Magister Artium (Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science) - MA(SRES) / This study is motivated by the growing need for South African sport competitions (such as the Olympic Games and various other sport-specific world championships) to be transformed into quality and profitable events, noting that they need to be managed professionally, with well organised and sophisticated athlete preparation with excellent management systems. New pressures have emerged from within South Africa from key stakeholders that require sport organisations to become more performance orientated, and to build their capacity in order to improve or better manage their organisational performance. The primary focus of the research, therefore, is on quality management practices in high performance sport at a programme management level while the research also reviews substantial literature concerning the study in order to explain the dynamics surrounding the high performance management practices of Swimming Centres of Excellence at the two selected universities in South Africa. The study is qualitative and unpacks two theoretical frameworks namely, Total Quality Management practices and a conceptual framework of high performance management structures and processes. The overarching findings and recommendations are that the implementation of the Quality Management Practices (QMPs) require that the principles and philosophy of excellence are shared and understood by all stakeholders. To implement QMPs successfully, there is a need to radically transform conventional practices to achieve radical and pervasive change. The research shows evidence that QMPs involve the redesign of organisational structures, the re-design of work and the re-definition of management style. The swimming high performance environment must be willing to take this into consideration for successful implementation of QMPs at the Centres of Excellence to ensure its future performance

Magister Legum - LLM / The aim of the study was to assess Zimbabwe‘s legal response to gender-based violence that can be to traditional cultural practices. First, most traditional cultural practices in Zimbabwe are discriminatory towards women and girls; the study has therefore shown the link between gender-based violence and traditional cultural practices. Second, it has been shown that the recognition of the right to culture by international and regional instruments is subject to non-violation of human rights. Third, the min-thesis has also established that in complying with its international obligations on the protection of women from gender-based violence linked to traditional cultural practices, Zimbabwe has enacted a plethora of legislation. More importantly, the study has also proven that despite these legal initiatives, gender-based violence linked to traditional cultural practices still continues. This mini-thesis has, among other factors, highlighted the following as shortfalls in legislations passed to address this problem: poor enforcement of these laws; Zimbabwe‘s hybrid legal system where customary law operates in conjunction with civil laws; weak wording of some pieces of legislation, such as legislation that deals with marriage rights for women married under customary law; and that most women, especially those in rural areas are not fully equipped with the knowledge of the different pieces of legislation that have been put in place to protect them from such violence.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Background: Appropriate and adequate infant feeding practices are an important factor in achieving optimal health in infants. Inappropriate and inadequate infant feeding practices contribute significantly to ill-health in infants. Both WHO and UNICEF recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months both in the context of HIV and otherwise unless exclusiv formula feeding can meet each of five conditions: acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable and safe (AFASS). The modes of infant feeding include exclusive breastfeeding, formula feeding and mixed feeding. Medical recommendations and social pressures related to infant feeding in high HIV-prevalence low-income communities may have shifted infant feeding practices. The aim of this study was to explore factors influencing infant feeding practices and decision making among women in one such community, Kabwata Township, in Lusaka, Zambia. Method: An exploratory qualitative study was conducted at Kabwata Health Centre in Kabwata Township in Lusaka, Zambia. Convenient sampling was used to recruit 32 women for focus group discussions and three key informants (two nurses and one social worker) for individual interviews. Verbal consent was received from all participants. Semi-structured interview guides were used to elicit discussion by all participants. Discussions were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic data analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Results: Most FGD participants reported that they themselves initiated breastfeeding soon after giving birth, but not all of them breastfed exclusively for the first six months, as is currently recommended. The major factors influencing infant feeding included; influence from family and friends, stigma and discrimination, influence from