Historically, the traditional planning process has not given much attention to the road safety evaluation of development plans. To make an informed, defensible, and proactive choice between alternative plans and their safety implications, it is necessary to have a procedure for estimating and evaluating safety performance. A procedure is required for examining the influence of the urban network development on road safety, and in particular, determining the effects of the many variables that affect safety in urban planning. Safety planning models can provide a decision-support tool that facilitates the assessment of the safety implications of alternative network plans. The first objective of this research study is to develop safety planning models that are consistent with the regional models commonly used for urban transportation planning. Geographically weighted Poisson regression (GWPR), full-Bayesian semiparametric additive (FBSA), and traditional generalized linear modelling (GLM) techniques are used to develop the models. The study evaluates how well each model is able to handle spatial variations in the relationship between collision explanatory variables and the number of collisions in a zone. The evaluation uses measures of goodness of fit (GOF) and finds that the GWPR and FBSA models perform much better than the conventional GLM approach. There is little difference between the GOF values for the FBSA and GWPR models. The second objective of this research study is to examine the temporal transferability of the safety planning models and alternative updating methods. The updating procedures examine the Bayesian approach and application of calibration factors. The results show that the models are not temporally transferable in a strict statistical sense. However, relative measures of transferability indicate that the transferred models yield useful information in the application context. The results also show that the updated safety planning models using the Bayesian approach predict the number of collisions better than the calibration factor procedure.

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

Recent research has shown that incorporating roadway safety in transportation planning has been considered one of the active approaches to improve safety. Aggregate level analysis for predicting crash frequencies had been contemplated to be an important step in this process. As seen from the previous studies various categories of predictors at macro level (census blocks, traffic analysis zones, census tracts, wards, counties and states) have been exhausted to find appropriate correlation with crashes. This study contributes to this ongoing macro level road safety research by investigating various trip productions and attractions along with roadway characteristics within traffic analysis zones (TAZs) of four counties in the state of Florida. Crashes occurring in one thousand three hundred and forty-nine TAZs in Hillsborough, Citrus, Pasco, and Hernando counties during the years 2005 and 2006 were examined in this study. Selected counties were representative from both urban and rural environments. To understand the prevalence of various trip attraction and production rates per TAZ the Euclidian distances between the centroid of a TAZ containing a particular crash and the centroid of the ZIP area containing the at fault driver's home address for that particular crash was calculated. It was found that almost all crashes in Hernando and Citrus County for the years 2005-2006 took place in about 27 miles radius centering at the at-fault drivers' home. Also about sixty-two percent of crashes occurred approximately at a distance of between 2 and 10 miles from the homes of drivers who were at fault in those crashes. These results gave an indication that home based trips may be more associated with crashes and later trip related model estimates which were found significant at 95% confidence level complied with this hypothesized idea. Previous aggregate level road safety studies widely addressed negative binomial distribution of crashes. Properties like non-negative integer counts, non-normal distribution, over-dispersion in the data have increased suitability of applying the negative binomial technique and has been selected to build crash prediction models in this research. Four response variables which were aggregated at TAZ-level were total number of crashes, severe (fatal and severe injury) crashes, total crashes during peak hours, and pedestrian and bicycle related crashes. For each response separate models were estimated using four different sets of predictors which are i) various trip variables, ii) total trip production and total trip attraction, iii) road characteristics, and iv) finally considering all predictors into the model. It was found that the total crash model and peak hour crash model were best estimated by the total trip productions and total trip attractions. On the basis of log-likelihoods, deviance value/degree of freedom, and Pearson Chi-square value/degree of freedom, the severe crash model was best fit by the trip related variables only and pedestrian and bicycle related crash model was best fit by the road related variables only. The significant trip related variables in the severe crash models were home-based work attractions, home-based shop attractions, light truck productions, heavy truck productions, and external-internal attractions. Only two variables- sum of roadway segment lengths with 35 mph speed limit and number of intersections per TAZ were found significant for pedestrian and bicycle related crash model developed using road characteristics only. The 1349 TAZs were grouped into three different clusters based on the quartile distribution of the trip generations and were termed as less-tripped, moderately-tripped, and highly-tripped TAZs. It was hypothesized that separate models developed for these clusters would provide a better fit as the clustering process increases the homogeneity within a cluster. The cluster models were re-run using the significant predictors attained from the joint models and were compared with the previous sets of models. However, the differences in the model fits (in terms of Alkaike's Information Criterion values) were not significant. This study points to different approaches when predicting crashes at the zonal level. This research is thought to add to the literature on macro level crash modeling research by considering various trip related data into account as previous studies in zone level safety have not explicitly considered trip data as explanatory covariates.

