Bakgrund: Cancer som är en livshotande sjukdom orsakar inte bara fysiska symptom utan även psykiska. Sjukdomen medför ovisshet som rör många olika aspekter, så som sjukdomsutveckling, behandling och framtid. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att belysa upplevelser av ovisshet hos personer med cancer. Metod: Studien genomfördes som en litteraturstudie baserad på vetenskapliga artiklar. Sammanlagt användes nio artiklar till resultatet som alla handlade om ovisshet vid cancer. Resultat: Resultatet presenteras i tre huvudkategorier med tillhörande subkategorier. Huvudkategorin Vad är orsaken till sjukdomen? andlar om sjukdomens uppkomst och varför just individen har drabbats. Hur är det att leva med cancer? handlar om personers bristande kunskap om sjukdomen och ovisshet angående behandlingen samt tilliten till vården. Hur ser framtiden ut? handlar om sjukdomens utveckling, behandlingsbiverkningar och omgivningen. Diskussion: I metoddiskussionen granskas studiens metod med hjälp av begreppen överförbarhet, giltighet och trovärdighet. I resultatdiskussionen diskuteras studiens viktigaste fynd. Det som belyses är vikten av information, problematiken till att ta ett beslut om behandling, vikten av tillit till vården och en diskussion angående varför just den enskilde individen har blivit drabbad. / Background: Cancer is a life threatening disease; it causes not only physical symptoms but also psychological. The disease leads to uncertainty in many aspects, such as disease progression, the treatment and the future. Purpose: The aim of this study is to highlight the experiences of uncertainty in people with cancer. Method: The study was conducted as a literature study based on scientific articles. Altogether nine articles where assembled to the results. The articles focused on the experiences of uncertainty in people with cancer. Results: The results are presented in three main categories and related subcategories. What’s the cause of the disease? which includes information about the origin of the disease.  What’s it like to live with cancer? which includes information about people's lack of knowledge, uncertainty about the treatment and trust in health care. What does the future hold? deals with the development of the disease, treatment side effects and surroundings. Discussion:  The method is discussed from the terms transferability, validity and credibility. The results most important findings are discussed: importance of information, the issues about making a treatment decision, the importance of trusting in health care and a discussion about why the individual have become a victim of cancer.

Dialogue, which developed by David Bohm, is a foundation of learning organization. But dialogue often considered as hard to understand. This research use more structural and simpler way to introduce this abstruse and abstract theory. Help people who want to learn dialogue easier to get a correct understanding. This research use theoretical review method to arrange three specialized books about dialogue which wrote by David Bohm, Linda Ellinor and Glenna Gerard, William Isaacs. Allocate in to five categories: summary about dialogue, problem cause by thought process which confront people and cross, how to learn dialogue, proceeding dialogue, dialogue in organization. In the last chapter, compares three books and present other findings during research.

This is an integrative literature review of the utilisation of reflexology as complementary and alternative treatment modality in adults with chronic disease. Anecdotal evidence has claimed potential health benefits of reflexology for patients with various chronic diseases. In this study, selected databases that were accessible were searched using keywords such as reflexology therapy, zone therapy and combinations thereof. Databases such as SA Nexus, SAePublications, ProQuest, Web of Knowledge, EBSCOhost Platform, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library and Google Advanced Scholar were searched for primary studies and reviews of primary studies from 2000 until the end of 2008 (N = 1171). Primary experimental and non-experimental studies in any language with an abstract in English were identified. Only studies that complied with the inclusion criteria were reviewed and appraised (n = 35) for study quality with appropriate tools from the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) and the American Dietetic Association's (ADA) Evidence analysis manual. Evidence extraction, analysis and synthesis were done to review available evidence by means of the evidence class rating and evidence grading of strength prescribed in the ADA's manual. Study findings represent a statistical significant reduction in the frequency of seizures of patients with intractable epilepsy, an improvement of sensory and urinary symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis and a clinical significant reduction of pain and anxiety in patients with cancer and fibromyalgia syndrome to increase overall well-being and quality of life. No statistical significant evidence was reported on benefits of reflexology for irritable bowel syndrome, menopausal symptoms, chronic low back pain and asthma. Thus there appears to be fair evidence of the effectiveness of reflexology, in addition clinical evidence supports the utilisation of reflexology to promote well-being and quality of life in adults with chronic disease. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010

