In today's competitive market, established organizations need to adapt in order to survive. One way to do this is by transforming to agile. Since its origin in the IT industry, the agile approach has been embraced by several different industries. One industry where several major players have undergone an agile transformation is the banking industry, an industry which is characterized by strict regulatory requirements, complex organizational structure, and extensive use of technology. By conducting a case study exploring the agile transformation inside three large banks in Sweden, the motivating factors behind transforming to large-scale agile as well as the key aspects to consider when pursuing an agile transformation have been investigated. The study aims to contribute academically to existing research within the implementation of large-scale agile in the banking industry as well as practically by outlining driving factors and critical considerations when pursuing an agile transformation. An understanding of that the traditional ways of working did not suit today's dynamic market in combination with a need to increase market speed and faster respond to changes in customer needs were found to be the main motivating factors behind why the banks decided to transform to an agile approach. The theoretical and empirical findings led to the identification of five aspects to consider when transforming to large-scale agile. The five aspects are: The role of management, adjusting the method or framework to the organization, the people side of change, knowledge and education as well as the role of HR. Out of these five aspects, our findings indicate that the people side of change is the most challenging one but also the most crucial one to manage in order to accomplish a successful implementation. An active management support throughout the entire transformation journey, change-positive people in positions of leadership, adjustment of chosen methods or frameworks, and adequate funding for knowledge and education were discovered to be critical for a successful transformation. Furthermore, it was discovered that by integrating the HR function early in the transformation, many of the challenges associated with change management and leadership could be mitigated. / Etablerade organisationer som verkar på dagens föränderliga marknad behöver bli mer snabbrörliga för att bibehålla sin konkurrenskraft. Ett sätt för organisationer att bli mer snabbrörliga är att implementera agila arbetssätt. Sedan sitt ursprung i IT-branschen har agila arbetssätt implementerats av flera olika branscher. En industri där flera stora aktörer har genomgått en agil transformation är bankindustrin, en teknikintensiv industri med strikta lagkrav och komplexa organisationsstrukturer. Genom att genomföra en fallstudie om den agila transformationen som tre stora banker i Sverige har genomgått kunde de underliggande faktorerna bakom transformationerna till storskaligt agilt arbetssätt samt de viktigaste aspekterna att tänka på vid genomförandet undersökas. Studien syftar till att bidra akademiskt till befintlig forskning inom implementeringen av agila arbetssätt i bankindustrin samt praktiskt genom att beskriva underliggande faktorer samt viktiga aspekter att tänka på vid en agil transformation. En förståelse för att de traditionella arbetssätten inte passar dagens dynamiska marknad i kombination med ett behov av att möta förändrade kundbehov visade sig vara de mest framträdande underliggande faktorerna bakom varför företagen i studien beslutade sig för att implementera agila arbetssätt. Studien resulterade i fem identifierade aspekter att beakta vid implementering av agila arbetssätt: Ledningens roll, anpassning av ramverk till organisation, människans roll i förändringsresan, kunskap och utbildning samt integrering av HR-funktionen. Av dessa fem aspekter visar våra resultat att människans roll i förändringsprocessen är den mest utmanande att hantera men också den mest avgörande för att lyckas uppnå en framgångsrik transformation. Ett aktivt ledningsstöd under hela transformationsresan, förändringspositiva personer i ledande positioner, anpassning av valt ramverk samt tillräcklig finansiering för kunskap och utbildning visade sig vara av central betydelse. Dessutom konstaterades att genom att integrera HR-funktionen i ett tidigt skede av omvandlingen, kunde många av utmaningarna relaterade till förändringsledning och ledarskap mildras.

