This research is an examination of the practical application of intergovernmental relations (IGR) and co-operative government at the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM)’s Department of Housing and Human Settlements. By use of questionnaire and direct interviews, the research extracted responses from methodically selected employees and officials at the Department of Housing and Human Settlements in the CTMM. Literature study was combined with document analysis and a part of participant observation to gather data and information that has been examined and analysed in the study that has established the need for training and skilling for officials and employees in financial and project management. The need for the rolling back of political interference, regular review of legislation to keep abreast with the changing environment and international standards and improved institutional communication are but some of the observations and arguments that the research has established from a careful reading of data gathered. The enabling policies, laws and regulations that are in place remain largely good on paper, but still limited in their practical application. It is argued in this research that housing and human settlements are a provision that is central in the democratic and development life of the Republic of South Africa, and that the provision of sustainable human settlements enriches the livelihoods of communities in so far as other services such as education, recreation, health care, electricity, economic opportunities, safety, transport and communication are also dependent on the availability of sustainable human settlements and the amenities that comes with it. It is the recommendation of the present research that if the policies, regulations, laws and goals that govern the IGR towards the delivery of sustainable human settlements are to achieve maximum fruition, there is a need for vigorous monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that will ensure that budgets are efficiently used, that standing decisions are implemented and that partisan politics and corruption and opportunistic tendencies are eliminated as these hinder performance and delivery. / Public Administration / MPA

This study evaluated the contribution of urban agriculture (community gardens) to food security in Emfuleni Local Municipality in Gauteng province. The objectives were to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of farmers in urban community gardens; followed by determining contribution of urban community gardens to food security with specific reference to food availability, food accessibility, food utilisation and food stability; evaluating the factors that influence food utilisation of the farmers in urban community gardens and lastly conducting SWOT analysis of urban community gardens. The sample size of 254 farmers was randomly selected from 418 farmers located in 30 urban community gardens in Emfuleni Local Municipality. Furthermore, the study adopted purposive sampling for deliberately selecting one key informant from 30 urban community gardens that participated in the study. Quantitative research approach was employed using a survey design. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured survey questionnaire. Quantitative data was analysed by the use of Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 23.0. The analysis included both descriptive (mean, standard deviation, standard error or mean and others) and inferential statistics and table frequency. Qualitative data was analysed using code and themes; and converted into frequencies. The study revealed that there were more females (71.3%) that participated in the community gardens than males (28.7%); only 23.2% of youth (<35 years) participated in community gardens. Majority (59.4%) of respondents spoke Sesotho while majority (53.5%) were not married (single). The main source of income of most (78.7%) respondents was farming activities precisely urban community gardens. The study found that community gardens contribute to food availability with regards to providing freshly produce vegetables, high consumption of vegetables and ensured that families of the beneficiaries ate sufficient vegetables produced from the gardens. Although there is uncertainty among some of the respondents that vegetables produced were not sufficient, only few respondents were concerned. Majority (96.7%) of community gardens produced vegetables for selling and consumption. It was therefore found that, in relation to food accessibility, an average of 47% did not experience anxiety, uncertainty and had consumed sufficient quantities of vegetables from the community gardens. With regards to food utilisation, majority of the respondents were consuming vegetables as a relish whereas others consumed vegetables for various reason such salad, health reasons and others as presented in the results section. On vegetable consumption pattern, it is concluded that gender, age group, level of education, participation period in community gardens, family size, number of family member working, number of working hours in the community garden per day, number of day working in the community garden per month and annual income from community garden influenced vegetables consumption pattern of the respondents (utilisation) in the study area. Coping strategies which were mostly adopted by the respondents to ensure food stability were: reducing vegetable intake to ensure that children ate enough, purchasing of vegetables on credit, reducing vegetables in the daily meals and borrowing money to buy vegetables. Some of the challenges that hindered vegetable production in urban community gardens were theft of garden tools and crops produce, lack of fencing and eating of vegetables by stray animals. / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M. Sc. (Agriculture)

