In an effort to achieve lighter and more economical space structures, a new patented steel composite member has been suggested and used in the construction of some steel roof structures. This special element has a sandwich construction composed of some strips of steel plates placed longitudinally along a helical wire core. The function of the helical core is to transfer the shear between the flange plates and increase the sectional inertia of the resulting composite member by keeping the flange plates at a desired distance from each other. Because of the lack of research, design engineers usually treat such elements as a solid member as if it has a full shear transfer between the flanges. However, a detailed analysis shows that this is not a valid assumption and leads to very unsafe results. In this context, the purpose of this study is to investigate the behavior of such members under axial compression and determine their effective sectional flexural rigidity by taking into account the shear deformations. This study applies an analytical investigation to a specific form of such elements with four flange plates placed symmetrically around a helical wire core. Five independent parameters of such a member are selected for this purpose. These are the spiral core and core wire diameters, the pitch of the spiral core, and the flange plate dimensions. Elements with varying combinations of the selected parameters are first analyzed in detail by finite element method, and some design charts are generated for the determination of the effective sectional properties to be used in the structural analysis and the buckling loads. For this purpose, an alternative closed-form approximate analytical solution is also suggested.

The single non-transferable vote (SNTV) system was mainly used for Taiwan¡¦s electoral system after several reforms. However, most democratic countries already don¡¦t adopt any more the SNTV system which is not appropriate. In order to combat the abuses in electoral system and implement democracy, the single-member district and two-vote system is definitely needed. By using this system, the voters can elect the capable People¡¦s Representatives and the parliamentary quality and efficiency will be enhanced. Taiwan started to use this single-member district and two-vote system from the 7th Legislative Yuan Election. In this study, we¡¦ll observe how the legislative seats of the Kuomintang (KMT) Party have been changed in Ping-tung County. The electoral reform usually affects the results. Therefore, the KMT Party desired to extend their territory by this reform and used different strategies for the three political districts respectively: non-nomination, negotiation and recruitment. In Ping-tung County, the KMT Party¡¦s territory has been always inferior to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)¡¦s. In the past, the KMT Party was just one third of the seats of the DPP in the Legislative Yuan Election. Consequently, the KMT Party expected to break through the awkward situation after the 7th Legislative Yuan Election. Nevertheless, the KMT didn¡¦t succeed. Thus it is evident that if the KMT Party longs for victory, they will not only rely on the reform of electoral system, but also need to improve themselves in many perspectives.

Purpose - The aim of the paper is to understand how management is affected by having the customer as a member of the global virtual team within agile work methods. Research Method - This research is based on a qualitative methodological choice, and an embedded single case study conducted through a cross-sectional time horizon. The research is based on primary and secondary data. The primary data has been collected from management, employees, and customer, through semi- and in depth interviews, and observations in Sri Lanka. Secondary data is conceptualized from literature in the Global Virtual Team research field. Results - A customer is seen as a colleague and a critical team member, where the developers and management work closely with the customer. However, the customer is not fully seen as a traditional colleague. The customer’s influence outweighs the influence of the supplier, resulting in a dynamic shift of influence towards the customer. Not allowing the dynamic shift, i.e. not increasing attention towards the customer significantly, could result in a loss of business. Furthermore, the background of the customer affects the manager’s role as a Bridge Maker. How efficient the collaboration turns out within the team is dependent on the customer background, and how well the management allocates time and efforts accordingly. Research limitations - Due to time and resource limits, and the depth scope of the study, only one case firm and one customer laid the basis of this paper. Further investigation of how management is affected by having the customer as a member of the global virtual team could be the direction of future studies. Practical implications - The findings allow management to allocate their time and resources more effectively cross projects and increase the understanding of how the firm is affected by having the customer as a member of the team in the global virtual team setting. As a result, it will potentially increase the overall success of the company. Originality/value - This study supplies the contribution to existing management literature as it includes an external stakeholder, the customer, in the global virtual team, which is a growing phenomenon that has not been captured by current literature. Keywords - Global teams, Virtual teams, Multicultural teams, Customer as a team member, Bridge Maker, Team leadership, Biculturalism, Agile work process Paper type – Master thesis

