Private practice as a career option for nurses has been slowly increasing since the 1980's. However, the reasons for this development have not been fully investigated so that it can be understood and placed within the changing contexts of health care and health services. The expansion and extension of nurses' roles is a contemporary topic in health care reform and therefore one that deserves investigation. The aims of this study were to develop a theory on private practice nursing and to describe the characteristics and work of the self-employed nurse in Australia. Nurses working in a variety of settings have been able to provide information on being self-employed. In doing so, this study was able to describe the persona of the nurse entrepreneur, explore the reasons why nurses and midwives in Australia establish private fee-for-service practices, identify the factors which have influenced this action and describe the scope of practice of nurses and midwives in private practice. This combined Delphi technique and Grounded Theory study is the first in-depth study of Australian nurses and midwives in private practice. The study enables nurses to provide direct information on being self-employed and enhances the profession's ability to articulate about this area of nursing. The significance of the research is in increasing the understanding of this area of practice development and affords greater insight into its efforts to improve and maintain quality nursing services within the Australian health care system. One hundred and six nurses and midwives were invited to participate in the study, in which participants completed two rounds of semi-structured postal questionnaires. Delphi technique was applied to rate responses on Likert scales to ascertain respondents' consensus on certain topics. Participants were also provided the opportunity to make additional comments. Results indicated that nurses in private practice are well experienced with an average of 21 years nursing experience and hold several qualifications. Job satisfaction, being able to be more involved in achieving quality health outcomes and maximising skills and abilities are significant influences for private practice. These results suggest that private practice nursing can contribute effectively to broadening the range of primary health services available to the population and to addressing the issues of retention and recruitment of nurses. Self-employed nurse entrepreneurs push the boundaries of the profession and expand the realm of nursing practice. Entrepreneurship is a path for the future of nursing as it offers expanded career opportunities for nurses and opportunities for increased ambulatory health services. In addition, the broad, expert knowledge nurses hold on many aspects of health can be disseminated throughout the health sector to the advantage of corporate health partners. There is further development required in this innovative and expanding area of the nursing profession. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Department of Clinical Nursing, 2003.

<p>Asplund, L (2007). Systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete. Nyckelpersonsintervjustudie om uppfattning kring arbetsmiljöarbete, lönsamhet och prioriteringar på en arbetsplats 15 högskolepoäng, Magisterprogrammet. Högskolan i Gävle, Institutionen för Pedagogik, didaktik och psykologi.</p><p>Bakgrund</p><p>Att arbeta systematiskt med arbetsmiljöarbete är ett krav för alla arbetsgivare enligt svensk arbetsmiljölag. Alla arbetsgivare förväntas göra riskbedömningar och ta fram lösningar för att förebygga olyckor. Det systematiska arbetsmiljöarbetet på arbetsplatsen ska hanteras som en naturlig del i den dagliga verksamheten och omfattar de fysiska, psykologiska och sociala förhållandena i arbetsmiljön.</p><p>Syfte:</p><p>Att undersöka nyckelpersoners uppfattningar om vad som påverkar prioriteringar av systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete på ett företag samt studera deras uppfattningar om arbetsmiljöförändring i relation till ökad lönsamhet.</p><p>Urval</p><p>Inför nyckelpersonsintervjuerna kontaktades personalansvarig som i sin tur valde ut nyckelpersonerna. Chefer, områdesansvariga och skyddsombud intervjuades. Intervjupersonerna valdes ut då en speciell kompetens för området krävdes. Sex av intervjuerna utfördes under en veckas tid på de intervjuades arbetsplats. En kort intervju med skyddsombudet utfördes fyra veckor senare på företaget.</p><p>Design och metod</p><p>För att besvara frågeställningarna utfördes intervju på sex nyckelpersoner utifrån en intervjuguide. Intervjuerna tog cirka 30 minuter vardera. Halvstrukturerade intervjuer användes. Intervjuerna transkriberades och analyserades och ytterligare en intervju utfördes efteråt med ett skyddsombud. Intervju användes som metod för datainsamlingen som kom att stå för resultatet.</p><p>Resultat</p><p>Resultatet visar att informanterna anser att det som mest påverkar prioriteringar kring det systematiska arbetsmiljöarbetet på arbetsplatsen är ekonomin och chefer/ledningens inställning. Annat som påverkar är arbetsmiljölagen och koncernens riktlinjer och budget. Sjuk-frånvarouppföljningar görs i en del i sin strävan att uppnå ökad lönsamhet. Arbetsmiljöförändringar som utförts i strävan att nå ökad lönsamhet och bättre arbetsmiljö har mestadels varit av fysisk ergonomisk art.</p><p>Slutsatser</p><p>Informanterna gav olika information gällande det pågående arbetsmiljöarbetet. De sade att arbetsmiljöarbetet var fortgående och aktivt och de trodde att personalen ansåg att det inte arbetades särskilt mycket med arbetsmiljöarbete. Skyddsombudet ansåg att det gjordes mer än vad personalen trodde. Detta betyder att kommunikationen kan behövs bättras för att de anställda skall få mer insikt om vad som föregår gällande arbetsmiljöarbete och kan bli mer involverad i själva arbetet.