Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Th.--Sci.--Bordeaux 1, 1978. N°: 559.

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This study analyses the conditions under which socio-technical systems transition to more sustainable configurations. It does so through an exploration of the City of Cape Town’s electricity distribution arrangements. This investigation is situated within debates on sustainable socio-technical transitions in general and the multi-level perspective (MLP) in particular. This study considers four themes that are important for understanding the conditions under which socio-technical regimes change - regulation, organisations, geographical context and scale. These themes structure an empirical study of an energy transition in a city (scale) in the Global South (geographical context) and an examination of the role of regulatory and organisational conditions in shaping sustainable transitions. In turn, the implications of this case for transition theories is explored. The site of the study is a local government in an African city, Cape Town. This southern geography offers unique conditions, particularly related to the ways in which the technical interacts with the social, in conditions where poverty and inequality are prevalent. In exploring the City’s electricity system, field-work was undertaken using a participatory, engaged and grounded theory approach. Notably, research was conducted within a knowledge co-production setting that involved spending three years in the City, embedded in its Energy and Climate Change Unit. This provided invaluable access to the tacit knowledge of practitioners and a unique view into the internal workings of the City. The results of this field-work have implications for sustainable transition theory. In the City, systemic tensions and contestation were prominent in relation to the incumbent electricity system. Notably, it was found that reconfiguration agendas, represented in the City’s Energy and Climate Action Plan, are disrupting developmental values, such as cross-subsidisation, which underpin the incumbent electricity system. Accordingly, regime reconfiguration based on environmental values competes with developmental values embedded within incumbent regime structures. This provides the basis for conceptualising socio-technical transitions as conflicts related to contested values. These value tensions are repeated across scales, manifested by contestation between urban energy autonomy and security on the one hand and national developmental transitions on the other. The presence of systemic value tensions in the City also has a bearing on the conditions and pathways for socio-technical transitions. In this regard, this study applies a constructivist approach to exploring socio-technical reconfigurations through identifying two broad energy trajectories that the City is able to pursue; a centralised or distributed trajectory. This informs a heuristic to explore the socio-economic outcomes of reconfigurations. It further identifies potential reconfiguration processes present in the City that forms the basis of alternative theoretical reconfiguration typologies that are cognisant of value contestations. Through evaluating formal rules that regulate the City’s electricity system, this study finds that regulatory systems are used as a tool to assimilate, codify and stabilise dominant value sets into socio-technical regimes. Further, it was found that separate City departments are aligned to divergent socio-technical values. Thus, competing values create contestation within organisations in framing transition processes. Overall, the study offers an alternative conceptualisation of socio-technical regimes as systems produced and reproduced through value contestation. By drawing on the case of the City’s electricity system, the study provides evidence to show that value tensions related to socio-technical regimes are played out in regulatory, organisational and political landscapes. The study thus argues that these competing value systems are integral in the co-evolutionary process of regime configuration and reconfigurations.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / The properties-of systems which undergo a metal-insulator (MI) transition are currently being extensively studied. Both the transport and thermodynamic properties of these MI systems show interesting behaviour, particularly near the MI transition. A complete theory to describe MI systems does not yet exist. In the present work the focus is on the thermodynamic properties of MI systems, in particular on the specific heat and susceptibility. The thermodynamic properties in the absence of a magnetic field are now well understood, with models such as the two-fluid model giving a good account of the behaviour. In finite magnetic fields the thermodynamic properties are even more interesting and varied. It is the aim of the present work to develop and test models to explain the effects of applying magnetic fields to MI systems. The focus is mainly on phosphorous doped silicon, and the results are gratifying. The theory should, however, also apply to other similar MI systems. / Andrew Chakane 2018

The transition from high school to college can be a difficult and stressful experience for a student-athlete. University athletic departments across the country, in conjunction with the office of student life, implement transition programs in an attempt to assist freshmen with their new environment. The purpose of this study was to determine a head coach's role in the transition process between high school and college of a freshman student-athlete. Furthermore, the study sought to address to what extent a student-athlete could benefit from evaluating the effectiveness of the transition process. Fifteen participants from a large NCAA Division I swim program took part in this study in the fall of 2003. Each participant was officially recruited to attend the institution and was entering college for the first time. A two phase approach was utilized to obtain data on the swimmers' first three weeks in college and also their first semester in college. Each swimmer was interviewed after his or her first three weeks in school in a semi-structured environment. Each participant was asked the same series of questions. Each participant was also interviewed near the conclusion of his or her first semester and was asked a series of follow up questions. The data was analyzed utilizing qualitative methods. The results of the study indicated that a head coach has a critical role in assisting freshmen student-athletes in their program with the transition from high school to college. Student-athletes look to their head coach as a mentor who can affect the new environment, and thus the head coach is a significant factor in their transition experience. Further, a head coach should know the components of the transition programs offered by both the university and athletic department, and develop his or her own transition model to increase the chances of a well adjusted freshman student-athlete. The results of the study also indicated that a student-athlete can benefit from evaluating the effectiveness of a transition program annually. Universities, athletic departments, and coaches should make needed changes each year to address the specific needs of freshmen student-athletes entering college for the first time. / Ph. D.

Transitions are a natural part of life. Youth grow and develop physically, socially, psychologically, and intellectually during primary and secondary school years. The transition from secondary to postsecondary education is an important transition as youth not only move from high school to college, but also from adolescence to young adulthood. It is a time when young adults naturally desire to become more independent in pursuit of their personal dreams and aspirations. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact that academic, psychological, and social factors on youth with high-incidence disabilities as they strive to make successful postsecondary education transitions. Current trends indicate youth with high-incidence disabilities are graduating from high school and are attending vocational schools, colleges, and universities in increasing numbers. Transition barriers still limit many youth who could otherwise attend institutions of higher education regardless of disability type. Findings suggest academic and psychological factors most significantly predict successful postsecondary education transitions. Recommendations for improved transition planning and parental training are suggested.

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The high school dropout rate has become a critical issue nationwide. Research points to the high school transition as a stressful experience for students and identifies it as a potential contributor to the elevated dropout rate. Using the stage-environment fit theory as a framework (Eccles & Midgley, 1989; Eccles et al., 1993), this research examines the high school transition for a group of students in an urban school district. Four different school structures were used in this research. The sending schools included an elementary school (K-8) and a middle school (6-8). The receiving schools included a special admission high school and a comprehensive high school. The students were recruited from one of the two sending schools and interviewed in both eighth grade and ninth grade. Academic, behavioral and attendance records were also collected in both eighth and ninth grade. One major finding of this research was that eighth grade students enrolled at the elementary school were part of a more united community than those enrolled in the middle school. The elementary school was better able to meet student needs in interpersonal, instructional and organizational ways. These students experienced a more supportive and successful high school application process. A second major finding of this research was that when the students got to ninth grade, almost all of them reported a positive social transition while almost all of them experienced an academic decline. Students’ interpersonal needs were a priority to them, above their organizational and instructional needs. Additionally, the schools were unable to meet students’ instructional needs and thus were unable to provide a developmentally responsive environment to foster their academic success. / Educational Administration

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