Class of 2012 Abstract / Specific Aims: The objective of this study is to first assess whether student pharmacist interns feel they can gauge patient health literacy levels with confidence, second to assess which methods are used most commonly in practice by student pharmacists to assess patient health literacy, and third to determine what techniques student pharmacist interns most often employ to communicate more effectively to patients with low health literacy. Methods: The questionnaire consisted of questions about demographics, and knowledge/experiential based questions. Key questions were: How well do you feel you are able to assess patient health literacy? How often do you use the following techniques to assess patient health literacy? (Observe contextual clues, Observe patient word pronunciation, Observe patient willingness to talk, Assess by demographics) When counseling low health literacy patients, how often do you use the following communication techniques? (Speak slowly, Give extra written material, Repeat information, Ask patient to repeat information, Ask if patient understands English, Avoid complicated medical terms). The answers to these questions are measured on a likert scale. Data from the questionnaire was analyzed using one sample t tests and paired t tests. Main Results: Regarding the first primary objective, on a scale of 1 to 5, with confidence measured 3 or greater and no confidence measured 2 or less, student intern pharmacists are statistically significantly confident in their ability to gauge patient health literacy (p< 0.001). There is no statistically significant difference in confidence in ability to gauge patient health literacy between males and females. The method student pharmacist interns used for assessing patient health literacy with the highest average use was observing patient willingness to talk (3.65 +/- 1.01) followed by observing patient word pronunciation (3.57 +/- 0.97), assessing patient demographics (race, age, ability to pay, culture, gender) (3.23 +/- 1.16) and observing contextual clues (patients identify pills by color, asks to be read to, etc) (3.04 +/- 1.04). There was no statistically significant difference between observing patient willingness to talk versus observing patient word pronunciation (p=0.55). There is a statistically significant difference between observing patient willingness to talk versus assessing patient demographics (p=0.011). The technique for improving communication with patients with low health literacy with the highest average use was avoiding complicated medical terms (3.97 +/- 0.95) followed by speaking slowly (3.91 +/- 0.89), repeating information (3.85 +/- 0.73), giving extra written material (3.02 +/- 1.36), asking patients if they understand English (2.85 +/- 1.21) and asking patients to repeat information. (2.39 +/- 1.02). There is a statistically significant difference between avoiding complicated medical terms and giving out extra written material (p<0.001) and speaking slowly and giving out extra written material (p<0.001). Conclusions: We conclude that students pharmacists working as interns are quite confident in their ability to assess patient health literacy, that observing patient willingness to talk is be the most commonly used method to assess patient health literacy, and that avoiding complicated medical terms is be the most commonly used technique student pharmacist interns use to communicate more effectively with patients who have low health literacy.

The problem of this study is to predict how basic design will be taught in the year 2000 in the United States of America according to the perceptions of design educators who were polled using a Delphi exercise. Basic design is an introductory course in design disciplines covering fundamental principles, components, and applications of design. This study has a twofold purpose. The first is to predict how basic design will be taught in the year 2000 to allow design educators to better prepare for the future. The second is to provide a basis for further research that might address specific areas in the future of teaching design.

<p>Abstract</p><p>Title: 2008- the year of the mobile-TV-markets expansion? (2008- ett år för mobil-tv-marknadens utbredning? Drivkrafter hinder och aktörer).</p><p>Number of pages: 50</p><p>Author: Hilda Engstrand</p><p>Tutor: Lowe Hedman</p><p>Course: Media and Communication Studies C</p><p>Period: Fall Semester 2007</p><p>University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University.</p><p>Purpose/Aim: The aim of this research paper is to identify the main operators on the mobile-tv-market and to map out the main forces behind its growth. What are the driving forces that creates a new disribution-market? Also to study how political media-regulation effect and urge the mobile-tv- market.</p><p>Material/Method: Interviews with people from the mobile-tv-market. To read public-documents, press releases and reports from the government, media-companies and organisations has also been a method used to gain information.</p><p>Main results: That the mobile-tv-markets growth is a result of several driving forces. Political regulation is an important force that can make a difference in how and when the mobile-tv-market will expand. My research has also showed that it is beneficial if operators on the market co-operate in different ways.</p><p>Keywords: Mobile TV, Communication Techniques, Political Regulation, Broadcast Standards, New Media</p>

Abstract Title: 2008- the year of the mobile-TV-markets expansion? (2008- ett år för mobil-tv-marknadens utbredning? Drivkrafter hinder och aktörer). Number of pages: 50 Author: Hilda Engstrand Tutor: Lowe Hedman Course: Media and Communication Studies C Period: Fall Semester 2007 University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University. Purpose/Aim: The aim of this research paper is to identify the main operators on the mobile-tv-market and to map out the main forces behind its growth. What are the driving forces that creates a new disribution-market? Also to study how political media-regulation effect and urge the mobile-tv- market. Material/Method: Interviews with people from the mobile-tv-market. To read public-documents, press releases and reports from the government, media-companies and organisations has also been a method used to gain information. Main results: That the mobile-tv-markets growth is a result of several driving forces. Political regulation is an important force that can make a difference in how and when the mobile-tv-market will expand. My research has also showed that it is beneficial if operators on the market co-operate in different ways. Keywords: Mobile TV, Communication Techniques, Political Regulation, Broadcast Standards, New Media

