Nova Scotian extra cable operators\u27 perceptions of federal regulations.

Dept. of Communication Studies. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1987 .D684. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 40-07, page: . Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1987

The Lived Experience of American Indian Teen Parents from a Northern Plains Tribe

Although there is extensive research on the outcomes of teen mothers and their children, there is little research to date on how teen parents, especially American Indian teen parents, are functioning in their new role. This is alarming as the rate of births to American Indian teens is far greater than the same-aged Non-Hispanic White population. This study examined the lived experiences of teen parents currently living on a Northern Plains Indian Reservation. Seven participants were interviewed using a phenomenological method. Interviews were analyzed using NVivo and Giorgi’s method. The themes that emerged were traditional roles (child role, parent role, and grandmother role) positive life changes (increased educational goals and reduced risky behavior and being bullied (before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and after the birth.) The fourth theme identified was unhealthy partner relationships. Teen parents who had a “grandmother” to guide them successfully assumed the parenting role, realized the importance of education and enrolled in school (high school, tribal college, and university), and decreased their risk-taking behavior (e.g., stopped drinking and fighting). All of the participants had been bullied before, during, and after the pregnancy; this seems to be a risk-factor for teen pregnancy. All of the participants were involved, or had been involved, in an unhealthy (emotionally, verbally, or physically abusive) relationship. The findings from this study will inform schools, tribal agencies, and the community about areas to focus services for teen parents

Factors Contributing to Weight-Gain in Pediatric Psychiatric Patients: An Integrative Literature Review

Obesity and excess weight occur more frequently in the psychiatric patient population. Inappropriate weight gain during in-patient treatment indicates long-term increases in weight. Children are particularly vulnerable to the ill effects of obesity with an increased risk of premature mortality and adult morbidity. Thus, it is imperative to minimize weight gain during psychiatric treatment. The purpose of this review was to identify factors contributing to weight gain in youth psychiatric patients, effective strategies to control modifiable risk factors, and the population that would benefit most from these strategies. An intensive review of literature was conducted. The search utilized multiple databases, including: MedLine, AccessMedicine, CINAHL, PsycInfo, ProQuest, PubMed and more. The search utilized the terms “weight gain” and “psychiatric” and was limited by subject “inpatient” and “children & youth”. Examination of literature revealed that weight-gain during psychiatric hospitalization occurs as a result of pharmacological treatment, psychiatric diagnosis, and in conjunction with certain lifestyle and environmental factors. Males and those with normal weight upon admission are particularly vulnerable to weight gain during treatment in a psychiatric facility. Management of weight may be achieved by pairing cognitive-behavioral therapy with educational sessions on diet, activity, motivation, and stress management. The effective management and prevention of inappropriate weight gain has not been adequately studied, especially during in-patient treatment. Future studies need to be conducted in order to improve health outcomes for this population. Keywords: weight-gain; children; psychiatric; weight-gain risk factors; obesity, psychiatric medication, antipsychotic

Prototyping for Requirements Elicitation and Validation: A Participative Prototype Evaluation Methodology

Prototyping is widely recommended as an excellent mechanism for requirements elicitation and validation. However, few details are available on how prototypes should be used for this purpose, especially in a group environment. The goal of this research is to develop and evaluate a methodology for using prototyping to elicit and validate requirements from large user groups. An initial prototype evaluation methodology was developed, assessed during a pilot case study, and revised to support different evaluation phases and types. The revised participative prototype evaluation methodology provides a specific structure for each prototype evaluation phase with detailed methods and GroupSystems tools defined for each evaluation type. An overview of the face-to-face procedures by evaluation type is included in this paper

