The “spiritual but not religious” (SBNR) are a rising social group in America in the past two decades, but social scientists and the general public know quite little about this group. Using the pooled 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012 GSS data, this study examines who the SBNR are and who is more or less likely to be SBNR controlling for other variables. Descriptive analysis reveals that, compared to the general U.S. adult population, the SBNR group has slightly more males, is slightly younger, has fewer racial minorities, is better educated, and is slightly higher in social class. Additionally, more SBNR are from the Northeast and West than the general population, are slightly more urban, fewer are currently married, fewer have children, more have had homosexual sex, and more were religious Nones when they were 16 years old. Logistic regression analysis of the SBNR finds that, holding other variables constant, Americans who are more educated, live in Northeastern or Western regions, have homosexual sex, or had no religion at age 16 are more likely to be SBNR than their respective counterparts. Those who are racial minorities, live in the South or the Midwest, are currently married, or have children are less likely to be SBNR than their respective counterparts. Gender, age, social class, full-time work status, and metropolitanism of area do not make a significant difference. The implications of the findings for the research of religion and spirituality are discussed.

This study examined how student characteristics could be used to predict whether or not a community college student would persist in an online course. The research question guiding the study was, “Which student characteristics can be used to best predict the persistence of community college students in online courses?” The student characteristics examined were learning style, locus of control, computer experience and access, previous online experience and demographics. A survey instrument consisting of two previously developed instruments and a Computer Experience scale that was created by the researcher specifically for this study, was administered to online students at one Florida community college for the pilot study and five additional Florida community colleges for the full study. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis were conducted on the computer experience scale to determine if there was an underlying hidden structure. Stepwise logistic regression was completed to determine the student characteristics that were significant predictors of online persistence, as well as an equation that could be used to predict whether or not a community college student would persist in an online course. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis revealed that the Computer Experience scale consisted of three underlying subscales. The researcher named the three subscales based on the similarities of the variables that were associated with each factor: Factor one (basic computer skills); Factor two (Internet/email skills); Factor three (interactive computing skills). Three of the initial 25 predictor variables were found to be significant predictors of community college online persistence: GPA, auditory learning style, basic computer skills. An increase in both auditory learning style and basic computer skills was associated with a decrease in the odds of course persistence. On the other hand, an increase in GPA was associated with an increase in the odds of course persistence. Additionally, an equation to predict whether or not an online community college student would persist in an online course was developed. Implications for community college administrators as well as recommendations for future studies are also provided in the study. / Dissertation / PhD

<p>The changing requirements in the modern labour market have led to a new form of economic geography of employment, where skills, wages and the uncertainty of employment play a primary role in the spatial division of labour.</p><p>The main purpose of this project is to investigate the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) as a tool to illustrate employment and unemployment in Östergötland County for giving information on the development of the labour market. In addition, the use of GIS for population data analysis with the help of Oracle’s map viewer is closely examined. This descriptive thesis reveals that the labour market is characterized by the geographic extension of the market and its determination by how far the supply and demand forces go and the important role that GIS plays in illustrating the distribution of workforce in Östergötland’s labour market.</p><p>GIS is an analytical tool for employer/employee demographics that can be used for visualization but also for analysis and pre-processing purposes with the use of graphic tools. With the use of thematic maps, GIS can visualise spatial data with labour data according to certain demographic criteria.</p><p>GIS technology has ways of mapping thematically the local labour market demand and supply. In addition, it is capable of constructing a comprehensive workforce development system that can integrate the job seekers and employers. GIS can facilitate the development of visual web-based mapping systems that allow users to investigate and find employees within various industries.</p>

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to investigate patterns in educational enrollment and attainment in educational levels among women in South Africa. Some evidence from the literature suggest a slow increase in women&rsquo / s education and employment opportunities in South Africa. However, little is known about the way in which this slow pattern reflects at all levels and fields of education with special reference to the female population in South Africa. The thesis aims at examining changes of attainment in women&rsquo / s education from a sociodemographic perspective between 2004 and 2007. Factors affecting women&rsquo / s education in South Africa are also considered as they play major roles in women&rsquo / s enrollment and completion at school. The study focuses on women through different social and demographic attributes, by taking account of variables such as age, education attainment, geographic areas, population group to name but a few. All educational institutions are covered and two female groups are considered, women at school and women who left school. The study makes use of already existing data from General Household Survey conducted in 2004 and 2007 respectively, to bring some comparative perspective. The scope of the study is national in that, all the nine provinces are covered making distinction of rural and urban areas.</p>

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to investigate patterns in educational enrollment and attainment in educational levels among women in South Africa. Some evidence from the literature suggest a slow increase in women&rsquo / s education and employment opportunities in South Africa. However, little is known about the way in which this slow pattern reflects at all levels and fields of education with special reference to the female population in South Africa. The thesis aims at examining changes of attainment in women&rsquo / s education from a sociodemographic perspective between 2004 and 2007. Factors affecting women&rsquo / s education in South Africa are also considered as they play major roles in women&rsquo / s enrollment and completion at school. The study focuses on women through different social and demographic attributes, by taking account of variables such as age, education attainment, geographic areas, population group to name but a few. All educational institutions are covered and two female groups are considered, women at school and women who left school. The study makes use of already existing data from General Household Survey conducted in 2004 and 2007 respectively, to bring some comparative perspective. The scope of the study is national in that, all the nine provinces are covered making distinction of rural and urban areas.</p>

