The dissertation examines the process of retrenchment in a public institution with reference to the execution of such a process by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). The aim is to establish whether or not the retrenchment was substantively and procedurally fair as required by legislation. Notwithstanding the fact that the staff may have been disadvantaged by the short retrenchment notice (the staff did not have representation prior to the announcement, and the swiftness of the process did not, under the circumstances, provide the staff with enough time to comprehensively apply their mind to the underlying issues), the dissertation finds that the retrenchments had been substantively fair given the fact that the IEC could not retain all staff because of budgetary constraints. The dissertation also finds that the process had been procedurally fair in accordance with section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995. / Public Adminstration & Development Studies / M.A. (Public Administration)

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The dissertation examines the process of retrenchment in a public institution with reference to the execution of such a process by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). The aim is to establish whether or not the retrenchment was substantively and procedurally fair as required by legislation. Notwithstanding the fact that the staff may have been disadvantaged by the short retrenchment notice (the staff did not have representation prior to the announcement, and the swiftness of the process did not, under the circumstances, provide the staff with enough time to comprehensively apply their mind to the underlying issues), the dissertation finds that the retrenchments had been substantively fair given the fact that the IEC could not retain all staff because of budgetary constraints. The dissertation also finds that the process had been procedurally fair in accordance with section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995. / Public Adminstration and Development Studies / M.A. (Public Administration)

Research problem: This research focused on the following problem statement: What management strategies can be developed and used to advance effective social justice practice in schools? Research aims: Arising from the problem question, the research aims were firstly to determine theoretically, the nature of social justice (Chapter Two) and secondly to identify and analyse theoretically, the determinants that contribute to social justice practices (Chapter Three). This was done by means of a comprehensive literature review. The third aim was to qualitatively analyse effective social justice praxis in selected schools in the North-West and Western Cape Provinces (Chapter Four and Five). From the analysis and literature review, management strategies for effective social justice practice in schools (Chapter Six) were developed as part of the empirical investigation. Research methodology: The empirical investigation realised the third aim, to analyse qualitatively effective social justice praxis in selected schools by means of individual and focus group interviews which were based on the philosophical paradigm of a constructivist-grounded theory and a hermeneutic, phenomenological methodology that enabled me to listen and be part of the discursive portrayals of the participant-principals’ effective social justice praxis. The qualitative data collection and methodology entailed considerations with regard to ethical conduct between myself and the role-players, i.e. the researcher, the Ethics Committee (NWU Faculty of Education Sciences), the role of departmental officials, the role of participant principals, and documentation used. Attention was paid to determine the target population, participant and sample selection from the North-West and Western Cape provinces in accordance with predetermined criteria. These criteria were, inter alia, that these principals would: have a proven track record to demonstrate an understanding of the concept of justice and social justice; would adhere to and implement legal determinants of social justice praxis with regard to the constitutional values and human rights; provide proven evidence of social justice praxis as equality, human dignity and freedom; implement political imperatives such as the Manifesto on Values, Education for All; acknowledge the need for fair distribution and educational transformation; provide a moral basis for recognition, identity formation and social justice praxis; apply a deliberative democratic praxis; promote accountability, school achievement, and as prospective and transformative leaders believe in and practice an embracing social justice. The researcher prepared the necessary documentation, the interview protocol and interview schedule to enter the field, as well as entering the field of research (principals at schools and district offices) to conduct and record the interviews which she afterwards transcribed. The method of qualitative data analysis included three phases: Phase I that considered the first hearing-reading, Atlas.ti™ dry-run and initial code-lists; Phase II, the translation processes, and Phase III, the abstraction and crystallisation processes. The criteria for soundness were established in the account of authentic validity and credibility of the study. The collected qualitative data was analysed by means of the Atlas.ti™ software programme as a result of which seven themes and three sub-themes for each theme emerged. These themes were the principal and social justice praxis, learners, education in general, constitutional values, educational partners, the government and political establishments, and social justice: its ontology and praxis. Development of management strategies: Education is about understanding and this study presented those management strategies that culminated in answers to the fundamental question: “What management strategies can be developed and used to advance effective social justice practice in schools?” The development of management strategies are the