Feasibility Study for a Global Business Network on Apprenticeship

[Excerpt] The purpose of this feasibility study was to gather information from businesses about their current apprenticeship programmes and to seek their views on how an international network on apprenticeships could be valuable to them. On the basis of information and experience collected from businesses and other interested parties in selected sectors and countries, the study has documented country apprenticeship practices, explored the expected mandate and objectives of this network, identified the types of services that would be valued, ascertained the possible degree of commitment of potential members, and examined options for the network’s governance structure and viable financing mechanisms

Parents and Teachers’ Perceptions and Clinical Diagnosis of Autism Among White and Non-White Groups

The pervasiveness of autism has significantly increased over the past 2 decades with the 2014 Center for Disease Control and Prevention report indicating 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Early intervention is recommended as the most effective treatment approach. Nevertheless, previous research has indicated that White children are diagnosed with ASD about 1.5 years earlier than are Non-White children. A current gap remains in literature regarding ASD and different racial groups, and evidence has been inconclusive regarding disparities in identifying and diagnosing ASD. To fill this gap, this study investigated the relationship between child race, parents and teachers’ perceptions, and diagnosis of ASD among White and Non-White groups. The theoretical framework was the critical race theory. Archival data from the Psychological and School Services of Eastern Carolina included 48 preschool children from White (18) and Non-White (30) groups. The data’s variables of race, perceptions, and diagnosis were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance. Results indicated a higher rate of diagnosis of ASD among the White group compared to the Non-White group. Yet, teachers’ perceptions of ASD were higher for the Non-White group, while parents’ perceptions of ASD were lower for the Non-White group. This finding confirms the nuances of ASD among racial groups which could promote efforts to better educate parents and teachers on developmental milestones, explore families’ unique beliefs, and emphasize the importance of accurate early detection. Also, considerations of culturally sensitive screening, diagnostic measures, protocols, and practices may be embraced to safeguard that children, regardless of race, receive timely and competent care

Exploring communication between first language english speaking audiologists and Isizulu patients at public sector hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Effective communication between health professionals and patients is central in providing quality health care. A cultural and linguistic mismatch between audiologists and their patients may create a barrier in communication. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore communication between First Language English speaking (FLES) audiologists and isiZulu patients, based on isiZulu being dominant in KZN. A concurrent triangulation mixed design was used. The study consisted of three phases. The first phase included a survey of 31 FLES audiologists. The second phase included the Photovoice narratives and interviews with two FLES audiologists. The final phase included a survey of 98 isiZulu patients. The results revealed that overall FLES audiologists showed poor cultural (71%) and linguistic (97%) competency in isiZulu. Inferential statistics revealed significant associations between cultural competency and FLES audiologists years of experience (p value=0,021), gender (p value=0.042) and type of institution based in terms of rural or urban (p value=0.038).The above competency levels of FLES audiologists coincided with the perspectives of isiZulu patients. Furthermore, it was revealed that factors such as consent, trust, collaboration, empathy, attitude and professional superiority influenced cross cultural and cross linguistic communication between FLES audiologists and isiZulu patients. The use of informal interpreters emerged as the most common communication strategy employed by FLES audiologists. The implementation of isiZulu courses, formally-trained interpreters and isiZulu audiology resources emerged as strong recommendations. In addition, FLES audiologists identified initiative as important to improving cross cultural/linguistic communication. The results from this study may inform changes to University curricular as well as policy at public sector hospitals

Title: Parents and Teachers’ Perceptions and Clinical Diagnosis of Autism Among White and Non-White Groups

