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Much of our current research about volunteering in later life has been conducted with respondents who dedicate their time and effort to volunteer in their home communities. Some, however, choose to travel to developing countries to volunteer in a number of initiatives. Little research has been done that focuses on what influences their desire and motivation to volunteer in this particular context, what meaning is derived from it, and how it impacts their perception of wellbeing and health in later years. Using an interpretative phenomenological methodology, this project attempted to discover how older Canadians experienced the phenomenon of volunteering in developing countries, asking the questions: What are the factors that lead some older people to choose to travel to volunteer in a developing country at this particular time in their lives? What were the circumstances in their lives that enabled them to be able to make this choice? What meaning did/do they derive from it? In what ways did this experience impact their perceived life satisfaction, health and well-being? The data gathering strategy involved collecting information directly from those who have participated in this phenomenon: interviews with 12 participants, ranging from age 62 to 80, were conducted. In order to understand the context of this experience, the research design also involved gathering demographic data about the participants’ life situations. Interview data gathered from the study were initially analyzed using coding techniques of the constant comparative method. The interpretative phenomenological analysis led to the discovery of core categories in the data, which were then clustered into a conceptual framework. A wealth of concept-rich data emerged to form four key properties that contribute significantly to further understanding about this phenomenon: a significant, disruptive event had occurred in their lives, at a time preceding their volunteer experience; the conviction of being led or guided into pursuing this choice; the discovery of feeling instantly welcomed into a place of belonging, where each felt instantly at home and connected in meaningful ways; and an experience of marginalization, isolation and loss of meaning upon their return home, necessitating a need to ‘re-balance’ their lives and find ways to continue to find meaning. This research study will inform the discourses about elder health and wellbeing, and volunteering in later life, particularly about the social movement of elder volunteering in developing countries. It will contribute to theories of how, and in what ways, older adults achieve meaning and purpose by positively negotiating life transitions, re-inventing themselves, learning and adopting new roles, and creating new behaviours and identities, all of which can contribute to healthy aging in later life. / Graduate

There has been an increasing amount of investment in Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) interventions in developing countries under the premise of accelerating the process of social, economic and political development. These interventions are usually driven by the symbolic power of ICTs which signify progress and upon which the governments of developing countries try to draw to modernise the functioning of the state and to further enhance public service delivery to citizens. However, in this thesis it is argued that the actions and events that lead to the design and implementation of ICT4D tend to be politically motivated because ICT4D are simply interventions used by powerful actors and institutions to achieve their goals. These powerful actors include international donor agencies, politicians, top bureaucrats and private entities. In addition, it is argued that, due to these politically motivated agendas, ICT4D projects tend to be implemented in a top-down fashion and within an economic development perspective that appears to isolate the concerns of the country itself and the wellbeing of its citizens. In an attempt to try and redress social exclusion and imbalance, the capability approach drawn from the work of Amartya Sen (1999) stresses the enhancement of human capabilities and the moral aspects of development. Theoretically, the study is based on the key concepts of Sen’s Capability Approach. However, Lukes’s (1974) concepts of power are also drawn upon to address the limitation of the capability approach in addressing the concept of power. The research questions guiding this thesis are as follows: (1) How do the underlying motivations of different actors drive the design and implementation of ICT4D initiatives in developing countries? (2) How can researchers usefully conceptualise the relationship between ICT and development given the complexities in which ICT4D initiatives are undertaken? What conceptual framework could help theorise the complex relationship between ICT and development? Epistemologically, the study was conducted by following an interpretive research approach. The research was carried out in two states of Nigeria, Abuja and Plateau, and took place during the period of 2010-2011. The case-study centres on the initiation and implementation of the Computerised Electricity Management System (CEMS). Empirically, data collection techniques include 65 individual interviews, field observations and document analysis. The following are key findings of this thesis: ICT4D interventions are a complex process shaped at two levels. At the international level, they are shaped by donor agendas such as privatisation, and at the national or local level they are shaped by political and private interests. These agendas and interest are driven by powerful actors such as international donor agencies that often impose such interventions as a condition of aid, politicians who often use such interventions as campaign tools, and other top public and private actors who often use such interventions for personal gain. Hence, the beneficiaries of these projects usually have no say in the design of ICT4D projects but are rather forced to accept these interventions. Corruption is a major obstacle that hinders the expected ICT4D contributions in terms of individual opportunities and freedoms of living better lives inscribed in ICT4D interventions. Corruption exists as a “network” involving different actors present at three levels of ICT4D projects, namely the design, implementation and usage stages. Viewed from this perspective, the findings of this study show that international donor agencies, politicians, public bureaucrats and private entities are equally responsible for promoting corrupt practices in the context of ICT4D interventions. Theoretically, this thesis progresses the operationalisation of the capability approach (CA) by encapsulating the central aspect of the approach and Lukes’s (1974) concept of power. This is an innovative way of operationalising the capability approach by addressing its limitations in explaining the notion of power; the study thereby contributes to the field of IS using the capability approach and expanding the scope of theoretical analysis of contemporary ICT4D studies. Practically, to make the relationship between ICT and development more effective in meeting broader development goals, it is necessary for government policies to move beyond the mere provision of technology to also concentrate on the cultural, institutional, social and political aspects in ensuring the effective use of ICT resources, which should serve to improve people’s opportunity to participate more in social, political and economic activities.

