Social support has been proven to play a major role in the well-being of an individual. Unfortunately, the conceptualisation of the construct is vague and many authors disagree about the various properties and dimensions of the construct. Seen from a health-related perspective, social support can be regarded as divided into two main spectrums, the main-effect model and the stress-buffering model. The main-effect model proposes that social support has a beneficial effect, whether or not an individual is under stress, while the stress-buffering model proposes that social support buffers an individual from potentially pathological influences. The construct is furthermore conceptualised as consisting of distinct structural, functional and perceptual dimensions. The aim of the research was to develop an instrument which would incorporate all three of these dimensions and could be proven valid and statistically reliable. A cross-sectional survey design was used. An availability sample of qualified educators in the North-West Province of South Africa was used. The Social Support Survey was developed as a measuring instrument and administered along with a biographical questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Contrary to expectation, factor analysis indicated that the four factors regarding the characteristics of the support, as well as the five factors regarding the types of support, were clustered around the source of support. This might be due to the Likert-scale matrix design of the questionnaire, which required participants to answer a wide range of questions regarding the type, importance, amount, adequacy and accessibility of support. By way of conclusion, recommendations were made. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Darbe teoriniu lygmeniu išanalizuoti ir apibendrinti sprendimai, ugdantys vartotojų lojalumą, parengtas vartotojų lojalumo ugdymo struktūrinis modelis ir jis empiriškai patikrintas „Zara“ prekės ženklo pavyzdžiu. Pirmoje darbo dalyje atskleista vartotojų lojalumo konceptualioji esmė, išanalizuoti ir apibendrinti sprendimai, ugdantys vartotojų lojalumą bei pagrįstos vartotojų demografinių charakteristikų ir lojalumo sąsajos. Antroje darbo dalyje atlikta vartotojų lojalumo ugdymo teorinių modelių analizė. Remiantis teorinių tyrimų rezultatais, parengtas vartotojų lojalumo ugdymo struktūrinis modelis. Parengta vartotojų lojalumo ugdymo tyrimo metodika. Trečioje darbo dalyje atliktas vartotojų lojalumo ugdymo empirinis tyrimas ir apibendrinti jo rezultatai. Remiantis tyrimo rezultatais, empiriškai patikrintas vartotojų lojalumo ugdymo struktūrinis modelis. / The results of the theoretic and empiric research showed that brand and relationship marketing develops satisfaction and satisfaction creates consumer loyalty. The final work for Master consists of three parts. The first part reveals the conceptual nature of consumer loyalty. Also it consists of analyze and summary of consumer loyalty development decisions. The second part presents and analyzes the theoretical model of consumer loyalty development decisions. And based on results of the theoretical research the structured model of consumer loyalty development is presented. The third part consists analysis of results of empirical study and validation of theoretical model of consumer loyalty development decisions.

A search for diphoton events with large missing transverse energy is conducted using 3.1 pb^{-1} of integrated luminosity of proton-proton collisions at center of mass energy \sqrt{s}=7 TeV. The data were collected with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider during the period from March 30, 2010 until August 30, 2010. No excess of such events is observed above the Standard Model background prediction. This result is interpreted in the context of a gravity mediated One Universal Extra Dimension model with \Lambda R=20, N=6 and M_{D}=5 TeV, where \Lambda is the cutoff scale, N is the number of large extra dimensions and M_{D} is the Planck scale in the higher dimensional theory. The compactification radius of the Universal Extra Dimension, R, is excluded for values of 1/R < 728 GeV at 95\% CL, providing the most stringent limit on this model at the time of publication.

A search for diphoton events with large missing transverse energy is conducted using 3.1 pb^{-1} of integrated luminosity of proton-proton collisions at center of mass energy \sqrt{s}=7 TeV. The data were collected with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider during the period from March 30, 2010 until August 30, 2010. No excess of such events is observed above the Standard Model background prediction. This result is interpreted in the context of a gravity mediated One Universal Extra Dimension model with \Lambda R=20, N=6 and M_{D}=5 TeV, where \Lambda is the cutoff scale, N is the number of large extra dimensions and M_{D} is the Planck scale in the higher dimensional theory. The compactification radius of the Universal Extra Dimension, R, is excluded for values of 1/R < 728 GeV at 95\% CL, providing the most stringent limit on this model at the time of publication.

