Amount Of Help Research Articles

Social support, disability and independent living of elderly persons in the United States

This article examines the effects of the availability of kin and disability on the ability of elderly persons to live alone in the United States. The first part of the article uses a sample of women aged 65 and over from the 1980 census to study the factors associated with both living in group housing and living alone. Disability and absence of a spouse or children are strongly associated with living in group housing, whereas lack of disability and lack of children are associated with living alone. In the second part, data from the Supplement on Aging to the 1984 National Health Interview Survey are used to investigate the source and amount of help received among those with difficulties in performing Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) or Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs). Those living alone or with nonrelatives are most likely to rely on paid help and this is more likely if they have few living children.

Caregiving Daughters and Their Local Siblings: Perceptions, Strains, and Interactions

Daughters who are principal caregivers to disabled elderly mothers are compared with their geographically proximate sisters and brothers as to the amount of help each group provides, the effects of care they experience, and the problems and benefits of the siblings' interactions about the caregiving situations. Caregivers reported the most and brothers the least service provision and strain; sisters fell in between, and also equaled caregivers in strain from intersibling problems. Negative intersibling interactions are associated with less emotional closeness in the families and the mothers' greater care needs.

From information- to knowledge-management: the role of rule induction and neural net machine learning techniques in knowledge generation

Developments in artificial intelligence mean that it is now increasingly possible to store not only information but also knowledge as an exploitable resource. Insofar as he or she is concerned with creating, organizing and monitoring knowledge resources to support effective decision making within an organization, the information manager is developing the role of knowledge manager. As well as its organization and dissemina tion, the generation of storable knowledge is very much on the agenda of the knowledge manager. The extent to which com puters can help in the process of knowledge generation is central to his or her concerns. Machine learning techniques have been developed which are capable of giving us an increasing amount of help in this process. The contributions of rule induction and artificial neural net systems are discussed. It is likely that such tech niques will prove to be useful tools both for the information/knowledge manager requiring practical working systems enabling the cost-effective exploitation of knowledge resources, and for the information/knowledge scientist requir ing advances in our more fundamental theoretical knowledge of the nature of information and ways of processing it.

Patients' intentions in primary care: Measurement and preliminary investigation

Abstract A questionnaire to assess patients' intentions in primary care was completed by 206 patients. Patients also rated the amount of help with their presenting problem which they thought could be provided by each of 11 secondary services. A principal components analysis of the intentions revealed 4 components: “Explanation and understanding,” “Support,” “Medical treatment” and “Information-seeking.” Individual patients' intentions were quantified on each of these dimensions. Requests for “Explanation and understanding” did not correlate with expectation of help from any of the 11 sources. In contrast, each of the remaining 3 types of request correlated with expectation of help from a number of sources. These results show, first, a way of measuring patients' intentions on multiple independent dimensions. Secondly, they indicate that patients look solely to the general practitioner for general information and reassurance about their problems. For emotional support they look to additional, mainly psychia...

There's More to Direct Manipulation than meets the Eye

The term “direct manipulation” (or DM) often evokes images of interfaces which are intuitive, obvious, and easy to learn. We conducted an experiment to determine whether subjects could learn to use a DM interface without instruction, i.e., whether they could learn the interface syntax on their own merely by inspection and exploration of the interface. The research vehicle was a prototype DM applicationdesigned to allow end users to customize a telecommunications application. Three variations of the interface were created by manipulating elements of the DM syntax, specifically, moded operations and rules about selectingobjects before acting on them. Subjects carried out a set of five tasks in the presence of an experimenter, who was allowed to provide structured help when the subject could not make further progress. Results indicated that the syntax manipulations affected both the number and type of user errors and the amount of help needed to complete the tasks: the use of modes and selection rules significantly interfered with learning, and only four subjects out of thirty were able to perform the complete set of tasks without experimenter assistance. We also found, however, that more than half of the errors made by subjects were not directly related to syntax manipulations. These errors appear to stem more from conceptual problems, i.e., mismatches between the user's developing model of the interface and the model instantiated by the interface designer in the rules of interaction. These conceptual problems were observed across syntax manipulations and represent a significant portion of user's difficulties in learning the interface. Thus, our results shed light on the relationship between interface syntax, learning and usability in the DM paradigm, but they also point out the need for a cognitive account of the processes by which users acquire knowledge of interface characteristics and how that knowledge is related to interface design elements.

Identifying Features, Performance, and Limitations of Dairy Ration Formulation Software: A Comparison of Three Ration Formulation Programs

A method for evaluating and selecting dairy ration formulation software for microcomputers is presented. Information obtained from a survey of practicing nutritionists and from interviews with computer programmers was used to identify users’ needs, desired features, and patterns of use. A benchmark problem consisting of 15 activities frequently required in designing dairy rations was developed to evaluate ease of use, ease of learning, and software performance. Ease of use was measured by counting keystrokes and recording time required by a user familiar with these ration formulation programs to complete the benchmark problem. Ease of learning was measured as the amount of help and time needed by users unfamiliar with this software to complete the benchmark problem. Software performance was measured by speed of formulation, ration costs, ingredients and amounts selected, and nutrient content of rations. Evaluation of three commercially available software applications was made using the method developed.

