This research evaluates the factors that caused unprecedented high levels of non-performing loans (NPLs) in Chinese banks and the measures that have been taken to deal with them. In examining the surrounding issues recommendations are made, which might resolve or at least ameliorate China's non-performing loans problem. An extensive literature is drawn upon and a systematic examination of the factors that were responsible for China's NPLs is presented. The research aims and objectives, and the subsequent research themes were identified after conducting field research in Chinese banks. Six managers in Chinese banks were interviewed and their views on non-performing loans in their respective banks were obtained. These banks included: the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the China Construction Bank, the Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, the State and Development Bank and Citic Bank. The results of the interviews were used to design the questionnaire, which was distributed to 16 different banks. These banks are broadly representative of the main types of bank within China and include four state-owned commercial banks, seven joint-stock commercial banks, three foreign banks, one policy bank and one city commercial bank. Content analysis and descriptive statistical techniques were used to analyse the data and the findings revealed that lending managers generally lack adequate incentives to make efficient lending decisions. Moreover, although political interference in bank lending is quite widespread within China, it is not the only issue and certainly not the major issue in explaining why managers have a tendency to select inefficient projects. The measures taken to deal with NPLs in Chinese banking are also examined and the findings suggest that these have not been totally effective in resolving the problem.

Critically examining the Lacanian and Althusserian theories of the subject, this thesis explored the theoretical problems and methodological premises of a converged version of both theories. The central argument the present thesis seeks to demonstrate is that the Lacanian-Althusserian dialectic provides a more comprehensive and effective account of the process of the subject formation than a purely psychoanalytical or structuralist Marxist analysis of the term. After a critical study of the way the subject is positioned between language and ideology in contemporary critical theory the thesis proceeds to investigate the subject-object relation in the Cartesian and Hegelian subjects. Conceived of as the convergence of lack and material, the Lacanian-Althusserian dialectic focuses on the close affinity between the Lacanian notion of linguistic alienation and the Althusserian concept of ideological interpellation. The subject’s alienation with what is called in the thesis ‘ideological signifier’ is considered as the result of direct and dramatic modes of interpellation in both language acquisition process and the mature phase. The major theoretical premises of this model include the following: first, identity functions through, and because of, the ‘inter-subjective dialectic’ and an ‘intra-subjective lack.’ Identity is never fully constituted because of this antagonism, and thus remains ‘incomplete.’ Secondly, the subject is ideologically constituted through language. The mechanism through which both language and ideology construct a subject never permits the subject enjoying a state of full identity with ideological signifiers. Thirdly, the subject’s identity is represented in the language exposed to and, later, reproduced by him/her. In order to demonstrate a practical reading of subjectivity formation in terms of this critical approach the present research applies it to James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916). The process of the subject formation has been analysed through the subject’s alienation/interpellation by the ISAs. Also, the inter-subjective dialectic between different subjectivities of the subject’s identity has been investigated. The thesis demonstrates that identity reconstruction represented in the novel is a complicated and ongoing process, which begins with disillusionment, goes through materialization of epiphany, and ends with inventiveness in language. This process has been represented as a move from ideological to non-ideological subjectivity through artistic creativity. The exploration of the aesthetics of language is crucial to the analysis of the reconstruction of Stephen Dedalus’ identity in that it happens in and through language.

