Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is recognised worldwide as a tool for identifying the potential adverse effects of a proposed development on the environment. Very little attention has been given to determining the actual environmental effects resulting from a development. The need for EIA follow–up (i.e. monitoring, auditing, evaluation, management and communication) was identified and would form the building blocks within the EIA process. Follow–up provides information about the consequences of an activity and presents opportunities to implement adequate mitigation measures. EIA follow–up is not developed to its full potential even though the need for it is acknowledged and supported in legislation, scientific journals and scientific books. EIA follow–up necessitates feedback in the EIA process to ensure lessons learnt and outcomes from past experiences can be applied in future actions. Follow–up is only a legal requirement if conditions are specified in the environmental authorisation (EA). Of particular concern to follow–up is the accuracy of prediction and secondly, the level of compliance to conditions set out in the authorization and management plans. This study will focus primarily on critically analysing predictions and compliance from the construction phase of a high profile mega shopping mall project, namely the Mooi River Mall (MRM), with an analysis to gauge the actual effect and contribution of the EIA process to decision making and implementation practices. Multiple data sources were used to determine the accuracy of predictions and legal compliance level of the Mooi River Mall. The Mooi River Mall's accuracy of predictions (66%) and legal compliance (83%) suggest that some of the impacts were unavoidable; that mitigation measures were either not implemented or identified or that EIA follow–up served its purpose in the form of implementing effective auditing programmes to monitor legal compliance. / Thesis (M.Sc (Environmental Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The operational performance of an existing or proposed roundabout can be assessed through capacity models. In order to provide improved capacity predictions for existing and proposed Georgia roundabouts, the 2010 HCM roundabout capacity equations need to be locally calibrated based on Georgia drivers. The purpose of this study is to collect field data necessary to calculate follow-up and critical headways at Georgia roundabouts in order to calibrate the 2010 HCM capacity equations to yield improved capacity predictions. The research team filmed 28 approaches at thirteen Georgia roundabouts for a total of 56.5 hours. The video was processed manually using an in-house computer program. Based on analyst keystrokes during the video review the program would extract timestamps of events that are necessary for calculating follow-up and critical headway. The follow-up and critical headway values were calculated for two different data sets: 1) including exiting vehicles and 2) excluding exiting vehicles. The critical and follow-up headway for an analysis including exiting vehicles is 4.192 seconds and 2.788 seconds respectively. The critical and follow-up headway for an analysis excluding exiting vehicles is 4.747 seconds and 3.265 seconds respectively. This study found that including the exiting vehicles impacts the capacity. The capacity increases or decreases based on the percentage of conflicting vehicles that are exiting vehicles. In addition, this study’s calibrated model excluding exiting vehicles predicts higher capacity than the 2010 HCM model that GDOT recommends which also excludes exiting vehicles.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is recognised worldwide as a tool for identifying the potential adverse effects of a proposed development on the environment. Very little attention has been given to determining the actual environmental effects resulting from a development. The need for EIA follow–up (i.e. monitoring, auditing, evaluation, management and communication) was identified and would form the building blocks within the EIA process. Follow–up provides information about the consequences of an activity and presents opportunities to implement adequate mitigation measures. EIA follow–up is not developed to its full potential even though the need for it is acknowledged and supported in legislation, scientific journals and scientific books. EIA follow–up necessitates feedback in the EIA process to ensure lessons learnt and outcomes from past experiences can be applied in future actions. Follow–up is only a legal requirement if conditions are specified in the environmental authorisation (EA). Of particular concern to follow–up is the accuracy of prediction and secondly, the level of compliance to conditions set out in the authorization and management plans. This study will focus primarily on critically analysing predictions and compliance from the construction phase of a high profile mega shopping mall project, namely the Mooi River Mall (MRM), with an analysis to gauge the actual effect and contribution of the EIA process to decision making and implementation practices. Multiple data sources were used to determine the accuracy of predictions and legal compliance level of the Mooi River Mall. The Mooi River Mall's accuracy of predictions (66%) and legal compliance (83%) suggest that some of the impacts were unavoidable; that mitigation measures were either not implemented or identified or that EIA follow–up served its purpose in the form of implementing effective auditing programmes to monitor legal compliance. / Thesis (M.Sc (Environmental Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Background: Continuity of care and post-discharge follow-up visits can improve the quality of care and reduce the likelihood of relapse and re-hospitalization in patients with psychotic disorders. Purpose: This study aimed to analyze post-discharge follow-up interventions in patients with psychotic disorders, and to identify measurement instruments for intervention outcomes. Method: The literature review described here used a specific framework, where the follow-up interventions and the measurement instruments were analyzed systematically, to investigate fifteen studies identified through electronic databases such as Pubmed, Psychinfo, ProQuest, Cinahl, Medline, and Scopus. Results: The studies used interventions including psychoeducation, cognitive-behavioral therapy, cognitive behaviorally oriented service, optimal clinical management, relapse prevention plan, software suggested intervention, ambulatory outpatient care, community re-entry module, integrated treatment, and hospital-based community psychiatric service. Additionally these studies used thirty-eight measurement instruments to assess change in psychiatric patients or their relatives, based on psychological, social, and occupational factors as well as specific symptoms and symptom severity. The instruments also measured quality of life, insight, self-esteem, and cognitive function. Further, the studies examined therapeutic alliances and the experience of family members. The most commonly used instruments were the Global Assessment of Functioning and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Conclusion: The interventions reviewed here emphasize an individualized approach that targets education, illness management, coping strategies, social skills training and relapse prevention, and seeks to alter any harmful understanding of the illness. Although researchers can choose among numerous interventions, psychoeducation was the most appealing follow-up intervention for patients suffering from psychotic disorders. Importantly, evaluation instruments must be relevant to psychological symptoms, treatment, time and resources available, and what questions were being sought to answer. Approximately eleven of the thirty-eight instruments reviewed here showed weak or unclear reliability and validity. The most practical instrument for evaluating the outcome of an intervention for patients suffering from psychotic disorders wasthe Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. / <p>ISBN 978-91-86739-70-6</p>

