Bakgrund: Närståendestöd är en av de fyra hörnstenarna för god palliativ vård. Sjuksköterskor inom palliativ vård ska identifiera och bedöma behov hos närstående. Specialistsjuksköterskor inom palliativ vård ska arbeta för utveckling, kvalitetssäkring och implementering av validerade metoder för bedömning av behov. Studier har visat att närstående har behov som sällan bedöms med strukturerade metoder. Enligt de befintliga riktlinjer som finns i Sverige för palliativ vård ska närståendes behov bedömas, men det finns inga rekommenderade metoder.  Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva metoder som sjuksköterskor kan använda för identifiering av närståendes behov.  Metod: En litteraturöversikt har genomförts där både kvantitativa och kvalitativa artiklar har använts i resultatet. Narrativ syntes har använts för att analysera resultaten från artiklarna, med inspiration från guiden av Popay et al. (2006).  Resultat: Fyra instrument för bedömning av närståendes behov har identifierats. Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT), Needs Assessment Tool (NAT), Carer Alert Tool (CAT) och Family Inventory of Needs (FIN). Fyra teman framkom i syntetiseringen: bedömningsinstrumentens användbarhet, bekräftar närstående, öppnar upp för kommunikation samt lyhördhet har betydelse.  Slutsats: Denna litteraturöversikt tillför en översikt över befintliga metoder för att bedöma närståendes behov. Av de fyra instrumenten som identifierades bedömdes CSNAT ha starkast evidens. Regelbunden användning av CSNAT kan bidra till en mer jämlik vård för närstående. Bedömningen med CSNAT skulle även medföra att aktuella riktlinjer för närståendestöd inom palliativ vård följs. / Background: In palliative care there are four cornerstones, one of them is support of the next of kin. Nurses in palliative care should identify and assess the needs of next of kin. Specialized nurses in palliative care should work for the development, quality assurance and implementation of validated methods for assessing needs. Studies have shown that next of kin have needs that are rarely assessed with structured methods. According to the existing guidelines in Sweden for palliative care, the needs of next of kin must be assessed, but there are no recommended methods.  Aim: The aim was to describe methods that nurses can use to identify the needs of next of kin.  Method: A literature review has been carried out where both quantitative and qualitative articles have been used in the result. Narrative synthesis has been used to analyze the results from the articles, with inspiration from the guide by Popay et al. (2006). Results: Four instruments for assessing the needs of next of kin have been identified. Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT), Needs Assessment Tool (NAT), Carer Alert Tool (CAT) and Family Inventory of Needs (FIN). Four themes emerged in the synthesis: The usefulness of the assessment instruments, confirms next of kin, opens up for communication and sensitivity matters.  Conclusion: This literature review provides an overview of existing methods for assessing the needs of next of kin. Of the four instruments identified, CSNAT was estimated to have the strongest evidence. Regular use of CSNAT can contribute to a more equal care for next of kin. The assessment with CSNAT would also mean that current guidelines for support of next of kin in palliative care are followed.

Purpose - This dissertation in practice is an evaluation study conducted at Iowa State University, entitled, Learning Ecosystem Assessment Review of Needs (LEARN). The evaluation posed these questions: (a) What educational technologies are currently used and what technologies will be needed in the future? (b) What are the attitudes and practices of faculty and students toward online and blended learning? (c) What academic technology support services are used? What are the perceptions of the support provided for the application of academic technologies? Methodology/design - The study was a mixed-methods design employing interviews with deans and focus groups and surveys of faculty and students. Findings - Iowa State University faculty and students use a wide array of academic technologies both in physical and virtual classrooms. The prevailing sentiment regarding the need for future academic technologies is not for new offerings and new features but for easier to use, more reliable technologies, and more timely support. Although Iowa State University has formally adopted online learning by offering numerous programs and courses, the university is in the early stages of adopting blended learning. Implications - The results and implications of the study inform the university on next steps to ready the institution for leveraging technology and preparing for the transformation toward strategic adoption of online and blended learning. The author outlines an organizational learning approach to manage change and promote adoption of blended learning.

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Modular housing is an important segment of the factory-built housing industry, in the Mid-Atlantic. In 1998, a study was conducted to assess the structural needs and requirements of this industry. This study addressed three questions. (1) What is the current and future state of the industry? (2) What structural material trends are present between 1992 - 2000? (3) What opportunities exist for product substitution and development of new structural materials? This study found that the modular housing industry in the Mid-Atlantic region is growing. The greatest barrier to market expansion is transportation costs. Expansion is expected in the South and Midwest regions of the US. Most competition comes from site-built and manufactured homebuilders. To stay competitive, respondents plan to increase customization options and home size. The need for cost effective, quality structural materials is a growing concern. Softwood dimensional lumber has been decreasing since 1992 and is expected continue to decrease through 2000. Decreases are due to design changes and quality concerns. The use of engineered lumber has increased in order to compensate for decreases in dimensional lumber necessary to meet the structural needs of the industry. Using factor analysis and perceptual mapping techniques, dimensional lumber was not perceived to be as suited for structural building applications as engineered lumber. However, respondents felt that engineered lumber tended to be more expensive. Perceptual mapping also identified gaps between the ideal needs of building applications and the ability of current materials to meet those needs. Opportunities for new product development exist where gaps occurred. / Master of Science

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<p>ABSTRACT</p> <p>This thesis explores the re-settlement process of Latin American immigrants and refugees in the Waterloo region. This qualitative research project was designed to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived realities of participants. General questions about their re-settlement process, and more specifically about the barriers faced by members of the Latin American community were asked. Participants identified and constructed meaningful resolutions to meeting their “needs” and overcoming barriers.</p> <p>The findings are based on eleven individual, three conjoint interviews and two focus groups, with men and women of Latin American origin. Open and axial coding was utilized to explore emergent themes. These themes were introduced in subsequent interviews to thicken the data and acquire cross-gendered perspectives. By using a symbolic interactionist and sociological phenomenological framework, I attempt to understand the interplay between the individual consciousnesses of Latin Americans living in the Waterloo Region and the meanings created of their lived realities and social worlds. To obtain this understanding, I have chosen to use elements of grounded theory to discover the interrelatedness of the concepts, categories, and properties that emerged in the data (Borgatti, 2005).<strong> </strong></p> <p>What was evident though out the data was a strong sense of ethnic identity, pride and strength within the Latin American community. Participants consistently identified a sense of agency and a desire to promote and nurture the Latin American community based upon shared elements of culture, including but not limited to, the Spanish language.</p> <p>Other predominant themes that emerged in the data were: experiences of systemic racism, cultural shifts and barriers to accessing re-settlement services. The findings of this research serve to disrupt notions of the current political discourse surrounding the neutrality of multiculturalism, provide new perspectives on the re-negotiation of culture that occurs during re-settlement and finally, to provide insights into service use by Latin Americans</p> / Master of Social Work (MSW)