Miljöcertifieringssystemen PEFC och FSC ställer krav på uppföljning och revision för att säkerställa att kraven och kvalitén uppnås. Studiens syfte var att belysa de skogliga maskinentreprenörerna och förvaltarnas/virkesinköparnas erfarenheter av arbete med uppföljning inom miljöcertifierat skogsbruk. Materialet insamlades genom telefonintervjuer och analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys, vilket ledde fram till resultatet. Uppföljningen och traktdirektivet har en viktig roll för att nå miljöcertifieringarnas krav. Dialog och delaktighet mellan de olika yrkesgrupperna var viktig, enligt respondenterna, för att miljöcertifieringen ska nå en hög kvalité och för att skapa engagemang och vilja att förbättra arbetet. / The environmental certification systems PEFC and FSC require follow-up and auditing to ensure that the requirements are followed and that quality is achieved. The purpose of this study was to illuminate the experience of machine entrepreneurs, forestry managers and timber buyers of work with evaluation of environmental certified forestry. Data was gathered through telephone interviews and was analysed using qualitative content analysis. Evaluation and contract directives have an important role in achieving environmental certification requirements. Dialogue and co-operation between the different groups is important, according to respondents, for environmental certifications to achieve high quality and to create commitment and desire to improve the work.

Este estudio presenta los resultados de una investigación llevada a cabo en un contexto escolar con adolescentes que cumplían criterios diagnósticos para el subtipo generalizado de fobia social (FSG en adelante) (DSM-IV-TR; APA, 2000). La muestra estuvo compuesta por 78 adolescentes con una edad media de 15.27 Años (DT=0.92; Rango: 14-18 años). Los sujetos fueron clasificados y asignados a tres condiciones experimentales de tratamiento en función de una nueva propuesta de subdivisión y operacionalización de la FSG: levemente, moderadamente y gravemente generalizada. Las tres condiciones experimentales recibieron el paquete multicomponente denominado "Intervención en Adolescentes con Fobia Social". Los resultados mostraron la eficacia del tratamiento tanto a corto como a largo plazo (12 meses) en las tres condiciones experimentales. Respecto a las comparaciones intergrupo, no se hallaron diferencias entre los tres grupos ni en las pruebas de significación estadística ni en las de significación clínica (dejar de cumplir criterios diagnósticos de fobia social). Sin embargo, los valores de los tamaños del efecto indicaron una relación directamente proporcional entre eficacia del tratamiento y gravedad del subtipo: FSGG>FSMG>FSLG. En resumen, los datos obtenidos avalan la significación estadística y clínica de esta intervención en la fobia social adolescente, independientemente de la gravedad supuesta a cada subgrupo del subtipo generalizado de fobia social. / This study displays the results of a research in a school-based setting with adolescents who fulfilled diagnostic criteria for the generalized subtype of social phobia (GSP) (DSM-IV-TR; APA, 2000). The sample consisted of 78 adolescents with a mean age of 15.27 years (SD=0.92; Age range: 14-18 years). Participants were classified and assigned to three experimental conditions of treatment based on a new proposal of subdivision and operacionalization of GSP: mild, moderate, and severe. The three experimental conditions received a multicomponent package labelled "Intervention in Adolescents with Social Phobia". Results showed the effectiveness of this intervention as well in short as in long-term follow-ups (12 months) in the three experimental groups. Regarding the intergroup comparisons, there were not differences among the three conditions either in the statistical significance tests or in the clinic one (not fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for social phobia). However, the values of the effect sizes indicated a directly proportional relationship between effectiveness of our treatment and severity of the subtypes: FSGG> FSMG> FSLG. In summary, the collected data supports the effectiveness of "IAFS", independently of the severity supposed to each subtype of GSP.

La perte au suivi diminue grandement l’efficacité des interventions de prévention de la transmission mère-enfant du VIH en Afrique subsaharienne. Devrait-on donc choisir des traitements courts ou longs de pTME? Nous avons mené une revue systématique des études sur l’efficacité de traitements avec et sans composante anténatale et évalué l’impact de la perte au suivi sur leur efficacité. Nous avons trouvé qu’après ajustement pour la perte au suivi, les traitements avec composante anténatale ont encore une efficacité plus élevée à prévenir la TME. Les intervenants ne devraient pas craindre l’utilisation de traitements plus longs auprès de populations à risque de perte au suivi. Plus d’études sont nécessaires pour déterminer comment les interventions peuvent être adaptées au virage dans la pTME. / Loss to follow-up greatly decreases efficiency of MTCT interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. Should we therefore choose shorter pMTCT treatments over longer ones? We conducted a systematic review of studies on the efficiency of pMTCT treatments with or without an antenatal component. We found that after adjustment, treatments with an antenatal component still had a higher efficiency at decreasing MTCT despite loss to follow-up. Healthcare providers shouldn’t fear using longer treatments amongst populations at high risk of loss to follow-up. More studies are needed to determine how current interventions can be better adapted to the turnaround in pMTCT interventions.

