Several international standards-makers have emerged with different global standards and guidelines for how CSR-related issues should be presented and what should be included in sustainability reports. Several previous studies show that CSR reporting differs depending on which country the company is in, while information regarding one's activities and reporting differ. The purpose of the study is to investigate the application of international standards, specifically GRI Standards, and whether the application differs internationally by examining companies in Sweden and USA respectively. The study is also intended to investigate international differences regarding disclosure about the topic specific GRI aspects. The study uses a deductive approach and performs a quantitative content analysis to compare 60 sustainability reports prepared in accordance with GRI Standards. The study consists of companies from the US and Sweden and uses descriptive statistics, a t-test, and a z-test. The standardization efforts may have succeeded but this study provides information which indicates the continuity of international differences in sustainability reporting despite the use of international standards in the companies that were studied in Sweden and the US. This is a sign that there is still more to do to highlight the challenges against standardization efforts.

Pollinator conservation has recently become a topic of greater interest and research around the world as native insect pollinator species increasingly face population declines. In the United States, growing concerns regarding food security and decreased biodiversity have led to the creation of programmatic and best management practices (BMPs) promotional efforts among governmental and non-governmental organizations. These efforts seek to support pollinators on public and private lands by addressing the primary causes of decline (e.g., habitat loss and increased chemical use). Although these organizations have worked diligently to increase awareness and applicability of programs to private landholders, there is still a gap in pollinator BMP adoption. The purpose of my dissertation was to address the pollinator BMP adoption gap through empirical research with two primary goals: 1) develop and test a measurement instrument to investigate the current state of adoption in Mississippi, landholder attributes, and attribute influence on adoption intentions, and 2) conduct segmentation analyses to develop preliminary recommendations for future educational and outreach efforts to increase adoption of pollinator BMPs. I used two sociological theories to develop a questionnaire consisting of constructs measuring landholder attributes, including Attitudes, Injunctive Norms, Perceived Behavioral Control, Intentions, Knowledge, and Communication Channel Use. I conducted a selfministered mail survey during summer 2018 and received a 38.5% effective response rate. Relative to the first goal, major findings from the research included evidence of reliability and validity for the measurement constructs, landholders having more favorable than unfavorable Attitudes regarding the use of pollinator BMPs on their properties, and Perceived Behavioral Control as the strongest influence on adoption intentions compared to additional landholder attributes. Relative to the second goal, major findings included the generation of four distinct clusters and three land use type segments that allowed for group comparisons and development of a recommended two-step targeted educational and outreach approach. My dissertation provided theoretical and substantive advances to the fields of adoption research and pollinator conservation from which future research and outreach efforts can grow.

The Massachusetts model illustrates the latest approach to smart growth - the incentive based program. This study examines the reasons for and actual outcomes of local smart growth efforts through one of the Massachusetts’ smart growth incentives - the Commonwealth Capital (CC) Program. The main objectives of this research are built on two conceptual models through a mixed approach that combines qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative method is mainly utilized to evaluate the implementation of the CC program. The results indicate that the program is a good measure of municipal smart growth efforts representative of goals of the state. Communities with diverse land bases have some advantage, as a variety of zoning methods can be employed. It is not obvious that communities have changed their own zoning in response to the stimuli of the CC program. The first model is applied through various statistical tests to investigate the relationships among the towns’ characteristics and CC data. Homeownership, education and access to the highway system are significant factors related to municipal smart growth efforts in Massachusetts. Wealth, population and quantity of open spaces are only significant for certain type of communities (e.g. maturing suburbs, developing towns etc). Municipal political preferences (e.g. forms of municipal governance, DEM/GOP preference etc) and municipal planners’ efforts have some influence on the adoptions of smart growth policies, though the specific outcomes might vary case by case. The second model tests the statistical relationships between CC data and the Urban Sprawl in Massachusetts. The urban sprawl are defined by Urban Sprawl Indicator (USI) as the amount of residential land consumed per building permit in the five past years per community in Massachusetts. The CC scores and USIs negatively fit the regression line well, indicating that local smart growth efforts have generally controlled land consumption in the past. In particular, the USIs in developing suburbs appear more responsive to the CC data. The spatial lag model shows sprawl is a net-effect phenomena and the cluster of sprawl in a region might weaken the effectiveness of particular municipal smart growth efforts. Lastly, this research suggests that the design of state land use policies ought to follow the nature of geographic segmentation of municipal smart growth preferences.

