Stigma and discrimination (SAD) attached to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has been recognised as a major obstacle to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support throughout the world. SAD is more devastating when it occurs in health care settings where it is least expected. Health care providers (HCPs) are supposed to provide physical, social and psychological support to people living with HIV (PLWHA) but HIV and AIDS-related SAD has been extensively documented among the HCPs. Different studies have pointed out that there are three major actionable causes of HIV-related SAD in health care settings. These are lack of awareness among HCPs, fear of casual contacts and associating the SAD to immoral behaviour. The main objective of the current study is to determine the magnitude of HIV and AIDS-related SAD and its associated factors in hospitals and then to propose appropriate SAD reduction-intervention strategy in the health care settings. The study employed pre-test-post-test design with non-equivalent control group. Two paradigms were used in this study including quantitative and qualitative approaches. The sampling method for the quantitative part of the study was probability sampling in which the respondents were randomly selected using stratified sampling technique. The study was able to determine the magnitude of HIV and AIDS-related SAD among the HCPs. Moreover, the study has identified the factors that are attributed to the prevalence of SAD in the hospitals. The major factors identified for causing the SAD in the hospitals were sex, age, work experience, low level of knowledge, negative attitudes and percieved risk of HIV infection of some HCPs toward the PLWHA. The intervention made on the respondents in the treatment group was able to reduce the overall prevalence of the SAD among the HCPs. The study suggests that to reduce the SAD, HIV and AIDS-related trainings before and after graduation is critical to improve the knowledge, attitudes and practices of the HCPs. Besides, ensuring the availability of the protective supplies in hospitals is crucial in reducing the fear of HIV infection among the HCPs while providing care for HIV positive patients. Effective implementation of the hospital policies, strategies, guidelines and protocols along with good institutional support is also vital in creating safe and user-friendly hospitals for PLWHA. / Health Studies

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a storybook retell technique to facilitate vocabulary acquisition in children educated in Māori immersion class settings. A second aim of the study was to explore the cultural responsiveness and pedagogical appropriateness of the intervention approach and the importance of relationship building (whakawhanaungatanga) to successful interventions. Nine children participated in the study. These children (aged between 5 and 8 years) were recruited from two Kura Kaupapa Māori settings in differing urban areas in New Zealand. The children entered the study on a rolling basis in groups of three. The first three participants to enter the study were recruited from the one classroom on the basis of their demonstrating specific language impairment (SLI). The second group of three participants attended a different classroom and these participants were recruited into the study as a result of identified delayed reading development (RD). The third group of three participants from a third classroom was selected as the participants exhibited typical spoken and written language development (TD). The intervention technique utilized in this study adopted a structured approach to teaching the meaning of pre selected vocabulary items that were embedded in class story books. Three different books were selected and each book was read by the teacher to the whole class three times during a one week period. The target vocabulary was highlighted each time it occurred in the story through the following techniques: an adult definition was given for the word, an antonym or synonym was given, and the meaning was acted out by the teacher or the picture detailing the meaning of the word in the book was highlighted. A single subject research design using pre-intervention, intervention and post intervention assessment probes for the target vocabulary items was employed to examine the effectiveness of the intervention in teaching the children the targeted vocabulary. Teacher interviews were also carried out to assess the appropriateness of the intervention in relation to the philosophy of the Kura Kaupapa and its pedagogical appropriateness and cultural responsiveness. The results suggested that the children in all three groups (SLI, RD and TD) made moderate gains in the acquisition of the target vocabulary supporting the hypothesis that targeting vocabulary in story book retelling at a whole class level will lead to acquisition of the vocabulary by the participants' exposed to the intervention. However, using a Two Standard Deviation method to evaluate the significance of each participant's change, the gains made for the RD and SLI participants were not significant. The TD participants did demonstrate a significant difference in the number of words correct. The teachers of the participants involved in the study reported positively on the effectiveness and appropriateness of the intervention for inclusion within the Kura Kaupapa and classroom programme. In particular, teachers' reported that as the intervention included each child in the class (as opposed to a withdrawal intervention model) the intervention was more appropriate for the philosophy of the Kura Kaupapa. The teachers' also reported the effectiveness of the intervention for the development of collaboration and relationship building between the teacher and researcher (a speech-language therapist. The data showed that the intervention investigated in this study was culturally responsive and pedagogically appropriate. It could be included as a component of the class programme as it was responsive to the philosophy of the Kura Kaupapa. The participants' did make moderate gains in the acquisition of the vocabulary (although not at a level to be considered significant for children with delayed development). Further research is necessary to explore the effectiveness of what may potentially be a useful intervention to enhance vocabulary development for children in Kura Kaupapa.