</p><p>Nyckelord:</p><p>Systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete, lönsamhet, och hälsofrämjandearbete</p> / <p>Asplund, L (2007). Systematic Work Environment Management: Key Informant Interviews about Apprehensions, Priorities and Profitability. Examination paper in Pedagogy, 15 hp. Master’s Programme. University College of Gävle. Department of Education, Curriculum Studies and Psychology.</p><p>Background</p><p>Every fourth Swedish employee has been found to suffer from some form of work-related ill-health. Legislation, termed Systematic Management of Workplace Environments (SAM), has been enacted to promote optimal physical and psychosocial workplace environments. Em-ployers are obliged to follow the regulations issued by the Swedish Work Environment Au-thority [Arbetetsmiljöverket] and are responsible for operating active workplace environ-ment management plans. Such plans can prevent ill-health and, in some cases, increase the company’s profitability.</p><p>Purpose</p><p>A medium-sized, retail trade company from in central Sweden was chosen in order to study and analyze how systematic workplace management environment practices were imple-mented in relation to other management priorities and company profitability.</p><p>Sample</p><p>The key informants were chosen out of the personal manager who was the first contact on the company. Seven key informants, selected on the basis of their knowledge of their com-pany's Systematic Work Environment Management, participated in the study. An additional key informant was later chosen to validate the results. The informant composition was: three informants from middle management, with 5 to 7 years experience of the company, one supervisor (1 year), and three other members of staff (2 and 3 years.) Six qualitative in-terviews were carried out, within the period of one week, in the interviewees' offices. The validating interview was undertaken 4 weeks later, also on the company’s premises.</p><p>Design and methods</p><p>The company specialized in retail furniture. Non-structured interviews, based on an inter-view guide with 11 open-ended questions, were used. The interviews, lasting about 30 mi-nutes each, were recorded and transcribed. Statements were analyzed for notable differ-ences, similarities, themes and patterns. The statements were then categorized and sub-jected to further analysis.</p><p>Results</p><p>All the informants felt that the company’s actual practice met the work environment stipula-tions and was on-going. They agreed that workplace environment in general is considered an important issue, but that the company could probably do more to meet the intentions of the work environment legislation. Two specific focal points appeared in the results: ergo-nomic improvement in the workplace and the informants’ aspiration to implement and de-velop a system of caring telephone calls to employees absent through illness.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Management was seen as giving contradictory signals. On the one hand they say that work environment is active and ongoing and on the other hand agree that not enough is being done. The expression of intent does not appear to be matched by actions. Improved educa-tion in systematic workplace environment management would give employees a better un-derstanding of work environment and how systematic workplace management is supposed to operate. The analysis of the informants' suggestions led to a series of proposals for im-provements in workplace environment management strategies. A new plan for employee participation would involve employees being more directly and actively involved with work environment and increase support for the work of the safety representatives.</p><p>Keywords:</p><p>Systematic Management of Workplace Environments, health and safety codes, profitability, employee participation, muscular-skeletal, psychosocial working envi-ronment, health promotion</p>

Asplund, L (2007). Systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete. Nyckelpersonsintervjustudie om uppfattning kring arbetsmiljöarbete, lönsamhet och prioriteringar på en arbetsplats 15 högskolepoäng, Magisterprogrammet. Högskolan i Gävle, Institutionen för Pedagogik, didaktik och psykologi. Bakgrund Att arbeta systematiskt med arbetsmiljöarbete är ett krav för alla arbetsgivare enligt svensk arbetsmiljölag. Alla arbetsgivare förväntas göra riskbedömningar och ta fram lösningar för att förebygga olyckor. Det systematiska arbetsmiljöarbetet på arbetsplatsen ska hanteras som en naturlig del i den dagliga verksamheten och omfattar de fysiska, psykologiska och sociala förhållandena i arbetsmiljön. Syfte: Att undersöka nyckelpersoners uppfattningar om vad som påverkar prioriteringar av systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete på ett företag samt studera deras uppfattningar om arbetsmiljöförändring i relation till ökad lönsamhet. Urval Inför nyckelpersonsintervjuerna kontaktades personalansvarig som i sin tur valde ut nyckelpersonerna. Chefer, områdesansvariga och skyddsombud intervjuades. Intervjupersonerna valdes ut då en speciell kompetens för området krävdes. Sex av intervjuerna utfördes under en veckas tid på de intervjuades arbetsplats. En kort intervju med skyddsombudet utfördes fyra veckor senare på företaget. Design och metod För att besvara frågeställningarna utfördes intervju på sex nyckelpersoner utifrån en intervjuguide. Intervjuerna tog cirka 30 minuter vardera. Halvstrukturerade intervjuer användes. Intervjuerna transkriberades och analyserades och ytterligare en intervju utfördes efteråt med ett skyddsombud. Intervju användes som metod för datainsamlingen som kom att stå för resultatet. Resultat Resultatet visar att informanterna anser att det som mest påverkar prioriteringar kring det systematiska arbetsmiljöarbetet på arbetsplatsen är ekonomin och chefer/ledningens inställning. Annat som påverkar är arbetsmiljölagen och koncernens riktlinjer och budget. Sjuk-frånvarouppföljningar görs i en del i sin strävan att uppnå ökad