Using Soft Systems Methodology, this dissertation presents an evaluation of the incidence of HIV/AIDS among ABET educators and learners in the Lebombo Ward Centres. The researcher aims to recommend ways and means that it is hoped could decrease the alarmingly high death rate of educators and learners in this part of northern KwaZulu-Natal. The painful physical and emotional effects of the virulent HIV/AIDS pandemic, and also the longterm consequences for both individuals and their families, are making many ABET educators' lives extremely complex and difficult. Many ABET Centres are facing teething problems connected to HIV/AIDS because centre managers and tutors do not have sufficient knowledge, skills and resources to be able to cope proactively and resourcefully with the difficulties that confront them. The unabated spread of HIV/AIDS in this particular area (Lebombo) is damaging and ravaging the society and undermining education at large. The researcher also wants to contribute towards a stage being reached, both by the education authorities and by individuals within the society, at which relevant and effective ways and means can be found to understand better the underlying factors that are feeding this scourge, to transmit requisite knowledge more effectively, and to introduce measures that will begin to turn around the tragically high incidence of HIV/AIDS in this area. Further, the researcher will point to, and explore, social issues and social behaviours that are impacting negatively on the spread of HIV/AIDS, such as sexual abuse of schoolgirls by educators, the widespread practising of unprotected sex by educators, the disregard for human rights that this entails, continuing gender-based prejudices, the prevalence of superstition, and the tendency among many people to disregard warnings about HIV/AIDS. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.

Mitjançant la caracterització arqueològica i arqueomètrica, aquest estudi intenta donar resposta a diverses qüestions relacionades amb els processos de producció i de difusió comercial de les àmfores vinàries fabricades al nord-est peninsular entre els s. I aC i I dC. L'estudi de les àmfores Dressel 1, Tarraconense 1 i 3 i Pascual 1 d'alguns tallers situats a l'àrea central i sud de la costa catalana permet observar el grau d'estandardització tecnològica, el grau d'homogeneïtat de les diverses produccions i l'evolució formal que caracteritza les produccions dels diversos centres o àrees productores. La identificació de la provinença de les àmfores, segons les característiques composicionals i petrogràfiques de les àmfores permet la determinació dels Grups de Referència (RG) corresponents a les produccions dels diversos tallers i les Unitats de Referència Composicional de Pastes, especialment en el cas dels centres receptors. Esdevé així possible l'atribució a un centre de producció d'àmfores procedents de centres receptors i consumidors. Donat el caràcter utilitari específic d'aquestes produccions amforals, destinades al transport del vi, tant per via terrestre, fluvial i marina i no sempre en les condicions més adequades, l'avaluació de les propietats mecàniques d'aquests contenidors esdevé una informació important. Ja que les propietats dels materials depenen estretament de la cadena operativa del procés de manufactura, l'anàlisi des aspectes tecnològics esdevé fonamental.Aquesta metodologia ha estat aplicada en l'estudi d'un total de 404 individus amforals procedents de sis centres productors i tres centres receptors. La zona productora més septentrional correspon a dos tallers ceràmics de la vall de Cabrera, Ca l'Arnau i Can Pau Ferrer, que han fabricat àmfores Dressel 1, Tarraconense 1 i Pascual 1 des del segon quart del s. I aC fins a les primeres dècades del s. I dC. Més al sud, el territori de l'antiga Barcino (Barcelona) respon a un centre productor i redistribuïdor d'àmfores vinàries, especialment del tipus Pascual 1, des d'època d'August. Un altre centre productor d'aquest tipus de contenidor és el Barri Antic, situat a l'àrea del riu Llobregat, mentre que el centre més meridional correspon a la vil·la del Vilarenc, situada a l'àrea del Penedès. Per tal d'avaluar el paper d'algunes ciutats de la Gàl·lia méridional com a centres receptors i consumidors del vi del nord-est peninsular, s'han considerat les ciutats de Narbo Martius (Narbona) i Lattara (Lattes).Els resultats obtinguts aporten un gran coneixement sobre els aspectes que envolten els processos de producció i difusió amforal. La contrastació d'aquestes dades amb la informació proporcionada per l'arqueologia ens permet contextualitzar l'evolució abast observat en aquestes activitats en un marc històric, econòmic i social més precís. / This PhD tries to answer different questions related to the production and commercial diffusion of the vine roman amphorae fabricated in the NE of the Peninsula between the I century BC and I century AC by their archaeometrical characterisation. The study of the amphorae Dressel 1, Tarraconense 1 i 3 i Pascual 1 of different workshops located in the Central-South area of the Catalan coast have permitted to observe a grate grade of standardization in the production process, a homogeneity of the various productions and its relation to the typological evolution of these amphorae at all the studied production sites. The provenience study by chemical and petrographical analysis of these containers has permitted the identification of Reference Groups for each studied workshop and of Paste Compositional Referents Units at the reception and redistribution sites. Consequently, it is possible to relate some of the productions identified in the reception and redistribution sites to a specific production centres. The archaemotrical study was applied to 404 individuals sampled at different production and reception or redistribution sites. One of the most important production area studied in this PhD is the Valley of Cabrera where two workshops which were producing Dressel 1, Tarraconense 1 i Pascual 1 amphorae, form second half of Ist century BC to the first decades of the I century AC, were sampled: Ca l'Arnau and Can Pau Ferrer. Barcino (Barcelona) a very important redistribution centre during the ages of Agustus where Pascual 1 amphorae were produced is also represented in this study. Form the area of the river Llobregat two production sites has been included in this PhD: Barri Antic and Vilarenc. On the other hand, in order to evaluate the role of other important roman cities during that time as reception or redistribution centres two production sites from Gallia has been studied: Narbo Martius (Narbona) and Lattara (Lattes).This type of amphora was used exclusively to long or short distance transport vine in the past, therefore their mechanical properties also has been studied in order to define their suitability for this specific function. The results leaded to grate knowledge on different aspects related to the production and distribution of these amphorae, also on their manufacture. The combination of the archaemotrical results with the archaeological information has permitted the contextualisation of the evolution of the vine transport activities from a historical economical and social point of view.

Mémoire (M.P.M.O.)-- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1988. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Mémoire (M.Ed.)--Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 2001. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Sur base d’une enquête réalisée dans le secteur des centres d’appel téléphonique, cette thèse analyse l’impact subjectif de la prescription du mensonge au travail. Le premier temps de la thèse est consacré à la présentation et à l’interprétation du matériel clinique. Celle-ci débouche sur une discussion psychodynamique du concept de souffrance éthique qui convoque le champ de la philosophie morale, notamment les éthiques du care. Par ailleurs, la mise en évidence de stratégies défensives contre la souffrance au travail d’un type nouveau, ainsi que de modes de gestion du personnel qui se caractérisent par une instrumentalisation de la reconnaissance, permettent de réinterroger à de nouveaux frais les avantages et les inconvénients de ces concepts au sein d’une théorie de l’autonomie. Enfin, le problème de la servitude volontaire est abordé à l’aide de travaux philosophiques sur la liberté de la volonté. Il en ressort que l’articulation entre liberté et coercition bénéficierait d’une discussion approfondie des rapports entre violence et corps érogène. / Drawing on a survey conducted in call centres, this thesis analyzes the subjective impact of the prescription of lying in the workplace. The first part of the thesis is devoted to the presentation and interpretation of clinical data. This leads to a discussion of the psychodynamic concept of ethical suffering. The latter summons the field of moral philosophy, namely the ethics of care. Furthermore, the identification of a new type of defensive strategies againts suffering at work, as well as personnel management methods wich are characterized by a manipulation of recognition, allow us to re-examine the advantages and disadvantages of these concepts for a theory of autonomy. Finally, the problem of voluntary servitude is approached from the standpoint of the philosophical debate on free will. It appears that the link between freedom and coercion would benefit from a thorough discussion between violence and the erogenous body.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Background: Point of Care Testing (POCT) refers to qualitative or quantitative tests done in health facilities where the patient is being attended to (on-site), and not in the conventional hospital laboratory setting. As a consequence of many developing countries not having access to conventional laboratory services (with trained laboratory personnel), diagnostic testing often relies on the availability of valid POC tests. All pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics in the Sedibeng District Primary Health Care (PHC) centres should be screened for syphilis, anaemia and HIV. This can be done by means of POC testing, which is easy to perform. These POC tests provide results promptly allowing treatment to be commenced immediately, if required. Despite this highly desirable benefit of POCT, there is circumstantial evidence which suggests that staff is choosing to send specimens to the laboratory for testing, instead of doing POCT themselves. The extent to which this happens and the factors contributing to this practice are not clear. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of screening for syphilis, anaemia, and HIV amongst pregnant women during their first antenatal care visit to PHC facilities in the Sedibeng District, and to establish the factors affecting the prevalence of appropriately using POCT for screening tests. Methodology: Study design: A quantitative, analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted. Study Population and Sample: Patient registers, staff expected to perform POCT and facility managers. 33 District’s health care workers expected to perform POCT on pregnant women during the first ANC visit and 30 facility managers from these facilities; 360 patient records (these were collected from a total of 7 200 patients’ records). The data was collected over a six month period (from 1st July 2012 to 31st December 2012). Data collection: Data was collected from 360 patient records to determine the rate, appropriateness and mechanism of screening for syphilis, anaemia and, HIV in pregnant women on their first antenatal visit. Interviewer-administered closed-ended questions was asked from 30 antenatal care clinic staff tasked with performing POC tests and from 30 PHC facility managers to determine the factors affecting the rate of conducting POCT. Data analysis: Data was analysed using univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses. Ethical considerations: No harm was anticipated to anyone participating in the study or from the findings of the study. A major benefit of the study was that clarity on the factors affecting the rate of screening and the use of POCT was gained. This will hopefully facilitate the implementation of evidence–based interventions to improve POCT uptake if required.

