Background: Evolving technology, practice boundaries, and models of service provision have changed what the diagnostic radiography workforce in Computed Tomography (CT) need to know and be able to do at different career stages. It is unknown whether existing UK educational and practice frameworks support CT roles, or how organisational role descriptors constitute CT competence. Aims: The study explores multiple stakeholder perspectives of competent practice in diagnostic radiography and CT using this information to generate and gain consensus on novel modality-specific skills for the four-tier radiography structure. Methods: Study 1: Document analysis of published UK educational and practice frameworks using content and framework analysis. Study 2: Document analysis of UK CT role descriptors using a context analytical approach. Study 3: Modified e-Delphi study to gain consensus on novel technical and clinical CT practice competencies. Results: Existing radiography competencies were classified into 3 themes: delivering person-centred care; applying technical principles, quality and efficiency; and ensuring best practice. Generic competencies endorsed by professional and regulatory bodies were not consistently replicated within organisational role descriptors. CT practice expectations are ambiguous and modified from radiographic competencies. Modified e-Delphi panellists provided judgement on 215 practice competencies and advanced capabilities which have been refined and organised into a coherent framework. Conclusions: The ComPACT framework formalises the tacit technical knowledge, clinical competencies and professional capabilities that specifically address the practice area of CT. Further work is required to validate the framework and define educational standards, but there is potential to influence future graduates, workforce development and national standards.

Yes / Accurate time perception is critical for a number of human behaviours, such as understanding speech and the appreciation of music. However, it remains unresolved whether sensory time perception is mediated by a central timing component regulating all senses, or by a set of distributed mechanisms, each dedicated to a single sensory modality and operating in a largely independent manner. To address this issue, we conducted a range of unimodal and cross-modal rate adaptation experiments, in order to establish the degree of specificity of classical after-effects of sensory adaptation. Adapting to a fast rate of sensory stimulation typically makes a moderate rate appear slower (repulsive after-effect), and vice versa. A central timing hypothesis predicts general transfer of adaptation effects across modalities, whilst distributed mechanisms predict a high degree of sensory selectivity. Rate perception was quantified by a method of temporal reproduction across all combinations of visual, auditory and tactile senses. Robust repulsive after-effects were observed in all unimodal rate conditions, but were not observed for any cross-modal pairings. Our results show that sensory timing abilities are adaptable but, crucially, that this change is modality-specific - an outcome that is consistent with a distributed sensory timing hypothesis.

Att upprätthålla regelbundna träningsvanor har visat sig oerhört viktigt för att främja både mental och fysisk hälsa. Denna kvalitativa studie undersöker de motivationsfaktorer som bidrar till att upprätthålla träningsrutiner och hur avsaknaden av dessa kan bidra till upplevt motstånd och därmed begränsa individens strävan om långsiktig fysisk aktivitet. Studien baseras på material från tio intervjuer med personer som har tränat minst två gånger i veckan i ett halvår. Genom tematisk analys framträdde fyra centrala teman: Lyssna på kroppen, Planerat beteende, Återkoppling samt Positiva hälsoeffekter av träning. Dessa teman belyser både främjande och begränsande faktorer vid upprätthållandet av hållbara träningsrutiner samt träningens upplevda hälsofördelar för individen. Resultatet diskuteras utifrån Self-Determination teorin och tidigare forskning kring beteendeförändringar. Det visade hur intern och extern motivation kan komplettera varandra i strävan med att bibehålla varaktiga träningsrutiner. Sammantaget tycks regelstyrt beteende vara en avgörande faktor för att brygga gapet mellan värderingsstyrda och luststyrda träningsvanor.

This study identified factors influencing the practice of HIV prevention behaviours amongst Tanzania youths. Structured interviews with in-school youths (n=222) and out-of school youths (n=150); and focus groups discussions with 25 youths were conducted to collect data. Although the level of HIV/AIDS awareness was 97.6% and 58.5% of the youths had positive attitudes towards HIV prevention, only 50.8% practised at least one mode of HIV prevention. Factors which promoted HIV prevention practices included positive attitudes towards specific preventive behaviours and the individual’s self-efficacy to enact such behaviours. The barriers against the practice of HIV prevention behaviours included the lack of comprehensive knowledge about HIV/AIDS and HIV prevention, socio-economic issues such as unemployment, influx of mobile populations, loss of cultural values, negative social norms, peer pressure, alcohol abuse and the lack of adequate HIV preventive services. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

