Magister Artium - MA / The aim of the study was focused on investigating how Web 2.0 technologies are being utilised by students and lecturers to accomplish their learning and teaching activities in the Faculty of Information Science and Communications (ISC) at Mzuzu University in Malawi. The study answers the following specific research questions: • What is the current awareness of and familiarity with Web 2.0 technologies amongst students and lecturers in the Faculty of ISC? • For what educational purpose do students and lecturers in the Faculty of ISC use Web 2.0 technologies and which Web 2.0 technologies do they use most? • What do lecturers in the Faculty of ISC perceive as benefits of integrating Web 2.0 technologies in teaching and learning? • What are the factors that influence students and lecturers in the Faculty of ISC to adopt Web 2.0 technologies? The study adopted the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB) by Taylor and Todd (1995) which explains the rejection and acceptance of technological innovations such as Web 2.0. The researcher adopted a case study design in which both qualitative and quantitative data were collected to answer the research problem. The study was conducted in three phases; in phase one, a questionnaire was sent to 186 students and 19 lecturers, phase two involved analysing the curricula and phase three involved conducting follow-up interviews with seven lecturers to seek clarification on some concepts and elaboration on themes identified in phases one and two. The findings show that between 69 (50.7%) and 128 (94.1%) students use these Web 2.0 technologies to search for information, to communicate with lecturers, to submit assignments, to communicate with friends on academic work and to share content with fellow students. Most lecturers use these technologies in handing out assignments to students, receiving feedback from students, uploading lecture notes, searching for content, storing lecture notes and carrying out collaborative educational activities. Between 66 (45.8%) and 95 (69.9%) students use Wikipedia, WhatsApp, Google Apps and YouTube and similarly, between 10 (58.8%) and 13 (76.5%) lecturers use Wikipedia, YouTube, Blog, Google Apps and Twitter to accomplish various academic activities. The findings show further that attitude (perceived usefulness, ease of use and compatibility) and perceived behaviour control (self-efficacy, resource facilitating condition and technology facilitating condition) are strong DTPB factors that determine students’ and lecturers’ intention to integrate Web 2.0 technologies in their academic activities. On the other hand, lack of Internet access remains the recurrent key stumbling blocks towards a successful adoption of Web 2.0 technologies in learning and teaching at Mzuzu University (MZUNI). Generally, the study reveals that Web 2.0 and a compendium of Internet technologies have proliferated at Mzuzu University in the Faculty of ISC. Both students and lecturers are aware, to some extent, of the benefits of integrating Web 2.0 in teaching and learning. The researcher has made three main recommendations which include the need for the Faculty of ISC to introduce awareness and training programmes on the new technologies so that students and lecturers are kept up-to-date about the new developments about these technologies, the need for the newly established Directorate of ICT at MZUNI to promote the use of Web 2.0 technologies by conducting work workshops and sourcing funds for students and lecturers to participate in local and international conferences on Web 2.0 and finally, the need for Mzuzu University to install campus–wide Wi-Fi so that students and lecturers can seamlessly access the Internet on every point of the campus using mobile phones or laptops.

Domestic trade in the centrally planned economy, has been confronted with the lack of inputs and outputs, which did not allow to fully respond to the increasing demand of the population. In this thesis is elaborated the development of this area, especially by the historical, critical analysis and descriptive method, whose goal is to take down the development of domestic trade in the context of the economic development of preferred industries. The thesis is divided into two main chapters, that resolves issues chronologically starting with 1948 to the 80s, then the period of the 80s themselves is watched, which is the most emphasised one, together with concretization on district Mělník. The first chapter deals with theory, the second is practical part. The result shows the development of the domestic trade delayed and forced by the economic situation. Shortages in the supply of the residents, together with other factors, have enforced economic reforms leading to the inclusion of the market elements. However, the success of the measures taken was minimal.

The Canadian C-Spine (CS) and CT-Head (CT) Rules are tools aimed at improving the accuracy and efficiency of radiography use in emergency departments. This study evaluated whether the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) could explain the inconsistent results from implementation studies of these two rules at 12 Canadian hospitals, where the same intervention resulted in a significant reduction in CS radiography but not CT radiography. It was demonstrated that the TPB model’s proposed relationships between constructs and behaviour could explain the ordering of CS but not CT radiography. However, after examining longitudinal changes of the TPB constructs, it was clear that these changes could not explain the changes in CS radiography ordering. Overall, TPB is unlikely to suggest important ways by which to improve radiography use, for CT because its constructs are not related to radiography ordering, and for CS because of high baseline levels of intention to clinically clear.

