In the balance: report of a research study exploring information for weight management

This paper uses findings from a research study called Net.Weight to examine the concepts of interaction, information quality and Internet-based information from the perspective of people engaged in managing their weight. The Net.Weight study was a two-year project funded by the British government 19s Department of Health and located in the city of Brighton and Hove. It examined the potential for increased, innovative and effective uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support the self management of weight. The study had several inter-related research strands and the findings discussed in the paper emerged primarily from participatory learning workshops and evaluative interviews. The paper demonstrates that the interaction between people is an important aspect of the information process, which is often neglected in the literature. It suggests that exploring the user-user dimension might add to the understanding of information effectiveness. It also suggests that an approach to information and health literacy which includes a social as well as an individual perspective is necessary. On quality assessment, it supports findings from other studies that organisational authority is a key measure of reliability for lay users and that quality assessment tools have a limited role in the assessment process. The Net.Weight participants embraced the Internet as a medium for weight management information only when it added value to their existing information and weight management practices and when it could be integrated into their everyday lives

Information to fight the flab: findings from the Net.Weight study

The purpose of the paper is to examine information use and information literacy in the context of weight management. It reports on a two-year study funded by the Department of Health known informally as the Net.Weight Study. Net.Weight examined the potential for increased, innovative and effective uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support the self management of weight. The research was conducted in the city of Brighton & Hove by an inter-disciplinary team from the University of Brighton. The paper gives a brief overview of the various methods used in the study as a whole but discusses one strand, the user survey, in more detail. The survey gathered data on people’s information and ICT use around weight management. The design of the survey questionnaire required the adaptation of existing literacy assessment instruments and this process is described in this paper. The findings show that people use a wide range of information sources for information and support around weight management. The most useful sources are slimming groups, food packaging, friends and family, magazines, TV and health books, thus representing a variety of media, formal and informal, and including human sources. The internet was reported to be a useful source for around half the survey respondents and is most often used for information about diet and exercise. A majority of respondents described themselves as active information seekers and confident about their information skills. They are less confident about internet information than information generally and even less confident about using the internet to support weight management activities. The concept of literacies, particularly around information and health, provide a framework for examining the Net.Weight findings. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for health information policy and for those interested in applying information literacy theory to health. The role of healthcare practitioners in weight management information is addressed, as is the need for targeted rather than generic health information. It is suggested that the work done in the education sector to increase awareness of information literacy and improve skills could provide a useful model of good practice in a health context. However, the evidence provided by the Net.Weight study suggests that for such an approach to be relevant it needs to reflect the complexity of health information processes in everyday lives

Data Associated with "Logjam Characteristics as Drivers of Transient Storage in Headwater Streams"

This repository contains data for the experimental flume and numerical model runs referenced in Marshall et al., 2022. Source code, data csv files for statistical analysis, and calculated temporal moments are included.Logjams in a stream create backwater conditions and locally force water to flow through the streambed, creating zones of transient storage within the surface and subsurface of a stream. We investigate the relative importance of logjam distribution density, logjam permeability, and discharge on transient storage in a simplified experimental channel. We use physical flume experiments in which we inject a salt tracer, monitor fluid conductivity breakthrough curves in surface water, and use breakthrough-curve skew to characterize transient storage. We then develop numerical models in HydroGeoSphere to reveal flow paths through the subsurface (or hyporheic zone) that contribute to some of the longest transient-storage timescales. In both the flume and numerical model, we observe an increase in backwater and hyporheic exchange at logjams. Observed complexities in transient storage behavior may depend largely on surface water flow in the backwater zone. As expected, multiple successive logjams provide more pervasive hyporheic exchange by distributing the head drop at each jam, leading to distributed but shallow flow paths. Decreasing the permeability of a logjam or increasing the discharge both facilitate more surface water storage and elevate the surface water level upstream of a logjam, thus increasing hyporheic exchange. Multiple logjams with low permeability result in the greatest magnitude of transient storage, suggesting that this configuration maximizes solute retention in backwater zones, while hyporheic exchange rates also increase. Understanding how logjam characteristics affect solute transport through both the channel and hyporheic zone has important management implications for rivers in forested, or historically forested, environments.This research was supported by National Science Foundation Hydrologic Sciences (award 1819068)

Magnitude-sensitive reaction times reveal non-linear time costs in multi-alternative decision-making

Optimality analysis of value-based decisions in binary and multi-alternative choice settings predicts that reaction times should be sensitive only to differences in stimulus magnitudes, but not to overall absolute stimulus magnitude. Yet experimental work in the binary case has shown magnitude sensitive reaction times, and theory shows that this can be explained by switching from linear to multiplicative time costs, but also by nonlinear subjective utility. Thus disentangling explanations for observed magnitude sensitive reaction times is difficult. Here for the first time we extend the theoretical analysis of geometric time-discounting to ternary choices, and present novel experimental evidence for magnitude-sensitivity in such decisions, in both humans and slime moulds. We consider the optimal policies for all possible combinations of linear and geometric time costs, and linear and nonlinear utility; interestingly, geometric discounting emerges as the predominant explanation for magnitude sensitivity

Integrating person directed care into the client experience

Culture Change leaders in long term care have identified creative ways to implement a model of Person Directed Care to improve the client experience by providing choice, instilling dignity, and fostering deep relationships among its community members. One organization created an environment of care called ”The Small House” and educated its’ workforce using the Green House® Project Legacy Alignment program to redesign the organizational structure, experience and environment. Interviews were conducted with elders, staff, and family members (N=20) about their experiences living, working or visiting a Small House as compared to experiences in their previous dwelling, a traditional nursing home. They were asked to describe the biggest difference between the Small House and the traditional nursing home model, and the differences in the two models in terms of the food, personal care, and relationships. Study participants were also asked to rate on a likert scale satisfaction with their experiences in the traditional nursing home and the Small House. Results showed that satisfaction ratings were higher among all groups living, working, or visiting the Small House compared to the traditional nursing home setting. The themes that emerged most often in comparing the Small House homes to the traditional nursing home included choice, homelike atmosphere, positive sensory environment, and evidence of close relationships in the Small House. The Small House homes studied in this qualitative investigation appear to have captured the important elements that create real home and consistent care partners who know the elders deeply to keep them comfortable and engaged

OUTCOMES AFTER IMPLANTATION OF BARE-METAL, COVERED AND DRUG-ELUTING STENTS FOR THE TREATMENT OF PULMONARY VEIN STENOSIS IN CHILDREN

Nachrichten aus Frankfurt, Alexander Linneman