This is an integrative literature review of the utilisation of reflexology as complementary and alternative treatment modality in adults with chronic disease. Anecdotal evidence has claimed potential health benefits of reflexology for patients with various chronic diseases. In this study, selected databases that were accessible were searched using keywords such as reflexology therapy, zone therapy and combinations thereof. Databases such as SA Nexus, SAePublications, ProQuest, Web of Knowledge, EBSCOhost Platform, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library and Google Advanced Scholar were searched for primary studies and reviews of primary studies from 2000 until the end of 2008 (N = 1171). Primary experimental and non-experimental studies in any language with an abstract in English were identified. Only studies that complied with the inclusion criteria were reviewed and appraised (n = 35) for study quality with appropriate tools from the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) and the American Dietetic Association's (ADA) Evidence analysis manual. Evidence extraction, analysis and synthesis were done to review available evidence by means of the evidence class rating and evidence grading of strength prescribed in the ADA's manual. Study findings represent a statistical significant reduction in the frequency of seizures of patients with intractable epilepsy, an improvement of sensory and urinary symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis and a clinical significant reduction of pain and anxiety in patients with cancer and fibromyalgia syndrome to increase overall well-being and quality of life. No statistical significant evidence was reported on benefits of reflexology for irritable bowel syndrome, menopausal symptoms, chronic low back pain and asthma. Thus there appears to be fair evidence of the effectiveness of reflexology, in addition clinical evidence supports the utilisation of reflexology to promote well-being and quality of life in adults with chronic disease. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010

New product development (NPD) is vulnerable to a wide variety of risks arising from within the firm or from the external environment. Existing categorizations of NPD project risks are partial or ill-defined and consequently there is no clear consensus among researchers and practitioners about what constitute NPD project risks. To address this gap, this thesis deploys a systematic literature methodology to inductively develop a comprehensive risk taxonomy from a review of 124 empirical studies. This taxonomy is then empirically validated through a survey capturing data from 263 NPD projects conducted by UK firms. The thesis further investigated the moderating effect of NPD project type (incremental or radical), firm size (SMEs and large firms) and industry sectors on the proposed risk taxonomy. Variation in the perceptions of NPD risk by different members of the team was explored as well. The findings revealed that the principal risk factors affecting NPD projects are technological rapidity risk, supply chain risk, lack of funding and resource risk. The risk profile of radical NPD projects differed to that of incremental projects. SMEs were more vulnerable to NPD project risks than large firms. Most risks influenced NPD projects equally across industrial sectors. Members of NPD project teams from different backgrounds or with different roles perceived risks differently. The proposed taxonomy and its subsequent empirical validation provides a comprehensive and robust taxonomy for identifying and managing risks associated with different types of NPD project conducted by firms of varying sizes from different industrial sectors.

Background: Medical complications in pregnancy can be a significant source of stress for pregnant women and their partners. Despite this, and evidence that anxiety is very common among perinatal women, little is known about the relationship between perinatal anxiety and medical complications in pregnancy. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to conduct a systematic review of the extant literature pertaining to medical complications of pregnancy and anxiety. Specific objectives were to (a) investigate differences in anxiety experience (symptoms and/or disorder) between women experiencing a medically complicated pregnancy and women experiencing a medically uncomplicated pregnancy, and (b) investigate the nature and scope of perinatal anxiety among women whose pregnancy is fraught with medical problems. Methods: The review was guided by the PRISMA reporting process. The electronic databases MEDLINE and PsycINFO were searched to identify studies that met the study inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and presented in a narrative form including tables and figures. An adapted form of the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale for case-control and prevalence studies was used to perform a quality assessment review. Results: Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings indicated that anxiety symptom severity was greater among women experiencing a medically complicated pregnancy compared to those experiencing an uncomplicated pregnancy. The prevalence studies in which symptoms of anxiety were assessed at various times during pregnancy indicate that, among women experiencing a medically high-risk pregnancy, reported symptoms were most severe at initial assessment. Though an exact estimate cannot be provided due to methodological differences, these studies reported the prevalence rates of anxiety symptoms to range from 7.8% to 46.9%. The included studies that used DSM-IV criteria concluded that the risk may be most significant for two disorders: obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Based on the overall quality of the available studies, the findings cannot be called as bias-free Conclusions: Women experiencing a medically complicated pregnancy appear to experience significantly more symptoms of anxiety compared to women experiencing a healthy pregnancy. / Graduate

