After the transition from apartheid to democracy, the South African government embarked on designing policies and laws to address social problems and protect vulnerable groups in communities. Orphaned children are regarded as being vulnerable. The Children’s Act No. 38 of 2005 (as amended) is a legal document set to address issues related to vulnerable children and to ensure that their best interests are met. In terms of Section 150 of the said Act, orphaned children could be identified as children in need of care and protection if they are without visible means of support. However, this section of the Act is open to various interpretations and expectations. Social Workers at the Department of Social Development are currently under pressure to recommend to presiding officers of the Children’s Court that an orphaned child be legally placed in the foster care of the relative. However, presiding officers often question such recommendations because in their opinion the child does not present as a child in need of care and protection and as a result the recommendation made is rejected. This response lowers work morale because it displays disregard for the professional integrity of Social Workers and also increases their already high caseloads. This research study explored the perspectives of Social Workers regarding the legal placement of children in the foster care of relatives. Purposive sampling was used to recruit research participants, 30 foster care Social Work based at Department of Social Development in the Johannesburg Metro Region. A qualitative research design was adopted. Data was gathered using personal interviews and focus groups. A semi-structured interview schedule was utilized to guide the structure of the personal interviews and focus groups. Data gathered was analyzed using thematic content analysis. Findings has provided insight into what intervention strategies are deemed to be in the best interests of vulnerable orphaned children from the perspective of social workers and possible recommendations for policy changes.

Doctor Educationis / All employees aspire to work at a place of employment which is free from racial discrimination, where equal opportunity and fair treatment are not merely principles that are promoted and encouraged, but implemented actively by their employers. For a number of black professional employees in South Africa, however, currently this is merely an aspiration. Evidence suggests that black people are still subjected to racial discrimination and that their growth into the ownership and management structures of the enterprises that employ them, is insignificant in comparison to their white counterparts, despite the progressive legislative measures enacted by the legislature to ensure otherwise. The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, as amended, was promulgated in order to promote equal opportunities and fair treatment in employment, through the elimination of unfair discrimination and to implement affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups. The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003, as amended, was enacted to promote the economic participation of black people in South Africa. The objective of this thesis is to examine the relevant provisions of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, as amended, its Regulations, the Codes of Good Practice enacted in terms thereof, as well as the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003, as amended, together with its Codes of Good of Practice to determine whether this equality legislation is the appropriate vehicle to address the challenges experienced by black professional employees in the private sector. The stories of black professional employees’ experiences obtained from academic literature available insofar as it relates to racial discrimination, affirmative action and black economic empowerment is discussed through the lens of Critical Race Theory. This is done with a view to determining whether the slow pace of racial transformation when it comes to black professional employees employed in the private sector is an issue that the law can address. Particular reference is made to two professions: the legal profession and the financial professions. This thesis examines the difference between the minimalist and maximalist approaches to Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). The thesis reveals the limits to the incentive structure that does not place a premium on black ownership and that allows enterprises to benefit from BEE while not really changing management structures. It argues that seen through the lens of critical race theory the current equality legislation discussed in this thesis is based on including black people in a system where privilege and power are asymmetrically distributed. It also argues that legislation in itself is unable to rectify racial injustices. It therefore demonstrates the limitations of the current equality legislation as a vehicle to address the challenges faced by black professional employees in the private sector.

