Thesis (M.A. (Social Work)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / The aim of the study was to explore the factors that contribute to occupational stress among the fire-fighters employed by the Polokwane Local Municipality, Capricorn District of Limpopo. The study focused on the following variables: working relationships, work load, nature of work, deadlines pressure and work-home balance. The nature of the study is qualitative. The study data was collected from July to September 2015. The researcher interviewed fire-fighters in Polokwane Local Municipality. An in-depth semi-structured interview was utilised as the data collection method. The instrument used in the study was a semi structured interview schedule. Data was thematically analysed. The study findings showed that working relationships, work-load, nature of work, deadline pressure and work-home balance contributed to occupational stress. The study also found that occupational stress had negative effects on both the fire-fighters and their organisation

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the partial requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand Department of African Literature, March 2017 / XL2018

Despite advancements in the development of synthetic fibers and materials that provide better insulation, fire ground burn injuries remain a significant issue. The current test methods for fire fighting clothing were investigated to determine their adequacy in evaluating the actual performance of clothing materials. This investigation uncovered several potential problems with the current test methods. A series of new, small scale, tests were used to evaluate the shortcomings of the current test methods and develop possible improvements. A small test apparatus, designed and donated by Ktech Corporation, was used to measure the thermal properties (thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity) of a series of fire fighting clothing materials. The thermal properties were estimated for single fabric layers, as well as ensembles, with various levels of moisture added to simulate actual end use conditions. In addition, a skin simulant sensor was used to assess the time to 2nd degree burn for exposures similar to those required in current standards for fire fighting clothing. A one dimensional heat conduction model was developed to predict the time to 2nd degree burn for the skin simulant sensor protected with outer shell materials that may be used as wildland fire fighting clothing, using the thermal property data obtained from earlier tests. An alternative method was developed to calculate the time to 2nd degree burn for ensembles evaluated with the new skin simulant sensor. The predictions for the time to 2nd degree burn obtained from the new skin simulant sensor were compared against results obtained using the sensor specified in the current test methods. The predictions for the skin simulant sensor were consistently shorter than those from the current test sensor. The current test sensor predictions for the time to 2nd degree burn were nominally 40% to 50% higher than the predictions from the skin simulant sensor during the evaluations of outer shell materials.

Denna uppsats har som syfte att undersöka om det går att förändra en organisationskultur genom värdegrundsarbete, samt om det är en metod som kan användas för att utmana den mansdominerade kulturen inom räddningstjänsten. För att uppfylla detta syfte har vi utgått från frågeställningarna Hur tolkar brandmännen värdegrunden på Räddningstjänsten Karlstadsregionen? samt Kan värdegrundsarbete vara ett sätt att utmana den mansdominerade kulturen inom Räddningstjänsten?. Den tidigare forskning som gjorts kring värdegrunder är inriktad mot skolverksamhet i första hand vilket gör det intressant att undersöka möjligheten att använda detta som en metod även inom andra verksamheter. Uppsatsen inleds med en teoretisk bakgrund kring organisationskultur, värdegrund samt mansdominerad kultur. Studien är av kvalitativ karaktär och innebär att vi har utfört åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med brandmän på Räddningstjänsten Karlstadsregionen. Att valet föll på denna organisation beror på att de nyligen har tagit fram en värdegrund som styrdokument och har sedan 2012 arbetat med att implementera den i organisationen. Med hjälp av vår teoretiska referensram har vi analyserat resultatet som framkommit av intervjuerna. Resultatet av vår studie visar att det finns en tvetydighet i tolkningen av värdegrunden som delvis kan bero på att ledningen brustit i sitt arbete att förmedla värdegrunden på ett framgångsrikt sätt, samt delvis för att det finns en ovilja bland brandmännen att ta den till sig. Vår undersökning har visat att värderingarna i organisationen behöver synliggöras för att värdegrundsarbete ska kunna användas som en del i arbetet för att förändra en organisationskultur. Inom en mansdominerad kultur som räddningstjänsten är det även viktigt att synliggöra och problematisera den jargong som finns för att kunna nå en förändring.

