Introduction: Emerging pathogens (EP) in cystic fibrosis (CF) include organisms that have infected individuals with CF for many years e.g. Burkholderia multivorans and Mycobacterium abscessus and more recently identified potential pathogens in CF e.g. Pneumocystis jirovecii and Pandoraea spp. The clinical implications of infection with these organisms are emerging but much remains unknown. Current evidence suggests that infection with some EP is associated with a worse prognosis. This thesis aimed to investigate the epidemiology, prevalence and clinical impact of EP in adults with CF.Methods: (1) The prevalence of P. jirovecii was determined in adults attending Manchester Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre (MACFC) who were clinically stable versus those experiencing an acute pulmonary exacerbation (PEx). (2) The prevalence of M. abscessus at MACFC was determined, isolates of M. abscessus were strain typed, and cross infection risk was assessed. The clinical impact of Gram-negative EP was assessed by: (3) assessing their prevalence and determining if any patients attending MACFC harboured identical strains and had opportunities for cross infection to occur, and by (4) following these patients longitudinally and comparing outcome with age, gender and FEV1 matched Pseudomonas aeruginosa infected controls. Results: (1) P. jirovecii was detected via sputum PCR in 10 (4.4%) of 226 samples tested from 111 patients. P. jirovecii was more likely to be detected in samples taken from an acute pulmonary exacerbation compared with samples taken from stable patient visits (7 (9.2%) of 76 exacerbations samples versus 3 (2%) of 150 stable visit samples, p = 0.033). (2) Prevalence of M. abscessus was stable at ≤3.6% from 2010 to 2015. 21 patients (91.3%) with a positive culture for M. abscessus since 2010 were infected with M. abscessus subsp abscessus. 2 clusters of 7 and 6 patients harboured strains with identical variable number tandem repeat profiles and some of these patients had opportunities for cross infection to occur. 28.6% of patients developed M. abscessus pulmonary disease, 38.1% were persistently culture positive with no related pulmonary disease, and 33.3% spontaneously cleared M. abscessus from their sputum. (3) Prevalence of Gram-negative EP ranged from 1.9% (Ralstonia spp.) to 6.2% (B. multivorans). Small numbers of patients shared strains of B. multivorans; Stenotrophomonas S. maltophilia and Achromobacter; Ralstonia and Pandoraea species. Epidemiological connections consistent with possible cross infection were found in patients infected with Pandoraea and Ralstonia species. (4) Patients with B. multivorans; S. maltophilia; Ralstonia spp. and Pandoraea spp. had higher antibiotic requirements than P. aeruginosa infected matched controls. B. multivorans; Achromobacter spp.; Ralstonia spp. and Pandoraea spp patients had median FEV1 (% predicted) values ≥10% (absolute) lower than the overall median FEV1.Conclusion: Prevalence of all EP investigated at MACFC was low. P. jirovecii was approximately 5 times more likely to be detected in patients with acute PEx compared with stable patients suggesting it may be a cause of PEx. Results suggest that some patients attending MACFC may have acquired infection with M. abscessus subsp abscessus, Pandoraea spp. or Ralstonia spp. through cross infection. Patient numbers are too small to establish this with certainty and a common environmental source is possible. Gram-negative EP other than Achromobacter spp. were associated with higher acute antibiotic requirements than P. aeruginosa matched controls suggesting these EP are associated with an increased risk of PEx. The fact that many Gram-negative EP were associated with lower median lung function may indicate that these EP cause accelerated lung function decline or that patients with more advanced disease are at most risk of acquiring EP.

