Les nouvelles réglementations thermiques, plus strictes, ont rendu nécessaire la prise en compte des transferts de masse dans les parois de bâtiment et leur interaction avec les transferts thermiques, particulièrement dans le cas de celles composées de matériaux poreux très hygroscopiques.Le dispositif expérimental est composé de deux parois montées et testées sur des cellules PASSYS orientables et à l'ambiance intérieure régulée, situées sur le site du CEA-INES au Bourget du Lac. Les parois, à ossature bois et à l'isolation en fibre de bois, ont été testées sous différentes conditions intérieures et extérieures, en fonction respectivement des consignes en température et en humidité, et de l'orientation. Les mesures expérimentales longues d'une année ont mis en évidence l'influence des fluctuations en humidité sur le comportement thermique des parois testées, et inversement de l'influence des températures sur l'humidité dans les parois.Un modèle numérique a été mis en oeuvre afin de simuler les phénomènes observés en conditions expérimentales. Le modèle, développé sur l'outil DYMOLA, a été validé par une comparaison avec d'autres modèles numériques existants, lors d'un benchmark sur des mesures expérimentales en conditions contrôlées. Il a ensuite été simulé les séquences expérimentales en conditions extérieures de ce travail. La comparaison des résultats numériques et expérimentaux ont mis en évidence un concordance des mesures de température, mais une divergence pour les mesures en humidité. Des ajustements paramétriques ont mis en évidence une surestimation de l'inertie hygrique combinée à une sous-estimation de la perméabilité à la vapeur du modèle numérique en comparaison aux séquences expérimentales. Une inadéquation des propriétés des matériaux telles que prises en compte généralement dans les modèles numériques, avec les conditions expérimentales dans lesquelles elles sont relevées est soulignée. / More stringent thermal regulations, made necessary the inclusion of mass transfer in building walls and their interaction with heat transfer, particularly for those composed of porous and highly hygroscopic materials.The experimental device consists of two walls mounted and tested on PASSYS orientable cells, with controlled indoor environment, located on the CEA-INES site in Le Bourget du Lac. The wood framed walls, with a wood fiber insulation were tested under different internal and external conditions, depending respectively on internal monitored temperature and humidity, or orientation. The one-year long experimental measurements have shown the influence of moisture fluctuations on the thermal behavior of the tested walls, and also the influence of temperature on the moisture in the walls.A numerical model was used to simulate the phenomena observed in experimental conditions. The model, developed on DYMOLA was firstly validated by a comparison with other existing numerical models, during a benchmark on experimental measurements under controlled conditions. It was then used to simulate experimental sequences on external conditions of this work. Comparing the numerical and experimental results have shown a correlation of the temperature measurements, but a difference for the moisture measurements. Parametric adjustments showed an overestimation of the Hygric inertia combined with an underestimation of the vapor permeability of the numerical model compared to experimental sequences. A mismatch of material properties such as reflected generally in the numerical models with the experimental conditions in which they are recorded is underlined.

