Thesis (M. Tech. (Diagnostic Radiography)) Central University of Technology, Free State, 2014 / Over the past two decades, interventional radiology has been a fast developing field with great advances in technology in the diagnosing and treatment of patients. Interventional radiology procedures are minimally invasive and require little to no hospitalisation time. These procedures are fluoroscopically guided and serial runs are used for documentation, so they have the potential to deliver high doses to patients. Reports about deterministic skin reactions resulting from interventional radiology have become more and more prevalent from the early 1990s. Worldwide concern thus led to legislation for the limitation, justification and optimisation of these doses. Setting of diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for these procedures is difficult, as they can be complex in nature and are often clinically open-ended. In the case where DRLs were used, they needed to be for a specific locality and had to be refined for the specific circumstances. Patients must be informed of the doses they will be receiving during diagnostic or interventional procedures before consent can be obtained from them. Little information on dose audits was available for South Africa at the time of the study, and it was decided to determine dose ranges at a local level. The research question of this study was: “What radiation doses do patients receive when undergoing vascular, diagnostic and interventional procedures in the interventional suites at a tertiary training hospital in the Free State?” The primary objective was to determine the doses and dose ranges to patients. A secondary objective was to identify specific high dose procedures to individual patients and to the population. A third objective was to investigate the factors influencing these doses. The data of patients who received procedures in two fluoroscopic rooms at the research site were documented over a three-year period. The dose area product (DAP) values were used to calculate skin dose. With the information gathered, dose ranges for frequently performed procedures were determined and specific high dose procedures to individuals and the population identified. Factors influencing the dose were also investigated. This included the relationship of the level of technology, a VI patient’s BMI and practitioners’ level of experience on dose as the research site was a training facility. The results indicated that both diagnostic and interventional procedures have the potential to deliver high doses, as was evident with the isolated occurrences where the response threshold for deterministic effects was exceeded. Most of the locally performed procedures delivered lower or on par radiation dose, compared to values in the literature. Increased BMI values of patients can negatively influence doses received. The level of a practitioner’s experience also plays a vital role in the dose that the patient will receive. Specific recommendations and the implementing of a dose optimisation protocol are proposed to reduce and optimise doses at the research site. This dose optimisation programme will create greater awareness about radiation dose and effects, follow-up procedures and dose reduction methods amongst role-payers. Key words: interventional radiology; limitation, justification and optimisation of radiation dose; deterministic effects; radiation dose awareness

Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2006 / Electron microscopy plays an important role in diagnostic histopathology. When this investigation is anticipated, extra tissue is submitted directly for electron microscopy. However, often it is decided only later in a problematic case to perform this investigation and then the only tissue available is embedded in the routine laboratory’s paraffin block. This tissue has to be retrieved from the wax and this entails using a clearing agent before the rest of the electron microscopy method can be implemented. Traditionally xylene is the agent that is used but has the disadvantage of being extremely toxic. This study compared the morphological effects of a relatively new and non toxic clearing agent, Tissueclear®, with that of xylene. Exposure of tissue to clearing agents for 30 minutes and overnight was performed to assess whether Tissueclear® gave better results in the long term than xylene, in the hope that the laboratory turn around time could be improved and the amount of toxic reagents used in the EM laboratory will be reduced. A second part of the study involved a questionnaire submitted to laboratory staff to assess their knowledge of xylene toxicity. Of the 325 cases submitted for electron microscopy at Universitas Hospital between January 2004 and July 2005, 140 of these had to be retrieved from paraffin wax. Four specimens were prepared from each case. Two were processed in xylene for 30 minutes and overnight and two in Tissueclear® for 30 minutes and overnight. The specimens were evaluated for consistency and resin compaction as well as ultrastructural preservation of the cell membrane, cytoplasmic content and extracellular material. The results showed that Tissueclear® and xylene gave comparable results after 30 minutes and that Tissueclear® was superior after overnight processing. This meant that a specimen submitted for electron microscopy would be processed immediately without waiting for the following morning as was the case with xylene and that the processing time for such a specimen had been shortened from 3 to 2 days. It also meant that the laboratory staff was exposed to one less toxic reagent. The results on the questionnaire showed that there were large areas of ignorance regarding toxicity as well as appropriate safety procedures that need to be followed in the laboratory. It is hoped that this study will improve awareness in this regard and encourage the use of other newer less toxic reagents.

Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2007 / Malaria and the mosquito that induces the disease in humans have hounded the military for decades. Malaria represents one of the most important infectious disease threats to deployed military forces. Malaria in soldiers has a serious economic impact, both in terms of lost productivity and treatment cost for the state. A contingent of South African National Defence Force members has been deployed in Burundi since November 2001, as part of a peacekeeping mission. At the time of the study no information was available regarding the prevalence of malaria among military personnel during deployments in Burundi and East Africa. In Africa, the saying is that malaria is the disease of poverty and a cause of poverty. To combat malaria, it is of vital importance that the recommended medication be taken exactly as prescribed and that the course is completed. However, one of the greatest challenges facing the African continent in the present fight against malaria is drug resistance. The discovery of Mefloquine and the subsequent development of suitable drugs, have been intimately associated with military imperatives, contingencies and requirements. Since World War II, the development of Chloroquine-resistant falciparum malaria has driven the search for new drugs. Mefloquine, developed by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in the United States, was first shown effective as a prophylaxis and treatment of resistant falciparum malaria in the 1970’s. To obtain data, questionnaires were administered to SANDF soldiers deployed in Burundi, East Africa. The total size of the population under investigation was 336 with a final sample size of 111 respondents. The sample was selected by using simple random sampling. The questionnaire aimed to determine the perception of respondents regarding the malaria threat, their compliance with taking the medication, and their experiencing of possible side-effects which might occur due to the chemoprophylaxis and the prophylactic efficacy of Mefliam®. The fact that, of the 111 people who used Mefliam®, only four presented with any malaria symptoms, is an indicator that Mefliam® is an effective option as an antimalarial drug to be used in East Africa and Burundi. The results of this study will be used by the personnel of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and other military forces deployed in East Africa. It is envisaged that the results will be used by military policy- and decision-makers as a control programme and by others involved in the control of malaria. The findings and recommendations should also be of interest to anyone visiting the area.

Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2007

Thesis (Ph. D.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2007 / This academic study was conducted as a critical scientific enquiry on the positionality of service learning at selected South African higher education institutions. The study critically and scientifically reflects on the positionality of the concept of service learning as practised at higher education institutions. It elucidates the different levels of conceptualisation and operationalisation of service learning by universities in relation to their catchment areas. In so doing, the study probes the positionality of power relations between higher education institutions and their catchment areas and/or local communities in the practice of service leaning. Given the traditional and historical domineering and ‘ivory tower’ positioning and conduct of higher education institutions in relation to their catchment areas, the study explores the fundamental nature and spirit of power relations in the operationalisation of service learning. It probes whether the relationship between service learning policy development and societal development initiatives is still shaped and influenced by historical legacies of the apartheid logic, such as academic domineering and institutional hegemony. The study also investigates whether these feature in the pursuit of service learning, curriculum development and transformative efforts as practised by selected universities. In order to draw parallels with studies of a similar nature, the study interrogates related literature. This enabled reflection on progressive conceptualisations of service learning, as opposed to retrogressive and/or technicist and, perhaps hegemonic and categorising concepts of service learning. In so doing, the study moves from the premise that, despite high levels of interest in civic matters within and among institutions of higher learning in South Africa, service learning as a vehicle for social transformation and progressive teaching and learning, seems to be largely neglected, under-theorised and, at times, disguised as a tool for the reproduction of inequalities. As a means of collecting data for the purpose of analysis and interpretation, the study uses a purely qualitative methodology. A Textually Oriented Discourse Analysis (TODA) was selected as a first choice and preferred methodology for the study of this nature because of its propensity to thematise issues of power relations. Furthermore, qualitative methodology is predisposed to recognising the subjectivity of the researcher in being intimately involved in the research process. This subjectivity, as encouraged by qualitative methodology, has guided everything in this research study, beginning with the choice of the