The control of ticks, and to some extent tick-borne diseases, over much of South Africa is currently dependent on acaricides and will probably remain so for the foreseeable future. Resistance to these chemicals by ticks thus poses a major threat to the livestock industry especially as these chemicals constitute an ever-diminishing resource with fewer being discovered and the cost of their development becoming prohibitive. In order to determine the extent of acaricide resistance in the eastern region of the Eastern Cape Province one-, two- and three-host ticks were collected from cattle at 58 dip-tanks over a period of 2 years. The one-host tick selected was Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, the two-host tick Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi and the three-host tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus. The ticks were tested for resistance to three compounds, namely amitraz, cypermethrin and chlorfenvinphos. The Shaw Larval Immersion Test detected emerging resistance to amitraz in the one-host tick R. (Boophilus) microplus at two dip-tanks and resistance at a third. It also revealed resistance in this tick to cypermethrin at one dip-tank, and emerging resistance to chlorfenvinphos at eight dip-tanks and resistance at two. The two-host tick R. evertsi evertsi was susceptible to amitraz and cypermethrin at all dip-tanks, but showed emerging resistance to chlorfenvinphos at seven dip-tanks and resistance at four. The three-host tick R. appendiculatus was susceptible to amitraz and chlorfenvinphos at all dip-tanks and demonstrated emerging resistance to cypermethrin at one. With the exception of R. (Boophilus) microplus, in which emerging resistance to amitraz was detected at one dip-tank by the Reproductive Estimate Test, all three tick species at all dip-tanks at which sufficient numbers of ticks had been collected, were susceptible to the three acaracides in both the Egg Laying Test and the Reproductive Estimate Test. Thus despite its fairly long and widespread use in the eastern region of the Eastern Cape Province very little or no resistance to amitraz was detected in three tick species regularly encountered on cattle in this region, namely R. (Boophilus) microplus, R. evertsi evertsi and R. appendiculatus. On the other hand resistance to chlorfenvinphos was detected in both R. (Boophilus) microplus and R. evertsi evertsi at a number of dip-tanks even though it, or other organophosphorous-based compounds, had probably not been used for tick control in the region for a number of years. The localities at which ticks were collected had already been mapped and the localities at which acaricide resistant ticks were encountered were mapped during this study. The three tick species that were targeted for acaricide resistance testing were widespread throughout the study region, but no pattern of geographic distribution for the acaricide resistant strains of these species that were detected, emerged. The rapidity of selection for acaricide resistance appeared to be closely related to the life cycles of the three ticks and the number of days that they theoretically would spend annually on their preferred host animals. Thus a greater number of acaricide resistant strains were encountered amongst the one-host tickR. (Boophilus) microplus and the two-host tick R. evertsi evertsi than the three-host tick R. appendiculatus. The fist two ticks both complete more than one life cycle a year and hence spend a longer time on their cattle hosts than the three-host tick R. appendiculatus, which completes only one life cycle a year and in addition is a rapid feeder in all its stages of development. To counter selection for acaricide resistance it is proposed that regular testing for resistance should be carried out, and that as soon as emerging resistance is detected in ticks on cattle at a particular dip-tank, that the acaricide in use at that dip-tank should be changed to a compound belonging to a completely different group of chemicals. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Veterinary Tropical Diseases / unrestricted

