The study was aimed at discovering the extent to which the education system of Venda satisfies the human resource needs of that area. Chapter one not only outlines the aim of the study but also defines certain terminology used in the text. It also gives an outline of the research methodology. Chapter two identifies the theoretical guidelines with regard to how the education system is related to human resource needs. In defining the education system the chapter indicates that education cannot be divorced from the society in which it exists and therefore must be seen as a social, cultural and economic phenomenon. Chapter three examines the manner in which human resources function as a determinant of the education system. In examining the meaning of human resources it indicates the importance of developing the skills of the people as well as indicating the importance of attitudes towards work of the people, thus showing that skills and attitudes together help create good human resources for the growth and development of society. Chapter four indicates general educational needs as well as the criteria to be used for the purposes of this research. It indicates that basic skills should be developed in all people so that they can be able to adjust properly to the workplace. It emphasises the importance of reading, writing, computation and speaking abilities as the basis for education which intends to develop good human resources. Chapter five is the empirical study. It therefore indicates how the postal questionnaire was used. It also contains the results of the empirical study, and explains them. Chapter six gives the conclusions as well as the recommendations that are a result of this research. It concludes that the education system and society are bound together and should not be separated, that human resource development is an important aim of education systems and therefore development should not be one-sided but should be complete, that is, it should include social and cultural skills and economic development. Thus education in Venda should not ignore this, and should be of a good quality as from the lowest standards, so that whether a person has an education of up to Standard 5, 8 or 10 it should not be an insurmountable handicap to adjustment to the work situation. / Thesis (MEd (Vergelykende Opvoedkunde))--PU vir CHO, 1996

The objectives of this research firstly is to assess and establish the guidelines in respect of the medium of instruction as a determinant of the forms of the educational system in South Africa. Subsequently, the researcher wishes to establish the precise policy in respect of the instructional medium in South Africa. Thirdly, the researcher wishes to establish which languages are preferred as instructional media by South African learners, and why. Finally, the researchers wishes to establish the learners' approach and attitude in respect of a particular instructional medium. The research method followed, focuses in the first place on an extensive literature study to primarily establish the guidelines in respect of the instructional medium as a determinant of the educational system, as well as to acquire information in respect of the instructional medium in South Africa. In addition, empirical research was done to determine which languages are preferred in practice by learners as media of instruction, and why attempts at assessing attitudes in respect of a specific instructional media were also made. By using a questionnaire as measuring instrument, quantitative research was done in respect of 28 % of the grade eleven learners in Vanderbijlpark. Qualitative research was also done by way of personal interviews using a structured questionnaire with the aid of teachers. The findings briefly indicate that the Afrikaans -speaking learners in South Africa realize the value of mother tongue instruction, consequently also then preferring it as the instructional medium. Both English -speaking and African language users in South Africa prefer English as a medium of instruction as they believe their entrance into the job market will then be assured. Only a small percentage of users of African languages prefer their mother tongue as instructional language. The literature study revealed that mother tongue instruction is indispensable in respect of academic performance. Learners perform better academically should they for a period receive instruction in their mother tongue, even should it be up to the fourth grade when basic skills such as reading, writing and arithmetic are acquired. It was finally established, that South African legislation indeed provides for mother tongue instruction for all, but that the policy is not applied in practice. It is the considered opinion of the researcher that mother tongue instruction in South Africa is a treasure to be cherished and preserved by both Afrikaans and English speaking learners, also that it should be extended to users of African languages, as only mother tongue instruction for all in South Africa would indeed mean real equal educational opportunities. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