La présente thèse de doctorat porte sur les processus internes au sein des équipes de travail pluriculturelles. Cette thèse se compose de trois articles et propose, d’une part, une mesure validée des valeurs culturelles au niveau individuel en langue française et, d’autre part, une mesure du degré d’homogénéité culturelle au sein des équipes de travail (ci-après ÉT). En outre, elle se penche sur la vérification empirique des nombreux liens entre l’homogénéité culturelle et les processus internes au sein des ÉT postulés par les auteurs mais jamais vérifiés empiriquement. Le premier article a pour but de faire le point sur la documentation scientifique concernant les équipes de travail pluriculturelles. Il présente une recension de la documentation portant sur ce type d’équipe, notamment l’impact présumé de la culture sur les comportements d’équipier, et les effets de la diversité culturelle sur la performance de l’équipe et sur ses processus internes. Le deuxième article, quant à lui, a pour objectif de valider la mesure des dimensions culturelles de Hofstede (1980, 1991, 1994) sur une base individuelle et en langue française. Cette étude a été réalisée en adaptant deux questionnaires, l’un développé par Hellmann (2000) et mesurant les dimensions culturelles de distance hiérarchique, de masculinité, de contrôle de l’incertitude et de collectivisme, et le second développé par Bearden, Money et Nevins (2006) et mesurant la dimension d’orientation à long terme. L’échantillon se compose de 453 répondants tous étudiants dans des programmes de baccalauréat à l’Université de Montréal et à l’Université du Québec à Montréal. Les résultats des deux analyses factorielles exploratoires effectuées ont fait ressortir sept facteurs distincts expliquant 41.6% de la variance pour le premier questionnaire et 61.6% de la variance pour le second. La composition de l’échantillon n’a pas permis de conduire d’analyse de variance afin de vérifier s’il se trouvait des différences significatives entre les différents groupes culturels de l’échantillon à l’étude, et ce, pour chacune des dimensions culturelles. Les limites de la recherche ainsi que des suggestions de recherches futures sont proposées. Enfin, le troisième article se penche sur les liens, postulés par de nombreux auteurs mais jamais confirmés empiriquement, entre l’homogénéité culturelle dans les équipes et les processus internes de l’équipe en termes de comportements productifs et de comportements contre-productifs. Afin d’étudier cette réalité, l’instrumentation de Hofstede (1980, 1991), conçue pour capter des différences au niveau des nations, a été opérationnalisée au niveau des individus (Temimi, Savoie et Duguay, 2008) et mis en relation avec les processus internes se déroulant au sein de l’équipe (Duguay, Temimi et Savoie, 2008; Rousseau, 2003; Temimi et Savoie, 2007). Cette étude a été réalisée auprès de 67 équipes variant en termes d’homogénéité culturelle. Les résultats indiquent que le degré d’homogénéité culturelle global s’avère positivement relié aux comportements productifs de l’équipe et négativement relié aux comportements contre-productifs. De plus, le degré d’homogénéité de la dimension culturelle de féminité ressort négativement relié aux comportements contre-productifs de flânerie sociale et de domination. / This doctoral thesis focuses on internal processes within multicultural teams. It consists of three articles and proposes a validated measure of cultural values at the individual level in French but also a measure of the degree of cultural homogeneity within teams. In addition, it analyzes the empirical examination of the many links between cultural homogeneity and internal processes within teams that several authors postulated but never empirically verified. The objective of the first article is to present a review of the documentation concerning multicultural teams including the alleged impact of culture on team members’ behaviours and effects of cultural diversity on team performance and internal processes. The second article, aims at validating the measurement of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (1980, 1991, 1994) at the individual level and in French. This study was achieved by adapting two questionnaires, one developed by Hellmann (2000) and measuring the cultural dimensions of power distance, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and collectivism, and the second developed by Bearden, Money and Nevins (2006) and measuring the dimension of long-term orientation. The sample consists of 453 students in degree programs at l’Université de Montréal and l’Université du Québec à Montreal. Results of both exploratory factor analyses conducted have revealed seven distinct factors explaining 41.6% of variance in the first questionnaire and 61.6% of variance in the second. The composition of the sample failed to conduct analysis of variance to see if there were significant differences between different cultural groups in the sample under study and for each of the cultural dimensions. Research limitations and suggestions for future research are also presented. The third article examines the links, postulated by many authors but never confirmed empirically, between cultural homogeneity in teams and internal processes of the team in terms of productive behaviours and counterproductive behaviours. To investigate these links, the questionnaire of Hofstede (1980, 1991) designed to capture differences at a national level has been adapted to the individual level (Temimi, Savoie et Duguay, 2008) and linked with internal processes taking place within teams (Duguay, Temimi et Savoie, 2008; Rousseau, 2003; Temimi et Savoie, 2007). This study was conducted among 67 teams. Results indicate that the overall degree of cultural homogeneity is positively related to productive team behaviours and negatively related to counterproductive behaviours. Moreover, the degree of homogeneity of the cultural dimension of femininity appears negatively related to counterproductive behaviours of social loafing and domination.

