Le contrôle des moteurs à allumage commandé est devenu capital pour satisfaire la législation sur les émissions polluantes tout en garantissant un bon agrément de conduite et une consommation réduite. <br /><br />Le downsizing, c'est-à-dire la réduction de la cylindrée du moteur, est une des voies prometteuses pour réduire la consommation de carburant et les émissions de CO2 qui en découlent. Combinant plusieurs technologies existantes telles que la turbocompression et la distribution variable, le downsizing est un exemple typique des problèmes rencontrés dans le contrôle des motorisations : systèmes non linéaires avec saturations d'actionneurs ; nombreuses grandeurs physiques importantes non mesurables ; temps de calcul limité ; objectifs du contrôle (consommation, pollution, performance) souvent concurrents.<br /><br />Une démarche de modélisation et de contrôle à base de modèle (par modèle interne et prédictif) pour ces systèmes est alors proposée et appliquée au contrôle de la chaîne d'air du moteur à essence à cylindrée réduite. Des estimateurs, physiques et génériques, sont construits pour la masse d'air dans le cylindre, la masse de gaz brûlés résiduels et la masse d'air balayé de l'admission vers l'échappement. L'architecture complète et générique du contrôle en couple pour le moteur à allumage commandé turbocompressé à déphaseurs d'arbre à cames a été testée en simulation puis expérimentalement (sur moteur et véhicule).<br />Ces essais ont alors montré que de nouvelles possibilités étaient offertes pour diminuer les émissions polluantes et optimiser le rendement du moteur.

Extensive changes are taking place in working life and creating new and important areas for research. New knowledge is needed in order for individuals and organizations to be able to maintain long-term development. The aim of this thesis is to increase our understanding of how change and (im)mobility in the labor market are related to employees’ health, wellbeing, and work-related attitudes. The thesis comprises three studies, based on questionnaire data from different samples. Study I examined the potential consequences of downsizing in two organizations that had implemented change in two different ways (proactively and reactively). A proactive approach seems to lessen change-related demands and provide an opportunity for increased participation, which helps lessen the negative effects on employee work attitudes and wellbeing. The descriptive data from a representative sample in Study II revealed that 28 percent of the permanent and 50 percent of the temporary employees did not work in their preferred occupations. The results indicate that those individuals who were involuntarily embedded (locked-in position), especially among the permanent employees, had more health problems and less development at work. Study III utilizes a newly developed construct (work-related health attributions) that focuses on the individual’s perception of the relation between work and health. The results indicate that it seems to be a promising construct for predicting job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention. For employees to have the opportunity to participate in organizational change, as well as the opportunity to exercise mobility and alter their circumstances when the organization, occupation, or job is not contributing to their better health appear to be factors that help improve health and sustainability for both employees and organizations.

I conducted a qualitative study, interviewing thirty-three workers from the baby-boomer generation, with an objective of examining the intersection of aging and economic restructuring for boomer professionals. Participants’ careers had been impacted by the restructured economy at a point after they reached the age of forty. I applied an identity theory framework that emphasized meanings associated with growing older in the workforce, changes in the economy, self-meanings, and behavior in the restructured workplace. My focus also included process and questions of structure and agency. I used grounded theory methods to provide theory that explains the experience of transitioning from an existing work role as a downsized worker seeking a new job, entering selfemployment, or pursuing a reinvention of one’s career. I examine the transition process, the effects of structure, the formation and maintenance of identity in the transition role, and the factors that impact transition outcomes. I propose a theoretical argument that provides a comprehensive framework for the transition process. I establish transition as a relatively new and legitimate role for today’s worker, identify hegemonic structure as being particularly influential in the development of transition role identities, conceptualize personal resources—specifically self-esteem, selfefficacy, and authenticity—as key aspects of maintaining identity during transition, and investigate worker attributes that relate to transition outcomes. I assess career outcomes in terms of how successfully the transition role is negotiated and identify characteristics that comprise successful and unsuccessful transitions. I then discuss the implications of unabated economic restructuring for boomer professionals and, more broadly, for the future of the U.S. economy.

