Abstract   Background:           The environment of the charity sector is changing. The overall sector of licensed charities in the Netherlands grew over the past couple of years, but this trend is not caused by a growth in contributors, as the numbers show a downwards slope. Besides that, research shows that the individual’s willingness to contribute to charity declines. Next to that, it is visible that the needs and wishes of contributors to charity change. This could possibly imply that individuals are willing to engage with charity, but in a different manner. Purpose:                  The way contributors contribute to charitable organisations is evident, but how and why individuals engage is a relatively unexplored area, as previous research mainly focused on the motivations rather than the dimensions of engagement. Therefore, the research purpose of this paper is to investigate the dimensions of engagement of Dutch individuals towards DCS, whilst it adds to the existing body of literature about contributor engagement in the charity sector. Method:                   The study revolved around a positivistic research philosophy, following a sequential mixed-method research design to gather the information and insights needed. A questionnaire was used to obtain the inputs of 333 unique respondents, which was followed up by 10 semi-structured in-depth interviews to enrich the findings. To analyse the data, various techniques, such as factor analysis, correlation and multiple regression, were executed to reveal statistically significant relationships and influences among the variables. Conclusion:             The results show that the five dimensions of volunteer engagement, namely behavioural, emotional, cognitive, spiritual and social, are also applicable when investigating contributor engagement. However, the study has shown that all dimensions apart from the spiritual one have a statistically significant influence on the contributor engagement of Dutch individuals towards DCS. Further findings and a more profound understanding of the motives of interviewees revealed that the deeper motivations to engage or not engage with DCS are in line with national trends visible within the charity sector. The outcomes could contribute to DCS’ and possibly other charitable organisations’ understanding of the altering needs and wishes of contributors and the Dutch society. More specifically, the findings can contribute to the existing knowledge of the dimensions of engagement and could be utilised for marketing purposes to focus on the right areas when developing future strategies.

Since the late twentieth century, open source software projects (e.g., the GNU/Linux operating system, the Apache web server, Perl and many others) have achieved phenomenal success. This success can be attributed to a new paradigm of productivity in which individuals voluntarily collaborate to produce knowledge, goods and services. Benkler claims this productivity paradigm is a “new, third mode of production” particularly suited for “the digitally networked environment” (2002). In addition to its application to open source software projects, the peer production model, in different forms, has been used in areas such as science/citizen science (Silvertown, 2009), library science (Weinberger, 2007), politics (Castells, 2007; Jenkins, 2006), education (Daniel, 2012), journalism (Gillmor, 2004), and culture (Jenkins, 2006; Lessig, 2004). As peer production has flourished, merely describing successful cases has become less useful. Instead, scholars must identify the dynamics, structures, and conditions that contribute to or impede that success. In this dissertation, I focus on three management challenges at three distinct levels that impede the success of peer production. At the individual level, one significant question is how to best organize individual contributors with differing goals, experience, and commitment to achieve a collective outcome. At the practice level, peer production communities, like corporations, must often transfer best practices from one unit to another to improve performance. This transfer process poses the challenge of how to adapt and modify an original practice to make it effective in the new context. At the community level, peer production communities must learn to survive and succeed in a large ecosystem of related communities. This dissertation combines theoretical approaches in organization science with in-depth empirical analysis on a range of peer production communities to examine the mechanisms that help the communities overcome these three management challenges and succeed in peer production. The contributions of my dissertation are twofold. For scholars and researchers, my dissertation advances the theoretical understanding of the underlying mechanisms of successful peer production systems. For practitioners, my dissertation offers practical advice to build more effective peer production projects and platforms.