Short-term follow-up of exercise training program and beta-blocker treatment on quality of life in dogs with naturally acquired chronic mitral valve disease

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of carvedilol treatment and a regimen of supervised aerobic exercise training on quality of life and other clinical, echocardiographic, and biochemical variables in a group of client-owned dogs with chronic mitral valve disease (CMVD). Ten healthy dogs (control) and 36 CMVD dogs were studied, with the latter group divided into 3 subgroups. In addition to conventional treatment (benazepril, 0.3-0.5 mg/kg once a day, and digoxin, 0.0055 mg/kg twice daily), 13 dogs received exercise training (subgroup I; 10.3±2.1 years), 10 dogs received carvedilol (0.3 mg/kg twice daily) and exercise training (subgroup II; 10.8±1.7 years), and 13 dogs received only carvedilol (subgroup III; 10.9±2.1 years). All drugs were administered orally. Clinical, laboratory, and Doppler echocardiographic variables were evaluated at baseline and after 3 and 6 months. Exercise training was conducted from months 3-6. The mean speed rate during training increased for both subgroups I and II (ANOVA, P>0.001), indicating improvement in physical conditioning at the end of the exercise period. Quality of life and functional class was improved for all subgroups at the end of the study. The N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level increased in subgroup I from baseline to 3 months, but remained stable after training introduction (from 3 to 6 months). For subgroups II and III, NT-proBNP levels remained stable during the entire study. No difference was observed for the other variables between the three evaluation periods. The combination of carvedilol or exercise training with conventional treatment in CMVD dogs led to improvements in quality of life and functional class. Therefore, light walking in CMVD dogs must be encouraged.

Taloushallinnon raportoinnin kehittäminen - case Trust Accounts

Taloushallinnon raportoinnilla on merkittävä tehtävä yritysten liiketoiminnan johtamisessa. Se antaa tietoa paitsi yrityksen menneisyydestä ja tämän hetkisestä tilanteesta, sen avulla on myös mahdollista ennustaa tulevaisuutta. Taloushallinnon tiedolla on tärkeä rooli, koska sitä hyödynnetään esimerkiksi päätöksenteon tukena. Raporttien sisältämä tieto on oltava paitsi oikeaa ja yritykselle tärkeää, sen on oltava myös helposti luettavissa ja ymmärrettävissä. Raporttien luettavuutta ja lukijoiden raporttien lukutaitoa parantamalla on mahdollista saada yritykset hyödyntämään raportteja entistä enemmän. Jos yritykset eivät osaa lukea raportteja, eivät he niitä tule myöskään hyödyntämään liiketoimintansa johtamisessa. Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tavoitteena oli antaa toimeksiantajayritykselle kehitysideoita asiakasyrityksiltä siitä, kuinka he voisivat parantaa taloushallinnon raportointia. Tutkimus on toteutettu laadullisena, eli kvalitatiivisena tutkimuksena. Tutkimusmenetelmänä on käytetty haastattelua, joka sisältää piirteitä sekä strukturoidusta että puolistrukturoidusta haastattelusta. Tutkimuksen tuloksena toimeksiantajayritykselle on koottu taulukkoon (1) asiakasyritysten haastatteluista saadut kehitysideat. Kehitysideoiden avulla toimeksiantajayritys voi kehittää omia raportointivälineitään ja sitä kautta lisätä asiakastyytyväisyyttä heidän tilitoimistoa kohtaan

Palveluprosessin kehittäminen kampaamoketjussa

As the competitive situation becomes more intense, companies must strive for growth and the ability to renew themselves. Innovations and the development of services will take an important role in this situation. Involving users in the service design process creates additional value and a chance to stand out from the com-petition. The goal of the target company is to produce high-quality services with the customers' needs in mind. This is why the company wants to develop their services systematically and aims to collect information about the service needs of both their employees and customers, which can be used to develop new and ap-pealing service packages. The aim of the study is to find out what the target company's current service pro-cess is like and how it can be developed further. The work is a case study in which the development process of the new service is followed through according to the approach, process and tools of the service design. Information is collected through focused interviews and a client survey. Participant observation gave a good overview of how employees of the target company react to the development of services. The study also found that the ser-vice path enables the collecting of ideas concerning the practical planning and development of the service process.