The question of how "humanitarianism" became possible, and whether humanitarianism is a factor of power in today's world, and possible in the future, is answered against the backdrop of the problem of the world's moral indifference, and the difficulty of mobilizing empathy and commitment to other people's suffering in humanitarian disasters. A genealogical discourse analysis examines historical breakthroughs for humanitarianism, and how humanitarianism relates to human rights, in a moral-philosophical and sociological perspective, in a historical exposition, with the aim of tracing violations and leaps in the development of conditions and possibilities, which enabled the construction of a discourse of humanitarianism. Important prerequisites for humanitarianism to become possible, and the ideas of human rights, are a changed view of man during enlightenment, and her self-understanding, as an "ethical subject", as ground to rights, and that "humanity" was imagined to be a legal community that entails a moral responsibility of universal solidarity. A discourse of humanitarianism has been constructed which has become a factor of power in international politics to meet needs, that it costs to deviate from. A danger to the future is that humanitarianism, as an active protest against the world's suffering, is politicized and abused as a pretext for power ambitions. Whether humanitarianism is possible depends on the social and moral preconditions of international cooperation and idealism, and the belief that human progression is possible, and the attitude: ”We become more fully human via the manner in which we treat our fellows”.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur socialsekreterare inom socialtjänsten och personal vidskyddade boenden upplever att tillgången till och utformningen av skyddsinsatser ser ut förvåldsutsatta kvinnor med en missbruksproblematik. Syftet är även att undersöka hur deupplever att denna målgrupps möjligheter till skydd fungerar i relation till våldsutsattakvinnor utan missbruksproblematik. Studien utgår från en kvalitativ metod där de teoretiskabegreppen stigma, handlingsutrymme och ideala offret används för att analysera resultatet.Studiens slutsatser är att arbetet med våldsutsatta kvinnor beskrivs som särskilt komplext dåbåde våldsutsattheten och missbruket ska beaktas. Ett hinder i arbetet med målgruppen ärstigmatiseringen som resulterar i att många kvinnor inte vill söka hjälp. Tillgången tillskyddade boenden är begränsad för målgruppen. Både tillgången till och utformningen avskyddade boenden måste förbättras för att kunna tillgodose behoven. Studiens slutsatser geren inblick i den särskilda utsattheten som finns hos våldsutsatta kvinnor medmissbruksproblematik, samt bidrar med förslag till utvecklingsmöjligheter i arbetet medmålgruppen inom det sociala arbetet. / The aim of the study is to investigate how social workers within the Social Services and staffat sheltered accommodation perceive the access to and the design of protection efforts forabused women with an addiction problem. Also to investigate how they perceive this group'sopportunities for protection work in relation to abused women without an addiction problem.The study is based on a qualitative method where the theoretical concepts of stigma,professional discretion and the ideal offer are used to analyze the results. The conclusions arethat the work with women exposed to violence is described as particularly complex as boththe exposure to violence and the abuse must be taken into account. An obstacle in workingwith the group is the stigma that contributes to many women not wanting to seek help.Access to sheltered accommodation is limited for the women. Both the availability and thedesign of sheltered accommodation must be improved to meet the needs. The conclusions areconsidered to be able to give an insight into the vulnerable that exists in abused women withaddiction problems and contribute with suggestions for development opportunities in thework with the women within the social work sector.

