En France comme dans l’ensemble des pays industrialisés, la ruralité, entendue comme construction sociale du monde, se transforme. La mobilité croissante des individus, l’installation de nouvelles populations, l’urbanisation des esprits, setraduisent par de nouvelles manières d’habiter la campagne. Cette thèse apporte sa contribution à l’analyse de la ruralité contemporaine à travers l’étude des pratiques des cafés en interrogeant le déclin et les formes de résistance des cafés dans les espaces ruraux bretons.D’un point de vue général, notre questionnement est double : il porte d’une part sur l’évolution des campagnes et la construction des ruralités contemporaines et, d’autre part, sur les modes d’habiter des ruraux, plus exactement sur la pratique des cafés au sein de ces modes d’habiter. L’un, regard surplombant, et l’autre, regard de terrain, se soutenant mutuellement. Dans un premier temps, nous interrogeons les profils et les stratégies des cafetiers face à la crise des cafés. Cette analyse débouche sur une typologie des cafés ruraux fondée sur les activités et services proposés et met en évidence l’émergence de cafés alternatifs. Dans un second temps, ce sont les pratiques spatiales ordinaires des clients qui sontmises à l’épreuve de cette diversité des cafés ruraux. Les choix des cafés effectués par les clients apparaissent comme dictés par une volonté de différenciation sociale dans l’espace local. / In France, as in all industrialized countries, rurality, defined as social construction of the world, evolves. Mobilities of people, newcomers in rural spaces and urbanization of minds result in new ways of living in countryside. This thesis wants to analyse today rurality by studying drinking establishments practices. It questions decline and forms of renewal in drinking establishments in rural spaces of Brittany. The methods combine interviews with owners and patrons, ethnographic materials and a survey. So we can study profiles and strategies of drinking establishment owners. We propose a typology of drinking establishments in rural Brittany based on activities and products and we highlight the emergence of “alternative” bars. Then, we study the diversity of drinking establishment practices. Patrons’ choices of their bars appear to be related tosocial differentiations in the rural space.

This dissertation purports to ascertain whether the Constitution of South Africa provides protection for taxpayers against specific practices and procedures utilised by SARS in order to collect taxes. The collection of taxes is imperative in ensuring that economical and socioeconomical objectives of the government are met. SARS is therefore awarded specific powers to achieve this. On the other side are taxpayers who are awarded constitutionally enshrined rights. Said rights may only be limited if the limitation is reasonable and just. Tension between SARS’ task and the taxpayers’ rights exist. This dissertation endeavours to find a balance where SARS can effectively collect tax whilst the taxpayers’ rights are not unreasonably and unjustly limited. The Constitution affords taxpayers the right to just administrative action. The right entails, amongst others, that when a dispute arises both parties sides must be heard. The right to just administrative action also includes legitimate expectations. A practice has transpired where SARS denies being bound by its own rulings and notes. A legitimate expectation is, nevertheless, created that SARS will act in accordance with its rulings and notes. The doctrine of legitimate expectations will provide assistance to the taxpayer in this situation. SARS further has the power to appoint a taxpayer’s agent. This procedure does not provide for the taxpayer to state his case before such an appointment is made. This prima facie violates a person’s right to just administrative action. When compared to the civil procedure of garnishee orders valuable differences transpired which will assist in elevating the tension between the taxpayer’s rights and SARS’ duty. A further right afforded, is the right of access to the court. The statement procedure and the “pay now, argue later” rule appear to be in conflict with said right. The statement procedure, which empowers SARS to file a statement at court to be made a judgment, exceeds the normal recourse available for ordinary litigants, namely the default judgment procedure. This procedure has, however, survived constitutional scrutiny. The “pay now, argue later” rule entails that a taxpayer must first pay the assessed amount before questioning the amount. This procedure is a departure from the general rule utilised in civil proceedings. It was held that this procedure is constitutional. This is, however, questioned due to the fact that at the time this rule is invoked the court’s jurisdiction is excluded. Furthermore, a taxpayer can rely on his right to property. If SARS unreasonably delays a refund due to the taxpayer this will violate said right. The situation relating to money owed in civil matters and the judgment of Sage Life Ltd indicates that a taxpayer will be entitled to interest and accordingly the violation will not be unreasonable or unjust. Moreover a taxpayer is afforded the right to privacy. Tension may arise when SARS obtains a warrant to search and seize the taxpayer’s property. This procedure is similar to the procedure of obtaining a warrant in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act. Declaring this procedure unconstitutional is implausible. Other countries faced with the tension between their revenue service collecting tax and their taxpayers’ rights, are utilising certain measures to reduce this tension. Amongst other a service charter, to provide legal certainty, instituting complaints forums, to deal with poor service, and providing brochures, to educate the taxpayers is identified. The predominant measure is, however, the office of the ombudsman. The Constitution, together with other measures, does provide adequate protection for a taxpayer against SARS. Accordingly, the tension between SARS’ duty and the taxpayers’ rights is balanced with the assistance of the Constitution. Copyright / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Mercantile Law / unrestricted

