Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Rangelands in the semi-arid and arid regions of the world support livelihoods through their provision of multiple goods and services. Livestock production, for example, occurs in rangelands both as extensive ranching under freehold tenure and as collective ranching under communal tenure systems. However, the sustainability of rangelands is threatened and has been a major concern this century, leading to a variety of interventions. Holistic management (HM) is one such example, designed by its proponents as a panacea to halt degradation and, recently, climate change effects in the rangelands of Africa and beyond. HM has been implemented in the Hwange Communal Lands (HCLs) of Zimbabwe since 2010. In principle, the programme is aimed at restoring degraded watersheds and croplands through utilising properly managed livestock. To achieve this, two principles are promoted under HM, namely (i) holistic planned grazing (HPG) and (ii) animal impaction of crop fields. However, the effects of HM on the livelihoods of its beneficiaries currently are poorly understood. In order to address this lacuna, this study aimed to determine both the intended and unintended effects of a community-based land restoration programme called Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM) in the HCLs of Zimbabwe on the livelihoods of its beneficiaries through a conceptual framework that combined an actor-oriented livelihoods approach with concepts of everyday politics and resistance. This was done by exploring the impact of HLLM on the six types of farmers’ assets, adoption patterns, farmers’ reactions to the introduction of HLLM, and challenges preventing farmers from adopting HLLM. Case studies employing a qualitative and exploratory research design were undertaken in three communities that were selected purposively from a total of 18 communities in which the HLLM programme had been promoted by the Africa Centre for Holistic Management (ACHM) in order to discover different perspectives on the effects of the programme on the livelihoods of its beneficiaries. The study employed qualitative Participatory Rural Appraisal tools, focus group discussions, participant observation, document analysis, and key informant and semi-structured interviews. These lines of enquiry enabled triangulation and cross-checking of information to enhance the reliability and validity of the research findings. The study showed that adoption levels were disappointingly low across all the study sites. Several challenges, including livestock diseases, predation, cultural stigma, labour constraints and witchcraft fears, were among the barriers explaining the low rate of adoption in the HCLs. The findings reveal that the farmers were concerned more with immediate problems, especially lack of water, than with land degradation, which is the primary focus of HLLM. Thus the farmers responded by complying, accommodating and covertly resisting the ACHM’s efforts to implement HLLM in order to suit their needs, using creative everyday politics and resistance. The study concludes that, although HLLM is required in such semi-arid environments, it is not sufficient to sustain rural livelihoods in its current state. While the main focus of HLLM is to improve the natural capital (i.e. restoring degraded watersheds), it should be complemented by and aligned with the farmers’ other development priorities, especially those relating to water / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING:Weiveld in die halfdor- en dor gebiede van die wêreld ondersteun menslike lewensbestaan deur die verskaffing van ’n verskeidenheid goedere en dienste. Veeproduksie, byvoorbeeld, kom in weivelde voor as beide ekstensiewe veldbeesboerdery onder grondbesit en kollektiewe veldbeesboerdery onder gemeenskaplike eiendomsreg. Die volhoubaarheid van weiveld word egter bedreig en het in hierdie eeu ’n groot bron van kommer geword, wat gelei het tot ’n verskeidenheid ingrypings. Holistiese bestuur (Holistic management (HM)) is een van hierdie en is deur sy voorstanders ontwerp as ’n wondermiddel om degradasie, en meer onlangs die effekte van klimaatsverandering op die weivelde van Afrika en verder, stop te sit. HM is reeds sedert 2010 in die Hwange gemeenskaplike gronde (HGG’e) in Zimbabwe geïmplementeer. In beginsel is die doel van die program om gedegradeerde waterskeidings en landerye te