Companies developing new products have a wide variety of product development (PD) processes from which to choose. Each process offers a different method of iteration to manage risk. Companies must therefore consider the nature and level of risks they face in order to determine the most appropriate iteration and PD process. This paper identifies principles of risk and iteration inherent in product development and then explains how several different PD processes manage risk through iteration. It explains current research on PD decision criteria and concludes by proposing a framework to help companies better select PD processes. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Western Cape is one of the most seismically active regions in South Africa. It features geological properties which can develop earthquakes as large as 6.87 on the Richter scale. This poses a serious threat to all of the buildings that are currently located within this region. A recent study has found that typical three-storey Unreinforced Masonry (URM) buildings in the Cape Town area shows a high probability of failure or damage if subjected to such a large earthquake. Many of these buildings can be found in an area of Cape Town called the Cape Flats, housing approximately 11 000 individuals. The structural integrity of these buildings are of concern to engineers since it houses a number of individuals. The purpose of the study was to develop a risk assessment procedure that could be used to assess low-rise multi-storey (2, 3 and 4 storeys) URM buildings in order to determine where the risk of earthquake related damage would be the highest. The risk assessment procedure compared various characteristics regarding the buildings, residents, seismic attributes of the region and the recovery capability of the residents. The result, in the form of a risk rating, enabled the buildings to be prioritized according to their seismic risk. The aim was to develop a comparative model which could be applied to a range of buildings, indicating where the impact of an earthquake would be greatest. This result could then be used for further remedial action (such as retrofitting) where it is needed the most. The risk assessment procedure used an Earthquake Risk Assessment Model (ERAM) which was specifically developed to assess the earthquake risk of each building with the use of 26 factors. These factors would each be individually scored and through the ERAM model would produce a risk rating. The buildings' can then be ranked (prioritized) according to it's risk rating to determine where remedial actions or procedures are needed first. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Wes-Kaap is een van die mees seismiese aktiewe streke in Suid-Afrika. Dit bevat geologiese eienskappe wat aardbewings met groottes van 6,87 op die Richterskaal kan laat ontwikkel (1 in 475 jaar herhaal periode). Dit hou 'n bedreiging vir baie die geboue wat tans in hierdie streek geleë is. 'n Onlangse studie het bevind dat tipiese drie-verdieping lasdraende steengeboue in die omgewing van Kaapstad 'n hoë waarskynlikheid van faling of skade toon as dit blootgestel word aan 'n groot aardbewing. Baie van hierdie geboue kan gevind word in 'n gebied van Kaapstad genaamd die Kaapse Vlakte, wat vir ongeveer 11 000 individue behuising bied. Die strukturele integriteit van hierdie geboue is van belang aangesien dit 'n groot aantal individue huisves. Die doel van die studie was om 'n risiko-evaluerings proses te ontwikkel wat gebruik kan word om multi-verdieping (2, 3 en 4 verdiepings) lasdraende steengeboue te evalueer ten opsigte van aardbewing verwante skade. Die risiko-evaluering proses vergelyk verskeie kenmerke van die geboue, die inwoners, seismiese eienskappe van die streek en die vermoë van die inwoners om terug te keer na hul alledaagse leefstyl. Die resultaat is in die vorm van 'n risiko-gradering, wat die gebruiker in staat stel om die geboue te prioritiseer volgens hul aardbewings risiko. Die doel was om 'n vergelykende model te ontwikkel wat toegepas kan word om 'n verskeidenheid van geboue te evalueer, en aan te dui waar die impak van 'n aardbewing die grootste sal wees. Hierdie resultaat kan dan gebruik word vir verdere remediërende optrede of prosedures soos versterkings. Die risiko-evaluerings proses gebruik 'n "Earthquake Risk Assessment Model" (ERAM) wat spesifiek ontwikkel is om die aardbewings-risiko van elke gebou te evalueer met die gebruik van 26 faktore. Hierdie faktore word elkeen individueel beoordeel en 'n risiko-gradering word verkry met behulp van die ERAM model. Die geboue kan dan geprioritiseer word volgens elkeen se risiko-gradering om te bepaal waar daar remediërende optrede nodig is.

