Information technology (IT) is fundamentally altering the way in which healthcare is delivered to consumers, and offers the promise of improving patient safety, reducing medical errors, improving efficiency, and increasing the reach of health delivery programs. The aim of this research is to examine the factors affecting the adoption and post-adoption of a significant IT innovation in healthcare: online health intervention programs that provide technology-mediated guidance and aid individuals in self-managing their health care. A key challenge confronting health program providers is that of motivating initial enrollment and subsequent continued participation in these interventions. Limited prior work in the information systems and health informatics literature has examined the uptake of technology-mediated health intervention programs. Using data from an online healthcare portal site, this study proposes and empirically tests relationships between the determinants and participation in online health intervention programs.

Seligman, M. E. P. (1971). Phobias and preparedness. Behavior

apacite at gmail.com

Abstract: For more than 5000 years, people have cultivated flowers although there is no known reward for this costly behavior. In three different studies we show that flowers are a powerful positive emotion “inducer”. In Study 1, flowers, upon presentation to women, always elicited the Duchenne or true smile. Women who received flowers reported more positive moods 3 days later. In Study 2, a flower given to men or women in an elevator elicited more positive social behavior than other stimuli. In Study 3, flowers presented to elderly participants (55+ age) elicited positive mood reports and improved episodic memory. Flowers have immediate and long-term effects on emotional reactions, mood, social behaviors and even memory for both males and females. There is little existing theory in any discipline that explains these findings. We suggest that cultivated flowers are rewarding because they have evolved to rapidly induce positive emotion in humans, just as other plants have evolved to induce varying behavioral responses in a wide variety of species leading to the dispersal or propagation of the plants.

and our administrative assistant Patricia McFadden This study was done under the advisement of the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change and with the support of the Forté Foundation. © 2005 – McGrath, Driscoll, and Gross In this study, we capture the experiences of women who voluntarily step out of the workforce for a hiatus and provide proactive recommendations that these women, as well as employers and universities, can use to facilitate their re-entry into the working world. This study was done under the advisement of the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change and through the support of the Forté Foundation, as well as several professional women’s organizations. The research team constructed a survey to delve into the challenges women face when they are ready to return to work after stepping out for a period of time and to collect their advice about how to alleviate, or at least minimize, these challenges. In addition to the survey, we conducted one-on-one interviews with a select group of our survey respondents to explore their experiences in depth. We were