South Africa is a country faced with immense challenges, such as poverty, as a result of high levels of unemployment. Poverty reduction has become an international phenomenon in view of high levels of poverty in most under-developed and developing countries. From 1994, the South African Government implemented various income generating projects amongst other programs aimed at alleviating Poverty reduction initiatives in South Africa mostly come from government and civil society structures, or non – governmental organisations (NGO) with the aim of changing the living standards of the poor so that they can at least meet their basic needs, such as food, shelter and clothing. This study seeks to explore the impact of income generating projects funded by the Department of Economic Development in the Sisonke District at UMzimkhulu, focussing on the efforts the Paninkukhu co-operative. The study is important because of the high levels of poverty. South Africa (SA) is a country faced with the challenge of poverty as a result of the high levels of unemployment. The research method chosen for the study included a qualitative and quantitative research approach where data was collected through the use of interviews and a questionnaire. The findings of the study indicate a need to provide training to the project members on capacity building.

Background: The World Health Organisation (WHO) initially recommended F100 formula in the treatment of severe malnutrition. F100 is made with full cream milk powder, sugar, oil and water with added minerals and vitamins. Ready to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) is a highly nutrient dense food enriched with minerals and vitamins, with a similar nutrient profile but greater energy and nutrient density than F100. RUTF has shown to be effective in the treatment of severe and moderate wasting and is associated with an increased recovery rate. In South Africa no studies are available on the recovery rate of children with severe acute malnutrition treated with RUTFs. Aim: To compare the recovery of clinically stable severe acute malnourished children, between the age of 12 and 60 months, treated with either F100 or RUTF as nutrition supplement. Methods: A randomised clinically controlled trial was performed. All children referred to Clairwood hospital with severe acute malnutrition (SAM), defined as a weight for height measurement of <70 percent of the median and/or < -3 SD below the mean WHO reference values or the presence of bilateral oedema were included in this study. Children were stratified according to age and gender and subsequently randomly assigned with randomisation tables to either the RUTF or F100 group. A total of 35 children were included in this study and data from 34 were analysed with 17 in each group. Results: Most children included in this study were between 12 and 18 months with boys in the majority. Both groups had a large percentage of HIV-infected children (70 percent in the RUTF group and 76 percent in the F100 group), with Tuberculosis (TB) co-infection in some of the children. One child died due to HIV related complications. The rate of weight gain was 7.77g/kg/day in the RUTF group and 6.11g/kg/day in the F100 group. There was no statistical significant difference established between groups (p = 0.46). The majority of children recovered within 21 days on the RUTF while the majority of children in the F100 group recovered after 6 weeks. There were no changes in height during the rehabilitation of these children. MUAC changes were observed with 92 percent having a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) of > 11.5cm after a 6 week intervention with RUTF and F100. Conclusion: RUTF resulted in better rates of recovery and can be used efficiently in rehabilitating children with SAM in a supervised facility setting. These preliminary results also point towards significant potential savings regarding hospitalisation costs since faster recovery has been demonstrated by children in the RUTF group.

The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) is a common top predator along the KwaZulu-Natal coast. There have been several dietary studies done on this species, most of which have classed this predator as an opportunistic feeder preying on the most abundant prey species in that area. In KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) a dietary study was carried out in 1990, but there have been no followup studies to examine potential changes in diet. A number of bottlenose dolphins get entangled in the shark-nets set off the KZN coast each year. These dolphins provide a valuable source of information about different aspects of the ecology of this population. The aim of this study was to examine the diet of bottlenose dolphins off the KwaZulu-Natal coast with particular emphasis on temporal change in diet composition. The contents of 102 stomachs of bottlenose dolphins (58 females, 44 males) accidentally caught in the shark nets between 1985 and 2010 were analysed, and compared to historical data from dolphins caught between 1975 and 1986. A total of 94 different prey species from 37 families (32 fish families, five cephalopod families) were identified in the stomach contents. Teleosts made up the most important prey group in numbers and weight constituting 84 percent and 67 percent, respectively, while cephalopods made up 15 percent of the number and 30 percent of the weight of the prey items. Multi Dimensional Scaling (MDS) indicated that there is no resource partitioning between males and females, but significant partitioning between juveniles and adults. Six prey species contributed more than 60 percent of the weight of all prey species in the diet. These species are the most important according to their calculated index of relative importance score and are, in order of importance: Sepia sp. (cuttlefish)., Pomadasys olivaceus (piggy), Trachurus delagoa (maasbanker), Scomber japonicus (mackeral), Loligo sp. (squid). and Pagellus bellottii natalensis (pandora or red tjor-tjor). When compared to historic data, no changes in the main prey species has occurred, but the piggy has decreased in importance (1976-1986 percent IRI=45; 2000-2010 percent IRI=22), while the maasbanker has increased (1975-1986, percent RI=4; 2000-2010 percent RI=20). Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis performed on tissue from the teeth of T. aduncus caught in the shark nets between 1970 and 2010 showed that there has been no significant shift in trophic level (δ15N) or in primary prey source (δ13C) over this time. The isotopic signatures of different tissues from an individual were used to create a base line and describe the differences in tissue signatures. Blubber was found to be significantly different from skin and muscle, which were found to be isotopically similar. Skin from remote biopsies can therefore probably be used in place of muscle for isotopic studies of bottlenose dolphins, while caution should be taken when using blubber. Given that T. aduncus is still listed as “data deficient” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the potential for climate change and expanding fisheries to alter the distribution and abundance of their prey species, long term dietary studies such as this are important in order for their effective conservation and management.

