A intensificação concorrencial decorrente do processo de globalização e da internacionalização dos mercados tem provocado profundas mudanças no agronegócio brasileiro, e as agroindústrias rurais (AR) estão sendo vistas como uma possibilidade estratégica para os pequenos e médios produtores rurais. Diversos são, entretanto, os fatores críticos ao sucesso desses empreendimentos como, também, diversos são os formatos organizacionais deles. O presente estudo, tendo por objetivo conhecer a realidade dessas ARs na ótica econômica, institucional e social durante o processo de comercialização de seus produtos, busca quantificar a influência destes fatores em promover a inserção delas no mercado, bem como verificar se essa influência ocorre de forma diferenciada para os tipos de ARs existentes na realidade. Como base teórica, utilizou-se da Teoria Econômica Neoclássica e da Teoria da Organização Industrial para abstrair os fatores da dimensão econômica. A fim de identificar os fatores da dimensão institucional, recorreu-se à Nova Economia Institucional, e a Sociologia Econômica serviu de suporte para a obtenção dos fatores sociais que influenciam na inserção das ARs no mercado. A Teoria das Convenções foi utilizada para auxiliar na interpretação dos resultados. O universo da pesquisa abrange as agroindústrias rurais de pequeno e médio portes, e a amostra foi composta por 40 agroindústrias de duas microrregiões geográficas do estado de Santa Catarina. Para a coleta de dados foi realizada uma entrevista estruturada com os dirigentes dessas agroindústrias. Na análise dos resultados, através de um modelo de regressão, buscou-se quantificar a influência de cada dimensão, e os achados mostraram que as dimensões econômica e institucional têm influências semelhantes para a inserção das ARs no mercado, e são, aproximadamente, duas vezes mais influentes que a dimensão social, quando se consideram todas as ARs da amostra. Quando se estratifica a amostra por tipos de ARs, percebe-se que há diferentes influências das dimensões do estudo para os diferentes tipos de ARs. / The intensification of competition resulting from the process of globalization and internationalization of markets has brought profound changes in Brazilian agribusiness and the rural agro-industries (RA) are being seen as a strategic option for small and medium farmers. Several, however, are the critical factors to the success of these undertakings as are also their organizational formats. The present study, aiming to know the reality of RAs in the economic, institutional and social perspective during the process of commercialization of its products, seeks to quantify the influence of these factors in promoting their inclusion in the market as well as verifying whether this influence occurs differently to each the type of RAs that exist in reality. As a theoretical basis, we used the Neoclassical Economic Theory and the Theory of Industrial Organization to abstract the economic dimension factors. In order to identify the factors of the institutional dimension we resorted to the New Institutional Economics and the Economic Sociology was used as a support for the attainment of social factors that influence the insertion of RAs in the market. The Theory of the Conventions was used to assist in interpreting the results. The research covers the small and medium size rural agro-industries, and the sample was comprised of 40 agro-industries from two geographical microregions in the state of Santa Catarina. To collect the data a structured interview was conducted with the leaders of these agro-industries. While analyzing the results through a regression model, we attempted to quantify the influence of each dimension and the findings showed that the economic and institutional dimensions have similar influences to the insertion of RAs in the market and are approximately twice more influential than the social dimension, when you consider all the RAs of the sample. When the sample is stratified by types of RAs, one realizes that there are different influences of the dimensions of the study for different types of RAs.

