The overall purpose of this research was to develop an inter-agency reporting protocol for the child protection system in the Free State. The aim was to integrate current legislation and policy into this inter-agency reporting protocol to create standardised reporting procedures to ensure effective access to and response from the child protection system for the child in need of care and protection. The thesis comprises six sections: SECTION A: This section comprises the problem statement, the research purpose statement and objectives, the central theoretical statement, the approach to the research, the research methodology, as well as the limitations and restrictions of the research. Furthermore, key words are defined and an explanation of the research report is provided. The problem statement shows that problems have been experienced for quite some time regarding the way reports are being handled within the child protection system. The result is that children in need of care and protection do not have effective access to the child protection system and they don’t get effective response when their cases are reported. Although the rights, interests and wants of the child in need of care and protection are addressed in existing legislation and policy, there is still a problem with the implementation and enforcement of said legislation and policy. SECTION B: This section comprises four consecutive articles: Article 1: Legislation and policy for reporting within the child protection system of South Africa In this article, Phase 1 (problem analysis and project planning) of the intervention model was used. An analysis was made of the existing legislation and policy regulations currently in use in South Africa during reporting at the child protection system. This was done by means of literature analysis. Article 2: Agents, cases, persons and response during reporting at the child protection system In this article, Phase 2 (information gathering) of the intervention model was used. An analysis was made of the stipulations of current legislation and policy in South Africa regarding agents, cases, persons and response that should be kept in mind when developing an interagency reporting protocol for the child protection system. It was done by means of literature analysis. Article 3: Reporting procedures and protocols from abroad applicable to an inter-agency reporting protocol for the child protection system In this article, Phase 2 (information gathering) of the intervention model was used. The contents of foreign reporting procedures and protocols were analised in an effort to determine what contribution such procedures and protocols can make to the development of an inter-agency reporting protocol for the child protection system. It was done by means of literature analysis. Article 4: An inter-agency reporting protocol for the child protection system in the Free State In this article, Phases 3 (design), 5 (evaluation and advanced development) and 6 (dissemination) of the intervention model were used. The researcher used the information that came to the fore during the literature analysis in Phases 1 and 2 of the intervention model, to design an inter-agency reporting protocol and flow charts for the child protection system in the Free State. The suitability of this protocol was tested by means of semi-structured interviews with the agents responsible for handling reports within the child protection system. The qualitative data obtained from this was used for the further development of an inter-agency reporting protocol for the child protection system in the Free State. SECTION C: This section comprises a summary of the collective findings and conclusions that came to the fore during the research, whereafter recommendations were being made. SECTION D: This section comprises the various appendices used during the research. SECTION E: This section comprises a complete list of references. SECTION F: This section comprises the final inter-agency reporting protocol for the child protection system in the Free State. / PhD (Social Work), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Contemporary dance and modern ballet often focus on conveying emotions through patterns of movement which may be abstract, obvious, or anywhere in between, as supported by music, sound, or spoken words that set the mood. Scenography is typically sparse or confined to the available space, leaving the dancers as the main instrument of communication. This work explores choreography and costume design, with a focus on how garments can inform and direct movement, choreography, and performance, and in turn how movement may inform and contribute to the development of dynamic garments. Through a series of live experiments, ranging from self-instigated performance/video work in collaboration with choreographers and dancers to performances of garment interaction associated with everyday life, the performative, spatial, and interactive properties of garments are explored. The results of these live experiments relate to various aspects of choreography, scenography, and performance space, and offer wide-ranging creative potential. The work shows how designers and choreographers can collaborate on performance scenarios within the context of modern ballet and contemporary dance productions, thus creating conceptual garments that influence the design, choreography, and manipulation of conceptual garments. In relation to the act of dressing and undressing, previously unseen types of garment and ways of wearing and performing were found. New models of collaborative interaction are proposed. This work has demonstrated how the agency of garments can function as a manuscript in modern dance, and how performance itself redefines the notion of wearing and the concept of garments.

