Abstract   Purpose - The purpose with this thesis is to investigate how to increase sales forecast accuracy.   Methodology – To fulfil the purpose a case study was conducted. To collect data from the case study the authors performed interviews and gathered documents. The empirical data was then analysed and compared with the theoretical framework.   Result – The result shows that inaccuracies in forecasts are not necessarily because of the forecasting technique but can be a result from an unorganized forecasting process and having an inefficient information flow. The result further shows that it is not only important to review the information flow within the company but in the supply chain as whole to improve a forecast’s accuracy. The result also shows that time series can generate more accurate sales forecasts compared to only using qualitative techniques. It is, however, necessary to use a qualitative technique when creating time series. Time series only take time and sales history into account when forecasting, expertise regarding consumer behaviour, promotion activity, and so on, is therefore needed. It is also crucial to use qualitative techniques when selecting time series technique to achieve higher sales forecast accuracy. Personal expertise and experience are needed to identify if there is enough sales history, how much the sales are fluctuating, and if there will be any seasonality in the forecast. If companies gain knowledge about the benefits from each technique the combination can improve the forecasting process and increase the accuracy of the sales forecast.   Conclusions – This thesis, with support from a case study, shows how time series and qualitative techniques can be combined to achieve higher accuracy. Companies that want to achieve higher accuracy need to know how the different techniques work and what is needed to take into account when creating a sales forecast. It is also important to have knowledge about the benefits of a well-designed forecasting process, and to do that, improving the information flow both within the company and the supply chain is a necessity.      Research limitations – Because there are several different techniques to apply when creating a sales forecast, the authors could have involved more techniques in the investigation. The thesis work could also have used multiple case study objects to increase the external validity of the thesis.

Jürgen Habermas’ The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere has been described as outdated and incompatible with 21st century democracies. Among other things, Habermas’ initial formulation excluded the state from the public sphere. Recently, a revised model of the public sphere has emerged that positions the state and other law-making bodies at its centre. Although some theorists have embraced this revised model, others continue to exclude the state or oversimplify its role. While some research has examined how parliaments fit into this revised model, no research has been published on this in a Canadian context. This thesis attempts to fill this gap by answering the research question: Does the Canadian House of Commons constitute a form of the public sphere? To answer this question, the Canadian House of Commons is explored along three dimensions of the public sphere – structure, representation, and interaction. This system of classification conforms to the essential function and institutional criteria of classical theory and also accounts for revised models of the public sphere. Ultimately, this work argues that the Canadian House of Commons satisfies the structural and representational dimensions of the public sphere. Its interactional dimension, however, is found to be inconsistent with public sphere theory due to a lack of real deliberation and the pervasiveness of party politics.

Over the past few decades, research into public perceptions of crime has largely focused on how mass media consumption shapes beliefs about crime. Substantially less research has been dedicated to exploring the potential influence of alternative sources of information, and even less attention has been devoted to exploring the spatiotemporal aspect of perceptions of crime. This thesis combined Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and structured interviews in order to explore the narratives about crime constructed by three sources: (1) the Ottawa Police Service, (2) the Ottawa Citizen newspaper, and (3) residents of Ottawa. Eight participants were taken on a walking tour interview, and their responses were compared to two maps depicting the geographies of crime presented by the Ottawa Police Service and the Ottawa Citizen. It was found that the places participants believed to be criminal ones were poorly maintained and dirty, were populated by large numbers of homeless individuals, had little to no commercial space, were geographically close to other areas of the city believed to be criminal spaces, and were poorly lit. The three construction of the spatial distribution of crime in Ottawa shared many common features (such as a focus on the Byward Market area as highly criminal) while remaining distinct in their presentation of certain types of spaces (such as the newspaper’s presentation of homeless shelters as highly criminal spaces). Ultimately, this thesis explores three distinct narratives about the geography of crime in Ottawa through the use of a unique mixed methods design that provides an alternative way of interpreting data most commonly analyzed through deductive or quantitative means.

