Employees¡¦ perception of organizational political level will influence employees¡¦ decision whether to get involved with organizational politics or to isolate from organizational behaviors, it will reflect significantly on the working attitude directly and will influence the organizational commitment level and performance of employees indirectly, further more, it will decrease the organizational productivities. This research was conducted to focus on that whether employees¡¦ organizational political perception will influence their organizational commitments and performances, also to discuss the connection between each other. The research method this study used was group segmentations. After empirical analysis, we found out: 1. In the organizational political perception, ¡§boss¡¦s and colleague¡¦s behaviors¡¨ dimension has a significant negative correlation with affective commitment and normative commitment; ¡§the differences between policies and realities¡¨ dimension presents the same result as well. ¡§Boss¡¦s and colleague¡¦s behaviors¡¨ dimension has a significant positive correlation with continuance commitment. 2. There is only ¡§the differences between policies and realities¡¨ dimension reaching a significant positive correlation with task performance and contextual performance in organizational political perception. 3. By using K-mean ¡§Cluster analysis¡¨, we got four different types of group representing four different categories of ¡§organizational political perception¡¨. We named them by their characters, the names and characters are described as follow: 3-1 Slow: employees in the type do not react fast enough regarding political behaviors and working environment atmosphere due to the employees¡¦ insensitivity. 3-2 The perception of Complies in public but opposes in private: employees can sense that organization does not behave the same way in terms of policies and operations; they do nothing with this scenario. 3-3 The perception of keen actions: The members of perceptional organization are more sensitive with the interpersonal relationship, and they response the working environment with positive and active attitudes. 3-4 The perception of silence and waiting: Employees can sense that organization behaves in the same way in terms of policies and operations; they have a concept that ¡§Silence is gold¡¨. 4. In ¡§slow¡¨ type, the perception dimension of ¡§keeping silence and waiting for benefit¡¨ has a negative correlation with ¡§task performance¡¨; the perception dimension of ¡§the differences between policies and realities¡¨ has a negative correlation with ¡§affective commitment¡¨ and ¡§task performance¡¨. 5. In ¡§The perception of complies in public but opposes in private¡¨ type, the perception dimension of ¡§boss¡¦s and colleague¡¦s behaviors¡¨ has a positive correlation with ¡§continuance commitment¡¨, but has a negative correlation with ¡§contextual performance¡¨; the perception dimension of ¡§keeping silence and waiting for benefit¡¨ has a positive correlation with ¡§contextual performance¡¨. 6. In ¡§The percept of keen and action¡¨ type, the percept dimension of ¡§boss¡¦s and colleague¡¦s behaviors¡¨ has a negative correlation with ¡§affective commitment¡¨, but has a positive correlation with ¡§continuance commitment¡¨ and ¡§contextual performance¡¨. 7. In ¡§The perception of silence and waiting¡¨, the perception dimension of ¡§boss¡¦s and colleague¡¦s behaviors¡¨ has a negative correlation with ¡§normative commitment¡¨; the perception dimension of ¡§keeping silence and waiting for benefits¡¨ has a positive correlation with ¡§contextual performance¡¨; the perception dimension of ¡§the differences between policies and realities¡¨ has a negative correlation with ¡§affective commitment¡¨ and ¡§contextual performance¡¨.

Building portfolio management on campus and metropolitan scale involves decisions about energy retrofits, energy resource pooling, and investments in shared energy systems, such as district cooling, community PV and wind power, CHP systems, geothermal systems etc. There are currently no tools that help a portfolio/campus manager make these decisions by rapid comparison of variants. The research has developed an energy supply network management tool at the campus scale. The underlying network energy performance (NEP) model uses (1) an existing energy performance toolkit to quantify the energy performance of building energy consumers on hourly basis, and (2) added modules to calculate hourly average energy generation from a wide variety of energy supply systems. The NEP model supports macro decisions at the generation side (decisions about adding or retrofitting campus wide systems) and consumption side (planning of new building design and retrofit measures). It allows testing different supply topologies by inspecting which consumer nodes should connect to which local suppliers and to which global suppliers, i.e. the electricity and gas utility grids. A prototype software implementation allows a portfolio or campus manager to define the demand and supply nodes on campus scale and manipulate the connections between them through a graphical interface. The NEP model maintains the network topology which is represented by a directed graph with the supply and demand nodes as vertices and their connections as arcs. Every change in the graph automatically triggers an update of the energy generation and consumption pattern, the results of which are shown on campus wide energy performance dashboards. The dissertation shows how the NEP model supports decision making with respect to large-scale building energy system design with a case study of the Georgia Tech campus evaluating the following three assertions: 1. The normative calculations at the individual building scale are accurate enough to support the network energy performance analysis 2. The NEP model supports the study of the tradeoffs between local building retrofits and campus wide energy interventions in renewable systems, under different circumstances 3. The NEP approach is a viable basis for routine campus asset management policies.

