Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to measure the level of HIV and Aids knowledge, attitudes and safer sex practices among student men who have sex with men (MSM) at a higher education institution in the Western Cape. The study served to recommend guidelines for effective and enhanced targeted intervention response for MSM student community. A total of 36 MSM students aged between 19 and 36 (of which most were South African, black and Xhosa speaking) were recruited to take part in the study. Selection was done via snowball sampling. Respondents completed questionnaires upon consenting to participate in the study. The study found moderately high levels of basic HIV knowledge among the sampled MSM population. There were, however, lower levels of knowledge reported regarding the associated risk and effective prevention strategies of anal sex when compared to similar information about vaginal sex and oral sex. Findings also show that participants had very positive attitudes towards HIV testing, condom use and a non-discriminating environment. Respondents lacked confidence in both management and student leadership with regards to their responsibility in mitigating homophobia/discrimination against MSM student population. Furthermore, a high number of respondents reported having sex with men and women as well as multiple sexual partnerships. Self-reported alcohol and drug use were found to be very low, with the majority of participants indicating non-use. Participants stated little challenges accessing health care services. However, respondents felt MSM specific information about health care related rights and needs were lacking. Recommendations from this study include current HIV and Aids policy reform, mainstreaming MSM-friendly health care services, introducing combination HIV prevention programmes such as Mpowerment and addressing the human rights needs of MSM. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie was om die vlakke van MIV en Vigs kennis, houdings en veilige seksuele praktyke onder manlike studente wat seks het met mans (MSM) by 'n hoër onderwys instansie in die Wes-Kaap te meet. Die studie het gepoog om riglyne daar te stel vir die bewerkstelling van effektiewe en verbeterde geteikende intervensies vir die MSM studente gemeenskap. Daar was 36 MSM studente tussen die ouderdomme van 19 en 36 (meestal Suid-Afrikaans, swart en Xhosa-sprekend) gewerf vir die studie. Seleksie is gedoen deur middel van die sneeubal steekproef-metode. Deelnemers het 'n vraelys voltooi nadat hulle ingewillig het om deel te neem aan die studie. Deelnemers het matig tot hoë vlakke van basiese MIV en Vigs kennis getoon. Daar was egter laer vlakke van kennis oor gepaardgaande risiko’s en effektiewe voorkoming strategieë ten opsigte van anale seks in vergelyking met dieselfde informasie oor vaginale en orale seks. Die studie het verder bevind dat deelnemers baie positiewe houdings gehad het teenoor MIV-toetsing, die gebruik van kondome en 'n nie-diskriminerende omgewing. Verder het hulle min vertroue getoon in beide die bestuur en studente leierskap se vermoë om sake wat verband hou met homofobie en/of diskriminasie teen die MSM studente bevolking, effektief te hanteer. Daar is gevind dat baie respondente seks het met mans en vroue en ook verskeie seksuele maats het. Self-gerapporteerde alkohol- en dwelmgebruik was relatief laag onder respondente met die meerderheid wat aangedui het hulle glad nie alkohol of dwelms gebruik nie. Deelnemers het ook rapporteer dat gesondheidsdienste vir hulle maklik toeganklik is. Respondente het ook gevoel dat MSM spesifieke informasie oor gesondheidsverwante regte en behoeftes tans ontbreek. Aanbevelings wat voortspruit uit hierdie studie sluit in die hersien van die huidige MIV en Vigs beleid, die skepping van MSM-vriendelike dienste, die implementering van MIV-voorkomingsprogramme soos Mpowerment en die bevordering van menseregte wat verband hou met MSM.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / Research findings indicate that between 42% and 56% of people dying between the ages of 25 to 70 are most likely to die out of a preventable cause. Most of these illnesses are chronic illnesses, directly a result of lifestyles that people have adopted over long periods. Whilst it has been difficult to cure some of the diseases, it has been however possible to treat the ailments. Consequently, patients who have followed faithfully the treatment regimes have lived far longer than would have been expected. Because these illnesses needed continued treatment, they are therefore referred to as chronic illnesses. It is expected therefore that the patients should regularly go for medical check-ups as well as take their medicines continuously. Chronic illnesses are an increasing cause of morbidity and mortality in Metro District primarily because most chronic patients die even though their deaths are preventable. The research findings presented here are a result of a survey of 200 chronic-patients in the Metro-District in Cape Town using mixed qualitative and quantitative methods. The objectives of the studies were primarily to establish reasons for the noticed defaulting rate amongst the patients. Because the medication was subsidised by the government and the patients got the treatment at no cost, it was expected that few, if any, would default. The findings indicated that close of 40% of the patients’ default and various reasons were provided ranging from forgetting, no transport money, no one to accompany them to the outlets to absence from town. The findings provide valid information to be used by the district to address the high rate of chronic medicines defaulting.

