Thesis (M Med.(Family Medicine))--University of Limpopo, 2010. / OBJECTIVE: In 2007 36% of the pregnant women tested positive for HIV at Embhuleni Hospital and its satellite clinics. However, only one quarter of those returned to the wellness clinic for their CD4 results so as to begin with Anti-Retrovirus Therapy (ART) if they qualified. The rest would not return to the wellness clinic, and would only present late with opportunistic infections or a subsequent pregnancy. The study aimed at exploring the reasons why women who had been tested for HIV by means of VCT failed to return for their CD4 results, to understand those reasons, to determine what information was given to them before they were tested, to assess the availability of personal support systems (family, friends, etc), and finally to assess the women’s understanding of HIV/AIDS, for which they were tested. METHODS: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted using the free attitude interview technique for data collection. The Ante-natal care (ANC) clinic register of the Embhuleni Hospital was used to trace patients who had consented for voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), but who had since not returned for their results after 30 days of testing. Those patients were visited at their places of residence by the research team (interviewing nurse and the researcher) to request them to participate in the study. The exploratory question was: “May you tell us why you did not come back for your HIV test results?” “Sicela usichazele kutsi yinindzaba ungasetanga kutewuhlola imiphumela yakho yengati? (SiSwati Version). The interviews were audio recorded and field notes taken. The interviewer sought clarification for unclear issues raised, and gave reflective summaries at the conclusion of each idea under discussion. The interviews continued until there was information saturation. In this study, was reached at respondent number nine. The audio-tapes were transcribed verbatim, followed by translation into English. The emerging themes formed the basis for the write-up. RESULTS: The following themes emerged:  Communication between health care workers and patients Poor quality of communication (patients not told to come back)  Knowledge on HIV/AIDS and PMTCT Patients had poor knowledge of HIV/AIDS and PMTCT  Fear of stigma for HIV/AIDS The community associated coming back for the results with being HIV positive  Poor patient support Poor family support system for the patient Limited patient financial resources  Experience at the health facilities Lack of patient privacy Attitude of the health care workers not acceptable to patients CONCLUSION: The factors that resulted in non-return of the pregnant women to the facility for their results were that the women were not made aware that they were to return for their results; poor quality of communication by the hospital staff; unpleasant experiences by patients at the facility; patients feared community stigmatisation; there was lack of patient support, and the patients had poor knowledge of HIV/AIDS and PMTCT