Performance testing in rehabilitation: influence of context and cognitive function on mobility

The accuracy of routine information on the response of a patient to rehabilitation was questioned. At the multidisciplinary ward round there may be on the one hand an inhibitory effect on the patient's performance due to the presence of a large team, but on the other reluctance of nurses and therapists to concede that all their efforts may only have maintained status quo. We present a randomised, controlled, crossover study of the effect of the ward round on a test of the ability to stand, walk a fixed distance, turn and sit down. Surprisingly, performance was not inhibited by the round: the 20 patients studied performed the test with equal skill, but greater speed, on the round than in a more private context. Cognitive function had a greater influence on the amount of help needed in standing and sitting safely, than on ability to walk and turn independently.

Canine Mast Cell Tumors

Despite the fact that the mast cell tumor is a common neoplasm of the dog, we still have only a meager understanding of its etiology and biologic behavior. Many of the published recommendations for treatment are based on opinion rather than facts derived from careful studies and should be viewed with some skepticism. Because of the infrequent occurrence of this tumor in man, only a limited amount of help can be expected from human oncologists; therefore, burden of responsibility for progress in predicting behavior and developing treatment effective for canine mast cell tumors must fall on the shoulders of the veterinary profession.

Help seeking in elementary classrooms: An observational study

This study was undertaken to explore how elementary school children employ help seeking as a means of problem solving in the classroom. In-depth naturalistic observations were made of high-, average-, and low-ability students in reading and math classes at the first-, third-, and fifth-grade levels. Overall, children's rates of help seeking were higher in math than in reading. Boys and girls did not differ overall in the amount of help sought. Boys and girls did differ, however, in the type of help they requested. Children of different ability levels were found to vary not only in rate of help seeking and type of help requested, but also in the type of responses elicited from their helper choices. Implications of these findings for children's achievement, learning, and social adjustment in the classroom are discussed.

Women's lives viewed from an evolutionary perspective. II. patterns of helping

Three hundred randomly selected, white, middle-class Los Angeles women were interviewed to determine variations in patterns of helping among kin versus nonkin. Specific predictions arising out of the evolutionary theories of kin selection and reciprocal altruism were supported: helping among friends was more likely to be reciprocal than helping among kin, closer kin were more likely sources of help than were more distant kin; among kin, helping was an increasing function of the recipient's expected reproductive potential; and the larger the amount of help given, the more likely it was to come from kin. The data suggest that the effects of variables such as kinship, age, wealth, sex, and expected reproductive potential are small but persistent, and hence potentially of great functional significance when present generation after generation. Subjects reported seeking help from individuals who had been sources of help in the past more often than from individuals who owed them help. Hints of deception or self-deception are present: Subjects reported giving more than they received and paying back more often than they were paid back.

Marital Disruption and Adult Children's Perception of Their Siblings' Help to Elderly Parents

Marital disruption (divorce, widowhood, or remarriage) may limit adult children's help to elderly parents. If a child is unable to help, then other members of the family support system (siblings) will compensate by giving additional help. In a field study, 120 adult children from maritally disrupted situations and 145 adult children in intact marriages were asked about their own and siblings' help to parents. Adult children in maritally disrupted situations gave about the same amount of help as siblings, while those with intact marriages gave more help than siblings. The rise in the frequency of marital disruption makes well planned sibling shared helping more important.

Self-Assessments of Health by the Elderly: The Impact of Informal Assistance

This paper uses path analysis to explore the impact of informal networks on the relationship between health status indicators and self-assessments of health by the elderly. Data were obtained through personal interviews with a probability sample of 753 noninstitutionalized older persons and with their informal helpers. Consistent with previous research, the data suggest that both sex and age are significant in explaining different ratings by elderly exhibiting similar health status. Amount of help from the informal network has a negative indirect impact on self-assessments through its effect on psychological morale. Exchange and person-environment interaction perspectives were used to interpret the effect of this assistance on self-ratings of health.

Responsibility attribution and helping behaviour in the Ash Wednesday bushfires

The theoretical and empirical literature on the attribution of responsibility and helping behaviour suggests that a causal relationship exists between the perception of a victim's responsibility for his or her distress and the observer's willingness to help. This relationship was examined in a study of the attributions Victorians made and the amount of help (donations) given to the victims of the Ash Wednesday bushfires. The survey responses of 372 subjects indicated that although many people attributed a considerable degree of responsibility to the victims, attributions were unrelated to subsequent helping behaviour. Instead, helping was mediated by feelings of personal obligation to lend assistance and feelings of sympathy for the victims. It is argued that attribution theory may not be relevant to serious situations where norms for helping are highly salient.

