Data centres lie at the heart of almost every service on the Internet. Data centres are used to provide search results, to power social media, to store and index email, to host “cloud” applications, for online retail and to provide a myriad of other web services. Consequently the more efficient they can be made the better for all of us. The power of modern data centres is in combining commodity off-the-shelf server hardware and network equipment to provide what Google’s Barrosso and Ho ̈lzle describe as “warehouse scale” computers. Data centres rely on TCP, a transport protocol that was originally designed for use in the Internet. Like other such protocols, TCP has been optimised to maximise throughput, usually by filling up queues at the bottleneck. However, for most applications within a data centre network latency is more critical than throughput. Consequently the choice of transport protocol becomes a bottleneck for performance. My thesis is that the solution to this is to move away from the use of one-size-fits-all transport protocols towards ones that have been designed to reduce latency across the data centre and which can dynamically respond to the needs of the applications. This dissertation focuses on optimising the transport layer in data centre networks. In particular I address the question of whether any single transport mechanism can be flexible enough to cater to the needs of all data centre traffic. I show that one leading protocol (DCTCP) has been heavily optimised for certain network conditions. I then explore approaches that seek to minimise latency for applications that care about it while still allowing throughput-intensive applications to receive a good level of service. My key contributions to this are Silo and Trevi. Trevi is a novel transport system for storage traffic that utilises fountain coding to max- imise throughput and minimise latency while being agnostic to drop, thus allowing storage traffic to be pushed out of the way when latency sensitive traffic is present in the network. Silo is an admission control system that is designed to give tenants of a multi-tenant data centre guaranteed low latency network performance. Both of these were developed in collaboration with others.

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Magister Artium - MA / The aim of the study is to prove that a correlation exist between job satisfaction and the levels of absenteeism, turnover, performance and customer satisfaction. Data were collected using the Job Satisfaction Survey which is a self-administered questionaire to measure job satisfaction of call centre representatives. Additional data were collected using the company's existing measures for measuring absenteeism, turnover, performance and customer satisfaction. The study found a relationship between job satisfaction and performance, between job satisfaction and turnover and between job satisfaction and customer service. However, no relationship was found between job satisfaction and absenteeism, which is consistent with previous studies. / South Africa

Magister Artium - MA / South Africa is recognised as having world-class status in the call centre arena and this industry has grown exponentially in the last two decades, as has the number of women entering the workforce, including married and single mothers. Call centres provide a 24/7 service to the public, and therefore employees are expected to work shifts in this environment. It is also evident that even though mothers are making a significant contribution to the workforce, the role of the working mother is still that of primary caregiver and nurturer in the home. The main purpose of this study was to examine and compare the psychological well-being of single and married mothers, who do and do not work shifts in a call centre environment. The study findings were based on quantitative research in a call centre in the Western Cape, South Africa, with a sample of 192 single and married working mothers, of whom 135 mothers worked shifts and 57 mothers did not. Psychological well-being was indicated by the use of two instruments: Rosenberg‟s(1965) Self-esteem Scale and Diener‟s (1982) Satisfaction with Life Scale. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package in the Social Sciences (SPSS version 20). The analysis of the data included the use of descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings of the study show that marital status has a significant effect on the psychological well-being of working mothers in this call centre environment. However, it was found that shift work did not make a significant difference to the psychological well-being of the working mothers in this call centre. The Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used to analyse the interaction of the four groups (single, married, shift working and non-shift working mothers) and the results of this analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the interaction between the groups.Recommendations are provided in the study.

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / Child and Youth Care Workers employed in residential Child and Youth Care Centres are often challenged by the behaviour of children in their care. The goal of the study was therefore to explore and describe the challenges faced by Child and Youth Care Workers with regard to the discipline of children with challenging behaviour in Child and Youth Care Centres. A qualitative research approach employing explorative, descriptive and contextual designs were followed. Participants were selected by means of purposive sampling from four Child and Youth Care Centres from four different metropoles in the Cape Peninsula. Data was collected by means of focus groups with the aid of an interview schedule. The interviews were be recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analysed according to Tesch (in Creswell, 2003) eight steps of data analysis. Ethical considerations such as informed consent, confidentiality and debriefing were adhered to. The findings of the study pointed inter alia to the fact that CYCWs are the first line disciplinarians that they need more support with regards to the discipline of children from colleagues, management and social workers. Multi-disciplinary in CYCCs teams tend to be ineffective and they experience disempowerment from the management and social workers. In addition, they are challenged by the behaviour of children in their care, such as truancy, stealing, absconding, aggressiveness, inappropriate sexual behaviour, development problems. Recommendations for all the stakeholders in the field of CYC were made to improve service delivery.