This dissertation is composed of three studies that use statistical, behavioral, and neuroimaging methods to investigate Chinese and English speakers’ semantic interpretations of four types of visual information including icons, single Chinese characters, single English words, and pictures. The goal is to examine whether people cognitively process icons as logographical words. By collecting survey data from 211 participants, the first study investigated how differently these four types of visual information can express specific meanings without ambiguity on a quantitative scale. In the second study, 78 subjects participated in a behavioral experiment that measured how fast people could correctly interpret the meaning of these four types of visual information in order to estimate the differences in reaction times needed to process these stimuli. The third study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with 20 participants selected from the second study to identify brain regions that were needed to process these four types of visual information in order to determine if the same or different neural networks were required to process these stimuli. Findings suggest that 1) similar to pictures, icons are statistically more ambiguous than English words and Chinese characters to convey the immediate semantics of objects and concepts; 2) English words and Chinese characters are more effective and efficient than icons and pictures to convey the immediate semantics of objects and concepts in terms of people’s behavioral responses, and 3) according to the neuroimaging data, icons and pictures require more resources of the brain than texts, and the pattern of neural correlates under the condition of reading icons is different from the condition of reading Chinese characters. In conclusion, icons are not cognitively processed as logographical words like Chinese characters although they both stimulate the semantic system in the brain that is needed for language processing. Chinese characters and English words are more evolved and advanced symbols that are less ambiguous, more efficient and easier for a literate brain to understand, whereas graphical representations of objects and concepts such as icons and pictures do not always provide immediate and unambiguous access to meanings and are prone to various interpretations. / text

Consent for the research study was obtained from the divisional executive of the financial services division being researched and all ethical factors were clarified. All potential participants were engaged in a divisional communication session where participation was advised to be voluntary and anonymity and confidentiality was assured. The results of the study revealed that there was no statically significant relationship between intention to quit and organisational commitment but a statically significant relationship between organisational commitment and age, tenure, marital status and staff with dependants respectively were revealed. Further to that, a statistically significant relationship between intention to quit and age, tenure, marital status was also revealed. Therefore, based on the understanding gained, and the relationship it had with respect to the biographical factors used in the study, it presents organisations with the insight and opportunity to better retain staff. Clear understandings of the limitations of the findings presented are also discussed and additional recommendations for future research are also provided.

In early December 2006, the Fijian military seized power in a coup led by the Armed Forces commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama. It was a coup long expected, and Fiji’s fourth since 1987. Internationally, the response was swift imposing sanctions and removing or delaying international aid programmes. This has a potentially significant impact on Fiji because it is one of the largest per capita recipients of developmental aid funding in the world. However, it may also have little impact because, despite such assistance, the Fijian GDP has stagnated with an average growth of under 1% for the last 20 years. Other developmental indicators are also bleak. This thesis thus examines the dichotomy between Fiji’s ODA and its apparent inability to arrest the decline of the Fijian lifestyle and economy. However, to review all international developmental programmes across all sectors of Fijian society, while maintaining contemporary relevance and coherency, is untenable. Therefore, the thesis will focus on the European Union and its external relations with Fiji. The EU is one of the most influential partners for Fiji and is often overlooked by scholars, allowing this thesis to make a valuable contribution to developmental studies in the pacific region. The thesis has selected and examines four sectors of Fijian society, that of the Economy, Governance, Sugar, and Education sectors. This is because they are the sectors that the European Union is presently devoting most attention. Therefore, these areas best illustrate Fijian reaction to the importance and effectiveness of EU involvement. Overall, the thesis intends to demonstrate both the efficacy and the attitudes of local representatives to foreign aid programmes, and ultimately provide a unique ‘inside looking out' perspective not typical of publications about Fiji.