Etelä-Karjalan sosiaali- ja terveyspiirin rakentuminen ja organisaation kehittämisen haasteet

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää, mitkä nähtiin keskeisiksi tekijöiksi nykymuotoisen Etelä-Karjalan sosiaali- ja terveyspiirin (EKSOTE) rakentumiselle, miten sosiaalihuollon, perusterveydenhuollon ja erikoissairaanhoidon yhdistäminen samaan organisaatioon mahdollistaa parempien palvelujen tuottamisen, mitkä ovat organisaatiomuutoksen läpiviennin keskeiset haasteet sekä mitkä ovat poliittisen ohjauksen merkitys ja mahdollisuudet EKSOTESSA. Tutkimus on laadullinen tapaus- eli casetutkimus. Tutkimusmenetelminä käytetään teemahaastatteluja ja puolistrukturoituja lomakehaastatteluja. Tutkimuksen keskeinen teoreettinen viitekehys on New Public Management. Tutkimuksen keskeisenä tuloksena esitetään, että EKSOTEN synnyn taustalla oli aito halu parantaa sosiaalihuollon ja terveydenhuollon palveluita koko Etelä-Karjalan alueella. Tämä tapahtui siten, että sosiaalihuolto, perusterveydenhuolto ja erikoissairaanhoito yhdistettiin saman organisaatioon ja kaikkien kuntien tämän alan henkilöstö siirtyi kunnista EKSOTEN palvelukseen. Organisaation syntyminen edellytti vahvaa poliittista ohjausta. EKSOTESSA on paljon eritysosaamista, joka on käytettävissä koko Etelä- Karjalan alueen asukkaiden hyväksi. Organisaatiomuutoksessa on mukana keskeiset New Public Managementin periaatteet eli tehokkuusperiaatteet sekä palvelujen laadun, asiakaskeskeisyyden ja henkilöstön palkitsemisen kysymykset.

