Strategic release planning (road-mapping) is an important phase of requirements engineering process performed at product level. It is concerned with selection and assignment of requirements in sequences of releases such that important technical and resource constraints are fulfilled. It is always considered difficult to form a strategic release plan due to varying constraints and uncertainties. In this regard, different strategic release planning models have been presented in academia and different methods are being used in Industry. In this thesis, strategic release planning models presented in academia and some methods of strategic release planning being used in Industry are identified. The contributions of these models are also provided in the thesis. A systematic review has been performed to know strategic release planning models in academia. The aim of systematic review is to present fair evaluation of research concerning strategic release planning models. Through systematic review, requirements selection factors considered by a model, validation details of model and a model’s usefulness for bespoke and market-driven development are summarized. Moreover two organizations have been interviewed to know strategic release planning models being used in Industry in addition to the ones presented in academia. Similarly contribution of models being used in Industry is provided by logging details of requirements selection factors, validation details and usefulness for bespoke and market-driven software development of each model / process of Industry. Based on systematic review and industrial interviews’ results, a list of common requirements selection factors (considered by models of academia and Industry) is provided. Some general recommendations have been given for research in academia on strategic release planning models after analysis of systematic review and industrial interviews’ results. / Strategisk release planering (väg-kartläggning) är en viktig fas av requirements engineering process som utförs på produktnivå. Det handlar om urval och tilldelning av kraven i sekvenser av utsläpp så att viktiga tekniska och resurser är uppfyllda. Det är alltid anses svårt att skapa en strategisk release planen på grund av olika begränsningar och osäkerheter. I detta avseende olika strategiska release planering modeller har presenterats i den akademiska världen och olika metoder som används inom industrin. I denna avhandling, strategisk release planering modeller i den akademiska världen och vissa metoder för strategisk release planering som används inom industrin har identifierats. Bidraget från dessa modeller är också i avhandlingen. En systematisk genomgång har gjorts att veta strategisk release planering modeller i den akademiska världen. Syftet med systematisk översyn är att presentera en rättvis utvärdering av forskning om strategisk release planering modeller. Genom systematisk genomgång, krav urval faktorer betraktas som en modell, validering uppgifter om modell och en modell nyttan för beställda och marknadsdriven utveckling sammanfattas. Dessutom två organisationer som har intervjuats att veta strategisk release planering modeller som används inom industrin och utöver de åtgärder som presenteras i den akademiska världen. Likaså bidrag av modeller som används inom industrin ges genom att logga information om kraven urval faktorer, validering information och nytta för den beställda och marknadsdrivna mjukvaruutvecklingen av varje modell/process industri. Baserat på systematisk genomgång och industriell intervjuer resultat, en förteckning över gemensamma krav urval faktorer (som av modeller av den akademiska världen och industrin) tillhandahålls. Några allmänna rekommendationer har fått för forskning i den akademiska världen på strategisk release planering modeller efter analys av systematisk översyn och industriell intervjuer resultat. / +46765541016, +46762920070

Context. Prioritization is essential part of requirements engineering, software release planning and many other software engineering disciplines. Cumulative Voting (CV) is known as relatively simple method for prioritizing requirements on a ratio scale. Historically, CV has been applied in decision making in government elections, corporate governance, and forestry. CV prioritization results are special type of data - compositional data. Any analysis of CV results must take into account the compositional nature of the CV results. Objectives. The purpose of this study is to aid decision making by collecting knowledge on the empirical use of CV and developing a method for detecting prioritization items with equal priority. Methods. We present a systematic literature review of CV and CV result analysis methods. The review is based on search in electronic databases and snowball sampling of the primary studies. Relevant studies are selected based on titles, abstracts, and full text inspection. Additionally, we propose Equality of Cumulative Votes (ECV) { a CV result analysis method that identifies prioritization items with equal priority. Results. CV has been used in not only in requirements prioritization and release planning but also in software process improvement, change impact analysis, model drive software development, etc. The review has resulted in a collection of state of the practice studies and CV result analysis methods. CV results can be analysed to detect stakeholder satisfaction and disagreement, see how the priorities differ among prioritization perspectives and stakeholder groups. ECV has been applied to 27 prioritization cases from 14 studies and has identified nine groups of equal items in three studies. Conclusions. We believe that collected studies and CV result analysis methods can help the adoption of CV prioritization method. The evaluation of ECV indicates that it is able to detect prioritization items with equal priority.

