Maximum Number Of Participants Research Articles

Role of socio-economic status in the assessment of occupational stress

Literature shows that, the last three decades have seen a rapid increase in research on occupational stress among people coming from various sections of the society. Numerous studies have been carried out in the developed world, and the interest in this field continues to persist. Unfortunately, there is dearth of work that talks about the relation between occupational stress and socio-economic status in most of the developing societies. Therefore, current study aims to contribute to a better understanding of this relationship. Determine the variation of occupational stress with socio-economic status. A cross sectional study was conducted in the town of Shimla, which has an estimated working population of 84, 615 as per 2011 census. Data was collected by two self report measures. The participants included professionals, semi-professionals, clerks/supervisors/shop-owners/farmers, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers in various professions of the selected area. Sample size was calculated by using the standard formula for cross sectional studies at 95% confidence interval (using the criteria of prevalence from earlier studies). Standardized tools of a five point rating scale and a proforma were utilized to assess the occupational stress and, socio-economic status of the participants, respectively. Data obtained on the two variables was analyzed by descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation. A total of 252 participants was the final sample of this study. About 86.11% (217/252) of the workers were found to belong to the categories of moderate and high levels of stress. Socio-economic grade 2 had the maximum number of participants i.e. 45.24%. A negative and significant correlation was found between occupational stress and socio-economic status. In comparison to the other categories of occupation, skilled workers experienced higher levels of stress, followed by clerks/supervisors/shop-owners, semi-skilled workers, unskilled workers, semi-professionals and, professionals, respectively. The findings suggest that, the assessment and management of occupational stress should consider socio-economic status and occupation of individuals as significant determinants of stress at work, along with other bio-psycho-social factors.

Interactional aspects of care during hospitalization: Perspectives of family caregivers of psychiatrically ill in a tertiary care setting in India

There are very few studies on user-perspectives about mental health care services that explore perspectives of family caregivers in India. An exploratory study was undertaken to understand the perceived importance of various aspects of interactions with mental health service providers during hospitalization, from the perspectives of family caregivers. In addition, it also aimed at documenting their actual experience of interactional aspects of care during the hospitalization of their relatives.The study was conducted on fifty family caregivers of patients with varied psychiatric diagnoses hospitalized in a tertiary psychiatric care setting in South India. Measures of Interactional aspects of care were developed to assess perceived importance of six different interactional domains of care and the actual experience of care in these domains. Provision of informational inputs and addressing of concerns raised emerged as the domains of care given highest importance. The item pertaining to ‘sharing with the caregiver about different alternatives for treatment’ received negative ratings in terms of actual experience by maximum number of participants (18%). Significant differences on perceived importance of four domains of interactional aspects of care (dignity, confidentiality and fairness, addressing concerns raised, informational inputs and prompt attention and consistent care) emerged between caregiver subgroups based on educational level of the caregiver, socio-economic status, hospitalization history and broad diagnostic categories. In addition, the care givers of patients with psychoses assigned significantly more positive ratings on actual experience for all the domains of interactional aspects of care. The findings have implications for further research and practice.

Evaluation der DEGUM-Mammasonografiekurse nach objektivierbaren Kriterien

The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality standard of the nationwide breast ultrasound training program of the German Society of Ultrasound in Medicine (DEGUM) through objective parameters. 10 quality criteria, based on the recommendations of The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), were defined for this study. All training units of the DEGUM received a questionnaire. The questionnaires and training material were analyzed. All units met the required criteria pertaining to the trainer's qualification, duration per training course and the maximum number of participants per ultrasound machine. Only 1 course did not fulfill the required 50 % practical training time. The requirements to participate in the graduate course (200 self-made and documented cases) were not clearly conceived and a defined training log could be improved. DEGUM breast ultrasound training offers trainees a high level of education based on the requirements of the KBV. Despite the high quality of training, the content of course announcements could be improved and an official and structured educational index could be meaningful.