This study identified factors influencing the practice of HIV prevention behaviours amongst Tanzania youths. Structured interviews with in-school youths (n=222) and out-of school youths (n=150); and focus groups discussions with 25 youths were conducted to collect data. Although the level of HIV/AIDS awareness was 97.6% and 58.5% of the youths had positive attitudes towards HIV prevention, only 50.8% practised at least one mode of HIV prevention. Factors which promoted HIV prevention practices included positive attitudes towards specific preventive behaviours and the individual’s self-efficacy to enact such behaviours. The barriers against the practice of HIV prevention behaviours included the lack of comprehensive knowledge about HIV/AIDS and HIV prevention, socio-economic issues such as unemployment, influx of mobile populations, loss of cultural values, negative social norms, peer pressure, alcohol abuse and the lack of adequate HIV preventive services. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

Background. Within the South African context there is a large body of research regarding the associations between maternal gestational drinking and diagnosable child FASDs. However, there remains a paucity of local research regarding the impacts of other kinds of maternal drinking behaviours (e.g. past and present maternal drinking) and related socio-demographic factors on developmentally sensitive areas of child neurocognitive functioning, such as executive functioning (EF). Methods. This study was cross-sectional in design, utilising a gender balanced sample of N=464 children between the ages of 9.00 and 15.12 (year.months) in three rural areas within the Western Cape. Information regarding maternal drinking behaviours (before, during and after pregnancy) and related socio-demographic factors was collected via structured interviews with mothers or proxy respondents. Six subtests from the Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Battery (CANTAB), were used to assess three aspects of child EF namely: (1) processing speed, assessed by the MOT and RTI subtests, (2) attention, assessed by the MTT and RVP subtests and (3) memory, assessed by the SWM and PAL subtests. Findings. For all three maternal alcohol use behaviours examined, there was an apparent non-significant trend whereby children of mothers who reported alcohol use (before, during and after pregnancy) performed worse (on average) than children of mothers reporting non-alcohol use on the EF subtests. Several of the socio-demographic factors were found to act as significant predictors of subtest specific EF performance including child sex (RTI: B=.46, p<. 01; MTT: B=.05, p<.05), child age (RTI: B=.27, p<.05; MTT: B=.11, p<.01), home language (MOT: B=- .13, p<.05), maternal employment (MTT: B=-.04, p<.05) and household size (SWM: B=-1.29, p<.05). Conclusions. These study findings provide initial insights into the impacts of different types of maternal drinking behaviours and related socio-demographic factors on child EF outcomes within the context of an LMIC, South Africa.

No description available.

The aim of this theses is to establish, with reference to relevant literature, what is the impact of selective primary prevention programs in several chosen classes from the viewpoint of the lecturers of these programs. The author lays out and describes in detail the concepts of risky behaviours, primary prevention of risky behaviours, selective primary prevention, lecturer of primary prevention programs and other concepts relevant to the subject at hand. In the research part of this theses, the author deals with a research problem formulated as follows: What is the impact of selective primary prevention programs in chosen classes from the perspective of the lecturers? The selected method is qualitative research. The specific chosen research tool is a half-structured dialogue, conducted with lecturers of programs of selective primary prevention with at least two years of experience in the field. KEYWORDS Risky behaviours; primary prevention of risky behaviours; lecturer of primary prevention programs; selective primary prevention; selective primary prevention programs.

