Designers and researchers have often assumed that individuals rely to some degree on individual perceptions of a product's hazard when interacting with warning systems that accompany the product. However, few investigations have been made to determine what precisely these perceptions are, and how they may differ across diverse populations (such as age). Younger and older adults were tested for perceived product hazards over a diverse group of products using a Battig and Montague (1969) style procedure. Participants were presented with a total of 78 products, and asked to list the first hazards that came to their mind (up to 7 per product) for each. Comparisons revealed age-related differences between the most commonly perceived hazards for 28 of the products, with many of the age-related differences not predicted prior to data collection. The resulting data additionally form a tool for designing warning systems and research stimuli based on the products or classes of products represented in this sample.

The relationship between normative convictions, sexual behaviour and personality. In order to fill the gap of knowledge regarding sexuality in South Africa, the sexual attitudes and behaviour of 95 Afrikaans-speaking undergraduate psychology students were investigated by means of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, the Mosher Sex-Guilt subscale and a combined biographical and attitude questionnaire. The study concentrated on the relationship between normative convictions, personality factors and sexual behaviour. Most respondents reported a fair degree of intimacy in their relationships, while one third had already had premarital sexual experience. Although respondents expressed predominantly negative sexual attitudes, they expected men to be more promiscuous than women. No difference in males•and females• experience of intimacy in relationships and sexual experience could be indicated. Although the respondents were predominantly religious, the female respondents were more religiously inclined than the male respondents. The religious convictions of the respondents were strong enough to influence their sexual attitudes. On the behavioural level sexually inexperienced respondents were more involved with church activities and those with fewer sex partners also expressed strong religious convictions. No connection between the personality factor extraversion and any form of pro-sexuality could be indicated. Socially undesirable personality factors were, however, identified as predictors of positive sexual attitudes. Elements in Ajzen•s theory of reasoned behaviour correlated positively with sexual attitudes. This model was also found to be suitable for the prediction of sexual attitudes. The opinion of the father and members of the peer group, as well as the expectation of positive consequences, among others, was identified as predictors of positive attitudes while the opinion of the parson, grandparents and lecturers was rejected, Respondents with many sex partners not only expected positive consequences, but because of social sanctions they valued the reverend's opinion highly and expressed negative emotional set towards sexuality. Although Ajzen•s model often explained a high proportion of the variance in the dependent variables. it is clear that variables other than those included in this model, like sexual guilt, greatly contribute to the explanation of variance in both sexual attitudes and behaviour. / MA, PU vir CHO, 1992

The relationship between normative convictions, sexual behaviour and personality. In order to fill the gap of knowledge regarding sexuality in South Africa, the sexual attitudes and behaviour of 95 Afrikaans-speaking undergraduate psychology students were investigated by means of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, the Mosher Sex-Guilt subscale and a combined biographical and attitude questionnaire. The study concentrated on the relationship between normative convictions, personality factors and sexual behaviour. Most respondents reported a fair degree of intimacy in their relationships, while one third had already had premarital sexual experience. Although respondents expressed predominantly negative sexual attitudes, they expected men to be more promiscuous than women. No difference in males•and females• experience of intimacy in relationships and sexual experience could be indicated. Although the respondents were predominantly religious, the female respondents were more religiously inclined than the male respondents. The religious convictions of the respondents were strong enough to influence their sexual attitudes. On the behavioural level sexually inexperienced respondents were more involved with church activities and those with fewer sex partners also expressed strong religious convictions. No connection between the personality factor extraversion and any form of pro-sexuality could be indicated. Socially undesirable personality factors were, however, identified as predictors of positive sexual attitudes. Elements in Ajzen•s theory of reasoned behaviour correlated positively with sexual attitudes. This model was also found to be suitable for the prediction of sexual attitudes. The opinion of the father and members of the peer group, as well as the expectation of positive consequences, among others, was identified as predictors of positive attitudes while the opinion of the parson, grandparents and lecturers was rejected, Respondents with many sex partners not only expected positive consequences, but because of social sanctions they valued the reverend's opinion highly and expressed negative emotional set towards sexuality. Although Ajzen•s model often explained a high proportion of the variance in the dependent variables. it is clear that variables other than those included in this model, like sexual guilt, greatly contribute to the explanation of variance in both sexual attitudes and behaviour. / MA, PU vir CHO, 1992

