My diploma work is about problematics of insurance and lending of local action groups. First part is focused on basic characteristics of local action groups, historical development of its financing and characteristics of MAS Šumavsko, z.s. Then I describe problematice of credit products of chosen banks on czech bank market. Next part is about detailed analysis of credits and insurance products od MAS Šumavsko, process of using and comparison in time. The last part of my diploma works is focused on proposals and recommendations for MAS Šumavsko in the field of financing, lending and insurance.

This thesis investigates, using finite element modelling and experimental investigation, the fracture of mesh reinforcement in composite floor slabs at elevated temperatures. The main objective of the research is the study of the bond strength between the welded mesh reinforcement and concrete at elevated temperatures, since this was found to be the principal behaviour that governs the fracture of the reinforcement in a composite floor slab.The experimental programme included steady state and transient pull-out tests carried out at temperatures varying from 20°C to 1000°C. However, unlike previous work, which concentrated on the bond of single bars, rectangular normal concrete prisms were constructed with one longitudinal bar, ensuring a bond length of 200 mm, and one transverse bar welded centrally. As a result, the influence of the weld of the mesh reinforcement in the bond strength between reinforcement and concrete was studied. The bond strength-slip-temperature relationship was obtained for various sized ribbed and plain bars. It was found that the 6, 7 and 8mm diameter ribbed mesh failed by fracture of the longitudinal bar at all temperatures, including ambient temperature. It was shown that the reduction of bond strength of ribbed mesh was similar to the reduction in strength of the bar, which together with the observed modes of failure, lead to the conclusion that ribbed mesh can be assumed to be fully bonded at all temperatures. The 10mm diameter ribbed mesh failed by splitting due to the cover-bar diameter ratio being small. In contrast, all the plain bars failed by fracture of the weld followed by pull-out of the bar. Therefore the correct bond stress-slip relationship should be modelled for smooth bars to accurately predict global structural behaviour.The investigation using finite element modelling utilizes the DIANA program. The incorporation by the author of the bond strength-slip-temperature relationship within the models permits a better prediction of fracture of the reinforcement in composite floor slabs. It has been shown that smooth bars are more beneficial since the bond is broken before fracture of the bar allowing strains to be distributed along the bar. In the case of ribbed bars the bond is such that localised strain will occur in the bar at crack locations leading quickly to fracture of the reinforcement.

Control is a concept that has received surprisingly little attention in the philosophy of action and ethics, given its prima facie ties to freedom, responsibility, intentionality and agency more generally. In this collection I take the first step towards an account of agential control: the kind of control that agents commonly exercise over actions, events, and even other agents. In the introduction I give a sketch of the complete thesis on control: characterising agential control as consisting primarily in the restriction or guidance of some process, and secondarily in the continuous monitoring of that same process. I go on to suggest that the primary aspect of control involves an agent’s having the ability to effectively intervene in the process that they are controlling. The collection itself consists of three journal style papers that, whilst not being focussed explicitly on control themselves, begin to fill out the sketch in my introduction: roughly, I think that control requires an ability to intervene (effectively, an ability to do otherwise), I think that ability should be understood as a kind of disposition to effectively intervene in a process should an agent try, and I think that to build a satisfactory conditional account of dispositions we need to appeal to the recently proposed contextualist account of dispositions from David Manley and Ryan Wasserman. The three papers aim to support each of these thoughts: The first paper, ‘The Anti-Akrasia Chip’, presents a counterexample to the well-known Fischer-Ravizza account of guidance control and suggests that what that account lacks is an emphasis on an agent’s being able to effectively intervene in their own behaviour; the second paper, ‘Getting Specific with Manley and Wasserman’, uses a novel counterexample to motivate a particular reading on Manley and Wasserman’s contextualist account of dispositions; and the final paper, ‘Relevant Abilities’, involves a defence of dispositional compatibilism by introducing the notion of a relevant ability: one grounded by the contextualist account of dispositions developed in the previous paper.

