Operations improvement methodologies have been adopted by manufacturing companies since the early 20th century. Japanese manufacturers were able to offer products of high quality and efficient production costs through systems such as Lean. Manufacturers in the West soon adopted systems of their own thereafter. Operations Excellence is a generic term used to describe such systems, and can be described as a management system delivering competitiveness through the continuous improvement of operational performance. This study provides a critical review of the implementation of an Operations Excellence program by examining the system adopted by a petrochemical company in South Africa. The review allowed the implementation shortcomings to be identified so that resolutions could be suggested, thus facilitating successful utilisation of the system. An evaluation of Operations Excellence programs utilised globally and at the case study organisation was carried out as part of a literature study. This research included the critical success factors and lessons learnt from the systems employed by others. Experimental field work was carried out to allow the critical evaluation of the implementation in the case study. The experimental method utilised a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection. The primary research instrument was a questionnaire designed to examine the degree in which critical success factors and Operations Excellence requirements were present in the organisation. The implementation shortcomings were successfully identified through the experimental work undertaken. These shortcomings, together with the review of the available literature on Operations Excellence, allowed for the proposition of recommendations with the objective of successful utilisation of Operations Excellence programs for large enterprises. / MIng (Development and Management Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This mini-dissertation deals with the market demand for campus recreation at the North-West University’s (NWU) Potchefstroom Campus. The market demand refers to the proposed needs for recreation activities on-campus among fulltime undergraduate students studying at the Potchefstroom Campus. For the purpose of the study, undergraduate students (n = 327) were requested to complete a questionnaire containing questions related to reasons for recreational sport participation and constraints hindering participation, as identified by literature. The study was undertaken by using historic, fulltime first- to third-year students studying at the Potchefstroom Campus of the NWU. Participants consisted of a diverse group residing both on-campus and off-campus and also from different faculties, with the exclusion of the Faculties of Law and Theology. Data collected by means of questionnaires was organised and analysed by the Statistical Consultation Services of the NWU (Potchefstroom Campus). Descriptive statistics were used to determine frequencies. It was found that the majority of students participate in the seven major sport codes of the university, and in particular hockey and soccer, followed by tennis and athletics. Even though participation figures for rugby are lower than those for the other seven major sport codes, the participation frequencies by the students are the highest of the major sport codes. The highest additional sport codes that students participated in are cycling, squash, golf, swimming and table tennis. The additional sport codes are predominantly participated in either through hostel teams or with private clubs. It was found that there are five main reasons why students participate in recreational sport, namely for the purpose of challenge and enjoyment, for recognition and achievement, to socialise, for health and physical wellness and to relieve stress. From the mean scores, it appears that the students’ primary reasons for participating in recreational sports are recognition and achievement and to a lesser degree for health and wellness. The study found participation constraints, namely lack of knowledge, lack of interest, individual psychological aspects and accessibility or financial constraints. The constraint experienced most by the students, according to the mean scores, is lack of knowledge about recreational sport. Regarding the students’ recreational sport needs, hockey was mentioned the most, followed by netball, cycling, swimming, tennis and squash. Students prefer to participate in the above mentioned recreational sport activities with hostel teams, whereas very few students prefer to participate on their own. The first recommendation would be to include student development, health and wellness as key components in the current vision of NWU sport. It is also recommended that the NWU revise the information obtained from the Marketing Department regarding the recruitment of future students. Valuable knowledge could be obtained regarding which sports the students were exposed to during their school years and to adjust the additional sport codes accordingly. The third recommendation is the introduction of leisure education during the orientation programme for first-year students. Leisure education will provide the students with the skills to prepare for future events peculiar to campus life. Fourthly it is recommended that, due to the increase in demand for multi-gender sport, the university shall focus on marketing and public awareness of sports such as women’s cricket and rugby for women. The last recommendation refers to the need for more information regarding the management of facilities and grounds. The implementation of a web-based system could increase productivity and may decrease the pressure placed on the utilisation of facilities and grounds. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