This research is an examination of the practical application of intergovernmental relations (IGR) and co-operative government at the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM)’s Department of Housing and Human Settlements. By use of questionnaire and direct interviews, the research extracted responses from methodically selected employees and officials at the Department of Housing and Human Settlements in the CTMM. Literature study was combined with document analysis and a part of participant observation to gather data and information that has been examined and analysed in the study that has established the need for training and skilling for officials and employees in financial and project management. The need for the rolling back of political interference, regular review of legislation to keep abreast with the changing environment and international standards and improved institutional communication are but some of the observations and arguments that the research has established from a careful reading of data gathered. The enabling policies, laws and regulations that are in place remain largely good on paper, but still limited in their practical application. It is argued in this research that housing and human settlements are a provision that is central in the democratic and development life of the Republic of South Africa, and that the provision of sustainable human settlements enriches the livelihoods of communities in so far as other services such as education, recreation, health care, electricity, economic opportunities, safety, transport and communication are also dependent on the availability of sustainable human settlements and the amenities that comes with it. It is the recommendation of the present research that if the policies, regulations, laws and goals that govern the IGR towards the delivery of sustainable human settlements are to achieve maximum fruition, there is a need for vigorous monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that will ensure that budgets are efficiently used, that standing decisions are implemented and that partisan politics and corruption and opportunistic tendencies are eliminated as these hinder performance and delivery. / Public Administration and Management / MPA

The aim of the project was to study the mineral, chemical and morphological characteristics of the fallout dust samples. The dust fallout samples were collected at five different sites following the internationally accepted standard procedure for collection and analysis, South African National Standard and American Standard for Testing Methods (ASTM) D1739-98 (2010). Passive single buckets containing ¾ of distilled water and 10.0 ml of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solution, hoisted at a height of about 2.5 m were exposed from March – June 2013 and were collected every month, taken to the laboratory for characterization. First, the samples were filtered and mass concentrations per month were gravimetrically measured. The samples were then prepared for further characterization by the MicroScan Particle Analyser (MSPA)(Microscope UOP UB 100j) which measured the mineral content and the Scanning Electron Microscope - Energy Dispersive X- ray (SEM - EDX) measured the images of different particles (size, shape) and their elemental content. The results from the MicroScan analysis showed the prevalence of sandy rounded-shaped quartz (SiO2) particles across all sites. Minerals detected within the crustal material at all sites were quartz (SiO2), haematite (Fe; Fe2O3; Al2O3), feldspar (Na, K, Mg, Ca: AI2Si2O8), garnet (SiO4), aluminium silicates (AI2Si2O8) and calcium hydroxide [Ca (OH)2]. Evidently, sites A, B and C dominated the abundance of these minerals. On the other hand, sites D and E showed fine and rounded quartz and quartzite with various trace metal oxides. Measured elements in decreasing concentrations were Si, Ca, P, Al, K, S, Fe, Cu, Ti and Mg. Both coarse particle (2.5 - 10.0 μm) and fine particle sizes ranges (< 1.0 to 2.5 μm) were detected. Large irregular shaped particles sizes were common and were linked to crustal material. The results provide good baseline information which requires further characterization of samples by different analytical techniques and validation of possible sources. The ICP-MS was used to determine the elemental composition of dust fallout and the mean concentration of the elements of concern ranged from 1.1 - 2.6 for As, 0.2 - 0.6 for Cd, 17.0 - 21.9 for Ni, 449.8 - 751.1 for Pb, 9.9 - 22.3 for V and 101.7 - 293.0 μg/m3 for Zn. The elements such as Cd exceeded the set limit 0.005 μg/m3 by OSHA (2015) and NIOSH (2007); Pb exceeded the set standard of 0.5 μg/m3 set by OSHA (2015), NIOSH (2007), WHO (2000), USEPA (2012) and DEA (2013). The rest of the elements fell within the set guidelines by various regulatory national and international bodies. The study concludes that, although, all the sampling sites recorded the dust fallout rates within the SANS 1929 (2011) and DEA (2013) average RESIDENTIAL limit of 600 mg/m2/day, the future accumulation and exceedances cannot be ruled out owing to the increasing developments in urban areas / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Science)

