Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / On title page: Master of Philosophy (Information and Knowledge Management). Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

M.A. (Linguistics) / Unlike in the natural sciences, the study fields of the social sciences are closely related and large areas overlap - with regard to the use of terminology as well. However there are also differences, and in an institution such as the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) which comprises a heterogeneous community of subject specialists, not only the different subjects fields are represented, but also the different schools of thought (universities). In order to conduct human sciences research, the subject specialists should communicate with one another within these subject fields, but also across the borders of the different human sciences disciplines. The aim of this study was to standardize selected human sciences terminology used in the HSRC in order to provide a source of such terminology to be used mainly by HSRC personnel, and to enhance communication in this way. A theoretical review of the fields of standardization and sUbject lexicography was given. The former field was subdivided into linguistic standardization, technical language standardization and organizational standardization, and a clear organizational standardization process was distinguished on the basis of the steps of collecting, submitting, processing and distributing terminology. The field of subject lexicography concerned technical dictionaries and terminology lists, and the issue of computerizing terminology was also dealt with. The organizational standardization process with respect to HSRC terminology was explained and problematic terms identified in the study were discussed. The terminology involved in the study had been collected over a number of years by the language practitioners at the Centre for Language Services eCLS) of the HSRC, recorded on cards and later entered into the computer. In the study the terminology was submitted to the various sUbject specialists in the HSRC for their comment and approval, and their comments were subsequently researched and discussed by the CLS. The next step in the standardization process involves the processing of the comments so that the terminology can be distributed in the form of a publication or by means of a computerized database. The use of standardized terminology in the HSRC can contribute greatly towards improving communication between subject specialists and if the computerized information is transferred to the National Term Bank of the National Terminology Services as planned, the standardized HSRC terminology can be of use outside the HSRC as well.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Background: Childhood obesity is on the rise in South Africa (SA) and child-directed marketing (CDM) is one of the contributing factors to children’s unhealthy food choices and consumption. This study assessed CDM on pre-packaged breakfast cereals available in South African supermarkets and describe the nutrient composition of these pre-packaged products. Methods: A descriptive observational study of CDM on pre-packaged breakfast cereals was undertaken with quantitative analysis of the nutrient composition of these products. Secondary data from the “Researching obesogenic food environments in South Africa and Ghana” study in 2019 was examined. An independently reviewed codebook of definitions of CDM was developed and breakfast cereals were assessed to identify CDM. The CDM questionnaire was developed in REDCap, an online research database and data captured therein. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for cross tabulations and one-way ANOVAs. All analysis with p value < 0.05 was taken as significant.

Abstract The central argument in this MA research report is that arguing for a compromised or depleted political culture or space is extremely difficult if we consider the complexity of the public sphere. This involves firstly arguing that by re-interrogating the concept of the public sphere underpinning orthodox critical perspectives on democratic functioning from deliberative democratic theorists, we find notions of the critical public sphere have been corrupted by the idealism that accompanies this nonetheless important concept. By illuminating this flaw in the orthodox critical democratic perspective and applying it to critiques of South African democracy, I argue that critiquing South African politics and policy making should in general be done with more care, since what is under-contemplated in these critiques by way of the actual nature of the public sphere, is not negligible. Critics, who often start by characterising the political space as dominated by one party which allegedly renders the political space unfit for its critical purpose, ought to be fairer in their accounts. The end result of this increasingly consensual critical position is that we inhabit only a relatively meaningless formal democracy. The exploratory case study of the Human Sciences Research Council which I go on to consider was chosen on the basis of the considered guess that it was likely to throw up evidence of interesting illustrative tendencies in what I argue may constitute a ‘new’ public sphere. The theoretical possibilities I aim to highlight are arguably deserving of more focused appraisal in themselves, but the aim of this dissertation is to introduce the theoretical possibility of an under-theorised public sphere through highlighting how that situation came about, and less so, what would constitute evidence of the nascent theory’s correctness.