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1
Nabwera, Helen Muenje. "Evaluation of growth faltering in rural Gambian children." Thesis, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (University of London), 2017. http://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/4645491/.
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Growth faltering associated with undernutrition in early childhood is endemic in sub- Saharan Africa. Worldwide, over 3 million child deaths annually are attributed to foetal growth restriction, underweight, stunting, wasting, suboptimal breastfeeding and micronutrient deficiencies. Survivors suffer adverse health and socio-economic outcomes. Although rates of stunting have halved worldwide, progress in sub-Saharan Africa has been slow. The prevalence of wasting has not shifted. This work aimed to describe secular trends of growth faltering in early childhood and the hormone correlates of malnourished children during nutritional rehabilitation in rural Gambia. Also, to explore factors associated with severe wasting in infancy. Firstly, secular trends of growth faltering among under 2’s from three rural Gambian villages were described using routinely collected clinic anthropometry data. Over the past four decades, rates of stunting and underweight halved, but significant growth faltering persisted. Secondly, changes in energy regulating hormones during the nutritional rehabilitation of children aged 6-24 months were evaluated. The variations in growth amongst the malnourished children during nutritional rehabilitation were not explained by differences in energy regulating hormones. Baseline C-peptide was the only predictor of future response to nutritional rehabilitation, but would not be a useful clinical marker in isolation. Thirdly, risk factors for severe wasting in infants were explored. Adverse maternal psychosocial circumstances and infant feeding difficulties constrained mothers from practicing the recommended infant feeding practices. The conclusion from these findings is that current nutrition and health interventions are inadequate in mitigating growth faltering in early childhood in rural Gambia, in the face of poor living conditions and adverse maternal psychosocial circumstances. In addition, the missing contributors of variable growth during outpatient nutritional rehabilitation remain unknown. Further research into the development and upscaling of the nutrition-sensitive interventions is required to address growth faltering in childhood in low and middle income settings.
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Airdrie, Sarah Elizabeth. "Evaluation of measurement properties of post-traumatic growth questionnaires in physical health and predictors of post-traumatic growth post lung transplant." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2017. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/415888/.
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A systematic review evaluated the psychometric properties of 23 studies examining posttraumatic growth (PTG) instruments in physical health. The methodological quality of peer-reviewed studies was assessed using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) checklist. The findings suggest that the Benefit Finding Scale, Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and Impact of Self-Concept Scale are the most psychometrically sound measures of PTG in physical health. However, further research is needed to ensure that good quality, theoretically-driven PTG instruments are developed within physical health and informed by established criteria, such as the COSMIN. There has been growing evidence examining the existence of, and benefits from, PTG. However, limited research has been conducted with transplant patients. A mixed methods cross-sectional design explored the relationships between cognitive processing, distress, social support, resilience and PTG following lung transplant. Overall, 147 participants completed the quantitative and 12 competed the qualitative components of the study. The results showed that higher levels of deliberate rumination and social support, particularly friends, significantly predicted greater PTG. Higher levels of resilience also significantly predicted higher levels of PTG but, contrary to prediction, resilience did not mediate the relationship between deliberate rumination and social support with PTG. Qualitative analysis provided additional support for the mechanisms underlying PTG. Deliberate rumination and social support were reflected in the themes ‘steps towards rebuilding life’, ‘looking beyond transplant’ and ‘importance of peer support’. Individuals also identified experiences related to PTG, illustrated by the subordinate themes ‘discovering a new potential’, ‘change in outlook’ and ‘appreciation for life’. This research provides a platform for further research in this area and encourages professionals to consider these constructs and ensure positive outcomes of the transplant journey. Limitations, further research and implications for clinical practice are discussed.
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Guyo, V. "Evaluation of a potato-based food product for acceptability, growth and diarrheal management in children." Thesis, Vaal University of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10352/399.
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Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks diarrhoea as the second greatest killer of children below the age of five years. In South Africa, children’s illness and death is highly attributable to diarrhoea and malnutrition, with undernutrition and HIV infections predisposing children to the illness due to suppressed immune system. Therefore, the malnutrition status of children synergically worsens as a result of each episode of diarrhoea. This study was a contract research with Feed My Starving Children (NGO) for testing a potato-based food product for nutritional impact and relief for diarrhoeal episodes. Objectives: The purpose was to evaluate the acceptability of the product as a nutritional supplement for child growth and as a first food to complement oral rehydration and other efforts to reduce the impact and support the resolution of the symptoms of chronic and acute diarrhoea in children between the ages of two and thirteen in a Qwa-Qwa community (the experimental group), and in pre-schools in the Vaal region of Gauteng (the control group). Study design: A baseline cross-sectional and subsequent experimental study design was used.
Methods: The study purposively enrolled children between the ages of 2-12 years, in experimental group of 96 and control group of 100. The study was conducted in three phases the first of which was a cross-sectional baseline survey in which the measurements included questionnaires to establish the nutritional status, diarrhoea prevalence in the two groups and sensory analysis questionnaire to establish acceptability of the potato-based based food product by the experimental group only. The anthropometric measurements included weight and height; the diarrhoea measurements included prevalence, duration and severity; while the sensory analysis included the taste, texture and appearance of the product. The second phase was the intervention programme in which the experimental group consumed the product for six weeks. The measurements taken included height, weight and diarrhoea episodes on weekly bases in the two groups. In the last phase all the measurements done at baseline were repeated to
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determine if the potato-based food intervention had an impact on the experimental group with respect to nutritional status and diarrhoeal mitigation as well as acceptability of the food product. Data analyses: All data was captured on Excel spreadsheets. The WHO growth standards were used to make a statistical comparison of the anthropometric indicators using WHO anthroPlus programme version 1.0.02. Data for diarrhoea and sensory analysis was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 for descriptive statistics (frequencies, means and standard deviations). Two tailed tests were done in order to determine any statistical differences between baseline and follow up measurements of both experimental and control groups.
