For the first time in the history of the Architecture Biennale the American Pavilion earned special recognition in 2012 for Spontaneous Interventions. The exhibition portrays an emerging phenomenon where citizen-led movements address urban problems with small-scale, low cost interventions. Sometimes sanctioned, sometimes not, the concept behind this movement has become known as tactical urbanism. This report examines the rise of tactical urbanism as an opportunity for the field of urban planning and describes how tactics can fit into the formal planning process. Currently, there exists a lack of understanding and research on the concept. This report contributes to the limited research by analyzing existing theory which discusses and supports the concept of tactical urbanism. After providing a theoretical foundation, four interventions displayed at the Biennale are reviewed to demonstrate the potential of this emerging approach. By evaluating the theoretical support behind tactical urbanism, the lacunae in planning literature, and the potential of this emerging approach as demonstrated by the four case studies, this report attempts to legitimize the discussion on tactical urbanism and identify how this emerging approach can fit into the formal planning process. / text

One in ten adults in the U.S. report depression, and thirty-eight percent of those receiving treatment are receiving minimally adequate treatment. Studies show that evidence-based Internet interventions are highly effective in treating depression at a low cost. The aim of this study was to reduce symptoms of depression in subjects through the use of a new, electronic Problem Solving Treatment (ePST). Adult participants with moderate to severe depression symptoms were randomly assigned to either treatment or a wait-list condition. The Beck Depression Inventory-II was used as the primary outcome measure. A Repeated Measure Design with one factor in the between (treatment vs control) and one factor in the within (pre, mid-point, and post-treatment) was used in the analysis. Study results showed that participants in the ePST group improved their depression symptoms (from Moderate to Mild levels of depression) after receiving 3 session of ePST, as well as after receiving six session of ePST (from moderate to minimal levels of depression). On the other hand, participants assigned to the control group remained with Moderate levels of depression. / text

This single case study explored the relationship between non-academic interventions that supported student psychosocial factors and remedial math success. The theoretical framework proposed that remedial math success was linked to psychosocial factors as described by Bandura’s social cognitive theory rather than merely cognitive factors possessed by the student. The literature review revealed that remedial math success in community colleges was chronically problematic, that psychosocial factors were fundamental to human development and learning and well supported by neuroscience, and that above average academic success has long been positively correlated with programs of non-academic interventions. According to the findings of this study, non-academic interventions such as case management, cohorts, accelerated remedial math coursework, childcare, and emergency financial assistance, provided psychosocial support essential to learning and development, which in turn resulted in extraordinary success in remedial math completion. The conclusion drawn from the findings is that effective psychosocial support is essential to achieving exceptional remedial math success rates. / text

Challenging the wide-spread hopelessness in relationship to our capacity to produce real alternatives to the abstract and egoistic neoliberal utopia – with its destructive and unfair consequences around the globe in general and specifically in Mallorca – this thesis, understood as performative research, focuses on the conception and development of Situated Collective Utopias.  These would be utopias that can grow generously and unfold not as abstract and consensed projections of futures but as extrusions of very contextual and often dissensual hopes. They are apparatuses to explore our collective abilities to practically, critically and ethically engage in and sustain the making and thinking of difference. A difference that is materialized and shared as a common heritage and that belongs to who cares and takes care of it.  This thesis report contains a theoretical reflection about the concepts of utopia and heritage as well as an ecology of interventions that make and transform their own sites and aim at developing skilled spatial practices that “think through making”. The practical engagements in those particular situations afford an ongoing radical critique of their contexts and several “outside” moments of reflection.  At last, in the active pursue of finding already present Situated Collective Utopias, this thesis also tells various stories of learning from within the radical sharing community of excluded people of Can Gazà, stories which tell about a process of being given through architecting.

No description available.

Foodborne illnesses place a burden on the entire society. One strategy to lower the costs of foodborne illnesses is to reduce the prevalence of foodborne pathogens through interventions along the food supply chain. There is an ongoing trend that food safety systems are moving towards performance-based regimes, which rely on the implementation of food safety standards. However, the implementation of food safety standards has not garnered much interest in the Canadian policy environment. The assessment of food safety interventions to achieve a standard is challenging as the underlying biological processes are complex, the costs of administering such interventions are not abundantly clear and the set of available interventions is changing. This thesis investigates the cost-effectiveness of food safety interventions and specifically the applicability of a food safety standard. First, a theoretical model is developed to investigate how; in theory cost-minimization can be used to identify the most cost-effective way to reduce foodborne pathogens with the utilization of a food safety standard. Then, a specific framework is developed for Campylobacter in chicken that consists of interrelated simulation models that represent the level and flow of pathogens through a commodity supply chain, the impact of alternative interventions on pathogen load and their costs. The case study focus is Ontario, Canada. Different interventions are compared and evaluated based on their compliance with a food safety standard. The applicability of different cost-effectiveness measures is assessed.

