The diploma thesis concerns evaluation of machinery efficiency in selected production department. The theoretical part briefly describes production management and theoretical methods of OEE evaluation. The thesis also discusses selected IT systems utilised in engineering. The main body of the thesis analyses data acquired from those IT systems. The conclusion outlines proposals for improvement.

The growth in orbital debris has been predicted since the dawn of the space age. Now the debris fields cascade through orbits and the risk of collision is on an infinite upward trajectory. This thesis will examine what impact a wider concept of space security can have our understanding of orbital debris and the space security agenda. The space security agenda is in a state a flux as it seeks the most effective way to deal with the threat posed by orbital debris. A traditionally narrow approach of security would see debris discarded as a security threat due to its limited threat to a state. However, a broader approach would see aspects of environmental security emerge, allowing both public and private sectors to act to solve this crisis. There is a sizeable void in the literature that links policy and science when analysing orbital debris. Therefore, when applying the theory, it is best to find consensus and collaboration. The Copenhagen and Welsh Schools of International Security offer opposing views initially. Nonetheless, when examined closely they reveal similarities that allow for a 'hybrid' theory to emerge. The international challenges to legal and policy changes are diverse and complex. Consequently, the significance of transparency and confidence- building measures to lead space policy and...

What is Known and Objective: The development of rapid diagnostics has revolutionized antimicrobial stewardship with efforts targeting earlier de-escalation or discontinuation of antibiotics. The respiratory viral panel (RVP) is one tool quickly able to detect common viral and bacterial pathogens using polymerase chain reaction technology. Utility may be further enhanced in conjunction with procalcitonin (PCT). However, the optimal use of the RVP to the clinical pharmacist in the treatment of community-acquired respiratory infections remains unclear. Methods: The purpose of this guide is to review the available literature regarding the impact of the RVP with and without procalcitonin on antimicrobial stewardship efforts and to provide guidance on how to use each of these tools. Results and Discussion: In total, 13 studies were included, 5 of which utilized PCT in conjunction with RVP and 8 of which did not use PCT. The majority of studies were retrospective in nature, and the most common outcomes evaluated were antibiotic days of therapy (DOT) and time to antibiotic discontinuation. What is New and Conclusion: After review, RVP alone has limited value to antimicrobial stewardship; however, when used in conjunction with procalcitonin, RVP has the potential to reduce antibiotic use and duration.

This study investigates resource provisioning as a predictor of learner achievement in public schools in Limpopo province. Research evidence indicates that the resourcing of schools in developing countries, such as South Africa, is characterised by huge disparities and that attempts should be made to equalise resource provision. Most research studies on this topic have focused on the relationship between school resources and student achievement in the developed countries with little or no attention being paid to what determines resource provision, distribution and utilisation in the developing countries. Nationally, a number of research studies have investigated policy implementation in terms of concepts such as access, equity, inequality and redress in studying the impact of such policy on the public schooling system. Research evidence has subsequently shown some contrasts in the way in which school resources are allocated, distributed and utilised in public schools. There is, therefore, a need to focus on the predictors or determinants of learner achievement in South Africa. This research study is a quantitative study. Statistically, it applied correlational coefficients and multiple regression to determine the level of school resourcing (i.e. allocations, distribution and utilisation of school resources). The sample comprised 272 representatives from the school management teams, educators and school governing bodies (SGBs) of sixty-eight public schools from different quintiles (1-to-5). This sample were selected from five identified districts (i.e. Capricorn, Mopani, Vhembe, Sekhukhune and Waterberg) using a probability stratified and random sampling technique. In each of the 68 public schools, six representatives, namely, the principal, Educator, HODs and SGB members, were selected randomly to make up the sample. It is clear from the study that resource provision was shown to be a predictor of learner achievement in public schools. The study highlighted that the way in which school resources are allocated, distributed and utilised has an influence on learner achievement. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Education Management and Policy Studies / PhD / Unrestricted

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master in Library and Information Science in the Department of Information Studies at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2014 / This study sought to identify the issues and challenges facing school libraries in secondary schools in Katlehong, Gauteng province, South Africa. It is the responsibility of the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) to make the provision of the resources in the schools for the effective functioning of the libraries. The study revealed little provision from the GDE and as a result school libraries are faced with challenges such as lack of library materials, insufficient staff and funds. These challenges led to under-utilisation of school libraries by both teachers and learners. Very few schools in South Africa have a functional school library, and those that do have one have to maintain it through their own funds and budget. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to conduct this study. Both non-probability (purposive sampling) and probability (simple random sampling) sampling methods were applied. The study clustered specific schools in Katlehong, i.e 14 secondary schools, and purposively selected the teacher-librarians, principals, teachers and learners in these schools, and a Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) official to participate in the study. Purposive sampling was used to sample the 102 teachers who participated in the focus discussion groups, and simple random sampling was used to identify the learners in each school who participated in the study. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed to learners, and three hundred and forty were returned. Interviews were held with the teacher-librarians, principals and the GDE official, while Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were held with the teachers. The results from the study revealed that school libraries in Katlehong’s secondary schools face challenges that include lack of staff, outdated and inadequate collections, mis-catalogued and poorly organized books, lack of funds, insufficient library orientation, and the absence of guidelines and leadership from the Department of Education. Very few schools had qualified teacher-librarians in their employ. The teachers who were employed as teacher-librarians confirmed that they were managing the school libraries without the professional skills required to guide both teachers and learners in the use of library resources. All the teacher-librarians had to teach in addition to managing the library, and in most cases the library was closed when they were in class. It was also mentioned that the school timetable did not always include a compulsory library period for all the classes. The need for a collection development policy and the lack of support from the school management team were also highlighted as challenges. Based on the findings both teachers and learners confirmed that their use of the library is restricted in terms of the time they had to use the libraries. There is no sufficient space, poor library orientation is conducted at schools, insufficient library furniture and the libraries keep old, out-dated and irrelevant books. Users have limited access to the Internet.

