Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Research and Reporting Unit'

Thesis (M.S. in Software Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2004.
Thesis advisor(s): Man-Tak Shing, David L. Floodeen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-46). Also available online.

Mestrado em Biomedicina Farmacêutica
O presente relatório descreve em detalhe as tarefas e atividades desenvolvidas no contexto de um estágio curricular durante o segundo ano do Mestrado em Biomedicina Farmacêutica, da Universidade de Aveiro. Este estágio teve lugar na Unidade de Farmacologia Clínica do Professor Joaquim Ferreira, do Instituto de Medicina Molecular, de 14 de setembro de 2015 a 27 de junho de 2016. Esta experiência permitiu-me pôr em prática aquilo que aprendi no mestrado durante dez meses. Tive a oportunidade de trabalhar em três áreas diferentes da biomedicina farmacêutica: farmacovigilância, coordenação de ensaios clínicos e gestão de dados. Durante o estágio, surgiram múltiplas dificuldades e obstáculos. Contudo, consegui ultrapassá-los, melhorando as minhas capacidades profissionais, tais como organização, responsabilidade, comunicação, espírito critico, entre outras qualidades fundamentais para ser um bom profissional. Em conclusão, este estágio curricular permitiu o meu crescimento, não só como profissional, mas também como pessoa. Considero que tenha sido um desafio concretizado com sucesso e estou consciente que me abriu muitas janelas para a minha carreira futura.
This report describes in detail the tasks and activities developed in the context of a curricular internship during the second year of the Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Medicine of the University of Aveiro. This internship took place in the Professor Joaquim Ferreira’s Clinical Pharmacology Unit (CPU) of the Instituto de Medicina Molecular, from September 14th, 2015 to June 27, 2016. This experience allowed me to put in practice what I learned from my master’s degree during ten months. I had the opportunity to work in three different areas of pharmaceutical medicine: pharmacovigilance, clinical trial coordination and data management. During the internship, several difficulties and obstacles showed up. However, I managed to surpass them, improving my professional skills, such as organization, responsibility, communication, critical thinking, among other fundamental qualities to be a good professional. In conclusion, this curricular internship allowed me to grow up, not only as a professional but also as a person. I think it was a successful challenge and I’m aware that it has opened many windows to future career.

This is as much an experiment in investigative reporting as it is a thesis. It explores the possibility of carrying out “research journalism” on a specific issue in a New Zealand academic environment, after a failure to complete the mission within newsrooms. The thesis debates theoretical and practical “restraints” to reporting this conflict and New Zealand’s role in it. Such restraints might include the degree of conservatism and intractability in Western traditions and practices of both the mainstream media, and of the other potential “commentating power”, universities.

The lack of transparency and accuracy of research reports has been pointed out as one of the main factors causing research waste. Reporting guidelines (RGs) are sets of recommendations for authors on how to report research methods and findings in a way that no relevant information is missing. Nowadays, there exist more than 400 RGs for different study types, data, and clinical areas. However, biomedical authors’ adherence to RGs has been shown to be poor. For this reason, it is warranted to explore what strategies to improve adherence to RGs can be implemented at different points in the research process. This thesis has three objectives: (i) to identify, classify, and analyse interventions to improve adherence to RGs that have been described in the biomedical literature, and to determine the existing gaps in research on the evaluation of interventions, (ii) to explore biomedical editors’ perceptions of different interventions that have been or can be implemented at various points in the editorial process (iii) to evaluate in a real editorial context the impact of an intervention designed based on the studies that address objectives (i) and (ii). For the first objective, we performed a scoping review of interventions to improve adherence to RGs and identified 31 interventions (11 evaluated, 20 non-evaluated). These were grouped into five categories: training on the use of RGs; improving understanding; encouraging adherence; checking adherence and providing feedback; and involvement of experts. Research gaps identified included the evaluation of interventions (i) on training on the use of RGs and improving understanding of these, (ii) at early stages of research (education, grant writing or protocol writing), and (iii) after the final acceptance of the manuscript (copyediting or post-publication peer review). Furthermore, we showed that one of the most widespread editorial interventions, the requirement for authors to submit a completed RG checklist together with their manuscript, does not guarantee adherence. To address the second goal, we performed a survey for biomedical journal editors with experience and interest in the topic of improving authors’ adherence to RGs. These editors generally believed that engaging trained professionals in the process of checking adherence to RGs would be the most effective, yet moderately resource intensive, editorial intervention. Also, they thought that standard peer reviewers should not be asked to check RG requirements as they generally lack time and training on the content of RGs. For other promising interventions that could potentially be implemented and evaluated in biomedical journals, we also identified their barriers and facilitators, as well as different types of incentives to encourage the use of RGs. For our third goal, we carried out a randomised controlled trial. Our goal was to analyse, in a sample of 24 trials submitted to the medical journal BMJ Open, the effect of involving a CONSORT expert in the process of evaluating the submitted checklist and providing feedback to authors. Our results showed that the manuscripts that received this intervention were more completely reported than the ones following the standard process. Based on this, we propose that journals consider revising their peer review processes in order to find ways to make this intervention workable. In this thesis, we have shown the effectiveness of engaging a reporting expert in the editorial process of a biomedical journal, and we have identified and explored in detail various interventions that future research may consider evaluating. Developing and implementing effective solutions to improve adherence to RGs is a key step to increase the societal impact of biomedical research and reduce research waste.
La falta de transparencia y precisión de los informes de investigación es uno de los principales factores asociados al derroche de recursos financieros invertidos en investigación. Las guías de publicación (¿Reporting Guidelines¿, RGs) especifican cómo los investigadores han de informar de los métodos y resultados de sus estudios, de tal forma que los manuscritos contengan toda la información esencial para los lectores. Hoy en día, existen más de 400 RGs para distintos tipos de estudios, datos y áreas clínicas. Sin embargo, el nivel de adherencia a las RGs es deficiente. Por tanto, es necesario explorar qué estrategias para mejorar la adherencia a las RGs se pueden implementar en distintos momentos del proceso de investigación. Esta tesis tiene tres objetivos: (i) identificar, clasificar y analizar qué intervenciones para mejorar la adherencia a las RGs han sido descritas en la literatura biomédica, y determinar qué lagunas existen en la evaluación de intervenciones, (ii) explorar las percepciones de los editores biomédicos expertos sobre distintas intervenciones que afectan a los procesos editoriales, y (iii) evaluar el impacto de una intervención diseñada a partir de los estudios relativos a los objetivos (i) y (ii). Para alcanzar el primer objetivo, realizamos una revisión exploratoria. Esta revisión nos permitió identificar 31 intervenciones que agrupamos en cinco categorías: formación en el uso de RGs; mejora de la comprensión de las RGs; verificación de la adherencia a las RGs y propuestas de mejora para los autores; y colaboración de expertos. Además, identificamos algunas lagunas en las evaluaciones de intervenciones (i) relativas a la formación y mejora de la comprensión de las RGs, (ii) en fases iniciales del proceso de investigación (educación, solicitud de financiación o elaboración de protocolos), y (iii) después de la aceptación para publicación del manuscrito de investigación (durante el proceso de edición, o la revisión post-publicación del artículo). Por otro lado, mostramos que una de las intervenciones editoriales más populares, que consiste en requerir que los autores completen y envíen la lista de verificación de la RG adecuada junto con su manuscrito, no garantiza la adherencia a esta RG. En relación con el segundo objetivo, realizamos una encuesta para editores expertos de revistas biomédicas. Estos expresaron mayoritariamente que la intervención potencialmente más efectiva sería involucrar a profesionales formados en el contenido de las RGs, aunque podría requerir un gran volumen de recursos. Además, los participantes apuntaron que los revisores por pares no deberían encargarse de verificar la adherencia a las RGs ya que normalmente carecen de la formación y el tiempo necesarios para realizar esta labor. Finalmente, identificamos las ventajas e inconvenientes de diversas intervenciones prometedoras, así como distintos tipos de incentivos para promover el uso de las RGs. De cara al tercer objetivo, llevamos a cabo un ensayo aleatorizado con el propósito de analizar, en 24 ensayos aleatorizados recibidos por la revista médica BMJ Open, el efecto de involucrar en el proceso editorial a un experto en CONSORT (la RG para ensayos aleatorizados) que evaluase las guías de verificación enviadas por los autores y les propusiese mejoras. Los resultados señalaron que los manuscritos que pasaban por este proceso eran más completos que los que seguían el proceso estándar. A raíz de esto, proponemos que las revistas ajusten sus procesos de revisión y busquen formas de hacer viable esta intervención. En esta tesis, hemos demostrado la eficacia de la inclusión en los procesos editoriales de expertos en la presentación de informes científicos. Además, hemos analizado diversas intervenciones que pueden ser evaluadas en el futuro. Desarrollar soluciones efectivas para mejorar la adherencia a las RGs es clave para aumentar el impacto social de la investigación biomédica y reducir el derroche de recursos financieros.
La manca de transparència y precisió dels informes d’investigació és un dels principals factors associats al malbaratament de recursos financers invertits en investigació. Les guies de publicació ("Reporting Guidelines", RGs) especifiquen com els investigadors han d'informar dels mètodes i resultats dels seus estudis, de manera que els manuscrits continguin tota la informació essencial per als lectors. Avui dia, n’hi ha més de 400 RGs per a diferents tipus d'estudis, dades i àrees clíniques. Tanmateix, el nivell d’adherència a les RGs és deficient. Per tant, és necessari explorar quines estratègies per millorar l'adherència a les RGs es poden implementar en diferents moments del procés d'investigació. Aquesta tesi té tres objectius: (i) identificar, classificar i analitzar quines intervencions han estat descrites per millorar l'adherència a les RGs en la literatura biomèdica, i determinar quines mancances existeixen en l'avaluació d'intervencions, (ii) explorar les percepcions dels editors biomèdics experts sobre diferents intervencions que afecten als processos editorials, i (iii) avaluar, en un context editorial real, l'impacte d'una intervenció dissenyada a partir dels estudis relatius als objectius (i) i (ii). Per assolir el primer objectiu, vam realitzar una revisió exploratòria. Aquesta revisió ens va permetre identificar 31 intervencions que vam agrupar en cinc categories: formació en l'ús de RGs; millora de la comprensió de les RGs; verificació de l'adherència a les RGs i propostes de millora per als autors; i col·laboració d'experts. Encara més, vam detectar mancances en l’avaluació d'intervencions (i) relatives a la formació i millora de la comprensió de les RGs, (ii) en fases inicials del procés de recerca (formació, sol·licitud de finançament o elaboració de protocols), i (iii) després de l'acceptació per a publicació dels manuscrits de recerca (durant el procés d'edició, o la revisió post-publicació de l’article). D’altra banda, vam demostrar que una de les intervencions editorials més populars, que consisteix en requerir que els autors completin i enviïn la llista de verificació de la RG adequada amb el seu manuscrit, no garanteix l’adherència a aquesta RG. Per al segon objectiu, vam efectuar una enquesta dirigida a editors experts de revistes biomèdiques. Una majoria dels editors van expressar que la intervenció potencialment més efectiva seria involucrar professionals formats en el contingut de les RGs, encara que això podria requerir un gran volum de recursos. Així mateix, els participants van opinar que els revisors per parells no haurien d’encarregar-se de verificar l'adherència a les RGs ja que normalment no tenen el temps i la formació necessaris per realitzar aquesta tasca. Així mateix, vam identificar els avantatges i inconvenients de diverses intervencions prometedores, així com diferents tipus d'incentius per promoure l'ús de les RGs. En relació amb el tercer objectiu, vam portar a terme un assaig aleatoritzat amb la finalitat d’analitzar, en 24 assaigs aleatoritzats rebuts per la revista mèdica BMJ Open, l’efecte d’involucrar en el procés editorial a un expert en CONSORT (la guia per a assaigs aleatoritzats) que avalués les guies de verificació enviades pels autors i els hi proposés millores. Els resultats van indicar que els manuscrits que passaven per aquest procés eren més complets que els que seguien el procés estàndard. Arran d’això, proposem que les revistes ajustin els seus processos de revisió i busquin formes de fer viable aquesta intervenció. En aquesta tesi, hem demostrat l’eficàcia de la inclusió en els processos editorials de experts en la presentació d'informes científics. A més, hem analitzat en detall diverses intervencions que poden ser avaluades en el futur. Desenvolupar solucions efectives per millorar l'adherència a les RGs és un pas clau per augmentar l'impacte social de la recerca biomèdica i reduir el malbaratament de recursos financers.