health care providers, practical realities such as maternal employment and poverty, and cultural/traditional practices. Conclusion: While breastfeeding is valued and accepted, most women do not or cannot exclusively breastfeed for six (6) months for various reasons. Paradoxically, the social value of breastfeeding and the knowledge that breast milk can transmit HIV reinforce mixed feeding as the predominant feeding practice. Key informants reported that women attending health care services at Kabwata health centre were encouraged and taught to breastfeed their infants exclusively for six months. There is a need to re-look at the way the women are being encouraged, taught and supported so that the apparent knowledge and acceptance of breastfeeding can translate into improved infant feeding practices. Awareness campaigns need to include all stakeholders including family members, the community, employers and the women themselves in order to make exclusive breastfeeding easier for the women.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Poor performance by South African students especially in literacy and numeracy are at a level of national crisis. Theory, as well as international and national systemic tests, show that the reasons for this is both multiple and extremely complex. In this study I investigated the problems relating to learner achievement levels in South African education. The main question arising from this problem, which I addressed, is: What are the possible factors that contribute to learner achievement levels in South Africa? My conceptual focus is on pedagogic practices and the socialization of identity, and how these relate to learner achievement levels, working from the premise that children from different social classes experience schooling differently. My focus is on the classroom, phase and school contexts, whilst locating these in the wider national, continental and global contexts. The disciplinary approach used in this study is in the domain of sociology of education, drawing specifically on the work of leading sociologists Pierre Bourdieu and Basil Bernstein. Bourdieu’s notions of ‘habitus’, ‘field’ and ‘cultural capital’ helped in understanding structure and agency, and the interiority and exteriority of social relations, whereas Bernstein’s ‘code theory’ and his work on curriculum, pedagogic practices and pedagogic discourse was used to describe how formal knowledge is realized and transmitted, and its effects on different social groupings. Methodologically, this study is located within a qualitative interpretivist research paradigm. Research was conducted in three purposively selected public primary schools in the Western Cape using a qualitative multiple case study research design. The bounded cases were Grades 1, 4 and 7 learners in relation to their teachers and principals. The rationale for selecting these particular cases stems from the fact that research in these particular areas of schooling is lacking. The significance of the study lies in the fact that previous research on learner achievement used teacher behaviour as a predictor for achievement, whereas this study focused primarily on learner behaviour and the learners’ views on their own achievement. The study employed in-depth data collection procedures including questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and various document related sources. The contextual analysis reveals that there is clearly a need to understand the nature of the learner, what they bringing into school and how they make sense of schooling. Furthermore, it shows that the ways in which learners exercise their agency is reinforcing underachievement. It further reveals that teachers are under pressure to get learners to adhere to the middle-class ethos of schooling and as a result are pushed into the regulative discourse compromising the instructional discourse within pedagogy. Pedagogically, the analysis reveals that teachers are under pressure in terms of curriculum coverage having to work within restricted time-frames, and having to meet the requirements of the ANAs that they do not see the possibility to relax framing in terms of pacing. As a result they are leaving their learners behind. Furthermore, the unnecessary strong framing at the level of pacing, not making the evaluation criteria explicit, and the heavy reliance on systemic testing, as in the case of the ANAs, is creating homogenised and standardised learner identities, which translate into differential learner experiences and ultimately differential learner achievement levels. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

