Practically speaking, a well-conducted review of literature is central to a scholar’s ability to pose pertinent and timely questions within their field. As part of the culminating written assessment of a Ph.D. candidate, the dissertation literature review provides a unique vantage point to explore future scholars’ preparation. In spite of its central role within the research process, research about how future scholars are taught the doctoral competencies necessary to conduct a review of the literature for the dissertation or how the dissertation literature reviews are assessed is limited. In two separate studies, this research uses the Boote and Beile’s Literature Review Scoring Rubric as a framework to explore the textbooks used in the early stages of doctoral education and the quality of dissertation literature reviews from a field of education research. In the first study, seven of the top selling education research methods textbooks from 2010 were analyzed to determine how well they cover the 12 performance criteria on the rubric. While the results were varied, the majority of textbooks were not adequate in their coverage of the performance criteria identified by Boote and Beile. In short, the materials used to prepare doctoral students may not be equal to conveying critical components of the literature review. Efforts were then devoted to a replication study of exploring the end results of doctoral training and preparation. In the second study, the Literature Review Scoring Rubric was used to assess the quality of 30 randomly selected dissertation literature reviews from Instructional Technology. The scores of the dissertation literature reviews were also varied. While some dissertation literature reviews in this study were of high quality and scored well, the majority of them were of a lower quality.

In 1993, the New Zealand Government mandated the requirement that all schools must have in place an ongoing programme of school self-review (Education Review Office, 2000). This thesis identifies the purposes and processes of self-review used in six primary schools in New Zealand. The study also identifies the roles that leaders play in the self-review process and also highlights the impact of teacher research on the process. The research questions are: 1. What are the processes and purposes of self-review in schools and what roles do leaders play in the process? 2. What aspects of teachers' practice have an impact on the self-review process? This research study adopted a qualitative research methodology with semi-structured interviews as the research tool. The qualitative information gathered from the six schools was analysed and written up as a case study. For the purpose of this thesis, self-review is identified as the process of review of all school practices with the intention of improving student achievement. The findings indicated that the main purposes of conducting school self-review were to enhance student achievement, to review school policies and programmes and also to ensure accountability. This study also indicated that through a well-planned process of self-review schools can achieve their goals and fulfill the aims stated in their school charter. Another aspect which participants revealed was that self-reviews result in change and therefore leaders and school staff should have the necessary skills and competencies to deal with and manage such change. This was also identified as an issue of self-review. Participants believed that effective leadership is essential to conduct self-reviews which result in positive outcomes. This study found that the failure to achieve school improvement through self-review, is in part due to the structure of many current self-review programmes. At present, schools perceive self-review as the need to review everything that takes place. This perception may mean that valuable time and money is spent on something that the school does not deem significant. Rather, the findings of this study suggest that concentrating on particular areas for a certain period of time results in a better performance of the whole school. In conclusion, this thesis found that school development and improvement cannot happen without enhancing and focusing on student achievement. For self-review to be successful, it should be carried out in a collaborative school climate of open and honest communication, mutual support and mutual responsibility. For it to be successful, self-review should also be planned, systematic, and ongoing. Data collection for self-review should be done through illuminative, participatory and responsive inquiry methods. Finally, I recommend that further research is needed in the area of self-review and perhaps an exploration of the possible links between a school's decile level and its self-review process.

