A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Counselling Psychology) in the Department of Psychology, University of Zululand, 2010. / The main objective of this study was to find out the self-perceived psychological factors that may contribute to road rage in Empangeni. A phenomenological approach was adopted in this study to facilitate the understanding of the information gathered. The sample consisted of 10 participants, 9 males and 1 female. All participants were the drivers. Open-ended questions were asked from the participants. The findings of this study revealed the following themes: impatience, frustrations and anger; substance abuse contribution to bad driving; bad mood leading to aggressive driving; disrespecting other road users; poor compliance with the rules of the road; prolonged hours of driving leading to fatigue; family and work related problems impacting on drivers; attention and focus; gender issues; and bad driving viewed on media (television) impacting on drivers. The study concluded with a brief discussion on the limitations of the study and recommendations for future research.

South Africa is one of the Third World countries which are mainly characterised by underdevelopment in almost all aspects of life. This would include social, economic and to certain extent, physical aspects. Their rural areas are in a critical condition as compared to their urban areas. The major problem with such areas is that the rural poor (tribal areas inclusive), cannot contribute significantly to their own development. This is mainly due to inherent inequalities in the benefits of economic development, and technological advancement which operates under the umbrella of capitalism. Rural housing development is a deliberate intervention programme that should be designed in such a way that the people themselves are gradually drawn into the mainstream of development action. It would mean that any governmental assistance to communities should at the time be a learning process for the beneficiaries. Such actions would act as attempts to alleviate the poor conditions in the rural areas, and then empower people in realising their potential and restoring human dignity. This dissertation is a critical overview of the formulation of a rural housing policy. The study looks mainly at the housing condition in the tribal areas, with special focus to housing problems in these areas. A special reference was made to Oshwashweni (Empangeni) in KwaZulu/Natal. The area was chosen because of the rural communities that are still living according to the traditional style of the Zulus. Furthermore, their housing situation is dominated by traditional style. The study revealed that rural housing development is hindered by administrative, social and even technical constraints. Thus, a need for a well-structured housing development was confirmed. Policy formulation has been regarded as the structured and secure instrument for bringing development within the tribal rural areas, and the rural areas as such. On the basis of outcomes of the study, some recommendations have been offered towards guidelines for formulating a policy. / Thesis (M.Sc.U.R.P.)-University of Natal, 2000.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Sociology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2003. / It gives me pleasure to present the first report on "Prisoner's awareness on HIV-AIDS with reference to Empangeni Qalakabusha prison. The compilation of this research emanates from the willingness to inform, educate, advice and guide the Government and Prison management on the issues relating to HIV-AIDS in South African prisons, since less has been compiled in relation to this issue. The report reflects on the most important challenges facing our prison society, their causes and consequences. This is done to ascertain whether there is progress, activities or means done in relation to developing HIV-AIDS awareness in the prison institutions. The contents of this report are organized and delivered in a series of four chapters, dealing with specific and different contents, under the umbrella of the main study topic. Each chapter simply begins with an introduction, which gives an overview of the material entertained in that particular section. An inclusive response from all Empangeni Qalakabusha prison stakeholders' through questionnaires and interviews form bases of this qualitative study report findings. Recommendations are made inter alia some of the findings. These recommendations are aimed at all South Africans facing this epidemic. The researcher also sincerely hopes that information on this report will be used to promote the culture of "Breaking the silence" around this silent killer of our nation. As South Africa faces the challenges of its renewal or renaissance, there is no greater potential barrier to the attainment of this vision than the spectra of the HIVAIDS epidemi

The phenomenon of the public policy process, which encapsulates the public policy implementation, has been in existence long before the political transformation that took place in South Africa in 1994. However, the ushering in of the new dispensation saw the integration of the existing public policies. In addition, it inevitably heralded the introduction of the new public policies and national guidelines across all sectors of the South African public institutions. Public policy implementation, as an integral stage of the public policy process, emerged as indispensable towards effective and efficient public service. The basic education, as a public institution, could also not be exempted from such inevitability of heightened public policy implementation. The introduction of the new education related public policies included the developmental appraisal system (DAS), the whole school evaluation (WSE), the integrated quality management systems (IQMS) and the discipline and safety national guidelines (DSNG). This, consequently, bears testament to what became an inevitable