Although the merits of practical work in physics are often questioned, it remains part of physics curricula world-wide. In distance education the incorporation of practical work into the curriculum is considerably complicated by the unique logistics of the setting and the high cost involved. The research reported in this thesis emanated from the need to improve the practical work module for first year physics at the University of South Africa, one of the largest distance education universities in the world. Specifically, the home-based component which, up to the commencement of the research had been entirely text-based, needed to be addressed. To this end it was necessary to identify a valid and attainable set of objectives and to determine the characteristics, abilities and needs of the students in the target group. A survey polling the viewpoints of South African physics lecturers and students about the objectives of practical work was conducted and an extensive student profile comprising a biographic, cognitive and affective component was compiled. Biographically, the target group is unique in the sense that it consists mainly of adult learners, a large percentage of whom study in a second language. The cognitive component of the profile covered aptitude, proficiency in English, mathematics and the integrated science process skills and level of cognitive development, all of which were investigated for possible influence on performance in practical work. On an affective level, students displayed a very positive attitude towards practical work, seated mainly in their need for concrete exploration of the theory. A practical work module structured around an experiential learning cycle adapted to the distance education environment was subsequently designed. The study material developed for the module comprised an interactive study guide on data processing and experimental procedure, a home experiment kit with accompanying workbook and a laboratory manual. From the pilot study forming part of the development process, it was found that students performed significantly better in an assignment based on home-experimentation than in any of the pen- and paper assignments preceding it. Based on the results of the pilot study, a full home experiment kit was designed, evaluated, refined and implemented. / Physics / D.Phil. (Physics)

This study endeavours to research the field of literary historiography in general and specifically biographic historiography. In South Africa this genre has a limited tradition. Apart from a few diffused contributions by specialists in technical and other publications, and the essays by Hennie Aucamp in Beeltenis verbode and J.C. Kannemeyer in Getuigskrifte and Ontsyferde stene, very little research has been done in South Africa in this field. Chapter one expounds the research methodology. It briefly states the definition of the problem, as well as the goal orientation and the delimitation of the field of study, actuality, hypotheses and structural development. Chapter two affords the theoretical foundation of literary and more specifically biographic historiography. The concept "biography" is defined. The modern biography and its characteristics and structure are scrutinized in terms of different theoretical criteria. Finally this chapter contem-plates some problems experienced by contemporary biographers. Chapter three is an overview which sets out the history of biographic historiography from the most ancient times, during the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the 16th to the 20th century. Biographic historiography in the USA is closely researched. Major achievements and the most important texts which influenced the genre are emphasized. The contributions of notable bio-graphers such as James Boswell and Lytton Strachey are highlighted. Chapter four is the core of this dissertation. Initially it contemplates biographic historiography in South Africa in general. Thereafter it researches literary biographies in depth. The earliest comprehensive literary biography in Afrikaans, Ds. S.J. du Toit in weg en werk by Totius, is discussed. Attention is drawn to Leon Rousseau's biography of Eugène N. Marais, which, in 1974, ushered in the true beginning of this tradition in Afrikaans. Subsequently the biographies of V.E. d'Assonville on Totius and S.J. du Toit are discussed. The major part of this chapter is devoted to the oeuvre of J.C. Kannemeyer, who probably made the most important contribution in this field with his comprehensive biographies on D.J. Opperman, C.J. Langenhoven, and C. Louis Leipoldt. Finally J.C. Steyn's monumental description of the life of N.P. van Wyk Louw, in two volumes, is discussed. The discussion and evaluation of these texts are set out narratively and comparatively. The said biographies are evaluated according to different biographic theories. Chapter five, a concise chapter, evaluates the hypotheses set out at the beginning of this research. Furthermore it is indicated that the field of biographic historiography in South Africa is still not properly exploited. Suggestions for further research are given. South Africa is a multi-ethnic country and contradictory political, cultural, socio-economic and language interests are not uncommon. Biographies could contribute to mutual understanding of these diversities, as manifested in J.C. Steyn's Van Wyk Louw: 'n Lewensverhaal. Perhaps at present research in this field is crucial. / Thesis (MA (Afrikaans))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Afrikaans / unrestricted

