Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to contribute empirical evidence focusing on sustainable competitive advantage through ERP systems. It identifies the shift towards strategic positioning while moving in different ERP stages and industrial environments. The work starts from the premise that advanced ERP processes are simply commodities insinuating competitive convergence. The literature considers IT and strategy but few texts deal with understanding ERP resources over time in order to become source of sustainable advantage. As companies undergo transformation or strive to develop new approaches to competition, it is particularly significant to investigate this venture. The exploratory inquiry in this dissertation aims to develop insights by a combination of qualitative and quantitative research traditions. The dual approach seeks to integrate the best research practices for contribution to the pertinent stakeholders. The first section is the introductory part followed by publications including case studies and surveys conducted on the basis of the gaps identified between theory and practice. The work is limited in scope and the intention is to appreciate knowledge acquired from the studies instead of drawing rigid extensive conclusions. However, the study traces that the ERP systems do provide competitive advantage, the sustainability depending on integrating to meet the business needs and building uniqueness. The implication is to capitalize on the potential of ERP, the idea being not to imitate competitors but to tailor applications to the company's overall strategy.

Adolescents need to feel loved and cared for and they need to share their feelings with other people in their environment. As the school plays a significant role in the life of the adolescent, emotional support is an important aspect that has to be part of any educational setting. Unfortunately, adolescents do not always feel comfortable talking to a teacher, a person in authority or even a school psychologist. In many instances they are most comfortable talking to a friend or a peer with whom they can identify. In this study, a literature review explored adolescence as a developmental stage, existing support systems in schools, and the history, key features, definition and nature of peer support groups and supervision of peer supporters. Studies revealed that peer support has potential advantages but also disadvantages for peer supporters but that the former outweigh the latter. The study also looked at research on peer support groups in the South African context. The aims of this study were to explore, in a qualitative way, the experiences, thoughts and feelings of three adolescent peer supporters and provide rich and thick descriptions of their stories. Postmodernism, social constructionism and narrative psychology were combined and identified as a framework for the research. The research material gathered by means of individual interviews, focus groups and journaling reflected the realities co-constructed by the participants and the researcher. The researcher also made use of reflexivity by including a description of her own experience of the research process. The strengths and limitations of this study are evaluated and the findings are summarized. Finally, recommendations are made on supervision, constructing roles and boundaries, training, keeping the momentum of peer support groups going and the usefulness of peer support groups. / Dissertation (MA (Counseling Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / unrestricted

Focusing on the potential use of telemedicine among other efforts for better treatment of stroke patients, this study explored the role of telemedicine in the management of stroke patients and knowledge sharing among health care providers in Afghanistan. To this end, fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with physicians, specialists, neurologists, and decision makers from the Afghan Ministry of Public Health (MoPH). Actor-network and diffusion of innovations theories provided a theoretical framework for this exploratory qualitative study. The study was intended: 1) to find out about the major challenges and problems associated with managing stroke patients in Afghanistan; 2) to explore the perceptions of Afghan health professionals about the application of telemedicine as a means of improving the delivery of health services for stroke patients in Afghanistan; and 3) to understand the perceived barriers to knowledge sharing and to ascertain the potential role of telemedicine in knowledge sharing among health care providers in Afghanistan. The findings of this study demonstrated that almost all of the participants were optimistic about the potential positive role telemedicine could play in the management of stroke patients and knowledge sharing among health care providers in Afghanistan. Some important existing organisational, socio-economic, geographical, security, and cultural barriers to the management of stroke patients and knowledge sharing among health care providers in Afghanistan were revealed. To the best knowledge of the researcher, there has been no study of this kind conducted in Afghanistan yet; thus, the findings of this study will likely contribute to the development of health communication in the context of Afghanistan, and could likely be used as a resource for future research about the applications of telemedicine in various medical specialities.