I en tid där skolor stängs ner för gott som en strategi för att möta utmaningar som exempelvis segregation inom västerländska skoldistrikt är det värt att reflektera över hur de påverkar barn och deras välbefinnande. Bakgrunden till uppsatsen bygger på ett större projekt av Flensner & Svensson (2023) kopplat till skolstängningar. I uppsatsen har projektets data från hösten 2021 använts. Metoden är kvantitativ och den upplevda känslan av trivsel, trygghet och tillit jämfördes mellan elever som bytt skola och de som inte bytt skola. Det var 1349 elever i åldrarna 10–15 år som deltog i undersökningen. Data från projektet analyserades med hjälp av Pearsons korrelationsanalys och ett oberoende t-test. Resultaten visade att trivsel, trygghet och tillit korrelerar positivt med varandra. Elever som svarade på enkäten och hade bytt skola trivdes i genomsnitt lika bra jämfört med de som inte hade bytt skola. Dessutom fanns en signifikant skillnad i upplevelsen av trygghet, där de som inte bytt skola kände sig tryggare. De som bytt skola upplevde en högre nivå av tillit. Eftersom många av de tillfrågade valde att inte svara skulle det kunna ha påverkat generaliserbarheten av resultatet. Diskussionen belyser skolstängningars effekt på elevernas upplevelse av trivsel, trygghet och tillit i skolan. / At a time when schools are being closed for good as a strategy to meet challenges such assegregation within Western school districts, it is worth reflecting on how they affect children and their well-being. The background to the essay is based on a larger project by Flensner & Svensson (2023) linked to school closures. In the essay, the project's data from autumn 2021 has been used. The method is quantitative, and the perceived sense of well-being, security, and trust was compared between students who changed schools and those who did not. There were 1,349 students aged 10–15 who participated in the survey. Data from the project were analyzed using Pearson's correlation analysis and an independent t-test. The results showed that well-being, security, and trust correlate positively with each other. Pupils who responded to the survey and had changed schools were on average just as happy compared to those who had not changed schools. In addition, there was a significant difference in the security experience, where those who did not change schools felt safer. Those who changed schools experienced a higher level of trust. As many of the respondents chose not to answer, this could affect the generalizability of the results. The discussion highlights the effect of school closures on students' experience of well-being, security, and trust in school.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Huston Gibson / Studies have shown that, since the early 1980s, the prevalence of overweight children and youth in the U.S. has tripled from approximately five to 16 percent of the population. Simultaneously, fewer and fewer children have been walking and cycling to school. Children—especially those aged 10 to 15 years—have some of the highest per capita traffic-related bicycle fatality and injury rates. While bicycle organizations, states and communities across the country have developed a variety of education programs independently and cooperatively with the National Safe Routes to School program, there is a lack of evaluation of the impact on bicycle safety, of different programs in different contexts, and of whether educational interventions reduce the risk of crashes and injuries. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Safe Routes to School programs with in-school bicycle education at reducing the crash rate and improving the safety of children and youth cyclists. The causal-comparative research design utilized bicycle mode share data collected from the National Center for Safe Routes to School for five existing programs—Boulder Valley School District Safe Routes to School, Eugene-Springfield Safe Routes to School, Safe Routes Philly, Portland Safe Routes to School, and Marin County Safe Routes to School—and crash data before and after program implementation for those respective communities. The crash assessment revealed a decreasing trend in crashes involving children and youth cyclists around treatment schools in the Eugene, OR and Philadelphia, PA program study areas, and at the aggregate level across program areas; but, this trend was not statistically significant when compared to the change in crashes around control schools in a quasi-experimental analysis. Nevertheless, the increase in students cycling to and from school reported by all but one of the programs, and the increase in exposure to crash risk as a result, indicated that the Safe Routes to School programs did not cause a decrease in the safety of student cyclists. Additional rigorous evaluations are needed utilizing randomized controlled design to maximize the reliability of reported findings and to aid decisions about where to invest resources in community-based approaches to injury prevention for cyclists.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The primary objective of the study was to determine the level of self-reported sexual risk behaviour of student men who have sex with men at a South African higher educational institution. The secondary objective was to determine the level of Human Immunodefiency Virus (HIV) knowledge among student men who have sex with men, and lastly to determine the extent to which the theory of planned behaviour is applicable in explaining intentions to use condoms. A sample of fifty student men who have sex with men were recruited to take part in an online baseline and follow-up survey, three months apart. Many of the student men who have sex with men reported sexual behaviour, which may place them at risk of contracting HIV. More than fifty percent (56%) had used alcohol or drugs during sexual intercourse in the past. Six percent (6.1%) reported having been forced to have sexual intercourse against their will. While 8% had experienced abuse and violence on campus, 22% had experienced abuse only and another 6% reported having experienced some form of violence due to their