South Africa is in need of foreign direct investment (FDI) to increase economic growth and alleviate unemployment and poverty. To succeed in obtaining this FDI, South Africa must compete with the rest of the world for the available FDI. The global economic outlook is currently still uncertain and the growth of advanced economies are slowing down while Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa continue to grow at a steady pace. South Africa, as part of Sub-Saharan Africa, should take advantage of this growth on the African continent as well as internationally. Although studies have been performed to ascertain the tax policies of countries, the role of taxation applied by countries and the effects of taxation on FDI, there have been few studies on the tax policies specifically in respect of withholding taxes on interest. The new South African withholding tax on interest, applicable to South African source interest payments to non-residents, has been proposed to be included in terms of sections 49A to 49H in the Income Tax Act (58 of 1962) and will become effective from 1 January 2015. These sections have been introduced to align the said withholding tax and the section 10(1)(h) interest exemption, applicable to normal income tax in respect of non-residents, to the withholding taxes on interest and interest exemptions applied globally. Attention should be focused on whether the aforementioned global alignment will be achieved with the introduction of this legislation as South Africa had previously applied a similar legislation called non-residents’ tax on interest (NRTI) which appeared to be unsuccessful. Determining whether this legislation has been aligned with global practice will provide useful insight into whether this new legislation will promote, stagnate or be indifferent to FDI in South Africa, while at the same time not eroding the tax base with overly generous exemptions. This study reviews and compares the taxes implemented globally specifically in relation to withholding taxes on interest in a selection of countries, namely the developing countries Brazil, Russia, India, China, Mozambique and Namibia and the developed countries Germany and Denmark. Other determinants which will also have an impact on the comparisons of these withholding taxes are, for example, normal and withholding tax interest exemptions and repo rates – all of which have been incorporated into this comparative study. Based on the literature reviewed and the comparative analysis, the study concludes that the South African withholding tax on interest is effectively designed to keep attracting foreign lending in order to remain competitive in international markets. It is further shown that the South African legislation in respect of the section 10(1)(h) blanket interest exemption is aligned to that of global practice. / MCom (South African and International Taxation), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

South Africa is in need of foreign direct investment (FDI) to increase economic growth and alleviate unemployment and poverty. To succeed in obtaining this FDI, South Africa must compete with the rest of the world for the available FDI. The global economic outlook is currently still uncertain and the growth of advanced economies are slowing down while Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa continue to grow at a steady pace. South Africa, as part of Sub-Saharan Africa, should take advantage of this growth on the African continent as well as internationally. Although studies have been performed to ascertain the tax policies of countries, the role of taxation applied by countries and the effects of taxation on FDI, there have been few studies on the tax policies specifically in respect of withholding taxes on interest. The new South African withholding tax on interest, applicable to South African source interest payments to non-residents, has been proposed to be included in terms of sections 49A to 49H in the Income Tax Act (58 of 1962) and will become effective from 1 January 2015. These sections have been introduced to align the said withholding tax and the section 10(1)(h) interest exemption, applicable to normal income tax in respect of non-residents, to the withholding taxes on interest and interest exemptions applied globally. Attention should be focused on whether the aforementioned global alignment will be achieved with the introduction of this legislation as South Africa had previously applied a similar legislation called non-residents’ tax on interest (NRTI) which appeared to be unsuccessful. Determining whether this legislation has been aligned with global practice will provide useful insight into whether this new legislation will promote, stagnate or be indifferent to FDI in South Africa, while at the same time not eroding the tax base with overly generous exemptions. This study reviews and compares the taxes implemented globally specifically in relation to withholding taxes on interest in a selection of countries, namely the developing countries Brazil, Russia, India, China, Mozambique and Namibia and the developed countries Germany and Denmark. Other determinants which will also have an impact on the comparisons of these withholding taxes are, for example, normal and withholding tax interest exemptions and repo rates – all of which have been incorporated into this comparative study. Based on the literature reviewed and the comparative analysis, the study concludes that the South African withholding tax on interest is effectively designed to keep attracting foreign lending in order to remain competitive in international markets. It is further shown that the South African legislation in respect of the section 10(1)(h) blanket interest exemption is aligned to that of global practice. / MCom (South African and International Taxation), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This dissertation explores the perceptions of different groups of people (subsystems) who affect and are affected by the phenomenon of day labourers in Tshwane. Three "day labourer sites" were identified. Businesses, residents, police, metro-police and the municipality directly connected to these sites were interviewed. Their perceptions were analysed using the systemic frame of reference. The data was processed to describe perceptual relational patterns between the day labourers and the different subsystems. The following themes amongst these relational patterns were identified and described: employment, law and order, contact between subsystems, sharing the environment / community and resources / facilities. These themes were described in relation to the Bill of Rights (Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996). This research aims to highlight some of the voices of the groups affecting and affected by the phenomenon of day labourers. / Social Work / M.A. (Mental Health)