Aspect-oriented programming is a relatively new programming paradigm and it builds on the basis of object oriented programming paradigm. It deals with those concerns that cross-cut the modularity of traditional programming mechanisms and it aims at reduction of code and to provide higher cohesion. As with any new technology aspect oriented programming provides some benefits and also there are some costs associated with it. In this thesis we have done a systematic review on aspect oriented software testing in the context of testing challenges. Detailed analysis have been made to show that how effective are the structural test techniques to handle these challenges. We have given the analysis of Aspect-oriented test techniques effectiveness, based on research literature. / Aspekt-orienterad programmering är ett relativt nytt programmering paradigm och det bygger på grundval av objektorienterad programmering paradigm. Det handlar om de farhågor som KORSSKUREN den modularitet av traditionell programmering mekanismer och det syftar till minskning av kod och för att ge högre sammanhållning. Som med all ny teknik aspekt-orienterad programmering ger vissa fördelar och det finns vissa kostnader associerade med den. I denna avhandling har vi gjort en systematisk översyn av aspekt orienterad mjukvara testning i samband med provning utmaningar. Detaljerad analys har gjorts för att visa att hur effektiva är de strukturella provmetoder för hantera dessa utmaningar. Vi har gett en analys av Aspect-oriented testa tekniker effektivitet, baserade på forskningslitteratur. / FOLKPARKSVAGEN 18 Room 03 Ronneby 37240 Sweden Mobile Number Kashif 073-9124604, Amar 073-6574048

Background: Self-harm is important considering the demand it places on health services and its strong association as a risk factor for suicide. Research regarding protective factors for self-harm is limited, protective factors can be personal or social resources that reduce the impact of negative consequences, in the face of stressors. Identifying protective factors is important, provided they can be enhanced and utilised to inform intervention. Aims: This thesis had two aims; to systematically review the literature investigating the relationship between social support and suicidality, and to use Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore the factors that support desistance from self-harm. Methods: Quantitative studies, exploring the relationship between social support and suicidality were reviewed systematically. The empirical study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to investigate self-harm behaviour in context, identify potential protective factors and explore what participants have found to be helpful to desist from selfharm behaviour. Semi structured interviews were conducted with nine participants (18- 61years) recruited from the Adult Community Mental Health Team. Results: Findings of the systematic review indicate that there is an association between poor social support and increased suicidality in adulthood. In the empirical study four main themes emerged from the data: Self-harm provided Relief from Psychological Distress, Difficulties Communicating, Social support and Gradual desistance. Conclusions: Social support may be an important factor that protects against suicidality; however further research is required to investigate this association. Findings from the empirical study suggest that treatment providers must be sensitive to the context and function of self-harm behaviour for the individual, and be willing to work to reduce the self-harm behaviour, while being cognisant that self-harm may be protective for the individual and prevent more severe self-harm or even suicide.

