List of Titles

Self-assembled monolayers and electropolymerized thin films of phthalocyanines as molecular materials for electroanalysis

- Nyokong, Tebello, Bedioui, Fethi

Authors: Nyokong, Tebello , Bedioui, Fethi
Date: 2006
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/283826 , vital:55994 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424606000454"
Description: In this review, we report on the newly developed area of research devoted to the formation of self-assembled monolayers of metallophthalocyanines by focusing on some significant examples dedicated to electroanalytical applications. We also summarize recent examples on the use of electropolymerized metallophthalocyanine films in electroanalysis. In both cases, activation and detection of thiols are the main targeted applications.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Self-assembled monolayers and electropolymerized thin films of phthalocyanines as molecular materials for electroanalysis

- Nyokong, Tebello, Bedioui, Fethi

Authors: Nyokong, Tebello , Bedioui, Fethi
Date: 2006
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/283851 , vital:55996 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424606000454"
Description: In this review, we report on the newly developed area of research devoted to the formation of self-assembled monolayers of metallophthalocyanines by focusing on some significant examples dedicated to electroanalytical applications. We also summarize recent examples on the use of electropolymerized metallophthalocyanine films in electroanalysis. In both cases, activation and detection of thiols are the main targeted applications.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Service quality perceptions among different cultures in the Nelson Mandela Metropole

- Müller, Otto

Authors: Müller, Otto
Date: 2006
Subjects: Service industries -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Metropole -- Quality control , Service industries -- Customer services -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Metropole , Consumer satisfaction , Service industries -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Metropole -- Cross cultural studies
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
Identifier: vital:8763 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011687 , Service industries -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Metropole -- Quality control , Service industries -- Customer services -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Metropole , Consumer satisfaction , Service industries -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Metropole -- Cross cultural studies
Description: Managing cultural differences in today’s work environment has received the attention of researchers all over the world. What has received far less attention is the managing of the cultural differences between service provider workers and customers and how this is perceived to lead to achieving great service quality. This research project focuses on the cultural differences between culturally diverse South African service provider workers and South African customers, with some reference to international customers. The questionnaire used in this research includes questions embodying the service quality instruments developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) and Hofstede’s (1991) cultural dimensions. The questionnaire was completed by 81 students of the East Cape Midland College in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. A Pearson’s correlation coefficient was calculated for each service quality instrument and each cultural dimension. The resulting correlation coefficients were analysed and a positive or negative correlation between each service quality instrument and each cultural dimension is shown. The implications of each positive and negative correlation are shown and how it impacts on perceived service quality delivery. The implications for service quality management are shown, followed by recommendations for the management of a culturally diverse workforce.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Situated environmental learning in Southern Africa at the start of the UN decade of education for sustainable development

- O'Donoghue, Rob B, Lotz-Sisitka, Heila

Authors: O'Donoghue, Rob B , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
Date: 2006
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/183059 , vital:43908 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0814062600001737"
Description: Within the globalising trajectory of modernism, conservation, then environmental (EE) and now sustainability education (ESD) have each emerged as developing responses to risk produced by and in the modern state. Through adopting a long term process perspective, this paper narrates the emergence of situated learning perspectives and a developing re-orientation of EE at the start of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD). We identified the need to examine ESD practice in responses to recent ESD consultations in 14 southern African countries, where a rhetorical marking was noted in discussions on ESD practices, particularly with regard to changing teaching and learning processes. The paper narrates how an interplay of review, research and practical engagement activities have all contributed to an extended critical review of learning interactions in environmental education in an attempt to provide useful perspective for educational activities within the UNDESD. We found that EE and ESD initiatives only acquired more substantive meaning and coherent orientation when examined within ongoing inquiries into situated learning, agency and risk reduction in contexts of poverty, vulnerability and risk, the key concern to us in this paper and the primary focus of the WEHAB (Water, Energy, Health, Agriculture and Biodiversity) sustainable development agenda in the region.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

