The romance of leadership is over. So is the romance of followership. Indeed, followers are notpassive as they used to be considered. The majority of the scholars underline their active rolein the creation of the relationship with the leader. This is why when it comes to toxic leadership;the leader is not the only one to blame. Actually, followers are equally responsible for themaintenance and even the creation of toxicity in an organization context. Padilla et al. (2007)argue that toxic leadership comes from the interaction of a toxic leader, susceptible followersand a conducive environment.This research paper focuses on the interaction of two of these components: susceptiblefollowers and the conducive environment. The aim is to understand the role of the influence ofthe environment on decision making in a first time. Then, how individuals, under pressure whenit comes to decision making are more likely to maintain or foster toxicity.After a deep digging into the psychological and sociological mechanisms which are at the basisof the following process, this paper ends by a reflection on human being’s relation withfreedom.

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The social work profession requires the accumulation of theory, knowledge, skills and their integration into practice. The department of social work at UNISA trains students according to the person-centred approach (PCA). The question thus arises whether the social workers trained in PCA at UNISA are able to integrate theory into practice in their different areas of employment. Exploring this would give the department of social work an opportunity to re-visit the teaching of PCA and make some improvements if necessary. The qualitative study was conducted with social workers employed in different welfare organizations in Pretoria. The following themes emerged from the analysis: the perceived significance of building relationship with clients, the organizational influence in counselling, unique experiences with regard to colleagues who graduated from other institutions, challenges in handling a conflict or crisis situation, and lastly the nature of statutory cases. The conclusions were drawn and recommendations were presented. / Social Science / M.A. (Mental Health)

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the ward manager in creating a conducive clinical learning environment for nursing students. An explorative descriptive research method was employed. Findings reveal that the ward managers are generally satisfied with the way in which they handled the important role they play in facilitating teaching and learning for nursing students. They feel strongly, however, that the nursing students themselves need to be active in the learning process. While acknowledging the efforts of the ward managers in creating and maintaining the learning environment, nursing students were dissatisfied about several aspects that appeared to be lacking in the clinical environment, such as good interpersonal relations, support, exposure to practice administrative skills (for example, problem-solving and decision-making) and lack of feedback about their performance. There appears to be a need to develop more effective support structures within the learning environment so that nursing students can obtain sufficient exposure to learning opportunities. / Health Studies / M.A. (Advanced Nursing Sciences)

The thesis concerns the function of different intonation tunes in British English yes/no questions. The theoretical part of the work explores the phenomenon of language intonation and describes the commonly listed default contours of English yes/no questions. The practical part analyses authentic samples of British speakers' conversations and compares the function of intonation patterns in yes/no questions with the theoretical assumptions.

The social work profession requires the accumulation of theory, knowledge, skills and their integration into practice. The department of social work at UNISA trains students according to the person-centred approach (PCA). The question thus arises whether the social workers trained in PCA at UNISA are able to integrate theory into practice in their different areas of employment. Exploring this would give the department of social work an opportunity to re-visit the teaching of PCA and make some improvements if necessary. The qualitative study was conducted with social workers employed in different welfare organizations in Pretoria. The following themes emerged from the analysis: the perceived significance of building relationship with clients, the organizational influence in counselling, unique experiences with regard to colleagues who graduated from other institutions, challenges in handling a conflict or crisis situation, and lastly the nature of statutory cases. The conclusions were drawn and recommendations were presented. / Social Science / M.A. (Mental Health)

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the ward manager in creating a conducive clinical learning environment for nursing students. An explorative descriptive research method was employed. Findings reveal that the ward managers are generally satisfied with the way in which they handled the important role they play in facilitating teaching and learning for nursing students. They feel strongly, however, that the nursing students themselves need to be active in the learning process. While acknowledging the efforts of the ward managers in creating and maintaining the learning environment, nursing students were dissatisfied about several aspects that appeared to be lacking in the clinical environment, such as good interpersonal relations, support, exposure to practice administrative skills (for example, problem-solving and decision-making) and lack of feedback about their performance. There appears to be a need to develop more effective support structures within the learning environment so that nursing students can obtain sufficient exposure to learning opportunities. / Health Studies / M.A. (Advanced Nursing Sciences)

Skolan ska vara en lugn och trygg miljö, där eleverna ska kunna fokusera på sitt lärande utan att bli störda. Denna fallstudie syftar därför till att undersöka hur en matematiklärare kan skapa och bibehålla studiero. Genom observationer och en intervju har jag undersökt en lärares arbete med studiero. Resultatet visade att en lärare kan informera eleverna på ett tydligt sätt om vilka regler som gäller i matematikklassrummet, för att skapa studiero. Resultatet visade även att det sociala samspelet mellan elever, och lärarens tillgänglighet, har betydelse för arbetet med studiero. / The school should be a calm and safe environment, where students should be able tofocus on their learning without being disturbed. This case study therefore aims to investigate how a mathematics teacher can create and maintain a calm environment conducive to learning. Through observations and interviews, I have investigated a teacher's work with a calm environment conducive to learning. The results showed that a teacher can inform students in a clear way about the rules that apply in the mathematics classroom to create a calm environment conducive to learning. The results also showed that the social interaction between students and the teacher's availability is important for the work with a calm environment conducive to learning.