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O'Loughlin, Christina. "Evaluation of measurement quality in the assessment of health related issues using structural equation modelling techniques." Thesis, University of Ulster, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.342424.
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Geving, Megan McGee. "An Observation System to Aid in the Evaluation and Implementation of Early Intervention Programs for Children with Autism." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2009. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc9928/.
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Early and intensive behavioral intervention outcome research includes descriptions of intervention variables that may increase treatment success. This study was designed to develop an observation system that incorporates and expands on some of these variables. Measures include the number of interventionist teaching units, types of skills addressed during instruction, consequences programmed by interventionists, and engagement with teaching materials. This system allowed for a view of the differences in teaching behaviors among the participants. It is proposed that this observation system is a start toward standardized intervention measures that can be applied to evaluate varied treatment models. Such standardization can help in ensuring that all children have access to evidence-based services.
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Routen, Ashley. "Body mass index and accelerometer measurement issues for use in the evaluation of pedometer-based physical interventions in children." Thesis, University of Worcester, 2013. http://eprints.worc.ac.uk/2734/.
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Participation in physical activity (PA) of at least moderate intensity may yield important health benefits for children. A popular behavioural tool used to promote increased PA is the pedometer. There is however limited evidence regarding pedometer-based strategies in children. This thesis reports on a series of anthropometric and accelerometer-measurement issue studies which inform the methods used to address the primary aim of this thesis- to determine the effectiveness of goal-setting, selfmonitoring and step-feedback pedometer-based interventions for increasing PA in 10- 11-year-old children. In addition, each study in their own right provides an original contribution to knowledge within their specific area of scholarship. The first objective of this thesis was therefore to determine diurnal variation of height and weight and the combined effect upon body mass index (BMI) weight status in children via a field based study. Next, the reliability of the Actiwatch 4 (AW4) accelerometer was tested in a mechanical laboratory experiment. Following this laboratory trial a second field based study examined the impact of placement site upon AW4 output, and the validity of a regression equation to predict hip-derived AW4 data from wrist-derived data. Finally, a brief intervention mapping approach was used to develop goal-setting, selfmonitoring and step-feedback pedometer-based interventions, the effectiveness of which was evaluated in a small scale controlled trial involving two primary schools. The main findings of this thesis were a) that diurnal variation in height (and in girls alone, weight) impact upon increased BMI and BMI percentile in afternoon versus morning measurements b) AW4 activity counts exhibit acceptable reliability statistics (comparable to other accelerometer models), which improve when raw activity counts are reduced into derived activity intensity variables c) wrist and hip derived AW4 data are not comparable, and the derived regression equation may not be suitable for group level prediction due to inaccurate individual level prediction and the large standard error of the estimate observed d) pilot testing pedometer wear and intervention materials may highlight practical pedometer issues (i.e. pedometer attachment, wearing compliance and acceptability of instruction sheets) that inform intervention implementation and e) pedometer-based goal-setting, self-monitoring and step-feedback interventions did not increase PA in 10-11-year-old children. However, individual-standardised goal setting may be more promising as this appeared to mitigate any decline in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in moreactive children, and increased MVPA in less-active. To summarise, the findings of this thesis highlight important issues for physical activity scientists to consider when using BMI-determined weight status as a grouping variable and accelerometers as an outcome measure, when evaluating physical activity interventions in children. With regard to the primary aim of this thesis, future researchers should further examine the effectiveness of the individual-standardised against the group-standardised goal type in a longer-duration intervention and using a larger sample of children, which may permit sub-group analyses to be conducted. Of primary importance is future clarification on the effectiveness of goal setting, self-monitoring and step-feedback pedometer-based interventions per se for changing PA in children.
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O'Regan, Shaun. "A critical evaluation of the accuracy of foetal age estimation by sonographic biometry at Ipswich Hospital." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 1991. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/35980/1/35980_O%27Regan_1991.pdf.
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Diagnostic Ultrasound plays an important role in the
management of the obstetric patient, particularly in
relation to the estimation of foetal age in cases of
clinical uncertainty. The sonographic determination of
foetal maturity is based on the correlation of ultrasonic
measurements of selected anatomical parameters
with age estimates in biometric nomograms. The
prediction of foetal age at Ipswich General Hospital has
been based on biometric models developed by Hadlock. 45
The accuracy of these models in predicting foetal age in
patients at Ipswich Hospital is evaluated. Significant
errors in predicted foetal age are revealed and factors
contributing to these errors are highlighted.
Biometric models which more accurately predict foetal
age in the obstetric patient population at Ipswich
Hospital are developed by regression analysis of data
derived from a study sample of 346 patients with known
gestational age and normal foetal growth.
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Ånestrand, Grimstedt Ida. "Milk consumption and growth of children in the Kilimanjaro region in rural Tanzania. : An ethnographic research done through quantitative and qualitative methodes." Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för arbets- och folkhälsovetenskap, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-14675.
