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Thesis (MCom)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The unequal distribution of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) across all South Africans is perhaps the most fundamental problem faced by South African organisations in terms of building sustainable human resource capacity. This inequality has a profoundly negative effect on the upward mobilisation of potentially competent employees within the labour market. Therefore, if the Human Resource Management and Industrial Psychology fraternity earnestly plans to earn the title of “strategic”, then both its academic and professional spheres need to get involved there where the fundamental cause of the problem originates: the lack of quality primary and secondary education in South Africa. Previous research found that the unequal distribution of the quality of primary and secondary schools in South Africa is to a large extent attributable to a lack of effective school leadership and management, with the school principal being the focal point (Van der Berg, 2007; van der Berg et al, 2011; Taylor, 2011). This finding leads to the research initiating question: why do some school principals outperform others in effectively leading their schools? The objective of this study is to offer an exploratory step towards explaining variance in school principal performance by studying the behaviours (competencies) associated with successful school principals. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to understand the context and identify broad categories of variables. This was followed by semi-structured interviews with a diverse sample of highly effective South African school principals (N=10). The qualitative analysis based on grounded theory principals, resulted in the refinement and expansion of the variables that were identified through the literature study. The final product culminates in a framework of eleven competency clusters, 32 School Principal Competencies (SPCs) and 173 behavioural examples. Similarly, the results yield two additional School Performance Outcomes (SPOs). Finally, a conceptual model is proposed that depicts the possible interrelationships between the School Principal Competencies and School Performance Outcomes. The study therefore contributes as a stepping stone in the path towards developing empirically-based human resource management instruments that in turn can lead to the improvement of the selection, development, and performance management of South African school principals. Due to the exploratory and qualitative nature of the study, follow-up studies are needed to develop and validate a School Principal Competency Questionnaire. This will enable future research to empirically test and validate a comprehensive school principal competency model. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die ongelyke verspreiding van kennis, vaardighede, vermoëns en ander eienskappe (KVVAe) is waarskynlik een van Suid-Afrika se grootste uitdagings in die proses tot die bou van ʼn volhoubare en gebalanseerde arbeidsmag. Hierdie ongelykheid veroorsaak ʼn negatiewe effek op die opwaartse beweging van potensieël bevoegde werknemers binne die arbeidsmark. Indien die Menslike Hulpbronbestuur en die Bedryfsielkunde gemeenskap dus werklik die titel “strategies” wil verdien, moet beide die akademiese en professionele terreine van hierdie funksie betrokke raak by die oorsprong van die probleem: die tekort aan kwaliteit primêre en sekondêre onderrig in Suid-Afrika. Vorige navorsing dui daarop dat ongelykheid in die kwaliteit van skole en onderwys grotendeels is as gevolg van swak leierskap en bestuur met die skoolhoof as die sleutelrolspeler. (Van der Berg, 2007; van der Berg et al, 2011; Taylor, 2011). Hierdie bevindinge lei tot die navorsingsinisiërende vraag: waarom presteer sommige skoolhoofde beter as ander in terme van die effektiewe leiding en bestuur van die betrokke skole? Die doel van hierdie studie is om ʼn verkennende stap tot die verklaring van variansie in die prestasie van skoolhoofde te bied deur middel van die bestudering van gedrag (bevoegdhede) wat met suksesvolle skoolhoofde geassosieer word. ʼn Omvattende literatuurstudie was uitgevoer met die doel om die konteks te verstaan en breë kategorieë van veranderlikes te identifiseer. Dit was opgevolg deur semigestruktureerde onderhoude met ʼn diverse steekproef (N=10) van hoogs-effektiewe Suid-Afrikaanse skoolhoofde gevoer. Die kwalitatiewe analise, gebaseer op gegronde teorie, loop uit op die verfyning asook die uitbreiding van die veranderlikes soos geïdentifiseer deur die literatuurstudie. Die eindproduk ontwikkel in ʼn raamwerk bestaande uit elf bevoegdheidsgroeperings, 32 Skoolhoof Bevoegdhede en 173 gedragsvoorbeelde. Twee addisionele Skool Prestasie Uitkomste spruit ook voort uit die analise. Ten slotte bied die studie ʼn konseptuele model wat die moontlike verwantskappe tussen die Skoolhoof Bevoeghede en Skool Prestasie Uitkomste uiteensit. Die studie bied dus ‘n waardevolle wegspringplek in die pad tot empiriesontwikkelde menslike hulpbronbestuur (MHB) instrumente wat op hul beurt weer kan lei tot die verbetering van die aanstelling, ontwikkeling, en prestasiebestuur van Suid-Afrikaanse skoolhoofde. As gevolg van die verkennende aard van die studie, is opvolgstudies nodig om ‘n Skoolhoof-bevoegdheidsvraelys te ontwikkel en te valideer en ten einde ‘n omvattende Skoolhoof-bevoegdheidsmodel empiries te toets en te valideer.