This research project aimed at evaluating four internationally accepted leachate extraction tests to determine their applicability on sewage sludge samples. Furthermore, the present analytical method to determine the leachable fraction of sludge for compliance to South African sludge legislation was evaluated. Leaching tests are done on sludge samples to determine element mobility. This is important since land application of sewage sludge is an accepted and regulated sludge management practice. A literature survey was done to evaluate the mobility over time of metals originating from sludge-amended soils. Mobility is initially due to the organic content of the soil and after organic matter decomposition, it is dependant on the inorganic content. Mobile metals in sludge-amended soil can cause potential environmental risks like groundwater contamination and metal accumulation in soil. Metal accumulation can further lead to increased plant uptake of metals. To determine the partitioning or fractionation of metals found in sludge-amended soil, selective sequential extractions and single extractions can be used. Since South African sludge legislation specifies a single extraction procedure, four were selected for comparative studies. The selected procedures were the USA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) the Australian Standard Bottle leaching Test (AS 4439.3) the Nederlands Normalisatie-Insitiuut availability test (NEN 7341) and the Deutches Institut für Normung water leachability test (DIN 38 414-S4). A variation of the TCLP is specified for use in South Africa. Three sewage sludge sample lots were collected. The first consisted of 24 sub-samples that were collected from 24 different wastewater treatment works on the East Rand. Both leachable (TCLP) and total (aqua regia) extraction was done on these samples for Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Zn, Se, B and Fe. A relationship between the leachable and total extractions was found for Co and Pb but could not be tested by literature values due to a variation in the sample preparation. The TCLP leachates were also analysed by Atomic Absorption and Inductively Coupled Plasma techniques to compare the applicability of the two. It was found that both techniques are acceptable for leachate analysis. The second sample lot collected from a single wastewater treatment plant was used to determine the leachable effect of the difference between the South African adapted TCLP and the USA EPA procedure as well as the NEN procedure. The EPA specifies all samples be extracted on an “as is” basis while the South African adaptation specifies dry samples. It was found that no element was comparative between dry and wet sample for both extraction procedures. It was observed that wet extractions yield generally higher values than dry extractions. A third sample lot was collected two months after the second sample lot at the same wastewater treatment works. It was used to compare the four extraction procedures. From this it was found that the DIN yielded the highest results for the specified elements. This procedure could not be recommended since the experimental difficulties and the duration of the test make it an unsuitable regulatory compliance tests protocol. / Dissertation (MSc (Environmental Technology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Chemical Engineering / unrestricted

In 1990, the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) was enacted to support disabled Americans as they sought to procure equality in society and the workplace. Despite these intentions, full implementation of the ADA has been fraught with court challenges and legislative amendments. As it currently stands, it is unclear as to how the judicial system is collectively interpreting a qualified disability. Using Clark and Connolly's interpretation of legal textualism as the theoretical foundation, the purpose of this case study of the Americans with Disabilities Act was to better understand and explore how the judiciary is currently interpreting qualified disability post-ADA amendments. Data for this study included court interpretations and post-ADA amendment cases among the 12 United States Circuit Courts. These data were coded through a multi-stage coding procedure that included evaluating coding, cycle coding, hand coding, and subcoding. Coded data were analyzed using a thematic analysis procedure. The key theme emerging from this study indicated that the ADA amendments still do not promote congressional intent in the judiciary. This study has implications for positive social change by informing Congress, legal practitioners, legal scholars, social scientists, and the disability community on the ways in which the judiciary is interpreting ADA amendments collectively among the 12 federal circuit courts.

The use of treated waste water for irrigation of vegetable crops is on the increase in Botswana especially in the Glen Valley farms, a peri-urban settlement of Gaborone city. However, the effects of this practice on heavy metals uptake by vegetable crops are uninvestigated. Chromium and nickel have been reported to be accumulating in Gaborone crop soils and cultivating vegetables in these soils with treated waste water could potentially lead to an increased bio-availability of the heavy metals in the vegetable crops. The main aim of this study was therefore to compare the uptake of chromium and nickel in tomato plants, a vegetable grown in sludge amended Glen Valley soils, to those grown in sludge absent Glen Valley soils using treated waste water at different pH values and tap water for irrigation. The high water uptake and high water consumption rate of tomato plants made it suitable for this study. Twenty five pots each containing 2.5 kg sludge amended Glen Valley soils and 5 pots each containing 2.5 kg sludge absent soils were utilized. Fresh treated waste water in a 50 L plastic container on a need by need basis was used. For the control experiments 5 pots each containing 2.5 kg standard commercial soils and fresh tap water were used. The potted tomato plants were