result of the literature review and the empirical investigation. The strategy development process consisted of a three-phase strategy framework: strategy planning (aims and objectives), strategy implementation (action plan and persons), and strategy evaluation. From this process, seven aims were developed in accordance with the seven identified themes: the principal, the learners, education in general, Constitutional values, partners in education, government, political and union matters, and the ontology and praxis of social justice. These management strategies include inter alia: • Optimising the school principal’s virtues of responsibility, authenticity and presence as gemeinschaft (community) relationships to ensure effective social justice praxis (§5.2). • Inculcate a disciplined school environment for learners to embrace human diversity and dignity, democracy, and Ubuntu-principles (§5.3) to optimise effective social justice praxis. • Influence education in general - system and structures - to optimise effective social justice praxis (§5.4). • Foster constitutional values and human rights as effective social justice praxis (§5.5). • Establish a social justice culture amongst educational partners who are essential to school development and governance to optimise effective social justice praxis (§5.6). • Convince government and union officials and influence political matters to serve the best interest of the child (§5.7) to ensure social justice praxis. • Actualise management strategies for social justice praxis that epitomise compassion, love, care and human rights in a participative and respectful environment (§5.8). • These management strategies were described as techniques or aims, objectives and action steps to provide answers to the questions where and how, which determined on which level or levels these strategies were to be performed. Main findings: • At a conceptual and a theoretical level: Conceptually and theoretically this study established, for the first time, specific determinants of social justice praxis (Chapters Two and Three) and its management. This contribution is found in the syntheses that followed each conceptual discussion of justice (§2.2.7) and social justice (§2.3.4), as well as the syntheses and evaluation of these determinants (§3.2-§3.4) for social justice praxis. These determinants may be regarded as an attempt at purified, cleansed theorising with respect to social justice praxis. This study found that social justice does exist in the hearts of the principals who took part in this study and that social justice belongs to all learners, to all of humanity, whoever they are or whatever their circumstances may be. Social justice is, essentially, embodied and lived love-in-practice towards all. However, the effectiveness of social justice praxis is usually determined by pragmatic circumstances that dictate the scale and scope of its efficacy. This study found that social justice praxis in schools should deviate from a mere legalistic or juridical notion because it progressed beyond the conceptual boundaries and theoretical limits of juristic thinking towards an attempt at linking social justice praxis to a humanising pedagogy. As a consequence, social justice in this research cuts across all man-made barriers: it has become a prospective notion that reflects its restorative and transformational nature and role. • At a strategic level: Strategically, this research found that the possibility of various cycles of action research in schools as well as in higher education institutions exists. The seven themes could be viewed in isolation, but if regarded, as found in this research, as seven levels that build upon each other and whose strengths or weaknesses are interdependent, it becomes self-evident that social justice forms the basis of cohesive and holistic social justice praxis. The seven strategies (§5.2-§5.8) developed in this research may, in future, inform research and praxis in schools and higher learning institutions in order to confirm or refute the theory presented herewith. • At policy-making level: This study has implications for policy design and management development, not only at basic education level, but also at national level. This study found that social justice specifically, has neither adequately, nor officially been addressed in relevant policies. If policy amendments were to be made and management strategies for social justice praxis in schools become an essential part of national policy, it will have implications at the level of further professional development of school principals, such as the current ACE School Leadership Programme. In addition, teachers’ in-service professional development will have to include these management strategies in the offering of short courses. Furthermore curriculum changes will have to follow to incorporate pre-service or initial training programmes of Higher Education institutions that offer teacher training programmes which may have a snowball effect at provincial and school curricula levels. Another important finding of this research is that, in future, the binding agent amongst schools may yet prove to be social justice and not geo-social and/or socio-economic markers, as is the case at present. In this manner social justice may become a lived curriculum that will permeate the entire education system in South Africa, but more so, will permeate the school culture of every school. Recommendations: A management strategy for effective social justice praxis in schools should be developed at national level but specifically to schools should be tailor-made for each school, because social justice praxis becomes visible in the acts of individual men and women, girls and boys, who regard the other as equally well as the self and therefore the following recommendations are important: • Continuous professional development of principals and teachers. • The right to education and its praxis to ensure the best interest of the child should be incorporated in the Life Orientation curriculum. • Have a collective vision of schools that truly strive, cherish and inculcate a pedagogy of social justice praxis to ensure that education is life-generating, life engendering, causing life or life awakening (onderwys is lewe wek). • Fairness as a moral construct should be visible in institutions where values of fairness, equality and social justice permeate the institution and provide a moral and structural frame for judgements based on the principle of fiduciary trust. • Schools should become community hubs as centrifugal force that embraces views on African culture, Ubuntu principles and Indigenous Knowledge Systems. • Create district-wide power teams that will train teachers in positive conduct as well as assist and provide interventions. • Principals and teachers have to take responsibility and agency for social justice pedagogy. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Ciblant la réduction des inégalités sociales de santé, le Québec a établi une stratégie de soutien au développement des communautés en santé publique. Or, un usage ambigu du terme de « communauté » est identifiable dans les documents officiels de santé publique au Québec, ce qui pose des questions d’équité et de justice sociale. D'abord, cette imprécision permet mal l’application du soutien au développement des communautés et laisse présager la même difficulté quant à l’objectif de réduction des inégalités sociales de santé qui s’y rattache. Aussi, cette situation pose un problème d’équité, puisqu’elle mène difficilement à la justification des choix des communautés qui seront soutenues pour leur développement. Le premier Chapitre de ce mémoire confirme alors l’hypothèse selon laquelle on ne s’efforce pas suffisamment pour rendre compréhensible la notion de « communauté » en santé publique, à l’aide d’une analyse de contenu des documents de santé publique québécois. Le deuxième chapitre explore diverses compréhensions du terme à travers les sciences sociales. On propose alors la typologie de Vibert pour démontrer la richesse sociohistorique du concept de « communauté » et ses enjeux et pour permettre d’éclairer les professionnels de santé quant aux choix des communautés qu’ils soutiendront dans leur pratique. Enfin, si plusieurs acceptations du terme de « communauté » sont justifiables en santé publique, alors sous quels critères sont sélectionnées les communautés soutenues? Le troisième chapitre y réfléchit, en s’appuyant sur le modèle de justice procédurale développé par Daniels et Sabin pour répondre équitablement aux désaccords liés aux rationnements en santé. / To reduce social health inequalities, the Quebec government has introduced a strategy to support community development. However, official Quebec government documents in the public health sector are ambiguous in their use of the term “community”, which raises issues of fairness and justice. First, the ambiguity of this concept points to a lack of effort to make community development functional, which suggests a lack of seriousness with regards to reducing associated health inequalities. There is also an issue of fairness, because the rationale for the selection of communities that can expect support in community development cannot be justified if we do not know what “community” means. In the first chapter, this thesis employs a content analysis of Quebec public health documents to confirm the hypothesis that these official documents do not make sufficiently clear the concept of “community”. The second chapter explores understandings of this term in the social sciences. Vibert’s typology is proposed to account for the socio-historical richness of the term “community”, the issues that this term raises and a possible means for enabling health professionals to make better-informed choices about the communities they support in their practice. Finally, if multiple uses or understanding of the term “community” are acceptable in Quebec public health, then by what criteria are communities selected for support? The third chapter examines the model of procedural justice developed by Daniels and Sabin to respond fairly to disagreements related to rationing in health.

Le commerce international est souvent relié au transport maritime. La poursuite des règles uniformes se rapportant à ce dernier avait débuté à la fin du XIXe siècle et a abouti à l’émergence des Règles de La Haye, des Règles de Hambourg et des Règles de Rotterdam. L’exonération du transporteur maritime, qui suscitait des controverses favorisant le développement des règles maritimes internationales, a été réglementée de trois façons différentes dans les trois Règles précitées. La question principale abordée dans la thèse présente est si elles sont suffisamment satisfaisantes. Une autre question, qui se pose s’il est prouvé qu’aucune d’entre elles ne l’est, est quelle serait une meilleure façon. Pour y répondre, deux critères, soit la justice et la clarté, ont été choisis. Les recherches effectuées dans le cadre de la thèse présente visent à donner une évaluation profonde des régimes existants en matière de réglementation de l’exonération du transporteur maritime ainsi que des suggestions d’amélioration à cet égard. / The international trade is usually connected with the carriage of goods by sea. The campaign in pursuit of uniform rules governing such carriage was launched in the late nineteenth century and has led to the emergence of the Hague Rules, the Hamburg Rules and the Rotterdam Rules. The carrier’s entitlement to exemption from liability, which triggered much controversy contributing to the development of the international shipping rules, has been regulated in three different ways in the aforementioned three Rules. The principal question addressed in the present thesis is whether they are sufficiently satisfactory. Another question, which is to be dealt with if none of them proves to be the case, is what a better way could be like. Two criteria, namely fairness and clarity, have been chosen in answer to the aforesaid questions. The research contained in the present thesis aims to give a thorough evaluation of the existing regimes regarding the carrier’s exemption from liability and some improvement suggestions in this respect.

