Historic towns and historic buildings are important witnesses of the past cultures and civilizations. Their sustainability and transfer to the next generations require continuous maintenance and repair interventions which should be compatible with their original construction techniques, details and materials. In order to define proper interventions to a historic building, it is necessary to understand how and from what it is built. Therefore, traditional construction materials, detailings and techniques should be well understood prior to any kind of intervention to a historic building. The objective of this study is, first of all, to provide a body of knowledge on traditional construction process and techniques / then, to store, structure, process, represent and share this knowledge in a systematic and controlled way by means of a web based GIS portal. In this respect, traditional timber framed houses of Tarakli in Sakarya has been chosen as the case study, on account of being one of the significant historical towns in our country where the tissue together with historical building is still conserved. For this study, among the applications of GIS technology, Web-based GIS has been determined as the most effective and functional tool in order to develop an online information portal for storing, displaying the collected raw data and sharing with other users as utilizable information.

The technological and innovational developments in steel and glass industries has enabled designers to create completely transparent fa&ccedil / ades. Building fa&ccedil / ade articulations designed to attain maximum transparency, have thus been executed with the contribution of elegant steel supporting systems, having heavy load bearing capacities, by minimizing the dimensions of structural systems. The aim of this study was to define, analyze and evaluate the accumulated knowledge on structural glass wall systems in general, with particular emphasis on those that may be denoted as &amp / #8218 / spider&amp / #8482 / glass fitting elements for potential applications, to formulate a design guide for professional designers. Hence, the primary elements of the system / the support structure, glass, glass connection joints and the other secondary elements have been evaluated within the architectural context. In the second part of the study, glass connection fitting elements were examined. Additionally the products developed by the manufacturing firms and commonly used in various projects were evaluated. Thereafter, whole document, data, photos of the spider fittings were combined in a spider fitting selection table, prepared and created by the author, which describes the types of spider fittings in detail. Finally, technical adequacy, experience, level of organization and workmanship within the context of Turkey, to evaluate the level of knowledge, were studied. In this regard, the glass wall facade the Akman Condomunium Business Center-Medicorium building, constructed with local materials and local manufacturing companies, was examined and compared with the Boeing Headquarters building in USA, which was constructed with a similair glass wall facade system.

Die Broschüre dokumentiert die Tagung “Sachsens Hochschulen im Jahr 2025 – ein Ausblick”, die am 27. März im Sächsischen Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst stattfand. Zu dem Brainstorming waren 80 Vertreter gekommen: Rektoren, Kanzler, Studierendenvertreter, Gewerkschaften, Politiker, die Wirtschaft. Redaktionsschluss: 17.08.2015

Försvarsmakten har under åren efter Berlinmurens och Warszawapaktens fall präglats av neddragningar och inriktning mot internationella militära insatser. Sverige försvaras bäst genom säkerhet och stabilitet på andra platser än inom landets gränser. Försvarsmaktens dimensionering och verksamhet ska styras av det säkerhetspolitiska läget i vår omvärld men sanningen är att den oftare påverkats av hur de politiska vindarna för tillfället blåst i Sverige. I och med de ryska aggressionerna under konflikterna i Georgien 2008 och annekteringen av Krim 2014 sker ett säkerhetspolitiskt uppvaknande i Europa och Sverige. Dessa händelser medvetandegör för svenska politiker därmed det läge som kommit att utvecklas sedan Warszawapaktens upphörande i början av 1990-talet. Detta har sedan tydliggjorts ytterligare av händelserna under första kvartalet 2022 då Ryssland på nytt inledde krigshandlingar i Europas absoluta närhet. Med start 2014 har Försvarsmaktens fokus varit på att växa och återtag av förmågan till nationellt försvar. Att genomföra den beslutade tillväxten och återgången till nationellt invasionsförsvar innebär att ett flertal olika förändringsprocesser initieras. Nya utbildningsplattformar ska, tillsammans med nya krigsförband, skapas vilket är exempel på stora och tydliga förändringar som innebär betydande svårigheter och utmaningar. Men även i det lilla sker stora förändringar i form av omorganisering av befintliga krigsförband, något som inte heller sker helt smärtfritt. T.ex. kommer handböcker, metoder och utbildningslinjer m.m. att påverkas. Det lilla hamnar lätt i skuggan av det stora. I denna kvalitativa intervjustudie skapas förståelse för de behov som uppstår hos yrkesofficerarna vid införandet av en ny krigsorganisation. Studien hämtar sin empiri från semistrukturerade intervjuer med nio yrkesofficerare verksamma vid Göta Trängregemente. Kodning av data har skett med metod inspirerad av Grounded Theory. Analysen har genomförts baserat på en referensram där teorier kring organisation och ledarskap samt förändring varit tongivande.   