Yes / The present study explored associations between food choice motives, attitudes towards and intention to adopt personalised nutrition, to inform communication strategies based on consumer priorities and concerns. Design/Setting: A survey was administered online which included the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) and items assessing attitudes towards and intention to adopt personalised nutrition. Subjects: Nationally representative samples were recruited in nine EU countries (n 9381). Results: Structural equation modelling indicated that the food choice motives ‘weight control’, ‘mood’, ‘health’ and ‘ethical concern’ had a positive association and ‘price’ had a negative association with attitude towards, and intention to adopt, personalised nutrition. ‘Health’ was positively associated and ‘familiarity’ negatively associated with attitude towards personalised nutrition. The effects of ‘weight control’, ‘ethical concern’, ‘mood’ and ‘price’ on intention to adopt personalised nutrition were partially mediated by attitude. The effects of ‘health’ and ‘familiarity’ were fully mediated by attitude. ‘Sensory appeal’ was negatively and directly associated with intention to adopt personalised nutrition. Conclusions: Personalised nutrition providers may benefit from taking into consideration the importance of underlying determinants of food choice in potential users, particularly weight control, mood and price, when promoting services and in tailoring communications that are motivationally relevant.

No / A study of key decision makers in a sample of large international companies explored the non-domestic market entry decision. A literature review revealed five broad external domains which held the potential to affect that decision. A series of statements was factor analysed to reveal ten more specific variables. An analysis of which variables discriminated between the decision to enter and not enter a new non-domestic market demonstrated that geocultural/political similarity, developed economy, attractive market, good market information and governmental attitude significantly affected the decision. The findings supported a marketing-strategy based theory of market entry.

This research was undertaken to determine factors causing career indecision of schoolleavers in Kwandebele. Literature study indicates that factors such as interest, sex, dependency, vocational immaturity, the economy and politics have a direct influence on career indecision. Literature study further indicates that parties involved in career decision-making also contribute to career indecision. 424 Kwandebele school leavers answered questionnaires. The schoolleavers were requested to indicate the importance and contributions of five categories, namely personal aspects, family, school, guidance teacher and society to his career choice making process. Most of the personal aspects were regarded as important and also the other four categories showed a significant difference between school leavers who have made a choice and those that have not made a choice. This research could not cover the implication of career education at all levels of the child, recommendations for future research have been made. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