Thesis (MTech (Environmental Health))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. / Pharmaceuticals have been formulated to influence physiological systems in humans, animals, and microbes but have never been considered as potential environmental pollutants by healthcare professionals. The human body is not a barrier to chemicals, but is permeable to it. Thus after performing their in-vivo functions, pharmaceutical compound introduced into the body, exit mainly via urine and faeces. Sewage therefore contains highly complex mixtures of chemicals in various degrees of biological potency. Sewage treatment works including those in South Africa, on the other hand, are known to be inefficient in removing drugs from sewage and consequently either the unmetabolised pharmaceutical compounds or their metabolites emerge in the environment as pollutants via several trajectories. In the environment, the excreted metabolites may even undergo regeneration to the original parent molecule under bacterial influence, resulting in "trans-vivo-pharmaceutical-pollution-cycles". Although all incinerators are known to generate toxins such dioxins and furans from the drugs they incinerate, all the medicines disposed by the hospitals under research, were incinerated, as the preferred option of disposal. The incineration process employed was found to be environmentally unsafe. Expired and unused medicines which the general public discard as municipal solid waste become landfilled. Because many landfill sites are not appropriately engineered, the unwanted drugs landfilled therein, leach into the surrounding ground water, which is the influent source of water treatment plants. Water treatment plants, including those in South Africa, are also inefficient in eliminating pharmaceutical compounds, releasing them in sub-therapeutic concentrations into potable tap water as pollutants, the full effects of which are yet to be determined.

Thesis (MTech (Public Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / There is always much debate about the performance of high schools, especially around the lack of learners excelling and the Grade 12 poor pass rate. This dissertation nvestigates the impact of mentorship on the performance of principals, deputy principals and subject heads at a selection of high schools in the Cape Town metropolitan area. Literature on the topic indicates that various types of mentorship programmes exist. The literature review consisted of journal articles, books and policy documents. For the purpose of the empirical study, the research question of whether mentorship has a positive impact on the performance of senior personnel in high schools was best answered by following a quantitative approach to research. The study population comprised 42 senior staff members from three high schools in the Cape Town metropolitan area. A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from the sample of 21 senior staff members, and the data analysis was done by means of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet using pie charts to illustrate the results. The study found that mentoring subordinate educators and principals is a Key Performance Area (KPA) of the convenience randomly selected schools that fall within the respective district under the jurisdiction of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), that key personnel are familiar with mentorship, but that there are some issues that need to be resolved. It is envisaged that the implementation of mentorship programmes at high schools will positively influence the development of educators, and impact positively on the performance of key personnel and the performance of the affected schools.

Thesis (MEd (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2015. / The Western Cape Education Department could not reach their proposed pass percentage of 50% in Grades 3 and 6 for Afrikaans Huistaal/English Home Language and Mathematics in all schools since 2002. Rural primary schools in a Circuit in the region of the West Coast form part of these statistics. The main aim of this study is to identify and discuss the shortcomings and positive aspects in the management practice within this Circuit, draw conclusions and propose recommendations. With this aim the central focus resides within the ambit of the role and function of rural primary school principals as well as the impact of their management acts on learner performance. The accountability of principals comprises managing schools in such a way that learning by learners is a core priority. Several literary genres and philosophies based on professional judgment, views and opinions of experts as well as authorities were researched to find answers to how these approaches can be applied in order to answer the problem statement. To find further answers for the problem statement a combination of quantitative and qualitative research was used. This research process resides within an interpretive research paradigm and is exploratory and descriptive. Selfdesigned questionnaires as well as semi-structured questions for focus group interviews were developed to obtain information from participants, the primary sources. Using this design first-hand knowledge was obtained from participants through the responses in the questionnaires and comments from the interviews. Responses and comments were organised in order to formulate the findings. Both the shortcomings and positive aspects regarding school management in its total extent are highlighted and recommendations are suggested. This study attempts to make a meaningful contribution to the management and leadership accountability function of principals in rural primary schools in order to improve learner achievement.

