Thesis (M. A. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / Several studies have shown that alternative health care practitioners play an important role in addressing the mental health care needs of individuals by offering culturally appropriate treatment. In South Africa, it has been suggested that indigenous healers are frequently consulted for mental illness when compared to their Western trained counterparts. The aim of the present study was to explore the conceptualization of mental illness by VhaVenda indigenous healers. Specifically, the study sought to achieve the following objectives: a). Establish what VhaVenda indigenous healers understand about mental illness; b). Determine the types of mental illness identified by VhaVenda indigenous healers; and, c). To determine what indigenous healers in this community perceive as the signs and symptoms of mental illness. A qualitative approach, and in particular, the case study method was used in the present study. Ten indigenous healers (male = 8: female = 2), aged between 35 and 60 were selected through snowball sampling and requested to participate in the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using the content analysis method. The following psychological themes emerged from the study: a). participants understanding of mental illness; b). causes of mental illness; c). types of mental illness; d). signs and symptoms of mental illness; e). diagnoses of mental illness and f). Treatment of mental illness. The findings revealed that there are multiple causalities of mental illness and were accounted for by African indigenous beliefs. The findings of the present study further suggested that the participants do not have an elaborate nosological system that distinguishes between the different types of mental illness. Instead of giving names to the illnesses, the participants tended to describe the illness based on what is perceived as the cause which emanate from cultural ideologies. Furthermore, the results revealed that indigenous healers use the following treatment modalities to treat mental illness: namely, the use of herbs and indigenous practices. The study is concluded by making a few recommendations, that among others include consideration been given to some form of collaboration between indigenous healers and western trained health care practitioners.

Thesis (M. A. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / Whereas research has exponentially increased on the understanding of new varieties of English worldwide, there is a paucity of studies that have assessed the degree to which Black South African English is shared and understood across a wider spectrum of the Bantu language speaking communities in South Africa. Because of this, research has been inconclusive on causes and frequencies of identified linguistic properties of the variety. This study investigated the tense and aspect usages in English among mother tongue speakers of Tshivenda learners to develop a taxonomy of characteristic features, sources of production and frequency of occurrence in an educational context. The study focused more attention on the role of mother tongue substrate system which transfers its features to the target language. After a contrastive analysis of the collected data, learners’ essays and storytelling, the findings of the study indicate that the occurrence of tense and aspect properties among grade 11 learners is first language (L1) induced and rule-governed. Secondly, the results show that the features occur with high frequency, suggesting that they are institutionalised. In particular, the study denotes that expressions of temporal reasoning follow the L1 grammatical structure that favours external formation to the verb phrase; i.e., verbal arguments are preferred to morphological conjugations. Based on these findings, it is concluded that the logic of temporal reasoning, described as Bantu language logic as developed by Makalela (2004, 2007, and 2013), rather than grammatical forms, is transferred in the production of BSAE tense and aspect properties. When seen in this light, it is evident that BSAE cuts across different Bantu languages of South Africa, it has evolved towards being an endonormative variety, relying on its own internal logic (substrate forms) to be a new and distinct variety of English. In the end, recommendations for more robust and large scale studies in high prestige domains such as the media and institutions of higher learning are made for augmentation of these findings.