Suite aux notifications de cas de comportements suicidaires associés aux antidépresseurs (ADs) chez les jeunes, une mise en garde réglementaire a été émise en mai 2004 au Canada, et deux guides de pratique clinique ont été publiés dans la littérature en novembre 2007. L'objectif de ce mémoire fut d'évaluer l’association entre ces interventions de communication et le suivi médical de la population pédiatrique traitée par ADs au Québec. Une étude de cohorte rétrospective (1998-2008) a été menée chez 4 576 enfants (10-14 ans) et 12 419 adolescents (15-19 ans) membres du régime public d’assurance médicaments du Québec, ayant débuté un traitement par AD. Le suivi médical dans les trois premiers mois de traitement a été mesuré par l’occurrence et la fréquence de visites médicales retrouvées dans les banques de données de la RAMQ. Les facteurs associés à un suivi conforme aux recommandations ont été évalués à partir de modèles de régression logistique multivariés. Seuls 20% des enfants ou adolescents ont eu au moins une visite de suivi à chaque mois, en conformité avec les recommandations. La probabilité de recevoir un suivi médical conforme était plus élevée lorsque le prescripteur initial était un psychiatre. L’occurrence et la fréquence des visites n’ont pas changé après la publication de la mise en garde ou des recommandations. De ce mémoire on conclut que d'autres interventions visant à optimiser le suivi médical devraient être envisagées. / Following reports of a potential association between antidepressants (ADs) and suicidal behaviour in youth, a regulatory warning was issued in Canada in May 2004, and clinical practice guidelines on recommended medical follow-up were published in the literature in November 2007. This Master's thesis aimed at assessing the association between these communication interventions and medical follow-up practices. A retrospective cohort study (1998-2008) was conducted among 4,576 children (10-14 years) and 12,419 adolescents (15-19 years) members of the Quebec public drug plan. Medical follow-up was ascertained through patterns of physician billing practices found in the RAMQ medical services databases. Study outcomes consisted of occurrence and frequency of visits in the first three months of AD treatment. Factors associated with follow-up consistent with recommendations were identified through multivariate logistic regression models. The main independent variable was exposure to each of the communication interventions. Covariates included: gender, class of AD, number of concomitant chronic diseases, psychiatric conditions, prescriber’s specialty, and potential exposure to each intervention. Only 20% of children or adolescents received at least one visit each month. The probability of receiving adequate follow-up was greater when treatment was initiated by a psychiatrist. Occurrence and frequency of visits did not change after the warning nor the publication of the recommendations. From this thesis, one may conclude that further interventions to optimize medical follow-up practices should be envisaged.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1993.