sexual preference. Most participants (70%) reported having used condoms almost always or always when engaging in penetrative sexual behaviours, but 30% had used condoms inconsistently or not at all in the past. The sample of student MSM scored high on a questionnaire of basic HIV knowledge, with a mean score of 14.57 (80.94%). The present study questions the applicability of the theory of planned behaviour in understanding and predicting intention to use condoms among a sample of student men who have sex with men attending a South African higher education institution. Only two of the major theoretical variables, namely attitude and perceived group norms, could significantly predict intention to use condoms. Attitudes regarding condom use were found to have an inverse The primary objective of the study was to determine the level of self-reported sexual risk behaviour of student men who have sex with men at a South African higher educational institution. The secondary objective was to determine the level of Human Immunodefiency Virus (HIV) knowledge among student men who have sex with men, and lastly to determine the extent to which the theory of planned behaviour is applicable in explaining intentions to use condoms. A sample of fifty student men who have sex with men were recruited to take part in an online baseline and follow-up survey, three months apart. Many of the student men who have sex with men reported sexual behaviour, which may place them at risk of contracting HIV. More than fifty percent (56%) had used alcohol or drugs during sexual intercourse in the past. Six percent (6.1%) reported having been forced to have sexual intercourse against their will. While 8% had experienced abuse and violence on campus, 22% had experienced abuse only and another 6% reported having experienced some form of violence due to their sexual preference. Most participants (70%) reported having used condoms almost always or always when engaging in penetrative sexual behaviours, but 30% had used condoms inconsistently or not at all in the past. The sample of student MSM scored high on a questionnaire of basic HIV knowledge, with a mean score of 14.57 (80.94%). The present study questions the applicability of the theory of planned behaviour in understanding and predicting intention to use condoms among a sample of student men who have sex with men attending a South African higher education institution. Only two of the major theoretical variables, namely attitude and perceived group norms, could significantly predict intention to use condoms. Attitudes regarding condom use were found to have an inversrelationship with intention to use condoms. The results from the hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that the linear combination of the theory of planned behaviour variables could significantly account for 68% of the variance in intention to use condoms when the predictors were considered together. Interventions that seek to lessen HIV risk behaviour among student men who have sex with men should endeavour to incorporate elements which should aim to augment perceived subjective norms regarding condom use. The findings advocate for additional research to be undertaken on the applicability of the theory of planned behaviour in informing health communication and sexual health interventions that aim to reduce HIV transmission risk among student men who have sex with men at higher educational institutions. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die primêre doel van die studie was om die vlak van self-gerapporteerde seksuele risiko gedrag van studentemans wat seks beoefen met mans (MSM) by 'n Suid-Afrikaanse hoër onderwysinstelling te bepaal. Die sekondêre doel was om die vlak van kennis oor die Menslike Immuniteitsgebreksvirus (MIV) onder studente MSM te bepaal, en laastens om die mate waarin die teorie van beplande gedrag toepaslik is om die voorneme om kondoom gebruik te verduidelik. ʼn Steekproef van vyftig studente MSM was gewerf om aan ʼn aanlyn basislynopname en opvolgopname deel te neem. Talle van die studente MSM het seksuele gedrag gerapporteer wat die mans blootstel aan die risiko om MIV op te doen. Meer as vyftig persent (56%) het in die verlede alkohol of dwelms gebruik tydens seksuele omgang. Ses persent (6,1%) het gerapporteer dat hulle al gedwing is om seksuele omgang teen hul wil te hê. Terwyl agt persent mishandeling en geweld op kampus ervaar het, het 22% slegs misbruik ervaar en nog 6% het een of ander vorm van geweld ervaar as gevolg van hul seksuele voorkeur. Die meeste deelnemers (70%) het gerapporteer dat hulle tydens penetratiewe seks byna altyd kondome gebruik, maar 30% het óf glad nie, óf ongereeld in die verlede kondome gebruik. Die studente MSM wat aan die steekproef deelgeneem het, het hoë tellings behaal in ‘n vraelys oor basiese MIV-feite, met ' ʼn gemiddelde telling van 14.57 (80.94%). Die huidige studie bevraagteken die toepasbaarheid van die teorie van beplande gedrag om die voorneme om kondome te gebruik onder ’n steekproef van studente MSM aan ’n Suid-Afrikaanse hoër onderwysinstelling te verstaan en te voorspel. Slegs twee van die belangrikste teoretiese veranderlikes, naamlik houding en subjektiewe groepnorme, kon beduidend die voorneme voorspel om kondome te gebruik. Houding oor kondoom gebruik het ʼn omgekeerde verwantskap met die voorneme om kondome te gebruik voorspel. Die resultate van die hiërargiese meervoudige regressie-ontleding het aangedui dat, wanneer die voorspellers saam oorweeg word, die lineêre kombinasie van die teorie van beplande gedrag veranderlikes betekenisvol tot 68% van die variansie in die voorneme om kondome te gebruik kan verklaar. Ingrypings wat daarop gemik is om MIV-risiko gedrag onder studente MSM te verminder, behoort elemente in te sluit wat streef daarna om waarneembare subjektiewe norme rakende kondoomgebruik aan te vul. Die bevindinge wys dat addisionele navorsing oor die gebruik van die teorie van beplande gedrag in gesondheidskommunikasie en seksuelegesondheid intervensies wat daarop gemik is om die risiko van MIV-oordrag tussen studente MSM by inrigtings vir hoër onderwys te verminder nodig is.

