My dissertation manuscript studies the democratic theories of three protagonists of European political, legal, and social thought in the first half of the 20th century: Max Weber (1864-1920), Carl Schmitt (1888-1985), and Hans Kelsen (1881-1973). It explores, contextualizes, and compares their respective accounts of how the advent of mass democracy transformed the theory and practice of representative government, in terms of both its overall legal framework (the State) and its internal institutional and political actors (Parliaments, parties, and leaders). At the same time, it places these three authors in the broader horizon of early 20th-century anxieties about the “changes” of liberal parliamentarism and the unprecedented challenges posed by mass politics, reconnecting their work to public and scholarly discussions among leading social scientists and intellectuals in the 1920s and 1930s. Sitting at the crossroads of history and theory, the dissertation seeks to highlight the distinctiveness of each author’s normative account of democratic leadership – Weber’s agonistic, Schmitt’s plebiscitary, and Kelsen’s procedural vision – and the largely competing ways in which each of them made political parties foundational to such visions. Urging the readers to capture the enduring echo of these three visions in our present, the dissertation also alerts them to their potential for rethinking the relationship between parties and leaders in early 21st-century representative democracies.

The diversity of fish species found in warmwater stream systems provides a perplexing challenge when selecting species for Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM) studies. An often-suggested approach has been to use habitat guilds to incorporate the diversity found in these systems. My goal is to determine the feasibility of developing habitat suitability criteria (HSC) for the entire fish assemblage in the North and South Fork Shenandoah River, Virginia, using habitat guilds. I examined the strengths and weaknesses of direct underwater observation via snorkeling and throwable anode electrofishing to sample fish habitat use (e.g., depth, velocity, distance to cover, dominant and subdominant substrate, cover, and embeddedness) indicates that using the data collected from both techniques may produce better criteria than using just one of the two sampling techniques. To develop habitat suitability criteria using habitat guilds I placed each species a priori into a guild based on a hypothesized guild structure. Transitional life stages with significantly different habitat use were placed separately into the guild structure. The four guilds (riffle, fast generalist, pool-run, and pool-cover) were found to be significantly different from each other using the data collected for the species assigned to the guilds. Criteria were then developed for representative species from each guild and the entire guilds. Criteria developed for depth, velocity, Froude number, cover, distance to cover, substrate, and embeddedness were used to estimate a habitat response function (i.e., the relations between usable habitat and stream flow) for a representative species from each guild, the guild itself, and for a second species from each guild for comparisons. Both the representative species and guild criteria showed similar habitat response functions for the riffle guild, fast generalist guild, and pool-run guild. However, neither set of criteria performed well for the pool-cover guild. For guilds, other than pool-cover, either the guild or the representative species approach may be a viable option to developing habitat suitability criteria. The transferability tests were performed to determine if criteria developed in the North Fork Shenandoah River, Virginia would transfer to the South Fork Shenandoah River, Virginia. Only criteria for the margined madtom (Noturus insignis) and the juvenile smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) transferred for both suitable and optimal habitat. Criteria for mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi), Cyprinella sp. (spotfin and satinfin shiners), river chub (Nocomis micropogon), adult and juvenile redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus), and adult smallmouth bass did not transfer. Only the pool-cover guild criteria transferred for both suitable and optimal habitat, while riffle guild, fast generalist guild, and pool-run guild criteria did not transfer. I recommend the use of site-specific criteria for the South Fork Shenandoah or different variable combinations. / Master of Science

En kvalitativ studie med syfte att undersöka skyddsombudens upplevelser av sin arbetsvardag inom offentlig, regionalt organiserad hälso- och sjukvård. Utifrån semistrukturerade och strukturerade intervjuer med förtroendevalda skyddsombud inom Vårdförbundet samlades utsagor in och analyserades med organisationskulturella och strukturella teorier. Studiens empiri analyseras med stöd i den teoretiska basen, litteratur och tidigare forskning, vilket breddar kunskaperna kring skyddsombudens arbetsvardag och de strukturella förutsättningarna som finns inom hälso- och sjukvården. Resultatet pekar mot att det finns förutsättningar strukturellt och kulturellt som kan innebära både hinder och möjligheter i skyddsombudens arbetsvardag som påverkar huruvida de kan fullgöra sitt uppdrag. Uppdraget är komplext och i skyddsombudens utsagor beskrivs faktorer som chefens förutsättningar i form av tid, ekonomi och kunskaper som främjande för möjligheterna att utföra uppdraget. Ett gott samarbete med den närmaste chefen och samhörighet på den lokala arbetsplatsen är ytterligare faktorer som främjar skyddsombudens möjligheter att utföra det skyddsuppdrag de är ålagda. Resultatet pekar även på att skyddsombuden upplever att de har de möjligheter som krävs för att utföra uppdraget i den lokala