The objectives of this research firstly is to assess and establish the guidelines in respect of the medium of instruction as a determinant of the forms of the educational system in South Africa. Subsequently, the researcher wishes to establish the precise policy in respect of the instructional medium in South Africa. Thirdly, the researcher wishes to establish which languages are preferred as instructional media by South African learners, and why. Finally, the researchers wishes to establish the learners' approach and attitude in respect of a particular instructional medium. The research method followed, focuses in the first place on an extensive literature study to primarily establish the guidelines in respect of the instructional medium as a determinant of the educational system, as well as to acquire information in respect of the instructional medium in South Africa. In addition, empirical research was done to determine which languages are preferred in practice by learners as media of instruction, and why attempts at assessing attitudes in respect of a specific instructional media were also made. By using a questionnaire as measuring instrument, quantitative research was done in respect of 28 % of the grade eleven learners in Vanderbijlpark. Qualitative research was also done by way of personal interviews using a structured questionnaire with the aid of teachers. The findings briefly indicate that the Afrikaans -speaking learners in South Africa realize the value of mother tongue instruction, consequently also then preferring it as the instructional medium. Both English -speaking and African language users in South Africa prefer English as a medium of instruction as they believe their entrance into the job market will then be assured. Only a small percentage of users of African languages prefer their mother tongue as instructional language. The literature study revealed that mother tongue instruction is indispensable in respect of academic performance. Learners perform better academically should they for a period receive instruction in their mother tongue, even should it be up to the fourth grade when basic skills such as reading, writing and arithmetic are acquired. It was finally established, that South African legislation indeed provides for mother tongue instruction for all, but that the policy is not applied in practice. It is the considered opinion of the researcher that mother tongue instruction in South Africa is a treasure to be cherished and preserved by both Afrikaans and English speaking learners, also that it should be extended to users of African languages, as only mother tongue instruction for all in South Africa would indeed mean real equal educational opportunities. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

In this thesis, we make some contributions at the interface between algebra and graph theory. In Chapter 1, we give an overview of the topics and also the definitions and preliminaries. In Chapter 2, we estimate the number of possible types degree patterns of k-lacunary polynomials of degree t < p which split completely modulo p. The result is based on a rather unusual combination of two techniques: a bound on the number of zeros of lacunary polynomials and a bound on the so-called domination number of a graph. In Chapter 3, we deal with the determinant of bipartite graphs. The nullity of a graph G is the multiplicity of 0 in the spectrum of G. Nullity of a (molecular) graph (e.g., a bipartite graph corresponding to an alternant hydrocarbon) has important applications in quantum chemistry and Huckel molecular orbital (HMO) theory. A famous problem, posed by Collatz and Sinogowitz in 1957, asks to characterize all graphs with positive nullity. Clearly, examining the determinant of a graph is a way to attack this problem. In this Chapter, we show that the determinant of a bipartite graph with at least two perfect matchings and with all cycle lengths divisible by four, is zero. In Chapter 4, we first introduce an application of spectral graph theory in proving trigonometric identities. This is a very simple double counting argument that gives very short proofs for some of these identities (and perhaps the only existed proof in some cases!). In the rest of Chapter 4, using some properties of the well-known Chebyshev polynomials, we prove some theorems that allow us to evaluate the number of spanning trees in join of graphs, Cartesian product of graphs, and nearly regular graphs. In the last section of Chapter 4, we obtain the number of spanning trees in an (r,s)-semiregular graph and its line graph. Note that the same results, as in the last section, were proved by I. Sato using zeta functions. But our proofs are much shorter based on some well-known facts from spectral graph theory. Besides, we do not use zeta functions in our arguments. In Chapter 5, we present the conclusion and also some possible projects.

