INTRODUCTION In South Africa, 30 per cent of teenagers admit to “ever falling” pregnant. Most teenage mothers live with family members, are unemployed and still attending school. Various forms of care provided include emotional care, financial care and physical health care including access to resources. Family members provide teenage mothers with care throughout antenatal and postnatal period. Families find themselves challenged with the burden to provide care for the teenage mother and baby, as pregnancy is unplanned. AIMS/OBJECTIVES The aim of the study is to explore and describe the burden of care experienced by families with teenage mothers in a selected township in Mpumalanga. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Qualitative design, this method was used to explore and describe experiences of families with teenage mothers with regard to the burden of care in a selected township in Mpumalanga. A total number of seven families who care for teenage mother were included. Semi-structured interviews were conducted until data saturation was achieved. Data analysis was done using the eight steps of Tesch’s data analysis method, and in doing so ethical consideration and trustworthiness were ensured. It emerged that families are burdened with provision of care to the teenage mother: socially, psychological and financially including meeting the physical health needs of teenage mother and baby. Recommendations in the study included the involvement of health experts to assist families on handling issues that emerged after teenage pregnancy. A need to formulate specific policies regarding the support of families with teenage mothers by relevant departments is eminent. CONCLUSION The conclusion made is that families need diverse support to provide care to teenage mother and baby. / Dissertation (MCur)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Nursing Science / MCur / Unrestricted

The Cretaceous Zululand Basin is one of proposed areas for geological CO2 storage in South Africa. The knowledge of the basin is however very limited. This thesis aims to describe the sedimentary facies of the ZA core, drilled onshore Zululand Basin, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and to assess their depositional environment as well as possible lateral correlation. Further aim is to investigate the suitability of these rocksfor a permanent sequestration of CO2, based on their geochemical and petrographic characteristics. The ZA drilling penetrated the Zululand Basin strata to a depth of 1779.9 m. The lowermost part of the ZA core from the recorded bottom at 1779.9 to 1602 m containing the Makatini Formation is however missing. Most of the core nevertheless is well preserved. The preserved ZA core from 1602 to 1041 m depth is characterised by dark grey coloured, bioturbated calcareous siltstone beds, rich in foraminifera, echinoderm and algae fossils and a dark grey coloured laminated glauconitic siltstone, overlain by a succession of siltstone strata with some interbeds of bioclastic packstones, calcareous and glauconitic siltstones (Lower Mzinene Formation). The Upper part of the Mzinene Formation starts from 1041 to 675 m depth, displaying a bioclastic packstone layer followed by bioturbated and wavy bedded arkosic wacke beds interbedded with calcareous sandstone layers rich in fossils and parallel bedded subarkose strata. The boundary between the Mzinene and St Lucia Formation is defined by the presence of a laminated siltstone bed at 675 m. The St Lucia Formation closing-up the Zululand Group, is comparable to the Mzinene Formation, except that the St Lucia Formation contains more fossil rich beds and glauconite. Above 675 m depth, the core displays siltstone layers intercalated by a bioturbated arkosic wacke bed, followed by 245 m thick calcareous siltstone beds. These 245 m thick calcareous siltstone strata are overlain by cross-bedded arkose and glauconitic arkosic wacke layers, followed by calcareous and bioturbated siltstone units and bioclastic grainstone bed. Only the sandstone strata between 1035 to 678 m, meet the criteria of a suitable reservoir for a permanent sequestration of CO2. The sandstone strata are bound on top by a 42 m thick siltstone layers as potential cap rocks, covered by 242 m thick calcareous siltstone and sandstone. These depths however are by far too shallow for CO2 sequestration. Nevertheless, petrographically, these sandstones are characterised as arkosic wackes, calcareous sandstone and subarkose and they contain mainly quartz, calcite and plagioclase minerals with a respective average of 47, 21 and 15% vol. Smectite, glauconite, mica, zeolite, hematite, and lithic fragments are present. The geochemical results of these sandstones supporting their mineralogical contents shows the predominance of SiO2 (55 wt%), CaO (11 wt%), Al2O3 (10 wt%) and Fe2O3 (7 wt%) followed by other oxides such as MgO, Na2O, K2O, H2O, MnO, TiO2, P2O5 and Cr2O3 summing up to c. 17 wt%. The permeability and porosity of the middle sandstone rocks are respectively 8% and 10mD. The mineralogy of the possible cap rock layer is similar to the afore-mentioned sandstone units, dominated by quartz, calcite and plagioclase minerals. However, the clay mineral contents (mostly smectites) in the caprock bed are higher than in the possible sandstone reservoir. This higher clay content of the possible caprock is in accordance with the mineral spectral results showing the abundance of smectites and clay minerals in different depths. The rock samples were treated with CO2 under supercritical conditions of 100 bars and 100⁰C for the duration of four weeks. The treatment results show a dissolution on the surface of quartz grains. The calcite cement was dissolved, created secondary porosity and increasing the porosity and permeability of the rock. Therefore, the possible sandstone reservoir and the overlying siltstone rocks are probably unsuitable for injecting carbon dioxide because of the significant amount of calcite and authigenic minerals which may be dissolved during the scCO2 - mineral reaction, creating secondary porosity and can lead to the disintegration of entire layers. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Geology / MSc / Unrestricted