M.B.A. / Sasol embarked upon an ambitious programme to adopt affirmative action measures for the diversification of the workplace, long before the promulgation of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998. However, 8 years after commencing with this process, the organization's diversity status across all the junior, middle and senior management employment levels looks bleak. Despite the good, professed intentions by top management to diversify the workplace; in compliance with the Act, the process is being hindered by strong resistance. Responding to a questionnaire in annexure B on support for affirmative action measures, 98% of white males said they did not support them. The study sought to elicit an answer to the question as to whether the programme was being resisted/opposed or not. Only by uncovering the depth and nature of the resistance, could recommendations be made to accelerate the process. Questionnaires were completed by racially and gender diverse respondents. Overwhelmingly, responses by Africans, Coloureds and Indians indicated resistance to Sasol's type of employment equity practice. This is illustrated by the overall satisfaction index per race in figure 5.4. These designated groups, however, unanimously welcomed the creation of an equitable workplace through affirmative action measures. White males clearly opposed the implementation of affirmative action measures.

M.A. (Social Work) / In terms of recent changes in Government policy, the posts of social workers are currently being subsidised on the basis of the effectiveness of the service programmes conducted by welfare organisations. Consequently, programme evaluation has lately become the subject of increasing attention. An increased sense of responsibility and an awareness of a need for greater efficiency and cost effectiveness is emerging. This suggests a need for a scientifically based evaluation process i.e. programme evaluation with a view to improving existing programmes or developing new programmes. However uncertainty prevails in welfare organisations with regard to the nature and content of programmes and consequently where and when programme evaluation should be applied. In order to verify this impression, questionnaires were mailed to welfare organisations in Johannesburg who are members of the Family care Liason Committee. A sampling group of five directors, seven supervisors and ten social workers, based on nonprobability quota sampling, were identified. A response of three directors, four supervisors and seven social workers were received and after the results were analysed a verification of the impression, that uncertainty prevails in welfare organisations with regard to programme evaluation, could be noted. Programme evaluation would therefore be less likely utilised in social work as a method and model in rendering services unless the uncertainty is minimised and an atmosphere is created in which social workers will want to apply programme evaluation.

