B.URP / Department of Urban and Regional Planning

MSCAGR / Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness / The study was premised on anticipation for the existence of small businesses that `seemed to be widespread within households in the traditional authorities of Molemole local municipality. The observation prompted the researcher to investigate two aspects related to these ventures; how these small-scale businesses and other income generating opportunities impact livelihoods of members of the communities. The study was conducted in rural communities of Molemole Local municipality of Limpopo Province. Data was collected using a structured pre-tested questionnaire from members of the community. Additional data was collected from traditional leaders of the four traditional authorities namely: Machaka, Makgato, Ramokgopa and Manthata through focus group discussions. Multi-stage clustered proportional random sampling technique was used to select the sample for this study of 150 individuals from the four traditional authorities. SPSS computer software was used to analyse data from the structured questionnaires while Likert scale was used to analyse the data collected from the focus group discussion. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the data while Binary logistics regression model was used to analyse the influence of socio economic factors on the income levels of the respondents (from both businesses and other sources). The findings of the study show that biographic characteristics proved to have a great effect/impact on how rural community members generate their livelihoods (through income generation). Most of the respondents were found to be females, and this had a positive impact on their level of income. Majority of the respondents had secondary education as their highest level of education which caused them to have limited access to external employment. Services rendered by the few small businesses were found to be unsatisfactory by the community members. Traditional leaders stated that it was important for residents in their communities to own businesses as this will provide them with good income and services to the communities. The study concluded that income did improve the livelihoods of community members. Amongst others the study recommended for increased women empowerment, educational opportunities and encouragement to communities to initiate business ventures.

An understanding of the population structure of commercially exploited species is essential for effective fisheries management. Fish stocks are typically identified based on the observation of differences in genetic and/or phenotypic characteristics between fish from discrete units. Recent deliberations on the management of the South African purse-seine sardine fishery recognises the likely existence of two stocks, one on the west and another on the south coasts, following studies that have documented spatial variability in several phenotypic characteristics of this species around South Africa. Those studies typically examined spatial variability in a single characteristic (e.g. gill raker morphology and meristics, body shape, otolith shape, vertebral count, parasite loads), but the application of multiple stock identification methods to the same individual fish has been recommended in order to maximize the likelihood of correctly inferring and identifying fish stocks. This study seeks to assess the population structure of South African sardine Sardinops sagax using a combination of stock identification methods including meristic, morphometric and parasite markers. Most of the sardine samples used in this study were obtained off the west and south coasts of South Africa during pelagic surveys conducted in 2013 and 2014 by Fisheries Branch of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, with some additional samples obtained from commercial fisheries. Fish caught from the west and south coasts are presumed to be part of the putative western and southern stocks respectively. The variables examined included body shape, gill arch length, gill raker spacing, number of gill rakers, otolith shape indices (otolith circularity and form factor), the number of vertebrae, and the abundance of a 'tetracotyle' type metacercarian parasite found in the eyes of sardine; these were first analysed individually and then collectively (excluding body shape data) in a multivariate analysis to test their effectiveness in discriminating between sardine from the putative western and southern sardine stocks. Analysis using geometric morphometrics revealed significant differences in body shape between sardine from the putative western and southern stocks. Results of GLM analyses indicated that gill arch length, the number of gill rakers, otolith form factor and circularity, and parasite abundance were effective univariate discriminators of sardine stocks. No significant difference in gill raker spacing and the number of vertebrae was found between individuals from the two stocks. A Stock Identification Index (SDI) of 0.75 derived from the univariate analyses, as well as results of the multivariate analysis of data provided strong evidence for the existence of two mixing stocks, therefore, supporting the two-stock hypothesis. The five multivariate classification models used in the study showed varying degree of allocation success. Overall classification accuracy ranged from a low 47% in the Linear Discriminant Analysis model to highs of 82% and 91% in the Classification Tree Analysis and Random Forest models, respectively. Both CTA and RF revealed the combination of variables with the strongest spatial discriminatory power to be the number of vertebrae and abundance of the 'tetracotyle' type metacercarian parasite. These results agree with those of previous studies and further support the inclusion of sardine population structure into management strategies for the purse-seine fishery for South African sardine. Given the importance of the 'tetracotyle' type metacercaria in the discrimination of South African western and southern sardine stocks, further studies were undertaken to identify and describe this parasite using light and scanning microscopy, as well as molecular tools. Such information will assist in the definitive identification of the first intermediate host of the parasite, presently hypothesized to be a sub-tidal gastropod occurring off the west coast only. Definitive identification of the first intermediate host (or hosts) will enable the full life cycle of this parasite to be determined and the parasite endemic area to be identified; a critical knowledge gap in application of the parasite biotag approach to stock discrimination using this 'tetracotyle' type metacercarian parasite. Metacercariae collected from fresh sardine sampled from a commercial landing in Gans Baai, South Africa, were manually excysted, relaxed in warm water, fixed in 70% ethanol and stained with haematoxylin for light microscopy. The metacercarial body is oval-shaped, measuring 762 - 967 x 512 - 677μm. It is divided by transverse folds into a forebody, midbody and hindbody. Diagnostic features include the unique, large excretory bladder lobes situated on the lateral sides of the body; two large pseudosuckers in the anterior part of the midbody; an acetabulum which is larger than the oral sucker; and a large lobulated holdfast organ in the posterior half of the midbody. These features are those of the metacercariae of the genus Cardiocephaloides, confirming the previous hypothesis regarding the genus of this digenean biotag. Analysis of partial 28S rDNA region sequence data showed that the metacercariae and the adult Cardiocephaloides found in the African penguin Spheniscus demersus are of the same species, likely C. physalis. This study is the first documentation of the morphological and molecular characterization of the stock-discriminating Cardiocephaloides metacercaria found in the eyes of Sardinops sagax in South Africa.

