Zimbabwe's catastrophic economic decline resulted in a high unemployment rate (95%), declining socioeconomic indicators, pharmacy stores' unprofitability and lower sustainability. Profitable pharmacy stores play a fundamental role in ensuring public access to medication. Lack of pharmacy profitability leads to poor healthcare delivery, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. A healthy population is panacea to economic growth and prosperity and enhances human dignity, social cohesion, and the quality of life. In this qualitative, descriptive multicase study design, using Porter's business strategies theory and the Deming process of quality assurance as conceptual frameworks, data from 11 pharmacy stores leaders in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe were collected during interviews with open-ended questions. Participants were assumed to have influence, knowledge, and a personal stake in the pharmacy sector and that their views and experiences could address the research question of lack of pharmacy profitability and sustainability. Data were explored, categorized, and tabulated to assist drawing empirical findings and conclusions that could answer the research question. Using software the data were analyzed and themes such as the centrality of strategy in running profitable pharmacies, customer care, reimbursements by medical insurance firms, the role of the legal and regulatory frameworks on pharmacies, and mergers of single-owner pharmacies emerged. Findings from the results might provide strategies for those in the pharmacy retail sector and individuals who intend to explore the sector. Individuals who read results of the study might be influenced to lobby government on behalf of the sector to relax prohibitive regulations.

The United States Congress mandated the Secretary of Defense develop a strategy to streamline the joint capabilities integrated development system (JCIDS). The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies that senior U.S. Army Commanders might use to reduce the approval time for an acquisition category (ACAT) III need document in the JCIDS. Data came from historical documents and semistructured interviews of 30 ACAT III requirement writers and senior U.S. Army commanders with expertise in JCIDS. The conceptual framework was Goldratt's theory of constraints. Miles, Huberman, and Saldana's data analysis method was used to identify themes. Six themes emerged that yielded 6 possible strategies to reduce approval time: (a) define and implement an objective goal, (b) simplify the process and decrease redundancy by reducing or eliminating irrelevant levels of review, (c) determine the optimum number of reviews necessary for the desired outcome, (d) determine if the Chief of Staff of the Army should be the approving authority for an ACAT III need document, (e) determine the appropriate offices and individuals that should be consulted about the need document during the world wide review process, and (f) enhance training for JCIDS personnel participating in the ACAT III need approval process. The study findings may contribute to positive organizational and social change by potentially saving U.S. taxpayer funding and by enhancing the combat efficiency of the U.S. Army, thereby increasing the safety and security of the United States and its citizens.

A motivated volunteer workforce is essential to many nonprofit organizations and the success of the organizational leaders. The purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore motivational strategies used by 3 leaders of a nonprofit organization in Minnesota's Valley X through the conceptual lens of Maslow's theory of human motivation. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, organizational documents, and online databases. Using thematic analysis, 4 key themes emerged: process strengths, process opportunities, results strengths, and results opportunities. Open communication, appreciation events, building relationships, and recognition and rewards are strategies that nonprofit leaders can use to motivate their workforce, especially their volunteer workforce. By having a highly motived workforce, the organizational leaders will be able to achieve their organizational goals. These findings have implications for positive social change. A motivated workforce can lead to an increase in the leaders of the organization achieving their goals. The more the leaders achieve their goals, the longer the nonprofit will be able to stay in business, continue to employee volunteers, and continue to provide much-needed programs for the communities in which they operate.

Employing a virtual workforce has become a common practice among technically advanced and globally competitive organizations. Yet there is limited information regarding factors that affect job satisfaction and work outcomes of virtual workers. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to address the problem by exploring the lived experiences of virtual workers. Principles of Bandura's self-efficacy theory and Maslow's needs theory formed the conceptual framework. Babbie's sampling strategy and social media were used to obtain 26 participants among the target population of virtual workers. By distributing an online questionnaire, data were collected and analyzed through open coding techniques. As the data were analyzed, common themes emerged. The themes affecting job satisfaction of virtual workers included work and life balance, isolation and belonging, flexibility, resource efficiency, and trust and respect. The themes affecting work outcomes of virtual workers included training and technical support, communication, and workplace distractions. Findings indicated that job satisfaction and work outcomes might vary according to the self-efficacy level, needs, and virtual competencies of the individual virtual worker. Findings may contribute to positive social change by educating individuals on the benefits and challenges of the virtual workplace. Managers may reference the study outcomes when seeking to improve hiring processes, enhance training and technological support, and assess relevant virtual competencies. Employees may consider the study outcomes when determining whether virtual work arrangements align with their professional and personal goals.