Background: Alcohol misuse and dependency are major health problems worldwide. Despite the availability of a number of evidence-based treatments for alcohol-dependency, a large proportion of people relapse following detoxification. The costs to society and the individual are vast, not only economically but in terms of social and interpersonal functioning also. There is a recognised need to understand the factors that contribute to poorer outcomes in this population. Cognitive impairment is one factor that has demonstrated considerable associations with poor outcomes in the wider substance-misuse population. Aims: This thesis has two sections. The first comprises a systematic review which aimed to present the objective evidence for emotional decision-making deficits in the alcohol dependent population. The second is an empirical study which aimed to establish whether or not relapse can be predicted in a severely alcohol dependent population in the early stages following inpatient detoxification. In addition, a normative dataset for this clinical population using the ACE-III is presented. Methods: For the systematic review, a structured search of the literature relating to emotional decision-making in alcohol dependent samples was conducted. Iterative application of pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria identified eighteen studies for critical review. Quality assessment of these studies was undertaken and validated by means of calculating inter-rater reliability. For the empirical study, two sub-samples of a cross-sectional group of patients being treated for severe alcohol-dependence were examined; one to collate normative data for the ACE-III (N=73) and one to investigate associations between the ACE-III and relapse (N=20), including covariates of age, mood, anxiety and motivation. Results: The systematic review demonstrated substantial support for a deficit in emotional decision-making ability in alcohol-dependence. Methodological quality of the reviewed papers was moderate to high. Deficits in performance on a task of emotional decision-making compared to healthy controls indicated a reduced learning curve in alcohol dependent samples. Limitations of the studies included failure to report power analyses and effect sizes, insufficient detail regarding methodology and exclusion of common comorbidities in alcohol-dependence. The empirical study demonstrated clinically significant cognitive impairment in a sample of severely alcohol dependent individuals in the early stages following detoxification. In a smaller sample, cognitive functioning was not found to be predictive of relapse at one-month post-detoxification. Associations were identified between age and ACE-III score and between age and relapse status. Age was not predictive of outcome. Conclusions: The available evidence points towards the existence of emotional decision-making deficits in alcohol dependent individuals. These are likely to impact on the ability of individuals make the health behaviour changes required to recover from alcohol dependence. Further research may be helpful in identifying factors associated with increased decision-making deficit in this specific population and investigating the processes underlying such difficulties. The clinical normative dataset presented in the empirical study points towards generalised cognitive impairment during the early stages of abstinence which may negatively impact on ability to engage meaningfully with psychosocial interventions. Performance on the ACE-III was not found to predict relapse in the current sample. Previous research would suggest that the links between cognitive functioning and relapse are less well defined in alcohol-misusing samples than in the wider substance-misuse population. Therefore future research may help to clarify this association in alcohol dependent samples. It is acknowledged that the ACE-III is yet to be validated for use in the alcohol dependent population and is limited in its ability to assess executive functions. Given the high prevalence of executive functioning deficits in the alcohol dependent population, it seems of importance to use cognitive screening tools which place appropriate emphasis on these abilities. Service providers are encouraged to incorporate routine cognitive screening into clinical practice and consider the implications of cognitive impairment at both individual and service delivery levels.

Nonmalignant respiratory diseases (NMRD), such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), are a leading cause of morbidity worldwide. Research has shown that patients with NMRD in the UK, Canada and the US have less access to palliative care services than patients with other respiratory diseases such as lung cancer. Discussing preferences for end-of-life care in NMRD can be difficult for patients, carers and health professionals, however it is essential to ensure that the patient’s wishes are met, particularly when resources are scarce. Despite similar nationalised health care systems in the UK and Canada, a recent report by the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked overall quality of end-of- life care in the UK first out of forty, while Canada was ranked ninth out of forty. Therefore, it was deemed useful to investigate how end-of-life for people with NMRD is discussed between health professionals and patients in the UK and Canada and to develop an instrument allowing health professionals to determine constraints and opportunities for facilitating such discussions in each country as comparing care between countries is helpful to determine the best solutions for individuals and families with complex needs. This study was guided by the Medical Research Council guidelines for developing and implementing complex interventions, and the research process followed the requirements for the development phase of these guidelines. First, two systematic reviews were carried out to establish the evidence base regarding of end-of-life discussions. The first focused on how end-of-life is discussed in NMRD, while the second focused exclusively on end-of-life discussions in a single NMRD (COPD) in the UK and Canada only. The findings of the systematic reviews pointed toward the need for further training of health professionals to iii discuss end-of-life with this patient group, as well as the lack indicators that this patient group is ready or willing to discuss end-of-life. Then, a Delphi study was conducted with specialist respiratory nurses in the UK to determine expert opinion on how health professionals know a patient with NMRD is ready to discuss end-of-life, and to establish the key considerations and topics in such discussions. This study was replicated in Canada with health professionals working with patients with NMRD. Each Delphi study resulted in a country specific tool to assist less experienced health professionals discuss end-of-life with this patient group. Finally, the findings of these Delphi studies were compared to determine what health professionals in each country could learn from each other, as well as specific considerations in each country, and areas for future research. The findings from the comparison process demonstrated that the emotional intelligence of health professionals, the patient education context and the recognition of cultural issues were all important factors when approaching end-of-life discussions. Findings from each phase of the intervention development process resulted in a theoretical model of how end-of-life is discussed in the UK and Canada. This model identifies constraints and opportunities for such discussions from a systems level perspective including: end-of-life policies, prognosis in non-malignant respiratory disease, time, clinical indicators, initiation responsibility, the educational role of health professionals, emotional intelligence, cultural competence and readiness versus willingness to discuss end-of-life. Recommendations are made from the findings of this study for research, clinical practice, education and policy. A detailed plan for the next stage of the development of the intervention is included.

