CHALLENGES FOR ADOPTING CLOUD-BASED SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE (SAAS) IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Technological advances such as the creation of bandwidth, modular applications and cloud computing have enabled the creation of a distributed collaborative sourcing model named Software as a Service (SaaS). SaaS presents the embodiment of a new service delivery model in which a service provider is delivering its electronic services over the web to many users on a pay per use or period basis. SaaS is still unexplored in the public sector context and its use has been limited. Based on interviews and a group session the main challenges for adopting SaaS are explored from the government perspective. It was found that SaaS could provide many benefits which are related to the outsourcing of the local control, installation and development of software which could result in potential cost-savings and better cost control. Disadvantages and risks are related to the more difficult control of the IT function. Several items were mentioned as both a benefit and disadvantage, as this will be dependent on the organizational arrangements. There are also many challenges that need to be addressed including ensuring the quality, privacy, security and business continuity which require the implementation of organizational changes and governance mechanisms for public sector organizations that are considering SaaS

A PROCESS EVALUATION OF A PROGRAMME FOR STREET PEOPLE

The plight of the homeless in South Africa has been graphically described by Cross and Seager (2010a:18) as “the proverbial skeletons at the feast, the excluded poorest who enter unobserved and stand by gaunt and starved, terrifying to the invited guests but deprived of any capacity to join the party.

AN OUTCOME EVALUATION OF A YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

The Child Care Act of South Africa (1983) requires children who are in children’s homes to leave these places of care once they reach 18 years of age. Research indicates that youths aging out of foster care are more likely to experience homelessness, unemployment, substance abuse and lack of basic healthcare services (Courtney, Drowsy, Ruth, Havelock & Boost, 2005). Atkinson (2008:195) points out that as a result a life marked by traumatic experiences and their lengthy time on the streets, foster care youths often lack the basic skills necessary for independence such as keeping appointments, managing a bank account, finding housing, shopping for groceries, cooking meals, driving a car and taking public transportation

Mobile phone technology and reading behaviour: Commentary on the FunDza programme

South African learners generally perform badly on external tests of reading literacy. In the 2011 international Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), South African Grade 4 learners performed poorly in comparison with their international counterparts, especially on higher order comprehension (Howie, van Staden, Tshele, Dowse, & Zimmerman, 2012). The 2013 Annual National Assessments reported a national average percentage of 43% for Grade 9 learners in their home language and 35% in a first additional language, which often is English (Department of Basic Education, 2013). The Department’s report recommended that learners be encouraged to read additional books, and more widely, to improve their scholastic attainment. There is much evidence to support the argument that reading for pleasure has a positive effect on both personal and educational development (e.g. Clark, 2011). Encouraging learners to engage in self-initiated reading as a leisure activity therefore may be positively related to reading literacy. Unfortunately, many South African learners attend schools with no libraries, and come from households without resources, including books, to promote reading (Howie et al., 2012). The question then is how to fill this gap, to provide reading content to young people who are interested in reading,but who find it difficult to access reading material that would interest them. For a number of years now, mobile phone technology has been seen increasingly as a promising platform to deliver educational services, including literacy development (Lee & Wu, 2012). UNESCO, for example, organises mobile learning weeks. At the second such week,it specifically addressed the question of mobile technology and literacy development for young people and adults(UNESCO, 2013). In South Africa at least two non-profit organisations have developed projects to deliver reading materials to young people via this medium. One is the m4Lit project, funded by the Shuttleworth Foundation, which gives young readers access to novels via the mobile phone. Vosloo (2010) found that these novels attracted over 60,000 reads, suggesting that mobile phone-based reading is a viable strategy to encourage reading. Our researchers have been working with the second organisation, the FunDza Literacy Trust, to provide an assessment of the viability of mobile phones to attract readers. The Trust has been in existence since 2011 and provides readers with locally-written material in a number of South African languages through the mobile social application Mxit or FunDza’s website, http://www.FunDza.co.za This research note offers an overview of work on FunDza reported in three, separate, scholarly publications

An intronic polymorphism of the gene Plakophilin-3 is associated with IVF failure

