This thesis postulates that the inability of the post-apartheid government to deal decisively with the “legacies of apartheid education” is linked to the macro-educational policy trajectory endorsed by the African National Congress government in the early 1990s. It notes that post-apartheid education policymaking shows similarities with the National Party reforms initiated towards the end of the 1980s in education. In the late 1980s the apartheid government implemented a broad educational framework consonant with the rise of neo-liberal restructuring emerging internationally. It is argued that the teacher unions, and the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) in particular, were active role-players in shaping the new educational trajectory and discourse and that it was particularly because of the acquiescence of the unions that the government was able to embark on the road of neo-liberal restructuring with very little organised opposition. SADTU’s weak opposition to the rising influence of neo-liberal educational restructuring greatly facilitated the creation of a two-tier education system that South Africa is grappling with today, one for the rich and one for the poor. / Thesis (PhD (Education Policy Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Education Management and Policy Studies / PhD / unrestricted

Although a great deal has been written over the past two decades on the armed struggle in South Africa and the role that the African National congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP)have played in it, virtually nothing of academic value has been written on the main vehicle of the struggle, namely Umkhonto we Sizwe or 'MK' as it is more commonly known. Besides the research undertaken by Edward Feit in the 1960's and the account left to us by Bruno Mtolo on the formation and activities of Umkhonto in Natal prior to the Rivonia events, most of the material that has been written on the subject of Umkhonto makes no meaningful contribution to the history and activities of the organisation. As a result a serious vacuum has been left in the history of the liberation movement but particularly the armed struggle in South Africa. There was therefore an urgent need for a systematic and detailed study of Umkhonto and the specific role it played in the liberation struggle since 1961. Identifying the need for this study vas however the easy part. Writing it on the other hand presented numerous complex problems, part of which was brought about by the lack of suitable source material, and the fact that the organisation vas proscribed by law. The problem was further compounded by the fact that although Umkhonto was created to be independent (initially at least) of the ANC and to fulfill a function that the ANC could not do in the 1960's, the two organisations became so closely associated with one another and with the SACP that most of the time it is very difficult if not nearly impossible, to always draw a clear distinction between the three of them. Of course the problem has not been made easier by the Press which, for the sake of simplicity and expediency, have chosen to equate the ANC and Umkhonto with one another. Virtually none of the newspapers which have reported on the armed struggle over the years have taken the trouble to draw any meaningful distinction between the organisation and activities of the ANC on the one hand and Umkhonto on the other. While it is true that the two organisations have very close ties and there is a strong degree of overlapping between both members and leaders, this research will show that the two organisations are nonetheless different from one another and have organisational structures and functions that support this. The main difference between the two organisations has always been the fact that while Umkhonto was specifically created as the military component of the ANC-SACP alliance, the ANC on the other hand has remained the main political instrument of the liberation movement. As such, members of the ANC were not supposed to undertake any direct military missions against apartheid targets in South Africa. At best they fulfilled a supportive role such as the distribution of propaganda, the provision of transport, the supply of weapons and the creation of weapons caches etc., to support Umkhonto's cadres in the field. The members of the ANC thus concerned themselves primarily with political and diplomatic work in the armed struggle. By the middle of the 1980's however, the relationship between the ANC and Umkhonto began to change when the political and military functions of the two organisations were brought together under the control of the newly created political-military-council (PMC)following the collapse of the ANC and Umkhonto's organizational structures in the frontline states of Mozambique and Swaziland, as a result of the South African government's persistant counter-insurgency operations. The new organisational structure that was set up by the beginning of 1983 to replace the defunct Regional Command and was sanctioned by the ANC and the SACP and accepted at the former's National Consultative Conference at Kabwe, Zambia, in 1985. This new direction in the armed struggle was further reflected in the decision to introduce compulsory military training for all members of the combined liberation movement. In theory thus, after 1985, all members of the ANC and the SACP were subjected to military training in Umkhonto's training camps in Angola and elsewhere. This move further helped to blur the lines between the ANC, the SACP and Umkhonto. Much of this will become clear in the course of this thesis. Where possible, interpretations will be attached to the facts to highlight certain developments in the armed struggle. Unfortunately, the facts pertaining to Umkhonto is not always volumous or conclusive enough to make statements that will withstand the test of time. The aim of this study is to examine the history of Umkhonto from its origins in 1961 to the end of 1988 when as a result of the New York Accord between South Africa, Cuba and Angola the ANC and Umkhonto were forced to remove all their military bases and personnel from Angola with immediate effect. Although this particular move severely crippled the ability of Umkhonto to continue with its armed struggle it vas not the only factor influencing its performance and status by the end of 1988. A host of other factors such as poor organisation, weak leadership, dissention, dissatisfaction with the role of the SACP in the liberation movement, and lack of sufficient funds among others also contributed to its weakened position by the end of the 1980's. These and other factors effecting the position and performance of Umkhonto are extensively dealt with in the second half of this study. Although increased cooperation between the military and political segments of the liberation movement became an important element in the armed struggle after 1985, the leadership of the ANC, the SACP and Umkhonto were not always in agreement on important issues. This became increasingly apparent towards the end of the 1980's when the combined effect of the South African government's counter-insurgency operations and the changes that were taking place in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe were beginning to have a direct affect on the position and future of the liberation alliance led by the ANC and the SACP. Although the ANC, like most political organisations, always had a fair share of dissention in its ranks the formation of Umkhonto in 1961, the destruction of the organisation's underground structures inside South Africa by the mid-1960'S and the growing hegemony of the SACP over both the ANC and Umkhonto's leadership since, have produced some serious dissention in the ranks of the liberation movement. The first came in 1975 with the expulsion of the African National Congress African nationalist faction from the ranks of the ANC. The second came with the isolation of the Okhela organisation which was reported to have been a predominantly white anti-communist organisation inside the ANC. The third attack was on the leadership of the liberation movement was averted with the expulsion of the dissident Marxist group known as the “Marxist Tendency within the ANC” in the early 1980's. Although the ANC and the SACP have always denied that the influence of these attacks on its combined leadership were in anyway serious, this study has shown that these developments in association with other developments had indeed a deep effect on the effectiveness of Umkhonto and the outcome of the armed struggle. The latter is particularly evident in the decision by Chris Hani, who was Chief of Staff of Umkhonto and his protégé, Steve Tshwete, to challenge the ANC's National Executive committee in 1981 to allow them to execute the decision taken at the Kabwe conference to extend Umkhonto's attacks to include white civilian targets inside South Africa. Although the ANC had accepted such action in principle at its Kabwe conference in 1985, it remained reluctant to fully implement it out of fear that such action could tarnish its image internationally and loose its much needed international support, particularly among the nations and people of Western Europe. Such considerations seemingly did not carry much support with Marxist radicals and militants such as Hani and others who preferred a military to a political or negotiated settlement in South Africa. With the support of the central Committee of the SACP (or rather. key elements of it) behind them, Hani and Tshwete issued a directive to all Umkhonto commanders in 1987 to extent their attacks to white civilian targets. The fact that the ANC did nothing to stop the directive or to counter Hani's actions is clear indication of the position that the military hardliners had come to occupy in the ANC-SACP alliance and Umkhonto by the latter part of the 1980's. Unfortunately for Hani and his followers, the signing of the New York Accord at the end of 1988 came as a severe setback to their plans and left them with a cause that was becoming increasingly difficult to execute successfully. This research will show that as a result of these developments and the changes that were taking place in the Soviet Union particularly with regards to Soviet Third World policy, the military hardliners in the ANC-SACP alliance and Umkhonto were increasingly forced to take a backseat to the views and activities of more moderate leaders such as Thabo Mbeki, who was the ANC's Chief of Foreign Affairs. In view of the above this study will show that the SACP since the early 1970'S has taken steadily control of the ANC and the liberation struggle in South Africa and that by the end of the 1980'S Umkhonto was more a fief of the SACP and its Central Committee than of the ANC and its National Executive Committee, which had a clear majority of communist members by 1988. Although some major developments have taken place since the signing of the New York Accord in December 1988, such as the unbanning of the ANC, the SACP and Umkhonto and the release of many political prisoners, these events and developments falls outside the scope of this study and are dealt with in the postscript. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Historical and Heritage Studies / unrestricted

