Software process modelling has been identified as being a vehicle for understanding development processes, controlling development costs, duration, and achieving product quality. In recent years, software process simulation has been becoming one of the essential techniques for effectively investigating and managing software development processes. Till now, most researches focus on the quantitative aspects of process simulation and modelling. Nevertheless, purely quantitative process modelling requires a very detailed understanding and accurate measurement of the software process, which relies on reliable and precise historical data. When such data are lacking or the quality is dubious, quantitative models have to impose severe constraints that restrict the model's value. Unfortunately, these data are not readily available in most cases, especially in the organisations at low process maturity levels. In addition, software development is a highly complex, human-centred endeavour, which involves many uncertain factors in the course of development process. Facing the inherent uncertainty and contingency, though quantitative modelling employs statistic techniques, its conditional capability and underlying assumptions limit its performance on large scale problems. As the alternatives of quantitative approaches, qualitative modelling can cope with a lack of complete knowledge, and predicts qualitative process behaviours. Furthermore, semi-quantitative modelling offers the capability of handling process uncertainty with limited knowledge, and achieves tradeoff between quantitative and qualitative approaches. However, most previous researches omitted these approaches, and the associated methods and applications are far from developed. The main contribution of this research lies in the pioneering work on the models, methods, and applications of qualitative and semi-quantitative software process modelling and simulation, and their relations with the conventional, quantitative modelling approaches. This dissertation produces its novelty from twofold research. Firstly, it explores methods and techniques to qualitatively and semi-quantitatively model and simulate software processes at different levels, i.e. project, portion of development process, and product evolution. Secondly, Some exclusive applications of these modelling approaches are also developed for aspects of software engineering practice. Moreover, a proposed framework integrates these approaches with typical quantitative paradigms to guide the adoption of process simulation modelling in software organisations. As a comprehensive reflection of state-of-the-art of software process simulation modelling, a systematic review is reported in this dissertation as well.

Migraine affects 8 -16% of population in different countries resulting in significant economic and social impacts. Current pharmacological treatment provides symptomatic relief, but not without side effects. Hence, an increasing proportion of patients prefer complementary therapies including acupuncture for migraine relief. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture treatment for migraine have produced conflicting evidence due to methodological and reporting deficiencies, including small sample sizes and inappropriate outcome measures. Furthermore, systematic reviews on acupuncture for headache failed to adequately represent non-English studies such as those conducted in China. This project aimed to: (1) systematically review studies of acupuncture for migraine; and (2) conduct a RCT addressing key deficiencies identified from the systematic reviews (SRs). Two SRs were conducted based onfollowing Cochrane review protocols. Major English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean databases were searched. The first SR included 15 English studies and the second SR had 17 Chinese studies. No Japanese or Korean RCTs were identified. Overall, those two SRs supported the value of acupuncture in the treatment and prevention of migraine when compared with western medications. However, conflicting results were found when real acupuncture treatments were compared with sham/placebo procedures. When compared with the studies published in English, Chinese studies had a higher frequency of acupuncture treatment, displayed poor methodological quality, and commonly used pharmacotherapy as a comparator. The SRs revealed that there was limited evaluation of acupuncture for frequent migraine. In the RCT, fifty participants with a minimum of eight migraine days per four weeks were randomly allocated to receive real (RA, n = 26) and sham (SA, n = 24) acupuncture for a total of 16 sessions over 20 weeks in a gradually decreasing treatment frequency. Fixed and supplementary acupoints were used. Participants were followed up for further assessment at three months and one year. Results showed that at the end of the treatment period, the mean (SD) migraine attack days per four weeks decreased from 11.81 (5.76) to 5.17 (5.02) in the RA group and from 12.41 (6.4) to 10.08 (7.11) in SA (group difference: p = .008). Intensity of migraine assessed using a Six-point Likert scale was lower in the RA (2.18 ±1.05) than that in the SA group (2.93 ± 0.61, p = 0.004). The percentile changes of pressure pain threshold (PPTs) detected at the bilateral points of TaiYang (Ex-HN5) were significantly higher in the RA group (RA 228.48% vs. SA -0.66 % on the left and 92.69% vs. -2.52% on the right). However, there was no s tatistically significant difference between the two groups with respect to Migraine Specific Quality of Life (MSQOL). At the end of the three-month follow up, medication consumption was less in the RA group, but not at the one-year follow up. In conclusion, this project demonstrates that acupuncture is a potentially effective and safe option for adult patients with frequent migraine headache with the effects lasting up to three months. Further studies are needed to confirm these therapeutic benefits with adequate sample sizes and the potential mechanism for this action.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Nutrition)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

INTRODUCTION Antioxidant micronutrients may help alleviate oxidative stress in cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. To determine treatment effect, systematic reviews (SR) synthesize available evidence. Cochrane SRs are known for being methodologically rigourous, however, may have limited generalizability. OBJECTIVES To assess effectiveness of antioxidant micronutrients in CF lung disease using Cochrane and non-Cochrane SR methodology; to determine whether Cochrane SRs trade relevance for rigour METHODS The first SR followed Cochrane-preferred methods, while the non-Cochrane SR employed a broader search strategy and nclusion criteria. Reviews were contrasted regarding yield of search, treatment effect (efficacy and safety) and risk of bias. RESULTS Neither SR had enough data to support or refute efficacy or safety of antioxidant supplementation in CF lung disease. Compared to the Cochrane SR, the non-Cochrane SR had four more included studies, more precise estimates of efficacy, additional harms data and a similar risk of bias. CONCLUSION Broader search strategies and inclusion criteria may improve relevance of Cochrane SRs without compromising rigour. / Clinical Epidemiology

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