Individual's Life (individual + life)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Medical Sciences

Terms modified by Individual's Life

  • individual life history

  • Selected Abstracts


    Creativity in Time and Space

    GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2004
    Gunnar Törnqvist
    Abstract The focus of attention in this article is that of milieux as forges for creativity and renewal. Among the milieux presented are places, corporations and research institutions. The renewal discussed here includes art, architecture, music and literature as well as science and technology. The goal of this article is to identify characteristics of importance in environments where exceptionally creative individuals develop and make their abilities visible. Individual lives are illustrated through the biographies of Nobel laureates. Their stories reveal the importance of geographic mobility, the patterns of contact for various creative processes, and show how a small number of biographical sketches can reflect changes in society at large. To avoid drowning in wordy descriptions, the observations garnered from various biographies have been systematized with the aid of a few simple time-geography diagrams. [source]


    Truth-telling, honesty and compassion: A virtue-based exploration of a dilemma in practice

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING PRACTICE, Issue 5 2008
    Ann M Begley
    In this paper a discussion of the strengths of a virtue-based approach to ethics in nursing is discussed. Virtue ethics is often depicted as vague and lacking in any convincing application to the reality of practice. It is argued that exploring issues from a virtue perspective offers the possibility of a sensitive moral response which is grounded in the context of the client and his family. Far from being vague, virtue ethics offers guidance in practice, but this guidance acknowledges the complexity of individual lives as opposed to the impartiality and abstract nature of traditional moral theory, rules and principles. The vehicle for discussion is a case in practice. The position presented here is that in taking account of the salient features of each individual case, withholding the truth from adults with a life threatening illness can be justified for compassionate reasons. [source]


    Collaborative Intelligence = Respect

    ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Issue 2 2009
    Keith Kaseman
    Abstract Cultural projects today are often unprecedented in their complexity, scale and collaborative effort. Keith Kaseman, partner of Kaseman Beckman Advanced Strategies (KBAS), describes how building information modelling (BIM) enabled the realisation of the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Twenty-eight contractors and consultants were brought on board in the design and delivery of the monument's 184 ,memorial units', which collectively commemorate the individual lives lost at the Pentagon on 11 September 2001. [source]


    The effect of depression on quality of life of patients with type II diabetes mellitus

    DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 2 2008
    brahim Eren M.D.
    Abstract Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a frequently encountered metabolic disease with chronic features and involves numerous complications throughout its course, which causes severe restriction and disability in an individual's life. It has been reported that the incidence of depression is higher in diabetic patients and that diabetes is one of the risk factors in the development of depression. It has also been reported that co-morbid psychiatric disorders cause further deterioration in the quality of life in diabetic patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of depression on the quality of life in type II DM patients. Sixty patients (30 females and 30 males) with current major depressive episode diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria, and 48 type II DM patients (30 females and 18 males) without a major depressive episode (non-depressed group) were included in the study. All patients were evaluated with a semi-structured interview form to assess the clinical features of DM, Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HRSA), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), and the Turkish version of The World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF). The HRSD and HRSA scores in the depressed group were 24.87±4.83 and 21.07±5.44, respectively, whereas those in the non-depressed group were 7.83±3.92 and 6.88±3.43, respectively. The physical health, psychological health, social relationship, environmental and social pressure domain, general health-related quality of life, overall quality of life, and WHOQOL-BREF total scores were found significantly lower in the depressed group than the non-depressed group. There were significant negative correlations between HRSD and HRSA scores and physical health, psychological health, social relationship, environmental and social pressure domain, general health-related quality of life, overall quality of life, and WHOQOL-BREF total scores. Furthermore, there were significant negative correlations between the HbA1c level and physical health, social relationship, environmental domain, social pressure domain, general health-related quality of life, overall quality of life, and WHOQOL-BREF total scores. However, there was a significant positive correlation between the level of education and physical health, psychological health, social relationship, environmental social pressure domain, overall quality of life, and WHOQOL-BREF total scores. There were significant negative correlations between social relationship domain score, and age and duration of illness. Our study demonstrates that the presence of depression in type II DM further deteriorates the quality of life of the patients. Since treating depression would have a beneficial effect on the quality of life, clinicians should carefully assess for depression associated with type II DM. Depression and Anxiety 0:1,9, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


    Relating information-needs to the cancer experience.

    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER CARE, Issue 1 2000

    This paper is based on a phenomenological study that used narratives to explore lived cancer experiences. The aim of the study was to determine the important issues for people with cancer that arose out of their cancer experience, and to place their information-needs within the stages of the cancer trajectory. The literature highlights the importance of information-giving; however, many problems are encountered with its provision. People with cancer frequently express dissatisfaction with the information given to them and experience difficulty in retaining and processing information. Six individuals were invited to tell the story of their cancer experience through in-depth interviews and narrative analysis uncovered thematic aspects of the lived experience. One interview in particular stood out as capturing the essence of a lived experience. Jenny's narrative had a beginning, a middle and an end, features that are traditionally associated with stories. This paper focuses on her story in depth, and illustrates the extent to which cancer can impinge on normal coping mechanisms. A diagnosis of cancer cannot be isolated from the other events in an individual's life, and themes emerged which showed that cancer impacts on different aspects of an individual's self-identity, including body image, family, social and work relationships. The cancer experience invariably begins before the point of diagnosis and information-needs clearly change over time. [source]


