This research reports on the use of the resilience assessment approach to evaluate the social-ecological systems (SES) at the NWU (Vaal) for a nine month period from March 2013 to November 2013. The research aims to determine the merits of the use of a resilience assessment approach to determine the resilience of the NWU (Vaal) in respect of social-ecological systems. Objectives of the research include the identification of disturbing events to environmental resilience, to construct a conceptual social-ecological systems model of the NWU (Vaal) in order to determine thresholds relevant to resilience and to determine if the resilience assessment approach can be applied at the NWU (Vaal). Data was collected in the form of a literature review, which aided with the construction of a time line for the focal social-ecological system; document reviews, interviews with relevant role players, observation by the researcher and the use of the assessment approach to construct the social-ecological system model. The research findings include identification of possible disturbances and thresholds relevant to resilience of the social-ecological system of the NWU (Vaal). The construction of a social-ecological system model of the NWU (Vaal) aids with proposals to incorporate a stewardship approach which enhance resilience of the focal social-ecological system. / M (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This study investigates the underlying factors of paternalism and dependency in the mission work of the Reformed Churches in South Africa by focusing on the KOSH region. The study will examine, as a case study, the missionary work done by the white Reformed Churches among the black communities and the Reformed Churches in the Klerksdorp, Orkney, Stilfontein, Hartbeesfontein (KOSH) region. Such a case study aims to lay bare the main causes of the black Reformed churches’ dependency on their white Reformed counterparts. It will examine the issues of attitude, cultural and world view prevalent among the Reformed church members in the KOSH region that may cause paternalism and dependency in missions. The possible influence of apartheid developments on mission methodology and the strategy of the GKSA churches will be examined closely. As a proposal to overcome the residue of paternalism and dependency in the black church community, this study will expound the biblical principle of partnership in missions. Thereafter the focus will fall on the biblical point of departure of a partnership model in missions. Some practical guidelines as recommendations will also be suggested in terms of which such a holistic transformational model of missions could help to overcome tendencies of paternalism and dependency in the missionary situation. Chapter 1 focuses on the formulation of the research. It states the background, problem statement, research limitation, main research question, aim and objectives as well as central argument and method of research. To conclude, the chapter division is presented. Chapter 2 studies and outlines definitions, historical development and missiological reflection on paternalism and dependency. Chapter 3 studies and outlines key biblical perspectives on mission, paternalism and dependency from the missio-Dei point of departure. Chapter 4 investigates and analyzes the attitude, cultural and worldview issues prevalent among the Reformed church members in the KOSH region that may cause paternalism and dependency in missions. Chapter 5 investigates the field work on mission, paternalism and dependency in the case of the Reformed Churches in South Africa, focusing on the KOSH region. Chapter 6 investigates key biblical and missiological perspectives on partnership and interdependency in missions by which to overcome paternalism and dependency. Chapter 7 investigates the relevant principles and possible pitfalls regarding the motives of partnership and interdependency with the aim of establishing a holistic transformational model of missions in the post-apartheid dispensation in South Africa. Chapter 8 consists of the conclusions and summary of this study. The partnership model is proposed and practical guidelines as recommendations are made finally on the transformation of mission within the Reformed Churches in South Africa in the KOSH region in post-apartheid South Africa. / PhD (Missiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This research reports on the use of the resilience assessment approach to evaluate the social-ecological systems (SES) at the NWU (Vaal) for a nine month period from March 2013 to November 2013. The research aims to determine the merits of the use of a resilience assessment approach to determine the resilience of the NWU (Vaal) in respect of social-ecological systems. Objectives of the research include the identification of disturbing events to environmental resilience, to construct a conceptual social-ecological systems model of the NWU (Vaal) in order to determine thresholds relevant to resilience and to determine if the resilience assessment approach can be applied at the NWU (Vaal). Data was collected in the form of a literature review, which aided with the construction of a time line for the focal social-ecological system; document reviews, interviews with relevant role players, observation by the researcher and the use of the assessment approach to construct the social-ecological system model. The research findings include identification of possible disturbances and thresholds relevant to resilience of the social-ecological system of the NWU (Vaal). The construction of a social-ecological system model of the NWU (Vaal) aids with proposals to incorporate a stewardship approach which enhance resilience of the focal social-ecological system. / M (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Implicit in any urban design is a negotiation between public and private interests. Such a negotiation is articulated and made legible in the facades, fences and even more subtle edges separating this from that. A complex variety of spatial situations are produced depending on how spaces are framed, how interfaces are materialized. In the city, the interplay of open space, building and boundary produces a patchwork of subspaces, which we can consider as potential urban territories. Most of us are familiar with the results of territorial production and recognize that fences, furniture or plantings are claims to space by an individual or group. However, the reason to conceive of this process as a territorial production may not be immediately apparent. Consequences of territorial production on