The hypothesis of this study is: Transitional care patients reinforced for displaying a particular affective verbal habit (either positive or negative) opposite their original affective verbal habit (either negative or positive) will increase their tendency to display the reinforced affective verbal habit.

Thesis advisor: Ellen K. Mahoney / Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to investigate the experiences of post stroke survivors (PSSs) during transition from hospital discharge home during the first four weeks. Background: PSSs describe the transition from hospital to home as an important time in recovery and stress various physical and cognitive concerns early within the recovery period. Research to date fails to adequately reflect PSSs' experiences early after discharge home. This gap in research limits the ability to create interventions for PSSs during this critical time period. Methods/analysis: Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 31 participants, recruited from a large metropolitan hospital in the northeastern United States. The use of in-vivo codes lead to the development of themes that described PSSs' experiences during the four week transitional period. Credibility and transferability of findings were strengthened through memoing, field notes, reflexivity of analysis, member checking, and peer review throughout the analysis process by qualitative experts. Results: The five major themes were: (a) the shock of a stroke interrupting a normal day, (b) transition to an unfamiliar home, (c) experiencing a life riddled with uncertainty, (d) a journey to a new sense of self, and (e) adjusting to a new sense of self. Throughout their journey all PSSs had to cope with uncertainty and adjust to a new sense of self. PSSs that experienced less uncertainty were able to return to their prior daily routine, knew how to prevent another stroke, had a helpful support system, and had frequent follow-up and communication with health care professionals. Conclusion: All PSSs are at risk for complications regardless of stroke severity. To address PSSs complex needs, nurses can provide care beyond symptom management by fostering a dynamic intentional relationship to support recovery. The framework resulting from this study can provide the platform for advanced neuroscience nurses to engage with PSSs to improve their recovery and adjustment to a new sense of self as they transition from hospital to home. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Philosophy.

The primary aim of this thesis is to investigate the transition between different flow regimes in porous media. The complete transition spectrum of single-phase flow, from creeping flow to inertial, unsteady laminar, and turbulent flow regimes, was examined in sphere packings. Further understanding of the fundamental fluid dynamics was derived based on the pore-scale flow visualisation using magnetic resonance velocimetry (MRV). Spiral imaging was selected as the ultrafast imaging protocol to probe the transient phenomena, and the acquisition was further accelerated by combining subsampling and compressed sensing reconstruction. In a random sphere packing column with column-to-diameter ratio of 3.44, the inertial effect and the onset of unsteady regime were examined with respect to the principal flow characteristics: the inertial core/channeling, backflow, and helical vortices. Helical vortices have been observed experimentally in a random packing for the first time, and the analogy between the swirling flow and helical vortices provides insight into the design and operation of packed bed reactors. Another new observation is that the transition to the unsteady regime is a highly heterogeneous process, where the evolution of the flow instability depends on the pore geometry. Moreover, pixelwise validation was achieved between the experimental and simulation results on three-dimensional velocity fields in the inertial regime; this is enabled by an image-based meshing pipeline, which reproduces the geometry of the random packing in MRV for the numerical simulation. The unsteady regimes were further investigated using a regular sphere packing, the simple cubic packing (SCP). The spectral analysis, in both the random and regular packing, revealed a route to chaos from the steady to periodic, quasi-periodic, and chaotic dynamics, which was only predicted numerically before. During the transition to turbulence, the coherent structures were extracted using proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), which yields a coherent picture regarding the turbulent dynamics, when combined with the skewness, flatness, and quadrant analysis. Furthermore, it was found that the macroscopic properties converged at lower Reynolds number than the microscopic features. In conclusion, the opportunity to measure flow fields at high spatial and temporal resolution will play an increasingly significant role in the advancement of fundamental fluid dynamics. In this thesis, MRV is used, which is particularly advantageous for non-invasive measurements in opaque systems. This thesis provides the experimental and analysis toolkits for such studies and has demonstrated the contribution to characterising and understanding different flow regimes in porous media.