herstel deur gebruik te maak van behoorlik bestuurde vee. Om dit te bereik word twee beginsels onder HM bevorder, naamlik (i) holisties beplande weiding (holistic planned grazing (HPG)) en (ii) dier-impaksie van landerye (animal impaction of crop fields). Die effekte van HM op die lewensbestaan van sy begunstigdes word tans egter swak begryp. Om hierdie leemte aan te spreek, was die doel van hierdie studie om die bedoelde en onbedoelde gevolge van ’n gemeenskapsgebaseerde grondherstelprogram (Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM)) in die HGG’e van Zimbabwe op die lewensbestaan van die begunstigdes te bepaal deur middel van ’n konseptuele raamwerk wat ’n akteur-georiënteerde lewensbestaansbenadering met konsepte van alledaagse politiek en weerstand gekombineer het. Dít is gedoen deur die impak van HLLM op ses soorte van bates wat boere het, hulle aannemingspatrone, boere se reaksies op die invoering van HLLM, en uitdagings wat verhoed het dat boere HLLM aanneem, te ondersoek. Gevallestudies met gebruik van ’n kwalitatiewe en verkennende navorsingsontwerp is in drie gemeenskappe onderneem wat doelbewus uit ’n totaal van 18 gemeenskappe waarin die HLLM-program deur die Africa Centre for Holistic Management (ACHM) bevorder word, geselekteer is om verskillende perspektiewe van die effekte van die program op die lewensbestaan van die begunstigdes te ontdek. Die studie het kwalitatiewe Deelnemende Landelike Takseringsgereedskap (Participatory Rural Appraisal), fokusgroepbesprekings, deelnemerwaarneming, dokument analise en sleutel-informant en semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude gebruik. Hierdie ondersoeklyne het triangulasie en kruiskontrole van die inligting moontlik gemaak, wat die betroubaarheid en geldigheid van die navorsingsbevindings verhoog het. Die studie toon dat aannemingsvlakke teleurstellend laag was in al die studieliggings. Verskeie uitdagings, insluitend veesiektes, predasie, kulturele stigma, arbeidsbeperkings en vrese vir heksery was onder die hindernisse wat die lae aannemingstempo in die HGG’e verklaar. Die bevindinge wys dat die boere meer besorgd was oor onmiddellike probleme, veral die tekort aan water, as oor grondagteruitgang, wat die vernaamste fokus van HLLM is. Die boere het dus gereageer deur instemming, aanpassing en onderlangse weerstandbieding tot die ACHM se pogings om HLLM te implementeer om sodoende hulle eie behoeftes te pas deur kreatiewe alledaagse politiek en weerstand te gebruik. Die studie kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat hoewel HLLM in sulke halfdor omgewings nodig is, dit nie in sy huidige staat voldoende is om landelike lewensbestaan te onderhou nie. Hoewel die vernaamste fokus van HLLM is om die natuurlike kapitaal te verbeter (m.a.w. deur gedegradeerde waterskeidings te herstel), moet hierdie rol gekomplementeer word deur en belyn word met die boere se ander ontwikkelingsprioriteite, veral dié wat verband hou met water.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis presents research on the emergence of sub-structure and sub-district pharmacists in Cape Town by considering their roles and related competencies, and the support required to establish them in these new positions. The research was carried out in partnership with Metro District Health Services (MDHS) and City Health. Both organisations provide services across the whole of the Cape Metro. The research took place as MDHS was dividing the Cape Town Metro District into four sub-structures, and the research is embedded in these unfolding developments. The four sub-structures were created to be closer in size to WHO health districts than the unmanageably large Metro District. Consequently, sub-structures and sub-structure pharmacists in this study should be considered equivalent to districts and district pharmacists in other settings. I used a participatory action research (PAR) approach to partner with pharmacists and managers in both organisations between 2008 and 2011. The partnership benefitted from the contextual and practice experiences of the health services stakeholders and my evolving research expertise. Including a broad stakeholder group was considered important for developing the shared learning and understanding that would translate into action and changen in the organisations. The flexible and emergent approach of PAR was considered suited to a complex health system in the midst of change. After an initiation stage, the research evolved into a series of five iterative cycles of action and reflection, each providing increasing understanding of the roles and related competencies of sub-structure and sub-district pharmacists, and their experiences as they transitioned into these new management positions in the two organisations. The research centered around two series of three interactive workshops I facilitated, attended by both pharmacists and managers, in which I contributed information from published literature and documentary reviews to the collaborative processes. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted at various stages during the research, to inform conceptualization and supplement workshops, and later on, during years three and four, to reflect on the experiences of substructure and sub-district pharmacists. The research identified five main roles each for sub-structure and sub-district pharmacists. Four of these roles are the same for each: Sub-structure (sub-district) management Planning, co-ordination and monitoring of pharmaceuticals, human resources, budget, infrastructure Information and advice Quality assurance and clinical governance But their fifth roles are different: Research, for sub-structure pharmacists. Dispensing at clinics for sub-district pharmacists. But although they look similar, there were substantial differences between sub-structure and sub-district pharmacist roles in the two organisations. Their roles were shaped by the differences in leadership and governance, as well as by the services provided by the two organisations. Sub-structure pharmacists were generally involved in strategic level management functions whilst sub-district pharmacists combined sub-district management activities with dispensing in clinics. Essentially the two cadres were working at different management and leadership levels, with sub-structure pharmacists working at middle management level and sub-district pharmacists straddling first level and middle management levels. Five competency clusters were identified for both cadres, each with several competencies. Professional pharmacy practice Health system/public health Management Leadership Personal, interpersonal and cognitive Whilst professional pharmacy practice competencies were particularly valued by substructure and sub-district managers, overall, sub-structure and sub-district pharmacists required generic management and leadership competencies. Along with the more technical management and leadership competencies, both organisations recognised the importance of viii „softer‟ competencies for pharmacists moving into these management positions. Again, although the competencies appear similar, there were differences between the roles, so that the different cadres required different competencies within these competency clusters. Transitioning into these new management positions was an emergent process, which entailed pharmacists changing form performing technical and clinical functions associated with professional pharmacy practice to co-ordinating pharmaceutical services across the substructure or sub-district. They moved from working in a pharmacy to being a member of a multi-professional team in a sub-structure or sub-district. Adjusting to these new management positions took time and was facilitated by several personal and organisational factors which varied in the two organisations. Managers and pharmacists mentioned the positive contribution of the PAR in assisting with this transition through the development of shared understanding of the DHS and the roles and functions of pharmacists working in these management positions. The research assisted with practical aspects including the development of new job descriptions. Several implications for developing competencies in sub-structure and sub-district pharmacists emerged during the research. Firstly, although competency frameworks for substructure and sub-district pharmacists are useful for selecting new staff, conducting performance appraisals and identifying learning needs, they need to be tailored for each setting. Secondly, a mixture of traditional training options, including academic qualifications and short courses, as well as innovative on-the-job support such as mentoring and coaching are required to support sub-structure and sub-district pharmacists, and other similar cadres in these positions.