SL-model for paired comparisons

- Sjölander, Morné Rowan

Authors: Sjölander, Morné Rowan
Date: 2006
Subjects: Paired comparisons (Statistics) , Mathematical statistics
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
Identifier: vital:10574 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/605 , Paired comparisons (Statistics) , Mathematical statistics
Description: The method of paired comparisons can be found all the way back to 1860, where Fechner made the first publication in this method, using it for his psychometric investigations [4]. Thurstone formalised the method by providing a mathematical background to it [9-11] and in 1927 the method’s birth took place with his psychometric publications, one being “a law of comparative judgment” [12-14]. The law of comparative judgment is a set of equations relating the proportion of times any stimulus k is judged greater on a given attribute than any other stimulus j to the scales and discriminal dispersions of the two stimuli on the psychological continuum. The amount of research done for discrete models of paired comparisons is not a lot. This study develops a new discrete model, the SL-model for paired comparisons. Paired comparisons data processing in which objects have an upper limit to their scores was also not yet developed, and making such a model is one of the aims of this report. The SLmodel is thus developed in this context; however, the model easily generalises to not necessarily having an upper limit on scores.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Small-scale, nature-based tourism as a pro-poor development intervention : two examples in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

- Hill, Trevor R, Nel, Etienne L, Trotter, D

Authors: Hill, Trevor R , Nel, Etienne L , Trotter, D
Date: 2006
Language: English
Type: Article
Identifier: vital:6687 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006689
Description: Tourism is widely acknowledged as a key economic sector that has the potential to contribute to national and local development and, more specifically, serve as a mechanism to promote poverty alleviation and pro-poor development within a particular locality. In countries of the global South, nature-based tourism initiatives can make a meaningful impact on the livelihoods of the poor, in particular the subsistence based rural poor. Taking two examples in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, where small-scale tourism initiatives were developed recently in response to existing natural attractions in the context of coping with local economic crises, this paper broadly assesses the modest benefits to date, as well as drawbacks, in improving conditions of life.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Software quality assurance in a remote client/contractor context

- Black, Angus Hugh

Authors: Black, Angus Hugh
Date: 2006
Subjects: Computer software -- Quality control , Software engineering , Information technology
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
Identifier: vital:4648 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006615 , Computer software -- Quality control , Software engineering , Information technology
Description: With the reliance on information technology and the software that this technology utilizes increasing every day, it is of paramount importance that software developed be of an acceptable quality. This quality can be achieved through the utilization of various software engineering standards and guidelines. The question is, to what extent do these standards and guidelines need to be utilized and how are these standards and guidelines implemented? This research focuses on how guidelines developed by standardization bodies and the unified process developed by Rational can be integrated to achieve a suitable process and version control system within the context of a remote client/contractor small team environment.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

South Africa and the International Criminal Court: investigating the link between complimentarity and implementation

- Kulundu, Kenneth Wanyama

Authors: Kulundu, Kenneth Wanyama
Date: 2006
Subjects: International Criminal Court , International criminal courts , International crimes , International law -- South Africa , South Africa -- Law and legislation
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
Identifier: vital:3679 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003194 , International Criminal Court , International criminal courts , International crimes , International law -- South Africa , South Africa -- Law and legislation
Description: Complementarity, the organizing principle of the International Criminal Court (ICC), is a largely untested concept in terms of its ability to instigate State compliance with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The ICC made its debut at a time when States were routinely accused of non-compliance with international law, particularly international criminal law. Due to perennial concerns over the protection of State sovereignty, an ingenious system of allocation of competencies between States and the ICC was evolved. This is embodied by the principle of complementarity. At the heart of complementarity is an arrangement by which States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC are regarded as the prime fora for the prosecution of crimes of grave concern to the international community. In the event of inaction, however, the ICC is mandated to wrest specific cases from the jurisdiction of national courts and try them. In effect, a carrot-and-stick mechanism has been built into the Rome Statute to induce States to comply with the Statute. This thesis examines the principle of complementarity from a theoretical perspective, bearing in mind contemporary international law structures and institutions. A better understanding of the theoretical assumptions of complementarity, it is suggested, will foster a more effective application of the tenets of the Rome Statute within the municipal system. The thesis argues that complementarity is a catalyst for implementation of the Rome Statute only to the extent to which it alters or re-defines well established and encumbering procedures and norms within the municipal system. In this regard, although South Africa’s status of constitutional democracy may be reason to expect that the obligations imposed by the Rome Statute will be observed, that very fact may increase the inclination to preserve the “baseline of conduct” rather than be swayed by the Rome Statute. An illustrative excursion into South African rules and norms is undertaken, after which the argument is advanced that not much change has been effected to the South African legal landscape through implementation of the Rome Statute. The sole exception to this is the issue of prosecutorial discretion. On this, the South African legislature has uniquely crafted a mechanism for ensuring accountability, presumably with a view to ensuring that South Africa is always able to prosecute the crimes concerned. However, the thesis cautions against complacency, arguing that the tension between national law and international obligations may yet play itself out, owing to insufficient attention to the role of national courts in giving effect to the Rome Statute. The act of implementation may be a response to stimuli such as the perceived need to avoid civil liability for international crimes, or the general inertia of implementing human rights instruments. Therefore, the carrot-and-stick mechanism may be lacking in the compulsive qualities it is presumed to have. Through an exploratory survey of South African law, the thesis illustrates that prosecutorial accountability is the major factor in determining whether a State has fully complied with is obligations under the Rome Statute. However, it also points out that the way courts of law apply the new norms in municipal systems in the future will be crucial.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

