Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Group admission'

Becoming a mother is a challenging time and for some women the lifestyle adjustment can be very stressful. In combination with the changes in family structure mothers are increasingly seeking professional support and assistance in the care of their infants and children. Child and family health services in NSW offer varying levels of professional support and education, including 24-hour residential care. The purpose of this study is to explore and describe the mothers' perceptions and experiences of residential admission to a Child and Family Health Unit - Karitane. This study is descriptive in nature. Sixteen English speaking mothers admitted to Karitane in 1998 took part in the study. Focus groups were the main source of data for the study. The focus groups were undirected, conversations recorded and written notes taken. Additional data were collected by a questionnaire to determine the demographic characteristics of the mothers. The mothers' indicators of depression were scored using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Each mother completed the EPDS during the admission period and at the time of the focus and respective comparison was made. Data analysis revealed that the mothers' EDPS scores had decreased significantly at the time of the focus group meeting. The key concepts that emerged in the mothers' descriptions of their experiences were the importance of the development of the professional relationship, equity and access to parenting services, particularly for the partner, and the need for services to promote and provide realistic parenting education with an early intervention focus. The implications of the findings lend support to health care professionals in lobbying government for the necessary funds, in providing increased access to quality parenting services.
Master of Nursing (Hons)

2015 - 2016
Recent advances in wireless communication networks led to possibility of multi-rate transmission of information. The queueing theory represents a valid tool to study how the performances of such communication systems can be improved, and to give proper solutions. Modeling a multi-rate transmission system, in terms of queueing theory, means that a particular discipline has to be considered: a group of requests from users can be processed simultaneously in parallel and processing of the whole group is supposed finished if processing of all individual requests belonging to this group is over. In order to model this typology of telecommunication systems, some particular assumption can be made on arrivals, which occur by a Markovian arrival process, and on service time and length of admission period, which are regulated by phase type distributions. Thus, in this thesis MAP/PH/1 queueing systems have been considered, with and without retrial to take into account all possible behaviours of the customers. The main goal of the research activity presented in this work is to introduce novel admission strategies for the described systems, in order to give a major contribute to the current performance analysys, in particular as regard the choice of the optimal length of admission period and optimal size of the groups. Dynamics of such systems are described by multidimensional Markov chains. Ergodicity condition for these Markov chains have been derived, stationary probability distribution of the states have been computed, formulas for the main performance measures of the system have been attained. Essential advantages of the proposed customer’s service disciplines have been numerically illustrated. [edited by author]
I recenti progressi ottenuti per le reti di comunicazione wireless, permettono la trasmissione multi-frequenza delle informazioni. La teoria delle code rappresenta un valido strumento per studiare come le performance di tali sistemi di comunicazione possano essere migliorate, e individuare opportune soluzioni. In termini di teoria delle code, modellare un sistema di trasmissione multi-frequenza significa considerare una determinata disciplina: un gruppo di richieste da parte di utenti possono essere processate simultaneamente in parallelo, e il processo dell’intero gruppo risulta completato se tutte le richieste appartenenti a tale gruppo sono espletate. Al fine di modellare tale tipologia di sistemi di telecomunicazione, si possono definire particolari assunzioni sugli arrivi, determinati da processi di arrivo Markoviani, e sul tempo di servizio e lunghezza del periodo di ammissione, regolati da distribuzioni di tipo a fasi. Pertanto, in tale lavoro di tesi sono stati considerati sistemi a coda di tipo MAP/PH/1, con e senza retrial per considerare tutti i possibili comportamenti degli utenti. Il principale obiettivo dell’attivita` di ricerca presentata in tale lavoro `e introdurre nuove strategie di ammissione per i sistemi descritti, al fine di fornire un maggior contributo alle attuali analisi sulle performance, in particolare relativamente alla scelta della lunghezza ottimale del periodo di ammissione e la dimensione ottimale dei gruppi. Le dinamiche di tali sistemi sono descritte da catene di Markov multidimensionali. `E stata ricavata la condizione di ergodicit`a per tali catene di Markov, `e stata calcolata la distribuzione delle probabilita` stazionarie degli stati, e sono state ottenute le formule per le misure dei principali parametri prestazionali del sistema. I principali vantaggi delle discipline di servizio proposte sono state illustrate numericamente. [a cura dell'autore]
XXIX n.s.