The Fröhlich coupling describes the interaction between electrons and infrared-active vibrations at long wavelength in polar semiconductors and insulators, and may result in the formation of polaronic quasiparticles. Polarons are electrons dressed by a phonon cloud, which can strongly affect the electronic properties of the crystal. Despite their ubiquitous role in a broad range of technologies, first-principles investigations of the electron-phonon interaction in polar materials are scarce. In this thesis we develop a general formalism for calculating the electron-phonon matrix element in polar semiconductors and insulators from first principles, which represents a generalization of the Fröhlich model and can be used to compute the polar electron-phonon coupling as a straightforward post-processing operation. We apply this procedure to explore an important material for photovoltaics, the hybrid lead halide perovskite CH₃NH₃PbI₃. In this case we show that the temperature dependence of emission line broadening is dominated by Fröhlich coupling. Our method is formulated in conjunction with an ab initio interpolation technique based on maximally localized Wannier functions, which allows to describe all forms of electron-phonon coupling on the same footing. We demonstrate the validity of this approach on the prototypical examples GaN and SrTiO₃. Focusing on anatase TiO₂, a transition metal oxide of wide technological interest, we establish quantitatively the effect of including the ab initio Fröhlich coupling in the calculation of electron lifetimes. The rest of the thesis is devoted to exploring the quasiparticle properties in doped oxides. In particular, we investigate angle-resolved photoemission spectra from first principles in doped anatase TiO₂ by proposing a novel framework that combines our ab initio matrix elements, including the dynamical screening arising from the added carriers, and the cumulant expansion approach. We compare our results with experimental data, and show that the transition from a polaronic to a Fermi liquid regime with increasing doping concentration originates from nonadiabatic polar electron-phonon coupling. We further validate this mechanism by calculating angle-resolved photoemission spectra in the ferromagnetic semiconductor EuO.

This thesis critically explores the role of consumer culture in young women’s understanding of self. Drawing on media and cultural studies literature as well as post-structuralist and critical perspectives, this study asks: how does consumer culture guide or influence a young woman’s way-of-being in everyday life? Despite arguments that consumer culture, underpinned by neoliberal principles of personal responsibility and individualism, has become the institution of reference for young women, consumer research on the experiences of women, and from feminist perspectives, is generally sparse. Moreover, claims that consumer culture may covertly subjugate young women by encouraging practices of self regulation are in contention with consumer research that emphasises consumption as a means of self-expression and agency. Therefore, a qualitative, feminist study was conducted in which, over 18 months, fifteen women, aged 20 to 34, engaged in multiple in-depth interviews. The data generation process typically consisted of four interviews over a nine-month period: the first interview covering life history and background was followed by an in-home ‘show-and-tell’ interview about the participant’s ‘stuff’. The third interview addressed participants’ engagement with digital technologies also through a ‘show-and-tell’ approach and the final interview was semi-structured, addressing themes emerging from previous interviews. This generated 50 interviews lasting two hours on average, as well as data from observation, photographs and engagement with social network sites. From a critical thematic analysis, four significant findings emerged. Firstly, in relation to being a woman, participants felt pressure to ‘have it all’ in terms of both traditional (e.g., getting married, raising children, being attractive) and progressive (e.g., achieving career success) ideals. Whilst some disagreed that women continue to be subjugated, most participants experienced a sense of mounting pressure and expectations compared to men and subscribed to neoliberal principles of personal responsibility in combatting gender inequality. Secondly, participants reflexively experienced being a consumer as an unavoidable, often burdensome and anxiety-provoking position that encouraged the making of the self through appearance, as well as adherence to hegemonic feminine ideals. A consumer orientation was further reinforced by increasingly pervasive digital spaces, particularly social media, infused with advertising and consumption. From this, a third finding emerged related to the understanding of self: participants often experienced or expressed a sense of self as a task, an individualistic project for which they felt responsible. Constantly comparing themselves to others to benchmark the project of the self, participants worked to continually craft a story of success and agency despite unpredictability of the life course and contradictory events sometimes conspiring. Moreover, participants who did not feel they had achieved career goals placed greater emphasis on crafting an ideal appearance. The fourth finding addresses the importance of others in understanding the self. Rather than experiencing an ‘identity’ as formed individually, participants looked to others (e.g., family, peers, media, ideologies) to understand the self. Focusing on the opinions of others was associated with anxiety, which varied in degree but was part of all participant accounts. This study suggests that consumer culture is indeed an institution of reference for young women as they experience a sense of self through consumption practices, increasingly digitally mediated. In this sense, the findings align with theorisations in consumer research. However, for the participants of this study, the experience of living the subject position ‘consumer’ is anxiety provoking, particularly in light of postfeminist, neoliberal discourses that encourage experiencing the self as a ‘project’ for which the individual is responsible. As reflected in the data, a self-as-project orientation triggered anxiety given disjointedness between the desire to manage or control the self fostered by dominant discourses, and the impossibility of doing so as reflected by lived experience. This positioning engendered alienation from the self and therefore anxiety that was further sparked by increasing individualism and competition with others; feelings of shame and envy; and a forward-looking temporal positioning. Therefore, findings suggest that consumer research’s conceptualisations of ‘identity’ as a ‘project’ in which individuals can express themselves through marketplace resources is problematic, if not further perpetuating the subjugation of women by rendering them as ‘free’ to consume their way into being. This calls into question individual agency and the role of cultural influences in the making of subjects. Therefore, findings suggest that, from an emancipatory perspective, consumer research examining processes of subject constitution might be more productive to understandings ‘identity’ and the ‘self’ in a particular space and time, with attention to implicit power relations.

