Disasters due to war and conflict or natural forces are responsible for the 26 million people displaced across the world today. The crisis extends into the temporary, yet indefinite, displacement camps where people live in congested living arrangements, vulnerable to an increased risk of disease, death, and social violence (spousal abuse, rape). Even when chaos subsides, social and physical networks have frayed rendering the temporary displacement camp a permanent home for some. Often, despite this “permanence”, access to adequate services and infrastructure and hence social and economic growth remains in a state of emergency. This thesis proposes that water infrastructure is the key social catalyst for developing these displacement camps into permanent sustainable communities. An urban displacement camp in the town of Gulu, Northern Uganda, is the case study location for a speculative design intervention. During rebel activities from 1996 to 2004, the town of Gulu more than tripled in size, absorbing almost 100,000 displaced people forced to flee their land. These people settled in displacement camps next to, and within the wetlands that border the town on all sides. The urban metabolism of the town has become polluted as the displaced people use, alter and degrade the wetlands because they have no other alternatives. Following the instigation of a peace process in 2006, some people have begun the journey home. However, it is estimated that just over half of these people will continue to live in the squalid camps, without an opportunity to prosper. A strategy is proposed for addressing and subsequently re-defining this urban metabolism. By synthesizing the existing urban fabric with strategies for harnessing the natural landscape, varying scales of water infrastructure are proposed. New opportunities for agricultural production is supported, while the spatial relationships created by the physical structuring of the water infrastructure renews the influence that water collection and distribution has in creating the social locus of a community.

Across the world, war has been declared against poverty because of its devastating effects on local communities. The world has made a concerted effort to fight the effects of poverty through developmental agencies and regional integration bodies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Trade Organisation (WTO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). In an effort to complement the efforts of the above–mentioned agencies and bodies, the South African government has developed its own poverty alleviation strategies, policies, initiatives and Acts that focus primarily on alleviation of poverty on the level of local government. The Constitution of South Africa, 1996 provides the guidelines to several regulations and Acts (such as the Development and Facilitation Act, 67 of 1995, the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 32 of 2000, and the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 117 of 1998.) that support the alleviation of poverty on the local sphere of government. The Integrated Development Planning programme was formulated and implemented to alleviate poverty at this level. The purpose of this study was to determine how the level of poverty within the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality could be alleviated through effective integrated development planning. A quantitative approach was followed because the target population response rate was expected to be large. In addition, the research design for this study included a literature review, analyses of official documents, observation and data sampling through questionnaires and scientific analysis of the responses. The study found that IDP objectives aligned to service delivery targets were unclear and did not depict the aspirations and needs of the community. The programmes aimed at the infrastructure coupled with skills development programmes and job creation initiatives could assist in the alleviation of poverty. / M Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The purpose of this study is to examine how some teachers reason regarding the IDP in upper secondary school for pupils with intellectual disability. The chosen theory of the study is curriculum theory and the chosen method of the study is qualitative content analysis.   Ten teachers from five upper secondary schools for pupils with intellectual disability in Central Sweden, which both used and did not use IDP as tools in teaching for pupils with intellectual disability have been interviewed. To analyze the interviews, both the inductive approach and the deductive approach have been used.   The results of the study shows that the IDP has many functions in teaching pupils with intellectual disability at upper secondary school. There were mostly advantages that emerged in the teachers' reasoning regarding the use of the IDP in the education of pupils with intellectual disability, although there were also some disadvantages. In those categories where it was possible to study the existence of curriculum ideologies, it was primarily the learner centered ideology as well as social efficiency ideology that were most prominent.   Current research on IDP has been discussed as well as curriculum and syllabus and how they relate to IDP and pupils with intellectual disability.

Third-party authentication services are becoming more common since it eases the login procedure by not forcing users to create a new login for every website thatuses authentication. Even though it simplifies the login procedure the users still have to be conscious about what data is being shared between the identity provider (IDP) and the relying party (RP). This thesis presents a tool for collecting data about third-party authentication that outperforms previously made tools with regards to accuracy, precision and recall. The developed tool was used to collect information about third-party authentication on a set of websites. The collected data revealed that third-party login services offered by Facebook and Google are most common and that Twitters login service is significantly less common. Twitter's login service shares the most data about the users to the RPs and often gives the RPs permissions to perform write actions on the users Twitter account.  In addition to our large-scale automatic data collection, three manual data collections were performed and compared to previously made manual data collections from a nine-year period. The longitudinal comparison showed that over the nine-year period the login services offered by Facebook and Google have been dominant.It is clear that less information about the users are being shared today compared to earlier years for Apple, Facebook and Google. The Twitter login service is the only IDP that have not changed their permission policies. This could be the reason why the usage of the Twitter login service on websites have decreased.  The results presented in this thesis helps provide a better understanding of what personal information is exchanged by IDPs which can guide users to make well educated decisions on the web.

