<p>Dental caries is a multi-factorial disease that affects everyone irrespective of race, class or gender, however, the burden of the disease is often found in children from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The nature of the disease is such that it can be prevented. Various international studies on fluoride have shown a reduction in the prevalence of dental caries. By using geographical information systems, oral health data can be linked to the fluoride levels and further analysis could be done to identify areas at risk of dental caries as well as show patterns in the distribution of dental caries. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the effects of different levels of fluoride on the prevalence of dental caries in selected towns in the Northern Cape and Westen Cape. It also examined the application of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to oral health data.</p>

<p>Dental caries is a multi-factorial disease that affects everyone irrespective of race, class or gender, however, the burden of the disease is often found in children from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The nature of the disease is such that it can be prevented. Various international studies on fluoride have shown a reduction in the prevalence of dental caries. By using geographical information systems, oral health data can be linked to the fluoride levels and further analysis could be done to identify areas at risk of dental caries as well as show patterns in the distribution of dental caries. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the effects of different levels of fluoride on the prevalence of dental caries in selected towns in the Northern Cape and Westen Cape. It also examined the application of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to oral health data.</p>

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Clustering has emerged as one of the drivers for economic growth and improved competitiveness for specific industries. In order for cluster initiatives to be successful, they need to be managed in a certain way. The importance of excellent cluster management has been increasingly realised in the past years. Certain factors of cluster management are considered to lead to success in the management of cluster initiatives as identified in published research. In the same vain, certain aspects of cluster program management are considered to lead to success. A cluster program run by the Western Cape Provincial Government (WCPG) in South Africa is analysed and compared to the generic success factors in cluster program management. Selected cluster initiatives in the Western Cape are analysed and compared with each other as well as to these success factors in cluster management. The Western Cape Tooling Initiative (WCTI), a cluster initiative in the tool, die and mould making industry, is analysed in more detail, and compared to the other cluster initiatives, all of which but one are part of the cluster program. WCTI is found to not have been following success factors in cluster management, and the rate of progress of the WCTI from when it was started supports that fact. However, recent changes in the leadership of the cluster initiative have brought about changes in WCTI’s cluster management emphasis and signs of increased success can be noticed, even though the full effect will not be felt until after some years as success in cluster management takes years to be realised. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Trosvervaardiging het in die onlangse verlede ontwikkel tot een van die drywers vir ekonomiese groei en verhoogde kompeterendheid in spefifieke industrië. Tros inisiatiewe vereis ‘n spesifieke bestuursraamwerk om hulle potensiaal te bereik, en die belangrikheid van uitstekende bestuurspraktyke word al hoe meer beklemtoon. Sekere faktore, beskryf in literatuur, van bestuur bleik te lei na sukses in die bestuur van sulke inisiatiewe. Op ‘n soortgelyke basis is daar aspekte van trosprogram bestuur wat voorvereistes vir sukses is. ‘n Trosprogram onder leiding van die Wes Kaapse Provinsiale Regering in Suid Afrika word analiseer en vergelyk met die generiese sukses faktore van trosprogrambestuur. Verskeie trosinisiatiewe in die Wes Kaap word ondersoek en met mekaar vergelyk asook gemeet aan hierdie suksesfaktore. Meer spesifiek word die “Western Cape Tooling Initiative” (WCTI) in meer detail analiseer, en vergelyk met die ander inisiatiewe wat almal, met een uitsondering, deel is van die trosprogram self. Daar is gevind dat die WCTI nie streng volgens die riglyne en/of binne die raamwerk van suksesvolle trosbestuur opgetree het nie, en dit word gestaaf deur die relatief lae sukseskoers tot dusver. Met die onlangse veranderinge aan die leierskap van die inisiatief bleik dit egter dat meer aandag aan hierdie praktyke gegee word, en daar is tekens van ‘n verbetering in die prestasie van die program. Die volle effek van hierdie veranderinge sal egter ‘n rukkie neem om volledig tot uitwerking te kom.