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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
41

A genre-theoretic analysis of texts of government speeches in Sepedi

Pole, Tlou Gilbert 03 1900 (has links)
Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study assumes the theoretical framework of text construction as advanced by Grabe and Kaplan (1996) for the analysis of Sepedi texts of government speeches from the magazine: ANC TODAY. The theory that is used in this study invokes the linguistic elements that can be used by both the teachers and learners to critically analyse texts in classrooms. This genre-theoretic approach is employed as framework, for analysing the linguistic, rhetorical and discourse properties for Sepedi texts. It also addresses the parameters of the ethnography of writing advanced by Grabe and Kaplan: "who writes what to whom, for what purpose, why, when and how?' The text construction analysis executed in the study enable the learners to acquire skills, knowledge and values of outcomes-based language teaching. The information structuring of text analysis and construction enables learners to write, read and use language structure and conventions for learning and career pathways. The textlinguistic strategies for analysing written texts in language teaching enables learners to analyse texts successfully and gain an awareness of language use in texts. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie aanvaar die teoretiese raamwerk van tekskonstruksie soos voorgestaan deur Grabe en Kaplan (1996) in die analise van Sepedi tekste van regeringstoesprake uit die tydskrif ANC TODAY. Die teorie wat aanvaar word, gebruik die linguistiese elemente wat aangewend kan word deur taalonderwysers sowel as taalleerders om tekste krities te ontleed. Die genre-teoretiese benadering word ingespan as raamwerk vir die analise van die linguistiese, retoriese, en diskoerskenmerke van Sepedi tekste. Dit spreek ook die etnografie van skryf, soos voorgestaan deur Grabe en Kaplan, aan: wie skryf wat aan wie, vir watter doel, wanneer, waarom, en hoe. Die tekskonstruksie analise uitgevoer in hierdie studie stel leerders in staat om vaardighede, kennis en waardighede van uitkoms-gebaseerde taalonderrig te verwerf. Die informasie strukturering in teksanalise stel leerders in staat om te lees, skryf en praat in hulle toekomstige beroepe. Die tekslinguistiese strategieë vir die analise van geskrewe tekste in taalonderrig stel leerders in staat om tekste suksesvol te ontleed en 'n bewussyn te ontwikkel van taalgebruik in tekste.
42

Active Noise Control in Forest Machines

Forsgren, Fredrik January 2011 (has links)
Achieving a low noise level is of great interest to the forest machine industry. Traditionally this is obtained by using passive noise reduction, i.e. by using materials for sound isolation and sound absorption. Especially designs to attenuate low frequency noise tend to be bulky and impractical from an installation point of view. An alternative solution to the problem is to use active noise control (ANC). The basic principle of ANC is to generate an anti-noise signal designed to destructively interfere with the unwanted noise. In this thesis two algorithms (Feedback FxLMS and Feedforward FxLMS) are implemented and evaluated for use in the ANC-system. The ANC-system is tuned to the specific environment in the driver’s cabin of a Komatsu forest machine. The algorithms are first tested in a simulated environment and then in real-time inside a forest machine. Simulations are made both in Matlab and in C using both generated signals and recorded signals. The C code is implemented on the Analog Devices Blackfin DSP card BF526. The result showed a significantly reduction of the sound pressure level (SPL) in the driver’s cabin. The noise attenuation obtained using the Feedback FxLMS was approximately 14 dB for a tonal 100 Hz signal and 11 dB using recorded engine noise from a forest machine at 850 rpm.
43

Design And Implementation Of A Dsp Based Active Noise Controler For Headsets

Tokatli, Ahmet 01 September 2004 (has links) (PDF)
The design of a battery-powered, portable headphone active noise control system with TI TMS320C5416 DSP is described. The preliminary implementation of the system on a C5416 DSK is also explained. The problems of fixed-point implementation are described and solutions are proposed. Sign-sign Fx-LMS algorithm with a dead-zone is introduced and used as the adaptation algorithm. Effective use of dynamic range to improve the accuracy in filtering operations is discussed. Details of the designed battery-powered DSP board are given and board software development process is explained. The DSK system and designed portable system is compared against two commercially available analog systems under three different types of noises / composition of tones, drill noise and propeller plane cabin noise. The results reveal that adaptive system has better overall performance.
44

The use of language by the African National Congress in its 1999-2009 national election manifestos

