This study’s purpose is to shed some light on providers perspective of Hispanics with mental health issues experience, explore providers experience, Hispanics reason for terminating treatment and review providers recommendation to maintain Hispanic individuals and families in treatment. Other studies have established that Hispanics disproportionately underutilize mental health services in comparison to other population. Assuming Hispanics continue to grow and maintain the majority minority in the region of focus in Southern California where the study was conducted, then the finding in this study may serve to improve both Hispanics access to services and agencies and providers improving services to this population. Furthermore, the study can be utilized by other interns, social worker and professionals alike as a form of an in-service on Hispanics perspective of mental health and how to overcome some of the barriers when servicing this population. This qualitative study used individual interviews as a resource to shed some light on themes from the perspective of a variety of mental health providers. Individual interviews were audio recorded via a digital recorder then transcribed to a Word file. A variety of themes on the subject matter emerged from participants responses.

No description available.

Generally, immigrants face different challenges adapting to their new environment while starting a new life in the new environment. One of these problems is related to employment as they find it difficult finding jobs in their host countries. A number of them are often jobless or having jobs that do not correspond with their educational qualification. This is one of the factors that influence the earnings of immigrants in the Swedish labour market. This study focused on the factors influencing the underutilization of immigrant’s foreign educational credentials in the Swedish labour market. The study is based on human capital theory, cultural shock theory and discrimination theory. Through qualitative research design, rich detailed data about the phenomenon was collected from participants that participated in the study. Findings of the study revealed that the two major factors that influence the underutilization of immigrant’s foreign educational credential in the Swedish labour market are structural factors and individual factors (lack of social network with Swedish natives, inability to fluently communicate in Swedish, and loss of professional knowledge due to lack of practice).

The purpose of this study ­is to identify social workers’ perspectives on the barriers and motivating factors impacting Latino men in seeking mental health services, and to seek ways to overcome the barriers. Research has established that Latino men suffer from mental health problems at a similar rate compared to other populations, yet they underutilize mental health services. Given the rapid growth of the Latino population that continues to need mental health services, the findings of this study may influence the social work field to develop programs and interventions that are geared towards encouraging Latino men to seek services. They may also assist in preparing clinicians entering the field. This qualitative study used individual interviews as a tool to find themes from social workers’ point of views on the subject. The results from interviews were transcribed to written document. Major themes identified include barriers, motivating factors, and recommendations for change.

Highland terracing systems are a technology used in the ancient Andes to expand the agricultural frontier; then, that technology became an important source of food for the Incas. Research shows that the productivity of land was due to the form of construction of the platforms, but there are few studies that analyze soil fertility. In order to demonstrate the fertility in the terraces, soil physical and chemical properties were compared in three different sectors: terraces at rest, abandoned terraces and a hillside with no technology. They all belong to the terracing system of San Pedro de Laraos town, in Huarochiri, Lima. In all three sectors loam predominates. The soil pH is within the range of high bioavailability of most nutrients (5.5 to 7.5), except for two points on the slope without platforms. The soil electrical conductivity presents ranges that qualify the three areas as "no saline" (< 2 dS / m). The organic matter is in the appropriate percentages (3-5%), especially on the terraces at rest, which also have the highest content of NPK. In conclusion, the soil of the three zones does not differ significantly in their physical parameters, but it differs in the chemical parameters, especially in the content of macronutrients; the better range is in terraces at rest. However, the community of Laraos does not take advantage of it soil fertility; actually, most of their terracing system is abandoned and the structures are in a deterioration process. / Los sistemas de andenería son una tecnología prehispánica utilizada en los Andes para ampliar la frontera agrícola, llegándose a convertir en una importante fuente de alimentos para los Incas. Investigaciones señalan que la productividad de las tierras fue resultado de la forma de construcción de los andenes, pero son pocos los estudios que analizan la condición fértil del suelo propiamente. Para demostrar la fertilidad del suelo de los andenes, se compararon las propiedades físicas y químicas del suelo en tres zonas: andenes en descanso, andenes abandonados y ladera sin andenes, todos pertenecientes al sistema de andenería de la localidad de San Pedro de Laraos, provincia de Huarochirí, Lima. En los tres sectores predomina la textura franca. El pH se encuentra dentro del rango de mayor disponibilidad de nutrientes (5,5 – 7,5), con excepción de dos puntos en la ladera sin andenes. La conductividad eléctrica presenta rangos que califican al suelo de las tres zonas como “no salinos” (0,174 – 0,683 dS/m). La materia orgánica está en los porcentajes adecuados (3 – 5 %), sobre todo en los andenes en descanso, que de igual manera tenían los contenidos más elevados de NPK. Se concluye que el suelo de las tres zonas no difiere significativamente en sus parámetros físicos, pero sí en los parámetros químicos, especialmente en los contenidos de macronutrientes, siendo los andenes en descanso los que presentan valores dentro de los rangos ideales. Sin embargo, la comunidad larahuina no aprovecha la fertilidad de sus suelos, dejando sus andenes abandonados y en proceso de deterioro.