What do executives do, and how do their actions impact on the company’s results? Questions such as these are constantly targeted in leadership research. Despite thousands of reports in the field, there is no consensus on what the concept of leadership entails. Nor can companies and organisations be said to have a clear idea of what executives actually do. Nevertheless, the investments in leadership development seem to indicate that executives are considered vital to the company’s results. The vague notions about what executive work entails, together with assumptions concerning their importance to the company or organisation, lend a certain magical aura to their work. In this study, executives are regarded as a professional category, and are consequently examined with a qualitative method whereby the professionals begin by reflecting in writing on their skills, and then take part in a group discussion on their skills based on their written reflections. This method, known as the dialogue seminar method, has been used on other professional categories with good results. Since executives have not previously been studied in terms of their skills, the results have been compared to leadership research. Leadership studies with a gender perspective have shown that gender impacts on the likelihood of obtaining and practising executive positions and skills. Therefore, the results of this study have also been analysed from a gender perspective. The skills of executives and other staff are described as the capacity to follow rules, i.e. interpreting rules and then applying them in concrete situations. A rule says nothing about how it should be followed, however. If the way in which a rule should be followed were to be described in a rule, another rule would be needed to describe how that rule should be followed, and so on, ad infinitum. Thus, rules must be interpreted as something that requires access to an “archive” of examples. One specific executive skill consists of developing co-workers’ rule-following skills. For executives, following the rules involves making decisions based on tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge, in turn, is based on an inner vision of what is taking place right now in the organisation, and what is crucial to customers, employees, the organisation and the world at large. It also includes understanding people’s urges, thoughts, needs, wishes, and what they are saying. Tacit knowledge develops in the interplay between reflecting over examples and taking strategic action. Decision-making situations can often be unclear and contradictory. Therefore the executive’s skills must include the ability to handle uncertainty in three different ways. The first is by being honest about the fact that all decisions cannot be made, and that some decisions take time. The second is explaining to employees that an organisation cannot be entirely regulated by guidelines, and that judgement in the form of reflected experience is therefore a crucial element in all action. The third is coping with the fact that an executive position does not automatically entail being able to make the right decision. Thus, the executive must accommodate uncertainty in the world at large, the employees’ uncertainty, and his or her own uncertainty. Empirical analysis also highlights another aspect of executive skills. Executives need to be fast, not merely in the sense of having a high work capacity, but in the sense of never saying no or questioning deliveries. Above all, comparisons with leadership research reveal differences in the interpretation of empirical data. The way in which executives follow rules, for instance, is also described in research on leadership, but only as a phenomenon linked with unusual situations, as when executives need to take emergency action in unforeseen circumstances, or make decisions in cases that are not covered by the general rules, rather than as a day-to-day occurrence. Similarly, there is a difference in perspectives on handling uncertainty. In leadership research, this is described as the executive dealing with something that has gone wrong and putting it right. In the study at hand, the concept is expanded, to demonstrate that the executive’s actions can involve accommodating the worries that this uncertainty breeds within the organisation. Empirical data do not show any differences in the descriptions of the executive skills of women and men. Women and men practise these executive skills similarly. Men’s tendency to identify themselves with senior management, however, is interpreted as a sign of homosocial structures in the organisation. The fact that men are more ambivalent than women faced with the opportunity and responsibility of promoting change consequently indicates that admittance into a homosocial structure restricts their freedom of action. There is a difference, however, between the executive skills of women and men in that women, unlike men, have to relate to the issue of their own gender. Their approach to this can vary between two leadership discourses; one that is gender-neutral, and one where gender is significant. Women’s knowledge of how gender is constructed in organisations, in leadership and in other structures and processes, is thus included in the tacit knowledge that comprises their skills. Keywords: executive, manager, management, leadership, gender, skills, tacit knowledge, follow rules, breaking rules, rules, decision-making, accommodate uncertainty, homosocial structures. / Vad en chef gör och vilken betydelse chefens agerande har för företagets resultat är frågor som ständigt sysselsätter ledarskapsforskare. Men trots många tusen studier finns det inom forskningen inte någon gemensam uppfattning om vad begreppet ledarskap innebär. Inte heller inom företag och organisationer finns någon tydlig bild av vad chefer egentligen gör. Däremot visar till exempel satsningar på ledarutveckling att cheferna uppfattas som mycket viktiga för företagets resultat. Otydligheten i vad chefers arbete innebär tillsammans med föreställningen om chefens betydelse för företag och organisationer resulterar i att bilden av chefers arbete får inslag av magi. I den här studien ses chefskap som ett yrke och undersöks därför med en kvalitativ metod som innebär att yrkesutövare först skriftligt reflekterar över sitt yrkeskunnande och sedan i grupp diskuterar yrkeskunnandet utifrån de skriftliga