The aim of this thesis was to review the current state of knowledge, occurrence and distribution of two polydorid (Polychaeta: Spionidae) genera, Polydora and Dipolydora, in estuaries of subtropical eastern Australia. The existing taxonomy of the polydorid group is confused and descriptions include many relative terms. A numerical taxonomy approach using Primer 6 was taken to identify species groups and characters. A standardized set of multivariate morphological characters was developed and resemblance analysis functions used to create species cluster groups. SIMPER (similarity percentages) analysis on the same dataset was used to identify the diagnostic characters for each of these species cluster groups and to identify new characters which could be useful in species diagnosis, particularly for frequently occurring incomplete specimens.Prior to this study 3 Polydora species and 4 Dipolydora species were recorded from subtropical eastern Australia. The present study found 12 Polydora species and 10 Dipolydora species from estuaries and bays of subtropical eastern Australia.Two Polydora species are new (Polydora sp. P1 and Polydora cf. woodwicki) and 7 are potentially new species (P. cf. latispinosa; P. cf. websteri; P. sp. P2S; P. sp. P3S; P. sp. P4S; P. sp. P5S and P. sp. P6S) having been described from single specimens. Polydora cornuta Bosc, 1902 is recorded from New South Wales for the first time. Polydora cf. calcarea is reported from mudblisters in oysters. The Australian form of Polydora hoplura Claparède, 1870 and P. haswelli Blake and Kudenov, 1978 are described more fully than in existing literature.Three Dipolydora species are new (Dipolydora sp. D1; D. cf. flava and D. sp. D2) and 4 from single specimens are potentially new (D. cf. aciculata/ cf. giardi; D. sp. D3S; D. sp. D4S and D. sp. D5S). Dipolydora tentaculata (Blake and Kudenov, 1978) and Australian forms of Dipolydora flava (Claparède, 1870) and Dipolydora socialis (Schmarda, 1861) are described more fully than in existing literature.Prior to this study one Dipolydora and no Polydora were recorded from the Tweed- Moreton bioregion. This study reports 6 species of Dipolydora and 5 species of Polydora from this bioregion.Dipolydora penicillata (Hutchings and Rainer, 1979) and Carazziella victoriensis Blake and Kudenov, 1978 are recommended for synonymy.It is recommended that Polydora ciliata (Johnston, 1838) be reinstated and Dipolydora ciliata (Johnson, 1838) removed from the Australian polychaete checklist following identification of an error in description translation.Important gaps in collections were identified for polydorids associated with oysters from estuaries over the whole subtropical region; and for polydorids from the Tweed-Moreton IMCRA bioregion.

This qualitative, descriptive study explored physiotherapists' experience of participating in peer review in public and private health services in New Zealand. Peer review is a professional activity where one health practitioner evaluates the practice of another. Accordingly, much professional effort has been expended on developing peer review systems and implementing review processes, yet the benefits of peer review are uncertain. A changing legislative environment where producing evidence of ongoing professional development is required, has provided impetus for this study given the limited research to support the use of peer review in this context. While the literature identifies competing focuses on professional development and accountability, there is lack of clarity about which model of peer review is being implemented in this country and which might serve the profession better. This study is a first step in clarifying the issues by identifying the personal, professional and organisational factors that influence health professionals' participation in peer review. The methodology consisted of a qualitative descriptive approach situated within a post positivist paradigm. Seven physiotherapists working in the New Zealand health system who had participated in a peer review process within the last 3 years participated in this study. Semi structured interviews were conducted, guided by broad questions relating to central themes identified during an extensive literature review. Interviews were then audio taped and transcribed verbatim to form the data. Transcripts were analysed by assigning content labels to units of text that seemed to encapsulate one complete thought or idea. The labelled groups were analysed into sub themes. Finally, the general themes that arose were described. Findings indicate that while peer review systems have been developed and are carried out as prescribed, therapists lack clarity about the intended outcomes. While recognising the benefits of receiving feedback on practice, many manage the review process to maintain positive working relationships and ensure their practice is favourably reviewed. The strategies they employ and the consequences of managing peer review in these ways are described. Current peer review processes in New Zealand do not provide reliable information about competence to practice. Neither do they fully achieve their potential as a professional development tool. Therefore, the professional emphasis and effort on peer review needs to be revisited. The findings highlight the need for consultation amongst individual physiotherapists, physiotherapy managers, physiotherapy professional organisations, and the registration board, to negotiate whether regulatory or professional development needs will drive peer review processes in New Zealand in the future.