lönsamhet. Arbetsmiljöförändringar som utförts i strävan att nå ökad lönsamhet och bättre arbetsmiljö har mestadels varit av fysisk ergonomisk art. Slutsatser Informanterna gav olika information gällande det pågående arbetsmiljöarbetet. De sade att arbetsmiljöarbetet var fortgående och aktivt och de trodde att personalen ansåg att det inte arbetades särskilt mycket med arbetsmiljöarbete. Skyddsombudet ansåg att det gjordes mer än vad personalen trodde. Detta betyder att kommunikationen kan behövs bättras för att de anställda skall få mer insikt om vad som föregår gällande arbetsmiljöarbete och kan bli mer involverad i själva arbetet. Nyckelord: Systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete, lönsamhet, och hälsofrämjandearbete / Asplund, L (2007). Systematic Work Environment Management: Key Informant Interviews about Apprehensions, Priorities and Profitability. Examination paper in Pedagogy, 15 hp. Master’s Programme. University College of Gävle. Department of Education, Curriculum Studies and Psychology. Background Every fourth Swedish employee has been found to suffer from some form of work-related ill-health. Legislation, termed Systematic Management of Workplace Environments (SAM), has been enacted to promote optimal physical and psychosocial workplace environments. Em-ployers are obliged to follow the regulations issued by the Swedish Work Environment Au-thority [Arbetetsmiljöverket] and are responsible for operating active workplace environ-ment management plans. Such plans can prevent ill-health and, in some cases, increase the company’s profitability. Purpose A medium-sized, retail trade company from in central Sweden was chosen in order to study and analyze how systematic workplace management environment practices were imple-mented in relation to other management priorities and company profitability. Sample The key informants were chosen out of the personal manager who was the first contact on the company. Seven key informants, selected on the basis of their knowledge of their com-pany's Systematic Work Environment Management, participated in the study. An additional key informant was later chosen to validate the results. The informant composition was: three informants from middle management, with 5 to 7 years experience of the company, one supervisor (1 year), and three other members of staff (2 and 3 years.) Six qualitative in-terviews were carried out, within the period of one week, in the interviewees' offices. The validating interview was undertaken 4 weeks later, also on the company’s premises. Design and methods The company specialized in retail furniture. Non-structured interviews, based on an inter-view guide with 11 open-ended questions, were used. The interviews, lasting about 30 mi-nutes each, were recorded and transcribed. Statements were analyzed for notable differ-ences, similarities, themes and patterns. The statements were then categorized and sub-jected to further analysis. Results All the informants felt that the company’s actual practice met the work environment stipula-tions and was on-going. They agreed that workplace environment in general is considered an important issue, but that the company could probably do more to meet the intentions of the work environment legislation. Two specific focal points appeared in the results: ergo-nomic improvement in the workplace and the informants’ aspiration to implement and de-velop a system of caring telephone calls to employees absent through illness. Conclusions Management was seen as giving contradictory signals. On the one hand they say that work environment is active and ongoing and on the other hand agree that not enough is being done. The expression of intent does not appear to be matched by actions. Improved educa-tion in systematic workplace environment management would give employees a better un-derstanding of work environment and how systematic workplace management is supposed to operate. The analysis of the informants' suggestions led to a series of proposals for im-provements in workplace environment management strategies. A new plan for employee participation would involve employees being more directly and actively involved with work environment and increase support for the work of the safety representatives. Keywords: Systematic Management of Workplace Environments, health and safety codes, profitability, employee participation, muscular-skeletal, psychosocial working envi-ronment, health promotion

The purpose of this study is to explore the attitudes of middle managers towards cultural diversity and cultural diversity management. A qualitative method of research was chosen to carry out the study. Twenty middle managers from four different companies in the Greater Durban Area were interviewed. One of the main findings of the study was that managers displayed positive attitudes towards cultural diversity and cultural diversity management. However, it was also found that whilst the attitudes displayed towards people of different cultures and races remained positive, little was done in terms of managing the differences that these people brought to the organisation. It was also found that organisations were agreeable to complying with legislative frameworks such as affirmative action and equal employment opportunities to manage diversity. Furthermore, it was established that factors such as understanding, tolerance and acceptance were perceived to be vital "ingredients" to helping diverse people feel accepted and wanted in the company. This was due to their role in increasing productivity levels and decreasing turnover. However, it was uncovered in the literature review, that complying with legislation alone was not enough to manage cultural diversity. If organisations want to unleash the true benefits of diversity management, they wi ll need to recognise people with these differences and simultaneously accept and manage these differences. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1991.

