The FARSEEING real-world fall repository: a large-scale collaborative database to collect and share sensor signals from real-world falls

Background

Real-world fall events objectively measured by body-worn sensors can improve the understanding of fall events in older people. However, these events are rare and hence challenging to capture. Therefore, the FARSEEING (FAll Repository for the design of Smart and sElf-adaptive Environments prolonging Independent livinG) consortium and associated partners started to build up a meta-database of real-world falls.

Results

Between January 2012 and December 2015 more than 300 real-world fall events have been recorded. This is currently the largest collection of real-world fall data recorded with inertial sensors. A signal processing and fall verification procedure has been developed and applied to the data. Since the end of 2015, 208 verified real-world fall events are available for analyses. The fall events have been recorded within several studies, with different methods, and in different populations. All sensor signals include at least accelerometer measurements and 58 % additionally include gyroscope and magnetometer measurements. The collection of data is ongoing and open to further partners contributing with fall signals. The FARSEEING consortium also aims to share the collected real-world falls data with other researchers on request.

Conclusions

The FARSEEING meta-database will help to improve the understanding of falls and enable new approaches in fall risk assessment, fall prevention, and fall detection in both aging and disease.

     

‘I Want to Persuade You!’ – Investigating the effectiveness of explicit persuasion concerning attributes of the communicator and the marketing campaign

In explicit persuasion, the communicator states explicitly a desire to persuade the consumer. By referring to an attributional approach, social engagement was simultaneously explored as a beneficial communicator attribute, while cause-related marketing (CRM) was addressed as a boundary condition. In an experiment, we varied the persuasion strategy (explicit vs. implicit), the communicator’s prior experience with social engagement (yes vs. no), and the specific marketing strategy (CRM vs. non-charity marketing). As expected, in the non-charity marketing condition, explicit (vs. implicit) persuasion was more effective when the communicator had prior experience in social engagement. In the CRM condition, explicit (vs. implicit) persuasion was less effective when the communicator had prior experience in social engagement; when no prior experience was reported, persuasiveness increased.     

The theory,structure, and techniques for the inclusion of children in family therapy: a literature review

Many barriers prevent therapists from including young children in family therapy, despite the theoretical belief that every family member should be present. Although there is a wealth of literature describing how to include children, the information has not been compiled in a way that is easily accessible to therapists. In this article, we report the findings of an exhaustive and systematic literature review of 64 publications, published between 1972 and 1999, related to including children in family therapy. The purpose of this article is to offer therapists a succinct compilation of theoretical, structural, and practical aspects as well as a comprehensive listing of specific techniques for including children in family therapy.     

Evaluation of program success for programs with multiple trials in binary outcomes

A late‐stage clinical development program typically contains multiple trials. Conventionally, the program's success or failure may not be known until the completion of all trials. Nowadays, interim analyses are often used to allow evaluation for early success and/or futility for each individual study by calculating conditional power, predictive power and other indexes. It presents a good opportunity for us to estimate the probability of program success (POPS) for the entire clinical development earlier. The sponsor may abandon the program early if the estimated POPS is very low and therefore permit resource savings and reallocation to other products. We provide a method to calculate probability of success (POS) at an individual study level and also POPS for clinical programs with multiple trials in binary outcomes. Methods for calculating variation and confidence measures of POS and POPS and timing for interim analysis will be discussed and evaluated through simulations. We also illustrate our approaches on historical data retrospectively from a completed clinical program for depression. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scenario Tree Modeling to Analyze the Probability of Classical Swine Fever Virus Introduction into Member States of the European Union