cultivated from early May to middle of October 2009. One leaf and one fruit from each tomato plant was harvested and tested in this study. The highest uptakes of chromium (0.819 mg/L) and nickel (0.327 mg/L) were experienced in the leaves where the tomato plant were cultivated in standard commercial soil and irrigated with tap water at pH 7.0. The least uptake of chromium (0.052 mg/L) and that of nickel (-0.030 mg/L) was found in the fruits, where the tomatoes were grown in sludge amended Glen Valley soil and irrigated with normal Glen Valley treated waste water at pH 8.5. Increasing the pH of the treated waste water from 5.0 to 6.0 caused increased bio-accumulation of chromium and nickel in the leaves and the fruits of the tomato plants. Normal treated waste water (pH 8.5) and treated waste water at pH 9.0, however, reduced the chromium and the nickel uptake by the tomato plants. Treated waste water at pH 10.0 bio-accumulate more chromium and more nickel in the leaves and fruits of tomato plants. The pH variation experiments suggested that the fruit tissues accumulated more chromium and the leaf tissues accumulated more nickel. The mean chromium uptake in the tomato plants exceeded the Food and Agriculture Organization permissible limits but the Botswana Bureau of Standards effluent limit was not exceeded. The mean nickel concentrations were below the threshold limits for both local and international standards. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference between the mean chromium and the mean nickel concentration in the leaves and the fruits of the tomatoes at the 5% significant level. It can be concluded from this study that cultivating tomatoes with sludge amended Glen Valley soil combined with normal treated waste water at pH 8.5 could reduce the uptake of chromium and nickel uptake in tomato plants. However, an increase in the uptake of chromium and nickel in the leaves and fruits of the tomato plants could be triggered at slightly low pH (pH 5.0 and pH 6.0) and high pH (pH 10.0) of the treated waste water. It is recommended that the current practices of using treated waste water combined with sludge amended Glen Valley soil to cultivate tomatoes at the Glen Valley farm is good practice and should be continued. Nonetheless, further studies need to be carried out at the farm to establish possible phytotoxicity effects of these heavy metals on tomatoes when using treated waste water combined with sludge amended and sludge absent soils. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Chemical Engineering / unrestricted

Two international treaty frameworks - Amended Protocol II (APII) to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) - have been developed to prohibit or restrict the use of landmines. However, reflecting a gap in current academic research, there is a lack of knowledge of their effectiveness in supporting the humanitarian goals that underpin both treaties. In order to address gaps in the existing literature, this thesis applies an analytical framework grounded in regime theory to develop new insights into the design, implementation and effectiveness of APII and the APMBC within the broader framework of international humanitarian law (IHL). Two main hypotheses are explored. The first considers the importance for regime effectiveness of the relationship between design and implementation processes. The second analyses the significance for the landmine regimes of regime interplay and nesting within wider IHL and mine action discourses. In addressing these hypotheses, design/implementation interplay, agency dynamics and normative considerations represent key themes that enable us to develop new insights to a specific issue area that also demonstrates important linkages to wider humanitarian, security and developmental agendas.

Dans cette thèse, nous proposons des modèles probabilistes et statistiques d’analyse de données multidimensionnelles pour la prévision de l’incertitude sur les trajectoires d’aéronefs. En supposant que pendant le vol, chaque aéronef suit sa trajectoire 3D contenue dans son plan de vol déposé, nous avons utilisé l’ensemble des caractéristiques de l’environnement des vols comme variables indépendantes pour expliquer l’heure de passage des aéronefs sur les points de leur trajectoire de vol prévue. Ces caractéristiques sont : les conditions météorologiques et atmosphériques, les paramètres courants des vols, les informations contenues dans les plans de vol déposés et la complexité de trafic. Typiquement, la variable dépendante dans cette étude est la différence entre les instants observés pendant le vol et les instants prévus dans les plans de vol pour le passage des aéronefs sur les points de leur trajectoire prévue : c’est la variable écart temporel. En utilisant une technique basée sur le partitionnement récursif d’un échantillon des données, nous avons construit quatre modèles. Le premier modèle que nous avons appelé CART classique est basé sur le principe de la méthode CART de Breiman. Ici, nous utilisons un arbre de régression pour construire une typologie des points des trajectoires des vols en fonction des caractéristiques précédentes et de prévoir les instants de passage des aéronefs sur ces points. Le second modèle appelé CART modifié est une version améliorée du modèle précédent. Ce dernier est construit en remplaçant les prévisions calculées par l’estimation de la moyenne de la variable dépendante dans les nœuds terminaux du modèle CART classique par des nouvelles prévisions données par des régressions multiples à l’intérieur de ces nœuds. Ce nouveau modèle développé en utilisant l’algorithme de sélection et d’élimination des variables explicatives (Stepwise) est parcimonieux. En effet, pour chaque nœud terminal, il permet d’expliquer le temps de vol par des variables indépendantes les plus pertinentes pour ce nœud. Le troisième modèle est fondé sur la méthode MARS, modèle de régression multiple par les splines adaptatives. Outre la continuité de l’estimateur de la variable dépendante, ce modèle permet d’évaluer les effets directs des prédicteurs et de ceux de leurs