transformation process in South African basic education. Using the DAS, the WSE, the IQMS and the DSNG as points of departure and Empangeni education district as a reference area, the focus of this study has been the public policy process, the internal organisational arrangements and structures for public policy implementation, the public policy implementation process together with its inherent challenges and an improved model aimed at alleviating or even eradicating such public policy implementation challenges. The theoretical models, both descriptive and prescriptive, suggest that the public policy process, which entails namely: public policy agenda, public policy formulation, public policy adoption, public policy implementation and public policy evaluation, is premised on the public policy models. Of all the above-listed public policy process stages, public policy implementation stands out as the pinnacle around which the public policy process revolves. The public policy implementation stage, therefore, suggests a point where the influence, the impact and the successes or failures of the public policy process unfold. In light of this inextricable link of the public policy implementation stage to the general public policy process that is influenced by models, the effective public policy implementation is, subsequently, embracive of attributes and lessons derived from the public policy models. Some of these attributes and lessons, inter alia, include; the mutual participation by all actors involved, rather than dominance by an elite group (derived from the elite/mass model), the identification of institutional structures responsible for the public policy implementation (derived from the institutional model) and the accommodation of the implementation review as well as feedback (all indicative of the systems model). The literature review and the empirical data analyses show convergent views that suggest that the effective public policy implementation is directly proportional to the extent of internal organisational arrangements and structures as well as to the basic functionality of schools as centres for the implementation process. This implies that where internal institutional arrangements and structures are evident and functional, the implementation of public policies is bound to be effective and efficient, while the contrary also holds. Given Empangeni education district being the focal point of the study, it has emerged that the use of personnel from other units and the absence of a district unit designated to solely oversee the coordination, the implementation and the evaluation of the education related public policies, inhibit the potential of adequately achieving the intended objectives of the education related public policies implemented. In case of schools as the institutional centres for public policy implementation, empirical data analyses have established an inter-connection between the public policy implementation and the schools‟ basic functionality. Consequently, it is in functional schools (i.e. schools where the school management teams and school governing bodies are visible, effective and work collaboratively), where public policy implementation thrives and is effective. The contextualisation of the empirical research analyses to the study focus area, Empangeni Education District (EED), established that its current implementation model faces public policy implementation challenges. The most evident challenges, inter alia, include: * the inadequate advocacy of the education related public policies to be implemented; * the two or three days, currently accepted as a capacity building period by those expected to implement education related public policies, are not proportional to the volume of work to be covered and it suggests an inadequate time-frame for capacity development in the EED's current model; * the material and mechanisms used to perform functional work do not accommodate all role-players (also called actors in this study) according to their demographical needs, like language, which renders them inept to perform to their optimum level; * the primary structure of the current EED's public policy implementation model is a top-down directional structure which underscores the top-down cascading model; * current communication technology employed, do not take advantage of the 21 century‟s information computer technology in order to make the work environment more user-friendly, efficient and effective; * the simultaneous implementation of education related public policies poses a challenge to internal organisational arrangements, such as public policy implementation (PPI) structures and personnel, for effective implementation of such policies; and * the evident inadequate continuous and deliberate monitoring of implemented education related public policies. Conclusions and inferences drawn from this study suggest that the EED's current public policy implementation model is inadequate to deal with the identified challenges. Finally, this study proposes a strengthened EED public policy model, which accommodates recommendations to EED's public policy implementation challenges. Inherently, the proposed strengthened public policy implementation model is not limited to dealing with the identified challenges only, but it radically embraces the introduction of systems and internal organisational structures that promote inclusive, collaborative and traceable implementation of education related public policies. / PhD (Public Management and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The phenomenon of the public policy process, which encapsulates the public policy implementation, has been in existence long before the political transformation that took place in South Africa in 1994. However, the ushering in of the new dispensation saw the integration of the existing public policies. In addition, it inevitably heralded the introduction of the new public policies and national guidelines across all