Sustainable design - a study on sustainable design and its incentives and barriers The purpose of this study was to investigate the incentives and barriers existing within companies focusing on eco-design. The aim was also to examine the consumers’ thoughts on eco-design and sustainable products. A further aim was to try to concretize important lessons for future work on sustainable production and consumption. Two methods were used for completing this study; a literature study and a practical study consisting of interviews with companies focusing on eco-design and a survey among students. The result shows that durable goods over the last decades have had a varied revenue growth, showing an increasing trend over recent years. The result also shows a slightly increasing trend on sustainable consumption and production. The main incentives presented in the result were based on some form of recognition of the unsustainable attitude in our society. Among existing barriers the most prominent was associated to economic issues, ignorance and material problems. The result of the survey showed that consumers ranked factors related to eco-design among those who are least considered. For the work towards a sustainable future, people with a similar attitude as the ones involved in the interviewed companies are of great importance. There also seems to be a need for altered market conditions, but this would require a dramatic behavioral change.

Despite the critical role teachers play in the management and reduction of bullying in schools (Craig, Henderson, & Murphy, 2000; Frey, Jones, Hirschstein, & Edstrom, 2011; Nicolaides, Toda, & Smith, 2002), minimal research has been conducted examining teachers’ responses to these negative behaviors (Bauman & Hurley, 2005; Marshall, Varjas, Meyers, Graybill, & Skoczylas, 2009; Sairanen & Pfeffer, 2011; Yoon & Kerber, 2003). Moreover, a critical topic lacking in the literature is the identification of potential barriers (e.g., difficulty identifying bullying, lack of time to address these behaviors) inhibiting teachers from successful intervention. The purpose of this exploratory study was to assess teachers’ perceived barriers to effective bullying intervention, as well as to examine potential relationships between how teachers reported responding to bullying and perceived barriers to successful intervention. Individual in-depth qualitative interviews with 30 fourth through eighth grade teachers were used to determine teachers’ responses and perceived barriers to bullying interventions. Inductive and deductive approaches to data analysis (LeCompte & Schensul, 1999; Nastasi & Schensul, 2005; Varjas, Nastasi, Moore, & Jayasena, 2005) were used to explore teachers’ self-reported barriers. Teachers described the presence of numerous barriers that challenged their ability to consistently and effectively respond to bullying. Qualitative results indicated that these barriers occurred on multiple levels and included the following four major themes: student-, teacher-, school- and sociocultural-based barriers. Further, quantitative analyses were used to investigate potential relationships between teachers’ self-reported responses to bullying and perceived barriers. No systematic relationships were evident. That is, teachers reported responding to bullying similarly regardless of their perceived barriers to effective intervention. Implications for improving and informing anti-bullying efforts aimed at eliminating these barriers and increasing the likelihood of teacher intervention are discussed. Future research ideas also are suggested.

Objective: The goal of this study is to uncover sociocultural barriers to breastfeeding among African American women in the Atlanta metropolitan area and provide an educational intervention based on identified barriers to increase the willingness to breastfeed. Methods: Non-Hispanic African American women, 6 to 9 months pregnant, between the ages of 18 and 45, of varying socioeconomic status were recruited from multiple Obstetrics and Gynecology clinics throughout the Atlanta-metropolitan area. Participants completed a self-administered pre-test survey that questioned their intention to breastfeed and anticipated barriers associated with breastfeeding. Those who were unsure of breastfeeding or did not plan to breastfeed were asked to participate in an educational intervention that provided information about breastfeeding, the benefits to mother and baby and managing commonly perceived barriers. Immediately after the intervention a post-test was provided. A second post-test was conducted after all participants delivered their baby. Chi-square analysis was performed to examine the distribution of actual breastfeeding initiation rates by initial intention as well as by age, income and education. Results: Forty-nine women participated in the study. 18 of 20 women (90%) who intended to exclusively breastfeed initiated breastfeeding. Sixteen women reported that they did not intend to breastfeed. After receiving the intervention, 56.3% (n=9) initiated breastfeeding. Thirteen women reported they were unsure of their feeding plans in the pretest. Of these, 69.2% (n=9) initiated breastfeeding. Participants reported their primary barriers to breastfeeding were fear of pain, difficulty breastfeeding once they returned to work and lack of support from family, friends and their partner/spouse/father of the child. A significant association was observed between ages 25-29 years old and initiation of breastfeeding in women who were unsure of their breastfeeding plans (p=0.005). No association was found between income or education and initiation of breastfeeding. Conclusion: Education about breastfeeding was a significant barrier to breastfeeding in the African-American women in our study population. Women who participated in the intervention were more likely to initiate breastfeeding. Employment status, income, and education were not significant factors in a woman’s decision to initiate breastfeeding.

Functional foods provide positive externality benefits to society through the promotion of health benefits that lower the potential of illness for individual consumer and reduce the health care costs that are borne by governments. With strong market growth and considerable potential social benefits, functional foods appear to be an important area for future expansion in the global food market. However, pre-existing trade barriers to international commence reduce, or sometimes eliminate, trade in functional foods. Given that there are benefits associated with health-giving attributes from functional foods, retaining trade restrictions on functional foods may lead to additional forgone benefits.<p> To examine the effects of the positive health benefits arising from functional foods when pre-existing trade restrictions are in place, a comparative-static partial equilibrium trade model is modified. Four cases pertaining to import restrictions on functional foods are examined in the trade model based on two categories: trade policies and ability to produce. The theoretical framework provides an illustration of the potential welfare benefits forgone from the existence of trade barriers when a traditional food becomes a functional food.<p> Empirical case studies examined canola oil as a functional food. The value of the benefits foregone from maintaining trade barriers to canola oil in two countries: China and United Kingdom were estimated. In addition, a cost of illness model was used to estimate health care savings. The final ratio suggests that existing trade policies directly result in non-trivial costs to society. . As a result, current trade regulations might be re-evaluated by policy makers to better reflect the evolving markets for functional foods.