The study evaluated the extent and threat of bark harvesting of plant species for medicinal purposes in the Venda region and investigated possibilities of the sustainability of these practices. Approximately 30% of the woody plant species in Venda were found to have medicinal properties in their bark, but only about 12% of these species are commonly traded in muthi shops in the region. Fifty-eight medicinal plant species are commonly harvested for medicinal properties in their bark and found in muthi shops in the region. These 58 species were scored for the possible threat of bark harvesting to the species’ survival using 20 ecologically relevant plant population traits. The most vulnerable species were Adansonia digitata, Adenia spinosa, Albizia adianthifolia, Albizia versicolor, Brackenridgea zanguebarica, Croton megalobotrys, and Warburgia salutaris. Of these species Brackenridgea zanguebarica and Warburgia salutaris are amongst the ten most traded medicinal plant species in Venda region. Elaeodendron transvaalense and Brackenridgea zanguebarica, the two species investigated in detail in this study, were amongst the most commonly traded medicinal plant species in Venda region. Analysis of size class distributions showed that both species had growing and healthy populations, exhibiting J-shaped population curves, centroids left-skewed from the midpoint of the size class distribution, and a fine-grained status. However, size-class distributions in both species revealed certain classes that needed monitoring since they were negatively affected by bark harvesting. Adult individuals of B. zanguebarica showed a high degree of bark regeneration as a response to bark removal from medicine men. The crown health status of E. transvaalense was generally good although some individuals, contributing 9% of the sample, had dead crowns. A linear relationship was noticed between areas harvested and stem circumference, which is understandable considering the large surface area of harvestable bark on bigger individuals. Matrix modeling of E. transvaalense revealed that the vegetative stage should be targeted for management action. An assessment of the adequacy of the Brackenridgea Nature Reserve, an initiative aimed at protecting Brackenridgea zanguebarica, revealed that the reserve size is not enough for conservation of a viable population. The method flagged out potential growth habitat for B. zanguebarica around the current reserve, which could be incorporated to enlarge the conservation area, which could be incorporated to enlarge the conservation area. Four different scenarios were analysed on how best to conserve the species. Assuming a 50% reduction in human-related activities, such as cultivation, harvesting and livestock grazing, it is recommended that the reserve be enlarged from its current 110 ha to 366 ha to maintain a viable population into the future. Finally, the study recommended the adoption of an integrated approach to achieve sustainability of bark harvesting in the Venda region. Only by selecting best practices from both indigenous and conventional conservation techniques will the conservation of natural resources that are of important to local communities, be successful. An action plan that will involve the formation of an association by all stakeholders interested in the sustainable utilization of natural resources must be developed. The association must be governed by a constitution with a clear mission statement and the harvesting of natural resources should be done in line with a collection policy. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Plant Science / unrestricted

PhD (Health Sciences) / Department of Advanced Nursing Science

MAAS / MER Mathivha Centre for African Languages, Arts and Culture

Thesis (Ph.D. (TshiVenda)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / This research study investigated the Vhuthu African philosophy in four selected Tshivenḓa novels, namely; A si Ene (Madima, 1954), Bulayo ḽo Ṱalifhaho (Magau, 1980), Thonga i Pfi Ndo Vhaḓa (Demana, 2015) and Ḽi a Kovhela (Mugwena, 2014) respectively. The Vhuthu philosophical principles formed the main part of the literature review in this study, which afforded the researcher the opportunity to read through, gain an understanding and develop a detailed analysis of the concept of Vhuthu as depicted in the aforementioned novels. Undergirded by the Afrocentricity Theory, this study foregrounds the depiction of African Vhuthu philosophy in the mentioned Tshivenḓa novels. The Afrocentric theoretical perspective centralises the agency of Africans and is geared towards drawing Africans from the margins to the centre in various spheres of society. This study illustrates how Vhuthu, as an essential tenet of African life and philosophy, is embraced by the Vhavenḓa. The study employed the qualitative approach, and used Textual Analysis in the analysis of data obtained from the four selected Tshivenḓa novels. In its investigation of the depiction of Vhuthu