The economic and population growth have led to the increased volumes of municipal solid waste in South Africa, hence more pressure to the waste management facilities. Municipal solid waste management is a by-product of everyday living, this is the reason why there is an environmental burden caused by waste to the environment. This study was conducted in Pretoria within the three sampled areas, namely: Garsfontein, Marabastad and Pretoria Central Business District (CBD). The rationale of the study was to establish the influence and effects of biographic factors (age, marital status, educational background, gender) and religious conviction on littering. This project constitutes both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. About 150 of the questionnaires were administered to each of the three sampled areas. Therefore, the overall proportion of the respondents was 450. Visual inspection was done in all the three sampled areas to observe the littering status quo and waste management situation in these particular areas. The visual inspection uncovered very interesting findings. It was established that Marabastad was cleaner in the morning than in the late hours while Garsfontein was clean throughout the day. Another problem that was discovered, amongst others was that of the condition of the bins in Marabastad and Pretoria Central Business District (CBD) which was bad compared to Garsfontein. From the questionnaire, it was found that the 72% of elderly respondents (< 36 yrs) are more environmental conscious than the young people (18-35 yrs) who 83% of them claim to litter when there is no bin. Further, among young people, 78% said litter cigarette butts and 93% of these said better street cleanliness would help reduce littering. 72% of adults said religious convictions would help reduce littering. The chi-square and correlation coefficient statistical data analysis methods were used to establish the relationship between different biographic and religious variables. Gender, marital status, monthly income, age and religious conviction were all found to have significant effects on issues regarding littering in the city. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Science)

The economic and population growth have led to the increased volumes of municipal solid waste in South Africa, hence more pressure to the waste management facilities. Municipal solid waste management is a by-product of everyday living, this is the reason why there is an environmental burden caused by waste to the environment. This study was conducted in Pretoria within the three sampled areas, namely: Garsfontein, Marabastad and Pretoria Central Business District (CBD). The rationale of the study was to establish the influence and effects of biographic factors (age, marital status, educational background, gender) and religious conviction on littering. This project constitutes both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. About 150 of the questionnaires were administered to each of the three sampled areas. Therefore, the overall proportion of the respondents was 450. Visual inspection was done in all the three sampled areas to observe the littering status quo and waste management situation in these particular areas. The visual inspection uncovered very interesting findings. It was established that Marabastad was cleaner in the morning than in the late hours while Garsfontein was clean throughout the day. Another problem that was discovered, amongst others was that of the condition of the bins in Marabastad and Pretoria Central Business District (CBD) which was bad compared to Garsfontein. From the questionnaire, it was found that the 72% of elderly respondents (< 36 yrs) are more environmental conscious than the young people (18-35 yrs) who 83% of them claim to litter when there is no bin. Further, among young people, 78% said litter cigarette butts and 93% of these said better street cleanliness would help reduce littering. 72% of adults said religious convictions would help reduce littering. The chi-square and correlation coefficient statistical data analysis methods were used to establish the relationship between different biographic and religious variables. Gender, marital status, monthly income, age and religious conviction were all found to have significant effects on issues regarding littering in the city. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Science)

