The aims of this research were to investigate, by means of both literature review and empirical research, the incidence and manifestation of conduct disorders among adolescents growing up in the Vaal Triangle townships, with a view to suggesting a psycho-social intervention programme to help them learn life-skills which will decrease their susceptibility to depression and anxiety. According to the literature findings, depression and anxiety co-occur with conduct disorders during adolescence. An intervention progamme can therefore help these learner adolescents develop effective coping skills to help them deal with environmental factors that cause stress, depression and anxiety. The findings from the literature review revealed that adolescence is the highest risk period for the onset of conduct disorders such as, inter alia, substance use disorders, aggressiveness, destruction of property, defiance of authority, frightening and disturbing of adults, fighting, bullying, lying, destructiveness and defiance. The conduct problems also include the more or less troublesome and involuntary behaviours commonly associated with adolescence such as tempertantrums, bouts of screaming and crying, surliness and episodes of commanding or pestering behaviour. The co-occurrence of depression, anxiety and conduct disorders in adolescents was, according to various researchers, also associated with more severe alcohol and drug-related problems, more prolonged depressive and anxiety episodes and increased frequency of behavioural problems, more severe impairment in interpersonal and academic competencies, increased utilization of mental health services, as well as elevated risk of suicide. The literature also revealed that the period of adolescence is also marked by conflicting feelings about security and independence, rapid physical changes, developing sexuality, peer pressure and self-consciousness. This becomes a time of rapid physiological and psychological changes, of intensive re -adjustment to the family, school, work and social life and of preparation for adult roles. These changes are noticeable for their conduct disorders and behavioural accompaniments, and problems arising at this time may attract attention because the adolescent"s conduct and behaviour become obtrusive in the school and the home or elsewhere and evoke a sense of urgency for response. Effective support programmes such as individual educational support and group educational support were regarded by the literature as having the efficacy to prevent the development of conduct disorders. The empirical research findings revealed that adolescent participants who formed the population sample of this research were aggressive; characterized by risky behaviour such as staying with friends until very late at night and coming to school carrying a knife and bullying other children in class; deceitfulness or theft which manifested in the form of stealing from other children's schoolbags, stealing food and pens, and lying; serious violation of rules such as being disruptive in class, bunking school, and not coming to school regularly, conflict with parents, educators and others which manifests in the form of always being in trouble for beating up other learners in class, especially those that are younger, and being rebellious at home, mood disruptions such as bursting in anger, aggressive, being happy one moment and then angry and sad the next, and poor performance at school resulting in failing grades. Recommendations for educational practice and further research were made. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

The minibus taxi industry serves approximately 68% of the South Africans using public transport. It is credited with supporting black South African communities by providing a more accessible alternative to the public transportation. It has also been a primary activity for black entrepreneurship since the early 1970s up to the present. It also provides a strong example of enterprise serving as a platform for creating employment and for fighting poverty. However, its growth and prosperity is hindered by a number of challenges, some of which emanated from the past apartheid laws that restricted black economic policies. Some are related to the industry, such as continuing problems of persistent violence, at times resulting in death and safety concerns. In an effort to address these challenges, the National Department of Transport published a Taxi Recapitalisation Strategy (TRS). The TRS is not only about the replacement of old vehicles with new and safe vehicles, but presents the government with an opportunity to transform, empower and regulate the industry. The key pillars of the TRS are the scrapping of old taxi vehicles, the introduction of new and safe vehicles, effective regulations, empowerment of the taxi industry and law enforcement. This study measures the impact of the TRS on poverty levels and expenditure patterns of the taxi-mode commuters of the Vaal, situated south of Gauteng. It focuses mainly on the few townships identified; where the taxis are the most frequently used mode of transport. It has been shown that regulation of the taxi industry through the implementation of the TRS would lead to a rise in taxi fares and other consequences for the owners and users (passengers). Subsequently, this would result in increased levels of poverty and a change in expenditure patterns of most of the Vaal households. Although the levels of poverty have decreased in the townships of the Vaal as compared to 2003, the severity of poverty still remains in some households. Using the Household Subsistence Level (HSL) as the household's respective poverty line, 45.4% of the households have an income that is less than 50% of their HSL amount, indicating severe poverty. The headcount index was determined at 0.59 in 2006, indicating that 59% of households live below their poverty lines. The poverty gap index was determined at 0.45, reflecting that households lack on average 45% of income to attain a level equal to their poverty line. The impact of increases in taxi fares would then directly have a negative effect on the average standard of living of the Vaal households. To measure the impact of the TRS on expenditure patterns, affordability levels of the households of the Vaal were considered. The three scenarios used (taxi fares increase by 10%, 15%, and 20%) showed that the average monthly transport costs would rise by 9.9%, 10.3% and 10.6% respectively, following the implementation of the TRS. If