D/deaf people typically are not employed, or work in menial jobs, although they have been through high1 school in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The researcher has not observed them in professional careers. However, there is no empirical evidence why the D/deaf are excluded from the formal labour market after schooling. Understanding the underlying factors influencing such observations was important. The problem manifested in unemployment in the formal labour sector, but the researcher wanted to understand the root cause of this problem in depth. The aim of the study is to explore and critically analyse the D/deaf high school learners' construction of their careers and the supports available to them in constructing and realising their career aspirations. The international literature reviewed identifies knowledge gaps concerning career construction and supportive imperatives of D/deaf high school learners. The theory of career construction by Savickas (2005) frames this study and has been used throughout to guide and inform the study. This is a descriptive qualitative case study of career construction and support (Creswell, 2013). It was conducted in two of the five schools for the Deaf in two districts of the Eastern Cape. The learners came from rural, semi-rural and semi-urban homes. The schools (rural and semirural) were purposefully selected to participate in the study. The study population includes four participant groups; the deaf learners in high school (grade 10 -12), their parents, the teachers involved in the career guidance of the learners and members of the Department of Basic Education who were responsible for career guidance in deaf high schools. The data was collected using multiple methods: focus group discussions, individual interviews and document reviews. The findings indicate that careers are constructed under adverse conditions. These lead to learners' perceptions of limited support. The challenges with learning the school curriculum was a barrier to acquiring basic skills required for their careers. The challenges include an inability to use of South African Sign Language, a critical barrier affecting communication across participants (learners, teachers, Department of Education officials and parents). This impacted on teaching, learning, support, guidance and general communication. The contextual challenges and limited support structures negatively influence the way D/deaf high school learners in the Eastern Cape Province construct their future careers, their parents, the education system and the role played by organisations of Deaf people. The study shows that careers are constructed in a context of both positive and negative influences. The combination of both the negative influences and limited supports impacts more heavily on career construction than do the positive influences. D/deaf people in the Eastern Cape have limited opportunities to obtain employment in professional occupations because of the way the education system and society prepares them for such careers. The issues of colonialism and the previous apartheid regime still influence both the education system and the South African society.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / An epidemiological study was conducted with the main goal of describing the occurrences of the various STTs in the Eastern Cape province as well as biographical factors such as age, gender, and geographical location influencing them. Ten primary health care (PHC) centres located throughout the province served as sentinel sites for surveillance data collection for a period of 3 months using Daily and Monthly Report Forms. The surveillance data was analysed using relative frequencies to determine STis prevalence. The main findings from the present study suggest that the most frequently encountered female syndromes were vaginal discharge and lower abdominal pains and most frequent male syndrome was Urethral discharge. Other syndromes accounted for less than 10% of the ST! cases observed at the PHC centres during the study. The study also indicate that more STI patients were seen at urban PHC centres compared to rural ones and that most of the STI patients seen at PHC centres were women. These findings are helpfol for the Health Department in the Eastern Cape Province to effectively plan for the control and prevention of all ST!s including HIV I AIDS

A total of 143 blood samples of nyala (Tragelaphus angasii) from two regions in South Africa were tested for the presence of tick-borne haemoparasites by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse line blot (RLB) hybridisation. While most blood samples taken in EDTA blood turned out negative for the presence of haemoparasites, the majority of blood samples collected on Whatman® filter paper contained several different haemoparasites, often in combination. Samples from the Eastern Cape Province as well as from KwaZulu- Natal turned out positive. Prevalent haemoparasites were Theileria sp. (kudu), T. buffeli, T. bicornis, Theileria sp. (sable), T. taurotragi, Ehrlichia sp. Omatjenne, Anaplasma bovis and A. marginale. This serves as the first report of T. buffeli, T. sp. (kudu), T. bicornis, T. taurotragi, Ehrlichia sp. Omatjenne, A. marginale and A. bovis in nyala. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc (Veterinary Tropical Diseases))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Veterinary Tropical Diseases / unrestricted

Magister Scientiae (Nutrition Management) - MSc(NM) / Micronutrient deficiencies are of public health concern in South Africa. These deficiencies affect pregnancy outcomes, growth, functional and cognitive development of children and, the health and productivity of women. As an intervention, the South African government implemented the National Food Fortification Programme (NFFP), which was mandated in 2003 and according to which, the staple foods consumed by most of the population e.g. maize meal and wheat flour (and thus bread) are fortified with a premix of thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin A, folate, vitamin B6, iron and zinc. There is limited data which looks at the contribution fortified staple food to the dietary intakes and measures of nutrient assessment among South African women of reproductive age (WRA).

