Using Unified Personal Information in Workspaces

Knowledge workers (KWers) deal with personal information and use tools like, e.g., desktop workspaces to support their work. But KWer support is hindered by personal information fragmentation, i.e., applications keep a set of personal information while not interconnecting it. This thesis addresses this in the domains personal task management and meeting management by using a common unified personal information model as offered by the semantic desktop personal information management (PIM) system

A Smile is Just a Smile: But Only for Men. Sex Differences in Meaning of Faces Scales

This study tests psychometrics of the faces scale that is often used in organizational psychology to assess emotions, attitudes, and well-being. In analyzing 10,584 two-categorical judgments ("sad” versus "happy”) of 11 faces from 72 participants, women judged a face with a horizontal line as mouth ("neutral face”) more often sad than happy and significantly more often sad than men did. Moreover, women adapted their judgments to the range of faces under study in showing a significant contrast effect. In a range of neutral to bright smiling faces a face showing a mild smile was judged to be sad, while in a range of neutral to heavy griming faces a mild grim was judged to be happy. Sex differences in meaning of faces within faces scales and their implications for the use of the faces scale in work and organizational psychology are discusse

Ambulatory Assessment of Skin Conductivity During First Thesis Presentation: Lower Self-Confidence Predicts Prolonged Stress Response

In this field study self-confidence was tested to predict the course of galvanic electrodermal stress response prior, during and after public speaking. Ten graduate students initially rated their self-confidence and afterwards presented their thesis proposals orally in a 10-min presentation to their supervisor and peers. Galvanic skin response level was measured throughout and analysed for 10min prior to, during, and 10min after the presentation. Two major galvanic electrodermal stress response types were observed. Five students showed a ‘healthy response', i.e. an anticipatory increase in electrodermal conductance, followed by a decrease after termination of the presentation. The other five students showed a steady increase of skin conductance during and after their presentation (‘prolonged response'). In line with the allostatic load model the ‘prolonged response' group reported significantly lower self-confidence before presentation than the ‘healthy response' group (p<0.01). Self-confidence is a resource in novices facing an unfamiliar stresso

Getting Used to Academic Public Speaking: Global Self-Esteem Predicts Habituation in Blood Pressure Response to Repeated Thesis Presentations

Global self-esteem was tested to predict quicker cardiovascular adaptation during stressful oral thesis presentation and faster habituation from the first to the second and third thesis presentations. Nineteen graduate students initially rated their global self-esteem and afterwards orally presented their theses proposals in 20-min presentations to their thesis supervisor and peers. A second and third presentation of the revised thesis concepts took place at 4-weeks intervals. Ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate were assessed repeatedly during the presentations. Post-talk self ratings of stressfulness indicated presentations to be a strong public speaking stressor. One hundred and thirty-eight measurements of systolic (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) showed a significant adaptation (decrease) during presentations. There was an overall mean level decrease from the first to the second, and the second to the third presentations in HR, but not in SBP and DBP. However, habituation in SBP and DBP across three presentations was significantly faster (p<.05) in those participants who initially reported higher levels of global self-esteem. Higher global self-esteem did not foster adaptation within the presentations. Self-esteem is discussed as an important individual resource that allows successful coping with recurring evaluative threat

Die psychosozialen Problemlagen von Frauen, die mit pränataler Diagnostik konfrontiert sind

Die Intention der vorliegenden empirischen Studie ist das Erfassen und Erforschen von subjektiven psychosozialen Problemlagen, mit denen sich Frauen gegenwärtig im Zusammenhang mit pränataler Diagnostik konfrontiert sehen. Dazu werden Beiträge aus Internetdiskussionsforen zum Thema Schwangerschaft/Eltern- und Mutterschaft im Rahmen eines qualitativen Forschungsdesigns analysiert und mittels qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse nach Mayring ausgewertet. Es soll der Frage nachgegangen werden, welche von den in der aktuellen theoretischen und empirischen Literatur sowie in publizierten Erfahrungsberichten beschriebenen psychosozialen Problemlagen von den Frauen über das Internet tatsächlich diskutiert und problematisiert werden. Im Mittelpunkt der Frage steht dabei das subjektive Erleben der Problemlagen. Im theoretischen Teil wird auf die historische Entwicklung und medizinischen Grundlagen der pränatalen Diagnostik eingegangen und ihre Methoden, Möglichkeiten, Risiken und Grenzen aufgezeigt. Des Weiteren findet eine Auseinandersetzung mit der aktuellen theoretischen und empirischen Literatur sowie mit publizierten Erfahrungsberichten statt, die psychosoziale Problemlagen im Umfeld von pränataler Diagnostik beleuchten. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Studie veranschaulichen, dass die von den Frauen beschriebenen psychosozialen Problemlagen weitgehend die in der aktuellen theoretischen und empirischen Literatur sowie in den Erfahrungsberichten thematisierten Problemlagen widerspiegeln: die konflikthaft und ambivalent erlebte Entscheidungsfindung über eine mögliche Inanspruchnahme von pränataler Diagnostik, die Belastungen der Inanspruchnahme des pränataldiagnostischen Verfahrens an sich, die angstbesetzte Wartezeit auf den Befund, die emotional extrem belastende Entscheidungssituation für Fortgang oder Abbruch der Schwangerschaft nach pathologischem Befund, schmerzhaft erlebte Schwangerschaftsabbrüche und den Einfluss von pränataler Diagnostik auf das Schwangerschaftserleben. Wesentliche Konsequenz der Arbeit ist, dass Frauen Information, Beratung und Begleitung benötigen und somit psychosoziale Beratung vor, während und nach pränataler Diagnostik unerlässlich ist. Die Ergebnisse können zum Ausgangspunkt für die Entwicklung von umfassenden und innovativen Beratungskonzepten gemacht werden, in denen die Sonder- und Heilpädagogik eine wesentliche Rolle spielen kann

