THE DILEMMA FACED BY NPOS IN RETAINING SOCIAL WORKERS: A CALL TO REVISIT THE RETENTION STRATEGY

The high turnover of social workers in the non-profit organisations (NPOs) sector in South Africa is a major problem that requires further investigation despite the number of studies that have already been conducted in this area. This qualitative study seeks to contribute to the retention of social workers in the NPO sector, and is based on an exploratory survey of the various factors that lead to high social worker turnover. The findings of this paper confirm that NPOs are faced with several challenges in relation to the retention of social workers, and this calls for revisiting the existing retention strategy

Fire-grazer interactions in a Highveld grassland in South Africa

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science in fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Science degree. in School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of The Witwatersrand, Johannesburg July 2017.Fire is known to affect spatial patterns of grazing by altering the amount and quality of forage. Animals select the post-burn green flush that remains palatable until the grass recovers its biomass. How quickly the grass regrows depends on the rainfall and grass growth rates, and also grazing intensity. Theoretically, highly concentrated grazing can maintain short (relatively more palatable) grasslands throughout a growing season. Therefore this study aimed at; i) determining how long different grazer species were attracted to the burn, and whether this increased grazing pressure (as a result of concentrating grazers on a small burnt patch) maintained a short, palatable grass sward throughout the growing season, ii) investigating the long-term impacts of herbivore attraction to small burns on grass community and landscape function in a Highveld grassland. We therefore monitored grazer utilization of an experimentally applied small (5ha) burnt patch using dung counts and camera traps, and also measured the structural changes of the burnt patch over a period of 12 months. To test whether this process of attraction to small burns could have long-term impacts on grass community composition and landscape function we quantified species composition, infiltration rates, soil compaction, soil moisture, and ANPP in another landscape which had received 10+ years of small annual burns (a firebreak). A novel finding was that indeed grazers especially the short-grass specialist stayed on the burn and kept the grass short (<10cm) for the duration of the study post fire: the burn only treatment on the 5ha burn recovered its biomass within 2 months of the first rains. This result was due to the fact that it was a drought year with half the normal rainfall (and lower grass regrowth rates). However, the long-term study indicated that the attractive effect of small fires in this ecosystem alters both community composition and ecosystem properties. The firebreak had more bare ground and less water infiltration than the surrounding grassland – but was more diverse and had higher grass productivity. It also continued to attract the short-grass specialist species (blesbok, wildebeest and hartebeest). This counter-intuitive result indicates that perhaps these grasslands are not as severely degraded as we think. This study therefore, showed that coupling small burns with appropriate grazer species has a great potential for creating palatable grazing “hotspots”, in sourveld grassland without obvious damage to ecosystem function.LG201

Irenbus - a real-time machine learning based public transport management system.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The era of Big Data and the Internet of Things is upon us, and it is time for developing countries to take advantage of and pragmatically apply these ideas to solve real-world problems. As the saying goes, "data is the new oil" - we believe that data can be used to power the transportation sector the same way traditional oil does. Many problems faced daily by the public transportation sector can be resolved or mitigated through the collection of appropriate data and application of predictive analytics. In this body of work, we are primarily focused on problems affecting public transport buses. These include the unavailability of real-time information to commuters about the current status of a given bus or travel route; and the inability of bus operators to efficiently assign available buses to routes for a given day based on expected demand for a particular route. A cloud-based system was developed to address the aforementioned. This system is composed of two subsystems, namely a mobile application for commuters to provide the current location and availability of a given bus and other related information, which can also be used by drivers so that the bus can be tracked in real-time and collect ridership information throughout the day, and a web application that serves as a dashboard for bus operators to gain insights from the collected ridership data. These were all developed using the Firebase Backend- as-a-Service (BaaS) platform and integrated with a machine learning model trained on collected ridership data to predict the daily ridership for a given route. Our novel system provides a holistic solution to problems in the public transport sector, as it is highly scalable, cost-efficient and takes full advantage of the currently available technologies in comparison with other previous work in this topic

