The purpose of the study was to explore teachers’ experiences of teaching learners diagnosed with autism. In particular, information was obtained regarding the assets that learners with ASD have and how these assets can be utilised within classrooms. Teachers also gave insight about the challenges that they encounter while teaching learners with ASD. Current classroom practices were investigated and information obtained about the type of support that teachers provide to learners with ASD. This was done in an attempt to provide guidelines on how to improve classroom practices within various educational settings to best support learners with ASD. Furthermore, I explored whether learners with ASD can be included within mainstream or remedial schools and what assistance they will need if they can be accommodated within these school environments. A case study design was utilized. A total of six participants participated in the study. Data was collected by means of a focus group interview as well as one-on-one interviews. Two research sites were used and the information obtained from these sites was used to establish similarities and differences between teachers’ experiences in the respective school environments. The findings of the studies indicate that teacher training programmes need to be revisited in order to achieve the ideal of authentic inclusive school environments. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

När sjöbefälsstudenter under flertalet perioder befinner sig på fartygsförlagd utbildning innebär det en stor omställning jämfört med livet i land. En tydlig skillnad är möjligheten till kommunikation med nära och kära och då framförallt tillgången till internet. Enligt Internetstiftelsen har 98% av svenskarna tillgång till internet på daglig basis. Den siffran är betydligt lägre när det gäller internettillgång ute på fartyg. Syftet med denna undersökning var att ta reda på och beskriva hur viktig internettillgång ombord är för sjöbefälsstudenter och hur de har upplevt internettillgången under sin tid på praktik. Undersökningens syfte var också att ta reda på vilken hänsyn sjöbefälsstudenter tar till internettillgång vid val av arbetsgivare samt om internettillgång kan bli en avgörande faktor till att sjöbefälsstudenter väljer att avsluta karriären till sjöss. Metoden bestod av en kvantitativ studie i form av en enkätundersökning med fasta svarsalternativ och frågor med graderad inställning på skala ett till sex. Urvalet bestod av 97 respondenter från både sjökapten- och sjöingenjörsprogrammet på en sjöbefälsskola. Efter avslutad enkät sammanställdes rådatan i frekvenstabeller och fördelningen av variabeln redovisades slutligen genom stolpdiagram. Resultatet visade att majoriteten av sjöbefälsstudenterna upplevde internettillgången som bristfällig. Detta gällde både kvaliteten på internettillgången samt dess hastighet. Undersökningen visade också att sjöbefälsstudenterna ansåg att internet ombord var mycket viktigt och att det hade en positiv inverkan på den sociala kontakten med hemmet. Internettillgången påverkade också deras mentala hälsa ombord. Resultatet visade dock att majoriteten av sjöbefälsstudenterna inte tar hänsyn till internettillgång vid val av arbetsgivare och att de heller inte ansåg att internet kunde vara en avgörande faktor för att avsluta sin karriär till sjöss. / When students of the Nautical Science and the Marine Engineering Programmes do their time as Cadets on their ship-based internship, this means a great readjustment from life ashore. One apparent difference is the opportunity to communicate with family and loved ones and especially through the use of the internet. According to the Swedish Internet Foundation 98% of the Swedish population have access to the internet on a daily basis. This number is significantly lower when it comes to seamen on ships. The purpose of this survey was to find out and to describe how the students of both the Nautical Science and the Marine Engineering Programmes experienced the use of the internet during their ship-based internships and also how important the internet is to the students during ship-based internships. The survey’s purpose was also to describe how much the students take the internet in consideration when choosing a future employer. Furthermore the survey aimed to describe if the students considered the internet connection onboard ships as a decisive cause of ending their career at sea. The method consisted of a quantitative study in the form of questionnaires with fixed response alternatives and questions with a graded approach on a scale of one to six. The sample consisted of 97 respondents from the Nautical Science Program and the Marine Engineering Program at a Naval institute. Upon finishing the survey the primary data was compiled in frequency tables and the distribution of the variable was displayed in bar charts. The result showed that the vast majority of the students experienced the internet onboard to be inadequate. This applied to both the connection as well as the speed of the internet. The survey also showed that the students considered the internet to be of great importance onboard and that it had a clear positive impact on their social contact with family ashore. The internet connection also impacted the students’ mental health. However, the result showed that the students did not take the internet onboard into consideration when choosing a future employer. Neither did the students consider the internet to be a decisive cause for ending their career at sea.

