Early reading instruction and identification of learners with reading problems prevent reading difficulties in the Intermediate Phase. The specific aim of this study is to explore the role of the Intermediate Phase educator to assess the learners’ reading skills by using observation and assessment activities, in order to identify learners with reading problems. The literature study on reading activities explored the letters of the alphabet, phonemic awareness, spelling, word- recognition, assessment and word-knowledge. The qualitative research was conducted empirically in the form of a case study of one learner from the South African public primary school based in Ikageng location, Potchefstroom. The role of the Intermediate Phase educator is to develop and administer the reading activities, observe a learner when he or she recites; writes and identifies the letters of the alphabet; segment words to show his or her phonological awareness skill; spell words in the dictation test including any written activity; and reads aloud the single written words to test his or her word recognition ability. The themes that emerged from the empirical study are as follows: difficulty in sequencing written letters of the alphabet, inability to segment words, spelling problems and word recognition problems. The study indicated that the participant’s reading problems are based on an inability to decode single words. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Educational Psychology)

Early reading instruction and identification of learners with reading problems prevent reading difficulties in the Intermediate Phase. The specific aim of this study is to explore the role of the Intermediate Phase educator to assess the learners’ reading skills by using observation and assessment activities, in order to identify learners with reading problems. The literature study on reading activities explored the letters of the alphabet, phonemic awareness, spelling, word- recognition, assessment and word-knowledge. The qualitative research was conducted empirically in the form of a case study of one learner from the South African public primary school based in Ikageng location, Potchefstroom. The role of the Intermediate Phase educator is to develop and administer the reading activities, observe a learner when he or she recites; writes and identifies the letters of the alphabet; segment words to show his or her phonological awareness skill; spell words in the dictation test including any written activity; and reads aloud the single written words to test his or her word recognition ability. The themes that emerged from the empirical study are as follows: difficulty in sequencing written letters of the alphabet, inability to segment words, spelling problems and word recognition problems. The study indicated that the participant’s reading problems are based on an inability to decode single words. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Educational Psychology)

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A congregation that wants to be faithful to a sending God, has to continually remind itself: “we are here now;” congregations need to converse with the unique identity, culture, context and time of where they are at. A Missional culture can only be established within a congregation if a prophetic sensitivity for God’s calling and sending is present. In this ethnographic account of the Dutch Reformed Church PUK-Kandelaar, the history, context and culture of the congregation is researched and explored. The aim of the study is to indicate where Kandelaar currently finds itself on the missional journey by bringing her unique realities of ministry and context into conversation with a Trinitarian missional ecclesiology. Following an introductory discussion of the research in terms of motivation, aim and methodology, a basis-theoretical overview of missional ecclesiology is given. Next, the congregational history is narrated, followed by a comprehensive ethnographic description of the congregation in her current context. Finally, an in-depth missional conversation is conducted between the congregation’s ministerial practice and God’s missional calling. The relation between the ministerial realities of Kandelaar as a categorical student congregation and the pursuit of a missional ministry practice is developed comprehensively, specifically by focusing on discernment as a core issue for missional leaders. The study indicates several unique ministerial realities for which Kandelaar, as a categorical student congregation, has to allow for, and thus provides the leadership of the congregation with a platform for further faithful discernment on the missional journey with the Triune God. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: 'n Gemeente wat hoop om getrou te wees aan die roeping van 'n sturende God het nodig om voortdurend vir hulleself te kan sê: "ons is nou hier." Gemeentes moet in gesprek tree met die unieke "ons", "nou" en "hier" van die gemeentekultuur -en konteks. 'n Missionale gemeentekultuur kan alleen gevestig word as daa 'n profetiese sensitiwiteit is vir God se roeping en sending. In hierdie etnografiese beskrywing van die NG Gemeente PUK-Kandelaar, is die storie en kultuur van die gemeente nagevors en verken. Die doel van die studie is om aan te toon waar Kandelaar haar tans op die missionale reis bevind, deur haar unieke bedieningswerklikhede -en konteks as kategoriale studentegemeente, in gesprek te bring met 'n trinitariese missionale ekklesiologie. Na afloop van 'n inleidende uiteensetting van die navorsing met betrekking tot motivering, doel en metodologie, volg 'n basisteoretiese oorsig van 'n trinitariese missionale ekklesiologie. Daarna word die gemeenteverhaal vertel, en volg daar ook 'n omvattende etnografiese beskrywing van die gemeente wat die huidige konteks van die gemeente pertinent laat meespreek. Ten slotte word die missionale gesprek in diepte verder gevoer deur die gemeente se bedieningspraktyk te ondersoek in die lig van God se missionale roeping vir die gemeente. Die verband tussen die bedieningswerklikhede van Kandelaar as kategoriale studentegemeente, en die strewe na 'n missionale bedieningspraktyk, word hier op omvattende wyse uitgewerk. Daar word onder andere spesifiek gefokus op geloofsonderskeiding as 'n kernbelangrike aangeleentheid vir missionale leiers. Die studie toon aan dat Kandelaar as kategoriale studentegemeente verskeie unieke bedieningswerklikhede het om mee rekening te hou. Sodoende bied die navorsing aan die leierskap van die gemeente 'n wegspringplek vir verdere geloofsonderskeidende denke op die missionale reis saam met die Vader, Seun en Heilige Gees.

Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Festivals have become a global phenomenon and now serve as a platform to promote the leisure and tourism industry within a nation. These events have an undisputed economic effect – not only on the hosting community – but also on the global community. Despite the encouraging community support and the socio-economic impact and spin-offs that are generated by means of such events, the financing of art festivals remains an intricate issue. The fact remains that not all festivals are financially self-sustainable and so require extensive sponsorship in order to ensure the continuation of the event. Limited government funding available due to budget constraints curbs the financial support forthcoming from municipalities and so forces event organisers to seek alternative funding to ensure the survival and feasibility of events. This responsibility places an additional burden on event organisers and so necessitates the use of assessment tools in order to convince private and public institutions or individuals to invest in such events through sponsorships. During an extensive literature study, it became apparent that the need exists to re-assess fully the economic impact analysis of events. The literature revealed that varying models are used to conduct economic impact analyses. In order to establish a concise framework within which to conduct an economic assessment, it was decided to select only the most-used models – Computable General Equilibrium (CGE), Input-Output (I-O) and Social Accounting Matrix (SAM). The dilemma facing tourism economists is to determine which economic assessment approach is most effective as every methodology has its own advantages and disadvantages. In addition, the type and size of an event also plays a fundamental role when selecting an appropriate measuring tool. This research was further motivated because of the existing gap that exists in the South African context for no study has yet been conducted where the various models that assess economic impact have been applied to the collated data of the same event. This study thus aims to provide an overview and a comparison of competing and supplementing methodologies for modelling the regional economic dynamics and the impacts of events. It further investigates the manner in which regional CGE, I-O and SAM based (multiplier) models operate towards capturing the region-specific, inter-regional and multi-regional production, consumption and factor market patterns as result of expenditures incurred during events. An analysis of the virtues and the limitations of these economic assessment methodologies suggests that it may be the considerations such as the data collection/compilation, expected output, research objectives and costs involved that ultimately determine the choice of a specific modelling framework. While addressing the problem stated above, this study produced the following three articles that are now embodied in the work: * Article 1 - “Critical assessment of economic impact analyses of the ABSA Klein Karoo National Arts Festival”, and * Article 2 - “Critical assessment of economic impact analyses of the Aardklop National Arts Festival”. Article 2 investigated and compared the economic assessment results when applying specific constructed models, being the Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) and Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) for the appropriate provinces, to the available data obtained from previous surveys conducted at the 2010 ABSA Klein Karoo National Arts Festival and from the Aardklop National Arts Festival. The two articles indicated that when different models of assessment are applied to the same data set of an event, the economic impact results might differ significantly. This may serve as a warning to economic assessors, academics and researchers that economic impact results can be misleading and therefore the application thereof should be handled with the utmost care in order to avoid misinterpretations and misconceptions. * Article 3, “Assessing the economic impact of the Aardklop National Arts Festival: a feast of models to opt for – or not?” In this article, data from a visitor and business survey conducted at the 2010 Aardklop National Arts Festival was used in the analyses made by applying SAM, CGE and I-O regional models constructed for South Africa’s Northwest Province. Results from these analyses were then compared in order to give researchers and practitioners a better insight and clarity regarding which approach works best for the economic assessment of an arts festival. This article highlighted the fact that the measured economic impact results differ when various models that are applied to the same event. It also became evident that the most conservative economic impact was measured by an I-O model, followed with a higher SAM measurement, while CGE revealed the highest economic assessment. The most significant contribution of this study is embedded in the fact that within the South African context – and even globally – it is the first study of its kind that aimed to determine the economic impact by means of applying more than one assessment model to the data set of a single event. Further, this study provides guidelines for event organisers, academics and economic advisors to follow in conjunction with the existing body of knowledge and practical implementation structures when assessing the economic impact of events. / Thesis (PhD (Tourism Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Festivals have become a global phenomenon and now serve as a platform to promote the leisure and tourism industry within a nation. These events have an undisputed economic effect – not only on the hosting community – but also on the global community. Despite the encouraging community support and the socio-economic impact and spin-offs that are generated by means of such events, the financing of art festivals remains an intricate issue. The fact remains that not all festivals are financially self-sustainable and so require extensive sponsorship in order to ensure the continuation of the event. Limited government funding available due to budget constraints curbs the financial support