This work deals generally with surface diagnostic and optical properties of thin layers which are created by plasma polymerization of hexamethyldisiloxane monomer. The influence of oxygen adittion on thin layers properties was studied, too. This polymer layers are commercially made to protect reflective layers in the headlights. Thin layers were made in deposition chamber AluMet 1800V at Zlin Precision Company. Teoretical part of this work deals with methods which are used for deposition of thin layers, mainly physical (PVD) and chemical (PECVD, CVD) depositions. The conditions which influenced plasma polymerization itself are discussed as well as, monomers which are used for plasma polymerization and stability of thin polymer layers. Also there are mentioned the most frequent plasma processes diagnostic methods applicable during the deposition (optical emission spectroscopy) and methods for thin layers diagnostic (wettability, UV-VIS and infrared spectroscopy). Spectrometer Jobin Yvon Triax 320 was used for emission spectra acquisition during the plasma deposition. There were analyzed only two spectra created at same conditions as power at 3 kW and monomer flow rate at 100 sccm; the first one was in pure monomer, the second was obtained with oxygen addition of 150 sccm into the monomer flow. There was not found any essential differences between these spectra in the range 300 nm to 800 nm. Besides the thin layers analyzes after their formation, the samples were exposed to common aging conditions with respect to their use. One third of the prepared samples was exposed by ultraviolet radiation for 48 hours (exposure power of 0.68 W.m-2 at 340 nm) and the other part of samples was inserted for four days into NaCl solution of 50 g.l-1. The surface properties of layers were studied by their contact angle with three liquids (water, diiodmethane, and glycerol) that allowed their surface energy calculation. Results of this measuring are as following: Oxygen addition decreased contact angle of water after exposure of UV radiation. If the highest flow rate of monomer was used and oxygen was added, NaCl degradation did not have any significant influence on contact angle to water. Optical properties of prepared thin films were characterized by UV-VIS spectroscopy. Optical properties were measured only for samples after deposition and samples that were exposed by ultraviolet radiation. Results showed that oxygen addition into the reacting mixture increased the light absorption in UV-VIS (300-800 nm). The absorption was significantly increased after exposure of ultraviolet radiation. With respect to the application of these thin layers is necessary to say that this influence is undesirable. On the other hand, absorption of thin layers deposited at 2 kW, without oxygen addition and flow rate of monomer at 125 sccm a 150 sccm was decreased. Results of this work can be useful for investigation and study of deposited thin layers. The most useful can be with another work which deals with plasma diagnostics during the deposition even more closely. Then it will be possible to adjust and predict properties of deposited layers.

Suite à la crise financière de 2007, un ensemble de réglementations a été mis en place au niveau mondial, dont EMIR en Europe. Parmi les obligations engendrées par ce texte, il y a l’obligation de déclarer à l’autorité de tutelle toutes les opérations de produits dérivés traitées de gré à gré. Ceci dans le but d’augmenter la transparence sur ces marchés. L’objectif de mon travail étant de démontrer que cela n’est en fait pas le cas. Pour cela, j’explore deux principaux axes. Le premier concerne la déclaration effective des transactions et le traitement de ces informations par les autorités de tutelle. J’exploite pour cela les données publiques relatives à cette problématique et également les informations dont je dispose dans le cadre de mon travail. Les données sont relativement bien déclarées mais ne sont pas ou très peu exploitées par les autorités de tutelle. Le second axe est plus théorique. L’information ne conduit pas nécessairement à la transparence. Ce qui est important pour le bon fonctionnement des marchés dérivés est la symétrie de l’information et la confiance entre les intervenants. / Following the financial crisis of 2007, a set of regulations was implemented, including EMIR in Europe. Among the obligations arising from this text, there is an obligation to declare to the regulatory authority all OTC transactions. The goal is to increase transparency on OTC markets. My objective is to demonstrate that this is not actually the case. For that, I explore two main axes. The first one concerns the implementation of the reporting obligation and the analysis of this data by regulators. For this purpose, I use the public data on this issue and also the private data from my work. The data are relatively well reported but not fully exploited by the regulatory authorities. The second axis is more theoretical. Information does not necessarily lead to transparency. The symmetry of information and trust between OTC’s participants are the most important.

This thesis documents the evaluation of several transparency techniques in aspects of quality and performance. Depth sorted alpha blending and the order-independent transparency techniques additive blending, multiplicative blending, unsorted alpha blending and depth peeling are examined. The theoretical concepts of these techniques are explained.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse factors that contributes to public procurement overpricing in the Czech Republic. The paper combines use of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Existence of competition effect is proved, thus increase of competitors in selection procedure causes that final price decreases. Non-transparent suppliers in terms of traceability of beneficial owner is detected as next factor that contributes to overpricing. Also some types of contracts are showed as more problematic than others. Results of qualitative part of the research reveal other causes of overpricing, such as corruption, weak institutional environment or behaviour of public authorities. Public policy recommendations are presented at the end of the paper in order to improve current state of affairs.