In the era of globalization and rapid change, talent management (TM) is becoming an increasingly important topic, since it sets direction for companies and the whole economies in general towards success and development. Exploring the phenomenon on the organizational or meso level, talent management techniques are implemented by organizations to attract, develop, engage, keep and deploy employees who are believed to be particularly valuable to them. By utilizing talents in a proper way, companies can increase their efficiency, add value to their brand credibility, and contribute to diversity of their corporate culture. For these reasons, top managers and HR professionals widely consider talent management to be one of their key priorities and invest largely in it. Companies that refuse to employ talent management techniques risk losing their competitive advantage, their market share and consequently their profitability. More than that, such companies remain unattractive to talented experts and cannot boast prominent financial results. This thesis gives a lot of insight into the current state of affairs concerning talent management in Russia and looks into possible problems that can arise in regard to the process of its implementation in Russian context. We found the issue of talent management in Russia to be under-researched at the moment, thus, we decided to make a contribution to the study of the concept. We carried out our research through a multi-level perspective because we are positive that there is a strong interplay between different contexts regarding talent management implementation in Russia. The obtained empirical findings have provided us with the knowledge that there is a number of obstacles hindering development of TM in Russia. More than that, we found that the approach to TM fully depends on the origin of a company.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / Inter-domain routing connects individual pieces of Internet topology, creating an integral, global data delivery infrastructure. Currently, this critical function is performed by the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) version 4 [RFC1771]. Like all routing protocols, BGP is vulnerable to instabilities that reduce its effectiveness. Among the causes of these instabilities are those which are maliciously induced. Although there are other causes, e.g., natural events and network anomalies, this thesis will focus exclusively on maliciously induced instabilities. Most current models that attempt to predict a BGP routing instability confine their focus to either macro- or micro-level metrics, but not to both. The inherent limitations of each of these forms of metric gives rise to an excessive rate of spurious alerts, both false positives and false negatives. It is the original intent of this thesis to develop an improved BGP instability prediction model by statistically combining BGP instability metrics with user level performance metrics. The motivation for such a model is twofold. 1) To provide sufficient prior warning of impending failure to facilitate proactive protection measures. 2) To improve warning reliability beyond existing models, by demonstrably reducing both false positives and false negatives. However, our analysis of actual network trace data shows that a widely used BGP instability metric, the total number of update messages received in a time period, is not a good indicator of future user level performance. / Civilian, Department of Defense

The aim of the thesis is to examine contemporary constructions of mixed race in the United States and Britain through the examination of two types of racial projects: the national census and voluntary and community organisations focused on mixed race. Using a combination of critical discourse analysis and qualitative interviews, the research analyses the ways in which mixed race is being described, conceptualised, and constructed through macro- and meso-level racial projects in each nation, in order to compare the racial formation processes that are occurring in the early twenty-first century's "mixed race moment". The thesis builds upon racial formation theory, which argues that the concept of "race" is never fully fixed, but rather is made through socio-historical processes that create, inhabit, transform, and destroy racialised notions over time and context (Omi and Winant 1986, 1994, 2015). The theory examines the struggles over racialised meanings that occur between macro-level and micro-level racial projects. This thesis aims to fill the gap left by this focus through examining racial projects that occupy the socio-political "middle ground" between macro- and micro-level projects: the "meso-level."The research examines the ways in which the state constructs mixed race in the United States and Britain. Each nation's census allowed for mixed race self identification in 2000 and 2001, respectively. The thesis examines the social, historical, and political processes that led to mixed race options at that particular time. It argues that the ways in which the census organisations report upon mixed race functions as a discursive practice that provides an official construction of mixed race through simultaneously reflecting and shaping racialised descriptions and narratives within each nation. The thesis examines the usefulness of "meso-level" projects by exploring the role of mixed race organisations in racial formation processes through the examination of six meso-level mechanisms of racialisation: social identity, social capital, collective action, idioculture, extended networks, and civil society (Fine 2012). Incorporating Michel Foucault's notion of "governmentality" (Gordon 1991), the thesis highlights the ways that mixed race organisations have interacted directly and indirectly with macro-level bodies during and after the addition of the mixed race census options as well as other routes of interaction specific to each national context. The thesis argues that the racialisation that occurs at the macro-level holds a "default" role with which mixed race organisations then engage. This highlights the relative roles of power the institutions have in each national context and the ways they are managed through relations fostered through governmentality. The thesis also examines the discourses used by mixed race organisations in the US and Britain as meso-level racial projects and poses the argument that the varied usage of multiple racialised paradigms leads to an increased relative fluidity in the constructions of mixed race than their respective macro-level projects. The systematic cross-national comparison of the ways mixed race is constructed in the US and Britain highlights the ways in which both macro-level and meso-level organisations articulate and promote racialised ideology through their relative levels of power in society. By analysing and comparing these racial projects and their interactions, the paradigms and discourses used reveal the particularities and overlaps by these organisations as they contest, negotiate, and accept formations of mixed race.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka väntetiden som lärarna ger eleverna samt ifall det är mer öppna eller slutna frågor som förekommer under genomgångar i svenskundervisningen. Teorin som ligger till grund för studien är den sociokulturella och begreppet stöttning kategoriseras i instrumentell stöttning och emotionell stöttning. Stöttningen grupperas på tre olika nivåer, makro-,meso- och mikronivå. Nivåerna beror på hur planerad väntetiden är. Metoden som valdes för att samla in materialet var observationer av genomgångar i svenskundervisningen och sedan intervjuer med de observerade lärarna. Det är fem lärare som har deltagit i studien och samtliga är behöriga och undervisar i svenska på lågstadiet. Det insamlade materialet har bearbetats och analyserats utifrån en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Studiens frågeställningar har varit de kategorierna som analyserats och sedan har mönster och nyckelord utifrån stöttning och nivåerna sammanställts. Resultatet visar att det var varierande användning av öppna och slutna frågor. Det visar sig att av 25 frågor har åtta frågor väntetid över den rekommenderade tiden på tre sekunder. I intervjuerna framkommer det att alla lärare är medvetna om väntetid och hur långväntetiden minimalt bör vara. Lärarna berättade att genom ett accepterande klassrum med hänsyn för varandra skapas förutsättningar för att ge väntetid. Det finns enligt lärarna fördelar men även nackdelar gällande väntetid som framförs i studien.

