Magister Legum - LLM / In 2014, the African Union (AU) adopted the African Charter on the Values and Principles of Decentralisation, Local Governance and Local Development (the African Charter on Decentralisation). The Charter is a first of its kind to provide a decentralisation framework for local government on the African continent. It seeks to use local government as a vehicle for improving the livelihoods of people on the African continent. Member States of the AU will only be bound by the African Charter on Decentralisation once they have ratified it. The actual impact of the Charter to improve the livelihood of people on the African continent is unknown. This research paper provides a critical analysis of the Charter in order to establish its potential. The analysis is undertaken against the background of the international literature on decentralisation and 'best' practices on local government. / South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI)

A Portuguese clay (BRN) from the North East city of Bragança was collected and characterized in terms of health treatment and applied towards the preparation of nanocomposites with Polylactide (PLA). The silt-clay fraction of BRN is mainly composed of smectite with less illite, kaolinite and other minerals. The physicochemical properties are applicable for the topical applications and are mainly influenced by smectite. With the hazardous elements present, further bioavailability tests should be conducted. PLA nanocomposites with BRN and Wyoming montmorillonite SWy-2 (MMT) were respectively prepared through the solution casting method with ultrasonic stirring and using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the surfactant. The X-ray diffraction patterns show the exfoliated structures in most samples. Thermal gravimetric analysis reveals the increased thermal stability of the nanocomposites. The complexes were also characterized by nitrogen adsorption, infrared analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance for comparing the differences between BRN and MMT.

Without light, there can be no shadows.  Architectural decisions can be structured in such a way as to filter, manipulate, or diffuse light to create an array of conditions in which both light and shadow become part of the architecture itself.  Light and shadow create spaces within a place, or a place inside of a space.  They can define, emphasize, and disguise. / Master of Architecture

It is the purpose of this thesis to show that literary interpretation and translation are closely interrelated, that the translator cannot pursue his goal, the transfer of a work of literature from one language into another, without interpreting that work as literature.

Background: Sustainability is a highly important topic and businesses are expected to take greater responsibility and be more transparent about the effects they have on their surroundings. The EU has in Directive 2014/95/EU set a requirement that leading businesses produce a sustainability report. It is hoped that this study can contribute to the understanding of the EU directive’s impact in Sweden - a country characterised by an institutional context where the expectations placed on businesses’ sustainability were high even before the directive was adopted. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of how sustainability reports of OMXS30 businesses developed in the period that Directive 2014/95/EU was adopted. Method: In this study the sustainability reports of OMSX30 businesses were investigated using a content analysis method. A longitudinal design made it possible to examine the development both prior to and following the adoption of EU Directive 2014/95/EU. The analysis was based ininstitutional theory with isomorphism, legitimacy theory and normativity contributing to an understanding of the study’s empirical evidence. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that both the quality and quantity of OMXS30 businesses’ sustainability reports increased following the adoption of EU Directive 2014/95/EU. The results suggest that the directive, through coercive isomorphism, has been an important driving force behind the development of OMXS30 businesses’ sustainability reports. The directive has been most meaningful concerning reporting on risks and anti-corruption as well as for those businesses whose reports included less information before the directive’s adoption. The study showed that hard law can be a useful tool in growing the transparency of firms’ sustainability reports. Future iterations of the directive have the potential to contribute to continued developments within sustainability reporting.

No / We present an explicit polynomial solution method for surface generation. In this case the surface in question is characterized by some boundary configuration whereby the resulting surface conforms to a fourth order linear elliptic Partial Differential Equation, the Euler–Lagrange equation of a quadratic functional defined by a norm. In particular, the paper deals with surfaces generated as explicit Bézier polynomial solutions for the chosen Partial Differential Equation. To present the explicit solution methodologies adopted here we divide the Partial Differential Equations into two groups namely the orthogonal and the non-orthogonal cases. In order to demonstrate our methodology we discuss a series of examples which utilize the explicit solutions to generate smooth surfaces that interpolate a given boundary configuration. We compare the speed of our explicit solution scheme with the solution arising from directly solving the associated linear system.

