Given the current developments and advances in the scientific and technological aspects of human knowledge and introducing new approaches in various fields of telecommunication technologies and industries, there has been an increasing growth in its players¿ plans and a positive change in their outlooks in order to achieve the target of "anywhere and anytime access". Recent developments of WiMAX (Worldwide interoperability for Microwave Access) networks, as a sign of increasing needs and demands for new telecommunication services and capabilities, have led to revolutions in global telecommunication which should be perceived properly in terms of the commercial and technical aspects in order to enjoy the new opportunities. Most experts believe that WiMAX technology is a preliminary step to develop Fourth Generation networks known as 4G technologies. It has not only succeeded in the utilization of several of the latest telecommunication techniques in the form of unique practical standards, but also paved the way for the quantitative and qualitative developments of high-speed broadband access. IEEE 802.16 Standard introduces several advantages, and one of them is the support for Quality of Services (QoS) at the Media Access Control (MAC) level. For these purposes, the standard defines several scheduling classes at MAC layer to treat service flow in a different way, depending on QoS requirements. In this thesis, we have proposed a new QoS framework for Point-to-Multi Point (PMP) 802.16 systems operating in Time Division Duplexing (TDD) mode over a WirelessMAN-OFDM physical layer. The proposed framework consists of a Call Admission Control (CAC) module and a scheduling scheme for the uplink traffic as well as a simple frame allocation scheme. The proposed CAC module interacts with the uplink scheduler status and it makes its decision based on the scheduler queue status; on the other hand, the proposed scheduling scheme for the uplink traffic aims to support realtime flows and adapts the frame-by-frame allocations to the current needs of the connections, with respect to the grants boundaries fixed by the CAC module. Extensive OPNET simulation demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed architecture.

The canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT) is a contagious cancer that is naturally transmitted between dogs by the allogeneic transfer of living cancer cells during coitus. CTVT first arose several thousand years ago and has been reported in dog populations worldwide. The goals of this Thesis were (1) to gain further understanding of CTVT distribution patterns and prevalence around the world, (2) to use genetics to trace the historical spread of CTVT and (3) to map the genetic as well as phenotypic diversity of CTVT tumours around the world. To understand the distribution patterns of CTVT, I obtained information from 645 veterinarians and animal health workers in 109 countries, and generated a snapshot of the locations in which this disease is found. Additionally, as preparation for further genetic analysis, I collected samples from over one thousand CTVT cases from more than 50 countries, optimised methods for high-throughput DNA extraction and quantification and optimised a qPCR-based assay for CTVT diagnosis and host contamination detection. With the goal of tracing the historical spread of CTVT and learning about the genetic diversity of this disease, I sequenced complete mitochondrial genomes of 449 CTVT tumours and their matched hosts. The analysis of the CTVT mitochondrial diversity revealed that CTVT has captured mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) through horizontal transfer events at least five times during the history of the lineage, delineating five tumour clades. CTVT appears to have spread rapidly around the world within the last 2,000 years, perhaps transported by dogs travelling along historic maritime trade routes. This work indicated that negative selection has operated to prevent accumulation of deleterious mutations in captured mtDNA, and that recombination has caused occasional mtDNA re-assortment. A histology-based screen of CTVT clades did not show any significant phenotypic differences between groups. In order to determine how the five mtDNA clades relate to each other, I analysed data from 539 CTVT exomes. This revealed that a single canine mtDNA haplogroup has recurrently and recently undergone multiple horizontal transfer events. Analysis of this haplotype highlighted a number of candidate genetic variants which may be conferring a selective advantage to this haplotype in CTVT, possibly by influencing mtDNA transcription or replication. Overall, genetic and phenotypic analysis of CTVT tumours from across the globe has broadened our understanding of CTVT diversity, and provided important insights into the biology of a unique transmissible cancer.