This thesis examines the possible creation of (4+n)-dimensional black holes at Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, consequent decays of such black holes via Hawking radiation and probable formation of Higgs boson among black hole decay products. Firstly, a theoretical background was presented including black hole physics, Hawking radiation, large extra dimensions, brane-bulk models, 4+n black holes and Higgs mechanism. Then, a simulation modeling black hole formation and decay including 130 GeV Higgs as a decay product at LHC interfaced with a detector simulation of Compact Muon Selenoid (CMS) was analysed focusing especially on the Higgs decay channels and properties of Hawking radiation. Both theoretical assumptions and simulation analysis point out that black hole production and the signatures of black hole decay products could carry crucial information on dimensionality and structure of spacetime Furthermore there is a significant possibility to observe 130 GeV Higgs boson especially in the Black Hole -&gt / H -&gt / jj and Black Hole -&gt / H &amp / #8211 / &gt / WW/ZZ -&gt / lnln decay channels.

The recent development of prototyping systems which can produce patterns for investment casting with significant time reduction from traditional techniques, has raised interest in the use of casting as a method to produce tooling for downstream prototype testing. However, the accuracy of the casting process remains a major obstacle to the use of these tools. Simultaneous development of numerical modelling techniques suggest that it will be possible to predict casting contraction and distortion. If this were possible, corrections could be made before castings are produced, resulting in time and cost savings, as well as potential improvement in the accuracy. Before these models can be applied, there is a need for both material property data and experimental data with which to validate the numerical models. The aims of this work are to: 1) Develop further understanding of the processes in investment casting that contribute to the dimensional changes and variability. 2) Develop the required data for numerical modelling and apply this to simulate the dimensional changes in investment casting. An apparatus has been designed to measure the dimensional and thermal history of investment castings with displacement transducers and thermocouples. Casting dimensions were also accurately measured to determine the final contraction of nominally unconstrained and thermally constrained castings. Numerical simulations of the temperatures, stress and distortion were compared with the experimental results and provide a detailed explanation of the processes involved. Data for these simulations were developed using a combination of direct measurement and iterative inverse modelling.

We present an algorithm for c-approximate nearest neighbor problem in a d-dimensional Euclidean space, achieving query time ofO(dn^{1/c^2+o(1)}) and space O(dn + n^{1+1/c^2+o(1)}).

This thesis studies the theories, scientific evidence and spatial relationships within urban form to determine means and deviations that developments can use to determine the resiliency of urban form within a given location. Resiliency within urban form functions as modulations around a morphological mean. Rather than replicate the mean, resilient cities modulate with low standard deviations around the mean. As a result, while many look aesthetically different, resilient cities are structurally more similar than dissimilar. Cities can use this information to inform their projects on a schematic design level to determine if they are improving their urban form or if they are deviating from the resilient mean.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Within the social sciences and humanities, adequate definitions and understandings of the concept ‘space’ have been debated for some time. However, until recently, this debate been neglected within linguistics, although it is generally acknowledged that understandings of space within sociolinguistic research specifically have not remained uniform over time. The research presented in this study focuses on the varying conceptions of ‘space’ in the development of variationist sociolinguistics. It specifically seeks to address the lack of a coherent account of the influence that the various dominant conceptualizations of ‘space’ have had on research design throughout the history of the field. Previous work on this topic, which until recently has been relatively scarce, has pointed out some fluctuations in the understanding of space that has been employed within sociolinguistics. Still, these changes over time have not yet been investigated in a systematic and chronological manner. Additionally, previous investigations of the concept ‘space’ in sociolinguistics did not situate themselves within the broader spatial rethinking that has occurred in the social sciences, and thus tend to employ the relevant spatial terminology in isolated and unstandardized ways. The present study examines the conceptualization of ‘space’ in variationist sociolinguistics in a systematic and chronological manner, and situates changes in the understanding of this concept within the so-called “spatial turn” that occurred in the social sciences in the late 1970s/early 1980s. By examining the influential literature within four different variationist sociolinguistic paradigms and identifying the changes in dominant spatial understandings that have occurred over time, the impact of each dominant spatial conception on research design in variationist sociolinguistics is explicated. Ultimately, the study aims to clarify a topic that has previously been treated in largely incomplete and unsystematic ways. By presenting a partial chronicle of the history of ‘space’ in variationist sociolinguistics, the study will moreover serve as a basis for those working in the field to reflect on the directions this relatively young discipline has taken. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Binne die sosiale en geesteswetenskappe is toereikende definisies en begrip van die konsep ‘ruimte’ al vir ’n geruime tyd gedebatteer. Hierdie debat is tot onlangs binne die taalwetenskap afgeskeep, alhoewel dit algemeen erken word dat die begrip van ruimte binne spesifiek sosiolinguistiese navorsing met verloop van tyd verander het. Die navorsing wat in hierdie studie aangebied word, fokus op veranderinge in die konseptualisering van ruimte in die ontwikkeling van variasionistiese sosiolinguistiek. Daar word spesifiek aandag gegee aan die gebrek aan ʼn samehangende beskrywing van die invloed wat verskillende dominante begrippe van ‘ruimte’ gehad het op navorsingsontwerp in die veld se geskiedenis. Vorige werk wat oor dié onderwerp handel, en wat tot onlangs relatief skaars was, het daarop gewys dat daar wel veranderinge was in die manier waarop die begrip ‘ruimte’ binne die sosiolinguistiek gebruik is, maar hierdie veranderinge is nog nie op ʼn sistematiese en chronologiese manier ondersoek nie. Vorige studies van dié onderwerp is ook nie binne die breër ruimte-debat in die sosiale wetenskappe aangebied nie. Daar is dus die geneigheid om die relevante ruimte-terminologie op geïsoleerde en nie-gestandaardiseerde maniere te gebruik. Die huidige studie ondersoek die konsep ‘ruimte’ binne variasionistiese sosiolinguistiek op ʼn sistematiese en chronologiese manier, en plaas veranderinge in die begrip van ruimte in die sosiolinguistiek binne die konteks van die sogenaamde “spatial turn” wat in die laat-1970’s/vroeë-1980’s binne die sosiale wetenskappe plaasgevind het. Deur ʼn ondersoek van invloedryke literatuur binne vier verskillende variasionisties-sosiolinguistiese raamwerke, en die identifisering van die veranderinge in die konseptualisering van dominante ruimte-begrippe wat met verloop van tyd plaasgevind het, word die impak van elke dominante ruimte-begrip op navorsingsontwerp in variasionistiese sosiolinguistiek duidelik gemaak. Die uiteindelike oogmerk van die studie is om duidelikheid te verskaf oor ʼn onderwerp wat voorheen grootliks onvolledig en onsistematies aangespreek is. Deur ’n gedeeltelike kroniek van die geskiedenis van ‘ruimte’ in variationistiese sosiolinguistiek te bied, dien die studie voorts as ’n basis vanwaar taalwetenskaplikes kan besin oor die rigtings waarin hierdie relatief jong dissipline ontwikkel het.

