The purpose of this study is to see how an organization can prepare themselves to overcome the barriers when implementing a quality management system. When introducing a new management system regardless of its intentions, there are several obstacles, or rather barriers, which an organization will face and ultimately have to deal with in order to assure a successful implementation of a QMS. Not knowing beforehand what problems may arise from adopting a new management system may halter the process of introducing the new management system and add costs, resources, and time to the introduction phase. Although there are general barriers and problems with implementing a quality management system, there are also specific barriers for each and every organization. It is of significant importance that organizations become aware of those areas of which they need to pay the most attention to when implementing a QMS. There will be forces for and against the change process of a QMS and the latter needs to be anticipated and dealt with for a successful implementation of a QMS. By using a case organization and the managers within, we were able to assess the pre-conditions at the organization and identify which barriers that were specific for them. As managers are the ones implementing the new system as well as controlling, maintaining and continuously improving it, it was necessary for us to acquire their opinions and ideas. A qualitative research approach was taken and semi-structured interviews were held at the case organization EDB Card Services AS in Mo i Rana, Norway, which included 6 managers ranging from administrative level to operations level. We found that the biggest barrier for the case organization was the fact that departments were not as inter-dependent, but rather independent from each other which is not compatible with a quality management system. It was evident that the departments could learn from each other and that spreading knowledge and proper documentation had to be improved. At the case organization one of their specific barriers were the sharing and handling of documents, this barrier could be eliminated by educating staff and managers of how to make proper documents with a clear purpose, and distribute documents to the right person at the right time. The managers were motivated and willing to spend time assuring that the quality requirements of the QMS is maintained however stressed the fact that more resources would be needed in order to achieve this. Our findings lead us to believe that general guidelines for how to implement a QMS are insufficient to successfully handle the inherent problems and barriers when changing from“what is”, to “what could be”. The specific barriers which arise when organization take a look at themselves and identify these are probably more likely to affect the implementation process more than those that are general. We came to the conclusion that EDB Card Services AS needs to deal with the barriers that we identified as forces against a QMS, namely: departmental barriers, documentation of processes and procedures, leadership, resources, and information sharing and documentation. To effectively prepare the organization for the implementation of a QMS these barriers needs to be dealt with. Furthermore, we recommend that the organization educate and train those responsible for the introduction of a QMS and that an independent steering group/committee is established.

The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent university students are regularly physically active, what motives and barriers they perceive towards exercise and the relationship between motivational profile, self-efficacy and exercise behaviors. A questionnaire including the instruments Physical Activity Stages of Change, BARSE, BREQ-2 and Exercise Adherence Questionnaire was distributed at a university in southern Sweden. The respondents (n = 251) were Men (n = 104) and Women (n = 147). For analysis and processing of the gathered data SPSS was used with One-Way ANOVA, Pearson's r and Regression Analysis. The study showed that 70 percent of the students were regularly physically active. The most common motives for exercise were to improve health and increase physical strength whilst the most frequent barriers were lack of motivation and lack of energy/fatigue. The results also revealed positive correlations between identified regulation, intrinsic regulation, barrier self-efficacy and physical activity.