topic, proceeding to developing objectives for the study, to the selection of the methodology itself and ultimately to the interpretation of data. Through this methodology, the researcher was encouraged to reflect on the values and objectives of the study and how these could be used to problematise issues of power relations. Although the study presents some quantitative data from other sources, there were a number of research problems that, for one reason or the other, did not lend themselves to a quantitative/ positivistic approach. Claims and pronouncements of quantitative researchers about the principles of objectivity, quantification and absolutism are not appropriate for thematising about issues of power relations, especially in instances of hegemony, domination, exclusivity, ideological inclination, discursion, justice and emancipatory praxis. To contextualise and narrow the focus area for research purposes, two South African higher education institutions (the universities of the Free State and of the Witwatersrand) were selected for the study. The choice of the two institutions was influenced by their history of involvement in service learning and curriculum repositioning processes. They have also been consistently portrayed by the South African academic world as strong campaigners in the operationalisation of first-rate service learning models, in the Free State and Gauteng provinces respectively (refer to chapter three for a detailed justification for such a choice). The findings of this study indicate that the selected universities have responded to calls to reposition themselves in the area of synchronising their academic offerings with the reconstruction and development imperatives of the country. The research established that the two institutions have produced strategic service learning policy documents as a means of responding more appropriately to the needs of communities. The implementation of such documents was intended to enable the two institutions to develop service learning policy positions, thus making an institutional commitment to operationalising service learning. The study has, however, determined that there are gaps and inconsistencies in terms of policy commitments and the operationalisation of service learning by the two institutions. In line with the themes developed in this study, it was established that the two institutions have limited the extent of their commitment to paper (policy documentation) and heartfelt pronouncements. The study furthermore reveals that despite the paper and heartfelt commitments of the two institutions on the concept of service learning, they are still restfully positioned as expert-oriented entities. By their nature and continuous domineering roles, they remain sites for the transmission of an effective dominant and domineering culture which limits the possibilities of their unleashing an emancipatory praxis that is so critical in the context of a transforming South Africa.

Thesis (D. Tech.) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2008 / In the twenty-first century knowledge landscape, companies are compelled to compete in a complex and challenging context, transformed by globalisation, technological development, new applications of knowledge and hyper-competition. This new economic landscape requires organisations to perform differently with their knowledge assets to survive and prosper. It has become crucial for organisations to reinvent themselves through new rubrics of leadership, which essentially requires radical change as post-modern perspectives on the knowledge economy emphasise the fluidity, and immediacy of information exchanges that are leveraged through creativity and innovation as the new future sustainable rent. Postmodernist contestations of modernist economic and organisational rationalities have successfully activated discourse from diverse audiences and immense contributions to contemporary knowledge-intensive organisational diagnoses have been proffered. A current issue, which urgently enquires into new conceptions of organisational leadership, is regarded as the global knowledge economy. This economy seeks new sources of inspiration and revitalisation within the dynamic, mutable domains of future knowledge competency construction and enactment. New forms of human capital are now required to manifest tacit and intellectual capacity through exponential creativity and innovation capabilities, rather than explicit production-driven modalities. Therefore, organisations must access this new talent that engages deeply with creative thinking, as they can no longer reproduce themselves within the old traditions of management and control. The need to conjure new aspects of leadership to harness and then transform novel solutions into action should create an environment enabled to validate creativity and innovation as the major building blocks for knowledge transfer and trading. The purpose of this study is to render solutions for future knowledge-intensive organisations and explore new methodologies where leadership realises the paramount importance to nurture the knowledge worker as the most important source of knowledge creation. This study explores the complex challenges faced by contemporary leadership in grasping future value propositions for advancing knowledge trading and offers suggestions to unlock creativity and innovation for the enhancement of knowledge productivity and the development of supportive managerial effectiveness. It