The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experiences of exemplary female elementary principals. The qualitative phenomenological study investigated the career paths, job responsibilities, barriers/challenges, and affirmations of exemplary female principals practicing in elementary schools in the United States. The participants were required to have at least 5 years of experience in education and at least 3 years as an elementary school principal. Interviews were conducted by the researcher to acquire explanations about the participants’ perceptions, perspectives, and feelings based on their experiences as exemplary elementary principals. The investigation focused on the females’ career paths, job responsibilities, barriers/challenges, and affirmations as exemplary leaders. Further, the females provided advice and guidance for aspiring female leaders in education. In general, the exemplary female principals started their careers as teachers, married, had children, and obtained advanced degrees and training in educational leadership as they moved to positions as elementary principals. The job responsibilities of the female principals included supervising instruction to improve instructional practices as the instructional leader, monitoring data, implementing policies and procedures, hiring as well as placing personnel, preparing budgets, maintaining a safe environment for students and staff, managing facilities, and purchasing equipment/resources for the organization. The major barriers/challenges faced by the female principals were lacking resources, managing time, prioritizing tasks, and managing tasks for work and home. Advice and guidance for aspiring female administrators centered around the personal, professional, and public service responsibilities that contributed to their success and recognition as exemplary principal.

The global problems of climate change, by the emissions of CO2 have over the past decenniums, led to a development of new innovations of renewable energy technologies, with the goal to phase out fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Many forms of renewable energy have already solved part of the energy consumption problems, but there are still large energy intensive industries that rely heavily on fossil fuels. One possible renewable product that could phase out fossil fuels in these industries is the black pellet, which is a processed bioenergy product. If commercialized, the black pellet could change major parts of the industry, thus making it a radical innovation.   One alternative to produce the black pellet is by using the torrefaction technology. The torrefaction technology has a historical record of many failed introductions. The step from pilot production to full scale commercialization is problematic in many ways, especially for a smaller developer. This study is focusing on the external commercialization problems for a radical innovation, the product black pellet and the technology torrefaction. The thesis aim to understand which these external barriers are for a torrefaction developer in Sweden and to answer our research question:   “What is the industry specific external barrier for a new entry-firm to commercialize black pellet with torrefaction technology?”   The theoretical framework is structured in two parts. The first one has a broad focus of theories regarding external barriers for commercialization of radical innovations, with a focus on small- and medium size enterprises. The second part focuses on general effects of industry structure and these two parts are combined in a conceptual theoretical framework. The findings in the study are based on empirical data collected through a total of six interviews with a supplier of torrefaction and black pellet, potential customers and market experts in Sweden.   The study’s analysis combines the theoretical and empirical data together with the industrial chapter, to create an understanding of the external barriers to commercialize black pellet with torrefaction technology. From the analysis we have understood many barriers, which could be summarized in four main barriers; lack of credibility, political incitements, strategic leadership and the costs of commercialization.   The answer to our research question, regarding the industry specific external barrier within the case of torrefaction and black pellet, is that black pellet and especially the torrefaction technology suffers from a lack of credibility by the actors in the market. From this answer, we have contributed with extended theoretical insights, that failures by previous actors create an external barrier for the current and future actors in their commercialization of a new technology.

Purpose: Explore the external and internal barriers preventing consumer purchases in M- commerce. Research Questions:RQ1: What are the external barriers that prevent consumer purchases on smartphones?RQ2: What are the internal barriers that prevent consumer purchases on smartphones? Methodology: This thesis is a qualitative study using an exploratory purpose and used a cross- sectional strategy collecting data through two focus groups. Conclusion: There are existing external barriers in M-commerce that consist of; unadjusted webpages for the smartphone, small screen size, and inconvenient internet connection. Along with that, internal barriers consist of; the inability to complete a task efficiently, consumers’ motivation to use the smartphone other than purchasing, technology perceived as difficult, security concerns and lack of trust, and finally the lack of skill. Thus, the findings of this thesis explored how these factors prevent consumer purchasing in M-commerce. Theoretical contributions/limitations/future research: The key contributions of this thesis is in the field of M-commerce. More specifically, dividing the barriers of purchasing in M-commerce into two categories, external and internal barriers, which has not been studied before. Since this thesis used an exploratory purpose, the subjective nature therefore has implications affecting its validity and reliability resulting in lower levels of generalizability and replication. Along with this, the language barriers in the focus groups may have had an effect on the results. A suggestion for future research is to focus on the relationship between the external and internal barriers in M-commerce rather than distinguishing them. Future research could also consist of identifying other approaches of the barriers in M-commerce.

