Reducing emergency department (ED) wait times are a major priority for the Ontario Government. Overcrowded EDs, cumulative effects of the delays in hospital processes and lack of resources are manifested in the phenomenon of long wait times. This thesis aims to estimate in real-time, a minimum wait time confidence interval for urgent abdominal pain patients on weekdays based on ED operations, waiting room status and ED census indicators through multivariate backwards stepwise regression modeling. The ED wait times model accurately predicted a 95% wait time confidence interval for patients. Common underlying factors attributed to long wait times include the total number of emergent and urgent patients in the waiting room, the total number of patient waiting for a consultation and the number of patients not seen within the Ontario Government’s target times. This information is useful in managing patient expectations and appropriately allocating resources to improve wait times.

Reducing emergency department (ED) wait times are a major priority for the Ontario Government. Overcrowded EDs, cumulative effects of the delays in hospital processes and lack of resources are manifested in the phenomenon of long wait times. This thesis aims to estimate in real-time, a minimum wait time confidence interval for urgent abdominal pain patients on weekdays based on ED operations, waiting room status and ED census indicators through multivariate backwards stepwise regression modeling. The ED wait times model accurately predicted a 95% wait time confidence interval for patients. Common underlying factors attributed to long wait times include the total number of emergent and urgent patients in the waiting room, the total number of patient waiting for a consultation and the number of patients not seen within the Ontario Government’s target times. This information is useful in managing patient expectations and appropriately allocating resources to improve wait times.

This thesis provides an introduction to the subject of Delivery Performance and its measurement. The review shows that non-price factors, especially delivery performance, have become recognised as of major importance in manufacturing business success. Attention is given to the reasons why UK manufacturing companies have such a poor delivery record and the adverse effects which result.

No presenta resumen / El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / Jinling Institute of Technology

Nickel-Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (Ni-YSZ) cermets are used as anodes in solid oxide fuel cells. These anodes are stable for tens of thousands of hours during operation and have low cost. In this work, Ni-YSZ anodes are infiltrated with nickel nanoparticles to increase the density of electrochemical reaction sites and improve their performance. However, infiltrated nickel nanoparticles are isolated from one another, so they are not electrochemically active. Two approaches have been utilized to activate infiltrated nickel nanoparticles: in-situ nickel spreading and simultaneous infiltration of nickel with Gd0.1Ce0.9O2-δ (GDC). In-situ nickel spreading, which occurs during exposure to anodic mass transfer limited currents, connects and activates nickel nanoparticles, improving anode performance but inherently causing nanoparticle coarsening. Simultaneous infiltration of Ni and GDC results in substantially improved anode performance, and the infiltrated nanostructures are more stable than infiltrated nickel. Detailed analysis of the electrochemical impedance by equivalent circuit modeling is used to separate the contributions of nickel and GDC infiltrants to the overall cell performance.

The majority of American adolescents experience insufficient quality and quantity of sleep due to various biological and sociocultural factors, including very early high school start times. Additionally, many high schools begin their school day before the recommended 8:30 am, making it difficult to compensate for changing adolescent sleep needs. Adolescents who do not obtain enough quality sleep are at risk for physical and mental health concerns, such as daytime sleepiness and impaired ability to handle stress, as well as impaired occupational participation in roles such as being a student, an athlete, and a worker. This program contains a presentation to educate school district administrators on adolescent sleep factors and needs. The presentation additionally educates administrators about strategies for delaying high school start times to better support adolescent sleep. The program also gives an optional framework for school districts to trial modestly delayed start times for one school quarter as a way of gauging long-term feasibility of permanently adopting healthier secondary school start times.

No description available.

Traffic signal violations by drivers are a leading contributor to crashes at signalized intersections. The yellow indication is used to inform drivers of an upcoming change in the status of the traffic signal. Yellow-interval durations are currently calculated to provide dilemma zone protection for passenger cars. Due to differences in vehicle characteristics and driver characteristics, heavy trucks such as tractor-trailers behave differently at the onset of a yellow-indication. The research presented in this thesis characterizes the difference in driver behavior between truck and light-duty vehicle driver behavior at the onset of yellow-indication and then revises the yellow timing procedures to address the truck requirements. A dataset of 910 stop-go records was collected using a truck driving simulator located at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Participant drivers were placed in a simulated urban environment with a speed limit of 45 MPH and instructed to drive as they would regularly drive in such a situation. Participant drivers were recruited using the VTTI participant database. Using the data collected as part of this research effort, statistical models were created to model driver perception-reaction times (PRTs) and deceleration levels considering driver attributes (age) and the time to the intersection at the onset of yellow. The data collected, along with the statistical models developed were compared to data collected and statistical models created by the same research organization in 2008 in a similar study of passenger car driver behavior. Lastly, a Monte-Carlo simulation was conducted to develop appropriate yellow indication timings to provide adequate dilemma zone protection for trucks. / Master of Science