This dissertation endeavours to address an identified gap in literature concerning the relationship between New Zealand and the European Union (EU) in the field of research, science and technology (RS&T). Examination of the partnership begins with the creation of the Science and Technological Cooperation (STC) Arrangement in 1991 and comes to a close in 2008, following the Arrangement’s ‘upgrade’ to an STC Agreement on 16 July. During this time, the intensification of the EU’s activities in RS&T is evident. The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) currently constitutes the most internationalised Programme to date. Identifying the complementary nature of New Zealand and EU research priorities thus suggests that now, more than ever, the New Zealand research community stands to gain from participation within such an inclusive venture. Aiming to assess the current status of New Zealand-EU research collaboration, the research identifies a number of recurring themes, both positive and negative, that influence the nature of the RS&T relationship. These themes focus on problems concerning visibility within the EU, geographical isolation from this important market, an absence of targeted domestic funding for New Zealand-EU RS&T collaboration and the unwieldy bureaucratic process of the Framework Programme. The research also determines the importance of both ‘official’ and ‘informal’ mechanisms’ in combating the outlined collaborative bottlenecks. Taking these themes into account, the thesis ultimately looks to provide recommendations concerning the future of New Zealand-EU engagement in this field.

The purpose of this study is to seek to an answer to the question of what constitutes a tenable model for global ethics. This is done in part by a critical engagement with four different models of global ethics; two proposals from political philosophy and two contributions from theological ethics. The models analyzed in the study are: (1) the capabilities approach as developed by Martha Nussbaum, (2) Seyla Benhabib’s discourse ethics and model of cosmopolitan federalism, (3) David Hollenbach’s model of the common good and human rights, and (4) the model for responsibility ethics and theological humanism as developed by William Schweiker. These models contain different understandings of global justice, human rights, and sustainable development. The study works with six primary problems: (1) Which are the main moral problems associated with different processes of globalization? (2) What should be the response to these problems, in the form of a normative ethical model? (3) What is the relation between global ethics and universalism? (4) What kind of institutional vision for the international arena does a tenable global ethic promote? (5) Given the human diversity and global pluralism, what would be a reasonable view of the human being included in a global ethic? (6) What kind of ethical theory is sustainable for global ethical reflection? These questions also form the basis for the analysis of the models. The study uses a set of criteria in order to assess the answers that the models offer for these questions. These criteria also constitute the framework within which the author’s contribution to the discussion of global ethics is phrased. The criteria are founded on an idea of what characterizes global ethical reflection. The contention is that a tenable global ethic should be relevant, and it should also be related to a reasonable view of human beings and a plausible ethical theory. Together these support the criterion of communicability, which argues that a global ethic should above all be communicable, i.e. capable of enabling cross-cultural communication. A central argument which this study makes is that a kind of ethical contextualism is more reasonable than an epistemological universalism.

Les laves émises en domaine de subduction sont dominées par des compositions calcoalcalines à hypersthène normatif. En revanche, les inclusions magmatiques piégées dans les olivines magnésiennes (Fo ≥ 88) des basaltes d'arc présentent des compositions alcalines, à néphéline normative. Bien que leurs compositions en éléments traces incompatibles ne diffèrent pas de celles de leurs laves hôtes, ces magmas ne peuvent pas s'expliquer par les modèles classiques de formation des laves d'arc. L'étude d'inclusions magmatiques alcalines de plusieurs arcs du monde a permis de mettre en évidence leur variabilité de composition, en particulier en CaO et Sc, deux éléments compatibles dans le clinopyroxène. Le couplage de cette étude avec des modélisations thermodynamiques a aboutit à l'élaboration d'un modèle de source impliquant la contribution de clinopyroxénites à amphibole à environ 1 GPa. Les inclusions magmatiques à néphéline normative d'arc seraient ainsi les témoins de l'hétérogénéité de source à l'origine des magmas d'arc. Les expériences de fusion partielle du mélange homogène clinopyroxénite à amphibole - péridotite hydratée réalisées à 1 GPa permettent d'apporter des informations supplémentaires quant aux mécanismes de genèse des magmas d'arc sous-saturés en silice et de mieux comprendre les comportements de fusion des deux types de lithologies. Pour des proportions inférieures à ~ 50 % de pyroxénite dans la source, les magmas produits présentent des compositions à hypersthène normatif, comparables aux laves d'arc issues de la fusion de lithologies péridotitiques. Pour des proportions de pyroxénites supérieures, les magmas sont à néphéline normative et s'enrichissent en calcium, reproduisant ainsi la gamme de compositions observée pour les inclusions magmatiques. 50 % de mélange correspond à la limite de stabilité de l'orthopyroxène. Tant que cette phase est présente dans le résidu, les magmas engendrés restent à hypersthène normatif. De plus, la présence d'amphibole dans la source permet d'augmenter la sous-saturation des liquides résultants et d'expliquer ainsi les termes les plus riches en néphéline normative de certaines inclusions. Nos expériences de fusion d'une source homogène ont également permis de déterminer la composition des magmas formés par un processus de fusion plus réaliste, impliquant une source hétérogène pyroxénite-péridotite. La productivité de liquides des pyroxénites étant supérieure à celles des péridotites, les magmas générés à partir d'une source hétérogène seront donc principalement pyroxénitiques, c'est-à-dire davantage sous-saturés en silice. Ainsi, dans le cas d'un mélange de magmas issus d'une source hétérogène, la transition entre les compositions à hypersthène et à néphéline normatifs s'effectue aux alentours de 30-40 % de liquides pyroxénititiques, soit pour environ 20-25 % de pyroxénite dans la source. L'origine de ces lithologies dans le manteau sub-arc est attribuée à la délamination de cumulats à clinopyroxène + amphibole présents à la base de la croute des arcs. Les inclusions magmatiques à néphéline normative d'arc auraient enregistré plusieurs étapes de mélange entre des liquides quasi-purs de clinopyroxénites et des liquides péridotitiques. L'homogénéité de compositions des laves à hypersthène normatif traduirait en revanche, un stade de mélange et de différenciation plus avancé, atténuant ainsi la signature pyroxénitique.

