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Kotty, Venkata Mukhyaprana Sree Hari Kiran. "An abductive study to identify key influencing variables affecting the last mile logistics endpoint selection : A study done at PostNord AB." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Industriell teknik, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-455588.
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Background In the context of booming e-commerce and associated logistics flows, there is a considerable challenge to support the future of volumes, specifically more towards home deliveries by logistics service providers (LSP). There are means of addressing this challenge by identifying the key factors that influence consumer behaviour and lead to better adoption by meeting their convenience through right self collection end points setups thus decreasing the logistics costs, meeting sustainability targets and also efficiencies for logistics service provider operations. Purpose The purpose of this study is to study and investigate the convenience factors of self-collection endpoints and associated levels that influence consumer preferences for logistics services to use self-collection last-mile endpoint in Sweden and also associate with observed behaviour across different demographic segments. Methods For research, quantitative research was done using conjoint analysis. Data was collected using a questionnaire sent in Google forms from volunteers, designed through an orthogonal designed based profile to rate the relevance and interest it generated. Results were based on 161 respondents' feedback on 16 such profiles (autogenerated in the SPSS platform). Analyses on existing historical parcel data of the logistics service provider along with the demographic data to build decision-tree models which supports determining the crucial attributes which influence home deliveries and also identify the potential site for trialability by LSP to support better decision-making aligned with the new Innovation diffusion into usage. Conclusions The research has shown that the collection distance is the most crucial convenience factor which can drive/steer consumers to use self-collection endpoints by being relevant in the context of convenience factors to be considered as an alternate to home delivery, followed by handling time. Respondents were willing to compromise on home deliveries if distance was within their expectations, such as <300m from the study conducted. During the thesis work, decision-tree models have also been developed, which has shown relationship/dependency between demographics to different delivery methods like home vs. service points across different geographies and factors influencing it. It has been further observed that different influencing attributes play a significant role across geographical type of delivery locations, such as urban, sub-urban volume data.
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Dawa, Samuel G. "Resource constraints and sustainable entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa: An effectual view." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/67297.
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The study seeks to explain how sustainable entrepreneurship occurs in a resource constrained setting. This is important as it improves our understanding of how entrepreneurs respond to adversity and develop opportunities that jointly address the social, environmental and economic dimensions of entrepreneurship.
Previous research has discussed the antecedents, outcomes and contextual conditions that drive sustainable entrepreneurship. However, what is absent from this growing research body is knowledge of the mechanisms through which individuals engage in this type of entrepreneurship.
The study seeks to answer the following research question: “How do individuals faced with resource constraints engage in sustainable entrepreneurship?” Using effectuation as a lens, a multi-method qualitative approach based on multiple case studies was adopted in this research and a mix of inductive and deductive analyses, also referred to as abductive analysis was employed. A sample of 5 sustainable enterprises were purposively selected in Uganda, located in sub-Saharan Africa.
The results show that resource constraints compel the entrepreneurs to seek expertise and resources from others with mutual goals while controlling expenses. In the process the entrepreneur learns and adapts to the emergent opportunity. The entrepreneur’s actions are further influenced by passion that sustains the activity in the face of challenges. In this research, sustainable entrepreneurship is further explicated showing that the social, economic and environmental objectives exist in a state of shifting, supportive interaction of one another.
The study clarifies our understanding of how entrepreneurs cope with inadequate resources. It explains the mechanisms through which individuals contending with resource constraints employ control as opposed to prediction strategies to exploit entrepreneurship opportunities. In this way the study contributes to the literature by proposing the fusion of cognitive and affective dimensions in realizing sustainable entrepreneurship goals. The study further suggests that the multiple objectives that typify the pursuits of sustainable entrepreneurs serve as supportive mechanisms and this puts into question arguments that these firms face comparatively larger challenges than those that singularly pursue economic objectives.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
PhD
Unrestricted
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Hammarström-Lewenhagen, Birgitta. "Den unika möjligheten - en studie av den svenska förskolemodellen 1968-1998." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Barn- och ungdomsvetenskapliga institutionen, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-95880.
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The Swedish preschool-model interlaces care, nurturing and learning and is organised to solve twin functions; providing children a playbased learning-environment and enabling parents to combine parenthood with work. The model was developed within the social sector then incorporated into the educational system 1998. This shift and the model´s “unique characteristics” praised by OECD formed the point of departure for this study. The aim of the thesis is to describe and analyse the discussions and negotiations shaping the Swedish preschool-model during 1968-1998. The research questions address: discursive themes; actors involved; governmental intentions; claims about the preschool´s task, pedagogical content and the preschool´s institutional identity and relationship to the institutions: social service, school and family. The study utilized abductive textual analysis inspired by discourse analysis and narrative approaches. Main text sources are: official reports, bills, steering documents, the preschool teachers´ periodical 1968 -1998 and a media debate. The results illuminate preschool-teachers´ struggle for a pedagogical identity and the construction of the educareconcept as a flexible and pragmatic solution to several societal interests and values. Governmental intentions concerning equality, emancipation and democratization have had great influence on the process in combination with a recurring theme about a revised preschool pedagogy with a strengthened focus on children´s learning. Political efforts to foster a preschool for all in a future are identified and described as one of the main discursive themes. Different standpoints about earlier school start are analyzed. The overall result is that the framework and core features of the model laid down by the National Commission on Child care still has a great impact on the launched syllabus (Lpfö) in the end of the period as on the curriculum in a broader sense.
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Sterud, Sommer Marie. "Tracing Framing Processes in the Abortion Debate: An Ethnographic Investigation of a Pro-Life Lobbying Organization." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1625059489273216.
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Esmaeilzadeh, Alireza, and Rojas Harvey Blanco. "To Engage or Not to Engage: The Case of an Emerging Innovation Ecosystem in Sweden." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för ekonomi, teknik och naturvetenskap, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-42567.
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The purpose of this study is to explore the engagement in an innovation ecosystem for knowledge co-creation. It aims at exploring the various aspects of ecosystems, innovation, and knowledge which can drive or hinder actors to engage in collaboration in an innovation ecosystem. A single case study was selected as a research strategy (The OSMaaS project), as it provided us the opportunity to analyze an innovation ecosystem with specific characteristics that few has considered before. Semi-structured interview was used as data collectiontechnique since this interview method offered us the required flexibility to explore in depth theindividual experiences lived during the process of evaluating whether to engage or not to the OSMaaS project. Consequently, a hybrid approach of thematic analysis was selected as methodfor data analysis as it allowed us to interact with the interviewees or the empirical world, theconcepts regarding innovation and ecosystems or theory, and the OSMaaS project or the case study. The findings show that aspects of ecosystems, innovation and Knowledge co-creation aspects such as co-opetition, ecosystem governance and structure, proximity, relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, observability, competitive advantage, and product development contain factors driving and hindering actors’ engagement in aninnovation ecosystem. These factors are explained within this study and show what have droveand hindered actors to engage in the OSMaaS project.
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Österman, Christine. "Vi är KRAV-märkta : Äldreomsorgens förutsättningar ger konsekvenser för psykosocial arbetsmiljö och hälsa." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för psykologi, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-118940.