Bojabotseha, Teboho Pankratius 04 1900 (has links)
Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There is more to language than just its formal structural properties and, similarly, more to language function than just its communicative and naming function. Language does not exist independent of society. As a part of society, it is used in a diversity of functions: it influences thought processes, constitutes what people perceive as reality, and produces, reproduces and denies prejudices. It is in pursuit of its ideological function that language plays a significant role in the establishment and maintenance of systematically asymmetrical power relations. This study focuses on the role that language plays in efforts to position the African National Congress (ANC) as more fit to govern than other political parties in South Africa. Adopting a qualitative research strategy, the study provides an analysis of the discourse that is constructed in the ANC’s 1999, 2004 and 2009 national election manifestos. The analysis is presented within the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and is performed in terms of linguistic devices, techniques and strategies such as genre and its sequential structure, pronouns, contrasting expressions, intertextuality, grounding and elision, statistics and numerical figures, and discourse. It is demonstrated that the three election manifestos are situated within a specific socio-economic and political context defined by poverty, unemployment and inequality, which are rooted in the South African history of colonialism and race-based capitalism. The texts draw from resources of the genre of manifesto and show common structural features. It is shown that ambiguous pronouns are used to build up affinities between the ANC and the reader/listener with respect to the achievements of the ANC-led government, what work still needs to be done, and to position the ANC’s vision as one that is generally shared by the people. Contrasting expressions are used to disparage the apartheid system and to extol the post-1994 democratic system. In all three texts the ANC is foregrounded as the organization which not only brought freedom to South Africa, but which in fact led the struggle for freedom and change. At the same time, there is an omission of other political organizations and the role they played in this struggle. It is also demonstrated that the three texts constituted by elements of other texts such as the Freedom Charter (1955), the Reconstruction and Development Programme (1994) and the Constitution (1996) use statistics and figures to bestow the ANC with a systematic and scientific gravitas. Lastly, the three manifestos reflect a discourse of “complete” or “total” freedom, which is inclusive of the social, economic and political aspects of the reality of South Africans’ lives. It is argued that these linguistic devices, techniques and strategies are used in the 1999, 2004 and 2009 national election manifestos to position the ANC as more fit to govern South Africa than other political parties. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Taal behels meer as net formele strukturele eienskappe, en die funksies van taal behels eweneens meer as net benaming en kommunikasie. Taal bestaan nie onafhanklik van die gemeenskap nie. As ’n deel van die gemeenskap, word taal in ’n verskeidenheid funksies gebruik: dit beïnvloed denkprosesse, bepaal wat mense beskou as die werklikheid, en dien om vooroordele te skep, te verhoog en te ontken. Dit is in die uitoefening van sy ideologiese funksie dat taal ’n beduidende rol speel in die vestiging en handhawing van sistematies asimmetriese magsverhoudings. Hierdie studie fokus op die rol wat taal speel in pogings om die African National Congress (ANC) te posisioneer as meer geskik om te regeer as ander politieke partye in Suid-Afrika. Met ’n kwalitatiewe navorsingstrategie as uitgangspunt, bied die studie ’n analise van die diskoers wat gekonstrueer word in die ANC se onderskeie manifeste vir die 1999, 2004 en 2009 nasionale verkiesings. Die analise word aangebied binne die raamwerk van Kritiese Diskoersanalise (“Critical Discourse Analysis”) en word uitgevoer in terme van taalkundige meganismes, tegnieke en strategieë soos genre and sy sekwensiële struktuur, voornaamwoorde, teenstellende uitdrukkings, intertekstualiteit, opstelling en weglating (“grounding and elision”), statistieke en getalle, en diskoers. Daar word aangetoon dat die drie verkiesingsmanifeste ingebed is in ’n spesifieke sosio-ekonomiese en politieke konteks van armoede, werkloosheid en ongelykheid, wat gegrond is in die Suid-Afrikaanse geskiedenis van kolonialisme en rasgebaseerde kapitalisme. Die tekste benut die middele van die manifes-genre en vertoon gemeenskaplike strukturele kenmerke. Daar word aangetoon hoe dubbelsinnige voornaam-woorde gebruik word om ’n affiniteit tussen die ANC en die leser/hoorder tot stand te bring ten opsigte van die ANC-regering se prestasies, die werk wat nog gedoen moet word, en ook om die ANC se visie voor te hou as een wat algemeen deur die mense gedeel word. Teenstellende uitdrukkings word gebruik om die apartheidstelsel te verdoem en die post-1994 demokratiese stelsel op te hemel. In al drie tekste word die ANC vooropgestel as die organisasie wat nie net vryheid na Suid-Afrika gebring het nie, maar wat in feite die stryd om vryheid en verandering gelei het. Terselfdertyd word geen melding gemaak van ander politieke organisasies en die rol wat hulle in dié stryd gespeel het nie. Daar word ook aangetoon dat die drie tekste wat verskeie elemente insluit van ander tekste soos die Freedom Charter (1955), die Heropbou- en Ontwikkelingsprogram (“Reconstruction and Development Programme”, 1994) en die Grondwet (1996) gebruik maak van statistieke en getalle om die ANC te bedeel met ’n sistematiese en wetenskaplike gravitas. Die drie manifeste vertoon, laastens, ’n diskoers van “totale” of “volledige” vryheid, wat die sosiale, ekonomiese en politieke aspekte van die werklikheid van Suid-Afrikaners se lewens omvat Daar word geargumenteer dat dié taalkundige meganismes, tegnieke en strategieë in die 1999, 2004 en 2009 verkiesingsmanifeste gebruik word om die ANC te posisioneer as meer geskik om te regeer as ander politieke partye.
45