The aim of this study was to identify and describe the viability of using cell phones to conduct rapid assessments, pass key health messages and conduct monitoring and evaluation in complex emergencies. The study setting was in a cholera outbreak response situation in Mogadishu, the capital of war torn Somalia. Qantitative, descriptive research was conducted to determine the feasibility. Data collection was done using structured questionnaires, self-response mailed questionnaires as well as follow-up telephone interviews. Three groups of respondents participated in the study. The respondent groups included 383 internally displaced persons (IDPs), 5 water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) specialists and 5 specialists from 5 mobile phone providers in Mogadishu. The study showed that there is good potential for an effective, cost efficient and scalable short message service (SMS) based public health education platform in Somalia. The study has also come up with recommendations on key considerations to ensure viability of the Public health education platform. It is envisaged that the recommended platform shall increase speed, access, spontaneity, coverage and reduced cost per capita, a combination of which form the hallmark of a good emergency health response. Ultimately this effort shall contribute to improved health, reduced suffering and reduced deaths in fragile humanitarian contexts. / Health Studies / M. (Public Health)

Thesis (MA (Public and Development Management)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / 128 leaves printed single pages, preliminary pages i-ix and numbered pages 1-118. Includes bibliography and a list of figures in color and tables. Digitized at 300 dpi 24-bit Color to pdf format (OCR) using a Hp Scanjet 8250 Scanner, and digitized at 600 dpi grayscale to pdf format (OCR), using a Bizhub 250 Konica Minolta Scanner. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: "The South African Constitution (1996) promotes the improvement of liVing environments and livelihoods for all constituents by means of a developmental approach to local governance" (IDASA, 2005:2). The development role of local government can be understood through the consideration of four basic drivers which includes planning for development, governance and administration, regulation and service delivery. The Drakenstein Local Municipality is committed to ensure sustainable economic growth and development by increasing national and provincial competitiveness as well as the reduction of poverty. Key to this process is the retention and expansion of existing businesses as well as the attraction of new investment. The main focus of this research study is the promotion of business development as it forms part of local economic development (LED) and is also an integral part of integrated development planning (IDP) at local government level. The introduction of proposed targeted investment incentives is aimed at facilitating the implementation of the Drakenstein Local Municipality's strategic development objectives. The proposed intervention options should be a special effort to attract investment to the study area which will result in a positive spill-over effect in the Drakenstein Local Municipality's local economy. Intervention options can be developed in terms of investment incentives that can bring about job creation, economic development and poverty alleviation in the study area as set out in their strategic deveiopment objectives.

The group 2 late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins, also known as the dehydrins, are intrinsically disordered proteins that are expressed in plants experiencing extreme environmental conditions such as drought or low temperature. In this work, we study the potential roles that dehydrins may have in stabilizing membranes and actin microfilaments during cold stress. We have cloned and expressed in E. coli two dehydrins from Thellungiella salsuginea, denoted TsDHN-1 (acidic) and TsDHN-2 (basic). These proteins were expressed as SUMO-fusion proteins for in vitro phosphorylation by casein kinase II (CKII), and for structural analysis by CD and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. We show using transmission-FTIR spectroscopy that ordered secondary structure is induced and stabilized in these proteins by association with large unilamellar vesicles emulating the lipid compositions of plant plasma and organellar membranes. The increase in secondary structure by membrane association is further facilitated by the presence of Zn2+. Lipid composition and temperature have synergistic effects on the secondary structure. Our single molecule force spectroscopy studies also suggest tertiary folding of both TsDHN-1 and TsDHN-2 induced by association with lipids. From Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer compression studies, and from topographic studies using atomic force microscopy at variable temperature, we conclude that TsDHN-1 stabilizes the membrane at lower temperatures. Finally, we show that the conformations of TsDHN-1 and TsDHN-2 are affected by pH, interactions with cations and membranes, and phosphorylation. Actin assembly by these dehydrins was assessed by sedimentation assays, and viewed by transmission electron and atomic force microscopy. Phosphorylation enabled both dehydrins to polymerize actin filaments, a phenomenon that may occur in the cytosols of plant cells undergoing environmental stress. These results support the hypothesis that dehydrins stabilize plant organellar membranes and/or the cytoskeleton in conditions of stress, and further that phosphorylation may be an important feature of this stabilization. / NSERC

