IMPLEMENTING DESKTOP COMPUTING, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND QUALITY OF WORKLIFE

This article presents preliminary findings from a three year longitudinal study on the role of desktop computing in the work of 38 work groups that have integrated computing significantly into their work lives. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from surveys and interviews. End-users\u27 participation in the process of implementing desktop computers in work groups is examined as a primary contributor to the quality of their work life, as is the available infrastructure (training, supplies, and consulting) to support computing in the work groups. Two primary implementation processes are examined: top-down and grass-roots: We discuss the quality of work life of computer users along five dimensions: participation in decisions about work, job complexity, expertise and involvement in computing, changes in job enrichment attributed to desktop computing, and changes in work effort attributed to desktop computing. The quality of working life is most improved in work groups that computerize with grass-roots processes and have adequate infrastructure to support their work with computing

A Longitudinal Study Of Post-traumatic Growth And Psychological Distress In Colorectal Cancer Survivors

The stability of post-traumatic growth overtime and the relationship between post-traumatic growth and traditional distress outcomes remains unclear. We tracked post-traumatic growth in a population-based sample of colorectal cancer patients from soon after diagnosis to five years subsequently to assess the heterogeneity of a post-traumatic growth response to cancer over time and describe the simultaneous and longitudinal relationships between post-traumatic growth and psychological distress. 1966 colorectal patients who were five months post diagnosis were assessed six times over a five year period. There was considerable heterogeneity associated with both psychological distress and benefit finding scores over time. However, both for benefit finding and psychological distress, the variation in individual scores suggested an underlying positive linear trend and both lagged and lagged change components. Specifically, benefit finding and psychological distress are mutual leading indicators of each other. First, benefit finding served as a leading indicator of distress, in that increases in reported benefit finding from year to year predicted higher future increases in psychological distress. As well, in an inverse relationship, psychological distress served as a leading indicator of benefit finding, such that increases in reported distress from year to year predicted lower future increases in benefit finding. Post-traumatic growth may reflect patients coping efforts to enhance perceptions of wellbeing in response to escalating cancer-related threats, acting as harbinger of increasing trajectories of psychological distress. This explanation is consistent with a cognitive dissonance response in which threats to the integrity of the self then lead to a tendency to accentuate positive aspects of the self

Flexible and Mindful Self-Tracking: Design Implications from Paper Bullet Journals

Digital self-tracking technologies offer many potential benefits over self-tracking with paper notebooks. However, they are often too rigid to support people’s practical and emotional needs in everyday settings. To inform the design of more flexible self-tracking tools, we examine bullet journaling: an analogue and customisable approach for logging and reflecting on everyday life. Analysing a corpus of paper bullet journal photos and related conversations on Instagram, we found that individuals extended and adapted bullet journaling systems to their changing practical and emotional needs through: (1) creating and combining personally meaningful visualisations of different types of trackers, such as habit, mood, and symptom trackers; (2) engaging in mindful reflective thinking through design practices and self-reflective strategies; and (3) posting photos of paper journals online to become part of a selftracking culture of sharing and learning. We outline two interrelated design directions for flexible and mindful selftracking: digitally extending analogue self-tracking and supporting digital self-tracking as a mindful design practice

Real-Time Feedback of Air Quality in Children’s Bedrooms Reduces Exposure to Secondhand Smoke

Introduction:Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure creates health risks for nonsmokers and is especially detrimental to children. This study evaluated whether immediate feedback in response to poor indoor air quality in children’s bedrooms can reduce the potential for SHS exposure, as measured by adherence to a World Health Organization (WHO) indoor air standard.Methods:Homes that contained children and an adult who regularly smoked inside (n=298) had an air particle monitor installed in the child’s bedroom. These devices measured the concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) for approximately three months and, for half of the participants, immediately provided aversive feedback in response to elevated PM2.5. Hierarchical linear models were fit to the data to assess whether the intervention increased the probability that: 1) a given day was below the WHO guideline for daily exposure, and 2) a household established and maintained a smoke-free home (SFH), operationalized as achieving 30 consecutive days below the WHO guideline. The intervention’s impact was calculated as groupby- time effects.Results:The likelihood that a child’s bedroom met the WHO indoor air quality standard on a given day increased such that the baseline versus post-baseline odds ratio (OR) of maintaining indoor PM2.5 levels below the WHO guideline was 2.38 times larger for participants who received the intervention. Similarly, the baseline versus post-baseline OR associated with achieving an SFH was 3.49 times larger for participants in the intervention group.Conclusions:The real-time intervention successfully drove clinically meaningful changes in smoking behavior that mitigated indoor PM2.5 levels in children’s bedrooms and thereby reduced SHS exposure. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of targeting sensitive microenvironments by giving caregivers actionable information about children’s SHS risks. Future extensions should examine additional microenvironments and focus on identifying the potential for SHS exposure before it occurs