This paper presents an innovative experimental approach for simultaneous measurements of the suction head, volumetric water content, and the acoustic admittance of unsaturated sands. Samples of unsaturated sands are tested under controlled laboratory conditions. Several types of uniform sand with a wide range of particle sizes are investigated. The reported experiments are based on a standard Buchner funnel setup and a standard acoustic impedance tube. It is a novel, nondestructive, and noninvasive technique that relates the key geotechnical parameters of sands such as volumetric water content, density, and grain-size distribution to the acoustic admittance and attenuation. The results show a very sensitive dependence of the acoustic admittance on the volumetric water content controlled by the value of suction head applied. Analysis of the obtained data demonstrates that the relationship between the volumetric water content and the real part of the surface admittance in the frequency range of 400–1,200 Hz can be represented using a logarithmic equation. It is found that the coefficients in the proposed equation are directly related to the uniformity coefficient and the acoustic admittance of the dry sample, which can easily be measured or predicted for a broad range of sands. A validation exercise is conducted to examine the accuracy of the proposed equation using a sand sample with markedly different properties. The results of the validation exercise demonstrate that the proposed relations can be used to determine very accurately the volumetric water content within the porous specimen from the acoustical data. The error in the acoustically measured volumetric water content is found to be ±2.0% over the full range of volumetric water contents ( 0≤θ≤n , where n is the sample porosity).

This paper presents results of a comprehensive investigation undertaken to quantify the efficiency of using reinforcement layers in order to enhance the bearing capacity of soils that are characterised by the existence of localised soft pockets. Small-scale model experiments using two dimensional tank were conducted with beds created from well graded sand with mean particle size of 300 μm but prepared with different dry densities. A relatively softer material was embedded at predetermined locations within the sand beds so as to represent localised soft pockets. Various arrangements of soil reinforcement were tested and compared against comparable tests but without reinforcement. In total 42 tests were carried out in order to study the effect of the width and depth of the soft pocket, the depth of one reinforcing layer and the length and number of reinforcing layers on the soil bearing capacity. The results show clearly that the ultimate bearing capacity reduces by up to 70% due to the presence of a soft pocket. It was also noted that the proximity of the soft pocket also influenced the bearing capacity. Reinforcing the soil with a single layer or increasing the length of reinforcement is not as effective as was anticipated based on previous studies. However, bearing capacity increased significantly (up to 4 times) to that of unreinforced sand when four layers of reinforcement were embedded. The results suggest that rupture of the bottom reinforcement layer is imminent in heavily reinforced sand beds overlying soft pockets and therefore its tensile strength is critical for successful reinforcement.

Central Asia and the Caucasus are of immense geopolitical importance for the US and Russia, but neither power has successfully established regional hegemony. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the states of the Caspian region began to develop their oil and gas reserves, and as a result their importance on the international stage is increasing rapidly. Considering the impact of events such as 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iran, alongside issues including national security, energy policies and American ambitions to limit Russian influence, Christopher Bluth explains why the US has failed to establish authority in this globally significant region. Examining US policy from Clinton to Obama and drawing on interviews with leading figures in the US administration, this study presents the first systematic analysis of US policy towards the Caspian states.

No / Dependent Communities investigates the political situations in contemporary Cambodia and East Timor, where powerful international donors intervened following deadly civil conflicts. This comparative analysis critiques international policies that focus on rebuilding state institutions to accommodate the global market. In addition, it explores the dilemmas of politicians in Cambodia and East Timor who struggle to satisfy both wealthy foreign benefactors and constituents at home-groups whose interests frequently conflict. Hughes argues that the policies of Western aid organizations tend to stifle active political engagement by the citizens of countries that have been torn apart by war. The neoliberal ideology promulgated by United Nations administrations and other international NGOs advocates state sovereignty, but in fact "sovereignty" is too flimsy a foundation for effective modern democratic politics. The result is an oppressive peace that tends to rob survivors and former resistance fighters of their agency and aspirations for genuine postwar independence. In her study of these two cases, Hughes demonstrates that the clientelist strategies of Hun Sen, Cambodia's postwar leader, have created a shadow network of elites and their followers that has been comparatively effective in serving the country's villages, even though so often coercive and corrupt. East Timor's postwar leaders, on the other hand, have alienated voters by attempting to follow the guidelines of the donors closely and ignoring the immediate needs and voices of the people. Dependent Communities offers a searing analysis of contemporary international aid strategies based on the author's years of fieldwork in Cambodia and East Timor.