South Africa is not well-endowed with indigenous forests and those that remain are known to be degraded and declining at an alarming rate. This constitutes a direct threat to the quality of life of the resource-poor rural households which are directly dependent on the resources indigenous forests offer, as well as to ecological integrity. It is also recognised that the declining tree resources, particularly the indigenous tree species of high value, are increasingly threatened by a number of growing subsistence demands. This emphasises the need to establish, cultivate and conserve high-value tree species. Community forestry is recognised as a viable option for optimising land productivity; reducing pressure on indigenous forests and woodlands; ensuring a sustainable supply of desired tree products and services; and improving the quality of life of the resource-poor rural households. The primary purpose of Community Forestry Development (CFD) in the Hlabisa District is the provision of an information service and of technical support to enhance the livelihoods of rural communities by means of tree-related resources. Community forestry mainly focuses on tree resources that form an integral part of or contribute to rural people’s livelihoods. This includes small-scale growers (woodlots), woodlands and indigenous forests. Community forestry can be defined as tree growing and managed by the people for the people. Community forestry encompasses a wide range of activities which include farm forestry, agroforestry, village planting, woodlots, woodland management and indigenous-forest management by rural people, as well as tree planting in urban and peri-urban areas. Natural forests in South Africa account for less than 1 percent of the total land area. It has been suggested that these natural forests will no longer be able to meet the demand for forest products by 2020. The KwaZulu Department of Agriculture and Forestry embarked on community forestry in 1976 (but only on an ad hoc basis) as a possible solution to this dilemma. Later, the two South African pulp and paper giants, SAPPI and Mondi, started the Project Grow and Khulanathi Schemes respectively. One of the objectives of out-grower schemes was to encourage rural communities to plant trees on their own lands for the economic, social and environmental benefits trees offer. For example, timber could be sold to forestry companies. Financial assistance was offered to these communities to encourage implementation of such schemes. This exercise was aimed at bringing economic activity, capacity- building and community empowerment to the rural areas. The growers would benefit from the financial assistance and the readily available market provided by the company, while the company would be able to satisfy its demand for timber.

This study formed part of a larger provincial marine systematic conservation plan for KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, called SeaPLAN. Owing to budget and time constraints, not all ± 1640 fish species that occur in the region were considered. A method to prioritise species was therefore developed to identify those species which were most at most risk of being excluded by a conservation plan based primarily on habitat representation (i.e. SeaPLAN). The method was based on three underlying principles: (i) species with limited conservation options; (ii) threatened species; and (iii) inherently vulnerable species. From these three principles, seven criteria were defined (e.g. endemic or rare species). Sixtyseven species met the qualifying conditions for these criteria and were consequently included in this study (FishPLAN). In order to map the distributions of these 67 fish species, the spatial and temporal accuracy of existing marine fish data for KZN was investigated. Only 17 percent of the data evaluated met the spatial resolution requirements of 1 km2, while temporal resolution was high: >99 percent of the data were collected at daily resolution. A resulting recommendation is that future data collection employ handheld data recording devices (with GPS capability), in order to increase the spatial accuracy of data, minimise human error and improve the efficiency of data flow. Species life cycle envelopes (SLICES) were developed to capture spatial differences in areas occupied during three life-cycle phases (reproductive, juvenile and feeding). Two distribution modelling techniques were used: Maxent, which uses quantitative data, and CHARMS (cartographic habitat association range models), which uses qualitative range data. A combination of statistical and biological criteria was used to determine the most informative and appropriate model for each species. Species distribution models (SDMs) were constructed for three temporal partitions of the data: annual, summer and winter. Patterns of species richness developed from the seasonal models showed seasonal differences in patterns that conformed to known seasonal distributions of fish assemblages: richness was higher in southern KZN during winter, while it was higher in northern KZN during summer. The resulting SDMs were used to develop a conservation plan for fish: conservation targets were set using the minimum recommended baseline of 20 percent of a species’ range, to which biological retention targets (additional proportion of the range) were added, in an attempt to ensure species persistence. The conservation targets were then adjusted using catch per unit effort (CPUE) data to match seasonal abundance of a given species. Within the existing network of marine protected areas (MPAs), none of the species’ targets are met by MPA sanctuary zones (zone As) alone, and all species require greater areas of protection. Three areas, namely offshore of the Tugela River mouth, the reefs offshore of Durban, and Aliwal Shoal, were consistently identified as being important in addition to existing MPAs for conservation of the fish species investigated. The greater efficiency of a seasonal MPA network to protect seasonally varying distributions of biodiversity, suggests that this may be a useful tool to consider in conservation management. The outcome of a conservation plan from this study (FishPLAN) was finally compared with the broader, more inclusive conservation plan, SeaPLAN. This comparison demonstrated how conservation plans based on a single group of species run the risk of identifying areas that are appropriate only for the relevant species, and might fail to conserve biodiversity as a whole.