List of Titles

Gender perceptual differences and their effects on the implementation of policy in the prevention of HIV/AIDS in Makoni District, Zimbabwe

- Musabaeka, True Shame

Authors: Musabaeka, True Shame
Date: 2006
Subjects: AIDS (Disease) in women -- Zimbabwe , Sexually transmitted diseases -- Zimbabwe , Sexual consent -- Zimbabwe , Sexual behavior surveys -- Zimbabwe , Social perception -- Zimbabwe
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sc (Dev)
Identifier: vital:11406 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/308 , AIDS (Disease) in women -- Zimbabwe , Sexually transmitted diseases -- Zimbabwe , Sexual consent -- Zimbabwe , Sexual behavior surveys -- Zimbabwe , Social perception -- Zimbabwe
Description: This study sought to establish gender perceptual differences and their effects on the implementation of Policy in the prevention of HIV/AIDS in Makoni District, Zimbabwe. The role of women as caregivers to HIV/AIDS sufferers is also highlighted and how this has deprived them towards social, political and economic development. The source of the data used was the World Health Organisation (WHO) project on Family Planning and AIDS. The sample of the study comprised of 100 men and women from Makoni District, Zimbabwe. In addition to the survey question, focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted. The FGD data complimented the survey results with qualitative information. The objectives of the study looked at people’s attitudes, cultural practices and sexual practices. These were analysed to determine how the gender issues within them affected the HIV/AIDS prevention strategies. The five major prevention strategies focused on in this study are: · promotion of condom use; · reduction of the number of sexual partners; · sticking to one sexual partner; · control and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs); and · Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) for HIV to prevent vertical transmission of the disease. Although, the majority of the women indicated that it was acceptable for a married woman to ask her husband to use condoms, this was disputed by the findings from the FGDs. Issues of trust and fidelity were raised,but many men and women reported that they were not prepared to confront one another. The FGD results revealed that the men assert that it is normal for every man to have extra marital relationships, therefore they do not see anything wrong with it. It also came out that there are women who both have no income or partner to support them financially and are living in absolute poverty. These women, if anything, are more likely to increase the number of their sexual partners than reduce them so that they increase their economic base inorder to support their families. It has been established that for effective treatment and control of STDs, there is need for both partners to cooperate and seek treatment at the same time. However, the findings from this study revealed that lack of communication between sexual partners hampered the treatment of these diseases. On the other hand, the men indicated that talking to their wives about STDs would compel them to say where they got it. On the other hand the women reported that their men would accuse them of infidelity if they told them of an STD. FGD results however revealed that men and women were prepared to have HIV testing so that they would know of their status before planning a family. The gender perceptual differences on HIV/AIDS prevention have been identified as follows: · the need for male compliance to use condoms effectively; · the fear of losing trust by suggesting condom use; and · acceptance of male promiscuity by society that perpetuates that risky behaviour and exposure to HIV/AIDS infection and lack of communication between sexual partners, are a hindrance for effective control and treatment of STDs.
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Date Issued: 2006

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Factors contributing to relapse of adult drug users in Buffalo City Municipality Metropolitan, South Africa