ABSTRACT Occupational exposure to wood dust and biohazards associated with wood dust (endotoxins, (1->3)-b-D-glucans, Gram (-)ve bacteria and fungi), their correlation to respiratory function, and symptoms among woodworkers have been investigated in the present study. Wood dust, endotoxins, and allergenic fungi are the main hazards found in woodworking environments. Relatively very few studies have been done on wood dust exposure. The present study was designed to comprehensively investigate the health effects of wood dust exposure, and in particular provide new information regarding: Exposure to (1->3)-b-D-glucans in an occupational environment; Levels of exposure to wood dust and biohazards associated with wood dust in different woodworking environments; Correlations among personal exposures, especially correlations between (1->3)-b-D-glucans and fungi exposures, and endotoxins and Gram (-)ve bacteria exposures; Effects of personal exposure to biohazards on lung function; Effects of personal exposure to biohazards on work-related symptoms; and Determinants of inhalable exposures (provide which factors in the environment influence the personal inhalable exposures). Workers at four different woodworking processes; two logging sites, four sawmills, one major woodchipping operation and five joineries situated in the state of New South Wales in Australia were studied for personal exposure to inhalable dust (n=182) and respirable dust (n=81), fungi (n=120), Gram (-)ve bacteria (n=120), inhalable endotoxin (n=160), respirable endotoxin (n=79), inhalable (1->3)-b-D-glucan (n=105), and respirable (1->3)-b-D-glucan (n=62). The workers (n=168) were also tested for lung function. A questionnaire study (n=195) was carried out to determine the prevalence of work-related symptoms. The geometric mean inhalable exposure at logging sites was 0.56 mg/m3 (n=7), sawmills 1.59 mg/m3 (n=93), the woodchipping mill 1.86 mg/m3 (n=9) and joineries 3.68 mg/m3 (n=66). Overall, sixty two percent of the exposures exceeded the current standards. Among joineries, 95% of the hardwood exposures and 35% of the softwood exposures were above the relevant standards. Compared with green mills, the percentage of samples, which exceeded the hardwood standard was high for dry mills (70% in dry mills, 50% in green mills). The respirable dust exposures were high at the joineries compared with the other worksites. Exposure levels to fungi at logging sites and sawmills were in the range 103-104 cfu/m3, woodchipping 103-105 cfu/m3 and joineries 102-104 cfu/m3. The predominant fungi found at sawmills were Penicillium spp. High exposure levels of Aureobasidium pullulans were also found at two sawmills. At the woodchipping mill the predominant species were Aspergillus fumigatus, Penicillium spp., and Paecilomyces spp. The sawmills, which employed kiln drying processes, had lower exposure levels of fungi compared with the green mills. Those workplaces which had efficient dust control systems showed less exposure to fungi and bacteria. Although mean endotoxin levels were lower than the suggested threshold value of 20 ng/m3, some personal exposures at sawmills and joineries exceeded the threshold limit value. The mean inhalable (1->3)-b-D-glucan level at the woodchipping mill was 2.32 ng/m3, at sawmills 1.37 ng/m3, at logging sites 2.02 ng/m3, and at joineries 0.43 ng/m3. For the respirable size fraction, mean endotoxin and mean (1->3)-b-D-glucan concentrations were much lower, being similar to observed dust concentrations. Significant correlations were found between mean inhalable endotoxin and Gram (-)ve bacteria levels (p<0.0001), and mean airborne inhalable (1->3)-b-D-glucan and fungi levels (p=0.0003). The correlations between mean respirable endotoxin levels vs Gram (-)ve bacteria exposure levels (p=0.005), and respirable (1->3)-b-D-glucan exposure levels vs total fungi levels (p=0.005) were also significant. Significant correlations were found between lung function and personal exposures. Multivariate analyses showed that the effect of all the personal exposures on cross-shift decrements in lung function was more prominent among sawmill and chip mill workers compared with joinery workers. Woodworkers had markedly high prevalence of cough, phlegm, chronic bronchitis, frequent headaches, throat and eye irritations, and nasal symptoms compared with controls. Among the woodworkers, smokers had a high prevalence of chronic bronchitis (20%) compared with non-smokers (10%). Some workers also reported a variety of allergy problems due to exposure to various types of wood dust. Both joinery workers and sawmill and chip mill workers revealed significant correlations between work-related symptoms and personal exposures. Chronic bronchitis was significantly correlated with personal exposure to wood dust, endotoxin, (1->3)-b-D-glucan, fungi, and Gram (-)ve bacteria among joinery workers. Whereas among sawmill workers chronic bronchitis was significantly correlated with personal exposure to endotoxin, (1->3)-b-D-glucan, and fungi. Woodworkers showed significant positive correlations between percentage cross-shift change (decrease) in lung function and respiratory symptoms. Significant inverse correlations were also found among percentage predicted lung function and respiratory symptoms. The elevated inhalable dust exposures observed in this study can be explained by a combination of factors, including: lack of awareness of potential health effects of wood dust exposure among both management and workers, aging equipment, inadequate and ineffective dust extraction systems or usually none especially for hand held tools, poor maintenance of the ventilation system in some, non-segregation of dusty processes, dry sweeping, and the use of compressed air jets. The determinant-of-exposure analysis confirmed the field observations. The significant determinants of personal inhalable dust exposures (n=163) were found to be: local exhaust ventilation, job title, use of hand-held tools, cleaning method used, use of compressed air, and green or dry wood processed. Type of wood processed was not found to be statistically significant. A majority of workers (~90%) did not wear appropriate respirators approved for wood dust, while the workers who did wear them, used them on average less than 50% of the time. Workers should be protected by controlling dust at its source. When exposure to wood dust cannot be avoided, engineering controls should be supplemented with the use of appropriate personal protective equipment.

