M. Tech. Business Information Systems / The operation and management of privately-owned public transport (the taxi industry to be precise) in many countries, South Africa included; is increasingly challenging. Over the years, the taxi industry in South Africa has been characterized by many challenges such as violence, resulting from maladministration and lack of regulations. In addition, this could be attributed to irregularities and lack of formal approach within which the privately-owned public transport (taxi) operates. Another problem with the irregularities in the industry is handling physical cash by taxi drivers. This creates room for funds spillage and financial management challenges, resulting in conflict between taxi drivers and their employers. There is also an issue of taxation, which is a challenge to the Government. Due to the irregularities, the way in which the industry is operated, the operators have failed to comply. The goal of this research is to develop an ICT seamless Model for handling electronic payment for privately-owned public transportation in Gauteng.

My thesis explores the conceptual underpinnings of the acclaimed Mexican conditional cash transfer (CCT) program Oportunidades as a way of engaging broader debates about how anti-poverty policy is evolving in the wake of the World Bank’s mid-1990s legitimacy crisis. I am interested in the behaviours and attitudes—or “subjectivities”—that Oportunidades attempts to cultivate amongst participants. Whereas the majority of CCT studies tend to focus on measuring the extent to which the programs “mold” beneficiaries into the categories of being prescribed by the program, my thesis is concerned with specifying and critically examining these categories. I use a hybrid neo-Gramscian, governmentality and critical feminist theoretical framework to probe how Oportunidades beneficiaries are constructed within World Bank and Mexican government discourse, as well as in external program evaluations. I argue that Oportunidades is underpinned by an agent-centred conception of poverty and that the program promotes a kind of gendered market-conducive subjectivity amongst beneficiaries. I conclude by exploring some of the implications of the CCT model. Ma thèse explore les fondements conceptuels du Oportunidades, un programme de transferts conditionnels de fonds (TMC) Mexicain acclamé. J’utilise les TMC comme une ouverture pour élargir le débat sur la manière dont la politique anti-pauvreté évolue dans le sillage de la crise de légitimité à laquelle la Banque Mondiale a fait face dans le milieu des années 1990. Je m'intéresse aux types de comportements et d'attitudes—ou «subjectivités»—que Oportunidades essaye de cultiver chez les participants. Alors que la majorité des études sur les TMC focalisent sur l’évaluation des succès du programme à modeler les participants afin qu’ils entrent dans les catégories de personnes prescrites par le programme, mon but est la spécification et l'examen critique de ces catégories. J'utilise un cadre théorique hybride qui combine néo-gramsciennes, la gouvernementalité et des théories féministes critiques pour enquêter sur la façon dont les bénéficiaires du programme Oportunidades sont construits à l’intérieur du discours de la Banque Mondiale, du gouvernement mexicain, ainsi que dans les évaluations externes du programme. Je soutiens qu’il y a, dans le programme Oportunidades, une conception sous-entendu de la pauvreté centrée sur les comportements des individus et que le programme promeut une subjectivité sexuée des bénéficiaires qui facilite leur participation au marché. Je conclus en explorant quelques implications du modèle TMC.

Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri State University, 2009. / "May 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-97). Also available online.

This thesis examines whether, how and to what extent social cash transfers help the poor in reducing poverty; not only in income terms but also in relation to how they build on their capabilities and address gender inequality, risk and vulnerability. The thesis explores these questions through an analysis of a community targeted social cash transfer scheme from Traditional Authority Mlomba, Machinga district in Malawi, using the capability approach as the conceptual framework of analysis. The study is located in the critical realist domain as its underlying research philosophy. The study is qualitative in nature, using semi-structured interviews, observations and life histories. The scheme targets the poorest 10% of the population who are also labour constrained and deemed to be economically unproductive. Thus, the study offers some insights into an area that is not well researched as it is a relatively new concept to target the poor who are also labour constrained and not economically productive. In this thesis, I show that despite the limited resource base compared to the large number of the poor, social cash transfers as low as US$14 per household per month can make a valuable contribution to the reduction of poverty through building capabilities of the poor, empowering women and addressing some of the gendered inequalities, risk and vulnerability. Therefore, social cash transfers are not just handouts but act as ladders that can uplift the absolute poor out of poverty.

