Thèses sur le sujet « Exploring emerging »

Recent literature has suggested that global identity and world citizenship are relevant capacities in an increasingly globalizing world. However, these concepts remain understudied. The current study aimed to explore qualities of these concepts with emerging adults and to examine their views of humanity and how these influence their decision-making. Interviews with 20 participants between the ages of 19-25 and a thematic analysis resulted in the identification of a number of themes. Global identity and citizenship, universally intrinsic, implicate global belongingness and stand as opposites to adversarial constructs. Humans, linked as one species sharing common skills, were recognized as essentially interdependent. Participants also depicted a sense of global responsibility and role unawareness in relation to humanity. The findings may serve as a springboard for a future scale development to measure these concepts.

Research regarding entrepreneurs in emerging markets who discover and create opportunities in international markets is limited. This study investigated the internationalization process of 28 Indonesian entrepreneurs across several provinces and in industries such as fashion, games and crafts. Findings from in-depth semi-structured interviews show that entrepreneurs in emerging markets initially and repeatedly use effectuation logic. This study contributes new knowledge regarding entrepreneurs in emerging markets where identity, socio-cultural and economic influences, affect their decision-making process and behaviours in perceiving international opportunities, selecting foreign markets, building and maintaining customer relationships and networks, and dealing with uncertainty/conflicts.

This dissertation seeks to define and classify potential forms of Nonlinear structure and explore the possibilities they afford for the creation of new musical works. It provides the first comprehensive framework for the discussion of Nonlinear structure in musical works and provides a detailed overview of the rise of nonlinearity in music during the 20th century. Nonlinear events are shown to emerge through significant parametrical discontinuity at the boundaries between regions of relatively strong internal cohesion. The dissertation situates Nonlinear structures in relation to linear structures and unstructured sonic phenomena and provides a means of evaluating Nonlinearity in a musical structure through the consideration of the degree to which the structure is integrated, contingent, compressible and determinate as a whole. It is proposed that Nonlinearity can be classified as a three dimensional space described by three continuums: the temporal continuum, encompassing sequential and multilinear forms of organization, the narrative continuum encompassing processual, game structure and developmental narrative forms and the referential continuum encompassing stylistic allusion, adaptation and quotation. The use of spectrograms of recorded musical works is proposed as a means of evaluating Nonlinearity in a musical work through the visual representation of parametrical divergence in pitch, duration, timbre and dynamic over time. Spectral and structural analysis of repertoire works is undertaken as part of an exploration of musical nonlinearity and the compositional and performative features that characterize it. The contribution of cultural, ideological, scientific and technological shifts to the emergence of Nonlinearity in music is discussed and a range of compositional factors that contributed to the emergence of musical Nonlinearity is examined. The evolution of notational innovations from the mobile score to the screen score is plotted and a novel framework for the discussion of these forms of musical transmission is proposed. A computer coordinated performative model is discussed, in which a computer synchronises screening of notational information, provides temporal coordination of the performers through click-tracks or similar methods and synchronises the audio processing and synthesized elements of the work. It is proposed that such a model constitutes a highly effective means of realizing complex Nonlinear structures. A creative folio comprising 29 original works that explore nonlinearity is presented, discussed and categorised utilising the proposed classifications. Spectrograms of these works are employed where appropriate to illustrate the instantiation of parametrically divergent substructures and examples of structural openness through multiple versioning.

This research study investigates self-identified feminist social workers??? conceptualizations of spirituality, how spirituality influences their practices, and their ideas about the effects of spiritually influenced practice. There is increasing interest in exploring and considering spirituality across social work approaches, accompanied by a strong demand for empirical research and the development of knowledge in this area. The past few years in particular have witnessed an expanding social work literature that discusses the incorporation of spirituality into practice. In this thesis spirituality refers to a complex construct that can be deeply personal and/or communal, and that can encompass a sense of connection with something bigger that transcends ordinary life experience. In order to examine spirituality in the context of feminist social work practice, the goals of this study needed to be exploratory and demanded the use of a qualitative methodology. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with twenty experienced direct practice social workers. Grounded theory analysis of the interview data uncovered surprising and significant convergences amongst research participants??? beliefs, values and practices. These unexpected commonalities invited a further analysis of the data that produced a set of practice principles. These practice principles reflected the participants??? understandings of spirituality and basic values, their ideas about processes of spiritual development and beliefs about the spiritual essence of human life, and their spiritually influenced practice methods and relationships. The process of developing practice principles included further data collection through the written feedback of participants and the use of three focus groups. This second round of data collection and analysis extended and refined the practice principles. The practice principles are particularly relevant for social work because they are based in the participants??? collective practice wisdom and represent an important step towards helping to legitimize spiritual knowledge. The practice principles also have important implications for social work practice, education and research in that they can promote discussions about spirituality, guide practice, provide a base for the future development of spiritually influenced models and frameworks, and direct curriculum development.

Publicly editable knowledge bases such as Wikipedia and Wikidata have over the years grown tremendously in size. Despite the quick growth, they can never be fully complete due to the continuous stream of events happening in the world. In the task of Entity Linking, it is attempted to link mentions of objects in a document to its respective corresponding entries in a knowledge base. However, due to the incompleteness of knowledge bases, new or emerging entities cannot be linked. Attempts to solve this issue have created the field referred to as Emerging Entities. Recent state-of-the-art work has addressed the issue with promising results in English. In this thesis, the previous work is examined by evaluating its method in the context of a much smaller language; Swedish. The results reveal an expected drop in overall performance although remaining relative competitiveness. This indicates that the method is a feasible approach to the problem of Emerging Entities even for much less used languages. Due to limitations in the scope of the related work, this thesis also suggests a method for evaluating the accuracy of how the Emerging Entities are modeled in a knowledge base. The study also provides a comprehensive look into the landscape of Emerging Entities and suggests further improvements.

This thesis argues that there is an emerging field of international cultural policy in Canada informed by ongoing changes in the pattern of policy making. Caught between old nationalist discourses of a unified Canadian nation, and the rapidly changing global environment, the Canadian cultural policy makers struggle to make Canadian culture survive both at home and abroad. In this research, international cultural policy will refer to cultural policy designed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Department of Canadian Heritage. Moving beyond a simple empirical analysis of policy, this thesis adopts Tony Bennett's definition of the governmentalization of culture applying a Foucauldian governmental rationality line of thinking. Looking at how cultural creation is being governed through discursive formations, various conceptualisations, techniques, institutional arrangements, participating actors and government initiatives, this thesis maps out international cultural policy as an emerging governmental practice in Canada.

Master of Science
Department of Geology
Saugata Datta
Tungsten (W) has become an element of greater concern in recent years. Investigations by the Centers for Disease Control implicated W as a possible link to several cases of childhood acute lymphatic leukemia (ALL) clusters in the western United States. In Fallon NV, 17 cases of ALL were reported from 1997-2001. Previously, it was difficult to attain knowledge about the geochemical behavior of W due to low concentrations and difficulties in detection in natural environments. Modern analytical techniques allow for a greater range of sensitivity, allowing for in depth W analysis. Elucidating information on the factors contributing to the fate and transport of W in low temperature environments will provide insight into how W moves through the environment and provide information to help mitigate W contamination in the future. Three sites were chosen for comparison of W concentration and how that may be linked to local geochemical factors. Fallon NV, Sierra Vista AZ, and Cheyenne Bottoms Refuge KS were chosen based on published literature and personal communications. The objectives for this study were to characterize W concentrations in these three climatologically distinct areas followed by using methods to speciate and semi-quantitatively characterize W phase association within the surficial sediments and using synchrotron X-Ray methods to define W valencies and elemental associations within the sediments. Tungsten occurs in varying concentrations in the study areas, from 17.8 mg/kg to ~25,907 mg/kg. Fallon has the highest average W concentration of the three sites as well as the highest amount of W associated with phases other than the organic matter or residual phase. Speciation of soluble W revealed no polytungstates, however tungstates are present in the samples as well as undefined W species, suggesting there are other forms of W that are readily soluble in water, hence bioavailable. Tungsten has a very heterogeneous distribution in sediments, creating dispersed but highly concentrated clumps of W hotspots. Spot analyses under X-Ray mapping reveal W may co-localize with other metals such as Ti, Co, and Zn.

