Mothers have been involved with early childhood centres since their inception. Apart from obvious benefits for their children this liaison has also been important for mothers through gains in parenting knowledge, increased confidence and personal wellbeing. The present study argues that this is pertinent to appropriate and focused support being crucial for mothers at the life stage of adjustment to early parenting when disruption of networks has occurred. As well, it reflects the responsibility of institutions such as early childhood centres to fulfil these needs in a society where traditional support has fragmented. The study was designed to explore ways in which support mechanisms operated in four different early childhood services, through the medium of interviews. The unique findings in the study culminated in six propositions that showed support to be a product of mothers’ own activity in building relationships and contributing to their centre community. At the same time irrespective of service type all centres operated upon the basis of both formal and informal systems of support. Consequently, whilst mothers’ activities were most favoured by socially co-operative environments, they were opportunists in both systems. However, of major concern was that the informal systems were the most effective, as the statement of Desirable Objectives and Practices (Ministry of Education, 1996) exhorts staff to consider parent interactions as partnerships and The Strategic Plan for Early Childhood Education (Ministry of Education, 2002) has a vision of socially co-operative practices. Teachers rather than being unwilling to establish more collaborative styles of leadership were hampered by a lack of confidence in working with parents. Difficulties were the consequence of professional attitudes to trained knowledge, unmodified by the benefits of training to facilitate adults. Addressing these issues will not only help teachers to develop more collaborative systems that will facilitate support for mothers, but it will also ensure partnerships that make better use of their services to the mutual benefit of early childhood centre communities.

This thesis sets out to evaluate the role of consumer spaces in twentieth-century daily life. It is not concerned with the act of consumption but rather with the ways in which the social, cultural and educative role of the retail spaces is used as a marketing tool. The links that have been established between civic and commercial space over the last three hundred years are charted in order to locate the reasoning behind the growing tendency to design shopping malls as social and cultural spaces in the twentieth century. Three principal benefits to developers of the retails spaces from the promotion of consumer spaces as public spaces are identified in the thesis. First, links between the public and commercial developed to encourage potential customers into a particular retail space as opposed to its competition. Second, consumer spaces are developed as social and leisure spaces to encourage consumer loyalty. That is, they are developed as a means of encouraging repeat visits. Third, they are developed as a tactic to keep potential shoppers in the retail space for a longer duration. The logic behind this strategy being the more time spent in a consumer space the more goods purchased. The origins of this merchandising practice are traced back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries well before the advent of the department store form. The thesis located a number of strategies developed in the seventeenth century by tradesmen and merchants to sell their wares. At this time, it is evident that the consumer space was opened up to the public who were encouraged to enter without the obligation to purchase. Further, it is evident that, by the eighteenth century, shopkeepers and manufacturers' workshops included showrooms where potential customers could sit and take tea. Public spaces were also designed within the retail space so that potential customers could see and be seen. British shopkeepers often linked the retail space with the social practice of promenading by strategically situating their premises in an already established thoroughfare or site used for promenading. By the late eighteenth century, consumer spaces housed entertainment facilities such as art galleries, exhibitions and lounging rooms. After tracing the development of this merchandising strategy to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the links that can be made between twentieth-century consumer spaces is examined. In addition, the early developments of shopping centres in the 1940s and 1950s are surveyed and their developmental logic and merchandising strategies are compared with more recent forms of shopping malls developed from the 1970s and 1980s.

This research thesis investigates news journalists?? role in the promotion and protection of peace and human rights. I explore how news journalists do not just have the ability, through the discursive selections they make, to be a catalyst for peace and non-violent solutions, it is their obligation under international human rights. My study links arguments about universal ethics for media based on international human rights with the practical and analytical approach of ??peace journalism??. The main argument rests on the idea that objectivity or impartiality in news journalism does not equal ethical neutrality since there is always a discursive selection made by the news journalists. In order to monitor whether news journalists discursive selections comply with the international human rights obligations, I have explored how the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC) report A Last Resort? were covered in three Australian newspapers when it was published in 2004. The HREOC report was a testament of human rights abuses by the Australian Federal Governments towards children in Australian detention centres. I establish that health professionals were a significant group for both HREOC??s main findings and recommendations and a key group for the contextualisation of the human rights violations explored and exposed in the HREOC report. Informed by conflict analysis and peace studies theories I argue HREOC establish how the detention policy equals ??structural violence?? that caused ??direct violence??, which was justified and normalised because ??cultural violence??. I use discourse analysis to explore the discursive selections in the newspapers, and establish that the report received limited coverage and health professionals were omitted in the news while the political conflict was reported. This trivialised the report and health professionals?? role, which led to the naturalisation and normalisation of the violence. I finally reinforce these finding by exploring alternatives to the coverage using a peace journalism framework, which further clarifies the subjective nature of the discursive selection.

