This study examines cultural differences in time perspective (TP). Two groups of psychology students were compared using the Swedish Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (S-ZTPI). One group was Swedish (n=125) and the other was Namibian (n=105). Students from Namibia also participated in focus groups discussing aspects affecting their TP. Results show Swedish students are more past positive, less past negative, less present hedonistic, less present fatalistic and less future negative compared to Namibian students. Focus groups findings reveal that economic aspects are important to the Namibian students view of the past and the future. They believe it is not possible to have a positive past or future if basic needs, like food and shelter, are not met. Other important aspects include family and freedom. The students also discuss the importance of finding a balance between appreciating the present and investing in the future.

<p>This report is the final thesis and the conclusion of the final project that was done during the spring semester of 2009, in the city of Santo Domingo, The Dominican Republic, West Indies by Caroline Knutsson and Kristina Myrberg.</p><p>The project is based on the field studies that are done in the investigation together with the information from interviews from the construction sites and the collected information from the research. The focus is concentrated in an investigation about the construction techniques that are used, the building materials and the working conditions on the construction site. A study has been done of a Swedish model of urban planning with environmental objects (SAMS), made by the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning (Boverket), and successively applied in a project in South Africa. With the purpose of investigate if it is possible to apply the same model in the Dominican Republic, a review of the current environmental- and urban planning in the country has been done.  Through the studies we think that an introduction of planning with environmental objectives and a development towards a sustainable and ecological society is possible in the Dominican Republic.</p><p>After field studies on the construction sites, it was relevant to discuss the working conditions and the safety for the constructers.</p><p>The thesis also deal with the waste problem, since it is a problem that is not taken care of neither in the building sector or in the society. The suggestion is to recycle and reuse more of the waste, especially all the concrete that is used in the buildings. Sweden have come a long way ahead in the questions of sustainable housing and ecological building, to spare and reduce the effect the building sector has on the environment. This is questions of more importance than ever today, when we are seeing the effects of the climate change in the world. An investigation is done of the possibility to apply any of the methods that are used in Sweden today to make the housing more sustainable and environmentally friendly, also in The Dominican Republic. The result is some suggestions of methods and technologies that might be applicable in the Dominican Republic.</p>

Syfte: Att identifiera behovet för arbetsterapi i Nehemiah Autism Center genom att utföra en behovsanalys. Metod: Mixad-metod användas för att utveckla en passande behovsanalys för att identifiera behovet för arbetsterapi. Resultat: Alla områden där en arbetsterapeut kan bidrag till valdes. Kommunikation och sociala färdigheter rapporterades mest frekvent och beteende förvaltning rankades som viktigast bland vårdnadshavare. Bland anställda, fritid och lek rapporterades mest frekvent och stresshantering rankades som viktigast. Utbildningsmöjligheter, kommunikation mellan anställda och medarbetare relation identifierades som stödjande faktorer för att uppnå målet på Nehemiah Autism Center. Stigma, religion och kulturell mångfald rapporterades som icke-stödjande faktorer för att uppnå målet på Nehemiah Autism Center. Slutsats: Det finns ett behov för arbetsterapi för att möta behovet hos barn med autism på Nehemiah Autism Center i Addis Ababa, Etiopien. / Aim: To identify the occupational therapy needs at the Nehemiah Autism Center by completing a needs assessment. Method: A mixed-methods design was adopted to construct a comprehensive needs assessment to identify the occupational therapy needs. Result: All areas of what an occupational therapist could assist with were selected as an area of need. Communication and social skills were most frequently reported and behavior management was ranked as most important among caregivers. Among staff members, leisure and play was reported most frequently and stress management was ranked as most important. Training opportunities, communication among staff members, and co-worker relationship were identified to be supporting factors in achieving the goal at Nehemiah Autism Center. Stigma, religion, and cultural diversity were reported to be unsupportive factors in achieving the goal at Nehemiah Autism Center. Conclusion: There is a great need for occupational therapy services to attend to children with autism spectrum disorder at Nehemiah Autism Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