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The primary intent of this study was to seek solutions to the practical problems experienced by practitioners in their management of child abuse cases. A fundamental problem regarding the current management of child abuse is that there is no guarantee that a child entering the child protective system will be dealt with in terms of a set procedure and/or protected against further abuse. To address this problem in the Western Cape, the Intervention Research (IR) methodology (Rothman & Thomas, 1994) was used to develop a Protocol for the Multi- Disciplinary Management of Child Abuse and Neglect. The protocol was designed for agencies that intervene in instances of child abuse. It establishes criteria and procedures for interdisciplinary co-ordination and effective case management, delineates the professional roles and responsibilities and provides step-by-step intervention procedures. The Intervention Research Design and Development methodology provided a useful framework to apply social science research methods to child protective practice and policy reform. IR focuses on the design of practice guidelines for intervention and policy reform. It can be conducted in a diversity of practice settings and therefore enhances collaborative efforts and inter-agency exchange among practitioners and among practitioners and universities. The study evolved through six phases involving inter-as well as intra-disciplinary activities. These activities were guided by systematic and deliberate research procedures, techniques and instruments. The research phases included: problem analysis; information gathering and synthesis; the development and design of the protocol; testing the protocol through a process of workshops and finally, the launch and dissemination of the protocol. A core element of the study was the active participation and collaboration of a broad range of key stakeholders, including: victims of child abuse, their families, service providers, and policy makers. The methods and instruments used were therefore designed to enhance participation and included interviews, workshops and observation of court processes. The bottom-up approach and collaborative design enhanced the level of contextual relevance, ownership and the commitment of stakeholders. As a demonstration of this commitment, the protocol has been endorsed by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health and Social Services of the Western Cape. The Department of Social Services has committed financial support to the project and is pilot testing it in three districts. The study cautions that protocols alone cannot eradicate and solve all the problems in the child protective field and asserts that there is an urgent and critical need to develop and to implement a National Strategy on Child Abuse. Such a National strategy should include legislation that supports and enforces all aspects of a national policy on child abuse. At minimum, national policy should ensure consistent political will and leadership. This means that broad statements about the obligations of politicians and state officials is not enough. These should be followed by specific accountability and measuring mechanisms for enforcement. State policy should also provide guidelines for standardized and appropriate working conditions, recruitment and training of staff. Furthermore, it should provide for a broad array of effective and accessible services to all children and families and the co-ordination of such services. Finally, legislation should include specific obligations regarding the appropriation of adequate and flexible funding to see that commitments made to children are realised.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) is South Africa’s statutory research agency dedicated to the social sciences. Information Services (IS) plays a significant role in advancing social science research through the provision of its proactive desk research and its library service. HSRC IS is looking at implementing a library solution that will better serve its users. The existing library system no longer meets the needs of the HSRC Library staff or the research staff. The functionality and efficiency of an ILS is critical to the smooth operation of IS in fulfilling its mandate within the HSRC, i.e. to provide access to information, in an efficient, useful, and timely manner, the focus being on ease of accessibility to a whole range of library and other online resources. The ILS must be able to handle many formats, accommodate searching on the Internet, provide a variety of functions including manipulating electronic data, working with graphics and expediting resource sharing. IS identified the following three ILS solutions, together with their add-on components 1) Innovative Interfaces’ Millennium solution, 2) SIRSI’s Unicorn solution and 3) Ex Libris’s ALEPH solution. The user and system requirements for ILS at the HSRC are sketched. The unique requirements, as well as the requirements the HSRC shares with other research organisations, are pointed out. The three ILS are evaluated against the criteria established. All three the ILS suppliers specialise exclusively in library automation software and have many years of experience in the provision and support of ILS, Innovative Interfaces Inc and Ex Libris for 25 years each and SIRSI for 15 years. Innovative Interfaces Inc has the largest customer base in South Africa. Ex Libris has one academic consortium as a client (CALICO) and some smaller utilisers, while SIRSI is just breaking into the South African market. All three systems comply fully with all the Cataloguing, Serials and Acquisitions modules requirements, that is, the more traditional library functionalities. When it comes to the more ‘non-traditional’ functionalities, such as full-text searching and discussion forum functionality, these systems still fall short. It is either not supported at all, or additional modules or add-ons are required. The various systems requirements are aligned to the current information technology environment at the HSRC. The conclusion is that the actual differences between the systems are few and far between, but that there are some specific requirements and add-on possibilities which makes Millennium the most attractive choice.