Despite the ongoing initiatives of quality improvement collaboratives in healthcare which reflect various multifaceted intervention packages, clear evidence of the effectiveness of the model itself is lacking. Little is known about the true impact of the collaborative approach on improvement outcomes or how specific components are actually implemented within participating organizations. This dissertation reports on empirical qualitative research undertaken to investigate “how” healthcare providers and management describe the experience of being involved in a collaborative network for quality improvement. Using a process evaluation of a sample QI collaborative, this research reveals that frontline staff do not feel the need to conform or be identical to their peer organizations; rather they feel that by participating with them that their high level of care is finally recognized. In addition, the existing communication structure is ineffective for staff engagement and a “QI bubble” seems to exist in terms of knowledge transfer and the idea of collaboration bears out more internally in increased intra-team cooperation than externally between organizations or units. Selected theoretical perspectives from the fields of sociology and organizational behaviour are used as an analytic framework from which the author posits that based on the findings from this case study that in fact collaboratives may not actually function by any of the commonly held assumptions of legitimization, communication and collaboration. A conceptual framework for how these constructs are related in terms of QI collaborative design is proposed for future testing. With further work and on-the-ground testing of this model and relational hypotheses, this research can help the QI community develop a more functional theory of collaborative improvement and use mixed methods evaluation to better understand complex QI implementation.

Bakgrund: Postpartum depressioner (PPD), en förlossningsdepression, drabbar kvinnor i hela världen. En långvarig postpartum depression hos kvinnan kan ha avgörande konsekvenser för utvecklingen av hennes barn och relationen till hennes partner. Många kvinnor lider i tystnad då de inte vet att det finns en förklaring till känslorna de genomgår eller att de skäms för att inte klara av att leva upp till bilden av den ”perfekta mamman”. Syfte: Att beskriva upplevelser av postpartum depression hos vuxna kvinnor diagnostiserade med PPD. Metod: Sju vetenskapliga artiklar användes för att genomföra denna systematiska litteraturstudier med en induktiv ansats. Resultat: Utifrån frågan ”vilka gemensamma upplevelser genomgår kvinnor med PPD”? Framkom sju teman: misslyckande, stress, ensamhet, inre strid, förlust av kontroll, rädsla och skam. Slutsats: Hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal inom MHV (Mödrahälsovård) och BHV (Barnahälsovård) kan lättare upptäcka tidiga symtom och tecken hos nyblivna mammor med postpartum depression genom att förstå deras upplevelser av PPD, och därmed förhindra en långvarig depression.

Advertising plays an important role in the modern society. It influences not only the development of business concretely, but also sharpness of culture abstractly. The commercial advertisement of real estate is a communication of media industry, and a financial origin of media industry as well. The great investment to commercial advertisement from real estate client will obtain more exposure. However, there are many specific values in the advertising text, and the values will shape culture and habitus in the wake of advertising exposure. Following that, people start to drink STARBUCKS, watch the western movie, put on thee NIKE shoes, learn English and concern the stock market in U.S.A. by being educated from advertising. Westernization and modernization bring progress of technology and politics, but they could be able to fade away culture identity. The main point of this research is to deconstruct and exposure the western myth that is disguised in real estate advertising text, and to decode how the western is constructed to be an superiority and connect with hierarchical society. Furthermore, by observing a great deal western signs in real estate advertising, this research also analyzed the organization and operation of signs to realize the process of self-culture exclusion and self-colonization from the post-colonial point of view. The research method is qualitative semiology analysis. This research gathered twenty samples from numerous real estate advertising on the basis of western index and manifold content, in order to reveal the underlying meaning by analyzing the selection, composition and arrangement of sign. Two results have found from this research. Firstly, real estate website advertising rebuilds that west is superior, ideal and aspirational, and regards west as pronoun of success and happiness. For example, ¡§Watch child English drama at Christmas, Have a tea time break.¡¨ The advertising brings the western holidays, western way of education and western tea time culture into the context of life to naturalize western culture and value into daily life. Secondly, real estate website advertising represents self-colonization. For example, ¡§The San Sia old street, Baroque architecture.¡¨ The San Sia old street that is made of red brick is symbol of Eastern architecture. But, the advertising lay emphasis on the arch configuration to represent the San Sia old street as a kind of western architecture. After reviewing the analysis, this research declared two suggestions. The first, real estate advertising producer should increase the amount of the eastern sign, meanwhile, use eastern sign within eastern cultural context as well, in order to weaken self ¡Vcolonization. The second, audiences should have an ability to deconstruct and criticize real estate advertising to dig underlying meaning and reveal hierarchical representation, and also awake rethinking of eastern subject.