Urana työllistyminen

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on ollut selvittää pitkään työttömänä olleiden ammatinvaihtajien ammatinvaihdon ja työllistymisen etenemistä. Tämän lisäksi tutkimuksessa on tarkasteltu kohderyhmän mielikuvaa ohjaavasta koulutuksesta. Pitkittäistutkimus on toteutettu seurannalla, jonka välietappina on ollut kohderyhmän osallistuminen ohjaavaan koulutukseen. Työvoimapoliittinen ohjaava koulutus edusti erityisesti vaikeasti työllistettäville kohdistettavaa interventiota, jolla pyrittiin puuttumaan työttömyyskierteeseen ja ehkäisemään syrjäytymiskehityksen jatkuminen. Tutkimuksen kohderyhmäksi valitut ihmiset (51) ovat suoranaisessa keskiössä tutkittaessa työelämästä syrjäytymistä. Heikentyneet työelämävalmiudet ja työmarkkinakelpoisuus ovat tehneet heistä vaikeasti työllistettäviä. Heidän valintansa kohderyhmäksi, työhallinnon tekemän kurssiosoituksen kriteereinä olevien pitkäaikaistyöttömyyden sekä epäonnistuneen ammatinvaihdon perusteella, osoittaa heidän olevan erityisen ohjauksen ja tuen tarpeessa. On kuitenkin huomattava, että heidät on valittu kohderyhmäksi paitsi kurssiosoituksen saaneina pitkäaikaistyöttöminä myös ammatinvaihtajina, jotka itse haluavat vaihtaa ammattiaan. Tutkimusaineistona ovat olleet työhallinnon asiakasrekisteritiedot ja seurantatutkimuksen perusteella muodostetuista ryhmistä valittujen neljän tapaushenkilön teemahaastatteluaineistot. Tutkimusaineistoa on käsitelty laadullisesti, koska tutkimus kuuluu laadullisen tutkimuksen piiriin sekä tutkimuksen kohteena olevan ilmiön, tutkimuskysymysten ja -aineistojen että tarkoituksensa perusteella. Tutkimuksessa on kuvattu pitkäaikaistyöttömien henkilöiden ammatinvaihtoa ja työllistymistä. Kuvatuissa tapauksissa ammatinvaihtotarve perustuu suurimmalla osalla terveydellisiin rajoitteisiin, joiden vuoksi aikaisemmassa työssä toimiminen on mahdotonta. Useimmiten vajaakuntoisuus on merkittävästi pitkittänyt heidän työttömyyttään. Tämän vuoksi seurantatutkimuksessa on keskitytty tarkastelemaan ammatinvaihtoprosessin etenemistä. Muun muassa työttömyyttä laajasti tutkineet Aho ja Vähätalo ovat todenneet vajaakuntoisuuden olevan merkittävä työttömyyden pitkittymiseen vaikuttava tekijä. Ahon mukaan vajaakuntoisiksi diagnosoituja on jopa viidennes kroonisesti pitkäaikaistyöttömistä työhallinnon asiakasrekisteriin kirjatuista henkilöistä. Monen tekijän summana pitkään työttömänä olleet henkilöt ovat vaarassa ajautua tilanteeseen, jossa he eivät enää kykene omin avuin löytämään ulospääsyä työttömyydestä Tämän seurantatutkimuksen perusteella vain hyvin harvalla kohderyhmään kuuluvista on ammatinvaihdossa ja työllistymisessä tapahtunut merkittävää edistymistä huolimatta useiden vuosien yrittämisestä. Ammatinvaihdon ja työllistymisen edistymistä on tarkasteltu sen perusteella, miten työelämään ja/tai koulutukseen sijoittumiset tai muut toiminnot ovat edesauttaneet tavoitteen toteutumista. Seurantatutkimuksessa on muodostettu neljä tyyppiryhmää ammatinvaihdon ja työllistymisen etenemisen perusteella. Ryhmät ovat: Ammatinvaihdossa onnistuneet (5), ammatinvaihdossa edistyneet (19), pitkäaikaistyöttömäksi jääneet (12) ja epätarkoituksenmukaisesti sijoittuneet (15). Ammatinvaihdossa onnistuneet ovat toteuttaneet ammatinvaihtonsa siirtymällä suoraan työelämään uudelle alalle, työllistymällä koulutusta vastaavaan työhön uudelleenkoulutuksen jälkeen tai kouluttautumalla uuteen ammattiin työllistymättä. Kuitenkin vain kolme heistä on sijoittunut seurannan päättyessä pysyväisluonteiseen terveydelleen soveltuvaan työhön muiden ollessa edelleen työttömänä. Ammatinvaihdossa edistyneet ovat suurimmaksi osaksi edistyneet ammatinvaihdossaan soveltuvien tukitöiden avulla. Työttömyys on kuitenkin jatkunut valtaosalla ja vain yksi heistä on sijoittuneena työelämään seurannan päättyessä. Tämä sijoittuminen ei ole kuitenkaan edistänyt ammatinvaihtoa. Pitkäaikaistyöttömäksi jääneet ovat olleet yhtäjaksoisesti työttömänä kokoseurantajakson ajan. Epätarkoituksenmukaisesti sijoittuneet ovat enimmäkseen sijoittuneet terveytensä kannalta haitallisiin ja/tai ammatinvaihtosuunnitelmilleen soveltumattomiin sijoitustöihin ja määräaikaisuuksiin. Seurannan päättyessä heovat joko työttömänä tai toimivat ammatinvaihtotavoitteensa kannalta haitallisissa työtehtävissä. Tämä on vahvistanut mielikuvaa, joka usealle heille on muodostunut ohjaavasta koulutuksesta työttömille suunnattuna sanktiona, joka ei edistä työllistymistä. Ohjaavassa koulutuksessa suurin osa heistä on kokenut hyötyneensä työharjoittelujaksosta, joka on antanut käyttökelpoista tietoa ammatinvalintaa varten. Lukuun ottamatta kolmea henkilöä, jotka ovat seurannan päättyessä pysyväisluonteisessa työssä terveydelleen soveltuvassa ammatissa, ovat kaikki muut kohderyhmään kuuluvat edelleen erityisen ohjauksen ja tuen tarpeessa johtuen ammatinvaihdon keskeneräisyydestä ja/tai työttömyyden jatkumisesta. Yhdistävänä tekijänä ammatinvaihdossa onnistuneilla vaikuttaa olleen tulevaisuususkon säilyminen pitkäaikaistyöttömyydessä. Sekä ammatinvaihdossa onnistuneet että edistyneet ovat kokeneet työttömyyteen katkoksia tuoneet työt merkityksellisinä riippumatta siitä, ovatko työtehtävät edistäneet ammatinvaihtoa.

