The art of dying
- Authors: Jones, Ward E
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/275722 , vital:55073 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/05568641.2012.743217"
- Description: In this paper, I explore what Jean Améry calls the ‘aesthetic view of death’. I address the following three questions. To what extent, and how, do we take an aesthetic view of death? Why do we take an aesthetic view of death? Third, for those whose deaths are impending and have some choice over how they die—most prominently the elderly and the terminally ill—what would it mean for them to take an aesthetic view of their own impending deaths, and, in particular, what would it mean for them to act in the light of such a view?
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The direct use value of municipal commonage goods and services to urban households in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Davenport, Nicholas A , Shackleton, Charlie M , Gambiza, James
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181071 , vital:43696 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2011.09.008"
- Description: To redress past racial discrepancies in ownership and tenure, the ANC government of South Africa initiated programmes to make land accessible to the previously disadvantaged. A key component of the national land reform programme was the provision of commonage lands to urban municipalities for use by the urban poor. However, there has been no assessment of the contribution that urban commonage makes to previously disadvantaged households. This study assessed the economic benefits of the commonage programme to local households, through an in-depth survey of 90 households across three small towns in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. We examined the marketed and non-marketed consumptive direct-use values of land-based livelihoods on commonage, calculated via the ‘own reported values’ approach. The results indicate that a proportion of South Africa's urban population rely to some degree on municipal commonage for part of their livelihoods. Commonage contributions to total livelihood incomes ranged between 14 and 20%. If the contributions from commonage were excluded, the incomes of over 10% of households in each study town would drop below the poverty line. Overall, the value of harvests from commonage was worth over R1 000 (US$ 142) per hectare per year and over R4.7 million (US$ 0.68 million) per commonage per year. However, the extent and nature of use and reliance was not uniform among households, so that we developed a typology of commonage users, with four types being identified. However, rapidly growing urban populations and high levels of poverty potentially threaten the sustainability of commonage resource use. Yet the national land reform programme focuses largely on the transfer of land to municipalities and not on sustainable management. Municipalities, in turn, invest relatively little in commonage management, and the little they do is focussed on livestock production. Non-timber forest products are not considered at all, even though this study shows that they are a vital resource for the urban poor, notably for energy and construction materials.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The economics of suicide in South Africa
- Authors: Botha, Ferdi
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/396168 , vital:69155 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1813-6982.2012.01336.x"
- Description: This study investigates the economics of suicide in South Africa using the Mortality and Causes of Death data from death notification as well as regional economic data for the 2006-2008 period. Using an inflation rate that varies by month and across province of residence as a proxy for economic performance, the results indicate a negative relationship between inflation and suicide, suggesting that suicides are countercyclical. When controlling for month and province fixed effects, however, the inflation coefficient, albeit remaining negative, is no longer significant, except in the female sample. Suicide is more prevalent among younger individuals, while the greatest proportion of suicide is seen among men. Suicides also exhibit a strong seasonal variation, with peaks in spring and summer, with December having the highest suicide prevalence. The overall results indicate a negative but insignificant relationship between economic performance and suicide in South Africa, with socio-economic differences and individual characteristics accounting for most of the variation in suicide.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The effect of harvesting approaches on fruit yield, embelin concentration and regrowth dynamics of the forest shrub, Embelia tsjeriam-cottam, in central India
- Authors: Pandey, Ashok K , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181094 , vital:43698 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2011.11.015"
