M.P.H., Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2010 / Introduction No health care services are available for staff or students on the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Lack of finances and the notion that the health of the campus community is not the core business of a university are reasons for not providing some form of health care service. The Declaration of Alma-Ata was adopted internationally, stating that essential health care must be made universally accessible to all people. South Africa endorses the Declaration of Alma-Ata and commits itself to ensure equitable access to health care. A needs analysis of the Higher Education AIDS Programme (HEAIDS) demonstrated that most South African universities, within reasonable means, respond to their students' health needs by providing some form of primary health care service. The researcher is adopting an ecological approach using the Healthy Campus Model. The model is based on primary health care principles and values which refer to the health needs of people as this would assist in alleviating the burden of disease and the risks thereof. The Healthy Campus Model also explores equal access and utilization of quality health care whereby these principles of primary health care and community participation would guide such a service. This approach determines whether basic human rights of access to health care have been met. Materials and Methods In this study the research design was a cross-sectional descriptive survey. The survey is part of a comprehensive health needs assessment, using a mainly quantitative questionnaire as a data collection tool. The study population consisted of full-time students enrolled at the Potchefstroom Campus. It included subgroups on gender, seniority and place of residence and was chosen specifically to identify possible high-risk activities and influences on student health. A sample size of 370 students and confidence interval of 95% were calculated. Both purposive and a volunteer sampling were used. iii Results The most significant finding is the students' need for an affordable and accessible health care facility with a high level of client confidentiality and quality of service. The survey included data of the financial needs of students regarding their primary source of financial assistance as an indication of their financial wealth. Access to finances specifically allocated for health care shows that almost half of the target population (47,54%) do not have the surety of access to a source of finance to cover their medical expenses. However, the majority (74,32%) are willing to contribute towards cost-effective and affordable health care and do not expect free health care. Accessible health care services are also of major concern. The majority of students (68,38%) stay on or within walking distance from campus. The results indicated furthermore that students’ have specific health needs and preferences. The highest priority of health care were given to acute care or minor ailments (79,5%) followed by counselling care (70,6%). A need for HIV and Aids clinical programmes (69,8%) and health awareness and prevention programmes (67,6%) was indicated. The majority (83,74%) indicated that the services of the proposed health care centre will be preferred and utilized if available and affordable. Discussion The results of the health needs analysis on the Potchefstroom Campus clearly indicate that the students have definite needs for such services. The researcher argues that the institution is at risk by NOT responding to the students’ health needs. Absence of a health care service attributes to the inauspicious health environment of the campus. By supporting the ecological approach, the researcher concurs that a healthy environment has the greatest impact on good health and that health and educational success are interdependent. Conclusion and Recommendation Educational success is a strategic priority and the core business of all institutions of learning. Establishing a primary health care service and acting on the health needs of the students is a risk abatement strategy to surmise educational success. A follow-up survey to determine the top ten health impediments on campus is recommended to measure and manage academic and health-related successes.