user-targeted subsidies could be offered that would result in the taxi fare reduction, it could have an impact on expenditure patterns and poverty levels of the Vaal households. Applying the impact assessment model to households living below their poverty lines in the Vaal, increased government subsidy would supplement the existing incomes of these households. For instance, if a subsidy of 20% on taxi fares is offered, that is to make the taxi fare lower than the current fare, the poverty gap would decrease from 0.45 to 0.31 and the headcount index would be reduced from 0.59 to 0.48. This would reflect that households lacking income to attain a level equal to their poverty line is reduced by 14%.This suggests that the recapitalisation of the taxi fleet which is supported by a taxi fare subsidy is critical to ensure the provision of safe, affordable and efficient minibus taxis. In the case of even higher government subsidies, reduction in the cost of transport through government subsidies may supplement the existing income of households to such an extent that the headcount indexes for the population decreases even more. The study therefore concludes that poverty alleviation and improved standards of living among the Vaal households can only be achieved if appropriate subsidies which may lead to the reduction in the taxi fares can be provided. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Economics))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

This study focuses on how the HIV and Aids pandemic affects educators in primary schools and how these educators need to be supported to cope more resiliently with the challenges posed by the HIV/Aids pandemic. This study needed to understand how primary school educators experienced the impact of the HIV/Aids pandemic, both professionally and personally. Educators in general are personally affected by the HIV/Aids pandemic emotionally, physically, spiritually and socially. Affected educators are professionally affected by the HIV/Aids, when they are burdened by a large numbers of orphans in their classes, absenteeism of learners and colleagues, poor performance of both educators and learners, high workload and multiple roles they have to perform. The impacts, both personal and professional, are mostly negative. However, to date no study has focused on the impacts of the pandemic on primary school educators. In this study, a phenomenological design was followed. Interviews were conducted with a carefully recruited sample of participants (i.e. primary school educators affected by the HIV/Aids pandemic either in their families or by having orphans in their classes) in the Vaal Triangle area. The researcher recruited participants by means of snowball sampling. Fifteen affected educators participated in this study. Primary school educators interviewed, noted poor emotional, spiritual, physical and social health. They also reported that they do not cope with their duties as educators effectively. Affected primary school educators are in need of comprehensive support to deal with the HIV/Aids pandemic related stressors from the DoE, SMT's, colleagues and the community at large. Affected educators noted that they need to be supported, by means of team work with colleagues and the community; medical support; amongst others HIV education for learners, educators and parents and practical support and counselling for dealing with difficulties created by the HIV/Aids pandemic. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

This study seeks to discover more specifically how the Bible, rather than traditions, comfortable habits, or past practices, should guide us in achieving qualitative and quantitative church-growth in the Vaal Triangle, and in doing so to investigate different models, with the view of suggesting one typical to the conditions in the area. The literature review revealed that the local churches as they exist today are in disrepute. Together with other societal institutions, they are suspect, distrusted and no longer accepted at face value. Moreover, different societies or associations of Christians are found claiming to themselves and denying to others, the character and privilege of a Christian church; and opinions widely differing from each other are held as to the meaning of the word Church. In our time the word church has assumed various contemporary uses: the place of worship, a particular denomination, an area or nation, the universal body of believers, a local group of believers. Recourse to Scriptures must be sought for ecclesiastical formulations. The contextual study has revealed that the Vaal Triangle is characterised by differences in ethnic origin, language, and religion. Another feature about the Vaal Triangle is that some families are religiously bi-cultural i.e., members of the same family unit belong to different religious persuasions. In other instances the members of the same family unit belong to different denominations. This difference in church affiliation is as a result of various (and often confusing) church practices in the area. Moreover, there are a number of groups in existence in the Vaal Triangle called 'the Church' but certainly are not what the Lord said he would build, nor do they measure up to what the New Testament means when it speaks of the Church. This study endeavours to think afresh biblically and theologically, about the nature, structure and dynamics of the Local Church in the Vaal Triangle. The model proposed in this study namely, the Pastoral Family Model (PFM) seeks to integrate the whole life and witness of the Local Church in a balanced and co-ordinated way. This model uses all members of the household of God who can contribute to the growth of the Local Church by penetrating the community in other ways. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Biblical Studies))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