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2016-10-04T16:57:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tamiris Maciel Peron.pdf: 618644 bytes, checksum: 5864b13ad7decc0ea60406c212b2c552 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-04T16:57:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tamiris Maciel Peron.pdf: 618644 bytes, checksum: 5864b13ad7decc0ea60406c212b2c552 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-20 / The ICMS tax substitution system has been discussed and questioned, by the Tax Law, becoming one of the most complex and controversial terms in Brazil. However, not only the tributary Law area, but also the account professional, has been having issues about this subject. Such complexity is because of the ICMS to be a tax which the law competence shall be performed by the Brazilian Political Division (States), which creates many different rules for each kind of economic activity in their territories, as the possibility of creating agreements among them to regulate specific transactions. The present study intended to demonstrate how to calculate the ICMS/ST tax by the many possibilities that the contributor have at the systematic of ICMS tax substitution, such as the particularities, unconstitutionality and complexity of it, helping the account professional in their tributary routine / A substituição tributária do ICMS vem sendo debatida e questionada dentro do estudo do Direito Tributário, tornando-se um dos mais complexos e controvérsios assuntos na área. Porém, não somente a área do Direito Tributário como também o profissional contábil tem enfrentado problemas neste assunto. Parte dessa complexidade se dá pelo fato de o ICMS ser um tributo de competência legislativa dos Estados, que promovem suas próprias regras de aplicação do imposto sobre cada ramo de atividade econômica dentro de seu território, além da possibilidade de criação de acordos entre os Estados e o Distrito Federal para regras de aplicações específicas entre os signatários. O presente estudo tem o objetivo de demonstrar como é elaborado o cálculo do ICMS recolhido por substituição tributária dentre as várias possibilidades enfrentadas pelo contribuinte substituto dentro da sistemática da substituição tributária do ICMS, suas particularidades, inconstitucionalidades e complexidade, auxiliando assim o profissional contábil em sua rotina tributária

This study investigates Mark’s involvement in the writing of 1 Peter in light of the practice of first century letter writing. Many scholars argue that 1 Peter originated from within a Petrine group in Rome that included Silvanus and Mark, ignoring the possibility that Peter might have employed an amanuensis while composing his epistle, a prominent practice of first century letter writers. By contrast, a considerable number of scholars contend that 1 Peter was penned by an amanuensis, appealing to the reference in 1 Pet 5:12, Dia. Silouanou/ u`mi/n tou/ pistou/ avdelfou/( w`j logi,zomai( diV ovli,gwn e;graya, and identifying Silvanus as its amanuensis. However, the Greco-Roman epistolary evidence shows that the formula gra, fw dia, tinoj identified only the letter-carrier. This work explores Mark’s involvement in composing 1 Peter from five angles by means of a historical and comparative approach. The five criteria are the dominant practice of using an amanuensis in first-century letter writing, the noteworthy employment of an amanuensis by Paul as a contemporary of Peter, historical connections, linguistic connections, and literary connections. Chapter 2 surveys the major proposals regarding the authorship of 1 Peter. Chapter 3 examines first century letter writing and presents the findings as a practical and supportive background for this work. The role of an amanuensis in Greco-Roman antiquity was classified as a transcriber, contributor, and composer. An amanuensis’ role as a contributor was the most common in Greco-Roman antiquity. Chapter 4 explores the process of Paul’s letter writing in light of first century letter writing, with regard to Peter’s employment of an amanuensis. It is most likely that Paul and Peter allowed an amanuensis to have a free hand if he was a gifted and a trusted colleague of them. This probability is supported by the instances that Cicero, Atticus, Quintus, and Alexander the Great employed their amanuenses as contributors. Chapter 5 investigates the close relationship between Peter and Mark through their ministry based on 1 Pet 5:13 and the references to Mark in the early church, including Papias’ note reported by Eusebius, and presents these as evidence of a historical connection between two individuals. Chapter 6 explores the syntactic correlation, the distinctive features of terminology, and the significant and frequent use of w`j for a simile between 1 Peter and Mark’s Gospel and presents them as possible evidence with the implication of linguistic connections between them. Chapter 7 examines the common Old Testament quotations (allusions) in 1 Peter and the Gospel of Mark and their conflated and integrated use of the OT and presents them as possible evidence implying a literary connection between them. 1 Peter and Mark’s Gospel outstandingly emphasize the suffering of Christ and apply the imagery of the rejected stone of Ps 118 (LXX 117):22 and that of the suffering servant of Isa 53 to His suffering. This work concludes that Mark was the contributive amanuensis for 1 Peter with Peter allowing more than a free hand in the composition. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / New Testament Studies / PhD / unrestricted

