The launch of the Expanded Public Works Programme has led to preferential use of labour-intensive construction methods over conventional methods in construction and maintenance of public infrastructure assets. This report evaluated five bulk water infrastructure projects in Madibeng Municipality where labour-intensive construction methods were used. The research found that factors which adversely affected construction progress included: inability to transfer experience and lessons learnt from one project to the next, skills and experience shortcomings, administrative and management realities, negative interventions from stakeholders and failure of the Municipality to set specific objectives and monitor project achievements with respect to intended objectives. Appropriate training and support from local communities were found to enhance success during construction. It was concluded that labour-intensive construction methods are feasible for bulk water provision projects and can generate productive significant employment provided certain basic requirements were in place. Ultimately the findings led to the compilation of lessons learnt from the projects.

Thesis (M.Mus.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, School of Music, 2012 / This exploratory research project investigated the multifarious effects of incorporating computer music software in the form of a computer game into beginner piano lessons. The design and implementation of an animated computer game, designed by the researcher for the purpose of the study was used to assist young beginner pianists master the layout of the piano keyboard in relation to a score with basic music notation. A detailed description of the game is included. Contributing elements central to knowing, understanding and applying the layout of the piano keyboard when sight-reading were also investigated. A pilot study which formed the basis and point of departure for the study is discussed in detail; the findings of which conclude the report. The results of a case study conducted on two control and experiment groups aged three to six, which involved the use of the specially designed computer game to teach beginner piano students the keyboard layout and introductory notation in the form of an interactive story, is recorded. Through narrative enquiry, a series of interviews with world renowned pianists and piano teachers on the value and importance of sight-reading is expounded. The researcher’s personal reflections on the entire project as well as her own personal philosophy with regard to basic piano tuition, the continued enculturation and propagation of new beginners and sight-teaching are included

Thesis (Ph.D.), Faculty of Humanities, School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009 / People who hold doctoral degrees are considered valuable national resources able to produce knowledge to address pressing problems, and important sources of labour for the higher education sector. However, in 2006, only 1100 people graduated with doctoral degrees in South Africa. This limits the potential for research and improvements in higher education. In addition, 618 of those graduates were white, making it difficult to address equity concerns. Within the higher education sector there are debates about how to increase enrolments in doctoral education and the best way to run PhD programmes for effective learning, high quality research results and for efficiency. But there is little South African-based empirical research into what makes people undertake PhDs, how the programmes work and what learning and knowledge result. This study explores how different stakeholders – national and institutional policymakers, academic staff and doctoral people – understand the PhD; how these understandings influence the practice of doctoral education; and how different practices affect the PhD experience and the learning and knowledge produced. The primary research question I address is: “How do existing models and pedagogies of doctoral programmes shape the learning of doctoral people and the outcomes of doctoral programmes in South Africa?” The origins of the Doctor of Philosophy degree are often traced back to the nineteenth century reforms of German universities when the idea emerged that all scholars should be actively involved in research. But this is a simplistic view. By examining the evolution of the PhD in greater depth, it becomes clear that it has undergone continuous change and has always served both the high-minded pursuit of knowledge and the more prosaic pursuit of skills for employment. The literature reflects ongoing tension between the scholarly view of the PhD as knowledge generation by an emerging scholar, and the labour market view of the PhD as developing high-level research skills. In the South African context both of these views can be observed, but I also identified a view of the PhD as ongoing personal development through an engagement with knowledge. The three views of the PhD are underpinned by different discourses which inform the practice of doctoral education. In South Africa, the traditional model of individual supervision dominates, and it varies by discipline, department and supervisor. But patterns of practice can be discerned and I identify four of these and discuss how supervisors construct their individual supervision practice. Doctoral education is also a function of the people who do PhDs. Much of the research undertaken in the overdeveloped world focuses on younger people who are starting out on academic careers. However, in South Africa, many people doing PhDs are older and midway through careers which are often not academic. This leads me to propose a model of intersecting contexts, as an alternative to McAlpine and Norton‟s nested context model of doctoral education, which more accurately reflects the local situation. I discuss the PhD experience and make use of the intersecting contexts model to develop the notion of congruence between the PhD, the contexts and the PhD person with more positive experiences being related to higher degrees of congruence. Finally, I consider how the outcomes of doctoral education, the learning and knowledge which result, relate to the expectations of the different stakeholders. The research took the form of a qualitative study with a multiple case-study design employing theoretical replication. I examined doctoral education in four academic units at three South African universities with the units selected to represent different disciplines. All four units were in previously advantaged universities from the English-speaking tradition and all were successfully producing PhD graduates. These rich pictures of how doctoral education takes place contribute empirical evidence to current debates about the PhD in South Africa. At a conceptual level I identify the competing discourses about what a PhD is. I provide a more nuanced understanding of the practice of doctoral education within the overarching model of individual supervision. The intersecting contexts model provides a way to understand the expectations and circumstances of doctoral people and the notion of congruence illuminates their varied experiences. Finally, the study confirms that the outcomes of doctoral education, in terms of learning and knowledge generated, meet at least some of the expectations of policy-makers, supervisors and people who do PhDs.