This research was undertaken to determine factors causing career indecision of schoolleavers in Kwandebele. Literature study indicates that factors such as interest, sex, dependency, vocational immaturity, the economy and politics have a direct influence on career indecision. Literature study further indicates that parties involved in career decision-making also contribute to career indecision. 424 Kwandebele school leavers answered questionnaires. The schoolleavers were requested to indicate the importance and contributions of five categories, namely personal aspects, family, school, guidance teacher and society to his career choice making process. Most of the personal aspects were regarded as important and also the other four categories showed a significant difference between school leavers who have made a choice and those that have not made a choice. This research could not cover the implication of career education at all levels of the child, recommendations for future research have been made. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Introduktion: Ohälsosamma matvanor är en av de största riskfaktorerna för ohälsa och förekommer oftare i socioekonomiskt svagare grupper. Tillgängligheten av livsmedel påverkar både vilka kostval vi gör och hur mycket vi konsumerar. Marknadsföring påverkar tillgängligheten och används för att styra konsumenternas livsmedelsval. För att främja hälsosamma val behövs stödjande miljöer med tillgängliga, prisvärda och hälsosamma livsmedel. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka hur hälsosamma livsmedelsval har samband med konsumenters upplevelser av dagligvaruhandelns bidrag till stödjande miljöer för hälsosamma livsmedelsval. Metod: En kvantitativ tvärsnittsdesign tillämpades. Datainsamlingen skedde genom webbenkät vilken länkades till informanter via sociala medier. Deskriptiv analys användes samt positiv oddskvot för att belysa det salutogena perspektivet. Ett p-värde på <0,05 ansågs signifikant. Resultat: Respondenterna (n=346) var kvinnor och män över 21 år. Majoriteten var kvinnor i medelåldern, med högskole- eller universitetsexamen samt medelinkomst. Konsumenter som väljer hälsosamma livsmedel har samband med sinnesstämning, naturliga livsmedel och tillgänglighet. Slutsats: Det är viktigt att hälsofrämjande insatser riktas mot hela samhället och stärker medvetenheten om hälsosam kost. Då studien visade samband mellan konsumenters upplevelser av dagligvaruhandelns stödjande miljöer och hälsosamma livsmedelsval, bör hela livsmedelskedjan medvetandegöras om hur folkhälsan påverkas av stödjande miljöer. / Introduction: Unhealthy eating habits are one of the major risk factors för unhealth and occur more frequently in low socioeconomic areas. The availability of food affects both the dietary choices we make and how much we consume. Marketing affects accessibility and is used to guide consumers' food choices. In order to promote healthy choices, supportive environments with available, affordable and healthy foods are needed. Aim: The aim is to investigate how healthy food choices are linked to consumers' experiences of the grocery retailer's contribution to supportive environments for healthy food choices. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional design was applied. Data was collected with a web survey. Descriptive analysis applied as well as logistic regression analysis and positive odds ratio was used to illustrate the salutogenic perspective. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Result: The respondents (n = 346) were women and men over 21 years. The majority were middle-aged women, with a college or university degree and middle income. There is an association between consumers who choose healthy foods and mood, natural foods and availability. Conclusion: It is important that health promotion efforts are directed at the entire society and strengthen the awareness of healthy eating. As the study showed a correlation between consumers' experiences of the grocery's supportive environments and healthy food choices, the entire food supply chain should be made aware of how public health is affected by supportive environments.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agricultural Economics / Jeffrey M. Peterson / The High Plains aquifer is a primary source of irrigation in western Kansas. Since World War II, producers increased irrigation and the irrigated acreage with the widespread adoption of newer irrigation technologies, causing a reduction in the saturated thickness of the High Plains aquifer. In an effort to conserve water and reduce further decline of the aquifer, the state of Kansas administered cost-share programs to producers who upgraded to an efficient irrigation system. But evidence suggests that the efforts to reduce water consumption have been undermined by producers, who under certain conditions have increased irrigation and irrigated acreage of high-valued and water-intensive crops. The state of Kansas is in a quandary to reduce water consumption and stabilize the saturated thickness of the aquifer while maintaining the economic viability of irrigated agriculture. A producer is faced with the choice of crop, irrigation timing and irrigation technology at the start of the season. This research identifies the conditions for risk-efficient crop choices and estimates the effect of an irrigation technology upgrade on the aquifer. Simulation models based on data from Tribune, Kansas were executed under various scenarios, varying by crop (corn or sorghum), irrigation system (conventional center-pivot or center-pivot with drop nozzles) and well capacity (190, 285 or 570 gallons per minute). Each well capacity was associated with a pre-season soil moisture level (0.40, 0.60 or 0.80 of field capacity). Each scenario was simulated over weather data observed during the 36-year period (1971-2006). Results indicate that producers with slower wells could maximize their net returns while conserving water by choosing less water-intensive crops like sorghum, while irrigating with a conventional center-pivot irrigation system. Producers with faster wells could maximize net returns by choosing water-intensive crops like corn and irrigate with the more efficient center-pivot with drop nozzle irrigation system. In order to reduce groundwater consumption and maintain the saturated thickness of the aquifer, water policies should internalize the interests of all stakeholders and be a combination of irrigation technology, economic factors, hydrological conditions, agronomic practices, conservation practices and local dynamics of the region.

