M.Sc. (Geology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.A. / With recent socio-political changes in South Africa, it was considered important to review the career expectations of black South African youth, given the reported poor state of career guidance within certain schools. The literature review revealed that South African youth, particularly those from an Afrocentric culture, also tend to be unrealistic in their perceptions of job availability once they left school, with low self and occupational knowledge. Compromise was included as an important factor when considering the perception of job accessibility and the possibility of having to adjust aspirations to meet the realities of the world of work. The aim of this study, therefore, was to assess the occupational choices made by the grade 10 and 12 pupils at RAUCALL high school. The study attempted to determine the degree of congruence of the pupils' occupational choices in comparison to their occupational expectations and how this congruence correlates with academic performance. The results of the correlational analysis indicated that there was no statistically significant relationship between congruence and academic performance. From the findings of this research it was possible to conclude that students with low vocational identity may not experience any more academic difficulty than do students with high vocational identity. An additional finding was that John Holland's concept of congruence, Il` • his theory as a whole, needs to be validated to incorporate the South African context with its various cultures and language groups. The knowledge of self for black South African adolescents must be placed within the framework of a black identity if vocational guidance programmes are to be seen as meaningful and relevant.

M.A. / The purpose of this study is to compare the 1932 and 1989 Carnegie reports which dealt respectively with the issues of white and black poverty in South Africa. In 1932 the Carnegie report on white poverty was published which dealt with the causes, dimensions and possible solutions of poverty among the white (Afiikaner) community. In 1989 a similar report was published, the emphasis however being placed on the causes, dimensions and possible solutions of black poverty. The purpose of this study is to compare these two reports in their handling of the different poverty issues with specific emphasis on the role of politics in the causes and possible solutions of poverty. Research produced interesting points of agreement and disagreement. It was found that the magnitude of black poverty far exceeds that of white poverty 50% of the black population lives in poverty while only 17.5% of whites lived in poverty during the 1930's. The two Carnegie reports used the same indicators of poverty: the shortage of housing, education, health and unemployment. The historical causes of both black and white poverty can be traced to the same roots, for example the Anglo-Boer War and the Great Depression of the 1930's. However, the main causes of white poverty according to the Carnegie report were the inability of the population to adapt to changing economic conditions, farming problems, inadequate education and isolating circumstances. These are mainly socio-economic issues. In contrast, black poverty is largely caused by political factors, i.e. the policy of apartheid that discriminated against blacks in every sphere of life. White poverty was solved by a combination of three factors. The first was a process of ethnic mobilisation launched by Afrikaner leaders and designed to address "psychological" poverty. The second was economic growth as a result of the government's industrial policy and favourable external economic conditions. The third and most important was a deliberate policy of the government aimed at combating poverty. This included generous portions of the budget allocated to poor whites, comprehensive job creation programmes, legislation designed to favour white workers as opposed to black workers and the provision of housing, health services and education to the poor whites. According to the 1989 Carnegie report, black poverty is "a profoundly political issue". Therefore it cannot be solved until a fundamental redistribution of political power has taken place. This study evaluated the complex anti-poverty strategy proposed by the Carnegie report which covers a wide range of topics (for example education, health, rural development and housing) over the short and the long term, Although the Carnegie reports did not directly contribute to the solution of white or black poverty, it did however, lead to a greater public awareness of the poverty problem Both the (future) government and the private sector are to contribute to the solution of black poverty. In the study attention was also paid to issues not addressed by the Carnegie report, such as the redistribution of land, the role of the small business sector and population growth. It is concluded that the solution of black poverty hinges on addressing their "psychological" poverty, collective action to stimulate economic growth and effective government intervention in the economy.

D.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / The problem of high dropout rate or early school leaving is causing widespread concern amongst educators. This study is undertaken as part of a group project on school dropout or premature school leaving, which is undertaken by the Rand Afrikaans University of South Africa (RAU) and the Ben Gurion University of Israel. The purpose of this project is to identify the at-risk pupil, research the causes of school dropout, and identify the consequences of early school leaving in order to determine preventative measures. The following 4 factors have been studied in the profile of the school dropoutsocio- econornic factors social support political factors; and issues relating to the school itself In South Africa the high dropout rate in Black schools especially is a cause for concern. Under the new educational system, desegregation of schools is the ideal. This will, however, probably not be achieved overnight, and the problem of school dropout in Black schools will remain a problem for some time to come. Even if desegregation has been fully achieved, it can be argued that certain causes of dropout will always remain the same because not all causes are school-related. The cultural and home situation of potential dropouts will not necessarily improve on account oftheir being in desegregated schools. The focus of this study, therefore, will remain relevant.

