The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that healthcare facility leaders in Central Minnesota use to recruit and retain qualified nurses. Participants were 6 healthcare facility leaders including 2 nursing directors, 2 human resource personnel, 1 nurse supervisor/administrator, and 1 nurse recruiter who had the knowledge and experience in recruitment and retention of Registered Nurses (RNs) in healthcare facilities in Central Minnesota. The Herzberg 2-factor theory was the conceptual framework. Semistructured interviews were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using Morse's 4 steps data analysis process. The major themes were recruitment strategies and retention incentives. The recruitment strategies were the various hiring methods participants used to attract and gain RNs, and the retention incentives were the benefits that motivated and retained RNs. Participants relied on both recruitment strategies and retention incentives to manage the shortages of RNs. The results provide healthcare facility leaders with additional information about how to successfully recruit and retain qualified RNs, which may lead to a larger and potentially satisfied nursing population. Social implications include strengthening the nursing workforce, increasing productivity for healthcare facilities, providing better customer service and increased patient satisfaction, and contributing to more satisfied RNs and families, as well as helping the local communities and the economy.

A major component of the screening process for prospective teachers is the licensure examination. The examination serves two important functions: (a) sorting and screening candidates and (b) defining the knowledge base for professional practice. The first function receives the most attention from policymakers and serves the symbolic purpose of creating selectivity for entry into the profession. Initial entry typically is controlled by raising or lowering examination passing requirements which simply allows more or fewer persons to pass (Darling-Hammond, Wise & Klein, 1995). The second function presumes that a single instrument exists that not only contains the essential knowledge required for professional practice, but accurately identifies those most qualified to teach.The Virginia Board of Education (VBOE), like several other state boards of education, has authorized validation and standard-setting studies related to its teacher licensure examination policy, and the most recent studies have occurred in the past 20 years. The first study was authorized in April 1981 for the potential use of the National Teachers Examination (NTE). Following completion of validation studies for the Specialty Area Tests and the Core Battery Tests, the NTE was adopted as Virginia's licensure examination which was made effective on July 1, 1986. Ten years later (effective July 1, 1996), the VBOE agreed that prospective teachers would be required to take Praxis I Academic Skills Assessments. Praxis I would replace the NTE Core Battery, however, and the original NTE Specialty Area Tests would be retained. The decision to change teacher licensing examinations was precipitated primarily by the announcement by Educational Testing Service (ETS) that it would introduce new tests and eventually discontinue the NTE Core Battery. The passing requirements for Praxis I (as established in 1995) exceeded those of all states administering the test and were as follows: reading and mathematics - 178, and writing - 176. Review of test data obtained after the effective date of this policy revealed that the passing percentage for all test takers in 1995-96 was reading 72; mathematics 62; and writing 58. For minorities, the passing percentages were 34, 18, and 18, respectively. When these results were compared to test taker performance one year later (1996-97), there were modest percentage increases for all test takers: reading - 74; mathematics - 66; and writing - 63. For minorities, passing percentages were 36, 35 and 28, respectively. Despite these increases, 26 percent of all test takers failed the reading test; 34 percent failed the mathematics test; and 37 percent failed the writing test. The long-range effects of the Praxis I passing requirements on test takers are unknown; however, one of the near-term effects likely will be a reduction in the passing rate for a significant number of persons, particularly racial minorities.This study examined current Virginia teacher licensure policy, its intent, and near-term effects of examination results on teacher availability and minority representation. / Ph. D.

Demographic changes in the Swedish context due to the aging population leads to an escalation of retirements. This presents new challenges concerning labour shortage in organizations. Another important issue is cultural diversity which posts demands on employers to meet their service users needs. The main area of interest in this study is to investigate factors in an organization that connects to diversity and labour shortages and furthermore investigate the correlation between the two areas. To do this, a case study have been conducted using Umeå municipality as the case organization. Umeå is located in the north of Sweden with a population of about 120 000 residents. The method approach is qualitative, using semi-structured   interviews for data collection. The results suggests that terms and conditions for employees within the organization differs between majority and minority groups and that the cognitive awareness in the matter is diverse. The result also states the importance of strategic management such as follow ups, evaluations and designing of proactive standardizations for the HR   processes to reinforce anti-discrimination in the organizations. Our ambition is to give perspective on how norms influence the reality we create and recreate daily in our workplaces.