There is longstanding causal relationship between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. Smoke-free policies and anti-smoking campaigns have been linked to the decline in smoking acceptance and contribute to the unintended consequence of stigmatizing smokers. Lung cancer is viewed as a self-inflicted disease and patients’ feel judged in a manner different from other cancers affecting social interactions between family, friends, and healthcare professionals. Lung cancer stigma contributes to depression, anxiety, poor self-esteem, guilt, shame, blame, threatens a person’s social identity, and limits social support that deeply affects patients and their support persons. This dissertation contains a review of the literature related to smoking and stigma, an evaluation of the psychometric properties of an investigator-developed instrument, “Lung Cancer Stigma Scale” (LuCaSS) and the main findings from a cross-sectional observational study of 104 lung cancer patients assessing factors associated with lung cancer stigma. The Model of Stigma Induced Identity Threat provides the framework to examine stigma and the relationship between social constraints, self-esteem, and smoking and to test whether social support mediates the relationship between stigma, and depression/anxiety. The LuCaSS was a reliable and valid instrument measuring lung cancer stigma (alpha = 0.89). The principle components analysis determined three subscales measuring internalized stigma: social rejections/judgment, blame/guilt, and shame. Social constraints, self-esteem, smoking each significantly contributed to the prediction of stigma controlling for SES. Lung cancer patients with greater social constraints and lower self-esteem and who were smokers scored higher on stigma. Social support was a mediator for the relationship between stigma and depression but not for anxiety. The findings are consistent with Stigma Induced Identity Threat Model. A stigmatized identity can lead to stress-related health outcomes such as depression. A lung cancer diagnosis has numerous negative psychosocial effects on patients. Integrating stigma tools (i.e. LuCaSS) in practice settings may assist with determining potential stigma related distress among lung cancer patients. Emphasizing the need for social support and implementing more advocacy efforts may also help minimize the effects of stigma and depression. Future studies are necessary to further examine the role of social support in minimizing stigma and psychosocial distress.

Operations improvement methodologies have been adopted by manufacturing companies since the early 20th century. Japanese manufacturers were able to offer products of high quality and efficient production costs through systems such as Lean. Manufacturers in the West soon adopted systems of their own thereafter. Operations Excellence is a generic term used to describe such systems, and can be described as a management system delivering competitiveness through the continuous improvement of operational performance. This study provides a critical review of the implementation of an Operations Excellence program by examining the system adopted by a petrochemical company in South Africa. The review allowed the implementation shortcomings to be identified so that resolutions could be suggested, thus facilitating successful utilisation of the system. An evaluation of Operations Excellence programs utilised globally and at the case study organisation was carried out as part of a literature study. This research included the critical success factors and lessons learnt from the systems employed by others. Experimental field work was carried out to allow the critical evaluation of the implementation in the case study. The experimental method utilised a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection. The primary research instrument was a questionnaire designed to examine the degree in which critical success factors and Operations Excellence requirements were present in the organisation. The implementation shortcomings were successfully identified through the experimental work undertaken. These shortcomings, together with the review of the available literature on Operations Excellence, allowed for the proposition of recommendations with the objective of successful utilisation of Operations Excellence programs for large enterprises. / MIng (Development and Management Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This mini-dissertation deals with the market demand for campus recreation at the North-West University’s (NWU) Potchefstroom Campus. The market demand refers to the proposed needs for recreation activities on-campus among fulltime undergraduate students studying at the Potchefstroom Campus. For the purpose of the study, undergraduate students (n = 327) were requested to complete a questionnaire containing questions related to reasons for recreational sport participation and constraints hindering participation, as identified by literature. The study was undertaken by using historic, fulltime first- to third-year students studying at the Potchefstroom Campus of the NWU. Participants consisted of a diverse group residing both on-campus and off-campus and also from different faculties, with the exclusion of the Faculties of Law and Theology. Data collected by means of questionnaires was organised and analysed by the Statistical Consultation Services of the NWU (Potchefstroom Campus). Descriptive statistics were used to determine frequencies. It was found that the majority of students participate in the seven major sport codes of the university, and in particular hockey and soccer, followed by tennis and athletics. Even though participation