A growing body of international research on urban transport shows that women from all over the world are experiencing safety issues within today’s transport systems. Furthermore, these reports shed light on and discuss how gender bias within the transport sector contributes to this problem. To design future mobility services that everyone will use and enjoy, it is thus important to understand women’s travel needs and to involve a diverse group of users in the development process. With a vision of shaping mobility for a sustainable future NationalElectric Vehicles Sweden (NEVS) is developing a mobility solution consisting of connected, autonomous, and electrified vehicles designed and optimized for shared mobility within city environments. To address this issue in NEVS service this thesis applied an exploitative research approach to examining factors that affect women’s willingness to share rides with others(potential strangers) in a context where there is no driver physically present. The methodology, inspired by the ’Design Thinking’ framework consisted of two main phases:(I) Problem definition and (II) Concept development. To understand women’s safety issues within today’s transport system and frame the design challenge an extensive literature study covering the topics of women’s safety in public transport, technology acceptance, trust, and human-centered design was conducted. To further define user needs and encourage the end-users to take an active role in co-designing solutions for themselves two focus group workshops were held. The initial research and the results from the workshops further formed the basis for the subsequent Concept Development phase. A need for control over the shared travel situation revealed by the participants’ great demand for information led this phase to examine passengers' needs in relation to an In-Vehicle Information System (IVIS). Two prototypes were developed and further tested together with users to evaluate the proposed solutions. The results showed that the anthropomorphic system features used to create a more human-like interaction had a positive impact on the participants’ overall user experience and their perceived safety during a ’shared ride’ scenario. Having a female voice communicating system information made the participants feel less nervous, more comfortable, and more secure compared to when the same information was communicated solely by a visual interface. Other factors that had a major impact on the user experience in general and the perceived security were perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and freedom of choice. The results showed how not understanding how to interact with the vehicle’s physical features had a negative impact on perceived safety while freedom of choice such as being able to book a specific seat in the vehicle is indicated to have a positive impact on people’s willingness to share their journey with a stranger.

The purpose of this study was to investigate, firstly, some Swedish upper secondary school students’ attitudes towards speaking in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom and, secondly, how these students suggest that speech anxiety should be dealt with. The participating students were both male and female and attended different school years and English courses. This qualitative study was based on interviews which were later transcribed and analyzed in relation to the research questions. The findings show that the students perceive speech anxiety differently depending on the context. The students also expressed that a way of reducing speech anxiety would be for teachers to communicate with their students to find solutions considering any discomfort and for the students themselves to be more prepared. It has been suggested that it is important to deal with speech anxiety in order to promote proficiency development. Therefore, the most important thing for teachers to do, according to the informants, is to make arrangements in the ESL classroom, together with the students concerned, which could help to make them more willing to communicate. However, the informants also suggest that students’ self-improvement, such as better preparations and reducing negative thoughts, needs to be included in the process to prevent speech anxiety for them to feel more comfortable when speaking in the ESL classroom.

El desarrollo de las habilidades de comunicación oral es el enfoque de la educación de lenguas extranjeras de hoy, sin embargo, los pocos estudios existentes muestran que el nivel de los alumnados en el noveno grado sueco es crítico. Para comprender mejor la situación y encontrar indicaciones sobre qué actividades se prefieren, este estudio ha encuestado a 46 alumnados y cinco profesorados de diferentes tipos de escuelas de una determinada zona de Gotemburgo. El marco teórico utilizado es principalmente el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas, el método del lenguaje comunicativo, la voluntad de comunicarse y la ansiedad en la teoría de lenguas extranjeras. El resultado muestra que la mayoría de los profesorados utilizan las actividades mencionadas en el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas, así como las del método del lenguaje de comunicación, que ha inspirado mucho el marco. La actividad preferida se muestra ser la práctica del habla en diferentes tipos de conversaciones informales o conversaciones sobre temas cotidianos. La actividad menos popular son las tareas preparatorias como estudiar gramática o rellenar huecos en diálogos medio hechos. Se descubrió una diferencia con respecto a los géneros, mientras que las alumnas mostraron un percibido mayor nivel de habilidad de comunicación oral, se sintieron menos seguras que los alumnados y, además, más ansiosas independientemente de la actividad en cuestión. Los alumnados varones mostraron una tendencia inversa. Aunque la correlación en este caso no es estadísticamente significativa, sí es estadísticamente importante. Si bien la percepción de las actividades y su impacto en la motivación y la ansiedad con respecto a ellas son importantes, son solo una perspectiva y una fracción de lo que un maestro puede hacer para aumentar el aprendizaje en el aula de hoy, por lo que es de esperar que se realicen más investigaciones. / Developing the skills of oral communication is the focus of today's foreign language education, however the few existing studies show that the level of the pupils in Swedish ninth grade is critical. To better understand the situation and find indications on what activities are preferred, this study has surveyed 46 pupils and five teachers from different types of school from a certain area in Gothenburg. The theoretical framework used is mostly the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, communicative language method, willingness to communicate and the anxiety in foreign language theory. The result shows that most teachers use the activities mentioned in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, as well the ones from the communication language method, which has greatly inspired the framework. Furthermore, the preferred activities are practicing speaking in different types of informal conversations or conversations about daily subjects. The least popular activity are preparatory tasks such as studying grammar or filling in gaps in written dialogs. A difference was discovered regarding the genders, whilst the female pupils showed a perceived higher level of oral communication skill, they felt less confident than the male pupils, and in addition more anxious regardless of the activity in hand. The male pupils showed a reverse tendency, although the correlation is not statistically significant it is statistically important. Even though the opinion of activities and their impact on motivation and anxiety regarding them are important, they are just one perspective and a fraction of what a teacher can do to increase the learning in the classroom of today, so hopefully there will be more research done in this field.