Research has shown that, worldwide the nursing profession is faced with image-related challenges impacting on its status, prestige, power and the ability to attract more young and suitably qualified students to nursing. There is adequate evidence of a link between the image of nursing and the number of young people entering and leaving the profession. A positive image of nursing attracts applicants and the intention to leave nursing correlates positively with holding a negative image of nursing. There is also evidence of poor perception of the image of nursing among student nurses. The study aimed at exploring the potential of appreciative inquiry (AI) as a teaching strategy to transform the image of nursing among 3rd and 4th year, college and university student nurses in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The second aim was to describe student nurses’ experiences regarding their participation in the process of AI. A qualitatively dominant, sequentially embedded, mixed methods design with explorative-descriptive and quasi-experimental features was utilised. Sequential data collection and analysis were conducted during five stages comprising: a pre-test survey, intervention (appreciative inquiry), a post-test, description of the experiences of student nurses of AI and an integration stage. The pre-test results showed more positive than negative perceptions of the image of nursing among student nurses. The negative perceptions of the image of nursing among student nurses that needed intervention included the working conditions of nurses and the perception of nursing as a profession that was not respected and appreciated. The student nurses who took part in appreciative inquiry showed a significant and positive change in their perception of the image of nursing as a respected and appreciated profession. From the individual interviews on the student nurses’ experiences of AI, the themes “experience of positive emotions” and “experiential learning” emerged. The student nurses experiences described their engagement in AI as a positive and enjoyable experience from which multidimensional learning resulted. / Health Studies / Ph. D. (Health Studies)

This is an empirical study that aims to contribute to knowledge about the opportunities the career counselling conversation offers young migrants in shaping their future. Conversations play a central role in career counselling activities in Swedish schools; furthermore, the question of how the Swedish society promotes the inclusion of its immigrants has become an increasingly urgent issue. The study draws on a dialogical framework on interaction and meaning making and seeks to gain insight into how meaning about the future is formed in career counselling conversations. The following questions were formulated: How is the interaction between migrant students and their counsellors formed in counselling conversations? How can the interaction be understood in relation to the participants and their contexts? What seems to enable or constrain students’ meaning making about the future in these conversations? The study was conducted in an introductory course for newly arrived immigrants at the upper secondary level. Researcher followed a series of two career counselling conversations between five students and five counsellors, respectively. The empirical material comprises three parts: audio-recordings of conversations, observations of these conversations and audio-recorded interviews with counsellors and students. The students, three men and two women, have a non-European background and had been in Sweden between one and three years. All except one can be considered a refugee. The material was transcribed, and the conversations were analysed with the concepts of communicative projects and strategies. The conversations are the primary empirical material. The results show that the counsellors’ and the students’ communicative projects primarily are complementary. Both the counsellor and the conversations appear as crucial for students learning about Swedish opportunity structures and meaning making about the future. The analysis also elucidated interactional patterns and interplay that seem to constrain the students’ possibilities to shape a future with their own conditions within the conversations. The conversations focused on Swedish career opportunities and lacked a transnational perspective. Furthermore, the students’ migrant background was not made relevant in the conversations; hence, the conversations risk contributing to students’ stigmatisation. The counsellors’ methods also seem at risk of individualising issues related to institutional preconditions and structural constraints. However, the analysis also displayed how the counsellor can counteract these constraining effects. The result implicates, in alignment with other studies, that the responsibility for the students’ career processes cannot be put on counselling conversations alone; more comprehensive and integrated activities for career learning in the schools are necessary to provide immigrant students with reasonable possibilities for shaping a future. Moreover, the conclusion is drawn that counsellor’s conversation skills are important for the students meaning making about the future but that counsellors also must have, among other things, the ability to comprehend migrants’ feelings and existential issues regarding the future and, not least, knowledge about the conditions of migrants and the ability to both comprehend and actively recognize injustices and different expressions of power. There are seldom others advocating for the rights of migrants. / Vägledning mellan erkännande, rättvisa och skillnadsskapande

