Yes / A novel process chain for serial production of polymer-based devices incorporating both micro- and nano-scale features is proposed. The process chain is enabled by the use of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses (BMG) to achieve the necessary level of compatibility and complementarity between its component technologies. It integrates two different technologies, namely laser ablation and focused ion beam (FIB) milling for micro-structuring and sub-micron patterning, respectively, thus to fabricate inserts incorporating different length scale functional features. Two alternative laser sources, namely nano-second (NS) and pico-second (PS) lasers, were considered as potential candidates for the first step in this master-making process chain. The capabilities of the component technologies together with some issues associated with their integration were studied. To validate the replication performance of the produced masters, a Zr-based BMG insert was used to produce a small batch of micro-fluidic devices by micro-injection moulding. Furthermore, an experimental study was also carried out to determine whether it would be possible by NS laser ablation to structure the Zr-based BMG workpieces with a high surface integrity whilst retaining the BMG's non-crystalline morphology. Collectively, it was demonstrated that the proposed process chain could be a viable fabrication route for mass production of polymer devices incorporating different length scale features.

Knowledge sharing has presented a challenge for organizations in the 21st century. Tangible organizational assets decrease in value when they are used while knowledge increases in value as they are used. Sharing knowledge has enabled organizations to obtain a competitive advantage. A large part of knowledge sharing research is technical in nature with limited consideration of the human and individual challenges that encompass each organization. This exploratory research presents an understanding of knowledge sharing in the terms of individual values of people in a closed information organization. The organizational entity that was studied is within the United States Federal Government. The research questions attempted to understand (1) what role individual values played towards maximizing knowledge sharing, and to identify what were the (2) fundamental, and (3) means objectives in a closed information environment organization. The goals were achieved by operationalizing the value-focused thinking methodology to identify fundamental objectives for knowledge sharing and means of achieving them in an organizational context. Data for the study was collected through in-depth interviews with organizational stakeholders about their values toward maximizing knowledge sharing. A comprehensive individual value hierarchy was created through 33 interviews of closed information environment organizational personnel. This resulted in a total of 141 individual values towards maximizing knowledge sharing in a closed information environment organization. Analysis of the data provided suggestions and objectives that were essential in knowledge sharing and the broader context of knowledge management. The validated fundamental and means objectives discovered for the closed information environment organization provide a theoretical foundation and value hierarchy for maximizing knowledge sharing. Understanding values of individual stakeholders enabled the creation of objectives that leveraged, but not solely depended upon technology, as the solution. A total of 10 fundamental and 14 means objectives were identified. The results provided a theoretical framework and value hierarchy for considering knowledge sharing in a manner that accounts for content and relational epistemological issues. Researchers and practitioners were presented with an understanding of knowledge sharing enablers in terms of the values of people from an organizational perspective.

Single frame ultrasound B-mode image quality is largely governed by the ability to focus the ultrasound beam over a range in depths both in transmission and reception. By developing a comprehensive understanding of acoustic wave propagation two signal processing methods were identified for solving the transmission problem. We made use of both the impulse response using the classical point spread function (PSF) and the spatial sensitivity function (SSF) which describes the spatial distribution at a particular time. Using the angular spectrum method, an accurate analytical model was developed for the field distribution arising from a finite geometry, apodized and focused, plane piston transducer. While there is a thorough understanding of the radiated field arising from uniformly excited plane piston transducers, the focused equivalent (i.e., one that allows a continuous change in phase over the plane piston surface) is incomplete and assumes the Fresnel approximation. Our model addresses the effects of diffraction and evanescent waves without the use of the Fresnel approximation and is applicable at all near- and far-field locations in a lossless medium. The model was analyzed to identify new insights into wave propagation and compared with the Fresnel approximation and the spherically-focused, concave transducer. The piston transducer model was then extended to an attenuating and dispersive medium. After analysing existing models of power-law frequency dependent attenuation, a causal, spherical wave Green’s function was derived from the Navier-Stokes equation for a classical viscous medium. Modifications to the angular spectrum method were presented and used to analyze the radiated field of a focused, planar piston transducer. Finally, after presenting our signal processing strategy for improving imaging spatial resolution through minimization of the SSF, two signal processing methods were derived and analysed in simulation: a deconvolution technique to remove the effects of the ultrasound excitation wave and suppress additive noise from the received ultrasound signal, and a retrospective transmit focusing method that changed the response from a predefined transmit focus to an arbitrary transmit focal depth. Proof-of-concept simulations were presented using a variable number of scatterers and compared with the traditional matched filtering and envelope detection technique.