A intensificação concorrencial decorrente do processo de globalização e da internacionalização dos mercados tem provocado profundas mudanças no agronegócio brasileiro, e as agroindústrias rurais (AR) estão sendo vistas como uma possibilidade estratégica para os pequenos e médios produtores rurais. Diversos são, entretanto, os fatores críticos ao sucesso desses empreendimentos como, também, diversos são os formatos organizacionais deles. O presente estudo, tendo por objetivo conhecer a realidade dessas ARs na ótica econômica, institucional e social durante o processo de comercialização de seus produtos, busca quantificar a influência destes fatores em promover a inserção delas no mercado, bem como verificar se essa influência ocorre de forma diferenciada para os tipos de ARs existentes na realidade. Como base teórica, utilizou-se da Teoria Econômica Neoclássica e da Teoria da Organização Industrial para abstrair os fatores da dimensão econômica. A fim de identificar os fatores da dimensão institucional, recorreu-se à Nova Economia Institucional, e a Sociologia Econômica serviu de suporte para a obtenção dos fatores sociais que influenciam na inserção das ARs no mercado. A Teoria das Convenções foi utilizada para auxiliar na interpretação dos resultados. O universo da pesquisa abrange as agroindústrias rurais de pequeno e médio portes, e a amostra foi composta por 40 agroindústrias de duas microrregiões geográficas do estado de Santa Catarina. Para a coleta de dados foi realizada uma entrevista estruturada com os dirigentes dessas agroindústrias. Na análise dos resultados, através de um modelo de regressão, buscou-se quantificar a influência de cada dimensão, e os achados mostraram que as dimensões econômica e institucional têm influências semelhantes para a inserção das ARs no mercado, e são, aproximadamente, duas vezes mais influentes que a dimensão social, quando se consideram todas as ARs da amostra. Quando se estratifica a amostra por tipos de ARs, percebe-se que há diferentes influências das dimensões do estudo para os diferentes tipos de ARs. / The intensification of competition resulting from the process of globalization and internationalization of markets has brought profound changes in Brazilian agribusiness and the rural agro-industries (RA) are being seen as a strategic option for small and medium farmers. Several, however, are the critical factors to the success of these undertakings as are also their organizational formats. The present study, aiming to know the reality of RAs in the economic, institutional and social perspective during the process of commercialization of its products, seeks to quantify the influence of these factors in promoting their inclusion in the market as well as verifying whether this influence occurs differently to each the type of RAs that exist in reality. As a theoretical basis, we used the Neoclassical Economic Theory and the Theory of Industrial Organization to abstract the economic dimension factors. In order to identify the factors of the institutional dimension we resorted to the New Institutional Economics and the Economic Sociology was used as a support for the attainment of social factors that influence the insertion of RAs in the market. The Theory of the Conventions was used to assist in interpreting the results. The research covers the small and medium size rural agro-industries, and the sample was comprised of 40 agro-industries from two geographical microregions in the state of Santa Catarina. To collect the data a structured interview was conducted with the leaders of these agro-industries. While analyzing the results through a regression model, we attempted to quantify the influence of each dimension and the findings showed that the economic and institutional dimensions have similar influences to the insertion of RAs in the market and are approximately twice more influential than the social dimension, when you consider all the RAs of the sample. When the sample is stratified by types of RAs, one realizes that there are different influences of the dimensions of the study for different types of RAs.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to analyze the content of disclosure on internal control in multinational corporations’ annual reports and to investigate the determinants of disclosure. The study questions whether there are differences in the content, volume and quality of disclosure between multinational corporations and what factors could explain these differences? Methodology: This research is based on 178 multinational corporations selected from the 2012 ranking of Global 500 published by Fortune Magazine. Content analysis was used to analyze the volume and quality of internal control information disclosed in the multinational corporations’ annual reports. The study accommodates for three disclosure measures which are: Disclosure Index (DI), Disclosure Volume (DV) and Disclosure Quality (DQ) Findings: Based on univariate and multivariate analysis, results seem to indicate that national factors are more significant in explaining the differences in disclosure than governance and operational factors. The study also proved that there is at least one significant variable under each category of factors (National, Governance and Operational) Implications: These findings could be relevant to a number of stakeholders concerned with multinational corporations’ activities and performances. Stakeholders influenced by the study are top managers of Multinational Corporation, regulatory setters and investors. The research has implications on the accounting literature by shedding light on disclosure on internal control and the internal control factors grouping.

Background: Cesarean delivery rates have been increasing since 1996, and Cesarean delivery is now the most common major operative procedure performed in the United States. Identifying risk factors for wound complications following Cesarean delivery is necessary to prevent unnecessary maternal morbidity. Methods: A case-control study was carried out and data was collected via a medical record review for patients undergoing a Cesarean delivery at the UIHC between 10/1/2011 and 12/31/2012. Results: Several modifiable risk factors were identified, and models based on patient and surgical factors performed better than the current standard NHSN risk index model. Conclusion: More robust prediction models can be created using patient and surgical factors.