A pesquisa tem dois objetivos centrais: reconstruir o desenvolvimento da justiça de transição no Brasil até os dias atuais e identificar algumas das principais razões dos limites de sua implementação no país. Conforme as principais hipóteses, os limites da experiência da justiça transicional no Brasil estão associados a um discurso sobre a redemocratização no país, discurso este que tem a conciliação nacional como sua principal categoria. A primeira hipótese da pesquisa é a de que o discurso da conciliação nacional, veiculado pelo menos desde a elaboração do projeto de anistia pelo governo Figueiredo, continuaria a ser um dos principais limites ao desenvolvimento da justiça de transição no Brasil. Mas a segunda hipótese sustenta que, dos últimos trabalhos mais aprofundados sobre o tema para cá, este discurso teria sua hegemonia contestada de forma significativa, sendo obrigado a ceder a algumas das demandas de entidades da sociedade civil que até pouco tempo atrás não eram consideradas como negociáveis. Os objetivos e hipóteses centrais da tese serão mobilizados na seguinte estrutura. Capítulo 1: teoria e crítica dos parâmetros normativos da justiça de transição. Capítulo 2: reconstituição histórica e discursiva sobre a anistia e sobre o programa brasileiro de reparações. Capítulo 3: reconstituição discursiva e crítica sobre o julgamento do STF acerca da constitucionalidade da bilateralidade da anistia e sobre o estágio das ações penais movidas pelo Ministério Público Federal. Capítulo 4: reconstituição crítica dos trabalhos da Comissão Nacional da Verdade. / The research has two main objectives: to reconstruct the development of transitional justice in Brazil until today and to identify some of the main reasons underlying the limits of its implementation in the country. According to our main hypotheses, the limits of transitional justice in Brazil are associated with a discourse on the countrys democratization, which holds \"national reconciliation\" as its crucial category. The hypothesis 1 of the research asserts that the discourse of \"national reconciliation\", elaborated at least since the project of amnesty by the Figueiredo government, remains one of the main limitations to the development of transitional justice in Brazil. But the hypothesis 2 maintains that from the last major works on the subject to today, the hegemony of this discourse has been significantly challenged, giving some room to historical claims of civil society that until recently were not considered negotiable. The objectives and main hypotheses will be developed in the following structure. Chapter 1: theory and critique of the normative parameters of transitional justice. Chapter 2: historical and discursive reconstitution of the amnesty and of the Brazilian program of reparation. Chapter 3: discursive reconstitution and critique of the decision of the Brazilian Supreme Court on the amnestys constitutionality and the stage of criminal cases filed by federal prosecutors. Chapter 4: critical reconstitution of the work of the National Truth Commission.

Ethnic conflicts persist in Ghana despite the efforts of governments to resolve them. Governments are increasingly concerned not only about their massive human rights abuses and wide-scale destruction of property that characterize these conflicts, but also the difficulty of resolving them and restoring permanent peace. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to provide a deeper understanding of the processes and mechanisms of transitional justice implemented in Dagbon after war broke out in 2002 and explore the conditions under which these initiatives can be more effective in resolving the conflict and maintain peace. Data were collected through individual interviews, focus group discussions, and review of documents. Thirteen participants were purposively selected from communities, chiefs, and representatives of civil society organizations. Focus groups consisted of four men and four women. NVivo was used to manage and analyze the data. Data were analyzed using the theory of protracted social conflict as a lens and the concept of transitional justice as the conceptual foundation. The findings showed that a mixture of formal retributive and restorative initiatives was implemented. These were imposed on informal institutions and rules more deeply rooted in Dagbon. The institutions also suffered undue pressure from both government and elite of Dagbon which made peacebuilding difficult. A recommendation was made for government to strengthen the Dagbon Traditional Council to lead the conflict resolution process using traditional approaches, and identify and empower a credible civil society group to facilitate the process. The results could potentially change the way the conflict resolution initiatives have been conceptualized and managed in future.