percep-tions and behavior are rather under-analyzed, especially in the context of the city. This thesis looks specifically at territorial responses to urban form in the potential social arenas of shared yards in multifamily housing schemes. Drawing on territoriality- and commons-theory as a basis for morphological studies using spatial analysis (e.g. GIS), the thesis proposes that territorial uses of space are in part connected to characteristics of urban form. The thesis explores these spatial underpinnings of claims on space, examining historical, sociological and architectural perspectives and implications on current planning praxis. Parallels are drawn with the role of excludability and rivalry in the production of goods as per commons-theory. Recognizing that even territories like yards perform differently depending on built form characteristics is a step to designing open space with greater social utility. Most notably, the findings that spatial enclosure supports sense of ownership while spaciousness and size support frequency of use is knowledge useful to the practitioner with a role in the production of urban environments, whether in planning, design or construction. With increasing focus on sustainability in urbanism, factoring in social sustainability in land use means recognizing what makes yards inviting to use and elicit feelings of stewardship. Moreover, the importance of legibility at the interface of public and private has implications for design of public space as well. What appears to have been insufficiently problematized in the past are the non-excludable, rivalrous yards which appear to be parks, but do not perform as such territorially. The thesis suggests how a theoretical basis may support design inter-ventions and even densification to resolve such “territorial instability.” / <p>QC 20160310</p>

Community-based conservation includes natural resource or biodiversity protection by, for and with the local community. However, surprisingly little is known about what enables community-based conservation. The aim of this research was to explore and identify potential motivations of a community-based organization in choosing, in this case, conservation of endangered olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) as their flagship project. Samudram Women’s Federation, a State-level organization working with small-scale fishing communities in Odisha, India, was used as a case to explore questions around collective action for communitybased conservation. Using qualitative methodologies, the study analyzed how the interactions and interests of multiple actors shaped the goals and activities for the conservation initiative. Government prohibition of killing turtles, or any other single factor, could not explain conservation behavior. Rather, many complementary factors (economic, political, environmental, social cultural and spiritual) enabled and/or motivated community conservation and environment / February 2016

Empiric antimicrobial therapy often consists of the combination of Gram-positive coverage with vancomycin (VAN) and Gram-negative coverage, specifically an anti-pseudomonal beta-lactam, such as piperacillin-tazobactam (PTZ). Nephrotoxicity is commonly associated with VAN therapy; however, recent reports demonstrate increasing nephrotoxicity rates among patients treated with the combination of VAN and PTZ. This study evaluated the effect of the VAN/PTZ combination on acute kidney injury (AKI), as defined by the RIFLE criteria, compared to VAN and PTZ monotherapies. Overall, 11,650 patients were analyzed, with 1,647 (14.1%) AKI cases occurring. AKI was significantly more frequent in the VAN/PTZ group (21%) compared to either monotherapy group (VAN 8.3%, PTZ 7.8%, p<0.001 for both). Combination therapy was independently associated with higher AKI odds compared to monotherapy with either agent (aOR=2.03; 95% CI 1.74-2.39; aOR=2.31; 95% CI 1.97-2.71, for VAN and PTZ, respectively). Receipt of concomitant nephrotoxic drugs were independently associated with increased AKI rates, as were increased duration of therapy, length of hospital stay, increasing severity of illness, and increasing baseline renal function. VAN combined with PTZ was associated with twice the odds of AKI development compared to either agent as monotherapy. This demonstrates the need for judicious use of combination empiric therapy.

This research is the result of the author’s quest to answer the question whether Corporate Governance is effective in Emerging Markets. Literature on Corporate Governance in the emerging markets of Latin America is limited mostly due to the relatively slower development of capital markets and the late adoption of corporate governance principles. Corporate Governance laws, which largely follow Sarbanes Oxley guidelines, were published and implemented in the mid 00´s and no research has checked their impact on corporate value in Latin America. This research reports compromises two empirical projects. The first project focused on the relationship between boards of directors attributes such size and composition, Corporate Governance law and firm value for Colombia. The second project focused on another Corporate Governance variable, CEO Duality and tested whether it has had any impact in Mexico. This second project also studied whether board attributes such as size and composition and Corporate Governance law were related to firm value. Based on the listed companies from Colombia and Mexico for the years 2001 to 2012 the author found no relationship between board size or composition and firm value. Results from Mexico, where CEO duality is allowed showed that it has no relationship with firm value. These results do not support or contradict either Agency theory or stewardship theory. Results on the impact of the adoption of a Corporate Governance law in firm value are mixed. Results for Colombia contradict previous literature by reporting a positive relationship between Corporate Governance laws and firm results while results from Mexico support previous research by reporting no relationship between these variables. This research is valuable for regulators and policy makers in their quest to assess the impact of the adoption of Corporate Governance laws in emerging markets. . Since effective Corporate Governance is important in easier access to financing it is important for shareholders to know which Corporate Governance mechanisms are positively related to firm value. Similarly, it is also important for investors (both foreign and local) in assessing the risk for equity investments in Colombia and Mexico.