forthcoming from municipalities and so forces event organisers to seek alternative funding to ensure the survival and feasibility of events. This responsibility places an additional burden on event organisers and so necessitates the use of assessment tools in order to convince private and public institutions or individuals to invest in such events through sponsorships. During an extensive literature study, it became apparent that the need exists to re-assess fully the economic impact analysis of events. The literature revealed that varying models are used to conduct economic impact analyses. In order to establish a concise framework within which to conduct an economic assessment, it was decided to select only the most-used models – Computable General Equilibrium (CGE), Input-Output (I-O) and Social Accounting Matrix (SAM). The dilemma facing tourism economists is to determine which economic assessment approach is most effective as every methodology has its own advantages and disadvantages. In addition, the type and size of an event also plays a fundamental role when selecting an appropriate measuring tool. This research was further motivated because of the existing gap that exists in the South African context for no study has yet been conducted where the various models that assess economic impact have been applied to the collated data of the same event. This study thus aims to provide an overview and a comparison of competing and supplementing methodologies for modelling the regional economic dynamics and the impacts of events. It further investigates the manner in which regional CGE, I-O and SAM based (multiplier) models operate towards capturing the region-specific, inter-regional and multi-regional production, consumption and factor market patterns as result of expenditures incurred during events. An analysis of the virtues and the limitations of these economic assessment methodologies suggests that it may be the considerations such as the data collection/compilation, expected output, research objectives and costs involved that ultimately determine the choice of a specific modelling framework. While addressing the problem stated above, this study produced the following three articles that are now embodied in the work: * Article 1 - “Critical assessment of economic impact analyses of the ABSA Klein Karoo National Arts Festival”, and * Article 2 - “Critical assessment of economic impact analyses of the Aardklop National Arts Festival”. Article 2 investigated and compared the economic assessment results when applying specific constructed models, being the Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) and Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) for the appropriate provinces, to the available data obtained from previous surveys conducted at the 2010 ABSA Klein Karoo National Arts Festival and from the Aardklop National Arts Festival. The two articles indicated that when different models of assessment are applied to the same data set of an event, the economic impact results might differ significantly. This may serve as a warning to economic assessors, academics and researchers that economic impact results can be misleading and therefore the application thereof should be handled with the utmost care in order to avoid misinterpretations and misconceptions. * Article 3, “Assessing the economic impact of the Aardklop National Arts Festival: a feast of models to opt for – or not?” In this article, data from a visitor and business survey conducted at the 2010 Aardklop National Arts Festival was used in the analyses made by applying SAM, CGE and I-O regional models constructed for South Africa’s Northwest Province. Results from these analyses were then compared in order to give researchers and practitioners a better insight and clarity regarding which approach works best for the economic assessment of an arts festival. This article highlighted the fact that the measured economic impact results differ when various models that are applied to the same event. It also became evident that the most conservative economic impact was measured by an I-O model, followed with a higher SAM measurement, while CGE revealed the highest economic assessment. The most significant contribution of this study is embedded in the fact that within the South African context – and even globally – it is the first study of its kind that aimed to determine the economic impact by means of applying more than one assessment model to the data set of a single event. Further, this study provides guidelines for event organisers, academics and economic advisors to follow in conjunction with the existing body of knowledge and practical implementation structures when assessing the economic impact of events. / Thesis (PhD (Tourism Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

A riparian ecosystem is the area between the aquatic and terrestrial setting of a stream, and serves as a corridor and habitat for birds. Several riparian ecosystems are located in urban environments, and three main riparian corridors are located in Potchefstroom. They are the Mooi River, Wasgoed Spruit, and Spitskop Spruit, which encompass a wide range of different vegetation types and anthropogenic factors. Therefore, different habitat types for birds occur along the riparian corridors of Potchefstroom. Factors such as food and water availability, nesting sites, competition, predation, learning, presence of other species, and those species that are able to adapt to environmental changes influence the avian diversity and communities along riparian corridors. The hypothesis is that bird variables along the riparian corridors in Potchefstroom are affected by vegetation, anthropogenic, and seasonal influences. To investigate these affects, two secondary objectives were formulated. The first was to characterise riparian avian habitats (CAHs) according to vegetation and anthropogenic factors, and the second was to identify temporal and spatial changes in avian variables. The three streams were divided into 79 consecutive transects, each 300 m long. The study area consisted of: 17 transects along Spitskop Spruit, 12 along Wasgoed Spruit and 50 along the Mooi River. Bird observations were conducted monthly from June 2006 to