Investigating the extent to which training and development enhances lecturer performance at Rosebank college.

Master Degree. University of KwaZulu- Natal, Durban.Rosebank College embarked on training and development of lecturers to enhance their teaching competencies. The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the extent to which training and development enhances lecturer performance at Rosebank College. The methods used was a qualitative method which includes interviewing participants, observing the behaviour of lecturers before and after training and development programme, peer review to determine the extent to which training and development enhances lecturer performance at Rosebank College. The sample size consisted of twelve lecturing staff from a target group of thirty lecturers from three faculties Humanities, Commerce and Information Technology, a purposive sample technique was used. The method of analysing data is an interpretive method. The findings of the study indicated, that training and development enhances lecturer performance of new lecturers. A model was designed to assist the college to enhance the performance of all lecturing staff. The recommended model consists of the four stages. First stage being the analysis at an organisational level, task analysis and individual’s analysis. A questionnaire was designed by the researcher to assist the college to conduct a training needs analysis. Once the first stage is completed, the college will have an understanding as to what type of training and development programmes, which need to be implemented. Then the next stage will be to plan and organise, by choosing relevant method of training, inviting the delegates, preparing training material, training venue. Once the second stage is completed, the next stage will be to conduct the training and development programme to meet the needs of the individuals and of the organisation. The last stage will be to evaluate the training and development programme in categories and the extent to which training and development enhances lecturer performance through performance observation and peer reviews. Then lastly, an evaluation with the aim to find out if the organisation and individuals are meeting the aims and objectives of conducting a training

How do black South African youth understand and cope with depression?

Abstract: Depression is conceptualised differently across cultural groups and contexts. How people understand depression influences the treatment sought and the response to it. This study explored the understandings and perceptions of black South African youth who experience depression. Eight participants were interviewed; some were diagnosed by a psychologist with depression while others were not officially diagnosed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in an environment conducive and convenient for participants; therefore the interviews took place in different places. The findings of the study showed that some black South African youth conceptualised depression differently. Firstly, through received discourses from their social background; they saw depression as a stigmatised experience described as witchcraft, alcoholism and madness. Secondly, in response to the stigmatisation, they also developed their own discourses; they described depression as a weight, a case of sadness, and the brain taking over...M.A. (Sociology

Characterisation of Fusarium oxysporum species complex associated with Fusarium wilt of sweet potato in South Africa

Sweet potato is a popular food security crop in South Africa and has a considerable commercial value. Fusarium wilt (FW), caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum formae speciales (f. sp.) batatas, has been reported worldwide and is widespread in sweet potato production areas in South Africa. Preliminary molecular identification of South African isolates from diseased sweet potato plants indicated that there are other formae speciales besides F. oxysporum f. sp. batatas associated with FW. The objectives of the study were to conduct a field survey and to characterise the isolates of the Fusarium oxysporum species complex (FOSC) using phylogenetic analyses, morphological characterisation and DNA barcoding. Phylogenetic analyses revealed two other formae speciales, namely F. oxysporum f. sp. tuberosi and F. oxysporum f. sp. vanillae that were associated with FW. This study has contributed in understanding and knowledge of FOSC associated with FW of sweet potato in South Africa.Life and Consumer SciencesM. Sc. (Life Sciences

Client experience of rape victims accessing governmental post-rape services in South Africa

This study aims to better understand the experiences of rape victims accessing governmental post-rape services in South Africa. It was part of a larger intervention to develop an e-governance mobile phone ratings app for reporting user satisfaction with post-rape services, which aimed to improve accountability and responsiveness. Participants highlighted positive, negative and often mixed experiences in accessing post-rape services. Entry to centres was often delayed due to low levels of awareness, indirect referrals and delays at police stations. Positive experiences were characterised as welcoming, friendly, empathetic and non-judgemental. Negative experiences were characterised as threatening, blaming, physiologically taxing and lacking in empathy. Inadequate follow-up, delays in progress of cases, and poor communication and quality of information contributed to dissatisfaction with services. The findings of the study were used to inform the design and content of the app, as well as its technology platform and the content of marketing material. These contributed to its successful piloting and use.DFIDUSAIDSIDAOmidyar Networ

Giving voice to clients of post-rape services: building and piloting a feedback mechanism in Tshwane

This practice paper reflects on the development of an appropriate and confidential feedback mechanism for users of post-rape services at Thuthuzela Care Centres / Rape Crisis Centres in Tshwane, South Africa. It discusses the disjointed approach to post-rape services, how centre staff were supported to act on client feedback, uneven access to high-quality post-rape care in Tshwane and client perceptions of services, and managing the tensions between anonymity, visibility and representation in gathering client feedback. It offers suggestions on how to get service providers to promote and engage with a new feedback mechanism, tips on how best to work with developers for organisations working to launch a mobile app for the first time, and advice for donors in the field of tech for transparency and accountability.DFIDUSAIDSIDAOmidyar Networ