sectors of the South African public institutions. Public policy implementation, as an integral stage of the public policy process, emerged as indispensable towards effective and efficient public service. The basic education, as a public institution, could also not be exempted from such inevitability of heightened public policy implementation. The introduction of the new education related public policies included the developmental appraisal system (DAS), the whole school evaluation (WSE), the integrated quality management systems (IQMS) and the discipline and safety national guidelines (DSNG). This, consequently, bears testament to what became an inevitable transformation process in South African basic education. Using the DAS, the WSE, the IQMS and the DSNG as points of departure and Empangeni education district as a reference area, the focus of this study has been the public policy process, the internal organisational arrangements and structures for public policy implementation, the public policy implementation process together with its inherent challenges and an improved model aimed at alleviating or even eradicating such public policy implementation challenges. The theoretical models, both descriptive and prescriptive, suggest that the public policy process, which entails namely: public policy agenda, public policy formulation, public policy adoption, public policy implementation and public policy evaluation, is premised on the public policy models. Of all the above-listed public policy process stages, public policy implementation stands out as the pinnacle around which the public policy process revolves. The public policy implementation stage, therefore, suggests a point where the influence, the impact and the successes or failures of the public policy process unfold. In light of this inextricable link of the public policy implementation stage to the general public policy process that is influenced by models, the effective public policy implementation is, subsequently, embracive of attributes and lessons derived from the public policy models. Some of these attributes and lessons, inter alia, include; the mutual participation by all actors involved, rather than dominance by an elite group (derived from the elite/mass model), the identification of institutional structures responsible for the public policy implementation (derived from the institutional model) and the accommodation of the implementation review as well as feedback (all indicative of the systems model). The literature review and the empirical data analyses show convergent views that suggest that the effective public policy implementation is directly proportional to the extent of internal organisational arrangements and structures as well as to the basic functionality of schools as centres for the implementation process. This implies that where internal institutional arrangements and structures are evident and functional, the implementation of public policies is bound to be effective and efficient, while the contrary also holds. Given Empangeni education district being the focal point of the study, it has emerged that the use of personnel from other units and the absence of a district unit designated to solely oversee the coordination, the implementation and the evaluation of the education related public policies, inhibit the potential of adequately achieving the intended objectives of the education related public policies implemented. In case of schools as the institutional centres for public policy implementation, empirical data analyses have established an inter-connection between the public policy implementation and the schools‟ basic functionality. Consequently, it is in functional schools (i.e. schools where the school management teams and school governing bodies are visible, effective and work collaboratively), where public policy implementation thrives and is effective. The contextualisation of the empirical research analyses to the study focus area, Empangeni Education District (EED), established that its current implementation model faces public policy implementation challenges. The most evident challenges, inter alia, include: * the inadequate advocacy of the education related public policies to be implemented; * the two or three days, currently accepted as a capacity building period by those expected to implement education related public policies, are not proportional to the volume of work to be covered and it suggests an inadequate time-frame for capacity development in the EED's current model; * the material and mechanisms used to perform functional work do not accommodate all role-players (also called actors in this study) according to their demographical needs, like language, which renders them inept to perform to their optimum level; * the primary structure of the current EED's public policy implementation model is a top-down directional structure which underscores the top-down cascading model; * current communication technology employed, do not take advantage of the 21 century‟s information computer technology in order to make the work environment more user-friendly, efficient and effective; * the simultaneous implementation of education related public policies poses a challenge to internal organisational arrangements, such as public policy implementation (PPI) structures and personnel, for effective implementation of such policies; and * the evident inadequate continuous and deliberate monitoring of implemented education related public policies. Conclusions and inferences drawn from this study suggest that the EED's current public policy implementation model is inadequate to deal with the identified challenges. Finally, this study proposes a strengthened EED public policy model, which accommodates recommendations to EED's public policy implementation challenges. Inherently, the proposed strengthened public policy implementation model is not limited to dealing with the identified challenges only, but it radically embraces the introduction of systems and internal organisational structures that promote inclusive, collaborative and traceable implementation of education related public policies. / PhD (Public Management and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