- Description: Embelia tsjeriam-cottam Roem and Schult A. DC. (Myrsinaceae), popularly known as Vaividang, is a vulnerable forest species because of the high demand of fruits for medicinal purposes. It is in great demand in ayurveda and the pharmaceutical industry (>100 t/yr), which has imposed tremendous pressure on some natural populations. The fruits contain embelin (a benzoquinone derivative), which has wide clinical applications. Considering the importance, growing use and decreasing populations in some areas of its natural habitat, a study on development of sustainable harvesting practices of E. tsjeriam-cottam fruits was conducted in Chhattisgarh, in central India. Experiments were laid out in Dhamtari, Marvahi and Bilaspur forest divisions of the state covering both protected and open forests in a randomized design with three replications. At each site, quadrats of 40 × 20 m were laid out to study the effect of two fruit harvesting methods and four harvesting intensities on fruit yield, and regeneration of the species. Fruits were analyzed for their embelin content by HPLC method. This study is the first to experimentally assess the consequences of harvesting of E. tsjeriam-cottam fruits from India. It was found that up to 70% fruits could be hand plucked at the right time of maturity (December) to obtain quality produce without impacting the current population size. Since every year is not a good fruiting year, it is difficult to develop universal harvest regime for sustainable management of E. tsjeriam-cottam. The embelin content increased as fruits ripened, ranging from 1.01% to 5.63%. The adoption of sustainable harvesting practices will be helpful in sustainable management of E. tsjeriam-cottam and also provide income and livelihood opportunities to rural people on a sustainable basis.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The implacable grandeur of the stranger
- Authors: Krueger, Anton
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/229430 , vital:49673 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10137548.2013.799798"
- Description: South Africa is a nation of strangers, an uneasy mishmash of heterogeneous economic groupings, cultures and languages, a nation of marginalised minorities awkwardly pasted together. Numerous attempts have been made by its government to define and bolster a sense of nationalism and to create a sense of cohesion; however, a shadow side of this appeal for national identity has been the rise in xenophobic violence precipitated by the steady influx of refugees into the country. The title of this article is drawn from Albert Camus’s introduction to his disarming novella of dislocation, L’Etranger (1942), and I would like to explore some of the philosophical implications of representing strangers in different ways. Drawing on works by Zygmunt Bauman, Georg Simmel and Julia Kristeva, I will consider ambivalences towards the stranger represented in Magnet Theatre’s production (2010) of Die Vreemdeling [The Stranger], and pose a few questions about our relationship with the unknown. Attempts to familiarise the constituents of various communities with aspects of each other’s strangeness is a project which has typified much South African theatre in the past; and yet this is an approach which stands in sharp contrast to the importance granted processes of defamiliarisation first proposed so succinctly by Victor Shklovsky in 1917. Instead of attempts to harness and explain the unfamiliarity of others in order to communicate diversity, a celebration of the grandeur of the stranger may provide a more enriching alternative.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The photophysical and energy transfer behaviour of low symmetry phthalocyanine complexes conjugated to coreshell quantum dots
- Authors: Masilela, Nkosiphile , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/243051 , vital:51111 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2012.07.016"
- Description: This work reports on the synthesis of new coreshell quantum dots (QDs)-low symmetry phthalocyanines conjugates. The energy transfer from QDs (donor) to phthalocyanines (acceptor) was investigated when the two are mixed together or chemically linked to each other. Ti monocarboxy phthalocyanine QDs-linked and Sn monocarboxy phthalocyanine QDs-linked gave the smallest centre-to-centre separation distance (r) corresponding to their higher Förster resonance energy transfer efficiencies which are estimated at 0.76 and 0.85 respectively. Higher energy transfer behaviour was achieved for all the covalently linked conjugates compared to their corresponding mixed counterparts. An improvement in triplet quantum yields and lifetimes was achieved for all the complexes in the presence of quantum dots, with the linked counterparts displaying excellent triplet state behaviour.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The pump room
- Authors: Krueger, Anton
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/225764 , vital:49256 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10137548.2012.754084"
- Description: I like Allan Kolski Horwitz. He’s done great things for independent publishing in South Africa. Through his company, Botsotso, he’s probably responsible for publishing more poetry, prose and drama than any single person in the country today. The industriousness of his one-man operation has generously sponsored and nurtured thousands of pages of local literature over the course of many years. This is why it makes me so uncomfortable to say that I really don’t like this play. It gives me no pleasure to write a negative review, and especially not about books written by people I like. If I hadn’t already committed myself to writing this review, I would have avoided it. Nevertheless, I had, so I won’t.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The syntheses and photophysical properties of 4, 4′-isopropylidendioxydiphenyl substituted ball-type dinuclear Mg (II) and Zn (II) phthalocyanines
- Authors: Canlıca, Mevlüde , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/243554 , vital:51163 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poly.2011.10.024"
- Description: The syntheses of ball-type dinuclear Zn(II) and Mg(II) phthalocyanines containing four 4,4′-isopropylidendioxydiphenyl substituents at the peripheral and non-peripheral positions are presented. The structures of the synthesized compounds were characterized using elemental analyses, and UV–Vis, FT-IR, 1H NMR and mass spectroscopies. The ΦF values were 0.14, 0.11, 0.22, 0.15 and ΦT values were 0.84, 0.88, 0.62, 0.74, for 6–9, respectively. The largest triplet yields were observed for the non-peripherally substituted complexes 6 and 7, showing that non-peripheral substitution favors increased population of the triplet state. All complexes showed reasonably long triplet lifetimes with τT 510, 310, 910 and 350 μs in DMSO, respectively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The synthesis, photophysical and dielectric properties of ball-type dinuclear zinc phthalocyanine
