This study has sought to address the nature of the evolution of sports policy in ROC/Taiwan since 1973, within the context of a strategic relations approach to the analysis of policy. These aims have been addressed by the development of the analysis of the ROC/Taiwan's position in international relations and its implications for sports policy; of the internal structure and history of the state at national level and their implications for national level policy; and finally, analysis of the local government context. In each case explanation sought to identify both the structural context of policy development and the explanation provided by individual policy actors. The empirical analysis of policy draws on the evidence provided by key actors in the ROC/Taiwan state who have played a significant role in enabling sports policy output. In order to understand sports policy mechanisms since 1973, politicians' perceptions (evidenced in a review of parliamentary debates from 1984 to 2002) provide a useful empirical picture of sports policy. Other data sources employed included government reports, and press accounts as well as interviews with policy actors. The interviewees were drawn from the central government civil service, local government, the national governing bodies of sport and the business community (n--21). Qualitative data analysis software (QSR) was used to manage and organise the data in an inductive and deductive thematic analysis. The theoretical framework on which the study draws involves a recognition that the state is influenced by particular interest groups (characterised in the thesis as the neo-pluralist position), in which elites (the neo-elitist position) often, though not exclusively, drawn from business interests (the neo-Marxist position) are in evidence. The particular make-up of these groups will vary according to the issues concerned at the particular point of time in the history of the ROC/Taiwan state on which one focuses. In the early stages of the ROC/Taiwan state, the military elite was closely allied with the business elite'and with ethnic interest groups (Mainlander Chinese groups rather than native Taiwanese). Such political and ethnic divisions subsequently had an impact on party political affiliations and on the geographic location of facilities and services as the North and Souih of"the' island, and those cities under the Kuomintang and Democratic Progressive Party control, vied with one another to capture resources.

Purpose: Within the contemporary socio-political context of palliative care and an aging demography, there is a called-for shift to an upstream provision of palliative care in the form of a palliative approach to care as well as to frame access to palliative care within a health equity perspective. In the literature, there is a paucity of nurses’ experiences in the provision of palliative care within psychiatric settings. Moreover, little is known of the process by which nurses engage in a palliative approach to care for patients experiencing multiple marginalities, including institutionalization, mental health, and advanced age. This research explored how nurses in forensic and geriatric psychiatry engage with aging patients and mortal considerations to discern how ethical dimensions of care, aligned within the palliative approach, are enacted. An ethical lens by which to apprehend dimensions of human finitude, reflective of central elements of the palliative approach and public health palliative care, was proposed to help to delineate a process of recognition through which values can be identified in the care of patients. The purpose of this thesis was to explore the phenomenon by which nurses engaged with mortality as both an antecedent to adopting a palliative approach and as a phenomenon that captures nurses’ continued engagement with patients within this approach. Objectives: There were three objectives to the project: 1) explore nurses’ engagement with mortality within an ethics of finitude; 2) identify enablers and barriers, and related historical and socio-political discourses, to engagement of nurses with their patients within an ethics of finitude, and; 3) articulate and deepen understanding of the palliative approach, including ethical dimensions and considerations. The research was an analytical elaboration of a qualitative study at the University of Ottawa that examined the palliative approach to nursing care in forensic and geriatric psychiatry at a mental health facility in eastern Ontario. Methods: Situated within a constructivist epistemic stance, the analytical framework elaborated for this analysis drew from both interpretive description (ID) and interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). Utilizing convenience sampling, eight Registered Nurses (7 women and 1 man) working in forensic or geriatric psychiatry completed interviews. Findings: Engagement of nurses within an ethics of finitude was revealed to surface through a process of recognition (recognition of mortality, recognition of the increased vulnerability of patients, and recognition of a corresponding increased responsibility for vulnerable patients) and through the affirmation of values including human connection, dignity, comfort, family, familiarity, and personhood. Barriers and enablers to this engagement emerged related to the care environment, the psychiatric nurse and patient construction, and factors related to family. The implications of the related discourses in the articulation of the palliative approach emerged in relation to health system considerations and to the language of the palliative approach. Conclusion: The process of recognition explored through the proposed ethical lens and revealed in the findings delineated values that underpin the palliative approach by offering an alternate conceptualization to their identification and enactment. Insights from this project underscore preliminary insights on a process to identify care practices aligned within the palliative approach as well as possibilities for critical questioning related to interconnected axes of an ethics of finitude in both the care of individual patients and in the enactment of health policy.

