Against the backdrop of health research regulation, this work engages in an exploration of, and offers suggestions towards, how the decision maker can negotiate the complex path of the difficult decision. It is argued that whilst rules and principles are heavily relied upon in order to determine what to do, this reliance takes place without adequate reflection of the different ways in which we seek to rely upon these decision-making aids. What is most often the topic of analysis is the content which rules and principles carry rather than consideration of the different functions which each can fulfil or their (un)suitability in helping the decision maker. Before we consider which principles or rules should inform our decisions, we need to understand why we are using rules and principles. It follows that in order to understand why we might use rules and principles, we must understand how rules and principles can actually help us to reach decisions. Through the development and refinement of a conceptual tree, this thesis sheds light on the how and the why, in order to help decision makers determine the which. Through the metaphor of a continuum, additional insights are offered on the interrelationships that might co-exist between rules and principles. This thesis begins by offering an analysis of pre-existing understandings of rules and principles from legal theory and bioethics literatures. Additionally, I consider the implications of principle-centric and rule-centric approaches to decision-making. Through the overarching metaphor of a tree, a conceptualisation of best practice instantiations, which represent a helpful middle-ground between rules and principles is also offered. This can provide significant practical support to the decision maker in navigating the path of the difficult decision.

Shelter is one of mans most basic needs and the progression of its development over time has had to deal with an ever increasingly complex world that even now places renewed demands on the way we build, live, and work. The location of the site is at Kew Bridge, London, United Kingdom. It is at the important landmark junction of Kew Bridge north circular road and Kew Bridge road, with the immediate context consisting of 3 to 4 storey high built fabric to the north and west boundaries of the site. The Kew Bridge road slipway forms the eastern boundary of the site adjacent Kew Bridge, and the River Thames forms the southern boundary of the site. The aim of the project is to evaluate the existing condition of high-rise residential developments and to compare this to leading environmentally sensitive projects, which utilise sustainable development strategies and renewable energy sources. These strategies and energy sources will be applied in the residential high-rise typology in the form of the Kew Bridge Urban Village. / Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Architecture / unrestricted

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The problem of this study was to develop a literacy teaching profile of the 2004-2005 Teachers of the Year in Kindergarten through grade 5 in four central Florida school districts. Of primary interest was the extent to which these teachers indicated their use of exemplary literacy practices as defined using the domains and indicators of the National Exemplary Literacy Teacher Assessment (NELTA). The NELTA results were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. The results of the NELTA were also evaluated and discussed when total length of years teaching, and length of years at present grade level were considered. The data were derived from the 66 (59.4%) classroom Teachers of the Year who responded to the survey. Overall, the findings showed little congruency between exemplary teaching practices as measured by the NELTA and teachers' self-described practices. Many teachers indicated utilizing grade level practices best suited for grade levels higher than the ones they were presently teaching. Demographic variables did little to clarify the profile of the Teachers of the Year; however, 18 teachers with 7 or more years of teaching experience (27.2%) responded with the highest levels of congruency. Furthermore, using the domains and indicators of the NELTA, 13 grade 4 teachers (19.7%) demonstrated the highest level of congruence with grade 4 best practices. Conclusions were made to explain this along with recommendations for future research.

Yes / Background: Recruiting isolated older adults to clinical trials is complex, time-consuming and difficult. Previous studies have suggested querying existing databases to identify appropriate potential participants. We aim to compare recruitment techniques (general practitioner (GP) mail-outs, community engagement and clinician referrals) used in three randomised controlled trial (RCT) studies assessing the feasibility or effectiveness of two preventative interventions in isolated older adults (the Lifestyle Matters and Putting Life In Years interventions). Methods: During the three studies (the Lifestyle Matters feasibility study, the Lifestyle Matters RCT, the Putting Life In Years RCT) data were collected about how participants were recruited. The number of letters sent by GP surgeries for each study was recorded. In the Lifestyle Matters RCT, we qualitatively interviewed participants and intervention facilitators at 6 months post randomisation to seek their thoughts on the recruitment process. Results: Referrals were planned to be the main source of recruitment in the Lifestyle Matters feasibility study, but due to a lack of engagement from district nurses, community engagement was the main source of recruitment. District nurse referrals and community engagement were also utilised in the Lifestyle Matters and Putting Life In Years RCTs; both mechanisms yielded few participants. GP mail-outs were the main source of recruitment in both the RCTs, but of those contacted, recruiting yield was low (< 3%). Facilitators of the Lifestyle Matters intervention questioned whether the most appropriate individuals had been recruited. Participants recommended that direct contact with health professionals would be the most beneficial way to recruit. Conclusions: Recruitment to the Lifestyle Matters RCT did not mirror recruitment to the feasibility study of the same intervention. Direct district nurse referrals were not effective at recruiting participants. The majority of participants were recruited via GP mail-outs, which may have led to isolated individuals not being recruited to the trials. Further research is required into alternative recruitment techniques, including respondent-driven sampling plus mechanisms which will promote health care professionals to recruit vulnerable populations to research. / Medical Research Council (grant number G1001406); Sheffield Health and Social Research Consortium; National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme (project number 09/ 3004/01)