South Africa is a water-scarce country and receives less rainfall than the average rainfall of the World. As population increases, and development calls for increased allocation of ground water and surface water for the domestic, agriculture and industrial sectors, the pressure on water resources intensifies. This is exacerbated by the wastages that occur in schools and homes. Conservation of water by all consumers is essential. The study attempts to identify practices that lead to wastage of water and indicate strategies for the reduction of water wastage and conservation strategy. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Environmental Education)

The aim of this study was to investigate the causes and consequences of learner aggression in rural secondary schools in the Empangeni District of KwaZulu-Natal. The study also sought to establish the management strategies required to manage learner aggression in rural secondary schools. An in-depth literature study was conducted in this regard. A qualitative research design and methodology was adopted to investigate the phenomenon through an interview process with participants from five rural secondary schools. This study found that the causes of learner aggression were rooted in the family, the environment and the school. It was further established that the consequences of learner aggression were so serious that it resulted in victims experiencing intense fear, anxiety, tension, depression and ill-health. Furthermore, the findings of the empirical investigation concurred, to a large extent, with the findings of the literature study. Based on these findings, recommendations were made regarding the management of learner aggression in rural secondary schools. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The aim of this study was to investigate the management strategies conducive to establishing constructive discipline for optimal learning. The study represented a case study conducted in a primary school in the Empangeni district of KwaZulu-Natal. An in-depth literature study was followed by an empirical investigation based on a qualitative research design employing focus group and individual interviews. The research findings revealed that optimal learning is achieved through effective classroom management practices promoting constructive discipline. A classroom environment in which constructive discipline prevails includes the organisation of the physical environment in a functional way, the consideration of instructional strategies such as teachers being well-prepared for the lesson, as well as class routines and procedures being well communicated. Based on the findings of the empirical investigation, and concurring with the findings from literature, recommendations were made regarding classroom management strategies for constructive discipline in order to arrange for optimal learning. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and Auto-Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) have spread globally during the past twenty-eight years and 67% of people living with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa. HIV and AIDS are now the leading cause of death in this region. Worldwide, it is the fourth biggest killer. Nurses in health institutions in South Africa face challenges as result of increased number of very sick and terminally ill patients who are admitted to the hospital due to HIV and AIDS epidemics. Workloads have increased with no concomitant increase in number of staff to care for the patients. Aim: This study aims to identify dynamics of care of professional patients with HIV and AIDS by nurses and make recommendations that will deal with these problems. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted with the study population drawn from professional nurses who were involved in the care of patients with HIV and AIDS in the medical wards at Ngwelezana Hospital for at least five years. One focus group discussion was also conducted. The sample was selected purposively. Results: The study revealed many issues affecting the care nurses gave to patients with HIV and AIDS and the personal challenges (physical and emotional) they faced in the course of their work. Amongst these are contextual challenges which pertained mainly to health system issues- lack of institutional support and incentives, heavy workload with concomitant increase in number of patients attended to by nurses, training needs of nurses and multidisciplinary team work. Nurses had to deal with personal challenges such as helplessness, frustration, anger, death anxiety, physical and emotional stress. However, there were positive experiences such as empathy and self-actualisation in being able to care for terminally ill patients and seeing some of them get better with treatment. Recommendations: These include the need to address the training needs of nurses about management of HIV and AIDS, institutional support for nurses, critical incident debriefing and community awareness. / Thesis (M.Med.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

South Africa is a water-scarce country and receives less rainfall than the average rainfall of the World. As population increases, and development calls for increased allocation of ground water and surface water for the domestic, agriculture and industrial sectors, the pressure on water resources intensifies. This is exacerbated by the wastages that occur in schools and homes. Conservation of water by all consumers is essential. The study attempts to identify practices that lead to wastage of water and indicate strategies for the reduction of water wastage and conservation strategy. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Environmental Education)