There is no doubt that the assessment of social impacts is as important, in some cases even more important, than the assessment of biophysical and economic impacts of development projects. Nonetheless, social impact assessment (SIA) has remained an "orphan" in the broader environmental impact assessment (EIA) context, both internationally and in South Africa, and is often neglected or treated as a less important aspect of an EIA. It was the aim of this study to measure perceptions of relative neglect of SIA in South Africa against the theory and practice of SIA as reflected in the literature. The basic hypothesis was that, whereas the theory and practice of SIA has reached a sophisticated level in the developed world, the practice of SIA in South Africa is not yet on a sound footing and that it does not receive the professional attention it deserves in a country beset by enormous social challenges. Thus the research problem was whether SIA is practiced at a satisfactory level of proficiency in South Africa. Social aspects of impact assessment in the North West Province of South Africa were investigated, with the aim to identify shortcomings and their possible causes and to make recommendations for improvement. The article format was used, and the main section of the study comprises two articles. The first article, a theoretical perspective based on a literature study, is a critical evaluation of SIA as part of the EIA process in South Africa against the background of international guidelines and best practices. The article includes sections on the historical background of the development of SIA in South Africa, the legal status and requirements of SIA in the country, and a critical evaluation of SIA regulation in South Africa. It was found that the persistent problems of SIA practice, experienced in other parts of the world, are also evident in South Africa. Apart from institutional, financial and professional constraints, there are also serious problems associated with approach and methods. The second article is an evaluation of and recommendations for the improvement of the practice of SIA in the North West Province. An empirical study of 26 EIAs, performed in the province between 1999 and 2002, was done. It was established that in terms of social baseline data, the identification of significant social impacts, specialist studies, public participation, recommended mitigation measures, and the attention paid to social impacts in records of decision (RODS) SIA practice in the North West Province is far from satisfactory. Apathy towards social impacts is associated with a general lack of SIA expertise. The following recommendations are made in the study to improve the level of SIA practice: a system of mandatory registration of SIA practitioners should be introduced; specialized SIA training programmes for SIA practitioners and officials should be developed and accredited; SIA specialists should be used to assess significant social impacts identified in EIAs; a policy framework and code of ethics for SIA practice should be developed; methodological guidelines for SIA should be supplied in or as a supplement to the new EIA guidelines; and the public participation process should be redesigned. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Physical inactivity is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and other chronic diseases of life. In countries undergoing economic transition from underdeveloped to being developed, there is an increasing rate of physical inactivity. Accurate assessment of physical activity behaviours is important for determining the presence of physical inactivity, for setting goals for physical therapy interventions to increase physical activity and to utilize physical activity as an outcome measure for physical therapy interventions. There are different techniques used to measure physical activity, namely questionnaires, motion sensors (pedometers and accelerometers) and doubly labelled water. The most used method in large epidemiological research is questionnaires because of their affordability and feasibility. Limitations of physical activity questionnaires include the exclusion of house-hold activities, intensity of work done, bicycling, duration and frequency of leisure time activities. Motion sensors have been mostly used in developed and westernized countries. In the North West Province (NWP) of South Africa the only method that has been used to determine physical activity among the Tswana speaking people was the Transition of Health during urbanization physical activity questionnaire (THUSA-PAQ). The application of other methods such as the motion sensors has never been done. Objectives: The study comprised two major objectives: The first objective was to determine the physical activity levels of the rural and urban Tswana speaking people of the NWP using the THUS A questionnaire and pedometers. The second objective was to determine whether there is a relationship in physical activity determined by the THUSA-PAQ, promotional pedometer and an accelerometer determined activity. Methods The participants recruited for this study form part of the larger prospective urban and rural epidemiology (PURE) longitudinal study running over 12 years which started in 2005. A subsample of 200 was randomly selected of which hundred and eighty signed the informed consent (90 urban and 90 rural) to participate in the study. The participants completed the THUSA-PAQ with the assistance help of the fieldworkers in their native language and wore pedometers for seven