Ly alpha nebulae, or "Ly alpha blobs," are extended (up to similar to 100 kpc), bright (L-Ly alpha greater than or similar to 10(43) erg s(-1)) clouds of Lya emitting gas that tend to lie in overdense regions at z similar to 2-5. The origin of the Lya emission remains unknown, but recent theoretical work suggests that measuring the polarization might discriminate among powering mechanisms. Here we present the first narrowband imaging polarimetry of a radio-loud Lya nebula, B3 J2330+3927, at z - 3.09, with an embedded active galactic nucleus (AGN). The AGN lies near the blob's Lya emission peak, and its radio lobes align roughly with the blob's major axis. With the SPOL polarimeter on the 6.5 m MMT telescope, we map the total (Ly alpha + continuum) polarization in a grid of circular apertures of a radius of 0.'' 6 (4.4 kpc), detecting a significant (>2 sigma) polarization fraction P-% in nine apertures and achieving strong upper limits (as low as 2%) elsewhere. P-% increases from <2% at similar to 5 kpc from the blob center to 17% at similar to 15-25 kpc. The detections are distributed asymmetrically, roughly along the nebula's major axis. The polarization angles theta are mostly perpendicular to this axis. Comparing the Ly alpha flux to that of the continuum and conservatively assuming that the continuum is highly polarized (20%-100%) and aligned with the total polarization, we place lower limits on the polarization of the Lya emission P-%,P-Ly alpha ranging from no significant polarization at similar to 5 kpc from the blob center to 3%-17% at 10-25 kpc. Like the total polarization, the Ly alpha polarization detections occur more often along the blob's major axis.

Basic stellar atmospheric parameters, such as effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity plays a vital role in the characterization of various stellar populations in the Milky Way. The Stellar parameters can be measured by adopting one or more observational techniques, such as spectroscopy, photometry, interferometry, etc. Finding new and innovative ways to combine these observational data to derive reliable stellar parameters and to use them to characterize some of the stellar populations in our galaxy is the main goal of this thesis. Our initial work, based on the spectroscopic and photometric data available in literature, had the objective of calibrating the stellar parameters from a range of available flux observations from far-UV to far-IR. Much effort has been made to estimate probability distributions of the stellar parameters using Bayesian inference, rather than point estimates. We applied these techniques to blue straggler stars (BSSs) in the galactic field, which are thought to be a product of mass transfer mechanism associated with binary stars. Using photometry available in SDSS and GALEX surveys we identified 85 stars with UV excess in their spectral energy distribution (SED) : indication of a hot white dwarf companion to BSS. To determine the parameter distributions (mass, temperature and age) of the WD companions, we developed algorithms that could fit binary model atmospheres to the observed SED. The WD mass distribution peaks at 0.4M , suggests the primary formation channel of field BSSs is Case-B mass transfer, i.e. when the donor star is in red giant phase of its evolution. Based on stellar evolutionary models, we estimate the lower limit of binary mass transfer efficiency β ~ 0.5. Next, we have focused on the Canis Major overdensity (CMO), a substructure located at low galactic latitude in the Milky Way, where the interstellar reddening (E(B-V )) due to dust is significantly high. In this study we estimated the reddening, metallicity distribution and kinematics of the CMO using a sample of red clump (RC) stars. The averageE(B-V)(~0.19)is consistent with that measured from Schlegel maps (Schlegal et.al. 1998). The overall metallicity and kinematic distribution is in agreement with the previous estimates of the disk stars. But the measured mean alpha element abundance is relatively larger with respect to the expected value for disk stars.

Workers in labour-intensive industries in developing countries have been described as the ‘hidden hands’ in the making of valuable goods in global production networks (GPNs). The process of improving the rights and entitlements of workers in GPNs have been referred to as ’social upgrading’. However, literature on social upgrading has tended to overlook the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and there is still little scientific understanding of how small businesses in developing countries can engage in social upgrading. The aim of this thesis is to enhance the understanding of how SMEs in developing countries can improve working conditions and labour rights. Through a qualitative case study, this study goes beyond statements of leading Fair Trade brands to provide insights based on voices of both workers and owner-managers in a small garment factory in Nepal. This study brings forward observations where SMEs, shaped by their characteristics, are enabled to evade responsibilities concerning working conditions and labour rights.