- Charlie, Thobeka V

Authors: Charlie, Thobeka V
Date: 20xx
Subjects: Substance abuse
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MPH
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18380 , vital:42258
Description: According to the WHO [2014], one in every 14 people is regular users of drugs, adding up to a total of 3.74 million people (taken as a percentage of the population as of 2013). While the United Nations Office on Drug Crimes (UNDOC) revealed that in 2015, 167,750 people have died due to direct use of drugs, the patterns of drug use have increased from 1.3% to 9.8% in 2018 (UNDOC, 2018:49-51). The Eastern Cape is one of the poorest provinces of South Africa characterized by a poor primary and secondary education system, a lack of basic facilities, and poor transport infrastructure. It is evident that South Africa in general, and the Eastern Cape in particular, is experiencing a major problem with drug and substance abuse, which is especially common in school-going children. Furthermore, the Eastern Cape have limited access to specialized drug rehabilitative services due to the geographical location of existing services and the cost associated with travelling. Rehabilitation centres are available in both the State-funded and privately-owned institutions, yet the researcher was perplexed as to why, despite the proven effectiveness of the rehabilitation program in the private health care facility, relapse of the drug abusers in the Eastern Cape continues to occur. This study aimed to explore and describe the reasons why adult drug abusers who previously completed a detoxification program at Clinic A in Buffalo City Municipality, relapse after discharge. Understanding the reasons or factors of relapse assisted in the formulation of recommendations to adjust the program and prevent or reduce relapses. In this study, a qualitative, descriptive, contextual and exploratory, qualitative research design was followed to gain insight into and understand the reasons that contributed to the relapse of the adult drug abuser in a private health care facility in the Eastern Cape. 9 The population was defined as the entire group of persons who met the inclusion criteria, who relapsed after successful completion of a drug detoxification program. The sample consisted of 25 relapsed persons who were willing to participate. In Phase 1 of the study, the researcher invited relapsed adult abusers who were readmitted for the detoxification program from January to December 2019 to participate in an individual interview. The data was then reduced into patterns, categories and themes by clustering and coding the data according to Tesch’s steps of analysis. In Phase 2 of the study, the researcher critically analysed the detoxification program currently used in the private health care facility. National and international articles and best-practice standards were also consulted. Finally, a literature control was done to place the findings of the study in the context of what was already known. In the phenomenology, the literature should be reviewed after data collection and analysis so that the information in the literature does not influence the researcher in any way. In phase 3 of the study, the researcher wrote recommendations to improve the detoxification program at Clinic A [BCM].
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Date Issued: 20xx

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Hegemonic conceptualisations of contestation in the Middle East: a case study of Iraq

- Kwitshi, Aviwe

Authors: Kwitshi, Aviwe
Date: 200
Subjects: Terrorism Insurgency
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc. Sci (Political Science)
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18130 , vital:42235
Description: This dissertation illustrated how the production of discourse defining ‘terrorism’ evolved after the emergence of the United States as hegemon, a position that enabled it to develop meaning narratives to arrive at discursive constructs that were selfrewarding, in that they justified its invasion of Iraq in 2003. This study was able to analyse the construction of the ‘war on terror’ discourse used about the Middle East (ME) as a result of the US hegemonic position, using both Gramsci’s analysis of discourse and Foucault’s concepts of power relations. Gramsci proposes the production of discourses through the concept of ’hegemony’. On the other hand, for Foucault (1980: 93), ‘‘relations of power cannot in themselves be established, consolidated nor implemented without the production, accumulation, circulation and functioning of a discourse’’. This study focuses on the period after World War II, drawing on events in the Middle East, in particular Iraq, and examining the influence of the US in the region during this period. In addition, this study addresses the conceptualisation of ‘terrorism’ and discourse around this phenomenon as a function of power and a generally accepted outcome of the exercise of hegemony. The study illustrates how power works through discourse based on Foucault’s conceptualisation of the relationship between power and discourse, and the hegemon’s intention of utilising its discursive power in shaping the views and actions of others.
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Date Issued: 200

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Modelling false positive reduction in maritime object detection

- Nkele, Nosiphiwo

Authors: Nkele, Nosiphiwo
Date: 20xx
Subjects: Computer vision Neural networks (Computer science)
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Computer Science )
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17168 , vital:40862
Description: Target detection has become a very significant research area in computer vision with its applications in military, maritime surveillance, and defense and security. Maritime target detection during critical sea conditions produces a number of false positives when using the existing algorithms due to sea waves, dynamic nature of the ocean, camera motion, sea glint, sensor noise, sea spray, swell and the presence of birds. The main question that has been addressed in this research is how can object detection be improved in maritime environment by reducing false positives and promoting detection rate. Most of Previous work on object detection still fails to address the problem of false positives and false negatives due to background clutter. Most of the researchers tried to reduce false positives by applying filters but filtering degrades the quality of an image leading to more false alarms during detection. As much as radar technology has previously been the most utilized method, it still fails to detect very small objects and it may be applied in special circumstances. In trying to improve the implementation of target detection in maritime, empirical research method was proposed to answer questions about existing target detection algorithms and techniques used to reduce false positives in object detection. Visible images were retrained on a pre-trained Faster R-CNN with inception v2. The pre-trained model was retrained on five different sample data with increasing size, however for the last two samples the data was duplicated to increase size. For testing purposes 20 test images were utilized to evaluate all the models. The results of this study showed that the deep learning method used performed best in detecting maritime vessels and the increase of dataset improved detection performance and false positives were reduced. The duplication of images did not yield the best results; however, the results were promising for the first three models with increasing data.
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Date Issued: 20xx