Yes / Background: Recruiting isolated older adults to clinical trials is complex, time-consuming and difficult. Previous studies have suggested querying existing databases to identify appropriate potential participants. We aim to compare recruitment techniques (general practitioner (GP) mail-outs, community engagement and clinician referrals) used in three randomised controlled trial (RCT) studies assessing the feasibility or effectiveness of two preventative interventions in isolated older adults (the Lifestyle Matters and Putting Life In Years interventions). Methods: During the three studies (the Lifestyle Matters feasibility study, the Lifestyle Matters RCT, the Putting Life In Years RCT) data were collected about how participants were recruited. The number of letters sent by GP surgeries for each study was recorded. In the Lifestyle Matters RCT, we qualitatively interviewed participants and intervention facilitators at 6 months post randomisation to seek their thoughts on the recruitment process. Results: Referrals were planned to be the main source of recruitment in the Lifestyle Matters feasibility study, but due to a lack of engagement from district nurses, community engagement was the main source of recruitment. District nurse referrals and community engagement were also utilised in the Lifestyle Matters and Putting Life In Years RCTs; both mechanisms yielded few participants. GP mail-outs were the main source of recruitment in both the RCTs, but of those contacted, recruiting yield was low (< 3%). Facilitators of the Lifestyle Matters intervention questioned whether the most appropriate individuals had been recruited. Participants recommended that direct contact with health professionals would be the most beneficial way to recruit. Conclusions: Recruitment to the Lifestyle Matters RCT did not mirror recruitment to the feasibility study of the same intervention. Direct district nurse referrals were not effective at recruiting participants. The majority of participants were recruited via GP mail-outs, which may have led to isolated individuals not being recruited to the trials. Further research is required into alternative recruitment techniques, including respondent-driven sampling plus mechanisms which will promote health care professionals to recruit vulnerable populations to research. / The Lifestyle Matters RCT was funded by the Medical Research Council (grant number G1001406); Sheffield Health and Social Research Consortium; National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme (project number 09/ 3004/01)

No / This paper contributes to our understanding of compliance with non-mandatory statements of best practice. Specifically, we examine the efficacy of agency-related mechanisms on the degree of disclosure compliance with the ASB Statement on interim reports. Using data drawn from a sample of 259 UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, we show that although overall disclosure compliance is high (74.5% of the items of information being disclosed), companies do not fully comply with the ASB Statement on interim reports. We employ an ordinary least square (OLS) regression model to establish whether selected company-specific and corporate governance characteristics (proxying for agency-related mechanisms) are related to the degree of disclosure compliance. Our results indicate that multiple listing, company size, interim dividend and new share issuance are positively associated with the degree of compliance. We also find that the degree of disclosure compliance is positively associated with auditor involvement, audit committee independence and audit committee financial expertise. These results have important implications for policy because they suggest that whilst agency-related mechanisms may motivate compliance with best practice non-mandatory statements, full compliance may be unattainable without regulations.