Yes / Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors that determine the knowledge exchange intention and behavioural nature of academics by the help of social media tools in the Indian higher education. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study has used Valance – Instrumentality – Expectancy (VIE) theory to determine the knowledge exchange behaviour of academics. The study has considered the effect of Knowledge Contributor (KC) and Knowledge Seeker (KS) as moderators. The model has been validated by using a survey with 320 usable respondents. Findings – The results highlight that if the stakeholders of higher education institutions feel the deficits of knowledge exchange, they realise importance of knowledge sharing and use social media to increase effect of knowledge exchange. Besides, perceived usefulness impacts on the use of social media for knowledge exchange by the concerned stakeholders. Moreover, it is observed that experience of the use of social media impacts the use of this tool for knowledge exchange. Theoretical Implication – The use and application of VIE theory has successfully been able to interpret the factors affecting the use of social media for knowledge exchange in the higher education institutions. The use of VIE theory has also been able to explain the proposed model better as the model could achieve a high explanative power (87%). Practical Implication – This study has provided meaningful insights to the practitioners or policymakers to realise how the stakeholders of the higher education institutions in India can be motivated to feel the need of sharing of knowledge and how they can use the social media with ease for this purpose. Originality/Value – Not much research has been conducted with regards to the usage of social media as a tool for knowledge sharing in higher education sector in India. In that sense, this study is a novel attempt to undertake such research.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:23:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rodolfo Ramer da Silva Aguiar.pdf: 1891808 bytes, checksum: 4367e955b5545ebf43eaa0493d7b0e26 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-03 / This research aims to investigate preliminarily the rise of the individual contributor and its constant evolution, through an historic, positive and systemic study; then traces the legal relationship of this from, under the protection of Civil Law (precedent law) and Social Security Law (current law), without forgetting the constant liaison with the Constitutional Law and of its origin on the dignity of the human person. The study will check the current rules by which the genus of individual taxpayer encompasses several species of policyholders, the overwhelming majority of self-employed workers, protecting them and ensuring their social security. Addressing the details of the origin of individual contributors, in addition to clarifying the requirements for its membership, subscription, contribution scheme, as well as the institutes of the rate, the contribution salary and legal design with the general social security scheme (RGPS) are fundamental aspects to understand the institute. Another highlight is the modern context of significant legislative changes, particularly the introduction of Law No. 9.876/1999, which included in the Brazilian social security system the individual taxpayer as it is known today. From this act on, those who work on their own and get income are automatically affiliated to the RGPS , so, are considered single taxpayers, hence the duty to contribute to social welfare. The constant increase in the number of individual taxpayers in the Country deems relevant a detailed study of the role from such taxpayers, as well as the institute of social security and its real conditions to minimize the social risks / Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo investigar, preliminarmente, o surgimento do contribuinte individual e sua constante evolução, por meio de estudo histórico, positivo e sistêmico; para, em seguida, traçar a relação jurídica dessa figura, sob a proteção do Direito Civil (direito precedente) e do Direito Previdenciário (direito atual), sem se esquecer de sua estreita