This thesis is an account of the challenges people in Tyefu Location, Peddie District, and specifically in Gwabeni village, face in their attempts to manage their common pool natural resources. Taking my analytical cue from the literature which deals with the institutional dimensions of resource management in common property systems, I look at the impact of both outside influences and local dynamics on resource managing institutions at village level. I show how particular historical circumstances, including state interventions, led to the enclosure of Tyefu Location, and to the rapid increase in the population that had to be accommodated here. This placed enormous pressure on the natural resources of the area, and contributed to the emasculation of the local institutions responsible for overseeing resource management. The residents of the location adopted whatever strategies they could to ameliorate the depletion of natural resources in their villages. One 'traditional' strategy they have sought to emulate is to move their imizi (homesteads) away from areas where local resources has been exhausted. Given the finite area of land available to them, this strategy was only ever likely to be successful in the short-term. I analyse social, economic and institutional factors at village level that appear to act as disincentives to collective resource management activities. These factors include the social structure of the imizi and the socio-economic heterogeneity that exists between imizi in Gwabeni village. The varying degrees of household economic marginality that follow from this, together with the differential ownership of livestock and other possessions that decrease people's reliance on locally available natural resources, mean that the transaction costs that people would incur by contributing to collective resource management activities, differ widely. A primary cause of people's failure to engage in resource management at village level stems from the dispersion of the members of their imizi. This factor robs the village of decision makers and undermines the capacity of those left behind to make and implement resource management decisions. It results in the various members of imizi in the village having different orientations that dissipate the energy needed for collective action. It also fuels existing struggles, and creates new ones, over the meanings and uses of the term 'community'. I conclude by arguing that, in Tyefu Location, the management of natural resources is extremely difficult to co-ordinate, because such management is highly contested, undermined by differentiation among resource users, and subject to the attentions of weak village institutions that do not share a clear set of resource management objectives. / KMBT_363

The main purpose of this study is to explore and gain insight into the nature, extent and characteristics of educational supervision as implemented in the Department of Health and Welfare in the Vhembe District of the Limpopo Province. Objectives of the study were to conceptualise social work supervision with a specific focus on the educational function; to investigate the nature, extent, and characteristics of the educational function of supervision in the Vhembe District of the Limpopo Province and finally to make recommendations regarding educational supervision in the Department of Health and Welfare in the Vhembe District of the Limpopo Province. The study was guided by a research question which was formulated as follows: What is the nature, extent and characteristics of the educational function of supervision in the Department of Health and Welfare in the Vhembe District of the Limpopo Province? Therefore, this study was conducted to provide answers to this research question. Quantitative research approach was used in this study, since the researcher explored and described the nature, extent and characteristics of the educational function of supervision statistically. This research is applied in nature because it focuses on a practical problem (educational supervision) in the social work practice (Department of Health and Welfare in Vhembe District of the Limpopo Province) and the findings will be utilized to solve social work supervision problems in the particular District. A randomised cross-sectional quantitative research design was used, because the researcher investigated social work educational supervision in the Department of Health and Welfare in the Vhembe district of the Limpopo Province using a group administered questionnaire as data collection method. The population for this study was composed of social workers from the Department of Health and Welfare in the Vhembe District of the Limpopo Province. Forty- two social workers (senior and junior social workers) completed a questionnaire during a Vhembe District social workers staff meeting. Those completed questionnaires were collected immediately. Data were analysed statistically through Microsoft excel programme. Tables and Figures were used to illustrate some of the answers. From a literature study it was concluded that the educational function of supervision is the most important function of social work supervision. It plays a vital role in providing social workers with social work knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for delivering qualitative, effective and efficient social work services. Educational supervision gives social workers autonomy to function independently. The study revealed that there are problems regarding the implementation of the educational function of social work supervision in the Department of Health and Welfare in the Vhembe District of the Limpopo Province. The findings proved that some of the social workers do not receive educational supervision and there is no uniformity in implementing this function of supervision. The findings also revealed a obvious knowledge gap regarding social work supervision among social workers in the District. / Dissertation (MSD (Social Work Management))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

