An exploratory evaluation of psychological factors in the rejection of upper limb prostheses : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University

This study investigated the reactions of arm amputees to their prostheses and explored possible reasons for these reactions. A questionnaire was constructed to determine the use to which the recipients put their prostheses. A preliminary validation study was conducted to determine the final form of the questionnaire. Rather than selecting a sample of prosthesis recipients, a census of the recipient population was attempted with 48.57 per cent responding. Respondents were asked questions measuring their use of the prosthesis, the nature of their prosthesis, the rehabilitation services they had used, and various demographic variables including age, sex, occupation and so on. It was found that up to 55.9% of the respondents could be classified as low-users of their prosthesis. A regression analysis showed that 44 per cent of the variance in the use of the prosthesis was due to the two variables of prosthesis type and prosthesis length. No other variables explained significant amounts of the variance. A lower-user and a high-user were selected to pilot a further study examining psychological factors that may affect prosthesis use. The areas examined were those of training, perceptions of independence and stigma, and perceptions of the prosthesis. A number of modifications were made to the original questions as a result of the pilot study. The results of the pilot study indicated that the areas of training and expectations of the prosthesis' capabilities prior to receiving it would be most likely to prove useful in explaining different levels of prosthesis use. Some issues relating to possible future research, interventions, and the rehabilitation process were also discussed

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Learning Management Systems by Medical Faculty

Despite recommendations by the Association of American Medical Colleges regarding the adoption of technology in medical universities, faculty are still reluctant to adopt new learning technologies. The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to determine the factors existing in the adoption of learning management technology among late adopters within the faculty of colleges labeled as comprehensive academic medical centers. Using the Everett Rogers diffusion of innovations theory as its framework, this study sought to ascertain the factors late adopters identify as preventing them from adopting technology and to determine what measures they suggest to increase technology adoption among their peers. This qualitative study used interviews of participants identified as late adopters and subsequent document analysis to provide evidence for the factors identified. Using in vivo coding, data were organized into 5 themes: factors, learning management systems, demographics, general technology, and solutions. Results showed that late adopters avoided adopting learning management technology for several reasons including training, time, ease of use, system changes, lack of technical support, disinterest, and the sense that the technology does not meet their needs. Recommended solutions offered by faculty included varied times for trainings, peer mentoring, and modeling learning management system use among faculty. Understanding these factors may contribute to social change by leading to more rapid adoption and thus introducing efficiencies such that faculty can dedicate more time to medical instruction. It also may aid other universities when considering the adoption of a learning management system

@IKnowTheseWords: A Twitterbot Textual Performance

Twitterbots automate the process of tweeting. They proliferate the social network with messages crafted for hash tags, themes, or replies. @IKnowTheseWords is a bot that I created to assist me in automatically archiving my wordhord from the “OED Word of the Day” database as an online Twitter performance. As such, the bot is a helper-agent that serves words to my Twitter timeline, one day at a time. Consequently, it is essential that I talk back to the bot, letting it know (and anyone else who views these tweets and replies) which words should be included in my personal archive. This process will take years as the bot and I perform the tasks: Tweeting a word from the OED, sorting each word, and capturing those words that are part of my current vocabulary using a Twitter archiving Google spreadsheet. With two “I”s involved in the process of knowing—or not—these words, @IKnowTheseWords speaks predictably and intelligently as a bot and randomly, with culturally specific musings as the “I” who replies to each tweet. In this case study I arrive at a philosophical understanding of how the project made a theoretical pivot as a result of its current processing and performance with emerging media tools

Investigation of an emergent, tetracycline-resistant, abortifacient Campylobacter jejuni clone in a pregnant guinea pig model

Campylobacter spp. have been recognized as an important cause of sheep abortion for decades; however, recent analyses have revealed that C. jejuni has replaced C. fetus subsp. fetus as the predominant species isolated, and that a single clone of tetracycline-resistant C. jejuni, named clone SA for Sheep Abortion, has emerged as the predominant isolate across multiple states and multiple lambing seasons. The emergence of this genetic clone reveals a dramatic shift in the epidemiology of ovine campylobacteriosis and warrants further investigation. Herein we describe oral inoculation of the pregnant guinea pig as an appropriate model to study the pathogenesis of septic abortion due to clone SA with 60% (6/10) of animals aborting within 21 days of inoculation with a clinical isolate (C. jejuni IA3902) of this highly pathogenic clone. In placentas obtained from these aborting guinea pigs, we observed significantly increased TLR2 protein in subplacental syncytiotrophoblast cells while TLR4 expression was relatively unchanged, suggesting a role for TLR2 in the pathogenesis of Campylobacter-associated abortion. We describe resolution of infection after intraperitoneal challenge in guinea pigs as a means to compare efficacy of two commercially available Campylobacter vaccines and an experimental bacterin. In this challenge study, one commercial vaccine was entirely ineffective and may suggest a means of positive selection for the emergence of clone SA. Lastly, we describe the spatial localization of mucin, iron and L-fucose within the guinea pig placental unit and compare the effects of these chemicals, placental tissue extracts, blood, and bile from pregnant guinea pigs on the growth and chemotaxis of C. jejuni. Our findings reveal the presence of growth promoting and chemoattractive substances for C. jejuni within the guinea pig placental unit and suggest a role for these factors in the fetoplacental tropism observed with this strain. The results of these studies provide insight into potential mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of septic abortion following infection with clone SA of C. jejuni, and to the emergence of this highly pathogenic strain

Experiences of Using Pathways and Resources for Participation and Engagement (PREP) Intervention for Children with Acquired Brain Injury: A Knowledge Translation Study.