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Under 1990-talet skedde stora förändringar inom vård och omsorg i kommunal verksamhet på grund av kommunallagsändringen vilket innebar omorganiseringar, nedskärningar och effektiviseringar. Detta bidrog till sämre arbetsmiljö särskilt inom vård och omsorg. Belastningsskador och stress ökade. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka enhetschefers möjlighet att utöva närvarande ledarskap samt deras och medarbetares upplevelser av ledarskap och psykosocial arbetsmiljö och hälsa. Två äldreboenden i Umeå kommun ingick i studien i sammanlagt tre fokusgruppsintervjuer, en med enhetschefer och två med medarbetare totalt 12 deltagare. En abduktiv kvalitativ innehållsanalys genomfördes. Resultatet utmynnade i sju teman och visar att enhetscheferna upplevde att de inte har någon möjlighet att vara närvarande, att det är hög arbetsbelastning för både enhetschefer och medarbetare, att det upplevs saknas socialt stöd för enhetschefer och mellan enhetschef och medarbetare, att det brister i kommunikationen, delaktighet och rättvisa. Hälsan påstods vara bättre för enhetschefer än medarbetare men trivseln är bra i båda grupperna. Närvarande ledarskap ansågs i dagsläget svårt att utöva då det saknas både tid och stöd och det finns brister i den psykosociala arbetsmiljön som påverkar medarbetarnas hälsa negativt.In the 1990s, major changes took place in elder care in municipal activities due to changes in the municipal law which led to reorganizations, downsizing and streamlining. This contributed to poor working environment especially in health care and musculoskeletal disorders and stress increased. The purpose of this study was to examine the unit managers’ opportunity to exercise present leadership and how the psychosocial work environment is perceived by unit managers and their employees. Moreover, how leadership is perceived by the employees and how psychosocial working environment and health is investigated. Two nursing homes in Umeå municipality were included in the study. In total, three focus group interviews were conducted, one with managers and two with employees, 12 participants in total. An abductive qualitative content analysis was performed. Seven themes were found in the material. These show that the unit managers perceive that they have no opportunity to be present, and that both managers and employees perceive a high workload, lack of social support for unit managers and between unit manager and employees, and lack of communication, participation and justice. Health was perceived to be better among unit managers than employees. However, job satisfaction was reported to be good in both groups. Present leadership is in the current situation difficult to exercise due to lack of both time and support and there are deficiencies in the psychosocial work environment affecting employee health negatively.
Hälsofrämjande arbetsplats
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Eklund, Mikael, and Peter Helgesson. "Mångfaldsperspektiv i en svensk kontext : Mode eller institution?" Thesis, Högskolan i Borås, Akademin för textil, teknik och ekonomi, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-10420.
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Denna studie behandlar begreppet mångfald på arbetsplatsen i en svensk kontext. Begreppet har diskuterats i Sverige sedan slutet av 1990-talet, men det råder fortfarande en förvirring kring vad mångfald på arbetsplatsen innebär och vilken påverkan det har på enskilda organisationer. Vidare förknippas begreppet i Sverige med en hög grad av statlig inblandning, som på senare år fokuserats på att påverka organisationer i riktning mot en multikulturell modell. Dock hävdas att det finns liten erfarenhet i av den multikulturella modellen i den svenska praktiken. De företag som arbetar med mångfald gör det ofta inte integrativt, utan mer av ekonomiska skäl för att lättare kunna söka externt kapital.Syftet med studien är att utreda vilka perspektiv av mångfald som finns i olika svenska organisationer och hur dessa skiljer sig från, eller liknar, den multikulturella modell som förespråkas av samhällsdiskursen. Med hjälp av institutionell teori som referensram diskuteras sedan resultatet för att kunna förklara varför eventuella diskrepanser i diskursen kring mångfald på arbetsplatsen mellan olika nivåer i samhället uppstår. Kvalitativ analys av diskurser över flera nivåer av samhället genomförs utifrån en tvärsnittsdesign med urval av offentliga dokument såsom hemsidor, policydokument hållbarhetsredovisningar och årsredovisningar hos relevanta institutionella arrangemang i ett makroperspektiv, de allra största svenska företagen och ett slumpvis genererat urval av stora svenska företag i ett mikroperspektiv. Totalt analyseras 70 företag och sex institutionella arrangemang. Vi arbetar utifrån en abduktiv ansats där analysen inledningsvis görs med hjälp av en referensram kring mångfaldsperspektiv som senare utvecklas vid adderandet av institutionell teori och i ljuset av våra resultat.Vi finner att tre perspektiv på mångfald; förstärka homogenitet, det färgblinda perspektivet och rättviseperspektivet kan sägas vara institutionaliserade i den svenska kontexten med en stark fokusering på könsdimensionen av mångfald. Accessperspektivet och integration-lärandeperspektivet kan vi inte säga är institutionaliserade i den svenska kontexten. Istället kan de sägas vara på modet. De institutionella arrangemang som vi kan koppla till den svenska staten påverkar svenska organisationer genom tvingande institutionellt tryck till att anamma de institutionaliserande perspektiven. Det finns även en ambition till att regeringen skall agera förebild för mångfaldsarbete genom företag med statligt ägande. Dock sträcker sig texter från dessa institutionella arrangemang inte längre än till det färgblinda perspektivet och rättviseperspektivet. Istället finner vi de flesta uttrycken för accessperspektivet och integration-lärandeperspektivet, där vi även återfinner den multikulturella modellen, framför allt i diskursen som utgörs av texter hos de största svenska företagen. Studien bidrar, genom adderandet av institutionell teori, till en ny, mer pluralistisk syn på mångfaldsperspektiv än vad tidigare litteratur har illustrerat.This study is addressing the concept of workplace diversity in the Swedish context. The concept has been discussed in Sweden since the late 1990´s, but still there are confusions about what workplace diversity really is, and what impact it has on particular organizations. Further, the concept is in the Swedish context associated with a high degree of governmental involvement which, as of late, has been focused on influencing organizations toward a multicultural model. However, some argue that there is little experience of a multicultural model in the Swedish practice. Those companies that work with diversity do so mostly out of economic reasons, in search of external capital and not in an integrative way.The purpose of this study is to investigate which perspectives on diversity there are in different Swedish organizations and how these can resemble, or differ from, the multicultural model that is advocated by the societal discourse. By means of institutional theory as a reference, the results are then discussed to explain why possible discrepancies in the discourse around workplace diversity between different levels of society may arise. Qualitative analysis of discourses throughout several levels of society is conducted with a cross-sectional design with a sample of public documents such as websites, policy documents, sustainability reports and annual accounts from relevant institutional arrangements in a macro-perspective, and in a micro-perspective; from the largest Swedish companies and a random sample of large, Swedish companies. A total of 70 companies and six institutional arrangements are analyzed. We have an abductive approach, where the analysis is initially conducted by means of a frame of reference around perspectives on diversity, which is further developed with the addition of institutional theory in light of our findings.We find that three perspectives on diversity; reinforcing homogeneity, the color-blind perspective and the fairness perspective can be said to be institutionalized in the Swedish context, with a strong focus on the gender dimension of diversity. The perspectives of access and integration-learning cannot be said to be institutionalized in the Swedish context, but can instead be seen as fashionable. The institutional arrangements we can associate with the Swedish government influence Swedish organizations by means of coercive institutional pressure to adapt to the institutionalized perspectives. There is also an ambition to act as a role model concerning diversity management through companies owned by the State. However, the texts we analyze deriving from these institutional arrangements stretch no further than to the color-blind perspective and the fairness perspective. Instead, we find the most expressions for the access perspective and the integration-learning perspective, where we also find the multicultural model, in the discourse consisting of texts deriving from the largest Swedish companies. The study contributes, by the addition of institutional theory, to a more pluralistic way of describing the perspectives on diversity, than illustrated by previous literature.The thesis is written in Swedish.
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Malmberg, Cecilia, and Arbenita Dautaj. "Att konstruera hållbarhet : Kommunikation inom fast fashion." Thesis, Högskolan i Borås, Akademin för textil, teknik och ekonomi, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-561.