Anonymous Companies and Public Procurement: Evidence from the Czech Republic Abstract This thesis follows up on previous research concerning inefficiencies linked to tenders awarded to anonymous companies. After anonymous shares were abolished in 2014, the question is whether similar inefficiencies can be detected in the case of companies that ceased to be anonymous. A balanced sample of formerly anonymous companies and their comparable peers was constructed via a matching algorithm. A Welch unequal variance t-test was then used to check whether a disproportionate drop in selected performance indicators and in the share of formerly anonymous companies on total volume of public procurement can be detected. A linear regression model was further applied to inquire about the effect of anonymity and former anonymity on tender-specific savings. The results show that anonymity significantly contributes to lower tender savings, but no similar negative effect can be found in case of formerly anonymous companies. Profitability of the formerly anonymous companies also decreased, but no long- term drop in tender volume was found, indicating that a large portion of the inefficiencies can be traced back to well-established businesses rather than special purpose shells. This thesis thus extends the present research in the...

Magister Pharmaceuticae - MPharm / Medicines registration decision-making and regulatory best practice involve transparent and consistent rule making and processes with publicly available published assessment decisions and reports (Kaine, 2020). Publication of information relating to evaluation of medicines in the form of Public Assessment Reports (PARs) is one way of ensuring transparency in medicines registration decision making. It is however not clear whether National Medicines Regulatory Authorities (NMRAs) in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region are in a position to generate or even publish such PARs / summary basis for registration of medicines. Objectives: The study investigated transparency in medicines registration decision-making processes for NMRAs within the SADC region. Specifically, the availability or non-availability of PARs / Summary basis for registration of medicinal products. To establish if all SADC NMRAs have legislative frameworks for regulating medicines and to investigate the sources of funding for SADC NMRAs. Methods: A cross-sectional exploratory descriptive study design with qualitative techniques by questionnaire as a data collection tool was used. Questionnaires were sent via email to senior members / key informants of 11 regulatory authorities belonging to SADC. Trend analysis was conducted based on the emerging themes from questionnaire response. Results The study revealed that currently five (5) NMRAs are operating as semi-autonomous agencies namely: BOMRA, MCAZ, PMRA, SAHPRA and TMDA .While NMRC, DNME of Angola, ACOREP of DRC and DNF of Mozambique are functioning within their respective Ministries of Health Departments. Furthermore, all NMRAs have a legislation framework governing the regulation of medicines in their respective jurisdictions. However, DNME of Angola’s legal framework is not yet officially formalised and as such, they follow a Presidential decree enacted in 2010. Four (4) of nine (9) NMRAs (44 %) reported to have more than 20 internal assessors / evaluators. This indicates a significant milestone for SADC NMRAs in terms of capacity building within the region. The study findings indicated that the SADC NMRAs are receiving funding from multiple sources ranging from a minimum of one to maximum of four funding sources. There were only two NMRAs, MCAZ and PMRA, that were not receiving funding from their governments. The study results further indicates that only TMDA is able to generate and publish PARs amongst SADC NMRAs. Conclusions: The findings in this study suggest that the majority of NMRAs within SADC are not yet matured as compared to countries in the developed world such as the US, Europe, Canada and Australia. It can also be concluded that for SADC NMRAs to be efficient and responsive, they will require massive financial resources. For example, the budget for a matured NMRA such as the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for the 2019 financial year was estimated at US$ 5.7 billion. Literature further indicates that publication of the summary basis of approval or PARs is a norm for mature NMRAs and acts as a tool for regulatory authorities to build and establish confidence in their review processes and provides assurance regarding safety of medicines. The study results indicate that TMDA is publishing PARs or summary of grounds on which approvals are granted. This demonstrates a significant level of transparency in the TMDA medicines registration processes and therefore other SADC NMRAs can benchmark with TMDA to implement this key parameter.