Experiences of Barriers and Facilitators for Physical Activity from People with Mental Disorders who Participated in a Physical Activity Project - An Interview Study   Purpose: To explore the experiences regarding perceived barriers and facilitators for physical activity of three participants with mental disorders who took part in the Norwegian Physical Activity Mentor project. Design and methods: Descriptive qualitative design. Individual semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. Data from the interviews was used in two separate bachelor theses, written by Swedish and Norwegian physiotherapy students. This cooperation was part of the NordPlus Higher Education Program Joint Physiotherapy Education in Bachelor Thesis Module. Qualitative content analysis was used in processing the data. Findings: Perceived barriers for physical activity were: mental disorder symptoms, antipsychotics, undertaking physical activity independently and physical experiences. Perceived facilitators for physical activity were: positive mental effects, intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors, goal setting and routine. The experiences from the Physical Activity Mentor project, including the possibility of self-selected activities, were mainly positive. The support provided by the physical activity mentor was an important facilitator. Conclusion: Disease-related problems were perceived as barriers for physical activity. The most important perceived facilitator for physical activity was mental benefits from being physically active. External support from a physical activity mentor might facilitate physical activity for psychiatric outpatients.     Key words: mental disorder, physical activity, barriers, facilitators, mentor / NordPlus Higher Education Program Joint Physiotherapy Education in Bachelor Thesis Module

No description available.

Master thesis in marketing, 15 credits, School of business and economics, Linnaeus University, Växjö, 4FE02E, spring 2011 Author: Emma Johansson Tutor: Åsa Devine Title: Build it green – To create entry barriers with green marketing Background: In the beginning of the 21st century sustainability have become of higher importance for companies. One tool to manage sustainability is green marketing; an approach through which companies can gain competitive advantage. But is it possible to influence the market structure by using green marketing and is it possible to make it difficult for new actors to enter the market? Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate how companies can use green marketing to create entry barriers. Delimitations: This thesis is delimited to investigate the work of creating entry barriers, not to measure the effect of it. Furthermore the empirical research only includes companies on the Swedish market. Method: To investigate how companies use green marketing in relation to entry barriers today a quantitative approach was used and an electronic questionnaire was conducted. Conclusion: For established companies to protect their position on the market it is important to not only concentrate on the barriers most commonly related to green marketing. Rather green companies can establish a wide spectrum of barriers related to green marketing in order to make it more difficult for new entrants to establish themselves. Suggestions for further research: The next step to make within the field of green marketing as a barrier to entry is to investigate the effect of the barriers examined in this research. It is also necessary to do industry specific researches to investigate if some barriers are more important for certain industries. Keywords: Entry barriers, environmental commitment, green entry barriers, green marketing, strategic barriers to entry, structural barriers to entry, sustainability.

During the last decade offshore sourcing has emerged as a rapidly growing trend, making offshore-based consultants rule rather than exception in IT consulting projects. This offshore context introduces challenges in knowledge management; something of particular interest in IT consulting, being a knowledge intensive industry where a firm’s ability to leverage knowledge determines its ability to gain competitive advantage. This study adds to the understanding of how these challenges to knowledge management in an offshore context are managed, as well as how project-specific knowledge is managed in such a context. Eight semi-structured interviews have been conducted in two different consulting projects at Accenture. The results suggest that even though Accenture in general uses a distinct codifying strategy, the challenges introduced to knowledge management in an offshore context were mainly handled through personalisation strategy.

Road barriers were traffic violations which affects traffic order, safety, and life quality. The behavior of bullying disadvantaged groups via traffic barriers harms human dignity, social justice, and the city's and nation¡¦s image. Although the Traffic Executive Law has reached maturity, road barriers are still all over the place. In order to fully understand these phenomena and come up with right decisions, the social, political, economic, and legal dimensions should be included and studied. Based on theory and practice, this study conducts literature review and data collection and analysis from road barriers removal perspective, especially in Kaohsiung City. According to the basic principles of Traffic Executive Law, the structure of this study is divided into five parts: Establishment Principle, Administrative Organization, Administrative Authority-Limits, Administrative Remedy,and Administrative Supervision. In our diverse and democratic society, the government authority has become more liberal and road barriers cases are endless. To pay attention to people¡¦s opinions and feelings and create the win-win situation, the authority should integrate department¡¦s resources, implement administrative measures efficiently, legally, and rationally. Therefore, the administrative purposes of ¡§people obey the law¡¨ and "Traffic are in an orderly manner and smooth" can be reached.

Organic food has drawn attention of more and more consumers. As a result, many researchers have attempted to explain the motivations and marketing issues relevant to the topic. The previous studies provide some conflicting results and could not produce a comprehensive understanding of organic food consumers in China. Given the present research, this paper attempts to conduct a comprehensive study of organic food consumption by examining a variety of factors influencing the consumption of organic food and provide some marketing implications through a survey of young consumers in a large metropolitan area in China. The results have shown that the revised TRA model has been successfully applied in this study. The research has concluded that “food safety”, “nutrition”, and “environmental friendly” are significant factors to impact the purchase of organic food while considering the demographical variables. In addition, the study found that consumers prefer vegetables, fruits, grain and beans, milk, meat and eggs to be organic, which are ranked according to the degree of preference. Moreover, the research suggests that the main barriers bringing about the gap between attitudes and behaviors are price, the distrust on certifications of organic food, and unavailability. These findings have implications for marketing communications to consumers and potentially for organic product development.