Evaluations are often an expectation that funders have for non-profit organizations such as Winnipeg’s child advocacy centre, Snowflake Place for Children and Youth (Snowflake Place). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Snowflake Place through the use of a mixed methods case study evaluation employing the tenets of utilization-focused evaluation. A total of 30 interviews were conducted, with individuals from key service providing partners of Snowflake Place and non-offending caregivers of children who were forensic interviewed at Snowflake Place. This study also analyzed the data tracked by Snowflake Place on its service recipients. The results show that although the organization has only been operating for three years, Snowflake Place is able to provide consistent high quality services such as forensic interviews. Results indicate that Snowflake Place has the potential to improve upon the overall positive experiences of both service providing partners and service recipients. / February 2017

This study used the university discussion-based seminar with the aim of exploring and improving students' experiences of face-to-face group work in Higher Education. The purpose was to devise a pedagogic strategy to address the communicative barriers that extant research and literature suggests often arise between ethnically and/or internationally different student groups in universities. A critical examination of literature relevant to co-operative behaviours in groups was undertaken across disciplines. The result was the assembly and development of a theoretical basis for designing a pedagogy that attends explicitly to compassion in HE teaching, learning and assessment. Compassion is relevant to co-operative behaviours. It is recognised across disciplines and it is valued across cultures. It is defined as the noticing of distress or disadvantaging of others, and then taking action to reduce this. The compassion-focussed pedagogy was then applied in discussion-based seminars across different subjects in a UK university. The study adopted an action research approach, which was divided into two cycles. Cycle 1 was conducted amongst mainly white, local students in a Humanities department where (n=105) students were observed in their seminars, some of whom (n=14) participated in one-to-one interviews or focus groups. Cycle 2 was conducted amongst more diverse cohorts of students in the same HEI's Business department where (n=135) students were observed, some of whom (n=20) participated in one-to-one interviews or focus groups. In total (n=9) seminar tutors were observed and interviewed. Five sampling methods and seven data collection tools were combined to support the use of Template Analysis for comparative, thematic data analysis. Overall, most students made use of the compassion-focused pedagogy, adapting and developing it in seminar discussions to benefit the learning and social experiences of themselves and others. Data from three students helped explore why the pedagogy might not be suitable for all students. There was evidence of a positive impact on seminar academic outcomes in terms of assessment for critical thinking skills, particularly for BME students, although this result is offered cautiously and requires further research. The main indications from the study are that explicit work with the concept of compassion, including overt formal assessment of its use, can be unintrusive on subject material (a tutor concern), ethically appropriate, and beneficial to enhancing social and learning interconnectivity between students. Traditional/ standard categorisations of students as local or international in origin are also found to be extremely problematic and profoundly unhelpful in understanding and unlocking communicative barriers between students.

Background: At the emergency department parents arrives with their children in need of urgent medical care in various degrees. For a parent it can be hard to handle when their child has to go through treatments or medical examinations that can be unpleasant. A well-functioning cooperation between parents and caregivers is important to give the child a good health care. To implement familyfocused care can facilitate the care of the child and to increase the sense of participation. Purpose: The aim of this literature review is to describe parents experiences of care of their children at the emergency department. Methods: The study was conducted as a literature review. The articels were found in the databases Cinahl, PubMed, Web Of Science and by manual research. Results: Six factors were selected that had significance for parents’ experiences of the care of their child at the emergency department. These were: communication, information, participants, waiting times and pain management. The results showed that communication between parents, children and caregivers and also between the caregivers mutually influenced the experience. The parents wanted to feel involved in the care of their children. Depending on how long the family had to wait to meet the doctor they were satisfied in different degrees. Conclusion: Parents’ needs a good communication to feel satisfied with the visit at the emergency department. Parents’ felt that the waiting times could be improved. Whether the parents wanted to be present during some medical examinations or treatments of the child it was important to them that they were offered to attent. / Bakgrund: På en akutmottagning inkommer föräldrar med sina barn som är i behov av akut vård i olika grader. För föräldrar kan det vara svårt att hantera när deras barn behöver genomgå behandlingar och undersökningar som kan upplevas som obehagliga. Ett väl fungerande samarbete mellan föräldrar och vårdpersonal är viktigt för att barnet ska få en god vård. Att tillämpa familjefokuserad omvårdnad kan underlätta vårdandet av barnet samt öka föräldrarnas känsla av delaktighet. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva föräldrars upplevelser vid vård av deras barn på akutmottagning. Metod: Studien genomfördes som en litteraturöversikt. Artikelsökning genomfördes i databaserna Cinahl, PubMed, Web of science samt manuell sökning. Resultat: Sex faktorer valdes ut som hade betydelse för föräldrars upplevelse vid vården av deras barn på akutmottagning, dessa var följande: kommunikation, information, delaktighet, väntetider samt smärtbehandling. Resultatet visade att kommunikation mellan föräldrar, barn och vårdpersonal samt vårdpersonalen sinsemellan påverkade upplevelsen. Föräldrarna önskade att få känna sig delaktiga i vården av deras barn. Beroende på hur länge familjen fick vänta på ett möte med läkare blev de nöjda i olika grader. Slutsats: För att föräldrar ska känna sig nöjda med vården av deras barn på akutmottagning behövs en god kommunikation. Något som föräldrar ansåg kunde förbättras var väntetiderna. Oavsett om föräldrarna ville vara närvarande vid vissa undersökningar och behandlingar av barnet var det viktigt att de blev erbjudna att närvara.