Background: The vertical transmission of HIV from mother to child ranges from 15 to 40%. The preventing mothers to child transmission programme (PMTCT) services have been introduced during the past five years in South Africa; however vertical transmission of HIV remains high. Objectives: The objectives of the study were: 1. To describe the clinical and demographic characteristics of women attending the ANC clinic and delivering at the Germiston Hospital; 2. To determine the proportion of women who were offered voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) in 2004; 3. To determine the proportion of women who subsequently received PMTCT. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study I which a sample of 776 patient files were retrospectively, systematically and randomly sampled from 1, 500 antenatal files for the period 2004 (Jan-Dec), in an urban district hospital in the Gauteng Province. A checklist was used to extract specific information. Data was entered into EpiData and analysed using STATA version 8. Pearson's chi-square test was used to obtain measures of association for all categorical variables. The multiple logistic regression method was used to investigate predictors for missed PMTCT opportunities. Results: The pre_yalence proportion of syphilis was 14.19% {95%CI (11.81-16.85)}; prevalence proportion ofHIV was 33.76% {95% CI (27.53-37.13)}. The mean age ofthe sample population was 26.37 years (min=22, max=30). Forty eight per cent of the sample had registered late in the third trimester of pregnancy. Pregnant women presenting with syphilis were more likely to have a missed PMTCT opportunity {OR=2.2, 95%CI (1.16- 4.20), p=0.02}. Women having made fewer than two ANC visits were more likely to have a missed PMTCT/VCT opportunity than women having made more than two visits {OR=O.Sl, 95%CI (0.30-0.86), p=O.Ol}. Conclusions: The prevalence proportion of HIV is high in this setting (33%) and the prevalence of syphilis is seven times greater than the national prevalence. Every antenatal care visit is an opportunity for the healthcare worker to offer voluntary counselling and testing. All women identified as having syphilis infection are at high risk of acquiring HIV. Therefore every woman identified and treated for syphilis should be counselled and tested for HIV. Women must be offered HIV and AIDS education at every ANC visit. Routine opt-out counselling should be offered at every ANC visit for those who have not been previously tested. Recommendation: In order to increase the uptake of the PMTCT programme healthcare workers should have training and re-orientation on: 1. The need to use every opportunity in antenatal care and maternity wards to offer HIV counselling and testing to mothers; 2. HIV and AIDS in pregnancy, PMTCT, as well as the treatment and care of pregnant women. / Dissertation (MPH)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH) / MPH / Unrestricted