An exploration of male participation in a PMTCT programme in West Itam, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Ijezie, Echey January 2017 (has links)
Magister Public Health - MPH / Since the introduction in 2005 of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services in Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria the PMTCT programme has faced several challenges including that of poor male participation in the PMTCT programme. To date no research has focused on the issue of male participation in PMTCT programmes in Akwa Ibom State, and there is thus a limited understanding of why so few male partners of HIVpositive pregnant women participate in the State's PMTCT programme. It is therefore important to explore the factors affecting male involvement in PMTCT programmes in Akwa Ibom State, so that strategies can be put in place to help improve the overall health of their families and themselves. The overall aim of the study was thus to explore the factors affecting male participation in the PMTCT programme at a primary health care center in West Itam, Akwa Ibom State, in Nigeria. This explorative study was conducted using a descriptive qualitative research approach. The research study approach helped to understand the perspectives of the male partners of HIV positive pregnant women who received the PMTCT intervention, as well as key informants in the Primary Health Care (PHC) facility where these PMTCT services are offered. The study population consisted of all males living within the catchment area of the West Itam PHC, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. In the research study, 11 men were purposively sampled: five of whom were the partners of HIV-positive women who had attended, or were currently attending the PMTCT services at the West Itam PHC with their partner. The other six interviewees were local male community members – who would be eligible to potentially accompany their partner to PMTCT services at the facility. The data was collected through individual, in-depth interviews with the male partners and community members using a semi-structured interview guide. One focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted with key personnel working in the West Itam PHC using a semistructured interview guide. All interviews and the FGD were tape-recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Ethical approval was first obtained from the UWC Research Ethics Committee and the Ethics Committee of the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Health before proceeding with the study. From this study, it is suggested that most of the respondents knew that PMTCT services are offered at the PHC West Itam. They knew their partner's next antenatal appointment, but only very few accompany their pregnant partners to the antenatal clinic. The striking reason being a lack of time/being busy. The key means of support of the partners' antenatal visits was giving their pregnant partners money for transport, and money for food/snacks (at the clinic). Inter-spousal communication was found to be good, and there appeared to be a perception by the men that antenatal clinic (ANC)/PMTCT is not only for women, with most of the men agreeing that it is useful for men to participate in PMTCT. The barriers to male participation in the PMTCT programme that were elicited in this study include lack of belief about HIV/AIDS and lack of awareness about PMTCT and the perception of PMTCT as a "women's affair". Another barrier to male participation in the PMTCT programme was the men being busy with their jobs/lack of time, and fear. Facility-based barriers include delays/time wasting at the clinic, and the nurses, who were identified as having an unaccommodating attitude towards the clients. Finally, the fact that the nurses and counsellors at the PHC West Itam were all female was a problem for men. It is recommended that there is need for advocacy and education to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, and encourage male participation in PMTCT. It is also important to encourage the disclosure of HIV status by the women to their male partners. Furthermore, a separate male counselling unit needs to be created, as well as ensuring the employment of male nurses and counsellors. Additionally, the female nurses at the facility need to be trained/re-trained on proper attitude and confidentiality, and efforts must be made to avoid delays at the clinic.
46

