Thesis (Ph. D.)--Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 350-360).

M.Sc.

M.Comm. / This dissertation examines the role of land reforms in the alleviation of rural poverty. A three-pronged approach is adopted in the background study process. This includes a review of the South African land reform programme, a review of international experiences in land reforms, and finally, a focused study of the Uitkyk community of the North West Province. Chapter 1 lays the framework for the study and ends up with the fundamentals of the South African land reform programme. Chapter 2 examines experiences in land reforms in three other countries namely, Brazil, China and Zimbabwe. Based on the comparability of these countries to South Africa in various respects, lessons are drawn from their experiences for South Africa. Chapter 3 traces the origin and evolution of the land question among the Uitkyk community and their subsequent quest for restitution. Chapter four presents empirical evidence from a field survey, with subsequent analysis thereof. Finally, Chapter 5 summarises the lessons drawn from the Uitkyk and South African experience and the international experience. It also offers some tentative recommendations for the South African land reform programme. Two fundamental approaches to land reforms are recognised in this dissertation. These include the government-assisted approach and the market based approach. It is difficult to find any pure form of either approaches anywhere on a national scale. However, at different time periods, countries may tend to prefer one approach over the other. After the 2005 National Land Summit, there is growing , momentum for South Africa to switch from a predominantly market-based· approach to a more government-assisted programme. For a land reform programme to be effective, it must go beyond changes in access to resources to actual economic development. Such development is indicated by changes in income, employment, nutrition and education. The evidence from this dissertation suggests that within the Uitkyk community, land reforms may so far have resulted in change in access to land, but not so much in economic development. To advance the goals of land reform, South Africa will have to carefully consider the tradeoffs between two seemingly conflicting goals of land reform, namely, efficiency and equity, Both community and individual beneficiaries of land grants must also take greater responsibility in translating the change in land access to more wealth and better living conditions.

This research project is undertaken in order to investigate into the situation of principal-teachers who are both principal and teacher in multi-graded classrooms in farm schools. Possible solutions to the problem are to be found after establishing how principal-teachers construct meaning of their daily working lives. Although it is true that the frustrations and problems of principal-teachers in farm schools are unique and diverse, an attempt is made in this research project to alert the stakeholders to the need of physical and human resources as well as a staffing model for farm schools. The literature review indicates that there are gaps in the provision of farm schooling. There are also suggestions for possible means of overcoming these problems. The one with the challenging task is the principal-teacher who has to be trained for the “super”-work that he or she has to face on a daily basis. The contribution of other social partners or stakeholders is also of great importance. The conditions under which the farm school children live at home should be monitored by the Department of Health to help bring about improvements which will enhance the learning ability of the child at school. / Dr. M.C. van Loggerenberg

This research was conducted in an effort to investigate the impact of redeployment on the work life of the educator in the Bojanala East Region. The continued placing of educators from one school to the other prompted this study. The research concentrated on schools in the Bojanala East Region. A quantitative research methodology was used to elicit the perceptions of educators with regard to the impact redeployment has on the work life of the educator. The project is divided into five chapters. In chapter one an overview and orientation of the study was given. The problem statement was demarcated. The aims relating to the above mentioned problems were explained. The research methodologies utilised a literature study and a complementary empirical investigation. Concepts were also clarified to enhance understanding. Chapter two concentrated on the literature review to establish what other theorists say about the impact of redeployment on the work life of the educator. In chapter three the design of the research instrument was discussed. The structured questionnaire consisting of biographical data and 19 items were discussed. The theoretical constructs around which redeployment revolved were tabulated. A wide range of educators across all post levels in the Bojanala East Region was sampled. Biographical data was requested from respondents since it was believed that these aspects could be related to educator redeployment and could influence educator perceptions. An analysis and interpretation of some of the empirical data were undertaken in chapter four. Two successive factor analysis on the research instrument produced two factors: • Effective implementation of the redeployment process consisting of 12 items with a Cronbach-Alpha reliability of 0,720. • Effective communication consisting of 7 items with a Cronbach-Alpha reliability of 0,629. Hypotheses were set and univariate statistics were used to analyse and interpret data. Important findings and recommendations were explicated in chapter five. / Prof. C.F. Loock

