The rock engraving site of Driekopseiland, west of Kimberley in the Northern Cape is distinctively situated on glaciated basement rock in the bed of the Riet River, and has a wealth of over 3500 engravings, preponderantly geometric images. Most other sites in the region have greater proportions of, or are dominated by, animal imagery. In early interpretations, it was often considered that ethnicity was the principal factor in this variabilty. From the 1960s the focus shifted more to establishing a quantative definition of the site, and an emperical understanding of it within the emerging cultural and environmental history of the region.

M.Ed. / For many years, Environmental Education was marginalised in the school curriculum, as it was seen to belong with subjects like geography and biology. This alienated it from the majority of teachers who are not trained in science related subjects. Thus only few pupils, who happened to have studied under science oriented institutions or teachers, were exposed to this field of knowledge. On 24 March 1997, the national Ministry of Education launched a new Outcomes Based Education (OBE) system for South Africa, called Curriculum 2005. This marked the end of different education systems that had existed in South Africa, and also opened new avenues for cross curricular issues such as Environmental Education, which did not form part of the school curriculum in the past. The primary aims of the study are: to investigate ways in which Environmental Education could benefit and support Curriculum 2005; to document the process that led to the infusion of Environmental Education into the school curriculum; and to determine needs and problems of teachers implementing Curriculum 2005 and suggest possible solutions for their problems. The data for this study was collected by using qualitative techniques of consultative synthesis; group open-ended interviews; public forums; field studies; observations and literature research related to different aspects of Environmental Education activities. In addition, a questionnaire was used in four regions that constitute the Northern Cape Provincial Education Department. The realities are that teacher education programmes in many institutions do not include courses in Environmental Education. Education about the environment has not been a visible priority in many countries, including South Africa. As indicated in this study, the situation in the Northern Cape clearly gives evidence of this. On the other hand, teachers had serious misgivings about their competence to teach Environmental Education. The enthusiasm reflected by teachers in the province, their potential and willingness to learn, are but a few indications of the possible success of Environmental Education in the province. The major/main problem identified is the OBE terminology which seems to hamper the implementation of Curriculum 2005. Thus, the success of Environmental Education in South African formal education depends on how well teachers adapt to, understand, are prepared for and committed to Curriculum 2005. I believe that if Curriculum 2005 succeeds, Environmental Education will also succeed. If it fails, Environmental Education will probably fail too, since is regarded as an integral part of the curriculum.

M.A. / The success of participation in research for development depends upon its ability to change power relations in the development setting. The central problem adressed by this study is the question whether participatory methodologies are able to change power relations. A case study is made of the Tshikonelo irrigation scheme of the Agricultural Corporation of Venda, now called the Agricultural and Rural Development Corporation (Pty) Ltd. This case study identifies obstacles relevant to developmental interventions which cast a critical light upon the claims of participatory methodologies. The following methodologies are discussed: Action Research, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), and the Actor-oriented perspective on rural development. The origin of the methodologies that use participation in research is located in the use of social scientific knowledge for development. Consequently, the use of social scientific knowledge is fundamental to the realisation of Participatory Development. This relationship problematises the role of social scientific knowledge for the development process, as social scientific knowledge for development cannot be limited to the context of the development project, and its ability to critique development efforts should be primary. Action Research is relevant to intervention if collaboration with other similar projects is possible. The focal point of this methodology is the degree to which Apartheid and the accompanying strategy of "Separate Development" continues to affect the lives and activities of the farmers involved in the Tshikonelo project. In this respect, it can be used to disseminate alternative agricultural techniques. This approach is important as it can bring about changes in the agricultural establishment. PRA is a positive contribution to the field by virtue of the innovative way in which it approaches development problems. The efficacy of PRA, however, depends upon factors that are external to the project context, such as the receptivity of the agricultural and development establishment to the participation of small farmers in the research process. Problems with PRA are highlighted which run parallel to the problematics of the use of social scientific knowledge for the development process. The strength of the Actor-oriented perspective lies mainly in the possibility of exposing the hidden power relations and dynamics of the irrigation project. As such, it has a unique and important role to play vis-à-vis the other methodologies, with regard to intervention in this project. A debate is constructed between the methodologies in question, covering the following: The degree of homogeneity of target groups; the "vision" of what participatory development should be like; and the identity of the community that has to validate the knowledge under discussion. "Participation" as paradigm for development should be refined in terms of these issues if it is to address deeper methodological problems. It can be seen as a methodological innovation as the community that is responsible for the final validation of knowledge is strange compared to the scientific community. The strategy of participation in development promotes the interests of the participants in two ways. Within the arrangement of how research is done, it promotes the interests of the participants before those of the individual scientist, and it is capable of promoting the interests of marginalised groups in terms of the present political economy. Participatory development is strongly influenced by those participating in the development process and is by no means an easy solution providing a more justifiable establishment.