Recovering from a cardiac surgery procedure and the transition to home can be an overwhelming experience for patients and caregivers. A tertiary care hospital's cardiothoracic surgery department suspended a nurse-practitioner-coordinated transitional care program in the 1st quarter of 2016. Following this decision, the readmission rate increased from its previous rate of 15.6% in quarter 1 to 20% in quarter 3. The purpose of this scholarly project was to develop a clinical practice guideline (CPG) that can bridge the gap in the transitional care process. The transitional care model informed the design of the project. A draft guideline was distributed to 5 stakeholders from the inpatient cardiac surgery care team for initial review. After initial review and revisions an edited version was then distributed to 5 additional stakeholders. Those stakeholders provided an assessment utilizing the AGREE II tool to assess the 6 domains of scope and purpose, stakeholder involvement, rigor of development, clarity and presentation, application and editorial independence, and overall quality. Four domains indicated a high level of agreement (96%-100%) and 2 domains indicated a response of < 76% for domains related to rigor and organizational resources. The overall guideline assessment of the quality of the CPG received a score of 96%, with a recommendation to adopt the guideline. Advanced practice nurses will utilize this guideline to provide a systematic process in bridging gaps in care for the transition of the cardiac surgery patient population from hospital to home. Social change will be promoted through improved patient management by using evidence-based transitional care, decreased readmissions, and improved health outcomes for the cardiac surgical population.

Three Macroterrain Landtype Association classification models were developed to stratify and categorize Utah's West Desert. These models approached terrain segmentation using an energy-flow paradigm from erosional to transitional to depositional landscape. One model was developed as a slope-backed deterministic model that used slope-threshold limits to discriminate between Landtype Associations. A second model was developed as a stochastic, training-data driven supervised classification, using comparative t-values to classify the landscape to the most similar landtype class. The third model was a probabilistic algorithm, which classified the landscape to the most probable class based on multiple iterations of the stochastic model. These models were assessed for performance against Macroterrain Landtype Association classifications from three independent geographical datasets. The performance assessment involved calculating model-to-reference agreement, a piecewise assessment of errors for each Macroterrain Landtype Association class, and a measure of the modeI-to-reference performance relative to that performance expected from random chance.

Adolescence is a critical biological and social transitional period, resulting in a variety of new emotions in teenagers. Feelings of normlessness, purposelessness and meaninglessness are among these emotions. These feelings of normlessness, purposelessness, and meaninglessness are often referred to as „anomie‟ by criminologists and sociologists. This study attempts to utilize Durkheim‟s theoretical model and framework of anomie to explain adolescents‟ aggression. Data from the “National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, 1998-1999, Self Reporting Cycle 3” with a sub-sample of 5500 of adolescents [ages ranged from10-15years] are used to explore if the anomic condition in adolescence is linked to increased aggression. Results from the multivariate analysis support the hypothesis that indeed the anomic condition during adolescence is positively related to their levels of aggression. / UOIT

Making the Child's World: Fostering Permanence, is a redefining, reordering and recalibration of the planning of a centre for children in transition within the child welfare system that would operate alongside foster homes. It is not a prescription for the ideal building design. Instead it is a proposition for a set of standards and qualities necessary of a child-centered environment; one where the child can be comfortable and secure, in the face of his or her family circumstances. <br /><br /> This thesis discusses the period between infancy and school age as crucial in the physical and emotional development of children; a time when they first establish concepts of space, relationships, and feelings. Each environment and social interaction experienced plays a large role in a child's development, both socially and physically. The dynamics, scale and intimacy of Play Therapy need to infiltrate the architectural strategy of this type of centre so that the centre itself adopts the values of Play Therapy, enabling the physical environment to act as a rehabilitative tool in the Play Therapy Programme.

Making the Child's World: Fostering Permanence, is a redefining, reordering and recalibration of the planning of a centre for children in transition within the child welfare system that would operate alongside foster homes. It is not a prescription for the ideal building design. Instead it is a proposition for a set of standards and qualities necessary of a child-centered environment; one where the child can be comfortable and secure, in the face of his or her family circumstances. <br /><br /> This thesis discusses the period between infancy and school age as crucial in the physical and emotional development of children; a time when they first establish concepts of space, relationships, and feelings. Each environment and social interaction experienced plays a large role in a child's development, both socially and physically. The dynamics, scale and intimacy of Play Therapy need to infiltrate the architectural strategy of this type of centre so that the centre itself adopts the values of Play Therapy, enabling the physical environment to act as a rehabilitative tool in the Play Therapy Programme.