It is the purpose of this Thesis to start an analysis of metaconstitutional review, understood as the process through which an entity such as a Constitutional Court or Supreme Court reviews the compliance of the acts of the Constituent with superior values or fills constitutional gaps with such values. This, in order to explain its separate nature from constitutional review, to determine whether it is compatible with the traditional conception of popular sovereignty as the ultimate source of power and the legitimizing element of the constitutional system and to determine whether or not metaconstitutional review could prevent social change by entrenching certain values.

This thesis will discuss the emerging influence of film review aggregators and their effect on the changing landscape for reviews in the film industry. Specifically, this study will look at the top 150 domestic grossing films of 2010 to empirically study the effects of two specific review aggregators. A time-delayed approach to regression analysis is used to measure the influencing effects of these aggregators in the long run. Subsequently, other factors crucial to predicting film success are also analyzed in the context of sustained earnings.

Knowledge access is crucial for firms, especially those with resource constraints facing the rapid change in technology. This systematic review attempts to provide an understanding on how technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) source external knowledge. With the extant literature pointing to the spatial characteristics as the central theme, I identify four generic conditional dimensions that shape the overall geographical pattern of knowledge sourcing. The industrial knowledge base, the market, the local conditions, and the institutional environment influence from whom and where firms source knowledge. The empirical evidence leads to my contention that the conditional dimensions presented are far from being straightforward. Points of caution that should be incorporated when interpreting general patterns are discussed. The main argument is that further understanding of the geography of knowledge sourcing may start from generic external factors but contextual sensitivity and analytical interpretations are invariably essential. Further research opportunities call for more understanding on a) the relationship between private firms and the institutional environment, b) how an individual firm builds and develops own network, and c) how relational asset and different types of knowledge interact.

Understanding stock-bond return correlation is a key facet in asset mix, asset allocation and in an investor’s portfolio optimisation strategy. For the last couple of decades, several studies have probed this cardinal relationship. While initial literature tries to understand the fundamental pattern of co-movements, later studies aim to model the economic state variables influencing such time-varying volatility behaviour of stock-bond returns. This study provides a systematic literature review in the field of stock and bond return correlation. The review investigates the existing literature in three key dimensions. First, it examines the effect of macro-economic variables on SB return co-movements. Second, it illustrates the effect of financial integration on the asset correlation dynamics. Third, it reviews the existing models that are employed to estimate the dynamic relationship. In addition to the systematic review, I conduct an empirical analysis of stock-bond return co-movements on U.S. capital market. Both the literature and the empirical investigation substantiate my claims on existing research gaps and respective scope for further research. Evidence shows that existing models impose strong restrictions on past stock-bond return variance dynamics and yield inconclusive results. I, therefore, propose an alternative method, i.e. copula function approach, to model stock and bond time-varying co-movements. Since the previous studies largely focus on developed economies, I suggest an empirically investigation of emerging economies as well. This will allow me to examine the effect of financial integration on the dynamic asset return correlation. Apart from this academic contribution, the study provides an illustration of the economic implications which relate to portfolio optimization and minimal-risk hedge ratio.

This research is a meta-analytic review of the effects of transformational school leadership (TSL)-- a systematic, comprehensive synthesis of the quantitative research on transformational school leadership. The review method used in this research is standard meta-analysis supplemented by narrative synthesis and vote-counting methods. The types of effect sizes involved in meta-analytical calculations are correlation coefficients rs. The evidence reviewed was provided exclusively by unpublished theses or dissertations that were completed between 1996 and 2008. This study identified 33 dimensions of transformational leadership as developed by various scholars and captured by a variety of leadership measures, which were synthesized into 11 core leadership dimensions. This study meta-analyzed the effects of transformational school leadership and its dimensions on a large range of school outcomes, including 17 school conditions (e.g., school culture, shared decision-making processes), 23 teacher-related outcomes (e.g., teacher satisfaction), and five types of student outcomes. Transformational school leadership was most influential on teachers’ emotions and inner states. TSL had large effects on teachers’ individual inner states and their practices while it had small effects on their group inner states. Leaders effectively influence teachers’ psychological inner states and practices mainly through modeling good practices themselves, providing support and intellectual stimulation to teachers individually and setting shared school goals. TSL was also very influential on school conditions. It had large effects on four key school conditions. This review detected significant, positive small direct effects of TSL on student achievements. The indirect effects of TSL on student learning vary when different school or teacher variables are controlled. This review identified seven important moderators and three mediators that significantly contributed to student learning along with TSL. Specific leadership practices that effectively influenced school and student outcomes were also examined and discussed. Regarding the moderating effects of contextual and methodological factors, school level and leadership measures were found to moderate leadership impacts significantly in some cases. The findings of this study provide guidance for school administrators and policy makers who want to improve school leadership as a means of improving school quality.

In this paper. I analyze how political, economic, and administrative issues were major factors in the BC Liberal government's creation of a complex hybrid operating structure for BC Ferries. The model evolved as the result of a number of circumstances, including the former NDP government's "fast ferry" debacle and the Liberal government's decision to conduct a Core Services Review of all government services, including those provided by Crown corporations. BC Ferries' new structure has similarities to other administrative models that have been introduced as a result of New Public Management initiatives and other factors in a number of Westminster jurisdictions. The resulting operating entities are having significant impacts on the nature and scope of public accountabilities and on reporting structures.