This study investigated the effect of cost-of-escape on helping among children. Forty-four children between the approximate ages of six and twelve served as subjects. The experiment was performed in a natural setting using an ice cream truck. The driver (experimenter) manipulated the cost-of-escape and then had an "accident." The easy-to-escape group received their ice cream before the driver spilled 300 spoons on the ground. The difficult-to-escape group had paid for their ice cream but had not received it before the "accident" occurred. The number of spoons picked up by each condition and the lapse time before a member of each group began to help was recorded. No differences were found between the groups (all ps > .05). Implications for cost-of-escape were discussed.

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (a) to identify, in a large representative sample of Canadian children, the age-related trajectories of overweight and obesity from toddlerhood into childhood and (b) to investigate the associations between these trajectories and children’s temperaments, their parents’ parenting practices and their interactions. Potentially important familial characteristics (i.e., the parents’ or surrogates’ age, income level, and educational attainment) were considered in the models. The sample for this study was drawn from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). Group-based mixture modeling analyses were conducted to identify the number and types of distinct trajectories in the development of obesity (i.e., to explicate the developmental processes in the variability of childhood obesity) in a representative sample of children who were between 24 to 35 months of age, at baseline, and followed biennially over a 6-year span. Discriminant analysis was conducted to assess the theoretical notion of goodness-of-fit between parenting practices and children’s temperament, and their association with membership in the BMI trajectory groups. The results of the group-based modeling established three different BMI trajectories for the boys, namely: stable-normal BMI, transient-high BMI, and j-curve obesity. The analyses revealed four different trajectories of BMI change for the girls: stable-normal BMI, early-declining BMI, late-declining BMI, and accelerating rise to obesity. The multivariate analysis revealed that the combined predictors of the obesity trajectories of the girls (group membership) included having a fussy temperament, ineffective parenting, and parents’ educational attainment. Predictors of the boys’ obesity trajectory (group membership) included household income, parental education, and effective parenting practices. Understanding the different ways in which a child may develop obesity will allow nurses and other health professionals to take different approaches in the assessment, intervention and evaluation of obesity and obesity-related health problems. The results of this study further our understanding of factors associated with the development of obesity at a young age and hence may inform the development of early preventive programs. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate

In an article, “Corruption and Governance Challenges: The South African Experience”,1 the Public Protector commented that corruption and good governance sit at the opposite ends of the spectrum. While good governance represents the ideal for governments, corporations and nations globally, corruption is a scourge that decent people, organisations and governments seek to eradicate. In the simplest of terms, corruption involves the abuse of power for private gain.The Public Protector further stated that it should be a concern to everybody that in post-independence Africa, certainly in South Africa, the accumulation of riches (in most cases, very sudden) is venerated even in the absence of visible means of accumulating the riches. South Africa has battled with corruption since the days of apartheid. Post-apartheid South Africa is a more open society and more opportunities have been created for detecting, exposing and prosecuting corruption. South Africa‟s approach to corruption is multipronged. The main pillars according to the Public Protector are the law, anti-corruption agencies, and public mobilisation.This studyhas attempted to attend to the challenges of managing misconduct relating to fraud and corruption that appear to weaken our democracy. Fraud and corruption is a complex phenomenon that requires managers and supervisors to possess a specialist technical knowledge in order to be effective in punishing those that are involved in this type of misconduct. The tendency currently is for the managers and supervisors to place suspected corrupt employees on a prolonged pre-cautionary suspension for a period that is not supported by law. This of course weakens the employer‟s case as they tend to rely on the outcomes of the proceedings in the criminal procedure before they institute disciplinary action against such culprits. Workers could be criminally prosecuted for this type of misconduct in terms of the provisions of the Prevention and Combating of the Corrupt Activities Act. Employers always enjoy the right to criminally prosecute workers who have committed acts of fraud or corruption but that must go concurrently with the institution of the disciplinary proceedings in terms of the collective agreement, if there is any. This study will show that the act of misconduct relating to fraud and corruption is a complex phenomenon that poses a threat to the global security. This study also takes a closer view of the provisions of international instruments and institutions such as the United Nations and International Labour Organisation. It further, does a detailed analysis of the provisions in other foreign jurisdiction like Canada. This is consistent with the provisions of the Bill of Rights as enshrined in the Constitution:Section 39(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa demands that when interpreting the Bill of Rights, a court, tribunal or forum: a. Must promote the values that underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom; b. Must consider international law; and c. May consider foreign law. Section 1 of the Labour Relations Act, states that the primary objects of the Act are: (a) To give effect and regulate the fundamental rights conferred by section 23 of the Constitution; (b) To give effect to obligations incurred by the Republic as a member state of the International Labour Organisation. Section 3 of the LRA further stipulates that any person applying this Act must interpret its provisions:(a) To give effect to its primary objects; (b) in compliance with the Constitution; (c) in compliance with the public international law obligations of the Republic.This treatise further shows the importance of the Constitutional values and principles that govern the Public Administration in terms of Chapter 10, section 195.Of importance the elements of fraud and corruption are discussed in this study.This study also gives a detailed analysis of the case laws that give guidance on how best to deal with and successfully punish employees involved in misconduct relating to fraud and corruption.

