Universiẗat, Diss., 1990--Paderborn.

Bochum, Universiẗat, Diss., 2005.

This study was conducted with employees from Drakensberg Power Station, in Kwazulu Natal. Twenty-three non-supervisory employees were interviewed, and six supervisors partook in a focus group. The purpose was to gain insight into the experiences and perceptions of employees about the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), by exploring factors influencing utilisation and investigating the extent of employee awareness of the EAP, to recommend appropriate modifications to the service. Findings indicate employees are aware of the service, but unfamiliar with its purpose and functioning. They are not aware of how to access the service. The utilisation is affected by the lack of visibility of the service, the lack of awareness of family members about the services and concerns about confidentiality. It was found that supervisors were not adequately trained in the EAP and lacked the information to effectively utilise the service, thus they were reluctant to refer employees to the EAP. / Dissertation (MSD (EAP))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Social Work and Criminology / Unrestricted

Stuttgart, Univ., Diss., 2000.

Parental involvement is one of the key requirements that are laid down by fundamental policies on schooling in South Africa. The policies include National Education Policy Act No 27 of 1996 and South African Schools Act No 84 of 1996. However, various schools in this country have generally not met this requirement effectively. The situation is more prevalent in the rural schools where parents either do not participate at all or their participation is minimal. The researcher investigated the factors that were behind the lack of parental involvement in rural schools. A specific focus was in rural schools of Mthatha District. The schools were chosen because of their proximity to the researcher and noted constant reports on the lack of parental involvement. The primary targeted population were the parents whose learners were schooling in the two selected rural schools of Mthatha District, which were Pazima J.S.S and Xonyeni J.S.S The researcher used stratified sampling to ensure better coverage of population and to achieve better precision or accuracy. This was done by dividing the parents into homogenous groups like, gender, age, sex and etc. The researcher used both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The designs that were used were survey and interviews. Questionnaires and interview schedule were developed and administered to parents of the two selected schools. These methods were judged to be appropriate as some of them might not be able to read and write. In addition to that, it was within acceptable procedures of collecting data in both qualitative and quantitative study. There were limitations and delineations and some of them included that the study was confined only to Mthatha District. The researcher selected only two schools and other schools were excluded. The study investigated only parents of the senior phase level and other phases were not involved. The researcher collected data from the parents of two selected schools i.e. Pazima J.S.S and Xonyeni J.S.S using questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were administered to parents who were able to read and write and for those parents who could not read and write interviews were conducted. The data was analysed using a pool- table method and out of 74 parents used as the sample for the study most parents were ranging between 32 and 39 years. The study was dominated mainly by female parents and most parents had learners in grade 8&9. Most of the parents in the study were married and they were unemployed with J.S.S. as their highest qualification. The six research questions asked were: (a) Is lack of relationship between the schools and the homes of learners one of the causes for lack of parental involvement in rural schools of Mthatha District? (b) Is lack of co-operation by parents in the education of their children one of the causes for lack of parental involvement in rural schools of Mthatha District? (c) Is illiteracy of parents one of the causes for lack of parental involvement in rural schools of Mthatha District? (d) Is employment of parents one of the causes for lack of parental involvement in rural schools of Mthatha District? (e) Is lack of parental participation in school governance and management one of the causes for lack of parental involvement in rural schools of Mthatha District? (f) Is lack of communication between parents and the teachers one of the causes for lack of parental involvement in rural schools of Mthatha District? The findings showed that there was no relationship between the schools and the homes of learners and parents were co-operating at all. Most of the parents were illiterate, unemployed married females who have cultural activities to perform which made them not to be involved in their schools. Communication between the schools and homes of the learners was lacking and parents were not actively participating in school governance and management in their schools. The recommendations from this study were that, for lack of co-operation workshops for both parents and teachers on team building and teacher – parent relations were recommended. For illiteracy problem implementation of ABET classes was recommended. Circulars issued by the Department relating to parental involvement should be read and discussed by both parents and teachers. Communication skills needed to be improved so as to maintain good home-school relationship. Workshops on how to elect school governing bodies and on their roles and their responsibilities were recommended. In conclusion parents are very important stakeholders in education so they need to be highly involved in the education of their children.