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The aim of this study was to investigate milk consumption among children in a village in a developing country where access to milk during childhood may be limited. Another aim was to see if measurable information could demonstrate growth among children who drank milk. The data was collected through anthropometric measurements on 66 boys and girls (aged 5-6). Nutritional data from a selected group of parents of the participating children were done through 24-hour-recall, questions about meal arrangement, availability and attitudes about milk were asked. Result: Five-year-old girls who drank milk at home and in school were significantly taller compared to girls (5 yr) who did not drink milk, as well as taller than the girls (5 yrs) who drank milk only at home. Arm muscle area, and arm circumference was also significantly larger among the girls (5 yr) who drank milk. No significant differences were shown among the boys. Food consumption included more nutrients among children who drank milk, which might contribute to the growth effect among the girls (5 yrs). Consumption of milk was due to economic situations, access to school-milk or owning a cow. Conclusions: Some significant differences among 5-year-old girls were shown. Poverty was the main reason for not drinking milk, as well as lack of access to milk.Syftet med denna etnografiska studie var att undersöka mjölkkonsumtion bland barn i en by i ett utvecklingsland där tillgång till mjölk under barndomen kan vara begränsad. Syftet var även att se om mätbar information kan visa tillväxt hos barn som dricker mjölk. Data samlades in genom antropometriska mätningar på 66 pojkar och flickor (5-6 år). Kostdata hos en utvald grupp föräldrar till några av de barn som deltog i mätningarna har gjorts genom 24-timmars-intervjuer, där även frågor kring måltidsordningen, tillgänglighet och attityder kring mjölk ställdes. Resultat: Femåriga flickor som drack mjölk både i skolan och i hemmet visade sig vara signifikant längre än flickor (5 år) som inte drack mjölk, de var även längre än flickor (5 år) som bara drack mjölk i hemmet. Armmuskelarea och armomkrets var också signifikant större hos flickorna (5 år) som drack mjölk jämfört med de flickor som inte drack mjölk. Inga signifikanta skillnader gällande tillväxten visade sig hos pojkarna. Matkonsumtionen var mer varierad hos de barn som drack mjölk, vilket kan ha påverkat resultatet. Mjölkkonsumtionen berodde på ekonomi, tillgång till skolmjölk, brist på mjölk och kunskap om mjölk. Slutsats: Några signifikanta skillnader gällande tillväxten visade sig hos femåriga flickor. Fattigdom var största anledningen till att inte konsumera mjölk, även brist på mjölk i bostadsområdet. Barn som drack mjölk hade tillgång till mjölk i skolan och/eller i hemmet.
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Zivkovich, Caitlin J. "An Evaluation of a Supplemental Snack Feeding Program on Growth in School-aged Children Living in Rural Tanzania, East Africa." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1302883411.
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Achen, Jasinta H. "Evaluation of the nutritional correlates of growth of early and middle stage HIV-infected children in Uganda and zinc content of Ugandan food plants." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=83957.
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A cross-sectional survey was carried out to evaluate the nutritional correlates of growth in 93 HIV-infected children in the early and middle stages of infection. Also, as zinc is important for growth and immune function, foods commonly eaten by these children were evaluated for zinc content. Foods with relatively high zinc were identified in Uganda, and these food items were legumes and cereals. A high prevalence of stunting and wasting was found in HIV-infected children. The study also found that the frequency of past week oil/fat and staples consumption was non-significantly correlated to weight-for-height at the early stage, while household size was negatively, but non-significantly, associated with WHZ in all HIV-infected children. Few caregivers reported feeding certain foods to HIV-infected children based on beliefs.
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Van, Niekerk Sjan-Mari. "Measuring the sitting posture of high school learners : a reliability and validity study /." Thesis, Link to the online version, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10019/480.
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Chan, Susan Deborah. "Impact evaluation of a milk supplementation programme on weight of children 6-24 months of age in Guyana, South America." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape11/PQDD_0007/MQ44143.pdf.
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Johnson, Laverne Michelle. "Measurement of service quality and customer satisfaction at a children’s hospital in the Western Cape." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2658.
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Thesis (MTech (Office Management and Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017.Healthcare facilities across South Africa are increasingly facing a myriad of societal, fiscal, political and cultural challenges associated with demands for greater quality in the provision of healthcare services. This study measures service quality and customer satisfaction at a Cape Town hospital (hereinafter referred to as Hospital X), with the aim of providing its management with information to enable them to enhance service quality and thus improve customer satisfaction. It is essential to note that the respondents in this study were the parents or guardians of patients. The views of the patients were not obtained directly from them as it would have been unethical for minors to have participated in the survey. Their parents or guardians were surveyed in order to obtain the requisite data. The problem investigated was that management at public hospitals does not regularly research what customers need from a service quality point of view, Therefore, Hospital X may be failing to provide a quality service to its customers, namely, parents and guardians. Against this background, the researcher set out to measure customer perceptions and expectations of service quality by making use of the SERVQUAL model. “Customer expectation” is what the customer can reasonably expect given the available resources and is likely to be influenced by personal needs and past experience. “Customer perceptions” are totally subjective and based on the customer’s interaction with the service provided at Hospital X. The SERVQUAL model (reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy and responsiveness), is commonly known as the RATER model, RATER being an acronym formed from the first letter of each of the five dimensions of SERVQUAL. The study incorporates the SERVQUAL dimensions within a survey comprising a number of questions structured on a six-point Likert scale. The results of applying the SERVQUAL model will indicate whether or not Hospital X provides a quality service to their customers. The study seeks to demonstrate the importance of service quality and customer satisfaction to hospital management, as well as the impact that effective service quality can have on customers’ evaluation of their overall hospital experience. (The term customer will be used interchangeably with parent and/or guardian in this study.)
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Stull, Kyra Elizabeth. "An osteometric evaluation of age and sex differences in the long bones of South African children from the Western Cape." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/40263.
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The main goal of a forensic anthropological analysis of unidentified human remains is to
establish an accurate biological profile. The largest obstacle in the creation or validation of
techniques specific for subadults is the lack of large, modern samples. Techniques created for
subadults were mainly derived from antiquated North American or European samples and thus
inapplicable to a modern South African population as the techniques lack diversity and ignore
the secular trends in modern children. This research provides accurate and reliable methods to
estimate age and sex of South African subadults aged birth to 12 years from long bone lengths
and breadths, as no appropriate techniques exist.
Standard postcraniometric variables (n = 18) were collected from six long bones on 1380
(males = 804, females = 506) Lodox Statscan-generated radiographic images housed at the
Forensic Pathology Service, Salt River and the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in
Cape Town, South Africa. Measurement definitions were derived from and/or follow studies in
fetal and subadult osteology and longitudinal growth studies. Radiographic images were
generated between 2007 and 2012, thus the majority of children (70%) were born after 2000 and
thus reflect the modern population.
