The measurement of pain has had a growing importance in animals for both privately owned animals and those animals involved in clinical research. Lameness is considered to be 1 aspect of the pain experience. The ability of a veterinarian to assess lameness during a routine orthopedic examination can be difficult given the short amount of time in which the clinician can observe the animal, and the fact that the animal is in a stressful environment. Thus, the input of the owner concerning the animal's well-being over an extended time period may be extremely useful to the clinician in assessing the degree of lameness of the animal. It was the purpose of this study to establish an instrument that was both repeatable and valid in assessing the degree of lameness. The instrument used was a questionnaire containing 39 questions in a visual analog scale format. A force platform was used as the gold-standard for detecting mechanical lameness. Peak vertical, cranial-caudal, and their associated impulses were forces used to determine lameness, along with maximum slope in some cases. A test-retest measure of repeatability was conducted on a subset of 19 dogs that were confirmed to have less than a 10% change in vertical peak force. Nineteen of the 39 questions were found to be repeatable based on a Spearman rank correlation. These 19 questions were then used as predictor variables in several multiple regression models which predicted force plate measurements. The result was 3 different models each containing 7 independent variables that were thought to be valid representations of the forces measured (vertical peak, vertical impulse, and propulsion peak forces). Each reduced model was found to fit the data as well as the full model containing all 19 of the repeatable questions. The composite of 11 questions from the 3 different models was used to calculate a total score. This total score was found to be significantly correlated with force plate measurements. These 11 questions should be useful to a clinician in detecting the degree of lameness in the dog.

While working on this paper I got acquainted with the methods of creating questionnaires and tests as well as the principles of question choice. Realizing the model of the testing system, I have deepened my knowledge of Visual Basic 6. in this programming language the possibilities of management of personal data bases have been extended. The questioning system allowing to create an electronic questionnaire has been developed. You can choose any number of questions in this questionnaire and a number of possible answers and answer the points in the questionnaire. This system allows to transfer the data to the bases quickly and easily. The rapidly and cost of traditional questioning has been estimated and electronical questioning system has been created.

International disputes over access to water resources can act as a catalyst for conflict or cooperation amongst nations. In the case of Israel and the occupied West Bank, water conflict further exacerbates preexisting political tension, and yet a peaceful and equitable solution between these countries could spark further negotiation. Within this context, the Palestinian Hydrology Group conducted a water questionnaire amongst Palestinian households in the occupied West Bank in 2001. The aim of the PHG’s survey was to investigate which water management system would be the most suitable in terms of equity, cost-recovery, and long-term development of the resource. Ultimately the water pricing system that was recommended was an increasing block-tariff system, which prioritizes the delivery of necessary amounts of water used for basic needs amongst all users before further allocating water to other uses. However, most of the work conducted by the PHG was qualitative and based entirely on descriptive statistics. Analysis regarding the relationships between water pricing, water consumption, and water needs, and how these relationships change over different scales, was not present in the final report. The purpose of this thesis to continue the research conducted by the PHG by analyzing the water questionnaire database as a means to further advise and direct water services within the occupied West Bank. In order to discern relationships between seasonal patterns of water pricing and consumption, an in-depth analysis of that data was conducted. In addition, perceived water needs were also examined. This analysis was performed at a variety of scales, including amongst districts, average monthly income levels, and connection/non-connection to a water network. Results indicate that some districts in the occupied West Bank are comparatively under-serviced. The economically poor district of Jenin seems to be in greatest need of stabilized and equitable water resources, followed by Hebron, Nablus and Ramallah. It was also observed that those within lower income brackets bear a disproportionate share of pricing fluctuations and, not surprisingly, low consumption levels. Connection/non-connection to a water network indicates that not only is consumption amongst non-connected households significantly low, but also that the difference between perceived water needs and water consumption is much greater than amongst connected households. This thesis supports the PHG’s recommendation for an increasing block-tariff system, since regression analysis indicates inequitable distribution and pricing amongst districts and income levels.

Background: Quality of patient care includes both technical and non-technical elements of care, referred to as personal care. Previous work has focused on assessing the quality of technical care in prostate cancer radiotherapy, but little work has been done to assess the quality of personal care. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to create a self-administered questionnaire to measure the quality of personal care for patients undergoing radiotherapy for early-stage prostate cancer. Methods: Dimensions and candidate indicators of the quality of personal care were identified through a comprehensive literature search. The indicators were assigned to dimensions and then arranged into steps in the radiotherapy care continuum. A questionnaire was constructed using the indicators to assess patients’ views about the quality of their care as well as the importance of each indicator. Cognitive interviews were conducted with four health care professionals and eight patients to determine the clarity, comprehensiveness and appropriateness of the questionnaire. The questionnaire was then pilot tested on patients undergoing radiotherapy for early-stage prostate cancer. Results: A total of 176 indicators of the quality of personal care were initially identified representing 10 dimensions of care. Cognitive interviews identified problems with the questionnaire primarily related to the clarity and redundancy of the indicators and the appropriateness of the response categories. To reduce burden, the questionnaire was divided into three modules, corresponding to appropriate steps in the continuum of care. Each module was pilot tested on at least 10 patients with an overall response rate of 84%. Most patients responded to all indicators on the questionnaire without difficulty and without distress; however patterns of missing responses indicate a few particular indicators need revision. The results suggest that the design of the questionnaire is appropriate since patients seem to be using the range of response options that are offered. Conclusions: The results suggest that this questionnaire is feasible to administer in a clinic setting and that it does not place a large burden on patients. / Thesis (Master, Community Health & Epidemiology) -- Queen's University, 2010-12-17 07:41:09.823

No description available.