Nature-based Solutions (NBS) have assumed an increasingly important role in urban planning. Given their relevant potential in enhancing natural capital at different scales and in providing several Ecosystem Services (ES), they are particularly relevant for climate adaptation and mitigation. By definition, they are multifunctional, as they are assumed to provide at the same time multiple benefits on environmental, social, and economic domains. Despite the increasing fame of NBS, cities are still facing some difficulties in the identification of policies for the implementation of such solutions. Since cities include a complex set of stakeholders, it is necessary to identify flexible schemes that allow engaging them in light of their social, economic, and cultural diversity. Another relevant challenge consists in the assessment and economic valuation of the benefits generated by NBS at the urban scale. An overall and integrated assessment of all the impacts generated by NBS is necessary to fully compute the benefits related to the environmental, economic, and above all social dimensions. The NBS impact assessment is a prerequisite for the definition of policies capable of implementing NBS at the urban scale. This research seeks to analyze and assess methodologies and policy instruments to foster the NBS implementation and management at the urban scale. Such a task requires integrating knowledge from different disciplines (urban planning, natural sciences, economic and social sciences) to include all the elements and the scales involved in NBS planning. The aim is to identify the main drivers for the implementation of NBS, taking into consideration how these infrastructures impact on the social and public value of ES in cities. For this purpose, the thesis investigates i) the assessment methodologies to measure the impacts generated by ES provided by NBS; ii) the approaches to valuate these impacts considering the social, economic, and environmental dimensions and, iii) the instruments that can be adopted to foster the implementation of NBS with a particular focus on Payment for Ecosystem Services schemes (PES).

Doctor of Philosophy
School of Family Studies and Human Services
Amber V. Vennum
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how emerging adults (18-29 year olds) define commitment in romantic relationships and have created meaning from the positive and negative examples of commitment they have witnessed. Twenty (10 men, 10 women) unmarried emerging adults were interviewed individually. Through the use of grounded theory four themes emerged to explain how emerging adults have constructed their understanding of commitment: complete loyalty, investment in the relationship, continual communication, and parental influence. From observing negative and positive examples of commitment, emerging adults learned to discern healthy and unhealthy characteristics of romantic relationships, are working to be different, and have learned what to do to make a committed relationship work long term including the sub-themes of unitedly persevere, prioritize the relationship, consider your partner, give substantial effort, have fidelity. These results extend our knowledge about the model of resilient commitment, and the critical purpose of meaning making. Implications for intervening with emerging adults to strengthen future romantic relationship stability are discussed.

Procurement of copper concentrate is becoming increasingly more challenging as the general quality of concentrates are decreasing. Concentrates are now coming with higher shares of impurities and secondary materials, which makes them harder to process. These concentrates are refereed to as complex concentrates and has historically been purchased by refineries pursuing a high margin strategy, as it is cheaper for refineries to buy. As the global copper concentrate quality decreases, traditional smelters may have to revisit their procurement strategy in order to continue to be competitive and cost efficient, gradually moving towards a strategy which today is considered a niche. This notion raises several questions as to what situation future refineries might find them selves in, when treating increasing shares of complex copper concentrates. On that perceptive, this study addresses this topic from a holistic business perspective by investigating managerial challenges which may occur from procurement of complex copper concentrates. We did this through an exploratory investigation on two smelter facilities within Boliden Group, operating on with this procurement strategy. Our aim was to identify important aspects within the procurement itself, inventory management and processing. We conducted eight interviews with company representatives and analysed data on purchasing behaviour, inventory holdings and process quantities in order to understand critical aspects emerging from this strategy. From there, we identified one general challenge containing three sub challenges. We concluded that the management of risk and productivity balance was essential for the whole business, as complex concentrates aggravates already present supply chain and industry risks. Furthermore we saw challenges with maintaining sufficient and balanced inventory levels, due to arrival uncertainties and vague shipping agreements. Also, aligning goals and priorities was identified as a challenge. As complex concentrates have both attractive margin figures and complex processing requirements, differences in prioritisation surrounding profitability and process stability was evident. Lastly, we uncovered potential productivity losses when treating both clean and complex concentrates.
Inköp av kopparkoncentrat blir alltmer utmanande i takt med att koncentratens allmänna kvalitet minskar. Koncentrat kommer nu med större andelar av orenheter och sekundära material, vilket gör dem svårare att bearbeta. Dessa koncentrat betecknas som komplexa koncentrat och har historiskt bearbetats av raffinaderier som bedriver en högmarginalstrategi, eftersom dessa är billigare för raffinaderier att köpa. Då den globala kopparkoncentratkvaliteten minskar kan traditionella smältverk behöva se över sin inköpsstrategiför att fortsätta vara konkurrenskraftiga och kostnadseffektiva. Denna uppfattning väcker flera frågor om vilken situation framtida raffinaderier kan komma att befinna sig i, med ökande andelar av komplexa kopparkoncentrat. Med barkund i detta undersöker denna studie frågan ur ett helhetsperspektiv, genom att utforska operativa utmaningar som kan uppstå till följd av inköp av komplexa kopparkoncentrat. Vi genomförde en fallstudie på två smältverk inom Boliden Group, som förvärvar en hög andel komplexa kopparkoncentrat. Vårt mål var att identifiera viktiga aspekter inom själva upphandlingen, lagerhanteringen och bearbetning av koncentraten samt att identifiera utmaningar som beslutsfattare står inför. Vi genomförde åtta intervjuer med företagsrepresentanter och analyserade data om inköpsbeteende, lagerhållning och processkvantiteter för att förstå kritiska aspekter som framgår av denna strategi. Därifrån identifierade vi en allmän utmaning innehållande tre underutmaningar. Resultatet visade på att hantering av risk- och produktivitetsbalans var väsentlig för hela verksamheten, eftersom komplexa koncentrat förvärrar redan närvarande utmaningar med försörjningskedjan och industririsker. Därtill identifierade vi utmaningar med att upprätthålla en tillräcklig och balanserad lagernivå, på grund av osäkerheter om ankomst och vaga sjöfartsavtal. Gemensamma mål och prioriteringar identifierades också som en utmaning. Eftersom komplexa koncentrat både har attraktiva marginaler och komplexa bearbetningskrav var skillnader i prioritering kring lönsamhet och process-stabilitet uppenbara. Slutligen upptäckte vi potentiella produktivitetsförluster vid behandling av både rena och komplexa koncentrat.

By 2030, almost every entry level role in the United States will be filled by a member of Generation Z (born after 1995). Researchers have noted an unclear understanding of the Generation Z perspective on leadership; despite Generation Z’s increasing presence in the workforce. This knowledge gap is detrimental to organizational viability and can negatively impact organizational performance and strategy. The purpose of this study was to identify the leadership preferences of Generation Z based on their lived experience in the workplace; and discuss to what extent Generation Z prefers a transactional or transformational leadership style. A theoretical frame that links generational identity (generational cohort theory) to leadership theory supports the exploration of these preferences phenomenologically and establishes the significance of generational leadership preferences on organizational performance. Semi-structured, open-ended interviews were conducted and analyzed using a modified version of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). IPA revealed six (6) emergent themes in the phenomenon under investigation (specifically Generation Z’s workplace experiences); the themes were described and their implications interpreted. The findings were validated using a relatively novel tool for phenomenology: freelisting (a cultural domain analysis tool). The findings describe Generation Z’s ideal leader and their introspective thoughts on their workplace identity and experiences. It was concluded that Generation Z tends to prefer transformational leadership more than transactional leadership, supported and predicted by the literature. Understanding Generation Z’s leadership preferences will provide insight on better methods for organizations to recruit, train, and develop employees. Such insights will also be beneficial to future Generation Z research.

This thesis explores the mechanics of governance within several layers of participating firms in the global value chain of the automotive industry, and how new forms of governance shape the development of the Brazilian and Chinese automotive industry. In particular, it examines how the local supply firms from Brazil and China can integrate and upgrade in the globalized automotive industry. By using the global value chain (GVC) framework, the changing inter-firm dynamics between buyer and supplier are analyzed, and their impact on the indigenous supply firms from Brazil and China examined. The results highlight the role of product architecture in defining the value chain governance approach. Through the evolution of product architecture, the lead-firms can globalize their approaches to procurement and supply chain management. Moreover, the globally harmonized products allow the lead-firm to effectively restructure the global supply base to establish a globally harmonized components supply industry by internationalizing the most capable supply firms. Oligopolies along the entire GVC are consciously created by the lead firm. The dynamics of competition between supply firms are changing, as the market for integral components with high asset-specificity are merging into one global market with oligopolistic and oligopsonistic features. While some supply firms from the emerging markets have been able to utilize their business ties with western assembly firms to upgrade within the GVC, most are under pressure to be squeezed out of the GVC through increased global competition. The thesis contributes to the field of development studies by analyzing the prospects for emerging market firms to participate and upgrade in the GVC of western lead-firms. Furthermore, it contributes to the economic theory of governance by presenting evidence of forms of influence outside the realm of supplier-buyer contracts. The thesis further extends the global value chain framework by introduction a fine-tuned approach to ‘power’ as a determinant of governance.

