Change management in a welfare organisation

Text in AfrikaansHierdie studie is onderneem om die invloed van die veranderingsproses op die funksionering van 'n welsynsorganisasie te bepaal. 'n Literatuurstudie en empiriese studie is onderneem. Die navorsing het aangedui dat die redes vir verandering hoofsaaklik ekstern van aard is, dat 'n hoe persentasie respondente nie altyd die noodsaaklikheid of rede vir verandering verstaan nie, en dat die meerderheid die kommunikasieproses en deurgee van inligting nie altyd duidelik beleef nie. Die ondersoek dui verder aan dat die motivering van grondvlak maatskaplike werkers deur die bestuurders nie onderskat moet word nie. Die deurgee van inligting is positief ervaar, maar die werkers sou meer ondersteuning daarvan van die bestuur wou ervaar. Tydens die studie is daar 'n beperkte mate van weerstand gevind. Weerstand by werkers word egter beperk indien hulle ervaar dat hulle deel van die proses is, voorberei word op verandering, sekuriteit nie be"invloed word nie en hulle oor die nodige redes vir verandering ingelig worThe purpose of this study was to establish the influence of the process of change on the functioning of a welfare organisation. A literature and empirical study was done. Research showed that reasons for change were primarily of an external kind, that a high percentage of respondents not always understand the necessity or reasons for change, and that most of the respondents experienced the communication channels and information not always as open and clear. The research shows that motivation of ground level social workers by managers must under no circumstances be under-estimated. The way in which information was given, was experienced positively, but workers needed more support with it from management. During the research a limited degree of resistance was further found. Resistance experienced by workers became less when they were part of the process, are prepared for change, their security not threatened and the reasons for change are known to them.Social WorkM. Diac. (Maatskaplike Werk-rigting

Precipitation chemistry in semi-arid areas of Southern Africa: a case study of a rural and an industrial site

Experimental data on the precipitation chemistry in the semi-arid savanna of South Africa is presented in this paper. A total of 901 rainwater samples were collected with automatic wet-only samplers at a rural site, Louis Trichardt, and at an industrial site, Amersfoort, from July 1986 to June 1999. The chemical composition of precipitation was analysed for seven inorganic and two organic ions, using ion chromatography. The most abundant ion was SO4 2 − and a large proportion of theprecipitation is acidic, with 98% of samples at Amersfoort and 94% at LouisTrichardt having a pH below 5.6 (average pH of 4.4 and 4.9, respectively). This acidity results from a mixture of mineral and organic acids, with mineral acids being the primary contributors to the precipitation acidity in Amersfoort, while at Louis Trichardt, organic and mineral acids contribute equal amounts of acidity. It was found that the composition of rainwater is controlled by five sources: marine, terrigenous, nitrogenous, biomass burning and anthropogenic sources. The relative contributions of these sources at the two sites were calculated. Anthropogenic sources dominate at Amersfoort and biomass burning at Louis Trichardt. Most ions exhibit a seasonal pattern at Louis Trichardt, with the highest concentrations occurring during the austral spring as a result of agricultural activities and biomass combustion, while at Amersfoort it is less pronounced due to the dominance of relatively constant industrial emissions. The results are compared to observations from other African regions

Wet season chemical composition of atmospheric wet deposition at Cape Point

The measurement of precipitation chemistry enables the assessment of the temporal and spatial evolution of the chemical composition of the atmosphere associated with atmospheric physical and chemical mechanisms. The aims of this study were to report the chemical composition of rainwater collected at a marine environment, i.e. the Cape Point Global Atmosphere Watch (CPT GAW) station from 2004 to 2012. As expected, the volume weighted mean (VWM) concentrations of Na+ (298.64 μEq.L-1) and Cl- (354.18 μEq.L-1) were significantly higher compared to the VWM concentrations of other ionic species, as well as compared to the VWM concentrations thereof at the sites in the South African interior. The average pH of rainwater was slightly lower than the pH of unpolluted rainwater, mainly due to NO3- associated with the occasional influence of the Cape Town metropole. In contrast to the sites situated in the north-eastern South African interior, where anthropogenic SO42- was the major constituent in rainwater, SO42- at CPT GAW was entirely associated with marine air with no anthropogenic contribution. It was also indicated that 94% of the chemical content at CPT GAW can be attributed to the marine source

Spatial and temporal assessment of gaseous pollutants in the Highveld of South Africa