The question of group-living in animals has attracted a lot of research attention. Today, we have a nuanced understanding of ultimate explanations and proximate mechanisms for group-living, as well as the genetic basis for seemingly puzzling aspects of sociality such as altruism. However, our current view of sociality has been obtained almost entirely in an intraspecific context, i.e. based on groups consisting of individuals of a single species. On the other hand, heterospecific sociality, i.e. groups formed by individuals of multiple species, has been largely ignored in group-living theory and empirical research. This is despite the fact that heterospecific sociality is widely prevalent in nature and is known to occur in many different contexts, in a variety of taxa and in both marine and terrestrial habitats. My dissertation focuses on one of the best-known examples of heterospecific sociality, namely heterospecific foraging associations of terrestrial insectivorous birds (commonly called mixed-species flocks; flocks hereon). Flocks are found all over the world, in a variety of habitats, and include a unique suite of species in each area. Although flocks are the best-studied among different types of heterospecific associations known, most of the research has been descriptive. In other words, while we have descriptions of the richness, size and composition of flocks from many areas, we know little about why and how flocks form. Therefore, one broad objective of this dissertation was to better understand the causes of flock formation. Birds are thought to join flocks either to obtain direct foraging benefits or better protection from predators. I used different approaches to understand which of these two reasons is likely to be more important. Additionally, to situate heterospecific sociality within sociality in general, I also examined whether the mechanisms underlying flocks are similar to single-species groups or unique to a mixed-species condition. In other words, are flocks a different route to obtain the same benefits as single-species groups, or a route to obtain benefits that conspecifics cannot provide? In the previous section, I described why understanding flocks is important from the point of view of sociality. Flocks are also important for the consequences they might have on community organization. While each flock is a collection of interacting individuals of different species, populations of species are linked in a network of interactions across multiple flocks in an area. The theoretical framework guiding our understanding of community organization is currently dominated by the idea of interspecific competition. Mutualisms or positive interactions, if any, are only expected to occur between members of different trophic levels. Only recently has the need to incorporate positive interactions between members of the same trophic level into ecological theory been emphasized. Flocks and other heterospecific associations present an important example of within-trophic level positive interactions. Therefore, the second broad objective of this dissertation was to examine the consequences of flock formation on community organization. The objectives described above were addressed using multiple approaches in this dissertation. “Why” questions in ecology and evolution are generally tackled using manipulative experiments. Given that experiments are neither feasible nor ethical in the case of multispecies flocks in the wild, I addressed the “why” question by focusing on “who” instead. To understand “why” flocks form, I examined what kinds of species participate in flocks, who associates with whom, and who provides and who receives the benefits. This dissertation uses a combination of methods and data, including questions addressed at a global scale using descriptive information on flocks available from across the world. For other questions that were based on entirely new approaches developed in this dissertation, data were collected in a field site in the Western Ghats. In general, given the two broad objectives of this dissertation, the approaches I used were drawn from both behavioural and community ecology. The dissertation is organized in the following way: Chapter 1: General Introduction The first chapter provides the background to the two broad objectives of this thesis, namely understanding the causes and consequences of heterospecific foraging associations in terrestrial bird communities. Chapter 2 (published in The American Naturalist) Based on a global dataset (55 presence-absence matrices from 24 locations in multiple continents) on the composition of flocks, I asked if flocks largely consist of ecologically similar or dissimilar species. Using null models and randomization tests followed by meta-analysis, I found that the association strength of species in flocks was strongly related to similarity in body size and foraging behaviour, and