ligação com o Direito Constitucional e de sua origem na dignidade da pessoa humana. O trabalho trata de verificar as regras vigentes pelas quais o gênero contribuinte individual abarca diversas espécies de segurados obrigatórios, uma imensa maioria de trabalhadores por conta própria, protegendo-lhes e garantindo-lhes a seguridade social. Aborda os pormenores da origem do contribuinte individual, além de esclarecer as exigências para a sua filiação, inscrição, contribuição no regime, assim como os institutos da alíquota, o salário de contribuição e a concepção legal perante o regime geral de previdência social (RGPS), aspectos fundamentais para o entendimento do instituto. Destaca, ainda, o contexto moderno de significativas mudanças legislativas, em especial a introdução da Lei no 9.876/1999, que incluiu no sistema previdenciário brasileiro o contribuinte individual tal qual é conhecido atualmente. A partir dessa Lei, todos aqueles que trabalham por conta própria e auferem renda são automaticamente filiados ao RGPS, portanto, contribuintes individuais, daí o dever de contribuírem para a seguridade social. O aumento constante do número de contribuintes individuais no País torna necessário um estudo detalhado para esclarecer com precisão o papel desses contribuintes, bem como o instituto da seguridade social e suas reais condições de minimizar os riscos sociais

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-08T14:53:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 3762759 bytes, checksum: b54b0210d8a2f01751db50b2c22fd40d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This present dissertation discusses the relation between Labor Gymnastics and Quality of Work Life (QWL). The main purpose of this work is to ascertain the effects of physical exercises on the contributor of a copybook manufacturing company. The study consists of a descriptive and exploratory quanti-qualitative investigation on Labor Gymnastics. The qualitative growth of concern within both the corporate and the academic environment regarding these two issues is fully discussed along a theoretical context. At the same time, the benefits of labor gymnastics on Life Quality at the Workplace is properly assessed through the perception of the individuals concerned, leading, as a result, to an understanding of this phenomenon. For this matter, the research tool used consisted of a structured questionnaire on the themes: Quality of Work Life (QWL), Gymnastics related to QWL, labor gymnastics, and the direct Benefits of Labor Gymnastics as measured by the Likert scale. Based on the sensitivity of the responses observed in the analyses, the following topics were taken into account: respondents profiles; comparisons between dimensions and themes; and correlations among indicators, dimensions and issues. Finally, the existence of strong and significant correlation coefficients among the subjects investigated is among the themes studied. It has also been observed that the average ratings of respondents did not differ consistently and clearly from the various categories of socio-demographic variables considered in the study. One concludes that, according to the contributor perception of the company investigated, Quality of Work Life was considered good, and that there is a direct set of benefits provided by Labor Gymnastics / Esta dissertação aborda a relação da Ginástica Laboral com a Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho. Trata, especificamente, de se verificar em que medida a Ginástica Laboral se relaciona com a Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho dos colaboradores de uma empresa de fabricação de cadernos. Constitui-se de um estudo de natureza quanti-qualitativa, de modo descritivo e exploratório. Discute-se inicialmente, por meio de uma contextualização teórica, o crescimento qualitativo da preocupação nos meios corporativos e acadêmicos a respeito destes dois temas. Em seguida, procura-se compreender o fenômeno dos benefícios da Ginástica laboral sobre a Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho, por meio da percepção dos indivíduos envolvidos na conjuntura avaliada, para uma interpretação desta realidade. Para isto, a ferramenta de pesquisa utilizada foi um questionário estruturado considerando os temas Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho, Ginástica Laboral relacionada à QVT, e os Benefícios diretos da Ginástica Laboral, vinculados à escala de Likert. Nas análises verifica-se a sensibilidade das respostas, o perfil dos respondentes, compara-se as dimensões e temas, bem como a correlação entre indicadores, dimensões e temas. No final, verificou-se a existência de significativos e fortes coeficientes de correlação, entre os temas investigados. Observou-se, ainda, que as avaliações médias dos entrevistados não diferiram de forma consistente e clara entre as diversas classes das variáveis sócio-demográficas consideradas no estudo. Conclui-se que, na percepção dos colaboradores da empresa estudada, a Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho é considerada boa e que existe uma relação direta de benefícios proporcionados pela Ginástica Laboral

