Nuclear precursor of mature messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) splicing is one of the most highly regulated processes in eukaryotic organisms. In addition to its role in the removal of constitutive or alternative introns present in the pre-mRNA, splicing is also highly integrated into other layers of gene expression. This study investigates the potential role of the nuclear branchpoint binding protein (BBP) outside of the pre-mRNA splicing cycle. More specifically, we were interested in the biological relevance of its association with two cytoplasmic proteins Smy2 and Syh1. Smy2 and Syh1 belong to the GYF family of poly-proline binding proteins, and their roles in cell biology have not been well elucidated. Here we report that Smy2 and Syh1 act redundantly in: (i) limiting pre-mRNA accumulation when yeast cultures reach high cell density, potentially through promoting pre-mRNA decay in the cytoplasm; (ii) restricting Ty1 retrotransposition, apparently by limiting the Ty1 transcript abundance; (iii) limiting the accumulation of BBP-associated yet intronless TDA1 mRNA. With the presence of UACUAAC motif and BBP association as common features of these Smy2/Syh1 sensitive substrates, we tested if BBP interaction is required for Smy2/Syh1 function in RNA metabolism. Interestingly, we found that deletion of BBP C-terminal region (bbp∆C), which largely reduces or abolishes its association with Smy2, does not lead to similar phenotypes as observed in smy2∆ syh1∆ deletion mutant cells. In addition, mutagenesis of the TACTAAC BBP-binding site within the TDA1 coding region does not seem to affect TDA1 mRNA abundance or its sensitivity to the smy2∆ syh1∆ deletions. Therefore, we concluded that while the two BBP-binding proteins Smy2 and Syh1 impact the levels of certain cellular RNAs, this phenomenon is not strictly dependent upon BBP-Smy2 interaction and may be independent of BBP contribution. A model is proposed for Smy2 and Syh1 function in RNA metabolism based on our observations and interactions between these proteins with other factors implicated in RNA stability or translation.

Many products used in our everyday life contain chemicals added to give them specific properties. Flame retardants (FRs) are added to prevent or retard fires in textiles, plastics etc., while plasticizers are supplied to make plastics more flexible. Through their widespread applications chemicals from both groups are emitted and spread in the environment during usage and disposal. For a long time these products were mainly disposed of in landfills, and in many areas they still are. Thus, since some of these chemicals also pose potential environmental risks and health hazards, there is a need to elucidate their fates during exposure to the landfill environmentThe objectives of this thesis were to investigate the leaching and transformation of FRs and plasticizers from products in which they are used under simulated landfill conditions. To assess the importance of changes in these processes as landfills progress through recognised ageing phases (accompanied by large transitions in both physico-chemical and biological conditions) it was desirable to simulate the changes that typically occur in landfills within a short time period, of 1-2 years.. This was achieved using the newly developed intermediate-scale (3 litre) Modular Environmental Test System (METS).The METS were employed in two studies. The first was an investigation of the leaching and degradation of plasticizers from PVC carpet material incubated at different temperatures (20, 37, 55 and 70°C) prevailing in landfills. Plasticizers subjected to this investigation were the phthalates di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and benzyl-butyl phthalate (BBP), both of which were found to leach from the carpet. The leaching of DEHP and BBP generally increased with increases in the incubation temperature. However, the most rapid leaching of BBP occurred at 37°C, probably due to high microbial activity at this temperature. Both DEHP and BBP were shown to be degraded within the landfill environment and the degradation potential was highest during the methanogenic landfill phase. In the second METS study the leaching of FRs used in both reactive and additive applications (i.e. chemically bonded to and merely blended with the material, respectively) was characterised. The epoxy oligomer tetrabromobishpenol A (TBBPA) and the phosphorus-based Pyrovatex FRs were selected as representatives for the reactive FRs, while the nitrogen-based melamine and phosphorus-based Proban FRs were selected to represent additive classes. During the incubations, which lasted more than two years, the