in the four selected Tshivenḓa novels, this study was framed within four main objectives of the study, namely: (i) to identify aspects that depict Vhuthu from the selected Tshivenḓa novels, (ii) to investigate the benefits of Vhuthu from the selected novels, (ii) to investigate the shortcomings of Vhuthu from the selected novels and, (iii) to establish the relevance of Vhuthu in present-day society. In the analysis of the selected novels, it was found that there were instances where the characters acted in accordance to the Vhuthu philosophical principles while in other instances, the characters somewhat contravened the Vhuthu philosophy. Overall, the study suggests that the Vhuthu philosophy must be included in the school curricula because, as the study argues, most people who act against the philosophy’s principles are largely the youth.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Tshivenda)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The issue of African identity in African literature has been receiving considerable attention in recent times. However, comparatively speaking, the focus has largely been on texts written in English, whereas texts written in (African) indigenous languages have received minimal attention. Moreover, critics who cannot understand the language of indigenous writing ignore such writings in their criticisms, which culminates in the treatment of indigenous writings as palimpsests on which the other records their story. Consequently, perspectives and philosophies shared by indigenous literature are marginalised and only those conveyed in European languages are considered. Against this backdrop, this study aimed to, firstly, attempt to draw Tshivenḓa poetry from the periphery to the ‗centre‘ of conversations on issues of selfhood, identity and culture in the postcolonial context. Secondly, it sought to show that a representative selection of Tshivenḓa poetry can provide indices into the trajectories and nuances of the Vhavenḓa people‘s selfhood, identity and culture. Undergirded by a trifocal theoretical framework, namely Afrocentricity, the hermeneutical approach and postcolonial theory, the study shored up various aspects that were thematised by the selected poets as indices into the Vhavenḓa‘s selfhood, identity and culture. The study employed a qualitative research approach and the descriptive method to analyse sixteen (16) purposively sampled poetry texts. Textual and thematic analyses were relied on in the analysis of the selected texts. The study found that Tshivenḓa poetry demystifies the meta-narratives propounded by colonialists and exponents of apartheid about African people‘s selfhood, identity and culture. Tshivenḓa poetry attains this, firstly, by demonstrating that the indigenes have always had ways through which they expressed their selfhood, identity and culture, and secondly, by agentively challenging hegemonic discourses on selfhood, identity and culture. The analysis of the selected texts also revealed that the Vhavenḓa poets derive their sense of selfhood, identity and culture from two main sources: God (Ṅwali) and their ancestors. It was noted that most of the modern Vhavenḓa poets‘ concept of ‗God‘ gravitates more towards the Judeo-Christian worldview, while those who espouse ‗ancestor veneration‘ promote the Africanist traditional religion as their base for identity formation and articulation. The former observation in particular should be ascribed to the influence of Christian missionaries. Other themes, such as Tshivenḓa mythology, religion, agitations for self-identification and representation, marriage, socio-cultural traditions, selenology, cosmology, cosmogony, dance, and ritual, are mainly anchored to the Vhavenḓa‘s notions of theocentricity and anthropocentricity. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on politics of identity and discourses interested in how the formerly colonised indigenes seek to assert their presence and agency after decades of marginalisation and repression. The study recommends that aspects of selfhood, identity and culture that are encapsulated in Tshivenḓa poetry should form part of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) that need to be studied in institutions of basic and higher education. For the sake of knowledge preservation and perpetual transmission, communities should be proactive in passing this knowledge to the younger generations. / National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) and South African Humanities Deans Association (SAHUDA)

