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The paper considers a plane joint or interface element suitable for implementation into a standard non‐linear finite element code. Sliding of the joint is assumed to be governed by Coulomb friction, with a non‐associated flow rule and no cohesion. The constitutive equations are formulated in a manner appropriate for a backward difference discretization in time along the path of loading. It is shown that the backward difference assumption can lead to an explicit formulation in which no essential distinction need be drawn between opening and closing of the joint and sliding when the joint is closed. However, an inherent limitation of the dilatant Coulomb model becomes evident; the final formulation is internally consistent but does not describe reversed shear displacement in a physically reasonable way. Explicit equations for the consistent tangent stiffness and for the corrector step (or return algorithm) of the standard Newton—Raphson iterative algorithm are given. The equations have been implemented as a user element in the finite element code ABAQUS, and illustrative examples are given.

Beyond critique of current maturity models, the research literature has neglected to supply empirical evidence of the value knowledge management (KM) holds for organizations. The majority of studies, in common with other emergent business philosophies, are focused on large organizations of developed economies, where readily available implementation resources are an underlying assumption. This paper aims to address this issue and to assess the correlation between the successful institutionalization of KM and organizational performance (OP) in a developing economy.

From a large urban South African university engaged in numerous collaboration programs with industry, the authors gained insight into KM maturity and organizational performance (OP) of three industry groups, over a five‐year period. The authors apply an inventory developed by Kruger and Snyman to a set of nine organisations distributed over three economic sectors in South Africa.

By evaluating the relationship between KM maturity and OP from within three “time dependent” perspectives, insight was gained to answer the aim of the research undertaken, “Is there a correlation between KM maturity and OP in South Africa?” Diagrammatic presentation of OP scores and KM maturity growth revealed that in five out of the nine organizations there is a clearly identifiable relationship between KM maturity and OP in South Africa in both entities over the period under investigation. In certain instances, the correlations were not easily noticeable and/or were non‐existent. From a mathematical perspective, in comparing the correlation between growth in KM maturity and year‐on‐year growth in OP, it was revealed that six of the eight companies that recorded positive growth in KM maturity also recorded positive (year‐on‐year) growth in OP. In a similar manner, it was established that the company recording negative growth in KM maturity also recorded negative (year‐on‐year) growth in OP.

Because the South African scenario can be considered a benchmark for developing economies characterized by continued change, diversity and even elements of silent intolerance and conflict, this study may be viewed as a “pilot study” to provide a baseline and insight into future research of KM for enabling OP.

This paper is of relevance to strategic managers and KM practitioners interested in gaining insight into the correlation between KM maturity and organisational performance.

In this chapter, the author analyzes sentencing and incarceration practices in South Africa during the last 20 years, a period which saw the country transforming into a fully flexed democracy.

The concepts of sentencing, mandatory minimum sentencing, sentencing of children and incarceration are discussed. The past 20 years of democracy serve as a point of departure for this discussion. The retrospective nature of the adopted approach necessitates a heavy reliance on existing literature, but a statistical analysis is also relied upon. The author also reflects on research conducted during the last 20 years.

While it is almost impossible to duly consider all sentencing-related developments in democratic South Africa, important advances have been made but they were not always systematically followed through. Well-intended policies have at times been poorly executed. Specially, the correctional system destroyed all types of staff motivation through poor human resource practices.

Few scholars have considered the influence of sentencing practices on the South African inmate population, more particularly during the period of democracy that has been running for 20 years. This influence in the South African criminal justice system will be highlighted. The contribution of sentencing in the democratization of the country may be drawn from this discussion. The study may contribute to policy implementation for decades to come and through that, strengthen the South African democracy. At the same time, lessons from South Africa may serve as a roadmap for other young and established democracies.

This paper aims to present the development of a framework for evaluating group behaviour in information security in practice.

Information security behavioural threshold analysis is used as the theoretical foundation for the proposed framework. The suitability of the proposed framework is evaluated based on two sets of qualitative measures (general frameworks and information security frameworks) which were identified from literature. The successful evaluation of the proposed framework, guided by the identified evaluation measures, is presented in terms of positive practical applications, as well as positive peer review and publication of the underlying theory.

A methodology to formalise a framework to analyse group behaviour in information security can successfully be applied in a practical environment. This application takes the framework from only a theoretical conceptualisation to an implementable solution to evaluate and positively influence information security group behaviour.