consecutive days. The number of steps taken per day distance travelled and energy expenditure were recorded in a logbook. Another thirty eight participants from a co-hort in the same geographical area were issued with accelerometers to wear simultaneously with pedometers for a period of twenty four hours and also completed the THUSA-PAQ. Results The rural male and female participants reported higher average physical activity index (PAT) with the THUSA questionnaire (9.49 ± 3.67 and 8.10 ± 1.26) than urban male and female participants (8.13 ± 2.47 and 7.51 ± 1.65) respectively. The same trend was observed with the objectively determined physical activity with the pedometers. A partial correlation adjusted for age and gender showed no statistical significance between the subjectively determined physical activity index (PAT) and the objectively determined activity (average steps per day). Results from the co-hort participants indicated that both male and female participants spent a larger percentage of their time on sedentary activities (66.45 ± 15.84% and 70.13 ± 8.39%) respectively. Most of the participants, 64.7% females and 52.1% males, recorded fewer than 5000 steps per day with a pedometer and reported high PAI (9.61 ± 1.83 males and 7.79 ± 1.26 females) with the THUSA-PAQ. On this population partial correlation analyses that was adjusted for age and body mass index (BMT) showed a statistical significant relationship between (p<0.05) time spent on vigorous activities and commute index between male and female participants. There was no statistical significant relationship between the PAI (THUSA-PAQ), activity energy expenditure (AEE) determined with an accelerometer and the number of steps per day determined with a pedometer. Conclusion The major conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that the participants did not meet the recommended physical activity levels (30 min moderate physical activity or 10 000 pedometer determined steps per day). The participants reported high subjective physical activity index (PAI) with the THXJSA-PAQ which did not correlate with the low objectively determined number of steps per day using the pedometer and AEE. Possible reasons for this include the influence of perception toward physical activity, social desrrabiUty, seasonal changes, reactivity and time of the year. Motion sensors gave a better indication of habitual physical activity among the Tswana speaking people of the NWP and should be considered for further research. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Physical inactivity is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and other chronic diseases of life. In countries undergoing economic transition from underdeveloped to being developed, there is an increasing rate of physical inactivity. Accurate assessment of physical activity behaviours is important for determining the presence of physical inactivity, for setting goals for physical therapy interventions to increase physical activity and to utilize physical activity as an outcome measure for physical therapy interventions. There are different techniques used to measure physical activity, namely questionnaires, motion sensors (pedometers and accelerometers) and doubly labelled water. The most used method in large epidemiological research is questionnaires because of their affordability and feasibility. Limitations of physical activity questionnaires include the exclusion of house-hold activities, intensity of work done, bicycling, duration and frequency of leisure time activities. Motion sensors have been mostly used in developed and westernized countries. In the North West Province (NWP) of South Africa the only method that has been used to determine physical activity among the Tswana speaking people was the Transition of Health during urbanization physical activity questionnaire (THUSA-PAQ). The application of other methods such as the motion sensors has never been done. Objectives: The study comprised two major objectives: The first objective was to determine the physical activity levels of the rural and urban Tswana speaking people of the NWP using the THUS A questionnaire and pedometers. The second objective was to determine whether there is a relationship in physical activity determined by the THUSA-PAQ, promotional pedometer and an accelerometer determined activity. Methods The participants recruited for this study form part of the larger prospective urban and rural epidemiology (PURE) longitudinal study running over 12 years which started in 2005. A subsample of 200 was randomly selected of which hundred and eighty signed the informed consent (90 urban and 90 rural) to participate in the study. The participants completed the THUSA-PAQ with the assistance help of the fieldworkers in their native language and wore pedometers for seven consecutive days. The number of steps taken per day distance travelled and energy expenditure were recorded in a logbook. Another thirty eight participants from a co-hort in the same geographical area were issued with accelerometers to wear simultaneously with pedometers for a period of twenty four hours and also completed the THUSA-PAQ. Results The rural male and female participants reported higher average physical activity index (PAT) with the THUSA questionnaire (9.49 ± 3.67 and 8.10 ± 1.26) than urban male and female participants (8.13 ± 2.47 and 7.51 ± 1.65) respectively. The same trend was observed with the objectively determined physical activity with the pedometers. A partial correlation adjusted for age and