This dissertation focused on the nature of political control over the bureaucracy with reference to the Northern Province (1994-1998). Bureaucracies are controlled in various ways. Mechanisms aimed at ensuring public accountability towards ministers, national assemblies, the courts or ombudsmen may be instituted. The civil service may become politicised, so that it shares the ideological enthusiasm of the government of the day. Counter-bureaucracies may be formed to create an alternative advisory service and to strengthen the hand of elected politicians. Should the bureaucracy be subjected to political control? The reality of 'government by officials' may function behind the facade of representative and democratic accountability, which is the precise reason why control over bureaucratic power is one of the most urgent problems in modern politics and public administration and why no political/administrative system has found an easy solution to this problem yet. It is against this background that answers can be found to the question of whether the bureaucracy should be subject to political control and how such control should be exercised. Research questions which could herald possible solutions to the problem, were pursued. The study describes, analyses, and evaluates political control over the bureaucracy as an integral part of public adminstration and an essential ingredient of representative democracy. The dissertation also investigated the difference between the variables of the political and the administrative systems state-related structures and institutions and the ideological grounding of state-related concepts that influence the milieu of political control over the bureaucracy. Among others, the study determined the nature of the bureaucracy, provided a picture of how bureaucracies function, and described the factors and institutions that influence the interaction between the political and the administrative systems in terms of political control. / Public Administration / M.P.A. (Public Administration)

The study was undertaken to investigate the following: limiting factors faced by the developers in complying with the EIA conditions and to determine whether the various developers comply with the conditions. The study was undertaken by use of questionnaires, site visits, meetings, photographs, group interviews. Trained fields assistants were also used to administer the questionnaires in order to collect data. Data from two sites were collected between 2012 and 2014 and were intentionally collected in order to provide information regarding the implementation of mitigation measures. The collected data was subjected to SAS (statistical software). Chi-square test for independence was performed in order to compare the differences (Snedecor & Cocharen, 1978) between the two sites. Based on the results of the study, it is therefore recommended that competent authorities should consider drafting and supplying follow-up guidelines and these guidelines should also apply to all the relevant role players involved. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In recent years scholars and researchers have been paying specific attention to the performance and results produced by government activities. This is seen as a direct consequence of trends in the public policy field, specifically the New Public Management (NPM) approach. The South African Government has demonstrated its commitment to the NPM approach by advocating the assessment of government’s performance and putting in place substantial guiding, policy and discussion documents that would promote the monitoring and evaluation of public outputs and outcomes. This research study takes its cue from the NPM approach and evidence-based public policy analyses as it sought to evaluate the performance of a government programme by considering reported performance outputs. The researcher evaluated the performance for the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature’s (NCPL) Administration programme over a 3-year period as a case study. The research methodology is evaluative in nature and the specific design employed is programme evaluation. To solicit data from respondents, an Organisational Profile Survey was conducted. The survey responses from participants were combined with a review of media reports and scrutiny of documented reports to provide comprehensive evidence about the performance of the NCPL Administration. The overall aim of the study was to evaluate performance with a view to the improvement of future performance. The findings of the thesis indicate that the planned services and activities of the NCPL Administration are not being implemented effectively and that the overall programme is not functioning effectively. The effectiveness of the NCPL Administration can be improved by means of the resolution of organisational challenges. Recommendations are made to address performance deficiencies and further research opportunities are also identified. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Navorsers het oor die afgelope paar jaar spesifiek begin fokus op die prestasie en uitslae van regeringsaktiwiteite. Die onlangse tendens kom as ‘n direkte gevolg van huidige openbare hervorming, en meer spesifiek die Nuwe Openbare Bestuurs- (NOB) benadering. Die Suid-Afrikaanse regering demonstreer hul toewyding aan die NOB benadering deurdat die evaluasie van regerings prestasie voorgestaan word, asook deur die instelling van substansiële beleid-, leidings- en gespreksdokumente wat die monitering en evaluasie van publieke uitsette en uitkomste bevorder. Hierdie navorsingsstudie volg die NOB benadering en bewys-gebaseerde publieke beleidsontleding na. Dit is gemik daarop om die prestasie van ‘n regeringsprogram te evalueer deur die gerapporteerde prestasie uitsette in ag te neem. As deel van hierdie gevallestudie evalueer die navorser die prestasie van die Noord-Kaap Provinsiale Wetgewer (NKPW) se administrasie program oor ‘n drie jaar tydperk. Die studie se navorsingsmetodologie is waardeoordelend die spesifieke navorvingsontwerp wat gebruik word is Programevaluering. Om data van respondente te bekom was ‘n Organisasie Profiel Opname onderneem. Hierdie data was gekombineer met ‘n oorsig van koerant berigte en die noukeurige ondersoek van verslae met die oog daarop om omvattende bewyse te lewer oor die prestasie van die NKPW Administrasie. In geheel poog die studie om prestasie lewering te evalueer met die doel om toekomstige prestasie te verbeter. Die bevindinge van die tesis dui aan dat die implementering van beplande dienste en aktiwiteite van die NKPW Administrasie nie doeltreffend is nie en dat die program in geheel nie effektief is nie. Die prestasie van die NKPW Administrasie kan verbeter word deur die aanspreking van uitdagings wat in die organisasie ondervind word. Aanbevelings word gemaak om die prestasiegapings aan te spreek en verdere navorsinggeleenthede is ook geïdentifiseer.

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It is true, to say that education in Venda in the Northern Province was experiencing and is still experiencing problems. Many schools in Venda - primary and secondary schools - have lost their vision. Statistics reveal that there is a large number of failures and dropouts at these schools with discipline dropping in almost all schools. Learners are no longer committed, they go to school late, they do not wear uniforms, they are not prepared to devote time and energy to their studies. They boycott classes and spend long periods of time not attending lessons. Daily classroom routines no longer receive their utmost attention, homework is not done resulting in many failing their examinations every year. In some of the schools, especially in the secondary schools, many learners are arrogant. They no longer respect their teachers and some schools have developed into battlefield - learners carry weapons such as guns to schools, they stab their teachers and principals with pangas and they also fight each other. The Research has revealed that many learners are unprepared for the responsibilities of being a student. On the other hand teachers also embark on strikes, sit-ins and chalk downs as some teachers are no longer loyal to their profession. They go to work late and leave early. At the end of the month they do not even go to work, while those that go, sometimes are unprepared for their lessons. Child (learners) abuse is also rife in some schools. There are also areas in the Province where learners do not receive stationeries, textbooks and prescribed books during the course of the year. Some learners are still taught in shanties built by the communities while some learners in the rural areas are still being taught outside, under trees. The research revealed that the situation which is prevailing in schools in the Venda area can be remedied by better relationship between the different stakeholders : parents, teachers, learners, Department, communities and churches. Of all the stakeholders, the parent is regarded as the primary educator since all others like . teachers, the Education Department, communities, churches etc. are assisting the parents in the task entrusted to them by God. The results also revealed that many parents in Venda do not participate in the education of their children causing poor results, high dropouts rate and the absence of discipline in the schools. Therefore, the role of parents in values education with special reference to the situation in Venda is significant. The effective involvement of the parents in these situations can be the best remedy. They are the most important stakeholders in creating conducive teaching and learning atmosphere. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar word beweer dat onderwys in Venda, in die Noordelike Provinsie verskeie probleme in skole ervaar het en nogs steeds ervaar. Heelwat skole in Venda; primêr sowel as sekondêr, het hulle doelstellings ten opsigte van gesag, dissipline, leerdoelsteIlinge in die klaskamer en samewerking met ouers verloor. Statistieke bring aan die lig dat skole te doen het met In hoë druipsyfer, onderpresteerders, uitsakkers en vroeë skoolverlating. Gesag en dissipline verval in byna al die skole. Leerlinge is nie meer entoesiasties en toegewyd in hulle skoolwerk nie. Laatkommery is algemeen, hulle dra nie meer die voorgeskrewe skooldrag nie en hulle is nie bereid om hulle tyd en energie aan hulle studies te bestee nie. Leerlinge boikot hulle klasse en bry weg van die lesperiodes. Huiswerk end opdragte word geignoreer en die eindresultaat is dat baie leerlinge jaarliks druip. Verwaantheid onder leerlinge kom veral in die sekondêre skole voor. Leerlinge respekteer nie meer hulle onderwysers nie en die probleem het al so handuitgeruk dat sommige skole in In oorlogsveld ontaard het. Onderwysers en medeleerlinge se veiligheid word bedreig deur wapens wat skool toe gebring word. Voorvalle waar onderwysers en hoofde met messe gesteek is, het al voorgekom. Gevegte onder leerlinge is algemeen. Die ondersoek/navorsing het verder aan die lig gebring, dat, leerlinge nog nie gereed is om as verantwoordelike studente op te tree nie. Leiding en gesag is steeds nodig. Leerlinge kan egter nie alleen verantwoordelik gehou word vir hierdie probleme nie. Onderwysers neem ook deel aan wegblyaksies, daag laat by die skoolop, is onvoorbereid vir hulle dagtaak, verlaat die skool sonder toestemming en kom nie skool toe aan die einde van die maand nie. Mishandeling van leerlinge kom in sommige skole voor. In sekere gebiede in die Provinsie ontvang leerlinge nie betyds skryfbehoeftes, handboeke en voorgeskrewe boeke nie. Sommige skole ontvang geen boeke gedurende die jaar nie. Sommige leerlinge ontvang nog steeds onderrig in vervalle klaskamers wat lank gelede deur die gemeenskap gebou is, terwyl leerlinge in die landelike gedeeltes van Venda nog steeds onderrig buite onder die bome ontvang. Die ondersoek het aangetoon dat hierdie situasies wat in die skole in Venda heers herstel kan word deur 'n beter verhouding tussen die verskillende insethouers nl. ouers, onderwysers, leerlinge, die Department, gemeenskap en kerke te skep. Ouers word nog steeds beskou as die primêre opvoeders en word bygestaan en ondersteun deur die verskillende insethouers in hulle Godgegewe opvoedingstaak. Verdere resultate van die ondersoek toon aan dat baie ouers in Venda nie deel het aan die opvoeding van hulle kinders nie en dit lei tot swak eksamenuitslae, swak dissipline en vroeë skoolverlating in skole. Daarom is die rol van die ouer in die opvoeding van waardes met spesiale verwysing na die probleemsituasie in skole in Venda belangrik.

M.Comm. / The primary aim of this research is to indicate that the lack of economic progress in the Northern Province is basically caused by the absence of a strong manufacturing sector, particularly the chemical industry. The chemical industry is a key sector in both the primary and secondary sectors. In agriculture and mining it provides fertilizers and explosives respectively to increase output. Diversified farming will emerge as a direct response to a rise in agricultural output. As the population in the Northern Province is rapidly rising, the demand for agricultural products will also rise. This will have a positive influence on the income of farmers. As the income rises, production in agriculture will increase which will bring about a demand for implements, tractors and other equipment. In the manufacturing sector the chemical industry will stimulate the process of industrialisation in the Northern Province. The industrialisation process will involve the outward-orientation of the economy. This means that the chemical industry will act as a leading sector by showing forward and backward linkages. The economy of the Northern Province is performing poorly in terms of GGP. The role of the government in providing services cannot alone generate a sustainable economic growth. A sustainable economic growth in the Province can take place if the chemical industry plays a crucial role in producing chemicals which can be used in agriculture and manufacturing. Therefore this study will show that economic growth in the Northern Province can be sustained by growth in the chemical industry.

