Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / The research is focused on outsourcing versus in-house staff in the case of the University of Limpopo. Since the outsourcing path was adopted in 2002, no formal study was instituted by UL to ascertain whether the decision had positive effects on the university’s financial status and former employees’ welfare. One of the impediments that posed a real threat to the UL’s outsourcing agenda was the lack of a guiding document to adequately direct the negotiation process. Lack of feedback and lack of a vibrant communication plan as the main variables that triggered a climate of mistrust between the PCS and stakeholders were identified. This study seeks to determine which option, namely outsourcing versus in-house staff complement will be the most advantageous to UL. The idea taken by the UL in 2002 to outsource what was perceived as non-core operations was an idea that was never easy to implement and ultimately failed to achieve its originally intended purpose. This study opted for the qualitative method because it relied on the views of UL’s former employees who were directly affected by the university’s 2002 outsourcing arrangement. The population of this study consisted of one hundred and fifty (150) people comprising of UL’s in-house employees in the UL. The process of selecting the participants was based on the purposive sampling method. The sample size for this study was 38 of the outsourced operational support staff From the results obtained from the study, a conclusion was drawn that the outsourcing arrangement did not provide any significant benefit to any of the affected parties. The recommendations on measures to improve the effectiveness of UL’s outsourcing arrangement were made and described in detail in chapter five of this study. Recommendations for further studies were also made in chapter five as being inevitable because there is no research that is complete in itself

Thesis (M.A.(Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / A study investigating third year psychology students’ attitudes towards the use of marijuana at the University of Limpopo was undertaken. The study was quantitative in nature and used a cross sectional survey design. A random sample of 165 third year psychology students was used. The Health Belief-Model was used as a theoretical framework, which guided the study and the reporting of the research results. The self-report questions were made up of several standardised questionnaires. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics namely, frequency tables and figures as they gave a clear overall picture of the data. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine if there were any significant differences between male and female participants in terms of knowledge and attitudes. The results of the study found that overall respondents had negative attitudes toward marijuana use. The study also indicated that there were no gender differences in attitudes toward marijuana use. In terms of the Pearson correlation coefficient a weak positive relationship was found between self-efficacy and attitudes toward marijuana use amongst third year psychology students. The study recommended that workshops are organised to share knowledge about marijuana and its effects.

Thesis (MPA) --University of Limpopo, 2018 / South African Universities are faced with the pandemic issues of student‟s through-put. The postgraduate intake at higher education doesn‟t correspond with the completion rate. South Africa is relatively the lowest in higher education success rate compared to other countries. This study aimed at investigating factors contributing to postgraduate students through-put at Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership (TGSL), in the University of Limpopo. This study adopted a quantitative descriptive research design. Questionnaire were utilised to collect data from master‟s students and academic staff at TGSL. Data was gathered through structured questionnaire from 42 master‟s students. Semi-structured questionnaire were used to gather data from five experienced academic staff members. The study utilised simple random sampling and judgemental or purposive sampling. Descriptive analysis was used and data was analysed using Statistical package for social science (SPSS). The findings reveal that the number of students graduating from the three programmes within TGSL is increasing from time to time suggesting a decline in supervision backlog. The study indicated that most master‟s students take more than maximum duration of three years to complete their study as these students have completed their modules (course work) and remain with research project. Despite these and other academic support provided by the university, masters students encounter certain challenges that influence their academic performance. The major factors influencing through-put include: Lack of commitment; personal issues such as workload; lack of support from spouse and family members and poor time management; lack of personal interest and hard work on the part of students; lack of focus; poor time management; inadequate writing skills; lack of time. Most students are working and may not have adequate time to consult their supervisors. This study has made recommendations to further improve master‟s students‟ through-put. Based on the findings and conclusions of the study it is recommended that students should be self-disciplined; committed to their studies. Students should put more effort on their mini-dissertation and attend the writing retreats organised by the university to improve their writing skills.