Diverse natural and anthropogenic activities in the Highveld of South Africa contribute to elevated levels of inorganic and organic gaseous pollutant species. The primary aims of this investigation were to determine spatial and temporal distributions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3), as well as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) in this area. Sampling was conducted on a monthly basis for a year at eight strategically selected sites. The highest NO2, SO2 and BTEX concentrations were measured at sites with significant local sources and/or sites impacted by more remote sources, as indicated by overlay back trajectories. O3 concentrations were found to be lower at sites with high levels of NO2, SO2 and BTEX. NO2 and SO2 peaked during winter, while O3 peaked in spring. NO2 and SO2 temporal concentration variations were ascribed to differences in seasonal meteorological conditions, as well as additional sources in winter. The O3 peak coincided with a seasonal CO peak, which was identified as an important precursor for O3 formation. No distinct seasonal trend was observed for BTEX. The annual average concentrations for SO2, NO2, O3 and benzene were below the South African annual standards at all sites

Assessment of atmospheric trace metals in the western Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa

Trace metal species emitted into the atmosphere from natural and anthropogenic sources can cause various health-related and environmental problems. Limited data exist for atmospheric trace metal concentrations in South Africa, which has the largest industrialised economy in Africa, with significant mining and metallurgical activities. A large fraction of these mineral assets is concentrated in the Bushveld Igneous Complex, with the western limb being the most exploited. To partially address this knowledge gap, atmospheric trace metals were collected in the western Bushveld Igneous Complex at Marikana in the North West Province. Diurnal PM 2.5 and PM 10 samples were collected for 1 year. A total of 27 trace metal species were determined. With the exception of Ni, none of the trace metals measured during the sampling period exceeded local or international air quality standard limit values. Total trace metal concentrations in the PM 10 fraction peaked during the dry months and were regularly washed out during the wet season. A less significant seasonal trend was observed for the trace metal concentrations in the PM 2.5 fraction; a finding attributed to a faster replenishment of smaller particles into the atmosphere after rain events. About 80% of the PM 10 trace metal levels measured occurred in the PM 2.5 fraction, while 40% or more of all metals emanated from the PM 2.5 fraction. This finding indicated a strong influence of anthropogenic sources. Four meaningful emission sources were determined from explorative principal component factor analysis: crustal, vanadium related, base metal related and ferrochromium related, which correlated well with the anticipated atmospheric trace metal sources in the region

Modelling new particle formation events in the South African savannah

Africa is one of the less studied continents with respect to atmospheric aerosols. Savannahs are complex dynamic systems sensitive to climate and land-use changes, but the interaction of these systems with the atmosphere is not well understood. Atmospheric particles, called aerosols, affect the climate on regional and global scales, and are an important factor in air quality. In this study, measurements from a relatively clean savannah environment in South Africa were used to model new particle formation and growth. There already are some combined long-term measurements of trace gas concentrations together with aerosol and meteorological variables available, but to our knowledge this is the first detailed simulation that includes all the main processes relevant to particle formation. The results show that both of the particle formation mechanisms investigated overestimated the dependency of the formation rates on sulphuric acid. From the two particle formation mechanisms tested in this work, the approach that included low volatile organic compounds to the particle formation process was more accurate in describing the nucleation events than the approach that did not. To obtain a reliable estimate of aerosol concentration in simulations for larger scales, nucleation mechanisms would need to include organic compounds, at least in southern Africa. This work is the first step in developing a more comprehensive new particle formation model applicable to the unique environment in southern Africa. Such a model will assist in better understanding and predicting new particle formation – knowledge which could ultimately be used to mitigate impacts of climate change and air quality

Re-evaluating the NO 2 hotspot over the South African Highveld

Globally, numerous pollution hotspots have been identified using satellite-based instruments. One of these hotspots is the prominent NO2hotspot over the South African Highveld. The tropospheric NO2column density of this area is comparable to that observed for central and northern Europe, eastern North America and south-east Asia. The most well-known pollution source in this area is a large array of coal-fired power stations. Upon closer inspection, long-term means of satellite observations also show a smaller area, approximately 100 km west of the Highveld hotspot, with a seemingly less substantial NO2column density. This area correlates with the geographical location of the Johannesburg–Pretoria conurbation or megacity, one of the 40 largest metropolitan areas in the world. Ground-based measurements indicate that NO2concentrations in the megacity have diurnal peaks in the early morning and late afternoon, which coincide with peak traffic hours and domestic combustion. During these times, NO2concentrations in the megacity are higher than those in the Highveld hotspot. These diurnal NO2 peaks in the megacity have generally been overlooked by satellite observations because the satellites have fixed local overpass times that do not coincide with these peak periods. Consequently, the importance of NO2 over the megacity has been underestimated. We examined the diurnal cycles of NO2 ground-based measurements for the two areas – the megacity and the Highveld hotspot – and compared them with the satellite-based NO2 observations. Results show that the Highveld hotspot is accompanied by a second hotspot over the megacity, which is of significance for the more than 10 million people living in this megacity