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Pain is a complex biopsychosocial phenomenon that can have a profound impact on people's lives (Access Economics [AE], 2007). lts clinical relevance is well known - pain is suggestive of "actual or potential tissue damage" and plays a role in the diagnosis and clinical management of diseases and/or injury (International Association for the Study of Pain [IASP], 1986). It has both sensory and emotional aspects and is behaviourally expressed by how it is communicated by the sufferer and by its effect on the sufferer's behaviour (IASP, 1986; Linton, 2005; AE, 2007). Even though the experience of pain is associated with tissue damage or is described in terms of such damage, this association is variable so that "the size of an injury can be a poor guide as to how much an individual experiences pain" (AE, 2007). In fact, pain can exist without an objective evidence of tissue damage making pain the "ultimate subjective experience" (Odendaal, 2006). This phenomenon may relate to the fact that the interpretation of nociceptive signals as pain is influenced by a number of personal and environmental factors including past experience, integrity of the nervous system, beliefs and the situation in which tissue damage occurs (Eccleston, 2001; Turk, 2002a; Flor and Hermann, 2004; AE, 2007). As such, decisive and objective measurements are difficult to arrive at and pain is not always easily assessed by the healthcare provider. The translation of pain from acute to chronic however, means that pain and discomfort remains beyond the normal time of healing and by definition, persists either continuously or intermittently for 3 months or longer (Elliot et al., 1999). This changes the physiognomy of pain and the condition of chronic pain ensues. Chronic pain is an important but often neglected public health problem. It is disabling and associated with interference in normal activities of daily living (ADLs) such as work, home chores, family and sporting activities. Research shows that chronic pain is a key complaint that motivates many to seek health care (Crook et al., 1984, 1989; Sullivan et al., 1990; Smith et al., 1996; Mantyselka et al., 2001, 2002; Eriksen et al., 2004; AE, 2007) leading to high and ongoing consumption of treatments (AE, 2007). In fact, studies have shown that persons with chronic pain use health services up to five times more frequently than the rest of the population (Von Korff et al., 1990, 1991; Elliot et al., 1999; Eriksen et al., 2004). Side-effects of treatment are common with medication use including gastric problems such as ulcerations, nausea, constipation and mental slowing or confusion which can affect functioning. Chronic pam is also associated with mood and sleep disturbances such as depression or adjustment problems and trouble getting to sleep and/or frequent wakening during the night. For the sufferer, the effect of disuse of the aspect of the body in which pain is experienced is another manifestation of chronic pain. Muscles and joints become de-conditioned and pain sufferers may lose general body fitness (AE, 2007). Within the community, pain is a common cause of considerable suffering and disability affecting the general health and quality of life of individuals (Von Korff et al., 1990, 1992; Magni et al., 1990,1993; Walsh et al., 1992; Smith et al., 1996,2001; Verhaak et al., 1998; Elliot et al., 1999, 2002; Blyth et al., 2001; Reyes-Gibby et al., 2002; Lanteri-Minet et al., 2003). Significant amounts of working days are lost among the labour force impacting a profound economic and social toll on society (Bowsher et al., 1991; Elliot et al., 1999; Blyth et al., 2003; Igumbor et al.,2003). Simply put, "chronic pain is a human tragedy" (Odendaal, 2006). It is a serious and common problem that causes distress to patients and their caregivers, is a burden on health care professionals and health care resources and results in significant lost productivity. Chronic pain is therefore a problem of public health importance.

This study explores how livestock in rural communities were accessed, used as livelihoods portfolios and how off-farm activities and portfolios such as social grants, support from family members and employment assisted the rural poor to build their asset base. Empirical data was collected from 26 villages in the three districts. In particular the study examines firstly, the nature of rural poverty in these villages in the three districts and how households with and without livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, pigs, cats, ducks, horses and donkeys) used livestock local knowledge to sustain a living. Secondly it explores how the local government and related rural development agencies, intervened in livestock production and the thesis highlights the problematic nature of these interventions, and the implications this has for the form and nature of livestock ownership and use in relation to rural livelihoods. Arising from this, the thesis thirdly explores Ruliv‟s through concrete case studies, the challenges, constraints and implications of a pre-dominant top-down approach to rural development. Contrary to this approach, the study illustrates, through the Rhoxeni case study, the potential effectiveness of a „bottom-up‟ actor oriented approach to rural development. Fourthly, the study explores how local government initiatives intervened in the development of a rural livestock project in Alfred Nzo District Municipality through the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme Goat Project. Here iv the concerns of „commercialisation‟ of livestock production are explored and the thesis points to the implications that the exclusion of social and cultural meanings of livestock have for assumed paths of commercialisation and its associations with development. Fifthly the study explores the potentiality of emerging black commercial farmers who had acquired large areas of agricultural land through local government interventions (Land Redistribution Agricultural Development) but who lacked further support and capacity to transform themselves into commercial farmers. The thesis concludes that their livestock and crop farming activities remained more subsistence and livelihood based, than any transition to expected technical market oriented commercial farming. Overall, the thesis argues that while local government planning for rural development prioritised commercial agriculture as the basis of rural development and the key mechanism of rural poverty alleviation in developmental policies (PGDP, IDP, LED), rural poverty has actually been deepening. In this context, the study argues that the value of livestock to the rural poor lies „outside‟ of its assumed economic value and is more firmly and determinedly located in its social meanings and values, despite these significant levels of material poverty. This has major implications for understanding livelihoods, engaging livestock agency, defining farming and what it means to be a „farmer‟ and engaging with prevalent understandings and practices directed at rural development.