- Authors: Canlıca, Mevlüde , Altındal, Ahmet , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/243532 , vital:51161 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424612500836"
- Description: The synthesis of ball-type dinuclear Zn(II) phthalocyanine containing four 4,4′-(9H-fluorene-9,9-diyl)diphenol substituents at the non-peripheral position is presented. The structure of the synthesized compound was characterized using elemental analyzes, and UV-vis, FT-IR, 1H NMR and mass spectroscopies. The ΦF value was 0.16 and ΦT value was 0.72. The complex showed reasonably long triplet lifetimes with τT 7210 μs in DMSO. The frequency and temperature dependence of the dielectric properties of ZnPc were also investigated in the frequency range of 40–105 Hz and in the temperature range of 300–440 °K. It has been observed that both dielectric constant ε′ and dielectric loss ε″ decrease with the rise in frequency as they increase with the rise in temperature. The decrease in ε′ with increasing frequency is attributed to the fact that as the frequency increases, the polarizability contribution from orientation sources decreases and finally disappears.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The use of hot and cold high pressure homogenization to enhance the loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency of nanostructured lipid carriers for the hydrophilic antiretroviral drug, didanosine for potential administration to paediatric patients
- Authors: Kasongo, Kasongo W , Müller, Rainer H , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/184087 , vital:44170 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3109/10837450.2010.542163"
- Description: A major obstacle to the application of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) as carriers for hydrophilic drugs is the limited loading capacity (LC) and encapsulation efficiency (EE) of NLCs for these molecules. The purpose of this research was to design and implement a strategy to enhance the LC and EE of NLCs for the hydrophilic drug, didanosine (DDI). DDI was dispersed in Transcutol® HP and the particle size of DDI in the liquid lipid was reduced gradually using hot high pressure homogenization (HPH). The product obtained thereafter was added to Precirol® ATO 5 and the hot mixture was immediately dried using liquid nitrogen. The dried materials were then ground and passed through a 200 μm sieve and the solid lipid particles were dispersed in a surfactant solution and subsequently used to manufacture DDI-loaded NLCs using cold HPH. The LC and EE of NLCs for DDI manufactured using the new strategy were 3.39 ± 0.63% and 51.58 ± 1.31%, respectively, compared to 0.079 ± 0.001% and 32.45 ± 0.08%, respectively, obtained when DDI-loaded NLCs were produced using conventional hot HPH. The enhanced LC and EE for DDI make NLCs a potential technology for the oral administration of DDI to paediatric patients.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The use of response surface methodology in the evaluation of captopril microparticles manufactured using an oil in oil solvent evaporation technique
- Authors: Khamanga, Sandile M , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/184221 , vital:44191 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3109/02652048.2011.629744"
- Description: Captopril (CPT) microparticles were manufactured by solvent evaporation using acetone (dispersion phase) and liquid paraffin (manufacturing phase) with Eudragit® and Methocel® as coat materials. Design of experiments and response surface methodology (RSM) approaches were used to optimize the process. The microparticles were characterized based on the percent of drug released and yield, microcapsule size, entrapment efficiency and Hausner ratio. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Infrared (IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and in vitro dissolution studies were conducted. The microcapsules were spherical, free-flowing and IR and DSC thermograms revealed that CPT was stable. The percent drug released was investigated with respect to Eudragit® RS and Methocel® K100M, Methocel® K15M concentrations and homogenizing speed. The optimal conditions for microencapsulation were 1.12 g Eudragit® RS, 0.67 g Methocel® K100M and 0.39 g Methocel® K15M at a homogenizing speed of 1643 rpm and 89% CPT was released. The value of RSM-mediated microencapsulation of CPT was elucidated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Trends in the optical and redox properties of tetraphenyltetraphenanthroporphyrins
- Authors: Mack, John , Lobb, Kevin A , Nyokong, Tebello , Shen, Zhen , Kobayashi, Nagao
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/245809 , vital:51407 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424612500885"
- Description: The results of TD-DFT calculations for a series of tetraaryltetraphenanthroporphyrins containing para-substituents with differing electron donating and accepting properties are compared to the observed optical and redox properties and Michl's perimeter model is used as a conceptual framework for analyzing the results.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Unquenched fluorescence lifetime for β-phenylthio substituted zinc phthalocyanine upon conjugation to gold nanoparticles