higher for congeneric compared with non-congeneric species pairs. In other words, flocks seem to consist largely of similar species. Extending group-living and social information use theory to a heterospecific context, I discuss potential behavioral mechanisms leading to positive interactions among similar species in flocks as well as ways in which competition costs are reduced. These findings highlight the need to consider positive interactions along with competition when seeking to explain community organisation. Chapter 3 (published in Animal Behaviour) Two kinds of participants are recognized in flocks: those that join other species (‘followers’) and are therefore likely to be the recipients of the benefits of flock participation and those that are joined (‘leaders’). Through comparative analyses, using a large sample of flocks from around the world, I found (1) ‘followers’ tend to be smaller, more insectivorous, and feed in higher strata than matched species that participate in flocks to a lesser extent and (2) ‘leaders’ tend to be cooperative breeders (which are known to have well-developed anti-predatory systems) more often than matched species that are not known to lead flocks. Furthermore, meta-analyses of published results from across the world showed that bird species in terrestrial mixed-species flocks increased foraging rates and reduced vigilance compared to when they were solitary or in conspecific groups. Moreover, the increase in foraging rates was seen only in the case of flock followers and not flock leaders. These findings suggest a role for predation in the evolution of mixed-species flocking. Species that are vulnerable to predation follow species whose vigilance they can exploit. By doing so, they are able to reduce their own vigilance and forage at higher rates. Chapter 4 (to be submitted to Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology) In this study, conducted in a tropical evergreen forest in the Western Ghats of India, I used intraflock association patterns to generate a community-wide assessment of benefits of flock participation for different species. I assumed that individuals needed to be physically proximate to particular heterospecific individuals within flocks to obtain any direct foraging benefit (flushed prey, kleptoparasitism, copying foraging locations). Alternatively, for all anti-predation benefits, physical proximity to particular heterospecifics is not required, i.e. just being in the flock vicinity will suffice. Therefore, I used the choice of locations within flocks to infer whether individual species are obtaining direct foraging or antipredation benefits. A small subset of the bird community (5/29 species), composed of all members of the sallying guild, showed non-random physical proximity to heterospecifics within flocks. All preferred associates were from non-sallying guilds, suggesting that the sallying species were likely obtaining direct foraging benefits, either in the form of flushed or snatched prey. The majority of species (24/29) chose locations randomly with respect to heterospecifics within flocks, and thus were likely obtaining anti-predation benefits. In summary, my study indicates that direct foraging benefits are important for only a small proportion of species in flocks and therefore that predation is likely to be the main driver of flocking. Chapter 5 (to be submitted to Oecologia) Two types of species – intraspecifically gregarious and sallying species – are thought to play important roles in flocks because studies have shown they attract other flock participants. However, it is not clear why these types of species are attractive, i.e. are they cues for flocks or do they directly provide benefits to other species? It is also not known whether these types are essential for flock formation. In this study, in a tropical evergreen forest in the Western Ghats of India, I used a novel approach to address these questions. Flocks contain anywhere between two and tens of species. My approach focused on the simplest, i.e. two-species, flocks. In two-species flocks, attraction between species must be based on direct benefit to at least one of the species. Therefore, only species combinations that result in benefit to at least one species will occur as two species flocks. Further, by examining leading and following behaviour in these combinations, I could also determine the direction of benefit-flow. Finally, given that all flocks pass through a two-species step, examining which two-species combinations are joined by other species helped understand species roles in flock formation. I found that intraspecifically gregarious species, but not sallying species, were disproportionately represented in two-species flocks, always provided the benefits when present, and that flocks containing them were joined significantly more often. Therefore, intraspecifically gregarious species, but