The purpose of this project was two-fold. First the intent was to learn about the strengths of caregivers and bring the more latent view of caregivers as "strengthed" rather than stressed to the forefront. Second, the study explored the usefulness of applying a competency-based therapy approach to caregiver issues and experiences. Specifically, twelve caregivers of adults were self-referred and participated in a weekly group over the course of a six week time frame. The study addressed a gap of a strength discourse in the literature on adult caregivers, and also provides important information about the breadth of the applicability of a competency-based therapy approach with older adults in a group setting. A qualitative research design was employed, the approaches of ethnography and action research were the specific types of qualitative methods for this project. An analysis was performed of qualitative data that consisted of transcripts of fieldnotes and audiotaped focus group interviews. Six major themes that emerged from the analysis of the data included: self-care, guidance, togetherness, separation, relationship with family members, and caregivers as experts. These themes are discussed as they relate to caregiver strengths. Suggestions for future research and for clinical practice are considered in conjunction with the need to provide valuable information about family enrichment with caregivers, and new interventions that build on a strength discourse. / Ph. D.

Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) nanopores are excellent templates to fabricate different nanostructures. However, the pores are limited to a hexagonal arrangement with a domain size of a few micrometers.  In this dissertation, focused ion beam (FIB) is used to create pre-patterned concaves to guide the anodization. Due to the advantage of FIB lithography, highly ordered AAO arrays with different arrangements, alternating diameters, and periodic pore densities are successfully achieved. Anodization window to fabricate ordered AAO is enlarged due to the FIB pre-pattern guidance. AAO has also been successfully used as a template to nanoimprint prepolymer to synthesize vertically aligned and high aspect ratio h-PDMS nanorod arrays with Moiré pattern arrangements. The formation mechanism of anodic TiO2 nanotubes is proposed in this dissertation. Moreover, FIB pre-pattern guided anodization is introduced to synthesize highly ordered TiO₂ nanotubes with different morphologies. The effects of inter-tube distance and arrangement to the structure of TiO₂ nanotubes are investigated. TiO2 nanotubes with branched and bamboo-type structures are achieved by adjusting anodization voltage. The influence of patterned concave depth and surface curvature on the growth of TiO₂ nanotubes and AAO are studied. The efficiency of TiO₂ nanotubes in supercapacitors and photoelectrochemical water splitting are optimized by enlarging surface area and increasing electrical conductivity. Focused ion beam can not only create concave arrays to guide the electrochemical anodization, but also be used for nanoscale sculpting and 3D analysis. When the TiO₂ nanotube surface is bombarded by FIB, there is a mass transfers due to ion-induced viscous flow and sputter milling, thus the TiO₂ nanotubes are selectively closed and opened. By combining FIB cutting and SEM imaging to create a series of 2D cross section SEM images, 3D reconstruction can be obtained by stacking SEM images together. This 3D reconstruction offers an opportunity to directly and quantitatively observe the pore evolution to understand the sintering process. / Ph. D.

Anodization is a kind of method that can produce oxide layer in a large area and on flexible shaped metals. In some specific conditions, anodic oxide layers exhibit interesting nanopore/nanotube structures. In this work, focused ion beam patterning method is introduced to general anodization, aiming to make highly ordered anodic porous alumina and titania nanotubes. Focused ion beam guided porous anodic alumina is carried out by pre-designing hexagonal and square guiding patterns with different interpore distances on well electropolished Al foil before anodization. After anodization, the guiding interpore distance is found to affect the new pores' locations and shapes. Two important elements, electrical field and mechanical stress, are discussed for the development of the guiding pores and the generation of new pores. Based on the proposed pore growth mechanism, novel patterns, non-spherical pores, and large patterns across the grain boundaries are successfully produced. The research on focused ion beam guided anodic titania nanotubes begins with surface polishing. The influence of four polishing conditions, as-received, chemically polished, mechanically polished, and electropolished samples, are investigated. A polished smooth sample provides a desired surface for focused ion beam guided anodization. Hexagonal guiding patterns with different interpore distances are created on Ti surface. Ordered nanotube arrays are produced, and the structure of the anodized guiding pattern is identified. / Master of Science