Klibbalen (Alnus Glutinosa) växer på frisk eller fuktig mark i södra och mellersta Sverige, mestadels i bestånd mindre än ett hektar. Klibbalen är med sina kvävefixerande noduler på rötterna ett näringsberikande träd, dess kvävetillförsel medför en naturlig gödsling. Den växer som bäst på djup näringsrik, mullrik mark med rörligt grundvatten. Produktionen kan  uppgå till drygt 10 m3sk/ha och år och kan föryngringsavverkas vid 35 års ålder. Virket är mjukt, har låg densitet och är lätt att bearbeta. Efter bearbetning fås en jämn fin yta som behålls även efter återfuktning. Värmeupptagningsförmågan är låg för klibbal. Däremot är virket inte intressant för tillverkning av papper då virket missfärgar pappersmassan. Undersökningen är tredelad, besök och intervjuer på lövsågverk, fältmätningar i bestånd samt analys av beståndsdata från skogsbruksplaner. Dessa tre delar ligger till grund för en syntes till en förbättrad skötselinstruktion för klibbal. Vid intervjuer med lövsågverk framkommer att de sågverk som idag sågar lövvirke upplever en brist på virke med rätt kvalitet. Med bättre skötsel och ett anpassat skötselprogram för klibbal bör det gå att få ut mer sågbart virke. God kvalitet på klibbalsvirke definieras som virke fritt från torr- och rötkvist samt brunkärna. Träden bör vid slutavverkning vara 30 till 40 cm i brösthöjd. De skogsbruksplaner som Södra Skogsägarna tillhandahöll har undersökts avseende de bestånd där klibbal är huvudträdslag. Som regel baseras skötselförslagen för dessa bestånd på andra trädslag än klibbal t.ex. gran eller björk och med ett skötselintervall på 5 år. Skötselintervallet blir ofta för långt i dessa förslag. Resultatet från såväl intervjuerna, fältmätningarna och skogsbruksplanerna har syntetiserats till ett förbättrat skötselprogram. Med en korrekt angivning av beståndsdata med anpassande skötselförslag för klibbal som har korta skötselperioder går det att skapa bättre framtida virkeskvalitet. Dagens skogsbruksplaner ger för långa tidsperioder för klibbalskötsel och bör förkortas till 2, 3 och 4-års långa perioder beroende på var i omloppstiden man befinner sig. / Common alder (Alnus Glutinosa) grows for the most part in the south and middle of Sweden, in clumps smaller than one hectare. The wood is soft, light and easy to work and maintains a smooth surface in humid environment and does not take on heath. The wood is not of interest in pulp as it discolors. The hard wood saw mills have at present a lack of good quality hardwood. With enhanced silviculture-program for common alder with shorter silviculture-interval, 2-, 3 and 4 years, and the use of a site index for common alder it should be possible to get a higher production of good quality hardwood. The current silviculture programs should be changed to shorter intervals to fit common alder silviculture. When common alder is identified for cutting, it should be taken to the hard wood industry for optimal refining.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att ge en förståelse för hur employer branding kan användas för att göra en organisations arbetsgivarvarumärke mer attraktivt, då organisationen är präglad av arbetskraftsbrist samtidigt som ett krav på specifik kompetens finns.   Metod: En fallstudie med en abduktiv ansats som behandlar employer branding utifrån ett apoteksföretag. Datainsamlingen har gjorts genom kvalitativa intervjuer och från fallföretagets forum på sociala medier.   Slutsats: Studiens resultat har visat hur en organisation kan arbeta med employer branding för att stärka sitt arbetsgivarvarumärke. Två av de mest fundamentala målsättningarna med employer branding är att kunna behålla och attrahera personal. För att kunna uppnå dessa målsättningar har flertalet aspekter valts ut och analyserats för att kunna identifiera hur en organisation kan vara framgångsrik i sitt employer branding-arbete. Studien har visat att ett framgångsrikt employer branding-arbete kräver en process där varje aspekt fungerar i symbios, men att förändringar på arbetsmarknaden ibland kan vara överväldigande och underminera företagens möjligheter med employer branding. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is to bring understanding into how employer  branding can be used in order to make an employer brand more attractive, while the organization is characterized by labour-shortage and at the same time demand specialized skills.   Method: The study is based on a case study with an abductive reasoning and addresses employer branding from a pharmaceutical company’s perspective. The data has been collected through qualitative interviews and from the pharmaceutical company’s social media forums.   Conclusion: The results of the study have shown how an organization can work with employer branding in order to strengthen its employer brand. Two of the most fundamental objectives of employer branding is to be able to retain and attract personnel. In order to achieve these objectives, numerous aspects have been selected and analyzed to identify how an organization can be successful in its work with employer branding. The study has shown that a successful work with employer branding demands a process where every aspect functions in symbiosis. However, changes in the labour-market can sometimes be overwhelming and therefore underminine the companies employer branding abilities.