Career Preferences of Preregistration Nursing Students: Exploratory Survey

Background: Preparing nurses, the largest employee group in most health care organizations, enabling them to take greater responsibility for their career goals is critical. There are many factors that can influence a graduating nurse's perception of their career. Objectives: This study explores the career preferences of undergraduate nursing students and the associated factors, and examines the demographic factors relationship to their career preferences. Design, Setting & Participants : An exploratory survey was conducted among 300 undergraduate B. Sc Nursing students in four selected colleges of Mangalore city. Results: The key finding suggests that maximum number of participants (88.3%) were sure about their career preferences and more than half of them (64%) prefer to work in hospital setting. The participant's most preferred area of work were teaching faculty 63(21%), critical care nursing 59(19.7%), whereas and public health nursing 8(2.7%) and nurse anaesthetist 5(1.7%) were the least preferred area. 16.3% of participants have a plan to divert the career. Conclusion: Identifying the factors that influence young nurse's career preferences, which can be interpreted by the nurse educators and administrators to prepare nurses to become professionally equipped and to retain and enhance themselves in their profession.

Sampling with Field Burden Constraints: An Application to Sheltered Homeless and Low-Income Housed Women

In this article, the authors present a statistically efficient, cost-effective way of collecting a probability sample in the presence of certain field burden constraints: restrictions on the maximum number of participants that can be sampled within a given institution and a small population size relative to the sample size dictated by the study aims. The authors suggest the use of disproportionate stratified random sampling as an alternative to two-stage sampling under these circumstances and illustrate how to account, via weighting, for the participants’ differential probabilities of inclusion. They describe their approach with respect to a study of impoverished women, for which this sampling scheme was quite effective.

Quality improvement methods as applied to a multicenter effectiveness trial—STAR*D

In multicenter clinical trials, important aspects of trial performance (e.g., the number of participants who enter the trial within the required time frame, the number of participants who remain in the trial, and/or the completeness of the outcome data collected) directly affect the extent to which the study can achieve its aims. Obtaining the maximum amount of data from the maximum number of participants at each step in the trial increases the likelihood of identifying real differences in outcome. These aspects of trial performance can, therefore, be considered intermediate performance goals of the study since success in achieving each of them is directly related to success in achieving study aims. A quality improvement system was introduced to improve efficiency and performance in the multicenter Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) trial. Four intermediate performance goals were targeted for quality improvement efforts: (1) initial enrollment of subjects, (2) collection of entry/exit primary outcome data, (3) retention of subjects to enter subsequent “levels” of the trial, and (4) collection of blood samples for genetics studies. The identification of numerical targets for these goals provides a basis for monitoring performance and for implementing attempts to improve performance, since success in achieving each goal is directly related to success in achieving the study aims. This paper describes the background, rationale, development, and potential utility of implementing a quality improvement system to improve the performance and efficiency of the trial.

10.5 Experiences of Teaching Systems Architecting

AbstractThe experiences of four years teaching systems architecting are described. The duration of the course systems architecting is 5 days. The target audience consists of (potential) architects and stakeholders that cooperate intensely with the architect, such as project leaders, product managers, and group leaders. The course has been given 23 times in the period November 1999 to January 2004. The maximum number of participants is 16.This paper discusses the course content and the course objectives, course materials, the course format, some course statistics, the expectations of the students up front and the evaluation at the end, the follow‐up and the longer term results, the derived course for managers, the lack of visibility of system architects, and the broader education context that is required for a systems architecting curriculum.

The Crux Of Risk Management In Outdoor Programs — Minimising The Possibility Of Death And Disabling Injury