I conducted a qualitative study, interviewing thirty-three workers from the baby-boomer generation, with an objective of examining the intersection of aging and economic restructuring for boomer professionals. Participants’ careers had been impacted by the restructured economy at a point after they reached the age of forty. I applied an identity theory framework that emphasized meanings associated with growing older in the workforce, changes in the economy, self-meanings, and behavior in the restructured workplace. My focus also included process and questions of structure and agency. I used grounded theory methods to provide theory that explains the experience of transitioning from an existing work role as a downsized worker seeking a new job, entering selfemployment, or pursuing a reinvention of one’s career. I examine the transition process, the effects of structure, the formation and maintenance of identity in the transition role, and the factors that impact transition outcomes. I propose a theoretical argument that provides a comprehensive framework for the transition process. I establish transition as a relatively new and legitimate role for today’s worker, identify hegemonic structure as being particularly influential in the development of transition role identities, conceptualize personal resources—specifically self-esteem, selfefficacy, and authenticity—as key aspects of maintaining identity during transition, and investigate worker attributes that relate to transition outcomes. I assess career outcomes in terms of how successfully the transition role is negotiated and identify characteristics that comprise successful and unsuccessful transitions. I then discuss the implications of unabated economic restructuring for boomer professionals and, more broadly, for the future of the U.S. economy.

Aujourd'hui, les constructeurs automobiles continuent de chercher les technologies renouvelables face à la pénurie d'énergie et les problèmes d'émission de polluants. Un moyen important pour optimiser l'économie de carburant et réduire les émissions polluantes des moteurs à allumage commandés est le concept 'downsizing'. Cependant, ce concept est limité par le phénomène de cliquetis dû aux conditions de haute température et haut pression. Dans cette étude, le contrôle de la concentration d'oxygène dans l'air est proposé. Car d'une part, la combustion enrichie en oxygène permet d'améliorer la densité de puissance de moteur avec le même niveau de pression d'admission. Cela permet soit de 'booster' la combustion pour augmenter la puissance du moteur ou de l'activer lorsque le moteur fonctionne à faible charge ou dans des conditions de démarrage à froid. D'autre part, une faible concentration en oxygène dans l'air (ou dilution de N2) par un système membranaire peut être considérée comme une alternative à la recirculation des gaz d'échappement. Les expériences ont été effectuées dans un moteur monocylindre 'downsizing' avec différents taux d'oxygène et richesse. L'étude de l'impact du contrôle de la concentration d'oxygène sur les caractéristiques de combustion et d'émissions a été effectuée pour plusieurs charges en fonctionnement optimum pour limiter la consommation spécifique de carburant. L'effet de la concentration en oxygène sur les caractéristiques de combustion du moteur a été simulé en utilisant le logiciel commercial AMESim avec le modèle de combustion développé par IFP-EN. En mettant en oeuvre des corrélations de la vitesse de combustion laminaire, déterminées au préalable durant ce travail, et délai d'auto-inflammation, les pressions dans les cylindres sont parfaitement calibrés avec une erreur maximale inférieure à 2% et l'intensité du cliquetis a pu être prédite.

Marknadsstrukturen för djursjukvården har förändrats på grund av de riskkapitalbolag som sedan slutet av 2011 började visa starkt intresse och köpte upp ca 85 djursjukhus och djurkliniker runtom i Sverige. Från att ha varit kraftigt decentraliserad har nu djursjukvården på kort tid omstrukturerats till några få stora koncerner som till stor del dominerar branschen. Med detta som bakgrund är det högst aktuellt att skapa en förståelse för vad ägarförändringen och omstruktureringen i den svenska privatdjursjukvårdsbranschen har medfört för effekter på personalens arbetsmiljö i de riskkapitaluppköpta företagen. Tidigare forskning har visat att företagsuppköp har effekter för personalens arbetsmiljö. De effekter som studeras är personalens upplevelse av arbetsuppgifter, arbetsbelastning, engagemang, arbetsplatsbyte, rekrytering och uppsägning efter riskkapitalbolagens uppköp. Studien genomfördes genom utskick av en webb-baserad enkät via e-mail till personal som arbetar på uppköpta djursjukhus och djurkliniker. Resultaten visade på att arbetsuppgifter och arbetsbelastning inte har påverkats i en större utsträckning av riskkapitalbolagens uppköp, medan engagemang, arbetsplatsbyte, rekrytering och uppsägning är effekter som har påverkats och förändrats efter företagsuppköpet. Studien bidrar med en ökad förståelse för de effekter riskkapitalbolagen har skapat inom djursjukvården. Personalen är en mycket viktig resurs och personalens upplevelser av arbetsmiljön påverkar företaget såväl internt som externt. / In the end of 2011 private-equity firms suddenly showed a huge interest in veterinary healthcare and started investing in about 85 animal hospitals and animal clinics in Sweden. From being an extremely decentralized organization, the veterinary healthcare today primarily consists of a few large companies that dominate the veterinary healthcare industry. The objective of the study is therefore to clarify how private-equity firms and restructurings affect the employees’ work environment by analyzing six different effects. Earlier studies have shown that company buy-outs have major effects on the work environment and working conditions. The most important effects analyzed in our study are the employees’ perception of the changes in job characteristics, workload, commitment, turnover intention, recruitment and downsizing. The survey was conducted through a questionnaire and was sent out to employees who work at animal hospitals and clinics that have undergone a buy-out by private-equity firms. The results show that private-equity firms did not have a significant impact on job characteristics and workload. On the other hand the buy-out of the animal hospitals and clinics had a significant effect on the employees’ perception of commitment, turnover intention, recruitment and downsizing. The study contributes to a greater understanding of the effects private-equity firm buy-outs generate in the veterinary healthcare industry. Employees are an important resource in veterinary healthcare industries and employees’ perception of the work environment and wellbeing affect the entire organization.

