Introduction: From a legal point of view, gender-based discrimination is not condoned in the workplace. However, perceptions that such discrimination exists persist. Understanding the extent and nature of the phenomenon may contribute to the management thereof. Aim: The aim of this research was to report on the nature and level of workplace gender-based discrimination from the perspective of managers and employees, as well as by making use of objective measures. Method: Interviews were conducted with 75 managers focusing on the prevalence of gender-based discrimination in specific organisational processes. Furthermore, 145 managers and 1 740 employees completed questionnaires on this topic. Results: Managers reported flaws in all the organisational processes investigated. According to these managers, some processes showed a pro-female bias whilst others displayed a pro-male bias. More female than male employees reported discriminatory incidents at work, but both groups reported gender-based discrimination. Gender-based discrimination was the most prominent form of discrimination reported by women. Some female respondents reported pro-male and others pro-female discrimination. The same pattern applied to men. No statistically significant gender wage gap was found and the salaries of males and females were not differentially affected by qualifications, training, workplace experience or family responsibility. Managers and employees concurred that gender-based discrimination was the primary source of discrimination in the workplace, and they reported similarly on the consequences of this problem. Conclusions and recommendations: Managers are aware of discrimination in organisational processes. This awareness can be used to initiate programmes aimed at minimising discrimination. Both males and females are exposed to gender-based discrimination and they report similar consequences. This suggests that interventions should be directed at both groups. The different, and often opposing, reports provided by the male and female groups support the social identity theory and conceptions of group-serving bias. From the objective data it can be concluded that perceptions of being discriminated against are the result of psycho-social processes and not necessarily the result of justifiable biographical differences. / PhD (Business Administration), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Purpose: With focus on environment and in relation to civilization, this essay aims to clearify the discource and the process in wich creation of meaning about Africa is produced within swedish articles and also to analyze the exprecisions used. Method: As method, as well as theory, this essay uses the theory of discource and the discource analysis asssociated with Laclau & Mouffe. This because of the linguistic orientation and the tools of signs and elements among others to help identify common use of words and type of language with wich to talk about Africa. To do this, articles are selected from Retriever using the keyword Africa. Thereafter, a closer look at the total of 675 articles reduces them into 160 which clearly shows any description of environment and thereafter says something about civilization, or for that matter, the opposite to civilization. The material is then analyzed based on categories of countryside, urban environments and exotic environments aswell in relation to civilization in purpose to clearify wich environment is conected to civilization, or for that matter rather primitive societies. In this process the essay is also able to clearify the exprecions used. Result: The results show that the mosts common way to describe Africa is through signs of rather primitive societies. All of the environments aswell as the countryside, the exotic environment and the urban environment are described this way and show that the african society overall is to be considered a primitive society. / Syfte: Med övergripande fokus på miljö och relation till civilisation är det uppsatsen syfte att undersöka diskursen rådande kring Afrika och genom diskursanalysens verktyg redogöra för de såväl explicita, som implicita uttryck gestaltande av dessa förhållanden. Metod: Som metod används diskursanalys huvudsakligen präglad av Laclau & Mouffes breda, lingvistiska inriktning som genom användande av nodalpunkter, element och moment kartlägger språkliga uttryck genom vilka att tala om Afrikas miljö och också dess relation till civilisation. Analysen är indelad i flera steg där inledande artiklar ur empirin bestående av enbart beskrivningar av miljö separeras från dem med ytterligare fokus på civilisation eller primitiva förhållanden. Vidare separeras också de artiklar som beskriver civiliserade förhållanden från dem som fokuserar på snarare primitiva sådana. Samtliga artiklar analyseras sedan utifrån dessa kategorier i form  av ämnesområden som stadsmiljö, landsbygd och exotisk miljö för att synliggöra språkliga uttryck samt undersöka i vilken utsträckning respektive miljö beskrivs såväl enskilt som i relation till civilisation. Slutsats: Efter analys av totala 160 artiklar har framkommit att diskursen rådande kring Afrika övervägande inom såväl kategorin för de artiklar som enbart gestaltar Afrikas miljö, såväl som den som också visar dess relation till civilisation gestaltar Afrika i form av primitiva förhållanden.  Samtliga ämnesområden, dvs. stadsmiljö, landsbygd och exotisk miljö visar att Afrika oavsett konkret miljö övervägande representeras kantat av primitiva förhållanden och kan i helhet beskrivas som ett övergripande primitivt samhälle. Dessa resultat, eller tendenser, är att likna vid den tidigare forskning som bedrivits där också samma tendens fastslås hos internationella medier.

