Nursing in South Africa has become a difficult and stressful profession. Nurses are faced with many challenges on a daily basis, including; heavy workloads, shortages of staff, lack of resources and reduced managerial support (Von Holdt & Murphy, 2007). The demands of their job exceed the resources they have to cope with, which in turn, leads to conflict, which ultimately affects their wellbeing. The objective of this is research is to investigate the most and least employed conflict handling styles of nurses in public hospitals and to investigate the relationship between job demands, job resources and the different conflict handling styles, among nurses in public hospitals. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A convenience sample of nursing staff (N=205) was taken from three different public hospitals on the West Rand area in the Gauteng province. The following scales were used in this study: Rahim‟s Organisational Conflict Inventory (ROCI-II) and a self-developed job characteristics questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach Alpha Coefficients and inferential statistics such as; MANOVAS, ANOVAS, product-moment correlations and standard regression analysis were used to analyse the data using the SPSS programme. The results indicated that nurses used the integrating style most frequently and used the dominating style least when dealing with a conflict situation. Furthermore, time demands, crisis management and colleague support predicted an avoiding style; while, workload, time demands, job security, feedback and colleague support predicted the use of an integrating style. The obliging conflict handling style was predicted by time demands and payment; workload, crisis management and payment predicted the use of a dominating style and finally, colleague support predicted the use of a compromising style. Further discussion and recommendations were made for future research and for the nursing profession in general. One of the recommendations is that a model can be constructed to help prevent or reduce conflict within public hospitals. / MCom (Labour Relations Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Food security is essential amongst households as it enables consumers to live a healthy and productive life. Determining factors for households to be classified as food secure is the availability, accessibility and utilisation of food in a sustainable manner as food availability and accessibility alone are not enough for households to be food secure. The food utilisation aspect of food security, which includes the type of food consumed, food knowledge and food handling practices, should therefore also be considered as it determines the quantity, quality and safety of food. High percentages of the population in the Northern Cape province of South Africa has inadequate access to food, is unemployed, poorly educated, and living below the poverty line. All these aspects contribute to food insecure households. A specific community within the Northern Cape was chosen to do research regarding households‟ food security status, namely the employees of the Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme (VIS). The VIS was approached as consumers at the Vaalharts region indicated a need to improve their awareness regarding hygiene and the consumption of adequate and a variety of food. Objective: The aim of the study was to explore employees of the VIS‟ food security status. The focus of the study was therefore on consumers who earn a stable income. As food access and utilisation are fundamental aspects in determining household food security, self-production activities, food knowledge, and consumption were investigated. Methodology: A quantitative method was used to explore the study population‟s food security status with the use of a purposive sample and interviewer-administered questionnaires (n=162). The study was conducted at the premises of VIS over a period of three weeks. Data analysis was performed by Statistical Consultation Services of the North-West University using the Statistical Program for Social Sciences. Results: Nearly one third (29.6%) of respondents‟ households were classified as food secure while almost half (48.8%) of households were at risk of being food insecure and 21.6% were food insecure. Only a few respondents were engaged in self-production activities with limited space being the main problem. Good basic food knowledge was identified amongst respondents and food secure respondents had better food knowledge than food insecure respondents. Food insecure respondents mainly consumed monotonous diets consisting of maize meal, chicken and milk. There was a tendency that at risk respondents consumed a larger variety of food high in protein which is also more expensive. Overall food secure respondents consumed a larger variety of food groups. There was an additional problem identified. Respondents at risk as well as food insecure respondents either do not use their income effectively or do not use resources bought, such as food optimally. Conclusions: Although all of the respondents were employed, and earned an income, only a small percentage were food secure. According to the findings, basic food knowledge, food consumption practices and income have an influence on respondents‟ food security status. These aspects which had an influence on respondents‟ food security status should be addressed especially amongst at risk and food insecure respondents through food related healthcare information. Food related healthcare information should be made available to the community via several sources (schools, clinics, churches) to improve consumers‟ awareness regarding aspects which negatively influence their food security status as well as how to improve it. / Master of Consumer Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Nursing in South Africa has become a difficult and stressful profession. Nurses are faced with many challenges on a daily basis, including; heavy workloads, shortages of staff, lack of resources and reduced managerial support (Von Holdt & Murphy, 2007). The demands of their job exceed the resources they have to cope with, which in turn, leads to conflict, which ultimately affects their wellbeing. The objective of this is research is to investigate the most and least employed conflict handling styles of nurses in public hospitals and to investigate the relationship between job demands, job resources and the different conflict handling styles, among nurses in public hospitals. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A convenience sample of nursing staff (N=205) was taken from three different public hospitals on the West Rand area in the Gauteng province. The following scales were used in this study: Rahim‟s Organisational Conflict Inventory (ROCI-II) and a self-developed job characteristics questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach Alpha Coefficients and inferential statistics such as; MANOVAS, ANOVAS, product-moment correlations and standard regression analysis were used to analyse the data using the SPSS programme. The results indicated that nurses used the integrating style most frequently and used the dominating style least when dealing with a conflict situation. Furthermore, time demands, crisis management and colleague support predicted an avoiding style; while, workload, time demands, job security, feedback and colleague support predicted the use of an integrating style. The obliging conflict handling style was predicted by time demands and payment; workload, crisis management and payment predicted the use of a dominating style and finally, colleague support predicted the use of a compromising style. Further discussion and recommendations were made for future research and for the nursing profession in general. One of the recommendations is that a model can be constructed to help prevent or reduce conflict within public hospitals. / MCom (Labour Relations Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Food security is essential amongst households as it enables consumers to live a healthy and productive life. Determining factors for households to be classified as food secure is the availability, accessibility and utilisation of food in a sustainable manner as food availability and accessibility alone are not enough for households to be food secure. The food utilisation aspect of food security, which includes the type of food consumed, food knowledge and food handling practices, should therefore also be considered as it determines the quantity, quality and safety of food. High percentages of the population in the Northern Cape province of South Africa has inadequate access to food, is unemployed, poorly educated, and living below the poverty line. All these aspects contribute to food insecure households. A specific community within the Northern Cape was chosen to do research regarding households‟ food security status, namely the employees of the Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme (VIS). The VIS was approached as consumers at the Vaalharts region indicated a need to improve their awareness regarding hygiene and the consumption of adequate and a variety of food. Objective: The aim of the study was to explore employees of the VIS‟ food security status. The focus of the study was therefore on consumers who earn a stable income. As food access and utilisation are fundamental aspects in determining household food security, self-production activities, food knowledge, and consumption were investigated. Methodology: A quantitative method was used to explore the study population‟s food security status with the use of a purposive sample and interviewer-administered questionnaires (n=162). The study was conducted at the premises of VIS over a period of three weeks. Data analysis was performed by Statistical Consultation Services of the North-West University using the Statistical Program for Social Sciences. Results: Nearly one third (29.6%) of respondents‟ households were classified as food secure while almost half (48.8%) of households were at risk of being food insecure and 21.6% were food insecure. Only a few respondents were engaged in self-production activities with limited space being the main problem. Good basic food knowledge was identified amongst respondents and food secure respondents had better food knowledge than food insecure respondents. Food insecure respondents mainly consumed monotonous diets consisting of maize meal, chicken and milk. There was a tendency that at risk respondents consumed a larger variety of food high in protein which is also more expensive. Overall food secure respondents consumed a larger variety of food groups. There was an additional problem identified. Respondents at risk as well as food insecure respondents either do not use their income effectively or do not use resources bought, such as food optimally. Conclusions: Although all of the respondents were employed, and earned an income, only a small percentage were food secure. According to the findings, basic food knowledge, food consumption practices and income have an influence on respondents‟ food security status. These aspects which had an influence on respondents‟ food security status should be addressed especially amongst at risk and food insecure respondents through food related healthcare information. Food related healthcare information should be made available to the community via several sources (schools, clinics, churches) to improve consumers‟ awareness regarding aspects which negatively influence their food security status as well as how to improve it. / Master of Consumer Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Wafer handling robotics are critical in semiconductor manufacturing to enable tight control of temperature, humidity, and particle contamination during processing. Closed-loop dynamic modeling during the robot design process ensures designs meet throughput and stability specifications prior to prototype hardware purchase. Dynamic models are also used in model-based control to improve performance. This thesis describes the generation and mathematical verification of a dynamic model for a three degrees-of-freedom wafer handling mechanism with one linear and two rotary axes. The dynamic plant model is integrated with motion and motor controller models, and the closed-loop performance is compared with experimental data. Models with rigid and flexible connections are compared, and the flexible connection models are shown to overall agree better with a measured step response. The simulation time increase from the addition of flexible connections can be minimized by modeling only the component stiffnesses that impact the closed-loop mechanism response. A method for selecting which elements to include based on controller bandwidth is presented and shown to significantly improve simulation times with minimal impact on model predictive performance.