ABSTRACT The negative impacts of trauma on clients are well known. However, the negative impact of working with traumatized clients on the counselor or helper has received less attention in the literature. Similarly, the contributions of certain work environments to experiences of compassion fatigue and the role of personality characteristics have gone unnoticed, especially in the South African context. The aim of this research is to examine the relationships between compassion fatigue, sense of coherence and work environment variables (job control, workload and collegial support), and to determine whether sense of coherence moderates the relationship between work environment and compassion fatigue on a sample of Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) practitioners in the South African organisational context (both public and private sectors). The current study adopted a non-experimental research design, categorised as cross-sectional and correlational. A non-probability sampling procedure was utilised. A sample of ninety-nine (99) EAP practitioners was obtained. A 10-items Job Control Scale (Wall, Jackson and Mullarkey, 1995), Workload and Collegial Support Scale by Dewe (1987) 11-items each, a 30- items Compassion Fatigue Self-Test Scale (Figley, 1995), and 13-items Orientation to Life Questionnaire (QLQ-13/SOC-13) by Antonovsky (1987; 1993) were administered. Results indicate that the sample in the current study were at higher risk of experiencing compassion fatigue. There was a positive significant relationship between workload, collegial support and compassion fatigue, a negative insignificant correlation between job control and compassion fatigue, and positive insignificant relationship between sense of coherence and compassion fatigue. The results between sense of coherence and the work environment variables were insignificant. Finally, sense of coherence was only found to moderate the relationship between workload and compassion fatigue and the relationship between collegial support and compassion fatigue.

The information technology (IT) industry in South Africa has undergone major technological changes, and continues to do so. These changes are dynamic and demand significant interventions on the part of the workforce. If an organisation is to change, then systemic and sustainable changes are essential. Hence, a prerequisite is that employees within this industry need constantly to improve their knowledge and skills. The study was conducted within the broadcasting information technology (BIT) unit of a broadcasting company in South Africa. The aim of the research was to determine if skills development and training promotes professional and organisational development. A case study methodology within the qualitative paradigm was employed. Data was collected through a questionnaire, interviews, observations and document analysis. The research explored crucial issues in training and development in relation to professional and organisational development. The research findings indicated that perceptions of the success of skills development programmes far outweighed perceptions of failure. The research concluded that skills development and training programmes promote professional development. Organisational development, however, was promoted only to the extent that employees remained in the employ of the organisation. In addition, this research suggests that there is scope for future research in this field.

There are repeated calls in the literature for the implementation and evaluation of evidence based HIV prevention programmes. This study aimed to evaluate a life-skills theatre performance for adolescents promoting safer sex behaviour against aspects of an established AIDS risk reduction theory. The study used a quasi-experimental research design, and was operationalised through the use of a questionnaire measuring knowledge, attitudes and perceptions conducive to HIV/AIDS risk reduction. Bandura’s (1990) Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) provided a conceptual framework for the development of the instrument. A further aim of the study was to establish whether the instrument would yield a factor structure that could be linked to Social Cognitive Theory using a principal components factor analysis. A sample of 392 adolescent high school learners in Grades 10 and 11 at two high schools in Naledi, Soweto completed the evaluation instrument. A sample of 165 learners were exposed to the play prior to completion of the evaluation instrument. A sample of 227 learners completed the questionnaire before the play was scheduled to be performed and were thus considered a control group. The effects of exposure to the play, gender, age, grade and whether the learners reported that they were sexually active formed the independent variables in the analysis, which were examined for their influences on the theoretical constructs measured by the instrument through analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results indicated that learners at both schools had a reasonably high level of knowledge, attitudes and perceptions conducive to HIV/AIDS risk reduction. However, learners at the control school scored significantly higher on the factors tapped by the questionnaire than learners attending the school exposed to the play. Possible reasons for these differences are discussed in the report. The results also highlighted significant differences between Grade 11 and Grade 10 learners in knowledge, attitudes and perceptions conducive to HIV/AIDS risk reduction. The physical age of the learner did not appear to be as important as educational level and/or possible social peer group norms on responses to the instrument.