Bakgrund: Människan påverkas på ett socialt, mentalt och fysiskt plan av de förändringar åldrandet för med sig. En flytt till äldreboende kan bli aktuell när omvårdnadsbehoven blir för omfattande. Inom vården används husdjur på olika sätt. Dock finns en stor variation för hur mycket husdjur används på äldreboenden.Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien är att sammanställa resultat av husdjursinterventioner på personer som bor på äldreboende. Vidare är syftet att beskriva undersökningsgruppen i de inkluderade artiklarna.Metod: Föreliggande studie är en litteraturstudie som baserats på 15 kvantitativa vetenskapliga artiklar. Artikelsökning har genomförts i databaserna Cinahl och PubMed.Huvudresultat: Husdjursinterventioner på äldreboenden har visat sig påverka flera faktorer så som social interaktion, beteendeförändringar samt psykisk hälsa. Efter interventionerna ökade social interaktion mellan deltagare, personal och djur samt minskade känslor av ensamhet. Störst ökning av social interaktion påvisades vid stimuli av levande djur jämfört med leksaksdjur. Beteendeförändringar som aggressivitet, vandringsbeteende, rastlöst beteende, avvikande beteende, ovilja att samarbeta och sömnstörningar minskade efter interventionerna, men i flera fall är dock effekten kortvarig. Även förändringar i beteenden kring måltidssituationen har påvisats. Den psykiska hälsan förbättrades efter interventionerna genom minskning av depressiva symtom, ångest, tvångshandlingar, somatisering, förbättrad kognitiv förmåga, bättre humör, bättre upplevd livskvalitet samt autonomi.Slutsats: Resultatet påvisar att husdjursinterventioner har positiva effekter och främjar hälsan för personer som bor på äldreboenden och kan användas som ett komplement till övriga omvårdnadsåtgärder. / Background: Humans are affected on a social, mental and physical way by the changes that come with aging. A move to a nursing home can be necessary when the need of care becomes too substantial. Pets are used in different ways in health care. However, there is a great variety in what extent pets are used in nursing homes.Aim: The purpose of this study is to compile the results of pet interventions on residents living in nursing homes. A further purpose is to describe the study group of the included articles.Method: The present study is a literature review based on 15 quantitative scientific articles. The literature research was executed in the databases Cinahl and PubMed.Main result: Pet interventions in nursing homes have been shown to effect several factors such as social interaction, changes in behaviour and mental health. After the interventions social interaction increased between participants, staff, pets and decreased feelings of loneliness. The greatest increase in social interaction was shown with stimuli by a living pet compared to toypets. Behavioural changes such as agitation, wandering, restlessnes, diverge behaviour, uncoorporative behaviour and sleep disorder decreased after the interventions, but in several cases the duration of the effects was short. Effects have also been shown on behaviours during mealtime. Mental health improved after the interventions by decreasing depressive symptoms, anxiety, compulsive actions, somatisation, improved cognitive function, better mood, better perceieved quality of live and autonomy.Conclusion: The result demonstrates that pet interventions have positive effects and promotes health for residents living in nursing homes and can be used as a complement to other actions of nursing.

This thesis investigates using adaptive estimation techniques to determine unknown model parameters such as size and surface material reflectivity, while estimating position, velocity, attitude, and attitude rates of a resident space object. This work focuses on the application of these methods to the space situational awareness problem. This thesis proposes a unique method of implementing a top-level gating network in a dual-layer hierarchical mixture of experts. In addition it proposes a decaying learning parameter for use in both the single layer mixture of experts and the dual-layer hierarchical mixture of experts. Both a single layer mixture of experts and dual-layer hierarchical mixture of experts are compared to the multiple model adaptive estimation in estimating resident space object parameters such as size and reflectivity. The hierarchical mixture of experts consists of macromodes. Each macromode can estimate a different parameter in parallel. Each macromode is a single layer mixture of experts with unscented Kalman filters used as the experts. A gating network in each macromode determines a gating weight which is used as a hypothesis tester. Then the output of the macromode gating weights go to a top level gating weight to determine which macromode contains the most probable model. The measurements consist of astrometric and photometric data from non-resolved observations of the target gathered via a telescope with a charge coupled device camera. Each filter receives the same measurement sequence. The apparent magnitude measurement model consists of the Ashikhmin Shirley bidirectional reflectance distribution function. The measurements, process models, and the additional shape, mass, and inertia characteristics allow the algorithm to predict the state and select the most probable fit to the size and reflectance characteristics based on the statistics of the measurement residuals and innovation covariance. A simulation code is developed to test these adaptive estimation techniques. The feasibility of these methods will be demonstrated in this thesis.