Den här studien handlar om hur kränkande handlingar utspelar sig inom ämnet idrott och hälsa, vil- ket berör alla som befinner sig på denna arena. Syftet med uppsatsen är att få kunskap om hur ofta kränkande handlingar förekommer, vilka olika former som påträffas, vad de handlar om, och om dessa skiljer sig åt beroende på kön samt på vilka platser dessa handlingar främst förekommer inom ämnet idrott och hälsa. I Studien har personer i ålder 20-30 år undersökts om deras upplevelse kring hur kränkande handlingar utspelade sig på högstadiet. Det empiriska materialet består av 69 enkäter som besvarats av (34 pojkar, 35 flickor). Huvudslutsatserna i studien visar att kränkande handlingar är ett förekommande problem i idrotts- undervisningen men något som kan vara svåra att upptäcka. Det pågår ständigt ett socialt maktspel mellan elever som tar skepnad i olika kränkande former. En annan slutsats är att flickor och pojkar uttrycker sina kränkande handlingar på olika sätt, subtilt respektive synligt. Dock visar resultatet att den vanligaste formen kränkande handling tar sig uttryck är verbalt hos de båda könen. Vidare är idrottshallen en plats där det är svårt för läraren att ha uppsikt över alla situationer som händer. Plat- ser såsom omklädningsrum, vid pågående idrottsaktiviteter vid lagindelning, och vid köer till aktivi- ter skapas spelrum för att kränkningar kan ske. / This study is about how offensive deeds takes place in the subject of physical education in school, which affects all who find themselves in this arena. The purpose of the essay is to gain knowledge about the frequency of abusive acts occur, what are the different forms which are found and if these differ depending on gender and on which sites these actions mainly occurs in the subject of sport and health. The study is directed to people who are 20-30 years old and how they experienced abu- sive acts took place at the high school. The empirical material consists of 69 questionnaires an- swered by (34 male, 35 female). The main conclusions of the study show that abusive conduct is a common problem in sports educa- tion but that can be difficult to detect. There is always a social power game between students that take shape in various abusive forms, which are difficult and some are easier to notice as an outsider. Another conclusion is that girls and boys express their aggression in different ways, subtle and visi- ble. A commonly used form offensive acts manifesting itself is verbal in the two sexes. Further in- vites the sports hall as many situations where the teacher does not have sufficient supervision and attendance so that violations are detected. Places such as in the locker room, at sports activities in the team classification, queues for activities created room so that violations can occur.

Assistance in pupils’ development as individuals is an important part of what schools, according to regulatory documents, are obliged to offer. Bearing in mind that language is a vital part of both identity and learning, the pupils’ ‘own voices’ are crucial to this mission. The purpose of this study is to investigate and discuss how teachers can support and help pupils to find, express and develop these ‘own voices’, with a particular focus on how it’s done in written texts. Therefore, pupil-written texts have been collected and analysed in relation to 1) task instructions and 2) source texts. The main question in this analysis is whether or not different text portions in each pupil-written text are to be considered reproduced against either or both of these, or if they are to be considered the pupils’ own productions. The study primarily reveals that the task instructions are of great importance to the pupil-written texts. They function as starting points and guidance, and there is every reason for teachers to observe this and put effort into what the task instructions communicate.

Barnonkologen vid Uppsala Akademiska sjukhus är en barnavdelning för blod- och tumörsjukdomar. Avdelningen hanterar dagligen en stor mängd förbrukningsvaror för att kunna utföra en högkvalitativ och säker vård för patienterna. Ett identifierat behov är att effektivisera det nuvarande inventerings- och beställningsförfarandet på avdelningen, samt att organisera förråden efter personalens behov. Denna studie utreder och ger förslag på hur Barnonkologen kan förbättra sin hantering av förbrukningsmaterial. Syftet är att öka personalens tid för att vårda patienter genom att minska det administrativa arbete som vårdpersonalen spenderar på materialhanteringen idag. Tillverkande företag inom den privata sektorn har arbetat kontinuerligt med att identifiera och eliminera aktiviteter som inte skapar värde för slutkunden. Genom innovativ design av processer har industriföretagens service och kvalité kunnat förbättras. Drivkraften har bland annat varit en allt hårdnande konkurrens och för att möta denna har en viktig faktor varit att öka företagens effektivitet. Ett framgångsrikt och beprövat koncept för att åstadkomma effektivitetsökningar inom industrin är Lean Production. Sjukvården är en viktig funktion i samhället och kräver mycket resurser, men den står idag inför stora utmaningar. Liknande metoder för att leverera högre kvalitet till lägre kostnader skulle vara värdefullt för hälso- och sjukvården, men det måste även utredas noggrant hur processerna i slutändan påverkar patienten och säkerheten. Patienten bör vara i fokus och bekvämlighet och tid är viktiga aspekter som kan användas vid utvärdering av nya