The unheard stories about pastoral care of Christian women infected and affected by HIV/AIDS

This research covers the story of four persons from different backgrounds brought together by their faith in God, fellowship in the same church, residing in the same community and sharing the experience of living with HIV and AIDS: either as infected and/or affected individually. I am one of these persons due to the fact that I lost my sister to HIV and AIDS, thus I am affected. Though I only appear in the story as the researcher, it is my own loss that made it possible for me to empathise with my co-researchers. While one co-researcher was affected due to the fact that her husband was infected, became ill and died of HIV and AIDS-related sicknesses, the other two women were both infected by their husbands and at the same time were affected because they had to nurse the same husband who infected them. This was one of the cruelest moments in their lives but they forgave their husbands and cared for them to the end. In order for my research to reach the holistic insight into these women’s stories, I used the postfoundationalist practical theology approach. The reason for this is that this approach is contextual and relevant to people’s everyday life. One does not have to import knowledge to try to solve problems emanating from a particular context, but one needs to engage the locals and from that engagement, people start to reflect positively on their problems. Other lessons learnt is that one needs more than just a religious experience to play a role in solving the problem of HIV and AIDS; one needs more of the other disciplines to work together. In places like Mozambique, HIV and AIDS is not regarded as one of the health problems, but is classified as an interdepartmental or multi-sectoral problem. This means that HIV and AIDS do not affect only the Health Department, but all the departments. As such, each department is expected to have its own HIV and AIDS budget. It is here that I propose the Multi Disciplinary Team (MDT) composed of professionals from different disciplines working together to help solve the problem at hand. HIV and AIDS also help us to revisit our own understanding of God. While some people see the pandemic as the punishment from God for promiscuity, the truth is that we are all created in His image and this loving God does not destroy His own creation through HIV and AIDS. In His loving care, He reaches out to the unreached and cares for all His people: whether they are infected with HIV and AIDS, cancer or just are as healthy as they could be. The process of this research has empowered and enabled me to contribute to those who are infected and affected to be resilient and to stand, having hope in the goodness of God, working with others to bring a lasting solution to those infected and affected. Being resilient helps one to reclaim the marred Image of God in oneself and to reflect that image to impact onto our communities.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011.Practical Theologyunrestricte

ARE WE READY YET? SOCIAL WORKERS’ PREPAREDNESS TO RENDER SOCIAL SUPPORT TO PERSONS WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE CHALLENGES

Chemical substance abuse remains a major health and social problem globally and in South Africa. Considering the drug-use-related challenges faced by South Africa’s youth, there is a need to design and implement robust interventions to mitigate the impact of chemical substance use. Social workers are not prepared enough to provide drug-dependency treatment to persons with substance abuse challenges. To address this issue, a qualitative research approach was adopted with seven participants who were selected using the non-probability technique of purposive sampling. Data were analysed using Tesch’s eight steps and verified using Guba and Lincoln’s model to test the trustworthiness of the data. Ethical considerations were adhered to throughout the study. The findings highlight that social workers need urgent intensive training and resources to execute their tasks effectively in the field of substance abuse

Social welfare services rendered to street children in Pretoria : perspectives of service providers

