Abstract After joining WTO, the domestic architecture market has been developing freely and internationalizedly. And this is an impact for the environment of architect business office.Hence, facing graduatedly large, complex, and complicated technologically intergrated engineer, architects are little by little accessed that it seemed negative influences on futher business once they did nothing for the demands of rapid changing environment. Finally, they will find the solutions to overcome the hard time through improving, downsizing, emerging with other companies or other ways to change the types of organizations. Case study was implemented in this thesis to find the key factors of business continuity through understanding the development patterns of the H.H Chang Architect & Partners Co. and propose the practicable suggestions for the futures after the dead of H.H Chang. There are other four partners interviewed, and that took around six hours. The conclusions are as below, First, they have conventionally stabilized business style. Selection is the first step of shaping the organization indentity. To selection good and proper persons as partners is key to business continuity. They have common personalities of pursuing the stable life and emphasizing the ethics and this had an huge influence on turn over rate of theis company. Besides, the systems which were established by HH Chang are never being questioned and adjusted, and the influence power still exists even he left the TMT (Top Management Team). Excellent systems help them overcome the valley of business recycles. Second, the business continuity is the core value they own. HH Chang has never been taking the company as his own asset. Instead, one thing he only cares is business continuity, and that is the system of public fund for daily operation expenses. This system has been thoroughly implemented and lasted for 35 years. Finally, social responsibility is their business goal.The establishment and continuity of public fund is not only kind of bussiness stability and continuity but also can be seen as social responsibility and employee care. Besides, they also provide better offers to emplyees in this field to attract excellent peple to join them. Key word¡GHH Chang Architect& Partners Co. Business continuity

Ikimokyklinė įstaiga ir šeima yra dvi institucijos, siejamos vieno ir tuo paties ugdomojo objekto – vaiko. Svarbiausias šių institucijų tikslas – žmogaus, kuris mąstytų, verktų ir gyventų vardan aukščiausių idealų. Ikimokyklinis ugdymas tampa vis svarbesnis visuomenės bei valstybės interesas. Ugdymas natūrali socialinė raida, besireiškianti įvairiose visuomenės struktūrose ir ryšiuose, atspindinti labai svarbų evoliucijos etapą ( Stankūnienė, 1998). R. Želvys (1995) bendravimą apibūdina kaip prasmingą sąveiką tarp dviejų ir daugiau žmonių. Ikimokyklinė įstaiga ir šeima yra pagrindinės asmenybės kuriamosios jėgos. Tod���l jų bendravimas yra labai svarbus. Mokyklos, ikimokyklinės įstaigos ir šeimos bendradarbiavimo svarba akcentuojama įvairiuose švietimo sistemą reglamentuojančiuose dokumentuose: Lietuvos Respublikos švietimo įstatyme (2003), Lietuvos bendrojo lavinimo mokyklų išsilavinimo standartuose (2003) ir kituose dokumentuose. Tėvų ir auklėtojų bendravimo ir bendradarbiavimo klausimais domėjosi ir rašė apie juos šalies ir užsienio mokslininkai: S. Šalkauskis (1992), J. Vabalas–Gudaitis (1983), A. Maceina (1990), V. Glebuvienė (1990), J. Litvinienė (1990), V.Krumm (1993), L. Stroll, D. Fink (1998). S. Dapkienė (2002) ir kt. Pedagogų ir šeimos bendradarbiavimas tampa vienu didžiausiu visuomenės rūpesčiu. Siekiant tinkamai bendradarbiauti, reikia pačiais įvairiausiais būdais skatinti šeimos domėjimąsi... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Various scientific-methodical literature analyses cooperation of preschool institutions and family in separate aspects, however, there is no comprehensive study reflecting new, modern approach to communication and cooperation between preschool institution and family. This master work aims at ascertaining the following problems: • what forms of communication and cooperation with the family are currently used by urban and rural preschool institutions; • what forms of cooperation are preferred by parents; • what forms of cooperation with the family selected motivate the family participation in educational process and its development and what forms discourage the family from doing this. The aim of survey - To educe the situation and prerequisities for impovement of cooperation among the preschool institutions and family. Goals: 1. Exploration of cooperation features between preschool institution and the family that include evaluation of personal activity of cooperating partners and individual input. 2. Describing real situation that is formed at preschool institution with regard to the institution and the family. 3. Searching for new cooperation possibilities that would motivate activity of parents and educators in educational process of the preschool institution. Research methods: analysis of scientific literature sources, questionnaire method, quantitative and qualitative analysis of research data. Research basis and scope: Research carried out at preschool institutions in... [to full text]

