Zugl.: Düsseldorf, Univ., Diss 2004.

Background: Work-related asthma (WRA) is under-recognized and early detection is associated with improved outcomes. The Work-related Asthma Screening Questionnaire (Long-version) (WRASQ(L)) is a 14-item tool designed to increase the detection of WRA in primary care. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess whether the WRASQ(L) provided additional and reliable information on a patient’s likelihood of WRA, beyond what is collected in standard care, to explore the relationship of WRASQ(L) responses to clinical actions and to assess the use of the WRASQ(L) in the primary care setting. Methods: This was an intervention study involving two Ontario Primary Care Asthma Program (PCAP) sites assigned the WRASQ(L). Standard care for asthma patients in PCAP sites involved completing the Asthma Care Map (ACM), a clinical pathway which included seven WRA screening items. Consent to participate in this study involved completing an electronic WRASQ(L) at each visit for participants and prompted care providers to record details related to WRA investigations. Results: The study sample (N=37) was predominantly female (73.0%), with a mean age of 46.3 years (SD, 10.9). Use of the WRASQ(L) identified work-related symptoms, exposures and high- risk past occupations in 38% and 60% and 47% of participants, respectively, that were not identified in standard care. Two participants were newly-suspected cases of WRA during this study period. WRASQ(L) items demonstrated fair to moderate reproducibility, but estimates may have been subject to measurement error. Incorporation of the electronic WRASQ(L) in clinical care was limited by time constraints and technical factors, such as ease of use and flexibility of the application. Conclusions: The WRASQ(L) provided added information about possible WRA over standard care. Use of the questionnaire’s results by care providers in this study was limited due to barriers encountered in incorporating the use of the WRASQ(L) in clinical practice. Future directions include the validation of this tool in relation to WRA diagnosis. The WRASQ(L) has the potential to increase recognition of WRA, improving long-term health outcomes for those with WRA. / Thesis (Master, Community Health & Epidemiology) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-27 21:16:28.59

Researched in this thesis is the financial impact of employee involvement and performance- related pay systems in UK manufacturing and retail settings. The test questions are introduced in Chapter 1 along with some micro- and macro-level factors which may make it efficient to involve employees in decision-making and to pay basis performance. Chapter 2 discusses theoretical issues associated with involving employees in decision-making and using group-based incentives. There is support from both the theoretical and empirical literature that employee involvement and performance-related pay are more efficient when used in combination. Chapter 3 evaluates methodological issues associated with the examination of these questions, including methods used to attribute for unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity in the econometric analysis. In Chapter 4 case study evidence is gathered from the retail sector on the adoption of, and associated performance trends with the use of, an All Employee Stock Option Programme (AESOP) and extensive employee communication programmes. Sources at the company indicate that the use of these practices are thought to result in greater employee effort and efficient information sharing. Performance trends, since the adoption of these programmes, indicate improved performance within the company and relative to competitors which do not offer an AESOP. Econometric analysis is used in Chapter 5 to examine the financial impact of individual, team and group pay systems in UK manufacturing establishments where there is work task 'interdependence'. Evidence is found that in team production settings group payments systems are the most efficient pay system. Chapter 6 examines the impact of two forms of employee involvement, decentralized decision-making and two-way information sharing, on establishment performance. These practices are examined both including and excluding incentives. A statistically significant impact on establishment performance is found when performance-based incentives are included: this result disappears when the incentives are excluded. A second econometric analysis is conducted in Chapter 6, evaluating the independent and interactive effects of decentralized decision-making and group incentives in team production settings. Evidence is found that sub-optimal performance results in establishments which use only decentralized decision-making or only group incentives. Establishments that use the practices in combination have the best performance. Chapter 7 is the summary and conclusion.

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No description available.

This study involves an exploration of the perceptions of four overseas Kenyan students about their educational experiences at La Trobe University. A related aim of this research is to find out how these four students� previous learning in Kenya affects their learning and living experiences in Australia, for instance, in terms of demands associated with differences in learning and teaching styles, cultural expectations and proficiencies in English. A non-positivist, qualitative methodology is adopted for this research which employs an interview-based case study approach. Qualitative research demands that the world be approached with the assumption that nothing is trivial and that everything has the potential of being a clue which might unlock more comprehensive understanding of what is being researched. While the findings of this study confirm current understandings of the issues that international students commonly face, they also provide a more complex and individualized picture of the needs and aspirations of overseas Kenyan students. As the case studies demonstrate, the academic and related challenges four Kenyan students have encountered at La Trobe University are best understood in relation to several contexts. The difficulties these international students have experienced in the context of transition or border crossing � between two countries, cultures and educational systems � were exacerbated by inadequate pre-departure preparation and orientation on arrival. Incongruities between two educational systems � in particular between their prior teacher-centred schooling in Kenya and the unfamiliar student-centred university education in Australia � colour the academic and related challenges such students struggle to address, at least in their initial year at University. The broader, global context of the commodification and marketization of higher education � along with increasing strains of an under-resourced university sector in Australia � also impinge upon the lives of these four La Trobe students, in a variety of ways.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Murdoch University, 2008. / Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts and Education. Includes bibliographical references (p. 339-402)

Thesis (doctoral)--Freie Universität Berlin, 1980.

Thesis (M. S.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.