This thesis has examined and compared physical accessibility to primary care facilities, or health centers, in two rural regions, one located in Sweden, and one located in Norway. The study areas are Västerbotten county in Sweden, and Nordland county in Norway. The analysis has been conducted via a service area analysis in ArcGIS, where the relative distance in terms of travel time to the health center determines accessibility. Good accessibility is defined as less than an hour of total travel time, including the return journey. Overall, accessibility is good in both study areas with around 95% of the population having good accessibility, while a vast majority of people live within five minutes one way to the nearest health center. However, there is a difference between the two study areas, where the Västerbotten population generally has better accessibility than their Norwegian counterpart. These differences are despite the fact that Nordland has almost double the amount of health centers that Västerbotten has. Overall, these differences appear to primarily be due to differences in population pattern, which in turn can be seen as a part of the difference in regional policy between the two countries, although it is hard to pinpoint the full effect that regional policy has on primary care accessibility.

Background: Business relationships and networks are becoming increasingly complicated and multi-layered. Thus, understanding the structure of the network in question becomes pertinent as it can have a strong impact on competition and collaboration. In these networks, one can observe coopetition, or simultaneous cooperation and competition. Objectives: This master’s thesis explores the phenomenon of coopetition within the telecommunication sector in the county of Blekinge, Sweden. It aims to identify their network structure and the differences among the levels of the network. Methodology: An explorative study is carried out by employing a mixed methods approach, incorporating quantitative data collection and analysis methods, and qualitative discussion and interpretation. In this network analysis of a case study on the telecommunication network, different levels of the cooperation network are compared and then integrated into one and mapped out using Social Network Analysis (SNA). Results: According to the findings we can assume coopetition to be present within the telecommunications firms in Blekinge, revealing a fragmented and decentralized cooperative network structure with a few central nodes. The network contained five distinct cliques and presented an intermediate level of clustering and significant heterophily. At all network levels, fragmentation was evident, accompanied by a low average degree and density. Notably, the Board member level demonstrated resilience against node removal, while the Blue Science Park level displayed a preferential attachment mechanism that promotes network growth. Conclusions: Overall, this research enhances our knowledge of coopetition in the telecommunications industry. It has both practical and theoretical implications, providing a solid foundation for informed decision-making, fostering collaboration, and contributing to the sustainable development of Blekinge's telecommunication industry.

Causal inference on networks often encounters interference problems. The potentialoutcomes of a unit depend not only on its treatment but also on the treatments of its neighbors in the network. The classic causal inference assumption of no interference among units is untenable in networks, and many fundamental results in causal inference may no longer hold in the presence of interference. To address interference problems in networks, this thesis proposes a novel Network Embedding Matching (NEM) framework for estimating causal effects under network interference. We recover causal effects based on network structure in an observed network. Furthermore, we extend the network interference from direct neighbors to k-hop neighbors. Unlike most previous studies, which had strong assumptions on interference among units in the network and did not consider network structure, our framework incorporates network structure into the estimation of causal effects. In addition, our NEM framework can be implemented in networks for randomized experiments and observational studies. Our approach is interpretable and can be easily applied to networks. We compare our approach with other existing methods in simulations and real networks, and we show that our approach outperforms other methods under linear and nonlinear network interference. / Statistics

This Master’s Thesis establishes what motivates a group of Mississippi farmers to participate in sustainable agriculture instead of industrial agriculture. A database of sustainable farmers was constructed in collaboration with the Gaining Ground Sustainability Institute of Mississippi. This research project used social network analysis with 28 farmers and participant observation and semi-structured interviewing with a purposively selected sample of 14 farmers. This project also explores the sustainable agricultural practices of participants. A map of the social network of sustainable agriculturalists in Mississippi is presented and shows that some farmers are well connected, some moderately connected, and others are isolated. As well, grounded qualitative analysis of interviews identified 4 primary motivations among participants: economic, health, self-sufficiency and anti-government. Overall this project found that motivations are numerous, social networks are weak but growing, and diverse demographics are turning to a sustainable model for agriculture in Mississippi.

Organizational decision making can be seen as a complex process due to the fact that decisions across organizational levels are generally interdependent, and have effects ranging from immediate to long-lasting. Reviewing decision making mathematical and process models, decision making is fundamentally characterized by multiple decision making steps from encountering a problem to determining a course of action. The first objective of this dissertation was the determination of the decision making model that a certain type of organization uses, and the establishment of a foundation for an organizational decision model framework. Decision making can be classified into three decision types: strategic, tactical, and operational. These types of decisions can be made throughout the organization ranging from an executive board to operating floor managers. A second objective of this dissertation was the determination of the decision making model that is used to make a certain decision type, and the continued development of an organizational decision making model framework. Beyond decision making occurring within the “traditional” organization structure, decision making can be influenced and occurs within the organizational social groups. These social networks established within the parent organization can make similar decisions to ones made within the “traditional” organizational structure. Metrics of social network analysis (SNA) were used to characterize the configuration of social networks associated with different organizational structures and types of decisions being made in the organization. These metrics showed organizational social networks had the same composition regardless of organizational structure and decision type, with one outlier that social networks would comprise of organizational members making the same type of organizational decision. The first two studies developed an organizational decision making model, respectively. These two studies’ results showed none of the five researched decision making models being representative of how an organization makes decisions. Ultimately, these studies’ results allowed a new organizational decision making model to be constructed.

