A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Public Health. Johannesburg, April 2012 / Introduction Routine PMTCT programmes are highly effective in reducing the mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) rate of HIV, but generally fail in follow-up of HIV-exposed children. Loss to follow-up in the PMTCT programme translates into failure in primary prevention of new infections in HIV-exposed infants, failure to identify HIV disease early in children, and a missed opportunity for early referral of HIV-positive children to ARV sites. An assessment of what happens to babies born of HIV-positive mothers in the West Rand district of Gauteng province, South Africa has never been done, and neither has the extent to which these babies are followed up for the first 12 months, and the extent of loss to follow-up been documented. Aim The purpose of this study is to describe the referral and follow-up of babies born to HIV-positive women during July to December 2005 in the PMTCT programme in the West Rand district of Gauteng. Method This was a descriptive study involving a retrospective review of records for a cohort of babies born to HIV-positive mothers in the PMTCT programme in the West Rand during July 2005 to December 2005. All records of HIV-positive mothers seen over the six-month period at Leratong hospital and the two midwife obstetric units (MOUs) that refer patients to Leratong hospital were reviewed, as were records of their babies. A total of 887 Mother-infant pairs were consecutively enrolled in the study. Results Referral linkages within the PMTCT programme were found to be weak. Only 34% of babies enrolled in the PMTCT programme were successfully registered with PMTCT follow-up services. HIV PCR testing of babies enrolled in the PMTCT programme was relatively low. Overall only 41% of enrolled babies were tested for HIV infection. Of those babies who had a HIV PCR test, 16% were tested before or at six weeks with the majority of babies (84%) having a HIV PCR after six weeks. HIV PCR testing coverage at six weeks was 8.4%. Referral of confirmed HIV-positive babies to ARV sites was poor. Only 25% of all HIV PCR-positive infants were successfully referred to ARV sites. There was a high loss to follow-up in the PMTCT follow-up programme. The probability of an infant remaining in the PMTCT programme decreased from 0.5 at six weeks to 0.04 beyond 20 weeks. Conclusion Despite a high enrolment of babies in the PMTCT programme in the West Rand, referral linkages within the PMTCT programme are weak and there is a high loss to follow-up of infants in the PMTCT follow-up programme. HIV PCR coverage at six weeks is significantly low, and referral of confirmed HIV PCR-positive babies to ARV sites is also significantly low. Further research is needed to assess whether there has been an improvement in the follow-up of babies in the PMTCT programme in the West Rand since the time of this study.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

The Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDDM), a growing field of study argued to be very useful in discovering knowledge hidden in large datasets are slowly finding application in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). While literature shows that KDDM processes enable discovery of knowledge useful to improve performance of organisations, limitations surrounding them contradict this argument. While extending the usefulness of KDDM processes to support HEIs, challenges were encountered like the discovery of course taking patterns in educational datasets associated with contextual information. While literature argued that existing KDDM processes suffer from the limitations arising out of their inability to generate patterns associated with contextual information, this research tested this claim and developed an artefact that overcame the limitation. Design Science methodology was used to test and evaluate the KDDM artefact. The research used the CRISP-DM process model to test the educational dataset using attributes namely course taking pattern, course difficulty level, optimum CGPA and time-to-degree by applying clustering, association rule and classification techniques. The results showed that both clustering and association rules did not produce course taking patterns. Classification produced course taking patterns that were partially linked to CGPA and time-to-degree. But optimum CGPA and time-to-degree could not be linked with contextual information. Hence the CRISP-DM process was modified to include three new stages namely contextual data understanding, contextual data preparation and additional data preparation (merging) stage to see whether contextual dataset could be separately mined and associated with course taking pattern. The CRISP-DM model and the modified CRISP-DM model were tested as per the guidelines of Chapman et al. (2000). Process theory was used as basis for the modification of CRISP-DM process. Results showed that course taking pattern contextualised by course difficulty level pattern predicts optimum CGPA and time-to-degree. This research has contributed to knowledge by developing a new artefact (contextual factor mining in the CRISP-DM process) to predict optimum CGPA and optimum time-to-degree using course taking pattern and course difficulty level pattern. Contribution to theory was in extension of the application of a few theories to explain the development, testing and evaluation of the KDDM artefact. Enhancement of genetic algorithm (GA) to mine course difficulty level pattern along with course taking pattern is a contribution and a pseudocode to verify the presence of course difficulty level pattern. Contribution to practise was by demonstrating the usefulness of the modified CRISP-DM process for prediction and simulation of the course taking pattern to predict the optimum CGPA and time-to-degree thereby demonstrating that the artefact can be deployed in practise.

This thesis explores aristocratic female inheritance and property holding in the thirteenth century, a relatively neglected topic within existing scholarship. Using the heiresses of the earldoms and honours of Chester, Pembroke, Leicester and Winchester as case studies, this thesis sheds light on the processes of female inheritance and the effects of coparceny in a turbulent period of English history. The lives of the heiresses featured in this thesis span the reigns of three English kings: John, Henry III and Edward I. The reigns of John and Henry saw bitter civil wars, whilst Edward’s was plagued with expensive foreign wars. The heiresses discussed here inherited the lands of some of the most important honours in England and the partition of these patrimonies between female coheirs undoubtedly had an effect on landholding and political society. There were numerous instances when the property rights of female coheirs were negotiated and compromised. Nonetheless, the property rights of women with regard to inheritance, marriage portion and dower were protected by law and remained important to the crown. As wives and widows, these women had an interest in the lands they had inherited and regularly participated in the legal disputes surrounding them. An examination of the roles these heiresses played in these suits and more generally in English society demonstrates the different avenues by which noblewomen could exercise agency in the thirteenth century.