地方民意代表，以繼續連任為目標，對於選區的經營及選民的個案服務無不全力以赴，做好選區經營選民服務，是再次爭取選民選票支持的重要關鍵；本文以第一屆新北市65位現任議員為研究對象，透過對全體議員的問卷調查和對10位議員的深入訪談，探知他們對於選區經營選民服務的看法和作為，藉以了解地方民意代表如何服務地方服務選民的參考依據。 依問卷填答資料統計顯示，新北市議員平均聘請助理數7.40人，平均設置之服務處數2.16處，每星期選民反應請託案件數平均19.88件，每星期紅白帖平均數29.06張；以每周工作70小時計，花在議會問政25.55小時，選民服務時間39.91小時，自己事業時間4.54小時。議員為民服務最重視的項目依序是：選民個案服務、爭取選區地方建設經費、議會質詢及監督行政機關。各類型選民反應或請託案最多的是糾紛調解，其次是爭取社團、里活動經費補助和地方小型建設建議案。各不同黨籍或新科/連任議員皆盡全力做好選區經營選民服務，所以比較各項數據沒有明顯差異。 深入訪談第一部分訪談選區經營具特色及代表性議員，請議員說明其選區經營選民服務的理念和實際做法，詢問其選區特性、選民結構及選舉競爭，並了解其依個人特質所建立的選舉資源網絡。第二部分訪談市府規劃欲興建殯葬專區之選區議員，做為選區經營案例之研究，了解議員以何管道探知選民反對意向，如何發動選民陳情抗爭，如何維護選區選民權益，及利用此一議題進行選區經營的思維與策略。 / The local elected representatives go to great lengths to manage their electoral districts and to provide the best service for their votes as their main goal is to continue in office, and the key to it is to gain the voters’ support. This study will focus on the case of the 65 councilmen of the first session in New Taipei City. Through a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews with 10 of the councilmen, their viewpoints and behaviors related to their electoral district management and service are provided as to have reference to understand their ways of provided service. According to the statistical results of the questionnaire survey, the average number of assistant per New Taipei City councilman is 7.40 persons; the average number of service center is 2.16; the average number of cases of the voters for any request per week is 19.88; the average number of red/white envelopes per week is 29.06; they work 70 hours per week, for which 25.55 hours are spent in the parliament, 39.91 hours are dedicated for the voters and 4.54 hours are for their own business. The priority of tasks in importance are in the following order: voters’ cases, seeking for local infrastructure funds, questioning in the parliament, and supervision of the administrative offices. In regard to the type of the voters’ cases, the major issue consists of dispute resolution followed by the seeking of association or neighborhood subsidies and recommendations for minor establishments. The councilmen show no distinctive differences as all of them, regardless their political parties or seniority, are trying their best for good management and service for their electoral districts. As for the in-depth interview, the first part consists of the interviews with representative councilmen with features in their electoral district management. The interviewees are asked to provide their visions and practical executions for their electoral districts, and then explained the features of their electoral districts, the structure of the voters and the electoral competitions as to understand the online electoral resources established in accordance with their personal characteristics. The second part consist of interviews with the councilmen whose electrical districts contain planning funeral area by the city government as management case studies. Through the interviews, we are able to understand the councilmen’s channels to discover voters’ opposition, to mobilize voters for petition, to defend voters’ rights and to promote ideas and strategies for the electoral district management.

This research focuses on educators' experience of implementing outcomes-based education in grade nine in secondary schools in South Africa. Two schools were chosen as settings for the qualitative research project. Three focus groups with 20 educators, two focus groups with 14 managers and seven personal interviews were conducted. Twelve classrooms were also observed where grade nine learners were being taught. Findings indicated that some educators found the experience of implementing OBE positive in that it improved their repertoire of facilitating and assessing skills. The reasons for citing OBE as a negative experience were given as the following: an increased workload, poor training and lack of follow-up by the Department and the school management team's degree of involvement. Recommendations were made on how to ease the burden on educators implementing OBE in their classrooms and to empower school managers to manage the implementation of OBE within their respective areas of responsibility. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Education Management)

This research focuses on educators' experience of implementing outcomes-based education in grade nine in secondary schools in South Africa. Two schools were chosen as settings for the qualitative research project. Three focus groups with 20 educators, two focus groups with 14 managers and seven personal interviews were conducted. Twelve classrooms were also observed where grade nine learners were being taught. Findings indicated that some educators found the experience of implementing OBE positive in that it improved their repertoire of facilitating and assessing skills. The reasons for citing OBE as a negative experience were given as the following: an increased workload, poor training and lack of follow-up by the Department and the school management team's degree of involvement. Recommendations were made on how to ease the burden on educators implementing OBE in their classrooms and to empower school managers to manage the implementation of OBE within their respective areas of responsibility. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Education Management)