Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Chemical Engineering / unrestricted

This is a qualitative study that seeks to explore the workers’ perceptions towards the occupational safety and health administration (OSHA) system at the petrochemical industrial plant Sasol Infrachem in Sasolburg. It provides a platform for shop floor workers to express their subjective perceptions of the company’s OSHA measures by answering open ended questions. The study advances the notion that notwithstanding the safety managers’ efforts towards ensuring a safety regime in the workplace, however lucrative these might be, to really ensure a safe working environment in the workplace will always depend on the individual workers’ motivation to participate safely at work at any given time to ensure his/her safety and that of others. The study explores this subject by considering how they perceive these safety strategies, their vigilance, attitudes, their ownership of these and their inclination to comply with the occupational safety and health administration measures of Sasol. This study follows a Postmodernist theoretical framework emphasizing differences. Difference is a first and foremost identity feature of human beings. This goes for both their external and internal qualities. How workers perceive and relate to safety concepts will always be shaped by the differences among them. The study also makes use of the Environmental Justice Theory as a central theme, that holds that one life lost is one too many. At the forefront of industries are shop floor workers who are most vulnerable to workplace incident.The study assumes this premise with regard to their safety and health in the workplace

This thesis examined the conversions of biomass and biomass components to petrochemicals and total aliphatic gasoline like products. There are three major projects of the thesis. Since biomass is very complicated, to understand the thermal decomposition pathways of biomass, the pyrolytic behaviors of various biomass components including lignin and cellulose under different reaction were investigated in the first phase. Due to complexity and limited volatility, the thermal decomposition products from biomass bring insurmountable obstacles to the traditional analysis methods such as GC-MS, UV and FT-IR. Therefore, precise characterization of the whole portion of thermal decomposition products has significant impacts on providing insight into the pyrolysis pathways and evaluating the upgrading processes. Various NMR methods to characterize different functional groups presented in liquid and solid pyrolysis products by 1H, 13C, 31P, 2D-HSQC and solid state 13C-NMR were introduced in the second phase. Nevertheless, the major drawback towards commercialization of pyrolysis oils are their challenging properties including poor volatility, high oxygen content, molecular weight, acidity and viscosity, corrosiveness and cold flow problems. In situ upgrading the properties of pyrolysis oils during thermal conversion process by employing zeolites has been discussed in the third phase. The further hydrogenation of pyrolysis oils to total aliphatic gasoline like products by heterogeneous catalysis in “green medium” – water has also been examined in the third project.

Individuals with different personal demographics and job-based factors have different attitudes and behaviors, which can influence their levels of commitment to their organizations. These differences in organizational commitment increase as their cultural backgrounds differ significantly. Personal demographics and job-related factors are reliable predictors of employees' commitment to their employing organizations. The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate if there is a difference in the level of employees' commitment to Saudi petrochemical companies on the basis of differences in their personal demographics and job-related factors.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Johannesburg, 1997. / Faced with the potential threat of oil embargoes imposed by producer countries for political reasons, the consumer countries reacted by creating different alternatives which granted them some energy independence and security of supply by using alternative products and technologies available in their own countrles, Can a middle level developing country break out of the cycle of dependency in the area of energy? This dissertation investigates the strategy developed and implemented by South Africa between 1973 and 1993, which invested heavily in the generation of fuel extracted from coal in order to rescue its country from crisis and support it through critical periods of history. / AC2017