This thesis examines the local waterscapes of two smallholder irrigation farming systems in the dry lands of East African in a context of socio-ecological changes. It focuses on three aspects: institutional arrangements, gender relations and landscape investments.  This thesis is based on a reflexive analysis of cross-cultural, cross-language research, particularly focusing on the role of field assistants and interpreters, and on member checking as a method to ensure validity. Flexible irrigation infrastructure in Sibou, Kenya, and Engaruka, Tanzania, allow farmers to shift the course of water and to extend or reduce the area cultivated depending on seasonal rainfall patterns. Water conflicts are avoided through a decentralized common property management system. Water rights are continuously renegotiated depending on water supply. Water is seen as a common good the management of which is guided by mutual understanding to prevent conflicts through participation and shared information about water rights. However, participation in water management is a privilege that is endowed mostly to men. Strict patriarchal norms regulate control over water and practically exclude women from irrigation management. The control over water usage for productive means is a manifestation of masculinity. The same gender bias has emerged in recent decades as men have increased their engagement in agriculture by cultivating crops for sale. Women, because of their subordinated position, cannot take advantage of the recent livelihood diversification. Rather, the cultivation of horticultural products for sale has increased the workload for women who already farm most food crops for family consumption. In addition, they now have to weed and harvest the commercial crops that their husbands sell for profit. This agricultural gender divide is mirrored in men´s and women´s response to increased climate variability. Women intercrop as a risk adverting strategy, while men sow more rounds of crops for sale when the rain allows for it. Additionally, while discursively underestimated by men, women´s assistance is materially fundamental to maintaining of the irrigation infrastructure and to ensuring the soil fertility that makes the cultivation of crops for sale possible. In sum, this thesis highlights the adaptation potentials of contemporary smallholder irrigation systems through local common property regimes that, while not inclusive towards women, avoid conflicts generated by shifting water supply and increased climate variability. To be able to assess the success and viability of irrigation systems, research must be carried out at a local level. By studying how local water management works, how conflicts are adverted through common property regimes and how these systems adapt to socio-ecological changes, this thesis provides insights that are important both for the planning of current irrigation schemes and the rehabilitation or the extension of older systems. By investigating the factors behind the consistent marginalization of women from water management and their subordinated role in agricultural production, this study also cautions against the reproduction of these discriminatory norms in the planning of irrigation projects. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript.</p><p> </p>

Prigimtinėje būklėje žmogus perdavė savo teises Tautos atstovams, kurie geriausiai galėjo atstovauti jo nteresus, taip buvo įkurta įstatymų leidžiamoji valdžia. Visuomenės resursų valdymui bei sprendimų vykdymui buvo įkurta vykdomoji valdžia. Taigi, turėdamos skirtingą paskirtį visuomenės gyvenime, įstatymų leidžiamoji ir vykdomoji valdžios veikė išimtinai tik savo srityje, tokiu būdu galėdamos nešališkai, todėl geriausiai atstovauti Tautą bei dirbti jos labui. Tokia pagrindinė istorinio valdžių padalijimo principo prigimties idėja, kurią, įvairiai modifikuotą ar gryną, kaip demokratijos garantą, perėmė dauguma tiek labiausiai išsivysčiusių Vakarų Europos, tiek kitų žemynų valstybės. Pagal valdžių padalijimo principo pradininkų veikaluose išdėstytą doktriną, demokratinio valdymo šalyje turi būti trijų valdžių sąranga – įstatymų leidžiamoji, įstatymų vykdomoji bei teisminė. Minėta, kiekviena valdžios šaka turi tik jai priskirtus įgaliojimus ir jokiu būdu negali jų nei deleguoti, nei perimti iš kitos valdžios šakos, juo labiau negali būti valdžių susiliejimo. Tačiau valdžių atskyrimas nereiškia valdžių savitikslio savarankiškumo, - tai reiškia, kad valdžios bendradarbiauja ir įgyvendina tokį valdžių pusiausvyros lygį, kurio dėka nė viena valdžia neturėtų pranašumo prieš kitą. Tuo pačiu pagal šį principą turi būti nuolat atliekama parlamentinė kontrolė Vyriausybės atžvilgiu. Tik tokiu būdu bus tinkamai garantuotos Tautos teisės bei laisvės. Todėl, remiantis savo bei užsienio... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Every human being living in the State of Nature had equal opportunities. Because of the growth of human race, this state altered and the interests of each individual person began to intersect, especially when talking about property. As a result, the rights and freedoms of each individual person were taken under threat. Therefore people began to organize themselves into societies in order to solve collective issues of society all together. When they had elected the most competent representatives, able to represent the interests of all Nation the best they could, people living in the State of Nature voluntarily waived their rights for handling particular issues in collective manner. The first aim of the representatives was the welfare of people. Thus the fundamental institute of the highest government was born. However, decisions taken in the name of all the people would have no power if they could not be enforced and would not reflect interests of the Nation. Seeking to implement supervision, the executive power was established which took care of the general welfare and the realization of all decisions. Thus, having a different purpose in society, legislature and executive authorities acted solely for their own sphere. Therefore, legislature and executive authorities could represent and work for the people as fair as possible. This is the basic idea of the historical division of powers which, variously modified or pure, as the security of democracy, was adopted by the majority... [to full text]

Title: Lobbying in the Swedish parliament - a qualitative study about experiences and attitudes of lobbying among the members of the Swedish parliament, from a communication perspective. Author: Bodil Hassel and Kristofer Persson Tutor: Emma Svensson Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to study lobbying towards members of the Swedish parliament. We aim to study their point of view: what experiences and attitudes they have towards the phenomenon. Key questions to be answered are: What experiences and attitudes do the members of the Swedish parliamentary Committee on Environment and Agriculture have towards lobbying? What skills does a successful lobbyist possess, according to the members of the committee? How do the organizations Skogsindustrierna and Naturskyddsföreningen lobby? Method/Material: The material used in this study consists of interviews with nine respondents of the Committee on Environment and Agriculture in the Swedish parliament. Additionally, two informant interviews with the organizations Skogsindustrierna and Naturskyddsföreningen were made. The questions for the interviews were based on a theoretical framework based on policies of lobbying. Main results: The main results demonstrate that all members of the Committee on Environment and Agriculture have a positive attitude towards lobbying. The results further show that a professional lobbyist of choice by the members of parliament is a three-stage rocket consisting of 1) proper preparation, 2) the right way to make contact, and 3) maintenance of the relation. Number of pages: 62 Course: Media and Communication studies C University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University Period: Fall 2013

