<p>Syfte: </p><p>Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur intern kommunikation används som strategiskt verktyg i norska IKEAs Corporate Social Responsibility arbete.</p><p>Metod: </p><p>I studien har kvalitativ metod tillämpats. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom personliga intervjuer. Dels med personal som ansvarar för kommunikationen av CSR och dels med personal som har andra arbetsuppgifter, exempelvis försäljning och kassaarbete. Materialet har kompletterats med observationer på varuhuset och och studium av styrdokument.</p><p>Slutsatser: </p><p>Personalen är överlag positiv till IKEAs CSR-arbete men har olika attityder till CSR, alla håller inte med de ansvariga för CSR om att både samhället och IKEA tjänar på att IKEA tar ansvar. Den viktigaste informationskanalen för internkommunikation av CSR tycks vara event marketing och kampanjer. Främst de kampanjer som riktar sig externt, till kunder och konsumenter. Anledningen till detta är att en majoritet av personalen till störst del befinner sig i varuhuset, och kommer därför i kontakt med samma material som IKEAs kunder. De flesta är nöjda med hur CSR kommuniceras. Denna tillfredsställelse tycks inte ha något samband med hur mycket personalen de facto vet om IKEAs CSR-arbete. Detta kan ha att göra med att personalen intresserar sig för ämnet i väldigt varierande grad. Miljöskäl används i mycket liten utsträckning i kontakt med kunder, exempelvis som försäljningsargument. En bidragande orsak till detta kan vara att personalen aldrig får frågor om sådant, och upplever att kunderna inte bryr sig om CSR.</p>

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur intern kommunikation används som strategiskt verktyg i norska IKEAs Corporate Social Responsibility arbete. Metod: I studien har kvalitativ metod tillämpats. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom personliga intervjuer. Dels med personal som ansvarar för kommunikationen av CSR och dels med personal som har andra arbetsuppgifter, exempelvis försäljning och kassaarbete. Materialet har kompletterats med observationer på varuhuset och och studium av styrdokument. Slutsatser: Personalen är överlag positiv till IKEAs CSR-arbete men har olika attityder till CSR, alla håller inte med de ansvariga för CSR om att både samhället och IKEA tjänar på att IKEA tar ansvar. Den viktigaste informationskanalen för internkommunikation av CSR tycks vara event marketing och kampanjer. Främst de kampanjer som riktar sig externt, till kunder och konsumenter. Anledningen till detta är att en majoritet av personalen till störst del befinner sig i varuhuset, och kommer därför i kontakt med samma material som IKEAs kunder. De flesta är nöjda med hur CSR kommuniceras. Denna tillfredsställelse tycks inte ha något samband med hur mycket personalen de facto vet om IKEAs CSR-arbete. Detta kan ha att göra med att personalen intresserar sig för ämnet i väldigt varierande grad. Miljöskäl används i mycket liten utsträckning i kontakt med kunder, exempelvis som försäljningsargument. En bidragande orsak till detta kan vara att personalen aldrig får frågor om sådant, och upplever att kunderna inte bryr sig om CSR.