Cette thèse a pour objectif d'étudier le monde journalistique turinois sous le régime fasciste, et en particulier lors de la deuxième décennie du régime. Cette période, coïncidant avec la montée et la consolidation du consensus (1929-1936) avant une remise en question progressive (1936-1940), est pour le journalisme italien celle de l'instauration progressive du contrôle de la profession par le régime. La répression, puis la mise au pas de la presse nationale et régionale, la création de structures de contrôle, particulièrement avec le Syndicat national fasciste des journalistes et son albo ou le ministère de la Culture populaire, l'uniformisation et l’institutionnalisation de la presse, notamment pour des usages propagandistes, bouleversent le monde journalistique et ses acteurs. Il s'agit dès lors de se focaliser sur les parcours collectifs et individuels de ces journalistes, en prenant comme laboratoire d'étude la ville de Turin. Les influences politiques, sociales et culturelles font en effet de cette ville un lieu particulier pour le fascisme, difficile à « normaliser ». Turin possède par ailleurs deux des plus importants journaux du pays (la Gazzetta del Popolo et La Stampa). L'étude prosopographique des 278 journalistes identifiés permet de mettre en perspective des caractéristiques sociales particulières, notamment en terme d'origine géographique ou de niveau d'instruction. De même, en s’intéressant aux liens avec le monde politique local et national, elle éclaire les frontières mouvantes entre politique et journalisme et permet de replacer la question du journalisme dans le cadre plus large du régime fasciste et particulièrement de ses ambiguïtés, entre contrôle, surveillance et répression d'un côté et les limites du totalitarisme de l'autre. L'étude prosopographique met également en évidence une continuité certaine, en terme de rédacteurs, entre le journalisme de l'époque libérale et celui de l'époque fasciste, remettant en question l'image d'une « épuration » sévère et totale de la profession. Dès lors, la question de la place nouvelle génération de journalistes, formés techniquement et imprégnés d'idéologie fasciste et dont la création était chère à certains hiérarques fascistes, Ermanno Amicucci en tête, prend tout son sens. Enfin, la seconde partie de la thèse s’intéresse à quelques parcours singuliers et itinéraires comparés, permettant d’illustrer une partie de la diversité des attitudes des journalistes turinois confrontés au régime fasciste et à sa volonté d'instituer un « nouveau modèle de journalisme ». Ces parcours se proposent ainsi d'éclairer plus spécifiquement certains aspects centraux de l'univers journalistique durant le régime, abordant notamment l'épuration des années 1927-1931 (avec par exemple Gino Pestelli, Leo Galetto ou Santi Savarino), les liens avec le monde politique local (Angelo Appiotti, Leo Rea) ou même la question des lois raciales (Deodato Foà). Entre relative résistance et renoncement, entre acceptation et tractations, entre illusions et pragmatisme, ces trajectoires biographiques mettent alors au jour des postures diverses dont les croisements, les stratégies, les contenus s'insèrent dans un cadre bien plus large, celui du ventennio fasciste et de ses tragédies. / This work studies the turinese journalistic world during fascist system, especially the second decade. This decade coincide with the rise of the consensus (1929-1936) before the first time of contestation (1936-1940). The italian journalism is more and more controlled by the political authorities. The repression of the national and regional papers, and then the organization, standardization and institutionalization of the press, change drastically the journalism background. In view of this, this work focuses on collective and individual trajectories, with Turin as study place. The political, social and cultural influences of Turin make this city a particular place for the fascism, hard to “normalize”, and which possess two of the principal papers of the country (the Gazzetta del Popolo and La Stampa). The prosopographical study of the 278 identify journalists allows to put in perspective social characteristics (geographical origins, level of schooling etc...). The national and regional political connections light up the moving mark between politic and journalism and allow to replace the journalism question in the ampler setting of fascist regime and his ambiguities (between control, surveillance and repression, on one hand, and limits of totalitarianism of the other hand). The prosopographical study shows also a clear continuity of journalist between liberal and fascist periods, which questions the image of a harsh and total “purge” of the profession. In this context, the question of the place of the new journalistic generation, technically formed and permeated of fascist ideology, like Ermanno Amicucci and other fascist figures wanted, is central. Finally, the second part of the study takes an interest in a few singular trajectories and compared itineraries, which allows to illustrate a part of the diversity of turinese journalist attitudes, confronted with a regime who wants to institute a “new journalism model”. This trajectories intend to light up more specifically some of central aspects of journalistic world during the regime, like the purge of the years 1927-1931 (with for example Gino Pestelli, Leo Galetto or Santi Savarino),, the connections with local politic world (Angelo Appiotti, Leo Rea) or the racial laws and their impact (Deodoato foà). Between opposition and resignation, acceptation and negotiation, illusions and pragmatism, this biographical trajectories expose some varied positions, insert into a ampler context, which is the fascist ventennio, and his tragedies.