This dissertation is divided into six chapters, as foHows: Chapter 1 of this dissertation discusses the growing significance of FDI for developing countries. It compares FDT in developed and developing countries and analyses recent evidence ofFDI flows to developing countries. Chapter 2 analyses the (endogenous and exogenous) detenninants ofFDI flows into developing countries. Chapter 3 discusses the importance of FDI flows, which are essential for new investments or for financing fortuitous deficits in host countries, and looks at the adjustment mechanisms for the equilibrium of the balance of payments. Chapter 4 gives attention to FDI flows, the liberalisation of financial markets and the financial account of the balance of payments in developing countries in providing more opportunities and mechanisms for development and economic growth. Finally, chapter S examines and compares FDI flows tu South Africa and Angola - the biggest FDI recipients on the African continent. / Economics / MCom (Economics)

This study aims to provide an overview of the attitude toward mobile banking among early adopters in Myanmar. By conducting exploratory interviews with ten bank employees, factors that are important for the adoption of mobile banking were also identified. The qualitative method allowed factors beyond the existing technology adoption frameworks to emerge. From the results, it was concluded that the attitude toward mobile banking is overall positive among the early adopters. Findings were aligned with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), suggesting that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are important factors for the usage of mobile banking. Social influence did not show any consistent results, but external barriers such as regulations and cash-based society were evidently important factors for adoption. Moreover, experience showed to have an impact on the participants’ attitude and the adoption of mobile banking. The findings from this paper could work as a foundation when formulating future hypotheses for mobile banking adoption in Myanmar. Regarding practical contributions, banks can get an insight into what is important to focus on when designing a strategy to increase the rate of mobile banking adoption. For future research, it would be of interest to extend the sample and collect data from both users and non-users. / Denna studie syftar till att ge en övergripande bild av attityden mot mobila banktjänster bland tidiga användare i Myanmar. Genom explorativa intervjuer med tio bankanställda, identifierades också faktorer som är viktiga för att anamma mobila banktjänster. Den kvalitativa metoden möjliggjorde faktorer som ligger utanför de befintliga teoretiska ramverken att vara del av studien. Från resultaten drogs slutsatsen att attityden mot mobila banktjänster är övergripande positiv bland de tidiga användarna. Resultaten låg i linje med modellen Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), vilket tyder på att uppskattad användbarhet och uppskattad användarvänlighet är viktiga faktorer för anammandet av mobila banktjänster. Socialt inflytande visade inga konsekventa resultat, men externa barriärer som regleringar samt kontantbaserat samhälle visade sig vara viktiga faktorer för anammandet till mobila banktjänster. Dessutom påverkade erfarenhet deltagarnas attityd mot och anammandet av mobila banktjänster. Resultaten från denna rapport kan användas som en grund vid formulering av hypoteser i framtida forskning inom implementering av mobila banktjänster i Myanmar. Vad gäller det praktiska bidrag från denna studie, kan bankerna få en inblick i vad som är viktigt att fokusera på vid utformning av strategi för att öka användningen av mobila banktjänster. För framtida forskning vore det intressant att utöka urvalet av deltagare och samla in data från både användare och icke-användare.

Vertical Occupations in the City Center of São Paulo has been prepared as part of the Degree Project for the Master in Urbanism Studies course at The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.This Degree Project deals with social housing challenges in the central urban environment of São Paulo, Brazil, narrowing down to an important part of these urban challenges: the occupations of vacant buildings in the city center of São Paulo by social housing movements. Although the theme is part of a wider context, focusing on social occupations is critical to understand how the right to proper housing, and to the city itself, is a paradoxal universe. / Vertical Occupations in the City Center of São Paulo é um projeto de Mestrado (MSc) em Urbanismo preparado para Kungliga Tekninska Högskoloan (KTH) em Estocolmo. O trabalho lida com os desafios contemporâneos em habitação social, focando nas ocupações verticais no centro de São Paulo. Embora este tema seja bastante abrangente, ao focar em ocupações no centro da cidade, o projeto critica o direito à cidade e à habitação digna, focando na esfera mais carente da cidade, este expõe um universo um tanto quanto paradoxal.

