Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Economic aspects of Stationary process'

It is evident that human activity has an important impact on climate. Constantly increasing energy demand is one of the biggest causes of climate change. The fifth assessment report of the Inter-governmental panel on climate change states that decarbonisation of electricity generation is a key component of climate change mitigation. Increased awareness of this fact and escalating concerns around energy security has brought public attention to the energy industry, especially sustainable power generation systems. Future energy systems may need to include hydrogen as an energy carrier in order to achieve necessary levels of CO2 emission reductions, and overcome the challenges renewable energy systems present. Fuel cells could be a corner stone of future hydrogen inclusive energy solutions. New solutions like fuel cells have to compete with existing technologies and overcome the shortcomings of emerging technology. Though these shortcomings are well-recognised, fuel cells also have many advantages which makes continued research and development in the field highly worthwhile and viable. Key to their adoption is the identification of a niche market to utilise their advantages while overcoming their shortcomings with continuous research and development. This thesis aims to evaluate some of the stationary fuel cell applications and determine whether one could become the niche market as an entry point for fuel cells. This is achieved by economic evaluations of real and hypothetical applications. Results of the studies here imply that to decrease the total life cycle impacts of fuel cells to more acceptable levels, resource use in the manufacturing phase and recycling in decommissioning should be shown more attention. Results also present a picture showing that none of the applications investigated are economically feasible, given the current state of technology and energy prices. However, fuel cell-based combined cooling, heating and power systems for data centres show the potential to become the niche market that fuel cells need to grow. A further conclusion is that a broad market, longer stack lifetime, the possibility of selling electricity back to the grid and governmental subsidies are essential components of an environment in which fuel cells can permeate through the niche market to the mainstream markets.

QC 20151210

Strong seasonality is observed in the volatile hourly Alberta temperature and its low- and high-order statistical moments. We propose a time series model consisting of a linear combination of an annual sinusoidal model, a diurnal sinusoidal model and a fractional residual model, to study the characteristics of these spatial and time-dependent Alberta temperatures. Wavelet multi-resolution analysis is used to measure Hurst exponents of the temperature series. Our empirical results show that these Hurst exponents vary over various time scales, indicating the existence of multi-fractality in the temperatures. Such temperature models are of importance for the pricing and insurance of agricultural crops, of tourist resorts and of all forms of energy extraction and generation of importance to the resource-based economy of Alberta. Of particular interests are the observed extreme volatilities in the winters, caused by the unpredictable Chinook winds, which may be an important reason to introduce a Chinook insurance option.
64 leaves : map ; 29 cm

In recent years the spatial dimension of economic development has attracted increasing interest in the development field. However there is still little analysis and evidence of the ways many spatial dimensions interact with other economic dimensions in the development process. This thesis aims to help filling this gap by bringing a geographical perspective into development economics frameworks. It is empirical in nature and uses data on different sub-national units from India and Uganda. The work is structured around four main papers (divided into six chapters). The first paper analyses two important aspects of the Indian urbanisation process. First it finds a U-shaped relation between rural-urban disparities in living standards and income per capita across Indian states in the Post-Independence period. Second, it shows that the urbanisation process in India has been characterised by convergence in the 20th century: smaller towns grow faster than large ones. The second paper examines the role of the agricultural sector in influencing the shape of the urban system. The analysis suggests that the elasticity of rural-urban labour supply increases both urban primacy and the urbanisation rate in Indian states during the Post-Independence period. The third paper tests for the impact of urban growth on rural poverty using a sample of Indian districts in the period 1981-1999. It finds that urbanisation reduces poverty surrounding rural areas. This effect is largely attributable to positive spillovers from urbanisation rather than to the movement of the rural poor to urban areas. The final paper examines the deteminants of rising returns to schooling in Ugandan districts during the 1990s. The findings suggest that both educational supply and demand factors influenced the wedge between skilled and unskilled labour. Moreover while trade opening reduced this wedge, pro-market reforms increasing inter-district trade raised returns to education in districts relatively abundant in skilled labour.

Acceptance sampling plans by variables are a basic quality control technique. These plans provide economical procedures to determine the acceptability of batches of product. Most of these plans are based on a single quality characteristic and are of the classical type. This work concentrates on Bayesian variable acceptance sampling plans for fraction defective. Both destructive and non-destructive sampling procedures are considered. A set of decision points are estimated and employed to make decisions about the inspected lots. Techniques to dispose of the rejected lots are provided. Components of the expected total cost relative to various decisions are estimated. The sample size required to obtain the expected optimum cost is found. An untrue assumption implicit in the measurement of the quality characteristic of items sampled is that the observed dimensions are error free. The distributions, means, and variances of a set of parameters for error free and error prone sampling is listed. Computer programs written in FORTRAN 77 are developed to compute the decision points and the costs for both destructive and nondestructive testing. Precise Bays estimate of the costs and other economic parameters involve the moments of the fraction defective p raised to the kᵗʰ power. Mathematical expressions for the conditional expectations of p|x and p|ẋ are derived and a computer program to estimate these moments is provided. Producing quality items with minimum cost requires keeping a production process under control. The quality characteristic X of each item produced is determined and the sample means are plotted on an Ẋ-control chart. A production process is assumed to start in control at time t = 0 with specific values of the mean and standard deviation. The occurrence of a single or multiple cause-failures shift the process mean outside the control limits. During the search for the causes of failure, the process is either allowed to continue in operation or shut down until the assignable cause or causes are discovered. The expected duration of time during which the process is shut down and the additional time to be taken to repair the process are considered. Computer programs are provided to estimate the optimal sample size, the interval between successive samples, the control limits, the probability of type I error, the power of the chart, and the average time the process operates in the presence of an assignable cause. The parameters estimated are employed to estimate the optimal loss-cost. The economic design of Ẋ -charts assumes one quality characteristic of interest. However a product quality in most industrial products and processes is characterized by more than one quality characteristic where the application of a Ẋ -control chart for each variable is inappropriate. In this work a Hotellings T² control chart is employed to handle cases of where products are tested relative to several quality characteristics.