The interface between public administration and alliance politics the ANC-SACP-COSATU dialogue in South Africa

Cedras, Jody P. January 2013 (has links)
After three hundred and forty-two years of colonialism and apartheid, South Africans of all walks of life experienced their first democratic elections in 1994. Now, as the country is at the precipice of the 5th democratic elections, it has known no government other than the African National Congress (ANC). The ANC has had landslide victories at the ballot box and always managed to secure an electoral vote of around 66%. These victories have not been by accident and have been carefully managed through an Alliance Pact with the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). The nature of the Alliance has infiltrated and influenced the character of contemporary South African public administration. This study postulates vigorously that an alliance is not a coalition, but rather a partnership of ideological semblance and political decorum. This is most significantly expressed through the National Democratic Revolution (NDR). The study further elucidates the notion that the NDR remains the main political artery of the ANC and is seminal in the policy debates and critical platforms for each of the Alliance Partners. The study affirms that irrespective of this convergence of ideology, there is periodic divergence on the leadership role of the ANC viz a viz that of the Alliance as the strategic centre for policy and governance issues. However, the ANC has over the years successfully challenged this assertion and through practice, led the Alliance in a politically driven manner that is predicated on consultation, due diligence and functional purpose. However, any member of the SACP or COSATU who desires to be part of parliament or the executive is required to be a member of the ANC. This, the study asserts, is the new formation of a political partnership. The study adumbrates that the SACP (even though it is registered as a political party with the Independent Electoral Commission) and COSATU do not contest elections separately. As part of the agreement, only the ANC contests elections and as such leads the Alliance. While COSATU and the SACP provide advice through Alliance structures on the deployment of cadres in the public service, the deployment committee is an ANC structure and the final decisions in regard to deployment resides with the ANC. This study has reinterpreted the dialogue within the Tripartite Alliance and how this has moulded the political nomenclature of the ANC, and the solidified impact on the way in which public administration is affected and effected in South Africa and vice versa. The study presents with equanimity how the practice, for example, of dual membership of two political organisations (ANC and SACP) enriches the public service and the policy-making process in a developmental state. It furthermore points to the imperative for a clear underlying ideology (as provided for through the NDR) and certainty as to who leads in such an arrangement. This study finds that it is through the Alliance structures that individual leaders within the Governing Party (ANC) are held to account for their actions – and after a hundred years of existence, the ANC and Alliance structures have managed to address the challenges of time, the pressures of political stress and the coalition of a “broad-based political church”. The logic of maintaining this political marriage and developmental triangulation, and also interpreting the essence of consolidating party manifestos to its membership, and further to preserving democratic principles, while at the same time translating this into the action of good governance in South Africa, is complex, yet manageable. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / am2013 / School of Public Management and Administration / unrestricted
47