Against the backdrop of health research regulation, this work engages in an exploration of, and offers suggestions towards, how the decision maker can negotiate the complex path of the difficult decision. It is argued that whilst rules and principles are heavily relied upon in order to determine what to do, this reliance takes place without adequate reflection of the different ways in which we seek to rely upon these decision-making aids. What is most often the topic of analysis is the content which rules and principles carry rather than consideration of the different functions which each can fulfil or their (un)suitability in helping the decision maker. Before we consider which principles or rules should inform our decisions, we need to understand why we are using rules and principles. It follows that in order to understand why we might use rules and principles, we must understand how rules and principles can actually help us to reach decisions. Through the development and refinement of a conceptual tree, this thesis sheds light on the how and the why, in order to help decision makers determine the which. Through the metaphor of a continuum, additional insights are offered on the interrelationships that might co-exist between rules and principles. This thesis begins by offering an analysis of pre-existing understandings of rules and principles from legal theory and bioethics literatures. Additionally, I consider the implications of principle-centric and rule-centric approaches to decision-making. Through the overarching metaphor of a tree, a conceptualisation of best practice instantiations, which represent a helpful middle-ground between rules and principles is also offered. This can provide significant practical support to the decision maker in navigating the path of the difficult decision.

Submitted by Edileide Reis (leyde-landy@hotmail.com) on 2013-04-17T16:14:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Roberto Figueiredo.pdf: 730204 bytes, checksum: e713b3cd2636ebbfa26ab3cf7a66c403 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Meirelles(rodrigomei@ufba.br) on 2013-05-09T17:27:53Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Roberto Figueiredo.pdf: 730204 bytes, checksum: e713b3cd2636ebbfa26ab3cf7a66c403 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-05-09T17:27:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Roberto Figueiredo.pdf: 730204 bytes, checksum: e713b3cd2636ebbfa26ab3cf7a66c403 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / O objeto desta dissertação de mestrado é o direito convencional entendido como um sub-ramo do direito civil que disciplina todas as relações familiares não matrimonializadas. O recorte acadêmico versa sobre a tentativa de harmonização dos aspectos patrimoniais e econômicos do fenômeno de migração das relações genésicas para o direito constitucional. Este direito convivencial assim denominado nos manuais jurídicos brasileiros carece de uma conformação principiológica que permita melhor compreender os efeitos patrimoniais e econômicos destas relações familiares não matrimonializadas. As recentes mudanças nos usos e costumes da sociedade permitiram reconhecer a legitimação de novos arranjos familiares fora do âmbito matrimonial e carecedores de disciplina jurídica ante a nova concepção paradigmática que se instaurou no Direito das Famílias. Dentro desta evolução dinâmica do signo família se fez mister analisar aspectos filosóficos e sociais de ontem e de hoje para estabelecer uma crítica ao atual paradigma de núcleo familiar. Constatada a necessidade de superação deste paradigma epistemológico na busca de se perceber a razão de uma outra forma socorreu-se aos princípios constitucionais que foram depurados. Estava aberto o campo para a sistematização principiológica do direito convivencial a permitir o estudo dos aspectos econômicos e patrimoniais destes arranjos familiares fora do casamento. / Salvador

