The high costs associated with turnover and the loss of skilled employees have a significant adverse effect on organizational performance. The loss of one skilled worker can cost 25-500% of an employee's salary with respect to replacement, training, and productivity. The purpose of this descriptive multiple case study was to explore strategies for frontline managers and human resource managers to reduce voluntary employee turnover. The sample consisted of 5 frontline supervisors and 6 human resource leaders with successful experience designing and implementing strategies to reduce voluntary employee turnover in 8 organizations in Orange County, Florida. The conceptual framework for this study was the competing values framework, which researchers have used to explore turnover in different settings. Methodological triangulation occurred from individual interviews, a focus group, and companies' documents. Interview data were analyzed using the modified van Kaam method and the constant comparative method. Analysis resulted in 4 themes (a) knowledge of your workforce, including what motivates your employees; (b) communication, including addressing communication barriers; (c) employee engagement, including leadership development; and (d) performance evaluations, including using a 360-degree feedback system. Social change implications include the potential to help human resource leaders align employee values with the organizational culture, thus increasing job satisfaction and decreasing voluntary employee turnover, which may contribute to lowering unemployment and minimizing the need for social services due to the loss of income.

There are a large number of chemical facilities that emit toxic chemicals in Michigan, and there is a concern regarding toxic chemical exposure to the residents of Michigan counties. However, it is uncertain whether chemical companies that emit toxic chemicals in Michigan are influenced by county demographic factors in deciding whether to engage in voluntary pollution prevention (P2) activities and whether this decision influences U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) scores. Using Bullard's theory of environmental justice, the purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there was a correlation between chemical-related industry's voluntary P2 participation, U.S. EPA's RSEI scores for chemical-related facilities, and demographic factors in Michigan counties between 2007 through 2011. A cross-sectional design using hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to study potential environmental inequality in 20 Michigan counties. Publically available data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. EPA included demographic data, voluntary P2 participation data, and RSEI scores for 20 counties in Michigan. A statistically insignificant correlation was found between voluntary P2 participation and median annual RSEI scores of Michigan industry; while a statistically significant, inverse correlation was found between median annual RSEI scores and educational attainment. The results from this study can be used by policy makers to promote more effective voluntary P2 policy and to create county-specific public education programs promoting toxic chemical awareness that will lead to positive social change in Michigan.

Children from low-income families often begin kindergarten at an academic disadvantage. This research consisted of a causal comparative study of the short-term and longer term academic effects of voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) participation with a population of students who qualified for free or reduced-price lunch in a large southern public school district. Reading and math achievement of low-income students who attended VPK in 2008-09 were compared with a matched sample of students who did not attend. Incremental changes following the 2008-09 prekindergarten year to the cohort’s and matched sample’s 2012-13 third-grade academic performance were compared via archived kindergarten, first-, second-, and third-grade test scores, ratings, and promotion status at the end of third grade. Additional analyses were made to test for any differences between program length for the VPK and non-VPK attenders. Analyses were also conducted to see if the effects of VPK persisted through the early school years as measured by school type (Title I or non-Title I). Short-term and longer term effects in favor of VPK participation were found for kindergarten, first, and third graders who attended summer or full-year programs and a Title I school for 1 to 3 years of their academic career during the 4-year period examined. However, those students who attended VPK but who did not attend any Title I school from kindergarten to third grade did not perform better statistically than matched students who did not attend VPK. It is recommended that full-year prekindergarten programs be considered for students likely to attend high-poverty schools. Reading readiness and achievement were significantly higher for the students attending high-poverty schools if they previously attended full-year prekindergarten programs.

Conscription in the legal system of the Czech Republic The main goal of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive take on a conscription legislation in the Czech legal system. With this in mind the beginning of the thesis includes a definition of conscription as well as the differences between conscripted army and a professional army since both these systems currently are or have been present in Czech armed forces. To better understand the different types of conscription used throughout the history, the thesis also contains a chapter encompassing a basic development of Czech (Czechoslovak) foreign policy and defence strategy since the birth of an independent Czechoslovakia up to this day, focusing its impact on the concrete type of conscription used in the particular period. Then, a comprehensive third chapter about a historical development of different types of providing defence to the area of the contemporary Czech Republic is included. Each subchapter is dedicated to a certain historical period since the early system of princely retinues during the 10th century up till the 21st century and a fully professional army. The main part of the thesis consists of chapters four to seven which describes individual aspects of current conscription legislation such as organization of Czech armed forces,...