Despite the growing need for depression prevention programming for university students, few programs exist and those that do are too resource-intensive for broad dissemination. Furthermore, limited research has been conducted on mechanisms of change in CBT-based prevention programs and similar research conducted on CBT for depression demonstrates mixed findings. Therefore, there is a need to incorporate a formal model of health-behaviour change in prevention (and intervention) programs to clarify mechanisms of change and improve outcomes, such as the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). This series of studies developed and tested a formal CBT-TPB “hybrid” model to predict intention to change thinking patterns and a brief depression prevention program for university students and to examine the program’s potential to change the hypothesized constructs in the hybrid model. Results indicated support for the hybrid model, in that TPB factors predict intention to change thinking patterns. In addition, across an open and randomized control trial, my “Start Making a Change” intervention promotes change in TPB factors, as well as improvement in relevant CBT and well-being outcomes. The implication of this work is that brief, easy-to-disseminate, programs, based on a formal model of change, can effectively, at least in the short term, target and change important risk factors for depression onset in university students.

In order to deal with the current unsustainable pattern of growth and development, the City of Vancouver is advocating intensification as a means for developing more complete communities. Promoting this strategy to the public may, however be problematic when there is little or no empirical evidence documenting the outcome or experience of intensification. To better understand the issues, challenges and opportunities associated with using intensification to create complete communities, the City of Vancouver's experience with this strategy was analysed, across a range of planning initiatives within which intensification policies were deployed. Through the use of interviews and a case study comprising an analysis of several City policies and initiatives, the benefits, costs, and barriers of intensification were documented. In total 18 people were interviewed which included City Staff, councillors, developers, and members of planning organizations. This process revealed what the City has been able to achieve through intensification, the lessons they have learned and the direction this strategy must take in the near future in order to create more complete communities. To date, the City has had the most success with intensification when it has been applied to existing multi-family neighbourhoods or to the redevelopment of industrial lands. As a result, the City has been able to create new neighbourhoods that have many of the characteristics of a complete community. However, when this same process is taken to existing single family neighbourhoods, it is met with opposition as a result of the public's resistance to change and the conflicting views regarding intensified urban living. Despite this failure, Vancouver's experience has provided a number of valuable lessons regarding how intensification can be used to create more complete communities. For example, there are a number of conditions that must exist in order for intensification to be promoted, which relate to the planning, market, and political environment of an area. Once these conditions are in place then, strategies should be developed to ensure that intensification is designed to be responsive to a community's needs. Finally, Vancouver's experience with this strategy reveals that the best way to understand what a community needs and what tradeoffs they are willing to make in order to create more complete communities is through a political process that involves a consensus approach to planning and public discussion. The findings of this thesis indicate that the success of future intensification initiatives lies in the City's ability of making intensified urban living fashionable. To do this it will be imperative to establish a common understanding of its limits and benefits by learning from past experiences and by building on the successful intensification initiatives that have occurred. Once this is done, the City can then use the successful examples of intensification to educate the public about how it can be used to create complete communities. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The objective of this research is to ground the reputation construct in theory and to explore the formation of reputation through beliefs about the university and attitude toward the university. Additionally, it will allow for analysis of the consequences of reputation, specifically behavioral intentions, which has received limited attention in the extant literature. This study seeks a better understanding of the construct of reputation. Much of the existing literature on reputation has focused on measuring reputation. Earlier work identified reputation from a strategic perspective and more recently, studies have identified the importance of also understanding reputation from the stakeholder perspective. However, very few of either types of research have identified the theoretical foundation for the formation of reputation (Caruana, Cohen, & Krentler, 2006). There is also a paucity of research that examines the consequences or outcomes of reputation. This study will specifically examine the impact of university reputation on the behavioral consequences of prospective students. This study utilizes the theory of planned behavior (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) to identify how reputation is formed through beliefs about and attitude toward the organization that results in behavioral intentions. The proposed model for this study is an adaptation of the Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) model and the model presented by Money and Hillenbrand (2006). Respondents to the survey were prospective students at two universities in the southeastern United States. Results support the hypothesis that beliefs about the organization and attitude toward the organization are related. Multiple regression identified that emotional appeal, social and environmental responsibility and financial performance of the university were significant predictors for a student‟s likelihood of enrolling in the university.