figures for rugby are lower than those for the other seven major sport codes, the participation frequencies by the students are the highest of the major sport codes. The highest additional sport codes that students participated in are cycling, squash, golf, swimming and table tennis. The additional sport codes are predominantly participated in either through hostel teams or with private clubs. It was found that there are five main reasons why students participate in recreational sport, namely for the purpose of challenge and enjoyment, for recognition and achievement, to socialise, for health and physical wellness and to relieve stress. From the mean scores, it appears that the students’ primary reasons for participating in recreational sports are recognition and achievement and to a lesser degree for health and wellness. The study found participation constraints, namely lack of knowledge, lack of interest, individual psychological aspects and accessibility or financial constraints. The constraint experienced most by the students, according to the mean scores, is lack of knowledge about recreational sport. Regarding the students’ recreational sport needs, hockey was mentioned the most, followed by netball, cycling, swimming, tennis and squash. Students prefer to participate in the above mentioned recreational sport activities with hostel teams, whereas very few students prefer to participate on their own. The first recommendation would be to include student development, health and wellness as key components in the current vision of NWU sport. It is also recommended that the NWU revise the information obtained from the Marketing Department regarding the recruitment of future students. Valuable knowledge could be obtained regarding which sports the students were exposed to during their school years and to adjust the additional sport codes accordingly. The third recommendation is the introduction of leisure education during the orientation programme for first-year students. Leisure education will provide the students with the skills to prepare for future events peculiar to campus life. Fourthly it is recommended that, due to the increase in demand for multi-gender sport, the university shall focus on marketing and public awareness of sports such as women’s cricket and rugby for women. The last recommendation refers to the need for more information regarding the management of facilities and grounds. The implementation of a web-based system could increase productivity and may decrease the pressure placed on the utilisation of facilities and grounds. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) is defined by its appearance and its behavior. A GUI’s behavior determines how it reacts to user and system events such as mouse, keyboard, or touchscreen presses, or changes to an underlying data model. Although many tools are effective in enabling designers to specify a GUI’s appearance, defining a custom behavior is difficult and error-prone. Many of the difficulties developers face in defining GUI behaviors are the result of their reactive nature. The order in which GUI code is executed depends upon the order in which it receives external inputs. Most widely used user interface programming frameworks use an event-callback model, where developers define GUI behavior by defining callbacks—sequences of low-level actions—to take in reaction to events. However, the event-callback model for user-interface development has several problems, many of which have been identified long before I started work on this dissertation. First, it is disorganized: the location and order of event-callback code often has little correspondence with the order in which it will be executed. Second, it divides GUI code in a way that requires writing interdependent code to keep the interface in a consistent state. This is because maintaining a consistent state requires referencing and modifying the same state variables across multiple different callbacks, which are often distributed throughout the code. In this dissertation, I will introduce a new framework for defining GUI behavior, called the stateconstraint framework. This framework combines constraints—which allow developers to define relationships among interface elements that are automatically maintained by the system—and state machines—which track the status of an interface. In the state-constraint framework, developers write GUI behavior by defining constraints that are enforced when the interface is in specific states. This framework allows developers to specify more nuanced constraints and allows the GUI’s appearance and behavior to vary by state. I created two tools using the state-constraint framework: a library for Web developers (ConstraintJS) and an interactive graphical language (InterState). ConstraintJS provides constraints that can be used both to control content and control display, and integrates these constraints with the three Web languages—HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. ConstraintJS is designed to take advantage of the declarative syntaxes of HTML and CSS: It allows the majority of an interactive behavior to be expressed concisely in HTML and CSS, rather than requiring the programmer to write large amounts of JavaScript. InterState introduces a visual notation and live editor to clearly represent how states and constraints combine to define GUI behavior. An evaluation of InterState showed that its computational model, visual notation, and editor were effective in allowing developers to define GUI behavior compared to conventional event-callback code. InterState also introduces extensions to the state-constraint framework to allow developers to easily re-use behaviors and primitives for authoring multi-touch gestures.

This study falls under the broad area of child language acquisition with specific focus on Shona morphosyntax. The understanding that knowledge of the nature of child language contributes to the sustainability of language acquisition matters forms the basis of the investigation. A qualitative approach is followed in the study, specifically focusing on the constraints on the development of inflectional morphemes (IMs) in the acquisition of nouns and verbs in child Shona. The study investigates the development of child Shona inflectional morphology and how morphology interacts with syntax. The constraints that operate in the acquisition of Shona are identified. The study refers to linguistic theories for an account of the development of child Shona morphosyntax. The study is based on the understanding that knowledge of the nature of child language contributes to the sustainability of language acquisition matters. The data used in this study is collected from four Shona speaking children. The ages of the children range from two years (2; 0) to three years and two months (3; 2). Two female and two male children participated in this study. The primary method of data collection used in this study is the naturalistic method, while elicitation is used to elicit plural formation. The results indicate that child Shona morphosyntax is characterized by omission of the various inflectional morphemes on nouns and verbs, while the lexical morphemes are retained. The child Shona IM is phonologically different from the adult Shona IM. This is because the children are constrained and hence use simplification strategies in order to try to be faithful to the input grammar. The noun and verb IMs are produced in the form of a reduced syllable, because the children dropped the consonant in the IM syllable and retained the vowel. The study reveals that the development of child Shona morphosyntax is based on pivotal constituencies of the sentence. These pivots are the nouns and verbs that are used by the children. The study identifies constraints that operate on the process of child Shona development as phonological, morphological, semantic, visibility and frequency constraints. The finding that is arrived at through this study is that syntax is in place before morphology. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil.

Considering an individual’s day-to-day variability of activity-travel patterns will provide a more complete description of how an individual behaves to adapt the changing constraints and resources on different days. Without this day-to-day variability understanding, the individual’s behaviour would not be fully grasped and any suggested policy, planning and development would not completely achieve their desired objectives. The day-to-day behaviour is a subject to an interaction between individual’s needs and time-space constraints. The availability of ‘external’ resources (e.g., disposable income, built environment accessibility, and access to different travel mode/s) gives more opportunities for some individuals to participate in certain activities and/or trips than others. The constraints do not only consider budget and time constraints, but also include how an individual associates with other individuals and materials, and complies with any given authorities’ rules and regulations. The needs-constraints interaction also unveils some endogeneities which may not be captured by microeconomic and attitude theories. Failing to understand these interactions will underestimate the individual’s complex decision making process for performing certain behaviour. The constraints are not solely about physical constraints and instrumental factors, such as travel mode availability, time and cost. It is also influenced by individual’s non-instrumental variables, such as motivation, volition and habits. Currently there is a lack of knowledge how these non-instrumental variables are interacting and influencing the constraints to shape the individual’s travel behaviour. The implementation of certain activity-travel policy which only focuses in giving more opportunities to an individual within time and space resources without considering an individual’s attitude and/or habit may not be well accepted and followed by member of public. Moreover, the integration also reveals how an individual puts different priority on different potential activities based on the how an individual allocates/does not allocate time in engaging certain activities when having strong commitment and intention. In addition, including an individual’s health condition in the analysis may help in coordinating certain public health related policy with activity-travel policy. This thesis includes six papers which investigated the factors described above. The first three papers investigated how activity participation and built environment variables which can represent individuals’ constraints explain the day-to-day variability of individuals’ behaviours. Furthermore, the fourth and fifth paper explored the interaction between individuals’ time-use and activity participation, subjective characteristics and health factors. Lastly, the sixth paper examined how the time-space constraints and health condition explain the degree of variability in individuals’ multi-facet and multi-dimensional activity-travel patterns using sequential alignment method. / Genom att ta hänsyn till den dagliga variationen i en individs aktivitets- och resemönster erhålls en mer komplett bild av hur denna beter sig för att anpassa sig till ändrade begränsningar och resurser under olika dagar. Utan förståelse för denna dagliga variation kan inte individens beteende helt förstås och de föreslagna policyåtgärderna, planering eller utveckling skulle inte helt uppnå sina önskade mål. Det dagliga beteendet är föremål för en interaktion mellan å ena sidan individens behov och å andra sidan begränsningar i tid och rum. Tillgång till ”externa” resurser (exempelvis disponibel inkomst eller tillgång till olika färdmedel) påverkar möjligheterna för individer att delta i aktiviteter och/eller resor. Begränsningarna gäller inte bara monetär budget eller tid, utan inkluderar även exempelvis fysisk miljö, regler och förordningar samt hur en individ kan associera med andra individer. Växelverkan mellan behov och begränsningar belyser och klargör även endogenitet som inte självklart kan fångas av mikroekonomiska och attitydteorier. Att inte ta hänsyn till dessa interaktioner kan vara att underskatta individens komplexa beslutfattandeprocess. Tid- och rumsbegränsningarna handlar uteslutande om fysiska begränsningar och instrumentella faktorer, såsom färdmedelstillgänglighet, färdtid och färdkostnad. Individens beteende påverkas även av enskilda icke-instrumentella variabler, såsom motivation, vilja och vanor. Vi har idag bristande kunskap om hur dessa icke-instrumentella variabler interagerar med och påverkar begränsningar för att forma individens resebeteende. Genomförandet av viss aktivitets- och resepolicyåtgärder som bara fokuserar på att ge fler möjligheter till en individ inom tid- och rumsresurser, utan att också ta hänsyn individens attityder och/eller vana, kan försvåra allmänhetens acceptans.  Vidare, genom att inkludera en persons hälsotillstånd i analysen kan vi få ökade insikter hur vi kan samordna hälsorelaterade policyåtgärder med aktivitets- och resepolicyåtgärder. Denna avhandling innehåller sex artiklar som undersöker de faktorer som beskrivs ovan. De tre första artiklarna undersöker dels hur begränsningarna enligt ovan förklarar den dagliga variationen av en individs aktivitetsmönster och aktivitetsrum, dels samspelet mellan en aktivitets varaktighet, den erforderliga restiden och aktivitetsrummet. De fjärde och femte artiklarna undersöker samspelet mellan individens tid- och rumsbegränsningar, subjektiva egenskaper och hälsobegränsningar. Slutligen, i den sjätte artikeln undersöks med hjälp av en metod för sekventiell gruppering (sequential alignment) hur tidsbegränsning, rumsbegränsning och hälsotillståndet förklarar variationen i individers mångfacetterade och flerdimensionella aktivitets- och resemönster. / <p>QC 20151210</p>

This thesis discusses and demonstrates the benefits of simulating and optimising a manufacturing control system in order to improve flow of production material through a system with high variety low volume output requirements. The need for and factors affecting synchronous flow are also discussed along with the consequences of poor flow and various solutions for overcoming it. A study into and comparison of various planning and control methodologies designed to promote flow of material through a manufacturing system was carried out to identify a suitable system to model. The research objectives are; • Identify the best system to model that will promote flow, • Identify the potential failure mechanisms within that system that exist and have not been yet resolved, • Produce a model that can fully resolve or reduce the probability of the identified failure mechanisms having an effect. This research led to an investigation into the main elements of a Drum-Buffer-Rope (DBR) environment in order to generate a comprehensive description of the requirements for DBR implementation and operation and attempt to improve the limitations that have been identified via the research literature. These requirements have been grouped into three areas, i.e.: a. plant layout and kanban controls, b. planning and control, and c. DBR infrastructure. A DBR model was developed combined with Genetic Algorithms with the aim of maximising the throughput level for an individual product mix. The results of the experiments have identified new knowledge on how DBR processes facilitate and impede material flow synchronisation within high variety/low volume manufacturing environments. The research results were limited to the assumptions made and constraints of the model, this research has highlighted that as such a model becomes more complex it also becomes more volatile and more difficult to control, leading to the conclusions that more research is required by extending the complexity of the model by adding more product mix and system variability to compare results with the results of this research. After which it will be expected that the model will be useful to enable a quick system response to large variations in product demand within the mixed model manufacturing industry.

A distributed business process is executed in a distributed computing environment. The service-oriented architecture (SOA) paradigm is a popular option for the integration of software services and execution of distributed business processes. Entailment constraints, such as mutual exclusion and binding constraints, are important means to control process execution. Mutually exclusive tasks result from the division of powerful rights and responsibilities to prevent fraud and abuse. In contrast, binding constraints define that a subject who performed one task must also perform the corresponding bound task(s). (authors' abstract)