Cooperative, altruistic and fairness-exhibiting behavior is an important topic in evolutionary and behavioral biology and the mechanisms leading to its evolution, ultimate as well as proximate precursors, are subject of much research in biological as well as social sciences, theoretical as well as experimental work. In light of the life history theory, I focused on the connection of one's health state and cooperative behavior in humans and tested the hypothesis that more healthy individuals would manifest more cooperative tendencies (as they would have more opportunities of future interactions and long-term benefits), and conversely. The data, obtained from a sample of university students engaged in experimental games (Dictator Game, Ultimatum Game, Expanded Ultimatum Game, Trust Game, and Reversed Dictator Game) and a health and personality-focused questionnaire, did not corroborate this hypothesis. My other hypotheses - that better memory and lower temporal discounting would be related to more cooperative behavior (stemming from the conditions for reciprocal cooperation) - were supported by the data, albeit only partially in the case of memory. I also used the data from the five experimental games to briefly describe the proportions of different types of behavior (self-regarding, altruistic,...

L’objectif de ce travail est de déterminer, dans le contexte actuel de dysfonctionnements de la tarification sociale ferroviaire, de remise en cause des interventions publiques, et de déréglementation des réseaux, s’il est possible de réformer ce type de tarification et quelle sont les marges de manœuvre disponibles. La réflexion s’applique au cas de la carte Familles Nombreuses imposée par l’Etat à la SNCF.Dans ce sens, nous appréhendons d’abord le terme de tarification sociale en pratique et en théorie afin d’élaborer une définition générique, puis analysons les modalités alternatives d’organisation et de financement des tarifs sociaux. Nous recherchons ensuite, à travers une analyse historique détaillée du tarif Familles Nombreuses et des relations de gouvernance entre l’entreprise et l’Etat, les leviers et les freins qui permettent d’engager ces évolutions. Nous mettons en évidence les évolutions proposées jusqu’à présent et les éléments déclencheurs de ces évolutions.Forts de ces enseignements et à partir d’une enquête préférences déclarées, nous formulons des propositions d’aménagement du tarif Familles Nombreuses. Elles reposent sur la sensibilité et les choix réels des consommateurs et sont évaluées à partir de calculs de surplus. Les marges de manœuvre apparaissent finalement peu nombreuses. Les évolutions envisagées risquent de provoquer de nombreux mécontentements pour un gain de surplus finalement faible, voire négatif. Une solution pourrait alors consister en l’intégration du tarif Familles Nombreuses dans le système de yield management. Cela permettrait à la SNCF de disposer de marges de manœuvre plus importantes, à l’Etat de sortir de la contrainte de financement et à l’usager de bénéficier de réductions plus importantes. Ainsi, à travers une sorte de policy mix entre les logiques commerciale et sociale, le yield management pourrait constituer un outil de politique sociale, source de justice sociale et de redistribution. / The aim of our study is to determine, in the context of dysfunctions with social tariffs in the French railway industry, challenging of public policy, and deregulation of network industries, if it is possible to reform this type of tariff and which ways we can use. Our work deals with the case study of the card “Familles Nombreuses”, which is a social tariff imposed by the State to the French railway operator, SNCF.First we analyze social tariffs in a practical and theoretical approach to make a generic definition. Then we analyze some alternative ways of organizing and financing social tariffs.Then, we are seeking, through a detailed historical analysis of the social tariff “Familles Nombreuses” and the governance relations between SNCF and government, elements that allow these changes. We highlight the changes proposed until today and the events that cause these changes.With these lessons and a stated preference survey, we make, some proposals to reform the social tariff “Familles Nombreuses”. They are based on the sensitivity and real consumer choice, not on assumptions or deductions and are evaluated with calculations of surplus. In terms of results, if we can’t make a single proposal that would be "the" solution, we make some recommendations depending on the objectives of different actors and the role they wish to give to social tariffs. We can also determine the commitment to social tariffs. Leeways appear in fact limited. The changes based on the current commercial tarifs may cause a stir discontent and the surplus could be finally low or even negative. One solution could consist in inserting the social tariff « Familles Nombreuses » into the global system of yield management. This would allow the SNCF to have greater leeway on this tariff, the State to face no longer the funding constraints and the user to be offered more discount. Thus, through a policy between commercial and social logic, the yield management could be a tool of social policy, source of social justice and redistribution.

