The present study investigates the effect of genre on lexical and syntactic complexity. The corpus used for this study is made up of argumentative and narrative texts from the TRAWL (Tracking Written Learner Language) online corpus. The study analyses texts written by 22 Norwegian EFL learners, 10 in year 8 and 12 in year 9. One narrative text and one argumentative text from each student is analysed using an automated method to calculate complexity based on one measure of lexical complexity, the Guiraud Index and two measures of syntactic complexity, mean length of sentence and mean length of t-unit. A qualitative analysis, comparing outlying results to the Swedish National curriculum, also gave insight into different levels of complexity. Previous studies suggest that narrative texts have more lexical complexity while argumentative texts are more syntactically complex. The results of this study support this hypothesis though not all correlations were found to be statistically significant.

The Rijndael cipher was chosen as the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) in August 1999. Its internal structure exhibits unusual properties such as a clean and simple algebraic description for the S-box. In this research, we construct a scalable family of ciphers which behave very much like the original Rijndael. This approach gives us the opportunity to use computational complexity theory. In the main result, we generate a candidate one-way function family from the scalable Rijndael family. We note that, although reduction to one-way functions is a common theme in the theory of public-key cryptography, it is rare to have such a defense of security in the private-key theatre. In this thesis a plan of attack is introduced at the circuit level whose aim is not break the cryptosystem in any practical way, but simply to break the very bold Rijndael security claim. To achieve this goal, we are led to a formal understanding of the Rijndael security claim, juxtaposing it with rigorous security treatments. Several of the questions that arise in this regard are as follows: ``Do invertible functions represented by circuits with very small numbers of gates have better than worst case implementations for their inverses?' ``How many plaintext/ciphertext pairs are needed to uniquely determine the Rijndael key?'

The aim of this research is to test the effect of different project complexities and project management competence of project managers in public sector mega engineering projects of Pakistan and their effect on project performance. This research study is applied in Pakistan. Complexities in a project are inevitable. These cannot be controlled or eliminated but one can have their better understanding to counter them resulting in better project performance.  Quantitative research techniques have been applied for this particular research study. A total of 100 questionnaires were handed out among respondents, of which 82 survey questionnaires were useful for further analysis. Hypotheses have been developed to test the effect of variables of  project management competence on project performance and subsequently the effect of Technical, Organizational and environmental complexity on project performance.   Results show that project management competence have a positive effect on project performance, like leadership, management skills, communication, ethics, honesty have a strong impact on project performance. Secondly, Technical and organizational complexity have a negative effect on project performance whereas hypothesis of environmental complexity has not supported the project performance.  Further, a number of complexities were high ranked. For instance, goals, tasks and market conditions were ranked very high with respect to their impact on project performance.  This study contributes theoretically in the field of project management and on practical level study will not only help the Practioners in the field of PM, but also helpful for project managers of mega engineering projects. On societal level this study may help the Government intuitions in formulating rules and regulations such as PM certifications that can improve the project performance.

Bugs in software is a very common problem, code reviews can help to catch bugs early on and detect which code is the most complex and may introduce bugs but when the code base is very large it can be costly to review all the code. Cyclomatic complexity can be used to give an indication of how complex the system source code is and help the developers to select which code they should review. But when measuring cyclomatic complexity on code written according to the functional paradigm, McCabe’s formula will not be sufficient since it is a formula most suitable for imperative code. Therefore we are making adaptations to a formula suited for pure functional languages in order to fit functional JavaScript. We are using an inductive empirical quantitative measurement method to calculate cyclomatic complexity on a directed graph implementation in order to define adaptations for functional JavaScript. Our results show a working adapted version of the formula. We have measured on a graph implemented in Haskell and on a corresponding functional JavaScript version which results in a cyclomatic complexity difference at only 0.375.