The positive relationship of firm-level entrepreneurship and performance has received much attention in recent years and has become an attractive title in the entrepreneurship literature. This popularity encourages researchers to study the role played by the phenomenon on other organizational outputs such as internationalization. Until now, the majority of international studies have put their attention on the conceptual explanation of the interaction, and the number of empirical studies on the subject is few. Furthermore, almost all the empirical studies have been performed in developed and emerging markets, and developing areas such as the Middle East are nearly ignored. In the real context of Iranian business, policymakers support entrepreneurship as a proven way to improve the internationalization of smaller companies. Following this assumption, several supportive plans have been designed and executed which aim to increase the entrepreneurial status of SMEs as a way to enhance their internationalization. A question worth answering here is: Does having a better entrepreneurial stature mean better internationalization for Iranian SMEs? To answer this question and to fill the gap in the literature on the subject, this research explains the relationship of firm-level entrepreneurship and the internationalization of Iranian SMEs. To resolve the current conceptualization problem of firm-level entrepreneurship and to respect a broad conceptualization of entrepreneurship, a profile measurement model was employed in which companies are classified into four different groups: non-entrepreneurial, forced entrepreneurial, latent entrepreneurial, and actual entrepreneurial. This profile model incorporates the two popular constructs of entrepreneurial orientation and corporate entrepreneurship to determine the entrepreneurial stature of a company. Surprisingly, while the literature predicted the highest level of internationalization for actual entrepreneurial companies, the forced entrepreneurial firms showed the best internationalization in reality. The only exception was when the environments became very hostile, in which the actual entrepreneurial SMEs suppressed the forced entrepreneurial, showing better internationalization. These unexpected conclusions led the researcher to consider the complementary role of business networks. A case study approach was applied. The results revealed the importance of actor type in the decision to enter a foreign market, structural holes in identifying international opportunities, and network closure in realizing the opportunities. In simpler words, the forced entrepreneurial company held a better position to receive the information about international markets because most actors who dealt with them where international companies. In addition, it enjoyed an external network rich of structural holes and a dense internal network, which respectively facilitated the exploration and exploitation of subsequent international opportunities. All in all, however, firm-level entrepreneurship seems an important factor of companies’ internationalization that could somehow justify why entrepreneurial companies show better international activities than nonentrepreneurial firms, it is not able to explain how different types of entrepreneurial companies could hold different levels of internationalization. This is the mutual interaction of entrepreneurial status and the network structure that presents a powerful explanation of the difference in internationalization among companies. Therefore, researchers are invited to focus more on a configurational analysis of firm-level entrepreneurship, network structure, and internationalization, and policymakers are recommended to see both entrepreneurship and business networks when they design a supportive plan to improve the internationalization of SMEs. / <p>In the printed version is the ISBN incorrrect: 978-91-7519-497-4. The ISBN is corrected in the electronic version.</p>

Employability is a field of research and a concept that has developed considerably over the past century. Today, employability contributes to discussions in higher education, psychology and even labour market politics. What influences employability is thus of great importance to a number of stakeholders. Since employability consists of assets that make an individual employable, the employer’s perception of employability is essential. An area within organisational strategy called ambidexterity discusses the competitive advantage that can be obtained by hiring staff with certain characteristics, indicating that there could be a relation between ambidexterity and employability.   The purpose of this study is to explain how organisational ambidexterity influences employers’ preference in regards of employability. To do so, a conceptual model was developed from theoretical research. The model included: education, experience and personal characteristics. A questionnaire was used to collect data in order to explain the relation between ambidexterity and employability.   The findings of the study did not show that organisational ambidexterity influences employer preferences regarding employability considerably even though indications that a relation exists were found. Moreover, the study findings indicated that other factors such as gender and age of recruiter might have an influence on employer preferences instead.