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Hållbarhet är ett begrepp som har skiftande innebörd, både inom vetenskap och populärvetenskap. Forskning kring hållbarhet har ett särskilt fokus på kartläggning av orsakssamband och enbart ett fåtal studier fokuserar på att kartlägga och utforska hur begreppet hållbarhet konstrueras genom företags kommunikation. Inom redovisning efterfrågas ofta ett mer principbaserat och konceptuellt angreppssätt, och då detta enligt vår litteraturöversikt ges begränsat utrymme inom forskning kring hållbarhet, finns det möjligheter till att bidra med förståelse på området. Syftet med denna studie är att utforska hur begreppet hållbarhet kommuniceras och därmed konstrueras av företag med affärskonceptet fast fashion. Det finns en distinktion mellan handling och kommunikation och den här studien behandlar enbart kommunikationsaspekten. Vi har genomfört en kvalitativ innehållsanalys av hållbarhetsredovisningar för företag med affärskonceptet fast fashion. Studien har en tvärsnittsdesign med ett teoretiskt urval och top of mind-associationer. Totalt inkluderades tre företag i studien och deras respektive hållbarhetsredovisningar för rapporteringsåret 2013. I analysen har vi arbetat utifrån en abduktiv ansats inspirerat av ett foucauldianskt perspektiv. Den teoretiska modellen utvecklades med hjälp av tidigare litteratur om hållbarhetsdefinitioner och användes som en utgångspunkt för att kategorisera de textavsnitt som identifierades i respektive analys. Vår utforskning av företagens kommunikation av hållbarhet leder till slutsatsen att begreppet snarare konstrueras som produktiv aktivitet än handlingsklokhet i och med företagens tydliga fokus på stegvis anpassning och efterlevnad av såväl koder som specifika regler. Weak sustainability är mer framträdande än strong sustainability i företagens hållbarhetsrapportering, men det finns även en glidande skala mellan dessa. Till skillnad från övriga studier kring konstruktion av hållbarhetsbegreppet riktar denna studie in sig på företag med ett visst koncept (i.e. fast fashion) i utforskningen av hur hållbarhetsbegreppet kommuniceras och konstrueras. Studiens bidrag är utvecklandet av den teoretiska modellen i form av en glidande skala samt ökad konceptuell förståelse för konstruktion av hållbarhet. Vi argumenterar således för en glidande skala mellan de teoretiskt definierade hållbarhetskategorierna, medan andra studier enbart presenterar sina resultat enligt dikotomier.Considering both science and popular science, sustainability is a concept of diverse meanings. Scientific research concerning sustainability has a particular focus on plotting causal links. Only a few studies focus on plotting and exploring the concept of sustainability as it is being conveyed by businesses via communication in corporate sustainability reports. Within the accounting field, there is a common demand for a principles-based and conceptual approach. Thus, while our literature review shows scientific research on sustainability has given limited attention to this approach, there are vast opportunities to contribute to this field by enhancing the comprehension of this issue. Consequently, the aim of this study is to explore the way in which the concept of sustainability is communicated and hence constructed by fast fashion businesses. As there is a distinction between practice and communication, this study merely focuses on the communication aspect.We have conducted a qualitative content analysis based on corporate sustainability reports issued by fast fashion corporations. The study applies a cross-sectional design and a theoretical sampling technique coupled with top-of-mind associations. In total, three corporations were included in this study, resulting in a sample of three corporate sustainability reports from the reporting year of 2013. During the analysis, an abductive approach inspired by a foucauldian perspective was applied. The theoretical model was elaborated on the basis of previous research and academic literature on the definition of sustainability and it served as an initial structure for categorization of the empirical observations.Our findings indicate that companies portray a clear focus on gradual adjustment and conformity to various codes as well as regulations, which leads to the conclusion that companies included in this study construct sustainability in terms of skills rather than wisdom. Furthermore, our findings point to the conclusion that elements of weak sustainability are more prominent than elements of strong sustainability in corporate sustainability reports. However, a notable finding is the existence of a sliding scale between these paradigms. As opposed to other studies regarding the construction of sustainability, this study focuses on a certain business concept (i.e. fast fashion) exploring the communication and construction of the concept sustainability. The contribution of our study is an evolution of the model in terms of a sliding scale and increased conceptual understanding of the term sustainability. We argue a sliding scale between weak and strong sustainability should be taken into account, while previous studies have presented their findings solely as dichotomies.This paper is written in Swedish.
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Backlund, Rambaree Brita. "Contextualising Constructions of Corporate Social Responsibility : Social Embeddedness in Discourse and Institutional Contexts." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Sociologiska institutionen, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-136009.
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‘Corporate social responsibility’ (CSR) and ‘socially responsible investment’ (SRI) have become predominant frameworks connecting business to society that have spread across the globe. They comprise a shared set of ideas and practices, such as those promoted in global reporting standards and by international organisations such as the UN Global Compact. Nonetheless, both are constructed and reproduced by companies in relation to context-specific social institutions, including norms and conventions shaping company engagement in social issues. Using a neo-institutionalist theoretical framework, the thesis examines constructions of social responsibility in discourse and within institutional contexts, across regions that are not often compared in the research terrain: two West European welfare states (Sweden and the UK) and two emerging African economies (South Africa and Mauritius). The purpose of the thesis is to add to the literature on CSR and SRI with a sociologically informed perspective that is comparative and connects institutional theory with social constructionism and a Foucauldian perspective on power. The thesis analyses how perceptions of CSR and SRI are constructed in relation to the social institutions that encase companies’ engagement with social issues, such as national level welfare configurations and the institution of financial investments. The main argument in this thesis is that CSR and SRI need to be seen as contextually constructed, in discourse and practice, in ways that draw the boundaries and set the conditions for company engagement with social issues. The thesis comprises three articles. Article 1 is a content analysis of company self-reporting on CSR and the article examines how the content given to CSR relates to broader welfare configurations and as such differs in four national settings across the divide between emerging African economies and Western welfare states. Article 2 is a discourse analysis that examines interpretative repertoires occurring in company self-reporting across the same set of four countries. The interpretative repertoires are analysed as discursive practices where power intersects with the production of knowledge on CSR. Article 3 focuses on SRI and examines responsible investing as a form of institutional work that institutional investors engage in. Based on an interview study with institutional investors in Sweden, the article analyses institutional work as a process that has the effect of both institutional creation and maintenance and it connects these institutional processes to the construction of meaning on SRI. In its entirety the thesis contributes a sociological perspective on how prevailing understandings of corporate social responsibility come into being and are reproduced.Uppfattningar om företags samhällsansvar har begreppsliggjorts i huvudsak genom idéer om ’corporate social responsibility’ (CSR) och ’ansvarsfulla investeringar’. Under de senaste decennierna har dessa begrepp utvecklats till att bli vanligt förkommande och har spridits över världen. Som globala koncept medför de en gemensam uppsättning av idéer och metoder, såsom de som förs fram i internationella standarder för företags CSR rapportering, och utav internationella organisationer såsom FN:s Global Compact. Ändå skiljer de sig åt mellan olika kontexter och är konstruerade och återges av företag i förhållande till sociala sammanhang. Begreppen ges mening i relation till sociala institutioner i form av normer och konventioner som redan omger företag och sociala frågor. Baserat på nyinstitutionell teori undersöker avhandlingen konstruktioner av samhällsansvar och ansvarstagande, i diskurs och i institutionella sammanhang, över regioner som inte ofta jämförs i forskningen kring skillnader i företags samhällsansvar: två Västeuropeiska välfärdsstater (Sverige och Storbritannien) och två tillväxtekonomier i södra Afrika (Sydafrika och Mauritius). Syftet med avhandlingen är att bidra till litteraturen kring CSR och ansvarsfulla investeringar med ett sociologiskt perspektiv som är jämförande och för samman institutionell teori med social konstruktionism och Foucaults perspektiv på makt. Avhandlingen analyserar hur föreställningar om CSR och ansvarsfulla investeringar konstrueras i förhållande till de sociala institutioner som omger företags engagemang i samhällsfrågor, och belyser speciellt vikten av samhällets välfärdssystem och konventioner kring finansiella investeringar som betydelsefulla för dessa begrepp. Huvudargumentet i denna avhandling är att CSR och ansvarsfulla investeringar måste ses som kontextuellt skapade, i diskurs och praxis, på ett sätt som drar gränserna och skapar förutsättningarna för företags engagemang i samhällsfrågor. Avhandlingen omfattar tre artiklar. Artikel 1 är en innehållsanalys av företags självrapportering om CSR och artikeln undersöker hur innehållet som ges till CSR i självrapporteringen relaterar till hur samhället i övrigt hanterar välfärd och sociala frågor. Artikeln visar på hur CSR på så sätt skiljer sig åt mellan fyra olika länder där två är tillväxtekonomier i södra Afrika och två är Västeuropeiska välfärdsstater. Artikel 2 är en diskursanalys som undersöker språkliga repertoarer (interpretative repertoires) som förekommer i företags självrapportering om CSR, i samma uppsättning av fyra länder. Repertoarerna analyseras som tillämpandet av diskurs och de synliggör hur makt är av betydelse i skapandet av diskurser kring CSR. Artikel 3 fokuserar på ansvarfulla investeringar och undersöker detta som en form av aktivt skapande och återskapande av samhällsinstitutioner. Baserat på en intervjustudie med institutionella investerare i Sverige analyseras ansvarfullt investerande som en process som på samma gång innebär både skapande av en ny social institution, ansvarsfulla investeringar, och återskapande av en existerande institution, finansiella investeringar. Skapandet av nya idéer inom ramarna för en existerande institution påverkar innebörden i ansvarsfulla investeringar. I sin helhet bidrar avhandlingen med ett sociologiskt perspektiv på hur uppfattningar om företags samhällsansvar skapas och återskapas.