The study uses the conventional economic approaches to savings behaviour as a point of departure. In the past, agricultural programmes and policies overlooked the importance of savings mobilization in favour of credit extension programmes. This line of economic development approach arose from the assumption that poor rural people cannot save and will not respond to opportunities to save. The latest research results clearly demonstrate that rural people do mobilise significant voluntary savings, even at their low levels of income. The thrust of the study was to research savings behaviour and motivation to save by resource poor farmers, with specific reference to farmers in Moretele District, Northwest Province. The study tested the hypothesis that poor people cannot save, and went further to analyse determinants of savings behaviour, motivations to save, sources of savings mobilization, savings accounts used and motivations to use a specific savings product. The application of the life cycle hypothesis was also analysed. Linear multiple regression, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) technique, analysis of variance (ANOV A), and factor analysis (FA) were used to analyse the data pertinent to the study. The findings of the study confirmed income as a major determinant of savings mobilization in the district. The extent of dependency, defined as the proportion of the population of a country falling in the age groups of 0-15 and 64 years and older, considered economically unproductive and therefore not counted as part of the country's labour force was found to have a negative effect on the ability of farmers to save. This is due to large family sizes and high levels of dependency in households. Age was also discovered to influence savings behaviour, but not in accordance with the application of the life cycle hypothesis. With regards to motivations to save, it was found that farmers in the district mainly save to cater for emergencies and for grandchildren's education, and not for accumulation/investment purposes. In addition to the abovementioned savings motives, farmers were however found to consider an investment imperative as reflected by an interaction between savings for accumulation and emergency purposes. The low investment imperative may change if other emergency management structures are considered. The main sources of savings mobilization for the farmers were income from livestock sales and government social security grant (government old age pension). These farmers were discovered to prefer ordinary savings plans. The rationale for this choice was found to be motivated by ease of quick access to savings and the liquidity provided by this savings product. The liquidity requirement is regarded as a strategy to address emergencies and any other financial need that might arise. The findings of the study calls for policy instruments that will expedite the implementation of outreach programmes and strategies for voluntary savings mobilization that will cater for investment imperative and emergency needs. Critical to this will be the development of savings products that respond to the various needs of resource poor farmers as well as to serve different categories of rural savers. The decentralization of savings institutions and linking of formal and informal financial institutions will enhance access to financial services by the rural population. Policies intended to discourage large families would help reduce the high rates of dependencies and relieve pressure on household income, which could be used for savings. / Dissertation (MSc (Agricultural Economics))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Background: Indoor air pollution due to the burning of biomass fuels has been associated with acute respiratory infections amongst children less than five years old in developing countries. Very little is known about the relationship between child indoor pollution exposure and time spent near indoor fires. Aim: To describe the relationship between the amount of time that children spend close to indoor fires and carbon monoxide exposure. Methods: Cross-sectional study based in rural North-West of South Africa. Secondary analysis of caregivers’ estimates of their children’s time-activity budgets and children’s exposure to carbon monoxide (N=100). Results: The time spent by children near indoor fires is non-significantly related to their CO exposure (regression coefficient -0.030 to -0.036) after adjusting for explanatory variables. Conclusion: It is important to be cautious about encouraging caregivers to keep children away from indoor fires at the expense of other established intervention strategies.

The majority of the people living with HIV in the North West Province are part of households living in an unfavourable economic situation (Kotze, Roux & Wessels 2001 :83). The AlDS pandemic has intensified their poverty situation even more, which is emphasized by Nattrass (2004:150) in the following statement: 'The AlDS pandemic is both a cause and effect of poverty.' Adding to this, the majority of the poverty-stricken people living with HIV in the Potchefstroom district do not feel supported after having been diagnosed HIV positive (Pienaar, 200455-58). Once there is a clearer understanding of how South Africans experience living with HIV. counsellors, nurses and other health care workers will be better equipped to meet the needs of these people (Coetzee & Spangenberg 2003:216). Therefore, guidelines that can serve as useful tools for professional nurses and other health care workers, including volunteers, who are working with poverty-stricken people living with HIV, were developed in this study in order to address the gap in the support during the HIV infection. The objective of this research was to explore the experience and to identify the support needs of poverty-stricken people living with HIV in the informal settlements in the Potchefstroom district and to formulate guidelines for effective support for poverty-stricken