Computers are increasingly used worldwide in teaching and learning. The education system in South Africa also calls for the use of technology in teaching and learning as one of the critical cross-field outcomes of outcomes based education (OBE). In order to achieve this goal, the hypermedia-based learning environment, including Web-based learning, needs to be explored, especially since not many studies locally have focused on this topic. Although many schools already provide education in Information Technology, not all learners are adept at navigating the Web. This study focused on information overload and disorientation on the Web. The purpose of the study was to explore Web-based learning and to develop strategies to enable learners to overcome impeding factors while constructing and representing knowledge in a hypermedia-based learning environment. This, being a new approach to and method of learning interaction that employs hypermediabased learning strategies, encapsulates the integration of technology in education at secondary school level. The literature study was based on the design experiment method, which embraced a qualitative research approach, both descriptive and explorative, and was found to be appropriate for the purposes of this study. The data gathering methods relevant to establishing how e-literacy can assist in reducing information overload in a hypermedia environment were individual interviews, focus group interviews, observation and open-ended questions. The participants were grade 10 learners from a secondary school in the North West Province and their Information Technology teacher. A conceptual framework of the learning programme was created in order to integrate the guiding principles for the design process. The framework outlines how the design process was carried out based on teaching and learning theories, and using a constructivist approach in an attempt to reduce information overload and disorientation while using ICT tools. xvi The content of the learning programme focused on the Cricket World Cup 2003, in the learning area of Life Orientation. Learners were to learn navigation strategies for effective and meaningful learning on the Web, with the help of guided interactive tasks in order to avoid information overload and learner disorientation in hyperspace. The effectiveness of the strategies was also evaluated. The learners’ experiences and feelings about, and perspectives on participating in the hypermedia-based learning programme were investigated. The results indicated that the learning programme – aimed at providing learners with adequate knowledge and skills for navigating in the Web – promoted motivation and enabled learners to successfully construct and represent knowledge in the hypermedia-learning environment. It enhanced not only experiential and independent learning, but also individual, collaborative and cognitive situated learning. The principles of constructivism and OBE facilitated teaching and learning as the guiding factor in both educator and learner instances. However, it became clear that a lack of skills and awareness in using ICT tools to construct meaningful knowledge, as well as being inexperienced in the constructivist approach, could easily give rise to information overload and disorientation. It was concluded that the onus is on educators, instructional designers and developers of learning programmes to equip themselves with the necessary eliteracy skills in order to guide and prepare learners increasingly in the field of Information Technology in education. This is essential, because there is a great need for e-literacy in open distance learning, and as a prerequisite for tertiary education and lifelong learning in South Africa. / Prof. D. van der Westhuizen Prof. M.H. Trϋmpelmann

M.Ed.

The study focuses on the north and south Sudan conflict and seeks to investigate the continuing threats to a return to war between the two parties since the 2005 Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and after the independence of South Sudan. The study critically analyses the CPA and investigates the dilemmas faced by the two Sudans and examines the conflict resolution/transformation process. This thesis relies on data generated from key informant interviews and archival data as primary sources; complemented by secondary sources of data obtained from books, journals, research documents and relevant literature on the area. The study analyses the background of the north-south Sudan conflict, analysis of the CPA, implications of the negotiation, mediation and the implementation processes of the CPA and the referendum, post-referendum, the post-independence issues and the conflict resolution efforts. These are discussed in order to find the reasons as to why the CPA emerged as it did and its effectiveness. The study uses the concept of the conflict resolution/transformation approaches and their methods (mediation, negotiation and peacebuilding), the Galtung ABC theory and the Liberal peace theory as tools to guide the study in order to measure the data collected from the field. The results of the analysis suggest that history, the mediation and the negotiation process viewed to have been narrow and non-inclusive, the content of the CPA itself, the problems of the previous processes before the referendum, the referendum of Southern Sudan and the Abyei referendum failure provided the basis of the origins of the post-referendum and the post-independence issues. These issues are responsible for the dilemmas faced by the two states and eventually the tensions and the threats to a return to war which exist up to the present. All these issues lie at the heart of the difficulties of the conflict resolution process and the relationship problem of North and South Sudan. However, the 2005 CPA had partial success in that it achieved partial negative peace which in turn led to the separation of north and south Sudan.