At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript. Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript.
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Zanni, Maria Angeliki. "Communication of sustainability information and assessment within BIM-enabled collaborative environment." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2017. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/24680.
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Sustainable performance of buildings has become a major concern among construction industry professionals. However, sustainability considerations are often treated as an add-on to building design, following ad hoc processes for their implementation. As a result, the most common problem to achieve a sustainable building outcome is the absence of the right information at the right time to make critical decisions. For design team members to appreciate the requirements of multidisciplinary collaboration, there is a need for transparency and a shared understanding of the process. The aim of this study is to investigate, model, and facilitate the early stages of Building Information Modelling (BIM) enabled Sustainable Building Design (SBD) by formalising the ad hoc working relationships of the best practices in order to standardise the optimal collaboration workflows. Thus, this research strives to improve BIM maturity level for SBD, assisting in the transition from ad hoc to defined , and then, to managed . For this purpose, this study has adopted an abductive research approach (iterative process of induction and deduction) for theory building and testing. Four (4) stages of data collection have been conducted, which have resulted in a total of 32 semi-structured interviews with industry experts from 17 organisations. Fourteen (14) best practice case studies have been identified, and 20 incidents narratives have been collected applying the Critical Decision Method (CMD) to examine roles and responsibilities, resources, information exchanges, interdependencies, timing and sequence of events, and critical decisions. As a result, the research has classified the critical components of SBD into a framework utilising content and thematic analyses. These have included the definition of roles and competencies that are essential for SBD along with the existing opportunities, challenges, and limitations. Then, Schedules of Services for SBD have been developed for the following stages of the RIBA Plan of Work 2013: stage 0 (Strategic Definition), stage 1 (Preparation and Brief), and stage 2 (Concept Design). The abovementioned SBD components have been coordinated explicitly into a systematic process, which follows Concurrent Engineering (CE) principles utilising Integrated DEFinition (IDEF) structured diagramming techniques (IDEF0 and IDEF3). The results have identified the key players roles and responsibilities, tasks (BIM Uses), BIM-based deliverables, and critical decision points for SBD. Furthermore, Green BIM Box (GBB) workflow management prototype tool has been developed to analyse communication and delivery of BIM-enabled SBD in a centralised system (Common Data Environment, CDE). GBB s system architecture for SBD process automation is demonstrated through Use Case Scenarios utilising the OMG UML (Object Management Group s Unified Modelling Language) notation. The proposed solution facilitates the implementation of BIM, Information Communication Technology (ICT), and Building Performance Analysis (BPA) software to realise the benefits of combining distributed teams expertise holistically into a common process. Finally, the research outcomes have been validated through academic and industrial reviews that have led to the refinement of the IDEF process model and framework. It has been found that collaborative patterns are repeatable for a variety of different non-domestic building types such as education, healthcare, and offices. Therefore, the research findings support the idea that a detailed process, which follows specified communication patterns, can assist in achieving sustainability targets efficiently in terms of time, cost, and effort.
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Masters, Nyssa Catherine. "The Biomechanics of the Tendu in Closing to the Traditional Position, Pli#233; and Relev#233." Scholar Commons, 2013. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4825.
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Dancers spend many years practicing repetitive movements in order for their bodies to gain flexibility, strength and muscle memory. This thesis investigated the biomechanics of a dance student's knee motion during a tendu to the front in first, third, and fifth positions. A dancer will often perform 75 or more tendu closing actions during one technique class - particularly in ballet technique. During a tendu the moving foot moves along the floor but the toes never leave the floor. The tendu is used to strengthen the leg muscles, particularly the quadriceps and gluteal muscles. Flexion/extension, abduction/adduction, and rotation angles of the knees during a traditional flat footed closing were compared to the knee angles during pli#233; and relev#233; closing. These movements were performed by 10 healthy dance students from USF. The dancers' movements were tracked using the VICON Nexus motion analysis system and 27 passive reflective markers placed on bony landmarks. Visual 3D software was used to calculate the knee angles. There were statistically significant the differences between knee angles during the traditional and pli#233; closings and between the relev#233; and pli#233; closings for all positions. There were only 4 conditions in which there was statistical significance between traditional and relev#233; closings. Knee flexion difference between the traditional and relev#233; closings was unanticipated, as the expectation of the tendu movement is to maintain a fully straight knee throughout the full range. This result suggests that the students may be bending the knees to achieve greater outward rotation, particularly in the third and fifth positions. The pli#233; had the largest range of motion (ROM) for all of the angles tested including abduction/adduction in which the subjects used the abduction at the knee to hold the feet in a turned out position. The collected data gives better insight into the biomechanics of the knee movement and will be used as feedback for improving muscular strength and preventing injuries in dancers.
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Hartwich, Kathleen, Alejandro Lorente Gomez, Jaroslaw Pyrc, Radosław Gut, Stefan Rammelt, and René Grass. "Biomechanical Analysis of Stability of Posterior Antiglide Plating in Osteoporotic Pronation Abduction Ankle Fracture Model With Posterior Tibial Fragment." Sage, 2017. https://tud.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A35489.
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Background: We performed a biomechanical comparison of 2 methods for operative stabilization of pronation-abduction stage III ankle fractures; group 1: Anterior-posterior lag screws fixing the posterior tibial fragment and lateral fibula plating (LSLFP) versus group 2: locked plate fixation of the posterior tibial fragment and posterior antiglide plate fixation of the fibula (LPFP). Methods: Seven pairs of fresh-frozen osteoligamentous lower leg specimens (2 male, and 5 female donors) were used for the biomechanical testing. Bone mineral density (BMD) of each specimen was assessed by means of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. After open transection of the deltoid ligament, an osteotomy model of pronation abduction stage III ankle fracture was created. Specimens were systematically assigned to LSLFP (group 1, left ankles) or LPPFP (group 2, right ankles). After surgery, all specimens were evaluated via CT to verify reduction and fixation. Axial load was then applied onto each specimen using a servohydraulic testing machine starting from 0 N (Zwick/Roell, Ulm, Germany) at a speed of 10 N/s with the foot fixed in a 10 degrees pronation and 15 degrees dorsiflexion position. Construct stiffness, yield, and ultimate strength were measured and dislocation patterns were documented with a high-speed camera. The normal distribution of all data was analyzed using Shapiro-Wilk test. The group comparison was performed using paired Student t test. Statistical significance was assumed at a P value of .05. Results: All specimens had BMD values consistent with osteoporosis. BMD values did not differ between the left and right ankles of the same pair (P = .762). The mean BMD values between feet of men (0.603 g/cm²) and women (0.329 g/cm²) were statistically different (P = .005). The ultimate strength for LSLFP (group 1) with 1139 ± 669 N and LPPFP (group 2) with 2008 ± 943 N was statistically different (P = .036) as well as the yield in LSLFP (group 1) 812 ± 452 N and LPPFD (group 2) 1292 ± 625 N (P = .016). Construct stiffness trended to be higher in group 2 (179 ± 100 kNn) compared to group 1 (127 ± 73 kN/m) but this difference was not statistically significant (P = .120). BMD correlated with bone-construct failure. Conclusion: Fixation of the posterior tibial edge with a posterolateral locking plate resulted in higher biomechanical stability than anterior-posterior lag screw fixation in an osteoporotic pronation-abduction fracture model. Clinical Relevance: The clinical implication of this biomechanical study is that the posterior antiglide plating might be advantageous in patients with osteoporotic pronation abduction stage III ankle fracture.
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Ekegren, Christina Louise. "Agreement and validity of observational risk screening guidelines in evaluating ACL injury risk factors." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/1622.
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Study Design: Methodological study.
