The master´s thesis is about preparation of consolidated financial statements. In the thesis there are rules and steps which have to be used for preparation of consolidated financial statements. The preparation of consolidated financial statements is made according to these rules and steps.

The master's thesis deals with the issue of the consolidation of financial statements. The first part of thesis, there are explained important terms and methods, which are linked to consolidation. The theoretical information is used for work out a practical part, which includes making new consolidated financial statements in consortium HOLOUBEK. The new statements are related to change in consolidation group.

Memory plays an important role in defining how one behaves. The neurobiological mechanisms of memory have been studied extensively in animal models and the NMDA glutamate receptor has been identified to play an important role in the consolidation and reconsolidation of appetitive memories. Certain memories, depending on what was learned, can function differently and can be more difficult to disrupt based on a number of factors. Currently, no study has examined whether or not a reward-predictive stimulus attributed with incentive value is more difficult to disrupt than a stimulus that functions as a general reward-predictor. To determine the role of the NMDA receptor on memory consolidation with different functioning reward-predictive stimuli rats underwent a Pavlovian conditioned approach, where a post-session NMDA receptor antagonist was administered daily. Furthermore, to determine the role of the NMDA receptor on memory reconsolidation, another set of rats were trained on a Pavlovian conditioned approach task, after training was complete rats were presented with a reward-predictive stimuli followed by an administration of a NMDA receptor antagonist and then re-tested.

This research will compare why two such comparable countries like Slovenia and Croatia have taken different paths towards consolidating democracy. The two countries on the same day in 1991 declared independence from Yugoslavia but only Slovenia managed to successfully consolidate democracy during the 1990s. The purpose of this study is to analyze what differences and similarities Croatia and Slovenia have had which has made them take different paths towards consolidating democracy. The theoretical framework will apply Linz and Stepans theory on consolidating democracy from the countries independence in 1991 until Croatia in 2013, like Slovenia in 2004, became member of the European Union. The results demonstrate that Croatia during the 1990’s were governed by a party and president in a non-democratic way while Slovenia since its independence has implemented all the necessary tools for a successful consolidation of democracy. In 1999 Croatia’s president died and this was the start of a new era in Croatian politics. In 2000 the ruling party was defeated by a coalition which immediately begun to integrate Croatia with the European Union and in essence started to consolidate democracy.

The essence of this study is to capture the dynamics of decision-making. The context of this study is the engineering consultant industry consolidation in South Africa over the last five years. Decision-making is a complex phenomenon and highly influenced. To understand the dynamic nature of decision-making, it is important to understand the rationale or process that was followed to derive to the decision made. This can be simplified or better understood when evaluated at the hand of a context. In South Africa, consolidation activity was relatively high during the last five years when compared to previous years – engineering consulting companies – with international groups teaming up with well-established domestic entities to create new African-focused organisational platforms. The research questions are predominantly “how” and “why” questions and this is best answered through a qualitative research approach. The research design uses a multi-case study design in that participants in this research study are employed by different engineering consultant companies. It does not follow the traditional multi-case design which determines similarities and differences between the cases or similarities and differences in the same case, but rather a view gathered on the same context from different perspectives. The participants are defined as key role players with a responsibility to make strategic, financial and/or commercial decisions in a company and individuals who directly faced decision-making in the context of this study. Data collection is primarily by means of interviews. The key findings indicate that decision-making is highly influenced and that personal disposition is a prominent influencing factor. Another finding was that industry consolidation was a global trend that could no longer be ignored in South Africa and that companies had to strategically respond to a number of key issues that they have been facing. It is clear that decisions are made in context. The continuously changing environment in which the engineering consultant industry operates means that opportunities are never static and that decision making is always dynamic. It is important to have strategic objectives and a list of expected outcomes at the start of a decision making process and to monitor and control progress constantly against these as one advance through a life cycle of events, such as a consolidation transaction. This research study concludes in a sense that the engineering consultant industry is looking forward, some recommendations to the industry and recommendations for further research. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The essence of this study is to capture the dynamics of decision-making. The context of this study is the engineering consultant industry consolidation in South Africa over the last five years. Decision-making is a complex phenomenon and highly influenced. To understand the dynamic nature of decision-making, it is important to understand the rationale or process that was followed to derive to the decision made. This can be simplified or better understood when evaluated at the hand of a context. In South Africa, consolidation activity was relatively high during the last five years when compared to previous years – engineering consulting companies – with international groups teaming up with well-established domestic entities to create new African-focused organisational platforms. The research questions are predominantly “how” and “why” questions and this is best answered through a qualitative research approach. The research design uses a multi-case study design in that participants in this research study are employed by different engineering consultant companies. It does not follow the traditional multi-case design which determines similarities and differences between the cases or similarities and differences in the same case, but rather a view gathered on the same context from different perspectives. The participants are defined as key role players with a responsibility to make strategic, financial and/or commercial decisions in a company and individuals who directly faced decision-making in the context of this study. Data collection is primarily by means of interviews. The key findings indicate that decision-making is highly influenced and that personal disposition is a prominent influencing factor. Another finding was that industry consolidation was a global trend that could no longer be ignored in South Africa and that companies had to strategically respond to a number of key issues that they have been facing. It is clear that decisions are made in context. The continuously changing environment in which the engineering consultant industry operates means that opportunities are never static and that decision making is always dynamic. It is important to have strategic objectives and a list of expected outcomes at the start of a decision making process and to monitor and control progress constantly against these as one advance through a life cycle of events, such as a consolidation transaction. This research study concludes in a sense that the engineering consultant industry is looking forward, some recommendations to the industry and recommendations for further research. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

