The School for Mechanical Engineering at the North-West University is home to one of South Africa's most established Measurement & Verification (M&V) teams. The team is involved with South Africa's electricity utility, Eskom, and their efforts to reduce the energy demand of the nation through Demand Side Management (DSM). One of the DSM initiatives in the residential energy sector is a National Solar Water Heating Program which encourages homeowners to purchase and install an Eskom accredited solar water heating system by means of a financial incentive. Massive financial investments have been incurred and it is only natural for stakeholders to question their return on investment. The need consequently exists to determine the impact of the National Solar Water Heating Program and establish whether it is being sustained. Before developing a methodology to measure and verify the impact of a solar water heating program an in-depth study had to be done on M&V as well as the concepts around solar water heating itself. After considering financial, time and accuracy constraints it was decided that an M&V Solar Water Heating Application along with the M&V methodology be developed. The primary aim of the application was to simulate the electrical hot water demand caused by the electrical-backup elements of the solar water heating systems and thereby avoiding the logistically and financially impossible process of measuring the electrical demand. A high-level simulation application, based on energy balances, was developed with solar water heating system types, geographical locations, weather conditions, hot water demand profiles and installation positions as inputs. The outputs of the application were the uncontrolled, simulated electrical hot water demand and were compared to the actual measured electrical hot water demand of a solar water heating system located in Cape Town. The outputs from two scenarios were compared to the measured data; one calculated with weather data from the global weather database Meteonorm, and the second calculated with the measured weather parameters acquired during the measurement period. The first scenario indicated relative accuracy with a mean bias error (MBE) and coefficient of variation of the root mean squared errors (CV (RMSE)) of 13.5% and 16.00/o respectively. The second scenario revealed improved accuracy with an MBE and CV (RMSE) of -1.1% and 5.5% respectively. The M&V Solar Water Heating Application and methodology has set the process in motion to measure and verify the impact of the National Solar Water Heating Program and will be refined as more data and information become available. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The School for Mechanical Engineering at the North-West University is home to one of South Africa's most established Measurement & Verification (M&V) teams. The team is involved with South Africa's electricity utility, Eskom, and their efforts to reduce the energy demand of the nation through Demand Side Management (DSM). One of the DSM initiatives in the residential energy sector is a National Solar Water Heating Program which encourages homeowners to purchase and install an Eskom accredited solar water heating system by means of a financial incentive. Massive financial investments have been incurred and it is only natural for stakeholders to question their return on investment. The need consequently exists to determine the impact of the National Solar Water Heating Program and establish whether it is being sustained. Before developing a methodology to measure and verify the impact of a solar water heating program an in-depth study had to be done on M&V as well as the concepts around solar water heating itself. After considering financial, time and accuracy constraints it was decided that an M&V Solar Water Heating Application along with the M&V methodology be developed. The primary aim of the application was to simulate the electrical hot water demand caused by the electrical-backup elements of the solar water heating systems and thereby avoiding the logistically and financially impossible process of measuring the electrical demand. A high-level simulation application, based on energy balances, was developed with solar water heating system types, geographical locations, weather conditions, hot water demand profiles and installation positions as inputs. The outputs of the application were the uncontrolled, simulated electrical hot water demand and were compared to the actual measured electrical hot water demand of a solar water heating system located in Cape Town. The outputs from two scenarios were compared to the measured data; one calculated with weather data from the global weather database Meteonorm, and the second calculated with the measured weather parameters acquired during the measurement period. The first scenario indicated relative accuracy with a mean bias error (MBE) and coefficient of variation of the root mean squared errors (CV (RMSE)) of 13.5% and 16.00/o respectively. The second scenario revealed improved accuracy with an MBE and CV (RMSE) of -1.1% and 5.5% respectively. The M&V Solar Water Heating Application and methodology has set the process in motion to measure and verify the impact of the National Solar Water Heating Program and will be refined as more data and information become available. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The telecommunication industry is dominating the world. Most recently there have been technological advancements made in mobile telecommunication. There are currently a few telecommunication organizations in South Africa. These organizations each have their own unique approach to service delivery. The strong competitive nature of the telecommunication industry is taking telecommunications in South Africa to greater heights. All these advancements necessitate the need for better security and controls of the telecommunications networks. RICA legislation was brought into effect to accomplish just this. The research focuses on the contingent use of systems development methodologies in the telecommunication industry in South Africa. The study determines how these telecommunication organizations choose a systems development methodology when developing systems. This study looks at how these organizations are currently implementing system development methodologies to keep up with the changes and competition within the industry. An interpretive approach was used to conduct the research. Four of the leading telecommunication organizations in South Africa were studied by using case studies. Each case study focused on a single telecommunication organization to gain in depth data regarding the use of systems development methodologies. The case studies were conducted by using structured interviews to gain data from multiple sources within the organizations. The data was analyzed using ATLAS.ti and a cross case analysis was done to answer the research questions. The results indicate that there is a contingent use of systems development methodologies within telecommunication organizations. The telecommunication organizations each use criteria to determine which systems development methodology to use. The results of the study indicate that there are different levels of contingency, and it examines how this is accomplished by each organization individually. Each of the organizations has a unique approach when selecting systems development methodologies. The systems development methodologies that are used by the telecommunication organizations are also tailored in some cases. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The telecommunication industry is dominating the world. Most recently there have been technological advancements made in mobile telecommunication. There are currently a few telecommunication organizations in South Africa. These organizations each have their own unique approach to service delivery. The strong competitive nature of the telecommunication industry is taking telecommunications in South Africa to greater heights. All these advancements necessitate the need for better security and controls of the telecommunications networks. RICA legislation was brought into effect to accomplish just this. The research focuses on the contingent use of systems development methodologies in the telecommunication industry in South Africa. The study determines how these telecommunication organizations choose a systems development methodology when developing systems. This study looks at how these organizations are currently implementing system development methodologies to keep up with the changes and competition within the industry. An interpretive approach was used to conduct the research. Four of the leading telecommunication organizations in South Africa were studied by using case studies. Each case study focused on a single telecommunication organization to gain in depth data regarding the use of systems development methodologies. The case studies were conducted by using structured interviews to gain data from multiple sources within the organizations. The data was analyzed using ATLAS.ti and a cross case analysis was done to answer the research questions. The results indicate that there is a contingent use of systems development methodologies within telecommunication organizations. The telecommunication organizations each use criteria to determine which systems development methodology to use. The results of the study indicate that there are different levels of contingency, and it examines how this is accomplished by each organization individually. Each of the organizations has a unique approach when selecting systems development methodologies. The systems development methodologies that are used by the telecommunication organizations are also tailored in some cases. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The master thesis deals actual tendencies and approaches to film and audiovisual education in Czech Republic and personal pedagogical experience of students and graduates of the Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

