Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Ever since the 1960's independence move, the African continent has been faced with dire economic and social realities, which were compounded by weak political leadership and state institutions. Although various socio-economic development initiatives, such as the 1980 Lagos Plan of Action and the eventual signing of the Abuja Treaty in 1991 purposed to support Africa's integration into the global economy through export orientated production and regional economic integration, there still existed an incoherency in the strategic response from the continent's political leaders towards regional and continental economic development strategies. While the foundation for establishing an African Economic Community has been laid through the Abuja Treaty within the framework of the Organisation for African Unity, regional economic and trade integration have been fragmented, with many dual and overlapping membership of regional economic communities. Integration endeavours have also often been impeded by national and sub-regional armed conflicts, and thus did not result in the desired levels of economic growth and expected increases in trade. The exigency to address Africa's severe poverty and unemployment, while at the same time placing the continent on a path of sustainable economic growth and development, made it clear that Africa had to take ownership and responsibility for its own development, while at the same time facilitating the continent's integration into the global political, economic, trade, and financial systems. Since Africa lacks sufficient development resources, African leaders realised the importance for support from the international community through more effective debt relief strategies in facilitating targeted domestic resource mobilisation, increased levels of development aid and trade access to developed nations' markets. In 2001 Africa produced its own integrated development initiative that was embodied in the New Partnership for Africa's Development, also known as NEPAD, premised on African leadership, ownership and partnership. Through NEPAD African leaders express a commitment to accountable and transparent political, financial, fiscal and monetary management in the absence of national and regional conflict, while calling on the international community and African and international private sectors to partnership with African governments in their development endeavours. At the same time, NEPAD identified critical sectoral priorities as preconditions for development that would facilitate greater flows of foreign direct investments. As operational sphere, NEPAD relies on prominent regional economic communities to address Africa's economic disadvantages and market fragmentation through development of trade linkages, harmonisation of regulatory frameworks and further regional trade liberalisation. The emphasis is on fostering a favourable African investment environment since it is acknowledged by African leaders that a prosperous private sector and business community are to be the engines of economic growth and development. The success of NEPAD as the socio-economic development plan of the newly formed African Union relies on the strength of only three supportive pillars namely: the sustained political visionary commitment from Africa's leaders, greater investments to the continent and trade access for Africa's products, and active participation from representative sectors of the private sector. Since NEPAD is a highly ambitious initiative, it is imperative that sub-regional strategies take precedence in ensuring NEPAD's long-term success. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sedert die onafhanklikheidsbeweging van die 1960's staar die Afrika-kontinent knellende ekonomiese en sosiale realiteite in die gesig. Realiteite wat deur swak politieke leierskap en staatsinstellings vererger is. Alhoewel verskeie sosio-ekonomiese ontwikkelingsinisiatiewe, soos die 1980 Lagos Plan van Aksie en die uiteindelike ondertekening van die Abuja-verdrag in 1991, beoog het om Afrika se integrasie in die wêreldekonomie te steun deur uitvoer-georiënteerde produksie en ekonomiese integrasie op streeksvlak, was die kontinent se politieke leiers se reaksie op regionale en kontinentale ekonomiese ontwikkelingstrategië inkoherent. Die fondasie vir die tot stand koming van 'n Afrika Ekonomiese Gemeenskap is deur die Abujaverdrag gelê binne die raamwerk van die Organisasie vir Afrika-eenheid, maar op streeksvlak was ekonomiese en handelsintegrasie gefragmenteerd - met 'n hoë voorkoms van dubbele en oorvleuelende lidmaatskap by regionale ekonomiese gemeenskappe. Pogings tot integrasie is ook dikwels deur gewapende konflikte, nasionaal en subregionaal, belemmer. Voorts het die gewenste vlakke van ekonomiese groei en verwagte toename in handel nie gerealiseer nie. Die dringendheid om Afrika se uiterste armoede en werkloosheid aan te spreek, en terselfdertyd die kontinent op 'n pad van volhoubare ekonomiese groei en ontwikkeling te plaas, het dit duidelik gemaak dat Afrika self verantwoordelikheid sal moet neem vir sy ontwikkeling, en daarteenoor die kontinent se integrasie in globale politieke, ekonomiese, handel-, en finansiële sisteme moet fasiliteer. Aangesien Afrika nie oor voldoende ontwikkelingsbronne beskik nie, het Afrika-leiers die belangrikheid besef van die internasionale gemeenskap se steun, d.m.v. meer effektiewe skuldlenigingstrategieë in die fasilitering van gefokuste plaaslike hulpbronmobilisasie, verhoogde vlakke van ontwikkelingshulp en handelstoegang tot markte van ontwikkelde nasies. In 2001 lewer Afrika sy eie geïntegreerde ontwikkelingsinisiatief wat vergestalt word in die Nuwe Vennootskap vir Afrika se Ontwikkeling (New Partnership for Africa's Development), ook bekend as Nepad, met Afrika-leierskap, -eienaarskap en -vennootskap as basis. Afrika-leiers betuig deur Nepad 'n verbintenis tot verantwoordbare en deursigtige politieke, finansiële, fiskale en monetêre bestuur in die afwesigheid van nasionale en streekskonflik, terwyl hulle die internasionale gemeenskap en internasionale en Afrika-privaatsektore nader vir vennootskap met Afrika-regerings in hulle ontwikkelingspogings. Nepad identifiseer terselfdertyd kritieke sektorale prioriteite as voorwaardes vir ontwikkeling, wat groter vloei van direkte buitelandse belegging sal vergemaklik. As operasionele sfeer, maak Nepad staat op prominente regionale ekonomiese gemeenskappe om Afrika se ekonomiese agterstande en markfragmentasie aan te spreek deur die uitbou van handelskakelings, harmonisering van regulatoriese raamwerke en verdere regionale handelsliberalisering. Die klem is daarop om 'n gunstige investeringsomgewing in Afrika te bevorder, aangesien Afrika-leiers erken dat 'n florerende privaatsektor en besigheidsgemeenskap die dryfkrag vir ekonomiese groei en ontwikkeling is. Nepad se sukses as die sosio-ekonomiese ontwikkelingsplan vir die nuut-gevormde Afrika-unie berus op die krag van slegs drie ondersteunende pilare, naamlik: die volgehoue politieke verbintenis tot die visie deur Afrika-leiers, groter beleggings in die kontinent en handelstoegang vir Afrika se produkte, en aktiewe deelname van verteenwoordigende sektore uit die privaatsektor. Met 'n hoogs ambisieuse inisiatief soos Nepad, is dit gebiedend noodsaaklik dat subregionale strategieë voorkeur geniet ten einde Nepad se langtermyn sukses te verseker.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: For more than a decade there has been an economic need to mitigate the negative effects of the air transport industry's innate sensitivity to cyclical developments as well as the effects of its inherent lack of substantial profits. The past 20 years were additionally marked by a change in policy that prompted various countries to liberalise and privatise their civil passenger air transportation industry. At the same time, airlines' business ambitions became more global, tapping into markets beyond countries' or continents' main gateways. All three aspects started to change the pattern of airline competition and required new business models. Key features of airlines' novel business models are geographic expansion and thus market development. Global expansion strategies and market development activities in passenger air transportation are, however, not easily and fluidly executable. The airline industry is, to some extent, still nationally regulated, thus impeding passenger airlines from fully participating in the global market-scene and from freely entering promising geographies. Concomitantly, the competitive landscape in which scheduled passenger airlines operate changed drastically, with travel value chains occasionally undergoing revolutionary transformations on both the supply and the demand side. Finally, the air transport service reveals several peculiarities that impact its production, distribution and consummation. These characteristics have inspired the execution of novel forms of competitive strategies that are described and critically discussed in this dissertation. Within this context, a main root cause for passenger