Abstract Background: Individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) face many challenges in self-management of their current disease state. Nutrition education has been identified as a key component in managing metabolic control in individuals diagnosed with T2D. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of a 4-week nutrition intervention on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and nutrition knowledge by food security status in individuals with T2D who attend the Family Health Centers of Georgia (FHCGA) located in West Atlanta. Methods: Subjects enrolled in the study (n=6) completed a nutrition knowledge survey at the beginning of the intervention and had their HbA1c values extracted from the FHCGA medical record. Subjects then entered a 4-week group nutrition intervention program. The program consisted of four lessons that focused on the basic diet for diabetes, food label reading, grocery store shopping and eating out with diabetes. Subjects took a nutrition knowledge survey after the intervention and were asked to return to have a follow-up blood draw for HbA1c levels. Results: Two out of six subjects completed the entire protocol. The HbA1c for this subject was higher after the nutrition intervention. An additional two subjects completed all of the lessons and the post survey, but did not have a follow-up HbA1c drawn. The mean nutrition knowledge score pre-intervention (72.33 + 5.13) was lower than the mean post-intervention score (78.67 + 4.04) but was not significantly different. When subdivided by food security status, subjects with a higher food security status had a lower baseline HbA1c. Conclusion: Nutrition knowledge scores increased after nutrition education but not significantly. The effect of nutrition education on HbA1c by food security status could not be determined due to low participation. Future studies with a larger sample size and incentives for compliance are needed to investigate how group nutrition education influences metabolic control in food insecure and secure people with T2D.

Class of 2005 Abstract / Objectives: To compare the interest in and the utility of a clinical intervention documentation tool for Pharm.D. students and preceptors on the basis of gender, age, and years and type of practice. Methods: A web-based survey (pre and post) was administered to all willing subjects. The survey web page was accessed through email. Results: Pre-surveys were completed by 14 students and 4 preceptors. Post-surveys were completed by 3 students (only one of which used the tool) and one preceptor. Due to the poor response rate results on the post-survey and the preceptors pre-survey were not analyzed. For the students pre-survey there were no statistical differences between the men and women in regards to their age. No statistically significant differences were found for students thoughts on utility and usefulness of the documentation tool on the basis of gender. Also there was no statistical difference between the men and women about the likely hood of them using a documentation tool if it was available to them. Implications: This study found that students regardless of gender thought that a documentation tool may prove useful for preceptors and themselves. If a documentation tool was implemented it could provide important information of student activity to the preceptors as well as the College of Pharmacy.

Class of 2005 Abstract / Objectives: To assess whether the satisfaction of women with the pharmacist administered bio-identical hormone replacement therapy consultation service has improved since the implementation of a follow up call program at Reed’s Compounding Pharmacy. Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to 200 randomly selected women who had completed their HRT consultation and received all three follow-up calls provided by Reed’s Compounding Pharmacy within the time frame from July 22, 2003 to April 22, 2004. The returned surveys were then organized and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Additionally, independent t-tests were used to compare data collected in 2001 vs. 2004 on relevant questionnaire items of interest. Main results: Of the 200 surveys sent out to patients, 125 replied (a response rate of 62.5%). Over 50% heard about it through referral from their provider, and almost 35.2% from a friend or a relative. Regarding the follow-up call service, 95.9% of the patients either agreed or strongly agreed that it was helpful; however, only 73.8% feel comfortable discussing their concerns with student interns, who are responsible for the follow-up calls. In the assessment of new health conditions developed after natural hormone therapy initiation, 94.3% of the respondents reported with no new health conditions. T-tests revealed an improvement in patient satisfaction items between 2001 and 2004 with p-values < 0.05. Principal Conclusions: The results of the study showed that there was an improvement in patient satisfaction with the consultation service since 2001, and most of the differences found were statistically significant. The survey result also showed that participants were happy about the follow-up calls, which in terms, perhaps contributed to the increase in satisfaction.

Class of 2013 Abstract / Specific Aims: The purpose of this study is to compare population characteristics and health care systems between Brazil and United States, learn with each country’s strengths and weaknesses what could be done to improve health delivery and quality of service, as well as to compare the role of the pharmacist in the health organization and the power of the intervention for elderly. Furthermore, there are no published studies that compare these two countries in these related topics, what reinforces the significance of the study. Methods: To compare the Brazilian and American healthcare systems and population characteristics we used specific databases to find the data, such as WHO, CDC, OECD, DataSUS and others. To compare pharmacists’ intervention we analyzed published studies conducted in elderly, for Brazil we did a bibliographic search in Medline/PubMed, Scielo and LILACS, and for U.S. we used a systematic review and meta-analyses by Lee et al. The data was summarized in three tables, one comparing population characteristics, a second comparing the healthcare systems and the third, comparing pharmacists’ roles. Main Results: The population of the United States is about 1.6 times larger than the Brazilian population and with a median age of 36 years against 32.1 years, American population is older. Also, there are more adults aged 65 years or older in U.S. (13.1%) than in Brazil (6.8%). Life expectancy is longer in the U.S. (78.7 against 73.2 years) but there are higher levels of chronic disease among elderly. Much less is spent on health care in Brazil, $990 per capita versus $8362 per capita in U.S. The percent of total health expenditures by each government is about the same, 47% for Brazil and 48% for U.S. According to published data, pharmacists’ activities, practice settings and outcomes measured are more robust in the U.S. Conclusion: Brazil spends much less than the U.S. on health care with small differences in life expectancy and with lower levels of chronic disease. Although United States spends more with healthcare, it does not mean that it has the best system. In the same way, only because Brazil has a public health national coverage, it does not mean that all population needs are met. There is more published data available on American pharmacists and it seems that activities are broader in caring for older adults than in Brazil.

