Given the current developments and advances in the scientific and technological aspects of human knowledge and introducing new approaches in various fields of telecommunication technologies and industries, there has been an increasing growth in its players' plans and a positive change in their outlooks in order to achieve the target of "anywhere and anytime access". Recent developments of WiMAX (Worldwide interoperability for Microwave Access) networks, as a sign of increasing needs and demands for new telecommunication services and capabilities, have led to revolutions in global telecommunication which should be perceived properly in terms of the commercial and technical aspects in order to enjoy the new opportunities. Most experts believe that WiMAX technology is a preliminary step to develop Fourth Generation networks known as 4G technologies. It has not only succeeded in the utilization of several of the latest telecommunication techniques in the form of unique practical standards, but also paved the way for the quantitative and qualitative developments of high-speed broadband access. IEEE 802.16 Standard introduces several advantages, and one of them is the support for Quality of Services (QoS) at the Media Access Control (MAC) level. For these purposes, the standard defines several scheduling classes at MAC layer to treat service flow in a different way, depending on QoS requirements. In this thesis, we have proposed a new QoS framework for Point-to-Multi Point (PMP) 802.16 systems operating in Time Division Duplexing (TDD) mode over a WirelessMAN-OFDM physical layer. The proposed framework consists of a Call Admission Control (CAC) module and a scheduling scheme for the uplink traffic as well as a simple frame allocation scheme. The proposed CAC module interacts with the uplink scheduler status and it makes its decision based on the scheduler queue status; on the other hand, the proposed scheduling scheme for the uplink traffic aims to support realtime flows and adapts the frame-by-frame allocations to the current needs of the connections, with respect to the grants boundaries fixed by the CAC module. Extensive OPNET simulation demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed architecture.

The changing world of work that we live in is characterised by forming part of globalisation and virtualness. The previous era managers focused on how to make money and how this money can work for them. The changing world of work is characterised by global competitiveness in delivering quality products quicker and cheaper. Globalisation presents continuous advancements in technology, which requires a new mindset. These technological advancements have a profound effect on culture, training and management of staff. This brings about change in flexible working arrangements and the traditional office made space within certain organisations for virtual offices. The move towards virtualness causes companies to work more closely with their customers to be able to coordinate rapid changes in products (Schuh, Millarg & Gorannson, 1998; Weissenfeld, Fisscher, Pearson & Brockhoff, 200 1). The financial institution referred to in this study was also driven by globalisation and technological advancements to re-engineer the current way in which they do business. It became evidently clear that there was a need for a shift towards virtualness, which called for the identifying of relevant competencies; needed by employees for working in a virtual environment. These competencies will enable the organisation to select the right employees and provide them with information that could be utilised in training the current virtual employees according to the competencies identified. The objectives of this research were firstly to conduct a job analysis to determine the important competencies needed by virtual workers, in a specific job at a financial institution in South Africa. Secondly to compare the current competencies of the virtual workers (who took part in the research) with the competencies identified by the job analysis to be important for this specific job. Thirdly to determine the skills required for virtual workers and compare these skills with the skills ranked by the current virtual workers to be important. Fourthly to identify how these virtual workers experienced the effect of virtualness on their performance. Lastly to make recommendations regarding future training and selection purposes. A survey design (cross-sectional) was used to determine competencies needed by virtual workers for a specific job at a financial institution in South Africa. The study population consisted of (N= 71) employees in a virtual job at a financial institution in South Africa. The Work Profile Systems (WPS), Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ), Performance Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ) and a Skills Audit (SA) were administered. Results of the research indicated that 44% of the study population exhibits the competencies needed by virtual workers as indicated by the Inventory of Management Competencies (IMC) Profile of the WPS. The results of the Performance Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ) indicated that the current virtual workers experienced the greatest impact of virtualness on improving the attainment of personal goals, as well as improving the achievement of organisational goals. The results from the Skills Audit (SA) identified skills that were essential for virtual workers in a specific job within a virtual environment, according to the feedback received from the current virtual workers. They compared favourably with the skills identified by literature as being important. Recommendations to the organisation and for future research have been made and limitations were also discussed. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