Power outages, electric-grid deficiencies and renewable energies are all examples where stationary energy storages are useful. In this master thesis, two types of stationary electrochemical energy storages are examined; vent-regulated lead-acid batteries (VRLA) and lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP), to find out the more beneficial one in stationary uses. The techniques are examined for a large range of electric-grid services in a techno-economical investigation. The cost per delivered kWh of the energy storage is the basis of comparison which is calculated using battery degradation data with respect to C-rate, SoC, DoD, temperature, storage time and cycle frequency to estimate calendar and cyclic aging. Modelling presents neither alternative as superior although LFP is the more versatile alternative. VRLA-batteries can be a more cost-beneficial alternative for applications demanding less than 1 cycle/day, at temperatures lower than 30C, short project lifetimes and when utilizing storages beyond 80% EoL. The investment cost is lower for VRLA at equal C-rates. Cost items neglected will decrease the chances of VRLA being the cheapest technique. From a sustainability point of view, LFP is under almost all circumstances the less energy and CO2-intense technology, however recyclability is in clear favor for VRLA.
Strömavbrott, underdimensionerade elnät och förnybar energi är tre exempel där ett stationärt energilager kan tillämpas. I den här masteruppsatsen undersöks två typer av stationära elektrokemiska energilager; ventilreglerade bly-syra-batterier och litium-järnfosfat-batterier (LFP), för att finna det mer fördelaktiga alternativet i stationära applikationer. De två teknikerna analyseras i ett stort antal elnätsapplikationer i en tekno-ekonomisk studie. Kostnaden per levererad kWh av energilagret används som jämförelsebas vilken beräknas utifrån batteridegraderingsdata med avseende på C-rate, SoC, DoD, temperatur, lagringstid och cykelfrekvens för att estimera kalender- och cyklisk åldring. Modellering visar att inget av batterialternativen är överlägset i alla situationer men LFP är det mångsidigare alternativet. Bly-syra-batterier kan vara mer kostnadseffektiva för applikationer som kräver mindre än 1 (full-ekvivalent) cykel/dag vid temperaturer lägre än 30C, korta projektlivstider samt när batterilagren används bortom 80% EoL. Investeringskostnaden är lägre för bly-syra-batterier när likadan C-rate appliceras. Negligerade kostnadsposter kommer minska chanserna att bly-syra-batterier är det billigaste alternativet. Från ett hållbarhetsperspektiv är LFP nästan uteslutande den mindre energikrävande och mindre CO2-intensiva tekniken. Bly-syra-batterier har dock en klar fördel när det kommer till återvinningsbarhet.

Background: The industrial economy has been dominated by a one-way production and consumption model. Closing loops for materials has seen an upswing in popularity. The focus though has been on the environmental aspects instead of the economic benefits from implementing closed loops. With an increasing PVC consumption, the interest of implementing a closed loop of material management is increasing. PVC is a highly desired thermoplastic material because of its low cost and high performance. The high performance of PVC causes the materials to have a long lifetime which delays the end-of-life waste management. The option to utilize landfilling to deal with the accumulating waste has become a less acceptable option because of higher costs, environmental dangers, and decreasing availability of landfilling areas. When recycling PVC, it is important to ensure a high accuracy within the sorting process. A lower purity in the recycling process could lead to a lower quality of the material. With the increasing worldwide demand for PVC, which exceeds 35 million metric tons per year, the demand for a robust waste material management is high. Objectives: The objective with this master thesis is to provide a deeper understanding of the affects of introducing a closed loop of material management of PVC by optimizing the upscaling sorting process based on a maximization of the savings and the CO2 emission savings. Methods: An optimization model was developed based on previous literature regarding optimizing sorting processes and recycling processes. Different scenarios were set up to try to optimize the savings and CO2 emission savings for an upscaling sorting process of PVC. The scenarios were based on different changes in different variables. The model and the scenarios were implemented at a case study. The case study was made at the PVC-floor company Tarkett in Ronneby. Results: The different scenarios were compared based on their monthly savings and monthly CO2 emission savings. The results showed that when dealing with a larger volume of incomed material, a more capital-intensive solution should be implemented. It also showed that an upscaling of a sorting process in PVC-floor recycling can be financially feasible while implementing a closed loop of material management. Conclusions: The recent trend in waste material management indicates that many companies are implementing a closed loop of material management through capital-intensive sorting process to manage the increasing availability of waste. The comparisons of the different scenarios revealed that, if the monthly savings is to be optimized, there should be an increase in incomed material and the sorting process should implement a more capital-intensive solution utilizing automated sorting machines. If the monthly CO2 emission savings should be maximized, the incomed material should be maximized and handled by a labor-intensive solution.
Bakgrund: Den industriella ekonomin har dominerats av en enkelriktad produktions- och konsumtionsmodell. Att sluta kretar för material har fått en uppgång i popularitet. Fokus har dock varit på miljöaspekterna istället för de ekonomiska fördelarna med att genomföra slutna kretsar. Med en ökande PVC-konsumtion ökar intresset för att genomföra en sluten krets för materialhantering av PVC. PVC är ett mycket önskat termoplastmaterial på grund av dess låga kostnad och höga prestanda. PVC: s höga prestanda gör att materialen har en lång livslängd som försenar avfallshanteringen. Alternativet att använda deponi för att hantera det ackumulerande avfallet har blivit ett mindre acceptabelt alternativ på grund av högre kostnader, miljöfaror och minskad tillgänglighet av deponiområden. Vid återvinning av PVC är det viktigt att säkerställa hög noggrannhet inom sorteringsprocessen. En lägre noggrannhet i återvinningsprocessen kan leda till en lägre kvalitet på materialet. Med den ökande världsomspännande efterfrågan på PVC, som överstiger 35 miljoner ton per år, är efterfrågan på en robust hantering av avfallsmaterial hög. Syfte: Målet med detta examensarbete är att ge en djupare förståelse för effekterna av att införa en sluten krets för materialhantering av PVC genom att optimera uppskalning av sorteringsprocessen baserat på maximering av besparingar och CO2 utsläppsbesparingar. Metod: En optimeringsmodell utvecklades baserat på tidigare litteratur om optimering av sorteringsprocesser och återvinningsprocesser. Olika scenarier inrättades för att försöka optimera besparingarna och CO2-utsläppsbesparingarna för en uppskalning av sortering av PVC. Scenarierna baserades på olika förändringar i olika variabler. Modellen och scenarierna implementerades på en fallstudie. Fallstudien gjordes på PVC-golvföretaget Tarkett i Ronneby. Resultat: De olika scenarierna jämfördes baserat på deras månatliga besparingar och månatliga CO2-utsläppsbesparingar. Resultaten visade att när man hanterar en större volym inkommande material, bör en mer kapitalintensiv lösning implementeras. Det visade också att en uppskalning av en sorteringsprocess vid PVC- golvåtervinning kan vara ekonomiskt genomförbar samtidigt som en sluten krets av materialhantering genomförs. Slutsatser: Den senaste trenden inom hantering av avfallsmaterial tyder på att iiimånga företag genomför en sluten krets för materialhantering genom kapitalintensiv sorteringsprocess för att hantera den ökande tillgången på avfall. Jämförelserna mellan de olika scenarierna visade att om de månatliga besparingarna ska optimeras, bör det finnas en ökning av inkommande material och sorteringsprocessen bör implementera en mer kapitalintensiv lösning med automatiska sorteringsmaskiner.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which represent around 95% or more of the total number of enterprises in many countries, are often considered critical for a country's economy because of their effects on economic output and their contribution to overall employment. However, as a result of globalisation and the deregulation of the New Zealand economy, SMEs in this country have been faced with the need to internationalise in order to grow because of increased domestic competition. Moreover, when they make their move to offshore markets they also face fierce competition. Hence, it is in this largely integrated and competitive global marketplace that it becomes critical for smaller firms to learn about international business to succeed. Therefore, this thesis aimed to understand and explain how internationalising NZ SMEs learn and develop knowledge throughout their internationalisation process. To frame this problem an extensive review of the literature on internationalisation, organisational knowledge and organisational learning was conducted. This assessment revealed a gap related to the evolution of learning and knowledge in SMEs' internationalisation process. It also identified the incremental and born-global internationalisation types, two more common and distinctive internationalisation paths that SMEs follow. The literature described the several common forms of knowledge that played more or less critical roles in these firms' internationalisation. Furthermore, extant research also stated that experiential learning and other learning processes were important for the internationalisation of these firms but it did not delve into the development of these learning processes over time. Finally, the evaluation of the knowledge and learning literatures identified three most distinctive and important forms of knowledge that organisations develop as a result of several learning processes. Anchored on the research problem and the specific research questions, derived from the literature review, and framed by a post-positivist worldview, this study developed a methodology that combined theory building, process-based research and case studies to address the problem. More specifically, the methodology involved the selection of and collection of historical, or retrospective, data from eight cases, four incremental and four early-internationalising firms. The data collected through interviews and document analysis was examined using different process analysis techniques. This research has found that there were important differences in the incremental and early-internationalising firms' learning and knowledge during their creation. Furthermore, the early-internationalising firms identified and implemented an internationalisation strategy from the beginning. Thus, the knowledge about international markets and products acquired through congenital learning and their initial intention to offer their products offshore allowed the early-internationalising firms to expand internationally from their creation or soon after. In contrast, the incremental firms only decided to internationalise after they learned from their experience in their domestic market that they had a successful product that had international potential. Besides their initial internationalisation strategy, or lack of it, and knowledge, other factors, such as firm resources, product and industry characteristics and previous learning and knowledge, influenced these firms' subsequent internationalisation strategy, learning and knowledge. Publication associated with this thesis: Pellegrino, J. (2005) Organisational Learning Processes in Internationalising Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: a Comparison between Traditional and Born-Global firms. Udevalla Symposium & McGill International Entrepreneurship Conference, Udevalla, Sweden, September 2005.