airline partnerships appears to be its continued regulation and the circumvention thereof through the horizontal joining of forces, thus emulating concentration tendencies that have long been a fixture in other globalising industries. Consequently, horizontal interairline partnerships were induced and identified as a key competitive device with which to weather the challenges of the new air transport rivalry structures, the increasingly deregulated environment, and the impediments of sustained market regulation. All major airlines are now involved in some type of horizontal collaboration. The spectrum of these linkages is wide and ranges from loose, unattached, operative agreements to long-term, far-reaching, strategic ones, the most salient forms and instruments of which are thoroughly scrutinised in this dissertation. This dissertation additionally presents the general core inducing economic drivers of carrier interrelationship, which are cost reduction, revenue generation and corporate power considerations. While these aspects offer a multitude of possible partnership forms and instruments, the bulk of airline linkages, however, is presently constituted of joint revenue generation and, consequently, jointly pursued marketing and market expansion goals. In view of these causes, the present dissertation engages in a profound discussion of the rationales behind interairline partnerships, their likely evolution and effects on management practice. Essentially, the key importance of airline partnerships in meeting basic economic imperatives on the one hand, while circumventing persistent regulation on the other, questions the sustainability of incumbent carriers' current business models. There are clear indications that a structured sequence of events in establishing interairline linkages is a key success factor for horizontal airline partnerships. However, the empirical examination of contemporary partnerships' governance structures and managerial practice strongly points to a lack of ample tools with which to establish airline partnerships, select the appropriate match between alliance goals and intensity, and govern alliances during their entire life-cycles. This drawback seems particularly unacceptable in view of the urgent requirement for more appropriate managerial practice in today's discontinuous air transport business environment, and speaks loudly of the need for a framework with which to enhance airline partnership output. Most ideally, a coherent, structured sequence of events should be followed in partnership formation, organisational set-up and management in order to bring an alliance to fruition. On this basis, the establishment of a collaboration governance organisation, adequately mirroring the specific partnership type and meeting the specific demands of all partners involved, is equally identified and described as a fundamental success driver in this dissertation. Further structural, organisational and functional issues thereafter need to be considered in order to transform the joint business venture of two horizontally allied carriers into a venture for mutual success. The most essential of these are introduced in this dissertation. Synergy plays a central role in this context. Synergy, as the overreaching intention and result of working together towards a common goal, must be anchored as a prime objective of all forms of partnership activities. Synergy through interfirm linkages can be derived from various collaborative areas and is greatly influenced by both internal and external factors. One gauge for synergy, in particular for the transformation of synergy potentials into synergy effects, is partnership intensity. The measurement of partnership intensity can be used to perpetually monitor the benefits of partnership activities. At the same time, inconsistent or uneven partnership intensity can indicate the existence of dissynergies or frailties in the alliance. The underlying theories of collaborative synergy generation, its main drivers and impediments, with particular reference to horizontal partnerships of scheduled passenger airlines, are explored in this dissertation. In recognition of the theoretical and practical background of airline partnerships and the acknowledged problems associated with their establishment and operation, the present dissertation proposes a novel model dynamically supporting the quest for synergy in airline interrelationships. Incorporating the goals of synergy generation and its continual measurement in interairline partnerships, the synergy audit is