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One of the major challenges facing South African IT organisations today is the dramatic shortage of IT professionals. Both literature and business sentiment have indicated that employee turnover within the IT sector is on a continually rising trend. The ramifications of these high turnover rates translate into exorbitant direct and indirect costs to organisations. The purpose of this research was to identify the factors pertaining to the underlying structure of the turnover intention of these employees. A deeper understanding of these drivers may possibly enable management to reduce the turnover intention of employees within their organisations. A quantitative, multi-disciplinary research approach, focussing on the antecedents of turnover intention and the three systemic levels of organisational behaviour (micro, meso and macro) was used to operationalise the main research construct of this study. Data was collected by means of an anonymous self-administered web-based survey. A sample of 188 completed questionnaires was collected using a snowball sampling technique from the population of employees in the IT industry in South Africa. A statistical data reduction method, exploratory factor analysis, was conducted on the dataset to determine the underlying nature of the construct, IT employees’ perceived intention to resign from employment. After an appropriate number of factor analytic rounds, a robust 4-factor model of the data set was established. The results indicated that the factor, Personal Enrichment from Management Support, possibly plays the most significant role in understanding, monitoring, and managing IT employees’ perceived intention to resign from employment. The study provided support that monetary factors had the most significant influence in an employee’s decision to join an organisation; however, nonmonetary benefits, such as job satisfaction and skills development, were found to be more effective in retaining employees. The practical implications uncovered from this study will enable management to gain further insight into understanding the underlying factors and drivers of turnover intention and thereby minimise its impact on the organisation. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

The framework of this research is based on comparative analysis between nation¡Bregions and provinces in order to discuss differences of investment structure in the three levels and their economic development. Regionally, I divided China into three regions: eastern region, middle region, and western region. About the choice of provinces, I choose the provinces in eastern and western region, the two regions which have the greatest differences in economic development. I choose Guangdong and Fujian as the provinces in eastern region, and Sichuan¡BYunnan as the provinces in western region to discuss the provincial difference both in regions and between regions. I will analyze the amount of investment¡Beconomic types of investment and the origin of investment in the three levels to discuss their investment structural differences. Also I put in investment policy change of nation¡Bregions and provinces to discuss how different regions and provinces respond to these changes, the power rise and fall between central government and local government, and also the relation between politics and diversifications of investment.

As the engineering profession moves from prescriptive or “deemed-to-satisfy” approaches towards design methodologies based on quantification of performance, sophisticated modelling tools are increasingly needed, especially when complex combinations of demand and capacity are encountered. Recourse is invariably made to advanced computational tools to provide high fidelity solutions to large and complex problems, such as the response of structural systems or components to thermomechanical actions. Software packages based on the finite element method are most commonly used for such analyses. There are some essential prerequisites to effective use of advanced computational software for complex nonlinear problems, which are often ignored, particularly in professional practice. These include a thorough understanding of the underlying mechanics of the problem under consideration; a good appreciation of the approximation methods for modelling the problem properly (e.g. the choice between elements, continuum or structural, low or high order interpolation, degree of mesh refinement necessary and so on); and perhaps most importantly ensuring that the software is reliable and is able to reproduce established fundamental solutions to an acceptable degree of accuracy. This thesis attempts to address most of these issues but focusses primarily on the last mentioned prerequisite and provides a range of novel and unprecedented fundamental solutions for beams, plates, and shallow shells subject to moderate or extreme thermomechanical loads such as those resulting from a fire. Geometric and material nonlinearities are included in the proposed formulations along with the most common idealised boundary conditions. Thermally induced deformations generate large displacements and require the solutions to account for geometric nonlinearity, while material nonlinearity arises from the degradation of the material at elevated temperatures. In the context of structural performance under extreme thermal action (such as fire), a finite element procedure is employed to analytically characterise generic temperature distributions through the thickness of a structural component arising from different types of fire exposure conditions including: a “short hot” fire leading to a high compartment temperature over a relatively short duration; and a “long cool” fire with lower compartment temperatures, but over a longer duration. Results have shown that despite the larger area under the long cool fire time-temperature curve, which traditionally represented the fire severity, the effect of the short hot fire on the nonlinear responses of beams, plates, and shallow shells is more pronounced. Also, the effect of temperature-dependent material properties is found to be more pronounced during the short hot fire rather than the long cool fire. Comparison studies have confirmed that while the current numerical and theoretical approaches for analysing of thin plates and shells are often computationally intensive, the proposed approach offers an adequate level of accuracy with a rapid convergence rate for such structures. The solutions developed can be used to: verify software used for modelling structural response to thermomechanical actions; help students and professionals appreciate the fundamental mechanics better; provide relatively quick solutions for component level analyses; and visualise internal load paths and stress trajectories in complex structural components such as composite shells that can help engineers develop deeper insights into the relevant mechanics. The formulations developed are versatile and can be used for other applications such as laminated composite or orthotropic shallow shells. A very significant by-product of developing such fundamental solutions is their potential use in the development of highly accurate hybrid elements for very efficient modelling of large problems. While this has not been fully developed and implemented in the current work, the requisite theoretical framework has been developed and reported in one of the appendices, which can be used to develop such elements and implement on an appropriate software platform.

