| 1. |
- Blom Johansson, Monica, 1965-
(författare)
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Aphasia and Communication in Everyday Life : Experiences of persons with aphasia, significant others, and speech-language pathologists
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aims of this thesis were to describe the experiences of persons with aphasia and their significant others of their conversations and use of communication strategies, examine current practice of family-oriented speech-language pathology (SLP) services, and test a family-oriented intervention in the early phase of rehabilitation.The persons with aphasia valued having conversations despite perceiving their aphasia as a serious social disability. They acknowledged the importance of the communication partners’ knowledge and understanding of aphasia and their use of supporting conversation strategies. Their own use of communication strategies varied considerably. The persons with aphasia longed to regain language ability and to be active participants in society.A majority of the significant others perceived their conversations with the person with aphasia as being less stimulating and enjoyable than conversations before stroke onset. Aphasia was considered a serious problem. The significant others took on increased communicative responsibility, where two thirds had changed their communicative behaviour to facilitate conversations. Type and severity of aphasia were especially related to the communicative experiences of the significant others and their motivation to be involved in SLP services.Thirty percent of the speech-language pathologists worked with people with aphasia and typically met with their families. They considered the involvement of significant others in SLP services as very important, especially in providing information about aphasia and communication partner training (CPT). However, involvement of significant others was restricted because of a time shortage and perceived limited skills and knowledge. In addition, there were national differences regarding aphasia rehabilitation services.The intervention consisted of three sessions directed to significant others (primarily emotional support and information) and three directed to the dyads (a person with aphasia and a significant other) (primarily CPT). All six participants (three dyads) felt that their knowledge and understanding of aphasia had increased and that their conversations had improved. These improvements were also evident to some extent with formal assessments.These results suggest the following: CPT should be an integral part of SLP services, national clinical guidelines are needed, and further education of speech-language pathologists and implementation of new knowledge into clinical practice requires consideration.
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| 2. |
- Hägglund, Patricia, 1989-
(författare)
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Swallowing dysfunction among older people in short-term care : prevalence, effect of intervention, and risk of mortality
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Objectives: Swallowing dysfunction (dysphagia) is a common, but often neglected condition among geriatric patients that can cause severe complications such as malnutrition, aspiration pneumonia and death. The aims of this thesis were to (i) describe the study design and method of the multidisciplinary and multicenter project SOFIA (Swallowing function, Oral health, and Food Intake in old Age), (ii) study the prevalence of and the relationship between swallowing dysfunction and risk of undernutrition among older individuals in short-term care, (iii) study the effect of oral neuromuscular training on swallowing dysfunction among older individuals, and (iv) to investigate the association between poor oral health, swallowing dysfunction and mortality.Methods: This thesis includes four original papers that are all part of the SOFIA project. Paper Iis the study protocol. In total, 391 individuals aged 65 or older, from 36 short-term care units were included in the project. At baseline the participants’ status regarding swallowing function (assessed with the Timed Water Swallow Test, TWST), oral health (using the Revised Oral Assessment Guide, ROAG) and nutrition (assessed with the Minimal Eating Observation and Nutrition Form-version II, MEONF-II) were assessed and collected by calibrated professionals. Clinical data were also collected. Paper IIwas a cross-sectional study where the baseline assessments of the participants’ swallowing function and nutritional status were obtained and the relationship analyzed. Paper IIIwas a cluster randomized, controlled trial (cRCT) that included 116 participants identified with swallowing dysfunction in paper II. These participants were randomly assigned to either usual care (control group) or oral neuromuscular training (intervention group). All participants were assessed at baseline, after five weeks’ training and six months after end-of-treatment, regarding swallowing function and swallowing-related quality of life (QOL). Paper IVwas a prospective cohort study where all participants were followed-up 1-year after inclusion to investigate risk factors for mortality by analysis of the associations between swallowing dysfunction, poor oral health, and 1-year survival. Results: Paper II:The median age of the 391 participants was 84 years (Interquartile range [IQR] 11) and 209 (53%) were females. In total, 248 of the 385 (64%) participants showed swallowing dysfunction, and risk of undernutrition was observed in 91 of 390 (23%) participants. The adjusted logistics regression model revealed that participants with swallowing dysfunction had significantly higher odds of undernutrition than those with normal swallowing (Odds ratio [OR]: 1.74, 95% Confidence interval [CI] 1.04 to 2.92, P=0.034).Paper III: At end-of-treatment, a linear mixed model showed significant between-group differences of changes in swallowing efficacy between baseline and after completed treatment period (Ratio 1.60, 95% CI 1.15 to 2.29, P=0.007); indicating a 60% higher swallowing efficacy in the intervention group compared with the control group. Paper IV: A mixed effects Cox model showed that swallowing dysfunction and poor oral health were both independently associated with 1-year mortality (adjusted Hazard Ratio [aHR]: 1.67, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.75,P=0.041 and aHR: 1.98, 95% CI 1.07 to 3.65, P=0.029, respectively). In addition, swallowing dysfunction and poor oral health in combination predicted the highest mortality rate (35%, P<0.001).Conclusion: Swallowing dysfunction is highly prevalent and a risk factor for undernutrition among older people in short-term care. Oral neuromuscular training improves swallowing dysfunction and is thus a promising method of swallowing rehabilitation for older people with impaired swallowing. Swallowing dysfunction and poor oral health are independent risk factors for 1-year morality among older people in short-term care. Therefore, systematic screening and intervention to improve swallowing dysfunction and poor oral health are important to achieve healthy aging and to prevent undernutrition and early death.
