Tesis para optar al grado de Magíster en Filosofía mención Epistemología / La controversia entre JürgenHabermas y NiklasLuhmann estuvo vigente durante aproximadamente tres décadas. El punto de inicio fue una obra conjunta publicada en 1971 (Teoría de la sociedad o tecnología social). El desenlace, el fallecimiento de Luhmann en 1998. Durante este periodo, la obra de ambos autores se mantuvo en constante diálogo, adquiriendo la relevancia de debates tan recurridos como el efectuado entre Karl Popper y Theodor Adorno. En esta investigación pretendemos mostrar que esta controversia (inserta en el contexto no tanto de la filosofía sino de las ciencias sociales) no es ajena al pensamiento filosófico, sino que representa una instancia de renovación de las principales ideas filosóficas en torno a la modernidad, inauguradas por Kant y Hegel. Nuestra postura es que en Habermas y Luhmann se confrontan dos posibilidades de iniciar el pensamiento filosófico y teórico, como algo apriorístico o como un resultado.

Andrew Pampallis

The right to claim for civil damages in terms of section 65 of the Competition Act No. 89 of 1998 of South Africa (“CA of 1998”) is likely to contribute significantly to the objectives of the competition law in the country by serving as a deterring measure for companies to engage in anti-competitive behavior. Companies infringing the Competition Act will know that upon a finding of an infringement, they will have to pay back to consumers whatever profits they would have made illegally plus the litigation costs. These payments will be made in addition to the administrative penalties levied by the Competition Commission of South Africa, the Competition Tribunal of South Africa or the Competition Appeal Court of South Africa (“collectively referred to as the competition authorities”) and the possibility of directors’ criminal liability for causing companies to engage in cartel behavior. Therefore, the achievement of the objectives of the CA of 1998 as amended also depends on the effectiveness of civil damages claim provisions of section 65. However, the effectiveness of civil damages claims in terms of section 65 is compromised when consumers are incapable of exercising the right conferred to them in terms of this section. The recent increase on the findings by the competition authorities for an infringement of the prohibited practices in terms of chapter 2 of the CA of 1998, the period in which the respondents had engaged in those prohibited practices, the financial losses or damages suffered by consumers who in most cases are end users of the products or services and most importantly consumers inactiveness in exercising their rights to claim for such damages in terms of section 65 of the CA of 1998 have influenced the researcher to investigate the relevant section and the impediments to pursuing civil damages claims in terms thereof. The investigation both from the comparative law and individual consumer response shows amongst others the following as challenges that consumers will normally face to pursue their right in terms of section 65: the cost of litigation, lack of knowledge of consumer rights, lack of consumer activism, financial assistance, dragging of matters before the courts to frustrate consumers, complex procedures to claim damages before civil courts etc. There appears to be general consensus throughout the data collected by the researcher that private enforcement will discourage companies to engage in any form of anti-competitive behavior thereby serving as a deterrent mechanism for infringement in addition to the administrative penalties and directors’ criminal liability. Copyright / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Mercantile Law / unrestricted

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

Competition among firms is a central feature in all free market economies such as South Africa. One of the biggest threats to competition is the presence of cartels in markets. Cartels are firms which collude and compete unfairly in order to obtain monopoly-like profits. For more than fifty years South Africa’s economic landscape has been dominated by a vast network of cartels invital industries, such as bread, cement and fertiliser. South Africa promulgated the Competition Act 89 of 1998 to eradicate cartels and promote and maintain competition within the South African economy. The Competition Act 89 of 1998 prohibits cartel activity and provides for a fine of 10% of turn over for firms found to have engaged in cartel activity. For a variety of reasons, these administrative fines have failed to deter firms from commencing and/or continuing to engage in cartel activity. This is evidenced by the increasing number of firms engaged in large -scale cartels in essential industries, such as construction and food. Public outcry and global trends have persuaded legislators to enactment more stringent penalties in the Competition Amendment Act 1 of 2009. Section 12 of the Competition Amendment Act , which inserts section 73A, creates a cartel of fence in terms of which a director who causes his firm to engage in cartel activity faces ten year imprisonment or a fine of R500, 000. This research shall critically analyse the Competition Amendment Acts effect on deterring cartel activity in South Africa. Despite the legislators’ aim to provide a bigger deterrent for engaging in cartel activity, section 73A of the Competition Amendment Act arouses scrutiny. Firstly, the promulgation of the new cartel offence is contrary to the decimalisation trend in South African company law which recognises the difficulty in enforcing complex regulatory offences with criminal provisions. Secondly, Section 73(5)A appears to infringe an accused director's right to be presumed innocent. Lastly there are co-ordination issues between the National Prosecuting Authority and the Corporate Leniency Policy relating to the granting of prose cutorial immunity for firms which cooperate with the Competition Commission. There search will out line these problems in full. With regards to the problems caused by section 73A, the research will use a comparative analysis with the positionin the United States. Of all the jurisdictions which criminalise cartel activity, the United States was one of the earliest and the most prolific insecuring convictions for directors who cause their firms to engage in cartel activity. The United States has taken innovative steps to supplement their public cartel enforcement drive such as the prosecution of international cartels and the use of private actions. In this regard, the research will extrapolate favourable cartel enforcement measures from the United States for recommendation in order to assist with South Africa’s cartel enforcement and alleviate the problems caused by section 73A, outlined above.