A Study of Privacy Preserving Queries with Bloom Filters

This thesis focuses on the private membership test (PMT) problem and presents three single server protocols to resolve this problem. In the presented solutions, a client can perform an inclusion test for some record x in a server's database, without revealing his record. Moreover after executing the protocols, the contents of server's database remain secret. In each of these solutions, a different cryptographic protocol is utilized to construct a privacy preserving variant of Bloom filter. The three suggested solutions are slightly different from each other, from privacy perspective and also from complexity point of view. Therefore, their use cases are different and it is impossible to choose one that is clearly the best between all three. We present the software developments of the three protocols by utilizing various pseudocodes. The performance of our implementation is measured based on a real case scenario. This thesis is a spin-off from the Academy of Finland research project "Cloud Security Services".

Keskeiset suorituskyvyn mittarit asiantuntijaorganisaation strategialähtöisessä tulosyksikköohjauksessa

The subject of the study is a performance measurement system design of a profit center guided expert organization. Successful performance measurement system allows management to focus on the most important issues and guide the opera-tion of activities towards the objectives. The aim of this study is to examine the profit center organization´s performance measurement, what are the challenges associated with the scorecard, which issues the planning process should take into account, in the case of an expert organization. The study was conducted as a qualitative case study, for a one case study organ-ization. The study was made by interviewing personnel from top management to experts in the case organization. Balanced Scorecard as well as ready-made in-strument implementation models, that are presented in the theoretical part of the study, are being used as the design of the indicators. The target company's performance has been measured so far mainly on financial measures and there have also occasionally been measured employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. The design of the indicators focused on non-economic, and mainly in the organization´s internal performance measurement. Learning and growth, client and processes were elected as the specific perspectives. The or-ganization's vision and strategy were the basis of the perspectives and the suc-cess factors. The thesis ends on selected indicator proposals derived from the success factors and on proposal for further actions for the case organization. Goal-setting, communication and staff commitment rose as matters should be taken into account in the design process. The results of the empirical study are consistent with the theory.

Digital Content Marketing in the Business-to-Business Context. A Case Study on Marketing Communications Agencies.

Marketing has changed because of digitalization. Marketing is moving towards digital channels and more companies are transitioning from “pushing” advertising messages to “pull” marketing, that attracts audience with the content that interests and benefits the audience. This kind of marketing is called content marketing or “inbound” marketing. This study focuses on how marketing communications agencies utilize digital content marketing and what are the best practices with the selected digital content marketing channels. In this study, those channels include blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The qualitative research method was utilized in order to examine the phenomenon of digital content marketing in-depth. The chosen data collecting method was semi-structured interviewing. A total of seven marketing communications agencies, who currently utilize digital content marketing, were selected as case companies and interviewed. All the case companies are from the marketing communications industry because that industry can be assumed to be well adapted to digital content marketing techniques. There is a research gap about digital content marketing in the B2B context, which increases the novelty value of this research. The study examines what is digital content marketing, why B2B companies use digital content marketing, and how should digital content marketing be conducted through blogs and social media. The informants perceived digital marketing to be a fundamental part of their all marketing. They conduct digital content marketing for the following reasons: to increase sales, to improve their brand image and to demonstrate their own skills. Concrete results of digital content marketing for the case companies include sales leads, new clients, better brand image, and that recruiting is easier. The most important success factors with blogs and social media are the following: 1) Audience-centric thinking. All content planning should start from figuring out which themes interests the target audience. Social media channel choices should be based on where the target audience can be reached. 2) Companies should not talk only about themselves. Instead, content is made about themes that interests the target audience. On social media channels, only a fragment of all shared content is about the company. Rather, most of the shared content is industry-specific content that helps the potential client.

Value Creation of Professional Services

The aim of this qualitative thesis is to research, how professional services create value, and what are the key factors affecting on this process. A model describing value creation process in professional services will be explained, based on the existing literature and three in depth discussions with professional service representatives. Professional services are such services that are tend to base on problem solving and require high skills and knowledge of a professional. These services often have a consultative or an advisory nature, and they often involve both client and a company in service process. As the service is often delivered in somewhat collaboration so is the value created. The results of this thesis revealed that value is created in collaboration or co-operation in professional services. Therefore, value co-creation, as a concept, is exact to describe the value creation process in professional services. This thesis also revealed that value is co- created in continuous communication between a client and a company and no value or only a little value can be created if there is no effective communication during the professional service process.