leaching from melamine was shown to be affected by the landfill phase development. The leaching from the Pyrovatex-treated material and the TBBPA epoxy oligomer seemed to result almost entirely from the washout of unreacted manufacturing residuals. This was also probably true for the FR in the Proban-treated material, although it is durable (despite being additively applied) and thus seemed to leach more slowly (manifested as an increase in phosphate levels in the leachate towards the end of the monitoring period).Finally, due to the paucity of knowledge regarding the fate of ether derivatives of TBBPA (which are also used as FRs) an anaerobic degradation assay was performed. The method employed for this assay was a modified, small-scale ISO standard method. In order to evaluate the degradation assay a uniform analytical protocol was developed. The degradation survey showed that losses of TBBPA, TBBPA-dimethyl ether and bisphenol A dimethyl ether occurred, but no losses of the most hydrophobic compound, TBBPA-dibromopropyl ether, were observed. / Många av de varor och produkter vi kommer i kontakt med dagligen innehåller kemikalier, som tillsats för att materialen i produkterna skall få specifika egenskaper. Till dessa sk funktionella kemiska föreningar hör till exempel flamskyddsmedel och mjukgörare. Den förra förhindrar att produkter fattar eld eller minskar omfattningen av brand. Mjukgörare ingår fr a i plaster för att dessa skall bli smidiga och formbara. Eftersom stora mängder av dessa substanser används eller har använts i produkter i samhället har de spridits till många miljöer. Produkterna hamnar ofta på soptipp, då de inte används mer eller är utnötta. Eftersom flera av dessa substanser innebär risk för hälsa och miljö, är det påkallat att utreda hur de beter sig i soptippsmiljön.Syftet med detta avhandlingsarbete är att undersöka eventuell frisättning och omvandling av dessa två typer av funktionella kemikalier i deponimiljö. Sedan tidigare vet man att sådan frisättning kan var starkt kopplad till åldern och därmed utvecklingen av den kemiska och fysiska miljön förändrats fr a genom tillväxten av mikroorganismer i soptippen. För att komma åt att studera frisättningen under de för deponier karakteristiska utvecklingsfaserna utvecklades en metod (Modualr Environmetal Test System; METS) för att simulera faserna över relativt kort tid (ca 1-2 år). I avhandlingen presenteras två studier, där METS utnyttjats: 1) Frisättning av mjukgörare från en PVC-matta i relation till temperaturer, som uppträder i soptippar (20-70oC) samt 2) Läckage av olika flamskyddsmedel i reaktiv respektive additiv användning studerades för olika applikationer. Vid reaktive applikation är flamskyddsmedlet kovalent bundet till polymeren i produktmaterialet, medan det additivt använda flamskyddsmedlet är inblandat i materialet.Två ftalater (di-2-etylhexyl ftalat, DEHP och bensyl-butyl ftalat (BBP), visade sig läcka från mattan, vilket ökade med högre temperature. De frisattes dock som mest vid 37oC, vilket sannolikt beror på den höga mikrobiella aktiviteten vid denna temperatur. Båda ftalterna bröts ned i soptippsmiljön och hastigheten var störst i den metanogena fasen.En epoxyoligomer (tetrabromobishpenol A TBBPA) och Pyrovatex, som bygger på en fosforförening, användes som modeller för reaktiva flamskyddsmedel. Melamin, som klassas som ett kvävebaserat flamskyddsmedel, fick tillsammans med Proban (fosforbaserat) represen-tera de som används additivt. Medan en frisättning av melamin kunde relateras till utvecklingen av deponimiljön simulerad i METS, så verkar den observerade frisättningen av kemikalierna från de reaktivt behandlade Pyrovatexmaterialet och från epoxipolymeren TBBPA förr ha en fysikalisk-kemisk grund oberoende av utvecklingsfaserna i tippmodel-lerna. Flamskyddsmedlen tvättades helt enkelt ut ur de behandlade produkterna. Probanbehandlingen, som motstår förhållandevis många tvättar trots att det används additivt, visade sig läcka långsamt utan en direkt koppling till fasutvecklingen i METS.Kunskaperna om vad som händer med TBBPA:s eterderivat i deponier är i stort sett obefintliga. Flera av dessa derivat används också som flamskyddsmedel. Därför genomfördes en anaerob nedbrytningsstudie av dessa substanser. För att kunna göra denna studie behövdes en omfattande anpassning och utveckling av metodik, vilket resulterade i ett nytt protokoll för analys av dessa ämnen i olika matriser. Studien visade minskning av koncentrationerna av TBBPA, TBBPA-dimetyleter och bisfenol A dimetyl eter, vilket kan tas som ett tecken på att en transformation och/eller nedbrytning skett. Då dessa föreningar kan omvandlas till mer toxiska substanser bör de undersökas vidare.