In January 2000 the Victorian government established a 'Ministerial Review of Postcompulsory Education Pathways in Victoria'. This explores the work of this Ministerial Review using an organisational discourse approach to the policy-making process. The study examines how the initial problem was represented that required policy intervention. I ask what the Brack's Victorian State Government defined, understood and represented the 'problem' to be regarding young people's participation in post-compulsory education. The research then focuses on establishing how the Ministerial Review set out to validate the initial representation of the problem. The research then concentrates on how the Ministerial Review came to develop its policy recommendations to address the policy problems it had identified. This involves establishing what solutions to the 'problem' were proposed by the Ministerial Review panel and why they were recommended as policies. Finally this study evaluates the value of the Ministerial Review process.

<p><strong>Aim</strong>: The purpose of this study was to highlight in what forms and manifestations spirituality emerges in medical patients whether they consider themselves believers or not. The other aim was to analyse spiritual ideas of nursing scientists – authors of the patients’ oriented studies to come to the better understanding of the situation with spirituality in caring. <strong>Method</strong>: Descriptive meta-synthesis was chosen, in which 12 nursing studies were analyzed and compiled in a new integrity. <strong>Results</strong>: The analysis shows that caregivers must be ready to meet and confirm the spiritual dimension consisting of Faith, Meaning, Relationship and Questions without answers in the various forms and expressions they emerge in patient’s experience. Nursing scientists showed ideas broad enough to confirm patients’ experience. <strong>Relevance for clinical practice</strong>: By include spirituality only to religion and culture the dimension are easily forgotten, it can also in those forms mean that caregivers doesn’t see it as theirs to confirm. Nursing science do not with hold that small view of spirituality, instead the science presents a broad spectra of forms in which patients spirituality can appear. Newinsights about patients’ spirituality can be used by health care professionals to improve the care of patients as multidimensional human beings.</p>

<p>Background: Hypochondriasis is associated with marked impairments in physical and psychological functioning, work performance and increased health care utilization. The prevalence among medical outpatients is estimated to be between 4,2 % and 6,3 %. Notwithstanding there is deficient research in this area. Until recently no specific treatment has been clearly demonstrated to be effective. Objective: The aim was to investigate experiences of what it is like to live with hypochondriasis, but also to examine different treatment options. Methods: In order to illustrate the experiences a latent content analyses was made on a documentary named “Hypokondrikerna” and to examine the treatment options a systematic review was made. Result: The content analysis revealed three categories and nine sub-categories concerning the experiences. The three categories were “health anxiety”, “individual coping strategies” and “emotional consequences”. The systematic review revealed medical treatment which consisted of three different antidepressants as well as seven different kinds of psychological treatments and other interventions, which all reduced hypocondriacal symptoms. Discussion: The findings show that hypochondriasis causes a chronic suffering and indicates that potential treatments are available. Hypochondriasis causes an unproductive health care utilization. A more effective management could reduce the costs and ease the suffering. Therefore we suggest that this disease should be observed and treated. The nurse has an important function to maintain a positive relationship with the patient and create a therapeutic dialogue.</p>