The Local Business Service Centre (LBSC) programme launched by the government of the Republic of South Africa in 1995 to provide business development services to small business, moreso in the Black communities, did not live up to expectations. This is according to the responses of a sample of 400 small business owners who were researched regarding the effectiveness of the LBSC programme, with a usable questionnaire response rate of 37.8%. The purpose of this ex post facto research, conducted in 2006 and 2007, was to evaluate the impact of the LBSC programme on small businesses in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The results will assist in developing strategies for the delivery of business development services (BDSs) that would meet the expectations of all stakeholders. This is the challenge facing South Africa. The better-known service centres include the Small Business Development Centres in the United States of America and Business Link in the United Kingdom of Great Britain; and international brands like the Enterprise Development Centres sponsored by the International Labour Organisation. These centres provide business development services such as information, basic management training and referrals to more advanced services. The quantitative research was based on a questionnaire consisting of 42 variables and one open-ended question. The questionnaire was sent to 400 small business owners who had received counselling from the LBSCs. The questionnaire was developed from a literature review on service centres in the developed and developing world; the qualitative studies of Bloch&Daze in 2000 and Urban-Econ in 2002 which were conducted nationally, and structured qualitative interviews with former government officials and existing LBSC owners. The open-ended question solicited respondents to specify the type of service centre that would meet their requirements. According to the four-point Likert scale used, most respondents “disagree” that the LBSCs were effective, and the rating was just shy of the 2.5 median. Three factors emerged from the responses: “capacity and professionalism”; “productive relationship” and “empowering association”. According to a t-test and an analysis of variance (Anova), there was no statistical difference between the means and mid-points of the independent variables for the three factors which indicated “disagree”, except “capacity and professionalism” and “empowering association” in terms of turnover. The independent variables included the age of the SMME owner, the qualifications of the owner, the turnover, the number of employees and the age of the entity. The researcher has recommended an eight-point SMME development strategy as the basis to introduce a new generation of service centres to stimulate entrepreneurship and provide business development services. The recommended eight-point strategy will also assist to assess new business development services centres being introduced by various governments. / Thesis (DCom)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Business Management / unrestricted

En raison de son cadre social et fiscal avantageux et de la qualité de sa main d’oeuvre, la Tunisie est aujourd’hui une destination privilégiée pour les entreprises occidentales. Depuis plusieurs années effectivement, ces dernières lui confient la réalisation de tout ou partie de leurs activités de services. Cela a entrainé le développement sur le territoire tunisien, d’un nombre important de centres d’appels externes offshore. Ces entreprises se proposent de réaliser depuis la Tunisie, des opérations d’acquisition et de fidélisation de clients, de recouvrement, d’assistance technique, d’enquêtes et de sondage, etc. pour le compte de donneurs d’ordres occidentaux. Elles leur promettent une qualité de service équivalente -voire meilleure- à celle pratiquée dans leurs pays d’origine. Inévitablement, cela les oblige à s’adapter aux particularités culturelles de ces derniers. De ce fait, leurs salariés doivent constamment composer avec les codes culturels de leurs clients étrangers. Ils doivent en réalité gérer simultanément leurs identités tunisiennes et celles de leurs clients, et apprendre à limiter les contradictions entre les unes et les autres. Pour y parvenir, ils développent généralement des stratégies identitaires, soient des mécanismes de défense permettant de minimiser les désaccords entre les deux identités. Cette thèse est le fruit d’une enquête qualitative conduite entre 2010 et 2012 auprès de 85 salariés de quatre centres d’appels sous-traitant en Tunisie pour des entreprises occidentales. Elle s’interroge sur l’existence d’une relation entre les stratégies identitaires de ces travailleurs et le management pratiqué par leurs entreprises. Nos résultats confirment l’existence de cette relation. Effectivement, ils révèlent que le modèle managérial choisi par un centre d’appels externe offshore est susceptible d’influencer les stratégies identitaires de ses salariés. Ils montrent de plus, que des modèles managériaux différents produisent des stratégies identitaires différentes. Ainsi, un management global est plus susceptible d’engendrer des stratégies de rejet de l’identité étrangère, tandis qu’un management paternaliste et un management mosaïque sont au contraire prédisposés à produire des stratégies favorables à cette dernière. Un management bureaucratique quant à lui, est susceptible de générer des stratégies mixtes, soient des stratégies favorables aussi bien à l’identité étrangère qu’à l’identité originelle. / Thanks to its social and