Studien har undersökt upplevelsen av att vara anhörig till frihetsberövade samt utforskat anhörigas tillgång till stöd. Vidare har studien undersökt huruvida anhöriga upplever ett krav att bidra till den frihetsberövades återanpassning i samhället. I den tidigare forskningen som presenteras i studien beskrivs det att anhöriga till frihetsberövande kan drabbas av bland annat försämrad ekonomi, stigmatisering och stress. Bland den tidigare forskningen finns det en avsaknad av studier som undersöker detta ämne utifrån en svensk kontext, framförallt rörande vuxna anhöriga. Detta kan indikera på en kunskapslucka inom det svenska forskningsfältet och ämnet kan därför behöva utforskas i syfte att uppmärksamma målgruppens behov. För att genomföra denna studie har en kvalitativ metod tillämpats och fem intervjuer har genomförts som har utgått från en semistrukturerad intervjuguide. Utifrån intervjuerna har en tematisk analys utförts i syfte att framföra studiens resultat. Respondenternas svar har tolkats utifrån Foucaults teori om makt, Goffmans beskrivning av stigma och begreppet skam. I resultatet framkommer det bland annat att anhöriga till frihetsberövade upplever skam och krav på att bidra till den frihetsberövades återanpassning i samhället. Anhöriga upplever också att Kriminalvård och Socialtjänst bemöter dem illa vilket har genererat en negativ syn på svenska myndigheter / This study aims to investigate the impact on relatives of incarcerated individuals, as well as the availability of support services for these relatives. Additionally, the study explores whether relatives feel a sense of responsibility to contribute to the reintegration of the incarcerated individual into society. To conduct this research, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with relatives who currently have incarcerated close ones. The findings have been analyzed using shame and stigma, as well as Foucault's theory of power. Results indicate that relatives experience changes in their financial situation, feel pressure to provide support to the incarcerated one to prevent them from relapse, and often face canceled visitations. Moreover, many respondents have expressed negative views towards the justice system due to their ill treatment. Social media serves as a support system for the majority of respondents, although there is also a presence of shame and stigma within the target group in other contexts. The motivation behind studying this topic is because of the lack of research on relatives of incarcerated individuals within the Swedish context. Additionally, there is a hope that by raising this issue, relatives can actively participate in the reintegration process for their incarcerated relatives, resulting in increased well-being for both parts

This thesis examines the role played by the Church of Sweden in the field of social work, with some comparison to the social services. The Church of Sweden has a rich history of engaging with communities, delivering social support, and addressing the welfare needs of its congregants and the wider population. Employing qualitative research methods and interviews of a selection of priests and deacons, this thesis aims to gain a greater understanding of the church’s social work initiatives, contrasting them with the more bureaucratic and secular approach of the social services. The study also examines the difference between social work driven by faith and mercy, compared to that based on justice and rights. The results have led us to the conclusion that there are certain innate advantages to a mercy-based model of social work, but also inherent drawbacks of such nature that it would not make such an approach to social work a viable alternative as a basis for building a reliable social safety net, but also makes it a valuable complement.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka områdespoliser i Malmös uppfattningar om införandet av visitationszoner, särskilt vad gäller deras tro på zonernas effektivitet samt inverkan de kan ha på polisens förtroendeskapande arbete. Skälet till att Sverige infört visitationszoner är för att det anses fungera väl i Danmark, men trots detta har införandet av visitationszoner mött omfattande kritik i svensk media. Tidigare forskning inom fältet påvisar att visitationszoner som bäst har en liten effekt på brottslighet, men större konsekvenser på relationen mellan polisen och befolkningen. Studien tillämpar en kvalitativ ansats bestående av fem semistrukturerade intervjuer, där urvalet består av områdespoliser som arbetar i Malmö. Studiens resultat utmynnade i fyra olika teman, och till varje tema finns 2–3 tillhörande subteman. Studiens resultat är att politiska beslut fattas utan att man lyssnar på polisens faktiska behov och att bristande information skapar svårigheter för polisen att utföra sitt arbete på bästa sätt. Områdespoliserna har dessutom en låg tro på att visitationszoner kommer att bli ett effektivt brottsförebyggande och brottsbekämpande verktyg. Detta då de redan har möjlighet att visitera kriminella individer av intresse utifrån annan lagstiftning och att visitera alla individer i en visitationszon är för ineffektivt. Dessutom menar områdespoliserna även att förtroendet för polisen kommer att ta skada, i synnerhet om många oskyldiga personer drabbas av insatsen. Denna studie bidrar till att belysa områdespolisers uppfattningar av visitationszoner, hur politiska beslut påverkar och implementeras av poliser samt de hinder som Polismyndigheten möter. / The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions local police officers in Malmö have toward the establishment of visitation zones, particularly in regard to the measure’s efficiency and potential effect on the police’s trust-building efforts. The decision to establish visitation zones in Sweden rests on the basis that it has worked well in Denmark but has nonetheless been highly criticized in the media. Previous research has found that visitation zones have a marginal effect on crime, and at the same time pose a risk of negatively affecting the relationship between citizens and the police. The study takes a qualitative approach through the use of five semi structured interviews, and the sample consists of local police working in Malmö. The study resulted in four themes, and each theme had 2-3 sub themes. The study’s main findings are that political decisions are made without listening to the needs of the police, and that insufficient information creates difficulties for the police to do their work in the best possible way. The local police had low confidence that visitation zones will be an effective tool for crime prevention and crime-fighting, as they already have the possibility to search individuals of interest under other legislation, and because they believe that stopping and searching everyone within a visitation zone will be inefficient. Moreover, the local police believed that visitation zones will be detrimental to the trust in the police, especially if many innocent people are affected. This study helps to shed light on local police officers' perceptions of the establishment of visitation zones, and has contributed to a deeper understanding of how political decisions impact and are implemented by the police, and the obstacles faced by the Police Authority.