This study explores motivations of two ‘new’ humanitarian donors, Brazil and India, byanalysing debates from two of the agents in each country involved in the processesregarding humanitarian assistance - the Brazilian Federal Senate and the BrazilianMinistry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Indian Ministry of External Affairs andCouncil of States - by means of a thematic analysis. This resulted in the identification ofmotivating factors for humanitarian spending in the form of themes. For Brazil thethemes Priority, Humanitarianism, Regional Solidarity and International Integrationcould be identified. For India the themes identified were: Security Interests,Humanitarianism, Good Neighbour, Competence and Preparedness.By comparing the findings of this study with the ‘Seven Frames relevant to Foreign AidPolicy’ of Western donors established by van der Veen, it could be concluded that newdonors and Western donors share similar interests in the areas of power, security,international reputation and humanitarianism, which guide them as motivating factors indecisions regarding humanitarian assistance. Nonetheless, there are also differences forexample with regards to economic interests and issues of obligation, which are presentfor Western donors, but could not be identified in motivations of the new donors Braziland India. The study concludes that the framework established by van der Veen forWestern donors is not sufficient to explain motivations of new donors in the area ofhumanitarian assistance. Instead, a new framework is necessary to explore the differingapproaches and motivations of both Western and new donors in their complexity.

This study was conducted to set up a systematic approach utilizing advantages of both wet lab and bioinformatic methodologies to study biodegradation abilities and microbial bacterial-functional relationship within bioremediation communities. Firstly, 11pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)were selected as target chemicals for establishing an effective determination process in analyzing trace-level concentrations in the environment, and understanding the removal routes during pollutants removal process in wastewater treatment process using activated sludge. Ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was utilized to develop a rapid, sensitive and reliable method without solid phase extraction pre-concentration for trace analysis of 11 PPCPs in influent and effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plants. Shorten the detection time and significant reduction of detection cost were achieved due to the omitting usage of solid phase extraction (SPE)process and avoiding the consumption of hydrophiliclipophilic balancced (HLB)cartridge. Research on removal routes of ten selected PPCPs in activated sludge found activated sludge hardly removed carbamazepine. Biodegradation was the sole route to remove acyclovir, metronidazole, benzylparaben, ethylparaben, methylparaben and propylparaben. Both adsorption and biodegradation were involved in the removal of ranitidine and benzophenone-3, while fluoxetine could be totally removed by adsorption in activated sludge. Secondly, as the target microbial community, activated sludge community was used to set up the global bioinformatic analysis process. Both metagenomic and metatranscriptomic approaches were processed to characterize microbial structure and gene expression of activated sludge community. The taxonomic profile showed thatactivated sludge was dominated by Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Verrucomicrobiaphyla. Gene expression annotation of nitrogen removal revealed that denitrification-related genes sequences dominated in both DNA and cDNA datasets while nitrifying genes were also expressed in relative high levels. Specially, ammonia monooxygenase and hydroxylamine oxidase demonstrated the high cDNA/DNA ratios, indicating strong nitrification activity. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria present mainly belonged to Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira species. A fast method to construct local sub-databases has been established for the quick similarity search and annotation of huge metagenomic datasets. The conducted tests showed sub-database annotation pipeline achieved a speedup of ~150-385 times, and got exactly the same annotation results with those of the direct NCBI-nr database BLAST-MEGAN method. This approach provides a new time-efficient and convenient annotation similarity search strategy for laboratories without access to high performance computing facilities. Thirdly, bisphenol A(BPA), which has a partially known biodegradation pathway and relevant bioremediating genes, was chosen as a model to establish a pipeline for systematical understanding the pathways and gene/bacteria relationships in an enriched microbial community. 11 new metabolites were detected during BPA degradation. Thereby, a novel pathway of degrading BPA metabolite was proposed. Sphingomonas strains were dominant taxa in initial degradation of BPA, while the other taxa were competing BPA metabolites during degradation. Metagenomic binning results showed a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase system, which was previously reported BPA mediator, was sharing by two Sphingomonas strains, showing the undergoing mechanism of competition of the two strains. The observations suggested bacterial specialization may occur in that community that each taxon was selected to degrade certain metabolite in a community economical way.
published_or_final_version
Civil Engineering
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy

This thesis considers the applicability of 'new governance' techniques within the field of emerging biotechnologies. Through three contrasting case studies I construct an argument in favour of new governance, contending that the qualities of this regulatory trend (flexibility, reflexivity, nuance, open discourse, and participation - 'regulatory desirables' ) have much to offer the regulation of emerging biotechnologies. The first case study examines the existing European and international regulatory frameworks for genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This case study explores the role of (bio)ethics within the regulatory process through each progressive stage: design, operation, and assessment. The regime's failure to provide adequate space for ethical reflection, and the limited role of ethics throughout the regulatory process prompts a proposal for an alternative approach that recognizes the multiple contexts in which regulation operates, and is able to accommodate the socio-ethical nuances of the GMO products being assessed. This case study analyses a traditionally structured regulatory framework. It exemplifies a number of qualities that I consider undesirable in the context of regulating biotechnologies: inflexibility, lack of reflexivity, lack of nuance within the regime, absence of ethical discussion, absence of participation from all interested/affected parties. In the second and third case studies I show how these 'regulatory undesirables' can be addressed through new governance techniques. The second case study focuses on the international regulation of stem cell research; I propose developing a polycentric, principles-based regulation (PBR) regime. The third case study centres on the international governance of the gene synthesis industry; here I recommend adopting a risk-based regulation (RBR) approach. In both these fields, voluntary, interdisciplinary, international organisations have collaborated to produce guidelines, codes, protocols, standards, and statements addressing matters of practice. I argue that these 'soft law' documents form the ideal starting point for the development of more sophisticated regulatory regimes in both fields. Furthermore, I argue that the informal organisations producing these documents are, in certain instances, best placed to step into the role of 'regulator' due to their in-depth, inside knowledge of the field, and network. Thus, I collapse the regulator-regulatee distinction held in traditional, 'command and control' style systems, as these organisations typically include those who would traditionally be seen as the 'regulatee'. Each case study considers the nuances of context vis-à-vis the regulatory approach advocated. I conclude by engaging in a comparative analysis of these three case studies, drawing out the qualities, characteristics and considerations that I regard as essential to the construction of responsible, facilitative governance frameworks across the field of emerging biotechnologies. I conclude that new governance is best suited to achieving these (aforementioned) 'regulatory desirables'.

The concept of intergenerational mobility refers to the social and economic movement between generations. Essentially it looks at the role of the family in determining the future of their offspring. There are external and internal factors that need to be taken into account when predicting mobility. The endogenous aspects refer to inherited and genetic factors, commonly referred to as nature. The exogenous factors are the environmental factors that are outside the ambit of your control. This is popularly called nurture. Examples of external factors are for instance the parents that you have been born to or your race. Unequal opportunities are responsible for low levels of mobility, particularly at the lower income levels. This study aimed to explore the role of the nuclear and extended family in black South African communities, in enabling intergenerational mobility, in an emerging market context. The results show that the nuclear family has a critical role to play in assisting the offspring in becoming mobile. The extended family however is critical and has a key supporting role in the South African context.
Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
sn2017
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA
Unrestricted