Behavioural threshold analysis is identified as a practical mechanism to evaluate information security group behaviour. The suggested framework, as implemented in a management decision support system (DSS), allows practitioners to assess the security behaviour and awareness in their organisation. The resulting information can be used to exert an influence for positive change in the information security of the organisation.

A novel conceptual mapping of two sets of qualitative evaluation measures is presented and used to evaluate the proposed framework. The resulting framework is made practical through its encapsulation in a DSS.

Wilson argues that knowledge management (KM) maturity is an extension of information management and effective management of work practices. Gallagher and Hazlett state that there is too much effort addressing technological concerns in KM while offering little practical assistance. Kruger and Snyman believe KM is a strategic resource with ICT and information management as enablers in establishing KM maturity. These three positions of KM growth and maturity reflect the huge spectrum of and diverse views. But, very little is known about the KM growth or maturity that occurs in different industries, or how employees and managers perceive growth in KM maturity. This paper aims to address these issues.

From a large urban South African University engaged in numerous collaboration programmes with industry, the authors gain insight into the growth of KM in industry groupings over a five‐year period. The authors apply an inventory developed by Kruger and Snyman to a set of 86 organisations distributed over nine economic sectors in South Africa. In total 434 employees are interviewed over three group levels (operational, middle and senior management). This is achieved by interviewing 178 senior practitioners in three subjects (one in each group level).

Analysis of the growth in KM maturity, as it relates to different organisational sizes, reveals that there are statistical differences between the score reported by small, medium, large and extra‐large organisations and between the scores reported by senior, middle and operational personnel. Findings also indicate that growth in KM differs between industry groupings, with high growth in construction, building materials and mining (±70 per cent), and low growth in educational institutions (±40 per cent).

This paper is of relevance to KM practitioners interested in gaining insight into KM maturity growth that occurred in different organisational groupings and at different operational levels across an extremely diversified environment.

This article describes a model for the standardisation of names in bibliographic databases. A prototype that was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of the model is described. Lastly, the impact of implementing this model is investigated. It was found that the new model will revolutionise name authority control. The literature supports such a change. It was also found that the prototype developed verifies the technical feasibility of its implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to test a moderated mediation model that links the experience of cyberbullying, perceived stress and job satisfaction among Australian employees.

A survey of 254 white collar Australian employees was conducted from a wide variety of business corporations to investigate the role of workplace cyberbullying and job outcomes. A moderated mediation analysis was conducted.

Results indicated that workplace cyberbullying resulted in perceived stress, which in turn predicted employee’s job dissatisfaction. The results further revealed that cyberbullied female employees as opposed to male employees were more likely to report greater perceived stress and to be dissatisfied in their job.

Overall, the results suggest that cyberbullying is a potential resource drain for employees and has detrimental implications in their organisational life. Importantly, male and female employees reacted to workplace cyberbullying differently suggesting the need to address the issue of workplace cyberbullying more gender sensitively.

This study provides empirical evidence that workplace cyberbullying can be a gendered phenomenon. Furthermore, COR theory and gender role theory is combined to reveal the differences between men and women in terms of their vulnerability towards different stressors.

The design of optimum pipe and duct networks with available procedures is difficult, if not impossible. A more efficient procedure that will automatically produce the optimum design is required. Such a procedure is presented in this article. The design is formulated as a constrained nonlinear optimization problem. This problem is solved using a unique numerical optimization algorithm. The solution entails the calculation of the cross sectional dimensions of the ducts and pipes so that the life cycle cost of the network is minimized. The topology equations are derived using graph theory thereby allowing complex networks with loops to be designed numerically. A duct network consisting of a fan and 35 duct sections is designed according to certain specifications. Using the proposed procedure optimum designs were obtained within seconds on a 33 MHz 486 micro‐computer. The procedure was further applied to the optimization of a coal pipeline. It is shown that the optimized solution will cost 14% ($8 million) less than the previous design with conventional design techniques.

A traditional model of name authority control (the Name Authority Cooperative Program (NACO)) and the International Standard Author Number (ISAN), which was proposed in a previous article, are compared. This comparison is drawn in terms of the following criteria: input required during the standardisation of names; support for universal bibliographic control; promotion of collaboration between libraries and information services with regard to resource sharing and shared cataloguing; support for quality interaction between the user and information; saving of costs and time; and finally, the accommodation of future changes. Based on these results, the more effective method of the two is proposed for the standardisation of names.