Walt Whitman's poetry continues to inspire composers of choral music, and the growing collection of musical settings necessitates development of a standard evaluative tool. Critical evaluation of the musical settings of Whitman's work is difficult because the extensive body of verse is complex and of uneven quality, and lack of common text among compositions makes comparison problematical. The diversity of musical styles involved further complicates the issue. Previous studies have focused on either ideology or style, but none have united the two critical approaches, thus restricting potential for deeper understanding of the music. This study proposes an approach to critical evaluation of Whitman settings that applies hermeneutics, or a blend of analysis and criticism, to the process. The hermeneutic approach includes an examination of the interrelationship between musical form and style and the composer's ideology, which is revealed through his/her treatment of Whitman's poetry and analyzed in light of cultural influences. Lowell Liebermann (b. 1961) has composed a large scale choral/orchestral setting of Whitman texts in his Symphony No. 2, opus 67 (1999). The selection, placement, and treatment of poetry in Symphony No. 2 provide a window into the composer's mind and his place in the current musical climate. Liebermann's setting reveals his interest in Whitman's search for spirituality and the human spirit's transcendence over time and space. His understanding of Whitman is filtered through a postmodern cynicism, which he seeks to remedy with his nostalgic neo-Romantic style. Chapter One provides an introduction to Whitman's life and examination of his poetry's themes, style, and reception. Chapter Two outlines issues relevant to criticism of Whitman settings and proposes an approach to critical analysis. Chapter Three applies the critical method to Liebermann's Second Symphony, drawing conclusions about its place in contemporary culture.

A Thesis submitted to The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. / The role of enzyme‐assisted subcutaneous fluid administration (EASFA) in treating mild to moderate dehydration in pediatrics, geriatrics, and palliative care has been studied in developed countries. However, it has historically been underutilized due to widely available health care and alternative treatments, namely peripheral intravenous (IV) fluid administration. Fluid infusions in the subcutaneous tissue have a low risk of infection, are easy to administer, and have wide potential use. The use of EASFA in low resource settings to treat those with difficult IV access or where skilled healthcare workers are not as readily available could prove to be a live saving measure in many situations, including the care of patients in remote areas of the world, mass casualty events, or other disasters. Our objective was to determine if EASFA is a valid and appropriate technique to utilize in pediatric and elderly patients, and evaluate if it could be a safe and efficient way to provide fluid resuscitation in low resource settings. For this systematic review MEDLINE and Cochrane Library were searched from January 1950 to December 2015 to recover all available literature relevant to this topic. Studies that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed using Cohen’s D. This was calculated using the mean difference between intervention and control divided by the pooled standard deviation. For dichotomous outcome of the placement success rate the odds ratios were calculated with 95% confidence intervals. In reviewing 7 articles using Cohen’s D to compare mean differences to determine effect size, we found that catheter placement success rates and infusion rates were similar between EASFA and peripheral intravenous fluid administration. Additionally, it was found that the odds of correct initial needle placement was 7.19 times higher in EASFA versus intravenous administration. EASFA is a comparable alternative to intravenous fluid administration when delivering fluids to pediatric and elderly patients with mild to moderate dehydration. While infusion rates and total volume of fluids administered were similar, the high rate of success with placement of the subcutaneous catheter proves it to be more useful in some situations. Venous cannulation is difficult, even for a trained healthcare provider, and the ease of placement of subcutaneous catheters makes training lay people to administer subcutaneous fluids a possibility. Additionally, this type of fluid administration may lead to less psychological trauma to a child from multiple needle sticks, while still achieving a similar outcome of effective volume replacement. Based on the results of this study, further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of utilizing EASFA in low resource settings.

Automotive engines are becoming increasingly technically complex and associated legal emissions standards more restrictive, making the task of identifying optimum actuator settings to use significantly more difficult. Given these challenges, this research aims to develop a process for engine calibration optimisation by exploiting advanced mathematical methods. Validation of this work is based upon a case study describing a steady-state Diesel engine calibration problem. The calibration optimisation problem seeks an optimal combination of actuator settings that minimises fuel consumption, while simultaneously meeting or exceeding the legal emissions constraints over a specified drive cycle. As another engineering target, the engine control maps are required as smooth as possible. The Multidisciplinary Design Optimisation (MDO) Frameworks have been studied to develop the optimisation process for the steady state Diesel engine calibration optimisation problem. Two MDO strategies are proposed for formulating and addressing this optimisation problem, which are All At Once (AAO), Collaborative Optimisation. An innovative MDO formulation has been developed based on the Collaborative Optimisation application for Diesel engine calibration. Form the MDO implementations, the fuel consumption have been significantly improved, while keep the emission at same level compare with the bench mark solution provided by sponsoring company. More importantly, this research has shown the ability of MDO methodologies that manage and organize the Diesel engine calibration optimisation problem more effectively.