Background This thesis was part of the research programme ‘Stress of Conscience and Burnout among Healthcare Personnel in Elderly Care’ at Umeå University. Relationships have been found between stress of conscience, perception of conscience, burnout, and social support. No longitudinal studies investigating these relationships have been performed previously, thus it was not known how these relationships develop over time. Neither was it known how stress of conscience and other phenomena of importance might vary between organisations because no comparative studies have been performed. It seems important to organize the care of older people in such a way that healthcare personnel can stay healthy at their workplace, especially because the aging population is expected to grow. Studies have shown that stress of conscience is associated with the well being of healthcare personnel and the quality of care they provide. In order to develop measures against stress of conscience, it seems important to gain a deeper understanding of the aspects in daily work that can generate troubled conscience among healthcare personnel.   Aim The overall aim of this thesis was to describe, compare, and investigate longitudinal relationships between stress of conscience, perceptions of conscience, burnout, social support and person-centred care among healthcare personnel working in two different organisations for residential care of older people. Furthermore, the aim was to deepen the understanding of some aspects of importance that generate troubled conscience at each of the two organisations. Based on the emerging knowledge from the research programme and the results from studies І and ІІ, important aspects that can generate troubled conscience among healthcare personnel were shown to be working with guidelines and working during times of downsizing and reorganisation. Methods Studies Ι and ΙΙ took quantitative approaches with a longitudinal design (Ι) and a cross-sectional design (ΙΙ), while studies ΙΙΙ and IV were based on a qualitative approach. In study Ι, the participants were healthcare personnel working in an organisation for residential care of older people with a public mode of operation located in a small town in northern Sweden (baseline n = 488, follow-up n = 277). In study ΙΙ, the participants were healthcare personnel working in two different organisations chosen to be as different from each other as possible regarding their characteristics. In this study, an organisation with a private mode of operation and located in a large city in the south of Sweden (n = 98) was compared to the baseline data from the publically run organisation from the small town in study Ι (n = 488). In studies ΙΙΙ (n = 8) and IV (n = 7), the participants were care providers working at the same public organisation (ΙΙΙ) and private organisation (IV) as in studies Ι and ΙΙ. Quantitative data were analysed using partial least square regression with jack-knife approximate t-tests, hierarchical cluster analysis with multiscale bootstrap resampling, descriptive statistics, hypotheses tests, effect size measures, and confidence intervals. Qualitative data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results The main results showed that the healthcare personnel reported higher levels of stress of conscience than have been reported in other studies. Perceiving one’s conscience as a burden, having high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, and noticing disturbing conflicts between co-workers were positively associated with stress of conscience. Associations between stress of conscience and perceiving one’s conscience as a burden and burnout were similar among healthcare personnel despite the differences in the characteristics of the organisations they worked in. Women reported higher levels of stress of conscience and less social support from their co-workers compared to men. This thesis also provides new insights about how working according to guidelines and during times of downsizing and reorganisation can be burdensome issues for care providers and can generate troubled conscience. An overall understanding of care providers experiences of guidelines in daily work was revealed as struggling to do their best; prioritising between arcane guidelines while keeping the residents’ needs in the foreground.  