South Africa's chemical and biological warfare programme 1981-1995

- Gould, Chandré

Authors: Gould, Chandré
Date: 2006
Subjects: Basson, Wouter, 1950- Basson, Wouter, 1950 -- Trials, litigation, etc Biological warfare -- South Africa Chemical warfare -- South Africa Trials (Political crimes and offenses) -- South Africa South Africa -- Politics and government -- History
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
Identifier: vital:2544 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002396
Description: In 1981 the apartheid military initiated a chemical and biological warfare (CBW) programme (code-named Project Coast). The programme, terminated in 1993, was aimed at developing novel irritating and incapacitating agents for internal and external use, covert assassination weapons for use against apartheid opponents, and defensive equipment for use by South African Defence Force (SADF) troops in Angola. The CBW programme was driven by a single individual, Dr Wouter Basson, who reported to a military management committee (the Co-ordinating Management Committee) which comprised a select group of high ranking officers. Practical and financial oversight of the programme was weak which allowed both for the abuse of programme funds and for senior military officers to deny knowledge of aspects of the programme. The biological component of Project Coast was conducted in violation of the commitments of the South African government to the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention (BTWC). While the state’s commitment to the BTWC was one of the factors considered when initiating the programme, it was not a sufficient constraint to prevent the development of the biological weapons programme, but rather influenced its structure such that the programme could avoid national and international detection. Despite efforts to conceal the military front companies where the chemical and biological warfare (CBW) research and development was undertaken, evidence presented in this thesis shows that the United States had sufficient information about the programme to have been aware of its existence. Yet, it was only in 1993, on the eve of the democratic election in South Africa, that any attempt was made by the US administration to pressure the government to terminate the programme. This thesis considers the factors which influenced the decision to develop Project Coast; the structure and nature of the programme; the motivations of scientists to become involved in the programme and remain involved; the use of chemical and biological agents against opponents of the state, and the factors which influenced the termination of the programme on the eve of the first democratic elections in 1994. It also considers the nature and exent of international support, both tacit and overt, for the programme and argues that the failure of Western nations to call for the termination of the programme before the early 1990s was a function of political expediency and indicates a significant weakness in the ability of international agreements to constrain the development of such programmes.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Spatio-temporal patterns in maturation of the chokka squid (Loligo vulgaris reynaudii) off the coast of South Africa

- Olyott, L J H, Sauer, Warwick H H, Booth, Anthony J

Authors: Olyott, L J H , Sauer, Warwick H H , Booth, Anthony J
Date: 2006
Language: English
Type: Article
Identifier: vital:6763 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007930
Description: Knowledge of the temporal and spatial characteristics of chokka squid (Loligo vulgaris reynaudii) biology in South African waters is limited, so the possibility of there being a geographically fragmented stock was examined by investigating the distribution of maturity patterns for the species, covering all known spawning areas and using both historical and recent data. Gonadosomatic indices (GSI) varied between year-round consistency and apparent seasonal peaks in both summer and winter; there was no clear spatial pattern. Monthly percentage maturity provided further evidence for two peak reproductive periods each year, although mature squid were present throughout. Sex ratios demonstrated great variability between different areas and life history stages. Male-biased sex ratios were only apparent on the inshore spawning grounds and ranged between 1.118:1 and 4.267:1. Size at sexual maturity was also seasonal, squid maturing smaller in winter/spring than in summer/autumn. Also, squid in the east matured smaller than squid in the west. Although the results from the present study do not provide conclusive evidence of distinct geographic populations, squid likely spawn over a significantly larger area of the Agulhas Bank than previously estimated, and squid on the west coast of South Africa may return to spawn on the western portion of the Agulhas Bank. It remains likely, however, that the east and west coast populations are a single stock and that migration of juveniles to the west coast and their subsequent return as sub-adults is an integral but non-essential and variable part of the life history.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Spatio-temporal variability of larval abundance and settlement of Perna perna: differential delivery of mussels