Student Number : 8546313 - PhD thesis - School of Arts - Faculty of Humanites / This thesis interrogates the extent to which the façades of, and decorative programmes in, selected South African public and commercial buildings erected during the decade 1930 – 40 may be understood as important indexes of the various ideological, social and historical concerns underpinning the construction of an imaginary of national belonging during this period. In the context of rapid urbanisation, burgeoning industrialisation, and rampant capitalism that characterise the period, issues of nationalism and political power are brought into sharp relief, with three political agendas competing for dominance: Afrikaner nationalism at one extreme and British imperialism at the other, with, from 1933 to the end of the decade, the insipid ‘South Africa First’ nationalism of the Smuts-Hertzog ‘fusion’ government occupying a highly contested space somewhere between the two. I argue in this thesis that the rhetoric of ‘unity in diversity’ that informs the fusion politics of the 1930s, and particularly its expression in the decorative programmes of public buildings provides for a more nuanced reading of the political and cultural landscape of 1930s South Africa than has been the case to date, where the focus has tended towards deconstructing the cultural nationalism of the 1930s in terms of the rise of Afrikaner nationalism. Moreover, it also serves as a compelling reference point against which to assess contemporary South African attempts to re-narrate notions of nationhood, and the extent to which difficult arguments around ethnicity, autochthony, and the construction of imaginary new ‘publics’ are articulated in post-apartheid public architecture. Chapter 1 is a review of the literature that informs this thesis; both as regards the art historical discourse on South African inter-World War art and architecture, as well as theoretical issues arising from writing on nationalism, national identity, and the role that art and architecture plays in evolving the nation code. In Chapters 2 and 3, I consider the ways in which the notions of identity arising from fusion politics are played out in the decorative programmes of two significant public buildings, South Africa House in London (1933) in Chapter 2 and the Pretoria City Hall (1935) in Chapter 3. I argue that both these buildings are classic examples of the manifestation in architectural terms of the hybrid identity being forged by the centrist ‘South Africa first’ ideologues, in so far as their decorative programmes express an uncomfortable alliance between the entrenched values of British imperialism and a burgeoning Afrikaner nationalism. In Chapter 4, I contrast the decorative programme of the headquarters of the new Afrikaner insurance companies SANTAM and SANLAM (1932) with that of the new corporate headquarters of the Commercial Union Assurance Company (1932), a British owned firm that had had a presence in Cape Town since 1863. The differences in effect of the decorative programmes of these two buildings serve to illuminate the extent of the ideological posturing of volkskapitalisme and its construction of a ‘modern African/Afrikaner’ identity within the imperialist heartland of Cape Town. These debates are brought into sharp relief by the third example discussed in this chapter, the Old Mutual building (1940), the decorative programme of which effectively conflates these concerns with modernity and nationalism in order to construct a hybrid ‘South Africanism’ that neatly elides Boer and Brit imaginings. In conclusion, I show in Chapter 5 how the post-apartheid South African situation presents an interesting case study in terms of constructing an imaginary of national belonging rooted in similar notions of ‘unity in diversity’. Examples here include important national architectural commissions like the legislature buildings for the newly constituted provinces of Mpumalanga (1999) and the Northern Cape (2003), as well as the new Constitutional Court in Johannesburg (2004). In this chapter, I interrogate these debates, and conclude by pointing to parallels with the case studies from the 1930s. The post-1994 examples in question have been widely celebrated as exemplary of a new and appropriate response to the challenges of public building in democratic South Africa. I suggest, however, that the lessons of the 1930s should serve as a reminder that the ostensible dichotomy between ‘good’ (civic) and ‘bad’ (ethnic) nationalism is perhaps not as natural and obvious as it may appear, and that both are equally problematic.