Objectives: To examine the agreement and validity of using observational risk screening guidelines to evaluate ACL injury risk factors.
Background: Post-pubescent females have an increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury compared with their male counterparts partly due to their high-risk landing and cutting strategies. There are currently no scientifically-tested methods to screen for these high risk strategies in the clinic or on the field.
Methods and Measures: Three physiotherapists used observational risk screening guidelines to rate the neuromuscular characteristics of 40 adolescent female soccer players. Drop jumps were rated as high risk or low risk based on the degree of knee abduction. Side hops and side cuts were rated on the degree of lower limb 'reaching'. Ratings were evaluated for intrarater and interrater agreement using kappa coefficients. 3D motion analysis was used as a gold standard for determining the validity of ratings.
Results: Acceptable intrarater and interrater agreement (k≥0.61) were attained for the drop jump and the side hop, with kappa coefficients ranging from 0.64 to 0.94. Acceptable sensitivity (≥0.80) was attained for the side hop and the side cut, with values ranging from 0.88 to 1.00. Acceptable specificity (≥0.50) was attained for the drop jump, with values ranging from 0.64 to 0.72.
Conclusion: Observational risk screening is a practical and cost-effective method of screening for ACL injury risk. Based on levels of agreement and sensitivity, the side hop appears to be a suitable screening task. Agreement was acceptable for the drop jump but its validity needs further investigation.
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Bellelle, Swan. "L’approche transductive en analyse institutionnelle : les deux logiques de l'éducation tout au long et tout au large de la vie." Thesis, Paris 8, 2014. http://www.theses.fr/2014PA080009.
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Cette thèse pourrait intéresser toute personne souhaitant penser sa vie dans sa transversalité. Elle pourrait aussi intéresser tout praticien voulant penser différemment ses pratiques pédagogiques, formatives au-delà de la seule logique hypothético-déductive. Cette thèse propose de développer une approche transductive mettant en tension deux logiques initiant ainsi un espace formatif intermédiaire : l’entre-deuxThis thesis could interest anyone wishing to think his life in its transversality. It could also interest practitioner wanting to think differently its educational, formative practices beyond the hypothetico-deductive logic. This thesis proposes to develop a transductive approach involving tension two logics heralding an intermediary formative space : in-between
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Taranto, Julie. "Analysis of dynamic angle of gait and radiographic features in subjects with hallux valgus." University of Western Australia. School of Surgery and Pathology, 2005. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2005.0049.
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[Truncated abstract] Hallux valgus (HV) is one of the most common foot deformities encountered in clinical practice. This complex deformity primarily affects the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MPJ), leading to altered foot structure and function. By virtue of the lateral displacement of the hallux on the first metatarsal, HV has the potential to influence adjacent joints of the foot. In doing so, function of the foot may be altered, and clinically this may result in abduction of the foot during the stance phase of gait. However the relationship between an abducted angle of gait (AOG) and HV has never been substantially examined. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between HV and AOG, and determine if specific radiographic features are associated with the deformity or with a particular AOG. Such information would assist in understanding aetiological factors and the effects of intervention to treat the deformity ... Length and elevation of the first metatarsal were associated in subjects with HV, implying that length of the metatarsal may be related to whether or not it becomes elevated (R: 0.50, CI: 0.21, 0.71, P< 0.05). Similarly, an association was found between length of the first metatarsal and the amount of first MPJ dorsiflexion, suggesting perhaps length of the metatarsal has implications for first MPJ range of motion (R: -0.37, CI: -0.62, -0.04, P<0.05). However the amount of first MPJ dorsiflexion did not influence the AOG in HV subjects when compared to the control group. First MPJ dorsiflexion was also associated with the first intermetatarsal angle. Interestingly, the HV group alone did not show an association between the hallux abductus angle and the first intermetatarsal angle. The findings of this study are contrary to those suspected in clinical practice and alluded to in the literature. Despite the documented support for the biomechanical causes of HV, an abducted AOG was not significantly different in HV subjects when compared to controls. Possible explanations may have related to limitations of the present study including the size and gender demographics of the sample population, and greater variability in normal AOG ranges than reported in the literature. The present study indicated a possible need to gather information regarding foot dominance and leg length; factors extrinsic to the foot capable of influencing transverse plane orientation of the foot; and, the influence of symptoms and subsequent compensatory mechanisms adopted during gait.
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Nilsson, Jennifer, Helén Liljenroth, and Petra Lorenzon. "Hur kan Vita Renen synas i snö? : En studie om marknadsföringsaktiviteter hos ett avlägset beläget litet företag." Thesis, Mälardalens högskola, Akademin för hållbar samhälls- och teknikutveckling, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-14771.
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Background and Problem discussion: Consumers are reached by an average of 3000 marketing messages daily which proves that a company’s marketing needs to be strong and characteristic in order not to lose customers. It is of even greater importance that marketing reaches the chosen target group and is designed in accordance with the company’s vision and is shown where the target group sees it. Purpose: The aim of this bachelor thesis is to study how small businesses use marketing and to recommend appropriate marketing measures given their size, limited budget and secluded location. Method: This study has been made in accordance with a qualitative method with an analytical abduction approach using a case study where the case is Vita Renen. To achieve the aim of this study the authors combined secondary and primary data such as previous conducted research with interviews with the owners and staff of Vita Renen. Result and Conclusion: The result demonstrates that untraditional marketing would be the best option for Vita Renen because they are a company with limited marketing budget and this type of advertising is based on creative thinking and design on pre-existing resources. The result also showed that untraditional marketing stands out among other advertisements and is therefore appropriate for a company who is located remotely. The conclusion is that Vita Renen should conduct a guerrilla marketing as a method to increase brand awareness about the company. Suggestion for future research: It would be of interest to investigate similar small businesses in the same sector and with the same conditions as Vita Renen to see if the result of the study can be generalized or not.Bakgrund och problem: En konsument nås genomsnittligen av 3000 budskap dagligen vilket bidrar till att det är av stor vikt att företagets marknadsföring är genomslagskraftig då många företag försöker attrahera samma kunder. Det är av ännu större vikt att marknadsföringen når rätt målgrupp, är utformad i enlighet med företagets vision och placeras så att budskapet kan ses av den tänkta målgruppen. Syfte: Syftet med denna kandidatuppsats är att studera hur småföretag använder sig av marknadsföring idag för att kunna rekommendera lämplig marknadsföringsåtgärd med tanke på företagets storlek, limiterade budget och avskilda placering. Metod: Studien har gjorts i enlighet med en kvalitativ metod med en analytisk abduktion som ansats och i form av en fallstudie då fallet som undersöks är Vita Renen. För att uppnå syftet har författarna kombinerat sekundär- och primärdata i form av tidigare genomförd forskning samt djupintervjuer med ägare och anställda utförda hos det berörda företaget Vita Renen. Resultat och Slutsatser: Resultatet påvisar att otraditionell marknadsföring vid rätt utförande skulle vara det mest lämpade alternativet för Vita Renen då de har en limiterad marknadsföringsbudget då denna typ av reklam bygger på kreativt tänkande och utformade med redan befintliga resurser. Resultatet visade även att otraditionell marknadsföring är utstickande reklam och är därför passande för ett företag beläget avsides. Slutsatsen är att Vita Renen bör genomföra guerillamarknadsföring som en åtgärd för att öka varumärkeskännedomen kring företaget. Förslag på vidare forskning: Det vore av intresse att undersöka liknande småföretag inom samma sektor samt med samma förutsättningar som Vita Renen för att undersöka om studiens resultat går att generalisera eller inte.
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Schmidt, Johannes. "Classification en complexité de problèmes de raisonnement non-monotone et d' énumération." Thesis, Aix-Marseille, 2012. http://www.theses.fr/2012AIXM4055/document.