gender showed no statistical significance between the subjectively determined physical activity index (PAT) and the objectively determined activity (average steps per day). Results from the co-hort participants indicated that both male and female participants spent a larger percentage of their time on sedentary activities (66.45 ± 15.84% and 70.13 ± 8.39%) respectively. Most of the participants, 64.7% females and 52.1% males, recorded fewer than 5000 steps per day with a pedometer and reported high PAI (9.61 ± 1.83 males and 7.79 ± 1.26 females) with the THUSA-PAQ. On this population partial correlation analyses that was adjusted for age and body mass index (BMT) showed a statistical significant relationship between (p<0.05) time spent on vigorous activities and commute index between male and female participants. There was no statistical significant relationship between the PAI (THUSA-PAQ), activity energy expenditure (AEE) determined with an accelerometer and the number of steps per day determined with a pedometer. Conclusion The major conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that the participants did not meet the recommended physical activity levels (30 min moderate physical activity or 10 000 pedometer determined steps per day). The participants reported high subjective physical activity index (PAI) with the THXJSA-PAQ which did not correlate with the low objectively determined number of steps per day using the pedometer and AEE. Possible reasons for this include the influence of perception toward physical activity, social desrrabiUty, seasonal changes, reactivity and time of the year. Motion sensors gave a better indication of habitual physical activity among the Tswana speaking people of the NWP and should be considered for further research. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

M.Sc. (Geography) / This study concentrates. not only on the physical and chemical factors influencing erosion levels in the Pilanesberg area, but also on the impact of anthropogenic factors such as artificial drainage and other cultural irregularities that have modified the local catchment in the Pilanesberg area. For this reason, a comparative study of soil erosion has been made across the perimeter of the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve. The study'aimed to analyze the impact of climatic factors, chemical and physical properties of the soils on the local erosion system. Possible triggering mechanisms of the erosion have been discussed and conservation concerns in the Pilanesberg area have been raised. Of major importance in this study has been the'estimation of soil loss rates across the perimeter of the PNR.. This was premised on the 'rationale that population pressure has an impact on the local erosion system, Through the' analysis of sediment trapped at the monitoring sites it has been possible to indicate the tremendous impact of population pressure on the slopes of the Pilanesberg hills, just outside of the PNR. The rate at which soil is lost on the surrounding rural landscape in the Pilanesberg area has been found to be on average. nearly four times higher than inside of the PNR.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / The Morokweng impact structure which is located in the North West province of South Africa, has attracted attention as a potential host for Ni-PGE mineralization. Geochemical exploration techniques using hydroxylamine partial extraction were used to determine the nature and source of surface geochemical anomalies known to occur in the overlying aeolian sang regolith. About 40 aeolian samples were taken from an area of about 35 square kilometer, located in the north eastern sector of the Morokweng impact structure. The samples were sieved to various grain size fractions and partially extracted using varying concentration of hydroxylamine hydrochloride at 50&deg; / South Africa

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

Thesis (D. Tech. (Business Administration)) -- Central University of technology, Free State, 2013 / This study was carried out to examine the interaction between ethnicity and entrepreneurship in a South African setting. Specifically, a survey using a questionnaire was carried out to determine the influence ethnicity has on entrepreneurial behaviour and attitudes among the Tswana, Afrikaner, Coloured and Indian entrepreneurs in the Naledi Local Municipality in the North West Province of South Africa. A literature review preceded the empirical study to fully comprehend the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of the interaction between ethnicity and entrepreneurship among different ethnic groups. In the empirical study phase, a questionnaire was administered to 400 randomly selected entrepreneurs in order to collect data on their motives for starting business, source of start-up capital and their attitudes/behaviours regarding risk in business. Waldinger et al.'s (1996) structure, enclave, cultural and situation theories were used as the theoretical base. Out of a total of 400 questionnaires that were distributed, 338 were usable representing an 84.5% response rate. The chi-square tests found significant differences (p < 0.05) between the four ethnic groups on all the key dimensions of ethnicity on entrepreneurship and the success/performance of the four ethnic groups in business. The chi-square test shows that businesses operated/owned by Afrikaner and Indian ethic groups are more likely to perform better than those owned and operated by their Tswana and Coloured counterparts.