Bakgrund: Endometrios är en kronisk, gynekologisk sjukdom som påverkar många aspekter av livet. Trots att ca 10 procent av kvinnor i produktiv ålder i världen är drabbade är sjukdomen okänd för många. Kunskap om sjukdomen saknas hos många sjuksköterskor vilket leder till att de har svårt att tillgodose kvinnornas behov. Syfte: Att beskriva kvinnors upplevelser av att leva med endometrios. Metod: En beskrivande litteraturöversikt med kvalitativ ansats gjordes. För analysen användes induktiv innehållsanalys. Resultat: Vid analysen identifierades kategorierna; sjukdomen påverkar livets alla områden, kvinnans upplevelser av sjukvården samt oviss framtid. Sjukdomen visade sig påverka kvinnorna inom många olika områden i livet. Sjukvårdspersonal och allmänheten upplevdes ha bristande kunskap om sjukdomen och kvinnorna kände misstro för sjukvården. Osäkerhet gällande framtiden fanns också hos kvinnorna. Slutsats: Endometrios behöver uppmärksammas mer i samhället så allmänheten lär sig känna igen symtomen för sjukdomen, för att öka chansen för den drabbade kvinnan att få vård snabbare. Kunskap om sjukdomen och kvinnans upplevelser av att leva med den måste förbättras hos vårdpersonal för att kvinnan ska få så god vård som möjligt. Begränsad forskning finns kring sjukdomen och ytterligare forskning behövs. / Background: Endometriosis is a chronic gynaecological disease that affects many aspects of life. Although about 10 per cent of women of productive age in the world are affected, the disease is unknown to many. Aim: To describe women's experiences of living with endometriosis. Method: A descriptive literature review with qualitative approach was conducted. The material was analyzed with inductive content analysis. Result: During the analysis process three categories were identified; the disease affects all areas of life, woman's experiences of care and uncertain future. Health professionals and the public have perceived lack of knowledge about the disease and the women felt distrust to healthcare. Uncertainty regarding the future was also common among women. Conclusion: Endometriosis needs more attention in society, so the public learns to recognize the symptoms of the disease, to increase the chance for the affected woman to receive care faster. Knowledge of the disease and women's experiences of living with it needs to be improved among health personal so the woman will receive the best care possible. Limited research exists about the disease and further research is needed.

This thesis posed the question whether foreign arbitral awards are enforced in accordance with the demands of the New York Convention in the UAE and Bahrain and moreover whether the conditions for enforcement compel the conclusion that these two nations are enforcement-friendly in the same manner as leading arbitral nations such as the UK, France, Hong-Kong and NYC. On the basis of legislative and judicial practice in the UAE and Bahrain it was found that Bahrain and all UAE emirates, with the exception of Dubai, are enforcement friendly and more importantly place few constraints on the enforcement of foreign awards. Dubai is also enforcement-friendly but a small number of decisions, particularly Bechtel, leave significant latitude to foreign investors to consider Dubai courts, and particularly its court of Cassation, as dubious when it comes to enforcement. It was also found that Islamic law per se is not an obstacle in the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and very few constraints were found from the perspective of public policy and arbitrability in particular. In fact, the courts of Bahrain and the UAE have applied a rather liberal interpretation of Islamic law in order to accommodate arbitral practices that have been sustained in other jurisdictions and under the lex mercatoria with a view to assisting the commercial vision of the two nations. Hence, it was found that Islamic law is an enabling vehicle in the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in the UAE and Bahrain, rather than an obstacle.