What is Known and Objective: The development of rapid diagnostics has revolutionized antimicrobial stewardship with efforts targeting earlier de-escalation or discontinuation of antibiotics. The respiratory viral panel (RVP) is one tool quickly able to detect common viral and bacterial pathogens using polymerase chain reaction technology. Utility may be further enhanced in conjunction with procalcitonin (PCT). However, the optimal use of the RVP to the clinical pharmacist in the treatment of community-acquired respiratory infections remains unclear. Methods: The purpose of this guide is to review the available literature regarding the impact of the RVP with and without procalcitonin on antimicrobial stewardship efforts and to provide guidance on how to use each of these tools. Results and Discussion: In total, 13 studies were included, 5 of which utilized PCT in conjunction with RVP and 8 of which did not use PCT. The majority of studies were retrospective in nature, and the most common outcomes evaluated were antibiotic days of therapy (DOT) and time to antibiotic discontinuation. What is New and Conclusion: After review, RVP alone has limited value to antimicrobial stewardship; however, when used in conjunction with procalcitonin, RVP has the potential to reduce antibiotic use and duration.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Les Campylobacter spp. représentent la plus grande cause de diarrhée bactérienne à travers le monde avec un coût économique élevé. Les méthodes phénotypiques utilisées au laboratoire de microbiologie médicale sont longues, ne différencient que Campylobacter jejuni des autres Campylobacter spp. et ne distinguent pas entre elles les deux sous-espèces de Campylobacter jejuni. Le développement de tests moléculaires capables de pallier à ces déficiences est donc important dans une perspective épidémiologique. Ce travail de recherche avait pour but de développer un essai PCR multiplex tuf-napA pour l’identification de Campylobacter jejuni au niveau de ses deux sous-espèces et de Campylobacter coli. Ce multiplex a ensuite été appliqué aux isolats de Campylobacter spp. du CHUL au CHUQ pour la période d’étude de janvier 2007 à janvier 2010 afin de définir l’épidémiologie moléculaire à l’hôpital. La capacité du gène tuf à servir comme gène cible pour discriminer les Campylobacter spp. a été établie ici pour la première fois. / Campylobacter spp. are the leading cause of bacterial diarrhea worldwide with a high economic cost. The phenotypic methods used in medical microbiology laboratories are time-consuming, differentiate only Campylobacter jejuni from other Campylobacter spp. and do not distinguish between the two subspecies of Campylobacter jejuni. The development of molecular tests able to overcome these deficiencies is important from an epidemiological perspective. This research concentrates on the development of a PCR assay tuf-napA multiplex for the identification of Campylobacter jejuni at the level of its two sub-species as well as Campylobacter coli. This multiplex was then applied to Campylobacter spp. isolates at the CHUL of CHUQ for the study period from January 2007 to January 2010 to define the molecular epidemiology in the hospital. The ability of tuf gene to serve as target gene for discriminating Campylobacter spp. was established here for the first time.