- Authors: Forteath, Shaun , Antunes, Edith M , Chidawanyika, Wadzanai J U , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/245774 , vital:51404 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poly.2011.12.015"
- Description: Photoinduced processes in phthalocyanine-functionalized gold nanoparticles have been investigated by spectroscopic measurements. The zinc phthalocyanine used contained four phenylthio peripheral substituents (ZnPc(SPh)4). The conjugates formed are represented as ZnPc(SPh)4–AuNP. The absorption spectrum of the ZnPc(SPh)4–AuNP shows a broadening of the phthalocyanine Q-band absorption, probably due to a tight packing of the phthalocyanines on the gold nanoparticle surface. For the attached phthalocyanines, the two fluorescence lifetimes obtained by time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) were determined to be both longer and shorter than that of the free Pc. The fluorescence lifetimes were resolved using time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy (TRES).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Working with cultural-historical activity theory and critical realism to investigate and expand farmer learning in Southern Africa
- Authors: Mukute, Mutizwa , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182494 , vital:43835 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10749039.2012.656173"
- Description: This article uses the theoretical and methodological tools of cultural historical activity theory and critical realism to examine three case studies of the introduction and expansion of sustainable agricultural practices in southern Africa. The article addresses relevant issues in the field of agricultural extension, which lacks a theoretical “bridge” between top-down knowledge transfer and bottom-up participatory approaches to learning. Further, the article considers the learning environments necessary for sustainable agriculture. Such environments provided research participants with encounters with “postnormal” scientific practices that recognise and engage plural ways of knowing. Our research explored why farmers learn and practise sustainable agriculture, how they learn and practise it, the contradictions they are facing, and how these contradictions can be overcome in a context of change-oriented learning.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Assessment of service delivery challenges: a case study of Inxuba local municipality in the Eastern Cape Province (2008-2010)
- Authors: Ndala, David
- Date: 2012-01
- Subjects: Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Public administration -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/29193 , vital:77539
- Description: The study is aimed at assessing service delivery challenges at Nxuba Local Municipality. By doing the project, the researcher is hoping to get sense as to what caused the municipality failed to provide services to the people. The development of the community of Nxuba Local Municipality depends to the social allocation of resources by National Treasury and the Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs. The background for the study was undertaken to provide a foundation for the proper research that will follow. The data which was collected from different respondents in wards of the municipality gave project diagnoses why the municipality failed to provide services. Having noted the causes, possible remedial actions were recommended. The research has come up with the very sensitive findings: which are political Instability and non-involvement of community in the municipal decision making processes. , Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2012
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012-01
Assessment of the implementation of teacher performance appraisal system in Zimbabwe: a study of 12 selected primary schools in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province
- Authors: Mathwasa, Joyce https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6637-2083
- Date: 2012-01
- Subjects: Education, Elementary , Performance standards , School management and organization
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/25249 , vital:64108
- Description: The massive campaign by Zimbabwe to educate all children was achieved through the education for all policy. When quantity had been achieved more focus was on quality issues. The quality concerns coincided with market-based developments which compelled Zimbabwe to adopt change reforms such as the teacher performance appraisal, one of which focused on quality teaching strategies that would enhance learners’ quality academic achievement. Nevertheless since its inception in 1996 and subsequent implementation in 2000, teachers through their unions have challenged the use of the appraisal which quantifies the teacher’s work, alleging their work cannot be atomized into separate elements to be measured, weighed and then ticked off. The contention highlighted above prompted the need for a research to be carried out which sought to assess: How is the performance appraisal system being implemented in the primary schools? A mixed methods design which is located in the postpositivist paradigm which produced in-depth, detailed, rich data from personal perspectives and experiences that resulted in realistic understanding, interpreted through the social and cultural context of the respondent’s lives. Educators resisted the imported system alleging it was imposed on them without adaptation to local environment. Lack of pilot-testing of the system, lack of proper training and lack of a meaningful reward system perverted the system to a mere ritual that frustrated implementers who found it difficult to use it in their daily work. The study recommends the following: That the educators be incorporated in designing an appraisal system that encompasses the whole teacher’s work package which is geared towards teaching the whole child. That there be a more efficient and sustainable reward system. That the system be interwoven into supervisory mechanisms so that there is no demarcation between the appraisal and daily supervision. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, 2012
