This project is about giving in to the impulse of ideas. My mind is a little messy and cluttered, swirling with bits of stimuli. The spark of an idea happens when the bits collide. I prefer not to initiate or control the process so much as keep it fed and active. Through graphic design, I bear witness to these ideas, giving them form as a series of visible, tangible objects. Viewed comprehensively, the work establishes an ongoing chronicle of my creative life and mind.

Den 1 januari 2015 trädde en del ändringar i plan- och bygglagen i kraft. Detta då den dåvarande regeringen ville uppnå en effektivare planprocess, för att öka bebyggandet i riket. Lagändringen påverkade planprocessen samt förutsättningarna till upprättandet av genomförandeavtal. Genom övergångsbestämmelserna lades dock ett förbehåll in, för att reglera i vilka situationer äldre lagstiftning skulle användas. Detta förbehåll är att en detaljplan ska vara ”påbörjad” innan 1 januari 2015. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka när en detaljplan är ”påbörjad”.  Studien grundar sig på att nu gällande plan- och bygglag (fortsatt kallat PBL) samt tillämpningen av denna undersöks utifrån olika metoder. För att tolka juridiken kring begreppet, har ett rättsdogmatiskt förhållningssätt använts genom olika tolkningsmetoder. För att få en förståelse för hur juridiken tillämpas har ett rättssociologiskt förhållningssätt nyttjats. Detta har skett genom att en enkätundersökning utförts, där Sveriges samtliga kommuner tillfrågats hur de tolkar begreppet.  Undersökningen har påvisat att begreppet ”påbörjats” är oklart. I PBL regleras inte vad en ”påbörjad” detaljplan är. De definitioner som Boverket och regeringen har tagit fram är oklart formulerade. Den enkätundersökning som skickades ut till alla Sveriges kommuner gav ett varierande resultat som styrker teorin om att begreppet ”påbörjad” detaljplan är oklart. De befintliga definitionerna är i behov av förtydligande, för att likrikta kommuners tillämpning av dessa övergångsregler. Enkätundersökningen visade att 67 % av kommunerna tolkat begreppet ”påbörjad” efter de definitioner som Boverket samt regeringen utformat. Det som också framkommit genom studien är att skillnaderna i PBL innan och efter 1 januari 2015 är stora, vilket bland annat innebär att kommunens förutsättningar att upprätta detaljplaner och exploateringsavtal har förändrats. / 1st of January 2015 some changes were made in the Planning and Building Act. This was made because of the Swedish government wanted to make the planning process easier. The law changes include the planning process and the development contracts for detailed development plans. The transitional provisions, however, made a reservation to regulate the situations in which older legislation would be used. The regulation is that older legislation should be used if the detailed development plan were initiated prior to 1 January 2015. The purpose of this study is to investigate when a detailed development plan is initiated.  The study is based on current legislation and its application, this will be investigated using various methods. To interpret the law about the concept, legal dignity approach has been used through different interpretation methods. In order to gain an understanding of how the law is applied, a legal sociological approach has been used. This was done by conducting a questionnaire survey, where all the municipalities in Sweden were asked how they interpret the concept.  This has shown that the term is unclearly defined, as evidenced by the varying answers received from the municipalities in the survey. However, the majority of municipalities interpret the concept "initiate" according to the definitions that the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning and the government have formulated. What is also evident from the study is that the differences in the different legislation are large and that the municipality's conditions change significantly depending on when a detailed plan is "initiated". The study also shows that the units within the municipality interpret the term in a generally similar manner. The result of the legal interpretation and compilation of the survey shows that National Board of Housing, Building and Planning and the government's definitions of "initiated" detailed development plan are unclear. And that the existing definitions are in need of clarification for the application of these transitional rules by similar municipalities.