Les ultrasons focalisés de haute intensité (HIFU) guidés par IRM et combinés à la thermométrie basée sur la fréquence de résonance du proton (PRF) sont une technique prometteuse pour l’ablation non invasive de tumeurs, le dépôt local de médicaments et l’activation des transgènes. Ce travail présente de nouveaux développements dans le domaine de la thermométrie PRF en présence de mouvement physiologique périodique associé aux variations du champ magnétique. De nouvelles stratégies de correction sont proposées et exploitent la méthode multi-baseline établie en incluant un modèle de variation de phase. Elles sont illustrées avec des exemples de thermométrie dans le sein et dans le cœur humain. De plus, d’autres facteurs influençant la thermométrie PRF, notamment la présence de graisse dans le sein et le flux sanguin dans le cœur, sont étudiés. Dans la seconde partie de ce travail a été abordée la problématique du contrôle précis de la température. Une première approche propose un algorithme de contrôle proportionel, intégral et dérivatif (PID) amélioré utilisant des paramétres de contrôle adaptatifs. En étendant ce concept à un contrôle 3D de la température, une implémentation de chauffage volumétrique est proposée. Par ailleurs, une nouvelle méthode de repositionnement dynamique de la coupe d’imagerie permet de fournir des informations volumétriques sur l’anatomie et la température en temps réel. La combinaison avec la compensation 2D de mouvement et l’adaptation du faisceau ultrasonore permet la réalisation d’un chauffage volumétrique suivant une courbe de température ou de dose thermique prédéfinie qui fonctionne même en présence de mouvements. / MR-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) using proton resonance frequency (PRF) based thermometry is a promising technique for non-invasive ablations in tumor therapy as well as for targeted drug delivery and the activation of transgenes. This work presents further developments in the field of PRF thermometry in the presence of periodical physiological motion and the associated magnetic field variations. Using the examples of thermometry in the human breast and the human heart, new correction strategies are presented which extend the established multi-baseline phase correction to include a model of the phase variation and external sensor readings from a pencil-beam navigator. In addition further factors, namely the presence of fat in the breast and blood flow in the heart influencing the performance of MR thermometry in these organs are examined.In the second part of this work, the issue of precise temperature control has been approached in two ways. First, an improved proportional, integral and derivative (PID) controller using adaptive control parameters is developed. By expanding the concept of temperature control to 3D, an implementation of volumetric heating is presented. A novel slice sweep technique provides volumetric anatomic and temperature information in near-real time. The combination with 2D motion compensation and adaptation of the ultrasound beam position allows to achieve volumetric heating according to a pre-defined target temperature or thermal dose value even in the presence of motion.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the job satisfaction and motivating potential of nursing jobs would be higher for nurses using Patient Focused Care (PFC) compared with nurses not using PFC. Nurses from a large metropolitan hospital served as subjects. Data were collected using three instruments designed to measure job satisfaction and motivating potential. Those instruments were the Job Diagnostic Survey, the Job Descriptive Inventory, and the McCloskey/Mueller Satisfaction Scale. It was hypothesized that nurses working on PFC nursing units would demonstrate greater job satisfaction and motivating potential than nurses working on non-PFC nursing units. The hypotheses were not supported. Results were explained by, among other things, accounting for the nature of the instruments used. The two instruments which gave data counter to the hypothesized direction were not nursing-oriented.