Background. In order to deliver effective and efficient public health services, the best available research evidence should be considered when making public health decisions. The process of evidence-informed decision making (EIDM) involves searching for research evidence, appraising and synthesizing the high quality evidence, and adapting the evidence with consideration of local contextual factors and community preferences. For many public health departments achieving EIDM has been a challenge. Methods. This study aimed to learn how EIDM spread through interpersonal interactions within the health department of a provincial government in Canada. The health department was selected based on anecdotal evidence suggesting that ideas of EIDM had diffused within this department. Employees were invited to participate in an electronic survey about their interactions regarding EIDM. The data collected from this survey were analyzed using social network analysis methods. This helped to show how the interpersonal connections helped to spread the ideas of EIDM within the organization. Results. In this organization EIDM discussion occurred most often within the organizational divisions, whereas influence for EIDM often occurred both within and between divisions. The type of relationship that appeared most important in discussion of EIDM was colleague relationships, while supervisors were more important for encouraging use of EIDM. Furthermore, individuals in leadership positions within the organization were shown to have played an important role in the diffusion of EIDM. Limitations and Conclusions. Low participation resulted in a limited picture of the whole network of this organization. The use of social network analysis is a relatively novel approach for studying the diffusion of EIDM, and there are challenges to this approach that requires special consideration when working with organizations. / Thesis / Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

The adoptation of environmentally friendly behaviour is rather slow, although the climate crisis is pressing. This thesis aims to understand the slow adoption of environmentally friendly behaviour, specifically focusing on vegetarianism and veganism, by employing social network analysis. By simulating interactions within an agent-based model, the study explores different mechanisms that hinder the diffusion of these behaviours. The research findings highlight the significance of the complexity of the contagion in shaping the speed and extent of the diffusion process. While minimally complex contagions are able to infect half of the network on average, vegetarianism and veganism do not spread, due to their complexity. Additionally, the initial number of vegetarians/ vegans was found to be the main driver of infection speed, besides inter-connectedness. The study also explores the possibility of a social tipping point, a critical threshold at which the diffusion process accelerates or reaches a critical mass. However, the research did not observe a tipping point in the adoption of vegetarianism and veganism. By examining the slow adoption of vegetarianism and veganism as a complex contagion, this research contributes to the comprehension of concrete network effect. The findings provide valuable insights for designing interventions and strategies to promote the widespread adoption of vegetarianism, veganism, and other environmentally friendly practices.

No description available.

Increasingly, globalization and the adoption of a market economy have made innovation fundamental for the success of professional sport organizations. Yet oligarchical league structures, isomorphic and hyper-traditional cultures, and hierarchical organizational structures can enhance or hinder organizational creativity, the beginning stage of the innovation process. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to determine the antecedents of organizational creativity in professional sport organizations. Perception of organizational creativity is theorized to be influenced by employee creativity, work environment, and the social interactions of employees. The results, based on a survey of three professional sport organizations’ front offices, indicated perceptions of a work environment with a clear vision and better work processes were associated with greater perceptions of organizational creativity. The lack of relationships between many of the factors theorized to influence organizational creativity, such as an employee's advice network, could indicate the sport industry is unique in creativity management. This study is the beginning in understanding the first step of innovation, and the processes that influence employees’ perceptions regarding the ways in which their work environment relate to organizational creativity.

Efforts to improve university science education continue to emphasize the importance of active learning, including frequent formative assessment and timely feedback that helps students reach desired learning outcomes. Yet, nationwide, many instructors continue to use primarily lecture-based teaching methods, with limited use of formative assessment and feedback. Factors that affect instructor adoption and implementation of new teaching techniques include departmental norms, peer interaction, and classroom environment. In this work, a model of the impacts of departmental teaching and social norms and peer interactions on instructor innovation decision is presented. This model is then used to explore 1) instructor teaching-related interactions within a single biology department, assessing the conditions for innovation diffusion, and 2) instructor perceptions of norms and interactions in that department and their impact on decision-making. Finally, introductory biology instructors’ use of assessment and feedback techniques were characterized in a lecture hall and an active learning classroom to see how innovation adoption translates to specific assessment practice and investigate the impact of the active learning classroom. Results indicate that perceptions and practices vary widely, but that both peer interactions and active learning classrooms may have a positive impact on teaching innovation adoption and practices in a university biology department. In addition, the pattern of interactions within this department allows instructors of varying assessment experience to interact, making it potentially conducive to the spread of teaching ideas. The model and results presented here will assist in understanding the factors involved in instructor decision-making and can be leveraged to help promote the use of formative assessment and other evidence-based teaching practices.