Background Selective reporting of outcomes within a published study based on their nature or direction can result in systematic differences between reported and unreported data. Direct evidence of outcome reporting bias is limited to case reports. Objective To study empirically the nature of outcome reporting bias in randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Methods Three cohorts of RCTs were identified: PubMed-indexed RCTs published in December 2000; trial protocols approved by a Danish ethics committee from 1994-95; and trial protocols funded by a government agency in Canada from 1990-98. Data on reported and unreported outcomes were recorded from all trial publications and a survey of authors. An outcome was considered incompletely reported if insufficient data were presented for meta-analysis. Odds ratios relating the completeness of outcome reporting to statistical significance were calculated for each trial, and then pooled using a random effects meta-analysis. Protocols and publications were also reviewed for discrepancies in primary outcome reporting. Results 519 trials with 10,557 outcomes, 102 trials with 3613 outcomes, and 48 trials with 1390 outcomes were identified for the PubMed, ethics committee, and funding agency cohorts respectively. 22%-35% of outcomes per parallel group study were, on average, incompletely reported for meta-analysis. Fully reported outcomes had a two- to three-fold higher odds of being statistically significant compared to incompletely reported outcomes. The most common reasons given for omitting outcomes included a lack of clinical importance, lack of statistical significance, and space constraints. Major discrepancies between primary outcomes in protocols and publications were found in one half of trials. Discussion and conclusions The reporting of trial outcomes is frequently inadequate for meta-analysis; is biased to favour statistical significance; and is inconsistent with pre-specified protocol outcomes. Unacknowledged modifications to outcomes specified in trial protocols constitute scientific misconduct. Meta-analyses may therefore produce inflated and unreliable estimates of treatment effect.

Zugl.: Hamburg, Helmut-Schmidt-Universiẗat, Diss., 2005 u.d.T.: Klingels, Bernd: Die Bildung zahlungsmittelgenerierender Einheiten bei Wertminderungen von Vermögenswerten im Jahresabschluss nach IAS 36 rev. 2004.

Background: Preventable medical error accounts for approximately 98,000 deaths in the hospital setting each year. A proposed solution to decreasing medical error encompasses the development of a culture of safety. Safety culture has been defined as a common set of values and beliefs that are shared by individuals within an organization that influence their actions and behaviors. In 2015, the safety culture of Registered Nurses (RN) and Patient Care Technicians (PCT) who regularly worked in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) at Flagstaff Medical Center (FMC) was assessed using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. This survey functioned as a needs assessment and demonstrated that ICU/CVICU staff had negative reactions to safety culture and error reporting on eight of twelve composites tested. Based off these results, the Incident Decision Tree (IDT) was selected as an intervention to help improve the areas identified in the needs assessment. Purpose: The aims of this quality improvement project included: 1) Development of a protocol for IDT use by ICU/CVICU managers; 2) Implementing the IDT; and 3) Administering a post IDT implementation survey. Methods: The IDT was implemented during a 4-week period in the ICU/CVICU at FMC. During this time, managers used the IDT when processing reported error. Post implementation, an online survey was administered over the course of two weeks to ICU/CVICU managers and unit based RNs and PCTs to reassess their perceptions on the IDT, error reporting, and safety culture. Results: During the implementation period, 23 errors were reported in the ICU/CVICU at FMC with management utilizing the IDT a total of 12 times. Analysis of the reportable data demonstrated that of the 12 incidents, seven were attributed to system failures. The remaining five incidents were processed using the “foresight test.” Conclusions: Results from the post implementation survey demonstrated that ICU/CVICU staff felt the IDT contributed to a non-punitive environment. Staff also reported the IDT helped to increase communication after an error occurred. Lastly, the majority of staff felt the IDT increased transparency in the error reporting process.

Pharmacovigilance is “the science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other drug-related problem”. To date, no comprehensive study has been performed to evaluate the pharmacovigilance system in the public health sector in South Africa. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the current status of pharmacovigilance systems within the public healthcare sector in South Africa, and the level of functioning of these systems, in order to provide relevant recommendations, where necessary, for improvement, using the Indicator-based Pharmacogivilance Assessment Tool (IPAT). National and provincial entities were deemed compulsory (n=14), while facilities were selected via random, stratified sampling to obtain a representation at each facility level (n=101). The IPAT was amended for relevance at each level of data collection. Indicators are classified as core and supplementary and compliance with core indicators shows the level of functioning National entities obtained an IPAT score of 36 out of a maximum of 72, achieving 50% compliance. Province D and Province G obtained overall IPAT scores of 29 and 12 respectively out of a maximum of 40, achieving an overall 72.5% and 30% compliance respectively Results at provincial and facility levels were not fully representative due to a limited response rate of 22.2% and 65.3% respectively. Regional/tertiary facilities and district facilities displayed increased awareness and implementation of pharmacovigilance activity than the lower levels of Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs). South Africa”s public healthcare system possesses the infrastructure for a well functioning pharmacovigilance system. However there are gaps in level of functioning at a national, provincial and facility level. Addressing these gaps would show a marked improvement in the system and go a long way towards the contribution of medicine safety information not only locally, but to aid other developing nations.