Disasters triggered by hazards, such as floods, earthquakes, droughts, and cyclones, pose significant impediments to sustainable development efforts in the most vulnerable and exposed countries. Mainstreaming disaster risk is hence seen as an important global agenda as reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030. Yet, conventional development indicators remain largely negligent of the potential setbacks that may be posed by disaster risk. This article discusses the need to reflect disaster risk in development indicators and proposes a concept disaster risk-adjusted human development index (RHDI) as an example. Globally available national-level datasets of disaster risk to public and private assets (including health, educational facilities, and private housing) is combined with an estimate of expenditure on health, education, and capital formation to construct an RHDI. The RHDI is then analyzed across various regions and HDI groups, and contrasted with other HDI variants including inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI) and the gender-specific female HDI (FHDI) to identify groups of countries where transformational disaster risk reduction (DRR) approaches may be necessary.

This study takes ¡§the Health food of nutrition¡¨, ¡§Cosmetic skin care products¡¨, and ¡§the Articles for cleanness¡¨ as the representatives of direct-selling products. With the network questionnaires to investigate ¡§Consumer characteristics¡¨ of ¡§Netizens¡¨, and how they influence the levels of various perceived risk, and the helpfulness of risk reduction strategies, with SEM to analysis the structure between seven kinds of perceived risk, with the method which was used by Roselius (1971) to measure the helpfulness of risk reduction strategies, and with Cluster, Correlate, ANOVA to analysis the way how ¡§Consumer characteristics¡¨ of ¡§Netizens¡¨ influence perceived risks and risk reduction strategies, and the way how perceived risks influence risk reduction strategies. There are five important conclusions, describing as following: 1. There are differences between three kinds of direct-selling products on the perceived risks of ¡§Performance¡¨, ¡§Psychology¡¨, and ¡§Overall¡¨. 2. In the structure of constructing the path to form the ¡§Overall risk¡¨ by six kinds of risks, the direct and indirect result exists at the same time. 3. Different ¡§Consumer characteristics¡¨ will influence different kinds of perceived risks, and the most meaningful characteristics are ¡§the Types of direct-selling consumers¡¨ and ¡§the attitude toward shopping through direct-selling¡¨. 4. Different ¡§Consumer characteristics¡¨ will influence the helpfulness of different risk reduction strategies, and the most meaningful characteristics are ¡§Age¡¨, ¡§Location¡¨, and ¡§the Types of direct-selling consumers¡¨. 5. Various perceived risks will influence the helpfulness of different risk reduction strategies, and only the helpfulness of ¡§Free sample¡¨ will be enhanced. There are three points about managerial implications and suggestions, describing as following: 1. ¡§Private testing¡¨, ¡§Government testing¡¨, and ¡§Major brand image¡¨ are capable of reducing the ¡§Performance risk¡¨ effectively, and then reduce the levels of ¡§Overall risk¡¨ perception to decrease the perceived sacrifice of product value and to enhance it to the original levels of product value. 2. For the ¡§Netizen¡¨ who are not becoming a member, and not using direct-selling products quite often, ¡§Free sample¡¨ with ¡§Replace product guarantee¡¨ or ¡§Money-back guarantee¡¨ are capable of reducing the levels of risk perception effectively. 3. In the long run, direct-selling companies should endeavor to prove the image of direct-selling, because ¡§the attitude toward shopping through direct-selling¡¨ is an important factor to influence the levels of risk perception and the helpfulness of the risk reduction strategies. And ¡§Industry autonomy¡¨ is a good risk reduction strategy, but not be known by the public. There is a long way for TDSA ¡]Taiwan Direct Selling Association¡^ to go, because popularity and public trust are insufficient. Key words: Consumer characteristics, Perceived risk, Risk reduction strategy

As the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States nears the end of its third decade, stakeholders have begun to sift through the previous experiences in prevention in order to assess progress as well as plan the next steps in this fight. The purpose of this study is aimed at understanding the factors which may affect unprotected intercourse. It is hypothesized that for men who have sex with men (MSM) there is an association between having a discussion about their HIV status and high-risk sexual behaviors. A secondary analysis was conducted using data from the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) System. Binary logistic regression was conducted to determine the degree of association of the dependent variables; unprotected receptive anal intercourse (URAI) with a main partner, URAI with a non-main partner, unprotected insertive anal intercourse (UIAI) with a main partner and UIAI with a non-main partner, with the independent variables of discussion of HIV status, age, race, educational attainment, number of partners and HIV status. When assessing the association between the discussion of HIV status with both URAI and UAIA it was found that discussion of HIV status was a non-significant factor. Despite the non-significant findings in relations to the hypotheses, being Black was found to be a significant predictor of URAI and UAIA with main partners in the logistic regression models. Having a positive serostatus and having 5 or more sexual partners proved to be significant risk factors for URAI and UIAI with a non-main partner, while being Black was found to be a protective factor.