In today’s rapidly changing world of work, where dramatic, unpredictable and complex change is redefining the way in which organisations are to be managed, a realisation has emerged that the intra- and interpersonal communication techniques of people are fundamental in organisational success. This study argues that Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) consists of the necessary techniques to impact on an organisation, while its communication model and leadership behaviour adds to achieving organisational success. Previous research in NLP has been done mostly in disciplines such as psychology and linguistics, but a call is made to apply NLP in an organisational context. Little empirical evidence exists with regards to the benefits of NLP techniques while even fewer evidence is available in a South African context. In this study NLP’s relationship with Emotional Intelligence, the development of leadership, the corporate world and several communication theories are explored so as to understand the value it can contribute in a time where the concept of organisational success is being re-defined. An integrated framework of organisational success, incorporating NLP, Emotional Intelligence and intrapersonal communication, is introduced that serves as an additional guideline to measure the elements of organisational success in organisations, leaders or communication models. This framework also leads to the conclusion that organisations, leaders and communication models making use of NLP are better off than those not making use of it. The benefits of NLP include motivating employees, managing conflict and self-motivation, managing emotional states, communicating effectively, building trust, increasing productivity, improving customer care, strategic planning, setting goals as well as aligning visions and better flexibility. This study establishes that intelligent leadership, the application of NLP techniques to the intra- and interpersonal communication behaviour and management approaches of leaders, can be correlated with organisational success. This is done by means of a case study on the Solidarity Movement, a large non-profit organisation in South-Africa, where five strategic leaders are analysed who are believed to be using and have implemented NLP in the organisation. The result is that evidence is found to support the notion that NLP improves the intra- and interpersonal behaviour of leaders and in turn contributes to organisational success by applying NLP in their communication and leadership behaviour. NLP is often presented as a magic toolkit for the self-improvement of individuals and have since recently relied more on presuppositions than either qualitative or quantitative research. This study adds to the credibility of NLP as an increasingly important instrument for communication management as a discipline. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Communication Management / Unrestricted

The goal of this investigation is to explore the relationship of health provider communication techniques and their impact on patient understanding, satisfaction, and self-efficacy. This investigation looked at the two specific communication techniques of concern elicitation and mutual agenda setting which occur during the beginning of a medical visit. Encounters were recorded with patient knowledge and transcribed to be analyzed. Following a coding manual created from both previous research and original input, the transcripts were organized and read through to process data. Focusing on the two communication techniques—concern elicitation and mutual agenda setting—I looked at the beginning of the encounter to note any usage of the techniques. Using a series of independent samples t-tests, I found that patient understanding was significantly correlated with concern elicitation. At the same time, the length of visits that used concern elicitation and mutual agenda setting was not significantly greater than the length of visits in which these techniques were not used. This implies using these communication techniques clinical practice does not risk losing precious time. This investigation can also give support to more in depth research on various other communication techniques and their potential benefits in bridging the disparity in health literacy.

Proliferation of new wireless technologies has rekindled the interest on the design, analysis and implementation of suboptimal receiver structures that provide good error probability performance with reduced power consumption and complexity particularly when the order of diversity is large. This thesis presents a unified analytical framework to perform a trade-off study for a class of hybrid generalized selection combining technique for ultra-wideband, spread-spectrum and millimeter-wave communication receiver designs. The thesis also develops an exact mathematical framework to analyze the performance of a dual-diversity equal gain combining (EGC) receiver in correlated Nakagami-m channels, which had defied a simple solution in the past. The framework facilitates efficient evaluation of the mean and variance of coherent EGC output signal-to-noise ratio, outage probability and average symbol error probability for a broad range of digital modulation schemes. A comprehensive study of various dual-diversity techniques with non-independent and non-identical fading statistics is also presented. Finally, the thesis develops some closed-form solutions for a few integrals involving the generalized Marcum Q-function. Integrals of these types often arise in the analysis of multichannel diversity reception of differentially coherent and noncoherent digital communications over Nakagami-m channels. Several other applications are also discussed. / Master of Science