Because basis splines and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) are
nonparametric the 95% prediction intervals associated with each age at death model were
calculated with cross-validation. Numerous classification methods were employed namely linear,
quadratic, and flexible discriminant analysis, logistic regression, naïve Bayes, and random
forests to identify the method that consistently yielded the lowest error rates. Because some of
the multivariate subsets demonstrated small sample sizes, the classification accuracies were
bootstrapped to validate results. Both univariate and multivariate models were employed in the
age and sex estimation analyses.
Standard errors for the age estimation models were smaller in most of the multivariate
models with the exception of the univariate humerus, femur, and tibia diaphyseal lengths.
Univariate models provide narrower age estimates at the younger ages but the multivariate
models provide narrower age estimates at the older ages. Diaphyseal lengths did not demonstrate
any significant sex differences at any age, but diaphyseal breadths demonstrated significant sex
differences throughout the majority of the ages. Classification methods utilizing multivariate
subsets achieved the highest accuracies, which offer practical applicability in forensic
anthropology (81% to 90%). Whereas logistic regression yielded the highest classification
accuracies for univariate models, FDA yielded the highest classification accuracies for
multivariate models. This study is the first to successfully estimate subadult age and sex using an
extensive number of measurements, univariate and multivariate models, and robust statistical
analyses. The success of the current study is directly related to the large, modern sample size,
which ultimately captured a wider range of human variation than previously collected for
subadult diaphyseal dimensions.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
gm2014
Anatomy
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Willits, Lauren A. "Parent-training for parents of preschool- and school-age children with language deficits| A pilot study in enhancing children's vocabulary growth and parents' perceptions, strategies and knowledge." Thesis, California State University, Long Beach, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1571470.
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The purpose of this study was to address two research questions: After parents participated in a brief, language-focused parent-training program: (1) To what extent does the parent-training influence children’s vocabulary development and (2) To what extent does the parent-training influence parents’ role as a language facilitator in regards to their perceptions, strategies and knowledge of language and literacy concepts.
Pre-and post-parent-training, assessment was conducted and used to measure growth within each participant group. A standardized vocabulary test was administered to the child participants and a parent questionnaire was administered to the parent participants. Data were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results from this study found that parent-training can increase children’s vocabulary and parent’s perceptions, knowledge and skills pertaining to their role as their child’s language facilitator.
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Munkholm, Michaela. "Occupational performance in school settings : evaluation and intervention using the school AMPS." Doctoral thesis, Umeå universitet, Arbetsterapi, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-38108.
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Background: This thesis is was designed to evaluate aspects of reliability and validity of the School Version of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (School AMPS) (Fisher, Bryze, Hume, & Griswold, 2007), an observation-based evaluation of quality of occupational performance when children perform schoolwork tasks in school settings. The long term goal was to contribute to knowledge about children at risk or with mild disabilities who experience difficulties with occupational performance in school settings, and describe how the School AMPS can be used when a true top−down process of planning and implementing school-based occupational therapy services is implemented in a Swedish context. Methods: In Study I, two different split-half methods and were used to estimate reliability of the School AMPS measures. These were cross-validated using Rasch equivalent of Cronbach’s alpha. The standard error of measurement (m) was also calculated. In Studies II and III, many-facet Rasch analyses and/or relevant inferential statistics (e.g., ANOVA, tests) were used to examine for evidence of validity based on (1) internal structure related to differential item functioning (DIF), (2) relations to other variables (sensitivity) in terms of comparing groups (typically-developing children vs. children with mild disabilities), and (3) consequences of testing (benefits of testing) in terms of test fairness. In Study IV, ANOVA and tests were used to examine relations to other variables in terms of sensitivity of the School AMPS measures for detecting change based on repeated School AMPS evaluations pre- and post-interventions. Results: The three methods for estimating reliability of the School AMPS measures yielded high reliability coefficient estimates (≥0.73) and low ms. Minimal DIF was identified, and despite minimal DIF, the School AMPS measures were found to be free of differential test functioning. The School AMPS measures were sensitive enough to detect differences between groups as well as changes following consultative occupational therapy services provided in natural school settings. Conclusions: The results support the reliability and validity of the School AMPS scales and measures when used to evaluate quality of occupational performance in school settings. The results are also of clinical importance as they provide evidence that occupational therapists can have confidence in the School AMPS measures when they are used in the process of making decisions about individual students, planning interventions, and later perform follow-up evaluations to measure the outcomes. We also have objective evidence that children with mild disabilities demonstrate diminished quality of "doing" when performing schoolwork tasks. The potential long term benefits of such evidence may be to support or justify the need for children with mild disabilities to receive occupational therapy services within school settings in Sweden; and through collaboration with teachers, plan and implement better targeted and more effective interventions.
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Herholdt, Memorie. "An evaluation of a performance management system within a division of a large organisation in the public sector." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/19601.