The critical care unit (CCU) is a unit where different health care professionals work together to care for the patient efficiently. A lot of studies in the past have shown that good communication and transfer of information from one health care professional to the other is an essential aspect in the transfer of a patients care. Most of these studies are concentrated on the reporter or informant. Lapses in communication and information transfer could result in unnecessary suffering both for the patient and for the health care worker. There are very few studies on how well the recipient of the information or report understands or comprehends the information passed. The aim of this study was to illuminate the critical care nurses (CCN) experiences of receiving report of patients transferred from other units. A qualitative design was chosen and five CCNs in a particular CCU were interviewed. The analysis was done using the content analysis method. The analysis resulted in four main categories which are: The patient’s situation-a determinant factor, the work environment, communication deficit creates uncertainty and structure enhances report and ten subcategories. The findings showed that CCNs' experience a feeling of uncertainty as a result of lapses in communication and their work environment and its attendant distractions has a great influence on the quality of the report they receive. To ensure a good quality of care that promotes patient’s safety and job satisfaction, it would be necessary to address the factors that hinder effective communication during handover in nurses' education programs and clinical practices.

Patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are critically ill and often at extremely high risk of death. These patients receive aggressive interventions to prolong their lives. Despite these measures, many patients still succumb to their illness. Although ICU physicians are good at predicting which patients have a high risk of mortality, they are still offering interventions that do not prolong life, but potentially cause more suffering at the end of life. This is because there is a lack of high quality and early communication to discuss prognosis and establish patients' goals of care. This gap in communication is even more profound when patients are transferring from rural hospitals to busy tertiary care centers. This dissertation discusses the utilization of tele-video conferencing to enhance early communication with family members/loved ones of critically ill patients prior to their transfer from a rural hospital to a tertiary care center. It begins with a description of telemedicine and its uses in the ICU to date. Chapter 2 discusses the poor prognoses of patients receiving high intensity interventions such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The extremely dismal outcomes underscore the importance of early, thorough discussions regarding prognosis and goals of care in these patients. The next chapter describes a pilot study utilizing telemedicine to conduct formal unstructured telemedicine conferences with family members prior to transfer. This study demonstrated that palliative care consultations can be provided via telemedicine for critically ill patients and that adequate preparation and technical expertise are essential. Although this study is limited by the nature of the retrospective review, it is evident that more research is needed to further assess its applicability, utility and acceptability. Chapter 4 describes an investigation into the barriers and facilitators of conducting conferences via telemedicine and the perceptions of clinicians regarding the use of telemedicine for this purpose. This chapter identified unique barriers and facilitators to the use of telemedicine that will need to be addressed when designing a telemedicine intervention for conducting family conferences. This thesis describes the importance and process of implementation of telemedicine for the novel purpose of enhancing early communication among physicians and family members of critically ill loved ones. Further studies are needed to refine and investigate patient and family centered clinical outcomes utilizing this intervention.

Considering the continuous design activities that are performed throughout the design projects, design students go through several stages of decision makings, and sometimes they experience problematic situations in between consecutive supervisory meetings. Revealing all experiences during the discussions with supervisors, thus communicating the ideas could be sometimes difficult. In order to provide a better guidance, it is also important for supervisors to understand students&rsquo
process in between these meetings. There are available tools used in the fields like education or health in order to monitor an individual&rsquo
s daily life in relation to the context (e.g. time, place, activity) and personal circumstances (e.g. emotions, feelings, ideas). These tools are developed based on experience sampling method (ESM), a research method focus on collecting self-reported data from participants in order to measure their daily life experiences, especially during a long period of time. Since the target group and experience has different characteristics for each context, design of experience sampling tools are also gaining importance to address these specific experience according to individuals&rsquo
needs and expectations. Aiming at assisting design students to do regular self-reporting on their experiences, this study presents a background research for designing experience sampling tools that would be used by students and supervisors to keep track of students&rsquo
experiences throughout design projects. In this sense, this study intends assisting students self-reporting activities, translate the main design requirements of experience sampling tools into the context of design projects, as well as revealing guidelines for the future implications of ESM tools in design education

The New Zealand Government is striving to improve the way it measures progress and plans for change in an integrated ‘whole of government’ manner. The Local Government Act 2002 serves to strengthen participatory democracy and community governance. Under the Act, local authorities are charged with monitoring, and, not less than once every three years, reporting on the progress made by the community in achieving its outcomes for the district or region. These outcomes belong to the community and encompass what the community considers important to progress towards. Indicators that measure economic, social, environmental, cultural and democratic progress at local level are a primary tool that local authorities use to measure the progress towards their desired outcomes. To successfully track progress, it is important that indicators are technically sound and reflect the values of the entire community. The monitoring of indicators is expected to be ongoing and participatory. The New Zealand Government has leant heavily towards a decentralised locally driven approach to community indicators. The purpose of this study was to explore the manner in which different local authorities have undertaken community indicator: development, monitoring and reporting. This was undertaken through a two pronged approach: 1). A scoping exercise assessing the contents of eighteen local authority LTCCPs, 2). In-depth case studies of community indicator programmes of five of the eighteen local authorities. It was found that the approaches used to develop, monitor and report community indicators ranged abruptly across local authorities. Some councils appear to have relatively robust and meaningful indicator processes in place, which are both technically sound and have gained representative community input. In contrast, other councils hold a compliance mentality towards community indicators and have done the bare minimum when designing their indicator frameworks. These frameworks have tended to be council dominated with few opportunities for community involvement. In addition to this, local authorities poorly communicated indicators through their LTCCPs. The inadequate information detailing indicators processes is unlikely to both educate and promote community buy-in. Councils must place greater emphasis on the engagement of the entire community including other governmental departments, to ensure that indicators are relevant and meaningful for all. Consistency across local authority indicator frameworks will also help to ensure that all local authorities are working in an integrated manner towards the common goal of improving community well-being. Initiatives such as the Linked indicators Project and the Quality of Life Project are possible methods of ensuring consistent indicator frameworks. Finally, councils must provide greater information about community indicators within their LTCCPs.

The idea that the same experimental findings can be reproduced by a variety of independent approaches is one of the cornerstones of science's claim to objective truth. However, in recent years, it has become clear that science is plagued by findings that cannot be reproduced and, consequently, invalidating research studies and undermining public trust in the research enterprise. The observed lack of reproducibility may be a result, among other things, of the lack of transparency or completeness in reporting. In particular, omissions in reporting the technical nature of the experimental method make it difficult to verify the findings of experimental research in biomedicine. In this context, the assessment of scientific reports could help to overcome - at least in part - the ongoing reproducibility crisis. In addressing this issue, this Thesis undertakes the challenge of developing strategies for the evaluation of reporting biomedical experimental methods in scientific manuscripts. Considering the complexity of experimental design - often involving different technologies and models, we characterise the problem in methods reporting through domain-specific checklists. Then, by using checklists as a decision making tool, supported by miniRECH - a spreadsheet-based approach that can be used by authors, editors and peer-reviewers - a reasonable level of consensus on reporting assessments was achieved regardless of the domain-specific expertise of referees. In addition, by using a text-mining system as a screening tool, a framework to guide an automated assessment of the reporting of bio-experiments was created. The usefulness of these strategies was demonstrated in some domain-specific scientific areas as well as in mouse models across biomedical research. In conclusion, we suggested that the strategies developed in this work could be implemented through the publication process as barriers to prevent incomplete reporting from entering the scientific literature, as well as promoters of completeness in reporting to improve the general value of the scientific evidence.

Background Midwifery units (MUs) provide midwife-led care for women at low risk of complications. They may be located on the same site as an obstetric unit (OU), in a hospital without obstetric services or separate from any hospital. In MUs, if unforeseen complications arise, transfer to an OU may be necessary. Aim To provide evidence to contribute to the improvement of the transfer process, help make transfer safer and less distressing for women, thereby improving the care and experience of women planning to give birth in MUs. Methods A structured literature review of existing evidence was followed by three integrated component studies using different methods. The content and quality of local NHS transfer guidelines were evaluated. Data from the Birthplace national prospective cohort study were analysed to estimate transfer rates, describe the transfer process and identify factors associated with transfer. The experiences of women transferred were explored in qualitative interviews. Findings Transfer is a common event, affecting around 25% of women planning birth in MUs, although rates in different units vary. Primiparous women are more likely to be transferred than women having a second or subsequent baby. The risk of transfer for primiparous women increases with increasing age; around 50% of women having their first baby aged 40 years or over are transferred. Local NHS transfer guidelines are generally of poor quality and pay little attention to women’s experience. Women interviewed after transfer report feeling unprepared for transfer. Sensitive care and clear communication from midwives during labour facilitate feelings of control in women and help women accept transfer as the right decision and not a 'negative' event. Transfer that is perceived by women as “too late” can have potentially serious and long-lasting negative effects. Women’s experience of the transfer journey could be improved by the offer of choice in a number of areas which would help women feel 'cared for' rather than 'transported'. Having the MU midwife continue to care for the woman after transfer should be considered 'best practice'; where this is not possible a good handover is essential. Women who have experienced transfer should be offered the opportunity to talk to a midwife about their experience.