The contextual factors that affect effective Mathematics learner engagement patterns are due to lack of self-regulated learning and enthusiastic volitional use. An active role for Mathematics learners incorporates use of volitional strategies towards knowledge construction. Self-regulated learning is an important factor for effective learning. However the PISA (2004) survey noted the problem of deficits in cross-curricular academic competencies, which included general self-regulatory strategies. The continued poor performance of learners in mathematics in South Africa at different school levels, especially grade 9 calls for different approach to learning. This research argues that enhanced application of volitional strategies is possible and, in fact desirable if learning situations have to promote mathematics achievement in areas with a presence of traditional teaching style. The purpose of this study is to construct volition enhancing self-regulation model to improve grade 9 mathematics learner performance in rural community schools. The model suggests combining precepts from activity theory and constructivist views as basis. The cyclic learning states of pre-action, action or volition control, and pro-action phases emanating from self-regulation sequence of self-monitoring, self-evaluation and self-reflections form the key concept of the volition model. However the sustained view maintains the education system model as proposed by Howe (2004:153) that includes input, processes and output contributing towards mathematics achievement. Hence the volition model considers the characteristics of teacher, implemented curriculum, teaching and instruction among its components to advance an understanding of their influence in mathematics performance. A mixed method research design, in which quantitative and qualitative are combined to achieve the outcomes of the research problem, is chosen for this research study project to provide a purposeful research framework. The finding revealed that the overall Volition Component Inventory (VCI) in pre - / post - and retention tests displayed good reliability, acceptable communality and acceptable construct validity for the VCI questionnaire. The post-test findings using the Univariate Tests of Significance, Effect Sizes, and Powers with partial eta2 values comparing experimental and control groups indicate the intervention effect of high statistical significance suggesting that the educational intervention enhanced mathematics performance. Another findings on how the experimental and control groups compared on learner VCI fields for in pre - / post - and retention tests using Least Square means crossover design model indicate that the enhanced intervention for volition self-efficacy, emotion control, failure control and self-control pressure, energy usage, planning and initiating ability and attention control was of significant main effect. Also the findings between control and experimental group using a three way and nested ANOVA on both learner use of volition strategy use in pre - / post – and retention test indicate pre-test to post-test, a sharp increasing effect of intervention. Hence the results revealed that it is possible to support volition mode of self-regulation competencies and mathematical achievement by self-regulation intervention within regular mathematics lessons of grade 9 learners. Furthermore the findings from the quantitative and qualitative data-analysis and interpretations, and literature review, guided the researcher in proposing a construct for volition enhancement self-regulation model to improve mathematics learner performance in grade 9 rural community schools. In this context, our study adds to research as it realizes that mathematics learning can be directly influenced by combining mathematics related strategies with cross-curricular self-regulation strategies in order to improve learner performance. / PhD (Mathematics Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The contextual factors that affect effective Mathematics learner engagement patterns are due to lack of self-regulated learning and enthusiastic volitional use. An active role for Mathematics learners incorporates use of volitional strategies towards knowledge construction. Self-regulated learning is an important factor for effective learning. However the PISA (2004) survey noted the problem of deficits in cross-curricular academic competencies, which included general self-regulatory strategies. The continued poor performance of learners in mathematics in South Africa at different school levels, especially grade 9 calls for different approach to learning. This research argues that enhanced application of volitional strategies is possible and, in fact desirable if learning situations have to promote mathematics achievement in areas with a presence of traditional teaching style. The purpose of this study is to construct volition enhancing self-regulation model to improve grade 9 mathematics learner performance in rural community schools. The model suggests combining precepts from activity theory and constructivist views as basis. The cyclic learning states of pre-action, action or volition control, and pro-action phases emanating from self-regulation sequence of self-monitoring, self-evaluation and self-reflections form the key concept of the volition model. However the sustained view maintains the education system model as proposed by Howe (2004:153) that includes input, processes and output contributing towards mathematics achievement. Hence the volition model considers the characteristics of teacher, implemented curriculum, teaching and instruction among