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Ce mémoire est un des segments d'une recherche de plus grande envergure sur le service Info-Santé, et qui se déroule au Centre de Santé et de Services sociaux de Laval. / Les services téléphoniques de consultation en soins infirmiers sont en progression partout dans le monde. On sait que les infirmières qui possèdent une plus longue expérience de pratique au téléphone obtiennent davantage d’informations sur la condition de santé du client qui les consulte que celles qui comptent moins d’années d’expérience. Nous pouvons présumer que les niveaux d’expertise décrits par Benner (1984) expliquent cette différence. Toutefois aucune étude à ce jour ne décrit comment se manifeste cette différence entre les niveaux d’expertise dans la conversation au cours d’une intervention entre l’infirmière et l’appelant. Le but de cette étude descriptive était d’identifier les manifestations de cette expertise dans la communication, lors de la consultation téléphonique. À l’aide du Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS), 190 enregistrements d’appels, entre infirmières (N = 15), de divers niveaux de compétence selon la nomenclature de Benner (1984) et les appelants qui les ont consultées, ont été analysés. Les appels étudiés, issus d’une étude de plus grande envergure, devaient être faits par le parent d’un enfant de moins de cinq ans, et devaient faire l’objet d’une première consultation. Il a été possible de nommer des caractéristiques, des forces et des faiblesses communes aux infirmières de chaque niveau d'expertise à l’étude. Bien qu’il existe des différences entre les moins expérimentées et celles qui ont une longue expérience clinique au téléphone, les résultats semblent indiquer que les infirmières de tous les niveaux d’expertise sont fortement centrées sur la tâche d’évaluation de la situation de santé de l’appelant, mais que leurs interventions incluent peu d’énoncés orientés vers l’établissement d’un réel partenariat avec l’appelant. Les résultats obtenus fournissent des informations qui pourraient être utilisées pour élaborer des stratégies de développement professionnel, et guider les administrateurs de ce service dans le choix des indicateurs d’évaluation de la qualité du service et de ses retombés sur sa clientèle. Toutefois un plus grand nombre d’infirmières participantes et un plus grand nombre d’appels permettraient de confirmer les résultats obtenus à partir de ces 190 appels. / Nurse telephone consultation services are rapidly progressing throughout the world. It is known that nurses with a greater experience in telephone practise obtain more information on the client’s health condition when in consultation, than nurses with less experience. We can presume that Patricia Benner’s «levels of nursing experience», (1984), will provide us with an explanation for these differences. Yet, to this day, no study describes how these differences between levels of experience are manifested in conversation during an intervention between the nurse and the client. The object of this descriptive study was to identify the manifestations of this communication expertise during a telephone consultation. Using the Roter interaction analysis system (RIAS), 190 recorded calls between nurses (N = 15) with differing levels of expertise, according to Benner’ nomenclature (1984), and the callers who have consulted them were analyzed. The calls that were studied, from a larger study, were first calls from parents regarding their child aged five years or less. It was possible to observe characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses common to nurses within each level of expertise in this study. Despite the fact that there are differences between nurses with fewer years of experience and nurses with more clinical telephone experience, results seem to indicate that, regardless of their experience, nurses are strongly centered on the task of assessing the caller’s health situation; however, their interventions include few phrases aimed at establishing a true partnership with the caller. Results obtained provide information that could be used to elaborate professional developmental strategies, and guide administrators in their choice of indicators when evaluating service quality and its effect on clientele. Nevertheless, an increased number of nurse participants and a greater number of calls would enable us to confirm the results obtained from these 190 calls.

The thesis explains the concept of crisis, crisis intervention and telephone crisis intervention, its procedures and techniques. It's focused on history of Helplines not only in Czech Republic but also in the world. It looks closely at the format and principles involved in Helpline call management. The thesis identifies requirements that are imposed on trained specialists and presents some of the institutions that organize training in telephone crisis intervention. Not only Czech but also international organizations focusing on telephone crisis interventions are introduced. A telephone counselors might be at risk for so-cold "burnout syndrome", therefore, the thesis includes chapters devoted to supervision practice and mental hygiene. Finally, the specific Helpline calls are listed.

