The Primary School Nutrition Programme (PSNP) : assessing the allocation of funding in KwaZulu Natal, 1995/96.

Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.The Government of National Unity's (GNU) desire to eliminate socio-economic imbalances inherited from the apartheid era resulted in the creation ofthe Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) which outlines principles and strategies for development in key areas. One such area is nutrition; in this regard President Mandela enacted the Primary School Nutrition Programme (PSNP) to provide one third of the minimum daily food intake for primary school children, where the need existed. The PSNP was launched on the 1st of September 1994 following the announcement of the start of the programme by the President in his State of the Nation Address on 24 May 1994. Prior to the establishment of the PSNP, the National Nutrition and Social Development Programme (NNSDP) was addressing malnutrition, targeting pre-school children and pregnant and nursing mothers. Initiated without a carefully planned strategy and clearly defined roles for the national and provincial offices, the NNSDP and its successor, the PSNP were, and remain, far from successful. In 1996 the Health Systems Trust (HST) and the Department of Health (DoH) held a workshop intended to build a framework for evaluating the PSNP. The evaluation of the PSNP was prompted by the fact that direct nutrition interventions in South Africa account for about 7% of the public health budget which in monetary terms is a considerable amount. It remains dubious whether this money is being spent efficiently and appropriately. Further, the evaluation of the programme is a result of severe criticism from all fronts of society as fraud has become apparent in the various government departments within the provinces. In KwaZulu Natal, extensive fraud has occurred, where cases of non-existent schools and teachers have, for example, been discovered on the list of beneficiaries of the PSNP. The aim of this study is to form a component of the HST and DoH evaluation of the PSNP through investigating how the allocation of funding has been conducted in KwaZulu Natal, and, if this is found to be inappropriate, to provide recommendations for improved allocation . of funds. To find out more about allocation procedures in KwaZulu Natal, key informants from the Department of Health were interviewed and their responses were analysed to expose problems with the targeting and allocation of funding at the various levels of government. Further, data obtained from the KwaZulu Natal Department of Health in Durban were analysed using a sample taken from the final financial quarter ofthe year 1995/96. These data showed the amount of PSNP funds advanced to ,each school compared with the amount of funding which was accounted for, as per the procedures for the implementation of the programme. Judging from the results obtained, the use of allocated funds for the PSNP in KwaZulu Natal has not been successful in 80% of cases in the ten Magisterial Districts assessed. In educational terms, there may be a role for a programme such as the PSNP - providing pupils with enough food to enable them to be more alert and active in the school environment whereas in nutritional terms, this appears to be less the case. Improving nutrition status is much more feasible when programmes are targeted at the very young and pre-school children. Lack of targeting in KwaZulu Natal has contributed to limited success of the PSNP as a nutrition tool. In the light of the evaluation undertaken in this study, it is proposed that targeting younger, pre-school children is an attractive alternative for future nutrition-based interventions and more development-based approaches, rather than the "food hand-outs" which appear to characterise the PSNP

Body shape versus body form : a comparison of the body shapes of female Swazi consumers with those of body forms used in apparel manufacturing

