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<p>The BoardModel™ software system is today used as a visualization of, for example, logging of parameters in production and real-time predictions of responses such as formaldehyde emission or moisture content. The system is time based and consists of four main programs, the BMDC (saves and sends the incoming values), the View (shows the result to the screen), the Server (calculates the result) and the HDB exporter (export values to a text file).</p><p>This project aims at doing BoardModel™ event based and implement a new interface where the results can be shown. The need of the Server and the View programs in offline applications will be unnecessary, this will make the whole system much easier to use.</p><p>To make the system event based, SIMCA-QP from Umetrics AB will be used as calculating engine. An interface in C code which communicates with SIMCA-QP will be made. All other changes to the program will be made in C++.</p><p>The final version of the new BoardModel™ is event based, has support for multiple models and multiple y variables. The system also has the opportunity to send the calculated results as OPC. The new BoardModel™ consists only of BMDC with an inbuilt exporter and a new interface where the results are shown.</p> / <p>BoardModel™ är ett mjukvarusystem som används för att visa till exempel värden av parametrar i produktionen och realtidsprediktering av bland annat formaldehyd och fukthalt. BoardModel™ är tidsbaserad och består av fyra olika program, BMDC (sparar och skickar vidare värden som kommer in), View (där resultaten visas), Server (som räknar ut resultaten) och HDB exporter (exporterar ut värden till en textfil).</p><p>Målet med detta examensarbete är att gör BoardModel™ händelsestyrt och implementera ett nytt gränssnitt där resultatet kan visas. I och med detta kommer behovet av ett View- och ett Serverprogram att försvinna i offline applikationer och systemet kommer överlag att bli lättare att använda.</p><p>För att BoardModel™ ska bli händelsestyrt kommer SIMCA-QP från Umetrics AB att användas som beräknings motor. För att kunna kommunicera med SIMCA-QP kommer ett C gränssnitt att byggas och resterande ändringar av programmet kommer att göras i C++.</p><p>Den färdiga versionen av BoardModel™ är händelsestyrd och innehåller stöd för flera modeller och fler y-variabler. Man kan också välja att skicka resultaten med hjälp av OPC. Den nya versionen består bara av BMDC med en inbyggd HDB exporter och ett nytt gränssnitt där resultaten visas.</p>

The BoardModel™ software system is today used as a visualization of, for example, logging of parameters in production and real-time predictions of responses such as formaldehyde emission or moisture content. The system is time based and consists of four main programs, the BMDC (saves and sends the incoming values), the View (shows the result to the screen), the Server (calculates the result) and the HDB exporter (export values to a text file). This project aims at doing BoardModel™ event based and implement a new interface where the results can be shown. The need of the Server and the View programs in offline applications will be unnecessary, this will make the whole system much easier to use. To make the system event based, SIMCA-QP from Umetrics AB will be used as calculating engine. An interface in C code which communicates with SIMCA-QP will be made. All other changes to the program will be made in C++. The final version of the new BoardModel™ is event based, has support for multiple models and multiple y variables. The system also has the opportunity to send the calculated results as OPC. The new BoardModel™ consists only of BMDC with an inbuilt exporter and a new interface where the results are shown. / BoardModel™ är ett mjukvarusystem som används för att visa till exempel värden av parametrar i produktionen och realtidsprediktering av bland annat formaldehyd och fukthalt. BoardModel™ är tidsbaserad och består av fyra olika program, BMDC (sparar och skickar vidare värden som kommer in), View (där resultaten visas), Server (som räknar ut resultaten) och HDB exporter (exporterar ut värden till en textfil). Målet med detta examensarbete är att gör BoardModel™ händelsestyrt och implementera ett nytt gränssnitt där resultatet kan visas. I och med detta kommer behovet av ett View- och ett Serverprogram att försvinna i offline applikationer och systemet kommer överlag att bli lättare att använda. För att BoardModel™ ska bli händelsestyrt kommer SIMCA-QP från Umetrics AB att användas som beräknings motor. För att kunna kommunicera med SIMCA-QP kommer ett C gränssnitt att byggas och resterande ändringar av programmet kommer att göras i C++. Den färdiga versionen av BoardModel™ är händelsestyrd och innehåller stöd för flera modeller och fler y-variabler. Man kan också välja att skicka resultaten med hjälp av OPC. Den nya versionen består bara av BMDC med en inbyggd HDB exporter och ett nytt gränssnitt där resultaten visas.

