本研究旨在探討運用幼兒學習環境評量表-修訂版(ECERS-R)及幼兒園品質改善計畫(Program quality improvement plan)是否可作為一有效工具幫助幼兒園及幼兒教師提升幼兒園品質，並分析幼兒園的品質現況及提升幼兒園品質的歷程，最後綜合研究結果，提出研究結論。 本研究為「準實驗設計」，由研究者親自使用ECERS-R入園觀察與評分，並編製幼兒園品質改善計畫(Program quality improvement plan)作為幼兒園提升品質的執行藍圖。本研究以台北市及新北市共十所私立幼兒園作為研究對象，並將研究對象分為實驗組與對照組，實驗組則在前後與後測之間安排研究介入，用以驗證ECERS-R是否可作為一有效工具幫助幼兒園及幼兒教師提升幼兒園品質，幼兒園品質分數以統計軟體SPSS17.0for Windows進行處理，採用描述性統計及訪談整理等方法進行分析。 本研究之結論如下: 一、實驗組的幼兒園品質提升幅度大於對照組 二、透過ECERS-R及幼兒園品質改善計畫的介入，有效協助園所提升幼兒園品質 三、教師最常採取提升幼兒園品質的方法為提供多樣化的素材及安全衛生的環境 四、受限於空間、課程及其它因素影響，導致園所短期內無法擬定部分題項之改 善計畫 最後，研究者根據結論，對幼兒園實務面及未來研究提出具提建議，以期對未來幼教發展有所貢獻。 關鍵字: ECERS-R、幼兒園品質、提升幼兒園品質 / The purpose of this study are to explore the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scales-Revised (ECERS-R) and “Program quality improvement plan” could be an effective tool to help kindergartens and ECE teachers improve Kindergarten Quality ,and to analyze the status of quality and the process of quality improvement. Last, summarize the result of the study. The major method of this study is Quasi-experimental design , researcher used the ECERS-R to Observe and rating, also develops “Program quality improvement plan” as an blue point for kindergarten to improve quality . The subjects are ten kindergartens in Taipei City and New Taipei City and subjects were divided into experimental and control groups, experimental groups using pretest - intervention – posttest mode to demonstrate if ECERS-R could be an effective tool to help kindergartens and ECE teachers improve Kindergarten Quality. The scores of ECERS-R were analyzed by the statistical software SPSS17.0 for Windows using descriptive statistics, interview draft analysis. According to the case, the conclusions are as follows: 1. Enhance the quality of the experimental group was larger than the control group. 2. Kindergarten through the ECERS-R and“Program quality improvement plan”, to effectively assist kindergartens improve the quality of centers. 3. ECE teachers to improve the quality of the most common method to provide a variety of materials and environmental health and safety. 4. Limited space, curriculum, and other factors, led to the short term can not develop improvement plans. Finally, based on the conclusions of study, the researcher proposes some suggestions for practice in kindergarten and future research , hoping to contribute to the development of future early childhood education. Key words: ECERS-R, kindergarten quality, improve the quality of kindergartens

This master thesis analyses the housing cooperative´s capability to manageknowledge in order to improve its performances and create innovation. It is based on the analysis of elite interviews concerning the latest ten years of two Swedish housing cooperatives (bostadsrättsförenigar), which are Brf Grantorpand Brf Kullen that, because of their almost identical properties, made acomparison possible. Absorptive Capacity, which refers to the organization´s ability to identify, assimilate and apply knowledge in its specific context and Knowledge Management, which refers to the organization´s knowledge management activities, provided the basis for the theoretical framework. The empirical data show that, within the organizations, the main sources of knowledge are the Board members: when internal expertise knowledge is present then innovation takes place. Lack of policies in recruiting Board members means that innovation coming from within the organizations is always fortuitous, and depends on the individuals´ previous expertise knowledge. Even if the two years mandate constitutes a constrain in investing in knowledge development, it has been revealed that providing the Board members with a general knowledge in the housing cooperatives´ all-day activities constitutes a solid precondition to capture new opportunities: Brf Kullen acts in a more proactive way and actively identifies opportunities in the environment. Whilst Brf Grantorp does suffer the lack of basic knowledge and acts in a more passive way, waiting for someone else bringing in from the outside. However, both the organizations suffer the lack of explicit knowledge management policies. This is very noticeable when it comes to codification and storage: what is provided is essentially of tacit nature, and blanks out over and over again because it still remains in the members´ heads and it leaves when they leave the Board. Hence, both the organizations´ ability to exploit and transfer knowledge suffers lack of efficiency. Furthermore, even if they offer both formal and informal manners in order to share ideas between Board members, the activities are subject to each Board member´s commitment and time.