The pervasiveness of autism has significantly increased over the past 2 decades with the 2014 Center for Disease Control and Prevention report indicating 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Early intervention is recommended as the most effective treatment approach. Nevertheless, previous research has indicated that White children are diagnosed with ASD about 1.5 years earlier than are Non-White children. A current gap remains in literature regarding ASD and different racial groups, and evidence has been inconclusive regarding disparities in identifying and diagnosing ASD. To fill this gap, this study investigated the relationship between child race, parents and teachers’ perceptions, and diagnosis of ASD among White and Non-White groups. The theoretical framework was the critical race theory. Archival data from the Psychological and School Services of Eastern Carolina included 48 preschool children from White (18) and Non-White (30) groups. The data’s variables of race, perceptions, and diagnosis were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance. Results indicated a higher rate of diagnosis of ASD among the White group compared to the Non-White group. Yet, teachers’ perceptions of ASD were higher for the Non-White group, while parents’ perceptions of ASD were lower for the Non-White group. This finding confirms the nuances of ASD among racial groups which could promote efforts to better educate parents and teachers on developmental milestones, explore families’ unique beliefs, and emphasize the importance of accurate early detection. Also, considerations of culturally sensitive screening, diagnostic measures, protocols, and practices may be embraced to safeguard that children, regardless of race, receive timely and competent care

Long Phone Wait Times at Newtown Primary Care

Getting an appointment with a PCP has historically always been challenging but at Newtown Primary Care long wait times on the phone when booking an appointment is also frequently cited as a local challenge. This project explores phone wait times as well as patient, staff and provider perspectives on challenges accessing primary care appointments at Newtown Primary Care

Parents and Teachers’ Perceptions and Clinical Diagnosis of Autism Among White and Non-White Groups

The pervasiveness of autism has significantly increased over the past 2 decades with the 2014 Center for Disease Control and Prevention report indicating 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Early intervention is recommended as the most effective treatment approach. Nevertheless, previous research has indicated that White children are diagnosed with ASD about 1.5 years earlier than are Non-White children. A current gap remains in literature regarding ASD and different racial groups, and evidence has been inconclusive regarding disparities in identifying and diagnosing ASD. To fill this gap, this study investigated the relationship between child race, parents and teachers’ perceptions, and diagnosis of ASD among White and Non-White groups. The theoretical framework was the critical race theory. Archival data from the Psychological and School Services of Eastern Carolina included 48 preschool children from White (18) and Non-White (30) groups. The data’s variables of race, perceptions, and diagnosis were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance. Results indicated a higher rate of diagnosis of ASD among the White group compared to the Non-White group. Yet, teachers’ perceptions of ASD were higher for the Non-White group, while parents’ perceptions of ASD were lower for the Non-White group. This finding confirms the nuances of ASD among racial groups which could promote efforts to better educate parents and teachers on developmental milestones, explore families’ unique beliefs, and emphasize the importance of accurate early detection. Also, considerations of culturally sensitive screening, diagnostic measures, protocols, and practices may be embraced to safeguard that children, regardless of race, receive timely and competent care

The Behavioural Phenotype of pThr175-Tau Expression in the Hippocampus of Female Adult Sprague Dawley Rats

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with cognitive impairment (ALSci) can be characterized by pathological inclusions of microtubule associated protein tau (tau) uniquely phosphorylated at Thr175 (pThr175-tau). The purpose of this study was to characterize the behavioural consequences of expressing a pseudophosphorylated tau mimic of pThr175-tau (Thr175Asp-tau) in rat hippocampus. Expression was hypothesized to lead to pathological tau fibril formation resulting in cognitive and behavioural deficits. Expression was accomplished in female Sprague Dawley rats through stereotactic inoculations of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV9) vector with human tau gene. Pathological tau fibrillary structures were identified, but behavioural testing up to 12 months post-surgery revealed no deficits in Thr175Asp-tau group when compared with the controls. Control inoculums included: wt-human tau, phosphorylation inhibition (Thr175Ala-tau), and green fluorescent protein. There were age-related behavioural changes across testing time points. This study serves an important step towards the development of an animal model for ALS with cognitive syndromes, which is essential for understanding disease progression

