“Sticking jewels in your life”: Exploring women’s strategies for negotiating an acceptable quality of life with multiple sclerosis

This study explored women’s strategies for living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Twenty-seven women were interviewed, most of whom had lived with MS for more than five years. Analysis of the semi-structured interviews followed the interpretative phenomenological approach. The women portrayed living with MS as an ongoing process of negotiation, and described gaining quality of life through looking after their health; maintaining a familiar self-image, particularly through meaningful occupations, and adapting pre-illness skills and interests to their changing levels of physical functioning; actively valuing positive life experiences, including finding benefits in adversity; clarifying values, priorities and philosophy of life; and maintaining mutual, caring relationships. Some regarded MS as presenting opportunities for personal growth. Without minimizing the very substantial difficulties that MS presents, the findings suggest that well-being derives from both managing the illness and also embracing life’s wider experiences, including change and growth. Implications for rehabilitation and counseling professionals are considered

Creative adventures and flow in art-making: A qualitative study of women living with cancer

(Introduction) A diagnosis of cancer is recognised as highly fear-arousing. People not only face the discomforts of potentially disfiguring medical treatment but also confront issues of mortality. Even those who have completed treatment tend to ‘live with’ cancer for many years, because they remain subject to intrusive thoughts about cancer and concerned about possible recurrence and metastasis (Saegrov and Halding 2003, Laubmeier and Zakowski 2004). As well as creating worry and vigilance, cancer imposes what has been described as a biographical disruption (Bury 1982). After such a diagnosis, the person may feel that valued life goals are unattainable. The assumptions that guided life before cancer may be shattered and the person may feel disconnected from the familiar self, observing – from the avoidance or the pity of others – that only a stigmatised cancer identity remains (Frank 1991, Mathieson and Stam 1995). Facing such a combination of physical, emotional, cognitive and social stressors, it would seem difficult for people with cancer to construct a life of positive quality. Yet research studies suggest that many people devise resourceful coping strategies. Some people cope by reprioritising their goals to enjoy more authentic relationships and activities. Some even come to re-evaluate their illness as having catalysed certain positive changes (for example, Mathieson and Stam 1995, Carpenter et al 1999, Urcuyo et al 2005). However, previous research has tended to neglect the potential contribution of meaningful occupations to maintaining or regaining subjective wellbeing in cancer. Flow has been conceptualised as a particular type of optimal experience associated with ‘vital engagement’, a deep involvement in activities that are significant to the self and that promote feelings of aliveness or vitality (Nakamura and Csikszentmihalyi 2002, p83). To what extent vital engagement offers people living with cancer a source of subjective wellbeing has received little previous examination in the occupational therapy literature. This issue is addressed here

The role of art-making in identity maintenance: Case studies of people living with cancer

The aim of this qualitative research was to understand why some people with cancer take up art as a leisure activity, and how visual art-making in daily life might support identity maintenance/ reconstruction. The study forms part of a larger project with people who view art-making as a resource for living with chronic illness. In order to provide a detailed, holistic analysis, the paper focuses on the accounts and artwork of three participants, two women (aged 47 and 59) each with breast cancer, and a man (aged 51) with stomach and lung cancer. The participants turned to art after a process of reflection but did not necessarily reject their pre-illness lifestyles or selves. Rather, art-making afforded many opportunities to retain familiar personal and social identities, and to resist being dominated by labels related to their illness. A practical implication is that people coping with cancer may need not only cognitive and emotional support, but opportunities to find meaningful activities. Such activities can be understood to have a powerful role in maintaining a familiar, positive identity in cancer, and providing a resource for coping

'A lifestyle coat-hanger': A phenomenological study of the meanings of artwork for women coping with chronic illness and disability

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological enquiry was to explore the meanings and functions of art for a group of women living with disabling chronic illness. Participants were recruited on the basis that they considered artwork as central to their current well-being. Method: Thirty women were interviewed, and five submitted written narratives. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was carried out. Results: About half of the participants had taken up their preferred artistic occupation since the onset of illness. Participants described their artwork as contributing to their health and well-being in many diverse ways. Art filled occupational voids, distracted thoughts away from illness, promoted the experience of flow and spontaneity, enabled the expression of grief, maintained a positive identity, and extended social networks. Its value was conceptualised by one participant as a ‘lifestyle coat-hanger’ organising numerous further roles and activities that gave purpose to life. Art was more than cathartic. It offered a versatile means of overcoming the restrictions imposed by illness on self and lifestyle, in many cases creating a more enriched lifestyle than before. Conclusion: The findings may encourage professionals working in health and rehabilitation settings to assist clients in identifying meaningful, creative occupations that are feasible within the limits imposed by illness or injury

Images of resistance: A photonarrative enquiry into the meanings of personal artwork for people living with cancer