A qualitative study was undertaken to develop an understanding of the social welfare services rendered to street children and to ascertain how these social welfare services can be enhanced from the perspective of service providers employed by NGOs in Pretoria. An explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was utilised. The researcher used purposive and non-probability sampling methods to draw the sample. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect information from nine service providers working with street children. Data were analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch (in Creswell, 2009). Data was verified using Guba‘s model (in Krefting, 1991).The study highlights challenges faced by NGOs in providing social welfare services to street children. The study provides a critical analysis of some of the key social welfare service challenges that need to be addressed to ensure effective and sustainable delivery of social welfare services. how these social welfare services can be enhanced from the perspective of service providers employed by NGOs in Pretoria. An explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was utilised. The researcher used purposive and non-probability sampling methods to draw the sample. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect information from nine service providers working with street children. Data were analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch (in Creswell, 2009). Data was verified using Guba‘s model (in Krefting, 1991).The study highlights challenges faced by NGOs in providing social welfare services to street children. The study provides a critical analysis of some of the key social welfare service challenges that need to be addressed to ensure effective and sustainable delivery of social welfare services. the social welfare services rendered to street children and to ascertain how these social welfare services can be enhanced from the perspective of service providers employed by NGOs in Pretoria. An explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was utilised. The researcher used purposive and non-probability sampling methods to draw the sample. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect information from nine service providers working with street children. Data were analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch (in Creswell, 2009). Data was verified using Guba‘s model (in Krefting, 1991).The study highlights challenges faced by NGOs in providing social welfare services to street children. The study provides a critical analysis of some of the key social welfare service challenges that need to be addressed to ensure effective and sustainable delivery of social welfare services.Social WorkM.A. (Social Work

The linguistic relationship between Southern and Northern Ndebele

This study investigates the linguistic relationship between Southern and Northern Ndebele. The focus is on the historical background of the two main South African Ndebele groups, covering various linguistic aspects, such as phonology, morphology, lexicography and spelling rules. The research reveals that, despite the fact that Southern and Northern Ndebele share a common name and historical background, the death of the Ndebele ancestral chief, Musi, at KwaMnyamana, which caused this nation to split into Southern and Northern Ndebele, resulted in the two Ndebele languages. As this study shows, these differ substantially from each other. The two Ndebele languages are examined, phonologically, in Chapters Three and Four revealing demonstrable phonological differences. Southern Ndebele, for instance, has several sounds (e.g., click sounds) that do not occur in its northern counterpart, while Northern Ndebele contains a number of non-Nguni sounds (e.g., interdentals) that do not occur in Southern Ndebele. Phonologically, Southern Ndebele, like other Zunda Nguni languages, employs the voiced lateral alveolar fricative phoneme /z/ [z] (e.g., izifo ‘diseases’), whereas Northern Ndebele, like other Tekela Nguni languages, uses the ejective interdental explosive /t/ [t’] (e.g., tifo ‘diseases’). Morphophonologicallly, the so-called denasalition feature that both languages manifest in their primary and secondary nasal compounds (i.e., Classes 9 and 10 noun class prefixes) occurs in almost opposing ways. In Southern Ndebele, the nasal /n/ resurfaces in all noun class prefixes of Class 10 nouns, while in Northern Ndebele, it occurs only in the noun class prefixes with monosyllabic stems or stems beginning with a voiced or semi-voiced consonant. This morphophonological feature (denasalisation) has spread to other grammatical environments, such as adjectival concords, inclusive quantitative pronouns and all formatives with the nasal compound ng [g] , in Northern Ndebele. The two languages also reveal that there are differences in assimilation, syllabification, palatalization, vowel elision, vowel substitution, consonantalization, glide insertion and labialization. Chapters Five to Eight focus on morphological differences. Here, the two Ndebele languages show differences in the various word categories: nouns, pronouns, qualificatives, copulatives, adverbs, moods, tenses, verbs, auxiliary verbs, conjunctives and ideophones. For instance, whereas Southern Ndebele noun class prefixes, like other Nguni languages – such as isiZulu and isiXhosa – comprises the pre-prefix + basic prefix + stem (e.g., u-mu-ntu ‘person’ a-ba-ntu ‘people’), in Northern Ndebele, this word category comprises the basic prefix + stem like Sotho languages (e.g., mu-nru ‘person’ ba-nru ‘people’). In addition, while the noun class prefix of Class 8 in Southern Ndebele contains a nasal before polysyllabic noun stems (e.g., iinkhova ‘owls’), in Northern Ndebele, Class 8 noun class prefixes contain no nasal (e.g., tikxabula ‘shoe’). Lexically, the most salient differences are that, although the two Ndebele languages share similar Nguni vocabulary, they have been unequally influenced by the neighbouring Sotho languages. Most importantly, despite the fact that both Ndebele languages have borrowed words from Northern Sotho and Setswana, Northern Ndebele has borrowed many more terms than Southern Ndebele. Lastly, in line with the Southern Ndebele (2008) and Northern Ndebele (2001) Spelling Rules, this investigation observes that the two Ndebele languages differ radically. In Southern Ndebele, for instance, there are numerous language aspects that have spelling rules governing their encryption, but in Northern Ndebele no rules exist as yet for such aspects. The findings reveal that Southern and Northern can be regarded as two distinct languages that deserve autonomous development even though they trace their origin from the same historical source.Thesis (DLitt)--University of Pretoria, 2010.African Languagesunrestricte

