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Doctor Educationis / In view of my extensive experience as an educator and currently as an Educational Psychologist serving schools in the eastern Education Management and Development Centre (EMDC) of the Western Cape, I have become acutely aware of the occurrence of truant behaviour particularly among fourteen to fifteen year old secondary school learners. On the one hand I am moved by the plight of many learners particularly in the afore-mentioned age group, for whom the education system appears irrelevant or of little value and is apparently failing them. Some communicate this attitude by their frequent and at times prolonged absence from school. On the other hand, many educators have little sympathy with truants, since as professionals, educators feel that consistent school attendance is essential if learners are to make satisfactory progress. Moreover, it is also my perception that educators' work loads and the organisation of schools, currently ensure that very few educators have the time to become closely acquainted with those individual learners who manifest their displeasure with schools - and them - by truanting. In turn, this breakdown in communication between educators and truants, makes implementing successful reintegration strategies immensely difficult. In fact, such is the pressure on today's educators, that some staff are greatly relieved at the prospect of instructing fewer learners, especially if the absentees are those who may be troublesome, backward, require extra attention in class or behave badly (Reid, 2002:5). Furthermore it has also come to my attention that educators feel that their prime duty and responsibility is to regulate attendees, higher achievers, as well as learners who conform and wish to do well at school. Hence, regular attendance appears to be the best barometer of this conformist attitude.

The “University” is under pressure to address both local and general requirements from society towards a phenomenon called globalisation. In Brazil, the Ministry of Education has tried, without success, to promote institutional change. Confronted by this situation a process initiated by an internal change agent and based upon the introduction of Action Research was itself the subject of this AR Study by the change agent. This thesis draws upon the findings of that AR and uses it to critically examine the potential to foster change within the higher education context in Brazil using AR. The research was designed in two synchronous processes taking place at two different levels. The first is the facilitation of the uptake of Action Research by a group of academic staff, and the second is the research into that process as a piece of Action Research in its own right by the change agent/facilitator. Facilitation of change has been described as taking place in three phases: a) Mobilization; b) Implementation; and c) Continuation. Throughout such phases in this case data were systematically gathered by the use of five instruments of data collection: 1) Observation; 2) Diary; 3) Questionnaires; 4) Interviews; and 5) Sociogram. Results show my personal learning in facilitating this process of change and two main contributions to knowledge. The first is one which, though local and specific, may nevertheless speak to the challenges faced by other practitioners. Exemplified in this study by the critical exploration of the ‘Daisy Model’ of introducing AR that led to its modification into the ‘Flower Model’. The second is that new knowledge which appears to be more generalisable and for which a case can be made for its wider applicability. Again exemplified in the continuous and disruptive process of change that unfolded to reveal a suitable framework for the use of Action Research as a vehicle of change in a rural university in Brazil where all actions were based on four central principles that emerged from the research: neutrality, voluntary participation, time and motivation. The future success and sustainability of the change processes begun are contingent upon the reaction of the current management of the institution. Five scenarios are examined and a second phase for this AR project is suggested that attempts to address the issues raised.

This thesis investigates the application and implications of supply chain management as a modern management model in regulating corporate outsourcing activities within the Greater Pearl River Delta. Globalisation has accelerated the application of supply chain management as a mechanism to enhance corporate performance. At the same time this rapid economic development has also accelerated the destruction of environmental and social conditions in these areas, and this has resulted in a lot of media and public attention. This thesis contributes to the debate on how principles and concepts of sustainable development can be put into modern business practice. Society also expects corporations to play an essential role in creating economic, environmental and social prosperity. The literature integrates the concepts of corporate social responsibility and environmental management into the core supply chain management activities within the wider framework of sustainable development. The environmental and social challenges are investigated since there is a growing recognition that development should go beyond economic growth. Whilst most research in the west has focused on the environmental approaches of supply chain management, this thesis seeks to understand, integrate, evaluate and find other options to improve conditions in suppliers’ factories. There is comparatively less literature discussing the social approach and implication to SCM with respect to this region. Perhaps more importantly social issues such as human rights and labour issues in relation to the physical environment are gaining momentum and are particularly important in this region because of strong media and western consumer pressure resulting from sweatshop activist group campaigns in the west. The four-tier methodological approach is structured within an action research model to achieve the research objectives. The first and second primary studies confirm that both suppliers’ and retailers’ knowledge are inadequate in terms of the establishing and publishing their environmental and social policies and procedures such as implementing internal and external controls for employees and workers. Their traditional and conservative mindsets is linked to their unwillingness to make a change despite the economic restructuring is rapidly taking and China’s accession into the WTO. In particular, codes of conduct is commonly existing literature embedded with environmental and social criteria as an important policy imposed by the multinational buyers to improve both environmental and social conditions within the supply chain. But how effective are such policies? Specifically, the effectiveness of the code of conduct approach is evaluated in the third study by social compliance audits at ground level in the garment industry. It is found that workers’ awareness of the code of conduct is low. The barriers include a lack of continuous training, human resources or systems present to tackle specific problems. Key challenges are found in the areas of excessive working hours, unfair pay to the workers and health and safety issues that coincide with the detailed interview results. This thesis concludes that the code of conduct approach is inadequate to improve workers’ conditions in the long term and asks what can be done next to contribute to the pursuit of sustainable development goals. The expert interviews from the fourth study explain the obstacles of the code of conduct approach. It is found that no long-term commitment and trust from multinationals is built on this relationship. The detailed interviews indicate that stakeholders’ approaches seem to be the most effective mechanism. In addition national government intervention in enforcing existing legislation and developing multi-party partnerships through trust programmes, whereby proper training from top management down to the workers and strong public involvement can help to achieve the desires long -term sustainability down the supply chain.