rutiner och processer. Studien inledes med en observation av den befintliga inventerings- och beställningsprocessen på Barnonkologen för att utföra en processkartläggning av avdelningens aktiviteter. Syftet med kartläggningen var att få en överblick över verksamheten för att vidare identifiera aktiviteter som inte var värdeskapande för varken personalen eller patienterna. I syfte att studera framgångsrika koncept för materialhantering inom vården genomfördes en omvärldsanalys bestående av observationer på andra sjukhusavdelningar. Resultatet från omvärldsanalysen var att de studerade avdelningarna använder ett materialhanteringssystem som kallas kanban. Systemet härstammar från Toyota Production System, där kanban betyder signalering på japanska, vilket ska meddela beställning. Beställningen ska ske efter rätt mängd och tid till rätt plats. Med hjälp av processkartläggningen och resultatet från omvärldsanalysen kunde en ny utformning av Barnonkologens materialhantering utformas. I ett förändringsarbete är det viktigt att den nya lösningen är väl förankrad hos personalen. Det hjälper med andra ord inte hur bra den förslagna lösningen är, om den inte är genomförbar. Därför utfördes en fokusgrupp där personalen fick ge sina synpunkter på den nya utformningen, samt hur de ansåg att ett införande skulle kunna ske. Genom detta kunde utformningen av systemet inte bara anpassas ytterligare efter personalens behov, utan också skapa underlag för förändringsarbetet.Denna studie kan visa på att ett nytt materialhanteringssystem baserat på Lean för Barnonkologens fall kan vara framgångsrikt. För Barnonkologen uppskattas att över tusen arbetstimmar kan besparas per år genom en eliminering av den visuella inventeringen och ett minskat letande efter material. Studien betonar de praktiska hinder som kan uppstå vid en implementering och understryker även vikten av ett lyckat förändringsarbete. Otillräckligt förberedda initiativ kan innebära risker som till och med kan överstiga risken att misslyckas med en förändring. Riskerna med att misslyckas kan förutom slöseri med resurser, få vårdpersonal att bli förändringströtta och i framtiden motsätta sig viktiga initiativ. I granskningen av den befintliga forskningslitteraturen inom området fanns det få empiriska undersökningar om hur sjukavdelningar kan effektivisera sina materialhanteringsprocesser. Denna studie kan visa på hur materialhanteringen kan förbättras för Barnonkologen och även fungera som underlag till vidare användning, både för andra sjukhusavdelningar men även som empiriskt bidrag till forskningsområdet. / Research Questions: I: How could a material handling system that is more time-saving and convenient than the present be structured? II: How can a new material handling system be implemented under current circumstances? III: How can Lean Healthcare be used to improve material handling in public healthcare? Purpose: The scope of the project was to study the material handling in a pediatric oncology department and give suggestions how to improve efficiency regarding time and convenience. Furthermore, analyze how Lean and Change Management can bring improvements to the public healthcare. Methodology: This master thesis is an abductive case study at Uppsala University Hospital which is equivalent to 30 ECTS. Primary data was collected through observations, a focus group, interviews and internal documents as well as business intelligence from external hospital departments. Secondary data collection was made through research papers and literature from the field of Lean, logistics' and change management. Findings: The material handling process can be improved with Leanprinciples, but the implementation requires resources and training. A two-bin replenishsystem based on kanban-methodology can save both time and be more comfortable than current material handling – by eliminating non-value activities such as visual inventory. However, there are some practical barriers regarding bacterial risks and traceability of goods.

Manufacturers are transforming their business model from being a product dominant to a customer centric organization, in order to maintain competitive advantage, as well as deliver customer satisfaction thereby to build a long-term relationship with them. The management of complaint handling is regarded as a crucial contributor to its business performance. To identify key factors that influence the efficiency of complaint handling in manufacturing industry, it is important to start with an investigation of a company's internal complaint handling management. A multiple case study has been carried out in the form of semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with managers from six different manufacturing companies. The studyreveals that four factors in complaint handling are to be paid attention to, which include complaint handling process, qualified complaint handler, complaint handling system and complaint handling policy. By comparing the companies' viewpoints as well as theoretical perspective on these factors, some differences and similarities are revealed. Finally, the study found that the complaint handler who possesses the adequate technical knowledge of the product and interpersonal skills is the most essential factor that affects complaint-handling efficiency. In the meanwhile, complaint-handling system is increasingly important in assisting companies with customer complaints.

published_or_final_version / Industrial Engineering / Master / Master of Science in Engineering