The service sector in the world economy is growing and becomes increasingly important. It is widely recognised that the success and vitality of the service sector are the essential factors in measuring an economy’s progress, its quality and its future. Improving service quality is therefore considered an essential strategy for success and survival in today’s competitive economic environment. Small businesses are equally important for a country’s economy. They play an important role in the economic and social development of countries. The correct location for small businesses can contribute to their success and, many consider shopping centres as a good location for their businesses. The landlords however, have a huge impact on small business tenants’ success in shopping centres. Although landlords of shopping centres realise the importance of accommodating small independent businesses in their centres, it is argued that they are at a competitive disadvantage regarding the service they receive in comparison with that of bigger anchor tenants. There are several research studies on the measurement of service quality in several service sectors, but none has addressed the quality of service rendered by landlords of shopping centres to their small business tenants. The purpose of this study is to measure the perceived service quality that small business tenants in shopping centres receive from landlords. The study will also determine whether the existing SERVPERF and FAIRSERV service quality models will be suitable to measure the service quality that landlords render to small business tenants. The findings of the empirical study have revealed that small business tenants in shopping centres are in general dissatisfied with the service that they receive from their landlords. Factor analysis was done to determine the factors or dimensions of service quality that small business tenants deemed as important. From this study it became clear that small business tenants in shopping centres are concerned about mainly two aspects of the service they receive from landlords, namely intangible aspects as well as marketing and tangible aspects. This study has therefore proved that the five dimensions of SERVPERF and the one dimension of FAIRSERV cannot be applied directly to measure the perceived service quality that small business tenants receive from their landlords. The One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was also executed to illustrate statistical differences between various variables. The contribution of this study to the science, as well as its possible limitations and areas for future research, is also discussed. This study further shows that, although small business tenants are dissatisfied with the service they receive from landlords, they have indicated that they will stay on as tenants in the centres. The reason for this is that it is simply too expensive for them to move to another location and also because shopping centres are good locations for their businesses. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Business Management / unrestricted

Parmi les minorités présentes au Canada, les communautés Premières Nations ont longtemps vécu et continuent à vivre des expériences qui les placent aux marges de la société canadienne. Récemment pourtant, une éclaircie est apparue, notamment en ce qui concerne les Centres Jeunesse au Québec. Des dispositifs ont ainsi été mis en place pour aider les intervenants à prendre des décisions qui prennent davantage en compte les réalités culturelles des communautés Premières Nations. Dans ce contexte, nous avons trouvé intéressant d’observer un de ces dispositifs pour comprendre où, quand et comment la culture Anishinaabeg des Premières Nations apparaît dans les décisions des intervenants quand ils sont confrontés à des situations de compromission et ce, aux stades de l’orientation et de l’application des mesures prises dans ce type de dossier. À partir d’une approche ethnométhodologique de notre matériau empirique (entretiens et observations participantes), nous avons ainsi pu tirer cinq grands enseignements au sujet du processus décisionnel qui est suivi en matière de compromission (par processus décisionnel, nous n’entendons pas les décisions liées à l’évaluation du dossier mais seulement celles qui touchent à l’orientation et à l’application des mesures prises dans ledit dossier) : 1) La culture Anishinaabeg des Premières Nations prend différents visages selon l’acteur professionnel qui la mobilise et le contexte dans lequel il la mobilise ; 2) La culture Anishinaabeg des Premières Nations joue différents rôles (secondaire ou absent) dans le processus décisionnel en matière de compromission ; 3) Quand la culture Anishinaabeg des Premières Nations joue un rôle informel dans le processus décisionnel en matière de compromission, elle se fait toujours dans une approche différencialiste; 4) Quand la culture « blanche » joue un rôle formel ou informel dans le processus décisionnel en matière de compromission, elle se fait toujours dans une approche normalisante; et 5) Qu’elles soient formelles ou informelles, les approches différencialiste et normalisante présentent des impasses comme des ouvertures.

In a study we conducted with Ontarian women about their abortion experiences (OAS), one third of participants expressed a desire for post-abortion support. Yet, there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that organizations offering these services are using judgmental frameworks. In order to rigorously investigate this, we explored what post-abortion support services are offered across the province of Ontario. This multi-methods study included an analysis of OAS data, creating a directory of post-abortion support services in the province, conducting an analysis of how these services represent themselves online, and carrying out mystery client interactions. We found that the majority of organizations offering post-abortion support services in Ontario are crisis pregnancy centers. The services offered at these organizations are built upon frameworks that are both shaming and stigmatizing of abortion experiences. Efforts to increase the online visibility and overall accessibility of non-judgmental, medically accurate post-abortion support services in Ontario appear warranted.

The Family Service Centres of Greater Vancouver Area is composed of a Main and branch offices. At this time, the Agency is asking whether the service delivery patterns in the Main and branch offices match the characteristics of their respective clients. As a result, this study was undertaken with the following general hypotheses: that there are significant differences between the Main Office, North Shore and Burnaby branches of the Family Service Centres of Greater Vancouver in the characteristics of those requesting service, the nature of their request and the type of approach to the Agency. A cross-sectional survey was made of all persons approaching the Main, Burnaby and North Shore offices during a four week period in October/November, 1967. A data schedule was used by intake personnel to secure information on the total of 411 approaches. Information regarding four variables was sought—socioeconomic status, family life stage, request for service, and type of approach. The Blishen Occupational Class Scale and the Duvall Family Life Stages were used as models. A computer was used in analysing the data. The findings revealed that there were some differences between the three offices in the four variables tested, and that the differences were most marked in socioeconomic class. The general hypothesis was therefore accepted. Further, it was found that generally, the clients came from the lower socioeconomic classes, and that they were child rearing families. Strikingly few aged persons approached the Agency for service. Information/referral was the most requested service in the total sample, and self-referral was found to be the most common type of approach. It is concluded that the Agency should consider varying the service delivery patterns to meet the unique constellation of needs of the clients approaching each office. There are implications also for a general evaluation of services in relation to client characteristics as well as for further research. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This thesis deals with the description and analysis of controlling methods in one unnamed company, which is the subsidiary of multinational corporation. Controlling, its function, objectives and controlling methods are theoretically defined in the thesis. The practical part of the thesis is focused on methods of planning in the company, its system of calculations, responsibility centres and reporting.