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A service can be traded either directly between a consumer and provider of the service or a service can serve as an input into the manufacturing of various products and other services that are traded. Trade in services has therefore become an essential part of global trade and contributes significantly to global, as well as South African economic growth, development and productivity. Service trade has furthermore been growing at a greater rate than trade in manufactured goods. The growth of services trade can be attributed to growth in goods trade, technological advances, rising per capita incomes, micro-economic reforms, as well as increased consumer and business demand, and technological change. According to the GATS’ (General Agreement on Trade in Services) services sectorial classification list, the service sector can be classified into twelve major categories and these sectors can further be divided into 160 sub-sectors. One of the sub-sectors that have been identified that has significant growth potential globally and for South Africa is the sub-sector, ‘other business’ services. This sub-sector falls under the sector, business services. Trade data revealed that this sub-sector is one of the top three traded service categories internationally, as well as for South Africa. For the purpose of this study the focus was specifically on ‘other business’ services provided by members of the BEPEC (Built Environmental Professional Export Council). The services performed by the members of the BEPEC are: consulting engineering, architectural, quantity surveying, and construction project managing services. These services are inputs into the manufacturing or construction of human creations such as buildings, structures, dams, roads etc. Trade barriers, however, hinder the free flow of services from the service provider to customers in other countries. This is no different for the providers of ‘other business’ services. Therefore in order to increase the competitiveness of South Africa’s ‘other business’ services sector internationally; the primary objective of this study was to identify the internal, as well as external barriers experienced by the exporters of ‘other business’ services. These internal and external barriers were identified by means of a questionnaire that the members of the BEPEC, who are exporters of ‘other business’ services, completed. Once these barriers were identified recommendations were made to the South African government. The most significant internal barriers were found to be: • lack of information about foreign markets; • lack of information on how to enter these foreign markets; • lack of personnel who are experienced in export activities; • scarcity of internal financial resources for export purposes and export promotion. • The most significant external barriers were found to be: • exchange rate risk and the risk of non-payment; • corruption and bribery; • risks involved with political instability in a country; • restrictions on immigration provisions such as delay in obtaining entry visas, residency or work permits; • poor infrastructure; • foreign government procurement policies; • distance to the target market. All of the identified barriers can mostly be addressed by the South African government by providing training, the provision of market related information, and trade negotiations. / Thesis (MCom (International Trade))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

The non-interest and profit-loss sharing schemes of Islamic finance (IF) are attracting increasing global attention. Despite exposure to the similar opportunities as other Western countries that have adopted the financial business model there is little evidence of Islamic finance windows operating in the conventional institutions in Canada. This thesis takes a qualitative approach to bring the issue forward in Canadian social science literature by exploring the perceived challenges to, and the potential of, the development of IF offerings with a focus on factors affecting the supply and management decisions in the industry. The study used an inductive approach with archival data and critical survey of literature to arrive at the hypotheses surrounding the challenges. These were tested deductively by semi-structured interviews and panel discussions both in Canada and the US on a sample of senior officials involved in both IF and conventional financial institutions. Using a thematic analysis the study arrived at findings supporting the hypotheses related to awareness, regulation, management intent and internal resources. In the external environment, factors affecting strategic decision on offering IF services are mainly due to regulation, lack of awareness, even among Muslim communities, or misgivings about Sha’riah authenticity. Internally, highly customized IT infrastructures, lack of funds and foreign investment make it unfeasible. Management interest when proposed with the concept is high but not in a top-down manner and there is an overall uncertainty avoidance culture and little proactivity with market research. Access to specific Sha’riah knowledge is not considered a hurdle anymore. It is apparent that investments in Sha’riah compliant stocks would be easiest to set up. Mortgage structures can be affected by the capital market structure, even if not tax structures. Knowledge on this can have implications for banks seeking to expand their investment portfolios and aid government policies.