Chemical compositions and leaching behaviour of some South African fly ashe

Fatoba, Ojo Olanrewaju January 2008 (has links)
>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Fly ash is the most abundant of the waste materials generated from coal combustion in coal-fired power stations. South Africa uses more than 100 million tonnes of low grade bituminous coal annually to produce cheap electricity thereby generating huge amounts of fly ash each year. The disposal of fly ash has been a major concern to the world because of its potential environmental impact due to the possible leaching of the toxic elements contained in fly ash. This study centres on the chemical characterization and leaching behaviour of the fly ashes generated from SASOL Synfuels and ESKOM power station at Secunda and Tutuka in South Africa respectively. The aim is to understand the composition of the fly ashes and to determine the leachability of species from the ashes in order to predict the environmental effect of the different ash handling system of the coalfired stations (wet disposal system in Secunda and dry disposal system in Tutuka). Several leaching methods were employed in this study in order to develop a methodology for evaluating and modelling ash system and were able to discriminate between ash types and model ash handling system. Fly ashes from the two South African coal-fired stations were subjected to total acid-digestion and XRF analyses in order to determine the total amounts of major and minor species contained in the fly ashes. The total acid-digestion test and the XRF analysis revealed that the major species such as Al, Si, Ca, Na, Mg, K, Sr, Ba and S04, and minor species such as Fe, Ti, V, Mn, Cr, Ni and Cu were present in both fly ashes in fairly similar concentrations. The mineralogical characterization by XRD of Secunda and Tutuka fly ashes revealed mullite and quartz as the major mineral phases with minor peaks of CaO and calcite. Several leaching tests and different leaching conditions were employed in this study in order to develop a standardized replicable methodology for environmental impact assessment and for modelling the impact of different ash handling scenarios. The fly ashes were exposed to these different leaf leachant of different pHs on the leachability of species from the fly ashes. To achieve this, DIN-S4, TCLP and ANC tests were employed. The natural pH of the fly ash leachates were very high ranging between 12.56 and 13.08. The DIN-S4 leaching test revealed that the easily soluble species of the fly ashes include Ca, Mg, Na, K and S04 and various toxic elements. The leachates from the TCLP test recorded higher concentrations of Ca, Mg, Na, K and S04 which was attributed to the slight decrease in the pH due to the addition of a acidic leachant with a pH of 2.88. Comparison of the amount leached (DIN-S4) from the fly ashes with the total concentrations of each of the components of the fly ashes (determined by the total acid-digestion), the percentage of each of the readily soluble species ranged from 15-24.23% for Ca, 0.23-0.45% for K, 0.58-0.82% for Na, 0.0047-0.007% for Mg, 0.96-3.33% for Ba and 0.012-1.51 % for S04 per dry mass of each component in the fly ash. The ANC test revealed the effect of a leachant of specified pH on the release of species from the fly ashes with concentrations of the major and minor species leached out of the fly ashes found to be higher than the concentrations released into the leachates when DIN-S4 and TCLP test were considered at specific pH and showed the pH dependence of the solubility and release of species. These tests also showed the effect of the liquid to solid ratio upon leachability of species. In addition to the batch leaching tests mentioned above, dissolution kinetics and up-flow percolation tests were carried out on the fly ashes to determine the leaching behaviours of the fly ashes over time and the factors controlling the release of species from the fly ashes in the long term. The dissolution kinetics test was done for an extended period of 60 days with recycle of the leachant and the up-flow percolation test was carried out with constant leachant renewal until a liquid/solid ratio of 20 was attained (:::::;9d0ays). The geochemical computer code PHREEQC and MINTEQ database was used for geochemical modelling of the leachates at various reaction times and LIS ratios. The geochemical modelling results revealed that the release of the species from the fly ashes is controlled by the solubility of mineral phases in many case except for Na. The release of Ca, S04, Mg, Ba and Sr in the leachates of the fly ashes were predicted to be controlled by portlandite, gypsum, brucite, barite and celestite respectively while birnessite, magnetite, BaCr04, CaMo04 and Ba(As04h were predicted to be the mineral phases controlling the release of Mn, Fe, Cr, Mo and As respectively. The pH of the leachates plays a significant role in the leaching of both major and minor species from the fly ashes. The concentrations of species leached into solution at low pH (ANC and TCLP) were higher than the concentrations released at high pH (DIN-S4, dissolution kinetics and up-flow percolation tests). The amounts of the toxic elements such as As, Se, Cd, Cr and Pb that leached out of the fly ashes when in contact with demineralized water (DIN-S4) were very low and below the target water quality range (TWQR) of South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), but the amounts of As and Se leached out by acidic leachant applied in the TCLP test and at lower pH ranging between 8 and 10 the case of the ANC test were slightly higher than the TWQR, which is an indication that the pH of the leaching solution and the contact time playa significant role on the leaching of species out of the fly ashes. This study revealed that the leaching of species from the fly ashes depends on various factors which include: physical and chemical characteristics and mineralogical composition of the fly ashes, the total concentrations of species in the ash, the rate of flow through the ash system and more importantly the pH of the leachant to which the ash system is exposed to. The results of different experiments and analysis carried out on the two South African fly ashes (Secunda and Tutuka fly ashes) showed that, despite the high concentrations of soluble species or leachable elements in the fly ashes, the leaching of major, minor and trace elements into the soils and the groundwater could be minimized if certain conditions such as avoiding acidic precipitation that could reduce the pH of the ash system are adhered to. The leaching trends of the species and the geochemical modelling data also showed that the formation of secondary mineral phases could reduce the release of toxic elements, the release of which would require aggressive low pH leachants, high flow rate, high recharge and long-term leaching for the dissolution of the formed mineral phases. In conclusion, the combination of the leaching tests employed in this study gives information on the leaching behaviour of the Secunda and Tutuka fly ashes and the factors controlling the leaching of the elements from the fly ashes. This study has been able to show that elements are leached out of the fly ashes at both alkaline and acidic pH. It is also revealed in the study that the disposal techniques employed by the coal-fired stations which were simulated by using the dissolution kinetics and up-flow percolation tests are adequate methods for modelling of the ash disposal scenario. These two methods show that the dry disposal system at Tutuka will encourage equilibration of the ash/water system thereby facilitating the precipitation of mineral phases that could control the release of both major and minor species from the fly ash, whereas the wet ashing system at Secunda may expose the ash to sufficient flow to rapidly leach species out into the environment.
48