Objective: The purpose of this DNP Project was to investigate factors that influence the sustainability of a prior nursing physical assessment education intervention with intensive care unit (ICU) nurses working at Saint Luke’s Hospital in Haiti. Methods: A qualitative design, utilizing focus group interviews and direct observation was used. Two focus group interviews were held at St. Luke’s Hospital. Participants were identified via purposeful sampling, with the aid of key informants, to include Haitian nursing and medical administration, ICU staff nurses, and physicians that participated in the prior nursing education intervention. An interpreter was present during the interviews. The interviews were audio taped, allowing verbatim translation and transcription into English. The transcription was analyzed to identify themes regarding factors that influenced the sustainability of the prior nursing physical assessment education. Findings: The majority of themes identified in the nursing focus group interview were mirrored in the physician focus group interview and aligned with current literature. These included staffing, nursing knowledge regarding physical assessments, and continuing education. The nursing focus group indicated that ongoing communication and collaboration were factors influencing sustainability. In the physician focus group, the theme of interdisciplinary integration also emerged. Conclusion: There is limited literature discussing the factors that influence sustainability of nursing education in developing countries. A program evaluation to examine these factors for the prior nursing education at St. Luke’s Hospital had not been conducted. Findings indicate that there are numerous factors that influenced the sustainability of the prior nursing physical assessment education intervention. Although these findings are not transferable to other settings or populations, understanding means to increase sustainability may be influential in future nursing education endeavors with St. Luke’s Hospital in Haiti.

When developing and aiming to achieve success in the area of mobile commerce, user acceptance and usage are key aspects for consideration. The key aim of this thesis is to explore a way to understand and explain the issues related to users’ adoption of m-commerce, by revision of Ventakesh et al.’s (2003) United Theory of Acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) for the Saudi context. This thesis examines a conceptual model in three studies. The first study aims to empirically validate the research model and hypotheses, by conducting a quantitative questionnaire survey of 574 participants. The results emphasise that cost, effort expectancy and performance expectancy all affect the intention to use m-commerce. In addition, it was found that age has an impact on usage. Subsequently, the author narrows down to confirm the finding and applies the same revised model to an m-commerce application, a mobile network service. The study collected data from 363 participants, and confirmed the findings. Based on the first and second study results, the first model was revised to remove insignificant factors, and a personal innovativeness construct was added. The incorporation of this aspect was dependent on the findings from the other studies. The new revised model was examined on one social network service, namely Twitter, with 1,252 participants being surveyed. The final result was that all the hypotheses were supported, emphasising that Personal innovation, Cost, Performance expectancy and Effort expectancy all considerably affect the intention to use Mobile Social Network Services (MSNS’s). In this regard, usage intention actually decides utilisation. The outcomes from this research are considered valuable in the fields of m-commerce and telecommunications. This research has created a conceptual model for studying m-commerce in Saudi Arabia. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings have been discussed and offer recommendations for future research directions.

Thesis (M.M. (Finance & Investment))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2013. / Cannot copy abstract

In a broad sense, an industrial policy is aimed at influencing the structure of an economy. Justin Lin (2010), argues that the best way to upgrade a country’s endowment structure is to develop its industries according to the comparative advantages determined by its given endowment structure at that time. Then he assumes that the economy would be most competitive, the economic surplus predominant, and the capital accumulation and the upgrading of factor endowment structure will be the fastest possible. He further proposes that the private enterprises should enter industries according to the country’s comparative advantages, relative factor prices must fully reflect the relative abundance of those factors as prices can only be determined through competition in a ―well-functioning‖ market. Therefore, the market should be the basic institution of the economy. The proposed essay will conduct a critical analysis of structuralism and industrial policy as propagated within the ―New Structural Economics‖ realm as proposed by Justin Lin, a former World Bank chief economist. The proposed inquiry would attempt to underline that the Newly Industrialised Countries showed that specific institutions have performed a critical role in guiding market forces towards industrial development. Notably is the state as an institution in its developmental role in guiding economic strategy and industrial policies. Therefore, the basic argument is that despite the eminence of the orthodox economic approach and its responses to the recent economic crises there are numerous contradictions, including weaknesses as advocated by Lin’s approach to developmental issues and the role of industrial policy, expressly with regard to the developing world.

