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Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) provides many individuals with little or no functional speech (LNFS) with a means to function within their daily environments and lives. AAC comprises the use of either or both unaided (the individual with LNFS‘s body) and aided (high- and low-technology devices) methods for communicating. High-technology non-dedicated devices like the iPad™ with Proloquo2Go have changed the future of augmentative and alternative communication. This study aimed to determine and compare the attitudes of typically developing children towards an unfamiliar peer with LNFS who uses a high-technology nondedicated communication device, namely the iPad™ with Proloquo2Go (Video 1), and the same unfamiliar peer with LNFS using a low-technology communication board (Video 2). Seventy-eight (78) children between the ages of 9; 00 -12; 11, participated in the study. The participants were divided into two groups and a 2 x 2 crossover design was utilized. Group 1 was required to watch two videos in a specific sequence, one video of an unfamiliar peer with LNFS communicating with the high-technology non-dedicated iPad™ with Proloquo2Go, followed by a video of the same unfamiliar peer with LNFS in a communication interaction using a low-technology communication board. Participants were required to complete a Communication Aid/Device Attitudinal Questionnaire (CADAQ) after viewing each video. Participants in Group 2 watched the same videos in an alternating sequence in order to counterbalance effects of order. Results revealed that the video of the unfamiliar peer with LNFS using the iPad™ with Proloquo2Go was perceived more positively by the participants within certain dimensions of the CADAQ and the possible reasons are described. This is followed by a critical evaluation of the study and recommendations for future research. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / Unrestricted

In the 1990s, dedicated education units transformed undergraduate preceptorships, but graduate preceptorships remain static. The dyadic nurse practitioner preceptorship model supports an environment where faculty, students, and preceptors may overlook nuances that affect the teaching-learning process. This article describes an innovative clinical education model, Student and Preceptor Advancement in a Dedicated Education Site, designed to improve preceptorships for advanced practice nurses. The focus is on adaptations made to facilitate use in advanced practice nursing programs.

Abstract The purpose of this essay is to shed light on why the democratic developments in Botswana and Zimbabwe, despite their many similarities, have gone in very different directions. By the time of their respective independence, both countries proclaimed themselves democratic states. However, only Botswana succeeded in the transition, while Zimbabwe soon fell back into an autocratic regime. The method used is a comparative case study. By comparing the cases Botswana and Zimbabwe in according to five selected democratic variables, this method makes it possible to explain why only Botswana succeeded. The research questions are: How have Botswana’s and Zimbabwe’s respective democratic transitions happened? What factors have influenced and guided the direction of the democratic development in Botswana and Zimbabwe? The following democratic variables will guide the comparison: “Economic development”, “Market economy”, “Strong middleclass”, “External influences” and “Political leaders dedicated to democracy”.                 The results show considerable differences between the democratic transitions of Botswana and Zimbabwe as regards all the selected democratic variables. The comparative method thus proved to be an effective tool to explain the democratic development in the two countries investigated in this case study. However, these factors potentially just scratch the surface and, in a theory-developing spirit, more democratic factors can broaden the explanation even more.

Aim The overall aim of this thesis is to create knowledge about caring and learning as an intertwining phenomenon at a Dedicated Education Unit and how it can be developed. Approach and method A lifeworld approach, based on the phenomenological philosophies foremost derived from Husserl and Merleau-Ponty was used and carried out in lifeworld interviews and with meaning-oriented analysis in accordance with reflective lifeworld research. The participants were: 13 student nurses (study I), 11 patients (study II), 8 supervisors (study III) all from the same DEU in orthopedic care and 10 managers from various DEUs (study IV). Main findings Intertwined caring and learning is most evident in genuine encounters between students and patients, supported by supervisors and managers. The intertwining is created in appealing challenges where students feel safe and ready. In the encounter with the patient they gain a sense of the whole where they can find their personal style. Patients, who feel invited to participate, could describe the encounter with students as genuine and a new dimension in nursing care. These encounters are characterized by closeness, thoroughness, accessibility, acknowledgement and sensitivity. When the encounter is less genuine, supervisors constitute an essential support for stabilizing the care.  Supervisors constantly move in order to either stay close to or stand back, adjusting to the students’ and patients’ needs. Their demanding task as reflective supervisors requires pauses in order to maintain motivation. The managers’ daily struggle in a stressful and challenging reality is influenced by them either having or taking responsibility. Differences in approaches are shown in terms of more or less involvement and commitment in caring environment and educational issues.  Conclusions Genuine encounters are characterized by the core of both caring and learning and will thereby benefit both the students and the patients. Identifying and supporting genuine encounters is necessary for students, supervisors and managers. It is time to find ways to develop a unified view of how caring and learning can be intertwined.

