Includes bibliographical references / Ethiopia is one of the few countries in Africa to implement large-scale land titling programmes aiming to improve land related-investments. Since 1995, Ethiopia also has partially liberalised rural land rental markets with the aim of improving the functioning of these markets. Evidence on whether these reforms resulted in improved land access by the poor and increased land-related investments though are scarce and inconclusive. This thesis investigates empirically the relationship between land tenure issues on one hand, and land-related investments and the functioning of rural land and labour markets on the other. It also analyses the relationship between participation in land rental markets and household welfare. Detailed descriptive data analysis and various econometric models were used to examine these issues. The data source for the study is the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey (ERHS), which consists of a panel of 1477 sample households covering four regions in the country. Findings from the study show that factor, input, and financial markets are poorly developed in rural Ethiopia. In addition, land title ownership does not give farmers additional rights other than the rights provided in the federal and regional legislation. This has particular ramifications. For instance, despite having a land title, farmers in Ethiopia are not allowed by law to sell or use their land as collateral in credit markets. There are also various limitations on land rental transactions. These findings suggest that the preconditions for economic effectiveness of land titling are not satisfied in the case of Ethiopia. Furthermore, in contrast to earlier studies, this study finds no significant link between farmers' perceptions of tenure insecurity and their land-related investment and factor market participation decisions. Instead, it establishes that poverty in faming resources and market failures in the credit and factor markets are the major binding constraints that adversely affect farmers' land-related investment and factor market participation decisions in rural Ethiopia. The results reveal that asset rich households were more likely to get access to more land and labour through factor markets, and they were also more likely to invest on their land, while female-headed and/or asset poor households were more likely to lease out their land and remain poor. The findings of this study do not necessarily suggest that the existing land tenure system in Ethiopia is satisfactory for farmers' intensification efforts. It is widely argued that past and current land polices in the country have led to reduced and fragmented land size holdings in rural areas. As a result, there is limited room for farm intensification. For instance, data from this study show that among sample households who did not grow tree crops on their land, 40% of them reported that land shortage is the first major problem. In this regard, the existing land tenure system can be equally restrictive for most farmers. Therefore, the results of the study suggest that, without reforming the existing land policy and addressing problems in factor and credit markets, land titling is expected to play a very limited role in improving tenure security, investment, and land access for the rural poor.

The stand-alone Global Positioning System (GPS) or an Integrated GPS and Dead Reckoning Systems (such as Inertial Navigation System or Odometer and magnetometer) have been widely used for vehicle navigation. An essential process in such an application is to map match the position obtained from GPS (or/and other sensors) on a digital road network map. GPS positioning is relatively accurate in open sky conditions, but its position is not accurate in dense urban canyon conditions where GPS is affected by signal blockage and multipath. High sensitivity GPS (HS GPS) receivers, can increase the availability, but are affected by multipath and cross correlation due to weak signal tracking. Inertial navigation system can be used to bridge GPS gaps, However, position and velocity results in such conditions are typically biased, therefore, fuzzy logic  based map matching, is mostly used because it can take noisy, imprecise input, to yield crisp (i.e. numerically accurate) output. Fuzzy logic can be applied effectively to map match the output from a High sensitivity GPS receiver or integrated GPS and INS in urban canyons because of its inherent tolerance to imprecise inputs. In this thesis stand-alone GPS positioning and integrated GPS and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) positioning aided by fuzzy logic based map matching for Stockholm urban and suburban areas are performed.  A comparison is carried out between, Map matching for stand-alone GPS and integrated GPS and IMU. Stand-alone GPS aided map matching algorithms identifies 96.4% of correct links for rural area, 92.6% for urban area (car test) and 93.4% for bus test in urban area. Integrated GPS and IMU aided map matching algorithms identifies 97.3% of correct links for rural area, 94.4% for urban area (car test) and 94.4% for bus test in urban area. Integrated GPS and Inertial Measurement Unit produces better vehicle azimuth than stand-alone GPS, especially at low speed. Furthermore, there are five more fuzzy rules based on gyro rate in integrated GPS and IMU map matching algorithm. Therefore, it shows better map matching results. GPS blackout happens rarely in Stockholm, because there are not many tall buildings in this city. Therefore, the integrated GPS and IMU aided by map matching shows only small improvement over stand-alone GPS aided by map matching.