Introduction Risk management has become a much-discussed topic in the outdoor education literature in recent years, and a number of approaches to it have been proposed. When I started my career in outdoor education the term risk management had not yet entered the vocabulary. We did, though, talk about safety planning and its prime aim was the protection of program participants from harm. The term 'risk management' is now very much part of the jargon in all organisations and the sort of risks that one is expected to consider within an overall risk management plan seem to have considerably increased. The focus has shifted too. The emphasis in the current standard (Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand, 1999) is very much the protection of organisations themselves from 'something happening that will have an impact upon objectives'. A recent advertisement for a web-based risk management tool for schools CLASSRooM(TM) 2001 (DETE, 2001) illustrates this point; The potential consequences of an inadequate school risk management program are significant - financial loss, decline in enrolments, loss of reputation, litigation, personal liability, damage to careers, injury and even death.' The possibility of serious physical harm seems very much tacked on the end in this description. I'd argue that in a hierarchy of adverse consequences, death or serious injury to persons involved is right at the top of things we want to avoid. Minimising the risk of death and disabling injury should be the number one outcome of any risk management plan or strategy in outdoor programs. There is no doubt, though, that all the other harmful consequences listed above can follow for any organisation in the aftermath of serious injury or death in a program, particularly where it is subsequently shown the incident may have been avoidable. Look at the well-publicised suffering of the victims' families, the demise of the responsible adventure company, and the personal costs to company directors and employees in the Swiss canyoning disaster. Historical Approaches Historical approaches to risk management in organised outdoor activities have centered on the adoption of guidelines or 'standing orders' on aspects such as; * minimum experience or qualifications of leaders, * minimum &/or maximum number of persons in a group, * maximum number of participants per leader, * prior experience required of participants, * minimum equipment tandards, and * intra-organisational approval processes. These are an important part of approaches to risk management that form the basis of plans many organisations still use today. There have, though, been questions asked about the effectiveness of generic activity guidelines. Take for instance the drowning of the two adult leaders and two teenage scouts when a Venturer Scout Group was struck by gale force winds when kayaking across Lake Alexandrine in South Australia. The scout group and the state association responded to criticism, of the activity by stating that the organisation had adequate standards, that the kayaks had all passed their annual safety inspection, all persons were wearing life jackets and that the leader held the required scout qualifications. Moreover the spokesman argued, the group had not planned to kayak in the lake, as this was an area prohibited to scout groups, and they must have been blown off course or become lost. The Coroner found however that buoyancy had been removed from the kayaks, that the leader had ignored weather forecasts, and also the prohibition in paddling across the lake in the interests of taking a short cut. In this case some rules had clearly been breached, but also the coroner found the association standing orders did not address all potential hazards, particularly necessary prior experience of participants. Over half the group had not kayaked before. While in that case there were real questions of compliance, it does not necessarily follow that adherence to guidelines will always prevent incidents. …

The first Euroconference arranged in Sweden!

Abstract In May 1993, the first in a series of Euroconferences organized within the Human Capital and Mobility programme of the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) was arranged at Studsvik, Sweden, by the Studsvik Neutron Research Laboratory (NFL). According to the CEC objectives, a Euroconference should be a meeting at the cutting edge of scientific or technical knowledge and it should give young and promising European researchers, through their active participation in such a meeting, the possibility to benefit from contacts with high level scientists. In order to achieve this goal the international organizing committee, headed by Ulf Dahlborg, NFL and Stockholm, and consisting of members from Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, decided that the first Euroconference at Studsvik should not be too large, but that the intimate character of the meeting was more important. Thus, the maximum number of participants was set at about 70. Out of these, the participation of 22 youngresearchers, the...

Two Probability Models of Pyramid or Chain Letter Schemes Demonstrating that Their Promotional Claims are Unreliable

A variety of chain letters and pyramid schemes continue to be offered to the public. This article reviews two probability models which were developed in response to requests by attorneys faced with prosecuting promoters of such ventures. The two models were designed to establish the fraud underlying a quota pyramid scheme (which places a limit on the maximum number of participants) and a chain letter in which a participant could sell only two letters (unless he purchases a new letter). The models emphasize how dependent a participant's potential earnings are to his time of entry in the process and show that although a small percentage of participants (some early entrants) will make money, most will lose so that pyramid scheme investors, as a class, are defrauded.

Swarming and Some Other Habits of Mansonia Perturbans and Psorophora Ferox (Diptera: Culicidae)

Swarming and Some Other Habits of Mansonia Perturbans and Psorophora Ferox (Diptera: Culicidae)