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies / See the attached abstract below

Since the introduction of frequent flyer miles (e.g. Voyager miles) in South Africa, the concept has evolved in a number of ways. Currently, loyalty programmes are widely used in the consumer industry. Despite the fact that these programmes have been in place for several years, the South African Revenue Service (hereafter referred to as SARS) has failed to issue any legislation or guidance with regard to the treatment of these miles from an employees’ tax perspective. The fringe benefit implications of frequent flyer miles have been the topic of research both in South Africa and abroad. However, little research has been identified on the tax implications of loyalty programmes. This study re-examined past studies and literature identified on frequent flyer miles and analysed the impact these have on loyalty points earned on personal and corporate credit cards from an employees’ tax perspective. The study also extended past research and investigated loyalty points awarded to employees as an incentive from an employees’ tax perspective. The study had three specific objectives. The first objective was to analyse past research studies, court cases and other literature in order to establish the theoretical construct of this study. Secondly, it compared the treatment of frequent flyer miles earned by, or awarded to, employees in South Africa to the treatment of these in Australia and Canada. The third objective was to analyse the employees’ tax implications of loyalty points earned by, or awarded to, employees in specific scenarios. These scenarios were limited to loyalty points earned by employers on corporate credit cards and which are awarded to employees for personal use; loyalty points earned on personal credit cards as a result of business expenditure incurred by employees; and loyalty points awarded to an employee, as part of a loyalty programme operated by the employer, as an incentive. The concluding argument of this study was that loyalty points earned on corporate or personal credit cards, which are used for the benefit of employees, may be considered not to be taxable and that consequently, no employees’ tax obligation will arise. However, this argument is plagued by uncertainties and it is questionable as to whether this view will be supported by the South African courts and SARS. In the scenario where loyalty points are awarded as an incentive to employees, it may clearly be argued that these should be taxable with the result that an employees’ tax obligation will arise. However, the nature and value of the benefit, as well as the point at which the tax event occurs, may create inequities and is therefore uncertain. All these uncertainties highlight the need for guidance in this area from SARS. AFRIKAANS : Sedert gereelde vlugmyle (bv. Voyager miles) in Suid-Afrika in plek gestel is, het hierdie konsep in verskeie vorms ontwikkel. Vandag word lojaliteitsprogramme algemeen in die verbruikersbedryf gebruik. Ten spyte van die feit dat hierdie programme vir baie jare reeds in plek is, het die Suid-Afrikaanse Inkomstediens (hierna verwys na as SAID) steeds geen wetgewing of leiding uitgereik oor die hantering van hierdie myle uit ’n werknemersbelastingsoogpunt nie. Alhoewel die byvoordeelimplikasies van gereelde vlugmyle die onderwerp was van navorsing in Suid-Afrika sowel as oorsee is min navorsing geïdentifiseer oor die belastingimplikasies van lojaliteitsprogramme. Hierdie studie heroorweeg bestaande studies en literatuur oor gereelde vlugmyle en analiseer die impak daarvan op lojaliteitspunte verdien op persoonlike en sakekredietkaarte uit ’n werknemersbelastingsoogpunt. Die studie sal ook bestaande navorsing uitbrei deur lojaliteitspunte, wat as ’n aansporing aan werknemers gegee word, uit ’n werknemersbelastingsoogpunt te analiseer. Die studie het drie spesifieke oogmerke. In die eerste plek is dit om bestaande navorsingstudies, hofsake en ander literatuur te analiseer om ’n teoretiese basis te vestig. Tweedens is dit om die belastinghantering van gereelde vlugmyle verdien deur of toegeken aan werknemers in Suid-Afrika te vergelyk met die hantering hiervan in Australië en Kanada. Die derde oogmerk is om die werknemersbelastingimplikasies van lojaliteitspunte toegeken aan of verdien deur werknemers in spesifieke scenario’s krities te analiseer. Hierdie scenario’s is beperk tot lojaliteitspunte verdien deur werkgewers op sakekredietkaarte en toegeken aan werknemers vir persoonlike gebruik; lojaliteitspunte verdien deur werknemers weens sake-uitgawes aangegaan op persoonlike kredietkaarte; en lojaliteitspunte, wat deel vorm van ’n lojaliteitsprogram wat deur die werkgewer bedryf word, gegee aan werknemers as ’n aansporingsbonus. Volgens die studie se bevindinge kan daar aangevoer word dat lojaliteitspunte verdien op sake- en persoonlike kredietkaarte vir werknemers se persoonlike gebruik nie belasbaar is nie en gevolglik geen werknemersbelastingverpligting teweeg bring nie. Nietemin gaan hierdie siening gepaard met baie onsekerhede en word bevraagteken of dit deur die Suid-Afrikaanse howe en SAID ondersteun sal word. In die scenario waar lojaliteitspunte aan werknemers as ’n aansporing gegee word, kan dit duidelik aangevoer word dat hierdie voordeel belasbaar is en dus ’n werknemersbelastingverpligting teweegbring. Daar is egter onsekerheid oor die tydstip waarop die voordeel belas moet word, asook die aard en waarde van die belasbare byvoordeel. Hierdie onsekerhede onderstreep die behoefte aan leiding op hierdie onderwerp vanaf SAID. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Taxation / unrestricted