Medicinal plants of Thulamela municipality are experiencing challenges due to human activities, resulting in some of the medicinal plants becoming difficult to find, declining, endangered or even extinct. Unsustainable harvesting is threatening the survival of certain medicinal plant species used as a source of primary healthcare in the area. This study investigates aspects related to traditional healers' perceptions with regard to collection, ethnobotanical importance and conservation status of indigenous medicinal plants used by traditional healers around Thulamela municipality. Information on medicinal plants was gathered by means of semi-structured interviews, field walks, personal observation and a literature review. A total of 90 medicinal plant species, which belong to 47 families, from a total of 82 genera commonly used by traditional healers to treat different ailments, were recorded. About 87% of traditional healers indicated that some medicinal plants are difficult to find; only 13% of healers did not experience difficulties in finding some medicinal plants. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Ornamental Horticulture)

The purpose of the study was to explore the understanding and implementation of the guidelines by nurses to detect mental disorders in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) management in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study aimed to recommend measures to strengthen implementation practices. Qualitative, exploratory and descriptive approach was conducted. Non-probability purposive sampling was used to select primary health professional nurses trained in HIV programme at primary health care facilities in Capricorn District. Data were collected through focus groups and in-depth individual interviews approach using the interview guide. The interviews started with focus group discussions as primary method and in-depth individual interviews as follow-up. Interviews were tape recorded and transcribed. Data were analysed using Creswell’s data analysis steps. Four themes emerged from data: understanding of HIV management guidelines; implementation of the guidelines; strengthening of mental health screening and competencies required for mental health screening. The study revealed that the nurses who did not have psychiatric nursing as an additional qualification lacked confidence and skills to conduct mental health screening in HIV positive infected individuals. However, they used their background nursing knowledge to manage clients. They all experienced challenges with information provided in the guidelines to screen for mental health in HIV management. Based on the results of this study, it was recommended that there should be integration of mental health and HIV and development of practical assessment tools for mental health screening. The study acknowledges the importance of equipping nurses with adequate skills to diagnose altered mental health states among HIV infected individuals. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

This study reports on the investigation of the educators teaching methods at Grade 4 First Additional Language. The study focused on selected schools in Moretele APO. It took into consideration the teaching methods and the challenges of the environment educators found themselves in teaching FAL. The study used a qualitative method to investigate the teaching of FAL. The experiences and the qualifications of educators were taken into consideration during the empirical study when the observations and the interviews were conducted. The empirical investigation revealed that educators did not know how to teach reading in FAL. They knew less about new approaches to teaching reading and that reading was treated as a separate entity from speaking and writing. The conditions that they found themselves were appalling due to lack of motivation, overcrowding in classes, lack of resources and lack of support from the Department of Education. / Language Education, Arts and Culture / M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The dawn of democracy in South Africa also led to the democratization of schools which added the role of ex-officio member of the School Governing Body (SGB) to that of principal as school manager. Many previous studies have left a gap in understanding how school principals manage their roles as managers and ex-officio members of SGBs. Hence, this qualitative study which sought to explore how principals perceive their roles as managers and ex-officio members of SGBs within their schools and their experiences of performing their roles in school management and governance; to identify the challenges experienced by principals in performing their dual roles; and to establish how school principals manage the identified challenges. Semi-structured interviews with, and documents received from, six participant principals were used for the purpose of collecting data for this study. The participants were selected from one circuit in a rural area of Limpopo Province. The six schools, used in this study, were three secondary schools and three primary schools. All the schools are „no fee paying schools.‟ Most of the parents are illiterate and unemployed. The selected primary schools are among the schools which obtained high scores in the Annual National Assessment (ANA). For the secondary schools, the performance of learners in their Matriculation examination was used as the selection criteria. The selected schools were, therefore, those with good academic performance in the ANA and the Matriculation examination and demonstrated good governance. The findings of this study show that the principals who participated in the study seem to struggle in coping with their teaching, management and governance roles. Most of the principals admitted that there is a need to balance their roles, which is not easy, due to other factors, such as teaching, social responsibilities and a lack of time – amongst others. Working with illiterate SGB members is an extra burden for principals as ex-officio members as they have to train them and, at times, perform duties that are often the responsibility of other members of the SGBs. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