- Porri, Francesca, McQuaid, Christopher D, Radloff, Sarah E

Authors: Porri, Francesca , McQuaid, Christopher D , Radloff, Sarah E
Date: 2006
Language: English
Type: text , Article
Identifier: vital:6877 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011625 , http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps315141
Description: We examined larval availability and settlement of the intertidal mussel Perna perna simultaneously at different spatial and temporal scales using a nested design at 2 sites, 3 km apart on the south coast of South Africa. Each site had 3 locations (300 m apart) where 5 artificial settler collectors were placed about 20 cm apart. Collectors were replaced on temporal scales varying from fortnightly (for 16 mo) to daily (2 series of 15 to 20 d). Each intertidal location was paired with an inshore location (these too were 300 m apart) within 500 m of the shore, where larval availability was measured by 3 vertical plankton hauls collected on the same dates as for settler sampling. There was strong temporal variation in abundances of larvae and settlers, and no correlation (r always < 0.14) was found between the two. Larvae were abundant only at the start of sampling and rare for the rest of the study, while distinct peaks in settler numbers occurred later. No spatial effect was detected for larval availability, while there was strong spatial variation in settlement at the location level. These results indicate that, on scales of 100s of m to km, delivery of larvae from the nearshore water column onto the shore is strongly differential, with some locations consistently receiving more settlers than others. We conclude that, at these sites, the patchiness in settlement observed on scales of 100s of m depends on differential delivery, rather than differential offshore distribution of larvae. We suggest that differential delivery is due to the effect of nearshore bottom topography on local hydrodynamics.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Sperm morphology in five species of cicadettine cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha: Cicadidae)

- Chawanji, A S, Hodgson, Alan N, Villet, Martin H

Authors: Chawanji, A S , Hodgson, Alan N , Villet, Martin H
Date: 2006
Language: English
Type: Article
Identifier: vital:6930 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011948
Description: Mature spermatozoa from five species of cicadas of the subfamily Cicadettinae (Quintilia wealei, Melampsalta leucoptera, Stagira simplex, Xosopsaltria thunbergi and Monomatapa matoposa) were examined by light and electron microscopy. In each species sperm are elongate, aggregated into organized bundles with their heads embedded in a homogenous matrix to form spermatodesmata, and exhibit polymegaly. The head of the sperm consist of an anteriorly positioned conical acrosome that has a tubular substructure and a deep, posterior invagination that forms the subacrosomal space (eccentrically positioned anteriorly). The acrosome is flattened anteriorly; posteriorly it extends along either side of the nucleus as two tubular processes that gradually decrease in diameter. The filiform nucleus tapers anteriorly and intrudes into the subscrosomal space. Posteriorly the nucleus has a lateral invagination that houses material of the so-called centriolar adjunct. Posterior to the centriolar adjuct and the nucleus are two crystalline mitochondrial derivatives and a centriole, respectively, the latter giving rise to the axoneme, which has a 9 + 9 + 2 arrangement of microtubules. In these respects the sperm are similar to those of platypleurine cicadas. However, some features seem unique to cicadettines, including the structural organization of an enlarged centriolar adjunct and the dimensions of the tails. The enlarged centriolar adjunct has a lamella-like substructure and can be considered a synapomorphic character in the Cicadettinae. It is, therefore, potentially useful in the separation of this subfamily from the Cicadinae. In addition, the great length of the sperm nucleus of long-headed sperm in M. matoposa could be a synapomorphy of this genus and related taphurine and cicadettine species.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Spotlight on research: 50 years of Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Excellence Faculty of Pharmacy Rhodes University

- Walker, Roderick B

Authors: Walker, Roderick B
Date: 2006
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/184243 , vital:44193 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC81478"
Description: This year, the Faculty of Pharmacy at Rhodes University is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Over 2000 BPharm, 33 BSc honours, 65 MSc and 27 PhD degrees have been conferred since the Faculty’s inception. The diverse research activities and dedicated academic staff have ensured that the Faculty of Pharmacy has high visibility with respect to research outputs, as is evidenced by the appointment of various members of staff to national and international research, regulatory and professional committees, as well as to serving on the editorial boards of a number of international journals. In addition, staff regularly publish in international and local peer-reviewed journals and present their research findings at international and local conferences.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Stakeholders' perceptions of the cluster system in a secondary school in Rundu, Namibia

