Die effek van die regulering van maksimum werkure op werknemers se grondwetlike reg op gelykheid

The paper examines the effect of the provisons regulating maximum working hours, with reference to the principle of equality entrenched in section 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Section 9(1) read with section 10(1) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75/1997 has the effect that, subject to certain exceptions, employees are not allowed to work for the same employer for more than 55 hours per week. This does not prevent employees from working longer hours in total for different employers, an option that entails clear disadvantages. As a result of the adverse effect of past discrimination, black people, women and people on low socio-economic levels are disproportionately more unfavourably positioned in respect of levels of income, occupational status, financial ability and, consequentially, opportunities for promotion and improvement. This disadvantage often creates a need to work longer hours, specifically for the same employer. An application of the test developed in Harksen v Lane NO leads to a conclusion that the provisions referred to constitute unfair discrimination in terms of section 9 of the Constitution. The provisions also fail the proportionality test of section 36 of the Constitution

Evidence for fast thermalization in the plane-wave matrix model

We perform a numerical simulation of the classical evolution of the plane-wave matrix model with semiclassical initial conditions. Some of these initial conditions thermalize and are dual to a black hole forming from the collision of D-branes in the plane wave geometry. In particular, we consider a large fuzzy sphere (a D2-brane) plus a single eigenvalue (a D0-particle) going exactly through the center of the fuzzy sphere and aimed to intersect it. Including quantum fluctuations of the off-diagonal modes in the initial conditions, with sufficient kinetic energy the configuration collapses to a small size. We also find evidence for fast thermalization: rapidly decaying autocorrelation functions at late times with respect to the natural time scale of the system.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, revtex4 format; v2: minor typos fixed; v3: 8 pages, 9 figures, minor changes, includes a supplement as appeared on PR

Managing end-users’ satisfaction during capital developments by adopting value engineering as project management tool

The burden of translating the end-users’ project briefs into the development of functional support facilities that enhance the performance of the core functions of the organisation require the use of dynamic modern project management methods. In the course of developing capital assets, it is inevitable that original designs are modified, some sections redesigned while some facilities or components are out-rightly removed due to budgetary, time or other constraints. It is imperative, therefore, to incorporate the end-users into the development process, so that managing changes, trade-offs, commissioning and project close-outs will be smooth and enhance the achievement of customers’ satisfaction. Customers’ satisfaction, in the context of this paper, is viewed in the light of how effective and functional the completed facilities enhance the performance of the core functions of the organisation. The case study method of qualitative research was used in this research. The research data were collected through semi-structured questionnaire complemented with interviews. The thematic method was used to analyse the interview data. The client and end-users provided information on the level of their satisfaction with the performance of the capital development unit as well as identified some areas of concern that require improvement. Recommendations made include the use of Value Engineering as a project management tool; considered suitable for the management of design or scope changes and ‘trade-offs’, in order to improve on the level of customers’ satisfaction

Identifying the effects of excessive deflection in reinforced concrete beam

In framed reinforced concrete structure, the beams transfers the dead and live loads to the column and then to the foundation. When there are observed structural failure in the systems supported by the beam, especially where the beam has a large unsupported clear span at a lower level, before any further detailed investigations are initiated, the functional state of the beams should be ascertained. The correct diagnosis of the source of problem is essential for the design of effective rehabilitation scheme. Simple visual inspection corroborated with field test for true horizontality of the beam can provide the lead information that will guide the client on the scope of further investigations. The case study method of qualitative research was adopted to address the research questions, while the research data was collected by reviewing previous investigation reports on a three-storey building, physical inspection and conducting simple site experiment to identify the lead information. The research outcome reveals that the multiple cracks observed in the partition walls especially in the second floors were as a result of excessive deflections in the beams supporting the first and second floors. Based on recommendation, subsequent investigation confirmed this lead information and appropriate rehabilitation scheme was adopted

Evacuation drill: A test of emergency preparedness

Abstract: Considerable research efforts abound on safety issues during construction phase of built facilities, but very low attention is paid to safety during operation phase; instead security occupies top priority. Responding to factors such as technological and increase in student’s population, many higher institutions globally are expanding their built facilities in terms of quantity, size and sophistication. There are many situations that infringe on the safety of the end-users; they include fire, natural and man-made disasters. The simplest approach to test the emergency preparedness of the end-user of the facilities as well as the adequacies of critical components of the built facilities is to simulate emergency through evacuation drill. Conducting evacuation drill in Higher Education institution is complex due to the composition of its constituency, multiple activities, time constraints and the human dynamics: some view evacuation drill as a wasteful exercise. The case study method of qualitative research is adopted; the data are collected through semi-structured questionnaire complemented with interview, observation and participation. The findings include evidence of the display of safety awareness documents, sensitization lectures and running mini evacuation drills in the different segment of the institution. Although the response rate to evacuation drill is low at the moment, with more commitments and advocacy it is possible to progress towards benchmarking the exercise with regulatory standards