Thesis (Ph. D. (Animal Production)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / A study was conducted to determine the effect of dietary crude (CF) levels of (3, 4, 5 and 7 %) on feed intake, digestibility, growth rate, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and live weight of male Ross 308 broiler and indigenous Venda chickens aged 1 to 42 days. The study, also, determined the effect of dietary CF level on the gastrointestinal morphology and digesta pH of gut organs of male Ross 308 broiler and indigenous Venda chickens aged 42 days. Dietary CF levels affected (P<0.05) feed intake, growth rate and live weight of male Ross 308 broiler and Venda chickens aged 1 to 21 days. A dietary CF level of 3.9 % optimized feed intake, while 4.5 % dietary CF optimized growth rate and live weight in male Ross 308 broiler chickens. However, dietary CF levels of 4.4, 4.8, 5.9 and 4.7 % optimized feed intake, growth rate, FCR and live weight, respectively, of male Venda chickens aged 1 to 21 days. Therefore, dietary CF level for optimal productivity depended on the breed of the chicken and production parameter of interest. Higher dietary CF levels decreased (P<0.05) crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) digestibility values in male Ross 308 broiler chickens. Dietary CF levels of 3.8, 3.7 and 4.1 % optimized dry matter (DM) digestibility, metabolizable energy (ME) intake and nitrogen retention, respectively, in male Ross 308 broiler chickens aged 14 to 21 days. Increased dietary CF level, also, decreased (P<0.05) NDF and ADF digestibility values in male Venda chickens aged 14 to 21 days. Dry matter and CP digestibility values, ME intake and nitrogen retention of Venda chickens were optimized at dietary CF levels of 3.5, 3.7, 3.3 and 4.1 %, respectively. Feed intake of male Ross 308 broiler chickens aged 22 to 42 days were affected (P<0.05) by dietary CF level; and it was optimized at a dietary CF level of 6.4 %. Increased dietary CF level resulted in poorer growth rate, FCR and live weight of male Ross 308 broiler chickens. However, dietary CF levels of 4.5, 5.8, 6.4 and 5.7 %, optimized feed intake, growth rate, FCR and live weight, respectively, of male Venda chickens aged 22 to 42 days. Dietary CF levels of 3.4, 4.4, 3.7 and 4.4 %, optimized DM, CP and NDF digestibility values, and nitrogen retention, respectively, in male Ross 308 broiler chickens. However, dietary CF levels of 5.1, 5.3, 4.9, 10.1 and 5.1 % optimized DM, CP, NDF and ADF digestibility values, and nitrogen retention, respectively, of male Venda chickens. Therefore, dietary CF level for v optimal response in the chickens depended on breed, age and production variable of interest. The GIT weight of male Ross 308 broiler chickens was optimized at a dietary CF level of 4.1 %. In increased dietary CF level in male Ross 308 broiler chickens increased gizzard weights and decreased small intestine weights (P<0.05). Dietary CF levels of 6.3, 5.9 and 8.0 % optimized GIT, gizzard and caecum weights, respectively, in male Venda chickens. The small intestine weight of male Venda chickens was not affected (P<0.05) by dietary CF level. Caecum weight of male Venda chickens increased (P<0.05) with higher dietary CF level. However, caecum weights of male Ross 308 broiler chickens were not affected (P>0.05) by dietary CF level. The GIT and small intestine lengths were affected (P<0.05) by dietary CF level in male Ross 308 broiler chickens. Dietary CF levels of 5.6 and 5.5 % optimized GIT and small intestine lengths, respectively. However, in male Venda chickens, GIT and small intestine lengths were not affected (P>0.05) by dietary CF level. Digesta pH of the proventriculus and gizzard were affected (P<0.05) by dietary CF level in male Ross 308 broiler and Venda chickens. Different dietary CF levels of 5.5 and 7.4 % optimized the proventriculus and gizzard digesta pH in male Ross 308 broiler chickens, respectively. However, dietary CF levels of 4.2 and 4.3 % optimized the proventriculus and gizzard digesta pH values, respectively, in male Venda chickens. The two breeds of chickens had similar digesta pH values of the crop, proventriculus, gizzard and large intestines. However, male Venda chickens had higher (P<0.05) small intestine digesta pH values than male Ross 308 broiler chickens aged 42 days. Caecum digesta pH values of Ross 308 broiler chickens were higher (P<0.05) than those of Venda chickens aged 42 days. The second study was conducted to determine the effect of sodium bicarbonate supplementation level in the drinking water on feed intake, digestibility, FCR, growth rate, gut organ weight, length and digesta pH of male Ross 308 broiler and Venda chickens aged 22 to 42 days. The study, also, determined the effect of sodium bicarbonate supplementation level in drinking water on types of bacterial species in crop and gizzard digesta, as well as its effect on meat quality of male Ross 308 broiler and indigenous Venda chickens. Increased sodium bicarbonate vi supplementation level increased (P<0.05) water pH. Supplementation levels of 8.9, 2.04, 2.97 and 2.97 g of sodium bicarbonate per litre of drinking water optimized water intake, feed intake, growth rate and live weight of male Ross 308 broiler chickens, respectively. In male Venda chickens, there was a strong and positive relationship between sodium bicarbonate supplementation level and water intake of Venda chickens. A single supplementation level of 3.8 