Antibiotic resistance in clinical bacterial isolates remains an ongoing problem requiring continuous monitoring to effect some form of control. Comparative studies have not been previously reported for the Eastern Cape Region, South Africa and this study was undertaken to monitor resistance patterns in clinical isolates from Provincial Hospital, Port Elizabeth. Over the three year period 1989 to 1991, 9888 susceptibility results from isolates examined in the SAIMR pathology laboratory were analysed and collated using a stand-alone computer program. Resistance patterns for a range of nineteen antibiotics were collated for isolates from various sampling points within the hospital. Results were reported as resistance patterns in individually isolated species. Levels of resistance in each species were compared to those reported from South Africa and abroad, and changing patterns of resistance were noted within the three year period at the Provincial Hospital, Port Elizabeth.

The objective of this treatise study was to determine the leading causes which limit the development of SMME contractors, to ascertain the accessibility of SMME incubators available to support SMME development and to identify the cause of poor management performance by SMME contractors based in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality. A qualitative method was adopted for this study. The primary data was collected using a structured interview guide which incorporated the sub problems and the research questions. The salient findings of this study are: SMME contractors are unaware of the available business information and government support programmes designed to assist them; SMME contractors do not receive capital from banks when they don‟t have collateral; Desperation to secure projects among SMME contractors is the leading cause for under-pricing; SMME contractors are still paid later than the 30 day period for completed work; SMME owners who had started their construction companies lacked training and do not have the relevant experience and knowledge required to manage a construction company. In summary the study concluded that SMME who have access to capital have high growth prospects than those that have not. Accessibility to information and awareness of available opportunities remains significant for the growth of SMMEs. Construction related knowledge and training for SMME owners contributes vastly to the success of SMME companies. The study recommended that; Government needs to promote the accessibility of SMME incubators and ensure institutions designed to assist SMMEs with finance are accessible; The effectiveness of current development programs for small enterprises and skills development programs should be reviewed; MMBM should setup a mentoring program to help train SMME contractors theoretically and practically; NMBM local government should promote women to own SMMEs in order to close the gap of inequality in the built environment; Banks must work with government institutions to ensure that they are able to fund SMMEs.

In this treatise a SEIR model for the transmission of tuberculosis was proposed. It assumes that the latent infected individuals progress to active tuberculosis through endogenous reactivation and exogenous re-infection and that the individuals who have recovered from the disease through treatment are not immune to tuberculosis re-infection. While most features of the original model were kept, the model was modified to incorporate two control measures in the form of post-exposure tuberculosis prophylaxis for the treatment of latent individuals and tuberculosis therapeutics for the treatmentof individuals with active tuberculosis. Mathematical analysis of the modelwas done under the assumption that the two control measures are positiveconstants. The disease-free equilibrium point was locally asymptotically stable when the basic reproduction number was less than unity and unstable when this epidemic threshold exceeds unity. An optimal control problem was formulated and the necessary conditions for optimality were derived.The numerical results based on data from Port Elizabeth suggest that using both forms of control measures simultaneously is more effective in reducing the total number of infected individuals than applying single controls separately.

Grocery retailers are faced with many challenges. Among them are competition, employee theft and deviant consumer behaviour (DCB). Deviant consumer behaviour violates generally accepted norms of consumer behaviour in retail settings. There has been a lot of research conducted on DCB and different terms and phases have been used to describe the behaviour, ie “dysfunctional customer behaviour”, (Daunt and Harris, 2012), “aberrant consumer behaviour” (Fullerton and Punj, 1993) and “consumer misbehaviour” (Fullerton and Punj, 1997). However, the research conducted on how the behaviour affects retailers, particularly grocery retailers has been limited. The primary objective of this study was to examine how DCB affects grocery retailers in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. More specifically, the relationship between DCB (dependent variable) and independent variables - impact on profits (RPROF), impact on inventory (INV), impact on grocer security (SECU), impact on employees (EMPL), impact on customers (CUST) and measures to minimize or stop DCB (STOP) was established. Questionnaires were used as a measuring instrument. Out of the 100 questionnaires distributed, 70 were usable. The empirical results showed that there is a significant relationship between DCB and the independent variables. Recommendations on how best the stores can deal with DCB were made and measures to minimize or stop DCB were presented. Recommendations for future studies were also presented.