reflektionerna. Metoden som kallas dialogseminariemetoden har använts i andra yrkesgrupper än chefer med goda resultat. Eftersom chefers yrkeskunnande inte tidigare undersökts som yrkeskunnande har resultaten jämförts med ledarskapsforskning. Att kön har betydelse för förutsättningarna att få och att utöva chefskap visas i ledarskapsforskning med könsperspektiv. Därför har även studiens resultat analyserats ur detta forskningsperspektiv. Yrkeskunnande för såväl chefer som medarbetare beskrivs som regelföljande det vill säga att tolka regler och därefter agera i en konkret situation. En regel säger ingenting om hur den ska följas. Om följandet av en regel skulle beskrivas i en regel skulle följandet av denna regel behöva beskrivas i en regel och så vidare i all oändlighet. Istället måste regler tolkas något som kräver tillgång till ett ”bibliotek” av exempel. Ett specifikt yrkeskunnande för chefer är att utveckla medarbetarnas yrkeskunnande i form av regelföljande. För chefer innebär regelföljande att fatta beslut utifrån tyst kunskap. Den tysta kunskapen bygger på en inre bild av vad som händer just nu i verksamheten och är viktigt för kunder, medarbetare, organisation och omvärld. Samt en förståelse för vad människor drivs av, tänker, behöver, önskar och säger. Den tysta kunskapen byggs upp i ett växelspel mellan reflektion över exempel och ett strategiskt agerande. Ofta är beslutssituationerna otydliga och motstridiga. Det innebär att chefens yrkeskunnande innebär att härbärgera osäkerhet på tre olika sätt. Det första genom att stå för att alla beslut inte kan fattas och att vissa inte kan fattas snabbt. Det andra genom att tydliggöra för medarbetarna att verksamheten inte går att fullt ut styra med regelverk och att omdöme i form av reflekterad erfarenhet därför är en viktig del i allt handlande. Det tredje genom att hantera insikten om att chefspositionen inte automatiskt innebär att det går att fatta rätt beslut. Chefen härbärgerar således omvärldens osäkerhet, medarbetarnas osäkerhet och den egna osäkerheten. I analys av empirin framkommer också en annan aspekt av chefers yrkeskunnande. Chefer måste vara snabba, inte bara i betydelsen att ha hög arbetskapacitet utan också som att aldrig säga nej till eller ifrågasätta leveranser. Jämförelsen med ledarskapsforskning visar framför allt på skillnader i tolkningen av empirin. Chefers regelföljande beteende beskrivs till exempel även inom ledarskapsforskningen. Men där beskrivs det som något som sker ibland, att chefen gör en brandkårsutryckning när något oväntat händer eller fattar beslut i de fall som inte hanteras av regelverken, inte som något som sker ständigt. På samma sätt finns en skillnad i synen på hanterandet av osäkerhet. Det beskrivs inom ledarskapsforskningen som att chefen hanterar det som gått fel och ställer allt till rätta. I denna studie utvecklas begreppet genom att visa att hanterandet för chefen kan innebära att härbärgera den oro osäkerheten medför i organisationen. Empirin visar inte några skillnader mellan kvinnor och män i beskrivningarna av chefers yrkeskunnande. Kvinnor och män utövar chefskap på samma sätt. Männens identifikation med högre chefer tolkas dock som tecken på homosociala strukturer i organisationen. Att männen är mer ambivalenta än kvinnorna till både möjligheten och det egna ansvaret för att driva förändring innebär då att upptagande i en homosocial struktur begränsar handlingsutrymmet. Däremot finns det en skillnad mellan kvinnors och mäns yrkeskunnande som chefer på så sätt att kvinnor till skillnad från män måste förhålla sig till sitt kön. Kvinnorna väljer att hantera detta genom att växla mellan två ledarskapsdiskurser; en könsneutral och en där kön har betydelse. Kvinnornas kunskap om hur kön görs i organisationer, i konstruktionen av ledarskap såväl som i övriga strukturer och processer, är således en del i den tysta kunskap som utgör deras yrkeskunnande. / <p>QC 20120514</p>

Denna studie syftar till att se på hur barn tar sig an konstruktionsritningar i jämförelse med fritt byggande i en lekfull gruppmiljö. Tidigare forskning visar skillnad mellan mängden män och kvinnor i tekniska yrken och även män och kvinnors inställning till de tekniska ämnena. Vissa forskare visar också på åldersskillnader mellan hur barn lär sig tekniska ämnen. Tar fyra- och femåringar frivilligt sig an konstruktionsritningar, följer dem och färdigställer de konstruktionen? Studien har särskilt tittat på om det fanns skillnader mellan flickorna och pojkarna när de byggde? Hur påverkar barnens eget intresse hur de bygger? Om barn, fyra och fem år gamla kan följa bygginstruktioner? Resultatet av denna studie, i viss mån, stödjer tidigare forskning om att det finns en genus aspekt redan i förskoleåldern, pojkarna var mer försekomna och hade lättare för att följa lego instruktioner än flickorna, men frågan kvarstår; varför finns denna skillnad? Förutom genusaspekten fanns det också ett tydligt resultat som visade på skillnad i byggkunskap mellan fyraåringar och femåringar. Fyraåringarna utforskade främst byggmaterialet, medan många av femåringarna kunde följa en Legobygginstruktion näst intill perfekt. / This study aims to look at how children approach building instructions compared to free building in a playful group environment. Researchers have found age differences, between how young children learn technical subjects. Other studies show that there are differences between the number of men and women in technical professions and also between men and women’s approach to the technical subjects. This study seeks discover if and how four and five year olds voluntarily use, follow, and complete a building exercise using instructional drawings. The study paid close attention to if girls and boys had different approaches to building; how does the children’s own interests affect the process of building? If children aged four and five years are capable of following building instructions. The results of this study to some extent support earlier research that there is a gender difference already at four to five years of age, but the question still remains why this difference exists. As well as the gender difference, there was also a strong result showing a difference in building knowledge between the four year olds and the five year olds. The four year olds mainly explored the building material whereas many of the five year olds could successfully follow the building instructions.

