The aim of this paper is to apprise ourselves with communication in NG-PON2 standard. The first chapter describes optical networks. The second chapter deals with description of NG-PON2 standard and detailed description of downstream and upstream frame. Methods of grant allocation are described at the end of the theoretical section of this paper. Own entities were created in the practical part of this paper and they were used to simulate static and dynamic grant allocation. Designed entities and simulation results were compared with the real network behaviour at the end of the practical part. Designed entities were also used to design a lab exercise in the attachment.

Public research institutions (PRIs) are tasked with generating new knowledge, as well as adding value to existing knowledge in order to come up with innovations that can contribute to national competitiveness. To this end, government provides discretionary or parliamentary grants to allow the public research institutions to execute their mandates by carrying out exploratory activities and exploitative activities in research and development.The study aimed to establish the role of the parliamentary grant in supporting the research and development endeavours of a public research institute, with a particular focus on the management of exploration and exploitation tensions in investing the parliamentary grant. The sustainability of the PRI was sus assessed using operating profits as a proxy. The relationships between levels of investment in exploratory and exploitative actives were assessed, as was the role of the innovation system in influencing the sustainability of the PRI. We use the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) the largest scientific research entity in South Africa, and its operational units as a case study.Consistent with information that is available in the literature, the data from this study shows that the discretionary grant plays a critical role as a funding stream for public research institutes, contributing to the effective execution of research and development activities of the entity. The discretionary grant is key in seeding new national competencies, and is a key initial investment in enabling the PRI to establish itself, generate outputs and outcomes that herald its competencies and thus position itself to earn other forms of income.The discretionary grant is invested for exploratory and exploitive activities. Exploratory activities generate new knowledge, which is necessary for competitiveness. Exploitative activities utilise existing knowledge to provide innovations that find utility in industries and the public sector. The manner in which the investment is split between exploration and exploitation was shown to be critical to the long term sustainability of the enterprise. Skewing investment in either exploration or exploitation alone is detrimental to sustainability.The optimal split of the discretionary grant between exploration and exploitation was found to be dependent on several factors, to include, the technology bases of the industries in which the entity operates and the connectivity and paths of knowledge flow in the innovation systems nationally and globally.Inability to earn other forms of income is in itself a threat to the long term sustainability, particularly in fiscally constrained environments that are typical of emerging economies. The ability to earn external income provides options for investment of the PG in building its capability base. Notable here is the fact that the absorptive capacity of the industry sector in the first place, the innovation system in which the entity operates and the connectedness of the entity within the system appear to have important influences on ability to earn other forms of income. In such cases, strategic decisions have to be made on whether the sector remains strategic enough for the country in deciding on continued investment.While the information derived from this study is very specific to the CSIR, a combination of the data and information in the literature provides insights that are applicable to other public research institutes, particularly in developing economies. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Thesis (MTech (Cost and Management Accounting))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019 / This study examined the determinants of savings and investment among low-income households in South Africa. Savings and investment play a significant role in improving living standard of people and also act as important factors for state survival in times of economic crises. The benefits of household savings and investment cannot be easily quantified, especially in achieving economic growth. Despite the numerous benefits, low income household savings and investments remain an issue that has characterised the lives of many low-income households in South African since post-apartheid. The study is based on Non-Ricardian Households (NRH) which comprises medium and high-income households, which are involved in the financial market, participate in buying bonds or stocks, and are classified as saving households. Non-Ricardian households comprise low-income households which largely depend on government welfare benefits for sustenance and are classified as the low savings and hence low-income households. The research used National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) dataset wave one to five. Four different panel models were analysed in determining the socio-economic characteristics of NRH in South Africa. The panel estimators include Pooled OLS, fixed and random effects methods. The results show that households’ income, household size, household geographical local and household grants among others are major determinant of households’ savings and investment in South Africa. Government grants received by households have positive relationship with savings and negative relationship with investment. This is because the low-income households do not save to invest but save for delay consumption. The results have also showed the likelihood of government grants to household’s crowd out household investment as they over depend on the government for both present and future expenditure. The study recommends that government should create a more enabling environment for Non-Ricardian households to engage in productive activities and to also create more low skills jobs and encourage reduction of birth rate among low-income households.