A Dynamical Systems Approach to Schwarzschild Null Geodesics

The null geodesics of a Schwarzschild black hole are studied from a dynamical systems perspective. Written in terms of Kerr-Schild coordinates, the null geodesic equation takes on the simple form of a particle moving under the influence of a Newtonian central force with an inverse-cubic potential. We apply a McGehee transformation to these equations, which clearly elucidates the full phase space of solutions. All the null geodesics belong to one of four families of invariant manifolds and their limiting cases, further characterized by the angular momentum L of the orbit: for |L|>|L_c|, (1) the set that flow outward from the white hole, turn around, then fall into the black hole, (2) the set that fall inward from past null infinity, turn around outside the black hole to continue to future null infinity, and for |L|<|L_c|, (3) the set that flow outward from the white hole and continue to future null infinity, (4) the set that flow inward from past null infinity and into the black hole. The critical angular momentum Lc corresponds to the unstable circular orbit at r=3M, and the homoclinic orbits associated with it. There are two additional critical points of the flow at the singularity at r=0. Though the solutions of geodesic motion and Hamiltonian flow we describe here are well known, what we believe is a novel aspect of this work is the mapping between the two equivalent descriptions, and the different insights each approach can give to the problem. For example, the McGehee picture points to a particularly interesting limiting case of the class (1) that move from the white to black hole: in the limit as L goes to infinity, as described in Schwarzschild coordinates, these geodesics begin at r=0, flow along t=constant lines, turn around at r=2M, then continue to r=0. During this motion they circle in azimuth exactly once, and complete the journey in zero affine time.Comment: 14 pages, 3 Figure

The Delphi technique: A credible research methodology

Abstract: The Delphi technique, as a research method for achieving consensus of opinion of participants, is sometimes seen as a less reliable research method because the participants do change their opinion from one round of the exercise to the other. Instead of seeing this as weakness, it is actually the strength of the technique. The controlled feedbacks allow participants to view their individual submissions in the light of the whole group. The Delphi technique is about the only research method that allows participants to interact with the opinion of each other, without coercion, adjust ones position where necessary and yet retain anonymity. Thoughtful selection of participants and effective communication throughout the exercise ensures that the outcome of the exercise is truly a consensus opinion of the group that can proffer appropriate solution to the research question. The participants for the Delphi exercise, being reported, were chosen from the strategic and tactical levels of leadership of the client, end-user and the service provider. Though participants changed their opinion from one round to the other; the net result showed a more refined selection of appropriate Key Performance Indicator, without evidence of complicity or coercion

Developing KPI for organizations with similar objective

Abstract:It is a difficult task to attempt developing generic Key Performance Indicators for all the functions of Facilities Management services in all organization it serves. Nevertheless, the exercise is possible for organizations with similar objectives. For example, the objectives of Higher Education institutions revolve around teaching, learning and research that require functional infrastructure, technology and services. The client, end-users and service providers in these organizations can develop acceptable indicators for their operation of the support facilities and that will facilitate the creation of an effective benchmark. The modified classic Delphi technique was used in achieving the consensus of opinion from the participants. The findings revealed that there were convergence of opinion on the essential indicators that can enhance the provision, operation and management of the required support facilities for the effective performance of the core functions of Higher Education institutions. It was recommended that the research should be extended to cover all Higher Education institutions within and across regions for more comprehensive informatio

Cross section, final spin and zoom-whirl behavior in high-energy black hole collisions

We study the collision of two highly boosted equal mass, nonrotating black holes with generic impact parameter. We find such systems to exhibit zoom-whirl behavior when fine tuning the impact parameter. Near the threshold of immediate merger the remnant black hole Kerr parameter can be near maximal (a/M about 0.95) and the radiated energy can be as large as 35% of the center-of-mass energy.Comment: Rearranged results section; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Black Hole Mergers and Unstable Circular Orbits

We describe recent numerical simulations of the merger of a class of equal mass, non-spinning, eccentric binary black hole systems in general relativity. We show that with appropriate fine-tuning of the initial conditions to a region of parameter space we denote the threshold of immediate merger, the binary enters a phase of close interaction in a near-circular orbit, stays there for an amount of time proportional to logarithmic distance from the threshold in parameter space, then either separates or merges to form a single Kerr black hole. To gain a better understanding of this phenomena we study an analogous problem in the evolution of equatorial geodesics about a central Kerr black hole. A similar threshold of capture exists for appropriate classes of initial conditions, and tuning to threshold the geodesics approach one of the unstable circular geodesics of the Kerr spacetime. Remarkably, with a natural mapping of the parameters of the geodesic to that of the equal mass system, the scaling exponent describing the whirl phase of each system turns out to be quite similar. Armed with this lone piece of evidence that an approximate correspondence might exist between near-threshold evolution of geodesics and generic binary mergers, we illustrate how this information can be used to estimate the cross section and energy emitted in the ultra relativistic black hole scattering problem. This could eventually be of use in providing estimates for the related problem of parton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider in extra dimension scenarios where black holes are produced.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures; updated to coincide with journal versio