The introduction of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) into a country free of disease without vaccination may have huge consequences in terms of both disease spread and economic losses. More quantitative insight into the main factors determining the probability of CSFV introduction (PCSFV) is needed to optimally use resources for the prevention of CSFV introduction. For this purpose a spreadsheet model was constructed that calculates the annual PCSFV into member states of the European Union (EU). The scenario pathway approach was used as most probabilities in the model are very small. Probability distributions were used to take into account inherent variability of input parameters. The model contained pathways of CSFV introduction including the import of pigs and pork products, returning livestock trucks, and contacts with wild boar. All EU member states were included as possible sources of CSFV. Default results for the Netherlands showed a mean overall annual PCSFV of approximately 0.06, indicating that the Netherlands can expect CSFV introduction on average once every 18 years from the pathways and countries included in the model. Almost 65% of this probability could be attributed to the pathway of returning livestock trucks. The most likely sources of CSFV introduction were Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. Although the calculated probabilities were rather low when compared with expert estimates and recent history, the most likely causes of CSFV introduction indicated by the model were considered to be realistic. It was therefore concluded that the model is a useful tool to structure and analyze information for decision making concerning the prevention of CSFV introduction.     

Living Close to a Person With Cancer: A Review of the International Literature and Implications for Social Work Practice

To help family caregivers (FCs), social workers need to understand the complexity of FC’s experiences and challenges. For this systematic review, several relevant, multidisciplinary electronic databases were searched. Of 1,643 titles identified, 108 articles met the inclusion criteria and are included in this review. Various experiences, symptoms, and burden related to caregiving responsibilities are described and discussed. The understanding evolving from this study about the FC’s own health risk, caregiver burden, and experiences over time can enhance a social worker’s awareness of an FC’s challenging situation and the potential impact this has on the FC’s ability to provide care to the patient.     

Exploring death anxiety among elderly people: a literature review and empirical investigation

Given the growing number of elderly persons in society and concerns about their health and well-being, the aim was to review the available literature on their death anxiety, and to explore features of this experience among a small sample of older men and women in care facilities. In both the review and empirical parts of this study, components and correlates of death anxiety were investigated. The review revealed limited research focus on death anxiety among the elderly, particularly among those in institutions, but suggested both components and correlates for inclusion in our empirical study. Results showed that, among our elderly participants in an assisted living facility (N = 49; age range: 60-96 years), there were higher levels of fear for others and of the dying process than for fear of the unknown. Notably, among the correlates identified, fear for significant others was associated with poor physical health; fear of the dying process was related to low self-esteem, little purpose in life, and poor mental well-being. Gender differences in death anxiety were found: women showed greater fear for the death of loved ones and for the consequences of their own death on these loved ones, than did men. These patterns are discussed in the light of concerns about the welfare of elderly persons; scientific implications are also considered.     

Introducing a novel approach to the cross-cultural measurement of stigma versus social integration using methods from the field of cognitive anthropology

This study combines current theories and methods from the field of disability studies and cognitive anthropology in the development of a cross culturally replicable and comparative model for evaluating stigma toward, versus social integration of, people with disabilities in society. Weaknesses in previous ways of measuring and comparing ‘social integration’ are addressed, as well as known challenges of measuring attitudes and stigma toward disability, especially in a cross-culturally applicable and comparative way. A new application to previously existing methods in the field of cognitive anthropology is introduced which addresses these challenges. A case study conducted in Poland is described which illustrates the proposed methods. In conclusion, a roadmap for future research is provided which briefly reiterates the steps needed to replicate the study in various cultural contexts. Understanding the ways in which people with disabilities are perceived to deviate from culturally shared norms in a society may pave the way for the development of more effective and culturally targeted social policies in an effort to promote the social integration of all members of society.     

Service tasks of board of directors: A literature review and research agenda in an era of new governance practices

In their seminal review article on board of directors, Johnson, Daily, and Ellstrand (1996) distinguished between the control, service, and resource dependence tasks of the board and called for a stronger focus on board service tasks. Following this call, service tasks of boards have been subject to increased scholarly attention, with new theoretical perspectives and methods introduced. This paper aims at presenting the current state of research on board service tasks, departing from, and building on, the contribution of Johnson and colleagues. In doing so, we employ an Input-Process-Output-Context framework and craft an agenda for how future research could accommodate new governance practices and progress the field. Our review is relevant and timely as studies on the subject are gaining traction both in corporate governance and general management journals. Furthermore, our review on board service tasks proposes new alternative approaches to studying corporate governance which are especially appropriate in times in which a rethink of corporate governance frameworks and concepts is urgently needed.