The central focus of this study is the role of the church as a faith-based organisation in dealing with unemployment. Following an introductory chapter in which the research methodology and modus operandi are being explained, Chapter 2 is devoted to a discussion, in the light of recent literature, of the concept of unemployment and the effect of unemployment on the individual, the family and society. In Chapter 3 the discussion focuses on the involvement of faith-based organisations in addressing unemployment as part of social development. In Chapter 4 the empirical survey, conducted by means of semi structured interviews with church leaders in the Paarl-Wellington-area, is described. The interpreted results are discussed in Chapter 5 according to main themes, sub themes and categories. A literature control is carried out simultaneously. Based upon the literature study and the findings of the empirical survey, certain conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made in chapter 6. These recommendations are specifically aimed at activating the church in the form of local congregations to get actively involved in dealing with unemployment in their environment and community. / Social Work / D.Diac. (Youth Work)

Cette thèse vise à combler une lacune de la connaissance sur les effets systémiques des outils de contrôle de gestion dans son acception de pilotage organisationnel. Elle se repose sur une étude ethnographique longue de plus de 3 ans, réalisée dans une direction de ligne d'une entreprise européenne de transport ferroviaire Eurorailway. Elle montre qu'une direction de ligne a utilisé successivement deux ensembles d'outils de pilotage pour gouverner, conduire et animer les entités internes contributrices à la production ferroviaire. D'abord un ensemble d'outils de la contractualisation dans une relation horizontale avec ses entités internes; ensuite un autre ensemble d'outils de pilotage par la hiérarchie dans une structure verticale. Leurs cohabitations, concurrences et affrontements ont généré des effets systémiques complexes sur les individus, les processus et pratiques organisationnels et in fine sur la performance: des effets de congruence bénéfiques dans certaines pratiques, absence d'effets dans d'autres pratiques et des effets néfastes par leurs interactions. Éclairée par la théorie de la pratique de Schatzki qui contourne l'opposition gênante entre le déterminisme fonctionnaliste et les critiques psycho-sociologiques, notre recherche montre que leurs effets réels ne peuvent se comprendre qu'en lien avec la pratique de gestion qui les mobilise. / This dissertation contributes to the limited body of knowledge on systemic consequences of management control tools, also to the limited body of research on management control as system by mobilizing management tools as an analyzer of organizational phenomena. Based on an ethnography case study in a large European railway company, this research finds that this organization utilizes successively two packages of management tools for the governance of internal entities involved in the production of services delivered ta passengers: the first one based on the levers of customer/supplier relationship, the second one by hierarchal levers. The systemic effects generated by these packages of management tools are complex, some are beneficial, other are neutral, and some are even harmful to the performance. By applying Schatzki's practice theory which circumvents the unhelpful opposition between the functionalist determinism and the sociological/psychological critical approaches, we argue that the systemic consequences of management tools can only be apprehended in the practice where they are used. Mobilizing management tools as an analyzer of organizational phenomena offers a new vista to study management control as a system.

This dissertation is a participant observer’s account of implementing a multisite, randomised controlled trial within Her Majesty’s Prison Service. It adds to a scarce literature detailing the steps involved in implementing experiments in custodial settings by providing a candid account of the route from planning to successful implementation. The randomised controlled trial was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Sycamore Tree Programme. This programme’s goal is to teach prisoners the wider harm of crime and includes a face-to-face meeting between a victim of crime and the participating offenders. It derives its rehabilitative potential from restorative justice and seeks to foster hope that change is possible for offenders, thus aiding them to desist from crime. Its development and theoretical basis are described for the first time. In an in-depth narrative the dissertation details how at every stage strategies were developed to manage participant procurement, random assignment, maintaining treatment integrity, and preparing for final outcome measurements. The randomised controlled trial was designed to produce an individual experiment in eight prisons. These will be combined in a meta-analysis as well as analysed as a pooled sample. Overall the implementation process took close to two years and involved a charitable body, Her Majesty’s Prison Service, the National Offender Management Service, and two police forces. This work has demonstrated how the unstable nature of English prison populations and the risk-averse climate must be addressed when conducting experiments in that environment. It has also illustrated the gap between the rhetoric of evidence-based policy and the facilitation of research designed to seek that evidence. Nevertheless, developing trusting relationships and combining rapidly learnt skills with inherent abilities ensured that the evaluation methodology was supported and protected through the various challenges it met. Finally, the dissertation suggests conditions for closer collaboration between government executive bodies and researchers that might increase the number of experiments undertaken in prisons. It also aims to encourage researchers that prison experiments, although not easy, are feasible, defendable, and, above all, worthwhile.

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No description available.

No description available.