Baigiamajame magistro darbe nagrinėjamos verslo partnerių tinklo plėtojimo problemos, verslo partnerių atrankos ir įvertinimo būtinumas ir šių problemų ypatumai poligrafijos sektoriuje. Išnagrinėjus mokslinę literatūrą ir remiantis asmenine patirtimi dirbant poligrafijos srityje, siūlomas teorinis poligrafijos sektoriaus verslo partnerių tinklo plėtojimo modelis ir praktiniai modelio komponentų įgyvendinimo etapai. Siūlomas teorinis modelis sudarytas iš penkių komponentų: partnerių paieškos, kandidatų įvertinimo, derybų su atrinktais partneriais, sutarčių sudarymo ir sėkmingos partnerystės užtikrinimo. Baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjama įvairių laikotarpių verslo partnerių įvertinimo kriterijų ir rodiklių raida. Išnagrinėti pagrindiniai daugiakriteriai metodai, kuriais remiantis įvertinami verslo partneriai ir atlikta tų metodų lyginamoji analizė. Išnagrinėjus teorinius ir praktinius verslo partnerių tinklo plėtojimo aspektus, pateikiamos baigiamojo darbo išvados. Darbą sudaro 7 dalys: įvadas, bendros Europos Sąjungos rinkos poveikis verslo partnerių tinklų plėtojimui, verslo partnerių tinklų plėtojimo problematika, verslo partnerių atrankos ir įvertinimo teorija ir praktika, verslo partnerių poligrafijos sektoriuje įvertinimas ir bendradarbiavimo modeliavimas, išvados, literatūros sąrašas. Darbo apimtis – 76 p. teksto be priedų, 10 iliustr., 18 lent., 39 bibliografiniai šaltiniai. Atskirai pridedami darbo priedai. / Business partner network development problems, business partner selection, evaluation necessity and specific in printing and publishing sector is researched in closing master thesis. Exploring nonfiction and in reference to personal working experience in printing and publishing sphere, it is submited theoretical business partner network development model of the sector and practical components implementation of the model. Proposed theoretical model is composed of five following components: partner search, candidate evaluation, negotiation with selected candidate, contract signing and succsesfull partnership assurance. In various periods evaluation parameters and development criteria of business partner are analysed in closing master thesis. Main multicriteria methods are studied, regarding which business partner are evaluated and comparative analysis of these methods performed. Closing master thesis conclusion is presented after theoretical and practical business partner network development aspects research. Thesis consist of 7 parts: introduction, general European Union market influence to business partner network development, core of business partner network development, business partners selection and evaluation theory and practice, business partner evaluation and partnership modeling in printing and publishing sector, conclusion, literature list. Thesis consists of: 76 p. text without appendixes, 10 pictures, 18 tables, 39 bibliographical entries. Appendixes included.

<p><font size="4" face="TrebuchetMS,BoldItalic"><font size="4" face="TrebuchetMS,BoldItalic"> <p>The study used a qualitative approach. Fourteen (14) in-depth interviews were conducted with English and Luganda speaking adult male and female clients on antiretroviral treatment (ART), in TASO Mulago. A focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted with 8 purposively selected ART clients who were considered to be &lsquo / expert&rsquo / clients in TASO Mulago. These participants were expert clients/ peer educators, who were open about their HIV status and have been involved in HIV/AIDS education and advocacy. The individual interviews and the focus group discussion were transcribed verbatim, and subjected to thematic and content analysis. Male and female participants who were married (primary relationship) disclosed their sero-status to their sexual partners, while few of those cohabiting or in steady relationship (only one) disclosed to their partners. Enabling factors to disclose to current sexual partners included: desire for partner to get treatment, need for the partner&rsquo / s support, having prior knowledge of partner&rsquo / s HIV status, out of anger, and having anxiety about the future. Some of the barriers to disclosure included: fear of blame and disappointing the partner, fear of abandonment, fear of stigma and discrimination. Participants suggested that couple counselling and testing, economic independence, peer support and involvement of the TASO staff in disclosure should be considered to facilitate or promote disclosure to sexual partners.</p> </font></font></p>