designed as a dynamic managerial tool. The synergy audit functions as a recurring device for unleashing all the positive partnership benefits of collaborative scope and width. It aids airline alliance management in transforming the desired benefits of partnership activities - synergy potentials - into real, tangible synergy effects during the entire partnership life cycle. The tool A.PIE (Airline Partnership Intensity Evaluator) supports the synergy audit and, which idiosyncratic to the airline industry, multidimensionally applies the deduced relationship of partnership intensity and synergy to the most salient partnership areas and functions. The present dissertation shapes understanding of the true drivers and complexities of today's airline partnerships. It proposes a circular, multidimensional and dynamic model, thus attempting to enhance the set-up, performance and output of horizontal airline collaboration. From this point of view it endeavours to fill the gap identified in contemporary airline partnership management and practice. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sien asb volteks vir opsomming

現代創業投資活動主要崛起於第二次世界大戰後，我國自1984年引進創投事業發展迄今，對科技事業之發展頗具成效。然自2000年起政府基於租稅公平，取消促進產業升級條例原來賦予創投事業股東的投資抵減優惠，使得我國創投事業資金來源大幅減少。 目前我國創投事業面臨的困境有：一、資金募集困難；二、投資績效不彰；三、國內投資案源不足；四、欠缺熟悉國外創投運作的人才；五、國內外創業投資事業組織型態之不同；六、尚未能開放退休基金投資創投事業。 本研究係探討創投事業法制上相關問題，主要發現節錄如下：一、我國對創投事業之管制方式，已由管理放寬為輔導協助。二、建議適度放寬創投事業之資金來源限制。創投事業之資金來源甚廣，本研究討論之範圍為金融機構之投資限制、政府基金及四大基金之投資等。其中，放寬四大基金投資創投事業，向來為國內創投業界及創投公會之期望，然數年來仍未能達成該項目標。主要為：1.相關法令之限制，2.投資創投事業之風險控管問題。三、利用資本市場活動，協助創投事業退出。四、我國創投事業大部份係委託基金管理公司來管理，故形成雙層的公司治理結構，與國外創投契約型的治理結構不盡相同。五、引進國外有限合夥法制，與國際接軌。 惟引進有限合夥組織時，需考量制度本身之優劣，國情及使用者需求之不同。在有限合夥制度中，一般合夥人必須負無限清償責任，另一方面有限合夥人僅扮演出資者，完全不介入管理。對我國現行投資者習慣依出資比例，分配董監事席次，是否願意僅出資而不介入經營，尚待評估。 / The modern venture capital activities were incepted after World War II. The operation of venture capital were introduced to Taiwan in 1984, having a beneficial impact to the development of Taiwan’s science and high technology. However, since 2000 for the sake of Tax Equity, Our government abolish The Statute for Upgrading Industries was given to venture capital investment in the cause of the shareholders preferential credit, making the cause of Taiwan’s venture capital funding sources substantially reduced. Currently, Taiwan’s venture capital business is facing difficulties are: first, fund-raising is difficult; Second, poor investment performance; Third, the case of domestic investment was not enough; Fourth, the lack of venture capitalist are familiar with the operation of foreign talent; five, types of organizations of domestic and foreign venture capital business are different; six, have not allow pension fund to invest in venture capital business. In this study, is to explore the legal system on venture capital related issues, excerpts from major findings are as follows: First, The control of Taiwan’s venture capital business is from management to relax for the guidance and assistance. Second, it is proposed to deregulate venture capital funding source restrictions. Venture capital business have a wide range of funding sources, this study is to discuss the scope of financial institutions of investment restrictions, government funds and four pension funds. Among them, the relaxation of four pension funds wae the domestic venture capital industry and the Association of venture capital’s expectations, but over the years fail to reach the goal. Mainly for: 1. Relevant legal’s restrictions, 2. The risk management issues of venture capital business. Third, the use of capital market activities to withdraw from the venture capital business. Fourth, the majority of Taiwan’s venture capital business is managed by fund management company, so it’s formed a two-tier corporate governance structure, with foreign venture contractual governance structure is different. Fifth, the introduction of foreign limited partnership law. However, the introduction of a limited partner organizations, is need to consider the advantages and disadvantages of the system itself, the national conditions and needs of different users. In the limited partnership system, the general partner must bear the responsibility of unlimited liquidity, on the other hand, limited partner only play a role of investors, and not allow to intervene the management of venture capital business. Habits of our existing investors is familiar with in accordance with the proportion of funding, to allocate the seats of the Director board, are doubtful only willing to finance and not to intervene the operation, yet to be evaluated.

