Full Thesis / Education in South Africa has undergone numerous changes in recent years, all of which contributed to an increase in the workload of educators and school leaders. New ideologies that impacted on the education system, concurred with democratisation. The implementation of new curricula which were underpinned by Outcomes Based Education (OBE), led to many changes. The decentralisation of authority to school-based management increased the responsibilities of principals. Principals are not necessarily professionally equipped to perform their task. The workload of school principals is becoming increasingly unmanageable and many principals, especially those in secondary schools, are constrained by insufficient time as well as a proper understanding of their leadership task. They frequently encounter situations which demand from them new and improved skills, knowledge and attitudes in order to cope with the wide range of demands and changes. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the level of managerial and leadership skills of principals in selected secondary schools in the Lejweleputswa education district. Fifteen schools were selected as a convenient sample from all secondary schools. Of these, five were classified as dysfunctional (grade 12 pass rate of below 50%), five were “at risk” schools (pass rate between 50 and 60%) and five “passing” schools. From the literature review, nineteen critical management and leadership skills were identified and used as basis for the self-compiled questionnaire. The data collected from the questionnaire was used to determine the management competencies of principals. In turn, this information was analysed to determine the training needs of principals which were subsequently compared to the contents of the new Advanced Certificate in School Management and Leadership (ACE:SML). The aim of this comparison was to determine whether the ACE: SML responded adequately to the identified training needs of principals. The data revealed the substantial inadequacy of managerial and leadership skills of principals in the Lejweleputswa Education District. It was further found that the Advanced Certificate in Education: School Management and Leadership did not cover all essential skills identified in this study. The recommendation was made that a comprehensive needs analysis which covers the entire country, is done and to subsequently use the results it yields to implement corrective measures. It was also recommended that the ACE: SML be revised to include the development of all identified skills.

The dawn of democracy in South Africa also led to the democratization of schools which added the role of ex-officio member of the School Governing Body (SGB) to that of principal as school manager. Many previous studies have left a gap in understanding how school principals manage their roles as managers and ex-officio members of SGBs. Hence, this qualitative study which sought to explore how principals perceive their roles as managers and ex-officio members of SGBs within their schools and their experiences of performing their roles in school management and governance; to identify the challenges experienced by principals in performing their dual roles; and to establish how school principals manage the identified challenges. Semi-structured interviews with, and documents received from, six participant principals were used for the purpose of collecting data for this study. The participants were selected from one circuit in a rural area of Limpopo Province. The six schools, used in this study, were three secondary schools and three primary schools. All the schools are „no fee paying schools.‟ Most of the parents are illiterate and unemployed. The selected primary schools are among the schools which obtained high scores in the Annual National Assessment (ANA). For the secondary schools, the performance of learners in their Matriculation examination was used as the selection criteria. The selected schools were, therefore, those with good academic performance in the ANA and the Matriculation examination and demonstrated good governance. The findings of this study show that the principals who participated in the study seem to struggle in coping with their teaching, management and governance roles. Most of the principals admitted that there is a need to balance their roles, which is not easy, due to other factors, such as teaching, social responsibilities and a lack of time – amongst others. Working with illiterate SGB members is an extra burden for principals as ex-officio members as they have to train them and, at times, perform duties that are often the responsibility of other members of the SGBs. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Pulmonary Tuberculosis (TB) is a significant cause of morbidity in Uganda. TB control in the Ugandan district of Butaleja remains poor, characterised by TB case detection and cure rates below national targets. A qualitative exploratory and descriptive study was conducted to identify factors associated with health-seeking behaviour of TB patients in Butaleja district; with an aim to present recommendations for promoting positive health-seeking behaviour amongst the patients. Data was collected through individual in-depth interviews with seven diagnosed TB patients and analysed using Creswell’s (2009:186) analytic spiral steps. The findings revealed three major themes, namely; the nature of health-seeking behaviour, factors associated with the health-seeking behaviour and advice to others experiencing similar symptoms. The health-seeking behaviour of participants was generally poor, characterised by delay in seeking proper medical treatment for TB. Health system, individual and social factors contributed to poor health-seeking behaviour among the participants. The study recommends health system and community interventions targeted at individuals to improve health-seeking behaviour for Pulmonary TB / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

M. Tech. Business Administration / The study was aimed at assessing factors that compel people to decide on changing employment, benefits of making the change and challenges faced in making the decision. The study is also aimed at helping company managers to be able to identify factors that lead employees to leave organizations and therefore reduce the turnover rate and work towards employee retention. Studies that were conducted highlighted that the world of work shifts all the time and therefore many employers can no longer guarantee life-long employment and regular promotion. This causes employees not longer to feel obliged to remain loyal to one employer throughout their lives. People change careers for a number of reasons, leading to shortage of skills and high turnover rate. The study was conducted in the Ekurhuleni West area of Gauteng in an attempt to determine and quantify factors that compel people to change careers from time to time by conducting a well-planned scientific study based on empirical evidence. The implications of the results are: firstly, managers should be able to identify factors that attract, motivate and retain employees; and secondly employees should make use of career development practitioners so as to make informed decisions and be familiar with broader changes that take place in society from time to time. The study will contribute to the retention of employees, improve production and morale and also reduce expenses and time spent on recruitment, training and socialization of new employees.

