Thesis (M.Sc. (Statistics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / Malaria is a mosquito borne disease, a major cause of human morbidity and mortality in most of the developing countries in Africa. South Africa is one of the countries with high risk of malaria transmission, with many cases reported in Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. Bayesian and classical methods of estimation have been applied and compared on the effect of climatic factors (rainfall, temperature, normalised difference vegetation index, and elevation) on malaria incidence. Credible and confidence intervals from a negative binomial model estimated via Bayesian estimation-Markov chain Monte Carlo process and maximum likelihood, respectively, were utilised in the comparison process. Bayesian methods appeared to be better than the classical method in analysing malaria incidence in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The classical framework identified rainfall and temperature during the night to be the significant predictors of malaria incidence in Mopani, Vhembe and Waterberg districts of Limpopo province. However, the Bayesian method identified rainfall, normalised difference vegetation index, elevation, temperature during the day and temperature during the night to be the significant predictors of malaria incidence in Mopani, Sekhukhune, Vhembe and Waterberg districts of Limpopo province. Both methods also affirmed that Vhembe district is more susceptible to malaria incidence, followed by Mopani district. We recommend that the Department of Health and Malaria Control Programme of South Africa allocate more resources for malaria control, prevention and elimination to Vhembe and Mopani districts of Limpopo province. Future research may involve studies on the methods to select the best prior distributions. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

Thesis (MPAM.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The study investigated the challenges faced by CoGHSTA department in records management and disposal with the sole purpose of developing some mechanisms to address the above-mentioned challenges. The study was conducted at CoGHSTA in Limpopo Province. The overall challenges faced in both records management and disposal are discussed. Data was collected from various sources e.g., primary, and secondary sources of data. Literature written by different authors – from international, national, and provincial contexts - namely government legislations, books, journals, websites office records such as procedure manuals and service standards, was investigated, to explore the topic under study. The population for this study was all 21-records management staff within the two divisions of the Information management unit such as general records and human resource records. The study employed a qualitative research approach that relies on phenomenology because the researcher intends to find out what challenges are faced by CoGHSTA records management staff on records management and disposal. The study adopted purposive sampling because its respondents have the characteristics and knowledge to answer the research problem of this study. For this study, data were collected from 17 participants using semi-structured interviews. The study findings revealed the following as major challenges faced in records management: Lack of resources - human and financial; lack of storage facilities; lack of Senior Management support. The following were raised as challenges experienced on the disposal of records: delay in the approval of memo(s) for disposal of records by the Head of Department; delay by the Provincial Archives to give authority to dispose of records; lack of storage facilities for active and inactive records and shortage of staff to arrange records for disposal. It is out of those findings that the study proposed several recommendations which included the need to implement records management policies, standards, guidelines, and procedures. The study recommended that the records management unit be allocated sufficient resources (human and financial) as other units that the department of strategic business deems to be performing the department’s (CoGHSTA) core functions. This is because the records management unit equally plays a key role in the management of the records from various CoGHSTA units which are regarded as core units. It is also recommended that the allocation of storage facilities that meet the records storage xi facilities standard be prioritised and attended to as a matter of urgency because the records management unit could function effectively and efficiently without such an important infrastructure. The study deems it necessary for the Head of Department as the Accounting Officer to delegate - in writing - the authority to the Records Manager or his/her supervisor to sign and approve the memorandum for disposal of records after a thorough appraisal of such records is done by the records staff to avoid the delays that are experienced during the approval of the memorandums. The study further recommends that the Provincial Archives have three (3) to four (4) employees amongst its staff establishment dedicated to each government department dealing with all records management issues including an appraisal of records to address the delay by the Provincial Archives when authorising the disposal of records.

The aim of the study was to describe the helminth parasites of the common game species in the Limpopo Province, focusing on the northern and western parts where the climate is harsh and dry, with a large area considered to be semi-arid. In total 36 animals were examined which included ten impala, Aepyceros melampus, eight kudu, Tragelaphus strepsiceros, four blue wildebeest, Connochaetes taurinus, two black wildebeest, Connochaetes gnou, three gemsbok, Oryx gazelle, one nyala, Tragelaphus angasii, one bushbuck, Tragelaphus scriptus and one waterbuck, Kobus ellipsiprymnus, as well as six warthogs, Phacochoerus aethiopicus, and a single bushpig, Potamochoerus porcus. New host records for species include Trichostrongylus deflexus in the blue wildebeest, Agriostomum gorgonis in the black wildebeest, Stilesia globipunctata in the waterbuck, and Fasciola hepatica in the kudu. The only known zoonotic helminth recovered was one hydatid cyst of an Echinococcus sp. from the lungs of a warthog. The total burdens and species variation of the helminths in this study were all consistently low compared to other studies done in areas with higher rainfall. This has practical implications when animals are translocated to areas with higher rainfall and higher prevalence of helminths. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Veterinary Tropical Diseases / unrestricted

