Outcomes Based Education (OBE), has been, since its inception, fraught with problems. OBE in its very nature is complex. To fully embrace this method and ensure its success, schools must be able to make the necessary paradigm shift. This can only be achieved when schools receive relevant and empowering training, support and development. In other words, organisational development must be the key words. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of organisational development interventions on the implementation of OBE. The case study method was employed where it was realised that schools that received organisational development interventions, together with Outcomes Based Education, were able to implement this method with greater understanding, skill, and confidence. The investigation recommends an organisational development design that could be used instead of the cascade model, and provides suggestions on what can be done to ensure a more successful implementation process. / Educational Studies / M. Ed (Education Management)

O Presente trabalho propôs o estudo de reações fotonucleares e fotoprodução de pions em energias intermediárias e altas usando o modelo de cascata intranuclear MCMC para a fase rápida de reação e outro algoritmo de Monte Carlo para descrever o processo de decaimento do núcleo composto via evaporação de partículas e fissão nuclear. Dentre as principais inovações implementadas no MCMC, podemos citar: i) a inclusão detalhada do canal do quase-dêuteron no intervalo 20 < Eg < 140 MeV; ii) o desenvolvimento inédito e rigoroso de um mecanismo de bloqueio de Pauli não-estocástico, avaliando as excitações partícula-buraco em tempo real na fase de pré-equilíbrio; iii) a incorporação de um critério energético de parada para a cascata; iv) a utilização de distribuições de momento apropriadas para núcleos leves (Modelo de Camadas), v) a inclusão de canais de fotoprodução do pi^0 na região da Delta (1232) e em altas energias 4,0 < Eg < 6,0 GeV e ângulos frontais e, vi) a metodologia inédita para avaliar as interações de estado final de mésons e ressonâncias com o núcleo via cenário de espalhamentos múltiplos. O mecanismo do quase-dêuteron reproduz satisfatoriamente as seções de choque totais de fotoabsorção e as multiplicidades médias de nêutrons emitidos em núcleos pesados, interpretando qualitativamente as seções de choque para os canais de eletrodesintegração (e,xnyp) do 232Th. A contribuição de um possível processo de fotoabsorção por poucos corpos no 232Th é analisada via canal de fotofissão. Os cálculos das distribuições angulares na fotoprodução incoerente do pi^0 para o 12C e 208Pb em energias intermediárias estão em ótimo acordo com dados experimentais obtidos no Microtron de Mainz (MAMI). Os resultados para as seções de choque das distribuições angulares do pi^0 em altas energias servirão como referência na Colaboração PrimEx no Jefferson Laboratory Facility, propiciando a separação da parte incoerente das demais contribuições nucleares e eletromagnéticas e auxiliando na determinação precisa da meia-vida do decaimento radiativo pi^0 --> GG. / Photonuclear reactions and pion photoproduction at intermediate and high energies have been studied using the multicollisional intranuclear cascade model (MCMC) for the rapid reaction step and another Monte Carlo algorithm to describe the de-excitation of the compound nucleus via particle evaporation and nuclear fission. The new features of the MCMC are: i) the detailed inclusion of the quasideuteron channel in the range 20 < Eg < 140 MeV; ii) the development of a rigorous and completely new non stochastic Pauli blocking mechanism, taking into account particle - hole excitations during the pre-equilibrium stage; iii) the incorporation of an energetic criterion to stop de cascade; iv) the employment of an appropriate momentum distribution for light nuclei (Shell Model); v) the inclusion of pi^0 photoproduction channels in the Delta (1232) region and at high energies 4.0 < Eg < 6.0 GeV and forward angles, and vi) the new methodology to evaluate the pion-nucleus and Delta - nucleus Final State Interactions via a multiple scattering scenario. The quasideuteron mechanism reproduces the total photoabsorption cross sections and neutron multiplicities in heavy nuclei, giving a qualitative interpretation for the cross sections of the electrodisintegration channels (e,xnyp) from 232Th. The contribution of a possible few body photoabsorption process in 232Th is evaluated via fission channel. The calculations of the pi^0 angular distributions for incoherent production at intermediate energies for 12C and 208Pb are in excellent agreement with the experimental data of the Mainz Microtron (MAMI). The results of the pi^0 angular distributions at higher energies will be reference for the PrimEx Collaboration at the Jefferson Laboratory Facility, propitiating the separation of the incoherent part from the remaining nuclear and electromagnetic contributions and helping to perform a high precision measurement of the pi^0 to gamma-gamma radiactive decay width.