Optimal Image-Aided Inertial Navigation

The utilization of cameras in integrated navigation systems is among the most recent scientific research and high-tech industry development. The research is motivated by the requirement of calibrating off-the-shelf cameras and the fusion of imaging and inertial sensors in poor GNSS environments. The three major contributions of this dissertation are The development of a structureless camera auto-calibration and system calibration algorithm for a GNSS, IMU and stereo camera system. The auto-calibration bundle adjustment utilizes the scale restraint equation, which is free of object coordinates. The number of parameters to be estimated is significantly reduced in comparison with the ones in a self-calibrating bundle adjustment based on the collinearity equations. Therefore, the proposed method is computationally more efficient. The development of a loosely-coupled visual odometry aided inertial navigation algorithm. The fusion of the two sensors is usually performed using a Kalman filter. The pose changes are pairwise time-correlated, i.e. the measurement noise vector at the current epoch is only correlated with the one from the previous epoch. Time-correlated errors are usually modelled by a shaping filter. The shaping filter developed in this dissertation uses Cholesky factors as coefficients derived from the variance and covariance matrices of the measurement noise vectors. Test results with showed that the proposed algorithm performs better than the existing ones and provides more realistic covariance estimates. The development of a tightly-coupled stereo multi-frame aided inertial navigation algorithm for reducing position and orientation drifts. Usually, the image aiding based on the visual odometry uses the tracked features only from a pair of the consecutive image frames. The proposed method integrates the features tracked from multiple overlapped image frames for reducing the position and orientation drifts. The measurement equation is derived from SLAM measurement equation system where the landmark positions in SLAM are algebraically by time-differencing. However, the derived measurements are time-correlated. Through a sequential de-correlation, the Kalman filter measurement update can be performed sequentially and optimally. The main advantages of the proposed algorithm are the reduction of computational requirements when compared to SLAM and a seamless integration into an existing GNSS aided-IMU system

A systematic analysis of ERP implementation challenges and coping mechanisms: The case of a large, decentralised, public organisation in South Africa

The relevance of this research stems from the persistent failure rate of large-scale Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations. The foremost reasons advanced in explaining organisations' failure to achieve the desired ERP benefits, despite substantial investments, relates to the complex, risky and challenging nature of the implementation process. Understanding the ERP implementation challenges faced by organisations and the subsequent coping mechanisms deployed to overcome the challenges remain a pertinent research endeavour. Another eminent area of concern alludes to the limited significance attributed to the systemic analysis of the implementation process. This research describes the challenges faced by organisations during their ERP implementation process and explains the systemic interaction of the ERP implementation challenges. In conjunction, this study identifies the coping mechanisms established by organisations to overcome the encountered ERP implementation challenges. An interpretive research paradigm, in concurrence with an inductive research approach was adopted for the purpose of this research. This study was conducted within the context of a large, decentralised, public organisation. Two embedded case studies within the designated organisation were selected. At the onset of the study, the organisation was in the process of implementing a large-scale vanilla ERP solution. The study was qualitative in nature and data were collected through interviews, observations and documentary evidence between April 2012 and October 2014. The ERP implementation challenges and ensuing coping mechanisms were revealed through the use of thematic analysis. Constant comparative analysis allowed the researcher to compare and contrast the data and themes emerging from both cases. The systemic interrelation and interconnected nature of the ERP implementation challenges were, subsequently, examined, using the principles of system dynamics. Key research contributions comprise the development of both descriptive and explanatory knowledge. The research findings disclose numerous ERP implementation challenges resulting in the emergence of a taxonomy which includes organisational, project management, management, change management, technical and knowledge challenges. The proposed taxonomy provides a comprehensive breakdown and analysis of different ERP implementation challenges which adds to the existing body of knowledge on ERP implementation. The major theoretical contribution, however, is the explanatory theory arising from the systemic model of the dynamics of ERP implementation challenges. The theory provides rich insights into the complex and interconnected nature of an implementation process. Specific implications are drawn from the empirical findings to form theoretical propositions as principles of explanation and generalisation. Another key contribution includes an interpretation of how coping mechanisms are deployed by organisations to overcome the ERP implementation challenges. The predominant coping mechanisms include the use of workaround solutions, workgroups, super-users, and retraining, support, and rewards and incentives. The theoretical contribution can be generalised to large, decentralised organisations implementing ERP systems. The contribution to practice is to assist organisations in their implementation endeavours by empowering ERP implementers with the fundamental knowledge in order for them to better manage the inherent complexity of their implementation processes