Over the course of a modern lifetime, television viewing accounts for a significant amount of information taken in by viewers. Within that consumption lies a potential problem. Viewers may learn erroneous messages about people and the world. Since television has characterized Latinos in ways that have emphasized cultural stereotypes, viewers may learn to perceive them in a corresponding manner. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 403 students from five universities and two community colleges located in Northern California. The respondents completed a seventy-one item questionnaire. Five key variables were utilized to measure relationships between them. The key variables included: learning about Latinos from television, positive perceptions of Latinos, negative Latino stereotypes, willingness to communicate with Latinos, and self-esteem. Frequency, correlation, and regression analyses indicated that there was significant interplay between the key variables. The results revealed an association between learning about Latinos from television and negative Latino stereotypes. Similarly, lower willingness to communicate with Latinos was associated with negative Latino stereotypes. However, higher willingness to communicate with Latinos was associated with positive perceptions of Latinos. Likewise, willingness to communicate with Latinos was positively associated with self-esteem. A multiple regression analysis indicated that learning about Latinos from television and lower willingness to communicate with Latinos were predictors of negative Latino stereotypes. Conversely, a second regression analysis indicated that higher willingness to communicate with Latinos and positive interaction with Latinos were predictors of positive perceptions of Latinos.

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Detta arbete är en kunskapsöversikt över hur lärare kan motivera sina elever att hitta viljan attprata engelska i klassrummet med hjälp av sina engelsklärare. Syftet med denna studie är attta reda på vad forskningen säger om vilka metoder som är framgångsrika att använda iklassrummet, och mer specifikt, att besvara frågeställningarna: “Hur motiverar engelskläraresina elever att hitta viljan att prata engelska i klassrummet? samt “Vad är framgångsrikt attanvända i klassrummet? För att besvara frågeställningarna och uppnå studiens syfte har visystematiskt tagit fram, analyserat och sammanställt vetenskapliga studier om ämnet. Våracentrala begrepp i kunskapsöversikten är följande: engelska som andraspråk, WTC (Viljan attkommunicera), lärandemetoder, klassrumsmiljö och motivation.Vårt resultat mynnade ut iåtta stycken tematiserade underrubriker: WTC (Viljan Att Kommunicera), de sex faktorernasom påverkar språklärares WTC, kommunikationsstrategier, lärandemetoder, klassrumsmiljö,lärarkompetens, motivation/demotivation och elevinflytande. Vi kommer i vårtexaminationsarbete II att samla in empirisk data om hur elever i mellanstadiet årskurs 4-6undervisas i att prata engelska i klassrummet. Vi kommer med hjälp av intervjuer ochobservationer med både lärare och elever samla in ett underlag om vad de anser vara deviktigaste komponenterna i att finna motivation i att lära sig prata engelska i klassrummet.

Returer är ett problem i den växande e-handelskonsumtionen av mode och shopping online har gjort det mycket lättare för konsumenter att konsumera. Ändå glöms returprocessen ofta bort på grund av bekvämligheten som är online shopping. Modejättarna som tidigare erbjöd liberala returpolicyer för e-handelsköp börjar nu skärpa sina returpolicyer. Denna studie undersöker hur strikta returpolicyer påverkar konsumenternas köpvilja. Genom att analysera data från en enkätundersökning och testa sambandet mellan variabler visar resultaten att konsumenter på kort sikt är mindre benägna att köpa från företag med strikta returpolicyer. Dessutom påverkar strikta returpolicyer konsumentens köpvilja negativt då det ökar konsumentens risktagande, ansvarstagande och osäkerheter. Dessa resultat visar vikten av att ha en mild och flexibel returpolicy. E-handelsföretag föreslås ändra sin strikta returpolicy för att få lojala och nöjda kunder samt ökad försäljning / Returns are a problem in the growing e-commerce consumption of fashion and shopping online has made it a lot easier for consumers to consume. Yet, the return process is often forgotten in the convenience that is online shopping. The fashion giants that previously offered liberal return policies on e-commerce purchases are now starting to tighten their return policies. This study investigates how strict return policies affect consumers' willingness to buy. By analyzing data from a survey and testing the correlation between bivariate the results show that consumers are less likely to buy from companies with strict return policies. In addition, strict return policies negatively affect the consumer's willingness to buy as it increases the consumer's risk-taking, responsibility-taking and uncertainties. These results show the importance of having a lenient and flexible return policy. E-commerce companies are suggested to change their strict return policy to gain loyal and content customers as well as increased sales.

