Each year the rate of slip and fall accidents increases among older individuals. Most falls among the elderly occur indoors rather than outdoors, and of the falls that occur in the residential home, over 600,000 are due to floor covering materials. In particular, carpet and vinyl are common floor coverings used in the home today as the elderly often transition from carpet to vinyl and vice versa. When transitioning between two different floor surfaces, older adults may adjust their gait to avoid a slip, trip, or fall. Many studies have assessed gait parameters of elderly individuals on either carpet or vinyl. Yet, few have studied the effect of transitioning between two different floor surfaces on the gait of older individuals. This study investigated the effect of transitioning between different floor coverings on the gait characteristics of the elderly. For this study, 14 elderly (65 years old and over) and 14 young (18 to 35 years old) individuals participated. All participants walked on different transitional floors, namely carpeted floors, vinyl floors, and floors covered with both vinyl and carpet. While the participants were walking on the walkway, different gait parameters were measured, including the required coefficient of friction, stride length, transitional acceleration of the whole body center-of-mass (COM), heel velocity at heel contact, perception of slipping/tripping, and toe clearance. It was hypothesized that older participant's gait parameters would be different from their younger counterparts. Also, the older participant's gait adaptation would increase the likelihood of a slip and trip propensity while transitioning between different floor surfaces compared to the younger participants. More specifically, for the elderly, transitioning from carpeted floor surfaces to vinyl floor surfaces would increase the slip propensity and transitioning from vinyl floor surfaces to carpeted floor surfaces would increase trip propensity, and therefore increase the likelihood of fall accidents. In the present study, it was found that elderly individuals had greater toe clearance than their younger counterparts. Also, the elderly individuals had smaller toe clearance on the carpet than on the vinyl, which would increase the probability of a trip-induced fall when walking on the carpet. Further, the propensity of a slip-induced fall accident increased on the vinyl shortly after transitioning from the carpet to the vinyl due to the slower transitional acceleration of the whole body COM and the increased friction demand, especially during the toe-off phase of the gait cycle, rather than heel contact phase of the gait cycle. In addition, it was also found that an increase in heel contact velocity and step length increases the propensity of a slip-induced fall accident. Furthermore, this propensity is greater while transitioning from a carpet to a vinyl floor surface, especially for elderly individuals. The results of the present study indicate that transitioning between different floor surfaces changes the biomechanical parameters of gait, especially for the elderly individuals. Although the increased likelihood of a slip or trip accident was found throughout the changes in biomechanical gait parameters, the elderly individuals who participated in this study did not perceive of slipping and tripping much. Therefore, elderly individuals should be made aware of / Master of Science

Architecture possesses the potential to elevate one’s intellectual and visceral perceptions from unconscious passings to informed events. The quest for creating events involves an intermediary which promotes the transition from a casual involvement to an active engagement. This intermediary role is that of the experience. By imposing a presence, or creating a sense of place, architecture awakens the mind and stirs the soul. Doing this, the architecture is raised to a higher order, revealing a significance that is true, as something more, not as something else. The making of events through the experience fulfills the aspirations of architecture to unearth the events that dwell in the interaction between place and occasion. / Master of Architecture

Preceptorship is a teaching-learning approach in which learners are individually assigned to expert practitioners in the practice setting. The purpose is to provide them with daily experience on a one-to-one basis with a role model and resource person who is immediately available to them. Currently, the literature is replete with research on various aspects of preceptorship, including the preceptor role, the evaluation process, professional socialization, the promotion of clinical competence, and the fostering of critical thinking in undergraduate and graduate education, to name a few. To date, however, no studies have specifically explored the process involved in promoting the education of nurse practitioner students in preceptorship. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore the process used in preceptorship to prepare nurse practitioner students for their future role in professional practice. To that end, the process in which preceptors, nurse practitioner students, and faculty engage was explored. The sample comprised nurse practitioner students, preceptors and faculty from a large university in western Canada. Findings from this study revealed that as students proceeded through the preceptorship program they worked through or navigated what could be described as the liminal space or an in-between place. As a result of the findings of this study, several crucial points have been recognized that have implications for the nurse practitioner student who engages in preceptorship. First, upon acceptance into an advanced practice nursing program it is important for students who are themselves experienced professionals in their own right, to understand the preceptorship process of transition, found in this study to be the liminal space, intrinsic to which are adjustments from the role of nurse, to that of student and finally to that of the nurse practitioner. Second, to adequately prepare students for their transition, faculty need to develop curricula that address the challenges involved with this phenomenon, specifically knowledge related to threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge. Third, support for these students from faculty, preceptors and fellow students was found to directly affect the ability of these learners to successfully navigate their transitional process in preceptorship.

