A dyadic approach to understanding the impact of breast cancer on relationships between partners during early survivorship

© 2016 The Author(s). Background: The shared impact of breast cancer for women and their male partners is emerging as an important consideration during the experience of a breast cancer diagnosis, particularly during survivorship. This study aimed to explore the experiences of women and their partners during early survivorship and contributes a range of insights into the lives of those intimately affected by breast cancer. Methods: In-depth interviews were completed with Australian women survivors of breast cancer (n = 8) and their partners (n = 8), between six months and five years following cessation of treatment. Questions included a focus on the women and their partners' daily experiences during early survivorship, including the management of ongoing symptoms, engagement in leisure and social interests, returning to work, communicating with each other, maintenance of the current relationship and other important roles and responsibilities. Thematic analysis was employed to determine key themes arising from the dyadic accounts of women and their partners' experiences during early breast cancer survivorship. Results: Women and their partners experienced many changes to their previous roles, responsibilities and relationships during early breast cancer survivorship. Couples also reported a range of communication, intimacy and sexuality concerns which greatly impacted their interactions with each other, adding further demands on the relationship. Three significant themes were determined: (1) a disconnection within the relationship - this was expressed as the woman survivor of breast cancer needing to prioritise her own needs, sometimes at the expense of her partner and the relationship; (2) reformulating the relationship - this reflects the strategies used by couples to negotiate changes within the relationship; and (3) support is needed to negotiate the future of the relationship - couples emphasised the need for additional support and resources to assist them in maintaining their relationship during early survivorship. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the early survivorship period represents a crucial time for both women and their partners and there are currently limited options available to meet their shared needs and preferences for support. Findings indicate that a suitable model of care underpinned by a biopsychosocial framework, access to comprehensive assessment, timely support and the provision of targeted resources are urgently needed to assist women and their partners during this critical time

Text reading in English as a second language: Evidence from the Multilingual Eye-Movements Corpus

Research into second language (L2) reading is an exponentially growing field. Yet, it still has a relatively short supply of comparable, ecologically valid data from readers representing a variety of first languages (L1). This article addresses this need by presenting a new data resource called MECO L2 (Multilingual Eye Movements Corpus), a rich behavioral eye-tracking record of text reading in English as an L2 among 543 university student speakers of 12 different L1s. MECO L2 includes a test battery of component skills of reading and allows for a comparison of the participants' reading performance in their L1 and L2. This data resource enables innovative large-scale cross-sample analyses of predictors of L2 reading fluency and comprehension. We first introduce the design and structure of the MECO L2 resource, along with reliability estimates and basic descriptive analyses. Then, we illustrate the utility of MECO L2 by quantifying contributions of four sources to variability in L2 reading proficiency proposed in prior literature: reading fluency and comprehension in L1, proficiency in L2 component skills of reading, extralinguistic factors, and the L1 of the readers. Major findings included (a) a fundamental contrast between the determinants of L2 reading fluency versus comprehension accuracy, and (b) high within-participant consistency in the real-time strategy of reading in L1 and L2. We conclude by reviewing the implications of these findings to theories of L2 acquisition and outline further directions in which the new data resource may support L2 reading research

Megatrends and Trends Shaping Supply Chain Innovation

Companies operate in a macro-environment that is changing considerably due to large, transformative global forces namely megatrends and trends. The wave of these megatrends and trends generates new prospects as well as challenges for the future of supply chains. This chapter provides a review of 23 major megatrends and 72 trends identified in multiple dimensions along Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental (PESTLE) dimensions. The results are based on a systematic literature review and an experts’ workshop, and can be used to generate future supply chain scenarios

Expanding horizons of cross-linguistic research on reading: The Multilingual Eye-movement Corpus (MECO)

Scientific studies of language behavior need to grapple with a large diversity of languages in the world and, for reading, a further variability in writing systems. Yet, the ability to form meaningful theories of reading is contingent on the availability of cross-linguistic behavioral data. This paper offers new insights into aspects of reading behavior that are shared and those that vary systematically across languages through an investigation of eye-tracking data from 13 languages recorded during text reading. We begin with reporting a bibliometric analysis of eye-tracking studies showing that the current empirical base is insufficient for cross-linguistic comparisons. We respond to this empirical lacuna by presenting the Multilingual Eye-Movement Corpus (MECO), the product of an international multi-lab collaboration. We examine which behavioral indices differentiate between reading in written languages, and which measures are stable across languages. One of the findings is that readers of different languages vary considerably in their skipping rate (i.e., the likelihood of not fixating on a word even once) and that this variability is explained by cross-linguistic differences in word length distributions. In contrast, if readers do not skip a word, they tend to spend a similar average time viewing it. We outline the implications of these findings for theories of reading. We also describe prospective uses of the publicly available MECO data, and its further development plans

Sexualidade e câncer de mama: uma revisão sistemática da literatura

O objetivo deste estudo foi compreender como o câncer de mama e seus tratamentos afetam a vivência da sexualidade da mulher acometida. Foi realizada uma revisão sistemática qualitativa de artigos científicos, publicados entre 2000 e 2010, disponíveis nas bases de dados PubMed, Web of Science, LILACS e SciELO. Foram obtidos 50 artigos cujos textos foram categorizados segundo análise de conteúdo temática. Foram identificadas seis categorias temáticas: a cirurgia mamária e os demais tratamentos para o câncer de mama; a experiência da mulher acometida; o relacionamento afetivo-sexual; estudos sobre relação entre sexualidade e características específicas do câncer; os profissionais de saúde e a atenção à sexualidade; e propostas para amenizar as consequências negativas dos tratamentos na sexualidade. Há necessidade de novos estudos a respeito dos aspectos culturais da sexualidade, diversidade sexual, relacionamento com o parceiro, formação do profissional de saúde e intervenções em sexualidade no contexto do câncer de mama

Predicting Tapping Coordination Between Partners With the Two-Frequency Resonance Map

Individuals often coordinate their actions towards shared goals through a phenomenon known as inter-personal multifrequency coordination (IMC). Behaviors in IMC synchronize at varying tempos (p:q, e.g. 2:1). With any ratio combination being possible, some are more stable to perform than others. The Farey tree predicts the performance stability of these ratios by organizing them into levels based on a mathematical relationship. Using this model, intra-personal coordination has been studied and shows that higher level ratios (unstable) tend to transition to lower level ratios (stable) over time. However, similar research on IMC has not been conducted yet. Given the widespread applicability of this model, we hypothesized that bimanual IMC adheres to similar principles as intra-personal MC. 21 dyads faced each other, holding a horizontal bar with their dominant hand pronated, while extending their index finger. They performed 16 multifrequency ratios through 1-minute trials (1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 3:2, 4:1, 4:3, 5:1, 5:2, 5:3, 5:4, 7:2, 7:3, 7:4, 7:5, 8:3, 8:5). Each trial involved one member tapping to the \u27p\u27 frequency while the other synchronized to \u27q\u27, using individual headphones. Participants initially synchronized taps to their metronome for 15 seconds with closed eyes, then the metronome stopped, and they attempted to maintain their frequency while observing their partner for 45 seconds. Kinematic data were captured with the Optotrak motion tracking system (100Hz). Phase angles were extracted from finger oscillations in five 10-second windows, plotted against each other, and subjected to linear regression to determine performed ratios. A multilevel model was applied, with the frequency ratio as the dependent variable, and Window, Intended Ratio, and their interaction as fixed effects. The best model included Window and Intended Ratio fixed effects (χ2(15) =4208.82,