Recent research shows that cancer survivors are at greater risk of developing cancer than the general population. Knowledge of the magnitude of second cancer risk and cancer-specific deaths among cancer survivors, factors that influence their second cancer risk, cancer survivors’ perceptions of second cancer risk and current practices and existing gaps in follow-up care is urgently needed if we hope to prepare survivors and their healthcare providers as to how best to monitor their long-term health. An exploratory mixed method study, guided by Kaplan and colleagues (2000) multilevel approach to the health determinants, was conducted to provide a detailed understanding of second cancer risks among cancer survivors. Data collection methods included: (1) qualitative survey of current practices in the follow-up care offered for cancer survivors across Canada, (2) population-based health databases (cancer registry and health insurance databases), and (3) qualitative interviews on cancer survivors’ perceptions of second cancer risks. Coordinated follow-up services are not universally available across Canada. Yet, cancer survivors have a 4-7-fold increased risk of developing cancer compared to the general population in Nova Scotia and Manitoba. Second cancer risks varied by demographic and disease-related factors such as age at first cancer diagnosis, cancer type, treatment era, and time since diagnosis. Second cancer risk does not exist only as an epidemiological calculation. Second cancer risk, from the perspective of cancer survivors, is shaped by more intuitive conceptual models than statistical models of risk. The theme, Life After Cancer – Living with Risk, described survivors’ sense that second cancer risk is now a part of their everyday lives.

Objective: A neglected issue in literature on nutrition and HIV/AIDS is how other health professionals view their role in that arm. The purpose of this study was to understand professional nurses' perception regarding their ability to render effective nutritional care to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Design: A qualitative approach was used. Twenty-three, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nurses (mean age 38) working in eight (five rural and three urban) Wellness clinics within public hospitals providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) in North West Province, South Africa. Brief structured demographic questionnaires were also administered. All interviews and focus group discussions were recorded for transcription and open-coding. NVivo was used for open coding, whilst descriptive statistics were done using SPSS for windows (version 14, SPSS Inc., Chicago. IL). A research team of professionals and researchers collaboratively analysed data for emerging themes. Results: All the hospitals that participated had at most three nurses, having at least one professional nurse working in the Wellness clinic for PLWHA. More than half of the participants interviewed were diploma holders, eight (35%) were degree holders and three (13%) had certificates in nursing. Five main themes (previously guided by the interview questions) emerged during the analysis of data and these portrayed participants' perceptions regarding their ability to render effective nutritional care to PLWHA. The themes were 1) challenges faced by nurses dealing with PLWHA on a daily basis, 2) concerns of PLWHA, 3) nurses’ perception on the importance of nutrition in HIV/AIDS care, 4) nurses’ perceived ability to deal with nutritional issues in HIV/AIDS, 5) the role of traditional healers, traditional medicine in HIV/AIDS. Thirty five percent of participants mentioned poor socio-economic status of PLWHA as a barrier to the participants to talk about good nutrition to people that are food insecure. Furthermore, 13% of participants indicated that they are constantly facing the dilemma of PLWHA mixing traditional medicines and ART. Participants perceived the following skills to be important in the area of nutrition and HIV/AIDS: communication, listening and knowledge. Although knowledge could be debated as it is not a skill per se, the participants believed that on needs to acquire nutrition knowledge first and then improve on the communication and listening skills with more exposure and training. Ten (41%) of the participants interviewed rated themselves as average, 11 (48%) participants as good whilst only 4%, representing one participant, felt they were very good at giving out nutrition education. Sixty one percent of participants said they would require more knowledge, whilst 39% said they would need to acquire communication and listening skills for them to be able to render effective nutritional cart to PLWHA. In this study, participants perceived nutritional care to PLWHA as their responsibility and that lack of knowledge was influencing their inability to offer this service effectively. All the participants indicated a need for collaboration with nutrition professionals, ill-service training us well as exposure to clear communication channels for nutrition and HIV/AIDS information. Participants were concerned with the lack of policy implementation regarding nutrition and policy documents. Of the 23 participants interviewed, only two (9%) confirmed having seen and rend the South African Guidelines on Nutritional Care for People Living with TB, HIV/AIDS and other Chronic Debilitating Conditions. Conclusion: All participants interviewed believed that nutrition knowledge in the area of HIV/AIDS can be improved if poor people who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS are food secure. Concerning practice, it is recommended that nutrition and HIV/AIDS as a topic be introduced in both undergraduate mid postgraduate training for nurses. The lack of policy implementation, level of qualification and years spent in the nursing profession may have influenced participants' perception regarding their ability, as well as confidence, to render nutritional care to PLWHA. Possible interventions to improve policy implementation could be the development of user-friendly information, education and communication materials for health institutions as these may serve as constant reminders to health care service providers. It was found that participants' perceptions regarding their ability to render effective nutritional care to PLWHA was affected by a complex number of factors which emerged as themes that need to be addressed. Participants' experience suggests that more research and inquiries are needed into traditional medicines and traditional healing, as the issue of ARVs and traditional medicine is becoming a public health dilemma, riot only to the nurses, but to every stakeholder involved in the field of HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, a need exists for nurse-specific outreach, collaboratively done by nutrition professionals and other stakeholders. This work thus provides a foundation for further exploring ways to improve the ability of other health care workers such as nurses in the nutritional care of PLWHA which will ultimately improve the quality of life of PLWHA. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Nutrition))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