This thesis analyzes the concept of corporate residence, with particular reference to the law in the UK and Canada. It explores why corporate residence is relevant in tax policy, how corporate residence is understood in law, and how revenue authorities respond to the use and alleged 'abuse' of residence rules. Part I argues that the residence of taxpayers generally (individual or corporate) remains a relevant factor in international tax design, that taxation of corporations on the basis of residence has some justification, but that there is a disjunction between meaningful residence-based taxation and current definitions of corporate residence in domestic law and tax treaties. The formulations of residence based on incorporation, central management and control, and place of effective management, particularly as applied to multinational enterprises, are considered and are found to be deficient. Part II critically analyzes the major policy responses of the UK and Canadian governments to the exploitation of corporate residence. It argues that key legislative and administrative responses to international tax avoidance activities, for both outbound and inbound investment, are purportedly based on the acceptance of formal corporate residence yet undermine that concept in an effort to impose tax or refuse treaty relief based on where economic interests actually exist. The responses considered are the application of controlled foreign companies legislation to offshore subsidiaries, the invocation of treaty anti-abuse rules with respect to offshore intermediaries, and the use of overarching general anti-avoidance measures to challenge varied structures that rely on offshore entities. These haphazard anti-avoidance rules are overlaid with revenue authorities' indignation at the motivations that underlie many corporate relocations. It is argued that a more coherent approach would be to focus on the objective reality or unreality of corporate establishment, by reformulating corporate residence in domestic law and tax treaties.

The purpose of my thesis is the application of the concept of the socio-cultural-carrying capacity of the territory via example of giant tourist destinations Špindlerův Mlýn and Rokytnice nad Jizerou. For these two destinations basic information about locations are discussed in more detail; as a major ski resort, including equipment material and technical bases, and local infrastructure. In the theoretical part, I focus on definitions and explanations of concepts of tolerable capacity of the area, with a focus on socio-cultural carrying capacity. Furthermore, I discuss Doxey's irritant index which describes the relationship between residents and tourists. In the practical part I focus on the perception of tourism with these specific destinations residents. On the basis of results of my investigation to be carried out probable form of questionnaires and direct interviews, I assess the level of socio-cultural carrying capacity. Then conduct a comparison of the results obtained in Špindlerův Mlýn and Rokytnice nad Jizerou. The conclusion gives recomendation and a little reflection with satisfaction of the residents lifestyle in these communities and further development of these destinations from the perspective of residents.