Background, aim and objectives: Evaluating quality of care is essential when redesigning or improving practice. Medicines reconciliation (MR) on hospital admission is now policy in the UK. It is the process of obtaining an up-to-date and accurate medication list and documenting any discrepancies. The overall aim of this work was to develop quality indicators to evaluate MR on admission to hospital; the specific objectives include developing MR quality indicators, achieving consensus on their appropriateness and testing their feasibility by applying them in a hospital setting. Design: The study was designed in three parts, each consisting of three steps. In part I, ideas about potential indicators were obtained from two sources: a literature search and the nominal group technique. These ideas were converted to potential indicators using criteria for good indicators and then reviewed by nine reviewers. Part II was designed to achieve consensus on the appropriateness of the indicators to evaluate MR. It involved pre-piloting, piloting and conducting the main two-round online Delphi study. Several methods were used to approach predefined experts. Part III involved applying in hospital settings those MR indicators that had achieved consensus. It included developing operational definitions and directly observing the MR process as conducted by pharmacy staff in two hospitals. The indicators were further tested by collecting data about the MR process for all patients seen by pharmacy staff on one weekday in the two hospitals. Results: A systematic approach was followed to develop MR indicators. The idea generation step produced over 90 ideas about potential indicators, which were converted to 85 MR indicators. The assessment by the nine practicing hospital pharmacists discarded 29 of them and the remaining 56 MR indicators were carried forward to the Delphi study, during which 41 indicators achieved consensus as appropriate for evaluating MR on admission to hospital. In the feasibility study, 5 MR indicators were found not to be feasible and three not adequately assessed, while 33 indicators were considered feasible to be used in a hospital setting. Conclusions: This work provided a novel list of 33 indicators that achieved consensus and were found to be feasible to evaluate the MR process on admission to hospital. Further research should explore the use of these indicators, among others, to assess and improve the overall quality of care provided to patients on admission and throughout the hospitalization journey.

Becoming a mother is a challenging time and for some women the lifestyle adjustment can be very stressful. In combination with the changes in family structure mothers are increasingly seeking professional support and assistance in the care of their infants and children. Child and family health services in NSW offer varying levels of professional support and education, including 24-hour residential care. The purpose of this study is to explore and describe the mothers' perceptions and experiences of residential admission to a Child and Family Health Unit - Karitane. This study is descriptive in nature. Sixteen English speaking mothers admitted to Karitane in 1998 took part in the study. Focus groups were the main source of data for the study. The focus groups were undirected, conversations recorded and written notes taken. Additional data were collected by a questionnaire to determine the demographic characteristics of the mothers. The mothers' indicators of depression were scored using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Each mother completed the EPDS during the admission period and at the time of the focus and respective comparison was made. Data analysis revealed that the mothers' EDPS scores had decreased significantly at the time of the focus group meeting. The key concepts that emerged in the mothers' descriptions of their experiences were the importance of the development of the professional relationship, equity and access to parenting services, particularly for the partner, and the need for services to promote and provide realistic parenting education with an early intervention focus. The implications of the findings lend support to health care professionals in lobbying government for the necessary funds, in providing increased access to quality parenting services.

ABSTRACT Predicting On-the-Job Teacher Success Based on a Group Assessment Procedure Used for Admission to Teacher Education by LaVaun Gene Faulk, Doctor of Education Utah State University, 2008 Major Professor: Deborah Byrnes, Ph.D. Department: Elementary Education Students who have graduated in Elementary Education at Utah State University, since 1997 when the group assessment interview procedure was adopted, and have been employed as teachers for at least two years were contacted. Students were located with the help of the Utah State Office of Education (USOE) and the Office of Teacher Education, Graduation, and Educator Licensing at USU. Permission to interview each teacher’s supervisor was obtained from each study participant. Principals were contacted and interview dates set. A self-anchoring interview was conducted to provide quantitative data on the success of each teacher. This new data was then used to compare each participant’s success as seen by supervisors to existing data already on record at USU. Specifically, principal interview data were compared to the participant’s student teaching scores, prior academic achievement data (grade point average and American College Test scores), and ratings the teacher received on the group assessment interviews when applying to the elementary education teacher training program at USU. (107 pages)