Background: In recent years, unfair and unsafe working conditions have been reported, raising concerns among stakeholders and end-users. The demand for fashion brands to take further responsibility for social sustainability and transparency has increased. Providing complete transparency can be one solution to these issues, and traceability validation systems can be used to achieve complete transparency, covering the supply chain's social aspects. A research gap was found linking the concepts of transparency, traceability, the social aspects of sustainability, including integrity and security of the supply chain actors, and validation systems. Purpose: Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore traceability validation systems within the TA supply chain from a social perspective, specifically the integrity and security of SCAs. Methodology: An exploratory case study was conducted, including in-depth interviews with eleven respondents representing different supply chain actors and experts in the textile and apparel industry. Data were also collected through a survey and questions over email. Focus Company: The focus company for this study, PaperTale, is a start-up company that offers a blockchain-based traceability solution that enables textile and apparel companies to track and trace their supply chain via an application. Through the PaperTale app, the end-user can receive information about the garment by scanning the NFC tag or QR code attached to the garment. The PaperTale system is an example of what is defined as a traceability validation system in this study. Findings & Analysis: In general, the experiences of the respondent that has been involved in the PaperTale app was good. Some reluctance has been encountered while sharing information that can be connected to cultural aspects and lack of incentives. Overall, the impact on the different supply chain actors is good and includes making more profit for both brands and suppliers and incentivising the workers. However, the imbalance of profit and time distribution was brought up. To provide security and reliance to the supply chain actors while sharing information to a traceability validation system, the respondent emphasised the importance of union protection, legislation, and third-party validation. Lastly, most respondents are optimistic about using a third party to validate the transparency and traceability data added to the traceability validation system. Implications & Suggestions for Future Research: The contribution of this study is an increased understanding of the social aspects of transparency and traceability on a general level. Furthermore, it contributes to a deeper description and understanding of how traceability validation systems can affect and impact textile and apparel supply chain actors. The study also highlights opportunities and challenges with the system that provides direction in research. Traceability validation systems are a somewhat new topic. Many questions remain regarding who has the highest responsibility for entering data and how the system can be used on a large scale

This research explores postmethod pedagogy (Kumaravadivelu, 2003, p. 165) with two Mozambican secondary school teachers who expressed an interest in carrying out an exploratory research project in their context of practice. The research was undertaken to investigate how teachers, who had attended an International House Language Lab (IHLL) teacher education programme in 2008, were theorizing from their practice with the aim of developing a context-sensitive pedagogy. The research is a qualitative study consisting of two case studies. Each case is based on the practices of a teacher attempting to implement an exploratory research project. The exploratory projects included the following activities: the teacher teaching a lesson with a colleague observing; the teacher and observer meeting both before and after the observed lesson to discuss and analyse the lesson; and finally, the teacher inviting a group of students to discuss their perceptions of selected episodes in the lesson. The teachers used the exploratory research projects to explore their classroom practice in order to learn more about their teaching. Of particular relevance to this study is literature on practitioner research and teachers as reflective practitioners. In analysing the data, I demonstrate that although the exploratory research projects provided a frame of reference and point of departure for postmethod pedagogy, the teachers’ ability to ‘develop a systematic, coherent, and relevant personal theory of practice’ (Kumaravadivelu, 2003, p. 40) was limited by: the context, the surface level application of macrostrategies, and a lack of foregrounding of the critical in the postmethod macrostrategies. The study concludes with a critical reflection on the value of postmethod pedagogy for teacher education programmes offered at IHLL, as well as for the teachers’ contexts of practice. I offer some ‘fuzzy generalizations’ (Bassey, 1999) about the place of postmethod principles in teacher development courses for language teachers from a range of classroom and community contexts.