Sammanfattning Titel: Lagstadgad hållbarhetsrapportering: Vilken förändring har skett i företagens redovisning efterinförandet av lagstadgad hållbarhetsrapportering?  Nivå: Kandidatuppsats i företagsekonomi Författare: Alinde Johansson och Gabriel Dunberg Handledare: Annika Lake Datum: 2022 - Januari Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att analysera förändringarna i företags hållbarhetsrapporter föreoch efter införande av lagstadgad hållbarhetsrapportering (lag SFS 2016:947). Metod: Studien använder sig av en kvantitativ forskningsmetod där datainsamling har skettgenom en innehållsanalys av företags hållbarhetsrapporter. Med utgångspunkt i 6 kap. 12 §ÅRL har en kodningsmanual med indikatorer för tolkning av data tagits fram. Resultat och slutsats: Undersökningen visar att före införandet av lag på hållbarhetsrapportredovisades hållbarhet av samtliga företag som ingår i studien i någon form. Studienobserverade en ökning i antalet uppnådda indikatorer i en majoritet av företagen. Examensarbetets bidrag: Denna studie bidrar till att visa i vilken utsträckning lagstadgadhållbarhetsredovisning har påverkat hållbarhetsrapporteringen i Svenska noterade företaginom large cap. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Då vår undersökning begränsats till ett mindre urval är vårtförslag på fortsatt forskning att genomföra en studie på ett större urval för att kunna se hurhållbarhetsrapporteringen förändrats i olika branscher, i jämförelse med small cap och largecap och/eller mellan olika länder. Eftersom flera företag i studien uppfyllt samtligaindikatorer men antalet producerade sidor skiljer sig åt hade även en kvalitativ studie påskillnaderna varit intressant. Nyckelord: Hållbarhetsredovisning, Signaleringsteorin, Legitimitetsteorin, Frivilligredovisning, Årsredovisningslagen / Abstract Title: Statutory sustainability reporting: What change has taken place in the companies' accounts afterthe introduction of statutory sustainability reporting? Level: Bachelor's thesis in Business Administration Authors: Alinde Johansson and Gabriel Dunberg Supervisor: Annika Lake Date: 2022-january Aim: The purpose of this study is to analyze the changes in companies' sustainability reports before and after the introduction of statutory sustainability reporting (Act SFS 2016: 947). Method: The study uses a quantitative research method where data collection has takenplace through a content analysis of companies' sustainability reports. Based on Chapter6 Section 12 of the Annual Accounts Act a coding manual with indicators forinterpreting data has been produced. Results and conclusion: The study shows that before the introduction of legislation onsustainability reports, sustainability was reported by all companies included in the studyin some form. The study observed an increase in the number of indicators achieved in amajority of companies. Contribution of the thesis: This study contributes to showing the extent to whichstatutory sustainability reporting has affected sustainability reporting in Swedish listedcompanies within large cap. Recommendations to future research: As our study is limited to a smaller sample, ourproposal for further research is to conduct a study on a larger sample to be able to seehow sustainability reporting has changed in different industries, in comparison withsmall cap and large cap and / or between different countries. Since several companies inthe study met all the indicators but the number of pages produced differed, a qualitativestudy of the differences would also have been interesting. Keywords: Sustainability Report, Signaling Theory, Legitimacy Theory, Voluntaryaccounting, Annual Accounts Act

Environmental protecting legislation in the context of land trust action This diploma thesis deals with legislation of land trusts. The concept of land trusts is not very known in the Czech republic - neither in the legal section - altough this instrument is really perspective in environmental protection. Land trusts are not dependent to state power. Land trust can be described as nonprofit nongovernmental organization which associates people who want to voluntarily participate in environmental protection in their surroundings. They are not motivated neither by state organizations nor by economic aspects. They are protecting the environment on the basis of their highly positive relationship with nature and on the basis of their responsibility towards environment. The diploma thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter reveals what is land trust, how it can be estabilished and what is the essence of its mission. In the second chapter there are various legal relationships described which are used by land trusts for value land care purpose. There are also introduced some of the legal instruments used by land trusts. The third chapter enumerates another environmental actions of land trusts such as ecological education, ecological advicing and participation in the decision - making processes...

International migration flows and patterns shaped by the determinants, processes and outcomes of social, political, and economic conditions have led to important transformation of society and human geographies. As Canada continues to effectively manage its immigration system and uphold its commitment to international refugee protection and resettlement, it is critical for Canada to do so with an understanding of the changing context of immigration, which are reinforced by shifting policies and their impact, in our contemporary society. In this thesis, the migration trajectory of three groups of newcomers to Canada; international students, Syrian refugees, and refugee youth, are explored by examining policies and conditions that can create group risks and vulnerabilities in immigration, settlement, and integration as groups transition to life in Canada after arrival. As suggested by Castle (2010) migration researchers can advance the field by embedding their work in broader theories of social change to facilitate understanding of the complexity, interconnectedness, variability, contextuality, and multi-mediation of migratory process in the context of rapid change. This thesis employs a geographical lens of place to deepen understanding of processes and outcomes in our contemporary society, while responding to these evolving contexts in one mid-size, post-industrial Canadian city. In three separate research, this thesis examines: 1) economic immigration flow under Express Entry in 2015 and 2016; 2) the role of the voluntary sector during the Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initiative in Hamilton, Ontario in 2016; and 3) the place of school-based settlement in bridging and brokering school-based mental health for newcomer youth. / Thesis / Doctor of Science (PhD) / As Canada continues to effectively manage its immigration system and uphold its commitment to international refugee protection and resettlement, it is critical for Canada to do so with an understanding of the changing context of immigration in our contemporary society. In this thesis, I examine the migration trajectory of three groups of newcomers to Canada; international students, Syrian refugees, and refugee youth, by asking two overarching research questions that explores policies and conditions that can create group risks and vulnerabilities in immigration, settlement, and integration. This thesis seeks to understand how policies could be addressed to improve successful outcome for newcomers. This thesis employs a geographical lens of place to deepen understanding of processes and outcomes in our contemporary society, while responding to these evolving contexts in one mid-size, post-industrial Canadian city.