D. Tech. (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology), Vaal University of Technology. / On account of their lightweight, low-cost, corrosion resistance, and good formability, conductive polymer composites (CPCs) are promising for the production bipolar plate (BP) for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). However, a high conductive filler loading is needed to impart the required level of electrical conductivity to the insulating polymer matrix and as a consequence, the toughness of the plate deteriorates considerably. By using immiscible blend of polymers that have complementary hardness and ductility as matrix, with conducting multi-fillers of different morphologies, it is possible to optimize the matrix strength characteristics and favour the formation of conducting network to produce CPC meeting BP performance standards. Of course, a lot will depend on the formulation of the most favourable composition and production variables. In this regard, polypropylene-epoxy and polyethylene-epoxy blends, filled with zero- and two-dimensional carbon forms – graphite, carbon black (CB), and graphene (Gr) – were investigated over an extensive range of compositions and compression moulding pressures, in this study. Several compounding runs (using melt mixing), at different stages, followed by compression molding, were done. The goal is to obtain combination of composite formulation and processing conditions that will produce the most promising combination of properties for BP application. In the first stage of the investigations, by using thermogravimetric analysis, two-stage decomposition behavior of PP-epoxy and PE-epoxy blends was revealed, which confirms the immiscibility of PP and PE with epoxy resin. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs of the PP-epoxy and PE-epoxy blends revealed a co-continuous structure, which can be attributed to the close-to-symmetric composition of the blend and compatibilizers added. Preferential localization of synthetic graphite (SG), CB, and Gr in the polymer blends was also revealed by the SEM micrographs. This confirms the fact that CPCs based on PP-epoxy and PE-epoxy blends can be explored further. PP-epoxy and PE-epoxy blends filled with only SG, 30 – 80 wt %, were produced and characterized for their electrical conductivity and flexural properties. In-plane electrical conductivity ranged from 12.09 to 68.03 Scm-1 for PP-epoxy/SG and 11.68 to 72.96 Scm-1 for PE-epoxy/SG composites produced. These are higher than values reported for several single matrix polymer composites at similar filler loadings. With reference to the United States Department of Energy performance targets for BPs, PE-epoxy/SG composites performed better in terms of electrical conductivity, while PP-epoxy/SG composites exhibited better flexural properties. Thereafter, using SG and CB double filler, PE-epoxy/SG/CB composites performed better than PP-epoxy/SG/CB composites in terms of electrical conductivity, while PP-epoxy/SG/CB composites exhibited superior flexural properties than the PE-epoxy/SG/CB composites at similar filler loadings. However, with respect to the DOE targets, composites based on PP-epoxy blend exhibited a more promising combination of electrical conductivity and flexural properties than PE-epoxy blend matrix. PP-epoxy filled with SG/CB was studied further, by using graphene (Gr) as second minor filler. In-plane and through plane electrical conductivities as well as thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of the PP-epoxy/SG/CB/Gr composites increased as total filler content was increased from 65 to 85 wt%. It implies that more conductive networks between filler particles were formed. Also, flexural strength, flexural modulus, and impact strength decreased as the total filler content increased from 65 to 85 wt%. The reduced flexural properties could be due to increased agglomeration of CB and Gr, and poor filler wetting at higher filler loadings and low matrix material, which leads to the formation of microvoids and a reduction of the load bearing capacity of composites. With respect to the DOE targets, PP-EP/SG/CB/Gr composite with 80 wt% (i.e., PP/EP/73G/6.2CB/0.8Gr) filler has the best combination of properties. Further improvement in properties of the PP-EP/SG/CB/Gr composite with 80 wt% filler was achieved by molding at higher pressures. As molding pressure was increased from 4.35 to 13.05 MPa, in-plane electrical conductivity increased from 116.31 to 144.99 Scm-1, while flexural strength increased from 29.62 to 42.57 MPa, satisfying the performance requirement targets for bipolar plates.

South Africa‟s recent participation in the national, regional and international studies revealed that the South African learners perform poorly in mathematics when compared with other same-level learners in other participating countries. In response to the results, the Department of Basic Education implemented intervention strategies such as Foundations for Learning and the Systemic Evaluation among others to enhance learner performance in mathematics. This study investigated the role of Grade R teachers in creating a conducive environment for learning numeracy using schools in the Vhuronga circuit of the Vhembe District in South Africa as case studies. The investigation encompassed: (a) the extent to which Grade R teachers create a conducive environment for learning numeracy; (b) how Grade R teachers are implementing the numeracy curriculum and (c) classroom factors that influence approaches teachers employ during numeracy teaching. A qualitative methodology using case study research design was adopted for collecting data in Grade R classrooms at Vhuronga. Interviews, observation, and document analyses ensured valid data. Qualitative data analysis involved coding and categorizing patterns from field notes in order to identify themes for discussion. The study established that inadequate resources which include limited classroom space, lack of appropriate learning materials, furniture, and in-service teacher training programmes, were impediments that restricted Grade R teachers from creating a conducive environment for learning numeracy. The study further established that whole-class teaching dominated numeracy lessons. A few teachers who taught small classes implemented a variety of play-based activities that encouraged interaction and exploration of adequate learning materials in small-groups in order to create a conducive environment for learning numeracy. In contrast, most teachers with large classes considered the classroom layout fixed. The teachers arranged the desks in rows and engaged the whole-class in similar learning activities. Additionally, the study established the need for ongoing training to refine and update teachers‟ skills in creating well organized classrooms that are conducive for numeracy learning. The study recommends that the Department of Basic Education should create opportunies for Grade R teachers to participate in regular in-service training that emphasize practical work, in order to strengthen their capacity in creating conducive classrooms for learning numeracy and ensure quality education. / Mathematics Education / D. Ed. (Didactics)