No description available.

Data analysis techniques can be useful in decision-making processes, when patterns of interest can indicate trends in specific domains. Such trends might support evaluation, definition of alternatives, or prediction of events. Currently, datasets have increased in size and complexity, posing challenges to modern hardware resources. In the case of large datasets that can be represented as graphs, issues of visualization and scalable processing are of current concern. Distributed frameworks are commonly used to deal with this data, but the deployment and the management of computational clusters can be complex, demanding technical and financial resources that can be prohibitive in several scenarios. Therefore, it is desirable to design efficient techniques for processing and visualization of large scale graphs that optimize hardware resources in a single computational node. In this course of action, we developed a visualization technique named StructMatrix to find interesting insights on real-life graphs. In addition, we proposed a graph processing framework M-Flash that used a novel, bimodal block processing strategy (BBP) to boost computation speed by minimizing I/O cost. Our results show that our visualization technique allows an efficient and interactive exploration of big graphs and our framework MFlash significantly outperformed all state-of-the-art approaches based on secondary memory. Our contributions have been validated in peer-review events demonstrating the potential of our finding in fostering the analytical possibilities related to large-graph data domains. / Técnicas de análise de dados podem ser úteis em processos de tomada de decisão, quando padrões de interesse indicam tendências em domínios específicos. Tais tendências podem auxiliar a avaliação, a definição de alternativas ou a predição de eventos. Atualmente, os conjuntos de dados têm aumentado em tamanho e complexidade, impondo desafios para recursos modernos de hardware. No caso de grandes conjuntos de dados que podem ser representados como grafos, aspectos de visualização e processamento escalável têm despertado interesse. Arcabouços distribuídos são comumente usados para lidar com esses dados, mas a implantação e o gerenciamento de clusters computacionais podem ser complexos, exigindo recursos técnicos e financeiros que podem ser proibitivos em vários cenários. Portanto é desejável conceber técnicas eficazes para o processamento e visualização de grafos em larga escala que otimizam recursos de hardware em um único nó computacional. Desse modo, este trabalho apresenta uma técnica de visualização chamada StructMatrix para identificar relacionamentos estruturais em grafos reais. Adicionalmente, foi proposta uma estratégia de processamento bimodal em blocos, denominada Bimodal Block Processing (BBP), que minimiza o custo de I/O para melhorar o desempenho do processamento. Essa estratégia foi incorporada a um arcabouço de processamento de grafos denominado M-Flash e desenvolvido durante a realização deste trabalho.Foram conduzidos experimentos a fim de avaliar as técnicas propostas. Os resultados mostraram que a técnica de visualização StructMatrix permitiu uma exploração eficiente e interativa de grandes grafos. Além disso, a avaliação do arcabouço M-Flash apresentou ganhos significativos sobre todas as abordagens baseadas em memória secundária do estado da arte. Ambas as contribuições foram validadas em eventos de revisão por pares, demonstrando o potencial analítico deste trabalho em domínios associados a grafos em larga escala.