This doctoral thesis aims to contribute to open a black box called “nexus”. Shane and Venkataraman (2000) assert that entrepreneurship consists of “the nexus of two phenomena: the presence of lucrative opportunities and the presence of enterprising individuals”. Since their work, few authors tried to describe the “nexus” because its complexity and because it can be considered the real ‘ignition spark’ of every ntrepreneurial experience. In this thesis, we will try to explore this nexus, focusing on two main components. The joint investigation of individuals and opportunities is a critical research path in order to better clarify the mechanisms and the essence of entrepreneurial behaviours and actions avidsson 2008). Therefore from one hand we explore the relevant entrepreneurial motivations that drive the ntrepreneurial choices within high-tech emerging ventures. On the other hand we investigate the nature of entrepreneurial opportunities, by asking if high-tech entrepreneurs recognize or create the technological opportunities that they exploit. In this work a motivation is defined as the activator of a goal oriented behaviour. From a selective review of the literature we note insufficient consideration of the role of the human motivations in the entrepreneurial process within the recent entrepreneurship research. Environmental factors being held constant, human motivation plays a critical role in the entrepreneurial process (Shaneet al. 2003). Classical motivational theories like those by Ajzen, Herzberger and Vroom, can be partially exploited as interpretative frameworks for the entrepreneurial process. According to Shane, Collins and Locke (2003) and to Davidsson (2008), the specificity of entrepreneurial phenomena requires dedicated investigation. The first research question is thus the following. What are the relevant entrepreneurial motivations that drive the entrepreneurial choice within high-tech emerging ventures? How and why motivations change in the phases of life of the firm? We investigate the main motivational driver of high-tech entrepreneurs and eventually we want to identify the mechanism that lead the eventual change of repreneurial motivations.Recent Entrepreneurship research dedicated great attention to the construct called “entrepreneurial opportunity”. (Shane and Venkataraman 2000, ,Sarasvathy et al. 2003, Alvarez and Barney, 2006, Plummer et al. 2007, Davidsson 2008, Harms et al. 2009) Entrepreneurial pportunities are defined as those situations in which new goods, services, raw materials, and organization methods can be introduced in the market and sold at greater than their cost of production (Casson 1982). As far as their epistemological and the ontological features are concerned, two opposite views are available. Opportunities are like mushrooms in the forest (Davidsson 2008) Because of individual differences and information asymmetries all actors do not have access to exactly the same opportunities. This is the core of the “Discovery school”: although recognition of opportunities is a subjective process, the opportunities themselves are objective phenomena that are not known to all parties at all time (Venkataraman 1997, Shane and Venkataraman 2000 AMR, Shane and Eckhardt 2003) The second view is called Creative School: opportunities are created in the entrepreneur’s mind and it is not meaningful to talk about these opportunities separated from their creators. Venture ideas are internally generated based on more or less explicit and correct perceptions of external conditions. (Baker and Nelson 2005,) opportunities do not exist objectively , but are subjectively enacted (Gartner et al. 2001,Sarasvathy 001,2008). Is any reconciliation between the two schools possible? The second question is, thus, the following. Do entrepreneurs recognize or create technological pportunities?. How the two processes – recognition and creation – come off? We are not going to propose a reconciliation theory: our aim is to demonstrate that both the perspectives are practically relevant and thus a general theory of entrepreneurship should take into account the dichotomous nature of entrepreneurial opportunities, distinguishing between objective opportunities and effectually created opportunities. Both qualitative (case studies) and quantitative (survey) approaches have been planned in order to answer to the research questions presented by this doctoral thesis. Quantitative data should be collected through a survey, sent to the firms of the database Veneto High-Tech (which is described in this thesis). Unfortunately the response rate has been too low. Case studies accord to the suggestions proposed by Eisenhardt (1989), Yin (2002), Gummeson (2006) and Flyvberg (2006). The exploratory nature of this study suggests the use of a qualitative methodological approach, and in particular the multiple case studies . Multiple case studies research is a useful tool to understand the complex nature of entrepreneurship, as recommended by Gartner and Birley (2002). The cases have been strategically selected within the considered population (Veneto High-Tech atabase), according to Flyvberg (2006) on basis of size, industry, products, innovative activities, geographical equilibrium and personal knowledge of the entrepreneur. The main limit of this approach is the possibility to present general determinants of phenomena through a limited number of cases. As we will see below, the cases are based of semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs. A single case study for every enterprise by the researcher, in order to summarize and better fix the interviews and the entrepreneur words. A feedback echanism: every single case should be read , rectified or amended by the people who has been interviewed. The Nvivo 8 software tool has been used in order to collect and analyze qualitative data. The cross case comparison lead us to propose a hierarchical assessment of the motivational drivers. At individual level the basic motivations that emerge from the cases are the following: a) family environment, b) necessity (lack of job or not satisfying job alternatives), c)McClelland (1961) indicators (N-Pow, N-Ach, N-Aff), d) financial return. Once one or more of these motivations are considered relevant from a potential entrepreneur, other motivational aspects can enrich the reasons for the Entrepreneurial Choice and the daily effort of the entrepreneur. We asses them as 1) product level motivations: desire to demonstrate the feasibility of the technology applied in the product, f) desire to demonstrate the profitability of the technology applied in the product 2) strategy-level motivations: , g) desire to be innovative h) desire to iversificate and increase the portfolios of products, i) intention to maintain the technological leadership,3) personal responsibility motivations: l) creation of wealth (jobs, legacy, knowledge), m) corporate social responsibility issues. From a practical point of view the hierarchical assessment of the entrepreneurial motivations can be used for many purposes: 1)as tool for the self-evaluation of motivations, 2)as reference scheme for entrepreneurship education From the cross comparison we identified three wide categories of entrepreneurial opportunities: 1) technological paradigms with a broad spectrum of potential application 2) niche technologies or specific applications of general technological paradigms that solve a particular problem, leading to a new product or process 3) the market. The case studies suggest that the market is viewed by entrepreneurs as a differential opportunity.Several opportunities which present an objective existence can be identified within the case studies. These opportunities have been recognized and exploited through the process described by Shane (2003). This evidence confirms the ontological and epistemological perspective offered by the so called “Discovery School”. Furthermore in some case studies is evident the presence of effectual logic (Sarasvathy 2001, 2008), as driving logic of the ntrepreneurial decision making process. The entrepreneurs act both causally and effectually. This fact lead us to confirm the idea that some opportunities exist only in the entrepreneurs’ mind and thus they are created by the entrepreneur herself/himself. We demonstrate, as far as high-tech entrepreneurship is concerned, the co-existence of two processes: recognition and creation. A powerful general theory of entrepreneurship should take into account both of them, and should try to reconcile the Creative and the Discovery School. Unifying two ontological and epistemological perspectives is a true challenge that the community of scholars and researcher is requested to face.
This doctoral thesis aims to contribute to open a black box called “nexus”. Shane and Venkataraman (2000) assert that entrepreneurship consists of “the nexus of two phenomena: the presence of lucrative opportunities and the presence of enterprising individuals”. Since their work, few authors tried to describe the “nexus” because its complexity and because it can be considered the real ‘ignition spark’ of every entrepreneurial experience. In this thesis, we will try to explore this nexus, focusing on two main components. The joint investigation of individuals and opportunities is a critical research path in order to better clarify the mechanisms and the essence of entrepreneurial behaviours and actions (Davidsson 2008). Therefore from one hand we explore the relevant entrepreneurial motivations that drive the entrepreneurial choices within high-tech emerging ventures. On the other hand we investigate the nature of entrepreneurial opportunities, by asking if high-tech entrepreneurs recognize or create the technological opportunities that they exploit. In this work a motivation is defined as the activator of a goal oriented behaviour. From a selective review of the literature we note insufficient consideration of the role of the human motivations in the entrepreneurial process within the recent entrepreneurship research. Environmental factors being held constant, human motivation plays a critical role in the entrepreneurial process (Shane et al. 2003). Classical motivational theories like those by Ajzen, Herzberger and Vroom, can be partially exploited as interpretative frameworks for the entrepreneurial process. According to Shane, Collins and Locke (2003) and to Davidsson (2008), the specificity of entrepreneurial phenomena requires dedicated investigation. The first research question is thus the following. What are the relevant entrepreneurial motivations that drive the entrepreneurial choice within high-tech emerging ventures? How and why motivations change in the phases of life of the firm? We investigate the main motivational driver of high-tech entrepreneurs and eventually we want to identify the mechanism that lead the eventual change of entrepreneurial motivations. Recent Entrepreneurship research dedicated great attention to the construct called “entrepreneurial opportunity”. (Shane and Venkataraman 2000, ,Sarasvathy et al. 2003, Alvarez and Barney, 2006, Plummer et al. 2007, Davidsson 2008, Harms et al. 2009) Entrepreneurial opportunities are defined as those situations in which new goods, services, raw materials, and organization methods can be introduced in the market and sold at greater than their cost of production (Casson 1982). As far as their epistemological and the ontological features are concerned, two opposite views are available. Opportunities are like mushrooms in the forest (Davidsson 2008) Because of individual differences and information asymmetries all actors do not have access to exactly the same opportunities. This is the core of the “Discovery school”: although recognition of opportunities is a subjective process, the opportunities themselves are objective phenomena that are not known to all parties at all time (Venkataraman 1997, Shane and Venkataraman 2000 AMR, Shane and Eckhardt 2003) The second view is called Creative School: opportunities are created in the entrepreneur’s mind and it is not meaningful to talk about these opportunities separated from their creators. Venture ideas are internally generated based on more or less explicit and correct perceptions of external conditions. (Baker and Nelson 2005,) opportunities do not exist objectively , but are subjectively enacted (Gartner et al. 2001, Sarasvathy 2001,2008) . Is any reconciliation between the two schools possible? The second question is, thus, the following. Do entrepreneurs recognize or create technological opportunities?. How the two processes – recognition and creation – come off? We are not going to propose a reconciliation theory: our aim is to demonstrate that both the perspectives are practically relevant and thus a general theory of entrepreneurship should take into account the dichotomous nature of entrepreneurial opportunities, distinguishing between objective opportunities and effectually created opportunities. Both qualitative (case studies) and quantitative (survey) approaches have been planned in order to answer to the research questions presented by this doctoral thesis. Quantitative data should be collected through a survey, sent to the firms of the database Veneto High-Tech (which is described in this thesis). Unfortunately the response rate has been too low. Case studies accord to the suggestions proposed by Eisenhardt (1989), Yin (2002), Gummeson (2006) and Flyvberg (2006). The exploratory nature of this study suggests the use of a qualitative methodological approach, and in particular the multiple case studies . Multiple case studies research is a useful tool to understand the complex nature of entrepreneurship, as recommended by Gartner and Birley (2002). The cases have been strategically selected within the considered population (Veneto High-Tech database), according to Flyvberg (2006) on basis of size, industry, products, innovative activities, geographical equilibrium and personal knowledge of the entrepreneur. The main limit of this approach is the possibility to present general determinants of phenomena through a limited number of cases. As we will see below, the cases are based of semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs. A single case study for every enterprise by the researcher, in order to summarize and better fix the interviews and the entrepreneur words. A feedback mechanism: every single case should be read , rectified or amended by the people who has been interviewed. The Nvivo 8 software tool has been used in order to collect and analyze qualitative data. The cross case comparison lead us to propose a hierarchical assessment of the motivational drivers. At individual level the basic motivations that emerge from the cases are the following: a) family environment, b) necessity (lack of job or not satisfying job alternatives), c)McClelland (1961) indicators (N-Pow, N-Ach, N-Aff), d) financial return. Once one or more of these motivations are considered relevant from a potential entrepreneur, other motivational aspects can enrich the reasons for the Entrepreneurial Choice and the daily effort of the entrepreneur. We asses them as 1) product level motivations: desire to demonstrate the feasibility of the technology applied in the product, f) desire to demonstrate the profitability of the technology applied in the product 2) strategy-level motivations: , g) desire to be innovative h) desire to diversificate and increase the portfolios of products, i) intention to maintain the technological leadership, 3) personal responsibility motivations: l) creation of wealth (jobs, legacy, knowledge), m) corporate social responsibility issues. From a practical point of view the hierarchical assessment of the entrepreneurial motivations can be used for many purposes: 1)as tool for the self-evaluation of motivations, 2)as reference scheme for entrepreneurship education From the cross comparison we identified three wide categories of entrepreneurial opportunities: 1) technological paradigms with a broad spectrum of potential application 2) niche technologies or specific applications of general technological paradigms that solve a particular problem, leading to a new product or process 3) the market. The case studies suggest that the market is viewed by entrepreneurs as a differential opportunity. Several opportunities which present an objective existence can be identified within the case studies. These opportunities have been recognized and exploited through the process described by Shane (2003). This evidence confirms the ontological and epistemological perspective offered by the so called “Discovery School”. Furthermore in some case studies is evident the presence of effectual logic (Sarasvathy 2001, 2008), as driving logic of the entrepreneurial decision making process. The entrepreneurs act both causally and effectually. This fact lead us to confirm the idea that some opportunities exist only in the entrepreneurs’ mind and thus they are created by the entrepreneur herself/himself. We demonstrate, as far as high-tech entrepreneurship is concerned, the co-existence of two processes: recognition and creation. A powerful general theory of entrepreneurship should take into account both of them, and should try to reconcile the Creative and the Discovery School. Unifying two ontological and epistemological perspectives is a true challenge that the community of scholars and researcher is requested to face.