An imperative of the South African government is to increase agricultural production in rural areas. In support of this, a project was initiated in the Mlondozi district of Mpumalanga Province under the National LandCare programme. The goal was to assess land management practices contributing to sustainable and profitable agricultural production. Medium-term liming experiments were sampled to a range of lime treatments in a Hutton and Oakleaf soil. Critical thresholds where a reduction in relative grain yield was found were at a pH (H2O), extractable acidity, Al and acid saturation of 5.49, 0.277 cmolc kg soil-1, 0.145 cmolc kg soil-1 and 13%, respectively. Critical soil fertility threshold levels were established at 50 mg K kg-1, 228-345 mg Ca kg-1, 78-105 mg Mg kg-1 and 1.68-2.83 mg Cu kg-1. Nutrient vector analysis showed a toxic build-up of Fe, followed by Al and to a lesser extent Mn, which depressed the uptake of Ca, Mg and B in the Hutton soil. In the Oakleaf soil, Al toxicity, followed by high concentrations of Mn and Fe, markedly reduced the uptake of Ca, Mg and K by maize. Net rates of acid production in the soil profile varied between 1.61 and 2.44 kmol H+ ha-1 year-1 for the Hutton soil and between 4.59 and 8.82 kmol H+ ha-1 year-1 in the Oakleaf soil due to liming. A decline of 0.046 pH unit year-1 for an initial pH(H2O) value of 5.33, and 0.140 pH unit year-1 for an intial pH(H2O) of 6.47, respectively, in the Hutton was recorded. For the Oakleaf these declines were 0.044 and 0.110 pH unit year-1, from pH(H2O) 4.54 and 5.15. Maintenance liming amounts at different pH values for the Hutton soil were equivalent to 0.2, 0.3 and 1.4 tonnes CaCO3 ha-1 annually, while 0, 0.8 and 0.8 tonne CaCO3 ha-1 annually were recorded for the Oakleaf soil. The study was extended to 80 random topsoil samples in the district. Relationships of soil BC over limited pH ranges showed that at soil BC (pH<4.5) the main buffering mechanism was extractable Al > organic C > clay. At soil BC (pH4.5-6.5) the buffering mechanism was extractable Al > clay > CBD-Al > organic C > CBD-Fe. The main buffering mechanism between pH 6.5-8.5 was clay > CBD-Fe, organic C > CBD-Al. Acid production for 30 crop production sites varied from a measured 0.21 to 10.31 (mean 3.70) kmol H+ ha-1 year-1 The rate of pH decline for the top 0-250 mm depth was between 0.051 and 0.918 (mean 0.237) pH units year-1. In the absence of remedial lime applications, pH (H2O) values in most of the area are projected to decrease to the critical value of 5.68 or lower within 4 years. Soil with a pH (H2O) value of >5.73, extractable Al and acidity of <0.18 and <0.25 cmolc kg-1 soil, respectively, clay content of ≤26%, and a ECEC value of ≤3.29 cmolc kg soil-1, are at greater risk of acidification as gradual acceleration in soil acidification takes place at the above-mentioned critical thresholds. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

With increasing foreign revenues, multinational corporations’ need for expatriate assignments shows little sign of slowing down. Maintaining an expatriate is a costly and complicated process, and if the expatriate fails in his/her assignment, the expatriate exercise becomes even more costly for all involved. A prominent issue in international staffing literature is the premature return of an expatriate to his/her home country or resignation during or shortly after the foreign assignment. An expatriate may be defined as an employee who works for a firm but is not a citizen of the country in which the firm is located (host-country). However, he is a citizen of the country in which the organisation is headquartered (parent country). Losses and damages resulting from expatriates returning prematurely or resigning during or shortly after a foreign assignment add up to considerable costs. Considering these costs, it is imperative that expatriate assignments are managed effectively. The above raises the following research questions: <ul> <li>What is the relationship between job attitudes and expatriate managers’ intention to return prematurely from foreign assignments or to resign during or shortly after foreign assignments?</li> <li>What specific aspects of job attitudes are perceived by expatriate managers’ as critical to their adjustment while on a foreign assignment?</li></ul> The main aim of this research is an empirical investigation into the variables influencing expatriates’ job attitudes and a statistical examination of the relationship between job attitudes and expatriates’ intention to quit or return prematurely. The envisioned result is to identify organisational practices that will facilitate expatriate adjustment during a foreign assignment. Successful adjustment will ultimately reduce the number of expatriates returning prematurely and resigning from a foreign assignment, thereby saving multinational corporations considerable expenses. The research was conducted through self-administered questionnaires. A convenience sample with purposive characteristics, comprising of South African managers on foreign assignments, was used. Response was received from 71 managers. The study relied on descriptive and inferential statistical procedures to analyse the quantitative data and analytical induction to analyse the qualitative data. The results of the study showed a negative relationship between certain favourable job attitudes and intention to quit a foreign assignment. Using the Spearman’s rho test the following correlations proved to be significant: role conflict (-.369), job characteristics (-.391) and co-workers (-.349). Job characteristics (-.107), promotional opportunities (.282) and roleconflict (-.312) were identified, usinglogistic regression, as the variables playing a critical role in the expatriates’ decision to quit. The qualitative data analysis added the following critical adjustment aspects: commitment to the vision of the organisation, supportive supervision, organisational support practices, reasonable compensation packages, and realistic expectations. Based on the variables identified as critical, an organisational best practice framework is proposed. This framework can serve as a managerial guideline for South African multinational corporations to facilitate expatriate adjustment. / Thesis (PhD (Organizational Behavior))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