Thesis (MScEng)-- Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Climate change that results from greenhouse gases (GHG’s) released from the burning of fossil fuels, together with the rising price of oil, have sparked interest in renewable biofuels. The production of biofuels also presents potential socio-economic benefits. There are two types of technologies for bioethanol production: · First generation bioethanol is produced from food feedstocks such as juice of sugarcane. · Second generation bioethanol is produced from non-food feedstocks (lignocellulosic materials). This project is concerned with 1st and 2nd generation bioethanol production from sugarcane juice and bagasse and the integration of these technologies. This project comprises a combination of experimental and process modelling work to assess energy efficiencies and the economic viability of integrated and stand-alone processes in the sub-Saharan African context. First generation fermentation experiments were conducted and high ethanol concentrations of up to 113.7 g/L were obtained. It was concluded that a recombinant yeast strain may be able to replace a natural hexose fermenting yeast for 1st generation fermentations to reduce costs. 2nd generation fermentation experiments were performed and ethanol concentrations of close to 40 g/L were obtained. Combinations of 1st and 2nd generation fermentation experiments were performed to improve the 2nd generation fermentation. In one of the experiments it was concluded that the combination of 1st and 2nd generation fermentations significantly improved the 2nd generation fermentation with an overall ethanol concentration of 57.6 g/L in a shorter time than for the pure 2nd generation experiments. It was determined from washing and pressing experiments that pressing the pre-hydrolysate liquor out of the pre-treated bagasse will sufficiently lower the levels of inhibitors in a 2nd generation fermentation when using a hardened yeast. Some of the data from the 1st generation experiments were used along with literature data to model a first generation process in Aspen Plus® which processes 493 tons of cane per hour (tc/hr). Pinch heat integration was used to reduce the utility requirements. The process used the bagasse that was generated to co-produce steam and electricity. The excess electricity was sold for additional revenue. In one scenario the excess bagasse was determined at 57.5%. This bagasse was sold to a stand-alone 2nd generation plant. The first generation process produced 85.5 litres of ethanol per ton of cane (L/tc), the integrated process produced 128 L/tc while the stand-alone 2nd generation process produced 185 litres of ethanol per ton of bagasse (50% moisture) or 25.5 L/tc. The amount of excess electricity that was produced ranged from 14.3 to 70.2 kWh/tc. Economic analyses were performed using South African economic parameters to resemble the sub- Saharan African context. Data from the 1st generation process model and literature data for integrated 1st and 2nd generation and stand-alone 2nd generation processes were used for the analyses. It was found that the integrated plant is the most economically viable (IRR = 11.66%) while the 1st generation process basically broke even (IRR = 1.62%) and the 2nd generation process is unviable. This was as a result of high sugarcane prices and too few incentives for 2nd generation ethanol.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Klimaatsverandering wat veroorsaak word deur kweekhuisgasse wat vrygestel word deur die verbranding van fossielbrandstowwe en die stygenede olieprys het belangstelling in hernubare biobrandstowwe laat opvlam. Die produksie van biobrandstowwe hou ook potensiële sosioekonomiese voordele in. Daar is twee tegnologieë vir bioetanol produksie: · Eerste generasie bioetanol word vanaf voedsel bronne soos suikersap geproduseer. · Tweede generasie bioetanol word van nie-voedsel bronne (lignosellulose materiaal) geproduseer. Hierdie projek handel oor 1ste en 2de generasie bioetanol produksie van suikersap en suikerriet bagasse en die integrasie van hierdie tegnologieë. Hierdie projek bestaan uit ‘n kombinasie van eksperimentele- en prosesmodellering werk om die energiedoeltreffendheid en ekonomise vatbaarheid van geïntegreerde en alleenstaande prosesse in die sub-Sahara konteks te ondersoek. Eerste generasie fermentasie eksperimente is uitgevoer en hoë etanol konsentrasies van tot 113.7 g/L is gekry. Dit was bepaal dat ‘n rekombinante gisras ‘n natuurilke heksose fermenterende gisras kan vervang vir 1ste generasie fermentasies om kostes te bespaar. 2de generasie fermentasie eksperimente is gedoen en etanol konsentrasies van amper 40 g/L is behaal. Kombinasies van 1ste en 2de generasie fermentasie-eksperimente was uitgevoer om die 2de generasie fermentasie te verbeter. In een van die eksperimente is dit bepaal dat die kombinasie van 1ste en 2de generasie fermentasie die 2de generasie fermentasie beduidend verbeter het met ‘n etanol konsentrasie van 57.6 g/L en dít in ‘n korter tyd as vir die suiwer 2de generasie eksperimente. Dit was bepaal vanuit pers- en was eksperimente dat om die pre-hidrolisaat vloeistof uit die stoombehandelde bagasse te pers, die vlak van inhibitore in ‘n 2de generasie fermentasie voldoende verlaag vir die gebruik van ‘n verharde gis. Van die data van die 1ste generasie eksperimente was saam met literatuurdata gebruik om ‘n 1ste generasie proses in Aspen Plus® te modelleer wat 493 ton suikerriet per uur prosesseer (tc/hr). Pinch hitte integrasie was gebruik om die dienste vereistes te verminder. In die proses word die bagasse gebruik om stoom en elektrisiteit te genereer. In een geval was die oortillge bagasse bepaal as 57.5%. Hierdie bagasse was verkoop aan ‘n alleenstaande 2de generasie aanleg. Die eerste generasie proses het 85.5 liter etanol per ton suikerriet geproduseer (L/tc), die geïntegreerde proses het 128 L/tc geproduseer terwyl die 2de generasie proses 185 liter etanol etanol per ton bagasse (50% vog) of 25.5 L/tc geproduseer het. Die hoeveelhede oortillige elektrisiteit wat geproduseer is wissel van 14.3 tot 70.2 kWh/tc. Ekonomiese analieses is gedoen met Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomiese parameters om die sub-Sahara Afrika-konteks uit te beeld. Data van die 1ste generasie prosesmodel en literatuurdata van geïntegreerde 1ste en 2de generasie en alleenstaande 2de generasie prosesse was vir die analieses gebruik. Dit is bepaal dat die geïntegreerde model die mees ekonomies vatbare model is (IRR = 11.66%) terwyl die 1ste generasie proses basies gelyk gebreek het (IRR = 1.62%) en die 2de generasie proses is ekonomies onvatbaar. Hierdie bevindinge is as gevolg van hoë suikerrietpryse en te min aansporings vir 2de generasie etanol.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Performing Arts Councils (PACs) have been the primary recipients of national public funding for the performing arts, accounting for nearly half of the arts and culture budget of the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST). They had to be restructured in order to free public resources for allocation to other disciplines and areas in need of redress. The four PACs addressed in this study are The Playhouse Company (Durban), Artscape (Cape Town), PACOFS (Bloemfontein), and the Spoornet State Theatre (Pretoria). The purpose of the study was to determine whether or not the PACs had achieved the transformation goals as defined by DACST. The research was approached from a qualitative perspective to ensure that as much nuanced information as possible was collected within a limited timeframe and financial constraints. Where necessary, as in analysis of staff and expenditure, quantitative analyses were undertaken. The study found that the process of converting PACs to playhouses had been inconsistently implemented, although some of the PACs had come a long way in transforming themselves. Funding was obtained from government subsidies, NAC funding for specific projects, sponsorships, and other minor sources of income such as box office sales. Traditional forms of the performing arts, specifically opera and ballet, still accounted for a large portion of the total expenditure. PACs have had considerable difficulty in obtaining provincial and local government support, or adequate business sector support to make them viable as stand-alone entities. None of the PACs has been able to secure sustainable funding on a reliable basis to meet their requirements. DACST regards the implementation of a Community Arts Development (CAD) component and the establishment of the NAC as essential for an equitable arts dispensation in the country. CAD is meant to provide education and empowerment of people from previously disadvantaged communities, access to PAC venues and NAC funding, and awareness and outreach programmes. The CAD component varies substantially from PAC to PAC. The White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage recognises that the future of arts and cultural expression lies in the development of new audiences and markets. Audience development and facilitating access to venues has been left to the PACs, with little effect in some cases. The transformation of the staff profile of PACs to reflect the demographics of their provinces has been achieved. As the resultsof the study show each PAC took it upon itself to transform itself in its own way. As a result, transformation by the various PACs was found not always to be in line with the imperatives contained in the White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage (DACST, 1996).
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Rade vir Uitvoerende Kunste (RUK) was tot op hede die vernaamste ontvangers van nasionale staatsbefondsing vir die uitvoerende kunste, en het bykans vyftig persent van die Departement van Kuns, Kultuur, Wetenskap en Tegnologie (DKKWT) se begroting vir kuns en kultuur verteenwoordig. Hierdie Rade moes herstruktureer word sodat staatshulpbronne wat vir ander dissiplines en gebiede wat regstelling nodig gehad het, aangewend kon word. In hierdie studie is die vier Rade vir Uitvoerende Kunste "The Playhouse" (Durban), "Artseape" (Kaapstad), RUKOVS (Bloemfontein) en die Spoornet-staatsteater (Pretoria) bestudeer. Die doel van die studie was om te bepaal of die Rade vir Uitvoerende Kunste 'n transformasie, soos gedefinieer deur die DKKWT, ondergaan het. Die navorsing is vanuit 'n kwalitatiewe perspektief benader om te verseker dat so veel moontlik genuanseerde inligting binne 'n beperkte tydsbestek en te midde van finansiele beperkinge ingesamel is. Waar nodig, soos in die analise van personeel en uitgawes, is 'n kwantitatiewe benadering gevolg. Daar is bevind dat daar deurgaans uitvoering gegee is aan die omskepping van die Uitvoerende Kunsterade in skouburgteaters, hoewel sommige Rade reeds 'n ver pad met betrekking tot selftransformasie geloop het. Befondsing was afkomstig van staatsubsidies, NUK-befondsing vir spesifieke projekte, borge en ander minder beduidende bronne, byvoorbeeld inkomste uit kaartjieverkope. Tradisionele vorms van die uitvoerende kunste, veralopera en ballet, het steeds 'n beduidende deel van totale uitgawes uitgemaak, en Rade vir Uitvoerende Kunste het groot probleme ondervind om genoegsame steun van provinsiale regerings, plaaslike owerhede en die besigheidsektor te werf om hulle in staat te stelom as lewensvatbare en onafhanklike entiteite te funksioneer. Nie een van die Rade vir Uitvoerende Kunste kon daarin slaag om befondsing van 'n standhoudende aard te bekom waarop hulle kon reken om aan hul vereistes te voldoen nie. Die DKKWT beskou die implementering van 'n Gemeenskapskunsontwikkelingkomponent (GKO) en die stigting van die NUK as onontbeerlik vir 'n regverdige kunste-bedeling in die land. GKO beoog om voorsiening te maak vir die opvoeding en bemagtiging van mense III die voorheen agtergeblewe gemeenskappe, toegang tot plekke waar GKO-optredes gehou word, NUKbefondsing, asook bewustheids- en uitreikprogramme. Die GKO-komponent wissel aansienlik van RUK tot RUK. Die Witskrif oor Kuns, Kultuur en Erfenis erken dat die toekoms van kuns- en kulturele uitdrukking in die ontwikkeling van nuwe gehore en markte opgesluit lê. Die ontwikkeling van gehore en makliker toegang tot plekke waar optredes aangebied word is in die hande van Kunsterade gelaat; in sommige gevalle met weinig effek. Die transformasie van die Rade vir Uitvoerende Kunste se personeelprofiel ten einde die demografiese werklikheid van elke provinsie te weerspieel was suksesvol. Soos duidelik uit die studie blyk, het elke Raad vir Uitvoerende Kunste onderneem om die transformasie op sy eie manier te implementeer. Die gevolg is dat die transformasie in die verskillende Rade vir Uitvoerende Kunste nie altyd tred hou met die bindende opdragte wat in die Witskrif oor Kuns, Kultuur en Erfenis (DKKWT, 1996) vervat is nie.