The primary objective of this study was to examine the association between the theory of planned behavior (TBP) and adherence to a multidisciplinary pain center (MPC) treatment program for chronic pain. While the results of several studies have provided support for the efficacy of MPC treatment in chronic pain, the problems of adherence and attrition are important. TPB is a cognitive/social model of behavior that has been used to predict a variety of behaviors, although it has never been used to predict adherence to a multidisciplinary chronic pain treatment program. It was predicted that Adherence would be predicted by Intentions and that Intentions would be predicted by 1) Perceived Social Norms, 2) Perceived Behavioral Control, 3) Attitudes Toward New Behavior (completing the treatment program), and 4) Attitude Toward Current Behavior (maintaining current treatment and coping strategies). It was found that the total Intentions scores did not predict the total Adherence scores. However, Intentions was predicted by 1) Perceived Behavioral Control, 2) Attitudes Toward New Behavior (completing the treatment program), and 3) Attitude Toward Current Behavior (maintaining current treatment and coping strategies). The finding that Perceived Social Norms did not predict Intentions was consistent with results of previous studies with the TBP. The secondary objective was to examine the extent to which MPC treatment affects patients' attitudes towards behaviors that are associated with successful pain management. The majority of the patients (82%) developed a more favorable attitude toward the program and their average report of the importance of the program was 6.78 on a 10-point scale. The majority of patients (74%) reported experiencing a greater decrease in pain than expected, and the average amount of pain decrease was 5.39 on a 10-point scale.

This master´s thesis is aimed at the strategy and implementation of DOE (planned experiment) and QFD (quality function deployment) in business. There are described about these methods. It deals with their use for a given problem. The last section provides a possible procedure in the enterprise.

En el presente trabajo se describen los resultados alcanzados de incorporar las herramientas del Mantenimiento Productivo Total para mejorar el nivel de calidad, reducir el desperdicio y Producto No Conforme en el proceso de Flexografía en la empresa Amcor. En primer lugar, se hizo el análisis de la situación actual, en la cual se identificó que la empresa tiene problemas de baja calidad en el proceso de fabricación del envase flexible proveniente del proceso de Flexografía, lo cual se debe al alto índice de desperdicio y producto no conforme, causados por la falta de procedimientos estandarizados. En segundo lugar, se utilizó la metodología del Mantenimiento Productivo Total aplicando los pilares del Mantenimiento Autónomo y Planificado a fin de solucionar los problemas sistémicos del operador. A raíz de ello, se estandarizó los procedimientos de limpieza de limpieza y trabajo. También, se insertó tareas básicas de mantenimiento al operador empleando el mantenimiento autónomo, logrando reducir los problemas sistémicos en el proceso. Por último, con la implementación del TPM aplicando los pilares del Mantenimiento Autónomo y Planificado se logró aumentar la tasa de índice de calidad de 92% a 95%, reducir el desperdicio por empalme y defectos en un 13% y 17% respectivamente, y el Producto No Conforme en un 17%, logrando un ahorro anual de USD 320,512. En resumen, la implementación de Mantenimiento Productivo Total en el proceso de Flexografía con los resultados obtenidos puede ser útil a los investigadores que necesiten mejorar los procesos de producción en una organización. / This work describes the results achieved by incorporating the tools of Total Productive Maintenance to improve the level of quality, reduce waste and Non-Conforming Product in the Flexography process in the Amcor Company dedicated to the manufacture of flexible envelopes. In the first place, the analysis of the current situation was made, in which it was identified that the company has low quality problems in the manufacturing process of the flexible packaging from the Flexography process, this is due to the high rate of waste and non-conforming product, caused by the lack of standardized procedures. Secondly, the methodology of Total Productive Maintenance was used applying the pillars of Autonomous and Planned Maintenance in order to solve the systemic problems of the operator. As a result, cleaning and work cleaning procedures were standardized. Also, basic maintenance tasks were inserted to the operator using autonomous maintenance, managing to reduce systemic problems in the process. Finally, with the implementation of the TPM applying the pillars of the Autonomous and Planned Maintenance, it was possible to increase the rate of quality index from 92% to 95%, reduce waste by splicing and defects by 13% and 17% respectively, and the Product Not Conform to 17%, achieving annual savings of USD 320,512. In summary, the implementation of Total Productive Maintenance in the Flexography process with the results obtained, may be useful to researchers who need to improve production processes in an organization. / Mantenimiento Autónomo / Tesis

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / Nowadays, SME industries in the plastics sector fail to work with their maximum installed capacity, among the main factors are lack of market, normal or inevitable and conventional or technical stops, will be dealt with in this investigation. The problem is evident in 71.45%, the average percentage of capacity used in the plastics industries in Peru. Therefore, this article proposes the development of a three-phase production model and complements the Planned Maintenance pillar with Lean tools that seek to improve the capacity used by 17% in industries in the sector. The model starts with the 5S as a basis and support to standardize the ordering and cleaning habits to continue with SMED and Planned Maintenance of TPM. The model was validated with an implementation, an 18% increase in the production capacity used, so it can be concluded that the proposal for improvement presented serves as a reference for future research.