Mit der Querschnittsstudie „Wir und die Anderen – Gruppenbezogene Menschenfeindlichkeit im organisierten Sport in Sachsen“ wurde erstmals das Syndrom Gruppenbezogener Menschenfeindlichkeit im organisierten Sport untersucht. Das Konzept der Gruppenbezogenen Menschenfeindlichkeit – ausgehend von einer Ideologie der Ungleichwertigkeit – wurde von Prof. Wilhelm Heitmeyer (Universität Bielefeld) entwickelt. Die Ergebnisse ermöglichen explizite Aussagen über Ausmaß und Ursachen Gruppenbezogener Menschenfeindlichkeit für den gesellschaftlichen Bereich des Sports. Die Studie wurde im vereinsorgansierten Sport im Bundesland Sachsen durchgeführt. Insgesamt wurden 1.502 Sportlerinnen und Sportler in der ersten Hälfte des Jahres 2012 befragt. In der Stichprobe spiegeln 147 Sportvereine mit 38 Sportarten die Vielfalt der Sportpraxis wider. Es wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie Menschen im Sport auf Grund ihres Geschlechts, ihrer sexuellen Identität, Religion oder ihrer kulturellen und ethnischen Herkunft wahrgenommen werden und ob diese Merkmale mit feindseligen Mentalitäten im Sport einhergehen können. Vorurteile gegenüber Menschen mit diesen bestimmten Gruppenzugehörigkeiten teilen einen gemeinsamen Kern, der sich auch im Gesellschaftsbereich Sport als Ideologie der Ungleichwertigkeit empirisch identifizieren lässt. Das Syndrom der Gruppenbezogenen Menschenfeindlichkeit setzt sich in dem vorliegenden Bericht aus den Elementen Fremdenfeindlichkeit, Islamfeindlichkeit, der Abwertung von Homosexuellen (Homophobie), Rassismus, Antisemitismus, Sexismus und der Abwertung von Menschen mit Behinderung zusammen. Die untersuchten Vorurteile hängen empirisch eng miteinander zusammen. Im Ergebnis zeichnen sich zwar Fremdenfeindlichkeit, Rassismus, Islamfeindlichkeit und die Abwertung von Homosexuellen im organisierten Sport als vorrangig handlungsrelevante Dimensionen ab, gleichwohl lässt sich feststellen, dass Sporttreibende, die einer bestimmten Gruppe gegenüber feindselige Mentalitäten haben, auch häufiger dazu neigen, andere Gruppen wie Frauen, Juden/Jüdinnen oder Menschen mit Behinderung abzuwerten. Das Ausmaß Gruppenbezogener Menschenfeindlichkeit lässt sich teilweise durch soziodemografische und strukturelle Faktoren (Alter, Geschlecht, Bildung, Einkommen, Gemeindegröße) und (sport-) spezifische Faktoren wie Nationalismus, Demokratiekritik und -feindlichkeit, Autoritarismus und Gewaltbilligung erklären. / The cross-sectional study “Us and Them – Group-Focused Enmity in Organized Sports in Saxony” is the first study to investigate the syndrome of group-focused enmity in organized sports. The concept of group-focused enmity, at the heart of which is an ideology of inequality, was developed by Prof. Wilhelm Heitmeyer at the University of Bielefeld, Germany. The findings now put us in a position to make substantiated statements about the extent and causes of group-focused enmity in the social domain of sports. The study was conducted in organized club sports in the German state of Saxony. A total of 1,502 athletes were surveyed in the first half of 2012. The sample includes respondents from 147 sports clubs and covers 38 different sports so as to reflect the diversity of everyday sports. The study pursues the question of how people are perceived in sports in terms of gender, sexual identity, religion, or cultural and ethnic background and whether these attributes are associated with hostile mentalities in sports. Prejudice towards people belonging to these groups shares as its common core an ideology of inequality, which can be identified empirically also in the social sphere of sports. The syndrome of group-focused enmity addressed in this report consists of the elements of xenophobia, islamophobia, homophobia, racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, and the devaluation of handicapped persons. These prejudices are closely interconnected. Although we do see that xenophobia, racism, islamophobia, and homophobia are the primary motives that are ultimately translated into action, athletes who harbor a hostile mentality toward a particular group frequently tend to express prejudice against other groups such as women, Jews, or people with handicaps as well. The extent of group-focused enmity can be explained, in part, by socio-demographic and structural factors (age, gender, education, income, size of the municipality) and (sports-)specific factors such as nationalism, criticism of democracy and anti-democratic sentiment, authoritarianism, and acceptance of violence.