- Topnaar, P E

Authors: Topnaar, P E
Date: 2006
Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia -- Rundu Education -- Namibia -- Rundu Educational leadership -- Namibia -- Rundu Educational change -- Namibia -- Rundu
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
Identifier: vital:1853 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004516
Description: Since independence in 1990, various efforts have been made to improve the quality and management of Namibian schools, including the Basic Education Project (BEP-Project). In collaboration with the Geselschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), the BEP-Project has supported the implementation of important Government programs, such as Lower Primary reform and the cluster system. In 1995 the BEP-Project began to address educational needs in the Rundu education region. It was believed that Rundu had in the past been the most neglected region, especially with regard to education. The school cluster system was devised to facilitate new ways of education service delivery and to address the question of improving education standards. The purpose of this research is to answer the question: "How do the management and staff of a secondary school in the Rundu region of education experience a school cluster system?" To this end, the research seeks to determine what potential the cluster system holds and how that may be realised, and to also establish whether there is any evidence of change in management practices. A case study method has been employed to gain insight into the cluster system as a management tool. Ten respondents, all of whom have been employed at the school in question for a considerable period of time, were interviewed before and after the implementation of the cluster system. The research disclosed that disparities and tension in the school were legacies of the colonial education system, but that the cluster system had bridged the gap and enhanced uniformity and cooperation. Sharing of ideas on educational issues and constant interaction created a conducive environment for academic performance. The case study further disclosed that parental involvement in decision making is still a course for concern and that the cluster system has not yet addressed this issue. The study has shown that decentralisation has taken place and that rural schools are no longer operating in isolation. A lack of innovative ideas has hampered training as a cluster activity. From the research, it is evident that schools have previously operated on an individual basis, but that the cluster system has created the opportunity for schools to interact on a regular basis. This study is timely and of national importance. I anticipate that this study will be of use to policy makers in making decisions for the future development of the cluster system.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Stirring the hornet's nest: women's citizenship and childcare in post-apartheid South Africa

- Alfers, Laura Corrigall

Authors: Alfers, Laura Corrigall
Date: 2006
Subjects: Women's rights -- South Africa , Citizenship -- South Africa , Women -- Political activity , Feminist theory -- Political aspects , Child care -- South Africa , Sex discrimination against women
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
Identifier: vital:2757 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002967 , Women's rights -- South Africa , Citizenship -- South Africa , Women -- Political activity , Feminist theory -- Political aspects , Child care -- South Africa , Sex discrimination against women
Description: It is a widely acknowledged fact that women’s access to the full rights of citizenship in the liberal state is restricted because of their unequal responsibility for childcare. The South African state, however, despite its theoretical commitment to gender equality, has failed substantially to engage with the issue of childcare and women’s citizenship. This is problematic because in failing to envisage a role for itself in supporting women with their responsibility for childcare, the state has not only neglected its Constitutional commitments to gender equality, but it has also failed to realise the benefits that could potentially accrue to children if women’s access to economic citizenship is not hampered by childcare. Recognising this problem, this thesis attempts to engender some debate as to how the South African state could feasibly correct this failure. In doing so, it uses feminist political theory as a basis and takes a critical view of the two childcare policies that have dominated the debate over women’s citizenship and childcare in Western liberal democracies – socialised care and the neofamilialist model. In concluding it attempts to provide an idea of what feasible, state-based childcare policies could look like in present-day South Africa.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Strategies for Chinese companies to enter the Port Elizabeth sports-shoe market

- Guo, Zhi

Authors: Guo, Zhi
Date: 2006
Subjects: Shoe industry -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Business enterprises, Foreign -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Entrepreneurship -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
Identifier: vital:9005 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/516 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011691 , Shoe industry -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Business enterprises, Foreign -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Entrepreneurship -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
Description: This research addressed the study of entry strategies by Chinese sports-shoe manufacturers into the South African sports-shoe market. The goal of this research is to investigate what are the appropriate entry strategies for Chinese sports-shoe companies to enter the South African sports-shoe market. A Chinese sports-shoe company, Li Ning Limited, was used as a case study to illustrate the methods to explore appropriate entry strategies. The research methodology included: {u10007A} A literature study to explore the popular entry strategies used to enter the South African and also global markets was conducted. In addition, the South African and Chinese market environments were investigated. {u10007A} An empirical study, a survey of sports-shoe customers and sports-shoe shops owners, was done in order to explore the advisable entry strategies for Chinese sports-shoe companies to enter the South African sports-shoe market. According to the literature study as well as the empirical study, the research explored some advisable entry strategies for Chinese sports-shoe companies into the South African domain.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Strategy formulation, alignment and implementation to ensure that Behr is competitive internationally : a case study