The aims of this research were to investigate, by means of both literature review and empirical research, the incidence and manifestation of conduct disorders among adolescents growing up in the Vaal Triangle townships, with a view to suggesting a psycho-social intervention programme to help them learn life-skills which will decrease their susceptibility to depression and anxiety. According to the literature findings, depression and anxiety co-occur with conduct disorders during adolescence. An intervention progamme can therefore help these learner adolescents develop effective coping skills to help them deal with environmental factors that cause stress, depression and anxiety. The findings from the literature review revealed that adolescence is the highest risk period for the onset of conduct disorders such as, inter alia, substance use disorders, aggressiveness, destruction of property, defiance of authority, frightening and disturbing of adults, fighting, bullying, lying, destructiveness and defiance. The conduct problems also include the more or less troublesome and involuntary behaviours commonly associated with adolescence such as tempertantrums, bouts of screaming and crying, surliness and episodes of commanding or pestering behaviour. The co-occurrence of depression, anxiety and conduct disorders in adolescents was, according to various researchers, also associated with more severe alcohol and drug-related problems, more prolonged depressive and anxiety episodes and increased frequency of behavioural problems, more severe impairment in interpersonal and academic competencies, increased utilization of mental health services, as well as elevated risk of suicide. The literature also revealed that the period of adolescence is also marked by conflicting feelings about security and independence, rapid physical changes, developing sexuality, peer pressure and self-consciousness. This becomes a time of rapid physiological and psychological changes, of intensive re -adjustment to the family, school, work and social life and of preparation for adult roles. These changes are noticeable for their conduct disorders and behavioural accompaniments, and problems arising at this time may attract attention because the adolescent"s conduct and behaviour become obtrusive in the school and the home or elsewhere and evoke a sense of urgency for response. Effective support programmes such as individual educational support and group educational support were regarded by the literature as having the efficacy to prevent the development of conduct disorders. The empirical research findings revealed that adolescent participants who formed the population sample of this research were aggressive; characterized by risky behaviour such as staying with friends until very late at night and coming to school carrying a knife and bullying other children in class; deceitfulness or theft which manifested in the form of stealing from other children's schoolbags, stealing food and pens, and lying; serious violation of rules such as being disruptive in class, bunking school, and not coming to school regularly, conflict with parents, educators and others which manifests in the form of always being in trouble for beating up other learners in class, especially those that are younger, and being rebellious at home, mood disruptions such as bursting in anger, aggressive, being happy one moment and then angry and sad the next, and poor performance at school resulting in failing grades. Recommendations for educational practice and further research were made. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

The adoption of Enterprise Resource Planning tools has improved business processes in organisations. This increase has, however come with challenges for the small and medium business sector. First the adoption and deployment of proprietary ERP comes at great cost for organisations whilst it is also difficult for the organisations to ensure that scalability is introduced due to the dynamic change in the SME sector. The adoption and use of open source ERP tools then presents an opportunity for the SME sector. The usage of open source software has increased over the years. This increase has also extended to open source ERP tools. These tools offer the same functions as the proprietary at a fraction of the cost. Despite the benefits that open source ERP offers diffusion of this technology into the SME sector in South Africa has been minimal. This means the SME sector in South Africa is not benefiting from the widely available cost effective open source ERP available in the market. An opportunity therefore exists for them to utilise the technology to gain competitive advantage. The research was done primarily to determine the open source ERP adoption patterns of SMEs in the Vaal region. The research sought to determine the drivers for ERP adoption and barriers to adoption. Focus was specifically extended to investigating knowledge on open source alternatives. The results from the research indicate that the SMEs understand the benefits of adopting ERP for their businesses. The research further revealed that the adoption factors identified in the literature are still relevant in South Africa. The factors identified included costs, lack of training, lack of support, lack of knowledge and the lack of open source vendors. The empirical research also identified that the SME still harbour fear about open source ERP tools due to lack of training ,support and knowledge .From the study it is clear that a new approach needs to be taken to encourage adoption of open source ERP. These approaches include giving incentives to SMEs to adopt open source ERP. These incentives may be in the form of training packages and skills workshops to help overcome the barriers and improve implementation of open source ERP. The research identified the critical need for increased formal education and training in open source software development and emphasis on ERP tools. Government research bodies need to play a role in this area. For an example, there is need for SME and university collaborations in open source ERP deployment, whereby the latter needs to include software development tools in their curricula for SMEs so as to increase awareness. Clear–cut comparisons of existing proprietary systems against open source systems by focusing on functional and technological requirements need to be undertaken. This will help to reflect a cost benefit analysis as well as interoperability between the open source ERP and existing systems. During the adoption process, SME are encouraged to go through the full life cycle of open source ERP adoption. In this cycle the SME needs to do a thorough analysis regarding selection, implementation, integration, migration, training and evaluation of installed tools. That way they will gain the competitive advantage afforded by the tools. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Univ., Diss., 2009--Frankfurt (Main). / Engl. Übers. des Hauptsacht.: U-Pb geochronology, Hf isotopy and trace element geochemistry of detrital zircons from recent sediments of the Orange and Vaal river system in South Africa.