The purpose of this dissertation was to a) examine the correlational relationships between Canadian university athletes’ perceptions of coach leadership behaviours and their perceptions of positive developmental outcomes (e.g., life skills) and negative experiences related to university sport, and b) explore how coach leadership behaviours and the associated developmental outcomes and negative experiences were described by both coaches and athletes. Data for this dissertation were collected over four stages. In Stage One, an online survey was used to collect data from a pan-Canadian sample (n = 605) of university athletes. In Stage Two, semi-structured open-ended interviews were conducted with fifteen university athletes. In Stage Three, semi-structured open-ended interviews were conducted with fourteen university coaches. In Stage Four, an online survey was used to collect data from a second pan-Canadian sample of university athletes (n = 498). Five articles were written to address the purpose of this dissertation. In Article One, data from two pan-Canadian samples of athletes were used to modify and confirm a new measurement tool known as the University Sport Experience Survey (USES). The USES provides a reliable and factorially-valid instrument for measuring development in university sport. In addition, Article One provided the first operational definitions of the positive developmental outcomes and negative experiences that could be reliably and validly assessed in a university sport context. Article Two qualitatively explored athletes’ perceptions of the developmental outcomes associated with their participation in university sport, as well as their perceptions of transfer. Results provided additional support for certain USES categories to be used for understanding positive development within the context of Canadian university sport programs. Further, results suggested university sport programs offer rich opportunities for developing skills, qualities, experiences, and relationships needed to become functioning members in our society. In Article Three, quantitative survey data were used to assess the cross-sectional relationships between athletes’ perceptions of their coaches’ leadership behaviours and outcomes from the USES. Coach leadership behaviours were conceptualized within the Full Range Leadership Model and assessed using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Findings showed that transformational coaching was generally related to positive developmental outcomes and inversely related to athletes’ negative experiences in sport. Moreover, coaches’ passive/avoidant behaviors were commonly related to athletes’ negative experiences in university sport. Contrary to expectations, passive/avoidant coaching behaviors were also positively related with a number of positive developmental outcomes. Article Four qualitatively assessed athletes’ perceptions of who they believed was responsible for their positive development within the university sport context. Athletes specified other athletes, the head coach, the coaching staff, and their parents as the people who influenced their positive development within the context of university sport. Notably, athletes felt they themselves were the ones who contributed the most to their own development. Article Five qualitatively explored coaches’ perceptions of and strategies for fostering their athletes’ positive development through university sport. The coaches believed there were inherent conditions surrounding university sport that facilitated positive development. However, the coaches maximized their athletes’ development by establishing a support network, building team culture, and empowering their student-athletes by teaching them fundamental skills related to self and social regulation. Together, the five articles make novel theoretical and practical knowledge contributions to the field of positive development through sport, and set a precedence for positive development research in university sport, as well as other emerging adult sport contexts.