The Goukou Wetland is a 700 ha unchannelled valley bottom wetland near the town of Riversdale in the Western Cape of South Africa. The wetland is approximately 16 km long and between 200 and 800 m wide, with peat deposits up to 8 m deep that get progressively shallower downstream. The Goukou Wetland is one of the last remaining intact peatlands of significant size in the Western Cape. However, there is increasing human pressure on these peat wetlands, where the dominant plant is palmiet (Prionium serratum), which is endemic to the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa. Palmiet is viewed as a problem plant by farmers as it is believed to block waterways and promote inundation of arable land and infrastructure. Many landowners therefore actively remove palmiet from peatlands, threatening the integrity of these wetlands. Although the hydrogeomorphic origin of large, non-peat floodplain and valley bottom wetlands has been investigated in South Africa, unchannelled valley-bottom wetlands with deep peat accumulations are rare features and have not been well studied. The hydrogeomorphic factors leading to peat accumulation have been documented elsewhere in Southern Africa, where aggradation due to sedimentation along trunk streams may block a tributary stream, elevating the local base level of the tributary, creating the accommodation space for organic sedimentation. Alternatively, sedimentation along a trunk stream at the toe of a tributary stream may similarly block a trunk stream, promoting organic sedimentation along the trunk stream upstream of the tributary. This pattern of peat accumulation is associated with declining peat thickness upstream of the blocked valley. In the case of the Goukou Wetland, however, peat depth and organic content was found to increase consistently upstream from the toe to the head of the wetland. The Goukou Wetland was graded along its length, with gradient increasing consistently upstream in response to longitudinal variation in discharge. There was no clear relationship between peat formation and tributary streams blocking the wetland. Instead, the distribution of peat and the extent of the wetland appeared to be controlled by the plant palmiet, whose clonal nature and robust root, rhizome and stem system allowed it to grow from channel banks and islands into fast-flowing river channels, slowing river flows and ultimately blocking the channel. The promotion of diffuse flows within the dense, monospecific stands of palmiet creates conditions conducive to water retention and peat accumulation. By growing across the full width of the valley floor, the plant is able to constrict the stream, trapping sediment and slowing flows such that the fluvial environment is changed from a fast flowing stream to one with slow, diffuse flow. These processes appear to lead to the formation of organic sediment, accumulating to form a deep peat basin. The sustained input of water from the folded and fractured quartzite lithologies of the Cape Supergroup that make up the Langeberg Mountains, which provide the bulk of the water supply to the wetland, is also important in promoting permanent flooding in the wetland. A feature that characterized the wetland was the fact that bedrock across the valley beneath the peat deposits exhibited a remarkably uniform elevation. This suggests that over long periods of time (tens to hundreds of thousands of years), bedrock has been laterally planed across the valley floor. It is proposed that valley widening associated with lateral planning of Uitenhage Formation rocks has taken place during periods of episodic very high flows. During these episodes, erosion cuts into the peat wetland and valley sides, cutting to bedrock and planing the valley floor to a uniform elevation for a given distance from the head of the wetland. Periods of episodic degradation are followed by periods of renewed peat accumulation associated with palmiet establishment, such that the wetland valley is shaped by repeated cycles of cutting and filling. Palmiet can be considered an “ecosystem engineer” that is integral to the formation of these deep peat basins. Removal of palmiet from these systems is likely to have negative consequences for the wetland and its functions in that water storage will be reduced, erosion will increase dramatically, and the water-purification function of the wetlands will be lost. Management of these wetlands, which are close to the geomorphic threshold slopes for their size, is therefore essential if they are to be preserved for the benefit of human well-being.

Text in Afrikaans / Current society view performance appraisal in organization as a very important component and organization are sometimes legally obliged to apply performance appraisal. From a qualitative perspective the researcher want to explore and describe the criteria that must be taken in account during performance appraisal of community developers. A qualitative approach will be utilized following an explorative, descriptive and contextual research design. The study will be conducted by municipalities, non-governmental organizations and state departments in the Boland area in the Western Cape. Data will be collected by means of semi-structured focusgroup interviews with community developers. Data will be analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch (in Creswell, 1994). Guba's model (in Krefting, 1991) will be employed for data verification. Recommendations were provided according the criteria that must be taken in account with performance appraisal for community developers. / Prestasiebeoordeling word in die hedendaagse samelewing as 'n belangrike komponent binne enige organisasie beskou en organisasies word soms wetlik verplig om prestasiebeoordeling toe te pas. Vanuit 'n kwalitatiewe perspektief beplan die navorser die navorsingstudie om kriteria wat in aanmerking geneem behoort te word by prestasiebeoordeling van gemeenskapsontwikkelaars te verken en te beskryf. Vir die doel gaan 'n verkennende, bekrywende en konteksueie navorsingsontwerp geimplimenteer word. Die studie sal gedoen word by munisipaliteite, nieregeringsorganisasies en staatsdepartmente in die Boland streek in die Wes-Kaap. Semi-gestruktureerde fokusgroeponderhoude sal met gemeenskapsontwikkelaars gevoer word om die toepaslike data in te samel. Data sal geanaliseer word volgens die stappe van Tesch (in Creswell, 1994)) en data verifiering sal volgens Guba se model (in Krefting, 1991) onderneem word. Aanbevelings is voorsien met betrekking tot kriteria wat in aanmerking geneem kan word by prestasiebeoordeling van gemeenskapsontwikkelaars. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Social Work)