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Background: Multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) is a growing threat globally. The large increase in the incidence and prevalence of MDR TB in South Africa in recent years has impacted on the way in which MDR TB is managed within the health services. It became logistically difficult to manage MDR TB by treating all patients as in-patients in a specialized tuberculosis (TB) hospital. The clinics, which are run by nurses and/or general medical officers, are then required to manage this more complex form of TB, with limited resources, less experience and assumingly with less MDR TB knowledge. Of particular concern is that shifting of the patient management from specialized TB hospitals to Primary Health Care clinics which might worsen the already poor MDR TB treatment outcomes. There has been minimal assessment of the management of MDR TB at clinic level and hence the comparison of treatment outcomes for those patients initiated on treatment in clinics compared to in-patients in specialized TB hospitals is urgently needed. Aim: To compare the treatment outcomes and the effectiveness of medication regimens provided to MDR TB patients initiated on treatment in specialized TB hospitals as inpatients, to that of MDR TB patients initiated on treatment as outpatients at community clinics within the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Methodology Study Design: A retrospective cohort study was undertaken, as the length of treatment for a MDR TB patient can be for 24 months or longer and this study was based on treatment outcome data. Study Population and sample: The study population was uncomplicated MDR TB patients initiated on treatment in hospitals and clinics from January 2010 to December 2012. The sample comprised of 568 participants that were laboratory confirmed to have MDR TB and had the outcomes of their treatment recorded in an electronic database or a paper register. Data Collection: The researcher collected MDR TB information from standardized MDR TB registers as well as an electronic MDR TB database. Analysis: Data was analyzed comparing the exposed (clinic initiated) and unexposed (hospital initiated) cohorts incidence of 4 key treatment outcomes, namely: successfully treated, failed treatment, died and defaulted treatment. Bivariate analysis (relative and absolute) was done to determine the cumulative incidence ratio and cumulative incidence difference and multivariate logistic regression analysis for the adjusted odds ratio to control for confounders and effect modifiers. Ethics: Permission to conduct this research was obtained from the relevant authorities. The confidentiality of the participants as per the Department of Health policy and in adherence to general ethical guidelines was strictly maintained. The study proposal received ethical clearance and approval from the University of the Western Cape Research Committee. Results: All participants within this study received the appropriate treatment as per the MDR TB guidelines. The incidence rate for the main outcomes of this study indicated that successfully treated for the clinic initiated participants was 41% and 31% for the hospital initiated participants. ‘Defaulted’ treatment was 39% and 41%, ‘failed’ treatment 7% and 13% and ‘died’ was 14% and 16%, respectively. The clinic initiated participants appeared to have better treatment outcomes on bivariate analysis, however on multivariate analysis, there was no difference in the treatment outcomes of the clinic initiated participants compared to the hospital initiated participants, and therefore the clinic initiated treatment is seen as effective. The time to treatment initiation for clinic and hospital initiated participants is excessively long for both cohorts, with a median of 29 days, and 37 days respectively. The key findings of note in the multivariate analysis is that the Human Immunodeficiency Virus positive (HIV+) participants provided with antiretrovirals therapy (ART) were, based on adjusted cumulative incidence ratios, 6.6 times more likely to have a successfully treated outcome (95% CI 1.48-29.84), and were 0.2 times less likely to die (95% CI 0.08-0.53). Having a previous cured history of TB and no previous history of TB were 2.9 times more likely to have a successfully treated outcome (95% CI 1.48-5.56) and were 0.1 times (0.04-0.38) less likely to fail treatment. An interesting finding was that participants living in the rural districts were 2.6 times more likely to die. Conclusion: Clinic initiated treatment for uncomplicated MDR TB is as effective as hospital initiated treatment. Also, those provided with ART and those without previous TB or who had a previous bout of TB cured, had better outcomes. Main Recommendations: The Western Cape health department should continue with the decentralization of MDR TB services to the clinics and could safely consider expanding the decentralization to include uncomplicated Preextensively drug-resistant TB and Extensively drug-resistant TB patients. Offering ART to HIV+ patients should be mandatory. The delays in the time to treatment initiation of MDR TB need to be further investigated.

