The interrelationship between trees and humans is primordial. As pressures on natural resources grow and become more complex this innate connection drives an increased need for improved data and analytical techniques for assessing the status and trends of forests, trees, their products, and their services. Techniques for using readily available data such as the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) database and output from forest disturbance detection algorithms derived from Landsat data, such as Vegetation Change Tracker (VCT), for estimating forest attributes across time from the state and inventory unit level down to the stand and pixel level are presented. Progressively more comprehensive harvest and parcel boundary records are incorporated appropriately. Quantification of attributes, including non-timber forest products and fine-scale age estimates, across the landscape both historically and into the future is emphasized. Spatial information on the distribution of forest resources by age-class provides knowledge of timber volume through time and across the landscape to support forest management for sustained production. In addition to monitoring forest resources in regards to their value as products for human consumption, their measurement facilitates analysis of the relationship of their spatial and temporal abundance to other resources such as water and wildlife. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to understand employees’ perceptions of the benefits of and the challenges in utilising VCT services at the workplace. With Mittal Steel in Vanderbijlpark as a case study, the researcher investigated the types of VCT services offered, the reasons why employees used these services, the perceived benefits and challenges related to these services, and made suggestions for service improvements. Using a qualitative approach, the main data-collection strategies were non-participant observation and in-depth interviews with five purposefully recruited research participants. The study showed that knowledge of HIV and AIDS among employees was adequate but that this could not be attributed to company efforts only. The study also revealed that employees utilised VCT for personal reasons rather than based on company incentives. Stigmatisation and discrimination appeared to be on the decline. It is recommended that the company could do more to market and promote HIV and AIDS awareness at the workplace. / Sociology / M.A (Sociology - Social Behavioural Studies in HIV/AIDS)

The purpose of this study was to understand employees’ perceptions of the benefits of and the challenges in utilising VCT services at the workplace. With Mittal Steel in Vanderbijlpark as a case study, the researcher investigated the types of VCT services offered, the reasons why employees used these services, the perceived benefits and challenges related to these services, and made suggestions for service improvements. Using a qualitative approach, the main data-collection strategies were non-participant observation and in-depth interviews with five purposefully recruited research participants. The study showed that knowledge of HIV and AIDS among employees was adequate but that this could not be attributed to company efforts only. The study also revealed that employees utilised VCT for personal reasons rather than based on company incentives. Stigmatisation and discrimination appeared to be on the decline. It is recommended that the company could do more to market and promote HIV and AIDS awareness at the workplace. / Sociology / M.A (Sociology - Social Behavioural Studies in HIV/AIDS)

No description available.

Magister Public Health - MPH / The aim of the study is to explore the barriers associated with low VCT uptake by the TB patients attending primary health care clinics within the Buffalo City municipality. The study population was drawn from TB patients attending the primary health care facilities in Buffalo city municipality in the Eastern Cape Province. Eight participants were purposively selected to include those who had accepted VCT as well as those who did not.

<p>The aims of this thesis were to expand the knowledge about sexual and reproductive health among urban Ugandan youths, living in a slum, and to evaluate the national flow-chart for management of the abnormal vaginal discharge (AVD) syndrome in adolescent girls. Data collection included individual interviews, focus-group discussions and clinical investigations with tests for chlamydia trachomatis (CT), neisseria gonorrhoea (NG), trichomonas vaginalis (TV), syphilis, and HIV infection. Poverty, peer pressure and gender power imbalance were obstacles to safe sexual practices: to abstain from sex, be faithful or to use condoms. Prevalence among the 199 female and 107 male adolescents for CT, NG, TV, syphilis and HIV was 4.5%, 9.0%, 8.0%, 4.0% and 15.2% for females and 4.7%, 5.7%, 0%, 2.8% and 5.8% for males. The national AVD flow-chart had a sensitivity of 61%, a specificity of 38.5% and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 11.6%. A flow-chart using risk factors, rather than symptoms, implicated a sensitivity/specificity and PPV of 82.6%/47% and 17.3% respectively. Socially disadvantaged females had a high risk to be HIV infected and HIV infection was associated to other STIs. Females were more likely than males to have any of the infections studied. Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV was considered as helpful in preventing the spread of HIV. Obstacles for testing were: lack of time and money, fear of stigmatisation and fear that the knowledge of HIV positive status could shorten someone's life. An alternative flow-chart for management of AVD among adolescent girls should be evaluated. Girl's opportunities for education and income generating work should be a priority. VCT services for young people should be made accessible in terms of cost, time and quality of counselling.</p>