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Magister Artium - MA / In this thesis I present – from the perspective of the capability approach and within the context of South Africa – a conceptual analysis of the relationship between quality of life, education, poverty and inequality. The role of education within the South African context is of particular importance. The capability approach, which was pioneered by economist-philosopher Amartya Sen and significantly further developed by philosopher Martha Nussbaum and a growing number of other scholars across the humanities and social sciences, is a theoretical framework for the assessment and comparison of quality of life and social justice. The argument is made that when inquiring about the prosperity of a nation or region in the world, traditional economic approaches – such as gross domestic product (GDP), which is the most commonly used indicator of economic activity – are not, by themselves, accurate or adequate. When assessing individuals and societies‟ quality of life and sense of well-being, we need to know not only about their levels of income, wealth, or consumption; but also about the opportunities they have, or do not have, to choose and to act. The capability approach provides a more comprehensive conceptualisation of quality of life, because it takes into account broader and more encompassing measures of well-being. Conceptualising quality of life from the perspective of the capability approach, makes it clear that large numbers, if not the vast majority, of people experience many forms of unfreedom that impedes their development (i.e. their freedom to choose), and prevents them from leading lives they consider valuable and worthwhile. Many people lack capabilities. The capability approach asserts that the expansion of the real freedoms that people enjoy (i.e. what people are effectively able to be and to do) is both the primary end and the principle means of development. Expansion of freedom equates to enhanced individual agency as a result of an increase in capabilities. Furthermore, individual agency is central to addressing various deprivations (both individual and societal).

The current study identifies the reasons why change in traditional perceptions of learning is needed by tracing the philosophies of traditional methods and their effect on the perception of learning, and proposes an alternative geodesic approach, the Mind-Mapping Approach (MMA). Inherent in the model is the implication that traditional methods do not facilitate effective holistic thinking and as a result, do not produce effective lifelong learners. Extrapolated from the MMA model and its assumptions, is a practical framework, the MMA, that, when implemented within learning environments, will foster geodesic thinking which is in natural compliance with the functioning of the brain and therefore to be preferred. The study tested the validity of the above assumption by providing training in an alternative geodesic approach, the MMA, to a group of 45 teachers and therapists that work with learning disabled pupils - this comprised the first experiment of this study. The teachers and therapists in turn used the MMA methods with their pupils (639) - this comprised the second experiment of the study. In this way both the MMA as a geodesic framework, and the actual effectiveness of the MMA training programme in conveying geodesic principles, were evaluated. The results indicated that although significant benefit was derived by the teachers and therapists from the MMA training, these were conservative. Furthermore, the overall longitudinal trends of the pupils' results also indicated that a significant positive change was experienced by the pupils with the introduction of the MMA methods, but not to the extent predicted. It is speculated that this conservative, although significantly positive improvement in the teachers, therapists and pupils is attributed to the fact that the MMA methods are geodesic facilitating improved thinking, problem-solving and research skills, and innovative learning. However traditional methods of teacher training, testing and evaluating do not facilitate these skills as their emphasis is on the accrual as opposed to creation of facts. It is possible therefore that the conservatively positive results of this study reflect the "carry-over" effect of geodesic training. It can be said that the partial application of the MMA methods by the teachers and therapists did improve the performance of the pupils and that this study was therefore successful, but that the results would have been more positive had the pupils been evaluated in a way that matched the geodesic training. In addition, the study provides valuable information regarding the effect of geodesic systems on traditional systems of learning. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / unrestricted

This study contributes to critical studies of information systems (CRIS) by addressing two limitations: the generally weak theorisation of technology and the limited focus of critique. Technology is weakly theorised because it is mainly seen in instrumentalist and constructivist ways. It is argued that these understandings of the technological limit the focus of critique to human plans, intentions and relations. The study joins the quest for specificity about technology and while it does not only focus on what is inscribed into it, the study also looks at the effects of the technological actant. The ANT conception of technology as an actant in heterogeneous networks opens various new avenues for critique. It is argued that the processes of technologising play a central role in socio-technical networks and that they have certain effects which contribute to both change and stability. The technological could not be limited to the “purely” technical, but has effects on the typical human functions such as communication, cognition, morality and ends. Although it is acknowledged that the social and the technical are closely intertwined, critique could still focus on the role of the technical. The particular effects of technology in the heterogeneous networks are of central concern to the critical researcher who wants to contribute towards the morality of the processes through which heterogeneous networks are built. The study investigates in some depth the conceptions of technology and of critique in information studies. This is contrasted with similar investigations from an ANT perspective. Case studies were used and reinterpreted to show how such a critique of the socio-technical networks might be done. Conclusions are drawn about the nature and functioning of technology and of critique; of the role of actants in networks and of the role of the critical researcher and of critical theories. The study contributes towards a deepening and broadening of critique. The deepening of critique refers to the need for a critical function within the very processes of assembling and not as something that could only happen afterwards. The broadening of critique refers to the participation of all entities (human and nonhuman) in the processes of critique. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Informatics / unrestricted