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / The current crime rate in the Western Cape plays a crucial role in the exposure of police officers to stressful and traumatic events. The intensity and frequency of this exposure, if not treated, could lead to police officers experiencing comorbid disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This leads to an increased need for trauma intervention strategies to be offered, to assist police officers who are exposed to trauma in the South African Police Service (SAPS). Although trauma intervention programmes are established within SAPS, a difference in perception about their effectiveness and service offering are presented. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in perception toward stress and trauma intervention strategies within the SAPS in the Western Cape. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, the researcher, tapped into the lived experiences of current police officers and Employee Health and Wellness (EHW) staff, employed by SAPS through semi-structured interviews. Through a comparative design, the study will add value to the current body of knowledge, as differences and similarities between two of the primary role players in the trauma debriefing process within the SAPS are explored. The research sample, recruited by means of convenience sampling, consisted of seven EHW staff members who had experience with dealing with stress and trauma-related programmes, and eight visible policing police officers who had experienced some form of trauma-related incident. The researcher made use of an in-depth interview guide as the research instrument for this study, which consisted of audio-recorded semi-structured interviews with the participants. The audio recordings were transcribed, and then analysed by means of thematic analysis. The findings showed that a difference in perception exists between police officers and EHW staff members toward the effectiveness of trauma intervention strategies offered in the SAPS. The findings also suggest that the majority of police officers do not make use of the trauma intervention programmes in the SAPS, in comparison to EHW staff reporting on good attendance by police officers at the service offerings. Similarities in perception between the two groups presented itself in the form of how trauma is defined, the different responses to trauma and coping mechanisms employed by police officers. The implications of this study include a contribution toward policy and structural amendments of the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) framework within the SAPS, as well as a motivation for implementing a compulsory trauma counselling programme for police officers.

The European Union (EU) puts more emphasis on innovation as a key means for regaining and maintaining competitiveness, a trait it lags behind in when compared to its main global competitors. It therefore possesses a range of tools designed to support innovative activities of firms and to improve the overall environment of innovation in the European Union and Member States. This thesis outlines/describes the major milestones in the development of innovation policies in the Czech Republic and the EU and focuses on supporting innovation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Czech Republic via measures derived from the EU's financial tools. Special emphasis is applied to the Operational Programme Entrepreneurship and Innovation (OPIE) that in the Czech Republic is the main tool used to support innovation in firms. The main problem areas that may pose barriers to active impact for this support are identified on the basis of programme documents, assessment reports, statistical data on the programmes and qualitative information yielded from interviews with firm representatives experienced in this type of support. With regard to the findings of this assessment, the thesis attempts to frame suggestions that can eliminate the identified shortcomings and recommendations that can form the position of...

TITLE: Students' Attitudes Towards Chemistry According to the Secondary School They Attend AUTHOR: PhDr. Martin Rusek DEPARTMENT: Katedra chemie a didaktiky chemie SUPERVISOR: prof. RNDr. Pavel Beneš, CSc. ABSTRACT: The research presented in this thesis completes the data with the information about so far neglected vocational schools students' attitudes towards chemistry. After the curricular reform, impact put on general education, including chemistry, brings considerable changes in this area. The questionnaire used was focused on three spheres: students' attitudes towards chemistry, didactical facilities used in chemistry education and students' attitudes towards particular chemical topics. The questionnaire was submitted to students (N = 959) at the beginning of the school year after they entered secondary school. That way the results reflect students' attitudes constructed at primary schools. The results show negative students' attitudes. They are mostly affected by the difficulty of the subject and also by students' low interest in the topics. It was also proved that topics close to students' lives play a vital role. Based on the results of the research, proposals may be word in order to solve the situation: emphasizing activating methods such as: experimental work and active observation, also...

This thesis titled "Integration of Homeless People into Czech Society " deals with the process of setting public political agenda and the related homelessness (and social exlusion) control policy in the Czech Republic during 2000-2013. This process falls behind in comparison with other countries or even worse - it is completely missed out. Growing number of social exluded people is the result of these faults. The aim is to evaluate conceptual and strategic approach to the integration of homeless people and to the system of homelessness prevention in social work and public administration. Following methods are used: critical discourse analysis, event analysis of public policies and semi-structured interviews with selected respondents. The main deficiency of the homelessness control policy can be the lack of systematic research strategy at the national level, which manifests itself in ineffective approach to homelessness prevention. Primarily a lack of awareness is also the cause of homelessness prevention. Public education would help to understand the roots of homelessness and to comprehend the possibilities of help. Thesis also compares approaches to homelessness prevention in selected countries during the reviewed period.

