The aim of this research was to analyse the competitiveness of the South African mining industry in order to assess the viability of mineral beneficiation. This study also aimed to establish what was required in the mining industry in order to provide an environment which enables competitiveness going forward. The Diamond Model of Industry Competitiveness developed by Michael Porter was utilised in analysing the mining industry's competitiveness. In the process of the analysis, the model was interrogated for validity in a developing and dynamic country via inference of the analysis of the South African mining industry. Based on the results of this research, a new model, built on the findings outlined by the Diamond Model, was developed. The research found that the mining industry is not competitive at present and will not be able to provide an environment conducive to beneficiation in South Africa. Investigation further revealed that, as a result of the importance placed on the elements of the model, the Diamond Model is viable in a developing and dynamic environment. The results further provided sufficient feedback regarding how to utilise the elements from the Diamond Model in redesigning the competitive analysis in a forward-looking manner. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

Orientador: Sergio Campos / Coorientador: Anselmo Jose Spadotto / Banca: Yara Manfrin Garcia / Banca: Lincoln Gehring Cardoso / Resumo: A energia é uma das bases de maior importância para a sociedade já que contribui no desenvolvimento dos países, as mudanças na matriz energética para uso de fontes renováveis causarão impactos positivos, contribuindo num desenvolvimento sustentável. As modificações na matriz energética brasileira e hondurenha com o propósito de torná-las mais eficientes e procurando contribuir com o desenvolvimento ambiental e jurídico configuram o tema de interesse desta pesquisa. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo geral analisar o desenvolvimento qualitativo e jurídico da matriz energética do Brasil e de Honduras e como objetivos específicos estudar as características da matriz energética e suas dependências de energia não renovável no período de 2000 a 2016 para o Brasil e de 2000 a 2015 para Honduras e avaliar o efeito das estratégias jurídicas na mudança da matriz energética de ambos países por meio de uma análise comparativa na legislação energética do Brasil e de Honduras. A metodologia empregada foi qualitativa por meio de uma pesquisa de sondagem, o período experimental foi de 15/11/2016 a 30/03/2018 onde se procuraram informações e normas legais referentes ao objetivo deste trabalho. Foram consultados artigos científicos em sites especializados, os dados estatísticos do consumo energético foram obtidos de organizações internacionais. Em sites oficiais governamentais consultou-se a legislação energética de Brasil e Honduras e usando-se como critério transversal a atualização e vi... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Energy is one of the most important bases for society since it contributes to the development of countries, changes in the energy matrix for use of renewable sources will cause positive impacts, contributing to sustainable development. The changes in the Brazilian and Honduran energy matrix in order to make them more efficient and seeking to contribute to environmental and legal development are the theme of interest in this research. The present work had as general objective to analyze the qualitative and legal development of the energy matrix of Brazil and Honduras and as specific objectives to study the characteristics of the energy matrix and its dependencies of nonrenewable energy in the period from 2000 to 2016 for Brazil and 2000 to 2015 for Honduras and to evaluate the effect of the legal strategies in the change of the energy matrix of both countries through a comparative analysis in the energy legislation of Brazil and Honduras. The methodology used was qualitative by means of a survey, the experimental period was from 11/15/2016 to 03/30/2018 where information and legal norms regarding the objective of this work were sought. Scientific articles were consulted on specialized websites, statistical data on energy consumption were obtained from international organizations. Government official websites consulted the energy legislation of Brazil and Honduras and using as a transversal criterion the updating and validity of the same. As results it was found that both countries are dependent on non-renewable energy to cover energy demand but are on the right path in diversifying their energy matrix, it was also possible to verify that there is a convergence between some energy laws of Brazil and Honduras, as well as other laws that can help in the energy efficiency of the countries improving the socioeconomic development ... / Mestre