This research evaluates the performance of automotive child restraint systems (CRS) that conform to international proposals for a universal restraint concept to be adopted by both restraint and vehicle manufacturers. The concept is known as Isofix (International Standards Organisation FIXing), and is intended to ensure optimum compatibility and coupling between vehicle and CRS. In order to quantify the benefits of the proposed Isofix concept it has been necessary to establish the performance limits and benefits offered by current commercially available adult belt retained CRS. A considerable body of knowledge existed on the performance and limitations of the then current CRS. However, during 1995 a significant amendment was introduced affecting ECE R44, the compliance standards applicable to CRS in Europe to which most rnanufacturers require their products to conform (separate national standards also exist). In 1995 amendment 03 was added to ECE R44 and became a catalyst for considerable development activity by manufacturers of child restraints, that resulted in new or revised product ranges. These new products, in particular forward facing Group 1 (9-15 kg) child restraints have significantly improved dynamic performance in frontal impacts, notably in modern vehicles whose seat belt anchorage positions have been optimised for restraint of adults, but are commonly less effective in restraining framed CRS. It was important therefore to re-assess existing systems as the baseline for a realistic evaluation of the proposed Isofix concepts (chapter 10). It was evident that, of the different Isofix concepts being proposed, no overall evaluation of their relative performance had, to that date, been undertaken. A programme involving the design and manufacture of not only suitable test equipment but, in a number of cases, prototype devices, was undertaken. The resulting data have formed the basis of input to the ISO Working Group 1, the body responsible for the evolution of the Isofix concept. This programme also highlighted a number of shortfalls in the proposed concepts. The major results of this test programme have been published at international level, and were used to inform the Isofix discussions. During the programme of comparative evaluation of not only the Isofix but the current belt retained devices, it became clear to the writer that in a frontal impact the orientation of the occupant with respect to the direction of travel had significance. A literature survey produced evidence of minimal research in this area. Hence it was decided by the writer to include a programme of parametric tests to investigate the significance of occupant orientation, given that commercially available CRS often include a feature to vary the recline angle of the seat. The Isofix set-up was particularly suitable for this exercise in that it eliminated many of the variables associated with belt retained devices. The results of this work have been published at intemationallevel. A review of the available accident data indicates that side impacts are potentially more life threatening than the more common frontal impacts due to the proximity of the occupant to an intruding vehicle or object. However, current European certification standards do not require the evaluation of CRS in a side impact. This is considered to be an area where improvements, particularly aided by an Isofix type attachment concept, can be made. Therefore the final area of research undertaken by the writer was to develop and propose a test to evaluate CRS in a realistic side impact scenario. This involved the simulation of not only the acceleration imparted to the target vehicle occupant but in addition the intrusion component. This work, which again has been presented at international level, contributed towards a proposal to amend the European certification standard for CRS to include a side impact evaluation. This thesis commences with a review of the accident data currently available, and looks at how the physiological and anatomical properties of the child, vehicle design, and the inherent potential for misuse and mis-installation of the current generation of CRS, impact upon child safety. This is followed by an overview of the lsofix proposal before the results of the writer's detailed testing of both current belt retained and proposed Isofix CRS concepts (chapters 10 and 11) are reported. The subsequent chapters (12 and 13) detail the results of the writer's investigation into CRS orientation in a frontal impact and the development of a representative side impact test, based on a single sled, for inclusion in the European certification procedure. The document concludes with discussion and conclusions relating to the future of CRS design and evaluation. The major findings of this research were: • contrary to initial expectations, significant CRS recline angle in a forward facing device has been proven to be undesirable; • Isofix CRS with rigid lower anchors have been shown to be beneficial, particularly in side impacts, their efficacy in a forward impact being compromised by rotation in devices that do not incorporate an anti-rotation device; • a side impact test has been developed which more accurately represents the input to a CRS seen in a rear vehicle incident. Such a test is not only desirable but essential to drive CRS manufacturers into improving side impact protection for occupants.

Shear Strength and Deformation Characteristics of Uppsala Clay with CRS and Standard Oedometer Tyra Morell Bonin &amp; Magdalena Mähler To see how much a clay compact under different pressure one can use several different methods and in this project, two methods were used, the Standard Oedometer and a CRS apparatus. A Standard Oedometer is a full-time manual device and the CRS apparatus is a modern electric and automatic device. The aim of the project was to see similarities and differences between the two methods and examine which method that were most reliable. This has been done with repeated laboratory tests and afterward evaluations. With this information one can get a picture of how the clay will behave and how it will deform in nature. This is of great help to construction companies what wish to build on the clay and needs the information to proceed with a foundation of a construction, which can be complex on clay. Both methods showed similar results, with differences in compression. The Constant Rate of Strain gives higher safety margins.

Bakgrund: Peritonealcarcinos är en allvarlig cancerform och cirka 250-300 svenskar varje år. Idag genomförs de omfattande operationerna CRS och HIPEC på en del av denna patientgrupp. Tidigare forskning visar att perioperativa samtal kan gynna patienter som genomgår omfattande kirurgiska ingrepp.     Syfte: Syftet med studien var att jämföra det postoperativa förloppet hos peritonealcarcinospatienter som fått perioperativa samtal med patienter som inte fått dessa samtal. Metod: Urvalet var konsekutivt och bestod av 89 journaler tillhörande peritonealcarcinospatienter. Interventionsgruppen bestod av patienter som genomgått CRS och HIPEC och som i samband med detta fått perioperativa samtal. Kontrollgruppen var patienter som genomgått samma ingrepp, men som inte fått perioperativa samtal. Datainsamlingsmetoden bestod av journalgranskning. Resultat: Behovet av psykosocialt stöd var något mindre hos interventionsgruppen än kontrollgruppen. Resultatet visade att interventionsgruppen konsumerade en mindre mängd smärtlindring än kontrollgruppen. Signifikanta skillnader mellan grupperna sågs dock endast vid VAS-skattning det sjätte postoperativa dygnet. Interventionsgruppens postoperativa vårdtid på universitetssjukhuset var ungefär ett dygn kortare än kontrollgruppens. Studien visade dock få statistiskt signifikanta skillnader mellan grupperna. Slutsats: De patienter som fått perioperativa samtal använde sig i mindre utsträckning av psykosocialt stöd, hade en lägre läkemedelskonsumtion samt tillbringade färre dygn på universitetssjukhuset, än de som inte fått perioperativa samtal. Resultatet visade endast få statistiskt signifikanta skillnader. De tendenser till skillnader som sågs bör trots detta ligga till grund för fortsatt forskning.