Chez les vertébrés, les muscles squelettiques du corps sont dérivés de la partie dorsale dessomites, le dermomyotome, structure transitoire mésodermique. Une première étape demyogenèse aboutit à la formation d’un muscle primitif, le myotome primaire, à partir desbordures du dermomyotome : ces cellules constituent les premières fibres musculaires, et formentl’architecture de base du futur muscle. Dans un second temps, une population de progéniteursmusculaires émerge de la région centrale du dermomyotome. Cette population est primordialedans la constitution du muscle. Elle prolifère, et une partie d’entre elle fusionne aux fibresexistantes pour donner les fibres multinucléées adultes. Finalement, une partie des progéniteursmusculaires reste indifférenciée jusqu’à l’âge adulte et compose la population de cellules souchesmusculaires, les cellules satellites. Ainsi, les progéniteurs musculaires contribuent audéveloppement musculaire tout au long du développement embryonnaire et foetal, mais égalementà la myogenèse post-natale avec les cellules satellites.Lors de ma thèse, je me suis intéressé à cette population de progéniteurs musculaires. Deux souspopulationsde progéniteurs musculaires ont précédemment été identifiées dans notre laboratoireau cours de l’embryogénèse précoce de poulet, l’une exprimant le facteur de transcription Pax7,l’autre co-exprimant Pax7 et le facteur de différenciation myogénique précoce Myf5. Face àl’absence de données concernant les progéniteurs musculaires, et à l’importance de cettepopulation pour la myogenèse, j’ai réalisé une étude systématique des progéniteurs musculairestout au long du développement embryonnaire et foetal de deux organismes modèles : le poulet etla souris. J’ai pu montrer que ces deux sous-populations coexistent tout au long dudéveloppement, depuis l’émergence des progéniteurs de la partie centrale du dermomyotome,jusqu’au moment où ces cellules deviennent des cellules satellites à la fin du développementfoetal. De manière très intéressante, j’ai pu montrer qu’au sein des progéniteurs musculaires, lapopulation principale co-exprime Pax7 et Myf5, et prolifère activement, alors que la populationPax7 est mineure et prolifère à un taux moins élevé. Cette dernière entre de manière importanteen quiescence à la fin du développement embryonnaire. Ces caractéristiques sont semblablesentre le poulet et la souris, et montrent que des stratégies cellulaires et moléculaires similairessont conservées au sein des amniotes. / Duringembryonicandfetallife,skeletalmusclegrowthisdependentupontheproliferationandthedifferentiationofapopulationofresidentmuscleprogenitors,fromwhichderivethemusclestemcellsof theadult,thesatellitecells.Underpoorlydefinedextrinsicandintrinsicinfluences,muscleprogenitorsproliferate,differentiateorenteraquiescentstatetobecomereservesatellitecells.Despitetheir primordialrole,surprisinglylittleisknownonthehomeostasisofresidentprogenitorsduringembryogenesis.Preliminarystudiesinchickandmousedescribingthekeyprogenitorpopulationscontributingtomusclegrowthduringembryogenesishaveledtodifferingresultsthatcouldbeduetotechnicalissuesortofundamentaldifferencesbetweenanimalmodels.Toaddressthisquestion,we haveundertakenacomprehensiveanalysisofthestateofdifferentiationandproliferationofmuscleprogenitorcellsfromthetimeoftheiremergencewithinthedermomyotomeuntillatefetallife,whenthey adoptasatellitecell-likepositionunderthebasallamina.Thiswasdonebyimmunostainingagainstkeyplayersofmyogenicdifferentiation,inmuscleschosenfromdifferentregionsofthebodyintwo modelorganisms,thechickandmouse.This studyidentifiedtwoco-existingpopulationsofprogenitorsduringembryonicandfetallifeinboth chickandmouse:aminor,slow-cyclingpoolofundifferentiatedresidentprogenitorswhichexpress Pax7,co-existingwithamajorfast-cyclingpopulationthatco-expressPax7andtheearlymyogenicdifferentiationmarkerMyf5.Wefoundthattheoverallproliferationrateofbothprogenitorsdrasticallydecreasedwithembryonicage,asanincreasinglylargeportionofslowandfast-cyclingprogenitorsenteredquiescenceduringdevelopment.Together,thisdatasuggeststhatthecellularstrategiesthatdrivemusclegrowthduringembryonicand fetallifeareremarkablyconservedinamniotesthroughoutevolution.Theyrelyonthetightregulationofproliferation,entryinquiescence,andmodulationofthecellcycle’slengthforbothoftheco-existingpopulationsofmuscleprogenitorstomaintainthehomeostasisofgrowingmusclesduringdevelopment.