This treatise revisits the process of the implementation of the Coega Project and discusses political economic issues which emerge therein locating them in the political economic context of post-1994 South Africa. Based on an in-depth study of the “Coega Story”, and three years of observing the Coega Development Corporation engaging in the political economic space to implement the project, key themes which are relevant in understanding the nature of politics in the country are highlighted and discussed with a view to drawing lessons for future implementers of economic development projects and policy makers. Key discussions in the study include a critical analysis of the symbiotic relationship between politics and development (or broadly the economy) – where emphasis is made about the centrality of politics in implementing economic development projects; the developmental state – where key characteristics of a developmental state are highlighted; the transition from apartheid to democracy and its implications on the nature of political relations post-apartheid; industrial development as a growth strategy and the interplay of social forces in the post- 1994 political economic space. The Coega Project is located within the broader context of the ruling party seeking to advance what is called the second and, perhaps the ultimate task of the liberation struggle, socio-economic liberation. Its strategic fit in that task is discussed critically taking into account paths to industrialisation as they have been observed from Newly Industrialising Countries and South Africa’s attempts at industrialisation before and after 1994.

The aim of this study was to establish new strategies on how redeployment of teachers should be conducted and enable teachers to adapt to the redeployment process, especially in Port Elizabeth schools. This investigation was set within both qualitative a quantitative framework. Five schools where some of teachers were affected by redeployment in Port Elizabeth were investigated. Purposive sampling was used for selecting the respondents for this study and also for selecting these five schools. Questionnaires and interviews were used for the collection of data. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of redeployment of teachers in Port Elizabeth schools. The findings revealed that there is needs to upgrade the qualification of the teachers, that effective human resource planning should result in the involvement of teachers when decision making takes place, especially issues that affect them directly such as iv redeployment and that provincial Department of Education and teachers organizations like South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), National Professional Teachers Organization of South Africa (NAPTOSA), South African Teachers Union (SATU) should work closely in the area of redeployment. This topic is useful for all who are in the teaching profession, whether as redeployed teachers or as practicing professionals. A number of conclusions and recommendations, in line with the findings of the study were made. Recommendations on how redeployment of teachers could be conducted in Port Elizabeth schools were presented. An attempt has also been made to include items that are of special interest to South African teachers in general and Port Elizabeth teachers in particular.

Good discipline is one of the key characteristics of an effective school and is a vital prerequisite for a culture of learning and teaching at any school. Despite the requirement that every public school should have a code of conduct and other disciplinary policies to ensure a disciplined environment of teaching and learning, there is a perception that learner discipline at certain schools in the Northern areas of Port Elizabeth is busy eroding the fabric of effective school management. As an educator and more specifically a member of the school management team (SMT) at a Northern areas high school, I elected to investigate the role of SMTs in managing discipline at selected schools in the Northern areas of Port Elizabeth. The research question, which formed the basis of my research, was: What is the role played by SMTs of specific schools in the Northern areas of Port Elizabeth in creating a culture of discipline and order? By investigating how these SMTs cope with the challenge of managing learners’ ill-discipline, I was hoping to provide SMTs with possible solutions and/or guidelines for future use by SMTs facing similar challenges. This study chose the interpretive paradigm in which to conduct its investigation, as the aim was to understand how SMTs experience the phenomenon of school discipline at selected schools in the Northern areas of Port Elizabeth. This was done by means of qualitative research methods, which allowed me to listen to and share the experiences of SMT members in the participating schools. The sample of this investigation comprised of the SMTs of four schools in the Northern areas – three high schools and one primary school. Data were collected by getting the viewpoints of the participants by means of questionnaires as well as individual and group interviews. This data were then analyzed by highlighting significant themes resulting in the formulation of emerging themes, namely: a decline in discipline, socio-economic factors, classroom planning and school management and discipline practices. These four themes were then sub-divided into two categories each and thereafter the experiences of the participants were described in rich, thick detail. The main findings of this research focused on school discipline being the responsibility of all the relevant stakeholders of a school; finding solutions to the discipline problems should be a collective effort of SMT, educators and parents; the Department of Education (DoE) should increase its efforts to assist schools to manage discipline problems more effectively in order to create a culture of discipline and order. The findings of this study resulted in specific recommendations being formulated, e.g. the development of learners’ self-discipline should be high on the priority list of any school, educators need to be trained in effective alternatives to corporal punishment, and parents need to set standards of acceptable behaviour for their children at home, which will automatically spill over to the school. The conclusions from this research are that SMTs need to work as a team and in collaboration with other educators and parents to effectively manage discipline at their respective schools.