interactions sur le temps de passage des aéronefs sur les points de leur trajectoire de vol prévue. Le quatrième modèle utilise la méthode d’échantillonnage bootstrap. Il s’agit notamment des forêts aléatoires où pour chaque échantillon bootstrap de l’échantillon de données initial, un modèle d’arbre de régression est construit, et la prévision du modèle général est obtenue par une agrégation des prévisions sur l’ensemble de ces arbres. Malgré le surapprentissage observé sur ce modèle, il est robuste et constitue une solution au problème d’instabilité des arbres de régression propre à la méthode CART. Les modèles ainsi construits ont été évalués et validés en utilisant les données test. Leur application au calcul des prévisions de la charge secteur en nombre d’avions entrants a montré qu’un horizon de prévision d’environ 20 minutes pour une fenêtre de temps supérieure à 20 minutes permettait d’obtenir les prévisions avec des erreurs relatives inférieures à 10%. Parmi ces modèles, CART classique et les forêts aléatoires présentaient de meilleures performances. Ainsi, pour l’autorité régulatrice des courants de trafic aérien, ces modèles constituent un outil d’aide pour la régulation et la planification de la charge des secteurs de l’espace aérien contrôlé. / In this thesis we propose probabilistic and statistic models based on multidimensional data for forecasting uncertainty on aircraft trajectories. Assuming that during the flight, aircraft follows his 3D trajectory contained into his initial flight plan, we used all characteristics of flight environment as predictors to explain the crossing time of aircraft at given points on their planned trajectory. These characteristics are: weather and atmospheric conditions, flight current parameters, information contained into the flight plans and the air traffic complexity. Typically, in this study, the dependent variable is difference between actual time observed during flight and planned time to cross trajectory planned points: this variable is called temporal difference. We built four models using method based on partitioning recursive of the sample. The first called classical CART is based on Breiman CART method. Here, we use regression trees to build points typology of aircraft trajectories based on previous characteristics and to forecast crossing time of aircrafts on these points. The second model called amended CART is the previous model improved. This latter is built by replacing forecasting estimated by the mean of dependent variable inside the terminal nodes of classical CART by new forecasting given by multiple regression inside these nodes. This new model developed using Stepwise algorithm is parcimonious because for each terminal node it permits to explain the flight time by the most relevant predictors inside the node. The third model is built based on MARS (Multivariate adaptive regression splines) method. Besides continuity of the dependent variable estimator, this model allows to assess the direct and interaction effects of the explanatory variables on the crossing time on flight trajectory points. The fourth model uses boostrap sampling method. It’s random forests where for each bootstrap sample from the initial data, a tree regression model is built like in CART method. The general model forecasting is obtained by aggregating forecasting on the set of trees. Despite the overfitting observed on this model, it is robust and constitutes a solution against instability problem concerning regression trees obtained from CART method. The models we built have been assessed and validated using data test. Their using to compute the sector load forecasting in term to aircraft count entering the sector shown that, the forecast time horizon about 20 minutes with the interval time larger than 20 minutes, allowed to obtain forecasting with relative errors less than 10%. Among all these models, classical CART and random forests are more powerful. Hence, for regulator authority these models can be a very good help for managing the sector load of the airspace controlled.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Curriculum Studies)) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / After the establishment of the first democratic government in South Africa in 1994, the Education Ministry started transforming the apartheid education system into the democratic education system aimed at achieving equity, redress and access to education. Amongst the policies developed, were South African Schools Act (Act No. 84 of 1996), National Norms and Standards for School Funding, Exemption of Parents from Payment of School Fees Regulations, Education Laws Amendment Act (Act No. 24 of 2005), Amended National Norms and Standards For School Funding, and No- Fee School Policy. In this study, I analysed how schools in Bolobedu cluster circuits of Mopani District implemented the No-Fee School policy regarding the use and management of school finances. Qualitative case study was used. Four schools, two primary and two secondary schools, were sampled. Three methods of data collection were used: interviews, document analysis (school records such as SGB minutes, finance policy, School Business Plan/School Development Plan, budgets, auditors’ reports, etc.) and observation. Interviews were conducted with school principals, teachers, parents and learners. The research findings indicate that the three SGBs have the capacity to practise good financial management in relation to the No-Fee school policy, although they still need to improve on some areas of responsibility. These SGBs demonstrated sound and good practice in the use and management of school finances. However, one SGB was struggling to practice good financial management responsibility. This school has the potential to improve its capacity to execute its financial responsibility if provided with support. Key words: South African Schools Act (SASA), National Norms and Standards for School Funding (NNSSF), Amended National Norms and Standards For School Funding (ANNSSF), No-Fee School Policy, Equity, Access and Redress, Use and management of school finances.