Background: Implantation failure is determined when transferred embryos fail to implant following in vitro fertilization (IVF). In recent years, many studies suggest that implantation failure could be related to several genetic factors. In the current study, authors aimed to investigate the association of PKP3 rs10902158 (G>A) polymorphisms with the risk of implantation failure after ICSI treatment.Methods: 97 women, who underwent ICSI treatment owing to male factor infertility, were prospectively recruited in this cross-sectional study. Genomic DNA was prepared from peripheral blood samples in order to analyze the polymorphism (rs10902158) at the PKP3 gene by PCR-RFLP. The Results were presented as a genotype (GG, GA, and AA), and their relationship to IVF outcome was analyzed.Results: The patients were divided into two groups according to clinical pregnancy: the pregnant group included 51 patients (53%) and the non-pregnant group included 46 patients (47%). The clinical pregnancy outcome was significantly different between genotypes, which was 0%, 45.8% and 58.8% in the patients having the genotype AA, GA and GG respectively (p-value = 0.03).Conclusions: The presence of the allele A of the PKP3 SNP rs10902158 is associated with a reduced clinical pregnancy outcome in the patients undergoing ICSI treatment and may be helpful predictor for implantation failure

Suche nach einer Verständigung zwischen Theologie und Naturwiessenschaft in der neueren Theologie

Poseban zadatak suvremene teologije stvaranja, kako je to predstavljeno u polju napetosti između Teilhard de Chardina i najnovijih diskusija, predstavlja traganje za prevladavanjem rascijepa između prirodnoznanstvenog istraživanja i teološke refleksije. Najveći dio pokušaja, posebice u katoličkoj teologiji, inspiriran je projektima Teilhard de Chardina i Karla Rahnera. Pri tome obrađeni pokušaji rješenja ne nadilaze model K. Rahnera. Napori suvremene teologije razvijaju se u dva smjera: hermeneutička analiza biblijske poruke i integracija prirodno-znanstvene slike svijeta u teološku refleksiju. Jedan od najvažnijih i najtežih zadataka jedne odgovorne teologije stvaranja predstavlja njezino artikuliranje unutar današnje paradigme, U okviru ove paradigme i uz uključenje hermeneutike teologija mora preuzeti svoju odgovornost prema svome izvoru i modernom čovjeku.Ein besonderes Anliegen der gegenwärtigen Schöpfungstheologie, wie im Spannungsfeld zwischen Teilhard de Chardin und der jüngsten Diskussion dargestellt, ist die Suche nach Überwindung der Kluft zwischen naturwissenschaftlicher Forschung und theologischer Reflexion. Der größte Teil der Lösungsversuche, insbesondere in der katolische Thologie, wird durch die Entwürfe von Teilhard de Chardain und Karl Rahner inspirit. Dabei gehen die behandelten Lösungsabgebote nicht über K. Rahners Modell hinaus. Die Bemühungen der gegenwärtigen Theologie entfalten sich in zwei Richtungen: die hermeneutische Analyse der biblischen Botschaft und die Integration des naturwissenschaftlichen Weltbildes in die theologische Reflexion. Eine der wichtigsten und schwierigsten Aufgaben einer verantwortlichen Schöpfungstheologie ist ihre Artikulierung innerhalb des heutigen Paradigmas. Im Rahmen dieses Paradigmas und unter Einbeziehung der Hermeneutik muß die Theologie ihre Verantwortung gegenüber ihrer Quelle und dem modernen Menschen wahrnehmen

Mobile phones and reading for enjoyment: evidence of use and behaviour change

A South African non-profit organisation, FunDza, launched a programme that delivers reading material via mobile phones. Computer log files of user activity over an eight-month period were analysed (N = 9,212,716), which showed that relatively large numbers of readers made use of the material (N = 65,533), and read a substantial amount of the material. We found evidence of positive shifts in reading behaviour. Further analysis showed that greater levels of participation in the programme were associated with greater enjoyment of reading. Furthermore, the longer participants read, the more confident they felt about their self-rated reading proficienc

Poduzetnički projekt na primjeru Sportsko-rekreacijskog centra "Ris"