According to Harvard Business Essentials (2006) an organisation is a series of decisions linked by implementation and other activities. Decisions set the pace and direction; the rest is follow through. Paul Nutt has been studying how decisions are made for more than 20 years and have found that decisions fail half of the time, without realising any benefit for the organisation (Nutt, 2002). Decision making is an essential part of the management function of an organisation. But why do so many decisions fail? Why does the outcome of decisions sometimes not satisfy the initial problem or support the organisation’s goal? Four decision making processes were analysed for this dissertation, the conclusion was drawn that current decision making processes do not incorporate a clear system approach. The dissertation shows that a system approach, as defined by systems engineering,satisfies the need for ensuring decisions are made taking into account a holistic picture. By following a system approach when making a decision, a bigger picture view can be obtained. Having a bigger picture view, will aid the decision maker in identifying whether the decision to make is indeed the right decision to be made, or merely a symptom of another decision or problem. A system approach aids the decision maker to determine where the decision to be taken fits in and what impact it will have on the system. A system approach to decision making process was designed, incorporating the strengths of the decision making process and system approach methodologies researched. The system approach methodology can be applied successfully to management decisions. By using this methodology a holistic view is obtained of a decision regarding a problem, resulting in effectively handling and managing the decision or problem. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Graduate School of Technology Management / unrestricted

In this paper, the benefits and advantages of combining advanced embedded processing capabilities with an FPGA based approach within a Data Acquisition Unit (DAU) are discussed. The paper begins with a discussion of some of the services and functionality that such a system enables. Basic features such as system discovery, verification, configuration and upgrade are discussed in addition to other value added services such as continuous built in test (CBIT) and embedded real-time parameter quick-look. Finally, the paper discusses some advanced services that could be deployed to these systems such as emerging communication protocols, multimedia connectivity and discovery, and advanced Machine Learning based systems diagnostics.

The purpose of this research was to determine the value derived from leadership development programmes by line managers. This research was useful in that its findings would add value to organizations and learning institutions that offered leadership development programmes. A qualitative research methodology was used. Convenience sampling technique was used as data gathering was based on the researchers personal contacts and their referrals. This technique is known to be the least reliable. But this was taken into account in interpreting the results. Content analysis was used to analyze data. Themes were identified in the literature review upfront and analyzed in the findings as per the priori content analysis technique. Four main themes were identified from the data. The first theme looked at the maturity level of organizations. Feedback on organizations behaviour during a recession was on of the factors used to determine their maturity level. The second theme focused on factors identified as contributing to the failure of leadership development efforts. The third theme discussed factors that result in the success of leadership development programmes. The last theme looked at the value derived by managers from leadership development programmes. Also considering how managers measured this value. The outcomes of the research were largely aligned to the literature review, with few instances where findings did not reveal any evidence to support or dispute some points. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) have been largely used in various applications due to its ease of deployment and scalability. The throughput of such networks, however, suffers from high bit error rates mainly because of medium characteristics. Maximizing bandwidth utilization while maintaining low frame error rate has been an interesting problem. Frame fragmentation into small blocks with dedicated error detection codes per block can reduce the unnecessary retransmission of the correctly received blocks. The optimal block size, however, varies based on the wireless channel conditions. In addition, blocks within a frame can have different optimal sizes based on the variations on interference patterns. This thesis studies two dynamic partial packet recovery approaches experimentally over several interference intensities with various transmission-power levels. It also proposes a dynamic data link layer protocol: Hybrid Seda (H-Seda). H-Seda effectively addresses the challenges associated with dynamic partitioning of blocks while taking the observed error patterns into consideration. The design of H-Seda is discussed in details and compared to other previous approaches, namely Seda+ and Seda. The implementation of H-Seda shows substantial enhancements over fixed-size partial packet recovery protocols, achieving up to 2.5x improvement in throughput when the channel condition is noisy, while delay experienced decreases to only 14 % of the delay observed in Seda. On average, it shows 35% gain in goodput across all channel conditions used in our experiments. This significant improvement is due to the selective nature of H-Seda which minimizes retransmission overhead by selecting the appropriate number of blocks in each data frame. Additionally, H-Seda successfully reduces block overhead by 50% through removing block number field reaching to better performance when channel conditions are identical.