This research investigates the use of pro-social emotions to improve cooperation. In particular, it tries to reconcile the results from Noussair and Tucker (2007) and Lopez et al. (2010). To reach this goal the experiment considers different degrees of revelation: no revelation, partial and full disclosure of information. Additionally, I use different microeconometric specifications to accommodate different hypothesis about the motivation of the subjects. My results diverge from those of Lopez et al. because I find that revealing the decision of a single subject at random does not significantly increase cooperation, which is the main result of these authors. Also, my findings indicate that cooperation is triggered only when I reveal information of either 3 or all the subjects in the group, the last case being similar to the public observability of Noussair and Tucker. These authors find a non-permanent increase in contributions, so I do but using a positive framed-experiment with disclosure of additional information, the group’s earning loss. Therefore, random revelation together with the disclosure of information about subjects’ decisions appears to be a good alternative to promote cooperation in a sample pool of undergraduate students. Also, I observe a reduction in contributions over time, but in the random revelation treatment this decay by less than 40%. The most interesting result that I obtain is the evidence of altruism and positive reciprocity in the specification of Ashley et al. (2003, 2010), instead of the matching in contributions reported by these authors.

Föreliggande studie tillkom i samverkan med Rädda Barnen och Aktiv Ungdom i Uppsala. De båda ideellt drivna verksamheterna bedriver årligen ett kostnadsfritt sommarlovsläger för barn i låg- och mellanstadieåldern i ett socialt- och socioekonomiskt utsatt område i Uppsala. Studien undersökte vad det betyder för familjer att barnen ges möjlighet att delta på sommarlovslägret ur föräldrars perspektiv, ledares perspektiv och Rädda Barnens lokalförenings perspektiv. Studien bygger på kvalitativ forskningsmetod, semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes och resultatet analyserades genom en tematisk analys. Den utvecklingsekologiska modellen var studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt, modellen tydliggör hur interaktioner eller förändringar inom barnets olika system aldrig är fristående utan i ständig växelverkan med varandra. Resultatet visar att deltagande i sommarlovslägret har en positiv påverkan på barnet, föräldern och familjen. Deltagandet bidrar till att minska barnens isolering och att minska föräldrastress som är avhängig familjens ekonomiska förutsättningar och begränsningar i vardagen. Detta resultat går i linje med tidigare forskning som tydligt framhåller den organiserade fritidens betydelse för barns utveckling och hälsa. Studiens slutsats är att barn i socialt- och socioekonomiskt utsatta områden ofta missgynnas de många hälsofrämjande aspekter som deltagande i organiserade fritidsaktiviteter medför. Det är av stor vikt att kostnadsfria fritidsaktiviteter genomförs inom socioekonomiskt utsatta områden för att möjliggöra deltagande som annars kan hindras av begränsade ekonomier och transportmedel.

Bakgrund: Under de senaste decennierna har frivillig informationsgivning blivit vanligare. Den växande digitaliseringen, högre krav på mer informationsgivning från intressenter, ökade krav på hållbarhet samt ökade nivåer av granskning från omvärlden är några förklaringar till den ökade efterfrågan på frivillig informationsgivning. På grund av den växande efterfrågan har ämnet blivit intressant att studera. Syfte: Den här studien undersöker vilken kategori inom frivillig informationsgivning som är dominerande samt vilka likheter och skillnader det finns mellan börsnoterade och icke-börsnoterade företag när det gäller mängden av frivillig informationsgivning. Metod: Studien innefattar en kvantitativ metod där studien baseras på årsredovisningar från 2021 och urvalet består av 30 stora svenska börsnoterade och 30 stora svenska icke-börsnoterade aktiebolags årsredovisningar. Metoden som används för att analysera informationen är ett kodningsschema och chi-2-test. Resultat: Resultatet visar att den dominerande kategorin av frivilliga informationsgivning är “analys av föregående år” samt att det finns en skillnad mellan börsnoterade och icke-börsnoterade aktiebolag angående mängden frivillig informationsgivning. / Background: In recent decades, voluntary disclosure has become more common. The growing digitization, higher demands for more information from stakeholders, increased demands for sustainability and increased levels of audit from the outside world are some explanations for the increased demand of voluntary information provision. Due to the growing demand, the subject has become interesting to study. Purpose: This study investigates which category of voluntary disclosure is dominant and what similarities and differences exist between listed and non-listed companies in terms of the amount of voluntary disclosure. Method: The study includes a quantitative method where the study is based on annual reports from 2021 and the sample consists of 30 large Swedish listed and 30 large Swedish non-listed joint stock companies' annual reports. The method used to analyze the information is a coding scheme and Chi-square tests. Results: The results show that the dominant category of voluntary disclosure is "analysis of the previous year" and that there is a difference between listed and non-listed companies regarding the amount.