g of sodium bicarbonate per litre of drinking water optimized growth and live weight of male Venda chickens. There was a negative relationship between sodium bicarbonate supplementation level in the drinking water and NDF digestibility of male Ross 308 broiler chickens. Supplementation levels of 2.63, 6.67 and 7.0 g of sodium bicarbonate per litre of drinking water optimized DM and CP digestibility values, and nitrogen retention, respectively, in male Ross 308 broiler chickens. However, supplementation levels of 3.2 and 4.52 g of sodium bicarbonate per litre of drinking water optimized DM and NDF digestibility values, respectively, in male Venda chickens. There were negative relationships between sodium bicarbonate supplementation level in the drinking water and CP digestibility and nitrogen retention of male Venda chickens. Supplementation levels of 5.7, 2.2, 3.8, 7.6 and 7.2 g of sodium bicarbonate per litre of drinking water optimized proventriculus, gizzard and small intestinal weights, and GIT and small intestines lengths, respectively, in male Ross 308 broiler chickens. However, a sodium bicarbonate supplementation level of 2.8 % optimized proventriculus weights of male Venda chickens; the other digestive organ weights and lengths of Venda chickens were not affected (P>0.05) by sodium bicarbonate supplementation level. Sodium bicarbonate supplementation in the drinking water affected bacterial species found in the crops and gizzards of the chickens. There were different bacterial species found in the crop and gizzard digesta of male Ross 308 broiler and Venda chickens. Meat colour (L*, a* and b*) of the breasts and thighs of both breeds of chickens were not affected (P>0.05) by sodium bicarbonate supplementation. However, the redness (a*) values of the breast meat of male indigenous Venda chickens were higher (P<0.05) than those of breast meat from male Ross 308 broiler chickens. Sodium bicarbonate supplementation level did not affect (P>0.05) breast meat tenderness, juiciness, flavour and overall acceptability values and meat pH of Ross 308 broiler chickens. Supplementation levels of 3.6, 3.2 and 4.7 g of vii sodium bicarbonate per litre of drinking water optimized meat juiciness, flavour and shear force of male Venda chickens, respectively. It was concluded that sodium bicarbonate supplementation in the drinking water affected growth, NDF digestibility and bacterial species composition of male Ross and Venda chickens. Sodium bicarbonate supplementation level for optimal response in chickens depended on the breed and production variables of interest. / VLIROUS

[pt] O objetivo deste trabalho é investigar o relacionamento entre o cliente e o vendedor em vendas pessoais de seguro de vida. O estudo concentra-se no entendimento do comportamento do prestador de serviço em que o cliente tem dificuldades de avaliar a sua qualidade. Foram realizadas entrevistas qualitativas de profundidade com 15 profissionais de sucesso de uma seguradora multinacional com mais de 100 anos de existência. As entrevistas foram gravadas e transcritas possibilitando a identificação de temas e problemas, tais como a necessidade de uma maior reflexão sobre as particularidades de vendas neste mercado, a relevância do primeiro contato cliente-vendedor e o desenvolvimento de rapport entre eles. Os resultados indicam que algumas atitudes simples, tais como ouvir o cliente e comportar-se de forma educada, funcionam como combustível para o entendimento autêntico das necessidades do cliente, facilitando um relacionamento de confiança de longo prazo. O estudo contribui para aprofundar o entendimento sobre o que precede a confiança do cliente nos prestadores de serviço neste mercado em franca expansão no Brasil. Ele fornece também informações práticas sobre o gerenciamento ativo do processo de obtenção de recomendações. / [en] This work investigates the relationship between client and salesman in personal life insurance selling. The study aims to understand the behavior of the service provider. It is a specific service which the customer has difficulties in evaluating its quality. Fifteen depth interviews were done with successful professionals of a multinational insurance company which is over a hundred years old. The interviews were recorded and transcribed to allow the identification of themes and challenges, such as the demand of a deeper reflection of the sales particularities, the relevance of the first salesman-customer contact, and the development of rapport between them. The results indicate that some simple attitudes, such as to listen to clients and to behave in polite way works as a fuel for the authentic understanding of the costumers needs, enabling a long term trustworthy relationship. The study contributes for a better explanation about what precedes customer trust with the service provider, in an exponential growing market in Brazil. It also provides practical information about endeavors to gather word of mouth information.

No description available.