Les services téléphoniques de consultation en soins infirmiers sont en progression partout dans le monde. On sait que les infirmières qui possèdent une plus longue expérience de pratique au téléphone obtiennent davantage d’informations sur la condition de santé du client qui les consulte que celles qui comptent moins d’années d’expérience. Nous pouvons présumer que les niveaux d’expertise décrits par Benner (1984) expliquent cette différence. Toutefois aucune étude à ce jour ne décrit comment se manifeste cette différence entre les niveaux d’expertise dans la conversation au cours d’une intervention entre l’infirmière et l’appelant. Le but de cette étude descriptive était d’identifier les manifestations de cette expertise dans la communication, lors de la consultation téléphonique. À l’aide du Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS), 190 enregistrements d’appels, entre infirmières (N = 15), de divers niveaux de compétence selon la nomenclature de Benner (1984) et les appelants qui les ont consultées, ont été analysés. Les appels étudiés, issus d’une étude de plus grande envergure, devaient être faits par le parent d’un enfant de moins de cinq ans, et devaient faire l’objet d’une première consultation. Il a été possible de nommer des caractéristiques, des forces et des faiblesses communes aux infirmières de chaque niveau d'expertise à l’étude. Bien qu’il existe des différences entre les moins expérimentées et celles qui ont une longue expérience clinique au téléphone, les résultats semblent indiquer que les infirmières de tous les niveaux d’expertise sont fortement centrées sur la tâche d’évaluation de la situation de santé de l’appelant, mais que leurs interventions incluent peu d’énoncés orientés vers l’établissement d’un réel partenariat avec l’appelant. Les résultats obtenus fournissent des informations qui pourraient être utilisées pour élaborer des stratégies de développement professionnel, et guider les administrateurs de ce service dans le choix des indicateurs d’évaluation de la qualité du service et de ses retombés sur sa clientèle. Toutefois un plus grand nombre d’infirmières participantes et un plus grand nombre d’appels permettraient de confirmer les résultats obtenus à partir de ces 190 appels. / Nurse telephone consultation services are rapidly progressing throughout the world. It is known that nurses with a greater experience in telephone practise obtain more information on the client’s health condition when in consultation, than nurses with less experience. We can presume that Patricia Benner’s «levels of nursing experience», (1984), will provide us with an explanation for these differences. Yet, to this day, no study describes how these differences between levels of experience are manifested in conversation during an intervention between the nurse and the client. The object of this descriptive study was to identify the manifestations of this communication expertise during a telephone consultation. Using the Roter interaction analysis system (RIAS), 190 recorded calls between nurses (N = 15) with differing levels of expertise, according to Benner’ nomenclature (1984), and the callers who have consulted them were analyzed. The calls that were studied, from a larger study, were first calls from parents regarding their child aged five years or less. It was possible to observe characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses common to nurses within each level of expertise in this study. Despite the fact that there are differences between nurses with fewer years of experience and nurses with more clinical telephone experience, results seem to indicate that, regardless of their experience, nurses are strongly centered on the task of assessing the caller’s health situation; however, their interventions include few phrases aimed at establishing a true partnership with the caller. Results obtained provide information that could be used to elaborate professional developmental strategies, and guide administrators in their choice of indicators when evaluating service quality and its effect on clientele. Nevertheless, an increased number of nurse participants and a greater number of calls would enable us to confirm the results obtained from these 190 calls. / Ce mémoire est un des segments d'une recherche de plus grande envergure sur le service Info-Santé, et qui se déroule au Centre de Santé et de Services sociaux de Laval.