AND KEY WORDS The thesis is focused on the motivation of nurses working in intensive care and presents theoretical and empirici part. The aim of the theoretical part is to define the concept of motivation from the perspective of psychology. Among other things, it includes motivation of employees to perform a quality work and last but not least, motivation and job satisfaction of nurses in health care. The work will also include examples of research on thist topic. Practical part inculdes quantitative research which is in form of questionnaire. This research is compared to other researches with focus on the motivational elements of nursing. In conclusion, the data are analyzed statisticaly and evaluated in the final discussion. Keywords: motivation, lack of motivation, management, job satisfaction, nurse.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Statistics / Weixing Song / The regression model has been given a considerable amount of attention and played a significant role in data analysis. The usual assumption in regression analysis is that the variances of the error terms are constant across the data. Occasionally, this assumption of homoscedasticity on the variance is violated; and the data generated from real world applications exhibit heteroscedasticity. The practical importance of detecting heteroscedasticity in regression analysis is widely recognized in many applications because efficient inference for the regression function requires unequal variance to be taken into account. The goal of this thesis is to propose new testing procedures to assess the adequacy of fitting parametric variance function in heteroscedastic regression models. The proposed tests are established in Chapter 2 using certain minimized L[subscript]2 distance between a nonparametric and a parametric variance function estimators. The asymptotic distribution of the test statistics corresponding to the minimum distance estimator under the fixed model and that of the corresponding minimum distance estimators are shown to be normal. These estimators turn out to be [sqrt]n consistent. The asymptotic power of the proposed test against some local nonparametric alternatives is also investigated. Numerical simulation studies are employed to evaluate the nite sample performance of the test in one dimensional and two dimensional cases. The minimum distance method in Chapter 2 requires the calculation of the integrals in the test statistics. These integrals usually do not have a tractable form. Therefore, some numerical integration methods are needed to approximate the integrations. Chapter 3 discusses a nonparametric empirical smoothing lack-of-fit test for the functional form of the variance in regression models that do not involve evaluation of integrals. empirical smoothing lack-of-fit test can be treated as a nontrivial modification of Zheng (1996)'s nonparametric smoothing test and Koul and Ni (2004)'s minimum distance test for the mean function in the classic regression models. The asymptotic normality of the proposed test under the null hypothesis is established. Consistency at some fixed alternatives and asymptotic power under some local alternatives are also discussed. Simulation studies are conducted to assess the nite sample performance of the test. The simulation studies show that the proposed empirical smoothing test is more powerful and computationally more efficient than the minimum distance test and Wang and Zhou (2006)'s test.

Cette thèse porte sur l'héritage reçu par les générations suivant l'arrivée des premiers migrants venus du Maghreb et plus largement du monde islamique. L'immigré est un exilé du ventre, des conditions de vie difficile l'ont conduit à aller chercher ailleurs, à s'exiler. Arrivé sur les côtes de l'occident son monde est remis en cause. Notamment par l'apparition de l'objet « a » bien souvent caché sous un voile sur les terres d'Islam. Le désir et les tentations engendrent un traumatisme du fait d'un bouleversement du discours de l'Autre en soi...La parole de l'Autre tombe comme une prédestination. Pour l'héritier de l'exil cette question s'accentue encore, comme le dira Lacan « L'inconscient c'est le désir de l'Autre », quelque chose se transmet au-delà du message…la déchirure de l'exil se transmet et l'exil physique vient recouvrir l'exil du langage. / This thesis deals with the legacy inherited from the generations after the arrival of the first migrants from the Maghreb and more broadly from the Islamic world. The immigrant is an exile of the womb, difficult living conditions led him to go and seek elsewhere, to go into exile. Once on the coasts of the Occident his world is called into question. Particularly with the emergence of the object « a » frequently hidden under a veil on the lands of Islam. Desire and temptations lead to a trauma due to the turmoil in the speech of the Other in oneself...The word of the Other befalls as a predestination. For the heir to the exile this question becomes more marked, as Lacan says « the unconscious is the desire of the Other », something is imparted beyond the message… the wrench of the exile is transmitted and the physical exile comes and covers the exile of the language.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a very common disorder that affects 8% to 10% of South African children. It is thus prevalent in the classroom, and with the advent of inclusive education in South Africa, educators have to facilitate and support the needs of learners with ADHD. Educators play an integral role and provide essential information with regards to the identification, diagnosis and referral of ADHD. It is the responsibility of the educator to create an environment where every learner has the opportunity to succeed. However, uncertainty exists as to whether South African educators have an appropriate and adequate understanding of the disorder. This study therefore aimed to examine the knowledge and perceptions of ADHD held by foundation phase educators in a township in Gauteng. A sample of 100 female educators was used in the study and a mixed methods approach using a questionnaire was administered to the educators. Their knowledge and perceptions in the three content areas of ADHD (Associated Features, Symptoms/Diagnosis and Treatment) was explored. Data analysis reflected that the educators in the sample had inadequate and insufficient knowledge and understandings of ADHD. Educators seemed to know the most about the symptoms of the condition, less about the associated features and the least about treatment approaches. The implications of these research findings are discussed, within the South African context.