Rocks forming part of the Main-Bird Series and the Kimberley-Elsburg Series of the Upper Division of the Witwatersrand System are found in the mine. The sequence studied starts with the Middle or MB 6 Zone of the Livingstone Stage followed by the Upper or MB 5 Zone. The Vaal Roof, forming the base of the Vaal Stage, rests disconformably on the older rocks. The Stage is subdivided into the Vaal Reef Zone, the Lower Vaal Zone, the Argillaceous Zone and the Upper Vaal Zone. The lower and upper contacts of the Argillaceous Zone are gradational. The Kimberley Stage follows unconformably and comprises the basal Gold Estates Conglomerate Zone, the Denny's Zone and the Gold Estates Zone. The overlying Elsburg Stage may be subdivided into the Bastard Zone and the Upper Elsburg Zone on lithological grounds. Most of the rocks are indurated quartz wackes with only a few orthoquartzite horizons such as the Denny's Zone and the immediate hangingwall of the Vaal Reef. Microscopically the rocks consist of detrital quartz and chert grains in a fine-grained sericitic to partly siliceous matrix which may constitute more than 50 per cent of the rock. Heavy minerals, such as zircon, chromite, rutile, leucoxone, pyrite, tourmaline, epidete, apetite and magnetite, occur in most of the zones. The Vaal Reef, the economic horizon, is of small-pebble, oligomictic conglomerate, often containing thucholite seams and granules, and varying in thickness from a mere parting to more than five feet. There appears to be a correlation between greater pebble size and higher ore grade but no correlation of sorting coefficients and gold value. The mineralogy of the Vaal Reef was studied by means of polished sections and heavy mineral concentrates. The minerals identified include gold, pyrite of several ages, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, uraninite, galena, brannerite, gersdorffite or cobaltite, skutterudite, linnacite, danaite, niccolite, pentlandite, magnotite, zircon, chromite, rutile, leucoxine, monazite, sphalerite, tourmaline, and fluorite. From a study of the silver content of gold in the Vaal Roof it is concluded that the variations in apparent fineness are a reflection of the composition of the gold in the original source rocks. There is a definite uranium-gold relationship in the Vaal Roof. With increase in grade the amount of U₃O₈ increases but the U₃O₈:AU ratio decreases. Use of these reations may indciate the payability in cases of incomplete core recovery.The intrusive rocks were studies in detail. Six types of intrusive rocks were found. From oldest to youngest those are quartz diabase (of three varieties), amygdaloidal diabase, ilmenite mela-microdiorite, mottled microdiorite, olivine lamprophyre and ankeritic beforsite, ranging in age from Lower Ventersdorp to post-Karroo. Most of the intrusives are highly altered due to the effects of regional metamorphism and deuteric alteration. Later formations, such as the Langgeleven and Allanridge Formations of the Ventersdorp System and the Black Roof and Dolomite Series of the Transvaal System, occur on the property. The various formations have been subjected to faulting and folding.