Pregnancy challenges the health care system in a unique way in that it involves at least two individuals – the woman and the fetus. The death rates of both pregnant women (maternal mortality) and newborns (perinatal mortality) are often used to indicate the quality of care the health system is providing. In terms of maternal and perinatal outcomes South Africa scores poorly compared to other upper-middle income countries (Penn-Kekana & Blaauw, 2002:14). The high stillbirth rate compared to the neonatal death rate reflects poor quality of antenatal care. Maternal and perinatal mortality is recognised as a problem and as a priority for action in the Millennium Development Goals (Thieren & Beusenberg, 2005:11). The Saving Mothers (Pattinson, 2002: 37-135) and Saving Babies (Pattinson, 2004:4-35) reports describe the causes and avoidable factors of these deaths with recommendations on how to improve care. The quality of care during the antenatal period may impact on the health of the pregnant woman and the outcome of the pregnancy, in particular on the still birth rate. In primary health care services there are many factors which may impact on and influence the quality of antenatal care. For example with the implementation of the comprehensive primary health care services package (Department of Health, 2001a:21-35) changes at clinic level resulted in a large number of primary health care professional nurses having to provide antenatal care, who previously may only have worked with one aspect of the primary health care package such as minor ailments or childcare. Because skills of midwifery or antenatal care, had not been practiced by some of these professional nurses, perhaps since completion of basic training, their level of competence has declined, and they have not been exposed to new developments in the field of midwifery. The practice of primary health care nurses is also influenced by the impact of diseases not specifically related to pregnancy like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. The principles of quality antenatal care are known (Chalmers et al. 2001:203) but despite the knowledge about these principles the maternal and perinatal mortality remains high. The Basic Antenatal Care quality improvement package is designed to assist clinical management and decision making in antenatal care. The implementation of the BANC package may influence the quality of antenatal care positively, which in turn may impact on the outcome of pregnancy for the mother and her baby. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Basic antenatal care (BANC) package to improve the quality of antenatal care at primary health care clinics.

The South African Department of Health, like the health departments of many other countries, has reviewed its policies to focus on the delivery of comprehensive Primary Health Care (PHC). The South African health care sector is undergoing major restructuring in an attempt to address the inadequacies resulting from the fragmentation and duplication of health services in apartheid South Africa. Following this restructuring, the decentralisation to health services has been adopted as the model for both the governance and management of health issues (Department of Health, 2002:7). Before 1994, local government health departments were rendering certain primary health care services in terms of the Health Act 63 of 1977. Post 1994, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 (Act 108 of 1996) classified primary health care as a provincial function. Based on this classification, primary health care services in South Africa are now being provided by two authorities, namely local government and provincial government, in the same community. Thus, in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality District, primary health care services are rendered by two authorities, namely the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and the Nelson Mandela Health District of the Eastern Cape Department of Health. These authorities are targeting the same community, with the same PHC package, with different sets of conditions of service, salary structures, infrastructure, accountability and authority. Such differences are believed to have impeded functional integration, depleted human resource capacity in rendering an effective and efficient PHC system and resulted in inefficient budget spending by both authorities. The problems of location, duplication and fragmentation of primary health care provision in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality District are not conducive to optimal service rendering. This will be resolved only once a unified, single integrated health service has been established. This study was undertaken to explore and describe the views of health practitioners with respect to the location of primary health care within the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality District. The research design of this study was a quantitative, explorative, descriptive survey. Healthcare practitioners, like management, doctors and nurses, were asked to respond to a structured questionnaire. The findings of the study indicate that while health practitioners may hold diverse views on where primary health care should be located, they agree that a unified, single PHC authority would be desirable. Although primary health care is a combination of task-orientated basic health services and the process of community development, it is important that the authority of choice should ensure the highest possible quality through an integrated process, taking into account local needs. The recommendations made by the researcher on the conclusion of this study cover the principles on which a successful strategy for implementing primary health care should be based, including the need to create sustainable communities. It is hoped that the recommendations offered, will contribute to the more effective and efficient implementation of comprehensive primary health care services in Nelson Mandela Bay and also elsewhere in South African local government.

This research study addresses the problem of determining the strategies that can be used by Internal Audit at Volkswagen of South Africa to manage conflict effectively. To achieve this objective a comprehensive literature study was performed to determine the views on conflict and evaluate the various conflict models. The study also included the reasons for and sources of conflict and the effects of conflict on the performance and controls within VWSA. The identification of conflict management strategies and subsequent conflict management styles were revealed by the literature study. Various discussions from different authors on how to resolve conflict situations are also discussed. The literature review serves as a model in the development of a guideline for VWSA Internal Audit team and management to manage conflict. Senior Management, middle management and staff from various departments within VWSA were requested to complete a questionnaire in order to determine the strategies and effectiveness of these strategies used by Internal Audit to manage conflict. The questionnaire was developed in accordance with the findings from the research. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the relevance of the study to the problem questions and to evaluate whether the questionnaire will be easily understood. The answers of the respondents were analyzed and compared to the findings of the literature study. The information obtained from the literature study and from the respondents resulted in various recommendations and conclusions.