Preconception nutrition knowledge, dietary intakes and lifestyle characteristics of Auckland women : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nutritional Science at Massey University

Introduction Adequate nutritional status prior to conception and during early pregnancy is important in achieving a healthy pregnancy outcome. This study examined preconception nutrition knowledge, and dietary and lifestyle habits in Auckland women of childbearing age. Methods Women aged 18-45 years (n=115) were recruited and data collected using a detailed questionnaire, anthropometric measurements and a diet history to evaluate dietary intakes. Results 18 women were attempting to conceive and 97 women indicated they were not currently planning pregnancy. The reproductive history of the women identified that 53 women had previously been pregnant but only 47% of these pregnancies had been planned. Nearly all of the women (93.7%) had heard of folic acid and 65% were aware that folic acid was required for pregnancy. Although 53.9% of the women knew that folic acid prevents birth defects, only 31.3% of women had specific knowledge that folic acid use a month before conception can prevent neural tube defects. All of the women in the study who were currently planning a pregnancy had heard of folic acid and 13 (72%) were taking a folic acid supplement (≥400μg). Although 80% of the women thought that dietary habits in the preconception period could affect pregnancy outcome few women thought preconception diet could influence risk of miscarriage, preterm delivery or maternal deficiencies. 83% of women used alcohol, 13.0% had a caffeine intake >300 mg/day, 8% smoked and 26.0% were overweight or obese. Conclusions Women recruited to the study demonstrated a lack of awareness of the importance of preconception nutrition and were not in an optimal physical state for pregnancy. The high rate of unplanned pregnancies in New Zealand is a significant obstacle to preconception care and efforts to increase the awareness of the importance of preconception nutrition are needed

LESSONS FROM APPROACHES TO INCREASE WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT: WORKSHOP SUMMARY

Community/Rural/Urban Development, Labor and Human Capital,

How are Companies Taking an Innovative Approach to Succession Planning?

[Excerpt] Proper succession planning is the process of building the right quantity and quality of candidates to fill future vacancies. To do this, the organization must have a firm understanding of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of current employees, future roles that will have vacancies, and organizational gaps in talent that may prevent the firm from reaching its goals. The role of human resources is to understand the knowledge and skills necessary to execute short-term business strategies, as well as gaps in talent required to fulfill long-term business goals

Temporal Aperture Modulation

The two types of modulation techniques useful to X-ray imaging are reviewed. The use of optimum coded temporal aperature modulation is shown, in certain cases, to offer an advantage over a spatial aperture modulator. Example applications of a diffuse anisotropic X-ray background experiment and a wide field of view hard X-ray imager are discussed

What are Some Best Practices in Assessing Employee Performance Without Using Performance Reviews?

[Excerpt] A 2014 Deloitte Survey reported that 58% of organizations believed that performance appraisals were an ineffective use of time. This finding carries great significance given a typical manager spends on average 210 hours a year working on appraisals. Due to the incongruence between time spent and value, many companies are eliminating formal reviews. Some companies are opting to eliminate ratings all together while others are choosing to eliminate the numerical/ranking component of the appraisal. Case studies that include outcomes are a useful tool in examining how this pertains to the management of low performers