The Use of Web-Based Support Groups Versus Usual Quit-Smoking Care for Men and Women Aged 21-59 Years: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Existing smoking cessation treatments are challenged by low engagement and high relapse rates, suggesting the need for more innovative, accessible, and interactive treatment strategies. Twitter is a Web-based platform that allows people to communicate with each other throughout the day using their phone. OBJECTIVE This study aims to leverage the social media platform of Twitter for fostering peer-to-peer support to decrease relapse with quitting smoking. Furthermore, the study will compare the effects of coed versus women-only groups on women’s success with quitting smoking. METHODS The study design is a Web-based, three-arm randomized controlled trial with two treatment arms (a coed or women-only Twitter support group) and a control arm. Participants are recruited online and are randomized to one of the conditions. All participants will receive 8 weeks of combination nicotine replacement therapy (patches plus their choice of gum or lozenges), serial emails with links to Smokefree.gov quit guides, and instructions to record their quit date online (and to quit smoking on that date) on a date falling within a week of initiation of the study. Participants randomized to a treatment arm are placed in a fully automated Twitter support group (coed or women-only), paired with a buddy (matched on age, gender, location, and education), and encouraged to communicate with the group and buddy via daily tweeted discussion topics and daily automated feedback texts (a positive tweet if they tweet and an encouraging tweet if they miss tweeting). Recruited online from across the continental United States, the sample consists of 215 male and 745 female current cigarette smokers wanting to quit, aged between 21 and 59 years. Self-assessed follow-up surveys are completed online at 1, 3, and 6 months after the date they selected to quit smoking, with salivary cotinine validation at 3 and 6 months. The primary outcome is sustained biochemically confirmed abstinence at the 6-month follow-up. RESULTS From November 2016 to September 2018, 960 participants in 36 groups were recruited for the randomized controlled trial, in addition to 20 participants in an initial pilot group. Data analysis will commence soon for the randomized controlled trial based on data from 896 of the 960 participants (93.3%), with 56 participants lost to follow-up and 8 dropouts. CONCLUSIONS This study combines the mobile platform of Twitter with a support group for quitting smoking. Findings will inform the efficacy of virtual peer-to-peer support groups for quitting smoking and potentially elucidate gender differences in quit rates found in prior research. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02823028; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT0282302

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times: Understanding Pro-cyclical Mortality

A growing literature documents cyclical movements in mortality and health. We examine this pattern more closely and attempt to identify the mechanisms behind it. Specifically, we distinguish between mechanisms that rely on fluctuations in own employment or time use and those involving factors that are external to the individual. Our investigation suggests that changes in individuals’ own behavior contribute very little to pro-cyclical mortality. Looking across broad age and gender groups, we find that own-group employment rates are not systematically related to own-group mortality. In addition, we find that most of the additional deaths that occur during times of economic growth are among the elderly, particularly elderly women, who have limited labor force attachment. Focusing on mortality among the elderly, we show that cyclicality is especially strong for deaths occurring in nursing homes, and is stronger in states where a higher fraction of the elderly reside in nursing homes. We also demonstrate that staffing in skilled nursing facilities moves counter-cyclically. Taken together, these findings suggest that cyclical fluctuations in the mortality rate may be largely driven by fluctuations in the quality of health care.

Participative Analysis of Systems Integration Opportunities

In an effort to increase information sharing while simultaneously decreasing costs, many organizations are moving to integrated data and systems. However, researchers caution thatthe costs and benefits of integration must be carefully evaluated. This paper presents a participative integration analysis methodology for determining not only what can be integrated, but also what should be integrated. Results of the initial case study show that a small group can effectively decide what should be integrated and develop a proposed integration strategy. The results also highlighted that participants intuitively used business scenarios to identify integration opportunities and analyzethe business impacts of integration. Therefore, the participative integration analysis methodology was updated to incorporate scenarios as the central evaluative construct. This methodology will result in recommendations for integrated systems and business processe

Fabrication of Myogenic Engineered Tissue Constructs

Despite the fact that electronic pacemakers are life-saving medical devices, their long-term performance in pediatric patients can be problematic owing to the restrictions imposed by a child's small size and their inevitable growth. Consequently, there is a genuine need for innovative therapies designed specifically for pediatric patients with cardiac rhythm disorders. We propose that a conductive biological alternative consisting of a collagen-based matrix containing autologously-derived cells could better adapt to growth, reduce the need for recurrent surgeries, and greatly improve the quality of life for these patients. In the present study, we describe a procedure for incorporating primary skeletal myoblast cell cultures within a hydrogel matrix to fashion a surgically-implantable tissue construct that will serve as an electrical conduit between the upper and lower chambers of the heart. Ultimately, we anticipate using this type of engineered tissue to restore atrioventricular electrical conduction in children with complete heart block. In view of that, we isolate myoblasts from the skeletal muscles of neonatal Lewis rats and plate them onto laminin-coated tissue culture dishes using a modified version of established protocols[$^{2, 3}$]. After one to two days, cultured cells are collected and mixed with antibiotics, type 1 collagen, Matrigel$^{TM}$, and NaHCO$_{3}$. The result is a viscous, uniform solution that can be cast into a mold of nearly any shape and size[$^{1, 4, 5}$]. For our tissue constructs, we employ type 1 collagen isolated from fetal lamb skin using standard procedures[$^{6}$]. Once the tissue has solidified at 37$^{o}$C, culture media is carefully added to the plate until the construct is submerged. The engineered tissue is then allowed to further condense through dehydration for 2 more days, at which point it is ready for $in$ $vitro$ assessment or surgical-implantation