The prevalence of Brucella canis in South Africa is unknown and suspected to be under-detected. The majority of dogs in South Africa are not tested for Brucella canis, not only because of the level of awareness of Brucella canis in South Africa, but also because of the lack of clinical suspicion. It is not known how the infection entered South Africa. Brucella canis, a zoonotic organism that causes canine brucellosis in dogs, is a significant cause of reproductive failure in dogs worldwide. Canine brucellosis is a chronic infectious zoonotic disease whose main etiological agent, the Brucella canis bacterium, are rough, intracellular proteobacteria in the Brucellaceae family. Clinical signs in bitches are mainly infertility and abortion, while in males, epididymitis and orchitis occur. However, discospondylitis may develop in both sexes. A serological survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of Brucella canis infection in dogs from the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan (NMBM) Port Elizabeth (PE) area. A total of 400 samples were collected, 350 of which were collected in seven different townships and 50 were collected in the three different welfare organisations in the study area. Of the 400 serum samples collected, 39 (9.75%) tested serologically positive by using the Tube Agglutination Test (TAT), the 2-Mercaptoethanol-TAT (2ME-TAT) or the Compliment Fixation Test (CFT). The results of the CFT showed that nine of the 39 positive samples had a maximum antibody titre of 784 IU/ml. The prevalence rate varied tremendously between the samples from the townships and those from the welfare organisations. The prevalence rate of seropositive animals in PE ranged between 5% and 16% in the study area. No positive cases were found in KwaMagxaki and the Animal Welfare Society of PE, but both were surrounded by areas that had positive cases of Brucella canis infection. The female dogs in the study area had a higher sero-prevalence of only 0.0169 (95% CI, 0.0631 to 0.1489) differences in proportion, and were thus not significant (p > 0.05). However, the female spayed dogs had a much higher significant difference of 0.1898 (95% iv CI, 0.1058 to 0.2738) in proportion to the male neutered dogs and were thus statistically significant (p < 0.05). Despite those results, out of all the dogs positive for Brucella canis only two were neutered males and five were spayed females, and the rest were all intact. In conclusion, according to the results, Brucella canis antibodies were detected in sera of dogs mostly from the townships surveyed. Preventive measures against this contagion should be taken into consideration to eliminate Brucella canis infection from the entire dog population. Reservoir dogs and actively infected dogs either should be kept in quarantine or should be euthanized, because not only can they spread the disease and end the reproductive life of any breeding animal, but they are also a risk to human health. Even though this is the first survey conducted in the Eastern Cape, the results are still high dogs in the study area had a higher sero-prevalence of only 0.0169 (95% CI, 0.0631 to 0.1489) differences in proportion, and were thus not significant (p > 0.05). However, the female spayed dogs had a much higher significant difference of 0.1898 (95% iv CI, 0.1058 to 0.2738) in proportion to the male neutered dogs and were thus statistically significant (p < 0.05). Despite those results, out of all the dogs positive for Brucella canis only two were neutered males and five were spayed females, and the rest were all intact. In conclusion, according to the results, Brucella canis antibodies were detected in sera of dogs mostly from the townships surveyed. Preventive measures against this contagion should be taken into consideration to eliminate Brucella canis infection from the entire dog population. Reservoir dogs and actively infected dogs either should be kept in quarantine or should be euthanized, because not only can they spread the disease and end the reproductive life of any breeding animal, but they are also a risk to human health. Even though this is the first survey conducted in the Eastern Cape, the results are still high / College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Agriculture)

The study has established that modernisation development paradigm is currently governing the contemporary world of conventional development. Globalisation is the tool currently in use for modernisation, drummed up by the North, largely targeting the resources of the Southern hemisphere, through Structural Adjustment Programmes. Social welfare development interventions have been devised to provide safety-net for the poor, social casualities of modernisation process. The short cut has been to bail them out through relief handouts. Participatory development concept, is built on the belief that the world had the means to improve the situation of the poor through fair redistribution of wealth, technology, knowledge, and ideas accruing from modernisation. But this calls for the political will to address the issue of inequality, power imbalance and social injustice as a primary goal. Achieving economic growth and ensuring equitable distribution should, of necessity, be compatible. Participatory development approach is to be preferred as it is accommodative, open and creative, drawing heavily from life experiences of those involved. It also puts people at the centre of development process. It is a paradigm that seeks to empower people to assume full responsibility for their own development including the consequences of their decisions and actions. It has been established that management boards and staff are the main prime movers of strategic planning activities in an organisation. Strategic planning was appreciated by the organisational staff as an opportunity to converge their views and towards influencing organisational policy, a precious window of opportunity for them to participate in causing organisational change. Notably, donor partners generally played a minimal role in this regard. Ironically, community constituency played the least role in the planning activities owing to their often marginal disposition among stakeholders. The most satisfactory outcome of participatory strategic planning was the clarity in the future direction of an organisations and more refined planning with sense of collective responsibility. It can authoritatively be declared here that participatory strategic planning is significantly efficacious as a tool for organisation building, but under certain conditions discussed in the concluding Chapter of the thesis. / Development Studies / D. Litt et Phil. (Development Studies)