An economic analysis of maternal health care in Zambia

Chama-Chiliba, Chitalu Miriam January 2013 (has links)
This thesis investigates the utilisation of maternal health care in Zambia, where despite being a signatory to the Safe Motherhood Initiative and Millennium Development Goals, which are aimed at improving maternal health, indicators of maternal health continue to perform poorly. The need to understand crucial factors in improving maternal health motivated the current research, especially since there is a dearth of literature in this area in Zambia. The thesis focuses on two aspects of maternal health care: antenatal care (ANC) and facility-based deliveries, to answer two broad questions. Firstly, what factors determine the use of ANC in Zambia? Secondly, to what extent has the abolition of user fees affected facility-based deliveries? An assessment of the factors, which explain the utilisation of ANC in Zambia, using three sets of comparable datasets reveals that, while there are differences in the factors explaining the decision to use ANC and the frequency of visits over time, the decision to seek ANC and the frequency of use is low among the poor and less educated, and there are marked regional differences in utilisation. The most appropriate econometric specification for antenatal visits, according to different performance indicators, was the two-part model, which differs from recent research favouring more complex methodologies. The analysis is further extended through the inclusion of supply-side factors and the examination of individual and community level factors associated with inadequate and non-use of ANC, following the adoption of the focused ANC approach in Zambia. To incorporate the supply side factors, the 2007 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey was linked to administrative and health facility census data using geo-referenced data. To assess the factors associated with (1) the inadequate use of ANC (defined as three or less visits), and (2) the non-use of ANC in the first trimester of pregnancy, we specify two multilevel logistic models. At the individual level, the woman’s employment status, quality of ANC received and the husband’s educational attainment are negatively associated, while parity, the household childcare burden and wealth are positively associated with inadequate utilisation of ANC. Both individual and community level characteristics influence inadequate use and non-use of ANC in the first trimester; however, community level factors are relatively stronger in rural areas. Although ANC is an important facet of maternal care, it occurs before delivery, but does not necessarily provide much information with respect to delivery decisions. Therefore, the thesis investigates delivery decisions, as well, in particular, the effect of user fee removal in rural areas of Zambia on facility-based deliveries. To account for regional differences, we employ a Seemingly Unrelated Regression model incorporating an Interrupted Time Series design. The analysis uses quarterly longitudinal data covering 2003q1-2008q4. When unobserved heterogeneity, spatial dependence and quantitative supply-side factors are controlled for, user fee removal is found to immediately increase aggregate facility-based deliveries, although the national trend was unaffected. Drug availability and the presence of traditional birth attendants also influence facility-based deliveries at the national level, such that, in the short-term, strengthening and improving community-based interventions could increase facility-based deliveries. However, there is significant variation and spatial dependence masked in the aggregate analysis. The results highlight the importance of service quality in promoting facility-based deliveries, and also suggest that social and cultural factors, especially in rural areas, influence the use of health facilities for delivery. These factors are not easily addressed, through an adjustment to the cost of delivery in health facilities. Additionally, we analyse the effect of user fee abolition on the location of childbirth, focussing on deliveries that occur in public health facilities using household survey data. To elicit the causal relationship, we exploit the relative change in fees across health districts within a difference-in-differences framework. Surprisingly, although reductions in home deliveries were observed, as expected, reductions in public health facility-based deliveries were also uncovered, along with increases in deliveries at private health facilities. However, these findings were statistically insignificant; suggesting that the abolition of user fees had little, if any, impact on the choice of location for childbirth. The statistically insignificant, but unexpected, causal effects further suggest that the removal of user fees have unintended consequences, possibly the transference of facility costs to the client, which would deter the utilisation of delivery services. Therefore, abolishing user fees, alone, may not be sufficient to affect changes in outcomes; instead, other efforts, such as improving service quality, could have a greater impact. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Economics / unrestricted
49

Re-humanisation, history and a forensic aesthetic: Understanding a politics of the dead in the figuring of Ntombikayise Priscilla Kubheka