Data analysis techniques can be useful in decision-making processes, when patterns of interest can indicate trends in specific domains. Such trends might support evaluation, definition of alternatives, or prediction of events. Currently, datasets have increased in size and complexity, posing challenges to modern hardware resources. In the case of large datasets that can be represented as graphs, issues of visualization and scalable processing are of current concern. Distributed frameworks are commonly used to deal with this data, but the deployment and the management of computational clusters can be complex, demanding technical and financial resources that can be prohibitive in several scenarios. Therefore, it is desirable to design efficient techniques for processing and visualization of large scale graphs that optimize hardware resources in a single computational node. In this course of action, we developed a visualization technique named StructMatrix to find interesting insights on real-life graphs. In addition, we proposed a graph processing framework M-Flash that used a novel, bimodal block processing strategy (BBP) to boost computation speed by minimizing I/O cost. Our results show that our visualization technique allows an efficient and interactive exploration of big graphs and our framework MFlash significantly outperformed all state-of-the-art approaches based on secondary memory. Our contributions have been validated in peer-review events demonstrating the potential of our finding in fostering the analytical possibilities related to large-graph data domains. / Técnicas de análise de dados podem ser úteis em processos de tomada de decisão, quando padrões de interesse indicam tendências em domínios específicos. Tais tendências podem auxiliar a avaliação, a definição de alternativas ou a predição de eventos. Atualmente, os conjuntos de dados têm aumentado em tamanho e complexidade, impondo desafios para recursos modernos de hardware. No caso de grandes conjuntos de dados que podem ser representados como grafos, aspectos de visualização e processamento escalável têm despertado interesse. Arcabouços distribuídos são comumente usados para lidar com esses dados, mas a implantação e o gerenciamento de clusters computacionais podem ser complexos, exigindo recursos técnicos e financeiros que podem ser proibitivos em vários cenários. Portanto é desejável conceber técnicas eficazes para o processamento e visualização de grafos em larga escala que otimizam recursos de hardware em um único nó computacional. Desse modo, este trabalho apresenta uma técnica de visualização chamada StructMatrix para identificar relacionamentos estruturais em grafos reais. Adicionalmente, foi proposta uma estratégia de processamento bimodal em blocos, denominada Bimodal Block Processing (BBP), que minimiza o custo de I/O para melhorar o desempenho do processamento. Essa estratégia foi incorporada a um arcabouço de processamento de grafos denominado M-Flash e desenvolvido durante a realização deste trabalho.Foram conduzidos experimentos a fim de avaliar as técnicas propostas. Os resultados mostraram que a técnica de visualização StructMatrix permitiu uma exploração eficiente e interativa de grandes grafos. Além disso, a avaliação do arcabouço M-Flash apresentou ganhos significativos sobre todas as abordagens baseadas em memória secundária do estado da arte. Ambas as contribuições foram validadas em eventos de revisão por pares, demonstrando o potencial analítico deste trabalho em domínios associados a grafos em larga escala.

We study Gaussian sample covariance matrices with population covariance a bounded-rank perturbation of the identity, as well as Wigner matrices with bounded-rank additive perturbations. The top eigenvalues are known to exhibit a phase transition in the large size limit: with weak perturbations they follow Tracy-Widom statistics as in the unperturbed case, while above a threshold there are outliers with independent Gaussian fluctuations. Baik, Ben Arous and Péché (2005) described the transition in the complex case and conjectured a similar picture in the real case, the latter of most relevance to high-dimensional data analysis. Resolving the conjecture, we prove that in all cases the top eigenvalues have a limit near the phase transition. Our starting point is the work of Rámirez, Rider and Virág (2006) on the general beta random matrix soft edge. For rank one perturbations, a modified tridiagonal form converges to the known random Schrödinger operator on the half-line but with a boundary condition that depends on the perturbation. For general finite-rank perturbations we develop a new band form; it converges to a limiting operator with matrix-valued potential. The low-lying eigenvalues describe the limit, jointly as the perturbation varies in a fixed subspace. Their laws are also characterized in terms of a diffusion related to Dyson's Brownian motion and in terms of a linear parabolic PDE. We offer a related heuristic for the supercritical behaviour and rigorously treat the supercritical asymptotics of the ground state of the limiting operator. In a further development, we use the PDE to make the first explicit connection between a general beta characterization and the celebrated Painlevé representations of Tracy and Widom (1993, 1996). In particular, for beta = 2,4 we give novel proofs of the latter. Finally, we report briefly on evidence suggesting that the PDE provides a stable, even efficient method for numerical evaluation of the Tracy-Widom distributions, their general beta analogues and the deformations discussed and introduced here. This thesis is based in part on work to be published jointly with Bálint Virág.