The outcome of this research paper provides guiding principles to policymakers in emerging markets at a specific policy level in an effort to stimulate entrepreneurial growth and, in turn, increased economic growth. Seven hypotheses relating to either starting a business or the ease of continuing to do business were assessed. The study was completed using a sample of seven emerging markets including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Russia and South Africa. Data was sourced from the World Bank and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Two multiple regression models were produced to compare the BRICS markets sample to the total sample. It showed that the complexity and time to start a business were not significant to the total sample but were influential within the BRICS countries. Similarly, complexity and time to enforce a contract was proven significant to the BRICS markets but not within the total sample. The total tax rate and the number of tax payments were influential in both models, whilst the time to prepare and pay taxes was significant only within the total sample. The cost to start to start a business did not prove to be significant in either case. Several practical recommendations have been provided to leverage these findings. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Africa as an emerging market offers firms from Multinational Corporations (MNCs) significant opportunities to expand and capitalise on the continents economic growth and combined consumer spending. Africa has significantly higher levels of state fragility and political risk in comparison to the rest of the World. Managers of firms looking to enter the African market need to analyse political risk in Africa when the firm risk taking and financial return relationship is considered. The objective of this research study was to establish if there is a relationship between political risk and financial performance of firms in Africa. This study used various financial performance ratios of 406 firms operating in five African countries and numerous country political risk variables to investigate if such a relationship exist over an eight year period. The findings indicate that there is a positive political risk financial return relationship for firms operating in Africa. Firms seem to achieve higher financial performance results in countries with higher overall political risk. This study suggest that African countries need to be analysed on an individual basis when considering political risk and published political risk data should not be used for decision making without deeper understanding and analyses of the country. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The current study was undertaken as a preliminary evaluation of a qualitative extension measure for use with emerging adults. A series of studies have been previously conducted to provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the RDA framework in evaluating youth development programs (Kurtines et al., 2008) and this study furthers this research to utilize RDA with emerging adults. Building on previous RDA research, the current study analyzed psychometric properties of the Identity Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood-Qualitative Extension (IDEA-QE) using RDA. Inter-coder percent agreement among the Theoretical Open Coders (TOC) and Theoretical Content Coders (TCC) for each of the category levels was moderate to high, ranging from .67 to .87. The Fleiss’ kappa across all category levels was from moderate agreement to almost perfect agreement, ranging from .60 to .88. The correlation between the TOC and the TCC demonstrated medium to high correlation, ranging from r(31)=.65, pr(31)=.74, p<.001.

This research seeks to provide a more concise understanding of multinational Greenfield strategies in emerging markets. A lot has been written pertaining to their conduct in established markets and this has proven inadequate as far as application to emerging markets is concerned. Scholars have developed theories on how multinationals operate but how practical are they on the ground?A two case study approach was seen as the most effective way to grasp the complexities involved in managing multinational firms in emerging markets. The scope was limited to sub Saharan Africa with two retail giants Shoprite and Game being the subject of scrutiny. Literature was developed on the basis of results of previous research and enhanced by in-depth interviews with top retail managers directly involved in the expansion process. Similarities and contrasts between the two firms’ strategies where examined with the aim of acquiring insights on retail Greenfield investments in emerging markets.The findings revealed that in emerging markets successful MNEs are the ones that target customers at the bottom of the pyramid whilst internalising risk and constraints within the context of institutional voids. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Book Summary: Nurses play a key role in high-quality health care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)--and now this up-to-date textbook fully prepares them to provide patients with the best possible services across the lifespan. The most comprehensive text available for nurses who specialize in IDD, this essential book clarifies evidence-based practices and gives readers an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to care that meets each person's individual needs. Cecily Betz and Wendy Nehring--authors of the respected text Promoting Health Care Transitions for Adolescents with Special Health Care Needs and Disabilities--gather the latest research and wisdom of 18 diverse authorities in the medical field. Together, they give pre- and in-service nurses the foundation of knowledge they need to help ensure equal access to health care for people with IDD choose from today's models and philosophies of carepromote their patients' psychosocial developmentprovide effective physical careconduct health assessments and develop individualized plans of caremaintain successful interdisciplinary collaboration with other professionals address the issues associated with specific disabilities, including autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, fragile X, sensory impairment, and medical and behavioral health problems support developmental transitions across the lifespan expand their knowledge of genetics and apply it to nursing practice skillfully manage ethical and legal issuesunderstand the service agencies used by individuals with IDD Enhanced with clinical practice guidelines to support effective work with individuals who have IDD, this textbook lights every nurse's path to person-centered, evidence-based care that improves their patients' lives.

The present study investigated how young women “do” and “undo” gender in relation to their anger in romantic relationships. With this aim, I conducted in-depth interviews with 24 young women between the ages of 18 and 25. I interviewed participants about the characteristics of their current romantic relationships and their experiences of anger in this context. I used a constructivist grounded theory methodology involving open, axial, and theoretical coding to analyze the data collected through the interviews (Charmaz, 2006). My analysis suggested an emerging theory of young women’s anger in romantic relationships involving 5 categories, 16 sub-categories, and 4 types. Overall, the findings suggest young women experience contradictions about their power in romantic relationships and variability across events in how they “do” and “undo” gender in relation to their anger in romantic relationships. The findings also confirm that for most young women, their power in romantic relationships is associated with how women relate to, understand and express their anger. The emerging theory of women’s anger in romantic relationships provides a tool for further research on anger in the context of romantic relationships and a set of guidelines for clinicians to assess young women’s anger in romantic relationships. / Ph. D.