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-03T18:35:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jefferson_Giacomace_de_Sousa_Freitas.pdf: 574504 bytes, checksum: 71a29ad45c1f1aa5e4a05e89199a3509 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-06 / In order to obtain the disclosure of conformity index (ICE), this paper selected as the measurement attributes and the mandatory disclosure published in the notes on chemical companies for the year 2013, adhering to forty-five (45) technical pronuncements (CPC), seventeen interpretations (ICPC) and six guidelines (OCPC), issud by the committee of accounting pronouncements (CPC). The research methodology applied is characterized as qualitative and quantitative and documentary character. The research methodology is characterized as qualitative and quantitative and documentary character. Qualitative because it is to examine the financial statements and notes disclosed by companies to comply with the standards, guidelines and interpretations in the category disclosure and measurement. The approach is also characterized as quantitative as calculate the Disclosure Compliance Index (ICE) applied to the Brazilian chemical industry , and its evolution. The result of our analysis, the net disclosure complaince rate was 61% 55% and 63% to the companhy Braskem S.A, Fertilizers Henringer S.A and Elekeiroz S.A, Which had 152, 137 and 157 disclosure of items of a total 248 items requerid for the year 2013. This study hopes to contribute to the disclosure of conformity index (ICE) for the evaluation of companies in Brazil capital market compared with overseas companies that adopted IFRS correlated to CPC adopted in Brazil, if companies with a high disclosure complaince (ICE) have lower risks and if there was a decrease or absence of volunteers items, since it expects an increase of the items requerid on the basis of CPC, ICPC, OCPC / Com o prop??sito de auferir o ??ndice de conformidade de evidencia????o (ICE), este trabalho selecionou como atributos a mensura????o e a evidencia????o obrigat??rias publicadas nas notas explicativas nas empresas do setor qu??mico, referente ao ano de 2013, aderentes aos quarenta e cinco (45) pronunciamentos t??cnicos (CPC), dezessete interpreta????es (ICPC) e seis orienta????es (OCPC), emitidos pelo comit?? de pronunciamentos cont??beis (CPC). A metodologia da pesquisa aplicada caracteriza-se como quali-quantitativa e de car??ter documental. Qualitativa por se tratar de examinar as demonstra????es cont??beis e notas explicativas divulgadas pelas empresas se est??o em conformidade com os pronunciamentos, orienta????es e interpreta????es no quesito evidencia????o e mensura????o. A abordagem tamb??m se caracteriza como quantitativa, pois calcular?? o ??ndice de Conformidade de Evidencia????o (ICE) aplicado ao setor qu??mico brasileiro, e sua evolu????o. Como resultado da nossa an??lise, o ??ndice de conformidade de evidencia????o apurado foi de 61%, 55% e 63%, para a empresa Braskem S.A, Fertilizantes Heringer S.A e Elekeiroz S.A, que apresentaram 152, 137 e 157 itens de evidencia????o de um total de 248 itens obrigat??rios para o ano de 2013. Este trabalho espera contribuir para o ??ndice de conformidade de evidencia????o (ICE) para avalia????o das empresas no mercado de capitais do Brasil em compara????o com as empresas no exterior que adotaram as IFRS s correlacionadas aos CPC s adotados no Brasil, se as empresas com um alto ??ndice de conformidade de evidencia????o (ICE) possuem riscos menores e se houve uma diminui????o ou n??o dos itens volunt??rios, uma vez que se espera um aumento dos itens obrigat??rios com base nos CPC, ICPC, OCPC

This thesis makes a new contribution to the field of public relations in the area of organization-public relationships (OPRs). The thesis focuses on a petroleum industry-community relationship in Sundre, Alberta, Canada, which was explored in-depth. A qualitative phenomenological orientation was adopted as it suited the focus of the research which was to explore and describe the lived experiences of the actual participants involved in the Organization-Public Relationship phenomenon as well as how they described the relational elements and related them to their experience of the OPR. In-depth interviews, as the primary method, were conducted with both industry and community members. Secondary methods played an important but minor role and were used primarily for the purpose of the researcher as a tool to double check the interview findings and included participant observation, discourse analysis, and a small co-orientation survey. The empirical research undertaken uncovered the importance of the background context of the OPR when engaging in relationship building and maintenance activities, opinions regarding the relational elements, relationship building processes, including the importance of having communication and trust building workshops. An interesting finding for this particular industry-community relationship emerged concerning the influence of ‘management guru’ Stephen Covey’s work which shaped the way the industry and community members engaged with each other. Trust emerged as the fundamental relational element, whilst transparency was critical for rebuilding trust after a crisis. This thesis has added to the body of theoretical knowledge in the field of public relations. Specifically it extended the understanding of an area of practice, community relations, and it has explored options for the management of activism and community engagement. The thesis also contributes to public relations practice. Public relations practitioners working within the oil and gas industry as well as other non-renewable resource extraction industries are responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with key publics, including the communities they operate within. Practitioners need to be able to work with the relational parties and collaborate in the development of processes that meet the needs of the participants. As practitioners shift their focus to developing relationships with key publics they will need to develop new skills in areas such as conflict resolution, community engagement, and interpersonal relationship building. This piece of research is functional as it reflects on the OPR and highlights findings that are useful for gaining insight into the relational dynamics for academics and practitioners as well as questioning the power distribution and dynamics within this particular OPR. By adopting the phenomenological approach it has provided a representation of an OPR, which whilst it cannot be generalized it does provide a richer understanding of how relationship building processes can operate as well as the importance of trust and transparency building when there has been a relational history of hostility, distrust and deep unhappiness. Further qualitative research should explore the development and maintenance of the other OPRs in order to understand more about the various contexts, processes, content and ability to set agendas within relationships. It would also be interesting to further explore the influence of management gurus and management fashions adopted or promoted by senior management involved in OPRs and illuminate how these approaches are implemented and impact an organization’s external relationships.

This dissertation analyses the history of the politics of pollution and petroleum refining in South Africa during the first decade of Apartheid, focusing on the country's first two oil refineries, both of which were built by multinational oil companies in Durban in the 1950s and 60s. It traces the origins of the development of environmental regulation in relation to oil refinery pollution. The dissertation outlines the development of a sense of disillusionment caused by the persistence of pollution problems associated with petroleum refining in the face of failed attempts at technological and expert interventions. The study identifies the existence of a civic culture amongst Bluff residents founded on ratepayer and landowner identities, through which they were able to exercise considerable purchase on the local State. Ultimately, the story of how two petroleum refineries ended up in the midst of residential communities in south Durban's represents a reiteration of the importance of race to the development of local urban landscapes during Apartheid. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [387]-418).

Text in Afrikaans, abstract in Afrikaans and English / Die doel van hierdie navorsing was om te bepaal of betekenisvolle verskille bestaan tussen werknemerdoeltreffendheid en persepsies van gehalte van werklewe van bemagtigde en niebemagtigde skofwerkers in die Suid-Afrikaanse petrochemiese bedryf. Skofwerknavorsing het gedurende die afgelope dekade internasionaal toegeneem. Hiermee gepaardgaande het verskeie intervensies ontstaan om die doeltreffendheid van skofwerkers en hulle gehalte van werklewe te bevorder. Deur gebruik te maak van 'n gekombineerde vraelys ("Standard Shiftwork Index") en werklike data ten opsigte van afwesigheid en prestasiebeoordelings, is 'n steekproef van 102 gevalle geanaliseer. 'n 90 persent betroubaarheidinterval is gebruik om waardes ten opsigte van elke veranderlike te bepaal. Daar is bevind dat werknemerbemagtiging weinig invloed het op skofwerkers se werkbywoning. Daar is ook gevind dat werknemerbemagtiging nie lei tot 'n meer positiewe persepsie, by toesighouers, van skofwerkwerkers se algemene werkprestasie nie. Daar is egter bevind dat skofwerkers se persepsies van hulle gehalte van werklewe, ten opsigte van werkdissatisfaksie, chroniese vermoeidheid en tevredenheid met sosiale omstandighede, wel positiefbelnvloed word deur werknemerbemagtiging. Aanbevelings is gemaak ten opsigte van die aanwending van werknemerbemagtiging, as intervensie in skofwerkomgewings, asook vir verdere skofwerknavorsing in Suid-Afrika. / The purpose of this research was to determine if significant differences exist between employee effectiveness and perceptions of quality of working life of empowered and non-empowered shiftworkers in the South-African petrochemical industry. By using the Standard Shiftwork Index and real absenteeism and appraisal data, a sample of 102 cases was analysed. A 90 percent confidence interval was used to determine t-values for variables. It was found that empowerment has little influence on the work attendance of shiftworkers and that empowerment does not lead to more positive perceptions of general work performance of shiftworkers, among their supervisors. It was, however, found that shiftworkers' perceptions of their quality of working life are improved by empowerment in respect of work dissatisfaction, chronic fatigue and satisfaction with social circumstances. Suggestions were made concerning the use of empowerment, as an intervention, in shiftwork environments and for future shiftwork research in South-Africa. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M.Comm. (Bedryfsielkunde)