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden neue Nanopartikel/Polymer-Kompositmaterialien und Methoden zur ihrer Herstellung entwickelt. Durch die Verwendung lumineszierender, anorganischer Nanopartikel und transparenter Polymere konnte für verschiedene Systeme die Lumineszenz als Funktion auf die Nanokomposite übertragen werden. Zunächst wurden in allen Fällen stabile Partikeldispersionen in Monomeren oder Polymerlösungen erzeugt, die in einem zweiten Schritt durch in-situ-Polymerisation oder Filmgießen in Komposite verarbeitet wurden. So konnten orangelumineszierende ZnS:Mn-Nanopartikel durch eine Cofällungsreaktion dargestellt und in eine stabile Dispersion in Acrylsäure überführt werden. Diese Dispersion konnte mit dem Tintenstrahldrucker als transparente Schicht gedruckt und durch Strahlungshärtung polymerisiert werden. Durch die Beimengung von MMA gelang erstmals die Herstellung transparenter ZnS:Mn-Nanokomposite durch die thermische Copolymerisation in Masse. Eine weitere Modifizierung mit Oleylamin ermöglichte die Stabilisierung der Partikel in Laurylacrylat und die Herstellung von ZnS:Mn/PLA-Nanokompositen durch Photopolymerisation der Dispersion. ZnS:Mn/PMMA-Nanokomposite und die isolierten Partikel weisen eine Fluoreszenzquantenausbeute von ca. 30 % auf. Dieser Wert übertrifft bisher publizierte Werte für ZnS:Mn-Nanopartikel deutlich. Blau-grün lumineszierende, kupferdotierte ZnS-Nanopartikel wurden in Wasser synthetisiert und durch einen Phasentransfer mit Octylamin hydrophob modifiziert. Mit den modifizierten ZnS:Cu-Nanopartikeln wurden PLA-Nanokomposite durch Redispergierung und in-situ-Polymerisation hergestellt. Des Weiteren konnten ZnS/PMMA-Filme durch ein Gießverfahren mit den hydrophobisierten ZnS:Mn- und ZnS:Cu-Partikeln hergestellt werden. Zinkoxid-Nanopartikel wurden in Ethanol synthetisiert. Die Partikel konnten als stabile Dispersion in BDMA überführt werden. Die Methode erlaubt die Kontrolle über Partikelgrößen im Bereich von 6-10 nm (DLS) und über die Partikelkonzentration bis zu 10 Gew%. Wachstumsprozesse, die für ZnO in Ethanol nur schwer zu kontrollieren sind, sind in BDMA vollständig eingestellt. Alternativ konnten die Zinkoxid-Nanopartikel durch die Zugabe von Oleylamin aus der ethanolischen Dispersion isoliert und gleichzeitig modifiziert werden. Die hydrophobisierten Partikel sind redispergierbar in unpolaren Monomeren. Mit dieser Methode wurden ZnO-Dispersionen in Laurylacrylat hergestellt. Dispersionen in BDMA und LA konnten photopolymerisiert werden. Die stabilen ZnO-Dispersionen in Acrylatmonomeren mit Konzentrationen bis 10 Gew% und daraus herstellbare, transparente Polymernanokomposite durch UV-Härtung sind als Neuheit zu bewerten. Zur Herstellung von YVO4:Eu/Polymer-Nanokompositen wurde eine Methode für die in-situ-Generierung der Nanopartikel in Methylmethacrylat entwickelt. Dazu wurden neuartige, inverse Mikroemulsionen mit MMA als Ölphase erzeugt. In den Mizellen entstanden durch eine Fällungsreaktion rot-emittierende YVO4:Eu- Nanopartikel. Die resultierende Partikeldispersion in MMA wurde polymerisert und so in Nanokomposite umgewandelt. Eine alternative Herstellungsmethode basiert auf der Synthese von citratstabilisierten YVO4:Eu-Nanopartikeln in Wasser und anschließendem Phasentransfer mit Octylamin. Man erhält ein hydrophobes Pulver, das in Laurylacrylat zu einer stabilen Mischung redispergiert werden kann. Die resultierenden Dispersionen sind photopolymerisierbar [169]. YVO4:Eu enthaltende Polymernanokomposite wurden bisher nicht beschrieben. Der Phasentransfer mit Alkylaminen wurde bereits für Gold-Nanopartikel demonstriert. Die Anwendung auf ZnS:Cu- und YVO4:Eu-Nanopartikel ist als Weiterentwicklung zu betrachten. Zur Partikelgrößenbestimmung an den Monomerdispersionen und Pulvern wurden dynamische Lichtstreuung, Kleinwinkelröntgenstreuung, Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie und Röntgendiffraktometrie eingesetzt. Alle genannten Nanokompositmaterialien konnten mit hoher Transparenz und geringer Trübung hergestellt werden, wie mit Transmissionsmessungen und Trübungsmessungen gezeigt wurde. Mit Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie an Ultramikrotomdünnschnitten konnte für ZnS/PMMA- und ZnO/PBDMA-Nanokomposite eine homogene Partikelverteilung im Polymer nachgewiesen werden. Durch die Variation des Partikelanteils wurden für die verschiedenen Systeme Konzentrationsgrenzen im Bereich von 3-10 Gew% zur Herstellung transparenter Komposite ermittelt. Die Nanokomposite weisen eine intensive Photolumineszenz auf. Blau- (ZnS:Cu), grün- (ZnO), orange- (ZnS:Mn) und rot- (YVO4:Eu) emittierende Nanokomposite wurden erhalten (Abbildung 75). Mit Fluoreszenzspektroskopie wurden die charakteristischen Anregungs- und Emissionsspektren der Kompositproben aufgenommen. Neben der Lumineszenz können die intensive UV-Absorption des ZnO, bzw. der hohe Brechungsindex des ZnS in Nanokompositen nutzbar gemacht werden. Die entwickelten Methoden beruhen auf einfachen, aufskalierbaren Prozessen und die verwendeten Edukte sind kommerziell erhältlich und ungiftig. Die entwickelten stabilen, druckbaren und strahlungshärtbaren Nanopartikeldispersionen in Acrylatund Methacrylatmonomeren sind daher auch für industrielle Anwendungen geeignet.