La guerre de Corée éclate dans un contexte de tensions grandissantes entre les mondes dits « capitaliste » et « communiste », qui caractérise la guerre froide entre 1945 et 1950. Les États-Unis et leurs proches alliés – dont la Grande-Bretagne – réagissent très vivement à l’invasion de la Corée du Sud par celle du Nord, notamment en s’impliquant directement dans cette guerre qui durera trois ans. Cette réaction rapide s’explique entre autres par la perception qu’ont les dirigeants en Amérique et en Europe de l’Ouest du camp communiste et de son apparente volonté d’hégémonie sur le monde. Ces perceptions sont également présentes dans la presse écrite, qui traite de l’implication des États-Unis et de la Grande-Bretagne (qui fournit le second plus gros contingent) dans la guerre de Corée, de la nature de celle-ci, etc. L’objectif de ce mémoire est donc de cerner ces perceptions dans le traitement du conflit dans le New York Times et le Times de Londres. Les deux quotidiens, de tendance conservatrice, soutiendront unanimement l’intervention américaine puis internationale en Corée ainsi que la mise en place de programmes de réarmement aux États-Unis et en Grande-Bretagne, mais également ailleurs en Europe. Pareillement, la tentative de réunification de la Corée par l’invasion du territoire nord-coréen en octobre 1950 par les troupes onusiennes sera bien accueillie par la presse, du moins jusqu’à l’entrée en guerre de la Chine communiste en novembre. Ici les quotidiens se questionneront sur la personnalité du commandant en chef, Douglas MacArthur, et salueront éventuellement son limogeage. Enfin, la nécessité de mettre fin au conflit transparaîtra dans les quotidiens, qui seront favorables à l’ouverture des négociations de paix en juillet 1951. Ils divergeront cependant sur les éventuelles concessions territoriales et sur la question des prisonniers de guerre refusant d’être rapatriés.

Denna uppsats redovisar en kvalitativ textanalys av nyhetsrapporteringen om kemattacken utanför Syriens huvudstad Damaskus i tre engelskspråkiga tidningar i USA, Ryssland och Libanon. Studien jämför nyhetsrapportering i The New York Times (USA), The Moscow Times (Ryssland) och The Daily Star Lebanon (Libanon). Underlaget för studien är material publicerat under tre perioder och består sammantaget av 35 artiklar.. Den första perioden utspelar sig de första två dagarna efter kemattacken i Damaskus förorter. Andra perioden utspelar sig dagen före och efter att Syriens regim pekas ut som ansvarig av USA:s utrikesminister. Den tredje perioden utspelar sig dagen före och efter att Syriens regim får en diplomatisk möjlighet att förhindra ett amerikanskt anfall genom att överlämna alla sina kemvapen. Uppsatsens teoretiska ramverk bygger på tidigare forskning om journalistisk narrativitet, krigs- och fredsjournalistik och hur källor hanteras i krigsrapportering. Genom att svara på åtta delfrågor besvaras studiens fråga om hur kemattacken i Damaskus förorter rapporterades i de tre tidningarna. Källor och citat i artiklarna är avgörande för helheten. Övergripande har New York Times fokus på president Obama, hans administration, dess uttalanden och relationer. När president Obama under sista perioden vänder sig till amerikanska kongressen och ber om stöd för ingripa i Syrien flyttas fokus i rapporteringen till ett än mer nationellt perspektiv. Daily Star har ett växlande perspektiv. Artiklarna följer internationell politik och hur den mobiliseras. Tidningen speglar också lidandet i Syrien samt konsekvenserna i det egna landet. Moscow Times håller sig till ett ryskt politiskt perspektiv i samtliga artiklar. Det är främst det egna landets toppolitiker som kommer till tals.