Thesis (PhD (Soil Science))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

Submitted in fulfilment of the academic requirements for M-Tech in Chemical Engineering, ML Sultan Technikon, 2001. / The purpose of this investigation was to identify and then optimise the factors that affect the decolourisation during the carbonatation process. Batch carbonatation tests, carried out in a pilot plant in the laboratory, were performed to establish the effect of selected factors on the decolourisation of melt. / M

The dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important grain legume that is used for human consumption worldwide. In Africa and other parts of the World, legume diets contribute tremendously to protein and energy requirements of consumers. Dry beans provide about 16- 33% protein, dietary fibre (between 14 and 19%), starch, minerals and vitamins. Dry beans have a long storage life and can be cooked as whole grains, fried or dehulled and splitted for production of dhal and salads. There is a tremendous variability in the dry bean varieties. It is believed that consumer preferences for dry beans are influenced by factors such as seed size, seed colour, cooking time and flavour. Although, substantial research has been done on physicochemical properties, description of sensory properties that differentiate bean varieties specifically in terms of liked or disliked flavours was lacking. Sensory evaluation is one of the methods used for evaluating product quality and it can be used to describe the sensory properties of a product (i.e. descriptive sensory evaluation) and determines its acceptability by consumers (i.e. consumer acceptability or preferences). Physicochemical properties and descriptive sensory evaluation of six dry bean varieties (Jenny, Kranskop, PAN 148, AC Calmont, PAN 150 and Mkuzi) from Mpumalanga (MP) and Free State (FS) locations of South Africa were determined. Significant (p<0.05) variety, location as well as location x variety interaction effects were found for both physicochemical and sensory properties of beans. Of the six bean varieties, Jenny (FS), Mkuzi and PAN 148 (MP) beans had relatively long cooking times (>60 min) using a Mattson Bean Cooker. PAN 150 beans from both locations were described as bitter, soapy and metallic with a raw bean flavour. Mkuzi beans were mostly described as having a soapy mouthfeel. Jenny (MP), Kranskop (MP&FS) were sweet, soft and with a cooked bean flavour. Consumer sensory evaluation revealed that beans with sweet, soft and cooked bean flavours were the most preferred. Beans that took long to cook and those that were described as bitter, soapy and metallic in the mouth, received low consumer ratings on a 9-point hedonic scale. The total polyphenol content of PAN 150 (MP), along with Jenny and AC Calmont from MP was determined to find out whether the bitterness was associated with its polyphenol concentration. PAN 150 beans had the lowest concentration of total polyphenols compared to the two other varieties, suggesting that factors other than total polyphenol content caused the bitterness of these beans. A follow up investigation of mineral profiles in whole bean flour of all six bean varieties from the two locations was done to find out whether differences in mineral content e.g. iron (Fe) contributed to bitterness and metallic mouthfeel of certain beans. Results showed significant (p< 0.05) variety differences for phosphorous (P) and significant (p< 0.05) location differences for magnesium (Mn) only. Fe and copper (Cu) contents did not contribute to bitterness or metallic mouthfeel of PAN 150 beans. For maximum consumer acceptability, farmers should concentrate on the production of beans that have characteristics similar to Kranskop (MP&FS), PAN 148 (FS) and Jenny (MP) beans. As bean hardening was suspected in Jenny (FS), PAN 148 (MP) and Mkuzi (MP), the importance of storing beans at proper temperatures (e.g. less than 35ºC) and relative humidity (e.g. < 75 %) should be emphasized to minimize the development of the hard-to-cook defect over long storage periods. / Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Food Science / unrestricted

Rural agriculture in Mlondozi, as for South Africa, is has a low productivity, which is the result of poor knowledge, information, beliefs and land tenure which limits the acquiring of loans for inputs. A LandCare Project was conducted for four years. Training was in the form of farmer managed research demonstrations which included the taught Conservation agriculture farming system which they compared to the Traditional farming system. Eighteen farmers initially joined the program and their soils were monitored for four years. At the end of the project undisturbed soil samples were taken from their fields where maize was cultivated following no-till (NT) farming system, and the conventional tillage system (CT). The soils from the two farming systems were compared using a laboratory rainfall simulator for run-off, erosion and infiltration. Each storm event in the rainfall simulator lasted for a period of 110 minutes (50 rotations). There were two statistical analyses done on the results. The first was a t-test was applied to the data to test for differences between the two systems, with a sample size of 72, at 18 sights with 4 replicates, except for carbon which was 36 analyses for the 18 sights. There was a significantly higher soil loss for NT soils for storm 1, compared to the CT soil, and a non significant difference for run-off for storms 1 and 2. Infiltration was significantly lower for the NT soil for the first storm, and not significantly higher for the NT soil for the second storm. The CT soils had a significantly higher infiltration rate for the first 16 rotations. After 68 minutes (rotation 34) the NT soils infiltration rate was higher. For simulated storm 2 the CT soils had a slightly higher infiltration rate up to 32 minutes (16 rotations) where after NT soils had a higher infiltration rate. Between 48 and 80 minutes (rotations 24 and 40) the NT soils had a significantly higher infiltration rate. From the results it can be concluded that the NT soils maintained the aggregate stability far longer than the CT soils. The initial and final infiltration rates were compared for the NT and CT soils for the simulated storms 1 and 2. The CT soils’ initial and final infiltration rate was similar, while the NT soils had a higher initial and final infiltration rate for the second storm, due to the soils settling with the first storm. The results question current literature that states that sealing of soils is a permanent feature. The carbon content of the NT soils was not significantly higher than the CT soils, which corresponded with the results. / Dissertation MInst (Agrar)--University of Pretoria, 2014 / gm2015 / Plant Production and Soil Science / MInst (Agrar) / Unrestricted