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Master of Applied Science in Food and Nutrition, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Background: The occurrence of absenteeism observed at the Coastal KZN FET College is very large. However, absenteeism of this magnitude is not inconsistent with observations from other educational institutions and work places around the world. Generally, absenteeism is coupled to the absence of good health, the presence of one or more non-communicable disease and the paucity of physical exercise undertaken by the personnel. Absenteeism in the work place results in avoidable financial costs to the employer, the employee, and the country as a whole. The wealth of literature shows that health concerns concerning adults are diet related. Diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, obesity, cancer and other non-communicable diseases (NCD’s) are increasing at an alarming rate, daily. A double-burden plagues South Africa: on the one hand there is over-nutrition (an excessive consumption of nutrients); while on the other there is under-nutrition (an insufficient intake of nutrients by certain groups of individuals). Factors such as urbanisation, globalisation, physical inactivity and consumer financial buying power have a significant influence on these health concerns. Aim: The data gathered in this study will be used to develop nutrition wellness education material as a component of a wellness programme for staff members at the Swinton Campus of the KZN Coastal FET College in Mobeni. Methodology: A needs analysis was undertaken to determine whether nutrition wellness education material as a component of a wellness programme for the institution was appropriate. Three 24-hour recall questionnaires gathered from the staff, data on eating habits and nutrient intake were undertaken/collected. A food frequency questionnaire collected data on the frequency and variety of foods eaten. A health questionnaire gathered data on self-reported illnesses, consumption of alcohol, and smoking habits. The demographics of the group, living conditions, and amount of money earned and spent on food was assessed through a socio-demographic questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements assessed included blood pressure, waist circumference, BMI and Waist-to-height-ratio (WHtR). Results: The sample consisted of 138 participants of which 44% (n=61) were men and 56% (n=77) were women. Less than 50% of the respondents were food secure: only 65 persons (47.1%) in the sample always had money to purchase food. In this group 63.93% of the men and 71.43% of the woman were obese. Subsequently 86% of the women exceeded the waist cut-off point of 88cm while 16.39% of the men were above the 102cm cut-off point. Findings revealed that 42.62% of the men and 25.9% of the women had pre-hypertension while 8.20% of the men and 5.90% of the women were hypertensive. This study indicated that this group was nutrient deficient. The fruit and vegetable intake was between 134.44g - 175.69g per day for men and 124.00g - 183.30g per day for women. Energy, dietary fibre, vitamin A, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium and iodine were below the nutrient adequacy ratio. There were positive correlations between age and systolic blood pressure, waist circumference and systolic blood pressure, waist circumference and diastolic blood pressure and waist-to-height ratio and BMI. Conclusion: Central obesity and to a lesser extent hypertension as well as deficiencies in nutrients and minerals were present in this group. Although the participants indicated a good variety of food, the quality and quantities consumed were not adequate. A link between diet, physical activity and diseases of lifestyle has been demonstrated. A need for nutrition education as a component of the wellness programme is indicated. Nutrition education is important both within and outside the workplace. To make lifestyle changes it is essential that education and knowledge is made available. Behavioural habits including eating habits are principally learnt. If bad behaviour habits can be learnt, good behaviour habits can also be instilled. The proposed intervention is aimed at reducing the incidence of absenteeism and decreasing the presence of non-communicable diseases. It is important for staff members at a FET college to be present in the classroom so that education of quality can be conveyed to learners. Further, the good health of staff members facilitates the ability of teachers to perform their important task of educating young minds at all educational institutions. / M