The South African gold mining industry has since its inception, relied on an authoritarian and paternalistic form of labour control. This inheritance is due to a number of reasons; the nature of the process of gold mining itself, the reliance on migrant labour, the poor levels of education of workers in the industry, the regulation of workers' lives in hostels as well as the attitudes of white supervisors towards the control of labour - an inheritance from the British system, which tends to view hierarchies as rigid and highly stratified. The particular kind of paternalism found in gold mining has however, evolved over a time frame spanning this century, and has been subject to modification and external influence, particularly from managerial theories borrowed from Western , Europe and the United states. Thus, scientific management made its presence felt in the first half of this century, whilst more recently, the need to transfer new and upgraded technology has drawn on the sociotechnical tradition. The human relation movement, also a more recent phenomenon, has grown in direct response to the increasing levels of conflict on gold mines between management and labour. " At present the industry is undergoing a crisis in the form of a depressed gold price (necessitating reduction in the labour force), poor levels of productivity and an increasing challenge to management hegemony in the growth of a mass based trade union - the National Union of Mine Workers. It will be argued that these factors have necessitated that management in the industry ' search for new and more appropriate methods for the co-ordination and control of labour, and that the form that this has taken is towards more worker participation in decision-making. Participation on gold mines is developing in a number of areas; with consultative councils, with increasing consultation with the unions, in particular the N.U.M., in productivity drives such as the quality circles movement, and more recently in employee share ownership schemes (E.S.O.P.S.). All of the above approaches are attempts by senior management to incorporate labour more into the management process, and thus try to reduce the level of polarisation between labour and capital, which has gained in intensity in the industry over the past decade. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1992.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Private practice as a career option for nurses has been slowly increasing since the 1980's. However, the reasons for this development have not been fully investigated so that it can be understood and placed within the changing contexts of health care and health services. The expansion and extension of nurses' roles is a contemporary topic in health care reform and therefore one that deserves investigation. The aims of this study were to develop a theory on private practice nursing and to describe the characteristics and work of the self-employed nurse in Australia. Nurses working in a variety of settings have been able to provide information on being self-employed. In doing so, this study was able to describe the persona of the nurse entrepreneur, explore the reasons why nurses and midwives in Australia establish private fee-for-service practices, identify the factors which have influenced this action and describe the scope of practice of nurses and midwives in private practice. This combined Delphi technique and Grounded Theory study is the first in-depth study of Australian nurses and midwives in private practice. The study enables nurses to provide direct information on being self-employed and enhances the profession's ability to articulate about this area of nursing. The significance of the research is in increasing the understanding of this area of practice development and affords greater insight into its efforts to improve and maintain quality nursing services within the Australian health care system. One hundred and six nurses and midwives were invited to participate in the study, in which participants completed two rounds of semi-structured postal questionnaires. Delphi technique was applied to rate responses on Likert scales to ascertain respondents' consensus on certain topics. Participants were also provided the opportunity to make additional comments. Results indicated that nurses in private practice are well experienced with an average of 21 years nursing experience and hold several qualifications. Job satisfaction, being able to be more involved in achieving quality health outcomes and maximising skills and abilities are significant influences for private practice. These results suggest that private practice nursing can contribute effectively to broadening the range of primary health services available to the population and to addressing the issues of retention and recruitment of nurses. Self-employed nurse entrepreneurs push the boundaries of the profession and expand the realm of nursing practice. Entrepreneurship is a path for the future of nursing as it offers expanded career opportunities for nurses and opportunities for increased ambulatory health services. In addition, the broad, expert knowledge nurses hold on many aspects of health can be disseminated throughout the health sector to the advantage of corporate health partners. There is further development required in this innovative and expanding area of the nursing profession. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Department of Clinical Nursing, 2003.