O processo de treinamento e desenvolvimento de recursos humanos é um importante instrumento para a gerência e para a assistência, os estudos encontrados acerca do treinamento em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva (UTI) estão relacionados, principalmente, à realização de técnicas assistenciais. Reconhecendo a relevância do preparo do enfermeiro para atuação em UTI e sabendo da valorização que o grupo de enfermeiros da UTI de um hospital privado do município de São Paulo atribui ao processo de treinamento admissional, esta pesquisa foi desenvolvida na Instituição, Hospital Campo de Estudo (HCE). Assim, constituíram-se como objetivos desse estudo: analisar o processo de treinamento admissional do enfermeiro na UTI, na perspectiva dos enfermeiros da UTI do HCE; reelaborar o processo de treinamento admissional de enfermeiro na UTI, na perspectiva dos enfermeiros da UTI do HCE e definir o perfil do enfermeiro instrutor do treinamento admissional do enfermeiro. A fim de alicerçar essa reelaboração nos valores e necessidades expressas por esse grupo, optou-se pelo método de investigação, da pesquisa-ação. A técnica de coleta de dados ocorreu por meio de grupo focal, constituído de 11 enfermeiros com mais de três anos nessa UTI. Foram realizadas seis reuniões, totalizando dez horas de trabalho. Ainda, na coleta de dados, foram divulgados os relatórios-síntese dessas reuniões possibilitando a participação dos demais 18 enfermeiros da UTI que responderam aos questionários dirigidos, desse modo, houve contribuição de todo o coletivo estudado. Essa estratégia possibilitou a concretização da tarefa do grupo para além da proposta inicial de reelaboração do processo de treinamento. Em consonância ao perfil desejado para o enfermeiro dessa UTI, ora estabelecido pelo grupo, foram também descritos o conceito, os objetivos, as estratégias, a duração e as metas a serem alcançadas pelo enfermeiro recém-admitido. Para tal, foram construídos o novo instrumento, o fluxograma, o memento e a descrição do perfil do enfermeiro instrutor. Além do trabalho desenvolvido, a pesquisa promoveu no grupo e na pesquisadora a reflexão sobre aspectos intervenientes ao processo educativo, bem como acerca da identidade do grupo caracterizada pelo papel assistencial, pela autonomia de ação e, conseqüente, reconhecimento junto à equipe multiprofissional, o que facilitou, de modo coerente, a reelaboração do processo de treinamento admissional do enfermeiro da UTI-HCE
The human resource training and development process is an important instrument for management and care-providers. Studies regarding Intensive Care Unit (ICU) training relate especially to the performance of care-providing techniques. This research was developed at a Study Field Hospital (SFH) considering the importance of a nurses training process for performing at an ICU and knowing how ICU nursing staff value the admission training process at a private practice hospital in the city of São Paulo. Study objectives were to: analyze the ICU-nurse admission training process from the SFH ICU nurses standpoint; redesign the ICU-nurse admission training process from the SFH ICU nurses standpoint; and determine the educator-nurse profile for the ICU-nurse admission training process. In order to support this redesigning within the values and needs expressed by the group, the investigational method of action research was adopted. The data collection technique performed was based on a focus group composed of 11 nurses who have worked at this SFH ICU for more than three years. Six meetings were held in a total of ten working hours. Furthermore, during data collection, summarized meeting reports were issued allowing 18 other ICU nurses who answered the guided questionnaires to participate and therefore the whole group under study contributed. This strategy warranted concretization of the groups task further than the initially proposed redesigning of the training process. In agreement with the desired nurse profile for the ICU, now established by the group; concept, objectives, strategies, duration, and goals to be met by a recently-hired nurse were also described. For such, a new instrument, flow-chart, guideline and educator-nurse profile description were conceived. In addition to the work developed, this research fostered both in the group and the investigator a reflection on intervening aspects of the educational process as well as of the group identity, characterized by the care-providing role, autonomy to act and consequent recognition by the multi-professional team which coherently facilitated the redesigning of the nurse admission training process at the SFH ICU

This thesis presents a comparative study of four Network Access Control (NAC) technologies; Trusted Network Connect by the Trusted Computing group, Juniper Networks, Inc.’s Unified Access Control, Microsoft Corp.’s Network Access Protection, and Cisco Systems Inc.’s Network Admission Control. NAC is a vision, which utilizes existing solutions and new technologies to provide assurance that any device connecting to a network policy domain is authenticated and is subject to the network’s policy enforcement. Non-compliant devices are isolated until they have been brought back to a complaint status. We compare the NAC technologies in terms of architectural and functional features they provide.

There is a race of NAC solutions in the marketplace, each claiming their own definition and terminology, making it difficult for customers to adopt such a solution, resulting in much uncertainty. The NAC paradigm can be classified into two categories: the first category embraces open standards; the second follows proprietary standards. By selecting these architectures, we cover a representative set of proprietary and open standards-based NAC technologies.

This study concludes that there is a great need for standardization and interoperability of NAC components and that the four major solution proposals that we studied fall short of the desired interoperability. With standards, customers have the choice to adopt solution components from different vendors, selecting, what is commonly referred to as the best of breed. One example for a standard technology that all four NAC technologies that we studied did adopt is the IEEE’s 802.1X port-based access control technology. It is used to control endpoint device access to the network.