is recommended that leadership requires a profound cultural shift from traditional methods of management that can be best described as control orientated, bureaucratic and autocratic. These former hierarchical management structures originated in the modernist paradigm of industrial capitalism. In contrast, contemporary knowledge management is defined within the post-modern debate, where authority is diffused throughout the organisation and leadership engages in sufficient reflexivity to facilitate a more effective understanding of the contemporary knowledge worker. Within this postmodern context, fluidity of knowledge-leadership could actively promote the immediacy of creative exchanges as foundational to deliver the future into the present. The findings suggest a new role for leadership acting as coach and innovation facilitator, rather than controller. Furthermore the findings indicate that creative leadership should involve knowledge workers in defining the mission, vision and strategic intent and secure participation in the knowledge philosophy to mould their respective knowledge roles within a supportive culture. The findings indicated that collaboration between knowledge workers and leadership is crucial to establish formal communities of practice. These, as opposed to informal exchanges amongst knowledge workers, are pivotal to the process of continuous reinvention and proffer the shifts that are essential to drive future knowledge competencies. The findings furthermore revealed that communities of practice should be formally encouraged by leadership who diffuses the strategic intent to initiate forums where formal learning and the sharing of skills occur and creativity is continually advanced. The result is the creation of repositories of knowledge and innovation networks within knowledge concomitance required to enhance knowledge performance and ultimately drive sustainable competitive advantage. The research findings produced novel suggestions to proffer new knowledge-trading opportunities. The recommendations address contemporary leadership to perpetually challenge communities of practice to seek new creative and innovative horisons. This would yield the competencies and capabilities required for improved knowledge performance, based on individual and collective creative contributions. It is imperative for creative leadership to imbibe a new corporate curriculum to embrace the necessary radical innovative approaches required in today’s hyper-competitive economy. The recommendations suggest that the harnessing of creative and innovative potentials of knowledge workers, through the development of the creativity dimensions, namely fluency and elaboration could yield dominant discourse as a central ingredient for collective learning. This, in turn, would propel exponential levels of knowledge productivity, which is the critical component required to drive economic sustainability. Knowledge-leading organisations need to unearth and exploit the economy of knowledge by tapping into subjective experience, creativity and intuitive reflexivity. This study endeavours to offer a compelling vision of the future and recommends an intelligent organisation of the future that utilises a new corporate curriculum achieved by creative leadership to leverage enhanced managerial effectiveness. Finally, a definition for creative leadership is proposed which promotes innovative awareness, fluency and elaboration through formalised communities of practice to leverage enhanced knowledge productivity by means of knowledge worker empowerment and two-way communication. Creating a high-involvement organisation also involves new choices with respect to organisational design. An effective design would be the entrenchment of an organisational culture where the knowledge worker is accountable for and involved in the future success of the organisation. It is recommended that future leadership can achieve new innovative value propositions by structuring new mental models for increased knowledge productivity. The knowledge concomitance model suggests solutions to manipulate and economise knowledge to produce a transformational fusion of discontinuous innovation, nurturing a new syntagma for future knowledge management practitioners.

Thesis (M. Tech. Marketing) -- Central University of Technology, Free state, 2011 / In this study, the researcher employed literature review and an empirical study to: * Establish the effect of consumer behaviour on the expansion of the small, medium and micro manufacturing enterprises (SMMEs) in Welkom. * Determine the marketing strategies adopted by the manufacturing SMMEs in Welkom. The Government of South Africa (SA) enacted the Small Business Act to assist small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) to contribute to job creation in SA (Lotter, 2009: 53). Furthermore, the government established the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) in an effort to relate more closely to the SMMEs, so that they could contribute more meaningfully to the economy of the country by creating employment. In addition, the Umsobomvu Youth Fund and Youth Commission were established by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to assist young entrepreneurs financially and non-financially to start and run sustainable small enterprises (South Africa. National Small Business Act 102, 1996: 3). However, significant research done on SMMEs in SA found that they had made no meaningful contribution