This research attempt further analyzes implications of statistical correlations regarding specific relationships between the extremity-intensity variables, as defined by the social judgment instrument, and the polarity variable, as defined by the semantic differential scale.

Thèse diffusée initialement dans le cadre d'un projet pilote des Presses de l'Université de Montréal/Centre d'édition numérique UdeM (1997-2008) avec l'autorisation de l'auteur.

We present a preliminary design for a neutron detection system that is compact, lightweight, and low power consuming, utilizing the CubeSat platform making it suitable for space-based applications. This is made possible using the scintillating crystal lithium indium diselenide ((LiInSe2)-Li-6), the first crystal to include Li-6 in the crystalline structure, and a silicon avalanche photodiode. The schematics of this instrument are presented as well as the response of the instrument to initial testing under alpha radiation. A principal aim of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of such a neutron detection system within a CubeSat platform. The entire end-to-end system presented here is 10 x 10 x 15 cm(3), weighs 670 g, and requires 5 V direct current at 3 W. (C) 2016 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

Bill of exchange as a securing instrument - Abstract This thesis deals with a specific use of bill of exchange as a securing instrument. The aim of the thesis is to bring a comprehensive general view on the topic as well as to closely analyse the most important areas or those areas which are problematic from the legal point of view. The thesis is composed of six chapters. Chapter one deals with the law of exchange in general. The chapter illustrates not only the relevant actual legislation, but intends to bring a wider historical frame as well. Chapter two contains general characteristic of bill of exchange, furthermore specifically focuses on the nature of obligation which is incorporated into each bill of exchange. Chapter two deals with the blank bill of exchange as well. It describes the nature of blank bills of exchange, examines the right to fill the blank spaces and questions connected with abuse of that right. Chapter three analyses the role of securing bill of exchange among another securing instruments and compares the most important differences which can be found among them - mainly the independency of obligation incorporated in securing bill of exchange in contrast with the subsidiarity of other securing instruments. Chapter four describes the conditions under which the use of securing bill of...

This study investigates preferred conflict management styles in order to explore how conflict is dealt with in a particular cultural/geographical context (i.e. the Middle East), as culture is one of the factors, which affects management style, whether in a conflict situation or any other situations. Upon researching the literature in the area of conflict management styles in the Middle East it has been found that there is no published research for the region and specifically on the cultural issues. Therefore, this research study has taken a step forward in exploring how and in what ways, the conflict management styles of those individuals (e.g. employees) in Kuwait (a culture/context within the Middle East) may or may not be similar or different to those described in studies carried out in other cultures/contexts. The research explores the different conflict management styles used in Kuwait, which is approached by simulating the application of different conflict situations in Kuwaiti business context and explores the negotiation and application of conflict management styles applied. The use of the Thomas Kilmann Conflict mode Instrument (TKI) to gather research data helped in understanding the different conflict management styles used. The TKI is an extensively validated instrument used in the field to highlight the different ways of how people handle disputes and its effects on the dynamics of individuals and teams. This study attempts to make its contribution to knowledge in the field of conflict management styles in that (a) it assesses Kuwaiti conflict management styles, and (b) It studies the effects of the process of the different conflict management styles and its outcomes in resolving these conflicts in the Kuwaiti Business culture.

No description available.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / Substance use is a major problem in South Africa, particularly within the Western Cape. The problem of substance use is prominent amongst adolescents in low socio-economic-status communities, and these prevalence rates are increasing. Literature regarding the onset of substance use is often limited and inadequate. It is for this reason that the South African Substance Use Contextual Risk Instrument (SASUCRI) was developed and employed to assess factors which contribute to adolescent substance use. The SASUCRI is a measure of the individual and contextual factors associated with adolescent substance use. It was developed to be used in low socio-economic-status communities to identify adolescents at risk for substance use as well as communities in which these risk factors are present. The initial validation study reports on the validity evidence for this instrument. The initial study identified items to be rewritten to improve the validity of the instrument. It further recommended the inclusion of additional items to improve reliability in some sub-scales. This contributed to the current study. The purpose of this study was to pretest the new and revised items. The researcher pretested both the English and the Afrikaans’s revised sub-scales of the SASUCRI. The following sub-scales were pretested; “School as support” (6 items), “School as a stressor” (6 items), “Tolerance for soft drugs” (6 items), Hopelessness individual”(11 items) and “Hopelessness community” (5 items). The theoretical framework employed was the Multi-Component Approach. The framework guided the data collection, analysis and partially the discussion of the findings. The study was of a qualitative nature. Two schools were selected from low socio-economic status communities. The study had 32 high school learners who participated. There were 4 focus groups conducted in total.