One shortcoming that most NAC architectures (with the exception of Trusted Network Connect) have in common, is the lack of a strong root-of-trust. Without it, clients’ compliance measurements cannot be trusted by the policy server whose task is to assess each client’s policy compliance.

While the relationship between academic variables and admission into medical school has been well documented, the relationship between socioeconomic background and admission has not been extensively examined. In 2001, the Texas Legislature passed HB 1641, which allowed for the use of socioeconomic variables in the admission of graduate and professional school students. Additionally, the Grutter v. Bollinger decision in 2003 removed a prohibition on the use of race or ethnicity in the admission of students in the state of Texas. The study examined the role medical school admissions selectivity as it relates to the socioeconomic background during a race neutral admissions cycle in 2005 and a race sensitive admissions cycle in 2006. The results of data analysis found that in a race neutral admissions cycle socioeconomic background was a significant factor in the admission of applicants to medical school. However, it was not a significant factor for applicants from underrepresented minority groups. The analysis also found that socioeconomic background was a significant factor in the admission of applicants to medical school in a race sensitive admissions cycle as well. Finally, the study found that variances in selectivity led to differences in the socioeconomic makeup of entering students across different medical schools. From the data analyzed in this study, it can be argued admission to medical school is in agreement with the sociological literature in that parental socioeconomic status is positively related to academic opportunities for their offspring.

Class of 2014 Abstract
Specific Aims: It has been demonstrated through numerous studies that pharmacists have the ability to significantly impact patient outcomes. It is especially important to measure the effect that pharmacists have on psychiatric patient care as this is a population that is often underserved and can potentially benefit from pharmacist intervention. To date, there has been little research on pharmacist led patient medication education groups for patients with psychiatric diagnoses. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a pharmacist led medication education group in reducing adult psychiatric hospital readmission rates due to medication non-adherence. Methods: Patients admitted to an acute adult inpatient psychiatric unit at an academic medical center between September 1, 2011 and July 31, 2012 were included. A random sample of 100 patients that attended the medication education group (intervention group) and 100 patients that did not attend the group were selected (control group). The following data were collected: patient age, gender, ethnicity, insurance benefits, primary diagnosis, substance abuse history, number of medications at first discharge, length of stay on initial admission, time to first readmission, length of stay on first readmission, and reason for readmission (medication non-adherence versus other). A chi square analysis was conducted to determine if admission rates as well as reason for readmission were different between the two groups. An independent t test was conducted to determine if time to first readmission or length of stay on first readmission was different between the two groups. Main Results: There were 28 psychiatric hospital readmissions in the intervention group and 28 readmissions in the control group. Although these numbers were similar, there was a statistically significant difference in the number readmitted due to medication non-adherence, 11 in the intervention group vs. 19 in the control group (p=0.032). There was also a clinically significant difference in the time to readmission between the two groups (an average of 94.43 days in the intervention group vs. 60.70 days in the control group.) Conclusion: The pharmacist-led medication education group did not have an impact on readmission rate. However, the group did reduce the number of readmissions for medication non-adherence. There is a clinically significant increase in the time to readmission in patients that attended the medication education group. The data in this study support the implementation of pharmacist-led medication education groups to improve outcomes in adults admitted to acute inpatient psychiatry units.

The literature directly comparing the epidemiology of MRSA among adult and pediatric hospitalized patients is strikingly minimal. The objective of this thesis was to identify any differences between these two patient groups. The Canadian Nosocomial Infections Surveillance Program MRSA data (1995 to 2007: n=1,262 pediatric and 35,907 adult cases) were used to compare MRSA clinical and molecular characteristics and rates. Hospital characteristics were modeled using repeated measures Poisson regressions. The molecular and epidemiological characteristics of MRSA differed significantly between adults and children. Compared to children, MRSA in adults was more likely to be healthcare-associated, colonization, SCCmec type II, PVL negative, and resistant to most antibiotics. Rates of MRSA in Canada increased in both populations over time but were significantly higher in adults. The hospital characteristics associated with increased MRSA rates differed in adult and pediatric facilities. Implications for infection prevention and control strategies are discussed.