O objetivo deste trabalho é identificar e analisar as concepções dos professores sobre os direitos humanos e a (in)disciplina no âmbito da escola, sem desconsiderar os determinantes socioeconômicos e políticos do contexto em que essa instituição está inserida, bem como seus significados e valores, que são historicamente construídos. Para isso, foram realizadas observações em sala de aula e entrevistas com cinco professoras do ensino fundamental da rede pública do Estado de São Paulo com vistas a verificar as dimensões que essas concepções adquirem, alguns de seus determinantes e em que medida interferem na prática cotidiana dessas profissionais. Nessa investigação, foram utilizadas técnicas qualitativas de análise, escolha esta que permitiu tratar os aspectos que nos propusemos a discutir de maneira representativa. Os resultados da pesquisa apontam para alguns fatores que interferem tanto de forma positiva, quanto eventualmente limitam a prática e o debate sobre a relação entre direitos humanos e (in)disciplina no espaço escolar, o que provoca muitas incertezas e inquietações nas professoras. O desafio é considerar articuladamente esses fatores, de forma a impedir que a disciplina ou sua ausência interfira negativamente no tratamento adequado a ser dado aos direitos humanos na escola. / The objective of this study is to analyse and identify concepts of teachers regarding human rights and (lack of)discipline within the academic framework without negleting the socioeconomic and political determinants on which the school is based as well as its historical principles and values. In order to achieve this, classroom observations and interviews with five elementary teachers of the São Paulo state public school system were conducted. The purpose was to verify the extent that these conceptions acquire, some of their determinations and to what degree they interfere in daily practice. Qualitative analytical techniques were utilized since this permits a more representative investigation of various aspects that were meant to be discussed. The result of this research point to some factors that both interfere positively and might limit the practice and the discussion about the link between human rights and (lack of)discipline in the school environment. The latter promotes many uncertainties and concerns on the part of the teachers. The challenge is to articulate all these factors, aming at avoiding that discipline and lack of it interfere negativily when dealing with the question of human rights in the school.

Nous retracerons le parcours de la topologie dans l’enseignement lacanien : de la topologie algébrique, nous traiterons des figures topologiques (tore, bande de Mœbius, bouteille de Klein, cross-cap) pour en arriver à la topologie nodale dont le paradigme est le nœud borroméen. Nous considérerons alors les conséquences théoriques qu’elle implique : de l’inconscient freudien ou l’inconscient symbolique nous passerons à l’inconscient réel et l’une-bévue, et du symptôme nous envisagerons le sinthome et sa logique. Nous affinerons ainsi le double rapport du sujet au signifiant et à la jouissance mettant en avant l’importance du corps pris comme vivant. Pour ce faire, nous étudierons plus précisément le rapport du sujet au trou, manque fondamental qui le constitue, à la fois extérieur et intérieur. Nous verrons comment, dans son creux et dans ses bords, le sujet y loge sa singularité, son « x ». Nous l’articulerons à la clinique afin de révéler l’apport qu’elle représente dans la pratique. / We will trace the course of topology in Lacan’s teaching: from algebraic topology, where we will deal with topological surfaces (torus, Moebius strip, Klein bottle, cross-cap) we will reach topology whose paradigm is the Borromean knot. We will then consider the theoretical consequences implied: from the Freudian unconscious or symbolic unconscious we will move to the real unconscious and the une-bévue, and from the symptom we will consider the sinthome and its logic. We will refine the dual relationship of the subject to signifier and Jouissance, and highlight the importance of the body as living. To do this, we will study more precisely the relationship of the subject to the hole, a fundamental lack that constitutes him, both exterior and interior. We will see how, in its hollow and its edges, the subject lodges its singularity, its "x". We will link it to clinic to reveal the contribution of topology in practice.