to job creation. This problem was in fact so serious that most SMMEs were shutting down, a problem which included SMMEs situated in Welkom (Lotter, 2009: 53). This research project therefore sought to investigate the possible sources of this shutdown of manufacturing SMMEs in Welkom. Many other researchers had investigated possible causes such as the effect of the lack of business management skills, the closure of local gold mines, etc. However, the effect of consumer behaviour (CB) as the possible source of this shutdown problem had not been investigated; hence, this researcher chose to investigate the effect of CB on the development of the manufacturing SMMEs in Welkom. The research design firstly identified the manufacturing SMMEs as the population for the study and the sample subjects as their top managers and supervisors. The mixed method was employed. The researcher used literature studies, the qualitative approach and the quantitative approach as the mixed method. Data collecting instruments were the personal interview and self administered questionnaires. The researcher employed the random sampling method and, in particular the systematic sampling method, to select the respondents. A letter of permission was obtained from the Matjhabeng municipality to conduct this research project and the subjects were given letters of assurance for ethical consideration. The aim of using literature studies was to determine the relevant model for this research study and to determine the findings of earlier researchers on this topic. The model was the theoretical foundation on which the research project was based. The model determined from the literature studies indicated that CB was influenced by internal and external factors. Examples of internal factors included perception, attitudes, learning, personality, and beliefs etc., while examples of external factors included family, marketing communication, friends, economic factors, etc. This model underpinned the empirical research conducted, and the interview and questionnaire items were based on the influencing factors outlined by this model. The empirical research was conducted to relevant collect data that could assist to answers the following research questions: * What are the effects of CB on the expansion of the manufacturing SMMEs in Welkom? * What are the growth strategies adopted by the manufacturing SMMEs in Welkom? Interviews with top managers were recorded on voice recorder and supervisors completed questionnaires. Qualitative data were transcribed from the voice recordings, themes were developed from the transcripts and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the themes. Data from the quantitative method were analysed through the social package for social sciences (SPSS), employing descriptive statistics to determine the findings. The analysis for quantitative data was represented by cumulative frequency distribution tables for each option of the questionnaire items, while the analysis for qualitative data was represented on a template for data coding and also compressed into frequency tables. The study‟s findings both from literature studies and from empirical research revealed that negative attitude, economic situation, cultural changes and improved education level of consumers resulted in non development of the manufacturing SMMEs in Welkom. The interview with the top managers further revealed that there was lack of specific marketing strategies adopted by the managers. Therefore, it was shown in this study that the effect of CB on the development of the manufacturing SMMEs in Welkom was non development.

Thesis (M. Tech. (Tourism and Hospitality Management)) -- Central university of Technology, Free State, 2013 / One of the 2011 National Tourism Sector Strategy objectives is to "provide excellent people development and decent work within the tourism sector". The hospitality industry is, however, not regarded as a provider of decent work, a factor that has a direct bearing on the job satisfaction level of employees. It is for this reason that it was decided to investigate the job satisfaction level of employees in selected five-star hotels in the Western Cape Province. The instrument used to gather the quantitative data was a newly developed index based on the literature review conducted. The review was not restricted to the hospitality industry, but included all industries, as the existing knowledge on job satisfaction in the hospitality industry is limited. A pilot study was conducted on one five-star hotel in Bloemfontein, and the empirical study was conducted in February 2012 among 124 employees of four five-star hotels in the Western Cape. The only biographic variable, for which a significant correlation with overall job satisfaction was calculated, was having a hospitality-related qualification. A significant correlation with overall job satisfaction was calculated for 38 of the 74 job satisfaction variables. The 38 job satisfaction variables were distributed among six internal, 18 external and 14 individual job satisfaction variables. The internal job satisfaction dimension predicted 39.97% of overall job satisfaction; the external job satisfaction dimension predicted 66.88%, and the individual job satisfaction dimension predicted 79.82%. In total, 79% of respondents indicated that they were satisfied with their current jobs. Recommendations were made to improve job satisfaction in the selected five-star hotels in the Western Cape.