INTRODUCTION: The combat sports tournaments are divided by rigid strips weight, aiming to balance disputes, minimizing the differences among the competitors. One of the methods for rapid body mass loss is calorie restriction with consequent reduction of carbohydrate, which despite its efficacy has been an area of controversy. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effect of two nutritional strategies for gradual loss of body mass with different proportions of carbohydrates among Jiu Jitsu practitioners. METHODS: Study of clinical type, with 18 practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for two months with dietary intervention 28 days, the sample was divided into two groups (reduction of carbohydrate - R-CHO and appropriate carbohydrate - A-CHO). They assessed the nutritional status, body composition, psychological state, hormonal parameters and physical tests, and dietary monitoring. The statistical analysis used was a two-way ANOVA, with the significance level of p = 0.05. RESULTS: Most practitioners (88.9%) in both groups were able to obtain the loss of body mass with fitness category (> 3%), and the consequent decrease in BMI and body fat percentage, without using dehydration. The power of the lower limbs was significantly greater after nutritional intervention for R-CHO group (Δ = 0,030). In relation to hormone data was increased T4 to R-CHO (Δ = 0,553) group and decreased Free T4 for group ACHO (Δ = -0,081). In relation to diet adherence monitoring, both groups decreased daily calories, and only the R-CHO group had a significant decrease in carbohydrate without decreasing frequency of training and without a change in mood. CONCLUSION: Participants undergo a diet with reduced carbohydrate and regular training, got lost effective body mass without negative change in physical performance and minimizing hormonal changes. / INTRODUÇÃO: Os esportes de combate nos torneios são divididos por faixas rígidas de peso, visando equilibrar as disputas, minimizando as diferenças entre os competidores. Um dos métodos para perda de massa corporal rápida é a restrição calórica com consequente diminuição do carboidrato, que apesar da sua eficácia tem sido uma área de controvérsia. OBJETIVO: analisar o efeito de duas estratégias nutricionais para perda de massa corporal gradual com diferentes proporções de carboidratos entre praticantes de Jiu jitsu. MÉTODOS: Estudo do tipo clínico, com 18 praticantes de Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, durante dois meses com intervenção dietética de 28 dias, a amostra foi dividida em dois grupos (redução de carboidrato – R-CHO e adequado carboidrato - A-CHO). Foram avaliados o estado nutricional, composição corporal, estado psicológico, parâmetros hormonais e testes físicos, além de monitoramento dietético. A análise estatística utilizada foi a Anova two-way, tendo como nível de significância p≤0,05. RESULTADOS: A maioria dos praticantes (88,9%) de ambos os grupos conseguiram obter a perda de massa corporal com adequação da categoria (>3%), e consequente diminuição do IMC e do percentual de gordura, sem utilizar da desidratação. A potência de membros inferiores foi significativamente maior após intervenção nutricional para o grupo de R-CHO (Δ = 0,030). Já em relação aos dados hormonais houve aumento do T4 para o grupo R-CHO (Δ = 0,553) e diminuição de T4 livre para o grupo A-CHO (Δ = -0,081). Em relação ao monitoramento de adesão da dieta, ambos os grupos diminuíram calorias diárias, e apenas o grupo R-CHO teve diminuição significativa do carboidrato, sem diminuir frequência de treinos e sem alteração do humor. CONCLUSÃO: Os participantes submetidos a uma dieta com redução de carboidrato e treinamento regular, obteve perda de massa corporal eficaz, sem alteração negativa de desempenho físico e minimizando alterações hormonais.

Over 5,000 European citizens joined the ranks of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the early 2010s. Since the rollback of the terrorist organization in 2016, European Union (EU) member states have had to decide whether or not to repatriate these individuals who were made prisoners mainly by Iraqi, or Kurdish authorities. France, the EU country that saw the highest number of its citizens join ISIS was also directly targeted by terrorist attacks orchestrated by ISIS returnees. From 2017 to 2019, it relied heavily on a non-repatriation approach, a measure which was welcomed by the general public but criticized by human rights and legal experts. However, in 2019, the withdrawal of US troops and the Turkish offensive in North-East Syria have further destabilized the region and pushed the French government to adapt its strategy. This study aims at understanding how the Macron administration legitimized the measures it implemented to tackle the ISIS returnees phenomenon and whether its approach has evolved. Through critical discourse analysis (CDA) and by drawing from the securitization theory, this research investigates the official communications of the French government between 2017 and 2020. The data will reveal that the “low-probability, high impact” threat posed by ISIS returnees has been over-securitized. This might lead an over-perception of this threat, which could threaten the social cohesion of the country and make measures bargaining with human rights and the rule of law acceptable for the public opinion. While many contributions have analyzed the policies and laws related to the issue of ISIS returnees in the EU, few have investigated how states responded to it in their official communications. With a focus on the EU country that has been the most concerned by this phenomenon, this study will help to bridge this gap in knowledge and will have broader implications for discursive practices regarding ISIS returnees and terrorism in Europe and the West.

