The following dissertation is located in South Africa, Pretoria. The aim is to define the Threshold of entry from the South of Pretoria, passing the University of South Africa and via Elandspoort Road and Mears Street. An Urban Design and Centre for Media + Image form the final resolution for the proposal. Education and Display are explored in creating a facility for the University of South Africa and a public and visual venue for Pretoria. Connection and Communication are the theoretical concepts carried through into the design. This is done in order to fully integrate design within a context both locally and internationally. Visual interaction with the building in the following design is a major factor. This is due to the dynamics surrounding the site and already existing movement channels and patterns creating an Urban Environment. The work of Bill Hillier has been consulted in relation to Architecture and Movement. The design approach is one of aknowleding our place in time. This is reflected in the programme for the facility and in the environment and technologies incorporated. Tilt-Up Construction, Post-Tensioned Slabs and Steel Construction are the main building methods. Steel, Glass and Concrete make up the material palette in conjunction with technological advances such as nanotechnology and smart surfaces. Steel and Glass Louvre Systems with Nanotechnology enable Large Screen Display on external Surfaces of the Facility. Copyright 2006, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Bevan, B 2006, Centre for Media + Image, MArch(Prof) dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10122006-121826/ > / Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Architecture / unrestricted

The pre-1996 anti-gay/lesbian laws have been repealed and today South Africa’s constitution recognizes and protects the rights of homosexual people. The adoption of a new constitution in 1996 included a Bill of rights prohibiting discrimination on sexual orientation and opened up the space for the recognition and protection of the rights of homosexual people. The Equality Clause, Section 9 in the Bill of Rights, prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation by the state and all other persons. The Civil Union Act, passed in November 2006, is the fruition of LGBTI peoples'lobbying for protection and recognition which was made possible by the new constitution. Although Parliament has passed more than 30 progressive laws that include the protection and recognition of LGBTI people, since 1994 there is still a great amount of stigmatization of the homosexual way of life. Not only is the homosexual couple made invisible in many instances, but the couple must also face prejudice from all sectors of society. The dominant hetero-normative narrative of relationships, has led to an “othering” of same-sex couples and families. Thus, despite equality in terms of the law, lesbian relationships are assumed to be inferior to heterosexual relationships because they are not conventional and are plagued by stereotypes and misconceptions. Unlike heterosexual women, lesbian women must contend with a society in which their lifestyle is not the norm. The impact of this oppressive cultural context on the individual and her intimate union is the subject of this study. Fifteen South African lesbians were interviewed in order to gain in-depth understanding of the potential stressors that intervene to shape their relationships, and their coping mechanisms, within the prevailing social and political milieu. The study outlines a variety of stressors as potential sources of conflict for lesbian couples thus contributing to building understanding of the dynamics of lesbian intimate unions. Additionally, in response to homophobic conceptions which are still dominant in society, the women reveal particular ways of representing themselves and their relationships. Different discourses are appropriated in an effort to present themselves in a more ‘favourable’ light. They valorise their relationships, adopt strategies to guard themselves and withstand stigmatisation. These actions however, also present certain stressors for their relationships. This exploratory study contributes to the growing body of literature on homosexuality, serving to counteract stereotypes and shed light on the dynamics specific to lesbian relationships. It highlights systemic, contextual, familial and intimate issues and the ways in which gay women contend with them. Copyright / Dissertation (MSocSci)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Sociology / unrestricted

Grounding its approach in historical and discursive institutionalist frameworks, this thesis examines the process of judicial review through an evaluation of Hogg et al.’s Charter dialogue hypothesis as it pertains to judicial invalidation of sections of the Charter of the French Language (CFL) and the legislative sequels produced by the National Assembly of Quebec (i.e. Bills 178 and 86). When examined from an historical institutionalist perspective, the National Assembly of Quebec appears to have strategized its response through an assertion of parliamentary sovereignty, rather than the desire to engage in a “dialogue” with the Supreme Court of Canada. However, a closer examination of how the Bourassa government crafted Bill 178 reveals that the first ‘legislative response’ to the Supreme Court’s decision in Devine and Ford was crafted exclusively by the executive branch, in virtual secrecy among a handful of Bourassa’s cabinet members. Displeased with the outcome of Bill 178, Anglophone civil society actors challenged the legitimacy of the CFL, as well as the notwithstanding mechanism at an international level, with their submission of Ballantyne, Davidson, McIntyre v. Canada to the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC). In 1993, the UNHRC ruled that Bill 178 violated sections of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The UNHRC’s decision eventually pressured the National Assembly of Quebec to amend Bill 178 with the passage of Bill 86, and consequently brought the Supreme Court’s remedies into partial effect. However, Quebec’s subsequent amendment to the CFL, Bill 86, was not a “legislative sequel” in response to judicial nullification; rather it was primarily a response to comply to international human rights norms. Bill 86 amended sections 58 and 68 of the CFL, but contrary to the recommendations of linguistic equality set forth by the Supreme Court, the Bourassa government ensured that French remained the predominant language on signage. The evidence in this thesis suggests that Charter compliance was an almost secondary effect caused by the primary objective of Quebec’s adherence to international human rights norms for the purpose of continued participation in international affairs. In its rejection of the Charter dialogue model, this thesis uncouples the pairing of the notwithstanding clause with the notion of parliamentary sovereignty and, in doing so, raises critical questions regarding the roles of the provincial executive and legislative branches during the process of constitutional interpretation. This thesis concludes that in lieu of Charter dialogue, a modified version of Baker’s model of coordinate interpretation is a more appropriate model of judicial review for summarizing the interaction of actors within the case studies of Bills 178 and 86.