Cette thèse s'intéresse aux problèmes d'allocations des ressources et de puissance dans les réseaux cellulaires de quatrième génération (4G). Pour faire face à la demande continuellement croissante en débit des utilisateurs mobiles, les opérateurs n'ont d'autre choix que de densifier leurs infrastructures d'accès au réseau radio (RAN), afin de maximiser l'utilisation de la bande passante disponible dans l'espace. Un des défis de cette nouvelle architecture est la coexistence de nombreuses cellules voisines et la gestion des interférences co-canal qu'elles génèrent entre elles. De telles contraintes ont amené la communauté scientifique à s'intéresser aux réseaux auto-organisés et auto-optimisés (SON), qui permettent aux réseaux de s'optimiser localement via des décisions décentralisées (sans planification statique). L'intérêt principal de tels réseaux est le passage à l'échelle des algorithmes distribués et la possibilité de s'adapter dynamiquement à de nouveaux environnements. Dans cette optique, nous proposons l'étude de deux problèmes d'allocation de ressources. La première partie de cette thèse se concentre sur l'optimisation de l'usage des ressources, dans un contexte de transmission coordonnée par plusieurs stations de base (CoMP). Les performances de la coordination de stations de base sont évaluées, selon le critère de capacité uniforme, ainsi que le compromis entre l'efficacité spectrale et l'équité entre les utilisateurs. Nous proposons également une méthode généralisée et distribuée de sélection de l'ensemble de stations en coopération, afin d'optimiser le compromis efficacité-équité. Dans une seconde partie, nous nous intéressons à l'optimisation de l'allocation des ressources et de puissance, dans le but de minimiser la consommation électrique du réseau. Nous présentons deux algorithmes dont les décisions sont décentralisées. Le premier est basé sur une optimisation stochastique (via l'échantillonneur de Gibbs) et permet une optimisation globale du système. Le second quant à lui est basé sur l'adaptation de la théorie du contrôle et utilise des modèles prédictifs et la poursuite de cibles pour allouer les ressources et les puissances dans un contexte de canaux et d'interférences dynamiques. Dans de nombreux cas, plusieurs objectifs concurrents sont à considérer pour évaluer les performances d'un réseau (capacité totale, équité, consommation électrique, etc.). Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous nous efforçons à présenter les résultats sous la forme de compromis multi-objectifs. / This thesis focuses on resources and power allocation problem in the fourth generation (4G) of cellular networks. To face the continuous growth of mobile users capacity requirements, operators need to densify their radio access network (RAN) infrastructure, to maximize the use of the available bandwidth in space. One of the major issues of this new architecture is the proximity of many base stations (BS) and the management of the interference they generate on each other's cell. Such constraints makes scientific community focus on Self-Optimized, Self-Organized Networks (SON) that allow network elements to optimize them-selves through decentralized decisions (no static network planning is required). A major interest of SON is their capability to scale to large and non-organized networks, as well as being able to adapt them-selves dynamically, by using distributed algorithms. In this context, this thesis proposes the study of two resource allocation problems. The first part of this thesis focuses on the optimisation of resource sharing, in the context of coordinated multi-points transmissions (CoMP). Performances of BS coordination are evaluated, using the uniform capacity criterion, as well as the trade-off between total capacity and fairness among users. We also propose a generalized and distributed method to select the set of coordination of BS, to optimize the capacity-fairness trade-off. In the second part of this thesis, we focus on optimizing the transmit power and resource allocation, in order to reduce electric consumption. We present two distributed algorithms: the first one is based on a stochastic optimisation (using Gibbs sampling), and tries to reach the global optimum state through decentralized decision. The second one is based on control theory, and uses target tracking as well as model predictive control to allocate resources and power in a dynamic channel scenario. In many cases, trade-offs are to be maid between opposite objectives when evaluating network performances (total throughput, fairness, energy consumption, etc.). In this thesis, we present most of the network performances using multi-objectives evaluations.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The motive for this research was to provide clarity on the increasingly divergent opinions on the role and behaviour of South African companies in the rest of the African continent. The key question that can be asked is: “Are South African investments, saviour or villain of African Development” (Thomas, 2007)? Are they “exporting Apartheid” (Mkhabela, 2007) or are the fears raised against South African companies unfounded? The primary research objective of this study is to assess MTN-C’s contribution to the economic development of Cameroon. The specific research questions addressed in this study are: 1. What are the possible areas of economic impact? 