Orientador: Denis Domeneghetti Badia / Banca: Vera Teresa Valdemarin / Banca: José Carlos de Paula Carvalho / Resumo: O trabalho que ora se apresenta busca contribuir com os estudos que versam sobre o gosto musical dos jovens estudantes, pontuando também reverberações para o campo educacional. A investigação caracteriza-se, no plano metodológico, como uma pesquisa exploratória, posto que permite avaliar a feição qualitativa das informações para, posteriormente, quantificá-las. Tal agregação equilibrada desses dois polos metodológicos (qualitativo e quantitativo) confere um caráter de complementaridade a pesquisa, possibilitando, assim, uma melhor compreensão do fenômeno estudado. Objetivou-se sinalizar pontos de intersecção entre educação e cultura a partir do referencial bourdieusiano, tratando de maneira relacional a reprodução sociocultural, o capital cultural e o papel da escola no processo de formação do habitus. Utilizamo-nos também dos fundamentos teóricos lançados por Bernard Lahire, sociólogo que flexibiliza e adensa os estudos de habitus iniciados por Bourdieu. De posse das constatações acerca do indivíduo híbrido e plural, nos termos de Lahire, pudemos empreender uma análise mais adequada sobre a construção dos sujeitos juvenis na sociedade contemporânea. Lahire propõe uma sociologia da pluralidade disposicional em que os indivíduos são submetidos a experiências socializadoras heterogêneas e muitas vezes contraditórias, chegando a frequentar sucessiva ou alternativamente vários registros culturais. Esse fenômeno é peculiarmente observado no consumo cultural e musical dos jovens. Entramos também na complexa e ampla seara da música, com o objetivo de mostrar a importância e as possibilidades de compreensão da sociedade a partir desses estudos. Além disso, buscamos delinear a categoria de juventude, rastreando o conceito nas suas modulações sociohistóricas ao longo do tempo até chegarmos a atual paisagem contemporânea... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The present work aims to contribute to the studies related to the musical taste of students, dealing as well with its implications for the educational field. The research is methodologically characterized, as an exploratory research, since it allows evaluating the qualitative feature of the information for later, quantifying them. The balance of these two methodological poles (qualitative and quantitative) provides a complementary character of the search allowing, as a result, a better understanding into the phenomenon. The objective was to identify points of intersection between education and culture reviewing the literature of Bourdieu, which allows us to realize the socio-cultural reproduction, the cultural capital and the role of schools in the formation of the habitus. The study also relies on the theoretical references of Bernard Lahire, who have makes flexible the category habitus coined by Bourdieu. In the possession of defining characteristics of the hybrid and plural individual, in terms of Lahire, we undertook a more appropriate analysis on the construction of youth people in contemporary society. Lahire proposes a sociology of dispositional plurality in which individuals are exposed to heterogeneous socializing, often contradictory, attending successively or alternatively various cultural practices. This phenomenon is particularly observed in the musical and cultural consumerism of young people. We also entered in the complex and wide field of music as an important key to understand the society. Furthermore, we delineated the category of youth, by tracing the concept in its socio-historical modulations over the times, reaching up the current landscape ruled by the sign of contemporary globalization. The reception and use of audiovisual and electronic technologies reflect on youth attitudes, on their lifestyles, on patterns of taste and forms to express their demands... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Abstract To gain competitive advantage and thrive in the market, companies have introduced Kanban in software development. Kanban has been used in the manufacturing industry for over six decades. In the software engineering domain, Kanban was introduced in 2004 to increase flexibility in coping with dynamic requirements, bring visibility to workflow and related tasks, improve communication, and promote the pull system. However, the existing scientific literature lacks empirical evidence of the use of Kanban in software companies. This doctoral thesis aims to improve the understanding of the use of Kanban in software engineering. The research was performed in two phases: 1) analysis of scientific literature on Kanban in software engineering and industrial engineering and 2) investigation of Kanban implementation trends in software companies. The data was collected through systematic literature reviews, survey and semi-structured interviews. The results were synthesized to draw conclusions and outline implications for research and practice. The results indicate growing interest in the use of Kanban in software companies. The findings suggest that Kanban is applicable to software development, software maintenance, and portfolio management in software companies. Kanban brings visibility to task and offering status, limits work in progress at any given time gives people greater control over their work and limit task switching. Although Kanban offers several benefits, as reported in this dissertation, the findings show that software companies find it challenging to implement Kanban incrementally. / Tiivistelmä Ohjelmistoteollisuudessa Kanbanin käyttö on yleistynyt vuodesta 2004 alkaen. Sillä pyritään tuomaan joustavuutta muuttuvien vaatimusten hallintaan, tuomaan näkyvyyttä työnkulkuun ja toisiinsa liittyviin tehtäviin, parantamaan kommunikaatiota sekä edistämään imuohjauksen hyödyntämistä. Kanbania on käytetty valmistavassa teollisuudessa jo yli kuuden vuosikymmenen ajan. Olemassa olevassa tieteellisessä kirjallisuudessa on kuitenkin esitetty hyvin vähän empiirisiä tutkimustuloksia Kanbanin käytöstä ohjelmistoyrityksissä. Väitöskirjan tavoitteena on parantaa ymmärrystä Kanbanin käytöstä ohjelmistotuotannossa. Tutkimus toteutettiin kahdessa vaiheessa: 1) Kirjallisuusanalyysi Kanbanin käytöstä ohjelmistotuotannossa ja tuotantotekniikassa ja 2) Empiirinen tutkimus Kanbanin käyttöönoton trendeistä ohjelmistoyrityksissä. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin systemaattisten kirjallisuuskatsausten, kyselytutkimuksen ja puolistrukturoitujen teemahaastattelujen kautta. Tutkimustulosten synteesin pohjalta tehtiin johtopäätöksiä Kanbanin käytöstä ohjelmistotuotannossa sekä niiden merkityksestä alan tutkimukselle ja Kanbanin käytölle yrityksissä. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat kasvavaa kiinnostusta Kanbanin käyttöä kohtaan ohjelmistoyrityksissä. Tulosten perusteella Kanban soveltuu käytettäväksi ohjelmistokehityksessä, ohjelmistojen ylläpidossa sekä tuoteportfolion hallinnassa. Kanban tuo näkyvyyttä ohjelmistokehitykseen, niin meneillään olevien tehtävien kuin portfoliotarjoaman osalta. Se myös auttaa rajoittamaan työtehtävien ruuhkautumista ja antaa kehittäjille paremman tavan hallita työtään rajoittamalla työtehtävien vaihtoa. Vaikka Kanbanin käytöllä on mahdollista saavuttaa väitöskirjatutkimuksessa esitettyjä hyötyjä, tulokset osoittavat, että ohjelmistoyrityksillä on haasteita Kanbanin inkrementaalisessa käyttöönotossa.