The aim of this study is to get a deeper understanding, from a Swedish context, of how you can do social work with vulnerable and orphaned children in a developing country such as Uganda. We have investigated this through the example WEBALE, an NGO working in a context where among other things HIV/AIDS, poverty and a defective social safety net have led to social problems affecting children. Further, we have also aimed at acquiring a deeper understanding of what it is that motivates the volunteers and the director to work with vulnerable children at WEBALE. In order to fulfil this aim, the research has the following two key questions: What is the motivation for the teacher volunteers and the manager to work with vulnerable children at WEBALE? How do the teacher volunteers perceive the social work with the children in everyday life at WEBALE and what experiences do they have from this? The study is a field study with a phenomenological and ethnological approach. We were present at and took part in the everyday life of the informants at the school and orphanage in Uganda for eight weeks. The investigation uses a qualitative method where four interviews and participant observations were carried out. The results are analyzed in connection with theories on social work defining preventions and interventions, where theories on risk- and protection factors and the salutogenetic theory on SOC have been used. The analysis is also connected to theories on social work with children from a developmental-ecological and attachment-theoretical perspective. The results show what it is that motivates the volunteers and manager to work as volunteers in this specific contest through personal accounts of their background. Our observation is that the motivation of the volunteers and the manager to work with orphaned and vulnerable children is closely connected to their own background and childhood. The biggest reason for this kind of a life choice seems to be a sense of coherence and the largest motivating factor is that the work they do feels meaningful. The results further highlight the social work that is carried out and how the volunteers perceive their work at WEBALE. The study shows that the volunteers (who mainly consist of teachers) carry out what can be called social work, according to the definitions of interventions and preventions within various fields, such as health, education, emotional and behavioural development, ability to take care of oneself, social behaviour, family and social relations, and identity.

No description available.

Du fait de son impact sur la morbidité et la mortalité infantile, ainsi que de ses implications sur la santé à l’âge adulte, le petit poids de naissance constitue un problème majeur de santé publique. Le Burkina Faso, pays sahélien enclavé au cœur de l’Afrique occidentale est classé dans le groupe des pays pauvres très endettés et présente une forte prévalence de petit poids de naissance, imputable dans la majorité des cas au retard de croissance intra-utérine. Le contexte de ce travail, réalisé en milieu rural, se caractérise par une situation socioéconomique précaire se traduisant par un faible niveau des indicateurs de l’état de santé et une faible accessibilité aux services sociaux de base.<p><p>Objectifs, hypothèses<p>Ce travail repose sur les hypothèses que les facteurs socioéconomiques influencent la survenue du petit poids de naissance et que le petit poids de naissance a un impact négatif sur la croissance et la survie au cours de la première année de vie. <p>Ce travail s’est fixé pour objectifs de :<p>•connaître l’importance du petit poids de naissance à terme ;<p>•analyser les déterminants du petit poids de naissance ;<p>•proposer un score pour l’identification des femmes enceintes à risque de mise au monde d’un enfant de petit poids ;<p>•identifier les facteurs influençant la croissance des enfants nés de petit poids ;<p>•étudier l'impact du déficit pondéral à la naissance sur la morbidité et la mortalité infantile ;<p>•formuler des recommandations pour la prévention et la prise en charge du petit poids de naissance en milieu défavorisé dans le but d’orienter les stratégies de réduction de la mortalité infantile.<p><p>Méthodologie<p>Trois types d’études ont été réalisés:<p>•une étude de cohorte rétrospective portant sur 435 enfants dans le but d’explorer les facteurs de risque, la croissance, le statut nutritionnel et la mortalité des enfants nés de petit poids de naissance à terme.<p>•Une étude transversale portant sur 1013 naissances vivantes à terme qui a permis de déterminer la fréquence du petit poids de naissance et d’analyser les facteurs associés qui lui étaient associés.<p>•Une étude de cohorte prospective au cours de laquelle les 1013 enfants enrôlés dans l’étude transversale ont été suivis afin d’analyser leur croissance et leur survie au cours des 12 premiers mois de vie.<p><p>Principaux résultats <p>•Le petit poids de naissance représente 15,8% des naissances à terme. <p>•Le sexe féminin est prédominant chez les enfants de petit poids.<p>•Les facteurs sociodémographiques associés au petit poids de naissance sont essentiellement des caractéristiques sociodémographiques maternelles :le jeune âge de la mère (moins de 20 ans), le faible niveau d’instruction, le mauvais état nutritionnel et la faible accessibilité géographique aux structures de santé.