not sallying species, play a role in providing flock benefits and flock formation. Moreover, given that most (7/8) intraspecifically gregarious species in my study site played these roles, the intraspecifically gregarious species guild can be considered an example of a within-trophic level “keystone”. Chapter 6 (“in press” in Oikos) There is a growing recognition of the need to integrate non-trophic interactions into ecological networks for a better understanding of whole-community organization. To achieve this, the first step is to build networks of individual non-trophic interactions. In this study, I analyzed the network of interdependencies among bird species that participated in flocks in an evergreen forest site in the Western Ghats, India. I found that flock networks contain a small core of highly important species that other species are strongly dependent on, a pattern seen in many other biological networks. Further, I found that structural importance of species in the network was strongly correlated to functional importance of species at the individual flock level. Finally, comparisons with flock networks from other Asian forests showed that the same taxonomic groups were important in general, suggesting that species importance was an intrinsic trait and not dependent on local ecological conditions. Hence, given a list of species in an area, it may be possible to predict which ones are likely to be important. Chapter 7: Conclusions In this section, I provide a summary of the main findings of this dissertation, discuss the main conclusions with regard to each of the two broad objectives and finally suggest future lines of investigation to further understand the causes and consequences of flock formation and heterospecific sociality in general. In summary, the work presented in this dissertation provides a picture of how and why flocks form and their likely consequences for community organization. The main driver of flock formation seems to be protection from predators, although a few species do obtain direct foraging benefits. Additionally, given that I found flocks to largely be groupings of similar species, the mechanisms through which benefits are obtained are likely to be similar to those in single-species groups. In other words, flocks are possibly a way for species that are unable to group with conspecifics, to obtain group-living benefits. My finding, that flocks largely consisted of similar species, also questions the stereotyping of interactions between similar species in communities as competitive. Other results from this study demonstrate the importance of intraspecifically gregarious species in flocks. Such species are the main providers of benefits to other flock participants and seem essential for flock formation. Finally, network analysis showed that a small core of species, mainly including species known to provide benefits at the individual flock level, are disproportionately important in the emergent community-level network of interdependencies. Such species are possibly one of the first examples of within-trophic level “keystones” discovered. Apart from the findings, this study also provides a set of new approaches and analytical frameworks that can be used to examine other multispecies foraging groups and heterospecific foraging associations in other contexts.

The institutional quality concept, advanced by academic literature as a mean to enhance output growth, suffer from the absence of a clear implementation strategy. Considering that developing countries usually lack resources to be able to afford large-scale universal institutional reforms, the lack of roadmap puts substantial obstacles to practical application of the given concept. This thesis therefore goes beyond the simple statement of institutional primacy and sets an objective to differentiate the institutional effects relative to the level of development. To test it empirically, fixed effects model is chosen and interaction terms between the measures of institutional quality and the share of middle class are employed. Obtained coefficients indicate that institutions promote economic growth only when middle class share exceeds 25%. At the same time, different aspects of institutional quality exhibit contradictory dynamics. The control of corruption becomes growth enhancing only when middle class constitutes over one third of the population, while the relevance of government effectiveness for economic growth on the contrary decreases with the enlargement of middle class. These findings confirm the presence of conditionality and deny the existence of universal recipe for institutional reforms. Implementation of better institutions based on context-specific approach would therefore bring greater results in terms of economic growth than the direct adoption of best-practice institutions, so intensively advanced by the World Bank and the IMF.