Text in Afrikaans / Current society view performance appraisal in organization as a very important component and organization are sometimes legally obliged to apply performance appraisal. From a qualitative perspective the researcher want to explore and describe the criteria that must be taken in account during performance appraisal of community developers. A qualitative approach will be utilized following an explorative, descriptive and contextual research design. The study will be conducted by municipalities, non-governmental organizations and state departments in the Boland area in the Western Cape. Data will be collected by means of semi-structured focusgroup interviews with community developers. Data will be analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch (in Creswell, 1994). Guba's model (in Krefting, 1991) will be employed for data verification. Recommendations were provided according the criteria that must be taken in account with performance appraisal for community developers. / Prestasiebeoordeling word in die hedendaagse samelewing as 'n belangrike komponent binne enige organisasie beskou en organisasies word soms wetlik verplig om prestasiebeoordeling toe te pas. Vanuit 'n kwalitatiewe perspektief beplan die navorser die navorsingstudie om kriteria wat in aanmerking geneem behoort te word by prestasiebeoordeling van gemeenskapsontwikkelaars te verken en te beskryf. Vir die doel gaan 'n verkennende, bekrywende en konteksueie navorsingsontwerp geimplimenteer word. Die studie sal gedoen word by munisipaliteite, nieregeringsorganisasies en staatsdepartmente in die Boland streek in die Wes-Kaap. Semi-gestruktureerde fokusgroeponderhoude sal met gemeenskapsontwikkelaars gevoer word om die toepaslike data in te samel. Data sal geanaliseer word volgens die stappe van Tesch (in Creswell, 1994)) en data verifiering sal volgens Guba se model (in Krefting, 1991) onderneem word. Aanbevelings is voorsien met betrekking tot kriteria wat in aanmerking geneem kan word by prestasiebeoordeling van gemeenskapsontwikkelaars. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Social Work)

Against the background of an increase in the demands for treatment of adolescent chemical addiction, as well as the persistently high relapse rate, the significant impact on the development and well-being of chemically addicted adolescents needs to be considered by the social work profession, in order to plan effective intervention strategies. The purpose of this research study was to explore and describe the experiences of chemically addicted adolescents who had relapsed after in-patient treatment. Subsequently, the researcher aimed to generate guidelines and recommendations for social workers, in order to prevent relapse. A qualitative research approach was employed. The researcher made use of descriptive, exploratory and contextual research designs. The study was conducted at adolescent in-patient treatment centres in the Western Cape, South Africa. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed, and field notes were taken to record the data. The sample selected from the population of chemically addicted adolescents in the Western Cape who relapsed after in-patient treatment was selected through the purposive sampling technique. Tesch's framework for data analysis (in Creswell, 2003) was employed, and data verification was conducted through Guba's model (in Krefting, 1991:214-222). The research results, concluding guidelines and recommendations are being disseminated by means of this written report. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Social Work)

Against the background of an increase in the demands for treatment of adolescent chemical addiction, as well as the persistently high relapse rate, the significant impact on the development and well-being of chemically addicted adolescents needs to be considered by the social work profession, in order to plan effective intervention strategies. The purpose of this research study was to explore and describe the experiences of chemically addicted adolescents who had relapsed after in-patient treatment. Subsequently, the researcher aimed to generate guidelines and recommendations for social workers, in order to prevent relapse. A qualitative research approach was employed. The researcher made use of descriptive, exploratory and contextual research designs. The study was conducted at adolescent in-patient treatment centres in the Western Cape, South Africa. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed, and field notes were taken to record the data. The sample selected from the population of chemically addicted adolescents in the Western Cape who relapsed after in-patient treatment was selected through the purposive sampling technique. Tesch's framework for data analysis (in Creswell, 2003) was employed, and data verification was conducted through Guba's model (in Krefting, 1991:214-222). The research results, concluding guidelines and recommendations are being disseminated by means of this written report. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Social Work)