<p>•Les facteurs obstétricaux associés au petit poids sont :la primiparité, la survenue de vomissements gravidiques, l’exécution de travaux champêtres et une charge de travail plus importante en cours de grossesse.<p>•Le score proposé pour l’identification des femmes à risque a un pouvoir de discrimination acceptable et présente une bonne stabilité et une faible marge d’erreur de prédiction.<p>•Indépendamment de la catégorie de poids à la naissance, tous les enfants demeurent en dessous des médianes des courbes de référence internationales pour l’ensemble des indices nutritionnels entre 0 et 12 mois. <p>•Malgré des gains plus importants mais de façon non significative, les enfants de PPN montrent une incapacité à combler leur retard en taille et en poids.<p>•Le PPN est associé à un risque significativement plus élevé de retard de croissance et d’insuffisance pondérale au cours de la première année de vie.<p>•Le petit poids de naissance et la non-complétude de la consultation prénatale étaient associés à un risque deux fois plus important de décès. <p>•L’état nutritionnel à l’âge de 3 mois ainsi qu’à l’âge de 6 mois joue un rôle plus important dans la survie chez les enfants de PPN que chez les enfants nés de poids normal.<p><p> <p>Conclusions<p>Les solutions au problème du petit poids de naissance impliquent un paquet d’interventions intégrant des stratégies avant, pendant et après la grossesse et des programmes de prise en charge ciblant les enfants de petit poids après leur naissance. Il s’agit prioritairement de :<p>•l’information et de la sensibilisation des populations pour un meilleur suivi de la grossesse et une complétude de la consultation prénatale ;<p>•l’adoption de pratiques et d’habitudes en faveur d’une alimentation équilibrée des femmes enceintes ;<p>•un plaidoyer pour un allègement de la charge de travail des femmes enceintes ;<p>•l’utilisation de méthodes opérationnelles pour l’identification des femmes à risque ;<p>•l’amélioration de la qualité des prestations de surveillance de la grossesse ;<p>•la redéfinition du contenu et des protocoles des programmes de suivi et de promotion de la croissance des jeunes enfants avec une attention particulière pour les enfants nés de petit poids ;<p>•la lutte contre certaines pratiques sociales comme les mariages précoces et les grossesses chez les adolescentes et les femmes de moins de 20 ans ;<p>•la promotion de la scolarisation des jeunes filles et l’alphabétisation des mères ;<p>•l’amélioration de l’état nutritionnel de la population ;<p>•la réalisation d’études pour évaluer l’impact de certains déterminants et interventions sur l’incidence du petit poids et le devenir des enfants nés avec un handicap pondéral :rôle de l’infection palustre, interventions nutritionnelles ciblant les enfants de petit poids, apports nutritionnels pendant la grossesse.<p><p>Summary<p><p>Due to its impact on infant morbidity and mortality, and its effects on adult’s health, low birth weight (LBW) is a major issue in the public health sector. Burkina Faso, a Sahelian country land-locked in the heart of West Africa is listed among the heavily indebted poor countries, with a high prevalence of Low Birth Weight, caused in most cases by intra uterine growth retardation. The context of the current study, conducted in urban area, is characterised by a poor socio-economic situation resulting in weak health indicators and difficult access to the basic social services.<p><p>Objectives, assumptions<p><p>The study is based o the assumptions that socio-economic factors have an influence on the occurrence of Low Birth Weight and that Low Birth Weight has a negative impact on growth and survival during the first year of the infant.<p>The study has the following objectives:<p>•To assess the importance of low birth weight a term;<p>•To analyse the determinant factors of low birth weight;<p>•To suggest a classification for the identification of pregnant women at risk of giving birth to low birth weight infants ;<p>•To identify factors which have an impact on the growth of low birth weight children ;<p>•To look at the impact of body weight deficiency at birth on infant morbidity and mortality ;<p>•To give recommendations on the prevention and treatment of low birth weight children from underprivileged background with the aim to orientate strategies for infant mortality reduction.<p><p>Methodology<p>Three types of studies were conducted:<p>•A retrospective cohort study of 435 children aiming at exploring risk factors, growth, nutritional status, and mortality of low birth weight infants in the long run.<p>•A cross-sectional study of 1013 live full-term births, which led to determining the frequency of low birth weight and at analysing associated factors which are linked to low birth weight.<p>•A prospective cohort study during which the 1013 children taken into consideration for the cross-sectional study were followed up so as to analyse their growth and survival all along the first 12 months of their life.<p><p>Main results<p>•Low birth weight represents 15.8% of full-term births.<p>•Female babies are predominant among low birth weight babies.