The changing agricultural environment (dualistic agricultural landscape, land reform programme, market liberalisation and globalisation) has caused emerging ostrich farmers to become increasingly isolated. Governmental agriculture reforms and public sector interventions have been insufficient to address all the challenges faced by rural ostrich farmers in the Eastern Cape. Participation in the ostrich supply chain for emerging farmers in the Eastern Cape is currently unsustainable as a result of avian influenza, control and registration protocols for ostriches (VPN04), structural barriers in marketing, technical constraints and a lack of market participation. People in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape are challenged by inferior infrastructure, poor site conditions, low earnings, poor access to health services and unreliable water sources. The marginal conditions and prevalent complexities in which agriculture is practised require costly resource intervention. Intensive ostrich production necessitates continuous genetic improvement, methodical record keeping, intensive egg incubation methods and highmaintenance chick rearing and ostrich handling while minimising feed costs throughout this process. Rural farmers have not embraced ostrich farming in the same way as they have done with other livestock farming because it does not offer the anthropological functions that traditional livestock farming provides. The ostrich supply chain requires a wide range of activities to bring products to the final consumer. The worth of ostrich production lies mainly in the higher returns which are achieved only through the export markets. Today the ostrich industry has become vulnerable to market cannibalism, a lack of market development, unregulated numbers of ostriches and recurring international meat bans. The deregulation of the ostrich single-channel marketing system had a substantial effect on the value chain on which farmers depended for market access and market protection. As the majority of ostrich products are being exported to the European Union, the role of intermediary agencies is becoming an important factor influencing entry into the high-end markets. This agent structure that represents the South African ostrich industry is vital for the distribution, market penetration and regulation of the ostrich products. The ostrich leather, which is today the main product line, is primarily used for luxury goods and is susceptible to economic downturn and over-supply. The ostrich meat industry has been severely influenced by outbreaks of avian influenza and processors now pre-heat the meat in order to maintain export. However, this preheating meat facility is only for export produce and available to farmers who conform to VPN04 and have officially registered farms. The relevant South African government departments played a crucial role in identifying avian influenza outbreaks and liaising with the European Union about avian influenza isolation strategies. No previous studies have been conducted on the participation of emerging farmers in the Eastern Cape ostrich-industry supply chain and on the interventions required to address the multiple constraints and forces in this sector. This led to a study with research emphasis on the required capacity for supply-chain participation and the supporting mechanisms that would be required for emerging ostrich farmers to integrate successfully into this supply chain. An exploratory research approach was chosen for the investigation, as no earlier research has been undertaken that could serve as a source of reliable data or reference. A triangulation research methodology using both the quantitative and the qualitative approach was applied. The qualitative research entailed an interpretive approach associated with using grounded theory and content analysis for interpreting data. The comparative case study design was the main qualitative research instrument for the multiple-case studies on emerging ostrich farmers in the Eastern Cape. The study was undertaken at five different sites, namely, the Peddie Ostrich Programme, the Rockhurst Ostrich Programme, the Hlumani Co-operative farm, the Zamukwanda Ostrich farm near Pearston and the Mimosadale Ostrich farm. The quantitative methods were applied to capture all the measurable components and representations of the stakeholders and participants, through interviews, questionnaires and focus group interviews. The quantitative study also included an experimental instrument to measure the capacity of emerging farmer programmes for supply chain participation. It was found that the main driver for three of the case studies pertained to land ownership and that ostrich farming was incidental and only seen as means of activity for income. These three humanitarian farming projects had limited capacity for intensive management requirements for ostrich farming. It was found that the VPN04 bio-security protocols and disease control require a higher level of record keeping for EU markets and is prohibitively expensive for poor rural emerging farmers. The study established that the emerging ostrich farming programmes contributed value to the industry and government rural development in land redistribution programmes, vehicles for reduction of poverty and job creation in the rural areas and by acting as out-grower programmes for commercial farmers. The researcher’s observation is that through strategic interventions the programmes have potential to become commercial players in the industry. The following interventions were recommended from this study: Feasibility study of programmes and review of location selection before initiation. Providing supportive interventions for programme start-ups; Improved selection of programme beneficiaries; Improved structure of emerging farmers’ co-operatives; On-going and appropriate training for emerging ostrich farmers; The role of government and mentors needs to be defined; Reducing feed costs; Establishing programmes linkages to informal markets and facilitating increased self-consumption; Developing new export markets; Alternative finance for the no-income months; Alternative marketing channels to export markets; Representation of emerging farmers in the ostrich-industry leadership structures.

Thesis (MBA) -- Stellenbosch University, 2011.
Extensive literature exists on the challenges that hinder the growth and development of small-scale farmers in agriculture. These small-scale farmers’ challenges can be broadly classified into financial, technical and market challenges. Despite the awareness and the debate that favours progressing small-scale farmers from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture, financiers consider this group of farmers as of high risk and low returns. The emergence of contract farming as a mechanism to integrate small-scale farmers with agribusiness firms, agro-industrial companies, supermarket chains, and processors of agricultural produce has rescued the small-scale farmers from going into oblivion. Contract farming promises benefits for both the farmers and the contract sponsors. In the face of the benefits that contract farming hold, the concept has been critiqued as being an exploitative mechanism that contract sponsors use on the growers. This research evaluates the contract farming arrangement between Gledhow Sugar Company and Mansomini Farmers’ Cooperative. The study assesses how the scheme plays a part in the provision of access to finance, technical support and a guaranteed market access for the small sugarcane farmers. It explores how Gledhow Sugar Company’s structures manage to reduce the associated risk in providing finance to the small-scale farmers. The analysis of findings from the interviews confirms that the structure provides the small-scale sugarcane farmers with finance, technical support and a guaranteed market. However, for Gledhow Sugar Company to continuously achieve its aim and simultaneously develop the farmers there is a need for Gledhow Sugar Company to provide the farmers with more clarity on their role in the arrangement and to make the farmers embrace the long-term vision of the contractual arrangement.

This study set out to explore the feasibility of using international based literature theory to formulate emerging market strategies for South African companies looking to expand into Africa’s emerging markets. The level of confidence with which South African companies can base their African emerging market strategies on the literature and studies done on international emerging market strategies is what will be explored in this study. The scope of this study includes methods of identifying emerging markets, optimal strategy choices for emerging markets, effective distribution channel selection methodologies and appropriate diversification options. To ensure the studies relevance across the broader spectrum of both South African companies as well as Africa’s emerging markets, the companies studied were selected for their collective representation. The research design employed for this study was qualitative and exploratory in nature. The findings based on the eight South African companies studied over the period point to the conclusion that the international theory contained in the literature is indeed relevant to both South African companies as well as Africa’s emerging markets and that it can be used effectively and confidently to formulate efficient and sustainable expansion strategies for these markets.
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
unrestricted

Institutional voids are increasingly gaining precedence and research attention due to the increased participation of developing countries in global markets (Mair&Marti, 2009). This theory focuses on the identification of weaknesses in institutions and how these voids result in ineffective functioning of emerging markets (Mair&Marti, 2009). In this study, focus is on collaboration as a strategy used by the emerging markets to overcome the absence of institutional and regulatory frameworks, prevalent in their capital, labour and product markets.Forty (40) South African small-medium enterprises were analysed to determine what the priority collaborative benefits are for firms operating in the emerging market context. The research shows that in emerging markets, collaboration benefits are based on a need to overcome institutional voids i.e. to reduce the costs and risks associated with weak institutions.
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
unrestricted

Compared to their typically developing peers, adolescents, and emerging adults with special healthcare needs (AEA-SHCN) disproportionately experience healthcare transition (HCT) disparities and poor access to adult care. Theoretical models that describe how access gaps develop and strategies to address unmet HCT needs are not well understood. While HCT researchers describe both system and patient healthcare barriers, a comprehensive approach that discovers how these factors interact and interfere remains misunderstood. An integrative review (IR) was conducted to understand the multiplicity of these factors. An intersectional theory (IT) provided further clarity on how key findings influence patient HCT experiences. Several themes were found to intersect and thus increase the HCT complexity, particularly for patients with social disadvantages. Communication gaps, mismatched goals/expectations, and poorly defined roles were common themes. Poor health equity, disparities in access, and inadequate HCT support intersected with poor patient HCT experiences, while youth with stigma-related diseases were most at-risk for poor provider-relationships. The thematic synthesis provided granularity to these experiences with characterizations as fear, loss, and uncertainty with access change. Social change implications underscore the need to reframe poor patient HCT experiences as potential opportunities for health policy advocates and clinicians to address unmet HCT needs.

The population of 2nd generation Canadian-Muslim women who choose to veil, or wear the hijab, is steadily increasing. Rather than inquire why these women choose to do so, this study explores how Muslim youth use the veil as a fashion accessory. Guided by research questions that focus on the representation of the veil in popular culture, this study explores the veil as a sign as the women negotiate ‘being Muslim’ and ‘being Canadian’. Informed by a cultural studies conceptual framework, veiling in fashionable ways, or, ‘voguing the veil’, is explored as a form of ‘public pedagogy’ (Giroux, 2004). Using an Advocacy and Participatory methodology, the four women and myself engage in a collaborative inquiry examining meanings behind how we vogue the veil. Through a series of interviews, focus groups and journal entries accompanied by personal photographs (photovoice), the women and I co-construct narratives around their identity as women who veil in ways that contest dominant discourse. Together we explore the impact of constructs such as beauty, femininity and sexuality on our identities as Muslim women who veil in Canada. Co-constructing participant case studies permits readers “access to the world from the view-point of individuals who have not traditionally held control over the means of imaging the world” (Berg, 2007, p. 233), at many times surprising and contradicting what is ‘known’ about the veiled Muslim woman. The findings reveal themes that deeply impact how the women choose to veil. These themes include the strategies the women use to employ their veils as a means of agency and how, within and through different pedagogical spaces, the women’s performances and performativity of the veil shifts. The women in the study demonstrate that by ‘voguing the veil’, they are in fact attempting to transform the meaning of the veil as a marker of Canadian Identity. Using the voices, photos and narratives of the four women I argue that through ‘voguing the veil’ these young Muslim women are actively entering into and creating spaces so to be seen as an integral part of Canadian society and as such can be recognized as an emerging subculture.