The emerging markets have become a new growth opportunity for multinational corporations (MNCs). This could be attributed to the stagnation of growth within the developed markets and the emergence of strong economic growth within emerging markets. Yet, MNCs have varying levels of success due to overlooking of certain components lacking in emerging markets, such as infrastructure. Furthermore, the strategic planning and execution frameworks utilised by MNCs are based on assumptions that are valid for the developed markets, but not always for the emerging markets.The objective of this research was to determine if there is a link between the application of specific interrelated principles for defining and executing strategy, defined by Raina (2010), and the financial success of MNCs when entering the emerging markets.The research found that there is clear evidence that if certain of the principles are applied by MNCs when entering the emerging markets, there is evidence of greater financial success.The research concluded that the interrelated strategic principles are a valuable framework to deliver financial success for MNCs entering the emerging markets. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This case study of a Swiss adult-learning institution investigates changing literacy practices and skills in adult foreign language education with relation to e-Iearning and with reference to the role of writing. Aspects concerning autonomous learning, teaching presence, and factors influencing the e-learning adoption-innovation process including access, pedagogical and policy-making implications were examined. The study uses both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. It is underpinned by thinking in the New literacy Studies tradition and hopes to fill an existing gap in research, as much of the available literature seems to focus on children or higher education. The main results indicate that currently there is a mix of, on the one hand, low digitally skilled and reluctant teacher-adopters and, on the other, highly enthusiastic an~ digitally motivated ones, There is also an indication that access to simple infrastructure, with a relatively small investment, could produce good results in helping practitioners move along the path from innovation to adoption. Digital literacies and changes in literacy practices tend to put writing at the centre of communication. Writing is intended both as a subject area and as a means of communicating digitally, The results also reveal that the role of writing is closely linked to whether practitioners and learners alike consider the communicative value of writing to be on par with communication using the spoken word, i.e, whether collaborative writing in particular can be considered 'talk', The data points to a joint need by policy-makers and practitioners to acknowledge new digital literacy practices and to include them in a holistic way in local contexts and curricula, It also points to the need for institutions to take responsibility for providing links between research and practice and to provide integrated training in the field of e-learning and blended learning.

L’objectif fixé à travers ce travail, est de rechercher si l’IE existe dans le secteur des industries agroalimentaires en Algérie, et, le cas échéant, d’en déterminer les pratiques adoptées par l’entreprise, et d’étudier le mécanisme d’intervention de celles-ci dans le processus d’innovation. L’étude exploratoire des pratiques d’intelligence économique et du processus d’innovation a été effectuée dans dix entreprises agroalimentaires algériennes ; elle s’est appuyée sur l’approche qualitative et a été effectuée suivant la stratégie d’étude de cas en combinant l’observation non participante et les entretiens semi-directifs ainsi que la consultation documentaire. L’un des principaux résultats obtenus à travers notre étude est que les principaux acteurs des entreprises observées ne possèdent pas de méthodologie particulière pour l’IE formelle et structurée, mais que tous se fixent des objectifs de surveillance et de collecte d’informations. A de rares exceptions près, ce n’est qu’en situation de crise, que leurs efforts d’IE se concentrent sur le court terme, et que l’information nécessaire à la solution adéquate est recherchée dans l’urgence. En nous basant sur les apports théoriques de la littérature, nous avons défendu la thèse selon laquelle dans les processus de prise de décision et d’innovation de l’entreprise, il serait plus judicieux de prendre en considération aussi bien les pratiques d’IE formelles (systèmes, cellule de veille, …) qu’informelles (réseaux, associations, relations,…) pour une meilleure performance du processus d’innovation. Un modèle qualifié d’ « intelligence innovatrice » a été proposé et qui consiste à innover grâce à un SIE global, recouvrant toutes les pratiques d’IE et rassemblant toutes les sources d’information (formelles et informelles). Une démarche d’anticipation