This study is a qualitative, blended methods, online ethnography that seeks to explore how youth (re)negotiate what it means to be Asian through their participation in online, user-created, racialized groups within the popular social network site Facebook. What are the relationships and social processes between their online and offline interactions that contribute to the construction of a singular or multiple Asian identities? Through face-to-face and online interviews with youth participants in Vancouver, three broad themes emerged around: 1) the negotiation of Asian as a process of negotiating authenticity, 2) the use of humour and jokes as a means of resistance and reproduction of Asian stereotypes and 3) how the performance of one or multiple Asian identities are dependent on dramaturgical concepts of audience and stage. The data from this study highlight the complexity of racialized youth’s identity negotiations in an increasingly growing online world and the relevance and need for further research in this specific niche area. / Graduate

The ultimate aim of this inquiry is to expand understandings of what it can mean to engage meaningfully with children, youth, and families and the systems designed to support them, in context. By widening our gaze to include the discursive, political, and other dimensions of lived experiences, practitioners and policy makers may be able to engage in practices that prioritize the wellbeing of all community members, recognizing social justice as central to this development. Methodologically, the challenge has been to work emergently, in line with social constructionist and postmodern understandings of social reality in which conditions are always in flux. Since there has been a call from qualitative researchers to make visible more ‘messy texts’ through which decision making processes can be made transparent, this document tracks the course of the study from beginning to end. By making explicit the methodological decisions as they are made, and contextualizing these decisions within not only the academic literature and data but also within personal and political realities, the author aims to demonstrate an ontological approach to learning and change. By experiencing research not only as product (findings), but also process (ways of engaging), the researcher highlights the transformative potential of relating differently with(in) one’s inquiry. The five-part exploration itself begins by unpacking dominant discourses of both struggles and support, which are becoming increasingly individualized due to a number of contextual realities. It then explores relational theories of subjectivity as well as theories of multiplicity, in an effort to look at other – albeit often concealed – dimensions of experience. By taking these theories and the multitude of practices they inform into consideration, possibilities for other ways of engaging in human service practices and policy development become intelligible. However, even when relational processes are acknowledged, avenues for action are significantly constrained through power relations. Deliberately incorporating notions of nomadism, non-unitary subjectivity, situatedness, and diversity into our discourses and practices can function politically in that they can provide opportunities for us to embrace and enact new narratives and ways of being. These in turn open space in which different kinds of meaningful social engagement can occur. In the pursuit of more just ways of being, deliberately attending to multiple stories can thus contribute to shifts in practice and policy that are responsive to what was, what is, and what may be possible. Drawing from existing empirical research as well as personal narratives shared by community members and policy makers, this dissertation argues that by blurring lines between self and other, contextualizing practices, understanding change as ontological, reconceptualising power, and recognizing justice as an ongoing and shared responsibility, we might collectively access and mobilize fruitful possibilities that are often obscured. / Graduate

Deliberate self-harm are a growing problem among young people in Sweden. It's not only the child that suffers from the behaviour, even the whole family. Parent´s need the right support from the healthcare staff for their own wellbeing, but also to be able to give good support for their child. Par-ent´s experiences are of importance for the nurse in the healthcare of the child and their families. The aim of this study was to describe parent´s experiences of living with a child with a deliberate self-harm behavior. In this literature study ten qualitative articles were analyzed using the method of Friberg (2012). Eight articles were found by a systematic search and two articles were found in an unsystematic search. This study showed four main themes and ten subthemes. Main themes were parent´s experience of support, parent´s experience of different feelings, parent´s experience of fam-ily relations and parent´s experience of parenting. Subthemes were to experience lack of support from healthcare staff, to need support from the environment, to feel guilt and shame, to feel concern and fear, to experience chock, to communicate with their child, to experience a different relation-ship in the family, to maintain trust in the relationship between parent and child, wanting to protect their child, to feel unsecure in their parenting. Conclusion were that parent´s need better support from the healthcare staff and from others in their environment. Nurses need more knowledge about parent´s experiences to be able to understand their needs and to be able to support them.