No description available.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The levels of self-efficacy for specific HIV/aids-preventive behaviour patterns for high school pupils from a previously disadvantaged community were measured. Self-efficacy can be described as an individual's perception about his/her ability to perform certain actions effectively in a specific situation. For this purpose, the Sexual Self-Efficacy Questionnaire of Kasen, Vaughan and Walter (1992) was administered. A group of 227 pupils from the Macassar High School were involved in the study. The results showed that the Macassar adolescents display low self-efficacy in areas essential for HIV/aids prevention. The adolescents were especially uncertain about their ability to refuse sexual interaction where potential sexual partners are familiar or desirable and after alcohol or drugs were used. Furthermore, the Macassar adolescents showed low self-efficacy for dealing with sensitive issues concerning a sexual partner and for purchasing condoms in a shop. Regarding gender differences, the results showed that boys display lower self-efficacy than girls in relation to the behaviour patterns that where examined. Those adolescents with lower self-efficacy for refusing sexual intercourse, were also more likely to have had sexual intercourse. Regarding condom use, the results suggested that boys that are sexually active and do not use condoms, display low self-efficacy for the correct, consistent use of condoms. The role what the relationship between self-efficacy and behaviour should play in the development of HIV/aids-preventive interventions, is accentuated in the study. The emphasis must be on the building of self-effective thoughts, associated social and self-handling skills, and especially the development of programmes aimed at changing social cognitions. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die self-effektiwiteitsvlakke vir spesifieke MIV/vigs-voorkomende gedragskeuses of -patrone onder hoërskoolleerlinge uit "n histories benadeelde gemeenskap is bepaal. Self-effektiwiteit kan omskryf word as "n individu se oordeeloor sy/haar vermoë om sekere aksies doeltreffend in "n spesifieke situasie te kan uitvoer. Vir dié doel is die Seksuele Self-effektiwiteitsvraelys van Kasen, Vaughan en Walter (1992) gebruik. "nGroep van 2271eerlinge van die Macassar Hoërskool is by die studie betrek. Volgens die resultate het die Macassar-adolessente lae self-effektiwiteit getoon in areas wat onontbeerlik is vir MIV/vigs-voorkoming. Die adolessente was veralonseker oor hul vermoë om seksuele omgang te weier in situasies waar potensiële seksuele maats toenemend bekend of begeerlik is en ook nadat alkoholof dwelms gebruik is. Verder toon die Macassar-adolessente lae self-effektiwiteit wat betref hul vermoë om sensitiewe aspekte van "n seksuele maat te hanteer en om kondome by "n winkel te koop. Wat geslagsverskille betref toon die resultate dat seuns laer self-effektiwiteit het as meisies wat betref die gedragskeuses of -patrone wat ondersoek is. Dit blyk ook dat respondente wat lae self-effektiwiteit getoon het vir die weiering van seksuele omgang, juis meer geneig was om seksueel aktief te wees. Ten opsigte van konsekwente kondoomgebruik, blyk dit dat seuns wat seksueel aktief is en nie van kondome gebruik maak nie, lae self-effektiwiteit getoon het juis vir die korrekte en konsekwente gebruik van kondome. Die studie beklemtoon die rol wat die verhouding tussen self-effektiwiteit en gedrag in die ontwikkeling van MIV/vigs-voorkomingsintervensies behoort te speel. Die fokus moet lê op die opbou van selfeffektiewe denke, gepaardgaande sosiale en selfhanteringsvaardighede, en veral die ontwikkeling van programme gemik op veranderinge in sosiale kognisies.