Om goeie pas te verseker is dit belangrik dat klein- en grootskaalse klerevervaardigers klere vervaardig wat die groottes en liggaamsvorme van hul teikenmark sal pas. Vir die pas van klere maak groot- en kleinskaalse klerevervaar-digers gebruik van kommersiële pas-modelle, waarvan die groottes en vorme veronderstel is om dieselfde te wees as die groottes en vorme van die teikenmark. Soos in baie ander lande, is geen antropometriese data van die Swazi-populasie beskikbaar nie, en ondervind veral die kleinskaalse klerevervaardigers in Swazi-land steeds menige probleme met die pas van hul vervaardigde klere. Die doel van die studie was eerstens om die mees algemene vroulike Swazi-liggaamsvorm wat vir die vervaardiging van kommersiële pas-modelle gebruik kan word, te identifiseer, en tweedens om die mees algemene Swazi-liggaamsvorm met die lig-gaamsvorme van beskikbare kommersiële pas-modelle te vergelyk. Die steekproef het bestaan uit 101 jong Swazi-vroue, ouderdom 18-30 jaar, en met ’n grootte 32 en 34 borsmaat. Die studie is in twee fases uitgevoer. In fase 1 is die liggaamsmates van die steekproef en twee verskillende handels-naam kommersiële pas-modelle geneem en vergelyk. In fase 2 is die pas van ’n basiese rok wat volgens die mates van die geïdentifiseerde mees algemene Swazi-liggaamsvorm (grootte 32 en 34) gemaak is, op die kommersiële pas-modelle geëvalueer. Die resultate het getoon dat die mees algemene Swazi-liggaamsvorm die driehoekige liggaams-vorm is, gevolg deur die uurglas-liggaamsvorm. In teenstelling met wat verwag is, was die liggaamsvorm van die pas-modelle nie die uur-glas of ideale liggaamsvorm nie, maar wel ’n langwerpige en driehoekige liggaamsvorm. Daar was betekenisvolle verskille tussen die lig-gaamsmates van beide groottes driehoekige Swazi-liggaamsvorms en die mates van die twee verskillende handelsnaam-pas-modelle. Die evaluering van die pas van ’n basiese rok, gemaak volgens die mates van die geïden-tifiseerde mees algemene Swazi-liggaamsvorm (grootte 32 en 34 Swazi) op die kommersiële pas-modelle, het dan ook pas-probleme uitge-wys. Die resultate het implikasie vir vervaar-digers van pas-modelle sowel as van klere wat vir die Swazi-mark bedoel ishttp://reference.sabinet.co.za/sa_epublication/famecsam201

Natural versus synthetic dyes: consumers’ understanding of apparel coloration and their willingness to adopt sustainable alternatives

DATA AVAILABILITY : Data will be made available on request.Sustainable alternatives such as natural dyes are much-needed, but also highly dependent on consumer acceptance and cognizance of the benefits of natural dyes versus those derived from synthetic origin. This study explores and describes consumers’ understanding of environmental repercussions surrounding apparel coloration and their willingness to choose more sustainable alternatives. In adopting a qualitative paradigm, seven focus group discussions generated in-depth insight surrounding consumers’ perspectives on the topic. A purposive non-probability sampling technique was used to recruit females aged between 20 and 55 years because they are generally more involved in apparel consumption decisions. The findings revealed that despite participants’ convictions surrounding the fashion industry's environmental impact, their understanding of apparel coloration and the implications of synthetic dyes were limited. Participants also identified factors that may inhibit their choice of naturally dyed apparel. Information provision and the role of various stakeholders appear key in the pursuit of more sustainable choices.https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/Resources-Conservation-and-Recycling-Advanceshj2023Consumer ScienceFood Scienc

A comparison of the body shapes of young Swazi women with those of body forms used in apparel manufacturing