Teachers are motivated by different factors to choose teaching, including mathematics education as a career. Before 1994 career guidance was not often used to inform career choice, especially in the rural schools of South Africa. During that period, a shortage of mathematics teachers was prevalent. After 2007, the government introduced the Funza Lushaka Bursary to recruit mathematics teachers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence teachers to choose mathematics education as a career. An explanatory sequential mixed methods approach was utilised to collect quantitative data through a survey and then qualitative data through interviews. To achieve this, this study was framed by a pragmatic paradigm. Two theoretical lenses, the existence, relatedness and growth (ERG) theory and Factors Influencing Teaching Choice framework (FIT-CF), were blended to guide the study and to address the research question, “Why do teachers choose mathematics education as a career?” Convenient sampling was used to select participants (n=57) for the survey, from whom 9 participants were later interviewed using stratified random sampling. The sample was constituted by three cohorts of mathematics teachers who started teaching on or before 1994; after 1994 to 2007; and after 2007. The conclusions drawn from the small sample were that teachers were mainly influenced by altruistic factors, followed by intrinsic factors. In addition, female teachers were influenced more by altruistic and intrinsic factors than their male counterparts. Variation in terms of the influence of altruistic, extrinsic and past events factors across the three cohorts was revealed. Generally, altruistic factors were the most influential factors across the three cohorts. Understanding the factors that influenced the teachers to choose mathematics education as a career could provide insight on how recruitment, retention and effectiveness of mathematics teachers could be optimised in South Africa. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

Background and Purpose: People living with SCI (PLWSCI) have to cope with various challenges when they return home after institutionalized rehabilitation, especially with integrating back into and participating in their communities. To date no study has been conducted in South Africa to empirically measure community integration or to evaluate factors affecting the community integration of PLWSCI. The purpose of the study was to investigate factors influencing the community participation of PLWSCI after rehabilitation. Methodology: A cross-sectional, analytical research design employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches was used. Data collection: Phase one: Participants were identified from the databases of two rehabilitation centers, and the snow balling technique. Data were collected by implementing: the socio-demographic and injury profile (SDIP), the Return to Normal Living Index (RNLI), the Spinal Cord Injury Measure – version II (SCIM II) and the Craig Hospital Inventory of Environmental Factors – short form (CHIEF-SF). Phase two: In-depth face to face interviews were conducted with a purposely selected sample group from participants of phase one of the study to determine how participants perceive their community participation. Data Analysis: Phase one: Data were analyzed using version 17 of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 17). Descriptive statistics, T- tests, Pearson productmoment correlation coefficients and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA), with Bonferroni adjustments for multiple comparisons, was done to examine demographic characteristics and participants’ community participation. Data from Phase 2 was subjected to data-reducing procedures using qualitative techniques. Results – Phase One One hundred and sixty PLWSCI (134 males and 26 females) from the Tshwane metropolitan area participated in this phase of the study. The participants were predominantly young, male, unemployed and single and their major cause of SCI was road traffic accidents, which accounted for 71% of the injuries. The participants’ satisfaction with their community participation was generally low, only 20% expressed satisfaction with their community participation. Satisfaction with community participation was significantly associated with the participants’ race, level of education, employment, educational qualifications, years of living with SCI, level of SCI, health complications, perceived health status, functional ability and perceived environmental factors such as physical (structural and geographic) barriers and lack of transport. Results – Phase 2 Fifteen PLWSCI participated in interviews. Two themes influencing participation were identified from the interview transcripts: Personal factors (coping skills, rehabilitation experience, future aspirations, personal needs, psycho-emotional issues and meaningful use of time) and Environmental factors (attitudes of others, social support and accessibility issues). Conclusion The results of the two phases revealed that community participation of PLWSCI was mainly related to three major categories of factors: personal factors, disability-related factors and environmental factors. Satisfaction with community participation was greater in participants who had been living with SCI for longer periods, had more years of basic education, were not black Africans, lived in suburbs, and were employed. A positive outlook on life and engagement in creative activities during free time enhanced community participation. Disability-related factors included level of SCI, functional ability and perceived general health influenced satisfaction with community participation. Community participation was greater in participants who experienced fewer environmental barriers. “Attitudes of members of society”, “accessibility of the environment” and “social support” influenced the participants’ satisfaction with community participation. A framework for facilitating community participation of PLWSCI was developed. Strategies to be implemented by various multi-sectoral stakeholders to enhance community participation are proposed.p> / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Physiotherapy / Unrestricted

There are many factors that affect academic achievement among first year college students in Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study was to improve our understanding of academic achievement of first year college students in Saudi Arabia by investigating the relationship between a selection of demographic, academic, and psychological variables and their effects on first-year students’ GPA. All first-year students admitted to the King Saud University in fall 2016 or spring 2017 were invited to complete a self-report survey. 1457 students have completed and submitted the survey. Multiple regression analysis was performed with all independent variables in order to determine whether there were any significant relations between the independent variables and academic achievement. Among the study variables, six variables predicted first-year students’ GPA. Those variables were high school, Saudi aptitude test, Saudi achievement test, gender, stress, and mother’s education level.