I dagsläget samlas data från tunneldrivning in manuellt och skrivs sedan in i ett dataprotokoll.Dessa protokoll används sedan som dokumentation och redovisning gentemot beställaren. Föratt effektivisera denna datahantering har här en ny systembeskrivning upprättats. Värdena som inhämtas från tunneldrivningsmaskinerna skall automatiskt skickas över till en databas, vilket innebär att all information kommer att vara digital. Syftet är att utveckla ett nätverk som är kopplat mellan maskinerna nere i tunneln och datorerna på kontoret. Alla viktiga värden som fås i samband med bergdrift ska samlas från olika tunnelprojekt och lagras i en databas. Med viktiga värden menas all tänkbar typ av data som ärtill nytta för kalkylering, uppföljning, ekonomi och KMA (kvalitet, miljö och arbetsmiljö) för projektet som t.ex. borrhålsdjup, bultlängd, injekteringstid, sprutbetongtjocklek mm. En samling av värdena skall i framtiden underlätta för alla berörda att hämta data för diversearbete, vilket innebär att tjänstemän som har olika arbetsuppgifter kommer att kunna ta del av information som berör just deras arbete. Utöver den automatiserade datainsamlingen finns det ett tillvägagångssätt för manuell insamling av data. Handdatorer kommer vara ett alternativ till de nuvarande pappersformulären och fungera som en checklista. Data från olika aktiviteter, dvs. borrning, sprängning och injektering och som tidigare skrevs ner på ett A4 papper, skall nu skrivas in på handdatorn som överförs direkt via nätverket till databasen på servern. När systemet är fulländat och igång kommer det att underlätta och effektivisera arbetet förtjänstemännen och bergarbetarna, och det kommer innebära bättre kommunikation i form av redovisning och veckoavstämning. Även uppföljning av sammanställd data kommer att ske på ett enklare sätt, vilket kommer att ge upphov till noggranna beräkningar av alla nyckeltal som påverkar en kalkyl. Om kalkylen beräknas med noggranna värden kommer det anbudsgivande företaget kunna vara säkert på att det kan hålla den budgeten de har satt från början. Samma nyckeltal kommer att användas för projektuppföljning. / The idea of this thesis is to create a system for an automatized data administrationsystem. The idea is that in the future, the employees should not punch values that come from different activities during a tunnel project to the computer. The values should automatically be sent over a wireless network to a database. The purpose is to develop a network which is connected between the machines down in the tunnel and the computers in the office. All the important values that we can get in connection with tunnelling should be collected in a database alike platform (check the figure above). Important values means all sort of data that could be of use for the project, for instance; depth of drilling hole, length of bolt, injectiontime etc. This will in the future make it easier for all that is concerned, to collect datafor their different works. This means that the employees who has different tasks, collect thedata that concern just their job. For instance; the employee that works with the economical tasks in the company needs otherd ata from the one who works with quality and environments. An other way to pick up data is by using handcomputers that work like a checklist. Data fromdifferent activities, i.e. drilling, bursting, injecting etc. marks in the handcomputer, who will be uploaded in the officecomputer afterwards, or directly by the network. All the values that have been collected will be handled with a new program that handle and sort data. The program will sort data in categories that concern the different tasks of the employees. Since the platform is automatic, it will be updated constantly with new data. It means that allt he new projects will be able to use this system and register their values in the database. The program should contain statistical functions that can riddle ”wrong-data”. These ”wrongdata”will be registered and saved in an ”experiency bank”. This is to learn from for new projects. Exemple for ”wrong-data” is assumed risks, that at the end of a project show up thatit wasnt a risk, who is very important to know during a calculation for a new project. When the system is finnished and started, it will both facilitate and make the work more effective for the employees. Beyond this, and what is the most important thing, is that it will be much easier to follow-up aproject more correctly. This will give us more precise calculations for all the ratios that effect the calculation for the project cost. If we do the calculations with more precise ratios, we will then be more sure that we really areable to hold the budget that we have set from the beginning. In the future we will be able toget experience values, and this will hopefully help us find a right and reasonable price for theproject. / QC 20101208