L'usage des outils technologiques dans l'entreprise engendre généralement des détournements susceptibles d'influencer sa finalité. Dans cette étude nous nous intéressons à l'appropriation d'outils par les acteurs en vue de prédire la performance technologique des entreprises.Pour étayer cette préoccupation, deux approches méthodologiques ont été empruntées. Une première approche qualitative, soutenue par 13 entretiens menés auprès des responsables d'entreprises du secteur financier camerounais, a facilité la conception d'un questionnaire compréhensible par les enquêtés. À l'aide d'une seconde approche quantitative complémentaire, 365 cadres financiers au Cameroun ont répondu à ce questionnaire.Les résultats obtenus restent dans le prolongement de la perspective structurante adoptée dans cette recherche mais suggèrent la prise en compte de la diversité socio-économique et culturelle dans les questionnements d'appropriation d'outils. Contrairement aux idées majoritaires de la littérature, les outils technologiques utilisés par nos enquêtés ne sauraient être orientés à d'autres fins que celles prédéfinies par leur hiérarchie. Les limites d'usage, la faible intensité d'utilisation d'outils et le niveau de formation moyen des usagers justifieraient le manque d'idées d'appropriation d'outils dans ce secteur. En somme, seule la rapidité d'exécution est perçue comme une performance technologique par les cadres financiers camerounais. Cette performance est déterminée significativement par deux types d'appropriation : l'une, innovante, développée pour résoudre les imprévus de l'activité de travail et une autre, légitimée, acquise naturellement par expérience. Cette recherche interpelle donc les managers à tenir compte des facteurs sociologiques des organisations pour favoriser leur performance technologique. / The use of technological tools in companies can creates a change in the goals expected. This work deals with how these tools are used in order to predict the technological performances of companies.To reach this objective, we have combined, firstly, a quality method which, through interviews of 13 companies' executives of Cameroonian financial sector, made it easy for us to work out a set of questions understandable by everyone. Secondly, a complementary quantity method in which 365 financial agents of Cameroon working in Douala and Yaoundé answered different questions related with the mastering of technological tools.The results obtained respect the main objective of this research work, but , however, imply that social, economic and cultural parameters are taken into account in questions on the mastering of technological tools. Contrary to what suggested in the list of documents consulted, in the Cameroonian financial sector, technological tools are used only to reach the goals fixed by the hierarchy in advance. Non expected results are due to rough and low use of tools in companies, as well as to average training level of users. Which clearly means that technological tools are not mastered in that sector.On the whole, only one aspect of performance is noted in the use of technological tools by Cameroonian financial agents, depending on the environment: speedy execution. This performance is determined by two appropriation methods, one of which tends at innovating in order to solve unpredicted problems that appear in everyday work, the other naturally acquired through experience from everyday use of tools. This research work calls on managers' attention to integrate sociological factors of organizations so as to favor their technological performance.

Antalet haverier som är orsakade av den mänskliga faktorn minskar inte. En del av den mänskliga faktorn ligger i kommunikation mellan olika parter inom sjöfarten, både sjö- och landbaserade. Denna studie är en litteraturstudie vars syfte är att undersöka hur den verbala kommunikationen har praktiserats och vilken betydelse den haft vid kollisioner och grundstötningar. Studien är baserad på haverirapporter från Statens Haveri-kommission som har analyserats med hjälp av ett verktyg specifikt framtaget för denna studie. Resultatet visar på en kommunikationsbrist i en betydande majoritet av de analyserade haverierna. Ofta brister det i kommunikationen mellan VTS och fartyg samt mellan lots och befälhavare. Vanligt förekommande är även språkförbistring där inte alla parter förstått det språket som använts vid kommunikationen.  Med hjälp av ett mer utbrett utövande av redan kända kommunikationstekniker skulle antalet olyckor och tillbud kunna minskas. / The number of marine accidents caused by the human error does not decrease. A part of the human error is in the communication between different agents within the maritime cluster, at sea and also in the landbased sector. This study is a literature study whose purpose is to investigate how the verbal communication has been practiced and what significance it has had in collisions and groundings. The study is based on reports from the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority with a tool specifically developed for this particular study. The result shows a communication gap in a decisive majority of the analyzed accidents. There is often a lack of communication between VTS and vessels as well as between pilots and commanders. Common prevalence is also language problem where not all parties understand the language used in the communication. With the help of a more widespread practice of already known communication technologies, the number of accidents could be reduced.

2017 became the beginning of the Childbirth Crisis of Sweden, as a result of underbudgeting and understaffing, creating an environment where patient safety and availability was questioned. Additionally, information and communication technology rapidly take a larger role in the field of healthcare, nourishing new solutions for old processes. This explorative research was conducted to answer how information and communication technologies, and communication techniques, are used and could be used to provide safe care for patients. This study was conducted with 10 participants working as medical staff at a Swedish neonatal care unit. The medical staff who participated consisted of registered nurses, certified pediatric nurses, pediatric nursing assistants, and one nursing assistant. The approach of this research was through system thinking in the tradition of soft systems thinking. The data collection was performed with a combination of semi-structured interviews and card sorting. The collected data were processed, organized, and interpreted with the three c’s of analysis and thematic analysis. The results of this study are complemented by rich pictures. The empirical findings of this study describe a neonatal care unit known at its hospital to be the one unit holding the largest number of different devices. The medical staff at the researched NCU are using information and communication technology in a combination together with specific communication techniques, to create an understanding of their patients’ conditions. The study connects a state of safe care to the training and knowledge of the information and communication technologies, and communication techniques used at the neonatal care unit. The combination of the information and communication technologies, and communication techniques used at the NCU are vital tools, conclusive to the medical staff when providing safe care for patients. This study provides an insight into one Swedish neonatal care unit, based on the interpretations of its medical staff.