This flash animation demonstrates the expansion of a 2 x 2 determinant by the basket weave method. It includes audio instruction and a short self-test at the end of the animation.

This work is dealing with speeding up the algorithmization of the MCD es- timator for detection of the mean and the covariance matrix of a normally dis- tributed multivariate data contaminated with outliers. First, the main idea of the estimator and its well-known aproximation by the FastMCD algorithm is discussed. The main focus was to be placed on possibilities of a speedup of the iteration step known as C-step while maintaining the quality of the estimations. This proved to be problematic, if not impossible. The work is, therefore, aiming at creating a new implementation based on the C-step and Jacobi method for eigenvalues. The proposed JacobiMCD algorithm is compared to the FastMCD in terms of floating operation count and results. In conclusion, JacobiMCD is not found to be fully equivalent to FastMCD but hints at a possibility of its usage on larger problems. The numerical experiments suggest that the computation can indeed be quicker by an order of magnitude, while the quality of results is close to those from FastMCD in some settings. 1

The main aim of the research was to map the influence of selected social determinants on health of target immigrant groups. The method was based on the concept of ten social determinants of health as introduced by Wilkinson and Marmot (2003). The quantitative method used were interviews. The survey was carried out in the period from January 2010 to December 2012. Data collection was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, the influence of two social determinants of health (nutrition and addiction) on the respondents' state of health was investigated. The second stage of the survey focused on working conditions and on how respondents can use health care. 246 immigrants were interviewed in the first stage of the survey. They were from the following regions: South Bohemian Region, the capital Prague and Vysočina Region. 236 immigrants from two regions (South Bohemian Region and the capital Prague) were addressed in the second stage of the survey. They were legally settled immigrants in the age group 18 65, of Vietnamese, Mongolian and Ukrainian nationality. The results of the survey clearly show that the target immigrant groups are more exposed to unfavorable working conditions than majority population. Compared to the Czech population the target immigrant groups show statistically significant differences especially in the area of excessive workload and discrimination in the workplace. Increasing incidence of unfavorable working conditions resulted in significant increase in occupational diseases. The factors influencing use of healthcare by immigrants are the type of health insurance, length of residence, sex and knowledge of Czech language. Immigrants who had entered the system of public health insurance used healthcare much more frequently than immigrants with commercial health insurance. Male immigrants smoke and drink alcohol much more heavily than female immigrants. The young generation of immigrants (aged 18 to 29) smoke statistically more significantly than the middle-aged and older generation of immigrants. Middle-aged immigrants (aged 30 to 50) consume more wine and spirits. Their health was perceived subjectively as "worse" by those respondents who at the same time mentioned chronic pain and psychic stress in the workplace. The following measures could lead to elimination of social inequality and to improvement of immigrants' situation in the Czech Republic: equal working conditions for immigrants and Czech employees, improvement of immigrants' knowledge of Czech, shortening of the overall time for obtaining permanent residence, simplification of the terms for gaining citizenship, guarantee of access to public healthcare to all legally settled immigrants.