Call Centres represent one of the fastest growing industries today. In a competitive business environment the service delivered by Call Centre operators needs to be quantified and this is achieved through Electronic Performance Monitoring (EPM). This study considered the effects of EPM, and related factors such as job control, task complexity, performance, goal-setting and feedback, on the job satisfaction, organisational commitment and work stress, of Call Centre operators. The impact of these factors on staff turnover, which media reports suggest is very high for many Call Centres, was also considered. A total of 388 participants (265 females, 123 males) completed a voluntary self-report questionnaire. All participants were Call Centre operators who were working in one of 27 call centres across Australia in a variety of industries, including Banking & Finance, IT, Employment, Insurance and Telecommunications. All operators were working in an electronically monitored environment. Regression and path analyses revealed age, that is younger employees, and job dissatisfaction to be the only variables that predicted staff turnover. A positive perception of EPM was predicted by a positive perception of both goal-setting and feedback. It was concluded that while staff turnover was high in the current sample, it was not associated with perceptions of EPM, and other factors appeared to be more important.

The aim of this thesis is to provide a framework, background material and argument for the A.C.T. Aboriginal community and other Aboriginal educational and cultural groups to develop submissions seeking funds for Aboriginal Studies Resource Centres. The ACT Aboriginal Education Consultative Group has given the thesis a definite focus and underlined the importance of gaining Aboriginal, systemic and political support. The study includes both theoretical and empirical components and practical suggestions as to the organisation and activities of such a centre. The early part of the study is devoted to providing background to an Aboriginal Studies Resource Centre, it also covers the formation and development of the A.C.T. Aboriginal Education Consultative Group. Following the outlining of the aims and objectives of such a centre, theoretical issues concerned with selection and organisation of centre materials, the need for interpretation of objectives and the understanding of values together with curriculum implications and learning activities of an Aboriginal studies resource centre are discussed. Two major thrusts in these discussions are that Aboriginal people must be involved and the question of values must be considered because human behaviour depends on values, and behavioural change is regarded as one of the main measures of success. It is intended that while an Aboriginal Studies resource centre should concentrate on its local area, it should draw materials from other parts of Australia and the world, so that the local area can be placed in context. It is envisaged that the materials would come from a wide range of disciplines. The A.C.T. Centre will endeavour to increase the comprehension of A.C.T. Aborigines and non-Aborigines in matters Aboriginal, and will follow a philosophy which holds that learning is the discovery of meaning or understanding. A range of learning activities, including hands on experiences are outlined. The functions of the Centre are described and the involvement of Aborigines and non-Aborigines at all levels is discussed. Evaluation of the Centre's success or otherwise will take cognisance of its objectives and involve a range of outcomes. It is acknowledged that success will be difficult to measure because of different amounts of student time spent at the Centre and teacher and student expectations. The thesis concludes that Aboriginal studies has not achieved its rightful place in Australian education and that an Aboriginal Studies Resource Centre would provide the material and human resources required for Aboriginal studies to take its proper place in Australian education.

Four tumour active trinuclear complexes: DH4Cl: [{trans-PtCl(NH3)2}2m-{trans-Pd( NH3)2(H2N(CH2)4NH2)2]Cl4, DH5Cl: [{trans-PtCl(NH3)2}2m-{trans-Pd( NH3)2(H2N(CH2)5NH2)2]Cl4, DH6Cl: [{trans-PtCl(NH3)2}2m-{trans-Pd( NH3)2(H2N(CH2)6NH2)2]Cl4, DH7Cl: [{trans-PtCl(NH3)2}2m-{trans-Pd(NH3)2-( H2N(CH2)7NH2)2]Cl4 and one dinuclear complex DHD: [{trans-PtCl(NH3)2}�-{ H2N(CH2)6NH2}{trans-PdCl(NH3)2]Cl(NO3), have been prepared and characterised based on elemental analyses, IR, Raman, mass and 1 H NMR spectral measurements. For the trinuclear complexes, the synthesis has been carried out using a step-up method branching out from the central palladium unit. A purity of about 95% has been obtained by repeated dissolution and precipitation. The activity against human cancer cell lines including ovary cell lines: A2780, A2780 cisR , A2780 ZD0473R , non small lung cell line: NCI-H640 and melanoma: Me-10538 have been determined based on MMT assay. Cell uptakes, DNA-binding have been determined for ovary cell lines: A2780, A2780 cisR . The nature of interaction with pBR322 plasmid DNA and ssDNA has been studied for trinuclear complexes DH4Cl, DH5Cl, DH6Cl and DH7Cl and the dinuclear complex DHD. Interaction of DH6Cl with adenine and guanine has also been studied by HPLC. The compounds are found to exhibit significant anticancer activity against cancer cell lines especially ovarian cancer cell lines: A2780, A2780 cisR and A2780 ZD0473R . DH6Cl in which the linking diamine has six carbon atoms is found to be the most active compound. As the number of carbon atoms in thelinking diamine is changed from the optimum value of six, the activity is found to decrease, illustrating the structure-activity relationship. The increase in uptake of the trinuclear complexes in A2780 cell line with the increase in size of the linking diamine coupled with the low molar conductivity values found for the solutions of the compounds suggest that the compounds would remain in solution as undissociated �molecules� and hence could cross the cell membrane by passive diffusion. Much lower resistance factors for the all the multinuclear compounds including DHD as applied to A2780 cisR cell line, as compared to that for cisplatin, suggest that the compounds are able to overcome multiple mechanisms of resistance operating in the cell line. All of the multinuclear complexes are expected to form long-range interstrand GG adducts with DNA, causing irreversible global changes in the DNA conformation but unlike cisplatin do not cause sufficient DNA bending to be recognized by HMG 1 protein. Increasing prevention of BamH1 digestion with the increase in concentration of the multinuclear compounds also provide support to the idea that the compounds because of the formation of a plethora of interstrand GG adducts are able to cause irreversible changes in DNA conformation. The results of the study show that indeed new trinuclear tumour active compounds can be found by replacing the central platinum unit in BBR3464 with other suitable metal units.