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the relationship between religion and the environment. The purpose of this project is to explore the environmental practices and attitudes of Christian churches in two Virginia Communities. The two communities; the Northern Neck and Eastern Shore are located on the Chesapeake Bay and have a shared history of dependence on the Bay. The results of the dissertation demonstrate the prevalence of environmental programs in the population, the nature of these programs and the respondents’ attitudes towards a host of environmental issues. These results can be used by environmental professionals and policy makers seeking to form partnerships with the religious community and hence promote sustainability within religious institutions and their followers. It will also prove useful to religious organizations which are concerned with environmental issues.

This dissertation aims to enhance the understanding of stewardship in family firms by studying its antecedents related to the controlling family\'s ability and willingness to influence the firm, management control mechanisms design and procedural justice and its consequences regardingits moderating effect onthe relationship between family involvement and performance. First, we explore the heterogeneity among family businesses, by considering the influence of a family\'s ability and willingness on the design of formal and participative management control mechanisms. We define ability as the level of family involvement in ownership and in management. Willingness is based on the socioemotional wealth (SEW) literature, which refers to the controlling family\'s affect-related value invested in the firm. We focus on the following SEW sub-dimensions (1) family control and influence (2) and renewal of family bonds. Second, we investigate whether management control mechanisms such as goal setting and performance evaluation often installed to curb manager\'s opportunistic behavior, stimulate stewardship in family firms. We focus on the degree of participation and formality applied to these management control mechanisms, which elements are studied in the procedural justice literature. Therefore, we discuss how management control mechanisms\' design and procedural justice are associated with stewardship. Stewardship implies a collective-serving and pro-organizational attitudes and behaviors and constitutes a distinctive characteristic of family firms. Third, we examine whether a stewardship-oriented culture moderates the association between family involvement and family firm performance, whereby family involvement is a sub-item of the familiness construct, which focuses on the interaction between family members and its business.To test these relationships in an empirical way, we developed a survey and selected data from medium and large Brazilian family firms. We applied Structural Equation Modeling (SmartPLS) as the main data analysis method to test our hypotheses. The contributions of this study are multiple to the literature. First, more insights are provided in the adoption of participative and formal management control mechanisms in family firms and how a family\'s willingness to influence the firm creates different adoption patterns. We also demonstrate that different SEW intentions must be treated separately since each sub-dimension influences the design of management control mechanisms in the family business in a different way. Second, the results show how formal and participative goal setting and performance evaluation stimulate stewardship identification and stewardship-oriented culture in the family firm. This study provides evidence to practitioners that goal setting and performance evaluation, usually studied as agency mechanisms can foster stewardship in the family firm if they are designed based on the fairness principles. Third, the study reveals that the relationship between familiness and family firm performance is moderated by a stewardship-oriented culture, indicating patterns that lead to a higher financial performance. / Esta tese visa aprimorar a compreensão sobre stewardship nas empresas familiares, estudando seus antecedentes relacionados à capacidade e às intenções da família controladora de influenciar a empresa, o desenho dos mecanismos de controle gerencial e a justiça processual, e suas consequências ao moderar a relação entre envolvimento da família e desempenho. Primeiro, exploramos a heterogeneidade entre as empresas familiares, considerando a influência da habilidade e da intenção da família sobre o desenho de mecanismos de controle gerencial formais e participativos. Definimos habilidade como o nível de envolvimento familiar na propriedade e na gestão. As intenções são baseadas na literatura da riqueza sócio-emocional (SEW), que se refere ao valor do afeto da família controladora investido na empresa. Estudamos as seguintes sub-dimensões da SEW (1) controle e influência familiar (2) e renovação dos laços familiares. Em segundo lugar, investigamos se os mecanismos de controle gerencial, como a definição de objetivos e a avaliação de desempenho, geralmente estabelecidos para reduzir o comportamento oportunista do gestor, estimulam o stewardship nas empresas familiares. Focamos no grau de participação e formalidade aplicados a esses mecanismos de controle gerencial, cujos elementos são estudados na literatura de justiça processual. Portanto, discutimos como o desenho dos mecanismos de controle gerencial e a justiça