The data harvest from the Voyagers' (V1 and V2) Ultraviolet Spectrometers (UVS) covers encounters with the outer planets, measurements of the heliosphere sky-background, and stellar spectrophotometry. Because their period of operation overlaps with many ultraviolet missions, the calibration of V1. and V2 UVS with other spectrometers is invaluable. Here we revisit the UVS calibration to assess the intriguing sensitivity enhancements of 243% (V1) and 156% (V2) proposed recently. Using the Ly alpha airglow from Saturn, observed in situ by both Voyagers, and remotely by International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), we match the Voyager values to IUE, taking into account the shape of the Saturn Ly alpha line observed with the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. For all known ranges of the interplanetary hydrogen density, we show that the V1 and V2 UVS sensitivities cannot be enhanced by the amounts thus far proposed. The same diagnostic holds for distinct channels covering the diffuse He I 58.4 nm emission. Our prescription is to keep the original calibration of the Voyager UVS with a maximum uncertainty of 30%, making both instruments some of the most stable EUV/FUV spectrographs in the history of space exploration. In that frame, we reassess the excess Ly alpha emission detected by Voyager UVS deep in the heliosphere, to show its consistency with a heliospheric but not galactic origin. Our finding confirms results obtained nearly two decades ago-namely, the UVS discovery of the distortion of the heliosphere and the corresponding obliquity of the local interstellar magnetic field (similar to 40 degrees from upwind) in the solar system neighborhood-without requiring any revision of the Voyager UVS calibration.

<p>U disertaciji je kreiran novi model<br />konkurentnosti malih i srednjih preduzeća u<br />tranzicionim uslovima u funkciji optimizacije<br />performansi, održanja i sticanja konkurentnosti.<br />Istraživanje omogućuje identifikovanje ključnih<br />indikatora konkurentnosti malih i srednjih<br />preduzeća u tranzicionim uslovima, ali i njihovu<br />evaluaciju, na taj način pružajući malim i<br />srednjim preduzećima neophodan alat koji<br />omogućuje efikasno praćenje i procenu<br />konkurentnosti, merenje efikasnosti poslovanja,<br />upoređivanje sa konkurentima, kao i<br />formulisanje adekvatne konkurentske strategije.<br />U disertaciji se na odgovarajući način može<br />sagledati signifikantnost eksternih faktora<br />okruženja, kao i konkurentskih strategija i<br />njihova korelacija sa identifikovanim ključnim<br />indikatorima konkurentnosti malih i srednjih<br />preduzeća u tranzicionim uslovima, čime se<br />uspostavlja veza između konkurentnosti malih i<br />srednjih preduzeća u tranzicionim uslovima i<br />primene odgovarajućih strategija u poslovanju.</p> / <p><span style="font-size:10px;">A new competitiveness model of small and<br />medium sized enteprises in transitional context<br />has been created in this dissertation, as a<br />function of performance optimization,<br />maintenance and acquisition of competitiveness.<br />This research enables identification of key<br />competitiveness indicators of small and medium<br />sized enterprises in transition economies, as well<br />as their evaluation, thus providing small and<br />medium sized enteprises with a necessary tool<br />for efficient monitoring and assessment of<br />competitiveness, business efficiency<br />measurement, benchmarking, as well as<br />formulation of adequate competitive strategies.<br />The significance of external environmental<br />factors, as well as of competitive strategies, and<br />their correlation with the identified key<br />competitiveness indicators of small and medium<br />sized enteprises in the transitional context can<br />be adequately observed, thus establishing the<br />relationship between competitiveness of small<br />and medium sized enterprises in transition<br />economies and implementation of adequate<br />business strategies.</span></p>