The use of intestinal parasites as indicators of pollution has increased in Europe due to the fact that parasites accumulate more of the available metals than their hosts. Eighty Largemouth yellowfish, Labeobarbus kimberleyensis (Gilchrist and Thompson, 1913) were collected between April 2005 and February 2006 with gill nets at RAU Island (26° 52, 249’ S, 28 10, 249’ E) in the Vaal Dam. The fish were killed, weighed and their lengths determined. Muscle, liver and spinal cord tissues were collected from each fish and the intestines removed and opened to expose Bothriocephalus acheilognathi. The position of attachment of B. acheilognathi in the host’s intestine was recorded. Thereafter tapeworms were collected in glass bottles and frozen. Water and sediment samples were collected. Clossed vessel microwave digestion was used to digest liver, muscle and tapeworms with Suprapur Nitric acid, and spinal cord tissue with Suprapur Nitric acid and Suprapur Hydrochloric acid. Thereafter metal concentrations of twenty three elements (Lithium, Beryllium, Titanium, Vanadium, Chromium, Manganese, Iron, Cobalt, Nickel, Copper, Zinc, Arsenic, Selenium, Molybdenum, Cadmium, Tin, Antimony, Tellurium, Barium, Mercury, Thallium, Lead and Uranium) were determined specifically for each tissue type with an ICP-MS. Certified dogfish liver (Dolt-3) was used as a quality control standard. Water quality data was provided by Rand Water and included. Statistical data were analyzed with ANOVA and post-hoc tests and parasite infection statistics were calculated. Seasonality and intensity of tapeworms were compared to the intestine and total lengths of the fish. All the tapeworms were identified as the Asian Tapeworm B. acheilognathi Yamaguti, 1934. Bothriocephalus acheilognathi attached between 10% and 20% from the anterior end of host intestine. A 100% prevalence of Asian tapeworm was recorded in all surveys and the highest mean intensity of 231.1 was recorded in autumn and the lowest mean intensity of 73.7 was recorded in summer. The fecundity of largemouth yellowfish was not influenced by the high infection rate of B. acheilognathi as young fish fry was collected during the summer survey and the fish condition was good. No correlation was observed between parasite intensity and total length of each fish. This indicates that intensity is not dependant on host size. Parasite numbers are higher and differ from a previous study. Water quality of Vaal Dam changed in summer, due to transferance of water from the Grootdraai Dam. Algal counts and secchi disk readings increased. This indicates that zooplanktonic intermediate hosts increased due to an increase in food availability and increased the chance of infection. Significant differences were recorded in one sample T-test comparisons, while ANOVA indicated that significant differences between tissue groups and seasons occurred. Bioaccumulation of metals occurred in tapeworms in Selenium, Mercury, and Lead during autumn, Copper, Zinc, Selenium, Cadmium, Antimony, Thallium and Mercury during winter, Lithium, Zinc, Selenium, Cadmium and Antimony during spring and Zinc during summer. The highest mean value was recorded in sediment, followed by water, tapeworms and then the host tissue. The general trend was sediment > water > tapeworms > liver > spinal cord > muscle. Die gebruik van intestinale parasiete as indikatore vir besoedeling het in Europa verhoog omdat die parasiete meer van die beskikbare metale as hul gashere akkumuleer. Tagtig Grootbekgeelvisse Labeobarbus kimberleyensis (Gilchrist en Thompson, 1913) was tussen April 2005 en Februarie 2006 met kieunette te RAU eiland (26° 52, 249’ S, 28 10, 249’ E) in die Vaaldam versamel. Die visse is doodgemaak, geweeg en hul lengtes bepaal. Spier, lewer en werwelkolomweefsel was versamel van elke vis en die intestinums verwyder en oopgemaak om Bothriocephalus acheilognathi bloot te lê. Die posisie van aanhegting van B. acheilognathi in die gasheer se intestinum is aangeteken. Daarna is die lintwurms in glasbottels versamel en gevries. Water en sediment was ook versamel. Geslote-flesmikrogolfvertering was gebruik om lewer, spier en lintwurms met Suprapur® Swaelsuur en werwelkolom met Suprapur® Swaelsuur en Suprapur® Soutsuur te verteer. Daarna is die metaalkonsentrasies van drie-en twintig elemente (Litium, Berillium, Titanium, Vanadium, Chroom, Mangaan, Yster, Kobalt, Nikkel, Kopper, Sink, Arseen, Selenium, Molibdenum, Cadmium, Tin, Antimoon, Tellurium, Barium, Kwik, Tallium, Lood and Uranium) spesifiek vir elke weefseltipe bepaal met ‘n IGP-MS. Gesertifiseerde haailewer (Dolt-3) was gebruik as ‘n standaard ter wille van kwaliteitskontrole. Waterkwaliteitsdata is deur Rand Water verskaf en word ingesluit. Statistiese data was geanaliseer met ANOVA en nagraadse toetse en parasiet infeksie statistieke was bereken. Seisonaliteit en intensiteit van die lintwurms was vergelyk met die totale lengtes van visse en intestinumlengte van die visse. Al die lintwurms was as Asiese lintwurms B. acheilognathi Yamaguti, 1934 geïdentifiseer. Bothriocephalus acheilognathi was tussen 10% en 20% vanaf die anteriorgedeelte van die gasheerintestinum geheg. ‘n 100% persentasiebesmetting was opgeteken in alle opnames met Asiese lintwurms en die hoogste gemiddelde besmettingsintensiteit van 