O objetivo central deste trabalho é verificar a existência ou não de esforço fiscal por parte dos sete municípios selecionados para o estudo - Porto Alegre, Canoas, Caxias do Sul, Capão da Canoa, Charqueadas, Marau, Três Forquilhas -, no sentido de maximizar a receita tributária própria independentemente do nível das transferências intergovermamentais no período compreendido entre 2001 e 2010. Aponta o esforço fiscal como medida do esforço realizado pela administração tributária com o objetivo de potencializar a arrecadação dos tributos da sua base tributária disponível. Aborda divergências sobre o tema, apontando efeitos positivos e negativos das tranferências sobre arrecadação local. Apresenta a base teórica do federalismo como uma forma de organização do estado na qual haja compartilhamento de poder entre os diferentes níveis de governo. Mostra que as bases teóricas do federalismo fiscal foram lançadas por Paul Samuelson, que introduziu o conceito de bem público na teoria econômica do bem-estar. O estudo do federalismo fiscal se dá sob dois prismas: um que trata da construção de modelos ideais e outro que investiga as experiências reais. Oferece uma visão a partir de Tiebout, Stiglitz e Oates. Com relação às externalidades envolvidas no processo centralização e descentralização levantadas pelo estudo de Oates, foi apresentada a visão de Gordon. Aborda a prática federativa no Brasil onde trata a questão da divisão dos recursos públicos entre os entes da federação desde a Constituição de 1891 até a Constituição de 1988. Divide em três períodos a história da tributação no Brasil: o período compreendido entre 1891 e 1965; a reforma da década de 60 e a evolução do sistema tributário até 1988; e a reforma tributária de 1988 e os ajustes posteriores. Busca esclarecer quem arrecada este ou aquele tributo, como se distribuem os recursos obtidos por esta arrecadação, quem é responsável pela oferta de determinado serviço público e como são financiados os programas e projetos públicos. Tabula informações que mostram como ficam as competências tributárias e como foram definidas as funções de cada ente federativo e os recursos arrecadados a partir da Constituição Federal de 1988, os percentuais das principais receitas municipais, em anos selecionados, e a distribuição das funções públicas por esfera de governo. Apresenta como são formadas as receitas municipais, mostrando a metodologia de distribuição das transferências intergovernamentais. Analisa quali- e quantitativamente o comportamento das receitas municipais. Compara o esforço fiscal realizado pelos municípios escolhidos em arrecadar os impostos de competência própria e sua relação com as transferências intergovernamentais que, por ser uma fonte de receita que não traz o ônus político da cobrança para os gestores locais, desestimularia o esforço fiscal dos municípios. Analisa, ainda, a existência ou não de cadastros atualizados, legislação tributária adequada à realidade local e a eventual insuficiência de fiscalização que permitam aos municípios a exploração do seu potencial tributário e que pode levar à ineficiência da arrecadação tributária municipal. / The central objective of this work is to verify the existence of tax effort by seven municipalities selected for the study: Porto Alegre, Canoas, Caxias do Sul, Capão da Canoa, Charqueadas, Marau, três Forquilhas, in order to maximize the own tax revenue regardless of the level of intergovermamentais transfers in the period between 2001 and 2010. It points the fiscal effort as a measure of the effort made by the tax administration with the aim of enhancing the collection of taxes from its tax base available. It broaches disagreements on the subject, pointing the positive and negative transfers on local revenue effects. It Presents the theoretical basis of federalism as a form of state organization in which there is power sharing among different levels of power. It shows that the foundations of fiscal federalism were launched with Paul Samuelson, who introduced the concept of public good in the economic theory of welfare. How the study of fiscal federalism has two angles: one that deals with the construction of ideal models and another that investigates the actual experiences. Offers an insight from Tiebout, Stiglitz and Oates, regarding the externalities involved in the process of centralization / decentralization raised by the study of Oates's vision Gordon’s vision was presented. Addresses the federal practice in Brazil where comes the question of the division of public resources in Brazil between federal entities from the 1891 Constitution to the 1988 Constitution divides in three periods of the history of taxation in Brazil, through a brief history taxation in Brazil in the period between 1891 and 1965, the reform of the 60s and the evolution of the tax system until 1988 and the tax reform of 1988 the subsequent adjustments. Seeks to clarify: those who receive this or that tribute? How are distribute the proceeds from this collection? Who is responsible for the provision of a certain public service? How are