Health and safety is of the utmost importance for any company or institution to be successful. There is quite a negative perception regarding the health and safety of rural hospitals and clinics. Rural hospitals are most of the time overcrowded due the large amount of patients that has no medical aid, thus increases the risk for health and safety issues. Patients sit in long queues for hours to receive medical attention and their medication and are therefore exposed to all kinds of diseases, which is a high risk for these patients’s health. The employees working in these rural areas are also exposed to life-threatening diseases on a daily basis and have a good chance of being infected. Employees leave the public sector because of these unsafe working conditions and find themselves either working in the private sector or may even immigrate to foreign countries for better and safer working conditions. During this research done, there were a few shortcomings identified for the management to improvement on and to ensure a safe working environment. There are quite a lot of negativities surrounding the patients and employees in these rural hospitals, because patients get raped by nurses, babies get stolen from maternity wards, doctors are attacked by patients and much more horrific incidents happening in these hospitals. Cultural differences are also a main concern for management, because there are a lot of different races working together in the same department and not everyone has the same beliefs and ways in doing tasks. These cultural differences may lead to clashes amongst employees and result in a negative working environment. This quantitative research was done in selected rural hospitals, due to cost and time consumption. Only 80 employees (doctors, nurses and pharmacists) participated in the research done and the research was not an in-depth research, but enough evidence was compiled to make the necessary assumptions that all is not well in the public sector. With the new National Health Insurance (NHI) to be implemented from 2012, there may a lot of changes in the rural hospitals for the better. Hospitals all over the country are being upgraded and the working conditions are being attended to by the government which may attract more health professional to rural hospitals and clinics. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

This paper develops a Bayesian Global VAR (GVAR) model to track the international transmission dynamics of two stylized shocks, namely a supply and demand shock to US-based safe assets. Our main findings can be summarized as follows. First, we find that (positive) supply-sided shocks lead to pronounced increases in economic activity which spills over to foreign countries. The impact of supply-sided shocks can also be seen for other quantities of interest, most notably equity prices and exchange rates in Europe. Second, a demand-sided shock leads to an appreciation of the US dollar and generally lower yields on US securities, forcing investors to shift their portfolios towards foreign fixed income securities. This yields sizable positive effects on US output, equity prices and a general decrease in financial market volatility. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

This master's thesis Preparedness for Crisis Situations in Schools from the Teachers' Point of View deals with primary and secondary level education teachers' opinions on school safety and their experience with crisis situations in school. The main reserach matter is to carry out a survey based on questionnaires which ascertain the percentage of teachers who have had to intervene during crisis situations in their schools, find out which threats they consider most serious for their school, discover the teachers' opinion on security literacy and it's importance for their profession. Furthermore, this thesis stives to use the acquired data to design an informational poster targeted at school teachers which could help them get familiar with securiy relationships and contacts within and outside their school more easily. The theoretical part encompasses existing research on the topic of school safety in the Czech Republic and also selected foreign literature dealing with the subject. The primary method used in the theoretical part is study of scientific literature, professional journals and reliable on-line sources. The practical part is based on the survey results gathered by means of a questionnaire distributed among selected schools. Graphic and statistic representations of the survey results are...

Title: MS SQL Application Development Framework Author: Bc. Marek Hanes Department: Department of Software Engineering Supervisor: RNDr. Michal Kopecký, Ph.D. Supervisor's e-mail address: kopecky@ksi.mff.cuni.cz Abstract: The thesis deals with a database application development and tries to find ways to optimize the most common problems encountered. The goal of this thesis is to design and develop a modular framework that simplifies the database application development and prevents inexperienced users from using unsafe SQL statements and/or expressions. The example of such a statement can be the insert statement without explicit column list, unsafe XPath expression, etc. The framework provides among others manipulation with history tables allowing versioning of data and reverting unwanted data changes asynchronous and parallel SQL execution support, error management and logging support, monitoring of schema changes as well as procedure and function debugging Together with means of data manipulation, the framework provides the simple way of publishing stored procedure as web service as well. The framework is accompanied by well-written programmers and users guide to allow its further development. Keywords: application development, framework, modular design, safe statements, constraints 1