In 2014, Lazard levelized cost of energy analysis model priced diesel powered systems at $0.225 – $0.404/KWh and a range of $0.165 – $0.242/KWh for gas-powered systems. The model gave a range of $0.28 – $0.33/kWh for diesel and a range of $0.14/kWh – $0.16/kW for gas fired. Nigeria has an abundance of gas reserves, but heavy gas flaring by oil companies perpetuates power failure across Nigeria. What has resulted is an unreliable electricity infrastructure and a high cost of alternative energy. The Electricity Power Sector Reform Act of 2005 started the reform process. Guided by decision theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to understand the perceptions of business leaders at the steel manufacturing businesses on how the use of multiple supply sources of electricity might lead to survival, growth, and profitability. The study’s population consisted of 10 steel manufacturing companies in the Southwest region of Nigeria. The data were collected via semistructured interviews with the leaders who source energy, a review of archival records, and observations of company officials placing orders from multiple sources. The van Kaam method of data analysis generated 5 themes: cost of generating electricity and the investment in alternative sources of energy, erratic power supply and its impact on the steel production industry, quality of power supply relative to the capacity and its impact on profits, electricity factor in the steel production process, and use of multiple sources. These findings may contribute to social change by increasing employment opportunities for members of the local community, who will have an enhanced understanding about steel and seize entrepreneurial opportunities.

Members of ethnic- and nationality-based community organizations in the United States support their communities with their membership fees and donations, but they often show little interest in participating in volunteer activities. The purpose of this case study was to examine what motivates people to engage in ethnic- and nationality-based community organizations and provide information to leaders of the ethnic- and nationality-based community organizations to develop best practices with ways to attract and retain volunteers. This study was based on Clary, Snyder, and Stukas's conceptualization of functional motivations of volunteerism. Interview data were collected from 32 individuals who volunteer in a community organization that seeks to support and preserve the culture of Bosnia in a southern state in the United States. These data were transcribed and then subjected to a three-tiered coding and analytic strategy by using open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. Key findings of this study revealed that participants viewed volunteering itself as the reward for service because it provides a sense of fulfillment, a mechanism for continuing commitment to others, and the preservation of a way of life for Bosnian Americans. The implication for positive social change includes direct recommendation to leaders of similarly situated organizations to recognize the importance of volunteers' feedback related to ways to improve volunteer management practice. The recognition of volunteers' feedback promotes sense of being valued for their roles with the organization, especially when they play other key roles in the organization, such as being members and donors in addition to being volunteers.

The transition of organizations' workforces from a baby-boomer to a millennial majority in the 21st century has created work-engagement strategy challenges for management. The purpose of this study was to explore the engagement strategies that business managers design and implement that effectively address the generational differences within the workforce. The case study design was appropriate for addressing this study's purpose of exploring the successful experiences of approximately 125 healthcare business managers within a business organization in Huntington, West Virginia. Transformational leadership theory constituted the conceptual framework for this study. Methodological triangulation was used to identify key themes from the participants' interviews, employee training manuals, and job descriptions of the healthcare organization. The key themes that emerged were reverse mentorship, employee work-life balance, and employee feedback expectations. Social change could result from implementing the recommendations of this study to enhance employees' individual qualities such as worth, dignity, and a strong work ethic, thereby catalyzing employees' support of their local communities.