Background: Content marketing has become a more commonly used strategy when marketers want to convey a message to consumers. Problem discussion: The scientific definition of content marketing is vague and it varies in between users. This makes it difficult for the practitioners who use content marketing as a strategy, that what it is that they are actually creating is content marketing. Questions: How does marketers/practitioners perceive content marketing? How do marketers/practitioners use content marketing? Aim: The aim is to analyse and determine the marketers/practitioners perceived notion of content marketing is and how he or she uses it. Method: The study has a qualitative research point of view.When collecting the data for the study, semi-structured interviews where chosen as the method most fitting for the purpose of the study. The collected data was then analysed within the frames of the research questions. Conclusion: With the result of the study one can conclude that there is no universal view of content marketing within the group of practitioners that were interviewed. There are though many similarities of how they perceive content marketing. The practitioners all agreed that content marketing should be distributed through owned digital channels. The content itself should be in an editorial context, and should both create value and be captivating to reader. It should not be in immediate association to the product or the service that the company provide. Content marketing should not be perceived by the reader or user as advertising activities, once it is it has lost its value and should not be called content marketing. A need for a concrete definition does not seem to exist among marketing managers. Marketing managers considers content marketing to be free insofar that it is up to each marketer to determine how content marketing should be practised.

In recent years there has been increasing interest in developing greater creativity in education. This study focuses on trainee teachers during their initial teacher education and explores their beliefs about and perceptions of developing greater creativity in their practice. The work is located within the context of a school-based initial teacher education course and considers whether and how continuing moves towards school-based training in England can support the impetus towards greater creativity in teachers and their pupils. The study draws from qualitative research undertaken with a small group of trainee English teachers during a one-year School-based Initial Teacher Education course in England. Working from a social constructionist perspective, this research uses the methodology of Action Research. Employing a range of qualitative methods, including discourse analysis of group discussions, individual interviews, a silent discussion, and writing and analysing metaphors, it provides some insight into the trainee teachers’ complex understandings of creativity in the classroom, and how these understandings connect with their developing identity as teachers and with their pedagogy, practice and philosophy. It offers an insight into the trainees’ beliefs about and perceptions of moving towards creativity in their teaching, and the barriers and supports to such practice they encounter, both within the training course and in the partner schools. Reviewing a range of approaches to teaching and learning and considering the trainees’ beliefs and perceptions, the study suggests that agency is central to creativity, and that approaches which support the agency both of trainee teachers and of pupils are most likely to result in greater creativity in the classroom. The study regards creativity as a situated and highly contextual quality, and discusses practical approaches to teaching and learning, gathered under the term Creative Practice, which may be most likely to occasion greater creativity in the classroom. It offers suggestions for teacher educators as to how to better support trainee teachers in moving towards Creative Practice.

More intense competition has meant that companies have to take new measures to cope on the modern market. Therefore, many companies choose to change their brand in some way. This is called rebranding and is however a risky process. To reduce the risk companies can hire external parties in form of design agencies. The purpose of this study is to investigate which factors that are required to achieve a successful rebranding, when carried out in collaboration with an external agency. The study will do so by asking the question "What are the success factors of a rebranding when carried out in collaboration with an external agency?". To do so the researchers assumed a qualitative case study where semi-­structured interviews have been implemented. The empirical data gathered was then analyzed using theories covering the areas of rebranding, internal marketing, and previous research on the cooperation between agency and company. The conclusions of this study shows that one success factor is found in the fact that agencies has greater experience of rebranding, compared to most companies. Another success factor is the outside perspective agencies add, which enables the companies to see new aspects of their brand. Companies should involve employees in the process to the point of collecting their opinions before the work begins, but the study shows that there should only be a few people involved in the actual rebranding process to achieve good results. The best result is  achieved when all final decisions are made by the company, the agency should only come up with guidelines and suggestions.

