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In the light of almost daily media reports of accidents and incidents of violence in South African schools, it can be assumed that most South African schools are unsafe. This study investigates the manner in which rural public schools implement the school safety regulations prescribed by the South African Schools Act to ensure learner safety. This qualitative study investigates the implementation of the Schools Act’s safety regulations at four public schools situated in the rural areas east of Pretoria in Gauteng. Data was gathered using interviews with the principals of these schools as well as by the observation and recording of the normal day-to-day activities at the school and by an analysis of each school’s school safety policy. The interviews with the principals focused on the manner in which each school implements the regulations for school safety in areas such as access to the school and the conducting of searches, the arranging of trips and excursion and the planning and managing water-based activities and the early release of learners. Observation at each of the four schools focused on the physical condition of the school and the schools’ procedures for playground duty, fire fighting and emergency drills. The analysis of each school’s safety policy aimed to determine the compliance of these policies with the Schools Act regulations and to determine the practicability and effectiveness of each policy. The researcher’s conclusions include the fact that none of four schools had an effective and practicable school safety policy in place and were not implementing their inadequate policies effectively. He suggests among other things a comprehensive compulsory school safety training programme including aspects such as information on the intent, content and aims of the school safety regulations, the concepts of liability and negligence and methods for drafting, adopting and implementing effective school safety policies. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

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劉鵬. / Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 450-498). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Liu Peng.

I Sverige styrs det förebyggande brandskyddsarbetet sedan 2010 av en nollvision som lyder: ”Ingen ska omkomma eller skadas allvarligt till följd av brand”. Utvecklingen av antalet dödsbränder har stadigt minskat under lång tid och ligger nu på runt 100 dödsfall i brand varje år. För åldersgruppen 65+ har utvecklingen dock stagnerat och på senare tid sker inte längre någon minskning av antalet dödsfall i brand i denna grupp. Dessa står för drygt hälften av alla omkomna i brand årligen och med tanke på den kommande ökade andelen äldre i samhället finns det nu oro för hur detta kommer att påverka utvecklingen av äldre som omkommer i brand. Det brinner inte oftast hos äldre, men när det brinner omkommer de. Äldre bor främst i egna bostäder och på senare tid har bostäder som marknadsförs åt äldre (t.ex. senior-/trygghetsbostäder, 65+, 70+, etc.) upptagit en växande andel av dessa. Detta i takt med ett ökat bostadsbehov bland äldre och en kvarboendeprincip där individer så långt som möjligt ska beredas möjlighet att bo kvar i sina egna bostäder när de blir äldre. Problemet är att dessa bostäder trots att de marknadsförs som tryggare bara uppfyller det i social bemärkelse. Brandskyddsmässigt har de inte högre brandskydd än vanliga bostäder eftersom de tilldelats samma verksamhetsklass (Vk 3A). I denna studie har det nuvarande byggnadstekniska brandskyddet studerats i ett urval av projekt som marknadsförts åt äldre. Studien visar att projekten i urvalet alla möter Vk 3A och endast några få har högre ambitioner brandskyddsmässigt. I två av dessa fall handlar ambitionerna om förstärkt varseblivningssystem och i ytterligare två om installation av spisvakt i samtliga bostäder. Dessutom framkom det att fler än hälften av projekten dimensionerats med utgångspunkt i att räddningstjänsten ska bistå utrymning. Något som är bekymmersamt med tanke på att mer än hälften av landets räddningstjänster i en nylig studie uppgav att de har problem med att upprätthålla en kontinuerlig beredskap. Dessutom har studien sökt sakkunniga för att i en enkät redogöra för äldres förmåga att utrymma själva i bostadstypen och det individanpassade brandskyddsarbetet i kommunen. En enkät skickades även till räddningstjänster för att ta reda på deras perspektiv och deras erfarenheter av problemet. Sammantaget identifierar både tidigare studier, och respondenter till denna studie, verksamhetsklassificeringen som ett stort problem i bostadstypen. De vidhåller att individanpassat brandskyddsarbete aldrig kan ersätta individens förmåga att utrymma. Därtill arbetar bara hälften av landets kommuner med individanpassat brandskydd i någon form. Konsekvensen av detta är att brandskyddet äldre får är beroende på var i landet de bor och följaktligen blir inte brandskyddet jämlikt. Detta är inte ett problem utan lösning, snarare tvärt om. Det är ett problem som kräver en mängd lösningar på nationell och lokal nivå. En del av problemen kan lösas med relativt enkla medel genom ökat stöd från myndigheter till kommuner som kämpar med att få igång individanpassat brandskyddsarbete. Andra problem – som verksamhetsklassificeringen – kräver en översyn av utformningen av den existerande brandskyddslagstiftningen. Det är förståeligt att myndigheter, med tanke på den kommande demografiska utvecklingen, vill driva på byggnation av bostäder. Men det borde inte behöva vara på bekostnad av de boendes säkerhet och trygghet. / Since 2010 preventive fire-safety measures in Sweden are all based on a common zero vision that reads: “No one should die or be seriously injured because of fire”. For the past half-century there has been a steady decline in fire-related deaths and in recent years that number has been around 100 each year. However, for one group of individuals that decline has ceased. For individuals older than 65 the death toll has been a steady average of 50 fire-related deaths per year for some time. These represent half of all fire-related deaths each year and the predicted population-increase in this age-group has started to cause some concern about how this will affect the death-toll. Individuals older than 65 primarily live in their own homes. In recent years homes specifically marketed to the elderly (in terms of safety and comfort) have taken up a larger portion of those. This increase in homes marketed to the elderly has followed a greater need for homes for the elderly as well as a Swedish principle of “home-living”. The idea is that individuals should be afforded every possibility to remain in their own homes as they age. The problem with these marketed homes is that the safety and comfort they promise is so in no other way than socially. Current fire-safety regulation sets no higher standard for these homes than for regular homes.  This study has examined what level of fire-safety a chosen group of build-projects for marketed homes has. The study shows that all the studied projects meet current regulations, only a few indicate higher safety-ambitions. In two of these those, the higher ambitions were enhanced warning-systems and in another two stove guards were installed in all apartments. What was more the study found that more than half of the projects were designed to require assistance from fire-rescue services in order to evacuate the building. This is particularly alarming since more than half of the fire-rescue services in Sweden reported not being able to maintain continuous service in a recent study.  Additionally, this study has surveyed municipal-experts for information on what ability elderly in these marketed homes have to evacuate on their own and on how they work with individually adapted fire-safety in the municipality. Fire-safety services were also surveyed for their knowledge and experience with the issue. In conclusion, both previous studies and the respondents to this study identify the fire-safety regulations applied to these marketed homes as an issue of significance. They all conclude that individually adapted fire-safety cannot possibly replace the individual’s capability to evacuate. Furthermore, only half of Swedish municipalities have adapted the process of individually adapted fire-safety in some way or shape. The main consequence of this is that the level of fire-safety elderly are prepared varies across the country and consequently fails to be equal. The issue at hand requires a multitude of solutions on a local and national scale. Some issues are relatively easily solved by government agencies providing more support to struggling, smaller municipalities. Other issues – like the lacking regulations for the marketed homes – require a review of current fire-safety regulations. It is understandable for agencies to want to meet a housing deficit, especially considering the looming demographic changes. But it should not come at the cost of elderly individuals’ safety and comfort.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Government and Public Administration