Integrationen av hållbarhet blir allt viktigare för produktutvecklingsföretag. Men hållbarhet handlar inte bara om att hitta klimatsmarta lösningar. För att företag ska bli konkurrenskraftiga på marknaden samt vara attraktiva arbetsgivare så gäller det att jobba för att integrera samtliga tre hållbarhetsaspekter; ekologisk-, ekonomisk- och social hållbarhet. Det gäller att kunna integrera hållbarhet i produktutvecklingsprocessen utan att någon av hållbarhetsaspekterna hamnar i skymundan till förmån för övriga aspekter. Scania är en global tillverkare av lastbilar som har ett stort fokus på hållbarhetsintegrering. De har flertalet aktiva projekt som syftar till att utveckla framtidens klimatsmarta lastbilar. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka om Scania integrerar samtliga tre hållbarhetsaspekter i sin produktutvecklingsprocess, samt hur de i sådana fall går till väga för att lyckas med detta. Studien baseras på en litterär- och empirisk studie. I litteraturstudien har huvudsakligen vetenskapliga artiklar samt viss kurslitteratur från de tre första åren på civilingenjörsprogrammen i Maskinteknik respektive Design och Produktframtagning på Kungliga Tekniska högskolan (KTH) använts. Den empiriska studien genomfördes med semistrukturerade intervjuer av fyra respondenter. Tre från Scania och en från institutionen för hållbar produktionsutveckling på KTH. Studien visar på att Scania lyckas integrera samtliga tre hållbarhetsaspekter i sin produktutvecklingsprocess, men att det är svårt för företaget att integrera samtliga aspekter i lika stor utsträckning. Dessutom integreras inte den interna och externa sociala hållbarheten till samma grad. Studien visar också på att integrering av en aspekt kan påverka övriga två aspekter positivt. För att kunna ta hänsyn till samtliga tre hållbarhetsaspekter så är det viktigt att sätta upp en plan för hur integreringsarbetet ska gå till, samt att försöka tillgodose alla möjliga intressenters behov ochönskemål.
Integration of sustainability is becoming more important for product development companies. But sustainability is not all about finding climate-smart solutions. For companies to be competitive in the market and attractive employers, they need to integrate the three sustainability aspects: ecological-,economic- and social sustainability. The need to integrate sustainability in the product development process without any of the aspects being overshadowed. Scania is a global manufacturer of heavy vehicles with a big focus on integrations of sustainability. They have a number of ongoing projects involving developing new climate-smart auto trucks. This study aims to get an insight of Scania, if it manages to integrate all the aspects of sustainability in their product development process and in such cases how they work to accomplish this. This study is based on a literature- and empirical study. The literature study mainly consists of scientific articles as well as some course literature from the three first years of the Master of Science inengineering, with majors in mechanical engineering and design and product realization at Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). The empirical study consists of interviews with four respondents, three representatives from Scania and one representing the department of Sustainable Production Development at KTH. The study shows that Scania succeeds in integrating all three sustainability aspects in their product development process, however, it is difficult for the company to integrate all of the aspects to the same extent. In addition, internal and external social sustainability do not receive the same focus. The study also shows that integrating one aspect may effect the other two aspects in a positive manner. In order to integrate all three aspects of sustainability, it is important to establish a plan for how to manage the integration and also try to fulfill the desires and needs of all the stakeholders.

