Design and manufacture of reinforced concrete beams for laboratory testing. Implementation of selected tests of mechanical properties for selected elements. Experimental analysis of reinforced concrete beams in the laboratory. Creating a numerical model in the software ATENA 2D. Graphic processing of numerical and experimental analysis and comparison.

Im Rahmen experimenteller Untersuchungen wurden Stahlbetonplatten hergestellt, mit verschiedenen textilen Bewehrungen verstärkt, mit 125 % Gebrauchslast vorgeschädigt und anschließend unter Gebrauchslast mit einer Brandbelastung nach der Einheitstemperaturkurve (ISO-834, Cellulosic curve) beaufschlagt. Alle Platten hielten der Brandbelastung bei gleichzeitiger Biegebeanspruchung mehr als 60 Minuten stand und zeigten weder Betonabplatzungen noch andere optische Schädigungen auf. Die für dieses überraschend positive Ergebnis verantwortlichen Mechanismen werden diskutiert, sind aber noch nicht vollständig verstanden. Eine Schlüsselrolle spielt dabei vermutlich das gute Rissverhalten von Textilbeton und interne Umlagerungen zwischen Textil und Stahlbewehrung.

Im Rahmen des Transferprojektes sollen baubetriebliche Rahmenbedingungen und Kennwerte, die zur Beurteilung der wirtschaftlichen Anwendung des Verfahrens geeignet sind, erarbeitet werden. Untersucht werden soll die Applikation von textilbewehrtem Beton im Bereich der Sanierung und Verstärkung von großflächigen Betonbauteilen. Generell können Bauaufgaben in sehr vielen Fällen durch verschiedene Bauverfahren realisiert werden, die sich regelmäßig hinsichtlich der Kosten, der benötigten Bauzeit aber auch hinsichtlich der gelieferten Qualität und des Einflusses auf die Umwelt unterscheiden. Aus baubetrieblicher Sicht wird traditionell über den kalkulatorischen Verfahrensvergleich jenes Verfahren ermittelt, mit dem die Realisierung am wirtschaftlichsten ausgeführt werden kann. Falls qualitative Kriterien beim Verfahrensvergleich mit berücksichtigt werden sollen, stehen verschiedene Methoden zur Auswahl. Der Begriff Nutzwertanalyse wird häufig als Synonym für diese nichtmonetären Bewertungsverfahren verwendet. In diesem Sinne ist auch der Titel des Beitrages zu verstehen. Die Grundlage bilden die baubetrieblichen Rahmenbedingungen, welche im Rahmen dieses Forschungsprojektes bestimmt werden. Hierzu zählen unter anderem die Entwicklung einer Trockenmischung des zu verwendenden Betons aus der bisher verwendeten Standardrezeptur der TU Dresden und geeigneter Maschinen für die Applikation des textilbewehrten Betons.

Strengthening marriages is important to the well-being of individuals, families and communities. The transition to parenthood brings with it particular risks and opportunities for marriage relationships, yet no interventions have been successful in accessing a large number of couples during this critical time prepare and strengthen them for the challenges of becoming parents. The healthcare system has an established education infrastructure (childbirth education) that interacts with a significant number of couples during the transition to parenthood and has become increasingly open to incorporating relationship strengthening efforts into existing programs. The Marriage Moments program was designed to access couples through this system. This new approach to marriage education employs a program design unique in three ways: the context of childbirth education, a low-intensity content based on a model of marital virtues, and a simple, self-administered format of materials that gives the program great flexibility and transportability that can be implemented in a variety of existing systems. Initial formative program evaluation data show that the program is well received by participating couples. Marriage Moments is currently being pilot tested to evaluate its effectiveness in strengthening marriage through the transition, but it is expected the program will be disseminated widely and reach numerous couples as they transition to parenthood.