Despite the vast research on options to improve solid waste management (SWM) in developing countries, little has been done to evaluate these possible improvements. This study assesses Ghana’s Community Participation and Public Awareness Program (CPPAP) for SWM through qualitative interviews comprising of 81 community members living in three different Communities -Kanda, Asylum Down, and Nima all in the Accra Metropolitan Area (AMA), Ghana. In addition, four officials were interviewed, and an activity worksheet for Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, & Threat (SWOT) analysis was developed based on responses from the study community members and officials. Participants were asked to identify implementation plans for SWM at different levels of government. Results indicated that community members and officials do not have expert knowledge of existing local and national laws for managing waste in Ghana. Study participants were also asked what targets are achieved with CPPAP; the study observed that community members have a good comprehension of SWM and are actively involved in managing waste. Notwithstanding that, enforcement of the listed guidelines to CPPAP has not been effective primarily due to lack of resources. Furthermore, to identify community members’ and policymakers’ viewpoints regarding SWM, the study found that the greater support of the local government and all stakeholders is needed in managing waste. The study identified significant threats and weaknesses of the CPPAP that include political interference and a lack of resources that can be overcome by strengths and opportunities, including community mobilization, employment opportunities. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on assessing implementation programs and policies for solid waste management in developing countries. Stakeholders of solid waste management will also benefit from the challenges unveiled in the study regarding waste management implementation plans and policies from governments.

Across 2 experiments, I examined the effects of the establishment of English IncidentalBidirectional Naming (Inc-BiN) on the transformation of stimulus function from English to Spanish Inc-BiN for novel familiar stimuli. A total of 10 preschool-aged participants with disabilities were selected across both experiments, as none demonstrated incidental learning for listener and speaker responses. Participants were categorized as either a Monolingual (ML) or Dual Language Learner (DLL), based on the language they were exposed to outside the educational setting. Further, I conducted pre-experimental screenings to determine participants’ initial strength of Inc-BiN stimulus control and paired them into dyads consisting of 1 student from each language community. In the pilot study, I used a pre-test post-test simultaneous treatment design across 2 dyads to test the effects of Brief and Prolonged Naming Exposures on the establishment of English Inc-BiN. Across all phases of the intervention, I provided visual match-to-sample Naming experiences followed by tests for the acquisition of untaught listener and speaker English responses for novel familiar stimuli. Upon completing any given phase to the intervention, I assessed for the transformation of stimulus function using the same set of Naming experiences and tests in Spanish. Results showed that English Inc-BiN was established for both DLLs, 1 of whom also acquired Spanish Inc-BiN while the other demonstrated Spanish Incidental-Unidirectional Naming (Inc-UniN) without intervention. However, this developmental capability was not established for any ML participants, as the intervention was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Experiment II, I utilized a multiple probe design across 3 dyads to conduct a systematic replication of the pilot study. Overall, English Inc-BiN was established across all participants. Brief Naming Exposures were effective in establishing the capability for 4 participants while the remaining 2 required additional Prolonged Naming Exposures. The intervention was also effective in establishing the transformation of stimulus function across listener and speaker responses of different languages, with the acquisition of Spanish Inc-BiN for 3 participants and Spanish Inc-UniN for 2 participants. Reported differences in the number of Naming exposures required to establish English Inc-BiN further indicate that Inc-BiN may be acquired at varying rates across members of different language communities. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of establishing incidental language repertoires in order to improve DLLs rate of learning and long-term educational success. These results further pose question on the effectiveness of our nation’s current bilingual education system, as there may be a need to shift focus from language of instruction to quality of instruction.

The disproportional representation of students from various demographic subgroups within identified gifted and talented populations has long frustrated policy makers, education advocates, researchers practitioners within the field, and those concerned with societal inequality in general. Despite the prevalence of articles in the media reporting on disproportional representation, little research has been conducted to track whether (a) the representation of these student subgroups, particularly students with limited English proficiency or students with disabilities, has changed over time or (b) states with and without policies differ in proportional representation of students identified with gifts and talents. For example, increasingly, gifted education advocates have pushed for mandates that all students be screened for gifted program eligibility as a way to combat disproportionality, despite little evidence that such methods influence proportionality. Therefore, this study sought to understand whether and how state and national gifted program demographics have changed over time and how proportionality is correlated with state mandates for gifted education identification or services. A preprint of this paper as well as additional figures are available at: https://osf.io/325m9/.