Archaeology MSc Dissertation School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies Faculty of Science University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg 2013 / Agropastoralists during the Iron Age established their settlements in the Limpopo Valley to take advantage of the rich floodplains of the Shashe-Limpopo confluence. Trade in ivory may have been a draw card in the earlier Zhizo period (AD 900), but good climate and increased rainfall helped to maintain a growing population which in turn contributed to the rise of complex society and the first state in southern Africa, i.e. Mapungubwe (AD 1250-1300). The population increase and the concomitant agricultural land use, together with several droughts, would have challenged livestock management. Using carbon signatures, J. Smith (2005) discovered that cattle were sustained on graze alone, indicating sufficient grass in the valley for pasture during the Iron Age. I have used spherulites found in cattle dung to investigate the use of the confluence vlei area. Vlei grass would have provided extra pasturage. I considered time and space to interpret samples. For the Zhizo and Leokwe periods, I examined 13 samples, including Castle Rock, of which six were positive. K2 had nine positive samples out of 17 while Transitional K2 had 20 positives samples. The TK2 results suggest there was a greater need for extra pasturage associated with drought from AD 1220 to 1250. The Mapungubwe period is represented by 11 samples and five yielded positive results while the Khami period yielded 12 positive results out of 26 samples. These results show a regular use of the confluence vlei during the Iron Age associated with dry conditions.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2015 / Three new methods for determining the structural index and source distance for magnetic field data are presented. These methods require only the calculation of the first and second order analytic signal amplitudes of the total field and are applicable to both profile and gridded data. The three methods are first tested on synthetic data and then on two real datasets to test for applicability and repeatability. It was found that each method had different strengths and weaknesses and thus one method cannot be favoured over the others. Cooper (2014) describes how to calculate the distance to source over both profile and gridded data given a user defined structural index. Often however, particularly in the case of real data, the structural index is not known or varies over the surveyed area. These three new methods however do not require any user input since the structural index is calculated thus making them more applicable to regions of unknown geology. It was found that the first of the three new methods, the multi-distance inversion method, was best used as an edge-detection filter, since the use of higher order derivatives resulted in increased noise levels in the distance to source calculation. The third of these new methods, the unconstrained inversion method, discussed in Chapter 7, not only solves for the structural index but also determines the depth of the source. In that particular case, the structural index is used as a rejection filter, whereby, depth solutions associated with structural index values outside of the expected range are deemed to be invalid. Unlike the third new method, the first two methods require the distance to source to be calculated via the approach described by Cooper (2014) (which requires the user to define the structural index), the results of which are later rescaled by the calculated structural index to yield what is termed a rescaled distance to source. All three of the new methods are fully automatic and require no user control. The techniques were first tested on both profile and gridded theoretical data over sources with known structural index values. All of the methods were able to estimate the structural index of each of the particular sources and give depth estimates that varied from the true depth by less than 20 percent (with deeper sources being more inaccurate). Noise was also added to the theoretical data in an attempt to assess how the methods can be expected to perform with real data. It was found that when applied to noisy data, these methods performed equally well to slightly worse, than when the method developed by Cooper (2014) was used. As a real world case study these three new methods were tested on aeromagnetic data collected over the Kuruman Military Area, Northern Cape, South Africa. Regional deformations as well as later intrusive dykes and cross cutting faults were imaged by the chosen depth determination procedures. The dolerite dykes in the area were found to occur between 20 to 60 m deep. While the sand cover was estimated to be between 30 to 40 m thick. Overall, the techniques yield distance to source estimates that differ by less than 15 m, over sources, to the results obtained by using the source distance method (Cooper, 2014). To test for repeatability a second aeromagnetic dataset, collected over a dyke swarm within the Bushveld Complex, South Africa was considered. Again comparable (less than 15 m over sources) depth estimates were made between the unconstrained and constrained inversions. Since the distance to source estimates produced by these new unconstrained inversion methods are comparable to those produced by constrained inversion (Cooper, 2014) the project can be deemed successful.