Studies of the relationship between market values and accounting numbers have long been a part of an established theme in capital markets research (CMR). These studies have taken various forms, most being conducted on a cross sectional basis, tied closely with the assumptions of equilibrium behaviour and efficient markets. Explanatory variables for market value have been dominated by firm-specific variables without incorporating macroeconomic variables. Recently, however, some studies have employed macroeconomic variables and dynamic specification in assessing the relationship between market values and accounting numbers (e.g. Bilson et al. 2001, Nissim and Penman, 2003, and Willett, 2003). The objective of this thesis is to investigate the nature of the relationship between share prices and accounting numbers on the Jakarta Stock Exchange for the period 1992-2002, using dynamic modelling principles in addition to the more usual cross sectional analysis. The approach to regression modelling (general-to-specific strategy)incorporated in this thesis relies less heavily than most CMR on prior economic theories of equilibrium behaviour. Apart from these novel aspects of approach and method, the study also provides valuable information about the emerging financial markets of Indonesia. The results of this thesis show that cointegration and the accompanying equilibrium correction relationship between market and book values for firms listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) can often be identified using accounting and macroeconomic regressors. The models are typically more informative, plausible and consistent than cross sectional models and are useful in interpreting the context in which the market to book relationship exists in Indonesia. A possibly surprising result is that in Indonesia, compared to similar models estimated using US data, the book value of net assets seems to have a stronger relationship with market value. This may be a function of the relative importance of financial statements as a source of information on the JSX.

Studies of the relationship between market values and accounting numbers have long been a part of an established theme in capital markets research (CMR). These studies have taken various forms, most being conducted on a cross sectional basis, tied closely with the assumptions of equilibrium behaviour and efficient markets. Explanatory variables for market value have been dominated by firm-specific variables without incorporating macroeconomic variables. Recently, however, some studies have employed macroeconomic variables and dynamic specification in assessing the relationship between market values and accounting numbers (e.g. Bilson et al. 2001, Nissim and Penman, 2003, and Willett, 2003). The objective of this thesis is to investigate the nature of the relationship between share prices and accounting numbers on the Jakarta Stock Exchange for the period 1992-2002, using dynamic modelling principles in addition to the more usual cross sectional analysis. The approach to regression modelling (general-to-specific strategy)incorporated in this thesis relies less heavily than most CMR on prior economic theories of equilibrium behaviour. Apart from these novel aspects of approach and method, the study also provides valuable information about the emerging financial markets of Indonesia. The results of this thesis show that cointegration and the accompanying equilibrium correction relationship between market and book values for firms listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) can often be identified using accounting and macroeconomic regressors. The models are typically more informative, plausible and consistent than cross sectional models and are useful in interpreting the context in which the market to book relationship exists in Indonesia. A possibly surprising result is that in Indonesia, compared to similar models estimated using US data, the book value of net assets seems to have a stronger relationship with market value. This may be a function of the relative importance of financial statements as a source of information on the JSX.

Over the past several years, there has been an influx in patients being treated for polytraumatic injuries within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), largely due to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but also due to advances in life sustaining medical interventions. The polytrauma population includes veterans who have sustained a severe traumatic or non-traumatic brain injury, and a significant loss in cognitive and physical functioning, referred to as a disorder of consciousness. The purpose of the current study was to explore factors related to successful emergence from a disorder of consciousness, using a sample of veterans who were treated at one of the five VA polytrauma rehabilitation center (PRC) sites in an Emerging Consciousness (EC) Program. Participants (N = 70) included both combat and non-combat active duty military personnel and veterans who sustained either a severe traumatic brain injury or anoxic brain injury, and were considered to have a disorder of consciousness at the time of their admission to the EC program. Patient information was retrospectively collected from electronic medical records, and included demographic data, medical information, and scores on the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Rappaport Coma Near Coma (CNC) Scale, and the JFK Coma Recovery Scale- Revised (CRS-R). In addition, Receiver Operator Characteristic Models (ROC) were utilized to explore “cut scores” for predicting emergence using the CNC and CRS-R. Results showed that age is a significant factor in changes in FIM scores over time, but it did not predict time to emerge or emergence itself. In addition, for the CNC, scores at intake tended to be a better predictor of emergence, while week three scores on the CRS-R were more accurate in determining whether someone would emerge or not. Exploratory analyses also showed a difference in discharge location after treatment based on a patient’s age. Finally, significant variance in initial scores on the CNC was seen for Caucasians, when compared to other ethnic groups. Limitations are explored, along with implications and recommendations for future research and clinical practice.

Magister Artium - MA (Psychology)
Antisocial offending behaviour relate to instances of criminal and societal norm violating behaviour. In South Africa, statistics on antisocial offending behaviour reflect high incidence rates among South African young people who engage in societal norm violations that are largely aggressive and criminal in nature. In the country's prisons, the average inmate is a young substance abuser who is unemployed, has dropped out of school before high school, is functionally illiterate and, more often than not, homeless. This is particularly true for emerging adults (those between the ages of 18 and 25 years) who constitute the poorest economic age group, the average house burglar as well as make up more than a quarter of the prison population in South Africa. In South Africa as well as internationally, the antisocial offending behaviour of emerging adults remain grossly understudied especially through qualitative self-explanations. The present study utilised a qualitative research approach to explore experiences and self-explanations regarding antisocial offending behaviours of a group of 10 South African emerging adults. The study used an exploratory research design. Participants were drawn from a number of non- government organisations, and two townships in Cape Town which is located in the Western Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa.

The dynamic nature of science is embodied in the growth of knowledge in magnitude and the transformation of knowledge in structure. More specifically, the growth in magnitude is indicated by a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications in recent decades. The transformation of knowledge occurs as the boundaries of scientific disciplines become increasingly less distinct, resulting in a complicated situation wherein disciplines and interdisciplinary research topics coexist and co-evolve. Knowledge production in such a context creates challenges for the measurement of science.This thesisaims to develop more flexible bibliometric methodologies in order to address some of the challenges to measuring science effectively. To be specific, this thesis1) proposes a new approach for identifying emerging research topics; 2) measuresthe interdisciplinarity of research topics; 3) explores the accuracy of the journal classification systems of the Web of Science and Scopus; 4) examines the role of cognitive distance in grant decisions; and 5) investigates the effect of cognitive distance between collaborators on their research output. The data used in this thesisaremainly from the in-house Web of Science and Scopus databases of the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University. Quantitativeanalyses, in particular bibliometric analyses,are the main research methodologies employed in this thesis. Furthermore, this thesis primarily offers methodological contributions, proposing a series of approaches designed to tackle the challenges created by the dynamics of science. While the major contribution of this dissertation lies in the improvement of certain bibliometric approaches, it also enhances the understanding of the current system of science. In particular, the approaches and research findings presented here have implications for various stakeholders, including publishing organizations, bibliographic database producers, research policy makers, and research funding agencies. Indeed, these approaches could be built into a software tool and thereby be made available to researchers beyond the field of bibliometric studies.

QC 20160406

The current research volume encompasses three chapters; initially considering existing literature, then methodological considerations, followed by the current empirical research project. Initially a systematic synthesis of literature was conducted to explore how video has been applied as an active intervention tool in interaction-focused interventions for children labelled with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The synthesis highlighted the tentative promise of using Video Interactive Guidance (VIG) to promote synrhythmia and attunement between parents and children with ASD. Following this the bridging document allowed for a more specific consideration of epistemological, methodological and ethical factors in preparation for the empirical research. The final chapter outlines the empirical research which aimed to identify understandings and narratives around ASD through the application of VIG. Findings of the current study suggest that VIG offers an effective tool for in-depth exploration of complex, multi-storied understandings of ASD and the perceived parental role. The intervention was perceived to promote greater awareness of the child‘s communication skills, beyond the ‗common‘ understandings of ASD, by providing a novel outsider perspective on interactions. The intervention also promoted parental efficacy through recognition of parenting skills in supporting the development of strength-based narratives. VIG was seen to provide a platform for an exploration of existing narratives and the construction of new, preferred realities.

The purpose of this dissertation was to gain a better understanding of how emerging adult children respond to their parents? advice, and uncover connections between advice and parent-child relationship satisfaction. Because emerging adults may experience uncertainty as they move toward adulthood, they may reach out to their parental figures when making new or important decisions. The current study took a closer look at the role elements of advice response theory (ART) played in an emerging adult?s decision-making process when asking a parental figure for advice. The study also considered the potential relationship between elements of ART and parent-emerging adult child relationship satisfaction. A total of 503 participants between the ages of 18 to 25 were recruited from a medium-sized Midwestern land grant institution. Participants completed an online survey to measure elements of ART, parent-child relationship satisfaction, and demographic questions. Six hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed. According to the findings of this dissertation, emerging adults consider parental advice characteristics and parent as advisor characteristics when deciding on the quality of the advice, and the intention to implement the advice received from their parental figures. Also, emerging adults reported that elements of ART play a role in parent-emerging adult child relationship satisfaction. Findings highlight that it is important for emerging adults to perceive their parental figures as trustworthy because perceived trustworthiness plays a large role in implementation intention, perceived advice quality, and perceived parent-child relationship satisfaction. Also, advice limitations do not play as large a role as previously expected.

A shift of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) towards school-based training is underway in England, calling into question the place of a theoretical basis for teaching. Re-examining the relationship between educational theory and classroom practice is therefore particularly timely and links to long-standing discussions in the literature on what constitutes teachers’ professional knowledge, the specific tensions between theory and practice in education and the implications for the structure of ITE. The study is rooted in models of teacher knowledge, of theory and practice nexus and of student teacher development. Within this context, the research offers new insight, picking up where previous studies have left off, by charting over a period of time what happens to students’ initial preconceptions about theory and practice and investigating whether, how and why these change in the course of the subsequent journey to first employment. This is a longitudinal case study: five participants, representing a diverse range of profiles from a 2011-12 cohort, form the case group and data were collected before the course, through various stages of the programme and into first teaching posts through interviews, focus groups and documentary analysis. To contextualise the central case study, survey data from the wider Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) cohort were also gathered. The research finds these students to be far from naïve as they entered training but identified important shifts in the understanding and role of theory during the PGCE experience. Openness to theoretical perspectives is evident and far from being diminished by practical experience, this comes to assume a more prominent place as the course progresses. By exploring this journey, which culminates in a profile of the thinking of a newly qualified professional in the workplace, a contribution is made to current understanding of the development of knowledge for teaching that may help to inform future programme design. More specifically, the role of the university is reconsidered and suggestions are made for ways of working with students at the various stages of the process.

In the last decade, socially assistive robots have been used in therapeutic treatments for individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). Preliminary studies have demonstrated positive results using the Penguin for Autism Behavioral Intervention (PABI) developed by the AIM Lab at WPI to assist individuals diagnosed with ASDs in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy treatments. In recent years, power-efficient embedded AI computing devices have emerged as a powerful technology by reducing the complexity of the hardware platforms while providing support for parallel models of computation. This new hardware architecture seems to be an important step in the improvement of socially assistive robots in ABA therapy. In this thesis, we explore the use of a power-efficient embedded AI computing device and pre-trained deep learning models to improve PABI’s performance. Five main contributions are made in this work. First, a robot-enhanced ABA therapy framework is designed. Second, a multilayer pattern software architecture for a robot-enhanced ABA therapy framework is explored. Third, a multifactorial experiment is completed in order to benchmark the performance of three popular deep learning frameworks over the AI computing device. Experimental results demonstrate that some deep learning frameworks utilize the resources of GPU power while others utilize the multicore ARM-CPU system of the device for its parallel model of computation. Fourth, the robustness of state-of-the-art pre-trained deep learning models for feature extraction is analyzed and contrasted with the previous approach used by PABI. Experimental results indicate that pre-trained deep learning models overcome the traditional approaches in some fields; however, combining different pre-trained models in a process reduces its accuracy. Fifth, a patient-tracking algorithm based on an identity verification approach is developed to improve the autonomy, usability, and interactions of patients with the robot. Experimental results show that the developed algorithm has the potential to perform as well as the previous algorithm used by PABI based on a deep learning classifier approach.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2007.
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This doctoral dissertation is concerned with an exploratory study on how emerging learning ecologies enabled by Web 2.0 and social web are affecting the self-organized practices and dispositions in the digital settings of individual PhD students. The research endorses a constructivist grounded theory approach, where data collection has been undertaken across three Italian and one UK universities and has included a sequence of online questionnaires, individual interviews and focus groups. The findings being generated provide a repertoire of social media practices for research purposes; a framework conceptualizing the trajectories in the digital, in terms of Space, Time, Socialization, Digital identity, Stance and Tensions; the forms of resilience and the tensions underlying the PhD researchers’ digital engagement. The affordances of PhD e-researchers’ emerging ecologies are therefore understood as multi-dimensional and transitional trajectories intentionally undertaken by the individuals and generating a range of reactions toward the opportunities provided by the open Web.

With the increasing trend of telecommunication innovations worldwide, emerging markets do not dare to sit back and watch as the global technologies advance at record speed. More and more developing countries are taking heed to these opportunities by developing solutions that best suit the markets they serve. Moreover, regardless of the lack of efficient and affordable financial infrastructure as a contributing factor in the persistence of poverty in many rural parts of developing countries, some firms have taken bold steps to partner with knowledgeable firms in order to increase their own capabilities that are crucial in developing innovative solutions. The purpose of this study was to explore how knowledge is transferred in emerging/developing markets in order to facilitate open innovation. Knowledge transfer is considered a process and not a one-time event.  Therefore, using a since case study design, an in-depth exploration was made on the MPesa mobile money transfer system  which started in Kenya but has now spread to several emerging countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.  The results indicate that for successful knowledge transfer; (i) Personnel movements is the most effective mechanism (ii) Technology should be transferred using a social mode of transfer (iii) Joint ventures are the most effective partnership form (iv) the bottom-of-the pyramid markets must be engaged in the development of innovative products.

This thesis conducts the first comprehensive empirical assessment of the theories surrounding the co-evolution of capital markets and banking system using four distinct studies which explore the spillover effects of stock market liquidity on different aspects of bank business. While an increase in stock market liquidity strengthens bank market power, it results in a decline in traditional bank business. However, banks continue to retain their market power by expanding into non-traditional business complemented by liquid capital markets. Further, enhanced stock market liquidity improves bank profitability and stability and hence provides evidence that stock markets and banks have a complementary relationship.

Research Question: How can the concept of Greening Goliaths and Emerging Davids be applied to better understand the sustainabile transformation of the fashion industry?  Purpose: This paper sets out to analyze two approaches to sustainability within the fashion industry; A firm adopting CSR initiatives into their business strategy versus a sustainable brand. These approaches are explored within the framework of Greening Goliaths and Emerging Davids to recognize their contribution to the sustainable transformation of the fashion industry. Method: A qualitative approach to our case study was taken in which we analyze and measure the Swedish fast fashion company, H&M and an American eco-friendly fashion label, Reformation. A semi-formal phone interview with an expert on sustainability in the fashion industry gave us further knowledge of how the two approaches can be combined for the industry to become more sustainable. A model was developed that aided the analysis as well as the discussion of the empirical findings. Conclusion: Our conclusions found that the sustainable brand, Reformation can be categorized as an Emerging David and is in the Take-off stage. In order to gain a larger market share an contribute to the sustainable transformation of the industry Reformation will need to continue process innovation to lower their price point. H&M was initially categorized as a Greening Goliath however upon further analysis we believe they are shifting to become and Environmental David leading the sustainable transformation of the industry. In order for a sustainable transformation of the fashion industry there needs to be a co-evolution of both Greening Goliaths and Emerging Davids working together for a sustainable future.

Transmedia books are new and emerging technologies which are beginning to be used in current classrooms. Transmedia books are a traditional printed book that uses multiple media though the use of Quick Response (QR) codes and augmented reality (AR) triggers to access web-based technology. Using the transmedia book Skills That Engage Me students in kindergarten through second grade engage in curriculum designed to introduce science skills and careers. Using the modified Draw-a-Scientist Test (mDAST), observations and interviews, researchers analyzed pre and post data to describe changes students have about science and scientists. Future study may include the development and validation of a new instrument, Draw a Science Student, and examining the mDAST checklist with the intention of updating the parameters of what is considered positive and negative in relationship with work a scientist conducts.