They described experiences that guidelines were coming from above, were controlling and not sufficiently anchored at their workplace. They also described guidelines as stealing time from residents, colliding with each other, lacking practical use and complicating care, and challenging their judgment. An overall understanding of care providers’ experiences of working  during times of downsizing and reorganisation was revealed as perceiving oneself as pinioned in between current circumstances to provide care and what one’s conscience conveyed. They perceived loss of good management, changed working conditions as exhausting and activating their conscience. They also expressed how they perceived troubled conscience when working conditions decreased the quality of care. Conclusion The results is reflected on in relation to a nursing care model as it seems important to understand the results from a society- and organizational perspective as well as from an individual perspective. The results of the thesis show that it is important to provide healthcare personnel with opportunities to follow and express what their conscience tells them at their workplace in order to buffer the effects of stress of conscience. Support, knowledge, involvement, time, and additional resources are key issues that can help care providers to work more constructively with guidelines in their daily practice. The results show that in times of downsizing and reorganisation it is important to exercise leadership that promotes care providers’ feelings of involvement, security, and togetherness in order to relieve some of the healthcare personnel’s burdensome experiences. An overall understanding of the results is that it seems important to organize the residential care of older people in such a way that registered nurses and leaders are able to be present in healthcare personnel’s daily practice. Healthcare personnel need attendant and supportive leaders who can help them to solve various forms of work-related problems and to help them make priorities in the daily care of residents. This seems important regardless of whether the priorities are between guidelines and residents’ needs or a consequence of an increasingly stressful work environment during times of downsizing and reorganisation. Further studies are needed in order to investigate the importance of gender in relation to stress of conscience and if different kinds of support are needed for women than for men in order to buffer the effects of stress of conscience. Finally, more longitudinal multilevel studies are needed in order to investigate how organisations’ characteristics and organisational changes affect healthcare personnel’s levels of stress of conscience. / Bakgrund Denna avhandling var en del av forskningsprojektet ”Samvetsstress och utbrändhet bland personal inom äldreomsorg”, vid Umeå universitet. Resultat har visat att det finns samband mellan samvetsstress, syn på samvete, utbrändhet och socialt stöd. Inga longitudinella studier som undersöker dessa samband har utförts tidigare och därför är det inte känt hur dessa samband kan utvecklas över tid. Det är inte heller känt hur samvetsstress och andra betydelsefulla fenomen kan variera mellan organisationer eftersom jämförande studier saknas. Det är viktigt att organisera vården av äldre personer på ett sådant sätt att vårdpersonal kan hålla sig friska på sina arbetsplatser, i synnerhet med tanke på att andelen äldre i befolkningen förväntas öka. Studier har visat att samvetsstress är relaterat med vårdpersonalens välbefinnande och kvaliteten på den vård de tillhandahåller. För att utveckla åtgärder mot samvetsstress är det viktigt att få en djupare förståelse om aspekter i det dagliga arbetet som kan generera dåligt samvete hos vårdpersonal. SyfteDet övergripande syftet med avhandlingen var att beskriva, jämföra och undersöka longitudinella samband mellan samvetsstress, syn på samvete, utbrändhet, socialt stöd och personcentrerad vård bland vårdpersonal som arbetar inom två olika organisationer för äldreomsorg. Syftet innefattade även att fördjupa förståelsen av betydelsefulla aspekter som genererar dåligt samvete inom båda organisationerna. Baserat på den framväxande kunskapen från forskningsprogrammet och resultaten från delstudierna І och ІІ framkom det att viktiga aspekter som kan generera dåligt samvete var att arbeta med riktlinjer och att arbeta i tider av nedskärning och omorganisering. Metod Studierna Ι och ΙΙ baseras på kvantitativa metoder, en med longitudinell design (Ι) och en med tvärsnittsstudie design (ΙΙ).  