Studiens resultat visar att det är genom den övergripande kärnvariabeln Behov som acceptans och förståelse för förändring skapas. Detta utgör själva grunden för att förändringen ska kunna ske enligt tänkt plan och så smärtfritt som möjligt. Försvarsmakten bör därför dels säkerställa att befintliga processteg respekteras genom hela organisationen, dels sträva efter att utveckla förändringsprocessen för att tillgodose de behov som studien uppmärksammar. / In the years following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Warsaw Pact, the Swedish Armed Forces has been characterized by downsizing and a focus on international military operations. The political view is that Sweden is best defended by maintaining security and stability outside the nation's borders. The dimensioning and activities of the Swedish Armed Forces should be governed by the general security situation in the surrounding area with a focus on Europe, but the truth is that it has more often been affected by how the political winds are currently blowing. With the Russian aggressions during the conflicts in Georgia in 2008 and the annexation of Crimea in 2014, there is a security policy awakening in Europe and Sweden. These events make Swedish politicians aware of the situation that has developed since the end of the Warsaw Pact in the early 1990s. This has since been further underlined by the events during the first quarter of 2022, when Russia resumed hostilities in Europe's absolute vicinity. Starting in 2014, the Swedish Armed Forces' focus has been on growth and re-building the national defense capability. Implementing decided changes and rebuilding the capacity for national defense means that several change processes are initiated. Examples of major changes that involve significant difficulties and challenges are the creation of new training platforms and military units but even in the trivial things, major changes are taking place in the form of reorganization of existing military units, something that is not painless. Doctrines, methods, training and more will be affected.  This qualitative interview study describes the needs that arise among army officers in the introduction of a new organization to create understanding in the event of change. The study draws its empirical data from semi-structured interviews with nine army officers active at the Logistic regiment. Coding of data has been done with a method inspired by Grounded Theory. The analysis has been carried out based on a reference framework where theories in organization and leadership as well as change have been dominant. The results of the study show that it is through the core variable Requirements that acceptance and understanding of change is created, which forms the basis for the change to take place. The Swedish Armed Forces should therefore ensure that existing process steps are respected throughout the organization and strive to develop the change process to meet the needs that the study addresses.

Gegenstand dieser Dissertation ist die Entwicklung von zwei Bewertungsinstrumenten zum Abschätzen von anthropogenen Störungen auf Fische: Das erste ist eine Sensitivitätsklassifizierung, die die Resistenz und das Erholungspotenzial einer Art gegen einen Stressor widerspiegelt. Das Prinzip basiert auf der Kombination & Aggregation von Life History Traits, die für die Resilienz der Art entscheidend sind wie z. B. maximale Größe oder Reproduktionswerte, aber auch der Migrationstyp. Diese Traits wurden einzeln je nach Typ und artspezifischer Ausprägung Perzentilgruppen zugeordnet und diese dann zu einem übergeordneten Sensitivitätswert aggregiert, der für 168 Arten bestimmt werden konnte. Von Arten mit einem hohen Wert ist eine höhere Resistenz gegenüber einem Stressor zu erwarten, ein niedriger Wert hingegen deutet auf eine geringe Resistenz aber hohes Erholungspotenzial nach Aufhebung des Stressors. Der Sensitivitätswert kann für die Bewertung menschlicher Einflüsse auf einzelne Arten, aber auch Artgemeinschaften und in einer Vielzahl von Szenarien genutzt werden wie z. B. Risikobewertungen und Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfungen, aber auch in Schutz- und Revitalisierungsbemühungen Anwendung finden. Das zweite Bewertungssystem, auf der in dieser Arbeit ein starker Fokus gelegt wird, ist der Europäische Fischgefährdungsindex EFHI, ein Evaluationswerkzeug für Wasserkraftrisiken für Fische. Dieser nutzt konzeptionelle, empirische und modellierte Daten zu den individuellen Risiken einzelner Kraftwerksbausteine und verschneidet