Sammanfattning För att följa de direktiv angående tillgängliggörande av geodata som ges av Europeiska unionen (EU), har Sverige infört en samverkansmodell som heter Geodatasamverkan. Denna modell reglerar hur myndigheter och kommuner ska distribuera och använda geodata. Syftet bakom Geodatasamverkan är att öka tillgängligheten och uppmuntra användningen av geodata. Syftet med vår studie är att undersöka varför de flesta svenska kommuner valt att inte vara en del av Geodatasamverkan samt presentera områden inom Geodatasamverkan som kan förbättras. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av enkäter som skickats till Sveriges alla kommuner och även med hjälp av intervjuer med ett antal utvalda kommuner. Frågorna har berört kommunernas förväntningar respektive erfarenheter av Geodatasamverkan. Studien ledde oss till slutsatserna att deltagandet i Geodatasamverkan är lägre bland de mindre kommunerna och att dessa menar att avgiften är oproportionerligt hög för nämnda grupp. En stor del av de mindre kommunerna samarbetar i frågor rörande geodata, detta på grund av brist på resurser. De skulle vilja ha möjligheten att delta i Geodatasamverkan gemensamt till en reducerad avgift. Nästan alla kommuner, oavsett storlek och befolkning, menar att det finns en märkbar potential för utveckling av geodatahantering inom sin kommun. Dessa lokala förändringar skulle kunna öka fördelarna med Geodatasamverkan utan att genomföra några förändringar inom Geodatasamverkan. Dessa förändringar skulle kunna bestå av kompetensutveckling och förbättrade arbetsrutiner. / Abstract In order to comply with the directives regarding distribution of geographic information given by the European Union (EU), Sweden has implemented an interaction model called Geodatasamverkan. This model regulates how authorities and municipalities distribute and use geographic information. The purpose behind Geodatasamverkan is to increase the availability and encourage the use of geographic information. The purpose of this study is to investigate why the majority of Swedish municipalities have chosen not to be a part of Geodatasamverkan and to present areas for improvement within Geodatasamverkan. The study was conducted through questionnaires sent to all Swedish municipalities and also interviews with a few chosen municipalities. The questions have covered the municipalities’ expectations and experiences regarding Geodatasamverkan. The study led us to the conclusions that the participation in Geodatasamverkan is lower among the smaller municipalities and that they believe their fees are unproportionally high. A lot of the smaller municipalities work together in questions regarding geographic information due to a lack of resources. They would like the option to participate in Geodatasamverkan in such constellations at a reduced fee. Almost all municipalities, regardless of size and population, agrees there is a noticeable potential for improvement within each municipality. This would increase the benefits of Geodatasamverkan without changing Geodatasamverkan itself. Examples of these improvements include education and improved working practices.

Stress och dess påverkan på människans arbetsprestationer är väldokumenterade sedan tidigare. Hur den påverkar manliga byggnadsarbetare specifikt under en pandemi är däremot okänt och har därför valts att i denna studie närmare undersökas. Datainsamlingen genomfördes med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta byggnadsarbetare. Den insamlade datan analyserades därefter genom en tematisk analysprocess där materialet slutligen kom att delas in i sex teman. Temana benämndes: oförutsedda händelser, att tillfredsställa kundens krav, oro över att bli smittad, ökad arbetsbelastning, minskad noggrannhet och säkerhet samt försening av tidsplan. De fyra förstnämnda temana var de stressorer som deltagarna upplevde och de två sistnämnda temana var hur deltagarna upplevde att stressorerna påverkade deras arbetsprestationer. Varje funnet tema i resultatet presenterades av citat ifrån flera deltagare i studien. Den slutsats som kan dras är att byggnadsbranschen hade gynnats av att förbättra byggnadsarbetares psykosociala arbetsmiljö genom exempelvis ökat inflytande för att arbeta förebyggande mot byggnadsarbetares mentala ohälsa.

BACKGROUND Work related stress is a globally discussed and known phenomenon in countries irrespective of their stage of economic development. The nature of work related stress is harmful and uneconomic as it hampers productivity in the provision of quality services in organisations and give rise to undesirable socio-economic effects. Work related stress is a mismatch that occurs between an individual and the work environment, wherein the higher the imbalance between the external demands and an individual’s abilities. Nursing is noted for producing relatively high levels of stress due to the pressure-full and demanding nature of the job. Within nursing, nurse managers are noted to be specifically vulnerable to experiencing higher stress levels due to the stressful situations they are constantly facing, the higher the level of stress that will be experienced. Work related stress may have negative consequences for nurse managers such as lack of concern for themselves or their work and a negative self-image AIM AND OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore and describe the perceptions of nurse managers in a rural public hospital regarding work related stress. METHOD The study was explorative and descriptive qualitative in nature. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 nurse managers working at the designated hospital. By using content analysis five themes were identified: 1) Causes of work related stress, 2) Signs and symptoms of work related stress, 3) Consequences of work related stress, 4) Current strategies to cope with work related stress, 5) Recommended strategies to cope with work related stress. FINDINGS Nurse managers in the rural district hospital are aware of the nature of work related stress in their work, the causes and contributory factors, and several strategies they deem important to assist in the management of work related stress were recommended. CONCLUSION Nurse managers in a rural district hospital are exposed to high levels of work related stress due to the nature of their job and poor working conditions in the hospital. Recommendations to assist in the management of work related stress were made. KEYWORDS: work related stress, nurse managers, rural areas, district hospital / Dissertation (MNurs Nursing Management)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Nursing Science / MNurs (Nursing Management) / Unrestricted