Ces travaux visaient à développer de nouveaux implants biodégradables se formant in situ pour le traitement des parodontites, les infections les plus fréquentes au monde. Ces implants permettront de délivrer localement le principe actif et de contrôler sa libération. L’un des pré-requis pour ces nouveaux systèmes est de présenter une bonne bioadhésion et des propriétés mécaniques permettant d’éviter une expulsion prématurée hors de la poche parodontale.Tout d’abord, de nouveaux implants se formant in situ avec un potentiel prometteur pour surmonter l'un des inconvénients majeurs liés au traitement local de la parodontite: l’adhérence limitée aux tissus environnants ont été développés. L'addition de diverses concentrations de différents types de plastifiants (l’acetyltributyl citrate, ATBC et le dibutyl sebacate, DBS) et de polymères adhésifs (l'hydroxypropyl méthylcellulose, HPMC) ont permis d’obtenir une augmentation significative de l’adhésion des implants à base de l’acide poly(lactique-co-glycolique) (PLGA). Ces systèmes sont formés in situ à partir des formulations liquides de N-méthyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). Dans le même temps, une bonne aptitude à la déformation plastique des implants a été obtenue et les cinétiques de libération du principe actif souhaitées ont pu être affinées à l'aide de plusieurs outils de formulation. L'activité antimicrobienne de ce nouveau type d'implants se formant in situ, chargés à l’hyclate de doxycycline, a été démontrée en utilisant la méthode de diffusion en gélose sur plusieurs souches de Streptococcus isolées à partir de la microflore buccale des patients souffrant de parodontite.Ensuite, une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes de formation in situ des implants a été suivi en utilisant de différentes techniques tels que: la résonance paramagnétique électronique (EPR), la résonance magnétique nucléaire (1H NMR), le suivi de l’évolution de la masse et la cinétique de libération du principe actif dans différentes conditions, la microscopie optique, la chromatographie d'exclusion stérique (SEC). Des implants se formant in situ à base de PLGA, d’ATBC, de chlorhydrate de minocycline, de NMP et d’HPMC, ont été préparés et caractérisés en détail in vitro. Ces résultats ont révélé une vision approfondie sur les phénomènes physico-chimiques impliqués dans la formation de l'implant et sur le contrôle de la libération du principe actif. Par exemple, les effets de l'ajout d’HPMC dans la formulation, qui améliore l'adhérence de l'implant et réduit le gonflement, ont pu être expliqués. De manière importante, les implants se formant in situ ont efficacement empêché la croissance bactérienne dans les poches parodontales des patients. Enfin, l’impact de la composition des implants sur la performance des systèmes a été étudié. Afin d’élucider ces relations, des techniques de caractérisation de pointe, telles que l'analyse EPR ont été utilisées. Il est intéressant de noter que l’ajout d’HPMC et de PLGA de plus faible poids moléculaire a légèrement diminué la libération du principe actif, alors que dans le cas de PLGA de poids moléculaire plus élevé, la vitesse de libération a substantiellement augmenté. Ces tendances peuvent être expliquées en se basant sur la cinétique du transport de masse au cours de la formation de l'implant et des structures internes des systèmes. En outre, l'activité antimicrobienne des implants contre les micro-organismes présents dans les poches parodontales de patients atteints de parodontite a été évaluée. Ces systèmes gênent plus efficacement la croissance des bactéries pathogènes que celle des micro-organismes physiologiques. Ainsi, une recolonisation de la flore saine dans les poches des patients peut être envisagée in vivo. / This work aimed to develop new biodegradable in situ forming implants for the treatment of periodontitis, the most common infections in the world. These implants would locally deliver the active ingredient and control its release. One of the prerequisites for these new systems is to provide a good bioadhesion and mechanical properties to prevent premature expulsion from the periodontal pocket. Firstly, new in situ forming implants with promising potential to overcome one of the major drawbacks for the local treatment of periodontitis: limited adhesion to the surrounding tissue were developed. The addition of various concentrations of different types of plasticizers (acetyltributyl citrate, ATBC and dibutyl sebacate, DBS) and adhesive polymers (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, HPMC) resulted in a significant increase in the adhesion of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-based implants. The systems are formed in situ from N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP)-based liquid formulations. Importantly, at the same time, good plastic deformability of the implants could be provided and desired drug release patterns could be fine-tuned using several formulation tools. The antimicrobial activity of this new type of in situ forming implants, loaded with doxycycline hyclate, was demonstrated using the agar well diffusion method and multiple Streptococcus strains isolated from the oral microflora of patients suffering from periodontitis.Secondly, a better understanding of the mechanisms of the in situ implant formation was followed using different techniques such as electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), mass change and drug release measurements under different conditions, optical microscopy, size exclusion chromatography (SEC). The in situ forming implants containing PLGA, ATBC, minocycline hydrochloride, HPMC and NMP were prepared and characterized in detail in vitro. Based on these results, deeper insight into the physico-chemical phenomena involved in implant formation and the control of drug release could be gained. For instance, the effects of adding HPMC to the formulations, resulting in improved implant adherence and reduced swelling, could be explained. Importantly, the in situ formed implants effectively hindered the growth of bacteria present in the patients’ periodontal pockets.Finally, the impact of the composition of the implants on system performance was investigated using advanced characterization techniques, such as EPR analysis. Interestingly, HPMC addition to shorter chain PLGA slightly decreased drug release, whereas in the case of longer chain PLGA the release rate substantially increased. These tendencies could be explained based on the mass transport kinetics during implant formation and the systems’ inner structures. Furthermore, the implants’ antimicrobial activity against microorganisms present in the periodontal pockets of patients suffering from periodontitis was evaluated. Interestingly, these systems more effectively hinder the growth of pathogenic bacteria than of physiological microorganisms. Thus, a re-colonization of the patients’ pockets with healthy flora can be expected to be favored in vivo.

