This study used a qualitative, explorative, and descriptive design to understand the experiences of adolescents after HIV status disclosure in Hhohho region Swaziland. The data were collected through in-depth individual semi structured face-to-face interviews from 10 adolescents living with HIV between the ages 15-19 years. To analyse interviews, Tesch’s qualitative data analysis approach was used. Findings from the study revealed that participants experienced sadness, despair and anger after disclosure and also had fear of death because some had lost one or both parents. The participants reported recurrent episodes of poor health, which resulted in failure at school. In addition, they stressed that they could not disclose their HIV status because they feared discrimination and stigma. Recommendations were made to improve coping strategies of adolescents and revising the nursing curriculum to equip nursing students with appropriate skills that would enable them to care for adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV). / Health Studies / MA (Health Studies)

The aim of the study was to investigate classroom discourse among high school natural science students in Swaziland. The research problem was: Can student interactions tell us something about the negotiation of understanding during natural science teaching? A qualitative approach was used, specifically, the observational case study style. The population comprised three Form 4 students and their natural science teacher, purposely selected. Data was collected using the non-participant observation and the standardised open-ended interview methods. The collected data was analysed using the discourse analysis approach. The analysed data indicated that prevailing discourse patterns were teacher and student talk, as well as written work. A conclusion was that student classroom discourse in the natural sciences should be encouraged among all students for improved understanding and meaning making. / Science and Technology Education / M. Ed. (Natural Science Education)

This exploratory study sought to determine how the current science education curriculum at Nazarene Teachers College contributes to the final (third) year’s students’ career readiness from their own perspectives. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The target population was 150 third year students; 110 responded to the questionnaire which had a response rate of 79%. To describe the biographical information of the respondents, frequencies and percentages were used. Tables of frequency distribution were then used to deduce the respondents’ responses to the group of questionnaire questions that probe the various career readiness concepts. Scale reliability testing was also used to determine the reliability of career readiness concepts. An overall measure of career readiness was calculated for each respondent and the effect of biographical properties as part of evaluation of respondents. The empirical (quantitative survey)showed that the science education course at the Nazarene Teachers College indeed prepares the students for their career readiness with specific reference to the teaching profession although some aspects can be improved. Therefore, it was recommended that there should be increased time allocated to science education and its teaching approaches; that a suitable science laboratory with all the required equipment for experiential learning should be constructed; the current curriculum content with regards to the relevance for primary school science should be reviewed; and the lecturers should be workshopped on the use of interactive methods of teaching science to facilitate active engagement with students. This study reveals that the science education course at the Nazarene Teachers College strengthened the students’ attitudes towards teaching science; improved their skills and confidence to teach science and enabled them to focus on a learner-centred approach. Students indicated that the use of specific teaching methods and the use of teaching aids contributed in a significant way to their preparation as teachers in the classroom. However, the students rated the contribution science makes to society as of minor importance / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Natural Science Education)

A qualitative study was done to explore and describe the problems of teenage mothers in the southern Hho-Hho region of Swaziland. Ten teenage mothers wrote naive sketches and fourteen teenage mothers were interviewed. The findings of the research indicated a lack of support for the teenage mother in all the dimensions studies in this research which include physical, social, cultural, emotional, spiritual, economical and educational. This lack of support systems were found to be the paramount problem and need urgent attention. The vicious circle of lack of support, ignorance, interruption of education and unplanned motherhood can only be addressed if all stakeholders including the multidisciplinary team actively participate to prevent teenage pregnancy and provide support for teenagers in general. / Nursing Science / M.A. (Nursing Science)

A qualitative study was done to explore and describe the problems of teenage mothers in the southern Hho-Hho region of Swaziland. Ten teenage mothers wrote naive sketches and fourteen teenage mothers were interviewed. The findings of the research indicated a lack of support for the teenage mother in all the dimensions studies in this research which include physical, social, cultural, emotional, spiritual, economical and educational. This lack of support systems were found to be the paramount problem and need urgent attention. The vicious circle of lack of support, ignorance, interruption of education and unplanned motherhood can only be addressed if all stakeholders including the multidisciplinary team actively participate to prevent teenage pregnancy and provide support for teenagers in general. / Adanced Nursing Sciences / M.A. (Nursing Science)