2. How can the effects of MTN-C’s presence in Cameroon be measured—both qualitatively and quantitatively? 3. What recommendations can be made to MTN-C? To answer these questions, the researcher takes a multi-dimensional view of the economic impact across eight areas, viz., inflow of foreign direct capital, interaction with government, training and development of local staff, employment creation, local procurement, spread of local shareholding, the local mobile communications sector and corporate social investment initiatives. She assesses each of the above-mentioned eight elements and then draws some conclusions on what is perceived to be the true effect of MTN-C’s investments in Cameroon. After close to three years of in-depth research, which included several trips to Cameroon, in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, direct observation, group discussions and survey research, it can be concluded that MTN-C has indeed had a positive impact in areas like Corporate Social Investment, training and development of local staff, employment creation and the inflow of foreign capital. However, much still needs to be done. The areas that have been identified as weak include the development of local suppliers, the interaction with government and the spread of local shareholding. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie is gemotiveer deur die soeke na groter helderheid met betrekking tot uiteenlopende beoordelings van die rol en optrede van Suid-Afrikaanse ondernemings in die res van die Afrika-kontinent. Die kernvraag is: “Are South African investments saviour or villains of African development?” (Thomas, 2007) Is hulle besig om apartheid “uit te voer” (Mkhabela, 2007) of is dié vrese teenoor Suid-Afrikaanse ondernemings ongegrond? Die primêre navorsingsoogmerk is die beoordeling van MTN Cameroon se bydrae tot die ekonomiese ontwikkeling in Kameroen. Spesifiek drie vrae word aangespreek. 1. Watter dimensies word ingesluit in ‘n studie van die “ekonomiese impak”? 2. Hoe kan die invloed van MTN Cameroon se teenwoordigheid in dié land gemeet word – sowel kwalitatief asook kwantitatief? 3. Watter aanbevelings kan op grond van dié beoordelings aan die maatskappy gemaak word? Om hierdie vrae te beantwoord word ‘n multi-dimensionele benadering gevolg, gebaseer op agt verskillende invloed-gebiede. Hulle sluit in die invloei van buitelandse kaptiaal, interaksie met die regering, opleiding en ontwikkeling van plaaslike werknemers, werkskepping, plaaslike aankope, die verspreiding van plaaslike aandeelhouding, die mobiele kommunikasiebedryf en sosiale investerings-inisiatiewe. Elkeen van dié elemente word ontleed op grond van vraelys-reaksies en ander insigte. Dit lei tot gevolgtrekkings op elkeen van die vlakke, wat tesame die volle omvang van die betrokkenheid weerspieël. Na drie jaar se interaksie van die navorser met Kameroen, diepte-onderhoude met vername rolspelers, direkte waarnemings, groepbesprekings en 40 voltooide vraelyste kom sy tot die gevolgtrekking dat MTN Cameroon wel ‘n positiewe rol speel in gebiede soos korporatiewe sosiale investerings, opleiding, werkskepping en die invloei van kapitaal, maar dat daar nog heelwat ruimte vir verbeterings is, veral wat plaaslike aankope, interaksie met die regering en plaaslike aandeelhouding betref.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The mobile phone has not only changed the way the world works today, but also changed the direction the world is moving toward. The mobile phone changed the face of communication and enabled more people to reach more other people than ever before. The big four banks in South Africa represent 83.5 per cent of the total asset value of all banks in South Africa. Traditionally, banking customers (or potential customers) could be reached through the current 2 786 branches, 19 451 ATMs and potentially 4.59 million internet users. There are 47.9 million mobile phone subscribers in South Africa – increasing the number of potential contact points by order of magnitude. The possibilities for banks utilising the mobile phone are endless, however online banking and offering banking services through a mobile phone is increasingly more subject to fraud attacks. Online banking and credit card fraud is still on the increase. Today, SMS is used to alert customer of movements on their bank account. This keeps the customer informed and enables them to notify their banks and prevent subsequent fraudulent transactions. SMS can be sent from one mobile phone to another (P2P) or from a computer system to a mobile phone (A2P). In 2007, 2 trillion SMS's were sent worldwide and was responsible for 75 to 80 per cent of all mobile phone revenues. South Africa sent 34 billion A2P SMS in 2009 of which 29 per cent were sent as transactional SMS by the top three banks in South Africa. SMS-based transactional alerts are SMS sent each time a