Class of 2013 Abstract / Specific Aims: The purpose of this study is to identify a postoperative warfarin re-initiation protocol used most commonly by certified anticoagulation providers. Our main hypothesis is that certified Anticoagulation providers use a postoperative warfarin re-initiation strategy based upon clinical experience/knowledge as opposed to a guideline-based approach. Methods: The Anticoagulation Forum website will be used to select the anticoagulation providers to interview via telephone. The selection process will be as follows: an excel spreadsheet will be created separating every clinic listed on the website by region, then fifty anticoagulation providers will be randomly selected by utilizing a random number generator function in excel for each region. Anticoagulation providers are listed on the website by region, and then further broken down by states in that region. The intention of separating regions is to attain equal representation of anticoagulation providers across the United States that are listed on the Anticoagulation Forum website. Anticoagulation providers will be called during the months of July, August and September 2012. Any anticoagulation provider contacted that is not certified with the National Certification Board for Anticoagulation Providers (NCBAP) as well as services or clinics not listed on the Anticoagulation Forum website will be excluded. An application will be submitted to the University of Arizona Institutional Review Board (IRB) Human Subjects Protection Program for approval of this study. We plan to randomly call 50 anticoagulation providers from each region of the US listed on the Anticoagulation Forum website. Thus, total estimated sample size is approximately 300 providers. The primary dependent variable is the postoperative warfarin re-initiation protocol. Our demographic variables are as follows: # of years in anticoagulation practice, gender of the provider and their credentials. The data extraction form is comprised of 3 parts. Part 1 will focus on questions directly related to the anticoagulation service, part 2 is for describing the patient population served and part 3 will be related to the provider demographic characteristics. Data will be collected by utilizing a telephone interview questionnaire-based approach. Each certified anticoagulation provider randomly selected from the Anticoagulati Main Results: The information about warfarin re-initiation dose and protocol information are shown in Table 2. A majority of certified anticoagulation providers re-initiate warfarin at the same dose (64%) after temporary interruption compared to a relative warfarin dose (36%) following surgery/procedure. Likewise, more certified anticoagulation providers have a protocol in place (59%) compared to no protocol in place (41%). Conclusion: This study displayed strength when certified anticoagulation providers were able to be contacted and take the time to answer the questionnaire. Certified anticoagulation providers utilize a common warfarin re-initiation strategy. Most providers’ re-initiation warfarin at the same dose at which the patient was receiving prior to surgery. However, there are many other factors that may go into making the decision of which warfarin dose to use postoperatively.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / The purpose of the study was to investigate levels of occupational stress experienced by police officers and the strategies used to cope with stress. The study findings are based on a sample of 104 police officers from six police stations within the Cape Town area. The results indicated that participants have been in the police service for an average of 7.72 years, and have worked an average of 4.8 years at their present stations. The majority of participants are between 26-30 years old (31%), male (75%), married(51%), coloured (65%), constables (45%), Afrikaans speaking (47%), and have a matric qualification (70%). The Spielberger Police Stress Survey and the Brief COPE Inventory were used as data collection tools. The findings indicated that police officers were experiencing moderate levels of stress as an outcome of inherent and organisational occupational demands. Secondly, police officers were more likely to use problem-focussed coping strategies to manage occupational stress than maladaptive strategies. The limited use of avoidance coping strategies was surprising, given the elevated prevalence of both physical and psychological disorders within the police context. The results indicated no significant association between levels of distress and avoidance coping strategies. The potential adverse outcomes of severe stress within this group affect society in general more than stress from most other occupational groups. Addressing persistent stress within the organisation is imperative in ensuring a well-functioning police service, and ultimately, a secure and healthy society. / South Africa

The profitability of momentum portfolios in the equity markets is derived from the continuation of stock returns over medium time horizons. The empirical evidence of momentum, however, is significantly different across markets around the world. The purpose of this dissertation is to: 1) help global investors determine the optimal selection and holding periods for momentum portfolios, 2) evaluate the profitability of the optimized momentum portfolios in different time periods and market states, 3) assess the investment strategy profits after considering transaction costs, and 4) interpret momentum returns within the framework of prior studies on investors’ behavior. Improving on the traditional practice of selecting arbitrary selection and holding periods, a genetic algorithm (GA) is employed. The GA performs a thorough and structured search to capture the return continuations and reversals patterns of momentum portfolios. Three portfolio formation methods are used: price momentum, earnings momentum, and earnings and price momentum and a non-linear optimization procedure (GA). The focus is on common equity of the U.S. and a select number of countries, including Australia, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The findings suggest that the evolutionary algorithm increases the annualized profits of the U.S. momentum portfolios. However, the difference in mean returns is statistically significant only in certain cases. In addition, after considering transaction costs, both price and earnings and price momentum portfolios do not appear to generate abnormal returns. Positive risk-adjusted returns net of trading costs are documented solely during “up” markets for a portfolio long in prior winners only. The results on the international momentum effects indicate that the GA improves the momentum returns by 2 to 5% on an annual basis. In addition, the relation between momentum returns and exchange rate appreciation/depreciation is examined. The currency appreciation does not appear to influence significantly momentum profits. Further, the influence of the market state on momentum returns is not uniform across the countries considered. The implications of the above findings are discussed with a focus on the practical aspects of momentum investing, both in the U.S. and globally.

