Thesis (M.A.)--Cleveland State University, 2008. / Abstract. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Apr. 14, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-86) and appendices. Available online via the OhioLINK ETD Center. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A.)--Villanova University, 2008. / English Dept. Includes bibliographical references.

Thèse (M.A.) -- Université Laval, 2004. / Bibliogr.: f. 116-119. Publié aussi en version électronique.

Thesis (LLM)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Coronary artery disease is one of the most pernicious diseases around the world and early identification of vascular disease can help to reduce morbidity and mortality. Assessment of the degree of vascular obstruction, or stenosis, is critical for classifying the risks of the future vascular events. Automatic detection and quantification of stenosis are important in assessing coronary artery disease from medical imagery, especially for disease progression. Important factors affecting the reproducability and robustness of accuarate quantification arise from the partial volume effect and other noise sources. The main goal of this study is to present a fully automatic approach for detection and quantification of the stenosis in the coronary arteries. The proposed approach begins by building a 3D reconstruction of the coronary arterial system and then making accurate measurement of the vessel diameter from a robust estimate of the vessel cross-section. The proposed algorithm models the partial volume effect using a Markovian fuzzy clustering method in the process of accurate quantification of the degree of stenosis. To evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of the measurement, the method was applied to a vascular phantom that was scanned using different protocols. The algorithm was applied to 20 CTA patient datasets containing a total of 85 stenoses, which were all successfully detected, with an average false positive rate of 0.7 per scan.

Police custody is an area of scholarly research that has previously been overlooked. Whilst the research and literature regarding this topic begins to grow, there still remains a wide variety of aspects to be considered. Chapter One presents a general introduction to the topic. Chapter Two presents a literature review following a systematic approach regarding the healthcare needs of those detained in police custody. The findings revealed that there is a considerable presence of mental health, substance misuse, and physical health care needs amongst police custody detainees. Chapter Three presents a critique of an impulsivity measure, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). The concluding remarks reported that further research is essential in examining the psychometric properties amongst forensic populations. The indications regarding reliability and validity are supportive, although further evidence considering the effectiveness of this tool for decision-making would be beneficial. Chapter Four, an empirical study, examined the prevalence of impulsivity, self-harm, and situational aggression amongst detainees. In addition, the predictive validity of one of the National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS) risk assessment was reviewed. This study identified that impulsivity traits are highly prevalent amongst detainees (for the non-planning impulsiveness subtrait); for self-harmers, their function of this behaviour was identified as ‘self-punishment’; and 40% engaged in some form of aggressive behaviour throughout their detention. The NSPIS risk assessment has significant predictive value, although with the additional of one Dynamic Appraisal of Situational Aggression (DASA) assessment and the BIS-11 total score, the predictability increases by 21%. A single case study in Chapter Five considers the effectiveness of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)-informed skills training in the community. This individual displayed borderline personality disorder traits and exhibited self-harming behaviours. The difficulties associated with working with such a client group have been discussed. In Chapter Six, a discussion concludes the thesis.

Adoptant une perspective d’analyse au croisement entre sociologie de l’art et sociologie des professions, notre étude examine la participation d’un groupe d’intermédiaires français de l’art contemporain dans la construction de la carrière d’artistes turcs. En particulier nous avons étudié les expériences et les pratiques de travail de trois catégories de métiers opérant en tant qu’intermédiaires de l’art contemporain: directeur de musée/commissaire d’exposition, galeriste et responsable artistique dans le secteur associatif. En nous intéressant à la fois à la structure du champ artistique où ces acteurs opèrent, et à leurs pratiques professionnelles, notre objectif était de souligner l’importance du rôle des intermédiaires français dans le processus de consécration des artistes turcs à l’échelle internationale. Dans le premier volet de notre recherche nous analysons les antécédents historiques des relations entre les intermédiaires artistiques français et les artistes turcs. Dans le deuxième volet et cœur de notre recherche, nous présentons les résultats de notre étude empirique sur les activités professionnelles d’un groupe d’intermédiaires français opérant dans le secteur de l’art contemporain. Ils ont été ou sont engagés dans la promotion et diffusion des œuvres des artistes turcs travaillant dans le domaine de l’art visuel. En effet, à travers une enquête de terrain, nous montrons la diversité et les contradictions des pratiques de travail de trente-deux intermédiaires français de l’art contemporain, autour d’une thématique, celle des échanges artistiques entre France et Turquie à l’heure de la mondialisation. / Adopting an analytical perspective on the intersection between sociology of art and sociology of professions, our research examines the participation of a group of French contemporary art gatekeepers in building the career of Turkish artists. In particular we studied the experiences and working practices of three categories of contemporary art gatekeepers: museum directors / curators, directors of galleries and artistic director in the nonprofit sector. Focusing our attention to both the structure of the artistic field where these actors operate, and their professional practices, our goal was to emphasize the importance of the role of French gatekeepers in the process of consecration Turkish artists internationally. In the first part of our research we analyze the historical background of the relationship between the French artistic intermediaries and Turkish artists. In the second part, and heart of our research, we present the results of our empirical study on the professional activities of a French group of gatekeepers operating in the field of contemporary art. They have been or are involved in the promotion and dissemination of works of Turkish artists operating in the field of visual art. Indeed, through a field survey, we show the diversity and contradictions of working practices of thirty-two French contemporary art gatekeepers around a topic: the artistic exchanges between France et Turkey in the globalization era.