This thesis reports the results of both normative and empirical investigations into human conditional reasoning, i.e. reasoning using if ... then and related constructions. Previous empirical investigations have concentrated on experimental paradigms like Wason's Selection Task, where subjects must assess evidence relevant to the truth or falsity of a conditional rule. Popperian falsification provided the normative theory by which to assess errorful behaviour on these tasks. However, it is doubtful whether this is an appropriate normative theory from which to derive a competence model of human reasoning abilities. The relationship between normative theory and competence model need not be direct, no more than the relationship between competence model and performance needs to be. However, research in this area has imported a theory directly into individual psychology from the philosophy of science. On the apparently orthodox assumption of directness, continued adherence to this import may stand in need of re-assessment in the light of the quite radical descriptive inadequacy of falsification as a model of rational scientific inquiry. However, this model also possesses the virtue of relating the interpretation of the rule directly to the normative task strategy. Hence, this thesis has two aims: first, to retain the virtue of a direct relation between normative task strategy and interpretation while simultaneously offering a competence model which is consistent with more recent and descriptively adequate accounts of the process of scientific inquiry. In Part I, this will involve introducing a semantic theory (situation semantics) and showing that the process of inquiry implicit in this semantic theory is consistent with recent normative conceptions in the philosophy of science. The second aim is to show that the competence model derived in Part I can provide a sound rational basis for subjects' observed patterns of reasoning in conditional reasoning tasks. In Part II, chapter 5, the data obtained from the Wason Selection Task using only affirmative rules is discussed and the behaviour observed rationally reconstructed in terms of the competence model of Part I. A central concept of that model is partial interpretation (motivated by concerns of context sensitivity). Prima facie evidence for partial interpretation is provided by the observation of defective truth tables. However, in conditional reasoning experiments using negated constituents, this evidence has been interpreted differently. A subsidiary aim of Part II (which will constitute the largest section of this thesis) therefore concerns the empirical demonstration of the consistency of this data with the competence model.

Classical utilitarianism faces significant problems: it ignores moral rights; it cannot take account of all free rational agents; and its focus on happiness means that it dismisses the other things that people value for their own sake. These problems lead to conflicts with autonomy, personal integrity and inconsistencies with the way in which utilitarianism justifies the value of happiness. This thesis seeks to solve these problems by introducing the protection of freedom as a new measure of utility.

I have analyzed humanitarian intervention within the framework of Responsibility to Protect (R2P), particularly in relation to the three statements of my thesis. First, the conceptual aspect of humanitarian is discussed in regards to the definition of sovereignty fostered by the norm, and limitations and constraints on the practice. Secondly, inadequacy of the Chapter VII of the UN Charter to understand the nature and dynamics of conflicts today is dealt and whether the gap is looked up to. Third, the partnership with regional organizations and agencies as imagined by the norm is discussed as to find out whether this approach takes real politics in its consideration about conflict solution. Underneath this split analysis lies the single purpose of understanding humanitarian intervention under the light of Responsibility to Protect (R2P).