In recent years, the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in education has become a widely discussed issue. This paper starts with a brief examination of the relationship of political changes to the rapid educational reforms in recent years, including the school-level implementation of ICT. Specifically, the implementation of ICT in Hong Kong primary schools is investigated. Primary data are collected from school heads and teachers while secondary data are collected from the scholarly literature. In addition, supplementary data were collected for comparison from several areas in the UK. A number of research questions are proposed for the study, including the potential benefits and shortcomings of ICT in education, the difficulties of ICT implementation, and the relative cost effectiveness of ICT. Quantitative and qualitative methods emerged from the different research paradigms of positivism and interpretivism. Both are discussed in the research design chapter. A mixed-method approach was selected for the entire research project. Under this approach, quantitative data were collected through survey techniques and qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviewing. These two data collection processes were undertaken independently. The design and application of data collection for both categories of data are discussed at length. Eventually, 681 questionnaires and 17 interviews were analysed. The findings were consolidated and triangulated when possible, and are discussed in the concluding chapter. Throughout the study, responses to several important issues, including workload, time, professional development and school organisation, have been elicited from the participants. Finally, some recommendations are made that attempt to optimise the use of ICT in education. Further research areas are also proposed. In sum, the research suggests that ICT is a 2-sided tool. On one hand, ICT can provide numerous benefits to teaching and learning. On the other hand, stakeholders must be aware of its potential negative side effects. Moreover, ICT should be treated as only one of many instructional media, and it should be used carefully. Over-reliance on ICT should be avoided.