its components to advance an understanding of their influence in mathematics performance. A mixed method research design, in which quantitative and qualitative are combined to achieve the outcomes of the research problem, is chosen for this research study project to provide a purposeful research framework. The finding revealed that the overall Volition Component Inventory (VCI) in pre - / post - and retention tests displayed good reliability, acceptable communality and acceptable construct validity for the VCI questionnaire. The post-test findings using the Univariate Tests of Significance, Effect Sizes, and Powers with partial eta2 values comparing experimental and control groups indicate the intervention effect of high statistical significance suggesting that the educational intervention enhanced mathematics performance. Another findings on how the experimental and control groups compared on learner VCI fields for in pre - / post - and retention tests using Least Square means crossover design model indicate that the enhanced intervention for volition self-efficacy, emotion control, failure control and self-control pressure, energy usage, planning and initiating ability and attention control was of significant main effect. Also the findings between control and experimental group using a three way and nested ANOVA on both learner use of volition strategy use in pre - / post – and retention test indicate pre-test to post-test, a sharp increasing effect of intervention. Hence the results revealed that it is possible to support volition mode of self-regulation competencies and mathematical achievement by self-regulation intervention within regular mathematics lessons of grade 9 learners. Furthermore the findings from the quantitative and qualitative data-analysis and interpretations, and literature review, guided the researcher in proposing a construct for volition enhancement self-regulation model to improve mathematics learner performance in grade 9 rural community schools. In this context, our study adds to research as it realizes that mathematics learning can be directly influenced by combining mathematics related strategies with cross-curricular self-regulation strategies in order to improve learner performance. / PhD (Mathematics Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This thesis investigates drivers willingness to engage with a mobile phone while driving. Many studies have looked into the effects on driving performance that can result from phone usage, but few studies have directly considered what can encourage or inhibit phone engagement behaviours in the first place. An initial exploratory study (Study 1) was conducted, for which a photo elicitation interview (N=20) was designed and implemented. This aimed to find the extent to which factors influencing phone use transferred from out of the car to the driving environment. In particular, the study aimed to explore whether the driving environment could be considered unique. The results indicated that the high demands placed on the driver by the road environment clearly distinguished it from the other environments and the reported propensity to use a phone seemed to reflect this. Only factors which either changed the level of attention required by the task, such as a change in task demand as a result of changes in the traffic environment, had any substantial influence on willingness to engage. Driving may not be unique in terms of the overall factors influencing phone use but it is unique in the extent to which this particular factor seems to have such a strong bearing on interaction. Building on findings from Study 1, that the demand and attention required seemed to influence willingness to engage, it was noted that Fuller s (2005) Task Capability Interface model would serve as a useful framework for the remainder of the thesis. This model suggests that driver behaviour is dictated by the level of task difficulty perceived; an interaction between task demand and capability. Therefore, the effects these two elements might have on willingness to engage with mobile phones while driving were tested separately in the two remaining studies. Previous research suggested that task demand should comprise a combination of roadway demand and the intended phoning task. Study 2, therefore, experimentally tested the extent to which road demand and phone function intended to be used influenced drivers decisions to engage with their phone. Participants (N=20) viewed video clips of real road environments of varying demand. Rating scales were used by participants to rate their willingness to engage with various phone functions according to the scenario they had just viewed. It was found both roadway demand and phone functionality affected willingness to engage with a mobile phone whilst driving. There was a higher propensity to engage in phone use in road environments perceived to have a lower demand and lower propensity to engage in phone use in the highest demand scenarios. Answering a call was the most likely function to be engaged with by the participants and sending a text message was the least likely. The final study investigated how capability (comprising both phone and driving capability) influenced willingness to engage. Participants (N=40) were required to drive in a simulator under two conditions, simulated low and high road demand. Their willingness to interact with their phones, when faced with a number of phone tasks, was then observed. It was found that driving capability had an effect on willingness to engage in high demand scenarios with the less capable, novice, drivers having a higher propensity to engage with placing