This study investigated speech sound and syllable development in eighteen Zulu speaking children, between the ages of 3;0 to 6;2. In addition, the frequency of occurrence of Zulu speech sounds and syllables in this age group was investigated. To elicit a representative sample of the subjects’ natural speech, a 100-word spontaneous conversational sample was elicited from each subject. The samples were collected by a linguistically matched research assistant. All samples were transcribed phonetically by a stringent transcription procedure, and the reliability of the transcription was assessed by an external moderator. The UNIBET was used to code the transcription into computer recognisable symbols. The Phonetic Calculator Program (PCP) quantitively analysed the samples in terms of speech sound inventory, syllable inventory and the frequency of occurrence of speech sounds and syllables. The data was processed to allow for the comparison of the findings at three age levels namely, 3;0-4;0; 4;1-5;1 and 5;2-6;2. It was found that there was developmental progression between the ages of 3;0-6;2, with regard to speech sounds and syllables. It was found that much speech and syllable development occurred before the age of 3;0, and that the speech sound inventory and syllable inventory was incomplete by the age of 6;2. In addition, the nasals, plosives, approximants and fricatives were found to develop earlier than the affricates, clicks and prenasalised consonant sounds. The shorter syllable strings were found to develop earlier than the longer syllable strings. The subjects produced more speech sounds at an earlier age than their English-speaking peers. The subjects also produced longer strings of syllables at a younger age than their English-speaking peers. The findings in Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 were similar to each other with regard to, the order of the speech sound frequency and syllable frequency. The more complex sounds and syllables were produced more frequently by the older subjects, demonstrating developmental progression. The findings have important clinical implications. Furthermore, the study can provide Speech-Language Therapists with a framework for further research, and contribute in constructing a relevant database of Zulu speech development. / Dissertation (MA (Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / Unrestricted

Orientador: Batista de Oliveira Júnior / Resumo: O presente estudo buscou avaliar e comparar o impacto emocional do diagnóstico de câncer de mama e da mastectomia em pacientes de diferentes faixas etárias. Participaram do estudo 58 pacientes, provenientes do Hospital Amaral Carvalho, com diagnóstico de câncer de mama e proposta de mastectomia (simples ou radical). Elas foram convidadas a participarem do estudo e, as que concordaram, responderam individualmente aos instrumentos: 1) Ficha de identificação e caracterização sóciodemográfica; 2) Entrevista semi-estruturada para identificação dos aspectos emocionais; 3) Escala de auto-estima de Rosemberg e; 4) Escala hospitalar de ansiedade e depressão. A amostra foi dividida em três grupos: grupo 1 – de 24 à 49 anos, grupo 2 - de 50 à 64 anos e grupo 3 – de 65 à 85 anos. Todas as discussões dos resultados analíticos foram realizadas no nível de 5% de significância. A análise dos dados demonstrou que não houve associação das respostas aos questionários com a idade e, no caso da ansiedade e depressão, houve predomínio do improvável nos três grupos. Concluiu-se que não houve diferenças significativas entre os três grupos etários, por isso, não foi possível provar que a idade é um fator que predispõe um melhor ou pior enfrentamento do adoecimento e da mastectomia. Entretanto, foi possível observar que as pacientes que apresentaram os menores níveis de aceitação da mastectomia, são as que atribuem às mamas o significado estético e ou sexual .As pacientes do grupo jovem foram as que s... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The present study aimed to evaluate and compare the emotional impact of the diagnosis of breast cancer and mastectomy in patients of different age groups. 58 patients from the Amaral Carvalho Hospital, with breast cancer diagnosis and a mastectomy proposal (simple or radical) participated in the study. They were invited to participate in the study and, those who agreed, answered individually to the instruments: 1) Identification card and sociodemographic characterization; 2) Semi-structured interview to identify the emotional aspects; 3) Rosenberg's self-esteem scale and; 4) Hospital anxiety and depression scale. The sample was divided into three groups: group 1 - from 24 to 49 years, group 2 - from 50 to 64 years and group 3 - from 65 to 85 years. All discussions of the analytical results were performed at the 5% level of significance. Data analysis showed that there was no association of the responses to the questionnaires with age and, in the case of anxiety and depression, there was a predominance of the unlikely in all three groups. It was concluded that there were no significant differences among the three age groups, so it was not possible to prove that age is a factor that predisposes a better or worse coping of the disease and mastectomy. However, it was possible to observe that the patients who presented the lowest levels of acceptance of the mastectomy, are the ones that attribute to the breasts the esthetic and / or sexual meaning. The patients in the young group ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