- Samuels, Donald

Authors: Samuels, Donald
Date: 2006
Subjects: Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Competition, International , Globalization , Strategic planning
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
Identifier: vital:8761 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/600 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011685 , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Competition, International , Globalization , Strategic planning
Description: South Africa’s transition to democracy in 1994 has heralded a re-entry into the global economy. This has meant that for the first time in more than 40 years of isolation because of “apartheid” policies, South African companies are facing global competition. The South African automotive industry has undergone major changes over the past few years. All the assemblers are now either wholly or partially owned by overseas parent companies. Under globalisation, foreign ownership of locally owned suppliers has also been escalating. The Behr strategy and values were examined to determine whether they are consistent with companies operating in the international environment. The literature study was conducted by using textbooks, periodicals and the internet. The empirical study was conducted by means of a questionnaire addressed to the Behr executives. The results of this empirical study were then directly correlated to the theoretical aspects. Distinctive competences, market growth and product development strategies were identified and comparisons made with theory.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Structure and distribution of the slope fish community in the vicinity of the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Archipelago

- Pakhomov, Evgeny A, Bushula, T, Kaehler, Sven, Watkins, B P, Leslie, Rob W

Authors: Pakhomov, Evgeny A , Bushula, T , Kaehler, Sven , Watkins, B P , Leslie, Rob W
Date: 2006
Language: English
Type: Article
Identifier: vital:6958 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012000
Description: Demersal fish community structure, distribution and trophic relationships on the slope (depth range 200–1500 m) of the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands and surrounding sea rises were investigated during a pilot survey conducted in April 2001 onboard fishing vessel MV Iris. A total of 56 fish taxa were collected during the survey, of which 44 were identified to the species level, seven to the genus level and five to the family level. Among the identified taxa, 36 constituted new records for the area investigated. Total catch per unit effort (cpue) during the survey ranged from 1•1 to 241•2 individuals h 1. Both average fish diversity and total cpue positively correlated with trawling depth. Overall, mean sampling depth and near-bottom temperature explained 56% of total fish cpue. Hierarchal cluster analysis identified three distinct fish assemblages with pronounced dominant species. Major shifts in fish community composition occurred at 500–600 m and 800–900 m depth strata and could probably be a result of physical and biological vertical zonation. Analysis of the diet of selected fish species showed that they were generalist feeders, consuming predominantly pelagic, including epipelagic, meso- and benthopelagic, prey. Diets of six species and nitrogen stable isotope signatures of 22 species revealed that with a few exceptions most fishes occupied the fourth trophic level and were tertiary consumers. Wide variability in carbon isotopic signatures is discussed with respect to alternative, e.g. possible importance of high Antarctic and chemoautotrophic v. photoautotrophic sub-Antarctic primary production, organic matter sources at the base of deep-sea food webs.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Quick View

Studies of equivalent fuzzy subgroups of finite abelian p-Groups of rank two and their subgroup lattices

- Ngcibi, Sakhile Leonard

Authors: Ngcibi, Sakhile Leonard
Date: 2006
Subjects: Abelian groups Fuzzy sets Finite groups Group theory Polynomials
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
Identifier: vital:5416 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005230
Description: We determine the number and nature of distinct equivalence classes of fuzzy subgroups of finite Abelian p-group G of rank two under a natural equivalence relation on fuzzy subgroups. Our discussions embrace the necessary theory from groups with special emphasis on finite p-groups as a step towards the classification of crisp subgroups as well as maximal chains of subgroups. Unique naming of subgroup generators as discussed in this work facilitates counting of subgroups and chains of subgroups from subgroup lattices of the groups. We cover aspects of fuzzy theory including fuzzy (homo-) isomorphism together with operations on fuzzy subgroups. The equivalence characterization as discussed here is finer than isomorphism. We introduce the theory of keychains with a view towards the enumeration of maximal chains as well as fuzzy subgroups under the equivalence relation mentioned above. We discuss a strategy to develop subgroup lattices of the groups used in the discussion, and give examples for specific cases of prime p and positive integers n,m. We derive formulas for both the number of maximal chains as well as the number of distinct equivalence classes of fuzzy subgroups. The results are in the form of polynomials in p (known in the literature as Hall polynomials) with combinatorial coefficients. Finally we give a brief investigation of the results from a graph-theoretic point of view. We view the subgroup lattices of these groups as simple, connected, symmetric graphs.
Full Text:
Date Issued: 2006

Showing items 441 - 460 of 609