This study investigated the preparedness of technikon trained library science diplomates for the work situation. The views of both diplomates and their employers were sought in order to determine the preparedness of the former for the work situation. Both the diplomates and employers were requested to rate the various tasks for which diplomates were trained according to the degree of preparedness of diplomates. Respondents were also asked to identify weaknesses and strengths ofthe diploma. Results indicated that generally diplomates were employed as library assistants and were therefore not performing tasks for which they were trained. However, those diplomates who were performing tasks for which they were trained , were prepared in terms of their skills although certain problem areas were identified. There was no consensus on what could be identified as weaknesses ofthe diploma. Areas that should have been developed according to diplomates included communication skills, computer literacy and practical work. Employers identified areas that were peculiar to their kinds of libraries as areas that should have been developed but were not, for example, story telling, community information services, on-line searching, and others. Cooperative training, exposure to technology and the practical nature of the programme were identified as strengths of the diploma. What also emerged was that diplomates were underutilised as half of those who responded were performing at library assistant level in their work places. This indicated the reluctance of employers to afford diplomates the opportunity of undertaking para-professional tasks. Recommendations were made to conduct a survey of all employers in order to establish which employers have positions for para-professionals. This would indicate what job opportunities exist for diplomates. Another recommendation was that this study needs to be duplicated by other technikons in order to establish the preparedness of diplomates. / Thesis (M.I.S.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

Learning thrives in conducive and supportive environments, and where a culture of learning is cultivated. There are many factors that distract learners from devoting themselves wholeheartedly to learning. This study takes a critical look at such factors, and the involvement of high school learners in the infonnal sector of the economy is identified as the focus for an in-depth interrogation. More specifically, the focus is on the reasons for learners' involvement in infonnal work, the type of work they do, as well as the impact of such involvement on their academic perfonnance. I have chosen to use the case study method in order to understand this phenomenon in one township high school, with a focus on Grade 11 learners as the study participants. Data was collected through a multi-method approach. This entailed a survey questionnaire, letters written by learners, and group and individual interviews. The life histories of learners were developed drawing from the data, and my own autobiography. Five learners, two boys and three girls, were selected to represent the voices of working learners through life histories. The findings of this study reveal that the kind of work activity engaged by learners is gendered, poorly paid, and makes them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, and that poverty, education needs, culture, family structure, and size are the main reasons for children's involvement in the economic activities of the infonnal sector. Noting the magnitude of the problem, the study concludes with some recommendations whilst conceding that there are no quick-fix solutions to challenges of this nature.

This exploratory study investigates the factors that facilitate or inhibit the uptake of voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) among students aged 18-24 at the Howard College campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It also examines the sexual behaviour of the students in order to determine if, and to what they are at risk of HIV infection. The study used a self-completed survey questionnaire to elicit participants' responses. On one hand, the key factors that were found to motivate the students to undergo VCT include: the desire to know one's HIV status, peer influence, future planning and commitment to long-term relationships. On the other hand, factors that inhibit VCT uptake among students include lack of awareness, low risk perception, stigma, fear of an HIV positive test result, lack of confidentiality, long waiting period to secure an appointment, and perceived lack of benefits of counselling . The study also established that among the sexually active students, some engage in risky sexual behaviour such as involvement with multiple sexual partners and inconsistent condom use. In the light of the findings, the study recommends measures that would be taken to improve VCT uptake amongst students, and contribute in curbing the spread of HIV. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

This study argues that one of the solutions to the problem of high matriculation failure rates in black schools is providing resources such as media centres and laboratories to make learning more realistic and interesting to pupils. However, unequal educational provision has meant that less money is allocated to black education in comparison with white, Indian and Coloured education. The study was initiated by the awareness of the lack of media centres in black schools and colleges of education. It focuses on the teaching of library orientation at Esikhawini College of Education, an institution that has features common to all KwaZulu colleges. The population consisted of a group of Secondary Teachers Diploma Second year (STD II) students who did not study library orientation as their ancillary subject. The study shows that most students at the college had not used media centres before coming to the college. It also shows that the time allocated to library orientation is too little; the course should be extended to two or even three years. As a result of these findings, the study recommends that media education be integrated into the curricula starting with the earliest levels of schooling, and that a national policy on the funding of media education be formulated. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, 1992.

