This thesis proposes a classification system of risk mitigation strategies based on literature search and industry interviews. Following that, a list of generic properties was generated to describe individual strategies. In parallel, populating the properties of a large number of identified strategies was attempted. The practical implications are discussed mainly focusing on knowledge management for risk mitigation strategies.

Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjamas socialinės politikos vaidmuo sprendžiant socialinės rizikos grupių problemas. Pirmoje dalyje identifikuojama socialinės politikos samprata, jos struktūra ir modeliai. Antroje dalyje identifikuojama socialinės rizikos grupių samprata ir išskiriamos socialinės rizikos grupių socialinės problemos. Trečioje dalyje atliktas socialinės politikos vaidmens sprendžiant socialinės rizikos grupių problemas tyrimas. Gauti rezultatai rodo, kad Lietuvoje įgyvendinama „pasyvi“ socialinė politika, tačiau tokia politika turi nemažai trūkumų savo struktūros srityse. Sujungus teorinę ir praktinės dalies tyrimo rezultatus paaiškėjo, jog labiausiai Lietuvoje reikalinga „aktyvi“ socialinė politika, paremta socialine reintegracija. / The aim of this Bachlor’s theme is to analize social policy role in addressing problems in social risk groups. In the first part of the work was identified the concept of social policy, it‘s structure and patterns. In the second part of the work was identified the concept of social risk groups and excluded social problems in social risk groups. In the third part of the work was made an analysis of the research about social policy role in addressing problems in social risk groups. Results suggest, that there is the implementation of „passive“ social policy in Lithuania, but such policy have a number of weaknesses in it‘s structure fields. Combining theoretical and practical part of the survey results showed that the most needed is „active“ social policy based on social reintegration in Lithuania.

Companies are increasingly outsourcing business critical activities to suppliers of outsourcing services. As the complexity and business  criticality of the outsourced activities increases, the risk of poor performance increases. This thesis studies large scale outsourcing in the telecom industry where a recent trend is to transfer the development, operation and maintenance of the telecom infrastructure to telecom equipment suppliers. The significance of this type of outsourcing is that the outsourced activity is the revenue generating part of the telecom operators business. Part 1 discusses the purpose and research questions followed by the theoretical underpinning in the research. The research strategy is to study the outsourcing relationship in three distinct stages of its development and the theoretical underpinning applies transaction costs analysis in the Scoping & Search stage and Das &Teng’s (2001) framework of trust and control for managing risks in the Negotiation and Transition stages. This design is in response to calls for a more detailed understanding of how organizations manage risks, it therefore takes the perspective of both the outsourcer and the supplier in the research. Part 2 is a multiple case study of telecom operators in Holland, Sweden and Australia where the supplier in all three cases is Ericsson Global Services organization. The study is further supplemented by mini-cases of large scale IS/IT infrastructure outsourcing. Part 3 has three main parts. Firstly, a cross case analysis of the cases in Part 2; secondly, a discussion of the findings linked to the research questions resulting in a set of propositions. The third and final part covers additional insights and learnings from studying business critical outsourcing and suggestions for further research. The main contributions in the research can be summarised as: Physical asset specificity follows transaction costs logic, however human asset specificity is largely ignored by both outsourcer and supplier Business critical outsourcing by its nature faces a limited market for capable suppliers. This results in single-source negotiations followed by a cooperative stance and open book negotiations. Das & Teng’s (2001) framework for management of risks has been found to have specific directions, some bi-directional and others uni-directional. Furthermore, different dimensions in the framework operate at different managerial levels. Goodwill trust-building operate at the corporate executive level, competence trust-building, output and behavioural control at the level of the negotiation team, and the research indicates that the social control dimension is not applied in business critical outsourcing negotiations. A further finding is that goodwill trust-building precedes all other dimensions of trust and control, and is a pre-requisite for establishing a cooperative stance in the negotiations.