programs funded and public projects? Spending on health or education, for example, is a responsibility of which competencies level of government? Charts information that shows how the tax powers are and how the functions of each federative entity and the funds raised from the 1988 Federal Constitution, what are the percentages of the main municipal revenues in selected years, the distribution of public functions by sphere of government. Shows how methodology municipal revenues are formed, showing the distribution of intergovernmental transfers. Analyzes qualitatively and quantitatively the behavior of municipal revenues. Compares the tax effort of the chosen municipalities to levy taxes of its competence and its relationship with intergovernmental transfers that by being a source of revenue that does not bring the political burden of charges for local managers discourage tax effort of the municipalities. It also analyzes the lack of updated records, proper tax laws sustable to local realities and the lack of supervision that allow municipalities to exploit their tax potential and that can lead to inefficiency of municipal tax collection.

The name of this thesis is Municipal Revenue Prediction. Income communities or their revenue capacity, are an important factor landlord and also subject to financial decision-making communities. The aim is to propose a procedure for determining the revenue capacity of the municipality and its revenue prediction process. The first part is focused on defining the basic concepts related to this issue.V methodological section describes the methods and procedures which are then used in next part.Practical part is focused both on the village Rudolfov compared with a selected sample villages, and on the actual prediction selected tax revenue. At the very predictions are then created different scenarios, which significantly affects the level of income of the municipality.

Dans le cadre des études sur presse et littérature et sur les transferts culturels, cette recherche présente une étude comparative entre les feuilletons dramatiques français, d'Hector Berlioz et de Théophile Gautier, et les feuilletons de théâtre lyrique écrits par le dramaturge brésilien Martins Pena. Il a écrit la série « Semaine Lyrique », parue au Jornal do Commercio en 1846-1847. Sous une perspective diachronique qui prend en compte le processus de mondialisation médiatique de la presse périodique au XIXe siècle, cet examen se propose de retracer et d'observer les transferts de pratiques culturelles médiatiques de la presse française vers la brésilienne qui ont déterminé l’acclimatation des feuilletons dramatiques au Brésil. En privilégiant l'analyse de la méthode, de la construction du discours critique et du style des feuilletonistes français et de Martins Pena, nous avons centré notre étude sur les aspects littéraires ainsi que sur la répercussion de leur adaptation dans la presse brésilienne. Particulièrement, les formes et la manifestation de l'ironie (journalistique) dans l'écriture des feuilletonistes constituent le cerne des analyses. Notre hypothèse est que Martins Pena a adapté les aspects de l'écriture littéraire des critiques français en créant une poétique autonome et légitime. En plus d’être la première série de chroniques de contenu culturel de la presse quotidienne de Rio de Janeiro, la « Semaine Lyrique » se distingue aussi des feuilletons dramatiques brésiliens précédents grâce à l'écriture ironique et fictionnelle assimilée et recrée au fil de la série par Martins Pena. / In the perspective of researches about literature and press theory and about cultural transfers, this study presents a comparative analysis between Hector Berlioz’ and Théophile Gautier's theater serials and Brazilian dramatic writer Martins Pena’s serials about lyric theater wrote by the Brazilian dramatic writer Martins Pena. He wrote the series “Lyric Week” published in Jornal do Commercio in 1846-1847. In a diachronic perspective which consider the process of periodical press globalization in the 19th century, this investigation proposes to reconstruct and observe the transfers of media cultural practices from the French press to the Brazilian press which determined the acclimatization of the theater serials in Brazil. Emphasizing the method analysis, the construction of critical discourse and style of French theater serials and that of Martins Pena, we focused our study on the literary aspects as well as on the impact their adaptation had in the Brazilian press. Specifically, the form and manifestation of the (journalistic) irony in the writing of the columnists constitute the focus of the analysis. Our hypothesis is that Martins Pena adapted aspects of the French columnists’ literary writing, creating an autonomous and legitimate poetic. In addition to being the first cultural content chronicle series of the daily press of Rio de Janeiro, the “ Lyric Week” distinguishes itself from previous Brazilian theater serials through the ironic and fictional writing assimilated and recreated throughout the series by Martins Pena.