Studierna ΙΙΙ och IV baseras på kvalitativ metod. Deltagarna i delstudie Ι bestod av vårdpersonal som arbetade inom en offentlig organisation för äldreomsorg lokaliserad i en liten stad i norra Sverige (baseline n = 488, uppföljning n = 277). Deltagarna i delstudie ΙΙ var all vårdpersonal som arbetade inom två olika organisationer för äldreomsorg valda att vara så olika varandra som möjligt gällande olika karaktäristika. Den ena organisationen hade privat driftsform och var belägen i en stor stad i södra Sverige (n = 98), baseline data från studie Ι (n = 488) användes beträffande den andra organisationen. Delstudierna ΙΙΙ (n = 8) och IV (n = 7) bestod av vårdpersonal som arbetar inom samma offentliga organisation (ΙΙΙ) och privata organisation (IV) som i delstudierna Ι och ΙΙ. Kvantitativt data analyserades med ‘partiel least squares regression’ och ‘jackknife’ approximativa t-tester, hierarkisk klusteranalys med ‘multiscale bootstrap resampling’, beskrivande statistik, hypotestester, olika effektmått, konfidensintervall. Kvalitativa data analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat Huvudresultaten visade att vårdpersonal skattade högre nivåer av samvetsstress jämfört med vad som har rapporterats i andra studier. Resultaten visade att uppfatta sitt samvete som en börda, höga nivåer av emotionell utmattning och cynism samt att bevittna störande konflikter mellan medarbetare var positivt korrelerat med samvetsstress. Trots stora skillnader gällande organisationernas karaktäristika var sambanden mellan samvetsstress och att uppfatta sitt samvete som en börda samt utbrändhet samstämmiga. Kvinnor skattade högre nivåer av samvetsstress och mindre socialt stöd från sina arbetskamrater jämfört med män.  Denna avhandling ger också nya insikter om hur arbete i enlighet med riktlinjer och under tider av nedskärningar och omorganisering kan vara en tung börda för vårdpersonal att bära och hur det kan generera dåligt samvete. Den övergripande förståelsen av vårdpersonalens erfarenhet av riktlinjer i det dagliga arbetet visade att vårdpersonalen kämpar för att göra sitt bästa, prioriterar mellan svårbegripliga riktlinjer samtidigt som boendes behov hålls i förgrunden. Vårdpersonalen beskrev hur dom upplevde att riktlinjer kommer från ovan, är kontrollerande och inte tillräckligt förankrade.  De beskrev också hur riktlinjer tar tid från de boende, krockar med varandra, saknar praktisk nytta och komplicerar omvårdnaden samt utmanar det egna omdömet. Den övergripande förståelsen av vårdpersonalens erfarenheter av att arbeta under tider av nedskärningar och omorganisering visade att vårdpersonalen uppfattar sig själv som bakbundna mellan rådande omständigheter att ge omvårdnad och vad deras samvete förmedlar. Vårdpersonalen upplevde sig vara utan gott ledarskap och förändrade arbetsvillkor som utmattande och aktiverade samvetet. Vårdpersonalen uttryckte också hur de fick dåligt samvete när de upplevde att arbetsförhållandena försämrade vårdkvaliteten. Slutsatser Eftersom det förefaller viktigt att förstå resultaten utifrån ett samhälls- och organisationsperspektiv likväl som ur ett individperspektiv utförs reflektioner av resultaten utifrån en omvårdnadsmodell. Resultat i denna avhandling visar att det är viktigt att ge vårdpersonalen möjligheter att på sin arbetsplats följa och uttrycka vad deras samvete säger för att effekterna av samvetsstress ska mildras. Stöd, kunskap, engagemang, tid och övriga resurser är faktorer av betydelse som kan hjälpa vårdpersonal att arbeta mer konstruktivt med riktlinjer i sitt dagliga arbete. Resultaten visar att i tider präglade av nedskärningar och omorganisering är det viktigt med ledarskap som främjar vårdpersonals känslor av engagemang, trygghet och gemenskap för att en del av vårdpersonalens betungande erfarenheter ska kunna lindras. En övergripande förståelse av resultaten är att det förefaller vara av vikt att äldreomsorgen organiseras på ett sådant sätt att sjuksköterskor och chefer har möjlighet att vara tillgängliga i vårdpersonalens dagliga praktiska arbete. Vårdpersonal behöver stödjande och tillgängliga ledare som kan hjälpa till att lösa olika former av arbetsrelaterade problem och att göra prioriteringar i den dagliga omvårdnaden. Detta förefaller vara av vikt oavsett om prioriteringarna är mellan riktlinjer och boendes behov eller en konsekvens av en av en alltmer stressig arbetsmiljö under tider av nedskärningar och omorganisering. Ytterligare studier behövs för att undersöka vikten av genus i relation till samvetsstress och om olika former av stöd behövs för kvinnor och män i syfte att mildra effekterna av samvetsstress. Det behövs fler longitudinella ‘multilevel’ studier för att kunna undersöka hur organisationers karaktäristiska kan påverka vårdpersonalens nivåer av samvetsstress. / Stress of Conscience and Burnout among Healthcare Personnel