Stroke remains a serious public health problem in low, middle and high income countries worldwide. In low and middle income countries there has been a greater than 100% increase in stroke incidence. The impact of HIV associated vasculopathy is recognized as contributing to the increased prevalence of stroke in younger patients (Tipping et al., 2007) and is an independent risk factor for stroke (Cole et al., 2004). The impact of this increased stroke incidence has not only resulted in an increase in death rates in the developing world, but has also resulted in increases noted in long term disability as a result of stroke. The available resources for stroke care and rehabilitation are lacking in developing countries including Africa, particularly in rural areas. It has also been noted that 80% of the population live in areas where factors such as limited resources and cultural practices limit access to stroke services (Poungvarin 1998). Currently patients with stroke are discharged from hospitals in the public healthcare sector within six to 14 days of having a stroke, because of the pressure for beds (Mudzi, 2009; Reid et al., 2005; Hale, 2000). As a result patients are not benefitting from rehabilitation services and this leads to suboptimal recovery post stroke and to a large number of persons living with disabilities in under resourced communities. Because the patients with stroke are discharged so acutely after their stroke, carers become a necessity to cope with the burden of care. These conditions result in increased stroke survivor dependence in South Africa compared to the USA or New Zealand. While 80% of stroke survivors who are initially unable to walk achieve independent walking (Jorgensen et al., 1995), at three months post stroke 25%-33% still require assistance or supervision when walking (Jorgenson et al., 1995; Duncan et al., 1994; Richards et al., 1993). Unfortunately these independent walkers seldom achieve walking speeds that are sufficient for community ambulation (Schmid et al., 2007; Lord and Rochester, 2005; Lord et al., 2004). Walking competency is a term used to describe a certain level of walking ability allowing an individual to participate in the community safely and efficiently (Salbach et al., 2004). It should also be noted that even those with mild and moderate strokes experience limitations with higher physical functioning which impacts on their quality of life and ability to return to work (Duncan and Lai, 1997). The cerebral cortex has the ability to undergo functional and structural reorganization for several weeks and even months in more severe cases post stroke. Rehabilitation post stroke facilitates this process and can shape the reorganization of the adjacent intact cortex (Green, 2003). Further, it has been concluded that to facilitate the best possible functional outcome for people post stroke, engagement in intensive task oriented therapy is necessary (Kwakkel et al., 2004; Van Peppen et al., 2004). Considering these findings it is extremely concerning that there is little or no rehabilitation provided to stroke survivors in the public healthcare sector in South Africa (Mudzi, 2009; Rhoda and Hendry 2003; Hale and Wallner, 1996; Stewart et al., 1994). With this in mind, the aim of this study was to determine if an out -patient based task oriented group training programme would promote improved walking competency more than the current progressive resistance strength group training programmes that are common practice in persons who have had an acute stroke in the public healthcare system in South Africa. The specific objectives of this study were to establish the effect of a low intensity, namely once a week (for six weeks), out- patient based task programme on: walking competency, walking endurance, gait speed and health status in terms of physical functioning in persons with sub-acute stroke. Due to the high incidence of post stroke survivors with HIV it was important to establish if the training programme produced comparable effects in HIV positive and HIV negative subjects. This study used a stratified blocked randomised controlled trial design. Where group allocation was concealed. In addition assessor blinded evaluations were conducted at baseline, post intervention and at six months after the intervention had ceased. A total of 144 persons who had a stroke were stratified according to their walking speed – mild (able to walk at a gait speed > 0.8m/s), moderate (able to walk at a speed of 0.4-0.8 m/s) or severe (able to walk at a speed < 0.4m/s) – and randomly assiged to one of three training groups. One group received task oriented group circuit training (task group), the second group received progressive resistance strength training (strength group), and the third group participated in one multidisciplinary education group training session (control group). The task and strength interventions included 6 sessions, of 60 minutes each for six to 12 weeks. While the control intervention group participated in one three hour education session, which included advice on the importance of exercise and a 20-minute exercise session. All subjects had been discharged from the public healthcare sector and were less than six months post stroke at inclusion into the study. The primary objective was walking competency, which included the measurement of walking endurance, gait speed, functional balance and mobility (Salbach et al., 2004). The task group showed an improvement that was significantly greater than that achieved by the strength and control groups in walking endurance, gait speed, functional mobility and balance at the follow-up. These findings demonstrate that the provision of as little as six sessions of task training (in a developing country, where persons with sub-acute stroke have had no previous rehabilitation) improves walking competency to a significantly greater extent than either a strength intervention of equal intensity, or a control intervention programme consisting of one three hour education visit in the sub -acute phase post stroke. While the strength group received a more frequent and intensive training compared with the control group, there were no significant differences in terms of walking competency between these two groups over the study period. The task group showed significantly greater improvements in walking endurance, comfortable and maximum gait speed than the strength and control groups immediately post intervention. While post intervention, the task training led to superior gains in functional mobility and balance compared to the control group, it was not superior to the strength group. For subjects, with a moderate gait disability at baseline, the improvements in walking endurance and in comfortable and maximum walking speed in the task group were significantly more than the strength and control groups. For subjects with a severe gait deficit at baseline, the task group improved significantly more than the control group on all measures of walking competency but not significantly more than the strength group. There were no significant differences among the groups for subjects with a mild gait deficit at baseline. All three treatment intervention groups improved their score on the stroke impact scale 16 (SIS 16) over the course of the study period. The task group improved significantly more than the control group’s health status in terms of physical functioning measured by the SIS16. There were no significant differences among the groups in the change scores for the measures of walking competency between the HIV positive and HIV negative subjects throughout the study period. The results of this study demonstrate that an extremely limited number of task training sessions resulted in significantly greater improvements in walking competency than progressive strength training or a multidisciplinary education training approach. However, these results must be interpreted with caution, remembering the context of the sample population who had not received a period of inpatient rehabilitation prior to their inclusion into the study and were 10-15 years younger than subjects in numerous other studies. This appears to be the first study conducted with such a limited rehabilitative intervention post stroke. As a result, further research to evaluate the effectiveness of limited intensity task oriented training interventions for non -ambulant stroke survivors in the developing world where resources are limited, needs to be conducted. It is important to explore the benefits of different group based rehabilitative interventions for stroke survivors to alleviate the burden as a result of disability as much as possible. Key words: Stroke, Task Oriented, Rehabilitation, Walking, Walking Competency