kontexten och att det snarare är de organisatoriska förutsättningarna som verkar hämma möjligheterna. De främsta hindren som skyddsombuden upplever uppkommer i de fall arbetsmiljörisker kräver åtgärder som går utanför den lokala kontexten. / A qualitative study aimed at exploring the experiences of safety representatives in their daily work and their conditions within healthcare to carry out their mission. Statements were collected and analyzed using organizational cultural and structural theories, based on semistructured and structured interviews with elected safety representatives within the Vårdförbundet. The study's empirical data is analyzed with the support of the theoretical foundation, literature, and previous research, which broadens the understanding of safety representatives' daily work and the structural conditions within healthcare. The results indicate that there are structural and cultural conditions that can present both obstacles and opportunities in the safety representatives' daily work, affecting their ability to fulfill their mission. The task is complex, and the safety representatives' statements describe factors such as the manager's conditions in terms of time, finances, and knowledge as facilitating the ability to carry out the mission. Good cooperation with the immediate manager and a sense of belonging in the local workplace are additional factors that promote the safety representatives' ability to perform the safety mission they are entrusted with. The results also indicate that safety representatives feel they have the necessary opportunities to carry out the mission in the local context and that it is rather the organizational conditions that seem to hinder the possibilities. The main obstacles that the safety representatives experience arise in cases where work environment risks require measures that extend beyond the local context.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Coupled to Discrete Element Method (CFD-DEM) is widely used in simulating a large variety of particulate flow system. This Eulerian-Lagrangian technique tracks all the particles included in the system by the application of point mass models in their equation of motion. CFD-DEM is a more accurate (and more expensive) technique compared to an Eulerian-Eulerian representation. Compared to Particle Resolved Simulations (PRS), CFD-DEM is less expensive since it does not require resolving the flow around each particles and thus can be applied to larger scale systems. Nevertheless, simulating industrial and natural scale systems is a challenge for this numerical technique. This is because the cost of CFD-DEM is proportional to the number of particles in the system under consideration. Thus, massively parallel codes are used to tackle these problems with the help of supercomputers. In this thesis, the CFD-DEM capability in the in-house code Generalized Incompressible Direct and Large Eddy Simulation of Turbulence (GenIDLEST) is used to investigate large scale dense particulate flow systems. Central to the contributions made by this work are developments to reduce the computational cost of CFD-DEM. This includes the development and validation of reduced order history force model for use in large scale systems and validation of the representative particle model, which lumps multiple particles into one, thus reducing the number of particles that need to be tracked in the system. Numerical difficulties in the form of long integration times and instabilities encountered in fully coupling the fluid and particle phases in highly energetic systems are alleviated by proposing a partial coupling scheme which maintains the accuracy of full-coupling to a large extent but at a reduced computational cost. The proposed partial-coupling is found to have a better convergence behavior compared to the full coupling in large systems and can be used in cases where full coupling is not feasible or impractical to use. Alternative modeling approaches for the tangential treatment of the soft-sphere impact model to avoid storing individual impact deformation are proposed and tested. A time advancement technique is developed and proposed for use in dense particulate systems with a hard-sphere impact model. The new advancement technique allows for the use of larger time steps which can speed-up the time to solution by as much as an order of magnitude. / PHD / Computational Fluid Dynamics Coupled to Discrete Element Method (CFD-DEM) is widely used in simulating a large variety of particulate flow system. Nevertheless, simulating industrial and natural scale systems is a challenge for this numerical technique. This is because the cost of CFD-DEM is proportional to the number of particles in the system under consideration. The current work aims to provide alternative efficient models that can reduce the computational requirement of CFD-DEM. This includes reducing the computational time to run the calculation, reducing the memory requirement, or providing an alternative method to get reasonably accurate predictions when the proper implementation fails to converge. Different elements of CFD-DEM were targeted in the current work. The testing and validation work covered different applications and ranged over wide operation conditions. Comparisons with available experimental and numerical work was conducted to evaluate the suggested methods. Good to reasonable agreement was achieved with the suggested models and treatments. Savings in calculation time and resources varies depending on what elements/models are being used. A significant reduction of the calculation time and memory resources was achieved with the use of a reduced order force model. The savings in computational time and memory resources opens the door for using the proposed models in applications with large dense systems of particles where other models become impractical to use.