The purpose of the research was to assess the availability of public health services in response to humanitarian crises in Gambella, Ethiopia. This informed the development of a public health service protocol for humanitarian emergency responses in Ethiopia. The objectives of the study were explored and identify current humanitarian health emergency needs and responses, describe the availability of public health services required for humanitarian emergency responses, study and critically analyse different humanitarian responses in respect of health care services and related protocols in other countries, develop a context-specific and needs-based protocol for humanitarian emergency responses in Gambella, Ethiopia, clarify the policy and programme implications of such a protocol. A mixed-method research design was used to conduct the study. Data were collected from 32 health facilities to assess the availability of required resources and public health services. A checklist and in-depth interview guide were used to collect the data. The quantitative data were analysed using simple descriptive statistics using frequency distribution tables and graphs. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the qualitative data. The study revealed a lack of resources which threatened the availability of public health services in humanitarian emergencies. The ever-increasing number of refugees overstretched the limited resources, leading to stockouts of medicines, other health commodities and equipment. The absence of emergency preparedness, poor coordination of services, coupled with a lack of integration of services exacerbated public health service delivery. The study findings informed the development of a public health service protocol for humanitarian responses in Ethiopia. The study further recommended further research on other factors that might affect humanitarian responses and coordination. / Health Studies / Ph. D. (Public Health)

Στην παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή αναπτύσσεται μια νέα τεχνική ενίσχυσης υποστυλωμάτων οπλισμένου σκυροδέματος με βάση τη χρήση συνθέτων υλικών, τα οποία αποτελούνται από πλέγματα ινών σε ανόργανη μήτρα (π.χ. κονίαµα µε βάση το τσιμέντο), αποσκοπώντας στην επίλυση προβλημάτων που χαρακτηρίζουν τα Ινοπλισμένα Πολυμερή (ΙΟΠ) σχετικά µε τη χρήση εποξειδικών ρητινών. Τα Ινοπλέγματα σε Ανόργανη Μήτρα (ΙΑΜ) δοκιμάζονται στη μορφή μανδύα µε στόχο την περίσφιγξη και την αύξηση της πλαστιμότητας υποστυλωμάτων παλαιού τύπου, σχεδιασμένων δηλαδή χωρίς τις νέες αντισεισμικές λεπτομέρειες όπλισης. Εξετάζονται διάφορες παράμετροι, που περιλαμβάνουν τη χρήση ράβδων λείων ή με νευρώσεις, την πιθανή ένωση των ράβδων με υπερκάλυψη στον πόδα των υποστυλωμάτων και το μήκος υπερκάλυψης. Έτσι προσδιορίζεται η αποτελεσματικότητα των μανδυών ΙΑΜ και συγκρίνεται με αυτή τον ΙΟΠ ως μέσου περίσφιγξης στις κρίσιμες περιοχές υφισταμένων υποστυλωμάτων για όλες τις περιπτώσεις καμπτικών αστοχιών στην περιοχή της πλαστικής άρθρωσης. Το πειραματικό πρόγραμμα που ακολουθείται για την απόκτηση δεδομένων γύρω από τη συμπεριφορά υποστυλωμάτων οπλισμένου σκυροδέματος, ενισχυμένων με μανδύες ανόργανης (ΙΑΜ) ή οργανικής (ΙΟΠ) μήτρας, περιλαμβάνει συνολικά 28 δοκιμές