Mit der Querschnittsstudie „Wir und die Anderen – Gruppenbezogene Menschenfeindlichkeit im organisierten Sport in Sachsen-Anhalt“ wurde das Syndrom Gruppenbezogener Menschenfeindlichkeit im organisierten Sport untersucht. Das Konzept der Gruppenbezogenen Menschenfeindlichkeit – ausgehend von einer Ideologie der Ungleichwertigkeit – wurde von Prof. Wilhelm Heitmeyer (Universität Bielefeld) entwickelt. Die Ergebnisse ermöglichen explizite Aussagen über Ausmaß und Ursachen Gruppenbezogener Menschenfeindlichkeit für den gesellschaftlichen Bereich des Sports. Die Studie wurde im vereinsorgansierten Sport im Bundesland Sachsen-Anhalt durchgeführt. Insgesamt wurden 1.720 Sportlerinnen und Sportler in den letzten drei Monaten des Jahres 2013 befragt. In der Stichprobe spiegeln 185 Sportvereine mit 41 Sportarten die Vielfalt der Sportpraxis wider. Es wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie Menschen im Sport auf Grund ihres Geschlechts, ihrer sexuellen Identität, Religion oder ihrer kulturellen und ethnischen Herkunft wahrgenommen werden und ob diese Merkmale mit feindseligen Mentalitäten im Sport einhergehen können. Vorurteile gegenüber Menschen mit diesen bestimmten Gruppenzugehörigkeiten teilen einen gemeinsamen Kern, der sich auch im Gesellschaftsbereich Sport als Ideologie der Ungleichwertigkeit empirisch identifizieren lässt. Das Syndrom der Gruppenbezogenen Menschenfeindlichkeit setzt sich in dem vorliegenden Bericht aus den Elementen Fremdenfeindlichkeit, Islamfeindlichkeit, der Abwertung von Homosexuellen (Homophobie), Rassismus, Antisemitismus, Sexismus und der Abwertung von Menschen mit Behinderung zusammen. Die untersuchten Vorurteile hängen empirisch eng miteinander zusammen. Im Ergebnis zeichnen sich zwar Fremdenfeindlichkeit, Islamfeindlichkeit und die Abwertung von Homosexuellen im organisierten Sport als vorrangig handlungsrelevante Dimensionen ab, gleichwohl lässt sich feststellen, dass Sporttreibende, die einer bestimmten Gruppe gegenüber feindselige Mentalitäten haben, auch häufiger dazu neigen, andere Gruppen wie Frauen, Juden/Jüdinnen oder Menschen mit Behinderung abzuwerten. Das Ausmaß Gruppenbezogener Menschenfeindlichkeit lässt sich teilweise durch soziodemografische Faktoren (Alter, Geschlecht, Bildung) und (sport-) spezifische Faktoren wie Nationalismus, Demokratiekritik, Autoritarismus und Gewaltbilligung erklären. / The cross-sectional study „Us and Them – Group-Focused Enmity in Organized Sports in Saxony-Anhalt“ is the study to investigate the syndrome of group-focused enmity in organized sports. The concept of group-focused enmity, at the heart of which is an ideology of inequality, was developed by Prof. Wilhelm Heitmeyer at the University of Bielefeld, Germany. The findings now put us in a position to make substantiated statements about the extent and causes of group-focused enmity in the social domain of sports. The study was conducted in organized club sports in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. A total of 1,720 athletes were surveyed during the past three month of 2013. The sample includes respondents from 185 sports clubs and covers 41 different sports so as to reflect the diversity of everyday sports. The study pursues the question of how people are perceived in sports in terms of gender, sexual identity, religion, or cultural and ethnic background and whether these attributes are associated with hostile mentalities in sports. Prejudice towards people belonging to these groups shares as its common core an ideology of inequality, which can be identified empirically also in the social sphere of sports. The syndrome of group-focused enmity addressed in this report consists of the elements of xenophobia, islamophobia, homophobia, racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, and the devaluation of handicapped persons. These prejudices are closely interconnected. Although we do see that xenophobia, islamophobia, and homophobia are the primary motives that are ultimately translated into action, athletes who harbor a hostile mentality toward a particular group frequently tend to express prejudice against other groups such as women, Jews, or people with handicaps as well. The extent of group-focused enmity can be explained, in part, by socio-demographic factors (age, gender, education) and (sports-)specific factors such as nationalism, criticism of democracy, authoritarianism, and acceptance of violence.