Organisations depend on strong and competent leaders for their sustainability, profitability and competitiveness. Therefore organisations have an extremely strong focus on development, and especially on leader development. Mentoring has been recognised as a developmental tool (Truter, 2008, p.61) and is therefore employed by many organisations to foster such development. The primary aim of this study is to determine whether and to what effect, mentoring can be used to foster leader development in a business context. The research is of a qualitative, phenomenological nature and enquires into the perceptions, personal experiences and knowledge of people who have been exposed to mentoring and leader development, in order to understand how mentoring has played a role in the development of their leadership. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of six participants in order to collect the required data; and South African and international literature was consulted in order to interpret the interview data accurately in terms of the primary aim of the study. The study revealed the following results amongst others: <ul> <li> There is a connection between mentoring and leader development and mentoring can be used to develop leaders.</li> <li> Leader development is not possible in the absence of mentoring.</li> <li> Mentoring can contribute to leader development by focussing on a person’s development and teaching that person to become a good or a better leader.</li> <li> Mentoring has the ability to positively impact or benefit leader development.</li> <li> Mentoring has the ability to develop a person’s leadership capability and competence (i.e. his/her ability to be a leader).</li> <li> Mentoring can be used as a tool to develop effective leaders.</li> </ul> / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

Bakgrund: Endometrios är en sjukdom som drabbar var tionde kvinna i fertil ålder. Fysioterapi rekommenderas som alternativ behandling eftersom det kan ha en smärtlindrande effekt och höja kvinnornas livskvalité. I litteraturen framkommer inte hur kvinnor med endometrios upplever den fysioterapeutiska behandlingen som helhet. Det finns därför behov av att undersöka hur den fysioterapeutiska behandlingen upplevs av kvinnor med endometrios. Syfte: Utforska kvinnors erfarenheter och upplevelser av endometrios och fysioterapeutisk behandling vid endometrios. Metod: Studien var av kvalitativ design. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med fem kvinnor i åldrarna 24–40 år som diagnostiserats med endometrios. Deltagarna rekryterades via en Facebookgrupp och ett Instagramkonto för kvinnor med endometrios. Bekvämlighetsurval tillämpades. Databearbetning av materialet gjordes genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: I analysprocessen formulerades fyra huvudkategorier: Att leva med endometrios, Betydelse av fysioterapeutens förkunskap, Att skapa en trygg miljö med patienten och Individuella upplevelsen av de fysioterapeutiska behandlingarna. Kategorierna lyfter upplevelser och erfarenheter av sjukdomens påverkan i vardagen, fysioterapeutens kunskap och bemötande samt effekten av behandlingsmetoderna. Slutsats: Endometrios beskrevs ständigt påverka informanternas vardag där fysioterapin bidragit till lindring av symtom genom att de fått ny kunskap om smärtan samt individuellt anpassade behandlingar. Det ansågs värdefullt för informanterna att vara delaktiga i val av behandling. Att bli hörd och bekräftad upplevdes som viktigt i mötet med fysioterapeuten. Det framkom olika upplevelser av effekten av TENS, akupunktur, fysisk aktivitet och behandling av bäckenbotten. För att tydliggöra vad som gör behandlingen effektiv behövs fler studier. / Background: Endometriosis is a disease that affects every tenth woman of reproductive age. Physiotherapy is recommended as part of a treatment because it can have a pain-relieving effect and increase quality of life. The literature does not present how women with endometriosis experience the physiotherapeutic treatment. Therefore, there is a need to investigate how physiotherapeutic treatment is experienced by women with endometriosis. Objectives: Examine women's experiences of endometriosis and physiotherapeutic treatment in endometriosis.  Method: The study was of qualitative design. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with women aged 24–40 diagnosed with endometriosis. They were recruited through a Facebook group and an Instagram account. Convenience sampling was applied. Data processing was done with qualitative content analysis. Results: Four main categories were formulated: Living with endometriosis, Importance of physiotherapist's knowledge, Creating a safe environment with the patient and Individual experience of the physiotherapeutic treatments. The categories highlight experiences of the impact of the disease, the physiotherapist's knowledge and the effect of treatment methods. Conclusion: Endometriosis was described as constantly influencing the everyday lives of informants where physiotherapy has contributed to relief of symptoms by obtaining new knowledge and by individually tailored treatments. It was considered valuable for informants to be involved in the choice of treatment. Being heard and validated was perceived as important. Various experiences of the effect of TENS, acupuncture, physical activity and treatment of the pelvic floor emerged. To clarify what makes the treatment effective, more studies are needed.