This project has been made in cooperation with Stora Enso Research Centre Falun (Research). Thebackground of the project is that Research has customers who demand a method to measure the quantityof varnish online in offset printing. The aim with the project is to investigate if any test method correlateswith the quantity of varnish and to improve the understanding of the variables in the varnishingunit. The goal with the project is to develop a functional method. Two printing trials have beenperformed. The aim with the first trial was to investigate how different factors in the printer influencedthe quantity of varnish using reduced factoranalysis. The aim of the second trial was to analyse onlya reduced numbers of factors in the varnishing unit. The methods that were used to measure the varnishingquantity are weighing, IR-analysis, gloss, whiteness and brightness. Results from the projectshow that the weighing method does not work in this study due to basis weight variations of the sheets.The results from weighing did not agree with the results from the other methods. On the other handthere is a strong correation between the IR- and the glossmethods.

Zugl.: Braunschweig, Techn. Universiẗat, Diss., 2009.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Statistics / James Neill / The problem of testing for lack of fit in exponential family regression models is considered. Such nonlinear models are the natural extension of Normal nonlinear regression models and generalized linear models. As is usually the case, inadequately specified models have an adverse impact on statistical inference and scientific discovery. Models of interest are curved exponential families determined by a sequence of predictor settings and mean regression function, considered as a sub-manifold of the full exponential family. Constructed general alternative models are based on clusterings in the mean parameter components and allow likelihood ratio testing for lack of fit associated with the mean, equivalently natural parameter, for a proposed null model. A maximin clustering methodology is defined in this context to determine suitable clusterings for assessing lack of fit. In addition, a geometrically motivated goodness of fit test statistic for exponential family regression based on the information metric is introduced. This statistic is applied to the cases of logistic regression and Poisson regression, and in both cases it can be seen to be equal to a form of the Pearson chi[superscript]2 statistic. This same statement is true for multinomial regression. In addition, the problem of testing for equal means in a heteroscedastic Normal model is discussed. In particular, a saturated 3 parameter exponential family model is developed which allows for equal means testing with unequal variances. A simulation study was carried out for the logistic and Poisson regression models to investigate comparative performance of the likelihood ratio test, the deviance test and the goodness of fit test based on the information metric. For logistic regression, the Hosmer-Lemeshow test was also included in the simulations. Notably, the likelihood ratio test had comparable power with that of the Hosmer-Lemeshow test under both m- and n-asymptotics, with superior power for constructed alternatives. A distance function defined between densities and based on the information metric is also given. For logistic models, as the natural parameters go to plus or minus infinity, the densities become more and more deterministic and limits of this distance function are shown to play an important role in the lack of fit analysis. A further simulation study investigated the power of a likelihood ratio test and a geometrically derived test based on the information metric for testing equal means in heteroscedastic Normal models.

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of information and its impact on the retirement decision. Two aspects of information were examined; the first displays the characteristics which informed individuals, and the second shows how certain information affected their decision to leave the labour market or to continue working after the age of 65. Our results confirm that being male and having a higher average labour income increases the probability of being well-informed about the pension system. Conversely, being a female, having a lower education or few skills, suffering from poor health, working in the public sector and being self-employed all have a negative impact on the likelihood of being well-informed. In regards to the effect of information on the retirement decision, the empirical results show us that a majority of the well-informed individuals will leave the labour market before the retirement age of 65. Generally speaking, those who remain employed will not take information into account when it comes to retirement planning, since majority of them have other motives than pure economic considerations.

Approximately 70% of technology projects fail, which negatively impacts resources, productivity, and organizational profitability because of employees' lack of acceptance of technological change. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies some midlevel managers used to improve employees' lack of acceptance of technological change. The conceptual framework for this study was the technology acceptance model. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 5 participants from a local government organization in the southwestern region of the United States and review of organizational documentation. Data analysis included Yin's 5 phases, methodological triangulation, and theme identification. Four themes emerged from data analysis: training, communication, involvement, and management support. Findings showed the importance of providing training when implementing technological change, communicating the change, and explaining how the change impacts employees throughout the organization. Findings also indicated that allowing employees to be involved in the technological change process and communicating management support of the technological change results in increased employee acceptance of the change. Implications of this study for positive social change include improving work products and conditions for employees and human and social conditions for residents of the local community. Findings may provide leaders with insights needed to integrate technological changes, and organizational and resource allocation efficiencies to improve services to employees, residents, and local businesses.