Housing is one of the most fundamental subjects of architecture, not just for the basic purpose of shelter, but for the place where vitality can be transcended to the people living in them. 'Housing' rather than 'house' marks the intersection between architecture and urban design and the simultaneous existence of the individual and collective. Housing is also a form of material culture. As such, it cannot be understood without studying the cultural and economic conditions of its production. - Rem Koolhaas, 'Conversations with students' With the gradual change in family structure, housing accommodations would be smaller as the family size reduces, however, common open space and active recreation of all types would be enlarged. This would be a greater opportunity to integrate urban with suburban environments - the town's cultural and employment opportunities would be within easy access to the countryside and to nature. "Architecture is an art filled with contradictions. The more we learned about these contradictions in architecture, the more they translate these contradictions into an antitheses; between discipline and freedom, between technology and environment, between modernity and tradition. But....discipline sets limits to freedom, yet it is also its container, the thing that gives it form. These two elements coexist and interact." - Herman Hertzberger, 'Lessons for students in Architecture' The meaning of space can be clarified as dualities; between public and private, light and shadow, positive and negative, horizontal and vertical, man-made and nature, and denotative and connotative. Space is transformed into characteristic place through these changes, layers and sequences of movement. It would undoubtedly guide urban growth toward a more humane living environment which can recover community space set against stereotypical architecture. / Master of Architecture

Working as an architect means being able to see the main issues of a design, examining with objectivity the possible solutions and finally grasp the technical means necessary to accomplish the project. I think that it is important for an architect to be involved in the entire course of a project, since the process of "building" is a simultaneous rather than a sequential one. My architectural education and my work experience as an intern in architecture firms in Germany prepared me well for practice. It covered many technical issues and equipped me with the fundamentals of architectural assembly. Graduate education in the United States provided me with the academic environment to investigate my interests more deeply and to discover my personal strengths. It gave me the opportunity to formulate a mature and coherent position in my thinking and making. I still cannot explain everything intellectually, since many ideas are intuitively derived or spring from my sub-consciousness. But my theoretical and practical background combined with sincere feedback from my classmates and committee members provided the necessary climate to develop and elaborate architectural ideas. I see life as a continuous course of learning, where personal growth not only strengthens my confidence, but also contributes to the discipline of architecture and to society at large. An architect has a special responsibility towards society as he/she translates the spirit of time into the built cultural environment. / Master of Architecture

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This study involved a qualitative comparative analysis of government laboratory technology transfer, examining both the process and impact of successful cases before and after passage of technology transfer legislation. The legislation, passed in the mid- and late-1980s, was intended to encourage cooperative research for commercialization purposes. The study examined a variety of factors related to government laboratory technology transfer, including the researchers' roles, mechanisms used, partners, and economic impact. Certain aspects of the researchers' roles became more positive toward technology transfer. They contributed to technology marketing by producing more laboratory prototypes and samples in the post-legislation period. On the other hand, they retreated from broad-based technology marketing in the sense that their roles as technology champions became centered around their relationships with their CRADA partners. There was an undercurrent of caution by the laboratory researchers towards technology transfer in both the pre-legislation and post-legislation periods, and neither time period contained many examples of market analysis or technology evaluation work by the laboratories. Also, there was tension between the research role and technology transfer role, possibly indicating a lack of trust in that relationship. The laboratories primarily used CRADAs and licenses to transfer technologies, and used other mechanisms to a lesser degree. There was even less variety in mechanisms in the post-legislation period. The researchers' comments about license royalty-sharing became stronger in the post-legislation period, indicating that incentive is working. Yet, the data suggested new administrative needs such as for royalty tracking statements and dispute mechanisms. The post-legislation period involved more small-firm partners and more user-initiated contacts, indicating more market pull. The post-legislation period also exhibited more "institutionalized" university relationships. State and local governments were not prominent among the users in either time period. The technology transfer legislation had positive effects in terms of economic impact and outcomes. The following indicators increased in the post-legislation period: new products (generated as a result of technology transfer), sales revenues, new companies, new jobs, and technology transfer contributions to dual use. Technology transfer and commercialization failures decreased and the time to market decreased. The assessment revealed additional findings related to increased international activity, private sector problems, and other factors contributing to technology transfer. An extensive literature review provided background for the issues and problems in evaluating technology transfer. This review included an inventory of technology transfer measurement activities to-date, including models from non-government technology transfer communities. The study experience, itself, further uncovered some insights to technology transfer metrics at a time when the experience base in this area is still premature / Ph. D.