In a country such as Australia which claims adherence to democratic values, it would appear important that policies and laws on such a controversial and value laden issue as active voluntary euthanasia (AVE), need to have at least some basis in public opinion and in that of relevant professional groups. It has been argued that public opinion may be of limited value due to the public's lack of experience and exposure to this issue. The opinions of people with more exposure to and reflection on the ethical issues surrounding euthanasia need to be ascertained. Nurses are one group who have prolonged involvement with the care of dying or suffering people and their families. Nurses in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) could be a particularly well informed group because of the ongoing open debate resulting from four proposed laws on AVE in this Territory since 1993. The overall purpose of this thesis was to identify the attitudes of nurses in the ACT towards AVE. This thesis was supported by a study which provided information on four aspects of nurses' attitudes towards AVE. Firstly, the attitudes of registered nurses in the ACT were compared to those of other nurses, medical practitioners and members of the general public in Australia. Secondly, the associations between characteristics of the nurses and their attitudes were investigated. Thirdly, the legal conditions which nurses believe should be in a law allowing active voluntary euthanasia were identified. Finally, the arguments nurses put forward to support their attitudes towards AVE were analysed This thesis does not attempt to evaluate the ethical arguments proposed, merely to reflect the views put forward. A postal survey was carried out in late 1996 of 2000 randomly selected registered nurses from the Australian Capital Territory. Responses were received from 1218 nurses (61%). Attitudes of Nurses: A majority of nurses who responded, supported AVE as "sometimes right", be it homicide by request (72%) or physician assisted suicide (71%). A slightly smaller majority of nurses believed the law should be changed to allow homicide by request (69%) and physician assisted suicide (67%) under certain conditions. If AVE were legal, 66% of the nurses indicated they were willing to be involved in the procedure. Only 30% were willing to assist patients to give themselves the lethal dose, while 14% were willing to administer the lethal dose to the patient. Comparing these results with previous surveys, it appears that nurses are less in favour of AVE than the general public but more in favour than medical practitioners. Associations between Characteristics of Nurses and Attitudes: Those nurses who were more likely to agree that the law should allow AVE, were under the age of 40 years, agnostic, atheist or of the Anglican religion, to have less contact with terminally ill patients, to work in the area of critical care or mental health, and to take less interest in the issue of AVE. Palliative care nurses were the only subgroup without a majority in favour (33%). There is other evidence in the euthanasia literature indicating that nurses and doctors are less in favour of AVE than the general public. Taken together with the present findings, it may be concluded that attitudes towards AVE are more favourable in people who have less contact with the terminally ill. Legal Conditions in an AVE Law: The conditions most strongly supported in any future AVE law were "second doctor's opinion" (85%), "cooling off period" (81%), "patient must have unbearable protracted suffering" (80%), "doctor must inform patient about illness and treatment" (78%) and "patient must be terminally ill" (63%). There was only minority support for "patient not suffering from treatable depression" (42%), "patient administers or assists to administer, the fatal dose themselves" (32%) and "patient over a certain age" (7%). Support for a change in the law to allow AVE was 38% for a young man with AIDS, 39% for an elderly man with early stage Alzheimer's disease, 44% for a young woman who had become quadriplegic and 71 % for a middle aged woman with metastases from breast cancer. Arguments Supporting AVE Attitudes: The most common argument in support of AVE was that people should have the right to control their own lives and thus be able to decide for themselves when and how they wanted to die. The most common argument against AVE was that of the slippery slope in which it is feared that the boundaries which society puts on killing will be extended. Conclusions: This inquiry pinpoints the discordance between attitudes towards AVE and the legal status of AVE. Parliamentary representatives need to consider the current attitudes of their constituents, and especially those of relevant health care professionals towards AVE. It is important that a nursing perspective is represented in any law legalising AVE and that the role of the nurse is clearly described in relevant legal acts. Future research would also be beneficial to investigate further the association between the experience of nurses working in a palliative care setting and AVE attitudes. There needs to be further debate about the legal conditions required in any future AVE bills. given the lack of support from nurses for some conditions which have been included in proposed AVE laws. Furthermore, it would be valuable to carry out surveys of the opinions of other health practitioners in order to inform legislators. These results form a baseline to examine the changes in attitudes towards AVE over time and change in the legal status of AVE.

<p>One image can have various functions for one individual (Nordin & Cumming, 2005).</p><p>Therefore this study took a qualitative approach to examine the following purposes: (1) To</p><p>examine ice hockey players’ understanding of imagery, (2) to examine ice hockey players</p><p>imagery experiences and (3) to examine ice hockey players’ strategies to improve their</p><p>imagery. Eleven elite ice hockey players (m = 23,09) participated in this study, they were</p><p>interviewed using the instrument IPIES (Weibull, 2008). The result showed that: (1) ten</p><p>players had a correct and limited understanding for the concept imagery, (2) ten players</p><p>experienced imagery and (3) all players in some way wanted improve their imagery. The</p><p>players experienced voluntary, spontaneous and involuntary imagery. Involuntary had a</p><p>negative effect that support previous findings by Weibull (2005), further this study</p><p>support Cumming and Hall (2002) that some athletes experience spontaneous imagery.</p><p>The results were discussed in relation to previous imagery research.</p>

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">Despite wide acceptance of Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) as a crucial entry point for the prevention, treatment, care and support of HIV-infected persons / the prevalence of testing in Ethiopia remains very low. A review of the literature identifies the set of factors that influence HIV testing of individuals to include socio-economic and demographic factors, knowledge of HIV/AIDS, risk perception, fear of stigma, social capital and the perceived benefit of VCT. By drawing assumptions based on the known literature, this mini-thesis explores the relationship between VCT usage and the above factors in order to explain the status of HIV testing in Moher and Aklil district, Gurage Zone, Ethiopia. The study hopes to address the dearth of material on VCT and contribute to it in a non-clinical and rural context.</p> </font></font></p>

<p>In countries like Zambia where HIV prevalence (14.3% in the age group 15-49 years) is one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV testing is an important strategy to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic, because it is a critical step towards HIV/AIDS care, treatment and support. Despite decades of HIV/AIDS information and education campaigns, only 10% of Zambians know their HIV status. This study aimed to describe the uptake of voluntary counseling and testing and factors associated with uptake at Ngungu Mini - hospital in Ngungu Township, Zambia. Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted among 100 adult clients accessing health care at Ngungu mini - hospital during the second week of January 2009. Participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire on VCT, knowledge, attitudes towards HIV testing, and factors that promote/hinder HIV testing. Data was captured with Excel and basic descriptive analysis done using SPSS version 16.0 and Epi Info Version 3.3.1.</p>