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Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Today’s competitive and dynamic business world, solicits ever higher levels of performance and productivity. At the core of this drive to higher performance is the enhancement and managing of employees’ performance through a Performance Management system. Performance Management however, is a very complex, multi-dimensional and integrated system with a number of interacting critical prerequisites. Even in ideal circumstances, these fundamental elements would, in all likelihood, not all be satisfied during the initial phases of implementing a Performance Management system. The concern existed, on the basis of the abovementioned probabilities, that the Performance Management system of the Children and Families Division (CAF) of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) of Tasmania, Australia, was not enjoying optimal operational effectiveness. The aim of this study was to identify those factors in the system that are underdeveloped, possibly unsuccessfully implemented or in need of attention as they impact negatively on the effective running of the CAF’s Performance Management system. A suitable tool for this diagnostic purpose already exists in the form of the Performance Management Audit Questionnaire (PMAQ), developed by Spangenberg and Theron (1997). Through administering and analysing the PMAQ results, the CAF could obtain a clear indication of the system’s current effectiveness and would be able to identify where the problem areas are in order to refine the system for greater operational effectiveness. The results successfully identified the underdeveloped or absent areas of the organisation’s current Performance Management system. The results further found a clear difference between managerial and non-managerial perceptions of the effectiveness of the Performance Management system. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of proposed remedial actions that could be implemented to address the problem areas.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ‘n Konstante strewe na steeds hoër vlakke van prestasie en produktiwiteit is aan die orde van die dag in die huidige hoogs kompeterende en dinamiese besigheidswêreld. Die verbetering en bestuur van werknemers se prestasie deur middel van ‘n Prestasiebestuurstelsel, blyk ‘n sleutel te bied tot hierdie strewe na hoër prestasie. Prestasiebestuur is egter ‘n hoogs komplekse, multidimensionele en geintegreerde stelsel met ‘n aantal interverwante kritieke vereistes. Selfs onder ideale omstandighede, sou dit onwaarskynlik wees dat al hierdie fundamentele elemente aangespreek sou kon word gedurende die anvanklike fases van die implementering van ‘n Prestasiebestuurstelsel. In die lig van die bogenoemde waarskynlikhede, het daar spesifiek twyfel geheers oor die mate waartoe die Prestasiebestuurselsel van die ‘Children and Families’ (CAF) afdeling van die ‘Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in Tasmanië, Australie, optimale operasionele effektiwiteit weerspieël. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die faktore binne die stelsel te identifiseer wat onderskeidelik onderontwikkeld, onsuksesvol geimplementeer, of aandag benodig het ten einde hulle negatiewe impak op die effektiewe bedryf van die CAF se Prestasiebestuurstelsel aan te spreek. ‘n Geskikte hulpmiddel vir so ‘n diagnostiese doelwit het reeds bestaan in die vorm van die Performance Management Audit Questionnaire (PMAQ) wat deur Spangenberg en Theron (1997) ontwikkel is. Deur middel van die administrasie van die PMAQ en die analise van die resultate, sou die CAF ‘n duidelike aanduiding kon verkry van die stelsel se effektiwiteit en sou hulle die probleemareas kon identifiseer ten einde die stelsel tot groter operasionele effektiwiteit te verfyn. Die resultate het die leemtes en onder-ontwikkelde areas binne die organisasie se huidige Presasiebestuurselsel suksesvol geidentifiseer. Die resultate het verder gedui op ‘n duidelike verskil tussen die persepsies van bestuurders en nie-bestuurders oor die effektiwiteit van die Prestasiebestuurstelsel. Die implikasies van hierdie bevindings word ten slotte bespreek in terme van die voorgestelde remediëringsaksies wat geimplementeer sou kon word om die probleemareas aan te spreek.
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Barron, Susan, and n/a. "Boys and Literacy: Rhetoric and Reality." Griffith University. School of Cognition, Language and Special Education, 2004. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20040623.140850.
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The gendered features of children's development in early literacy, particularly those that contribute to the generally poorer performance of boys, were explored in a dual-phase questionnaire study, conducted across schools in South East Queensland. The potential influences of school type (private and state) and gender-composition of a class (mixed-gender and single-gender schools) on performances of boys were tested on two state-wide tests (The Year 2 Diagnostic Net for Reading; The Reading Development Continuum) and a standardised measure (The St Lucia Reading Comprehension Test). Children and parents were surveyed to determine the locus of significant differences between girls and boys in relation to attitudes to reading, being read to and to constructs of self and others as readers. Girls presented as more positive across these measures. They indicated greater interest in reading and being read to. They reported reading across a wider range of genres for both school and recreational purposes and selected reading as a preferred activity in comparison with others. Boys were more reluctant readers. They displayed poorer attitudes generally and reported reading less in quantity and frequency in both school and home settings. The notion of girls and boys maintaining a positive or negative "image" emerged from a small but influential subset. This derivation was consistent with perceptions of gender-bias in gender-preferences. The profile of achievement across the three measures yielded a story of difference. Boys in private school settings were significantly less likely than girls to obtain higher Continuum scores and boys in state school settings were less likely than girls to be rated as proficient in the Year Two Net Test. Boys from private schools and in single-gender situations outperformed all other subgroups on the Net. Yet, they obtained the worst result on the Continuum, and were in the middle rank on the standardised test. Whether in private or state schools, boys were likely to obtain lower average Continuum scores than females. This was a statistically significant difference in the private school sector. While boys in Private Schools were slightly more likely than girls to be rated as proficient in the Year Two Net test, boys in state schools were far less likely than girls to be rated as proficient on the Year Two Net test, a statistically significant difference. Children attending single-gender, private schools attained higher aggregate scores on the attitude subtests of the Continuum than their state school counterparts. However, children in comparable, mixed-gender, private schools performed neither better nor worse than their peers in single-gender private schools. This comparison does not support contentions that single-gender schooling is superior in relation to the literacy achievements of emergent readers. When comparisons were made at the most general level (male vs. female, private vs. state school) gender did not predict scores in the externally administered St. Lucia Reading Comprehension Test scores. The significant relationship for girls at state schools on the Net test and for girls at private schools on the Continuum (both internally-based measures), coupled with the non-significant differences in relation to the St. Lucia Reading Comprehension Test points to the possibility that internally-based ratings are to some extent driven by teacher perceptions of literacy competence, and such perceptions may at times be unreliable. The corollary observation that not only was the measurement of attitude provided by the Continuum Attitude score significantly correlated with the St. Lucia reading test but also that the latter was not directly influenced by gender affirmed the notion that a school culture of gendered literacy is influencing teacher attitudes related to the achievement of literacy. What analyses of home background capture is the surprisingly lack of any connection between these tacitly understood underpinnings of literacy and the achievement thereof. The lack particularly of any connection between the teacher reading to students and the achievement of literacy was also surprising. In relation to literacy practice, the three most highly identified male activities (kicking a ball, computer games, playing outside) grouped to form a distinct factor (subscale) and this factor score was positively associated at a statistically significant level with scores on the St Lucia Reading test. Not only did private school children obtain better scores on the St. Lucia test, it was private school students whose identification of this highly stereotypically set of male activities linked significantly with an external measure of the achievement of literacy. This linkage seems indicative of an enhanced ability to read social codes more generally and is probably reflective of the social space occupied by private school students. In sum, while students, parents, and teachers fairly consistently displayed a heavily gendered culture with regard to literacy, actual achievement levels, attitudes, home background, and literacy practice disconnected from that gendered culture. That is, there appears to be a subtle but important distinction between perception and reality in relation to the achievement of literacy.