Thesis (MDF (Development Finance))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research is influenced by and starts from the work carried out by the IMF in Swaziland, wherein they comment about the significant growth in the use of savings and credit co-operatives compared with that of commercial banks. They also report the lack of growth of the financial sector resulting in sluggish economic growth. This report sets out to establish through a survey, the attitude of the Swazi public towards commercial banks, and to establish if indeed there is a deliberate move away from commercial banks to non-bank financial institutions in general. In the process the reasons for migrating from commercial banks are established. In addition, the ultimate use of funds borrowed in general, is also investigated. Specifically for those people who use non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), the research further probes the uses of such funds, and whether or not such funds are likely to affect economic growth. The survey is augmented by results from questionnaires responded to by selected microfinance institutions (MFIs) as a means of cross-checking and validating results obtained from the public survey. Findings are that in Swaziland, while the growth of savings and credit co-operatives (SACCOs) is acknowledged, there does appear to be a tendency to still use commercial banks by the economically active population. Borrowing tends to be for school fees, followed by the purchase of building materials for constructing rural homes on ancestral land, as well as for personal use and business activities. It also appears that the majority of users of financial intermediaries are civil servants, which comes as no surprise as government is the largest employer. The conclusion is that Swaziland’s problems with sluggish economic growth appear to be from more than a shallow financial sector, but a myriad of other reasons that have not been explored in this study. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsing is gebaseer op die uitkoms van die werk uitgevoer deur die Internasionale Monetêre Fonds (IMF) as vertrekpunt, waarin hulle meer beduidende groei in die gebruik van spaar en krediet-kooperatiewe gevind het in vergelyking met die trae groei in die gebruik van kommersiële banke. In dieselfde verslag haal hulle ook aan dat die gebrek aan voldoende groei in die finansiële sektor onderliggend is aan die stadige ekonomiese groei. Hierdie verslag bepaal deur middel van ‘n opname, die gesindheid van die Swazi-publiek teenoor kommersiële banke om vas te stel of daar ‘n opsetlike voorkeur vir nie-finansiële instellings is, bo kommersiële banke. Die studie ondersoek ook die spesifieke gebruik en toepassing van fondse verkry vanaf nie-finansiële kooperatiewe en of die gebruik daarvan ‘n negatiewe impak op ekonomiese groei het. Die uitkoms van hierdie ondersoek word bevestig deur die bevindinge van vraelyste wat deur geselekteerde mikro-finansiële instellings voltooi is, te vergelyk met die bevindinge van publieke opnames. Die bevindinge vir Swaziland is dat alhoewel daar groei is in die spaar-en krediet-kooperatiewe, daar steeds ‘n tendens onder die ekonomies aktiewe populasie is om gebruik te maak van kommersiële banke. Lenings word hoofsaaklik gebruik vir die befondsing van skoolgelde, daarnaas vir die aankoop van boumateriaal vir die konstruksie van landelike huise in voorvaderlike gebiede wat deur stamleiers toegeken word, sowel as vir persoonlike gebruik en besigheidsfinansiering. Dit wil ook voorkom asof die meerderheid van die leners staatsamptenare is. Dit is te verwagte, aangesien die regering die grootste werkgewer is. Die gevolgtrekking van die ondersoek is dat Swaziland se trae ekonomiese groei meer onderliggende beperkende oorsake het as bloot net die oppervlakkige uitwerking van die (kommersiële) finansiële sektor. Hierdie onderliggende redes word nie verder ondersoek as deel van hierdie studie nie.