Minimal research exists regarding the effectiveness of pause time as an independent strategy for communication partners to support the communication of young people who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). To date, pause time has been investigated as component of a group of interaction strategies only; therefore its validity as an interaction strategy for communication partners is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of variation in pause time as an interaction strategy when communicating with young people who use AAC. Eight participants aged 8:11 to 20:08 years (mean 16.02 years), who used a variety of AAC systems, participated in the study. Three pause time conditions were trialed during a scripted shared storybook reading task: two, 10 and 45 seconds in which to initiate a response. A total of 27 conversational turn opportunities were provided to participants over the course of the task. If no response was initiated within the pause time, the examiner moved on to the next turn opportunity. If a response was initiated, the participant was provided time to finish their turn. Turns were analyzed for percentage of responses made to a turn opportunity, mean length of utterance in words (MLU), percentage of assertive conversational acts made and the modes of communication used. Findings of the study indicated that participants were more likely to respond to a turn opportunity when their communication partner allowed a longer pause time. Additionally, a longer pause time resulted in a higher MLU. Participants did not use a greater number of assertive conversational acts or use their AAC system over other modes of communication when provided a longer pause time. Results are discussed in relation to the current AAC literature and implications of the findings for clinicians and communication partners of young people who use AAC.

Mating systems are classifications of the outcome of individual strategies aimed at maximising reproductive success. These systems have two components; one describes how individuals socially relate and bond to mating partners and the other describes the genetic outcome of actual mating activities. Reproductive activity is under strong endocrine and behavioural regulation where inter-sexual discrepancies in the regulation of reproductive success have resulted in the majority of mammal species exhibiting polygynous mating systems, with only 5% of mammals being socially monogamous. However, in monogamous species there can be a discrepancy between social pair bonds and sexual mating activities. Aardwolves are extreme diet specialists ii on a temporally fluctuating resource, Trinervertermes spp. A number of studies have described them as socially monogamous but at the same time observed a high frequency of extra pair copulations (EPCs). A recent study also linked sex variation in den use to polygamous mating. However, it is unclear to what extent these EPC's contribute to individual fitness, and how these contrasting mating strategies influence space use and reproductive physiology. The aim of this project was to determine if there was seasonality in reproductive activity and to test if endocrine physiology, home range size and space use were similar between males and females as predicted for a socially monogamous species. We assessed reproductive endocrinology in zoo-housed aardwolves and quantified if physiological and behavioural data in wild aardwolves relate more to predictions based on social monogamy or polygamy. We found physiological support for previous behavioural observations of reproductive seasonality in both zoo-housed and wild aardwolves. We suggest that the seasonal breeding strategy in aardwolves is as a direct consequence of their strong dietary preference on a temporally fluctuating resource, where it is important for aardwolves to time periods of high physiological investment in reproduction with high seasonal abundance of these termites. Our data on zoo-housed aardwolves also showed that the social environment appeared to modify physiological responses to variation in environmental conditions. We suggest that due to strict seasonal breeding in wild aardwolves females are time constrained in receptivity which, combined with their largely solitary behaviour, implies that males have to be dynamic in the onset of their reproductive activity to closely match that of locally receptive females. Therefore, it may be adaptive for aardwolves to retain social receptivity even if resource distributions cause these animals to forage alone. We also found that physiological and behavioural traits correspond better to predictions based on social monogamy than polygamous mating in a population of wild aardwolves. However, earlier studies in the same population found that behavioural traits were more related to predictions based on polygamous mating. Therefore, our data and other studies show how a difference between traits can relate to either social monogamy or polygamous mating in wild aardwolves in the same study area. We suggest that social mating system components regulate the observed endocrine and behavioural parameters more than actual mating patterns, which implies that social components pose a stronger selective pressure on physiology and behaviour than sexual mating patterns. Overall, we conclude that due to the discrepancy in traits that correspond to predictions based on different mating systems, aardwolves do not fit discreetly into any current mating system classification. We suggest that the evolutionary causes for the potentially conflicting mating strategies as well as the fitness benefits of these strategies need to be further investigated. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2013 / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

