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Many researchers have documented the trend of decreasing financial support from donors for human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) responses in Ethiopia. Less information is available regarding the correlation between trends of HIV prevalence and external funding and ways to address the impact that funding scarcity could cause. The purpose of this study was to examine the trend of HIV prevalence and donor funding levels, analyzing how the 2 are correlated, and opportunities to improve responses. Using the proximate determinant framework, the research questions examined the changes in HIV prevalence in Ethiopia during the past 10 years; the association between the trends of HIV prevalence, funding levels, and services provided; and the effect of different characteristics on the trend of the prevalence. A paired sample t-test, time series forecasting, Pearson correlation, chi-square test, and multiple regression were employed using a secondary data of sampled 1,067 people from the Demographic and Health Surveys and data from donors. Results indicated that the change in prevalence was statistically significant (t [10] = 4.59, p = .001), and correlated with the funding levels(r (10) = .635*, p = .027), a significant relationship between funding level and type of services, Ï?2 (2, N = 1067) = 1425.7, p <.001 and a significant regression equation to predict HIV prevalence (F (9, 1056) = 12.639, p < .001). The results from this study could be used to inform the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia and HIV project implementers to plan for domestic sustainable financing initiatives, invest based upon evidence-based HIV prevention strategies that could most directly impact quality of life and guide future research.

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The work environment in organizations has been associated with a number of factors that contribute to both their success and sustainability. Many researchers have identified the role, influence or the connection between the work environment and these factors such as productivity and creativity. However, it seems that business owners do not take their organization’s work environment into consideration when making major business decisions such as acquiring external funding. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of acquiring external funding on the different social factors influencing the work environment for self-funded firms. We have conducted a multiple case study in which we collected data through conducting interviews with eight employees from five different organizations located in the Middle East region. We analyzed the gathered data based on a theoretical model that connects eleven work environment dimensions with three aspects that are accompanied by acquiring external funding, which are: the changes in management and goals, financial resources and new networks and contacts. As a result, we concluded that the changes in management and goals have the most complex effect on work environment when compared to the other two aspects. In addition, we explored how would these aspects affect the work environment, either directly or indirectly, and found that the individual level changes in the work environment are mostly affected indirectly since the employees do not tend to attribute such changes to external funding directly. Finally, according to our results, it doesn’t seem that having the same funding type would trigger similar changes in the work environment. On the other hand, having a similar funding objective by the financing party would trigger more similarities especially when it comes to the changes in management and goals.

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No description available.

In this era of globalization, small medium-sized fast-growth enterprises are central and pivotal to economic growth and prosperity, and firms that grow are most likely to survive, become successful and be competitive. Significant variables have been identified to impact on the growth of SMEs. The key influential factors of business growth include elements drawn from the entrepreneur and their resource variables. However, the influence of the external environment relative to the growth of SMEs, though imperative in the academic inquiry, has not been studied extensively particularly in the case of developing economies. It is against this backdrop that this thesis seeks to fill this knowledge gap by inquiring into the factors that affect the development and growth of SMEs in the context of a developing African country, Ghana. The thesis draws mostly on three research approaches to SMEs growth organized on analytical distinctions between the entrepreneur and their resources, the business level and the business strategy. At the empirical level, the research makes use of 75 SMEs owner/managers in Ghana in investigating the subject in detail. The study uses thematic analysis to analyse the interview transcripts. Findings indicate that the development and growth of SMEs was greatly influenced by the level and cost of energy (electricity) supply. The erratic energy supply with its huge tariffs, and resulting in acute energy crisis constrains business performance and pushes a host of SMEs out of business. The findings further show that government policy on taxes greatly affects the development and growth of SMEs. Unfavourable tax policy where businesses are taxed at the local government level as well as the national level, and high customs duties constrain the development and growth of SMEs. The findings, again, unravel that competition influences the performance of SMEs; hostile competition from direct and indirect foreign activities (imports) adversely affect the entrepreneurial activities of local producers. The study also shows that economic factors greatly influence the development and growth of SMEs. Sustained inflation adversely affects the operations cost of businesses, suppresses profit levels and ultimately inhibits expansion through plough-back profit. The study disputes the influence of the adoption and use of web technology (e-commerce) identified in literatures, but affirms the influence of education, while new factors are identified, showing that context impacts on the development and growth of SMEs. The study recommends sustained and affordable energy supply, measures to control or defuse hostile competition, review lending and borrowing regulations, review tax policies and suppress sustained inflation. This study therefore enhances the ongoing development relative to the understanding of factors that affect the development and growth of SMEs. More significantly, the role of context is of essence in SMEs research and entrepreneurship as a whole.

In the first half of the 20th century, the researchers in the medical sciences in Sweden were dependent on funding from private foundations. Earlier research has shown that the foundation Stiftelsen Therese och Johan Anderssons Minne was a financier of great importance especially for the 1920s until the 1950s. This paper is written with the purpose of examining how the financing has changed over time, by analyzing the foundations yearly accounts from 1931 until 1963. I will show that physiologists and chemists took a dominant position in the fight for funds. In conclusion, it seems that the fact that the colleague of teachers at Karolinska had the power to decide who to fund were an important factor for the foundations activity. The characteristics of the medical research exercised by the researchers applying for funds were not the sole factor which affected the outcome.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University

This thesis is dedicated to export funding to CIS countries. Among CIS countries, the author chose the three most important - Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The work creates detailing recommendations relating to trading in these areas. The main aim was to analyze the most commonly used methods of financing exports to CIS countries and to highlight their difficulties. The central hypothesis is the following statement: Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine are very interesting countries for Czech goods.