The transportation system is vital to the nation’s economic growth and stability, as it provides mobility for commuters while supporting the United States’ ability to compete in an increasingly competitive global economy. State Transportation Agencies across the country continue to face many challenges to repair and enhance highway infrastructure to meet the rapid increasing transportation needs. One of these challenges is maintaining an adequate and efficient agency staff. In order to effectively plan for future staffing levels, State Transportation Agencies need a method for forecasting long term staffing requirements. However, current methods in use cannot function without well-defined projects and therefore making long term forecasts is difficult. This dissertation seeks to develop a dynamic model which captures the feedback mechanisms within the system that determines highway staffing requirements. The system dynamics modeling methodology was used to build the forecasting model. The formal model was based on dynamic hypotheses derived from literature review and interviews with transportation experts. Both qualitative and quantitative data from literature, federal and state database were used to support the values and equations in the model. The model integrates State Transportation Agencies’ strategic plans, funding situations and workforce management strategies while determining future workforce requirements, and will hopefully fill the absence of long-term staffing level forecasting tools at State Transportation Agencies. By performing sensitivity simulations and statistical screening on possible drivers of the system behavior, the dynamic impacts of desired highway pavement performance level, availability of road fund and bridge fund on the required numbers of Engineers and Technicians throughout a 25-year simulation period were closely examined. Staffing strategies such as recruiting options (in-house vs. consultants) and hiring levels (entry level vs. senior level) were tested. Finally the model was calibrated using input data specific to Kentucky to simulate an expected retirement wave and search for solutions to address temporary staffing shortage.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the comply-or-explain principle in Sweden to determine if the flexible approach is functioning as in-tended. Research design: This paper scrutinizes the quality of the explanations with respect to the Swedish Corporate Governance Code. A quantitative research with a cross-sectional design has been performed and the data collection covers 241 companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm for the fiscal year of 2014. The secondary data has been gathered from corporate governance reports of the researched companies and analysed by using a tax-onomy of explanations. Findings: The report demonstrates that the comply-or-explain principle in Sweden is effective. A clear majority of the explanations, 71,8%, were deemed as informative, mean-ing that a large proportion of the Swedish firms are utilizing the flexible approach in an effective manner. However, one out of four explanations were classified as insufficient and we have thus provided recommendations in order for the code to become even more effective. Contribution: Our findings provide insights on how the comply-or-explain principle works in a country that is supposed to be a leading example of how the comply-or-explain approach should be implemented. This study should be of significance for policy makers considering that we have outlined how the principle works and provided recommenda-tions on how the Swedish Corporate Governance Code can be improved. Value: Our findings demonstrate that companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm pro-vide high quality explanations that can serve as an inspiration for companies listed in other countries. Furthermore, the results indicate that managers are likely to act within ethically desired norm. Considering the social implications, as Swedish firms are informative in terms of explanations, it minimizes the risk of firms acting dishonestly.

Agency and consent, or individual empowerment and mutual respect, are deeply embedded values and topics of discussion within the Claremont discourse and expectations. Within that framework, sexual education becomes of particular interest, both as an exploration of how Claremont students understand what consent and agency mean as well as of the agency they hold over the development of their education and own identities/well-being. Within the community of the Claremont Colleges, or 5C, community (an undergraduate liberal arts campus) sexual agency is a major point of contemporary interest, encompassing how we understand and implement consent and pleasure among a diverse group of individuals. This study analyzes the ways in which students’ conceptions of sexual agency and education relate to the resources, programs, and materials offered to them within their community.

In the staffing agency business, the responsibility of the working environment are divided between the client companies and the staffing agencies. Therefore the temporary workers should be double protected, but the consequences are that the responsibility of the working environment falls between the cracks in many businesses.The purpose of the essay is to examine how the workers in industrial businesses from the staffing agency are protected by the shared responsibility that exists between the client companies and the staffing agencies, regarding work environment. To be able to answer this questions, the legal method is used.The conclusion of this essay is that the temporary workers are protected by the Work Environment Act, stating that the staffing agency and the client company have a responsibility for the employee´s work environment. Since the staffing agency is the employer, they have the largest work environment responsibility. This means, however, that staffing agencies are in a special situation because they are not in the place where the employee works. Since the client company is equated with an employer according to 1 § SAM, the systematic work environment is shared equally between the client companies and staffing agencies. On the grounds that there is a lack of clarity concerning who is responsible for what from the both parties, it leads to that the working environment responsibility are neglected. It also depends on the fierce competition that exists between various staffing companies today, which means that staffing companies do not always take part of the client companies' risk assessments or requirements on the grounds that they are afraid of losing the customer. This results that the temporary employees do not get the protection that the Work Environment Act is intended to give them.

New innovation often forces The rise of the sharing economy has created a host of regulatory challenges for both agencies and legislators. Specifically, the ride-sharing and short-term rental industries have faced significant challenges from incumbent industries, lawmakers, and the public. Evaluating the respective policy development of these industries and the strategies of the industry leaders provide a useful lens of analysis.