This thesis is focused on the application of cross-correlation technique for leak detection and location in medium density polyethylene (MDPE) pipes. A leaking water pipe generates noise that depends primarily on water pressure, pipe characteristics and the leak size and shape. This noise, commonly called leak signals, can be used for the purpose of leak detection and leak location in MDPE pipes. A correlation technique is typically employed to detect, position and characterise these water leaks and is proved to be very efficient for metallic pipes. However, the same is not true for MDPE pipes where the attenuation rate with distance of the leak/source signal is very high, and the generated leak signals are of low frequency and narrow bandwidth. In order to locate leak with good accuracy in MDPE pipes, the correlation process relies on the estimation of speed of leak signals in water/pipe and the time delay between leak signals measured at two locations. For time delay estimation, a correlation function is used. Its accuracy depends upon the sharpness of the correlation peak, type and positioning of sensor, and the processing of signals obtained, which in turn further depends upon the characteristics of leak signals. In MDPE pipes, leak signals are of low frequency and narrow bandwidth; however, their frequency response is not well characterised. Therefore, this thesis presents an analytical model to explain the acoustic characteristics of leak signals in MDPE pipes. The model is used to study the effects of the cut-off frequencies of low, high and band pass digital filters and the selection of acoustic/vibration sensors for the correlation technique. It detailed the importance of the cut-off frequency of the high pass filter and the insensitivity of the correlation function to the cut off frequency of the low pass filter.

Teacher attrition is a problem with a number of implications, not the least of which is the teacher shortage. Almost half of all new teachers leave the profession within the first five years, creating a difficult model where more teachers leave the teaching profession compared to teachers entering the profession. Part of the problem is a result of career progression. However, most of teacher attrition is a result of factors such as inadequate pay, administrative support, workplace conditions, student related issues, and collegiality with peers. Without a thorough understanding of the factors that contribute to teacher attrition it is impossible to create an environment where "No Child is Left Behind". Although teachers do not enter the profession with the notion of getting rich, they do need to make enough money to support themselves and their families. Furthermore, professional status in America is closely tied to socioeconomic status. Therefore, while salary may be the largest component of teacher attrition, school and district characteristics, teacher qualifications, and demographics also affect a teacher's decision to leave the profession.

This paper develops a Bayesian Global VAR (GVAR) model to track the international transmission dynamics of two stylized shocks, namely a supply and demand shock to US-based safe assets. Our main findings can be summarized as follows. First, we find that (positive) supply-sided shocks lead to pronounced increases in economic activity which spills over to foreign countries. The impact of supply-sided shocks can also be seen for other quantities of interest, most notably equity prices and exchange rates in Europe. Second, a demand-sided shock leads to an appreciation of the US dollar and generally lower yields on US securities, forcing investors to shift their portfolios towards foreign fixed income securities. This yields sizable positive effects on US output, equity prices and a general decrease in financial market volatility. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