Title: Play and stay 10s system The thesis "Play and stay 10s system" follow up compilation of available literature dealing with training of children under 10 years old. This system i salso applicable to older children beginners or even adult beginners. The aim of the thesis is to analyze this system prefered by ITF and subscribe it to Czech trainers and coaches or those who are interested in tennis methodology for this age category. The problem in this category is the fact that a large amount of athletes have other sport opportunities than tennis. The outflow of athletes from this sport is caused by direct corrective form of teaching that children do not like. And as many people think, it goes to collective and more entertaining sports where the game itself is beginning from first lesson. The slogan of tennis 10s is "Serve, rallye, score". This system has caused worldwide rise and popularity among children and adults. Tennis taught in this way is more attractive and fun. Key words: tennis, methodology, training of children under 10 years, fun form, midi court

Alla luce del recente interesse verso l’insegnamento della lingua italiana all’estero, il presente elaborato esamina la storia della comunità italiana e dell’evoluzione della didattica dell’italiano nello stato del Victoria, in Australia. La tesi presenta inoltre i risultati della mia ricerca sull’influenza dei flussi migratori e delle politiche linguistiche australiane sull’insegnamento dell’italiano nelle scuole, descrivendo come la percezione della lingua italiana sia cambiata nell’immaginario australiano. Tale analisi storica mi ha permesso di formulare una valutazione critica e suggerimenti per migliorare le metodologie didattiche impiegate nei corsi di italiano nelle scuole secondarie del Victoria. / In light of the growing interest towards Italian teaching abroad, the present dissertation investigates the history of the Italian community and the evolution of Italian teaching in the state of Victoria, Australia. I hereby present the results of my research on the history of the Italian community in Victoria, as well as the influence of Australian immigration and language policies on Italian teaching in Victorian schools, highlighting how the perception of Italian language evolved in Australian public opinion throughout history. Based on this historical framework, a critical evaluation of Italian teaching methodologies in Victoria was conducted, which informed my suggestions for future improvement of Italian teaching practices.

The subject of the thesis is to formulate the methodology of work with different types of sources for the study of diplomacy in the Middle Ages. In the first part, the author defines the essential terminology : medieval diplomacy and diplomatic deed. The basis of sources is divided into categories according to the types of documents and for each group, a procedure of analysis is determined. The sources are always defined, classified and the state of their preservation is assessed. On the basis of the aforsaid evaluation, a suitable methodology for the analysis of medieval diplomacy is apropriated to every category of sources. The last part of the thesis is dedicated to the study of the "staff of diplomacy", i.e. envoys, whose analysis allows to show the use of methodological approches to different sources for one scientific question.

This thesis deals with current discourse whether methods of neuroscience generate useful tools for standard economics to understand, predict and ideally guide behavior of humans, social groups and the whole economies. An initial methodological analysis concluded that the usefulness of neuroeconomics is still only potential, since this approach is not able to answer substantial questions of economics in better way than tools existing. Following sections of thesis summarized representative research in the field of decision neuroscience in the areas of intertemporal decisions, decision-making under risk and uncertainty and the strategic interactions, and social preferences respectively. It has been demonstrated that many findings of decision neuroscience offer a partial confirmation of specific economic models already or provide inspiration for creating new ones.

The retail companies have a very conservative approach concerning IT expenses and innovations. Maybe for this reason, it is now the best time for changing an IT infrastructure and a complex retail solution. Most of the companies need to optimize their processes due to the financial crisis to achieve a competitive advantage. There are many differences among the retail companies - these differences may cause that an implementation of a software solution is tricky. It is important to be aware of such aspects when implementing the software solution. The main aim of this work is to design, extend and optimize a methodology of implementation of a complex retail solution. The new methodology is quite general - it might be used for an implementation of any POS solution. The goal of new methodology is to improve top line and margin. Finally, it shall bring a bigger satisfaction to the customer. I divided this work into several main chapters. First chapter is dedicated to the specifics of retail companies - how they work, which processes they use, how much they invest into the IT. The second part contains an analysis of POS solutions available on the Czech market and a brief description of the particular software solutions with their market share. The third part is dedicated to the RIM methodology designed by Microsoft Corporation. The fourth - and the main part of my work - contains an extension of the RIM methodology. In the final part I sum up the main achievements of this work and evaluate the new extended methodology. In the appendix, I compared some examples with the real figures to the new methodology.