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Nursing) / Management development has been identified as one of the priorities in the Gauteng Health Department [GHD]. The nature of public service management is changing. There is an emphasis on new and more flexible management approaches in the public sector; this requires public service managers to acquire new kinds of skills. Further to this, the changing nature of management in general, caused by globalization increases the need for new kinds of skills amongst managers. This changing framework is facilitated by various new laws, which provide a watershed in the way that human resource development is undertaken in South Africa. It is necessary to ensure that training and development initiatives in the Department are aligned to the new legislative framework. The Employment Equity Act requires representivity in the workplace; there is a need for management skills development programmes to redress past imbalances. The GHD provides several management development programmes for its employees every year. In keeping with current trends and legislation it is necessary to evaluate these programmes to identify strengths and weaknesses in order to improve future management development programmes in the GHD, and ensure that money is well spent. The main goal of this research is to formulate guidelines for the effective implementation of management development programmes in the GHD. The objective of the study is to explore and describe the perceptions of the participants of management development programmes provided by the Department between 1999 and 2001. The researcher used focus groups for data collection and individual interviews for methodological triangulation. The population (N) in this study comprises of all the people who attended management development programme/s purchased by the Department between 1999 and 2001. Three Hundred and forty eight managers attended the programmes between 1999 to 2001 (N = 348).Purposive samples were used for the focus groups and individual interviews. An independent interviewer was used to conduct the interviews in order to ensure objectivity, and anonymity of the participants. Fields notes were taken and the interviews audio-recorded. Written consent was obtained from the participants for the audio recording of the interviews. The data were transcribed verbatim. The Tesch method was employed to analyse the data. The data were grouped and coded. Emerging themes and sub-themes were identified and contextualised through a literature control. Scrutiny of the study by the Ethics Committee of the University of the Witwatersrand ensured ethical rigor. The findings were used to formulate guidelines for future management development programmes in the GHD. The research report was communicated to the GHD. / WHSLYP2017

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Individuals with an intellectual or developmental disability (ID/DD) may not have had the experiences to develop social skills for long term relationships. While society has denied the sexuality of these individuals, the individuals have identified their desire for intimate relationships. The purpose of this study was a qualitative inquiry to identify what individuals with ID/DD expect from a sex education program. A small sample size of three participants identified three themes. Data emerged for the future focus of sex education programs to include: friendship, relationships, and safe sex behaviors. The study also revealed methods of education to be used for the program setting. While the generalizability of the study is limited, due to the small number of participants, data from this study can be used for future inquires aimed at the identification of meaningful sex education programs for individuals with ID/DD.

This thesis creates a historical perspective of The University of Iowa Marching Band program, now known as the Hawkeye Marching Band (HMB). The HMB is the most visible ensemble in the School of Music, and it is one of the largest student groups at the University, upholding a tradition of excellence and rich history of more than one hundred years. However, very little has been written on its history and development. Therefore, this study fills a significant gap in the understanding of a time-honored organization, and it contributes to the growing scholarship of collegiate marching band programs and their collective evolution. Archival methods employed in the research process for this thesis included oral interviews with former and current University of Iowa band directors and thorough inspection of documents in the Special Collections at The University of Iowa main library. The University of Iowa Band Department records, as well as the personal archives of Lou Crist, Frederick C. Ebbs and David Henning were also inspected. Other materials researched consisted of an online alumni survey, digital and paper editions of The Daily Iowan, Press Citizen and Gazette newspapers, and The University of Iowa annual yearbooks. This study begins by highlighting the early growth of the band program that significantly impacted the future of the marching band. It also profiles each director from 1911 to the present day, and investigates the development of the band through consideration of various factors, including program size, staff structure, performance practices, operational procedures, institutional support, use of auxiliary units and significant performances. Thorough examination of the history of the Hawkeye Marching Band revealed several common themes: dedication to the preservation of tradition, innovations in terms of both style and presentation, and a commitment to student leadership and excellence. The Hawkeye Marching Band is a true symbol of The University of Iowa that has impacted thousands of lives in its 130-plus years of existence.