The last decade has seen the growth of knowledge based industries and knowledge work. It has also witnessed the ever-increasing onslaught of competition and change.Intangibles have become increasingly important factors in determining organizational effectiveness. The changing business scenario and the role of information technology has made it imperative to take a new look at existing business systems, policies and structures. Today we speak of networked innovation, knowledge work and knowledge value added. Stewart (1998) and Barley (1994) reported the increasing content of knowledge in work and increasing numbers of people doing knowledge work.Davenport (1994) and Bhat (1998) spoke of the importance of managing social interactions in the firm to create competitive advantage. The Dow Jones Index and the Fortune list of companies increasingly showed a growth in the knowledge industry.While organizations from the old economy struggled the new fangled knowledge industry was here to stay. Intellectual Capital and Intangibles accounting became a buzzword. Organizations began to demonstrate how effective management of these factors led to increased profits, reduced cycle time and brought about greater innovation. New accounting techniques were being designed and influx of information technology solutions for Knowledge Management found their way into the market. It became imperative to build Knowledge Management into business strategy and to concentrate on human capital. Late 1990’s saw a proliferation of studies and exercises in this direction. Yet, if people were to be recognized and if competitive advantage was dependent upon the effective management of human capital, this was not being done in the realm of understanding knowledge worker perceptions. A need was perceived to conduct a behavioral study of human capital value added. To understand which of the organizational and knowledge management factors were perceived as being essential for Human Capital Value Addition.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Grain Science and Industry / Praveen V. Vadlani / As the world population continues to grow and the uncertainty of petroleum and food availability transpires, alternative resources will be needed to meet our demands. Single cell oil (SCO) from oleaginous yeast is a renewable noncrop-based resource that can be used for the production of petroleum counterparts. Currently, commercial production is limited, mainly due to high production costs and competition from cheaper alternatives. As a result, improved fermentation techniques, utilization of low-valued feedstocks and efficient downstream processing would be highly valuable. The major objectives of this study were to: 1) optimize fermentation conditions for the development of a novel fed-batch fermentation to enhance oil production using Lipomyces starkeyi, 2) determine the major lipids produced by L. starkeyi, 3) utilize low-valued hemicellulose-rich feedstocks for oil production, and 4) demonstrate the use of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF) and cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME) as greener solvents for oil extraction. Under optimized fermentation conditions, the oil yield increased from 78 to 157 mg oil/g sugar when supplying xylose rather than glucose as the major carbon source. A novel repeated fed-batch fermentation supplying glucose for growth and xylose for lipid accumulation generated the highest oil yield of 171 mg oil/g sugar, oil content of 60% (dry mass basis) and oil productivity of 143 mg oil/L/hr. Oleic acid accounted for 70% of the total fatty acid profile indicating that oil from L. starkeyi is a naturally high source of oleic acid; an added benefit for the biofuel, cosmetic, food, and oleochemical industries. Hemicellulose-rich corn bran and wheat bran were successfully used to produce oil; oil yields of 125 and 71 mg oil/g sugar were reported for whole and de-starched bran hydrolysates, respectively. Compared to traditional methods, biphasic oil extraction systems of 2-MeTHF and CPME had an 80 and 53% extraction efficiency and 64 and 49% selectivity, respectively. The information from this study will be useful for the development of an integrated approach to improve the viability of SCO biochemical platforms for the production of advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Livestock production forms a significant part of the agricultural activities in Namibia. This study is an analysis of the red meat (beef and mutton) supply chain in the country, south of the Veterinary Cordon Fence. The supply chain from production of animals on the farms through processing to placing of meat on the market is analyzed. The red meat supply chain is split into three sectors for the purpose of the study. The three sectors are the supply sector involved in the production of animals on the farms, the processing sector involved with the slaughtering and value addition on the livestock products and the demand sector that is involved in the placing on the market of the livestock and livestock products. Each of the sectors is then analyzed as an entity. The three tools that are used to analyze the sectors are: a) The market competitiveness done using the Porter’s 5 force analysis; b) The SWOT analysis for determination of intrinsic and extrinsic environments of the respective sectors and c) Trend review of the activity in each sector for the years 2000-2005. The aim of the analysis is to create a deeper insight into the forces and the impact these forces are having on the meat supply chain. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Veeboerdery vorm ‘n vername deel van landbou-aktiwiteite in Namibië. Hierdie navorsingsverslag is ’n analise van die rooivleis (bees en skaap) leweringsketting in die land suid van die veeartsafbakeningsheining. Die studie ondersoek die leweringsketting van produksie van vee op plase tot by die plaas van vleis op die markte. Die rooivleis leweringsketting is, vir die doeleindes van hierdie studie, in drie dele verdeel. Hierdie drie dele is die lewerings-sektor wat verantwoordelik is vir die produksie van vee op die plase, die prosesserings-sektor wat verantwoordelik is vir die slag en waardetoevoeging tot die vee-produkte, en die vraag-sektor wat verantwoordelik is vir die plasing van vee en vee-produkte op die mark. Elk van hierdie sektore word ontleed as ’n entiteit. Die drie instrumente wat gebruik word om die sektore te analiseeer is: a) Die markkompeterendheid word gedoen aand die hand van Porter se 5 kragte analise; b) Die “SWOT” analise vir die bepaling van die intrinsieke en ekstrinsieke omgewings van die onderskeie sektore, en c) Tendens oorsig van die aktiwiteite in elke sektor vir die jare 2000-2005. Die doel van die analises is om dieper insig te skep van die kragte en die impak wat hierdie kragte het op die vleis leweringsketting.

MSCAEC / Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness

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