Over the last several years, there has been an increased awareness regarding consensual sexual relationships (CSRs) between professors and students. Specifically, there has been a growing movement for academic institutions to develop policies addressing, discouraging, and/or prohibiting these relationships due to the potential for sexual harassment cases. Even though the appropriateness of such relationships has been widely debated among the university community, a limited amount of empirical work has examined this issue with the majority focusing on attitudinal studies. The current exploratory study consists of a content analysis of 278 faculty and student responses to the question, “If there is a difference between consensual sexual relationships and sexual harassment, what is it?” Responses indicate that there are several overlapping themes for both faculty and students in how they view these differences, with a large number of responses specifically indicating themes such as “CSR is consensual” while “sexual harassment is one sided.” There are also some unique perspectives given by faculty regarding the complexities and acceptability of CSRs, who are generally more specific and nuanced in their answers. Considering the complexities of this issue, it is the recommendation of the current study that much more research fully exploring the attitudes of faculty and students is needed to develop a well-rounded and comprehensive policy.

Introduction: The scarcity of rigorous evidence regarding rare disease therapies contributes to uncertainty for stakeholders who make decisions about the use, prescription, or funding of such therapies. My dissertation objective was to integrate stakeholder perspectives and evidence related to how rare disease therapies are evaluated to better understand drivers of uncertainty in decision making and develop an evaluation framework for future evidence generation, synthesis, and decision support. Methods: To better understand the perceived challenges in generating robust treatment effectiveness evidence, and describe various methods for mitigating these challenges, I used a meta-narrative literature review. I also conducted focus group interviews with key rare disease stakeholders (patients/caregivers, physicians, and policy advisors) to elicit different perspectives on how evidence is generated, evaluated, and synthesized in the context of health care decision making, both at a personal and population level. Finally, I integrated the focus group findings with a targeted literature review to identify characteristics of rare diseases and their candidate therapies that may warrant special consideration in health technology assessment (HTA) and health care decision making. Findings: My dissertation data revealed three fundamental challenges in generating robust treatment effectiveness evidence for rare diseases: limitations in recruiting a sufficient sample; inability to account for clinical heterogeneity; and reliance on outcomes with unclear clinical relevance. Several methodological solutions have been proposed to overcome these challenges. In addition, study participants described different perspectives on how they choose to participate in and use research in their roles as health care users, care providers, and policy advisors. Notably, conventional wisdom that patients/caregivers participate in clinical research studies because of therapeutic misconception was not supported. Finally, focus group and literature review findings identified information that potentially warrants special consideration in future HTA specific to rare diseases, including characteristics of the disease, understanding of causal hypotheses relevant to the therapy, and complexities of cost-effectiveness given the high price of many rare disease therapies. Discussion: Together, the findings from this dissertation support an evaluation framework with eight key principles that aim to mitigate important aspects of uncertainty from various stakeholder perspectives and promote evidence-informed decision making about rare disease therapies.

