Aboriginal people bear a burden of health disparities when compared to non-Aboriginal people in Canada. To date, traditional health-related programs to address these disparities have not been effective. Compounding this problem, the Aboriginal people have also reported dissatisfaction with the healthcare system and the relationships they experience with healthcare providers. However, the literature supports that when providers employ cultural competence in their practice, there is a possibility for improved relationships with patients. Using critical social theory as a framework, the purpose of this project was to conduct a 1-hour class on cultural competence for care coordinators and nurses in a homecare organization in Southern Ontario, and to determine if there was an increase in cultural competence knowledge of Aboriginal people. Fifteen registered nurses attended the educational intervention. Due to the small sample size the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to estimate the difference in scores between pre- and post-test evaluations. Pretest scores were significantly lower than post-test scores (z = -3.05, p < 0.01). Four of the 7 survey items relating to culture affecting daily work, comfort level with cultural competence knowledge, cultural awareness, and addressing power imbalance in the patient provider relationship were individually statistically significant. The findings were supported by comments written in the surveys. It is hoped that the results of this project will be used to demonstrate the importance of cultural competency in care delivery among the Canadian Aboriginal people.

No description available.

This study investigates the impact of self- and other-report cognitive competence, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behaviors on depression using a population sample from the archival data of the Clinical Assessment Scales of the Elderly (CASE). Structural Equation Modeling was used to test predictions of the abovementioned variables. Participants were a matched self-and other-report subset (N=123) of the CASE standardization sample (N=2,000). Structural equation modeling was used to test predictions. The results revealed that age does not predict self-report cognitive competence or other-report cognitive competence. A small covariance (0.42) was found between the errors of self-report cognitive competence and other-report cognitive competence. The data reports self-report depression mediates both self-report anxiety and self-report obsessive compulsive behaviors. Statistically significant large effects were found between self-report cognitive competence and all variables; self-report anxiety (0.72), self-report depression (0.62), and self-report obsessive compulsive behaviors (0.71). Moderate to large effects were found for other-report cognitive competence and all variables; other-report anxiety (.063), other-report depression (0.63), and other-report obsessive compulsive behaviors (0.35). The correlations between the anxiety and depression measures confirm the current literature regarding depression and anxiety. In this study depression has been found to have a mediating effect on both anxiety and obsessive compulsive behaviors in an elderly sample. The inclusion of obsessive compulsive behaviors as a measure of anxiety in this model has empirically demonstrated the variability of the presentation of depression. Psychological self-report measures continue to be the best determinant of a patient’s internal functioning. Research in the area of the presentation of depression in the elderly merits further investigation.

Graduation date: 1992

This study investigates the impact of self- and other-report cognitive competence, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behaviors on depression using a population sample from the archival data of the Clinical Assessment Scales of the Elderly (CASE). Structural Equation Modeling was used to test predictions of the abovementioned variables. Participants were a matched self-and other-report subset (N=123) of the CASE standardization sample (N=2,000). Structural equation modeling was used to test predictions. The results revealed that age does not predict self-report cognitive competence or other-report cognitive competence. A small covariance (0.42) was found between the errors of self-report cognitive competence and other-report cognitive competence. The data reports self-report depression mediates both self-report anxiety and self-report obsessive compulsive behaviors. Statistically significant large effects were found between self-report cognitive competence and all variables; self-report anxiety (0.72), self-report depression (0.62), and self-report obsessive compulsive behaviors (0.71). Moderate to large effects were found for other-report cognitive competence and all variables; other-report anxiety (.063), other-report depression (0.63), and other-report obsessive compulsive behaviors (0.35). The correlations between the anxiety and depression measures confirm the current literature regarding depression and anxiety. In this study depression has been found to have a mediating effect on both anxiety and obsessive compulsive behaviors in an elderly sample. The inclusion of obsessive compulsive behaviors as a measure of anxiety in this model has empirically demonstrated the variability of the presentation of depression. Psychological self-report measures continue to be the best determinant of a patient’s internal functioning. Research in the area of the presentation of depression in the elderly merits further investigation.