Coopetition literature has been given a lot of interest in recent years but research on coopetition on the individual level of analysis and its effects on employees are scarce.The aim of the thesis is to indicate how coopetitive situations in coopetitive environments affect individual employees and knowledge sharing between them. From our findings, we found that coopetitive situations affect individual level knowledge sharing in two stages. First, individuals' attitudes towards knowledge sharing are influenced by the actor's position as either cooperative or competitive dominant. Ultimately, regardless of the actor's position, the choice to share knowledge is affected by the type of knowledge, by individual factors and by organizational factors.

Dans le cadre de nos études doctorales, nous avons travaillé au sein d'une école d'ingénierie de renom qui a développé un partenariat avec l'entreprise Ecoway, en vue du développement de l'innovation de service Movin'out. Adressée aux particuliers (BtoC), aux entreprises, aux opérateurs et aux collectivités (BtoB), cette innovation se présente sous la forme d'une plateforme comunautaire d'écomobilité, visant à inciter les individus à adopter des modes de déplacement vertueux, et donc alternatifs à l'utilisation individuelle de la voiture. Malencontreusement, l'innovation de service responsable Movin'out n'a pas rencontrer le succès attendu pendant notre présence sur le terrain de recherche, et a été rejetée par les adopteurs potentiels sans générer l'effet communautaire.Malgré la richesse de la littérature sur la diffusion et l'adoption des innovations, celle-ci reste fragmentée. En effet, différentes approches ont vu le jour à la croisée de plusieurs disciplines. Ainsi, pour répondre à la question centrale de cette thèse et pour inscrire nos travaux dans le champ théorique du marketing de l'innovation, nous nous sommes premièrement concentrés sur l'approche linéaire développée par Rogers (2003) pour une analyse au niveau des individus, ainsi que sur les travaux sur les communautés virtuelles (Rheingold, 1993; Kozinets, 1999, 2002, 2010), pour une analyse au niveau collectif de l'innovation. Toutefois, ces approches, ne tenant pas compte de l'environnement social de l'individu et des interactions qu'il peut avoir avec l'objet (l'innovation) et les autres individus (les réseaux), nous les complétons avec les travaux en sociologie de l'innovation pour souligner l'importance des interactions dans les réseaux pour la construction réussie d'une innovation.Nous constatons que chaque approche théorique prise séparément en se focalisant sur un niveau d'analyse, que ce soit l'acteur individuel ou collectif, ne peut offrir une vision d'ensemble de la diffusion et de l'adoption des innovations. Aussi, notre objectif est de proposer une approche intégratrice à la croisée du marketing et de la sociologie de l'innovation afin d'analyser la construction échouée d'une innovation de service responsable en train de se faire, sur un marché en émergence, celui de l'écomobilité. L'approche intégratrice se situe ainsi à différents niveaux d'observation : l'individu, la communauté, le réseau. Le parti pris de cette thèse est d'articuler ces niveaux afin d'identifier et d'analyser les comportements de résistance aux innovations de services responsables. Notre contribution se situe dans la mobilisation de cette approche intégratrice pour étudier un sujet peu traité dans la littérature : l'échec d'une innovation. / As part of our doctoral studies, we worked in an engineering school that has developed a partnership with the company Ecoway , for the development of Movin'out service innovation. Addressed to individuals ( BtoC ) , enterprises , service providers and communities ( BtoB) , this innovation comes in the form of a Community eco-mobility platform , to encourage individuals to adopt virtuous modes of transport , and therefore alternative to individual car use . Unfortunately, Movin'out responsible for innovation does not meet the expected success for our presence in the search field and was rejected by potential adopters without generating the communautary effect.Despite the wealth of literature on the diffusion and adoption of innovations, it remains fragmented. Indeed, different approaches have emerged at the crossroads of several disciplines (economics, sociology, management, psychology, etc.) (Masson, Weil and Hatchuel, 2006). So, to answer the central question of this thesis and to register our work in the theoretical field of marketing innovation, we primarily focused on the linear approach developed by Rogers (2003) for an analysis at the individual level as well as work on virtual communities (Rheingold, 1993; Kozinets, 1999, 2002, 2010) for a discussion at the collective level of innovation. However, these approaches, disregarding the social environment of the individual and the interactions it may have with the object (innovation) and other individuals (networks), we complete the work sociology of innovation to emphasize the importance of interaction in networks for the successful construction of innovation.We find that every theoretical approach taken separately by focusing on a level of analysis, whether individual or collective actor, can provide an overall view of the diffusion and adoption of innovations. Also, our goal is to provide an integrative approach at the crossroads of marketing and sociology of innovation to analyze the failed construction of a responsible service innovation in the making, on an emerging market, the ecomobility. The integrative approach is thus situated at different levels of observation: the individual, the community, the network. The bias of this thesis is to articulate these in order to identify and analyze the behavior of resistance to innovations. Our contribution lies in the mobilization of this inclusive approach to study a little treated in the literature about: the failure of an innovation.