Although Canada is a bilingual country, official language minority community patients struggle to access quality care in their language. This reality has been of concern for Francophone minority communities in Ontario, but has seldom been examined in a nursing context. This research sought to examine the lived experiences of registered nurses and nursing students providing care to French-speaking patients in Ontario, as well as the realities of Francophone patients seeking French language health care services in Ontario. The conceptual frameworks guiding the study were the “Four Levels of Change for Improving Quality” model and the “Four-Level Model of the Health Care System.” Using qualitative phenomenological inquiry, as influenced by Martin Heidegger and Max van Manen, 31 semi-structured interviews were conducted with three subsets (n=10 Francophone patients; n=10 nursing students; n=11 registered nurses) throughout Ontario who had experience with the phenomenon being investigated. Data collection took place over a year (2018-2019) and was analysed thematically. Significant findings were identified across the three groups. Participants revealed the patchwork of individual actions taking place to remedy the existing gaps regarding care for Francophone minority populations. This included navigating a health care system where good enough care was the unfortunate standard for Francophone patients, and discussing how Francophone patients and nursing care providers implement strategies individually to manage the lack of resources for Francophone patient populations in Ontario. This thesis asserts that official language minority communities and their nursing care providers remain faced with difficulties providing and receiving care in Ontario. While numerous structures and resources exist to remediate the problems, these interventions and resources are not always implemented systemically, leading to a disproportionate burden on individuals, significant risks for safety for patient populations, and ethical dilemmas for nursing care providers. Recommendations are provided to bridge the gaps and ensure considerations of the needs of linguistic minorities throughout the health care system.

Over the last several years, there has been an increased awareness regarding consensual sexual relationships (CSRs) between professors and students. Specifically, there has been a growing movement for academic institutions to develop policies addressing, discouraging, and/or prohibiting these relationships due to the potential for sexual harassment cases. Even though the appropriateness of such relationships has been widely debated among the university community, a limited amount of empirical work has examined this issue with the majority focusing on attitudinal studies. The current exploratory study consists of a content analysis of 278 faculty and student responses to the question, “If there is a difference between consensual sexual relationships and sexual harassment, what is it?” Responses indicate that there are several overlapping themes for both faculty and students in how they view these differences, with a large number of responses specifically indicating themes such as “CSR is consensual” while “sexual harassment is one sided.” There are also some unique perspectives given by faculty regarding the complexities and acceptability of CSRs, who are generally more specific and nuanced in their answers. Considering the complexities of this issue, it is the recommendation of the current study that much more research fully exploring the attitudes of faculty and students is needed to develop a well-rounded and comprehensive policy.

In this study, I explored marriage and family therapist interns' growth experiences, both personal and professional, and the interplay between them. Participants discussed, using Internet discussion board and chat room formats, different kinds of personal experiences that influenced their clinical growth (as well as the reverse) and how these growth processes came about. Family systems theory provided the theoretical framework and Constructivism theory guided the manner in which the study was conducted. Thirteen marriage and family therapist interns from ten accredited MFT programs participated in the discussion board portion of the study. During the chat room interview, which took place at the end of the study, four participants elaborated upon their growth experiences and the reciprocal influence between their personal and professional lives. This study highlighted numerous personal, clinical, and professional growth experiences that played significant roles in the participants' lives. Participants identified experiences that were categorized as either "sources of growth" (what led to growth?) or "kinds of growth" (how did they grow?). For example, personal therapy and work experiences were noted as influential sources of growth for their clinical work. Family Systems Theory, whether discussed in a classroom setting or implemented in the clinic room, was considered influential on their personal lives. Participants' mentioned various kinds of personal and clinical growth experiences such as self-awareness, perspective-taking, and open-mindedness. To conceptualize and illustrate therapist interns' recursive growth processes, a theoretical model was developed. / Master of Science

This study utilized life history as a methodological tool to explore the identity formation of Mary, a woman in her eighties who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The results of this study showed that Mary's sense of self was greatly influenced by her childhood experiences. Five predominate themes emerged in the interview process: Mary's admiration for her father, her willingness to share wisdom, her career as a beautician, her role as a mother, and her devotion as a wife. The Dynamical Identity Model was constructed to help further illustrate Mary's identity development and the model served as a basis to describe possible outcomes in Mary's life, as a woman diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Her story reveals that Mary has a wonderful disposition about life and, even though she was diagnosed with this disease, she does not perceive the disease as threatening. / Master of Science