How do older adults communicate with the UK public sector? : Comparing online communication channels

Copyright and all rights therein are retained by the authors. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and conditions invoked by each author's copyright. These works may not be re-posted without the explicit permission of the copyright holdersGovernments around the world are moving away from conventional ways of face to face communication to a more digital approach when delivering services to their citizens. This includes using the internet as both a communication tool and an information source to improve efficiency in their services. However, not all the citizens are making use of these changes, especially the older adults. Therefore, this research-in-progress paper aims to investigate and identify the factors that encourage older adults to continue using a particular communication channel when interacting with the government. In addition, future directions, limitations and conclusions are also provided within this paper. The implication of this study to academia is viewed to be the development of an extended framework that allows an understanding of continuance intention of online communication tools usage. Equally, this framework will benefit industry by informing providers of communication channels to the government to be aware of the factors that influence older adults’ choices when interacting with the government. For policymakers this research will identify the communication channels that promote interaction with citizensFinal Published versio

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Nkem’s Nightmar

Research With Cognitively Impaired Participants

Illnesses that cause cognitive impairment are a considerable health problem in the United States. These include Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's chorea, cerebrovascular disease, psychiatric disorders, chronic alcoholism, and AIDS dementia complex. Illness associated with cognitive impairment may cause great suffering to the affected patients and their families. Research involving individuals who may be at risk for or have cognitive impairment is necessary to improve our understanding of these illnesses. For example, this may occur during efforts to develop effective therapies to treat them. However, research with participants who have cognitive impairment presents additional ethical concerns because they may be vulnerable to coercion. Therefore, nurse researchers must not only understand the principles of informed consent (i.e., autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice), but also the additional safeguards provided in the common rule to protect cognitively impaired participants in research. These safeguards include advanced informed consent, legal representative, and assent. Gaps exist in federal regulations related to adhering to these safeguards such as how to assess for decision-making capacity and variations on who can be a legal representative. The nurse researchers have potential roles as educators and advocates in research involving participants with cognitive impairment

Investigating Public Sector Online Communication Channel Adoption and Usage Amongst Older Adults: a UK Local Government Perspective

Since governments around the world are moving away from conventional ways of face to face communication to a more digital approach when delivering services to their citizens. Advancements in using novel information and internet technology e.g. Online Social Networks (OSN) for communications has become a fast-developing strategy in the public sector of the economy. However, research has found that not all the citizens use these online tools; thereby, causing a digital divide. A societal demographic group causing immense concern for governments, organizations and society is the ageing population. It is also this group that is not extensively investigated in e-government research. Recognising the role of older adults in the society and for e-government research, the aim of this research is to identify, explore and understand the factors that encourage older adults of 50 years old and above to continue using a particular online communication channel (Facebook versus Email) when interacting with the government. For this purpose, a conceptual framework was developed which was the Model of Online Communication Channel (MOCC) based on the Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT), Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and Channel Expansion Theory (CET) along with service quality and trust factors. To achieve this aim, a quantitative research approach was employed for the data collection process to test the MOCC model. The data collection process was carried out in three phases namely; the content validity, pilot phase and final phase. The data was collated using an online survey tool (SurveyMonkey) which resulted in 222 completed response for the pilot and 1014 completed response for the final data collection. Findings revealed that older adults will continue using a particular online communication channel to interact with the government if they have good knowledge and previous experience of using an online communication medium for interaction. Equally, having a strong satisfactory experience with a medium will encourage them to trust and use that particular online communication medium when interacting with the government. Most significantly, the consequences of ailments being suffered by older adults impacted on their continuance intention to use an online communication channel for interaction. Additionally, to validate and verify the results obtained from the quantitative data collated, an evaluation study was carried out using a qualitative research approach in form of telephone interview. In summary, this research study contributed to the growing research body of Information Systems (IS) knowledge on adoption and continuance usage of technology. Moreover, this research would benefit industry by informing providers of online communication channels to the government to be aware of the factors that influence older adults’ choices when interacting with the government. In so doing, the public sector providers of ICT can learn whether the provided services and products are indeed being accepted by citizens, more than it is recognised as one that is disadvantaged. The major implication of this study is that it provides information with regards to the generational difference within this age segment i.e. 50 years and above. This would help the government determine the best strategy to employ while tackling this issue. Finally, due to the limitations of time, finance and manpower research findings could not be nationally representative of the UK. They are only representative of a single group of society residing in an affluent area of the UK which is Hertfordshire