Title: The CSR strategies of the MNCs to ensure the labor rights of migrant workers: the 2022 FIFA World Cup Project in Qatar (Case study based on Migrant Workers of Bangladesh)Authors: Nandita Farhad and Nataliia SlobodianSupervisor: Charles WoolfsonDate: May 30th, 2012Background: The Corporate social responsibility (CSR) became at the forefront of corporate strategy of many businesses. However, the area of human and labor rights as a part of CSR of the business is not deeply studied, especially when it comes to the ground level workers which constitute the majority of employees in the construction sector. There is quite a mystery in the CSR field what exactly CSR is and what are the motives and benefits of being socially responsible. MNC’s compliance to the legal system of the country is seen as one of the basis for CSR, but will it be still place for CSR when the ‘legal basis’ is missing as it is in Qatar, country of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Project.Aim: The purpose of this research is to find out whether multinational construction companies incorporate human and labor rights into their CSR strategy upstream as the basis of CSR policy, and what is even most important, downstream as a resource for CSR practice including those throughout the supply chain. This research aims to enhance the understanding of the importance of human and labor rights as the part of CSR, especially when it comes to migrant workers from the third world countries.Methodology: A qualitative study has been conducted. Relaying on the existing theories of CSR and by applying the 2022 FIFA World Cup Project case study as an empirical tool we support and review established theoretical understanding. This allows us to make use of existing knowledge in the field as well as contribute with our own findings and critical review.Completion and results: The study found that the MNCs of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Project have unclear CSR strategies, hence ineffective practices towards ensuring human and labor rights for the Bangladeshi migrant workers, especially within their supply chains.Search terms: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Multinational Corporation (MNC), human and labor rights, migrant workers, Qatar, the 2022 FIFA World Cup Project.

The problem of poverty in LDCs has been the continuing concern to the world. International organizations and other countries provide aid to LDCs for poverty reduction. Since the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, aid for trade (A4T) became an issue of more importance. This paper is an empirical study on the nature of A4T as a public good. According to Wang (2010), the donor countries will provide more A4T as long as larger is the size of the economy, but the provision of the bilateral A4T will be insufficient to the social optimal level due to the spillover effect.. This paper will apply actual data to test the theory, using the hypothesis that, other things being equal, the lower is a partner¡¦s trade concentration; the lower is A4T received. We analyze the 22 OECD DAC members¡¦ bilateral A4T behavior from 2002 to 2007 using OECD Creditor-Reporting-System (CRS) data. Further, we also study how different types of A4T are determined. The main results of this study are:(1) Recipients¡¦ trade concentration is one determinant of the A4T received. (2) Trade concentration affects different types of A4T differently.

The Community Rating System (CRS) was introduced to encourage flood mitigation and increase National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) participation via premium discounts. It is not clear, however, how additional mitigation and premium discounts affect NFIP participation and damage claims payments. We employ matching methods and log-linear regression framework to estimate the impact of CRS participation (versus non-participation) on outcomes. We also analyze the effect of individual CRS mitigation activities on outcomes. We do so while controlling for key geospatial, socioeconomic, and time effects. Results show a positive and significant effect of CRS participation on NFIP participation, but no significant effect on damage claims payments. Outreach and flood data maintenance activities have positive effect on NFIP participation while floodplain mapping and flood protection have negative effect. Flood protection information and storm water management have negative effect on damage claims payments while floodplain management planning and acquisition and relocation have positive effect.