This study provides an assessment of how capitation grant has impacted the enrollment of pupils in selected basic education schools in the Wa Municipality in Ghana. In a real sense it provides an empirical platform for assessing how this policy is contributing to the achievement of the MDG II, and the constitutional right. The key educational indicators which form the basis of the study are gross enrolment at the Junior High school stage, the pass rates for the national examinations at the Junior High school level. It used a survey to assess the opinion of Municipal Education Director, head teachers, teachers and other stakeholders of education regarding the impact of the capitation grant policy on pupils’ enrolment in the municipality. Using the school level data over the period 2000-2012 and the survey of (43) respondents within 14 selected schools captured questions of staff demographics, capitation grant and pupils’ enrolment, capitation grant, and pupils’ performance and capitation grant and its challenges across the Wa Municipality. The finding of the study revealed that the capitation grant has actually led to increase in enrolment of pupils in the basic schools. This paper also reveals that capitation grant has helped in bridging gap between children from poor and rich homes. The study concludes by noting three key policy messages; increase in capitation grant should target disadvantage groups. Again, there should be provision of incentives to schools with good record of progression and completion and effort should go towards the shortening of the capitation grant delivery chain. However, the study notes the fact that, capitation grant alone cannot deliver on good educational outcomes as enshrined in the constitution.

The study is an interpretative analysis of Virginia Cooperative Extension that examined the mission of the agency, as defined through its history and enabling acts of legislation. The study investigated how the mission has evolved during the eighty-four years of its existence. The study used the intent and context of the federal Smith-Lever legislation of 1914 as its benchmark to discover what the desired and anticipated outcomes were for Cooperative Extension by the original patrons of the legislation. Subsequent legislative acts at both the state and federal levels, as well as actions by the executive branch of government, were studied to discover if and when the mission of cooperative extension has changed and to identify the political, economic, and social factors that influenced the changes. The study incorporated accepted methods of historical research and included the review and analysis of both primary and secondary sources of information. Interviews of key leaders who have influenced the policy position of Virginia Cooperative Extension over the past thirty years were conducted. The data gathered by the study were analyzed and presented to highlight major themes that could have influenced critical policy issues that have confronted Virginia Cooperative Extension. The conclusion is that the mission of extension is two fold: (1) to provide education that could lead to increased economic opportunity and, (2) to enhance the quality of life enjoyed by Virginia’s citizens. Three critical attributes are identified that relate to the ability of Virginia Cooperative Extension to fulfill its mission: (1) access to research-based information, (2) a strong presence in local communities, and (3) a capacity to provide timely responses to emerging issues. / Ph. D.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / This study investigates caregiver’s perceptions of the purposes, uses and adequacies of the Child Support Grant (CSG) in Mfuleni (Cape Town, South Africa). Moreover, the research was underpinned by the following research questions: What is the CSG intended for in South Africa? To what extent does the CSG enable caregivers to use it? What is the perception of caregivers with regards to the uses and purposes of the CSG in Mfuleni? What is the perception of caregivers regarding their power and agency to influence policy in terms of how the CSG should be structured (both in terms of benefit level and how it is administered)? A model by DFID (2011) focusing on the causal pathway for cash transfers was used as the conceptual framework for the study. Qualitative research methods were utilized to achieve the aims of the study. Ten interviews and a focus group discussion comprising six caregivers were conducted. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The study revealed that caregivers understood the CSG is proposed for children, households and being a source of income for caregivers. Caregivers also revealed the CSG was utilized towards the basic needs of children. Through the CSG many caregivers had agency and power in their household and could establish small businesses.