This study aims to describe and analyse the ideas behind and the function of the NGO Maskrosbarn’s advocate services for children (barnombud) during child welfare investigations. The main focus is the advocate services relation to children’s participation. The study has a qualitative case-study approach and contains documents from the local authorities and interviews with eight representatives in six different positions such as child advocates, youth and social workers. An analysis has been made using Shier’ (2001) and Hart’s (1992) theories of child participation and theories about human service organisations (Hasenfeldt, 1983), the New Institutional Theory (Meyer & Rowan, 1977) and the street-level bureaucrat theory (Lipsky, 1980). One main obstacle for child participation in child welfare investigation, shown in the study, is organisational conditions and social workers’ position in public authority. By creating a relationship built on trust, the child advocate supports the child in the investigation process and has the ability to increase the child’s participation and thereby overcome the gap between the social worker and the child. This study highlights the importance of an active cooperation between the child advocate services and the social services, and also of a shared view on the meaning of participation.

The purpose of the work reported within this thesis was to design and implement a series of tests which better replicate the impact conditions experienced during a game, and allow for quantitative measurements of performance of various items of personal protection equipment (PPE). The sports of cricket and taekwondo were used as case studies. The aim was to improve on existing testing protocols making them more representative of real life, an approach that has not been previously attempted in the literature and so required design of multiple items of novel equipment. A representative cricket impact test was developed utilizing a ball canon firing a cricket ball mass at an equivalent bowling velocity of 31 m/s (70 mph) and a novel, freely suspended force acquisition system with embedded accelerometers from which the transmitted force values could be derived. Throughout the testing secondary variables of coefficient of restitution (COR), deformation and contact time were measured from high speed video footage to give further insight into the impact mechanics of the three tested leg guards. Contact times were in the range of 3 ms - 4 ms, COR between 0.38 - 0.50 and deformation between 45 mm - 52 mm. These results were compared against other benchmark tests to establish how close the representative test was to an actual human related ball-pad impact and to estimate human tolerance levels to impact. A rig to mimic a human on human kicking impact in taekwondo was designed to measure performance of the piece of body protection equipment used in training and competition, commonly referred to as a hogu. Primarily a mechanical simulator was designed to replicate the speed and mass of a human leg impacting during a roundhouse kick. A force acquisition system was manufactured, capable of integrating with the kicking robot functioning, with a human torso sized and shaped anvil, using a similar accelerometer based system of force measurement as that introduced in the cricket testing. This test was then used to measure performance levels of nine off-the-shelf hogus and protective training pads. Using transmitted peak force and time to peak force (TTPF) as indicators of protection, these values were found to range from between 0.5 kN 7.5 kN and 9 ms - 23 ms across the pads indicating a major difference in the protection provided.