The study of Supernova Remnants (SNRs) is fundamental to understanding the chemical enrichment and magnetism in galaxies, including our own Milky Way. In an effort to understand the connection between the morphology of SNRs and the Galactic Magnetic Field (GMF), we have examined the radio images of all known SNRs in our Galaxy and compiled a large sample that have an axisymmetric morphology, which we define to mean SNRs with a bilateral or barrel-shaped morphology, in addition to one-sided shells. We selected the cleanest examples and model each of these at their appropriate Galactic position using two GMF models, one of which includes a vertical halo component, and another that is oriented entirely parallel to the plane. Since the magnitude and relative orientation of the magnetic field changes with distance from the Sun, we analyze a range of distances, from 0.5 to 10 kpc in each case. Using a physically motivated model of an SNR expanding into an ambient GMF that includes a vertical halo component, we find it is possible to reproduce observed morphologies of many SNRs in our sample. These results strongly support the presence of an off-plane, vertical component to the GMF, and the importance of the Galactic field on SNR morphology. Our approach also provides a potentially new method for determining distances to SNRs, or conversely, distances to features in the large-scale GMF if SNR distances are known. The mechanism for acceleration of cosmic rays in SNRs is another outstanding question in the field. To investigate this, the same sample of axisymmetric SNRs was again modelled, but this time using two competing, and physically motivated, Cosmic Ray Electron (CRE) acceleration cases: quasi-perpendicular and quasi-parallel. We find that the quasi-perpendicular CRE acceleration case is much more consistent with the data than the quasi-parallel CRE acceleration case, with G327.6+14.6 (SN1006) being a notable exception. We propose that SN1006 may be an example of a case where both quasi-parallel and quasi-perpendicular acceleration is simultaneously at play in a single SNR. / October 2016

D. Tech. (Business, Logistics, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology / The South Africa economy has embraced the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as agents of economic growth and sustainability. However, for SMEs to be more efficient and effective towards the growth of the economy, it is important for SMEs to implement and take cognisance of the global competitive strategy among the so-called “best in class” organisations in order to also sustain and grow their business. The supply chain network with its flexibility has become the most commonly used business strategy worldwide for the improvement of performance in organisations, more especially among larger organisations. In today’s competitive environment, successful organisations are those that have been able to link their business functions within the organisation itself as well as across other businesses outside the organisation. Competitive challenges in the modern business environment have resulted in the need for organisation to integrate business processes strategically across other business units within the supply chain network. Network perspective theory, social network theory, network management theory and relational view theory are discussed to better understand the importance of SMEs supply chain network, flexibility and integration. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of supply chain network, flexibility and integration on the SMEs business performance in the Southern Gauteng region. The research survey was conducted in the Meyerton, Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark and 401 SMEs participated in the study. SPSS 22.0 was used to analyse the data and AMOS 22.0 was used to perform the confirmatory factor analysis. The structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to assess the proposed model fit and to test the statistically significant relationship of the hypothesis. The research study results revealed that supply chain network, flexibility and integration positively influence SMEs business performance. This study contributes new knowledge to the existing literature by providing a research framework that can enhance SMEs performance and also provide practical recommendations based on the research findings for SMEs and for future research. Furthermore, as one of the first studies addressing the influence of supply chain network, flexibility and integration on the performance of SMEs in the southern Gauteng region it has generated new insights and information as well as outlined the strategic reasons for SME owners and managers to improve on their business relationships. / VUT

We investigate black hole-host galaxy scaling relations in cosmological simulations with a self-consistent black hole growth and feedback model. Our sub-grid accretion model captures the key scalings governing angular momentum transport by gravitational torques from galactic scales down to parsec scales, while our kinetic feedback implementation enables the injection of outflows with properties chosen to match observed nuclear outflows (star formation-driven winds are not included to isolate the effects of black hole feedback). We show that 'quasar mode' feedback can have a large impact on the thermal properties of the intergalactic medium and the growth of galaxies and massive black holes for kinetic feedback efficiencies as low as 0.1 per cent relative to the bolometric luminosity. None the less, our simulations indicate that the black hole-host scaling relations are only weakly dependent on the effects of black hole feedback on galactic scales, since black hole feedback suppresses the growth of galaxies and massive black holes by a similar amount. In contrast, the rate at which gravitational torques feed the central black hole relative to the host galaxy star formation rate governs the slope and normalization of the black hole-host correlations. Our results suggest that a common gas supply regulated by gravitational torques is the primary driver of the observed co-evolution of black holes and galaxies.