Bakgrund: För att underlätta och förenkla för företag i Sverige startade BFN ett projekt år 2004 som kom att kallas för K-projektet. År 2014 blev det för första gången tvingande för mindre onoterade aktiebolag att välja mellan K2 och K3. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka huruvida skillnader i avskrivningar och utvecklingsutgifter mellan K2 och K3 har varit avgörande för valet av regelverk. Syftet är även att undersöka vem som har haft det största inflytandet i valet och om det har uppstått problem vid implementeringen av det valda regelverket. Slutsats: Skillnader i metoder för avskrivningar och utvecklingsutgifter har varit avgörande i valet mellan K2 och K3. Fastighetsbolag ville undvika att tillämpa komponentmetoden och utvecklingsintensiva bolag ville undvika kostnadsföringsmodellen. Möjligheten att kunna finansieras och fortsätta växa i K3 påverkade även valet av regelverk. Främst revisor men även redovisningskonsult har haft störst inflytande i valet av regelverk men i vissa fall har styrelsen haft störst påverkan. De problem som uppstått har varit en konsekvens av den avsaknad som finns i respektive regelverk, nämligen möjligheten i K2 och enkelheten i K3. / Background: BFN started a project in 2004 in order to simplify for companies in Sweden. The project is called K-project. In the year of 2014 smaller unlisted limited companies was forced to choose between K2 and K3. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine whether differences in the amortization and development costs between K2 and K3 has been crucial for the choice of regulation. The aim is also to examine who has had the biggest influence in the choice and if any problems has occurred in the implementation of the selected regulatory framework. Conclusions: Differences in methods of depreciation and development costs has been conclusive in the choice between K2 and K3. Real estate companies wanted to avoid applying the component method and development intensive companies wanted to avoid the expensing model. The ability to be financed and continue to grow in K3 has also affected the choice of regulatory framework. Mainly auditors but also accountants has had the biggest influence in the choice of regulation, but in some cases the board has had the biggest impact. The problems that has occurred has been a consequence of the shortage in the frameworks, which is the possibility in K2 and the simplicity in K3.

La santé et l'environnement sont, avec l'économie et le social, deux piliers de l'alimentation durable dont la convergence est discutée. On peut les estimer respectivement à travers la qualité nutritionnelle et l'impact carbone. Dans le cadre de ce travail de thèse, nous proposons d'appréhender la problématique de la convergence nutrition-environnement en adoptant deux approches différentes. Tout d'abord, nous avons estimé la conséquence, sur l'impact carbone de l'alimentation, d'une modification de choix alimentaires individuels. Puis, en classant les individus en fonction de la qualité nutritionnelle de leur alimentation, nous avons estimé si l'impact carbone était différent en fonction de cette qualité nutritionnelle. Premièrement, nous avons montré que la modification des choix alimentaires ne peut s'avérer être une stratégie de réduction majeure de l'impact carbone associé à l'alimentation. Deuxièmement, le niveau d'impact carbone ne diffère que très peu en fonction de la qualité nutritionnelle de l'alimentation. Une bonne qualité nutritionnelle semble même associée à un plus fort impact carbone. Les résultats conduisent à remettre en question l'idée communément relevée dans la littérature qu'il existerait une convergence "naturelle" dans le domaine de l'alimentation entre la promotion de la santé publique et la protection de l'environnement. Notre approche est originale, car nous avons pris en compte la variabilité de l'alimentation réelle des individus, et que nous avons estimé avec précision la qualité nutritionnelle de leur alimentation. Cette thématique constitue un vaste champ de recherches qu'il convient de défricher de façon urgente. / Health and environment are, with economy and social concerns, two pillars of food sustainability whose compatibility is discussed. They can be estimated through nutritional quality and carbon footprint respectively. In this thesis, we propose to analyze the convergence between nutrition and environment by adopting two different approaches. First, we have estimated the effect of modifying individual food choices on diet-related carbon footprint. Second, by classifying the individuals based on the nutritional quality of their diet, we compared the diet-related carbon footprint among the classes of individuals. First, we have shown that changes in food choices may not be an efficient strategy for reducing the diet-related carbon footprint. Second, the level of carbon footprint did not differ much according to the nutritional quality of diets. A high quality diet even seems associated with a higher carbon footprint.The results lead to question the idea commonly found in the food and nutrition literature that there is a “natural” convergence between promotion of public health and environmental protection. Our approach is original because we have taken into account the variability of realistic individual food consumptions and we estimated the nutritional quality of diets with precision. This topic is a vast field of researches which has to be explored urgently.