“Vattenfrågan har alltid varit viktig på Gotland” (Bastani et al. 2015, p. 25)  - “Water questions have always been important on Gotland”. Contrary to the common perception that water shortage does not pose a problem to northern European countries, the case on Gotland provides the example that it is a real issue. Due to several factors, the Swedish island faces severe water shortages during the summer and is in urgent need to address this in the light of an expected growing number of people coming to Gotland. Since water is a topic affecting a wide range of stakeholders, the water issue is already in the focus of attention and occasionally passionately discussed on the island. The aim of this paper was to identify with the help of qualitative research how relevant stakeholder groups perceive and address the water shortage on Gotland. The identified stakeholder groups were from the administrative/political sectors, industrial/business sectors, the research sector as well as engaged citizens. During the research it became clear that the water shortage can be characterized as a wicked problem, which in its nature is impossible to solve but only manageable due to its complexity. Yet, the majority of stakeholders did not recognize the wicked problem as such which explains the multiplicity of existent strategies for how to deal with it. The different approaches lead to outcomes that seem to only address parts of the problem but fail to manage it in its entirety. The study suggests that institutional voids, meaning a lack of clear responsibilities regarding who should manage the problem and how seem to both arise from and contribute to the complexity of the problem. As result of this research, it seems crucial to firstly gain a comprehensive understanding of the situation and then work with multi stakeholder communication and cooperation against prevailing institutional voids in order to address the water shortage effectively.

Thesis advisor: Brian J. Gareau / For my dissertation research, I am focused on the sociopolitical relations of electronics disposal, a less-considered but increasingly important stage in the life cycle of electronics. Although much has already been written on the global trade in hazardous wastes, the Basel Convention that regulates this trade, and the environmental injustice of the global waste trade--with wealthy countries dumping the "negative externalities" of their consumption on vulnerable communities in the global South--the reality today appears to be more complex. Regulators in the Basel Convention and the UN Environment Program, as well as civil society actors in industry and NGOs, have an increased interest in promoting the development of markets and infrastructure in high tech e-waste recycling. Historically, e-wastes have been both talked about, and treated as, a toxic and unwanted byproduct of the digital age. However, today key actors in the regulatory, industrial and civil society spheres are now discussing e-wastes as critical "resources" for economic and technological development. I hypothesize that uncovering the economic, technological and geopolitical drivers of this shift will reveal that the global trade in e-wastes can no longer be described as a clear-cut North/South, "perpetrator-victim," scenario, rather, it must be seen as a dynamic process where environmental inequalities are mitigated and reconstituted in new forms and at various sites. I identify two dominant paradigms that scholars, activists, policy makers and industry actors employ in evaluating the global trade in electronic wastes. I label these two paradigms the "environmental justice evaluation" and the "resource capture evaluation." By engaging concepts from global political economy and environmental sociology (particularly, O'Connor 1979; Harvey 2003; Pellow 2003) and applying them to my case, my dissertation attempts to bring a nuanced perspective to the e-waste debate. My initial findings suggest that both of these frameworks do not account for the key economic processes that are driving the e-waste trade. A better understanding of these processes will better illuminate the pathway to finding meaningful solutions to the persistent, presently illegal global trade in discarded electronics. My data consists of a comprehensive examination of meeting archives from the Basel Convention (where the experts and political decision makers on this issue implement policies that affect the global e-waste trade) spanning from 1992 to the present, as well as reviews of the proceedings of other relevant actors in e-waste policy (for example, annual meetings of the global organization StEP, and publications and pamphlets from trade organizations in the US and abroad and publications from the US government). In addition, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 key actors in the national regulatory, global regulatory, industry and NGO spheres in order to understand how the key decision makers in the e-waste trade understand the drivers and implications of the shift "from waste to resources." Finally, I draw on ethnographic observations conducted at a pivotal Basel Convention meeting in 2011, where a decision was made that has the potential to fundamentally reshape the Basel Convention and enable increased global trade in discarded electronics through the development of formalized recycling centers in less-developed countries. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.