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Poverty alleviation strategies and their impact on the livelihoods in Gqumahashe Village (Alice, Eastern Cape) South Africa

- Thengela, Ntombizanele

Authors: Thengela, Ntombizanele
Date: 20xx
Subjects: Poverty Alleviation
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MSW
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18291 , vital:42249
Description: There are between forty-five to fifty-seven percent (45-57%), South Africans who are engulfed in poverty. In an attempt to identify policy instruments that could help change the status quo, the South African government introduced various strategies to alleviate poverty and some have been seen to be relatively successful. The aim of the study was to identify poverty alleviation strategies in Gqhumahashe village and their impact on the livelihoods of the inhabitants. A qualitative approach and a phenomenological research design were used in conducting this study as these approaches allowed participants to share first-hand experiences regarding the issue under investigation. Purposive sampling method was employed to select participants for the study. Twenty-five participants were selected to participate in this study to share their experience as beneficiaries of these poverty alleviation programmes. The data obtained through in-depth interviews were analysed thematically as well as discussed and supported by the relevant literature. Thematic analysis was used to analyse audiotaped interviews. The findings revealed that there are poverty alleviation strategies in place in Gqhumahashe village. Those strategies include free basic and higher education, school feeding schemes, early childhood development and Kari-Gude literacy programmes for elderly. There are also projects such as the Expanded Public Works Programmes; Community Works Projects and the Municipality Infrastructure Grants. Lastly, Free Health Care Services and Social Welfare Service or Social Grants are strategies that are available in the village to alleviate poverty. The findings also revealed that there is high rate of unemployment in the village. In conclusion, the participants were very happy about the Municipality Infrastructure Grant because it has opened many opportunities for the inhabitants to be employed and it improved the road infrastructure. The recommendation drawn from the study, were that government should create more sustainable jobs for the disadvantaged. Government should also create jobs for the unemployed young graduates. The study recommends that these programmes to alleviate poverty should be extended to other villages across South Afric
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Date Issued: 20xx

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The Factors Influencing the Behavioural Intention of Overweight Adults to Use Wearable Devices for Sustained Health Monitoring

- Ogundele , Oluwaseyi Caleb

Authors: Ogundele , Oluwaseyi Caleb
Date: 20xx
Subjects: Digital media
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom (Information Systems)
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/13903 , vital:39725
Description: The volume of wearable devices that can be used for sustained health monitoring purposes is continuously growing within the healthcare sector. These devices allow users to track their own activity levels in real time. However, there are factors that may inhibit the behavioural intention to sustain the use of wearable devices for health monitoring in the long term by overweight adults. These factors include privacy concerns, costs of obtaining wearable devices, theft, frequent charging and short battery life of wearable devices and bulkiness of some wearable devices. It is against this backdrop that this study examined the factors influencing the behavioural intention of overweight adults in South Africa to make use of wearable devices for sustained health monitoring. This research made use of the Expectation Confirmation Model (ECM) as the theoretical foundation of the study. In achieving the aim of this study, a qualitative research approach was used. The purposive sampling technique was selected to identify twenty (20) overweight adults (aged 18-59 years) who are using wearable devices in East London, South Africa. Interviews were conducted with the twenty participants to identify the factors that will influence their behavioural intention to make use of wearable devices to monitor their health. Through thematic analysis, data provided by participants was grouped and summarised into relevant themes to answer the main research question. The study developed a framework that identifies the factors influencing behavioural intention of overweight adults to continue using wearable devices for sustained health monitoring. The factors that were identified include confirmation, perceived usefulness and satisfaction of wearable devices for sustained health monitoring. The realisation of weight loss, monitoring of daily activities and calories through the use of wearable devices was found to positively influence the behavioural intention of the users of wearable devices to continue their usage. However, the major factors that may inhibit the continuous usage of wearable devices for sustained health monitoring are privacy concerns, costs of obtaining wearable devices, theft, frequent charging and short battery life of wearable devices and bulkiness of some wearable devices. Based on the findings, the study recommended the following: (1) the wearable device manufacturers should assure the users of their privacy and confidentiality by providing the needed ii | P a g e interfaces for this purpose; (2) the manufacturers of wearable devices should make the devices less bulky so that they can be more portable; (3) South African government should provide security operatives in isolated areas where people are not feeling secure; (4) the manufacturers of wearable devices make the purchase prices of wearable devices more affordable, especially for low income people; and (5) the manufacturers of wearable devices should improve on battery life and quality of wearable devices so that the devices are more time efficient and require less charging of the devices.
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Date Issued: 20xx