Un réseau complexe est un réseau d'interactions entre entités dont on ne peut pas déduire le comportement global à partir des comportements individuels desdites entités, d'où l'émergence de nouvelles propriétés. Notre problème est l'analyse et la modélisation de ces réseaux. L' analyse nécessite un formalisme englobant à la fois structure (approche statique) et fonction (approche dynamique), afin d'avoir une meilleure compréhension des caractéristiques de ces réseaux. En premier lieu, nous présentons dans cette thèse les modélisations utilisées jusqu'à présent et basées sur la théorie des graphes, sensées simuler le comportement des réseaux complexes. En analysant les faiblesses de ces modèles quant à une représentation convaincante des réseaux du monde réel (réseaux sociaux, informatiques, biologiques, ...), nous apportons une définition formelle générale d'un réseau par le biais de la théorie de la prétopologie, laquelle permet d'exprimer au mieux la dynamique de ces systèmes. Associée à cette définition, nous proposons une série de structures de données permettant de développer toute une algorithmique autour du modèle. En second lieu, nous proposons de nouveaux algorithmes d'analyse basés sur la classification d'éléments et la recherche d'éléments centraux, afin de fournir des outils d'aide à la décision puissants. Enfin nous présentons une librairie logicielle permettant la mise en oeuvre de simulations efficaces de tout modèle basé sur la théorie de la prétopologie.

Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Thesis (M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

<p>According to the United Nations, more than half a billion people (about 650 million) worldwide are disabled. Disability can have a vast impact on both the individual and the family. Rehabilitation is therefore a fundamental need for the persons with disability to achieve functional independence and have an improved quality of life. To enhance the effectiveness of rehabilitation, it is important to seek clients&rsquo / perspectives of the rehabilitation services and to incorporate these perspectives into the planning and delivery of rehabilitation services. In areas where rehabilitation services are available in South Africa, minimal research has been done to explore the clients&rsquo / experiences regarding provision of these services. The aim of this study&nbsp / therefore was to explore the persons with physical disabilities&rsquo / experiences of the rehabilitation services they received at community health centres (CHCs) in the Cape Town Metro Health&nbsp / District. Data was collected using a mixed methods design in the form of a sequential exploratory strategy. Qualitative data collection was done using in-depth interviews and this was followed&nbsp / by administration of an interview questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed using results from the in-depth interviews together with information from literature. Ten persons with physical&nbsp / isabilities, who had received rehabilitation services at participated in the in-depth interviews and 95 responded to the interview questionnaire. The interviews were tape-recorded and&nbsp / transcribed verbatim and they were analysed using predetermined themes. The SPSS version 16.0 was used to analyse the quantitative data which was presented in frequencies, medians, quartiles and percentages. The results&nbsp / of the study revealed that the participants experienced problems with getting transport to travel to the community health centres and getting adequate information from the service providers,&nbsp / &nbsp / particularly information regarding disability and support services available for them. Experiences regarding participants&rsquo / involvement in their rehabilitation were generally positive. Generally, the&nbsp / participants reported positive experiences regarding their interaction with service providers and family support and involvement and this study recommends the staff to maintain their standards&nbsp / &nbsp / regarding these two dimensions of rehabilitation. However most of the participants were not concerned about whether the service providers gave them an opportunity to express their preferences or not. The results indicate the need to improve transport services for persons with physical disabilities and to give them more information regarding support services. The service providers&nbsp / should also give the clients more opportunities to get involved in their rehabilitation and educate them about the benefits of them getting involved.</p>