Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Background:The Project reported on in this thesis took place between 2003 and 2006 and focused on the problem of high rates of low birth weight in the West Coast /Winelands area of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. A 32 page woman’s health handbook (WHH) was developed and field-tested using a participatory action research approach. The purpose of the WHH was to provide a health promotion tool that would increase the likelihood of satisfactory birth outcomes in future by: improving the continuity of care for women, especially in pregnancy; improving the interaction between health service providers and women during health consultations; and enabling women to improve their broader health literacy.Methods:The Project used both qualitative and quantitative methods and was carried out in three phases following steps in strategic communication development: situational and audience analysis; strategic design and development; and,field testing. The process involved three levels of stakeholders, or audiences: primary (women working on farms); secondary (local health service providers); tertiary (regional and provincial health department officials).Phase I began with a situational analysis of the two research sites in 2003 - Vredendal and Stellenbosch areas. Data was collected through key informant interviews, secondary data and general observations. The information on the two sub-districts was summarised. In order to understand the lifestyle and contextual issues facing the primary audience focus group discussions and key informant interviews with all three levels of the audience were carried out in 2004. The analysis utilised an inductive approach to generate themes that integrated the information from all sources and a framework for understanding substance use was developed. Ideas for the format and contents of the WHH were collected utilising the same methods and were summarised into categories.Phase II utilised the findings of Phase I to develop the first version of the WHH. This was pre-tested with all levels of the audience in individual interviews or focus groups to assess its accessibility, contents and appropriateness. The findings were used to prepare the second version of the WHH for Phase III.In Phase III the second version of the WHH was tested by recruiting a cohort of 103 participants who were utilising the antenatal clinic services in the two sites in 2005. A pre- and post-intervention questionnaire was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data to characterise the participants and, assess if the WHH that was given to them to keep had influenced their health knowledge and substance use behaviour. Analysis included simple frequencies, and a comparison of key outcome measures from the pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. Secondary level audience representatives were also interviewed, and content analysis carried out to identify theirperceptions of the WHH and any potential barriers to its future use in the clinics. A final version of the WHH was developed and 10 000 copies made available through a resource centre. The dissemination of a batch of the final version was followed up in 2006.Results:The first phase identified the extent to which environmental and health-related behaviour contributed to low birth weight, as well as, other negative consequences in the lives of the primary audience. Important factors noted included the resource poor and stressful environment in which farm-based women live and work, and the high rates of women smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol in general, and through pregnancy.A first version of the WHH was developed and pre-tested in the second phase by applying principles of designing health education materials for audiences with mid to low literacy levels. Results from this stage led to the development of the second version of the WHH.Although the evaluation of the second version of the WHH did not show any significant change in the health knowledge of the participants on the pre- and post-test analysis, there was a reduction in the use of alcohol, and very positive feedback on utilisation issues from all audiences. There was widespread dissemination of the final version of the WHH, however, neither the provincial nor the regional health authorities had incorporated it into their annual health promotion plan or budget.Conclusion:The participatory action research approach in the development of the WHH ensured that the form and contents was appropriate for most of the primary audience and that the secondary and tertiary audiences were supportive of its potential to positively women’s health in the region in the future. The main factors that limited the impact of the WHH include the need for the health service providers to consistently practice interactive health consultations using the WHH, and the need for the reproduction and dissemination of the WHH to be led by the provincial health department.It is recommended that brief training of health service workers is required in order to ensure that the final version of the WHH is utilised to its full potential and, that the provincial and regional health authorities devise a reproduction and dissemination plan to ensure that all women using the public health services receive their own copy of the WHH.

