<p>The purpose of the study is to  examine women and men’s perspective on the informal and traditional way for women to organize themselves in relation to formalization. To meet the aims of the thesis qualitative studies through interviews concerning a <em>protest march</em> that took place in 2003 Dareda village were performed, and a literature study to supplement the empirical data. Thereafter the purpose was analyzed through both feminist theory and empowerment theory. A majority of both the men and the women were positive opinions towards the traditional way for women to be organized. This might go against the feminist theory and verify that only negative statements are brought up within the feminist discourse. Through this tradition women collectively claim specific rights, because they are more powerful together then individually, but also under the banner of motherhood or as women. In relation to the process of development the women are being hindered from protesting more frequently and urged to act within the formal framework. Their major obstacles with the formalization concerns to the judicial system and some of them claim that corruption will prevent justice for them as women.</p><p> </p>

This thesis reviews theoretical and local understandings of sustainability and examines the contributions which the NGO, the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE), makes to achieving sustainability in the district of Toledo in Belize, Central America. The study focuses mainly on the Port Honduras Marine Reserve, which TIDE manages in cooperation with the Toledo Fisheries Department. Three sets of theories provide the context: theories of sustainability and sustainable development in general, theories on marine protected areas and fisheries management, and theories on NGOs. Findings show that TIDE has a vague understanding of sustainability and that there is a contradiction between the mission statement which promises a balance between environmental protection and stakeholders' economic needs, and TIDE' s actual strategies for encouraging protection for the Port Honduras Marine Reserve. In addition, TIDE's dysfunctional internal management style, such as lack of communication between the management and staff, spontaneous planning, and frequent staff turn-over prevent the organization from functioning effectively and realizing its goals. TIDE’s approach to sustainability is ineffective because it fails to integrate emic perspectives. TIDE does not take into account that local residents have an their own perspectives on sustainability, which include the fishermen's sense of stewardship for the marine environment. TIDE also does not successfully ensuring a steady income for the fishermen effectively. In light of the theories on sustainability, findings show that most theories are developed in a top-down manner that fail to integrate local understandings of sustainability. The only possible exception are holistic theories that emphasize bottom-up participation. The main recommendation for TIDE and similar NGOs is to develop a holistic approach to sustainability that includes emic perspectives. Consideration of the environment, the consideration of stakeholders' economic needs, the socio-cultural context, and an administrative political framework and a functional internal management style all need to be integrated into a successful approach to sustainability. / Graduation date: 2001 / Best scan available for figures 2-3.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This study is concerned with business angels’ investments process and which aspects in their choice of target firms are considered important in that process. The problem statement of this thesis is; what aspects play a role in Business angels’ investment decision, and in what way? How do these aspects affect business angels when making investment decisions, and why? The aim subsequently is concerned with discerning what is most important for business angels when choosing their target firms and how business angels make their investment decisions. We also aim to be able to create a deeper understanding of business angels, and contribute to small entrepreneurial firms in their search for financiers. Our research can provide information on how entrepreneurs can attract business angels. The study is created with previous studies as a framework, and a wide selection of studies have been used. These have been examined and issues which in those studies have been found to be important for business angels have been reviewed and accounted for in the theory chapter. The approach we used for data collection was through qualitative interviews with the use of an interview guide. This is explained by our aspiration to understand business angels’ investment criteria rather than describe them. Due to this, the view of interpretivism along with constructionism was taken on when constructing the interviews and findings. The respondents were found through business angels networks, and the selection of business angels entailed a fair representation of the researched group. This thesis has been conducted in an academically correct manner, and the results are validated and confirmed by the respondents. The results we came to from our interviews were that the entrepreneur was most important for business angels in their evaluations, but other aspects also played a role. We analyzed our results with the use of our theory section and hence could see that some things we had come up with were unique, whilst some findings confirmed previous studies. We found that many business angels turn down investments due to their lack of time, which was a rather new emphasize for this study. Some qualities of the entrepreneur the business angels required were that they needed to be sales oriented and not overly optimistic about the future returns and prosperity of their ventures. We have shown that if entrepreneurs are overly optimistic about the value of their own firm it is likely that they will lose the deal. This was also of interest as it has not been stated as clearly in previous studies. We conclude the thesis by giving advice to entrepreneurs and business angels, what future business angels should keep in mind and also what entrepreneurs should know before they involve themselves with business angels.

<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} -->En fungerande formell internkommunikation borde vara en grundförutsättning och självklarhet för att alla anställda i arbetslivet. Tyvärr händer det att den brister ibland vilket skapar konsekvenser för bland annat de anställda. Syftet med uppsatsen är att ge en bild av hur de anställda upplever bristen på formell internkommunikation samt vilka konsekvenser det ger för deras känsla av delaktighet, motivation, arbetsprestation samt arbetstillfredsställelse i det dagliga arbetet. Generellt sett så orsakar bristande formell internkommunikation en upplevelse av bristande kontroll samt olustkänslor hos de anställda vilket leder till att engagemanget för arbetet minskar. Framtida forskning bör fokusera på vilka konsekvenser bristande formell internkommunikation genererar, dels ur ett arbetstagarperspektiv men även hur bristande formell internkommunikation påverkar ett företags effektivitet och lönsamhet.