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Nous considérons dans cette thèse la complexité algorithmique de problèmes émanant de deux formalismes de raisonnement non-monotone: l'abduction et l'argumentation. Le premier est destiné à formaliser le processus de trouver des explications pour une manifestation observée, le second (et plus récent) offre un cadre théorique pour formaliser le processus de l'argumentation. Nous nous concentrons sur le problème d'existence d'une explication pour l'abduction et sur le problème d'existence d'un argument pour l'argumentation. Dans le cadre de la logique propositionnelle dans son ensemble ces problèmes sont considérés comme étant des tâches algorithmiques difficiles (ils sont souvent situés au deuxième niveau de l'hiérarchie polynomial). Notre but est d'une part de comprendre les sources de difficulté, et d'autre part d'identifier des fragments de la logique propositionnelle dans lequels ces problèmes sont résolubles efficacement. Pour cela nous considérons ces problèmes d'abduction et d'argumentation dans deux cadres bien-établis qui permettent des classifications de complexité : Le cadre de Post et celui de Schaefer. Dans le cadre de Post, des restrictions sont faites sur les connecteurs autorisés dans les formules utilisées. Dans le cadre de Schaefer, on considère les formules en forme normale conjonctive généralisée, les "clauses" sont alors des applications de relations booléennes à des variables et on restreint le type des relations autoriséesIn this thesis we consider the computational complexity of problems from two central formalisms of nonmonotonic reasoning: abduction and argumentation. The first one is designed to formalize the process of finding explanations for some observed manifestation, the second (and more recent) one gives a theoretical framework to formalize the process of argumentation. We focus on the explanation-existence problem for abduction and on the argument-existence problem for argumentation. Considered in full propositional logic these problems are believed to be computationally costly tasks (they are often situated at the second level of the polynomial hierarchy). With the purpose of understanding sources of hardness and of identifying tractable fragments of propositional logic we consider several abduction and argumentation problems in two well-established settings allowing for complexity classifications. In the first one, Post's Framework, restrictions are made on the allowed connectives in the used formulae, whereas in the second one, Schaefer's Framework, one considers formulae in conjunctive normal form, where the clauses are generalized to applications of arbitrary Boolean relations to variables and one restricts the allowed type of relations. We discuss differences and common features between the explanation-existence and the argument-existence problem in function of the two chosen frameworks. Finally, we consider enumeration. In particular we consider the problem of enumerating all solutions (models) of a propositional formula by non-decreasing weight in Schaefer's framework (the weight of a model being the number of variables assigned to true)
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Lamont, Isabel Ruth. "An analysis of the EU's commitment to gender equality in the context of private international family law : a case study of international child abduction under regulation 2201/2003." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.507269.
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Strandberg, Thomas. "Vuxna med förvärvad traumatisk hjärnskada - omställningsprocesser och konsekvenser i vardagslivet : En studie av femton personers upplevelser och erfarenheter av att leva med förvärvad traumatisk hjärnskada." Doctoral thesis, Örebro University, Department of Health Sciences, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-623.
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The overall purpose of this study is to illuminate the changeover process experienced by individuals who as adults acquired a traumatic brain injury (TBI), to increase the knowledge and the understanding of this process, and describe the meaning of support in every day life.
Persons who acquired a TBI as adults were administered a semi-structured interview covering six areas: consequences of TBI, family and social networks, working life and occupation, life-changes, support from society and everyday life. The interviews were qualitative and in-depth. A total of 15 informants participated, aged between 19-53 years when injured. Data were structured and underwent two phases of analysis. In the first phase, data underwent latent content analysis, underpinned by a hermeneutic approach, and in the subsequent phase, reanalysed within a framework derived from the theory of social recognition.
Findings from the first phase of inductive analysis elicited key themes: (i) the meaning of care, a question of formal and/or informal support; (ii) the meaning of action, a question of activity versus inactivity; (iii) autonomy, a question of dependence versus independence; (iv) social interaction, a question of encounter and/or treatment; (v) the theme of changes, a question of process versus stagnation; and (vi) emotions, an oscillation between hope versus hopelessness. After the construction of the six themes each of them were, through a discursive analysis, connected with theories, earlier studies in the field of brain injuries and important interview quotations from the empirical material. During this phase, an interest developed to study the material from a new theoretical point of view. The second phase of analysis therefore involved the development of a framework derived from Honneth’s (1995) theory of social recognition. The central construct of ‘recognition’ was analysed from three different dimensions proposed by Honneth: the individual dimension, the legal dimension, the value dimension. Using this framework, the data were reanalysed. The scientific term for this process of re-contextualisation and re-description of data is abduction inference.
Reported consequences were negative as well as positive. Significant others (e.g. next of kin) had an important function as a driving force for training and preparation for life-situation after injury. A majority of the informants were satisfied with support from society, such as hospital-care, rehabilitation and community support. Such support, initially, proceeded without problems but as time passed, the responsibility shifted to the person with TBI to take the initiative in arranging longer-term services. Long-term support which addresses physical, cognitive as well as psychosocial consequences of the TBI is important for outcomes. The majority of the informants had difficulties in returning to working life after the injury. The outcomes and recovery seemed to be a prolonged process, probably never ending, but which gradually over time becomes integrated as a part of life. The informants gave varying accounts of the extent to which they experienced social recognition.
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Hearnshaw, Edward J. S. "A Post-classical economics approach to ecosystem management." Diss., Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1425.
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A principal purpose of this thesis is to present an economic evaluation of ecosystems. The concept of ecosystem health is adopted to ascertain the status of ecosystems. Ecosystem health is considered in part an economic concept and defined as a function of utility through the ecosystem services that satisfy various needs, subject to preserving the integrity of the adaptive cycle. In order to quantify the utility supplied by ecosystem services the novel utility index Ecosystem Outcome Protection Year (ECOPY) is developed. By forming this index, an evaluation can be performed using cost utility analysis, which avoids monetizing these benefits. An attempt is made to ascertain an appropriate approach for ecosystem management. It is reasoned that expert intuition can determine some kind of macro-regularities in ecosystems despite their complex dynamics. Hence, these inferences could be used for ecosystem management. Adaptive co-management is introduced as a means to bring about the collaboration of experts as resource co-managers. The concept of informed intuition is developed to bring about a systematic approach to learning and evaluation where the mental models of experts are transcribed using fuzzy cognitive mapping. However, it is argued that ecosystems as complex adaptive systems are non-ergodic and full of surprises. Accordingly, abduction, the logic of creative conjecture is systematically developed, for the purposes of maintaining mental model flexibility. This systematic application of abduction with an informed intuition forms the proposed abductive process of research, which is grounded in Shacklean potential surprise, a non-probabilistic function. To demonstrate this novel research process, a post-classical economic evaluation of Te Waihora lake ecosystem is undertaken, which employs the ECOPY index and potential surprise method. This empirical case study reveals various cost-effective management actions for improving lake health, which went beyond the intuitions of resource co-managers. This indicated the potential of the approach, which is considered a significant contribution for the methodological development of ecosystem management.
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Papasozomenou, Ourania. "The Water Crisis in the Greek Island Complex of the Cyclades: Diagnosis, Analysis, and Rectification." Doctoral thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.18452/19474.
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Das vorliegende Buch hat die Analyse des funktionsgestörten Wassersektors auf den beiden Zykladen Inseln Tinos und Syros in Griechenland zum Ziel. Die Bevölkerung dieser Inseln leidet unter einer Kombination aus mangelnder Wasserqualität, -quantität und hohen Wasserpreisen. Die Arbeit setzt sich mit Gründen der Ineffektivität zentral geplanter Maßnahmen (technische Lösungen und administrative Reformen) bei der Lösung solcher Probleme auseinander. Die übergeordnete Forschungsfrage hierbei lautet: Warum ist der Wassersektor angesichts einer Vielzahl von Lösungsversuchen immer noch dysfunktional?
Um diese Frage zu beantworten, liegt der Fokus auf der institutionellen statt auf der physikalischen Dimension des Problems. Hierbei verfolgte ich eine abduktive Strategie innerhalb des Forschungsprozesses. Auf institutionentheoretischen Annahmen basierend, komme ich zu zwei Schlussfolgerungen, die einen Teufelskreis vermuten lassen: i) Institutionen und Politik haben zu einer chronischen Dysfunktionalität, die sich in einer unsteten und unsicheren Wasserversorgung äußert, geführt. ii) Diese Dysfunktionalität verhindert eine Veränderung der existierenden Institutionen.