MPhil / The concept of ‘new Englishes’ developed as a result of the relatively new perception of English as an adapting and evolving language within increasingly wider global contexts. According to McArthur (1992:688) the term “new Englishes” refers to "recently emerging and increasingly autonomous variet[ies] of English, especially in a non-western setting, such as India, Nigeria, or Singapore." Such varieties of English develop from an English, traditionally recognised as standard, to become distinctly individual: they retain some cultural and linguistic characteristics of the standard English but additionally represent and include many aspects of the culture and language of the country in which the new English functions. These new Englishes are lexico-grammatically sophisticated and as viable as any of the traditionally recognised standard Englishes. The “new languages” are used intranationally and internationally and so are not only a result of intercultural communication; they also facilitate and enable intercultural communication. This thesis investigates (i) Swazi English (SwE) as a ‘New English’ and (ii) the perceptions that Swazis themselves, as well as speakers from other language communities, have of SwE and its users. Swaziland is a landlocked country in the northeast region of Southern Africa and one of the last remaining monarchies on the African continent. English was introduced to Swaziland during the 1800’s and remained one of the official languages alongside siSwati after Swaziland achieved independence from Britain in 1968. English in Swaziland continued to develop despite increasingly restricted access to input from English first language speakers of British descent thus resulting in SwE developing independently of any external norm. SwE now appears to be a stable variety of English that is not only spoken but also written in newspapers, in government and legal correspondence and in the public relations documents of Swazi companies. The research for this thesis identifies a number of lexical, syntactic and semantic features of SwE that are different from those of standard British or American English. These features of SwE occur frequently and consistently in newspaper articles. Nevertheless, as indicated by the research results of this thesis, SwE continues to be perceived as an error-ridden second language variety rather than as a new English in its own right. Furthermore, the language prejudice is extended to users of SwE as many judge the intelligence, credibility and trustworthiness of writers of SwE negatively on the basis of linguistic features that cannot be indicators of character, skill or competence. This prejudice gives rise to stereotyping which is a barrier to effective intercultural communication.

A qualitative study was done to explore and describe the problems of teenage mothers in the southern Hho-Hho region of Swaziland. Ten teenage mothers wrote naive sketches and fourteen teenage mothers were interviewed. The findings of the research indicated a lack of support for the teenage mother in all the dimensions studies in this research which include physical, social, cultural, emotional, spiritual, economical and educational. This lack of support systems were found to be the paramount problem and need urgent attention. The vicious circle of lack of support, ignorance, interruption of education and unplanned motherhood can only be addressed if all stakeholders including the multidisciplinary team actively participate to prevent teenage pregnancy and provide support for teenagers in general. / Nursing Science / M.A. (Nursing Science)

A qualitative study was done to explore and describe the problems of teenage mothers in the southern Hho-Hho region of Swaziland. Ten teenage mothers wrote naive sketches and fourteen teenage mothers were interviewed. The findings of the research indicated a lack of support for the teenage mother in all the dimensions studies in this research which include physical, social, cultural, emotional, spiritual, economical and educational. This lack of support systems were found to be the paramount problem and need urgent attention. The vicious circle of lack of support, ignorance, interruption of education and unplanned motherhood can only be addressed if all stakeholders including the multidisciplinary team actively participate to prevent teenage pregnancy and provide support for teenagers in general. / Adanced Nursing Sciences / M.A. (Nursing Science)

The purpose of this study was to establish empirical evidence on risk factors influencing drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in Swaziland. Globally factors have been identified and specific programmatic interventions were implemented to counter the emergence of DR-TB, but the case still remains with Swaziland. The research question was “What are the risk factors influencing the epidemiology of DR-TB patients enrolled for treatment at the National Tuberculosis Referral Hospital? The research objectives were to investigate factors that influence the emergence of DR-TB in Swaziland, to establish the relationship between DR-TB and HIV and to develop a poster that will exhibit the findings on the study on risk factors influencing the epidemiology of DR-TB. A mixed method was used. A qualitative study of participants using the in-depth one on one interview with a grand tour question “ What are the risk factors that resulted in you having DR-TB” and probing questions. The quantitative retrospective part was utilised to review medical records. Convenience sampling was utilised to recruit participants using an interview guide to collect data and random sampling for the quantitative aspect using a checklist to collect data. Risk factors influencing the development of DR-TB were identified to be previous treatment with anti-tuberculosis drugs, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The findings showed that the prevalence of HIV in DR-TB was 61% for HIV positive and 39% for negative and the quantitative data showed 77% HIV positive and 23% negative to HIV. Lack of education for patients and their families on precautionary measures to take when caring for a family member, and what to do in cases of developing side effects. This study concludes that both the need to ensure that bacteriologically confirmed patients are initiated to treatment, adhere to their treatment and complete treatment and due to the number of direct cases being infected with DR-TB ensuring that infection control strategies are put in place at work and at home settings / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)