We study Gaussian sample covariance matrices with population covariance a bounded-rank perturbation of the identity, as well as Wigner matrices with bounded-rank additive perturbations. The top eigenvalues are known to exhibit a phase transition in the large size limit: with weak perturbations they follow Tracy-Widom statistics as in the unperturbed case, while above a threshold there are outliers with independent Gaussian fluctuations. Baik, Ben Arous and Péché (2005) described the transition in the complex case and conjectured a similar picture in the real case, the latter of most relevance to high-dimensional data analysis. Resolving the conjecture, we prove that in all cases the top eigenvalues have a limit near the phase transition. Our starting point is the work of Rámirez, Rider and Virág (2006) on the general beta random matrix soft edge. For rank one perturbations, a modified tridiagonal form converges to the known random Schrödinger operator on the half-line but with a boundary condition that depends on the perturbation. For general finite-rank perturbations we develop a new band form; it converges to a limiting operator with matrix-valued potential. The low-lying eigenvalues describe the limit, jointly as the perturbation varies in a fixed subspace. Their laws are also characterized in terms of a diffusion related to Dyson's Brownian motion and in terms of a linear parabolic PDE. We offer a related heuristic for the supercritical behaviour and rigorously treat the supercritical asymptotics of the ground state of the limiting operator. In a further development, we use the PDE to make the first explicit connection between a general beta characterization and the celebrated Painlevé representations of Tracy and Widom (1993, 1996). In particular, for beta = 2,4 we give novel proofs of the latter. Finally, we report briefly on evidence suggesting that the PDE provides a stable, even efficient method for numerical evaluation of the Tracy-Widom distributions, their general beta analogues and the deformations discussed and introduced here. This thesis is based in part on work to be published jointly with Bálint Virág.

Summaries in English, Afrikaans and Zulu / Orientation: Security personnel work in a high risk and consequently high stress environment. This may negatively affect their wellbeing. Owing to the high crime rate in South Africa, one of the continuous stressors security personnel experience might be fearing for their lives. If security personnel fail to use effective coping strategies they will remain stressed, and this may have a negative impact on them, and their organisation or community. Challenges such as work stress in the South African security industry have not been comprehensively researched or documented (Sibanyoni, 2014). Consequently, no South African questionnaire measuring coping with stress or a stress management model for dealing with stress in a security environment, could be found. Research purpose: The general aim of the research was to develop a valid and reliable coping questionnaire and stress management model for high stress security occupations. Research methodology: A questionnaire development process, as suggested by scientific literature, was followed. The process entailed (1) determining coping strategies by means of a literature review, (2) developing the coping questionnaire, (3) administering the questionnaire to the target population, and (4) statistical analysis. The stress management model was developed by combining the results of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and canonical correlation analysis (CCA). The development of the questionnaire was based on a sample of 381 active duty security personnel working in a high stress security environment in South Africa. Main findings: The study resulted in the development of a psychometrically sound 39-item questionnaire. The following 12 empirically validated