Nesta tese de doutorado foram tomados como objeto de análise os livros usados pelos normalistas quando eles estudaram as questões relativas ao ofício de ensinar. Chamados aqui de manuais pedagógicos, esses textos começaram a ser publicados em períodos muito próximos em Portugal e no Brasil. A primeira edição encontrada datou de 1870 e outras foram sendo produzidas durante um século, aproximadamente, quando os livros passaram por transformações significativas em seu conteúdo e materialidade. Nesse período, eles apresentaram uma síntese do que se considerou ser o melhor da bibliografia usada pelos educadores. Isso porque seu intuito foi iniciar os estudantes no trabalho docente, reunindo, de forma fácil e acessível à leitura realizada pelos futuros professores, as referências nucleares para realizar tal atividade. Assim organizados, esses conhecimentos fundamentaram os modos pelos quais a escola foi concebida, pois explicaram as características dos vários elementos de sua cultura, compreendendo não só o papel do professor, como também a estrutura organizacional da escola, as tarefas do aluno e os métodos para conduzir a aula. Esses aspectos formaram uma espécie de gramática do ensino, difundida nas mais diversas partes do mundo e que não foi pensada como a modalidade mais apropriada, mas sim como a única forma imaginável de escolarização. Uma expansão como essa articulou-se à circulação intra e internacional de conhecimentos produzidos em diversos espaços, épocas e áreas de saber, os quais foram usados pelos profissionais da educação para construírem as suas proposições sobre o ensino. As lógicas desse processo de produção e apropriação de idéias foram examinadas aqui a partir da metáfora da viagem feita pelas referências usadas em diferentes lugares e momentos. Em outras palavras, isso assinalou que os conhecimentos viajaram através dos manuais pedagógicos, quando eles citaram idéias de outros autores, encontradas em outras obras, feitas em vários países do globo. Por isso, a tese examinou e comparou as referências mencionadas nas produções portuguesas e brasileiras, com o objetivo de conhecer quais informações foram selecionadas e como as mesmas foram articuladas ao se construírem as representações sobre a escola. Assim, a história dos manuais pedagógicos elaborada na presente tese atentou para os modos pelos quais eles produziram saberes e colaboraram para difundir o modelo de escolarização entre os professores. / The aim of this doctoral thesis is to analyze textbooks used in teacher education that dealt with issues of teaching. They are referred here as pedagogic manuals and began to be published in the same period in Portugal and Brazil. The first edition found is from 1870 and other were produced during the next century, when these books had significant changes in their content and materiality. In this period the manuals presented a synthesis of the best of the bibliography used by educators. Their goal was to initiate students in the teaching job, gathering, in an easy and accessible way, the fundamental references to the work. Organized in this way, this knowledge supported the ways in which school was conceived, because it explained the characteristics of the various elements of its culture, including not only the role of the teacher, but also the organization of the school, students tasks and the methods of conducing a classroom. These aspects became a kind of teaching grammar, that spread to many regions of the world. This grammar was thought as the only imaginable way of schooling. Such an expansion was linked to the national and international circulation of knowledge, which was produced in several areas and times, and was used by the education professionals to build their own propositions on teaching. The logics of these processes of production and appropriation of ideas were examined here using the metaphor of the journey made by the references, when they were used in different places and moments. In another words, we show that the knowledge traveled through the pedagogic manuals when they quote authors and ideas found in another countries. That\'s the reason why, in this thesis, the references found in the manuals from Portugal and Brazil were examined and compared: trying to understand which information was selected and how they were used to build representations on the school. So, the history of pedagogic manuals built in this work dealt with the ways they produced knowledge and contributed to diffuse the schooling model among teachers.

Si la fraude et l'évasion fiscales sont aussi anciennes que l'impôt lui-même, la mondialisation et la numérisation de l'économie ont placé les Etats face aux limites de leur pouvoir fiscal, pouvoir qui demeure intimement lié à leur compétence territoriale. Plus récemment, c'est la crise financière de 2007-2008 qui a attiré l'attention de l'opinion publique mondiale sur l'importance du phénomène de fraude et d'évasion fiscales internationales et le rôle essentiel qu’y tiennent les paradis fiscaux. Les outils juridiques conventionnels traditionnels à la disposition des Etats ont montré toutes leurs limites, et ce tant en matière de détection des situations à risque que d’échange d’informations ou d’assistance au recouvrement. S’est ainsi faite jour la nécessité, pour certains Etats, de relancer, sur le plan international, des actions de nature coopérative d’un nouveau type pour tenter d'endiguer les pertes budgétaires massives ainsi subies ou consenties. Ces actions, participant tant de la « soft law » que de la règle de droit, menées par l'OCDE comme par l'Union européenne, se concentrent sur deux aspects fondamentaux que sont, d'une part la transparence fiscale et, d'autre part, la lutte contre les pratiques d'érosion de la base imposable et de transfert des bénéfices vers des Etats ou territoires à fiscalité faible ou nulle. L'analyse de ces tentatives de réforme de la fiscalité internationale conduit à s'interroger non seulement sur la méthode utilisée ainsi que sur le contenu des réglementations qui en découlent, mais également sur les perspectives d'avenir de la lutte contre la fraude et l'évasion fiscales internationales. Face aux carences du « nationalisme fiscal », il convient donc de s'interroger sur la pertinence d'une mondialisation de l'impôt lui-même, et ce tant au niveau de la base imposable que des taux d’imposition. / Tax fraud and tax avoidance are as old as tax itself. Economy’s globalisation and digitalazation have however confronted States with the limitations of their tax power that remains dependant on their territorial boundaries. More recently, the 2007-2008 financial crisis has drawn the attention of the public opinion on the extent of international tax fraud and avoidance as well as on the key role tax heavens play in this frame. The traditional and conventional legal tools States can use have reached their limits in the field of detection of potential risky tax’s situations, exchange of information as well as collection assistance. Some States are willing to revive, on an worldwide level, the international tax cooperation, so as to curb massive budgetary losses they either undergo or consent to. These measures, which are based on « soft law » or on real right rules, are lead by the OECD and the European Union in order to face two main purposes. The first one deals with tax transparency whereas the second one tackles with base erosion and profit shifting towards States and territories with low or nil tax levels. The analysis of these attempts to amend international tax rules leads up to question about the used methods, the regulation’s content and their perspectives. While facing the lacks of « tax nationalism », it is necessary to wonder about the relevancy of globalising taxes themselves through both their basis and their rates.