La consolidation des argiles par électro-osmose est une technologie qui fut appliquée sur certains chantiers depuis les années cinquante. Elle améliore grandement les propriétés mécaniques des argiles normalement consolidées. Par contre, les résultats hétérogènes sur le terrain et la difficulté de maîtriser l'efficacité du traitement, dues aux pertes de potentiel électrique au contact sol-électrodes, font en sorte qu'elle n'a jamais connu un succès commercial. Récemment, un projet in-situ a été réalisé par l'Université de Sherbrooke (BURNOTTE (2003)) avec la collaboration du ministère des Transports du Québec dans la ville de Mont Saint-Hilaire, Québec. Le projet du Mont Saint-Hilaire a été un succès et il a démontré une bonne concordance entre les résultats en laboratoire et les résultats sur le terrain pour un argile normalement consolidée. Le succès de ce projet pilote a fait ressortir quelques problématiques qui devront être comprises et maîtrisées afin que la technologie de consolidation par électro-osmose soit apte à des applications commerciales, dont: (1) influence du degré de surconsolidation ( OCR ); (2) influence de la géométrie sur l'efficacité du traitement; (3) traitement é.-o. des fondations pour un nouveau remblai. La compréhension de ces problématiques est nécessaire pour augmenter l'efficacité du traitement, améliorer la fiabilité des résultats envisagés, améliorer l'homogénéinité et diminuer les coûts du traitement.

Le béton est le deuxième matériau le plus utilisé par l'homme après l'eau. Il est donc essentiel de toujours progresser dans l'utilisation de ce matériau afin de faciliter au maximum son utilisation et ses performances tout en minimisant son impact environnemental et son coût. L'objectif principal de ce mémoire est d'étudier le potentiel d'un nouveau type de béton fluide, l'ouvrabilité à la frontière entre le béton autoplaçant (BAP) et le béton conventionnel vibré (BCV) : le béton semi-autoplaçant (SAP). L'utilisation du béton SAP permettra de bénéficier de tous les avantages du BAP (réduction du coût global de construction, amélioration de cadences de travail et de la durée de vie des structures) en éliminant les difficultés rencontrées (coût des matériaux, difficultés techniques).Le projet de recherche se décline en plusieurs sous-objectifs : [1] Déterminer l'énergie nécessaire à la consolidation du béton SAP et vérifier sa stabilité sous vibration. [2] Déterminer les méthodes adaptées pour la réalisation de l'essai d'étalement et pour la confection de cylindres de béton SAP et déterminer quels sont les essais les plus adaptés à la caractérisation de la capacité du béton à passer à travers des obstacles (utilisation du J-ring et de la L-Box). [3] Évaluer l'effet des paramètres de formulation (le rapport eau-poudres (E/P), le rapport sable-granulats (S/G) et le pourcentage de remplacement en filler calcaire) et optimiser la formulation d'un béton SAP destiné à la construction de bâtiments et commerciales (35 MPa à 28 jours sans air entraîné). Cette étude montre que le béton SAP requiert jusqu'à 70 % d'énergie de vibration en moins qu'un BCV. Cette énergie dépend principalement du seuil de cisaillement (de l'étalement) du mélange. Il est donc moins coûteux à mettre en place que le BCV. La méthode optimale pour la réalisation des essais d'étalement et la confection de cylindres d'essais est un remplissage du moule en une couche et 10 pilonnages. Pour évaluer la maniabilité d'un béton SAP, on recommandera d'utiliser la L-Box équipée d'une ou deux barres en fonction de l'application destinée au béton.Le premier essai à faire consiste à mesurer le temps d'écoulement du béton pour atteindre l'extrémité de la L-Box (Tbutée).Le deuxième essai consiste à utiliser un vibrateur externe pour vibrer le mélange à l'intérieur du compartiment vertical de L-Box par paliers de 5 s. L'indice correspondant au temps nécessaire à l'obtention d'une capacité de remplissage de la L-box de 80% est appelé"t[indice inférieur 80%]". Lorsque cet indice est inférieur à 5 s, cela signifie que la capacité de remplissage est excellente, un indice entre 5 et 10 s correspond à une capacité de remplissage bonne et un indice supérieur à 10 s, il y a risque de blocage ou une très mauvaise capacité de passage. L'analyse statistique de mélange a été menée selon un plan d'expériences en faisant varier le rapport (E/P), le rapport (S/G) et le remplacement en filler calcaire. Les équations permettant de formuler un mélange selon un cahier des charges sont présentées.