This dissertation reports on an exploratory study investigating the landscape of reading promotion projects in South Africa. The study identifies, categorises and describes reading promotion projects. Reading promotion projects are important in that they promote access to reading and improve reading comprehension. The literature review deals with reading, reading promotion and the approaches to reading promotion used by reading promotion projects worldwide. These projects use different methods in the promotion of reading. The two main approaches to reading promotion identified are the reader-centred and book-centred. Methods used to promote reading include mobile libraries, reading campaigns and reading clubs. This study discusses reading promotion projects in South Africa using the content analysis method. Documents concerning reading promotion projects in the country were identified and analysed, using content analysis.The findings indicate that reading promotion projects exist in South Africa. Seventy seven reading promotion projects were identified and analysed. Findings reveal that most projects were managed by local or international non-governmental organisations. The beneficiaries are mostly school going children. These projects use a variety of methods to promote reading with the most common methods being mobile libraries and book donations. The study concludes that the picture of reading promotion in South Africa is bleak. There is little government support, haphazard funding, projects are unevenly distributed, and there is no research in the field. Unless there is support for reading promotion from the highest level of government in South Africa, reading promotion will remain bleak. Copyright / Dissertation (MIS)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Information Science / unrestricted

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the consumer resale behaviour of Millennial consumers in the context of personal luxury goods in order to identify the motivational drivers and barriers of reselling. Prior discussions about resale behaviour have focused on disposition behaviour, the relation of resale behaviour and purchasing, as well as meanings associated with reselling personal luxury goods. Yet, only few studies have approached consumer resale behaviour from the perspective of possessing, thus neglecting the significance of resale barriers. Consequently, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of resale behaviour motivations by exploring the phenomenon from the view of the whole consumption cycle, consisting of purchasing, possessing and disposing. Design/methodology/approach – This research employed a qualitative, exploratory approach, including thematic analysis using empirical data from semi-structured interviews with ten European Millennials. Consumer resale behaviour was examined in the context of personal luxury goods. Findings – Results indicate that personal luxury goods are reluctantly disposed, but chiefly resold when given away. The motivations to resell or not to resell personal luxury items are exhibiting three types of reasoning: utilitarian, hedonic and social motivations. Based on the categorisation of resale drivers and barriers, the authors propose a conceptual model to show the individual motivations. Highly notable is the phase of possession, which has a strong influence on the decision of whether to engage in reselling or not. Originality/value – The paper discusses the relevance of each phase of the consumption cycle when studying consumer resale behaviour motivations. More, it challenges the ‘end of ownership’ approach and suggests luxury brands to consider the weight of possessing if applying such business models.

The Expectation confirmation model (ECM) is commonly employed to investigate technological advances and customer satisfaction with chatbots. However, customer satisfaction is a multifaceted concept intertwined with emotions and subjective perceptions, comprehending customer satisfaction fully can therefore be challenging. Consequently, the purpose of this exploratory study was to develop and refine the concept of customer satisfaction by answering the research question: How does the integration of underlying factors to the Expectation Confirmation Model (ECM) affect customer satisfaction with chatbot services?. The study incorporated underlying factors such as anthropomorphic behavior, brand perception, trust and word of mouth, which were integrated into the existing components of the ECM. Through a unique research approach involving 20 semi-structured interviews and observations, this study captured and reflected on the subjective impressions and emotions of customers while using chatbots. An array of findings are presented, such as the importance of distinguishing between usability and problem-solving efficiency of chatbots performance, the emphasis on accurate answers over human-like characteristics for chatbots, and the impact of experience, familiarity and age on customer satisfaction with chatbots. In conclusion, this study advocates for further qualitative research to explore  the potential impact of other underlying factors' on customer satisfaction for ECM.