This study explored the meanings, inspirations and subjective significance of personal artwork created as a leisure activity by women living with cancer. A convenience sample of twelve women aged between 23-74 years participated in semi-structured interviews. Participants were living in various stages of the cancer trajectory, and engaged in several forms of visual art-making. They submitted examples of their artwork by photograph and then participated in semi-structured interviews. From a phenomenological analysis, the authors inferred a number of themes. Participants perceived a few pieces, made during chemotherapy, as expressing deeper feelings about cancer in symbolic terms. More prevalent in participants’ accounts were references to their artwork as a sensuous pleasure, and its confirmation of their ongoing capability, personal continuity and social connectedness. Participants acknowledged ongoing loss and difficulties related to cancer. However, each piece of art offered a measure of resistance against the psychologically and socially disruptive effects of cancer. The pre-interview photography activity was helpful for empowering participants in the interview, and for stimulating detailed memories and associations

Women's experiences of increasing subjective well-being in CFS/ME through leisure-based arts and crafts activities: A qualitative study

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright © 2008 Informa Plc.Purpose. To understand the meanings of art-making among a group of women living with the occupational constraints and stigma of CFS/ME. The study explored their initial motives for art-making, and then examined how art-making had subsequently influenced their subjective well-being. Method. Ten women with CFS/ME were interviewed; three provided lengthy written accounts to the interview questions. Findings. Illness had resulted in devastating occupational and role loss. Participants took many years to make positive lifestyle changes. Art-making was typically discovered once participants had accepted the long-term nature of CFS/ME, accommodated to illness, and reprioritized occupations. Several factors then attracted participants specifically to art-making. It was perceived as manageable within the constraints of ill-health. Participants also tended to be familiar with craft skills; had family members interested in arts and crafts, and some desired a means to express grief and loss. Once established as a leisure activity, art-making increased subjective well-being mainly through providing increased satisfaction in daily life, positive self-image, hope, and contact with the outside world. Participants recommended provision of occupational/recreational counselling earlier in the illness trajectory. Conclusions. Creative art-making occurred as part of a broader acceptance and adjustment process to CFS/ME, and allowed some psychological escape from a circumscribed lifeworld

“Passwords protect my stuff” - a study of children’s password practices

Children use technology from a very young age and often have to authenticate. The goal of this study is to explore children’s practices, perceptions, and knowledge regarding passwords. Given the limited work to date and that the world’s cyber posture and culture will be dependent on today’s youth, it is imperative to conduct cyber-security research with children. We conducted surveys of 189 3rd to 8th graders from two Midwest schools in the USA. We found that children have on average two passwords for school and three to four passwords for home. They kept their passwords private and did not share with others. They created passwords with an average length of 7 (3rd to 5th graders) and 10 (6–8th graders). But, only about 13% of the children created very strong passwords. Generating strong passwords requires mature cognitive and linguistic capabilities which children at this developmental stage have not yet mastered. They believed that passwords provide access control, protect their privacy and keep their “stuff” safe. Overall, children had appropriate mental models of passwords and demonstrated good password practices. Cyber-security education should strive to reinforce these positive practices while continuing to provide and promote age-appropriate developmental security skills. Given the study’s sample size and limited generalizability, we are expanding our research to include children from 3rd to 12th graders across multiple US school districts

Sport Psychology App lication: NCAA Coaches\u27 Preferences for a Mental Training Mobile App

This study utilized a consumer marketing approach to investigate National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) head coaches\u27 preferences for a mental training mobile application (mobile map) using a conjoint market analysis. Head coaches\u27 preferences for a mental training mobile app were compared based on price, ability to track athlete use of the app, recommendation sources, the inclusion of daily functions, coaches\u27 awareness of the app being used by other teams, and the credibility of the mobile app content creators. Price and tracking athlete use were the two most important characteristics to coaches. Considering all characteristics, coaches preferred mobile apps that cost less than {dollar}200, provided comprehensive tracking of athlete use, came with an internal recommendation, included daily functions, were used by other teams, and were created by content creators who work with other successful programs. Based on market simulations, more than two-thirds of coaches would purchase a mental training mobile app with the characteristics presented in this study if given the chance. The present findings are evidence that the use of mental training at the NCAA level may rely more on the delivery method and cost of services than previously thought

Efficient simulation of strong system-environment interactions

Multi-component quantum systems in strong interaction with their environment are receiving increasing attention due to their importance in a variety of contexts, ranging from solid state quantum information processing to the quantum dynamics of bio-molecular aggregates. Unfortunately, these systems are difficult to simulate as the system-bath interactions cannot be treated perturbatively and standard approaches are invalid or inefficient. Here we combine the time dependent density matrix renormalization group methods with techniques from the theory of orthogonal polynomials to provide an efficient method for simulating open quantum systems, including spin-boson models and their generalisations to multi-component systems