sie mit der artspezifischen Empfindlichkeit betroffener Fische. Der Sensitivitätswert ist einer der Hauptfaktoren, die diese Empfindlichkeit bestimmen und wird um weitere Informationen wie der Körperform oder Schwimmblasenanatomie ergänzt. Der EFHI bewertet kontextabhängig einen artenspezifischen Risikowert, der dann zu einem Endergebnis zwischen 0 (kein Risiko) und 1 (höchstes Risiko) zusammengefasst wird. Der EFHI ist in ganz Europa anwendbar. / Content of this thesis is the development of two tools to assess anthropogenic impacts on fishes. The first is a score that classifies a species’ sensitivity to anthropogenic stress that would elevate the mortality of individuals in a population. It is based on the species-specific, unique suite of life history traits that mediate a species’ resilience e.g., maximum adult size, maturation metrics and fecundity, but also the migration type of species i.e., diadromous, potamodromous and resident. Traits on a continuous scale were grouped using percentiles, binary variables like migration type were treated nominally, and aggregated into a single score ranging from 1.58 to 4.42 for 168 species. Species with a high score are expected to resist a stressor for a longer time or resist a stressor of higher magnitude, respectively, whereas a lower score reflects a low individual resistance to a stressor but a rapid recovery. This score can be used for risk and impact evaluations of anthropogenic activities, but also to track restoration or conservation efforts. The second assessment system on which a particular focus is laid in this thesis is the European Fish Hazard Index EFHI, an assessment tool for hydropower risks for fishes. In the EFHI, the sensitivity score described above is one of the main factors determining specific susceptibility, along with body shape, swim bladder anatomy and conservation concern. The tool evaluates hazards related to the four hydropower components i) overall flow alterations, ii) entrainment and turbine mortality, iii) upstream fish passage and iv) downstream fish passage and calculates species- and components specific hazard scores that are ultimately aggregated into the final EFHI score ranging from 0 (no risk) to 1 (highest risk). It can be used across the bio-geographic range of all 168 species for which a sensitivity score could be calculated.

Künstliches Licht in der Nacht (ALAN) entsteht in Zentren menschlicher Aktivität und erhellt die Nacht, wodurch biologische Rhythmen von Menschen und Wildtieren gestört werden können. Skyglow ist eine diffuse Aufhellung des Nachthimmels aufgrund von Reflexion und Streuung von ALAN, welche indirekt große Bereiche (vor-)städtischer Ökosysteme beleuchtet. Da sich Zentren menschlicher Aktivität häufig in der Nähe von Flüssen und Seen befinden, kann sich Skyglow unverhältnismäßig stark auf wildlebende Tiere in Süßwassergebieten auswirken. In drei Experimenten wurden die Auswirkungen von ALAN auf die Physiologie des Europäischen Flussbarsches untersucht. Die Fische wurden verschiedenen Versuchsbedingungen ausgesetzt: 1) niedrige ALAN-Intensitäten von 0,01, 0,1 und 1 lx unter kontrollierten Bedingungen, 2) höhere ALAN-Intensitäten von 1, 10 und 100 lx unter kontrollierten Bedingungen und 3) eine niedrige ALAN-Intensität von 0,06 lx in einem Feldexperiment. In den vorgestellten Experimenten unterdrückten niedrige ALAN-Intensitäten den nächtlichen Melatoninspiegel sowie teilweise Reproduktionshormone bei Weibchen. Höhere ALAN-Intensitäten verringerten das aktivste Schilddrüsenhormon und das relative Lebergewicht der Fische. Diese Arbeit zeigt physiologische Veränderungen bereits bei schwachen ALAN-Intensitäten, wie sie in großen Bereichen (vor-)städtischer Ökosysteme in Form von Skyglow vorkommen. Die empfindlichste Reaktionsvariable auf die Belastung durch ALAN bei Fischen ist der nächtliche Melatoninspiegel. Mögliche Wirkungen von ALAN auf andere physiologische Parameter können durch direkten Lichteinfall oder indirekt über reduziertes Melatonin ausgelöst werden. Diese Arbeit trägt zum Verständnis der Schwellenwerte für verschiedene physiologische Effekte durch eine mehrwöchige ALAN-Exposition bei. Schwellenwerte für ALAN-Intensitäten könnten zukünftig notwendige Deskriptoren für die Ausarbeitung von regulierenden Maßnahmen zur Reduzierung von Lichtverschmutzung liefern. / Artificial light at night (ALAN) is emitted from centers of human activities and increasingly brightens up nights, which can disturb biological rhythms of humans and wildlife. Skyglow is a diffuse brightening of the night sky due to reflection and scattering of ALAN, which indirectly illuminates large areas of (sub-)urban ecosystems. As centers of human activities are usually located close to rivers and lakes, skyglow may disproportionally affect wildlife of freshwater. Three experiments tested for effects of ALAN on the physiology of Eurasian perch. Fish were exposed 1) to low nocturnal illuminances of 0.01, 0.1 and 1 lx under controlled conditions, 2) to higher nocturnal illuminances of 1, 10 and 100 lx under controlled