodologies. This paper reviews the literature on the acceptance of SDMs and agile methodologies, which serves to assess current understanding in the acceptance of SDMs and agile methodologies. From this review, we identify a set of potential factors and develop a framework to guide future research in individual acceptance of agile methodologies

Colorectal cancer with synchronous liver-limited metastases : the protocol of an Inception Cohort study (CoSMIC)

Introduction Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK and an important cause of cancer-related death. In 20% of patients, there is metastasis to the liver or beyond at the time of diagnosis. The management of synchronous disease is complex. Conventional surgery removes the colorectal primary first, followed by chemotherapy, with resection of liver metastases as a final step. Advances in the availability and safety of liver surgery, anaesthesia and critical care have made two alternative options feasible. The first is synchronous resection of the primary and liver metastases. The second is resection of the metastatic disease as the first step, termed the reverse or liver-first approach. Currently, evidence is inadequate to inform the selection of care pathway for patients with colorectal cancer and synchronous liver-limited metastases. Specifically, optimal pathways are not defined and there is a dearth of prospectively recorded cohort-defining factors influencing treatment selection or outcome. Methods and analysis Colorectal cancer with Synchronous liver-limited Metastases: an Inception Cohort (CoSMIC) is an inception cohort study of patients with a new diagnosis of colorectal cancer with synchronous liver-limited metastases. The sequence of treatment received, and factors influencing treatment decisions, will be evaluated against European Society of Medical Oncology guidelines. Clinical data will be collected, and quality of life, morbidity, mortality and long-term outcome compared for different treatment sequences adjusted for prognostic factors. Disease-free survival or progression will be measured at 1, 2 and 5 years. A nested qualitative study will ascertain patient experiences and clinician perspectives on delivery of care. Ethics and dissemination The full study protocol was independently peer reviewed by Professor Kees de Jong (University of Maastricht, Holland). CoSMIC has ethical approval from the National Health Service Research Ethics Committee (14/NW/1397). Results will be disseminated to healthcare professionals and patient groups, and may be used to design a definitive trial addressing areas of equipoise in treatment pathways, as well as optimising current pathways to improve outcomes and experiences

Management of Patients on Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs: A Clinical Practice Recommendation From the First International Working Party on Gastrointestinal and Cardiovascular Effects of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs and Anti-platelet Agents

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72218/1/j.1572-0241.2008.02200.x.pd

Long-term statin use and psychological well-being

AbstractObjectivesWe sought to study the effect of long-term statin use on psychometric measures in an adult population with underlying coronary artery disease (CAD).BackgroundPrevious studies have suggested associations between cholesterol lowering and psychological well-being.MethodsStudy subjects were recruited from an outpatient cardiology clinic. Psychological well-being was assessed at baseline and annually during follow-up. The exposure of interest was long-term statin use and the outcomes of interest were depression, anxiety, and hostility. We estimated the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) that represented the strength of association between statin use (vs. no use of any cholesterol-lowering drug) and the risk of having abnormal depression, anxiety, and hostility scores.ResultsStudy subjects had an average follow-up of four years and maximum of seven years. Comparing the 140 patients who had continuous use of statins with the 231 patients who did not use any cholesterol-lowering drugs, statin use was associated with lower risk of abnormal depression scores (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.93), anxiety (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.99), and hostility (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.93) after adjustment for the propensity for statin use and potential confounders. The beneficial psychological effects of the statins appeared to be independent of the drugs' cholesterol-lowering effects.ConclusionsLong-term use of statins among patients with CAD appeared to be associated with reduced risk of anxiety, depression, and hostility

Digital Signal Processing

Contains reports on one research project.National Science Foundation (Grant ENG71-02319-AO2