I dagens digitala era utvecklas tekniken med en imponerande hastighet och fastighetsmarknaden är inte oberörd. Hyresnivån på kontorslokaler påverkas av attribut inomhuvudkategorierna byggnadsegenskaper, läge och hyresvillkor på kort sikt. Syftet medexamensarbetet är därmed att undersöka mottagligheten och betalningsviljan för smart teknik ikontorslokaler som påverkar byggnadens egenskaper. Fem teman har valts ut somfokusområden: säkerhet och inpassering, beläggningsmätning av kontorslokaler,inomhusklimat, applikationer av bekvämlighetstjänster för anställda samt lokalisering avmedarbetare. Arbetet baseras på två koncept: stöd i tidigare empiriska data samt en explorativundersökning genom att kombinera en kvalitativ och en kvantitativ metod. Den kvalitativametoden genomfördes först genom halvstrukturerade intervjuer med aktörer påkontorsmarknaden, inkluderat hyresgäster. Enkätundersökningen, bestående av denkvantitativa metoden bestod, skickades ut till ett urval av hyresgäster i Stockholmsområdet. Dåhyresgäster med stor sannolikhet saknar tidigare erfarenheter av smart teknik, presenterades deundersökta teknikerna i form av scenariofrågor i både enkät och intervju. Enkätresultatet visarpå en oenighet i respondenternas attityd till scenariofrågan gällande digitala nycklar, vilketsammanfaller med intervjuresultatet. Vidare indikerar enkätresultatet att majoriteten avhyresgästerna är villiga att betala varken mer eller mindre för digitala nycklar i jämförelse meddagens kostnad för det aktuella inpasseringssystemet. Intervjuerna och enkäterna visar enövervägande positiv inställning till beläggningsmätning genom sensorer och reglering avinomhusklimat i realtid. Betalningsviljan för beläggningsmätning är noll eller låg och förinomhusklimatet varken mer eller mindre samt något mer i jämförelse med dagens kostnad.Inställningen till bekvämlighetstjänster visar inte ett entydigt resultat och likaså för tematlokaliseringsverktyg, där majoriteten inte uttrycker någon betalningsvilja. Den första slutsatsenär att intresset för smart teknik finns hos hyresgäster, medan betalningsviljan har generelltresulterat i två huvudsakliga utfall. Ett odefinierat svar eller låg betalningsvilja kan bero påhyresgästens bristande erfarenhet av för- och nackdelar vid användning av smart teknik. I detandra fallet, då ingen betalningsvilja finns, kan det tolkas som att hyresgästen har krav på attsmarta teknik ska ingå i fastighetsägarens ansvar i framtiden. Vidare är den andra slutsatsen attsmart teknik kopplat till beläggningsmätning och inomhusklimat kan potentiellt genererautökade intäkter för fastighetsägaren. Den sista slutsatsen avser mervärden som smart teknikkan tillföra hyresgäster och fastighetsägare. Till exempel, kan hyresgäster få ett mer effektivt lokalutnyttjande medan fastighetsägare kan få konkurrensfördelar och nöjdare kunder. / Technology is advancing to become smarter at an impressive pace and the real estate industryhas not been excluded. The rental premium of an office premise depends on different attributesof the building, the location, and the terms in the lease agreement in the short-term. This thesisaims to examine the acceptance and willingness to pay (WTP) for smart technology, whichimpacts the attributes of the building. Five themes are chosen as the focus: security and access,occupancy level of the office, indoor climate, app of convenience services for employees andlocalization system of employees. The thesis is based on two concepts: existing empiricalresearch and an explorative study by combining the usage of a qualitative and a quantitativemethod. Semi-structured interviews with actors at the office market, including tenants, ischosen as the qualitative method and was conducted firstly. The survey, or the quantitativemethod, was sent to a sample of tenants in the Stockholm area. With the assumption that tenantslack former experience of smart technology, scenario questions were used to present therelevant technology in both the interviews and the surveys. The respondents’ attitudes differedin both the interviews and survey, regarding the scenario question of accessing the officethrough digital keys, the first theme. The survey results indicated that the tenants WTP weremore or less than today for the proposed solution. Both the interviews and survey show anoverall positive attitude against measuring occupancy with sensors and regulating indoorclimate in real time. Regarding the WTP for occupancy measurement, it was either nothing orlow. The WTP for indoor climate was not more nor less or slightly more in comparison to thecost today. The respondents’ attitudes varied in relation to the app for convenience services andlikewise for the localization system, where the majority of the tenants expressed zero WTP.The first conclusion is that the tenants have an interest for smart technology, whereas the WTPresulted in two general cases. Firstly, an undefined answer or low WTP may be due to lack ofexperience regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the smart technology. On the otherhand, no WTP could be interpreted as a future demand from the tenants, where the propertyowner is responsible for smart technology in the premises. The second conclusion is that smarttechnology with regard to measurement of occupancy and indoor climate can potentiallygenerate additional rental income for the property owner. Lastly, the added value which smarttechnology can accomplish for the tenants is, for example, a more efficient usage of the officepremise. Furthermore, property owners can achieve competitive advantages and more contentcustomers.