M. Tech (Department of Information and Communication Technology, Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences) Vaal University of Technology. / The author addressed the need of parents, school teachers and athletic coaches to be able to assess the level of performance and to compare performances of individual athletes of either gender and in any age group. This was achieved by creating formulas for the following areas in track and field athletics: • Correctly set base standards for all events from the results of 5 year weighted average performances. • Use the base standards to determine comparative standards for all events in all age groups. • Define a function to compare male and female performances in all events. • For all events, generate tables with a range from 0 to 1000 as a comparative measurement. These formulae were created using data from international and national meetings. Different case studies were used for each of the areas and the results were evaluated using the data. In all four areas, it was possible to define hybrid functions with a confidence factor better than 99%. The final performance tables can be updated during revision periods (every 2 to 4 years) by using the national results for the last 5 years. These revisions will be required as implements, tracks and training methods change with time and this will then in turn influence the performances. This is evident from the continuous improvement of records in all events. These tables will not only assist coaches to improve training techniques but it will also facilitate team managers to improve team selections, and it will open the options of meeting organizers to arrange meetings using different formats. As this is a new and unique formulation for measuring performances at junior level in world athletics it can be used as a basis for future improvements in the field of comparative measurement for athletics. Using these tables at senior level it may assist to settle arguments of performance comparisons that are not addressed by the current tables used by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF). It will also avoid the use of different tables for the same events in standard track and field athletics compared to those used for combined event competitions. The author of the tables used by the IAAF has recognised this work as a new and unique development. Future development will include the automatic update of all functions and creation of tables for publication from a standard Windows® based application. A companion application, using the results from this research, will be developed. This application will address all the administration functions required to conduct a meeting. It will include the preparation for the meeting, capturing of results during the meeting and result reporting after the meeting.

Nurse shortages and nurse turnover are major issues in the health care industry. As 4 generations of nurses are working side by side for the first time in history in the health care industry, nurse leaders need to understand the generational differences in order to bridge the gap on retaining the nurses in the workforce. The primary focus of this applied dissertation study was to explore and obtain the lived experiences of leading the nursing intergenerational cohorts, as well as the strategies that nurse leaders or nurse managers can utilize to meritoriously attract, retain, and motivate the generational nursing workforce. The Leadership Questionnaire, designed in 2008 by Dr. Nelson, was utilized to interview 5 nurse administrators of the phenomenon to comprehend how the health care nurse administrators can utilize productive techniques of leading the nursing generational cohorts. The target population was members of a professional long-term care association. Once the nurse administrators agreed to participate on the study and signed the consent form, the researcher scheduled an initial 45-minute interview of three 15- to 30-minute interviews over a 3-month period. The data collected as a result of this study revealed findings: (a) the intergenerational educational gap in the nursing workforce, (b) the needs of the intergenerational nurses, (c) the critical aspect of continuing of professional education training development for the nurses, and (d) the critical leadership values on leading the intergenerational nursing cohorts. This applied research study dissertation intended to assist nurse leaders to reframe perceptions regarding the nurses’ intergenerational group (e.g., Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y) differences and to view these differences in attitudes and behaviors as potential strengths.

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The exchange of institutional information for the purpose of comparative analysis is an established practice in the decision-making and planning processes of institutions of higher education. For comparative analysis to be meaningful, the institutions must be sufficiently alike to be comparable. Hence, colleges and universities are placed into peer groups, comprised of institutions categorized on the basis of relevant criteria. Comparative analyses and the decisions resulting from the analyses are only as good as the peer groupings that provide the sources for comparison. Thus, the way in which peer groups are formed is a cornerstone of the comparative analysis process. The purpose of this study was to compare two grouping procedures, focal proximity, and cluster analysis, in forming institutional peer groups in higher education. The two procedures were examined in terms of their relative reliability, determined by the stability of group membership over a five-year period of time, and in terms of their comparability at a single point in time, measured by the degree of agreement between peer groups formed in 1983 by each of the two procedures. Discriminant analysis was used to examine the relative importance of the variables used as criteria in the grouping procedures. Both procedures were found to form peer groups with greater than chance stability over the five year period of time. For one sample of institutions, focal proximity was found to be more reliable than cluster analysis in assigning institutions to peer groups. There was no difference between the two methods for a second sample of institutions. For both samples of institutions, agreement between groups formed by focal proximity analysis in 1983 and those formed by cluster analysis at the same point in time was greater than could be expected by chance. The variables that loaded most highly on the first discriminant function of the total canonical structure were PHD (proportion of degrees at the doctoral level) and LRES (research expenditures). The variables that were most important when holding all other variables constant were BA (proportion of degrees at the bachelor level) and MA (proportion of degrees at the master's level). / Ph. D.