One of the most serious phenomena plaguing families and societies worldwide is teenage pregnancy. In South Africa teenage mothers are permitted to return to schools after giving bith however, not much is done to support these mothers in order to ensure that they are not psychosocially vulnerable and not drop out of school due to possible stress, frustration and lack of scholastic progress. This is where this study is located. This was a Qualitative study that used symbolic drawings accompanied by short descriptive narratives and individual, semi-structured interviews as data collection methods. The study involved 10 teenage mothers who had been re-admitted to schools after giving birth. The participants were aged 15 and 16 and is grades 9 and 10. The findings show that teenage mothers enjoyed family support, had dreams for the future, were anchored in religion and spirituality, had determination and that they had abilities to learn from mistakes. I could not locate a study that had focused on the typical vulnerabilities and empowerment of teenage mothers. Therefore, this study provides useful insight into the factors that are known to render young girls vulnerable to teenage pregnancy and the resultant motherhood and the personal and exological processes that combine in complex ways in order to enable young mothers to cope resiliently. The findings add to theory and have implications for practice / Thesis (MEd (Learner Support))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

It is widely acknowledged that the impacts of climate change are likely to be far worse than some people believe possible. Research has shown that our current approach and intervention to combat climate change is hopelessly inadequate. Climate change is a global environmental phenomenon which is not adequately addressed by integrated environmental management and more particularly by environmental impact assessment (EIA). In order to effectively address this challenge, adaptation and mitigation actions at individual, local, national, and international levels are critical. It is argued that EIA is one of the most valuable tools to integrate climate change issues into pre- and post-development decision-making processes. The aim of this research was to critically review the consideration of climate change risks and opportunities in EIAs for housing development in two of Gauteng’s metropolitan areas. The results reveal that climate change risks and opportunities are not considered during EIA. It is evident that there are a number of challenges, and the sternest one is the serious lack of a regulatory framework to mandate a compulsory consideration of climate change issues in the process of EIA. On the other hand, there is a lack of awareness and drive by key stakeholders to ensure that the EIA process identifies, considers, and evaluate the risks and opportunities related to climate change. / M. Environmental Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

It is widely acknowledged that the impacts of climate change are likely to be far worse than some people believe possible. Research has shown that our current approach and intervention to combat climate change is hopelessly inadequate. Climate change is a global environmental phenomenon which is not adequately addressed by integrated environmental management and more particularly by environmental impact assessment (EIA). In order to effectively address this challenge, adaptation and mitigation actions at individual, local, national, and international levels are critical. It is argued that EIA is one of the most valuable tools to integrate climate change issues into pre- and post-development decision-making processes. The aim of this research was to critically review the consideration of climate change risks and opportunities in EIAs for housing development in two of Gauteng’s metropolitan areas. The results reveal that climate change risks and opportunities are not considered during EIA. It is evident that there are a number of challenges, and the sternest one is the serious lack of a regulatory framework to mandate a compulsory consideration of climate change issues in the process of EIA. On the other hand, there is a lack of awareness and drive by key stakeholders to ensure that the EIA process identifies, considers, and evaluate the risks and opportunities related to climate change. / M. Environmental Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Several scientific and technological advancements in radiation oncology have resulted in dramatic improvements in dose conformity and delivery to the target volumes using external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). However, radiation therapy acts as a double-edged sword leading to drastic side-effects, one of them being secondary malignant neoplasms in cancer survivors. The latency time for the occurrence of second cancers is around $10$-$20$ years. Therefore, it is very important to evaluate the risks associated with various types of clinically relevant radiation treatment protocols, to minimize the second cancer risks to critical structures without impairing treatment to the primary tumor volume. A widely used biologically motivated model (known as the initiation-inactivation-proliferation model) with heterogeneous dose volume distributions of Hodgkin's lymphoma survivors is used to evaluate the excess relative risks (ERR). There has been a paradigm shift in radiation therapy from purely photon therapy to other particle therapies in cancer treatments. The extension of the model to include the dependence of linear energy transfer (LET) on the radio-biological parameters and mutation rate for charged particle therapy is discussed. Due to the increase in the use of combined modality regimens to treat several cancers, it is extremely important to evaluate the second cancer risks associated with these anti-cancer therapies. The extension of the model to include chemotherapy induced effects is also discussed. There have been several clinical studies on early and late relapses of cancerous tumors. A tumor control probability (TCP) model with recurrence dynamics in conjunction with the second cancer model is developed in order to enable design of efficient radiation regimens to increase the tumor control probability and relapse time, and at the same time decrease secondary cancer risks. Evolutionary dynamics has played an important role in modeling cancer progression of primary cancers. Spatial models of evolutionary dynamics are considered to be more appropriate to understand cancer progression for obvious reasons. In this context, a spatial evolutionary framework on lattices and unstructured meshes is developed to investigate the effect of cellular motility on the fixation probability. In the later part of this work, this model is extended to incorporate random fitness distributions into the lattices to explore the dynamics of invasion probability in the presence and absence of migration.