Invoice-kaupan edut ja haitat verrattuna tavalliseen Tax Free kauppaan

Kandidaatintutkielmani käsittelee Invoice-kauppaa ja sitä, mitä etuja siihen liittyy verrattuna tavanomaiseen tax-free kauppaan. Invoice-veronpalautusjärjestelmässä EU:n ulkopuolella asuva asiakas saa veronpalautuksen samasta liikkeestä seuraavalla asiointikerralla. Arvonlisäveronpalautukset on kuitenkin haettava puolen vuoden sisällä ostosten tekemisestä. Tavanomaisessa tax-free kaupassa asiakas saa arvonlisäveronpalautuksen rajalta poistuessaan Suomesta. Invoicea käytettäessä asiakas saa verosta isomman osan takaisin kuin tavanomaisessa tax-free kaupassa, mutta palautuksen saaminen kestää kauemmin, koska Invoicea käytettäessä veronpalautuksen voi saada vain samasta liikkeestä, missä ostokset on tehty. Tutkielmani tarkastelee aihetta kauppiaan näkökulmasta. Kauppiaan kannalta Invoicen etuna on erityisesti asiakkaiden ”koukuttaminen”, koska veronpalautukset on aina haettava samasta liikkestä, mistä tuotteet on ostettu. Näin samat asiakkaat tulevat usein samaan liikkeeseen myös seuraavilla Suomen matkoilla saadakseen veronpalautukset. Tämä tuo liikkeille usein myös uusia kanta-asiakkaita.Toisaalta on huomioitava myös Invoicen käytöstä kauppiaalle ja kassoille mahdollisesti aiheutuva lisätyö ja kustannukset. Veronpalautusten maksaminen takaisin asiakkaille ja tullissa leimattujen kuittien käsittely vie kassoilla tavanomaista enemmän aikaa ja saattaa vaatia lisää henkilökuntaa. Tutkielma on toteutettu laadullisena eli kvalitatiivisena ja tutkimusmenetelmänä on käytetty haastatteluita. Haastateltavat ovat kauppiaita Kaakkois-Suomen alueelta. Tavoitteenani oli koota mahdollisimman monipuolinen haastateltavien joukko sisältäen niin vaate- ja vapaa-ajan liikkeitä kuin sekatavara- ja päivittäistavarakauppoja. Teorialähteinä käytin yliopiston kirjastosta lainattuja kirjoja, LUT:in tietokantojen ja Edilex-tietokannan artikkeleita sekä Verohallinnon dokumentteja ja verkkojulkaisuja. Lisäksi olen hyödyntänyt tutkielmassani myös ajankohtaisia uutisia sekä erilaisten paikallis- ja aikakauslehtien artikkeleita. Tutkielmani johtopäätöksissä tulin siihen tulokseen, että kauppiaan kannalta edullisinta on käyttää samanaikaisesti sekä Invoicea että perinteistä, palautusliikeiden palveluja hyödyntävää tax-free järjestelmää. Tämä mahdollistaa liikkeille mahdollisimman laajan asiakasjoukon. Suomessa usein käyvät ostosmatkailijat suosivat yleensä Invoicea täysimääräisen veronpalautuksen vuoksi. Palautusliikkeet taas veloittavat asiakkaalle maksettavasta veronpalautuksesta oman palvelumaksunsa. Suomessa harvemmin vieraileville taas palautusliikkeiden palvelut ovat edullisempia, sillä veronpalautukset saa rajalta maasta poistuttaessa, eikä tarvitse palata samaan liikkeeseen puolen vuoden sisällä. Palautusliikkeiden etuna Invoiceen nähden on myös asioinnin vaivattomuus, sillä eri liikkeissä asioivat ostosmatkailijat saavat kaikista matkalla tekemistään ostoksista arvonlisäveronpalautuksensa yhdestä paikasta sen sijaan, että kävisivät hakemassa ne joka liikkeestä erikseen.

