Field tuned critical fluctuations in YFe2Al10: Evidence from magnetization, 27Al (NMR, NQR) investigations

We report magnetization, specific heat, and NMR investigations on YFe2Al10 over a wide range in temperature and magnetic field and zero field (NQR) measurements. Magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and spin-lattice relaxation rate divided by T (1/T1T) follow a weak power law (T^-0.4) temperature dependence, which is a signature of critical fluctuations of Fe moments. The value of the Sommerfeld-Wilson ratio and linear relation between 1/T1T and chi(T) suggest the existence of ferromagnetic correlations in this system. No magnetic ordering down to 50 mK in Cp(T) and the unusual temperature and field scaling of the bulk and NMR data are associated with a magnetic instability which drives the system to quantum criticality. The magnetic properties of the system are tuned by field wherein ferromagnetic fluctuations are suppressed and a crossover from quantum critical to FL behavior is observed with increasing magnetic field

Leading change in the South African District Health Service

Purpose - The paper sets out to explore the leadership processes and dynamics of change management in a fragmented, and resource-poor, health service in an impoverished rural region in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach - The paper outlines an action research process aimed at assisting the stakeholders of two rural clinics to integrate psychiatric care into the Primary Health Care service that they offer their respective communities. This involved the transformation of existing practices through a form of praxis that involved learning from action and acting on learning. Findings - The findings of the paper relate to the role of leadership in the facilitation of transformational learning in team-based social action. Four areas of leadership responsibility are highlighted: the transformation of inappropriate mental models; the development of strategic resilience; the shifting of the locus of control of stakeholders to a more internal position; and the creation of a social environment in which intangible capital resources are generated and leveraged in the collective interest. Research limitations/implications - This paper is subject to the limitations of potential bias and distortion in action research. Although the "objective" evidence of the integration of psychiatric services at Pelsrus and Kwanomzamo clinics exists, the portrayal of the learning processes through which this was achieved could have been influenced unwittingly by the authors' own knowledge and other interests. Practical implications - The paper endorses the educational importance of work-based projects through which strong tacit leadership knowledge bases can be developed in health sector personnel

Contiguous 3d and 4f magnetism: towards strongly correlated 3d electrons in YbFe2Al10

We present magnetization, specific heat, and 27Al NMR investigations on YbFe2Al10 over a wide range in temperature and magnetic field. The magnetic susceptibility at low temperatures is strongly enhanced at weak magnetic fields, accompanied by a ln(T0/T) divergence of the low-T specific heat coefficient in zero field, which indicates a ground state of correlated electrons. From our hard X-ray photo emission spectroscopy (HAXPES) study, the Yb valence at 50 K is evaluated to be 2.38. The system displays valence fluctuating behavior in the low to intermediate temperature range, whereas above 400 K, Yb3+ carries a full and stable moment, and Fe carries a moment of about 3.1 mB. The enhanced value of the Sommerfeld Wilson ratio and the dynamic scaling of spin-lattice relaxation rate divided by T [27(1/T1T)] with static susceptibility suggests admixed ferromagnetic correlations. 27(1/T1T) simultaneously tracks the valence fluctuations from the 4f -Yb ions in the high temperature range and field dependent antiferromagnetic correlations among partially Kondo screened Fe 3d moments at low temperature, the latter evolve out of an Yb 4f admixed conduction band.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Approaches taken by South African advertisers to select and appoint advertising agencies

Pitch and industry guidelines play an important role in awarding advertising agency contracts, but agencies must take into account that not all advertisers will adhere to these guidelines. The exploratory research study on which this article reports provides insight into the appointment process and selection criteria applied during the appointment of advertising agencies. This article examines the views of 116 senior marketing executives in South Africa to determine typical decision processes followed when advertising agencies are appointed. Consideration is also given to the structural arrangements in place, the composition and size of buying centres, switching barriers that make it more diffi cult or costly for advertisers to change agencies and selection criteria used to appoint advertising agencies. Data were obtained by means of structured questionnaires administered via a web-based survey. The findings provide advertisers with insights into procurement decisions and selection criteria and can also provide valuable insight to agencies with regard to buying decision approaches taken by advertisers. Insight into the size and composition of buying centres adds to agencies’ understanding of who to target during customer relationship-building initiatives. From an academic perspective, this research off ers a better understanding of the organisational buying process and the importance of selection criteria within the South African context

Present-Day Dillemas And Challenges Of The South African Tertiary System

The Education White Paper 3 on Higher Education aimed to transform the higher education system. Change within tertiary education included adjusting the size and shape of institutions, the meaning of autonomy and accountability, the nature of higher education, the character of student demographic distribution, management and governance, roles of student politics, models of delivery, the notion of higher education in terms of the relationship between free trade and public good, programme changes and the nature of the academic workplace. At this stage, transformation in higher education is leaping outwards to fulfil the criteria set by international competitiveness and related efficiency criteria that can be attributed to globalisation pressures and to deeper factors inherent in the nature of higher education, especially in terms of its resistance to change and modernization. In this regard, the tertiary higher education system in South Africa is faced with many multi-dimensional challenges that need to be addressed in this article. This includes stating whether Grade 12 results as the outcome of this exit point at school level are, internationally speaking, a reasonable predictor of first-year academic success at university. In South Africa, there is no benchmarking of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination; therefore, first-year students have difficulty in adapting to the university environment as they find themselves devoid of indispensable bases for the pursuit of their studies and the weakness of the level of education given at school level in a large number of instances. Furthermore, five universities were placed under administration in the 2011-2012 period because of appallingly poor levels of management, which adds extra layers of suspicion to the notion of the impact of higher education in South Africa. Many other challenges are facing the South African tertiary education system, which will be analysed and recommendations arrived at that will attempt to contribute to an enhancement of tertiary education in South Africa

Restructuring And Mergers Of The South African Post-Apartheid Tertiary System (1994-2011): A Critical Analysis

Socio-economic and vocational needs of communities, governments and individuals change over the years and these discourses served as a compass for restructuring of higher institutions in South Africa from 1994. Before 1994, the claim to legitimacy for government policies in higher education rested on meeting primarily the interests of the white minority. From 1996 onwards, the newly established government considered education a major vehicle of societal transformation. The main objective had been to focus on reducing inequality and fostering internationalisation. Therefore, the rationale for the restructuring of South African universities included a shift from science systems to global science networks. Various challenges are associated with restructuring and include access, diversity, equity and equality. Thus, the restructuring and mergers between former technikons and traditional universities were probably the most difficult to achieve in terms of establishing a common academic platform, as transitional conditions also had to be taken into account and had a twin logic: It was not only the legacy of apartheid that had to be overcome but the incorporation of South Africa into the globalised world was equally important as globalisation transforms the economic, political, social and environmental dimensions of countries and their place in the world. Initially, the post-apartheid higher education transformation started with the founding policy document on higher education, the Report of the National Commission on Higher Education and this report laid the foundation for the 1997 Education White Paper 3 on Higher Education in which a transformed higher education system is described. Restructuring and mergers also had a far-reaching impact, positive and negative, on the various tertiary institutions. This article also reflects on the impact of restructuring and mergers of higher education and reaches the conclusion that higher education faces many more challenges than initially anticipated prior to transformation