With the uprising of the Arab Spring in Syria in 2011, a myriad of news articles covering Syrian people' protests were published in the international media. However, it was after the Islamic State’s (IS) attacks on Syria and accordingly, Rojava region ​– the ​Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, de facto Autonomous Region ​– in 2014, that the region became the attention center of the international media. A considerable number of academic articles have analyzed the representations of the Kurdish female fighters in the Western media in different angles, such as the framing of the female fighters, their motivations, their roles in the war etc. There may exist a limited number of academic papers analyzing the Kurdish female fighters from the non-Western media perspective which might present a different picture from that of Western media analysis. Applying framing theory in combination with a qualitative content analysis approach, this study is intended to explore the Kurdish female fighters’ framing in Arabic, Kurdish and Russian media, namely Al-Jazeera, ANF and RT, respectively. Moreover, orientalism theory, feminist theory on militarization and war, and war and peace journalism theory are implied to investigate the framing of the kurdish female fighters in the three media.

The aim of the thesis is to identify those German citizens, who were fighting in the Yugoslav wars, determine their background, actions on the ground and post-war trajectories, as well as suggest probable motivations for joining the combat in the way they did. The thesis raises the question, how these German war volunteers can be best described and if they are somehow specific within their subgroup of predominantly Western anti-Yugoslav foreign fighters. I argue that Nir Arielli, one of the few scholars dealing with the role of Westerners in the conflict, falls short by qualifying them merely as "meaning seekers" and thus overlooks the multitude of political connections and references, first and foremost among the Germans. I will offer a critique by pointing out differences and nuances, especially in origin- based motives, ideological underpinning and perspectives on the conflict. In doing so, I will raise the question of what we do know about the political situation in both Germany and Croatia in the early 1990s, and how each of that might that have facilitated decisions to join combat abroad. In addition, I will classify their appearance both within the well-known theory of "new wars" as well as within the phenomenon of foreign war volunteering, arguing that there is not much reason why this group should...

Area of interest regarding this master thesis is the fight against terrorism at European Union level. The work then aims to analyze how effective the EU institutions in the fight against terrorism, Europol, Eurojust and the CTC, are. The first part focuses on the issue of terrorism itself, by the help of comparative analysis and data analysis the possible root causes of terrorism and issues regarding radicalization are discussed. The second part is devoted to the actual effectiveness of the main EU institutions in the fight against terrorism and consequently to the security threat associated with the issue of foreign fighters that became a priority agenda within the EU counterterrorism. These sections has also been prepared on the basis of empirical research since semi-standardized interviews with experts in this field were conducted. It was investigated, that the EU institutions in the fight against terrorism have several weaknesses, and there are several limits in their fight against terrorism. Conversely, in the context of foreign fighters the EU has managed to adopt several concrete and directed measures.

The aim of this thesis was to find out what role psychological and social factors play in the motivation of jihadist foreign fighters to leave for Syria. The sub-questions examine, on the one hand, how authors of the studies focused on motivation of foreign fighters work with the theoretical background and concepts related to the psychosocial sphere, their interpretation of the key concepts and motivation of foreign fighters and, on the other hand, what psychosocial motivation to leave for Syria prevails in existing studies. In order to answer these questions, I chose several theoretical models of radicalization that work mainly with the psychological and social dimension of the problem.Subsequently, I chose several main psychosocial categories and narratives to analyse the studies, with the possibility of new categories occurring. I was particularly interested in existential motivation such as search for meaning or the identity crisis, in the case of jihadists also connected with the ideology and the influence of social groups. Based on the analysis, I found out that the theoretical basis, the specific definitions of individual key concepts and the logic of the interpretation of the respondents' words in the majority of the studies are missing or not fully described. Without the proper definition...