Thirty three species of ammonites are recorded from the composite type section of the Weberg Member of the Snowshoe Formation in the Suplee area, Grant County, Oregon. Holcophylloceras burkei, Euhoploceras westi, E. tubereulosum and Strigoceras taylori are described as new, while four new species belonging to the genera Sonninia [?], Bradfordia, Pseudotoites and Witchellia are not formally named. Three ammonite zonules characterize the ammonite sequence of the type Weberg composite section. The sequence correlates with parts of the standard lower and middle Bajocian (Jurassic) of northwestern Europe. In addition, four associations (paleo-communities) of benthic mega invertebrates, the Gervillia, Protocardia, Isocyprina and Bositra buahii associations are delineated. The type Weberg composite section is a record of a local marine transgression westward onto an island system. The section also represents sedimentation over an irregular pre-Snowshoe topographic high, and indicates a progressive change from proximal to distal source of pre-Snowshoe sediments, from high to low energy conditions, and perhaps a slight deepening of the ocean bottom. Ammonites are rare in the lower division of the Weberg Member, locally present in fine sandy limestones of the lower part of the upper division, abundant and most diverse in silt-rich, clay-poor limestones of the upper part of the upper division, and locally abundant in mudstones of the Warm Springs Member. Recurrent associations of certain ammonite species, strong correlation of the associations with lithofacies and biofacies, and pervasive faunal differences of ammonites between facies indicate in general that the distributional patterns of the ammonites reflect spatial life-habitats. The spotty yet widespread geographic occurrence of several ammonite species suggest they had undergone extensive planktic dispersal, thus ocean currents probably played an important role in their distributional patterns.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the changes to federal student aid, which were implemented on July 1, 2012, on student loan debt in Mississippi’s publicly-supported community colleges, particularly the change in the Estimated Family Contribution. The literature indicates a national epidemic of student borrowing. This research could provide Mississippi community college administrators the opportunity to observe and evaluate actual changes and to better understand the problem of student loan debt, which is escalating nationally. This study is expected to provide community college leaders a snapshot of the magnitude of the problem so that they can better understand if and how to respond. 8 of the 12 Mississippi community colleges participating in the federal direct student loan program were included in this study. Information on gender, ethnicity, and actual loan amount was gathered from each institution. Comparisons were made of the federal direct student loan debt before and after the July 1, 2012 changes. A quasi-experimental design was used to perform the study. Secondary data acquired from each institution were gathered on all students participating in the federal direct student loan program; therefore, random assignment was not used. The researcher utilized one-way ANOVAs for analyzing mean changes in actual loan amount. Chi-square analyses were used to determine significant changes in the number of loans incurred following the July 1, 2012 changes to federal student aid. Although the study identified significant differences in mean loan debt and numbers of loans incurred by Mississippi community colleges before and after the changes which became effective July 1, 2012, the changes were not in the direction anticipated. Annual student loan debt in the participating community colleges and the number of loans acquired, in the form of federal direct student loans, actually declined while the Estimated Family Contribution increased. Considerations for further studies are discussed.

With the number of adult undergraduate students and the competition for these students at an all-time high, educators and administrators must have an understanding of how to not only attract these individuals, but to retain them throughout their educational careers. Recognizing the diverse needs of adult students and the importance of retaining them should be a major priority for colleges and universities. For higher educational institutions attempting to attract and retain the adult student population, a clear understanding of their experiences was warranted. This research utilized a qualitative design that focused on adult (defined as age 24 or older) undergraduate students currently enrolled at a major land-grant institution. An interpretive case study was undertaken to examine the adult students’ perception of their experiences. Questions were designed to learn (a) what the students perceived as barriers to their educational journey, (b) what the students perceived as factors contributing to their success, (c) how their experiences at the land-grant institution impacted their lives; and (d) how the students perceived the services and policies of the land-grant institution. Interview data were supplemented by data gathered from document analysis, reflective journals, photographs, and researcher field notes. A total of 14 themes were identified within the various categories. With regards to barriers, the most frequently mentioned themes included (a) role conflict (b) time management, and (c) institutional barriers. The most frequently mentioned themes related to factors enabling success included (a) being a role model, (b) parental support, (c) student support, (d) faculty/staff support, and (e) internal desire. The most commonly mentioned themes related to how their experience has impacted their lives included (a) sense of self, (b) broader view of the world, and (c) goal setting. Finally, with regards to university services and policies, the most frequently mentioned themes included (a) advisement, (b) orientation, and (c) technology training. Analysis of the data and findings established the basis for recommendations and comments that may be useful to administrators and faculty in an effort to establish the most efficient and effective services and policies necessary for the recruitment and retention of the growing adult student population.

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