This thesis will examine the issues of women's spirituality, suffering, their survival in the midst of suffering. These issues will be examined in the context of a post-apartheid South Africa within a Christian framework looking at issues of faith and spirituality. More particularly the Methodist church will be examined, looking at key aspects of its spirituality and how that might have contributed and provided for its women. Two of the Methodist Women's organisations, the Women's Manyano and the Women's Auxiliary will be looked at; their history and significant aspects of their programmes and structures that have led them to be important places for the women who are part of them. The thesis will seek to determine how the Methodist Women's organisations have impacted the spirituality of two women especially when they have gone through difficult times. The lives of these two women are examined through conversations the author has with them. In particular the author will examine particular circumstances of these women and seek to set them against a background of their spirituality and in particular whether their particular Methodist organisation played any role during this time. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Christian Spirituality)

Accroître la productivité agricole et favoriser le développement agricole sont nécessaires pour atteindre l’autosuffisance alimentaire et réduire la pauvreté dans les pays d’Afrique subsaharienne. La littérature a identifié plusieurs obstacles au développement agricole, notamment des contraintes environnementales etinstitutionnelles, ainsi que des contraintes d’accès aux ressources agricoles et non-agricoles. Une question demeure cependant, celle des politiques à mener pour promouvoir le développement agricole dans cette région du monde. Cette thèse aborde trois questions importantes relatives au développement agricole en Afrique subsaharienne, et au Burkina Faso en particulier. Elle étudie l’impact des institutions et des politiques sur les contraintes rencontrées par les agriculteurs et les ménages, ainsi que les outils capables de favoriser l’émergence d’institutions qui participeront au développement agricole. Le premier chapitre de cette thèse étudie le rôle des normes et des institutions dans la formation des organisations paysannes, et la participation des femmes dans ces organisations. Je montre que les femmes sont moins susceptibles de participer aux organisations d’agriculteurs. Le niveau relativement faible de la participation des femmes dans les organisations d’agriculteurs s’expliquerait par leur manque d’accès aux ressources, y compris aux informations, ainsi qu’au manque d’incitations reçues par les femmes. Le deuxième chapitre étudie les conditions d’émergence des marchés fonciers agricoles dans la région des Hauts-Bassins dans la zone cotonnière du Burkina Faso. Je mets en évidence le rle joué par les marchés fonciers dans l’égalisation des dotations foncières dans la région Les marchés fonciers permettent aux migrants d’avoir accès à la terre dans cette région du Burkina Faso. Enfin, le troisième chapitre de cette thèse cherche à comprendre la faible utilisation d’engrais chimiques par les agriculteurs. La faible utilisation d’engrais chimiques s’expliquerait par des facteurs autres que la rentabilité, notamment le manque d’accès des agriculteurs aux engrais et au crédit. S’appuyant sur la littérature théorique en économie et dans les autres sciences sociales, ainsi que sur plusieurs bases de données, cette thèse contribue à la compréhension des contraintes et opportunités pour le développement agricole en Afrique subsaharienne. / Increasing agricultural productivity and fostering agricultural development are necessary for agriculture to play an effective role in food security and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa. The literature has identified several barriers to agricultural development, including environmental constraints, institutional constraints, as well as resource constraints. However, how to promote agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa remains a challenging issue. This dissertation addresses three important issues relating to agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa, and particularly in Burkina Faso. The dissertation considers how institutions and policies can have an impact on the constraints faced by individual farmers and households, and how to foster the emergence of institutions that will work for agricultural development. The first chapter of this dissertation investigates the role of norms and institutions in the formation of farmer organizations, and women’s participation in farmer organizations. The findings indicate that female farmers are less likely to participate in farmer organizations. The results suggest that the relatively low level of female participation in farmer organizations is explained by women’s lack of resources including information as well as a lack of incentives to participate. The second chapter studies the emergence conditions of land markets in the Hauts-Bassins region Burkina’s cotton zone. The chapter’s findings highlight the equalizing role of land markets in this region. Land markets enable migrants to gain access to land in this region. Last, the third chapter of this dissertation seeks to understand the relative, apparent low use of chemical fertilizers by farmers. The low uptake of chemical fertilizers might have been driven by factors other than profitability, including a lack of access to fertilizers and credit. Building on the theoretical literature in economics as well as the literature in other social sciences, and on various datasets, this dissertation contributes to enhancing the overall understanding of the issues faced by farmers in Sub-Saharan African countries and points towards further research in the economics of agricultural development as well as in the general economic literature.