Disaster risk Reduction (DRR) is well known and practiced in many nations. Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) is a sub-component of DRR which is slowly being practiced in most at risk communities. However, there are still gaps regarding the principles and guidelines that guide the process of CBDRR. This study stipulates numerous guiding principles that govern the processes of CBDRR activities. These are: traditional knowledge, understanding of community members, capacity of community members, community participation, political will and training of community members. Furthermore the study used the guidelines to evaluate which activities by the Oshakati community members relate to the principles and guidelines of CBDRR as a way of reducing the risk of recurring floods in the community. Through focus group discussions and semi-structured individual interviews, it was found that the community members in Oshakati adhere to most principles of CBDRR such as the use of traditional knowledge, community members having the capacity to work together to solve common societal problems and to understand community structures. However, guidelines such as community participation, political will and training of community members were not adhered to due to various challenges such as the lack of institutional capacity and limited resources. The findings further stipulate that those guidelines were not adhered to due to inadequate knowledge on DRR and lack of support from the local government due to limited availability of resources. The study recommends that in order for the local government to reduce the risk of recurring floods in the community, the local government need to build capacity of its personnel working directly with DRR aspects. These can be achieved through a shift in the approach of responding to flooding to being proactive, creating awareness regarding the hazard and ensuring genuine participation of community members into local government CBDRR activities. / M Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Disaster risk Reduction (DRR) is well known and practiced in many nations. Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) is a sub-component of DRR which is slowly being practiced in most at risk communities. However, there are still gaps regarding the principles and guidelines that guide the process of CBDRR. This study stipulates numerous guiding principles that govern the processes of CBDRR activities. These are: traditional knowledge, understanding of community members, capacity of community members, community participation, political will and training of community members. Furthermore the study used the guidelines to evaluate which activities by the Oshakati community members relate to the principles and guidelines of CBDRR as a way of reducing the risk of recurring floods in the community. Through focus group discussions and semi-structured individual interviews, it was found that the community members in Oshakati adhere to most principles of CBDRR such as the use of traditional knowledge, community members having the capacity to work together to solve common societal problems and to understand community structures. However, guidelines such as community participation, political will and training of community members were not adhered to due to various challenges such as the lack of institutional capacity and limited resources. The findings further stipulate that those guidelines were not adhered to due to inadequate knowledge on DRR and lack of support from the local government due to limited availability of resources. The study recommends that in order for the local government to reduce the risk of recurring floods in the community, the local government need to build capacity of its personnel working directly with DRR aspects. These can be achieved through a shift in the approach of responding to flooding to being proactive, creating awareness regarding the hazard and ensuring genuine participation of community members into local government CBDRR activities. / M Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The influx of youth abusing substances is a major problem. The effect of substance abuse may have far-reaching consequences for defining the vulnerability of the offending group as well as for contributing to the disaster risk faced by the community as a whole. The effects of substance abuse on young people have the potential to contribute to an increased vulnerability of this group. It becomes the responsibility of the family and community to bear the burden of its drug-afflicted members and the implications of their addiction. The study was conducted in Bekkersdal, which is a community that has a significant problem with youth abusing substances. The degree to which their abuse affects families and the broader community in terms of increasing risk has not been examined. The dissertation aims to evaluate the effect of substance abuse among the youth on the risk profile of the Bekkersdal community. According to Disaster Risk Reduction, one of the important activities of the state is to increase capacity of communities and households to minimize the risk that may occur and also most importantly, monitoring the likelihood of and the state of alertness to disasters that may occur. A qualitative, explorative research design was employed and data gathered using structured interviews involving 30 adults namely School Principals, Teachers, Community Social workers, Community Leaders, Religious Leaders, Disaster managers and a Nurse from the area. The interviews were analysed by means of themes. The research indicated that substance-abusing youth create conditions which undermine human, physical and social capital and hence contribute to instability in the livelihood-based system. It was also evident to this