επί δοκιμίων υποστυλωμάτων δύο τύπων: (α) 15 πρισματικά δοκίμια οπλισμένου σκυροδέματος που δοκιμάζονται σε κεντρική θλίψη και (β) 13 δοκίμια υποστυλωμάτων πλήρους κλίμακας, τα οποία δοκιμάζονται σε ανακυκλιζόμενη κάμψη με σταθερό αξονικό φορτίο. Καταδεικνύεται ότι η αποτελεσµατικότητα των µανδυών ΙΑΜ είναι υψηλή και γενικώς παρόµοια µε αυτή των µανδυών ΙΟΠ για όλες τις περιπτώσεις που εξετάστηκαν. Επιπροσθέτως, τα πειραματικά αποτελέσματα των 13 υποστυλωμάτων πλήρους κλίμακας που υποβλήθηκαν σε ανακυκλιζόμενη κάμψη (με σταθερό αξονικό φορτίο), συμβάλλουν στη διερεύνηση δύο ακόμα “θολών” μέχρι σήμερα πεδίων, όπως: (α) Ο λυγισμός των διαμήκων ράβδων σε περισφιγμένο με μανδύες ΙΑΜ ή ΙΟΠ σκυρόδεμα. Ιδιαίτερη έμφαση δίνεται στη μελέτη της αλληλεπίδρασης μεταξύ του μανδύα ΙΑΜ ή ΙΟΠ και των διαμήκων ράβδων, κατά την έναρξη και εξέλιξη του λυγισμού των τελευταίων. (β) Η αντοχή σε συνάφεια μεταξύ των ενωμένων με παράθεση ράβδων και του περισφιγμένου με μανδύες ΙΑΜ ή ΙΟΠ σκυροδέματος. Ιδιαίτερη έμφαση δίνεται στην πειραματική και αναλυτική μελέτη του μηχανισμού με τον οποίο η περίσφιγξη με μανδύες ΙΟΠ και ΙΑΜ συνεισφέρει στη βελτίωση των συνθηκών συνάφειας μεταξύ ράβδων οπλισμού και σκυροδέματος. Ακόμα στην παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή διεξάγεται η πρώτη συστηματική μελέτη καμπτικής ενίσχυσης υποστυλωμάτων υπό ανακυκλιζόμενη κάμψη (και σταθερό αξονικό φορτίο) με Πρόσθετους Οπλισμούς νέου τύπου σε Εγκοπές (ΠΟΕ). Εξετάζονται υποστυλώματα που έχουν ενισχυθεί με πρόσθετο οπλισμό ινοπλισμένων πολυμερών (ελάσματα άνθρακα ή ράβδους γυαλιού) καθώς και με ράβδους ανοξείδωτου χάλυβα τοποθετημένων σε εγκοπές. Άλλη μια καινοτομία που εισαγάγει η παρούσα διατριβή είναι ο συνδυασμός του ΠΟΕ με τοπικούς μανδύες ινοπλεγμάτων σε ανόργανη μήτρα (IAM), οι οποίοι αποτελούν ένα εξαιρετικά αποτελεσματικό και πολλά υποσχόμενο σύστημα περίσφιγξης, όπως αναπτύσσεται και περιγράφεται λεπτομερώς στην παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή. Η έρευνα που υλοποιείται για την απόκτηση δεδομένων γύρω από τη συμπεριφορά υποστυλωμάτων οπλισμένου σκυροδέματος ενισχυμένων σε κάμψη με ΠΟΕ, περιλαμβάνει τη διεξαγωγή 11 δοκιμών επί υποστυλωμάτων πλήρους κλίμακας, τα οποία υποβάλλονται σε ανακυκλιζόμενη κάμψη υπό σταθερό αξονικό φορτίο. . Καταδεικνύεται ότι μέσω ενός κατάλληλου σχεδιασμού, στα πλαίσια του οποίου ο ΠΟΕ συνδυάζεται με τοπικό μανδύα στα άκρα του υποστυλώματος (κορυφή και πόδα), είναι εφικτό η αύξηση της καμπτικής αντίστασης των υποστυλωμάτων να μην συνοδεύεται από μείωση της διαθέσιμης ικανότητας παραμόρφωσης. Τα χρήσιμα πειραματικά ευρήματα από τα ενισχυμένα με ΠΟΕ υποστυλώματα, συμπληρώνονται με την ανάπτυξη ενός αναλυτικού και υπολογιστικού προσομοιώματος, το οποίο έχει διττή συμβολή, καθώς επιτρέπει: (α) την εκτέλεση παραμετρικών αναλύσεων ώστε να μελετηθεί σε βάθος και χωρίς κόπο (πειραματικές δοκιμές) η επίδραση όλων σχεδόν των παραμέτρων, στην καμπτική αντίσταση των ενισχυμένων με ΠΟΕ υποστυλωμάτων. (β) Τη χρήση του ως πολύτιμου υπολογιστικού εργαλείου από το Μηχανικό για το σχεδιασμό καμπτικών ενισχύσεων υποστυλωμάτων με ΠΟΕ και / ή μανδύες συνθέτων υλικών. Η αξία της συμβολής του εν λόγω προσομοιώματος μεγιστοποιείται αν ληφθούν υπόψη ορισμένα χαρακτηριστικά του