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The impact of exchange rate volatility on manufacturing production : a case study of South Africa

- Dube, Ziphozethu

Authors: Dube, Ziphozethu
Date: 20
Subjects: Foreign exchange rates -- South Africa Manufacturing industries -- South Africa Industrial productivity
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8294 , vital:32193
Description: The study examined the impact of exchange rate volatility on manufacturing production for the period of 1994 - 2015 in South Africa. The study evaluated the literature on exchange rate volatility and manufacturing production which was conducted and resulted into specification of an empirical model. The Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) was employed towards deducing the relationship of exchange rate volatility and manufacturing production. This study made use of monthly data to examine the relationship of exchange rate volatility and manufacturing production. However, the data frequency selected, ensured an adequate number of observations and results revealed that exchange rate volatility has a negative relationship with manufacturing production in the long run, nonetheless considering South Africa as an export economy the results were consistent with Ayinde (2014) who found that this relationship is seen to exist. A positive relationship was noted within the short run period. The unstable business environment in South Africa has been worsened by the political climate and unstable policies that has a ripple effect. Due to this aspect the study recommended the need for stabilizer policies for monetary, fiscal, trade and exchange rate management. The government should properly manage the exchange rate and design suitable policies that will reduce the deviation of the exchange rate thereby encourage production. Exchange rate stability is viewed to be key for export-oriented manufacturing sectors in a macroeconomic environment. The South African economy has felt such heaviness of political unrest and polices that do not result in stability. It would be key for policymakers to be vigilant and implement such measures to get the economy ticking in the right direction.
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Date Issued: 20

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Analysis of decision making in smallholder irrigation practice: a case study of Shiloh and Zanyokwe irrigation schemes in Central Eastern Cape, South Africa