This study is an academic research project completed to satisfy the California Polytechnic Master Thesis Requirement for the Master Degree of City and Regional Planning in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design. The County of San Luis Obispo Planning and Building Department is the client for this professional project. The project was requested by the County of San Luis Obispo to assist in its water conservation efforts and to help achieve a 20 percent per capita reduction of water use by the year 2020. The project consists of two documents: A Handbook of Water Conservation Technologies and Practices (Handbook) and the Background Report for the Water Conservation Handbook (Background Report). The Handbook is intended to provide a quick guide to various water conserving fixtures and appliances that developers and residents throughout the County of San Luis Obispo can reference for personal use. The Handbook includes information on the type of technology, the benefits in terms of water saving potential, and the cost of implementation. The Handbook is organized based on Indoor and Outdoor water uses. The Background Report is a supplemental document for the Handbook which provides more in depth descriptions and examples on each technology. The Background Report also provides history on water conservation issues in California and San Luis Obispo. It looks at two case studies: one, on the water conservation efforts in Phoenix, Arizona, and two, on a plumbing retrofit project on the Cal Poly Campus that was awarded LEED certification for its water savings. Furthermore, the Background Report explores case studies in the use of community participatory planning to produce water conservation plans. The studies focused on a Community Plan development in Arroyo Grande, California, and on an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan in the Greater Los Angeles Region. The Background Report concludes by providing some cautionary advice on water conservation technologies and provides future recommendations for the county of San Luis Obispo to improve its water conservation efforts.

The first part deals with the basic methods for measuring an unknown impedance. After determining the parameters of the desired impedance analyzer method was chosen AC unbalanced Wheatstone bridge. As a source of harmonic signal has been selected direct digital synthesis circuit and measure provides the analog vector voltmeter. Subsequently, it is discussed the issue of determining the sign of the unknown phase impedance. The thesis describes the wiring of circuit AD8302 and circuit AD9958 direct digital synthesis for which it is also an example of the code. It discusses the design and simulation of a reconstruction filter. Finally there are the measured output voltage and spectrum synthesizer.

Äventyr, värme och omväxling i livet var några av de anledningar som bidrog till att människor sökte sig till sjöss. Verkligheten såg annorlunda ut då än vad det har kommit till att bli idag. Förr gjordes fler världsomseglingar med fartyg och rederier med svenskt flagg och det spenderades mer tid till kaj. Syftet med detta arbete var att skapa en typ av “handbok”, som beskriver de rättigheter en sjöman kan förvänta sig vid en anställning på utlandsflaggat fartyg som seglar med ett Marine Labour Convention (MLC) avtal. Fokus har legat vid försäkringar, pensioner och social säkerhet. Med en kvalitativ datainsamlingsmetod sågs det till att all insamlad empiri blev noga undersökt vilket gjort arbetet objektivt. Slutsatsen blev således att en sjöman som är skriven i Sverige, mönstrar på ett utlandsflaggat fartyg, med en vilja att flytta utomlands till Kroatien som exempel, kommer till att får mer i lön och betala betydligt mindre i skatt, samtidigt som förmånerna i Sverige nästintill blir detsamma. / Adventure, warmth and change of atmosphere are the reason why many went to sea in the past. Unfortunately, the reality is different today, the ships and shipping companies that sail with the Swedish flag do few world voyages and with little time alongside. The purpose of this study is to create a type of "handbook". The handbook will examine what the minimum rights for a sailor are when sailing onboard a foreign-flagged ship sailing under the MLC agreement. It will also have covered moving abroad, insurances, pensions and social securities. With a qualitative data collection method, it was ensured that all collected empirical material was carefully examined which made this study objective. The conclusion is that a Swedish seafarer residing in Sweden that wants to sign on a foreign-flagged ship with an MLC agreement and is willing to become a Croatian resident and move to Croatia then the seafarer will most likely have a higher salary, have to pay significantly lower taxes and get almost all the same benefits as in Sweden.