Basierend auf meiner Analyse schlussfolgere ich, dass die Top-down-Strukturen und die zentral gesteuerten Regularien die Hauptursache sind, dass es zu keiner vernünftigen Veränderung oder gar einer Lösung der Probleme im Wassersektor kommt. Mehr noch, sie sind die eigentlichen Gründe für die Misere und deren Persistenz. Eine Dezentralisierung der Steuerung und eine Unabhängigkeit der lokalen politischen Ebene (institutionell und finanziell) stellen einen vielversprechenden Ansatz zur Verbesserung der Situation dar. Beamte vor Ort kennen die örtlichen Gegebenheiten und fühlen sich verantwortlich für die lokale Bevölkerung.This study aims at diagnosing the dysfunctional water sector of Tinos and Syros, islands in the Cyclades island complex of Greece. At present, these islands suffer from insufficient water quantity, combined with poor quality and high cost. The research problem addressed in this thesis is the apparent inability of centrally planned technical and administrative-reform solutions that have been promoted to rectify the problems. This work explores the reasons for the inability to rectify the water sector and aims to answer the overarching research question: Why is the water sector in the Cyclades still dysfunctional, despite the attempted solutions? To explore these emergent questions related to policy making, I revisit existing legal rules and relations relevant to the context, viewed in parallel with aspects of human behaviour and transactions under the analytical lens classical institutional economics offers. The reasons for the water-supply dysfunction in the study islands are, thus, sought after in terms of transactions amongst actors, working rules regulating those transactions, and officials’ remedial power at all levels. Based on my analysis, I conclude that top-down structures and centrally planned policies have been hindering the meaningful change and rectification of the water sector and have, in fact, created and prolonged the dysfunction. Decentralising governance, granting local-level autonomy (institutional and financial) is a plausible way of rectifying the water sector, as local officials are knowledgeable about local conditions and feel liable to their fellow citizens, who would willingly cooperate with this level of government.
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Hijazy, Muhammad. "Equity perception and communication among Arab expatriate professionals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." Thesis, University of Hertfordshire, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2299/17710.
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The research aims to study how the communication context within the Arab cultures influences the employees' perception of equity and reaction to inequity. Specifically, the study explores how employees from Arab cultural backgrounds communicate with each other within the Saudi working context; and how they collect, interpret and use the different contextual information - from the contexts in which they live and work - in order to make judgements about issues related to the perception of equity and reaction to inequity. In order to study the research topic, a conceptual framework is developed to reconcile between Equity Theory, Social Comparison Theory and Hall's Context Model; and as a base serving the process of designing/choosing the methods of collecting and analysing the data. Three main research questions are developed which are about (i) how the communication context is related to employees' willingness and ability to react to inequity (ii) how the communication context shapes the nature of inequity reactions executed by employees and (iii) how the communication context is related to the way equity is perceived among employees. A modified version of critical realism is adopted to focus on exploring the mechanisms, within the communication context, which influence the perception of equity and reaction to inequity. A combination of retroduction and abduction is developed in a sense that retroduction is used to direct the research toward exploring the structure and mechanisms within the research setting, while abduction is used to draw conclusions about how the phenomena studied in the research are evolving by the structure and mechanisms. A mixed methods approach is adopted in the research. The research includes data from thirty-five semi-structured interviews which are conducted in mainly three Saudi private-sector organisations located in Jeddah with twenty-nine male employees and six male managers of six different Arab nationalities. Template analysis is used to analyse the qualitative interview transcripts and field notes, while cluster analysis is used to group the research participants based on their quantitative responses. The research finds that there are no clear-cut areas separating the activities linked to the perception of equity and reaction to inequity. I also conclude that the perception of equity norms and equity comparison components can sometimes be separate activities. Some factors such as the religious interpretation, face-saving, and contextual norms and powers influence the employees' willingness to react to inequity by altering the way in which those employees perceive equity norms. Here, unwillingness decisions are often made not as a result of personal conviction but as a compromise based on the personal evaluation of the surrounding context, realising the inability of the self to react to such situations in the first place. Thus, it can be concluded that inability to react to inequity can reduce the employees' willingness to react against under-rewarded situations. The process of perceiving equity comparison components is found to be related to the type of reaction adopted to re-establish the equity; this relationship is represented by groups affiliated by a hidden factor or factors, which is more influential than the ethnicity/nationality of the group's members. The research makes a methodological contribution to knowledge by suggesting a new approach to study human relations through the communication context; a conceptual contribution by combining the concepts of equity perception, social comparison and communication context in one conceptual framework; and an empirical contribution by providing a fresh insight to contextual themes in the Saudi working environment.
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Saillenfest, Antoine. "Modélisation cognitive de la pertinence narrative en vue de l'évaluation et de la génération de récits." Thesis, Paris, ENST, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015ENST0073/document.
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Une part importante de l’activité de communication humaine est dédiée au récit d’événements (fictifs ou non). Ces récits doivent être cohérents et intéressants pour être pertinents. Dans le domaine de la génération automatique de récits, la question de l’intérêt a souvent été négligée, ou traitée via l’utilisation de méthodes ad hoc, au profit de la cohérence des structures narratives produites. Nous proposons d’aborder le processus de création des récits sous l’angle de la modélisation quantitative de critères de pertinence narrative via l’application d’un modèle cognitif de l’intérêt événementiel. Nous montrerons que cet effort de modélisation peut servir de guide pour concevoir un modèle cognitivement plausible de génération de narrationsHumans devote a considerable amount of time to producing narratives. Whatever a story is used for (whether to entertain or to teach), it must be relevant. Relevant stories must be believable and interesting. The field of computational generation of narratives has explored many ways of generating narratives, especially well-formed and understandable ones. The question of what makes a story interesting has however been largely ignored or barely addressed. Only some specific aspects of narrative interest have been considered. No general theoretical framework that would serve as guidance for the generation of interesting and believable narratives has been provided. The aim of this thesis is to introduce a cognitive model of situational interest and use it to offer formal criteria to decide to what extent a story is relevant. Such criteria could guide the development of a cognitively plausible model of story generation
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Karlsson, Anette, and Mimmi Lasses. "Innehållsanalys av cykelplaner med ett jämställdhetsperspektiv : En granskning av sex svenska kommuner." Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Samhällsbyggnad, GIS, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-27021.
