CSR has become a more frequent activity in the sport industry. Several sports organisations have adopted this socially acceptable concept, making it present during sporting events and matches. Today, CSR has been developed to a competitive advantage and those organisations who conduct their CSR activities might be able to obtain organisational goals outside the pitch. Therefore, it is important to understand and establish the underlying factors behind this adoption, so stakeholder can grasp the goals. With the support of Swedish sports organisations CSR the goal was to discover the influencing factors for membership-owned sports organisations adoption of CSR. This study used a qualitative, multiple case study approach to gather the information from the relevant sports organisations. Interviews were the main source of the empirical data collection. The results were identified via the stakeholder perspective, resource-based view and determinants of corporate social responsibility in professional sport. In conclusion the major findings illustrate that Swedish sports organisations are mainly influenced by internal factors in the adoption of CSR.

Magister Public Health - MPH / This study sought to explore and describe factors that influence parents’ decisions on childhood immunizations at Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana. Based on the Health Belief Model used as the theoretical framework guiding this study, immunization decision making is influenced by one’s knowledge on immunizations, perception on immunizations and sociodemographic factors. With an exploratory descriptive quantitative cross-sectional survey, a sample of 303 parents was obtained from five district hospitals in Kumasi metropolis. This was done through convenience sampling of participants at immunization sessions. Structured questionnaires were developed in line with the study’s objectives, literature review and theoretical framework. Data obtained from the survey were analysed with the computer-based facility of SPSS version 21 software. This enhanced the application of descriptive and inferential measures to present the results in graphs and tables. Findings from the study showed that most parents were aware of immunization but had limited knowledge on vaccines and immunization schedule. It also revealed that antenatal nurses constituted the most accessible source of information. Furthermore, the study established a high percentage of complete immunization, influenced by parents’ fear of their children contracting vaccine preventable diseases. However, the few parents who could not complete the immunization schedule for their children referred to challenges such as forgetfulness and lack of personnel or vaccine at the centre. Whereas the socio-demographic variables considered did not influence their decision on immunization, it was established that the percentage of complete immunization increased with increasing schooling level of parents. It was higher among Christians than Muslims. The study concluded that knowledge on immunization could not influence immunization decisions. However, the main factors that influence parents’ decision on childhood immunizations in Kumasi metropolis were parents’ fear of vaccine preventable diseases, awareness on the benefits of immunizations and sources of vaccine information

The aim of this research is to identify and analyze the impact of design changes to a system in a concurrent engineering environment and the development project, and to make proposals how to minimize the impact on the development project performance. A further objective is also to determine the effect of design changes as a result of design influencing. In a concurrent engineering environment system components are being developed in parallel. Any change to one component of the system may impact on other system components under development. Design as part of the systems engineering process is an iterative and dynamic process. Although the systems engineering process has been very well structured and refined over the years, it still remains to a certain extent an unpredictable process. A consequence of this is that changes to a design of a subsystem or component comprising the system can occur at any stage of the process. The systems engineering process is a “static” process since there are no time constraints or management of consumption of resources on the different systems engineering processes and steps. As such system engineering cannot function in isolation. To bring a system into being, systems engineering must function within a project management environment to provide the management of schedule and the consumption of resources. The interaction between project management and system engineering processes can have a distinct influence on the systems engineering process and must be taken into account when studying the performance of system development projects. This research investigates the project management/systems engineering interface with specific focus on cost and schedule. Since project management is the encompassing process wherein a system is being developed, its influence on the system engineering process will also be investigated. This research has the following research objectives: <ul><li> Optimization of design influencing by dividing the design teams into two different complementary but opposing mindset groups. </li><li> Evaluate the impact of design changes in terms of cost and schedule overruns in a concurrent engineering development environment.</li></ul> A comprehensive development project was used as a case-study. A Narrative Inquiry comprising the main system development project players investigated the problems experienced on the project and found that management was the major cause for the project cost and schedule overruns. The principal finding of this research showed, that unplanned, unexpected and forced design changes was the primary area of conflict between systems engineering and project management, leading to development project cost and schedule overruns. The Narrative Inquiry findings were actually the symptoms of a deeper underlying problem. Root Cause analysis identified the fundamental mechanisms of design change and the influence of management on the process. This research identifies the fundamental mechanisms that result in design iterations and the influence that management has on this process. An improved “Effect-to-Cause” design influencing model is proposed to reduce the risk of design changes during system integration. A mathematical model has been developed to quantify the impact of a design change on a multi-layer, multi-component system. This model confirms that the system hierarchy design is very important to minimize the impact and consequential development project risk should a design change be required for one of the system components. By means of the mathematical model, a proposed system’s architecture can be modelled. The model quantifies the impact of a system component design change on the rest of the system development project. This model will facilitate the optimization of system architecture to reduce development project cost and schedule risks. The system architecture model will also enable design review boards to make informed decisions when considering options for a system component design change. This research also found that the Systems Engineering process must function harmoniously within the larger Project Management environment for the optimum performance of a development project. The road forward to achieve this goal is for the systems engineering and design processes to become more structured and the removal of the unpredictability in the processes so far as the number of design iterations is concerned. This will enable the systems engineering processes to be more easily accommodated within the structured project management processes to the benefit of the overall development project performance. A structured “Cause-to-Effect” design influencing methodology has been investigated. Indications are that this may be the road forward for systems engineering process development to even further reduce the risk of a design change during system integration and consequential detrimental impact on the development project performance. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM) / unrestricted