The purpose of the study is to  examine women and men’s perspective on the informal and traditional way for women to organize themselves in relation to formalization. To meet the aims of the thesis qualitative studies through interviews concerning a protest march that took place in 2003 Dareda village were performed, and a literature study to supplement the empirical data. Thereafter the purpose was analyzed through both feminist theory and empowerment theory. A majority of both the men and the women were positive opinions towards the traditional way for women to be organized. This might go against the feminist theory and verify that only negative statements are brought up within the feminist discourse. Through this tradition women collectively claim specific rights, because they are more powerful together then individually, but also under the banner of motherhood or as women. In relation to the process of development the women are being hindered from protesting more frequently and urged to act within the formal framework. Their major obstacles with the formalization concerns to the judicial system and some of them claim that corruption will prevent justice for them as women.

This three-paper dissertation explores how broader (and often unchallenged) changes to political economy at multiple geographic and economic scales impact long-standing ‘informal’ practices of waste recovery and recycling in Hanoi, Vietnam. This research is based on a survey of 575 informal waste collectors and 264 waste intermediaries as well as 73 in-depth interviews. Paper I engages in a critique of methodological disclosure in current academic writings on informal waste-recovery activities and discusses the methodological difficulties of researching informal populations. My aim in this paper is to highlight that the lack of methodological disclosure in waste-recovery literature is problematic because it compromises the academic rigour of this field and impedes the reliability of researchers’ policy recommendations as well as to initiate a dialogue with the aim of improving methodological rigour in waste-recovery literature. Paper II examines urbanization processes in contemporary Vietnam and how these changing spaces accommodate labour, and in turn support livelihoods. I argue that Vietnam’s globalizing economy and urban transition have been a catalyst for the growth of the informal waste collector population in Hanoi, as well as a partial player in the gendering of the industry. Paper III explores how one particular segment of the informal waste-recovery trade, waste intermediaries, is impacted by Hanoi’s rapid urban change. I demonstrate in this paper that 1) waste intermediaries simultaneously gain and lose as a result of Hanoi’s urban transition; and 2) the underlying forces of urban spatial change in different areas of the city are quite distinct, which will have an impact on the future of waste-recovery in Hanoi. The key findings of this dissertation are: 1)A more thorough engagement with methods and a broader approach to understanding waste-recovery actors (through an engagement with political economy at multiple geographic and economic scales) will produce a more context-appropriate and compassionate understanding of this group of urban actors. 2)The livelihoods of informal waste-recovery workers are both directly and indirectly impacted by shifts in political economy, albeit in Hanoi these impacts (both positive and negative) vary by sex and sub-occupation (with respect to waste collectors), and scale of business and location in the city (with respect to waste intermediaries).

<p>South Africa has undergone major transformation after the election of the first democratic government in 1994. The acceptance of a humane constitution as well as equal rights for all its citizens necessitated the banning of corporal punishment in all schools under the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996. Accordingly, this change in the education policy as well as a change in society regarding equal rights for all citizens required teachers to adjust and improve their practices related to classroom management and discipline. The abolition of corporal punishment in 1996 (South African Schools Act 84 of 1996) can thus be regarded as such a changed aspect which required teachers to find alternative ways of keeping discipline in schools. It is expected from teachers to manage learning in classrooms, while at the same time practise and promote a critical, committed and ethical attitude towards the development of a sense of respect and responsibility amongst learners. It is with this in mind that one should remember that classroom locations and environments are complex as well as dynamic. Learners can now use their rights in a court of law while at the same time become more unruly, disruptive and at times even violent. Teachers on the other hand are left with limited alternative procedures or guidelines to manage unruly learners. As such, teachers now rely on their own informal learning in order to deal with such learners since alternatives to manage ill-disciplined learners are not included in formative teacher training courses. This study therefore concerns itself with the way teachers acquire classroom management skills in the absence of corporal punishment and learn how to deal with behavioural problems in order to carry on with day-to-day classroom activities. This is essentially viewed as informal learning. Because of the absence of much-needed training and support from educational authorities, teachers adjust and improve their practice, relying on hands-on experience in classrooms since they only incidentally receive opportunities to engage in ongoing formal professional development. This study explores the nature and content of informal/incidental as well as nonformal (courses not leading to formal accreditation) teachers&rsquo / learning related to managing classroom discipline in the absence of corporal punishment and investigates how skills, to manage classroom discipline, impact on the learning and teaching enterprise. A qualitative approach within the interpretive paradigm was followed throughout this study. Unstructured interviews were used to gather data which resulted in the gaining of rich detailed descriptions of participants&rsquo / responses to acquiring classroom management skills. This qualitative investigation included a literature review that explored and analysed different perspectives on the learning process. This study confirms that teachers acquire classroom management and discipline skills through workplace learning, initiated by themselves as well as collaboratively through interaction with colleagues and learners. Learning within the workplace was possible due to the opportunities they were afforded within the working context they found themselves in.</p>

The decrease in hospital recovery time created a transition to more care being performed in the home. There is a need to balance care needs from both demand and supply characteristics. This research sets out to address how the presence or absence of informal caregiver(s) impacts on resource allocation decisions made by home and community care case managers. This research used a mixed methodologies approach employing both semi-structured interviews with frontline workers and secondary data analysis of the Central and Toronto Central LIHN Resident Assessment Instrument for Home Care (RAI-HC). Overall total average hours of formal services did not differ between care recipients depending on the presence or absence of a caregiver. It is evident from the responses provided by the participants that street-level bureaucracy plays a large role in service allocation decisions. That is, decisions are being made based on diverse idiosyncratic observations, opinions and feelings.