This study will take the form of a case study of a group of Deaf Information Technology (IT) students and their Sign Language interpreters at Durban University of Technology (DUT). These students are enrolled under a Programme for the Deaf run by the Information Technology Department. The department provides additional assistance in the form of Sign Language interpreters who attend all their lectures and also provide extra tutorials for them. The aim of the research is to identify the main challenges encountered by this group of students at DUT. I first became aware of the existence of these students while engaged in an action research project at the beginning of 2005 and realised that this was an area that needed further study. There is a lack of research on Deaf students in tertiary institutions in South Africa and there are not many tertiary institutions which enrol Deaf students and provide them with a Sign Language interpreter. I realised that this was an area which needed to be researched and that the resulting findings could make a difference to the lives of Deaf students at DUT by identifying the main problems and perhaps suggesting ways in which these could be addressed. Group interviews with the Deaf participants were conducted with the assistance of a Sign Language interpreter in order to explore their challenges. Further interviews were conducted with the interpreters who were interviewed individually. The study was limited to Deaf students enrolled under the undergraduate Programme for the Deaf at DUT and, as a result, might not reflect challenges faced by any other deaf students at DUT or other tertiary institutions. The findings identified, amongst others, problems such as poor literacy levels of the Deaf students and lack of communication between the Deaf students and hearing staff and students on campus among other problems. The Deaf students felt marginalised and largely ignored on campus. There was very little awareness of Deafness among hearing students and staff at DUT. Some possible solutions to these problems were suggested such as including deaf awareness in the orientation of hearing staff and students. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

The study explored the links between 31 sources of stress, as per the Student Stress Scale, and gender, level of study, race and social class, as well as the relationship between stress and health. Two-hundred–and-five (205) undergraduate and post-graduate students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus, participated in the study. The results showed that there were five significant differences in sources of stress between male and female students, six significant differences between undergraduate and post-graduate students, nine significant differences between black students and students of other races and three significant differences between students of different socio-economic statuses. Furthermore, there were no significant relationships found between stress and overall health and anxiety; however, significant relationships were found between stress and depression, bodily pain and flu/cold. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

The promulgation of the Mental Health Care Act of 2002 in South Africa came with challenges or changes in the nursing of mentally ill people. One of the changes required that mental patients need to be observed and assessed for a period of 72 hours in a general or medical ward before being transferred to a specialist hospital. Sometimes the person remains in the ward for more than the 72 hours. This means that nursing students doing their comprehensive four year diploma (R425) are exposed to nursing people with mental illness in their first, second and third year of training, which is prior to the mental health nursing/psychiatric nursing module undertaken in the last semester of the fourth year. The purpose of this study was to explore student nurses’ narratives on nursing mentally ill people in a medical ward. Narrative inquiry was used as the research methodology. Purposive sampling was used to select 5 participants for this study. The inclusion criteria specified that participants had to be second year students participating in the four year Comprehensive Nursing Diploma Programme (R425) who have nursed, or been in contact with a mentally ill person, for a period of eight weeks. The study was conducted before the participants were exposed to the psychiatric module, which is undertaken in fourth year of the diploma course. Data collection took place through a total of 5 sessions of focus groups which took place in a boardroom. While personal names were excluded, participants were required to fill in certain demographic details. Data analysis was undertaken using narrative data analysis, which looked at narrative strings, which are presenting commonalities and narrative threads which are major emerging themes. The narrative strings or commonalities that were identified were in the area of beliefs, with the dominant beliefs regarding the causes of mental illness being culturally or socially based. Emotions such as fear, sadness and frustration were identified, as well as ignorance which leads to stigmatising attitudes. The narrative threads or emerging themes that were identified were: making sense of experiences; moments of awakenings; breaking free moments; and acceptance of a known person with mental illness. The following themes were identified: moments of awakenings or realisation, where the participants started seeing the mentally ill person in another light; and moments of strengths/unique outcomes, where participants recognised their own strengths in dealing with a mentally ill person. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