Emerging adulthood is a developmental stage that has risen out of a need to recontextualize the lives of individuals aged 18-29 years old in modern times. Sometimes described as a prolonged period of adolescence, emerging adulthood presents unique challenges and opportunities as individuals launch from adolescence and begin to assume more adult roles. Early research on this developmental period details five themes that commonly prevail the lives of emerging adults: identity exploration, feeling in-between, being self-focused, exploring possibilities, andinstability (Arnett, 2000). Though previous studies suggest that these themes remain fairly consistent despite the heterogeneity of the emerging adult population (Arnett et al., 2014; Baggio et al., 2017), there is a call for greater exploration of these themes and how they present based upon different demographic variables. To date, the experiences of rural Appalachian emerging adults have not been examined through the context of these themes. This gap presents an opportunity to explore the rich nuances of Appalachian culture, including its focus on social support and its impact on student success (Hand & Payne, 2008) and emotional well-being (Gottron, 2020). Participants of this study were college students (N = 296, mean age = 20.13) in northeast Tennessee. Participants answered a series of standard questionnaires and several open-ended questions about transitioning to adulthood. The present study examines the written responses to two open-ended questions: What have you most enjoyed about becoming an adult? and What is most stressful about becoming an adult? Two raters coded these responses based on their applicability to the aforementioned themes of emerging adulthood. Chi square analyses examined the presence of these themes in relation to geographic region (rural, urban, suburban). Positive endorsement of being self-focused differed by the area in which one grew up, X2(2, 277) = 13.34, p = .001. Post-hoc analyses with a Bonferonni-corrected alpha (p = .008) examined group differences. Individuals from rural areas reported being self-focused more positively compared to students from suburban or urban areas (p = .002). Due to the strong family commitments often associated with rural culture (Hand & Payne, 2008), rural emerging adults may perceive the ability to focus on their own priorities and goals, rather than that of their family members, as the most salient benefit of growing older. Additionally, these findings suggest that future discussions surrounding Arnett’s theory of emerging adulthood requires further nuance when considering region-specific cultural differences. Understanding where and why the experiences of individuals from rural areas may be different is key as educators and faculty continue to find ways to support the success of their students.

This report considers emerging market multinational enterprise (MNE) maturity paths, with particular reference to firms with a South African origin and the choice of location for the corporate headquarters. A generalised model describing the internationalisation of globalised Emerging Market multinational enterprises is developed, describing three possible trajectories. That is, headquarter relocation, acquisition by another MNE or remaining independent in the country of origin. It is argued that Emerging Markets have offered less location advantage than Developed Markets to multinational enterprise headquarters. Using factor data for 46 nations, significant evidence is found to support this argument. Further, two arguments are built on this conjecture: that Emerging Market multinational enterprises have relocated headquarters to Developed Markets, not to other Emerging Markets, and that firm behaviour was predicted by concentration of private shareholding, levels of state ownership and levels of foreign business interest. Using a firm level sample of 61 South African companies, some evidence was found to support these arguments in this specific context. The implications of the results are considered for policy makers as well as managers, and recommendations for further research are made. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This paper argues that greater levels of risk, generally thought to be detrimental to business performance in emerging markets, are actually a benefit and an important source of competitive advantage for emerging multinational enterprises (EMNEs) competing in the global arena. EMNEs that have survived despite these challenging business environments are more comfortable with and skilled at managing risk than their developed market peers as evidenced in two ways. First, EMNEs are able to stabilise their business performance to statistically match the risk spread of those in developed markets despite their more volatile environments, and second, EMNEs perform progressively better than developed market firms at increased levels of risk. Interestingly, EMNEs react identically to risk drivers that developed market firms responded to twenty years ago, but developed market firms no longer respond the same way. Today, these risk drivers vary significantly between EMNEs and multinational enterprises (MNEs). For example, in every EMNE-MNE comparison, expectation, firm age, firm independence and available slack had contrasting influences. These differences may be attributed to the earlier stage of development for EMNEs rather than an emerging market influence. Most firms, regardless of origin, strive for low risk levels while the best returns are to be made at medium risk levels. This evidence both supports and contradicts Bowman’s Paradox of a negative risk-performance relationship. The strongest risk drivers are internationalisation, recoverable slack and past performance. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted