The government has taken constructive steps to address the issue of poverty in South Africa. The principal strategy on the government, and for that matter municipalities for poverty alleviation is to promote sustainable development (better quality of life for all) through the process of integrated development planning (IDP). Municipalities are, by virtue of legislation, required by the Government to use Integrated Development Planning as the vehicle to improve and fast-track service delivery and development. One of the main objectives of the IDP is to promote sustainable development. The objective of this study is to determine the extent to which the IDP is used to promote sustainable development at Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM). For the purpose of the study, the hypothesis was formulated that the implementation of IDP as a tool for promoting sustainable development within ELM is significant for improving service delivery and the living standard of local communities. To test the validity or otherwise of the hypothesis use was made of theoretical review of literature in promoting sustainable development at ELM. Further there was an empirical research method of open-ended questionnaires that was used to test attitudes and perceptions of municipal officials, IDP representatives and the community of ELM on the effectiveness of IDP. It was found among others that:The council and management of ELM consider the IDP as effective management tool in promoting sustainable development; ELM has elaborate plans and mechanisms for initiating programmes on the IDP; Public participation in the process needs to be intensified. While the municipality has achieved much success with the use of the IDP, the rural residents of ELM are largely ignorant of the process and its benefits. The study ends with recommendations for improvement of the IDP process. / Thesis (M.A. (Public Management and Administration))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

The objective of this thesis is to investigate and understand why and how consent is manipulated in societies where severe coercion seems to be effective in securing power. This text therefore analyses the role and nature of coercion and consent – of armed conflict and news production - in Colombia: a society where severe coercion seems to be both effective and profitable. Part 1 of the thesis studies the role of coercion from the Spanish Conquest and Colonial Period to the current regime in terms of the political, social and economic interests that predominate in each period, in terms of the role of armed groups – the main instruments of coercion - in the implementation of these interests, and in terms of the resistance to these pressures. Part 2 analyses the role of consent in terms of historical interests in Colombian media production, in terms of the role of media organisations – the main instruments of consent - in the implementation of these interests, and in terms of dissent. Part 3 focuses on current Colombian news production because this is the main method through which official information related to the present armed conflict is currently being transmitted to the public and because Colombian news production seems to bridge the gap between coercion and consent: by framing and promoting armed conflict. Part 1 uses historical sources, academic articles, human rights reports and nine personal interviews with representatives of the Colombian Armed Forces, guerrilla groups and human rights organisations to represent the broadest possible political spectrum. Part 2 is based on political pamphlets and literature, newspaper and magazine articles and leaflets and 14 interviews with representatives of mass media conglomerates, alternative movements and media groups. Part 3 uses a sample of 851 current news stories to understand the nature of a hypothetical frame that contextualises the actions of the FARC – the main guerrilla group - as illegitimate challenges to proper authority. (Continued ...).

This thesis contributes to the field of strategy-as-practice by developing understanding of the enacted performance of power within strategic interactions, an area that is underdeveloped. This is addressed by voicing the silences within the field of strategy-as-practice using an organisational studies lens. The study investigates the macro-influences of power, gender, body, culture, and Westernisation on micro-strategising activities and is based on an empirical cross-cultural study of a Saudi Arabian business college. The strategy-as-practice approach faces the challenge of balancing a focus on the specified actions of individuals and remaining aware of the social influences that govern them. This study complements linguistic approaches to understanding strategy with an embodied socially enacted dramaturgical approach to strategy analysis. Dramaturgy is the theoretical and methodological framework used to focus on micro-face-to-face interactions of strategists, complemented by frame analysis which enables invistigation of macro-level aspects of analysis at the meso-organisational level. The analysis focuses on two main areas: first it explores the embodied gendered aspects of strategising, which have previously been marginalised within the field. This analysis shows how the doing and undoing of gender on a managerial level in mixed-gender strategic interactions reflects the values that govern the family context, maintaining traditional values and often constraining women from assuming active roles as participants in strategising. Second, it analyses the tensions that arise between the clash of modernity and tradition by the adoption of international/Western management practices. These institutional influences create conflicts within strategists’ scripts when tradition encounters modernity in confronting a significant aspect of the Arab struggle. This analysis focuses on the importance of adopting a multi-level of analysis that aknowledges both structure and agency within strategising contexts. It also considers the importance of adopting a different type of ethics that is more sensitive to the particularities of caring for the ‘other’.

Information and communications technology (ICT) is an important part in teaching English. In this respect, teachers’ need to know how they can benefit from the opportunities that ICT has to offer in language teaching. Previous research has described aspects of problems around teachers’ ICT skills, relate to the use of ICT in teaching. The aim of this study is to examine how teachers’ use ICT in their English lesson based on Svenssons (2008) three areas in which ICT can be used, “ICT as a tutor”, “ICT as a tool” and “ICT as an arena”. By studying how teachers’ use ICT in their English lesson, this study also aims to find out what factors teachers’ claim affects their work with ICT, based on Lundgrens (1972) and Stensmos (2008) frame factor theory. For collecting data a mixed method with observations and interviews was used. This study attempts to answer, the concern of why ICT is rarely used in teaching English. Therefore this study is focusing on which other factors than teachers’ ICT skills that have an impact on the use of ICT in the teaching process. From the outcomes of the observation it was noticed that multiple uses of ICT occur in English teaching. It also appears that there are opportunities and limitations in teachers’ work with ICT. From the outcomes of the interviews, the majority of teachers’ claim that the time is a factor that most limit the use of ICT in their English lessons.