Children with acquired brain injury experience participation restrictions. Pathways and Resources for Participation and Engagement (PREP) is an innovative, participation focused intervention. Studies have examined PREP in Canadian research contexts, however little is known about implementation in real-life clinical settings. This study aimed to understand experiences of clinicians implementing PREP in a UK clinical context, with a focus on implementation processes and key factors for successful implementation. A qualitative single-site 8-week knowledge translation intervention study, guided by an action research framework, explored clinicians' experiences of implementation. Six occupational therapists (OTs) working in a neurorehabilitation setting participated. The therapists provided two intervention sessions per week, over four weeks for one child on their caseload. Planning, implementation and evaluation were explored through two focus groups. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Two themes, "key ingredients before you start" and "PREP guides the journey", were identified before introducing PREP to practice. Four additional themes were related to PREP implementation: "shifting to a participation perspective", "participation moves beyond the OT", "environmental challengers and remedies" and "whole family readiness". A participation ripple effect was observed by building capacity across the multi-disciplinary team and families. The involvement of peers, social opportunities and acknowledging family readiness were key factors for successful implementation. The findings illustrate practical guidance to facilitate the uptake of participation-based evidence in clinical practice. Further research is required to understand aspects of knowledge translation when implementing participation interventions in other UK clinical settings

Evaluation of feedback and a graphical game element in an SMS intervention to increase attendance among at-risk high school students

Mobile phone text messages have been used to deliver interventions that support positive behaviour in many health contexts. School absenteeism is a problem across the world leading to reduced reading and writing skills and increased likelihood of school dropout. Much of the published research in both the fields of school absenteeism interventions and text message driven behavioural change is not based on theoretical foundations and so it difficult to generalise findings from one study into another context. This thesis describes the development and evaluation of an intervention delivered by text and picture messages that supports reduced school absenteeism among at-risk youth. This thesis describes the intervention design process and its connections with Social Cognitive Theory, the Transtheoretical Model, Theory of Planned Behaviour and Self Determination Theory. A pilot trial was undertaken to evaluate the technical feasibility of the intervention method and findings informed the intervention and study design that was evaluated in two three-arm single blind pre-post randomised controlled trials. The studies compared the effect on absenteeism of two styles of intervention with a control group. The first sent feedback of recent attendance performance in the form of a graphical scoreboard and the second sent the same feedback together with individually tailored autonomy supporting messages based on recent attendance that offered praise and motivational content. When messages were sent immediately after school in Study One, rates of full day absenteeism were reduced by half when compared to the control group. When messages were sent at the time that students woke up to go to school in Study Two, there was no significant difference between the groups. While it was hypothesised that students receiving the autonomy supporting text in addition to the feedback image would have higher perceived autonomy in school and lower absenteeism rates, there was no significant mediating effect. Moderation analysis found that the effect of the feedback on absenteeism was especially strong among participants for whom the primary language spoken at home was Spanish rather than English. These findings further understandings related to the effect of autonomy supporting messages on perceived autonomy and the timing of feedback

Improved Tissue-Based Analytical Test Methods for Orellanine, a Biomarker of Cortinarius Mushroom Intoxication.

Orellanine (OR) toxin is produced by mushrooms of the genus Cortinarius which grow in North America and in Europe. OR poisoning is characterized by severe oliguric acute renal failure, with a mortality rate of 10%-30%. Diagnosis of OR poisoning currently hinges on a history of ingestion of Cortinarius mushrooms and histopathology of renal biopsies. A key step in the diagnostic approach is analysis of tissues for OR. Currently, tissue-based analytical methods for OR are nonspecific and lack sensitivity. The objectives of this study were: (1) to develop definitive HPLC and LC-MS/MS tissue-based analytical methods for OR; and (2) to investigate toxicological effects of OR in mice. The HPLC limit of quantitation was 10 µg/g. For fortification levels of 15 µg/g to 50 µg/g OR in kidney, the relative standard deviation was between 1.3% and 9.8%, and accuracy was within 1.5% to 7.1%. A matrix-matched calibration curve was reproduced in this range with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.97-0.99. The limit of detection was 20 ng/g for LC-MS/MS. In OR-injected mice, kidney OR concentrations were 97 ± 51 µg/g on Day 0 and 17 ± 1 µg/g on termination Day 3. Splenic and liver injuries were novel findings in this mouse model. The new tissue-based analytical tests will improve diagnosis of OR poisoning, while the mouse model has yielded new data advancing knowledge on OR-induced pathology. The new tissue-based analytical tests will improve diagnosis of OR poisoning, while the mouse model has yielded new data advancing knowledge on OR-induced pathology

Forking Paths in New Media Art Practices: Investigating Remix

This special issue of Media-N on contemporary approaches to remix was inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’s short story, “The Garden of Forking Paths,” a recurring point of reference in the development of media culture. Prior to terms such as new media, digital art, media art, and remix, Borges’s narrative exploration of bifurcation as a means of reflecting on the possibility of multiple simultaneous realities with no clear beginning or end has offered a literary and philosophical model for creative uses of emerging technology throughout the twentieth century. The essays included in this special issue provide a glimpse into the relation of Borgesian multiplicity and remix as an interdisciplinary methodology