Studien koncenterar sig på att FDI som betyder utländska direktinvesteringar har en positiv påverkan på utvecklingsländers BNP. De valda utvecklingsländerna är uppdelade och ingår i gruppen Öst Asien och Stilla Havet och Sub -Sahara Afrika. Vilket ska kontrolleras mot beroende variabeln BNP där de valda oberoende variablerna är FDI, export, import, population och internet användare. Teorin om långsiktig ekonomisk tillväxt byggs upp utav fysiskt kapital och human kapital. Där Solow och Swan bygger sin ekonomiska modell utav det fysiska kapitalet vilket senare utvecklas sig till steady state det vill säga en jämviktsnivå, där investeringarna slås ut utav deprecieringar. Human kapitalet är antalet forskare respektive vanliga arbetare, forskarna är de som utvecklar Romer’s ideer vilket är kärnan för ekonomisk tillväxt. Detta därefter är det som skapar en konstant tillväxt. Man har flera gånger observerat i ett antal tidigare studier att utländsk direktinvestering är en av de avgörande faktorerna när det gäller ekonomisk tillväxt såväl som i utvecklingsländer som utvecklade länder. Det har dock funnits ett fåtal studier som visat det motsatta inom ämnet. Det har också blivit fastställt att företagande och investeringar är ledande faktorer för långsiktig ekonomisk tillväxt i de flesta länder. Genom en tidsserie regression utförd med OLS är ändamålet att leta efter effekten mellan utländsk direktinvestering och ekonomisk tillväxt. Den empiriska analysen visar ett positivt signifikant resultat mellan utländsk direktinvestering och tillväxt i Öst Asien och Stilla Havet men dessvärre negativt i Sub –Sahara Afrika något som ger ett osammanhängande intryck mellan relationen för FDI och ekonomisk tillväxt i de undersökta utvecklingsländerna.

Die nachfolgende Länderstudie ist während eines längeren Arbeitsaufenthaltes im Rahmen der internationalen Zusammenarbeit in Kamerun entstanden. Mit ihr versuchen wir, unsere persönlichen Eindrücke und täglichen Beobachtungen in einem Land zu verarbeiten, in dem offenbar alle Hoffnung darauf beruht, dass der alternde Staatspräsident Paul Biya seinen Abschied von der politischen Bühne nimmt und damit ein autokratisches, korruptes Regime sein Ende findet. Diese Hoffnung scheint mit der Erwartung von Francis Fukuyama verbunden zu werden, der 1992 nach dem Zusammenbruch des Sowjet-Imperiums das „Ende der Geschichte“ erklärte, in der Überzeugung, dass das demokratische Gesellschaftsmodell bald überall Einzug halten würde. Bekanntlich hat sich diese Erwartung als zu optimistisch erwiesen. Mit unserer Untersuchung versuchen wir aufzuzeigen, warum sich die Hoffnung auf eine gerechtere Gesellschaft trotz langjähriger Bemühungen westlicher Geber um die Stärkung der Zivilgesellschaft und die Dezentralisierung staatlicher Aufgaben auch in Kamerun kaum erfüllen wird. Ein „Ende der Geschichte“ lässt sich auch für die Zeit nach Paul Biya nicht prognostizieren. / After more the thirty years in office, the political career of the elderly Cameroon President Paul Biya seems to have come to an end. After gaining independence in 1960 Cameroon was quickly turned into a dictatorial police state under Paul Biya’s predecessor, Mr Ahmadou Ahidjo. A forced political liberalisation at the beginning of the 1990’s removed the existing one-party-system. However, in reality, little has changed regarding the country’s political situation as the newly granted democratic rights exist only on paper. Not only is Mr Biya the sole and unchallenged ruler of Cameroon, he is also the “glue” that binds the country together. Despite the country’s wealth of natural resources, government corruption and mismanagement has resulted in an elite with much wealth and a majority of people living in poverty. In spite of this, and even in face of ethnic and religious diversity, Cameroon is one of the most stabile countries in Africa. Civil war did not occur and Christians and Muslims live peacefully side by side. Therefore, the end of the rule of Paul Biya seems to offer both an opportunity as well as a threat to this nation’s future. The opportunity could be realized if democratically minded segments of the society succeed in installing a pluralistic regime that abolishes corruption and nepotism. In order to make this scenario more likely, western donors have begun to support the establishment of a civil society and, through decentralisation programs, strengthened the concept of democratic local self-governance. The treat is that with the disappearance of Paul Biya from the stage a dangerous political vacuum may result. As no successor seems to be in sight who is capable of leading the people and democratizing the country, there is a danger that Cameroon might follow the path of other African nations and fall into a state of turmoil and decay. This book offers an analysis of the mechanisms which have resulted in Cameroon remaining a fragile state even after fifty years of independence. At the same time - on the basis of examining the findings of transformation theories - the book explores the possibility of bringing about democratic changes to the country by critically examining the impact of the activities of the international donor community. Cameroon is often called the „Afrique en miniature“. This is why a great part of the results of this analysis are also useful for judging the political circumstances in other francophone countries in Africa. Therefore the significance of the book goes beyond the context of the situation in Cameroon.

