The problem that this thesis deals with is that the intense competition and increasing consumer power in the health industry calls for the operating companies to take consumers’ considerations into account when advertising their products. It is further suggested that consumers will be extra careful before buying health-related products due to their direct effect on their personal health. Thus, companies selling health-related products must gain an understanding of how consumers form their judgments of the advertisements for the same in order to be able to create persuasive and thus effective advertisements. The purpose of this thesis is to understand consumers’ views of different persuasion strategies used for advertising health-related products and how these affect their willingness to purchase the advertised product. This will be done as a means to provide the concerned companies with a basis for how to create positively perceived, yet effective, advertisements. In order to fulfill the purpose of this thesis a qualitative study was conducted through the use of focus groups. During the focus groups the participants were, among other things, encouraged to discuss their views of three different advertisements for health-related products. Each advertisement represented one persuasion strategy used in the advertising of health-related products. The gathered data was interpreted and analyzed by comparing it with theories from previous research. The study shows that consumers require extensive information and strong evidence behind the arguments provided in advertisements for health-related products. Advertisements that communicate consequences that correspond to consumers’ existing beliefs are likely to be positively perceived. Conversely, if the communicated consequences contradict consumers’ beliefs their responses are likely to be negative. Consumers that are more informed in regards to the products are more likely to critically judge the advertisements for the same. The likelihood that consumers’ attitudes will be reflected in their behavior increases along with the strength of their attitudes.

This research was undertaken to determine the influence of a video class system on the strategic teaching and learning of school mathematics. A literature investigation served as a frame of reference for the planning, execution and assessment of the empirical investigation. Some of the approaches which have the greatest influence on the learning of school mathematics, namely the behaviourist, cognitive and constructivist approaches, are described and, where necessary, critically assessed. Factors which influence the learning of school mathematics are discussed in an interrelated manner and are used to identify the features of the strategic learning of school mathematics. It is then attempted to determine how teaching should take place to enable the strategic learning of school mathematics. To reach this objective, different approaches to the teaching of mathematics are discussed, based on approaches to the learning of mathematics, and the influence of these on the teaching of school mathematics is determined, based on the literature investigation. Different factors which influence the teaching of mathematics are identified and used to describe the characteristics of the effective teacher, who teaches mathematics for the strategic learning of the subject. The empirical investigation involved a quantitative as well as a qualitative investigation. In the quantitative investigation an actual experimental design with a pre-test and post-tests was used. Video recordings were made with one experimental group (video recording class) and delivered (played back) with another experimental group (video delivery class). The control group received conventional mathematics teaching. A quantitative field investigation was undertaken by means of an adapted LASSI-HS to establish the influence of the video class system used in the investigation on the study and learning strategies of the learners. In this way the influence on the strategic learning of mathematics could be determined. At the same time the influence of the video class system on the mathematics performance of the learners was established, in order to determine the extent of success of the use of the video class system. A qualitative investigation by means of an observation schedule, together with the analysis of video recordings of mathematics lessons, was used to determine the influence of the video class system on the teaching of mathematics. The video class system did not have a negative or a positive influence on the performance of either the video recording classes, the video delivery classes or the control classes of the schools who participated in the research. Neither did the video class system have a positive or a negative influence on the use of learning and study strategies (concerning mathematics) of the different class groups who participated in the research. That means that the video class system did not negatively influence strategic learning in learners who may use it. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

Striving towards service excellence, a public entity can embark on various service and product delivery strategies as well as functional management strategies or management tools. The primary objective of this study is to indicate to what extent a public entity such as Gerotek can meet the different approaches to economically viable service delivery to the government and commercial environments respectively, where different rules, regulations, means and ways of contracting apply. In order to realise this objective, the characteristics of public entities and those of private entities competing in the same market were explored and comparisons made between the different entities to indicate the level of success each one is able to achieve. Public-Private Partnerships, Project- Partnering and Management, as well as Black Economic Empowerment involvement, as different forms of partnership agreements or other forms of business models, were investigated to distinguish best practice in service and product delivery strategies. The effectiveness of various management tools was discussed, such as the South African Excellence Model, Total Quality Management, and the Balanced Scorecard, which can be applied to assist management in improving service delivery. Interviews were conducted according to an interviewer-administered questionnaire to obtain information pertaining to the literature study of the above, in order to determine the effectiveness of service delivery within a public entity competing in government and commercial environments. The respondents agreed that a public entity could meet best practice to deliver economically viable services and products to both environments, with the reservation that continuous improvements should be made. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