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Many countries in sub-Sahara African region are characterised by crystalline basement aquifers where groundwater explorations are often described as complex. This is because groundwater availability in such aquifers is largely a consequence of the interaction of several processes related to groundwater process [recharge-flow-discharge process], underlying geological features and fracture connectivity of the aquifer rock matrix. At a local scale, crystalline basement aquifers are heterogeneous and anisotropic due to fractures, geological structures and discontinuities including varying hydraulic characteristics which need to be understood. The lack of detailed investigations of site-specific conditions to assess influence on groundwater recharge process limits implementation of initiatives for groundwater abstraction that supports environment and socio-economic projects. / 2023

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Wetlands are highly productive systems that act as habitats for a variety of flora and fauna. Despite their ecohydrological significance, wetland ecosystems are under severe threat as a result of environmental changes (e.g. the changing temperature and rainfall), as well as pressure from anthropogenic land use activities (e.g. agriculture, rural-urban development and dam construction). Such changes result in severe disturbances in the hydrology, plant species composition, spatial distribution, productivity and diversity of wetlands, as well as their ability to offer critical ecosystem goods and services. However, wetland degradation varies considerably from place to place, with severe degradation occurring particularly in developing regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa, where Land Use and Land Cover changes impact on wetland ecosystems by affecting the diversity of plant species, productivity, as well as the wetland hydrology.

Masters of Commerce / From 194 7-1994, South Africans were ruled under apartheid - a racially discriminatory political and economic system. As the name itself implies, apartheid is an Afrikaans name meaning "apartness". The provision of education in South Africa during this regime was poor, particularly for the African (black) population and most especially those living in homelands. This led to under-investment in human capital development particularly in the rural areas which resulted in, low levels of skills that have persisted till today. This has hindered those lacking the required skills to obtain lucrative employment and earning prospects. This study aims at investigating the impact of a household head's educational attainment level on the poverty status of the household in South Africa with case study of Limpopo province.

Student Number : 9511039F - MSc Dissertation - School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences - Faculty of Science / An estimated 91 % of South Africa’s total land area is considered dryland and susceptible to desertification. In response, South Africa has prepared a National Action Programme to combat land degradation, and this requires assessment and monitoring to be conducted in a systematic, cost effective, objective, timely and geographically-accurate way. Despite a perception-based assessment of land degradation conducted in 1999, and a land-cover mapping exercise conducted for 2000/2001, there are few national scientifically rigorous degradation monitoring activities being undertaken, due largely to a lack of objective, quantitative methods for use in large-scale assessments. This study therefore tests a satellitederived index of degradation for the Limpopo Province in South Africa, which is perceived to be one of the most degraded provinces in the country. The long-term average maximum normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), calculated from a time series (1985-2004) of NOAA AVHRR satellite images, as a proxy for vegetation productivity, was related to water balance datasets of mean annual precipitation (MAP) and growth days index (GDI), using both linear and non-linear functions. Although the linear regressions were highly significant (p<0.005), a non-linear four parameter Gompertz curve was shown to fit the data more accurately. The curve explained only a little of the variance in the data in the relationship between NDVI and GDI, and so GDI was excluded from further analysis. All pixels that fell below a range of threshold standard deviations less than the fitted curve were deemed to represent degraded areas, where productivity was less than the predicted value. The results were compared qualitatively to existing spatial datasets. A large proportion of the degraded areas that were mapped using the approach outlined above occurred on areas of untransformed savanna and dryland cultivation. However the optical properties of dark igneous derived soils with high proportions of smectitic minerals and therefore low reflectance, were shown to lower NDVI values substantially. Overall, there was an acceptable agreement between the mapped degradation and the validation datasets. While further refinement of the methodology is necessary, including a rigorous field-based resource condition assessment for validation purposes, and research into the biophysical effects on the NDVI values, the methodology shows promise for regional assessment in South Africa.

Thesis (MDev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2007 / Refer to document

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Thesis (M. Sc. (Medical Sciences)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Background: This study was designed to determine the relationship of immunohistochemical subtypes of breast cancer and clinicopathological features and demographic information in Limpopo since there has been no data published on the association of immunohistochemical subtypes, clinicopathological features and demographic characteristics in recent years. Methods: Data was obtained from records of patients diagnosed with breast cancer between 2015 and 2020. Chi-Square and ANOVA tests were performed, and results considered significant at p ≤ 0.05. Results: The mean age was 50.32 ± 11.40, estrogen receptor positive(ER+), progesterone receptor positive(PR+) and human epidermal growth receptor 2 positive(HER2+) prevalence were 73.5%, 62.3% and 26.5% respectively. More than half of the patients (54.3%) had a Ki-67 level >15%. Grade II tumors were the predominant type of tumors in this study (51.7%). 43.7% of the cases showed lymph node involvement. Luminal B subtype was the most predominant immunohistochemical subtype in the study (46.4%), followed by Luminal A (24.5 %), TNBC (19.9%) and HER2- enriched (6.6%). 2.6 % of the cases were classified as undetermined. Conclusion: A significant association was observed between immunohistochemical subtypes and tumor grade