Depuis l’adoption d’une nouvelle politique de tarification des prestations de services de santé et des médicaments proposée aux pays en développement lors de la conférence de Bamako en 1987, le recouvrement des coûts a rendu très difficile l’utilisation des services de santé par les ménages démunis. Cette situation se rencontre en Afrique en général, et dans les pays au sud du Sahara en particulier. En dépit de cette contrainte financière imposée, nous constatons que certains ménages indigents arrivent parfois à utiliser les services de santé publics. C’est le cas notamment en milieu rural au Cameroun où nous avons travaillé comme infirmier. Le but de notre recherche était donc de comprendre les ressources qui conduisaient à l’utilisation des services de santé publics par les ménages indigents dans ce contexte. Il s’agit d’une étude exploratoire de terrain, d’approche qualitative. Des itinéraires de recours aux soins ont été reconstitués et suivis à l’aide d’entretiens, d’observations et d’analyses documentaires. Neuf ménages indigents ont été ainsi enquêtés, soit 8 dans un volet rétrospectif et 1 dans un volet transversal. Cinq membres du personnel de santé et 3 leaders communautaires ont également été enquêtés. Au terme de cette démarche, nous avons identifié que les ménages indigents enquêtés disposaient chacun d’une certaine quantité de ressources matérielles et immatérielles, et qu’ils étaient pris dans des démarches variées qui leur permettaient d’accéder à des ressources monétaires quand ils rencontraient des problèmes de santé. Une double contribution financière de ces ménages indigents soutenue par une politique locale et non officielle d’offre de services de santé, mise en place par le personnel de santé du centre de santé intégré de Ntouessong (CSI de NTG), permettait aux ménages indigents enquêtés de bénéficier des soins de santé, même en absence initiale de moyens financiers. Ainsi, d’après nos résultats de recherche, l’amélioration de l’utilisation des services de santé par les indigents dans notre zone d’étude pourrait aussi passer par l’augmentation de la quantité de leurs ressources et par un appui à leur mobilisation à travers certaines initiatives (communautaires et municipales). Aussi, ces résultats nous invitent à revoir les aprioris véhiculés en regard de la population indigente, et de revoir la manière de se représenter l’indigent quand on aborde sa possible ou impossible utilisation des services de santé publics. / Since the adoption of the new pricing policy on the provision of health care services and medication proposed to developing countries during the Bamako Conference in 1987, cost recovery, a condition for healthcare access, has made the overall access to health services difficult for impoverished African households, especially in Sub-saharan countries. It has been noticed that some poverty-stricken households in rural Cameroon still manage to make use of public health services. This is particularly the case in rural Cameroon where we worked as a nurse. The purpose of this study was to examine the resources at the disposal of these poverty-stricken households which allow them to make use of the public health services under cost recovery circumstances. The exploratory field research described in this document used a qualitative approach. Interviews, observations and documentary analyses were used to piece together and trace the stories about the access to care. Nine households were surveyed, eight of which figured in the retrospective section, and one in the transversal section. Five members of health workers and three community leaders were surveyed. At the end of this process, we found that poverty-stricken households surveyed have a certain amount of tangible and intangible resources at their disposal and that they were involved in various approaches that allowed them to access monetary resources when they met health issues. The dual financial contribution (direct and indirect) made by these poverty-stricken households and supported by an unofficial local policy on the provision of health services implemented by the staff of the Integrated Health Centre of NTG, allowed poor households to benefit from health care even in the absence of initial financial resources. Thus, according to the results of our studies, the improved use of public health services by poor in our area of study could also involve through an increase of their resources and through the support in the mobilization of these ressources by certain initiatives (community and municipal). Also, these results invite us to review the common misconception conveyed in relation to the indigent population and to reconsider the way of representing the indigent when talking about its possible or impossible use of public health services.

Les TI ont apporté de nouvelles possibilités d’améliorer l’efficience managériale et la qualité des services publics offerts aux citoyens (Ma and Zheng, 2019). Un service offert avec l’aide des technologies de l’information est appelé un e-service. C’est ce type de service qui est fourni par un gouvernement électronique ou egouvernement. Les gouvernements voulant implanter les e-services font face à d’importants défis : souvent, ils éprouvent des difficultés à fournir des e-services de qualité qui satisfont les demandes des citoyens, ce qui laisse un écart entre l’utilisation potentielle et l’utilisation réelle des services. Ceci est accentué par l’échec de rencontrer les besoins des citoyens et d’obtenir leur approbation (AL Athmay and al., 2016). Les gouvernements devraient porter davantage attention au développement de leurs et services pour donner plus d’avantages aux utilisateurs parce que l’adoption des services par les citoyens est le critère de succès des e-services (Ma and zheng, 2019; Kurfalı and al., 2017) C’est pourquoi il est important de comprendre les facteurs influençant l’adoption du service. Le présent mémoire se donne comme question de recherche principale : quels sont les facteurs ou les barrières qui influencent l’utilisation des services électroniques gouvernementaux par les citoyens? Pour répondre à cette question, nous conduisons une revue de littérature pour identifier ces facteurs et barrières afin de produire un modèle qui regroupe tous ces facteurs et toutes ces barrières. Ce modèle fournira une vue compréhensive aux chercheurs et aux praticiens afin d’avoir une vue d’ensemble sur ces facteurs/barrières. / E-government services are services offered by governments using information technology. Many governments are investing heavily in information technology so that to enhance service delivery to their citizens. However, citizens do not always use these services so that they often forgo their potential benefits. This is the case since important barriers often emerge and hinder the adoption and use of government e-services. Over the years, several studies examined the adoption of government e-services, building a rich albeit fragmented body of knowledge on these barriers in the process. Indeed, the diversity found in these studies and the fast and continuous change that characterizes information technology in general, make the identification and the synthesis of the adoption enablers and barriers, a relevant and timely endeavor. For this reason, this study builds on the findings of a systematic literature review to provide a high-level framework that conceptually structures the state of knowledge on the topic, and that exhaustively informs both researchers and practitioners on the enablers and barriers of e-government services by citizens. The proposed model identifies nine categories– citizen’s internal, risk and security, practicality, sociodemographic, social, potential benefits, User Output, citizen’s trust, and government related–that can shape citizens’ adoption decisions of government e-services and that need to be considered by researchers and by practitioners alike.