Section 157 of the LRA provides for the nature and extent of the Labour Courts jurisdiction. This provision has been subjected to extensive interpretation by the Judiciary and the various interpretations of the courts have not been entirely consistent. Specific mention is made of the relevance and applicability of section 157(1) and (2) of the LRA regarding the overlap between administrative law and contractual law into labour law. Reference will be made to case law specifically dealing with cases concerning the jurisdiction of the civil courts and labour courts where cases concerning employment and labour matters were brought either in terms of the PAJA or on the basis of contract law. The question arose whether matters which appear to be quintessential labour matters but simultaneously also capable of being entertained on the basis of the PAJA or in terms of contract law are matters which, generally, in terms of section 157(1) of the LRA fall within the exclusive preserve of the Labour Court or, in terms of section 157(2) of the LRA, fall within the concurrent jurisdiction of the High Court and the Labour Court. The discussion which follows will also include reference to the current legal position pertaining to the prohibition of public sector employees from pressing their claims relating to employment or labour matters in the civil courts on the basis of the PAJA as decided in the Chirwa v Transnet Ltd (2008) 2 BLLR 97 (CC) and; the impact thereof on employees pressing claims pertaining to employment and labour matters in the civil courts on the basis of contract law. In addition the similarity of considerations which are common to both administrative law and contract law regarding the “overlap” of each into labour law will be considered and discussed. In the light of the discussion which follows agreement will be expressed with certain decisions of the High Court and the SCA where civil courts were held to retain jurisdiction to entertain common law contractual claims concerning labour and iv employment matters as opposed to restricting all employment and labour matters to the forums established under the LRA and to claims and remedies which are provided for by the LRA.

Very little past work has focused on the comparative analysis of human resource management (HRM) practices between domestic (DEs) and multinational enterprises (MNEs). The majority of the work in this area has instead concentrated on comparing the HRM practices employed by the subsidiaries of MNEs, and has mostly been conducted in the context of developed countries. This research studies the behavioural differences in the HR practices--recruitment, training, internal career opportunities, appraisals, rewards and incentives, as practiced in DEs and MNEs in the emerging country context of Brunei Darussalam. A survey of literature yielded nine major testable hypotheses. These included MNEs being more stringent with regard to their recruitment and training and rigorous with their promotion practices. Performance appraisal (PA) processes were hypothesised to be more advanced and better structured in MNEs when compared to DEs. Incentives and reward systems were also observed and following from literature, these were predicted to be more advanced and better structured in MNEs. In addition, we also hypothesised that the role of HR directors has become more strategic in the two genres of enterprises. We also tested the impact of several control variables on HR practices. In order to put our hypotheses to test, we collected primary data from a cross-section of firms. A count revealed a total of 465 firms in operation; of these, 214 were drawn for study. A total of 151 firms (70%) responded; 88 of these (58%) were DEs and 63 (42%) were MNEs. We applied a mix of parametric and non-parametric tests to analyse the data. On balance, we found support for most hypotheses. In terms of recruitment and selection practices, MNEs are found to be more rigorous in their recruitment, placing more emphasis on such traits as candidates’ willingness to travel, devotion to task, self-motivation, and independent judgment. We also found that MNEs place more emphasis on training; they also emphasise a stronger work culture by relying on ‘induction by socialisation’, and ‘buddy system /mentoring’. Moreover, while the statistical differences on its importance are seen to be higher in MNEs, the mean score emphasising the importance of training for DEs comes out to be high as well. This shows that both sets of enterprises rank the issue of training of their employees high. In terms of internal career opportunities, the results show that MNEs prefer to avoid competition between internal candidates by preparing one person well in advance. Compared to DEs, MNEs rely on sound individual technical skills for promotion purposes, also displaying their preference for technically sound employees in senior positions. Our analysis also shows that MNEs conduct PAs more frequently than DEs, and their feedback system is also rapid. The HR directors and employees of MNEs are more receptive to PAs than those in DEs whilst; in contrast, HR directors in DEs face less opposition to feedback when compared with those in MNEs. It emerges that PAs are an important part of the HR function in both types of organisations. In terms of incentives and rewards systems, MNEs follow market ethos and principles. They also show that DEs tend to look at the industry standards when setting rewards such as ‘basic pay’. There is also higher appeal for social and psychological benefits to employees of MNEs when compared to DEs. When analysing the role of the HR director, HR directors of MNEs show a tighter fit between HR policy and business strategy compared with DEs. With regard to the subject of HR devolvement, HR directors from both DEs and MNEs indicated that rather than having sole responsibility, routine HR responsibilities were shared with line management. The area in which there is less inclination to devolve to line managers is in strategic HR work. Moreever, these traits were more pronounced in MNEs than in DEs. Further, HR directors of MNEs clearly regarded their tasks as more important than the HR directors of DEs. Our analysis also showed that MNEs had higher perceived financial performances when compared to DEs. When analyzed by age, older firms were found to place more importance on language and commitment. With regard to size, larger firms place emphasis on employees’ willingness to travel and work experience in other countries as the main recruitment criteria. Younger firms are more likely to be following market principles in terms of explaining incentives and reward system to their employees, whilst older firms claim that working for them carries social and psychological benefits for employees.