Poduzetnik je osoba koja na razne načine i kombinacijom bitnih čimbenika spaja nove poduzetničke ideje s kapitalom, ljudima i drugim sastavnicama poduzetničkog procesa. Poduzetnik organizira poduzetnički pothvat, preuzima rizike i odgovornost, a sve u cilju zadovoljenja potreba potrošača na ciljnom tržištu i pojedinim tržišnim segmentima, povrata uloženog kapitala i kontinuiranog zarađivanja što većeg profita. Poduzetništvo je svaka aktivnost koja uključuje kreativnost, inovativnost, upornost, dosljednost, razumno preuzimanje rizika, odgovornost, samostalnost i drugo. Pokretanje novog posla ili proširenje postojećeg zahtijeva izradu detaljnog poduzetničkog projekta. Svrha završnog rada je prikazati njegovu važnost i prednosti izrade. Poduzetnički projekt pokazuje tržišno - financijske pokazatelje, dokazuje njegovu isplativost ili neisplativost te daje uvid u ocjene svih relevantnih aspekata poslovanja i opravdanosti realizacije ideje. Naziv projekta je Sportsko – rekreacijski centar „Ris“. Projekt zahtjeva ukupno 100.000 € ulaganja, od čega 75.000 € za stalna sredstva, a 25.000 € za trajna obrtna sredstva. Od ukupno potrebnih ulaganja 65.000 € sredstva su kojima raspolaže inicijator projekta, dok 35.000 € otpada na bankarski zajam. Tržišna ispitivanja su pokazala da će projekt u prvoj godini ostvariti prihod od 279.000 €, uz čistu dobit od 13.640 €. U narednim godinama projekcija prikazuje kako će dobit kontinuirano rasti, a sve ocjene učinkovitosti projekta pokazuju visok stupanj oportuniteta njegove realizacije.An enterpreneur is a person who combines relevant factors and new ideas with capital, people and other components of the entrepreneurial process. He organizes the entrepreneurial process, takes risk and responsibility in order of satisfying the consumer on the target market and certain market segments while returning the initial capital and continuously earning profits. Entrepreneurship is any activity that involves creativity, innovation, perseverance, consistency, reasonable risk-taking, responsibility, independence and other. Starting a new business or expanding an existing one requires preparing a detailed business project. The purpose of the thesis is to show the importance and benefits of developing a detailed business project. It shows market financial indicators, proving its profitability or unprofitability and giving an insight into all the relevnt aspects of the business justification and implementation of ideas. The project requires total investment of 100.000 € of which 75.000 € are required for permanent assets and 25.000 € for permanent working assets. From a total required investment, the owner disposes with 65.000 €, while 35.000 € is a bank loan for starting of a business. Market studies have shown that the project will be able to achieve revenues of 279.000 € in the first year, with net income of 13.640 €. In subsequent years, the projection shows that profits continued to grow. Analysis of the efficiency of the project has shown a high degree of opportunity for its realization

Konformni modeli hiperboličke ravnine

Hiperbolička ravnina ima mnoga svojstva euklidske ravnine. Međutim, u njoj ne vrijedi peti euklidov postulat pa donosi i mnoge novosti u odnosu na euklidsku geometriju. Izabrali smo model gornje poluravnine $\mathbb{H}$ u kojem smo istraživali svojstva ove geometrije. Glavni zadatak bio je na prirodan način uvesti metriku. Prije toga morali smo otkriti grupu Möbiusovih transformacija koje čuvaju incidenciju. Proučavali smo tranzitivnost i konformnost elemenata opće Möbiusove grupe. Uz to morali smo otkriti grupu koja čuva $\mathbb{H}$. Iz kompleksne analize smo iskoristili duljine krivulja te krivuljne integrale. Otkrili smo formule za računanje hiperboličke duljine i udaljenosti te smo otkrili još neka metrička svojstva. Osim modela gornje poluravnine spomenuli smo i Poincaréov disk i opću konstrukciju hiperboličke ravnine pomoću kompleksne analize.The hyperbolic plane has many properties of the usual Euclidean plane. However, since Euclid’s fifth postulate does not hold, it also has many strange features, different from Euclidean geometry. We study properties of the hyperbolic plane using the upper half-plane model $\mathbb{H}$. Our main goal was to introduce the hyperbolic metric in a natural way. We consider the group of incidence-preserving Möbius transformations and study transitivity properties and conformality of the general Möbius group. After that we discover its subgroup preserving $\mathbb{H}$. We use complex analysis to compute arc-length and path integrals, and obtain formulae for calculating hyperbolic length and distance. We discover some other metric properties of the hyperbolic plane. Besides the upper half-plane model, we also mention the Poincaré disk model and a general construction using complex analysis