<p>•Socio-demographic factors linked to low birth weight are mainly maternal socio-demographic characteristics: young mother (below 20 years old), low educational level, poor nutritional status and limited geographical access to health infrastructures.<p>•Obstetrical factors linked to low birth weight are the following: primiparity, occurrence of vomiting during pregnancy, field work and a heavier workload during pregnancy.<p>•The suggested classification for the identification of women at risk proves to have an acceptable power of discrimination and shows good stability and limited margin of error for prediction.<p>•Regardless of weight categories at birth, all children remain below medians of international reference curves for all nutritional indicators between 0 and 12 months. <p>•In spite of more important but not significant weight gains, LBW children prove not to be able to catch up on height and weight.<p>•LBW is linked to a significantly higher risk in growth retardation and weight deficiency during the newborn’s first year of life.<p>•LBW and non-complete antenatal visits are linked to a death risk multiplied by two.<p>•The nutritional status at the age of 3 months and 6 months old plays a more important role in the survival in LBW children than in children born with normal weight.<p><p>Conclusions<p>Solutions to LBW imply a package of interventions which should integrate strategies before, during and after pregnancy, together with treatment programmes targeting LBW children after their birth. In priority, these are:<p>•Information and awareness given to population for a better follow-up of pregnancies and complete cycles antenatal visits ;<p>•New practices and habits to be taken on favouring a balanced diet of pregnant women ;<p>•Advocacy actions aiming at reducing the workload of pregnant women ;<p>•The use of operational methods to identify women at risk ;<p>•Improving the quality of monitoring of pregnancy; <p>•Redefined content and procedures of monitoring programs and promoting young children growth, with particular focus on LBW children ;<p>•The fight against some social practices such as early marriages and pregnancies of teenagers and women below 20 years;<p>•The promotion of school education for young girls and literacy for mothers ;<p>•Improving the nutritional status of the population;<p>•The realisation of studies to assess the impact of some determinant factors and interventions on the occurrence of low birth weight and on the future of children born with weight deficiency: role of malaria, nutritional interventions targeting LBW children, nutritional intakes during pregnancy<p> / Doctorat en Sciences médicales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Sustainable development and the Triple Bottom Line integrated sustainability concept focus on the choices between the imperatives of economic efficiency, social development and environmental sustainability. Corporate governance is being imposed by stakeholders and corporate social responsibility is indicated as being the most important socio-environmental demand being made on contemporary leaders. The influence of idealism and realism on, and the reasons for failure of, solid waste reduction projects in terms of sustainability is the foundation of the theories postulated in this research. It is the objective of this research to identify the motivational factors, with special reference to developing countries, of social capital, including management processes leadership and people management, that will augment solid waste reduction projects that are lethargic at starting, or deteriorating, to achieve sustainability. The methodology is to review the literature available to identify the augmenting (motivational) factors, and use analytical philosophical and empirical research to test formulated constructs using hypotheses. The criterion for the research sample is to obtain the opinions of environmental specialists in South Africa using a questionnaire. The technique employed is multivariate data analysis to identify the type of interdependent relationships, including cluster and multidimensional scaling analyses. Hypothesis testing, in this research, leads to the conclusion that additional motivational factors are needed to support the economic imperatives to make the process sustainable. `Reality' is statistically significantly different to `idealistic'. The inference is that for solid waste reduction projects to succeed leaders from government and the private sector are required, through the use of legislation and taking into consideration the value of waste, to instil economic incentives. According to this research, personal values and belief systems have little to contribute to the process of sustainability. The outcome of this research provides a strategy-benchmarking-model that leaders can use to target and prioritise their efforts in respect of achieving success with waste projects. The contribution it makes to the knowledge base of the subject and responsible leadership is contained in its summation of the augmenting factors required, their relative importance, and the lessening of the complexity of approach to these projects. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / D.B.L.