A service can be traded either directly between a consumer and provider of the service or a service can serve as an input into the manufacturing of various products and other services that are traded. Trade in services has therefore become an essential part of global trade and contributes significantly to global, as well as South African economic growth, development and productivity. Service trade has furthermore been growing at a greater rate than trade in manufactured goods. The growth of services trade can be attributed to growth in goods trade, technological advances, rising per capita incomes, micro-economic reforms, as well as increased consumer and business demand, and technological change. According to the GATS’ (General Agreement on Trade in Services) services sectorial classification list, the service sector can be classified into twelve major categories and these sectors can further be divided into 160 sub-sectors. One of the sub-sectors that have been identified that has significant growth potential globally and for South Africa is the sub-sector, ‘other business’ services. This sub-sector falls under the sector, business services. Trade data revealed that this sub-sector is one of the top three traded service categories internationally, as well as for South Africa. For the purpose of this study the focus was specifically on ‘other business’ services provided by members of the BEPEC (Built Environmental Professional Export Council). The services performed by the members of the BEPEC are: consulting engineering, architectural, quantity surveying, and construction project managing services. These services are inputs into the manufacturing or construction of human creations such as buildings, structures, dams, roads etc. Trade barriers, however, hinder the free flow of services from the service provider to customers in other countries. This is no different for the providers of ‘other business’ services. Therefore in order to increase the competitiveness of South Africa’s ‘other business’ services sector internationally; the primary objective of this study was to identify the internal, as well as external barriers experienced by the exporters of ‘other business’ services. These internal and external barriers were identified by means of a questionnaire that the members of the BEPEC, who are exporters of ‘other business’ services, completed. Once these barriers were identified recommendations were made to the South African government. The most significant internal barriers were found to be: • lack of information about foreign markets; • lack of information on how to enter these foreign markets; • lack of personnel who are experienced in export activities; • scarcity of internal financial resources for export purposes and export promotion. • The most significant external barriers were found to be: • exchange rate risk and the risk of non-payment; • corruption and bribery; • risks involved with political instability in a country; • restrictions on immigration provisions such as delay in obtaining entry visas, residency or work permits; • poor infrastructure; • foreign government procurement policies; • distance to the target market. All of the identified barriers can mostly be addressed by the South African government by providing training, the provision of market related information, and trade negotiations. / Thesis (MCom (International Trade))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

The non-interest and profit-loss sharing schemes of Islamic finance (IF) are attracting increasing global attention. Despite exposure to the similar opportunities as other Western countries that have adopted the financial business model there is little evidence of Islamic finance windows operating in the conventional institutions in Canada. This thesis takes a qualitative approach to bring the issue forward in Canadian social science literature by exploring the perceived challenges to, and the potential of, the development of IF offerings with a focus on factors affecting the supply and management decisions in the industry. The study used an inductive approach with archival data and critical survey of literature to arrive at the hypotheses surrounding the challenges. These were tested deductively by semi-structured interviews and panel discussions both in Canada and the US on a sample of senior officials involved in both IF and conventional financial institutions. Using a thematic analysis the study arrived at findings supporting the hypotheses related to awareness, regulation, management intent and internal resources. In the external environment, factors affecting strategic decision on offering IF services are mainly due to regulation, lack of awareness, even among Muslim communities, or misgivings about Sha’riah authenticity. Internally, highly customized IT infrastructures, lack of funds and foreign investment make it unfeasible. Management interest when proposed with the concept is high but not in a top-down manner and there is an overall uncertainty avoidance culture and little proactivity with market research. Access to specific Sha’riah knowledge is not considered a hurdle anymore. It is apparent that investments in Sha’riah compliant stocks would be easiest to set up. Mortgage structures can be affected by the capital market structure, even if not tax structures. Knowledge on this can have implications for banks seeking to expand their investment portfolios and aid government policies.

No description available.