The recent performance of Cape Gate Sharon does not measure up to expectations. This is, to a significant extent, due to the fact that there is no effective measurement and follow-up of performance. The implementation of an effective KPI- based, performance evaluation system, within a balanced scorecard structure, should lead to material performance enhancement in Cape Gate Sharon. This, however, requires significant investment in both capital, as well as management involvement. As a pilot study, it is therefore beneficial to focus initially on the before-and-after-effects of the implementation of the KPI-based performance management within Cape Gate Sharon Wire Mills division. The primary objective of this research is to determine the effectiveness of Key Performance Indicators in the product factories of Cape Gate. The specific supportive objectives of this research are the following. • To determine if effective KPI’s are measured • To determine if the implementation of KPI’s have been done successfully • To determine what the effect of specific KPI measurement in Cape Gate is. The literature study identifies what performance measurement and management is, as well as an in-depth study into key performance indicators. A simple, logical and repeatable closed loop model within a framework is suggested for the implementation of a KPI system. For the purpose of this mini-dissertation, the research is carried out through a process of a document analysis and a data analysis. Available reports are used to determine the current performance measurement system, to determine if effective KPI’s were chosen and to determine if the implementation was done successfully. Descriptive statistics were then used to analyse actual production data in order to determine the effect that KPI’s have on production. The results of each supporting objective were used to determine the effectiveness of key performance indicators in the product factories of Cape Gate. It is concluded that an effective set of KPI’s were chosen for Cape Gate product factories, with the exception of absenteeism. The closed-loop model was implemented successfully and all the required steps were taken. The effect of KPI’s was apparent on production, utilisation and downtimes. There is insufficient evidence that an improvement was made on absenteeism and the scrap percentage. This can be contributed to infrequent and delayed measurement of the two KPI’s, and the fact that absenteeism is not part of level 2 of the KPI framework. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

The recent performance of Cape Gate Sharon does not measure up to expectations. This is, to a significant extent, due to the fact that there is no effective measurement and follow-up of performance. The implementation of an effective KPI- based, performance evaluation system, within a balanced scorecard structure, should lead to material performance enhancement in Cape Gate Sharon. This, however, requires significant investment in both capital, as well as management involvement. As a pilot study, it is therefore beneficial to focus initially on the before-and-after-effects of the implementation of the KPI-based performance management within Cape Gate Sharon Wire Mills division. The primary objective of this research is to determine the effectiveness of Key Performance Indicators in the product factories of Cape Gate. The specific supportive objectives of this research are the following. • To determine if effective KPI’s are measured • To determine if the implementation of KPI’s have been done successfully • To determine what the effect of specific KPI measurement in Cape Gate is. The literature study identifies what performance measurement and management is, as well as an in-depth study into key performance indicators. A simple, logical and repeatable closed loop model within a framework is suggested for the implementation of a KPI system. For the purpose of this mini-dissertation, the research is carried out through a process of a document analysis and a data analysis. Available reports are used to determine the current performance measurement system, to determine if effective KPI’s were chosen and to determine if the implementation was done successfully. Descriptive statistics were then used to analyse actual production data in order to determine the effect that KPI’s have on production. The results of each supporting objective were used to determine the effectiveness of key performance indicators in the product factories of Cape Gate. It is concluded that an effective set of KPI’s were chosen for Cape Gate product factories, with the exception of absenteeism. The closed-loop model was implemented successfully and all the required steps were taken. The effect of KPI’s was apparent on production, utilisation and downtimes. There is insufficient evidence that an improvement was made on absenteeism and the scrap percentage. This can be contributed to infrequent and delayed measurement of the two KPI’s, and the fact that absenteeism is not part of level 2 of the KPI framework. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.