- Isaac, Agholor Azikiwe

Authors: Isaac, Agholor Azikiwe
Subjects: Irrigation farming -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural extension work -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Crops -- Irrigation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Agricultural Economics)
Identifier: vital:11215 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1019766 , Irrigation farming -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural extension work -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Crops -- Irrigation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Description: The study was conducted in Zanyokwe and Shiloh smallholder irrigation schemes located in Eastern Cape Province at Amathole and Chris Hani districts respectively. The choice of Zanyokwe and Shiloh smallholder irrigation scheme for this study is mainly supported by the fact that it had a substantial level of crop farming activity taking place especially at Zanyokwe while the Shiloh smallholder irrigation specialises dairy farming. The study examined decision making in smallholder irrigation practice with particular reference to Shiloh and Zanyokwe irrigation schemes. The general objective of the thesis was to analyse and model the determinants of SIS farmer‟s decision making. The specific objectives of the study are as follows: to investigate the determinants of decision making among smallholder irrigation farmers; to examine the relationship between household and farm characteristics and institutional factors that explain decision making in smallholder irrigation scheme; assess the contribution of smallholder irrigation farming to household food security; and determine the production and marketing constraints of smallholder farmers‟ in both schemes. The theoretical and conceptual framework of the study gave a detailed discussion on the determinants of decision making of households. The theories used to understand household behaviour under different assumptions were variously discussed. Comprehensive illustrations of analytical framework of the study were also conceptualised. This study used a survey design, quantitative and qualitative research methodologies involving the use of questionnaires and focus group discussions. The data was coded and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). However, frequencies, percentages, bar and pie chart was also computed to describe the data. In consideration of the conceptual framework of the study, the agricultural household model was adopted to analyse smallholder farmer‟s household decision making. Twenty one explanatory variables identified in the conceptual framework of the study were discussed and some of these identified variables were incorporated into the model. The logistic regression model was used as a method of analysis because it can estimate the probability of a certain event occurring and it accommodates a lot of variables which can be ranked in order to illustrate which variables are significant. In the binary logistic model used, seven variables (farm experience, size of farmland, land rights/PTO, water sufficiency, farm asset, market information and production variation) out of the twelve predictor variables were found to have significant effect on influencing household decision making in Shiloh smallholder irrigation scheme, while five variables (gender, age, education, road distance and extension access) were not significant. Of the seven significant variables, four had positive signs (land rights/PTO, water sufficiency and market information); which means that an increase in either of these variables may be associated with an increase in household decision making in Shiloh. The other three predictor variables (farm experience, farm asset and product variation) had negative signs; this means an increase in either of these variables may be associated with a decrease in decision making. In Zanyokwe, six variables (farm experience, land rights/PTO, water sufficiency, farm asset, market information and production variation) out of the twelve predictor variables were found to have significant impact on influencing household decision making, while six variables (gender, age, education, size of farm land, road distance and extension access) were not significant. Of the six significant variables, two had positive signs (water sufficiency and farm asset); which means that an increase in either of these variables may be associated with an increase in household decision making in Zanyokwe. The other four predictor variables (farm experience, land rights/PTO, market information and product variation) had negative signs; this means an increase in either of these variables may be associated with a decrease in decision making. The study concludes that smallholder agriculture is essential for employment generation and food security of households. It is apparent that household food security will not be achieved without giving attention to the role played by smallholders‟ farmers in South Africa. It is pertinent to promulgate an efficient policy programme to address the diversity of smallholders‟ situations and identify the main constraints on investment. Therefore, all spheres of government, the private sector and NGOs should consider investment in smallholder agriculture through coordinated strategies and political support. This study also recommends that government should develop a strategic Smallholder Investment Plan which would improve investments in smallholder agriculture.
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Climate smart soil management: a win-win response to climate change and food security challenges

- Mnkeni, Pearson

Authors: Mnkeni, Pearson
Subjects: Food security , Population growth , Soil degration , Climate change , Global warming , Conservation agriculture , Organic materials
Language: English
Type: Inaugural lecture
Identifier: vital:11980 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1011255 , Food security , Population growth , Soil degration , Climate change , Global warming , Conservation agriculture , Organic materials
Description: Sub-Saharan Africa faces a major food security challenge as a result of projected fast increases in population growth and continuing declining per capita food availability. This calls for accelerated increases in productivity to meet expected increases in food demand. However, the soils from which the extra production is to come from are highly degraded, especially in South Africa where a large proportion of the land is ranked as having high degradation potential. This is compounded by the increasing climate change challenge which will render more land unfavourable for production. The climate change is mainly caused by global warming believed to be a result of increasing greenhouse gas emissions. The link between soil carbon, food security, and climate change will be explained in this paper. It will be shown that the high degradation status of South African soils is related to their low organic carbon contents. Efforts to restore their productivity must include strategies to minimize further loss of organic matter and encouraging carbon sequestration. Some interventions investigated with the help of my students and collaborators are presented. They include use of farmer available organic materials that can be applied to soils to improve soil carbon sequestration and fertility status; use of cyanobacteria to improve soil carbon sequestration and soil biogeochemical performance; and the adoption of conservation agriculture.
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