Le phénomène de contagion, les hypothèses d'efficience et les transferts de volatilité sont parmi les théories économiques les plus importantes, car elles fournissent une vision globale sur la stabilité financière. Or, elles restent les moins comprises depuis les récentes crises récentes. Ainsi, cette thèse propose de fournir aux régulateurs économiques, aux investisseurs et aux acteurs du marché financier une vision actualisée du comportement dynamique des marchés mondiaux des Credit Default Swaps (CDS): efficacité informationnelle, interaction avec d'autres marchés financiers internationaux et exposition au risque systémique. La dynamique en constante mutation de ces marchés associée à l'évolution constante des politiques de réglementation a suscité un enthousiasme mondial pour l'étude comportementale des marchés des CDS, auquel nous contribuons à travers cinq essais interconnectés. Nous discutons, dans le premier essai, les faits stylisés des données des CDS souverains à travers l'estimation de 9 modèles de type GARCH. Ce chapitre compare les performances de plusieurs modèles prédictifs de volatilité linéaire et non linéaire et prenant en compte différentes caractéristiques financières des séries statistiques. L'application de ces modèles aux spreads de CDS de 38 pays révèle que le pouvoir prédictif de ces modèles dépend de leur capacité à capturer les faits stylisés des CDS souverains pendant l'estimation du processus de la variance. En effet, les modèles GARCH fractionnellement intégrés surpassent les modèles GARCH de base en termes de prévision, en raison de la flexibilité accordée au degré de persistance des chocs de variance. Ces résultats sont utilisés pour modéliser conjointement les rendements et la volatilité des spreads de CDS dans l'ensemble des prochains essais. Le deuxième essai examine également les caractéristiques financières des marchés internationaux des CDS souverains, en donnant de nouvelles preuves sur leurs degrés d'efficacité. En utilisant un nouveau cadre économétrique basé sur une estimation du modèle VECM-FIGARCH en trois étapes, nous montrons que les informations contenues dans les spreads de CDS et les rendements des obligations sous-jacentes ne sont pas toujours reflétées instantanément et correctement dans le niveau du risque souverain. Les résultats révèlent l'existence d'opportunités d'arbitrage avec un rejet partiel de l'hypothèse de marche au hasard dans plusieurs des 37 pays étudiés [etc...] / Contagion phenomenon, efficiency hypothesis and spillover effects are amongst the most important economic theories as they provide an overall vision of the financial stability, yet the least understood in the aftermath of the recent crises. This thesis proposes to provide policy makers, investors and broadly market participants with an updated outlook of the dynamic behavior of the global sovereign Credit Default Swaps (CDS) markets: informational efficiency, interaction with other international financial markets and systemic-risk exposure. The steadily changing dynamics of these markets combined with the constantly evolving regulatory policies have led to a shared worldwide enthusiasm regarding the behavioral study of CDS markets, in which we contribute through five interconnected essays. We first discuss, in the first essay, the statistical characteristics of the sovereign CDS data, through the estimation of 9 GARCH-class models. This chapter compares the predictability performances of several linear and non-linear volatility models taking into consideration different financial stylized facts. Application on CDS spreads of 38 countries reveals that the forecasting power of these models depends on their ability to capture sovereign CDS features while estimating the variance process. Yet, the fractionally-integrated models outperform the basic GARCH-class models due to the allowed flexibility regarding the persistence degree of the variance shocks. These results are used to jointly model returns and volatility of CDS spreads in the forthcoming essays.The second essay also investigates the financial characteristics of the international sovereign CDS markets, by giving new evidences on their efficiency degrees. Using a new framework based on a 3-step estimation of a VECM-FIGARCH model, we show that information contained in CDS spreads and bond yields are not always instantaneously and properly reflected in the current sovereign risk level. Results reveal the existence of arbitrage opportunities with a partial rejection of the randomness hypothesis in some of the 37 studied countries. While the previous essay used the conditional expectation of CDS spreads to study the market behavior, the next essays rather focus on the properties of the variance and covariance. The predictability of sovereign CDS volatility, based on the information contained in some country-specific and global macroeconomic factors, is investigated in the third chapter [etc...]

Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna technology refers to an antenna with multiple radiators at both transmitter and receiver ends. It is designed to increase the data rate in wireless communication systems by achieving multiple channels occupying the same bandwidth in a multipath environment. The main drawback associated with this technology is the coupling between the radiating elements. A MIMO antenna system merely acts as an antenna array if the coupling between the radiating elements is high. For this reason, strong decoupling between the radiating elements should be achieved, in order to utilize the benefits of MIMO technology. The main objectives of this thesis are to investigate and implement several printed MIMO antenna geometries with integrated decoupling approaches for WLAN, WiMAX, and 5G applications. The characteristics of MIMO antenna performance have been reported in terms of scattering parameters, envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), total active reflection coefficient (TARC), channel capacity loss (CCL), diversity gain (DG), antenna efficiency, antenna peak gain and antenna radiation patterns. Three new 2×2 MIMO array antennas are proposed, covering dual and multiple spectrum bandwidths for WLAN (2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz) and WiMAX (3.5 GHz) applications. These designs employ a combination of DGS and neutralization line methods to reduce the coupling caused by the surface current in the ground plane and between the radiating antenna elements. The minimum achieved isolation between the MIMO antennas is found to be better than 15 dB and in some bands exceeds 30 dB. The matching impedance is improved and the correlation coefficient values achieved for all three antennas are very low. In addition, the diversity gains over all spectrum bands are very close to the ideal value (DG = 10 dB). The forth proposed MIMO antenna is a compact dual-band MIMO antenna operating at WLAN bands (2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz). The antenna structure consists of two concentric double square rings radiating elements printed symmetrically. A new method is applied which combines the defected ground structure (DGS) decoupling method with five parasitic elements to reduce the coupling between the radiating antennas in the two required bands. A metamaterial-based isolation enhancement structure is investigated in the fifth proposed MIMO antenna design. This MIMO antenna consists of two dual-band arc-shaped radiating elements working in WLAN and Sub-6 GHz 5th generation (5G) bands. The antenna placement and orientation decoupling method is applied to improve the isolation in the second band while four split-ring resonators (SRRs) are added between the radiating elements to enhance the isolation in the first band. All the designs presented in this thesis have been fabricated and measured, with the simulated and measured results agreeing well in most cases. / Higher Committee for Education Development in Iraq (HCED)

No description available.

Despite educational legislation and school reforms to promote improved performance and quality education, underperformance among secondary school learners is still the norm in the rural schools of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). This dissertation investigates the problem of learner underachievement by means of a literature study and an empirical inquiry. The former provides an overview of the provisions for and problems of rural schooling in both an international and local context and it is followed by a discussion of learner assessment and learner achievement in the South African education system, with specific reference to KZN's schooling system and the problem of learner underachievement. The empirical inquiry investigates the experience of learner achievement in four rural schools in KZN and makes use of qualitative data gathered during individual and focus group interviews conducted with a small sample of underachieving learners and their parents, educators and school managers. Based on these findings, recommendations for improvement are made. / Comparative Education / M.A. (Comparative Education)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:28:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sidney Morbidelli.pdf: 1637609 bytes, checksum: c381df8fae00912b070d6d92ff034169 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-04-08 / The theme of this thesis involves the analysis of international commerce since its creation and its commercial relationship in the worldwide market, after the emergence of a new universal order promoted by nations that are integrated in economic blocks. The globalization generated the interdependence among countries, forcing them to promote strategies and politics of economic development to assure the attractiveness of external investments and to extend the participation of their territories in worldwide markets. The Anti-Trust and Anti-Dumping rules that in the beginning were scattered and applied only to the internal affairs of the states, started to be systematized also in the universal scenery along the formation of GATT and OMC. With the action of this organization, there was a significant increase of protective measures to the international market pertaining to free competition in search of preservation and the access to the worldwide market. Nevertheless, the OMC have not been able to halt the trust and dumping practice regularly perpetrated by the countries. Its measures are insufficient to prevent satisfactorily in the acts of restriction to free competition and domination in the global market. In 1993, an International Anti-Trust code was created aiming to offer juridical security to the economic agents and their commercial relationship, to assure the free access to the market. The code s