Despite increasing attention to legislation to ensure inclusive learning for all, gaps exist between ideals as strived for by legislation and classroom reality when it comes to the implementation of inclusivity by teachers. These challenges call for peer support and coaching as mechanisms for creating an acceptable learning environment. The way teachers support one another in an inclusive school environment is becoming increasingly important. All types of learners, especially those with special educational needs, are to be included. Teachers are responsible for implementing inclusivity in their classrooms. National and international literature shows that teachers are fairly supportive of inclusion policies. However, there is a concern that many find it hard to implement inclusion practices. Difficulties arise due to a lack of training, limited teaching experience, low confidence, negative attitudes towards inclusion, lack of legal knowledge, pedagogical issues and environments with scarce resources, among others. Therefore, this qualitative case study seeks to contribute to understanding teachers’ experiences regarding peer support and coaching from one another in an attempt to implement and maintain inclusive practices within a fee-paying, mainstream secondary school. Data was collected through document analysis, as well as by the use of semi-structured interviews with focus group and individual grade 9 teachers. The main findings are that post level one teachers are not included in the school-based support team; that schools have no formal coaching sessions aimed exclusively at the professional development of teachers in order for them to cope with inclusivity; that teachers’ professional burdens with regard to academic and extra-mural activities are overwhelming, which creates an environment where teachers do not have the time or motivation to regularly provide support to learners with special needs; teachers do not adjust their curriculum content to accommodate individual learner needs; due to constraints, teachers are also not inclined to further their own professional development or to accept training by the school or district offices. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

The objective of this study was to determine the optimal dose of the new generation modified E.coli 6-phytase (modified E.coli) that was developed using gene site saturation mutagenesis, and to compare its efficacy to current heat-stable phytases under typical South African commercial broiler production conditions. A total of 2,340 as-hatched Cobb 500 chicks were randomly allocated to nine treatment groups, each replicated 13 times with 20 chicks per pen. The first three treatments consisted of two negative control diets and a positive control diet as follows: negative control (NC1) – starter diet with 0.23% available phosphorus (avP); NC2 – starter diet with 0.33% avP; positive control (PC) – starter diet with 0.43% avP. For each control, the finisher diets had a 0.11% reduction in avP. The remaining six treatments consisted of NC1 supplemented with three different phytase products (modified E.coli, product X and product Y) at two different doses for each product (500 FTU/kg diet and 1,000 FTU/kg diet). Production performance parameters, bone strength, bone ash content and bone mineral content were evaluated. Broilers fed the NC1 diet showed a significantly lower (P<0.05) body weight, feed conversion ratio (FCR), production efficiency factor (PEF), bone strength and ash compared to all other treatment diets. All phytase-supplemented treatments showed results similar to the PC diet (P>0.05). No significant differences were detected among phytase-supplemented treatments. Numerically (P>0.05), broilers fed the diet supplemented with modified E.coli at 500FTU/kg had the greatest body weight, cumulative feed intake and PEF values, and the lowest FCR values on day 35 compared to all other phytase-supplemented diets. Numerically, in terms of bone development broilers fed a diet containing phytase at 1,000FTU/kg had the highest bone breaking strength compared to their 500FTU/kg counterparts, with modified E.coli numerically scoring the highest bone breaking strength, ash and phosphorous deposition, followed by product X and then product Y. In conclusion, broiler performance using this new generation modified E.coli 6-phytase product is comparable to other phytase products on the South African market at an optimal dose of 500FTU/kg diet. / Dissertation (MSc (Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / MSc (Agric) / Unrestricted

Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) is an economically important virus, associated with respiratory infection, late gestation abortion, neonatal death and myeloencephalopathy in horses. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that EHV-1 is present in the nasopharynx and placentae of neonatal foals in the absence of clinical signs of infection. This would suggest that vertical transmission of virus occurs in inter-epizootic periods: such information could inform foaling management and the potential eradication of the virus by vaccination. Samples were collected from animals resident on a single farm in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, which had not experienced a clinical outbreak of EHV-1 recently. Sterile swab samples from 71 post-partum Thoroughbred mares, their healthy full-term foals and fetal membranes were obtained and assayed for EHV-1 and EHV-4 nucleic acid using a duplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The null hypothesis for this study was that EHV-1 was not present in the nasopharynx and placentae of new-born, viable and healthy foals. As no EHV-1 or EHV-4 nucleic acid was detected on a duplex EHV-1/EHV-4 qPCR assay from the mare and foal nasal and fetal membrane swabs, the null hypothesis was accepted. It was therefore concluded that there was no detectable EHV-1 and -4 DNA in this population at the time of sampling. It was speculated that this may have been due to the cyclical nature of EHV-1 infections. The inclusion of additional breeding seasons on additional farms would be valuable for future studies. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Production Animal Studies / MSc

The Lyssavirus genus currently consists of eleven species of which four has been isolated in Africa [(Rabies virus (RABV), Lagos bat virus (LBV), Mokola virus (MOKV) and Duvenhage virus (DUVV)]. RABV occurs worldwide and is also widespread throughout Africa. In southern Africa, two distinct variants of RABV are adapted to canines (canid variant) and to herpestids (mongoose variant). LBV, MOKV and DUVV appear to be exclusive to Africa. Studies on the pathogenesis of African lyssaviruses are limited, but one study reported that LBV and MOKV are not lethal via the intramuscular (i.m.) route of inoculation in murine models. A more recent study contradicts this in that several LBV isolates and one isolate of MOKV were found to be lethal to mice when administered i.m. It should be noted that such pathogenesis studies are of limited value, due to some differences in models and the ranges of isolates studied. Since limited sequence information has been available for the African lyssaviruses, very few studies included a comparison of pathogenic domains. This study aimed at comparing a number of pathogenic domains on representative isolates of African lyssavirus genomes and link that to differences in pathogenicity profiles observed when these lyssaviruses were inoculated in a mice. Mice were inoculated i.m. with RABV (canid and mongoose variant), LBV, MOKV and DUVV to compare their relative pathogenicity. In these experiments, all the viruses from all four viral species were found to be lethal to mice, with a single exception, viz. the isolate LBVNig1956. Generally, LBV, MOKV and DUVV isolates had high percentage mortality (50 to 75%) compared to RABV (canid variant) (25%) when inoculated at the same dose (titre). Different isolates of LBV, in particular, exhibited different pathogenicity profiles and we concluded that the pathogenicity of different isolates from all of the viral species can be very variable. Therefore, the pathogenicity of an isolate in a mouse model is not necessarily a trait of the species, but of the specific isolate. There was detectable virus neutralizing antibodies (VNA) as early as day 7 in all mice. These titers increased on day 14 (above 300) and remained high on days 50 and 60 (above 200). No significant difference was observed in the level of VNA between mice that died of rabies and those that survived infection. This indicated that the presence of VNA in serum may not be the only requirement for clearance of lyssavirus infections, contrary to some reports. Lyssaviruses have been reported to spread to the salivary glands after replication in the central nervous system. In this study, no viral RNA was detected in the salivary glands of mice that succumbed to rabies. This may indicate that the pathogenesis of lyssaviruses in mice is not the true reflection of their pathogenesis in natural or reservoir hosts. A number of pathogenic domains on the phosphoprotein, matrix and the glycoprotein were compared between representative isolates of the African lyssaviruses. Substitution of domains such as Arg 333 on the glycoprotein was previously shown to be important in pathogenicity of some lyssaviruses. Generally our findings suggested that domains important in pathogenicity of a particular lyssavirus isolate or strain may not necessarily be of the same importance in the pathogenicity of another isolate. More pathogenesis studies on African lyssaviruses are crucial for a better understanding of the factors that determine their pathogenicity. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / unrestricted