The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence, incidence and lifetime risk of developing hypertension after a given age in the Province of Quebec. An administrative database was used to form a cohort of 20,000 subjects selected in 1987 from a random sample of individuals aged 45 or older, living in the Province of Quebec. These individuals were followed from 1986 to 2003. Incident cases of essential hypertension were selected on the basis of an outpatient diagnosis of hypertension. The Framingham approach was used to calculate incidence rate. The incidence of hypertension in the Quebec cohort was 22 per 1,000 person-years for men and 31 per 1,000 person-years for women; it was higher for women for all the age groups under study. The lifetime risk of developing hypertension for subjects who attained the age of 46 free of hypertension in the Quebec cohort was 66%; this was 20% higher for women than for men (72% compared with 59%). In the Quebec cohort, the incidence of hypertension is very high particularly for women. The data provide evidence that, in Quebec, detection of hypertension is to be maximized, for both men and women.

The aim of this study is to analyse conditions that either promote or hamper the implementation of methods for systematic documentation, follow-up and evaluation in social-work services with individuals and families. The theoretical framework consists of organization theories. Human Service Organizations (HSO) theory is complemented with concepts from the new institutionalism, domain theory, implementation theory, and theory about interventions. A concrete case, a project has been studied. The purpose of project was to implement methods for systematic documentation in public social services. With the notation “integrated” is meant that the methods should be built in and adjusted to the social-work practice. The methods were ASI (Addiction Severity Index) and IUS (a locally based model for integrated evaluation by inspiration from Göran Sandell). Data has been captured in a pretest/ posttest design (Marlow 2000). This means that “state of things” has been described before the intervention and after. The methods used were surveys and interviews (individual and group). The process has been documented through research notes proceeding records, protocols and some diaries written by social workers. Four municipalities from the middle of Sweden took part with five working groups. Two groups contained social workers acting with children and families and three groups were working with drug abusers. The population consisted of the social workers, the managers responsible for the individual and family entities, the politicians and the clients who were affected during the time of the project. The implementation of ASI and IUS has not occurred in the extent that was stated in the intervention theory. This means that ASI and IUS were not used in all new cases that occurred during the time of the project. The interviews supposed to be done in the beginning of the clients contact with the agency tended to be done more often than the follow-up interviews. After the project ended, three of five working groups decided to continue to use ASI (one group) and IUS (two groups). The overall impression is that the respondents comprehend, they have the willingness but they do not have the capability of using ASI and IUS. The organization does not seem to have the capacity of imposing requirements and giving resources. The outcomes do not seem to be the most important issue for the social services. These conditions are discussed in the study by means of the theoretical concepts. In the end, there is an effort to adjust the implementation theory to human service organizations.