Submitted by Alison Vanceto (alison-vanceto@hotmail.com) on 2017-05-08T14:23:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissGGP.pdf: 1640215 bytes, checksum: 05a629bcef8f408d9c7e62fe092a373c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-05-09T18:14:31Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissGGP.pdf: 1640215 bytes, checksum: 05a629bcef8f408d9c7e62fe092a373c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-05-09T18:14:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissGGP.pdf: 1640215 bytes, checksum: 05a629bcef8f408d9c7e62fe092a373c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-09T18:26:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissGGP.pdf: 1640215 bytes, checksum: 05a629bcef8f408d9c7e62fe092a373c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-10-04 / Não recebi financiamento / This paper wants to provide subsidies to the Mathematics teacher of Basic Education, regarding to Determinants. From a consistent theoretical basis, it builds the concept of Determinant and deducts its main properties. Subsequently, it presents some of its applications, which can be explored in High School, linked to the historical context in which they were developed, aiming to make learning of Determinants more significant. Thereby, the Chapter 1 presents basic concepts of Linear Algebra, which are prerequisites for the definition and study of the Determinant Function, as well as of its properties, which are developed in Chapter 2. Chapter 3, on the other hand, promotes connections of Determinants with other middle-level mathematical concepts related to the own Linear Algebra and Analytic and Euclidean Geometry, each one with a specific historical introduction. / O presente trabalho busca fornecer subsídios ao professor de Matemática da Educação Básica, no que se refere ao tema Determinantes. A partir de uma base teórica consistente, o conceito de Determinante _e construído e suas principais propriedades são deduzidas. Posteriormente, são apresentadas algumas de suas aplicações, passíveis de serem exploradas no Ensino Médio, vinculadas ao contexto histórico na qual foram desenvolvidas, buscando tornar a aprendizagem de Determinantes mais significativa. Desse modo, o capítulo 1 apresenta conceitos básicos de Álgebra Linear, que são pré-requisitos para a definição e o estudo da Função Determinante, bem como de suas propriedades, que são desenvolvidas no capítulo 2. O capítulo 3, por sua vez, promove conexões de Determinantes com outros conceitos matemáticos de nível médio relativos à própria Álgebra Linear e às Geometrias Analítica e Euclidiana, cada qual com uma introdução histórica específica.

Submitted by Gabriela Baptistella Peres null (gaby_peres_1@hotmail.com) on 2017-09-13T19:06:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacaofinalgabriela3.pdf: 961677 bytes, checksum: 45abc96f84fbb05b46f93f40b62e0b0d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luiz Galeffi (luizgaleffi@gmail.com) on 2017-09-15T13:36:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 levorato_gbp_me_rcla.pdf: 961677 bytes, checksum: 45abc96f84fbb05b46f93f40b62e0b0d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-15T13:36:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 levorato_gbp_me_rcla.pdf: 961677 bytes, checksum: 45abc96f84fbb05b46f93f40b62e0b0d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-18 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O presente trabalho mostra a importância da Álgebra Linear e em particular da Teoria de Matrizes, Determinantes e Sistemas Lineares para resolver problemas práticos e contextualizados. Mostramos aplicações em circuitos elétricos, no balanceamento de equações químicas, nos modelos aberto e fechado de Leontief, e no funcionamento do GPS. Ainda, foi aplicado um plano de aula para os alunos do segundo ano do Ensino Médio e apresentamos sugestões de exercícios de vestibulares sobre os tópicos estudados, para serem abordados em sala de aula. / The present work shows the importance of Linear Algebra and in particular of Matrix Theory, Determinants and Linear Systems to solve practical and contextualized problems. We show applications in electrical circuits, in the balancing of chemical equations, in the open and closed models of Leontief, and in the operation of GPS. Also, a lesson plan was applied to the students of the second year of high school and we presented suggestions of exercises of vestibular about the topics studied, to be approached in the classroom.