The purpose of this study is to determine if Low Impact Development (LID) can effectively mitigate flooding under projected climate scenarios. LID relies on runoff management measures that seek to control rainwater volume at the source by reducing imperviousness and retaining, infiltrating and reusing rainwater. An event-driven hydrologic/hydraulic model was developed to simulate how climate change, land use and LID scenarios may affect runoff response in the Bowker Creek watershed, a 10km2 urbanized catchment located in the area of greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The first part of the study examined flood impacts for the 2050s (2040-2069) following the A2 emissions scenario. For the 24-hour, 25-year local design storm, results show that projected changes in rainfall intensity may increase flood extents by 21% to 50%. When combined with continued urbanization flood extents may increase by 50% to 72%. The second part of the study identified potential locations for three LID treatments (green roofs, rain gardens and top soil amendments) and simulated their effect on peak in-stream flow rates and flood volumes. Results indicate that full implementation of modeled LID treatments can alleviate the additional flooding that is associated with the median climate change projection for the 5-year, 10-year and 25-year rainfall events. For the projected 100-year event, the volume of overland flood flows is expected to increase by 1%. This compares favourably to the estimated 29% increase without LID. In term of individual performance, rain gardens had the greatest hydrologic effect during more frequent rainfall events; green roofs had minimal effect on runoff for all modelled events; and top soil amendments had the greatest effect during the heaviest rainfall events. The cumulative performance of LID practices depends on several variables including design specifications, level of implementation, location and site conditions. Antecedent soil moisture has a considerable influence on LID performance. The dynamic nature of soil moisture means that at times LID could meet the mitigation target and at other times it may only partially satisfy it. Future research should run continuous simulations using an appropriately long rainfall record to establish the probabilities of meeting performance requirements. In general, simulations suggest that if future heavy rainfall events follow the median climate change projection, then LID can be used to maintain or reduce flood hazard for rainfall events up to the 25-year return period. This study demonstrates that in a smaller urban watershed, LID can play an important role in reducing the flood impacts associated with climate change. / Graduate

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-12T20:12:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PGEF14MA031.pdf: 2003307 bytes, checksum: a7a54a3a2ae662326ba3aa09c5407e0f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-07-25 / Forest fires have caused damage, especially to the environment, and prevention is still the most economical and efficient way to avoid such damage. The present study aimed to draw a profile of fires in five years, 2009-2013, in Lages-SC and to verify the efficiency of the Fórmula de Monte Alegre (FMA) and Fórmula de Monte Alegre Alterada (FMA+) in predicting the degree of danger during the period of observation. Records of fires from the Fire Brigade of Santa Catarina (CBMSC) as well as meteorological data from the Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Information Resources Enterprise for Agricultural Research (EPAGRI / CIRAM) and National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) were used in the period from 01 January 2009 to December 31, 2013. These data were organized and analyzed, and the results showed that 386 fires were seen, and 58.81% were in native forest and 41.19% occurred in reforestation areas. The fires occurred mainly between the months of August and September, with 144 occurrences (37.3% of total), a time when greater attention, especially in the readiness of combat teams is required. There was a need for adjustments to the parameters that measure the degree of danger to FMA and FMA+, so that the number of days provided for each hazard class possess an inverse relationship to the degree of danger as well as the number of fire observe a direct relationship with the hazard class. After adjustment, the values obtained for the skill score and percentage of success of FMA were 0.2146 and 67.41% and FMA+ were 0.1883 and 63.53% / Os incêndios florestais têm causado grandes prejuízos, principalmente ao meio ambiente, sendo que a prevenção ainda é a forma mais econômica e eficiente para se evitar tais danos. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo traçar um perfil dos incêndios ocorridos durante 5 anos, de 2009 a 2013, no município de Lages-SC, além de verificar a eficiência da Fórmula de Monte Alegre (FMA) e da Fórmula de Monte Alegre Alterada (FMA+) na previsão do grau de perigo durante o período de observação. Foram utilizados os registros de incêndios do Corpo de Bombeiros Militar de Santa Catarina (CBMSC), bem como os dados meteorológicos do Centro de Informações de Recursos Ambientais e Hidrometeorologia da Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária de Santa Catarina (EPAGRI/CIRAM) e do Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET), no período de 01 de janeiro de 2009 a 31 de dezembro de 2013. Essas informações foram padronizadas e analisadas, sendo que os resultados mostraram que foram atendidos 386 incêndios, sendo que 58,81% ocorreram em floresta nativa e 41,19% ocorreram em áreas de reflorestamento. Os incêndios ocorreram principalmente nos meses de agosto e setembro, com 144 ocorrências (37,3% do total), época em que é necessária maior atenção, sobretudo na prontidão das equipes de combate. Observou-se a necessidade de ajustes nos parâmetros que medem o grau de perigo para FMA e para FMA+, de forma que o número de dias previsto em cada classe de perigo possuísse uma relação inversa com o grau de perigo, bem como para que o número de incêndios observasse uma relação direta com a classe de perigo. Após os ajustes, os valores obtidos para o skill score e percentual de sucesso da FMA foram: 0,2146 e 67,41% e para FMA+ foram: 0,1883 e 63,53%