The near collapse of extension services in Limpopo Department of Agriculture (LDA) particularly evident in its failure to respond to the needs of the majority of small-scale farmers, presents a major problem from an agricultural and rural development point of view. This calls for an urgent and holistic intervention, in terms of an appropriate extension approach and policy, and prompted this research focusing on the search and development of an appropriate extension approach and corresponding policy for the LDA. For such a policy to be acceptable at the operational level, the emphasis has been on maximum involvement and participation of extension personnel. A total of 324 front line extension workers and managers, representing a 40 percent sample, were involved in group interviews in which their opinions were captured in semi structured questionnaires after exposure to nominal group and Delphi techniques. From the research no particular extension model emerged, but rather a series of principles, which, depending on a specific situation, could be combined and implemented to different degrees. Respondents’ opinions regarding these principles and their dimensions formed the basis of recommendations for a policy framework. These recommendations, based on informed opinions of respondents, include a need-based but priority focused approach relying on a compromise between felt and unfelt needs rather than only the felt needs of community members. For the implementation of participatory development that will ultimately allow for community empowerment and ownership, institutional linkage structures are recommended that provide for effective coordination and integrated operational activities, and having primarily a commodity focus. A strong knowledge support system, having as target audience front-line extension workers rather than farmers, is important in view of the large percentage of under-qualified extension staff. A national (or provincial) monitoring and evaluation programme is seen as an issue of high priority, with a stronger emphasis on monitoring using behaviour determinants (forces of change) as main criteria, but covering also the full range of in- and output criteria in the evaluation process, which if used together with a purposeful and programmed approach, can go a long way in improving current and future extension in Limpopo. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

The primary objectives of this study are to consider the theoretical foundations of Public Administration and specifically public policy; the international context within which higher education in South Africa operates; the South African higher education context, policy processes and reasons for government intervention in higher education; how these reasons relate to the process of transforming higher education; the problems that have or could result from such intervention; the implications of mergers and incorporations for higher educational institutions; the state of higher education funding and its implications for institutional autonomy and academic freedom ; the implications of government intervention in higher education in other areas such as the determination of what universities may teach and student admissions; the claim that the autonomy of higher educational institutions is under threat as a result of the extent of government intervention; and how to enhance cooperative governance between universities and the government. The secondary objective is to identify the best policy options that the government and higher educational institutions could adopt to rectify identified problems, ensure a higher education system that meets the developmental needs of the country and protects institutional autonomy and academic freedom. Government intervention in higher education in South Africa aims, among others, at reforming the system of higher education to reflect the new democratic order, setting the higher education system on a path of growth and development and meeting developmental needs. However, the higher education policies that the government established since 1994 have not adequately addressed the challenges of higher education, and the policies in fact contradict themselves in a number of aspects.The policy objectives of the government's intervention in higher education will not be (fully) realised if the negative implications of the intervention measures, such as insufficient funding, the bankrupting of universities, alignment of institutional cultures, infringements on institutional autonomy and academic freedom are not adequately addressed in partnership with the management of higher educational institutions and their governance structures. Furthermore, the outcome of the restructuring of the higher education system depends on the abilities of universities to adequately resolve the challenges they confront and provide sound and strategic management. Copyright / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / unrestricted

No abstract available. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Public Law / unrestricted

LEGALITY OF THE INTERVENTION DURING LIBYAN CIVIL WAR Abstract The main purpose of this paper is to answer the questuion, if the NATO intervention in Libya during Libyan civil war in 2011 was in accordance with the international law. To achieve this purpose, the paper is divided into three parts. The first one, represented by chapters 1-5, describes self-defence and armed actions of the Security Council under the chap. VII of the UN Charter, which are legal and quite controversial concept of the humanitarian intervention and R2P concept. The role of regional arrangements in peacekeeping is also mentioned. The second part, represented by chap. 6, contains a case study whose object is the Libyan civil war in 2011 between col. Gaddafi's forces and the rebels supported by the NATO. The chapter 6 contains a detailed summary of various demonstrations, battles and campaigns, including the operation Unified Protector. The third part, chap. 7, is pointed on the question of legality of the NATO intervention. Albeit authorisation by the Resolution 1973, the legality of the intervention is questionable. The first air strikes, of 19 March, aimed on Libyan armed forces attacking Benghazi, can be classified as protection of civilians mentioned by the Resolution 1973. Following NATO air strikes supported the rebels in a...

