Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-89). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-89). Also available on the Internet.

Organizations expend a great deal of time, effort and money on the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. They are considered the price of entry for large organizations to do business. Yet the success rate of ERP systems is poor. IS literature suggests that one possible reason for this is the underutilization of these systems. Existing ERP literature is replete with research to improve ERP project implementation success; however, notably absent from these streams is the research that identifies how ERP systems are utilized by individuals or organizations. This dissertation posits that increased ERP utilization can result from increased software and business process understanding gained from both formal training and experiential interventions. New dimensions of system utilization (required vs. optional) are proposed. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine how these interventions impact ERP utilization. The results of this dissertation show that while software-training interventions are important to understanding, it is the business process training interventions that seem to provide the greater effect on understanding. This increased understanding positively affects utilization scenarios where a mixture (required vs. optional) of software features and business process tasks can be leveraged by end-users. The improved understanding of post-adoptive ERP utilization gained from this study benefits both researchers and practitioners.

acase@tulane.edu / Underutilization of health services is a persistent problem in low resourced settings. Efforts to strengthen health systems often focus on improving quality of care at health facilities. Low quality is assumed to dissuade people from seeking services, though few studies have addressed this assumption directly. The purpose of this research is to empirically test the hypothesis that quality is associated with utilization of health services. Using data from the 2014 survey of the Access to Primary Health Care project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, this analysis explores the extent to which patients’ assessments of quality of care align with objective assessments of health facilities, examines the extent to which patients’ assessments of quality are associated with their satisfaction, and estimates the impact of patient satisfaction on utilization of health services. Methods utilized include factor analysis and the estimation of multivariate regression models. Findings indicate that patient assessments of quality are impacted by the degree to which they are exposed to an element of quality and the extent to which they understand its importance. Patients’ assessments of access to care are positively associated with their overall satisfaction, while assessments of safety are negatively correlated and assessments of patient-centeredness are not significantly associated. Among pregnant women, satisfaction is associated with utilization of prenatal care but not facility-based delivery. This research suggests that prevailing attitudes toward health care may be a more significant barrier to utilization than the quality of care at a particular health facility. Strategies to improve patients’ abilities to assess quality should emphasize transparency and patient education. Patient satisfaction may be improved through focus on access to services. Future research should explore the impact of changes in both quality and attitudes toward health care on the utilization of a range of services and across a variety of settings. / 1 / Janna Marie Wisniewski

Associations between characteristics of homeless clients and their return visits to a nurse-managed primary health care clinic were examined using a retrospective chart review of 1,467 records from clients seen between 1991 and 1994. Client characteristics examined included age, education, race, gender, sheltered status, report of chronic disease, and report of family living in the area. Only 47 percent of clients made return visits to the clinic. Logistic regression indicated that those with reported chronic disease, males, whites, and those living on the street were more likely to have returned to the clinic for care than those without chronic illness, females, nonwhites, and those living in some type of shelter. Results suggest the need for program planning and evaluation for this population, which particularly considers women, nonwhites, and those without chronic disease as target groups for services.

Better utilization of foster families might be linked to parents' reasons for fostering. This study used data from the National Survey of Current and Former Foster Parents to examine relationships between reasons for fostering and types of services and length of service foster parents provide. Top reasons for fostering were child-centered. The least endorsed reasons were self-oriented. Those who fostered to help children with special problems were more likely to have a child placed, had more children, and had fostered more types of special needs children. Parents who fostered because their children were grown were more likely to have a child placed, had more children, and were more likely to intend to continue fostering. Conversely, parents who wanted to be loved or who wanted companionship fostered fewer children Implications for improving foster family utilization are discussed.

This work involves not only a study of the mode and pattern of land utilization as it exists in Clinton Township in 1953 but also a consideration of the reasons why man is making use of the land in the manner that he is. It has been found that even in a micro-study of this nature, positive correlations can be made between the various ways that man is making use of the land and the diverse factors of his environment. In some cases he has overcome adverse physical conditions by artificial means and so altered the physical environment to suit his needs. In other cases the physical conditions have been unalterable and man has been forced, therefore, to adapt his activity to conform to them. As regards the human environment, it has become evident that man himself creates difficulties which are almost as serious as those of the physical sphere and which, in some instances, may curtail freedom of economic activity considerably. / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Abstract Telemedicine (TM) is a term that describes the delivery of healthcare over distances. TM has evolved along with communication technology, creating a model of TM healthcare delivery that is constantly changing. The primary advantage of TM is that it gives physicians the ability to reach out to patients remotely, providing healthcare to remote or isolated locations, thus greatly reducing the need for patient travel. The physician is the primary stakeholder of TM, but to date there is a paucity of research related to TM utilization by physicians. Specifically, it is not known whether TM is an efficient healthcare tool that allows more patients to be seen by a physician than could normally be seen face to face (F2F), hence increasing the potential volume of patient care. This study describes the adoption and utilization characteristics within a “real” medical environment (the Ontario Ministry of Long-term Health Care) by analyzing established medical practices. Using OHIP data, this study shows TM utilization trends among physicians who were responsible for a large portion of TM patient activity within their respective specialties between 2011 and 2013. By understanding TM usage by physicians, the ministry can provide programs and incentives that may increase TM adoption, thus providing more efficient healthcare to underserviced populations in Ontario. The top three specialties from 2008-2013 using TM in Ontario were found to be General and Family (G&F) practice, Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, with G&F physicians using TM primarily to increase practice volumes for addiction medicine. Within the Internal Medicine specialty, TM appears to be a tool for healthcare delivery that helps offset some F2F events. Within the specialty of Psychiatry, many TM events seemed to have been performed by psychiatrists who have smaller volumes of F2F visits compared to their peers. Trends in TM show that for some specialties and types of clinical events, TM can be used to see more patients than physicians could normally see when restricted to F2F visits only, thus reducing the number of F2F visits within some practices. / Thesis / Master of Health Sciences (MSc)

N/A / Thesis / Bachelor of Science (BSc)

This is a study of the woods used by man in the construction of implements, furniture and buildings from the the first known use of wood to the present day use of this material.