The non-interest and profit-loss sharing schemes of Islamic finance (IF) are attracting increasing global attention. Despite exposure to the similar opportunities as other Western countries that have adopted the financial business model there is little evidence of Islamic finance windows operating in the conventional institutions in Canada. This thesis takes a qualitative approach to bring the issue forward in Canadian social science literature by exploring the perceived challenges to, and the potential of, the development of IF offerings with a focus on factors affecting the supply and management decisions in the industry. The study used an inductive approach with archival data and critical survey of literature to arrive at the hypotheses surrounding the challenges. These were tested deductively by semi-structured interviews and panel discussions both in Canada and the US on a sample of senior officials involved in both IF and conventional financial institutions. Using a thematic analysis the study arrived at findings supporting the hypotheses related to awareness, regulation, management intent and internal resources. In the external environment, factors affecting strategic decision on offering IF services are mainly due to regulation, lack of awareness, even among Muslim communities, or misgivings about Sha’riah authenticity. Internally, highly customized IT infrastructures, lack of funds and foreign investment make it unfeasible. Management interest when proposed with the concept is high but not in a top-down manner and there is an overall uncertainty avoidance culture and little proactivity with market research. Access to specific Sha’riah knowledge is not considered a hurdle anymore. It is apparent that investments in Sha’riah compliant stocks would be easiest to set up. Mortgage structures can be affected by the capital market structure, even if not tax structures. Knowledge on this can have implications for banks seeking to expand their investment portfolios and aid government policies.

Attracting and retaining employees has emerged as one of the most important issues currently challenging organizations worldwide, and in the rural setting it has become a genuine concern for public and private sectors. Longstanding research into turnover has historically been rather piecemeal, for example attrition and retention research has focused on employment conditions such as pay or supervision (Richards et al. 1994; Dinham & Scott 1996; Dodd-McCue and Wright 1996; Rahim 1996; Scott et al. 1998; Cheney et al. 2004; Robinson & Pillemer 2007; Gow et al 2008; Newton 2008) or personal factors such as personality (Deary, Watson & Hogston 2003; Bakker 2006). This research study adopted a multi-focus or ecological perspective and provided a holistic understanding of employee turnover, something that has been lacking from much of the previous literature. This thesis evaluated turnover intentions and behaviours, through investigating personal, work and community variables with a group of rural public service employees in Charleville, South West Queensland, Australia. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influenced a rural government workers decision to stay in or leave their job, and could these predict turnover. It has implications for organizations and workforce management in rural settings but some parts may be applied to the urban context.Eighty-nine workers from 12 state government departments were studied in 2003 and 2004. Eight variables were researched including professional, personal and community factors, job satisfaction, stress, social support, organizational commitment, intent to remain and actual turnover behaviour. The research methods used were surveys, interviews and observations. A descriptive picture of the sample was formed using some of the data in the survey. The rest of the survey data was analysed using regression analysis. This information was then used as the basis for the interviews. This data along with the observation data were analysed qualitatively.The two main hypotheses for this study were, 1) personal, professional and community variables influence employee turnover, and 2) that it was possible to predict turnover from these three variables. Consequently, the primary research questions were ‘can we explain employee turnover intentions and behaviours by evaluating personal, professional and community variables?’ and ‘Can these factors be used to predict turnover?’ The results of this study support both hypotheses. It was found that personal, professional and community factors did influence rural government worker turnover; and that turnover can be predicted. Furthermore, that intent can be used as a predictor of turnover. It argues that employee turnover is a complex process involving personal, professional, community, stress, job satisfaction, social support, commitment and intent variables. This study identifies the factors that influence actual and intended rural government employee turnover and gives organizations a platform for operationalizing effective retention programs.

Attracting and retaining employees has emerged as one of the most important issues currently challenging organizations worldwide, and in the rural setting it has become a genuine concern for public and private sectors. Longstanding research into turnover has historically been rather piecemeal, for example attrition and retention research has focused on employment conditions such as pay or supervision (Richards et al. 1994; Dinham & Scott 1996; Dodd-McCue and Wright 1996; Rahim 1996; Scott et al. 1998; Cheney et al. 2004; Robinson & Pillemer 2007; Gow et al 2008; Newton 2008) or personal factors such as personality (Deary, Watson & Hogston 2003; Bakker 2006). This research study adopted a multi-focus or ecological perspective and provided a holistic understanding of employee turnover, something that has been lacking from much of the previous literature. This thesis evaluated turnover intentions and behaviours, through investigating personal, work and community variables with a group of rural public service employees in Charleville, South West Queensland, Australia. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influenced a rural government workers decision to stay in or leave their job, and could these predict turnover. It has implications for organizations and workforce management in rural settings but some parts may be applied to the urban context.Eighty-nine workers from 12 state government departments were studied in 2003 and 2004. Eight variables were researched including professional, personal and community factors, job satisfaction, stress, social support, organizational commitment, intent to remain and actual turnover behaviour. The research methods used were surveys, interviews and observations. A descriptive picture of the sample was formed using some of the data in the survey. The rest of the survey data was analysed using regression analysis. This information was then used as the basis for the interviews. This data along with the observation data were analysed qualitatively.The two main hypotheses for this study were, 1) personal, professional and community variables influence employee turnover, and 2) that it was possible to predict turnover from these three variables. Consequently, the primary research questions were ‘can we explain employee turnover intentions and behaviours by evaluating personal, professional and community variables?’ and ‘Can these factors be used to predict turnover?’ The results of this study support both hypotheses. It was found that personal, professional and community factors did influence rural government worker turnover; and that turnover can be predicted. Furthermore, that intent can be used as a predictor of turnover. It argues that employee turnover is a complex process involving personal, professional, community, stress, job satisfaction, social support, commitment and intent variables. This study identifies the factors that influence actual and intended rural government employee turnover and gives organizations a platform for operationalizing effective retention programs.