Class of 2012 Abstract
Specific Aims: To explore whether publishing requirements for human-centered randomized control trials, particularly the CONSORT criteria, have any relationship to impact as measured by the Journal Citation Reports TM Impact Factor. Methods: A worksheet was used to evaluate a methodically selected list of journals, including types of articles published, requirements of authors for human-focused randomized control trials, JCR Impact Factor and other JCR metrics for each specific journal title. A worksheet was filled out for each journal by each member of the research team and answers combined for consensus. Group means and SDs were calculated and the Student’s t-Test applied to values for selected journals. Main Results: 50 candidate pharmacy journals were identified and 41 met the criteria for publishing human-centered randomized control trials. Journals were grouped according to whether they required CONSORT or had other reporting requirements for human RCTs, or had no requirements for such studies. Few (6; 15%) pharmacy journals required authors to use CONSORT; and additional 15 (37%) journals provided as least some author guidelines similar to CONSORT. Pharmacy journals using CONSORT or other guidelines had a higher average impact factor (3.5; SD = 1.5) than did journals without guidelines (2.4; SD = 0.9; p = 0.007). Conclusions: There appears to be a statistical difference in average JCR metrics between journals which require specific RCT guidelines and those which do not. The use of reporting guidelines, such as CONSORT, by pharmacy journals is associated with increased impact as represented by JCR influence measures.

Objective: This research explored how time-to-event dental articles were indexed and reported, and sought solutions to help improve the reporting and identification of these articles, so that they could be more easily found and used to inform practice and research. Methods: Articles reporting time-to-event dental outcomes in humans were identified from the 50 dental journals with the highest impact factor for 2008. These were handsearched, identifying 'case' articles (n=95), active controls (likely false positives, n=91), and passive controls (other true negatives, n=6796). The medical subject headings (MESH) that had been assigned to the articles in MEDLINE, and words used in titles and abstracts describing time-to-events were compared between the 'cases' and controls. Time-to-event words and figures within articles were also sought, and reporting quality was assessed. Search strategies to identify time-toevent articles were developed, using indexing terms and free-text words. An independent cohort of articles was used to validate the search strategies, consisting of 148 time-to-event articles handsearched from 6514 articles in the 50 dental journals with the highest impact factor for 2012. The findings of the research were used to draft guidance to improve reporting, which was circulated amongst 78 stakeholder experts for comment, and modified. Results: MeSH indexing of time-to-event analyses was inconsistent and inaccurate, author descriptions in abstracts and titles varied, and the quality of time-to-event reporting and graphics in the body of those articles was poor. The burden faced by someone wishing to find and use these articles was considered high. Sensitive, precise and optimized electronic search strategies were developed and validated with sensitivities up to 92% and precisions up to 93%. The draft guidance attracted comment from 46 experts across 15 countries, with approximately 90% of the 130 comments accepted into the revised version. The importance of good quality reporting was endorsed, and there was high interest in commending the guidance to authors, reviewers, and training dental specialists. Conclusions: This research programme explored how time-to-event dental articles were reported, and used those findings to suggest solutions that would help to improve the identification and use of these data, reducing research waste.

Reliability generalization (RG) is a method for meta-analysis of reliability coefficients to estimate average score reliability across studies, determine variation in reliability, and identify study-level moderator variables influencing score reliability. A total of 107 peer-reviewed RG studies published from 1998 to 2013 were systematically reviewed to characterize the meta-analytic methods employed and to evaluate quality of reporting practice against standards for transparency in meta-analysis reporting. Most commonly, RG studies meta-analyzed alpha coefficients, which were synthesized using an unweighted, fixed-effects model applied to untransformed coefficients. Moderator analyses most frequently included multiple regression and bivariate correlations employing a fixed-effects model on untransformed, unweighted coefficients. Based on a unit-weighted scoring system, mean reporting quality for RG studies was statistically less than that for a comparison study of 198 meta-analyses in the organizational sciences across 42 indicators; however, means were not statistically significantly different between the two studies when evaluating reporting quality on 18 indicators deemed essential to ethical reporting practice in meta-analyses. Since its inception a wide variety of statistical methods have been applied to RG, and meta-analysis of reliability coefficients has extended to fields outside of psychological measurement, such as medicine and business. A set of guidelines for conducting and reporting RG studies is provided.

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based medicine has had a profound impact on healthcare. In the field of Plastic surgery, powerful examples include; less radical skin cancer excision margins and skin-sparing or even nipple-sparing mastectomies and microsurgical reconstruction. Sustained progression of the field, relies on the development of a high-quality evidence base, with strong use of peer-reviewed research protocols, which are publicly registered and completed studies transparently reported. The extent of compliance with these principles is currently unknown and the author hypothesised that it would be low. The author further hypothesised that registration could be improved by the development of a new global research registry and reporting quality can be improved by the mandatory implementation of reporting guidelines in a journal. METHODS: This thesis incorporated 11 studies. The first two studies used a literature review to determine; the levels of evidence, rates of study registration and protocol publication in the recent Plastic Surgery literature. Thirdly, the design, build and launch of a new global research registry to boost compliance with registration and to determine barriers to it using a survey amongst users. This would be followed by systematic reviews to determine compliance with the STROBE and PRISMA guidelines respectively. An analysis of each guide for authors (GFA) of the surgical journals listed in the Thomson Reuters journal citation report for surgery to determine support for reporting guidelines. The impact of the mandatory implementation of reporting guidelines in a surgical journal would be assessed using a before and after design. Finally, to develop a reporting guideline for surgical case reports (SCARE) and surgical case series (PROCESS) using a DELPHI consensus exercise amongst an expert panel. RESULTS: Protocols were registered in 4% of 595 recent research studies and 0.5% were published. There was a mean compliance of 12/22 for the STROBE guideline (n=94) and 16/27 for the PRISMA guideline (n=79). The Research Registry® was launched in February 2015. Analysis of the first 500 previously unregistered studies, showed they came from 57 countries and included 1.77 million patients. Key barriers to registration were a lack of awareness of the need to register and lack of time (n=149). In addition, 45% registered their study at the time of journal submission. The GFA analysis showed 62% didn’t mention reporting guidelines at all (n=193). Subsequent mandatory implementation in a single surgical journal, increased compliance with STROBE by 12% (n=152), with CONSORT by 40% (n=13) and with PRISMA by 58% (n=28). The SCARE and PROCESS reporting guidelines were developed and published in late 2016. According to Google Scholar, they have accumulated over 200 citations at the time of writing. CONCLUSION: Study registration, protocol use and reporting quality are poor in plastic surgery. Potential solutions to these long-standing problems have been developed and explored within this thesis. These include the development and use of the Research Registry® and the mandatory implementation of reporting guidelines, with both measures front-loaded within a gatekeeper framework for journals. It is now for Plastic Surgeons and the wider surgical community to pick up the gauntlet and drive forward high-quality research, evidence-based surgical practice and better outcomes for their patients and society at large.