Many accept that there are some acts that are ‘supererogatory’ or ‘beyond the call of duty’. Risking one’s life to save others or dedicating one’s life to helping the needy are often thought to be examples of such acts. Accepting the possibility of acts of this sort raises interesting problems for moral philosophy, as many moral theories appear to leave no room for the supererogatory. While these problems are increasingly recognized in moral philosophy, there remain a number of debates that have failed to pay sufficient attention to the existence of acts of this sort. In this thesis I investigate the implications of accepting the possibility of supererogation for three of these debates. The first issue I investigate is the relationship between morality and self-interest. One popular view is that supererogatory acts are those that demand too much sacrifice from those who could perform them. However, I argue that looking at self-reported accounts and empirical psychological studies of moral exemplars gives us good reason to reject this view, as it has the implausible implication that those with less developed moral consciences are excused from obligations that apply to those with more developed moral sensibilities. We should accept, then, that performing an act of supererogation may be in line with an agent's self-interest. The next debate I examine concerns the connection between moral judgements and motivation. Motivational judgement internalists claim that there is a necessary connection between moral judgements and motivation. However, it is often unclear which moral judgements this view is supposed to cover. The claim is made about judgements of 'moral goodness', 'moral rightness' and 'moral requirement'. I argue that internalists need to restrict their claim to moral obligation judgements. I then examine how to give an account of the relationship between moral obligations and reasons for action. It is often claimed that moral reasons are overriding. A related view is moral rationalism, which holds that agents have most reason to act in line with their moral requirements. I start by examining the differences between these two views before looking at what form of either view it is plausible to hold if we accept the existence of supererogation. I finish by looking at whether accepting the existence of supererogatory acts goes far enough or whether there is a need to make room for additional deontic categories, such as suberogation, quasi-supererogation or forced supererogation. I will argue that none of the arguments put forward in defence of these claims show that there is a need to make room for these additional categories.

A new test of vestibular function, video head impulse testing (vHIT), evaluates function of the anterior and posterior vertical semicircular canals as well as the horizontal canals. Our goal was to collect normative data for vHIT in both horizontal and vertical planes. Horizontal data was compared to bithermal calorics. Data was collected from 19 participants with normal auditory function and no complaints regarding dizziness or balance. All occulomotor results were normal. Bithermal water caloric irrigations revealed an average unilateral weakness and directional preponderance of < 10%. For vHIT, average velocity gains (comparison of head velocity to compensatory eye velocity) were calculated for right lateral and left lateral maneuvers using instantaneous velocity measurements at 40, 60, and 80 ms and using the velocity regression measurement from 1-100 ms. Average instantaneous velocity gain at 60 ms was 1.175 for right lateral and 1.159 for left lateral. Average velocity regression gain (1-100 ms) was 1.147 for right lateral and 1.172 for left lateral, with an average gain asymmetry of 2.6%. The RALP average velocity gain, based on the velocity regression measurement from 1-100 ms, was 1.514 for right anterior and 1.665 for left posterior, with an average gain asymmetry of 7.26%. The LARP average velocity gain, based on the velocity regression measurement from 1-100 ms, was 0.923 for left anterior and 0.876 for right posterior, with an average gain asymmetry of 7.11%. Unlike with laterals, consistent vertical responses were more difficult to obtain. Contributing factors are camera slippage, inexperience, technique, and the constrained eye movement in the vertical plane.

Based on a study of knowledge transfer from a multinational corporation head office to subsidiary, this study examines the ease of cross border knowledge transfer to developed, developing and least developed countries impacted by varying institutional contexts. Institutions are clustered based on Scott’s institutional theory (1995), into normative, cognitive and regulative pillars that frame the mental models and approaches of actors in these institutional contexts. The study proposes that the institutional sectors of education systems, embeddedness of foreign firms, and authority systems impact ease of knowledge transfer from a MNC head office to its subsidiaries in developed, developing and LDCs. Therefore this study makes an important contribution to the literature on cross border knowledge transfer in that it suggests that the external institutional contexts contribute to effective knowledge transfer. The research provides management with an indication of the institutional elements that impact ease of transfer of knowledge, and the extent of interventions that can be optimised, to reduce the time; cost and effort associated with knowledge transfer initiatives that will ultimately increase their efficiency. The research aims to provide useful insights for practitioners wanting to minimise the barriers to knowledge transfer and optimise employee knowledge transfer initiatives. The overall outcome of the study is that as the socio-economic development increases, the ease of knowledge transfer increases. The study, hence contributes to the international business literature by identifying how inter-organisational knowledge transfer can be improved across borders. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Magister Legum - LLM / South Africa‟s definition of a firearm is quite broad, yet it excludes various devices that have the same lethal effects as a firearm. This is informed by the various principles that have been developed by the courts in interpreting the said definition. It is argued that a good definition informs the extent to which other aspects like licensing and usage may be instructive. The central research question as regards the context of the definition of a firearm, leads to an examination of three interrelated questions. These include the definition of a firearm in South Africa, the relevance of experiences from other jurisdictions and the need for a new definition of a firearm.