The purpose of this study was to identify the relevant factors to develop a framework for optimising public participation to improve service delivery in a metropolitan municipality in South Africa. This approach was undertaken with a view to identify the gaps created through the expectations generated among citizens by the national government and the weaknesses in the capacity of the local government to deliver through its supply chain processes, and hence develop strategies to close the existing gaps as much as possible. There were four samples in the study namely: citizens, managers, businesses and ward committee members (WCM). The data that were collected for citizens were conducted at each Customer Care Centres (CCC). For the other three sets of respondents, it was conducted through email. The research approach was quantitative. Factor analysis was applied in this research study in order to identify significant factors that drive public participation in service delivery by local government. Findings of this study showed that there are two major perceptions of the respondents perceived to affect the optimisation of effective service delivery: 1) the facilitating factor and 2) the impeding factor. This was assisted by Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) where a model was designed which resulted in the development of the public participation framework for effective municipal service delivery. These findings will inform the management of local governments to prioritise inclusion of all citizens by optimising their participation for effective service delivery. Areas where participation in local government was lacking were identified and this study presents well-informed strategies for local governments and for their possible implementation. / Business Management / D.B.L.

PhD (Public Adminiistration) / Department of Public and Development Administration / This study examines the notion of public participation as a tool to enhance service delivery in the Capricorn District Municipality. Public participation is a milestone of democracy and local governance. Local government – which is closest to the people – provides an ideal forum for the flourishing of participatory democracy. The centrality of public participation in the development of policies and programmes or action plans has been widely recognised by both government and the private sector. However, involving the public in the development of any policy, programme or action plan is a daunting task. Indeed, if not well-managed, public involvement often leads to protests, litigation, criticisms, and delays in service delivery to the people. Thus, the extent to which public participation can be a tool for the enhancement of service delivery in Limpopo – especially in the Capricorn District Municipality – is the focus of this study. This study is guided by the following questions: What are the key concepts that relate to public participation as a tool to enhance service delivery? What impact does the Constitution of South Africa, Act 08 of 1996, and other government legal frameworks have on public participation as a tool to enhance service delivery in South Africa, particularly in the Capricorn District Municipality? What modes and models of public participation are used to enhance service delivery in the Capricorn District Municipality? What are the main factors that influence public participation as a tool to enhance service delivery in the Capricorn District Municipality? The study adopts both qualitative and quantitative research approaches whereby the use of primary and secondary sources was augmented by interviews with local government actors. Moreover, questionnaires were administered by the researcher and his assistant researchers. A purposive sampling method was used. The researcher ensured that all relevant elements of 5 research ethics were observed. The data generated by the questionnaires and interviews were analysed and interpreted using the latest statistical tools. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis methods were used. Data collected using questionnaires were analysed by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The information was presented in the form of tabulations, frequencies, and percentages. Data collected through interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings of this study reflect that public participation mainly serves the purpose of meeting the statutory requirements for the development of best value initiatives and gaining information from citizens. The majority of the respondents were of the view that the Ward Committee system is fully functional in their municipalities. All Capricorn District municipalities have officers responsible for public participation; however, not all of them are accessible to the public. It was revealed that the public participation budget in Lepelle-Nkumpi and Mollemole is insufficient. The other main constrains identified are the serious lack of personal and working tools and resources. The study also found that not all documents were translated into the languages spoken in the Capricorn District and that there is a lack of feedback mechanisms on the issues raised by members of public during the IDP and Budget Fora.These findings were discussed in relation to the study’s objectives and research questions.

The aim of this study was to identify and describe the viability of using cell phones to conduct rapid assessments, pass key health messages and conduct monitoring and evaluation in complex emergencies. The study setting was in a cholera outbreak response situation in Mogadishu, the capital of war torn Somalia. Qantitative, descriptive research was conducted to determine the feasibility. Data collection was done using structured questionnaires, self-response mailed questionnaires as well as follow-up telephone interviews. Three groups of respondents participated in the study. The respondent groups included 383 internally displaced persons (IDPs), 5 water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) specialists and 5 specialists from 5 mobile phone providers in Mogadishu. The study showed that there is good potential for an effective, cost efficient and scalable short message service (SMS) based public health education platform in Somalia. The study has also come up with recommendations on key considerations to ensure viability of the Public health education platform. It is envisaged that the recommended platform shall increase speed, access, spontaneity, coverage and reduced cost per capita, a combination of which form the hallmark of a good emergency health response. Ultimately this effort shall contribute to improved health, reduced suffering and reduced deaths in fragile humanitarian contexts. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)