Baigiamajame magistro darbe nagrinėjamos aukštojo mokslo internacionalizavimo tendencijos ir plėtros galimybės Lietuvoje ir kitose Europos Sąjungos šalyse. Svarbiausias vaidmuo darbe skiriamas marketingui internete, kadangi internetinio marketingo priemonėmis gali būti veikiami pagrindiniai aukštojo mokslo veiklos internacionalizavimo procesai. Darbe taip pat aptariama tarpinstitucinių tinklų kūrimo ir plėtros svarba aukštojo mokslo internacionalizavimui, pateikiama išsami paslaugų ir interneto marketingo komplekso elementų analizė, akcentuojama programos, įvaizdžio ir rėmimo elementų svarba aukštojo mokslo internacionalizavimui. Šiame darbe svarbiausias dėmesys skiriamas kompleksinio pobūdžio tyrimams, t.y. atliekami Europos Sąjungos aukštojo mokslo rinkos, kriterijų lemiančių studento apsisprendimą, pasirenkant aukštojo mokslo instituciją bei informacijos apie studijas paieškos šaltinių svarbos nustatymo ir praktinių užsienio modelių tyrimai. Remiantis kokybiniais ir kiekybiniais tyrimų rezultatais sukurtas tarptautinio marketingo koncepcinis modelis skirtas, aukštųjų mokslo institucijų tarptautinei plėtrai, kurio esmė yra aukštojo mokslo institucijų tinklų platformos ir internetinio marketingo elementų derinys, patekti praktiniai pavyzdžiai ir suformuluotos išvados. Darbą sudaro šios dalys: įvadas, analitinė – metodinė dalis, tiriamoji dalis išvados ir siūlymai, literatūros sąrašas. Darbo apimtis – 112 p. teksto be priedų, 24 iliustr., 32 lent., 171... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The thesis examines main trends and development issues on internationalisation of higher education in Lithuania and other EU countries. The paper main focus is given to internet marketing as the internationalisation of higher education processes can be affected by different internet marketing tools. The thesis also emphasizes the importance of institutional partnership creation and development for internationalisation of higher education. The thesis gives an overview of foreign successful models, focuses on service and internet marketing mix analysis emphasizing the importance of programme, image and promotion marketing mix elements for internationalisation of higher institution. The main attention here is drawn to a complex research method, i.e. the EU higher education market research, choice factors and information sources research and practical foreign model research is performed on the paper. The conceptual marketing model for internationalization of higher education based on internet marketing mix and institutional partnership platform was created as a result of qualitative and quantitative research. The practical implications of the model are introduced, the conclusions are formulated. Structure: introduction, analytical - methodical part, experimental - investigative part, conclusions and suggestions, references. Thesis consist of: 112 p. text without appendixes, 24 pictures, 32 tables, 171 bibliographical entries.

<p>This thesis is based on the recognition that there are similarities and differences between two notions of Christian ministry, that is, a &ldquo / discipleship of equals&rdquo / as defined by Elizabeth Sch&uuml / ssler Fiorenza (1989) and a &ldquo / partnership of both men and women&rdquo / as defined by Mercy Amba Oduyoye (1990).</p> <p><br /> In this thesis, Christian ministry is assessed through the perspectives of both feminist theology and African women&rsquo / s theology. The question which is addressed here is how the similarities and differences between Elizabeth Sch&uuml / ssler Fiorenza&rsquo / s notion of Christian ministry as a &ldquo / discipleship of equals&rdquo / and Mercy Amba Oduyoye&rsquo / s notion of Christian ministry as a &ldquo / partnership of both men and women&rdquo / should be understood and assessed. The main purpose of this thesis is to offer a critical comparison of these two female theologians so as to encourage new visions of Christian ministry in the contemporary church and society.</p> <p><br /> To accomplish this task, a literature survey of books, essays, and articles published on the subject of Christian ministry in feminist and African women&rsquo / s theology by African and Western theologians, between 1960 and 2003, was conducted.<br /> Two notions of how Christian ministry should be understood are offered. Fiorenza emphasizes that both women and men need to be recognized as disciples of Christ who can equally, yet within diversity, minister to God&rsquo / s people by virtue of their baptisms. Oduyoye notes that reciprocity and mutuality is crucial for both men and women who minister to God&rsquo / s people by forming strong partnerships through their respective vocations and ministries, by virtue of their baptisms.