Enhancing backbone sampling in Monte Carlo simulations using Internal Coordinates Normal Mode Analysis

Normal mode methods are becoming a popular alternative to sample the conformational landscape of proteins. In this study, we describe the implementation of an internal coordinate normal mode analysis method and its application in exploring protein flexibility by using the Monte Carlo method PELE. This new method alternates two different stages, a perturbation of the backbone through the application of torsional normal modes, and a resampling of the side chains. We have evaluated the new approach using two test systems, ubiquitin and c-Src kinase, and the differences to the original ANM method are assessed by comparing both results to reference molecular dynamics simulations. The results suggest that the sampled phase space in the internal coordinate approach is closer to the molecular dynamics phase space than the one coming from a Cartesian coordinate anisotropic network model. In addition, the new method shows a great speedup (∼∼5-7x), making it a good candidate for future normal mode implementations in Monte Carlo methods.The authors thank D. E. Shaw Research lab. for providing the kinase MD coordinates and Dr. López Blanco for sharing the code developed in his thesis and for providing useful comments. This work was supported by the CTQ-48287-R projects of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and the grant SEV-2011-00067 of Severo Ochoa Program, awarded by the Spanish Government.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Learning Style Needs and Effectiveness of Adult Health Literacy Education

Low health literacy impacts an individual\u27s ability to comprehend communication from healthcare providers, reduces access to healthcare, and contributes to increased mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of learning style on adult health literacy education. The health belief model, protection motivation theory, the transtheoretical model, and social cognitive theory were used to analyze the data in this study, and to further develop effective health literacy education. The research questions addressed the effectiveness of educational intervention adjusted to their appropriate learning style in comparison to a standardized health literacy intervention and potential difference, according to type of learning style, in the amount of changed performance between pretest and posttest. A sample of 80 adults in an urban community was recruited through organizations serving low-income individuals. The participants were assessed for baseline health literacy level, followed by identification of learning style, educational intervention, and posttest assessment, which led to determination by t test that changes between pretest and posttest scores were statistically significant between the control group and the study groups. This finding suggests that health education should be delivered to patients according to individual learning style in order for patients to comprehend and retain information provided. Social change implications include healthcare professionals appropriately addressing health literacy so that patients may participate more actively in their personal healthcare decisions to improve healthcare quality outcomes, decrease long-term costs of delivering healthcare services, and improve the general health of the community

Entwicklung eines wissensbasierten Systems zur wirtschaftlichen und ökologischen Bewertung der Minimalmengenschmierung bei der Planung flexibler Fertigungssysteme

Mit steigender Relevanz ökologischer Nachhaltigkeit erfahren ressourceneffiziente Produkte und Prozesse eine stetig steigende Nachfrage. Der Bereich der Metallbearbeitung bietet zahlreiche Ansätze zur Hebung von Effizienzpotenzialen. In diesem Kontext gewinnt die bereits seit Mitte der Neunzigerjahre erforschte Minimalmengenschmierung zunehmend an Bedeutung. Manager und Fabrikplaner stehen der vergleichsweise neuen Technologie allerdings skeptisch gegenüber – zu unberechenbar sind die fallspezifische Umsetzbarkeit sowie ihre ökologischen und monetären Vorteile angesichts der derzeitigen Faktenlage. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde diese Problemstellung aufgegriffen. Am Beispiel der spanenden Fertigung in der Automobilindustrie wurde eine Methode entwickelt, um den Einsatz der Minimalmengenschmierung ökologisch und wirtschaftlich zu bewerten und seine Umsetzbarkeit zu beurteilen