Bakgrund: Forskning har visat att träning förbättrar den fysiska förmågan och höjer livskvaliteten hos personer med hjärtsvikt. Trots detta är det många personer med hjärtsvikt som inte deltar i gruppträning. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva vilka faktorer som personer med hjärtsvikt, som inte deltar i hjärtsviktsgrupp, upplever som hinder respektive möjligheter när de ska ta beslut om att delta i gruppträning. Design: Studien var en kvalitativ studie med deskriptiv design som utfördes genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem informanter. Resultat och slutsats: Resultaten, som tolkades utifrån beteendeförändringsmodellen Health Action Process Approach (HAPA), av denna studie visade att informanterna upplever olika hinder för träningen som har med prioritet, otrygghet, psykisk ohälsa, transportproblem och bristande information att göra. I vissa fall väljs träningen också bort på grund av att informanterna istället tränar i hemmet. Det största hindret enligt studiens resultat var bristen på information. Framförallt har informanterna bristande kunskap om träning som en del av behandlingen vid hjärtsvikt, NYHA II-III, och de effekter som träningen ger. Detta medför att informanterna inte uppfattar vilka möjligheter som träning i hjärtsviktsgrupp ger. De faktorer som uppfattas som positiva med träning har att göra med att informanterna uppskattar träningen, att de känner samhörighet med andra i träningsgruppen och att de upplever en förbättrad hälsa. / Background: Research has shown that exercise improves the physical ability and improves the quality of life for people with heart failure. Despite this, many people with heart failure does not participate in group training. Aim: The purpose of this study was to describe what factors that people with heart failure, who do not participate in heart failure group, perceived as barriers and opportunities when they will take the decision to participate in training in heart failure group. Design: The study was a qualitative study with descriptive design and was done by semi-structured interviews with five informants. Results and conclusion: The results of this study, which were interpreted by the behavior change model, Health Action Process Approach (HAPA), showed that the informants perceive different barriers to training which are about priority, insecurity, mental illness, transportation problems and inadequate information. In some cases the informants choose home training instead of group training. The biggest barrier according to the results of this study was lack of information. In particular, informants lack of knowledge about exercise as a part of treatment for heart failure, NYHA II-III, and the effects of the training. This means that the informants do not perceive the opportunities that training in heart failure group can give. The factors that are perceived as positive with training have to do with informants appreciate the training, that they feel connected with others in the training group and that they experience a health improvement.

Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht mithilfe einer systematischen Literaturrecherche, welche Faktoren die Zusammenarbeit in Wikis in der Hochschullehre hemmen und welche Gestaltungsmaßnahmen geeignet sind, um die Zusammenarbeit zu fördern. Die identifizierten Gestaltungsmaßnahmen werden anschließend in die Phasen des Referenzmodells zur Einführung eines E-Learning-Angebots nach DIN PAS 1032-1:2004 eingeordnet. Somit bietet dieser Beitrag Lehrenden eine praxistaugliche Handlungsempfehlung zur Planung und Durchführung kollaborativer Wiki-Arbeit in der Hochschullehre.

The Hispanic population continues to rapidly increase within the state of Texas as well as the nation. However, the Hispanic population educational attainment level lags behind that of the general population. Hispanic males are the lowest educated segment of society averaging less than a high school diploma. The negative long-term economic impact of such low educational attainment levels coupled with the rapid increase of the Hispanic population has been documented by Texas state demographers as well as the U.S. Census Bureau. The researcher conducted a qualitative study to inform a deeper understanding of the experiences that facilitated the persistence of 18 Hispanic male first-time-in-college students through the official reporting date of their fall first termat a community college in South Texas. An asset model and related conceptual framework, which recognized students as experts, were utilized. Focus group interviews, semi-structured interviews, and existing data were analyzed utilizing qualitative research methods. The researcher identified six overarching themes that significantly influenced the students? ability to persist. In addition, analysis of the data produced five barrier themes that these students overcame via the utilization of corresponding knowledge and actions themes. Finally, students provided recommended college changes for mitigating the barriers faced by future Hispanic male students. The researcher provided conclusions regarding Hispanic male students, recommendations for students, recommendations for colleges and universities serving Hispanic male students, recommendations for the focal community college, and implications for the theoretical model utilized. The researcher recommended expanding this research to other institutions of higher education and notes the national implications for increasing the educational attainment level of Hispanic male students.

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences between American students and Asian international students' frequency of sport spectating, motivation, team identification, future behavior and perceived barriers to attending intercollegiate sporting events. This study designed to provide sport marketers and athletic directors within intercollegiate programs a more comprehensive understanding of Asian international students and American students' characteristics by comparing the differences of spectating behavior, team identification, motivation and potential barriers between the groups. The results of this study show that there were significant differences on the variables between groups. Two groups differed on frequency of attending, frequency of watching, education, income, and marital status. Moreover, American students scored significantly higher on the motivation, team identification and future behavior than Asian international students. On the other hand, Asian international students scored significantly higher on the barrier factor than American students.