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Government and Public Administration

The study explores South African respondents’ attitudes toward game meat and finds the differences between the attitudes of consumer and non-consumer respondents of game meat toward the following attributes of game meat: sensory characteristics; health benefits; game meat production ethics; animal welfare; safety for human consumption; availability; price; promotion; and preparation. This quantitative study determined the attitudes of 1096 consumers and 310 non-consumers of game meat with an online survey using questionnaires. Recruitment was done through social media and e-mail forwarding. The differences in attitudes between consumer and non-consumer respondents were determined using Fishbein’s attitude-toward-the-object model. Based on attitudes toward individual attributes, respondents classified some product attributes as important in their decision to consume, or not to consume, game meat. Respondents indicated that the availability, sensory characteristics, game meat production ethics and health benefits are considered to be important in their consumption of game meat. To market game meat purposefully, the industry should focus on these attributes. / Life and Consumer Sciences / MCS (Life and Consumer Sciences)

Foodbome disease outbreaks have a tremendous impact on society, including foodbome illnesses, hospitalizations, lost work time, and deaths. These food-safety events have a significant influence in shaping consumers' perception of risk. Outbreaks of foodbome illnesses also have an effect on the development of public health policy. Due to these safety-related uncertainties in the food supply chain, various regulatory, safety, and health policies are implemented to decrease harm to potential victims. The total effect of such food-safety policies looked at in terms of reduction of foodbome illness, mortality, and food-related diseases may possibly be smaller than the forecasted effect because of failure to consider offsetting behavior. Attenuation and possibly reversal of the direct policy effect on expected injuries may arise because of offsetting behavior. This study combines both theoretical and empirical models to test the presence of dominant or partial offsetting behavior (OB) in the preparation and consumption of vegetables if a food-safety policy such as the Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (PR/HACCP) is mandated in the vegetable sector. Our findings indicate that food-safety information that has an effect on outrage and locus of control, both factors which have an effect on consumers' perception of risk, will lead consumers to become lax in response to this food-safety policy.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-239) / The primary aim of the study was to develop a psychosocial assessment tool for determining willingness to participate in child-centred safety promotion interventions, specifically in a low-income community in South Africa. The secondary aim was to determine the factors associated with willingness to participate. The study employed a mixed methods approach to develop the measure, and included content validation, item writing and initial validation processes. Nominal Group Technique discussions were conducted with various role-players in the relevant communities to inform the development of the instrument, while participatory methodologies were utilised to conceptualise the instrument in relation to psycho-social factors associated with intervention participation, with these categorised according to core dimensions. A Delphi method utilising an expert panel reviewed items for relevance, difficulty and ambiguity, with items subsequently amended or removed. Item selection procedures were conducted on the English version of the instrument and these results were applied to the Afrikaans version. A pilot study was conducted as part of the initial validation in order to test the items and format the questionnaire. The instrument was then administered to Afrikaans speaking individuals in a community in the Western Cape. Iterative exploratory factor analysis was conducted at both the item and scale levels to select and reassign items and scales in order to determine the final composition of the questionnaire. The findings indicate that the instrument measures seven factors, namely incentives; priorities and community needs; perceived benefits; social approval; accessibility and values; altruistic capital; and community cohesion. These factors are explained in terms of the Process-Person-Context-Time model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, considered within a participatory framework. The study findings indicate that the seven factors represent salient dimensions of the construct willingness to participate in interventions. The questionnaire and its subscales displayed acceptable to good reliability, with Cronbach’s α ranging from 0.55 to 0.80. Since willingness precedes actual participation, it is argued that insight into the factors that relate to willingness to participate provides an avenue for motivating actual participation. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)