Class of 2013 Abstract / Specific Aims: The purpose of this study is to identify a postoperative warfarin re-initiation protocol used most commonly by certified anticoagulation providers. Our main hypothesis is that certified Anticoagulation providers use a postoperative warfarin re-initiation strategy based upon clinical experience/knowledge as opposed to a guideline-based approach. Methods: The Anticoagulation Forum website will be used to select the anticoagulation providers to interview via telephone. The selection process will be as follows: an excel spreadsheet will be created separating every clinic listed on the website by region, then fifty anticoagulation providers will be randomly selected by utilizing a random number generator function in excel for each region. Anticoagulation providers are listed on the website by region, and then further broken down by states in that region. The intention of separating regions is to attain equal representation of anticoagulation providers across the United States that are listed on the Anticoagulation Forum website. Anticoagulation providers will be called during the months of July, August and September 2012. Any anticoagulation provider contacted that is not certified with the National Certification Board for Anticoagulation Providers (NCBAP) as well as services or clinics not listed on the Anticoagulation Forum website will be excluded. An application will be submitted to the University of Arizona Institutional Review Board (IRB) Human Subjects Protection Program for approval of this study. We plan to randomly call 50 anticoagulation providers from each region of the US listed on the Anticoagulation Forum website. Thus, total estimated sample size is approximately 300 providers. The primary dependent variable is the postoperative warfarin re-initiation protocol. Our demographic variables are as follows: # of years in anticoagulation practice, gender of the provider and their credentials. The data extraction form is comprised of 3 parts. Part 1 will focus on questions directly related to the anticoagulation service, part 2 is for describing the patient population served and part 3 will be related to the provider demographic characteristics. Data will be collected by utilizing a telephone interview questionnaire-based approach. Each certified anticoagulation provider randomly selected from the Anticoagulati Main Results: The information about warfarin re-initiation dose and protocol information are shown in Table 2. A majority of certified anticoagulation providers re-initiate warfarin at the same dose (64%) after temporary interruption compared to a relative warfarin dose (36%) following surgery/procedure. Likewise, more certified anticoagulation providers have a protocol in place (59%) compared to no protocol in place (41%). Conclusion: This study displayed strength when certified anticoagulation providers were able to be contacted and take the time to answer the questionnaire. Certified anticoagulation providers utilize a common warfarin re-initiation strategy. Most providers’ re-initiation warfarin at the same dose at which the patient was receiving prior to surgery. However, there are many other factors that may go into making the decision of which warfarin dose to use postoperatively.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 99-102).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Canterbury, 2008. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (p. [189]-198). Also available via the World Wide Web.

The flourishing development of the Internet and network applications in communications, business, and entertainment, has resulted in resource allocation difficulties among a seemingly unlimited number of users and more complex charging rate determinations. As an important part of the global economy, some of the currently used Internet pricing schemes, such as flat rate charging, lack economic and network efficiency. Furthermore, many cross-disciplinary issues have yet to be resolved in the Internet Pricing research area. After an overview of the representative charging schemes, this work introduces a well defined structure for a complete and comprehensive understanding of Internet pricing schemes. Moreover, an evaluation cube representing eight different perspectives is proposed to examine charging schemes. Based on the evaluation results, classifications of the surveyed charging schemes from the economics and technology perspectives are presented. A new charging scheme is proposed that integrates the advantages of existing schemes. Distance, application type, and congestion are considered in the charging rate determination. The scheme is very flexible as an Internet Service Provider can adjust the priorities of the charging factors to satisfy its own objectives. The new scheme is analyzed and evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively. The results show the design objectives are met, and the scheme could be readily adopted by the Internet Service Providers.

Purpose: Examine outpatient providers' perceptions of palliative care education in increasing their understanding, knowledge of resources, and intent to refer. Research questions/goals: 1) Increase provider understanding about palliative care and the benefits that patients can receive as a result of early referral; 2) Increase provider knowledge of palliative care facilities and resources within VHSO; 3) Increase provider intent to use the referral process for patients in need of palliative care. Setting: Veterans Healthcare System of the Ozarks, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Participants: 14 outpatient providers within VHSO; 8 MDs, 4 NPs, and 2 PAs. Methods: Descriptive research study consisting of an education session, discussion, and completion of a demographics form and evaluation questionnaire. Results: Questionnaire scores: Goal 1) 4.9 (SD=1.27)/6; Goal 2) 5.07 (SD=1.1)/6; Goal 3) 5.1 (SD=1.1)/6. Open ended question themes: 1) 21.4%: palliative care was an "umbrella"; 35.7%: early referral improves outcomes; 21.4%: treatment plan can include curative therapies; 2) 28.6%: open group discussion; 14.3%: training opportunities; 21.4%: multidisciplinary team approach. 3) 35.7%: screenshots of the referral process; 14.3%: individual comments for the care plan; 21.4%: open discussion regarding referrals. 4) 14.3%: more about how to accommodate homebound Veterans; 28.6%: more about telehealth opportunities; 21.4%: more information on communication tactics. Conclusions: There is a knowledge deficit among outpatient care providers in regards to palliative care. The providers found this education session informative, beneficial, and increased their intent to initiate palliative care referrals.

This thesis focuses on third party logistics providers in Sweden and their service offerings. The author examines, evaluate and discuss the range of third party logistics services provided by third party logistics companies in Sweden. Furthermore, the author categorized the third party logistics providers using some of proposed frameworks and theories for differentiating third party logistics providers from previous researchers. This was done to determine the relevant categories that the third party logistics providers in Sweden belongs to. Moreover, the author made a comparison of the competence of third party logistics providers in terms of the number of services they offer in Sweden. The author used the qualitative research approach as the thesis is more exploratory in nature. Basically, exploratory research is conducted to obtain greater understanding of a concept or to help clarify ambiguous problem. The author interview four (4) third party logistics providers in Sweden and other information such as the provider’s website information and annual reports was used in the analysis. It is interesting to note that, relationship between third party logistics providers and their customer is a major factor when classifying providers into different category. Some of the theories proposed by previous researcher on the classification of third party logistics provider have become obsolete due to the fact that the relationship between the third party logistics providers and their customers has evolve over the years from formal cooperation to strategic alliance and joint ownership. Some of the companies are less competent than others in terms of the services they offer in each of the third party logistics service categories. This does not necessarily make them weaker because the services they offer in each of the categories are being driven by the company’s business strategy to stay competitive in the third party logistics industry. Furthermore, although size and global status give some competitive advantages, adopting different strategies such as creating a niche market in a particular service or a particular industry will provide major competitive advantages to third party logistics providers.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri, Columbia, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Aberdeen University, 2009. / Title from web page (viewed on Dec. 1, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.