This study involves an examination of the neurocognitive correlates of subscales of the Conners' Rating Scale - Revised (CRS-R), an ADHD behavioral rating form, in both a child (n=72) and an adolescent (n=49) sample. While both behavioral rating forms and neuropsychological measures are commonly employed in pediatric clinical evaluations, these two forms of assessment do not generally converge as expected. The purpose of the current research was to examine and compare the abilities of intellectual, academic, attentional, and executive skills to account for variance in parent and teacher ratings of behavior across two pediatric age groups in a clinical setting. Additionally, the study compared the relationships between behavioral ratings and cognition in children versus adolescents. The study found parent and teacher ratings of cognitive problems and inattention to be better accounted for by general cognitive ability than by attention and executive skills in children. Conversely, ratings of child hyperactivity, as completed by both parents and teachers, were better explained by attention and executive skills. General cognitive and academic abilities best accounted for parent ratings of overall ADHD likelihood, whereas teacher ratings of ADHD likelihood were equally accounted for by general cognitive abilities and attentional and executive skills. Neither general cognitive and academic abilities nor attention and executive skills accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in the adolescent sample. Furthermore, results showed that the variance in parent and teacher ratings of behavior was significantly accounted for by neurocognitive test performance across ratings subscales for child, but not adolescent clients. Overall, the results suggest that ADHD behavioral rating form accuracy varies according to subscale, informant, and age group. In child clients, ADHD behavioral ratings converged with theoretically associated cognitive abilities for subscales assessing hyperactive, but not inattentive behaviors. Both parent and teacher informants appear to take children's overall cognitive and academic abilities into consideration more so than attentional and executive skills when rating inattentive behaviors. This suggests either rating form or informant inaccuracy in identifying specific problems in attention and organization. Parents, in particular, appear to be relatively poorer raters of child behavior than teachers as only teacher ratings of overall ADHD likelihood were accounted for by attentional and executive skills. Parent and teacher ratings of behavior appear to be of questionable accuracy across ADHD related behaviors in the assessment of adolescents. As behavioral ratings were not related to cognition in the 11-17-year-old sample, ADHD behavioral rating forms appear to demonstrate poor convergent validity in adolescents. The finding that ratings of behavior were significantly related to cognition in children, but not in adolescents, suggests the presence of age-dependent differences in the presentation of ADHD symptoms or the accuracy of assessment tools between children and adolescents. Clinicians are encouraged to use caution when interpreting ratings of adolescent ADHD behavior and ratings of child inattentive behavior, as these scales may often not assess their purported constructs.

Introduction Bacterial biofilms have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS). This thesis consists of a number of separate studies. The results of each study were designed to help provide an evolution of knowledge that could be applied to our subsequent investigations on the topic of bacterial biofilms and chronic rhinosinusitis. In vitro studies were utilized to document the capacity of CRS bacteria to form biofilms as well as to investigate the efficacy of various antimicrobials at high concentrations. Additionally, an in vivo sheep model was developed to examine different biofilm detection techniques. Finally, a study of CRS patients was conducted to investigate the incidence of biofilm related sinus disease. Methods Our in vitro studies used 96 well crystal violet microtiter plate assays to determine the biofilm growth characteristics of S.aureus isolated from patients with CRS. Established biofilms were then subjected various antimicrobial agents, and the degree of biofilm reduction calculated to examine their potential for sinus biofilm treatment. A sheep sinusitis model involved performing endoscopic sinus surgery, occlusion of frontal sinus ostia and the introduction of bacteria. Mucosal specimens were subsequently examined for the presence of bacterial biofilms using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM). CSLM was also used in a prospective study to document the presence bacterial biofilms on the mucosa of patients with CRS compared to controls. Results The findings of in vitro experiments revealed that not all isolates were capable of forming biofilms. Of the antibiotics tested, only Mupirocin was capable of reducing biofilm mass by 90% in all isolates. The animal model showed considerable variation in biofilm detection rates. The CSLM biofilm detection rate was 100% in obstructed sinuses with bacteria introduced, whereas TEM detected only 66%. Both these objective measures failed to identify biofilms in control groups. SEM found biofilms in all experimental groups including controls. CSLM analysis of CRS patients found Bacterial biofilms in 44% and no biofilms in controls. Conclusion The demonstration of biofilms in the sheep model for sinusitis and biofilms on the mucosal specimens of patients with CRS, and the ability of bacteria in CRS to form biofilms in vitro, further supports the hypothesis that biofilms play a role in the pathogenesis of CRS. CSLM is the modality of choice in documenting the presence of bacterial biofilms on sinus mucosal surfaces due to the inherent flaws of sampling error and subjectivity of TEM and SEM. Finally, CRS is a multi-factorial disease, topical Mupirocin via nasal irrigation may be a therapeutic option in patients with likely S.aureus biofilms. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1367183 / Thesis (M.S.) - University of Adelaide, School of Medicine, 2009