όπως: (1) Η μείωση των ροπών αντοχής ως προς τους δύο κύριους άξονες (ισχυρός και ασθενής), η οποία οφείλεται στην έντονη σύζευξή τους, για τα ενισχυμένα σε κάμψη υποστυλώματα που υποβάλλονται σε διαξονική κάμψη. (2) Η εφαρμογή ενός τραπεζοειδούς στερεού τάσεων για το σκυρόδεμα σε θλίψη, το οποίο σε σύγκριση με το κλασικό ορθογωνικό στερεό, προσομοιώνει με αρκετά μεγαλύτερη ακρίβεια τον όγκο του σκυροδέματος της θλιβόμενης ζώνης, ιδιαίτερα για τις ενισχυμένες διατομές. (3) Η ταυτόχρονη δράση της εξωτερικής περίσφιγξης με μανδύες συνθέτων υλικών στις ενισχυμένες σε κάμψη διατομές. / The effectiveness of a new structural material, namely Textile-Reinforced Mortar (TRM), was investigated experimentally in this PhD Thesis as a means of confining old-type reinforced concrete (RC) columns with limited capacity due to bar buckling or due to bond failure at lap splice regions. Comparisons with equal stiffness and strength fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) jackets allow for the evaluation of the effectiveness of TRM versus FRP. Tests were carried out on nearly full scale non-seismically detailed RC columns subjected to cyclic uniaxial flexure under constant axial load. Thirteen cantilever-type specimens with either continuous or lap-spliced deformed longitudinal reinforcement at the floor level were constructed and tested. Experimental results indicated that TRM jacketing is quite effective as a means of increasing the cyclic deformation capacity of old-type RC columns with poor detailing, by delaying bar buckling and by preventing splitting bond failures in columns with lap-spliced bars. Compared with their FRP counterparts, the TRM jackets used in this study were found to be equally effective in terms of increasing both the strength and deformation capacity of the retrofitted columns. From the response of specimens tested in this study, it can be concluded that TRM jacketing is an extremely promising solution for the confinement of RC columns, including poorly detailed ones with or without lap splices in seismic regions. Moreover this PhD Thesis presents the results of a large-scale experimental program aiming to study the behavior of RC columns under simulated seismic loading, strengthened in flexure (of crucial importance in capacity design) with different types and configurations of near-surface mounted (NSM) reinforcing materials. The role of different parameters is examined, by comparison of the lateral load versus displacement response characteristics (peak force, drift ratios, energy dissipation, stiffness). Those parameters were as follows: carbon or glass fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) versus stainless steel; configuration and amount of NSM reinforcement; confinement via local jacketing; and type of bonding agent (epoxy resin or mortar). The results demonstrate that NSM FRP or stainless steel reinforcement is a viable solution towards enhancing the flexural resistance of reinforced concrete columns subjected to seismic loads. With proper design, which should combine compulsory NSM reinforcement with local jacketing at column ends, it seems that column strength enhancement does not develop at the expense of low deformation capacity.