Intégrés dans un projet de développement d'un système multit-robots de neurochirurgie mini-invasive pour l'ablation de tumeurs, ces travaux ont pour objectif la conception et modélisation d'un robot déployable dans le cerveau, selon des trajectoires curvilignes, sans espace libre autour de sa structure et sans guide naturel pour aider à sa progression. Après définition de la tâche de déploiement, un état de l'art recense un large panel de concepts et une évaluation sélectionne un concept continu bio-inspiré des trompes d'éléphant. La solution modulaire du robot est définie et modélisée géométriquement en associant une chaîne cinématique aux mobilités continues du robot. Une statégie de déploiement, reposant sur une succession ordonnée d'extensions/rétractions locales pour une élongation itérative du robot est formalisée pour le cas générique à N modules, puis validée par des plans de simulations de robots ayant 1 à 3 modules (erreur de suivi inférieure à un mm). Sur un modèle d'étude de gels d'agar (texture proche du cerveau), les efforts de pénétration du robot dans le cerveau sont estimés, puis la conception CAO et la programmation d'un démonstrateur à ressorts sont réalisées. Une interface homme/machine, simulant et commandant le robot, est programmée et des tests sont effectués pour valider certains aspects du déploiement. Un deuxième démonstrateur actionné pneumatiquement est à finaliser pour procéder à une étude comparative des deux prototypes. Même si des perspectives d'amélioration restent à explorer, les résultats obtenus sont encourageants. Un travail collaboratif entre spécialistes de différents domaines devrait conduire à l'optimisation de ce robot de déploiement.

As societies across the world are facing grim problems regarding the consumption of tobacco products and alcohol, the Governments of these societies are adapting their strategies to reduce the consumption of these harmful products. These demarketing strategies are implemented to discourage the use of these products and increase the health of consumers. These strategies include a strenuous legal limit when driving under the influence of alcohol, enforcing the placement of warning labels on both cigarette packages as well as alcoholic beverages. Also included are penalties when failing to adhere to these laws, increasing prices, limiting the availability, restricting promotion and advertising, the list goes on. It is therefore seen fit to examine the attitudes of black Generation Y students’ towards the demarketing of smoking and alcohol consumption, because of the research gap concerning black Generation Y students. The primary purpose of this research study was to conclude the attitudes towards the demarketing of smoking and alcohol consumption amongst black Generation Y students within South Africa, and more specifically the Vaal Triangle region. The target population for this study comprised black Generation Y students, aged 18 to 24. A non-probability convenience sample of 200 respondents at each of the two higher education institutions was randomly chosen to participate in this research study making the total sample size 400. A self-administered questionnaire was handed out to each of the respondents to complete. The questionnaire consisted of three sections; Section A – demographical information, Section B – tobacco questionnaire and Section C – alcohol questionnaire. It was required of the respondents to complete the three sections, indicating their agreement or disagreement towards demarketing on a five-point Likert scale. The literature review included in this study comprised marketing as an organisational philosophy and function, market segmentation, targeting and positioning, as well as demarketing. The traditional marketing mix, consumption patterns within South Africa concerning smoking and alcohol, demarketing as a form of social responsibility were also discussed. The term demarketing, the marketing mix in terms of demarketing and the Generation Y cohort were also included within the literature review. The main finding obtained from the main survey questionnaire was that black Generation Y students’ had a positive attitude towards the demarketing of smoking and alcohol consumption. The remaining findings obtained are discussed in order to enhance the understanding of the black Generation Y students’ cohort attitudes. The recommendations for this study are given to guide the successful implementation of demarketing of cigarettes and alcohol. It is concluded from the research, that black Generation Y students’ attitudes towards the demarketing of smoking and alcohol consumption is positive, and that they are in favour of persuading consumers to reduce consumption and ultimately quit the consumption of these products. Therefore, organisations and the Government should continue to implement these demarketing strategies towards smoking and alcohol, especially amongst the black Generation Y students. / Thesis (MCom (Marketing management))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013