This research is to learn the recruitment strategy and the school advantages of private universities of technology in Kaohsiung. Two private universities of technology in Kaohsiung area were selected for this research. The questionnaire of school resource advantage cognition was designed for students selected from these two schools. Interviews with related administrative staff from these two schools were also proceeded for cross analysis and for verification of the statistic result. The core competence of the schools was demonstrated. The application, development, and accumulation of the core competence would then establish sustainable competitive advantages of the universities of technology. The following observations were obtained. 1.The advantages in geographic location and convenience in traffic do attract students. Schools in weak situations mostly put efforts on improving the life's mechanism and lift the expediency to the traffic in order to reduce the difference from their strong competitors. Land limitation can be adjusted by increasing the floor squares in the buildings. 2.The advantages in teacher quality owned by new universities of technology can not be caught up by their competitors within short period of time. To encourage the acquirements of the teacher¡¦s professional certificates and raise the academic research ability would be important in the future. 3.Most schools would develop courses on both theoretical and practical bases. But multi-degree system causes the difficulty in course design and complexity in administrative works. Therefore, simplification of the degree-system is a direction to advance. 4.Currently, career consultations are supported by database systems and some other electronic mechanism. To promote the employment opportunities for students, the cooperation between the school and the industry has significant effect and competent alumni in the industry can provide rich job information. Thus effective management to the precious alumnus resource is important. 5.The most significant competitive advantage of student recruitment is the school¡¦s reputation. It is worth establishing a specialized unit to integrate resources and develop marketing strategies for promoting the school¡¦s specializations. Keeping active relationships with the mass media to raise the reputation of the school is also essential. 6.The advertisement for recruitment of students should be initiative, creative and active and there should be sufficient fund, personnel and activities. Technological and vocational school fair is the best opportunity to show the distinguished features and raise the reputation of the school; therefore thorough planning to the fair is crucial.

The concept of competence hypothesis identified by Heath and Tversky (1991) proposes that ambiguity aversion is affected by the subjective competence level of participants. When people feel knowledgeable or skillful in a field, they would rather bet on their own judgment even with uncertainty. However, when participants do not feel knowledgeable or skillful, they prefer betting on the unambiguous chance event. Therefore, the bias of ambiguity aversion is conditional on the subjective competence level of the participants. Our study selects managers of open and domestic stock type mutual funds to be study objects. There are 12 months during the study period, starting from April 2004 and ending in March 2005. In the first part of this paper, we investigate whether the competence effect influences professional managers¡¦ behaviors. We explore the relation between manager competence and mutual fund holding bias by conducting multiple regression analysis. Our study finds competence effect in the behaviors of mutual fund managers. A positive relation exists between manager competence and mutual fund holding electronic stocks bias. When manager competence is high, the mutual fund holdings in electronics stocks will be either more or less than the market. That is, weighting of holding electronics categorized stocks in mutual fund clearly deviate from the weighting of electronics categorized stocks in the market. However, when manager competence is not high, weighting of holding electronics categorized stocks in mutual fund follows that in the market. The other hypothesis proposes that manager competence is not relevant to the £] of mutual fund portfolio. Secondly, we explore the factors that affect manager competence by conducting logistic regression analysis. Among the five variables which may affect mutual fund manager competence, we find ¡§fund size¡¨ the only factor that is positively relevant to mutual fund manager competence. In other words, the larger the mutual funds, the more likely that managers will perceive themselves as skillful and knowledgeable. The other four variables are the manager¡¦s previous fund management experience, educational level, gender, and performance of mutual fund in the past year. They are not related to competence.

It is a ring of the whole business activity that enterprise manages. The mode of managing, the method of managing and the efficiency of managing all are enough to influence the surviving and developing of the enterprise. Many influence the whole commercial ecology too. All emphasize the important method bringing forth new ideas to bring forth new ideas mostly on the documents which manages the tactics. But, in the managing actually of the enterprise, and, what is the different between the tradition and innovate? How to operate the manage model of the tradition and innovate? What the influences for the achievement result which enterprise manage? The person who manages enterprises is for real operation, how to choice and apply the tradition model and innovate model? This report is the investigation that the different for the tradition and innovate. Also supply the simple and easy method to analyze for the people who manage enterprises. Make the enterprise able to adjust the mode that the enterprises manage according to different situation. This report use the angle that industry analysed to collect all kinds of reports about industry analysed and KFS and core ability. Build the analysis model of enterprises manages. And, use this model to prove the real case. Finally, the best method developed between the tradition and innovation.

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

The Swedish school is today a meeting place for many people with different cultures. The teacher education at Södertörn University have since 2002 been influenced by an intercultural profile. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the intercultural profile of Södertörn University is expressed in preschool- teachers/ teachers work. Is an intercultural approach requested in schools and is intercultural approach useful and applicable in the teaching profession? The report is based on a qualitative study of what intercultural competence means for five preschool- teachers/ teachers who have graduated from Södertörn University. The report describes what intercultural competence means to them and how they use their intercultural competence in their work. It also investigates the employers view on intercultural competence. There seems to be some uncertainty about intercultural competence, during the interviews with the preschool teachers/ teachers they became more aware of how they actually use their intercultural competence. These preschool- teacher/ teacher have perhaps not had the opportunity to reflect on the concept. My conclusion is that intercultural competence is essential in school because teachers meet people with different cultures every day, that’s why teachers need to work with ethnocentric behavior. Teachers have a responsibility not to pass on prejudices about people to their students. All children have a right to feel included in the school community regardless of who they are and where they come from.