The primary purpose of the study was to reveal the perceptions of three newlyarrived male Korean students enrolled in Texas A&M University during the 2007 fall semester regarding their experiences with culture shock and the reasons they ascribed for this phenomenon through three in-depth, individualized interviews and weekly L1 journals. The manner in which they responded to the culture shock as well as the influential factors that assisted them in coping was also explored. By using a constant comparative method of analysis, the collected data was scrutinized and analyzed for emerging patterns. To assist in this process, the data was input into computer files and analyzed using the software program NVivo 7. The findings uncovered the existence of some degree of culture shock for each of the three participants at different times throughout the semester. In particular, a comparatively much higher incidence of interpersonal and psychological symptoms of culture shock than of physiological ones was displayed. Strong support for the individual nature of culture shock was also exhibited. In addition, the participants’ perceptions of the experiences as well as their ability to cope or not cope with culture shock revealed a capacity to overcome obstacles and reflect upon differences. Support for the majority of the factors hypothesized to be influential in helping or hindering the participants’ ability to cope with culture shock was exhibited. The noteworthy impact of the participants’ personal outlook, marital status, length of stay in the U.S., religiosity, and previous international experience on lessening the effects of culture shock was found. The influence of English, the university, and social connectedness, however, was important in increasing their adjustment stress. The cultural and ethnic differences between Korea and the U.S. were found to be the source of highly individual challenges faced by the participants during the study. As all the participants were males and their ages were within five years of each other, it was not possible to compare the influence of these variables among them. The only factor expected to have been influential in the participants’ adjustments to culture shock that was not evident was counseling.

Zugl.: Mannheim, Univ., Diss., 2009

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Bern, 2001 entitled: Die Abbildung ausgewählter Verfahren des strategischen Kostenmanagements ...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine weight and lifestyle among persons with schizophrenia from their perspectives. Two specific research questions are addressed: 1: What are the perceptions of persons with schizophrenia related to their weight? 2: What are the experiences of persons with schizophrenia in maintaining a healthy lifestyle? Methods A qualitative, constructivist research design is used to guide the study. Unstructured interviews are the method of data collection and analysis is done using constant comparison. A purposive sample of 18 participants was obtained from an Outpatient Psychiatric Unit. Findings Three themes, Normal Life Thrown a Curve Ball, Weight Management as Complex, and Today’s Experiences Shape Tomorrow’s Outcomes, were identified by the participants. Weight management was seen as a complex and difficult phenomenon; however, participants were optimistic about their ability to achieve a healthy weight in the future. Individual strategies, support and education were identified as essential weight management components. Conclusions The perceptions identified in this study further our understanding of the complexity of weight management, and can be used to design future weight loss interventions better tailored to this population. / Thesis (Master, Nursing) -- Queen's University, 2009-05-05 14:46:05.704

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Despite recognition that wellbeing and academic achievement are compatible educational goals, few education systems have clearly established how wellbeing can be meaningfully and purposefully implemented in educational experiences. The overarching aims of this thesis were to examine the relationships between wellbeing and senior secondary educational experiences, to develop a conceptual framework based on an extensive, multi-disciplinary literature review, to refine the framework through document analysis and experimental study, and to propose a model of student wellbeing that could support both researchers in the development of indicators to monitor student wellbeing and educators seeking to plan for and assess wellbeing-enhancing educational experiences. Implications for the use of the Student Wellbeing Model for the design and review of educational experiences at the classroom level are discussed.

Perceived increased prevalence and levels of awareness of food allergy has become a global phenomenon, making it a major public health concern. Although little is known about its etiology or prevalence, substantial variation in prevalence on a global scale is evident. Studies on food allergy in Asia are reporting an increase in prevalence, particularly in economically developed regions like Hong Kong. Interestingly, risk perception studies have found that Canadians’ perceived prevalence of food allergy surpasses systematic estimates. Moreover, Canadian immigrants are more likely to rate the risk of food allergy as “high” compared to non-immigrants. To explore these issues further, qualitative interviews were conducted with key informants (n=3) and allergic individuals of Asian descent (n=18) in order to capture their lived experience with food allergies. Interviews lasted 30 minutes on average and they were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim for subsequent thematic analysis using QSR International’s NVivo 9. Results are organized around four major themes: perceived prevalence, risk perception, management and coping, and quality of life. With respect to perceived prevalence and risk, participants found food allergies to be more common in Canada than in Asia. Participants also agreed that having a food allergy is more manageable in Canada as a result of the policy environment (e.g., food labelling and school board policies). In addition, participants had dealt with skepticism and disbelief about their food allergy in Asia, impacting their quality of life. These findings demonstrate the need to recognize the varied impacts and experiences of food allergy among new Canadians, given that immigrants represent a large and growing proportion of the Canadian population.