As the United States and Texas become increasingly dependent on the success of Hispanics in higher education based on degree attainment, decision-makers and policy-makers are looking for strategies for addressing the education attainment needs of the Hispanic population. The purpose of this naturalistic inquiry was to understand 1) the barriers experienced by successful first year (fall to fall) first-time-in-college Hispanic students at a predominately Hispanic student community college on the South Texas/Mexico Border Region, 2) the expertise/knowledge required to successfully overcome these barriers during the first year (fall to fall) in college, and 3) based on these findings, offer suggestions and recommendations for addressing the barriers experienced by Hispanic students enrolled in such community colleges. More specifically, the researcher examined the barriers experienced by students during the first year of college, and based on their experiences, the expertise required to overcome those barriers. The study utilized Padilla‘s (1991) Student Success Model as the primary theoretical framework for the study. The data analysis led to the identification of six barrier categories, which included: 1) transition from high school to college; 2) personal and family commitments; 3) institutional support; 4) student accountability; 5) instructor issues; and 6) developmental studies/college readiness. In the findings, I include the role of general college knowledge and academic college readiness in students successfully completing the first year (fall to fall) of college. The researcher utilized the results of the study to develop the Community College Student Success Model for First-Time-in-College Students, which was adapted from Padilla (1991, 2001) and Padilla, Treviño, Gonzalez, and Treviño (1996). The researcher recommends utilizing Lynham‘s (2002) General Method of Theory-Building to move towards the development of a theory for Hispanic student success in predominately Hispanic community colleges. The researcher also recommended the development and implementation of collaborative programs and services between the public school districts and the community college for facilitating the acquisition of general college knowledge by high school students before they graduate from high school.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to determine factors influencing cotton producer adoption of Precision Agriculture in the cotton belt according to members of the American Cotton Producers of the National Cotton Council. The National Research Council’s Board on Agriculture defines Precision Agriculture (PA) as “a management strategy that uses information technologies to bring data from multiple sources to bear on decisions associated with crop production.” For the purpose of this study, Precision Agriculture technologies included yield monitors, global positioning units, variable rate applicators, and similar components. Many studies have found that adoption of Precision Agriculture can be profitable for agricultural producers. However, the fact that Precision Agriculture is relatively new and unproven hinders rapid adoption by agricultural producers. According to the National Research Council Board of Agriculture widespread adoption relies on economic gains outweighing the costs of the technology. This study attempted to find the factors associated with adoption of these technologies in the cotton belt. The sample population consisted of cotton producer representatives from the leading cotton-producing states. A Delphi approach was utilized to establish a consensus of cotton producer perceptions of the advantages of adopting Precision Agriculture technologies. Advantages included more accurate farming (i.e., row spacing, reduced overlap, and cultivation). Barriers to adoption were also documented, questioning employee capability to operate equipment, learning curve, technology complexity, and uncertain return on investment.

The purpose of this study was to determine faculty perceptions about factors impacting the adoption and diffusion of Web-Based Educational Technologies (WBETs) at the University of Cape Coast and the University of Ghana, Legon. This study, based on Rogers’ theory of adoption and diffusion, is a modified replication of a study by Li (2004), in the context of Ghana. Data were collected with a modified instrument created by Li (2004), from 61 teaching faculty out of a target accessible population of 200. The instrument comprised of four sections: The first, was used to collect data about faculty stage in the innovation development process. The second was used to collect data describing five attributes (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability) impacting the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. The third was used to collect data about ten barriers (concerns about time, concerns about incentives, program credibility, financial concerns, planning issues, conflict with traditional education, fear of technology, technical expertise, administrative support, and infrastructure) impacting the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. The fourth section was used to collect data on personal characteristics of the faculty. Descriptive, correlational and regression analyses were used to examine relationships between faculty personal characteristics, stage in the innovation-decision process, and perceptions of attributes and barriers impacting the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. From the descriptive results, respondents perceived ‘relative advantage’ and ‘observability’ as the two most important attributes that impact the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. Infrastructure, financial concerns, and technical expertise were perceived as posing moderate to strong barriers to the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. Only compatibility (attribute) and technical expertise (barrier) had statistically significant correlations with faculty stage in the innovation decision process. The attributes and barriers altogether explained only 10.6% and 17.3% respectively of faculty stage in the innovation-decision process. Of the eight personal characteristics examined, only ‘experience with WBETs’ had a statistically significant correlation with faculty stage in the innovation-decision process. Recommendations to administrators and policy makers include allocating investments and resources that promote attributes and eliminate barriers, and conduct further research into factors that affect the adoption and diffusion of WBETs.