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / This study focused on municipal service delivery campaigns before the advent of the integrated development planning framework. In particular, the focus was on the role played by the Masakhane campaign in improving service delivery and contributing to a better life for the community of the greater Middelburg in Mpumalanga Province. The municipality of the greater Middelburg won several awards in recognition of its achievements in the Masakhane campaign and serves as a model example for other municipalities. / South Africa

Thesis (M.A. Agricultural Management (Animal Production)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / The study was carried out to determine influence of socio-economic factors on sheep mortality and sales constraints faced by small-scale sheep farmers of Nkangala District in Mpumalanga province. A field survey was carried out in six local municipalities of Nkangala District. Individual interviews were conducted in 132 households who owned sheep using semi-structured questionnaire. Flock size ranged from 1 – 32 sheep (mean flock size was 21.1). The estimated odds ratio shows that variables such as type of sheep housing, production methods adopted by the farmers, availability of supplementary feed and accessibility of veterinary services and extension service had high probabilities of influencing both sheep mortality and sales, whereas variables such as gender and wealth status of the farmer affected sheep sales, but not significant in affecting sheep mortality. The age of the farmer and sheep breed owned by the farmer were not significant in affecting both sheep mortality and sales. About 90 % of farmers keep sheep for income generation in order to meet family expenditures. Over 70 % of male owned large proportion of sheep across all municipalities, while females and youth were less involved in sheep production across all municipalities. Natural veld was the major source of feed for sheep flocks. In general, majority of farmers sourced their breeding stock from auction while few sourced from commercial farms. About 95 % of respondents kept indigenous sheep breeds. Particular breed of sheep was kept for various reasons which included multiple births, adaptation to environment, good temperament, and good mothering ability. Undefined breeding and lambing seasons across all municipalities was common. The majority of respondents practiced extensive production system with improper sheep housing structures and were more likely to experience feed shortage, high percentage of sheep mortality and low sheep v sales. Low income, inadequate access to veterinary and advisory services affected most of sheep producers and as a result, farmers were not able to provide supplementary feeds and medication for their animals to enhance profitability. Diseases and feed shortage contributed to sheep mortality and low sheep sales. As a result, less number and poor quality of sheep were produced. Lack of financial support and distance to market had negative effect on sales and mortality of sheep on small scale sheep producers. It was concluded that government should strengthen accessibility of veterinary and advisory services by small scale sheep producers, initiate accessible credit schemes and arrange accessible markets for these farmers to ensure sustainable sheep farming.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017. / The purpose of this study was to assess and reflect on the perceptions of educators towards the implementation of an Integrated Quality Management System in the White Hazy Circuit, Mpumalanga Province. The IQMS is a clear reaction to the autocratic mode of evaluation that operated during the Apartheid era and is a major shift from the old paradigm of external evaluators. The new paradigm calls for a joint collaboration between schools, districts and supervisory unit with the main aim to enhance the quality of education in South Africa. The researcher used quantitative method for this study. In its quantitative approach the study was to describe, analyse and interpret the data to determine if there were any negative perceptions among White Hazy educators about IQMS implementation. The reason to use this approach was to obtain the detailed descriptions of the information required for the study. Secondly results are based on objective method which can be expressed in a specific management technology. Data collection was done using structured questionnaires (N = 97). Respondents of all post level in the teaching profession participated. The participants were selected randomly to give equal participation of all respondents from 16 selected schools. The participants come from both primary and secondary schools. The study highlighted that compliance, lack of training, shifting of responsibility to one another and insufficient time for development play a significant role in IQMS implementation. The findings revealed that the IQMS Policy is implemented in schools. However, there are some areas where there is a lack of school based teacher development to some schools and there is no consistency in the implementation which affected teacher performance and learner performance. The results which arose from the study suggested the following recommendations: quarterly training to enhance service delivery and the reviewing of the current policy to cover trends of contemporary conditions in schools and to capacitate school management teams to become effective in the IQMS implementation.