Public policy analysts are often tasked with reviewing research or other forms of evidence in order to provide advice for policy decisions. Many have argued that systematic reviews that include meta-analyses (SRMAs) are the most rigorous forms of evidence, and thus, when possible, should form the basis of policy decisions. However, it is not yet clear to what extent policy analysts are aware of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, or to what extend they use them to inform policy work. Moreover, given the importance of evaluating the quality of research before using it for policy, it is not clear to what extent policy analysts feel able to judge the quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. An online survey was used to provide initial estimates of the extent to which policy analysts a) are familiar with SRMAs; b) use these reviews to inform their policy work; and c) are able to evaluate them. It further sought to explore other correlates of use, barriers to use, methods to increase use, and knowledge of factors that influence quality. Thirty-nine Ministerial policy analysts responded to the survey, 18 from the Ministry of Health, 9 from the Ministry of Environment, and 12 from other ministries. Policy analysts reported being fairly familiar with both systematic reviews and meta-analyses, although they were more familiar with systematic reviews than with meta-analyses. There were no differences between the Health, Environment, or Other groups with respect to familiarity. Respondents reported moderate scores on most indicators of use, with results suggesting the Health group having the highest rates of use, followed by the Environment group and then the Other group. Finally, there were relatively high self-ratings on ability to judge the quality of SRMAs, with no differences found between groups. The results of other exploratory analyses are also presented, and implications and recommendations are discussed. / Graduate

Magister Curationis - MCur / Literature shows that cataracts are the leading cause of blindness globally and nationally. Retinal detachment has also been a substantial problem both globally and nationally. Both of these conditions are prevalent in patients of 50 years and older. The treatment for both conditions is for surgery to be performed. In the Western Cape the three leading hospitals do not have ophthalmic pre-operative and post-operative protocols.Review question:What are the best practices to manage pre-operative and post-operative nursing care in patients waiting for cataract and retinal detachment surgery? bjectives:1. To determine the best practice in pre-operative and post-operative care in patients who have undergone cataract and/or retinal detachment surgery regarding: health education offered by nurses, counselling to prevent psychological effects, and positioning to prevent physical complications. 2. To develop a framework based on systematic reviews for pre-operative and post-operative ophthalmic nursing care in South Africa. Methodology: A systematic review using the guide by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination was done, and studies were identified by searching various electronic databases and visually scanning reference lists from the relevant studies. Studies that were included were evidence-based. All study types were considered and the studies were selected based on the title and, where available, the abstract. These were then assessed against the inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis was used. Finally the evidence was summarised and a framework was drawn up, focusing on pre-operative and post-operative nursing care for cataract and retinal detachment surgery

Master of Science / Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology / Natalia Cernicchiaro / Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a virus of the Flavivirus genus that may result in encephalitis in vertebrate hosts. This vector-borne zoonosis occurs in Eastern and Southeastern Asia and an intentional or inadvertent introduction into the United States (US) would lead to important public health and economic consequences. The objective of this study was to gather, appraise, and synthesize primary research literature to identify and quantify vector and host competence for JEV, using a systematic review-metaanalysis (SR-MA) approach. After defining the research question, we performed a search in selected electronic databases. The title and abstract of the identified articles were screened for relevance using a defined set of exclusion and inclusion criteria, and relevant articles were subjected to a risk of bias assessment followed by data extraction. Random-effects subgroup meta-analysis models were fitted by species (mosquito or vertebrate host species) to estimate pooled summary measures as well as to compute the variance between studies. Meta-regression models were fitted to assess the association between different predictors and the outcomes of interest and to identify sources of heterogeneity among studies. Data were extracted from 171 peer-reviewed articles. Most studies were observational (59.06%) and reported vector competence (60.2%). The outcome measures reported pertained to transmission efficiency, host preference, and vector susceptibility to infection within vector competence; and susceptibility to infection within host competence. All outcome measures (JEV proportion of infection in vectors and hosts from observational studies; and JEV infection, dissemination, and transmission rates in vectors from experimental studies) had high heterogeneity. Mosquito species, diagnostic method, country, and capture method represented important sources of heterogeneity associated with the proportion of JEV infection in vectors; host species and region were considered sources of heterogeneity associated with the proportion of JEV infection in hosts; and diagnostic and mosquito capture methods were deemed important contributors of heterogeneity for the minimum infection rate (MIR) outcome. Mosquito species and administration route represented the main sources of heterogeneity associated with JEV infection rate in vectors. Quantitative estimates resulting from this SR-MA will be inputted into risk assessment models to evaluate risks associated with the introduction of JEV in the US.

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