Digital technology is changing rapidly and so is the increased use of interactive screen media such as smartphones and tablets by young children from all income groups. Research concerning young children and the use of digital technologies has lagged considerably behind the rate of technological advancement. Furthermore, gaps in the literature point to a need to understand parental awareness of, and engagement with, the technology that is increasingly available to young children in South Africa. My study focused on how parents experience the use of digital technology by young children at home within the South African context. The purpose of this study was to investigate and establish a basis for understanding how parents experience young children using digital technology for learning at home. I conducted a quantitative study making use of an online survey designed and created using Survey Monkey. The online survey included parents in South Africa and was distributed through various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. My sample size was less than 40% of the South African population. The theory of Social Construction of childhood in conjunction with the concept of Prolepsis was used as the theoretical framework. The results of the online survey were analysed and the findings indicate that: The majority of the children younger than 8 years interacted with digital technologies such as smart phones in their homes with the support of their parents. The age of parents does not seem to have an influence on young children’s use of digital technology, but rather the level at which parents themselves feel comfortable using technology. More than 90% of parents limit the amount of time their children are allowed to spend using digital technology. The majority of parents believe that technology can be beneficial rather than harmful for their child’s education and development. Most parents also believe that a child should be between the ages of 2 and 3 before they start using a digital device. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Early Childhood Education / MEd / Unrestricted

The use of technology is expanding at an increasing rate across the social and economic sectors around the world (Can-Yașar, Inal, Özgün & Kandir, 2012). In the South African education system, technology has weaved its way into the classroom. The Department of Basic Education, together with various stakeholders, is increasingly supporting schools with digital technology to strengthen teaching and learning (Department of Basic Education, 2004). Educational technology and its implementation in educational programmes have grown and developed concurrently, and has opened up a new world for learners and teachers. Consequently, teachers need to adapt and develop their teaching methods in order to utilise this evolution in learning (Can-Yașar et al., 2012:375). Parette, Hourcade, Blum, Watts, Stoner, Wojcik and Chrismore (2013:172) assert that learners grow up in an ever-changing world and need to keep up with technology. It is therefore the responsibility of teachers to understand the novel ways in which learners can harness developing technologies in their efforts to learn. For these reasons, it is imperative for teachers to accommodate modern thinking and to facilitate learner development. The focus of my study is on teachers’ experiences in the use of digital technology to support teaching and learning. The Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model developed by (Koehler & Mishra, 2006) provided the theoretical framework used to support this study. Qualitative in nature and making use of case studies, semi-structured interviews were held with ten participants to gather the relevant data, attempting to answer the research question: How do early grade teachers (R-3) experience the use of digital technologies as a resource to support teaching and learning? The findings suggest that early grade teachers are in favour of the use of digital technologies in their classrooms to support teaching and learning. However, due to various factors, it is not used and implemented successfully. It is recommended that to improve the use of digital technologies, teachers must be fully trained and provided with appropriate resources. Furthermore, continuous support from departmental officials will strengthen the use of digital technologies and improve learner performance and the quality of teaching and learning. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Early Childhood Education / MEd / Unrestricted

The ability of a lubricating oil to reduce friction in mechanical surfaces which are in relative sliding motion depends on the base oil behaviour. Previous studies have demonstrated that temperature has a significant influence on the friction behaviour of mineral and synthetic base oils by using a laboratory based friction testing machine. However, the effect of a constantly changing load under different temperature conditions has not been explored fully. In this study, the effect of an increasing load on the friction behaviour of four six different mineral base oils and a polyalphaolefin (PAO) base oil were studied using the SRV4® tribometer. The sliding surfaces were AISI 52100 steel ball and disc. The average loads (range: 50 – 250 N), temperatures (range: 40 – 120 oC), relative humidity of 20 % and a sliding speed of 0.2 m.s-1 were selected as the test conditions. The seven base oils were selected from four API base oil groups. Stribeck curves were used as a tool to characterize the friction behaviour of the base oils. The results show that for all the base oils, the coefficient of friction and the Stribeck parameter decrease gradually with the increase in applied normal load under constant temperature conditions. The increase in temperature increased the coefficient of friction and decreased the Stribeck parameter at each load stage. The external friction mechanisms dominated the friction behaviour under all test conditions. Viscosity showed a strong influence on the film forming characteristics of the seven base oils only at 40 and 60 oC. Between 80 and 120 oC, the oil-surface interactions were predominant. The results further demonstrated that effect of an increasing temperature on the coefficient of friction was bigger between 80 and 100 oC for all Group III base oils and was consistent between 40 and 120 oC for the Group III+ and PAO base oil. The highly saturated (PAO and Group III+) base oils have demonstrated good thermal stability and less reactivity compared to the less saturated base oils (GI and GIII) under all test conditions. The friction behaviour of the PAO base oil was the most affected by the presence of dissolved water. The presence of water proved to increase the friction at the sliding steel interfaces. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Chemical Engineering / MEng / Unrestricted

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