Epidemiology and prevention of drowning in northern Iran : a community based program

Background: Drowning in developing countries is a major, but often neglected, public health problem. However, due to a lack of reliable or statistical data concerning the impact of drowning in Iran, the need for drowning-prevention measures has not been recognized. The prevention of drowning requires adequate knowledge of its epidemiological characteristics and associated risk factors, and effective interventions. Aim: The overall aim of this thesis is to analyze the magnitude and burden of drowning events, using both epidemiological and economic studies, and to evaluate the feasibility of a drowning intervention package in northern Iran. Material and methods: The geographical range of the studies mainly encompassed water- recreation areas near the Caspian Sea in northern Iran. The main focus of the studies was on describing factors associated with drowning among residents and tourists in northern Iran from 2005/6 through to 2008/9. Four studies were undertaken. The incidence of drowning fatalities in northern Iran was investigated in a cross-sectional household survey. Age group, gender, place and date of occurrence, and external causes were assessed (Paper I). A capture-recapture analysis was performed to estimate the incidence of drowning using two data registries (Paper II). The costs of drowning were assessed on the basis of case studies in northern Iran. The main cost elements were income, as adjusted by family and years, income impact on the family, and cost of treatment (Paper III). A quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the feasibility of an intervention package, including pre- and post-observations, in both an intervention and a comparison community, in a water-recreation area by the Caspian Sea in northern Iran and in a residential population near the Caspian Sea coastline. Cross-sectional data were collected at pre-intervention and post-intervention in the study areas (Paper IV). Data for the four studies were derived from Iran’s Death Registry System and Forensic Medicine System, national weekly reports, household surveys, and focus group discussions. Results: During the first year of investigation, 342 unintentional drowning deaths (4.24 per 100,000 residential population) occurred in the study area. More than one-third of all victims were under the age of 20, and the male-female risk ratio was 6.4:1 (Paper I). The capture- recapture method estimated that the Forensic Medicine System covered 54% of cases, and the Death Registry System 70% (Paper II).When additional information was considered, the estimated economic burden increased dramatically. In fact, the drowning cost of one drowned victim was equivalent to 17 times the country’s per-capita gross domestic product (Paper III). The risk of death from drowning was observed to be greater during the pre-intervention period than during the implementation period (OR= 1.15 versus 0.24) in a water-recreation area by the Caspian Sea in northern Iran. The fatal drowning rate in the studied resident population, in two provinces, fell from 4.24 per 100,000 residents at baseline to 3.04 per 100,000 residents at endline. Drowning rates for tourists could not be computed since denominator data were incomplete. The knowledge and practice of drowning prevention in the resident population increased from 22% at baseline to 35% at endline. Overall, the all-risk factors associated with drowning incidents declined to a greater extent in the intervention area than in the control area (Paper IV). Conclusions: The intervention package, developed through research, was found to be feasible in the community considered. However, we need a longer time interval for impact analysis, and adjustment for seasonal variation, to be able fully to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. We also need to test the package in other, similar communities before we can recommend spread of the package. Further studies are needed to provide a standard instrument for drowning prevention

Reduced-order modeling of power electronics components and systems

This dissertation addresses the seemingly inevitable compromise between modeling fidelity and simulation speed in power electronics. Higher-order effects are considered at the component and system levels. Order-reduction techniques are applied to provide insight into accurate, computationally efficient component-level (via reduced-order physics-based model) and system-level simulations (via multiresolution simulation). Proposed high-order models, verified with hardware measurements, are, in turn, used to verify the accuracy of final reduced-order models for both small- and large-signal excitations. At the component level, dynamic high-fidelity magnetic equivalent circuits are introduced for laminated and solid magnetic cores. Automated linear and nonlinear order-reduction techniques are introduced for linear magnetic systems, saturated systems, systems with relative motion, and multiple-winding systems, to extract the desired essential system dynamics. Finite-element models of magnetic components incorporating relative motion are set forth and then reduced. At the system level, a framework for multiresolution simulation of switching converters is developed. Multiresolution simulation provides an alternative method to analyze power converters by providing an appropriate amount of detail based on the time scale and phenomenon being considered. A detailed full-order converter model is built based upon high-order component models and accurate switching transitions. Efficient order-reduction techniques are used to extract several lower-order models for the desired resolution of the simulation. This simulation framework is extended to higher-order converters, converters with nonlinear elements, and closed-loop systems. The resulting rapid-to-integrate component models and flexible simulation frameworks could form the computational core of future virtual prototyping design and analysis environments for energy processing units

The Use of Compensation Strategies in the Iranian EFL Learners’ Speaking and its Relationship with Their Foreign Language

Compensation Strategies (CpSs) are strategies which a language user employs in order to achieve his intended meaning when precise linguistic forms are for some reasons not available at that point of communication. Different factors may influence the use of CpSs, among which the level of language proficiency is one of the most important ones. The present study attempts to investigate the relationship between compensation strategies use and the level of language proficiency and gender. In order to explore this relationship, four distinct groups of learners – advanced male, advanced female, intermediate male, and intermediate female, each containing 12 members– participated in the study. The participants were interviewed individually and their performances were tape-recorded and then transcribed. The findings of the study indicates that "self-repetition", "direct appeal for help", and "approximation" are the most frequently used strategies; there is a significant relationship between the frequency of compensation strategies use and proficiency i.e. the frequency of compensation strategies use increases as the level of language proficiency develops whereas no significant relationship was observed between strategy frequency and gender. Keywords: Compensation Strategies, Approximation, Circumlocution, Fillers, Repetition, Language Proficiency