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Genom integrering av jämställdhet kan medborgarnas intressen och rättigheter tillgodoses och beaktas. Ett jämställdhetsperspektiv är ett brett begrepp och fångar in flera olika aspekter och bidrar till ökad social hållbarhet. Jämställdhet uppnås när kvinnor och män, flickor och pojkar har lika rättigheter, villkor och möjligheter att forma sina liv. Det inkluderar även rättvis makt och inflytande av samhällsutvecklingen. I ett urbaniserat samhälle krävs det att markanvändningen effektiviseras. Här kan ett hållbart transportsystem bidra till ett hållbart samhälle med god livsmiljö. För att uppnå de nationella och globala hållbarhetsmålen kommer cykeln få större betydelse för samhället. I Sverige är cykelplaner ett relativt nytt strategiskt dokument för kommuner att arbeta med. I nuläget finns det inga nationella riktlinjer och strategier för hur detta arbete ska gå till. Det är upp till kommunerna själva att arbeta fram ett sådant strategiskt cykeldokument. Syftet med detta arbete var att med hjälp av en innehållsanalys ta reda på om jämställdhetsperspektivet är integrerat i cykelplaner, där sex svenska kommuners planer granskats. Arbetets målsättning är att skapa ett underlag som kan användas för att säkerställa jämställdheten i cykelplaner. Jämställdhet är komplext och genom litteraturstudien har begreppet brutits ner till åtta aspekter för att göra begreppet mer konkret. För att genomföra innehållsanalysen utformades en checklista. Checklistan baserades på två befintliga checklistor från SKL och Alingsås kommun, som sedan utvecklades succesivt genom abduktion mellan cykelplanerna och checklistan. Resultatet av studien visar att jämställdhet kan vara svårt att integrera i cykelplaner. Studien har bidragit med en analysmetod som möjliggör en granskning av jämställdhet i plandokument på ett kvalitativt sätt. För att kommuner ska kunna öka jämställdheten i plandokument har denna studie gett ett förslag på ett verktyg, en jämställdhetkonsekvensbeskrivning. Detta verktyg ska fungera som ett stöd till kommuner för att integrera jämställdhet tidigt i arbetsprocesser och användas kontinuerligt under utvecklingen av samhället.By implementing gender equality, citizens' interests and rights may be met by considering various aspects of its perception. A gender equality perspective captures different aspects of the notion and contribute to an increase in social sustainability. Gender equality is achieved when women, men, girls, and boys have equal rights, conditions and opportunities to shape their lives in accordance to their own free will. This also includes a fair power balance between the genders and their ability to actively influence on social development. In an urbanized society, the use of land needs to be optimized and effective. Therefore, a sustainable and optimized transportation system, can contribute to a sustainable society. In the long-term perspective, this could mean a better day to day living situation for the future urban citizen. To achieve national and global sustainability goals, the bicycle will be more important for the society. Regarding the bicycle as means of a more active and modern way of transportation, strategic planning for bicycles is a relatively new phenomena in Swedish municipalities. Currently there are no national guidelines or strategies for how such planning and development should be executed. Today the municipalities themselves are responsible to develop their own strategic documents regarding how the bicycle could be implemented into their future local community. The purpose of this study was to find out if gender equality is integrated into bicycling transportations plans from six Swedish municipalities, using a content analysis. The aim of the study was to create a basis of analysis that can be used to ensure equality in bicycle transportation plans. Gender equality is a complex issue and through the literature study, the term have been broken down to eight aspects to create an easier understanding. To perform the content analysis, a checklist was created. The checklist was based on two existing checklists from SKL (Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting) and Alingsås municipality, which subsequently was developed by abduction between bicycle transportation plans and the checklist. The results of the study show that gender equality is difficult to integrate into bicycle transportation plans. The study has contributed to an analytical method that enables a qualitative review of gender equality in strategic planning documents. For municipalities to increase gender equality in planning documents, this study has provided a proposal for an instrument, a gender equality impact report. This instrument will serve as a support for municipalities to integrate gender equality early in work processes and be used continuously in the development of society.
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Chiu, Chien Chang, and 邱建彰. "The application of finite element analysis and abductive network modeling for the scratch test." Thesis, 2008. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/fc549x.
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碩士國立虎尾科技大學
機械與機電工程研究所
96
Today the scratch test is an important tool, widely used for the development of some industrial sectors (anti-scratch coating, glass industries, automobile industries, . . .). The mechanical analysis of this test is very intricate. The elastic recovery angle has the difference very much as the different properties of materials, it must be taken the analysis of the numerical simulations for the scratch test in different properties of material by finite element method(FEM), observing the rheological forms of materials of different elastic and plastic. This paper combine the finite element analysis(FEM) with AIM to perform the scratch tests for bulk materials and coating. The first to simulate the scratch test with FEM then compare the elastic recovery, hardness and shape ratio with index, and discuss the effect of different material parameters, for example the yield stress, Young’s modulus and tangent modulus with conical indenter and spherical indenter. The abductive network is then utilized to synthesize the data sets obtained from numerical simulations, to predict the shape ratio, hardness and elastic recovery by AIM traning. Finally research the basis effect of the scratch test of coating/substrate.
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Kendall, Aimee Janine. "The meaning of computer simulations : rhetorical analyses of ad hoc programming." Thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/24034.
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This textual analysis examines computer simulations as rhetorical objects and acts. In particular, this work examines scientific simulations from organic chemistry and astrophysics in order to expose how rhetorical and social aspects influence the ad hoc decisions (e.g., setting initial parameters, excluding and adding arbitrary elements, and making other choices) that comprise simulations. Prior works in philosophy, critical theory and technical communication underscore fictional and formal features of simulation. In contrast, this dissertation dissects multiple levels of documents surrounding actual simulations—not only drafts of published articles but also software and code interiors, e-mail and letter correspondence, newsletters and white paper reports—in order to discuss the relational (rather than purely formal) meaning of the simulations. This work also compares simulation to other modes of the scientific imagination—paradox, thought experiments and metaphor, in particular. My findings suggest that simulations hinge upon abductive (rather than deductive or inductive) reasoning and qualify as virtual evidence. Also, while published drafts of simulation articles tidy the ad hoc twists and turns necessary for creating simulations, prior drafts and peripheral documents attest to the fact that organizational affiliations, earlier projects, and rhetorical strategies help establish the scope and meaning of simulation projects. Further, meaning-making takes place well before and long after the article drafting process—in prior incarnations of the work for presentation, in correspondence between article writers and reviewers, and in citations in others’ writing.text
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Donalson, Jacklyn Leann. "The AMBER Alert A comparative analysis of the suggested federal AMBER Alert activation guidelines and individual state activation criteria /." 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10106/1799.
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Lepselter, Susan Claudia Stewart Kathleen. "The flight of the ordinary narrative, poetics, power and UFOs in the American uncanny /." 2005. http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/1611/lepselters79143.pdf.
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Winchester, Tarryn Lee. "A comparative analysis of the exceptions/defences available under the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 1980 and their implementation and effectiveness in South Africa and Australia." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/6397.
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Po-YuShen and 沈柏宇. "A SSCP-S Musculoskeletal Model of the Shoulder Complex and Its Applications on Kinematic and Muscular Force Analyses of Arm Abduction." Thesis, 2010. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/46768608092835374452.
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碩士國立成功大學
機械工程學系碩博士班
98
For the research and development of medical instruments and hand tools, many researchers have devoted themselves on developing a better and reliable musculoskeletal model of the human upper limb. But many of them chose to ignore the shoulder girdle might because it is too complicate to include. However, it plays such an important role in various activities of the upper limb, and should be considered within the model. Thus the main purposes of this study are to propose a musculoskeletal model of the shoulder complex including shoulder girdle, and to develop models for its motion, muscular force and joint loads analyses. The SSCP-S spatial mechanism is proposed to simulate the skeletal model of the shoulder complex. The homogeneous coordinate transformation and loop-closure equation are applied to develop the kinematic analysis model; consequently, the closed form solution of the displacement analysis for arm abduction is derived. Hill-type muscular model is adopted. Based on the Obstacle-set method, the model for analyzing the muscle paths and muscle lengths is developed. Consequently, a musculoskeletal model, which includes 18 muscles, of the shoulder complex is built to consist the models developed. According to Newton’s law, the static analysis of the musculoskeletal system is also derived. The muscular force analysis is constructed as a quadratic programming problem. Finally, joint force analysis is derived with considering the muscular forces. Furthermore, the example of arm abduction is adopted to explain the usages of the models developed and to show the analysis results. Based on the results, the joint forces are increased a lots due to the effects of the muscular forces. Moreover, the results of this study should have aids on further development of the musculoskeletal model of the upper limb, and on the design and development of the medical instruments, the upper limb assisting devices and hand tools.
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Lepselter, Susan Claudia. "The flight of the ordinary: narrative, poetics, power and UFOs in the American uncanny." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/1611.
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Benetková, Hana. "Kinematická a kinetická analýza skoků ve sportovní gymnastice." Master's thesis, 2016. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-349030.
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Title: Kinematic and kinetic analysis of artistic gymnastic jumps Objectives: The aim of my master thesis is execution of kinematic - kinetic analysis of jumps in artistic gymnastics, processing data, counting force moment, which does the rotation around ventrodorsal axis, means abduction and adduction motion and recount normalized moment (moment share by body weight). Methods: The kinematic - kinetic analysis of jumps in artistic gymnastics was done by using systems Qualysis Motion Capture System and Kistler. Results: We have been researching four different gymnastic jumps in this study. Four healthy individuals underwent the measurement. They have done each jump in free valid times. There was measured abduction moment of knee joint in each jump. Adduction moments were present only in 32 % cases and lot of them hasn't significant value. There was measured abduction moment in bounces in each jump, value of standardized adduction moment wasn't signifiant. There was measured just abduction moments in dismounts of non-rotational jumps. In dismounts of rotational jumps (around longitudinal axes) was measured abduction and also adduction moment. Values of normalized abduction moments were between 0,3 - 11 m2 .s-2 . Values of normalized adduction moments were between 0 - 10 m2 .s-2 . Highest values of...