The final diploma thesis of Pedagogy Specialization studing programme, Education Management studing field deals with a Self-development issue and its tools in the context of personnel management. This thesis examines the applicability possibilities of individual tools, methods and techniques used as a standard in personnel management as another possible tool of self-development. The aim of this thesis is a self-development evaluation mean by managerial work in the context of personnel management, including the applicability of self-development in the form of personnel management tool itself and the subsequent of company development. There are real examples of self-development possible tools across scientific disciplines In the practical part. The work presents the introspection results leading to an active self-development and provides concrete examples of patterns handling with self-development tools. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

This research has developed a research relationship model for understanding the relationship between volunteer management practice correlates and volunteer retention using volunteer motivation and volunteer satisfaction as mediators. The model uses social exchange theory, human resource management theory, volunteer functional inventory and volunteer satisfaction index as part of the theoretical underpinning for its validation and contributed to gain knowledge on the application of management theory widely used in the for-profit organisations to the non-profit and volunteer dependent sectors. A comprehensive literature review provided the basis to identify the research gap, formulate the research questions, aim and objectives, leading to the development of the theoretical framework and the research relationship model. The theoretical framework in turn enabled the researcher to develop the research methodology to collect data and test the model. The main research gap was the lack of knowledge about the correlates of volunteer management practice as determinants of volunteer retention and influence of volunteer motivation and volunteer satisfaction as mediators. The concept of mediation was introduced in this research as a novel technique that enabled the researcher to conduct a deeper investigation into the relationship between volunteer management practice correlates and volunteer retention. However prior to the introduction of the mediator concept, the original model developed by Cuskelly et al. (2006) was tested and found to be statistically insignificant. This provided the basis for modifying the model investigated by Cuskelly et al. (2006) leading to the development of the research model for this research. The various relationships developed in the research model were hypothesized. The model was tested using the data collected through the research instrument developed for the purpose. Quantitative research method was used to collect data from a sample set of volunteers using survey questionnaire in a context-free environment. Pilot survey enabled the researcher to confirm the utility of the instrument for using in the main survey. 386 participants provided their response to the online questionnaire that was posted on a web portal. The collected data was subjected to rigourous statistical tests. Descriptive statistics, reliability tests and validity tests were conducted on the data. Exploratory Factor analysis revealed underlying factors of volunteer management practice different from those identified by other researchers namely Cuskelly et al. (2006) whose model was used as the base model in this research. Further, structural equation modelling was used to test the model and verify hypothesis. The results indicated that two volunteer management practice correlates namely volunteer training and support and volunteer performance management and recognition, were found to indirectly influence volunteer retention. Volunteer training and support influenced volunteer retention through volunteer motivation as well as volunteer satisfaction. Volunteer performance management and recognition influenced volunteer retention through volunteer satisfaction. In addition volunteer planning and recruitment was identified as a moderator of volunteer training and support and volunteer performance management and recognition as correlates. These findings contribute significantly to helping both volunteer managers and volunteers in improving the intention of volunteers to stay longer with an organisation. Thus by implementing the findings of this research; volunteer managers can enhance their volunteer management practice leading to retention of volunteers for longer periods than now. The research findings contribute to theory in terms of widening the understanding of the operationalization of social exchange and HRM theories in a combined manner in understanding the relationship between volunteer management practice and volunteer retention.