Bakgrund och problem: En tilltagande globaliseringen, teknisk utveckling och ökad konkurrens har gjort att företag behöver anpassa sig till den föränderliga miljön för att förbli lönsamma och konkurrenskraftiga. Projekt är ett effektivt sätt att anpassa sig till en föränderlig och osäker omvärld. Därför har det skett en ökning av antalet projekt som bedrivs, samtidigt som en allt högre andel projekt misslyckas på grund av faktorerna i projektets miljö som orsakar komplexitet i projektet. Komplexiteten behöver således hanteras för att kunna driva projektet framåt.  Syfte: Syftet med studien är att identifiera hur faktorerna i projektets föränderliga miljö orsakar komplexitet samt att skapa bättre förståelse för hur faktorerna hanteras i projektstyrningen. Vidare är det praktiska syftet att skapa vägledning och insikt i hur företag kan hantera komplexiteten som orsakas av dessa faktorer.  Metod: Forskningsstrategin är baserad på ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt med en abduktiv ansats. Forskningsdesignen bygger en insamling av empiriska data genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer på sex olika verksamheter, där fallen består av både traditionella branscher där det traditionella projektstyrningsidéerna kan tänkas dominera och modernare företag som tar avstamp i mer agila projektstyrningsmetoder.  Slutsats: Studiens resultat visade att komplexitetsfaktorerna i slutändan påverkar en eller flera variabler i projekttriangeln, som är tid, kostnad och kvalitet/resultat. Komplexitetsfaktorerna som identifierades är begränsad tid, begränsade resurser, intressenternas inflytande, kompetensbrist, motstånd för förändring, lagar och regleringar samt teknisk utveckling. Studiens resultat visade också på att komplexitetsfaktorerna hanteras genom effektivare kommunikation, långsiktighet, effektiv planering, samt viljan att förändras. / Background and problem: Increasing globalization, technological development and increased competition have made it necessary for companies to adapt to the changing environment in order to remain profitable and competitive. Projects are an effective way to adapt to a changing and uncertain world. Therefore, there has been an increase in the number of projects carried out, at the same time as an increasing proportion of projects fail due to the factors in the project environment that cause complexity in the project. The complexity thus needs to be managed in order to be able to drive the project forward.  Purpose: The purpose of the study is to identify how the factors in the project's changing environment cause complexity and to create a better understanding of how the factors are handled in project management. Furthermore, the practical purpose is to create guidance and insight into how companies can handle the complexity caused by these factors.  Method: The research strategy is based on a qualitative approach with an abductive approach. The research design builds a collection of empirical data through semi-structured interviews of six different companies, where the cases consist of both traditional industries where the traditional project management ideas may dominate and modern companies that are based on more agile project management methods.  Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the complexity factors ultimately affect one or more variables in the project triangle, which are time, cost and quality/results. The complexity factors identified are limited time, limited resources, stakeholder influence, lack of competence, resistance to change, laws and regulations and technical development. The results of the study also showed that the complexity factors are managed through more efficient communication, strategic and effective planning and the willingness to change.