The study aims to examine (1) the extent to which EFL learners in upper secondary school use feedback comments from teachers and peers to revise their texts and how the usage patterns vary by type of feedback approach, (2) how the students use feedback to revise their texts and how the usage patterns vary by type of feedback approach, and (3) What positive or negative effects the type of feedback approach has on students’ revisions. Moreover, the study aims to investigate the extent the type of feedback approach affects students’ usage patterns in their revisions. The findings will provide a basis for discussions about the possible qualities of written feedback that could be included to help students improve their writing skills. Content analysis of 28 argumentative essays written by first-year upper secondary students in Sweden is used to identify the type of feedback provided by teachers and peers and the type of revisions made by the students. Using the identified types of feedback and revisions, a text analysis was adopted to examine the frequency of feedback and revisions, and how students used it to revise their text. Furthermore, the results are presented and compared to different relevant studies (e.g., Baker, 2016; Lee; 2008) and theories such as Krashen's (1985) input hypothesis and Swain's (2005) output hypothesis, to draw some insights into the effects of feedback on students' revisions. The results show that students utilized corrective feedback on the micro level more than the macro level – especially indirect corrective feedback on the micro level. The students used most of the feedback to revise their errors on the micro level such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation; however, a few revisions were made on the macro level where students improved their text by restructuring their arguments and ideas. Finally, the findings indicate that formative feedback had a positive effect on students' revisions both on the macro and micro level where students improved the coherence and cohesion of their texts in the final draft. Therefore, if formative feedback is applied in the appropriate context, it may help students develop their writing abilities.

Resting against a background of local and international movements in respect of human rights, South African educators have had to implement a new curriculum, accept diversity and address inclusive education with little or no training, insight and knowledge. Challenges at all levels in education, impact on the successful education of children and the future of young adults who must as equal members of society enter a fast changing global economy. Challenges for educators in South Africa are unique. The lack of knowledge and training for educators and an inadequate infrastructure of the country present as some of the challenges for educators. This qualitative study deals with the subjective experiences of educators in primary schools. The research indicates that when these challenges are addressed educators will be both, better supported and disposed, towards the implementation of inclusive education idealised as the panacea for social transformation in South Africa. / Educational Studies / M. Ed.

Resting against a background of local and international movements in respect of human rights, South African educators have had to implement a new curriculum, accept diversity and address inclusive education with little or no training, insight and knowledge. Challenges at all levels in education, impact on the successful education of children and the future of young adults who must as equal members of society enter a fast changing global economy. Challenges for educators in South Africa are unique. The lack of knowledge and training for educators and an inadequate infrastructure of the country present as some of the challenges for educators. This qualitative study deals with the subjective experiences of educators in primary schools. The research indicates that when these challenges are addressed educators will be both, better supported and disposed, towards the implementation of inclusive education idealised as the panacea for social transformation in South Africa. / Educational Studies / M. Ed.