This thesis examines aspects of the application of the cluster randomised trial design in implementation research. In particular, it focuses on three main themes: a) the intracluster correlation coefficient (ICC) in cluster randomised trials of implementation research and factors affecting its magnitude; b) the impact of the ICC on sample size calculations; and c) reporting considerations for cluster randomised trials generally, and for ICCs in particular. The results show that empirical estimates of ICCs vary in size and certain factors - particularly the type of variable and the study setting - influence the magnitude of the ICC. When reporting an ICC, three aspects were found to be important: a) a description of the dataset, b) information on how the ICC was calculated; and c) information on the accuracy of the ICC. General reporting considerations for cluster randomised trials were also considered and found to require explanations for: a) the rationale for adopting a cluster design; b) how the effects of clustering were incorporated into the sample size calculations; c) how the effects of clustering were incorporated into the analysis; and d) the flow of both clusters and individuals through the trial, from assignment to analysis. A revised CONSORT statement accommodating the specific features of a cluster randomised trial was presented. The work outlined in this thesis shows that the adoption of a cluster randomised trial in implementation research has a number of important implications that researchers should consider when planning future trials.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych)
It is often assumed that postgraduate students and neophyte academics have the capacity to conduct research independently. Thus, upon qualification, it is expected of postgraduate students and academics to conduct research independently, publish their findings, meet publication targets and to supervise student research towards completion. However, the transition from postgraduate student or clinician to academia is considered very challenging as they are often not prepared for the multiple changes they will embark on upon entry into the Higher Education sector. As a result, various programmes and frameworks have been introduced to assist new academics in enhancing their research capacity. Such strategies included but were not limited to, writing retreats, peer monitoring, and dedicated time. However, these interventions reported on in literature are from primary sources and fail to comment on either the methodological rigour or the quality of the studies investigating these interventions. Thus there exists a gap in the literature for filtered information that has been systematically evaluated for methodological rigour and coherence. The present study aimed to establish an empirical base (filtered evidence) of literature reporting on strategies or interventions aimed at addressing research productivity in new academics. The study incorporated a systematic review methodology to identify appropriate literature for inclusion, evaluate literature for methodological quality and provide a meta-synthesis of the findings of included studies. The review considered studies, reporting on strategies or interventions with new academics during the period of 2000-2013. The review was conducted along three levels. Firstly, identification of potential titles, whereby keywords were combined and a comprehensive search of databases available at the University of the Western Cape library was initiated. Published research was also retrieved through mining the reference list of all included reports and articles. Secondly, a pair of reviewers worked together by screening the abstracts which were retrieved based on the titles identified, and thirdly, the abstracts that were successfully screened moved forward to full text reading. These studies were evaluated for methodological quality using the critical appraisal tool. Eligibility for inclusion was determined by a threshold score of 61%. As a result, the title search yielded a search result of 755, from these only 63 titles were selected for possible inclusion. The abstract screening resulted in the exclusion of 35 articles and 28 were included. After the critical appraisal, 15 articles were excluded. The findings of the present study revealed that there is good quality research on research capacity building for neophyte academics, as assessed on methodological rigour and coherence. Seven articles attained the threshold score (61% and above) for inclusion in the final summation and meta-synthesis. Evidence suggested that there are various interventions which have been implemented successfully to enhance research capacity building. The meta-synthesis revealed four core approaches to developing research capacity, namely mentoring approaches, theoretical formulations, research/evidence-based investigation as well as a multidimensional and integrated approaches. These approaches were aimed at bridging that gap between research and teaching and developing competent researchers. The core feature that emerged from these approaches was that successful or effective strategies have to include numerous components such as individual characteristics (motivation), effective leaders and institutional characteristics (rewards, incentives and resources). It was found that these components were integrated and often reciprocally influencing. Ethics clearance was obtained from the relevant committees at UWC. Furthermore, plagiarism and collaboration was taken into account as this study forms part of a larger project.

Mestrado em Medicina Farmacêutica
This report describes several activities and projects developed in the context of a curricular training in a clinical research unit, Centro de Investigação Clínica (CIC), led by Professor Joaquim Ferreira. The CIC is one of the research groups of Instituto de Medicina Molecular (IMM) and it is also a group of the Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa (CAML) consortium. The principal area of training was the coordination of clinical trials and observational studies. Additionally, other research activities were conducted during the training such as, pharmacovigilance, monitoring, data entry, medical writing and some language coordination activities in a European observational study about Huntington’s Disease founded by European Huntington’s Disease Network (EHDN). It is mention on the State of the Art the Research & Development Process of a new drug and it is characterised some issues about clinical research in Portugal, including advantages in the establishment and organisation of clinical networks. During the training, with the duration of 10 months (that started on 1st September 2013 and finished on 1st July 2014) I deepened my knowledge in clinical research area, understand the importance of the clinical research units, the importance and the role of the study coordinators and expand my areas of interest. The specific training focused in neurological clinical. I had opportunity to understand the practical and logistical difficulties that a research unit faces during the conduction of clinical studies I consider that this training was a valuable experience of introduction of the practice of clinical research. I finished this training with the motivation and interest in working in the area of coordination and monitoring of studies.
Este relatório descreve as actividades e projectos desenvolvidos no âmbito de estágio curricular numa unidade de investigação clínica, o Centro de Investigação Clínica (CIC), liderada pelo Professor Doutor Joaquim Ferreira. O CIC faz parte dos grupos de investigação do Instituto de Medicina Molecular (IMM) inserindo-se na iniciativa do consórcio Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa (CAML). A principal área de estágio foi a coordenação de ensaios clínicos e estudos observacionais. Adicionalmente foram abordadas outras actividades durante o estágio, tais como farmacovigilância, monitorização, preenchimento de bases de dados, escrita científica e algumas actividades de coordenação a nível nacional de estudo observacional europeu sobre a doença de Huntington financiado por European Huntington’s Disease Network (EHDN). Refere-se no estado da arte o Processo de Investigação e Desenvolvimento de novos medicamentos e caracteriza-se alguns aspectos da investigação clínica em Portugal incluindo vantagens na organização de redes clínicas de investigação. Ao longo do estágio, com 10 meses de duração (início a 1 Setembro de 2013 e fim a 1 de Julho de 2014) aprofundei o conhecimento na área de investigação clínica, percebi a importância de unidades de investigação clínica, a importância e papel de coordenadores clínicos e expandi as minhas áreas de interesse. O treino específico centrou-se em estudos clínicos na área da neurologia, nomeadamente ensaios de clínicos de fase II e III, e estudos observacionais. Tive ainda oportunidade de compreender a realidade prática e logística da condução de estudos clínicos num centro de investigação. Considero que este estágio foi uma experiência valiosa de introdução á prática de investigação clínica. Desta forma, termino o estágio com motivação e interesse em trabalhar na área de coordenação ou monitorização de estudos.

Mestrado em Finanças
Este projeto consiste num relatório de avaliação da empresa GALP Energia S.G.P.S., S.A., com especial foco na unidade de negócio de eletricidade e a contribuição dos seus projetos solares mais recentes para o preço-alvo de 2020YE. O relatório segue o formato recomendado pelo CFA Institute, uma vez que, grande parte do mesmo, foi submetido para o CFA Institute Research Challenge de 2020. A GALP é a principal Empresa Integrada de Petróleo em Portugal. Opera em toda a cadeia de valor do combustível fóssil, desde a extração do mesmo, o seu transporte e refinação, e por fim a comercialização dos diferentes subprodutos. Foi aplicada a abordagem de Soma das Partes para avaliar a GALP, aplicando o FCFF DCF a cada unidade de negócio, de forma a refletir todas as idiossincrasias de cada unidade. O resultado gerou um preço-alvo de 12,1€/sh. Foram também utilizados outros métodos para complementar a avaliação, como o FCFF DCF para a empresa como um todo, o FCFE DCF, o APV e o DDM. Foi ainda realizada uma análise complementar à contribuição dos projetos mais recentes da GALP em energia solar, para o preço-alvo inicial de 12,1€/sh, uma vez que o nosso relatório inicial não considerou esses projetos porque apenas foram anunciados após a conclusão do relatório inicial. Ao adicionar os investimentos mais recentes da GALP em projetos de energia solar, a minha recomendação de investimento fornece informações mais precisas e atualizadas aos investidores e às suas decisões de investimento. Este capítulo reforça a nossa recomendação de compra.
This project is an Equity Research of GALP Energia S.G.P.S., S.A., with a special focus on the value added by the power business unit's most recent solar projects to the initial 2020YE price target. The report follows the CFA Institute format, as a significant portion of it was submitted for the 2020 CFA Institute Research Challenge. Only public information released until January, 2nd 2020 was considered. GALP is the leading Portuguese Integrated Oil Company. It operates throughout the whole fossil fuel value chain, from extracting fossil fuel, to transporting and refining it, and then commercializing the different by-products. It was applied a Sum-of-the-Parts approach to value GALP, where a FCFF DCF was applied to each business unit, reflecting all the idiosyncrasies of each unit. The result yielded a final price target of 12.1€/sh. Other methods were also used to support the valuation, such as a FCFF DCF for the company as a whole, FCFE DCF, the APV and the DDM. A complementary analysis to the contribution of GALP's most recent projects in solar energy to the initial price target of 12.1€/sh was carried out, since our initial report didn't incorporate these projects, as they were announced after the initial report was concluded. By adding GALP's most recent investments in solar energy projects, I believe our investment recommendation provides more accurate and updated information to investors and to their investment decision. It is also of importance to highlight that this chapter further supports our buy recommendation.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Mestrado em Biomedicina Farmacêutica
The present internship report is a detailed description of my experience in the curricular internship performed at the Clinical Pharmacology Unit of the Instituto de Medicina Molecular, from October 13th 2014 to June 5th 2015. This internship was performed as part of the second and final year of the Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Biomedicine of the University of Aveiro. During the course of the experience I had the opportunity to participate in several projects in collaboration with different teams, most relevantly the activities related to the regulatory submission of a clinical trial in Portugal and related to the training in Pharmacovigilance. This internship has allowed me to put into practice the knowledge acquired during my academic training and deepen my knowledge on Clinical Research in a practical perspective. Additionally, it has also allowed me to improve many of skills and to understand my interests, capacities, weaknesses and strengths. In conclusion, I can affirm that this internship was an outstanding training and a very valuable professional and personal experience, for the main established objectives were achieved and exceeded.
O presente relatório de estágio descreve detalhadamente a minha experiência no estágio curricular realizado na Unidade de Farmacologia Clínica do Instituto de Medicina Molecular, desde 13 de Outubro de 2014 até 5 de Junho de 2015. Este estágio foi realizado como parte do segundo ano do Mestrado em Biomedicina Farmacêutica da Universidade de Aveiro. Durante o decorrer desta experiência, tive a oportunidade de participar em diversos projetos em colaboração com diferentes equipas, destacando-se as atividades relacionadas com a submissão de um ensaio clínico em Portugal e as atividades no âmbito da formação em Farmacovigilância. Este estágio possibilitou-me pôr em prática os conhecimentos obtidos durante a minha formação académica e aprofundar o meu conhecimento sobre investigação clínica, numa perspetiva prática. Para além disso, permitiu-me melhorar as minhas competências e perceber os meus interesses, capacidades, pontos fracos e fortes. Concluindo, posso afirmar que este estágio foi uma aprendizagem excelente e uma experiência de grande valor a nível profissional e pessoal, tendo conseguido atingir e ultrapassar os principais objetivos estabelecidos.