231.1 was opgeteken in die herfs en laagste gemiddelde besmettingsintensiteit van 73.7 waargeneem in die somer. Die broeisukses van die Grootbekgeelvisse was nie beïnvloed deur die hoë infeksies met B. acheilognathi nie, soos blyk uit die feit dat jong vissies versamel is tydens die someropname en die viskondisie was ook goed. Daar was geen korrelasie waargeneem wanneer die parasietintensiteite en totale lengtes van die visse vergelyk is nie. Dit dui dat intensiteit nie afhanklik is van gasheergrootte nie. Die parasietgetalle is hoër en verskil van ‘n vorige studie. Die waterkwaliteit van die Vaaldam het verander gedurende somer a.g.v. die toevoer van water vanaf die Grootdraaidam. Die algtellings en die secchi-skyf lesings het dus verhoog. Dit dui dus aan dat die getal soöplanktoniese tussengashere verhoog het agv die verhoogde voedselbeskikbaarheid en ‘n hoër kans van infeksie vir visse. Betekenisvolle verskille was waargeneem wanneer enkel monster T-toets vergelykings gemaak is, terwyl ANOVA betekenisvolle verskille tussen groepe en seisoene gewys het. Bioakkumulasie van metale in lintwurms het in selenium, kwik en lood gedurende herfs, en in koper, sink, selenium, cadmium, antimoon, tallium en kwik in winter, en in litium, sink, selenium, cadmium en antimoon in lente en in sink gedurende somer voorgekom. Die hoogste gemiddelde waarde was waargeneem in sediment, gevolg deur water, lintwurms en gasheerweefsel. Die algehele akkumulasie verwantskap is sediment > water > lintwurms > lewer > werwelkolom > spier. / Prof. Annemarie Avenant-Oldewage

The first ten years of democracy (1994-2004) in South Africa was an important period marked by a plethora of research activities in South Africa. The 2004 exhibition of artworks by academic staff from the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) was an example of one such event. A critical reading of these artworks exhibited diverse representations of their world views and also informed the initial research for this study. All the artworks on exhibition illustrated a commonality of purpose in the artists’ interrogation and representation of their fragmented identities in a transforming political landscape. Therefore, this thesis considers a political reading of the ideas of identity, place and displacement in the artworks of thirteen female artists at VUT from 1994 to 2004. The rationale of this thesis was to examine in what way the artists’ construction and representations of identity, place and displacement were influenced by the environmental factors of the historical, political and academic culture in the microcosm of the Vaal region. However, the inclusion of Tracey Rose in this study extended the discourses of identity, place and displacement to consider the disjunctures and continuities of cultural practices in ethnicities in South Africa. This thesis furthermore proposed to address the gendered omissions of female artists from contemporary literature and therefore focuses on the creative productions of female artists from VUT. The significance of this study lies in the contribution of knowledge on the existing body of literature of art and artists in South Africa and in initiating the exercise of documenting the visual history of the Vaal region. The theoretical underpinnings are informed by the discourses of cultural studies, postcolonial studies and feminism/s. The thesis delimits the political and historical events of South Africa from pre-history to contemporary South Africa. A postcolonial reading of history is carried out in order to draw attention to inconsistencies and fallacies inherent in the colonial recording of historical events relevant to this study. The influential historical and political events in the discourse of place and displacement have been included in view of their depiction or references made by the artists discussed in this study and to contextualise the geopolitical space of the Vaal Triangle. The political events before and after the decline of apartheid were included to frame the strategy of decolonisation of the new political dispensation. A context for the shifting identities of the artists in a neoliberal democracy, namely the political and historical events germane to the Vaal Triangle and to the artists dealt with in this study, is provided to position the ideological divide between Afrikaner nationalism and a neoliberal democracy. The thesis provides a brief overview of South African art in order to delineate a national perspective and framework for the discussion of the artworks later in the study that are located predominantly in the Vaal Triangle. An average of three artworks per artist were selected for discussion. The selected artworks reflect heterogeneous interpretations of the discursive themes of landscape, the positions of women, shifting timelines and contemporary politics in South African social and cultural practice. There was an observable divide in the artworks that displayed explicit and implicit signifiers referring to the constructs of identity, place and displacement. Identities formed in the spaces of colonisation and in the dislocated, displaced, raced and gendered identities, inform the world views of the artists selected for this study. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Visual Arts / unrestricted