This dissertation involved the design and validation of the Obesity Cognitions Inventory (OCI) which was intended to quantify cognitions associated with obesity. An initial pool of 117 items was refined through expert ratings, a pilot test involving 59 subjects, and a major test and validation using 217 subjects. The resulting 56-item instrument contains scales measuring five types of cognitions: Personal Control, Dietary Restraint, Cost-Benefit Beliefs, Health Knowledge, and Self-Concept. Test-retest reliabilities for these scales range from .69 to .83 and Cronbach alphas range from .57 to .82. Concurrent criterion validity of the OCI was assessed through two methods (a) correlations with percent fat and percent overweight and (b) MANCOVA analyses. These procedures revealed that all scales of the OCI except the Dietary Restraint scale were capable of distinguishing cognitive differences among subjects of varying obesity levels. For males, Personal Control and Self-Concept showed significant differences across obesity levels. For females, Personal Control, Cost-Benefit Beliefs, Health Knowledge, and Self-Concept showed significant differences across obesity levels. For males, subjects of low obesity level were cognitively distinct from those of moderate and high levels of obesity. For females, just the opposite was true, with those of high obesity level differing most from those of moderate and low obesity levels. The only exception to this for females was the Health Knowledge scale where only those of low and moderate obesity levels showed significant cognitive differences. In general, it was concluded that the OCI shows promise as an instrument capable of quantifying the relationship between certain key cognitions and obesity level. The implications this has for cognitive-behavioral treatment of obesity are considered.

Young children between the ages of two and six years often exhibit partword, whole word. and phrases repetitions as their language develops. This is also the age range when stutterertng most frequently appears. Consequently. speech-language pathologists need diagnostic criteria and evaluation tools to distinguish between the incipient stutterer and the normally disfluent child. Today a widely used evaluation tool is the Stuttering Severity Instrument (SSI) (Riley, 1972, 1980). The SSI is designed to provide a severity level based upon the parameters of frequency. duration. and physical concomitants. Riley (1972) first designed the SSI to not include monosyllabic word repetitions in the frequency count: however. he revised the SSI in 1980 to include monosyllabic word repetitions without providing new normative data nor standardization. It was questionable as to whether the SSI was a sufficiently sensitive means to determine stuttering severity for young children and to whether or not it was strengthened or weakened by the addition of whole monosyllabic words.

Despite the many interventions and trials aimed at improving coordination of health care, there is currently no accepted measurement of coordination. My professional interests and an opportunity provided by the Care Plus (Coordinated Care) Trial in the ACT led me to consider client perceptions as a potentially appropriate measure. My research question is “can coordination of health care be usefully measured through client perceptions?” ¶ I addressed this question by developing and testing an instrument to measure perceptions of coordination called the Client Perceptions of Coordination Questionnaire (CPCQ). In the thesis I describe the processes of developing the instrument, testing it through use in several studies and considering how useful such an instrument may be for health services research. In addition to the Coordinated Care Trial, I conducted two validation studies - in a chronic pain population and a general practice sample. ¶ In Part 1 of the results I demonstrate good face, content and discriminant validity, and reliability of the instrument. Psychometric analysis of the CPCQ did not support scaling, and identified areas were the instrument could be improved. Nevertheless the underlying construct of client perception of coordination as a measure is entirely new, and it is therefore worthwhile to explore its associations with other health outcome data. In Part 2 I use a single item from the CPCQ, “how often did you feel the care you received was well-coordinated?” to explore this construct. I explore the influences upon on client perceptions of coordination, and examine its associations with service utilisation and health outcome data. ¶ The construct of ‘perceived coordination’, and the capacity of the CPCQ to measure it accurately show considerable promise as measures of health care. Consistent trends were found that suggested coordination was a complex construct, and that a stronger theoretical base was needed to interpret this complexity. Theory is the first of the ‘phases’ of instrument development, and so I revisit these in order to summarise the strengths and weaknesses of the current CPCQ. Overall, the perceptions of coordination have surprisingly plausible associations with other health data, the effort to improve the instrument should be worthwhile for a wide range of health service evaluation and research.