The internet has transformed the way people sell and buy goods and services. E-commerce is a fast-growing industry with low barriers to entry, making it easy to start an e-commerce business – but scaling it is a whole other matter. One common scaling method is international expansion. However, young e-commerce companies often lack strategy and process when expanding internationally. This ad hoc approach results in missed opportunities, waste of resources, and sub-optimal operations for the company. This thesis examines the process of internationalisation for e-commerce companies and what factors contribute to its success, with the aim to provide a model that can guide companies through the whole internationalisation process. Qualitative data has been collected from interviews with experts in the field and a case study of an e-commerce scale-up. Together with a literature review, this data is synthesised into an internationalisation model, built upon the three guiding principles of being customer-centric, iterative, and resource-efficient. The model consists of a series phases, from pre-launch to maturing, with an iterative component that entails a shift of strategy from replication to increased localisation of the business model. Operational results indicate to which degree localisation is necessary. Internationalisation is a complex process, and any detailed model explaining internationalisation quickly becomes complex as well. Therefore, in order to facilitate the practical application of the model for businesses, a conceptual prototype of how the international model could be translated into a digital format is developed and evaluated. As a result, e-commerce firms now have an interactive tool that empowers managers to make more accurate and effective business decisions when it comes to both international expansion strategy and also tactics, due to its action-oriented design. Considering that there is little research that provides explicit advice for young e-commerce firms pursuing internationalisation as a growth strategy, and even less when it comes to the development of a digital business tool, this thesis contributes to filling this research gap. / Internets uppkomst har förändrat hur människor säljer och köper varor och tjänster. E-handel är en snabbväxande bransch med låga inträdesbarriärer, vilket gör det enkelt att starta ett e-handelsföretag – men att skala den är en helt annan fråga. En vanlig tillvägagångssätt för att skala är internationell expansion. Dock saknar ofta unga e-handelsföretag en strategi och process när de expanderar internationellt. Denna ad hoc-strategi resulterar i förlorade möjligheter, resursslöseri och suboptimal verksamhet för företaget. Detta examensarbete undersöker internationaliseringsprocessen för e-handelsföretag och vilka faktorer som bidrar till dess framgång, med syftet att tillhandahålla ett ramverk som kan vägleda företag genom hela internationaliseringsprocessen. Kvalitativ data har samlats in från intervjuer med experter inom området och en fallstudie av ett tillväxtbolag inom ehandeln. Tillsammans med en litteraturstudie syntetiseras dessa data till ett internationaliseringsramverk, som baseras på tre vägledande principerna: att vara kundcentrerad, iterativ och resurseffektiv. Ramverket består av en serie faser, från förlansering till mognad, med en iterativ komponent som innebär ett skift av strategi från replikering till ökad lokalisering av affärsmodellen. Operationella resultat indikerar till vilken grad lokalisering är nödvändig. Internationalisering är en komplex process, och varje detaljerad ram som förklarar internationalisering blir också snabbt komplex. För att underlätta den praktiska tillämpningen av ramverket för företag utvecklas och utvärderas därför en konceptuell prototyp av hur det internationella ramverket skulle kunna översättas till ett digitalt format. Som ett resultat har e-handelsföretag nu ett interaktivt verktyg som ger chefer möjlighet att fatta mer precisa och effektiva affärsbeslut när det gäller både internationell expansionsstrategi och, på grund av prototypens handlingsorienterade utformning, även taktik. Med tanke på att det finns lite forskning som ger explicita råd till unga ehandelsföretag som strävar efter internationalisering som en tillväxtstrategi, och ännu mindre när det kommer till utvecklingen av ett digitalt affärsverktyg, bidrar denna avhandling till att fylla detta forskningsgap.