Le discours officiel des autorités françaises, fondé sur les principes républicains d'unité, d'indivisibilité et d'égalité, exclut toute reconnaissance de minorités nationales sur le sol français. L'observation du droit positif témoigne toutefois d'une réalité juridique bien plus nuancée que ce discours ne le laisse entendre. Depuis plusieurs années, l'ordre juridique étatique s'ouvre en effet progressivement à la diversité socioculturelle, en acceptant que certaines catégories de la population qui s'apparentent, de facto, à des minorités nationales, bénéficient de droits dérogatoires, de statuts coutumiers, d'une autonomie institutionnelle et normative voire, pour certaines d'entre elles, d'un droit à l'autodétermination. Ces évolutions sont constitutives d'un pluralisme juridique qui n'est pas sans questionner les fondements mêmes de la République. L'étude des diverses manifestations de ce pluralisme juridique " à la française " révèle en effet que l'ordre juridique étatique connaît désormais une diversification de ses sources comme de son contenu, remettant en cause l'unité du droit dans l'Etat et, surtout, le centralisme juridique en vertu duquel l'Etat est source unique de droit. Cette double diversification laisse alors apparaître un droit français des minorités nationales dont les contours se dessinent peu à peu, à la lumière des évolutions juridiques qui touchent l'outre-mer mais aussi la métropole.

The aim of this study was to evaluate employee commitment to achieve the primary objective, which was to evaluate employee commitment towards product and process quality. Employees who are engaged in their work and committed to their organisations give companies crucial competitive advantages – including higher productivity, better quality products and lower employee turnover. A thorough literature study was conducted by using the views of different authors and combining them. The concept of quality was defined by making use of the five quality gurus; Deming, Juran, Feigenbaum, Crosby and Ishikawa. The fourteen principles of quality, developed by Deming, were presented in Table 2.1. These principles had the goal of increased productivity, with less rework, less waste of manpower and material resources, resulting in a reduction of costs, to in turn give the organisation greater market share and ultimately better competitive position, by improving the overall quality of an organisation’s work processes. The concept of employee and organisational commitment was defined, and from this study it is evident that employee commitment towards the company is positive and therefore should have a positive effect on their operating environment. The product process flow for this manufacturing concern were discussed to give an overall view of the production processes used in this organisation. An empirical study was completed using a questionnaire survey to determine employee commitment at a manufacturing concern in Gauteng. The questionnaire used for this study was designed to focus on commitment towards internal quality only, to specifically evaluate employee perspective towards product quality, as well as the commitment towards the organisation. Analysis of the responses showed the questionnaire to be reliable and valid. Respondents indicated that they are committed towards the organisation in general across all constructs, but a lack in management trust was a predominant sentiment. The quantitative analysis showed that after a factor analysis was done on the two sections of the questionnaire, four factors for each section were considered as meaningful. These factors were: Affinity, quality awareness, autonomy and corporate image (employee commitment - section B) and employee commitment, task performance, job satisfaction and contextual performance (company relationship – section C). This indicated strong employee commitment towards the organisation. The qualitative results had four areas that all respondents felt needed some attention, and loaded negative towards the organisation. These were HR (trust in management, competency, communication and company culture), skills development, employee development and BBBEE. Thus, drawing conclusions from quantitative results alone could give a company a false sense of employee commitment towards the company and therefore overlook the importance of the roles that employees play in executing strategic plans. Conclusions regarding the findings of the research study were presented and recommendations for this organisation were made. These recommendations are merely a guideline that correlates directly to the empirical analysis made. The research study was evaluated against the primary and secondary objectives with the conclusion that both were achieved. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.