Since the mode of level-of-analysis has to be treated as an empirical tool for IR theories to make a claim to become a social science in its own right, this study attempts to explore the political process of a mutual construction of the international system and the nation states within the model in three parts. Firstly, this study examines how the international system and the national states be settled upon as pregiven scientific entities on the basis of objective spatiality of territory and borders. Secondly, this study shows that in order to merge all states¡¦ diversities and differences into the sameness and likeness, the mutual construction is linked to the plausible assumptions about the structural world of universal rationality among all states, and the unfolding history of linear and progressive evolution. Finally, this study takes the September 11 and the war on terrorism as an example to illustrate the mutual construction and its consequences.

In this study, the relationship between the tourism policies and economic development in China was analyzed from the three levels: nation, region and province. The analysis included the evolution of tourism policies, the survey of tourism market, the strength of tourism resources and the unique features of tourism development. At national level, the changes before and after the three period were studied, including the founding of PRC in 1949, open-door economic reform policy in 1978, and entering WTO in 2001. Concerning the regional level, the eastern and western were analyzed. In the aspects of province, only those showing distinguished developmenmt were chosen for analysis, including Jiangsu in the eastern coastal region, and Yunnan in the western inland region. From the viewpoint of national policies and market mechanism, the direction concerning the development of regional tourism policies was discussed. Based on the theory of regional economic development, the differences in tourism development were investigated. In terms of the theory of industrial competition advantage, the advantage of tourism resources was examined. Finally, the correlation between tourism and economic development was analyzed. The unique features of tourism in China from the three levels were also explored, respectively.

Taiwan's complex informal diplomatic practices and the forces behind them have brought both successes and failures in Taiwan's relations with former Yugoslavia and its successor states. In order to better comprehend and adequately explain the foreign policy outputs, the study has systematically examined external and internal influences that have shaped Taipei's foreign policy by employing four basic levels of analysis ¡V the system, the state, the societal and the individual level. The study has argued that while both, internal and external factors have shaped Taiwan's relations, the China factor in particular has posed the major source of external systemic influence that has affected Taiwan's diplomatic endeavors in the post-Yugoslav region. To circumvent the China-imposed international isolation and the system that refuses to recognize its legitimacy, Taiwan has utilized informal diplomacy to advance its national interests. Although systemic level may best explain Taiwan's diplomatic behavior, governmental, societal and individual levels also present relevant dimensions of explanation. Taiwan's diplomatic offensive and the pattern of its approaches towards the former Yugoslav region in general, have caught public attention upon Taiwan's diplomatic breakthrough with Macedonia in January 1999. The study has revealed that among the multi-track diplomatic strategies it employed in its foreign policy, Taipei mainly resorted to economic diplomacy, primarily in the form of trade as well as in the form of economic aid in order to establish closer ¡V preferably diplomatic or, at least, semi-official ¡¥substantive¡¦ ¡V relations with the post-Yugoslav nations. Despite its short triumph with Macedonia, Taiwanese diplomacy failed to accomplish its objectives in post-Yugoslav states. Nevertheless, saying that does not imply that it has been unsuccessful.

Avec l'essor des nouvelles technologies d'intégration sur silicium submicroniques, la consommation de puissance dans les systèmes sur puce multiprocesseur (MPSoC) est devenue un facteur primordial au niveau du flot de conception. La prise en considération de ce facteur clé dès les premières phases de conception, joue un rôle primordial puisqu'elle permet d'augmenter la fiabilité des composants et de réduire le temps d'arrivée sur le marché du produit final. / Shifting the design entry point up to the system-level is the most important countermeasure adopted to manage the increasing complexity of Multiprocessor System on Chip (MPSoC). The reason is that decisions taken at this level, early in the design cycle, have the greatest impact on the final design in terms of power and energy efficiency. However, taking decisions at this level is very difficult, since the design space is extremely wide and it has so far been mostly a manual activity. Efficient system-level power estimation tools are therefore necessary to enable proper Design Space Exploration (DSE) based on power/energy and timing.