healthy and unhealthy coping strategies were identified: (1) social support, (2) group cohesion, (3) physical exercise, (4) relaxation, (5) social media addiction, (6) healthy sleeping habits, (7) healthy diet, (8) training, (9) humour, (10) religion, (11) avoidance, and (12) denial. CFA confirmed both the construct and content validity, and composite reliability. The questionnaire was found to be invariant, and could thus be applied to different groups in high stress security occupations. A stress management model indicating the interrelationship between personality and coping was also developed. Contribution/value-add: The main contribution of this study was the development of a valid coping questionnaire and stress management model. By identifying the specific coping strategies, targeted stress management interventions could be developed. This could contribute to the overall wellness of security personnel working in high stress occupations, resulting in a healthy organisation and sound relationships with the community. Security organisations could also use the model during assessments to identify candidates with personality traits that would lead to healthier coping strategies, thereby selecting personnel that could better adapt to a security environment. / Oriëntasie: Sekuriteitspersoneel werk in ’n hoë risiko en gevolglik ’n stresvolle omgewing. Dit kan hulle welstand negatief beïnvloed. As gevolg van die hoë misdaadsyfer in Suid-Afrika kan een van die deurlopende stressors wat sekuriteitspersoneel ervaar ’n vrees vir hulle lewens wees. Indien sekuriteitspersoneel nie effektiewe streshantering strategieë gebruik nie, kan hulle voortdurend stres ervaar en dit kan ’n negatiewe impak op hulleself, hulle organisasie of gemeenskap hê. Uitdagings soos beroepstres in die Suid-Afrikaanse sekuriteitsindustrie is nog nie deeglik nagevors of gedokumenteer nie (Sibanyoni, 2014). Gevolglik kon daar vir die sekuriteitsomgewing geen Suid-Afrikaanse vraelys wat streshantering meet of ’n stresbestuursmodel gevind word nie. Doel van die navorsing: Die algemene doel van die navorsing was om vir stresvolle sekuriteitsberoepe ’n geldige en betroubare streshanteringsvraelys en stresbestuursmodel te ontwikkel. Navorsingsmetodologie: ’n Vraelys ontwikkelingsproses, soos deur wetenskaplike literatuur voorgestel, is gevolg. Die proses het die volgende behels: (1) die vasstel van die streshantering strategieë deur middel van ’n literatuuroorsig, (2) die ontwikkeling van die streshanteringsvraelys, (3) administrasie van die vraelys aan die teiken populasie en (4) statistiese analise. Die stresbestuursmodel is ontwikkel deur die resultate van die bevestigende faktoranalise (BFA) en die kanoniese korrelasie analise te kombineer. Die ontwikkeling van die vraelys is gebaseer op ’n steekproef van 381 aktiewe diens sekuriteitspersoneel wat in Suid-Afrika in ’n stresvolle sekuriteitsomgewing werk. Hoofbevindinge: Die studie het tot ’n psigometries betroubare 39-item vraelys gelei. Twaalf empiries gestaafde gesonde en ongesonde streshantering strategieë is geïdentifiseer naamlik: (1) sosiale ondersteuning, (2) groep kohesie, (3) fisiese oefening, (4) ontspanning, (5) sosiale media verslawing, (6) gesonde slaapgewoontes, (7) gesonde dieet, (8) opleiding, (9) humor, (10) godsdiens, (11) vermyding en (12) ontkenning. BFA het die konstruk- en inhoudsgeldigheid so wel as die saamgestelde betroubaarheid bevestig. Die vraelys is invariant en kan dus op verskillende groepe in hoë stres sekuriteitsberoepe toegepas word. ’n Stresbestuursmodel wat die verwantskap tussen persoonlikheid en streshantering aandui is ook ontwikkel. Bydrae/waardetoevoeging: Die belangrikste bydrae van hierdie studie was die ontwikkeling van ’n geldige streshanteringsvraelys en stresbestuursmodel. Deur die spesifieke streshantering strategieë te identifiseer kan gefokusde streshantering intervensies ontwikkel word. Dit kan tot