During the Second World War, more than 22,000 Japanese Canadians were interned to various locations throughout Canada. While more than 60 years have passed since these events, there remains limited research on the impact that this event had on this group of people. Using McCubbin and Patterson’s (1983) Double ABCX model of family stress and adaptation as a framework, this study used historical narratives of 69 Japanese Canadians to gain insight into a) how Japanese Canadians coped with the challenges associated with their internment, and b) what resources they used during this same time period. The analysis of the coping strategies was done using a modified version of existing measures of coping strategies (Folkman, Lazarus, Dunkel-Schetter, DeLongis, & Gruen, 1986; Suedfeld, Krell, Wiebe, & Steel, 1997), and the analysis of resources was done using an adjusted version of Rettig’s (1995) and Tucker and Rice’s (1985) resource classification list. There were no statistically significant differences between Japanese Canadian men and women in their coping strategy use, but that there were differences between the Issei (first generation) and Nisei (second generation). The Issei used Self Control, Positive Reappraisal, and Denail more than the Nisei, while the Nisei used Seeking Social Support more than the Issei. A strong relationship between coping and resources was found; a relationship that has often been assumed, but never tested. The findings from this study also provided additional support for the usefulness of using both narratives and the Double ABCX model in research. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

One of the integral components of Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) is recovery planning for threatened, endangered, or extirpated species in Canada. The recovery planning process is guided by recovery strategies, to be published within one year of listing for endangered species and within two years of listing for threatened or extirpated species, though publication has rarely met statutory timelines. Here I investigate factors associated with recovery strategy completion as well as factors associated with strategy content, specifically recovery feasibility, information gaps, and critical habitat identification. Despite significant delays in strategy publication, I find no evidence of internal prioritization of species for strategy completion, with only administrative factors retained in predictive models; species listed on Schedule 1, for which the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) or Parks Canada Agency (PCA) is the Responsible Authority, or which there was a smaller backlog of due strategies one year after listing were more likely to have recovery strategies submitted on time. Analysis of factors associated with recovery feasibility show a higher likelihood of feasible recovery for species for which critical habitat is identified, the DFO or PCA is the Responsible Authority, there are more identified information gaps, or for which the recovery strategy contains a section on potential socioeconomic conflict. There were fewer identified information gaps in recovery strategies for those species for which recovery strategies were published after the judgments of the Nooksack Dace (ND) and Greater Sage-Grouse (SG) court proceedings, there was a greater time elapsed between strategy due date and date of draft publication, or whose range does not fall on a provincial or federal protected area. Pre-ND and SG court judgements, critical habitat was less likely to be identified for species with a lower threat status, species included in multi-species or ecosystem plans, or species not found within provincial or federal protected areas. None of these biases were detected post-judgement, however, as rates of identification increased significantly and only recovery feasibility was associated with CH identification. These results point to some potential problems in the recovery planning process as currently implemented under SARA, and inform recommendations as to how these might be addressed.

Sialic acid is the terminal sugar found on most glycoproteins and is crucial in determining serum half-life and immunogenicity on glycoproteins. The scarce supply of sialic acid hinders its advancement in basic research, diagnostic development and therapeutic production. In this work, the recombinant E. coli BRL04 (pBRL89) producing sialic acid was studied by some batch and fed batch runs of high cell density cultivation using a 3-L fermentor. Some cultivation conditions including carbon source, induction time, dissolved oxygen were optimized and different feeding strategies were compared to enhance sialic acid production. The results may be helpful to the further scale-up of sialic acid production and the production of other recombinant proteins by high cell density cultivation of E. coli.

The aim of the thesis is to define the actual economical crisis and it's influence on the world's economy, especially than on the Czech Republic as an export oriented economy. Identify the problems czech export companies have to face, describe their influence on the business strategies and also give place for a description of the potential solutions together with the possibilities of using the subventions from both the state and private agencies.