Will the different levels of knowledge contribute to a collaborative learning? This thesis is based on a tuition experiment with children in small groups, working with the educational software Quest Atlantis at Kensington Park Elementary school in Miami. During this research we have found some similarities and new concepts within Damon’s and Phelps’s three peer learning concepts (1989). Through our investigation of how children collaborate and learn from each other, we discovered that anyone could be a contributor to the collaboration. Through our transcription we defined and measured patterns of collaboration between the pupils, which we used to identify how the pupils collaborated. Out of this we constructed two new concepts, Temporary Expert and Concealed Contributor, which affects the collaboration in different ways. / Den här uppsatsen är baserad på experimentell undervisning med barn i små grupper som arbetar med det utbildande mjukvaruprogrammet Quest Atlantis. Undervisningen hölls på Kensington Park Elementary school i Miami, Fl –USA. Under vår undersökning har vi hittat likheter, men även nya koncept inom Damon’s och Phelp’s tre ”peer learning” koncept (1989). Genom vår undersökning om hur barn samarbetar och lär av varandra, upptäckte vi att alla tillförde något till samarbetet. I vår transkribering kunde vi definiera och mäta olika typer av samarbetsmönster mellan eleverna. Med hjälp av dessa samarbetsmönster kunde vi sedan identifiera hur eleverna samarbetade. Utifrån detta konstruerade vi två nya koncept, ”Temporary Expert” och ”Concealed Contributor”, vilka båda påverkar samarbetet. / Charlotte Collin 0706-376548 Therese Olsson 0736-292110 Sofie Persson 0733-505105

MPH / Department of Public Health / Background: TB and HIV/AIDS were identified as priority healthcare problems of current years worldwide. Notable concerns (2878) were raised in Vhembe District Municipality because of an increase in patients with TB, including re-treatment patients (Department of Health, 2017). Purpose: The main aim of the study was to investigate the factors associated with the increase of new TB infection among clients in Thulamela Municipality, South Africa. Methodology: A quantitative descriptive survey design was used to conduct this study. Census sampling or total population sampling technique was used to select the respondents who were patients seeking treatment for TB from the designated clinics within Thulamela. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents. Data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences version 25.0. Results: out of a high proportion of the respondents 45 % (n=98) respondents were taking ARV treatment while 27% (n=58) were taking respiratory disease treatment at the time of TB diagnosis. Moreover, 59% (n=169) respondents reported being next to a coughing person before diagnosed with Tuberculosis. Conclusion and recommendations: The results discovered that most respondents stayed in the dusty area for more than three years. Educating the community about how staying and working in dusty areas contribute to TB infection may decrease the rate of infection. / NRF

Open-source software (OSS) ecosystems, defined as environments composed of package managers and programming languages (e.g., NPM for JavaScript), are essential for software development and foster collaboration and innovation. Although their significance is acknowledged, understanding what makes OSS communities healthy and sustainable requires further exploration. This thesis quantitatively assesses the health of OSS projects and communities within the NPM, PyPI, Maven, and RubyGems ecosystems. We explore five research questions addressing project standards, community responsiveness, contribution distribution, contributor retention, and newcomer integration strategies. Our analysis shows varied documentation practices, insider engagement levels, and contribution patterns. Our findings highlight both strengths and different areas for improvement across ecosystems. For example, RubyGems excels in the adoption of project documentation and exhibits the most even distribution of contributions among all contributors, including highly active contributors. and a very responsive community, but it needs to improve contribution retention and attract newcomers to the projects. Meanwhile, NPM and Maven show a trend toward getting new contributors, characterized by a high ratio of individual contributions. They need to better adopt a code of conduct, pull request templates, and increase the number of active contributors in a project. This thesis offers insights to developers and maintainers on how to strengthen ecosystems and support vibrant communities effectively