Physicians must participate in developing medical protocols to ensure that medical best practices are adopted for patients' social benefit. Healthcare leaders have struggled to gain sufficient physician participation in developing medical protocols. Using technology-based crowdsourcing to assimilate knowledge from physicians may help healthcare managers improve medical protocol development. Using self-determination theory, this quantitative causal-comparative design aimed to determine whether differences in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation existed among the 132 participating physicians who did or did not participate in developing medical protocols in a crowdsourcing environment. Participants were recruited by e-mail through an independent physician association. Motivation levels were measured by the Aspirations Index via an online survey. A total of 55.3% of respondents participated in developing medical protocols. Differences were anticipated in the levels of participation in developing medical protocols between intrinsically and extrinsically motivated physicians. Rank correlations were computed between the number of protocols completed and all of the motivation scores. Personal growth and community contribution were significantly correlated with the number of addressed protocols. Positive social change may occur through improving medical protocols and healthcare outcomes by informing healthcare leaders about physicians' motivation to participate in developing medical protocols. By understanding these motivators, leaders can highlight the benefits of protocol development to encourage physician participation. If participation is enhanced, protocol quality and healthcare effectiveness may be improved, benefitting patients and healthy individuals.

L'objectif de cette thèse est la prédiction de la structure tertiaire des molécules d'ARN à partir de leurs séquences. L'approche présentée repose sur l'observation que leur repliement est hiérarchique et modulaire ; elle consiste, dans un premier temps, en l'extraction de ces modules (les hélices et jonctions entre hélices) et en leur classification en familles topologiques puis, dans un second temps, en une étape d'optimisation pour réunir chacun de ces modules autonomes en une molécule repliée sur elle-même et stable. Ce repliement repose sur une approche algorithmique de la théorie des jeux. Nous présentons une modélisation du repliement comme un jeu, une fonction de coût associée, et plusieurs heuristiques de recherche d'équilibre de Nash.

La compréhension des organismes vivant a été une quête pendant longtemps. Depuis les premiers progrès des derniers siècles, nous sommes arrivés jusqu'au point où des quantités massives de données et d'information sont constamment générées. Bien que, jusqu'au present la plupart du travail a été concentré sur la génération d'un catalogue d'éléments biologiques, ce n'est pas que récemment qu'un effort coordonné pour dé- couvrir les réseaux de relations entre ces parties a'été constaté. Nous sommes intereses à comprendre non pas seulement ces réseaux, mais aussi la façon dont, à partir de ses connexions, émergent des fonctions biologiques. Ce travail se concentre sur la découverte, la modélisation et l'exploitation d'un de ces réseaux : le métabolisme. Un réseau métabolique est un ensemble des réac- tions biochimiques interconnectées qui se produisent à l'intérieur, ou dans les limites d'une cellule vivante. Une nouvelle méthode de découverte, ou de reconstruction des réseaux métaboliques est proposée dans ce travail, avec une emphase particulière sur les organismes eucaryotes. Cette nouvelle méthode est divisée en deux parties : une nouvelle approche pour la modélisation de la reconstruction basée sur l'instanciation des éléments d'un modèle squelette existant, et une nouvelle méthode de réécriture d'association des gènes. Cette méthode en deux parties permet des reconstructions qui vont au-delà de la capacité des méthodes de l'état de l'art, permettant la reconstruction de modèles métaboliques des organismes eucaryotes, et fournissant une relation détaillée entre ses réactions et ses gènes, des connaissances cruciales pour des applications biotechnologies. Les méthodes de reconstruction développées dans ce travail, ont été complétées par un workflow itératif d'édition, de vérification et d'amélioration du modèle. Ce workflow a été implémenté dans un logiciel, appelé Pathtastic. Comme une étude de cas de la méthode développée et implémentée dans le pré- sent travail, le réseau métabolique de la levure oléagineuse Yarrowia lipolytica, connu comme contaminant alimentaire et utilisé pour la biorestauration et comme usine cellulaire, a été reconstruit. Une version préliminaire du modèle a été générée avec Pathtastic, laquelle a été améliorée par curation manuelle, à travers d'un travail avec des spécialistes dans le domaine de cette espèce. Les données expérimentales, obtenues à partir de la littérature, ont été utilisées pour évaluer la qualité du modèle produit. La méthode de reconstruction chez les eucaryotes, et le modèle reconstruit de Y. lipolytica peuvent être utiles pour les communautés scientifiques respectives, le premier comme un pas vers une meilleure reconstruction automatique des réseaux métaboliques, et le deuxième comme un soutien à la recherche, un outil pour des applications biotechnologiques et comme un étalon-or pour les reconstructions futures.