The poor state and failure of the basic education system in South Africa gave rise to this research. The wave of knowledge loss experienced in the last two decades is expected to carry on and will continue to deplete the basic education system’s knowledge base, severely affecting the already poor quality of education as well as the future economic growth and sustainability in South Africa. The main research objective was to establish whether future growth and sustainability in the basic education system in South Africa is achievable; which factors it is influenced by; and how knowledge continuity could impact on future growth and sustainability. A multidisciplinary approach focusing on organisational performance, knowledge management, individual and organisational behaviour and organisational development was followed. The nature of growth and sustainability and knowledge continuity in organisations was explored by following a contextualisation theory-building process. The main objective of the empirical research study was to determine by means of quantitative research the degree to which the influencing factors would enhance or impede growth and sustainability in an organisation. A quantitative survey method was followed. A questionnaire was developed and the survey was performed in 6 primary and secondary schools of the basic education system in South Africa. The questionnaire was found to be reliable with a Cronbach’s alpha of .8060. In the descriptive factor analysis process, principal component factor analysis was conducted, which described the five constructs that would influence growth and sustainability. These constructs’ dimensions produced significant intercorrelations which indicate that the dimensions are for the most part intercorrelated with each other in contributing to growth and sustainability. The multiple regression analysis indicated that knowledge loss would have an exceptionally strong impact on knowledge; and that knowledge, information and performance would significantly predict growth and sustainability. Organisations should change the focus for growth from physical assets to the development of intellectual capital, and knowledge continuity should form part of an organisations’ business strategy and mission. Knowledge continuity will only be successful if a culture conducive of trust and knowledge sharing and transfer exist, and are supported by effective and appropriate human resource practices and incentives. A structural equation model development strategy produced a knowledge continuity model aimed at enabling future growth and sustainability, based on the constructs confirmed in the factor analysis. The model indicated that there is a direct causal relationship between knowledge, information and performance with growth and sustainability. The regression analysis showed that most of the intercorrelations are significant, thus confirming the theory. The newly developed questionnaire and structural equation model should enable organisations to measure the degree to which the enhancing individual and organisational behavioural factors of growth and sustainability are in place and provide the measurement outcomes that would identify the factors that need to be focused on to improve and enable future growth and sustainability in an organisation. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The poor state and failure of the basic education system in South Africa gave rise to this research. The wave of knowledge loss experienced in the last two decades is expected to carry on and will continue to deplete the basic education system’s knowledge base, severely affecting the already poor quality of education as well as the future economic growth and sustainability in South Africa. The main research objective was to establish whether future growth and sustainability in the basic education system in South Africa is achievable; which factors it is influenced by; and how knowledge continuity could impact on future growth and sustainability. A multidisciplinary approach focusing on organisational performance, knowledge management, individual and organisational behaviour and organisational development was followed. The nature of growth and sustainability and knowledge continuity in organisations was explored by following a contextualisation theory-building process. The main objective of the empirical research study was to determine by means of