Sociometric status in childhood, despite its predictive validity, remains determinants.The relatively poorly understood construct with regard to its aim of the present study was to attempt a better understanding. Like most research studies, for every question answered, several were raised. Results of the present study indicated that, undoubtedly, an interaction of factors relate to sociometric standing. These include behavioral and cognitive skills as well as personal attributes such as athletic ability and physical attractiveness. The direction of these relationships remains unanswered. Exemplary of this causal confusion is the finding from this and other studies of a positive relationship between various cognitive social skills and popularity. This relationship has been demonstrated most reliably with withdrawn children. However, it is unclear whether cognitive skill deficits discourage interaction or whether reluctance to engage in social interaction impedes the development of social understanding. With this, as with other variables, it is likely best represented as a transactional model. Hence, acceptance by peers for whatever reason encourages, through social reinforcement, continued pursuit in that and other dimensions which, in turn, facilitate increased skill. Further, the importance of many of these dimensions varies with age and sex. Results of the present study partially replicated previous findings of the importance of peer behavior to sociometric status. However, the finding of a positive relationship between popularity and peer initiated negative interactions underscored the importance of differentiating rejected and neglected subgroups of unpopular children. For treatment studies, the accurate identification of these subgroups as well as the development of different treatment programs for withdrawn versus aggressive children is indicated. Although the results of the present study indicated that unpopular children, as a whole, demonstrated poorer skills in social perception, findings from previous studies, coupled with the small magnitude of difference in present findings, suggest that these skills may vary according to the type of unpopular child. Further, it appears that the importance of these cognitive skills is age dependent. Future research in the area of sociometric status should continue to focus on the identification of behaviors, cognitive skills, and personal attributes associated with peer popularity. Rejected and neglected children should be considered as significantly different subgroups of unpopular children. Finally, it is recommended that future research focus on developing more refined and standardized procedures for measuring affective social perception skills since this appears to be a fruitful and relatively unexplored area in relation to sociometric status. / Ph. D.

The diploma thesis "The Implementation of rating of the audio-visual products by suitability for age groups in the Czech Republic" deals with issues of classification of audio- visual products in Czech medial space. At first, text analyses, what the audio-visual media product is, and what are the legal, psychological and economic arguments for its implementation. The history and current status of labelling in the Czech Republic is also described in this part. Included is also a description of the labelling status in other selected countries, namely United States of America and several countries of European Union. Next part of thesis deals with the Dutch labelling system Kijkwijzer, as it was recommended by experts as an example for future implementation of classification system in our country. It's labelling process and categories are described as well as reasons for why this system was chosen. Diploma thesis also describes the effort to implement this system in Czech Republic by the Audio-visual Department at the Ministry of Culture, and tries to find out why it hasn't been implemented yet. Last part is concerned with the representatives of Czech TV companies, mothers, a psychologist and member of Council for radio and television broadcasting and their opinions on existing classification of...

The diploma thesis "The Implementation of rating of the audio-visual products by suitability for age groups in the Czech Republic" deals with issues of classification of audio- visual products in Czech medial space. At first, text analyses, what the audio-visual media product is, and what are the legal, psychological and economic arguments for its implementation. The history and current status of labelling in the Czech Republic is also described in this part. Included is also a description of the labelling status in other selected countries, namely United States of America and several countries of European Union. Next part of thesis deals with the Dutch labelling system Kijkwijzer, as it was recommended by experts as an example for future implementation of classification system in our country. It's labelling process and categories are described as well as reasons for why this system was chosen. Diploma thesis also describes the effort to implement this system in Czech Republic by the Audio-visual Department at the Ministry of Culture, and tries to find out why it hasn't been implemented yet. Last part is concerned with the representatives of Czech TV companies, mothers, a psychologist and member of Council for radio and television broadcasting and their opinions on existing classification of...