research that it encourages the importance of engaging community members in discussions about aspects that concern them which is an empowerment process in itself. As they become more involved, they also have hope that things will work better for them by actively rebuilding their own lives and communities. All the information gathered revealed the link between the negative impacts of substance abuse and its risk profile in the Bekkersdal community. / M Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The need for the focus for inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) into policy is largely informed by a globalisation process that is characterised by increased knowledge sharing of different cultural and lingual groups. Indigenous knowledge has been an essential survival tool for humans since time immemorial and there is a connection between IK and disaster risk reduction (DRR). Increasingly indigenous knowledge is being valued internationally as a useful resource for dealing with modern problems. The thesis made a case of effectively including IK into DRR policy in Zimbabwe. Focus group discussion, transect walks, document analysis and participatory interviewing methods involving more than 138 participants were employed to gain insights of IK practices and measures used for DRR in four districts (Mangwe, Hwedza, Lupane and Guruve) in Zimbabwe. There are no easy answers for advocating for the inclusion of IK into DRR policy for obtaining IK from participants take time and there is need for patience. However, the main categories of IK emerging from this study contribute to the emerging IK/DRR practices body of knowledge, spanning social science disciplines. The research found that the most used IK domains for components of DRR identified are individual inherited knowledge and knowledge known to the community. Other IK domains used are knowledge practiced by individuals if known to individuals, acquired the skill to practice it faithfully without modification, individual rights to use the modified and unmodified knowledge according to same rules and acquired the skill to practice it faithfully with modification. Communities that have inherited IK, have abilities to observe their surroundings using plants (environmental ethic) and animals (ecological ethic) to develop indicators that can be used to predict disaster risk. There are many IK experts in rural communities for human and animal health. IK use in DRR is about agency, notwithstanding political and economic context. Rural communities’ agency are continuously reviving and becoming more innovative in developing IK technologies for DRR. The inclusion of IK into DRR policy becomes very relevant in that IK categories identified can be used for DRR. Finally, on the basis of the findings suggestions and road map for the inclusion of IK through a broader education strategy has been provided. The suggestion for the inclusion of IK into DRR is either through decentralisation, partnership or devolution. With decentralisation, responsibilities can be delegated with limited authority to dispersed units of hierarchical jurisdiction while in devolution there is a creation of some realms of authority that have autonomy. The thesis recommended that IK requires institutional linkages reinforcement between DRR and rural sectors (local government, village assemblies, traditional leaders, IK experts) and improving quality of education, and incorporating IK for DRR in the education curriculum from primary schools to university level. / PhD (Development and Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The influx of youth abusing substances is a major problem. The effect of substance abuse may have far-reaching consequences for defining the vulnerability of the offending group as well as for contributing to the disaster risk faced by the community as a whole. The effects of substance abuse on young people have the potential to contribute to an increased vulnerability of this group. It becomes the responsibility of the family and community to bear the burden of its drug-afflicted members and the implications of their addiction. The study was conducted in Bekkersdal, which is a community that has a significant problem with youth abusing substances. The degree to which their abuse affects families and the broader community in terms of increasing risk has not been examined. The dissertation aims to evaluate the effect of substance abuse among the youth on the risk profile of the Bekkersdal community. According to Disaster Risk Reduction, one of the important activities of the state is to increase capacity of communities and households to minimize the risk that may occur and also most importantly, monitoring the likelihood of and the state of alertness to disasters that may occur. A qualitative, explorative research design was employed and data gathered using structured interviews involving 30 adults namely School Principals, Teachers, Community Social workers, Community Leaders, Religious Leaders, Disaster managers and a Nurse from the area. The interviews were analysed by means of themes. The research indicated that substance-abusing youth create conditions which undermine human, physical and social capital and hence contribute to instability in the livelihood-based system. It was also evident to this research that it encourages the importance of engaging community members in discussions about aspects that concern them which is an empowerment process in itself. As they become more involved, they also have hope that things will work better for them by actively rebuilding their own lives and communities. All the information gathered revealed the link between the negative impacts of substance abuse and its risk profile in the Bekkersdal community. / M Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015