Despite hospice and palliative care services being available for patients at the end-of-life, it remains an easily accessible health care service which has been mostly underutilized and/or misunderstood. For this project, the practice problem was underutilization of hospice and palliative care services. A systematic review of the literature which focused on under usage of end-of-life care was conducted. MEDLINE, CINAHL, and ProQuest Nursing and Allied Source databases were searched (2005 to 2017). Studies that evaluated interventions for increasing hospice and palliative care services were selected. Conceptual variables included studies that addressed the under usage of end-of-life care. Kolcoba's comfort theory, Parse's theory of human becoming and Chochinov's dignity model was included to identify the issue, gather the data, and help transfer researched data into practice. The tools applied for analysis and synthesis were the appraisal of guidelines research and evaluation and the grading of recommendations, assessment, development and evaluation. The under usage of hospice and palliative care according to this systematic review, has resulted in (a)suffering negative effects on patients at the end of life, who do not receive adequate palliative or comfort care, (b) additional distress for families dealing with grief and denial, and (c) may result in unneeded acute care, adding significantly to the cost of care. This doctoral project formed a cogent set of recommendations consisting of, communication guidance and community education for a local hospice agency and the community. The contribution of positive social change in this community was through education and knowledge to bridge the gap into practice and improve end-of-life care in the community.

No description available.

Thesis (MSc.) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / A Major concern in the past years was the traditional static spectrum allocation which gave rise to spectrum underutilization and scarcity in wireless networks. In an attempt to solve this problem, cognitive radios technology was proposed and this allows a spectrum to be accessed dynamically by Cognitive radio users or secondary users (SUs). Dynamic access can efficiently be achieved by making necessary adjustment to some MAC layer functionalities such as sensing and channel allocation. MAC protocols play a central role in scheduling sensing periods and channel allocation which ensure that the interference is reduced to a tolerable level. In order to improve the accuracy of sensing algorithm, necessary adjustments should be made at MAC layer. Sensing delays and errors are major challenges in the design of a more accurate spectrum sensing algorithm or MAC protocol. Proposed in this study, is a scheme (EXGPCSA) which incorporate sensing at the MAC layer and physical layer. Energy detector was used to detect the presence of primary users (SU). A choice of how long and how often to sense the spectrum was addressed at the MAC layer. The focal point of this study was on minimizing delays in finding available channels for transmission. EXGPCSA used channel grouping technique to reduce delays. Channels were divided into two groups and arranged in descending order of their idling probabilities. Channels with higher probabilities were selected for sensing. Three network scenarios were considered wherein a group of SUs participated in sensing and sharing their spectral observations. EXGPCSA was designed such that only SUs with higher SNR were allowed to share their observations with other neighbouring SUs. This rule greatly minimized errors in sensing. The efficiency of EXGPCSA was evaluated by comparing it to another scheme called generalized predictive CSA. A statistical t-test was used to test if there is significant difference between EXGPCSA and generalized predictive CSA in terms of average throughput. A test has shown that EXGPCSA significantly performed better than generalized predictive CSA. Both schemes were simulated using MATLAB R2015a in three different network scenarios.

The purpose of this action-oriented needs assessment was to ascertain the knowledge, motivation, and culture (KMC) needs of Blacks regarding joining the Be The Match bone marrow registry and participating in the bone marrow donation process. This needs assessment will be utilized to lay the foundation for an educational and research based nonprofit organization, Angels In Disguise, that I developed. This study will also be used to inform the bone marrow registry of the KMC needs of the Blacks who participated in this study. The data collection came from nine observations, four post-observation surveys, five donor interviews, two prototype development groups, and a prototype field test. The formative results from the data collection partially aligned with the literature, which showed that a lack of knowledge resulted in Blacks not joining the Registry. An outlier materialized from the formative data, indicating that all five donor interviewees had joined the bone marrow registry without having knowledge of it, its processes, or the critical need for Blacks to join. On the other hand, the formative data supported the literature when the donor interviewees became a bone marrow match and were faced with the decision to move forward with the bone marrow donation process. All five donor interviewees sought and obtained knowledge about the bone marrow registry prior to being able to move forward with the donation process. In contrast, the formative data around motivation fully aligned with the literature. Blacks who lacked motivation do not join the bone marrow registry or participate in the bone marrow donation process, whereas the literature stated that many Blacks do not join the bone marrow registry due to cultural attitudes and beliefs. Research indicates that the Black community distrusts the medical community due to their being used as medical guinea pigs in the past. Also, Blacks fear pain and their health being compromised due to bone marrow donation. Interestingly, the formative data results did not support or show a lack of support of the literature. Cultural attributes and beliefs did not manifest themselves in the formative data results. The two prototype development groups participated in design thinking utilizing iterative brainstorming exercises, rapid prototyping, and assumption testing. The prototype development groups analyzed the data by categorizing and coding the data into themes through participatory research and collaborative analysis. The results of the two prototype development groups culminated into a final prototype. The final prototype was aimed at addressing the KMC needs of the Black participants, which were two-fold. First, the Registry needs to build a relationship with the Black community. Second, participants required knowledge about the Registry, the matching and donation processes, and the critical need for Blacks to join the Registry and participate in the donation process be provided to them in an educational setting, a symposium. The final prototype culminated into a bone marrow symposium that was tested in the field. The final prototype consisted of three videos about the bone marrow registry, a panel discussion with three Black bone marrow donors who had donated to non-relatives, and a pre- and post-prototype field test survey. The summative findings of this study were the results of the pre- and post-prototype field test surveys and post prototype field test. The findings of the pre-prototype field test survey, regarding knowledge, indicate the participants knew nothing or very little about the bone marrow registry. After being exposed to the prototype, the participants indicated in the post-prototype field test survey they had learned by joining the bone marrow registry they could possibly save a life. They also indicated they did not need any additional information about the bone marrow registry in order to make a decision to join and participate in the bone marrow donation process. Regarding motivation, there was not much change between the pre- and post-prototype field test survey results. The participants had indicated in both the pre- and post-prototype field test surveys that they would be motivated to join the bone marrow registry and participate in the bone marrow donation process if it could save a life. With regard to culture, the participants indicated in both the pre- and post-prototype field test surveys that no beliefs would affect their decision to join the registry and participate in the bone marrow donation process.