New product development (NPD) is vulnerable to a wide variety of risks arising from within the firm or from the external environment. Existing categorizations of NPD project risks are partial or ill-defined and consequently there is no clear consensus among researchers and practitioners about what constitute NPD project risks. To address this gap, this thesis deploys a systematic literature methodology to inductively develop a comprehensive risk taxonomy from a review of 124 empirical studies. This taxonomy is then empirically validated through a survey capturing data from 263 NPD projects conducted by UK firms. The thesis further investigated the moderating effect of NPD project type (incremental or radical), firm size (SMEs and large firms) and industry sectors on the proposed risk taxonomy. Variation in the perceptions of NPD risk by different members of the team was explored as well. The findings revealed that the principal risk factors affecting NPD projects are technological rapidity risk, supply chain risk, lack of funding and resource risk. The risk profile of radical NPD projects differed to that of incremental projects. SMEs were more vulnerable to NPD project risks than large firms. Most risks influenced NPD projects equally across industrial sectors. Members of NPD project teams from different backgrounds or with different roles perceived risks differently. The proposed taxonomy and its subsequent empirical validation provides a comprehensive and robust taxonomy for identifying and managing risks associated with different types of NPD project conducted by firms of varying sizes from different industrial sectors.

Context: Since the beginnings of software engineering, metrics (such as SLOCs) and practices have been used in an attempt to measure and improve the features of software development projects, their process, or their contributors. Measuring and enhancing software ecosystem features brings a new complexity level because a software ecosystem comprises several interrelated software projects. Over the past two decades, software ecosystems have gained considerable attention, and researchers have proposed various metrics and practices to measure and improve software ecosystems' health. Objective: This thesis presents a systematic literature review that aims to build comprehensive taxonomies for software ecosystem health metrics and practices. These taxonomies synthesize the results of previous categorizations and update them with newer metrics and practices proposed since then. This study also aims to collect and synthesize all the definitions, metrics, and practices proposed to define, measure, and improve software ecosystem health in the literature. Method: I conducted a systematic literature review and identified 40 primary studies related to defining and measuring software ecosystem health. I extracted the definitions, metrics, and practices for software ecosystem health from the primary studies, and then I categorized the metrics and practices to build the taxonomies. Results: I identified a total of 7 different definitions for software ecosystem health, 142 different metrics, and 174 various practices for software ecosystem health. Our taxonomies for software ecosystem health metrics and practices have three categories (niche creation, productivity, and robustness). Each of these categories has several sub-categories of metrics and practices. Conclusion: Software ecosystems have a wide range of stakeholders that have different perspectives regarding software ecosystem health. To satisfy this spectrum, researchers have proposed various metrics and practices to measure and improve software ecosystems' health. To improve unifying contrasting opinions, I conducted this study. The metrics and practices proposed are diverse in both purpose and the data required to compute them. Some metrics are presented along with a method on how to compute them. In contrast, others are defined abstractly without an operational approach to calculate them, and some are mentioned without a clear rationale. Furthermore, the same metric or practice is often proposed in more than one publication using different names. This thesis addresses these alignment problems. / Graduate

Yes / Internet and social media have created new opportunities and challenges for marketing practices. This research provides a comprehensive analysis of the unanticipated consequences of interactive marketing. The current study focuses on a number of aspects of interactive marketing research such as consumer-to-consumer and consumer-to-company communications, consumer brand engagement, impact of social influencers and online buzz, impact of online advertisement, companies adoption and use of new technologies by companies, consumer empowerment by digital technologies, complain handling, impact of mobile advertising, co-creation, and impact of social media marketing. This research provides a valuable synthesis of the relevant literature. The findings of this study could be used as an informative framework for both academics and practitioners.

Yes / Smart cities can help in achieving UN SDG. This research carries out a comprehensive analysis of the role of smart cities on creating sustainable cities and communities, which is one of 17 UN sustainable goals. Current research focuses on number of aspect of sustainable environment such as renewable and green energy, energy efficiency, environmental monitoring, air quality, and water quality. This study provides a valuable synthesis of the relevant literature on smart cities by analysing and discussing the key findings from existing research on issues of smart cities in creating sustainable cities and communities. The findings of this study can provide an informative framework for research on smart cities for academics and practitioners.