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} For a long time there has been a problem with unwanted emissions to sanitary systems that causes problems in pipelines, pump stations and in wastewater treatment plants and also adversely affect the quality of the sludge. The wastewater contains for example: sanitary products, hair, grease, pharmaceutical residues etc. also the purification of the wastewater requires large investments. The aim of this study was to investigate the wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) communication methods to reduce the emissions from households to wastewater treatment plants. The study was made by a literature review and an interview survey involving four WWTP: Stockholm vatten och avfall AB, Kalmar vatten AB, Vatten &amp; Miljö i Väst AB and Laholmsbuktens VA. WWTP use several different communication methods such as websites, social media, study visits and campaigns. Because of limited time and lack of resources the WWTPs have difficulty in fulfilling the purposes of their interventions. It also depends on that the interventions are not evaluated or monitored enough. It shows in the interviews that the WWTP are not working actively with best practice and also that there is no legal requirement for WWTPs to inform households about sewage rules and requirements. WWTPs need to create better structures to their interventions and they also need to evaluate and follow up ALL interventions to make progress in the future. The study also consider that a plan for best practice need to be developed and stricter regulations which also households may be sanctioned if they violate. / Det har länge funnits ett problem med oönskade utsläpp i avlopp som orsakar problem i ledningsnät, pumpstationer och reningsverk samt påverkar slamkvaliteten negativt. Dagens sanitetssystem har begränsad kapacitet för att kunna hantera dessa föroreningar och samtidigt även bidra till att sluta kretsloppen. Det finns en del okända risker för miljön med innehållet i avloppsvattnet. Exempelvis på oönskade utsläpp i avloppsvatten är bl.a. tops, hår, hygienartiklar, fett, kemikalier, läkemedelsrester m.m. Reningsprocesserna för utsläppen kräver omfattande ekonomiska satsningar samt stora energi- och kemikaliekostnader. Vad gör egentligen VAbolagen idag för att minska på dessa utsläpp? Syftet med studien är att undersöka VA-bolags kommunikationsmetoder för att minska utsläppen från hushåll till avloppsreningsverken. Frågorna som ställs är följande: - Vilka kommunikationsvägar finns och används för att förmedla information från VAbolagen till anslutna hushåll? - Hur arbetar VA-bolag med kampanjer samt huruvida mäts effektiviteten av kampanjer? - Finns det best practice hos VA-bolagen? Studien bestod av en litteratursammanställning samt en intervjuundersökning där fyra VAbolag medverkade: Stockholms vatten och avfall AB, Kalmar vatten AB, Vatten &amp; Miljö i Väst AB samt Laholmsbuktens VA. Syftet var att ta reda på hur de arbetar med miljökommunikation samt vilka kommunikationsmetoder de använder för att nå ut med information till anslutna hushåll och privatpersoner. I resultatet framkommer att HUR- och VAD- frågorna ligger till grund för miljökommunikation, samt att kommunikation kräver att fem punkter används för att budskap ska nå fram: vad, var, vem, hur och varför. För att skapa ett logiskt upplägg och skapa en helhet för en process bör arbetet läggas upp m.h.a. tre punkter: nulägesbeskrivning, framtidsvision samt en handlingsplan. VA-bolagen använder sig av flera olika kommunikationsvägar som ex. webbaserad hemsida, broschyrer, sociala medier, studiebesök, utskick samt kampanjer. På grund av tidsbrist och bristen på resurser lyckas inte kampanjer fylla de syften de är menade att nå. Det beror även på att kampanjerna inte utvärderas eller följs upp i tillräckligt stor utsträckning. VA bolagen anser att riktade mindre kampanjer och utskick mot rätt målgrupp är av de bättre kommunikationsmetoderna. Däremot framkommer det även att VA-bolagen inte aktivt arbetar med best practice samt att det inte finns något lagligt krav på att VA-bolagen måste informera sina användare om de regler och krav som finns. De slutsatser som kan dras är att VA-bolagen behöver skapa bättre strukturer i sina kampanjer samt att de måste utvärdera och följa upp alla insatser för att kunna göra framsteg i kommande insatser. Ett upplägg för best practice behöver tas fram för att VA-bolagen ständigt ska kunna utvecklas och hela tiden kunna jobba utefter de bästa metoderna för tillfället, utefter de resurser som tillhandahålls. Studien förordar även skärpta regelverk där inte bara verksamheter utan även hushållen kan drabbas och sanktioneras vid upptäckt av regelbrott.