La imagen social de una profesión en gran medida es construida por la forma en que es expuesta y divulgada por los medios de comunicación ante la sociedad, mostrando la coyuntura del ejercicio profesional, así como, artículos estereotipados, distorsionados y poco acertados a la realidad. Por todo ello, surge la presente investigación cualitativa, la cual tuvo por objetivo caracterizar, analizar y discutir los elementos que determinan la construcción de la imagen social de la profesión en enfermería, a través de la prensa escrita, en la ciudad de Chimbote-Perú. Tiene como marco referencial y metodológico la teoría de la representación social según Serge Moscovici (1961) y Denize Jodelet (2003), desde la perspectiva procesual. Se analizaron treinta artículos de tres periódicos de mayor circulación del ámbito nacional, regional y local (el comercio, el trome y El diario de Chimbote). Se asumió como instrumentos una guía de examen de periódico y una guía iconográfica. El tratamiento de los datos se realizó a través del análisis documental e iconográfico, considerando dos grandes categorías: transformación histórico-social de la imagen de la profesión de enfermería; y (Re) surgimiento de una imagen socio-política y laboral de la Enfermería. De acuerdo a lo analizado, se evidencia que la representación social de la profesión de enfermería se construye a partir del dinamismo e interacción de los grupos editoriales y columnistas, de acuerdo a la representación que ellos tienen de la realidad sanitaria y de los mismos profesionales de enfermería. Esta representación está fuertemente cargada a un contexto de imagen tradicional y hegemónica del sector.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This dissertation takes Chris Hani beyond the conventionally biographic by thinking through his multiple lives and deaths and engaging with his legacy in ways that cannot be contained by singular, linear narratives. By doing so, I offer alternative routes through which to understand historical change, political struggle and subjectivity, as well as biographical and historical production as a conflicted and contested terrain. I attend to these conflicting narratives not as a means through which to reconcile the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sides of history, struggle, or the political subject. Nor do I sacrifice either to what Frederick Jameson has referred to as a dialectical impasse: a “conventional opposition, in which one turns out to be more defective than the other”, and through which “only one genuine opposite exists… [therefore sharing] the sorry fate of evil… reduced to mere reflection.”1 Instead I place contested narratives about Hani and the anti-apartheid struggle into conversation with one another, and treat them as “equally integral component[s]”2 of the life and legacy of Hani. This I argue, provides fertile ground through which to rethink the lives and times of Martin Thembisile ‘Chris’ Hani, and the political subject more generally. Through a study that focuses on performance and memorialisation, violence, revolution, and spectrality, this dissertation also engages with a number of issues surrounding Hani’s assassination, the transitional period in southern Africa, justice, armed struggle, and the work of mourning in a postapartheid society. It begins by revealing the contested ways in which Hani’s legacy was produced during the anti-apartheid struggle, and how it was contained and acted out in the immediate aftermath of his assassination. This study then goes on to trace how the postapartheid state’s narrative about the struggle against apartheid, has been challenged and undermined, and how differing modes of narrative emplotment have shaped the ways in which we understand this period. Critically, I argue that the operative and contested qualities of historical production mean that Hani’s revolutionary legacy is always already uncontainable. As such this type of legacy and politics haunts the ANC’s postapartheid project and, to paraphrase Jameson, makes the present waver like a mirage on the landscape of postapartheid South Africa.3 Within this framework I ask if rumour and conspiracy surrounding Hani’s assassination merely represent a yearning for ‘truth’, or if these have become a means through which the nation comes to terms with the violence that remains in the wake of apartheid and colonialism, and to call on activists like Hani to judge and denounce capitalism, state violence, corruption, and exploitation. Rather than attempting to reveal the truth of his assassination and political legacy, I end by asking what possibilities might be opened up when we dwell upon the uncertainty and plurality of Hani’s lives and deaths and take seriously the continued presence of Hani and the spectralities that remain. I do so in order to work against the monumental projects of nationalism and the nation-state, and to keep open our horizon of expectation in the face of what David Scott has called the ‘stalled present’ of postcolonial and postsocialist worlds.4