conditions, and 3) to low nocturnal illuminance of 0.06 lx in a field experiment. In the presented experiments, low nocturnal illuminance suppressed nocturnal melatonin production and reduced reproductive hormones to some extent in females. Higher nocturnal illuminance reduced the most active thyroid hormone and reduced relative liver weight of the fish. This thesis shows physiological changes already at very weak intensities of ALAN, like they occur over large areas of (sub-)urban ecosystems in the form of skyglow. The most sensitive response variable to ALAN exposure is the nocturnal melatonin levels. Possible actions of ALAN on other physiological parameters can be either by direct perception of light or indirectly via reduced melatonin. This thesis contributes to an understanding of thresholds for several physiological effects caused by ALAN exposure of several weeks. Thresholds for ALAN intensities could provide the necessary descriptors for elaborating regulatory measures to reduce light pollution in the future.

In der Verhaltensökologie hat das Interesse an der Persönlichkeit von Tieren in den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten zugenommen und man geht davon aus, dass verschiedene Verhaltenstypen wichtige ökologische und evolutionäre Konsequenzen haben. Diese Konsequenzen sind besonders ausgeprägt, wenn eine konstante Verhaltensweise mit anderen Verhaltensweisen (sog. Verhaltenssyndrome) oder mit Life-History-Merkmalen (sog. Pace-of-life-Syndrome) korreliert. Bisher haben Studien zu Verhaltens- und Pace-of-life-Syndromen zu keinen schlüssigen Ergebnissen geführt – manche Hypothesen wurden bestätigt, andere jedoch nicht. Man nimmt an, dass Kovariation zwischen Merkmalen von der Umwelt geprägt ist. Da jedoch Tiere in Gefangenschaft in diesen Studien überrepräsentiert sind, kann dies ein möglicher Grund für die recht uneindeutigen Ergebnisse sein. Um diese Wissenslücke zu schließen, erforschte ich die Entstehung von Verhaltens- und Pace-of-life-Syndromen in einer Wildpopulation juveniler Haie, die relevanten ökologischen Bedingungen ausgesetzt waren. Ich untersuchte (1) ob ein Syndrom zwischen zwei konstanten Verhaltensweisen besteht und ob das Auftreten des Syndroms kontextabhängig ist, (2) ob ein Trade-off zwischen Wachstum und Mortalität durch Explorationsverhalten vermittelt wird, und (3) ob Persönlichkeit das Nahrungshabitat der Haie vorhersagen kann und ob dieser Zusammenhang kontextabhängig ist. Ich dokumentierte ein Verhaltenssyndrom das über Jahre und Standorte hinweg inkonsistent war und von inter-individueller Konkurrenz abhing. Ein Zusammenhang zwischen Explorationsverhalten und einem Wachstums-Mortalitäts-Trade-off war nur bei geringem Prädationsrisiko zu beobachten. Zudem sagte das Explorationsverhalten Nahrungshabitate nur bei geringem Prädationsrisiko vorher. Zusammengenommen deuten diese Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass die ökologischen Bedingungen eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Entstehung und Ausprägung von Persönlichkeits- und Pace-of-life-Syndromen spielen. / In behavioural ecology, interest in the study of animal personality (i.e. consistent individual differences in behaviour across time and/or context) has increased in the last two decades as it is believed to have important ecological and evolutionary consequences. These consequences are especially pronounced when a behaviour that is consistent covaries with other consistent behaviours (i.e. behavioural syndrome) or with life-history traits (i.e. pace-of-life syndrome). So far, studies of behavioural and pace-of-life-syndromes have produced ambiguous outcomes (e.g. hypotheses are sometimes verified and others not), and the prominence of studies on captive animals (i.e. as opposed to wild animals) in the literature may be a reason for inconclusive results as trait covariation has been hypothesized to be environmentally driven. To address this knowledge gap, I investigated the emergence of behavioural and pace-of-life-syndromes in a wild population of juvenile sharks subject to relevant ecological pressures (e.g. predation risk, inter-individual competition). I explored (1) whether a behavioural syndrome existed between two consistent traits (exploration and sociability) and whether the appearance of the syndrome was context dependent, (2) whether a growth-mortality trade-off was mediated by exploration personality and (3) whether personality could predict the foraging habitat of sharks and whether this link was context-dependent. First, I observed a behavioural syndrome between sociability and exploration personality which was inconsistent across years and locations and was dependent on inter-individual competition. Then, I found the association between exploration personality and a growth-mortality trade-off to only be observable in low predation risk. Similarly, I found that exploration personality only predicted wild foraging habitat when predation risk was low. Overall, these results suggest that ecological conditions play a crucial role in the emergence and the shaping of personality and trait association. This thesis offers a possible explanation for the ambiguous results of previous studies and highlights the importance of increasing the focus on wild study systems that are subject to relevant ecological pressures in future animal personality research.