June 2007. Birds that were observed with a perpendicular distance ≤ 30 meters towards the streams were included in the results. The bird species that were observed were also classified into different nesting and feeding guilds. Environmental data recorded included: vegetation structure (estimated cover percentages and height classes of trees, shrubs, grasses, herbs, sedges, and reeds), anthropogenic structures (estimated cover percentages of roads, footpaths, bridges, electrical pylons, houses, and drainage pipes), and the presence of informal settlers along each transect (the mean number of people and the space they occupy). Vegetation was monitored in summer– (February 2007 until April 2007) and winter months (June 2007 until August 2007). The anthropogenic structures and the presence of informal settlers (anthropogenic factors) were monitored simultaneously with the bird counts. Transect-time profiles were drawn for the four parameters, which differed on spatial and time scales. Multivariate analyses included non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS), cluster analysis, and indicator species analysis. Cluster analyses and NMS bi-plots were used to define characterised avian habitats (CAHs). Two types of CAHs were characterised: Summer CAHs (summer vegetation and anthropogenic factors) and Anthropogenically CAHs (Anthropogenic factors alone). Bird species were then ordinated with the summer and anthropogenically CAHs on NMS successional vector graphs. The successional vectors illustrate the avian community trajectories of the different CAHs. Indicator species analyses were performed to describe associations between the bird species and the summer and anthropogenically CAHs. The summer and anthropogenic CAHs that were characterised had different avian community trajectories and different species were associated with these CAHs. Different levels in avian diversity appeared among these CAHs, and convergence and divergence in communities appeared among these CAHs. Birds also selected their habitats according to feeding and nesting behaviours. Consequently, it can be deduced that environmental factors such as vegetation structures and anthropogenic factors, as well as seasonality, had an effect on the distribution of birds along the riparian corridors of Potchefstroom. / Thesis (Master of Environmental Sciences)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

A riparian ecosystem is the area between the aquatic and terrestrial setting of a stream, and serves as a corridor and habitat for birds. Several riparian ecosystems are located in urban environments, and three main riparian corridors are located in Potchefstroom. They are the Mooi River, Wasgoed Spruit, and Spitskop Spruit, which encompass a wide range of different vegetation types and anthropogenic factors. Therefore, different habitat types for birds occur along the riparian corridors of Potchefstroom. Factors such as food and water availability, nesting sites, competition, predation, learning, presence of other species, and those species that are able to adapt to environmental changes influence the avian diversity and communities along riparian corridors. The hypothesis is that bird variables along the riparian corridors in Potchefstroom are affected by vegetation, anthropogenic, and seasonal influences. To investigate these affects, two secondary objectives were formulated. The first was to characterise riparian avian habitats (CAHs) according to vegetation and anthropogenic factors, and the second was to identify temporal and spatial changes in avian variables. The three streams were divided into 79 consecutive transects, each 300 m long. The study area consisted of: 17 transects along Spitskop Spruit, 12 along Wasgoed Spruit and 50 along the Mooi River. Bird observations were conducted monthly from June 2006 to June 2007. Birds that were observed with a perpendicular distance ≤ 30 meters towards the streams were included in the results. The bird species that were observed were also classified into different nesting and feeding guilds. Environmental data recorded included: vegetation structure (estimated cover percentages and height classes of trees, shrubs, grasses, herbs, sedges, and reeds), anthropogenic structures (estimated cover percentages of roads, footpaths, bridges, electrical pylons, houses, and drainage pipes), and the presence of informal settlers along each transect (the mean number of people and the space they occupy). Vegetation was monitored in summer– (February 2007 until April 2007) and winter months (June 2007 until August 2007). The anthropogenic structures and the presence of informal settlers (anthropogenic factors) were monitored simultaneously with the bird counts. Transect-time profiles were drawn for the four parameters, which differed on spatial and time scales. Multivariate analyses included non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS), cluster analysis, and indicator species analysis. Cluster analyses and NMS bi-plots were used to define characterised avian habitats (CAHs). Two types of CAHs were characterised: Summer CAHs (summer vegetation and anthropogenic factors) and Anthropogenically CAHs (Anthropogenic factors alone). Bird species were then ordinated with the summer and anthropogenically CAHs on NMS successional vector graphs. The successional vectors illustrate the avian community trajectories of the different CAHs. Indicator species analyses were performed to describe associations between the bird species and the summer and anthropogenically CAHs. The summer and anthropogenic CAHs that were characterised had different avian community trajectories and different species were associated with these CAHs. Different levels in avian diversity appeared among these CAHs, and convergence and divergence in communities appeared among these CAHs. Birds also selected their habitats according to feeding and nesting behaviours. Consequently, it can be deduced that environmental factors such as vegetation structures and anthropogenic factors, as well as seasonality, had an effect on the distribution of birds along the riparian corridors of Potchefstroom. / Thesis (Master of Environmental Sciences)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013