people living with HIV. A qualitative, phenomenological design was used which enabled the researcher to understand the way in which poverty-stricken people experience living with HIV and to identify their support needs. In-depth interviews, consisting of 24 one-to-one interviews and one focus group were conducted to obtain the data. The population studied in this research consisted of the poverty-stricken people living with HIV in the informal settlements in the Potchefstroom district in the North West Province, South Africa. Purposive sampling was used to select participants with the assistance of mediators who are working for the Non Governmental Organisations dealing with HIV and AlDS in the Potchefstroom district. The sample size was determined by data saturation, which was reached after 25 interviews. Data analysis was carried out simultaneously with data collection. In consensus discussions, the researcher and the co-coder reached consensus on the main and sub themes. From the research findings, six main themes were identified. The first two main themes are the facilitative and impeding experiences of poverty-stricken people living with HIV. The remaining four main themes include the needs of poverty-stricken people living with HIV, namely; basic needs, psycho-social needs, cultural-spiritual needs and self-actualisation needs. It could be concluded that the experience of poverty-stricken people living with HIV in the Potchefstroom district is closely related to their support needs. In order to address these needs holistically and to enhance the quality of life of poverty-stricken people living with HIV, the needs should firstly be addressed individually and according to culture. Following that, the collective needs can be addressed by a support system addressing basic, psychosocial, cultural-spiritual and selfactualisation needs for which an experiences and needs framework and guidelines were formulated. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The majority of the people living with HIV in the North West Province are part of households living in an unfavourable economic situation (Kotze, Roux & Wessels 2001 :83). The AlDS pandemic has intensified their poverty situation even more, which is emphasized by Nattrass (2004:150) in the following statement: 'The AlDS pandemic is both a cause and effect of poverty.' Adding to this, the majority of the poverty-stricken people living with HIV in the Potchefstroom district do not feel supported after having been diagnosed HIV positive (Pienaar, 200455-58). Once there is a clearer understanding of how South Africans experience living with HIV. counsellors, nurses and other health care workers will be better equipped to meet the needs of these people (Coetzee & Spangenberg 2003:216). Therefore, guidelines that can serve as useful tools for professional nurses and other health care workers, including volunteers, who are working with poverty-stricken people living with HIV, were developed in this study in order to address the gap in the support during the HIV infection. The objective of this research was to explore the experience and to identify the support needs of poverty-stricken people living with HIV in the informal settlements in the Potchefstroom district and to formulate guidelines for effective support for poverty-stricken people living with HIV. A qualitative, phenomenological design was used which enabled the researcher to understand the way in which poverty-stricken people experience living with HIV and to identify their support needs. In-depth interviews, consisting of 24 one-to-one interviews and one focus group were conducted to obtain the data. The population studied in this research consisted of the poverty-stricken people living with HIV in the informal settlements in the Potchefstroom district in the North West Province, South Africa. Purposive sampling was used to select participants with the assistance of mediators who are working for the Non Governmental Organisations dealing with HIV and AlDS in the Potchefstroom district. The sample size was determined by data saturation, which was reached after 25 interviews. Data analysis was carried out simultaneously with data collection. In consensus discussions, the researcher and the co-coder reached consensus on the main and sub themes. From the research findings, six main themes were identified. The first two main themes are the facilitative and impeding experiences of poverty-stricken people living with HIV. The remaining four main themes include the needs of poverty-stricken people living with HIV, namely; basic needs, psycho-social needs, cultural-spiritual needs and self-actualisation needs. It could be concluded that the experience of poverty-stricken people living with HIV in the Potchefstroom district is closely related to their support needs. In order to address these needs holistically and to enhance the quality of life of poverty-stricken people living with HIV, the needs should firstly be addressed individually and according to culture. Following that, the collective needs can be addressed by a support system addressing basic, psychosocial, cultural-spiritual and selfactualisation needs for which an experiences and needs framework and guidelines were formulated. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document Please note that pages 28, 199 and 264 were missing in the used copy / Dissertation (MSc (Wildlife Management))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / unrestricted