P(p)ublic A(a)dministration is influenced by multiple factors, inclusive of complex policy issues, multi-faceted forms of accountability and hybrid governance models. Consequently, public administration organisations must strengthen their adaptive and complexity capacity to deal with environmental complexity through adopting a different leadership model that is characterised by distinct but complementary leadership functions. Complexity leadership theory (CLT) is thus adopted as an appropriate theoretical lens for the study due to its integrative, collective and relational approach to leadership, in spite of its limited application in the public administration context. Against this background, the purpose of the study is to apply CLT as the basis to determine the required leadership competencies that should underpin a complex adaptive system such as the Governance and Administration (G&A) Cluster of the South African government because of concerns regarding the unevenness or lack of appropriate leadership competencies, behaviours and skills to make the government cluster system effective. To address the purpose of the study and the underlying research problem, a mixed methods research approach was adopted to investigate the leadership competency implications of Public Administration reforms plus their links with intergovernmental relations developments, and the implications of the transition from leader-centric practices to collective and hybrid forms of leadership. An analysis of existing literature in these areas leads to the conclusion that the G&A Cluster, which is an intergovernmental relations structure, is an integral part of hybrid organisational arrangements whose effectiveness requires a different approach to leadership. The literature analysis further identifies a disjuncture between leader-centric practices and conceptions of leadership as a collective, collaborative and hybrid phenomenon. The disjuncture is attributed to the scarcity of leadership and competency-based management (CBM) literature to guide the development of complexity leadership practice, especially in inter-organisational arrangements, and reliance on theoretical analysis as the basis to propose competencies for complexity leadership. Thus, the study addresses the research question and simultaneously contributes towards knowledge and practice by providing an empirical lens to the dynamics of collective leadership in a government inter-organisational structure and advancing CBM through articulating seven adaptable principles and six competency clusters that inform the development of a meso level leadership competency framework for inter-organisational arrangements. The study is also contributing to the application of CLT in P(p)ublic A(a)dministration and improved understanding of CLT’s leadership functions by clarifying its competency dimensions. The study concludes with an outline of implications and recommendations for inter-organisational leadership competency development and practice as well as recommendations for further research. / Thesis (PhD (Public Administration and Management))--University of Pretoria, 2021. / University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (2019-20210) Office of the Public Service Commission (2021) / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / PhD (Public Administration and Management) / Unrestricted

The quantity and variety of product information available online today has increased significantly in recent years. This situation has exacerbated user information overload perceptions and made it difficult for online shoppers to choose between various online products and services. This is especially true for older adults, who typically have limitations in cognitive abilities due to the natural aging process and, as such, may perceive additional difficulties processing large amounts of information online. In response, Recommendation Agents (RAs) have become popular as decision support tools for online consumers in general, and older adults in particular. However, in the information systems literature, there is a lack of understanding regarding the design of RAs to suit the needs of different segments of the population, including older adults. Grounded in the theory of planned behaviour, and the “aging and IS adoption” literatures, this study investigates the impact of cognitive age and RA comprehensiveness on user perceptions towards the complexity of the input and output stages of an RA, and their subsequent impact on the antecedents of a user’s intention to utilize the RA for online shopping. This experimental study finds that: (i) an individual’s cognitive age significantly increases perceived RA input and output complexity perceptions; (ii) higher levels of RA comprehensiveness increases a user’s RA input and output complexity perceptions significantly; (iii) RA output complexity plays a more critical role than RA input complexity in shaping user perceptions of the overall complexity of an RA; and, (iv) increased levels of RA comprehensiveness increases individual perceptions of RA usefulness. Additionally, and as expected, cognitive age moderates the relationship between RA comprehensiveness and input/output complexity such that the effect is stronger for older adults. Surprisingly, however, cognitive age also moderates the relationship between RA comprehensiveness and perceived RA usefulness such that it is stronger for older adults. Theoretically, this study helps us to better understand how different levels of RA comprehensiveness, in terms of both the input and output stages of the RA operation, impact the intention of users of different cognitive ages to use online RAs. For practitioners, the results highlight the importance of customizing the design of RAs, in both their input and output stages, for consumers with different cognitive ages. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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This paper is based on the proposition that the choice of different product tactics is influenced by the nature of the firm’s external environment. It illustrates the type of product activities suggested for a complex and turbulent environment, when viewing the environment through a chaos and complexity theory lens. A qualitative, case method, using depth interviews,investigated the product activities in two companies to identify the product activities adopted in a more successful, versus a less successful, firm in a complex/turbulent environment. The results showed that the more successful company uses some destabilizing product activities but also partially uses stabilizing product activities. These findings are of benefit to marketers as they emphasize a new way to consider future product activities in their firms. Since businesses and markets are complex adaptive systems, using complexity theory to understand how to cope in complex, turbulent environments is necessary, but has not been widely researched, with even less emphasis on individual components of the marketing mix.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The question of what it means to say one knows something, or has knowledge of something, triggered an epistemological study after the nature of knowledge and its acquisition. There are many different ways in which one can go about acquiring knowledge, manydifferent frameworks that one can use to search after truth. Because most real systems about which one could desire knowledge (organic, social, economic etc.) are non-linear, an understanding of non-linear systems is important for the process of acquiring knowledge. Knowledge exhibits the characteristics of a dynamic, adaptive system, and as such could be approached via a dynamic theory of adaptive systems. Therefore, chaos theory and complexity theory are two theoretical (non-linear) frameworks that can facilitate the knowledge acquisition process. As a modernist instrument for acquiring knowledge, chaos theory provides one with deterministic rules that make mathematical understanding of non-linear phenomenaa bit easier, but it is limited in that it can only provide one with certain knowledge up until the (system's) next bifurcation (i.e. when chaos sets in). After this, it is near impossible to predict what a chaotic system will do. Complexity theory, as a postmodern tool for knowledge acquisition, gives one insight into the dynamic, self-organising nature of the non-linear systems around one. By analysing the global stability complex systems produce during punctuated equilibrium, one can learn much about how these systems adapt, evolve and survive. Complexity and chaos, therefore, together can provide one with a useful framework for understanding the nature and workings of non-linear systems. However, it should be remembered that every observer of knowledge does so out of his/her own personal framework of beliefs, circumstances and history, and that knowledge therefore can never be 100 percent objective. Knowledge and truth can never be entirely relative either, however, for this would mean that all knowledge (and thereby all opposing claims and statements) is equally correct or true. This is clearly not possible. What is possible, though, is the fulfilling and successful pursuit of knowledge for the sake of the journey of learning and understandi ng. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die vraag na wat dit eintlik beteken om te sê mens weet iets, of dra kennis van iets, het na 'n epistemologiese soeke na die wese van kennis en die verwerwing daarvan toe gelei. Daar is baie maniere waarop mens kennis kan verwerf, baie verskillende raamwerke wat mens kan gebruik om te soek na waarheid. Omdat die meeste wesenlike stelsels waarvan mens kennis sou wou verkry (organies, sosiaal, ekonomies ens.) nie-lineêr is, is 'n verstaan van nie-lineêre stelsels belangrik vir die kennisverwerwingsproses. Kennis vertoon die eienskappe van I n dinamiese, aanpassende stelsel, en kan dus via 'n dinamiese teorie van aanpassendestelsels benader word. Daarom is chaosteorie en kompleksiteitsteorie twee teoretiese (nie-lineêre) raamwerke wat die proses van kennisverwerwing kan vergemaklik. As I n modernistiese instrument vir kennisverwerwing, verskaf chaosteorie deterministiese reëls wat die wiskundige verstaan van nie-lineêre verskynsels bietjie vergemaklik, maar dit is beperk deurdat dit net sekere kennis tot op die (stelsel se) volgende splitsing (d.w.s. waar chaos begin) verskaf. Hierna, word dit naasonmoontlik om te voorspel wat I n chaotiese stelsel gaandoen. Kompleksiteitsteorie, as I n postmodernistiese gereedskap vir kennisverwerwing, gee mens insig in die dinamiese, selforganiserende aard van die nie-lineêre stelsels om mens. Deur die globale stabiliteit wat komplekse stelsels gedurende onderbreekte ewewig ("punctuated equi/ibrium"}toon te analiseer, kan mens baie leer van hoe hierdie stelsels aanpas, ontwikkel en oorleef. Kompleksiteit en chaos, saam, kan mens dus van a nuttige raamwerk vir die verstaan van die wese en werkinge van nie-lineêre stelsels, voorsien. Daar moet egter onthou word dat elke waarnemer van kennis dit doen uit sy/haar persoonlike raamwerk van oortuiginge, omstandighede en geskiedenis, en dat kennis dus nooit 100 persent objektief kan wees nie. Kennis en waarheid kan egter ook nooit heeltemaal relatief wees nie, want dit sou beteken dat alle kennis (en hiermee ook alle teenstrydige aansprake en stellings) gelyk korrek of waar is. Hierdie is duidelik onmoontlik. Wat wel moontlik is, is die vervullende en suksesvolle strewe na kennis ter wille van die reis van leer en verstaan.