This study evaluated potential health risks associated with the consumption of commonly consumed leafy vegetables, Amaranthus hybridus (tepe), Brassica oleracea (cabbage) and Spinacia oleracea (spinach) in the gold mining town of Kanana in North West Province, where these three plants were the most commonly consumed. Structured interviews were conducted with 40 households to determine their socioeconomic status and the consumption patterns of vegetables (cultivated and wild plants). Along with interviews, plant samples were sampled in home gardens and at various harvesting locations in the wild for chemical analysis. Finally, analysis of mercury content in the sampled three leafy vegetable species was performed to ascertain the contributions of the vegetables to the dietary mercury intake among a predominantly young and poor subpopulation of Kanana, which was found to be largely dependent on state welfare grants and on the cultivation and gathering of wild plants for survival. The study found that all three leafy vegetable species under analysis had mercury concentrations that exceeded the maximum permitted by the World Health Organisation. The highest mean mercury concentrations were found in A. hybridus 0.287μg/g dry mass and the lowest in S. oleracea 0.128μg/g dry mass. Equally, mercury ingestion through the three leafy vegetables by adults in the surveyed subgroups of Kanana exceeded thresholds prescribed by the (2007). Based on consumption patterns, dietary mercury intake by adults exceeded the recommended limits by one order of magnitude, with yearly dose exceeding by as much as four and three orders of magnitude. Long term mercury exposure can cause damage to the central nervous system and chronic intoxication. The surveyed subpopulation is therefore exposed to health risks from mercury toxicity. To ensure food safety and to protect the residents from metal toxicity, awareness programmes are recommended to educate communities living in the vicinity of mines to avoid the areas of highest contamination, such as the artisanal mine dumps and (in this case) the Schoonspruit stream, and to control the artisanal use of mercury. Alternative vegetable gardening methods such as vegetable container gardening using unpolluted soil can also be implemented for the community. In addition, remediation of all the sites where local people cultivate vegetables and gather edible wild plants should be considered where feasible. The insights gained through the study should be used to inform local land use planning and create awareness among personnel from local regulators and development agencies. The insights can also be used to inform environmental management planning processes, risk mitigation and social impact assessment for industries in the region, in particular those involved in mining. Keywords: consumption patterns, gold mining, human health risk, leafy vegetables, mercury.

The Integrated Development Planning is regarded as a tool for bridging the gap between the current development reality and the vision of equitable, sustainable development and service delivery. This new planning approach is meant to enable municipalities to develop strategic policy capacity, to mobilise resources and to target its own. activities. It is a tool that municipalities can use to become developmentally oriented, as well as to mobilise participation of local communities with the intention of meeting local citizens' social, economic and material needs. It guides and informs all planning, development, management actions and decisions. This study has attempted to analyse the implementation of the Integrated Development Plan using the Bophirima District Municipality as a case study. The critical question that the study attempted to answer was whether there was any progress made in the implementation of the district municipality's plan to uplift the living conditions of local citizens. The study also focused on whether local citizens participated in the planning process of their own development. The primary instrument for data collection used in this study was questionnaires. The findings of the study revealed that municipalities lacked high quality technical skills to manage, administer and source finances to implement sustainable projects. It is therefore recommended that:- a) For development to be sustainable, all municipalities in the district should design and implement a full participation strategy by all municipal stakeholders and mobilise financial resources to implement projects identified to improve the living standards of communities. b) Municipalities should expedite the implementation of local economic development strategy to attract sustainable businesses to the area to create jobs and markets for internal and outside suppliers. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006