Examining human-centered design practice in the mobile apps era

Human-Centered Design (HCD) is a well-recognized approach to the design of interactive computing systems that supports everyday and professional lives of people. To that end, the HCD approach put central emphasis on the explicit understanding of users and context of use by involving users throughout the entire design and development process. With mobile computing, the diversity of users as well as the variety in the spatial, temporal, and social settings of the context of use has notably expanded, which affect the effort of interaction designers to understand users and context of use. The emergence of the mobile apps era in 2008 as a result of structural changes in the mobile industry and the profound enhanced capabilities of mobile devices, further intensify the embeddedness of technology in the daily life of people and the challenges that interaction designers face to cost-efficiently understand users and context of use. Supporting interaction designers in this challenge requires understanding of their existing practice, rationality, and work environment. The main objective of this dissertation is to contribute to interaction design theories by generating understanding on the HCD practice of mobile systems in the mobile apps era, as well as to explain the rationality of interaction designers in attending to users and context of use. To achieve that, a literature study is carried out, followed by a mixed-methods research that combines multiple qualitative interview studies and a quantitative questionnaire study. The dissertation contributes new insights regarding the evolving HCD practice at an important time of transition from stationary computing to mobile computing. Firstly, a gap is identified between interaction design as practiced in research and in the industry regarding the involvement of users in context; whereas the utilization of field evaluations, i.e. in real-life environments, has become more common in academic projects, interaction designers in the industry still rely, by large, on lab evaluations. Secondly, the findings indicate on new aspects that can explain this gap and the rationality of interaction designers in the industry in attending to users and context; essentially, the professional-client relationship was found to inhibit the involvement of users, while the mental distance between practitioners and users as well as the perceived innovativeness of the designed system are suggested in explaining the inclination to study users in situ. Thirdly, the research contributes the first explanatory model on the relation between the organizational context and HCD; essentially, innovation-focused organizational strategies greatly affect the cost-effective usage of data on users and context of use. Last, the findings suggest a change in the nature of HCD in the mobile apps era, at least with universal consumer systems; evidently, the central attention on the explicit understanding of users and context of use shifts from an early requirements phase and continual activities during design and development to follow-up activities. That is, the main effort to understand users is by collecting data on their actual usage of the system, either before or after the system is deployed. The findings inform both researchers and practitioners in interaction design. In particular, the dissertation suggest on action research as a useful approach to support interaction designers and further inform theories on interaction design. With regard to the interaction design practice, the dissertation highlights strategies that encourage a more cost-effective user- and context-informed interaction design process. With the continual embeddedness of computing into people’s life, e.g. with wearable devices and connected car systems, the dissertation provides a timely and valuable view on the evolving humancentered design.

Deviations of Governance In IT Multi-Sourcing: A Case Study

IT outsourcing (ITO) refers to the shift of IT/IS activities from internal to external of an organization. In prior research, the governance of ITO is recognized with persistent strategic importance for practice, because it is tightly related to ITO success. Under the rapid transformation of global market, the evolving practice of ITO requires updated knowledge on effective governance. However, research on ITO governance is still under developed due to the lack of integrated theoretical frameworks and the variety of empirical settings besides dyadic client-vendor relationships. Especially, as multi-sourcing has become an increasingly common practice in ITO, its new governance challenges must be attended by both ITO researchers and practitioners. To address this research gap, this study aims to understand multi-sourcing governance with an integrated theoretical framework incorporating both governance structure and governance mechanisms. The focus is on the emerging deviations among formal, perceived and practiced governance. With an interpretive perspective, a single case study is conducted with mixed methods of Social Network Analysis (SNA) and qualitative inquiries. The empirical setting embraces one client firm and its two IT suppliers for IT infrastructure services. The empirical material is analyzed at three levels: within one supplier firm, between the client and one supplier, and among all three firms. Empirical evidences, at all levels, illustrate various deviations in governance mechanisms, with which emerging governance structures are shaped. This dissertation contributes to the understanding of ITO governance in three domains: the governance of ITO in general, the governance of multi-sourcing in particular, and research methodology. For ITO governance in general, this study has identified two research strands of governance structure and governance mechanisms, and integrated both concepts under a unified framework. The composition of four research papers contributes to multi-sourcing research by illustrating the benefits of zooming in and out across the multilateral relationships with different aspects and scopes. Methodologically, the viability and benefit of mixed-method is illustrated and confirmed for both researchers and practitioners.