a call, sending a text message and reading a text message than the more experienced drivers. Novice drivers were willing to engage with some functions on their phone at possibly inappropriate times. It was further found that, in the simulated low demand road environment, phone capability influenced willingness to engage, with those who were more capable at placing a call and sending a text message found to be more willing to engage with these functions. The research reported in this thesis represents the first attempt in the literature to study, in depth, the factors which can influence phone engagement behaviour while driving. Novel contributions include investigating if factors influencing phone use transferred from out of the car to the driving environment. Further novel contributions included whether the phone function and road demand interact to influence willingness to engage and whether capability can affect phone engagement behaviour while driving. Extending the model developed by Fuller, the thesis offers an original model that describes the factors affecting phone engagement behaviour while driving. Suggestions are proposed for how the findings presented in this thesis can effectively be used and how future work should build on these initial foundations.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:27:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Roberta Gebrin Guimaraes.pdf: 513947 bytes, checksum: 98bf6e660b0c8f466ed1d45304f6a624 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-05-28 / The aim of this paper is to analyze an important subject of the Brazilian Constitutional Law which consists in a process of legal provisions elaboration. Therefore we have made an over view from the Brazilian Legislative Power and its functions that is to legislate. We have started from checking the principles as a kind of provision to exam the beginning of the power division and its role in the Brazilian and international democracy political scenery. It is essential to study such division due to this principle is a premise State function and it is in addition connected with the legislative obligation of the State. So to examine it is capital to understand the Legislative Power and the process of provisional elaborations in this research. We have done an historical background of the Legislative Power by analyzing the evolutions of the Brazilian Parliament from its foundation until nowadays. For a better understanding of the matter we have mentioned the parliamentarian functions as well as its composition of the legal departments. We have investigated the different Brazilian legislative process stage reporting each type of provision and analyzing the participation of the Executive Power in the legal provisions. We also researched the intention to start the legislative process and the possibility of a constitutional amendment in a legislative proposal and verifying how both can reflect in the principal of the power division in the Federal Constitution. To sum up we have done a short investigation of the legislative process in the States, municipalities and Federal District checking their symmetry as a federal model and their relation with the power division. This paper does not intend to finish the discussion nevertheless establishes the basis from the Brazilian legislative process after five years of professional experience in the subject / O objetivo do presente trabalho é analisar um importante tema do Direito Constitucional brasileiro, que é o processo de elaboração das normas jurídicas. Para tanto, traçamos um panorama do Poder Legislativo pátrio e de sua função até então considerada como precípua: a de legislar. Começamos pela análise dos princípios como espécies de normas, a fim de examinarmos o princípio da divisão do poder e seu papel democrático no cenário político brasileiro e internacional. Isso se fez necessário, uma vez que tal princípio é premissa básica da distribuição das funções estatais, estando amplamente ligado à função legislativa do Estado e à forma do seu exercício. Logo, sua análise se torna imprescindível à compreensão do Poder Legislativo e do processo de elaboração normativa, assuntos nucleares desta pesquisa. Em seguida, partimos ao estudo do Poder Legislativo, o que começa por uma retrospectiva histórica, com o levantamento da evolução do Parlamento brasileiro, desde sua origem até os dias atuais. Nesse contexto, abordamos as características e funções parlamentares, bem como sua composição, órgãos e funcionamento. A partir de então, dedicamo-nos a investigar as diversas faces do processo legislativo brasileiro, explorando cada uma das espécies normativas por ele abrangidas e analisando a participação do Poder Executivo na formação das normas jurídicas. Examinamos, também, o poder de deflagrar o processo legislativo e a questão da possibilidade do oferecimento de emendas às propostas legislativas, verificando que ambos refletem a concepção do princípio da divisão do poder, adotado pela Lei Maior. Para complementar o trabalho, realizamos uma análise sucinta do processo legislativo nos Estados, Municípios e Distrito Federal, verificando sua simetria com o modelo federal e sua relação com o princípio da divisão do poder. Sem a pretensão de esgotar o tema, nossa meta foi traçar as bases do processo legislativo brasileiro, após cinco anos de atuação profissional voltada ao assunto