Active control of sound and vibration fields has become an strong area of research over the past few decades. In regards to the active control of acoustic radiation from vibration fields, known as active structural acoustic control (ASAC), there have been many different methods employed to understand structural and acoustic relationships and to control vibrations to limit the acoustic radiation. With active sound field control, sensors, usually microphones, need to be dispersed in the sound field, or an array of microphones must be placed directly in the sound field which, in many cases, uses up too much space for practical applications. To remedy this, objective functions have been transferred to the structure, sensing vibrations rather than pressures. A small, integrated array of structural sensors can be placed on the structure, reducing the system's overall footprint. Acoustic energy density has become a well established objective function, which produces a more global effect using only a local measurement. Another benefit of acoustic energy density lies in the breadth of sensor placement. While acoustic energy density has proven successful in active noise control (ANC), the quantity deals with pressures, not surface vibrations. The problem with ASAC is that an objective function with the robustness of acoustic energy density does not yet exist. This thesis focuses on a structural error sensing technique that mimics the properties of acoustic energy density control in the sound field. The presented structural quantity has been termed Vcomp, as it is a composite of multiple terms associated with velocity. Both analytical and experimental results with the control of this quantity are given for a rectangular plate. The control of Vcomp is compared to other objective function including squared velocity, volume velocity and acoustic energy density. In the analytical cases, the benefits include: control at higher structural modes, control largely independent of sensor location, and need for only a single point measurement of squared Vcomp with a compact sensor. The control at higher frequencies can be explained by the control of multiple acoustic radiation modes. Experimental results offer some validity to the analytical benefits but alternate sensing techniques need to be investigates to more fully validate these benefits.

Noise from information technology (IT) equipment is a significant problem in today's modern society. Active Noise Control (ANC) has shown promise in reducing the effect of IT fan noise on users. Though ANC has been applied to axial fans (such as those found in desktop computers), it has not been applied to centrifugal fans, such as those found in laptop computers. This work applies an ANC method to a centrifugal fan mounted in a mock laptop enclosure. This method is applied in four steps. First, secondary sources are placed in the vicinity of the fan. Second, an accurate model of the radiation from the fan and secondary sources is constructed. Third, the total power radiated from this system is minimized. This creates nodal lines in the vicinity of the fan. Fourth, ANC error sensors are placed on the nodal lines predicted by the model. This creates these nodal lines experimentally, thus creating the minimum power condition. The noise from the exhaust and inlets of the fan will first be controlled individually. Then the method will be applied to the combined system. Global sound power radiation will be measured in all cases.

No description available.

No description available.

PURPOSE: The main aim of this study was to systematically assess the factors that influence maternal health care services utilization by women in Awash Fentale woreda (district), Ethiopia. DESIGN: A quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional design was selected as the methodology for this study. METHOD: Data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to 422 women aged 15 to 49 years through a stratified sampling technique. Data was entered, analyzed and interpreted using SPSS computer program. Binary logistic regression model was used to identify the factors that influence maternal health care services utilization. RESULTS: The findings of this research indicated that not attending school, not watching television, and not owning a Bajaj (three-tire motorbike) significantly influenced low utilization of antenatal care (ANC) visits, while exposure to media, including reading newspapers, was positively associated with the adequacy of ANC visits. Similarly, factors such as not attending school and not watching television at all influenced delivery care (DC) services utilization negatively, while husbands’ low income and not watching television at all were negatively associated with postnatal care (PNC) service utilization. This research study found that 80 (19%) of the respondents preferred to give birth at home and the remaining 342 (81%) preferred a health facility for their delivery services. In addition, 43% of the respondents were not satisfied with the care and attention given by the health care provider and approximately 52% of the respondents were not satisfied with the cleanliness of the health facilities. It was also illustrated in this study that family members’ influence was one of the major barriers identified for DC services utilization. Conclusion: Policy making, planning, and implementation should focus on factors that influence maternal health care services utilization and barriers to DC services. In order to increase the utilization of maternal health care services by women with low levels of educational status, husbands ’low income or wealth quintile, and low media exposure, strategies were developed by the researcher. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)