    The impact of stomatological disease on oral health-related quality of life

    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORAL SCIENCES, Issue 4 2003
    Carrie Diane Llewellyn
    The clinical diagnosis of stomatological disease may indicate its cause and prognosis; however, it says little about the resulting level of impairment from the patient's perspective. The primary objective of this study was to test whether patients attending an outpatient oral medicine clinic would have worse oral health related quality of life (OHR-QoL) compared with the general population. In addition, we aimed to assess whether anxiety or depression could be predicted by OHR-QoL and to explore the relationship between clinical diagnoses, OHR-QoL and anxiety/depression. Data were collected from patients (n = 97) through face-to-face interviews using the Oral Health Impact Profile Short form (OHIP-14) to measure OHR-QoL, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for psychiatric morbidity, and a visual analogue scale for self-rated general health. Age- and sex-matched controls (n = 388) were provided from a normative data set collected in a UK national survey in 1998. Participants had significantly lower OHR-QoL scores than the general population on all domains and overall OHR-QoL scores. Of the variance in anxiety, 55% was predicted by general health ratings and OHR-QoL domains of ,psychological discomfort' and ,psychological disability'. Of the variance in depression, 54% was predicted by general health ratings and OHR-QoL domains of ,functional limitation' and ,social disability'. Patient centred, routine assessment of OHR-QoL provides an additional dimension that may help to improve awareness of the impact of disease on the individual's life and enhance the clinical decision-making process. [source]


    Clinical decision-making in the context of chronic illness

    HEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 1 2000
    Susan Watt DSW CSW
    This paper develops a framework to compare clinical decision making in relation to chronic and acute medical conditions. Much of the literature on patient-physician decision making has focused on acute and often life-threatening medical situations in which the patient is highly dependent upon the expertise of the physician in providing the therapeutic options. Decision making is often constrained and driven by the overwhelming impact of the acute medical problem on all aspects of the individual's life. With chronic conditions, patients are increasingly knowledgeable, not only about their medical conditions, but also about traditional, complementary, and alternative therapeutic options. They must make multiple and repetitive decisions, with variable outcomes, about how they will live with their chronic condition. Consequently, they often know more than attending treatment personnel about their own situations, including symptoms, responses to previous treatment, and lifestyle preferences. This paper compares the nature of the illness, the characteristics of the decisions themselves, the role of the patient, the decision-making relationship, and the decision-making environment in acute and chronic illnesses. The author argues for a different understanding of the decision-making relationships and processes characteristic in chronic conditions that take into account the role of trade-offs between medical regimens and lifestyle choices in shaping both the process and outcomes of clinical decision-making. The paper addresses the concerns of a range of professional providers and consumers. [source]


    Living with stroke: a phenomenological study

    JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 2 2000
    Christopher R. Burton PGCertHE BN RGN
    Living with stroke: a phenomenological study Understanding how stroke sufferers experience their stroke and recovery is essential if the development of rehabilitation services is to be effective and appropriate. Previous research in this area has tended to be either cross-sectional or with a limited amount of informant follow-up, and consequently has limited utility. This paper describes a study underpinned by a phenomenological approach, which tracked the experiences of six patients admitted to a rehabilitation unit in the north-west of England. Informants were followed for at least 12 months after stroke, and a total of 73 interviews were undertaken during the study. The data demonstrate that recovery from stroke involved restructuring and adaptation in physical, social and emotional aspects of an individual's life. Two important features of recovery were highlighted. First, whilst aspects of pre-stroke life may be used to describe individual progress, no end-point to recovery was identified as informants described and anticipated life with stroke. Second, informants focused on the social context of recovery where engagement in the social world was emphasized over discrete physical function. Although no common path of recovery was found, it is recommended that stroke services are structured to take account of the long-term needs of stroke patients and their families in their home environment. [source]


    Effectiveness of the PLISSIT model for solving the sexual problems of patients with stoma

    JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 1 2009
    Sultan Ayaz
    Aims and objectives., This study was carried out to assess the effectiveness of the PLISSIT model in solving sexual problems of individuals with stoma. Background., Creating a stoma due to intestinal cancer may prolong the life expectancy of individuals. However, the problems resulting from stoma may cause significant changes in an individual's life and adversely affect relations with family members and social and sexual life. Design., Experimental. Methods., The study consisted of individuals with stoma, living in Ankara. The sample consisted of 60 patients. The case group consisted of 30 patients living in Ankara; and the control group consisted of 30 patients living outside Ankara. In data collection, a questionnaire form, the PLISSIT model intervention plan and Golombok,Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS) were used. The individuals in the case group were paid eight home visits. During these visits, sexual problems of individuals with stoma were assessed and solutions sought under the guidance of the PLISSIT model intervention plan. Results., Increase of mean scores of Golombok,Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction and subgroups before evaluating the sexual problems by the PLISSIT model and the sixth week scores which the sexual activity is anticipated to start have been observed, but after evaluating the sexual problems by using the model, the mean scores decreased. It was determined that negative effects of concerns related to sexual life; some physical and emotional features and physiological problems have been observed and difference between the groups is significant (p < 0·05). Conclusions., As a result, it can be claimed that decreasing sexual problems can be accomplished by using the PLISSIT model. Relevance to clinical practice., People with stoma can meet sexual problems. However, nurses experience some difficulties while handling sexual problems. It is thought that an intervention plan prepared within the framework of the PLISSIT model will guide nurses in solving sexual problems of individuals with stoma and providing integrated care and help individuals to express their sexual problems. [source]