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2005. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Pour des raisons de coûts, les tests de catalyseur mis en forme (billes, extrudés, …) en réacteur est lit fixe sont mis en œuvre dans des réacteurs de plus en plus petits alors que la taille des objets catalytiques ne change pas. L'objet de cette thèse est d'explorer les domaines où la réduction d'échelle conduit à des questionnements nouveaux en termes de physique, répétabilité, représentativité et modélisation. Le document s'articule autour de 5 chapitres : 1) une introduction détaillée du contexte avec un état de l'art sur les réacteurs à lit fixe de petite taille et l'identification des questions en suspens, 2) une réflexion autour de la nature des écoulements gaz-liquide descendant dans des lits fixes quand les forces capillaires ne sont plus négligeables, 3) la présentation d'une méthodologie et d'un critère sur un nombre minimal de grain nécessaire pour limiter les conséquences d'une distribution granulométrique en présence de limitations au transfert interne, 4) l'étude des effets d'empilements aléatoires sur la performance apparente du réacteur, d'abord par un modèle réseau de pores qui décrit assez bien les tendances observées expérimentalement mais manque de capacité de prédiction, puis par simulation numérique directe d'écoulement réactif dans des empilements de 8 cylindres qui montre que les effets d'empilements apparaissent, avec les limitations au transfert externe, quand la diffusion moléculaire transverse n'est pas assez rapide pour compenser les gradients dus à la réaction et à la convection, 5) une conclusion qui résume les critères de conception de réacteurs de tests à petite échelle, et propose des pistes de continuation du travail / In order to lower costs, testing of catalytic pellets (spheres or extrudates) is performed in ever smaller fixed bed reactors whereas catalytic pellet size is unchanged. The object of this thesis is to explore domains where downsizing leads to new questions in terms of physics, repeatability and modeling. The thesis is built in 5 chapters, 1) a detailed introduction of the context and a review of the literature on small fixed bed reactors, 2) a discussion about flow patterns in fixed beds filled with fine powder where capilary effects are not negligible, 3) a presentation of a methodology to assess the impact of sampling small number of pellets out of a non uniform set and results for internally mass transfer limited reactions, 4) a study of the effect of randomness in fixed beds first through a pore network model with a good ability to predict trends but lacking accuracy, then using direct numerical simulation of a reactive flow in fixed beds made of 8 cylinders arranged in several configuration showing that packing effects occur, concurrently with external mass transfer limitations, when cross flow diffusion is not fast enough to level out convection and reaction induced gradients, 5) a conclusion that summarizes design criteria and offers a few perspectives for R&D in downsizing

The focus of this study was to investigate the employment difficulties faced by individuals who had been retrenched from the insurance industry during the years 2000 to 2013 in order to develop an understanding of the continuity in the specialist type of work after their retrenchment. The study also aimed to investigate the actual and perceived barriers that need to be addressed in the South African small business environment and the specific soft skills and business skills of small business owners and non-small business owners. The research design of this exploratory study entailed a positivist research philosophy using a deductive research approach. This quantitative research was conducted by means of a survey questionnaire. A questionnaire was designed and used to determine the level of importance and the level of own skills for small business owners and non-small business owners respectively in terms of predetermined soft and business management skills. The answers provided on these questions were then analysed to determine whether there was a gap between the level of importance assigned to these skills and their own skill ratings. This research determined the barriers faced by small businesses in South Africa as well as the level of agreement regarding the predetermined actual and perceived barriers pertaining to the small business environment. Notable findings of this study include that there was a distinct lack of continuity in the specialist type of work by the small business owner respondents in the insurance industry. There was a marked difference between the level of portance and own skill ratings assigned to the predetermined soft skills and business management skills with non-small business owner respondents mostly rating themselves as better skilled than small business owners did. However, the fact that these non-small business owner respondents did not start their own small businesses points towards higher risk aversion. This study also found that small businesses in South Africa are facing pronounced barriers within the small business environment. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)