change occurs in a bank account, for example, when your credit card is used then you will get an SMS on your mobile phone. Each bank makes different functionalities available. Absa reported 2 million customers receiving SMS alerts in 2008. FNB reported 67 million transactional SMS per month in 2009. The core advantages for using transactional SMS are the cost, reliability and ubiquity. Research was conducted among five of the six largest banks. Data revealed that banks send between 16 million and 69.4 million SMS per month and have approximately between 4.5 and 5.1 million customers using this service. The impact was tested through personal interviews. The two common factors were fraud reduction and customer retention. The two key challenges the banks identified are: i) Capacity/throughput with the mobile network operators; and ii) Getting internal systems and processes defined and working together for the alerts. The advantages identified are competitive positioning, customer interaction, empowerment of people and revenue. Key findings of the research were: SMS-based transactional alerts offer strategic importance; Any system is as good as it is being utilised; Security controls are extremely complex; SMS capacity is a common challenge and big risk; Internal processes cause the most complexity; Return on investment is not adequately measured; Transactional alerts is a potential revenue stream; There is no interaction between the bank and the customer; SMS in South Africa create high dependencies; SMS-based transactional alerts are successful.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

While telephone interpreting is very well established on the foreign market, in the Czech Republic it is still quite unknown and not very much used. Foreign companies that provide telephone interpreting have sophisticated systems to chose, train and assess interpreters and to connect them promptly with clients. This type of interpreting is being employed in various areas of human activity - in healthcare, in communication with service providers, such as banks, at courts, during police interrogations, in the private sector, where business partners need to communicate with each other, etc. Telephone interpreting is still seeking its position on the Czech market - the service is offered and provided by agencies, clients, however, are not interested. In its first part, the present thesis explores the theory and present-day situation of telephone interpreting. Telephone interpreting is defined in the contexts of remote, dialogue and community interpreting; the foreign market is described, as well as the areas where over the phone interpreting is mainly employed. The conducted research focuses on the USA, where the telephone interpreting market is developed the most. The empirical part of the thesis draws on a survey carried out among translation agencies, hospitals, nongovernmental organizations and...

A call taker is the first point of contact in the emergency service system and thus the interface between the caller and ambulance dispatch. Misunderstandings in an emergency call have implications for the survival of patients. Using an applied conversation analytic approach this study examined participants’ use of conversational repair as an interactional strategy. Data included 101 calls from a South African emergency medical services call centre. The data set was comprised of two distinct subsets, namely: the 107 and public corpora. The 107 corpus (53 calls) contained calls from a general emergency call centre. The 107 caller thus served as a mediating party on behalf of the public caller. The public corpus (48 calls) comprised calls received directly from members of the public. The data subsets afforded a unique opportunity to analyse ways in which participants to an emergency call manage asymmetries of knowledge. Differential patterns of the type and purpose of repair were tracked across both data sets and similarities and differences were explored. Both data sets showed that participants’ choice of interactional strategies was customized based on an ongoing assessment of knowledge asymmetries. However, whilst knowledge asymmetries posed some constraints an overriding interactional constraint, inherent within the institutional nature of the emergency call, was a rigid adherence to routinized protocols. The call taker’s dilemma was thus identified as the management of these constraints through the frequent use of conversational repair. Although a level of responsiveness is required to glean quality information from callers, high volumes of emergency calls would not be possible without routinized protocols. However, increased orientation to routinized protocols led to a decreased orientation to responsiveness. This research therefore showed that knowledge symmetry is not necessarily more advantageous but that successful call trajectory is reliant on the call taker’s ability to maximize the collaborative nature of the interaction and effectively negotiate through the judicious use of repair and other relevant interactional strategies. This has important implications for call taker training.