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Applied Science in Food and Nutrition, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / There is a lack of information and research on nutrition content in the curriculum for learners at the secondary school level. While nutrition content is addressed in the curriculum for Grades 8 and 9 in Natural Science, Social Science and Life Orientation, not all aspects of nutrition education are included. In Grades 10 to 12, nutrition content exists in Life Orientation, Agricultural Science, Agricultural Technology, Design Studies, Civil Technology, Electrical Technology, Mechanical Technology, Dance Studies, Information Technology, Consumer Studies and Hospitality Studies, however, not all learners are exposed to the learning areas that contain nutrition content. An important consequence of this lack of exposure to information on nutrition content is that learners who leave school after Grade 12 with inadequate nutrition knowledge potentially become adults who suffer from lifestyle diseases. This study focused on the nutrition content in the curriculum in Grades 8–12 in Kwa-Zulu-Natal in order to: evaluate the content in the curriculum referring to nutrition and to analyse the critical and developmental outcomes of nutrition education;. assess the nutrition knowledge of learners in Grades 8–12 in the Durban Central area (for the purpose of following a healthy lifestyle); determine the views of educators on the inclusion of nutrition content in the curriculum; highlight the importance of applying nutrition content in the curriculum to educate learners on disease prevention and good eating habits. The design of the study was evaluative, analytical and descriptive, and adopted both the quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The purposive sampling method was utilised for the selection of sample. The study was located in Central Durban and the sample comprised of boys and girls in Grades eight–12 at Durban High School and Ridge Park College, respectively. The sample included 343 boys and 360 girls who participated in the study. In order to establish the views of educators who teach nutrition knowledge in the curriculum, the study also included 134 educators purposively selected from 15 schools in the Umlazi District in KwaZulu-Natal. Two sets of instruments were used for data collection. The Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (NKQ)(previously developed) was used to determine the nutrition knowledge of learners in Grades eight–12 and across genders in both schools. An Educator Questionnaire (EQ) (developed for the study) on the learning areas that contained nutrition content was utilised to measure the extent to which the educators teaching those learning areas completed the curriculum content on nutrition. The Educator Questionnaire was used to ascertain the educators’ views on the importance of nutrition knowledge. The results of the research showed that the content dealing with nutrition in the school curriculum for Grades eight–12 was inadequate in certain learning areas to adequately educate learners on nutrition for the purpose of following a healthy lifestyle. The compulsory learning areas that contain aspects of nutrition knowledge were Life Orientation, Natural Science and Social Science for Grades eight and nine. In Grades10 to 12, Life Orientation is the only compulsory learning area that contains aspects of nutrition knowledge content. Nutrition knowledge investigation showed that learners are not adequately prepared in respect of all aspects of nutrition knowledge when they leave school at the end of Grade 12. The curriculum analysis of the learning areas in Grades 10 to 12 showed that the learning areas that contain nutrition knowledge are specialist learning areas not offered at all schools in the Durban Central area. The Educator Questionnaires showed that learning areas that include nutrition content in Grades 10 to 12 are not offered at all schools, thus probably negatively impacting on the learners’ level of nutrition content. The results of the Educator Questionnaire reinforced the notion that the curriculum for nutrition education was inadequate. The research concluded that the curriculum does not prepare learners adequately in respect of all areas of nutrition knowledge to enable them to follow healthy lifestyles. The results revealed that there is a correlation between the nutrition knowledge of learners and certain nutrition education aspects in the curriculum. Such results showed that the total mean scores for all the Food Based Dietary Guidelines ranged from 62.0% as the lowest, to the highest total mean score of 72.0%. However, the scores are low in critical areas of nutrition knowledge when individual scores are taken into consideration. An important consequence is that learners who leave school at the end of Grade 12 with inadequate nutritional knowledge become adults with the potential to suffer from lifestyle diseases. It is recommended that a compulsory learning area for all grades that deals exclusively with health, physical education and nutrition be introduced into the curriculum to assist learners to follow healthy lifestyles during and after school. / M