Background: Mental illnesses are the leading cause of disability in the developed world. The treatment and care of people living with mental illnesses historically occurred in institutions. Deinstitutionalisation and reductions in psychiatric beds have since occurred in many developed countries including Canada, the US and Australia. In Australia, closure of psychiatric hospitals became national policy in 1992 through the First National Mental Health Plan. A potential consequence of the shift of care towards the community, is increased presentations to general hospital emergency departments (EDs). In Australia, no long-term trend analysis has been done to provide a comprehensive understanding of the burden of presentations with a MH diagnosis (MH\(_{dx}\)) on EDs. Method and Results of Study 1: A systematic review aims to determine if there has been an increase in the percentage of MH-related ED (MHrED) presentations between 1985 and 2015 by country. All major databases were searched for English-language peer-reviewed literature assessing ED presentations for patients with a MH-related diagnosis including psychotic disorders (ICD-9 codes 295.00-295.95 or ICD 10 codes F20-F29). There were 81 journal articles from 17 countries identified, which were primarily from the US (n=43), then Australia (n=15). National data was only reported for the US. More than nine-tenths of the studies were published in the last half of the study period, and more than half after 2003. Most studies encompassed all age-groups (n=47); just under a third reported on children (n=23). Due to study heterogeneity and limitations of data presentation, a narrative synthesis was undertaken. Overall, nationalstudies from the US for all age-groups showed an upward trend in the proportion of MHrED presentations since 1992, averaging 5.4% for 1992- 2001 and 6.5% for 1997-2003. By year, proportions increased from 3.0% in 2001 to 3.5% in 2006, and from 6.6% in 2008 to 7.3% in 2010. Australian studies reported data for individual hospitals and by region, with upward trends found for all age-groups, particularly in NSW (2.9% in 1999 to 3.7% in 2006) and SA (0.3% in 1993 to 4.3% in 2002). Methods of Study 2 to Study 5: Study 2 to Study 5 examined the trends of all ED and MH\(_{dx}\) presentations to Australian public hospital EDs, nationally, by jurisdiction and by characteristic of patient/presentation between 2004-05 to 2016-17, for Australia and each jurisdiction, subject to data availability. The characteristics assessed included sex of patient (Study 2), age group (Study 3), MH diagnostic group (Study 4), acuity and admission status (Study 5). These studies used aggregated data from the National Non-Admitted Patient Emergency Department Care Database (NNAPEDCD), a part of the National Minimum Data Set (NMDS), as published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Data were derived from two series: Australian Hospital Statistics (AHS) and its special series for mental health, Mental Health Services in Australia (MHSA). The MH\(_{dx}\) presentation was defined as those with a principal diagnosis falling into the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) codes F00-F99. Outcomes of these studies were the number and rate of presentations per 10,000 population (“population rate”), and proportion of all presentations that were MH\(_{dx}\) and growth, primarily assessed as x-fold change. Univariable generalised linear regression models were used to assess the trends. Breakpoints in the trends were tested using statistical goodness of fit tests, optimised by likelihood ratio tests. Multivariable generalised linear regression models were employed to: (1) compare the proportion of MH\(_{dx}\) presentations between jurisdictions and the national average, and between sexes (in Study 2); (2) compare the proportion of MH\(_{dx}\) presentations across age groups (in Study 3); and (3) compare the population rates of high acuity presentations and admitted presentations between jurisdictions and the national average (in Study 5). Statistical significance was identified with p-value ≤0.05 Results from Study 2: MH\(_{dx}\) presentations increased from 3.3% to 3.7% of all ED presentations with a diagnosis. Most growth occurred between 2010-11 and 2015- 16. NT had the highest level of MH\(_{dx}\) presentations per 10,000 population, more than double the Australian average. The proportion of MH\(_{dx}\) presentations was highest in SA in most years, and the average annual proportion of MH\(_{dx}\) presentations was statistically significantly higher than the national average in SA, QLD, and WA. The proportion of MH\(_{dx}\) presentations increased in each jurisdiction, with significant increases for VIC, QLD, WA, ACT, and the NT. Males experienced greater numbers and rates of all ED and MH\(_{dx}\) presentations, while the proportion of MH\(_{dx}\) presentations was 8% higher for females. Results from Study 3: children (0-14 years), followed by older persons (≥65 years) had the highest ED utilisation; while youth (15-24 years) and younger adults (25-34 years) predominated for MH\(_{dx}\) presentations. As a proportion of all presentations, MH\(_{dx}\) presentations were lowest in children, and highest in people 35- 44 years (13.2-times higher than for children). The rate of increase in MH\(_{dx}\) presentations was higher than for all presentations in all age-groups, reaching almost 4-times higher for children. Results from Study 4: Increased population rates of MH\(_{dx}\) presentations were observed for most diagnostic groups, except for mental retardation (F70-F79) and mood disorders (F30-F39). The greatest absolute increase was for psychoactive substance use-related disorders, including alcohol use (F10-F19), and relative increase, unspecified mental disorder (F99). There was differentiation across jurisdictions regarding population rates of, and growth in MH\(_{dx}\) presentations for each MH-diagnostic group. In 2016-17, population rates, at least twice the national average, were observed for psychoactive substance-use (F10-F19), schizophrenia and psychotic disorders (F20-F29) and childhood and adolescence onset disorders (F90-F98) in the NT, F90-F98 in SA, personality disorders (F60-F69) in TAS and unspecified mental disorder (F99) in NSW. The most marked growth was observed for F99 in NSW. Results from Study 5: Population rates of high acuity presentations and presentations admitted increased 2.2-fold (to 417.7/10,000 people) and 1.6-fold (to 1,0256/10,000 people) respectively for all presentations and 2.1-fold (to 16.3/10,000 people) and 2.0-fold (to 43.5/10,000 people) for MH\(_{dx}\) presentations. Trends differed between all and MH\(_{dx}\) presentations for both high acuity presentations and presentations admitted. The proportion of high acuity presentations within all ED presentations increased from 9.1% to 13.5% and from 11.2% to 14.4% for MH\(_{dx}\) presentations; high acuity MH\(_{dx}\) presentations as proportion of all high acuity ED presentations was consistent. The proportion of presentations admitted within all ED presentations increased from 28.9% to 32.5%, and from 32.2% to 38.6% for MH\(_{dx}\) presentations, with the proportion of all presentations admitted that were for a MH\(_{dx}\) increasing from 3.4% to 4.2%. Annual increases in all outcomes were observed in most jurisdictions. Discussion: Internationally, there was an increasing number of studies on MHrED presentations in the peer-reviewed literature between 1985 and 2015, which may reflect an increase in clinical concern regarding MHrED presentations. An observed increase in the percentage of MHrED presentations was found at national level in the US and at individual hospital and jurisdictional levels in Australia, highlighting increasing demands on general hospital EDs. In Australia, the proportion of MH\(_{dx}\) presentations, narrowly defined, has increased in all Australian jurisdictions between 2004-05 to 2016-17, but particularly since 2010-11. To better identify the impact of MH on ED presentations, the AIHW should consider expanding the breadth of MH diagnoses they report. Differences between jurisdictions indicate jurisdictional specific issues. However, significant or upwards trends of MH\(_{dx}\) presentations across all jurisdictions indicates generic issues necessitating concern and policy development at a national level. For age-specific issues, children and older persons were found as the two highest groups of ED users, while children, youth, and younger adults had the greatest increase in the population rate of MH\(_{dx}\) presentations. Across MH diagnostic groups, there were increases in the population rates of MH\(_{dx}\) presentations for most, but particularly psychoactive substance use-related disorders. Increasing rates of MH\(_{dx}\) presentations and MH\(_{dx}\) presentations admitted underscores increasing (but underestimated) demand for MH treatment in Australian public hospitals both in EDs and inpatient care. To better identify the impact of MH on ED presentations, the AIHW should consider expanding the breadth of MH diagnoses they report. When presenting national data, cross-tabulations across patient characteristics and outcomes of presentations would provide insight into the roles of multiple factors affecting ED use for MH conditions. Clinical coding in EDs also needs to be improved to be more specific, including being able to assign multiple codes, which will enable better monitoring of trends. Conclusion: Within the peer-reviewed literature, MH-related presentations as a proportion of all ED presentations have been found to increase in the US, Canada, and Australia. In Australia, analysis of data from the national repository shows increases across all jurisdiction. From a national perspective, the increase is most marked from 2010-11. Healthcare planning strategies for urgent and emergency care cannot afford to overlook the growing impact of youth and young adults for MH\(_{dx}\) presentations. To reduce the need for MH crisis care in Australian EDs, strategies are required to reduce psychoactive substance use in the community, and policies may be needed to strengthen the capability of community MH services and primary care professionals to recognise, diagnose, and treat earlier in the course of illness. To comprehensively assess the burden of MHrED presentations, a national data-linking protocol is recommended. Within such an analysis, the definition of MH-related presentations could and should be expanded to include conditions which will be assigned a physical health- and/or injury-related code commonly associated with a MH condition. The use of an expanded definition is also recommended for the AIHW. The recording of multiple codes is also recommended to enable better monitoring of trends.