Le domaine propre aux interventions relatives à la surdité est fortement clivé par l’opposition entre deux paradigmes : l’un centré sur l’oralisation (réparation de l’ouïe et de la parole), l’autre sur la langue des signes depuis les années 1970 avec le Réveil Sourd (lutte pour la reconnaissance d’une communauté linguistique et culturelle). De nombreuses institutions et professionnels sont concernés (enseignants, éducateurs spécialisés, orthophonistes, audioprothésistes, codeurs en LPC, interfaces de communication…) pour différents secteurs d’activités (médical, para-médical, éducation, communication). Les interventions sont au départ le fait de professionnels entendants, mais le Réveil va légitimer la présence de sourds pratiquant la langue des signes. Les associations et l’engagement d’universitaires jouent un rôle central dans cette émergence.La reconfiguration des dynamiques professionnelles conduit ici à une redéfinition des rôles et des places des acteurs (professionnels entendants, secteur de l’éducation) : concurrences, reconnaissance des manières d’agir, émergence d’associations de parents et de sourds, rôle de l’expertise. Malgré des aspirations à une reconfiguration de l’action publique, un compromis inégal perpétue le modèle dominant tourné sur l’oralisation, assorti d’une reconnaissance partielle de la langue des signes et du développement des professions d’interprètes et d’enseignant en LSF. / The field of interventions for the deaf is strongly divided by two opposed paradigms: The first one focuses on vocal speech (repairing ear function and voice re-education), the second focuses on sign language since the 1970s with their Awakening of the Deaf (a fight for the deaf to be recognized as a linguistic and cultural community). A lot of special schools and professionals are affected (teachers, special educators, speech-therapists, audiologists, cued speech transliteration programs, communication assistants…) in different fields (health and paramedical sectors, education, communication). At first the professionals who hear were in charge, but the Deaf Awakening will legitimize the professional presence of deaf people using sign language. Associations and engaged academics play a key role within this emergence.Reconfiguration of professional dynamics leads here to a redefinition of roles and places for those in charge (professionals who hear and the field of education): competition, recognition of ways to act, emerging associations of parents and of deaf people themselves, the place of the experts. Despite the attempts at reconfiguring public action, an unequal trade-off perpetuates the dominant vocal speech acquisition model, accompanied by a partial recognition of sign language as well as of interpreters and French sign language teachers.

This thesis provides an assessment of the readiness levels within both urban and rural hospitals and clinics in Libya for the implementation of E-health systems. This then enabled the construction of a framework for E-health implementation in the Libyan National Health Service (LNHS). The E-health readiness study assessed how medications were prescribed, how patients were referred, how information communication technology (ICT) was utilised in recording patient records, how healthcare staff were trained to use ICT, and how the ways in which consultations were carried out by healthcare staff. The research was done in five rural clinics and five urban medical centres and focused on the E-health readiness levels of the technology, social attitudes, engagement levels and any other needs that were apparent. Collection of the data was carried out using a mixed methods approach with qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaires. The study indicated that any IT equipment present was not being utilised for clinical purposes and there was no evidence of any E-health technologies being employed. This implies that the maturity level of the healthcare institutions studied was at level zero in the E-health maturity model used in this thesis. In order for the LNHS to raise its maturity levels for the implementation of E-health systems, it needs to persuade LNHS staff and patients to adopt E-health systems. This can be carried out at a local level throughout the LNHS, though this will need to be coordinated at a national level through training, education and programmes to encourage compliance and providing incentives. In order to move E-health technology usage in the participating Libyan healthcare institutions from Level 0 to Level 2 in the E-health Maturity Model levels, an E-health framework was created that is based on the findings of this research study. The primary aim of the LNHS E-Health Framework is the integration of E-health services for improving the delivery of healthcare within the LNHS. To construct the framework and ensure that it was creditable and applicable, work on it was informed directly by the findings from document analysis, literature review, and expert feedback, in conjunction with the primary research findings presented in Chapter Five. When the LNHS E-Health Framework was compiled there were several things taken into consideration, such as: the abilities of healthcare staff, the needs of healthcare institutions and the existing ICT infrastructure that had been recorded in the E-readiness assessment which was carried out in the healthcare institutions (Chapter 5). The framework also provides proposals for E-health systems based on the infrastructure network that will be developed. The processes addressed are electronic health records, E-consultations, E-prescriptions, E-referrals and E-training. The researcher has received very positive, even enthusiastic, feedback from the LNHS and other officals, and that expect the framework to be further developed and implemented by the LNHS in the near future.

It is well known that the evolution of 4G-based mobile multimedia network systems will contribute significantly to future m-health applications that require high bandwidth and fast data rates. Central to the success of such emerging applications is the compatibility of broadband networks such as mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e) and RSVP A, and especially their rate adaption issues combined with the acceptable real time medical quality of service requirements. The design of effective broadband mobile healthcare systems usmg emerging WiMAX and RSxP A networks is important from the medical perspective especially in applications such as remote medical ultrasound diagnostic systems. In this thesis, we introduce a new cross layer design approach for medical video streaming over mobile WiMAX and RSVP A networks. In particular, we propose an approach based on optimising medical Quality of Service (m-QoS) in mobile WiMAX network environments described in this work. Preliminary performance analysis of the proposed cross layer algorithm has been evaluated via simulation studies. These results show that the proposed cross layer optimizer achieves improved performance compatible with the necessary medical QoS requirements and constraints for the relevant clinical application. Furthermore, this work addresses the relevant challenges of cross layer design requirements for real time rate adaptation of ultrasound video streaming in Mobile WiMAX and RSVP A networks. The comparative performance analysis of such approach is validated in two experimental m-health testbed systems for both Mobile WiMAX and RSVP A networks. The experimental results show an improved performance of Mobile WiMAX compared to the RSVP A using the same cross layer optimisation approach. Additionally, we map the medical QoS to typical WiMAX QoS parameters in order to optimise the performance of these parameters in typical m-health scenarios. Preliminary performance analysis of the proposed multiparametric scenarios is evaluated to provide essential information for future medical QoS requirements and constraints.