In recent years there has been continuous increase of axle loads, tonnage, train speed, and train length which has increased both the productivity in the rail sector and the risk of rail breaks and derailments. Rail operating risks have been increasing due to the increased number of axle passes, sharper curves, wear-out of rails and wheels, inadequate rail-wheel grinding and poor lubrication and maintenance. Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) and wear are significant problems for railway companies. In 2000, the Hatfield accident in the UK killed 4 people, injured 34 people and led to the cost of £ 733 million (AUD$ 1.73 billion) for repairs and compensation. In 1977, the Granville train disaster in Australia killed 83 people and injured 213 people. These accidents were related to rolling contact fatigue, wear and poor maintenance. Studies on rail wear and lubrication, rolling contact fatigue and inspection and rail grinding analyse and assess the asset condition to take corrective and preventive measures for maintaining reliability and safety of rail track. Such measures can reduce the operational risks and the costs by early detection and prevention of rail failures, rail breaks and derailments. Studies have so far been carried out in isolation and have failed to provide a practical solution to a complex problem such as rail-wheel wearfatigue-lubrication-grinding-inspection for cost effective maintenance decisions. Therefore, there is a need to develop integrated economic models to predict expected total cost and operational risks and to make informed decisions on rail track maintenance. The major challenges to rail infrastructure and rolling stock operators are to: 1. keep rolling contact fatigue and rail-wheel wear under controllable limits, 2. strike a balance between rail grinding and rail lubrication, and 3. take commercial decisions on grinding intervals, inspection intervals, lubrication placements, preventive maintenance and rail replacements. This research addresses the development and analysis of an integrated model for assessment of operational risks in rail track. Most significantly, it deals with problems associated with higher axle loads; wear; rolling contact fatigue; rail defects leading to early rail replacements; and rail breaks and derailments. The contribution of this research includes the development of: failure models with non-homogenous Poisson process and estimation of parameters. economic models and analysis of costs due to grinding, risks, downtime, inspection and replacement of rails for 23, 12, 18 and 9 Million Gross Tonnes (MGT) of traffic through curve radius 0-300, 300-450, 450-600 and 600-800 m; and application of results from this investigation to maintenance and replacement decisions of rails. Cost savings per meter per year are: * 4.58% with 12 MGT intervals compared to 23 MGT intervals for 0-300 m * 9.63% with 12 MGT intervals compared to 23 MGT intervals for 300-450 m * 15.80% with 12 MGT intervals compared to 23 MGT intervals for 450-600 m * 12.29% with 12 MGT intervals compared to 23 MGT intervals for 600-800 m. a lubrication model for optimal lubrication strategies. It includes modelling and economic analysis of rail wear, rail-wheel lubrication for various types of lubricators. Cost effectiveness of the lubricator is modelled, considering the number of curves and the total length of curves it lubricates. Cost saving per lubricator per year for the same curve length and under the same curve radius is: * 17% for solar wayside lubricators compared to standard wayside lubricators. simulation model for analysis of lubrication effectiveness. Cost savings per meter per year for: * 12 MGT grinding interval is 3 times for 0-450 m and 2 times for 450-600 m curve radius with lubrication compared to without lubrication. * 23 MGT grinding interval is 7 times for 0-450 m and 4 times for 450-600 m curve radius with lubrication compared to without lubrication. a relative performance model, total curve and segment model. an inspection model for cost effective rail inspection intervals. Cost savings per year for same track length, curves and MGT of traffic: * 27% of total maintenance costs with two inspections, compared to one inspection considering risk due to rail breaks and derailments. a risk priority number by combining probability of occurrence, probability of detection and consequences due to rail defects, rail breaks and derailments. integrated model combining decisions on grinding interval, lubrication strategies, inspection intervals, rectification strategies and replacement of rails. Cost saving per meter per year for 12 MGT is: * 5.41% of total maintenance costs with two inspections, compared to one inspection considering risk due to rail breaks and derailments. * 45.06% of total maintenance costs with lubrication for two inspections, compared to without lubrication. Cost saving per meter per year for 23 MGT is: * 5.61% of total maintenance costs with two inspections, compared to one inspection considering risk due to rail breaks and derailments. * 68.68% of total maintenance costs with lubrication for two inspections, per year compared to no lubrication. The thesis concludes with a brief summary of the contributions that it makes to this field and the scope for future research in wear-fatigue-lubrication-grinding-inspection for maintenance of rail infrastructure.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 438-442).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 257-261).