Reading comprehension assessments often vary from one measure to another related to the response format required, passage length and other variables. Yet, these measures purport to assess the same skill of reading comprehension, and they are often used interchangeably. Over the last decade some reading researchers have raised concerns that the variability in reading comprehension assessments may mean these measures are assessing different components of reading comprehension instead of consistently assessing one well-defined, complex skill. This study compared two commonly used reading comprehension assessments: the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test- Reading Comprehension (WIAT-RC) subtest, which requires examinees to read longer passages and answer open ended questions, and the Woodcock Johnson Passage Comprehension test (WJ-PC), which requires examinees to read very short passages and fill in the one word that is missing. This study was designed to test whether performance on these two measures is predicted by the same underlying language and executive functioning skills (a form of convergent validity) and whether these two measures are commensurate in predicting performance on a ‘real-world’ reading comprehension task (GRE verbal questions), with the latter being a test of ecological validity. Results suggested that the two measures varied in their ability to predict performance on the GRE verbal questions, where the WJ-PC significantly predicted performance on these questions, while the WIAT-RC did not. None of the executive functioning skills included in analyses significantly predicted performance on either the WJ-PC or the WIAT-RC, so no difference was found there; however, there were differences in how the language skills predicted performance on the two measures. Both vocabulary and word reading predicted significantly more variance in performance on the WJ-PC than the WIAT-RC. Overall, these results suggest there are important differences between these two reading comprehension measures, related to which underlying skills influence performance on each measure and the two tests’ ecological validity. These differences raise concerns about how well the reading comprehension construct has been defined and how consistently that complex skill is assessed across different measures. In addition, the differences between these two tests should be considered by clinicians who use and interpret scores on these measures in clinical settings.

Objectives: This study examined the effect of sampling duration, in units of work cycles, on the precision of estimates of exposure to forceful exertion obtained with surface electromyography (EMG). Methods: Recordings of the activity of the flexor digitorum superficialis, extensor digitorum, and upper trapezius muscles over 30 consecutive work cycles were obtained for a random sample of 25 manufacturing workers, each of whom was performing a unique production task representing a portion of the whole job. The mean root-meansquare amplitude and the 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles of the distribution function of the amplitude probability were calculated for each cycle. Bootstrap analyses were used to examine the precision of the summary measures as the sampling duration increased incrementally from 1 to 30 work cycles. Precision was estimated by calculating the coefficient of variation (CV) of the bootstrap distributions at each sampling duration increment. Results: The average minimum sampling duration for a bootstrap distribution CV of 15% ranged from 2.0 (SD 1.5) cycles to 7.5 (SD 9.6) cycles, depending on muscle and summary measure. For a 5% CV, the average minimum sampling duration ranged from 11.9 (SD 9.0) to 20.9 (SD 10.5) cycles. Conclusions: The results suggest that sampling as few as three work cycles was sufficient to obtain a bootstrap distribution CV of 15% for some of the muscles and summary measures examined in this study. While limited to machine-paced, cyclic manufacturing work, these results will assist the development of exposure assessment strategies in future epidemiologic studies of physical risk factors and musculoskeletal disorders.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in Community Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2019. / The study is a career assessment and counselling programme for disadvantaged high schools in the Eastern Cape Province, in South Africa. The specific aim was to guide learners through a process of career exploration in order to make appropriate career choices and plans. The sample consisted of 90 blacks, 1 coloured and 2 Indians from selected schools in the Eastern Cape Province. The main objectives were to formulate a career assessment and counselling programme, as an ongoing process of change, and not as an event, to empower disadvantaged students through their participation in the process; to nurture learning through engendering a tolerance of mistakes and differences in ideas, and to provide opportunities for the development of all. Using a qualitative research design, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to respondents. A convenient/purposive, non-probability sampling procedure was utilised. Descriptive statistics were used to to analyse demographic data, including frequencies and percentages. Qualitative data, obtained from open-ended questions of the survey questionnaire, were content analysed to identify the main themes. Nine themes were identified. The results showed that many disadvantaged high schools did not have educators who were qualified in career guidance issues. Furthermore, there was a lack of governmental support in career guidance in disadvantaged schools. Additionally, there was a lack of equipment and funding required in career guidance. It has been indicated that the use of psychologists and x psychometric assessment in career assessment will improve the quality of career guidance. It can be concluded that many disadvantaged and poor schools do not have educators who are qualified in career guidance issues. Disadvantaged schools do not have adequate resources such as money to pay qualified professionals to help learners in making optimised and better career decisions. The South African government is not supportive of these disadvantaged schools. Learners continue to be ignorant as far as career guidance issues are concerned. Many students are not aware of the benefits of counselling.

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