This diploma thesis focuses on development of tourism in terms of regional development on example of region of Slovacko. The primary objective of my thesis is to identify main challenges and barriers of further development and to provide recommendation and suggestions for development of tourism in the region of Slovacko. The first part of my thesis introduces the general role of tourism in regional development. Here, I describe conditions and background of tourist development both in the Czech Republic and in the European Union. As tourism is a significant part of national economics I pay attention to relation between development of tourism and national economy. Furthermore, there is a definition of the Concept of national tourism policy which specifies different authorities dealing with the management of tourism at various levels. The second part of the thesis deals with the region of Slovacko, its definition and basic characteristics with specific emphasis on the region's high tourism potential. The practical part analyses a role of the Association of entrepreneurs of tourism in the Hodonin district. There is a characterization and evaluation of the association's activities and projects that have been approved and implemented in the region of Slovacko. Based on my questionnaire survey given to the members of this association I try to find out what the major barriers of the tourism development are and how to reduce the obstacles. The conclusion summarizes the main barriers and limits and on the basis of the analysis I formulate recommendations and suggestions for further activities in the region.

Sustainable development (SD) is a pressing global issue that is becoming increasingly prominent on clients and governing bodies agendas. In order to survive, organisations are seeking ways to negate their detrimental environmental impacts. This is no easy feat: SD is both complex and dynamic. To be successful, organisations need to leverage and expand their most valuable asset – knowledge. Civil engineering plays a significant role in SD – it shapes our environment and governs our interaction with it. However, extant research asserts that civil engineering related disciplines have been slow to adopt SD oriented practices; a possible result of their complex and fragmented organisational environments. The literature suggests that effective knowledge sharing (KS) can overcome these barriers, thus driving enhanced SD performance. Consequently, this research aims to investigate how the civil engineering sector can improve its intra-organisational sharing of SD knowledge, using an international civil engineering consultancy as an exemplar. Whilst there has been much research surrounding KS and SD there has been limited research that has investigated KS for SD, thus this thesis contributes to this limited body of knowledge. Mixed-method research was used to address the abovementioned aim. An increasingly popular approach, it is widely believed to generate greater value through complementary integration of quantitative and qualitative research paradigms. This approach lends itself also to the ethnographic inclinations of the reported research: the author was embedded within the case organisation, and sought a rich and reliable understanding of the study phenomena. An initial set of semi-structured interviews suggested that the case organisation’s members exhibit positive attitudes towards KS and SD, yet are often constrained by a number of common KS barriers, namely: a lack of organisation slack (i.e. time); a silo mentality; and poor SD ICT systems. These socio-cultural and technical barriers were subsequently investigated and contested using social network analysis techniques and an intranet acceptance model. A number of observations are made on the relationships between the findings from the research activities. It is believed the organisation often exhibits a reactive approach to KS for SD, which is deemed undesirable. This signals the need for greater senior management support to cultivate a culture where KS for SD is the norm and is integrated with work practices. A series of recommendations are provided to help the case organisation understand how such change could be cultivated. Several implications follow from this work. The mixed-method approach revealed a number of contradictions between the findings of each research activity. It is therefore postulated that mixed-method designs can provide a richer understanding, thus reducing misconceptions of KS phenomena. Following from this, the research contends that it may be too easy for researchers to identify with ubiquitous KS barriers as the reported research suggests that these may be perceived rather than actual. The research also reinforces the need for senior management support. These individuals govern the systems in which organisational members operate and thus have the ability to enhance KS for SD. Finally, the research demonstrates that SD ICT systems have little impact unless they are embedded in receptive contexts. Thus, an action research approach to KS system development is advocated to ensure systems are shaped to meet user expectations and drive desired KS behaviours. This research is presented in five peer-reviewed articles.

China, the world's most populous country, has been experiencing a severe water crisis. This has manifested itself through water shortages, water pollution and natural water disasters, and has been exacerbated by the rapid social and economic development that has taken place in the last two decades. To deal with these problems, an integrated water resources management programme, within which an effective and enforceable water rights system can play a key role, should emerge as soon as possible under the principle of sustainable development. However, there are many problems under the water rights system in the current Chinese water law, involving the property right of water resources, the human right to water, and the environmental right to water. ... this dissertation recommends a well structured water rights system under which the economic, social and environmental values of water resources co-exist equitably in harmony.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.