Le traitement médical de choix pour la maladie rénale chronique est la transplantation d'organe. Cependant, plusieurs patients ne sont en mesure que de trouver un donneur direct avec lequel ils ne sont pas compatibles. Les Programmes de Don Croisé de Reins peuvent aider plusieurs paires donneur-patient incompatibles à échanger leur donneur entre elles. Typiquement, l'objectif principal d'un tel programme est de maximiser le nombre total de transplantations qui seront effectuées grâce à un plan d'échange. Plusieurs solutions optimales peuvent co-exister et comme la plupart correspondent à différents ensembles de patients obtenant un donneur compatible, il devient important de considérer quels individus seront sélectionnés. Fréquemment, ce problème n'est pas abordé et la première solution fournie par un solveur est choisie comme plan d'échange. Ceci peut mener à des parti-pris en faveur ou défaveur de certains patients, ce qui n'est pas considéré une approche juste. De plus, il est de la responsabilité des informaticiens de s'assurer du contrôle des résultats fournis par leurs algorithmes. Pour répondre à ce besoin, nous explorons l'emploi de multiples solutions optimales ainsi que la manière dont il est possible de sélectionner un plan d'échange parmi celles-ci. Nous proposons l'emploi de politiques aléatoires pour la sélection de solutions optimales suite à leur enumération. Cette tâche est accomplie grâce à la programmation en nombres entiers et à la programmation par contraintes. Nous introduisons aussi un nouveau concept intitulé équité individuelle. Ceci a pour but de trouver une politique juste pouvant être utilisée en collaboration avec les solutions énumerées. La mise à disposition de plusieurs métriques fait partie intégrante de la méthode. En faisant usage de la génération de colonnes en combinaison au métrique $L_1$, nous parvenons à applique la méthode à de plus larges graphes. Lors de l'évaluation de l'équité individuelle, nous analysons de façon systématique d'autres schémas d'équité tels que le principle d'Aristote, la justice Rawlsienne, le principe d'équité de Nash et les valeurs de Shapley. Nous étudions leur description mathématiques ainsi que leurs avantages et désavantages. Finalement, nous soulignons le besoin de considérer de multiples solutions, incluant des solutions non optimales en ce qui concerne le nombre de transplantations d'un plan d'échange. Pour la sélection d'une politique équitable ayant comme domaine un tel ensemble de solutions, nous notons l'importance de trouver un équilibre entre les mesures d'utilité et d'équité d'une solution. Nous utilisons le Programme de Bien-être Social de Nash afin de satisfaire à un tel objectif. Nous proposons aussi une méthodologie de décomposition qui permet d'étendre le système sous-jacent et de faciliter l'énumeration de solutions. / The preferred treatment for chronic kidney disease is transplantation. However, many patients can only find direct donors that are not fully compatible with them. Kidney Exchange Programs (KEPs) can help these patients by swapping the donors of multiple patient-donor pairs in order to accommodate them. Usually, the objective is to maximize the total number of transplants that can be realized as part of an exchange plan. Many optimal solutions can co-exist and since a large part of them features different subsets of patients that obtain a compatible donor, the question of who is selected becomes relevant. Often, this problem is not even addressed and the first solution returned by a solver is chosen as the exchange plan to be performed. This can lead to bias against some patients and thus is not considered a fair approach. Moreover, it is of the responsibility of computer scientists to have control of the output of the algorithms they design. To resolve this issue, we explore the use of multiple optimal solutions and how to pick an exchange plan among them. We propose the use of randomized policies for selecting an optimal solution, first by enumerating them. This task is achieved through both integer programming and constraint programming methods. We also introduce a new concept called individual fairness in a bid to find a fair policy over the enumerated solutions by making use of multiple metrics. We scale the method to larger instances by adding column generation as part of the enumeration with the $L_1$ metric. When evaluating individual fairness, we systematically review other fairness schemes such as Aristotle's principle, Rawlsian justice, Nash's principle of fairness, and Shapley values. We analyze their mathematical descriptions and their pros and cons. Finally, we motivate the need to consider solutions that are not optimal in the number of transplants. For the selection of a good policy over this larger set of solutions, we motivate the need to balance utility and our individual fairness measure. We use the Nash Social Welfare Program in order to achieve this, and we also propose a decomposition methodology to extend the machinery for an efficient enumeration of solutions.