</p> <p><br /> This thesis argues that a comparison of the views of Elizabeth Sch&uuml / ssler Fiorenza and Mercy Amba Oduyoye on Christian ministry reveals similarities based on a shared experience of being women within a male-dominated Christian church and differences emanating from the different contexts within which they practice theology, namely, that of Euro-American feminist theology and that of African women&rsquo / s theology. It is argued that there are significant differences between feminist theology and African women&rsquo / s theology, with reference to their context, rhetoric, experiences and modes of expression. A critical assessment of Oduyoye&rsquo / s notion of Christian ministry as a &ldquo / partnership of both men and women&rdquo / reveals that there is an internal problem within African theology. The predicament within which African women theologians find themselves is that they have to struggle not only against patriarchy in church and society but also against the remaining distortions within what is deemed to be a more progressive theology. African women theologians acknowledge their solidarity with African theologians but also identify fundamental flaws within African theology. African women theologians are therefore engaged in a battle on more than one side. They need to unmask and support at the same time. On the other hand, it is clear that Fiorenza is far less critical of the feminist movement, from which she derives the term &ldquo / feminist hermeneutics&rdquo / . She is, of course, quite aware of the various and successive strands of the feminist movement, but she remains at least sympathetic to this movement and seeks to explore its significance for biblical scholarship and especially the Roman Catholic Church, of which she is a member. She recognises the need to complement the (sometimes reductionist) secular manifestations of feminism by highlighting the oppressive but also the potentially liberative role which religious traditions may still have in a secularised civil society.</p> <p><br /> One may therefore conclude that African women&rsquo / s theology remains distinct from other feminist theologies. In a similar way, African-American womanist theologians have insisted that their situation is distinct from that of Euro-American women in what is described as the &ldquo / triple&rdquo / oppression of black women: being women, relatively poor, black and formerly enslaved. This calls for further reflection on the similarities and differences between African-American womanist theology and African women&rsquo / s theology. Important differences which come to mind here are the legacy of slavery, differences in economic status, and military power. African women are often engaged in a struggle to secure a sustainable livelihood in ways that African-American women are not. More importantly, the relationship between American black theology and womanist theology deserves further attention in this regard.</p>

Praktisering av brukermedvirkning krever at sykepleierne ser på brukerne som likeverdige partnere. Det bryter med det tradisjonelle sykepleier–pasientforholdet og krever andre arbeidsmetoder og holdninger. For å kunne få til en slik endring forutsetter det at sykepleierne har nødvendig kunnskap og forståelse for brukermedvirkning og den bakenforliggende ideologien. Hensikt: Hensikten med studiet var å studere sykepleiernes teoretiske forståelse av begrepet brukermedvirkning og kartlegge hvordan sykepleierne selv opplever at de praktiserte brukermedvirkning i kommunens omsorgstjeneste. Metode: Det har blitt gjennomført en kvalitativ studie med halvstrukturerte intervjuer. Analysemetode var meningsfortettning og meningskategorisering etter beskrivelse av Kvale. Studien har 20 respondentern fra sykehjem og hjemmetjenesten i en stor norsk kommune. Resultater: Sykepleiernes kunnskap om brukermedvirkning var i stor grad situasjonsbestemt. Den ble beskrevet ut fra pasientene de selv arbeider med, situasjonene og konteksten. Det ble knyttet usikkerhet til den teoretiske forståelse av begrepet. Brukermedvirkning blir i hovedsak beskrevet som samråd og må forstås som symbolsk deltagelse der pasientenes deltar og gir uttrykker behov eller gir råd uten at de har reell innflytelse eller myndighet. Langt færre beskrev brukermedvirkning som brukerinnflytelse i form av partnerskap der pasienten gis anledning til å ta avgjørelse og oppleve kontroll.I hvilken grad brukermedvirkning praktiseres avhenger av avveininger i tjenesteutforming, institusjonelle forhold og strukturelle rammer. Sykepleiere opplevde ved håndtering av meningsforskjeller mellom pasient og pårørende en lojalitet overfor pasienten samtidig som de viser forståelse overfor pårørende. Konklusjon: Sykepleiernes forståelse av brukermedvirkning handler i stor grad om symbolsk deltagelse fordi de gis mulighet til å uttrykke ønsker men ikke fatte endelig avgjørelse. Implementering av brukermedvirkning på systemnivå og en kombinasjonen av teoretisk kunnskap og refleksjon over praksis, vil kunne styrke bevisstheten og vektleggingen av brukermedvirkning. / The practice of user participation requires nurses to regard users as equal partners. It breaks with the traditional nurse-patient relationship and demands different working methods and attitudes. Achieving such a change requires nurses to have the necessary knowledge and understanding