Federal government managers were advised to strengthen internal controls; the law dictates attestation of effective management controls, and the internal control program is used to detect risks. However, managers lacked preparatory training, with training being overlooked given the increased responsibilities. Managers are assigned the programmatic role regardless of the lack of program standards in knowledge, skill, and ability. The research questions addressed change management components, concepts, and core qualifications relative to program readiness. The purpose of this single case study was to identify and explore change management components contributing to the effectiveness of internal controls. The conceptual framework was based on Lewin's change concepts of unfreezing, moving or changing, and refreezing phases with the inverse principle in field theory. Thirteen professionals from the pacific military unit in Hawaii participated in semistructured interviews. Inductive coding was used to thematically analyze the data. The key results of the emerged themes illustrated how: organization skillset was used for linking change components to internal controls, assessment was a tool used for transforming a manager's concept, and experience was essential in leading change core qualifications. Significance of the study was the promotion of stronger measures in preventing fraud, waste, and mismanagement of limited resources. The research results could inspire social change by increasing communication and collaboration to benefit senior leaders, and financial and program managers. The value-added training concepts and leadership innovation, and how managing change relates to internal control could lead to program success thus benefiting all primary stakeholders.

Timely, effective and unrestricted dissemination of dental/medical research is critical for the translation of research findings into healthcare. During the past 30 years, problems in the reporting, publication and accessibility of medical research, as well as the resulting avoidable waste of resources, have gained increasing attention from researchers and other stakeholders. However, many gaps still remain in the literature. The aims of this thesis were to provide more insights into three aspects of the dental/medical research dissemination (reporting quality, publication bias and open access), and offer recommendations for further improvements. Five cross-sectional studies and one systematic review were carried out: (1) A survey of the instructions and editors-in-chief (EICs) of 109 dental journals regarding reporting guideline (RG) usage; (2) An assessment of the reporting of randomised controlled trial (RCT) abstracts (n=138) presented at the European Orthodontic Society (EOS) congresses; (3) A comparison of the methodology reporting of highly structured (HS) and IMRaD RCT abstracts (n=341); (4) A systematic review of studies on the publication fate of abstracts presented at dental conferences (10,365 abstracts from 16 studies); (5) A study regarding open access (OA) to recently published journal articles in dentistry (n=908); and (6) A study regarding OA to recent journal articles in oncology (n=912). Mainly, it was found that: (1) RGs were endorsed in the instructions of 51% dental journals, and known by 74% dental journal EICs; (2) On average, RCT abstracts presented at the EOS congresses reported less than 4.5 out of the 17 CONSORT for Abstracts checklist items; (3) The methodology reporting score (range, 0 to 9) of HS RCT abstracts were 0.5 (95% confidence interval, 0.1 to 1.0) higher than those in IMRaD; (4) Only 30% (95% confidence interval, 23% to 37%) of abstracts presented at dental conferences were published in full; (5) 46% of recent journal articles in dentistry were freely available online, with no evidence of a citation advantage associated with OA; and (6) 58% of recent journal articles in oncology were OA, which received significantly more citations than those non-OA articles. Joint efforts need to be made by researchers, reviewers, editors and other stakeholders to further improve the reporting, publication and accessibility of dental / medical studies, and thereby facilitate the translation of good research findings and reduce avoidable research waste.

This qualitative study was successful in utilization of grounded theory methodology to ascertain nurses' decision-making processes following their awareness of having made a medical error, as well as how and/or if they corrected and reported the error. Significant literature documents the existence of medical errors; however, this unique study interviewed thirty nurses from adult intensive care units seeking to discover through a detailed interview process their individual stories and experiences, which were then analyzed for common themes. Common themes led to the development of a theoretical model of thought processes regarding error reporting when nurses made an error. Within this theoretical model are multiple processes that outline a shared, time-orientated sequence of events nurses encounter before, during, and after an error. One common theme was the error occurred during a busy day when they had been doing something unfamiliar. Each nurse expressed personal anguish at the realization she had made an error, she sought to understand why the error happened and what corrective action was needed. Whether the error was reported on or told about depended on each unit's expectation and what needed to be done to protect the patient. If there was no perceived patient harm, errors were not reported. Even for reported errors, no one followed-up with the nurses in this study. Nurses were left on their own to reflect on what had happened and to consider what could be done to prevent error recurrence. The overall impact of the process of and the recovery from the error led to learning from the error that persisted throughout her nursing career. Findings from this study illuminate the unique viewpoint of licensed nurses' experiences with errors and have the potential to influence how the prevention of, notification about and resolution of errors are dealt with in the clinical setting. Further research is needed to answer multiple questions that will contribute to nursing knowledge about error reporting activities and the means to continue to improve error-reporting rates.

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) constitute a major problem in society and in drug therapy. They are a common cause of short-term hospitalization, prolonged hospitalization and death. Spontaneous reporting of ADRs remains one the most effective methods for detecting new and serious drug reactions. In Sweden physicians are legally required to report fatal and serious ADRs. We know from previous studies that there is a substantial degree of under-reporting of ADRs also in Sweden. Attitudes towards reporting of ADRs among physicians in the northern region of Sweden were investigated using a questionnaire. The most important factor for not reporting ADRs among physicians and general practioners in our region was that the reaction was considered to be well known. However, their attitudes could also allow for a considerable rate of under-reporting. The effect on the reporting rate when nurses received instruction and were encouraged to report ADRs was studied. During a 12-month study period, 18 ADR reports with a total number of 22 ADRs were sent in by the nurses participating in the study to test nurses as reporters of ADRs. Using the Swedish ADR database, we calculated the risk of agranulocytosis associated with the use of metamizole by using consumption data from the case records of scrutinized patients’ and stored prescriptions. Over the period from 1996 to 1999, ten cases of agranulocytosis during treatment with metamizole were reported to SADRAC. Metamizole was prescribed to 666 (19%) inpatients during the 3-month study period and 112 prescriptions were identified at the participating pharmacies. Thirty-eight percent of them indicated treatment for more than 15 days. Making certain assumptions, the calculated risk of agranulocytosis was one out of every 31 000 inpatients and one out of every 1400 outpatients. The degree of under-reporting of serious ADRs was studied in five hospitals. More than 1300 case records were scrutinized and among these we found 107 cases that according to current rules for ADR reporting, should have been reported. Only fifteen of these were found in the SADRAC database, indicating a under-reporting rate of 86%.The effect on the reporting rate of ADRs was studied in an intervention study in which a small economical inducement was given to those who reported ADRs. The effect of a small economical stimulation to increase the reporting rate was studied. From the intervention area we received 62 suspected ADRs compared with 50 from the control area. The increase in the number of reports was 59% compared with an unchanged reporting rate from the control area. The physicians in northern Sweden have a relatively good knowledge of the existing rules for ADR reporting. Nurses could play an important role in detecting and reporting suspected ADRs. The risk of developing an metamizole induced agranulocytosis is considerably increased if metamizole is given to patients for a longer time than recommended. The rate of reported ADRs is very low, also for serious and fatal reactions. An increase in the reporting rate of suspected ADRs was observed during study period.