Some families in the Free State Province, specifically in Thabo-Mofutsanyana district, are families living with mentally ill family members. The families accompany the mentally ill family members to designated clinics which offer primary, secondary and tertiary mental health services, and all these levels of care provide care, treatment and rehabilitation of mentally ill persons (SA, 2002:2). Despite the care that these families give to their mentally ill family members, it seemed that they find it difficult to cope living with a mentally ill family member. This is supported by Zergaw, Hailemariam, Alem and Kebed (2008:191) who indicate the economic impact, disruption of daily life, work and family relationships experienced by families living with a mentally ill family member. This was also evident in a study by Du Plessis, Greeff and Koen (2004:4), that, because of a lack of a formal support system for families living with mentally ill family members, and lack of necessary skills to take on the responsibility of caring for mentally ill relatives, mentally ill family members relapse and are readmitted in the mental health care institutions. Adding to this, in most of the families living with mentally ill family members in the Thabo-Mofutsanyana district, it is not known how they cope and are supported. Once there is a clear understanding of how families experience living with mentally ill family members, health care practitioners can give better support to families living with mentally ill family members. The research objective of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of families living with a mentally ill family member in the Thabo-Mofutsanyana district, to explore and describe the strengths of families living with a mentally ill family member, and to formulate guidelines to support families living with mentally ill family members. A qualitative, phenomenological design was used which enabled the researcher to understand the way in which the families experience living with a mentally ill family member. The population studied in this research consisted of families living with mentally ill family members in the Thabo-Mofutsanyana district in South Africa. The purposive sampling was used to select participants with the assistance of a mediator. Permission to conduct research was negotiated with the district manager. Voluntary and informed consent in writing was obtained from all the participants. The sample size was determined by data saturation, which was reached after 14 interviews. Data analysis was carried out simultaneously with data collection. In consensus discussions, the researcher and the co-coder reached consensus on the main and sub themes. From the research findings, five main themes were identified. The first two themes are the positive and negative experiences of living with a mentally ill family member. The third theme is the concerns of family in staying with a mentally ill family member. The fourth theme is the strengths in coping with a mentally ill family member. The last theme is ways in which family members as families wanted to be supported. It could be concluded that the experience of families living with mentally ill family members in Thabo-Mofutsanyana district need to be supported. In order to address this support holistically and to enhance quality of life and to lessen the burden the families experience in living with a mentally ill family member, the support should firstly be addressed individually and then as a family. Following that, the collective support can be addressed by a support network system through involvement of the department of health, clinics, rehabilitation centres, community, mental health care workers, giving of medication and establishment support of groups of families living with mental health care users. From these findings the researcher proposed guidelines to support families living with mentally ill family members, and to increase knowledge in these families on how to handle a mentally ill family member. The researcher also compiled recommendations for nursing practice, nursing education and nursing research in families living with mental health care users. / Thesis (MCur)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Family businesses are rapidly becoming the dominant form of business enterprise in both developing and developed economies. Family businesses are also being recognised as a potential driver of economic growth and wealth creation in the world. Family businesses in particular, have been making a positive contribution towards the South African economy for the last 300 years. Approximately 80% of businesses in South Africa could be classified as family businesses and they comprise 60% of the companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Family business wellness, which often forms the underlying causes for a lack of family harmony, is, however, a neglected area of research. The primary objective of this study is to explore selected determinants of family business wellness in small and medium-sized family-owned businesses in South Africa and to make recommendations to ensure effective management of these determinants in the family business. Topics such as the characteristics of the job, work stress and burnout, job engagement, family member commitment, the perceived success of the family business, among others, was investigated. In order to achieve the primary objective of this study, a survey was undertaken using a structured questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by calculating the Cronbach alpha coefficient, which indicated that the questionnaire used in this study conformed to the criteria of acceptable reliability and can be regarded as internally consistent. The survey yielded 45 usable questionnaires from 17 family businesses restricted to Gauteng and the North-West provinces in South Africa. Because this study was exploratory in nature, descriptive statistics was then used to analyse the statements that captured the information to measure the selected determinants of family wellness. The correlations between the variables were assessed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients and the relationships between the variables assessing family wellness were used for the discussion and conclusion points. Practical recommendations are suggested to improve family business wellness and, subsequently, increase the sustainability of such business. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Some families in the Free State Province, specifically in Thabo-Mofutsanyana district, are families living with mentally ill family members. The families accompany the mentally ill family members to designated clinics which offer primary, secondary and tertiary mental health services, and all these levels of care provide care, treatment and rehabilitation of mentally ill persons (SA, 2002:2). Despite the care that these families give to their mentally ill family members, it seemed that they find it difficult to cope living with a mentally ill family member. This is supported by Zergaw, Hailemariam, Alem and Kebed (2008:191) who indicate the economic impact, disruption of daily life, work and family relationships experienced by families living with a mentally ill family member. This was also evident in a study by Du Plessis, Greeff and Koen (2004:4), that, because of a lack of a formal support system for families living with mentally ill family members, and lack of necessary skills to take on the responsibility of caring for mentally ill relatives, mentally ill family members relapse and are readmitted in the mental health care institutions. Adding to this, in most of the families living with mentally ill family members in the Thabo-Mofutsanyana district, it is not known how they cope and are supported. Once there is a clear understanding of how families experience living with mentally ill family members, health care practitioners can give better support to families living with mentally ill family members. The research objective of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of families living with a mentally ill family member in the Thabo-Mofutsanyana district, to explore and describe the strengths of families living with a mentally ill family member, and to formulate guidelines to support families living with mentally ill family members. A qualitative, phenomenological design was used which enabled the researcher to understand the way in which the families experience living with a mentally ill family member. The population studied in this research consisted of families living with mentally ill family members in the Thabo-Mofutsanyana district in South Africa. The purposive sampling was used to select participants with the assistance of a mediator. Permission to conduct research was negotiated with the district manager. Voluntary and informed consent in writing was obtained from all the participants. The sample size was determined by data saturation, which was reached after 14 interviews. Data analysis was carried out simultaneously with data collection. In consensus discussions, the researcher and the co-coder reached consensus on the main and sub themes. From the research findings, five main themes were identified. The first two themes are the positive and negative experiences of living with a mentally ill family member. The third theme is the concerns of family in staying with a mentally ill family member. The fourth theme is the strengths in coping with a mentally ill family member. The last theme is ways in which family members as families wanted to be supported. It could be concluded that the experience of families living with mentally ill family members in Thabo-Mofutsanyana district need to be supported. In order to address this support holistically and to enhance quality of life and to lessen the burden the families experience in living with a mentally ill family member, the support should firstly be addressed individually and then as a family. Following that, the collective support can be addressed by a support network system through involvement of the department of health, clinics, rehabilitation centres, community, mental health care workers, giving of medication and establishment support of groups of families living with mental health care users. From these findings the researcher proposed guidelines to support families living with mentally ill family members, and to increase knowledge in these families on how to handle a mentally ill family member. The researcher also compiled recommendations for nursing practice, nursing education and nursing research in families living with mental health care users. / Thesis (MCur)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Family businesses are rapidly becoming the dominant form of business enterprise in both developing and developed economies. Family businesses are also being recognised as a potential driver of economic growth and wealth creation in the world. Family businesses in particular, have been making a positive contribution towards the South African economy for the last 300 years. Approximately 80% of businesses in South Africa could be classified as family businesses and they comprise 60% of the companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Family business wellness, which often forms the underlying causes for a lack of family harmony, is, however, a neglected area of research. The primary objective of this study is to explore selected determinants of family business wellness in small and medium-sized family-owned businesses in South Africa and to make recommendations to ensure effective management of these determinants in the family business. Topics such as the characteristics of the job, work stress and burnout, job engagement, family member commitment, the perceived success of the family business, among others, was investigated. In order to achieve the primary objective of this study, a survey was undertaken using a structured questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by calculating the Cronbach alpha coefficient, which indicated that the questionnaire used in this study conformed to the criteria of acceptable reliability and can be regarded as internally consistent. The survey yielded 45 usable questionnaires from 17 family businesses restricted to Gauteng and the North-West provinces in South Africa. Because this study was exploratory in nature, descriptive statistics was then used to analyse the statements that captured the information to measure the selected determinants of family wellness. The correlations between the variables were assessed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients and the relationships between the variables assessing family wellness were used for the discussion and conclusion points. Practical recommendations are suggested to improve family business wellness and, subsequently, increase the sustainability of such business. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.