objective was to supplement the GATT deficiency in the absence of a universal legislation to competition regarding the question of industrial estate in the extraterritorial space in the states. The legislation was not approved, but the initiative represented a milestone in the harmonization and uniformity of the international right to competition and the legislation was embraced worldwide. Considering this perspective, the current thesis goal is to point out the need for a new international legislation of competition in order to halt the restrictive practices of commerce and the effects of concentration of markets arising with the new global economic order. Thus, it is proposed, the creation by OMC, of an anti-trust international code patterned after the code used by the European Union, which established a centralized authority to defend competition from the limiting present time practices. The code will be binding, defining universal standards and requiring mandatory enforcement by the signatory states of OMC. For the enforcement of the international rules of competition, it is suggested the formation of an international tribunal, again, patterned after the European community. Such tribunal was structured as a supranational organization, whose juridical laws are legally binding and applicable to all member countries, through the primacy of community laws concerning national rights. The international tribunal of competition will be directed by the OMC, which is the indicated forum to the treatment of worldwide competition and it will oversee the application and execution of the tribunal rules of the anti-trust international code / A temática desta tese envolve a análise do comércio internacional, desde a sua criação, e das relações comerciais no mercado mundial, após o surgimento de uma nova ordem universal protagonizada por nações que se integraram em blocos econômicos. A globalização gerou a interdependência entre os países, obrigando-os a promover estratégias e políticas de desenvolvimento econômico para garantir a atratividade dos investimentos externos e ampliar a participação de seus territórios na economia mundial. As regras antitruste e antidumping, que a princípio eram dispersas e voltadas apenas para o ambiente interno dos Estados, começaram a ser sistematizadas também no cenário universal, com a fundação do GATT e da OMC. Com a atuação desta organização, houve um aumento significativo das medidas de proteção ao comércio internacional no âmbito da livre concorrência, em busca da preservação e do acesso ao mercado mundial. Contudo, a OMC não tem sido capaz de coibir as práticas de truste e dumping, regularmente perpetradas pelos países. Suas medidas são insuficientes para interferir, satisfatoriamente, nos atos de restrição à livre concorrência no comércio global e à dominação do mercado. Em 1993, foi criado um Código Internacional Antitruste visando oferecer segurança jurídica aos agentes econômicos e às relações comerciais e assegurar o livre acesso aos mercados. O objetivo do Código era suprir as deficiências do GATT, no tocante à inexistência de uma legislação universal da concorrência, ao tratar as questões que envolviam o direito de propriedade industrial, no espaço extraterritorial dos Estados. A legislação não foi aprovada, mas a iniciativa representou um marco à harmonização e uniformização do direito internacional da concorrência, tornando-se uma bandeira defendida mundialmente. Considerando esta perspectiva, a presente tese tem por objetivo demonstrar a necessidade de se criar uma legislação internacional da concorrência, a fim de coibir as práticas restritivas ao comércio e os efeitos do fenômeno concentracionista dos mercados, surgidos com a nova ordem econômica global. Propõe-se, assim, a instituição, pela OMC, de um Código Internacional Antitruste, conforme modelo utilizado pela União Européia, que estabeleceu uma autoridade centralizada de defesa da concorrência, visando proteger os seus mercados da influência de práticas limitadoras ao livre comércio. O referido Código será vinculante, fixando normas universais harmonizadas e obrigatórias aos Estados signatários da OMC. Para a aplicabilidade das regras internacionais da concorrência, sugere-se a formação de um tribunal internacional, segundo o exemplo da Comunidade Européia. Esta foi estruturada como uma organização supranacional, cujo ordenamento jurídico é vinculativo e aplicável a todos os Países-membros, mediante o primado do Direito Comunitário sobre os direitos nacionais. O Tribunal Internacional da Concorrência será atrelado à OMC que é o foro mais indicado para o tratamento da concorrência mundial e cuidará da aplicação e execução das normas determinadas no Código Internacional Antitruste

Despite educational legislation and school reforms to promote improved performance and quality education, underperformance among secondary school learners is still the norm in the rural schools of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). This dissertation investigates the problem of learner underachievement by means of a literature study and an empirical inquiry. The former provides an overview of the provisions for and problems of rural schooling in both an international and local context and it is followed by a discussion of learner assessment and learner achievement in the South African education system, with specific reference to KZN's schooling system and the problem of learner underachievement. The empirical inquiry investigates the experience of learner achievement in four rural schools in KZN and makes use of qualitative data gathered during individual and focus group interviews conducted with a small sample of underachieving learners and their parents, educators and school managers. Based on these findings, recommendations for improvement are made. / Comparative Education / M.A. (Comparative Education)