Thesis (D. Tech.(Marketing)) - Central University of Technology, Free state, 2012 / A reliable sales plan and forecast is the basis for good cash flow management and capacity planning. If the sales figures are below plan, the sales manager will increase the sales efforts in order to compensate these deviations. Usually, it can be expected that these efforts should be at least partly successful in the consumer markets. This situation is expected to be different in the industrial markets, as usually the generation of sales turnover can only be achieved by either new customers or new products sold to existing customers. It is therefore expected not to be possible to immediately compensate a loss of sales turnover within the planning period by increased sales efforts. This research project investigated whether industrial markets react differently from consumer markets by investigating the sales planning and forecasting process in the Machinery & Equipment Industry, the Automotive Supplier Tier 1 and the Automotive Supplier Tier 2 Industry. It investigated several time aspects of the sales process, displayed as customer-supplier interaction. The results of the research project showed that in fact sales processes in the investigated industry sectors have such a long duration, that it is not possible for sales managers to immediately compensate low sales figures by increased sales efforts. The sales turnover raise will come in a later period and thus simply too late for the current one. This results in the fact that the reliability of the sales forecast (for the established sales plan) is reduced, if industry characteristics and special time aspects of the sales process are not taken into consideration. These time aspects can be described best by the Market Response Time (MRT). The MRT is defined as the time lag between the start of an increase of sales efforts by the supplier (first contact) and the market response in terms of increased purchase. This is at the time when the customer starts to financially respond, with the result of a sales turnover increase at the supplier’s side. If the MRT is long, sales planning and forecasting has increased importance, because sales efforts need to be planned well in advance. For this reason response times are major elements in planning and forecasting, although it was previously not very well recognised in literature and practice. Based on a qualitative empirical study with the case study methodology, 41 case studies were undertaken within the three industry sectors. The investigated companies showed that these three industry sectors have different MRTs, such as 68 weeks in the Machinery & Equipment Industry, 138 weeks in the Automotive Supplier Tier 1, and 62 weeks in the Automotive Supplier Tier 2 Industry. These different MRTs influence the companies planning and forecasting processes in different ways. This research project qualitatively showed that if time aspects were taken into consideration in sales planning and forecasting, forecast accuracy could improve. It was furthermore indicated that an adequate sales planning approach could improve forecast accuracy as well. In a second step, it was indicated that these companies, which are aware of the time aspects, have shown a better sales performance in terms of sales force productivity, growth of productivity and market position. Concluding it can be stated that the respect of time aspects, such as MRT, may increase sales performance. The study's results have some limitations, which are the research context and the research methodology. As the project only investigated the industrial context, namely the Machinery & Equipment and the Automotive Tier 1 Supplier and Tier 2 Supplier Industry, its results can only be applicable to this context. The research methodology of this project is a qualitative one, which means that the sample size is small but deep and statistical generalisations cannot be made. Based on this, further research implications of this project are that its results may further be statistically generalised by quantitative studies. Especially the sales planning and forecasting processes in the detected clusters per industry sector should be investigated on a broad sample. Thirdly, the indicated relation between market knowledge and accuracy should be further investigated. This is because it can be estimated that the forecast accuracy is the highest if the company’s information horizon is equal to the product life cycle time of the products produced. Last of all, as there are only a few research projects done in the industrial context regarding market response models and time aspects, therefore these topics should be further investigated.

Thesis (M. Tech. Public Management)) -- Central University of Technology, free State, 2013 / During 2009 the State of Local Government in South Africa 2009 Report, (2009:71-75) showed that much of local government is in distress and it also showed that much of the local government municipalities faced serious challenges such as the lack of service delivery, poor financial management and weak integration between the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and the Local Economic Development (LED). To improve the performance of the municipalities, the national government approved a comprehensive Local Government Turnaround Strategy (LGTAS) that serves as a country-wide intervention with the aim to address the communities‟ increasing dissatisfaction with poor municipal services, as well as to improve the administrative and financial performance of all municipalities. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of the Local Government Turnaround Strategy (LGTAS) on public participation and good governance with respect to the Integrated Development Planning (IDP) process in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. It was found during the literature review that although the Local Government Turnaround Strategy (LGTAS) was successfully incorporated in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality Integrated Development Plan Review of 2013/2014, more needs to be done to ensure that the medium-term priorities are effectively implemented to promote good governance, and effective service delivery of Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. The study found that although the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality has a well-planned and well-structured community engagement strategy to promote effective public participation, more needs to be done to ensure that the communities are effectively represented during the various public participation consultation activities to ensure that the needs of the majority of the communities are addressed. The study also found that the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality has well-defined strategies to promote good governance in its Integrated Development Plan (IDP), the effective implementation remains a challenge.