processual estão associados ao stewardship. Stewardship implica em atitudes e comportamentos coletivos e pró-organizacionais e constitui em uma característica distintiva das empresas familiares. Em terceiro lugar, examinamos se uma cultura orientada para o stewardship modera a associação entre envolvimento da famíliae desempenho da empresa familiar,onde o envolvimento da família é um subitem doconstruto familinessque por sua vez foca na interação entre os membros da família e o negócio. Para testar essas relações de forma empírica, desenvolvemos uma pesquisa e obtivemos dados de empresas familiares brasileiras de médio e grande porte. Aplicamos a Modelagem de Equações Estruturais (SmartPLS) como o principal método de análise de dados para testar nossas hipóteses. As contribuições deste estudo são múltiplas para a literatura. Em primeiro lugar, são fornecidas mais ideias sobre o desenho de mecanismos de controle gerencial participativos e formais nas empresas familiares e como a intenção da família de influenciar a empresa cria diferentes padrões de adoção. Também demonstramos que as diferentes intenções da SEW devem ser tratadas separadamente, uma vez que cada sub-dimensão influencia o desenho dos mecanismos de governança na empresa familiar de uma maneira diferente. Em segundo lugar, os resultados mostram como a definição de objetivos e a avaliação do desempenho formais e participativos estimulam a identificação cultura orientada para o stewardship na empresa familiar. Este estudo fornece evidências aos profissionais de que a definição de objetivos e a avaliação do desempenho, geralmente estudados como mecanismos de agência podem promover o stewardship na empresa familiar, se forem delineados com base nos princípios da justiça. Em terceiro lugar, o estudo revela que a relação entre envolvimento da família e desempenho da empresa familiar é moderada pela cultura orientada para ostewardship, indicando padrões que levam a um maior desempenho financeiro.

Aim: This thesis aims to explore and investigate the level and process of adoption of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programmes (ASPs) and factors influencing their implementation in Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals. The findings of this study will provide hospitals and policy makers with evidence-based recommendations on how barriers to ASPs adoption can be overcome, which will ultimately improve antimicrobial use and reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Method: A mixed method approach was carried out using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals in three Saudi hospitals to explore the enablers and barriers to their adoption of ASPs. A survey was then developed based on these findings to investigate the level of hospitals' adoption of ASPs and factors influencing their implementation at a national level. Further, a case study using in-depth interviews was utilised to understand the process of ASP adoption in a Saudi hospital, and how adoption challenges were addressed. Finally, a self-administered questionnaire was used to examine patients' knowledge and perceptions of antimicrobial use and resistance, and to evaluate the institutional role of patient education on antimicrobial use in two Saudi hospitals. The overall methodology of the research is summarised in Figure I. Results: Despite the introduction of a national ASP strategy, adoption of ASPs in Saudi MOH hospitals remains low. Organisational barriers such as the lack of senior management support, lack of supportive IT infrastructure and the shortage of ASP team members hinder hospitals' efforts to adopt ASPs. Further barriers relate to the lack of formal enforcement by MOH and the physicians fears of patients' complications and clinical liability. Patients admitted to Saudi hospitals lack knowledge and perceptions of AMR, and the adoption of ASPs may improve hospitals' role in patients' education. Conclusions: Despite the established benefits of ASPs, their adoption in Saudi MOH hospitals remains low. Urgent action is needed to address the strategies priorities associated with AMR, including access to antimicrobials, antimicrobial stewardship and education and research. Policy makers are urged to consider making ASPs adoption in hospitals a regulatory requirement supported by national guidelines and surveillance programmes. It is essential to increase the provision of ID and infection control residency and training programmes to meet the extreme shortage of ID physicians, pharmacists, microbiologists and infection control practitioners. Higher education institutions and teaching hospitals are required to introduce antimicrobial prescribing and stewardship competencies into undergraduate Medical, Pharmacy, Dental, Nursing and Veterinary curriculum, as well as introduction of AMR topics in order to increase knowledge and awareness of ASPs and AMR. Collaboration between ASPs adopting and non-adopting hospitals is essential to share implementation experience, strategies and solutions to overcome barriers. Healthcare specialised associations are needed to be part of AMR conversation and guide healthcare professionals' training and accreditation. Multiple stakeholders should be actively part of the conversations around tacking AMR. Primary care, secondary care, community pharmacies and policy makers should strive to create a shared culture of responsibility among all healthcare partners to improve antimicrobial therapy and reduce risks of AMR.