M.Sc. (Zoology) / The Limpopo Province covers an area of 12.46 million hectares and these accounts for 10.2 per cent of the total land area of the Republic of South Africa. The province is endowed with abundant agricultural resources and it is one of the country’s prime agricultural regions noted for the production of fruits and vegetables, cereals, tea, and sugar. A key feature of the agricultural industry of Limpopo Province is its dualism. There are two distinct types of agricultural production systems. The large scale commercial farming system occupies approximately 70% of the total land area. The smallholder farms are located mostly in the former homeland areas and they cover approximately 30% of the provincial land surface area. The town of Thohoyandou, with its surrounding villages, is the area of greatest human concentration in the Luvuvhu Catchment and subsistence farming is about a third of the total agricultural component. It is important to study the effects of agricultural inputs (e.g. fertilizers and sediment loads) on aquatic ecosystems in order to fully understand the processes involved of these stresses on aquatic ecosystems. Knowledge of these impacts toward the environment and human health is often limited due to lack of capacity building, especially among small scale farmers. Ten bio-monitoring sites were studied on five systems in the Vhembe district. The sites were sampled during the low flow period of November 2011 and the high flow period of April 2012. Sampling sites were selected to present conditions in the Mutale, Mutshindudi and Tshinane Rivers upstream and downstream of the potential influence of small scale agricultural activities...

<p>Det är viktigt att kommunpolitiker och tjänstemän i kommuner använder sig av de verktyg som finns tillgängliga i kommunen. Det fungerar inte alltid, vilket det finns en rad olika orsaker till. Gröna bokslut är ett dokument som visar trender i samhället, den pekar på hur kommunen lyckas främja en hållbar utveckling på valda områden om. Det är till för att användas som beslutsunderlag vid olika beslut. </p><p>Syftet med fallstudien är att se hur stor kännedomen är om det gröna bokslutet bland kommunpolitiker och tjänstemän, och om de använder sig av boksluten. De frågeställningar som studerades är: </p><p>1. Hur stor kännedom har kommunpolitiker och tjänstemän om de gröna boksluten? </p><p>2. Använder de sig av det gröna bokslutet som beslutsunderlag för att främja den hållbara utvecklingen? </p><p>För den teoretiska anknytningen valdes implementeringsteori. Det man valde att titta på är ramen för olika implementeringsprocesser, exempel på det är nätverksimplementering och top - down - bottom - up användande processer för gröna boksluten. </p><p>Studien utfördes i kommunerna Linköping, Mjölby och Norrköping. Som metod för undersökningen valdes öppna kvalitativ intervjuer. Respondenterna blev sammanlagt nio stycken, två ledamöter i kommunfullmäktige och miljöcheferna för de olika miljökontoren i respektive kommun. Ett frågeunderlag användes vid intervjuerna. I analysen var de frågor som ställdes under intervjuerna utgångspunkten. Det som kom fram i analysen var att alla har kännedom om boksluten, det som skiljer dem åt är i vilken omfattning. Likaså skiljer sig användningen. Bland ledamöterna i kommunfullmäktige är det blandat, vissa använder det mycket medan andra knappt tittar i boksluten. Miljöcheferna använder inte bokslutet, då de anser att de inte har användning för det i sitt arbete. </p><p>Inte att förglömmas är att denna studie är väldigt smal och bara ger en bild utifrån de intervjuade om problematiken. Om studien hade utökats med fler eller med andra respondenter hade kanske ett annat resultat uppnåtts.</p>