The near collapse of extension services in Limpopo Department of Agriculture (LDA) particularly evident in its failure to respond to the needs of the majority of small-scale farmers, presents a major problem from an agricultural and rural development point of view. This calls for an urgent and holistic intervention, in terms of an appropriate extension approach and policy, and prompted this research focusing on the search and development of an appropriate extension approach and corresponding policy for the LDA. For such a policy to be acceptable at the operational level, the emphasis has been on maximum involvement and participation of extension personnel. A total of 324 front line extension workers and managers, representing a 40 percent sample, were involved in group interviews in which their opinions were captured in semi structured questionnaires after exposure to nominal group and Delphi techniques. From the research no particular extension model emerged, but rather a series of principles, which, depending on a specific situation, could be combined and implemented to different degrees. Respondents’ opinions regarding these principles and their dimensions formed the basis of recommendations for a policy framework. These recommendations, based on informed opinions of respondents, include a need-based but priority focused approach relying on a compromise between felt and unfelt needs rather than only the felt needs of community members. For the implementation of participatory development that will ultimately allow for community empowerment and ownership, institutional linkage structures are recommended that provide for effective coordination and integrated operational activities, and having primarily a commodity focus. A strong knowledge support system, having as target audience front-line extension workers rather than farmers, is important in view of the large percentage of under-qualified extension staff. A national (or provincial) monitoring and evaluation programme is seen as an issue of high priority, with a stronger emphasis on monitoring using behaviour determinants (forces of change) as main criteria, but covering also the full range of in- and output criteria in the evaluation process, which if used together with a purposeful and programmed approach, can go a long way in improving current and future extension in Limpopo. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Injuries to the brain are the leading cause of permanent disability and death. Survivors of acquired brain injury (ABI) experience cognitive impairments and emotional problems. These often persist into community rehabilitation and are among the most significant needs for those in chronic stages of rehabilitation. There is a dearth of research providing evidence of music therapy addressing cognitive deficits and emotional needs in a holistic approach. This research answers the question how can brief group music therapy address cognitive functional gains and emotional needs of people with acquired brain injury. A mixed methods design was used to investigate the effect of 16 sessions of weekly group music therapy on attention and memory impairments, and emotional needs of ten ABI survivors in community rehabilitation. Quantitative data were collected to determine the effect of treatment on attention and memory functioning, mood state, and the satisfaction of emotional needs. Qualitative data were collected to reveal survivors’ experiences of brain injury and brief group music therapy. Analysis of the data showed that the intervention improved sustained attention (p<.05, r=.80) and immediate memory recall (p>.05, r=.46), and that the effect of treatment increased with dosage. Overall, the intervention was more effective than standard care, and cognitive functional gains continued after treatment for some ABI survivors. The intervention addressed emotional needs of feeling confident (p<.05, d=.88), feeling part of a group (p<.05, d=.74), feeling productive/useful (p<.05, d=.90), feeling supportive (p<.05, d=.75), feeling valued (p<.05, d=.74), and enjoyment (p<.05, d=.34). Improvements in these domains were observed in the immediate term and over the course of therapy. Music therapy enabled emotional adjustment through the development of selfawareness and insight. This study offers a music therapy method to deliver a holistic approach in rehabilitation. It demonstrates that music therapy can provide a cost effective, holistic treatment for ABI survivors.

Background: Many hearing impaired children present with one or more health-related conditions, in addition to hearing loss. Families and professionals are therefore faced with numerous challenges when a child presents with co-morbidities of hearing loss. The implications for assessment, management and educational placement of these children are numerous. Appropriate plans for holistic intervention and education are essential for the development of the child as well as improved life quality. This study therefore aimed to describe the co-morbidities that pre-school children with hearing loss present with at the Centre for Language and Hearing Impaired Children (CLAHIC), and its implications for management. Method: A descriptive, retrospective research design was employed for the purpose of this study. A non-probability, purposive sampling strategy was implemented to select the records of children diagnosed with a hearing loss, and who have attended CLAHIC from 1999 to 2010. The records of 62 children were reviewed. Results: The more prevalent co-morbidities identified in this study were fine motor delay, gross motor delay, visual motor integration disorder, bilateral integration disorder , apraxia of speech and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Further findings of the study indicated that the co-morbidities of hearing loss are independent of the degree of the hearing loss. It was however found that there is an increased risk for fine-motor difficulties across the sample. Implications: The findings of this research suggest that pre-school children with hearing loss, irrespective of degree of hearing loss, should be screened and or monitored for the risk of prevalent co-morbidities, such as fine and gross motor difficulties. A collaborative, holistic and multi-disciplinary team approach should be implemented to ensure that services are provided to improve the life quality and development of the hearing impaired child.