The subject of this thesis is The Conservative Party and its use of political marketing. The text analyzes how the Party responded to three subsequent election defeats in 1997, 2001 and 2005 and to what extent are the Conservatives utilizing political marketing methods and techniques in reaction to the pressure from their more market oriented competitor, the Labour Party. Since the rebranding of the Labour Party under Tony Blair, the Conservatives were struggling to adapt to the new reality. Instead of utilizing political marketing and being more responsive to the wishes of the electorate they diverged their polities more to the right. However, their incumbent leader, David Cameron, is transforming the Party and making it more market oriented. These efforts are critically analyzed.

The graduation thesis deals with bills of exchange/promissory notes with the focus on their present possibilities of use. Thus, the thesis combines the legal point of view with the practical point of view. First part of the thesis provides basic information about bills of exchange/promissory notes and their specific qualities. Furthermore, this part concerns about declarations made on them such as acceptance, aval and endorsement. The second part focuses on economic importance of bills of exchange/promissory notes and reveals different functions bills of exchange/promissory notes can have. At the end there is an overview summing up both parts.

This thesis focuses on the application of bill of exchange as a security for a debt and tries to give an extensive review of a judicature, relevant to this theme. First part of the thesis is providing information about essentials of bill of exchange. The thesis body offers the view on issue, acceptance, co acceptance, transfer of a bill of exchange and claiming the creditor's rights. In conclusion the thesis compares various ways of recovery of creditor's claims.

This work is about maritime transport and should help people to orientate in this theme.

The objective of my thesis is description of mutual relations between shareholder's meeting and board of directors of joint-stock company including their activities, rights and obligations. Then I focused on comparison of legislation of commercial code and bill of commercial corporations. In my first chapter, I dealt with characteristics of joint-stock company, its foundation by public offering or without and its formation. Second chapter concerns with legal regulations of General meeting, especially with the emphasis to its convening, composing, running, decision process and scope including rights and obligations of shareholders. Third part is focused on issues related to board of directors, its election, activity, responsibility and liability for damage and also rights and obligations of individual members. Finally in last part, I compared current legislation of commercial code and bill of commercial corporations in matters of shareholder's meeting and board of directors.

The aim of the thesis is to generally characterize the maritime container transport and to describe a complete work agenda of an NVOCC operator. Another aim of this thesis is to introduce the transport chain and the role of the NVOCC. In order to show the range in which prices can move, in my thesis are processed quotes for a specific route from several freight forwarders / NVOCC.

African American, male, veteran (AAMV) students are not completing their degrees at a local community college. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine veteran student perspectives regarding factors that influence community college completion to better understand their unique needs as veteran students. The conceptual framework was Bean and Metzner's model of nontraditional student attrition. The Schlossberg situation, self, support, and strategies transition model served as a foundation to examine each veteran student's personal experience of navigating available community college services to reach their educational goals. Data were collected from interviews with 10 AAMV students. Interview transcripts were coded, and an inductive data analysis was used to develop the study findings and identify emerging themes. The findings highlight veteran student service progress, identify challenges, and make recommendations for an overview of the key results of the data analysis. The project was an executive summary that addresses the experience of AAMV community college students who are not completing their degrees based on the data analysis of the research. The findings of this study may influence social change by helping veterans have a better understanding of resources and support that are needed to assist them in completing their community college degree. The results also provide information that may assist academic leaders in identifying ways to support AAMV students successfully complete their community college degrees.