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Zululand, 1993. / This research is concerned with the lack of specialised training in School Management for Principals under KwaZulu Department of Education and Culture. Central to this argument, is the fact that Principals are merely accorded a new status and role without the necessary training to bring about school effectiveness. Principalship today is very difficult in Black education. A Principal grapples with much more complex problems which call for a new emphasis in developing management competence, skills, abilities and knowledge. Many Principals have had to pick up much of their expertise whilst performing the job. The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate and assess the 'INSET' programmes on school management in KwaZulu. Very important questions concerning the relevance of training, aims, content and methods were raised. A questionnaire was administered to 85 Principals of Senior Secondary Schools out of 115 targeted Principals drawn from 4 Regions of K.D.E.C., namely, South Coast, Midlands, Zululand and Northern Natal. In each region, two Circuits were selected and questionnaires were sent to all Principals. After data analysis of the Principals' questionnaire, it became necessary to send another questionnaire (different in nature) to 7 Directors or Co-ordinators of Non-Governmental Organisations identified in the Principals' questionnaire as being responsible for running 'INSET' programmes on management. The major findings that emerged from this study were:- - the need to provide continuous In-Service training on school management not only by Non-Governmental Organisations but also K.D.E.C. itself. - the need for K.D.E.C. to exercise control and guidance on Non-Governmental Organisations. Too many of them operate in KwaZulu in an unco-ordinated manner and this leads to duplication of the same programmes with varying approaches. The underlying problem was found to be the absence of a clearly-defined policy regarding In-Service training by K.D.E.C. - the existing 'INSET' activity on management by Non-Governmental Organisations was found to be directed mainly to Principals. Deputy-Principals and Heads of Departments had been ignored. It was only in 1991 that K.D.E.C. made an attempt to train some newly appointed Deputy-Principals whilst many still got promoted without any training. H.O.D's were found to have been completely ignored. - school principals would like to become involved in the planning, organisation and running of their In-Service training. The pattern of relying on the consultants from outside the profession, largely ignores the fact that some Principals are often experienced people with as much to offer as to receive. The study concludes with several recommendations, the most important ones being: - the formulation of a policy by K.D.E.C. based on a well-defined philosophy of management training. This can be achieved by establishing a fully-fledged section at Head Office to co-ordinate In-Service training to school principals rather than leaving it to Non-Governmental Organisations. These should undertake non-directive roles. In-Service training on school management should be for all levels of our system of education i.e. Lower Primary, Higher Primary, Secondary and Senior Secondary. The establishment of a Section at Head Office could easily co-ordinate and render such training. necessity for constant evaluation of all 'INSET' management programmes to ensure relevance.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Educational Management and Planning) in the Department of Educational Planning & Administration University of Zululand, 1999. / his study was undertaken in order to determine the effectiveness of the administrative and leadership roles of secondary school principals in the Durban South Region, and to investigate the challenges that are encountered by principals as secondary school administrators and leaders. The research highlights a distinction and overlap between administration and leadership. It examines the role of a principal as an administrator and leader in different areas of operation in the school, such as curricula and teaching. With regard to administration, the research investigates the role of a principal in areas such as planning, organizing and control. It points out how the role of a principal as a leader interacts with her/his administrative role. Regarding leadership, the study reviews literature on the principal's role, in areas such as vision building and policy formulation, as well as teaching and curriculum management. The study demonstrates that principalship entails the application of conceptual, technical and human relations skills. It shows how these skills are interwoven in both school administration and leadership. From the review of literature on school administration and leadership, the study provides a comprehensive exposition of what principalship entails, especially as far as curricula management, visioning and strategy formulation, is concerned. Against this background, the study evaluates the role of the principals in secondary schools in the Durban South Region of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. On the basis of empirical work, the study makes recommendations regarding the role of principals. The recommendations made are a contribution towards transforming schools and leading them in a process which can truly enhance teacher effectiveness and create a culture which can foster the education of learners.

Bibliography: leaves 105-111. / The study set out to establish the extent to which the needs of Community's were taken into consideration in the formulation of Social Welfare Policy. The Structure in the Government service is such that Policy's are formulated by top management. Top management in the Government Service is constituted by the Ministry. When the KwaZulu Legislative Assembly sits the Minister at one of these sessions delivers the policy speech. This policy is disseminated to the Community through the Department's Secretary by the Civil Servants. As Social Workers are concerned in their delivery of Social Welfare Services about minimising problematic situations, the study will examine the role played by Social Workers in the formulation of Social Welfare Policy. The involvement of Social Workers in policy formulation is seen as a helpful tool in enabling them to play the advocacy role. Their contribution would enable the policy formulation to have an idea about issues that policy must address.