The field of urban hydrology is in need of high temporal resolution data series in order to effectively model and analyse existing and future trends in extreme precipitation. When high resolution data sets are, for any number of reasons, not available for a given location, the technique of disaggregation using a random cascade model can be applied. Previous studies have demonstrated the relevance of random cascades in the context of rainfall data disaggregation with temporal resolutions usually down to 1 hour. In this study, an attempt at disaggregation to a resolution of 1 minute was made. Using newly disaggregated rainfall data for different regions in Sweden, the possibility of clustering rain events into separate regional hyetographs was investigated. The random cascade model was calibrated using existing municipal rainfall data with a temporal resolution of 1 minute, in order to disaggregate continuous 15 minutes data series provided by the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI). The disaggregation process was then performed in multiple stochastic realisations, in order to correct the uncertainties inherent to the random cascade model. The disaggregation results were assessed by comparing them with calibration data: two main rainfall parameters, EV and ED, were analysed by determining their behaviours and distribution. The possibility of transfering calibration parameters from one station to another was also assessed in a similar manner, again by studying EV &amp; ED for different scenarios. Finally, hyetographs were clustered, compared and contrasted, in order to ascertain previously theorized differences between regions. This research showed the feasibility of applying a random cascade model to very high temporal resolutions in Sweden, while replicating rainfall characteristics from the calibration data quite well. The analysis of the spatial transferability of calibration parameters yielded inconclusive results, as rainfall characteristics were preserved in some cases but failed in others. Lastly, distinct regional differences in hyetographs were noted, but no clear conclusions could be drawn owing to the delimitations of this study. / Inom småskalig hydrologisk modellering finns det idag ett behov av dataserier med hög tidsupplösning för att effektivt kunna modellera och analysera både aktuella och kommande trender hos extrema regnhändelser. När högupplösta dataserier är otillgängliga vid en önskad mätplats kan disaggregering med hjälp av en slumpmässig kaskadmodell tillämpas. Tidigare forskning har visat att kaskadmodeller är användbara för disaggregering av regndata med en tidsupplösning av 1 timme. I denna studie disaggregerades dataserier med syftet att uppnå en tidsupplösningav av 1 minut. För att kunna analysera eventuella skillnader mellan regioner klustrades även hyetografer med de framtagna dataserierna. Den slumpmässiga kaskadmodellen kalibrerades med befintlig kommunal data med en tidsupplösning på 1 minut, för att sedan kunna disaggregera 15 minuters data från SMHIs databaser. Disaggregeringen genomfördes i ett antal olika stokastiska realisationer för att kunna ta hänsyn till, och korrigera, de inneboende osäkerheterna i den slumpmässiga kaskadmodellen. Disaggregeringsresultaten bedömdes genom en jämförelse med kalibreringsdata: två regnegenskaper, regnvaraktighet (ED) och regnvolym (EV), analyserades för att kunna bestämma derasfördelningar och beteenden. Kalibreringsparametrarnas överförbarhet analyserades också med hjälp av ED &amp; EV för olika scenarier. Slutligen klustrades hyetografer för att fastställa potentiella skillnader mellan regioner. Studien påvisade möjligheten att använda en slumpmässig kaskadmodell till höga tidsupplösningar i Sverige. Modellen lyckades återskapa regnegenskaper från kalibreringsdata vid disaggregeringen. Möjligheten att överföra kalibreringsparametrar från en station till en annan visade sig dock inte vara helt övertygande: regnegenskaper återskapades endast i vissa fall, men inte i samtliga. Slutligen konstaterades regionala skillnader i hyetografer, men tydliga slutsatser kunde inte dras på grund av underliggande begränsningar med studien.