This work is a setting of two poems by E.E. Cummings for chamber orchestra and mezzo-soprano soloist. The approximate durations of the first and second movements are respectively seven and one half, and six minutes. The music was inspired by the poetry and attempts to highlight the cyclic syntax which hallmarks Cummings' style. The first poem ("pity this busy monster, manunkind,") presents a sarcastic analysis of the progress of society. The compositional techniques used in the first movement involve elements of ostinato and fragmented motivic development to punctuate the penetrating message of the poem. The second movement ("these children singing in stone a") offers a marked contrast in texture and is a peaceful resolution to the agitated frustration of the first poem. Chromaticism is an essential element in defining the melodic and harmonic style. The vocal writing is largely declamatory and presents the vocalist with challenges of tessitura, intervallic complexity and extended technique.

Title: Evaluation of wheelchair adjustments and their impact on proper propulsion pattern upper extremities and sitting posture in patients with spinal cord lesions. Objectives: The objective of this work was to evaluate the adjustments of wheelchair and to determine their impact on the work of the upper limbs and posture while sitting. This work was done on a group of patients with spinal lesions with their own wheelchairs. Another objective was to assess how education of proper propulsion pattern and form and type of a grip of handrim affects the correct propulsion pattern. Methods: In the group of 26 patients with spinal cord injuries in different levels of the spinal cord, I tested the adjusments of wheelchair, in particular the centre of gravity and maximum seat height from the ground. I also investigated what education on correct propulsion pattern the patients received, and observed any home-made adjustments to handrim, as well as patients' techniques of handrim grip. Finally, I examined how the subjects drove his/her wheelchair. During all the tests, I recorded video and photo documentation. The results were statistically evaluated using the Fisher test. Results: Despite the fact that only a small group was investigated, I showed the effect of wheelchair seatings on the correct posture. I...

Title: Analysis of need of recreational drug users in Melnik Region Abstract Prevalence of drug using among those dance events visitors in the country increases steadily throughout life (Petroš Zábranský, 2003 Mravčík, Škařupová, Orlíková, 2008). Increase is also the acceptability of the use of some drugs, especially cannabis (Blahut, 2014). The research which was designed to determinate the prevalence of drug using among members of different musical subcultures in the district of Melnik, that number of recreational drug users in the Mělník region relatively high. 98 % of respondents (194 respondents) said that at least once in their life used drugs recreationally (Přádova, 2013). A group of recreational users compared to other types of drug users is however greatly neglected. Interventions are insufficient for a large percentage of recreational users, unavailable or about it users do not even know (Mravčík et al, 2008). People tend to enjoy the addictive substances in a fun environment. There is however missing feedback from these users which would helpful to develop appropriate and effective interventions. The aim is to identify and analyze the needs of recreational users on Mělník. The primary objective is to answer the basic questions of needs, wishes and expectations of potential users of...

The goal of this diploma thesis was to find out how the Czech news media framed the topic of Brexit, or the termination of the United Kingdom's membership in the European Union during 2016. Six selected Czech newspapers and their way of framing articles dealing with the topic of Brexit were analyzed by quantitative content analysis. The shares of some media were markedly different in the publication of articles on the subject and daily Blesk was excluded from the overall ranking due to an irrelevant number of texts. This result was caused by the different focus of the content of individual diaries. Most attention was recorded during June, which was explained by a referendum on the withdrawal from the European Union that was in progress at that time in the UK. The first part of the research was mainly based on the strategic de Vreese framing and the five news frameworks by Semetko and Valkenburg. The analysis showed that both of these framing methods were applied in the reviewed period. According to the definition by de Vreese, is the strategy framework linked to the political environment and communication, which explains the application of this framing in case of Brexit as a politically significant event. Strategic framing was used in all studied media, but the results showed that it was not the...

This study addresses the rationale of using partners in relationship initiation with potential buyers and how relationship initiation takes place in triadic settings. As the authors have identified relationship initiation as an under-researched area, further research in this field is needed in order to enhance knowledge regarding the use of partners in the relationship initiation with potential buyers. Based on a case study, the authors investigate a company, their partners and potential buyers during the relationship initiation process. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, observations and analysis of documents. A model was developed based on existing literature in order to allow the authors to analyse the data. The analysis provides an overview of how and why companies use partners to initiate relationships with buyers and how relationship initiation occurs in triadic settings. A new conceptual model was developed suggesting that any actor within this triadic setting can trigger the relationship initiation and that this process shouldn’t necessarily be regarded as sequential. This study also shows that the degree of brand awareness that a company possess can influence their relationship initiation processes.