This study is aimed at investigating specific preferences for various types of maize meal in two rural communities of Mthatha. Consumption data shows that in very poor households, maize was the only and most consumed foodstuff. The acceptability and opinions of different maize meal types were investigated by this study, as well as awareness of technologies, food fortification and genetic modification. The first phase of the study employed a qualitative approach in which numerical data was collected using sensory evaluations and second phase being a qualitative approach in the form of focus group interviews. In determining consumer acceptability, sensory evaluations were done amongst villagers from Ngqeleni and Mqanduli of selected age groups and gender. The sensory evaluation findings of the study indicate that fortified (special) maize meal is preferred over all other maize meal types, based on a higher liking of the aroma and colour. This was followed by unfortified (special) maize meal, although it was not significantly different to sifted white maize meal, sifted yellow maize meal, white sifted non-genetically modified maize meal, white genetically modified maize meal, in descending order. Younger adults (18-25years) had a stronger preference for white fortified maize meal, with older adults (>40years) all maize meal types similarly with the exception of yellow sifted maize meal. Males and females revealed equal liking behaviour. The Ngqeleni villagers preferred white fortified maize meal. Mqanduli participants preferred sifted maize meal, probable due to the fact that this is the staple food produced in the village. Focus groups were used to capture understanding and/or opinions of food fortification and genetic modification. Ngqeleni and Mqanduli are two villages approximately 30km east of Mthatha and south east of Mthatha, respectively. Findings from the two villages differed. Somewhat the Mqanduli community was more subsistence farming based, therefore aware of farming practices and their technical benefits but not the facts behind the technology. In Ngqeleni, the community was more aware of the concepts even though they were not exposed to them. This deduced a low illiteracy rate in Mqanduli compared to Ngqeleni and it was confirmed during discussions and through a mini survey. Poverty was also evident in Mqanduli as most of the community was unemployed. This encouraged the community to use locally grown maize meal more than the commercial fortified maize meal. The issue of yellow and white maize brought good discussions, which led to conclusions that the choice of yellow maize depends on individual preferences. Most of the respondents in these communities consumed yellow maize in one state or another, with a few who did not prefer it at all as maize meal. Most men preferred yellow maize and yellow maize meal, as they believed that it had higher satiety level than white maize and white maize meal. In conclusion, the study revealed very interesting differences in preference of different maize meal types. This could form part of understanding the dynamics related to staple foods in a rural context. / Dissertation (MConsSci)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Consumer Science / unrestricted

The study explored professional nurses' experience of working in a remote rural hospital in the Eastern Cape Province. A qualitative phenomenological design was used and the study was conducted in a remote rural hospital in region `D'. Eight professional nurses were selected non-randomly from a population of professional nurses who had been working in the hospital for more than one year. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants and semi-structured phenomenological interviews were conducted to collect data. Colaizzi's eight-step method was used for data analysis. The themes that emerged from the data analysis were shortage of human and material resources, poor access, communication problems and lack of safety and insecurity. The study found that the professional nurses at the remote rural hospital experience many obstacles to quality service delivery. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

The study explored professional nurses' experience of working in a remote rural hospital in the Eastern Cape Province. A qualitative phenomenological design was used and the study was conducted in a remote rural hospital in region `D'. Eight professional nurses were selected non-randomly from a population of professional nurses who had been working in the hospital for more than one year. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants and semi-structured phenomenological interviews were conducted to collect data. Colaizzi's eight-step method was used for data analysis. The themes that emerged from the data analysis were shortage of human and material resources, poor access, communication problems and lack of safety and insecurity. The study found that the professional nurses at the remote rural hospital experience many obstacles to quality service delivery. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)