dictée vraisemblablement par l’évolution de l’environnement économique et social du pays suite aux effets du dernier « choc pétrolier » sur le paysage économique, a été toutefois constatée chez quelques entreprises, ce qui semble être un signe susceptible de préfigurer la mise en place, à plus grande échelle, de la pratique d’IE formelle et structurée, et son appropriation effective au sein des entreprises du secteur AA. De plus, des facteurs influençant le choix des pratiques d’IE entre formelles et/ou informelles ont été constatés dans les entreprises étudiées, à savoir : la culture de l’entreprise, la présence à l’international (l’exportation) et le niveau de la concurrence dans la filière. / This work goal is to investigate whether the Business intelligence exists in the agri-food companies sector in Algeria, and, if appropriate, to determine the practices adopted by the company, and to study their mechanism of intervention in the innovation process. The exploratory study of business intelligence practices and innovation process was carried out in ten algerian agribusiness companies; it relied on the qualitative approach and was performed according to the case study strategy by combining non-participant observation and semi-directive interviews and documentary consultation.One of the main results obtained through our study is that the main actors of the companies surveyed do not have a particular methodology for formal and structured Business Intelligence, but that all set goals for monitoring and collecting information. With rare exceptions, it is only in crisis situations, that their Business Intelligence efforts are focused on the short term, and the information required for the proper solution is sought urgently.Based on the theoretical contributions of the literature, we defended the thesis that in the processes of decision making and innovation of the company, it would be wiser to consider both formal Business Intelligence practices (systems, monitoring unit, ...) and informal (networks, associations, relationships, ...) for better performance of the innovation process. A qualified model "innovative intelligence" was proposed, which is to innovate through a comprehensive Business Intelligence system covering all Business intelligence practices and bringing together all sources of information (formal and informal).A proactive approach probably dictated by the changing economic and social environment of the country due to the effects of the last "oil shock" on the economic landscape, however, was observed in some companies, this seems to be a sign capable of foreshadow the establishment, on a larger scale, the practice of formal and structured Business intelligence, and its effective ownership in Agri-Food sector companies. In addition, factors influencing the choice of formal and / or informal Business intelligence practices were found in the companies studied: corporate culture, international presence (export), and level of competition in the sector.

En France comme dans l’ensemble des pays industrialisés, la ruralité, entendue comme construction sociale du monde, se transforme. La mobilité croissante des individus, l’installation de nouvelles populations, l’urbanisation des esprits, setraduisent par de nouvelles manières d’habiter la campagne. Cette thèse apporte sa contribution à l’analyse de la ruralité contemporaine à travers l’étude des pratiques des cafés en interrogeant le déclin et les formes de résistance des cafés dans les espaces ruraux bretons.D’un point de vue général, notre questionnement est double : il porte d’une part sur l’évolution des campagnes et la construction des ruralités contemporaines et, d’autre part, sur les modes d’habiter des ruraux, plus exactement sur la pratique des cafés au sein de ces modes d’habiter. L’un, regard surplombant, et l’autre, regard de terrain, se soutenant mutuellement. Dans un premier temps, nous interrogeons les profils et les stratégies des cafetiers face à la crise des cafés. Cette analyse débouche sur une typologie des cafés ruraux fondée sur les activités et services proposés et met en évidence l’émergence de cafés alternatifs. Dans un second temps, ce sont les pratiques spatiales ordinaires des clients qui sontmises à l’épreuve de cette diversité des cafés ruraux. Les choix des cafés effectués par les clients apparaissent comme dictés par une volonté de différenciation sociale dans l’espace local. / In France, as in all industrialized countries, rurality, defined as social construction of the world, evolves. Mobilities of people, newcomers in rural spaces and urbanization of minds result in new ways of living in countryside. This thesis wants to analyse today rurality by studying drinking establishments practices. It questions decline and forms of renewal in drinking establishments in rural spaces of Brittany. The methods combine interviews with owners and patrons, ethnographic materials and a survey. So we can study profiles and strategies of drinking establishment owners. We propose a typology of drinking establishments in rural Brittany based on activities and products and we highlight the emergence of “alternative” bars. Then, we study the diversity of drinking establishment practices. Patrons’ choices of their bars appear to be related tosocial differentiations in the rural space.