<p>Background: In Namibia, studies showed that HIV/AIDS affects youth, especially the under 24 years age group. At the same time the pregnancy rate is also high by age 19. Interestingly, in&nbsp / Andara district several reports from staff working in the reproductive services have indicated that adolescent girls, who would seem to be taking responsibility in one sphere of their sexual lives&nbsp / by protecting themselves against unwanted pregnancy, were however not using condoms to protect themselves from HIV infection. Study Aim and Objectives: To describe the knowledge, attitude and behaviour related to HIV/AIDS amongst female adolescents who are accessing the primary health care (PHC) services for contraception. Specific objectives were to describe the&nbsp / knowledge of female adolescents who are accessing the PHC services for contraception about the modes of transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS, to assess their attitude with regards to&nbsp / condom use, abstinence and being faithful to one uninfected partner, also to determine the significance of association between age and knowledge, attitudes and behaviour, between their&nbsp / education level and knowledge, attitudes and behaviour and the significance of association between knowledge of HIV prevention strategies and&nbsp / behaviour of female adolescents accessing&nbsp / &nbsp / PHC services for contraception in the district. Setting: The study was conducted in Andara district, North East of Namibia. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional KAB study. Sample: All female&nbsp / adolescents who are accessing PHC services for contraception selected from multistage simple random sampling in 5 facilities and systematic sampling at facility level in Andara. All married&nbsp / women within this age range were excluded in the study. Data collection tool: An interviewer-administered standardised questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data analysis and&nbsp / Interpretations: Epi Info software 2002 was used for data analysis. The results were presented using descriptive statistics including means, 95% confidence intervals and percentages and&nbsp / this information was shown in tables, bar and pie charts. Cross-tabulations of knowledge, attitude and behaviour scores against demographic variables were performed. P-values &lt / 0.05 were&nbsp / &nbsp / considered statistically significant. Results: 76.5% knew that unprotected sexual intercourse was the main way of getting HIV/AIDS, 77.3% knew that people could protect themselves by&nbsp / abstaining from sexual intercourse and 64.5% knew that people could protect themselves by having one uninfected faithful sexual partner. Out of 192 respondents who stated that unprotected&nbsp / sexual intercourse was the main way of HIV/AIDS transmission, 25.5% used condom every time they had sexual intercourse, 10.9% used condom almost every time they had sex, 41.1% used&nbsp / condom sometimes and 22.4% never used condom. Older girls and those who were in higher grades at school had more knowledge that could protect them from HIV infection. Later sexual&nbsp / debut is associated with increased&nbsp / condom usage at sexual debut. Conclusions: The general HIV knowledge of respondents and their knowledge of how to&nbsp / protect themselves from HIV infection were disappointing given that this&nbsp / study was conducted in health facilities. In this study we also see that knowledge does not always translate into the appropriate behaviour. The health services need to evaluate the targeting and&nbsp / effectiveness of their HIV educational messages and develop skills that will support behaviour change.&nbsp / </p>

The study is based on the study of Jegadeesh and Titman (1993, 2001) which found evidence of succesfull trading strategies which yielded significant positive abnormal returns by exploiting a momentum pattern in stock prices. The purpose of this study is to contribute with empirical results to the discussions of efficient markets, momentum effects and behavioral finance by providing evidence from the Swedish stock market between the years 1998 and 2013. The conclusion is that there exists a Momentum Effect on the Swedish stock market. The utilization of momentum strategies yields significant positive abnormal returns. The Efficient Market Hypothesis is a model which might hold in the long-term, but shows limitations in the short-term. The implications of the results of this study are that short-term investor behavior and momentum profits might be partially explained by behavioral finance models but the origin of the momentum profits need to be further evaluated.

Global climate change and the electricity supply constraints could possibly be one of the utmost strategic issues facing businesses and consumers of all sizes currently in South Africa. Energy Efficiency is the ability to produce the same output but with less energy. The implementation of Energy Efficiency strategies is pivotal in order to sustain the climatic conditions as well as mitigate the supply constraints the South African utility Eskom is experienced. The aim of this study was to reiterate the importance of energy efficiency strategies and to identify the barriers and challenges companies face towards implementing energy efficiency and energy management strategies. This dissertation identified incentives and rebate schemes available to promote energy efficiency strategies and discussed the policies and strategies the South African Government implemented towards realising the energy efficiency target of 12%.The literature review conclude with discussing best practices indentified by implementing corporate energy efficiency strategies. The level of preparedness and progress in implementing an energy management system and strategies between the different companies were assessed. The target population includes the high intensity user group (HIU), listed and SME companies in the different industry sectors in South Africa. The study concludes that there are still multiple challenges facing companies in implementing sustainable energy efficiency strategies. Although government and multiple stakeholders are initiating incentive and rebate models to promote the implementation of energy efficiency measures, industry still lacks the commitment to change their behaviour toward implementing energy management strategies. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Global climate change and the electricity supply constraints could possibly be one of the utmost strategic issues facing businesses and consumers of all sizes currently in South Africa. Energy Efficiency is the ability to produce the same output but with less energy. The implementation of Energy Efficiency strategies is pivotal in order to sustain the climatic conditions as well as mitigate the supply constraints the South African utility Eskom is experienced. The aim of this study was to reiterate the importance of energy efficiency strategies and to identify the barriers and challenges companies face towards implementing energy efficiency and energy management strategies. This dissertation identified incentives and rebate schemes available to promote energy efficiency strategies and discussed the policies and strategies the South African Government implemented towards realising the energy efficiency target of 12%.The literature review conclude with discussing best practices indentified by implementing corporate energy efficiency strategies. The level of preparedness and progress in implementing an energy management system and strategies between the different companies were assessed. The target population includes the high intensity user group (HIU), listed and SME companies in the different industry sectors in South Africa. The study concludes that there are still multiple challenges facing companies in implementing sustainable energy efficiency strategies. Although government and multiple stakeholders are initiating incentive and rebate models to promote the implementation of energy efficiency measures, industry still lacks the commitment to change their behaviour toward implementing energy management strategies. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