Syfte: Att skapa förutsättningar för en förbättrad cancervård, genom att fördjupa kunskapen och förståelsen om behov hos huvud- och halscancerpatienter under cancerprocessen. Därutö- ver önskas ett förbättrat omhändertagande genom att implementera och utvärdera kvalitetshö- jande förbättringsinsatser. Satsningen ska resultera i en trygg och smidig resa genom vården med ett minimum av avbrott mellan olika vårdhändelser. Metod: Patientens vårdkedja studerades med en fallstudie, utifrån en aktionsforskningsansats. Behoven identifierades med patientskuggning, reflektion från observationer och semistruktu- rerade fokusgruppsintervjuer med mikrosystemet, före (referensgrupp) och efter intervention (jämförelsegrupp). Analys genomfördes med kvalitativ innehållsanalys och Kano-modell. Resultat: En fast vårdkontakt var en viktig faktor i vårdkedjan. Den fasta vårdkontakten till- mötesgick behov såsom trygghet och tillgänglighet, vilket medförde en smidigare vårdkedja. Under hela vårdförloppet fanns ett stort behov av stöd, praktiskt liksom psykosocialt, från både profession och närstående. Oberoende av position i vårdkedjan önskades individanpas- sad information och ett gott bemötande. Interventionsgruppen rapporterade bättre tillgänglig- het och stöd i förhållande till jämförelsegruppen, som inte hade tillgång till kontaktsjukskö- terska. Involvering av hela mikrosystemet vid analys med Kano-modell medför att behov och förbättringsmöjligheter identifieras och valideras. Slutsatser: En kontaktsjuksköterska kan utgöra en fast vårdkontakt som tillmötesgår och sä- kerställer cancerpatienters behov. Närstående är en viktig del av mikrosystemet och måste beredas utrymme och resurser. En förbättringsinsats genom implementering av kontaktsjuk- sköterska, utformning av nutritions- och kvalitetsregisterrutiner baserat på patientens behov bidrar till god vård och minskar risken för resursslöseri. Studien har även bidragit med fördju- pad kunskap gällande applicering av Kano-modellen i Hälso- och sjukvårdsmiljö. / Purpose: To create opportunities for an improved cancer care, by providing deeper knowledge and understanding of the needs of head and neck cancer patients during the cancer treatment process. Furthermore, to improve care for these patients by implementing and eval- uating QI efforts. This will result in a safe and smooth journey through the care with a mini- mum of disruption. Method: The cancer treatment process was examined in a case study with an action research approach. Patient needs were identified by patient-shadowing, observational reflections and focus groups-interviews with the microsystem, before (non-intervention group) and after in- tervention (intervention group). The data analysis involved qualitative content analysis in- formed by Kano’s quality model. Results: A contact nurse (CN) was an important factor. The CN provided a sense of security and accessibility, giving patients a smoother trajectory of care. Continual support was needed, regarding both, practical and psychosocial matters, from both professionals and relatives. Re- gardless of position in the continuum of care, individual information and good reception was required. Members of the intervention group reported better accessibility and support com- pared to the non-intervention group members, who were not offered a CN. Conclusion: A CN can provide a continual health care contact; meeting and ensuring that the needs of cancer patients are met. Relatives are an important part of the microsystem and should be given space and resources. An improvement effort by implementing routines for a CN, quality registry and nutrition, based on patient needs will facilitate good care and opti- mise resources. The study has also contributed to deeper knowledge of how to use the Kano model in health care.

Pensijų reforma Lietuvoje. Magistro darbo problema yra galima socialinė, ekonominė reformuotos pensijų sistemos, apimančios valstybinę pensijų sistemą ir privačius pensijų fondus, rizika. Pensijų sistemos rizikos veiksnių minimizavimas turi būti numatytas teisės aktuose, pačioje pensijų sistemos struktūroje, jos valdyme. Būtina ��vertinti pensijų sistemą, jos struktūrą, reformos eigą, teisinę bazę ir nustatyti būdus, kuriais galima minimizuoti pensijų sistemos reformos riziką ir užtikrinti efektyvią socialinę apsaugą visuomenei. Šis procesas turi būti tęstinis. Magistro darbo tikslas buvo išnagrinėti pensijų reformos riziką ir pasiūlyti jos minimizavimo būdus gerinant socialinę apsaugą Lietuvoje. Siekiant šio tikslo, įgyvendinti šie Magistro darbo uždaviniai: išnagrinėta pensijų reforma socialinės gerovės vystymo sąlygomis ir teoriniai pensijų sistemos rizikos veiksniai; išanalizuota pensijų reformos eiga Lietuvoje; išskirti ir išnagrinėti pensijų reformos rizikos veiksniai Lietuvoje; atlikti empiriniai tyrimai, įvertinta pensijų reformos rizika; pasiūlyti būdai pensijų reformos rizikai minimizuoti. Padaryta išvada, jog pagrindiniai būdai pensijų reformos ir sistemos rizikai minimizuoti, tai teisinės bazės tobulinimas, pensijų sistemos kontrolės ir administravimo struktūros gerinimas, visuomenės tinkamas informavimas apie pensijų sistemą, jos rezultatus ir riziką. Taip pat turi būti įdiegta privačių pensijų fondų administratorių atsakomybė. Valstybinė pensijų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The pension reform in Lithuania. The problem of the research of Master’s work was the possible social, and economic risk of newly reformed pension system, including state social security system and private pension funds. The pension system risks must be managed through the laws, the management of the system and the control of the pension system. It is important to analyze the possible risk and to forecast them in order to improve its management. This process should be continuous. The main goal of the Master’s work was to analyze the risk of pension system and to identify the ways to minimize the risk. In order to research this goal, the following questions were analyzed: the theoretical aspects of pension system organization in order to seek for the social benefits in the society; the pension reform process in Lithuania; the factors causing possible risk of pension system in Lithuania. The empirical research (questioner of 100 respondents) was made in order to identify how the citizens evaluate the pension system and its risks. Finally the ways to minimize the possible pension system risk were proposed. The main ways to minimize the person risk are to improve the laws, the pension system control and administration structure, to inform the society properly about the system, its results and risk. The legal responsibility of private pension funds administrators should be implemented as well. The state social security system will be possibly meeting the risk factors too. In... [to full text]

Waste, that is any matter whether gaseous, liquid or solid or any combination thereof, originating from any residential, commercial or industrial area identified as undesirable or superfluous by-product, emission, residue or remainder of any process or activity tends to be a hazard to the environment. Waste is generated in all processes which transform materials from one state, form or medium to another. The management of waste in the Sedibeng District Municipality is a very complex problem. There are many reasons for this and these include: the diverse and voluminous waste stream; progressive accumulation of waste in the environment; large numbers of unpermitted waste disposal sites; the severe shortage of hazardous waste disposal sites and shortage of personnel in local municipalities qualified to implement existing legislation. The accumulation of waste in the district not only poses a serious and growing threat to health and quality of life, but also causes infrastructural damage such as the blocking of storm water drains and sewer by litter which ultimately leads to costly road and pavement destruction and increase in maintenance costs. The objective of the study was to investigate waste management activities in the Sedibeng District Municipality and to explore best practices as strategies for recommendations. The Sedibeng District Municipality comprises three local municipalities namely the Emfuleni, Lesedi and Midvaal Local Municipalities. Due to the fact that the Municipality forms part of the industrial hub of the Gauteng Province, there has been an excessive influx of the people into the district and, as a result, more houses had to be built and more normal urban services such as electricity, sanitation, water and waste, had to be provided. The study intended to investigate different waste management strategies that are employed by the three local municipalities that could help reduce the impacts and volumes of waste that are generated by residents before such waste could pollute the environment. A further objective was to explore possible waste reduction mechanisms such as recycling that can help reduce waste volumes before they reach the disposal site. Arising from the problem statement on waste management for this study, it is important that the locus of this study be directed towards the solution of the problem on waste management activities in the Sedibeng District Municipality The following hypothesis was accordingly formulated: Waste management strategies and practices as currently practised in the Sedibeng District Municipality are obsolete, outdated and inadequate to attain a cleaner environment and as a result, there is a need to explore the development of more cost effective strategies in waste management. Comparative study of the different strategies that are employed in the three local municipalities as well as the challenges they face when providing the required service, were made. Similar study was applied to the achievements that are recorded as findings of the study. The challenges and success stories highlighted in the study were found through the use of questionnaires that were distributed to respondents in the three local municipalities. Questionnaires for the study were compiled for both councilors and municipal officials. The research instruments for the study included questionnaires, interviews and consultations with members of the community. Further technique was participant observation, the researcher being responsible for the provision of refuse removal services to the Evaton and Sebokeng communities. Amongst others, it was found that: discrepancies existed in the waste management processes and these include the following: • There was a serious problem of personnel shortage in municipalities as a result of financial constraints that led to nonreplacement of personnel who went on retirement, resigned or died; • Existing equipment do not compliment the growing population figures as well as the sizes of the municipality and as a result, residents opted to dump waste at their backyards as an alternative procedure for disposal of waste from their homes, and • Problems attributed to illegal dumping increase each day and their resolution will be a function of implementation of compliance with legislation. • Community awareness of refuse collection schedule is at minimum, a situation which leads to illegal dumping of waste, and • Tariff on refuse removal is deemed to be prohibitive to African residential areas. The study ends with recommendations for management action on waste, and for further research. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Public Management and Administration))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

Waste, that is any matter whether gaseous, liquid or solid or any combination thereof, originating from any residential, commercial or industrial area identified as undesirable or superfluous by-product, emission, residue or remainder of any process or activity tends to be a hazard to the environment. Waste is generated in all processes which transform materials from one state, form or medium to another. The management of waste in the Sedibeng District Municipality is a very complex problem. There are many reasons for this and these include: the diverse and voluminous waste stream; progressive accumulation of waste in the environment; large numbers of unpermitted waste disposal sites; the severe shortage of hazardous waste disposal sites and shortage of personnel in local municipalities qualified to implement existing legislation. The accumulation of waste in the district not only poses a serious and growing threat to health and quality of life, but also causes infrastructural damage such as the blocking of storm water drains and sewer by litter which ultimately leads to costly road and pavement destruction and increase in maintenance costs. The objective of the study was to investigate waste management activities in the Sedibeng District Municipality and to explore best practices as strategies for recommendations. The Sedibeng District Municipality comprises three local municipalities namely the Emfuleni, Lesedi and Midvaal Local Municipalities. Due to the fact that the Municipality forms part of the industrial hub of the Gauteng Province, there has been an excessive influx of the people into the district and, as a result, more houses had to be built and more normal urban services such as electricity, sanitation, water and waste, had to be provided. The study intended to investigate different waste management strategies that are employed by the three local municipalities that could help reduce the impacts and volumes of waste that are generated by residents before such waste could pollute the environment. A further objective was to explore possible waste reduction mechanisms such as recycling that can help reduce waste volumes before they reach the disposal site. Arising from the problem statement on waste management for this study, it is important that the locus of this study be directed towards the solution of the problem on waste management activities in the Sedibeng District Municipality The following hypothesis was accordingly formulated: Waste management strategies and practices as currently practised in the Sedibeng District Municipality are obsolete, outdated and inadequate to attain a cleaner environment and as a result, there is a need to explore the development of more cost effective strategies in waste management. Comparative study of the different strategies that are employed in the three local municipalities as well as the challenges they face when providing the required service, were made. Similar study was applied to the achievements that are recorded as findings of the study. The challenges and success stories highlighted in the study were found through the use of questionnaires that were distributed to respondents in the three local municipalities. Questionnaires for the study were compiled for both councilors and municipal officials. The research instruments for the study included questionnaires, interviews and consultations with members of the community. Further technique was participant observation, the researcher being responsible for the provision of refuse removal services to the Evaton and Sebokeng communities. Amongst others, it was found that: discrepancies existed in the waste management processes and these include the following: • There was a serious problem of personnel shortage in municipalities as a result of financial constraints that led to nonreplacement of personnel who went on retirement, resigned or died; • Existing equipment do not compliment the growing population figures as well as the sizes of the municipality and as a result, residents opted to dump waste at their backyards as an alternative procedure for disposal of waste from their homes, and • Problems attributed to illegal dumping increase each day and their resolution will be a function of implementation of compliance with legislation. • Community awareness of refuse collection schedule is at minimum, a situation which leads to illegal dumping of waste, and • Tariff on refuse removal is deemed to be prohibitive to African residential areas. The study ends with recommendations for management action on waste, and for further research. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Public Management and Administration))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

This report generally focuses on the process of getting medicine from the pharmacy in the hospital. The processes are different in Sweden and in China due to the different concrete conditions. Compared with the Swedish process the Chinese flow lags fairly far behind. To optimize the Chinese process by taking advantage of the Swedish process is the intention of this report; it also gives the advice on how to improve the performance for the Swedish process. By comparing the multiple theories for process improvement, I used Business Process Reengineering (BPR) theory to reengineer the Chinese process and used Continues Process Improvement (CPI) theory to ameliorate the Swedish process. The differences between BPR and CPI are also revealed in this report.

Maternal and newborn health is one of the main indicators of a good health system. The study wished to develop a strategy to improve the referral system for maternal and newborn care. To identify issues for improvement, the researcher explored the appropriateness of referrals, referral pathways and challenges, and provider costs for maternal and newborn care at health centres and hospitals levels. The researcher selected a sequential explanatory mixed method research design. Two primary hospitals and six health centres were purposively selected for participation. The first phase collected quantitative data by reviewing the health facilities’ medical records for services provided and health service costing, respectively. Data collection covered one Ethiopian fiscal year (8 July 2017 to 7 July 2018). Based on the existing human resource arrangement and care needs, the health service costing found that a single midwife at health centre level spent half of the expected time for delivery care. The cost estimates of various types of care delivery care indicated that delivery care at health centre and hospital levels cost $27.5 to $30.2, and $34.7 to $37.8, respectively. The primary hospitals incurred four times the cost for newborn intensive care units and Caesarean sections compared to normal delivery care. In the second phase, the researcher collected qualitative data from 26 purposively selected key informants in interviews. The findings indicated that the selected hospitals and health centres had a referral system, but several factors impeded its effective implementation. Knowledge of referral pathways determined the referral practices at the lower level of the system. The number of inappropriate referrals to primary hospitals indicated a need to mobilize and educate the community on the services available and protocols of care. In general, most referrals could have been managed at health centre level. Emergency medical transportation is a critical component of the referral system; delays in transportation determine the outcome of care at hospital level. Ambulance management was generally poor, lacked a tracking system, and was negatively affected by confusion and lack of coordination between facilities. The available ambulances were not well equipped or well-staffed for emergency management. Moreover, there were frequent breakdowns due to limited budget for maintenance and running costs. The quality of maternal care depends on the quality of the labour monitoring. However, partograph utilization was not consistently practised. Admitted cases were not properly monitored because of the high caseload and limited supervision support. In many cases, healthcare professionals tended to “treat charts” rather than promote evidencebased practice while providing care. The quality of practice was challenged by insecurity in the working environment but strengthened by good teamwork and available consultation support. The implementation of the existing referral system depended on the people involved; the use of performance indicators; follow up by management, and an accountability framework. The findings of the two phases of the study and review of other countries’ experiences on the identified problems, led to the development of draft strategy and then a consultation with relevant experts produced the final strategy. The strategy includes interventions to improve the practices at the sending and receiving facilities as well as suggestions to improve the communication, transportation and overall governance system. Then, taking into consideration all the phases of the study, the researcher makes recommendations for practice and further research. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Healht Studies)

This study aims at exploring the quality of the Swedish and Norwegian national tests using their respective model texts for assessing. The study does so by relating them to the CEFR and the grading tool Write & Improve within the context of the two countries and the field of language testing. The study finds there to be a set of inconsistences between what the national tests want to do and what they actually do. In particular, the study finds the Swedish national test not to be up to its own standards.

In consulting firms one of the goals is to have the consultants on an assignment with an external client to bring in capital. In some consulting firms, when the consultants are not on an assignment with a client, they work on internal projects until a new assignment arrives. Since most of the team members do not work for more than a few days or weeks on the projects, it leads to a high team member turnover. In projects with such a turnover, problems such as hasty handovers, unclear roles and responsibilities and low-quality documentation may occur. The purpose of this thesis was to create guidelines to improve teamwork in teams with a high team member turnover. This thesis was based on a case study of a company specializing in information technology and management consulting. To begin to tackle this problem, a literature review was conducted and the data was collected by conducting interviews. The interviews were performed with team members that had been on a project for the longest and shortest period of time in order to identify problems from different perspectives. Based on the interviews and the literature study, guidelines were created to counteract the problems experienced in this type of volatile teams. The guidelines are categorized in four areas: processes, resources, people and long-term perspective. The areas cover the problems experienced and can be ultimately implemented in all teams with high team member turnover to improve teamwork in software projects. / I konsultföretag är ett av målen att konsulterna ska vara på uppdrag hos en extern kund för att dra in pengar. I vissa konsultföretag, när konsulterna inte är hos en extern kund, arbetar de på interna projekt tills dess att ett nytt uppdrag kommer. Eftersom de flesta teammedlemmar inte jobbar i mer än några dagar på dessa interna projekt leder det till en hög omsättning av projektmedlemmar. I projekt med den typen av höga omsättning kan problem uppstå som förhastade överlämningar, otydliga roller och skyldigheter samt lågkvalitativ dokumentation. Målet med denna uppsats var att skapa riktlinjer för att förbättra lagarbete i teams med hög omsättning av projektmedlemmar. Denna uppsats var baserad på ett fallstudie på ett företag som är specialiserat på informationsteknik och management consulting. För att börja tackla detta problem utfördes en litteraturstudie och data samlades in genom intervjuer. Intervjuerna utfördes med de teammedlemmar som har deltagit i projektet längst respektive kortast tid, för att identifiera problemen utifrån olika perspektiv. Baserat på intervjuerna och litteraturstudien, skapades riktlinjer för att motverka dessa problem som uppstår i sådana typer av rörliga team. Riktlinjerna kan kategoriseras i fyra områden: processer, resurser, människor och långtids perspektiv. Dessa områden täcker de upplevda problemen och kan implementeras av teams som har hög omsättning av medlemmar för att förbättra arbetet inom teamet i mjukvaruprojekt.