How African American Adolescents Manage Depression: Being With Others

BACKGROUND: African American (AA) adolescents with depression face serious negative outcomes. Despite racial/ethnic disparities in treatment utilization, few studies have explored how AA adolescents manage their depression. OBJECTIVE: To describe common ways AA adolescents manage depressive symptoms through relationships with people in their lives. DESIGN: Qualitative descriptive methods were used to analyze the narratives of 22 AA young adults who had been depressed as adolescents and 5 AA adolescents in treatment for depression. RESULTS: A typology describing the varied ways AA adolescents manage their depressive symptoms through interactions with other people was constructed and labeled Being With Others. The five categories in the typology are keeping others at bay, striking out at others, seeking help from others, joining in with others, and having others reach out CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians might use the Being With Others typology to guide discussions related to detecting, assessing, and treating AA adolescents with depression

PUBLIC SECTOR ONLINE COMMUNICATION CHANNEL ADOPTION AND USAGE AMONGST OLDER ADULTS: A UK LOCAL GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE

Ukamaka Nwanekezie, Jyoti Choudrie, Neil Spencer, 'PUBLIC SECTOR ONLINE COMMUNICATION CHANNEL ADOPTION AND USAGE AMONGST OLDER ADULTS: A UK LOCAL GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE'. Paper presented at the 24th European Conference on Information Systems: Information Systems as a Global Gateway, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey, 12-15 June 106.The UK government like many other countries around the globe has moved from classic communica-tion channels of delivering services (face-to-face, or the telephone) to a more digital approach using the internet. This includes using the internet as both a communication tool and an information source to improve efficiency in their services. Access to, and growth of these online communication mediums due to the internet has created new opportunities for the public sector; thus, forcing the public sector to adapt to this changing environment by introducing online products and services. However, not all the citizens are making use of these changes; particularly, for the purposes of this research, the older adults. Of all the various age groups in society, the ageing population is one that is presently causing immense concern. Therefore, the aim of this research-in-progress paper is to understand and identify the factors that encourage older adults to continue using a particular online communication channel when interacting with the government. This research-in-progress paper also provides the implications and benefits of this research to academia, policy makers and industry in this study and the future directions, limitations and conclusions of this paper.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Assessment of Premenstrual Syndrome and Coping Strategies among Female Students of the School of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria

There are several health problems associated with menstruation. One of the most common problems is premenstrual syndrome which occurs when  the premenstrual symptoms are severe enough to disturb the quality of life of a woman. Aim: The study aimed to determine the common  premenstrual symptoms, various coping strategies, and health-seeking behaviours adopted by female students in the School of Basic Medical  Sciences, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. Method: Cross-sectional design was adopted for the study. The questionnaire was used for the  collection of data; a multistage sampling technique was adopted to select three hundred and ten (310) students from the four (4) departments  proportionately. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data collected using SPSS version 21.0. Results: The result showed that  the most common premenstrual syndrome was mood swing 240 (77.7%), irritability 184(59.5%), fatigue 181(59.5%), and breast tenderness  171(55.3%). The degree of the menstrual syndrome was low 241(78.0%), moderate 206(66.7%). Common coping strategies were resting 206(66.9%),  sleeping 200(64.7%), accepting the process as natural 148(47.9%), and the majority 273(88.3%) had negative health-seeking behaviour. Findings of  the hypotheses testing revealed that there is no significant relationship between students’ age and premenstrual syndrome and no significant  association between premenstrual syndrome and course of study. Conclusion: It was concluded that the respondents experienced low to moderate  degrees of the menstrual syndrome. Resting, sleeping, and accepting the process as natural were common coping strategies, and health-seeking  behaviour was poor. Recommendations: Periodic health education programmes should be encouraged to involve active coping behaviours such as  regular aerobic exercises, muscle strengthening, and slow breathing exercises. Students should be encouraged to have positive health-seeking  behaviour

Mobile Robot Path Finding using Nature Inspired Algorithms - A Review

 In today’s world, Mobile Robot has been widely used for various purposes across several aspects of life. The environments could be static and dynamic. Path planning for mobile robot is a very important problem in robotics. Path Planning for robot could be referred to the determination of a path; a robot takes in to perform a task given a set of key inputs. To find the best and optimal path from the starting point to the goal point, such that time and distance is reduce, in any given environment avoiding collision with obstacles is an interesting area for research. This research presents a review on the application of nature inspired algorithms in solving the problem of mobile robot path planning such that the robot reaches the target station from source station without collision with obstacles. The future of these nature-inspired algorithms on mobile robot is also discussed

Problems and Goals Identified by Primary Caregivers of Children with Mental Health Problems During a Problem-solving Intervention

Building Our Solutions and Connections intervention focused on enhancing problem-solving skills of 44 primary caregivers of children with mental health problems. Problems and goals were identified by individual caregivers during a nine week problem-solving intervention that included a face-to-face one-hour intervention followed by eight half-hour telephone interventions. The problem identified most often was child behavior (43 times). A summary of the problems and goals selected by these primary caregivers has been described