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Idén till arbetet föddes när vi var inne i en av Gina Tricots butiker, då en kund frågade personalen hur mycket ett par jeans som hon skulle prova kunde töja sig. Kunden kunde inte få något fullständigt svar på sin fråga, utan den anställde svarade ”lite”. Utöver detta har vi även fått uppfattningen av att personalen är mindre kunnig om bland annat de olika material som företaget använder sig av. Vi anser då att en materialhandbok kan vara lösningen på detta problem. Vi vill att Gina Tricots personal ska bli mer kunnig inom textil och därmed kunna hjälpa kunderna på ett korrekt och professionellt sätt.I nära samarbete med vår externa, samt interna handledare har vi kommit fram till de delar som materialhandboken består av. Dessa är väv, trikå och grovstickat, de olika naturfibrer, konstfibrer samt blandmaterial som företaget använder sig av, obehandlad och behandlad denim, samt färgning och tryckning. Utöver dessa punkter har vi även valt att ha med påmonterade detaljer, tvättsymboler, frågor och svar, såväl som en skötselöversikt. Under de olika fibrerna finns även underrubriker, såsom egenskaper och skötselråd, för att lättare kunna finna den information man söker.Det har varit viktigt att hitta en balans för att få med så mycket information som möjligt, utan att det blir för tungt för personalen. Likaså var det med språket, det vill säga att få fram en så innehållsrik text som möjligt, men utan för svåra ord, då alla i personalen ska förstå innebörden av texten utan några tveksamheter. Materialhandboken är även gjord på så sätt att man inte behöver läsa från pärm till pärm för att förstå innehållet. Allt för att den ska vara så användarvänlig som möjligt. / <p>The idea was born when we were at Gina Tricot, and a customer asked one of the staff how much a pair of jeans will stretch that she wanted to try on. The customer could not get a complete answer to her question, but the employee said "a bit". In addition, we also had the perception that the staff are untaught of, inter alia, the various materials the company uses. We thought a handbook of textiles was the best idea as a solution for this problem. We want Gina Tricots staff to become more knowledgeable in the textiles and thus be able to help customers in an accurate and professional manner.Working closely with our external and internal trainers, we have figured out what the handbook of textiles consists of. These are fabric, knitted and rough knits, the different natural fibers, artificial fibers and mixed fibers that the company uses, untreated and treated denim, as well as dyeing and printing. Beyond these points, we have also chosen details, laundry symbols, questions and answers, as well as a maintenance overview. Below the different fibers are their characteristics and care, to more easily find the information you seek.It has been important to find a balance in order to get as much information as possible in the handbook of textiles, without making it too complicated for the staff. It was similarly with the language, that is, to produce a text as rich as possible, but without the difficult words, when all of the staff should understand the meaning of the text without any doubt. The handbook of textiles is also designed so that it is not necessary to read from cover to cover to understand the content, to make it as user friendly as possible.</p><p>Program: Textilingenjörsutbildningen</p>

Orientador: Mariângela Spotti Lopes Fujita / Banca: Maria de Fátima Gonçalves Moreira Tálamo / Banca: maria Isabel Asperti Nardi / Banca: Eduardo Wense Dias / Banca: José Augusto Chaves Guimarães / Resumo: A política de indexação deve ser representada por meio de uma filosofia que reflita os objetivos do sistema. Um dos aspectos concernentes à política de indexação diz respeito à conversão retrospectiva de dados e à compatibilidade de linguagem de indexação entre integrantes de um mesmo sistema cooperativo. Com o advento das tecnologias, foi possível pensar em cooperação entre bibliotecas e, conseqüentemente, em catalogação cooperativa. Esse novo panorama da catalogação trouxe um grande avanço para área: agilização da catalogação, diminuindo o tempo de serviço e otimizando esse processo, uma vez que há o aproveitamento de registros bibliográficos copiados de outras bases de dados. No entanto, houve outra conseqüência: o processo de identificação de assunto por meio da análise foi simplificado, reduzindo-o a uma simples operação de cópia , contemplando a forma do documento, e deixando de lado o conteúdo . Essa simplificação da prática nos remete a uma questão teórica e conceitual muito discutida, porém ainda não sedimentada, na área de Biblioteconomia: a conceituação de indexação e catalogação de assunto. A tese dessa pesquisa é considerar que as incoerências cometidas durante a indexação são resultados de desconhecimento da catalogação de forma e de conteúdo pelo bibliotecário, da ausência de política e manual de indexação para bibliotecas que serviriam como orientações ao trabalho do indexador e instrumento para sua formação em serviço, além de uma sistemática para identificação de conceitos. / Abstract: The indexing policy must be represented by means of a philosophy that reflects the system's aims. One of the aspects concerning the indexing policy is relating to the data retrospective conversion and the compatibility of indexing language among members of a same cooperative system. The appearing of the technologies made it possible to think of cooperation among libraries and, consequentely, of cooperative cataloguing. The new scene of the cataloguing brought a great advance to the field: agility of cataloguing, decreasing the time of service and optimizing this process, since it is possible the utilization of bibliographic records copied from other databases. Nevertheless, there were other consequence: the process of subject's cataloguing (indexing) was simplified reducing it to a simple operation of "copy", taking into account the document's "form", disregarding the "content". This practice simplification refers to a theoretical and high discussed conceptual matter, not yet well sedimented in Librarianship: the concept of indexing and subject cataloguing. The thesis of this research considers that the incoherences made during the indexing are results of non-discerment between descriptive cataloguing and subject cataloguing by the librarian, of the absence of policy and handbook of indexing for libraries which would be useful as guidelines to the indexer's work and instrument to his education in service, besides a systematics to identify concepts. We intend to present a theoretical methodological proposal for the working up of guidelines of indexing policy for the building of cooperative catalogs in university libraries, by means of the indexing process, from the socio-cognitive approach with librarians and users in the context of the university library, and in the conceptual perspective of the theoretical aspects that involve the indexing and the subject cataloguing. / Doutor

This thesis focuses on the ways in which theoretical models based in rhetorical studies can be used to enhance both the understanding and the practice of communication. In particular, my project shows that rhetoric and communication theory can provide a foundation for improving communication practice. <p>Every communicative act takes place within a context, as Lloyd F. Bitzer established. This same understanding of the centrality of situation to communicative effectiveness permeates the work of several other theorists whose work is discussed in this thesis, among them Wayne C. Booth, Kenneth Burke, George L. Dillon, Barnett Baskerville, and Donald Schon. <p>Using Bitzers conception of the rhetorical situation as the theoretical focus, two main concerns are addressed in the thesis: the relationship between rhetoric and the practice of technical communication, and the integration of theory and practice as the foundation of rhetorical understanding. The first three chapters present a series of theoretical models, and the practical use of this theory is tested by an exercise in writing a public speaking handbook for engineering undergraduates (presented as Chapter Four of the thesis). The audience for this handbook is specific and the purpose is narrow to give advice on preparing, practising, and presenting design presentations to professors and clients. This experiment is then followed by a reflection on the writing process and some conclusions about the relationship between rhetorical theory and communicative practice.<p> The key result of this research and case study is a deepened understanding of how rhetoric operates or how it should be studied. As a rhetorician, I found it discouraging even at times humiliating to discover how much difficulty I had in adapting my discourse to a specific audience. This research makes clear that an understanding of theory without a solid grounding in practice is insufficient for rhetorical mastery. While my original goal was to demonstrate the usefulness of theory to improving practice, this thesis shows as well the extent to which rhetorical theory also depends on an understanding of the demands and constraints of actual practice.

This thesis focuses on the ways in which theoretical models based in rhetorical studies can be used to enhance both the understanding and the practice of communication. In particular, my project shows that rhetoric and communication theory can provide a foundation for improving communication practice. <p>Every communicative act takes place within a context, as Lloyd F. Bitzer established. This same understanding of the centrality of situation to communicative effectiveness permeates the work of several other theorists whose work is discussed in this thesis, among them Wayne C. Booth, Kenneth Burke, George L. Dillon, Barnett Baskerville, and Donald Schon. <p>Using Bitzers conception of the rhetorical situation as the theoretical focus, two main concerns are addressed in the thesis: the relationship between rhetoric and the practice of technical communication, and the integration of theory and practice as the foundation of rhetorical understanding. The first three chapters present a series of theoretical models, and the practical use of this theory is tested by an exercise in writing a public speaking handbook for engineering undergraduates (presented as Chapter Four of the thesis). The audience for this handbook is specific and the purpose is narrow to give advice on preparing, practising, and presenting design presentations to professors and clients. This experiment is then followed by a reflection on the writing process and some conclusions about the relationship between rhetorical theory and communicative practice.<p> The key result of this research and case study is a deepened understanding of how rhetoric operates or how it should be studied. As a rhetorician, I found it discouraging even at times humiliating to discover how much difficulty I had in adapting my discourse to a specific audience. This research makes clear that an understanding of theory without a solid grounding in practice is insufficient for rhetorical mastery. While my original goal was to demonstrate the usefulness of theory to improving practice, this thesis shows as well the extent to which rhetorical theory also depends on an understanding of the demands and constraints of actual practice.