The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the lived experiences of neophyte professional nurses working in ICU during their first year post graduation with the aim to discover strategies to support the nurse in critical care unit. An explorative, descriptive, interpretative qualitative design was conducted to uncover the nurse’s experiences. A purposive sampling was used which is based on belief that the researcher’s knowledge about the population can be used to hand pick sample elements. Data was collected through in-depth unstructured interviews and written narratives. Collaizi’s method of data analysis was used. The study findings revealed that neophyte professional nurses experienced difficulties and challenges in adjusting to the unit because of lack of mentors emanating from the shortage of staff. Nurses experienced mixed feelings regarding the relationship with colleagues in terms of support received. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Department of Advanced Nursing Science / PhDH / Background: Despite measures to curb unwanted pregnancies and to sustain and expand abortion services, a high number of complications and deaths still occur. The failure of these measures is evidenced by the high number of women who are admitted to the public hospitals of KwaZulu-Natal Province with complications from induced abortions. KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health has repositioned Family Planning to a key priority in its health program in order to improve the situation for women. However, in order to improve the situation, it is necessary to understand the underlying causes. This study sought to identify challenges that affect women's access to Post Abortion Care (PAC) services in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. It also sought to shed light on the challenges faced by those who render PAC services, as well as assess the skills of those workers as observed while they provided PAC services. After conducting the research on challenges related to access and rendering of post abortion care services, the researcher identified a need to develop guidelines for management of unsafe and induced abortion complications, with the aim to improve the life expectancy of women and prevent maternal deaths. Therefore, an outcome of the study was the development of a PAC management guideline. Purpose: The purpose of the study was two-fold: Phase 1: to explore the challenges faced by women when accessing PAC, and the health care workers who render PAC services, and to assess the PAC skills of the health care workers; Phase 2: to use the findings of Phase 1 to develop guidelines for post abortion care management at selected Hospitals of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Methods: The design of the study was guided by the Andersen model of Health Care Utilization. The model focuses on the contextual factors - enabling factors, predisposing factors and need factors - that influence the individual's utilization of health care services. Five districts of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa were selected for the study. A convergent parallel mixed method was used to collect and interpret the data. A qualitative study was used to explore perceptions and challenges of women when accessing PAC; this was carried out by means of in-depth interviews with 23 women who accessed PAC services. Five Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were carried out with 50 health care workers to explore the challenges they experienced when managing abortion complications. A quantitative approach was used for direct skills observation of 92 health care workers. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data; descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data. Results: From the in-depth interview data, several main themes were identified. Women who accessed PAC identified a lack of facilities that offered PAC service, distance from the community to the hospital that provided PAC service, lack of transport, shortage of staff, unskilled staff, shortage of equipment, long waiting queues, stigma and discrimination as challenges associated with delay or avoidance of access to post abortion care services. The main themes raised by the health care providers were lack of support from the management, shortage of staff, lack of training, burnout, unavailability of the guidelines or protocols and shortage of equipment. The quality of PAC services was perceived as poor by both the women seeking care and the health care workers. The main concerns raised by the women were lack of respect, lack of privacy, sharing of bed and insufficient time with the health care provider. The results confirmed that guidelines are needed for the management of post abortion care services. The findings from the qualitative and quantitative parts of the study were used by an expert group to develop PAC management guidelines. The development of the guidelines was in accordance with the WHO models, PICOS & GRADES. The guidelines were validated by the group using a close-ended checklist, analysed with simple descriptive statistics. Conclusion: This study concludes that access to comprehensive quality post abortion care must be provided for all women at times of need. Quality PAC services should be rendered by skilled health care workers in a facility which is accessible and well equipped with functional equipments and updated guidelines. Recommendations: The study therefore recommends that measures should be taken to ensure the provision of quality PAC services. The PAC services should be accessible with the increased number of facilities, adequate trained health care workers with functional equipment and guidelines. Health care workers must receive training and management support to enhance quality PAC services. Privacy and respect must be maintained during provision of PAC services to ensure quality of care and increase demand. There must be continuous community awareness about PAC services which will encourage early-seeking behavior, and reduce fear of stigma and discrimination by the providers of PAC services before the complications arises. This study did not cover all the districts to identify the challenges on delaying PAC service. Therefore, this study recommends additional clinical, operations and community research which will give broader details and understanding on the challenges that cause delay for seeking immediate post abortion care services. / NRF

Workplace violence directed at student nurses in training in psychiatric institutions is a significant concern as it negatively affects the quality of learning and causes the students to have a negative perception of nursing as a profession. The absence of scientific data describing the perceptions of student nurses about workplace violence and their clinical learning outcome motivated the researcher to conduct the study. Quantitative, descriptive research was conducted to explore the influence that workplace violence will have on clinical learning outcomes of student nurses who are studying psychiatric nursing at psychiatric institutions in KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa. Data was gathered using a 71 question questionnaire, which was adapted from the one used by Hewett (2010). With the necessary permission from the health authorities, the campus principals and the nursing students, a group of 4th year student nurses (n=163) from 6 campuses of the KwaZulu-Natal College of Nursing (KZNCN) who have worked in psychiatric units for at least 3 months and longer participated in the study. The study highlighted the types of workplace violence encountered by student nurses, the effects of workplace violence on students’ academic performance and the barriers to the reporting of workplace violence encountered by the student nurses. The study revealed that there is a large amount of non-physical, some physical and a few incidents of sexual violence directed towards the student nurses at the psychiatric institutions, and that it has a negative impact on student learning. The recommendations emanating from the study support the idea of a shared responsibility between healthcare and education institutions and the focus is on preparing and equipping the student psychiatric nurses to confront, withstand and break the cycle of workplace violence. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)