The idea of a free network is a myth of the past. Networking costs are expected to remain a burden to future IT budgets, no doubt raising questions regarding the payment of such services. Users do not normally pay to use local area networks, as companies tend to own their LANs. However, when wide area or international networks are considered, the situation is different. It is argued that in these cases the invoicing and payment system should be integral to the network's communication protocol. This implies changes to the networking protocol (to handle invoicing) as well as a new look at customary ideas of representing currency (to handle payment). In this dissertation, an invoicing and payment scheme that uses electronic cash and is implemented as part of the basic ATM protocols is discussed. The main advantages of this scheme can be summarized as a low administrative overhead and user privacy. / Computer Science / M. Sc. (Computer Science)

O objetivo central deste trabalho é verificar a existência ou não de esforço fiscal por parte dos sete municípios selecionados para o estudo - Porto Alegre, Canoas, Caxias do Sul, Capão da Canoa, Charqueadas, Marau, Três Forquilhas -, no sentido de maximizar a receita tributária própria independentemente do nível das transferências intergovermamentais no período compreendido entre 2001 e 2010. Aponta o esforço fiscal como medida do esforço realizado pela administração tributária com o objetivo de potencializar a arrecadação dos tributos da sua base tributária disponível. Aborda divergências sobre o tema, apontando efeitos positivos e negativos das tranferências sobre arrecadação local. Apresenta a base teórica do federalismo como uma forma de organização do estado na qual haja compartilhamento de poder entre os diferentes níveis de governo. Mostra que as bases teóricas do federalismo fiscal foram lançadas por Paul Samuelson, que introduziu o conceito de bem público na teoria econômica do bem-estar. O estudo do federalismo fiscal se dá sob dois prismas: um que trata da construção de modelos ideais e outro que investiga as experiências reais. Oferece uma visão a partir de Tiebout, Stiglitz e Oates. Com relação às externalidades envolvidas no processo centralização e descentralização levantadas pelo estudo de Oates, foi apresentada a visão de Gordon. Aborda a prática federativa no Brasil onde trata a questão da divisão dos recursos públicos entre os entes da federação desde a Constituição de 1891 até a Constituição de 1988. Divide em três períodos a história da tributação no Brasil: o período compreendido entre 1891 e 1965; a reforma da década de 60 e a evolução do sistema tributário até 1988; e a reforma tributária de 1988 e os ajustes posteriores. Busca esclarecer quem arrecada este ou aquele tributo, como se distribuem os recursos obtidos por esta arrecadação, quem é responsável pela oferta de determinado serviço público e como são financiados os programas e projetos públicos. Tabula informações que mostram como ficam as competências tributárias e como foram definidas as funções de cada ente federativo e os recursos arrecadados a partir da Constituição Federal de 1988, os percentuais das principais receitas municipais, em anos selecionados, e a distribuição das funções públicas por esfera de governo. Apresenta como são formadas as receitas municipais, mostrando a metodologia de distribuição das transferências intergovernamentais. Analisa quali- e quantitativamente o comportamento das receitas municipais. Compara o esforço fiscal realizado pelos municípios escolhidos em arrecadar os impostos de competência própria e sua relação com as transferências intergovernamentais que, por ser uma fonte de receita que não traz o ônus político da cobrança para os gestores locais, desestimularia o esforço fiscal dos municípios. Analisa, ainda, a existência ou não de cadastros atualizados, legislação tributária adequada à realidade local e a eventual insuficiência de fiscalização que permitam aos municípios a exploração do seu potencial tributário e que pode levar à ineficiência da arrecadação tributária municipal. / The central objective of this work is to verify the existence of tax effort by seven municipalities selected for the study: Porto Alegre, Canoas, Caxias do Sul, Capão da Canoa, Charqueadas, Marau, três Forquilhas, in order to maximize the own tax revenue regardless of the level of intergovermamentais transfers in the period between 2001 and 2010. It points the fiscal effort as a measure of the effort made by the tax administration with the aim of enhancing the collection of taxes from