Critical success factors (CSFs) are those things that must be done correctly for a project to be successful; however, CSFs are not sufficient by themselves to guarantee success. CSFs, as identified in the literature, vary from study to study. In addition, previous studies have not typically included contextual details for the projects studied. As a result, it is difficult to know how the particulars of a project impact (or not) CSFs. Researchers have suggested that CSFs can be affected by contextual details. Knowledge about the effect of contextual factors on CSFs would allow organizational leaders and project managers to more effectively use resources to achieve project success. Enterprise system implementation projects have exhibited high failure rates. Both Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Electronic Health Record (EHR) system implementations have proven to be challenging for organizations. For enterprise system implementation projects, a variety of contextual factors may be important. Examples of contextual factors include the number of software modules implemented, the number of sites undergoing implementation, the geographic dispersion of the sites, the number of people in the organization, and the percentage of personnel in the organization whose daily tasks are disrupted by the new enterprise system. This research was designed to shed light on the role of contextual factors on CSFs for enterprise system implementation projects. A survey was created to evaluate the effects of contextual factors on CSF ratings. The survey included questions related to 17 CSFs, 14 of the CSFs included in the study have been well-cited in the project management literature. Three additional CSFs were also included in the study to capture important elements of change management, which more recent studies have shown to be relevant to enterprise system implementations. The survey included questions related to eight contextual variables for ERP projects and 11 contextual variables for EHR system projects. The research focused on small to medium-size organizations, which have been less studied than larger organizations. The target respondents for the survey were enterprise system (ERP or EHR) project managers from software companies or consulting firms and government project managers whose implementation projects were within six months of completion. Data were collected on 17 ERP projects and 26 EHR system implementation projects in 43 different organizations. The survey data and subsequent analyses provided evidence that EHR system implementation projects are impacted by contextual factors. The results for the ERP implementations are not conclusive. The results suggest that contextual factors should be taken into consideration when determining how best to manage enterprise system implementations. In addition, the results of this research did not support previous research findings, which indicated that similar CSFs exist for ERP and EHR system projects. CSFs were found to vary substantially in a number of key areas, especially with respect to training. The User Training and Support CSF for the ERP projects included in this study was rated less important than prior research results suggest (Finney & Corbett, 2007). One of two CSFs included in the survey to capture change management requirements, Early Adopter/Super-user, was found to be an important CSF for the ERP projects included in this study. The EHR system projects were found to be affected by contextual factors, with nine different instances of significant relationships identified between individual CSFs and one or more contextual factor. Eight of the 17 CSFs for the EHR system implementation projects in this study were affected by contextual factors. Contextual factors impacted the ERP and EHR system implementations quite differently, suggesting that more research is needed to better understand the phenomenon leading to these differences. The findings from this research can be used by organizational leaders and project managers to more effectively achieve project success. These results provide project managers and organizational leaders in small and medium-size organizations with a much deeper and relevant understanding of the factors that are most important to manage in successfully implementing either ERP or EHR system projects. As this study focused on small and medium-size organizations and both ERP and EHR system implementation projects, the findings are relevant across a wide range of organizations. As smaller organizations have not typically been the focus of CSF research, this study makes an important contribution to the understanding of CSFs for both ERP and EHR system implementation projects. More generally, this research also expands the broader body of knowledge on the identification of CSFs, as this study has provided empirical evidence for the important role played by contextual factors. Every project is carried out within a broader organizational setting. This broader organizational setting appears, based on the results of this study, to have a strong effect on the importance of CSFs for each specific project and as such, may explain some of the seemingly contradictory findings related to CSFs in the existing literature. While further research is needed to understand the means by which contextual factors impact CSFs, this study has provided a significant contribution in validating the relationship between contextual factors and CSFs for a broad range of enterprise system projects in a wide range of industries. / Graduation date: 2012

The amount of electricity used in individual UK homes varies considerably. Previous UK energy research has identified that high electricity consuming homes not only use more electricity, compared with others, but appear to be consuming even more electricity over time. Furthermore, there is additional evidence which shows that high consuming dwellings also have a greater potential to make energy savings than those who consume less. It has been suggested that future UK energy policy might focus on reducing the demand of high electricity consumers in order to reduce overall CO2 emissions. Therefore, understanding what drives high usage in domestic buildings is essential to support informed decisions. This thesis asserts that to improve knowledge and understanding of the factors affecting high electrical energy consumption in UK domestic buildings, it is necessary to combine an analysis of the occupants socio-economic characteristics, dwelling technical characteristics and appliance related aspects, with detailed monitoring of the ownership, power demand and occupants use of electrical appliances. Using a sample of 315 UK homes, the influence of socio-economic, technical and appliance related characteristics on the probability of a household being a high electrical energy consumer was investigated (Odds ratio analysis). Detailed appliance monitoring data was collected from 27 UK homes to establish the contributions of appliance ownership, power demand and use to high electrical energy demand (Appliance Electricity Use Survey). The current research found similar skewed electricity distributions towards high electricity consumers for both the 315 and 27 home cohorts. Conflicting results were however obtained from the two household samples with regard to whether high electricity consumers are increasing electrical energy demand over time. The results of the odds ratio analysis and Appliance Electricity Use Survey suggest that high electricity consumption in domestic buildings is related to a combination of the socio-economic characteristics of the building occupants, technical characteristics of the dwelling and the ownership, power demand and use of electrical appliances.

BAKGRUND: Psykisk ohälsa bland unga kvinnor är ett folkhälsoproblem. Anorexia nervosa kategoriseras in som en psykisk sjukdom. Anorexia nervosa drabbar främst unga kvinnor, vilket exempelvis kan bero på tidigare händelser i livet som gett upphov till psykisk obalans i deras vardag. SYFTE: Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilka sociokulturella orsaker som bidrar till utvecklingen av Anorexia nervosa bland flickor och unga kvinnor i åldrarna 12-25 år. METOD: En literaturstudie utfördes, som baseras på 21 olika vetenskapliga artiklar. Databaserna som användes var pubmed och psycinfo. Temaanalys användes och artiklarna kategoriserades in i huvudteman och underteman. RESULTAT: Resultatet i studien delades in i två huvudkategorier, med två underkategorier vardera. Sociala orsaker till uppkomsten av Anorexia nervosa: skola och ungdomskultur, samt bristande familjerelationer. Mediala orsaker till uppkomsten av Anorexia nervosa: exponering av unga kvinnors idealkroppar och negativ inspiration på internet. Olika orsaker bidrar till utvecklingen av Anorexia nervosa. Sociokulturella orsaker, mediala orsaker, familjära orsaker och kulturella orsaker samspelar och bidrar tillsammans till en utveckling av sjukdomen. IMPLIKATION: Exempelvis kan man studera de olika orsakerna på en mer specifik nivå och studera varje enskild orsak för sig. Studien kan också användas som en form av inspiration som stärker betydelsen av att hälsofrämjande åtgärder för psykisk ohälsa sätts i fokus. / BACKGROUND: Mental illness among young woman is a public health problem. Anorexia nervosa is categorized as a mental illness. Young woman affected by Anorexia nervosa, wich for example may be due to earlier life events that gave rise to mental imbalance in their everyday lives. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the socio-cultural reasons that contribute to the development of Anorexia nervosa among girls and young women 12-25 years. METHOD: The study is a literature review, based on 21 differens aricles. The method has been to look up earlier research in the area through various databases on the internet. Databases that have been used is pubmed and psycinfo. The articles were divided into different themes, with main category and subcategory. RESULTS: The results of the study was divided into two main categories each with two subcategories. Social causes for the occurrence of Anorexia nervosa: School and youth culture and the second was lack of family relationship. Media reasons in the emergence of Anorexia nervosa: Media image of the feminine ideal and negative inspiration on the internet. Socio-cultural reasons, medial reasons, family reasons, and cultural reasons. IMPLICATION: For example, one can study the various reason in a more specific level, and studying each factors separately. The study can also be used as a form of inspiration that reinforces the importance of health promotion activities for mental illness is the focus.