The days of English as the hegemonic language of cinema are slowly disappearing. Nowadays, filmmakers from different film industries are gradually embracing a multilingual shoot where languages coexist and play a key role within a film’s diegesis. This polyglot reality has brought up interesting questions and issues for the discipline of Translation Studies, where translation has been traditionally understood more in terms of going from one source language into one target language. Within the field of Audiovisual Translation (AVT), studies have concentrated on films where the presence of foreign languages is either sporadic or secondary and, as such, foreign languages have been mostly relegated to purely linguistic approaches. Interestingly, films in which foreign languages constantly reoccur or have a primary function have been hitherto widely disregarded, despite presenting the most complex scenario. Similarly, although researchers increasingly stress the relevance of film language on translational solutions, multimodal approaches to multilingualism in films remain scant. In light of this, this thesis designs a descriptive and multimodal methodology to investigate the issue of multilingualism at every stage of the dubbing process and to explore the effect of dubbing on both the plot and characterisation of polyglot films. This methodology is further complemented by para-textual information and semi-structured interviews to obtain a global perspective of the translation of the multilingual aspect. To this end, this thesis examines four polyglot films in which it is difficult to determine a predominant language. By investigating those with recurring use of languages, this project accounts for the most complex films in terms of language quantity and interplay to transcend textual restrictions and incorporate further issues surrounding translation as both process and product. This examination of original polyglot films brings to light the relevance of intermediate translations for the dubbing process as these are the foundations of the ‘rough’ translation on which the whole process relies. In turn, the macrostructure analysis unveils the use of a plethora of AVT modalities when dealing with foreign languages. Similarly, it suggests that decisions at this level depend on a complex interplay of factors of diverse natures such as filmmakers’ requests, screening habits, financial means, and film features. At the micro-textual level, a thorough list of translation techniques is compiled and their application is measured in relation to the influence of signifying codes. Additionally, a close linguistic examination of dialogue reveals a tendency towards standardisation, although certain nuances are sometimes enforced by character synchrony or added optionally to minor characters. Throughout these analyses, it becomes evident that all dubbing agents manipulate some aspects of multilingualism. Ultimately, this study suggests that dubbing affects polyglot films by hiding certain linguistic connotations and by providing different information to domestic and target audiences.