fiscal advantages and the quality of its workforce, Tunisia has become a preferred destination for western companies. Indeed, in the last few years, the latter subcontracted Tunisia to perform part or all of its service activities. This has led to the development, on the Tunisian territory, of a large number of offshore call centres. From Tunisia, these companies perform activities to gain new customers, retain existing ones, provide technical support, perform debt collection, surveys and cold calling, etc... on behalf of Western companies. Those Tunisian companies agree to provide an equivalent – or better - service quality than to the one offered in their home country. Consequently, they inevitably need to adapt to the cultural characteristics of their western clients. Therefore, their employees must constantly adjust to the cultural codes of their foreign customers. In fact, they have to simultaneously handle their Tunisian identity and those of their customers, and limit the potential contradictions between the two. To manage these contradictions, they usually develop identity strategies, which are defence mechanisms to minimize divergence between the two cultures. This thesis is the result of a qualitative survey conducted between 2010 and 2012 with 85 employees from four call centres for Western companies off shored to Tunisia. It studied the potential existence of a relationship between identity strategies developed by these workers and the management style practiced by their companies. The existence of this relationship is confirmed by our results. Indeed, they reveal that an offshore call centre management model is likely to influence the identity strategies developed by its employees. They also show that different managerial models trigger different identity strategies. Hence, a global management style is more likely to generate strategies rejecting the foreign culture. However, paternalistic management and mosaic management styles are more likely to lead to identity strategy in favour of the foreign culture. Finally, a bureaucratic management style is likely to generate mixed strategies, in favour of either the foreign culture or of the local culture.

The main objective of this research was to explore the experiences and perceptions of adult learners at Public Adult Learning Centres. A total number of eighteen adult learners from three Public Adult Learning Centres in Nkomazi East Circuit at Ehlanzeni District participated in the study. The study was qualitative in nature using the interpretive paradigm. Data was collected through focus group interviews, individual interviews and observation. The study revealed that adult learners have mixed feelings and opinions regarding their experiences at Public Adult Learning Centres. Results indicated that some adults found their experiences interesting and enriching and have positive attitudes towards the teaching and learning at Public Adult Learning Centres, while others were frustrated with the lack of teaching and learning resources, and the poor management at the centres. Adult learners seem to regard education as important and they received satisfactory support from their families, communities, teachers, employers, and fellow adult learners, as well as financial support from the Department of Education. Findings revealed that adult learners find it difficult to understand the content of subjects and to cope with the pace of teaching. Participants had different views about the language of instruction. Some preferred English for employment and social purposes while others preferred the vernacular so as to have a better understanding of the content and to pass the subjects. These learners preferred that the content should prepare them for employment and for coping with day-to-day activities in rural areas. Responsibilities at home, becoming a learner at an elderly age, being involved in seasonal jobs and catching up work after absence were some of the challenges that adult learners experienced. From the results and findings of the study, recommendations were made to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning and functionality of Public Adult Learning Centres. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Early Childhood Education / unrestricted

No / Despite the interest over recent years in the fragmentation of organizations and the development of contracting, little attention has been paid to the impact of the associated inter-organizational relationships on the internal organization of employment. Inter-organizational relations have been introduced primarily as a means of externalizing - and potentially rendering invisible - employment issues and employment relations. In a context where inter-organizational relationships appear to be growing in volume and diversity, this constitutes a significant gap in the literature that this paper in part aims to fill. The purpose of the paper is two-fold: to develop a framework for considering the internal and external organizational influences on employment and to apply this framework within a case study of a multi-client outsourcing call centre. We explore the interactions between internal objectives, client demands and the use of external contracting in relation to three dimensions of employment policy: managing the wage-effort bargain, managing flexibility and managing commitment and performance. It is the interplay between these factors in a dynamic context that provides, we suggest, the basis for a more general framework for considering human resource policy in permeable organizations.