Assessing the effect of supportive factors of knowledge management architecture on organizational intelligence

The objective of this study is to assess the degree of influence of the supportive factors in knowledge management architecture on organizational intelligence in Zahedan city by using descriptive research methods in a correlation study. The sample population consists of 136 Zahedan Municipality staff with higher education, out of which 97 were selected using Morgan’s table. Organizational intelligence questionnaire by Carl Albercht and the architectural management questionnaire were used for data collection. The validity of questionnaires was approved by the experts and the reliability indices of the questionnaires were calculated using the Cronbach alpha to be 0.978 and 0.963, respectively. The findings of questionnaires on two levels of descriptive and inferential statistics were analyzed by one-sample t-test and Pearson correlation test, simple and complex regression tests with Stepwise and Enter methods. Research findings are indicative of the fact that there is a significant correlation (p<0.01) between all supportive axes of knowledge management architecture with organizational intelligence. And, according to the results of stepwise regression test on the supportive elements of knowledge management architecture, the best predicting elements of organizational intelligence were motivational factors and using IT technology. Hence, it was possible to predict the changes of organizational intelligence using the changes in elements of supportive knowledge management architecture. Finally, as well as presenting a predictive model for the elements of organizational intelligence, this study provides breakthroughs for improvement of organizational intelligence level and elements of supportive knowledge management architecture in society

Assessing the effect of supportive factors of knowledge management architecture on organizational intelligence

The objective of this study is to assess the degree of influence of the supportive factors in knowledge management architecture on organizational intelligence in Zahedan city by using descriptive research methods in a correlation study. The sample population consists of 136 Zahedan Municipality staff with higher education, out of which 97 were selected using Morgan’s table. Organizational intelligence questionnaire by Carl Albercht and the architectural management questionnaire were used for data collection. The validity of questionnaires was approved by the experts and the reliability indices of the questionnaires were calculated using the Cronbach alpha to be 0.978 and 0.963, respectively. The findings of questionnaires on two levels of descriptive and inferential statistics were analyzed by one-sample t-test and Pearson correlation test, simple and complex regression tests with Stepwise and Enter methods. Research findings are indicative of the fact that there is a significant correlation (p<0.01) between all supportive axes of knowledge management architecture with organizational intelligence. And, according to the results of stepwise regression test on the supportive elements of knowledge management architecture, the best predicting elements of organizational intelligence were motivational factors and using IT technology. Hence, it was possible to predict the changes of organizational intelligence using the changes in elements of supportive knowledge management architecture. Finally, as well as presenting a predictive model for the elements of organizational intelligence, this study provides breakthroughs for improvement of organizational intelligence level and elements of supportive knowledge management architecture in society

Assessing the effect of supportive factors of knowledge management architecture on organizational intelligence

The objective of this study is to assess the degree of influence of the supportive factors in knowledge management architecture on organizational intelligence in Zahedan city by using descriptive research methods in a correlation study. The sample population consists of 136 Zahedan Municipality staff with higher education, out of which 97 were selected using Morgan’s table. Organizational intelligence questionnaire by Carl Albercht and the architectural management questionnaire were used for data collection. The validity of questionnaires was approved by the experts and the reliability indices of the questionnaires were calculated using the Cronbach alpha to be 0.978 and 0.963, respectively. The findings of questionnaires on two levels of descriptive and inferential statistics were analyzed by one-sample t-test and Pearson correlation test, simple and complex regression tests with Stepwise and Enter methods. Research findings are indicative of the fact that there is a significant correlation (p<0.01) between all supportive axes of knowledge management architecture with organizational intelligence. And, according to the results of stepwise regression test on the supportive elements of knowledge management architecture, the best predicting elements of organizational intelligence were motivational factors and using IT technology. Hence, it was possible to predict the changes of organizational intelligence using the changes in elements of supportive knowledge management architecture. Finally, as well as presenting a predictive model for the elements of organizational intelligence, this study provides breakthroughs for improvement of organizational intelligence level and elements of supportive knowledge management architecture in society

Revising the assessment of feeling of anomie: Presenting a multidimensional scale

AbstractIn spite of vast researches about anomie and its measurements at individual level, these researches have not paid enough attention to high abstraction of anomie and have considered it as one-dimensional construct. Purpose of this study is to bridge this gap and present a multidimensional scale of feeling of anomie. After reviewing all of anomie scales from 1956 to 2007, 22 items were chosen and the responses were arranged on five-point Likert format. Five hundred university students were selected through convenience method of sampling and were required to fill up the designed questionnaire. Explanatory factor analysis revealed two items with very low factor loading that were deleted. Results also suggested three sub-scales that were named meaninglessness and distrust (8 items), powerlessness (7 items), and fetishism of money (5 items). Findings were consistent with theoretical inquiry about anomie