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| 3. |
- Beldiceanu, Nicolas, et al.
(författare)
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Assistant: Learning and robust decision support system for agile manufacturing environments
- 2021
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Ingår i: IFAC-PapersOnLine. - : Elsevier. ; , s. 641-646
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The European project ASSISTANT will provide a set of AI-based digital twins that helps process engineers and production planners to operate collaborative mixed-model assembly lines based on the data collected from IoT devices and external data sources. Such a tool will help planners to design the assembly line, plan the production, operate the line, and improve process tuning. In addition, the system monitors the line in real-time, ensures that all required resources are available, and allows fast re-planning when necessary. ASSISTANT aims to make cost-effective decisions while ensuring product quality, safety and wellbeing of the workers, and managing the various sources of uncertainties. The resulting digital twin systems will be data-driven, agile, autonomous, collaborative and explainable, safe but reactive.
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| 4. |
- Blom Johansson, Monica, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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A multiple-case study of a family-oriented intervention practice in the early rehabilitation phase of persons with aphasia
- 2013
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Ingår i: Aphasiology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0268-7038 .- 1464-5041. ; 27:2, s. 201-226
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background:Having a family member with aphasia severely affects the everyday life of the significant others, resulting in their need for support and information. Family-oriented intervention programmes typically consist of support, information, and skill training, such as communication partner training (CPT). However, because of time constraints and perceived lack of skills and routines, such programmes, especially CPT, are not common practice among speech-language pathologists (SLPs).Aims:To design and evaluate an early family-oriented intervention of persons with stroke-induced moderate to severe aphasia and their significant others in dyads. The intervention was designed to be flexible to meet the needs of each participant, to emotionally support the significant others and supply them with information needed, to include CPT that is easy to learn and conduct for SLPs, and to be able to provide CPT when the persons with aphasia still have access to SLP services.Methods & Procedures:An evaluative multiple-case study, involving three dyads, was conducted no more than 2 months after the onset of aphasia. The intervention consisted of six sessions: three sessions directed to the significant other (primarily support and information) and three to the dyad (primarily CPT). The intervention was evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively based on video recordings of conversations and self-assessment questionnaires.Outcomes & Results:The importance of emotional support as well as information about stroke/aphasia was clearly acknowledged, especially by the significant others. All significant others perceived increased knowledge and understanding of aphasia and related issues.Communicative skills (as manifested in the video recordings) showed improvements from pre- to post-intervention.Conclusions:The results corroborate the need for individualised and flexible family-oriented SLP services that are broad in content. Furthermore, the results support the early initiation of such services with recurrent contact. The usefulness of CPT this early in the rehabilitation process was indicated but is yet to be proved.
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| 5. |
- Blom Johansson, Monica, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Communication changes and SLP-services according to significant others of persons with aphasia
- 2012
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Ingår i: Aphasiology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0268-7038 .- 1464-5041. ; 26:8, s. 1005-1028
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Significant others are important to persons with aphasia. For several reasons they should be involved in speech-language pathology (SLP) services, including acquiring facilitating communicative strategies and receiving support. In order to further adapt SLP services there is a need to know the perceptions and views of the significant others. Little is known about how they perceive changes in communication as well as received SLP services and in what way they want to be involved in these services.Aims: The study aimed to investigate which communicative changes significant others of persons with aphasia had experienced after a stroke event and to what extent these changes were experienced. A further aim was to describe the significant others’ experiences of SLP services and their motivation to participate in these services. Finally, the significant others’ experiences were compared in terms of sex, age, type of relationship, time since stroke onset, and type and severity of aphasia.Methods & Procedures: An 80-item study-specific questionnaire was answered by 173 significant others of persons with aphasia living throughout Sweden (response rate 69%). Of these, 33% were male and 67% female. Mean age was 64.2 years (range 33–87 years) and 85.5% of the participants were a cohabiting partner to a person with aphasia.Outcomes & Results: A total of 64% of participants perceived their conversations as being less stimulating and enjoyable compared with conversations before stroke onset. Aphasia was considered a substantial or very substantial problem by 64%. The participants took on an increased communicative responsibility, and 70% had changed their communicative behaviour in order to facilitate conversations. A total of 75% (n = 130) had met with the SLP of the person with aphasia. Of those, 63% perceived their own support from SLP services to be adequate; 87% considered language ability training as the most important SLP service. Type and severity of aphasia were especially related to the communicative experiences of the participants and their motivation to be involved in SLP services.Conclusions: The substantial decrease from pre- to post-stroke regarding enjoyment and meaningfulness of conversations suggests the need to further improve SLP services in order to help the people in question communicate at an optimal level. We suggest that clinicians should put more emphasis on explaining the benefits and availability of different kinds of aphasia rehabilitation services, such as functional communication training and communication partner training in addition to language ability training.