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Habulembe, Raider. "Evaluation of the effect of poor water, sanitation and hygiene practices on growth and the incidence of infectious diseases in infants and young children aged 6-23 months in a selected rural district, Zambia." University of the Western Cape, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/6430.
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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (School of Public Health)Poor water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and practices in communities are known to be responsible for most of the infections occurring among infants and young children in developing countries. A combined effect of disease, poor diet, care practices and other factors among infants/children are known to lead to undernutrition reported in most developing countries. Apart from the reduced growth and productivity potential that malnutrition exhibits on the affected population, it is also an underlying cause to 50% of child mortality in poor communities. In light of this, the primary objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of poor WASH practices on growth and infectious disease incidence in infants and young children aged 6-23 months in the rural district of Monze in Zambia.
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Křivová, Tereza. "Hodnocení výkonnosti podniku." Master's thesis, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta podnikatelská, 2017. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-316863.
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The main objective of this thesis is to evaluate the performance of the selected company and subsequent implementation of the Balanced Scorecard model. The theoretical part explains the concept of performance and performance access to its evaluation. There is also the description of selected strategic analysis in this part. It is explained the essence of Balanced Scorecard and gradual steps in its implementation of corporate management in detail. The practical part describes the current situation in the company and on the basis of the results of each analysis it is proposing a project to implement the Balanced Scorecard. The final part of the thesis includes Balanced Scorecard implementation into the company to increase its efficiency and further development.
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Alves, Cristiane Paiva. "Avaliação motora em escolares sob parâmetros da CIFCJ : construção de medida e evidências de validade." Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2013. https://repositorio.ufscar.br/handle/ufscar/2909.
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Previous issue date: 2013-03-10Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos
The ICF-CY has components such as body functions and structures, activities and participation and environmental factors that facilitate a holistic look at the individual's health. Research on measures that operationalize still scarce, having been identified in national and international literature review just such a study. This research aims to contribute towards the area, and their goal was to develop a measurement tool based on the components of the ICF-CY to evaluate the motor performance of children 7 years old.. The theoretical construction of the instrument and its validity evidence were conducted through five stages, namely: the motors mapping exams with the ICF-CY, qualitative evaluation of the Instrument for Motor Evaluation in School - IAM (E), the creation of items, the semantic analysis of the items and construct validity. The tests selected were mapped to the domains of the ICF-CY and their relevance evaluated by six judges; domains that showed concordance index lower than 80% were excluded, and of 39 domains 29 remained. To operationalize the construct was held from the use of the Roadmaps Activities Analysis of the proposed items that contemplate. The construction of the items included the description of evidence and qualifying criteria. Then, we performed a semantic analysis of the instrument; this phase involved the participation of 5 children of 6 years, the lower strata of the population involved items without difficulty. The construct validity was performed by 12 judges and the criteria of relevance of the item to the mark in question were assigned from an agreement of at least 80%, on the representativity of the item in a specific factor. No items were excluded in this phase. Were selected, even, the areas that compose the questionnaires regarding the components structures and body functions and environmental factors. Thus, IAM (E) consists of a questionnaire and a scale with tests motor, comprising all components of the ICF-CY. Despite the lack of studies that guide him a methodology for classification and operationalization of its complexity, the construction of the instrument based on the ICF-CY, complied with the proposed objective. Thus, it was concluded that the theoretical phase of the construction of IAM (E) and proposes to continue the validation study for the use of the instrument can be detected and motor deficits prevent the development of disabilities.
A CIF-CJ apresenta componentes como funções e estruturas corporais, atividade e participação e fatores ambientais que possibilitam um olhar holístico sobre a saúde do indivíduo. Pesquisas que a operacionalizam medidas sobre ainda são escassas, tendo-se identificado em revisão bibliográfica nacional e internacional apenas um estudo dessa natureza. A presente pesquisa pretende contribuir para com a área, e seu objetivo foi elaborar um instrumento de medida com base nos componentes da CIF-CJ para avaliar o desempenho motor de crianças de 7 anos. A construção teórica do instrumento e suas evidências de validade foram realizadas por meio de cinco etapas, sendo elas: o mapeamento de exames motores com a CIF-CJ, a avaliação qualitativa do Instrumento para Avaliação Motora em Escolares - IAM (E), a criação dos itens, a análise semântica dos itens e a validade de construto. As provas selecionadas foram mapeadas com os domínios da CIF-CJ e sua pertinência avaliada por 6 juízes; os domínios que apresentaram índice de concordância menor que 80% foram excluídos, e de 39 domínios 29 permaneceram. Para operacionalização do construto realizou-se a partir do uso dos Roteiros de Análise de Atividades a proposta de itens que as contemplassem. A construção dos itens contou com a descrição das provas e dos critérios qualificadores. Em seguida, foi realizada a análise semântica do instrumento; essa fase contou com a participação de 5 crianças de 6 anos, o estrato mais baixo da população que compreendeu os itens sem dificuldades. A validade de construto foi realizada por 12 juízes e o critério de pertinência do item ao traço em questão foi atribuído a partir de uma concordância de pelo menos 80%, sobre a representatividade do item em determinado fator. Nenhum item foi excluído nessa fase. Foram selecionados, ainda, os domínios que comporiam os questionários referentes aos componentes estruturas e funções corporais e fatores ambientais. Sendo assim, o IAM (E) é composto por um questionário e uma escala com provas motoras, contemplando todos os componentes da CIF-CJ. Apesar da falta de estudos que guiassem uma metodologia de operacionalização da classificação e de sua complexidade, a construção do instrumento baseado na CIF-CJ, cumpriu com o objetivo proposto. Desta forma, concluiu-se a fase teórica da construção do IAM (E) e propõe-se a continuação do estudo de validação, para que com o uso do instrumento se possa detectar déficits motores e prevenir o desenvolvimento de deficiências.