The purpose of the study was to assess the institutional support for capacity building of the senior public servants in the North West Province of South Africa. The literature, official documents and the responses from the departments and the senior public servants were analysed. The study has revealed the traditional gap between policy making and policy communication on one hand, and operational management and administration practices on the other. In detail, through the structured interviews and questionnaires, the study established that the public service is not taking a systematic and holistic approach to aligning and integrating the strategic management requirements and HR operations and needs which influence, and are influenced by, the expectations and needs of the senior public servants. Indeed, the dearth of linkages between strategic planning and effective HR planning thrusts a cultural misalignment and misfit within and between the departments, conventional HR practices and the paucity of long-term strategic leadership for the public service of the North West Province. Consequently, the institutional support in terms of effectively inducting the senior public servants; identifying management development and training needs in the context of the senior public servants’ jobs and careers; offering strategic and continuous leadership and professional development; the linkage between performance management review systems and the development mechanisms; and the appropriateness of the development activity to the needs of the current and future senior public servants require a structured framework to holistically confront the challenges of the public service, develop cultures of collective performance and succession management, as well as to sustain public service capability. From the perspective of effective public management, recommendations were made for successful transformation and HR competency management, as well as the durability of political leadership within the system of governance in the public service. / Thesis (PhD (Public Affairs))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / unrestricted

Many land reform projects have been implemented in South Africa since 1994 in an attempt to redress imbalances in land ownership which resulted from the racially biased policies of the South African government prior to 1994. The objective of land redistribution is commercially viable land reform projects, but evidence from various reports and other documents suggests that a large number of these projects have failed. Factors such as poor beneficiary selection, the problematic land acquisition process and a lack of post-settlement support have been reported in a number of studies as contributing to the failure of these projects. This study expands on the work of Kirsten and Machethe (2005) with the main aim of revisiting land reform beneficiaries who were interviewed in 2004/5 and to assess their current performance and status, and to determine whether the prediction and classifications of the 2005 review were correct. The specific objectives of this study were to determine the socio-economic profile of land reform beneficiaries over the five years since the previous study, to show changes in their farming activities, to determine factors affecting the performance of the already transferred projects in the study area and to make recommendations that may help to improve the performance of the land reform projects in South Africa. The performance of projects in 2010 was analysed and compared with that of projects in 2005. A total of 37 of the 43 land reform projects studied in 2005 were revisited and interviews were conducted with representatives of the projects using a structured questionnaire. Government officials responsible for these projects were also interviewed and field observations of the farms were made to verify the responses of the beneficiaries. The results show that the performance and situation of a number of beneficiaries of land redistribution in North West province have not improved since the previous study. Most of the beneficiaries still depend on remittances and social grants. The results indicate decreased production in 43% of the projects visited. As many as 27% of the projects are no longer in operation. Production in some of the projects that displayed success in 2004/5 has decreased, and the number of projects that are not in operation has increased. No production has taken place in four out of ten nonoperational projects visited since the acquisition of the land. The study identified poor infrastructure and limited access to capital and to the market as challenges that the beneficiaries of land reform face in their farming businesses. Conflict among project members was also reported to contribute to the poor performance of the projects and have led to the discontinuation of some projects. Most of the beneficiaries are still not aware of government support programmes such as the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP), even after more than five years in farming. Recommendations have been made to address the poor performance of many land reform projects, both at the programme and project levels. The effectiveness of the existing support programmes should be monitored to ensure that beneficiaries receive assistance. Suggestions from the study include a strong partnership between government and former cooperatives, acknowledging the external and internal factors affecting the relationship between farmers and these agribusinesses. Cooperation between the beneficiaries of land reform, the government and other agricultural stakeholders is essential for the success and sustainability of South Africa’s land reform projects. The results of the study can be used for future evaluations of the performance in land reform programmes. Copyright / Dissertation (MInstAgrar)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