Bakgrund: Resurser som är svåra att värdera, och därmed inte kan tas upp i balansräkningen,i kombination med utvecklingen mot informationssamhället har lett till ett ökat behov och användande av tilläggsinformation i årsredovisningarna från företagens sida. Det finns både frivillig och reglerad tilläggsinformation. Ökningen av frivillig tilläggsinformation kan främst ses inom personalredovisning. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att beskriva utvecklingen av frivillig information om personal i årsredovisningen hos ett urval svenska börsnoterade företag. Den syftar också till att se om utvecklingen har sett olika ut i tillverkningsföretag respektive tjänsteföretag. Metod: Från Stockholmsbörsens A-lista valdes sex tillverkningsföretag och sex tjänsteföretag ut. Med en kombination av kvalitativ och kvantitativ undersökningsmetod har de utvalda företagens årsredovisningar för åren 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 och 2003 studerats. En modell innehållande sju kategorier; hälsa, mångfald, rekrytering, personalomsättning och trivsel, personalförmåner och motivation, utbildning samt kompetensutveckling, togs fram för att kunna se var inom personalredovisning utvecklingen har skett. Slutsats: Efter slutförd studie kan det konstateras att mängden frivillig tilläggsinformation om personal har ökat, även om andelen information av den totala årsredovisningen endast har ökat nämnvärt för tillverkningsföretag. Gemensamt för tillverkningsföretags och tjänsteföretags redovisning av personal är att kompetensutveckling har varit den dominerande kategorin under perioden och att information om hälsa har ökat, även om ökningen har varit betydligt större i tillverkningsföretagens årsredovisningar. Olikheter är att information om rekrytering har fått stort utrymme i tillverkningsföretagens årsredovisningar men mycket litet i tjänsteföretagens. Personalomsättning och trivsel, mångfald samt personalförmåner och motivation har alla givits större mängd information i tjänsteföretagens årsredovisningar än i tillverkningsföretagens. / Background: Resources that are hard to put a value on and cannot be classified as assets in the balance sheet as well as the development towards the information society has led to an increasing need and use for voluntary information in the annual reports. The increase of voluntary information can foremost be seen in the field of human resources. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to describe the development of voluntary information about human resources in the annual report of a number of Swedish quoted companies. The purpose is also to see if there is a difference in the development between manufacturing companies and service companies. Method: Six manufacturing companies and six service companies were chosen from the Stockholm exchange A-list. Using both a qualitative and quantitative research method the annual reports of the chosen companies were studied for the years 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003. A model consisting of seven categories; health, diversity, recruitment, staff turnover and comfort, benefits and motivation, education and competence development, was developed to clarify were the development took place. Conclusions: After finishing the study one can tell that the amount of voluntary information about human resources in the annual report has increased even though the percentage share of the total annual report only has increased appreciably for manufacturing companies. Manufacturing companies and service companies have in common that competence development is the most frequent disclosed information during the period. Information about health has increased, even though the increase is more considerable in the annual reports of manufacturing companies. Differences can be seen between manufacturing companies and service companies in the recruitment category,were manufacturing companies disclose more information. Service companies, on the other hand, disclose more on staff turnover and comfort, diversity and benefits and motivation.

One image can have various functions for one individual (Nordin & Cumming, 2005). Therefore this study took a qualitative approach to examine the following purposes: (1) To examine ice hockey players’ understanding of imagery, (2) to examine ice hockey players imagery experiences and (3) to examine ice hockey players’ strategies to improve their imagery. Eleven elite ice hockey players (m = 23,09) participated in this study, they were interviewed using the instrument IPIES (Weibull, 2008). The result showed that: (1) ten players had a correct and limited understanding for the concept imagery, (2) ten players experienced imagery and (3) all players in some way wanted improve their imagery. The players experienced voluntary, spontaneous and involuntary imagery. Involuntary had a negative effect that support previous findings by Weibull (2005), further this study support Cumming and Hall (2002) that some athletes experience spontaneous imagery. The results were discussed in relation to previous imagery research.