Magister Public Health - MPH / The increased number of new infections in Uganda necessitates HIV prevention programmes that address risky behaviours especially among heterosexual populations. The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) is the largest indigenous HIV/AIDS agency serving Uganda and the Great Lakes Region. TASO endeavours to empower sexually active clients to disclose their sero-status to their sexual partners and promotes partner testing for HIV. In spite of these efforts, only 12% of 2,071 sexually active clients in Mulago centre had disclosed by the end of 2006. This study aimed to explore the factors that influence clients’ decisions to disclose their HIV status to their partners in TASO Mulago, Kampala, Uganda. The study used a qualitative approach. Fourteen (14) in-depth interviews were conducted with English and Luganda speaking adult male and female clients on antiretroviral treatment (ART), in TASO Mulago. A focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted with 8 purposively selected ART clients who were considered to be ‘expert’ clients in TASO Mulago. These participants were expert clients/ peer educators, who were open about their HIV status and have been involved in HIV/AIDS education and advocacy. The individual interviews and the focus group discussion were transcribed verbatim, and subjected to thematic and content analysis. Male and female participants who were married (primary relationship) disclosed their sero-status to their sexual partners, while few of those cohabiting or in steady relationship (only one) disclosed to their partners. Enabling factors to disclose to current sexual partners included: desire for partner to get treatment, need for the partner’s support, having prior knowledge of partner’s HIV status, out of anger, and having anxiety about the future. Some of the barriers to disclosure included: fear of blame and disappointing the partner, fear of abandonment, fear of stigma and discrimination Participants suggested that couple counselling and testing, economic independence, peer support and involvement of the TASO staff in disclosure should be considered to facilitate or promote disclosure to sexual partners.While strategies like HBHCT and couple counselling have enhanced disclosure among sexual partners on ART living together in stable married relationships (primary), the partners in secondary relationships (cohabiting and steady) especially women, continue to face challenges in disclosure yet their sexual partners are at risk of HIV infection. The study has re-affirmed the fact that while some people living with HIV/AIDS wish to disclose their HIV status to their partners, there are compound factors that make it difficult to disclose. This calls for effective strategies by government, TASO and other agencies to ensure that sexual partners especially in cohabiting and steady relationships are disclosed to in order to reduce their vulnerability to HIV infection.

Magister Artium - MA / Cape Town is a unique city. It has a global biodiversity hotspot, in the midst of an urban area. Historically, nature conservation practice excluded and marginalized certain groups of people based on their race and class. This has led to peoples‘ disconnection from nature. Rapid biodiversity loss is a major concern for conservators. In the last three decades, there has been a paradigm shift in conservation practice in certain parts of the world. The Cape Flats Nature programme based in Cape Town followed suit and aimed to stimulate a bottom-up participatory approach to conservation and replace the traditional top-down management strategy. The programme was tasked to reconcile the challenges of complex and conflicting relationships between urban poverty, unequal access to resources and biodiversity conservation.This study was aimed at investigating the relationships between conservation management, community partners and urban conservation areas. These relationships are vital for the progression of new conservation practice in places where people live and work. In addition, the transformative aspects of conservation in relation to social inclusion and the shift in conservation approaches was investigated. The study was conducted at five of Cape Town‘s nature reserves, Edith Stephens Wetland Park, Macassar Dunes, Harmony Flats, Wolfgat and Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserves. Data collection included in depth interviews with key informants from various conservation organizations, the Cape Flats Nature Programme team, the managers of the selected reserves and community partners. Others included observational methods and analysis of secondary data.It was found that relationships between conservators and local communities are not easily created and maintained but relationships regardless of its depth are equally beneficial to communities and the conservators. Balancing social needs with conservation needs is a struggle for conservators but many successes came in cases where this balance was realized. In addition, the transformation of conservators‘ identity has changed community perceptions of conservation practice holistically. Although, many informants feel that transformation continues to remain unequal.

Far from signalling the end of social dialogue, the Marikana massacre underscores the importance of refining and adapting existing peak-level negotiating fora such as the National Economic, Development and Labour Council (Nedlac). To ensure social dialogue remains an integral component of the South African policy-making and national decision-making system, social partners rely on a system of consultation and dialogue to build on a shared national vision. Dialogue is accepted as a means of consolidating a young, democratic but deeply divided South African society. It’s also a medium through which to enhance participation in policy formulation and decision-making. The study reaffirms the critical role that social dialogue plays in a developing economy such as South Africa using the case study of the Marikana massacre to illustrate this point. However, through an analysis of official documents and media reports, as well as selected interviews, the study highlights that the effectiveness of social dialogue through a statutory structure such as Nedlac, is at risk of collapse due to the low levels of commitment of the social partners involved in the Council’s processes. The enhanced maturity of collective bargaining in creating a platform for engagement between labour and business is also emphasised through the outcomes of the research. The research recommends an overhaul of social dialogue principles and practices in order to derive benefit from the numerous benefits inherent in social dialogue. / Mini Dissertation (MSocSci)--University of Pretoria 2017. / Sociology / MSocSci / Unrestricted

Magister Public Health - MPH / In 2018 Opuwo Maternity Waiting Home (MWH) was inaugurated after its completion with the assistance from WHO and the European Union. This initiative by the Ministry of Health and Social Service and its partners was aimed to ensure safe deliveries as well as to overcome physical and socio-economic barriers such as long distances, communication and high transport costs to access health care facilities for safe deliveries in Opuwo District. However, since its inception the facility has been under-utilized. The aim of the study was to explore male partners’ experiences, perceptions and roles regarding the use of the MWH in Opuwo District, Namibia.