The Nyctaginaceae Juss. is a small flowering plant family of about 30 genera and 400 species mainly found in the tropical and subtropical regions of the New World. In Africa, six genera and 49 species occur, and in southern Africa, five genera and 19 species. Boerhavia L. and Commicarpus Standl. are the most species rich genera in southern Africa, with seven and eight species respectively. These species have not previously been studied taxonomically nor phylogenetically, and the objective of this study was to provide a systematic and phylogenetic treatment of these groups for southern Africa. Plant material was collected from the diversity centres of Boerhavia and Commicarpus in southern Africa. Leaves, flowers and anthocarps stored in ethanol were measured and examined with a stereomicroscope and surface studies conducted with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Material fixed in paraformaldehyde was embedded, sectioned, stained and examined with a light microscope. Pollen samples were acetolized before examination with a SEM. Sequencing analyses were done with a DNA Sequencer and neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood trees drawn. Distribution and habitat information were obtained from voucher specimens from various herbaria. The pollen grains are uniform in shape and sculpture and provide no diagnostic characters with which to distinguish between species. They do, however, provide broad characters to distinguish between the genera. Morphological, anatomical and molecular investigations, however, provided a series of characters to distinctly discern between Boerhavia and Commicarpus. Morphologically, Boerhavia and Commicarpus differ in growth form, inflorescence type, shape and indumentum of the upper and lower part of the flower, and shape and indumentum of the anthocarp. Anatomically, Boerhavia can be distinguished from Commicarpus by the Kranz anatomy around the minor veins of the leaves (which is absent in Commicarpus) and the sclerenchyma bundles which are present within the rib and inter-rib areas of the anthocarp (sclerenchyma bundles are only present in the rib area in Commicarpus). Molecular analyses group Boerhavia and Commicarpus as distinct clades with high bootstrap support. The differentiation is such in southern Africa, that Mirabilis and Acleisanthes, two non-African genera, are even placed intermediately between the two. The different species of Boerhavia and Commicarpus can be distinguished by the lower, coriaceous part of the flower and the anthocarp, as the arrangement of the glands, ribs and trichomes on these structures is species specific. The anatomy of the stems, leaves and anthocarps of the different species is uniform and uninformative and cannot be used to distinguish between the species. Molecular analyses support the distinction of the different species as defined by the morphology, and group the morphologically similar C. fruticosus and C. squarrosus in close relation. The aliens, Boerhavia cordobensis, B. diffusa var. diffusa and B. erecta, group together and the indigenous B. coccinea var. coccinea, B. deserticola, B. hereroensis and B. repens subsp. repens group together. The widely distributed C. plumbagineus and C. helenae var. helenae are closely related to each other, as are C. pentandrus and C. decipiens which are limited in theitr distribution to the African. This systematic study has shown that Boerhavia and Commicarpus are two distinct genera in southern Africa with well-defined species. This provides a workable classification system for southern Africa. This classification requires to be further refined by combining the morphology, anatomy, palynology and phylogenetics of the southern African Boerhavia and Commicarpus species into a single phylogeny. The phylogenetic investigations are, however, incomplete as the molecular analyses still need refinement and incorporation of more genes and taxa. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Environmental Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka varför afrikanska landsbundna nationer är fattigareän afrikanska icke-landsbundna nationer. Adam Smith konstaterade redan 1776 i sinbok ”Nationernas välstånd” att en nations geografiska position har en betydelse för hur aktivman eventuellt kommer bli i den globala handeln. Sedan dess har forskning tagitlandsbundenhets negativa effekter alltför vedertaget. Studiens förklarande variabler är FDI,infrastruktur kvalité och export. Vidare inkluderas även kolonialhistoria, utbildning och skattsom kontrollvariabler. För att undersöka sambandet använder sig studien sig av multipelregressionsanalys genom OLS (ordinary least square) metod för att undersöka sambanden.Två av studiens hypoteser går i linje med resultat, att afrikanska landsbundna länder ärfattigare på grund av de har sämre infrastruktur och har lägre export men att effekten avlandsbundenhet kvarstod vid kontroll för FDI. Vid kontroll för nationer med liknandeinfrastruktur kvalité oavsett landsbundenhet – visar resultaten att infrastruktur kvalitén kankompensera de geografiska hindren.