Mit dem Konzept für die Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 ist die Verknüpfung von Kunst und Kultur, Stadtentwicklung und partizipativen Prozessen explizit formuliert. Das war Anlass, sich angesichts der MAP-Ausgabe zur Urbanen Praxis den Transformationsprozessen dieser Stadt zu widmen. Der Fokus richtet sich exemplarisch auf das Quartier Sonnenberg, wo neue Kunstinitiativen und Raumkonzepte für die kulturelle und gemeinwohlorientierte Belebung des Stadtteils bereits seit 2010 zunächst von Akteur:innen und dann auch von und mit der Stadtverwaltung entwickelt wurden. Dieser zweiteilige Beitrag befragt die Wechselwirkungen von kulturell-räumlicher Quartiersentwicklung und dem Kulturhauptstadt-Programm, um Impulsen und Initiativen, Teilhabe und nachhaltiger Wirksamkeit der Projekte nachzugehen. Mit Blick auf verschiedene Projekte, Prozesse, Netzwerke und ihre Anbindung an Kulturhauptstadtprogramme wurden Gespräche mit zwei Chemnitzerinnen geführt. Ergänzende Notizen kontextualisieren die angeführten Orte und Programme von Kunst, Kultur, Architektur und Stadtentwicklung.

This investigative study was undertaken against the background of the recent calls for back to basics by the Schooling 2025 initiative, as well as to address the 2000 and 2009 Review Committees’ reports on the training and development of teachers and on the variable quality of learning support materials. The act of systemic transformation has led to two curriculum revisions taking place within the South African education sector and has inevitably culminated in the identification of shortcomings in teacher development and learning materials. This study has positioned itself to address these shortcomings at pre-service level through the preparation of Mathematics student teachers as prospective Mathematics teachers. In addressing the issue of inadequate training, the focus of the study was not only on cognition, but also on how affect could influence the learning of Mathematics so as to ensure a more encompassing approach in understanding how student teachers learn and do Mathematics. Integrated research on affect and cognition could lead to optimal performance in the teaching and learning of Mathematics and researchers in mathematics education need to acknowledge the role and impact of the affective domain and integrate it into studies of cognition. If learners are going to become competent learners of Mathematics, their affective responses to Mathematics are going to be much more intense than if they are merely expected to achieve satisfactory levels of performance in low-order mathematical skills. In the studies on mathematics cognition, the focus of mathematical competencies is on abilities and capabilities while, in the affective domain, competencies in mathematics are more than the abilities to perform observable tasks. Rather, the focus of the affective competencies lies in the direction, the degree and the levels of intensities of affect constructs (or their variables) that will define mathematical competencies within the affective domain. Evidentiary (qualitative) data from this study supported the contention that affect does influence the learning of mathematics since there were distinct patterns in the overall expressions of participants towards this aspect of the research. The acknowledgment of the concerns of student teachers during field practicum could possibly help in ameliorating these concerns through the identification of what student teachers were mostly concerned about when teaching Mathematics and how, by addressing these concerns, could help improve their teaching skills and abilities. Based on the quantitative evidence, the three subscales of self, task and impact used in the Student Concerns Questionnaire (SCQ) were modified on the basis of factor analysis to a two-factor model (concerns about self-benefit and concerns about learner-benefit). Some of the statistical results were integrated with the narrative data to provide substantive support for the expressions of student teachers. No classical trends, as noted in the concerns theory, could be detected in this study. It was statistically inferred that a majority of Mathematics student teachers who participated in this study were moderately concerned about most of the concerns statements noted in each of the items on the SCQ. In addressing the variable quality of the learning material the study focused on the development and the use of social context learning packages. The utilisation of these learning packages (in an intervention strategy) was aimed at strengthening social context knowledge and education, and explored its role in the translation (if any) of student teacher concerns within a hierarchical spectrum. The evidence on how student teachers perceived the use of these learning packages was recorded during the interviews. Analyses of the verbal data revealed that the participating student teachers agreed with the use of social context learning packages as part of their Mathematics lessons. In sum, the need to prepare effective Mathematics teachers and raise the academic calibre of prospective Mathematics teachers was fundamental to the overall design of this study. It is trusted that curriculum planners and designers will consider the recommendations of this study to address the so-called inadequacies within the education system of South Africa. / Thesis (PhD (Mathematics Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