<p>The forests are essential for healthy environment. Trees which are part of the</p><p>forest help to stabilize the forest soil, improve soil fertility, reduce the velocity of</p><p>wind, protect watershed and reduce the amount of carbon released into the</p><p>atmosphere. Many industries use trees as raw materials and in most cases impact</p><p>the environment, but there are great differences in the impact they make. There is</p><p>a need therefore to continually evaluate the operational activities of these</p><p>industries to ensure that the environment is protected. The use of environmental</p><p>management systems like ISO and EMAS standards has helped in the evaluation</p><p>of organizations and industries.</p><p>In this thesis, two sawmills Iretunde and Irepodun in Etsako-West local</p><p>government area Edo state Nigeria were evaluated with the aim to determine their</p><p>operational activities and how the environment is being affected by them. Subaims</p><p>were to determine the most significant environmental aspects of the sawmill</p><p>and their organizational structure. In actualizing the aim of this thesis, literature</p><p>review, site investigation as well as oral interview of the staff and management of</p><p>both sawmills were conducted. In the evaluation of the environmental aspects, the</p><p>detailed method of environmental impact evaluation by Ammenberg (2004) was</p><p>used were each environmental aspect that was weighted against nine identified</p><p>criteria.</p><p>The result obtained from the environmental aspect evaluation of both sawmills</p><p>shows that the use of raw materials and emissions to air are the most significant</p><p>environmental aspects. In conclusion, it was observed that the both sawmills are</p><p>well structured and carry out their operational activities effectively. Neither of</p><p>them has registered under any environmental management system but there is a</p><p>need for them to do so in order to help check their operational activities in order to</p><p>reduce their environmental impact.</p>

No description available.

<p><em>Bakgrund</em>: Primär dysmenorré, svår menstruationssmärta utan sjukdomsrelaterad bakomliggande orsak, är det vanligaste gynekologiska besväret för unga kvinnor. Idag fokuseras behandlingen av menstruationssmärta på läkemedel. Det har dock visats att kvinnor även använder sig av ickefarmakologiska metoder för att lindra sin smärta. Syftet med denna litteraturöversikt var att undersöka om det finns evidens för att följande ickefarmakologiska behandlingsmetoder kan lindra primär dysmenorré: akupunktur, akupressur, kostvanor och kostterapi, massage, transkutan elektrisk nervstimulering (TENS), värme samt örtterapi.</p><p><em>Metod</em>: Sökningar genomfördes i databaserna AMED, CINAHL, Cochrane Library samt Pubmed. På grund av få artikelträffar och låg kvalitet hos artiklarna exkluderades massage och värme. Totalt inkluderades 18 engelskspråkiga artiklar, publicerade mellan år 1999-2009, vilka redovisade resultat från sammanlagt 92 studier. Sammanlagt 23 studier undersökte akupunktur, 11 undersökte akupressur, 46 undersökte örtterapi, 3 undersökte kostterapi och kostvanor samt 9 undersökte TENS. Kvalitetsgranskning genomfördes enligt en mall från Forsberg & Wengström (2008).</p><p><em>Resultat</em>: Det finns evidens för att akupressur, TENS och örtterapi lindrar primär dysmenorré. Vilka specifika akupunkter och örter som har en smärtlindande effekt är dock oklart. Sjuksköterskan kan ge råd till patienter med primär dysmenorré att prova TENS för att lindra sina menstruationssmärtor.</p> / <p><em>Background</em>: Primary dysmenorrhea, menstrual pain without disease-related underlying reason, is the most common gynaecological discomfort for young women. Today the treatment regime for menstrual pain is focused on pharmacologic treatments. However, it has been observed that women also use non-pharmacologic methods to ease their pain. The objective for this literature review was to determine if there is evidence for the following non- pharmacologic treatment-methods to ease primary dysmenorrhea: acupuncture, acupressure, dietary habits and dietary therapies, massage, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), heat and herbal therapy.</p><p><em>Method</em>: Searches were performed in databases AMED, CINAHL, Cochrane Library and PubMed. Because of a small number of search-results and low quality of the articles massage and heat was excluded. A total of 18 English-speaking articles published between 1999-2009 were identified. They reviewed results from 92 studies. Altogether 23 studies reviewed acupuncture, 11 acupressure, 46 herbal therapy, 3 dietary therapies and dietary habits and 9 TENS. Quality assessment was performed according to a template from Forsberg & Wengström (2008).</p><p><em>Results</em>: There is evidence that acupressure, TENS and herbal therapy ease primary dysmenorrhea. Which specific acupoints and herbs that are pain relieving could not be concluded. The nurse can give advice to patients with primary dysmenorrhea to test TENS to ease their menstrual pain.</p>