Since the first National Curriculum Statement matriculation results for 2008, there has been an outcry that rural secondary schools in KwaZulu Natal are lagging behind in terms of pass rate compared to urban and former Model C secondary schools. There are various contributory factors that are impacting on poor learners’ performance in rural schools. This study was specifically conducted in rural secondary schools of KwaZulu Natal. The reason was that there is few research conducted in rural schools, particularly with regard to teacher job satisfaction and professional development. There is therefore a belief that satisfied teachers produce good performance in their schools. Furthermore, it is also believed that satisfied and adequately developed teachers are the key to successful implementation of the grades 10-12 National Curriculum Statement. The study was therefore conducted to investigate rural secondary school teachers’ experiences of job satisfaction and their expectations of support to develop their competencies as curriculum workers. The research problem was investigated through the mixed methods research. The use of mixed methods research was to ensure that reliability and validity are addressed. The concurrent strategy of mixed methods research was employed. In concurrent mixed research methods, data is collected during the same phase. Data was collected from rural secondary schools of Umzinyathi, Ilembe and Empangeni districts in KwaZulu Natal. There were fifty rural secondary schools which participated in the study. Four hundred rural secondary school teachers completed survey questionnaires. Eighteen rural secondary school teachers participated in individual interviews. Only nine rural secondary schools were involved in observation and interviews. Research findings show that poverty was one of the major contributory factors that led to poor performance of rural secondary schools. Poverty and lack of adequate professional development programmes in rural secondary schools have negative impact in terms of teachers’ job satisfaction. Learners’ poor command of English in rural secondary schools contributed to their poor academic performance. Lack of support services, bad condition of roads and, long distances travelled by both learners and teachers contributed to teachers’ job dissatisfaction and learners’ poor performance. Rural secondary school learners were demotivated about learning, since they lacked role models in their communities. Rural secondary school learners were also undisciplined. They bunked classes. They carried weapons to schools. Rural secondary school learners also helped criminals to steal and vandalize school property. They smoked dagga inside the school premises. Moreover, research findings indicate that rural secondary school teachers were not involved in school decision-making processes. School management teams were the only structure making school decisions. Growth opportunities for teachers were not fairly provided to them by their principals. Schools governing body chairpersons and principals were abusing the teacher promotion process since they were biased. They only promoted their friends and relatives and sometimes they were bribed by candidates. The latter findings contributed to teachers’ job dissatisfaction. Further findings indicate that there were teachers who were teaching subjects for which they were not qualified. Some heads of department were supervising subject streams that were outside of their specialization since the school post-provisioning norms (PPN) was small. Rural secondary school principals possessed inadequate grades 10-12 National Curriculum Statement expertise. Integrated Quality Management Systems was unable to develop teachers for effective grades 10-12 National Curriculum Statement implementation since it was not implemented accordingly in rural secondary schools. Clusters were effective strategies to develop teachers in rural schools although geographical isolation of school was their main challenge. The recommendations of this study are that RSSs must be fully supported by the KwaZulu Natal Department of Education. All roads to schools must be repaired in time. Decent teacher accommodation must be built inside schools with security guards to look after teachers’ safety and their property when they are away. Recreation venues/centres must be established in rural areas to relieve and address teachers’ stress and boredom. The KwaZulu Natal Department of Education must ensure that all schools have libraries, laboratories and computer classes. The Department of Education must also fully recognize postgraduate qualifications such as honours, master’s and doctoral degrees to retain highly qualified teachers in rural secondary schools. Teachers must be promoted on merit rather than on friendship or relationship.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of a Master's Degree in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Zululand, 2006. / The South African School's Act No. 84 of 1996, calls for transformational leadership in schools. Principals are under obligation to comply with the stipulations of the act, which compel them to work in democratic and participative ways. School management and governance must be inclusive with roles and responsibilities defined for educators, parents and learners. Jointly they must ensure accountability, transparency in the delivery of quality public education. This study reviewed literature on the role of principals as change managers in schools. The Department.of Education (1999: 46-48) wishes to promote a culture of teaching and learning where respect is commanded through stature rather than status and the impetus of educational service delivery is about development rather than delivery of expertise. Principals are being called upon to manage and implement transformation that will embrace and give practical application to these ideals. In order to test principals' commitment to and effectiveness in change management, an empirical investigation was conducted in schools in the Umbumbulu Circuit of the Ethekwini region of KwaZulu-Natal. Findings of the study led to the following conclusions: • principals are grappling to implement changes in schools; • there is a lack of change management expertise in the ranks of principals; • principals resist change instead of initiating and implementing change. Several recommendations were drawn from the study. These included: • The development of a greater number of workshops to capacitate principals to manage change. • More concrete incentives are to be devised and implemented to motivate principals to accept change and implement policies that mandate change. • Effective change management strategies must be made explicit and brought to the attention of principals as concrete measures that can be used to facilitate change.