No description available.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study's investigation focuses on the role played by the NCOP in the national legislature as the second chamber of parliament. It looks in particular at how the NCOP has managed in its deliberations, and as mandated by the Constitution to represent provinces. Subsection 42 (4) of the Constitution stipulates that; " The NCOP represent the provinces to ensure that provincial interests are taken into account in the national sphere of government" (RSA Act 108, 1996). The question that the study seeks to answer IS: does the National Council of Provinces in its deliberations work to represent the interests of provinces in the national legislature rather than those of the party in control of the province? In answering the research question the study's approach is qualitative in nature. In other words, data collection methods were confined to documents and other important sources such as NCOP Publications namely, the NCOP News and the NCOP Review. Looking at the literature on second chambers, the study found that for second chambers to play an effective role in the legislature, the Constitution must equip them with adequate legislative powers. This means that the Constitution must give second chambers a veto on all Bills affecting their jurisdictions. Where a veto is non existent, irrespective of what legislative powers a second chamber may posses, if not elected directly by the electorate, it will suffer the accusations of rubber stamping Bills passed by the first house. The NCOP falls in the same category of second houses with no veto over Bills affecting provinces. Its legislative powers on these Bills are blunted by the NA's twothirds majority in the legislature and as a result remain a subordinate of the first house and that of the ruling party. Furthermore, administrative and communication problems experienced by the institution hinder it in its role of representing provinces. Equally so, the dominance of the ruling ANC in the provinces makes it difficult to determine whether mandates delivered by provincial legislatures carry the interests of provinces or those of the party in power. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie-ondersoek is gerig op die rol wat die NRVP (Nasionale Raad Van Provinsies), as die tweede huis van die Parlement. Die werk is spesifiek gerig op die manier hoe die NRVP vaar in hul debatvoerings, asook in hul verteenwoordiging van provinsies soos voorgeskryf in die Grondwet. Sub-artikel 42 (4) van die grondwet stipuleer dat "die NRVP verteenwoordig die provinsies om te verseker dat provinsiale belange in ag geneem word op die nasionale sfeer van die regering." (RSA Wet 108 van 1996). Die vraag wat hierdie studie poog om te antwoord, is die volgende: werk die NRVP in hul debatsvoerings om die belange van die provinsies in die nasionale wetgewer te verteenwoordig inplaas van die belange van die party in beheer van 'n spesifieke provinsie? In die beantwoording van hierdie navorsings-vraag, is die studie benadering kwalitatief in aard. Met ander woorde - data invorderings metodes was beperk tot dokumente en ander belangrike bronne soos NRVP publikasies, naamlik die "NCOP News" en die "NCOP Review". Na 'n bestudering van literatuur rondom die tweede huis van Parlement, het hierdie studie bevind dat vir die tweede huis om 'n effektiewe rol te speel in die wetgewer, die Grondwet dit moet toerus met genoegsame wetgewende magte. Dit beteken onder andere dat die grondwet die tweede huis 'n veto-reg gee oor alle wetsontwerpe wat hulle jurisdiksie raak. Waar 'n veto-reg nie bestaan nie, ongeag die wetgewende mag wat die NRVP mag hê, sal dit bieg gebuk gaan onder die beskuldiging dat dit 'n rubberstempel plaas op wetsontwerpe uitgevaardig deur die Nasionale Vergadering. Die NRVP val in dieselfde katagorie van tweede huise wat nie 'n veto-reg het oor wetsontwerpe wat provinsies raak. Die NRVP se wetgewende mag oor hierdie wetsonwerpe word geskoei op die Nasionale Vergadering se twee-derde meerderheid en gevolglik bly dit ondergeskik aan die Nasionale Vergadering. Verder, administratiewe-en kommunikasie-probleme wat ondervind word deur die liggaam, hinder dit in die rol van verteenwoordiger van die provinsies. Gelykstaande hieraan, is die dominering van die bewindvoerende party - die ANC. In die provinsies is dit moeilik om vas te stel of die voorskrifte van die provinsiale wetgewer werklik handel oor die belange van die provinsies self of die is van die party in die meerderheid.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study is to provide a structural analysis of the second house of the South African Parliament - the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The study firstly focuses on the theoretical experience of second chambers in general. It then touches on a comparative study of second chambers of selected countries. The study then provides a description of the composition of the second house in South Africa, the committee system employed as well as the information flow. It also explores the concept of co-operative governance, the powers assigned to the NCOP by the Constitution and discusses the method of selecting delegates in detail. In addition the study focuses on the role that the NCOP is expected to play within the national legislative process. This analysis is descriptive in nature and aims to serve as an educational tool for the South African public as well as in the international arena. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie is om 'n strukturele analise te maak van die tweede kamer van die Suid-Afrikaanse Parlament, die Nasionale Raad van Provinsies (NRVP). Eerstens fokus die studie op die teoretiese ervaring van tweede kamers in geheel. Dit gaan dan verder om sekere vergelykings te tref tussen die tweede kamers van verkose lande. Die studie beskryf onder andere die samestelling van die tweede kamer in Suid- Afrika, hoe die komiteestelsel gebruik word, asook die vloei van informasie binne die NRVP. Die studie gaan ook verder om die konsep van saamwerkende regering en die konstitusionele magte van die instelling te bespreek asook die metode om afgevaardiges te verkies tot die NRVP. Die studie fokus ook op die verwagte rol van die NRVP binne die nasionale wetgewende proses. Hierdie analise is beskrywend van aard en beoog om te dien as 'n opvoedkundige instrument vir die Suid-Afrikaanse publiek asook binne die internasionale arena.

Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Aim: To investigate whether Mpumalanga Province's representation in the NCOP can be improved. Problem: The Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature is not performing as expected in the NCOP. The views of Mpumalanga Province are not articulated well in the NCOP. This may be as a result of a lack of research capacity within the Provincial Legislature. The available researchers are not experienced in the political and policy environment. The NCOP meeting cycle or timetable also does not allow enough time for the provinces to adequately prepare for pieces of legislation. There is further little or no interaction between the chairpersons of the Provincial Portfolio Committees and their counterparts in the NCOP. There is poor coordination, planning and communication within the provincial legislature. The Mpumalanga NCOP Liaison Office in Cape Town is not adding value to the information flow from Parliament to the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature. It is acting as a post box by passing information on without any further research and analysis. The research question is: How to improve the effectiveness of the Mpumalanga representation in the National Council of Provinces? Hypothesis: The role of the Mpumalanga NCOP Liaison Office in Parliament needs to be redefined, and the research capacity of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature needs to be enhanced, in order to increase the effectiveness of the representation of Mpumalanga Province in the NCOP. Methodology: The following methods were used in this study; • Face to face interviews with the Chairperson of the NCOP, Ms N Pandor. • A structured questionnaire was sent to the Chief Whip of the NCOP, Mr. E Surty and selected members from the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature. • Participant observation was used, as the researcher was, at the time of this study, an employee of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature stationed at the NCOP. • A literature study was also undertaken. Scope: The study concentrated on the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature while lessons were drawn from other provinces. There is no universally agreed upon criterion to judge what constitutes organizational effectiveness. Evidence from the literature revealed that in order to improve organizational effectiveness, the Goal Attainment, Systems and Strategic Constituencies Approaches to organizational effectiveness need to be combined. These approaches are not mutually exclusive. The focus of the Goal Attainment Approach is mainly on ends while the Systems Approach concentrates on means to achieve the ends. The Strategic Constituencies Approach seeks to appease those stakeholders, in the environment, with potential to threaten organizational stability. Major Findings: Observation, personal experience and the responses from the informants tended to confirm the hypothesis. This study revealed that the researchers of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature were not empowered to deal with legislative matters. Major ConclusionslRecommendations: The most important recommendations are; .:. That Parliament should introduce legislation that will enable Provincial Legislatures to confer authority on their delegations to cast votes uniformly on their behalf in the NCOP . •:. That the brief of the provincial research unit be clearly specified. That a research agenda for each session of Parliament be set. .:. That the role of Regis House staff be expanded to include research, administration and liaison work. .:. That all researchers and senior staff of the organization be re-briefed on the functioning of the Provincial Legislature . •:. That comparative research be conducted on KwaZulu Natal and Western Cape who seemed to produce the best results. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Doelwit: Om ondersoek in te stel of die Mpumalanga Provinsie se verteenwoordiging op die Raad van Provinsies verbeter kan word. Probleem: Die Mpumalanga Wetgewer presteer nie na verwagting in die Nasionale Raad van Provinsies (NRVP) nie. Die sieninge van die Mpumalanga Provinsie word nie goed weergegee in die NRVP nie. Dit mag wees as gevolg van 'n gebrek aan navorsingskapasiteit in die Provinsiale Wetgewer (PW). Die beskikbare navorsers het nie ondervinding in die politieke en beleidsomgewing nie. Die NRVP siklus of tydskedule gee nie genoeg tyd aan provinsies om behoorlik vir wetgewing voor te berei nie. Daar is min of geen interaksie tussen die voorsitters van die Provinsiale Portefeulje Komitees en hul kollegas in die NRVP nie. Daar is ook swak koordinasie, beplanning en kommunikasie in die Provinsiale Wetgewer. Die Mpumalanga NRVP se skakelkantoor in Kaapstad voeg geen waarde toe tot die vloei van inligting van die Parlement na die Mpumalanga Provinsiale Wetgewer nie. Tans dien dit net as 'n posbus, wat inligting deurgee sonder verdere navorsing en analise. Die navorsingsvraag is, hoe kan die verteenwoordiging van die Mpumalanga Provinsie in die NRVP verbeter word? Hipotese: Die rol van die Mpumalanga skakelkantoor in die Parlement moet herdefinieer word en die navorsingskapasiteit van die Provinsiale Wetgewer moet versterk word, om die effektiwiteit van die verteenwoordiging van die Mpumalanga provinsie te verbeter in die NRVP. Metodologie: Die volgende metodes is gebruik in hierdie studie: • Persoonlike onderhoude met die Voorsitter van die NRVP, Me N Pandor. • 'n Gestruktureerde vraelys is gestuur na die Hoofsweep van die NRVP, Mnr E Surty en die teikengroep lede van die Mpumalanga Provinsiale Wetgewer. • Deelnemende waarneming is gebruik, omdat die navorser tydens die studie 'n werknemer van die Mpumalanga Provinsiale Wetgewer was, gestasioneer by die NRVP. • 'n Literatuurstudie is ook onderneem. Omvang: Die studie het gekonsentreer op die Mpumalanga Provinsiale Wetgewer, terwyl lesse geleer is vanaf ander provinsies. Daar is geen universeel ooreengekome kriteria waarop organisasies se effektiwiteit beoordeel kan word nie. Die geraadpleegde literatuur bevestig die hipotese. Die skrywers se gevolgtrekkings toon aan dat die volgende benaderinge tot organisatoriese effektiwiteit gekombineer moet word om 'n organisasie se effektiwiteit te verbeter: die doelwitbereikingsbenadering; sisteem en strategiese kiesafdelingsbenadering. Hierdie benaderings is nie onderling uitsluitend nie. Die fokus van doelwitbereikingsbenadering is hoofsaaklik op resultate terwyl die sisteembenadering konsentreer op maniere om die gevolge te bereik. Die strategiese kiesafdelingsbenadering probeer al die rolspelers met die potensiaal om organisatoriese stabiliteit te bedreig, bevredig,. Hoof Bevindinge: Waarneming, persoonlike ervaring en terugvoering vanaf die respondente het die hipotese deurgaans bevestig. Die studie het getoon dat die navorsers van die Mpumalanga Provinsiale Wetgewer nie wetgewende sake behoorlik kan hanteer nie. Belangrikste Gevolgtrekkings/Aanbevelings: Dit sluit in: ~ Die Parlement moet wetgewing voorlê wat die Provinsiale Wetgewers sal toelaat om hul afgevaardigdes te magtig om hul stemme eenvormig te kan uitbring in die NRVP namens daardie wetgewers. ~ Dat die opdrag van die provinsiale navorsingseenheid duidelik uitgespel word ~ Dat 'n navorsingsagenda bepaal word vir elke sessie van die Parlement ~ Dat die rol van Regis House personeel uitgebrei word om navorsing, administrasie en skakelwerk in te sluit ~ Dat alle navorsers en senior personeel van die organisasie geherorienteer word rakende die werksaamhede van die Provinsiale Wetgewer ~ Dat vergelykende navorsing gedoen word oor KwaZulu Natal en Wes Kaap wat die beste resultate lewer.