Självexponering (self-disclosure) är en process där man delar med sigav sina tankar, känslor och berättar saker om sig själv till en annanperson av egen vilja. Syftet med studien var att undersöka vadungdomar berättar och inte berättar till sina föräldrar och undersökavilka strategier de använder. Ungdomar i årskurs åtta i en stadbelägen i Mellansverige blev intervjuade i grupp. Totalt 53respondenter ställde upp på intervjuerna, varav 26 var flickor och 27pojkar. En tematisk analys genomfördes och materialet struktureradesin i fem olika teman: positiva upplevelser, negativa upplevelser, närarelationer, fritidsaktiviteter och filtreringsstrategier. Ungdomar valdeoftast att strategiskt dölja information då de kände att föräldrarnakunde bli upprörda, vilket var något de ville undvika. Undanhållandetav information kunde även kopplas till rädsla och ängslan över attbehöva ha djupa samtal med föräldrarna. Utlämnandet av informationberodde på hur bra relationen var mellan förälder och barn. / Self-disclosure is a process of sharing your thoughts, feelings andsharing information about yourself to another person. The purpose ofthis study was to examine what adolescents disclose and what theydon't disclose to their parents as well as how they withholdinformation from their parents. A total of 53 adolescents consisting of26 females and 27 males in the 8th grade participated in groupinterviewsin this study. In a thematic analysis of interviews, it wasfound five different themes: positive experiences, negativeexperiences, close relationships, leisure activities and strategies forwithholding information. The results showed that adolescents chose towithhold information from their parents when they felt that theirparents could get upset. Adolescents feared the consequences andwanted to avoid conversations with their parents where they had toexplain themselves. Disclosure of information depended often on howstrong the relationship was between parent and child.

Knowledge management (KM) is something that we as humans have practiced for generations by means of sharing stories around the fireplace, passing down recipe books, teaching trade crafts to children and showing young adults how to hunt. This primitive version of KM was not described as an area of development or expertise within organisations until 1995 when Nonaka and Takeuchi’s SECI model revolutionised the world of KM. Since then, many KM researchers have contributed to the field and tried to establish its true foundations. As a result, many KM models and frameworks have emerged leading to a call for the standardisation of KM terminology, and the harmonisation of about 160 existing KM models and frameworks. What has been strikingly overlooked in all these KM models and frameworks is the idea of knowledge seeking as a necessary theoretical component and as a key KM process. Only recently there have been a few attempts to integrate knowledge seeking into KM models and frameworks. With a view to taking this development further, this study achieves two things. First, the study assesses the theoretical status of knowledge seeking in some of the established KM models, frameworks and strategies, and reviews the work of KM researchers who have grappled with the idea of knowledge seeking. Second, the study describes some of the key features of knowledge seeking in a sample of companies. Four companies were selected according to their type and size. They included a small business intelligence consulting company, a branch office of a country-wide IT company, a department within a larger insurance company, and a company that deals with financial software. Using questionnaires and descriptive statistical methods to generate, analyse and interpret the data, the study delineates some of the key features of knowledge seeking in the workplace by asking where people seek knowledge to solve problems, where they seek knowledge under the pressure of time, and where they would prefer to seek knowledge in ideal circumstances. On the basis of the data, the study revises Han Lai and Margaret Graham’s KM life cycle model, which is the latest version of a KM model that integrates knowledge seeking. Additionally, the study adapts Hansen et al’s codification versus personalisation KM strategy. The study therefore contributes to the theoretical aspects of KM by showing that knowledge seeking deserves sustained analysis in KM models and frameworks as a KM process, and it contributes to KM practice by showing the implications of knowledge seeking for KM strategies. Copyright / Dissertation (MIS)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Information Science / unrestricted

The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming more prominent due to a number of forces, including an increase in ethical consumerism and government or industry regulation. Business owners are coming to the realisation that CSR investment should be viewed as an opportunity to increase the success of companies rather than as damage control or PR campaign; CSR is becoming a critical factor in the competitive success of companies. Increasing social responsibility can indeed result in benefits, financial and otherwise, not just for society but also for companies. This study aimed to determine:• Consumer preferences regarding the various CSR strategies that companies can pursue and• Whether consumers place higher value on CSR strategies which benefit their own society or strategies which benefit society at large.A convenience sample of South Africans were selected for the study and asked to complete a web-based survey. The study was done in the form of a conjoint value analysis.The study found that:• Consumers do have different levels of preference for the different CSR strategies which businesses can follow.• Consumers prefer a CSR strategy that benefits their own society over a CSR strategy that benefits the society at large. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted