Intensive Care Units (ICUs) account for over 10 percent of all US hospital beds, have over 4.4 million patient admissions yearly, approximately 360,000 deaths, and account for close to 30% of acute care hospital costs. The need for critical care services has increased due to an aging population and medical advances that extend life. The result is efforts to improve patient outcomes, optimize financial performance, and implement models of ICU care that enhance quality of care and reduce health care costs. This retrospective chart review study examined the dose effect of APN Intensivists in a surgical intensive care unit (SICU) on differences in patient outcomes, healthcare charges, SICU length of stay, charges for APN intensivist services, and frequency of APNs special initiatives when the SICU was staffed by differing levels of APN Intensivist staffing over four time periods (T1-T4) between 2009 and 2011. The sample consisted of 816 randomly selected (204 per T1-T4) patient chart data. Study findings indicated reported ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) rates, ventilator days, catheter days and catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) rates increased at T4 (when there was the lowest number of APN Intensivists), and there was increased pressure ulcer incidence in first two quarters of T4. There was no statistically significant difference in post-surgical glycemic control (M = 142.84, SD= 40.00), t (223) = 1.40, p = .17, and no statistically significant difference in the SICU length of stay among the time-periods (M= 3.27, SD = 3.32), t (202) = 1.02, p= .31. Charges for APN services increased over the 4 time periods from $11,268 at T1 to $51,727 at T4 when a system to capture APN billing was put into place. The number of new APN initiatives declined in T4 as the number of APN Intensivists declined. Study results suggest a dose effect of APN Intensivists on important patient health outcomes and on the number of APNs initiatives to prevent health complications in the SICU.

This thesis explores to role of theatre in the lives of criminalized women. It seeks to better understand the ways in which theatre initiatives can be used as a tool for participants through various means, such as potentially being a form of self-expression, or a way to gain voice. This exploration was facilitated by conducting a case study of the Clean Break Theatre Company, a theatre company for criminalized women in London, England. Data was collected through performance and course observations and interviews with twelve women. The final themes shape the exploration as participants identify the importance of self expression through theatre, and its ability to aid in personal transformation or growth. Theatre initiatives are important because they create a unique lens into the experiences of these women, as well as being used as a tool for change in their lives.

The implication and rise of the fashion industry is not only affecting its consumers, but the whole world. As the fashion industry is proclaimed to be one of the largest contributors to climate change, and makes up for 4.8% of Swedish consumption (Centrum för konsumptionsvetenskap, 2016, p. 12), it is timely that more sustainable approaches must be taken. Disposing of one’s textiles is a vital part to reaching a more sustainable consumption, since many textiles can be recycled for redesign or to extract fibres. Post-retail initiatives are set out by many fashion firms, where they extend services to their customers in order to aid in sustainable clothing care or helping them dispose of their textiles in a more sustainable manner. The purpose of this study is to understand the perception of male consumers, a demographic that is often overlooked in fashion studies, and how they perceive post-retail initiatives, as well as looking into how male consumers take responsibility for their clothes after use. The following research questions: How are post-retail initiatives perceived by millennial men? How are sustainable clothing collections from a fast fashion company perceived by men? How do men take responsibility for their clothing when they are finished using them? Where does the responsibility lie of recycling clothes?   By using a qualitative method, in terms of semi-structured interviews, 8 participants were interviewed and questions with different themes such as: CSR, post-retail initiatives, sustainable consumption, behaviour and attitude towards sustainable consumption, fast fashion, and hedonism vs utilitarianism were used to code the data for analysis. The inductive nature of the study allowed for a model to be derived after data collection. By adapting a technological acceptance model (TAM) and a model for decision making of sustainable consumption the sustainable acceptance model (SAM) was made to interpret how external variables contribute to perceptions of sustainability and post-retail initiatives and how that can instigate a changed attitude or behaviour.    The SAM model helped to answer the research questions and showed that for perceptions to be formed, social and individual factors played a large role. One’s social context as well as situational and individual factors play a role in the perception of post-retail initiatives. The bearers of responsibility for textile recycling was believe to be in the hands of the municipalities, not the fashion industry, as they have a bigger influence of creating situational opportunities to instigate awareness for recycling textiles.   The findings show that perceptions of post-retail initiatives are derived from influences from external variables. Convenience plays a large role in perception as something that is perceived well must also be easily accessible. Clothing collections are not perceived well as availability over other convenient choices are not present. Responsibility for clothing varies from sale to donation, but an understanding was made that the lack of knowledge on where to dispose sustainably was limited. Responsibility for recycling clothing was said to be from a municipal level not the [clothing] industry level.

Human behavior varies widely as does the design of spoken dialog systems (SDS). The search for predictors to match a user’s preference and efficiency for a specific dialog interface type in an SDS was the focus of this research. By using personality as described by the Five-Factor Method (FFM) and the Wizard of Oz technique for delivering three system initiatives of the SDS, participants interacted with each of the SDS initiatives in scheduling an airline flight. The three system initiatives were constructed as strict system, which did not allow the user control of the interaction; mixed system, which allowed the user some control of the interaction but with a system override; and user system, which allowed the user control of the interaction. In order to eliminate gender bias in using the FFM as the instrument, participants were matched in gender and age. Participants were 18 years old to 70 years old, passed a hearing test, had no disability that prohibited the use of the SDS, and were native English speakers. Participants completed an adult consent form, a 50-question personality assessment as described by the FFM, and the interaction with the SDS. Participants also completed a system preference indication form at the end of the interaction. Observations for efficiency were recorded on paper by the researcher. Although the findings did not show a definitive predictor for a SDS due to the small population sample, by using a multinomial regression approach to the statistical analysis, odds ratios of the data helped draw conclusions that support certain personality factors as important roles in a user’s preference and efficiency in choosing and using a SDS. This gives an area for future research. Also, the presumption that preference and efficiency always match was not supported by the results from two of the three systems. An additional area for future research was discovered in the gender data. Although not an initial part of the research, the data shows promise in predicting preference and efficiency for certain SDS. Future research is indicated.

The waterfront community of Sydhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark is architecturally praised, but also criticized for its lack of public green space. Residents in the area have self-organized a community gardening initiative to combat this lack of greenery. The thesis aims to explore this occurrence by providing an analysis of the attitudes and behaviors towards social and environmental aspects of sustainability and individual residents’ resistance or support towards community gardening initiatives. The research design is based on quantitative methods with an exploratory purpose, using an online survey methodology. The main findings show that there is an association among knowledge of sustainability concepts, sustainable attitudes and behaviors, and interest in community gardening participation in the study population. Moreover, individuals who indicate no interest in community gardening lack a desire to join in the future, although they may be encouraged to do so with more education and advertisement. Generally, the study population feels positively towards community gardening and feels there is a need for it in the area. Further research may investigate aspects such as politics and policies related to community gardening and replicate a similar study in a different sociodemographic context to see how the results differ. The results of this study have practical implications for academics, built environment practitioners, and community gardening organizers.

The Myanmar Peace Support Initiative (MPSI) was a program launched in March 2012, following a request from the government of Myanmar to the government of Norway to lead international support to the Myanmar peace process. The initiative was implemented over a period of three years bringing together and facilitating collaboration amongst various stakeholders in the peace process. The focus of this research was a case study that analyzed to what extent the MPSI, and more specifically the community consultation mechanism of MPSI, was able to successfully incorporate the key aspects of communication for development. The method or approach used consisted of conducting a thorough document analysis, in depth focus interviews, and some limited observations. The study concluded that some limited elements of behavior change communication were incorporated into the MPSI but this was done more by the different partner organizations than by the MPSI mechanism itself. Communication for social change and communication for advocacy were central components of the MPSI initiative, including cross cutting issues. Factors to strengthen and enable communication however were conspicuously lacking which hindered the further expansion and success of the project. This research has assessed the impact / effectiveness of the community consultations implemented by the Myanmar Peace Support Initiative (MPSI) was proportional to the extent that the initiative was able to incorporate the specific communications for development elements as defined by the UN and used as a standard measurement tool to define the elements from a unified developmental perspective. These findings could also potentially be generalized in order to improve the implementation of similar projects in other future peace support contexts that involve international governmental and organizational support.

The thesis I have put forward deals with the issue of remuneration of employees in a typical company. Remuneration is an area which is very important to employees as it can motivate workers to achieve maximum performance. I aim to review the remuneration system on the basic of results and how it can motivate workers.

The aim of this thesis is upgrading the existing remuneration system that supports employee performance, and thus performance across the organization. Analyze the current situation in the particular company and on that basis to suggest possible changes in the existing system of employee compensation. The work is detailed in the company BGS Energy Plus, Inc., which makes use of market opportunities in renewable energy.

This dissertation thesis is trying to find and apply a political-geographical approach to the study of political activities of the civil society. At first, it searches it theoretically, for example on the bases of theories of democracy, relations among the state and civil society, social capital etc. It stresses an importance of an active role of a citizen as an actor in liberal democracy, in a complex society, but also a conflictful character or forms of a part of civil society, which, by its public control, finally contributes to strengthening and maintaining of democracy. It also admits a possible risk of conflict with representative democracy. The thesis tends towards those approaches which investigate the relationship of the civil society with the state and the commercial sphere, in which conflicts occur in the (public) space and about the space. Thereafter, the issue is studied empirically on the example of local and regional level in the Liberec Region, where impacts of a hierarchical level, a distance from the centre, the territory resettled after the Second World War and other possible geographical influencing factors. As the data source about the organisations and activities of the civil society the thesis uses namely these three items: (i) data from the Register of Economical Subjects...

Face à l’augmentation des demandes d’asile en France, le dispositif national d’accueil (DNA) est saturé : les hébergements d’urgence se multiplient mais ne suffisent pas à pallier le manque de capacités matérielles, financières et humaines. Toutefois, une diversité d’acteurs se mobilisent en faveur des demandeurs d’asile. De nombreux collectifs se créent et viennent soutenir et compléter l’accompagnement offert par les associations traditionnelles, sous contrat avec l’OFII. Cette étude de cas réalisée dans le Morbihan, en Bretagne, analyse les interconnections entre trois plateformes d’accueil (institutionnelle, associative et citoyenne) afin de proposer une image globale, claire et synthétique de l’organisation de l’accueil à l’échelle locale : de l’hébergement à l’accompagnement. Ce travail prend la forme d’une thèse par articles afin de faciliter sa publication future. Cette recherche qualitative repose sur une analyse par théorisation ancrée qui suppose une approche inductive et abductive. Elle s’appuie essentiellement sur des entretiens semi-dirigés et de la littérature grise. Cette thèse montre que la société civile joue un rôle important en ce qu’elle est vectrice d’initiatives de solidarités fortes. Les activités bénévoles sont souvent prises pour acquises et font l’objet de peu d’attention dans la société française alors qu’elles sont une réelle plus-value pour les demandeurs d’asile. Par l’entremise d’actions de proximité, de contacts humains, les habitants engagés offrent un accompagnement social en profondeur, ce que ne peuvent pas toujours faire les professionnels de l’accueil : faute de temps et de moyens.