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo geral analisar se e de que modo o cooperativismo pode ser um meio eficiente para auxiliar a concretização do ideal democrático de uma economia de mercado com inclusão econômica e social, oportunizando o desenvolvimento de caráter endógeno, em um modelo desenvolvimentista com participação da sociedade civil e novas formas de organização econômica, favorecendo a emergência de uma nova classe empresarial. Como objetivos específicos, figuram analisar as origens do cooperativismo e as conformações específicas deste sistema, enquanto valores e ideais de sociedade; analisar os aspectos econômicos e institucionais do cooperativismo; analisar o cooperativismo na atual Constituição brasileira, de acordo com os valores que regem essa norma e sua relevância teleológica; bem como, formular sugestões de princípios de organização institucional do cooperativismo, para potencializar seu emprego como meio de concretizar os ideais democráticos e suprir carências brasileiras, como as existentes nas áreas de educação, infraestrutura e saúde. São empregadas conjuntamente diretrizes teóricas tanto da área econômica quanto de áreas correlatas ao tema, com o intuito de demonstrar a possibilidade de adoção do cooperativismo como ferramenta de desenvolvimento social. O trabalho é composto por quatro partes, sendo a primeira focada na análise das origens do cooperativismo. Na segunda parte, são analisados os aspectos econômicos e institucionais do cooperativismo. Esse item do trabalho foi complementado por três anexos de cunho jurídico: um sobre a evolução da legislação referente ao cooperativismo no Brasil, o segundo sobre a personalidade jurídica das cooperativas e o terceiro sobre as sociedades cooperativas no Código Civil. Na terceira parte, consta a análise do cooperativismo na Constituição Federal de 1988. Na quarta seção, são formuladas propostas de princípios de organização institucional do cooperativismo. Mais precisamente, dado que o ambiente e os arranjos institucionais têm acentuada influência sobre o comportamento dos agentes econômicos, são citadas propostas para mitigar eventuais dificuldades microeconômicas próprias das cooperativas, bem como para constituir incentivos na adoção do cooperativismo como ferramenta auxiliar na concretização dos ideais democráticos e na supressão das carências atuais existentes no Brasil. / This paper has as its main objective to analyze whether and how cooperativism can be an efficient means to assist the realization of the democratic ideal of a market economy with economic and social inclusions, providing opportunities for the development of endogenous character, in a developmental model with participation of civil society and new forms of economic organization, favoring the emergence of a new entrepreneurial class. Specific objectives include analyzing the origins of the cooperativism and the specific conformations of this system, while values and ideals of society; analyze the economic and institutional aspects of cooperativism; analyze cooperativism in the current Brazilian Constitution, in accordance with the values that govern this standard and its teleological significance; as well as make suggestions of principles of institutional organization of cooperativism to enhance their employment as a means of achieving democratic ideals and meet Brazilian needs, as those existing in the areas of education, infrastructure and health. They are employed together both theoretical guidelines of the economic area as well as of those related to correlated areas, in order to demonstrate the possibility of adoption of cooperativism as a tool for social development. The paper consists of four parts, the first focused on the analysis of the origins of cooperativism. In the second part, the economic and institutional aspects of cooperativism are analyzed. This item was complemented by three appendixes of legal nature: one on the evolution of the legislation on cooperativism in Brazil, the second about the legal status of cooperatives and the third on the cooperative societies in the Civil Code. The third part consists in the analysis of cooperativism in the Federal Constitution of 1988. In the fourth section, proposed principles of institutional organization of cooperativism are formulated. More precisely, since the environment and institutional arrangements have marked influence on the behavior of economic agents, proposals are cited to mitigate eventual microeconomic difficulties characteristic of cooperatives, as well as provide incentives for the adoption of cooperativism as an auxiliary tool in the realization of democratic ideals and suppression of current deficiencies in Brazil.

APPEALS IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS ABSTRACT This thesis tries to describe the legislation of appeals in criminal proceeding in the Czech Republic. The aim is to present information on the historical development of remedies in criminal proceedings, on the basic principles of criminal proceedings, on the recent legislation of appeals in criminal proceedings, then a short comparison of the legislation in Austria and finally to point out to some of its deficiencies and suggest their solutions. The introduction of the thesis gives the basic information on the work itself, its aims and reasons which convinced the author to choose this topic. The first chapter of it is devoted to a short description of the legislation of remedies in history. Then, the basic principles of criminal proceedings and their effects on remedial proceedings are described. The third chapter focuses on the basic classification of remedies in the Czech Republic. The most exhaustive chapter with the analysis of the legislation of appeals follows. The biggest part in it is devoted to the description of remedial proceedings and several institutes are criticized here. Time periods, entitled person, the requirements for the content of an appeal, proceedings before the Court of First Instance, proceedings before Appeal Court and finally proceedings...

Huguenot Primary School expressed its need for a scientifically based programme which could be used to implement, within the context of the holistic approach and the community of Wellington, the principle of respect in the current curriculum. Specific components for a guidance programme have been identified by means of focus group meetings gathered from the target population (parents, educators and learners from Huguenot Primary School, and role models within the community). The theoretical base of Kohlberg (1964, 1966, 1978, and 1985) and the three levels of moral development were applicable in this instance. The Gestalt perspective and field theory formed the paradigm of the study. From the qualitative approach, applied research with an explorative and descriptive nature was used to identify and describe the above-mentioned components. The instrumental case study method was utilized as research strategy. A purposive test sample was done in order to compile a representative target population. / Social Work