Thesis (MTech (Construction Management ))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2010 / The motivation of the public sector is more social and political. The housing crisis is a major political issue for every ruling party. In many countries there are political commitments to housing, but sadly we witness this commitment being misdirected. Every government wants to see that its citizens are housed adequately. Very often it is seen that in its endeavour, government try to follow the private sector process, establishing huge parastatals to carry out the whole process, for example design, construction and financing (Lankatilleke, 1994). Lankatilleke, L. (1994) further mentions that mass produced public sector housing schemes are aesthetic disasters. They are either rows of match-boxes or high-rise blocks with no identity or individuality. There are numerous examples of such housing schemes that have deteriorated into ghettos. This research consequently presents findings which implies that government is being pressurized by the housing backlog within the Western and Eastern Cape, which brings about time constraints and tight budgets. These pressures are transferred to the design teams which need to speedily produce designs for low-cost housing homes within the best possible budget. This results to the implementation of common model designs. It is also founded that contractors ultimately suffer, due to these pressures which do not allow them to produce good quality homes. It is therefore recommended that better community involvement for sustainable methods in the design and construction process should be practiced. This therefore concludes that government should take more responsibility for the delivery processes of low-cost housing as well as the procurement and quality systems to be followed.

Mini-dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Public Management In the Faculty of Business at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / One of the post 1994 Government foremost tasks has been to transform the Public Service into an efficient and effective instrument capable of delivering equitable service to all citizens and driving the country’s economic and social development. Towards this end a number of legislative and policy changes were made which saw the emergence of a new public administration paradigm, both in terms of how Public service are to be managed and how they are to be delivered to the public. This was particularly relevant to the equality status of women on all levels of the public service in South Africa and the Western in particular. Transformation in the Western Cape Administration and in the two departments in particular will not advance enough to benefit the majority of the Populace adequately, unless individuals from the designated groups are largely employed in positions with authority and with real decision-making powers. Males will continue to dominate in the middle to upper levels as long as the leadership is caught up with the vicious cycle of continuing to employ people with mainly the same race and gender profile in the two departments in the Provincial government of the Western Cape. Therefore, it is critical for the Western Cape government to align their employment equity interventions, including skills and succession planning, with its employment equity objectives. Commitment by the leadership of the Western Cape Province to effectively implement the Act in substance and spirit is likely to assist transformation by creating workplaces that are equitable in nature and free from discrimination. This Mini- dissertation provides insight into the historical and current situations of women in the Western Cape and the departments of local government and human settlement in particular and ventures to make a number of recommendations to improve the status of women in the administration of the Western Cape government.

The Eden District Municipality (EDM) is a local authority whose area of responsibility covers the Garden Route and also includes the Klein Karoo. The boundaries are from Storms River in the east, to Swellendam in the west and the Swartberg Mountains in the north. The EDM covers a very big area with seven big municipalities to consider and work with. Five of the municipalities, Langeberg, Mossel Bay, Knysna, George and Oudtshoorn have their own fire fighting services. The EDM fire fighting serves mainly the rural area. This is very costly due to the large distance required to travel to a fire, whereas the local municipalities are operating in their own towns. The new municipal boundaries include the rural areas, but the municipalities cannot service the rural areas because they do not as yet charge rates in the rural areas and therefore there is no revenue for the fire fighting service. They operate on the basis of verbal working agreements that make coordination of fire fighting very difficult. The fire fighting functions of the EDM as a category C municipality and the local municipalities as category B municipalities have been specified in the Municipal Structure Act. The allocation (division) of functions and powers relating to fire fighting service between the district municipality and local municipalities as determined by the Municipal Structure Act (Act 117 of 1998) has not been done. Due to the lack of invested capital, the resources are in a bad state. Some of the services have no capacity to attend to chemical fires or hazardous substance emergencies. Internationally, private fire fighting services can be contracted by government departments. These private fire fighting services are very large and the areas that they serve are extensive. These services have their own personnel structures functioning in an organisational structure that serves them well. These private services are very cost-effective and can therefore offer reasonable rates. Based on an investigation of various fire fighting services and different structures, the proposed structure for fire fighting in the EDM area will be a combination of structures. The diverse nature of the area will make the location of a sectoral structure and extension of its capacity difficult, and several factors that will impact on an new structure must be kept in mind. If all works well it will be relatively easy to achieve the five operations performance objectives envisaged for restructuring namely quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost.