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / F. Todd Goodson / The purpose for this study is to look at the effects of a specific comprehension strategy—Reciprocal Teaching (RT; Palincsar & Brown, 1983,1984) on the performance of intermediate elementary students in the intermediate elementary grades on a standardized literacy assessment. The study was carried out in two implementation stages: a pilot with a small sample of fourth graders and a full-scale study with third, fourth, and fifth graders in a suburban public school district in the Midwest. The pilot study was implemented in two fourth grade classrooms, a total of 39 students, nine of which met the criterial for the experimental group who scored below the 25th percentile on an AIMSweb Maze 2016 fall benchmark. The full-scale study consisted of 269 students in grades three, four, and five across the same district, except for the fourth graders who previously were involved in the pilot. There were 71 students who met the criteria for the experimental group of scores below the 25th percentile on an AIMSweb Maze 2016 winter benchmark; however, after signed consent forms were returned, 59 participated. The students in the experimental group participated in intervention utilizing RT for approximately four weeks in Tier II small groups, instructed by classroom teachers at each elementary school. Regression discontinuity was used to determine the effect of RT on the students’ comprehension as indicated by their spring benchmark scores. The results of the pilot study showed a significant main effect in the scores along the regression line, indicating a positive effect for the intervention. Regression discontinuity analysis between groups indicated that a significant main effect exists for the intervention group. The full-scale study examined the effects per grade level for all students and with a set caliper for students whose scores were four points above and below the cut-off point, or winter 2016 benchmark, for the grade level. The results of the full-scale study focusing on all scores showed a significant main effect in the scores along the regression line, indicating a positive effect for the intervention for all grades; the effect was significant for all grades, but mostly for fourth and fifth graders. Regression discontinuity analysis between groups indicated that a significant main effect exists for the intervention group. When looking at scores within the caliper of four points above or below the benchmark, all scores showed a significant main effect in the scores along the regression line, indicating a positive effect for the intervention for all grades. Regression discontinuity analysis between groups indicated that a significant main effect exists for the intervention group within the caliper at each grade level.

Mindfulness has been defined as having three core aspects: active attention which leads to awareness, a regard for the present rather than the future or the past and an approach that is non-judgemental and accepting (Hooker and Fodor, 2008). Mindfulness has been used to treat adults and children in a clinical setting with presenting issues such as anxiety and difficulties related to poor self-regulation. The current research aimed to explore the effect of mindfulness on self-regulation and the feasibility of using mindfulness in a mainstream primary setting as a preventative, universal measure.The research used an exploratory, mixed methods design and included a comparison group. The intervention was developed collaboratively by the researcher and class teacher and included mindfulness activities taken from Mindfulness for Schools (Cattley and Lavelle, 2009). The children in the intervention group took part in a mindfulness activity 3-4 times a week for 8 weeks, in 10 – 15 minute sessions, straight after lunch.The qualitative data was obtained using semi-structured interviews and researcher observations. The semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis, provided information on the pupils’ and teacher’s perceptions of the intervention. Meanwhile, the researcher observations triangulated data on participant engagement as well as providing information on the fidelity of the intervention and formative feedback for the teacher. Observations and semi-structured interviews were also completed with the comparison class to establish the comparability of the two classes. Quantitative data was gathered using a self-regulation measure developed from questionnaires cited in Bandy and Moore (2010). The questionnaire was administered to both classes before and after the 8 week intervention to explore changes in self-regulation within and between groups. The data is reported using descriptive statistics and inferential parametric statistics.Both teacher and pupil interviews highlighted increased feelings of calm and levels of attention immediately following mindfulness activities. Data from the pupil interview suggested that the children involved in the intervention enjoyed many of the activities and were able to suggest times when they might find mindfulness activities useful. Information gathered from the interviews with the class teacher suggested that the development and delivery of mindfulness activities was appropriate and feasible in a mainstream, primary setting. While changes on the self-regulation scale could be considered positive, in that there was an overall decrease in mean scores in the intervention group, the decrease was not significant and so likely to be due to chance. In summary, the qualitative data indicated that mindfulness activities had a small but positive impact on the emotional, behavioural and cognitive awareness in a group of year 3 children in a mainstream primary setting. However, adapting mindfulness activities to make delivery feasible for a teacher in a mainstream primary setting may reduce the effectiveness of the intervention. Recommendations for EPs and future research are discussed.