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012-01
Challenges in the implementation of affirmative action policy at a municipality
- Authors: Baqo, Zukelwa
- Date: 2012-01
- Subjects: Affirmative action programs -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Affirmative action programs -- Government policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's Thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/26368 , vital:65295
- Description: A survey of 50 employees was conducted to identify challenges in the implementation of affirmative action, as well as intervention that have been implemented to escalate its implementation at Nkonkobe Municipality in the Eastern Cape. A closed questionnaire containing 26 items was used to collect date form respondents. The results of the study were analysed and interpreted using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, that is, Chi square test to measure association between demographic responses to each of the variables. Results indicated that lack of top management commitment to transformation, poor perception about affirmative action by managers about affirmative action, failure to link affirmative action to business strategy and poor representation of relevant stakeholders in the Employment Equity committee, are the fundamental factors that contribute to the sluggish implementation of affirmative action at Nkonkobe Municipality. Findings also revealed that successful implementation of affirmative action also depend on capacitating managers with the skills necessary to implement plans effectively, commitment of top management to making transformation a strategies priority, as well as investment in training and development is necessary to assist beneficiaries to catch up with those employees that have has a better education. , Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2012
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012-01
Critical analysis of anti-corruption strategies, policies, plans and practices- in the selected municipalities in the case of the Eastern Cape, Joe Gqabi District (2008-2011)
- Authors: Nonjola, Mcebisi Patrick
- Date: 2012-01
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal services -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/25959 , vital:64637
- Description: Corruption is a virus that has infected all sectors of society not only in South Africa but also in the whole world. The various spheres of government are seemingly not immune against this scourge and its paralysing effect on service delivery. There is no universally acceptable definition of corruption. Its causes are diverse, ranging from administrative to socio-economic, and it manifests itself in various ways. The plethora of anti-corruption legislation and agencies has only served to minimise but not to eradicate corruption from the face of the public institutions. In order to scale up its fight against corruption, the Department of Public Service and Administration developed a strategy aimed at preventing, detecting and investigating corruption in government departments. Subsequently, the Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, now called Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, developed a similar strategy for the municipalities. The strategy requires inter alia municipalities to develop minimum anti-corruption capacity which entail developing strategies, systems, policies, procedures and plans to prevent, detect and investigate fraud and corruption. The study sought to establish, in selected municipalities in Joe Gqabi District municipality, whether or not they have established the minimum capacity envisaged in the National anti-corruption strategy. The study found municipalities to have progressed at different stages of establishing and ensuring functioning of those systems, policies and plans but none of them had developed anti-corruption strategy. Consequently, the study recommends inter alia that the establishment of minimum anti-corruption capacity be made one of the national key performance indicators which must be incorporated in the performance agreements of the Senior management of municipalities. , Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2012
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012-01
Exploring the practices of school management teams (SMT's) in the promotion of quality teaching and learning: A case study of three rural primary schools in King Williams Town District
- Authors: Blie-Musoke, Nondumiso
- Date: 2012-01
- Subjects: School management teams , Effective teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/24671 , vital:63434