Most people have experienced toothache and know how much it effects the health. It hurts to eat, it ́s hard to sleep and sometimes a small gesture as a smile is avoided because it pains to much. Of course animals have the same issue and feel pain but they can’t tell us how they feel, instead we have to look for signs from their behavior. The recommendation to regularly check the horse’s teeth does minimize the risk of pain. The knowledge within the field of equine dentistry is on the rise and educations and regulations is developing to give the best dental care possible. This has created a need of the right tools adopted to this specific field and this is where a company like Accesia has a chance to be at the forefront of this development. Accesia is a company that have developed tools and educations about the animal dental profession since 2009. Until now the focus has been on smaller animals like cats, dogs and rodents but now they are widening their customer field and develops for this new market, equine dentistry. To get a understanding of this new customers some field studies has been performed and needs that are separate from the previous customer needs has been identified. It ́s not only the size that differs from the dentist working with cats and dogs, it ́s also the working environment and the anatomic conditions that looks completely different. For this thesis the main goal has been to identify how a unit for the tools used by equine dentists should be structured and what parts that should be included to endure the transportation and environment where it will be used. To gain this information, several interviews were conducted with the main users and the experts working on Accesia. The gathered information where later analyzed, concretized and explored in a product concept. This report will go through the different stages in the design process that led to a final design concept which were presented with a prototype and posters at a thesis fair organized by Jönköping University.

Gas turbines are widely used as power sources in many industrial and transportation applications. This kind of engine is the most preferred prime movers in aircrafts, power plants and some marine vehicles. They have different configurations according to their mechanical constructions such as turbo-prop, turbo-shaft, turbojet, etc. These engines have different efficiencies and specifications and some advantages and disadvantages compared to Otto-Cycle engines. In this thesis, a small turbojet engine is investigated in order to find different control algorithms. AMT Olympus HP small turbojet engine has been used to determine the mathematical model of a gas turbine engine. Some important experimental data were taken from AMT Olympus engine by making many experiments. All components of the engine have been modeled by using laws of thermodynamics and some arithmetic calculations such as numerical solution of nonlinear differential equations, digitizing compressor and turbine map etc. This mathematical model is employed to create control algorithm of the engine. At first, standard control strategies had been considered such as P (proportional), PI (proportional integral), and PID (proportional-integral-differential) controllers. Because of the nonlinearities in gas turbines, standard control algorithms are not commonly used in literature. At the second stage fuzzy logic controllers have been designed to control the engine efficiently. This control algorithm was combined with mathematical of the engine in MATLAB environment and input-output relations were investigated. Finally, fuzzy logic control algorithm was embedded into an electronic controller.

RESUMO: O presente relatório descreve as tarefas e atividades realizadas no âmbito da coordenação de estudos clínicos durante o estágio curricular, inserido no Mestrado em Gestão da Investigação Clínica e desenvolvido no Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central (CHULC). O estágio curricular decorreu no Centro de Investigação do CHULC e teve a duração de cinco meses, tendo sido encurtado devido à pandemia por COVID-19. O principal objetivo a cumprir com a realização deste estágio foi a aplicação prática, em ambiente hospitalar, de todos os conhecimentos e ferramentas adquiridos ao longo da vertente teórica do mestrado. Neste relatório é feito um enquadramento teórico da investigação clínica, com ênfase nos ensaios clínicos e na realidade portuguesa, bem como uma pesquisa bibliográfica no tema “Investigação Clínica em Crianças”. A descrição de tarefas e estudos seguidos ao longo do estágio, no âmbito da coordenação de ensaios clínicos, também é apresentada no relatório. A realização deste estágio num Centro de Investigação provou ser uma experiência muito completa que permitiu ter uma visão abrangente de todo o circuito de um estudo num hospital.
ABSTRACT: This report describes the tasks and activities carried out within the scope of the coordination of clinical studies during the curricular internship, inserted in the Master in Clinical Research Management and developed at the Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central (CHULC). The curricular internship took place at the CHULC’s Research Unit and lasted for five months, having been shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main objective to fulfil with the accomplishment of this internship was the hands-on application, in hospital environment, of all the knowledge and tools acquired along the theoretical component of the master's degree. This report provides a theoretical framework for clinical research, with an emphasis on clinical trials and the Portuguese reality, as well as a bibliographic review on the topic “Clinical Research in Children”. The description of tasks and studies followed throughout the internship, within the scope of clinical trials coordination, is also presented in the report. The completion of this internship in a Research Unit proved to be a very complete experience that allowed for a broad view of the entire circuit of a study in a hospital.

碩士
國立成功大學
會計學系碩博士班
100
More and more companies choose to go public through reverse merger in recent years. From 2010, there are also break out some bad financial news of these reverse merger companies, especially the companies from China. To examine whether the financial reporting quality of these companies is really worse or not, this paper uses performance-adjusted discretionary accruals as a proxy to measure financial reporting quality. This paper finds that the financial reporting quality of reverse merger companies is really worse than other non-reverse merger companies, and the financial reporting quality of China reverse merger companies is also worse than other non-China reverse merger companies. The financial reporting quality of reverse merger companies audit by Big 4 is better than others audit by non-Big 4 audit firm. These findings will help to remind the public and the authorities pay more attention to these reverse merger companies. To reduce the suspicion of reverse merger, these companies should also pay more attention to the quality of their own financial statements.

碩士
朝陽科技大學
企業管理系碩士班
97
To cope with the changing environment, school marketing has become a great concern for many educational institutions. The present study aimed to investigate the factors considered by journalists in the selection of campus news to be reported, and the relative importance of these factors, so the campus news can have an advantage of obtaining more opportunities to be reported, which in turn enhances exposure of the school in the mass media. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was applied in this research, involving two stages－qualitative and quantitative. Regarding the first stage, or the qualitative analysis, related studies were collected and reviewed, and eight journalists who had practical experiences in reporting campus news were interviewed. In this stage, the hierarchical structure was constructed, and the outlined interview was conducted for the purpose of providing the school with suggestions from the journalists for the release of information. In the second stage, or the quantitative analysis, a total of twenty-five journalists from five types of media－newspaper, magazine, the Internet, radio, and television were included in the expert questionnaire survey. The research findings revealed that: (a) of the three major aspects of the factors that influence journalists’ selection of campus news, “news value” had the highest weight, followed by “interactive demand,” then “situational demand,” indicating that the more “news value” the campus news possesses, the more the journalists are interested in reporting; (b) under “news value,” the sub-criteria ranked from the most valued to the least were “timeliness” (the more recent, the higher the news value), “functionality” (the practicality of the information provided), “amusement and entertainment,” and “prominence” (the person, place, or object in the event or discussion is distinguished and well-known); (c) for “interactive demand”, most journalists selected “building a trustworthy relationship” as the primary influential sub-criteria, followed by “arrangement of relevant interviewee”, and “provision of press release for reference”; (d) in “situational demand,” the three sub-criteria with the highest weights were “situational content,” “central figure of an event,” and “interview time,” implying that when a school is arranging promotion activities for the media or is marketing an event, the above three sub-criteria will crucially affect journalists’ decision to report. The conclusion suggested that schools should understand the characteristics and needs of each individual media, develop a supply chain of prompt information sharing, provide customized service, and establish a positive relationship with proper interaction and trust. Consequently, the opportunities of the campus news being reported will greatly increase.

碩士
淡江大學
大陸研究所
88
Those who concern about the development of Mainland China will not forget the「opening revolution」which Deng Xiaoping declare in 1978 in 「 the eleventh meeting of CCP」. The declaration ensures the direction of modernization development in China. When everyone evaluate the benefit and defect of「opening revolution」or the difficulty after the economic reform, the author concern the change of「unit」（an institution full of Chinese style）before and after the 「opening revolution」,and its probable concern with Chinese modernization development . The basic contents of「Unit」institution is to put everyone in an administrative net. In this process, the career place in city economic sector change into 「unit」within the economic structure of socialism. For economic reason, farm「the people’s commune」didn’t change into unit, but it represents the principle to organize people by administrative ways. Under the national direct administrative management to society, every citizen remains a kind of organizational relationship with the authority in his basic social living field（employment or dwelling place）.The relationship rules his legitimacy and to some extent determines his living right. Not to say state-owned enterprise farm「the people’s commune」or resident committee, their party represents authority, and unit is the basic link in National administrative organizational net. Western scholars emphasize the power of new market or the effect of political power when talking about mainland China after「opening revolution」.They might think the operation of market economy need the protect of institutions such as government’s financial and judicial systems. It closely connected with political power. For another point of view, interactions between market mechanism and political power are not easily on the opposite sides. They seem to interact through some kind of connection. Did “Unit” play the role mentioned above through the change of 「opening revolution」economic reform and political reform? This is what author is interested in the background Unit forms, the developing process and the change through「opening revolution」. Unit is the result of Chinese public-owned and planned regime. Deep research in the phenomenon and structure can help us know more about China. But the problem now is that after1979, especially from the economic regime change in 1984;there were changes in the occupation of social resource and the distribution. So, did the basic structure change? If so, how it goes, the extent and situation will be further questions.