Since the democratic transition, South Africa has come a long way in paving a path that enables citizens to take advantage of education. Within universities, certain overlooked socio-economic and food security factors affect academic performance. The prevalence of food insecurity and factors affecting academic performance was investigated in the context of underperforming first year students. A mixed methodology was used where questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used to collect in depth information. The individual dietary diversity score (IDDS) and household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) were used to assess the severity of food insecurity. Fifty-three per cent of students came from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds characterised by unemployed parents and a high dependency on government grants. Twenty per cent of students regularly send remittances home, diverted from their scholarships/ bursaries and study loans thus leaving little for students to survive on. HFIAS results showed majority of students were food insecure as 80% experienced anxiety about food availability and accessibility and 54% had periods of complete inaccessibility to food. The majority of students proved to lack skills in grocery listing and financial management skills. Affordability and storage facility challenges led to students consuming nutritionally poor foods which compromised their health status. The IDDS showed 92% of students consumed bread, rice and maize; 70% ate foods with high levels of sugar, 71% ate foods made with oil, fat or butter; 66% ate meat; 58% ate vegetables, 50% ate fruits. This showed students’ diet is lacking in diversity as they resort to rich, energy-dense and cheap foods found at cheap prices. This robbed students of essential nutrients. Students who lived in university-owned residences were at higher risk of food insecurity. A significant proportion of study participants had substandard secondary school education. The shift in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) created challenges evident in lack of classroom engagement and lack of efficiency in communicating answers in tests and exams. Student accommodation and its proximity to learning facilities also affected performance negatively. The study therefore recommends, among other things, that university-owned residences reintroduce and/or subsidize dining halls to increase food accessibility, availability, quality, quantity and dietary diversity challenges. Food coupons could be introduced to low socio-economic students to purchase food from supporting grocery stores. Mandatory attendance of first year students to specialized programs organized by faculties and Student Counseling Centre to improve preparedness of students is needed. The UKZN LoLT policy needs to be implemented effectively so that the performance of second and third language speakers is improved. Translated material and academics who can speak the main local language is encouraged. The use code-switching techniques for the benefit of second and third language speakers are also encouraged when academics can use the main language. / Thesis (M.Sc.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Questions have been raised regarding factors influencing fertility in South Africa, particularly within the different population groups. Various studies have focused on fertility in South Africa and other developing countries, based on racial differences, socio-economic statuses and geographical or environmental factors. It is clear that the major omission in the existing studies is the much-needed investigation of cultural influences on fertility outcomes. Therefore, this study is an investigation of the role of culture in influencing fertility behaviour among young women at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban. The central question of this paper is therefore: how does culture influence fertility behaviour among young university women? To respond to this question, the study used John Bongaarts' theory on proximate determinants of fertility as lenses for this investigation. A qualitative research design was used to collect data through 14 individual in-depth interviews with multiracial and multicultural women between the ages of 22 and 31. A thematic analysis revealed that culture still plays a significant role in determining fertility outcomes. Although the participants are aware of the conservative stand of their cultures and religions, the results indicate that their personal choices for fertility behaviour are influenced by education and desire for success in their careers. In addition, the findings showed that the extent to which culture influences fertility behaviour is different across the various racial groups in South Africa. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The marginalization of black people from the formal economy has led them to the informal economy. This is due to the country’s macroeconomic policies which have made the country’s economy develop unevenly. The uneven development draws black people who lack skills and are unable to find employment, to engage in informal economic activities. Engaging in informal economic activities enables those marginalised by the formal economy to generate a livelihood from the informal economy. As a result, parents and guardians of the youth struggle to pay tertiary fees and provide a sustainable livelihood for their sons and daughters. In turn, these sons and daughters begin to engage in informal economic activities by selling goods and providing services to other students in their rooms at residence. The selling of goods and providing services is a means to generate a livelihood in order to survive at tertiary, subsequently students become businessmen and businesswomen who own their own small businesses irrespective of the scale of the business. From the government’s perspective, there have been many initiatives, strategies and frameworks to promote small businesses and youth entrepreneurship amongst the youth. However, the policies, strategies and frameworks do not cater for students engaging in these survivalist-enterprise activities of the informal economy as students look to generate a livelihood. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.