Introduction: The deleterious health effects of tobacco use and smoking in particular have been well documented. Anti-smoking campaigns have been in existence for decades. Doctors, generally perceived as role models by members of their societies, can play a significant role in anti-tobacco programmes. Objectives: The objectives were: to determine the prevalence of tobacco use among medical students, their knowledge of the health effects of tobacco use, their beliefs and perceptions about anti-tobacco legislation/restrictions and the role of doctors as advocates in tobacco-cessation programmes. Methodology: A cross-sectional census was carried out using the 3rd and 5th year students at the medical school of the University of the Witwatersrand (n = 357). Results: The total prevalence of smoking was 15.4% (n = 53), with 9.6% (n = 34) smoking occasionally and 6.2% (n = 22) smoking daily. Among the smokers, more of the 3rd year students smoked daily compared to the 5th years (64% vs 19.3%, p = 0.001). Overall, there were no major differences between the sexes with respect to prevalence of smoking (P= 0.312 Fischer exact test) across both classes. Within the male population (Africans, whites and Asians) overall differences ( 2- אל 11.1, p= 0.006) existed in their smoking patterns. Both the whites and the Asians smoked more than their African counterparts (5.8%, n = 3). There were however no differences in the smoking prevalence rates between the whites and the Asians ((20.9% vs 31.6%: p= 0.314). The females differed (P = 0.042 Fischer exact test) in their smoking behaviour across the races: Coloured (33.3%, n = 2), white (16.5%, n = 18), Asian (13.3%, n =9) and Africans (4.0%, n = 2). The prevalence of noncigarette tobacco use was 14%, with the majority smoking hookahs (7.1%, n=26). More of the 5th year students than their 3rd year students counterparts (23.5% vs 7.1%) had very good knowledge of tobacco cessation techniques and overall differences were observed ( 2אל -35.5, P <0.001). About 90% (n = 316) of the students knew about the dangers of smoking, but 12% (n = 41) did not associate smoking with heart disease. About 45% (n= 179) of the respondents believed that ban of smoking in public space had reduced prevalence rates and about 40% (n= 172) believed that taxation had reduced prevalence rates of tobacco use in South Africa. Almost 50% (n= 164) students believed that the ban of tobacco sales to minors had reduced prevalence rates and about 85% (n= 286) of the respondents agreed that pictorial health warnings should be placed on the packages of tobacco products. The students generally believed that doctors are seen as role models (84%, n= 286) by society and should not smoke (86.3%, n= 299). Even though 81% (n= 279) of the students were willing to speak to the community about the dangers of tobacco, only about 30% (n= 101) were willing to be members in an anti-tobacco organisation. Discussion and conclusion: The prevalence of smoking among the respondents was lower than national prevalence rates among adults but similar to that of South African young adults. The students had a low knowledge of tobacco cessation techniques. Less than half of the respondents believed that the current anti-tobacco legislation was effective and the majority supported the inclusion of pictorial warnings on the packages of tobacco products. The majority of the participants agreed that doctors were perceived as role models by members of their communities and should not smoke. There was a general willingness on the part of the respondents to advice their patients to quit smoking but majority of the participants however would not want to get involved in anti-tobacco organisations in the future.

In 2007, the Student Equity and Talent Management Unit (SETMU) at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) initiated a programme called the Targeting Talent Programme (TTP). One of the objectives of the TTP is to equip students to be successful at university. The first cohort of students consisted of 270 talented Grade 9 students from disadvantaged rural and urban schools. They were identified at the end of 2006, and they attended enrichment sessions at the University during 2007, 2008 and 2009. Thirty seven of the students enrolled for Engineering at Wits in 2010. They were given no further assistance by the TTP. The TTP based the planning of its curriculum on the Competencies identified by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The primary aim of the PISA assessment is to determine the extent to which young people have acquired the wider knowledge and skills in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy that they will need in adult life, hence the TTP attempted to incorporate the PISA Competencies in their curriculum in order to equip students for tertiary education. Habits of Mind identified by Cuoco and others were also used in planning the TTP curriculum in order to equip students with thinking skills. The TTP was successful in helping students to achieve university entrance, but there is a need to investigate to what extent the three year intervention program enables the students to succeed at university. This report focuses on the 37 students who enrolled for Engineering at Wits in 2010. They are compared to a sample of 37 students from the 2010 cohort who did not attend the TTP. The sample of non-TTP students was chosen by matching the National Senior Certificate Mathematics and Science marks obtained by the ex-TTP students as closely as possible. Thus two samples with an almost identical initial academic profile were created. One of the differences between the samples is that the ex-TTP students had had input which was aimed at equipping them to attain university entrance and to succeed there, whereas the other students had had no such formal assistance. The ex-TTP students were also compared with the cohort as a whole. This report shows that 16 of the 37 students (43%) passed the Mathematics, Mechanics and Physics courses that they were enrolled for. It also shows that the ex-TTP students scored lower on average than the non-TTP students and the cohort, for the Mathematics, Physics and Mechanics courses that they were enrolled for. Interviews with 9 of the ex-TTP students show that they did not consciously transfer study techniques from the TTP to university. The TTP was thus only partially successful in its objective of enabling students to be successful at university.