Measurement of night sky brightness in southern Australia

Night sky brightness is a major source of noise both for Cherenkov telescopes as well as for wide-angle Cherenkov detectors. Therefore, it is important to know the level of night sky brightness at potential sites for future experiments. The measurements of night sky brightness presented here were carried out at Fowler's Gap, a research station in New South Wales, Australia, which is a potential site for the proposed TenTen Cherenkov telescope system and the planned wide-angle Cherenkov detector system HiSCORE. A portable instrument was developed and measurements of the night sky brightness were taken in February and August 2010. Brightness levels were measured for a range of different sky regions and in various spectral bands. The night sky brightness in the relevant wavelength regime for photomultipliers was found to be at the same level as measured in similar campaigns at the established Cherenkov telescope sites of Khomas, Namibia, and at La Palma. The brightness of dark regions in the sky is about 2 x 10^12 photons/(s sr m^2) between 300 nm and 650 nm, and up to four times brighter in bright regions of the sky towards the galactic plane. The brightness in V band is 21.6 magnitudes per arcsec^2 in the dark regions. All brightness levels are averaged over the field of view of the instrument of about 1.3 x 10^(-3) sr. The spectrum of the night sky brightness was found to be dominated by longer wavelengths, which allows to apply filters to separate the night sky brightness from the blue Cherenkov light. The possible gain in the signal to noise ratio was found to be up to 1.2, assuming an ideal low-pass filter.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in Advances in Space Research as Proc to COSPAR 201

Evidence for a Non-Expanding Universe: Surface Brightness Data From HUDF

Surface brightness data can distinguish between a Friedman-Robertson-Walker expanding universe and a non-expanding universe. For surface brightness measured in AB magnitudes per angular area, all FRW models, regardless of cosmological parameters, predict that surface brightness declines with redshift as (z+1)^-3, while any non-expanding model predicts that surface brightness is constant with distance and thus with z. High-z UV surface brightness data for galaxies from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field and low-z data from GALEX are used to test the predictions of these two models up to z=6. A preliminary analysis presented here of samples observed at the same at-galaxy wavelengths in the UV shows that surface brightness is constant, mu=kz^0.026+-0.15, consistent with the non-expanding model. This relationship holds if distance is linearly proportional to z at all redshifts, but seems insensitive to the particular choice of d-z relationship. Attempts to reconcile the data with FRW predictions by assuming that high-z galaxies have intrinsically higher surface brightness than low-z galaxies appear to face insurmountable problems. The intrinsic FUV surface brightness required by the FRW models for high-z galaxies exceeds the maximum FUV surface brightness of any low-z galaxy by as much as a factor of 40. Dust absorption appears to make such extremely high intrinsic FUV surface brightness physically impossible. If confirmed by further analysis, the impossibility of such high-surface-brightness galaxies would rule out all FRW expanding universe (big bang) models.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the First Crisis in Cosmology Conference, AIP proceedings series typos correcte

Feasibility and acceptability of a mobile phone intervention to improve post-rape service delivery in South Africa

Mobile health (mHealth) interventions – in which mobile phones are used to advance positive health outcomes – have only recently been applied to addressing broader questions of health governance. This report discusses research on a mobile phone app that was designed to create a coordinated platform through which rape victims could express their views on the quality of services and support offered by police and health-care workers in South Africa, in order to promote greater accountability between service providers and clients.The study, which assessed the feasibility and acceptability of the proposed app, comprised qualitative and quantitative research with rape victims and caregivers accessing follow-up services at four rape care centres in Tshwane district, Pretoria. Of 140 participants enrolled in the study (108 rape victims and 32 caregivers), 86.4% reported owning a mobile phone. However, the results also revealed that mobile phone theft during sexual assault was common, with 34 out of 63 participants (55%) who did not bring their mobile phones to their first visit to the facility reporting that their phone had been stolen during the assault. Nonetheless, the findings confirmed the feasibility of the app, which was subsequently developed and piloted. In addition, high levels of interest in using mobile phones to provide feedback on the quality of service delivery (95%) showed the potential value of such an intervention for improved communication between service users and providers.DFIDUSAIDOmidyar NetworkSID

The influence of galaxy surface brightness on the mass-metallicity relation

We study the effect of surface brightness on the mass-metallicity relation using nearby galaxies whose gas content and metallicity profiles are available. Previous studies using fiber spectra indicated that lower surface brightness galaxies have systematically lower metallicity for their stellar mass, but the results were uncertain because of aperture effect. With stellar masses and surface brightnesses measured at WISE W1 and W2 bands, we re-investigate the surface brightness dependence with spatially-resolved metallicity profiles and find the similar result. We further demonstrate that the systematical difference cannot be explained by the gas content of galaxies. For two galaxies with similar stellar and gas masses, the one with lower surface brightness tends to have lower metallicity. Using chemical evolution models, we investigate the inflow and outflow properties of galaxies of different masses and surface brightnesses. We find that, on average, high mass galaxies have lower inflow and outflow rates relative to star formation rate. On the other hand, lower surface brightness galaxies experience stronger inflow than higher surface brightness galaxies of similar mass. The surface brightness effect is more significant for low mass galaxies. We discuss implications on the different inflow properties between low and high surface brightness galaxies, including star formation efficiency, environment and mass assembly history