Nesta tese de doutorado foram tomados como objeto de análise os livros usados pelos normalistas quando eles estudaram as questões relativas ao ofício de ensinar. Chamados aqui de manuais pedagógicos, esses textos começaram a ser publicados em períodos muito próximos em Portugal e no Brasil. A primeira edição encontrada datou de 1870 e outras foram sendo produzidas durante um século, aproximadamente, quando os livros passaram por transformações significativas em seu conteúdo e materialidade. Nesse período, eles apresentaram uma síntese do que se considerou ser o melhor da bibliografia usada pelos educadores. Isso porque seu intuito foi iniciar os estudantes no trabalho docente, reunindo, de forma fácil e acessível à leitura realizada pelos futuros professores, as referências nucleares para realizar tal atividade. Assim organizados, esses conhecimentos fundamentaram os modos pelos quais a escola foi concebida, pois explicaram as características dos vários elementos de sua cultura, compreendendo não só o papel do professor, como também a estrutura organizacional da escola, as tarefas do aluno e os métodos para conduzir a aula. Esses aspectos formaram uma espécie de gramática do ensino, difundida nas mais diversas partes do mundo e que não foi pensada como a modalidade mais apropriada, mas sim como a única forma imaginável de escolarização. Uma expansão como essa articulou-se à circulação intra e internacional de conhecimentos produzidos em diversos espaços, épocas e áreas de saber, os quais foram usados pelos profissionais da educação para construírem as suas proposições sobre o ensino. As lógicas desse processo de produção e apropriação de idéias foram examinadas aqui a partir da metáfora da viagem feita pelas referências usadas em diferentes lugares e momentos. Em outras palavras, isso assinalou que os conhecimentos viajaram através dos manuais pedagógicos, quando eles citaram idéias de outros autores, encontradas em outras obras, feitas em vários países do globo. Por isso, a tese examinou e comparou as referências mencionadas nas produções portuguesas e brasileiras, com o objetivo de conhecer quais informações foram selecionadas e como as mesmas foram articuladas ao se construírem as representações sobre a escola. Assim, a história dos manuais pedagógicos elaborada na presente tese atentou para os modos pelos quais eles produziram saberes e colaboraram para difundir o modelo de escolarização entre os professores. / The aim of this doctoral thesis is to analyze textbooks used in teacher education that dealt with issues of teaching. They are referred here as pedagogic manuals and began to be published in the same period in Portugal and Brazil. The first edition found is from 1870 and other were produced during the next century, when these books had significant changes in their content and materiality. In this period the manuals presented a synthesis of the best of the bibliography used by educators. Their goal was to initiate students in the teaching job, gathering, in an easy and accessible way, the fundamental references to the work. Organized in this way, this knowledge supported the ways in which school was conceived, because it explained the characteristics of the various elements of its culture, including not only the role of the teacher, but also the organization of the school, students tasks and the methods of conducing a classroom. These aspects became a kind of teaching grammar, that spread to many regions of the world. This grammar was thought as the only imaginable way of schooling. Such an expansion was linked to the national and international circulation of knowledge, which was produced in several areas and times, and was used by the education professionals to build their own propositions on teaching. The logics of these processes of production and appropriation of ideas were examined here using the metaphor of the journey made by the references, when they were used in different places and moments. In another words, we show that the knowledge traveled through the pedagogic manuals when they quote authors and ideas found in another countries. That\'s the reason why, in this thesis, the references found in the manuals from Portugal and Brazil were examined and compared: trying to understand which information was selected and how they were used to build representations on the school. So, the history of pedagogic manuals built in this work dealt with the ways they produced knowledge and contributed to diffuse the schooling model among teachers.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