Thesis (MAgricAdmin)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study evaluated farmworker equity-sharing schemes administered by the Worcester regional office of the Department of Land Affairs in the Western Cape. The objectives were to investigate the performance of farmworker equity-sharing schemes against recent literature, to evaluate the motivation for the establishment of these schemes and whether they served the purpose for which they were established. Through investigating the role these schemes play in improving the farmworkers ' livelihood, the study investigated the changes farmworkers experienced on the farm since the establishment of the schemes. The perceptions of farmworkers regarding the schemes were also investigated. The study found that at all the farms evaluated there was a lack of formal training to all the levels of farmworkers, including committee members and shareholder workers. These farms did not have the funds to finance training programmes for their farmworkers. Poor training impeded farmworkers to utilise their skills and participate in decision making on the farm. Contrary to the objectives of financial participation and farmworker equity-sharing schemes, most of these schemes did not achieve the broad objectives of the participation schemes such as empowering their workers. Living and working conditions seem to have improved on most of the farms although some farms seem to have experienced no change at all. The ESTA Laws could be the cause of the improvements in housing and working conditions but not the implementation of the farmworker equity-sharing schemes. Respondents did not seem to experience discrimination due to gender. Financially the schemes are not performing well. This is evident from the number of schemes that were liquidated due to financial problems and for which financial statements could not be obtained. These schemes face various institutional and structural challenges, which includes financial challenges. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie het plaaswerker-aandeelhouerskemas wat deur die Worcesterstreekskantoor van die Departement van Grondsake in die Wes-Kaap bestuur word, geëvalueer. Die oogmerke van die studie was om die verrigting van plaaswerkeraandeelhouerskemas teenoor onlangse literatuur te ondersoek, om die motivering vir die vestiging van hierdie skemas te evalueer en te bepaal of hulle wel die doel dien waarvoor hulle gevestig is. Deur die rol van hierdie skemas in die verbetering van plaaswerkers se bestaan te ondersoek, het die studie ook ondersoek ingestel na die veranderinge wat sedert die vestiging van die skemas deur plaaswerkers ervaar is. Die plaaswerkers se persepsies van die skemas is ook ondersoek. Die studie het bevind dat daar by al die plase wat betrek is 'n tekort aan formele opleiding aan al die vlakke van plaaswerkers was, met inbegrip van komiteelede en aandeelhouer-werkers. Hierdie plase het nie oor die fondse beskik om opleidingsprogramme vir hulle plaaswerkers te finansier nie. Swak opleiding strem plaaswerkers in die toepassing van hulle vaardighede en in hulle deelname aan besluitneming op die plaas. In stryd met die doelwitte van finansiële deelname en plaaswerker-aandeelhouerskemas het hierdie skemas nie in hulle doel geslaag nie. Woon- en werksomstandighede op die meeste plase het blykbaar sedert die vestiging van die skemas verbeter, alhoewel sommige plase skynbaar geen vemaderinge ondergaan het nie. Die Wet op die Uitbreiding van Sekerheid op Verblyfreg kan 'n verklaring vir die verbetering in behuising en werksomstandighede wees, en nie noodwendig die implementering van die plaaswerker-aandeelhouerskemas nie. Respondente het volgens alle aanduidings nie diskriminasie op grond van geslag ondervind nie. Die skemas presteer finansieel nie goed nie. Dit is duidelik uit die getal skemas wat as gevolg van finansiële probleme gelikwideer is en waarvoor finansiële state nie verkry kon word nie. Hierdie skemas staar verskeie institusionele en strukturele uitdagings in die gesig, waaronder ook finansiële uitdagings.