No abstract available.

M.Sc. (Zoology) / The Limpopo Province covers an area of 12.46 million hectares and these accounts for 10.2 per cent of the total land area of the Republic of South Africa. The province is endowed with abundant agricultural resources and it is one of the country’s prime agricultural regions noted for the production of fruits and vegetables, cereals, tea, and sugar. A key feature of the agricultural industry of Limpopo Province is its dualism. There are two distinct types of agricultural production systems. The large scale commercial farming system occupies approximately 70% of the total land area. The smallholder farms are located mostly in the former homeland areas and they cover approximately 30% of the provincial land surface area. The town of Thohoyandou, with its surrounding villages, is the area of greatest human concentration in the Luvuvhu Catchment and subsistence farming is about a third of the total agricultural component. It is important to study the effects of agricultural inputs (e.g. fertilizers and sediment loads) on aquatic ecosystems in order to fully understand the processes involved of these stresses on aquatic ecosystems. Knowledge of these impacts toward the environment and human health is often limited due to lack of capacity building, especially among small scale farmers. Ten bio-monitoring sites were studied on five systems in the Vhembe district. The sites were sampled during the low flow period of November 2011 and the high flow period of April 2012. Sampling sites were selected to present conditions in the Mutale, Mutshindudi and Tshinane Rivers upstream and downstream of the potential influence of small scale agricultural activities...

No description available.

The study was conducted to explore the experiences and perceptions of crime prevention managers on crime prevention programmes. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive investigative study was conducted in Umgungundlovu District Municipality. Interviews were conducted with eleven crime prevention managers, ten from South African Police Service and one from Umgungundlovu District Municipality. Data were analysed using content analysis. All crime prevention managers had a variety of crime prevention programmes implemented in their areas of operation. Generally, the crime prevention managers viewed their experiences as positive. Certain challenges were identified. Based on the findings, recommendations in terms of policy, practice and research are made. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Since the dawn of political independence on the African continent, most governments have failed to properly develop systems of local government. In many cases efforts have resulted in mere tokenism, and in most cases failed experiments. South Africa is an exception. With the assumption of political leadership in 1994, the ANC government committed itself to a programme of restructuring the racially exclusive and compartmentalised local government systems at the time. The emphasis was to be on eradicating the effects of apartheid. Considering the debilitating aspects of the past political landscape, it was understood that democratisation and transformation would be a long process and not achievable overnight. The ANC government's commitment to restructuring local government was based on a trajectory of transition or developmental theories. The creation of more political space through Civil Society Organisations (CSO) was also promoted. With the introduction of the White Paper on Local Government in March 1998 it was agreed that it would serve as a blueprint for DLG (Developmental Local Government). The latter was also to focus on improving standards of living for previously disadvantaged people. The objectives were to be achieved through decentralisation and the devolution of power. There was to be a shift in approach from ' tier' to ' sphere' . The writer examines the importance of DLG and its ability to fulfil the demands and needs of local communities. The writer further examines the challenges that face DLG, namely administrative difficulties and unethical practices. Millions of rands are recklessly dissipated and siphoned off through dubious tenders. There have also been some measures of success, and these are noted. The writer comes to the conclusion that although institutional structures and mechanisms are in place to support service delivery, they are not responding effectively to community needs and demands. Local communities are still casualties in the ongoing processes of democratisation and transformation. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

Background. People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are not always cared for by nurses who are competent to deal with mental health problems (MHP) in Blantyre district, Malawi. Little is known regarding nurses’ perceptions about their ability to provide mental health care in the district’s general settings. Purpose. The purpose of the study was to explore nurses’ perceptions about their provision of mental health care to PLWHA in Blantyre district. Methodology. A quantitative study was conducted to explore nurses’ perceptions about their provision of mental health care to PLWHA in Blantyre. Permission was granted by relevant authorities to conduct the study. Between March and April 2010, 165 nurses were randomly sampled from all wards and other departments at a central hospital and five selected health centres. They gave a written consent before joining the study. 151 questionnaires which were completed at participant’s convenient time were personally collected. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse data and nonparametric tests were also used to explore associations amongst variables. Findings. This study found that nurses’ perceptions about their provision of mental health care to PLWHA vary. Most nurses reported positive perceptions about caring for PLWHA who have MHP in general settings although some had negative perceptions. It was apparent that a relationship exists between nurses’ willingness to deal with MHP and perceptions about their knowledge, skills and access to support from mental health specialist. The perceived lack of knowledge, skills and support from mental health specialists were identified as reducing nurses’ ability to provide relevant mental health care to PLWHA. Conclusion. Conclusively, it is logical to say that the more support nurses receive from mental health specialists, the more knowledgeable and skilled they will become in dealing with MHP and, consequently, these nurses may demonstrate more willingness to deal with MHP of PLWHA. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.