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| 6. |
- Blom Johansson, Monica, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Self-reported changes in everyday life and health of significant others of people with aphasia : a quantitative approach
- 2022
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Ingår i: Aphasiology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0268-7038 .- 1464-5041. ; 36:1, s. 76-94
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Changes in the everyday life and health of the significant others (SOs) of people living with stroke sequalae have been widely investigated. However, information regarding the frequency of the changes in daily life and the variables most associated with these perceived life changes is limited. Aims: To examine the extent to which SOs of persons with aphasia (PWAs) experience changes in everyday life and health after the stroke event and how they evaluate these changes and to identify which variables are associated with these perceived life changes. Methods & Procedures: A study-specific questionnaire about perceived changes in everyday life and health was completed by 173 SOs of PWAs living in Sweden (response rate 67.8%). The items concerned the SO’s working and financial situation, leisure time and social life, relationship with the PWA, household work and responsibility, and health and quality of life. Outcomes & Results: The everyday life and health of the SOs were greatly affected by the stroke event. The changes the SOs experienced were mainly appraised negatively. The relationships with the PWA and immediate family were least affected by the stroke. The perceived existence and severity of physical, cognitive, and language impairments of the PWA were the variables most strongly associated with the everyday life situation of the participants. The sex and age of the participants and the nature of the relationship with the PWA were only marginally associated with the experience of the situation. Conclusions: SOs’ perceptions of the PWA’s stroke-related disabilities and need for assistance may be a key factor in identifying SOs who may require support and guidance to help them cope with their new life situation.
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| 7. |
- Bodnaruk, Andriy, et al.
(författare)
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Does Investor Recognition Predict Excess Returns?
- 2024
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Ingår i: SSRN Electronic Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1556-5068.
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We test Merton's (1987) hypothesis using individual level stockholdings of Swedish investors. Controlling for size and other factors, we find that lower levels of investor recognition lead to greater future excess returns. Positive (negative) changes in investor recognition are followed by lower (higher) excess returns. The effect of investor recognition is more pronounced for young firms. We demonstrate that investor recognition is conditionally priced.
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| 8. |
- Bodnaruk, Andriy, et al.
(författare)
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Investor Recognition and the Long-Run Performance of Repurchases
- 2004
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Theory suggests that firms with lower investor recognition should provide investors with higher returns. Using U.S. data we document a strong negative relationship between changes in investor recognition and asset returns. We demonstrate that investor recognition is a priced factor in asset returns different from the traditional ones. Undertaking a repurchase significantly reduces the firm's investor recognition. Accounting for changes in investor recognition reduces the abnornlal performance of firms undertaking a repurchase by 1.4% over one year.
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| 9. |
- Byrne, James, et al.
(författare)
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A review of cloud computing simulation platforms and related environments
- 2017
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Cloud Computing and Services Science. - : SciTePress. - 9789897582431 ; , s. 679-691
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent years have seen an increasing trend towards the development of Discrete Event Simulation (DES) platforms to support cloud computing related decision making and research. The complexity of cloud environments is increasing with scale and heterogeneity posing a challenge for the efficient management of cloud applications and data centre resources. The increasing ubiquity of social media, mobile and cloud computing combined with the Internet of Things and emerging paradigms such as Edge and Fog Computing is exacerbating this complexity. Given the scale, complexity and commercial sensitivity of hyperscale computing environments, the opportunity for experimentation is limited and requires substantial investment of resources both in terms of time and effort. DES provides a low risk technique for providing decision support for complex hyperscale computing scenarios. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the development and extension of tools to support DES for cloud computing resulting in a wide range of tools which vary in terms of their utility and features. Through a review and analysis of available literature, this paper provides an overview and multi-level feature analysis of 33 DES tools for cloud computing environments. This review updates and extends existing reviews to include not only autonomous simulation platforms, but also on plugins and extensions for specific cloud computing use cases. This review identifies the emergence of CloudSim as a de facto base platform for simulation research and shows a lack of tool support for distributed execution (parallel execution on distributed memory systems).
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| 10. |
- Castañé, G., et al.
(författare)
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The ASSISTANT project: AI for high level decisions in manufacturing
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Journal of Production Research. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0020-7543 .- 1366-588X. ; 61:7, s. 2288-2306
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper outlines the main idea and approach of the H2020 ASSISTANT (LeArning and robuSt deciSIon SupporT systems for agile mANufacTuring environments) project. ASSISTANT is aimed at the investigation of AI-based tools for adaptive manufacturing environments, and focuses on the development of a set of digital twins for integration with, management of, and decision support for production planning and control. The ASSISTANT tools are based on the approach of extending generative design, an established methodology for product design, to a broader set of manufacturing decision making processes; and to make use of machine learning, optimisation, and simulation techniques to produce executable models capable of ethical reasoning and data-driven decision making for manufacturing systems. Combining human control and accountable AI, the ASSISTANT toolsets span a wide range of manufacturing processes and time scales, including process planning, production planning, scheduling, and real-time control. They are designed to be adaptable and applicable in a both general and specific manufacturing environments.
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