Thesis (M. A. (Clinical Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2018 / Current understandings of mental illness are deeply rooted in a predominantly westernised paradigms of mental health. Constructs such as mental illness have been found to be socially constructed and rooted in historical contexts and informed by cultural and societal influences. Most of the existing research conducted on the knowledge and perceptions of tertiary-educated individuals towards mental illness have been quantitative in nature. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore the knowledge and perceptions of undergraduates using Social Representation Theory as a theoretical framework. Purposive sampling was utilised to draw a sample of 16 undergraduate students between the ages of 18-25 years, at the University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus). Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) was used to analyse the semi-structured interviews which were used to collect data. The results of this study found that negative views and perceptions existed amongst the sample pertaining to mental illness and the mentally ill. It was also found that participants conceptualisations of mental illness were not wholly western or traditionally African. Participants perceptions were informed through their cultural and social experiences with the mentally ill. Generally, the study pointed towards a greater need for psycho-education on mental illness.

Thesis (M.A. (History)) --University of Limpopo, 2018 / Student activism is a global phenomenon which mostly refers to work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Most countries have benefited tremendously from student activism. For example, the students have played a central role in the independence and anti-colonial struggles in most African countries. The dissertation focuses on an exploration of the role played by University of the North student activism in the struggle against apartheid from 1968 to 1994. This was a period which was characterised by an upsurge of the nationalist struggle in South Africa led by political organisations such as the African National Congress (ANC), the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Azanian People’s Organization (AZAPO) the South African Communist Party (SACP) and United Democratic Front (UDF). Student organisations such as South African Student Organisation (SASO), University Christian Movement (UCM), South African National Students’ Congress (SANSCO), Azanian Student Organisation (AZASO) and many others played a significant role. The dissertation deployed both primary and secondary sources. Secondary data was derived from published and unpublished dissertations, journal articles, newsletters, books and autobiographies. Primary information was obtained through archival materials, official university documents, speeches and, unstructured and interactive interviews in order to provide evidence for the nature and character of student activism in the university. Periodisation theory as articulated by Hollander, Rassuli, Jones and Farlow (2005) was utilised to interpret and illuminate the political struggle activities of the student activists. This theory was the most appropriate frame to tackle student activism because it divides the chronological narrative into separately labelled sequential time periods with distinct beginning and ending points. The investigation reveals that the dominant ideology at the beginning of the period under investigation was Black Consciousness inspired by Steve Biko. However with the lapse of time this ideology was watered down by the liberal ideology which underpinned the Freedom Charter. The student activists operated within organisations such as SASO, UCM, AZASO, SANSCO and many others. The dissertation also reveals that while the students were relatively successful in mobilising the support of rural schools and communities, they also faced vicious repression by the apartheid security establishment. The dissertation lays a solid foundation for further critical historical investigation.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2004 / Refer to document

Thesis (M. Optometry) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / BACKGROUND The measurement of the refractive end point plays a major role in the assessment of the refractive status of the patient. Currently, there are very few techniques if not one that can measure the refractive end point of the patient. The current method which is the duochrome technique is based on chromatic aberration. Until now there is no test for refractive end point that is not based on chromatic aberration. Therefore, it was against this background that the current study was undertaken to investigate an alternative for the duochrome technique to measure the refractive end point. AIM OF THE STUDY The aim of this study was to establish the use of cross grid in conjunction with Jackson crossed cylinders at distance as a monocular refractive end point technique. METHODOLOGY A cross-sectional analytic and descriptive study design was used. Sixty-four subjects (31 males and 33 females) were included in this study. Their ages ranged from 18 to 37 years with a mean of 20.75 years (SD = ± 2.67 years). The participants were University of Limpopo Optometry students. Ethical approval to perform this study was obtained from the Turfloop Research Ethics Committee (TREC) of University of Limpopo. All participants were made aware of the purpose of the study, and signed consent was obtained from each participant. All investigations and measurements adhered to the tenets or principles, belief and requirements of the Declaration of Helsinki. Optometric procedures performed included visual acuity, subjective measurement of refractive error, monocular refractive end point using duochrome technique and monocular refractive end point measurement using gross grid in conjunction with the cross grid. Data analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 23. Paired sample t-test was performed on all the procedures. RESULTS The uncorrected distance VA for the right eyes (OD) ranged from -0.30 LogMAR to 1.00 LogMAR with a mean of -0.25 LogMAR (SD = ±0.32). The nearest equivalent spherical powers (NSE = sphere +0.5 cylinder) for the right eye ranged from -4.25 to +4.25D (mean = -0.13, SD= ±1.09D) and from -4.50D to +1.00D (mean = +0.07 ±0.94D) for the left eye. After the removal of outliers, the refractive end point measurements with the duochrome technique for the right eyes ranged from -4.50D to 3.50D with a mean of -0.269, SD (±1.037) in bright illumination and from -4.50D to 4.50D with a mean of -1.914 (±1.101) in dim illumination. Subsequently, the NSE with the crossed cylinder in conjunction with the cross grid technique for the right eyes in bright illumination ranged from -4.75D to 4.75D with a mean of -0.481, SD (±1.037) and from -4.25D to 0.50D with a mean of -0.427 (±0.860) in dim illumination. Sample Pearson correlation coefficients for end point with duochrome and crossed cylinder found that the highest correlation is between the duochrome in bright and cross grid in dim illumination (r = 0.701, p < 0.05), while duochrome in dim and cross grid in bright illumination had the lowest correlation (r = 0.659). The Bland–Altman plots showed that there was a good agreement between the duochrome methods and between the crossed cylinder method methods. CONCLUSION the refractive end point measurements obtained from duochrome and cross grid are well correlated and comparable, suggesting that they could be used interchangeably in most clinical settings. However, caution is needed when using measurements obtained by cross grid method in dim illumination.