Transparency within the supply chain has become a key priority for textile brands in response to the growing stakeholder concerns around social and environmental impacts of the textile value chain. Textile industry is extremely labour dependent and adds massively to the environmental degradation, adding on to this the highly complex and scattered global supply chain network makes it more difficult for brands to implement transparency in their supply base. Due to the low-cost labour in developing countries, the majority of the textile suppliers is located in South Asia, where the cultural values have been found to be in sharp contrast to the Global West. Many prior studies have also highlighted the lack of supplier’s top management support as the linking barrier to sustainable initiatives. Hence, this research was designed to investigate the behaviour and attitude of top management executives towards various transparency dimensions, i.e., Traceability, Sustainability conditions (Social and environmental) and Purchasing practices, in order to understand the underlying behavioural barriers. The semi-structured interview with 9 top management executives across India and Sri Lanka revealed three major themes: (a) Transparency as business imperative, (b) Distrustful relationship with brand and (c) Tendency to externalise responsibility. The Schwartz theory of cultural orientation was used to examine the role of cultural value in explaining the identified behaviour of top management executives.

The purpose of this research was to investigate how no-fee schools spend public money.It investigated what the schools spend the money and how they do it. The research investigated how decisions of spending are taken by all the stakeholders at the schools. The research wanted to find out whether the public money in no-fee schools was wisely spent or not. The literature review found that education funding has been at the centre of political reforms since 1994 to address equality and equity. The introduction of no-fee schools was an attempt to increase accesstowards quality public education through provision of more resources. The research found evidence of non-compliance by schools in certain areas on how schools should use funds as provided by SASA. It was found that schools do not spend the public money according to the prescript guidelines. There was evidence of fruitless and unwise spending. The research found that the powers that were given to schools SGBs through SASA were sometimes usurped by school principals asa result of the void created by the SGBs. It was revealed that some schoolsissue fraudulent cheques. Despite the no fee policy, schools still charge certain compulsory fees. The research revealed that certain functionaries directly involved in the use of school money still lack proper financial training, knowledge and skills. Despite the allocation of resources through the no-fee schools policy to schools, there were findings of inefficient and fruitless spending. Some of the sampled no-fee schools showed non-compliance with the guidelines in regard to correct spending and accountability. The different roles and responsibilities of each component of the SGB need to be clarified. Officials need to assist in this regard. There is a need for continuous training by education officials of SGBs on the utilization of school money. There is a need for improved monitoring and supervision as money cannot be utilized without proper monitoring and supervision. Despite the reports that are given to stakeholders there are still complaints from parents that need to be fully addressed by SGBs. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

As part of its quest to become the first digital African city, in 2014 the City of Cape Town adopted an open data policy, which was later coupled with an open data portal to make government data available for public access. This was touted as a novelty initiative as the City of Cape Town was the first African city to implement a policy of this nature. This open data initiative aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability as well as promoting inclusive economic participation for its citizens. Open data project managers from the city and external industry experts working on open data initiatives were interviewed to understand the current the state of open data within the city and how it worked with other stakeholders. The study draws on these interviews to present the current challenges experienced by the city from the city’s official point of view as well as from open data experts working closely with the city. To understand the practical experiences of how the city publishes data in its platforms, the study also extensively explored the city’s open data portal, as well as examining and commenting on the documented open data policy guidelines contrasted and compared to current practical experiences. To guide the objectives and analysis of the study, four key themes were adopted from literature; context, use, data and impact. Context focused on the overall context or environment at which open data in the city is provided as a public service, while use focused challenges on the uses of open data as well as it is users, data focused on the types of datasets published on the portal as well as the technical challenges in publishing them. Lastly impact looked at the expected benefits and goals of the city’s open data policy. The study through the themes highlighted the ongoing challenges at various levels that the city experience as they implement and develop the open data policy. Overall it was noted that open data was not a goal but continuous challenges were arising daily while implementing and developing the policy- while it was noted that various stakeholders within and outside government had to collaborate to effectively meet the required open data standards.