Thesis topic "Witch cults and alternative treatment methods in equatorial Africa" deals with the problems of shamanism and treatment methods in Africa, mainly in the equatorial area. Introduces witchcraft and compares it to shamanism, healing and other methods of the African aboriginal tribes and specific healing methods which are practised by shamans, medicine men and healers. At the same time it compares these methods to the quality of the medical services which are available in the given area. Practical part shows research solutions analysing the relations of the citizens from an Ugandan village Nyakyera and surrounding areas to healthcare and their attitude towards the shaman healers.

Phytoliths are mostly formed by groundwater silica carried upwards in a plant's vascular system and consequently accumulated in different parts of the plant. After the plant's death, the phytoliths shaped in specific morphotypes are released into the soil. Phytolith assemblages found in the soil can therefore provide information on the previous vegetation cover. The use of phytoliths as a paleoecological tool is based on their high stability in a broad spectrum of environments, even in arid conditions which are usually not suitable for preservation of pollen grains and plant macro-remains. Analysis of surface phytolith assemblages linked to the parallel study of modern vegetation is offering a good opportunity to refine our knowledge of paleoecosystems of NE Africa by evaluating the interpretation value of the fossil data. Modern phytolith assemblages are usually interpreted by using their phytolith ratio to estimate the density of tree cover, the aridity, and the proportion of C3 and C4 grasses (Barboni et al. 1999). Here we show a comparison of soil phytolith assemblages on a 400 km long climatic gradient reaching from semidesert to short grass savanna. And we also show local variability in phytolith assamblages at one of localities in comparision with grass reference collection. This master...

This diploma thesis examines the burial architecture of selected Berber tribes of Northern Africa, namely the Garamantian and Numidian ones, within a period from 4th century B. C. to 5th century A. D. First, the Garamantian tribe and its history is introduced. Afterwards I focus on garamantian burial customes and architecture. Further I describe each types of tombs and individual monuments , thein proportions and decoration. The other important part is devoted to the Numidian tribe. Again, its history, types of burial structures and individual important monuments are described in detail. In this diploma thesis there is also a mention about tribes and monuments which influenced funeral structures and architecture of tribes in North Africa and also about buildings which were the models for these tombs. Keywords architecture, burial customs, Berbers, north Africa, tombs

Sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest region in the world suffering from social, political and economic problems. The study focuses on investigation of relationship of capital flight and external debt to long-term economic growth in this region. Firstly the magnitude of capital flight is computed. Using fixed effects model and random effects model we estimate the impact of external debt and capital flight on long-term growth. Moreover the time structure of debt and its source is integrated into model. Our sample consists of 24 countries from sub-Saharan Africa over the period 1989-2008. We have found that external debt has statistically significant negative impact on growth. On the other hand this impact is economically negligible. The long-term growth is also slowed down by long-term debt and by multilateral borrowing. Concerning capital flight its effect on growth is harmful as well. JEL klasifikace: F34, O47, O55, Klíčová slova: zahraniční dluh, únik kapitálu, Subsaharská Afrika, růst