Prior research has shown the therapeutic alliance to be positively related to therapeutic outcome in couple therapy (Johnson & Talitman, 2007; Knoblock-Fedders, Pinsoff, & Mann, 2007). It is common for the therapeutic alliance to vary over the course of therapy. Alliance ruptures can be defined as "deteriorations in the relationship between therapist and patient" (Safran & Muran, 1996, p. 447). If managed successfully, these moments of alliance rupture can positively impact therapy (Safran & Muran, 1996; Sprenkle, Davis, & Lebow, 2009). As a result, researchers have begun to develop models of alliance rupture repair to help further our understanding of how this process is achieved in various therapeutic approaches (Aspland, Llewelyn, Hardy, Barkham, & Stiles, 2008; Binder, Holgerse, & Nielsen, 2008; Safran & Muran, 1996). The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary, discovery-oriented task analysis (Greenberg, 2007) in order to develop a model of alliance rupture repair in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), a couple therapy approach which encourages emotional reconnection and restructuring of couple interactions developed by Susan Johnson and Les Greenberg (Johnson, 2004). By conducting a thought experiment with four experienced certified EFT therapists, a rational model of alliance rupture repair in EFT was formulated. The rational model was then compared with the analysis of alliance rupture repair sequences during the process of one couple's therapy with a certified EFT therapist to develop a rational-empirical model of alliance rupture repair in EFT. The final model and treatment implications are discussed. / Master of Science

No / Observers were given brief presentations of pairs of simultaneous stimuli consisting of a visual and a spoken letter. In the visual focused-attention condition, only the visual letter should be reported; in the auditory focused-attention condition, only the spoken letter should be reported; in the divided-attention condition, both letters, as well as their respective modalities, should be reported (forced choice). The proportions of correct reports were nearly the same in the three conditions (no significant divided-attention decrement), and in the divided-attention condition, the probability that the visual letter was correctly reported was independent of whether the auditory letter Was correctly reported. However, with a probability much higher than chance, the observers reportedihearing the visual stimulus letter or seeing the spoken stimulus letter (modality confusions). The strength of the effect was nearly the same with focused as with divided attention. We also discovered a crossmodal congruity effect: Performance was better when the two letters in a stimulus pair were the same than when they differed in type.

Histotripsy is a non-invasive, non-thermal, and non-ionizing therapy that utilizes converging high-pressure ultrasound waves at a focal point to produce cavitation and induce mechanical tissue destruction. Currently, rapid prototyped histotripsy transducers consist of multiple elements and are made using 3D printing methods. Multi-element transducers introduce size constraints and 3D printing has limitations in material choice, cost, and time for larger scale manufacturing. This thesis investigates the development of rapid prototyped single element histotripsy transducers and the use of injection molding for transducer fabrication, utilizing an in-house metal CNC mill for mold manufacturing and a desktop injection molding machine. Nylon 101 and 30% glass-filled nylon were chosen as the plastics to inject as these were found to have the most similar acoustic properties to WaterShed, an ABS-like plastic currently used. Six single-element transducers were constructed with a 2 MHz curved Pz26 piezoceramic disc: two with SLA 3D printed housing, two with SLS 3D printed housing, and two with injection molded housing. Electrical impedance, beam dimensions, focal pressure output, and cavitation were characterized for each element. The results show that rapid prototyped single element transducers can generate enough pressure to perform histotripsy. This marks the development of the first rapid prototyped single element histotripsy transducer and further confirms that injection molding can produce transducers comparable, if not identical or potentially superior, to 3D printed counterparts. Future work aims to further characterize these transducers, explore more material options, and apply injection molding to various transducer designs while optimizing both CNC and injection molding parameters. / Master of Science / Histotripsy is a form of cancer therapy that can non-invasively treat tumors using focused ultrasound waves. Focused ultrasound transducers are used to achieve this and are currently prototyped using 3D printing. However, these methods are limiting in material options and upscale manufacturing. Many of these devices currently used tend to be larger in size, comparable to the size of a mixing bowl, which limits its applications. This thesis investigates the development of single element histotripsy transducers and the use of injection molding for transducer fabrication, using an in-house metal CNC mill for mold manufacturing and desktop injection molding machine. Nylon 101 and 30% glass-filled nylon were chosen as the plastics to inject due to their ideal acoustic properties. Six single-element transducers were constructed: two with SLA 3D printing, two with SLS 3D printing, and two with injection molding. All transducers were tested and compared against each other. The results show that 3D printed single element transducers can perform histotripsy and that injection molding can produce comparable results. Future work should continue to test and characterize these transducers, explore more material options for injection molding, apply injection molding to other transducer designs, and optimize CNC and injection molding parameters.