碩士
國立高雄師範大學
工業科技教育學系
106
The 12-year Basic Education was implemented in Taiwan since 2014. Which is based on vision of making each child successful via achieving talent development and Lifelong Learning. Due to this very reason, students’ academic achievement has been one of the most popular social issues. According to the statistical data from MOE, the graduates of skill-base highs school in 2016 was 103,398, which was 41.3% of all graduates of high school in that year. Therefore, this study targets at some Electrical Engineering and Electronic Engineering Group students(categories of electronic engineering and computer science) of the first 12-year Basic Education, to discuss the relation between the Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students of different admissions and Test for technological and vocational education(TTVE). Secondary Data Analysis is used to this study, and the research objects are the first 12-year Basic Education students. Outcomes of Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students(CAP), mock examinations and Test for technological and vocational education are collected for SPSS analysis. By Independent Sample t Test and One-Way ANOVA, it is expected to know the difference of students’ learning outcomes between before and after the skill-base education from different genders, enrollments, and majors. When the conclusion is drawn, some suggestions should be made. At last, via step-wise multiple regression analysis, explore if the outcome of Test for technological and vocational education can be predicted by the mock examinations of skill-base high school. It is hoped that the suggestions of this study provide reference to education administration authority, career guidance counselors in junior high school, parents who shows concerns on education, and skill-base high school teachers to design guidance classes. 1.The following conclusions about grades of mock examinations and TTVE which are significantly better have been drawn by induction: (1) For different majors, students major in Electronics and Information are significantly better than Comprehensive High School on TTVE Math exam. (2)The grades of mock examinations and TTVE of students who were in the level of proficient for Chinese, English, and Math on CAP are significantly better than those who were in the level of need improvement. (3)The grades of mock examinations and TTVE of students are generally better if they had better level for Math on CAP; the Professional Subjects grades of mock examinations and TTVE of students are generally better if they had better level for Science on CAP. 2. The mock examinations have predicted power on grades of TTVE.