A central question in agricultural extension evaluation is whether extension staff is familiar with appropriate evaluation prescripts for evaluating extension activities, and to what extent or how often do they implement those prescripts. The study assessed the approaches followed by the extension staff to evaluate agricultural projects in Bojanala Extension Region. It, specifically, provided a demographic orientation of extension staff in the Region. It also provided some orientation to project performance, and determined the effect of independent variables on the proficiency to formulate project objectives and determined knowledge with regard to formulation of objectives, the frequency at which these extension staff evaluate projects, and their knowledge on committee involvement in evaluation. Lastly, the study looked at the effect of PMDS rating of the extension staff on their proficiency to formulate project objectives, the frequency at which they evaluate projects and their knowledge on committee involvement in evaluation, and determined the respondents’ knowledge (intervening variable) with regard to the dependent variables. A total of 40 respondents (extension workers) were involved in interview sessions allowing extensive interaction and discussion before individuals were requested to record their viewpoints regarding various alternatives in questionnaires and prepared for that purpose and which were subsequently analysed. The results reveal that there is under-representation of female extension staff, with relatively old extension workers (40 years and older). The majority of the Regional extension workers are in possession of technically specialised qualifications. Also, it is clear that technically advised agricultural extension projects are more successful than the LRAD, Food Security and LandCare projects. The results also provide evidence, that project objectives are often not clear, specific, and measurable. Only 50% of the respondents in possession of NQF Level 7&8 qualification scored average points regarding project objective formulation. 31.5% respondents in all ranks indicated only an average and even below average ability to formulate objectives. Merely 33.3% in possession of NQF Level 7&8 evaluate projects on a monthly or less basis. Extension workers with 15 years or less experience evaluate their projects more frequently than the respondents with 16 years or more experience. The agricultural technicians seem to be having limited responsibility of evaluating projects in which they are involved. The other disappointing revelation is that only 23% of the respondents evaluate the projects after completion of every activity and only 29.7% clearly indicated that they know exactly to what extent committee members are involved in the evaluation of projects. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Previous work done on the vaccination of village chickens in the communal areas of South Africa demonstrated that the Nobilis Inkukhu® commercial thermostable vaccine was able to protect chickens against virulent Newcastle disease challenge when applied by eye-drop, water or in-feed (cooked maize meal) application. In the initial trial work, University staff or graduate students, rather than poultry owners themselves prepared all vaccines. In order for vaccination of the village chickens to be carried out on a more extensive scale it is obviously necessary for a larger body of people to be enabled to vaccinate chickens. It was also felt by the researchers that once community members had to make an effort to get their chickens vaccinated, it would be possible to determine somewhat more accurately the real level of enthusiasm for vaccination of chickens among the community. The trial work was carried out in the village of Disaneng, which lies in the Northwest Province of South Africa. Visual and practical training material was prepared and presented to community-elected and volunteer “vaccinators”. Vaccinators were then required to register all the poultry owners in their ward who wished to have their chickens vaccinated. Once an indication of the number of chickens to be vaccinated had been made available, Inkukhu vaccine was supplied to vaccinators free of charge. Vaccinators were responsible for the organization of the vaccination campaign, including the storage and preparation of the vaccine for application. Vaccine application methods differed between wards. After a focus group discussion to select methods of vaccination only two of the three methods were chosen. A training session was arranged for training volunteer vaccinators in the method of vaccination i.e. water and in-feed administration All nine wards in the village were initially involved in the vaccination campaign with a total of 482 households owning 6 141 chickens participating. Detailed survey work carried out in three of the participating wards indicated that this represented slightly in excess of 60% of the chickens in the area. Involvement in a second round of vaccinations, one month later, was far poorer with only 211 households owning a total of 1 636 chickens participating. Approximately one month after each vaccination campaign, blood samples were collected from a random sample of about 150 chickens that had been vaccinated and tested for circulating antibodies to Newcastle disease, using the HI test. These results showed variable levels of protection achieved, but were influenced more by the area (vaccinator) from which they came, than the vaccine application method used. An investigation was done as to find the reasons for the sudden drop-off in community participation between vaccination campaigns as well as to obtain further information about vaccine handling and preparation by the community vaccinators. It was found that a concurrent disease outbreak causing the deaths of chickens and the attitude of the owners probably contributed to the demotivation of volunteers used as community vaccinators Another unexpected finding was the rate at which chicken flock numbers appeared to alter between vaccination campaigns. The reason for this is yet to be established but may indicate that chickens are moved between homesteads belonging to a single family, depending on what forage is available, or other unidentified disease problems. It was concluded that probably volunteers are not ideal for vaccination of community poultry. They are easily demotivated; do not keep good records and left the project when offered permanent employment. / Dissertation (MSc (Veterinary Tropical Diseases))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Veterinary Tropical Diseases / MSc / unrestricted