This thesis is a study of the experiences of nurses who have undertaken training in Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). While the clinical outcomes of using SFBT, and other psychological therapies, to treat clients have been the subject of much research, the outcomes of training therapists to use SFBT has been relatively unexplored. It is, therefore, my intention to address, in part, this uncharted area of practice. Utilising a mixed methodology, the study is divided into two Stages. In Stage I, an original Solution Focused (SF) methodology is developed and used to conduct individual interviews with twenty participants. Interviews are transcribed and treated as narrative texts, and are then subjected to multi-factored analysis enabling the synthesis of a ‘group narrative’ and the construction of a typology of experience. In Stage II, I conduct further in-depth interviews with three of the original participants and utilise a hermeneutic methodology, drawing on the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer, to engage with the texts generated from these interviews. The texts are explored thematically, and through the nursing metaparadigm of Jacqueline Fawcett, and are compared with a metaparadigm of SF practice. The research suggests that training is SFBT can have a profound effect on the clinical practice, and professional identity, of nurses, and that this is related to the paradigm of nursing which informs their practice. Where the nursing paradigm is of the dominant ‘assessment and delivery of care needs’ modality, SFBT training has little to offer the nurse; however, where the nursing paradigm reflects an ‘interpersonal, dynamic’ modality based on shared relationships, training in SFBT can be a transformative experience for the nurse. This research makes an original contribution to the field of SFBT and to our understanding of the relationship between SFBT and nursing. Building on the work of earlier scholars, it argues that SFBT is congruent with some nursing paradigms, and not all nursing paradigms as previously suggested. It also advances our understanding of how the scope and field of SF practice may be delineated.

The aim of the work is to value system of processing and use of intercompany regulations focused on accounting. To draft recommendation for a revision or drafting of new intercompany regulations that emerged from the comparison with current legislation and recommendations in the literature. The work analyzes the importance of intercompany regulations for the management of the company. In the theoretical part of the work are the internal guidelines generally characterized. There is also described the legislative context on which it is based. In the practical part are recommendations for changes in the guidelines or there are developed new internal directions of the company.

Terrorattentat orsakar ofta massförstörelse med civila offer, det sprider rädsla och leder till allvarliga konsekvenser för de som drabbas. För att hantera rädslan använder människor olika strategier. Syftet med studien var således att bidra till en nyanserad bild av människors rädsla för terrorattentat och hur de hanterar rädslan. Detta undersöktes genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer där frågorna baserades utifrån tre frågeställningar, “Hur beskriver människor sin rädsla för terrorattentat och vilka känslor beskrivs i relation till rädslan?”, “Varför upplever människor rädsla för terrorattentat?” och “Hur använder människor copingstrategier för att hantera rädslan för terrorattentat?” För att besvara dessa intervjuades tre kvinnor och tre män mellan åldrarna 21 och 29. Resultaten visade att rädslan dels innefattade indirekt och direkt utsatthet samt känslor som sårbarhet och ångest. Rädslan var också kopplad till särskilda platser och situationer. Vidare identifierades också att deltagarna använde sig av känslo- och problemfokuserad coping samt undvikande beteende för att hantera rädslan. Dessa resultat bekräftas i stort av tidigare forskning. / Terrorist attacks often causes mass destruction with civilian casualties, it spreads fear and leads to severe consequences for those who are victimized. To handle the fear, people use different strategies. The aim of this study was therefore to contribute to a nuanced depiction of people’s fear of terrorist attacks and how they handle the fear. This was examined through semi-structured interviews based on three issues; “How do people describe their fear of terrorist attacks and what emotions are described in relation to the fear?”, “Why do people experience fear of terrorist attacks?” and “Which coping strategies are being used to handle the fear of terrorist attacks?” To answer these, three women and three men between the ages 21 and 29 were interviewed. The results showed that fear partially included indirect and direct victimization as well as vulnerability and anxiety. Fear was also linked to specific places and situations. Furthermore, was also identified that the participants used emotion- and problem focused coping as well as avoidance behaviour to handle the fear. These results are mostly confirmed by previous research.

Thesis (M. A. (Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2017. / This study endeavours to identify and describe the stress experiences of South African Police Personnel (SAPS) in a specific municipal area. The components of stress and related coping mechanisms are of particular interest in policing as much research indicates that officers suffer from stress related illnesses. The research was thus undertaken to determine what type of stressors affect police officers in the Greater Tzaneen Municipal Area, Limpopo Province, and what type of coping strategies they use. A quantitative approach utilising a cross sectional survey design was used for the investigation. Stratified random sampling was used to draw the sample of SAPS officers from the different police stations in Greater Tzaneen Municipal Area. Data was collected by means of questionnaires namely the Police Stress Inventory (PSI) and the Coping Inventory (COPE). Ethical considerations, as required by the University of Limpopo, were followed. Results included the fact that of the top ten stressors five were organisational stressors. This finding suggests that the South African Police Services in this area must provide interventions that reduce the effects of work related stressors. They should also recruit more female officers as the gender disparity is a notable one. Results suggest that no matter what age, religion, language, gender, marital status and rank, all respondents are alike in terms of the use of Avoidant Coping strategies. These are used to some degree however; the majority of respondents use Problem Focused Coping strategies together with Emotionally Focused Coping strategies. This suggests that the sample was able to handle negative stressors in a positive manner. It was concluded that a police force that reflects the general demographic of the area is more likely to provide a community driven workforce