    Colour variation and alternative reproductive strategies in females of the common lizard Lacerta vivipara

    JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2007
    E. VERCKEN
    Abstract Within-sex colour variation is a widespread phenomenon in animals that often plays a role in social selection. In males, colour variation is typically associated with the existence of alternative reproductive strategies. Despite ecological conditions theoretically favourable to the emergence of such alternative strategies in females, the social significance of colour variation in females has less commonly been addressed, relative to the attention given to male strategies. In a population of the common lizard, females display three classes of ventral colouration: pale yellow, orange and mixed. These ventral colours are stable through individual's life and maternally heritable. Females of different ventral colourations displayed different responses of clutch size, clutch hatching success and clutch sex-ratio to several individual and environmental parameters. Such reaction patterns might reflect alternative reproductive strategies in females. Spatial heterogeneity and presence of density- and frequency-dependent feedbacks in the environment could allow for the emergence of such alternative strategies in this population and the maintenance of colour variation in females. [source]


    Basic auditory dysfunction in dyslexia as demonstrated by brain activity measurements

    PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 2 2000
    Teija Kujala
    Although the generality of dyslexia and its devastating effects on the individual's life are widely acknowledged, its precursors and associated neural mechanisms are poorly understood. One of the two major competing views maintains that dyslexia is based primarily on a deficit in linguistic processing, whereas the other view suggests a more general processing deficit, one involving the perception of temporal information. Here we present evidence in favor of the latter view by showing that the neural discrimination of temporal information within complex tone patterns fails in dyslexic adults. This failure can be traced to early cortical mechanisms that process auditory information independently of attention. [source]


    Mammalian prenatal development: the influence of maternally derived molecules

    BIOESSAYS, Issue 9 2009
    Cécile Fligny
    Abstract Normal fetal development is dependent upon an intricate exchange between mother and embryo. Several maternal and embryonic elements can influence this intimate interaction, including genetic, environmental or epigenetic factors, and have a significant impact on embryo development. The interaction of the genetic program of both mother and embryo, within the uterine environment, can shape the development of an individual. Accumulating data from animal models indicate that prenatal events may well initiate long-term changes in the expression of the embryo genetic program, which persist, or may only become apparent, much later in the individual's life. Also, environmental conditions during prenatal development may prompt the adoption of different developmental pathways, leading to alternative life histories. This review focuses on environmental factors, specifically maternally derived molecules, to illustrate how they can influence in utero embryonic development and, by extension, adult life. [source]


    AGE-SPECIFIC GENETIC AND MATERNAL EFFECTS IN FECUNDITY OF PREINDUSTRIAL FINNISH WOMEN

    EVOLUTION, Issue 9 2008
    Jenni E. Pettay
    A population's potential for evolutionary change depends on the amount of genetic variability expressed in traits under selection. Studies attempting to measure this variability typically do so over the life span of individuals, but theory suggests that the amount of additive genetic variance can change during the course of individuals' lives. Here we use pedigree data from historical Finns and a quantitative genetic framework to investigate how female fecundity, throughout an individual's reproductive life, is influenced by "maternal" versus additive genetic effects. We show that although maternal effects explain variation in female fecundity early in life, these effects wane with female age. Moreover, this decline in maternal effects is associated with a concomitant increase in additive genetic variance with age. Our results thus highlight that single over-lifetime estimates of trait heritability may give a misleading view of a trait's potential to respond to changing selection pressures. [source]


    Fairly Bland: an alternative view of a supposed new ,Death Ethic' and the BMA guidelines

    LEGAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2001
    David Price
    Recently in this journal John Keown attacked the BMA Guidance published on ,Withholding and Withdrawing Life-prolonging Medical Treatment', arguing that it was, fundamentally at odds with the sanctity of life doctrine as properly understood, condemning the intentional termination of individuals' lives. In riposte it is asserted that even this modified version of the doctrine cannot support a defensible moral or legal standard for decision-making here, being founded upon an excessive emphasis on the mental state of the clinician and an inappropriately narrow focus on the effects of the proposed treatment on the ,health' of the patient, as opposed to being primarily driven by the (best) interests of the patient. The attempt to divorce treatment decisions from broader evaluations of the net benefit or other otherwise able to be attained by the patient from such treatment, including the taking into account of the individual's handicapped state, accordingly fails. Acceptance of such reality is, at the least, the first step toward a common language for further dialogue even between those with polar opposite opinions in this sphere. [source]