Thesis (M. A.(English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / Although the University of Limpopo (UL) students have been taught Business English (BE) for a number of years, their needs were never formally analysed. Hence, an exploratory research design was used to explore the needs of UL BE students, and a qualitative approached was followed. Thus, students and lecturers in Accounting and Financial Management were requested to fill in a questionnaire and to respond to interview questions, respectively, to identify students’ needs which were later analysed. However, Needs Analysis (NA) ought to be at the core of discipline-specific teaching and learning because it is learner-centred. This essential NA exercise is at the core of courses such as the UL BE one. Findings of this study indicate that students’ as well as content lecturers’ input is authentic and remain invaluable to BE courses as some of these mechanisms are vital for assisting lecturers fulfil students’ needs

Thesis (M.A. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / This study explored the perceptions of students and lecturers with regard to written and oral corrective feedback in a first-level English course at the University of Limpopo. Specifically, the study was designed to establish the views of first entering students and lecturers around oral and written feedback. This study responds to widely-held views that students do not pay much attention to feedback, that even if feedback is provided, some do not know how use feedback systematically to improve their works, and that some lecturers are not investing sufficiently on provision of detailed, usable feedback. This study made use of classroom observations, questionnaires and focus group interviews to establish from students’ perceptions about oral and written corrective feedback in their studies and overall attainment of study goals. Furthermore, lecturers were also invited to participate in interviews to ascertain their perception on whether they consider written feedback essential and how it improves the students’ written English grammar. The study uncovered among others that students view oral and written corrective feedback as a tool that improves their grammar in English challenging long standing views that students are mostly interested in marks obtained in assessments. Data emerging from this study further suggests that participants view oral and written feedback as a device that helps students to improve in their usage of grammar and highlight the need to provide detailed, timely and constructive feedback in student’s academic work.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / For South African higher education institutions to compete globally, they must be able to provide quality service to their clients and stakeholders. The increasing competition puts pressure on institutions to strive to be the best. The importance of quality service delivery cannot be over-emphasised. Students are there to receive education that will enable them to meet the market requirements which will, in turn, improve the economy of the country. Therefore, all staff members of the university, including the administrative staff of Faculty of Science and Agriculture, cannot be excluded from this. Recent challenges and the University of Limpopo have also exerted a lot of pressure on the administrative staff and secretaries to deliver quality services to its clients. The administrative staff from the Faculty of Science and Agriculture are not excluded from the above challenges, hence the study on factors affecting service delivery at the University of Limpopo focuses on them. The performance of the administrative staff in the Faculty of Science and Agriculture depends on the factors that influence them to deliver quality services in the area of the study. Service delivery at the University of Limpopo was fraught with challenges such as lack of clarity on policies and alternative strategies, inadequate resources, lack of managerial skills, monitoring and evaluation. The study also seeks to investigate the factors that hinder effective service delivery by the administration at the university. The data were obtained by means of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. These were then used to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges that were encountered by the respondents in the area of the study. The findings of the study confirm that there are negative factors that are associated with the implementation of service delivery in the area of the study. Lack of staff development and relevant training to the administrative staff were regarded as the main challenges that hinder quality service delivery in the Faculty of Science and Agriculture. In conclusion, the study also suggests some strategies and recommendations that can enhance effective service delivery in the area of the study.