A research report submitted to the School of Social Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Degree of Master of Arts in International Relations by coursework and research report. / In the early 1990s, issues of democracy, good governance, security and human rights became more prominent in the international system and attained space in various policy documents. The period has been characterized by massive waves of transitions from one-party to multi-party political systems, which can be described as global democratic revolutions. Such democratic revolutions or movement towards democracy was not confined to one territory; rather it was a worldwide phenomenon that reached many parts of the world such as Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. It involved radical political transitions due to pressure to promote political liberalization and foster democratic reforms in most of these countries. The push for democratization was led by various democratic actors such as the European Union, United States of America, Britain, Norway, Canada and institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank among others. The waves and calls for democratization by these actors have resulted in various democratic transition outcomes in which some of the recipient countries of external democratic support are left stuck in the process while some of them have completely failed and reverted back to authoritarian or oppressive regimes. Countries that have failed in the democratization process experience various consequences such as limited access to the media, fragmented opposition political parties, fraudulent electoral activities, violence and poor citizen participation. These shortfalls reflect gaps or inconsistencies in the outcomes of the democratization process that needs to be investigated. This study looks at the factors causing inconsistencies in the outcomes of the process.

The purpose of this study is to determine if transformational leadership styles of agriculture teachers in Jessamine County has an impact on successful transitions of program completers. To be more specific, the focus was to look at agriculture teachers at Jessamine Career and Technology Center (JCTC) to see if they exhibit components of transformational leadership. If so, does transformational leadership of those teachers assist students with successful transitions after graduation? Successful transition is deemed by the Kentucky Department of Education as students that seek post-secondary education, employed full-time or enlist in a branch of armed services. The population for this study consists of graduates from Jessamine County between the years of 2010-2012. All participants were program completers in the agriculture career major. All participants also meet the criteria of successfully transitioning. The participants in the study indicated agriculture teachers at JCTC did exhibit all components of transformational leadership. Participants also indicated transformational leadership utilized by the agriculture teachers assisted them in successfully transitioning after high school. Relationships between participants and agriculture teachers at JCTC were an indicator of why transformational leadership was a successful leadership style of the agriculture teachers.

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As the awareness of the impact of human activities on the environment, economy, and society has been brought to spotlight during the last decades, sustainable development has gained ever-increasing attention around the world. While industrial revolutions are critical for the efficiency of meeting customer needs, it is also crucial to address and reverse the depletion of Earth’s resources. That is why the concept of circular economy has been introduced and implemented in the manufacturing sector, which aims for a shift in paradigm towards closed-loop “systems that are restorative or regenerative by intention and design”. However, while bringing forward an amplitude of opportunities, there are challenges and barriers in the implementation of the principles of circular economy in manufacturing systems. This is where another area of science can contribute: Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 refers to the incorporation of technological advancements in all stages of the life cycle to provide meaningful and real-time information, in order to aid decision-making regarding different functions of the manufacturing systems, i.e., business model, product design, and supply chain. It has been proven in literature that there are major opportunities in merging Industry 4.0 with circularity principles. However, there is a research gap on what the prerequisites are for a successful transition towards a more circular manufacturing system with the support of digital technologies. This research attempts to fill in this gap by conducting a qualitative study, interviewing practitioners and academics involved in real-life cases of such transitions. The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by suggesting a list of seventeen prerequisites, categorised into three themes of cultural, organisational and business-related, and technical prerequisites. The main audience of this study is the manufacturing companies who want to increase their chances of success when embarking on a transition towards more circular manufacturing systems. / Under de senaste decennierna så har människans effekter på miljön, ekonomin och samhället kommit att få en allt större roll, och begreppet hållbar utveckling har kommit att få stort genomslag runt om i världen. Teknisk utveckling inom produktion, som historiskt sett mest bidragit till ökad effektivitet och bättre erbjudanden till kunderna, har i det här sammanhanget även en viktig roll i att vända utarmningen av jordens resurser. Begreppet cirkulär ekonomi, som introducerats och implementeras inom produktion, beskriver denna vändning. Begreppet syftar till ett paradigmskifte mot slutna "system som är återställande eller regenerativa genom avsikt och design". Förutom möjligheterna med cirkulär ekonomi inom produktion finns även en rad utmaningar och hinder med att införa cirkulära produktionssystem. Ett teknikområde som kan bidra till att åtgärda dessa utmaningar och hinder är Industri 4.0. Industri 4.0 förespråkar införandet av ny teknologi i alla stadier av en produkts livscykel, för att ge meningsfull information i realtid och hjälpa beslutsfattandet inom alla faktorer i ett produktionssystem: affärsmodell, produktutveckling och värdekedjor. Tidigare litteratur har rapporterat om stora möjligheter med att använda Industri 4.0 för ökad cirkulär ekonomi. Det finns dock en lucka i forskningen kring vilka förutsättningar som krävs för en lyckad övergång till mer cirkulära tillverkningssystem med stöd av digitala tekniker. Detta examensarbete försöker fylla denna lucka med hjälp av en kvalitativ studie, baserad på intervjuer med industrirepresentanter och akademiker som deltagit i verkliga fall av sådana övergångar. Studien bidrar till tidigare litteratur genom att föreslå en lista med sjutton förutsättningar, kategoriserade i tre teman: kulturella-, organisatoriska och affärsmässiga-, och tekniska förutsättningar. Den huvudsakliga målgruppen för studien är tillverkande företagen som vill öka sina chanser att lyckas när man påbörjar en övergång till mer cirkulära tillverkningssystem.