MA (Sociology) / Department of Sociology / This study aims to investigate the socio-cultural influence towards the risky sexual behaviour of adolescents in eSikhaleni, in context of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS epidemic. The study will adapt a qualitative approach. It is an explanatory study goes beyond simple description to model empirically the phenomenon under study. The participants were drawn from two categories. The participants for the key informant interviews were selected purposively and they include community leaders, high schools principals and life orientation teachers. The adolescent’s learners were selected using a snowball sampling technique. Data was analysed thematically, matrices were created using to content thematic analysis. The responses were grouped thematically. Broad categories were then generated to differentiate and explain the thoughts expressed by the respondents. Invitations to participate on the study were sent to respondents by submitting informed consent electronically and in person. When participants completed the structured interview they were not required to reveal their personal or contact details. The findings of the study reveals that risky sexual behavior amongst adolescents learners is as a result of a number of factors which include the diminishing role of parenting, death of morality in society, poverty and deprivation just to name a few. The recommendations advanced speak to the need for government to have a multipronged strategy of resolving the problem.

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Communication Science at the University of Zululand, 2002. / In this thesis I present the results of a literature study, followed by an empirical surrey, regarding the leisure time activities of Zulu adolescents in rural and semi-rural areas of KwaZuhi-Natal along the northeastern seaboard of South Africa. My findings contextualise the above group's socialisation with regard to leisure time activities, home chores, school homework, school sports activities, communal tribal activities and local community events. I document and explain a variety of neighbourhood activities, including ones played during impromptu-organised neighbourhood get togethers. They include games ranging from the mundane to the innovative. I also analyse the annual Zulu Reed Dance Ceremony as a symbolic female rite of passage to womanhood, and various activities that serve as male rite-of-passage activities to manhood. My major finding is that all forms of social behaviour of Zulu rural adolescents — including their leisure time preferences — are informed by a coherent value-belief system in which religious beliefs play a central integrating role.

Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 1999. / This investigation entails a study of motor vehicle theft and hijacking in KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape for the period of 1 January till 31 December 1995. The present study is empirically founded and for this purpose an information schedule has been implemented to capture data from police case dossiers for statistical analysis and description. Data forthcoming from a previous Honours study in the Westem-Cape have also been incorporated for comparison purposes. The sample consists of 1331 cases of motor vehicle theft and hijacking in KwaZulu-Natal, while 372 cases in Western Cape were included in this investigation. Key findings emanating from this investigation are as follows: (1) White male victims in the age category 31-35 years were the most victimised through motor vehicle theft and hijacking in both Provinces. (2) The profile of the average offender of motor vehicle theft and hijacking comprises an unemployed African male person between 21-40 years. (3) The temporal frequency indicates that most people in KwaZulu-Natal were victimised during March, August and October, while October, September and May caused the most suffering for victims in the Western Cape. Thursdays and specifically early mornings in KwaZulu-Natal seems to be the most popular for motor vehicle theft and hijacking. In the Western Cape this tendency peaked in the early mornings of Fridays. (4) Toyota followed by Mazda, Nissan / Datsun and Ford sedan vehicles were the most popular objects for motor thieves and hijackers. The following recommendation have been made: (1) Greater community involvement in the prevention of these types of crime has become inevitable. In this regard empowerment of local communities through Community Police Forums could play an important role. Such involvement could stimulate greater crime awareness among the community. Shared responsibility as far as the security of people and their property is concerned, could positively influence successful order maintenance. (2) Security measures which including the installation of anti-theft devices should be prioritised by the public. (3) Specialised Vehicle Theft Units should, in the light of the low percentage motor vehicle theft cases referred to courts, be more efficient - considering the availability of modern technology. (4) Police involvement in crime syndicates should receive serious attention and, were applicable, be totally eliminated (5) Progress without research is futile. Greater liaison between the police and tertiary institutions (Criminology departments and the Technikon SA) will do much to stimulate scientific research in the interest of successful policing.