Nitrogen (N) is critical to the quantity and quality of agricultural yields. Excess N fertilization is costly, both economically and environmentally (nitrate leaching, eutrophication, greenhouse gas release, soil degradation). This research identifies zones that could substitute the field-long N-rich strips by using spatial analysis of the nitrogen sufficiency index (NSI) and the relation with Apparent Electrical Conductivity (ECa), Elevation, Slope and Soil. NSI calculated from ECa grouped into three classes was capable of minimizing the effects on NDVI. Correlation coefficients (R) between three-class NSI and NSI calculated from the nearest ECA values were very high for all the fields with values between 0.82< R <0.94, with the highest coefficients associated with fields in 2005 and 2007. Meanwhile, three-class NSI coefficients were consistently significant in relation to the NSI reference, with an average of R=0.79 for all the fields. The highest coefficient was detected for 2007, with R=0.89, whereas the lowest values were associated with 2006 (R=0.67). In the case of elevation grouped into four classes, the correlation results were not statistically significant, with overall average values of R<0.70. The maps elaborated from the NSI for ECa grouped into three classes show a high level of accuracy compared to the NSI reference map. The new N-rich zones not only can contribute to mitigating the environmental impact of agricultural practices (reducing 77% of N inputs) but also be an accurate source of data for the analysis of NSI and within-field N variability.

Recreational organizations that deliver activities to youth within their communities can provide an effective setting for positive youth development (PYD) endeavours due to being fun, engaging, and an environment where skill-building is inherent. However, not all recreational organizations offering PYD aimed programs are successful and many are cancelled after a short amount of time. A framework or guide for (1) promoting PYD through community recreation and (2) evaluating and identifying PYD outcomes does not yet exist. This research seeks to develop a model to inform recreational program design to bring about positive developmental outcomes in youth participants using empirical data collected from three successful organizations. Both one-on-one interviews and a focus group with youth participants and adult staff were utilized following a qualitative multiple case study approach. Data collected was concerned with the positive developmental outcomes experienced by youth participants in the organizations and mechanisms used to realize these outcomes. The key themes, derived through inductive and deductive analyses, are presented as a five-step logic model. These themes help identify the intended results of programs along with the resources and processes needed to achieve these results, thus making this study’s findings easy to integrate into recreational programming. The model’s process factors included a series of inputs (i.e., contextual factors and external assets) and activities (i.e., direct and indirect strategies). Findings identified as intended PYD outcomes included outputs (i.e., objective measurable indicators), short-term outcomes (i.e., life skills), and long-term impacts (i.e., the four Cs including life skill transfer and contribution). This study elaborates on concepts identified in previous research that are conducive to PYD while bringing them together into a framework for designing recreational programs with the goal of promoting positive developmental outcomes in youth. However, further testing through quantitative, longitudinal, and intervention research may be needed.

This diploma thesis is about career pages of companies which belong into field of HR marketing. The goal of this thesis is to analyse the career pages and then based on the analysis specify best practices. Next step will be according to best practices design new solution for career pages of xPORT Business Accelerator VSE.