2,161 research outputs found
National security: A propositional study to develop resilience indicators as an aid to personnel vetting
Within the National Security domain there is a convergence of security responsibility across the national security agencies, law enforcement and private security sectors. The sensitivity of this environment requires individuals operating in the domain to be honest, trustworthy and loyal. Personnel vetting is a formal process used to determine an individual’s suitability for access to this domain. Notwithstanding this process, significant breaches of trust, security, and corruption still occur.
In psychology, resilience is a well researched phenomenon that is considered a multidimensional construct where individual attributes, family aspects and social environment interact in aiding individuals to deal with vulnerability. There are many understandings and definitions of resilience based on theorists’ different perspectives; however, most agree that resilience is represented by a minimum of two aspects. The first is adversity and second, how the individual deals with adversity that demonstrates situational adaptation in a positive manner.
The study is a work in progress and proposes the use of a recently developed Lifespan Resilience Scale. This scale will use resilience markers as an aid to National Security by providing vetting agencies with an additional tool for proactive intervention. The Lifespan Resilience Scale is currently undergoing reliability and validity testing within a student population. Once validated within this population, the scale will be adjusted and tested within the vetting environment using cross validated cohorts and expert opinion. Such a tool will assist National Security through better personnel risk management
How the experience of living with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator influences the educational needs and concerns of patients and their partners.
Background: The aim of this study was to develop an understanding of how the
experience of living with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD)
influenced patients and their partners' educational needs and concerns. An ICD
is a device that is designed to treat patients who have life-threatening
arrhythmias. The quality of life (QoL) of the ICD recipient is not only influenced
by the disease itself but by adjustment to an altered life situation. Providing
patient education can be an effective intervention to improve patient adjustment
to the device. However, there is little qualitative research on the educational
needs and concerns of these patients. It is therefore argued that qualitative
research focussing on the lived experiences of patients is needed to identify
appropriate educational interventions to facilitate this adjustment.
Methodology: The constant comparative method of constructivist grounded
theory was employed for data collection and analysis. Semi-structured face-toface
interviews were carried out with fourteen ICD patients and four partners.
Findings: A grounded theory model was developed which described how
patient's experiences of getting back to normal following the insertion of an ICD
influenced their educational needs and concerns and ultimately led to their
acceptance of the ICD. The model had two key components, getting back to
normal and being informed. How the patients and carers experienced getting
back to normal consisted of adapting lifestyle, focusing on the positive, effect on
the family and living with the uncertainty regarding experiencing an ICD shock.
Their experience of the ICD influenced their educational needs in that the
information needed to be tailored to their individual experiences.
Discussion: This study found a strong need to feel informed, which is a major
part of Mishels theory of uncertainty. The model is also compared to the crisis
theory and the common-sense model of illness representations. The chapter
ends with a conclusion and recommendations for future reseaawd_pdtunpub1814_ethesesunpu
Leading and Managing the 21st Century Research University: Creating, Implementing, and Sustaining Strategic Change
Universities are competing in an environment in which only the most adaptable to sustainable change will prosper. In order to evolve in this challenging time, universities must embrace strategies for transformational change. This paper reviews two case studies that illustrate the universal applicability of theories of Change Science for achieving sustainable change in stressful times of prosperity and austerity. Understanding the phases of the Change Process that include Creating Vision, Implementing Vision, and Sustaining Vision can promote sustainable change directly related to the culture and mission of the institution
The influence of participant characteristics on the relationship between cuff pressure and level of blood flow restriction
Purpose: Previous investigations to establish factors influencing the blood flow restriction (BFR) stimulus have determined cuff pressures required for complete arterial occlusion, which does not reflect the partial restriction prescribed for this training technique. This study aimed to establish characteristics that should be accounted for when prescribing cuff pressures required for partial BFR. Methods: Fifty participants were subjected to incremental blood flow restriction of the upper and lower limbs by proximal pneumatic cuff inflation. Popliteal and brachial artery diameter, blood velocity and blood flow was assessed with Doppler ultrasound. Height, body mass, limb circumference, muscle–bone cross-sectional area, adipose thickness (AT) and arterial blood pressure were measured and used in different models of hierarchical linear regression to predict the pressure at which 60 % BFR (partial occlusion) occurred. Results: Combined analysis revealed a difference in cuff pressures required to elicit 60 % BFR in the popliteal (111 ± 12 mmHg) and brachial arteries (101 ± 12 mmHg). MAP (r = 0.58) and AT (r = −0.45) were the largest independent determinants of lower and upper body partial occlusion pressures. However, greater variance was explained by upper and lower limb regression models composed of DBP and BMI (48 %), and arm AT and DBP (30 %), respectively. Conclusion: Limb circumference has limited impact on the cuff pressure required for partial blood flow restriction which is in contrast to its recognised relationship with complete arterial occlusion. The majority of the variance in partial occlusion pressure remains unexplained by the predictor variables assessed in the present study
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