Limited English Proficient (LEP) patients are subject to low patient health outcomes due to limited health literacy. Cultural and linguistic barriers prohibit the obtainment and comprehension of health information and services. This systematic review will present the complications of healthcare experienced by LEP patients and will provide an analysis of interventions and policies that will be a gateway to better health outcomes for the LEP patient population.

This thesis presents the results of three complementary studies which were carried out to evaluate the accuracy of diagnostic tests for Salmonella in pigs. First, a research synthesis method approach, which included a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression, was used to map out existing primary research investigating the accuracy of bacterial culture, antibody or antigen -capture ELISA, and PCR for Salmonella in pigs under field conditions.. Large statistical variability, limited methodological soundness and reporting precluded a quantitative synthesis of findings from multiple studies. The meta-regression identified significant factors, such as variations in test protocols, which explained much of the variability of reported estimates of test accuracy. The need for consistent use of a standard reference test is essential to ensure comparability of results generated in future studies.<p> In the second study, the accuracy of a bacterial culture, real-time (RT) PCR, and a mix-ELISA for Salmonella in were evaluated in western Canadian nursery and grow-finish pigs using traditional and Bayesian statistical methods. Ten farrow-to-finish pig farms from Alberta and Saskatchewan were purposively selected based on their presumptive Salmonella status. Bacteriological culture, RT-PCR and a mix-ELISA were performed on feces and blood samples collected from grow-finish (n=294) pigs and pens. Bayesian estimates of test sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) at the individual pig level were similar to traditional statistical estimates. Sensitivity of culture and RT-PCR ranged from 65-75%, PCR Sp was 98-99% and ELISA Se and Sp at a cutoff of OD¡Ý20% ranged from 59-63% and 84-87%, respectively. In the third study, Salmonella serovar distribution and risk factors for Salmonella shedding were investigated in breeding, nursery, and grow-finish pigs using the same 10 herds. Among 418 Salmonella isolates, most common serovars were Derby (28.5%), Typhimurium, var. Copenhagen (19.1%), and Putten (11.8%). More Salmonella were detected in pooled pen than individual pig samples, confirming that the use of pooled samples is more effective for detecting the full range of serovars that may be present on Canadian pig farms. Sows shed significantly more Salmonella than nursery or grow to finish pigs, suggesting that the breeding herd is an important source of Salmonella persistence. Pelleted feed and nose-to-nose pig contact through pens were also associated with increased Salmonella prevalence, indicating that these factors are relevant as control targets.<p> The main advantages of research synthesis methods are increased power and precision in effect estimates and identification knowledge gaps and areas requiring further research. Bayesian methods for evaluating test accuracy are useful when there is no known "gold standard", which is often the case for zoonotic and food-borne pathogens. Both research synthesis and Bayesian methods are valuable tools for evaluating diagnostic test accuracy and should be more frequently used when developing monitoring and control programs in food safety.

How do we match our education with the needs of the construction line of business and the requirements of the Swedish National Agency for education? Is there something that we have to change? In this study I have asked our former students about their opinion of our education and I have also asked them to give me their view on what a good teacher is like. I have been able to benefit a lot from their answers in my efforts to be that good teacher. This survey took place at Facebook. The answers showed that we carry on a piece of solid workmanship. But you can always improve, try harder. The profession contains so many techniques, so many innovations that is impossible to match them all. So, training has to get on and on through all of the students professional life, starting when they leave school and get their first employment as apprentices. School education gives them 2500 hours. The trade union gives them still 300 hours if they have passed the core subjects. If they have been working during holidays they get a further 600 hours, making it a total of 3400 hours, equivalent to half way getting fully paid. The construction business and school have a shared responsibility for the education of constructors. The business has no specific requirements for their apprentices, more than the intention to work as best as they can, and to learn. Social behaviour is also very important, taking parts in conversations during breaks and being parts of good team work.

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att belysa arbetsmiljöfaktorer som påverkar stress och stresshantering hos sjuksköterskor på arbetsplatsen. Metod: Denna litteraturöversikt innefattar 18 studier av både kvalitativ och kvantitativ ansats som söktes via databasen Wiley InterScience och därefter granskades och analyserades. Resultat: Tre teman konstaterades som berörde; organisatoriska, psykosociala och professionsrelaterade faktorer som bidrog till arbetsrelaterad stress. Av de organisatoriska faktorerna var löneaspekten, inadekvat organisationsuppbyggnad och inadekvat personalbemanning av stor betydelse för den arbetsrelaterade stressen. Psykosociala miljöfaktorer som bristande möjlighet till konsultation och stöd från arbetskollegor och höga arbetskrav var faktorer som genererade stress på arbetsplatsen. Professionellt var bristande kunskap och erfarenhet i yrket samt fysiskt krävande arbetsbelastning betydande faktorer. Flera studier rapporterade dessutom att stor del av sjuksköterskorna övervägde att lämna sitt yrke på grund av den arbetsrelaterade stressen.