<strong>Background:</strong> Our ability to consolidate what we learn changes with age. However, little is known about the neurophysiological underpinnings of consolidation of motor learning in ageing. This is largely because studies have repeatedly demonstrated a deficit in sleep-dependent consolidation of motor learning in older adults. This thesis aims to reassess commonly held assumptions about consolidation in ageing, as well as to examine the neurophysiological and neurochemical mechanisms that support the learning and consolidation processes. <strong>Methods:</strong> Most of the studies in this thesis are based on the design of a novel whole-hand task for use in older adults, which reduces dependency on fine motor skill. This thesis adopts a number of converging measures to examine learning and memory including electroencephalograhy (EEG), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), actigraphy recordings, as well as behavioural and self-reported measures of sleep. <strong>Results:</strong> Findings show significant improvements in learning with the adapted motor task in older adults. Importantly, this task reveals significant sleep- dependent enhancements in older adults, which are comparable to those seen in younger controls. Functional changes in sleep architecture with ageing show overall decline in slow wave sleep. Sleep-dependent improvements were specifically associated with activity in stage 3 slow wave sleep and increased hemispheric differences regardless of age. Changes in GABA concentrations with learning on a visuomotor tracking task showed marked variability across participants, and no clear associations were found between GABA and consolidation. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> The evidence presented in this thesis highlight the complex dynamics underlying sleep consolidation, and challenges a commonly held assumption about consolidation in older adults. Specifically, the studies presented here show that observed declines in motor consolidation with ageing may be contaminated by age-related deficits fine motor skill. By removing such kinematic constraints, it was possible to detect marked improvements in motor performance also in older adults despite age-related changes in sleep architecture.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: On 27 September 2010, the much anticipated entry of Walmart to the South African retail sector was announced. Walmart Stores Incorporated publicised that they would make a non-binding offer of R148 per share for the entire number of Massmart Holding’s outstanding shares. The offer presented a premium of 19.2 percent and valued Massmart at R31 billion rand. Walmart later altered the offer to purchase 51 percent of the outstanding shares at the same offer price which Massmart consequently accepted. This concluded the largest investment by an American company, the tenth largest corporate transaction in South Africa and the fifth largest acquisition by Walmart. From a Massmart shareholders’ perspective, was it the correct decision to accept Walmart’s offer? Academic literature suggests that most mergers and acquisitions fail to live up to their expectations and ultimately fail to create shareholder value. Some of the most common reasons listed are the failure to determine the fair market value of an acquisition and engaging in mergers and acquisitions for the wrong reasons. Another common pitfall is that valuation methods in general do not link the company’s strategy to the valuation process, to assess the potential impact of the merger or acquisition on company performance. This case study based research report analyses the Walmart-Massmart acquisition to review Walmart’s offer price. The analysis links both companies’ business model and strategy to the valuation process, to determine the outcome on shareholder value within Massmart following the acquisition.