Denna studie grundar sig i Arbetsmiljöverkets föreskrift om organisatorisk och social arbetsmiljö, AFS 2015:4, som tagits fram i syfte att främja en god arbetsmiljö och förebygga risk för ohälsa. Utifrån de ökande antalet anmälningarna om arbetssjukdom med stress och psykiska påfrestningar som orsak ligger fokus i studien på ohälsosam arbetsbelastning och om det inom kommunen finns kunskaper att förebygga och hantera dessa risker. Syftet har varit undersöka hur kommunen praktiskt arbetar med föreskriften inom tre organisatoriska nivåer och hur de anställda uppfattar sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö. Fokus låg även på att undersöka hur de anställda är delaktiga i ovanstående arbetsmiljöarbete. Studien utgick från ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv med en kvalitativ ansats genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. En gruppintervju bestående av två medarbetare som representerade HR-avdelningen och två individuella intervjuer på chefsnivå. På medarbetarnivån genomfördes två gruppintervjuer med tre medarbetare vardera från de avdelningarna som respektive chef leder. Av studien framgår att goda resultat kan uppnås i den psykosociala arbetsmiljön när alla organisatoriska nivåer integrerar frågorna i sitt systematiska arbetsmiljöarbete och upprättar rutiner för att förebygga och hantera ohälsosam arbetsbelastning. Studien bekräftar att socialt stöd, kunskap, kommunikation och delaktighet är viktiga framgångsfaktorer för en god psykosocial arbetsmiljö. I diskussionen lyfts vikten av att avsätta tid i syfte att förebygga ohälsa och förslag lyfts om att använda krav/kontroll/stöd-modellen som verktyg att analysera och reflektera kring de anställdas arbetsbelastning. / This study is based on the Swedish work environment authority statute book about organisational and social work environment, AFS 2015:4 provisions, that has been developed to promote a good work environment and prevent risks of ill health. Because of the increasing numbers of work-related ill health due to stress and mental strain, the focus in this study was unhealthy workloads and if there is knowledge in the municipality about preventing and dealing with these risks. The aim was to examine how the municipality practically work with the provision within three organizational levels and how the employees perceive their psychosocial work environment. There were also focus on investigating how employees participate in the above environment work. The study was based on a hermeneutic perspective with a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews. One group interview consisting two employees representing the HR department and two individual interviews at the managerial level. At the employee level, two group interviews were held with three employees from the departments headed by the managers. The outcome of the study shows that good results can be obtained in the psychosocial work environment when all organizational levels integrates these issues in their systematic work environment and establish routines to prevent and dealing with unhealthy workload. The study confirms that social support, knowledge, communication and employee participation are important factors for a healthy psychosocial work environment. The discussion shows the importance of taking time for preventing ill health and suggestions about using the demand/control/support-model as a tool for analysing and reflect over the employee workload.

School leadership in Namibia over past centuries was characterized by ‘top down’ administration and typically proceeded without participation of those involved other than the principals who were the sole decision makers. The notion of school leadership through teamwork (team leadership) in Namibia was formalized after the advent of democracy in 1990 and the subsequent reorganization of the education system. The notion of team leadership is embedded in theories that stress participation, teamwork and distributed leadership. It is against this background that this study sought to investigate the current understandings of school leadership and application of team leadership among principals in selected schools in the Ohangwena region in Namibia. The study is an interpretive case study of two secondary schools in the above‐mentioned region in Namibia. The research utilized three quantitative data gathering techniques, namely semi‐structured interviews, observation and document analysis. The research participants were two principals, two teachers and two school board members from each research school. The main findings of this study revealed that the notion of participation of all stakeholders in education is seen as a fundamental aspect of the current leadership thinking. However, the respondents’ vision of leadership is limited and quite traditional in many ways. There is emphasis on the need to control, monitor, and delegate rather than team leadership. Furthermore, where consultation is mentioned it seems the respondents think of the passing down of information – a cascade model ‐ as consultation, a view that is narrow and inaccurate in terms of contemporary leadership theories. While there was an appreciation of the benefits derived from team leadership, challenges facing such leadership pervaded responses. These included lack of understanding of government policies such as ETSIP and NSPIs, resistance to change and implementation of policy. The study recommends that leadership and management programs and teacher leadership development programs be established in Namibia. Finally, the study recommends further research to include Learner Representative Council and Heads of Department. These stakeholders in education may provide new insights into the current school leadership thinking.