M. Comm. / Sponsorship has grown immensely the past decade and involves billions of rand worldwide each year. Many big companies use this form of marketing successfully to achieve certain objectives. In South African athletics however, problems and pitfalls that may hinder the success of a sponsorship are experienced at regular intervals. It is believed that sponsors use the wrong objectives or make the wrong choices; that problems occur too frequently; and that the problems experienced are caused by the inability of athletics organisers to address or prevent such problems. The purposes of this study are to identify and describe problems that are regularly found in sport sponsorships and especially athletics sponsorship in South Africa. The underlying objectives are to determine whether sponsors use the correct objectives, to identify problems that occur regularly and to establish the organisers' responsibility for these problems.

M.A. (Counseling Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Com. (Marketing Management) / Companies in the industrial sector, where merchant banks generate 80% of their returns, are the best source of business for these banks. Because merchant banks' markets are largely restricted to the industrial sector, market segmentation of the industrial market and the concomitant assessment of the needs of the market are vitally important. The aim of this study was to develop a workable model for merchant banks, on the basis of which they may segment their markets meaningfully and simply, and may assess their clients' needs within the markets. with this aim in view, the first step was to gather background information on merchant banking, subsequent to which a theoretical analysis of market segmentation was carried out. The market research carried out, consisted of two parts. The first part entailed developing a computer model that could do market segmentation by combining the existing sources of information within the merchant bank and those of outside bodies. Internal sources used were the accounting and marketing records of merchant banks' own clients. External sources reflected the demographic, psychographic and geographic information on merchant banks' markets and the enterprises within these markets. These consisted of databanks of the BFA-NET (The Bureau of Financial Analysis, University of Pretoria), the Central Statistical Service, Bureau of Market Research (UNISA), McGregor's "Online Database" and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange...

M.Cur. (Nursing Sciences) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Comm. / Historically a company like Sanlam's business was mainly derived from government and mining markets, but political and economical factors are currently the reason for a decline in those areas. The SBDC predicts that in future small to medium size industries will provide 70% of all job opportunities in South Africa. With these expected changes in the market place, life assurance companies are on the lookout for new target markets with high profit and growth potential. In the past, a company like Sanlam was not successful in the business market, although they have excellent products and concepts available. The object of the study is to determine the market potential of the business environment in the North West Province for the life assurance market, as well as the unique needs, expectations and problems of the business market, so that a marketing action, would be acceptable to the business people, and that it would provide a life assurance company that implements it, with a competitive advantage. Chapter 2 deals with the relevant theory. A distinction was made between the marketing of a product and a service as well as differentiation between marketing to the consumer and industrial markets. Different market segmentation methods were reviewed to determine the different needs of a business person, as well as to determine the most effective products and marketing methods per segment. Measuring methods to determine market potential as well as.the elements that contribute to a competitive advantage were researched. It is mainly a value added service that is sold with a life assurance product and the focus group pointed out that it provides a life assurance company with a competitive advantage. That is why the theory of service quality and measuring instruments for service quality were also researched. In chapter 3 the research methodology as well as the questionnaire for the imperical research are being discussed. The questionnaire consists offive5 sections. The purpose of section A was to determine the demographically information for market segmentation purposes. The purposes of section B and C were to determine the subconscious and conscious needs of business people, so that the market potential and sales force for each competitor could be determined. Subconscious needs were determined through the problems that businesses experienced, which can be solved by life assurance. Section D determines the expectations of businesses in respect of a life assurance company, as well as the perceptions business people have of the five main competitors' service quality. For this purpose the Servqual Instrument was used to measure service in the industrial sector. The information gained from section D, as well as section E's critical success factors was used to determine the competitive advantage elements for a life assurance company planning to target the business market. In chapter 4 the research results of the survey are discussed, bases on the research goals that was set in chapter 3. In chapter 5, based on the research results, nine conclusions and recommendations were made for use by life assurance companies wishing to embark on the business sector as a future target market.

M. Comm. / Industrial incentives were introduced in South Africa for the first time during 1956. It was initially applied near the so-called homelands, and were only made available to all the industrialists in 1996. The problem which led to this study was that the incentives which were granted to industrialists have had no real benefits for the economy in the long run. South Africa is still not competitive in the global markets, we are still facing low productivity levels and the economy has no real wealth creation amongst its people. The purpose for this study was to compare the industrial incentive programmes with that of other African countries, with other developing countries and even with some developed countries to identify the shortcomings. This would then indicate which route South Africa could take to ensure that monies paid to industrialists are well spent. The factors which governments are taking into consideration when introducing incentives to industrialists were identified. It became clear that there are major differences in the objectives between developing and developed countries. The factors identified by of the United Nations were taken as a benchmark and as a starting point to evaluate specific industrial incentives for South Africa. These factors are investments and financial resources, technology, exports, employment and skills development, and the protection of the environment. The Department of Trade and Industry is in a process to implement new incentive programmes. Although the proposals are accommodating the labour and skills problems of South Africa effectively, the other factors have not been addressed as promptly. Proposals have been made that all the factors as identified by the United Nations should be addressed much more comprehensively in future. The new incentive programmes have not been approved by the SA Government as yet.