archives@tulane.edu / U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “alternatives to detention” program, known as the Intensive Supervisory Appearance Program (ISAP) is promoted as a “humane” immigration enforcement method for Central American women with children. In addition to frequent reporting requirements, ISAP enrollees are required to wear an electronic ankle bracelet monitor, typically referred to as “grilletes” or “shackles” by the persons who wear them. This thesis uses historical and media analysis methods to first demonstrate how mainstream media uses neoliberal gender ideologies that simultaneously domesticate and criminalize immigrant parents to justify the practice of assigning ankle shackles to Central American women with children. The second part is based on six in-depth interviews with men and women in ISAP. Drawing on these interviews as well as feminist theories of the body, labor, and space, this thesis develops the concept of “embodied illegality” as a way to demonstrate the punitive and detention-like effects of the “grilletes” on its wearers’ lives. It also discusses how gender shapes men and women’s experiences of embodied illegality and suggest that—because of prevailing gender ideologies about women, motherhood, and domesticity—women may have more punitive experiences from the “grillete.” / 1 / Karla Daniela Rosas Rosas

No description available.

In an increasingly digital world, the need for high speed and high fidelity analog-to-digital (A/D) converters is paramount. Performance improvements in electronic A/Ds have not kept pace with demand, hence the need to consider alternative technologies. One such technology is photonics, as it takes advantage of optical sampling, high speed optical switches and low cross-talk interconnects. Optical sampling derives its advantage from the application of ultra low timing jitter (<100fs) mode locked lasers utilised to provide high speed clock pulses. In this thesis the feasibility and simulated performance of three different types of photonic oversampled A/D converters was investigated. The first, and simplest design is that of oversampled pulse-code-modulation (PCM), where a 2-level photonic comparator is used to sample the analog input at a frequency much greater than the Nyquist frequency. Subsequent low pass filtering produces a digital representation of the input. The other two architectures that were investigated are the first-order sigma-delta and error diffusion, which add one level of error correction to the PCM technique. These two architectures require the functional elements of a subtractor, comparator and delay. The photonic comparator and subtractor functionality was provided by Self-Electro-Optic Effect devices (SEED) based upon multiple quantum well (MQW) p-i-n devices. To facilitate calculation of the performance of the different architectures and aid in device design, a simulation of SEED operation based upon experimental data was developed. The simulation’s accuracy was demonstrated by agreement with the results from experimental S-SEED switching and optical subtraction. To emphasize the utility of the model, the simulation was subsequently used to demonstrate tristability of an S-SEED and critical slowing down in a bistable S-SEED. These effects were experimentally verified. To provide enhanced comparator contrast ratio and subtractor dynamic range, resonantly enhanced microcavity multiple quantum well (MQW) p-i-n devices were designed and grown by MOCVD. The operation of the subtractor and comparator was experimentally demonstrated and utilising temperature tuning, optimised performance was achieved with devices from the same wafer. Furthermore, the inclusion of gain was shown to improve the subtractor performance to that demanded by the sigma-delta. The constraints on each architecture imposed by the unipolar nature of the light intensity were derived and the sigma delta architecture was shown to be superior to the error diffusion for a photonic implementation. Using the numerical simulation based upon experimentally derived data, the entire sigma delta architecture was simulated to calculate the expected performance. The signal-to-quantisation-noise ratio (SQNR) was calculated as a function input amplitude and a peak SQNR of 54dB was obtained for an oversampling ratio of 100. / http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1283979 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Chemistry and Physics, 2007

Metodologier som tidigare använts för utveckling av informationssystem (IS) klarar inte av den snabbt förändrande tillvaron som e-handeln (elektroniskhandel) ger. Företagen söker nu nya metodologier. Det är speciellt viktigt för små och medelstora företag (SME). De tvingas ofta använda metodologier som inte anpassats för deras behov. Därför är det intressant när en metodologi sägs vara anpassad för även SME. IBM hävdar att deras On demand är det. Arbete siktade på att ta reda på möjligheterna för SME att använda e-handel och Business-to-Business. Möjligheten att skapa e-handelslösningar utan metodologi sågs över och sedan möjlighterna med On demand församma endamål. En enkätundersökning gjordes. Resultaten av studien visade att möjligheterna för SME att använda e-handel finns. De lösningar som troligen kommer att passa best är de egen utvecklade, de på grund utav att det inte finns homogena krav inom SME området för e-handelutveckling. On demand visade sig ej lämpad för SME

One of the critical issues of systems utilizing Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is the high peak to the average power ratio of OFDM signals. We have used Precoding as a way to mitigate the PAPR problem. Furthermore the performance of Precoded OFDM in fading multi-path channels has been studied. This thesis is based on an efficient technique for reducing the PAPR of OFDM signals. The proposed technique is data-independent and thus, does not require new processing and optimization for each transmitted OFDM block. The reduction in PAPR of the OFDM signal is obtained through a proper selection of a Precoding scheme that distributes the power of each modulated symbol over the OFDM block. The obtained results show that this Precoding scheme is an attractive solution to the PAPR problem of OFDM signals.

With the network popularization, applications on network are increasing day by day. VoIP (Voice over IP) is one of exciting developments on network applications, and its voice quality has been as good as traditional phones. Furthermore, IP phone users do not afford expensive communication costs, but go to the expense of broadband service. Therefore, more and more people start to use IP phone. After meeting certain requirements of basic communication, users could ask for more additional services. In the thesis, a voicemail service is built under SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). Users can keep missing call by recording voice with digital files, and then, one can receive recorded files from E-mail. Besides, small social networks can communicate with IP phones by using pear-to-pear telephony, which costs less money and labor due to no cost on building servers.