The Changing Allocation of Activities in Space and Time by the Use of ICT—“Fragmentation” as a New Concept and Empirical Results
Theoretical and empirical research about the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on transport relies on the hypothesis that ICT use leads to a reorganization of activities in time and space thus having as a consequence impacts on travel behavior. The breaking up of activities into discrete pieces by the use of ICT is the starting point of the fragmentation concept that underlies the present article. The concept argues that transport demand increases by the fragmentation of activities and explores the relevant mechanisms for this process. In all, however, the concept is still rather vague. Therefore, the authors discuss some elements of the concept on a theoretical level, in particular the question why individuals "fragment" their activities. In the empirical section they use a data set about activities, ICT use and travel behavior in Germany to find out how far an activity like work, which is particularly apt for fragmentation, shows signs of temporal and spatial disintegration. With the help of a cluster analysis they identify groups with different "fragmentation behavior" and investigate if a statistically significant relation exists between fragmentation behavior and ICT use. Accordingly, the focus of the article lies on the impact of ICT use on the performance of activities by different behavioral groups. The link to travel behavior is made by examining mode choices for different purposes and travel related attitudes.
Measuring the incorporation of mobile phone into everyday life and travel behaviour Methodology and main results of a survey
This paper has two goals. Firstly, it aims at proposing a method for the measurement of spatio-temporal continuity (via the concept of reachability), flexibilisation of life and permeability between private and professional activities by using quantitative date and by focusing on situations of mobility which we think are crucial regarding the links between mobile phone use and transformations in lifestyles. Secondly, the objective of the paper is to test the hypothesis under which these transformations are gradual and depend on the duration of use of the mobile phone (process of appropriation): in other words we hypothesize that the more people are familiar with the mobile phone, the more the evolutions mentioned above (reachability, flexibilisation and blurring of the boundaries) can be observed. Data come from an original survey of 2,000 French adults made in the spring 2008. Results confirm that the more the people are familiar with the mobile phone, the more they use it to communicate and coordinate with friends and family, and the more the mobile phone is incorporated into their everyday life. In addition, the more people are familiar with the mobile phone, the more they use it while on the move. Finally, the process of flexibilisation of everyday life and of blurring between private and working life is growing with the duration of ownership. Moreover results that the flexibility of everyday life and the level of improvisation are tend to increase with the duration of ownership.
The Alzheimer's Disease Home Hospice Knowledge Scale: development, validity and reliability.
BACKGROUND
Several instruments are available to assess knowledge about hospice care, but none specifically address knowledge about home hospice for persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD).


AIM
To develop and validate the Alzheimer's Disease Home Hospice Knowledge Scale (AD-HHK-S).


METHODS
A total of 107 Israeli family caregivers of persons with dementia (mean age=71.2; 73% female) participated in the study.


RESULTS
The AD-HHK-S included 28 true/false items assessing 3 areas of knowledge: knowledge about hospice, knowledge about home hospice, and knowledge about home hospice for AD. Good internal reliability was found, with Cronbach alpha ranging from 0.72 to 0.85. Good face, construct and predictive validity were found.


CONCLUSIONS
The AD-HHK-S proved to be a valid and reliable tool to assess knowledge about hospice care in the area of AD. It might provide an effective tool for palliative care nurses to communicate with family caregivers of persons with AD at the end of life.