Current research on HIV therapy is diverse and multi-disciplinary. Engineers however, were late in joining the research movement and as such, engineering literature related to HIV chemotherapy is limited. Control engineers in particular, should have risen to the challenge, as it is apparent that HIV chemotherapy and control engineering have a lot in common. From a control theoretic point of view, HIV chemotherapy is control of a time varying nonlinear dynamical system with constrained controls. Once a suitable model has been developed or identified, control system theoretical concepts and design principles can be applied. The adopted control approach or strategy depends primarily on the control objectives, performance specifications and the control constraints. In principle, the designed control system can then be validated with clinical data. Obtaining measurements of the controlled variables however, has the potential to hinder effective control. The first part of this research focused on the application of control system analytical tools to HIV/AIDS models. The intention was to gain some insights into the HIV infection dynamics from a control theoretic perspective. The issues that needed to be addressed are: Persistent virus replication under potent HAART, variability in response to therapy between individuals on the same regimen, transient rebounds of plasma viremia after periods of suppression, the attainment, or lack thereof, of maximal and durable suppression of the viral load. The questions to answer were: When are the above mentioned observed responses to therapy most likely to occur as the HIV infection progresses, and does attaining one necessarily imply the other? Furthermore, the prognostic markers of virologic success, the possibility of individualizing therapy and timing the initiation of antiretroviral therapy such that the benefits of therapy are maximized, are matters that were also investigated. The primary objective of this thesis was to analyze models for the eventual control of the HIV infection. HIV therapy has multiple and often conflicting objectives, and these objectives had to be prioritized. The intention of the proposed control strategy was to produce practical solutions to the current antiretroviral problems. To this end, the second part of the research focused on addressing the HIV/AIDS control issues of sampling for effective control given the invasive nature of drawing blood from a patient and the derivation of drug dosage sequences to strike a balance between maximal suppression and toxicity reduction, when multiple drugs are concomitantly used to treat the infection. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / Unrestricted

Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att utreda och analysera vilka faktorer socialsekreterare på mottagningsenheten för barn och unga beaktar vid bedömandet av inledande av utredning efter anmälan avseende ungdomsbrottslighet. Studien bygger på sex kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialsekreterare som arbetar på mottagning för barn och unga i socialtjänsten. Vidare analyserades samtliga intervjuer utifrån tematisk analys. Genom en tematisk analys visar det övergripande resultatet att brottets karaktär, föräldraförmåga, ungdomens beteende, tidigare kännedom och polisens beskrivning av ungdomen påverkar socialsekreterarnas bedömning gällande att inleda utredning på unga som begår brott eller är misstänka för brott. Socialsekreterarna i vår studie klargjorde att brottets karaktär var av betydelse vid bedömning om att inleda utredning, sett till brottets allvarlighet. Föräldraförmåga belystes som en faktor som antingen skapade oro hos socialsekreterarna eller minskade deras oro då föräldrarna uppvisade god föräldraförmåga. De beskrev även ungdomens beteende som en faktor som togs i beaktning vid socialsekreterarnas bedömning, men ungdomens beteende var av störst vikt vid mindre allvarliga brott. Tidigare kännedom om en ungdom resulterade i att socialsekreterarna många gånger bedömda att inleda utredning. Utifrån resultatet kunde vi dra slutsatsen att socialsekreterarnas bedömning inte endast påverkas av själva brottet, utan en helhetsbedömning av faktorer runt ungdomen tas främst i beaktning. / The purpose of this essay has been to investigate and analyze which factors social workers, at the reception unit for children and young people, take into account when assessing the initiation of an investigation after a report regarding juvenile delinquency. The study is based on six qualitative semi-structured interviews with social workers who work at reception for children and young people in social services. Furthermore, all interviews were analyzed based on thematic analysis which as an overall, results in showing that the nature of the crime, parenting skills, the youth's behavior, previous knowledge, and the police's description of the youth influence the social workers' assessment of whether to initiate an investigation into young people who commit crimes or are suspected of crimes. Moreover, the social workers in our study clarified that the nature of the crime was important when deciding whether to initiate an investigation, given the seriousness of the crime. Parental ability was highlighted as a factor that either created concern for the social workers or reduced their concern when the parents demonstrated good parenting ability. Similarly, they also described the youth's behavior as a factor, considering the social workers' assessment, but the youth's behavior was of greatest importance for less serious offences. Previous knowledge of a young person resulted in the social workers many times deciding to initiate an investigation. In short and based on the results, we could conclude that the social workers' assessment is not only influenced by the crime itself, but an overall assessment of factors surrounding the young person is mainly taken into account.