Filial expectations, association, and helping as a function of number of children among older rural-transitional parents.

Older adults with an only child (n = 57) were compared with parents with two or three children (n = 139) and parents with four or more children (n = 83) with regard to filial expectations and frequency of parent-child association and assistance. The results showed no differences between groups with regard to filial expectations. Parents of only children, however, were less likely to receive assistance and to have seen a child in the last day or two. Only a minimal amount of variance could be explained in parent-child association and helping except for parents of only children. Factors influencing association and helping patterns were observed to vary according to number of children. Whereas income, geographical proximity, and health of older parents were central to the assistance received by parents of only children, sex-linked factors, health of parents, and geographical proximity were found to contribute to the amount of help received by parents with more than one child. The research suggests the importance of controlling for number of children in future studies of intergenerational relationships and raises important questions regarding the adequacy of limited family networks as certain subgroups of the current "young-old" cohort move further into the dependencies of old age.

The perception of nonemergency helping situations: Costs, rewards, and the altruistic personality

AbstractIndividual differences in the perception of nonemergency helping situations were examined using descriptions of five situations in which a person asked for assistance. Four versions of each situation were created so as to differ in the costs (low vs. high) and rewards (low vs. high) associated with helping. One hundred and thirty‐two undergraduates indicated the amount of help they would be willing to provide in each situation and rated the perceived rewards and costs of providing help. Subjects also completed the Marlowe‐Crowne Social Desirability Scale and a measure of altruism taken from the Omnibus Personality Inventory. Controlling for individual differences in approval motivation, willingness to help in the five nonemergency situations was negatively related to the costs for helping and was positively related to the rewards for helping and to personality differences in altruism. In addition, highly altruistic persons viewed the identical situations as more rewarding and less costly than persons low in altruism. Individual differences in willingness to help may reflect variations in situation perception. In this case, the altruistic person would be an individual who consistently evaluates helping situations more favorably in terms of the potential rewards and costs of providing help.

Disablement and helping.

This study investigated the effect of apparent disablement and sex differences on helping behaviour. Women received more help than men but the presence of a wheelchair did not decrease the amount of help offered. It is suggested that the presence of a wheelchair may cause less embarrassment to the help-giver than other more disfiguring handicaps.

Programmed study aids for solving problems in advanced undergraduate organic chemistry

The study aids presented here offer several advantages: a student gets just the amount of help that he or she needs; students learn how to do problems by solving part of a problem and are able to monitor how well they understand an idea.

Reciprocity and Affection

Why do families provide care to their older relatives? Familial obligation emerges as a major motivator but does not sufficiently explain the variation in caregiving commitment which has been documented in previous research. This paper explores the influence of affection and reciprocity on the caregiving behavior and experiences of 203 individuals identified as the primary caregiver to an older frail relative. Findings indicate that while close affective relations were the norm, caregiving could and did take place in their absence. Past relationships were also characterized by a flow of services from the older relative to the current caregiver. Reciprocity was found to be significantly related to the amount of help given by the caregiver but not to the impact of caregiving, while affection is positively correlated to the level of commitment and negatively correlated to the level of perceived stress. Implications for professionals who work with family caregivers are discussed.

Characteristics of Middle-Aged Daughters and Help to Their Elderly Mothers

This paper examines the relationships between selected characteristics of a sample of middle-aged daughters (N = 161) and the nature and amount of help that they provided to their elderly mothers. Univariate analysis of variance and regression analyses indicated that the daughters' characteristic-their ages, marital status, work/nonwork status, and living arrangements (whether daughters and mothers share households or live separately)--were related significantly to the amount of help they provided. Shared households and older ages of the daughter were associated with more care giving, while both being married and being employed 'pulled slightly from the amount of help given. The findings illuminate the situations of in the middle-that is, middle-aged women involved in parent care-and suggest social-policy directions and further research needs.

Effects of Future Dependence, Liking, and Repeated Requests for Help on Helping Behavior

The joint effect on helping behavior of liking and dependence on anotherforfuture rewards was examined. It was hypothesized that future dependence produces more helping behavior between people who like one another than between people who dislike one another. This hypothesis was derived from the Pruitt and Kimmel (1977) goallexpectation theory, a theory developed to interpret certain findings about cooperation in the prisonet's dilemma game. The hypothesis was supported. For people who liked one another, future dependence led to more time spent helping and a greater amount of help than no future dependence. For people who disliked one another, helping was low regardless of the extent of future dependence. In addition, the amount of help given the other increased across trials only for those subjects who were dependent on the other for later help. The Pruitt and Kimmel theory explains the low level of helping in the conditions where the other was disliked as due to a lack of trust that the other would reciprocate.