The main purpose of this study is to find out what kind of help social service in one selected municipality in Sweden can provide for children who have witnessed or been victims of domestic violence. Using focus group interview this study investigate how the social workers meet the needs of these children. The bases for our analysis are the Organization Theory and the Attachment Theory, as well as previous research. Important results are that the social services are dependent on notifications in order to do their work and that the most common interventions are foster care, emergency foster care and/or family therapy. The difficulties that social workers perceive their work are unjustified families and heavy workloads. The results showed the difficulties of helping these children, and indicated that children who have witnessed domestic violence not always receive adequate response.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Bakgrund: Illamående kan uppkomma av många olika orsaker. En av dessa är illamående som uppkommer som en biverkning till cytostatikabehandling. Illamående är en känd biverkning av cytostatikabehandling, varför patienter som ska påbörja och genomgår behandling mot cancer erhåller profylaktisk antiemetikabehandling. Illamående kan få konsekvenser som försämrad nutritionsstatus, elektrolytrubbningar och i vissa fall kan patienten vilja avbryta sin behandling på grund av att illamåendet blir för jobbigt. Trots antiemetika fortsätter illamående att vara ett stort problem vid cytostatikabehandling. Syfte: Att beskriva olika omvårdnadsåtgärder som kan användas som ett komplement till antiemetika vid behandling av illamående orsakat av cytostatika. Metod: En litteraturstudie med grund i analys av kvantitativ forskning genomfördes. Resultat: Sökningar resulterade i fem omvårdnadsåtgärder: progressiv muskelavslappning, tillskott av ingefära, proteintillskott och ingefärskapslar, intag av druvjuice och musikterapi och bildspråk. Alla omvårdnadsåtgärder visade på en effekt på illamåendet i positiv riktning. Dock var resultaten motsägande inom vissa interventioner. Slutsats: Progressiv muskelavslappning, ingefära, druvjuice och musik och bildspråk kan eventuellt, som ett komplement till antiemetika, reducera illamående orsakat av cytostatikabehandling ytterligare. Dock krävs ytterligare forskning inom alla omvårdnadsåtgärder, då befintlig forskning ger otillräckliga eller motsägande resultat. Klinisk betydelse: Då antiemetika inte ger en fullgod effekt mot illamående kan omvårdnadsåtgärder fungera som ett komplement för att minska illamåendet ytterligare. / Background: There are many things that can cause nausea. One of these is chemotherapy. One of the most feared side-effects of chemotherapy is nausea. Untreated, nausea may give rise to consequences such as malnutrition, electrolyte imbalance and in some cases the patient might want to terminate their treatment because the nausea is unbearable. Nausea is a known side-effect to chemotherapy, and patients receive prophylactic antiemetic drugs. Even though patients receive antiemetic drugs, nausea keeps on being a problem while undergoing chemotherapy. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe different nursing interventions which can be used as a complement to antiemetic drugs. Method: A literature review with a basis in quantitative analyses was conducted. Results: Searches resulted in five nursing interventions: progressive muscle relaxation, ginger, protein and ginger, grape juice and music therapy and visual imagery. All of the five nursing interventions pointed towards a positive effect on nausea. But for some interventions contradictory studies were found that wasn’t as positive of the studied intervention. Conclusion: Progressive muscle relaxation, ginger, protein and ginger, grape juice and music therapy and visual imagery, might, as a complement to antiemetic drugs, reduce chemotherapy induced nausea even further than just antiemetic drugs. But more research in this area is needed, while existing research is insufficient. Clinical significance: While antiemetic drugs aren’t sufficient in treating chemotherapy induced nausea, nursing interventions can serve as a complement to reduce nausea even further.

Purpose: The purpose of this research program was three-fold. First it aimed to determine the effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions in increasing cessation rates in smokers with cerebrovascular disease and whether smoking cessation reduces stroke recurrence. Second it aimed to determine the prognostic influence of smoking and its association with stroke severity, disability, length of stay in hospital and mortality. Third it aimed to identify multi-level correlates of smoking cessation in Canadians who reported stroke symptoms in a large population based survey. Methods: Two systematic reviews and meta-analyses were performed to achieve the first objective. For the second objective, a retrospective cohort study was undertaken using variables from the Registry of the Canadian Stroke Network. Finally, the third objective was achieved by analyzing respondents from the Canadian Community Health Survey. Results: There is a paucity of intervention studies examining the effectiveness of smoking cessation in smokers with cerebrovascular disease. Most intervention studies that were found, failed to employ evidence-based approaches to smoking cessation. No evidence was found in regards to the effect of smoking cessation on stroke recurrence. We found smokers had strokes at a younger age compared to non-smokers. We found that in transient ischemic attacks and intracerbral haemorrhage, smoking was a significant predictor of stroke severity, disability, length of stay in hospital and 1 year mortality. Correlates of smoking cessation among Canadians who have experienced symptoms of a stroke included: higher education and income, implementation of household and vehicle smoking restrictions, access to a general practitioner and the use of smoking cessation pharmacotherapies and counselling support. Co-morbidities such as depression and alcohol consumption reduced the likelihood of successful cessation. Conclusions: This three-phase research program elucidated the gaps in intervention research for this population along with co-morbidities that hinder success in cessation. Smoking negatively impacted outcomes such as disability, hospital length of stay and mortality in patients with transient ischemic attacks and intracerebral haemorrhage strokes. Future interventions should take into account modifiable smoking cessation correlates in order to increase cessation rates in smokers with cerebrovascular disease.