The German government is experiencing difficulties housing and assimilating Syrian refugees in its borders. Erecting temporary shelters on location is one way to deal with the current crises. This thesis attempts to use Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to determine the optimum combination of materials and construction methods to be used in the shelter’s walls in order to improve the living conditions of the refugees and to ensure that the cost is acceptable to the German government. This thesis compares six existing wall panel products from China, which have the lowest cost on the worldwide market. The R-value, strength, price, weight, durability, ease of assembly, assembly time, maintenance costs, comfort, resale value, and appearance were evaluated. Assumptions were made on what the German government would require and on standard building practices in Europe and America. The analysis indicates that the steel frame house from YONGYANG Steel best satisfies the needs in this situation. This thesis produced an AHP template, which is flexible. This model that was developed for the German scenario can be effectively applied to differing emergent situations in other parts of the world.

No description available.

The present study used a basic behavioral paradigm derived from Relational Frame Theory (RFT), a contemporary behavioral account of language and cognition, to validate principle-based definitions of the cognitive interventions of defusion and reappraisal. Ninety-one participants first underwent an RFT learning paradigm that established symbolically generalized avoidance. Participants were then randomized to a defusion, reappraisal, or control condition. The main outcomes were equivalence responding—indicative of the trained relational network and analogous to the content of cognition—and avoidance—analogous to the behavioral impact of cognition. Defusion and reappraisal significantly reduced avoidance responding, providing support for the hypothesis that these interventions target the behavior of relational framing. Mediation analyses, conducted on an exploratory basis, revealed differences between the mechanisms of defusion and reappraisal and provided preliminary support for the classification of these interventions as a functional context intervention and a relational context intervention, respectively.

The aim of this study is to examine the complexity of teachers’ assessment practice. It is divided into a two part-studies. The first part aims to determine what type of knowledge is tested in teachers’ written tests, and how they relate to the curriculum. To answer this we analyzed two tests from four different teachers. The second part aims to find out how different factors influence the teacher’s in his or hers test construction. To answer this we interviewed the four teachers who provided the test. Together, the two parts helps us to understand how tests work, as well as why they are constructed the way they are. The study uses two different theories as analytical tools. The first part of the study uses Bloom’s revised taxonomy to determine different types of knowledge. The theory is also used to determine the knowledge of the curriculum. The second theory, which relates to the second part of the study, is a frame factor theory, to define different internal and external factors that influence in a teacher’s work. Methods used in the study are text analysis for the teachers’ tests and the curriculum, and interviews for the frame factors. The results of the first part shows a discrepancy between the knowledge tested in the tests and the knowledge expressed in the curriculum. Most notable was the lack of questions requiring evaluating skills in the tests, while the curriculum mentions it 4 times out of 9 different requirements. The results of the second part showed that a number of factors influence teachers in their test construction. The main factor influencing teachers in the test construction, mentioned by all teachers, were lack of ‘social moderation’, i.e. working within assessment as a group and being able to discuss and reflect with colleagues. Other factors mentioned were time and organization, which were partly mentioned along with the responsibility or involvement of the head teacher.

Zunächst wird ein Überblick über berufliche Herausforderungen für Menschen in der modernen Produktentwicklung (-> Industrie 4.0) gegeben. Anschließend wird ein allgemeines Rahmenmodell beschrieben, in dem (nicht nur) psychologische Faktoren dargestellt werden, die menschliches Fühlen, Denken und Handeln beeinflussen. Im dritten Abschnitt wird ein Blick über den Tellerrand geworfen: In der Luftfahrt sind sogenannte Crew Resource Management Seminare für Besatzungen von Verkehrsflugzeugen gesetzlich verpflichtender Teil der Personalentwicklung und Weiterbildung. Es wird der Frage nachgegangen, in wieweit Zielsetzung und Inhalte dieser Seminare auf das Setting und die Bedürfnisse eines in der modernen Produktentwicklung tätigen Menschen übertragen werden können. Diese Überlegungen münden in den Ansatz des sogenannten Personal Resource Management, der den in der Produktentwicklung tätigen Menschen dabei unterstützen kann, sich der ihm zur Verfügung stehenden Ressourcen bewusst zu werden und Wege zu finden, diese Ressourcen in einem komplexen Umfeld zielorientiert abzurufen und ntsprechende Leistungen zu erbringen und gesund zu bleiben.

Through this study, I aim to expand the body of knowledge related to Black counter-framing strategies employed in the United States. In this extended case study, I examine the ways in which young Black cis-hetero male creators living in Atlanta, Georgia employ the use of counter-frames to navigate and resist the dominant white racial frame. Specifically, I analyze their use of double consciousness, freedom, and alchemical capitalism as counter-frames as resistance. I advocate for a nuanced approach to examining resistance strategies that includes embracing imperfect and incomplete acts of resistance. By examining these resistance strategies, despite their faults, perhaps we can continue working toward a more complete eradication of oppression.