Thesis (B.A. Hons.)) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Psychology, 1970.

Class of 2006 Abstract / Objectives: To examine the manner in which the DTSQ was used with a variety diabetic populations in different countries. The DTSQ is an 8 item questionnaire assessing satisfaction with diabetes treatment (6 items) and 2 items on glycemic control. Methods: Intensive search of published scientific literature was conducted to identify studies in which the DTSQ has been used in different countries. Data was extracted from each study on the following variables: country, ethnicitiy, DTSQ scores, Hg A1cgender, treatment, type of diabetes, and education level. Results: A total of twenty-four studies reporting the use of the DTSQ were identified. The majority studies (14/24) were treatment comparisons. The other studies were various other questions investigated. T he DTSQ was used for studies ranging in size from 15 to 1918 (mean 436.3 (SD=541.4) The DTSQ was used with patients who had thye 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. Average HgA1c level was 7.6, and average DTSQ score was 29.9. Most studies did not describe the educational or ethnic background of their study participants. Most of the studies (18) were done in Europe with ten in the United Kingdom, two were in the USA, one in New Zealand, one in Nigeria, one in Canada, and one in Israel and Slovenia combined. Conclusions: The DTSQ appears useful with a variety of patient populations, although little information was presented on population characteristics.

International disputes over access to water resources can act as a catalyst for conflict or cooperation amongst nations. In the case of Israel and the occupied West Bank, water conflict further exacerbates preexisting political tension, and yet a peaceful and equitable solution between these countries could spark further negotiation. Within this context, the Palestinian Hydrology Group conducted a water questionnaire amongst Palestinian households in the occupied West Bank in 2001. The aim of the PHG’s survey was to investigate which water management system would be the most suitable in terms of equity, cost-recovery, and long-term development of the resource. Ultimately the water pricing system that was recommended was an increasing block-tariff system, which prioritizes the delivery of necessary amounts of water used for basic needs amongst all users before further allocating water to other uses. However, most of the work conducted by the PHG was qualitative and based entirely on descriptive statistics. Analysis regarding the relationships between water pricing, water consumption, and water needs, and how these relationships change over different scales, was not present in the final report. The purpose of this thesis to continue the research conducted by the PHG by analyzing the water questionnaire database as a means to further advise and direct water services within the occupied West Bank. In order to discern relationships between seasonal patterns of water pricing and consumption, an in-depth analysis of that data was conducted. In addition, perceived water needs were also examined. This analysis was performed at a variety of scales, including amongst districts, average monthly income levels, and connection/non-connection to a water network. Results indicate that some districts in the occupied West Bank are comparatively under-serviced. The economically poor district of Jenin seems to be in greatest need of stabilized and equitable water resources, followed by Hebron, Nablus and Ramallah. It was also observed that those within lower income brackets bear a disproportionate share of pricing fluctuations and, not surprisingly, low consumption levels. Connection/non-connection to a water network indicates that not only is consumption amongst non-connected households significantly low, but also that the difference between perceived water needs and water consumption is much greater than amongst connected households. This thesis supports the PHG’s recommendation for an increasing block-tariff system, since regression analysis indicates inequitable distribution and pricing amongst districts and income levels. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

This master's thesis describes suggestion of an application designed for marketing research utilizing development environment of Ericsson company using services IMS and SIP. The essay examines the options offered by programming languages Java, PHP, of the database system MySQL, language XML and SIP messages. A creation of a server - client pair of applications used for marketing research was the main focus of this paper was. These applications can be used for distribution of questionnaires and their subsequent collection by the server, which allows for an output of statistics based on the acquired data. It is not necessary to work with all the applications, it is possible to filter based on one or more categories and only have the selected questionnaires sent. The questionnaire results will be shown in a form of straightforward table in the server’s console window. The XML language has been selected for the storing the questionnaires. All technologies and methods used are described within the essay. An integral part of the module is also the creation of a database of questions, which has been created in the PHP programming language. MySQL has been used as a database server. The application output is an XML file, which can be used as an input for an IMS server. The results of this thesis are demonstrated using screenshots taken during the application testing.

No / After reviewing the literature on leadership that culminated in what has been described as the `New Paradigm¿, this article discusses the research which has led to the development of what might be regarded as a `New New Paradigm¿ model. The research was based on a gender-inclusive and black and minority ethnic-inclusive sample of over 3,500 managers and professionals, at different levels (chief executives, top, senior and middle managers), working in the UK National Health Service and local government. The model that emerged, which led to the development of a diagnostic 360-degree feedback instrument, the Transformational Leadership Questionnaire, has been found to be sufficiently robust as to generalize to private sector and other public sector organizations. Apart from having been inclusive at all stages of its development, the model is new in that it is based on a `nearby¿ rather than `distant¿ or `heroic¿ approach to leadership, using a Grounded Theory methodology. It leads to an understanding of leadership that goes beyond transformational models and, recognizing the significance of Greenleaf¿s concept of `servant leadership¿, focuses on the development of the individual, in an organizational context.