Dissatisfaction with service delivery is an enormous challenge for the current government of South Africa, as protests about service delivery are frequent and often violent and disruptive. E-participation could provide a means for dissatisfied citizens to voice their grievances, but it has not been duly exploited in South Africa. The purpose of this research is to contribute to knowledge of e-participation in developing countries , and specifically to identify the factors that influence the success of service delivery e-participation initiatives. A case study was conducted of an e- participation project - Project Lungisa - and qualitative data, in the form of interviews, documents and field notes, was collected and analysed in order to identify these influencing factors. As predicted in the literature review, citizens’ trust in government, stakeholder management, ICT infrastructure and project leadership were factors that influenced Lungisa’s success. Political consensus and inclusion did not influence success, and as a result two of the study ’s propositions could not be confirmed. Unanticipated factors that emerged as influential include local government support, independence from government and political parties, the use of mobile phone technology, marketing and advertising and community integration. A revised conceptual model is presented in the conclusion of this study, which could be tested in future research. Recommendations for practitioners are also given based on the nine influencing factors, and it is hoped that these will be of value to implementers of future e-participation projects.

Parent training is an effective intervention for parents of children with a variety of childhood disorders, and parents often view behavioral parent training as acceptable. Explanations and rationales for parent training are commonly provided at the beginning of treatment. However, there is little research regarding how rationales may influence acceptability. There is also limited information on whether fathers and mothers judge the acceptability of parent training differently. The purpose of this study was to determine whether changing the description of a behavioral parenting intervention influenced parents’ acceptability ratings and whether mothers and fathers differed in their ratings. Participants viewed one of two descriptions of parent training that focused on either addressing deficits in parenting skills or enhancing existing parenting skills. The results indicated that there was not a significant difference in the acceptability of the two parent training descriptions. However, mothers rated both treatment descriptions as more acceptable than did fathers. Results also indicated that parents’ beliefs about their influence as parents significantly predicted acceptability of the parent training descriptions. The results of the current study suggested that treatment acceptability was not influenced by the way that the interventions were described. Future research should focus on how to increase acceptability of parent training for fathers and parents who do not feel that they have control and influence over their children.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in the economic development of any nation. However, due to various challenges, including government policies, cost of production, competition, and market demand, SMEs often struggle to survive and grow. Pricing strategy is one of the critical factors determining SMEs' success. This study examines the influence of pricing strategy on the growth of SMEs in Liberia. This master's thesis aims to investigate  the influence of pricing strategy on the growth of SMEs.  In order to investigate the concepts mentioned above, existing literature was reviewed. Following that, a frame of reference was created in order to further investigate these concepts in relation to the case of Liberia. The study adopts a qualitative approach, using a case study design to explore the pricing strategies adopted by SMEs in Liberia and their impact on business growth. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with SME owners and managers in different industries in Liberia. The data collected were analyzed using content analysis to identify common themes and patterns in the responses. The study's findings indicate that pricing strategy significantly impacts the growth of SMEs in Liberia. The study found that SMEs in Liberia adopt various pricing strategies such as cost-plus pricing, value-based pricing, and competition-based Pricing. However, the most effective pricing strategy for SMEs in Liberia is competition-based Pricing. The study also found that other factors, such as cost of production, competition, and market demand, influence the pricing strategy adopted by SMEs in Liberia. Furthermore, the study revealed that SMEs face various challenges in implementing pricing strategies, such as a lack of pricing knowledge and skills, poor understanding of customer needs, and inadequate market research. / Små och medelstora företag (SMF) spelar en avgörande roll i den ekonomiska utvecklingen i alla länder. Men på grund av olika utmaningar, inklusive regeringens politik, produktionskostnader, konkurrens och efterfrågan på marknaden, kämpar små och medelstora företag ofta för att överleva och växa. Prissättningsstrategin är en av de kritiska faktorerna som avgör små och medelstora företags framgång. Denna studie undersöker hur prisstrategin påverkar tillväxten av små och medelstora företag i Liberia. Denna masteruppsats syftar till att undersöka prisstrategins inverkan på tillväxten av små och medelstora företag. För att undersöka de begrepp som nämnts ovan har befintlig litteratur gåtts igenom. Därefter skapades en referensram för att ytterligare undersöka dessa begrepp i relation till fallet Liberia. Studien antar ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt, med en fallstudiedesign för att utforska prissättningsstrategier som antagits av små och medelstora företag i Liberia och deras inverkan på företagstillväxt. Data samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med små och medelstora företagsägare och chefer i olika branscher i Liberia. De insamlade uppgifterna analyserades med hjälp av innehållsanalys för att identifiera gemensamma teman och mönster i svaren. Studiens resultat indikerar att prissättningsstrategin avsevärt påverkar tillväxten av små och medelstora företag i Liberia. Studien fann att små och medelstora företag i Liberia antar olika prissättningsstrategier såsom kostnads-plus-prissättning, värdebaserad prissättning och konkurrensbaserad prissättning. Den mest effektiva prissättningsstrategin för små och medelstora företag i Liberia är dock konkurrensbaserad prissättning.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the factors and perceptions that affect enrollment in career and technical education (CTE) programs in rural East Central Mississippi. Specifically, the study had four key purposes. First, the academic grades of CTE students and non-CTE students were examined to determine whether academic grades differ significantly between the CTE enrollers and non-CTE enrollers. Secondly, the study determined the perceptions that students in rural East Central Mississippi have toward CTE programs. Next, the study examined the internal and external factors that cause students to enroll or not enroll in a CTE program. Finally, the study identified the individuals who can positively or negatively affect a student’s decision to enroll in a CTE program. The research design for this study was causal-comparative, and the researcher used descriptive statistics, as well as frequencies and percentages to analyze the data. The Mann-Whitney U test and a series of t-tests for independent variables were used to test the hypotheses. The population for this study was 400 high school seniors enrolled in seven rural East Central Mississippi high schools that feed into three career and technical centers. A total of 284 students completed the proper consent and assent forms in order to participate in the study. Findings in this study indicated that a significant difference did not exist between the academic grades of CTE students and non-CTE students. Additional results showed a significant difference between CTE enrollers and non-CTE enrollers in regard to four of the eleven perceptions of CTE. In addition, the researcher found that students enroll in CTE because they are interested in one of the career areas and want to attend college in that career area. It was also determined that CTE students enjoy spending time away from their high school. The study showed that non-CTE students did not enroll in CTE because it would not fit into their schedule. The researcher also found that friends and parents mostly encouraged students to enroll in CTE, while in some instances guidance counselors may have discouraged them from enrolling in a CTE program.