In this thesis, the study mainly focuses on the current trends in development of compact multi-media mobile phone and provides a wideband monopole antenna design suitable for application in wireless communicating system in the near future. By utilizing the planar monopole antenna structure, the proposed antenna design is easy to be embedded into the mobile phone. Further, by using a shielding metal cover, we create a zone with low surface current distribution. This effect will reduce the electromagnetic coupling between the antenna and the electronic elements and make it possible to integrate more related elements into the mobile phones. Finally, we use the simulation software to analyze the dielectric effect caused by the casing of mobile phone and human body on the proposed antenna.

The changing world of work that we live in is characterised by forming part of globalisation and virtualness. The previous era managers focused on how to make money and how this money can work for them. The changing world of work is characterised by global competitiveness in delivering quality products quicker and cheaper. Globalisation presents continuous advancements in technology, which requires a new mindset. These technological advancements have a profound effect on culture, training and management of staff. This brings about change in flexible working arrangements and the traditional office made space within certain organisations for virtual offices. The move towards virtualness causes companies to work more closely with their customers to be able to coordinate rapid changes in products (Schuh, Millarg & Gorannson, 1998; Weissenfeld, Fisscher, Pearson & Brockhoff, 200 1). The financial institution referred to in this study was also driven by globalisation and technological advancements to re-engineer the current way in which they do business. It became evidently clear that there was a need for a shift towards virtualness, which called for the identifying of relevant competencies; needed by employees for working in a virtual environment. These competencies will enable the organisation to select the right employees and provide them with information that could be utilised in training the current virtual employees according to the competencies identified. The objectives of this research were firstly to conduct a job analysis to determine the important competencies needed by virtual workers, in a specific job at a financial institution in South Africa. Secondly to compare the current competencies of the virtual workers (who took part in the research) with the competencies identified by the job analysis to be important for this specific job. Thirdly to determine the skills required for virtual workers and compare these skills with the skills ranked by the current virtual workers to be important. Fourthly to identify how these virtual workers experienced the effect of virtualness on their performance. Lastly to make recommendations regarding future training and selection purposes. A survey design (cross-sectional) was used to determine competencies needed by virtual workers for a specific job at a financial institution in South Africa. The study population consisted of (N= 71) employees in a virtual job at a financial institution in South Africa. The Work Profile Systems (WPS), Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ), Performance Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ) and a Skills Audit (SA) were administered. Results of the research indicated that 44% of the study population exhibits the competencies needed by virtual workers as indicated by the Inventory of Management Competencies (IMC) Profile of the WPS. The results of the Performance Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ) indicated that the current virtual workers experienced the greatest impact of virtualness on improving the attainment of personal goals, as well as improving the achievement of organisational goals. The results from the Skills Audit (SA) identified skills that were essential for virtual workers in a specific job within a virtual environment, according to the feedback received from the current virtual workers. They compared favourably with the skills identified by literature as being important. Recommendations to the organisation and for future research have been made and limitations were also discussed. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

Freshwater is a vital resource that circulates between the atmosphere, the land and the sea. Understanding and quantifying changes to the partitioning of precipitation into evapotranspiration, runoff and water storage change in the landscape are required for assessing changes to freshwater availability. However, the partitioning processes and their changes are complex due to multiple change drivers and effects. This thesis investigates and aims to identify and separate the effects of atmospheric climate change and various landscape drivers on long-term freshwater change. This is done based on hydroclimatic, land-use and water-use data from the beginning of the twentieth century up to present times and across different regions and scales, from catchment to global. The analyzed landscape drivers include historic developments of irrigated and non-irrigated agriculture and flow regulation. The thesis uses and develops further a data-motivated approach to interpret available hydroclimatic and landscape data for identification of water change drivers and effects, expanding the approach application from local to continental and global scales. Based on this approach development, the thesis identifies hydroclimatic change signals of landscape drivers against the background of multiple coexisting drivers influencing worldwide freshwater change, within and among hydrological basins. Globally, landscape drivers are needed to explain more than 70% of the historic hydroclimatic changes, of which a considerable proportion may be directly human-driven. These landscape- and human-driven water changes need to be considered and accounted for also in modeling and projection of changes to the freshwater system on land. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Submitted.</p> / VR, project 2009-3221