Evaluation of species-specific polyclonal antibodies to detect and differentiate between Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii

Neosporosis and toxoplasmosis are major causes of abortion in livestock worldwide, leading to substantial economic losses. Detection tools are fundamental to the diagnosis and management of those diseases. Current immunohistochemistry (IHC) tests, using sera raised against whole parasite lysates, have not been able to distinguish between Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum. We used T. gondii and N. caninum recombinant proteins, expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using insoluble conditions, to produce specific polyclonal rabbit antisera. We aimed to develop species-specific sera that could be used in IHC on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections to improve the diagnosis of ruminant abortions caused by protozoa. Two polyclonal rabbit sera, raised against recombinant proteins, anti–Neospora-rNcSRS2 and anti–Toxoplasma-rTgSRS2, had specificity for the parasite they were raised against. We tested the specificity for each polyclonal serum using FFPE tissue sections known to be infected with T. gondii and N. caninum. The anti–Neospora-rNcSRS2 serum labeled specifically only N. caninum–infected tissue blocks, and the anti–Toxoplasma-rTgSRS2 serum was specific to only T. gondii–infected tissues. Moreover, tissues from 52 cattle and 19 sheep previously diagnosed by lesion profiles were tested using IHC with our polyclonal sera and PCR. The overall agreement between IHC and PCR was 90.1% for both polyclonal anti-rNcSRS2 and anti-rTgSRS2 sera. The polyclonal antisera were specific and allowed visual confirmation of protozoan parasites by IHC, but they were not as sensitive as PCR testing.</p

Social correlates of distress following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: Exploring the role of loneliness and cognitive processing

This study investigated whether loneliness and cognitive processing explain the influence of negative (social constraints) and positive (emotional support) relationship qualities on cancer survivors’ distress. Participants were 195 cancer survivors who had undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Path analysis supported the hypothesis that loneliness and cognitive processing would mediate the association between social constraints and distress. Only loneliness mediated the association between emotional support and distress—an indirect effect significant only when support came from family and friends rather than a partner. Findings suggest that addressing social constraints may enhance cancer survivors’ adjustment

Standard versus prosocial online support groups for distressed breast cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Internet can increase access to psychosocial care for breast cancer survivors through online support groups. This study will test a novel prosocial online group that emphasizes both opportunities for getting and giving help. Based on the helper therapy principle, it is hypothesized that the addition of structured helping opportunities and coaching on how to help others online will increase the psychological benefits of a standard online group.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>A two-armed randomized controlled trial with pretest and posttest. Non-metastatic breast cancer survivors with elevated psychological distress will be randomized to either a standard facilitated online group or to a prosocial facilitated online group, which combines online exchanges of support with structured helping opportunities (blogging, breast cancer outreach) and coaching on how best to give support to others. Validated and reliable measures will be administered to women approximately one month before and after the interventions. Self-esteem, positive affect, and sense of belonging will be tested as potential mediators of the primary outcomes of depressive/anxious symptoms and sense of purpose in life.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study will test an innovative approach to maximizing the psychological benefits of cancer online support groups. The theory-based prosocial online support group intervention model is sustainable, because it can be implemented by private non-profit or other organizations, such as cancer centers, which mostly offer face-to-face support groups with limited patient reach.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01396174">NCT01396174</a></p

Living with prostate cancer: randomised controlled trial of a multimodal supportive care intervention for men with prostate cancer

Background: Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in developed countries and diagnosis and treatment carries with it substantial morbidity and related unmet supportive care needs. These difficulties may be amplified by physical inactivity and obesity. We propose to apply a multimodal intervention approach that targets both unmet supportive care needs and physical activity.Methods/design: A two arm randomised controlled trial will compare usual care to a multimodal supportive care intervention &ldquo;Living with Prostate Cancer&rdquo; that will combine self-management with tele-based group peer support. A series of previously validated and reliable self-report measures will be administered to men at four time points: baseline/recruitment (when men are approximately 3-6 months post-diagnosis) and at 3, 6, and 12 months after recruitment and intervention commencement. Social constraints, social support, self-efficacy, group cohesion and therapeutic alliance will be included as potential moderators/mediators of intervention effect. Primary outcomes are unmet supportive care needs and physical activity levels. Secondary outcomes are domain-specific and healthrelated quality of life (QoL); psychological distress; benefit finding; body mass index and waist circumference. Disease variables (e.g. cancer grade, stage) will be assessed through medical and cancer registry records. An economic evaluation will be conducted alongside the randomised trial.Discussion: This study will address a critical but as yet unanswered research question: to identify a populationbased way to reduce unmet supportive care needs; promote regular physical activity; and improve disease-specific and health-related QoL for prostate cancer survivors. The study will also determine the cost-effectiveness of the intervention.<br /