This investigative study was undertaken against the background of the recent calls for back to basics by the Schooling 2025 initiative, as well as to address the 2000 and 2009 Review Committees’ reports on the training and development of teachers and on the variable quality of learning support materials. The act of systemic transformation has led to two curriculum revisions taking place within the South African education sector and has inevitably culminated in the identification of shortcomings in teacher development and learning materials. This study has positioned itself to address these shortcomings at pre-service level through the preparation of Mathematics student teachers as prospective Mathematics teachers. In addressing the issue of inadequate training, the focus of the study was not only on cognition, but also on how affect could influence the learning of Mathematics so as to ensure a more encompassing approach in understanding how student teachers learn and do Mathematics. Integrated research on affect and cognition could lead to optimal performance in the teaching and learning of Mathematics and researchers in mathematics education need to acknowledge the role and impact of the affective domain and integrate it into studies of cognition. If learners are going to become competent learners of Mathematics, their affective responses to Mathematics are going to be much more intense than if they are merely expected to achieve satisfactory levels of performance in low-order mathematical skills. In the studies on mathematics cognition, the focus of mathematical competencies is on abilities and capabilities while, in the affective domain, competencies in mathematics are more than the abilities to perform observable tasks. Rather, the focus of the affective competencies lies in the direction, the degree and the levels of intensities of affect constructs (or their variables) that will define mathematical competencies within the affective domain. Evidentiary (qualitative) data from this study supported the contention that affect does influence the learning of mathematics since there were distinct patterns in the overall expressions of participants towards this aspect of the research. The acknowledgment of the concerns of student teachers during field practicum could possibly help in ameliorating these concerns through the identification of what student teachers were mostly concerned about when teaching Mathematics and how, by addressing these concerns, could help improve their teaching skills and abilities. Based on the quantitative evidence, the three subscales of self, task and impact used in the Student Concerns Questionnaire (SCQ) were modified on the basis of factor analysis to a two-factor model (concerns about self-benefit and concerns about learner-benefit). Some of the statistical results were integrated with the narrative data to provide substantive support for the expressions of student teachers. No classical trends, as noted in the concerns theory, could be detected in this study. It was statistically inferred that a majority of Mathematics student teachers who participated in this study were moderately concerned about most of the concerns statements noted in each of the items on the SCQ. In addressing the variable quality of the learning material the study focused on the development and the use of social context learning packages. The utilisation of these learning packages (in an intervention strategy) was aimed at strengthening social context knowledge and education, and explored its role in the translation (if any) of student teacher concerns within a hierarchical spectrum. The evidence on how student teachers perceived the use of these learning packages was recorded during the interviews. Analyses of the verbal data revealed that the participating student teachers agreed with the use of social context learning packages as part of their Mathematics lessons. In sum, the need to prepare effective Mathematics teachers and raise the academic calibre of prospective Mathematics teachers was fundamental to the overall design of this study. It is trusted that curriculum planners and designers will consider the recommendations of this study to address the so-called inadequacies within the education system of South Africa. / Thesis (PhD (Mathematics Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013