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Hester, Andrea Lynn. "Evaluation of psychological functioning and neuroanatomy in children with 18q- following growth hormone treatment." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/2443.
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Roe-Berning, Shelley. "The measurement of posttraumatic growth : an evaluation of the factor structure of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory in a South African sample." Thesis, 2014.
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More than a decade of research has indicated that individuals who have experienced traumatic events may report positive psychological changes as a result of their struggle to cope with the impact of the event. This cluster of changes has been labelled posttraumatic growth (PTG). Several measurement instruments have been developed to quantify such growth, one of the most widely used being the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) developed by Tedeschi and Calhoun (1996). The objective of the present study was to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the PTGI on data yielded by a South African sample, to determine if the hypothesised factor structure showed appropriate fit in this context. Analyses were performed with three hypothesised models: the five factor model, the three factor model and the model of posttraumatic growth as a unitary factor. Whilst the results of the CFA did not provide overt support for the adequate fit of the models tested, it did yield a profile of PTG in the South African sample that is similar to that of samples from other countries of origin. The findings implied that the factorial validity of the PTGI is unclear and the inventory may require modification for use in the South African context. This highlighted the need for further investigation in order to provide a comprehensive exploration of the PTGI and its applicability in this context. This is in line with the current focus on the socio-cultural and contextual elements that may influence the perception of PTG.
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Gould, Judy. "An evaluation of assessment instruments in the measurement of the spoken communication skills of rural aboriginal children." Thesis, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/148000.
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Wang, Jung-Chun, and 王蓉君. "1.The Evaluation of Excessive Radiation Exposure on Children's Growth 2.Evaluation of Physical Growth in Children with Chronic Low-Dose r-Radiation in Taipei City and County." Thesis, 1998. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/45188383230566997233.
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碩士國立臺灣大學
職業醫學與工業衛生研究所
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(1).輻射暴露對孩童成長影響之探討：臺灣於1992年至1998年初陸續發現 了將近160餘棟大小不同的鈷-60輻射污染鋼筋所蓋建物，總共已有1,600 戶污染公寓或學校，以及近10,000位自1983年起接受長短不等長期中低劑 量輻射暴露之不幸民眾；由於這些輻射屋民眾中，多數為青少年兒童，其 長期額外低劑量游離輻射暴露是否會造成各類健康影響，非常值得我們探 討。有鑑於此，本文回顧綜述近一世紀以來有關游離輻射對孩童成長影響 的研究。動物實驗極早即發現骨骼成長遲滯的現象與輻射劑量的高低與實 驗動物的年齡呈明顯的相關。人體接受?2g蝞g暴露後所造成負面的生長 影? T，在廣島、長崎原爆暴露，以及罹患癌症兒童接受放射性治療存活者身 上獲得證實。輻射產生成長遲滯之影響，不單來自於對骨骼生長的抑制， 同時包括對內分泌系統正常分泌的影響，進而抑制了正常的生長；相信這 些研究將可提供臺灣輻射屋族群等類似研究重要之參考。 (2).台北縣市長期低劑量游離輻射暴露孩童之身高成長的研究：游離輻射 造成骨骼成長遲滯之負面影響在廣島、長崎原爆暴露，以及罹患癌症兒童 接受放射性治療存活者身上發現，骨骼成長遲滯與輻射劑量的高低與接受 照射的年齡呈明顯的相關。 為瞭解長期低劑量游離輻射對兒童身高成長之影響，我們針對146位台灣 北部地區之台北縣市，年齡18歲以下且在輻射屋內懷孕出生或成長，有實 際身高測量值與經 "Taipei Cumulative Dose 1996" (TCD96)累積暴露劑 量評估" 的孩童進行其成長發育受長期輻射影響的評估。 於1995年 至1996年間，採橫斷世代研究法 (cross-sectional study) 實際測量暴 露孩童的身高值，並且於同時期間，經分層抽樣法選取了6,114位性別、 年齡、父母社經地位相當的參考族群兒童測量其身高值，所有的測量儀器 均經標準化過程校正；其中80位男孩 (包含2位累積暴露劑量過高 於1,000 mSv以上) 的平均累積暴露劑量值為165.5± 241.8 mSv (毫西弗)，而66位女孩的 平均累積暴露劑量值為117.0 ± 147.7 mSv，男女兩性的平均年齡均 為9.5歲；我們於控制年齡、性別、及父母親身高等變因後，再採Mixed- effects model控制屬於同一家庭之特質，分析異常輻射暴露兒童的身高 ；結果發現，與同樣年齡參考族群兒童的身高之中位數 (median heights of age and sex matched controls) 相比較，異常輻射暴露使 得暴露孩童身高平均比該年紀孩童明顯降低，且具統計上顯著之意義 (男 性p值0.067，女性p值0.0273 )；因此我們推論，胎內或孩童時期長期低 劑量游離輻射異常暴 露之兒童，其身高的成長可能因受到輻射暴露的影響而降低；進一步之世 代追蹤調查將可幫助我們深入瞭解此一現象之機轉。 1.The Evaluation of Excessive Radiation Exposure on Children's Growth Over 160 residential buildings were constructed with Co-60 contaminated steel rods in Taiwan around 1983, resulting in the exposure of more than 1,600 families a nd 10,000 citizens and students to chronic low-dose excessive radiation as the y stayed in these buildings. As the majority of these exposed were children an d adolescents, the health impacts from thus chronic low-dose gamma-radiation w ere of great concern. This article is to review all studies related to physica l growth on children with radiation exposure since turn of this century. Se veral animal studies have demonstrated strong correlation between bone growth and both dose and age of radiation exposure. In human population studies, like those atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and children received r adiotherapy, apparent adverse effects were shown in their physical growth. Bes ides epiphyseal plate, several endocrine organs or tissue were also shown susc eptible to radiation exposure. Results of these studies will be of significant i1.Importance to similar studies conducted population with chronic low-dose r adiation exposure in Taiwan.2.Evaluation of Physical Growth in Children with C hronic Low-Dose g-Radiation in Taipei City and CountySeveral animal studies ha ve demonstrated strong correlation between bone growth and both dose and age o f radiation exposure. In human population studies, like those of atomic bomb s urvivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and children received radiotherapy, apparen t adverse effects were shown in their physical growth. Physical growth in ch ildren less than 18 years old and with intrauterine, perinatal or childhood ex cessive chronic low-dose g-irradiation from radioactive apartments in Taiwan w ere evaluated in the designed hospitals during a comprehensive medical examina tion in 1995-1996. A total of 3,141 male and 2,973 females age-, sex-, and com munity matched children were enrolled simultaneously as non-exposed reference population. All the height measurements were standardized, accordingly. The st anding heights have been adjusted by a standardized measurement in all hospita ls. Within the exposed, 80 boys and 66 girls with comprehensive dose assessmen t (the Taipei Cumulative Dose 1996 estimation, TCD96; mean + 1S.D. as 165.5?2 41.8 mSv and 117.0+147.7 mSv, respectively) was analyzed by a Mixed-effects li near regression model. It revealed that exposed male or female subjects ere re latively shorter than the age-adjusted median heights of reference population. These observation suggested that chronic low-dose radiation exposure indicate d signi
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Hermanowicz, Malgorzata. "The importance of measuring impact for social investment. Case of children focused programs in polish context." Master's thesis, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/120110.
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The objective of this paper is to examine what are the processes of impact measurements in service organizations, foundations and social investors and to learn whether organisations measure their impact, how do they do it, and whether their impact range has any influence on the financing side of their actions. What are the misalignments of expectations between investors and investees regarding the impact measurement? If there is a mismatch between what investors want and what investees can implement, is there a way to change a paradigm? This research had an exploratory character and was conducted in the context of organisations working in Poland as well as foundations with global outreach focused on children development and education.
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Fourie, Maria Elizabeth. "Voorwiskundige vaardighede as grondslag vir die bemeestering van wiskunde : 'n opvoedkundige sielkunde perspektief." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/19163.
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Text in AfrikaansDie doel van hierdie navorsing was om vas te stel of leerders in Graad R die nodige wiskundige vaardighede deur gestruktureerde spel bemeester het wat as grondslag vir verdere wiskunde-onderrig kan dien. In die literatuurstudie is die verskillende wiskunde konsepte in diepte ondersoek. Daar is ook gefokus op die oordra van wiskunde konsepte aan jong leerders. Verder is daar in die literatuurstudie ondersoek ingestel na die doel, waardes, tipes, ontwikkeling van spel asook spel in die moderne era. Vir die empiriese ondersoek is 103 Graad R-leerders van ses verskillende skole betrek. Daar is gebruik gemaak van ʼn ewekansige steekproef by die skole wat bereid was om aan die studie deel te neem. Die ondersoek het plaasgevind deur die gebruik van die positivistiese kwantitatiewe navorsingsmetode. Daar is gebruik gemaak van vraelyste om te bepaal wat die bemeestering van wiskundige vaardighede by Graad R-leerders is. Gestruktureerde spel is as hulpmiddel gebruik vir die insameling van die navorsingsmateriaal. Die resultate is bekom deur die vraelyste statisties te verwerk. Daar is ook vraelyste aan die onderwysers gegee om meer agtergrond oor hulle onderrigmetodes asook die onderwysers se eie gevoel teenoor en kennis van wiskunde te bekom. Die navorsingsresultate bevestig dat die meerderheid van die Graad R-leerders oor ʼn goeie wiskundige grondslag beskik. Dus is daar deur die studie gevind dat dit belangrik is dat jong kinders baie moet speel om nuwe vaardighede aan te leer, maar ook die geleentheid moet hê om die vaardighede te beoefen.
The purpose of this research was to determine whether learners in Grade R mastered the necessary math skills through structured play that could serve as a basis for further mathematics training. In the literature various math concepts were studied in depth. The main focus was on the transfer of math concepts to young learners. The literature study further focussed on the purpose, values, and types of play, development of play and play in the modern era. An empirical study using random sampling was done using 103 Grade R learners from six different schools who were willing to participate in the study. The study was done using the positivism quantitative research methodology. Questionnaires were used to determine the mastery of mathematical skills by Grade R learners. Structured play was used as a tool to collect the research material. The results were obtained by processing the questionnaires statistically. Questionnaires were also completed by the teachers to confirm their background knowledge, teaching methods as well as to determine the teachers‟ own feelings towards and their knowledge of mathematics. The research results confirm that the majority of Grade R learners have obtained a good math foundation. The study also confirmed that it is important that young children need to play to learn new skills and must have the opportunity to practise the new skills.
Psychology of Education
D. Ed. (Sielkundige Opvoedkunde)