In the mid-2000s, the South African government systematically deported illegal Zimbabweans from their territory. In 2009, they placed a moratorium on the deportations and introduced the Zimbabwe Documentation Process (“ZDP”), which was to allow many of the millions of Zimbabweans to regularise their stay in South Africa.  During the moratorium, Zimbabweans continued to arrive in South Africa. As an immediate reaction, the Government of South Africa began to deny entry to Zimbabweans at the border, even when they claimed the need to seek asylum. The ZDP process finished at the end of 2010 and had only assisted approximately 275,000 individuals; a small number compared to the reported millions living in South Africa. In October 2011, the Government lifted the moratorium on deportations of Zimbabweans and, once again, systematically began deporting them. By August 2012, it was estimated that over 35,000 Zimbabweans had been deported from South Africa.  This thesis explores the actions carried out by the South African government to handle the large numbers of Zimbabweans within their sovereign territory. It specifically considers the deportations, non-admission at the borders and the asylum-system in South Africa in reflection with the Government’s international, regional and national refugee law obligations regarding non-refoulement.

This study attempts to explain why some countries experience multiple civil wars while others who have experienced a civil war build long-term stability from the rubble of conflict. The explanation of why civil war recurs focuses on the collective action problem, centering on the rebel leaders' ability to solve the Rebel's Dilemma. I further argue that once the Rebel's Dilemma has been solved once it is much easier for rebel leaders to solve it again and again. The empirical finds suggest that the political situation resulting from the first war plays a strong role in the solutions to the collective action problem and thus the long-term stability following a civil war. Namely, the level of democracy, partition and third party enforcement of the peace all affect the ability of the rebel leaders to solve the collective action problem and the likelihood of another civil war.

The present study examines the background of the Economic Opportunity Act in a local administrative structure. An extensive investigation is made of the Community Action Program of Laredo, Texas. The Community Action Program is a new approach which is still in the formative period and this receptive to constructive suggestions for change. Perhaps, it is hoped, this study will point the direction for such change, to the benefit of the long-run effectiveness of the poverty program as well as healthier interlocal relations.

This dissertation examines the potential dependence of praxis upon poiesis. The relation between praxis and poiesis, or action and work, is complicated by the conflicting qualities and principles of each. This tension, however, illuminates the human being as free and worldly. It is therefore concluded that praxis and poiesis form an interdependent tension that is potentially mediated by the faculty of judging and care for the world. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction to the framework and significant elements of Arendt's overall project. It begins with an elucidation of the philosophical bias against politics that Arendt critiques. The rest of the chapter explores the unique characteristics and principles that Arendt attributes to each respective activity of the vita activa. This chapter enables the reader to grasp the significance of the differences that Arendt accentuates between activities, as well as the specific characteristics and principles of action and work. Chapter 2 introduces the potential dependence of action upon the capabilities of the work activity. It centres on the relationship between action, the condition of plurality, the public space of appearance, and the durable, fabricated world. The durable world provides both a shared context and shared concern for potential action and the realisation of plurality. But this is problematic considering the extent to which the durable world arises through fabrication. This suggests that action is subordinate to the faculty of work. The problematic implications of such a relationship are further analysed, with a focus on the principles that inform homo faber's view of the world in general, and the relation between this sensibility and public spaces of appearance in particular. The contradictory principles of work and action, and yet the significance of work in building a durable world, will come to light. Chapter 3 explores further the extent of the relationship between action and world. The aim is to provide an exegesis of Arendt's notion of amor mundi, or love for the world, coupled 132 with her emphasis on the frailty of action. Amor mundi illuminates actors' concern with the world as a space for appearance and as a durable world. However, the extent to which political actors may effectively care for the world is brought into question. The faculties of promisemaking, forgiveness, and remembrance are examined as 'solutions' to the frailty of action. But remembrance once again suggests a dependence of action on work. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the relationship between praxis and poiesis in light of the role of remembrance and the tension between freedom and permanence. Chapter 4 builds on the claim that praxis and poiesis must be rethought in terms of an interdependence that reflects the nature of human being as free and worldly. It is argued that it is specifically in the faculty of judgment that this interdependence is mediated. The role of the disinterested spectator is therefore introduced and its relevance in both praxis and poiesis investigated. This faculty emphasises the importance of spectators who judge all appearances on the basis of beauty and meaning, and out of a concern for the world as a durable public space. The relation between judgment, action, and work also illuminates the condition of the human being as free and worldly, and the capacity to care for the world through the activities of both beginning and preserving. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Philosophy / unrestricted