of user participation and the ideology behind it. Objective: This study aimed to investigate nurses’ understanding and practice of user participation in the municipal care service. Method: We implemented a qualitative study by conducting semi-structured interviews with 20 respondents from nursing homes and home care services in a major Norwegian municipality.Analysis involved consolidating and categorizing the subjects’ intent, as described by Kvale. Results: The nurses’ knowledge of user participation was situational (i.e., they based their descriptions on current patients, situations, and context). Their theoretical understanding of the concept was uncertain. Most described user participation as a consultation that must be understood as symbolic participation, where the patients express their needs or give advice without having any real influence or authority. Far fewer nurses described user participation as user influence in the form of a partnership, where patients are given the opportunity to make decisions and experience control. The extent to which nurses practice user participation depends on trade-offs among services, institutional situations, and structural frameworks. When faced with differing opinions between patients and their relatives, nurses experienced loyalty toward their patients and simultaneously showed empathy for the relatives. Conclusion: Nurses’ understanding of user participation largely deals with symbolic participation because it enables patients to express desires without making any final decisions. Implementing user participation at the system level and combining theoretical knowledge and reflection in practice would strengthen awareness and focus attention on user participation / <p>ISBN 978-91-85721-73-3</p>

Water is one of the most precious but least valued common property resource. Efficient ways of water resources management are vital to socio-economic development and the overall feat of societal stability. However, water conflicts have further exacerbated the access to water especially in low-income developing countries. Most notably, little attention has been given to studying water conflicts at the local level when compared to international water conflicts. As a result, there is insufficient information and theory on the exponentially increasing number of local water conflicts. In the Middle East, water was a tool for military purposes; in Asia disputes over water occur due to development-related activities, whilst in Africa, control over water resources has been the root cause of many conflicts affecting millions of vulnerable communities. This research investigates the nature, causes and dimensions of local water conflicts in the context of low-income developing countries based on the Afar region, which is located in the Awash Trans-regional River Basin of Ethiopia. The research suggests a new multidimensional approach for pre-identification, early warning services and local water conflict neutralization. This approach also introduces preparedness techniques, which play a significant role in reducing potential risks and tensions that trigger local water conflicts between communities sharing the same water resources. The study further proposes a policy guideline matrix that would serve as a technique for reducing local water conflicts by providing new ways of thinking about the links between sustainable developments, local water conflict management and strategic partnerships. The research is implemented through the process of designing a framework based on essential theoretical and practical findings supported by survey data of 134 household representatives of local communities and 26 institutions, together with 22 interviews. The introduced multipurpose framework is based on five fundamental parameters, namely: contribution to Sustainable Development, Information, Preparedness, Tolerance Capacity and Interaction (DIPTI). The research proposes the Sparkling Effects of Conflict , a new approach in understanding and predicting the coverage of the effects of conflicts other than the primary conflicting parties and conflict location. In addition, two pillars of the conceptual frameworks emerged from the findings. First, the WEC (Water, Early Warning and Conflict) information pyramid, a framework designed to indicate the core components of local WEC-related information identification and management. Second, the Pillars of Conflict Pyramid, the simplest conceptual framework, easily helps to pre-identify the effects of local water conflicts with certain limitations. Besides, the study addressed six additional conflict neutralization and resolution inputs that incorporate the significance of the participation of women and other vulnerable members of communities. These findings also highlight the advantage of co-existence between useful traditional and modern practices in neutralizing conflicts. Overall, the study will assist local people, policy and decision makers and institutions in low-income developing countries with a similar context to that of the study area.