its tax base available. It broaches disagreements on the subject, pointing the positive and negative transfers on local revenue effects. It Presents the theoretical basis of federalism as a form of state organization in which there is power sharing among different levels of power. It shows that the foundations of fiscal federalism were launched with Paul Samuelson, who introduced the concept of public good in the economic theory of welfare. How the study of fiscal federalism has two angles: one that deals with the construction of ideal models and another that investigates the actual experiences. Offers an insight from Tiebout, Stiglitz and Oates, regarding the externalities involved in the process of centralization / decentralization raised by the study of Oates's vision Gordon’s vision was presented. Addresses the federal practice in Brazil where comes the question of the division of public resources in Brazil between federal entities from the 1891 Constitution to the 1988 Constitution divides in three periods of the history of taxation in Brazil, through a brief history taxation in Brazil in the period between 1891 and 1965, the reform of the 60s and the evolution of the tax system until 1988 and the tax reform of 1988 the subsequent adjustments. Seeks to clarify: those who receive this or that tribute? How are distribute the proceeds from this collection? Who is responsible for the provision of a certain public service? How are programs funded and public projects? Spending on health or education, for example, is a responsibility of which competencies level of government? Charts information that shows how the tax powers are and how the functions of each federative entity and the funds raised from the 1988 Federal Constitution, what are the percentages of the main municipal revenues in selected years, the distribution of public functions by sphere of government. Shows how methodology municipal revenues are formed, showing the distribution of intergovernmental transfers. Analyzes qualitatively and quantitatively the behavior of municipal revenues. Compares the tax effort of the chosen municipalities to levy taxes of its competence and its relationship with intergovernmental transfers that by being a source of revenue that does not bring the political burden of charges for local managers discourage tax effort of the municipalities. It also analyzes the lack of updated records, proper tax laws sustable to local realities and the lack of supervision that allow municipalities to exploit their tax potential and that can lead to inefficiency of municipal tax collection.

Les bâtiments existants reposent sur un équilibre stable qui assure leur durabilité. Toute exécution de travaux de réhabilitation qui déplace cet équilibre peut être à l'origine de désordres. En ce sens, les travaux peuvent être qualifiés de pathogènes. Dans le cadre de rénovations énergétiques, la problématique de l'humidité dans les bâtiments existants nécessite donc une attention particulière. Il convient donc de fournir aux acteurs de la construction des modèles de simulation du comportement hygrothemique global des bâtiments et d'évaluer les risques de pathologies liées à l'humidité. L'élaboration de ces modèles passent par la résolution de problèmes non-linéaires, de grande échelles spatiales et temporelles, et parfois paramétrique. Ils sont donc complexes à résoudre et les méthodes de réduction de modèle permettent de répondre à cette problématique. Deux techniques de réduction de modèles ont été explorées: la Décomposition Orthogonale Propre (POD) et la Décomposition Générale Propre (PGD). Elles ont été appliquées sur des problèmes de diffusion non-linéaire, couplée chaleur et humidité, dans les matériaux poreux. Ces deux méthodes ont été évaluées et comparées sur les critères de réduction du coût numérique de résolution du problème et sur la précision de calcul de la solution. Sur la base de ces analyses, la PGD a été retenue pour la suite des travaux. Grâce à ses caractéristiques, la méthode PGD présente plusieurs avantages d'ordre structurel, recensés dans la littérature. Au chapitre 3, nous avons utilisé ces prérogatives pour répondre aux problématiques de complexité des modèles de simulation des bâtiments. Notre intérêt s'est concentré sur la réduction de la complexité numérique de problèmes multi-dimensionnels, sur la globalisation de problèmes locaux et sur la création de méta-modèle ou solution PGD paramétrique. Plusieurs cas académiques ont été considérés pour illustrer ces propos. Nous avons traité des problèmes de transferts non-linéaires