Résumé : Problématique: Les comportements alimentaires à la petite enfance pourraient influencer le gain de poids. Alors que les enfants d’âge préscolaire passent beaucoup de temps dans des milieux de garde, peu d’études ne rapportent les liens entre leurs comportements alimentaires dans ces milieux et leur composition corporelle. De plus, les recherches dans ce domaine sont basées sur des données subjectives des parents. Les objectifs étaient donc de développer un outil de mesure objectif des comportements alimentaires et de l’utiliser afin d’examiner le lien entre ceux-ci en milieu de garde et la composition corporelle des enfants d’âge préscolaire. Méthodes : Cette étude transversale a été menée auprès de 309 enfants de 3 à 5 ans dans 24 milieux de garde. Le comportement alimentaire a été mesuré en effectuant l’évaluation des restes au repas du dîner. Les données de ces évaluations ont été utilisées pour développer un score représentant la réticence alimentaire et un représentant l’affinité. Des corrélations intra-classes ont été utilisées afin de déterminer la fidélité des nouvelles mesures. Des corrélations de Spearman ont été utilisées afin de comparer les nouvelles mesures aux comportements alimentaires rapportés par les parents. Des régressions linéaires multivariées ont été utilisées pour examiner la relation entre les scores de comportement alimentaire mesurées objectivement et le tour de taille et l’indice de masse corporelle (IMC) ajusté à l’âge des enfants. Résultats : La nouvelle mesure de réticence alimentaire a démontré une excellente fidélité inter-juge (ICC= 0,970 à 0,998, p<0.0001), intra-juge (ICC=0,975 à 0,998, p<0.0001) et une bonne fidélité test-retest (ICC=0,723, p<0.0001). Elle corrélait également avec une mesure subjective précédemment validée (rho= 0,534, p<0.0001). La nouvelle mesure d’affinité alimentaire n’était toutefois pas valide (rho= -0,182, p=0,2). Le score de réticence alimentaire était positivement associé à l’IMC ajusté à l’âge des enfants (bêta ajusté= 1,41, IC à 95%=0,15, 2,67), mais non avec leur tour de taille (bêta ajusté=0,60, IC à 95%= -0,86, 2,06). Conclusion : La nouvelle mesure de réticence alimentaire démontre une excellente fidélité et validité chez les enfants d’âge préscolaire en milieu de garde. Plus il y avait de la réticence alimentaire, plus l’IMC ajusté à l’âge abaisse. Les milieux de gardes pourraient donc être des milieux propices pour l’implantation d’interventions pour réduire la réticence alimentaire, et contrer l’insuffisance pondérale chez les jeunes affectés. / Abstract : Background: Eating behaviours could be associated with weight gain during early childhood. Although a majority of preschoolers spend most of their active day-time hours in daycare centres, associations between their eating behaviours at daycare and their body composition have been limitedly studied. Further, research on eating behaviours of children mainly relies on parent-reported measures. The objective of this study was to develop an objective measure of eating behaviours and to use it to assess the relationship between these behaviours and body mass index and waist circumference among preschoolers. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 309 children aged 3 to 5 in 24 daycare centres. Eating behaviours were measured through weighted digital plate waste analysis. Data from this evaluation was used to create a food reluctance score and a food affinity score. Intraclass correlations (ICC) were used to determine the reliability of the new measure. Spearman correlations were used to compare the new measures with parental report of eating behaviours. Multivariate linear regressions were used to examine the relationship between objectively measured food behaviours and children’s waist circumference and age-adjusted body mass index (BMI). Results: The new measure of food reluctance demonstrated excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC= 0.970 to 0.998, p<0.0001), intra-rater reliability (ICC=0.975 to 0.998, p<0.0001), and good test-retest reliability (ICC=0.723, p<0.0001). It also provided evidence of concurrent validity through correlation with a validated subjective measure (rho= 0.534, p<0.0001). The new measure of food affinity was however not valid (rho= -0.182, p=0.2). The food reluctance score was positively associated with children’s age-adjusted BMI (adjusted bêta; 95% CI= 1.41, 0.15, 2.67), but not with their waist circumference (0.60; -0.86, 2.06). Conclusion: The objective measure of food reluctance demonstrated evidence of reliability and validity. Greater demonstration of food reluctance at the daycare center was associated with a lower BMI. This suggests that daycare centers could represent promising settings for integrating strategies to counter food reluctance and counter inadequate weight gain among affected preschoolers.