Thesis (M. Sc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / South Africa is characterised by low production which can be attributed to a lack of diversification and flexibility in agricultural production. There has been an explosive change in consumer-food relationships due to increased knowledge in the food industry. It is no longer just about supplying what you have, but about what you are selling as a producer that can meet the required need of consumers. Producers’ primary objective in the food industry is to provide the product that consumers need. Rabbit meat is recognised in rural areas, however, most rural smallholder farmers do not take initiative in rabbit production. Madiga Village is one such area where rabbit production is not practised. Farmers at Madiga Village are focusing on livestock such as cattle, goat, sheep and pork; and none of them are focusing on rabbit production. This study’s main purpose was to understand consumers perception of and willingness to pay for rabbit meat and analysing this perception and willingness in relation to their socio-economic characteristics. Moreover, since rabbit meat competes with other types of meat, it was imperative for the scope of this study to compare rabbit meat with other types of meat. As such, rabbit meat was compared with chicken, beef, pork and mutton. Information for this study on the perception of and willingness to pay was collected using a structured questionnaire that was administered through face-to-face interviews. The data that was collected was entered into a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and SPSS for analysis. This study used a sample size of 120 respondents at Madiga Village that were randomly selected. Analytical techniques used to analyse the data were Descriptive Statistics, Binomial Logit Model, Likert Scale and Chi-square Analysis. Firstly, the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents were identified and described. From the 120 households sampled and interviewd at Madiga Village, the results revealed that 57% of the respondents were males as compared to 43% of females. The majority, constituting 58% of the respondents were unemployed, whereas 28% of the respondents in this study were full-time employed with only 14% being self-employed. The household size of the respondents was found to be on an average of 5 with a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 13 members. From the Likert scale results using ten items, it was found that rabbit meat was perceived to be the easiest to cook and prepare relative to all the meat types it was compared with. Furthermore, it was perceived to be more nutritious, healthy and cheaper. However, it was found that respondents perceived it as being the difficult meat to find. Rabbit meat was also perceived as tasty compared to pork, chicken, beef and sheep (mutton) meats. To understand socio-economic characteristics affecting perception and willingness to pay, the Binomial Logit Model and Chi-square Analysis were used, respectively. The Binomial Logit results indicated that males were more likely to pay for rabbit meat if it was sold on a farm. Moreover, The results indicated that as household size increases by one, respondents would be more likely to pay for rabbit meat. Furthermore, respondents who perceived rabbit meat as better than pork and sheep meats were likely to pay for rabbit meat. Therefore, the null hypotheses were rejected as there are socio-economic characteristics and consumer perceptions that affect their willingness to pay. Rabbit farming is promising at Madiga village and farmers who would like to take an initiative in rabbit farming are encouraged to do so. The potential of this enterprise suits it to be incorporated into the livestock governmental financial budget as a new business initiatives.

Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Social and Clinical Pharmacy Author: Duong Thuy Linh Supervisor: PharmDr. Jiří Klimeš, PhD., MBA Title of Thesis: The budget impact and cost-effectiveness thresholds in the context of other criteria in reimbursement decision making of medicinal products KEY WORDS: cost-effectiveness analysis, Willingness to pay threshold, medicines, MCDA - multi- criteria decision analysis OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to provide a structured overview of selected criteria that are / may be key to adopt new innovative technology in the reimbursement system, based on a retrospective analysis of selected decisions of the State Institute for Drug Control. It was investigated the relationship between the individual criteria (and scoring results) coming from the multi-criteria analysis and the value of ICER and BIA, for these medicinal products entering the reimbursed system. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of selected legally closed, published and publicly available administrative proceedings of the State Institute for Drug Control in the period January 2020 - May 2021. A total of 20 administrative proceedings were selected for the final analysis, of which 12 medicinal products that were selected, entered the permanent reimbursement and the...