dans les matériaux poreux et des problèmes de transferts multizone dans un bâtiment. Enfin, la dernière partie des travaux est axée sur la construction d'un modèle global articulant des modèles réduits PGD. Deux modèles sont construits. Le premier couple un modèle réduit enveloppe PGD avec un modèle complet multizone. Ces travaux ont été réalisés dans le cadre d'une collaboration avec le laboratoire LST de l'université PUCPR de Curitiba, Brésil. Ce partenariat a permis de bénéficier du modèle reconnu et validé Domus pour la simulation des transferts multizones. Les nombreuses possibilités du logiciel ont pu être exploitées. Deux cas d'études sont abordés. Le premier concerne la résolution d'un problème paramétrique pour l'étude de scénarios de réhabilitation en fonction de la perméabilité à la vapeur de l'isolant. Le second porte sur la modélisation globale d'un bâtiment bi-zone intégrant une simulation bi-dimensionnelle d'un pont thermique. Il est possible d'élaborer un modèle global présentant une plus grande réduction de la complexité du problème que celui réalisé avec Domus. Le deuxième modèle couple donc un modèle réduit PGD pour le problème enveloppe et une solution PGD paramétrique pour le problème multizone. Les performances de ce modèle ont été discutées en terme de précision de calcul de la solution et d'économie numérique de résolution du problème. La pertinence des méthodes de réduction de modèle pour la simulation du comportement des bâtiments a été montrée. En particulier, la méthode PGD permet d'apporter une nouvelle approche de résolution ces problèmes. / Excessive levels of moisture in buildings may damage the construction quality. Moisture also has an effect on indoor air quality and thermal comfort of the occupants. Thus moisture is a possible source of disorders in buildings. It is therefore important to continue developing numerical models to simulate the global hygrothermal behaviour of buildings. To achieve this aim, it is necessary to solve non-linear problems, with high space and time scales, with fine discretisation and sometimes parametric. This mathematical problems are complex to solve. Thus model reduction techniques and efficient ways of numerical simulation are worth investigations. Two techniques were assessed : the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and the Proper Generalised Decomposition (PGD). They were first applied on non-liner coupled heat and mass transfers in porous materials. Both were compared and evaluated carrying about the reduction of the cost of resolution and the precision of the solution computed. Following this analysis, the PGD was selected for our next investigations. Due to it representation, the PGD method has several interesting features, already reviewed in literature.Thus, chapter 3 proposed to illustrate this advantages on different issues of modelling buildings hygrothermal behaviours. We focused on the reduction of the complexity of multi-dimensional problems, on the globalisation of local problems and on building PGD parametric solution or meta-model. Several academic case study were considered to illustrate these points. We analysed non-linear heat and mass transfers in porous materials and multizone air building transfers. In last part, we elaborated a PGD reduced order model to perform whole building energy simulation. Two different models were built. The first one associates a PGD model for envelope problem and a large original model for multizone problem. This work was done during a collaboration with the LST laboratory, at PUCPR University, Curitiba, Brazil. The main interest was the benefits of using their validated and admitted model Domus for solving multizone problem. Two case study were analysed. The first one analyse a parametric problem for the study of the retrofitting a building in function of the vapour permeability of the insulating material. The second one focused on the whole building energy simulation of a two-zone building with 2-dimension transfers in the wall assembly. A second global PGD reduced order model was elaborated, with a higher reduction of the numerical complexity of the problem. This model associates a PGD model for solving envelope problem and a PGD parametric solution for the multizone problem. The performance of this model was analysed investigating the numerical gain and the precision of the solution computed. In conclusion, the relevance of reduction model techniques for performing whole building energy simulation was revealed. The PGD method contributes to a new approach for solving this problems.