La tesi, che si compone di tre paper strettamente collegati tra loro, si pone l’obiettivo di valutare e analizzare come le collaborazioni tra imprese e aziende non profit possano creare valore per gli attori coinvolti nella partnership stessa e per l’ambiente circostante. Il primo paper della tesi analizza il tema della creazione di valore nelle collaborazioni tra imprese e aziende non profit dal punto di vista della letteratura: in particolare, partendo dall’analisi della letteratura riferita alla creazione di valore nel marketing, e considerando il tema delle relazioni interorganizzative e dell’approccio dell’”impresa vivente”, si è arrivati a definire la creazione di valore, sempre in base ai riferimenti presenti in letteratura, in riferimento a questa tipologia di collaborazioni. Il secondo paper presenta, attraverso un’analisi quantitativa condotta su un campione di imprese e aziende non profit che effettuano collaborazioni tra loro, una serie di ipotesi che arrivano a definire il valore creato da questa tipologia di collaborazioni e che prendono in considerazione alcuni costrutti come la fiducia interorganizzativa, la fiducia interpersonale, la comunicazione interorganizzativa, il livello di collaborazione, la creazione di valore e l’alleanza dei brand. Il terzo paper presenta quattro casi studio che fanno riferimento a tre cluster in cui si è stato suddiviso il database costruito per il secondo paper. Partendo dalla definizione delle caratteristiche di un network innovativo, i casi sono stati studiati al fine di valutare l’impatto della collaborazione sul territorio, in una logica di marketing territoriale e di creazione di valore per il territorio in cui operano. / The thesis, which consists of three inter-related papers, aims to evaluate and analyze how the collaboration between business and non-profit organizations can create value for the partners themselves, for the stakeholders and for the environment. The first paper of the thesis analyzes the theme of value creation in collaborations between businesses and non-profit organizations from the point of view of literature, in particular, starting from an analysis of the literature related to the creation of value in marketing, and considering the issue of relations inter organizational and approach of ''living enterprise", the rest of the paper defines the creation of value, always according to the references in the literature, of these collaborations. The second paper presents, through a quantitative analysis conducted on a sample of businesses and non-profit organizations that carry out cooperation between them, a number of hypothesis that come to define the value created by this type of cooperation and taking into account some constructs like inter organizational trust, interpersonal trust, inter organizational communication, the level of cooperation, the creation of value and the alliance of brands. The third paper presents four case studies that refer to three clusters in which the database, built for the second paper, has been split. Starting from the definition of the characteristics of an innovative network, the cases have been investigated in order to assess the impact of collaboration on the ground, in a logic of local marketing and value creation for the area in which they operate.

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Nonprofits, including cultural organizations, are increasingly relying upon fees for service as part of their operating budgets. Arts organizations have taken an increasingly prominent role in arts education starting with federal budget cuts in the 1960s and 1970s. There is a lack of data on the effects of partnering with schools on nonprofit arts organizations as well as the effects of government contracting on nonprofits.This study consists of an email/internet survey to determine how contracting with schools to provide arts activities affects nonprofit arts agency independence, vendorism, bureaucratization, costs, and artistic quality. The survey was pilot tested with 22 leaders of arts organizations. The survey was emailed to a random sample of 680 leaders of American nonprofit arts organizations identified as art museums; ballet; dance; music; music groups, bands and ensembles; opera; singing choral; symphony orchestras; theaters; and visual arts organizations. Responses were gathered from 280 respondents for a 41% response rate. The researcher analyzed the data using frequencies, cross tabulations, logistic regression, and linear regression.This study reveals limited negative effects on arts organizations of partnering with schools. The major findings of this study support Lester Salamon's (1995) theory that bureaucratization is among the most likely effects of government contracting on nonprofits, and a study of nonprofits by Patricia Hughes and William Luksetich (2004) indicating that greater reliance on private funding does not divert funding fiom program service delivery. Organizations that partner with schools have greater odds of being affected by rules and regulations compared to those that do not partner with schools, but these rules seem to fall within acceptable limits for arts organizations of the types studied.Earning higher levels of income from school partnerships does not make arts organizations less likely to advocate for arts education, change artistic direction or offer significantly different programs, or impose unreimbursed costs.This study does not support Bruno Frey's (2003) Crowding Theory of the effect of external rewards on creativity. More collaborative types of school activity had no effect on organizational creativity in this study. However, enhanced artistic growth appears to be an important positive effect of school partnerships.