Preoperative education and its influence on perception of recovery for clients awaiting total hip and total knee replacement surgery /

The puqjose of this study was to examine the manner in which an inviting approach to a preoperative teaching and learning educational experience influenced the perception and subsequent recovery of clients who were awaiting total hip and total knee replacement surgery. An in-depth review of the internal and external factors that shape client perceptions was undertaken in this study. In addition, this study also explored whether or not the Prehab Program was preparing clients physically, socially, and psychologically for surgery. Data for this qualitative case study research were collected through preoperative interviews with 4 participants awaiting total hip replacement surgery and 1 participant awaiting total knee replacement surgery. Four postoperative interviews were conducted with the participants who had received total hip replacement surgery. The occupational therapist and physical therapist who were the coleaders of the Prehab Program at the time of this study were also interviewed. The results of this study suggest that while individuals may receive similar educational experiences, their perceptions of the manner in which they benefited from these experiences varied. This is illustrated in the research findings, which concluded that while clients benefited physically from the inviting approach used during the practical teaching session, not all clients perceived the psychological benefits of this practice session, especially clients with preexisting high levels of anxiety. In addition to increasing the understanding of the internal as well as external factors that influence the perceptions of clients, this study has also served as an opportunity for reflection on practice for the Prehab therapists and other healthcare educators.

A survey of attitudes of agricultural society leaders toward leadership development education

It was the purpose of this study to investigate attitudes toward leadership development education of one client group served by the ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The survey, answered by 175 participants, attempted to answer the following questions: (a) What is a common definition of leadership?, (b) What leadership concepts are important to leadership development education? and, (c) What are client attitudes toward leadership development education? A descriptive research approach was used and the data were analyzed according to a model developed by Colaizzi. Concept maps were developed under the broad areas of: (a) Developing leader qualities; (b) Past experiences that developed leadership skills that worked on the jOb; (c) Leadership skills developed from present day positions; and (d) How leadership skills may be developed in future situations. A description of the dynamics of leadership development was written and the essential dynamics of leadership skill development in one volunteer organization was described. This study supports the linkages perspective of leadership within voluntary organizations developed by Vandenberg, Thullen and Fear (1987). The linkages perspective consists of three major components: perception, property and process. As a perception, leadership is the set of beliefs each group member holds regarding the behaviours and qualities characteristic of effective leaders. As a property, leadership represents the qualities attributed by group members to persons perceived as effectively (or potentially) influencing the goal achievement process. As a process, leadership involves the use of non-coercive influence to facilitate group accomplishment of valued goals. Leadership concepts important for development in a leadership development education program related to personal, organizational and societal development. The top five concepts in terms of rank order are communicating effectively, forming and working with groups, working creatively (tie), developing followers, managing meetings, directing projects or activities, understanding financial matters, managing negotiations (tie), developing resources and understanding and developing oneself (tie). Several recommendations are relevant for extension personnel as educators. Theoretical concepts on leadership need to be shared to extension practitioners involved in leadership development. currently used teaching materials for leadership development should be evaluated to see if they include concepts from preferrred theoretical leadership perceptions.

Athletic injury care training in high school coaches

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the client and occupational therapist experiences of a mental health group. A secondary aim was to explore the extent to which this group seemed to have reflected a client-centred approach. The topic emerged from personal and professional issues related to the therapist as teacher and to inconsistencies in practice with the profession's client-centred philosophy. This philosophy, the study's frame of reference, was established in terms of themes related to the client-therapist relationship and to client values. Typical practice was illustrated through an extensive literature review. Structured didacticexperiential methods aiming toward skill development were predominant. The interpretive sciences and, to a lesser extent, the critical sciences directed the methodology. An ongoing support group at a community mental health clinic was selected as the focus of the study; the occupational therapist leader and three members became the key participants. A series of conversational interviews, the . core method of data collection, was supplemented by observation, document review, further interviews, and fieldnotes. Transcriptions of conversations were returned to participants for verification and for further reflection Analysis primarily consisted of coding and organizing data according to emerging themes. The participants' experiences of group, presented as narrative stories within a group session vignette, were also returned to participants. There was a common understanding of the group's structure and the importance of having "air time" within the group; however, differences in perceptions of such things as the importance of the group in members' lives were noted. All members valued the therapeutic aspects of group, the role of group as weekly activity and, to a lesser extent, the learning that came from group. The researcher's perspective provided a critique of the group experience from a client-centred perspective. Some areas of consistency with client-centred practice were noted (e.g., therapist attitudes); however the group seemed to function far from a client-centred ideal. Members held little authority in a -relationship dominated by the leaders, and leader agendas rather than member values controlled the session. Possible reasons for this discrepancy ranging from past health care encounters through to co-leader discord emerged. The actual and potential significance of this study was discussed according to many areas of implications: to OT practice, especially client-centred group practice, to theory development, to further areas of research and methodology considerations, to people involved in the group and to my personal growth and development.