Luthuli, Vuyokazi January 2021 (has links)
Magister Artium - MA / In 1987 Ntombikayise Priscilla Kubheka was abducted, tortured, killed and her body dumped by apartheid security police. She was an uMkhonto WeSizwe (MK), the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC), commander based in Durban and was in charge of weaponry storage and organised safe houses for those returning from exile. Amnesty applications and perpetrator testimony given at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) amnesty hearings alleged that Kubheka had died, while being interrogated, from a heart attack. The perpetrators claimed the heart attack was possibly as a result of Kubheka being overweight. In 1997 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) exhumed skeletal remains and items of clothing, including a floral dress, from a pauper grave in Charlottedale cemetery, Groutville. The exhumed skull indicated a bullet wound. The post-mortem and numerous forensic examinations confirmed the identification of the skeletal remains to be those of Kubheka. The forensic examinations of the items of clothing confirmed the findings of the skeletal examinations in establishing identification. These forensic examinations and its findings contested testimony given by the perpetrators. Through the TRC investigations and its findings, a question of what it may mean to re-humanise the once missing emerges. This mini-thesis underscores a notion of re-humanisation through the work of the TRC in its investigation into the enforced disappearance of Kubheka. It suggests that figuring Kubheka through a notion of re-humanisation in the context of the TRC requires one to understand both de-humanisation and re-humanisation and the ways in which gender complicates these understandings. It does so by examining testimonies, t he exhumation, the forensic examinations, the emergence of a forensic aesthetic and the productions of biographies and forensic memory to understand how these might be processes and strategies of re-humanisation. This mini-thesis then is a forensic history that navigates a politics of the dead by examining the figuring of Kubheka through various fields and in various forums. In so doing, the argument presented in what follows is that the notion of re-humanisation is an inherently unstable one but at its core is a politics of the dead that misses gender it its figuring of the human. / 2023-12-01
50

Skoolbesluitneming: Pogings van in skoolhoof tot verandering. in trologie van aksienavorsingsprojekte

Jantjies, David Christian January 1994 (has links)
Magister Educationis - MEd / Hierdie studie handeloor die aanwending van 'n trilogie van aksienavorsingsprojekte in 'n skool wat daartoe gelei het dat 'n outokratiese bestuurstyl in 'n koëperatiewe skoolbestuurstelsel verander is. Gegee die feit dat skoolbesluitneming grotendeels in die persoon van die skoolhoof gesentreer was, is daadwerklike pogings aangewend om alle betrokkenes in die besluitnemingsproses by Betel Skool vir Epileptici , Kuilsrivier, te betrek. Hierdie pogings het daartoe gelei dat die skoolhoof, personeellede, die Raad van Bestuur en die ouergemeenskap gesamentlike bestuurders van die skool geword het. Die gevolglike koëperatiewe skoolbestuur en gesamentlike verantwoordelikheid vir besluitneming het duidelik in veral die betrokkenheid van bestaande personeellede in die aanstelling van nuwe personeellede by die skool gemanifesteer. Waar hierdie verantwoordelikheid voorheen slegs op die skouers van die skoolhoof en die Raad van Bestuur gerus het, is personeellede met behulp van aksienavorsing in hierdie benoemingsproses betrek en vind geen aanstelling van personeellede tans plaas sonder die insette van die huidige personeel nie. Hierdie tesis beskryf voorts hoe die skool 'n eis van die Departement van Onderwys en Kultuur (Raad van Verteenwoordigers) gehanteer het dat dertien onderwysers geïdentifiseer moet word wat op 7 Augustus 1991 aan 'n protesoptog deelgeneem het. Dié opdrag is geïgnoreer en die Departement is met 'n georkestreerde teenreaksie van die skoolhoof, die personeel en die Raad van Bestuur gekonfronteer. Aksienavorsing is weer eens aangewend om hierdie intimiderende en hooghandige opdrag van die Onderwysdepartement wat die potensiaal gehad het om die dertien onderwysers te isoleer en aan die moontlikheid van ernstige dissiplinêre stappe bloot te stel, ter syde gestel te kry Hierdie werk toon dat dit moontlik is om met behulp van aksienavorsing, fundamentele veranderings in die bestuur van In skool aan te bring, te help met die demokratisering van besluitnemingsprosesse, die verskillende betrokkenes by die skool te bemagtig en nuwe betekenis te gee aan wat in die kantoor en klaskamers van die skool plaasvind.

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