This thesis contributes to the reporting of Intellectual Capital (IC) and includes four papers on the recognition and comparability of IC. IC, often called intangibles in the financial reporting discourse, reflects resources which create value in and for organizations. These resources originate out of human knowledge and capacities, which, through their uniqueness, can provide competitive advantages for an organization. As something intangible, IC is a challenge to report as it is not only a matter of reporting value that has been or can be realized but also a matter of reporting the creative processes focusing on present and future value. This challenge is a particular reflection of how and when to recognize IC as something reportable and is intensified if IC needs to be comparable. The thesis draws on the distinction that is made between mandatory and voluntary reporting when discussing recognition and comparability. Three of the studies relate to firms’ practices of reporting through annual reports. Since these reports contain both mandatory and voluntary sections, reflecting reporting both as a requirement as well as a possibility, different aspects of reported IC is emphasized. Using a wider range of documents, the fourth study relates to the enforcement of the mandatory reporting standards which the firms are required to apply in their reporting. As the overall finding in the thesis, three categories of recognition of IC are developed which reflect differences related to whether the reporting is mandatory, voluntary or, as this thesis argues, something in between. Reflected through the categories, comparability interrelates differently with recognition. The thesis contributes with the description of IC as a foundation for reporting which makes the matter of recognition of IC in reporting complex. It further highlights that through recognition of IC reporting is continuously expanding wherefore it is not possible to identify an end of an already expanded and demarcated reporting regime. In this expansion, by settling what is mandatory reporting through requested characteristics, voluntary reporting is defined.

This dissertation examines changes that companies made in order to obtain Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, and the role that provincial governments have played in the implementation of this emerging market-based form of governance. It analyzes the indirect roles that governments have played in either encouraging or inhibiting the adoption of certification through their policies, as well as the direct roles played in response to particular certification attempts that occurred on public land. Through the use of case studies of individual operations in each province, the interaction between state and non-state authority is explored, as well as the role that forest tenure played in each operation’s ability to obtain certification. The results reveal that the changes required to obtain certification were substantial but associated with only a small subset of the FSC’s Principles and Criteria, heavily weighted towards environmental issues. While corrective action requests are issued to the company pursuing certification, the results show that non-exclusive tenure limits a company’s ability to respond to these requests without the cooperation of the provincial government and resource users with overlapping tenure rights. However, limited duration of forest tenure does not preclude certification, and for the most part, provincial governments are found to play important facilitative roles in certification, both through their policies and regulations, and as providers of information and technical support. Further, the majority of the corrective actions were not required to be implemented prior to certification being awarded, but within the five year term of the certificate. This appears to have acted as a flexibility mechanism, allowing the certification system to secure the participation of companies in the short term, with the hope of leveraging greater change in the long term from the company, the government in question, and other resource users with overlapping tenure rights.

This dissertation presents two studies on the value relevance and perceived credibility of pro forma earnings. In the first study, I investigate the value relevance of pro forma earnings relative to two alternative earnings measures GAAP earnings and analysts actual earnings. Value relevance is assessed using two approaches. The first approach examines whether the markets expectations (contemporaneous returns or price) is best reflected in future pro forma earnings, future GAAP earnings, or future analysts actual earnings. The second approach is to determine through pair-wise comparisons of the three earnings measures (e.g., pro forma earnings versus GAAP earnings), which has the greatest explanatory power (comparing adjusted R2s) in explaining price and returns. Across approaches and models, each of the three earnings measures tends to be value relevant. However, Pro forma is consistently the most value relevant, followed by analysts actuals, with GAAP earnings having the least value relevance. That is, pro forma earnings have the greatest information content. This finding is consistent with managers, in aggregate, using pro forma to inform rather than to manage expectations or to mislead. <p>In the second study, I examine the impact of credibility attributes board characteristics, auditor quality and overall information quality on the value relevance of pro forma earnings. It is hypothesized that the credibility attributes will have a statistically significant impact on investors reaction to pro forma earnings. Consistent with the predictions, I find that stronger board characteristics, higher auditor quality and higher overall information quality are positively associated with higher market reaction to the pro forma announcement. That is, credibility attributes increase the value relevance of pro forma earnings. This finding is consistent with some firms providing pro forma earnings that are perceived to be credible and others providing pro formas that are perceived as less credible and possibly provided to manage expectations or to mislead.