Thesis (LLM)--University of Stellenbosch, 1999.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with the Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA) between the European Union and the Republic of South Africa, which was concluded in October 1999. In particular, the agreement is analysed in the light of the negotiating process between the parties, the contents of the agreement, the applicability of WTO law and the compatibility of the agreement with it and the Port and Sherry Agreement. Since the EU emphasised its aim to commence economic and development cooperation with other African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on a reciprocal basis during the negotiations for a successor of the Lomé Convention, the TDCA between the EU and South Africa had to be seen as a "pilot project" for future cooperation agreements between countries at different levels of development. The TDCA between the EU and South Africa is therefore not only very important for the two concerned parties, but could serve as an example for further negotiations between the EU and other ACP countries. Thus the purpose of this thesis is to examine the TDCA between the EU and South Africa from a wider global perspective. The thesis is divided into six Chapters: The first Chapter provides an introduction to the circumstances under which the negotiations between the EU and South Africa commenced. It deals briefly with the economic situation in South Africa during the apartheid era and presents reasons why the parties wanted to enter into bilateral negotiations. The introductory part furthermore presents an overview of the contents of the thesis. The second chapter contains a detailed description of the negotiating process that took place between the parties and shows why it took 43 months and 21 rounds of negotiations to reach a deal. South Africa's partial accession to the Lomé Convention and the conclusion of separate agreements such as the Wine and Spirits Agreement, are also analysed. Chapter three presents the various components of the TOCA and illustrates what the negotiators achieved. This chapter on the TOCA concludes with an evaluation of the Agreement and shows the potential benefits to South Africa and the EU. Since the Agreement had to satisfy international rules, the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and TradelWorld Trade Organisation (GATTIWTO) were of major importance. The EC Treaty, however, does not contain any provision that indicates whether, or how, an international agreement like the GATTIWTO penetrates the Community legal order. In Chapter four, accordingly, questions are raised regarding the extent to which the bilateral agreement between South Africa and the EU was influenced by the GATTIWTO provisions and how these rules were incorporated into the agreement. Furthermore, since the parties agreed on the establishment of a free trade area, this chapter deals with the question of in how far the TOCA is in line with Article XXIV GATT. In addition to the GATT provisions, the TOCA is also affected by the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). Therefore Chapter five deals with TRIPs in connection with the TOCA. The use of the terms "Port" and "Sherry" as the major stumbling block to the conclusion of the TOCA is analysed more closely. The final part, namely Chapter six, provides a summary of the results of the investigation. Furthermore, a conclusion is provided with regard to the question of whether the TOeA can be seen as an example for further trade relations between the EU and other ACP countries.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis is gerig op die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewerkingsooreenkoms (TDGA) tussen die Europese Unie (EU) en die Republiek van Suid Afrika wat in Oktober 1999 gesluit is. Die ooreenkoms word veral in die lig van die onderhandelingsproses tussen die partye, die inhoud van die ooreenkoms, die toepaslikheid van Wêreldhandelsorganisasiereg en die versoenbaarheid daarvan met die ooreenkoms en die Port en Sjerrie-ooreenkoms ontleed. Aangesien die EU sy oogmerk van wederkerige ekonomiese en ontwikkelings-gerigte samewerking met ander lande in Afrika en die Karibiese en Stille Oseaan-Eilande gedurende die onderhandelings vir 'n opvolger van die Lomé Konvensie beklemtoon het, moes die ooreenkoms tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika as 'n "loodsprojek" vir toekomstige samewerkingsooreenkomste tussen lande wat op verskillende vlakke van onwikkeling is, gesien word. Die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewerkingsooreenkoms tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika is dus nie net baie belangrik vir die betrokke partye nie, maar dit kan ook as 'n voorbeeld vir verdere onderhandelings tussen die EU en lande van Afrika en die Karibiese- en Stille Oseaan-Eilande dien. Die doel van dié tesis is om die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewekingsooreenkoms tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika vanuit 'n meer globale perspektief te beskou. Die tesis is in ses Hoofstukke ingedeel: Die eerste hoofstuk bied 'n inleiding tot die omstandighede waaronder die onderhandelings tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika begin het. Dit behandel die Suid- Afrikaanse ekonomiese situasie onder apartheid kortliks en toon hoekom die partye tweesydige onderhandelings wou aanknoop. Verder bied die inleidende deel 'n oorsig oor die inhoud van die tesis. Die tweede hoofstuk bevat 'n gedetailleerde beskrywing van die onderhandelingsproses wat tussen die partye plaasgevind het en toon aan waarom dit drie-en-veertig maande geduur het en een-en-twintig onderhandelingsrondtes gekos het om die saak te beklink. Suid-Afrika se gedeeltelike toetrede tot die Lomé Konvensie en die sluit van aparte ooreenkomste soos die Port- en Sjerrieooreenkoms word ook ontleed. Die daaropvolgende hoofstuk bespreek die verskillende komponente van die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewerkingsooreenkoms en toon wat die onderhandelaars bereik het. Hierdie hoofstuk oor die Ooreenkoms sluit af met 'n evaluering daarvan en dui die potensiële voordele van die Ooreenkoms vir Suid- Afrika en die EU aan. Aangesien die Ooreenkoms internasionale reëls moes tevrede stel, was die voorskrifte van die Algemene Ooreenkoms oor Tariewe en Handel (GATT) van uiterste belang. Die EG-verdrag bevat egter geen voorskrif wat aandui óf, of hoé, 'n internasionale ooreenkoms soos GATTNVTO die regsorde van die Europese Gemeenskap binnedring nie. Die vraag oor in hoeverre die tweesydige ooreenkoms tussen Suid-Afrika en die EU deur die GATTIWTO voorskrifte beïnvloed is, en oor hoe hierdie reëls in die ooreenkoms opgeneem is, word dus in Hoofstuk vier aangeraak. Aangesien die partye ooreengekom het om 'n vrye handeisarea tot stand te bring, behandel hierdie hoofstuk ook die vraag oor in hoeverre die TOGA met Artikel XXIV GATT strook. Tesame met die GATT-voorskrifte word die TOGA ook deur die Ooreenkoms ten opsigte van Handelsverwante Aspekte van Intellektuele Eiendomsreg (TRIPs) geraak. Hoofstuk vyf behandel daarom hierdie aspek ten opsigte van die TOGA. Die gebruik van die terme "Port" en "Sjerrie" as die vernaamste struikelblok tot die sluiting van die TOG-ooreenkoms word ook deegliker ontleed. Die laaste gedeelte, naamlik Hoofstuk ses, bied 'n opsomming van die resultate van die ondersoek. Verder word 'n gevolgtrekking voorsien ten opsigte van vraag of die TOGA as 'n voorbeeld vir verdere handelsverwantskappe tussen die EU en ander lande in Afrika en die Karibiese en Stille Oseaan-eilande beskou kan word.