<div>Biosolids-based fertilizers are sold to the public to provide beneficial nutrients and organic matter for plant production. They are commonly applied to community gardens, municipal lands, reclamation projects, and golf courses. These fertilizers, however, may also contain a variety of trace organic contaminants, which can be persistent in the environment. Our work sought to quantify the persistence of biosolids contaminants in community garden soils. The commercial biosolids-based fertilizer, OCEANGRO®, was amended to two community garden soils to determine the first-order half-lives of four model contaminants: carbamazepine, miconazole, triclocarban, and triclosan. The criteria for their selection included biosolids occurrence, ecotoxicity, antimicrobial function, and knowledge gaps. Aerobic biosolids-amended soil microcosms were incubated at 22 ± 1 °C and approximately 80% field capacity. Sacrificial sampling occurred seven times over 180 days through multi-step solvent extractions. Detection and quantification were done on a high-performance liquid chromatograph tandem triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer. Results indicated that biosolids contaminants persist in soils with some having modeled half-lives in the hundreds of days. Additional analyses of solvent-spiked contaminant degradation and porewater desorption were performed to provide greater insight into possible limitations on resident biosolids contaminant degradation and to form a better comparative basis to previous literature. Solvent-spiked contaminants degraded more quickly than those resident within biosolids, which indicate that data using the former may underestimate persistence in real-world environments. The porewater analysis allowed for the desorption coefficient to be calculated for all four model resident contaminants. Disparities in the trends of these desorption coefficients and solvent-spiked degradation rates showed that desorption from the biosolids matrix may have been a limiting factor to resident degradation for only some of our four model contaminants. Nonetheless, the demonstrated persistence of these contaminants necessitates long-term thinking in relation to biosolids application. More work is needed on the potential hazards associated with biosolids use in public lands regarding ecotoxicity and antimicrobial resistance.</div>

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T18:47:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ermelinda Maria Bueno.pdf: 695914 bytes, checksum: 1f4c3c2a749f1844ec58e854f1d5083e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-10-10 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The World Health Organization considers 60 as a starting point characterization of aging, although this process happens differently for each individual, depending on the environment they live in and the quality of life. For individuals who live permanently in the street sense of aging, physical marks, diseases arriving earlier in step with the chronological age. In this analysis perspective this research aimed to determine the socio-demographic profile of the elderly resident of Street Mogi, knowing how he perceives the aging and their coping strategies to double vulnerability: being elderly and living on the street. The survey was conducted with 10 men, aged above 50 years. The methodology consisted of qualitative analysis. For data collection we used a previously prepared script of questions and interviews were recorded and transcribed. The results indicated that all seniors make use of alcoholic beverages, have low education do not receive social security benefits nor participate in transfer programs and income do not earn any income. The health conditions of these seniors are poor, 90% reported some illness. The feeding is done in the hostels, or ask in homes and bars. Most have family and maintain sporadic contact with them, but do not want to come home. Consider that living on the street anticipates aging, some already feel old, even though he has 60 years and none of them want to go for a long-stay institution when he is older. In cognitive tests performed, we found that 60% are with better cognitive ability score, while 40% have a score greater degree of cognitive impairment. We conclude that the elderly in the street have low quality of life, look older than your actual age, because of the double vulnerability: the socio-economic exclusion and physical frailty. The hostels and foster homes contribute to the improvement of living conditions of the elderly in the streets and public policy for this portion of the population needs to be effective, trained professionals to serve them / A Organização Mundial da Saúde considera 60 anos como marco inicial caracterizador do envelhecimento, embora este processo aconteça de forma diferenciada para cada indivíduo, dependendo do meio em que vive e da qualidade de vida. Para sujeitos que vivem permanentemente na rua a sensação de envelhecimento, marcas físicas, doenças chegam mais cedo, em descompasso com a idade cronológica. Nesta perspectiva de análise esta pesquisa objetivou traçar o perfil sócio-demográfico dos idosos morador de Rua de Mogi Guaçu, conhecer como ele percebe o envelhecimento e suas estratégias de enfrentamento a dupla vulnerabilidade: ser idoso e morar na rua. A pesquisa foi realizada com 10 homens, com idades acima de 50 anos. A metodologia utilizada consistiu em análise qualitativa. Para a coleta de dados utilizamos um roteiro das questões previamente preparado, sendo as entrevistas gravadas e transcritas. Os resultados indicaram que todos os idosos fazem uso de bebidas alcoólicas, tem baixa escolaridade, não recebem benefícios previdenciários e nem participam de Programas de Transferência de renda e não auferem nenhum rendimento. As condições de saúde destes idosos são precárias, 90% referiram alguma doença. A alimentação é feita nos albergues, ou pedem nas casas e nos bares. A maioria tem familiar e mantêm contatos esporádicos com eles, mas não desejam voltar para a casa. Consideram que viver na rua antecipa o envelhecimento, alguns já se sentem velhos, mesmo não tendo 60 anos e nenhum deles deseja ir para uma Instituição de Longa Permanência quando for mais velho. Nos testes de cognição realizados, verificamos que 60% estão com score de melhor capacidade cognitiva, enquanto que 40% apresentam score de maior grau de comprometimento cognitivo. Podemos concluir que os idosos em situação de rua tem baixa qualidade de vida, aparentam ser mais velhos do que sua idade real, em razão da dupla vulnerabilidade: a exclusão socioeconômica e fragilidade física. Os albergues e as casas de acolhida contribuem para a melhoria das condições de vida dos idosos em situação de rua e que a política publica para esta parcela da população necessita ser efetiva, com profissionais capacitados para atendê-los