MSc (Med) (Population-Based Field Epidemiology), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand / Introduction: Studies of factors affecting infant mortality have rarely considered the role of birth order. Despite the recent gains in child mortality in Tanzania, infant mortality rate is still high (68 per 1000 live births) according to the Tanzania Demographic Health Survey (2004-5). This study investigated the risk factors associated with infant mortality in Ifakara Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems area in rural Tanzania from January 2005 to December 2007 with specific reference to birth order, and identified causes of infant death for the study period. Materials and Methods: The study was a secondary analysis of existing data from the Ifakara Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS). Child data for 8916 live births born from 1st January 2005 to 31st December 2007 were extracted for analysis. The binary outcome variable was infant mortality. Tables and graphs were used to describe the distribution of maternal demographic and study population characteristics. Poisson regression analyses were used to establish the association between infant mortality and exposure variables. Results: We recorded 562 infant deaths. Neonatal mortality rate was 38 per 1000 person-years while infant mortality rate was 70 per 1000 person-years. Birth order of 2nd to 5th was associated significantly with 22% reduced risk of infant mortality (IRR=0.78, 95%CI: 0.64, 0.96; p=0.02) compared with first births. The infant mortality rates per 1000 person-years for first births was 84, 2nd to 5th was 66 and sixth and higher was 71 per 1000 person-years. Male infants were 17% more at risk of infant deaths as compared to their female counterparts, but not statistically significant (IRR=1.17, 95%CI: 0.99, 1.38; p=0.06). Mothers aged 20 to 34 years had 19% reduced risk of infant death (IRR=0.81, 95%CI: 0.65, 1.00; p=0.05) as compared v to mother of less than 20 years of age. Singleton births had 71% reduced risk of infant mortality (IRR=0.29, 95%CI: 0.22, 0.37; p<0.001) compared with twin births. Mothers who did not attend antenatal care had 2% reduced risk of infant deaths (IRR=0.98, 95%CI: 0.49, 1.97) but not statistically significant compared with mothers who attended antenatal care. Mothers who delivered at home were 1.05 times more at risk of infant deaths but not statistically significant (IRR=1.05, 95%CI: 0.89, 1.24; p=0.56). Mothers who had no formal education were 1.41 times more likely to have infant deaths (IRR=1.41, 95%CI: 0.72, 2.79; p=0.32) as compared to those who had education beyond primary. When adjusted for sex, maternal age and twin births, second to fifth birth order had 20% reduced risk of infant death (IRR=0.80, 95%CI: 0.61, 1.03; p=0.08), but statistically not significant as compared to first births. Malaria (30%), Birth injury/asphyxia (16%), Pneumonia (10%), Premature and/or low birth weight (8%), Anaemia (3%) and Diarrhoeal diseases (2%) were the major causes of infant deaths from 2005 to 2007. Discussion and conclusion: First births and higher birth orders were associated with higher infant mortality. Twin birth was a risk factor for infant mortality. The health systems should be strengthened in providing care for mothers and child survival. We recommend that the high-risk group, first or sixth or higher pregnancies, need special care and the existing health management system may be strengthened to create awareness among potential mothers for seeking appropriate health care from the beginning of pregnancy. Also, antenatal care follow-up can be emphasized for high-risk mothers. Efforts to control mosquitoes must be accelerated in the Ifakara sub-district.

The nature and purposes of the post-apartheid South African foreign policy have become matters of intense debate and great confusion. This primarily emanates from the political reality of contemporary South Africa and the new global settings in general. The end of the cold war and apartheid provided an opportunity for foreign policy-makers and academics to re-assess South Africa's relations with the rest of the world. These developments raised questions for the democratic government. Where do such changes leave the new South Africa, and more importantly which foreign policy strategies serve it best? As a middle-range power, South Africa joined hands with other like-minded states in embracing multilateral mechanisms as tools of foreign policy.

ABSTRACT Indoor air pollution has been associated with acute lower respiratory infections amongst children less than five years old in developing countries. Very little is known about the potential role of behavioural change in reducing child indoor air pollution exposure. This thesis explores three questions: did people change their behaviours following exposure to an intervention that promoted the health benefits of behavioural change? Were changes in behaviour attributable to the intervention? What were the motivations and barriers to behavioural change? The evaluation included a quantitative and a qualitative study. The quantitative study utilised a quasiexperimental before-after design amongst an intervention village (n=98 households). Results were compared to a similar control village (n=121) that did not receive the intervention. Baseline data were collected during winter 2003 and follow-up data were collected during winter 2004 (12 months later). A qualitative evaluation, using two rounds of 4 focus group interviews each, was used to answer questions that emerged from the quantitative study. Indoor air quality - PM10, CO and CO (measured on the youngest child) - were measured over a 24 hour period in randomly selected households before and after the intervention in the intervention (n=36) and control (n=38) groups. After adjusting for confounding factors, there was no statistical association between having the received the intervention and the likelihood of burning outdoors at follow-up (OR=1.16; 95% CI 0.6-1.8). Indoor air quality data showed significant median reductions in PM10 (94-96%), CO (85-97%) and CO (child) (83- 95%) amongst households that burned outdoors compared to those that burned indoors. Results from the qualitative study suggest that motivations for outdoor burning included: health considerations, reaction to participating in the study, reduced drudgery and prestige. Barriers to outdoor burning included the need for space heating during winter, perceptions of low indoor air pollution risk and gender relations. This study highlights the potential for exposure reduction through behavioural change and is original for three reasons. It is the first behavioural intervention study designed to reduce indoor air pollution in a rural African setting. Secondly, it is the first intervention study in the indoor air pollution field to identify the factors that influenced behavioural change. Thirdly, it is one of the first studies to align debates about behavioural change in the field of indoor air pollution with those in the broader environmental health promotion literature.