This thesis examines the possible effects of the NZQA unit standard approach on the pursuit of higher learning. Through a critical examination of the debate concerning this issue, an argument is mounted that the key questions were left unanswered about the implications of unit standards. This is because the NZQA and the academic community failed to clearly define and defend a notion of higher learning, and in turn, why its pursuit should or should not be considered an integral practice and responsibility of universities in New Zealand. The initial focus of this thesis is a critical examination of the debate emanating from NZQA's decision to include unit standards in universities. In working through these issues within this debate, this thesis engages with the broader issue of how we ought to conceptualise the notion of higher learning, the role, ideals and values of a university, and the pedagogical implications of such a position. This discussion critically engages with the work of Ronald Barnett, Paulo Freire and Martin Buber. It develops and defends a notion of higher learning and elucidates why this form of learning is, and ought to be, considered a role and responsibility of contemporary universities. The key aim of this notion of higher learning is the development of a critical stance or critical being which is oriented towards all realms of experience. Thus it is a pedagogy that seeks to challenge students to understand their interrelationships with one another, knowledge and the world, and is underpinned by a critical, dialogical learning environment. It is a learning process that continually challenges students and teachers to confront the becoming, unfinished nature of reality, and perceive and create in the milieu of fragility and potentiality. Given this notion of higher learning, and having established its presence and role within universities in the New Zealand context, the thesis then examines what effects unit standards might have had upon its pursuit. It is argued that the inclusion of unit standards would have restricted key facets of this learning pursuit.
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碩士
國立成功大學
會計學系
102
In Taiwan, more and more companies are choosing to go public through back-door listing. There has also been some bad financial news related to these backdoor-listed companies, especially Genome International Biomedical Company (6130). To solve these problems, the government amended laws to regulate these backdoor-listed companies in 2013. Considering this amendment, this paper uses performance-adjusted discretionary accruals as a financial reporting quality proxy to examine whether the financial reporting quality of backdoor-listed companies is really worse or not. It is found that the financial reporting quality of back-door listed companies is really worse than other non-backdoor-listed companies. Furthermore, the financial reporting quality of backdoor-listed companies with a higher ratio of ownership structure, a higher deviation between voting rights and cash flow rights, a lower ratio of outside blockholders, and more seasoned equity offerings is worse than other non-backdoor-listed companies. These findings can provide authorities and investors a means by which to assess the financial reporting quality of backdoor-listed companies.

碩士
國立交通大學
英語教學研究所
98
English for Academic Purposes (EAP) has attracted increasing attention among scholars, instructors, and learners around the globe since EAP pedagogy proposes learning materials and curriculum design to suit the needs of learners of higher education. The genre-based approach, ever since Swales’ canonical study of the Introduction section of research articles (RAs) in 1981, has been widely applied to the analysis of various genres by EAP researchers. Studies investigating macro-level features of various sections in RAs, the most extensively investigated EAP genre, have pointed out that each section possesses a set of specific communicative purposes; in addition, corpus-based analyses of micro-level features in RA sections provide pedagogical implications for actual use. Reporting research findings is the most crucial communicative purpose of an RA. In its three major sections—Abstract, Results, and Discussion, RA writers have to report the findings of their study. The present study, therefore, aims at exploring how reporting research findings is realized in these sections in two disciplines by integrating genre analysis with corpus-based text analysis. To achieve this goal, a corpus of 48 RAs in the fields of applied linguistics (AL) and computer science (CS) was constructed. Genre analysis was conducted using a scheme of move codes based on previous studies, and NLP tools were used to analyze partially the macro- and micro-level features in reporting research findings. Move analysis revealed that in Abstract, the move AS (summarizing results) occurs in all 48 RAs, indicating this is an obligatory move in Abstract. The move AS may be followed by either AI (interpreting results and findings) or AA (indicating implications/applications). Common moves in Results are RR (reporting findings), RI (interpreting results and findings), RL (locating data), and RS (summarizing results), all of which are related to reporting overall or specific results. In addition, analysis of move patterns in this section showed that moves occur not only in a variety of sequences but also in cyclic patterns. Common rhetorical moves in Discussion include DS (summarizing results), DI (interpreting results and findings), and DC (comparing results to literature), and it was found that DS may be presented in cyclic patterns of DS→DI or DS→DC. Except for the three moves, Discussion section also contains a relatively high frequency of DA (indicating implications/applications) and DF (need/suggestions for future studies). The second stage of this study was content analysis, which revealed that in terms of generality and language use, research results are reported in the most concise and general manner in Abstract. On the other hand, detailed description of data and reference to factual evidence, such as visual data or interview excerpts, are included in Results. Finally, the level of generality of the Discussion section lies between Abstract and Results, focusing on interpretation, implications of results, and comparison with other studies. Analysis of micro-level features in reporting results includes high-frequency verbs, modal verbs, lexical bundles, and voice. Examination of high-frequency verbs showed that use, show, and find are commonly used in all three sections. Other high-frequency verbs are related to summarizing results (present), locating data (see), and interpreting data (suggest). With respect to modal verbs, they are used more frequently in Discussion than the other two sections, indicating that writers often qualify statements when discussing findings and making claims by using modal verbs to show tentativeness. Investigation of lexical bundles showed that to report findings, bundles like in this paper, results show that, and this study found are frequently used. In addition, when writers try to make reference to factual data, bundles like shown in + noun and of the table are used to refer to graphics or excerpts. Finally, analysis of voice revealed that when reporting results, active sentences greatly outweigh passive sentences. Disciplinary variations were also explored to learn whether RAs in applied linguistics and computer science report results in a similar or different manner. While RAs of both disciplines show similar patterns in frequency rankings of moves, move patterns in the two disciplines show slight variations. Studies have pointed out that graduate students often encounter problems when writing about research findings in the various sections of their RAs. It is essential that we offer students information about how the different sections report research results differently. This thesis study provides not only valuable pedagogical implications for EAP practitioners but empirical data showing specific moves, move patterns, and linguistic expressions frequently used in reporting research results in the various sections as well. For example, instructors should indicate the common or obligatory rhetorical moves and move patterns in each section to the learners.

For many years, international financial reporting – and in particular the notes reporting – has been criticized in practice and academia for failing to provide information that is appropriate for its intended users. This criticism points to deficits with regard to the content and presentation and, thus, to the overall quality of the notes reporting. However, this criticism is predominantly anecdotal in nature as there is, as yet, scarcely any valid scientific evidence that supports these claims. This work addresses this research gap by elaborating what (notes) reporting quality is, what dimensions it consists of (conceptualization), how these dimensions can be measured (operationalization) and how they are empirically manifested (empirical evidence). For the latent construct of (notes) reporting quality, a formative measuring instrument to be used in an integrative content analysis is developed with which both dimensions of (notes) reporting quality – a content dimension (e.g., relevance) and a formal dimension (e.g., diction/readability) – can be measured and analyzed. This measuring instrument is validated both theoretically (argumentative reflection) and empirically (testing of hypotheses derivable from the underlying theories). The subsequent analysis of the notes reporting quality of a representative sample of German firms reveals that the above-mentioned criticism is well founded. Furthermore, the results point out both what specific deficits exist and where. The results of this work – the conceptualization, the operationalization and the empirical evidence – together form a starting point for developing, in the context of the (notes) reporting and its quality, valid insights/knowledge in research, ‘best practice’ solutions in practice and conceptually sound and target-oriented solutions in regulation.

碩士
國立臺北科技大學
機電整合研究所
98
This research is about the research and development of a rapid safety-rail unit. At the first, this research collected, classified, and analyzed worldwide patents. Design requirements were determined according to patent analysis. Dimension synthesis was detemined according to the regulations. The guard rail system is a modularized mechanism with excellent mobility and strength. And the guard rail system provie a safety protecting which is prevent falling for the roof or opening operating. The new guard rail was obtained by mechanism synthesis technique. Its 3D model was created by Solidworks 2007 and tested by Ansys 11.0 for its stress analysis. Different mounting situations were considered to design the mounting devices. This research also designed a testing device for strength verification. This research was developed the new guard rail system which can obtained in common field. In addition this research was extended other mounting devices. Finally, prototypes were built for performance test. The mobility and strength, and performance of the modularized guard rail system and its mounting device satisfied their design requirements.

碩士
國立臺北大學
會計學系
90
Financial statements have been the most important tools management uses to communicate with the market all the time. But with the change of economics, the importance of intangible assets increase recently. And it seems that traditional financial reporting fails to address the important value drivers in the New Economy. To illustrate and examine the relationship of corporate value and the development of financial reporting, This study mainly employs literature investigation and case study as the main research tools. The research results are as follows: 1.Because of the change of economics, companies should provide more forward-looking and non-financial information to help users’ decision making. 2.The impacts of the New Economy on the Accounting academics and practices include both external financial reporting and internal management reporting, which implies the possibility that the two reporting systems could be brought together in the long run. 3.Since the essence, amounts, and frequencies of the reporting on the internet have been changed, it’s important for companies to reconsider the relevance and credibility of the internet reporting. 4.Finally, in order to help companies address valuereporting and enhance the role of accounting information, it’s worthwhile for accounting firms to readjust and broaden its service extent.