Østfold University College

About: Østfold University College is a education organization based out in Halden, Norway. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Context (language use) & Health care. The organization has 438 authors who have published 1213 publications receiving 12510 citations. The organization is also known as: HiØ.

Patient participation in special care units for persons with dementia: A losing principle?

Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the experience of nursing personnel with respect to patient participation in special care units for persons with dementia in nursing homes, with focus on everyday life. The study has an explorative grounded theory design. Eleven nursing personnel were interviewed twice. Patient participation is regarded as being grounded in the idea that being master of one's own life is essential to the dignity and self-esteem of all people. Patient participation was described at different levels as letting the resident make their own decisions, adjusting the choices, making decisions on behalf of the residents and forcing the residents. The educational level and commitment of the nursing personnel and how often they were on duty impacted the level that each person applied, as did the ability of the residents to make decisions, and organizational conditions, such as care culture, leadership and number of personnel.

Being "on the alert" and "a forced volunteer": a qualitative study of the invisible care provided by the next of kin of patients with chronic heart failure.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Relatives' support is an important factor in how well people with chronic heart failure (CHF) manage their illness and everyday life. Deepening professionals' understanding of the content of relatives' invisible care activities, often characterized as care burden, is necessary to strengthen support services. OBJECTIVE To explore the next of kin's experiences of invisible care and the inherent responsibilities in caring for a relative with CHF. DESIGN SETTING AND METHODS Relatives were recruited from CHF outpatient clinics and home care services. Seventeen women and two men were interviewed, age range 45-83 years; 12 were partners, and seven were daughters. The qualitative interviews were taped and transcribed and thematic cross-case analyses were performed. RESULTS Two main themes were revealed. The first, "being on the alert", refers to a perceived need, real or assumed, to be aware day and night, whether present with the patient or not, that occupies the mind, emotions, and body. The second theme, "being a forced volunteer", refers to two different dimensions: relatives' own perceptions of responsibility with regard to the patient's needs; and voiced or silent expectations from the patient, family members, and health personnel that the relative will help the patient. Both findings appeared to have positive and negative impacts on the relationship with the patient. CONCLUSION The identified themes reflect how challenging being a next of kin of CHF patients can be. The results may deepen professionals' understanding of the relatives' invisible care burden and the importance of their subjective task-related feelings. More studies on invisible care and the attendant responsibilities are needed and also on relatives' inherent resources.

Security as Culture: A Systematic Literature Review of DevSecOps

Abstract: DevOps goes beyond automation, continuous integration and delivery processes, since it also encompasses people. In fact, DevOps promotes the collaboration between the development team and the operations team. When security comes into DevOps routines, people play an even more relevant role involving the collaboration between those teams and security team. Moreover, security is especially relevant while developing critical systems where we need to manage goals, risks and evidences. After implementing security into the DevOps toolchain, work only starts. We also need to start with behavioral changes in order to create a security culture. Several authors underlined DevSecOps, as one of the proposals for solving or, at least, minimizing this challenge. However, to date, the characterization of such a culture remains unclear. In this paper, a Systematic Literature Review was carried out to provide a better understanding of this topic from the human factor's perspective. However it raises the following question: Is DevSecOps going to become mainstream?

Simple and Inexpensive UV-Photometer Using LEDs as Both Light Source and Detector

Abstract: This article describes how to construct a simple, inexpensive, and flexible UV-photometer using one LED (355 nm) as the light source and another (355 nm) as the detector, one resistor, some wiring, a few Lego bricks, and a millivolt meter. The photometer is used to explore several aspects of molecular absorption spectrometry. As practical applications, the amounts of folic acid in folic acid tablets and cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon were found. The results were in accordance with those obtained using a commercial spectrophotometer.

Rethinking Regional Innovation

Abstract: Regional Innovation Systems (RIS) are understood as a loose alliance of private and public interests, governmental institutions, enterprises and other organizations. RIS are believed to be the cause for the increased competitiveness and productivity in the region. This article challenges the initial rationale and explores an alternative rationale on regional innovation, questioning if the relationship is the other way round: Does the workplace innovation and enterprise development assemble the regional innovation system? The findings introduce the heterogeneity of an enterprise development project at the same time embedded in the concreteness of the workplace innovations and extended beyond the organizational boundaries of the enterprise and the region. The discussions introduce a new and simultaneous rationality of innovation. The contributions to increase competitiveness and productivity become the source of an innovation system and not the result of the regional innovation system. The loose alliance in the innovation system becomes an effect, and not the source, of the efforts to increase competitiveness and productivity.