Impact of haptoglobin gene variation on HIV resistance and the rate of disease progression in the South African black population

Student Number : 0318625T - MSc dissertation - School of Molecular and Cell Biology - Faculty of ScienceGenetic variation in haptoglobin, a plasma protein, has been reported to be associated with susceptibility to and the rate of HIV/AIDS progression. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of haptoglobin polymorphism on HIV/AIDS in black South Africans. Polymorphism in the coding region of the haptoglobin gene was detected by direct DNA and allele-specific amplification. Polymorphism in the coding region of the gene was detected by amplification of DNA and by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of plasma protein. A statistically significant association was observed between allele -61C and resistance to HIV infection. The Hp0 phenotype, in which no haptoglobin protein is detected, was associated with HIV status and some promoter genotypes. Since in our study population there were a few samples with usable clinical data , further investigations need to be done to confirm the association of the -61C allele and the Hp0 phenotype with the risk of HIV infection

A pentecostal response to the challenges of HIV/AIDS in Tumahole

This dissertation is a challenge to the Pentecostal churches, particularly, the Apostolic Faith Mission Church in Tumahole, to take an action in meeting the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS. This disease, HIV/AIDS, is the latest enemy to human life that the nations are faced with. In the newspapers like Sowetan, there is an article almost daily about HIV and AIDS. In this dissertation, I have tried to show shocking figures of how this disease is spreading in Africa. The seriousness of the disease, unlike other diseases, is its in curability. The secular organisations are far ahead of the churches in as far as the relevant programmes on combating HIV/AIDS are concerned. Despite these massive programmes, the disease is spreading like the wild fire. Deducing from this background, it is no longer the question of whether the Pentecostal churches have any role to play, but what specific role should the church play in this challenge. In this challenging times, many people look at the church as one of the most important institute that would play a positive role in bringing hope to the hopeless.Christian Spirituality, Church History and MissiologyM. Th. (Missiology (Urban Ministry)

Parent-Adolescent Relationship and the Impact of Substance Dependency within the Trajectory of Adolescent Substance Use Disorder

Adolescents strive for freedom and autonomy; thus, communication with their parents needs to be enhanced. Building solid healthy relationships at this stage of their lives is of utmost importance to help them cope with the changes and challenges they are experiencing. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the parent-adolescent relationship in the substance dependency field. The focus is on the relationship between parents and their adolescents who have a substance use disorder. Parenting adolescents poses its own set of challenges, making it difficult to build and maintain healthy parent-adolescent relationships. We argue that although adolescent substance use disorder has been extensively researched, the relationship between parents and adolescents with substance use disorder has surprisingly not received the same attention. It is this gap that this chapter seeks to address. With this in mind, the ecological systems theory was employed here to shed light on the importance and significance of developing healthy parent-adolescent relationships. The findings show that the parent-adolescent relationship primarily informs the daily living of both the parents and the adolescents. The parent-adolescent relationship is therefore very important as it represents whole-family functioning