This research was undertaken to determine the influence of a video class system on the strategic teaching and learning of school mathematics. A literature investigation served as a frame of reference for the planning, execution and assessment of the empirical investigation. Some of the approaches which have the greatest influence on the learning of school mathematics, namely the behaviourist, cognitive and constructivist approaches, are described and, where necessary, critically assessed. Factors which influence the learning of school mathematics are discussed in an interrelated manner and are used to identify the features of the strategic learning of school mathematics. It is then attempted to determine how teaching should take place to enable the strategic learning of school mathematics. To reach this objective, different approaches to the teaching of mathematics are discussed, based on approaches to the learning of mathematics, and the influence of these on the teaching of school mathematics is determined, based on the literature investigation. Different factors which influence the teaching of mathematics are identified and used to describe the characteristics of the effective teacher, who teaches mathematics for the strategic learning of the subject. The empirical investigation involved a quantitative as well as a qualitative investigation. In the quantitative investigation an actual experimental design with a pre-test and post-tests was used. Video recordings were made with one experimental group (video recording class) and delivered (played back) with another experimental group (video delivery class). The control group received conventional mathematics teaching. A quantitative field investigation was undertaken by means of an adapted LASSI-HS to establish the influence of the video class system used in the investigation on the study and learning strategies of the learners. In this way the influence on the strategic learning of mathematics could be determined. At the same time the influence of the video class system on the mathematics performance of the learners was established, in order to determine the extent of success of the use of the video class system. A qualitative investigation by means of an observation schedule, together with the analysis of video recordings of mathematics lessons, was used to determine the influence of the video class system on the teaching of mathematics. The video class system did not have a negative or a positive influence on the performance of either the video recording classes, the video delivery classes or the control classes of the schools who participated in the research. Neither did the video class system have a positive or a negative influence on the use of learning and study strategies (concerning mathematics) of the different class groups who participated in the research. That means that the video class system did not negatively influence strategic learning in learners who may use it. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

Striving towards service excellence, a public entity can embark on various service and product delivery strategies as well as functional management strategies or management tools. The primary objective of this study is to indicate to what extent a public entity such as Gerotek can meet the different approaches to economically viable service delivery to the government and commercial environments respectively, where different rules, regulations, means and ways of contracting apply. In order to realise this objective, the characteristics of public entities and those of private entities competing in the same market were explored and comparisons made between the different entities to indicate the level of success each one is able to achieve. Public-Private Partnerships, Project- Partnering and Management, as well as Black Economic Empowerment involvement, as different forms of partnership agreements or other forms of business models, were investigated to distinguish best practice in service and product delivery strategies. The effectiveness of various management tools was discussed, such as the South African Excellence Model, Total Quality Management, and the Balanced Scorecard, which can be applied to assist management in improving service delivery. Interviews were conducted according to an interviewer-administered questionnaire to obtain information pertaining to the literature study of the above, in order to determine the effectiveness of service delivery within a public entity competing in government and commercial environments. The respondents agreed that a public entity could meet best practice to deliver economically viable services and products to both environments, with the reservation that continuous improvements should be made. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Research into second language strategies has started as a result of the shift of focus, from teachers and teaching to learners and learning which has taken place in the field of education over the last few decades. Strategies used by good language learners have been revealed, strategies used by successful and less successful language learners have been compared, and factors influencing the use of learning strategies have also been investigated. As an attempt to contribute to gaining more insights into language learning strategy, this research aims to investigate the writing strategies used by successful and less successful English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners and the relationship between strategy use and the learners’ success. A multi-method approach combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches was used to answer the research questions. This approach was achieved by means of method triangulation which consisted of structured questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and learning diaries. Nine female adult native Vietnamese students, who were in their second year of a four-year Bachelor program at Hanoi University in Vietnam, participated in the study. Questionnaires were administered at the beginning of the data collection phase. Guidelines for diary writing were then provided to the participants. Semi-structured interviews which served as the primary method of data collection were finally conducted with each of the participants. Findings from the study showed that the successful writers not only used strategies more frequently but also used more metacognitive, memory, compensation, and cognitive strategies than the less successful writers. The study also found some strategies which were most and least frequently used by both the successful and less successful writers.