quantitative research the degree to which the influencing factors would enhance or impede growth and sustainability in an organisation. A quantitative survey method was followed. A questionnaire was developed and the survey was performed in 6 primary and secondary schools of the basic education system in South Africa. The questionnaire was found to be reliable with a Cronbach’s alpha of .8060. In the descriptive factor analysis process, principal component factor analysis was conducted, which described the five constructs that would influence growth and sustainability. These constructs’ dimensions produced significant intercorrelations which indicate that the dimensions are for the most part intercorrelated with each other in contributing to growth and sustainability. The multiple regression analysis indicated that knowledge loss would have an exceptionally strong impact on knowledge; and that knowledge, information and performance would significantly predict growth and sustainability. Organisations should change the focus for growth from physical assets to the development of intellectual capital, and knowledge continuity should form part of an organisations’ business strategy and mission. Knowledge continuity will only be successful if a culture conducive of trust and knowledge sharing and transfer exist, and are supported by effective and appropriate human resource practices and incentives. A structural equation model development strategy produced a knowledge continuity model aimed at enabling future growth and sustainability, based on the constructs confirmed in the factor analysis. The model indicated that there is a direct causal relationship between knowledge, information and performance with growth and sustainability. The regression analysis showed that most of the intercorrelations are significant, thus confirming the theory. The newly developed questionnaire and structural equation model should enable organisations to measure the degree to which the enhancing individual and organisational behavioural factors of growth and sustainability are in place and provide the measurement outcomes that would identify the factors that need to be focused on to improve and enable future growth and sustainability in an organisation. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

金融科技在近年來已成為企業界與學術界所討論的顯學，但如何有效兼顧監理、法令遵循與促進產業發展，並因應創新商業模式，設計出法規與監理措施，已成為一道難題。基於上述背景，監理沙盒的概念與制度應運而生。我國版的金融監理沙盒，已於2018年1月31日公布。然而，除了金融科技創新，其他產業同樣有創新的必要，在面臨既有法規的限制，同樣有所掣肘。金融科技以外的領域，是否有類似「監理沙盒」的機制，在不分產業別的狀況下，應用在創新的實驗？日本在2014年1月20日起施行的「產業競爭力強化法」，用於創新技術或服務的「企業實證特例制度」及「灰色地帶消除制度」兩項機制，即為不限金融科技領域，適用於各個產業的沙盒制度。 本研究透過檢視日本產業競爭力強化法，深究其內容及機制的優缺點，與推行實績及具體的兩個個案後，據以反思我國是否可透過參考「灰色地帶消除制度」、「企業實證特例制度」的運作，與各產業內的潛在創新者更緊密合作，以有利於未來當主管機關面臨創新與法規的衝撞時，掌握對於各產業的影響。回歸我國法制，本研究針對「金融科技發展與創新實驗條例草案」，包括立法目的、概要，條例中的申請及審查、監督及管理，及實驗期間法令之排除適用及法律責任豁免等議題進行研析，並針對日本推動新事業活動特例措施，與我國金融科技發展與創新實驗條例，進行比較。同時亦將監理沙盒模擬演練的過程中，針對演練的架構、步驟、實際狀況、回饋與心得，提出歸納成果，並針對業者與主管機關進行協商與溝通的階段，歸納出具有邏輯性與合理性的執行步驟與方法論，做為當業者在準備階段與主管機關往返溝通與提案時的參考。 本研究認為，當創新與科技在與金融結合時，創新服務與法規監管的本質不同，所造成的緊張與衝突在所難免，也因此更應該體認到數位時代下主管機關對於法規調適與鬆綁之必要性。在臚列我國於發展第三方支付立法的經驗作為前車之鑑，及剖析日本產業競爭強化法的制度與實績作為他山之石後，本研究認為新創事業無論在籌備階段、實驗階段、營運階段，對於法規的特例需求的確不同於一般事業。因此政府應秉持以下三項原則予以協助：(一)法規對新創企業應更友善且主動輔導、(二)抱持產業永續發展的思維看待新創產業、(三)消費者權益維護與企業營運必須兼顧。 本研究的另一研究結果為，經過個案模擬演練的操作後，歸納並提出七個執行步驟，並建議業者可針對此七個步驟進行腦力激盪與預先演練模擬，在有限的時間內以最高的效率備齊相關文件，以減少審核等待期。最後，本研究認為，業者與主管機關在議題協商時須充分考量有關於創新、業務、消保、法遵等四個面向的議題，且以公私協力的前提下，隨時調整並良性溝通。而主管機關更應加速金融科技的法規革新速度，並適度鬆綁不適用的法規，創造一個對於新創產業相對友善的法規環境，協助新創業者在業務上的發展，使我國能在金融科技戰場上決勝。 / In recent years, financial technology, aka FinTech, has become a significant study discussed by industries and academics. However, how to effectively manage supervisory, compliance with laws and promote industrial development, and how to design regulatory and supervisory measures in response to innovative business models have become a big challenge. Based on the abovementioned facts, the concept of Regulatory Sandbox came into being. Taiwan’s Act on Financial Technology Innovations and Experiments was released on January 31, 2018. Besides FinTech, innovation is equally necessary and indispensable for other industries that also restrained by the limitations of the existing laws and regulations. Are there any mechanisms similar with Regulatory Sandbox for those innovators in other industries? Japan released the Act on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness on January 20, 2014, which provided two mechanisms, Special System