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / If one compares governments to the corporate world across the globe, it often plays second fiddle when it comes to strategy; new ideas, adopting of new management styles & processes and lastly, change, for this reason, the Provincial Government of the Western Cape recently undertook a journey that would shed it from these stereotypical behaviours. The journey was Christened „The Modernisation Programme‟ and was launched in 2009; one of its brainchildren named „Project Management Approach‟ was created as the bastion against inefficiencies and ineffective service delivery. A case in point is the unfinished Eastern Boulevard freeway in the city centre of Cape Town; the project was scrapped in the seventies, as the need for it was not justified by the traffic demand at the time in relation to its astronomical cost - a clear indication of poor project planning and management. This study was therefore undertook to examine whether the Project Management Approach (PMA) as part of the holistic Modernisation Programme was successfully implemented and if it yielded the expected results and attitude change in the project management environment in the Department of Transport and Public Works, which is responsible for more than half of all Provincial Government‟s projects. The study examines the impact the Project Management Approach had on service delivery, project management IT infrastructure and as a strategic tool. The analysis showed that although the PMA was welcomed by top management and even has the Director General (DG) as its business champion. However, it fell by the way side two to three years later, this was mostly due to limited communication, which practically ceased two years later and a steering committee that was never fully established and supported by senior official. An outcome, which resulted in roughly half of the project leaders being partially aware of the PMA, a similar analysis also revealed that they were not even aware of it being a long-term strategy. The analysis based on stakeholder involvement was more positive and many of the client department‟s end users were satisfied with the degree of improved cooperation between departmental teams. Further analysis conducted on the client/end user‟s opinion resulted in positive responses but failed to fire up the researcher‟s enthusiasm, as it was hardly the response one would expect from clients, had international standards and best practices been present. “Project management can be defined as a way of developing structure in a complex project, where the independent variables of time, cost, resources and human behaviour come together.” (Rory Burke) “Operations keeps the lights on, strategy provides a light at the end of the tunnel, but project management is the train engine that moves the organization forward.” (Joy Gumz)

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Corporate governance systems have evolved over centuries, often in response to corporate failures or system crises. From the early 1990s in South Africa, corporate governance began to reach prominence, prompted by losses from fraudulent activities within corporate entities such as Masterbond, Fidentia and Enron. Corporate governance is aimed at curtailing such fraudulent behaviour. In 1994, the elected democratic majority government of South Africa found that there were no standard rules or principles in place to either control or govern the delivery of services and the carrying out of policies. Government then made corporate governance a significant part of their strategic vision of restructuring. A protocol on corporate governance was published to provide guidance, specifically to the public sector in South Africa. In line with the protocol, policies and procedures were put in place in order to assist the public sector to meet corporate governance standards and best practice. It is apparent that the lack of systematic accountability can cost the public sector and the taxpayers of South Africa millions in terms of redoing work, inefficiency, workplace conflicts and misunderstandings. This in turn leads to ineffective work practices and leadership. This research study set out to establish how accountable the public sector is, specifically the Western Cape Government, concerning the protocol and the policies and procedures that are in place. The study aimed to evaluate the accountability of project coordinators within the Western Cape Government, specifically on construction projects. The literature review in the research report identifies the roles and responsibilities, stipulated in the policies and procedures, that the public sector needs to adhere to in order to be accountable. A scorecard was compiled to cross check the accountability of staff within the Western Cape Government in line with the policies and procedures in place. A construction project was used as an example on the scorecard and the outcome thereof is published in the report. This research report reveals the shortcoming of governance and specifically accountability within governance and determines how it could be addressed.