A dissertation of limited scope submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the course-work degree of Masters of Recreation and Tourism in the Centre for Recreation and Tourism at The University of Zululand, 2003. / This study is conducted with a view that the provision of tourism and recreation attractions contributes greatly to the social, physical and economic development in the Stanger-Mthunzini Districts. The study is also carried out with a view that tourism has a great potential of boosting the economy of the study area and the entire country of South Africa. The study has therefore operated with the following objectives in mind: • To determine the adequacy of tourist attractions and service facilities in the study area. • To investigate the extent to which members of the local community are aware of the existence of the tourist attractions. • To find out the nature of tourist participation patterns within the study area. • To establish the extent to which members of the local community benefit from the availability of tourist attractions. • To examine if there is any co-operation between the managers of attractions, developers and the members of the local community. • To establish the level of involvement of the local community in tourism related decision-making Pursuant to the listed objectives, this study identified related hypotheses towards finding answers to the research question. The method of collecting, analysing and interpreting data involved computer manipulation of data utilising the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings of this study reveal that most of the stated objectives were met. The study revealed that most members of the local community do not associate the development initiatives with their immediate needs. They see the presence of the existing attractions as not benefiting them in any significant manner. It was also established that the members of the local community do not use local attractions extensively, due to the lack of exposure to them and the fact that most of the people in the study are not highly educated. Respondents revealed that most of them are employed to do manual work in the sugar-cane plantations. The conditions under which they work, leave them with neither adequate financial resources nor time to participate in recreation activities. In terms of behaviour and attitudes, the study indicated that the members of the local community have negative feelings towards the provision of tourist recreation. The reasons usually given were that they were not invited to participate in decision-making. Other respondents claimed that they were driven away from the land they originally occupied and owned, for purposes of constructing some of the tourist attractions. Some recommendations have been made to improve the way in which the members of the local community perceive the attractions in their locality. These include doing public awareness of these attractions, involving the members of the local community in decision-making, providing them with employment. The government should play a role in developing and empowering the youth and women by equipping them with skills required in the tourism industry.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Master's degree in Recreation and Tourism, in the Department of Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2011. / The study on the Environmental Management Plan as a tool for Tourism Development within uMkhanyakude District Municipality was conducted in consideration of tourism industry being the tourists' destination as well as the major source of income in the region. There are various factoid that contributed immensely toward the growth of tourism in the study area. This study has identified that Environmental Management Plan (BMP) as one of the factors that played a significant role in ensuring authenticity of natural environment which forms the basis for tourism development. The objectives of the study are an important component of this research because they paved the direction that this study followed. The objectives of the study were as follow: • Objective 1: To investigate the strategies used for protection and conservation of environment and natural resources for tourism development; • Objective 2: To find out if the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) serves as tool for tourism development; • Objective 3: To establish the status quo of tourism development within uMkhanyakude District Municipality; • Objective 4: To investigate the level of implementation of Environmental Management Plan (EMP) of uMkhanyakude District Municipality. Data were collected through the use of questionnaires which had both open and close ended questions. After the data were collected, it was analysed using SPSS. This programme was used to fomiulate frequency tables, graphs and related analysis. There were vanous findings that were deduced from the responses of the interviewees. The findings of the study depicted that strategies and methods for protection and conservation of environmental resources exist in the study area. The strategies linked the importance and value of environmental resources towards tourism development. It prevailed that the inhabitants of uMkhanyakude District Municipality value the nature and its role in providing tourism related opportunities as well as other benefits to the local people. There are organisations and departments that played a major role in ensuring that the environment remains the first priority in the operations of local communities. According to respondents' perceptions, organisations such as Reperial Reforestation, WWF, WESSA, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, DEAT, Water Affairs and Forestry have played a significant role in inculcating the essence of the environment in the local communities of the study area. The findings of the study led to several recommendations that would assist in enhancing the implementation of BMP. The proper implementation of BMP will positively influence tourism development and directly contribute to economic growth of the study area. Recommendations included the following: (a) that methods and strategies to protect and conserve the environment should be reinforced, (b) that stakeholders (including government, private sectors and community) should be involved in developing and implementing BMP in their local municipality, (c) that the EMP should be developed taking into cognizance both environmental and tourism issues, as these two aspects are assumed to be intertwined, (d) uMkhanyakude District Municipality should provide personnel that will monitor the implementation of the EMP in the local municipalities and finally (e) that tourism as a subject should be introduced and promoted in schools.