In order to achieve good apparel fit, it is necessary to identify, define and classify the size and shape of a population based on a combination of key body measurements (Petrova & Ashdown, 2008). Unrepresentative sizing systems ultimately lead to apparel fit problems which are further compounded by an unstandardised and ambiguous communication of sizing and fit within the apparel manufacturing sector (Chun-Yoon & Jasper, 1996; Winks, 1997; Simmons & Istook, 2004). According to Magagula and Zwane (2006), the sizing system used by the apparel industry in Swaziland is based on British anthropometric measurements taken in the 1940s; yet there is a significant variance in the body proportions and dimensions of different ethnic groups and within ethnic groups (Yu, 2004c:183). It is therefore predictable that young Swazi women would experience apparel fit problems with ready-to-wear apparel. Body forms are manufactured using body dimensions of the apparel manufacturer’s target market in order to yield satisfactory levels of fit. This is however not the case for the Swazi market, as very little current anthropometric data exists on Swazi women. As a result, small-scale apparel manufacturers encounter problems with regard to body forms that are not manufactured according to the shape of Swazi women. The aim of this research was therefore to identify and describe the most prevalent body shapes of young Swazi women using body dimensions, to identify and describe the body shapes of the currently used body forms through body dimensions, to describe and compare the most prevalent body measurements and proportions of young Swazi women and those of currently used body forms, and finally to test and evaluate the fit of the test garment which represents the most prevalent size and shape of the Swazi women, on the body forms. This study is explorative in nature as it helped to clarify a largely undefined area of body shape analysis in respect of young Swazi women. Under the quantitative research strategy, a survey research methodology was used. Anthropometric techniques and traditional tailor’s measurements were used to obtain body measurements for various dimensions of young Swazi women, and training in anthropometry was undertaken to ensure that the measurements were taken reliably and accurately. It emerges from the results of this study that the most prevalent body shape of young Swazi women is the triangular body shape, followed by the hourglass body shape, while the inverted triangle is the least common body shape. The two body form brands employed in this study on the other hand are found to bear different body shapes from each other. Though one brand appears to have the same shape as that of the most prevalent body shape of young Swazi women, it is apparent that there are notable differences regarding the degree of the body contours, i.e. the Swazi women are conspicuously heavier and more rounded at the hip area – as the measurement differences show. The expectation that this body form will offer a better fit to Swazi women as they have similar body shapes in principle, is not realised when the fit of the test garment is evaluated, due to the vast differences in the drop values. The fit problems that are predicted to be experienced by young Swazi women when using the body forms for pattern generation, based on the significant measurement differences, are indeed observed during the evaluation of the fit of the test garment on the body forms. The fit problems exhibited during the testing of the fit of the test garment based on the most prevalent body shape of young Swazi women on the body forms, are mainly due to a wider lower hip girth and shorter length proportions at the upper torso of the young Swazi women. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the body shapes that exist among young Swazi women and the fit problems that young Swazi women experience as a consequence of unrepresentative body forms being used in terms of size and shape. Furthermore, the need for all stakeholders in the apparel manufacturing industry to reach consensus on the standardisation and communication of sizing emerges as a step toward affording better fitting apparel to the Swazi women.Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2012.gm2014Consumer Scienceunrestricte

The transfer of energy technologies in a developing country context - towards improved practice from past successes and failures

Technology transfer of renewable energy technologies is very often unsuccessful in the developing world. Aside from challenges that have social, economic, financial, institutional and environmental dimensions, technology transfer has generally been misunderstood, and largely seen as mere delivery of high tech equipment from developed to developing countries or within the developing world from R&D institutions to society. Technology transfer entails much more, including, but not limited to: entire systems and their component parts, know-how, goods and services, equipment, and organisational and managerial procedures. Means to facilitate the successful transfer of energy technologies, including the sharing of lessons are subsequently extremely important for developing countries as they grapple with increasing energy needs to sustain adequate economic growth and development. Improving the success of technology transfer is an ongoing process as more projects are implemented, new problems are encountered and new lessons are learnt. Renewable energy is also critical to improve the quality of lives of the majority of people in developing countries. In rural areas energy is primarily traditional biomass. The consumption activities typically occur in an inefficient manner, thus working against the notion of sustainable development. This paper explores the implementation of technology transfer in the developing world (sub-Saharan Africa). The focus is necessarily on RETs since most rural energy initiatives are RETs-based. Additionally, it aims to highlight some lessons drawn from the cited RE projects and identifies notable differences where energy technology transfer was judged to be successful. This is done through a literature review based on a selection of documented case studies which are judged against the definition provided for technology transfer. This paper also puts forth research recommendations that might contribute to improved technology transfer in the developing world. Key findings of this paper include: Technology transfer cannot be complete without satisfying pre-conditions such as: affordability, maintenance (and associated plans), knowledge and skills transfer, appropriate know how, ownership and commitment, ability to adapt technology, sound business principles such as financial viability and sustainability, project management, relevance and many others. It is also shown that lessons are learnt in both successful and unsuccessful projects

Aufbruch in Südafrika – Modellfall für den Kontinent? Diskussion mit Lindiwe Mabuza, Kum'a Ndumbe III., Rainer Schweers

Textdokumentation zur Veranstaltung der Osnabrücker Friedensgespräche am 26. März 1997 im Rathaus der Stad