for Corporate Field Tests and System to Remove Gray Zone Areas, for innovative technologies and services for all industries. This essay targets Japan’s and Taiwan’s Acts on Financial Technology Innovations as research objectives, discusses the investigations in both countuires, and provides suggestions for future works. Firstly, this study explores the strengths and weaknesses of its contents and mechanisms by examining Japan’s Act on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness, and aims at extending the practical angle to Taiwan for the future when facing the conflict between innovation and regulation. Secondly, the essay aims at studying Taiwan’s Act on Financial Technology Innovations and Experiments, and comparing the differences between Japan’s and Taiwan’s Acts. Finally, by observing the results of sandbox simulation exercises, this study elaborates implemental procedures, and logical methodologies as a reference for practitioners to communicate with and submit proposals to the authorities during the preparatory phase. Due to the nature difference of innovation technology and financial supervision, it is considered that the tensions and conflicts are inevitable. Therefore, it is more necessary to amend the existing regulations or even deregulate for start-up. Furthermore, by learning from Taiwan's experience in developing third-party payment legislation and Japan's legislations and actual practices released, this study obtains that deregulation and coordination from government agencies considered highly important to startup operators in every stage. In terms of industry development, further suggestions are concluded in this research for government agencies, including (1) laws and regulations should be more friendly for new start-up, (2) to maintain the sustainable development of start-up industries and operators, and (3)-to achieve balance between the protection of consumer rights and business continuity. After conducting sandbox case simulation exercises, this essay proposes seven procedures for start-up to efficiently go through with internal brainstorming while in preparation stage under a limited time. The last part of the study sets out four topics for practitioners and the competent authorities that are related to innovation, business, consumer protection and law compliance when negotiating the regulatory issues during experiments, hoping to provide a solid methodology beneficial to FinTech practitioners.

Bibliography: leaves 441-459 / The shepherd metaphor is a prominent and significant one in the Old Testament. However, it has shifted from an agrarian context, of shepherd and sheep in the literal sense, to a socio-political context, of rulers and people in the political sense: a king is a shepherd to the people. A careful review of the given metaphor raises the question whether the metaphor should be the basis of the pastoral and leadership models that are derived from the image of the shepherd, and whether such models can be enriched by the analysis of the said metaphor as applied to the implementation of the shepherding responsibility described in the Old Testament. This research aims to examine various pastoral and leadership models and their use of the shepherd metaphor in the light of the significance of the said metaphor in the Old Testament. It utilises rhetorical criticism in consultation with metaphorical theory to examine the given metaphor used in the models of pastoral and leadership roles and their relationship with the shepherd metaphor in the New Testament. The objective is threefold: (1) exploring the use of the shepherd metaphor in the Old Testament; (2) examining the use of the shepherd metaphor in pastoral and leadership models, which could include pointing out that some of these models rely heavily on their understanding of New Testament uses of this metaphor; and (3) comparing the Old Testament and pastoral/leadership models’ uses of the shepherd metaphor and drawing conclusions based on this comparison. To achieve that end, the discussion also includes the ancient Near Eastern literature and deuterocanonical texts. The thesis shows that a careful analysis of the uses of the shepherd metaphor in the Old Testament could enrich the literature on Christian leadership as well as pastoral models that use this metaphor as their point of departure. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / D. Phil. (Old Testament)