This diploma thesis is thematically oriented towards early theories of public opinion of the late 19th century. Concretely, it deals with the theories of Alexis de Tocqueville, John Stuart Mill and James Bryce. The thesis presents an analysis, interpretation and a comparison of these three thinkers and concentrates on the following topics: the definition of the term "public opinion"; the formation of public opinion; the influence individuals, groups and society as a whole have on public opinion; and the role the media play in public opinion. Further, it shows how these authors' thoughts are continued in selected 20th century theories of public opinion, namely in Walter Lippmann's concept of public opinion, the Two-step flow model developed by Elihu Katz and Paul Lazarsfeld, Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's Spiral of Silence, Irving Crespi's theory of the Public Opinion Process and Giovanni Sartori's "cascade model" of public opinion. Key words: public opinion, media, Two-step flow model, Spiral of Silence, Public Opinion Process, cascade model of public opinion, Alexis de Tocqeuville, John Stuart Mill, James Bryce, W. Lippmann, E. Katz, P. Lazarsfeld, E. Noelle-Neumann, I. Crespi, G. Sartori

Decision making for fast-moving consumer goods involves a choice between numerous similar alternatives. Under such demanding circumstances, a decision is made for one product. The decision is dependent on the interaction between the environment and the mind of the consumer, both of which are filled with information that can influence the outcome. The aim of this dissertation is to explore how the mind and the environment guides attention towards considered and chosen products in consumer decision making at the point-of-purchase. Consumers are equipped with several effort reduction strategies to simplify complex decision making. The selection of strategies can be conscious or automatic and driven by information in the environment or the mind of the decision maker. The selected decision strategy reduces the set of options to one alternative in an iterative process of comparisons that are fast and rely on perceptual cues to quickly exclude irrelevant products. This thesis uses eye-tracking to explore this rapid processing that lacks conscious access or control. The purpose is to explore how product packaging and placement (as in-store factors), and recognition, preferences, and choice task (as out-of-store factors) influence the decision-making process through visual attention. The results of the 10 experiments in the five papers that comprise this thesis shed new light on the role of visual attention in the interaction between the environment and the mind, and its influence on the consumer. It is said that consumers choose with their eyes, which means that unseen is unsold. The results of this thesis show that it is just as important to be comprehended as it is to be seen. In split-second decision making, the ability to recognize and comprehend a product can significantly impact preferences. Comprehension stretches beyond perception as consumers infer value from memory structures that influence attention. Hence, the eye truly sees what the mind is prepared to comprehend.

This study deals with the impact of educational policy on the National Senior Certificate: Pre-1994 and Post democracy South African case. The qualitative approach was used in this study, and the research findings were based on the analysis of documents. The transition from apartheid education to the present education system in South Africa has not been without challenges. In the past, South African education reflected the fragmented society in which it was based. Outcomes based education (OBE)/Curriculum 2005 (C2005), since its inception, was riddled with challenges. OBE/C2005 by its nature is complex. It is not user-friendly for developing countries such as South Africa. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of educational policies on the 2008 National Senior Certificate results. Historical-educational research is undertaken with the view of putting the education phenomenon into proper perspective. Venter (1985) is of the opinion that historical education investigation refers to the systematic placing of historical education variables in the spotlight. The general, continual pedagogical and fundamental problems are accentuated against the multiplicity of historical detail. This then makes historical-educational research an orderly (systematic and controlled) process of knowledge enrichment (Venter & Van Heerden 1989:106). The National Senior Certificate was established in terms of National Education Act 27 of 1996. Curriculum 2005 has been described in policy documents as a “paradigm shift” because it represents a radical departure from the previous curriculum in terms of the following: theoretical underpinnings, structure and organisation, teaching and learning process, and assessment (South Africa, Department of Education 1997:1). Pre-1994, the researcher discovered that the education of black people in rural areas in particular and South Africa in general was, in most instances, negatively impacted by policies of the previous government (1948-1953). The apartheid government used poor funding models to ensure that there were low teacher-pupil ratios and teacher qualifications were of unequal standard. Unequal pattern of spending continued well into the post-1994 democratic era. This poor funding model which impacted negatively on rural schools made infrastructural provision in rural areas difficult. Post -1994 democratic dispensation, the researcher discovered that the government have competitive legislative policies in place, but the challenges lay in the fact that those policies were impulsively implemented. Hence the many challenges. This is shown by the frequency of curriculum changes which took place in a very short space of time. Stakeholders played a major role in insuring that schools received quality service by challenging some of the decisions the government was taking. The government has had to take the recommendations into account. / Public Administration and Management / M.Admin. (Public Administration)