- Description: This study sought to investigate the practices that the School Management Teams (SMTs) utilize in promoting and monitoring quality teaching and learning in the rural primary schools. The researcher thought it important due to the fact that such actions form part of their central activities. It also aims to explore the kind of difficulties that may be experienced by these formations in rural settings while supporting quality teaching and learning. The main delineations and limitations of this work was that SMTs are supposed to be operational across the spectrum of schools from the first grade to the last one in the high schools. However, due to time constraints and lack of resources, this study was only carried out in three rural primary schools of the king William’s Town district. SMTs are ideally made up of the Principal, Deputy-Principal and HODs (school heads of Department) of these sampled schools who were interviewed. However, in some of the schools under study, the positions of HOD and deputy-principals had already been abolished. The researcher was informed that this was because they had low numbers of learners. In such instances, Senior Teachers were substituted since they are incorporated in the SMTs of those schools. These educators were purposively selected from the foundation, intermediate and senior phases in each primary school. With the research exploring the practices of the SMTs of three rural primary schools, a case study research design was utilized. The research instruments utilized by the researcher to collect data in this case study were Interviews and Document Analysis. The data collected was put into categories and interpreted into common themes. Sources included responses of the participants, school documents, field notes and other relevant documentation such as minutes of the minutes of the SMTs. Constructs, themes and patterns that speak to the strategies used by SMTs in promoting teaching and learning in schools were explored. Briefly, the main findings indicated that the SMTs of the sampled rural primary schools do understand the Departmental policies, but need to be innovative and create space for the practices that they could employ to promote quality teaching and learning. They seem to be working under difficult circumstances. They are grossly over-loaded as full-time administrators and teachers with many learning areas, as well as being responsible for the school nutrition programme. The vacant posts created by retired caretakers added to the overload. There was a concern about the difficulty they were experiencing in the teaching and learning of Mathematics which is nationally regarded as a scarce skill. As an overview of the researcher’s conclusions, it is noted that the SMTs do support the educators to a certain extent. However, there was no documentation that showed how resolutions were made and implemented to validate the nature of support that they give to them. There seemed to be a lack of meaningful parental involvement in the sampled rural primary schools, possibly due to poverty, lack of education and alcohol abuse in the community. Lastly, it seemed to the researcher that there could be uncertainty and uneasiness about the functionality of the senior teachers. Their job descriptions as members of the SMTs remain vaguely defined. In response to the problem statement posed in this study, six major recommendations were made as follows: • Schools, irrespective of their size, ought to have clerks who are able to deal specifically with office administration and external communications. • The teacher-learner ratio as a means of determining the number of educators a school ought to have, should be reviewed as a matter of urgency, if the vital goal of quality teaching and learning is to be realized. • A clear official mandate concerning the job description of senior teachers ought to be established and their positions advertised in that category. This will ensure their equitable distribution as some schools are having them in excess, while others have none. • The department of Education should work with sister departments in government such as Social Development to enforce the law regarding parental negligence. A data basis of negligence parents should be compiled by the concerned departments and reviewed from time to time. Teachers should attend workshops on various policies that govern their roles in the delivery of quality teaching and learning. They need not be conversant with the subject matter only, but also with the relevant policies as a vehicle that facilitates service delivery in education. The introduction of Mathematics support educators who specialized in the learning area should be introduced in each phase of schooling. Such incumbents would rotate from school to school within a circuit, with special reference to rural schools where they would tackle problematic topics as reported by the educators. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, 2012
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012-01
Impact of performance evaluation on service rendering by the Department of Education in the Lady Frere District at selected schools (2010-2011)
- Authors: Ngodwane, Anele Anthony
- Date: 2012-01
- Subjects: Performance standards , Education and state , School management and organization
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/26437 , vital:65312
- Description: The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of performance evaluation on the service rendering by the department of education. There have been studies made around performance management system but to my knowledge it was the first of this nature in Lady Frere District. Performance Management System has not been a success ever since its implementation. A lot had happened in our country from apartheid era to the present democratic dispensation. Among the achievements South Africa masters is the ability to formulate or the formulation of policies but its weakness is on the implementation. Performance management system is among the policies that were developed but its implementation has never been a success. Its main aim is to enhance service delivery and attempt to make government effective and efficient. This research considers if performance management system and performance evaluation might address the question of service delivery in the Department of Education in Lady Frere District. Findings on this research spell it out that effective implementation performance management system will lead to an enhanced service delivery. , Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce , 2012
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012-01