The late 1960s witnessed an unprecedented interest in the environment. One of the intellectual characteristics of this period was the rise of ecocentrism, a form of ecological reasoning that challenged the domination of anthropocentric environmental thinking and practice. The thesis briefly reviews the evolution of ecological forms of reason, and then poses two questions. The first question asks: "What is ecological reason and how does the literature conceptualise it?" This leads to a theoretical analysis of the forms of ecological reason discernable in the literature, and results in a 'matrix of ecological reason'. The three primary forms of ecological reason are described as 'Technocentric Ecology', 'Discursive Ecology' and 'Eco-social Ecology'. They differ in respect to different dimensions of ecological reason, the forms of communication employed (drawing here on Habermas), and the level of commitment to anthropocentrism or ecocentrism. This 'matrix' highlights the contested nature of ecological reason in the literature, and demonstrates that there is, yet, no clear agreement on what it means, or should mean. The second question examines the ecological rationality of environmental practice. The 'matrix' is employed in three case studies of environmental decisions that take place under the New Zealand Resource Management Act (RMA), and investigates the forms of ecological reason expressed in these decision processes. The results of this analysis show that Eco-social Ecology barely registers in these case studies, while the other two forms of ecological reason. Technocentric Ecology and Discursive Ecology are both highly visible in the rationality of the RMA, but with two important qualifiers. First, although there is a commitment to Discursive Ecology on the part of many professionals, there is also much concern that this form of reason undermines quality environmental decisions. Thus, there is significant ambiguity as to the role of the community (an important dimension of Discursive Ecology). This leads to the second qualifier. There is an uneasy relationship between these two forms of reason, at both the theoretical and practice level. This tension underpins the competing visions of the RMA as a scientifically driven process and as a community process. This thesis argues that this tension does not provide for a secure marriage of these two visions.

The hydrometallurgical refining of platinum group metals results in large volumes of liquid waste that requires suitable treatment before any disposal can be contemplated. The wastewater streams are characterized by extremes of pH, high inorganic ion content (such as chloride), significant residual metal loads and small amounts of entrained organic compounds. Historically these effluents were housed in evaporation reservoirs, however lack of space and growing water demands have led Anglo Platinum to consider treatment of these effluents. The aim of this study was to investigate whether biological wastewater treatment could produce water suitable for onsite reuse. Bench-scale activated sludge and anaerobic digestion for co-treatment of an acidic refinery waste stream with domestic wastewater were used to give preliminary data. Activated sludge showed better water treatment at lab scale in terms of removal efficiencies of ammonia (approximately 25%, cf. 20% in anaerobic digestion) and COD (70% cf. 43% in digestion) and greater robustness when biomass health was compared. Activated sludge was consequently selected for a pilot plant trial. The pilot plant was operated on-site and performed comparably with the bench-scale system, however challenges in the clarifier design led to losses of biomass and poor effluent quality (suspended solids washout). The pilot plant was unable to alter the pH of the feed, but a two week maturation period resulted in the pH increasing from 5.3 to 7.0. Tests on algal treatment as an alternative or follow-on unit operation to activated sludge showed it not to be a viable process. The activated sludge effluent was assessed for onsite reuse in flotation and it was found that there was no significant difference between its flotation performance and that of the process water currently used, indicating the effluent generated by the biological treatment system can be used successfully for flotation. Flotation is the method whereby minerals refining operations recover minerals of interest from ore through the addition of chemicals and aeration of the ore slurry. Target minerals adhere to the bubbles and can be removed from the process.