Les hêtraies-sapinières-pessières de montagne paraissent particulièrement menacées par le réchauffement climatique. Pour appréhender la dynamique future de ces forêts et adapter la sylviculture à ces nouvelles conditions, il est important de mieux connaître les facteurs environnementaux impactant la démographie de ces espèces. Nous avons abordé cette problématique en combinant des données historiques de gestion, le modèle de dynamique forestière Samsara2 et une méthode de calibration basée sur le Calcul Bayésien Approché. Nous avons ainsi pu étudier conjointement les différents processus démographiques dans ces forêts. Nos analyses montrent que la démographie forestière peut varier fortement entre les parcelles et que le climat n'est pas toujours déterminant pour expliquer ces variations. Ainsi, malgré les changements climatiques attendus, la gestion irrégulière pratiquée actuellement devrait permettre de maintenir les services rendus par les peuplements mélangés situés en conditions mésiques. / The spruce-fir-beech mountain forests could be particularly threatened by the global warming. To better understand the future dynamics of these forests and adapt the silviculture to these new conditions, a better knowledge of the environmental factors affecting the species demograhics is needed. We studied this issue by combining a historical management data set, the forest dynamics model Samsara2 and a calibration method based on Approximate Bayesian Computation. We were able thus to study jointly the different demographic process in these forests. Our analysis show that the forest demographics can strongly vary between stands and that climate is not always determining to explain these variations. The unven-aged management currently applied seem adapted for the mixed stands located in mesic conditions, but the pure spruce forests and the low elevation stands could be highly impacted.

L’étude de la confiance dans le domaine des sciences de l’information et de la communication revêt une importance capitale pour cette discipline au carrefour des autres. Elle permet d’affiner mais aussi de compléter les connaissances pour une meilleure appréhension des phénomènes informationnels et communicationnels. La confiance du fait de sa nature jugée trop théorique, reste très peu mobilisée dans les recherches comme une variable explicative des phénomènes de l’information et de la communication.L’objectif de ce travail est de mesurer le niveau de confiance des utilisateurs dans « orange money ». Ce service de transaction monétaire par téléphone mobile fait désormais partie de la gamme des services proposés à la population malienne par la société de télécommunication Orange Mali. En vue d’atteindre cet objectif, un questionnaire a été administré auprès de 309 citadins dans le district de Bamako (Mali).Les résultats issus du traitement et de l’analyse des données collectées montrent que, les répondants ont un niveau élevé de confiance dans les transactions monétaires sur téléphone mobile. Cependant, il ressort de ces résultats une méfiance généralisée des participants à l’enquête à donner leurs informations personnelles à Orange Mali. L’ensemble de ces résultats sont interprétés dans un chapitre dédié.Le présent de thèse s’articule autour de dix chapitres. Il se compose de trois grandes parties dont la première est consacrée à la présentation des concepts théoriques de la confiance, le contexte économique et social. La deuxième partie se focalise sur l’analyse des données et l’interprétation des résultats de l’étude. La troisième partie est focalisée à la mise en perspectives des principaux résultats de ce travail. / The study of trust in the field of information and communication science is of paramount importance in this discipline at the crossroad of others research field. It helps to refine and to supplement the knowledge to a better understanding of informational and communicational phenomena. Trust due to it theoretical aspects, is rarely mobilized in research as an explanatory variable in information and communication sciences.The objective of this work is to measure the level of trust of "Orange Money" users. This money transfer system based on mobile phone is now part of the range of services offered by the company of telecommunications Orange Mali to Malian populations. In order to achieve this, a questionnaire was administered to 309 citizens in the district of Bamako, the main city of Mali.Results from the processing of collected data show a high level of confidence of users in monetary transactions by mobile phone. However, the result shows a general distrust of survey participants to give their personal information to Orange Mali. All these results are interpreted in a dedicated chapter.The present thesis focuses on ten chapters organized into three parts: the first is devoted to the presentation of theoretical concepts on trust, economic and social context. The second part focuses on the analysis, processing and interpretation of data collected on our field survey. And finally, in the third part, we try to put into perspective the results.