abstract: In this paper, I study many-to-one matching markets in a dynamic framework with the following features: Matching is irreversible, participants exogenously join the market over time, each agent is restricted by a quota, and agents are perfectly patient. A form of strategic behavior in such markets emerges: The side with many slots can manipulate the subsequent matching market in their favor via earlier matchings. In such a setting, a natural question arises: Is it possible to analyze a dynamic many-to-one matching market as if it were either a static many-to-one or a dynamic one-to-one market? First, I provide sufficient conditions under which the answer is yes. Second, I show that if these conditions are not met, then the early matchings are "inferior" to the subsequent matchings. Lastly, I extend the model to allow agents on one side to endogenously decide when to join the market. Using this extension, I provide a rationale for the small amount of unraveling observed in the United States (US) medical residency matching market compared to the US college-admissions system. Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) are designed to improve the welfare of the poor. Group lending with joint liability is the standard contract used by these institutions. Such a contract performs two roles: it affects the composition of the groups that form, and determines the properties of risk-sharing among their members. Even though the literature suggests that groups consist of members with similar characteristics, there is evidence also of groups with heterogeneous agents. The underlying reason is that the literature lacked the risk-sharing behavior of the agents within a group. This paper develops a model of group lending where agents form groups, obtain capital from the MFI, and share risks among themselves. First, I show that joint liability introduces inefficiency for risk-averse agents. Moreover, the composition of the groups is not always homogeneous once risk-sharing is on the table.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Economics 2020

This dissertation examined the relationship between open and closed Sunday school groups and real and perceived measurements of church health in growing Southern Baptist churches. The concern for Sunday school growth was explored through an analysis of the relationships between open and closed Sunday school groups in 1,013 small and medium sized Southern Baptist churches that were experiencing significant positive growth, in the geographic South. According the precedent literature, research, and an expert panel, the growth characteristics leadership, evangelism, fellowship, and ministry were expected to rank among the most significant of the measured growth factors. Data collected, however, demonstrated critical differences in the perceived significance of the identified growth factors. Sunday school members and leaders ranked discipleship, doctrine, prayer, and worship as the most significant growth factors. The research also identified significant differences between the expected measurements and perceived measurements of open and closed Sunday school groups. Fifty-eight percent of all respondents perceived their Sunday school to be an open group; however, 78% of all respondents perceived Sunday school's primary purpose as instruction and discipleship; 5% perceived Sunday school's primary purpose as nurture and fellowship; and 17% perceived Sunday school's primary purpose as evangelism. Based upon the definitions of open and closed groups, both groups were expected to exhibit biases toward specific growth characteristics; however, there was no significant difference between how open groups and closed groups perceived discipleship, doctrine, and prayer. Both open and closed groups ranked doctrine, discipleship, prayer, and worship as the most essential characteristics of a growing Sunday school. Of the eleven identified Sunday school and church growth characteristics, only four growth characteristics produced correlation coefficients ( r ) that demonstrated any level of significance: leadership, evangelism, fellowship, and discipleship. For most churches surveyed, there was a positive correlation between leadership within the Sunday school and an increased number of baptisms. Overall, there was a general decrease in average weekly worship attendance as the degree of significance in evangelism increased. There was a general increase in adult Sunday school enrollment as the perceived significance of fellowship decreased; as well as a negative correlation between fellowship and worship attendance; as the average weekly worship attendance increased as the perceived significance of fellowship decreased. Regarding the growth factor discipleship, there was a negative correlation between discipleship and the average weekly worship attendance as recorded by the research.
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Improved survival in patients with hematological malignancy (HM) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) has largely been reported in uncontrolled cohorts from single academic institutions. We compared hospital mortality between 147 patients with HM and 147 general medical admissions to five non-specialist ICUs. The proportion of patients surviving to hospital discharge was significantly worse in patients with HM (27% vs. 56%; p < 0.001). Six-month and 1-year survival in patients with HM was 21% and 18%, respectively. HM, greater age, mechanical ventilation (MV) and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score were independent predictors of poor outcome. For patients with HM, culture proven infection, age, MV and inotropes were negative predictors. Disease-specific factors including hematological diagnosis, neutropenia, remission status, prior stem cell transplant, time from diagnosis to admission and degree of prior treatment were not predictive. Overall survival of patients with HM was worse than that recently reported from specialist units.