Aim: The aim of this thesis was to obtain an overview over the options of Nordic infertile couples regarding assisted reproduction treatment, and to follow couples’ arguments and decision-making process to make relevant decisions about these options. Methods: Quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The study design was inspired by Ecological systems theory, where data was gathered from laws and regulations (macro-level), fertility clinics (meso-level) and the couples using these options (micro-level). Study I consists of results from a review of the legislations in the five Nordic countries and results from a questionnaire that was sent to all fertility clinics to gather information about available options. Papers II and III present the findings of the interviews with 22 Nordic couples, after their first appointment with a specialist at the fertility clinic. The couples came from Denmark (3), Finland (6), Iceland (3), Norway (4) and Sweden (6). Study IV presents the findings of follow-up interviews with the same couples approximately three years later. For the qualitative study the tools of Grounded Theory were used. Findings: In Study I it was found that Nordic couples generally have good access to assisted reproductive technology treatments (ART), although it is not evenly distributed and there are restrictions related to certain criteria, such as age. There are national differences in the legislations, especially regarding gamete donation. These differences open up for cross-border reproductive care, andmore than one third of the fertility clinics offered treatment to people from other countries. Study II describes the decision-making process of the couples when determining the “right time” to try for a child. The couples mention the need to feel prepared for parenthood; such as a stable social situation, and once they felt prepared they became more susceptible to decision-making catalysts, such as influence from friends and family. Fear of infertility made the couple accelerate their decision regardless of preparation. In Study III the decision-making process of seeking medical help is illustrated. The core category was “negotiation and re-negotiation”. The process of decision-making is first to accept that they have a problem in common, secondly that they need knowledge and finally to take action and get help. Study IV deals with the decision-making process during treatments. Of 22 couples, 17 had succeeded at becoming parents after approximately three years, three couples were still trying and two had not decided how to continue. The core category was “maintaining control in an uncertain situation”. The couples tried to keep focus on the goal and to learn to deal with the new world with various methods. Conclusions:The structure of and the access to service for infertile couples differ between the Nordic countries. Some of the differences, e.g. regarding subsidy systems and waiting time, affected the decision making process since they could mean a delay in the treatment process or whether a private or public clinic was chosen. Additionally, a couple consists of two individuals with independent decision-making processes, which makes joint decision-making difficult and time-consuming. The couples have to negotiate their way to a consensus and are constantly confronted with new choices they need to re-negotiate on. The decision-making process, when dealing with infertility, is not a straight line, but rather a chain of small decisions affected by feelings, context and situation / Markmið: Markmið rannsóknarinnarvar að ná yfirsýn yfir þeim tæknifrjóvgunarmöguleikum sem norrænum pörum sem kljást við ófrjósemi stendur til boða, og að fylgja rökleiðslu þeirra og ákvarðanatökuferli sem tengist þessum möguleikum. Aðferð: Megindlegum og eigindlegum aðferðum var beitt.Hönnun rannsóknarinnarsótti innblástur til Ecological systems theory, með söfnun gagna frálögum og reglugerðum (macro-stig), tæknifrjóvgunarstofum (meso-stig) og frá pörunum sem nýttu sérþessa möguleika (micro-stig). Grein Iinniheldur niðurstöður rýni á reglugerðum Norðurlandanna fimm, ásamt niðurstöðum spurningalista sem sendur var öllum tæknifrjóvgunarstofum til að fá upplýsingar um þá möguleika sem stóðu til boða. GreinarII og III kynna niðurstöður úr viðtölum við 22 norræn pör sem fórufram eftir fyrsta tíma þeirra hjá sérfræðingi á tæknifrjóvgunarstofu. Pörin komu frá Danmörku (3), Finnlandi (6), Íslandi (3), Noregi (4) og Svíþjóð (6). Grein IV kynnir niðurstöður framhaldsviðtala við sömu pör sem fóru fram u.þ.b. þremur árum síðar. Fyrir eigindlega hluta rannsóknarinnar var aðferðum úr Grounded theory beitt. Niðurstöður: Grein Isýndi fram á að aðgengi norrænna para að tæknifrjóvgunarmeðferðum er alla jafna gott. Þó er aðgengið er ekki jafndreift og það eru hömlur sem tengjast tilteknum skilyrðum, svo sem aldri. Það er munur á reglugerðum landanna, sérstaklega hvað snýr að kynfrumugjöf. Þessi mismunur opnar fyrir tæknifrjóvgunarþjónustu yfir landamæri, en meira en þriðjungur tæknifrjóvgunarstofa buðu þjónustu sína fólki frá öðrum löndum. Grein II lýsir ákvarðanatökuferli paranna þegar þau ákvarða hvenær sé „réttur tími“ til að reyna að eignast barn. Pörin nefndu þörfina fyrir að finnast þau vera undirbúin fyrir foreldrahlutverkið, svo sem að hafa trygga félagslega stöðu, en að því búnu urðu þau móttækilegri fyrir ákvarðanatökuhvötum, svo sem áhrifum frá vinum og fjölskyldu. Óttivið ófrjósemi olli því að pörin flýttu ákvörðun sinni, óháð öðrum þáttum. Grein III varpar ljósi á ákvarðanatökuferlið sem leiðir til þess að leitað er aðstoðar sérfræðinga. Kjarnaflokkurinn (e. core category) var „að semja og endursemja“. Ferli ákvarðanatökunnar hefst með því að parið þarf að sætta sig viðað þau eigi við sameiginlegt vandamál að stríða, því næst þurfa þau að afla sér vitneskju, og loks að bregðast við ogleita hjálpar. Grein IV fjallar um ákvarðanatökuferlið meðan á meðferð stendur. Af 22 pörum, þá hafði 17 tekist að verða foreldrar eftir þrjú ár, þrjú pör voru enn að reyna og tvö pör höfðu ekki tekið ákvörðun um framhaldið. Kjarnaflokkurinn var „ að halda stjórn í ótryggum aðstæðum“. Pörin reyndu að einblína á markmiðið og að nota ýmsar aðferðir til þess að höndla nýjar aðstæður. Samantekt: Það er munur á uppbyggingu og aðgengi að þjónustu fyrir ófrjó pör milli Norðurlandanna. Sumir þessara mismunandi þátta, t.d. niðurgreiðslur og biðtími, höfðu áhrif á ákvarðanatökuferlið þar sem þeir gátu tafið meðferðina eða ráðið því hvort parið leitaði til einkastofu eða opinberrar stofnunar. Par samanstendur af tveimur einstaklingumhvor um sig með eigiðákvarðanatökuferli, en það gerir sameiginlega ákvarðanatöku erfiða og tímafreka. Parið verður að semja til að komast að sameiginlegri niðurstöðu, en þarf síðan í sífellu að endursemja um nýja möguleika sem koma fram. Ákvarðanatökuferlið eins og það snýr að ófrjósemi er ekki bein lína,heldur er það keðja af litlum ákvörðunum sem mótast af tilfinningum, samhengi og aðstæðum.