die algehele welstand van sekuriteitspersoneel wat in stresvolle beroepe werk bydra en derhalwe ’n gesonde organisasie en goeie verhoudings met die gemeenskap. Sekuriteitsorganisasies kan ook tydens keurings die model gebruik om kandidate met persoonlikheidstrekke, wat tot gesonder streshantering strategieë sal lei, te identifiseer en dus personeel kies wat beter by ’n sekuriteitsomgewing sal aanpas. / Isimo somqondo: Abasebenzi bezokuphepha basebenza ezindaweni ezinobungozi obuphakeme nengcindezi ephakeme. Lokhu kungaba nomthelela omubi esimeni sabo sempilo. Ngenxa yezinga lobugebengu eliphezulu eNingizimu Afrika, okukodwa okudala ingcindezi ngokuqhubekayo kubasebenzi bezokuphepha ukwesabela izimpilo zabo. Uma abasebenzi bezokuphepha bengasebenzisi amasu aphumelelayo okubhekana nalezi zimo, bazohlala benengcindezi futhi lokhu kungaba nomphumela omubi kubona, enhlanganweni yabo noma emphakathini wabo. Ucwaningo ngezinselelo ezinjengokucindezeleka emsebenzini ezimbonini zokuphepha lapha eNingizimu Afrika alwenziwanga futhi akubhaliwe kabanzi ngakho (Sibanyoni, 2014). Kanjalo, alutholakalanga uhlu lwemibuzo lwaseNingizimu Afrika olungalinganisa ukuthi abasebenzi bezokuphepha babhekana kanjani nengcindezi kanye nomlinganiso olawula ingcindezi ukubhekana nengcindezi ezindaweni zezokuphepha. Inhloso yocwaningo: Inhloso enkulu yocwaningo kwakuwukuqamba uhlu lwemibuzo oluqinisekile noluthembekile ukubhekana nengcindezi nomlinganiso wokulawula ingcindezi emisebenzini yezokuphepha enengcindezi ephakeme. Indlela yokwenza ucwaningo: Isenzo sokuqamba uhlu lwemibuzo njengoba kuhlongozwa yimibhalo yezesayensi silandelwe kulolu cwaningo. Lesi senzo sibe (1) nokuthola amasu okubhekana nengcindezi ngokubhekisa emibhalweni ehloliwe, (2) nokuqamba uhlu lwemibuzo ephathelene nokubhekana nengcindezi, (3) nokunikeza uhlu lwemibuzo kubantu abathintekayo, kanye (4) nokwenza uhlaziyo lwezibalo. Umlinganiso wokulawula ingcindezi wenziwe ngokuhlanganisa imiphumela yeConfirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) neyeCanonical Correlation Analysis (CCA). Ukuqanjwa kohlu lwemibuzo kweyeme esampuleni labasebenzi bezokuphepha abangama-381 abamatasa emsebenzini abasebenza ezindaweni ezinengcindezi ephakeme eNingizimu Afrika. Okukhulu okutholakele ocwaningweni: Ucwaningo lube nomphumela ekuqanjweni kohlu lwemibuzo oluqinisekile ngokwesayikhomethri olunemibuzo angama-39. Kukhonjwe amasu okubhekana nengcindezi ayishumi nambili aqinisekiswe ngokubukisiswa asesimeni esiphilile nesingaphilile sempilo, okubalwa kuwo, (1) uxhaso lomphakathi, (2) ukuba ndawonye kweqembu, (3) ukuzivocavoca umzimba, (4) ukuziphumuza, (5) ukuba yisigqili semithombo yomphakathi, (6) imikhuba emihle yokulala, (7) uqeqesho, (8) amahlaya, (10) inkolo, (11) ukuxwaya, kanye (12) nokwala. ICFA iqinisekise ukuba neqiniso kombono nokuqukethwe, kanye nokwethembeka okuxubile. Kutholakele ukuthi uhlu lwemibuzo aluguquki futhi lungasetshenziswa emaqenjini ehlukene emisebenzini yezokuphepha anengcindezi ephakeme. Kuthuthukiswe nomlinganiso olawula ingcindezi okhombisa ubudlelwano phakathi komuntu isibili nokubhekana nengcindezi. Umnikelo: Umnikelo omkhulu walolu cwaningo kube ukuqamba uhlu lwemibuzo oluqinisekile ukubhekana nengcindezi kanye nomlinganiso wokulawula ingcindezi. Ngokukhomba amasu aqondene nokubhekana nengcindezi, kungathuthukiswa izindlela ezihlosiwe zokulawula ingcindezi. Lokhu kunganikela esimeni esihle sempilo yabasebenzi bezokuphepha abasebenza imisebenzi enengcindezi ephakeme, okuzoholela enhlanganweni esesimeni esihle nasebudlelwaneni obuhle nomphakathi. Izinhlangano zezokuphepha nazo zingawusebenzisa lomlinganiso ngesikhathi sokuhlola ukubona abafundi abanezici ezinomthelela omuhle, kumasu abhekana nengcindezi asesimeni esihle, ezizobenza bakhethe abasebenzi abazongena kahle ezindaweni zokuphepha. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Phil. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)