This dissertation consists of 2 essays in the area of corporate finance. The title of my first essay is “Impact of Institutional Investors on Firms’ Financial Constraint and Liquidity”. We can find ample evidences in existing literature which show that institutional investors play a vital role in the corporate world. Many researchers have linked institutional investors to activism, monitoring benefits, mitigating the cost of debt using government bond, spin off activities and improving information asymmetry problem. In the first essay, I would like to add another dimension to institutional investors’ literature by examining institutional investors’ role in mitigating financial constraint problem in the firm. Institutional investors have large financial networks and make large financial investment in firms. Their presence might help firms attract external capital. I am using 2 financial constraint measurements; KZ index (Lamont, Polk, Saa-Requejo, 2001) and bank line of credit (Sufi, 2009). I am also adding additional measurement for financial constraint using notes payable. I find evidences to support the hypotheses that institutional investors’ presence and ownership mitigate financial constraints. The title of my second essay is “Long- and Short-Term Institutional Investors and Payout Policy”. In the second essay, I examine the relationship between the firms’ payout policy and the presence/ownership of certain type of institutional investors. I classify the types of institutional investors using Bushee’s (1998, 2001) classification of institutional investors. I find that the presence and the magnitude of long term institutional investors positively affect the likelihood and the magnitude of dividend. I also find that the presence and the magnitude of short term institutional investors positively affect the likelihood and the magnitude of share repurchases. This study suggests that the presence of different types of institutional investors can affect certain type of payout policy. Keywords: Transient; dedicated; monitoring; trading

Os mercados cada vez mais competitivos fazem com que as empresas busquem novas formas organizacionais e desenvolvam \"capacidades dinâmicas\" a fim de sobreviver no mundo globalizado. Nesse contexto, a inovação se tornou tema central para a competitividade. As fontes de inovação estão cada vez mais diversificadas e dispersas geograficamente, as empresas utilizam fontes internas e externas para o desenvolvimento de soluções inovadoras e modelos de negócios diferenciados. Estudos afirmam, que durante todos os anos, são produzidos milhares de artigos científicos que envolvem a biotecnologia, mostrando que é um dos campos mais promissores do mundo, com implicações importantes para economia global. A biotecnologia é caracterizada por ser baseada na ciência, ser multidisciplinar e o seu desenvolvimento é realizado por meio da interface com diversos atores, sendo altamente dependente do seu ambiente institucional. Assim, dado o contexto da biotecnologia, as lentes da teoria das capacidades dinâmicas são úteis para verificar a construção do conhecimento que conduz ao desenvolvimento de novos produtos, já que as empresas não podem depender somente do desenvolvimento do conhecimento interno, elas devem absorver conhecimentos relevantes de fontes externas. No setor de biotecnologia, verifica-se uma série de casos de alianças para melhoria de competitividade global por meio da inovação em sua forma mais ampla, incluindo desenvolvimento de novos produtos, de novos formatos para negócios, de novos mecanismos organizacionais. Como a capacidade de absorção é vista como um dos elementos das capacidades dinâmicas e tornou-se fator crítico para o sucesso dessas empresas, o presente estudo tem como objetivo verificar se as alianças contribuem para o desenvolvimento da capacidade de absorção e o desempenho inovador das empresas dedicadas à biotecnologia. O estudo é classificado como exploratório-descritivo e foi conduzido em duas etapas: quantitativa e qualitativa. Na etapa qualitativa foram realizados cinco estudos de caso e na quantitativa foram enviados questionários à 270 empresas do setor de biotecnologia, instaladas no Brasil, Portugal e Espanha. Verificou-se, por meio do estudo, a importância das alianças no desenvolvimento das quatro dimensões da capacidade de absorção. Ademais, identificou-se que as alianças também influenciam no desempenho inovador das empresas. Pode-se ainda relatar que a idade das empresas influencia na assimilação do conhecimento e a experiência do gestor influencia tanto a assimilação quanto a transformação do conhecimento. Por fim, verificou-se também que as parcerias no exterior levam as empresas a um desempenho inovador superior. Dessa forma a pesquisa contribuiu para o desenvolvimento da literatura sobre capacidade de absorção, bem como pode auxiliar os gestores das empresas dedicadas à biotecnologia e dos habitats de inovação por meio do modelo proposto para o desenvolvimento da capacidade de absorção e, para o governo, na formulação de políticas e incentivos para o desenvolvimento da biotecnologia. / The increasingly competitive markets mean that companies seek new organizational forms and develop \"dynamic capabilities\" in order to survive in the globalized world. In this context, innovation has become central to competitiveness. Sources of innovation are increasingly diverse and geographically dispersed; companies use internal and external sources for the development of innovative and differentiated business models. Studies claim that during each year produce thousands of scientific articles involving biotechnology, showing that it is one of the most promising fields in the world, with important implications for the global economy. Biotechnology is characterized as a science-based, multidisciplinary and its development is carried out through the interface with different actors, being highly dependent on its institutional environment. Thus, given the biotech context, the dynamic capabilities theory of lenses are useful to verify the construction of knowledge that leads to the development of new products, since it is dependent on new knowledge and business cannot depend on only development of internal knowledge, they must absorb relevant knowledge from external sources. In the biotechnology sector, there are series of alliances to improve global competitiveness through innovation in its broadest form, including development of new products, new formats for business, new organizational mechanisms. As the absorptive capacity has seen as one of the elements of dynamic capabilities and has become critical to the success of these companies, this study aims to determine whether the alliances contribute to the development of absorptive capacity and the innovation performance of dedicated biotechnology firms. The research is classified as exploratory and descriptive study since it was conducted in two phases: quantitative and qualitative. The qualitative analysis was collected from five case studies and quantitative questionnaires were sent to 270 companies in the biotechnology sector, installed in Brazil, Portugal and Spain. It has found the importance of alliances in the development of the four dimensions of absorptive capacity. In addition, we identified also that alliances influence the innovation performance of firms. One can also report that the age of the company influences the assimilation of knowledge and the manager\'s experience influences both the assimilation and the transformation of knowledge. Finally, the study also has found that alliances abroad lead to companies having a higher innovation performance. Thus, the research contributed to the development of literature on absorptive capacity and could assist managers of companies dedicated to biotechnology and innovation habitats through the proposed model to develop absorptive capacity and, to the government, in the formulation of policies and incentives for development of biotechnology.

As healthcare continues to face scrutiny related to the cost and quality of patient care, organizations are challenged with providing the right care to patients in the right setting. Some healthcare organizations are implementing observation units to provide appropriate care to a specific subset of patients. The purpose of this project was to develop education for nursing staff who will work on the dedicated observation unit and are unfamiliar with the care requirements. Benner's novice-to-expert theory was used as the framework for the project. This theorist posits that nurses transitioning to a new area require new knowledge and skills to help guide their practice. The education program was based on available evidence, including peer-reviewed journals, consensus white papers, evidence-based studies, and expert opinion. The evidence was organized and analyzed using the Johns Hopkins nursing evidence-based practice model. An educational product for staff members new to an observation unit was developed and shared with stakeholders, including professional development staff, hospital administration, nurse managers, and nursing staff for questions and feedback; feedback was incorporated into the final product. The recommendation is for the education to be incorporated into the orientation for nurses who will work on an observation unit. The project holds significance for the field of nursing practice as it may support the educational needs of nursing staff working on an observation unit in the local setting as well as other acute care setting and benefits hospitals and patients by leading to improved patient care and nurse retention. The project can foster positive social change by improving practice at the local level and on a broader level if other organizations use the education.

Over the years, much attention has been given to the analysis of the pull type ordering system to reduce in-process inventory and to improve product quality. Kanban Control Systems are widely used to control the release of parts in multi-stage manufacturing systems operating under a pull mechanism. Considerable research has been done to study the individual manufacturing systems for multi stage and single product. However, not much research has been done to compare different pull control policies for multi product manufacturing systems. Most of the research done in multi-product system assumes that a kanban card is dedicated to a part type. The aim of this research is to compare the Kanban Control System (KCS), Generalized Kanban Control System (GKCS) and Extended Kanban Control System (EKCS) in the context of multi-product manufacturing systems where the kanban cards are either dedicated to a single part type or shared among the different part types. In this study, we analyze the performance of various control policies for a multi-product multi-stage manufacturing system. The manufacturing system considered in this research use a single-card kanban system, where the transportation of materials between the different work-centers is controlled by production kanbans. Demands that arrive to the system are satisfied from the finished goods inventory whenever possible and are backordered otherwise. Performance measures are number of backorders, average waiting time of backordered demand and average work in process. Our results show that Shared GKCS has lower number of backorders when the variability in the processing time is low, while Shared EKCS performs better when variability in the processing time is high. Trade off analysis was performed on average WIP and time to satisfy backorders. The Shared EKCS makes a better service-inventory compromise than traditional KCS. The Shared GKCS results in lower average waiting time to satisfy the backordered demand indicating responsiveness of this control system. The overall results indicate GKCS and EKCS with dedicated or shared kanbans outclass kanban control policy. The shared kanban-like control systems outperform dedicated control systems for all performance measures considered in this research.

Over the past few years, the energy consumption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has become a major issue. Nowadays, ICT accounts for 2% of the global CO2 emissions, an amount similar to that produced by the aviation industry. Large-scale distributed systems (e.g. Grids, Clouds and high-performance networks) are often heavy electricity consumers because -- for high-availability requirements -- their resources are always powered on even when they are not in use. Reservation-based systems guarantee quality of service, allow for respect of user constraints and enable fine-grained resource management. For these reasons, we propose an energy-efficient reservation framework to reduce the electric consumption of distributed systems and dedicated networks. The framework, called ERIDIS, is adapted to three different systems: data centers and grids, cloud environments and dedicated wired networks. By validating each derived infrastructure, we show that significant amounts of energy can be saved using ERIDIS in current and future large-scale distributed systems.