The Dominican Sisters of St Catharine of Siena arrived in South Africa in 1877. White women joined the congregation. In 1928 the first black woman entered the congregation but because of the policies affecting the different race groups in South Africa, the full integration of black and coloured women was not achieved until 1983. Chapter 1 introduces the topic of the integration of the black and coloured sisters. Chapter 2 traces the origin of the congregation and looks at its development. A brief overview of the story of the black sisters is given in Chapter 3. In the next chapter archival sources are used to understand what happened. Interviews that were conducted with some of the sisters involved in the story are given in Chapter 5. In Chapter 6 there is a look at the current situation and some of the implications for the future as the process of integration continues.
Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
M. Th. (Systematic Theology)

Mathematics, as a subject, is used in various scientific careers as a selection tool. It is regarded as the cornerstone of scientific literacy. However, since learners in South Africa do not perform optimally in mathematics they do not enjoy international recognition. Education renewal is ongoing, and South Africa currently follows an outcomes-based (OBE) approach. The teaching of mathematics cannot be renewed successfully if assessment methods are not regularly adapted to meet new developments in the field. The incorporation of an OBE approach at school level made it necessary to facilitate assessment renewal in tertiary mathematics at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). TUT is engaged in a merger of three institutions, which has made the development of new curricula and teaching material essential. Hence this a perfect time to introduce assessment renewal. The primary purpose of this thesis is to report on the research study and its results, and to make recommendations for improving the practice. The overarching research hypothesis in this study is that a suitable assessment would probably enhance the effectiveness of a student’s learning. The research focused on the following questions: -- To what extent are outcomes-based strategies effectively and regularly introduced in the teaching of mathematics at TUT? -- Will tertiary mathematics facilitators be prepared to implement outcomes-based strategies at TUT? -- To what extent are outcomes-based strategies strategies in subjects supported by mathematics implemented at TUT? -- How does the ecology of TUT affect the implementation of outcomes-based strategies? -- What other factors could influence the level of implementation of OBS at TUT? -- Have any of the mathematics facilitators at TUT received suitable and adequate training in the implementation of outcomes-based strategies? -- What are the possible implications of the study for TUT’s assessment policy? Action research was chosen as the research design because it is ideally suited to improving practice. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through questionnaires, personal interviews, interviews with focus groups, observations, documentation and a reflective diary. The main findings are as follows:– -- OBE strategies are not being introduced throughout TUT in the teaching of mathematics. -- Group work and peer assessments are rare occurences. -- Some lecturers are convinced that new assessment methods would lower the standard of their teaching. -- Uncertainty about the merger and the varying teaching conditions at the different campuses tend to inhibit lecturers, making them less willing to undertake assessment renewals. -- TUT should review its admission criteria. -- The lecturers cited large class groups, a lack of marking assistance and ignorance about OBE as reasons for failing to undertake assessment renewal. The study prepared respondents for assessment renewal. In the interim, however, TUT has introduced a Policy on Teaching, Learning and Technology, whereby OBE has been selected as the teaching model for TUT. In future, respondents will receive training and guidance in the implementation of OBE. This study has hopefully made a significant contribution to this positive development.
Thesis (PhD (Curriculum Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Curriculum Studies
unrestricted