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo estimar os efeitos dos Programas Condicionais de Transferência de Renda (PCTR) no Brasil sobre a oferta de trabalho dos jovens inseridos na situação denominada \"nem-nem\", ou seja, aqueles que não estudam não trabalham e nem estão em busca de emprego. Tendo como base o trabalho de Foguel e Barros (2010) propõe-se verificar se os programas sociais produzem o efeito indesejável de incentivar jovens moradores de domicílios beneficiários a ofertarem menos trabalho, a partir da estimação de modelos de dados em painel aplicados aos microdados da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD/IBGE). Foram construídos dois painéis formados pelo mesmo conjunto de municípios durante dois períodos: de 2001 a 2009 e de 2011 a 2014 e com o desenvolvimento deste projeto foi possível identificar o perfil dos jovens nem-nem no Brasil, os fatores associados a essa condição e a evolução nos últimos anos. Durante todo o período em análise o percentual de jovens nem-nem se manteve relativamente estável, mas apresentou comportamentos distintos entre os grupos avaliados neste trabalho: jovens do sexo masculino, feminino, jovens mães e não mães. De um modo geral, a maioria dos jovens nem-nem se concentra em domicílios de baixa renda, tem baixa escolaridade e destaca-se nessa condição as jovens com filho devido ainda a forte exigência da participação dessas mulheres nas atividades domésticas e cuidados com parentes e/ou crianças. Em relação ao impacto dos PCTR na probabilidade de o domicílio possuir jovens fora do mercado de trabalho e da escola observou-se que apenas para as jovens mães o resultado foi significativo - e nesse caso deve-se considerar a falta de disponibilidade de vagas nas creches e pré-escolas como um intensificador da vulnerabilidade das mulheres nessa condição. Por outro lado, embora os jovens do sexo masculino apresentem o menor percentual de nem-nem entre os grupos analisados, observou-se uma tendência de alta, principalmente entre os menos escolarizados. Dessa forma, políticas públicas de incentivo ao aumento de vagas nas pré-escolas para as crianças devem ser adotadas no sentido de garantir às jovens mães oportunidades de inserção no mercado de trabalho e/ou retorno aos estudos. Deve-se também adotar políticas voltadas para a redução do abandono escolar de jovens do sexo masculino, a fim de evitar círculo vicioso de baixa escolaridade e dificuldade de inserção no mercado de trabalho. / This research aims to estimate the effects of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes in Brazil on the labor supply of NEET, that is, youths neither working nor studying or looking for a job. Based on the study of Foguel and Barros (2010), this study verifies if social programs have the undesirable effect of encouraging young people from beneficiary households to offer less work, based on the estimation of panel data models applied to microdata Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD / IBGE). Two panels were built by the same set of municipalities during two periods: from 2001 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2014. It was possible to identify the profile of NEET in Brazil, the factors associated with this condition and developments in recent years. Throughout the study period, the percentage of inactive youths remained relatively stable, but presented different behaviors among the groups evaluated in this study: young men, women, young mothers and non-mothers. Generally, the majority of NEET are in on low-income households, have low schooling levels and stands out in this condition the young women with children because they have a large participation in domestic activities and group of children and relative care. Regarding the impact of PCTRs on the probability that there is NEET in the household, it was observed that only for the young mothers the result was significant - and in this case one should consider the lack of availability of day care centers and pre-schools as an intensifier of women\'s vulnerability in this condition. On the other hand, although young males had the lowest percentage of idles among the groups analyzed, there was an increase trend among the less educated youths. Thus, public policies that increase the number of pre-schools for children should be adopted in order to guarantee young mothers\' opportunities to enter into the labor market and/or to return to school. Moreover, it is recommended the implementation of policies to reduce school drop-outs for young males, in order to avoid the vicious cycle of low schooling and difficulty to entering in the labor market.