L’enseignement supérieur malien et notamment l’Université de Bamako est confrontée à d’énormes difficultés depuis plusieurs années. Qu’est ce qui explique ces difficultés et comment faire pour rendre plus efficace cet enseignement supérieur afin de rehausser les niveaux et le rendre compétitif sur le plan sous régional et international ? Cette question nous a conduit à nous intéresser à l’étude de son efficacité interne. Le présent travail est une contribution à la recherche de facteurs de ces difficultés et d’alternatives pour y remédier. Il tente de dégager des pistes de réflexion sur l’amélioration des conditions de travail de l’Université de Bamako.La Faculté des Lettres, Langues, Arts et Sciences humaines de l’Université de Bamako a été retenue comme terrain de la recherche. Après la recherche documentaire pour l’élaboration d’une revue de littérature, la préférence a été donnée en premier lieu à une analyse des résultats d’examens de deux promotions de la filière Sciences de l’éducation de 2001 à 2009. Dans l’analyse il a été question d’indicateurs tels que l’évolution des effectifs, les taux de réussite, d’abandon, d’exclusion, le genre et les caractéristiques extra universitaires des étudiants. Cette analyse qui a conclu à une faible efficacité interne de l’Université de Bamako a été suivie par d’autres investigations par entretiens, observations et questionnaires auprès d’un échantillon d’étudiants, d’enseignants et d’administrateurs de l’Université. Après une analyse des données recueillies lors de ces investigations, nous avons terminé par une discussion de l’ensemble des résultats. / The Malian higher education and notably the University of Bamako is confronted to enormous difficulties since several years. What explains these difficulties and how to make more efficient this higher education in order to heighten the levels and to make he competitive on the plan under regional and international? This question drove us to interest us to the survey of her internal efficiency. The present work is a contribution in search of factors of these difficulties and alternatives to remedy there. He tempts to clear tracks of reflection on the improvement of the conditions of work of the University of Bamako. The Faculty of the Letters, Languages, Arts and human sciences of the University of Bamako has been kept like land of research. After the documentary research for the development of a literature magazine, the preference has been given to an analysis of the exams results of two promotions of the path Sciences of the education of 2001 in the first place to 2009. In the analysis it was question of indicators as the evolution of the strengths, rate of success, abandonment, exclusion, kind, extra feature academic of the students. This analysis that concluded to a weak internal efficiency of the University of Bamako has been followed by other investigations by interviews, observations and questionnaires by a sample of students, teachers and administrators of the university. After an analysis of the data collected at the time of these investigations, we finished by a discussion of the set of the results.

The submitted diploma thesis deals with presentations of figure skating at Winter Olympic Games from the 1990s to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in two selected daily newspapers, and with ways in which the presentation of figure skating has changed within the analysed period. The first chapter presents sports journalism, its history and famous personalities, its text types and typical language, and characteristic features of a sport journalist. The second chapter presents the connection of sports and media, the concepts of agenda-setting, agenda-building and intermedia agenda, tabloidization and commercialization and ways in which news services work. The third chapter presents figure skating and figure skating events at the analysed Winter Olympic Games. The analysed media and changing paradigms of the media landscape are presented in the fourth chapter. The methodological basis used for the analyses is described in the fifth chapter. The sixth chapter presents the results of the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the newspaper articles. Furthermore, the interviews with two personalities of the Czech figure skating are analysed qualitatively. The results of the quantitative analysis of the articles and the qualitative analysis of the interviews are compared. Keywords figure skating,...