The aims of this thesis were to expand the knowledge about sexual and reproductive health among urban Ugandan youths, living in a slum, and to evaluate the national flow-chart for management of the abnormal vaginal discharge (AVD) syndrome in adolescent girls. Data collection included individual interviews, focus-group discussions and clinical investigations with tests for chlamydia trachomatis (CT), neisseria gonorrhoea (NG), trichomonas vaginalis (TV), syphilis, and HIV infection. Poverty, peer pressure and gender power imbalance were obstacles to safe sexual practices: to abstain from sex, be faithful or to use condoms. Prevalence among the 199 female and 107 male adolescents for CT, NG, TV, syphilis and HIV was 4.5%, 9.0%, 8.0%, 4.0% and 15.2% for females and 4.7%, 5.7%, 0%, 2.8% and 5.8% for males. The national AVD flow-chart had a sensitivity of 61%, a specificity of 38.5% and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 11.6%. A flow-chart using risk factors, rather than symptoms, implicated a sensitivity/specificity and PPV of 82.6%/47% and 17.3% respectively. Socially disadvantaged females had a high risk to be HIV infected and HIV infection was associated to other STIs. Females were more likely than males to have any of the infections studied. Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV was considered as helpful in preventing the spread of HIV. Obstacles for testing were: lack of time and money, fear of stigmatisation and fear that the knowledge of HIV positive status could shorten someone's life. An alternative flow-chart for management of AVD among adolescent girls should be evaluated. Girl's opportunities for education and income generating work should be a priority. VCT services for young people should be made accessible in terms of cost, time and quality of counselling.

The worldwide crisis, Covid-19 had a tremendous influence on education system. Many higher education systems forced to change into emergency online education while challenges and problems facing in online learning process affected not only students’ population but also lots of teachers. Video conferencing tools as a technology which help users to have virtual meetings need to be effective and user friendly to provide the learning process with the same quality as face-to-face education. The goal of this study is researching about one of the important problems in online learning process which is teachers-students interaction. The primary goal of this research is to find the pain points in students-teachers interaction and students’ motivation and our secondary goal is investigating the effects of this interaction on students’ motivation and providing a solution in video conferencing tools to solve this issue using a prototype. We are using mixed methodology which is including both quantitative and qualitative methodology. Collected data from existing studies and literature review, surveys, and interview are methods which are used. Based on our research questions and the methodology for collecting data the following are studied: 1. The pain points and challenges regarding teachers’ interaction and students’ motivation in online learning 2. The effects of students-teachers interaction in students’ motivation 3. The features in video conferencing tools which can improve this interaction. All the findings present in a prototype using Figma with the goal of improving user experience of video conferencing tools for online learning purpose and solve existing problems. This prototype presented to students and teachers to get their feedbacks through an interview. With the importance of online learning in the future education, more research is needed to explore other aspects which has effect on students’ motivation and presenting other solution or features or using another research methods will bring more value to this subject.

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">The aim of the study is to explore the barriers associated with low VCT uptake by the TB patients attending primary health care clinics within the Buffalo City municipality. <font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">The study population was drawn from TB patients attending the primary health care facilities in Buffalo city municipality in the Eastern Cape Province. Eight participants were purposively selected to include those who had accepted VCT as well as those who did not.</font></font></p> </font></font></p>

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">The aim of the study is to explore the barriers associated with low VCT uptake by the TB patients attending primary health care clinics within the Buffalo City municipality. <font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">The study population was drawn from TB patients attending the primary health care facilities in Buffalo city municipality in the Eastern Cape Province. Eight participants were purposively selected to include those who had accepted VCT as well as those who did not.</font></font></p> </font></font></p>