This study assessed the intentions with regard to fertility and use of contraception by women living with HIV/AIDS. The study was a quantitative cross-sectional study on a sample of 362 HIV-positive women in the ART follow-up unit in Adama Hospital Medical College. Large numbers of HIV-positive women with no income, housewives, illiterates and women in the age group of 28-32 years declared their intention to fall pregnant. The most prevalent family planning method among the HIV-positive women before their HIV diagnosis was injectables. After wards the most popular method of contraception was the condom. The results suggest that the counselling about condom use that is offered to HIV positive women yields results, as more women adopt this method of contraception. This is important in view of prevention of HIV infections and re-infections. / Health Studies / M. A. (Public Health)

This study assessed the intentions with regard to fertility and use of contraception by women living with HIV/AIDS. The study was a quantitative cross-sectional study on a sample of 362 HIV-positive women in the ART follow-up unit in Adama Hospital Medical College. Large numbers of HIV-positive women with no income, housewives, illiterates and women in the age group of 28-32 years declared their intention to fall pregnant. The most prevalent family planning method among the HIV-positive women before their HIV diagnosis was injectables. After wards the most popular method of contraception was the condom. The results suggest that the counselling about condom use that is offered to HIV positive women yields results, as more women adopt this method of contraception. This is important in view of prevention of HIV infections and re-infections. / Health Studies / M. A. (Public Health)

<p>Abstract</p><p>Title: An industry with a lacking trust – PR-consultants about their own responsibility and how they can contribute to an increased trust for their profession (En bransch med bristande förtroende – PR-konsulter om sitt eget ansvar och hur de själva kan bidra till ökat branschförtroende)</p><p>Number of pages: 68 (79 including enclosures)</p><p>Author: Ebba Göranzon</p><p>Tutor: Göran Svensson</p><p>Course: Media and Communication Studies D</p><p>Period: Spring 2008</p><p>University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University</p><p>Aim: The aim of this essay is to study the Swedish PR-industry and the distrust that is directed towards it. The starting point is different PR-consultants opinion about their profession and industry. What do they think needs to be done to increase the trust for the industry and what kind of responsibility do they think they have?</p><p>Method/Material: Together with literature studies, a qualitative method has been used and five in-depth interviews with PR-consultants have been conducted. The persons interviewed all worked with questions concerning lobbying and influencing the public opinion, within Swedish PR-firms.</p><p>Main Results: The main results show that the PR-consultants pay different attention to the factors of the model, in terms of what can be done for the trust for the industry and profession. They all think they have a responsibility in the trust question and name all sorts of things they could do to improve it.</p><p>Keywords: Public Relations (PR), lobbying, influencing public opinion, trust</p>