This thesis presents several problems based on papers written jointly by the author and Dr. Christian-Oliver Ewald. Firstly, the author extends the model presented by Fershtman and Nitzan (1991), which studies a deterministic differential public good game. Two types of volatility are considered. In the first case the volatility of the diffusion term is dependent on the current level of public good, while in the second case the volatility is dependent on the current rate of public good provision by the agents. The result in the latter case is qualitatively different from the first one. These results are discussed in detail, along with numerical examples. Secondly, two existing lines of research in game theoretic studies of fisheries are combined and extended. The first line of research is the inclusion of the aspect of predation and the consideration of multi-species fisheries within classical game theoretic fishery models. The second line of research includes continuous time and uncertainty. This thesis considers a two species fishery game and compares the results of this with several cases. Thirdly, a model of a fishery is developed in which the dynamic of the unharvested fish population is given by the stochastic logistic growth equation and it is assumed that the fishery harvests the fish population following a constant effort strategy. Explicit formulas for optimal fishing effort are derived in problems considered and the effects of uncertainty, risk aversion and mean reversion speed on fishing efforts are investigated. Fourthly, a Dixit and Pindyck type irreversible investment problem in continuous time is solved, using the assumption that the project value follows a Cox-Ingersoll- Ross process. This solution differs from the two classical cases of geometric Brownian motion and geometric mean reversion and these differences are examined. The aim is to find the optimal stopping time, which can be applied to the problem of extracting resources.

M.Ing.
As the manufacturing environment evolved over the past century, the nature of investments in manufacturing capabilities changed dramatically. Automation can be seen as the single biggest driver of this evolution; enabling the manufacturing fraternity to develop smarter technology in order to exploit the opportunities that were created by the volatility that exist in most markets. This lead to the development of flexible manufacturing technology. Constructing a definition of manufacturing flexibility is difficult mainly due to the various views and perspectives that exist of flexibility. In short, flexibility can be defined as the ability to react ( to any change ) with little penalty in time, effort, cost or performance. These technologies that enable a manufacturing system to be flexible in a certain manner are generally difficult to justify in terms of traditional financial yardsticks. This can be contributed to the diverse benefits to be gained from these investments; and often these benefits are of a nonfinancial nature. Furthermore, when reviewing investments in flexible manufacturing technology within a process environment there appears to be an even bigger problem. The relatively fixed nature of the design output of process equipment, and the enormous quantities of capital outlay initially required to erect and commission process plants, often makes it near impossible to justify any investment that does not deliver good financial returns within the short term. Thus it becomes clear that the traditional methods of investment appraisal within the process environment have become generally unsuitable; and this call for a re-evaluation of the processes applied to guide value adding investments. This study set out to deliver a logical approach to appraising investments in manufacturing flexibility by defining a framework to be applied. The proposed framework consists of the following 4 primary steps. Firstly the strategic direction followed by the business is defined; then an analysing of the manufacturing flexibility required is performed. The third step is to evaluate the manufacturing technology available and furthermore a suitable performance measured criteria is defined to evaluate the proposed investment. This model is set within the strategic context of the manufacturing strategy of a business and thus should ensure the development of manufacturing capabilities that will ensure business growth over the medium to long term.

This study identifies the Indonesian policies that established large scale, export oriented and externally controlled (LEE)industrialization from the perspective of local people in the industrializing area, the planning that implemented these policies in Central Java and the ways in which the local people's lives are being affected. It identifies the links between the policy and the planning, and between the planning and the impacts. This study is based on data gathered from provincial, municipal and local planners, affected people, factory owners, and workers. LEE industrial development has often been successful in terms of its contribution to Regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and to the creation of low wage employment opportunities. However, this success has been accompanied by significant economic, social and environmental impacts on local people. The economic impacts include loss of livelihood and jobs, and decrease of family income. The social impacts comprise the weakening of community cohesion and the disruption of the people's daily lives. The environmental impacts include floods, lack of clean water, water pollution, and air pollution. The impacts of LEE industrialization have been documented by various studies including this one. What has not been adequately analyzed and documented is the process that produces the impacts. This study helps to fill the gap. It concludes that the impacts stem from the following factors. The national development emphasizes large scale and export oriented industrialization. The top-down development planning ensures that this policy is supported at the provincial level regardless of local conditions, needs and priorities. The arbitrary nature of provincial decision-making provides for no popular input. Impact assessment studies fail to provide the information necessary for planners, decision-makers and ideally the local leaders about the likely impacts of industrialization. The way the responsible government agencies solve environmental problems tends to protect factory interests. The impacts are exacerbated by a lack of adequate monitoring and enforcement of environmental regulations. The thesis concludes that substantive policy reform and process restructuring are required to achieve sound planning for industrial development. If quality of life is to be protected and enhanced, industrial policies should be reoriented to strengthening existing local economic activities; and planning restructured to enable local planners and affected people to be fully involved at all stages including impact management.

Modern economic theory of self-interest alleges that in their economic relations people always behave in a way that maximises their utility. The idea whether human beings were solely self-interested has a long history as it can be seen from the writings of Greek philosophers and the Church fathers. Among Greek philosophers there were those who argued that human beings were naturally self-interested (Aristotle) and those who maintained that human beings were communal by nature (Plato, Stoics and the Pythagoreans). The later position was adopted by the Church fathers as they condemned self-interest as the sin of avarice and greed. The justification of self-interest in human and political activities was part and parcel of the economic and political early modernists, as it can be seen in the works of Mandeville, Hobbes, Hume and Adam Smith. In the writings of these thinkers, the flourishing of wealth depended on individual freedom to pursue their self-interests. In this regard, selfinterest became the sole source of motivation in the behaviour of homo economicus. A persistent motif in late modern economic discourse on self-interest is based on the idea that people think and act on the basis of that which is to their self-interest. It is mainly for this reason that late modern economic thinkers maintain that society would prosper when people are left alone to pursue their self-interests. Late modern economic theory of utility maximisation alleges that individuals act only after calculating costs and benefits. The argument of this thesis, based on the commonalities between African humanism and process philosophical anthropology, is that self-interest is antithetical to communal life as advocated in the ethic of Ubuntu. One who acts solely on the basis of maximising his or her utility would inevitably deprive others of a humane existence. A holistic metaphysical outlook based on the relatedness and interrelatedness of everything that exists as we find it in African humanism and process philosophical anthropology implies that the individual exists in internal relations with everything else. We should go beyond selfinterest by giving primacy to a holistic ethic.
Systematic Theology & Theological Ethics
D. Div. (Theological Ethics)