The WHO member countries undertook to eliminate poliomyelitis globally by the year 2000. Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance finds paralytic cases of polio so that swift action can be taken and shows that wild poliovirus has been eliminated when polio cases no longer occur. Mpumalanga Province, a rural province in the north-east of South Africa, developed a rapid reporting system where infection control nurses at the public and private sector hospitals report weekly to the AFP surveillance Officer, including zero reporting, on 9 infectious disease syndromes that require rapid action on clinical presentation alone. This system was implemented in 1998 and included AFP. The non-polio AFP reporting rate increased from 0.37 in 1997 to 0.55 during 1998 with more than 80% of the units reporting weekly. The binomial exact confidence intervals however include 1. A hospital record review of all paediatric admissions revealed that only 2 AFP cases were missed by the system. The AFP reporting rate remains below the international standard of 1 per 100 000 children under 15 years of age despite an adequate reporting system. The role of chance variation, particularly in small geographical areas, has not been discussed in official polio-eradication guidelines but it is . imperative that population size be taken into account when judging the rate of AFP case detection. With the low international reference rate and play of chance variation it is possible that regions with relatively small populations, low non-polio AFP detection rates and no cases of polio detected for an extended period may have adequate surveillance systems supporting polio free certification. In these areas additional criteria for determining the adequacy of the surveillance system should also be considered. / Dissertation (MMed)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH) / Unrestricted

The dissertation focuses on water, which has become the focal point of global debate today among nations. This is due to ever-increasing population and the insatiable consumer demands that the market makes on humanity, putting heavy stress on natural resources, especially water. Since the 1980s, rich countries and the institutions they control, i.e. the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been forcing poor countries to implement policies and sign agreements that do them more harm than good (i.e. privatization of state assets such as water). The debt crisis drove many poor countries into structural adjustment programs as a condition for receiving IMF and World Bank aid. These programs, under various names, contain policies that compel vulnerable countries to expose their social services to competition with big profit making corporations. Through persuasion, threats, bullying and conditions attached to loans and aid, poor countries have been forced to: <ul> <li>Open their markets in order to subsidize exports from rich countries.</li> <li>Stop prioritising domestic producers.</li> <li>Divert development efforts away from local food markets, and</li> <li>Privatize essential services such as water system, electricity etc.</li></ul> These debt relief conditions and trade agreements are focused solely on making profit and not on improving the livelihood and welfare of the poor. The theory that the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO put forward is that increased trade will automatically be equal to improved welfare. This equality has not worked in practice as Raj Patel in a more or harsher description, that structural adjustment and other trade related policies could also be seen as a “weapon of mass destruction” (Znet, November 28, 2000). The author concurs with Patel’s view, as according to UNICEF, over 500,000 children under the age of five died each year in Africa and Latin America in the late 1980s as a direct result of the debt crisis and its management under the International Monetary Fund’s structural adjustments programs. These programs required the abolition of price supports on essential food-stuffs, steed reductions in spending on health, education, and other social services, and increases in taxes. The debt crisis has never been resolved for much of Sub-Saharan Africa. Extrapolating from the UNICEF data, as many as 5,000,000 children and vulnerable adults may have lost their lives in this blighted continent as a result of the debt crunch (World Policy Journal, Volume XIX, No.4, Winter 2002/03). Privatization and commodification of water system is the order of the day in many developing countries. It has raised survival issues for the poor and the marginalized, causing problems such as scarcity of safe drinking water, pollution of water and soil, and destruction of agricultural sectors in other parts of developing countries. This dissertation emphasizes that all people have internationally accepted rights to water “all peoples, whatever their stage of development and their social and economic conditions, have the right to have access to drinking water in quantities and of a quality equal to their basic needs” (United Nations 1977). This right is being violated for millions of people around the globe, particularly in developing countries such as Africa, Asia and Latin America. This dissertation reminds the church leadership, members of faith communities and all relevant stakeholders of their responsibilities to God-given gift of water. Both the Old and New Testament understanding of justice as taking the side of the poor and oppressed, and also seeking to compel us to action, i.e. to address the exploitative and oppressive systems that seek to hold the poor and their oppressive structures. We are inspired to strive for justice, each in our own place and according to our separate gifts. We are called to the struggle to make trade a means of sharing the bounty of the earth and the fruits of human labor, and to ensure that people’s rights to water is fully respected. The dissertation emphasizes that “water” is the source of life, a gift of nature and that it belongs to all living beings and the rest of creation. God who is the creator gives this right to everyone. It is not a private property but a common resource for the sustenance of all members of plant and animal kingdoms. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

No abstract available Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Plant Science / unrestricted