This study examined health-related quality of life (HRQoL) across weight categories in adolescents using both a general and a condition-specific measure sensitive to fatigue symptoms. Participants (N = 918) completed the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) Inventory and PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale measures. Actual height and weight were used to calculate body mass index for age and sex percentiles and assign weight categories. No interaction effects between total HRQoL and weight category and gender were found; however, main effects were found for both weight category and gender. Future research should examine the impact of using different measures to assess HRQoL outcomes across weight categories.

The P300-based brain-computer interface (BCI) is an extension of the oddball paradigm, and can facilitate communication for people with severe neuromuscular disorders. It has been shown that, in addition to the P300, other event-related potential (ERP) components have been shown to contribute to successful operation of the P300 BCI. Incorporating these components into the classification algorithm can improve the classification accuracy and information transfer rate (ITR). In this paper, a single character presentation paradigm was compared to a presentation paradigm that is based on the visual mismatch negativity. The mismatch negativity paradigm showed significantly higher classification accuracy and ITRs than a single character presentation paradigm. In addition, the mismatch paradigm elicited larger N200 and N400 components than the single character paradigm. The components elicited by the presentation method were consistent with what would be expected from a mismatch paradigm and a typical P300 was also observed. The results show that increasing the signal-to-noise ratio by increasing the amplitude of ERP components can significantly improve BCI speed and accuracy. The mismatch presentation paradigm may be considered a viable option to the traditional P300 BCI paradigm.

South Africa is known for being a country with high crime rates. Many factors contribute to this notion. Cape Town is ranked 14th on the list of the most violent cities in the world. Furthermore, gang violence in the Western Cape is believed to be the highest in South Africa, with the South African Police Service (SAPS) considering 25 of the Western Cape's 151 police stations as gang related police stations. It is apparent that South Africa as a developing country falls short in addressing the social ills in our communities, such as continued high unemployment rates, gangsterism, and the formation of illegal partnerships due to money greed and boredom (lack of motivational support in the form of activities provided, especially among the youth). The objective of the study was to describe and analyse the police service delivery challenges experienced by Western Cape Station Commanders in the context of the crime statistics retrieved from published SAPS data. This research explored police service delivery challenges through the lens of Station Commanders from the 151 police stations in the Western Cape. Thus, the research question was formulated as follows: "What are the service delivery challenges experienced by Station Commanders at police stations in the Western Cape?" The target population comprised all Station Commanders in the Western Cape. For the data collection, a survey strategy was adopted. The data collection tool was a telephonic interview conducted in a systematic manner. The data of the profiling survey of all Station Commanders in the Western Cape Province conducted by the Department of Community Safety, were utilised to analyse the police service delivery challenges they face. The Know Your Station Commander Tool (KYSCT) is a survey tool developed with 'profiling questions' of the Station Commanders at every police station in the Western Cape. In general, limitations prohibiting police service delivery do exist from time to time, but when the lack of service delivery is experienced over long periods, it points to deep-rooted issues that need intervention, not merely observation. This study revealed that the top ten (10) service delivery challenges experienced by the Station Commanders in the Western Cape are: 1) Shortage of human resources; 2) Insufficient physical and aging resources; 3) Extended unproductive meetings; 4) SAPS 2 building and office infrastructure challenges; 5) Lack of involvement of all government departments; 6) Low morale of members; 7) Administrative-intense tasks to maintain a paper-trail; 8) Community police relations; 9) Population growth and development (police to population ratio unbalanced); and 10) Absenteeism.

Non-invasive brain–computer interface (BCI) technology can restore communication for those unable to communicate due to loss of muscle control. Nonetheless, compared to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices requiring muscular control, BCIs provide relatively slow communication. Therefore, implementing techniques improving BCI speed and accuracy is important. Previous studies indicate that facial stimuli elicit N170 and N400 components, in addition to the P300 component associated with P300 BCI. These additional components can increase speed and accuracy. Our study investigated the influence of image size and content using four conditions: large face, small face, large non-face, and small non-face. We predicted faces would provide higher accuracy than non-face stimuli and larger stimuli would provide higher accuracy than small stimuli. We found no significant difference in performance between conditions; however, significant waveform differences were found in each condition.