A massive tsunami hit Aceh in December 26, 2004. It was one of the biggest natural disasters of the century. The tsunami’s unprecedented destruction of the area attracted the biggest influx ever of international aid and highlighted the nearly non-existent social service system at local levels. The abundance of international aid served as an impetus for the Indonesian government to review their social service system. This is the first time that resources from international aid in Indonesia were allocated for professionalization of social workers. This dissertation utilizes a qualitative narrative analysis to explore the questions: How do Indonesian social workers understand and express their experience of the social work professionalization process post-2004 tsunami? How do they interpret the process of professionalization? How do the systems available influence their professional interpretation of the experience and affect their strategies to gain public recognition and resources to claim professional jurisdiction in a society? Interviews were conducted of fifteen Indonesian social workers who were involved in the 2004 tsunami recovery efforts and are still active in the social work professionalization efforts today. The findings show that the international aid and 2004 tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia was the impetus for professionalization of social work in Indonesia. This study explores how Indonesian social workers understand and interpret their experience during the tsunami 2004 recovery efforts using Abbott’s system of professions concepts to frame the professionalization process as impacted by international aid during the 2004 tsunami. The findings revolve around formal public recognition, community sanction and a systematic knowledge base in Indonesia’s social work professionalization process.

The purpose of this study was to investigate internationalisation of Ethiopian SMEs by examining internal and external factors that motivate or restrict internationalization process and the impact of internal and external barriers on SMEs export performance. The small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) sector in Ethiopia is a significant group within the economy in terms of firm numbers and total employment. However, the SMEs sector’s share of exports is disproportionately small, which raised considerable research concerns. Firm export propensity and export performance were the dependent variables and export stimuli and barrier factors were used as explanatory variables. The study was conducted through mixed research design. A questionnaire was administered to 90(36 exporting and 54 nonexporting) SMEs in Leather and Leather Products Industry in Addis Ababa selected through stratified random sampling. In order to complement survey results nine (4 exporting and 5 non-exporting) SMEs were selected through critical case purposive sampling and an in-depth interviews were conducted. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS 20) was used to analyse the quantitative data whereas, qualitative data were analysed manually. Analytical techniques used were, Chisquare test of independence, Spearman rank order correlation, factor analysis, binary logistic regression analysis and multiple regression analysis. The statistical results of binary logistic regression analysis and chi-square tests indicated that managerial factors, internal marketing factors and foreign government related factors, firm ownership and size are the most significant motivators of SMEs internationalisation in Ethiopia. On the contrary the result showed that, logistics problem, insufficient finance, functional barriers, lack of export knowledge and information, procedural barriers and international trade barriers are the factors hindering it. Further analysis was conducted to examine the impact of export barriers on performance of firms. The result of multiple regression analysis indicated that, export barriers significantly and negatively affect export performance. The overall results revealed that explanatory variables used in the analysis significantly predict the dependent variable at 95% confidence level. Considering these results numerous implications for theory, practice, and future research were recommended. Finally, the study concluded that internationalisation of SMEs has to be encouraged by mitigating both internal and external barriers identified in this study.
Business Management
D. Admin. (Business Management)

The impact of climate change on the financial performance of companies is of concern to bank credit processes. The main objective of this research was to develop a South African contextualised credit process that incorporates environmental risk. The research methodology comprised of a mixed-method being content analysis – the qualitative portion and the Probability of Default prediction using a Merton Model and the Hoffmann and Busch (2008) carbon risk analysis model - the quantitative portion. A content analysis of the banks’ Annual Reports, Integrated Reports and Sustainability Reports showed that, while South African banks follow a qualitative approach to embedding environmental risk into their credit process, none of the four banks that formed part of the study divulged their quantitative approach to embedding environmental risk. The study used a proximity matrix method to examine the level of embedding. The second part of the study, which used prior studies as the benchmark, adopted the following: (1) a simulated carbon tax regime as a proxy for an environmental risk, and (2) the Hoffmann and Busch (2008) carbon risk analysis tool and the Merton Model (1974) as the bank credit process proxies. The second part of the study used a sample of 33 JSE-listed Carbon Disclosure Project reporting companies out of a population of 107. The carbon risk analysis showed that the companies in the materials and energy sector have a high carbon risk. However, the results from the Merton Model showed that the companies have enough profit to cushion the additional carbon tax liability, given the insignificant shift in probability of default between the three scenarios, where financial data had (1) no carbon tax, (2) was adjusted for a carbon tax with incentives, and (3) adjusted for carbon tax without incentives. Triangulation of the results from the content analysis, carbon risk analysis and the probability of default analysis confirms that South African banks do not fully integrate environmental risk across the credit value chain or process in the 2010 to 2017 period. However, the carbon risk analysis shows a heavy dependency on carbon sources for critical inputs into the South African companies’ production processes, which if not checked, will affect the credit portfolios of banks.
Finance, Risk Management and Banking
D. Phil (Management Studies)

The study focused on the use of social media marketing in the telecommunication business in Zimbabwe, as it has received limited attention in the literature available to date. The study aimed to explore the use of social media marketing in a telecommunications business- Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Limited. The study took on an exploratory research design which was qualitative in nature. A case study approach was applied with Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Limited as focus of being studied. Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Limited was chosen because it is the market leader in the telecommunications industry which has adopted the use of social media marketing in its business. Data collection was done through in-depth interviews with judgement sampling being used to choose the participants for the interviews. The data collected was analysed using thematic analysis. It was found that Econet Wireless Limited is using social media marketing to communicate with its customers, for their brand to be visible. They also use it because it is an inexpensive way to promote their business with a possibility to reach a large number of people in a short space of time.
Business Management
M. Com. (Business Management)

The dissertation critically examines and compares the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the High Courts in cases dealing with the right to life, as contained in section 11 of the Constitution of South Africa Act 108 of 1996. The dissertation analysis the issues of adjudication and the concept of justice in perspective. The main question is as follows: Are the Constitutional Court decisions objective, based on the interpretation of the constitutional text, or do they rather reflect the individual judge(s) personal perspective(s) or preference(s). The purpose of this dissertation is to undertake a comparative study and analysis of the Constitutional Court decisions on the right to life, same aspect from different perspective, and show that the right to life is not given proper effect to on account of the subjective approach to its interpretation undertaken by the judges. It examines and scrutinises the Constitutional Court’s adjudication process. It found that the law is indeterminable, because the court’s decisions are not based on the interpretation of the law, but on the individual judges’ background and personal preferences. This is so because the court uses the majority rule principle in its decisions: The perception of the majority of the judges becomes a decision of the court. It is argued that when taking a decision a judge does not apply the law but instead uses the law to justify his predetermined decision on the matter. The conclusion supports the critical legal scholars’ theory relating to the indeterminacy of the law. It tests the objectivity of the judges using their own previous decisions.
Criminal & Procedural Law
LLM