Purpose An age-cohort was studied with long-term follow-up. The population was born in 1915, living in the municipality of Skellefteå in 1981. The purpose was to investigate the prevalence and incidence of pseudoexfoliation (PEX), its influence on intraocular pressure (IOP) and development of open-angle glaucoma (OAG). Another purpose was to estimate the value of screening for glaucoma by comparing the screened group within the cohort with the remaining unscreened group. Methods In 1981, 339 (40%) of the 856 individuals in the cohort underwent an eye examination. This screened group was re-examined at seven-year intervals until 2002. At each visit the presence of PEX was registered, IOP was measured and the presence of glaucoma was assessed. After the 21-year follow-up period, glaucoma cases were also searched for in the medical records of the remaining unscreened individuals in the cohort. Proportions of glaucoma were compared between the two groups. Results The prevalence of PEX was 23% (95% confidence interval (CI): 20-26%) at the age of 66 and increased to 61% (CI: 50-71%) at the age of 87. The annual incidence of PEX was 1.8% (CI: 1.3-2.4%). The prevalence of OAG increased from 2.1% (CI: 0.8-4.3%) at the age of 66 years to 25 % (CI: 16-35%) at 87 years. The overall annual incidence of OAG was 0.9% (CI: 0.6-1.3%) and for OAG with PEX 2.1% (CI: 1.2-3.3%). PEX increased the risk of developing glaucoma at least four-fold. The incidence of diagnosed OAG in women was higher in the screened group than in the unscreened group (incidence rate ratio (IRR)=1.94, p=0.035). A corresponding difference could not be verified for men (p=0.58). The mean, agedependent, increase in IOP during the 21-year observation period was 0.05 mmHg/year. Conclusion The prevalence of PEX in this study population was the highest reported, and it increased with age. The presence of PEX increased the risk of developing OAG four times. In this study a higher proportion of OAG was revealed by screening among women but not among men. The age-related IOP increase was clinically insignificant.

Background: Older adults experience health deconditioning during hospitalization. There are many facets of care impacting on older adults' health characteristics and their self confidence in managing their health. The aim of this follow-up study is to examine the long term effect of comprehensive discharge planning and nursing in-home follow-up for older adults (over 65 year old) incorporating physiotherapy exercise strategies on health characteristics. No published studies were located that had examined the impact of a comprehensive discharge program on the functional status and psychosocial among older frail adults at 12 months post-discharge. Design and methodology: Rehabilitation in Older People (RIO program) is a randomised controlled trial which evaluates the intervention of a comprehensive discharge program, exercise program incorporating nursing follow up. Participants of the RIO study were randomly allocated into usual care control group and an intervention group. The intervention group received a comprehensive training from an advanced practice gerontic nurse (APGN) and exercise strategies by physiotherapists. The APGN visited the participants in their home 48 hours post discharge, followed by telephone follow-up at 4, 8, 12 and 24 weeks. This study followed-up this cohort at 12 month via telephone interviews to evaluate their functional ability, quality of life, psychosocial characteristics and the levels of self-efficacy. The General Self-efficacy Scale (GSE) was used to measure their self-efficacy. Results: There is no difference between the demographic and health characteristics between the control and intervention group. There are significant difference in their functional ability, psychosocial health, measured by the tools mentioned above at 4 weeks (p < 0.05), 12 weeks (p < 0.05), and 24 weeks (p < 0.05), but not at 52 weeks. The possible reason could be due to lack of telephone follow up. Moreover, the levels of self-efficacy in this sample have been found to correlate with the functional ability and psychosocial at 12 months after discharge from an acute hospital.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed Feb. 5, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-79).

Diss. (sammanfattning) Göteborg : Univ. , 2008. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.