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Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / Over the past decade there was an increase in the availability and usage of cashless payment methods in Africa. Cashless payments allow users to make payments without using cash, and offer multiple benefits to both customers and merchants.These benefits include reduced costs, improved sales, improved security, convenience, etc. However, despite the increased variety, availability and popularity of cashless payment solutions in Africa, the usage of cashless payments methods in Africa is still mostly limited to money remittance and retail payments. While formal traders such as retailers are slowly adopting and reaping the benefits of cashless payments, the large majority of informal traders across the continent are yet to adopt cashless payments and still limited to use cash as their main (and often only) payment method. How cash and cashless payment methods differ from the informal trader’s point of view is not known yet; this study seeks to understand why cashless payment methods are yet to gain popularity amongst informal traders and meanwhile cash is widely adopted and used. This research analyses the characteristics, needs and limitations of informal traders and evaluates the ability of both cash and cashless payment methods to satisfy their payment needs.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Over the last decade, there has been a marked convergence in thinking regarding the importance of social cash transfers in poverty alleviation. As such, most governments especially in the developing world have began embracing the idea of rolling out various social cash transfers programmes in a bid to address poverty, social exclusion and vulnerability. This study which is predominantly centred on the LEAP social grant programme in Ghana aims at assessing the impact of the programme in alleviating household poverty in rural Ghana, specifically in the Tolon-Kumbungu district of the Northern region. Through a combination of both qualitative and quantitative strategies, the study focuses on unravelling in how far the programme has contributed to improving the livelihoods and general welfare of beneficiary households in the case study area. Using data from structured household questionnaires, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews conducted in two rural communities (Dingoni and Woribogu), the study establishes that the LEAP social grant has a significant positive impact on food consumption, frequency of utilization of healthcare facilities and the school enrolment rate for children aged 6-13 years in beneficiary households. However, although hypothesised, no significant impact is observed in relation to the incidence of child labour in the household. Thus, in line with Rawls’ theory of justice, the researcher argues that the LEAP social grant programme is a very useful mechanism for promoting social justice in the Ghanaian society. Despite its successes, the study also uncovers that, the insufficient nature of the cash transfer, irregular payment periods, lack of access to complimentary services and lack of transparency and accountability on the part of payment officials are some key challenges confronting the programme from the perspective of beneficiaries, whilst limited staff capacity, the non availability of training opportunities for staff, inadequate logistical support and no motivation for programme staff and voluntary structures also constitute some key challenges from the institutional perspective. In all, the study recommends that government increases the cash amount and pay transfers regularly, link beneficiaries to existing complimentary services in the district, recruit more staff and provide in-service training opportunities for them, strictly monitor compliance to LEAP conditionalities and ensure transparency and accountability in the payment of transfers to beneficiaries.

Magister Legum - LLM / The aim of this research paper has been to answer the question whether the actions of the National Treasury in invoking section 216(2) of the Constitution in respect of the 59 municipalities for debt owed in arrears to the creditors Eskom and the water boards, has been legal. Did its decision meet the substantive requirements as well as the procedural requirements as set under the legal framework of the Constitution and the MFMA? The second question was to assess the value in using the intervention against defaulting municipalities, by looking at whether the intervention was effective and what impact did it have on the defaulting municipalities.

Controlled dispatch of selected staff to factories abroad in the years 1938--1941 played an important role in the history of Bata Shoe Company. Due to that fact the company man-aged to preserve civilian character of the production despite the on-going Second World War. The organizing of the whole process was not a simple task, it was necessary to harmonize actions of several organizational units. The selection of certain employees eligible for the transfers to foreign countries was conducted by sophisticated methodology, but still some of the top manager's decisions were quite controversial. First of all it involved the transfers of Jewish employees, because Chairman of the Board Jan Antonin Bata considered himself to be the rescuer of the Jews. Nevertheless top managers of the group were strictly pragmatic even in this matter and it is difficult to deduce that one of the objectives of the controlled staff transfers was the protection of this national minority. We can see the same rational approach to employees of the German origin. One of the unexplained questions is the Jan Antonin Bata's unclear relationship with Nazi leaders. I tried to deal with all of these questions in this thesis and I tried to contribute to the current debate about the Bata Group's activities during the Second World War.