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The purpose of this study is to derive a method for estimation of costs and benefits of implementing Port Collaborative Decision Making (Port CDM), and to apply this method to the Port of Gothenburg. By using the Port of Gothenburg as a case study, conclusions can be drawn regarding the economic viability of Port CDM in one of Scandinavia‟s largest ports. This study considers two major sources of benefits that are hypothesized to result from transitioning to collaborative port operations: improved possibilities for speed optimization prior to arrival in port due to increased predictability in estimated berthing times, and shortened service times due to increased possibility for planning and resource optimization by port service providers.The estimation of impacts is based on one month‟s traffic data in the Port of Gothenburg. Predictability of estimations is analyzed to determine the benefit potential of Port CDM. The estimated cost savings for cargo vessels can be divided into 5 categories: bunker, emission, time, manning and capital cost savings. The costs of implementing and maintaining Port CDM are estimated with values from relevant previous research.The results of this study indicate that the implementation of Port CDM in the Port of Gothenburg is a profitable investment, for the shipping industry and for society as a whole. The estimated annual net benefit is 27.3 million euros. A sensitivity analysis using alternative unit valuations for emissions, as well as low and high estimations of the effectiveness of Port CDM, indicates that the economic viability of the project is robust under all assumptions considered.

The study investigated activities initiated in different rural secondary schools to assist novice teachers with less than three years in the field to cope with challenges arising during the transitional phase. The study arose out of challenges encountered by novice teachers attached to my school and other neighbouring rural secondary schools as observed by me due to the lack of clear professional development activities aimed at assisting them to cope with the challenges at work which in most cases lead them into exiting the profession prematurely. I posed a primary research question: How do novice teachers cope with the transition from university to the workplace? Twelve novice teachers working in rural secondary schools in the Capricorn North District in Limpopo Province were sampled purposefully as participants in this study. The study indicated some of the challenges encountered by novice teachers in their first three years of teaching which normally kills their spirit and results in a high rate of attrition. The study employed a descriptive qualitative research approach and multiple case study design to explore the problem. The study used the theory that was developed by Fuller (1969). The theory compared a novice teacher to a new-born child that just got thrown into a new place of which he knew nothing. The theory holds that teachers go through three stages of concern, namely a state of survival, self-adequacy and thirdly, acceptance. The findings revealed that novice teachers working in rural schools experienced a different form of developmental support from their schools due to the lack of a clear professional development policy and the lack of support from the Department of Basic Education. In some rural schools, novice teachers are not being assisted at all, they depend on consultations with senior teachers which they had to initiate themselves. / Mini Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / ETDP SETA / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

This thesis comprehends a notable research gap through its exploration of risk and opportunity perception for Swedish firms’ internationalizing to Cuba, by conducting a multiple-case study of three Swedish firms’. A qualitative research method has been used in accordance with an abductive approach. The conceptual framework illustrates the correlation between the theories, which has been applied to the empirical findings. Conclusions derived throughout the analysis and the significant theoretical implications demonstrate answers to the dominance of arbitrage opportunities. Empirical implications illustrate why risks and opportunities might be acknowledged differently due to industry, whereas managerial implications emphasize the importance for Swedish firms’ to understand the complexity impregnating the business environment.

This study explores the contributing factors to collegiate foster youth’s college attendance and retention while in college. A qualitative study was conducted consisting of eight face to face interviews were conducted. Participants were student recipients of California State University, San Bernardino’s Educational Opportunity - Renaissance Scholars Program. Areas studied: pre-college admission, transitional support systems, and retention support while in college. Results identified support from high school teachers and school counselors played significant roles in the participant’s future college attendance, family support was not a significant influence, and social work support was not reported by any participants. All participants received supportive services from the Renaissance Scholars program after college admission, however, a majority were not aware of the program’s existence prior. Once in college, many of those who received pre-college support from school counselors and teachers stated an ongoing positive social relationship while traversing college. Psycho-socially, the “life changing event” of attending college, created enduring relational-bonds for students. Conversely, participants without positive support equated to the lack of support (being told that they would not succeed) as their driving force to attend college. The results highlight the significance divide between the positive ongoing resources provided by social services, and the foster youth’s perception of social services interactions towards their benefit. These results illuminate the importance of providing ongoing pre-college, transitional support systems, and retention support resources, to current and former collegiate foster youth. This studies goal is to help increase the social worker's knowledge about foster youth population and its higher education needs.

Although it has been argued that indoor workers in fact make up the majority of the sex industry, most of the literature on the transition out of sex work has looked at street-based workers. This interview-based qualitative research project aims to fill that gap. As such, this thesis examines the trajectories, challenges and strategies of women who transitioned or are in the process of transitioning from criminalized indoor sex work (escorting, erotic massage and domination) to the mainstream labour market. Using Ebaugh’s role exit theory and Goffman’s conceptualization of stigma, intersectional feminist analysis and labour theory, I position the transition as a re-negotiation of self, involving conflicts in identity and class location. My findings suggest that the transition out of sex work is characterized by multiple, parallel work trajectories, wherein the women were successfully able to transfer skills they had acquired in sex work to the mainstream labour market.