Uma área de 9 m x 28 m, localizada às margens do açude Cajueiro, no município de Tuparetama - PE, foi instrumentada com o objetivo de estudar os processos de transferência de água e de solutos. O solo local é heterogêneo, sendo constituído por um solo aluvial de características arenosas a franco arenosas. A área, localizada na região semi-árida e utilizada para o cultivo de vazante, está sujeita a altas taxas de evaporação e aos efeitos cíclicos de subida e rebaixamento do nível d\'água do açude. A caracterização física do solo foi feita com base em ensaios de prospecção e granulometria. A caracterização hidráulica foi realizada com base em um ensaio de drenagem interna realizado no centro da área e as concentrações de sais totais presentes no solo foram obtidas pro meio de ensaios de determinação dos sais solúveis em extratos de saturação. Os parâmetros hidráulicos foram obtidos ajustando-se os dados do ensaio de drenagem interna e de monitoração de campo a diversos modelos analíticos, utilizando-se o programa RETC. Os parâmetros hidrodispersivos foram obtidos ajustando-se os dados da curva de eluição experimental aos modelos CDE e CDE-MIM, utilizando-se o programa CXTFIT 2.0. O programa HYDRUS-2D foi utilizado para simular o fluxo de água e o transporte de solutos num domínio de fluxo bi-dimensional com 28 m de comprimento e 2,0 m de profundidade, incluindo a zona saturada e não saturada. O programa simulou bem o comportamento do fluxo medido no campo através da instrumentação. Os valores simulados de umidade se ajustaram melhor aos valores medidos na estação localizada no centro da área instrumentada. Para as camadas superficiais os valores simulados de umidade foram superestimados o que pode estar associado à variabilidade espacial dos parâmetros hidráulicos ou à influência de fluxo preferencial. A simulação do transporte de solutos, feita em termos de sais totais, permitiu concluir que as altas taxas de evaporação, associadas às concentrações de sais totais presentes no solo, tendem a provocar a salinização das camadas superficiais da área estudada. / An area of 9 m x 28 m, located in the banks of the Cajueiro reservoir, in the municipal district of Tuparetama, Pernambuco, has been instrumented with the objective of studying the processes of water flow and solute transport. The local soil is heterogeneous, being constituted by an alluvial soil of sandy characteristics. The area, located in the semi-arid region and used for the agriculture, is subjected to high evaporation rates and cyclical effects of rising and lowering of the water level in the reservoir. The physical characterization of the soil has been undertaken based on sample extraction and texture analysis. The hydraulic characterization has been based on an internal drainage experiment accomplished in the center of the area and the concentrations of present total salts have been obtained from saturation extracts. The hydraulic parameters have been obtained fitting the internal drainage experiment data and the field data to several analytic models, using the program RETC. The hydrodispersive parameters have been obtained fitting the data of breakthrough curves to the models CDE and CDE-MIM, using the program CXTFIT 2.0. The program HYDRUS-2D have been used to simulate the water flow and solute transport in a two-dimensional domain with 28 m of length and 2,0 m of depth, including the saturated and unsaturated zones. The program has simulated well the behavior of the flow measured in the field. The simulated values of water content agreed better with the measured values in the center of the studied area. For the superficial layers the simulated values of water content have been overestimated, which can be associated to both the spacial variability of the hydraulic parameters and the influence of preferential flow. The simulation of the solutes-transport, in terms of total salts, has shown that the high evaporation rates in association to the salts presents in the soil promote the salinization of the superficial layers of the studied area.

Evidence from various academic fields indicates that mental health and income are correlated. Additionally, evidence exists that an increase in income improves psychological well-being and evidence that poor psychological well-being negatively impacts income. The difficulty is that there is no definitive work pinpointing the direction of the causal relationship between income and psychological well-being, but studies are attempting to find out. Hence, this paper attempts to contribute to ongoing work with an IV estimation approach to determine the causal effects of psychological well-being on poverty. Using data provided by Haushofer and Shapiro, this paper finds evidence that an increase in income causes a reduction in depression and stress levels, along with increases in happiness and life satisfaction of the study participants. Additionally, it is found that these improvements in psychological well-being lead to increases in monthly household expenditure, especially health care. Furthermore, these findings indicate that when women receive a cash transfer, a significant proportion of that transfer is devoted to health care. All the estimates presented in the paper indicate that an improvement in economic well-being leads to an improvement in the mental health of the poor, which causes them to spend more and focus more on their health care.

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